Monument of Shame??

Note: I always tell my readers to investigate. Don't believe everything you read. Don't take things on face value. Don't jump to conclusions.
So many times, we have learned, the media write what they want, because they want to set the agenda on an issue. They want to sell you on their point of view.
A classic example was Mohammed Al Dura, the little Arab boy that became the poster child for "the inhumane child-murdering Israelis". A lying videographer pieced together some video footage to show that the IDF shot this child. The entire world jumped on the "IDF-murderer" bandwagon until honest journalist Philippe Karsenty proved it to be a hoax.
This holds true for world news, your country, your town, your block, your family.
Don't believe everything you read - investigate!!
That said...I really don't know what happened at the Holyland building project. I don't know if Jerusalem City Councilmembers, former Mayor Ehud Olmert, local and national officials and even Mayor Uri Lupolianski took payoffs. I hope this is a case of yellow journalism, and not "one of the worst corruption scandals in Israel's history!".
But this morning, as I was taking my daughter to school in Jerusalem, we were driving down the hill at Gilo and suddenly there on the horizon was the Holyland project. I had a chilling feeling.
Standing high above Malha, its white and beige buildings dominate the skyline of Bayit Vegan.
I told my daughter, "We don't know the truth about the Holyland yet, but if it turns out that the buildings were created on pay-offs and dishonesty, then, there before you stands a monument to bribery and corruption!!"
I'm sure we're all going to follow this story with great interest. I pray that it doesn't "stink" as much as the media reported already. With all the corruption already dominating the news here, an UnHolyland is something that is absolutely not needed is Israel today.

Old City - Young Feet

I walked my feet off this morning in the Old City of Jerusalem. I joined about another 150 people on a tour, organized by Women In Green, and led both in English and Hebrew. The English guide was the incredible Daniel Luria, director of Ateret Cohanim. And if there's anyone who knows the Old City, it is Daniel.

We trekked through the narrow twisty cobble-stone streets of the Old Jewish Quarter (today's Arab Quarter) and visited the properties that were redeemed by the Ateret Cohanim/Jerusalem Reclamation Foundation. This trip was actually part two of a tour I had taken a few weeks again of Jewish Eastern Jerusalem with Daniel Luria. I wrote about it a few weeks ago: http://voices-magazine.blogspot.com/2010/03/jewish-eastern-jerusalem.html

You can see the videos of that trip here:
http://voices-magazine.com/voices-videos.php?id=121
http://voices-magazine.com/voices-videos.php?id=122

Life in the Old City, especially the Old Jewish Quarter is unlike anywhere else in the world. To get to any apartment (or maybe just the ones that we saw - our luck :) ), you've got to walk through the windingest alleyways, climb rows and rows of narrow broken stairs, sometimes even go through other buildings on the way to yours. Arab graffiti is plentiful and the streets vary from packed with pushing people to empty.
YOUNG FEET
It was very evident that the Old City is a place for young feet. Although everyone on our tour DID IT!!, and some of the folks were in their 70s, it's surely not an easy life.
Okay, let's put aside the Zionistic aspect of reclaiming Jewish property in the Old City, which is an immense and worthy undertaking - perhaps the worthiest, since this adds Jewish life to the area closest to Har HaBayit, the Temple Mount - let's just talk about regular life.
How do the women of the Old Jewish Quarter push their baby strollers through those uneven and bumpy narrow streets? How do they carry their strollers up 150 steps at a time? How do they bring in their groceries? Hm, how did they get their furniture up to their apartments when they moved in??
Besides the getting around difficulty, most of the Jewish homes we visited were tiny. And most of the families are large. The children play on rooftop playgrounds, which, I hope, provide enough room for fun for them. But how do they fit B"H bli ayin hara such giant families into their apartments?? And why would they stay for so many years in such difficult circumstances?
Daniel Luria said proudly, "There's still a thing called idealism today."
There's so much more to say....So, more to come!!

I'm Still Here!!

L ike the rest of you, I spent quite a lot of time in the past few days attending Holocaust memorial events for Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day). I heard the old and the very old tell their stories. I saw the young explain the Holocaust to other children.
The programs were very different, but the messages were very similar:
** G-d made miracles for me.
** I was determined to remain alive.
** I was very lucky.
** Our Jewish children are our victory.
** Live the way you know you should, because the world can change in an instant.

Memories of the Camps
Life was absolutely regular in pre-World War II Europe for both Siggy Weiser and Mendel Flaster until one day it wasn't. Then suddenly 16-year-old Siggy found himself in a cattle car on his way to certain death and Mendel (in his twenties) was herded into a ghetto.
They were young men, not heroes, but a heroic life was thrust upon them. They survived when those around them gave up. They simply refused to give in to death.

Eighty-year old Siggy Weiser (pictured at left with former US GI David Hollander) figured out at his young age how to keep warm - stuffing cement bags in his paper-thin uniform - and how to find food - eating discarded spoiled cabbage that tasted to him like sauerkraut. Yumm.

They tried - even while wading through garbage heaps or organizing the clothing of dead Jews - to keep some semblance of human dignity.
They acknowledged G-d's miracles for them and they did what they could to help their brethren, even in their darkest moments.

In fact, 90 year old Mendel Flaster (pictured at left, speaking with Efratian Max DeVriend) says that as a young man he was driven by a combination of his stubborness and his decision to constantly act for the benefit of his fellow inmates.
Siggy Weiser and Mendel Flaster actually passed through some of the same concentration camps, but they never met until they both ended up in my town of Efrat (Siggy is a resident and Mendel a guest).
Both, alumni of the Gleiwitz, a subcamp of Auschwitz, as well as many others, they began completely new lives after the war. Seeing the political prisoners in their concentration camp being embraced by their countries of origin, Siggy and his fellow survivors realized that no nation in the world would wish to claim the remnants of the Jewish people, except their own - Palestine. Siggy found a blue shmatta (rag) and a white one, and hoisted them on a pole with enthusiasm and determination. His make-shift "Israeli flag" inspired everyone around him with hope that these Holocaust survivors had a country to which they too belonged.
Seeking justice as best he could, Mendel donned a US Army uniform, and went to work for the Criminal Investigation Commission and the Criminal Investigation Division, dedicating many years after the war to hunting down Nazi war criminals.

Siggy and Mendel are telling their stories now so that we can all be witnesses to the atrocities of the past, our enemies' attempts to totally destroy our people, and the ultimate victory and eternity of the Jewish people.
It is horrific, but it is real and cannot be denied. Their stories must live on. And all of us who have been privileged to hear the testimonies of survivors can say,"Once I heard a great-grandfather talking about his experiences in the camps. This is what happened to our people...."

First Graders Explain the Holocaust
Holocaust survivors are in their 70s, 80s and 90s today. May they live and be well until 120. They are not the only ones telling the stories of our people's tortures during the Holocaust. Our children are carrying forward their message of faith and struggle and survival.

I attended the First Grade Orot Etzion Girls' Holocaust Memorial Production. The girls told the audience the hardships of the Shoah. They hung stars representing the different towns from which Jews were deported. They lit six candles in memory of the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust.
How much does a first grader know about the Holocaust? Surprisingly, a lot. In their show, they even portrayed a little boy who risked his life to crawl through the ghetto fence to buy bread for his family. One little girl in the play remarked that she couldn't remember ever having tasted fresh bread.
The children explained, once Jewish children went to school and played and laughed with glee, and then suddenly all the simple childhood pleasures were taken from them. Yes, children can understand the Holocaust on their levels.

Before he finished speaking Siggy Weiser called out, "I'm still here!!" B"H, the Jewish people continue on. Siggy said that his victory of the Nazis is his family - his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Bli ayin hara.

Yes, in every generation our enemies rise up against us, and thanks to G-d's mercy and love for the Jewish people, we continue on.
To watch Voices TV clips about the Holocaust, click on www.voices-magazine.com . Siggy Weiser can be heard at http://voices-magazine.com/voices-videos.php?id=129. View the Memorial by Efrat's Children: http://voices-magazine.com/voices-videos.php?id=130 . More to come.

Tales of Fairies and Tales of Horror

The world is a very complex place. In fact, my world of Israel is probably the most complex. Besides the security complexities, there are a myriad of other difficulties that arise from a giant Jewish melting pot that doesn't really melt.

They say the State of Israel is like a chulent with all kinds of different ingredients mixed together. But you know what...if you look at the chulent on Shabbat afternoon, you can still see the beans and the barley and the meat separately. They haven't mushed together. They're yummy as a mixture, but they're still individually identifiable.

Just as there are varied types of Israelis - as varied as the countries of their origin - there are a variety is a great diversity in the national life of our people. We've got Jewish holidays and national holidays. We celebrate happy times and memorialize tragedies.

The Jewish month of Nissan is probably the best example of the dichotomies in our lives.

In Nissan, on Passover we celebrate our rescue and escape from the Egyptian concentration camps, our miraculous crossing of the Dead Sea, and the start of our journey to the Chosen Land. We end the month with Yom HaShoa (Holocaust Remembrance Day) by memorializing those who were not lucky enough to be rescue or escape from their concentration camps or lives of terror during the Nazi Holocaust.

The vast majority of Nissan is joyous with holiday preparations and tiyulim (family trips) all over the country (like our trips to Bet El and to the zoo), little outings to the zoo or other points of interest. Then the frivolity of the month ends as we remember those loved ones who were murdered by the Nazis and their allies, as well as those Jews and humans who fought against the atrocities of the time.

FAIRY TALES

Last week, we "chopped" in a few more family trips before the joy of Nissan waned. We traveled to the port city of Ashdod (more coming in an upcoming blog) and then toured closer to home, as we visited the Jerusalem Municipality (more on that too at a later time) and the exhibition of stories and fairy tales at the Mamilla Mall.

The world's most popular children's tales were on display in Mamilla in the form or statues and paintings, as well as etchings. Pinocchio, the Wizard of Oz, the Ugly Duckling, Hansel and Gretel - each was whimsically displayed for thousands of passers-by to enjoy. Aladdin and His Magic Lamp, the Pied Piper of Hamlin, Cinderella, Puss in Boots, Peter Pan and even the store of Rabbi Akiva and the Rooster were told in various art forms.

Mamilla shoppers and strollers enjoyed the exhibition, which is set to remain through October. If you haven't seen it yet, it's worth the trip. Plus, you can always have lunch out at one of the Mamilla eateries, and you've got a great half-day exursion.

Voices made a movie of the Mamilla happenings. You can view it at http://voices-magazine.com/voices-videos.php?id=127 .

But as we said, there are memories of other kinds in Nissan.

TALES of the HOLOCAUST

As we memorialize those loved ones lost in the Holocaust, we also thank Hashem for those who survived. One of the survivors was my own mother-in-law. Born in Austria, she spent the war years running from country to country to try to escape the Nazis, who seemed always to be one step behind her. Partnered with my father-in-law, o'h, and her own beloved mother, o'h, my mother-in-law lived a courageous and constantly-death-defying life until she thankfully was able to settle in Eretz Yisrael. Actually, my in-laws were Palestinians, coming into the land during the time of the British Mandate.

Two years ago, I videoed my mother-in-law briefly describing some of her memories from the Holocaust. You can view her story at http://voices-magazine.com/voices-videos.php?id=128 . It is a tale of suspense, sadness and ultimate victory.

That's actually the tale of the Jewish people - suspense, sadness and ultimate victory, IY"H.

An eternal nation with a eternal tale.

More Zoo News

Over the Shabbat table today, I told our guests some of the fascinating things I learned at the zoo yesterday. Now, I have to preface this by saying that all the explanations were in Hebrew, but I got most of it, or at least I think I did.

After I told my guests about the zoo, my kids said, "Ema, that was really fascinating. Really. You should blog about that."

Well, some of it really was fascinating, so I'll try to share with you a little bit more of what I remember about the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo.

The zookeepers were very eager to answer everyone's questions and here are some of the topics they discussed:

** There are so many endangered species in the world, the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo does its part in raising and caring for many of these species and then hopefully ultimately reintroducing them into nature. Deer from the zoo have been reintroduced into nature preserves and forests. The zoo tracks them after they return to nature to see how they do. One of the zookeepers told us that another zoo's panda bears were returned to the wild and died because they did not know how to fend for themselves. He said that many animals that are not specifically trained on how to survive in the big wild world, unfortunately die of starvation. That was pretty sad. Hopefully the Jerusalem Zoo's deer are learning how to eat in nature.

** The Jerusalem Zoo does not exhibit any animals that have difficulty in Israel's climate. They had snow leopards once and they could not exist in the Jerusalem summer heat. In fact, there are zoo boards that reject requests from different zoos to exhibit certain animals, because of the conditions for that animal at the zoo and the climate.

** The flamingoes drink water mixed with paprika and other things in order to maintain their pink color. In the wild, they eat pink shrimp.

** Did you know that if a zoo wants to have a panda bear, they must pay the Chinese Government one million dollars a year for the privilege and the responsibility of having the panda? This money goes into a fund for the preservation and breeding of pandas.

** It takes the zoo's chef more than a half day to prepare food for all the animals.

** The elephants are exercised every day. The tricks they do are actually for their benefit, so that they will be able to show the veterinarian different parts of their body for check ups. They are put to "work" in their cage - like moving big logs, etc. - as a form of a physical workout. BTW, the elephants are the only animals that get a daily tiyul around the zoo.

Voices TV hopes to have a video up about the Jerusalem Zoo in the next few days. Check www.voices-magazine.com for Voices TV.

Roses for My PM

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has been criticized so much over the past few months for being a weak-kneed, when he finally does something that shows love of land and bravery in the face of international pressure, we should all stand up and applaud him.

When Netanyahu stood up for a united Jerusalem on his last visit to Washington, my friends and I said, "We should do something to say, 'kol hakavod.'" I didn't do anything. Did you?

Well, I read this morning in Jpost.com that a Florida-based radio host and author Janet Porter was so upset by the way US President Barak Hussein Obama treated Prime Minister Netanyahu that She asked her listeners to join her in sending flowers to the PM. She wanted to send "yellow roses to symbolize friendship, with each bouquet costing a symbolic price of $19.48."

"Christian supporters of Israel went online to the Web site of Porter’s Faith2action organization and ordered the flowers, which were to be accompanied by a card with the words, 'Be encouraged, Americans stand with you,' along with a quote from a psalm: 'The Lord builds up Jerusalem.'"

What a fabulous gesture! What a great message!

Why did we need American Christian friends to send that to Binyamin Netanyahu? Why didn't we think of it? Thousands of flowers with notes of appreciation to the Prime Minister!!

We thank Janet Porter and her friends for waking us up. Let's take it from here!

Every morning when we say the Halleluyahs, we say in Psalm 147, "The Builder of Jerusalem is Hashem, the outcast of Israel He will gather in...Praise Hashem, O Jerusalem, laud you G-d, O Zion. For He has strengthened the bars of your gates, and blessed your children in your midst; He Who makes your borders peaceful..."

The American President is now demanding more and more chas v'shalom deadly concessions from Netanyahu - more lifesaving machsomim (roadblocks) abandoned to Arab traffic, more Jewish land turned over to the Arabs. If our Prime Minister doesn't see positive reinforcement from nationalistic Israelis when he does some courageous, like stand up for our own capital city, then he has no incentive to try to stand up to the tremendous Washingtonian pressure on anything else.

Roses for our PM? Yes. And "Kol hakavod" faxes, "Thank you" emails, and notes of pride.

Take a minute and show Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that standing up for Jerusalem and the Land of Israel is indeed the proper and heroic position of a Prime Minister of the State of Israel.

Am Yisrael Chai!

A Little Spirit - A Little Fun

Like all the rest of the Jewish People who observe Passover and its intermediate days, I spent some family time split between activities with a little spirit and those with a little fun.

On the first intermediate day, we traveled to Bet El for a Cowboy Happening. Our children were horseback riding, decorating horse shoes, shooting bows and arrows at haystacks and just having a good ol' time.

A LITTLE SPIRIT

Then we met my favorite tour guide Avi Dobuler, "Top Guide", at the top of Pisgat Yaakov, Bet El's highest hill. From there we went to an ancient plateau to the site that we believe could very well be THE site of Jacob's Dream. About 4000 years ago, our patriarch Jacob, son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham, had a dream that angels were climbing up and down on a ladder that stretched from Bet El up to the heavens.

Both scriptural, geographical and archaeological evidence point to the fact that this place had been recognized as a religious site for centuries. (I was listening, but I wasn't taking notes, so if there are any errors in this report, they are mine, not Avi's.)

1) Avi showed explained what the mountains we saw on all sides of us were. The location fit the description in the Bible from the time of Abraham. "Hashem appeared to Abram and said, 'To your offspring I will give this land.'...he relocated to the mountain east of Bet El and pitched his tent, with Bet El on the west and Ai on the east; and he built there an altar to Hashem and involked Hashem by Name."

2) A holy place retains its character, and so when Jacob left Israel to go to Haran, he stopped at a familiar place to pray. He slept on a few rocks and then they became one. Hashem told him, "...the ground upon which you are lying, to you will I give it and to your descendants."..."Jacob arose early in the morning and took the stone that he placed around his head and set it up as a pillar; and he poured oil on its top. And he named that place Bet El..."

On this plateau is a curious stone, as long as a man and, even more curious, very much like the shape of Eretz Yisrael.

Moreover, an oil stain on this stone, tested decades ago, Avi said, was said to be from the patriarchal period.

3) When Jacob returned to Israel with his family, his mother Rivka's nursemaid Devorah died and was "buried below Bet El, below the plateau, and he named it Alon-bachut." Right near this place that is believed to be so holy for Yaakov, there is an ancient oak tree with a burial cave only a few steps away.

4) During the days of Yerovam, the King of Israel and advertsary of Solomon's son Rechavam, Yerovam wanted to stop the Jewish people from going to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, so he set up two altars with golden calves - one of which was in Bet El.

"In Bet El, he [Yerovam] set up the priests of the high places that he had made. He ascended the altar he had made in Bet El..." (Kings I: 12:32) Indeed, there is a high place - still existant today - set up to the east of the place of the dream that is quite possibly the place of the Temple of Yerovam and a higher place, the site of the sacrifices.

5) There's more and more, but one more note. Just south of this site is an ancient Roman guard tower. Since this plateau is not on a main road, Avi Dobuler asked, "Why was there a Roman guard tower there?" The answer goes back to a point that he had made earlier. Once something in the Land of Israel is known for its holiness, that character is usually retained. This plateau was known always as a place of prayer, as a holy place for our patriarchs and our people. The Romans did not wish the Jews to pray at their holy sites, therefore, they set up a guard tower to make sure the area was Jew-free. (Some things never change.)

Anyway, it was just fascinating. And I even plan to make a movie about it. Check out http://www.voices-magazine.com/ and look at VOICES TV to find the latest videos.

A LITTLE FUN

My family joined the rest of the world today at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo. Oh you didn't go to the zoo today? Well, you're the only ones.

The zoo was so overcrowded that there was a sign on the front gate that said, "The zoo is overcrowded. Please DO NOT come in." Everyone read it as they walked right in.

The sign was right. You could hardly walk down the zoo's paths and you really couldn't see many of the animals.

Unbelievable as it sounds, in the crushing crowd, I actually saw some hometown folk joining the throng. That was fun.

And, if you had patience and were able to hang around each of the animal cages, you could eventually angle yourself in some direction to get a peek at the elephant, the grizzly bear, the lion and the rest of the zoo stars. And if you had a little bit more patience, you could actually see some of the animals being fed. That was worth the wait!

In addition to the pleasure (actually nachas - that's parental joy) that I got being with my grand/kids, I loved seeing young people from my own neighborhood working at the zoo. I was so proud that they were spending their Chol HaMoed keeping the zoo a beautiful clean place. Here's to terrific kids - Ariella Bogner, Eliana Lang and Gidon Lang. If other Efrat/Gush Etzion kids were working at the zoo this week, here's to all of you!!

Of course, I made a movie at the zoo too, and I hope you'll be able to find it at http://www.voices-magazine.com/ .

In addition to snapping the animals, I asked zoo keepers and some zoo guests what their favorite animals were. Of course, the elephants were a big favorite, but so were the tigers, the zebras and the bears.

The zoo really was crowded, but for most of the tens of thousands of visitors today, Chol HaMoed wouldn't be the same without a visit to the zoo.