The lights are on but nobody’s home
Barenboim -a little too close for comfort (Photo: AP)
Having never been here before, he envisioned entering a country with bullets whizzing by, and rockets falling around every corner. Fair enough, if I was watching CNN or SKY, that’s what I might be thinking too.
But it’s still a bit discouraging, never mind that we were preparing a damn good meal for his first night here of broiled salmon, cream of cauliflour soup and baked potatoes topped with grated cheese, that American Jewish staunch supporters of Israel are preferring to stay at home during this time of need, when we could use a little moral support.
Of course, we didn’t expect any support from famed conductor Daniel Barenboim. His orchestra of Arab and Israeli musicians cancelled two shows because of the war – and they weren’t even in Israel! They were slated for Qatar and Egypt, but Barenboim, known for his critical views of Israel’s policies, was evidently concerned for the musicians’ safety, not that I’ve heard of the IDF attacking Qatar recently.
But the most worrisome cancellation, in my mind, was that of Clarence B. Jones, an octagenarian academic from California, who was the attorney and one of the key speechwriters to Dr. Martin Luther King. Jones wrote a book last year focusing on Black-Jewish relations called What Would Martin Say, and I had set up an interview with him to discuss that issue in light of the inauguration of Barack Obama and the fact that over 80% of Jews voted for him, and in general to talk about the perennial question of whether Obama is ‘good for the Jews and Israel’ (Mr. Jones is adamant that he is).
Jones ‘regretably’ had to cancel his planned week in Israel, without giving an explanation. Again, it’s perfectly understandable. But given Jones’ supposed staunch support for Israel, and his assurances that the president-elect is on the same page as his one-time mentor King – who Jones claims was an ardent Jew and Zionist lover – it doesn’t sit very well. If this the backing we get from our friends, then we’re more alone than we think.
While Jones has no formal connection with Team Obama, his cancellation reconfirms something we already know – we’re in for an interesting 4 to 8 years.
A package from home
Filed under: A New Reality, Israeliness, Life, Profiles, War
Barabara Silverman, in the matching white coat and hair, with her band of volunteers.
The Chicago-native senior citizen made aliya nearly 30 years ago, and two of her three children ended up living here as well, raising their own families. Around eight years ago, at the beginning of the Second Intifada, Silverman wanted to do something for the IDF soldiers who were protecting the country against Palestinian suicide bombers. And as a grandma, she started making cookies – lots of them – which she would then deliver personally to checkpoints around Jerusalem.
The cookies quickly expanded to Shabbat meals, Silverman started attracting other volunteers, and soon a full-fledged organization was founded based in her apartment – called A Package From Home. Silverman and her merry group of volunteers began collecting goods from Jerusalem-area merchants, like chocolate, long johns, towels, and hats, and packing them off to the soldiers. What they couldn’t schnorr, they bought at cost from donations that began flowing in.
The group found a willing partner in the IDF, who sent trucks on a weekly basis to Silverman’s apartment to pick up the boxes and deliver them to soldiers – mostly lone soldiers without family in Israel, or soldiers who had been injured in the line of duty.
But during the Second Lebanon War, and now, during Operation Cast Lead, A Package From Home has gone into overdrive, sending thousands of care packages to soldiers on the front.
“Since Operation Cast Lead began, we’ve sent 2,000 packages and we’re preparing to pack and send another 1,300 on Monday,” Silverman told me yesterday. “Unfortunately we have experience with other wars. During the Second Lebanon War, we sent 22,000 packages in 33 days to the soldiers on the front.”
“I spoke to a tank commander who was in his tank for four days, and when he received some fresh underwear, it meant a great deal to him. Another soldier told me that when he opened the towel and put it up to his face, it smelled like his home,” said the proud grandmother.
If you want to volunteer for organization, or just provide a donation, go here.. As Silverman has shown, one person can make a difference.
Kids’ play
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Israeliness, Life, War
An IDF soldier preparing to enter Gaza on Saturday night. (Photo Courtesy Jerusalem Post)
It’s inevitable that everyone in Israel knows somebody who’s involved in some aspect of the wars we’re forced to fight. And in previous mobilizations since I’ve been living here, it’s always been myself and my peers who were called up to perform the required tasks.
But now, I’m at the age where alot of my friends’ children are now serving in the IDF. I’m aware of at least two young soldiers who are among the infantry troops who went into Gaza Saturday night and are now engaged in combat with Hamas forces.
And they’re so young! I remember their brit milas, their bar mitzvahs and their temper tantrums – wondering how they would ever make there way in the world with their wild behavior. Now, they’re the ones being called upon to engage this most evil of enemies and attempt to restore a new order in Gaza that will see a quiet border and no more rocket attacks on our southern communities.
So while it may have been chilling for anyone watching the troops march into Gaza with their night vision, huge backpacks and weapons like the brave soldiers they are, what I saw was the little guys who used to play in the sand box in my yard, throw food on my walls, and trash the house during birthday parties.
And I also saw their parents watching the same TV images, worried to their bones and praying that their sons will return home safely.
Christmas vacation
Filed under: A New Reality, Israeliness, Life, War
Palestinian youths throw stones towards border police in Issawiya in east Jerusalem (Photo: Reuters)
Operation Cast Lead (reminder to the IDF Spokesman: work on those titles) is no laughing matter. Borne out of no alternative to constant rocket attacks on its southern communities, the military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries – and so far, more rockets landing in Ashkelon, Sderot, Netivot and even Ashdod, some 25 miles away from Gaza.
I got an inkling that the operation was impending when my daughter came home from her police shift on Thursday and said she had been briefed about mobilizing in the South when the army attack began in order to keep calm in the communities where retaliation from Hamas was likely.
On Saturday night, however, she was still patrolling her usual areas around Jerusalem. Evidently, the response to Operation Cast Lead among the Palestinian population in the West Bank and around east Jerusalem was serious enough to keep police troops very busy.
“There’s all kinds of riots going on here,” she said on the phone around midnight, “so they can’t send us to the South.”
As a parent, I’m not sure which option I prefer – having her quell rioting in the streets of east Jerusalem, or being in the direct line of Kassam fire by helping the residents of the South stay calm.
I’d actually prefer the skiing in Aspen. But the week between Christmas and New Years is a world away in this Israelity.
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