Tag: Jerusalem

Aryeh Shechopek Was Killed in Jerusalem Simply Because He Was Jewish

Jerusalem is a beautiful city. Both ancient and modern, it is home to the world’s three great faiths. Walking through her streets is to walk through history and in the footsteps of the generations that have come before us.

It is also a site of murder, hate, and destruction. Earlier this week, two explosions shook the town. By the time to smoke cleared, eighteen people were injured and one person was killed.  Aryeh Shechopek was fifteen and had dual citizenship in both Israel and Canada.

This boy, who had his entire future ahead of him, was only killed because he is a Jew living in Israel. Nothing more and nothing less.

What I don’t get is why the Palestinian leadership continues to think (and brainwash their citizens) that violence is the answer. It is obviously not. We are here to stay. This is our ancestral homeland, just as it is the ancestral homeland of the Arabs and the Christians.

What I want for the region (and for the rest of the world, as pie in the sky as it seems) is peace. No one, especially a child, should die because of who they are or where they live.

I am going to end this post with a quote from Golda Meir. It is as timely now as it was during her era.

If the Arabs put down their guns there would be no more fighting. If the Israelis put down theirs there would be no more Israel.”

May his memory be a blessing. Z”l.

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Antisemitic News of the Week: You Know Who on American Jews and the Figurative Moving of the Israeli Capital

Antisemitism is the oldest version of hate in human history. For thousands of years and in many parts of the world, we have been hated, forced out of our homes, persecuted, and murdered.

Earlier this week, a certain former President made the following statement about American Jews.

“No President has done more for Israel than I have,” Trump wrote before saying it was somewhat surprising that “our wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the U.S.”

Aside from his usual braggadocio, the disturbing aspect of what he says speaks to one of the basic tenets of antisemitism. Jews in America (or in any country that is part of the diaspora) are not 100% loyal to the nation in which they live. The culprit is, as usual, Israel. It is curious (though it should not be to anyone with a working brain), why other Americans whose families came from other parts of the world are not accused of the same lie?

Speaking of Israel, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong stated that until the two-state solution is resolved, her country’s embassy will remain in Tel Aviv. They also refuse to recognize that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital city.

I would like to make the following proposal: until her government deals honestly and openly with their colonial past, how about we recommend that their capital city be changed? Instead of Canberra, how about we recognize Melbourne or Sydney as the main seat of the government? How would they feel?

It is morally reprehensible that Israel is told what she can and cannot do, but she cannot turn around and do the same thing. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

Just another week of antisemitism. What else is new?

The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem Series One Part One Review

Family is complicated. Marriage is complicated. We can only do our best and hope that it is good enough.

The new Netflix series, The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem, is based on the novel, The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem: A Novel, by Sarit Yishai-Levi. The first half of the first series is set in the 1920s and 1930s. It follows the women of the Ermoza family, a Sephardi Jewish family living in Jerusalem. Gabriel (Michael Aloni) is in love with another woman but is forced to marry Roza (Hila Saada), by his mother Merkada (Irit Kaplan). He tries to be a good husband and father but is not exactly dedicated to his family. Almost twenty years later, their eldest daughter, Luna (Swell Ariel Or) is growing up in a time of political tension and struggle.

I don’t recall if I read the book, but the first series is fantastic. Set against the backdrop of British-controlled Palestine (i.e. pre-1948 Israel), the emotional conflicts within the Ermoza family collide with the heady and complicated world events of the era. It is fantastic, immediately grabs the viewer, and does not let go until the final credits roll. If nothing else, it reveals a side of history in this region that is not often talked about in the mainstream press.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely.

The first season of The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem is available for streaming on Netflix.

P.S. The second season is scheduled to be released sometime in July. I eagerly await its arrival.

The World Didn’t Care Then & They Don’t Care Now: The Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the Destruction of the Al Aqsa Mosque

Silence speaks volumes and actions speak louder than words. People can say whatever they want, but words mean nothing.

Tuesday was the 79th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. When the world turned its back on Europe’s Jews, it gave the Nazis carte blanche permission to persecute, starve, torture, and murder my Jewish brethren. The only way we could survive is if we saved ourselves. It was a f*ck you to those who decided that we were not worth fighting for.

In the years since then, Jews (and Israel by extension) have had to keep the figurative middle finger raised. Because once again, we have been told by actions that we should remain sheep to the slaughter.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I believe in the sacredness of the sites and the holidays within my faith. Earlier today, militant Palestinians decided that one of the holiest sites in Islam, the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, was to be used not as a site of prayer, but of a battle. This is during Ramadan, which I think deserves a little more respect. Not only did they attempt to physically destroy the building, but they used it as a base to attack innocent people.

In my mind, that is akin to Jewish worshippers destroying the Western Wall during Yom Kippur to spite our neighbors. It is something I cannot comprehend.

Given that the basic concept of Jewish history is that we are still here despite many attempts at assimilation and extermination, I personally think that it’s time to not give a shit. If living means fighting for ourselves when no one else will, so be it.

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Throwback Thursday: To Die in Jerusalem (2007)

When we go to war, it is not the old we sent into battle. It is the young ones who put their lives on the line.

The 2007 short film, To Die in Jerusalem, is the story of two young lives cut short by hate, war, and unending conflict. In 2002, Rachel Levy was was a 17 year old Jewish girl living in Jerusalem. She died at the hands of Palestinian suicide bomber. The person who killed her was a 17 year old Palestinian Muslim girl, Ayat al-Akhras.

When we talk about this conflict, we don’t discuss it on a human level. By making the story about two families, two young girls taken at the prime of their lives and two mothers looking for answers, it becomes personal and down to earth. The audience does not see an argument that is complicated and misunderstood. They see the ordinariness of the subjects and hopefully understand they are no different than anyone else.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Jerusalem: City of Faith and Fury Review

In the Jewish faith, Psalm 137 has the following lines:

“If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget [her cunning]/ If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.”

The new six part CNN miniseries, Jerusalem: City of Faith and Fury premiered last night. Over the course of the six episodes Sundays, the program tells the story of the city of Jerusalem via six key battles that changed the fate of the city and the region. Combining re-enactments with interviews with historians and Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scholars, the viewer is given a 360 degree picture of it’s past, it’s present, and perhaps, a glimpse of its future.

The first episode focused on the glory days of King Saul, King David, and the downfall of ancient Israel after the death of King Solomon. I enjoyed the first episode. If nothing else, it proved that humanity has not changed one bit. Externally, the world may look different, but inside, it is the same as it ever was. It is also, I think a pathway to understanding what has come before us so we can create a better world for future generations.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Jerusalem: City of Faith and Fury airs on CNN on Sunday night at 10PM.

Rockets Were Fired at Israel Today

I want you to imagine the following: you live in a neighborhood in which your neighbors at best tolerate you and at worst, call for your death. When you are attacked and you defend yourself, you are accused of being a bully.

This is the situation today in Israel. Rockets were fired into civilian populations in Jerusalem and Southern Israel from the Gaza strip.

I could write about this topic until I am blue in the face. I could write a dissertation if I was so inclined. Instead, I will let Hananya Nafatali explain why real peace in this region of the world has yet to exist.

Is the Newfound Peace in the Middle East Enough to Sway the Election?

Peace in the Middle East has been the wish of many for generations. The problem is that it is not as simple as it sounds.

In the past two years, you know who declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Then there were peace agreements with the UAE, Oman, and Bahrain.

Now it seems that is maybe a reality, thanks to you know who. But two questions come up. Does he genuinely believe in what he is doing? Or, is this just another ploy to win votes?

A part of me would like to believe that these peace deals were achieved because he genuinely wanted to see these countries work with one another. But I know better. After nearly four years in office, he has yet to prove that he can see beyond number one. He has even admitted that the move to Jerusalem was only to gain support from the Evangelical Christians.

Only time will tell of these peace deals will help in November. The only thing that I know is that I don’t trust him and will not be voting for him.

#BidenHarris2020

Thoughts On Yom Haatzmaut

Earlier this week was Israeli Independence Day or Yom Haatzmaut.

I don’t want to tell you about the Israel that you see on the news. We all get enough of that when we turn on our televisions or open the local newspaper. I want to tell you about Israel that I have been to and I hope that one day, you will visit Israel for yourself.

Foodies will be in high heaven when they visit Israel. There are more than enough options to please any palate (vegan included). I haven’t been to Israel since 2005, but my mouth waters at the memory of some of the food that was consumed.

There is nothing like a home-cooked Bedouin meal with bread fresh from the oven.
If hospitality means good food, the Druze homeowners who invited American strangers into their homes for a meal understood the meaning of the word.

The beaches in Tel Aviv are some of the most beautiful beaches on earth.

Putting my toes into the Mediterranean was heaven, given that I was visiting when the East Coast was experiencing the usual cold January weather.

If there is one place that you visit in Israel, I recommend that you go to the Dead Sea. Besides the skin-nourishing mud, floating in the Dead Sea is an experience that you must have for yourself.

And finally, for the history buff, Jerusalem is the ultimate one-two punch of history and the modern world. One cannot help but see where the past and the present collide.

Jerusalem, if I forget you….
Jerusalem, where the past and the present collide.

Happy 71st birthday, Israel. May you have 71 more.

Bibi: The Turbulent Life and Times of Benjamin Netanyahu Book Review

Any politician that climbs the political ladder will no doubt have a controversy or two attached to their name. Benjamin Netanyahu, also known as Bibi, is the Prime Minister of Israel.

Earlier this year writer Anshel Pfeffer published a biography of Benjamin Netanyahu entitled Bibi: The Turbulent Life and Times of Benjamin Netanyahu.  Netanyahu is the first Israeli Prime Minister to be born after the state of Israel was created in 1948. Born in Jerusalem and partially raised in the United States, Netanyahu is used to political controversy. A political animal who learned his political lessons in both Israel and the United States, the author argues that not only is his subject’s political career will soon be in pieces, but that modern Israel, for better or for worse, is defined by his leadership.

This book is part biography, part analysis of the subject’s political career. I think this book is an important read, especially if one is interested in world politics. It shows that a politician is a politician or a politician, regardless of the country they lead.

I recommend it.

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