At the demonstration last night, the Jerusalem police had carefully blocked any attempt at seating next to the fountain. As every where else where there are demonstrations they carefully block places where people can sit. When I asked one of Ben Gvir's soldiers why, he said he would open the barrier so that I could sit on the bench. I was impressed until I heard him saying to one of the other policemen to photograph him eto show that he was helping someone. I had a lift home after the demonstration but my friends told me that when they tried to go back home along the street they were forced to take a long detour because the police said that there were psychopaths waiting for them along the road. The question is was this really so and why did the police not deal with the psychopaths instead of sending two women in their 80s to take a long detour. We are sure that just as we are cut off from places where we can sit for no reason other than they can do so. Only yesterday a woman was arrested because she was holding a placard calling for the end to the war and the police claimed that she was demonstrating against the army.
Some years ago I did a course on meditation and did it religiously. Now I am thinking of going to meditation at Nofim. I am not sure what it is like and this week we are going to the theatre at the time of the course. But next week I intend to go hoping it will help me. It's called guided imagery.
We went to a restaurant last night with seafood but the music was so loud it was really unpleasant. I find it is more and more a problem but it seems that most people do not suffer from this.
We saw the London production of "Skylight" ....a simultaneous event taking part on the English stage and at the same time at Cinamateque. It nagged at me and i kept trying to think what it reminded me of and then I remembered....Who is afraid of Virginia Wolff. Which I can't say I enjoyed at the time and I felt the same thing here. The acting of course was superb but at the moment I don"t need things which are fraught with problems between people.
My sister cries out to me says the sign .....I look at these children and think of the two little ginger headed and wonder if we will ever see them. I hear also that there are people who do not believe that there were really rapes. I just have to remember the first time I saw the horrible picture of a girl being dragged off a car with the back of her pants covered in blood. And how can they deny the hidden witnesses who saw the acts.
And I think of the two ginger headed children whom I wonder if we will ever see again. and I look at the little demonstrators and thank God that they are here with us.
For those of you who want to know what is going on in the occupied areas....read the two PDFs below. Here in Israel of course none of this is reported on the media. This is a report from Machsomwatch about what is happening in the occupied territories.
/ ECONOMIC SIEGE IN THE WEST BANK ///
In January, the third phase of the Gaza war began, and it included the occupied territories. The closing of all the checkpoints to Israel and the wild and brutal pogroms of the settlers in the West Bank gradually evolved into a meticulous project resulting in the canceling of the Palestinians’ freedom of movement outside their villages and communities. They cannot reach their grazing and farming lands, hardly get to their supply of food, water and medicine, or visit their families. Add to that the ongoing ban on the living made by more than 100,000 Palestinian laborers who worked with a permit in Israel, and imagine hundreds of thousands of frightened families on the brink of existential collapse.
This is a an integrated in-and-out blockage applied to the entire Palestinian population in the West Bank. It is carried out with both bureaucratic and violent methods - by the lawless violent settlers, the army (reinforced by conscripted settlers) and the civil administration. The government is leading it with the slogan "Oslo is dead" as well as the human rights of the Palestinians in Areas A, B and C together.
We anxiously monitor this economical siege in our centers of activity in the southern Hebron Hills, in the Jordan Valley, in the central West Bank and in the north. We receive desperate calls for help - "we are hungry", "we can't go on like this". Desperation and hopelessness indicate that the flare-up is imminent.
Michal from the southern group, who goes to the southern Hebron Hills, documented one micro-case of many, in which settlers blocked the passage of sheep to pasture land since the beginning of the war, all with the support of the army and the civil administration.
Have you wondered, as I have, how come Hamas has so many rockets......so read this article... and Israel thought they were stupid.
The very weapons that Israeli forces have used to enforce a blockade of Gaza are now being used against them.
This is happening while so many in the country are losing their businesses and when some of us serving in the army have been fired from their jobs.
State approves repairs to pool in Netanyahu’s Caesarea home – report
Chief accountant said to be quitting after maintenance work on one of the premier's homes was okayed over his head; request for repairs was submitted before Oct. 7
Chief accountant said to be quitting after maintenance work on one of the premier's homes was okayed over his head; request for repairs was
I will be going to Ra'anan tomorrow so you will all have a break from me.
Fwd: I am more and more frightened as to what is happening here.....what happens to Palestinians, happens to Israeli Arabs and now also to those on the left 4.2.2024
Natalie Ginsburg <[email protected]>bject: I am more and more frightened as to what is happening here.....what happens to Palestinians, happens to Israeli Arabs and now also to those on the left
To:
I went with Gershon Baskin to a meeting of the peace organizations at Givat Haviva. I was sorry in the beginning as I had did not feel well and was rather dizzy but I am glad I went though I am very disturbed at the stories we heard about people being called in for questioning for wearing "suspicious" clothing, having written a post or having mentioned the word "shakied" ... which today is identified with being a terrorist.
What did not improve my mood was that our Palestinian friends in Hebron who were not allowed to harvest their olives and not allowed on their land find that the hill has been taken over by the settlers. There are 20 people in the family, all of whom have lost their jobs and have not worked since the war. All these years we visited them and celebrated Ramadan together and helped with the olive harvest. None of them have ever had a problem before. So we are trying to send them money.
And to add to the dark mood because of some of the stories we heard, there was also the story of Ellen's neighbour, Rami Matan, who is a hero of the Yom Kippur war. A retired colonel of 73 It reminds me of Jews who fought in the First World War and died in the Holocaust because they were Jews. You will probably say I am exaggerating but when a man of 73 who is ill and lying in bed with a temperature of over 39.9. They overturned the house. He is accused of writing graffiti against the army which his son says is a lie......and if he did....that is why he is treated as a terrorist. Today there was another post that he had been called in again for questioning.
I cannot find the story but one Arab nurse found herself fired after a colleague had been annoyed that she had blocked her on face book
This is a picture of four activists. The men are from the south. The parents of the one man were killed by the terrorists and the other man also lost family. And they still support the fight for a peaceful solution.
In the third photo is Warda Sada whom I have known for many years in the peace movement. At the end of the PDF you read about how she was fired....... But also about what other Arabs are going through. One woman
The young woman holding the hat is a teacher at a school. The hat as you can see has on it the Palestinians colours and also the magen davied. She was wearing it at a demonstration and this police officer started shouting at her to take it off and she refused. The morning of the conference she came late as she had been called in for questioning as a supporter of Hamas. But she said the questioner had been very polite and she wasn't scared. But can you imagine someone being called in for an article of clothing?
On the news they keep speaking of freeing thousands of terrorists but Gershon says that there are basically a few hundred who are really terrorists and many of them are women and children them are imprisoned for throwing stones, and, which should also speak to South Africans who were against apartheid, there are a few hundreds who have been imprisoned without a trial. And this pdf of the 82 year old woman who was arrested with her caregiver. She suffers from Alzheimer.
Women make peace were also at the meeting. I heard that they are candidates for the Nobel prize. They have done a wonderful job of joining Palestinians and Israeli women and have thousands in the organization. Machom watch has only a few hundred and having started over 20 years ago many of our members are no longer young enough to be as active as they were or have died. But I think that we have done much more over the years in actual fact as have the villagers' group.
And for just some light amusement...two young demonstrators last night
And this is the sign we walked with last night.
"The voice of our sisters calls out to us"
The two women who are not interested in this are the wives of Netanyahu and that of Herzog. With all we hear of what is happening to the kidnapped woman and young girls it is shocking. Netanyahu is ready to fight to the last two men......his two sons. One of whom is in Miami with two bodyguards who, I heard last night, are changed every two weeks.
The sign says, "We send you our sympathies" from Miami. Although she is possibly in Israel. He certainly is not and no reporter ever asks Netanyahu if he feels no shame.
had visitors for lunch yesterday and then went to a concert at Mormon university. It was very good although I am not like the rest of my friends who are very erudiet music is concerned. I just let it flow over me. But the compere gave us a good laugh when at the end of the talk of turning off your cell phone, etc, she said,"If there should be a siren, please stay in your seats,' and after a few seconds, said "And pray" ....a laugh we all need in these hard days.
UNRWA worker said to take part in kibbutz massacre, another helped kidnap a woman
Top US diplomat hails 'strong' proposal for deal on table * Qatar says 'good progress' made * 11 rockets from Gaza set off sirens in central
I put in all the links and PDFs for those who want verification of what I write.
I wish I could send you a video of this paragraph. If a Moslem had to throw a grenade on a synagogue or church I can imagine
"While the call to prayer was broadcast last night in the village of Boudros, in the center of the West Bank, one of the soldiers asked his friend to film him throwing a stun grenade inside a mosque in the village while the faithful were being called to prayer".
Last night at the demonstration. so true....that only when the kidnapped are returned, can the rest of us start to heal ourselves.....and if they are not returned there will be a scar that will never be healed. After the Shoah there was Israel....but Israel without the captives. It is not only the immediate family but all those and the circle grows wider with everyone you speak to. No one can understand what we are going through unless they have lived through the last months.
This is what Gershon Baskin wrote today.
" I have written this before and I will write it again especially after the decision of the International Court of Justice. More than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza will remain our neighbors even after the end of the war. Israel destroyed and erased a large part of Gaza. There is already a vacuum of governmental authority in most of the territory. The humanitarian crisis is enormous. The residents of Gaza need food, clean water, medical equipment and medicines, tents, blankets, warm clothing - and they need it urgently. Hamas boycotts a significant part of the aid entering Gaza. Israel should allow aid to enter from the north, center and south of Gaza under Israeli military escort to ensure that the aid reaches the people who need it and so that it is not confiscated by Hamas. This is not only the right thing to do, it also serves Israeli interests vis-à-vis the world which believes that Israel's intentions in Gaza are to remove the Palestinians from Gaza forever. It has nothing to do with the condition of the abductees. Denying aid to the non-combatants of Gaza will not improve the condition of the abductees at all. The threat of stopping aid will not affect Hamas in a positive way - it can directly affect the condition of the Israeli abductees. So let's do the right thing now regarding aid to Gaza."
And if you think of this as a democratic country then read this about Cassif and also the PDF about another Araba citizen. Then of course there is the Israeli teacher who was sacked for his views.
As MKs debate Cassif’s expulsion, he rails against ‘Kahanist’ attempt to silence him
Far-left legislator's actions in support of genocide accusations at The Hague may not cross 'criminal threshold,' legal adviser says; 'I never supported Hamas,' Hadash MK declares
Far-left legislator's actions in support of genocide accusations at The Hague may not cross 'criminal threshold,' legal adviser says; 'I nev
How the army lies in the face of a video....these people are the ones who will bring Israel to disaster. I would like the settlers to go back to Gush Katif but under the same circumstances as the people of the south were when they were attacked by the Hamas......with all the soldiers and much of the weapons of the area taken to defend the settlers of the occupied areas while they were partying in Arab villages. And as for the item below......when the army defends them they are so courageous.
Two children carrying Israeli flag slip under Gaza border fence amid settler activity
Incident occurred as activists planted trees in closed military zone; adult heard telling kid to 'plant the flag well'; IDF says children didn't cross into Striphttps://www.timesofisrael.com/two-children-carrying-israeli-flag-slip-under-gaza-border-fence-amid-settler-activity/
Do you ever watch Netanyahu's eyes when he speaks. He is just like Kahane was....so shifty. And he is trying his best to get the blame shifted on to others. I listened to him last night for once and was amazed at how he manages to lie. Last night he had the chutzpah to attack the families, saying that they are demonstrating against him.....not one word of empathy. This while, one son hangs out in Miami with his two bodyguards who should be ashamed of themselves and come back to serve, and another whom it is not known if he is serving.....and if he is it is probably in a safe place. Check out the PDF of would you send your child to serve in the army.....why does no interviewer ask him the question where his sons are. I really do not understand it. That is the question that should be asked each time.
,
12 ministers call to resettle Gaza, encourage Gazans to leave, at jubilant conference
15 coalition MKs also take part, with many dancing at right-wing confab attended by thousands; Likud minister appears to endorse coercive measures to promote Palestinian emigration
11 ministers, 15 coalition MKs present amid dancing at right-wing confab attended by thousands; Likud minister appears to endorse coercive m
And if this at the bottom is true, this war will go on and one with no end.
US, Israel believe up to 80% of Hamas tunnels intact after 114 days of war – report
Israeli official estimates 20%-40% of network damaged or put out of order during war; military reports 'high-intensity fighting' in Khan Younis, skirmishes elsewhere in Strip
Israeli official estimates 20%-40% of network damaged or put out of order during war; military reports 'high-intensity fighting' in Khan You
So if up to now we have wiped out 20% you can work out how much longer the war can go on.
This is the tent of the families in Balfour. And below the tent nearer the house of Netanyahu when the weather is good. How home in one of the busiest streets in Israel looks as if it is being protected against tanks.When there is a demonstration not only are all the streets blocked but the main road has barricades one after another all the way down to the junction. I said to one of the police.....do you think we are going to come in in tanks? His intelligent answer was that it is to protect us from drivers who want to knock us over. I restrained myself from asking him if he really believed the nonsense he was spouting.
I was pleased to hear that many countries are stopping contributions to Unwra as some of their people took part in the attack of the 7th. I understand the families who are not allowing aid to be sent to Gaza though I wish we could help but seeing that most of the goods are going to the Hamas.....I actually went with the Baskins.....and Gershon also is not optimistic....but we did not realise that in the bad weather they were opening a bigger tent at Balfour an, finding no one there went home. But yesterday as I wrote a taxi driver put me right. They keep asking us not to forget them.
These were the golden days when Eliezer Yaari and his story of Machsomwatch came to Cinematheque. As someone said last night the demonstrations at Balfour were the days of the Garden of Eden and now we are in the Garden of the Beasts.
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Meet Talli Gotliv who is accusing the Mossad (Secret Service) of everythng she can think of. " Following the series of social media posts, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar issued a strongly worded letter against Gotliv, accusing her of endangering the lives of security services personnel and their families by publishing their personal details." and this at a time when we are told that this is not the time for enquiries into the actions of the army. Are you surpised that we are so suspicious of everything that we hear.
Shikma Bressler calls MK Tally Gotliv's unfounded claims linking her to October 7 events 'a collection of blatant and malicious lies,' urges
Shin Bet chief said to urge state commission be formed ‘now’ to probe Oct. 7 failures
Ronen Bar reportedly tells ministers public 'desperately needs this,' as does agency to put an end to 'lies and conspiracies' claiming it had foreknowledge of Hamas attack
Ronen Bar reportedly tells ministers public 'desperately needs this,' as does agency to put an end to 'lies and conspiracies' claiming it ha
There are those in the Likud who seem intent on endangering us more and more......there is Almog Cohen..Almog Cohen, who is listed in the seventh slot of Religious Zionism’s party list, posted a photo over the weekend referencing the alleged assault on his Facebook page. Cohen,a former riot police officer, can be seen kneeling on three men in the photo, who are tied-up and lying on the ground.Cohen captioned the photo saying that “those on the ground remember what I did in the army,” adding a winking face emoji. Just to give you a taste of the PDF below. But he did more damage when he started to report on the army finding babies hanging on a clothes line, about a woman who went through the Holocaust and gave her name......all this was denied by the army spokesman and yet he again repeated this to foreign networks. There was no such horrible scene and there was no woman by the name he gave from the kibbutz. Was what the Hamas did not bad enough for him?.
And then there was the woman politician Silman who claims that she was slapped by a demonstrator though there is no video evidence. True, two people claimed they saw it happening. Maybe it did, but the police immediately arrested the woman. She was held overnight in the women's jail and was so stressed that she fainted in the witness stand and though there was a doctor in the courtroom, he was not allowed to go to her and in the end she was taken by ambulance to hospital. I don't know what the outcome will be but I would suggest they take both of them and the two witnesses to a test of truth.....forgottem what word is.
Woman detained for allegedly assaulting Minister Silman at Rehovot shopping center
Police say 52-year-old activist knocked phone out of environmental protection minister's hands and slapped her; suspect denies allegations
Police say 52-year-old activist knocked phone out of environmental protection minister's hands and slapped her; suspect denies allegations
and after that check this out....so on the one hand the police rush to attack and on the other hand in the army the extremists are taking hold more.
Oh and the cherry on the cake is that the extreme elements want to go and settle the Gaza strip. I said to a friend that I wished they would do so and maybe they would understand what those in the south went through. But my friend said to me that if the settlers did go there we can be sure that there will be all the protection they need from the army. Not as happened on the 7th October where practically all the soldiers in the area were sent to protect the settlers holding a party in Hawarra and I am sure that then every soldier serving in the area will be armed with guns if not cannons.
Thousands of right-wing activists are getting ready to resettle Gaza after the war
'Gaza City will be Jewish' says one leader; core groups of potential residents being assembled; MKs from all parties in Netanyahu-led bloc support the burgeoning movement
'Gaza City will be Jewish' says one leader; core groups of potential residents being assembled; MKs from all parties in Netanyahu-led bloc s
I awoke on Tuesday or was it Monday to the news that 20 soldiers had been killed and sat down to write and could not. How much can I go on repeating myself? It is so hard to think that overseas people are living normal lives. I know I have not responded to family birthdays and memorials but I am finding it harder and harder even to go out to lectures. I have no desire to do anything. I have sat looking at the computer for over an hour now trying to bring myself to write. I am trying to keep myself occupied but I have to force myself. And I feel guilty because I have a pension, a warm flat, food and money and many do not have that. I have had people for supper this week and also tomorrow I have invited people but have to force myself to do anything. The day is very stormy but I will try to go out later to be with the families at receiving the shabbat. I have been sitting opposite the computer for an hour and each time I find another reason to get up and do something else. I know that part of my problem is not having family here and in the last months I have felt it more and more. I also woke up after a terrible dream of one disaster after another and could not get myself together.
Towards Shabbat.
All day I sat in the room. I kept sitting down at the computer and could not write. I don't even know what I did. I am having visitors tomorrow for lunch and part of the time was preparing. But I could not settle down to anything. The day was miserable. Very cold and continuous rain. I knew that the families were having a kabbalat shabbat but did not have the energy to get up and go but in the end I did. I took a taxi and when we came to the place where I thought they were having it near the home of Netanyahu there was no one there. Last night also after our lesson I had gone with the Baskins and also there had been no one there. But I had a wonderful taxi driver and he said no he would show me where they were, which was at Balfour. Later Tom, a young woman who is in charge of the tent, told me that when the weather is good, they stand closer to the home but when it is as bad as it was today they stand at Balfour. One of her relations is a captive. I was so lucky in the taxi driver, Momo and I phoned afterwards to thank him again. We both loathe Netanyahu but he thinks we should go on with the war. I do not. I think that, as in the beginning, we should first see to getting the kidnapped back, though I dread to think in what condition they will come back, the men too.
I sat in the tent. I looked at the people, such sad eyes. No one even tried to smile. You cannot imagine. It started pouring with rain. They are amazing.Immediately there were umbrellas for those standing outside. People did not leave. It is good that they moved the kabbalah towards Shabbat. There was a different feeling about it. But I don't think that I have ever had such a sad feeling and yet it left me uplifted. You, who live in the diaspora, have no idea of what we go through every day. When you open the news with ....."the army reports" such words and you wait to hear how many and pray there will not be a name you recognize. That is why I can no longer react to birthdays or days of yischor.....mourning . I feel there is a barricade between myself and the world.
I went to strengthen the families but came back feeling strengthened myself and am now sitting down to write. I got a lift with a family from the neighborhood and we spoke of how the demonstrations at Balfour had been child's play. How we never imagined the terrible situation we would be in. The driver, the father of two young men who are now in the army, reminded me of how in the time of Lebanon and Begin how people had sat outside each day and held up the number of soldiers who were killed. I think this is what we should be doing that now.
There is despair, then there is beyond despair.......and beyond that? Is there any such word in the English language? That is what Shlomit and I felt this afternoon. You want to know why? See the photos at the bottom where the soldiers are so busy they have no time to deal with Palestinians
The sign reads that the humanitarian help given to Gaza gives gasoline to the enemy who kills us.
There were not many people there for the GSS. Only two men waiting for their sons and they had been there for more than two hours.
The man who had been working his land with his tractor standing next to him. Settlers came with soldiers and simply took it away. Now the army and the police claim they know nothing about it.
Another man who has a license to take old cars .....the army came and took the cars and the license.
We opened our eyes at the man from Abu Gosh who had been called in by the GSS. Hanna Barag said that this was not the first time that she had heard of such a case. He says many of his family live in Bethlehem and he is often there which may be the reason. Maybe that the GSS is trying to get information from him. We will wait patiently for our turn.
A brother-in-law came with his brother's wife.....the brother is working and does not want to lose his job. For six years the family had been trying to get a hearing for family reunification and the next day they had an appointment with the Ministry of the Interior. Almost like a fata morgana, a soldier actually appeared at the window and started screaming......and I do mean screaming.....had he reached a higher crescendo, he would probably have managed to break the glass of the window.....that there was no one in the offices to deal with him. We both wished him and every other soldier in this DCO that one day, if they go overseas.....to Hague? they will receive the same kind of treatment.
There was no way we could help any of these people though we tried every phone call we could think of.
Going back, we saw three soldiers sitting at a table in an empty field. Maybe that was the reason that there was no one to help this man. What can be more important for the state of Israel than guarding an empty field. No, we did not drive up to ask them why as they would probably have shot us or arrested us.
And at Walleja just waiting to close the village again.
Captors treating hostages like sex dolls, former hostage says; another survivor notes some female hostages no longer getting periods, prays
I am sending this out not in a general letter.
Show this to friends who maybe do not believe in the cruelty of Hamas.
It reminds me of what happened to women in the ghettos.
Only read this if you have a strong stomach.......what we have been scared of. It is awful but this testimony should have come out long before. How can we look the families in the faces....how will be receive these poor women if they are ever returned. Maybe Netanyahu should ask himself how he would feel if his daughter and two sons were there. He has no shame.
'Right now someone is being raped in a tunnel': Knesset hears of Hamas sex crimes
https://www.timesofisrael.com/right-now-someone-is-being-raped-in-a-tunnel-knesset-hears-of-hamas-sex-crimes/
I feel slightly more normal today as, at bottles, I told the story of my hearing aid....which I am going to order a new one today. One friend who helps me in the morning with the bottles. She said her son had been lying on the sofa when the cat jumped on top of him. His glasses went flying and they never found them again evn after he moved and completely emptied the house. Another friend said how, after a visitor had left, she found a bracelet which turned out to be that of the visitor and was not only valuable, but a keepsake. She put it away in a safe place.......and never found it again.
I am going for an eeg this week. Irit is going with me. I don't know why but they demand that I bring someone with me. After that I have decided I will go to my doctor again about not being able to eat.....it is not only not wanting to eat but even food I used to really enjoy is like dust in my mouth. Not that I think he can help me but I will do tests again. I just took the last Corona test. Sometimes I wonder if it is not a delayed reaction from the Corona I had about two months ago but hard to believe.
I went out to supper with friends.....all we could talk about was the war. Yesterday I went to see "One life" about Sir Nicholas Winton wbo brought nearly 700 children from Germany in the Second World Wars and for years no one knew anything about him. It is a very uplifting film about a man who in the end saves 1000s of Jews and in all modesty. And only in the last years of his life was this brought out because of a scrap book that he had kept of those terrible days. But both I and a friend of mine sat there and thought of the children of Gaza whom no one can help .Just as so many thousands of Jewish children who died with no one to help them. And yet so many of my friends who helped Palestinians were so disappointed that they got no expression of pain because of what happened at the beginning of the war. But this also is part of it .And we forget what they have gone through all the years of the occupation.
Not the best of books to listen to at this time and place but plenty of reasons to think and compare. It could be written about Israel today and I can only pray, not about Israel in the future. Netanyahu...what can I say. His rise to power was by democratic means but what is happening now is far from democratic. The way the police are trying to stop the demonstrations, the attacks on , not only Arabs but Jews, who do not agree with the government and who demonstrate for its downfall, who show sympathy for Gaza....look at what is happening to Arab society. Read about Lucy Harish whom " Education Ministry Withdraws Funding ofJewish Event Over Arab Israeli Host..." A woman who represents mixed marriage cannot represent Jewish culture' said the ministry about journalist and host Lucy Aharish, who is married toJewish Fauda star Tsahi Halevi; the Israeli council that hosts the annual event to 'promote a pluralistic,progressive and free Judaism' demands the ministry to retract its decision. Nuremberg Israeli style. Just the first three PDFs should give you the idea. Surveillance there is
more and more of that, as you can also see here.
By the way when you read the book you see how much anti-Semitism there was in the American government at the mind. And this is also what Netanyahu has caused to happen to Jews in the diaspora......only now the anti-Semitism that was so open then and has been latent in the last years, had been given the opening to express itself openly.
I travel on the bus and train and see the young soldiers and it pains me as I wonder how many will be alive at the end of the period which Netanyahu keeps telling us we will have to fight, which seems without end. Every morning when I wake up to hear that another soldier has been killed I think of Billy the Kid who put another notch on his rifle for each man he killed. I wonder how many notches there have to be in Netanyahu's chair before it will collapse. But horribly it seems that two of the worst leaders we have, he and Trump, will be re-elected.
As for not allowing the Palestinians in the occupied areas to work in Israel......the government wants to bring in foreign workers. The |Palestinians are in ghettos. They cannot get out to work and yet, only today, 10s of illegal workers have been found in Israel. CYNTHIA, read what I sent in answer to your question about israeli don't be surprised. How long do they think they can leave people to starve and die of thirst and be attacked daily by the settlers? No one could be surprised at the attack in Ra'anana. So the PDF don't be surprised is so true. Many Arab Israelis know that the truth but they do not only watch El Jazeera. But then, who are we to speak when so few Israelis have any idea of what is happening on the West Bank or care. People ask, will the Palestnians eventually just erupt. How can I when in the atmosphere of today I can imagine them simply being shot at as they come out of their villages. As it is. They are so threatened by the settlers that they hardly dare to leave their houses.We get continual requests for help, for food. One does not know where to turn. Villages have become ghettos.
For most Palestinians, October 7’s savagery is literally unbelievable. Blame the TV news?
Al Jazeera and others largely ignored Hamas atrocities, bolstering distrust of Israeli accounts; one poll found 97% in West Bank deny the monstrous acts committed against civilians
This is a story which I doubt will be published overseas
Father of fallen soldier: Terrorist decapitated my son, tried to sell head for $10,000
And the government, besides not making real efforts to bring them back also is not giving the support it should, delays giving them financial support. So hard to believe.
One terrible fear which people are speaking of more and more is the terror that the women who have been raped may be pregnant and if they are not brought back soonit will be too late to be able to stop the pregnancy and the thought leaves one sick and pained. The question is not only how they can be helped afterwards, but what happens if Hamas does not free them but keep them because of the babies. I haven't seen anything in the papers but have heard it on the tv and people are speaking more and more about it. And even after, if ever we do get our people back, how many will still not be found of even their remains and how many people will go down their graves wondering.
Personally . I made a soup which I blended and drank, and together with the shake I don't have to worry about eating. So yesterday I had out of town guests and this evening I am going to see the family of my old friend, Tammie. Every time I go past her house I miss her. Tomorrow we are going to meet with our friends, the nuns. We call ourselves the sister group. The last two days it has been pouring. I was supposed to go out with the rabbis for planting but the weather was so bad I called off. In any case I can't help them. I hope to see Ivan and Tarna tomorrow night. And this evening Nir of Varda brought me soup which Vita had made
I no longer see any reason to send help to Gaza much as I sympathize with what they are going through and that the situation is shocking. But if the Red Cross is not allowed to see the hostages or even to get medicines through to them, then the time has come to say to hell with the international criticism and stop it. Enough to see a father whose son needs his medicines desperately crying. And I blame our government. Stop saying what you are trying so hard (not) to do. Stop the fighting for two weeks and demand that in those two weeks the hostages should be returned and after that the deluge. But it will not happen. Netanyahu knows that once the fighting stops he will be brought to court and Hamas is not interested either. It should have been done in the beginning before any fighting started. Today I heard a woman in the shop saying she is not sure if the demonstrations....those which we are still allowed to do.....do not weaken the government and I wanted to ask her what government?
And the Hague terrifies me. Not so much for our leaders, many of whom deserve it, but for you, my family, in South Africa. Jeremy Korbyn, who has never been a lover of Israel, will join the prosecution. In the meantime we are giving the prosecution food for the accusation by our racist and brainless politicians. (PDF) and their statements such as to bomb Gaza, etc. etc. Shaw said South Africa presented a “distorted picture” of comments made by Israeli politicians on the war in order to establish genocidal intent by Israel. The trouble is that you cannot open the news here without one of other politician making such a report. And this also made me laugh, Talk of ....stroompie ek sal nooit weer van jou water drink nie....little stream I will very drink of your waters again. The nomination of former top justice Aharon Barak as a judge in the case, despite his demonization as an 'enemy of the people' by the Bibi camp during the long months of the judicial coup. Israel's president, Isaac Herzog, not only argued that the whole population of Gaza was responsible for Hamas, but signed bombs for good measure.
Today they are praying at the Wall for the hostages.....I don't want to be sacrilegious....but it is probably of more use than turning to Netanyahu.
I am horrified at the fact that a commander ordered his forces to fire at a house where there were hostages. First the hostages, then the soldiers. He is a murderer in my eyes. The same as the soldiers who shot at the escaping hostages. First the finger is on the trigger. l Look at the first PDF.
Gazan photographers joined in October 7 lynching, raiding of Israelis - You can check this out on the Jerusalem post.
What is so scary is that the little bit of democracy in Israel is being torn away. Even the Women Wage peace who wanted to demonstrate together with Stand with us were banned from demonstrating, supposedly because the police can not protect them. Unless Ben Gvir means that his police cannot protect the demonstrators from themselves. Something reeks to you of Russia or other such countries.?
I said to Gershon after listeningto his speech below that he speaks such sense and that is why the people who should be listening to him do not. We were talking about this latest decree of Ben Gvir and he said that the time may come when we will simply have to go against the law. Terrifying. I wish I still had two legs.
From Gershon Baskin:
https://omny.fm/shows/kan-english-podcast/could-arch-terrorist-marwan-barghouti-be-the-savior
This, as one of my friends in SA used to say, makes the mind boggle. Light relief?
Secret tunnel under Chabad NY Headquarters, not what you think
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1qj5yi00a#autoplay?utm_source=ynetnews.com&utm_medium=Share&utm_campaign=mail&utm_term=h1qj5yi00a&utm_content=Article%20Top. The streets of Jerusalem weep with the families; Bring them home now. On Sunday at Nofim we as the rest of the company, at least those who care, will stand for an hour at 11.00. The streets weep and we weep but in Caseira and Balfour the family of bloodsuckers smoke their cigars and drink their light champagne.
What is happening on the West Bank is unbelievable. Well on the West Bank I am reminded of the pogroms which Jews underwent. They have no justice and no one to turn to. They must feel like the Jews did at the beginning of the Hitler era. I did not have the strength to listen to the broadcasts. I prefer to read but when you read, as the PDF of Hebron, you do not have to speak of genocide to feel that Israel has gone a far length from the days of 1963 when I first came here. We were a different people and, with all the political differences, there has never been such hatred and division as today though maybe old timers would not agree with me.
The agony of those who are missing....when anthropologists have to be called in .(PDF) We still do no know if some people are missing, captives or dead. I am also thinking of those who have to deal with the situation but themselves were not directly involved.....people of Zaka have already spoken of the trauma they are under. People who once searched for the past now search the earth and bones for the present. And if you look at the article about the movie made by Hamas, should not someone in intelligence have raised an eyebrow or a question. So let us hope that the authorities will take note of Israelis hearing drilling, feel shaking amid West Bank terror tunnel fears.
“I felt like there was an earthquake far off, like the bed I was lying on was moving and sailing,” said Baruch Ben Neria, a resident who rep
I know it sounds weird but I cannot eat. I take a bit ....it tastes good......then I look at it and could throw in into the bin but I cannot throw food away. Now I understand my poor mother when she was ill and I tried to get her to eat. I just eat so as to keep going. I taste the food and know it is good but cannot enjoy it and when I have finished the plate I just feel relieved that I have something in my stomach.
There are 15 cases of Corona in Nofim. It does not bother me. I do not go where I have to wear a mask. There is just so much one can take
Saturday I went to a meeting of the Combatants but this time there were no Arab Israelis present. The previous night many Israelis had all met at a village out of town, a larger group than I have ever seen. I did not gothe Friday as I wanted to go with the rabbis for planting. The meeting gave one some hope. One of the men said that he had volunteered for Magen Davied for 25 years. He was called in because of his posts on facebook and warned that he either had to stop posting against the war, etc. or leave. He put down his keys and left. That is the attitude here today so that people are scared to speak out. I am also careful of speaking with friends about the war. Do we really believe we are going to finish Hamas off.....that we can leave Gaza empty and ruined . I am so torn....why do we go on giving aid to Gaza when the Red Cross can not even not visit our families. How can we have any faith in the United Nations when the offices of Unrwa have been used to aid the Hamas?
My friends who took sick children to the hospitals from Gaza tell me that some of them no longer want to do so. They say that they did not hear a word against what happened in the South. I can understand their feelings especially as amongst those killed and taken hostage many had helped the Aziatiem. But on the other hand most of them only watch Aljazeera and I don't know how much they are aware. But it is still a bitter feeling.
I just wish that this damn government of fascists and lunatics would call for a ceasefire and get the hostages back. But I don't see it happening. But at least they should try and call for a ceasefire for two weeks. for example, and to have the hostages back. Because what are they saying....then we will go back to fighting?
After I had been to the meeting with the combatants, I went to the Saturday demonstration in Jerusalem even though I was exhausted. I stood there as we sang Hatikva, looking at the young woman who had spoken, who had seen hervparents murdered and her brother is now a hostage. I saw how, as we sang hatikva and got to the part of the "the hope of 2000 years" how hard she found to stand there and control herself. I just wanted to go up and hold her.
At night I had to stop myself writing on facebook as I do not want the Ben Gvir's police coming for me at night. If it is true as it is written in the Bible that Exodus 34:7 says that God “[visits] the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation. That is what I wish for Netanyahu, Sara, the blond bitch and his nothing son, Yaier. May there be nothing left of this family. May they, for all their remaining years, know no more happiness but only the pain of the families of the kidnapped, the pain and fear of the kidnapped , the pain of the families whose children have fallen in this war, the pain of those on the West Bank who are attacked daily, the pain of those evacuated from their homes both in Israel and Gaza. One hears nothing of the son, Avner but I hope that he will not carry on the bloodliine of this family who have caused so much pain and blood.
The only hopeful note I found in the media is about standing together which I also support....it is a good message in these hard times and I am taking it to the meeting today of the combatants in Beit Jala which I am going to
This I also found interesting.....Netanyahu can join the club when he leaves Israel
Children of senior Hamas officials live the good life far from Gaza
https://www.ynetnews.com/magazine/article/s19yh3cwa?utm_source=ynetnews.com&utm_medium=Share&utm_campaign=mail&utm_term=s19yh3cwa&utm_content=Article%20Top
As Hamas torched their home, mom told her daughter: ‘I am sorry, we are about to die’
Danielle Aloni, abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7, speaks about capture and how she strived to take care of herself and five-year-old Emilia during 49 days of captivity
Danielle Aloni, abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7, speaks about capture and how she strived to take care of herself and five-year-old Emilia durin
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The cartoon I sent in my last letter showing the ministress! tramping on soldiers....see the PDF...it ties up with the High court ruling.
South Africa ties up with the Don't blame the gatekeepers.
I often get questions which I do not quite know how to answer and that is why send the PDF.s
It is a very sad day. Veronica phoned me this morning to tell me that Uta's mother had died after a long illness. I spoke to her just a few days ago and she knew she was dying and was so brave. I am glad that I had the opportunity of meeting her, even if only for a few days and since then we have been in touch all the time. I often thought of her when I was writing my letters and wondering what she thought.
Then yesterday too my friend's grandson was mortally wounded. He has particles in his brain and there does not seem to be much hope. It was only the other day that I had supper with her and Robbie and she said that she does not sleep at night. That it would break them if something happened to him .
I can think of nothing positive happening in my life. Then I read of our president whom I realise does not have a brain in his head. He signs a rocket which is going to kill people as if he were writing on someone's bandages leg or knee? And then there are people who laugh at their sufferings.
It is getting harder and harder to write. woman Orit Stroch. a settler, who wrote demanding to know whether the pilots who said they would not report for future reserve duty had refused to take part in the war? By the way she is also the one who said that no doctor should have to treat anyone from the gay community if it conflicted with their religious beliefs. And for support which Netanyahu gave the general who replied to her read the attached
Outrage as far-right minister suggests some pilots refusing air support for Gaza troops
Settlements Minister Orit Strock widely reported to ask at cabinet if some in Air Force are failing to carry out their duties for ideological reasons
Settlements Minister Orit Strock widely reported to ask at cabinet if some in Air Force are failing to carry out their duties for ideologica
Today the Jerusalem municipality came to the tent of the families and took down and tore all their signs and a bunch of hooligans came past screaming that all the families are traitors and caused the death of their children and the war and that piece of shit whose two sons cower behind them is quiet. That is Israel today of Netanyahu.
Patriarchate: "Armenian clerics in Jerusalem are fighting for their lives."
After a long interval because of the war, we had not been to the DCO and decided to go. We were surprised to find about 15 men there. They had all been summoned by the ISA, the secret service. One indignantly told us that he had to pull his trousers down to his ankles and did not know why. They also told us that the Satmar cult comes into their neighborhoods with the Palestinian flag with no problem. They were all very pleasant.
We then decided to see what is happening at the entrance to Beit Lechem from road 60. Until the war the road was completely open but this is the way it looks now. We stopped a short distance before the checkpoint.
Shlomit got out to photograph and immediately a soldier came running up demanding our IDs. We told him we only have to show IDs to a policeman and when he said he was also a policeman asked to be shown identification. Also , as we were on the main road of the town and not in the area of the checkpoint, to be shown proof that where we were standing was a closed army area. He claimed that we had photographed him and said that it was easy to identify him....I leave that to your judgement,He said he would phone the police and we said to be our guest. I said to Shlomit that it was just as well we had not driven off before we saw him approaching us as in this day and age he would probably have taken a shot at us. But all's well that ends well....He had evidently phoned the representative of the DCO. He knew us from former days at Etzion and we showed him the photo which he did not ask to have deleted and after a short and pleasant conversation continued on our way home.
Today we went to plant trees with one of the farmers from Burin. Not that I could help but I go to identify. This is how the others went up. Her ladyship went up by taxi. i don't think it is the help which is important but that we come. We left early though as the Palestinian authority phoned and said that the area was getting restless and we should go and then too soldiers and settlers started coming down the mountain. But people bought a lot of his olives and olive oil. I asked where his family was ...usually it is very joyous there and the house was so empty but he said it was too dangerous from them to be there so they had gone to live in the village.
But then we also have this......I remember how Israelis said what animals the Palestinians are that whenever there was an attack on Israelis they would go out to celebrate and give out sweets. Evidently Israelis are also keen to learn from Palestinians as this is what some soldiers did.... singing and dancing in the street and giving out sweets at the death of one of the Hamas. Not that I feel any grief for him but this is not the Jewish way. But today I no longer think that there is a Jewish way. I think we have learned only too well of how to hate and how to conduct pogroms. They should remember the Peisach seder where God rebukes his angels for singing when the Egyptians drowned.
and this caricature appeared in one of the far right newspapers. If it had been from a newspaper on the left or a journalist/ whoever published it would already be sitting in jail/ If you want to know what this is about look at the pdf below. It is too complicated for me to go into it.
Sorry I wish I could write something positive
Henrietta Szold 2
Migdal Nofim Room 708
Kiryat Hayovel
Jerusalem 9650230
Israel
Tel 0528-375593
Nofim Tel 972-(0)2-6580222
Home 972 (2)6418387 no messages
It is a very sad day. Veronica phoned me this morning to tell me that Uta's mother had died after a long illness. I spoke to her just a few days ago and she knew she was dying and was so brave. I am glad that I had the opportunity of meeting her, even if only for a few days and since then we have been in touch all the time. I often thought of her when I was writing my letters and wondering what she thought.
Then yesterday too my friend's grandson was mortally wounded. He has particles in his brain and there does not seem to be much hope. It was only the other day that I had supper with her and Robbie and she said that she does not sleep at night. That it would break them if something happened to him .
I can think of nothing positive happening in my life. Then I read of our president whom I realise does not have a brain in his head. He signs a rocket which is going to kill people as if he were writing on someone's bandages leg or knee? And then there are people who laugh at their sufferings.
It is getting harder and harder to write. woman Orit Stroch. a settler, who wrote demanding to know whether the pilots who said they would not report for future reserve duty had refused to take part in the war? By the way she is also the one who said that no doctor should have to treat anyone from the gay community if it conflicted with their religious beliefs. And for support which Netanyahu gave the general who replied to her read the attached
Outrage as far-right minister suggests some pilots refusing air support for Gaza troops
Settlements Minister Orit Strock widely reported to ask at cabinet if some in Air Force are failing to carry out their duties for ideological reasons
Settlements Minister Orit Strock widely reported to ask at cabinet if some in Air Force are failing to carry out their duties for ideologica
Today the Jerusalem municipality came to the tent of the families and took down and tore all their signs and a bunch of hooligans came past screaming that all the families are traitors and caused the death of their children and the war and that piece of shit whose two sons cower behind them is quiet. That is Israel today of Netanyahu.
Patriarchate: "Armenian clerics in Jerusalem are fighting for their lives."
After a long interval because of the war, we had not been to the DCO and decided to go. We were surprised to find about 15 men there. They had all been summoned by the ISA, the secret service. One indignantly told us that he had to pull his trousers down to his ankles and did not know why. They also told us that the Satmar cult comes into their neighborhoods with the Palestinian flag with no problem. They were all very pleasant.
We then decided to see what is happening at the entrance to Beit Lechem from road 60. Until the war the road was completely open but this is the way it looks now. We stopped a short distance before the checkpoint.
Shlomit got out to photograph and immediately a soldier came running up demanding our IDs. We told him we only have to show IDs to a policeman and when he said he was also a policeman asked to be shown identification. Also , as we were on the main road of the town and not in the area of the checkpoint, to be shown proof that where we were standing was a closed army area. He claimed that we had photographed him and said that it was easy to identify him....I leave that to your judgement,He said he would phone the police and we said to be our guest. I said to Shlomit that it was just as well we had not driven off before we saw him approaching us as in this day and age he would probably have taken a shot at us. But all's well that ends well....He had evidently phoned the representative of the DCO. He knew us from former days at Etzion and we showed him the photo which he did not ask to have deleted and after a short and pleasant conversation continued on our way home.
Today we went to plant trees with one of the farmers from Burin. Not that I could help but I go to identify. This is how the others went up. Her ladyship went up by taxi. i don't think it is the help which is important but that we come. We left early though as the Palestinian authority phoned and said that the area was getting restless and we should go and then too soldiers and settlers started coming down the mountain. But people bought a lot of his olives and olive oil. I asked where his family was ...usually it is very joyous there and the house was so empty but he said it was too dangerous from them to be there so they had gone to live in the village.
But then we also have this......I remember how Israelis said what animals the Palestinians are that whenever there was an attack on Israelis they would go out to celebrate and give out sweets. Evidently Israelis are also keen to learn from Palestinians as this is what some soldiers did.... singing and dancing in the street and giving out sweets at the death of one of the Hamas. Not that I feel any grief for him but this is not the Jewish way. But today I no longer think that there is a Jewish way. I think we have learned only too well of how to hate and how to conduct pogroms. They should remember the Peisach seder where God rebukes his angels for singing when the Egyptians drowned.
and this caricature appeared in one of the far right newspapers. If it had been from a newspaper on the left or a journalist/ whoever published it would already be sitting in jail/ If you want to know what this is about look at the pdf below. It is too complicated for me to go into it.
Fwd: Mount Herzl, Yaak cooks, a movie about a different way of education, a family from Kfar Aza in tears. rabbis and soldiers 30.12.2023
I
It hits you in the guts every time you go past Mount Herzl and see the car park packed and also the parking at the hill itself. Private cars, buses and the ambulance. Day or night. The last months. And our prime minister? Sits safely with his two ..... I wish I had a word for them and his blonde bitch.ut oje
I have invited Irit and Yaakov to go with me to a concert of which the proceeds will go to the evacuated families of the various kibbutzim. Irit told us Yaakov went to buy a new pot in which to cook and he took it because In addition to koshering, many new dishes and utensils require immersion in a Mikvah before being used. I was surprised as they are not that religious but he is cooking for families who are. He also checked if there are vegetarians, etc. or people who are sensitive to various additions. A pity the government is not as giving as the people. When his butcher heard why he was buying such a large amount of meat he told him there was no charge and the same with the man from whom he buys the herbs and Gindi gave one time boxes, etc. Don't. know why this came out in blue
An amazing movie I saw was Radical about a teacher who comes to a tiny town in Mexico and applied an experimental teaching method which he saw online from Su gata Mitra, an Indian professor. The students had been amongst the worst in Mexico. One of his students was Paloma Noyola Bueno...her father scavenged scrap metal for a living. Check this out. The teacher knew she had potential but only realised it when her father wanted her to leave school as he said that she must realise she had no chance in life and came out to bring the teacher a telescope which he thought she had taken from the school and she had made it herself. Go on , read it, it will give you a break from my usual letter.
https://latintrends.com/is-paloma-noyola-bueno-the-next-steve-jobs/
No wonder Israeli Arabs are so careful of what they say nowadays but not only they.....read underneath the PDF why a Jewish teacher is being suspended. She is lucky she was not called in by the police and taken to the police station, blindfolded and handcuffed.
There is a gigantic cover up for the soldiers who shot and killed three kidnapped victims who had escaped.......the army states man should turn red as he explains how this sort of thing can happen......even when the battalion commander shouts at the soldiers not to fire! All the spokesmen forget the basic law which is often more honoured by being ignored....that you do not shoot an unarmed soldier....and we also know that this happened in the 1948 war. We criticize when this happens in other wars and nations but we are evidently given a dispensation to do as we wish. First the Arabs, now the kidnapped and the next in line will probably be one of the demonstrators......and...there too it will be easy to find the excuses.
How an Israeli airstrike on a Hamas commander also killed scores of civilians - The Wall Street Journal. My cousins sent it to me and it makes horrible reading. But so does and unlike those who try to deny this took place, many of the incidents were seen by those hidingWhat did the newsreport of the way women were raped and burnt alie? I do not want to send the report as it is just too awful. Soldiers are being killed every day. We read of the death too in Gaza. Friends write to me about Dresden and Hirsoshima. You are to remain humane. But all of this comes back to Netanyahu and our own hubris that terrible day. And no end in sight. One day there is going to be a debate about the hostages. The next day they are at the end of the list and I have put in a PDF about Gaza so that you can know the depths of hell the other side is going through.
Yesterday a four rday march ‘Everyone! Now!’: Kfar Aza teens march to Jerusalem, calling for hostage deal....they were given little publicity and the post in Times of Israel did not do justice when they wrote of a "group"
I had difficulty getting through the crowd so that I could see but people are very helpful. I found myself next to a woman with three small children who asked me to move slightly so that the children could see their mother on the stage. I asked where they were from ...Kfar Aza. At first they were composed but then the littlest one started crying and they all did and were crouched on the ground holding one another and I stood there with my two sticks crying with them. Amazing that after what had happened to them they were able to host such an event. All along youth groups joined them. How can we have such an autistic government?
We hear that many of the ultra orthodox have now been trying to join the army. Well read this about what their rabbis call our soldiers....garbage. No Israeli soldier is ...... What I would like to know is how many of our fascist leaders in the government have children and close family members in the war.
So yesterday I saw Elaine and family and in the evening went to Chana Stein and family which was a pleasant break.
From: Natalie Ginsburg <[email protected]>
Date: Sat, Dec 16, 2023 at 8:44 AM
Subject: Fwd: A post for a shiva call, yeshiva boys should not concern themselves with the fallen or wounded, three kidnapped men killed by our soldiers..but read the two paragraphs at the end for something good
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Natalie Ginsburg <[email protected]>
Date: Sat, Dec 16, 2023 at 8:44 AM
Subject: Fwd: A post for a shiva call, yeshiva boys should not concern themselves with the fallen or wounded, three kidnapped men killed by our soldiers..but read the two paragraphs at the end for something good
<
k
Be careful of posts asking you to go to shiva calls for families who are sitting alone. I went today to find that this was not so at all. Yaakov and I had seen the post on facebook saying that the family of a fallen soldier were sitting alone and so we decided to go. There were so many people there and I asked a woman what she knew of the family. She said she knew me and had seen me all over. She told me that the family were Jerusalemites and the grandfather a teacher at one of our well known schools. The family did not know who had put the request on facebook. and were angry. They said at this time they just wanted to be alone with family and friends. Another woman told me that the same thing had happened with an Ethiopian family who were furious as they said that they had the whole community around them. The way to hell is paved with good intentions. I went with Yaakov and, in that case, unknown to him before the grandfather had been a teacher of one of his sons so we felt it had not been in vain.
One of the ultra-orthodox rabbis was asked if a yeshiva student should go to at least one funeral of a soldier .....definitely not because that would interfere with his studies. The interviewer then asked him if a yeshiva student should at least visit one wounded soldier and the reply was definitely not because it would upset him and he would not be able to concentrate on his studies. If that is Judaism ......we are definitely not one people. To them we are only cannon fodder who are there to work for them and if necessary to die for them.
"The fact that Israeli audiences don't see images from Gaza means that journalists are not doing their jobs," she says. "They have to show the images. Hebrew-speaking Israelis watching television news are not exposed at all to what's going on in Gaza. We don't see the atrocities, the rubble, the destruction and the humanitarian crisis. The world sees something completely different.
Several viral videos of Israeli soldiers behaving maliciously in Gaza have emerged and created headache for the Israeli military as it faces
I was invited to supper with my friend, Dario, who works with one of the human rights groups.He had messaged that Flor was not there but I thought she was out of town. I asked where the dogs were and he told me that Flor, his wife, had taken them and gone back to Italy. It looks as if both he and Jan will also be leaving soon and, when I said goodbye, I looked back at them and wondered if I would ever see them again. They say they will be back but it does not sound as if that will be for long.
Last night was a terrible blow. I am not surprised and I have my own views on that. I know that there is friendly fire and it happens in every war.But in this case three hostages who somehow managed to free themselves came out of hiding.....no description is given of course and the first thing the army said was that our soldiers had thought that they were suicide bombers......maybe... but surely they would have come out calling in Hebrew and surely, as in other cases, the soldiers could have aimed at the legs...or at the knees as the snipers proved they were so good at doing on the West Bank where they left so many young man crippled. I can only imagine the agony of the families. So near and so fatal. I wonder what the soldiers who shot feel like. I can not judge them as I do not know what it is to be in a position where your life is in danger every minute. I do not envy them what they will feel like in the future. But I think the PDF below about the shooting of a Palestinian in his back is also a reminder of how easily soldiers shoot a Palestinian.
This is what one grandmother did. Read about Zachi Hanegbi. His mother, who also had been in the government. is reputed to have said at the time of the captivity of Gilad Shalit, that she as a member of the government opposed it, but had it been Zachi she would have fought like a lion to have him released whatever it took. Her son is, evidently, not on the line of thought. And the government blocked an attempt to bring back the hostages. Also PDF
Grandmother of hostage Roni Gonen knocks on ministers’ doors during Hanukkah
Iranian-born Dvora Leshem, 87, spoke to a different politician each night of the holiday rather than lighting candles with her familyhttps://www.timesofisrael.com/grandmother-of-hostage-roni-gonen-knocks-on-ministers-doors-during-hanukkah/
Last night I heard booming but have got used to it and it was muffled. I heard some announcement here at Nofim and so went out. I did not hear the siren though two friends said that they saw the rocket going over. If I were not supposed to be in charge of the shelter I would not have gone out...Yehuda says that is probably why they made me in charge as they knew it was the only way I would bother to go out. Anyhow, everyone was already going back to their rooms. I heard it had fallen near Beit Shemesh but was not worried as they said no damage had been done or anyone hurt. Otherwise I would have phoned Devorah.
Reservists serving in elite Israeli Air Force units say they were ordered to steer clear while Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu visits their base on Tuesday.
The reservists in the Shaldag and 669 elite units, whose soldiers are taking part in the fighting in the Gaza Strip,alleged that the directive is intended to silence their criticism of the premier. He only meets with the regular soldiers who are 18, 19 years old and probably brainwashed or do not want to get into trouble.
Palestinians from villages are not allowed into Israel to work? So many things are at a standstill as a result. So why are the Palestinians allowed into the settlements to work there? Because God is protecting the settlers? See the Pdf below.
Yesterday I forced myself to walk again in the wadi. I have been walking at least 4 kilometre most days but yesterday I again got up to seven ....sometimes it is just a matter of time and sometimes I find it so hard to do anything. But it seems that my cats in the last month have forgotten me as the only one to come to meet meet me was the ginger one with the cut off tail and she got the whole tin!!
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At one of the demonstrations which is opposite an hotel which houses the evacuated people I saw this picture....washing machines have been brought into many of these hotels for the people to use and this was on the balcony. If you managed to open the picture, you will see the woman bending over. Not a good picture but if you look closely you can see her bent body. I cannot imagine what it must be like to have lost your homes and memories ....and I think of those in Gaza at the same time. How can one not?
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I just saw this post on facebook: Sometimes there is a light.
Today a particularly exciting event took place at the David Hotel in the Dead Sea. Kibbutz Bari people who have been staying at the hotel for over two months decided to pamper the hotel employees who have been doing everything for them for two months. For an hour the workers sat quietly and ate a pampering dinner served to them by Barry's friends.
Barry's members wanted to honor the hotel management and their employees.
Below are some of the words of the blessing
written to the hotel employees:
"Where will you find more dedicated and helpful employees like David in the Dead Sea?
People whose smiles never left their faces. More than anything, they are wonderful people, they have always been there for us, we love them and appreciate each one of them and I wish one day we will be able to be the giving party.
We are grateful from the bottom of our hearts.
Members and members of Kibbutz Ari
December 2023"
And this too. If this man can hold on to hope and humanity then so can the rest of us who are in despair. It does not matter whether he is realistic or not....but if he can hope for a solution we have to be there for him And now I will force myself to dress and walk and then I have invited some new people from Nofim and others for a brunch.
Daughter murdered by Hamas, Israeli tech-billionaire maintains hope for two-state solutio
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Jordan Valley, 11.12.23 Dafna Banai and Tamar Berger (photographe
Jordan Valley, 11.12.23 Dafna Banai and Tamar Berger (photographer)
A general strike was declared in the West Bank and we were supposed to take the blind Miriam for eye injections at the Turmos Aya but we thought the eye hospital would be closed. We decided to check and it was open but it was too late to go to Fasail and bring Maryam. So we moved on.
In the area of the pumps between Gitit and Makura (the bath of Gitit) the fields are being plowed and across the road we met a young shepherd. Maher, who lives east of the pumps since the day he was born. 2 families. In the summer they move to Akbara and in November they return to the Bekaa.
We continued to the Bekaot checkpoint area, to meet a young shepherd from the Abu El Kabash family for whom I arranged a SIM card so that he could call for help if Moshe attacked him and/or take pictures. The sim broke down and I couldn't find out with Pla Pon about the problem. But he is afraid to go through the checkpoint, lest the soldiers shoot him. We reached the checkpoint to cross to the other side. The reservist, with long hair and a nostril, said that it was impossible to pass because it was forbidden to enter Area A. We told him that we were not entering Area A (which is 5 km beyond the checkpoint) but were meeting someone 200 meters away. He waved us through. We returned a little later After half an hour and the soldiers stopped us on the claim that we had entered area A. 2 military jeeps with 8 soldiers arrived with sirens. "You jumped the whole army" the soldiers were angry "You breached the checkpoint" the soldier who first allowed us to pass lied. Half an army messed with us for an hour, as if There is no war in the world. Finally a police car arrived and the officer confirmed that the place we were staying was not Area A and released us with a warning not to go there again.
At 11:30 we arrived at the yellow iron gate in front of Roy. This gate was placed a few months ago on the road leading to Atof and serves as the only way for the residents of the north of the Bikaa to bring water. Let's start with the fact that Israel, which took control of a land it doesn't own in the Jordan Valley (and in the entire West Bank), took control of all the water sources in it and gives it to its settlers while all the pastoral communities are water engines. What does water motors mean? that even the cisterns for storing rainwater were wasted by our glorious army. In recent months, the State of Israel has been building a new, wider water pipeline to bring more water to the settlements. The Palestinians wanted to connect with him. And refused, of course.
With no choice, the Palestinians travel with tractors towed to water tankers to bring water from the territories of the Palestinian Authority. Their lives depend, literally, on that water.
Last summer, the army placed a gate on the road to Atof, from where water is brought, and raised the dirt walls that block the motorized passage from the valley to the center of the West Bank - to a school, a doctor, and even shopping and water. With the outbreak of the war, they closed the gate and stationed soldiers there, and since then bringing water, the most basic human need, has become a nightmare. For days the soldiers prevented the Palestinians from crossing, and all the communities remained thirsty. At first, they still stationed soldiers at the gate, and the soldiers sometimes opened and other times they didn't, depending on the mood, or according to their political views. Sometimes 3 days passed when the rusty water tanks drove to the gate and returned empty. Whole days that thousands of people were left without a drop of water!!
We arrived at 11:30 and found 2 tankers hitched to tractors, a truck/tanker and a feed truck for sheep on one side of the gate and a water tank on the other side. The gate is locked and there are no soldiers. The tanker from the western side of the checkpoint arrived at 7 in the morning and went to the water, but when it returned at 8, it found the gate locked. The others, on the eastern side, arrived on the 8th. Everyone waits in the sun for hours.
On the gate is a phone number for emergencies. The Palestinians call - they don't answer (apparently they recognize the numbers from other days) Tamar called but as soon as she said it was about the gate, they hung up and then didn't answer. All of our inquiries to the Ministry of Defense, the Bekaa Center, the HML, were not answered.
At 12:30 the soldiers arrived, made a turn by the gate, saw the waiting people and left. Only an hour later, at 1:30 p.m., they came to open.
First of all, the soldiers drove us away from the place on the grounds that we were disturbing them, but a few minutes later a transit arrived from which about 15 Chabadnik boys got off, pulled out loudspeakers and boxes of donuts, entered the checkpoint area and began to sing and dance with the soldiers while being completely oblivious to the suffering caused here. They respected , by the way, us too, but not the Palestinians.
Then the soldiers announced that they would only stay for half an hour. The Palestinians begged to be given at least an hour because checking the certificates, and the road and pumping the water require at least an hour. did not help. When the tankers returned with the water, at 2:15 p.m., the gate was locked and the soldiers had long since left.
The Palestinians had to wait again. And again, desperate calls to the army and the military headquarters, and only at 6:30 p.m. did they open the gate again. The Palestinians waited 9 and a half hours just to bring water.
Depriving people of water is an unequivocal war crime. Water is life and preventing it is equal to murder. The misery of a rich and armed army from head to toe that does everything to abuse an innocent civilian population, their children, sheep, is a shame for all of us. Think how hard it will be for us if, due to a malfunction, our water is shut off for a few hours! There is no justification for the fact that the Palestinians will not be connected to the water network and will have to wait at the checkpoint for many hours to get water. Shame!!
And we are responsible. Our silence makes it possible!!!!
After that we continued to Farsia. On the way we stopped near the place where Tarek lived and on 10.10 he and his neighbor were evicted by the settler Uri and with the help of the police who arrested him when Uri attacked him. After repeated attacks, when in one of them the settlers urinated on his tent, when he could not bear it he left his property and moved to the place Safer. 15 more families like him since the beginning of the war.
When we arrived, the Jordan Valley activists were in the field because representatives of the Rotem settlement came to harass the shepherds and the army came to help them. Before we left, a call came that settlers were stealing goats from a pasture, near Shademut. The Jordan Valley activists went there and the police also arrived. Most of the goats scattered in the area and were eventually returned to their owners, but the police did not stop or even check the identity cards of the settlers. Full cooperation.
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Dalal Abu Amna, a world-renowned singer, was arrested for a post that read "There is no winner but God." Since her release, she and her family suffer severe harassment and regular demonstrations in front of their home. The police claim: the protest does not need approval https://mekomit.co.il/ps/131012....had she written God there would have been no problem....after all he is Jewish but she wrote Allah. She is only one of many Arabs who are being targeted and many others are too scared to open their mouths any more. Soon we will be too.
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