israeli politics

survivors' Guilt - 11.26.25

I can’t be the only one who feels a connection between our extreme need for the return of all the victims with ‘survivors’ guilt.’    How many times have I felt it myself – the sense that it could have been me, that I did not do enough to protect these people.  I even recognized the signs – the explosive balloons and occasional flying over the towns in the south that signaled the ongoing hatred, clearly tests of our weakness.  But I demonstrated only against the fact that our voice was being taken away, not that the government wasn’t functioning to protect us.   

survivor’s guilt – 11.26.25 Read Post »

israeli politics

inheritance - 11.25.25

i keep getting asked where my dual language Yiddish/English book, Inheritance, can be found, but the address kept changing.  So now it’s final. The new site of Beit Leyvick is up, and here is the address:

ירושה – INHERITANCE | קרן אלקלעי גוט | בית לייוויק

And while you’re looking that up, check out some of my songs on SoundCloud 

or Bandcamp

https://panicensemble.bandcamp.com/track/imaginary-insects

inheritance – 11.25.25 Read Post »

israeli politics

"Singer" - 11.24.25

Last night we saw the play by Peter Flannery staged by the Cameri Theater about a holocaust survivor who learned from the camps to be evil.

The staging is amazing, the acting, singing, music, etc. is remarkable – and the number and variety of the cast is surprising: 

an orchestra, a band, dancers, singers, and of course prominent actors.

But the woman behind me, who left at the break, said soon after the curtain rose “nur dos hat mir gefelt.” (this was all that was missing in my life”)  and I agreed.  Greedy, evil Jews.

The image of Jews is changing – we’re going back to Goebbels’ description of us.  And we are going along with it.

 

https://www.cameri.co.il/eng/The_Cameri_Theatre_productions/show%7Cfwsa%7C11222/Singer

“Singer Read Post »

israeli politics

up North - 11.23.25

We attacked the Hizbullah neighborhood today – made holes in the forth and fifth floor of an apartment building and killed one of the top men.  The guy was Iranian and had a price on his head from the US government but I’m terrified because my granddaughter is up there, my college buddy is up there, and there will be reprisals.  Sooner or later.

I am beginning to think it is not surprising that I am losing my memory – it’s always been fuzzy but now sometimes it’s very sharp and sometimes it disappears.  But there is so much to look out for, so much to manage, so much to worry about, no wonder I was late to the osteopath on thursday.  No wonder I can’t myself together to erase the irrelevant in my computer.  There are so many fronts that threaten our very existence, and while we are watching and worrying about one of them, another one pops up.  

up north – 11.23.25 Read Post »

israeli politics

where to begin - 11.22.25

Periodically, I get scared.  At least lately.  This began before Oct 7 when I watched the Gazans standing along the fence and threatening everyone on the other side, and has gone on since then.  Much of the activities of the pro-Palestine movement had this (scaring me) as a goal from the beginning, and it works.  The fact that we may be going to war with Lebanon again because of the continued Hizbullah attacks is less scary to me than Mamdani and his ability to rally so many people around him.  By criticizing the Park Ave Synagogue’s program of Nefesh b’nefesh as a violation of international law after announcing his ‘protection’ of the jews, he seems to be getting close to alligning himself with the group that has placed $100,000 prices on the heads of Israeli academics.  I mean Jews who shut up are safe Jews but the others are dangerous.  I would be inclined to be a ‘safe’ Jew because I value my head, but I really don’t like being pushed around.  

At the same time, I have always believed in a two-state solution.  If the Arabs had accepted this in 1948 and if we had been wiser in our choice of leaders we’d be in a better place today.

where to begin – 11.22.25 Read Post »

israeli politics

He leaned over me
like he was preparing a speech—
so careful, so deliberate,
touching my shoulder
as if it were a district
he meant to flip.

He whispered that my ideas
were beautiful—
dangerous—
the kind that pressed against his skin
and made him burn a little.
I mistook that heat
for solidarity.

In the half-light,
his hands mapped me
like contested territory,
claiming borders
he would later deny existed.

He said he loved my passion—
my politics—
the way my breath quickened
when I spoke of justice.
He arched toward me
as though I were
a revolution he secretly wanted
to crush.

What a fool I was
not to notice how he echoed me,
every idea, every sigh—
a mirror tilted
to distort
not reflect.

I thought he was learning me.
He was studying me
like an enemy.

Now I understand:
he never wanted my truth,
only the shimmer of it,
the way a man might touch silk
before voting to ban it.

He said I believe you.
But that was foreplay.
The betrayal
was the climax
he’d been rehearsing
from the start.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

poem -11.21.2025 Read Post »

israeli politics

glorious day - 11.20.25

Maybe because I was sleep-deprived, maybe because my back hurt badly, maybe because my whole neighborhood is going to be torn down and rebuilt – throwing every shell-shocked pensioner into a hysterical fit – maybe because of all that that when we went to the beach today I got myself drunk on one weak beer.  The sun, the hummous, the water, the beer – all wonderful – all leaving me even less able to work than yesterday.

But happier…

you have to visit this country when it is supposed to be cold but there’s a heat spell.

 

glorious day – 11.20.25 Read Post »

israeli politics

stuck - 11.19.25

without my old computer I’m a little lost and keep losing my connections.  so i’ve been a bit uneven about writing here.

So I’m giving you a poem for today.

 

who i am

Do you know who I am?”

My famous friend tells

the seller in the market.

I love to hear her say it

because it is magic

how she opens all doors

and discounts purchases

in elegant places. She lifts her chin

as if addressing the air, or God,

but not the poor guide or salesman –  

and all her wishes are fulfilled.

 

Me, i am okay with anonymity,

My name should have been

that of my murdered grandmother,

but the registrar was hard of hearing.

and I made up names growing up,

anything to not stand out at school.

 

I was okay with my father’s name

and my first husband’s too,

I took my second husband’s name

only for tax purposes.   

 

But if you really want to know who I am

just ask the neighborhood cats.

They’ll say – she’s the old lady who feeds us.

 

 

stuck – Nov Read Post »