blog, israeli politics, my life in tel aviv

What a great evening! It began with a siren that Ezi assured me was not worth hiding from – “It’s pretty far enough away,” and I went into Bob McBarton’s zoom meeting with Adam Mansbach with my heart still beating double time. 

But the meeting about “The Golem from Brooklyn” was so much fun and yet so profound I forgot about the world outside, even when we spoke about the moral responsibility of power. 

Then the meeting was over and the news was on and another few barrages brought me back to reality.  

fun break Read Post »

blog, israeli politics, my life in tel aviv

There are so many people and places in trouble now, so many people displaced in this country as well as in Gaza, so many requests you are probably  getting for money. 

Probably the most urgent place is the Magen David Adom, the Israeli Red Cross.  Right now we’re in urgent need of medical equipment, supplies and so on.  

I must add that because we don’t have enough pathologists, and the bodies of October 7 were so defaced, the identification of the bodies and therefore the funerals have been painfully delayed.  There are still many people who are not sure that their loved ones are dead.  

Then there is the site for donations to the soldiers. money for sweaters, clothes, underwear…

And there are thousands more.

Here is one that you probably haven’t received, from Kuchinate a company of African women refugees:

Dear Friends,

We are writing to you with heavy hearts and in despair. The recent terror attacks by Hamas and the resulting war in Israel have shocked and saddened us all. In addition to our indescribable grief and loss, Kuchinate’s artisans and asylum-seeking community find themselves on the brink of a humanitarian crisis. Due to rocket attacks and other developments relating to the war, we have been forced to close our studio for the foreseeable future, and it is currently impossible to generate income through sales of Kuchinate products or by hosting workshops, which our women rely on to survive. As African asylum-seekers, they are unable to access any social benefits or emergency funds. Kuchinate is responsible for hundreds of asylum seeking women, who are now unable to provide for their children and families and will shortly face hunger, eviction from their homes and dire poverty. In a state of distress, we are turning to our loyal supporters for urgent help. Any purchase or donation, no matter how large or small, will make a difference.

In these troubling times, we stand with and support all of the innocent victims. We have decided to donate 10% of all our income to those affected by these tragic events. Your support will not only help sustain the vital work of Kuchinate but also make a meaningful impact on the lives of those who are suffering. Together, we can provide much-needed assistance to the innocent victims during this challenging period.

We would appreciate you sharing this email with friends and family, as we can use all of the support we need. Your generosity and compassion can bring hope and relief to those in need. We thank you for your continued support, and together, we can make a difference.

*Please note that any purchases made now will be shipped after the war subsides and postal services resume. 

Here is the website

There are some really nice things there but you can also simply make a donation.

 

some places to support – Read Post »

blog, israeli politics, my life in tel aviv, poetry,

Ronny Sommek

I Am the Severed Head You Do Not Know

My hair is more blond than the sand it rolls over

On my lips crowd words

sharp as the knife

that met my throat.

You who are mesmerized by my eyes,

put a chip on the wheel of fortune

that spins under the eyebrows.

Don’t ask my name and imagine my hands

hugging the body that was so beautiful

beneath my neck

and now cast upon the disgrace of the earth

as if it was no more than a banana peel.

The sun shone, the poet wrote,

and I am barely a model of darkness.

No more.

 

translated by karen alkalay-gut

 

poem Read Post »

blog, israeli politics, my life in tel aviv

Every time I open the faucet I think of the woman who can’t wash her hands, can’t cook, can’t drink.  The news here today is that they have plenty of water for a few weeks, and that my imagination has been influenced by the news channels abroad who are in turn influenced by Hamas propaganda. 

I don’t know who to believe, but I tend to go with the guys who are watching from here.  

And suddenly I wonder why they never used our knowledge about creating desalination plants.  It’s public, and there were certainly enough funds that were diverted into weapons.  We’re still being bombed all the time and we have to wonder to what use that money could have been made.

If you think about it, water is the main problem in Gaza. desertification; salination of fresh water; sewage treatment; water-borne diseases; soil degradation; and depletion and contamination of underground water resources.

But many of these people are descendents of refugees from Palestine in ’48, and have been taught for generations that their only happiness lies in my destruction.  Oh, how much easier it could have been, or could still be, if we could just talk to each other.  

and solve the water problem between us.

 

 

 

 

water Read Post »

blog, israeli politics, my life in tel aviv, poetry

Trying to Love

 

It’s arduous to think of others when you’re trying to survive,

to share bread with a stranger while your child weeps for food.

It’s arduous to think of others when you’re trying to survive,

 

It’s arduous to think of others when they threaten your life,

to stretch out your hand to a person while his hand holds a knife.

It’s arduous to think of others when they threaten your life,

 

My mind wants to write a poem that will teach me the way

My flesh wants to survive even it means others will die

My mind wants to write a poem that will teach me the way.

 

And I can’t write a punch line for this.

a failed poem Read Post »

blog, israeli politics, my life in tel aviv

For the past few years I have enjoyed the mingling of Arabs and Jews in Israel.  I love the proliferation of students, the constant encounters with a kind of people I had never really known before.  But in the past few days the tension has grown.   People worn out by the stress of terrorist rockets and the violence we’ve experienced have begun to fear every person who appears possibly to be an enemy.  We haven’t taken any responsibility for sheltering the Bedouin in the desert from the rockets – they have no sirens and no place to hide.  

That famous poem by Mahmoud Darwish works both ways.  We have to learn to “think of others” and so do they:

As you prepare your breakfast, think of others
(do not forget the pigeon’s food).
As you conduct your wars, think of others
(do not forget those who seek peace).
As you pay your water bill, think of others
(those who are nursed by clouds).
As you return home, to your home, think of others
(do not forget the people of the camps).
As you sleep and count the stars, think of others
(those who have nowhere to sleep).
As you liberate yourself in metaphor, think of others
(those who have lost the right to speak).
As you think of others far away, think of yourself
(say: “If only I were a candle in the dark”).

The parenthesis aren’t in the original, and I’m not sure about the accuracy of some of the words, but it really suits us all today.

racial tension – Oct 20, 2023 Read Post »