February 2, 2016
You understand why I am so worried about this situation, this atmosphere of hatred and censorship and threats. I listen to Bibi warning the Palestinians that they will be punished severely if they build tunnels into Israel but we already know the tunnels are there and they don't expect anything but punishment from us. And they don't have anything more to lose. Their dignity will remain intact ONLY if they do whatever they can to sabotage us. So we should be doing the opposite of threatening them. We should be quietly getting rid of the tunnels and saying nice things to them about how we have to talk. (I don't see any way out for the people of Gaza at all. They would never fit in to a Palestinian state equation, Egypt doesn't want to have anything to do with them, and they would never become part of Israel. Can you imagine how Begin and Sadat fought over Gaza? YOU take it! NO, YOU take it!)
As I often reminisce, I was in Gaza many times in the '70's. Every once in a while a bit of Gaza comes into my mind - an orchard that an old man tells me has been in his family for generations. He shows me how he irrigates the trees, the stones around the roots to protect, to absorb and keep moisture. how did we converse? i don't remember, but it certainly wasn't in English, and he couldn't have known Hebrew, and i didn't know Arabic...
February 3, 2016
Sometimes the Carmel market is full of people and great merchandise, sometimes it is quieter. Today we were there just after the radio informed us about a big terrorist attack. The policewoman who died was one of two who stopped a mega-attack with their bodies. Hadar Cohen z"l died from gunshot and stabbing wounds - she was 19 - and managed to shoot before she was killed. Three terrorists were planning to blow up a large group of citizens and were stopped by a human shield of two teenage girls.
February 4, 2016
One of the highlights of my elementary school career was the concert series we got to go to a few times a year. The way we learned how to pick out the melody, the layers, the development of an emotion - unforgettable experiences. Today we took some of our grandchildren to a children's concert, and even though it was not as educational it was still fascinating. At least for me.
I guess I don't get out enough
February 5, 2016
Quick quick go outside! The weather is amazing, even better than yesterday. and tomorrow will be terrible. just awful. thunderstorms on shabbat. Me, I've had one foot out the door since i woke up. I'll be back to tell you about it when the sun goes down a bit.
At 3 p.m. the sun disappeared and clouds filled the skies. Things change so suddenly around here. That's why we have to keep watching the news.
February 6, 2016
Because a storm was predicted for later in the morning, we took a long walk to the pharmacy very early. i would have thought that it would be empty - i mean a local pharmacy that's only allowed to be open because sometimes on saturday people get sick - what's to do there? Well, it was crowded and full of action. Shabbes!