israeli politics

Today at my brother’s weekly Mishna lesson we got to this: 

Mishnah 5:18.  Whoever causes the multitudes to be righteous, sin will not occur on his account; And whoever causes the multitudes to sin, they do not give him the ability to repent. Moses was righteous and caused the multitudes to be righteous, [therefore] the righteousness of the multitudes is hung on him, as it is said, “He executed the Lord’s righteousness and His decisions with Israel” (Deuteronomy 33:21). Jeroboam, sinned and caused the multitudes to sin, [therefore] the sin of the multitudes is hung on him, as it is said, “For the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he caused Israel to sin thereby” (I Kings 15:30).

The responsibility of a leader is great.  I don’t know what I would do, how I would sleep at night.   The fact that our leader was supposed to come up for a criminal trial this week, but managed to get it postponed, seems to me to be a very bad example to set.  “It doesn’t matter what you do, but whether you get caught”  is not a good rule to follow.  

 

And to my mind, the responsibility of choosing a leader is no less great in a democracy.  

 

january 9, 2021 – Mishna lesson Read Post »

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we’ve got 2 weeks of lockdown for sure, and maybe a bit more.  People around here blame the weddings and schools in the religious sector and the Arab sector and say that if Bibi wasn’t so scared of losing their vote, we could have had a partial lockdown of these areas alone.  Had we not had agreements with Dubai, we might not have let people go in and out of the airport without testing.  The number of people who came back from Dubai with Corona was very significant.   Even more significant is the fact that the lockdown has enabled a postponement of the trial of Bibi.  It is pretty clear that the lockdown is the result of this final factor and the government easily led us to this.  We’ve been in such isolation anyway, so it’s hard to see much of a difference.  But the number of unemployed, the number of businesses that have closed, the number of people in financial ruin, has been so high and the current situation has finished them off.

january 8, 2021 – why are we in lockdown Read Post »

israeli politics

The last time I was in New York,  well over a year ago, our friends told us that the coup attempt we are watching now in the Capitol was inevitable given, the rhetoric of the president.  

Wasn’t anyone else aware of the possibilities of the results of such inflammatory language?  It’s impossible for me to comprehend that there was no back-up plan in case this kind of situation occurred.

 And it’s impossible to believe we will be able to stem these events in the near future.

I’m looking at the steps of the Capitol and remembering the first time I saw those steps.  A photograph of my father standing with the NY state senator.  Incredible pride in my father’s face that his case for Israel was being heard.  I have to find that photo.  It made me proud to be an American….

january 6, 2021 – it had to happen Read Post »

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In case you haven’t noticed, today is the day when we celebrate the Hebrew language.  How did I find out?  My 8-year old granddaughter learned about it in school and told me on facetime that she had learned about Haim Nachman Bialik today and his significance in the development of the language. 

So I made a point of listening to Avshalom Kor and his praise of the complexities of Hebrew.  My own difficulties with Hebrew stem exactly from that – that as the language of the bible that was revived only a century ago, each word drops you into a world thousands of years old.  I love that but it scares me – the depth of Hebrew… 

january 5, 2021 – Hebrew language day Read Post »

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Here we are almost past the pretend lockdown we’ve been in for almost 2 weeks and the rise in infection has become uncontrollable.  For the past weeks I’ve gotten great guffaws when I explained that I couldn’t go somewhere because of the closure and now they’re saying that even the vaccinating nurses are suspect.  We really don’t know how to stay away from each other.

on the other hand, I’m afraid I will be too scared to move when we’re all safe again.

 

 

january 5, 2021 – lockdown for real this time Read Post »

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I get it-you want to know how I’m getting the vaccine, when so many others are still waiting.  so here’s the order in my neighborhood. 

First, my son-in-law  and my daughter – because they are on the medical staff which takes precedent here. 

Then, the old people – like Ezi and me.  Almost all of my Jewish and Arab friends have begun the process.

If you’re too young, you can always hang around the vaccine centers and wait until there are leftovers.  After all, they can’t throw the stuff away if someone doesn’t arrive, so you get to be the depository for what otherwise would be wasted.

If you’re not ready to possibly be disappointed for a few days until this happens, you wait your turn.  Teachers are next – because if the teachers are safe the schools can open up and people can get back to work.  

Then the younger people can start – not yet.  

Two problems.  1.  we are buying vaccines at high speed but it isn’t fast enough.  even though we’re trying very hard and over 1,100,000 have started the process – they have to get a second shot for it to be worth it. 2.  we don’t have enough, so the process is slowing down.

Once we get past immunizing more than half of the almost 9 million people here, we can see our way to begin immunizing the Palestinian population. It is important that it happens as a concerted effort and that it happens soon.  Even if you are a racist you would agree that this is a high priority for all of us.  But I would add that there is no way I can be comfortable if my neighbor is in danger.

 

 

 

january 4, 2021 – who gets the vaccine? Read Post »