The view from my veranda

Drones, Houthis and Deif

19th July 2024

286 days of captivity in Gaza for 120 Israelis

Shabbat Shalom! I hope you are well.

In the early hours of this morning there was a drone attack on Tel Aviv by Houthis from Yemen some 2,303 kms away. One man died and there were several injuries. The Houthis may be known for their piracy and savage attacks on ships in their vicinity but the fact is that with Iranian backing they are acquiring sophisticated weaponry. Note that Israel has never threatened the Houthis in any way shape or form, apparently one doesn’t need a reason to kill Israelis.

Incredibly, it is 286 days since the 7th of October. 9 months since the savage attack on young people enjoying a music festival and the gentle folk of the Southern kibbutzim. 9 months of fighting a guerilla war in underground tunnels which were paid for by aid money and built to a very high standard with the cement that governments far away insisted that the Gazans needed to rebuild. 9 months in which the United Nations lied through their teeth, failed to do their job, promoted hatred through their teaching and ignored the fact that their employees were signed up members of the very terror organisation they were sent to deter. 9 months since the world ignored the rape of so many, 9 months is a very disturbing length of time.

In the meantime our kakistocracy continues to demoralise Israelis of all creeds.

The incredible bravery of the young women of the Nahal Oz surveillance base is known, many died and others were taken hostage, are still, after 286 days prisoners in their underground tunnel prisons, without seeing the light of day for 9 months, undergoing unknown horrors. All this is known to each and every one of us yet Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that he didn’t know that these amazing young women, in a base on the Gaza border, were completely unarmed, at the mercy of the drugged perpetrators of unbearable atrocities. During a meeting with the bereaved families of the surveillance team, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed he did not know that the observers had expressed concerns of an impending attack from Hamas. He also claimed that he didn’t know that the surveillance soldiers at the base on the Gaza border, all women, were unarmed. And he said he had no idea that many bereaved families had not been paid condolence visits by government ministers or Knesset members. How could he face the parents of those young women and lie? If he really didn’t know, why?

This Sunday the conscription of Haredi young men should begins. It is hardly the necessary numbers, just 1,000 on the first enlistment, many conditions have been introduced (no women on the base, free to pray whenever necessary etc) conditions that the rest of the IDF don’t need but there are many conditions that the regular soldier can only dream of!

It is 30 years since the AMIA bombing of the Buenos Aires Jewish Centre killing dozens of people in the Centre. Hezb-Allah/Iran claimed responsibility. Again and again, Hezb-Allah, with Iranian backing wreaks havoc, kills with no better reason than hatred of Jews.

Mohammed Deif, the evil mind behind all the activities of Hamas, including the savagery of the 7th of October, should be dead. We are really good at pinpoint killing of terrorists, it has worked for us time and again. Deif is like the proverbial cat with 9 lives and this is not the first attempt, but the question is, did this one work? Hamas claims that he is still alive but when you see the footage it seems highly unlikely that anything came out of the wreckage. However, I will never forget the story told to us by Canon Andrew White, who, perhaps 20 years ago while there was still a Christian presence in Gaza. Canon White was “invited” to the home of Mohammed Deif. As Andrew said then “When Deif invites you home it isn’t a choice, you go”. As it happens his welcome was warm but when they took Andrew’s blindfold off, he found himself in a beautiful room with a large armoured vehicle in the middle and the entrance to escape tunnels for a quick exit! Basically, this evil man had thought of everything. Which brings us back to the question, is he alive or dead?   

From the 26th of July we will see the most racist Olympics since those of 1936. The Paris Olympics threatens like a dark cloud over the Jewish participants, especially the Israeli participants, in both the regular Olympics and the Paralympics. Large areas of Paris will be closed off in a desperate hope to control any proposed terrorism. The Olympic motto is “Citius Altius Fortius”. These words mean Faster, Higher, Stronger and this year the word Community has been added in a weak attempt to hold back racism. Just as Jesse Owens ran in 1936 so our Olympians will be there. This El Al advertisement expresses all of the above, https://youtu.be/xiBEsQ5leEE?si=aXiFfXzGE70Nbqj9   

The generosity of most European countries has led to what should have been wonderful multicultural societies. Britain accepted and embraced many cultures and waves of immigration, many from the former Empire, but not only. The Jews, Indians, West Indians, indeed all of the above, wanted to be part of their adopted country, were very proud Brits while retaining their cultural identity. That was also true of the Pakistani immigrants who wanted to ensure a good education and standard of living for their children, but something happened in that second generation and some of those young people became radicalised, not by their parents but by other newcomers. As a Brits for my first 44 years (perhaps for ever) I waited for the rebound, for the understanding that there is a change in the proud, accepting British society, but it didn’t happen….. or did it? This week the law decreed that one TikTok terrorist, with extreme anti-Semitic, anti-Israel posts, be sentenced to a jail term for incitement to hatred.

Before we go to the good news, this discussion between Ben Shapiro and Douglas Murray may lift your spirits. https://youtu.be/iA9m3etVQLs?si=3C_craHsFm7w0omQ

Professor Gabriel Barkay was born in the Budapest Ghetto 80 years ago and his family emigrated from Hungary, after the war, in 1950. As with all immigrants his family had a tough beginning, but that did not stop Gabby going on the be an archaeologist of renown, the best in his field, the most important expert in Biblical archeology in the world. This week his peers chose to honour him in a beautiful ceremony in the Begin Centre in Jerusalem. The Begin Centre was the most appropriate site for the celebration since it was during the digging of the site, underneath the Scottish Church, that he found the famous Priestly Blessing, two small silver scroll amulets containing the priestly benediction from the Book of Numbers, discovered in 1979 in a First Temple Period tomb. These amulets contain the oldest surviving biblically related inscription discovered to date, dating back to the seventh century BCE and are to-date the only archaeological proof that passages from the Hebrew Bible as we know them were in circulation in the First Temple Period. As if that is not enough, Gabby is known as a brave seeker of the truth and when Raeed Salah dug out and threw away hundreds of tons of rubble containing archaeological treasures from under the Temple Mount, Gabby initiated the return of the rubble and then the sifting project began  https://tmsifting.org/en/  Proud to call him friend, a true friend to Zvi for the last 60 years

The Khan Theatre is housed in a Khan, a caravanserai, from the Ottoman period. I love going there because the main theatre is intimate and the small theatre even more so. The building is beautiful and the actors in the Khan troupe are all exceptional. We went to very different show this week, called The View of the Sea, Nof HaYam, and the entire performance was without words, not quite mime because there were “noises” but it was simply brilliant. The troupe often begin their performance at the Khan then take it all over Israel. We both highly recommend this one!!

We are off to have a weekend in Tel Aviv, after Zvi’s parliament and my visit to Rachel and family. We will spend Shabbat evening with Irit and Yitzik Lev and Shmulik and Eilata Ziskind  then stay over at Amiad’s home because they are conveniently on vacation in Crete!!

My choices of music this week are somewhat sentimental but sadly reflect our situation. First is Turn Turn Turn by the Byrds https://youtu.be/W4ga_M5Zdn4?si=9Ub41SLadEfA1BXz

The second choice is Peter Paul and Mary and Blowin’ in the Wind, Perer Yarrow is a great proponent for Israel to this day https://youtu.be/Ld6fAO4idaI?si=02j_z1QHoNic31kO

The last one is a purely selfish choice because I love it!! John Denver and Placido Domingo with Perhaps Love https://youtu.be/toYfeN0ACDw?si=hdZ938f-slorjT5A

May your week be filled with sweet music, kind thoughts, pride in who you are and of course, gentleness. Shabbat Shalom from beautiful Jerusalem.

Sheila