Please meet Bassem Eid

Erez Tzadok 

The Marker 29.03.2016

He is a Palestinian human rights activist, worked for seven years at B'Tselem, established his own organization, was arrested by Arafat and released after American intervention, and says what he believes the majority wants to say and can not.

I  have known Bassem Eid for two days. I met him yesterday for the first time in Philadelphia. We both came here as part of a lecture tour in universities and Jewish communities in the United States on the subject of BDS, the boycott of Israel and Israeli industry in Judea and Samaria.

I planned to write here about my impressions of university lectures and of course what I have to say on the subject, and I will do that in the next column, but after hearing Bassem Eid speaking at the first event in a Jewish community in Pennsylvania, I told him I wanted to interview him for this column.

I can start with what he has to say, but it seems to me that this is too interesting and important to be brought without a proper background. So let's start from the beginning. Who is Bassem Eid? His story is fascinating in and of itself.

Bassam was born in 1958 in Jerusalem, in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. The Jewish Quarter was, of course, under Jordanian control and 500 Arab families lived there. Palestinian families, Bassem says. In 1966, the Shuafat refugee camp was established in East Jerusalem, and the Jordanians evacuated all 500 families to the camp. Bassem still does not know the motive of this. The area remained empty until the Six-Day War, when Israeli paratroopers entered the Jewish Quarter and the Old City.

In the old city Bassem's family lived in a rented apartment. The Jordanian soldiers offered his father two rooms in East Jerusalem and 80 square meters of garden, which was an opportunity for a tailor, a mother who did not work and ten children. His the father did not know that from a normal house in the Old City with toilets and running water, they would be moving to a dismal place with toilets and running water at the end of the street, and a yard that they would have to fence for themselves. Bassem came to live in the refugee camp at the age of eight, and lived there for 33 years.

A neighbor of the Eid family dug a cave under his house. During the Six-Day War, the families came to the neighbor's house and all went into hiding in the cave. There was also a police station in the camp. The two policemen at the station came to the house and asked for women's clothes, in order to disguise themselves so their identity would not be revealed.

At the age of 41 Bassem left the refugee camp, married with two children. His two other children were born in his new home in Beit Hanina. In 2004 he moved to Jericho, where he lives to this day. The children study in Jerusalem.

He began his professional career as a journalist for Kol Ha'Ir newspaper in Jerusalem at the age of 28. He worked for Kol Ha'Ir for two or three years, and there he met the Israeli left, connected with Dedi Zucker from 'Ratz' (now Meretz) , Haim (Jumas) Oron and others.

When he read in any newspaper that an Israeli organization was being established to investigate human rights violations committed by Palestinians in the territories - later B'Tselem - he applied and was accepted. For seven and a half years, Bassem worked for B'Tselem. In June 1996, B'Tselem's administration held a lengthy discussion on the question of whether to deal with the violation of Palestinian human rights by the Palestinian Authority or to deal only with the violation of Palestinian human rights by Israel. Once the decision was made to focus only on human rights violations by Israel and to ignore Palestinian rights violations by the Palestinian Authority, Bassem immediately resigned.

His departure from B'Tselem took place two years after Arafat and the Palestinian Authority entered Gaza and the West Bank. Several months after his departure from B'Tselem, he established a human rights organization called "The Palestinian Group for the Protection of Human Rights." The organization's goal is to deal with the violation of Palestinian human rights by the Palestinian Authority. Why specifically by the Authority? I asked him. Why not all violations? Bassem says that the reason is that the violation of Palestinian human rights by the Palestinian Authority are far more damaging than those of Israel, because they come from the Palestinians' own administration.

"These are the people we fought to bring them to Israel," Bassem says, "and they violate our human rights all the time, it's not the PLO that liberated the Palestinians, it's us Palestinians who liberated the PLO from the Arab dictatorship."

He defines the BDS organization, which is trying to encourage a boycott against Israel and specifically against the companies operating in Judea and Samaria as "genocide of the Palestinian economy." A harsh and difficult sentence, but Bassem insists on it.

"A very important question is who appointed the BDS to speak for the Palestinians," he says passionately. "The BDS are in Europe and the United States, and they have no presence in the West Bank, nor in the Gaza Strip or in the Arab countries. These people want to continue their activities on (the backs of) Palestinian suffering, as do the United Nations and UNRWA (UNRWA - the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees). They all make a living on our backs and our suffering. All of these people have a political interest that there will be no solution for the Palestinians because it is their livelihood and work. They do not strive for a solution, but manage the conflict in order to stay. "

I asked Bassem what he thought should be done. Here, too, he had a clear and clear answer: "138 UN states recognized the state of Palestine in September 2013. Where is that state? I ask. Let someone show me this state. Those who really want to care for a Palestinian State, should start building the country before it is declared. They should build infrastructure, build institutions, build an economy, and solve the refugee problem. Resolving the refugee problem does not necessarily mean the 'Right of Return'. In general, there are not many Palestinians who believe in the right of return. It has become theoretical or declarative but impractical. What will solve the refugee problem? Budgets, infrastructure, investments and the economy. Before you recognize the state, you start building its economy. "

And what about Rawabi, the new Palestinian city, I asked him. Is that not building a city, building an economy? "No one can understand what Rawabi is," he replies. "You know that Qatar's flag is flying over Rawabi? Not the PA flag. Is it a Qatari city? Every time I go there, I see an empty city. I am told that in two months, 250 families will move in. Every time. The families who bought houses in Rawabi are Arab Israelis or Arab families who live in New York. No refugees have bought there and I doubt there will be refugees allowed to buy there, because refugees will lower the standard of living. As usual, the Palestinians don't like the refugees, although most of them are themselves refugees.

The Europeans Bassem says - if you are going to label products from the settlements, if you do not buy these products, we Palestinians will buy them. According to Bassem, there are quite a number of Palestinians who smuggle the products of the settlements into the Palestinian markets, and everyone knows, including the Palestinian Authority. Not only does the Palestinian Authority know, senior PA officials receive bribes to approve the transfer of Israeli products and Judea and Samaria products into the black market in the Palestinian territories. In fact, the PA has an interest in creating a black market, because it injects the intakes of bribes into it.

I asked Bassem if he was sure I could write this. Sure, he says. At this point I asked him how he was still alive. He says that the Palestinian Authority uses him. When it is claimed that there is no democracy in the PA, they point to Bassem Eid and say,' Here, he speaks against us and lives among us, and nothing happens to him'. I should point out that after he retired from B'Tselem and decided to deal with human rights violations by the PA, Arafat threw him in jail. After 25 hours under arrest, Arafat received an angry phone call from then-Secretary of State Warren Christopher, and Bassem was released. Since then, he has enjoyed American sponsorship, it is invisible, but it is there.

In conclusion, he says, "There is no Palestinian economy, and if there is, it relies on the Israeli economy. When Palestinian workers are fired because of the BDS, it is not only the dismissal of the workers themselves. The problem is that the children of the workers who have been fired are denied the right to health insurance. The Israeli are the only ones doing something about the Palestinian economy. The Arab countries are not trying to improve the situation, neither are  Palestinian businessmen. We are building the settlements and I say this without a problem because we have no other alternative. The Palestinians are a people who wants to live. Before we want self-definition, we want to live. No one cares about our economy and our lives, except for the Israelis. This is the truth, and I say it on behalf of most Palestinians who cannot speak because they will be harmed. I am immune, so I speak on their behalf. If you confiscate settlement products, you harm us, not the factories in the settlements. If you buy, we work; we make a living and we are able to live in dignity. That is what everyone on earth wants".

These are the words of a courageous man who tells a different and unique story, and he claims that he speaks for a lot of Palestinians, for the silent majority that wants to work, to make a living, and asks the world to buy Judea and Samaria products, in order to help them. For the silent majority that wants to live in peace with Israel, that suffers from the rule of the Palestinian Authority, but in the absence of the immunity that Bassem enjoys, refrains from speaking. For the silent majority who says, surprisingly or not, that the only country that cares for the Palestinians and their economy is the State of Israel.

The Casual Anti-Semitism of Millennial Woes

Scottish alt-right vlogger Millennial Woes has published a video in which he describes a British actress who is also a left-wing activist. He debates if she is Jewish, but decides it isn't relevant because she isn't obsessed with breaking, deconstructing and dismantling Western and British society, which he apparently believes is what Jewish academics do ('stereotypically', as he pointed out in reaction to my comment, as if this makes his way of thinking any better).

I don't think he even begins to understand how horrible this statement is. Where do people get these ideas from? I think in his case it is probably from Kevin MacDonald, an alt-right academic who has some really nasty theories about Jews, that he seems to have put together from misunderstanding some stuff about Jews and Judaism, some of it true, most of it exaggerated and taken out of context. 

Transcript for your pleasure:

“…The father wrote a TV series that was about Jews, that implies, that suggests to me that he himself was Jewish which therefore means that his daughter would be in some sense, I don’t know whether she would identify as Jewish, I don’t know if she would be considered Jewish unless the mother was. I don’t know. Erm, but, that’s kind of, I don’t know whether it’s relevant because the fact is this girl, this woman, her persona online today, doesn’t seem Jewish. It seems absolutely gentile, champagne socialist. Now, what I mean by that is she doesn’t seem obsessed with breaking things down. You know, in the stereotypical Jewish academic way. It’s not that she’s trying to destroy our society, on the contrary, I think she’s very much wedded to the comfort that she enjoys, erm, and actually, I think what she is obsessed with is not deconstructing, dismantling, Western society, or British society, I think she’s obsessed with being better than the plebs, being better than everyone, being more sophisticated, more educated, more informed, than everyone else, which I think is the prime motivation  for the champagne socialist.”

Revealing the Lies of 'Breaking the Silence'

Revealing the Lies of 'Breaking the Silence'

Gilad Tzweik |  07/05/2017

'Breaking the Silence' spokesman Dean Issacharoff says that during his service he beat up an innocent Palestinian. In response, his subordinates call him a liar. The organization refuses to comment on the matter

Recently, 'Breaking the Silence' spokesman Dean Issacharoff, a former brigade commander in the Nahal Brigade, testified that during his military service he beat up an innocent Palestinian till he bled, in full view of his soldiers. 'Reservists on the Front Line' organization responded with a video in which former fighters who served with Issacharoff ostensibly refute his 'testimony'.

"This is a person who comes and falsely accuses us of things that didn't happen," says Omri Seiner, the former company commander of Issacharoff, in the video. Later in the video, the fighters, some of whom served under Issacharoff, make it clear that the incident he describes "never happened" and call their former brother-in-arms "a liar". 'Reservists on the Front Line' also announced that they have asked the State Attorney's Office to consider investigating the 'Breaking the Silence' spokesperson for the serious acts he attributes to himself.

We contacted 'Breaking the Silence' several times for a response, but as of date of writing, no response has been received.

As we have reported in the past in 'Mida', 'Breaking the Silence' insists that the testimonies publicized by the organization are highly reliable. "The process of verifying our testimonies is very professional," says Ido Ibn-Jaz, a former artillery fighter who serves as the coordinator of 'Breaking the Silence''s educational activities. According to Ibn Jaz, verification of the testimonies in the organization is "meticulous, even geeky, and it is difficult to bring us down. To this day, I know of not one testimony of ours that has been found to be false. The most that has happened has been the uncovering of certain details unknown to the witness. But this happened innocently, a result of lack of knowledge, not out of a desire to lie ".

These statements are inaccurate. First of all, an absolute majority of the "testimonies" given are anonymous, often without context of place or time, making the task of refuting them difficult, if not impossible. Recently, the state asked 'Breaking the Silence' members to reveal the identity of one of the organization's 'witnesses' whose testimony raised suspicions of war crimes, but 'Breaking the Silence' refused to do so, claiming that the exposure might prevent additional soldiers from approaching them.

In cases where it was possible to verify testimonies published by 'Breaking the Silence', as in the case of Issacharof and his former subordinates, they often turned out to be distorted, twisted, devoid of context, manipulative, and according to the Israel TV program 'The Source', often even false .

Three weeks ago, for example, a former fighter in an armored infantry unit requested to refute the testimony that he and his colleagues   allegedly blew up the door of a Palestinian family in the belief that there was a wanted (Palestinian combatant) staying there, but turned out to be the wrong address. "I don't remember him being on the team he describes", claims the former fighter with regard to the testimony of the 'Breaking the Silence' activist. "It's just painful, and I'm fed up that someone who was one of us uses the unit for his own personal purpose, to denigrate as much possible, so that his organization 'Breaking the Silence' has yet another imaginary testimony". It should be noted that even if the testimony of the 'Breaking the Silence' activist was true, he did not describe an intentional act against innocents but an operational malfunction, which is a regrettable side effect of the Sisyphean and exhausting battle against Palestinian terrorism.

In the past, a group of fighters approached Avner Gavrihu, a former member of a paratrooper unit and former spokesman for 'Breaking the Silence', claiming that his "testimonies" of crimes he allegedly committed with his unit members did not actually take place. "We have also decided to break the silence", the fighters wrote to Gavrihu, claiming that he accused them of "things that never happened or were completely distorted from the ground up, and divorced from reality."

Gavrihu's fellow combatants contradicted a serious accusation of his, that fighters entered the homes of Palestinians in Hebron who had a satellite dish in order to watch soccer games. A former spokesman for 'Breaking the Silence' also told foreign tourists that he and his friends stood on the roofs of Palestinian houses with "a machine gun that kills within a radius of 50 meters." According to the colleagues in Gavrihu's unit, "The only World Cup that took place when we were in the army was in 2006, "No one went into any house to see a soccer match," they said.

Gavrihu was also forced to confront a combatant who participated in 'Operation Protective Edge' (Summer 2014), claiming that 'Breaking the Silence' distorted reality when they presented a structure from which three Hamas terrorists set out to kill two IDF soldiers as an innocent mosque that the IDF destroyed for no reason. Gavrihu's responded with a vague explanation that the mosque sheltering Hamas combatants preparing to kill IDF soldiers, "is not related to the testimony that was brought, but to reality, and that it is important to discuss."

In other cases, the testimonies given by 'Breaking the Silence' are truly ridiculous. For example, when a former observer described soldiers firing at sheep near the border fence with the Gaza Strip. Of course, there is no reason to encourage indiscriminate shooting of animals, but the observer's testimony clearly indicates that it was reasonable to assume that the person herding the sheep was not an innocent shepherd, but rather a man recruited by Hamas to provide hostile intelligence on the movement of IDF forces in the area - a recognized practice in the Palestinian terrorist organization.

'Breaking the Silence' people are not only unreliable in their testimonies about the period of their service, but also during tours they conduct for tourists and Israeli citizens in Hebron. A participant in one of these tours revealed that a guide from the left-wing organization provided tourists with false 'facts'. For example, the guide told tourists that the murderer Baruch Goldstein is considered a "national hero" among many Israelis, and that Israel prevents Palestinians access to water in order to "force them out of the area."

Finding it difficult to collect testimonies

'Breaking the Silence' receives significant donations from foreign sources (according to the NGO Monitor, the organization has received close to NIS 12 million over the past four years), but it appears that despite the flow of cash, 'Breaking the Silence' has a hard time supplying the anti-Israel goods. A quick search in the 'Testimonies' page on the organization website shows that in the last two and a half years, it has been unable to publish even a single new testimony of immoral acts allegedly committed by IDF soldiers against Palestinians. For example, in the organization's latest report – 'Upper Command: Settler Influence on IDF Activity in the West Bank ' - published last January, the most recent 'testimonies' are from 2014.

Departing 'Breaking the Silence' chairwoman Yuval Novak recently claimed that "we love Israel and hate the occupation". She added that the participants in the organization's overseas conferences "thank us" for the fact that thanks to 'Breaking the Silence', they can tell themselves that "Israel is legitimate, but there is a policy that needs to be changed". Reality, as usual, is the opposite. Hamas, for example, uses the materials of the Israeli leftist organization to cover up its crimes in 'Operation Protective Edge', and the organization's reports are widely and sympathetically cited in the Al-Jazeera network, which is funded by Qatar, one of Hamas's main supporters. There is no great love for Israel there. As we have extensively covered in the past on 'Mida', the far left organization receives generous monetary donations from organizations closely connected to the BDS (boycott) movement and that reject the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state.

Perhaps there is some logic in Novak's statement that the organization she heads ostensibly helps Israel. For when an Israeli organization receives millions of dollars from anti-Israeli elements to discredit IDF fighters around the world, and the only product it is capable of delivering is anonymous and detached or easily refuted evidence, there seems to be no better proof that the IDF "is the most moral army in the world".

Shoosha is leaving us today

Shoosha has never been a very happy cat. We tried to give her the best home we could, but we had no experience and didn't do a very good job. Things got worse and worse, even after the behavioral counselling. Her aggressive behavior, mainly towards Bish, has made life increasingly unbearable for him and she has to go.

We are lucky that the wonderful people at the Girgurim cat sanctuary are willing to take her in. The girls and I will be taking her over there this afternoon. A sad day for us (but not for Bish who is relieved).

Girgurim are looking for a loving home for her - it has to be people with experience with cats, no kids and no babies, and who are willing to be assisted with behavioral counselling for her, and possibly daily medical treatment as well. Please ask any big-hearted cat lovers you know.

I will miss her company and our little chats, even though they tended to be rather onesided. It will bw most difficult for Eldest, who was always her favorite human. But even she realized that there was no choice.

We hope she will find a nice home, and be happier. And even if she has to stay at the sanctuary, maybe she will be happy there.

Some personal news

My father has passed away.

I started blogging in June 2002 when my mother was very ill. Among other things it was a means of coping with what was happening. The intensity of obssessive blogging was good for muffling the feelings I couldn't cope with. She died in November 2002.

This time around I couldn't cope with blogging at all. Funny that, isn't it? My mother's illness got me chattering and my father's - shut me up. But then, I have changed a lot from then to now. Changed and not changed.

One day about a fortnight or so ago, I was with my father and he was at his computer. Even checking up on his mail had become far too confusing for him, this man who had always been so capable, independent and sharp. And he wouldn't let me help.

Suddenly he was in my blog. But he was just staring at the screen blankly. He obviously couldn't make the words out, or couldn't remember what he was doing. It broke my heart.

Please whoever is reading this take care and be well.

You know the feeling when you're in a dream and you discover you've got nothing on?

So it came to be that I did a few nice powerpoint presentations for the #2 in my organization. (This is a person so high up I never saw him in my previous job, although his office was onlytwo flights up)

Next thing I know he's decided I'm the most suitable replacement for his #2 while she is on maternity leave. Now this is an extremely talented, capable and motivated young lady, who holds a highly qualified position which requires a great deal of understanding and knowledge in a field of expertise about which I know nothing. Less than nothing. And it consists of a lot of little numbers and moving positions and round and things. (I'm pathetic with numbers. My mind just shuts down). It's a bigwig organization executive sort of thing. To make things worse, she's a really, really lovely person who everyone loves to work with, even while she's gently but firmly explaining the inner workings of the next major cutback to the top brass of the field departments. At least if she was horrible, people would be happy with me even if I was hopeless. Oh and there's that too. Her job means dealing out unpleasantness to the bigwigs all the time. It's her job. Me? I get all tongue-tied and embarrassed and forget what I wanted to say, even if I've been rehearsing in my head for hours.

So anyway, I learned I was to be her replacement a week before she was due. She gave me a short and hurried tutorage and then she was gone.

I thought I'd died and gone to hell.


A week and a half later I'm still not sure that that's not what happened. I stare blankly at every e-mail I get on the organization intra-net, racking my brains, trying to understand what it means and what I have to do.

Luckily for me, (or is it unluckily? I'm not sure as yet) the young lady in question is so very motivated, she actually took a computer home with her, hooked up to the organization network. Now that she's home from the hospital with the baby, she answers most of the mail herself and generally tells me what to do. This not only makes me feel utterly useless (which I am), but also terribly guilty that I'm not being more of a help. It also means people tend to address their mail to her and not to me (I can see her mail as well as mine), so I feel even more of a fool.


Friends remind me that taking the computer home was her choice and this is true. I also remind myself, as does my regular boss (who isn't too happy about the situation), that I actually can't lose here (well, except face, and also I hate to disappoint someone who has put his trust in me). If I fail dismally, I will be off the hook in the future for such additional duties.

And additional duty it is. My usual stuff is piling up. People are calling up all the time to beg me to update this table or that database, and the most I can do is promise to try and find time. You see, I haven't got a replacement. Too lowly and insignificant. From this new temporary position, I can actually see that when I leave my current position, for whatever reason, be it retirement or in search of a better one, the position is marked for something near to cancellation.

Now, in case you were wondering, this replacement business cannot become permanent, because of certain bureaucratic perculiarities of my organization among other things. First of all I'm too old to switch to management. Secondly it's not worth my while from the point of view of salary. With twenty years on the job, I currently earn more than I would as a rookie manager. Third, she's so dedicated, the young lady I'm replacing - why would anyone in their right mind exchange her with me? And last but not least, I love my regular job. I certainly don't want to move up to the top floor for good. It's dead lonely up there. I try my best to do all my duties, old and new, from my usual office, escaping upstairs to her drafty big office only when I need some peace and quiet to concentrate on the latest puzzling incoming e-mail.

One good thing about the whole business, besides its keeping me out of mischief, is that suddenly the spectre of organization reshuffles, that could find me doing something really awful, doesn't seem so scary. Whatever they could get me to do, in that eventuality, it couldn't possibly be as hard as this, or as ill-suited to my abilities, could it?

Mind you, grumble grumble, I did manage to pull together a major project last week (no great feather in my cap - it was yet another major cutback program. What a start!). And I'm doing quite a good job at the moment, if I do say so myself, of reducing the whole 2010 overview onto an intelligible four slide presentation. So what if most of the time I feel as out of place, frustrated and mystified as I did as a twenty four year old new recruit?

rewind

So something nasty happened with google and my other blog. Can't be bothered to deal with it so I thought I'd just move backe here for a while.

I have finally moved. Come and see the new place.

Adjust your favorites, bookmarks, links, whatever. I've got my very own address now: http://imshin.net

Text of Ariel Sharon's speech to the UN General Assembly, September 15, 2005

My friends and colleagues, heads and representatives of the UN member states, I arrived here from Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish people for over 3,000 years, and the undivided and eternal capital of the State of Israel.

At the outset, I would like to express the profound feelings of empathy of the people of Israel for the American nation, and our sincere condolences to the families who lost their loved ones. I wish to encourage my friend, President George Bush, and the American people, in their determined efforts to assist the victims of the hurricane and rebuild the ruins after the destruction. The State of Israel, which the United States stood beside at times of trial, is ready to extend any assistance at its disposal in this immense humanitarian mission.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I stand before you at the gate of nations as a Jew and as a citizen of the democratic, free and sovereign State of Israel, a proud representative of an ancient people, whose numbers are few, but whose contribution to civilization and to the values of ethics, justice and faith, surrounds the world and encompasses history. The Jewish people have a long memory, the memory which united the exiles of Israel for thousands of years: a memory which has its origin in G-d's commandment to our forefather Abraham: "Go forth!" and continued with the receiving of the Torah at the foot of Mount Sinai and the wanderings of the children of Israel in the desert, led by Moses on their journey to the promised land, the land of Israel.

I was born in the Land of Israel, the son of pioneers - people who tilled the land and sought no fights - who did not come to Israel to dispossess its residents. If the circumstances had not demanded it, I would not have become a soldier, but rather a farmer and agriculturist. My first love was, and remains, manual labor; sowing and harvesting, the pastures, the flock and the cattle.

I, as someone whose path of life led him to be a fighter and commander in all Israel's wars, reaches out today to our Palestinian neighbors in a call for reconciliation and compromise to end the bloody conflict, and embark on the path which leads to peace and understanding between our peoples. I view this as my calling and my primary mission for the coming years.

The land of Israel is precious to me, precious to us, the Jewish people, more than anything. Relinquishing any part of our forefathers' legacy is heartbreaking, as difficult as the parting of the Red Sea. Every inch of land, every hill and valley, every stream and rock, is saturated with Jewish history, replete with memories. The continuity of Jewish presence in the Land of Israel never ceased. Even those of us who were exiled from our land, against their will, to the ends of the earth - their souls, for all generations, remained connected to their homeland, by thousands of hidden threads of yearning and love, expressed three times a day in prayer and songs of longing.

The Land of Israel is the open Bible, the written testimony, the identity and right of the Jewish people. Under its skies, the prophets of Israel expressed their claims for social justice, and their eternal vision for alliances between peoples, in a world which would know no more war. Its cities, villages, vistas, ridges, deserts and plains preserve as loyal witnesses its ancient Hebrew names. Page after page, our unique land is unfurled, and at its heart is united Jerusalem, the city of the Temple upon Mount Moriah, the axis of the life of the Jewish people throughout all generations, and the seat of its yearnings and prayers for 3,000 years. The city to which we pledged an eternal vow of faithfulness, which forever beats in every Jewish heart: "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its cunning!"

I say these things to you because they are the essence of my Jewish consciousness, and of my belief in the eternal and unimpeachable right of the people of Israel to the Land of Israel. However, I say this here also to emphasize the immensity of the pain I feel deep in my heart at the recognition that we have to make concessions for the sake of peace between us and our Palestinian neighbors.

The right of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel does not mean disregarding the rights of others in the land. The Palestinians will always be our neighbors. We respect them, and have no aspirations to rule over them. They are also entitled to freedom and to a national, sovereign existence in a state of their own.

This week, the last Israeli soldier left the Gaza Strip, and military law there was ended. The State of Israel proved that it is ready to make painful concessions in order to resolve the conflict with the Palestinians. The decision to disengage was very difficult for me, and involves a heavy personal price. However, it is the absolute recognition that it is the right path for the future of Israel that guided me. Israeli society is undergoing a difficult crisis as a result of the Disengagement, and now needs to heal the rifts.

Now it is the Palestinians' turn to prove their desire for peace. The end of Israeli control over and responsibility for the Gaza Strip allows the Palestinians, if they so wish, to develop their economy and build a peace-seeking society, which is developed, free, law-abiding, transparent, and which adheres to democratic principles. The most important test the Palestinian leadership will face is in fulfilling their commitment to put an end to terror and its infrastructures, eliminate the anarchic regime of armed gangs, and cease the incitement and indoctrination of hatred towards Israel and the Jews.

Until they do so - Israel will know how to defend itself from the horrors of terrorism. This is why we built the security fence, and we will continue to build it until it is completed, as would any other country defending its citizens. The security fence prevents terrorists and murderers from arriving in city centers on a daily basis and targeting citizens on their way to work, children on their way to school and families sitting together in restaurants. This fence is vitally indispensable. This fence saves lives!

The successful implementation of the Disengagement Plan opens up a window of opportunity for advancing towards peace, in accordance with the sequence of the Roadmap. The State of Israel is committed to the Roadmap and to the implementation of the Sharm El-Sheikh understandings. And I hope that it will be possible, through them, to renew the political process.

I am among those who believe that it is possible to reach a fair compromise and coexistence in good neighborly relations between Jews and Arabs. However, I must emphasize one fact: there will be no compromise on the right of the State of Israel to exist as a Jewish state, with defensible borders, in full security and without threats and terror.

I call on the Palestinian leadership to show determination and leadership, and to eliminate terror, violence and the culture of hatred from our relations. I am certain that it is in our power to present our peoples with a new and promising horizon, a horizon of hope.

Distinguished representatives,

As I mentioned, the Jewish people have a long memory. We remember events which took place thousands of years ago, and certainly remember events which took place in this hall during the last 60 years. The Jewish people remember the dramatic vote in the UN Assembly on November 29, 1947, when representatives of the nations recognized our right to national revival in our historic homeland. However, we also remember dozens of harsh and unjust decisions made by United Nations over the years. And we know that, even today, there are those who sit here as representatives of a country whose leadership calls to wipe Israel off the face of the earth, and no one speaks out.

The attempts of that country to arm itself with nuclear weapons must disturb the sleep of anyone who desires peace and stability in the Middle East and the entire world. The combination of murky fundamentalism and support of terrorist organizations creates a serious threat that every member nation in the UN must stand against.

I hope that the comprehensive reforms which the United Nations is undergoing in its 60th anniversary year will include a fundamental change and improvement in the approach of the United Nations, its organizations and institutions, towards the State of Israel.

My fellow colleagues and representatives,

Peace is a supreme value in the Jewish legacy, and is the desired goal of our policy. After the long journey of wanderings and the hardships of the Jewish people; after the Holocaust which obliterated one third of our people; after the long and arduous struggle for revival; after more than 57 consecutive years of war and terror which did not stop the development of the State of Israel; after all this - our heart's desire was and remains to achieve peace with our neighbors. Our desire for peace is strong enough to ensure that we will achieve it, only if our neighbors are genuine partners in this longed-for goal. If we succeed in working together, we can transform our plot of land, which is dear to both peoples, from a land of contention to a land of peace - for our children and grandchildren.

In a few days time on the Hebrew calendar, the New Year will begin, the 5,766th year since the Creation. According to Jewish belief, the fates of people and nations are determined at the New Year by the Creator - to be spared or to be doomed. May the Holy One, blessed be He, determine that this year, our fate and the fate of our neighbors is peace, mutual respect and good neighborly relations.

From this distinguished podium, on behalf of the people of Israel, I wish all the people of the world a happy New Year.

Shana Tova!

No, I'm not pregnant. That's not my secret. My secret is not nearly as exciting or important as that. Can't a person have a secret without everyone thinking they're pregnant, for goodness sake? Now you'll be disappointed when I tell you.

Gold in the Walls
New story. This time, something about Bish's family:

The stern looking man in the photograph with the short white beard was dressed in what I knew to be traditional Bukharan garb – a small fur hat and a richly embroidered kaftan. So this was the powerful Moshe Aharonoff that Chenya had told me about, my husband’s great grandfather. I had suspected as much when I had spied the photograph, leafing through the old book in a stall in the flea market in Jaffa.

You can read the rest here.

I have such a lovely family
A. Our Sis and Dad are worried because I'm not enjoying work.

B. Apparently they've all been wondering nervously what my secret is. I spilled the beans to our Sis. Don't want her thinking we're getting another cat now, do I? (Shall I tell you too?)

and C. They're embarrassed for me that I unashamedly revealed to the whole world just who reigns supreme in our happy home.

And here's me thinking Our Sis wanted to tell me off when she said she wanted a little chat with me.

A + B + C = Me basking in family care.

I'll tell you about the secret soon. I promise. I'm too tired now.

Youngest had parent's night, you know, when you go to hear how she's been doing. Bish always comes too, but today was the Euroleague basketball championship final so he didn't come. Maccabi Tel Aviv won. Bish has been a Maccabi Tel Aviv fan, basketball and soccer, since before he was born. So he's pleased. I'm pleased because he's pleased, but I'm not really bothered.

Youngest wanted to know how come a team from a country not in Europe plays in a European championship.

I have a secret. Watch this spot for developments.

Daughters. Why?
It was all planned. Youngest was to have her birthday sleepover next Friday. I know, it’s Friday the thirteenth. I suggested they rent some horror movies. Youngest was not amused. Anyway, the big plus of having it on the thirteenth was that I wouldn’t be here. We have a ‘Man and the Desert’ trip that Friday, a good one – traveling the ancient Nabbatean spice route in an open command car (“Make sure to tie your hair back and dress warmly…”).

I had already spoken to Eldest about helping out and Bish would be there (He dropped out of ‘Man and the Desert’ ages ago - didn’t like the idea of getting up early on a free day). It was all set.

Then yesterday morning, I was in Nahalat Binyamin Street’s Friday craft fair with R.T., shopping for gifts for our imminent trip abroad, when I got a little phone call.

“N. can’t come next week. I’m not having it without N.! That’s out of the question. So we’ve all discussed it and we’ve decided to have it … tonight!”

“Oh no. Forget it. No way. Not possible. I’m going out all evening. Bish will be watching the Euroleague final four (and if he wasn’t, he’d be coming with me! He should have been coming with me anyway. Damn basketball!). Eldest is ill, she can’t help. I don’t have time to do any shopping. We haven’t planned any games. We’ve got to rent DVD’s. No. Not convenient. Can’t be done. We’ll find another date. How about the twentieth?”

“But, but, but…”

What do you think? Do you think we didn’t have the party last night (and this morning)? You bet we did. Youngest is not a force to be reckoned with, or to be fobbed off with minor details like no parents, no food, no games, no films.

I’m quite proud of her actually. Tired, I didn’t get much sleep last night, but proud. She and her little friends organized it all by themselves, food decorations, games, everything.

Youngest isn’t tired though. Right now she’s out buying goodies at Baba’s supermarket (open on Shabbat) for a surprise party she and her friends are throwing for… I’d better not say. Not that I think there is any fear of the relevant party reading this but still.

I got home at twelve thirty last night and Youngest’s party was in full swing. Well, besides a sweet little thing that had passed out on Youngest’s bed, and another that hadn’t felt well and had gone home.

I was at the fortieth birthday party of a childhood friend of mine, but that’s another story, a big one. I’ll tell it some day.

Right now, I’m going back to bed.

Not what you think.

The first time he ever glimpsed her was in a dream about a tiger. The tiger was jumping at him through a fiery cloud, but that was easily taken care of: he stopped the tiger in midair – it hung with red eyes and dripping mouth, growing larger but coming no closer. And there in the upper left corner was the woman, floating in the blue, an angel in a Renaissance landscape.

A story by Richard Lawrence Cohen.

Mum and Greta

“Yes, your mother was always fascinated by my story”, said Greta. I was taken aback. This wasn’t at all what I had expected.

I sat with her for a while, but all I managed to learn was that she was a retired teacher. You know how these things are, scores of people milling through the apartment, everyone wanting to make themselves known to you, to shake your hand, to wish you long life...

Continue reading.

God is the tiny brown insect
crawling along my teaspoon.
If I am not very careful
I will drown him when I wash the dishes.

The insect crawls onto my finger and I place it
gently on the ground outside.
Easier to meet God
in a creature I need not fear.

Today was the memorial day for the Holocaust.

I don't seem to have anything to say. A relevant story of mine is to be published on Cafe Diverso tomorrow. I'll link.

It's a funny thing that every time I bitch about work on my blog, the very next day at work is an excellent one. Maybe I should do it more often.

Going back to work after a lovely nine days at home has not been a good experience. I dislike certain aspects of my life at work very much. I would like very much to let go of this dislike and just see the nice things, which are considerable. Unfortunately I can't seem to do this right now.

On the other hand, going back to my sangha (my Buddhist community) is proving extremely beneficial. Maybe some day I'll be able to let go of my wish to let go and then I'll know I really have let go. If you know what I mean.

A step in the right direction, I believe, was my decision today to cancel my participation in a three day trip with work to Eilat next week.

In the meantime, being at work wears me out and I seem to have little energy left to do any writing when I get home. I will try harder thought, because it has a soothing effect, whatever nonsense it is I'm writing (as you can see).