If You Haven't Yet Heard It...

Being interviewed early in the morning. I got dressed,
but slippers still on. Photo by Yisrael Medad

Yesterday morning I was interviewed by Tamar Yonah about the terror attack in which I was injured over twenty years ago. It's strange how when I begin talking about it, it seems like it just happened to me. Does that come through in the interview?

Click here for the show.  And then I'd love to hear your reactions and comments, thanks.

Yes, it was a phone interview.

Planned Post Seems Embarrassingly Trivial

I was all set to post about the fact that I just noticed that not only had my blogroll disappeared a few months ago, but apparently my list of book reviews had also taken a hike. Or "blogger" ate them. I wanted to find the link to one of the reviews, and suddenly I couldn't find the list.

The past few months I've been trying to replace or remake my list of blogs, which is hard work. If I don't get it as complete as it once was, it's not a tragedy. There's always a dynamic in blog rolls. They change. But there's no way I can reproduce, remember all the books I've reviewed.

And while thinking of exactly what to write about it I was on Facebook and saw the post and pictures about the artist  Yoram Raanan's loss of decades of work in the aishtafada, the terrorist arson attack.

Facebook

Facebook

And as difficult as the fire has been for some people, families and communities, there has also been a great miracle. So far, bli eyin haraa, no lives were lost directly due to the fire. There are fires that kill and main, and while the terrorists who are responsible for this aishtafada have destroyed property, so far, bli eyin haraa, they haven't killed anyone.

And I stopped myself from writing that the destruction of Raanan's pictures is like a death, because no matter how unpleasant and painful, it isn't like a death. Sometimes we use the work "death" too easily.

Gd made a great miracle here in the Holy Land.

How Dangerous is it Here in Israel?

As I and many others have said over and over, Arab terror attacks aren't the greatest danger in Israel. They certainly aren't as prevalent as the press (and our enemies and the BDS) would want you to think. Traffic accidents kill more people for sure.

It's very rare for me to actually "take precautions" against terror attacks, besides trying to keep alert and not using earphones to listen to classes when walking in Jerusalem or on buses. But the other night, I davka had to wait where there have been quite a few attacks, the Ammunition Hill, near Ramat Eshkol, bus/trolley stop. I had arranged to meet friends there who were going to give me a ride home.

So, since Arab terrorists who aim to stab innocent Jews need to sneak up behind us, I made a point of sitting on a bench that had a back higher than my head.  Actually, it was a nice sheltered one. You can see that in the selfie I took while waiting. And, until a bus came to park itself and block my view, I could see a police van, and Gd willing they could see me from across the street. And as you can see in the picture, there were also barriers up to keep the terrorists from ramming into us.

I felt pretty silly taking all these precautions, but it did no harm. From what I've noticed, things have pretty much returned to normal, at least I don't see any need to fear visiting Israel.

Additional Safety Barriers at Ofra Junction

I frequently wait for a ride home to Shiloh at the Ofra Junction. It's a good spot for rides. After night shift a friend quite often gives me a ride to there, and I wait. Sometimes it takes a few seconds to get a ride, and sometimes the minutes feel endless. That's tremping aka hitchhiking; it can be very unreliable. But when you don't have a car, and there's no bus expected, nu....? What else can I do?

For years there were a few cement barriers near the unused bus stop, but that was a bit far for me, since I like to be in view of the guard at Ofra. I stand very close to the corner.

And yes, there have been a number of terror attacks at similar spots. The Arab terrorists' latest method is running people over. So the security people placed a whole bunch of barriers for us to stand behind. The idea is also, if Gd forbid there is some shooting, we'll have someplace to hide.

Jerusalem's Beauty at Night Braving Arab Terror

Last Tuesday I braved the Arab terror and went to Jerusalem.  I walked from the String Bridge, and on it, all the way to Piccolino in Nachalat Shiva, in the center of town. I found a beautiful vibrant and patriotic city. I did not take all that many pictures, because I had to get to my destination by a certain time, and I felt safer moving, rather than standing still concentrating on the view.

Here are a selection of the photos:

cyclist on the string bridge

marching with Israeli flags down Jaffa Street in the center of town

more Israeli flags, this time at Zion Square

Singing Am Yisrael Chai, the People/Nation of Israel Lives on Zion Square

I had a lovely walk and felt so energized by Jerusalem, its beauty and people.

The Phone Kept on Ringing

Suddenly there were a whole bunch of phone calls. I was at work, and I'm not really supposed to be on the phone, but I had to answer. I had to reassure all those calling me to ask how I was.

There were also a whole bunch of SMS's from the Shiloh security with details I could give people. There was a terror attack, a drive into Jews type, like the one I was injured in almost twenty years ago. Baruch Hashem I'm fine. This time the Arab terrorist drove into a few soldiers on patrol.

It happened a couple of kilometers from the Shiloh Junction. It's not a place where Jews wait for rides or wander around, though from the descriptions on the news, people wouldn't know. I knew, because I know the area well. And "everyone" knows that I tremp, take rides aka hitchhike.

As soon as I heard the location, it was clear that it had to have been an attack on soldiers. Soldiers are someone's kids, too. It doesn't make me feel any better about it, just because the victims aren't neighbors. We're all in this together. The Arabs want us all dead and gone.

I had been at work at the time. Actually, I hadn't been home all day. I also hadn't been following the news. I don't work seated at a computer. At least I wasn't told off for being on the phone. My phone quieted down once the news made it clear that the victims weren't pension-age grandmothers.

May G-d send a refuah shleimah, complete recovery to the injured soldiers.

In The Eyes of a Victim, Never The Same

No one is immune from Arab terrorism here, just like even the most successful and assimilated Jews in Germany ended up being rounded up and murdered by the Nazis.

There's a very successful bargain-price chain optician in Israel, Halperin.

The early ads for it showed the elderly Rabbi Rafael Halperin who established it doing a loud karate chop to "break the prices."

Halperin was a champion weightlifter and the national karate champion. He also did well as a boxer before turning to wrestling. (Jerusalem Post)

Rabbi Halperin's great-granddaughter was murdered in a recent terror attack, so whenever I see his business's sign, I think of that.

Chaye Zisel Braun is an American citizen, and the great-granddaughter of the late Rabbi Rafael Halperin.

Riding the Jerusalem Light-rail in Times of Terror

Cross-posted on Shiloh Musings

Ever since the summer war and terrorism, when Arabs attacked the lightrail which goes through their neighborhoods between Pisgat Ze'ev and Givat HaMivtar Jerusalem, I've ridden it much less than previously. There have been many reported Arab terror attacks and harassment of Jews. Besides the safety aspect, there have been times when the train was delayed, so a long indirect trip, although comfortable, had become an unsafe one.

Many people avoid taking it further north than French Hill, and now after a couple of fatal terror attacks on the "seam,' the stops between Givat Hatachmoshet, Ramat Eshkol and Sha'ar Shechem, more people are looking for buses than ever.

Yesterday I ended up getting off a ride to Jerusalem at Pisgat Zeev, and yesterday was Thursday afternoon when the traffic is pretty heavy, especially on the routes I'd need to get to downtown Jerusalem. My mind was busy going over the pros and cons of the routes I know which can be caught in Pisgat Zeev.

But without any bus in view, I got on the train with the intention of going just two stops within Pisgat Zeev to change for a bus. I was curious to see how the #66 route was. I called the son I was to meet, and he told me to stay on the train, which would take me right near his apartment. So, that's what I did.

I sat in the front behind the dirver, where it reportedly is and feels much safer. There have been reports of more harassment in the rear of the train.Hardly anyone was on the train even though it was Thursday afternoon, a busy shopping time. Maybe the other direction was fuller.

As we approached, Shuafat, the first stop after Pisgat Zeev, I got nervous, because I could see a whole bunch of men crowded together at the stop, in what appeared in my mind to be a threatening manner. There's no picture of them, because I thought I'd be safer with my camera and phone tucked away.

It wasn't until we stopped that I saw their uniforms and realized that they were Border Police or regular  police, not sure with all the bulletproof vests and all.

Besides them, nobody was waiting to get on.

A security guard walked up and down the train. For the first time, he was equipped with a very impressive weapon. I overheard him telling another passenger that it was new. Prior the guards were protected by bulletproof vests, but didn't have much else. I'm not sure about pistols.  People were more afraid of the ticket inspectors and the fines they could impose.

I don't think a dozen people got on the train at the three Arab neighborhood stops. I don't know how much they wanted to avoid security inspections or because they had nothing to do where the train was going. Many usually get on and off at the Old City (Sha'ar Shechem) or the seam stops (Shimon HaTzadik and Shivtei Yisrael) which skirt Arab neighborhoods. They do have lots of buses to use as alternative public transportation.

The streets of East Jerusalem were quiet.  You could see more security than ordinary shoppers.

As we got to the areas of the recent Arab terror attacks, there was a lot of police to be seen.

And soon the train was packed. At the two first downtown stops, the Municipality (City Hall) and "Jaffa Center," so many people tried to enter the train that the driver had to override the passengers option to open the doors. He locked the doors while people were clamoring to get into the suddenly packed train. I was afraid I'd have trouble exiting.

Just before my stop, I caught the eye of an older woman who was standing and told her that I was giving her my seat. She kept insisting that she was fine standing and I should sit. It took me a bit to convince her that I needed to get off at the next stop, so I wasn't getting up because I thought she looked more decrepit/elderly than myself.

The bottom line is that I had a safe trip on the train and got to where I needed to be without any hassles and relatively quickly, when you take into account I didn't wait long and didn't need to get off and then wait for a bus which could easily have been slow due to the hour.

The talk on the train among strangers and conversations I've had with friends about the lightrail centers on one theme. There should be a way for the train to bypass the Arab neighborhoods. The train should be able to get from Pisgat Ze'ev to the depot. It can already go from the depot straight to Givat Hamivtar/French Hill. That would have the double advantage of making the trip faster and staying out of the Arab neighborhoods where trains and train stops have been attacked. None of the ticket machines can be used there. The Arab terrorists/rioters have destroyed them.

The train goes right by the location of "my terror attack" making the trip a reminder of how G-d saved me. That attack was long before the lightrail was built. And that terror attack was the first one in which a terrorist used a vehicle to mow down innocent people at a bus stop. It happened over eighteen years ago and now is the popular one by Arab terrorists. It's also the most impossible to fully prevent or predict.

And about predictions, I wouldn't dare try my hand predicting what's next concerning security and terror in Jerusalem.

Let's pray that our leaders get wisdom and use it.  And let's also pray for the speedy and complete recovery of all the injured in previous terror attacks.

Shabbat Shalom u'Mevorach
May it be a Peaceful and Blessed Sabbath, G-d willing

Following Crowds, The Funeral of the Three Murdered Teenagers

In my many decades, being of pension age I'm no youngster, I've learned that at times one must just go with the flow. There are many times we just find ourselves in places or opportunities unplanned.

I must admit that I don't make it a principle to go to funerals or shiva (condolence) calls when I'm not actually acquainted with the people. If anything my "principle" has been to avoid those public occasions. I've been to too many funerals of terror victims whom I actually knew and visited and helped at homes of the victims. Before the three teenage boys' bodies were discovered (davka by a civilian crew led by a Shiloh neighbor) I kept feeling haunted by the similarities of the photos the families Fraenkel, Sha'ar and Yifrach had given to the media to show of their sons hiking the Land to photos of Yonatan Eldar, Shmuel Yerushalmi and Avi Siton, HaYa"D. Those three teenagers were all from my neighborhood and all three had also been murdered by Arab terrorists, and the pictures were so familiar. All one needed to do was to Photoshop their faces, and you'd think they were the same exact boys, Eyal, Naftali and Gil-Ad, HaYa"D. Deja vu...

When I got my schedule for this week, I was surprised to have Tuesday off, since I had been working Tuesdays of late. I do work part-time and had given my boss a lot of leeway in scheduling me. I really didn't know what to do. It was too hot to try to visit a cousin in Tel Aviv; the Israel Museum isn't open Tuesday morning. And my daughter had asked me to babysit on Monday. So then when it was announced Monday night that the boys's bodies had been discovered, I began pondering the idea of going to the funeral. It was cinched when I got a message that there would be buses from Shiloh. We were to only attend the last part, the joint burial. That made sense, and was logistically the most sensible, also the safest, health-wise, for us to do. No doubt that most of the people who needed medical care had been to one of the earlier eulogy parts of the funerals in the various communities the boys were from. Our bus picked up people on the way who already looked close to collapse. They told us that they were coming from Talmon and their bus had broken down.

Since I'm not going to repeat/copy the article I posted on Shiloh Musings, please click here to read it. And of course I'm interested in your comments. Please share it, too, thanks.

Funeral of Eyal Yifrah, Gil-Ad Sha’ar and Naftali Fraenkel, HaYa"D

Suffocating in the Heat and Sadness

Yesterday, meaning last night would have been the perfect evening to take advantage of the women's only (18+) night hour at the local pool. It was so hot that I wouldn't have been chilled by the usual too cool air that contrasts with the warm pool water.

The suffocating heat and overeating at a friend's house earlier in the day left me feeling lethargic and almost paralyzed. Even the babysitting for the grandkids didn't energize me all that much. They are pretty big now, I besides cooking lunch and supervising a bit, all I had to do was to enjoy their antics and admire the precocious mathematical skills of the little ones. Maybe if I had been drinking the water like I kept urging to the kids to do I would have felt better later on...

I was so tired when I got home that I didn't even pay attention to the news or phone messages, so I wasn't among the first to find out that the bodies of the three Jewish teenagers had been found. But when I did, in a phone call davka from the states, all I could do was to write...

We Should All Be Ripping Our Clothes in Mourning

Beneath the Still Waters

It was rather surreal this morning at the pool. On one hand, it was "business as usual." The pool was as gorgeous and refreshing as ever. The usual crowd of mothers, grandmothers and some younger single women took advantage of the "18 and over time." The only exception was a nursing baby cared for by her aunt so her mother could swim, too.

You'd think it such an ordinary, lovely early summer day. The water surrounding us was so still. But beneath that, under the still waters we were all worried. Praying to the depths of our souls for the kidnapped, the teenage boys who had been captured by Arab terrorists. May the IDF succeed in rescuing them safe and sound. May some Arabs discover a conscience, maybe one of those halachik Jews* living as Arabs find his pintele yid and make the rescue possible, rescuing him/herself, too, in the process.

Don't you dare think that our moments in the pool mean that we are not in the pain and worry that Paula describes in her well-written post.

Gilad Michael Ben Bat Galim, Yaccov Naftali Ben Rachel Devora and Eyal ben Iris Teshura

*Since before the establishment of the State of Israel and until today, there are Jewish women who marry Arab men, live with them in Arab towns, and have children who are Jewish by Jewish Law. Every once in a while amazing stories are revealed about Arabs who are repelled by the world they have grown up in and are attracted to Judaism. And then they discover that they are descended from Jewish women. Unfortunately these stories are rare, and even more unfortunately Jewish women are still going off with Arab men.

Time Doesn't Heal

Yesterday was Israel's Memorial Day for Soldiers and Victims of  Arab Terror.  Whatever scabs or scar tissue had been covering the emotional wounds from the loss of friends and family was ripped away.  My neighbors and I, although comforted by seeing the young grandchildren, nieces and nephews of those good Jews who were killed, agreed that we felt more pain than ever.

Time doesn't heal.

Time just gives us the chance to try to live better, be inspired by those who are no longer with us, who died so young...

We live in the shadows of the loss.

Just like we can't erase a shadow, we can't ignore the memories and longings that follow us even at the most unexpected times. 

Most of those we commemorated at our Shiloh Memorial Ceremony in the local cemetery were just teenagers when they were murdered.  Other were a young mother and an infant.  They all had such potential, such dreams.  And in a matter of seconds, their lives were over, and everything changed irreparably for their parents, spouse, grandparents, siblings, friends and family.

Memorial ceremony at Mt. Herzl
for a friend.

Yes, of course, we all go on.  Nobody stays static in time.  Widows and widowers marry again; more children may be born, but that doesn't make up for the missing person.  Life adapts to a new normal.  Thank G-d for giving us the strength and drive to keep going.  We are supposed to continue and not wallow in pain and misery.

Jewish History is full of destruction, defeat and disasters.  And there is also the rebuilding.

We're supposed to take those memories and the pain and make something better and stronger.  That's why the Jewish People continues to exist, even now, two thousand years after the destruction of our Second Holy Temple.  The ancient civilizations we fought with and even those that defeated us are gone, but we Jews still live and thrive and have established a modern  State of Israel.

For the Jewish People, "not healing" is not the end of the world.  We take our pain and build something better, with G-d's help.  And as we celebrate Yom Ha'Atzma'ut, we bring those memories with us to celebrate together.

One of The Most Dramatic Scenes In The Bible

1 Samuel Chapter 15
כג כִּי חַטַּאת-קֶסֶם מֶרִי, וְאָוֶן וּתְרָפִים הַפְצַר: יַעַן, מָאַסְתָּ אֶת-דְּבַר יְהוָה, וַיִּמְאָסְךָ, מִמֶּלֶךְ. {ס} 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, He hath also rejected thee from being king.' {S}
כד וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל אֶל-שְׁמוּאֵל חָטָאתִי, כִּי-עָבַרְתִּי אֶת-פִּי-יְהוָה וְאֶת-דְּבָרֶיךָ: כִּי יָרֵאתִי אֶת-הָעָם, וָאֶשְׁמַע בְּקוֹלָם. 24 And Saul said unto Samuel: 'I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words; because I feared the people, and hearkened to their voice.
כה וְעַתָּה, שָׂא נָא אֶת-חַטָּאתִי; וְשׁוּב עִמִּי, וְאֶשְׁתַּחֲוֶה לַיהוָה. 25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD.'
כו וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁמוּאֵל אֶל-שָׁאוּל, לֹא אָשׁוּב עִמָּךְ: כִּי מָאַסְתָּה, אֶת-דְּבַר יְהוָה, וַיִּמְאָסְךָ יְהוָה, מִהְיוֹת מֶלֶךְ עַל-יִשְׂרָאֵל. {ס} 26 And Samuel said unto Saul: 'I will not return with thee; for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.' {S}
כז וַיִּסֹּב שְׁמוּאֵל, לָלֶכֶת; וַיַּחֲזֵק בִּכְנַף-מְעִילוֹ, וַיִּקָּרַע. {ס} 27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his robe, and it rent. {S}
כח וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו, שְׁמוּאֵל, קָרַע יְהוָה אֶת-מַמְלְכוּת יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵעָלֶיךָ, הַיּוֹם; וּנְתָנָהּ, לְרֵעֲךָ הַטּוֹב מִמֶּךָּ. {ס} 28 And Samuel said unto him: 'The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. {S}
כט וְגַם נֵצַח יִשְׂרָאֵל, לֹא יְשַׁקֵּר וְלֹא יִנָּחֵם: כִּי לֹא אָדָם הוּא, לְהִנָּחֵם. 29 And also the Glory of Israel will not lie nor repent; for He is not a man, that He should repent.'
ל וַיֹּאמֶר חָטָאתִי--עַתָּה כַּבְּדֵנִי נָא נֶגֶד זִקְנֵי-עַמִּי, וְנֶגֶד יִשְׂרָאֵל; וְשׁוּב עִמִּי, וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֵיתִי לַיהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ. 30 Then he said: 'I have sinned; yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God.'
לא וַיָּשָׁב שְׁמוּאֵל, אַחֲרֵי שָׁאוּל; וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ שָׁאוּל, לַיהוָה. {ס} 31 So Samuel returned after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD. {S}
לב וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁמוּאֵל, הַגִּישׁוּ אֵלַי אֶת-אֲגַג מֶלֶךְ עֲמָלֵק, וַיֵּלֶךְ אֵלָיו, אֲגַג מַעֲדַנֹּת; וַיֹּאמֶר אֲגָג, אָכֵן סָר מַר-הַמָּוֶת. {ס} 32 Then said Samuel: 'Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.' And Agag came unto him in chains. And Agag said: 'Surely the bitterness of death is at hand.' {S}
לג וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁמוּאֵל--כַּאֲשֶׁר שִׁכְּלָה נָשִׁים חַרְבֶּךָ, כֵּן-תִּשְׁכַּל מִנָּשִׁים אִמֶּךָ; וַיְשַׁסֵּף שְׁמוּאֵל אֶת-אֲגָג לִפְנֵי יְהוָה, בַּגִּלְגָּל. {ס} 33 And Samuel said: As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal. {S}
לד וַיֵּלֶךְ שְׁמוּאֵל, הָרָמָתָה; וְשָׁאוּל עָלָה אֶל-בֵּיתוֹ, גִּבְעַת שָׁאוּל. 34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeath-shaul.
לה וְלֹא-יָסַף שְׁמוּאֵל לִרְאוֹת אֶת-שָׁאוּל, עַד-יוֹם מוֹתוֹ, כִּי-הִתְאַבֵּל שְׁמוּאֵל, אֶל-שָׁאוּל; וַיהוָה נִחָם, כִּי-הִמְלִיךְ אֶת-שָׁאוּל עַל-יִשְׂרָאֵל. {פ} 35 And Samuel never beheld Saul again until the day of his death; for Samuel mourned for Saul; and the LORD repented that He had made Saul king over Israel. {P}

There's just so much power struggle and action to this, and the use of pronouns in verse 27 makes it most interesting. I had always envisioned the deposed King Saul pathetically grabbing Samuel's robe, like Potifor's wife grabbed Joseph's. But just now as I look at it, I see that Samuel most probably ripped his own robe as a sign of mourning. It's very much like the ancient custom of parents mourning their child as dead if the child had married a non-Jew.

Shabbat Zachor, the special, pre-Purim Sabbath we're commanded to remember what Amalek did to us... and still does... is a very special Shabbat for me. Thirteen years ago I was injured in a terror attack, when an Arab terrorist drove into a few dozen of us who were waiting for a bus or ride. It happened the week before Purim. So the very next Shabbat, the Shabbat before Purim, Shabbat Zachor, we had a massive gathering for Seudat Shlishit, the third Shabbat meal, in Shiloh. Other neighbors had been waiting at the bus stop, but I was the only one injured.

So this is the time of the year my mind is very occupied with Amalek. I'll post more on Shiloh Musings.

Good News Update: Moshe Avitan (Moshe Rafael ben Aliza A'isha)

Baruch Hashem, thank G-d. Read the latest letter from Moshe's mother-in-law.

Dear Relatives and Friends,

Moshe, thank G-d, is home!!! He was released from the hospital this afternoon.

Of course, lots of checkups, therapy etc. are still ahead of him (and therapy for Sarah and probably their daughters) but I'm sure that getting home will be a big boost to their morale.

I will probably not be sending daily updates from now on but I'll keep you posted every few days or when there's anything new to report. In the meantime, keep up the prayers please!!

All the best,

Ruth

As a "good news-bad news" scenario, Israel has an awful lot of experience with helping terror victims, including families. It's understood that the secondary and tertiary victims can be just as affected. There are government and "non-prophet" agencies and organizations which help. And of course there are neighbors and relatives, especially in the case of Moshe and Sarah, thank G-d.