The GA and "Sabich"
So Yishai and I have just celebrated our 3rd GA together (awww). The GA (General Assembly) is a major meeting of the UJC (United Jewish Communities, aka: The Jewish Federation) which takes place every year. This year's event took place in Jerusalem, the Holy City. Four thousand American Jews converged on Binyaneh Haomah to schmooze and gain popular support and money for their projects, which spread way across the Jewish spectrum (Jews for Judaism, Peace Now (good luck with that), Elite brand foods, and of course, Kumah, among many others). Together with our brother (Yishai's bro) Joshua ha Tzadik (he's both indispensible and fun), we mingled, we exchanged business cards, we ate expensive food (though kosher at least).
We heard interesting speeches. Shimon Peres, long-time public servant here in Israel, made plugs for peace with our neighbors (stale, stale, stale) and said the Jewish people's salvation would rest in innovation and looking forward. He mentioned something about clothes that would keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter, and a jacket which would let soldiers lift heavier stuff ( Peres, what the hell are you talking about. I'm getting images of quasi-Saxon uberJews with half metal heads. You're scaring me.). Then Michael Steinhardt, Jewish philanthroper and benefactor of Birthright, got up and was basically like, "The Jewish people are in deep trouble here, people. We're assimilating left and right in America, and our kids can't even read a siddur, let alone want to use one. Whatever else we're doing, we'd better drop it fast and get our kids back on the path. This is an emergency!"
After his speech, Michael Steinhardt got a three minute standing ovation, while Peres, who'd gotten everyone out of their seats for a polite 15 seconds, looked a little jealous. Afterward, the crowd swarmed Steinhardt with handshakes and admiring looks, while Peres, who shimmied into every conceivable corner of the throng to get a little face time and adoration, ended up leaving with nary a person giving him a second look. It was a very satisfying sight, I must say. Netanyahu also gave a speech which I liked, despite myself. He's a smart guy with a lot of good ideas and is such a terrific speaker and people's person. I just don't know that I trust him.
The bottom line is that the GA was a very powerful event. A lot of good people got together in the best place on earth, and I think people came away inspired and motivated. Everyone loved the ideas Kumah presented, and a few people were honestly thinking about how to make lives over here.
Today, Yishai and I waited all day for a connection of ours to pan out so that we could finally get my Teudat Zehut (the strikers have a stranglehold on the whole country - it's impossible to get anything done). It didn't work out, but it did give us an opportunity to hang out with our friend Yonni Summit, who is a really special and hip Jew here in Jerusalem. He took us to this crazily-painted little food joint for something I've never eaten before - Sabich. It stands for Salat, Beitzim, Chatzilim (salad, eggs, eggplant), and as with many dishes here in Israel, is eaten in a pita. Yuuuuuummmm. So the next time you guys are in the Nachlaot neighborhood, check out this little corner of the Jewish world (run, apparently, through a sephardi yeshiva of baalei teshuvah).
Then Yoni drove us to our next destination and made some comments about maybe hooking us up with an old stove (score!!!!!!!!!). Yoni, you're the best. Good luck with those political math problems.
Unfortunately for all you ladies out there, our friend Yoni is taken. Yishai and I have already called a Sheva Brachot (no pressure, Yoni). :-)
Those Damn Jews
Read
this article from Arutz 7. It is really amazing - some members of the Israeli left, including former Shabak heads, are starting to panic. Since it is already well-accepted among them that the cause of all the problems in Israel is Jews living in Yesha, they are ready to go to extreme lengths to get rid of them. From the article:
Interior Minister Avraham Poraz has a novel suggestion for getting rid of the Jewish outposts in the Shomron. Speaking on Army Radio this morning, he proposed that after outposts are dismantled and evacuated, Israel cooperate with Arab forces from the Palestinian Authority to prevent Jews from rebuilding them. Poraz said that the forcibly evacuated outposts should be turned over to Arabs from the PA, and the Jews would then not dare to return and rebuild them, for fear of confronting the Arab militia.
I'm sure that if we attempt to cooperate with the PA in the removal of Jews from their homes, probably in a violent confrontation, then we will find a "willing partner" in the PA. Later in the article, a former Shabak head compares the "hilltop youth" to Hamas. So I guess that when the PA populates the outposts with Arabs, no one will know the difference.
I don't need to carry on about the insanity of these claims. But, what can we do? First, we need to put out a positive message, not a negative one. The left is panicking because our hold on Eretz Yisrael is getting stronger, and our opportunities to capitulate to terrorists are waning. So, what will we do next? We must focus on the positive, on Jews returning to their land and building an amazing, successful, and insiring nation. Second, we must continue to help populate the land. Not necessarily just Yesha, but all of the land. Let's let the voices calling to return to the land drown out the voices calling to abandon it.
