British Soldiers and Anemones. V,O

Hello everyone,

Chanuka Party

   For our Hanuka party in my nursery school, I was given the honor of lighting the  candles for the first day of Hanuka and was chosen to be the only one to wear a special paper crown, with a 'dradle' on top...  Our teacher Sera, helped me light the first of the eight candles and I felt very special and important! On Saturday, the following morning Ima woke me up with a smile. "Good morning 'Motek shely' (my sweetheart) we are going to Ruty's birthday party today and you will get to wear the new white dress with the pompoms, which I knitted for you, the one you love and call the Cinderella dress!" I jumped out of bed and looked at the sunlight, which was coming in through the shutters of the window and were making lines and shapes, on the tile floor of my room. "XI love birthday parties! I love my new white dress Ima made for me, I love Ima! I love life!"

   There are many kids and parents in Ruty's apartment... Colorful balloons are floating close to the ceiling and a Biiiiiiiiiig birthday cake with four candles, is standing at the center of the round table...All of Ruthi's friends from our kindergarten and their mothers are there, next to her aunts and cousins, crowded in the small room of the apartment. I look around and see that all the girls are wearing pretty clothes, but I know that My Dress, the one I call my "Cinderella Dress", which Ima knitted for me, it is the nicest! dress! I  whisper it in her ear and she agrees with me!

My 'Cinderella
dress'

   There is a photographer standing on the small porch, taking pictures... When I was little, I was afraid of cameras and photographers. I always cried when I saw a man standing behind an open stepladder, with a black box on top of it and covers his head face and even the camera, with a black cloth, before taking the picture... The camera     of the photographer in Ruthy's party, is different; it is very small and he carries it in   his hands... My brother Rami, has his picture taken and I tell Ima that I want to take  one too."Beseder"(ok) she says, "But don't start crying like you always do, when the photographer takes your picture!" My feelings are hurt. "But Ima, I am not a little girl anymore, I am big now! I am already four and a half!" I say and smile at the camera...          

    That night, after coming back home from the party (with a red balloon in my hand) I am going to sleep feeling very happy... I wake up to the sound of yelling and loud banging on the front door! Ima runs to my bed and lifts me out. I can feel how her heart is ticking loud, almost like our grandfather clock...When Aba opens the door, 'Britishsoldiers' come bursting in... They look like those I saw on the bus, when we went to Rechovot. The soldiers are wearing red hats, they are holding long sticks which are called guns, with big knives at the end... They are yelling and screaming wards that I don't understand, they begin to stick the knives into  the mattresses of my parents bed and then into Rami and my mattresses. I can tell that Ima is very scared. Rami is holding on to my father's hand and his eyes are open very wide...

    One of the soldiers, is walking to my bed and picks up my beloved teddy bear. I begin to scream:"I want my Dubi!” Duby is my one-eared bear, which I had since I was a baby. I am terrified that the Britishsoldier is going to stick him with his knife and I scream: "I want my Duby!!!!"  I try in vain to get away from Ima's grip. My arms, are stretched forward towards my bear, held by the Britishsoldier. Aba shoves Rami behind him, his face is white and angry, he walks to the soldier, who is holding my Dubbi  and starts to yell at him in English. Aba knows how to speak English, because he is fixing the cars of all the Britishsoldiers in his Garage...  Ima puts a hand on Aba's arm to stop him, but he shakes it off! "You call yourselves Civilized People?!" He is saying in a choked voice."How dare you barge in to our home in the middle of the night and scare women and children, with your screams and Bayonets?!  Where is your common sense?! Can't you tell we are not terrorists?! Where are your famous British manners,You should be ashamed of yourselves! Give the child her toy right now!” The soldier's face turns very red, he hands me my bear; I grab it from him and hold it tight against my heart...

    Now, the soldiers are nice and talk quietly. One of them puts his hand on Aba's shoulder and smiles at him when they talk... Ima invites them to sit at the table in the living room. She spreads on it the tablecloth which is for 'guests only'  and brings tea and a plate of the sliced healthy cake she baked yesterday...“I no speak English good, men of England love trink tea, yes?” She says smiling her sweet smile. "Sorry no  have milk for tea, we vegetarian, milk for baby cow, not people..." Everyone is laughing now. The soldiers sip the tea and praise the delicious cake, while Aba is giving them a lesson about vegetarianism..."Yes, yes," They say, "Vegetarian, just like Gandhi in India!" Finally the British soldiers get up and walk to the door, they stand straight, put their hand on their red hats and leave... One of them gives me and Rami candy, wrapped in a colorful shiny paper -- A real candy! Ima and Aba allow us to put it in our mouths, even though it is not vegetarian candy; "Because the children just went through a big trauma and we should make an exception!" They say.

    All is quiet again and I am back in my bed, covered with the soft, fluffy white blanket and holding Duby close to my heart... “Britishsoldiers are only a little bad, Duby." I whisper in my bear's ear. "Britishsoldier gave me and Rami Real candy, they are also a little good!"

   As I slowly drift into sleep, I imagine that the field near King David's tomb, is covered with the British solders, wearing their red hats... Next to them is a field, covered with the red flowers 'Kalaniot'... These flowers have a small  black circle in the middle and red leaves around it... Suddenly a light wind begins to move the flowers from side to side, back and forth, back and forth, until my eyes close and I fall asleep...

   I highly recommend the two 'Award Winning' movies; Exodus and Oh Jerusalem, which were based   on  international bestselling books and describe the events, which took place, during these historical times, before and during the Second World War, when we lived in Jerusalem...

With Love and Light
Shira

A short history lesson and my first experience of Terror V,O

Hello everyone,         

   After the Second World War came to an end, the pressure from the Arab nations mounted, demanding to prohibit the entry of Jewish European refugees,who were able to escaped Hitler's concentration camps and arrived to Palestine (future Israel)... The British rulers sided with the Arabs, who demanded to prevent  the Jewish refugees, who escaped the Nazi's horrors, from entering their Biblical 'Homeland' in their old and  dilapidated boats... However, the British rulers would not allow these refuges, who lost their homes and families in Hitler's concentration camps, to enter Palestine and insisted on sending them back to Europe for their certain death... The Hagana and Irgun organizations, of the Jewish settlers in Palestine, defied the British, by helping these tormented refugees enter  Israel illegally, hiding them in the homes of the old time settlers, in the cities and in the Agricultural Settlements in Israel...

   The Hagana, which was the main Jewish organization in Palestine (future Israel) believed in peaceful resistance... On the other hand, the Irgun, a more extreme group, demanded that the British would allow those pathetic Jewish survivors, who just lost their homes, possessions and families by the hands of the Nazis, to settle in Israel, the land of their forefathers, but the British government refused to do so...  If and when the British discovered a few boats with Jewish survivors, making their way to Palestine, they attempted to force them back, to the open sea and their certain death... The Irgun, which was an extreme Jewish resistance group, retaliated... Several British soldiers were killed and the British army found and hung some of the Irgun members... The Jewish organizations, reacted by bombing  at the British command post, situated in the King David Hotel in Jerusalem...  Israel's War of Independence began!

Jerusalem, 1946

Mommy and me

"David"

  "About a month ago I celebrated my third birthday... My nursery school friends and those who live in our neighborhood, came to our apartment and brought me many gifts! Yesterday I was sitting with Ima (mom) on our little balcony, because she always says that the "Sun" is good for us, because it has vitamin D!" She was sitting on a chair fixing my torn dress and I set on the white and black tiles floor, holding my doll 'David ' and was changing it's wet diaper... "David" is a 'Hot water bottle' my parents use during the cold nights of the winter, or if any one in our small family, has a Tommy Ace...  David is my favorite "doll"! Ima is giving me a ball with green peas to munch on. “Eat Shirale!” She says “Green vegetables are healthy!"  My David is made out of red robber and after Ima puts inside him hot water, he becomes warm and squeezable, just like a real baby!  I love to hold David and sing to him lullaby's... Years later, when            I asked my mother, if life was so bad, that people weren't able to buy real dolls for their kids, she said laughing: " Do you know how many dolls you had?! The only one you wanted was your David!" 

   Our family of four lives on the second floor of two story apartment building, which was build out of "Jerusalem Stone... People can find this stone in the desert, outside Jerusalem. Most of the buildings in  the city, are made out of this white stone... l love our home! every time we come back from visiting friends and relatives, I touch and stroke the stones of our building... I even kissed it once, but my brother said that I am stupid... My extended family lives far away from us, in Ramat Gan, Givat Ada, Benyamina, Rechovot and Tel Aviv.  My parents laugh, when they see me stroking and kissing the walls of our home, but Romy, my older brother, says that I am stupid...   Our neighbors Shula and Avi, live on the second floor, just next door to us. For a long time Shula had a very big belly, until one day, she went to the hospital and came back with two babies: Twins!! I was unable to move away from their crib... The twines had tiny heads and little faces, which got got red, whenever they cried... Their names are David and Solomon; like our two kings in the Bible... When they begin to cry, their mother Lea says: “Why do you cry my little ones, kings never cry!”

   One day, I heard horrible screams coming from the Twin's Apartment... I ran in and saw Lea lying on the floor screaming, kicking and scratching her bleeding face... All the neighbors were there, trying to help, but she was pushing everyone away, banging her fists on her head and shouting:“I want my David   I want my baby!” Ima took me to our apartment and explained in a quiet voice, that baby David was very sick and after he died he went to God, who lives in Heaven... I once saw a dead bird laying in the street... The bird's little legs looked like two twigs, pointing at the sky. It was not moving and Ima told me it was dead...x“Is Solomon also going to die?”x I asked terrified... Ima hugged me, saying that Baby  Solomon, is a healthy, strong baby and he will be fine!X“Am I healthy Ima?"... I asked, my heart beating fast in my chest, facing for the first time the"Fear of Death"... Ima put me on her lap and said that to my brother and me that we are very healthy, because we grew up in a home of "Veterinarian  parents", so I have nothing to worry about!. "X But I once ate a cookie, Lea gave me and I didn't tell you, because you always say that white sugar is pure poison!"I began to cry... Ima hugged me and said that only one cookie, or one candy from time to time, will not kill anyone... She was holding me until I stopped crying and I fell asleep in her arms... But all of this happened a very long time ago...This time, I was sitting on the floor, at Ima's feet and was giving David his battle...

   All of a sudden, a terrible noise seems to shake our house! A big explosion, like Million Thunders, was shaking our building and Broken glass was covering the tiles of our small balcony... Ima grabs me and runs downstairs, where the neighbors were standing together in the the small garden. Everyone was listening to the news on the radio..."The Irgun is taking responsibility for bombing the British High Command, in King David Hotel! There are many casualties! The British police declared curfew for the next 48 hours and will be searching for Terrorists inside homes and apartments all over Jerusalem!"...

Explosion of the
King David Hotel

After the explosion

   Paralyzed by fear, I am trying to talk, but no sound comes out of my mouth... Ima starts to shake me:“Speak Shira'le! Speak to me!!! Oh God help me, she can't talk! She  lost her voice!" The  Neighbors turn away from the radio and gather around us“Give her water, No! give her sugar! Slap her on the back! Take her to the hospital!" Ima is holding me in her arms and runs upstairs to our small apartment, were most of the windows are broken... She sits on the sofa and puts me in between her knees, looking deep  into my eyes.“Don't be afraid Shira'le, there was an explosion near by, it made a Big Noise, but no one was hurt, we are alright! Everything is fine now!” Avi, whos sister is a nurse in Hadasa Hospital, looks at me and says:“She is in shock!" “Oh my God!" Ima starts crying "What should I do? what is there to do for shock?!"  This is all I remember from that event...  In later years my parents would tell me, that I lost my voice for a whole day... They took me to the hospital and allowed the doctor to give me a shot, even though 'Medicine and Shots' were against their believes, since Veterinarians object to any kind of medicines, which are "Pure poison" and leave Toxins in the body..." This time, my parents were so terrified that I may never gain my speech back, they had no choice, but put their trust in a Meat-Eater Medical Doctor, who gave me a shot which made me talk again...  In the years to come, whenever I got sick and the vegetarian remedies did not help, my parents would blamed whatever I suffered from, on that "Poisonous Injection!"...

With Love and Light,
Shir

My First Bus Ride V,O

Jerusalem, 1945

Hello everyone,

   "My Ima (mom) is sad... Sometimes she is crying, because her Ima is very sick...  Ima tells me that we are going on a Big Bus to visit her Ima in Rechovot... I am about two and a half years old now... I don't understand how could my big Ima, also have an Ima... I am very happy, because we are going ,on a Big Bus! I was never inside a big bus before, so am very excited when I finally sit next to the window with Ima by my side... Through the window, I can see mountains and hills passing by...  Ima is pointing at a big building, which looks like a Palace; "Here is King David hotel"! She says... I can see a few sheep and cows and two kids sitting on donkey! Ima brought sandwiches of sprouted grain bread, with a slice of avocado in between. She also gave me "Vegetarian candies": Two dates, stuffed with shredded coconuts...

With my Ima

"Big bus!"

   All of a sudden the bus stops and two solders get on...They speak  very loud and some time they scream... I don't understand what they say...  Ima tells me that they speak English. The people in the bus look scared and I begin to cry... Ima calms me down, she says that these people are British soldiers, who are looking for "Hidden Ammunition and there is nothing to worry about...

One of the soldiers, brings down a suitcase, from shelves above our seats and begins to look inside... The other, tells some people to stand up and empty their pockets... The British soldiers, move their hands, up and down the people bodies... They finally get off  and bus begins to move again... The people are happy, but they are also angry at the same time... "I don't like British soldiers, I am scared of them..." I tell Ima.  She hugs me and says that these solders are very nice and they are just doing their job... The bus begins to move again and Ima points at a big building and tells me it belongs to King David... I am very tired and eventually fall asleep on her lap, with her arms around me... I wake up when the bus arrives to the Central Bus Station in tel Aviv... We wait for a long time for the bus to Rechovot,where my my Ima's parents live... This time the bus is much smaller, then the big bus from Jerusalem... The road to Rechovot is 'sandwiched' between two Orange Groves... Ima opens the window and tells me to smell the flowers of the orange trees... "Isn't it a wonderful smell?!" She says.       

King David's Tomb

Orange Blossoms

     In my aunt Yudit's farm the color is dark brown. The color of the streets and side walks in Jerusalem is grey, the building are made out of white stone; "Jerusalem stone"... Only in the field, near King David's Tomb, the ground has green grass in the winter, which turns yellow,in the summer time. Sometime. There are wild red flowers growing in the fields. "Look Ima!"  I cry with excitement, pointing at the few small houses, which begin to replace the orange groves... "Are we in Rechovot already?!" "Yes, we are!" Ima says with excitement; "Soon we are going to be at Saba and Savta's house..."Saba and Savta are my Grand Parents! I saw them before, but I don't remember...

    A very tall and thin man, with black hair, opens the door... Ima hugs him and talks to him in"Yiddish" which I don't understand... She tells me that this tall man, who tries to hug me, is her"Aba" an he is also my "Saba"... But this strange man, with the black hair, is NOT my Saba! My real Saba, lives in Jerusalem,  he is my father's dad and has white hair and beard, like the color of clouds... The eyes of my 'real Saba' in Jerusalem, are blue like the sky... This tall stranger, who tries to kiss me, has black hair, he is not my Saba! I begin to cry, hiding my face in Ima's blue dress, with the small yellow flowers... After putting down the suitcase, we go to another room, to see my Savta, who is Ima's Ima... An old woman with white hair, is lying in bed and her head is on top of two big white pillows. I notice that this bed has white metal rods... "Why does my old Savta sleeps in a crib, if she is not a baby?" XI ask my Ima and she whispers to me that she will tell me later...

 I don't like the smell in the room; it smells like the 'Yod' (Iodine) which Ima once put on my bleeding knee, after I fell... The old woman (my Savta) is wearing round glasses, she is looking at Ima and me and begins to cry... My mother kisses her and asks me to kiss her too, but I turn my face away and hide behind Ima's back... When I finally peek at the old woman's direction, I can see on the small table, next to her bed, a glass full of water and White Teeth inside... When this old woman tries to smile at me, I notice she has no teeth... X" How could she put her teeth in the glass?" X I wounder, trying to pull out my own teeth...  My Savta makes a funny face and begins to cry, I feel scared, so I also begin to cry...

   The next thing I remember, is Ima and me entering a small garden and start to walk on a long path, with pretty roses on bouth sides...The path stops in front of to a tall, green wooden door. Ima tells me that this is the doctor's house and we are going to ask him to come and help Savta feel better... The doctor, who is wearing a white coat, strokes my hair and asks me if I want a candy. I look up at Ima for permission and she nods her head, to say yes... I can't believe it;" A real candy! not that vegetarian things I get at home! The doctor takes off his white coat, picks up a black bag and the three of us, begin to walk together to Savta's house. My mother and the doctor speak in law voices and they are not smiling... 

   I know they talk about my Savta, because Ima is sad and begins to cry again, like she did at our home in Jerusalem, before we came to my Savta in Rechovot...  I want to look inside the doctor's black bag, to see if there is a Band-Aid there, so he can make Savta's feel better, but Ima says:"No!" 

With love and Light,
Shira