Paradise Lost and Sand Dunes... V,O XXX OO V

Hello everyone,

Israel 1948-1951

Our neighborhood
in Jerusalem

    The War was over... The siege on Jerusalem came to an end and the British left   our country for good!... My brother Rami and I were excited to come back to our old home neighborhood and friends! We could see the distractions which the War left behind; Mr Kaplan's Grocery Store suffered a direct hit, killing him, destroying the building except for one wall... Uri, my friend's Rachel brother, who lived in the apartment building next to ours, lost a leg;  the candy shop became a KioskX and the Greengrocer's store,  was now belonging to a Shoe maker. Our neighbors were glad to see us coming back and Rami and I, were happy to play again, with our old 'Neighborhood friends' as we did before the war... My father was busy working in his Garage, I returned   to my kindergarten and Rami went back this school. Every Saturday we went to visit my father's dad  Saba Eliyahu, in the"Old People's Home"where he lived...  During the summer we would move to Tel Aviv for a few of weeks, to enjoy the warm water of the Mediterranean Sea, because (as my Vegetarian parents said) "Salt water and Sun are very good for our health; especially for children!"

Lemel School

   I have 'Vague Memories' from the day we were sitting around the radio, listening  to our new Prime minister David Ben Gurion's voice, who was behind the creation of the State of Israel! Another clear memory, is my first day in First Grade at the Lamely School, where most of the kids in our neighborhood were attending. What    I remember most, is how overjoyed I was (almost Ecstatic) when I was finally able  to Read! It was like Magic to see a short sentence, suddenly 'Jumping at me' from the words on the page! One of the stories I read was about a family who lived in a 'Moshav' (Agricultural Village). I can still remember the Red Tractor,  Green fields and the White and Black cows, walking around and eating grass all day...

    Each morning the students would be standing in lines at the school yard, watching with awe the       Flag with the blue Star of David, being raised up to the top of the pole...With hearts full of pride we    sang 'Hatikva' (our National Anthem) befor walking to our class rooms. On the walls were the photos      of Theodor Herzl; the Visionary Leader of our Jewish state, Chaim Weizman; the first first president of Israel, David Ben Gurion; our first Prime Minister and Golda Meir, the only woman in the Gavernment who would serve as the Prime Minister of Israel during the Six Days War...

Theodore Herzl	Chaim Weizmann	David Ben Gurion	Golda Meir

   As I have written before, my parents were among the first group of "Vegans" in Israel; which were Extreme Veterinarians...I remember my mother in our small kitchen, grating carrots by hand, squeezing out the Juice through a special cloth; in order to separate it from the Pulp (No 'Cuisinart' in those days)    so her children drink fresh carrot juice X"Which is the most important of all juices!"  There were 'Three Deadly Whites', which were forbidden to be in our Vegetarian Kitchen: Bleached Flour, White Sugar or Salt! (A bit of 'Sea Salt' was allowed') My brother and I took every opportunity, when our parents were  not around, to grab the 'Sweets' which were offered to us, by our Aunts and Uncles, who would shake  their heads with pity, feeling sorry for "The deprived children, who are not aloud to have White Sugar...

  When I was about seven, at the middle of my Second Grade, my parents decided to leave Jerusalem and move to a 'Moshav; An Agricultural Village named "Mishmar Hashivah"... This agricultural community was different from others, since it was available to Vegetarian Families Only! My parents said they had enough of "This Unhealthy life in the big city, with the exhaust fumes, people are forced to inhale and the Asphalt roads and sidewalks.which are choking the“Prana!”(Life giving energy)... It is known that these obstacles, are preventing Mother Earth, from sending us it's Nurturing and Healing energy!"" This was the only one 'Moshav', which accepted Vegetarians Only! "We wish to raise our children in Nature; have them breath Clear Air and eat Home Grown fruit and vegetables, free of Pesticides and be Judged and Ridiculed for our belief in Vegetarianism! Here we are all the same...

  My parents couldn't wait to move and live in a place where they will no longer have to justify their   'Way of Life' to their neighbors, friends and family members; who were concerned about Rami and       me for not getting enough Nutrients and Protein, because of the "lack of meat" in our diets... They      were tired of being judged or made fun of, because their Vegetarian way of life and couldn't wait to     meet the new neighbors in our Vegetarian Community; who were sharing the "Same Ideals'. There        was no Television in Israel during that time...Every evening after dinner our parents would sit at the  'Glass top table' (with the photos underneath) They were reading books and  were reading magazines about Vegetarianism; learning how to plant and harvest, what was the amount of water for the plants     and how to protect the 'Young Buds' from the Elements, without using Chemicals! ("Pure Poison"!)  "We'll live in Nature now!"X They were declaring to Rami and me, who couldn't care less...x"You kids   will grow up to be healthy and strong! People will no longer look at us, as if we are 'Weird', because      we are Vegetarians, since our neighbors and their children (your new friends) are also like us!”

   Rami and I were watching and listening to our parents, who were sipping Herb Tea and nibbling on    dry dates, figs and raw almonds x(Instead of cakes with "Poisonous xWhite Sugar!") While our parents  were "dreaming", my brother Romi was lamenting:"What about my school and  friends?" but my parents laughed..."Don't worry! You will be going to another school and have many new friends!" I began to cry:"But I don't want to move to another place, I don't want new friends, I want my old friends! I don't want to live in a House! I want to stay in our Apartment!" X I was cryingx "Keep quiet you dummy!" My brother was saying in; "Just shut up!" I began to cry harder and my parents told  Romi, that Wards like these, are not allowed in our house! Rami made 'a face' at me and left the room...  I still remember the "Sweet Revenge" I felt, when I stuck my tongue at him...

   One day a big truck, stopped in front of our Apartment Building in Jerusalem and our possessions were loaded on it... The furniture were covered with our blankets and towels as well as our 'Lamps'and other breakable things. The glass book shelves, our big table's glass top and two mirrors, were also warped in more  The plates, cups, glasses and other small "Breakables; where warped with old News Papers. Next  came the boxes with our pots, pans and whatever remained at our kitchen and loaded on the truck... So were the chairs, carefully wrapped with our blankets, my mother's Singer Sawing Machine and our tall  old Grandfather Clock, which was playing every fifteen minutes, parts of the tunes x the Big Ben in London was playing...The Neighbors came to say goodbye, bringing food, fruit, cakes and candy. The  women who were crying; hugged and kissed us and the men looked sad when they shook hands with Aba... We stopped for the last time at my dad's Garage, to part from his partner Moti and the employees After all the hands shaking, hugs, back clapping and good luck wishes; we finally took off to materialize my parents dream of a new healthy life, in the Vegetarian Moshav...

The Moshav

First corn

   Living in the Moshav made me feel as if I was Alice in Wonderland! Growing up in the Gray old city of Jerusalem    I was fascinated by the Colors around me! Butterfly's Birds Flowers and all kinds of 'Crawling Creatures, I have never seen in Jerusalem! Everything seemed to be new: Unfamiliar colors, the cycle of new growth, the yellow dry leaves in the Fall, the flowers in the Spring, the Fruit Trees, the fields of Vegetables... It was all so new to me! I was examining and counting the flowers, the leaves and  comparing the shades of green... Once, I found a plant which 'Sprayed'  my hands with 'dark liquid', similar to Ink... It gave me a great idea: "I'll collect this 'Natural  Ink' and sell it to 'Vegetarian Stationery Stores, because it did not contain any Chemicals!" I decided not to tell anyone about it, so people wouldn't 'Steal my Idea'... It would be my secret; just like Aba's "Patent" his x Elusive Invention of "Creating a Motor, which would be running by the Energy of Gravity!" (what (ever it means...) 

   My new school was located in a small town named Yazur; a thirty minutes walk from our home. My    next door neighbor Yehuda and I, were in the same class. Every morning he would stop to 'Pick' me up'  and we would walk together to the school, talking and laughing... I believe that even though we were only eight years old; we had some kind of a 'Childish Crush' on each other... Ten minutes before arriving to our school, the two of us would split and walk separately; so the kids wouldn't tease us, about walking "side by side"... Life was good with a few painful moments in between... One of the biggest humiliation which would follow me throughout my school years, was caused by the fact that in this new school, the student already learned the Multiplications Tablet, which I didn't learn yet at my school in Jerusalem. For some reason, I was afraid to tell my new teacher, that I didn't learn it yet and was cringing, trying to disappear when she would call on a student to come to the blackboard, take the white chalk and solve the 'Math Problem' written on it... I was terrified that the kids may think I am stupid and make fun of me...

A mystery
cave...

Old stairs 

 

    My parents were busy getting to know their new neighbors, whom they met     in many meetings they had, where they talked about the way of growing and selling their crops; Individually or Collectively... I was walking 'Intoxicated by the Nature around me (Maybe my parents were right about the power of Prana and Chi...) It was amazing to discover a new, ever changing world!  Walking 'Barefoot' on the brown warm earth, climbing trees, hanging on the branches falling, wiping away few drops of blood from my bruised knees and go on a search for Hidden Treasures..."Maybe I'll find it in the old cave which I found next to the broken old stairs leading  to Nowhere?" XDr Netsach, our Holistic 'Vegetarian X'Physition', was treated as if he was some kind of a God... In his 'Fiery Speeches', he was condemning the "Medical Doctors", who are "Poisoning' people with Toxic Medicines!" He was talking out loud, almost Screaming; waving his thin arms and was rewarded by loud cheering and Hand Clapping of the Vegetarian Admirers... Dr Netzach warned his followers, who were looking at him, as if he is some kind of a God, to x"Refuse giving the children X Insulation shots; since X"These shots are nothing but Pure Poison!"... In those days "Immune Shots" were given in the class room... Our parents told Rami and me to run away if anyone tries to inject us! (to which we were glad to obey!)  Dr Netzach was very tall; he had thin arms and yellow long hair... His shy 'Mousy wife', was always busy nursing a new baby, or  was wiping the 'Running Nose of one of their five small, blond children... The kids, who looked just like their father, had Blondish long hair, down to their shoulders... Dr. Netzach was adored by all  his Vegetarian Followers... Whatever he said was received as one of the 'Ten Commandments'! I disliked him (to put it mildly) When ever he looked at me, I felt as if his pale blue eyes were digging into me, wanting to find out  all my little secrets... With the natural Intuition of a child, I did not trust this man...Whenever I saw him coming towards me, on one of the 'Dirt Roads' in the Moshav, I would run to hid behind a tree or a rock... Dr Netzach  (who could see everything) would yell at me to come out; but I never did...  

   I was too young to realize what was going on, when my parents' Dream' began to turn into a Nightmare and Cruel Awakening... My father was a Mechanic not a Farmer... Some of the vegetables he worked so hard to plant,x shriveled and were' x rotting away'... ("Not enough water? To much water?") The fruit on our trees was eaten by birds...("No Pesticide!"x Dr. Netzach sad...) I remember my 'poor dad', standing and watching the Corn he planted, which was growing tall and green, turning into yellow and  dead sticks  On the first winter, floods swept away most of the young fruit trees, my father and our neighbors planted   next to the vegetables, they worked so hard to plant and take care of; which were dying as well...

The flood

  The water level was High and Rising, we were unable to leave the house...The   only 'Good thing' was the news that we 'Couldn't get to school', because of the floods... People in boats were delivering Drinking Water as well as Bread and other necessities. The small group of neighbors, who were shocked and disillusioned, as much as my parents, were now fighting with one another... My Dad became very ill and my 'shocked mother', was tormented by paralyzing fears and worries, about the results of the "Disaster" and was watching their "Big Dream" collapsing in front of her eyes:"Why did we ever Listened to your Crazy Vegetarian Sisters, who 'Brain Washed' us to come here!" Ima would tell my dad: "It is your older sister Shoshana's fault! She is the one, who came back from Germany, with all these crazy Vegetarian Ideas and Brain Washed all of us! Why did you sell the garage? How can we feed our children? What are we going to do?!"

   My Mom escaped' into a “Cleansing Fast” of  eating nothing Solid and drinking Orange Juice mixed with Green Juice... (In the future this 'Behavior' would be called: Anorexia Nervousa)."Ima" was losing    a lot of weight; becoming very thin and Uncommunicative... "Don't worry so much!"X said my father      who was more Optimistic then she was. X"You know that my partner Moty, owes me the money for half    of the Garage and has been sending me part of it, every month! We have what to live on, until I find a    Job After all, I have a Good Profession and Years of Experience as a Mechanic! My father, the family's 'Eternal Optimist' was trying to calm my frightened mother...Unfortunately, this time he was unable to   do  so...The Currency was going through one Devaluation after another,X " Making Moty's payments almost worthless"... The "Safety Net" which was supposed to 'Keep us Afloat', until the vegetables  and frute x  were ready for the markets, was disintegrating and my poor father, who blamed himself for the move, became gravely ill... Even though I was only nine years old, I was mature for my age and very sensitive... I became very ill and Dr Netzach's Herbal Medicine did not seem to help much...

Children's hospital

   My father's brother, uncle Aron, who received an 'Urgent Letter' from my mother asking him to come Immediately (No phones during those days) He had to change three busses, before finally arriving to our home... When he saw how sick I was, my uncle accused my parents of being" Fanatic, Crazy Veterinarians, who trusted a 'Fake doctor!"  He then went to see him and was yelling, that “If this child dies, it would  be Your Responsibility!" Dr Netzach who seemed very scared, got over his Aversion for the 'Conventional Medicine' and instructed my parents to take me to the"Nearest Hospital Right Away"!

   In later years I would often wonder, if getting so sick, was my way of 'Escaping' what seemed to be          my parents "Breakdown"... My father's black hair, seemed to turn Partially White "over night"within     one year, he started to look like an old man... My mother seemed to be a shadow of herself... At night  after my brother and I went to our room, we could hear them arguing and blaming each other for the decision of selling the garage, leave Jerusalem and move to the Moshav... "It is all your Sisters fault!"   My mother X  finally said. "Your sister Shoshana and her Crazy ideas of Vegetarianism! She was the  one  who pushed us to make this Terrible Mistake, of selling the Garage and move here! Why did we   ever  listen to her?! We were so happy in Jerusalem!" It was during my two weeks stay in the Hospital that I started to Read Books! I was eight years old, when I picked up a book at the Children's Library   and  read it from beginning to end in One Day! The book which was translated from English to Hebrew was 'The Last of the Mahicans' (Adopted for young readers)... From that moment on I began to 'Devour' Books; becoming an "Obsessive/ Compulsive Reader" addicted to books! Reading became my Escape  into another world... Away from the Harsh Reality of my parents fears and Teen Age brother's bitterness and rage, over moving away from his friends in Jerusalem... I was becoming a "Compulsive reader!"  Even now so many years later; there is nothing like a good book, to lift me up into another world; calm my Busy Mind and sooth my soul...

    My parents were growing apart... The only thing which united them was the Frantic Search for a way    out of the 'Wreckage of their dreams' and the urgent need to find a safe harbor for their small family. My Dad was finally able to find a job as a Mechanic, in one of the Post Office Garages in 'Tel Aviv', next to the Old City of Jaffa... It must have been 'Humiliating' for my 'Proud' father, to find himself  'Starting All Over' after having his Own Garage... Somehow, my parents were able to sell the house in the Moshav; for a third of what they paid and find another house, in a small neighborhood next to the large city of Hulon The few houses were built on 'Dunes of sand', which looked like the 'Sahara Desert'..."You don't realize what a Great Deal you made!" The Slimy Real Estate Agent (whom I instinctively disliked!) was telling my parents..."In a short time this place is going to become bigger then Tel Aviv! Mark my words! I promise that the price is going to Quadruple in less then a Year!”  My poor father believed him... (what else could he do?)  Many years later, during one of my visits to Israel, my brother said that this "God forsake Place' still looks the way it used to be, when we lived there ...

With Love and Light,
Shira

Politics, Zionism and the Birth of Israel . V,O

Hello everyone,

  After the establishment of the state of Israel; when I was about five years old, I was witnessing my parents and their friends arguing before the elections, whenever they came over for a game of cards... They were speaking loudly, trying to convince each other, that their political party was the right one!  "Among four Jews, there are seven opinions!" My parents friends were saying, as they set at the table to   play cards... No wounder there were Eleven political parties in Israel, during the 50's! Below are five... 

Achdut Havoda	Haganah	Poaley Zion	Mapai	Mapam

   I used to dislike the noise of these loud arguments, fists banging on the table, bursts of anger, which were followed by loud laughter and a strong "Friendly punches" on each others shoulders and arms... There were always 'Arguments' going on during the card games,whenever my parents friends, came to  our home for a game of cards...When ever wards like 'Concentration Camps' were  used, one of the players would immidietly alart the others, to the kids in the room and the conversation would immidietly stop!

   After reading my blog for quiet sometime, I trust that my readers are more familiar by now, with the idea of the 'Energetic Power of our Thoughts and Words'... History has been teaching us, that the mind of only one Individual, could cause amazing changes for good or for bad... It also taught us how fast Great Ideas, as well as Lies, could spread like wildfires and be embraced by the Masses..." The Bringers of Light" were World Leaders, like Moses, Herzl, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, and many others, were the bringers of Light, while Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini - were the instruments    of the Darkness!

Hitler	German Children	Emaciated corpses in a concentration camp	The one who didn't! (raise his hand)

   The energies of Enlightenment and Darkness, are both equally powerful as well as contagious...      When Mother Teresa, was asked to join an Anti-War demonstration, she said: "No, I will not march Against    War but I will March  for Peace!" We should always remember, how the"Hate Energy" in     Nazi Germany, began by the voice of One Man; Hitler, who was spreading his evil ideology, eight      years, before it started to spread all over Europe, with a devastating speed of a wildfire; consuming countries and people on it's way... It took only one person like Hitler, to start a flood of Hatred and Darkness, yet even at the midst of this Madness, there was one person, one German, who had the    courage to resist evil by Not raising his hand! (Top right)                                                               

   Years before Hitler came in to power, after witnessing the collective outburst of Antisemitism in    France, during the Dreyfus trial in 1894, Theodore Herzl, the visionary Jewish journalist and writer realized the necessity of having a safe country, for the dispersed Jewish people in Europe... Herzl's    vision, was  the return of the persecuted Jews in Europe, to their Biblical Homeland; the old country        of Judea - Now Israel... Herzl spoke about his vision, in the First Jewish Congress in Switzerland...           It was attended by participants from seventeen countries... The Jews in Europe started to experience         a new wave of Antisemitism, social discrimination and violent riots. It seems as if Herzl was able to      see the up coming 'Concentration Camps and Gas Chambers, of the Nazi Regime... Herzl spoke, about   the necessity of going back to live in the old Jewish Homeland... "If you Will it -- It is not a Dream!"    The great man said...

Theodore Herzl

  Many of the young Jewish people, who were inspired by these       words, as well as his book The Old New Land, packed up their meager possessions and left Europe, heading to their fathers old homeland, the Biblical "Canan', which was named Palestine by the Romans, after they conquered Jerusalem, in 63 BCE 1517 and would eventually became a part of the Ottoman Empire... The members of the small communities   of Jewish and Arab families,were surrounded by swamps and mosquitos and suffered from poverty and hardship.They became gravely ill with  Malaria, which was killing their babies as well as the adults; It was not an easy life...

   Allow me to write about my Grandparents, who came to Israel from Russia, together with the early pioneers, who heeded Herzl's voice to "Go back to the old country, in order to build it up again!"...With hard work and great sacrifices, the newcomers turned Herzl's vision into a reality... After the First World War, life became somewhat easier... The victorious British army, was welcomed by the citizens of the Jewish state with great joy...  These newcomers, together with their children, the "Sabras" who were    born in Israel, would read in the papers, listen to the radio and watch news reels, the rise of Nazism in Germany and  They would follow how Hitler's army, was making it's way through Europe, devouring one country after the other... The world was watching the 'Hypnotic effect', Hitler had on the masse, which resulted in a new Tidal Wave of Antisemitism, which was never seen before, was spreading all over Europe, wiping out innocent man, women and children on it's way...

Israeli's dance after UN
declared the Jewish state

  The sons and daughters of the early pioneers in Israel, those who were born in 'Palestine' (as Israel  was named by the British) joined the British army during the Second World War and were fighting to defeat Hitler and liberate Europe... In 1948 Herzl's vision became a reality! I was about five years old when the United Nations voted "YES" for the idea  of creating a Jewish state, the country of Israel...I still have a vivid memory of sitting on my fathers' shoulders, waving a small flag and watch with excitement, the happy crowd, dancing and singing in the streets of Jerusalem...X"We have our old/ new country again; the country of Israel!

   These days, we are being called to work together, in order to stop wars and hunger, in many parts of the world and find solutions, for the Climate Change; help clean our oceans and the Air we breath, put an end to the senseless violence and killing around the world, eradicate crime and clear our planet from waist and  Air pollution... Could it be that we are now read, to turn our world into a new Garden of Eden? Mankind is born with the gift of having the power of turning Dreams into Reality... I would like to quote a few lines  which had a great impact on me... Unfortunatel, I can not remember, who was the Original Writer, since three different sources, claim it as their own...

   "What if you had a dream and in this dream, you are in a lovely garden, where you pick up a beautiful  flower. And what if you wake up and realize that you are still holding this flower in your hand?... "

With Love and Light,
Shira