The Day I Lost God... V, (change blue into black) X(photo of saba Eliyahu

Hello everyone,

Jaffa, Israel 1955

   My friend Miriam and I are 'Strolling along' Jerusalem Boulevard, next to our school in Jaffa...      Miriam is sitting in her 'Wheel Chair', while I sit on the Wood Bench, facing her...  It is a sunny spring day; birds tweeting and the old trees, proudly show their New shiny Leaves... I sit on a faded wood bench and Miriam remains sitting in her Wheelchair... I was a New Student when the teacher pointed me to a chair behind an old wooed desk for two. There were 'fading names' of previous students, carved in to the old table... Miriam showed me hers and whispered to me to do the same, when the teacher was writing with a choke on the Blackboard... As I was checking out my new class, I suddenly saw a folded 'Wheel-Chair' at the corner of the room..."Do you have a crippled kid in the class?" I asked my new friend. She burst into a marry laughter, pointed at her chest and said:"Yes! It's me!" Much later I will find out, that all the doctors her parents took her to see,were unable to tell what was the Neurological Ailment, Miriam was suffering from...They eventually assumed that her Spine and Nervous System,  might have been affected when her mother, who was in her eighth month of pregnancy (with Miriam)  jumped from the sixth floor to escape the 'Gestapo' (German secret police) which were banging on the door of their apartment... Her mother was able to escape, but when Miriam became a toddler, she was unable to walk! After this first day in school, Miriam and I became Inseparable... We found out we had a lot in common! Both of us were ferocious readers, loved to talk and analyze, tell jokes, laugh out loud  and play "Ticks (surprises) on our friends... After school, we enjoyed strolling in 'Jerusalem Boulevard', Jaffa's main  street. Miriam was sitting in her 'Wheel Chair' and I was pushing it on the sidewalk. From time to time we would turn her chair around, in order to confront the people who stopped waking and were staring at Miriam with looks of pity... "What are you looking at?!" I would angrily say to some of these 'On Lookers', who began to scatter like 'Frightened Chickens'! Miriam and I would burst into a Roaring Laughter, tried to stop but laughing all over again, until our bellies were aching...

    I loved Miriam! It was so good to have a Best Friend, with whom I share my secrets and know she  would "Never Betray Me!"... Miriam loved my stories about our large, extended family of Grand Parents  aunts, Uncles and two generations of Cousins, all born in Israel...Miriam, who lost her Grandparents, as well as aunts, Uncles, Cousins and many other relatives, in the Concentration Camps, was fascinated by the fact that my Grandparents on bouth sides, were among the First 'Pioneers' who came from Russia, to  build our small country! She was particularly impressed, that my parents were Born in  Israel,which meant I was a 'Double Sabra' (Nickname for Israeli born)...  Besides her brother and baby sister. Miriam had no extended family, besides her parents, a younger brother and a baby sister... Her immediate family died in Germany's  'Concentration Camps'... She wanted to know all about my extended family; laughing with pleasure when I told her that when I was four years old, I thought that my beloved Grandpa, my father's Dad 'Saba Eliyahu' was God, since his hair and beard where soft and white like Fluffy Clouds and his clear blue eyes, were the color of the sky...

Saba's miniatures

Miriam and me

    I have written before about my beloved Grandpa, who was an  Archeological Sculpture (Childhood Memories in Black and white)    Curving 'Small models" of the 'Holy Places', in and around Israel  Mostly Jerusalem.. On the right are three duplicates of famous Biblical Burial Places, made by my Grandpa, who used the'    White Stones' he picked at the hills, which surrounded Jerusalem... It may take him almost a year of curving by hand, each one (with special Tiny Knives and Hammers) to finish one of these Miniatures Through the tiny windows one is able to see, a copy of the  Tums Stones, which covered the graves... I remember asking my Saba, how was he able to go inside, in order to do so and he would whisper in my ear, with a whimsical smile:"I have a Tiny Helper, smaller then your little finger... I give him a small hammer and this little man, goes through the window and does a great job!" When I asked if  I could watch this little man at work, my beloved Saba would say that this 'Little Man' comes very late at night, long after 'Sunset', when all children are already sleeping...

  Like most of the refugees who escaped Europe, during the Nazi Regime; Miriam's family came from  Poland... They lived in a small abandoned and dilapidated house, in Jaffa, which was previously an Arab Neighborhood... The three Jewish Families, who were now living in this small house, were refuges from Poland and Romania... They shared one small Kitchen, one Toilette and a tiny Bath Room... Even though they did not understand each other's language, they Communicating in broken Hebrew, or asking their kids to translate for them... Since Miriam and I were always together, I became a part of these three families and was often invited to dine with them.  However, even though the food smelled delicious, I refused to do so if there was any meat...

  Miriam adored my "Arabic Palace"... Unlike her crowded home in the 'Asphalt Jungle' of Jaffa; our house had huge rooms and a garden with fruit trees and flowers... There was an empty field near by, where sheep were feeding on the wild grass. They were watched by an Arab boy about my age ,whose family was among the few, who chose to stay in their homes, rather then ran away, when Israel was declared by the United Nations, to be a "Jewish State!" I wanted to ask this boy if he knew the Sultan's many wives and kids, who lived in our present home, before they ran away, but I didn't speak Arabic... I realized that this boy didn't like me, because if   I  smiled at him, he didn't smile back, but turned his head and walked away with his sheep, which kind of hurt my feelings because I just wanted to be his friend...

   Miriam and I became Best Friends! She loved my parents and I believe she had a crash on Rami, my sixteen years old brother... I personally did not like my brother, not at all! I suffered from his "Dismissive and Superior attitude", which (some) older siblings, may treat their younger brothers and sisters... Rami who was five years older, was condescending to me and my girlfriends! I was very hurt and embarrassed by the way he acted towards us! When I brought Miriam home for the first time, I was terrified that Rami would hurt her feelings, but to my great surprise, he was very nice to her... He even set by her chair and talked to her!... It helped the rage I felt towards him, to subside a bit, realizing that my brother has  been hiding a sensitive part, which I haven't seen him expresses,... Miriam loved to look at the small miniature building of my grandfather... She touched them gingerly and looked with wonderment, through the tiny windows at the Tomb stones inside... I told her that my Saba made his living, by selling his Art  to the Tourists as well as the Turkish government officials, who ruled our small country... Years later he would be selling it his miniatures, to the the 'British Rulers', who came after them... When Al and I got married    my parents gave us as our wedding gift, these three little sculptures, made by my beloved Saba, who passed away when I was nine years old... These Tiny Buildings are the most precious and valuable items which I will grab first, in case of an Earthquake or a Land Slide; 'God Forbid'...

   It took me almost one hour, to push Miriam's wheelchair, from her home to mine; since a Large part     of the road was Sandy in the summer and Muddy in the winter; which made the pushing more difficult since the wheels got stuck in sand and the mud... I never complained or even thought, that I was doing anything Unusual; by pushing Miriam's wheel chair and was surprised when people complemented me by saying how nice I was to do so... "What's so nice about pushing my Best Fiend's wheel chair? She would be doing the same for me!" I wondered...When the two of us, finally arrived to my "Arabic Palace" as she named our place, Miriam would bang, the bronze fist, on the heavy door and yell: "Open sesame!"  Later we would sit in the shade of the Mulberry trees and talk... Mostly about the books we read: The Flying Carpet and the Gene, who broke free from a bottle he was in, for many years... The one who helped him out, was  a boy, whom he was showing  his gratitude, by granting him three wishes...  "What would You wish for?" Miriam and I asked each other... I wished to be better in Math, but when I heard Miriam's wish to be able to walk, my heart field up with Sadness and decided to give up my wish and replace it by one which would help Miriam to be able to walk!   

   Let's go back to the beginning of this post, where two twelve years old girls, are sitting on a bench       in  Jerusalem Boulevard, engaged in a 'Deep Conversation' about life, God and miracles... It is warm      just a few days before the Holiday of Passover... In our Bible class, we have been learning, how Moses liberated our forefathers, who were forced to be Jewish Slaves in Egypt and how he lead them to their  new home in Canaan; our present country Israel! Miriam and I talk about God, the Miracle Maker, who created Heaven and Earth and Split the water of the Red Sea, in order to help the Hebrew slaves escape   from the Egyptian army... We also talked about our Almighty God, who freed our Forefathers from Slavery, by  helping the Jewish slaves cross the Desert and settle in the promised land: "Our beloved  country Israel! "Miriam!" I can see my 'Young Self,' begins the awakening process of Doubts :“If God   can do such Miracles, why doesn't he make you walk?!” Miriam's safe world of unshakable Belief in     the 'Almighty', begins to crumble... For a moment, we sit in silence. "I don't know why?" She finally said... "Maybe because we Never Asked Him?! God is very busy you know, maybe if we ask him to make  A Miracle you could get out of this wheelchair and walk!" We look at each other again, this time with eagerness, excitement and New Hope... We hold hands, lift our eyes to the sky and I say loudly: “God please make Miriam Stand Up and Walk!" 

   For a moment everything around us is frozen in time... Then once again buses and cars begin to move back and fourth on both sides of Jerusalem Boulevard, where an old man and woman, sit on a bench warming themselves in the sun... Two mothers feeding their babies; chasing away the flies with a thin Cloth Diaper... Miriam and I are staring at her legs and hold our breath; waiting for a miracle; but nothing  is happening... "Do you feel Anything Miriam? Try to move one leg at a time, I think I saw A movement!”  I refuse to give up... She slowly moves her head from side to side and her soft gray eyes behind the lenses of her glasses, seem to be sad and tired... Miriam looks at me Apologetically, sorry to disappoint me and I feel like crying... "Wait!” I say with a renewed hope, “Maybe God didn't understand or realize that we are asking him to make this Miracle Right Now! not in the future!”  The Two of us  are holding our hands again and I say with renewed determination: “God! Please make Miriam get out of the wheelchair and walk, Right Now!" It should be very easy for God to do so, after all, didn't he create such a Big world      in  six days only?! I can see how the 'Hope' is fading away from Miriam's eyes and I feel like crying... 

   The intensity of my hope was turning into a devastating disappointment and then into a Rage! I look up   to the sky and point my finger, at a small white cloud, sailing peacefully by..."Well, you know what God?  I I don't believe in you any more!” I yell looking up... “I don't even believe that you created the world!      If you did, it would be so Easy for you to make Miriam walk! Why don't you? Why?!" begin to bang my Fist on the bench, slowly losing hope...  Though I am still waiting:Maybe God is busy now, maybe he'll realize how unfair it is, to torture Miriam and her family, who already suffered enough, by the hands of  the Nazis...X"Please make Miriam walk God, It should be so easy  for you! After all,you are God All Mighty!" Miriam and I hold our hands waiting... We are waiting, waiting and waiting, but nothing is happening, Nothing!  This was how, at the age of Twelve, sitting on a Faded Green Bench in a small    park in Jaffa, I lost  my belief in God... It would take a Broken Heart before I find God again... 

With Love and Light,
Shira

Moving Again . V, OO X X

Hello everyone, 

Israel, 1953

An abandoned
house, turned art gallery

   After searching long and hard for a new place to live, my parents found and purchased an abandoned Arabic house, on the border of Tel Aviv and Jaffa... There were over four buildings on the property, which probably belonged to a wealthy Arab with many wives, before the war...  My parents said that whoever lived there, must have escaped during the 'war of independence', to one of the neighboring Arab countries... The property was surrounded by a tall and thick stone wall, with gigantic wood door, decorated with a bronze "Hand", which announced the arrival of visitors...This"Arabic Palace" was located between Jaffa and Tel Aviv... Years later these old exotic stone houses, would become very much in demand... Many artists remodeled some of these run down dwellings and turning them into  beautiful Homes, Art Galleries, Night Clubs and Boutiques...However, when we left our 'home on the   sand dunes' and moved into the new residence, it was almost unheard of that an Israeli family of 'Sabras' who were born in Israel, would live in one of those old neglected "Arabic Villas", which made was me very remembered...

   Romi, My fifteen years old brother hated it!  "Why did you bring me here?!" He was lamenting, his face red with rage: “My friends are going to laugh at me, when they find out that I live in an Arabic House! I would rather go back to that 'Sahara Desert', which you dragged us after that stupid Vegetarian Mosha!"  I was stunned to see my older brother bursting in to tears, but he was not done yet:"I wanted to stay in Jerusalem! Why did you take me away from  all my friends?First you drag me to that stupid Vegetarian Moshav, then to the house you found in the "Shara Desert" and now this old Arab house!" Romi yelled and ran out, slamming the door behind him..."Poor Rami!" Ima started to cry, and was looking at my father accusingly; "I told you we shouldn't move here, but you insisted, just because it is within a walking distance from your new job! You always think about yourself only! Why did I ever listen to you"?  X Ima answered crying and left the room... Unlike X my brother, I fell 'Madly in love' with this deserted 'Arabic Palace' the moment I saw the tall stone wall which surrounding it...There was a massive old wooden door in the middle of that wall, which was decorated with 'Bronze Fist' with  'Metal Plate' underneath. When visitors came, they would bang the 'Fist' on the plate, in order to announce their arrival. Around the house was a neglected garden, with dry flower beds and two big gigantic Mulberry Trees, which badly needed water! I couldn't wait for my parents to move in to this house and help them make it beautiful...

Scheherazade

   I became an obsessive reader... One of my favorite books was "A Thousand and One Nights". It had stories about a beautiful woman named "Shchrerazad",who was "A Weaver of Wards" (Story Teller) and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves... I was looking around, trying to visualize an Arab king, who was probably the previous owner of this "Palace". On the right was a very large and long room with arched windows; which I decided must have been the 'Harem", where the Arab women lived... I was visualizing them wearing their flimsy colorful "Pantaloons" and the Transparent Vales covering their faces, like those I saw in the the movie 'Ali Baba and the forty thieves'... In my imagination, I could see 'Belly Dancers' dancing for their Master and feed   him grapes, the way I have seen it done in the movies...

Ali Baba and the
forty thieves

   There were two old big (actually Huge) Mulberry tree; growing in the Yard     I decided, that these trees were previously “Good Giants", turned into Trees by an Evil Sorcerer and was determined to learn the Magic Words, which will "Break the Spell and Free them!" When these liberated trees would ask me if they can be my servants, I would say No! Telling them how the Jewish People are against slavery, because our Forefathers were slaves and worked hard in the hot sun of Egypt! I would be very happy if these beautiful trees would agree to become my 'Giant Pets', protecting me from enemies like Hitler,in Germany,who put all the Jews in Concentration Camps and killed them in Gas chambers and  ask them to protect my family and friends, from enemies like the Arab Countries, who wish to drown all the Jews and take away our New small state of Israel, which God gave the Jewish people as a gift...

Mulberry trees

  After we finally moved to our new home, I used to climb on the these trees, which I believed were "Bewitched Gentle Giants", comfortably snuggled on some of  the stronger branches, read my book and eat the sweet fruit... One of the two trees was covered with black berries and the other, with light green once (bouth delicious and sweet) My parents shared the 'Palace' with two other families , one from Bulgaria and the other from Romenia... During the summer, some of the neighbors would come to  the yard and sit in the shade to enjoy the fresh breeze... (No Air Conditions...) Even though our 'New Comer' Neighbors did not speak Hebrew, we got along by using 'Pantomime' in order to understand each other, which I found to be a lot's of fun....  

Shlomit (right)
and me

   My school in Jaffa was about a half hour walk... Most of the students, were kids who arrived to Israel from different countries in Europe, after  their parent escaped from the Nazis... I was fascinated by the stories, which I heard in my class, told by kids from Poland, Hungary, Germany, France and Romania...Others came from Italy, Spain, Greece,Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and other European Countries Several years later, Israel would embrace the 'New Comers', who would escape from the Arab Countries: Egypt, Syria, Lebanon,Yemen, Moroco and Tunisia...In my new class was only one more student besides me, who was born in Israel; Shlomit. Like me, was Israeli born who were called"Sabras",  named after the sweet wild Cactus frute, which grew in Israel. Since bouth of my parents were born in Israel, I recived a 'Double Admiration'

My 6th grade class
Jaffa, 1955

    My new school was located in Jaffa, where the students spoke in  many languages...The Principal and our teachers, were telling us how important it is  for the Jewish people to be united; especially since we have just lost six millions of our "Brothers, Sisters" in the Gas Chambers of Nazi Germany! It would take some time to unify the groups of kids, who came from difrent countries, but eventualy it took place! When I was about twelve, our Principal and teachers  helped us create a 'Student Government'; modeled after the Israeli government Daniela who was born in Poland, became the Education Ministar, Abraham Berkowitz from Romenia, was the Ministar of Finens and I, who's parents were born in Israel, was given the title "Minister of Social Affairs"of our School's Governmaent! One of my most cherished memories is the day I came to the to our  Principal’s office and told him, that I noticed  how some of the kids, come to  school wearing old, torn clothes'...(After all I was  the Minister of Social Affairts!) It was a very cold winter and I suggested that the students donate some of the old clothes which no longer fit them, to the needy children in our school...My handsome principal, Mr Shribman(with whom I was secretly 'In love') thought it was a Great Idea! He complemented me for thinking about it (and even stroked my hair!) The next morning, I was standing by the principle's side in the school yard, in front of all the students...The place we always stood before going in to our 'Class rooms'. The principal put his arm around my shoulders and said: "Shira Cohen, who is now the Social Affairs Minister of your Students Government, would like to talk to you about something important" He gave me the microphone and I explained how some of our 'school friends' parents, are unable to find jobs, therefor they can not buy new cloths for their growing children... I was asking them to donate some of their old clothes, which are still in good shape but were too small for them, to share with the needy students...

   The following morning the nurse and I were under an 'Avalanche' of Donations... The small room was full with clothes almost up to the ceiling... After I 'dressed up' some of the most needy students, our  principle sent messages to other schools in Jaffa, to send their needy students pick up the rest of the clothes... It was a cold, freezing and rainy winter day, six students from different schools, were waiting to collect the left  over clothes. I noticed one of them, who was a couple of years younger then me... His lips were blue and chapped from the cold weather, he was wearing a thin faded torn sweater and pants full of holes... I noticed that he had no socks on and was wearing old open sandels  in the freezing cold day! What shook me the most, was the expression I saw in his eyes: It was a mixture of Resignation and shame a look which I had never seen before in a child's eyes... I felt a sharp pain in my heart and began to search in the pile, for cloths in his size, finding a pair of winter pants, long sleeve shirts and a beautiful imitation of an old leather Jacket...“Go to the Boys Bathroom and put them on!" I told him. When he came back, it was hard to recignize him; he looked like a difrent child! I helped him to pick up more clouth for himselfe and when I came back home, I was unable to stop thinking of this cold and shivering little boy, in his torn cloths and reaped sandals, shivering in the cold winter day and began  to cry... I heard and read about poverty, but this was the first time, I come face to face with it...

   I was beginning to understand the meaning of 'Social injustice'... Realizing that beside my safe home there was another world of Pain and Hopelessness... It was on that cold and rainy winter day, that I was able to fuly understand, for the first time, the meaning of the words 'Poverty and Compassion' and these new emotion Xfelt likeX "A kind of Love which Hurts"...  From that moment on the person I called “Me” was begining to change: I was growing up! Years later, I found a Chinese Proverb which said; “Doing good is the Only Pleasure, which Never wears off...” Later on, when I would be asked what is my favorite Hobby, I would say:"It is to remove people pain and make them  happy!" 

With Love and Light,
Shira

Givat Hulon - The Hills of Sand . V, OO ( XX) X Photo of reading books VV

Hello everyone,

 Sand Dunes

Sand dunes

   Many of us must have seen photos or movies, showing the Sand Dunes of the Sahara Desert... This was what our new neighborhood, Givat Hulon (Hill of Sand) looked like There were about fifteen newly built houses, surrounded by mountains of sand. I was fascinated!  Being used to the narrow sand strip next to the Mediterranean blue water   of the beach in Tel Aviv. I was' Awestruck', by the largeness and majesty of this "Ocean of sand", where our new home was now built on... It was a total  contrast between the Moshav and our previous dwelling Jerusalem, which was Grey with paved roads and side walks...The 'Moshav' was Green, surrounded by trees and vegetation...This new settlement called Givat Hulon (Hill   of Sand) was located twenty minutes away from Hulon, the 'Big City'. Our new  Neighborhood color   was pure solid Yellow,mixed with Orange during Sunset... The colors kept on changing into different shades; depending on the time of day and the position of the sun...

    Our new home was about twenty minute bus ride, from the 'Big' city of Hulon,where my brother and     I were going to school...  We had to take two buses which picked up more passengers, at several small settlements, on the way to the Big city...  By the time the bus (which usually came late) stopped to pick    up or drop off passengers; I was always late to school... During the winter, fierce winds caused the sand   to cover the road and the bus was unable to reach our neighborhood...We had to wait for a bulldozer, to come and clear it up, which could take several days...  A strange collection of people lived in our new neighborhood... There were only eight families, mostly Concentration Camp Survivors... One of them     was the Yakobovich family, which escaped Germany with two beautiful small blond daughters; Zelda who was six years old, and her younger sister Clara who was four...The girls looked just like their pretty mother Lotti, whos Jewish husband Markus, was hidden in the basement of her parents house in Berlin during the second World War... When the war was finally over they came to Israel... 

   One day as I was playing outside, I witnessed Lotti and her next door neighbor Mrs. Glikman, having   an argument, about hanging the laundry on the common clothesline, between their two houses. Actually   it was Mrs Glikman, who was having the argument... Lotti was a gentle woman, who would never raise her voice in anger, but Mrs Glikman, who was an unpleasant and bitter woman, was disliked by everyone in our new small community...  At the beginning, people felt sorry for her, because she lost her entire family in the Gas Chambers: Parents, Husband and Three children... Lotti lived next door to us,with her second husband and their son Peter, who was younger then me in a year. As time went by the neighbors began to resent Lottie's mean spirit an outbursts:"She Is Not The only one who lost family members in Hitler's concentration camps! This doesn't give her the right to lash at others!" They complained.. 

   I was playing outside one day, when Mrs. Glikman began to scream, berating poor Lotti, for hanging  her wet laundry on 'her portion' of the rope, which they bouth shared... Lotti tried to calm her neighbor with her sweet smile and soft words. She pointed out that Mrs Glikman, didn't even have laundry on the line at the time, but Mrs Glikman's face became a Mask of Hatred; "Go back to Germany, you filthy Nazi!  You are not even Jewish! This country is for Jews Only! Go back and take your two Nazi kids with you!"    I was shocked and ran home to my mom, crying and confused... I couldn't understand how why Mrs Glikman, is so Angry and Mean to sweet Lotti... "Ima, is it true that Lotti is a Nazi?" I asked my mother who was sweeping the constant thin layers of sand covering our porch..."No!" my mom said, "Lotti is not Jewish, but she is not a Nazi! She actually saved her Jewish husband from the Nazis, by hiding him in her parents basement! Mrs Glikman is wrong! Not all Germans were bad, but we should not forget that the Nazi's killed Mrs Glikman's Family, she has no one left, it probably made her a bit crazy; we should feel sorry for her!  But I was still confused: "So why are all the neighbors so mean  to her? I asked. Ima sighed and walked away, mumbling that there are all kinds of people in this world...

 Nazis

Nazi flag

   A week later Clara our seamstress and neighbor next door, came to our house in order to make Alteration for some of Ima clothes, on our Singer Sewing Machine.       I was sitting nearby, watching with fascination, the seamstress, with several pins  between her lips; crouching on the floor and was amazed, how she was able to talk without swallowing some of them! At one point I heard her saying to my mother something which garbed my attention... She was explaining that the reason she was  able to stay alive in the concentration camp, was because she and her Identical Twin Sister, were taken    to a special place, where the criminal Dr Mengale, was conducting Horrific Medical Experiments on sets of identical twins..."One day my sister and I were crying for our mother, after all we were only four years old! The Nazi Capo who was in charge of the "Mengale's children program", dragged us outside and was pointing at the cloud of smoke rising from the 'Crematorium' (were the bodies were burnt) "You want your mother? there is your mother!" Ima looked as if she was about to cry..."Is this is why you never married?" She asked gently. "Yes, x what reason do I have to get married, after these Nazi Monsters, took out my womb for their terrible experiments?" She said. My mother nodded her head, wiped her tears and reached out her arms to hug me...

D. Pirates and Curry

   A few houses away from our home lived a Jewish couple from India, with their son Tommy, who       was about my age. His parents who were very tall and dark, spoke English with a British accent and    kept themselves apart, from the rest of the neighbors... The rumor was that Tommy's Jewish father, was    a high ranking officer in the British army in India, before it's Independence. After the British left India Tommy's Jewish parents came to Israel... They were very strange and had stranger rules and regulations Whenever my mother would invite Tommy to have lunch or diner with us, he would refuse; saying that    he was forbidden by his parents to eat at other people's homes; unless they had a formal invitation..."  What is Formal invitation?" I asked him, but he shrugged his shoulders saying:"I don't know"... I was determined to help Tommy break this 'Stupid Rule!' "You live in Israel now, you have to be like all the other kids here, otherwise no one would want to play with you!  Here in Israel we always eat at each others house! Do you want the kids to think you are Weird and laugh at you?!" Some times after poor Tommy could no longer resist and ate with us, he would later rinse his mouth, rubbing his teeth with      Toothpaste which I put on his finger  and  was asking me to smell his breath, to make sure    that his parents wouldn't find out that he ate outside his home... I felt so sorry for him!

   Tommy was different from any other boy I have known before... He was extremely polite, shaking my parents hands whenever he came and left our house and thanking them for their "Kind's hospitality... My fourteen years old brother Rami, was mimicking and making fun of Tommy's "Gentlemanly Manners"... It made me very upset and I asked my parents to 'Make Rami stop laughing at him and couldn't understand why my parents found it funny... Tommy and I would often climb to the top of an abundant Water Tower, making believe we were on an island we just found, after our ship was sunk by Pirates... We used  'Make Believe' Binoculars, to scan the horizon, hoping to spot a Ship which will come to our rescue and take us home...  Even though I knew how Tommy's parents felt about kids who eat at other people's homes, I didn't say "No", when I was invited to have dinner with the Three of them, when we played at his house. At one point I saw Tommy's mother cringed, as I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand, rather then use the pretty embroidered white napkin she gave me. X"Didn't your parents teach you, that people should never wipe their lips with their hands"? she said to me."Why should they?״ I asked using my 'Combative voice'. X"We learned from the British that civilized people must use Napkins when they Dine!" The mother said"."Well this is Israel not England or India!" XI answered,x "Here we don't use 'Cloth Napkins', only Paper Napkins!" X The three of them were looking at me with  astonishment, but I was not done yet...X "Maybe the kids in India are not aloud to talk back to the Grown Ups, but my parents say that in Israel, we have no time for Old Silly Manners!" X I said

Curry dishes

   At dinner, Tommy and his parents were taking small spoonfuls of what seemed to   be Ketchup, from a bowl at the center of the table...I put some of the"ketchup"on my food, tasted it and started to scream... It was very,very,very Hot! Covering my mouth with the napkin; I ran to the bath room as fast as I could, to rinse my mouth again and again... It was the only time I saw Tommy's mother, who never cracked a smile, laugh Uproariously... This incident broke the ice between us... My parents invited them to come and eat with us, but they politely refused and it made me feel very sorry for them,  and Tommy, as    I was thinking how lonley and isolated they are going to feel in the future and how lonley poor Tommy is going to be...

E. My New School

     I was the new student in a class where the kids knew each other since the first grade...             It was difficult to make new friends, but I have always been extremely friendly and outgoing kid and Eventually made friends with a few few girls, but I couldn't stay to visit with them after school, because I would miss the only bus back home. Even though Tommy was a nice boy, he couldn't take the place of a girlfriend and I felt very lonely... One day on my way to school I passed next to a deserted garden and heard what sounded like a 'Baby's cry'...  As I      looked around, I saw a tiny black and white puppy, all by himself next to a bench... The poor little dog was trembling and seemed to be very scared. I hugged the puppy gently, covering him with my sweater   and was putting in his mouth a few a peace of the 'Whole Wheat' sandwich, my Mom put in the lunch box; but the puppy wouldn't eat; it probably needed milk... Everyone gathered around me to look and touch my puppy... We decided to hide it from the teacher and I put the tiny pup in my open desk drawer 'David the Trouble Maker', imitated the dog's cry and was sent to the Principle office, during the break      I was the 'Center of attention"... Everyone was gathering around me and the sweet puppy, stroking and trying to feed it a few crumbs, from their lunch box; but my puppy didn't eat and snuggled by my neck

   It is hard to describe the rush of emotions, I was experiencing at that moment...The tenderness and    love I felt for this 'Small vulnerable creature', who chose Me, to protect and take care of him! I will    never forget the Joy I felt, when my puppy stopped shaking, after I stroked him and whispered in his      ear how much I love him... When I came home, we found out that the puppy was not 'Him' but  'Her'      We named her Nava! (Biblical name for a pretty girl). From that moment on my life changed! I was   never lonely again, even school was more' bearable' now... The kids in school wanted to hear all the  funny news about Nava and were laughing, when I told them how she stuck her head into a plastic container and was running all over the house, bumping into the furniture... From then on I couldn't       wait to get off the bus, run home* lie on the area rug play with Nava, who was jumping all over me      and licking my face...         

   Even though the kids in school were much more friendly now, I still hated to be there...There was an      influx of New Immigrants to Israel, who came from the Arabic countries and some of the the new students could barely speak Hebrew... I was bored with the lessons, which the poor overworked teacher, was trying  to teach, in a class where half of the students didn't even speak Hebrew... XI hide in my desk the books      which I borrowed at the public library and was reading while the frustrated teacher, was trying to teach  the restless students... As much as I hated being in school, I loved the public library, which was located      next to my bus stop. I visited the library twice a week and picked up several books to take home. Books  became my escape from the 'Unfamiliar Emotions', I began to experience and was unable to understand Years later I would realize that besides loneliness and isolation, I was exposed to the growing tension in my home... My parents were at War! Ima wanted to move and "Live next to Normal and civilized people  But my Dad's ego refused to let him admit (even to himself) the mistake he made by allowing the cunning Real Estate Agent, convince him to buy a house in this tiny 'God forsaken place' and believing that it is about to become even bigger then Tel Aviv!

 Escaping  school

    One afternoon, as I was sitting on a park bench next to the public library, waiting for the bus to take         me home, a brilliant idea crossed my mind: "Why should I keep on going to school if I hate it so much   I'll be better off  skipping school altogether, sit on a bench in the park next to the library and read books  all day! And so I did... Each morning after getting off the bus, instead of going to school, I was  spending my time in the beautiful park, reading books... From time to time I would use one of the empty swings which usually had big lines of kids waiting for their turn and go back to my reading, until it was time to take the bus home...Very few people had phones in those days and our teachers, were having their hands full with new students, who's families were expelled from the Arab Countries and therefor, arrived to  Israel Penniless... These 'New Comers' who did not speak Hebrew, were having a very difficult time in communicating with the rest of the kids in the class...           

   One day during the break I was observing the 'Madness' in my class and feeling sorry for the young Substituted Teacher, who was trying unsuccessfully to bring order to the classroom. X"If I get out of school no one would know that I left!" I told myself one day... The following month instead of going       to school, I went to the park and was sitting on one of a benches, with a book from the library, and       was reading (actually 'Deva wearing')X Dickens Hebrew translation of stories for young readers like  "Treasure Island, Gulliver's Travels,' Arabian Nights,'Russian Tails', the Secret Garden" and others...         I enjoyed Hans Christen Anderson's stories, especially the one about the 'Little Match Girl,who was trying to sell matches in a street corners, during one of the coldest Danish winters and froze to death          I became a 'Compulsive Reader'! My brain was filled with images of those I was reading about, who became my 'Best Friends' and I was no longer lonley...

   Eventually, my parents found out about my "Adventures"... To my great surprise (and relief) rather    then punishing me they became very angry with my Teachers and the School, for not noticing my long absents!X The embarrassed Principal stuttered his apologies (spitting saliva as he spoke) promising my raging parents, to make sure it will never Happen Again!" When we came home I was expecting some kind of punishment and was silent during the bus ride; which was unusual for the 'Chatterbox' I usually was... At home, my parents put on 'Stern Faces' and asked me to give them my promise never again to   run away from school!" I stood erect with my hand on my heart, swearing: "Never Again! Later I was listening to my parents whispering in their bedroom:"Did you see how cute she was, standing with one hand on her heart, swearing she will never again run away from school?" Ima giggled."She is so cute    just Adorable and has lot's of Chutspa! (Guts!)" My Dad was saying proudly!"She must have learned  more from the Library then  in school!"... I realized there would not be punishment! Sighing with relief     I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and fell into a peaceful sleep...

With Love and Light,
Shira

Paradise Lost and Sand Dunes... V,O

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 neighborhood and friends! We could see the distractions which the War     left behind; Mr Kaplan's Grocery Store, suffered a direct hit, killing him and destroying the building, except for one wall... Uri, my brother brother's best friend who lived in the apartment building next to ours, lost a leg! The candy shop became a Kiosk and the Greengrocer's store, belonged now 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... Our Vegetarian parents old us that :"Salt water and Sun are good for our health; especially for growing children like you!"

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 neighborhood's kids, were attending. I remember  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 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 few white and black cows walking around, 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) before 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 Government" who would serve at one point in the future, 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 and 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:"Which is the most important of all juices!"  There were 'Three Deadly Whites' which were forbidden in our Vegetarian Kitchen: Bleached Flour, White Sugar and 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: The agricultural Village "Mishmar Hashivah". This agricultural community      was different from others, since it was available for '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 Nutrients and Healing energy... This was the only '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 of their Vegetarian way of life... We couldn't wait       to meet the new neighbors, in our Vegetarian Community! People who are like us, who were sharing     the "Same Ideals'! There was no Television in Israel during that time...Every evening after dinner, our parents would sit next to the 'Glass top table' (with the photos underneath) reading books and 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 which are "Pure Poison" "We'll live in Nature now! 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         dry dates, figs and raw almonds (Instead of cakes with "Poisonous White Sugar!") "What about my  school and  friends?" My brother was lamenting, 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!" I said. "Keep quiet dummy!" My brother said to me:"Just shut         up!" I began to cry harder and my parents told  my brother 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, so were our lamps and    other breakable things. The 'glass book shelves', our big table's glass top and two mirrors, were also warped, so were 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...The chairs, were 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 which    Ben in London, was playing...The Neighbors came to say goodbye, bringing cakes, fruit and candy!      The women were crying; hugged and kissed us and the men looked sad, when they shook hands with      my father. We stopped to part from my dad's partner Moti and the employees and after all the 'Hand shaking, hugs, back clapping and good luck wishes; we finally took of 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 of the flowers, butterfly's as well as all the Birds and 'Crawling Creatures' I have never seen in Jerusalem! Almost everything was new and colorful: The  flowers and fruit trees, the yellow dry leaves in the Fall and  the fields of Vegetables... It was all  so new to me!  I once 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'; just like my dad's  "Patent", his ' 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. Before      our arrival, 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 only 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 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, fearing that the kids may think I am stupid...

A mystery
cave...

Old stairs 

 

    My parents were busy getting to know their new neighbors, they met  in  many meetings, 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 a few drops of blood from my bruised knees.X I also discovered old broken stairs, which were leading to Nowhere..." Dr our vegetarian  Physition Dr Netach, 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 said in his loud voice (almost Screaming), waving his thin arms  and was rewarded by loud cheering and Hand Clapping of his Vegetarian Admirers... Dr Netzach warned his followers, who were looking at him as if  he was some a 'kind of a God', to refuse giving the children  Immune Shots; since "These shots are nothing but Pure Poison!"... In those days "Immune Shots" were given in the school... 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 wiping the 'Running Nose' of one of their five small, blond children... His kids looked just like their father with Blondish long hair, down to their shoulders (even the boys)... 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, I would run to hid behind a tree or a rock... Dr Netzach  (who seemed he 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' was turning into a Nightmare and Cruel Awakening... My father was a Mechanic not a Farmer... Some of the vegetables he worked so hard to plant, shriveled and were' rotting away'... ("Not enough water? To much water?") The fruits  on   our trees were eaten by birds...("No Pesticide!" Dr. Netzach sad...) I remember my 'poor dad', standing and watching the Corn he planted, growing tall and green, then turning into yellow and die...  

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, Bread and other kinds of 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 to this place? " 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 Vegetarianism  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 only... (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 my father      said;X"You know that my partner Moty, owes me the money for half of the Garage and has been sending me parts 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 poor dad tried to assure her... My father was our family's 'Eternal Optimist' and was trying to calm down our frightened mother...Unfortunately, this time he was unable to do so...The Currency was going through one Devaluation after another, Making  his partner's  payments almost worthless"... The "safety net", which was supposed to 'keep us afloat', until all the vegetables and frute 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, received an 'Urgent Letter' from my despaired 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 yellin 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 was daying: "Your sister Shoshana and her Crazy ideas of Vegetarianism! She was the one who pushed us to make this Terrible Mistake; 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 be adivted to books! I was eight years old, when I picked up a book at the Children's Library of the hospital 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, I becoming an "Obsessive/ Compulsive Reader!" Reading, became my escape to 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 my spirit up to another world;calming 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 we paid!") and find another one in a small neighborhood, next to the large city of Hulon... The few houses were built on ' Sand Dunes' and looked like  the photos, I would later on see of  the 'Sahara Desert'..."You don't realize what a Great Deal you made!" The 'Slimy' Real Estate Agent, was telling my poor parents: "In a short time this place, is going to become bigger then Tel Aviv! Mark my words! I am promising you that the price is going to Quadruple, in less then a Year!”  My poor parents believed  him (what else could they do?)  Many years later, during one of my visits to Israel, my brother told me that this "God forsake Place', is still there and looks the way it used to be ...

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