Israel, Three Months Later.

I've been in Israel for three months, and since I've gotten here, I've experienced so much. At the same time so little. The most emotional part of being here is watching Jews fighting Jews. It's really hard to watch how things could be so good, but people are so stuck in their ways and it just ruins things so badly.
What happened in Beit Hashalom was REALLY BAD. But I don't even know the worst of it because when people in Beit Hashalom were getting kicked (literally) out, I was all the way in Tel Aviv. I remember as I was getting off the train watching the scene on a TV screen hanging from the ceiling. I felt like crying. And there was nothing I could do, besides pray. So I did. But that didn't feel like enough for me. And I felt awful about the whole thing. There's something so wrong with this country. Jews don't expel Jews! Everything always seems to trace back to politics. I wish it weren't so bad, but it's not like Israeli politicians are know for being honest and trustworthy.
With such a sad situation in Israel, Shmuel Sokol took it upon himself to create a positive change. Jews are too passive to Arab violence, and he wants to put his foot down with many other like-minded people in Israel. He has a facebook group up, and a website. He is also working on collecting pictures of violent police officers from Beit Hashalom for purposes of lawsuits against their unnecessary violence. These officers broke the law and didn't wear name tags during the expulsion. This is probably to keep themselves safe of lawsuits. There's also a facebook group for pictures, and a website.

Recently the JIDF found that they were being threatened by Hezbollah on their official website. Shmuel Sokol took a look at it and found out a very interesting piece of news. Hezbollah was advertising free Hezbollah web mail accounts. The JIDF explained that Hezbollah web mail is supported by hotmail. As Shmuel puts it so nicely: "Thank you Microsoft, for providing technical support for Hezbullah's webmail." To read more click here.

Hamshushalaim has started! Anyone it Israel should definitely check it out. I remember last time I was in Israel for it, I had so much fun.

Violence in Hebron

There's a lot of action in Hebron these days, and I don't think most of it has been good. When I've been there things weren't too bad, but there was a teenage boy taken to the hospital with a broken skull. An Arab threw a rock at him that hit his head. I even saw a video of him bleeding from his head on Jpost.com. There's been tention between police, soldiers, Arabs and people supporting Beit Hashalom.

More recently, the road to Beit Hashalom was being blocked off, stopping more people from getting to Beit Hashalom. I spoke to someone inside that said he got through anyway, and the security isn't so tight. People are thinking that they are going to try to do the exulsion soon because of the current road block, but it's been going on for hours and I'm starting to think that it might happening just because of the rioting that's been going on for a while now.

I slept in Beit HaShalom two nights ago, and when I left om the morning I had a feeling of nervousness, not knowing when they were going to try to kick everyone out of the building. The Supreme Court did not say that the Jews in Beit HaShalom had to leave, only that it was in the hands of the police to evict them, if they so choose. This whole story seems to have turned personal. It's now a battle between the right and the left. It's like they don't want people to think that the right wing "extremists" can boss them around and do whatever they want. A fight between authority and disobedience (only for these "extremists," Arabs still being treated better as they seek more ways to cause harm).

I want to think that the government actually cares about what is right and what is wrong, but that would be wishful thinking. At this point, Israel has too many anti-Jewish government officials and I think it's a miracle that the State of Israel has lasted to long. Every second news report is about giving "back" land to Arabs, or freeing more terrorists that want to kill everyone.

I encourage people to go to Beit Hashalom to show support, and at the same time, show some respect to soldiers who put their life on the line to protect us. So in short, don't throw rocks. :)

Jews are Treated Worse in Israel!

It's a Jewish Homeland, right? Yeah, that's what I was told, too. I've been around the world enough to recognize the antisemitism that is present in my own country. America is all about being fair and making things equal for everyone. It's all about being "politically correct" over there. Other places are not as kind. But it's not like I expect kindness from the world as a Jew. I have seen and heard enough to know that as calm as things seem on the surface, antisemitism still has a strong presence in out precious world. Hard for me to believe people are so ridiculous as to hate a group of people for no good reason, but a tough reality is no reason to deny reality, if that is what one is looking for.

In Israel a Jewish voice seems weaker to me than an Arab voice. Arabs in Israel are considered a minority and as a minority, they have been given special treatment. How kind of Israel to worry about making everyone feel welcome and comfortable. Everyone always feels bad for the poor Palestinians even when they attack innocent Israeli civilians. Perhaps Israelis don't count as innocent civilians? How does one explain a government allowing its civilians to be attacked for years and not do everything in it's power to protect its people? It seems that the Israeli government is busy worrying about the politics it would cause by properly defending its people that it isn't able to command its capable army to do its job. But that's just one example of the government's injustice toward Sderot. There are many more I could write about.

Another issue bothering me is the whole fight in Israel between the Right and the Left. Personally I am ver Right Wing and think that if the Left don't appreciate Israel enough and just want to give it all to Arabs, then they should just go live somewhere else because it's not just their home and they should really be more considerate. The messages they give Arabs and the world hurt all of the Jews. So while they want to be so considerate and open minded, they seemed to have forgotten about their own brothers. Judah and Samaria are beautiful areas of land in the middle of our country. Thinking logically, if we were to leave those areas alone and let Arabs have it to themselves, wouldn't we have another Gaza situation? Wouldn't the world look down upon us defending ourselves from Arabs in Judah and Samaria if there were a similar situation to the present one in Gaza? The thing that I think bothers me most is how it seems that Arabs have a right to live in Judah and Samaria but I, as a Jew, do not. What happened to my rights? Why do Arabs have more of a right than me? In America this would mean that someone somewhere is suing someone for being racist. Why hasn't the UN or a human rights organization said anything? We are silent. Most of us are silent. But not enough of us are coming together to stand up to this disgusting injustice. In Israel, murderous Arab terrorists are released from prison by the hundrreds, encouraging Arab violence, further endangering Israeli lives, and showing the world how stupid a government can become from American pressures. Terrorists get treated very well in jail. Jewish prisoners can't expect similar treatment. The sad thought in my head, is that no one complains about bad things happening to Jews because it's exactly what they want. This time it's not the non Jews that are hurting us all. It's ourselves. I wish the Left would stop fighting for the Arabs and join our team since they're stuck on the same boat anyway. Arabs have enough support for their terrorism, why should Jews be encouraging it.

From now on Jews should all be standing up to protest the government kicking Jews out of their homes in Judah and Samaria. We need to be united, and it seems like it's the thing that would help pull the country together in a more unified way.

Drinks

Last night I went out to a bar across from Ben Yehuda in Jerusalem with a friend of mine and his friend. I'm not usually much for bars, but having a drink with friends is nice once in a while. Since I was already there, I decided that at least I was going to get something that I wouldn't usually have the chance to try. Looking at the menu with my friend, finally I was going to try "sex on the beach." What a name, right? Well funnier was when my guy friend asked the waiter... "I can't believe I'm actually asking you this, but can I have "sex on the beach" please?" That was so worth it all! After when the waiter saw that the drink was for me, he said that a girl was trying to order a drink and she just pointed to the menu telling him that that was what she wanted. The drink she was pointing to was called "orgasm" and no wonder she didn't want to ask the waiter for it! There were a lot of good laughs there.

Personal Experience in Beit Hashalom

Last Wednesday and Thursday night I slept at Beit HaShalom in Chevron. Wednesday was the night that there was an assembly in Kiryat Arba to discuss the situation with Beit HaShalom. After the assembly many people went to visit Beit HaShalom and a lot also stayed the night. That night was not so eventful I don't think. The biggest thing that I heard about was a group of people getting shot at from Arabs when they were walking a certain direction from Beit HaShalom. A friend was actually in that crowd and said it was really scary. Across from Beit HaShalom is an Arab cemetery. I would think that it would creep me out, but it actually didn't even look like a cemetery. The place was not kept nicely and didn't seem like a place people were actually buried in. Sort of like it was still in the process of being built or something. I walked around a bit and talked until I decided that I had to go to bed as it was very late and I was waking up early to tremp back to Tzur Hadassah for work. Women were sleeping on a seperate side of the building on a floor that had four families living there I believe. Women had a room for themselves. When I got to the room to go to sleep there was very little space left on the cement floor. Girls were all over the floor already asleep. I was lucky and had put my stuff on a bed that had no mattress to it when I first got to Beit HaShalom. Even though I didn't sleep well and was cold, I was still very thankful to have been spared from the the cold cement.

Thursday night when I slept in Beit HaShalom was a very different experience. Many teenagers where there that night, and all very active. There was a point to their actions. I went to bed a bit before 1:00 am only to have girls come into the room waking everyone up. We were supposed to go on a "siyur." I guess the English translation would be "a tour" or something with a similar idea. we were planned to go out at 1:30 when the boys were scheduled to come back from their "siyur."

Our strength was in our number so we stuck together. I can't say that I agree with everything that went on there, but I stuck with the girls because that is just what you do. Statements were made on that outing. We walked from Beit HaShalom to Ma'arat Hamachpelah and from there it was more spontaneous. A police vehicle was following us most of the time. A few times we took a sudden turn into a street that cars couldn't enter, but when we came out again, the police were back, too. I've always known Arab areas that I could enter to be dirty and shameful. There was a small area that we went through that was similar to the Old City in Jerusalem that has streets that are only meant for people to walk through. As we were going through this area, with no police at our backs, we left our statement that we are strong. It was chutzpah, and I don't think I agree with all of it, but it was strong, and it only showed more strength to the Jews living in Chevron. I feel that is very important because the government is constantly encouraging the Arab violence. No, I am not saying that it's all justifiable, but that there was a point. At one point on our way back a cop grabbed a guy and then a big mess started. Guys were trying to get him back and the girls were causing trouble from a distance where other police cars were. Three tires were punctured, police got some stones thrown at them from someone really dumb on the roof of Beit HaShalom. And once someone threw a stone at soldiers standing near their jeep. That really didn't go over well with me. I think someone very immature and short-sighted has not realized that he needs to give our soldiers respect. They put their life at risk for us and work hard all the time. When there is trouble and we need help, we run straight to them. I think that some youngsters get caught up in all the wrong that's going on to realize that it isn't all bad. Some is bad, some is good, and some just is. Eventually the rebbetzin from Beit HaShalom came out to calm things down. The boys made an agreement with the police that they release the two boys that they had taken and everyone goes back inside. That's how it all ended. For a little while there were some Arabs on the roof of a building nearby throwing rocks at us, and we were throwing rocks back. I thought it was pretty stupid because of the distance, but each side I think was able to reach the other somewhat. Soldiers came to protect us, G-d bless their souls. Another Arab nearby was videotaping us from his roof, and he got some rocks thrown at him. It was a bit crazy seeing the enthusiasm that these Arabs had at throwing rocks at us. There were pretty serious about it. The hate is such a shocker even though my brain knows it to be true.

Anyway, JPost wrote a negative article on the whole thing and I do think they have a point, but trying to understand both sides before coming to a definite conclusion about the whole thing is the best way to stay objective and find truth.

Beit HaShalom

The Peace House, Beit HaShalom in Hebrew, is my current focus and priority (after my other obligations of course). The Israeli government has decided to force the residents of Beit HaShalom out of their house and charge them a fine of 15 000 shekel to be paid to the Arab that they had legally bought the building from. I'm not sure how the whole issue started, but from what I know, the Arab that sold the building isn't being straight up with his story on the sale, and has given at least three different accounts to what happened. Apparently he says he changed his mind about the sale or something. Anyway, it sounds ridiculous and I'm sure it is. Now the Supreme court told the 20 or so families of Beit HaShalom that they need to leave and pay a fine of 15 000 shekel to the Arab who owned the building. Despite the fact that the residents gave the Supreme Court video and audio recordings of the purchase, which was very clear and in detail. The Supreme Court said they hadn't come to a decision yet but in the meantime the residents in Beit HaShalom must leave. Does this not seem a bit racist to you? I think it's a bit silly how the rest of the world is accusing Israel of being cruel to the "poor" Palestinians. If only they knew the truth of the filth that goes on here. It's sad and disgusting all at the same time.

Well I'm really tired and falling asleep as I type, so I'm going to try to go to bed now and write more a different time. shabbat shalom!

Sderot Event

Tonight I actually made it all the way to Sderot for an event I was invited to on facebook. Originally I wasn't going to have Thurs. afternoon off but miraculously I got what I wished for. It worked out more than great for me because I went out on a date while getting to go to this event in Sderot, and I brought someone along, which is even better for Sderot! So it worked out really well, baruch Hashem.

The event I went to spread the story of Sderot through a writing contest. The children and adults of Sderot were asked to write poems and songs about what life is like for the in Sderot with all the qassam attacks. There were some very deep and moving things to be heard. I hope the reast of the stories get published.

I hadn't been in Sderot since I was in Israel last, which was over a year ago. That place will always have a very special tender place in my heart. I used to go there a lot while I was in school at Neve in Jerusalem. I was volunteering through and organization called "Lev Echad" ("One Heart") that was trying to lift the spirits of the residents and improve their lives. We went to help people with their specific needs and tried to give them support during a very difficult time. Sderot at the time was turning into a ghost town as more people were leaving the city to relax from the constant stress of qassams. A lot of people couldn't leave their city because of various reasons and were staying home all day and were in need of assistance. A majorly uplifting part of our presence in Sderot was when we would all go on a parade singing, dancing, waiving Israeli flags high in the air and banging on drums as we marched the streets. People would come our of their houses to see and we would cheer them on as they clapped, waived, and cheered us on. Looking up, I would see windows opening and people clapping and waiving from their apartment windows high in the air. It was an incredibly uplifting experience. For some, it was a rare occurence to see so many out on the streets, and very often they were very happy to talk to us as we went by and hugged them and encouraged them. Sometimes people would join our parade for part of the way when we passed through their street. It's something very special about Sderot, how people are all so different there but still everyone is together. I wish it on the rest of Israel. In the State of Israel and abroad.

It was a bit strange tonight to see Sderot after so long. Knowing it has suffered so much while I was gone, I also noticed the changes that have been added. When I was last in Sderot there were no fortified bus stops or little buildings to run to on the street the way they have them now. I only remember there being one. Now the city even has a fortified caterpillar in the playground for the kids. It shouldn't have to be this way. It shouldn't have to come to this. The government has a responsibility to its citizens and should be protecting the people of Sderot from Hamas's attacks. Why and how is it that a government is allowed to continue running while it lets its citizens be attacked for eight years and doesn't even compensate them properly when their house is damaged from a qassam. The situation there is extreme and sad, but I know that G-d has his plan. The people of Sderot are strong.

It took me a long time to readjust to not jumping at every boom that I hear. After being in Sderot for a while, and hearing and feeling qassams, everytime there was a boom my brain jumped and sreamed "qassam!" And that's not even from living there for a month straight. The situation there is extreme, the stress and trauma there are all over the city, and yet it seems to have been accepted because the media seems to have forgotten about the poor city, and the government doesn't seem to view Sderot as a big priority.

I really hope to be able to make a difference there again. It would be an amazing opportunity. I am hoping to offer my services as a massage therapist maybe once a month. I still need to see how I can work things out with sherut leumi, that keeps me very busy as it is.

Oh, by the way, I completely hid the fact that I went to Sderot from my mother because of how hyped up it is in the news. As soon as you hear the "colour red" siren you run for cover and then after fifteen seconds you check to see that everything's ok and move on with life.