Today I’m back in the office and considering whether security and safety concerns mean changing itineraries for groups heading south to do programs at unrecognized Bedouin villages in the Negev with NISPED: Negev Strategies of Peace & Development http://www.nisped.org.il/, and on the Gaza-Israel-Egypt boarder at Kirot Yamit http://www.eshkol.lanegev.co.il/kirotyamit.html. These programs may need to be canceled as violence has escalated along the Gaza border. In the last week 10 rockets have been fired from Gaza into the western Negev.

It’s a constant struggle not to sink into despair. Religious and political leaders preach hatred and racism. We’re faced with more and more calls for boycott, divestment and sanctions. Rockets are falling; Friends and family are in the army. Hunger, violence and humiliation are part of the daily routine for Palestinians.

On the other hand, evaluations of one of our programs led us and our partners to the conclusion that we must also focus on the magnificent sparks of light shining in the darkness of the matzav (the “situation”) here in Israel & Palestine. It’s imperative that we give support to those individuals and organizations working toward change and having a positive impact. They present the issues – and also how we can make a difference. They provide hope and inspiration that cooperation, dialogue and change are not impossible.

• Young orthodox Israeli Jews protesting against racism (https://sites.google.com/site/gerimheyitem/home.
• Over 200 Israelis attended a gathering organized by South Africans who made aliya “inspired by the vision of an enlightened, moral society and state that are both meaningfully Jewish and genuinely democratic” many of whom are deeply distressed by bitter travesties of that vision happening around us every day and want to do something.
• Rabbis for Human Rights efforts to support Palestinian olive farmers http://www.rhr.org.il/
• At Kibbutz Ein Shemer young Jewish & Arab Israeli leaders are involved in a variety of coexistence and ecology endeavors impacting the next generation http://www.greenhouse.org.il/
• A leadership group from the University of Kansas Hillel (funded by the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City) spent the weekend in home hospitality with young Jewish & Arab Israeli leaders from Ramla involved in dialogue and community activism through Keshatot http://www.kshatot.co.il/.

מן המצר קראתי יה
ענני במרחב יה
ה’ לי בעוזרי
From out of the troublesome narrowness I called to Gd
Gd answered me with openness
Gd is with me in those who help
Psalm 118:5, 7

When you discuss and debate Israel, and especially when you come here, please be sure to take time to appreciate the magnificent sparks of light.

L’Shalom,

Steve

p.s. After nearly 10 years I’m finally going to (hopefully) finish my rabbinic studies at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and graduate this spring! Varda & the kids are staying at Gezer while I complete my studies February 3 – June 14 in Philadelphia. I have a place to live but am still working on a car & cell phone. I’m also looking for weekend gigs. Happy to lead tfilot, teach about Israel, work with faculty, adult education, scholar-in-residence, play music & just hang out. Please let me know if you have ideas and/or opportunities.

The horrible disaster in the Carmel Forest and Haifa area has taken a tremendous toll with over 40 dead; hundreds of homes burnt; some 25,000 people evacuated from 15 different communities; over 12,000 acres of land scorched; an estimated 5 million trees destroyed. The young, vibrant artist community of Ein Hod, Kibbutz Beit Oren, the Druze village of Isfiya, the Arab village of Ein Hud, the Hai-Bar Nature Reserve – all devastated by the fire. The dead include Arabs & Jews, men & women, and new immigrants from Ethiopia and the FSU.

As they have done so many times in very different circumstances, individuals and communities from across the county have opened their homes to provide food, clothing, shelter, warmth & comfort to those who have been evacuated. It’s been a blessing that, at times the children are able to forget for a bit, and enjoy the vacation-like feeling of living on a kibbutz, in a hotel, in someone’s home or in a community center. For the parents, it’s more complicated as they worry about what they will and will not find waiting for them when they return to their homes.

It’s been a blessing to see over 30 firefighting aircraft helicopters have arrived to assist from the United States, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Britain, Russia, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Azerbaijan, Spain, Romania, Holland and Canada. It’s also important to note that the Palestinian Authority is transferring three fire trucks to Israel.

Jewish organizations across the world have established emergency campaigns to assist not only with fighting the fire, but helping to rebuild for those who have lost their homes. I recommend people look for ways to help check out the two options below through the New Israel Fund and ARZA:

· New Israel Fund Fire Response Fund
· ARZA / URJ Fire Emergency Fund

Other resources & funds include:
· Jewish Federations of North America & Jewish Agency
· The Jewish National Fund’s (JNF) Forest Fire Campaign
· The Jewish Agency’s Critical Request for Fire Disaster Relief page
· Many local federations are also running their own emergency campaigns.

With prayers of healing, hope and light at this time of suffering and darkness,

Steve

as i was explaining, we began discussing different religions – which was a bit difficult for her to grasp. so i reminded her about our close friend, nana, who is christian. we talked about how nana celebrates christmas, and does not celebrate hannukah. suddenly everything seemed to “click” for gabi, and she understood different religions. she’s a very smart kid:-)

now it get’s interesting. a couple minutes later she asked me “aba, what’s the problem with christmas?”

i didn’t understand and asked her what she meant.

she explained that with purim, the problem was haman. with pesach the problem was pharoah and slavery. with hanuka the problem was the hasmoneons.
so… what’s the problem with christmas?

i resisted the temptation to repeat the old joke about jewish holidays all having the same theme: “they tried to kill us. we survived. now let’s eat”

instead, we spent some time talking about rosh hashana, tu bishvat, sukkot, simchat torah, shavuot and other holidays in jewish life that did not have a “problem.” just like christman doesn’t have a “problem”

luckily she hasn’t heard of easter yet.

About 12 years ago, my first Israel Independence Day celebration after making aliya, I remember an informal conversation with a couple friends & coworkers about plans for the upcoming holiday. Anat and I were talking about what would be going on at Kibbutz Gezer. I turned to my friend, Juma – about to ask him how he would be celebrating. I realized for the first time that Yom HaAtzmaut was probably not something that his family celebrated. That was the also the first time I heard the term “Nakba” – Arabic for “Catastrophe.” This is how much of the Arab and Palestinian community refer to what I observed as Israel Independence Day.

My first few Yom HaAtzmaut celebrations were notably marked by hitting & being hit on the head with plastic hammer noise makers. I’m not sure it it’s progress – but today the kids spray everything and everyone with a shaving cream type foam. Luckily my kids were not impressed.

The time period surrounding Israel Independence day is a roller coaster of observances, holidays, memorials & celebrations. Holocaust memorial day, memorial day for soldiers and victims of terror, Independence day, Passover, Lag B’Omer, Shavuot… lots of sugar & days off from school!

What struck me was the mix of people sitting peacefully, making small talk. Two Muslim women dressed in traditional garb, sometimes speaking to each other in a mix of Arabic and Hebrew, sometimes speaking to others in the area.

Three native Russian speakers ignoring everyone around them and speaking loudly in Russian; an Ethiopian woman and her daughter speaking a mix of Amharic & Hebrew; and me.

The closest anyone got to conflict was about who was next in line.

I was very pleased to get a good report from my cardiologist, Dr. Gebara Ziad, an Arab Israeli from Ramle. Other than the need to exercise more and lose a bit of weight, he gave me a good report.

This was a long shopping list of everything from tortilla chips to Coast soap. Things that i couldn’t find or were very expensive to buy in Israel. Over the years the list has changed considerably and gotten much shorter. Today it includes Kansas City BBQ sauce, Bacos and Swiss Miss. And, of course, gifts for the kids.

Whenever I travel Micah and Gabi give me their list of things they want from America. Creating and fine tuning this list is usually the exclusive focus of our conversations leading up to a trip. I’m writing this from San Francisco (I’m here for the RAVSAK conference for Jewish community day schools).

But this time there was another topic of discussion. The kids wanted to know where I was going. I explained that I was going to be in San Francisco – in America. A few minutes later they asked if there are rockets in San Francisco.

I’m pained that this is so on their minds. Sad that they need to ask. Sad at what we are doing to our children – in Israel and Gaza- who are in danger from Hamas rockets and from Israeli fire. I share in Bradley Burston’s Prayer for the Children of Gaza.

So I assured Micah and Gabi that there are no rockets in San Francisco and that I would be perfectly safe. I reassured them that they are perfectly safe and far away from any rockets at home at Kibbutz Gezer.

A few minutes later they gave me their lists: clothes for Barbie dolls, and Disney cast iron cars from the movie “Cars.”

My name is Steve and I live at Kibbutz Gezer, halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. I’m 44 years old and have been living in Israel about 12 years with my wife, Varda; two children, Micah & Gabi (Micah is 7 and Gabi is 6), and Kitty-the-Dog.

I have a friend who lives next door named Nadav (he’s 5 years old). He and I have a game we’ve been playing for years. Whenever we see each other I tell him he’s a “nut” and he tells me to “get out of his yard” Then I tell him that this is my yard too and I’m not going anywhere. He tells me I’m a nut and that it’s his neighborhood – and that I’ve got to go. I calmly tell him he’s a nut – and that this is my neighborhood and my kibbutz – and he has to go! We continue like this for a bit – the conversation lasting about 3 minutes each time we see each other.

Nadav and I are only playing and being silly. We actually like each other and like living together in the same community.

But what if we were serious? What if we really didn’t like each other? What if I really believed that it was “my town” and that I really wanted Nadav to leave? And what if Nadav really believed that it was his town and really wanted me to leave? What would we do?

This is a true story. I used it with discussion questions and other activites recently as a lesson for young children on conflict. It’s part of a resource packet I created at IsraelExperts for addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.. The packet is called “Resources in Response” and is available here: http://www.israelexperts.com/education/jewish-educator-tools/

A group of 40 some Jewish young adults who generally have not been to Israel previously – and many of whom are marginally affiliated to the organized Jewish community – somehow end up in Israel together on a Birthright program.

Often in passing, one of the participants expresses regret at not having had a bar or bat mitzvah ceremony when younger. When this occurs within earshot of one of our staff, they initiate a discussion with the participants about the possibility of having a bnai mitzvah ceremony here in Israel.

After brief conversations with some of the participants and the staff, I put together a ceremony including a creative, abbreviated service with a group aliyah l’torah. I ask each participant to share a few words about why they decided at this particular time and place to make the effort to make a public and formal declaration of belonging to the Jewish people.

I can’t begin to do justice here to the power and variety of their words. Sometimes they express deep family connections to Judaism, sometimes they share stories of conversions to Judaism. They share with us a few snapshots from their journey in Jewish life – and their journey to Israel.

Through their encounter with Israel they discover a new sense of connectedness to Jewish life and peoplehood. In order to honor this moment, they choose the traditional bnai mitzvah ceremony. To have an aliya l’torah, in a bet knesset (Birkat Shalom at Kibbutz Gezer), with their community, in Eretz Yisrael.

Sometimes I really love my job.

I was a bit disappointed there was no jello. (Three of the things I look forward to when eating at an Israeli hotel on Shabbat are jello, cholent and gefilta fish). But the company was great, food good, and Micah & Gabi behaved very well. All in all a successful outing.

Micah is an excellent 2nd grade reader. He particularly enjoys reading signs when we’re driving. He’s memorized all the different towns, kibbutzim and moshavim in our area – and loves learning the names of other cities.

Taking the main Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway home, our exit for Kibbutz Gezer is also an exit for highway 3 – the road one takes when heading south to Beer Sheva, Ashkelon or Ashdod.

We try not to have the news on too much when the kids are around. They don’t understand it and we don’t mind trying to shelter them a little. Evidently they pick up more than we thought.

Micah read the sign with the names Beer Sheva, Ashkelon & Ashdod – and then began asking about rockets falling in these three cities. He thought since the sign said “Beer Sheva” that we were in Beer Sheva. He didn’t understand that the sign was simply showing the way to Beer Sheva. Of course we assured him that the rockets are far away from us and Kibbutz Gezer – and that he is perfectly safe with us.

He continued the conversation for quite some time. He wanted to know if there are still children living in Sderot and Ashkelon. We told him there were.

He wanted to know why someone would want to live there. We told him about the beautiful cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod – that are on the Mediterranean Sea and have wonderful beaches. We told him that rockets were not always falling there. We told him that there are lots of people like us praying for peace. We told him that there are lots of people working very hard to stop the rockets.

Once he was satisfied there were no rockets in Gezer he was ready for some ice cream.

I’m having heated mental arguments with practically every news report, op-ed, article, and post. It doesn’t matter left, right or center – I just want to argue because there are no easy answers, everyone is wrong and I’m tired.

My office is just within range of Hamas rocket fire – I’ve felt it shake at the impact of Grad rockets. I’m not worried for my safety as my office was once the armory of the village where we’re located and it is a “safe room”. But it is nonetheless unsettling. My office is one of the places people come if a siren goes off. I find myself staring at photos of my children more than usual while at work – and spending more time with them than usual when I’m home.

In their school today one of the projects is creating gift boxes for Israeli soldiers – brothers, sisters, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors and friends of the students. My 6 & 7 year olds, Gabi & Micah, are scared for their cousin in the IDF who just got a field assignment. They asked why she has to go to the war.

During dinner they asked if there are rockets landing in Tel Aviv. (They heard me and my wife, Varda, talking about a meeting in Tel Aviv). I’m a left wing, peace-loving, card-carrying liberal. I don’t live in the West Bank – or even Sderot. This is not a conversation I want to be having with my children – but I don’t have a choice.

Every time I hear a news report of a rocket hitting I pray to hear “no damage” at the end of the report. However, this is profoundly misleading. Along with hundreds of thousands of other Israelis, I’ve now heard the air raid sirens, run to the shelter, and felt the ground shake. I understand the deep emotional, psychological and spiritual damage even when there is minimal physical damage or loss of life.

I am mentally and physically exhausted from the anxiety & stress. But most of all I’m sad.

Sad that I have to think about whether going to work is safe – and where to run when the sirens sound.
Sad over the death of hundreds of Palestinian civilians.
Sad that my six and seven year old children know stories of people hit by Hamas rocket fire.
Sad by what I sometimes perceive as a lack of sensitivity to the horrible suffering and anguish of so many Israeli families – especially the children – who have been living with the constant threat of rockets for the years.
Sad at the conditions in which the Palestinians in Gaza have been living for so long – and Israel’s role along with Hamas in perpetuating this situation.
Sad to think that our children – young Israeli soldiers including kids from Gezer – are in the situation where they have to defend our people from those whose mission is our destruction – they and other innocents caught in the middle.
Sad at what this is doing to our souls.
Sad that thousands of Israeli children have been scarred for life – living in fear of rocket fire for more than 8 years and for whom the “color red” means “take cover.”
Sad at the image portrayed of Israel throughout the world right now.
And sad that this is how I’m bringing in the New Year.

At Gezer there were some refugees from the south of Israel staying for a respite. Their children’s’ first question upon arrival was “where is the nearest bomb shelter?” They still couldn’t sleep at night.

What’s a parent to do? What’s a country to do?

I’m a rodef shalom – a pursuer of peace. I pray for a peaceful two-state solution. I pray for a quick end to the violence and for successful diplomatic intervention. I pray for true leaders – Palestinian, Israeli and international – with the hearts, souls, courage and strength to take bold steps toward peace. I pray that all Abraham’s children will be able to sleep soundly at night.

I pray for shalom.