Today is Yom HaAtzmaut, Israeli Independence Day. And she is 70 years old. Doesn’t she look beautiful for 70?
Pre-state Israel
A little movie
I didn’t actually ask Shmuel for these, he just shared them today and they were what I wanted. I just did the column on Yom HaZikaron yesterday and was talking about those that died fighting for Israel even before she was recognized by man as a state. I suppose I don’t need to say G-d recognized her as such long before do I? Shmuel Sackett from the Zehut political party had done this column and recently sent it out again Seventy Years and Forgotten. This column explains who he is talking about in the video.
New State of Israel
Middle age
For Israel that would be 1983 and Israelis were rocked by the murder of 14 year old Danny Katz.
But they cheered the victory of Ofra Haza winning second place in the Eurovision song contest in Munich with the song Alive, Chai.
Israel at 70. This is the face I think of when I think of Israel at 70. Yeah, she was a socialist and what a shame, and she isn’t alive to see Israel’s 70th, but Golda rocked. She was a strong, quick witted woman. Her face is a bit lined and weathered from the trials and storms she has withstood, but in her eye she still has the look of eagles.
So what I would hope for Israel’s future? A Prime Minister Moshe Feiglin.
I spent the evening at a Yom HaAtzmaut party tonight, a big happy birthday party. I was teaching interested parties, and/or ones that Efi corraled and sent me about different kinds of Israeli Technology. It was fun, even if I did have to shout over the lively music and most of the people were wowed by the technology. I came home and made myself dinner of couscous also known as Ben Gurion rice, veggies and chickpeas. And then I baked Israel a birthday cake, since I was so busy yelling at people I didn’t get any.
After I ate, I checked my email and that’s always educational. Tonight I learned that the column I did on Yom HaShoah is incorrect. Sent from a friend who thought I should know I need to study some more.
Huh, the heck ya say?
I think if it were me, I would ask him why he thinks General Dwight D. Eisenhower is a liar. And the Germans, who kept excellent records. And Gen. George S. Patton, who would no doubt bitch slap him. And the American, Russian, Brits and the smattering of French armed forces, and the Polish Partisans. Unless he’s just going with the word of the German citizens, who said they had no idea anything was going on.
And this is why Israel needs to be as a strong safe place where a Jew can wake up, and live as a Jew, and sleep in peace at night. They should be able to wear a Kippah in public without fear of it making them a target as it does France today, and Britain.
Israel, may G-d bless, guard and guide you as you gather your children underneath your wings. Happy Birthday. The world says 70, I say a few thousand.
The Talmud says: “If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first.”
And that is the only way Israel can survive.
I have a friend, I actually worked for him as a maintenance man in a trailer park for a couple of years. His dad was in the Army that entered one of the prison camps where Jews were being held, I am sorry, I cannot remember which country now. I think Poland, but not sure. His dad never spoke of it in front of him.
My friend said one time, riding in the truck, they picked up another WWII Army veteran. His dad thought he was asleep, and got to talking with the hitchhiker about the war, and that is where he heard the stories about the death camps, and what his dad had seen, as well as what the other man had seen in a different area. He never spoke of it with his dad, but he said that his dad was always haunted by it, and his mother told him that he came back a shell of the man who went over there.
I have spoken online with people who deny the holocaust. I at first tried to be reasonable. Respectful. I am afraid that it didn’t last for long, and I simply let them have it. I am normally a peaceful man. I have been married to my wife for over 25 years now, and in that time she has only seen me lose my temper maybe three times, if that. I lost it with that one person that I am thinking about, who not only denied the holocaust, but spoke so demeaningly of the Jews.
It is a sad thing, really, that people have so much hatred for the Jewish people that they knowingly make up lies about them. I know that there is one who will punish them more than I ever can.
As for Golda Meir, I remember growing up, and hearing about her strength. I never realized that she was a socialist, but I was not involved in the political landscape until I got older.
I wish the nation of Israel all the best, as the next 70 years begin. I also thought about the Warsaw uprising, as it too was during this time.
The world is facing a crisis, and as always, it seems as if Israel and the U.S. are at the top of the list. Thankfully, we have a president who is friendly to the Jews. The last one was a sad mistake.