Negev Desert 1

Today I will write as a classic (or not so classic, I don't know) tourist :) about one of the places that I have found absolutely astounding. And it is desert (and today - Negev desert).

When in the Bible God speks to people we can find that most of them are at the moment on the desert. Abraham after leaving Ur (the most sofisticated and developed city of his time) lives on desert and that is where he meats 3 travelers and invites them to his tent. It is also where he pleads with God for the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah asking for their salvation if even as few as 5 rightous will be found there.
It is on desert when God speks to Hagar (first time when she runs away from Sarah, second time when Ismael is nearly dying of thirst).
It is on desert while Moses sees burning bush and approaches to have the mission of his life revealed.
Desert, wilderness is the place where God communicates with people so often. Where we are free of the noise, contamination and distraction of the city/ village/ others. When we have left "narrow place" (as Egypt was called) and in this instance it is the narrow place in our minds and souls that prevents us from hearing God (it may be very scary after all for us common people to hear His voice and feel His presence, remember how Hebrews were terrified when Moses told them they are about to hear the voice of God, their Lord?).

Desert has something that shortens distance between us and the Lord, takes us away from our everyday lives, our preoccupations, fears, wants....

We left Jerusalem with our tiny Fiat Panda (the cheapest car available) and started with visiting Tel Guvrin in Judean Lowlands. It is not yet a desert, barely semi-desrt with still enough plants and bushes to give the impression of life but yet with the bringing of this slightly forbidding feeling that we start entering harsh, unforgiving, wild territory that has never been tamed and we need to keep our guard.
Tel Maresha, the highest hill of Tel Guvrin, is the place to which we can find references in the Bible. It was fortified by King Rehoboam of Judah following the campaign to the region of the Egyptian Pharaoh Shishak: “And Rehoboam...built cities for defense in Judah...Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph” (2 Chron. 11:5-8). 

For hundreds of years people were living here, planting olive trees, making olive oil (in caves, giving some kind of protection against scorching sun, there can still be found whole production lines for olive), burying their dead.... It was Hellenistic city during Hashmonean era and after Maccabees rising Hashmonean kings were trying to convert its inhibitants to Judaism. During Roman period the city has been abandoned leaving for us to see their factories, ruins of houses, quarries and graves. Over one of the graves, in Greek, there was written good-bye that even after 2,000 years sounds so powerful.... See for yourselves - below some pictures from Tel Guvrin and the next piece of my impressions on Negev (dealing with THE Negev itself) in next post.

Hurva synagogue

Just few days ago I have visited a very special place in old Jerusalem - Hurva synagogue in Jewish Quarter of the Old City.
Hurva means "ruin" in Hebrew and of course it is not the oficial name of the synagogue. Its name is Beit Yaakov synagogue, but because of its history the name "Hurva" is much more widely known and used. This place has a fascinating history and I will try to tell you somewhat about it.

In 1700 a group of Ashkenazi Jews from Poland came to Jerusalem with their rabbi - Yehuda Hasid. They were approximately 500 people strong group, extremly poor. Unfortunately just 5 days after their arrival to Jerusalem their beloved rabbi passed away and they were left on their own without knowledge of local languages and customs (although Sephardi Jews were nearly always present in Jerusalem Ashkenazis were at the moment the very new arrivals).
They started by building synagogue which seemed fair move except that to do so, specially in highly biurocratic and corrupt Ottoman Empire, they had to loan hardly with their Arab neighbours.
Hurva was built but the loans could not be repaid and as a result of debts and growing tention between Muslims and Jews Hurva was burned in 1721.

During subsequent years many groups of Jews were trying to rebuild it but due to Ottoman law forbidding building new churches or synagogues or repairing the old ones and due to demands of Arabs who credited the building of the first synagogue (they demanded repayment from any Ashkenazi Jew who was in vicinity for next 90 years weather or not they have even heard the story) the trials were not successfull.

In 1836 another group of Ashkenazi Jews collected the money to repay debts and used the window created by temporary power of so called Albanian dynasty over Jerusalem to secur building rights. But it took another 20 years to rebuild synagogue and only in 1856 the second Hurva was opened.

It was a beautiful synagogue - its descriptions, scatches, pictures and miniature are still impressive - but it did not survive even 100 years.
In May 1948 during the war of independance, when after the declaration of independance 7 Arab armies attacked newborn Israel, the Jewish Quarter came under siege. With its 2,000 people, only 200 of them man able to fight, and surrounded by Muslims from Muslim Quarter (33,000 inhibitants) and under shelling by Arab legion stationed on Mount of Olives the Quarter capitulated after 10 days (at that moment only 35 Jewish soldiers were alive and healthy). The Jews were partly taken as captives and partly expelled and the 19 years period of Jewish non-presence in the Old City started.
Two days after capitulation and without regards to international treaties Jordanians blew up all synagogues including Hurva. Thus Hurva became ruin for the second time. In 1967 Jerusalem was united and Jews returned to ruined quarter gradually rebuilding it. In 1973 one arch of Hurva was rebuilt (the rest stayed in ruins) as a reminder of what happened. Early in XXI century a committee was created for the rebuilding of Hurva synagogue, the actual work starting in 2006 and finished in 2010 - on Pesach 2010 Hurva was reopened. It changed colours a bit but the architecture is the very copy of the second Hurva.
Its rebuilding started some riots among Palestinians due to spread of news that rebuilding of Hurva is the sign that the 3rd temple will be soon build!

Hurva may be seen during tours - some in Hebrew and some in English, and of course during prayers.
It is very special place being not only synagogue but a standing and living piece of history.

Please find attached to this post pictures of Hurva from before 1948, from the time when it was blew up and as it was found in 1967, with one rebuilt arch and as it looks now with one wall encompassed in it.

Living in the world of terror

5 victims laid to rest
Just learnt she is pregnant

The above links are to the articles about victims of Wednesday's terrorist attack in Bulgaria targeted at Israeli tourists. Yesterday I have flew in from Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. I was there when the plain from Burgas carrying wounded and survivors was expected. It was to land at 11.55, than at 1.55, finally it landed around 2.30 pm. I have seen Megan David Adom volunteers and workers waiting for its arrival, stern-faced, tense....
In front of the airport a row of ambulances were parked - one with the description "mobile emergency life saving unit". Waiting patiently for those to come. There were reporters (as would have been anywhere) but all members of supporting and medical services were so obviously affected! Nobody complained about this long wait, nobady relaxed, gave way to boredom or impatiency. They were waiting for their near and dear ones even if unknown to them personally.

What kind of world is this that holding the passport of given country makes you potential victim? That no matter what you believe, think or do you are percieved by some as enemy - in this case (and it is a notable one for various reasons) - because you are Jewish or Israeli. 2 millenia of persecution, Holocaust, more than 100 years of Arab terror and still so many don't see, don't care...

Imagine that it was your wife who after years of trials became finally pregnant and you lost her to the terror attack practically a day after receiving these exciting news! Imagine it was your daughter/ son, brother or sister leaving for vacation, carefree, happy, saying "see you" not to be ever seen again...

Those things happen everywhere - we have accidents, fires, earthquakes, criminals and so on - no place is completly "safe" (whatever that means) - but it is different if you know that you are a pray because of your ethnic background, or religion or - as in this case - citizenship. For Israeli Jews it is ALL of the above. And quite often you will even be said you deserved it as the speaker doesn't like your country's policy (or doesn't know it but thinks he doesn't like it). It is horrible!

Think about victims, their families, pray for them. I feel deeply compassionate and emphatic and very, very sad about it being the world - yes, my world too - where these kind of things happen and are not even unanimously condemned!

Break

Tomorrow I am leaving for Israel. Will be back on 20th July and of course continue with my blog. Please have some patience and come back!!!!!

Russell Tribunal and Israel

Today it will be a bit about politics and history. And with relation not only (and you may find not even primerily) to Israel though the relation to her is important at the moment.

I was inspired by such news
Alice Walker refuses second Hebrew edition of her book

And of course I was sorry that a book won't make it to those who might be interested are are not capable of reading it in other languages or of putting their hands on first edition. But of course the author has a right to decline offer of publishing her book, much as I don't agree with her motives it is her choice.

The more interesting part - for me - was about so called Russell Tribunal, not recognised legally yet "judging" "crimes against Palestinians".
Alice Walker was certainly inspired by Russell Tribunal about which in her own words she writes:
Alice Walker's thoughts about Russell's Tribunal

Russell Tribunal was established in 1954 and originally was intended to "judge" American crimes in Vietnam. It was established by Bertrand Russell and Jean Paul Sartre. Now, this is interesting. Not denying methematical genius of Russell and wonderful writing talent of both gentlemen with all due respect it takes other virtues to be a judge of others. So let us chack who were they as people, not artists.

Bertrand Russell was imprisoned during I World War for vehemently opposing presence of American troops in UK. He was pacifist with all his heart but on somebody else's expanse. Try to imagine what would the world be if - as Russell wished - German aggression would not be countered neither during IWW nor during IIWW (of course if first would be the case there would have been no IIWW, just German hegemony in Europe and colonies). Being honestly and wholeheartedly against aggresive war I can't help feeling that only somebody securly born, educated and placed in mighty (at the time) country behind the Channel could be pacifist in this way - he gave no indication what were the athers - directly attacked and being murdered by troops to do (taking they could not fight back). Possibly just be killed - and they did (though fighting). All soldiers and civilians and resistance movement in attacked countries were being killed while Russell might have been writing about how bad it was to fight oppressor - I wish he was in Poland 1939, in German concentration camps, in France 1940, in attacked by Japanese Nankin in 1938, in Israel attacked by 5 armies a day after it was born in 1948. Let him tell those people they should just let themselves be murdered because fighting back was immoral. Well.....

Jean Paul Sartre - open admirer of Stalinist USSR, who even after visiting it in 1954 didn't cease to praize it. I have deep regard for his inteligence therefore I have to question his - any - moral capability. He couldn't not know about USSR's cooperation with Nazi Germany, about the attack of USSR on Poland in September 1939, and jointly with Nazis held parade (France was still free at the moment and it was in the newspapers). He couldn't not know about purges, about millions starved to death in Ukraine in 30s, about Stalin's cooperation with Hitler for two years, about murder of 20.000 Polish officers, about decline by Stalin acting as mediator between Japanese government and Americans in July 1945 (had he done it maybe the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs wouldn't be used and without neccessity of invasion of the islands - hard to know but there was a chance). He knew about gulags, yet he praised USSR until 1956 (including time when he organised Russell's Tribunal).

Let me tell you something personal - I grew up in Eastern Europe during communist years. I lost some of my family to Soviet attrocities in early 50s (I wasn't born yet, but I know their stories). I know how horrible were those years under occupation by so praised by Sartre USSR. And am I to regard this communist, knowing communism is responsible for 100.000.000 deaths in XX century, the moral authority? No way!!!!!

Russell Tribunal was not preoccupied with atrocities committed by Communist Vietnam and Soviets, only by American atrocities. There had to be - unfortunately - bad and horrible deeds on both sides - it was cruel war. But the one to start it was Communist Vietnam and both sides had their share of guilt, yet Soviets and communists were untouchable for tribunal (and I don't mean in legal sense or executionary one - that is obvious, but RT is no legal tribunal, but they never questioned conduct of communists, they were "heroes").

Years passed, now Russell Tribunal is dealing with Palestine. It doesn't preoccupy with broken ceasefires by Hamas, with suicide bombers, with murders of civilians. It is acceptable to them. They are only interested in showing any - even remote - misconduct by Israelis. Just like for Russell it were British who were guilty of fighting in IWW and IIWW (sure, better to give everything to Germany at once, including UK not only Czech as Chamberlain did), and for Sartre anybody but communists even when they were Nazis closest ally.

Such Tribunal is more like International Communist Party (especially when one goes through its members). Everybody may have their political views and be neonazi despite crimes of Nazizm, or communist, despite what Castro does, what Stalin did, what Mao Zedong did and so on (let me just remind that wars in Africa were often sponsored by communists, including those indicated as most miserable by Ms Walker). But let nobody say that gathering of communist calling themselves Tribunal hasn't moral stand deserving recognition. Millions still remember - or worse still, experience as in North Korea, what is communism.

The open sea project

Today I will describe one of touristic attractions as well as reaserch centre in Israel and the fascinating project that has been developed and - however at present moment it has been discontinued due to legal and safety reasons - is hoped to be continued.

There are many countries in the world with oceanariums and aquariums of different sort and some of them keep marine mammals - dolphins included - within the facilities. Possibly the most known centres are in the USA but there are many other countries who keep dolphins, possibly the most inteligent mammals excluding men.
There is also dolphin centre - called "dolphin reef" in Eilat Israel, yet it is very different in its approach. As wild dolphins live in and frequent Red Sea, and they are no different from those living in the centre, the centre developed and tested approach giving dolphins freedom of choice. From 1996 till 2002 the underwater door into dolphin reef remained constantly opened and dolphins were free to choose when to stay inside the compound and when to go for a swim in an open sea (including the possibility of not returning and joining wild dolphins in vicinity). Amazingly enough (and giving very good witness to their treatment) dolphins stayed - they made excursions but always they were coming back to what obviously constituted their home.

The experiment - so successfull - would have been continued but it was extremly hard to protect dolphins while outside the reef. They were sometimes harrassed and often overfed with unappropiate for their health food. Thus after the legal battle in late 2002 scientists were forced to close underwater passage but they hope to go back as soon as it will be possible, to this open door policy.

Meanwhile dolphins in dolphin reef Eilat still have some choices usually not enjoyed by captive animals. They are free to engage with visitors who come to the centre and may swim with dolphins or to stay away. No food reinforcement is given to the dolphins to encourage their interaction with humans (obviously they are well fed but not as a reward for given activity). They may stay away from people or interact with them as they please.

The fact that for the most part they stay close to people and seem happy to remain in their company gives the Eilat centre the best reccomendation for their treatment of these beautiful animals.

40 years ago. And today?

This year the Olympic Games will be hosted by London. Let us go back to 1972 Olympic Games, exactly 40 years and 10 Olympic Games ago. But we will soon return to this years IOC dealings....

Olympic Games in 1972 were held in Munich, West Germany and German authorities at the time made a big effort to suppress any obvious comparitions with unfamous 1936 Berlin Olympic Games used by Hitler for propaganda  and to try and create relaxed, friendly and unobtrusive atmosphere (a challange in itself considering it was the middle of Cold War). They mostly succeeded with those goals but the price to be paid was horrendous.

On the 4th of September 1972 8 members of terrorist organisation Black September entered not particularly guarded (to put it mildly) Olympic Village disguised as sportsmen - they were even - innocently and without slightest intention of harm to anybody - helped by the members of Canadian team also going over the fence. They entered the appartment occupied by Israeli sportsmen and after overpowering Yossef Gutfreund - wrestling referee - who by his brave opposition gave a chance of escape to Tuvia Sokolovsky - and wounding Moshe Weinberg, wrestling couch, the intruders forced tha latter to show them another appartment occupied by Israelis. Shot in the cheek Weinberg persuaded them that appartment no 2 was not taken by Israelis and led them to appartment no 3 - maybe in hope that more sportsmen staying there will have better chance to stand their ground, but they have been surprised in their sleep. By sheer luck Israeli head delegation refused his 13-year-old son permission to spend a night in this appartmen with sportsmen possibly saving his life.

The irony of the story is that the arrangments with regards to security of Israeli sportsmen have been questioned  twice - once by Mr. Lalkin, head of Israeli Olympic delegation and second time by German psycholgist and profiler asked during preparations for the Games to create most likely to happen dangerous scenarios. The profiler in one of 26 created situations pointed into loose security together with a plan to put Israeli team in relatively isolated building standing close to the gate. Both suggestions have been ignored (Mr. Lalkin was informed special security measures will be put in place but that was not to happen).


In total 11 hostages were taken by 8 terrorists. 2 of the hostages who fought back, already wounded Weinberg and weightlifter Yossi Romano, were shot dead. Terrorists demanded freeing terrorists kept in Israeli and German prisons (the two German prisoners were leftists cooperating with the USSR and also linked to Palestinian terrorist organisations). German authorities were badly coping with the situation despite undenible efforts (the offer of unlimited money supplies as well as exchanging hostages for Germans were made and rejected).
There were no proffesional negotiators and once the illusion that the demands will be satisfied was created and terrorists with hostages transferred to airport at  Fürstenfeldbruck to try and free them the action proved to be disastrous. German army could not (due to constitution) be used inside Germany during peace time and apparently the transfer of sharpshooters from the army to police force didn't work. Thus there were only 5 police sharpshooters with inadequate guns for the distance put on the airport (it is customary in these type of situations to put at least 2 sharpshooters for every suspected terrorist; German authorities new about 5 terrorists and put only 5 sharpshooters, at least half an hour before the action it was known that there were 8 terrorist yet the number of sharpshooters, helplessly inadequate, was not increased). There was no radio communication among sharpshooters or between them and authorities, the police officers disguised as plane's crew to be waiting for terrorist voted to abandon action and did so without acknowledgment to police (!!!!) - they were NOT subsequently in any way prosecuted or reprimended (!), the copters landed not sideway to sharpshooters but with their fronts facing them. All those evident mistakes and unpreperadness caused chaotic gunfire allowing terrorist to kill their victims while still tied inside the copters. All 11 hostages perished.

Olympic Games were suspended for a while (but only 12 hours into the situation) and than continued. Few teams (Israeli one included) and more players from other teams left Games - a Dutch distance runner Jos Hermens is remembered saying, “You give a party, and someone is killed at the party, you don't continue the party. I'm going home.”Yet, during the memorial service 10 Arab nations rejected the idea of their flags being - as the rest - lower to half-staff and they were flying on the top poles.
The bodies of killed terrorists were flown to Libya (I admit not having idea who allowed for it) and buried with full military honors (!!!).

So much for history. Now, exactly 40 years later, 10 Olympic Games later, again in European country, there is a movement - started long ago, right after the murders, to commemorate murdered athlets (it is quite customary for IOG committee to honour in this way fallen olympic players who were killed e.g. in an accident).The petition has been created and despite signing it by over 72.000 people (at the time I am writing it) the IOC doesn't intend to comply.
Link to petition

What's more the Committee publicly stated that it regards commemoration of terror victims as political act (!) and doesn't want to offend those who don't like Israel (!) - does it mean that any countries in dispute may now object to any commemoration? Apparently it is all right with IOC however ridiculous in light of what Olympic Games are intended to be and what they used to be in ancient world (Greek polis were usually fighting though allies were changing yet for the time of olympic games fighting was suspended, everybody entitled to participate and that was exactly the purpose of organising them).

If in olympic sport (no, I am not delusional, I know it is corrupted, political, with big money involved, yet we all would like to see it more genuine and more peacful and closer to long forgotten ideal) there is no place for 1 minute of silance to commemorate sportsmen murdered during such games maybe it is time to abandon all talk about sport ideals and just face it that it is about hate, politics, money, pharmacuticals and so on. But if we would like to leave a slight chance for the revival of long forgotten ideals we sometimes long for it is high time to start.

And what better way to start than with commemorating those 11 murdered sportsmen?