To the left is the Shrine of the Book or the Dead Sea Scroll viewing room in Jerusalem.
To the right is the Children's Museum at the Israel Museum.
To the left is the Knesset building in Jerusalem.
What do these pictures all have in common?
The lands upon which all these objects and buildings sit belong to the Greek Orthodox Church. The Israeli government buildings are sitting on leased land.
The Greek Orthodox Church via the Patriarchate seems to own a lot of land in Israel, most likely because it claims its dynasty from 451 C.E. The Crusaders of Roman Catholic origin, tried to claim everything. After the Crusaders were kicked out, Mamluks tried destroying all things Christian. Armenian Patriarchate arrived in the 13th century and the Franciscan monks in the 14th century, with both trying to claim “pilgrimages.”
The idea of a church owning the rights of pilgrimages does seem strange. In 1856, and again in 1871, there was a Status Quo of the Pilgrimages in the Paris Council. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate claims the 1856 council gave them the rights to the pilgrimages. It seems the Christian religions have been fighting over the rights of pilgrimages for centuries. Not finding the reason for this squabble, I can think of two reasons – money from tourist and compensation for upkeep of their sites and maybe a convert or two to join their specific Christian religion.
Back to the question of the Greek Orthodox Church owning the land which the Knesset and other Israeli government buildings stand, they were in the right place and time when the Ottoman Empire was registering land. Okay, so they currently own this land. Why is not the land the land expropriated? When the United States (U.S.) government wants land or other countries, those governments pay a paltry amount and take the land for use. Then again, the U.S. is not surrounded by hostile Moslem countries as is Israel. It is probably a good idea not to alienate the Christian world as well by taking the land. Negotiations for leasing will come up again in about ten years. It will be interesting to see what happens.
There are many forms of art within Judaism, every place Jews have lived they have produced art. Jewish art takes on a bit of the culture in form and materials of the place of residence. Art is not limited to the picture painted, metal or clay sculpted, or cloth embroidered. Art can be movies, music, people, tradition and rituals, or education. Ethiopian Jews are artistic.
In a book called International Dialogues about visual Culture, Education and Art, edited by Rachel Mason and Teresa Torres Pereira de Eca, there were several drawings made by Jewish Ethiopian children in the chapter titled The Ethiopian village in Jewish Children’s Drawings by Rachel Droupp of the Kaye Academic College in Israel. Pp. 260-263) There were pictures of the tukul (huts) they had lived in; a ‘shelter of blood’ one girl had shared during her mother’s niddah (menstruation); a masgid (synagogue); and a kes (priest) in priestly dress. (The picture at above right is a picture I took of a preschool in Israel.)
Art is a way of expression or of just being. I have an embroidery machine, through which I express myself, and cannot make a living solely by its use, though I have tried. Embroidery has been used by many people around the world to express their universe and/or themselves. Sometimes embroidery is said to be the best way people can earn a living. Why is that?
People in undeveloped nations can produce embroidery for a fraction of the cost in an industrial society – cheap labor by very hard working people. This is not necessarily a bad thing if it is not taking advantage of people, but truly supplying a way to make a living. Ethiopian Jewish men wove the white cloth worn by Ethiopian Jews and mostly women embroidered the cloth.
While Ethiopian Jews were waiting in Addis Ababa, for Operation Solomon, named after Solomon Ezra (the first Ethiopian Israeli officer), to begin their entrance into Israel, they were living without jobs and needed a way to support their families. The North American Conference on Ethiopian Jews (NACOEJ), created a program for the heads of families to make a living by embroidering scenes of biblical stories. This occurred over 14 years. On the NACOEJ site these pieces are priced at $110 each. They are beautiful pieces (see the sample of Miriam dancing and a kes). I wondered to whom the money is given and how much does the person actual make. The money was and is still being spent on Ethiopians both in Israel and Ethiopia.
The next question popping up in my mind revolved around the Jewish Ethiopians now in Israel – What was going on now? Here's the teen view.
The Israel Association for Ethiopian Jews (IAEJ) is an organization run by Ethiopian Jews for Ethiopian Jews. IAEJ advocates for changes in Israeli society. It is difficult for Ethiopians in Israel, and like the Mizrahim, work in low paying jobs, live in high crime areas and old housing. IAEJ pushed equal opportunity employment for Ethiopian Jews with university degrees to obtain jobs in the private and government sectors. IAEJ pushed for police dealing with Ethiopian youth to obtain special sensitivity training. IAEJ advocates for educational opportunities. IAEJ is trying to educate Israelis through the media about Ethiopian Jews. IAEJ managed to enlist two Chief Rabbis of Israel and have the Knesset pass a Ethiopian Jewish holiday known as Sigd – the Sigd Festival is a national holiday and it is an opportunity to teach about Ethiopian Jews. According to the IAEJ, all the Ethiopian "community needs is the opportunity." (See below video.)
I had an opportunity to listen to Dr. Yarden Fanta-Vagenshtein talk, at Temple Emmanuel in Beverly Hills, about her experiences as an Israeli immigrant from Ethiopia. Dr. Yarden Fanta-Vagenshtein walked from Ethiopia through the Sudan (two month trip) and was airlifted to Israel. She was twelve years old and illiterate upon arrival in Israel. Dr. Yarden Fanta-Vagenshtein is the first Ethiopian Jew to earn a PhD in Israel and is now at Harvard, where she has written a paper about “How Illiterate People Learn” and working on a book about how immigrants adjust. She talked about how the women in her village would break all their dishes before Pesach (Passover) and make new clay ones. She mentioned that men were head of the households in Ethiopia and now it is the women earning a living. Men have a hard time finding jobs. It was a big deal to come from an agrigarian society and enter an urban modern society. It was hard making the adjustment to Israel and made harder because of the Ethiopians Jewishness being questioned.
It was Shabbat and I had my granddaughter, Eva, with me. We sat behind Dr. Yarden Fanta-Vagenshtein. Dr. Fanta, 33, is a mother of two very little girls and they were not out here with her. So when she saw Eva, Dr. Fanta wanted to play with Eva. We talked a little more about what it was like in Israel for her, and, even though it has been tough, she feels that Israel is her home.
In the book, The Israelis, by Donna Rosenthal, the chapter on Ethiopian Jews was informative and also sad to read. The Israeli Chief Rabbinate wants these Jews to go through circumcision again and go through the conversion process. (Page 168) The Chief Rabbinate also did not recognize the Ethiopian Jewish religious leaders, the kes, as equal to rabbis. The function of the kes is closer to the Cohanim than rabbis are presently. Or is that the reason for disallowing the kes?
I found it simply amazing that the Ashkenazi Jews in Israel have such a hard time allowing for the cultural richness of other Jews from other nations. To be reasonable here, the Chief Rabbinate are not just Ashkenazi, but are Sefardi and Ashkenazi. Ashkenazi Jews are only several hundred years old in their traditions, while Ethiopian, Mizrahim, and Indian Jews have far older traditions and history.
Everything I read was verifiable. I almost went down the route of DNA proof for Ethiopian Jews, but decided not to for two reasons: 1) It is very complicated and time consuming to explain simply; and 2) I decided it did not really matter. While it is true, Ethiopian Jews are related to Yemenite Jews, and the reading about the different alleles and haplotype groups was fascinating; however, it discards Ethiopian Jews’ traditional richness and their 1,500 years, or more, of their practice. Ethiopian Jews delve into the art of drawing pictures, creating sculptures, music, embroidery, and all manner of education. The greatest achievement in Ethiopian Jewish art will be finding a way to keep their culture and become Israelis.
The book, the Israelis, had the following statement which made me think of the El Al commercial below, because of all the different faces and tropes during the Israel National Anthem, Hatikvah: “When Ethiopians complain about being discriminated against, the reply has been ‘Welcome to the club.’” (Page 166) Dr. Yarden Fanta-Vagenshtein mentioned it was the plight of being an immigrant. With so many immigrant Jews from different countries, maybe it is just a process of learning the Israeli way.
I am reading the book, The Israelis by Donna Rosenthal, and have not been able to put it down since I bought it. I have been entirely fascinated with the fact that a country as small as Israel has become a leading innovator of all kinds of technology such as drip irrigation. Living in California, I have used drip irrigation to water my garden and adapted it to water my potted plants. Israel is very tech savvy, especially in the biomedical field. There are many items used in the United States that were created in Israel. In the hospital where I work I can think of quite a few items, but here is a partial list of items – vascular catheters for intravenous use, C-boots to prevent deep vein thrombosis, femoral artery closure devices used after heart caths (angiograms), pacemaker technology, and electrocardiograph technology.
One of the stories is about the “PillCam.” (Pp. 89-91) What a great idea! A little camera that can be swallowed so a colonoscopy will not be needed anymore, which for me is a plus as I have a colonoscopy every five years or is that TMI – too much information – right? Gavriel Iddan is the brilliant designer of the “PillCam.” Iddan, extraordinary patent holder, had been designing cameras for missiles when the idea of a tiny camera being used for physically internal use, helping rather than destroying, came to him. Reading a little further, I recognized another name in the story – Rafael.
There is another reason Rafael caught my eye. Sometime about January 2009, Haaretz had a story about a $600 million weapons deal between Israel and India. India was doing the buying. Nowhere does it mention Rafael, but, around that same time, Rafael made a marketing video advertising its wares in a fascinating way. I am sure that U.S. companies do the same kind of war video marketing, this is the first time I have actually seen one. The video was sexy and so male oriented. Please click on the video.
The man sings: We’ve been together for so long
Trusting friends and partners
What more can I pledge
To make our future strong?
The woman sings:
I need to feel safe and sheltered
Security and protection
Commitment and perfection
Defense and dedication.
Together they sing:
Together forever
I will hold you in my heart
Together forever
We will never be apart
The woman sings:
I believe in you
The man sings:
You believe in me
Together they sing:
Together forever
We will always be
Dinga dinga dee (Repeated a few times)
The man sings:
I promise to defend you
Fulfill your expectations
Shield you and support you
Meet my obligations.
Together they sing:
Together forever
I will hold you in my heart
Together forever
We will never be apart
The woman sings:
I believe in you
The man sings: You believe in me
Together they sing:
Together forever
We will always be
Dinga dinga dee (Repeated a few times)
Together forever
I will hold you in my heart
Together forever
We will never be apart
The woman sings:
Friends and companions
The man sings: Committed and strong
Together they sing:
We’ll stand united
Protect our bond
Dinga dinga dee (Repeated a few times)
The man represents Israel and the woman represents India. Why does a big strong woman, like India, need a little man, like Israel, to feel safe and secure? As the two of them danced around the very large penile structures, missiles, the flowers covering them did not seem large enough. It is a catchy tune and the words could be very romantic. It is hard visually to avoid the idea of the missiles needing a giant condom to prevent the possible explosion.
The PillCam is real. It has been recently written about in Gastrointestial and other medical journals. The video is the real thing, as is the tight bond between India and Israel. The two countries share more than weaponry, Israelis, fresh from their time in the IDF, tour India because it is not too far and the cost is lower than going to other countries. Those going into the IDF at 18 years old, come out in a couple of years probably needing a little freedom from the intensity of continually being on a life watch. So, it is also possible to read the above words and realize there might be more to war weapons going on for some of the people of India and Israel.
It is Sukkot. The festival of Booths is a time to connect nature and G-d. I love to go camping; the sukkah is like camping but always seems a little more fragile than a tent. The fragileness of the sukkah corresponds to the fragileness of the seasons changing from warm during the day to cold at night which almost always seems to occur during Sukkot. Watching the wind sway the palm fronds and eucalyptus branches covering the sukkah while the stars at night peek through those branches seems to bring G-d and nature that much closer.
The Sukkah or Booth of my youth always contained pomegranates and pictures of pomegranates hung up and swinging above my head. I also remember colored paper chains, pictures of wheat and fake grapes hanging. Not much has changed in the intervening years, other than my youth of remembrance and my baby granddaughter who will hopefully also gather some memories of pomegranates hanging in the sukkah.
These happy memories turn into almost an obsession with the pomegranate which essentially means - I like pomegranates. I like to include pomegranates in the foods I cook. So naturally, I looked for articles about pomegranates. And I was pleasantly surprised to find two current articles.
Seven Species are mentioned in Deuteronomy 8:8 in connection with which foods would be available in the land of Israel for the people of Israel - A land of wheat, and barley, and vines; of fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey (dates). The first article talked about the virtues of utilizing one of the Seven Species during Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot, the pomegranate. The pomegranate is said to have exactly 613 seeds which correspond to the 613 commandments Jews follow. Medical reasons abound for eating the pomegranate or drinking the juice of the pomegranate, one of which is that it helps fight prostate cancer. One important aspect of pomegranates is the taste of sweet and sour all in one mouthful. This last is an advantage when cooking a variety of dishes.
Substitute pomegranate concentrate for vinegar, marinade meat in pomegranate juice, or add the fresh seeds to salads. There were recipes of pomegranate risotto and roasted short ribs with pomegranate juice. Recipes by Syrian Jews who use pomegranates when makingkibbeh balls and pomegranate chicken often served as a Moroccan dish. The recipes included in this article made my mouth water and my stomach growl. Dishing it up/ With Virtues as Numerous as its Seeds by Haim Cohen and Eli Landau, Haaretz.com.
How can one purchase this lovely fruit? In my neighborhood in Southern California, it grows quite well and abundantly. Ah! But this blog is supposed to incorporate what is going on in Israel. Well, in the Golan Heights, the apples are not doing so hot. Key word is hot. It has been hot and there is a drought in Israel, like California. Apples require water and pomegranates are not as thirsty for water. So, some Israelis are pulling up the apple orchards and putting in pomegranates instead. There are 1,375 acres of pomegranates producing 18,000 tons of fruit in this year.
A city in Israel, Raanana, likes pomegranates; I do not mean little pomegranates to hang from the sukkah, but big street size pomegranates. Raanana’s main street, Ahuza, has been known to sprout 43 pomegranates, as these pictures show from the city’s website from 2008. Okay, this is last year’s current event but it was hard to resist and just plain fun to post pictures of giant pomegranates.
These articles were easily verified. The Moshav and winery both have websites selling their products. As for the amount of pomegranate production, I found a Vietnamese vegetable, flower and fruit industry website promoting Israeli pomegranates. According to this website, pomegranates are a substantial income crop in Israel. I could also verify the medical and gastronomic claims of the first article. Medical studies utilizing pomegranates have been done by University of California, Los Angeles and there are journal publications touting medicinal applications of pomegranates such as United States National Center for Biotechnology. The gastronomic claims can only be verified in one manner I know of – making the recipes. All I can say is YUM, YUM!
Please click one of the videos to your right first and read while it plays. It was first aired in 2005. The Hebrew was sung in Palestinian territories and the Arabic was sung in Israel via the radio. David Broza and Said Murad (two well-known Israeli and Palestinian musicians) wrote the song; it was performed by David Broza and Wisam Murad. Please notice the children singing in the background. If that does not work click the following: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkpwdQQcimU
When do we teach our children peace? When the bombs are dropping? When reading hateful material? While we are shooting at each other? Does learning another language help to break down barriers?
When do we teach our children peace? When the bombs are dropping? When reading hateful material? While we are shooting at each other? Does learning another language help to break down barriers?
In trying to find recent Israeli-Palestinian articles about women and children, I found it extremely hard to find something current. There are very few articles, and I mean very few articles, written by Jewish-Israeli or Palestinians or Arab-Israelis or Palestinian-Israelis, Christian or Druze Israelis dealing with the actual daily life of what it is like to be a child or woman. That being said, every now and again, there is an article which shows the breadth of possible humanity and how we might just create peace.
One of the articles I read about deals with Arab-Israeli women, Moslem and Christian. Another article talks about the way school could be used to break down barriers by teaching non-Arab Jewish-Israeli children Arabic and Arab culture. You might ask what the two articles have in common.
They put a light on those with the least amount of clout in society – women and children. Of course, these are not just any women but widows in a culture that requires that they crawl into a hole without coming back out after their husband dies. The article, Sisters Doing It for Themselves by Ruth Eglash, mentions that even if they have children and need to work, they are supposed to sit at home with their families. JPost.com
At Widows Center, in the Arab-Israeli village of Kafr Reina, the women learn how to become independent financially, psychologically, and emotionally. By meeting and learning together, these women garner the support needed to climb out of the hole of poverty by creating jobs for themselves or going to school.
The next article was about a young woman, Arab citizen of Israel, who teaches in an Israeli secular school. Arab and Jewish Israeli children do not usually attend school together. The state of Israel funds both schools but the curriculum is not the same. The books do not have same view of history. So how can Jewish children learn and interact with Arab children? Teacher Integration for Attitude Change by Mike Prashke
“Beginning in 2004, The Abraham Fund Initiatives, in cooperation with local municipalities and the Ministry of Education and financial support from the Jewish Agency for Israel, established the infrastructure for the teaching of Arabic and Arab culture in Jewish elementary schools.” Ynetnews.comPublished: 06.19.09, 09:09 Israel Activism
The program is called Cultural Bridges and was set up to help breakdown the Arab stereotypes previous taught in Israeli state Jewish schools. The program is working because the children are no longer afraid of Arabs.
There was a comment on the ynetnews.com addressing the article which brought up the fact that the Israeli Arab state schools have books which teach hatred, so why should there be such a program? Most of the comments back to this one dealt with the fact that there is no reason to teach hatred just because someone else is teaching hatred. Another point made by one of the comments was the fact that ¼ of the Knesset speaks Arabic and 3.1 million Jews (Mizrahim) in Israel speak Arabic having either come from an Arab country or their parents did. I thought this was a wonderful way to say - Arabic is one of the ways to enjoy the diversity of society.
In the first article I read, I could not find the Widows Center in Kafr Reina nor could I verify the amount of money that International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) was supposedly to have contributed to this center. I did find mention of IFCJ by Haaretz and the Jewish Agency; however, I could not find any mention of the Widows Center on the Jewish Agency site nor the Haaretz site. This makes me wonder how thorough the Jerusalem Post is in verifying their sources. It makes me wonder if the story is true because I originally liked this article for the being so positive regarding the role of women. I did find the Ahali Center which promotes educating Arab Israeli women to become independent. So something is happening in Reina, Israel.
The second article I was able to easily verify. The New York Times has written more than one article on the Abraham Fund such as Seeking to Promote Arab-Jewish Harmony by Herbert Hadad and the Jewish Agency has a number of articles about Cultural Bridges. As far as checking out the Israeli Ministry of Education that only popped up in Hebrew that was a big stretch for me because my Hebrew skills are sorely lacking. I did find something in English by Teach Kids Peace which listed all the things the Ministry of Education was doing but could really verify if it was true or not.
In 2005, four years ago, Gaza strip’s Jewish settlements and citizens were evacuated. The questions still being asked by Palestinians and Israelis alike revolve around whether this was really a good idea. Ghassan Khatibwrites from a Palestinian viewpoint that Israel undermined the Mahmoud Abbas’ leadership position among the Palestinians by Israeli withdrawal of the occupied territory. Khatib maintains that the withdrawal from Gaza guaranteed that there would not be a two state Palestinian unification which allows these fragmented states to be pushed to other countries, such as Egypt for Gaza and Jordan for the West Bank, for economic dependency. The unilateral Israeli pull out from Gaza put a plug into “negotiating and finding a peaceful settlement to the conflict.” Israeli Unilateralism Undermines the Peace Process by Ghassan Khatib, Bitterlemons.org Aug. 8, 2009.
Yossi Alpher, an Israeli viewpoint, notes that Ariel Sharon’s decision not to negotiate with Abbas about the withdrawal was a mistake. I disagree when he says that Abbas’ failure was because he did not “capitalize on the withdrawal and generous international aid offered the Palestinian Authority for Gaza reconstruction.” In the previous statement regarding Sharon, it shows that without the open communication between both sides it would have been impossible for Abbas to take advantage of all the things that would lead to state-building in Gaza. Alpher notes that pulling out the Jewish settlers instead of allowing them to become part of a bi-national state changed the demographics of Gaza by changing the economics of the area as well as by the destruction of all the buildings, business, and schools used by the Jewish settlers. He also mentions that although it should have been a good demographic move for Israel to obtain the settlers, it turns out that a good many these Jewish settlers are not yet settled in Israel four years later. I think Alpher makes a good point that Gaza is currently barricaded on three sides by Israel (this includes the sea) and that Egypt closed its borders to Gaza causing great economic upheaval and lack of opportunity for growth. Although it is important to note that Hamas and other terrorists in Gaza do take advantage of open borders to smuggle in arms, on that point they also do not wait for open borders but dig tunnels to obtain arms as well as food and other supplies. He suggests that the “economic warfare” at the present needs to halt before anything more will happen toward a viable state and toward peace. We Can Do Better by Yossi Alpher, Bitterlemons.org, Aug, 8, 2009.
Today Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper, carried an article by Chaim Levinson regarding Ehud Olmert’s statements to an investigative committee about the Gaza Disengagement (such a polite term) during Sharon’s reign as prime minister. Olmert says he supported the withdrawal of Gaza and that it was “carried out at the right time.” Olmert believed that the only option was unilateral evacuation of Gaza if negotiations with Palestinian Authorities failed. Of course former president George Bush’s name came up because he wrote a letter which said that “Israel’s borders do not necessarily have to return to the 1967 borders in order to reach an agreement.” Bush was of the opinion that “Palestinian authorities were responsible for finding a solution to the Palestinian refugee problem.” If the borders do not give a little by providing a state for the Palestinians, just how are they supposed to find a solution and where are they supposed to go? Olmert: Gaza Disengagement Carried Out At The Right Time By Chaim Levinson, Haaretz Correspondent, Sep. 9, 2009.
Former Israeli Defense Force Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General (retired) Moshe Yaalon thought that the Disengagement of Gaza was a big mistake and allowed Hamas to control Gaza. He said that “the fact that there is no one to speak to on the other side doesn’t mean that we can ignore the other side and the effects of our actions upon them.” I think this is the most profound statement I have read that pretty much sums up what happened and what not to do in order to avoid the same mistake again. Although, Yaalon also comments on the fact that if Israel keeps withdrawing from one thing or another, the Arab world perceives this as weakness. Former Chief of Staff: Sharon’s Disengagement a Disaster by Ezra HaLevi, Arutz Sheva (Israel National News), June 7, 2009.
I think a revisit of the unilateral Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza strip is important now because there is international talk of a unilateral withdrawal of Jewish settlers in the West Bank. I do not mean to minimize the dangers associated with allowing some factions of the Palestinian community prone to terrorist activities but I think the majority of people would like to just get on with their lives – make a living, go to school, develop business, and etc. I think that communication lines must be kept open or at least try to keep the lines open even if there is still uncertainty on how the Palestinians will form a government and maintain a state. And if the Jewish settlers want to set up camp in the West Bank, let them. When the time is ripe for that area to becoming a self-governing state, then those settlers should have a choice – either move to Israel or become part of a new state. While we Jews are used to building fences around Torah, it is not conducive to the world economy or the world of human beings to build fences or walls around cities anymore.
To the left is the Knesset building in Jerusalem.
