For the last several days, we had noticed a horse tethered in the wild area near our house. At first, he had been further up the trail, but then they moved him to the area right across the street from the house. Three or four boys (early teens, I think) seemed to be the ones responsible for him, but they obviously didn't know how to care properly for a horse. Several days ago, they had asked us for water for him, and I had told them that they would need to pay for it. They agreed to pay 5 shekels for each time that they filled their big tub, but they kept making excuses about the money and, worse yet, began to simply fill it with water without asking me. Finally, I just went out, turned the water off, and told them that from henceforth they would have to pay the money BEFORE they took the water. We then detached the hose and brought it in the house, and, a little later, we also removed the faucet handle and brought it into the house, as well.
This morning, we called the city vet about the horse because he was getting very thin and emaciated. The very dry weeds out there are NOT adequate food for him! The vet said that they had been looking for this horse but had not been able to find him. Our neighbor, Shimon, called the cops, and they did come out. But they really didn't do anything but call to the boys, who simply ran away up the trail with another horse! In the end, it took almost all day before the vet's assistants actually made it out here and led the poor beast away. I hope that he will get a better home and plenty of food, soon! At least we did our good deed for the day.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Pascal playing with a feather
Other than telling you that I filmed this on Friday (2 days ago), I think it needs no further commentary! :-)
Saturday, August 8, 2009
A terrible tragedy and a drasha about it
I'm sure all of you have heard by now of the shooting last Saturday night (nearly a week ago now) at the gay youth center in Tel Aviv. Two young people were killed, and a number of others were injured, some seriously. The masked gunman escaped and has not been caught yet, as far as I know at this writing. So, we don't know anything yet about his precise motives, but there can still be little doubt that this was a hate crime.
Last night at synagogue, our Rabbi Yisrael's sermon was on this very topic. He condemned this terrible act in very strong terms, saying that the Western Wall (the holiest place in Judaism) was truly weeping blood. He called this שינת חינם (sinat khinam), baseless hatred. As he reminded us, this was the reason that the temple was destroyed, according to the talmudic rabbis. He said that Judaism is an open religion and that G-d has given all of us the right to live our lives as we see fit. At first this bothered me a little, until I realized that he was saying that even if the gay life is a choice (which I KNOW that it is NOT), we must honor everyone anyway. In a way, this is even stronger: we do not even have to make the argument that this is the way we are born (although there's plenty of evidence that it is); everyone is to be respected and honored. He also reminded us that all of us have a spark of the divine according to Jewish tradition.
Usually at our synagogue, sermons are given only in Hebrew, and printed English and Spanish translations are handed out just before. This week, though, there was a problem with the rabbi's computer, so he delivered his drasha in small segments (a sentence or 2), first in Hebrew. Then Sue, an American member who also knows Hebrew well, translated to English. Finally, the rabbi gave his own translation into Spanish (which, I think, is his native language, perhaps along with Yiddish). In this way, he made sure that everyone in the congregation would understand exactly what he was saying.
Last night at synagogue, our Rabbi Yisrael's sermon was on this very topic. He condemned this terrible act in very strong terms, saying that the Western Wall (the holiest place in Judaism) was truly weeping blood. He called this שינת חינם (sinat khinam), baseless hatred. As he reminded us, this was the reason that the temple was destroyed, according to the talmudic rabbis. He said that Judaism is an open religion and that G-d has given all of us the right to live our lives as we see fit. At first this bothered me a little, until I realized that he was saying that even if the gay life is a choice (which I KNOW that it is NOT), we must honor everyone anyway. In a way, this is even stronger: we do not even have to make the argument that this is the way we are born (although there's plenty of evidence that it is); everyone is to be respected and honored. He also reminded us that all of us have a spark of the divine according to Jewish tradition.
Usually at our synagogue, sermons are given only in Hebrew, and printed English and Spanish translations are handed out just before. This week, though, there was a problem with the rabbi's computer, so he delivered his drasha in small segments (a sentence or 2), first in Hebrew. Then Sue, an American member who also knows Hebrew well, translated to English. Finally, the rabbi gave his own translation into Spanish (which, I think, is his native language, perhaps along with Yiddish). In this way, he made sure that everyone in the congregation would understand exactly what he was saying.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Adopting Pascal
We decided a week or 2 ago to adopt Pascal, the black kitten with the white nose and a little bit of other white on him. So, several days ago, we began letting him into the house for short periods of time so that he could explore a little and become familiar with it. Yesterday, we took the plunge and brought him in for good, so last night was his first night in here.
Things went surprisingly well with him, and he already seems quite content in here, as you can see from this photo of him lying on my desk this morning:
Our other cat, Katom, however, is apoplectic! Any time that Pascal gets anywhere near him, he begins to emit a low growl. Sometimes, he's even very mad at US and won't even let us touch him. This morning, he growled, hissed, and swatted at me, showing his teeth. It's going to take him quite a while to adapt, I think. We try to pay attention to him and let him know that we still love him, but his attitude is limiting how much of that we can do. He'll get used to it eventually, I'm sure, but probably not too soon. Luckily, Pascal doesn't seem to take any of the growling personally. He avoids getting too close to Katom, but mostly he just seems a little mystified, at most.
Things went surprisingly well with him, and he already seems quite content in here, as you can see from this photo of him lying on my desk this morning:
Our other cat, Katom, however, is apoplectic! Any time that Pascal gets anywhere near him, he begins to emit a low growl. Sometimes, he's even very mad at US and won't even let us touch him. This morning, he growled, hissed, and swatted at me, showing his teeth. It's going to take him quite a while to adapt, I think. We try to pay attention to him and let him know that we still love him, but his attitude is limiting how much of that we can do. He'll get used to it eventually, I'm sure, but probably not too soon. Luckily, Pascal doesn't seem to take any of the growling personally. He avoids getting too close to Katom, but mostly he just seems a little mystified, at most.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Obstacles to Peace
There's been a lot of talk recently (and not so recently, too!) about "Peace in the Middle East". The term is already slightly misleading, since what people generally mean is peace between Israel and the Arabs. There are plenty of other conflicts in this area: Sunni vs. Shia in several countries, Iran vs. Iraq, Christians vs. Muslims in Sudan and in Lebanon, etc. Somehow, though, all these others seem to pale in comparison to the world's obsession with the Israeli-Arab conflict.
This is no accident. Arab leaders have pushed this conflict to the front constantly. They point out the suffering of the Palestinians, those living in the so-called "West Bank" (really the part of Palestine WEST of the Jordan River that was seized in 1948 by the Kingdom of Jordan, which had been established by the British only EAST of the Jordan River) and, especially, the "refugees". I put this in quotes, because ordinarily (in fact, in EVERY other case since World War II!) the term "refugee" is used only to people who actually flee their homes during a conflict, not to their descendants, as well. Also, in most cases, the goal is to resettle the people in new homes as quickly as possible.
A very good example of this is the hundreds of thousands of Jews who were forced out of Muslim countries where their families had lived for centuries (in most cases, since before there WERE even any Muslims anywhere!) in the late 40's and early 50's. The majority of these Jews ended up in Israel (not many other countries were willing to accept many of them), which was a newly-established and embattled country at that time. Absorbing so many people in such a short time was NOT easy, and of course there were many problems. Nevertheless, it WAS done, and the descendants of these Jews (generally known as "Sephardim") make up a significant percentage of the current population of this country.
Immediately after Israel was established (by a decision of the United Nations) in 1948, it was attacked by ALL of the neighboring countries and at least one other (Iraq). These countries made absolutely no secret of their intention not only to destroy Israel but to kill all the Jews that were here, as well. When Israel actually was able to defend itself and "win" this war, it's hardly surprising that a great many Arabs fled in fear and panic -- they naturally assumed that the Jews would do to them exactly what their Arab brethren had very publicly and prominently promised to do to the Jews if they won! Besides this, there were actually calls from the attacking Arab countries for the Arabs to flee so that they would not be in the way of these countries' stated genocidal intentions. All of this is well-established fact. There is some dispute about possible Israeli massacres and forced expulsions. These may very well have happened, especially under such dire circumstances. But these were definitely NOT the source of MOST of the refugees, nor did they represent the clear policies of the leaders of Israel at that time.
Remember, all of this happened more than 60 years ago. Although some of the Arabs who fled are still living, most of the so-called "refugees" now are actually descendants of the real refugees. By now, they should be settled in their new homes: in Lebanon, in Syria, in Jordan, in Egypt, and even in the "West Bank" and Gaza. With the exception of Jordan, this has NOT been the case. Why? After all, they are fellow Arabs, speaking the same language and having the same religion. The reason is quite simple: they are pawns in the hands of the Arab leaders who are STILL determined to destroy the world's only Jewish state and to either expel or kill all the Jews here. If they were settled in their new homes (as the Sephardim HAVE been here in Israel), they conflict might be lessened, Israel would be legitimized, there might even be peace.
This brings me more directly to my stated topic: what are the obstacles to peace? There really is only one significant one: the complete refusal of ALL Arab leaders to recognize that Israel has any right whatsoever to exist here as a JEWISH state. Within on the last 2 or 3 weeks, leaders of the MODERATE Fatah party, which controls the Palestinian Authority and is the de-facto government of most of the population centers of the "West Bank", have stated very explicitly that they do not recognize and have never recognized Israel as a JEWISH state!
Their idea of the two-state solution is this: one state, Palestine, which is an "Arab Muslim State" (whether or not a Jewish minority would actually be tolerated is not clear, but it seems rather unlikely); and another state, Israel, whose Jewish majority they fully intend to subvert by their demand that all those so-called "refugees" be allowed to return to their (well, not really "their" but their ancestors') homes IN Israel! This is precisely what they mean when they say that they do not recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
This is why President Obama's current approach worries me and why it will NOT work. He simply doesn't understand where the problem lies. Jewish settlements in the "West Bank" should pose no more problem than Arab cities and towns in Israel, whose inhabitants, though not Jewish, are full citizens of Israel and have been since 1948! Of course the Arabs in the "West Bank" and, even more so, in Gaza have been suffering and deserve a much better situation. But the problem does not lie with Israel, it lies with the Arab leadership and their consistent refusal to accept the reality of Israel.
This is no accident. Arab leaders have pushed this conflict to the front constantly. They point out the suffering of the Palestinians, those living in the so-called "West Bank" (really the part of Palestine WEST of the Jordan River that was seized in 1948 by the Kingdom of Jordan, which had been established by the British only EAST of the Jordan River) and, especially, the "refugees". I put this in quotes, because ordinarily (in fact, in EVERY other case since World War II!) the term "refugee" is used only to people who actually flee their homes during a conflict, not to their descendants, as well. Also, in most cases, the goal is to resettle the people in new homes as quickly as possible.
A very good example of this is the hundreds of thousands of Jews who were forced out of Muslim countries where their families had lived for centuries (in most cases, since before there WERE even any Muslims anywhere!) in the late 40's and early 50's. The majority of these Jews ended up in Israel (not many other countries were willing to accept many of them), which was a newly-established and embattled country at that time. Absorbing so many people in such a short time was NOT easy, and of course there were many problems. Nevertheless, it WAS done, and the descendants of these Jews (generally known as "Sephardim") make up a significant percentage of the current population of this country.
Immediately after Israel was established (by a decision of the United Nations) in 1948, it was attacked by ALL of the neighboring countries and at least one other (Iraq). These countries made absolutely no secret of their intention not only to destroy Israel but to kill all the Jews that were here, as well. When Israel actually was able to defend itself and "win" this war, it's hardly surprising that a great many Arabs fled in fear and panic -- they naturally assumed that the Jews would do to them exactly what their Arab brethren had very publicly and prominently promised to do to the Jews if they won! Besides this, there were actually calls from the attacking Arab countries for the Arabs to flee so that they would not be in the way of these countries' stated genocidal intentions. All of this is well-established fact. There is some dispute about possible Israeli massacres and forced expulsions. These may very well have happened, especially under such dire circumstances. But these were definitely NOT the source of MOST of the refugees, nor did they represent the clear policies of the leaders of Israel at that time.
Remember, all of this happened more than 60 years ago. Although some of the Arabs who fled are still living, most of the so-called "refugees" now are actually descendants of the real refugees. By now, they should be settled in their new homes: in Lebanon, in Syria, in Jordan, in Egypt, and even in the "West Bank" and Gaza. With the exception of Jordan, this has NOT been the case. Why? After all, they are fellow Arabs, speaking the same language and having the same religion. The reason is quite simple: they are pawns in the hands of the Arab leaders who are STILL determined to destroy the world's only Jewish state and to either expel or kill all the Jews here. If they were settled in their new homes (as the Sephardim HAVE been here in Israel), they conflict might be lessened, Israel would be legitimized, there might even be peace.
This brings me more directly to my stated topic: what are the obstacles to peace? There really is only one significant one: the complete refusal of ALL Arab leaders to recognize that Israel has any right whatsoever to exist here as a JEWISH state. Within on the last 2 or 3 weeks, leaders of the MODERATE Fatah party, which controls the Palestinian Authority and is the de-facto government of most of the population centers of the "West Bank", have stated very explicitly that they do not recognize and have never recognized Israel as a JEWISH state!
Their idea of the two-state solution is this: one state, Palestine, which is an "Arab Muslim State" (whether or not a Jewish minority would actually be tolerated is not clear, but it seems rather unlikely); and another state, Israel, whose Jewish majority they fully intend to subvert by their demand that all those so-called "refugees" be allowed to return to their (well, not really "their" but their ancestors') homes IN Israel! This is precisely what they mean when they say that they do not recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
This is why President Obama's current approach worries me and why it will NOT work. He simply doesn't understand where the problem lies. Jewish settlements in the "West Bank" should pose no more problem than Arab cities and towns in Israel, whose inhabitants, though not Jewish, are full citizens of Israel and have been since 1948! Of course the Arabs in the "West Bank" and, even more so, in Gaza have been suffering and deserve a much better situation. But the problem does not lie with Israel, it lies with the Arab leadership and their consistent refusal to accept the reality of Israel.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
The Tortoise and the Kittens
We have been having so much fun watching the kittens! All 6 of them very faithfully show up for breakfast every day now, and afterwards they often romp around the yard playing and just generally exploring everything. Most of them are still afraid of me if I try to pet them, even when they're eating, but at least they don't run away when they see me.
This morning, I was watching, and I noticed that Peachy seemed to be stalking something. I looked in the direction of her gaze, and I saw a small tortoise moving slowly along the base of the far wall. So I went out and picked it up and brought it inside. While David held it, I went upstairs and got my camera.
It might be the same tortoise that Beatrix (the mother cat) brought to us last year. It's a little bigger, and it seems more colorful than the last year's tortoise. Still, who knows? It's only about 2 or 3 inches long. Here's the best pictures I got of it before putting it out in the middle of one of our geranium plants:
While I was out with my camera, I couldn't resist snapping some shots of the cats. Here's a nice portrait of the kitten we call "Mr Gray":
One of the kittens, Pascal, has become almost completely unafraid of me. He likes for me to pet him and even pick him up. He also likes to play with my hand and generally keeps his claws in, something really amazing for a kitten. Here's a picture I got of him:
Here's a nice picture of Tz'hovi, who is almost certainly the father of all the kittens:
Beatrix, the mother, of course has a LOT more work to do than anyone else. No wonder she's sacked out on top of the table!
Here are 2 more of the kittens, lying on the wall under one of the bushes in our yard. The one in the foreground is Goldie, identified by that orange-gold spot above her nose. I'm not sure which one the other one is. I think it's either Priscilla or Mr Gray.
This morning, I was watching, and I noticed that Peachy seemed to be stalking something. I looked in the direction of her gaze, and I saw a small tortoise moving slowly along the base of the far wall. So I went out and picked it up and brought it inside. While David held it, I went upstairs and got my camera.
It might be the same tortoise that Beatrix (the mother cat) brought to us last year. It's a little bigger, and it seems more colorful than the last year's tortoise. Still, who knows? It's only about 2 or 3 inches long. Here's the best pictures I got of it before putting it out in the middle of one of our geranium plants:
While I was out with my camera, I couldn't resist snapping some shots of the cats. Here's a nice portrait of the kitten we call "Mr Gray":
One of the kittens, Pascal, has become almost completely unafraid of me. He likes for me to pet him and even pick him up. He also likes to play with my hand and generally keeps his claws in, something really amazing for a kitten. Here's a picture I got of him:
Here's a nice picture of Tz'hovi, who is almost certainly the father of all the kittens:
Beatrix, the mother, of course has a LOT more work to do than anyone else. No wonder she's sacked out on top of the table!
Here are 2 more of the kittens, lying on the wall under one of the bushes in our yard. The one in the foreground is Goldie, identified by that orange-gold spot above her nose. I'm not sure which one the other one is. I think it's either Priscilla or Mr Gray.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Going up the Chair Lift at Har Khermon
On Shabbat, we decided to go up to Har Khermon (Mt. Hermon). This time, the chair lift was operating, so we paid our 40 shekels each and took it up the mountain. Since I'm not a skier, I had never been on a chair lift before. That was an interesting experience in itself!
Here's a picture that I took about half way up:
This is a view from the top, looking down to the lower station:
We hiked a little distance from the upper station, and this is the view looking back towards it. The large building on the left is where we got off the lift.
I had hoped that we would be able to get some good views deep into Syria, but there are peaks a short distance to the east and southeast (with military bases on them!) that block the view. I suspect that from at least one of those bases, though, it would be possible to see Damascus!
Even though Spring is long gone now in most of northern Israel, we saw a few flowers way up high on the mountain (about 7000 ft above sea level). This thistle was only a short distance from where I took that last picture.
Here's another beautiful flower that we saw up there:
And here are some more. These are actually quite small:
Here's the view from the chair lift coming down, not long before we got to the lower station:
And, finally, here are some pretty hollyhocks that were blooming near the lower station:
Here's a picture that I took about half way up:
This is a view from the top, looking down to the lower station:
We hiked a little distance from the upper station, and this is the view looking back towards it. The large building on the left is where we got off the lift.
I had hoped that we would be able to get some good views deep into Syria, but there are peaks a short distance to the east and southeast (with military bases on them!) that block the view. I suspect that from at least one of those bases, though, it would be possible to see Damascus!Even though Spring is long gone now in most of northern Israel, we saw a few flowers way up high on the mountain (about 7000 ft above sea level). This thistle was only a short distance from where I took that last picture.
Here's another beautiful flower that we saw up there:
And here are some more. These are actually quite small:
Here's the view from the chair lift coming down, not long before we got to the lower station:
And, finally, here are some pretty hollyhocks that were blooming near the lower station:
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