Tag Archives: politics

I Am Living In A Split World! I Need Peace!

5 Apr

Here in Kansas, in the past six weeks I ave been to a wedding, a funeral, shows at the Dinner Theater, the Jewish Community Center,  the symphony at Kauffman Center, and a show that I left at the Midwest Center at Johnson County Community College. I have been to lectures, have lunch appointments with friends, taken bridge classes, yoga classes, played mah jong, went to two seders, saw “Project Hail Mary.”

If anyone would see what my husband and I were doing, you would think that we are having a great time.  But it is a facade  Because always in my mind is my daughter, her husband and baby sleeping in a bomb shelter in Holon, just outside Tel Aviv.  My mind is with my hundreds of relatives and friends in Rishon LeZion, Tel Aviv, Shiloh, Netanya, Safat, Modi’im, and other areas in Israel.

I am living in a split world.  It is not a good place!

My sleep is disturbed.  When I wake up in the middle of the night, I check to see if I have a message from my daughter or look to see if there were ballistic missile attacks while I was sleeping peacefully in Overland Park.  If I text my daughter in the morning and she does not respond within a few minutes, I text again, “Just say you are yes ok, or no not ok.”  Luckily up to now it has been good.

For Pesach, they went to stay with my son-in-law’s parents in Zichron Yaacov.  A much quieter spot with very few ballistic missile sirens.  They are staying for the week of Pesach.  Perhaps longer?  It is nice to be away from the constant sounds of war.

But I know people who have not been so good.  I know a family whose daughter/cousin/niece, Maya, was murdered at the Nova Festival.  A relative’s sister-in-law was murdered on October 7 as well.   I know a family whose apartment was destroyed by a ballistic missile, and both of their children are in counseling.  Everyone in Israel has some form of PTSD, stress and anxiety.  How could they not. This has been going on for almost three years. I have a friend here who has not heard from her family in Iran for weeks.  Scary times for all.

I wonder if my grandparents lived in this double world during World War II, wondering what was happening to their families in Poland, Germany and Austria, while still living a relatively normal life in New Jersey.  For my grandparents, the results were not good.  Almost everyone was murdered in the Shoah.  In fact, most of those almost 200 relatives of mine in Israel are descendants of five relatives who survived.

I have fears.  My doctor told me I have situational anxiety.  But it is not only about what is happening in Israel.  It is also the hate I see expanding in the world. But not just the horrible anti-Semitism, but also the political attacks on transgender children and adults, the attacks on immigrants and people who are from minorities.  I cannot find a topic to focus on when I am trying to get back to sleep.

My patience is running thin.  I find it more difficult to focus. And I have cancelled some volunteer activities I thought would help me keep my mind off of what was happening in Israel and the USA.  But it did not work out that way.  I just could not focus and knew I did not have the energy to complete them.

I have some anger. I went to a concert at Johnson County Community College.  It was supposed to be Moroccan, Spanish and Flamenco music.  During the first act, the singer said they wrote the following song after helping with Syrian refugees who were fleeing the Civil War years ago.  And they feel for all refugees.  Then she announced, ‘Free Palestine’ in the Polsky Theater. 

Did she realize that it was Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah that has made it possible for Syrian refugees to return to Syria? Did she know that in saying “Free Palestine” she was announcing that to people like me it was as if she was saying it was okay to kill Israelis and Jews, because to Islamic extremist all of Israel is Palestine and all Jews need to be gone and dead is better than alive.

At intermission I went to the manager of the theater.  I told her I came to hear music and see dancing so I could relax.   I did not come to have a political statement that could mean the destruction of Israel and the death to my family.  I told her with all the antisemitism in the world right now, we did not need these statements that had nothing to do with the program. And when I filled out my survey for this show, I would make it clear how I felt.

I told her that this was not the place to have a group make such a political statement, especially since the Polsky Theater was endowed by a Jewish family.  To allow them to call for the annihilation of Israel at a theater paid for by a Jewish family seemed really callous.  And for those in the Polsky family, especially those I know, I apologize if I went too far.  But I was really upset. My calm relaxing evening was destroyed.

I cannot stand much of what is on Facebook and other social media platforms.  Many of the comments made on articles not about Israel, but about Jewish life in general, are often hateful and false.  I spend much on my online time reporting them.  But of course, usually they are accepted by the Facebook community standards.  Which makes me think the community standards do not really exist. Facebook needs to have a reboot and go back to being a place for friends to connect.  Not cesspool of false information, hate and political crap.  I know he is making billions on advertising, but really who wants to really be on it anymore.

Recently the astronauts on the Artemis 2 spaceship posted a photo of the world. And one talked about how from above the Earth is united.  I agree with him. That photo once again showed how much we are connected. What happens on any continent impacts all of us. Pollution, war, violence, senseless hatred, all cause pain. 

I, along with millions of others, need a break from this double world.  So many in misery: Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iran. War is just bad for humanity. I am praying daily for this war to end in a way that everyone can be safe and live in peace.  Let us find a way this year, during the time of Pesach and Easter and the recent Eid al-Fitr, as a call for all of us to work together to stop those who seem to want hate and war, and give the Earth Peace.

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Scary Times On US Streets

19 Jan

A swarm of evil is hitting the streets of the USA. They come in big, black cars. Most are unmarked as to their official capacity, just big, black vehicles of violence and fear.  Their windows are tinted. SUVs, sedans, vans all carrying modern day ‘brown shirts’ wearing black, masks, body armor and carrying guns.

They swarm neighborhoods.  They enter apartment buildings.  People video them from windows as they crouch and hide indoors. Whispering. Scared.  These have become scary times for immigrants and citizens. 

What happened to the USA?  Immigration agents under other presidents also arrested illegal aliens and criminals who snuck into our country or committed criminal acts while they lived here.  But we never saw actions like we are seeing now.  OR should I call the Aktions, as they were called in Nazi Germany.

People disappearing like they did in Chile and Argentina?  People running on the streets to get away from violent thuglike agents.  People’s front doors battered down as agents try to illegally enter homes.  Schools having to shut down because agents sit outside school buildings to attack and apprehend children without their parents.  A restaurant serves these agents food, and hours later they come back and arrest the workers.

American citizens taken illegally into custody!  American citizens murdered on the streets of a major city! American teenager taken into custody, beaten and then dropped off by himself when they find out for sure that he is a citizen.  Other teens abducted.  Child abuse, child kidnapping, child abduction.  These thugs should be in jail.

Where is the Congress stopping these outrageous actions/aktions?  Why is this being allowed to happen on our streets with Congress not stopping it stopping it.  Finally, the courts are limiting what these thugs do.  But they keep doing things that are way beyond their right or power.  They need to be unfunded.  And many of them need to be arrested and tried for their out-of-control and horrifying acts of violence.

Tourism to the USA has seen a large drop in the past year. People are afraid to fly to the USA or they do not want to give the USA its money after all the ‘crazy’ reports coming out of the country.  They are afraid their visas will be taken and they will be arrested, as some have been.  It is scary to fly here.  Or even to leave.  Will my passport still be valid when I return?

Crazy threats are being made, like tariffs because the president is angry or because he did not get a Nobel Peace Prize.  Or vows to take over countries.  Or threats to immigrants which gives fear to tourist and people who might need to come here for a short time for a job.

What about the loss of income for the USA because companies do not to come here.  Think of the hundreds of South Koreans who were to help set up a factory and were humiliated and traumatized by immigration agents.  That deal is not happening now.  Other countries are getting the factories that were on schedule to be built here.  This is not making us great…our country is in a decline as Representatives and Senators seem to be in thrall.

American citizens are fighting back. Governors and Mayors are taking the agency to court trying to stop the madness. But this is something that all elected representatives and senators must come together to stop.

The Constitution calls for three separate branches of government.  The executive is checked by Congress and the Supreme Court.  Congress do your job!  You swore an oath to the Constitution, to our country, to the citizens you serve.  Stop the Chaos and violence.

Why does the chaos continue?  Some claim it all goes back to the Epstein Files.  Release the Epstein Files. Use the evidence and punish all these people who abused children.  Those who did nothing wrong have nothing to fear from the release. 

It is time to end this nightmare.   People deserve to feel safe on American streets.

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Peace Please For Israel , The Middle East, The World

10 Jul

Recently  my synagogue’s Men’s Club sponsored a showing of the movie, “To Cast A Giant Shadow,” all about the 1948 formation of the modern State of Israel, the siege of Jerusalem,  and the attacks by five Arab countries to destroy Israel before it was even a day old.

The movie starred Kirk Douglas as Colonel David “Mickey” Marcus, a true hero of the Second World War, who became the first general of Israel and died in a tragic incident concerning friendly fire.

Other stars included Frank Sinatra, John Wayne, Yul Brenner, Angie Dickerson, Topol, and Senta Berger, who played the characters of real people involved in the creation and salvation of Israel against the multitude of Arab nations who vowed to destroy them.    It is a fictionalized version.  But it gives a view of Israel from the 1960s when the movie was made and the terror that people were living through then.

Sounds familiar?  It does to me, as once again terrorist forces from the East, the South and the North try to destroy Israel, and anti-Semitism and Jew hatred takes over social media, and the traditional media also seems to favor the terrorists of Hamas over Israel as it defends itself. In fact, the word Zionism has replaced the word Jewish on social media to create Jew hatred around the world.

We were basically defenseless then.  No one would give us weapons. The British were turning everything over to the Arab nations.  The Jews had just suffered through a massive attempt to annihilate them—the largest genocide in human history. Many of the ‘soldiers’ had recently arrived from the concentration camps.  Who would have thought Israel would survive?  It was really a miracle, perhaps the divine intervention included the help of Mickey Marcus.

Now we are not defenseless.  But once again there are fractions in the world that would like to see the destruction of the State of Israel.  The UN made it obvious who they wanted to believe when they would not even admit for months that the Hamas terrorists raped and brutalized Israel victims, both women and men and the horrible murders of children.  The UNWRA seems complicit in the work of Hamas.

On college campuses and in cities around the world people are supporting Hamas, a terrorist group that ended a cease fire and has caused the deaths of thousands of people. It seems to be a world gone insane. But not only in Israel.  Yesterday Russia once again bombed the Ukraine. This time destroying a children’s hospital in Kiev. 

How bad can it get before the world realizes that Israel is a sovereign country?  Ukraine is a sovereign country.  When Iran says it will obliterate Israel, what does that really mean? Nuclear War?  When Russia threatens to use nuclear weapons, what does it mean?  Nuclear War?

In the Middle East the wars between Israel and its neighbors did not stop then with this war for survival.  For the entirety of Israel’s existence, the Arab nations surrounding it have worked for its destruction.  For the past decade, Russia has been trying to chip away at Ukraine’s borders.

Isn’t it time for these continuous battles to end? Isn’t time for children everywhere to be able to sleep a peaceful night without the need for bomb shelters? 

Isn’t it time for Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah to start working to make life better for the people they are entrusted with and use the money they have to rebuild and create a strong economy and society instead of using more and more money to precure arms and build the tunnels and machinery for destruction?

Isn’t it time for Russia to pull back?  So the children and people of Ukraine can have peace again? Before this blows up and more people die on both sides. 

Does anyone think nuclear war will end the battles?  It might –  with the destruction of the world as we know it.  Releasing atomic bombs will not solve the problems.  Ukraine and Russia border each other. Any nuclear bomb will harm both. Israel borders many Arab nations, if Iran obliterate Israel other nations will also be destroyed. It makes me think of another of my favorite movies, “War Games,” in which we find out that thermonuclear war is a non-winner for everyone.

Please Peace.  No more battles, deaths, sleepless nights, and destruction.  It is time for Iran and its terrorist proxies to look at their own plates and solve the problems of their people and stop trying to kill all the Jews in the world.  The same in Ukraine.  I know that the ‘normal’ people of the world who are suffering do not want any more battles.

Please Peace. For Israel. For Ukraine. For the world.

Movie Night in the Catskills Was A Wonderful, Magical Night

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cast_a_Giant_Shadow

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WarGames

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Grace and Civility Seem To Be On Sabbatical

19 Feb

Before I even begin this commentary, I need to make sure everyone understands the definitions of Civility and Grace.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:  Civility “is civilized conduct, especially: Courtesy, Politeness; A polite act or expression”; Grace, is define in many ways, but the two important here are: “is a disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy or clemency; a sense of propriety or right/ the quality or state of being considerate or thoughtful.”

When I was growing up, my mother would tell me that you are more likely to get what you want by using honey, than by using vinegar.  Her meaning was that when you treat other people well, they in turn would usually treat you well.  I have used this philosophy throughout my life. I try to be kind and to treat all those that I meet during the day the way I want to be treated. 

I have to admit, I have been exposed to many instances where I am frustrated and annoyed… especially in airports, but I always treat others, including the customer services representatives and the flight attendants with respect.  Whatever my issue is, was not their fault.  And I have found over the years, that they treat me kindly in return.  I have seen many adult melt downs that were so inappropriate: yelling, threatening, with no sense of civility or grace to the people who are trying to do their job. I find it offensive and concerning. 

The lack of civility and grace are obvious in many places now.  And many times we now see people resorting to shooting someone when things do not go their way. Each day we hear of more mass shootings. The one in Kansas City hit close to home. I knew many families who were celebrating the Cheif’s Super Bowl victory at Union Station.

But why? Is it impatience? Have people lost the ability to take the time to speak to each other? Is it refusal to follow the rules of society? Is it a feeling of superiority? Is it social media, with its impersonal way of spreading hate? What makes someone feel that they can treat someone with disrespect? Or just shoot them? I am not sure. But I am beginning to think that two events lead to the increased an inability to act with kindness.

My first issue has to do with politicians and negative campaigns. Wow, have they become nasty or what?  When I was a young adult, I saw campaign ads that usually focused on what the candidate would do for me and the country.  They would stress the differences between themselves and the opposition. But there was never the out and out nastiness that we see now.  Many claim the investigation into a candidate’s secrets started with Gary Hart. But that seems primitive to what we see in campaigns now.

An example: I decided that I would watch every Republican primary debate this fall, 2023. And I did.  It was difficult at times with all the screaming, accusations and just out right nasty comments all around.  When did this type of behavior, horrifyingly infantile, begin in debates.  I think we all know who started that…the one candidate who did not even come to this fall’s Republican debates.  But there were several candidates who seemed to believe that aping this behavior would help them.  I guess not, since they all dropped out. Leaving the lone woman continuing on to face the onslaught of nasty and negative comments.

The second issue concerns the onset of the COVID Pandemic and the attacks on masks and vaccines. 

What is the problem here?  Masks hurt no one.  Doctors, I am married to one, often wear masks.  Surgeons wear them for hours at a time, as do surgical nurses.  When a patient has an infectious disease, doctors and nurses often wear protective gear.  But suddenly the request for people to wear masks to protect themselves and others became tribal warfare.  There was no civility and no grace for anyone.  If you wear or do not wear a mask you were choosing a team, instead of trying to stay alive and save others. The existence of a killer virus itself came in question.

And then there was the warfare over vaccines. I actually know a little of what the members of the FDA committee went through.  My husband serves on the committee.  My husband, along with others, received thousands of emails and letters and faxes asking that they do not vote to approve vaccines.  Most were form letters accusing the doctors of crimes against humanity and threats of legal action under the Nuremberg Laws.  Oy Vey.  Some notes were not mean just fearful.  While other notes were outright nasty.  Not threatening, that would get them in trouble. But just really nasty. The majority of these nasty ones had no return address. How do I know?  He brought the letters home and I opened them, making three piles: form letters;  hate/nasty mail; fearful. 

Why the hate?  These men and women were doing a difficult job.  Reading everything they could about the vaccines and how well they would work. Trying to save lives.  But instead, they were vilified by many.  In the long run, the decisions were made.  Millions of people have survived thanks to the miracle of the vaccines that the CDC and others helped to develop and the FDA’s investigations and discussions and votes to use them. They continued their work despite the hate, because they had an underlying desire to do good.

What happened next is apparent. When we could leave our homes, people seemed to believe that rules that govern did not apply to them. Many seem to think that if they did not conform to masks and vaccines, they did not have to follow any rules.  While others  who did wear masks and had vaccines were strident in their opposition to the others. Tribal warefare? Along with these came an increase in gun violence. It is so out of control.

I am like many who are dreading this next political season and the campaigns for president, representatives and senators. I can already imagine the ugly campaign ads.  I am already feeling disgusted. I am also worried about the threats of violence.

Our politicians need to stop feeding the frenzy of discourtesy and hate for the other.  Let’s instead focus on what you plan to do for our country. Let’s focus on unity.  Let’s focus on the being kind and not anti-Semitic, anti-refugee, ant-LGBTQI, anti-woman’s health care, or racist. Let’s find a way to end the rampage of gun violence we have all experienced. Instead, why cannot we focus on finding ways to work together. Finding areas where we can agree. There is so much good that could be accomplished.

Let’s give each other grace and civility.  We would all get more joy from life if we treat each other with kindness and respect.  Let’s end the unfortunate sabbatical of good behavior.

There is a saying that is now posted at many schools: Jennifer Dukes Lee: “In a world where you can be anything, be kind.”

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