Tag Archives: Russia

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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Lessons I Learned While Traveling Through Countries Along Baltic Sea

16 Sep

During our two-week cruise of the Baltics, we visited Holland, Denmark, Germany, Russia, Finland and Sweden.   I never realized how close these countries are to each other, just hours away across the Baltic.  And I never realized how intertwined their histories made their peoples and languages and flags!  The architecture repeats itself in every city as influences of Sweden, Denmark, Holland, German and Finland structures can be found in all the cities, and a combination of these styles.

I met many tour guides.  Some were better than others.  But several gave sound advice that I want to remember forever.  In fact, I need to share them.

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Typical steps of unexpected heights!

We spent two days in St. Petersburg and had an excellent guide on our first day.  A retired engineer, she was now guiding tourists through the maze of royal palaces.  Her excellent advice: “Be aware of steps/stairs of unexpected height.”   I think it was her engineering background speaking. But it was so true.  With the cobblestone streets and the old buildings, many times we faced stairs and steps of unexpected height.

Often as we crossed the street or entered a building she would intone, “Be aware of steps of unexpected heights!” Her words resonated through my mind many times during the nine-hour day of touring.  I think, thanks to this lesson, we never fell, we were always aware, no matter what country we were in.

Another day in St. Petersburg, another tour guide with a different message. (She was a retired college professor.) “Don’t demonstrate your water bottle.”   I think what she was really saying is don’t make a big deal out of things.  It was very hot when we were there. Unexpectedly warm.  And many people had water bottles with them.  I kept mine on the bus. But others, especially older adults, needed their water.

However, at certain places, you are not supposed bring a water bottle in.  However, with the heat, they were making exceptions.  So, our guide said.  “Water bottles are not allowed, but don’t demonstrate your bottle. Put it in your back pocket and go through security.”  I guess if the guards wanted to take it away, they could. But not hiding, while at the same time, not making an issue of it, was the best policy. Thus several of our comrades on the tour kept their water bottles with them throughout.

In Denmark, I learned two important lessons.  The guide we had on a day when it was pouring rain, told us that in Denmark the saying is, “There is no bad weather, only bad clothes.”  I concur.  I had packed our Land’s End raincoats and good walking shoes.  We stood in the rain, without getting really wet, as the water skimmed over our coats, while others were drenched.  Meanwhile,  all around us, the Danes walked freely without umbrellas, ignoring the weather and  just strolling through town in the rain.

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He was wearing good clothes as he splashed in the puddles.

I especially enjoyed seeing a young boy dressed in his very good rain clothes and boots splashing through all the puddles in a park as his Mom pushed his stroller as she ambled along next to him.  Good clothes do make a difference!

I will admit, the first tour guides words resonated with me during the rain in Denmark. As we walked the cobblestones and the steps of unexpected heights, I looked down and carefully placed my feet on the wet and slippery walkways.

The Danish tour guide’s other lesson was that umbrellas are not needed because they don’t work. Also true.  I had an umbrella at the beginning of the day. While we walked the streets of the city, it seemed fine.  But by the time I returned to the ship, the only place for that twisted and ragged umbrella was the trash.  You do not need an umbrella in Copenhagen or Arhus.  You just need good clothes!

I loved our tour guide in Stockholm.  She had an attitude that I appreciated.  The problem with most tours is that some people are always late, taking up time from everyone else.   She kept a steady pace wherever we went, shouting back to the slower walkers, “You can’t get lost, there is only one way to go …straight.”

She told us outright, when we left for a short period of time on our own, after she showed us the main square, that if we did not make it back to our bus at the assigned time, she would assume that we were staying in town.   We were adults and we could find our own way back.

And I appreciated that she said that, but then her soft side showed.  We had one woman on our tour who walked slowly using a cane.   When she and her husband were not back at the bus on time, our guide said, “I am just going to check the corner to see if they are coming.”  We all agreed that was a great idea.  And it was, as the couple were slowly moving up the hill and being careful on the steps of unexpected heights.

 

 

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