Week 3: Crazy Times of War and Weddings

   Another crazy week trying to keep everything going.

image Golani soldier support

Signs supporting Golani soldiers are appearing

image Israeli flag

and Israeli flags are flying, with more out every day.

Israel is under threat.

Those tunnels from Gaza into Israel have proven deadly,

and last night five young soldiers were killed in Israel

by terrorists emerging from the ground near a kibbutz.

The tunnels have to be destroyed.

Meanwhile, countless missions, private and public,

are driving south to give food and personal items to

reserve soldiers who are on duty.

Family members have gone to visit my son-in-law more than once.

Even an unexpected call from a soldier can take a few minutes to appreciate,

after the ‘what is wrong’  feeling is over.

Everyone wants to do something, give money, bake, cook,

but there was one unusual “war effort” I had to go check out and share.

story teller

Morah Roc is a professional story teller.

She offered to entertain children one afternoon,

with all the donations going to a good cause

to support those affected by the situation.

image sign in Hebrew

Signs are up for the annual International Puppet Festival in August

and we continue to plan for our August wedding.

This evening there is a funeral at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery

for a soldier from our synagogue,

and at the same time, the Great Synagogue is holding

the shloshim (30 days of mourning) observance for Eyal, Gilad and Naftali.

At this roller coaster time, we often think of  words of Golda Meir.

image child sitting on floor

If only they cared for their children as much as we do.

Embedded image permalink

Two soldiers on reserve duty get engaged,

and there is another wedding to plan.

It’s good to have good news to share,

even as more rockets are fired at southern civilians.

0 thoughts on “Week 3: Crazy Times of War and Weddings

  • July 30, 2014 at 5:02 pm
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    Sharon,
    Thanks again for the amazing pictures. Our thoughts and tifelot and with you every moment. Elke

    Reply
  • July 31, 2014 at 7:39 pm
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    I dont know how old you are but there are two sides to every story. Be objective and present both sides of the story; with equal compassion, frustration, happiness, and sadness.
    I am a catholic indian/burmese (by descent) married to an italian. I have two best friends that came to my wedding: a Jew and a muslim (there were lots of english, indians and italians too).
    I was an usher for the family at three jewish weddings and I helped my muslim friend to recover the bodies of his parents when they were slaughtered in Pakistan.
    As a young man I planned to emigrate to Israel and I was going to convert to judaism. I went to Israel frequently and I spent most of my time at Herzliya living a fantastic life style. I also spent time on Kibutz in the Golan heights.
    The one year I understood the racism and the apartheid that Israel had embraced. In separate incidents: I was singled out as an Arab by mistake by some people and abused; I was strip searched at the airport ‘for security’; at one point I watched my wealthy Jewish friends abuse some poor Arab family by the road side fill their cars with petrol and drive away laughing without paying; and I saw the jews from Ethiopia and Russia living in compounds and being treated like second class citizens. I decide that the Jews that lived here had learnt nothing from the second world war and they used the Suffering in history to justify their actions.
    I watched the Israeli bombers fly beneath me in such numbers, that they blocked out the lights around Galile. I felt the earth shake as their bombs fell in the distance.

    The land you live on belongs to all of you. There were nomads there long before you drew your lines in the sand and called it your own. Time will restore the balance and it will be panful for the innocent.

    I was upset and sad that I had woken from my dream. I never went back again.
    I feel sorry for both sides of this conflict. So many children, mothers men and women in this conflict are innocent but you justify the fear they experience and the deaths that are caused. The politicians and war mongers on both sides have lost their humanity and the weak minded public follow them like sheep. The leaders on both sides who are responsible should be sent to the front line and left to finish the battle.
    I wish you and your loved ones luck and hope you rediscover your humanity. The rest of us just want to live in peace.

    Reply
    • August 1, 2014 at 12:46 pm
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      Thanks for sharing your story. Sorry things did not work out for you, no one said it was easy. Hope you will come back and visit some time.

      Reply
  • July 31, 2014 at 9:41 pm
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    Thank you Sharon for your good news. Its a pleasure to read your news.
    Regards, Shifra

    Reply

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