Every year for the reading of Torah portion
dealing with the death of Sarah, wife of Abraham,
tens of thousands of people flock to her burial site in Hevron.
Weather will be cold,
but Shabbat songs and chulent will warm the guests.
שבת שלום
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Jerusalem 9/11 Memorial: Behind the Camera
15 years have past
since September 11, 2001,
but I can still remember the bluest, clearest sky,
and best weather on that day in Washington, DC.
We had moved back from New York City a few days earlier.
Having a blue sky in Jerusalem, Israel, is a given all summer,
no one moves to DC for the weather.
There was a good reason that foreign diplomats stationed in DC
received hazard pay in the days before air conditioning.
But it was so nice that morning,
I went for a walk as work was being done on our new kitchen.
The destruction of the twin towers of the WTC
and with its immense loss of life
has overshadowed the loss of life at
the Pentagon, the heart of the US military command.
For those of us living in the DC area,
the attack on the Pentagon affected our family and friends
in too many ways to recount here now.
The 15th anniversary of 9/11 was remembered in Israel.
Buses took passengers from Jerusalem on a round-about route,
under the new fast-train tracks under construction
towards the JNF-KKY Jerusalem Park,
slowly and cautiously down the winding road.
After an hour on the bus
we were on the other side of the tracks
and across from the cemetery on Har Hamenuchot.
Dignitaries and guests waited in the memorial plaza for the program to begin.
The names of all 2,996 victims are listed on the wall.
The only memorial outside of US to list all the names.
The honor guard in full dress
was positioned cleverly in front of the cool air blowers
and were protected by the sun shade.
What were the Marines thinking?
Israeli families of victims placed a floral memorial wreath
as did Israeli and international dignitaries.
US Ambassador Dan Shapiro stood in respect
after placing his wreath at the base of the memorial
fashioned in the design of a US flag shaped as a flame.
A piece from the Twin Towers is encased in the base,
and can be seen through the rectangular window above those wreaths.
After the official ceremony,
with all its impressive speeches this year,
flowers were provided to those who wished to place them
on the names in memory of those who lost their lives on 9 /11.
A delegation of 50 US police officers were in attendance.
Their hats and uniforms were imprinted with US and Israeli flags.
There was a positive feeling of unity
that is not felt often enough these days.
As WJC President Ronald Lauder said,
“The pain of loss never goes away,
but happiness comes from freedom,
and free people rise over hate.
#NeverForget
More photos from ceremony
Israel Going North: Old and New
It does not happen often,
but we got away from Jerusalem, Israel,
for a few days and we drove up north.
Nothing is far in Israel,
and in two hours you can be at the Kinneret,
the Sea of Galilee.
It looks so cool and calm,
but on the other side,
Syria is on the other side of the Golan Heights.
It used to be on the other side of the lake.
The Galil seems filled with prosperous
Arab villages along the main roads.
Check out this sign in Arabic
for the Israeli (Chinese) dairy company Tnuva.
A special ceremony honoring fallen Bedouin soldiers and security officers
was held this week at the official memorial park
established in honor of Bedouin IDF soldiers, police and scouts.
It is beautifully landscaped with large symbolic stones.
In this photo, three stones represent those hung as spies by Syria.
Despite the community pride in the fallen security forces,
no names were permitted to be photographed and published.
All those names are listed this in memorial wall shaped like a tent,
but I was told not to share the names.
Not far away,
rising above the valley is Mount Tabor,
with its narrow winding road leading up to the top.
Buses have to park at the bottom,
as only smaller vehicles can make the multiple crazy turns.
It is truly is a wonder how the Terra Santa friars
built the original structure so many centuries ago.
But what a view from there now!
Jerusalem is not the only place of contrast,
old and new, for much of Israel today is amazing,
and constantly changing.
Ok, it was fun to see one of those
old fashioned baby transporters,
new and in use in the restaurant parking lot.
Established under difficult conditions,
in 1901, Kfar Tavor,
has a museum with old milk cans,
while a few kilometers away, huge tank trucks come and go
from the state of art Tnuva factory.
The highways are not like the old days,
Highway 6 with its large trucks reminded us
of the New Jersey Turnpike traffic.
While driving it was possible to check
the phone for email and updates and more,
but the Kfar Tavor Museum has the one phone,
for all of the Palestina (Eretz Yisrael) area in 1926.
Wine is still processed the old fashioned way
in wooden, hand-crafted barrels.
Looks like this is as close as I am getting to
the Jerusalem Wine Festival this year.
Last night I attended a special event,
in the Kfar Shmaryhu residence
of the US counselor for Press and Culture.
3 teams of Ethiopian Israelis presented
entrepreneurial projects done with mentors
in a new Tech-Career incubator program.
In 2002,
no Ethiopian Israelis were trained in hi-tech in Israel,
now there are hundreds.
A few highlights of week, old and new and change,
the sunsets were picture-perfect every night,
but it is good to be back home in Jerusalem.