Islam Explained in Layman's Terms - The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat

Adapted from Dr. Peter Hammond's book: Slavery, Terrorism and Islam:

**The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat**

Islam is not a religion, nor is it a cult. In its fullest form, it is a
complete, total, 100% system of life.

Islam has religious, legal, political, economic, social, and military
components. The religious component is a beard for all of the other
components.

Islamization begins when there are sufficient Muslims in a country to
agitate for their religious privileges.

When politically correct, tolerant, and culturally diverse societies
agree to Muslim demands for their religious privileges, some of the
other components tend to creep in as well.


Here's how it works:

As long as the Muslim population remains around or under 2% in any given
country, they will be for the most part be regarded as a peace-loving
minority, and not as a threat to other citizens. This is the case in:

United States -- Muslim 0.6%
Australia -- Muslim 1.5%
Canada -- Muslim 1.9%
China -- Muslim 1.8%
Italy -- Muslim 1.5%
Norway -- Muslim 1.8%

At 2% to 5%, they begin to proselytize from other ethnic minorities and
disaffected groups, often with major recruiting from the jails and among
street gangs. This is happening in:

Denmark -- Muslim 2%
Germany -- Muslim 3.7%
United Kingdom -- Muslim 2.7%
Spain -- Muslim 4%
Thailand -- Muslim 4.6%

From 5% on, they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their
percentage of the population. For example, they will push for the
introduction of halal (clean by Islamic standards) food, thereby
securing food preparation jobs for Muslims. They will increase pressure
on supermarket chains to feature halal on their shelves -- along with
threats for failure to comply. This is occurring in:

France -- Muslim 8%
Philippines -- 5%
Sweden -- Muslim 5%
Switzerland -- Muslim 4.3%
The Netherlands -- Muslim 5.5%
Trinidad & Tobago -- Muslim 5.8%

At this point, they will work to get the ruling government to allow them
to rule themselves (within their ghettos) under Sharia, the Islamic Law.
The ultimate goal of Islamists is to establish Sharia law over the
entire world.

When Muslims approach 10% of the population, they tend to increase
lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions. In Paris, we
are already seeing car-burnings. Any non-Muslim action offends Islam and
results in uprisings and threats, such as in Amsterdam,  with opposition
to Mohammed cartoons and films about Islam. Such tensions are seen
daily, particularly in Muslim sections in:

Guyana -- Muslim 10%
India -- Muslim 13.4%
Israel -- Muslim 16%
Kenya -- Muslim 10%
Russia -- Muslim 15%

After reaching 20%, nations can expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad
militia formations, sporadic killings, and the burnings of Christian
churches and Jewish synagogues, such as in:

Ethiopia -- Muslim 32.8%

At 40%, nations experience widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks,
and ongoing militia warfare, such as in:

Bosnia -- Muslim 40%
Chad -- Muslim 53.1%
Lebanon -- Muslim 59.7%

From 60%, nations experience unfettered persecution of non-believers of
all other religions (including non-conforming Muslims), sporadic ethnic
cleansing (genocide), use of Sharia Law as a weapon, and Jizya, the tax
placed on infidels, such as in:

Albania -- Muslim 70%
Malaysia -- Muslim 60.4%
Qatar -- Muslim 77..5%
Sudan -- Muslim 70%

After 80%, expect daily intimidation and violent jihad, some State-run
ethnic cleansing, and even some genocide, as these nations drive out the
infidels, and move toward 100% Muslim, such as has been experienced and
in some ways is on-going in:

Bangladesh -- Muslim 83%
Egypt -- Muslim 90%
Gaza -- Muslim 98.7%
Indonesia -- Muslim 86.1%
Iran -- Muslim 98%
Iraq -- Muslim 97%
Jordan -- Muslim 92%
Morocco -- Muslim 98.7%
Pakistan -- Muslim 97%
Palestine -- Muslim 99%
Syria -- Muslim 90%
Tajikistan -- Muslim 90%
Turkey -- Muslim 99.8%
United Arab Emirates -- Muslim 96%

100% will usher in the peace of 'Dar-es-Salaam' -- the Islamic House of
Peace. Here there's supposed to be peace, because everybody is a Muslim,
the Madrasses are the only schools, and the Koran is the only word, such
as in:

Afghanistan -- Muslim 100%
Saudi Arabia -- Muslim 100%
Somalia -- Muslim 100%
Yemen -- Muslim 100%

Unfortunately, peace is never achieved, as in these 100% states the most
radical Muslims intimidate and spew hatred, and satisfy their blood lust
by killing less radical Muslims, for a variety of reasons.

'Before I was nine I had learned the basic canon of Arab life. It was me
against my brother; me and my brother against our father; my family
against my cousins and the clan; the clan against the tribe; the tribe
against the world, and all of us against the infidel. -- Leon Uris, 'The
Haj'

It is important to understand that in some countries, with well under
100% Muslim populations, such as France, the minority Muslim populations
live in ghettos, within which they are 100% Muslim, and within which
they live by Sharia Law. The national police do not even enter these
ghettos. There are no national courts, nor schools, nor non-Muslim
religious facilities. In such situations, Muslims do not integrate into
the community at large. The children attend madrasses. They learn only
the Koran. To even associate with an infidel is a crime punishable with
death. Therefore, in some areas of certain nations, Muslim Imams and
extremists exercise more power than the national average would indicate.

Today's 1.5 billion Muslims make up 22% of the world's population. But
their birth rates dwarf the birth rates of Christians, Hindus,
Buddhists, Jews, and all other believers. Muslims will exceed 50% of the
world's population by the end of this century.


Well, boys and girls, today we are letting the fox guard the henhouse.
The wolves will be herding the sheep!

Obama appoints two devout Muslims to Homeland Security posts. Doesn't
this make you feel safer already?

Obama and Janet Napolitano appoint Arif Alikhan, a devout Muslim, as
Assistant Secretary for Policy Development.

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano swore in Kareem Shora, a devout Muslim
who was born in Damascus, Syria, as ADC National Executive Director as a
member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC).

NOTE: Has anyone ever heard a new government official being identified
as a devout Catholic, a devout Jew or a devout Protestant ...?  Just
wondering.

Devout Muslims being appointed to critical Homeland Security positions?
Doesn't this make you feel safer already??


That should make the US' homeland much safer, huh!!
Was it not "devout Muslim men" that flew planes into U.S. buildings 8
years ago?

Was it not a devout Muslim who killed 13 at Fort Hood?

Please forward this important information to any who care about the
future of our respective countries.


This is an article from 2008 but as relevant right now.

The Peace Activist - Follow This Blog!

This letter was written in response to an article written by a self-proclaimed "peace activist".

I suggest reading this individual’s article first at:gilasvirsky.com/godbliss.html to pick up the thread.

Dear Gila,

I stumbled onto your article “God Bliss” through a link from a website that recommended reading your article.

I read the article.

I also read about your commendable commitment, devotion and activities to bring peace into this troubled area. I respect all those who are concerned with making the world a better place and take the time and effort to do so, ultimately contributing to bringing about positive change for our generation and those to follow.

However, your article troubles me deeply, perhaps as deeply as your contempt for those who turn a blind eye to the hardships of the Palestinian populations in Gaza and the West Bank. It troubles me fivefold.

Firstly, unknown to many, there is a media war, a media “intifada” that does as much damage to Israel and the Jews, in Israel and abroad, as does Antisemitism, biased ignorant hate, war and bloodshed. I am certain that you do not intend contributing to the countless hate websites at worst, or anti-Israel sites that feed on disinformation published on the internet to swing public opinion.

We both know that “each small step counts”, and that words are powerful and cause wars. I am thus personally very careful and selective with what I say and convey, no matter what my disposition or the subject.

While I respect open debate and freedom of speech, I take into account the “public opinion” you mention in your article. Yes, you want to make a change in Israeli society and I respect that. Yourpublicized website article addresses the entire public, which unfortunately addresses many outside of Israeli society. Now, you don’t exactly hang out your dirty washing or publicize your relationship hitches, but rather work on them from within. Since there is no need to convert the converted, this leaves the "floaters" to swing and I dread thinking of the floating Mr. Smith who reads your article. The uncanny ease of hanging out dirty washing with little consideration of the impact and consequences, borders on masochism.

You might like me to qualify some of above, as I will do after each section. I can refer you to a number of online sources with direct links, but will suffice with adding headings for now, pending your response – “The Al-Dura Affair”, “the Jenin Massacre”, “Honestreporting”, “Pallywood”, to provide just a few.

Secondly, you downplay Israel’s “good deeds” by connecting it to “the blockade of Gaza” and the “Separation Barrier”. I fail to see the connection or the point you are trying to make.
Please enlighten me.

For now, I remain very proud that country of 7 million with no diplomatic relations with Haiti, was the only country to arrive there very quickly, the only country to erect a field hospital, the only country to perform complex operations to selflessly save many who were, and probably won’t be of any benefit to Israel, ever.

Yes, it was reported and should be.

You wrote: “it’s hard work transforming international public opinion after the Israeli bombardment of Gaza one year ago, which played out so poorly in the Goldstone Report and European capitals”.
Whose hard work? Yours?

This is also confusing – do you agree or disagree with the Goldstone report?

Goldstone himself admitted that the report was compiled from pure hearsay and none of its contents have any legal implications whatsoever.

Well, yes, it is hard work when people write “bombardment of Gaza”. This is conveys a general indiscriminate encompassing bombardment, something along the lines of the Blitz of Dresden. No, that is not what happened, and should (must) not be conveyed like that. We both know that Israel is capable of bombarding Gaza, Egypt, Jordan as well as a few other countries to smithereens within the hour.
Israel did not.

I am sure you have a figure of around 1,700 hundred killed in Operation Cast Lead, of which XXX (make up a figure) were civilians, right? The PCHR (Palestinian Center for Human Rights) published the list of civilians killed after the operation while Hamas refused to release any information. Lately, Hamas published their list of “martyrs”.

Guess what? Over 70% of the “civilians” killed turn out to be Hamas terrorists militants, according to their list. Please note: Israel had nothing to do with these publications.

You write about a “blockade” and “siege”. Blockade and siege are harsh words when compared to reality. There certainly are restrictions on certain materials - those that are used to construct rockets that target Israeli civilians in heavily populated areas.
(If you need official reports on this, let me know).

Yes, there were few local reporters in Gaza during the operation, for two main reasons: (1) There was an ongoing military operation and the safety of our soldiers comes first (sorry!) - reporters during the second Lebanon war revealed crucial detrimental location information of forces active in that area. What exactly did you want them to report, anyway? (2) Their own safety.

Yes, it was a “popular” war, not because of a handful of war-mongering bloodthirsty generals, but because of hundreds of thousands of Israeli civilians that were living under the terror of rocket fire from Gaza for eight (8!) years and after exhausting all other channels to stop the rocket fire.

Thirdly, Israel is not Iran with a brutal police force that nonchalantly and brutally attacks peace activists, not in the West Bank and not in Israel. The “peace activists” you refer to, for the most part are provocative, side up with Palestinians in the West Bank to physically tear down the “separation barrier”, thereby breaking the law. If it is the law that is wrong, I suggest working to change the law, rather than attacking the army, police force and painting a distorted reality. I strongly condemn unlawful behavior by soldiers and policemen and am proud to boast many court cases in which perpetrators are and have been punished for the crimes committed.

Fourthly, and most importantly, you simply provide a one-sided biased snapshot of a complex historical problem without providing the unwary reader with any perspective of the chain of events. In my humble opinion, you thereby willingly join the slander network that sports anti-Israel and Anti-Semitic banners that are based on treacherous ignorance.

Capitalizing on your readers’ ignorance with half truths, at best, is putting a stumbling block before the blind. The severity is compounded when it is done under the name of popular buzzwords like “peace activist” and "humanitarian". I am sure that you do not want to be part of this network. This includes the BBC, CNN and many others. (Once again, feel free to request the sources).

I’ll give an example. In a lawful country when someone lawfully buys a real estate asset, he is entitled to occupy it. The eviction of Palestinians in East Jerusalem was not to “make room for settlers” but to rightfully occupy a lawfully purchased asset. This was conveniently omitted in your article.

Fifth. You complain about the lack of reporting and “…no image”.
I’ll give you an image, that is not reported. We have an acquaintance serving in the army, a smart very left wing 20 year old who cringes each time he is sent on a “mission”.
Your snapshot of the mission would be: “Israeli soldiers ransack a Palestinian home in the West Bank”.

Yes, the house was ransacked.

This certainly is terrible.

The full perspective of the reality is that a male family member was arrested and confessed to assembling explosive devices to be used in terror attacks on civilian targets in Israeli cities.
This is terrible too, in my opinion. Our acquaintance did the dirty, unreported work, to keep me, you and yours safe. This is not hearsay, it is very real and unfortunately, for some odd reason, has historically been necessary since 1948, before the “separation barrier”, West Bank issues, Hamas and the likes. This is a reality that is not reported, that is kept quiet amongst the many who have devoted their lives to preventing the re-occurrences of events from the 1929's, 1940’s, 1948’s, 1973’s etc. Do you want this reported too? Do you have any idea why it is not reported? Perhaps thinking of the number of weekends that you could not spend in Nahariya in your sweet weekend home, might put you on the right track.

Gila, I may be harsh and this may be perceived as a personal attack. It is not. It is a very brief account from the other side of the coin.

You are most welcome to come and drink verbena tea in our home along with some of our Palestinian friends. Yes, we have Palestinian friends who want to get on with their lives just like you and I. They are not Hamas, not Fatah but well meaning individuals. Unfortunately, the simple man in the street has a forced responsibility too, to choose peaceful change and ultimately their leadership. We can argue whether the Hamas takeover of Gaza was democratic or not. If the man in the street is helpless against a gang mob, then that is just the crux of the problem – there is a gang mob running the place. I feel for the man in street but do not accept helplessness as an excuse.

Peace on you,

Laurence Seeff

http://www.israelproud.blogspot.com/

Please follow Laurence's blog!

I Am Israel

I am Israel --


I was born millennia before I was renamed Palestine by the conquering Romans, before Muhammad took his first breath, and before the U.N. decided to split me in half and turn my Eastern lands into Jordan. My people, the Jews, maintained communities here for three thousand years— that is until the Arabs decided to massacre those Jews without reason in 1920 and 1929. Hundreds of civilians were murdered, most of them women and children. Meanwhile, their brother Arab states massacred and exiled 1 million Arabic Jews from their lands-- erasing their history.


I am Israel--

I have been attacked four times by Arab armies since I declared independence in 1948. I told the Arabs who lived on my land that they were welcome to stay, but they were told by the neighboring states to leave temporarily while the Jews were "taken care of". I have been offering a message of peace since the day I was born, but my enemies answered only in bullets. I am a survivor--I won every war. Realizing they could not defeat me with arms, my enemies have turned to lies.

I am Israel--

Time and time again my name is smeared. Though each of these lies is eventually disproven, my enemies continue to claim I am committing genocide. Is giving educational opportunities to Palestinian Arabs "genocide"? 20% of the students in Haifa University are Arabs. If I am an aggressor who exiled all the Arabs in 1948, why are 20% of my citizens Arabs with full rights? Where did they magically appear from? Why did I give up the entire Sinai and the Gaza strip, uprooting my own people from their homes, only for the hope of peace?

I am Israel--

In combat, I risk the lives of my teenage sons and daughters in order to minimize civilian Palestinian casualties. I make every attempt to target only fighters, often putting my own soldiers in harms way. In wartime, I drop leaflets on areas to be attacked, warning civilians to evacuate. Has any other army in the history of mankind done this for its enemy? I waited 8 years to stop Hamas from its daily rocket attacks on my kindergardens and my hospitals. I am patient, but my patience is not infinite.


I am Israel--

I have created Intel and cell phone technology, medicine for devastating diseases, and I lead the world in scientific publications per capita. I send humanitarian missions to developing countries, including Muslim countries. I have absorbed hundreds of Muslim refugees who faced genocide in Darfur-- refugees no Muslim state would take.
I am Israel--

I am one of the smallest countries in the world, and probably the most stubborn—I refuse to give up hope for peace. My friends support me not because of any lobby, but because they see the truth-- I am the heart of the Middle East, and the hope for its future. My prophet said, "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation," and I will try, and try, and TRY until those words are true.

Because I am Israel.
Video version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ1Tw9dRqvo


United Nations Watch :

http://www.unwatch.org/

Terrorism Awareness Project :

http://www.terrorismawareness.org/
 

Letter to EAPPI - by Laurence Seeff

Dear Sirs,
I would like to join your wonderful organization after reading about it on the official EAPPI website (http://www.eappi.org/en/about/overview.html).

I especially found that your commitment to impartiality, in reference to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict:
"One of the EAPPI guiding principles is 'principled impartiality', the EAPPI Code of Conduct states: 'We do not take sides in this conflict and we do not discriminate against anyone but we are not neutral in terms of principles of human rights and international humanitarian law. We stand faithfully with the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized. We want to serve all parties in this conflict in a fair and unbiased manner in word and action.'"

As described under the heading "Principles", in the overview of organization, meets my expectations of an organization seeking to:

"…bring a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with a just peace based on international law..."
as stated under the heading "Vision", in the same overview.

I cannot express my awe and admiration. I felt that I had finally found an organization with not only a truly just cause, but honorable principles, guiding code of conduct and clearly defined vision. Wow!

Our (I am already joining!) organization's "Objectives" follows the vision, mission and principles statements. Unfortunately, here, I have run into a few problems and have some questions, so perhaps the "code of conduct" or policy makers in the organization may kindly offer some assistance, please.
I will address each point in turn:
1. "Participate in the daily life and work of Palestinian and Israeli civil society, Churches and Christian communities".



I have managed to find references on the website to participation in Palestinian civil society; however there is no mention of participation in Israeli civil society. Where do I find examples of this work?



2. "Be visibly present in vulnerable communities, locations or events, e.g. near Israeli settlements and the wall/fence, schools and homes, fields & orchards".



I presume that the addition of the word "Israeli" is an error, or at least it should be "Israeli and Palestinian". Distinctly naming only one of the parties contradicts the impartiality principle. I can think of many Israeli towns and cities that are, or have been indiscriminately rocketed from within Palestinian territories.



3. "Actively listen to local people's experiences and give voice to peoples' daily suffering under occupation and write or speak about these experiences in their reports and public speaking engagements".


I guess that this is ok, as long as we give voice the Israelis too, because, the impartiality principle states that "We want to serve all parties in this conflict in a fair and unbiased manner in word and action ". I would like to request a list of Israeli experiences reported at public speaking engagements.


4. "Monitor the conduct of Israeli soldiers (e.g. at checkpoints and other barriers and during demonstrations and other military actions) and contact relevant organizations and authorities to request intervention".


There are two issues here:
a. Once again, singling out Israeli action seems very one sided and biased. Perhaps this should be taken out completely or "Palestinian terror groups shooting rockets at Israeli civilians" should be added, to make this impartial.


b. I am sure that you can supply a list of organizations EAPPI contacted regarding indiscriminate rocket fire into Israeli towns as well as a list of efforts made to convince Gilad Shalit's rights as a prisoner.
Just for now, I will have to refrain from the regarding the organization as ours. Something seems to be not quite right with the mission and principles and stated objectives.


5. "Engage in non-violent ways with perpetrators of human rights abuses"

This is fantastic – you'll finally be able to protect Gazan civilians from being used a human shields, and also stop rocket fire into Israel.


6. "Produce high quality, first-hand written materials, testimonies and analysis".


Fantastic! Please supply a list of both Palestinian accounts and Israeli accounts, where and when they produced. Does this include suicide bombing accounts and child indoctrination to become martyrs for the cause?


7. "Report on violations of human rights and international humanitarian law that EAs witness and document and use these reports to inform governments and intergovernmental bodies and press them to take action".

Great! I am sure that you can produce a list of violations from both sides. Please include accounts of Fatah members being thrown off high-rise buildings after the democratic elections, as well as the intergovernmental bodies and press to which these reports were sent.


8. "Engage with the media locally, nationally and internationally".

A list is welcome and excellent advertising material show the engagements.


9. "Be part of international advocacy and networking activities that highlight the human rights situation in Palestine".

This is terribly impartial. What is highlighted? I hope it includes the needs of the Israeli civilian population, Sderot for example. Since Palestine is not a country, yet anyway, please provide a clear definition of what you consider Palestine, oh…and the highlights too.

Hmmmm….out of nine objectives, if I give you immediate benefit of the doubt (pending the requested lists), 33% are anti-Israel. In my humble opinion, at least the objectives should be objective/balanced/impartial.
Unfortunately, I cannot join right now, but will seriously consider membership after receiving your detailed reply that will surely uphold the impartiality principle from the "code of conduct". The bible forbids us to put a stumbling block before the blind. Proclaiming impartiality followed by bias is a definite stumbling block for the unwary reader.

I am sure that you will welcome my remarks and not want to be considered as one of those cheap Israel bashing hate sites.

I also see no mention of real Christian issues in Gaza and the West Bank. The Christian populations there have serious human rights issues and are suffering too, at the hands of their Moslem neighbors. Why has this been left out? I could actually supply you with a wealth of information on this. In fact, the Christian population there is hunted, persecuted and violently ousted.

Thanks for your urgent attention,


Laurence Seeff


NB. I would like to contact some of the team here in Israel but there are no contact details or surnames. Any particular reason?

www.eappi.org/
 
EAPPI - Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel

The face of antisemitism in the UK today...how many more like this?

I went to this protest outside the Bloomsbury Baptist Church in Central London. They were holding a Christmas Carol Concert supporting the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign. Christians politicising the Christmas message by supporting a terror organisation who consider them 'infidels'. Watch and learn.

Fragments

28 November 2009

I should be in bed now. I am tired and I have a busy day tomorrow, but I don’t like that word...should. There is an implication in that word that I am doing something other then what I supposed to be doing and right now, I am supposed to be writing.

I have discovered through my work with social media, that cyberspace has made the world small and so it means I can develop really meaningful friendships with people online, and when I get to meet them in person, and I often do, they feel like someone who has been in my life forever. So aliyah for me will be a transition, but my trips there and my networking and having my son there, will make the transition so much easier than those who had to flee for their lives. I get that.

We Jews live like fragments of something wonderful and scattered. And the little rays of light we spread in all the places where we are outside of Israel still shine bright. Why is it that such a small minority people can make such a noise and display such strength in adversity, if this is not the case? Of course there are many cultures and many great people who are non-Jews too but the feeling of having family amongst Jews is just beautiful to me. It's my experience and I am grateful for it. I could not care whether someone is secular or religious, I am not the one to judge. I just care that we are connected as people and even if we don't want to observe we are still Jews in our souls.

I am doing some research right now, along with my siblings, into our roots, and we can trace it back a long way. Generations of European Jews. We may have moved around a lot, and spoken different languages but it has not really changed for us. We are still connected and our challenges as Jews in the Diaspora now in 2009 are not so different from those of out ancestors.

My mum always told the stories of the huge extended family being together for Shabbat and we never had that. There were less kids, we had cars and so we lived apart. Yet amazingly, now I am meeting cousins and connecting with family spread round the world. My sister has traced many relatives in the USA. This huge tree of connected people is unfolding and the wonderful thing is that no-one made us connect, we have chosen it.

I have been offered an ‘adoption’ by Israeli family I know, who already understands that for me, the only real loss of making aliyah is the quality time I have with my friends and family here. Anyone who thinks it is about running away has soon worked out this is not the case. I am running to. My friends in Israel have offered to be my surrogate family! It feels good to know that there are people who really have got to know me and care about me and I care about them too. I have great friends here, but I would rarely see such generosity of spirit in the UK. I don’t even talk to my neighbours here let alone strangers!

A girlfriend I have already in Israel told me this is the norm. Everyone who makes aliyah has a disjointed life for a while, moving into the realms of new social and cultural experiences. And if you come alone, then people take you under their wing and accept you. I can see that already and I have a long way to go.

Just this week I discovered I have a cousin in Israel. He grew up having the same struggle to find his Jewish identity in a place where most of the kids at school didn’t know what a Jew was. To them we were aliens! The ignorance here in the UK didn’t change even after the Shoah. It was good to share this with him and I am so happy to get to know him and his family. He is an incredible and humble man, who went to Israel with nothing and made a life there, and he shared his heart with me. We have not met yet but we will. I feel I know him already.

I spoke with someone this week whose experiences made him wary of standing up for his Judaism, and understandably so. And as I spoke about my aliyah plans, he told me he thought perhaps it was not the answer and that it is allowing myself to be ‘run out of town’. Not so. The UK is my birth home. But Israel is my soul home. No competition. And I stood my ground as a teenager and a young woman in this place where I had literally to fight for my existence in a school being the only Jewess. Where it was never OK that I was different and as a teenager I had to defend myself daily. Maybe that is what shaped me and made me feel it so much.

Mine was a strange childhood because we were traditionally orthodox and ate kosher in a place with just a handful of Jews. And I stayed with it. There was never really a choice. But I am already breathing a sigh of relief at the thought of being in a place where there is no need to have to explain my Judaism. Where for the next part of my life I can concentrate on being and not being a Jewess. I’ve done my bit being tough in a land that is supposed to be so multi cultural and is really not.

I have begun writing with open hearted people who are open and honest. Jews from countries where I would have had no idea there was even a community. So if it is used right, social networking can be a place to develop connections that are valuable for the rest of your life.

This week I have shared moments of real joy with Jews from other continents who have joined me in messages where all we did is spread friendship and love. We are just wishing each other good will. What a way to start a day! Reading smiles and hugs from relative strangers who just want to give out something warm and good.

It seems that fragments of joy still exist.

Spontaneity

22 November 2009

Today has been very spontaneous. I like that. I learned that no matter what you plan, life seems to give you things to handle that were definitely not scheduled.

Today my girlfriend called and asked if I was free for lunch and I made myself free. She is a joy and we needed a catch up. She gets me and I her. So we sat in the Israeli owned restaurant in the park our coats and listening to the wind blowing the plastic ‘walls’ like we were in a tent. In summer it is a buzzing place but today it was us, a family or two and a dog walker! We ate shakshuka in cold wet London and made our own warmth.

I was just in Israel for a week to see my son, my friends and network. Networking is important. I’m building life foundations. I can’t imagine just hopping on the plane to make aliyah and getting off knowing no-one. But many have and lived to build the land and tell the tale. I have it easy in a way.

Spontaneity is something Israelis know about. It is one of the reasons I will fit there and love it. I love the fact that as well as being family people, and having friends and jobs, Israelis live for the moment.

It is not a problem to pick up food and make it for a gathering of people and just to be. I saw this in action when a friend invited me to join him on Saturday night. His stepson was home from the army and him and all his friends piled in to the house and relaxed. And his wife cooked delicious soup and everyone was fed and enjoyed the togetherness. I certainly did. It just happens there. There is no invitation to tea and crumpets. (D’vorah that is for you) Life just unfolds and continues without the ceremony. I got to see the view from his amazing house near the West Bank and also his wonderful family. A blessing.

It is not that there is a lack of responsibility, but what there is, is the ability to grab life as it happens and live it. I don’t experience that here so much. Social diaries are filled in advance and there is little room left to be free for a while.

My week began with a journey to Haifa on the trains. British Rail take note! On board toilets, paper bags to chuck your litter, power points to charge your laptop or your mobile....CLEAN! Oh and gorgeous young men in uniform help the view somewhat. And the young men offer to help with large luggage, and there is no asking necessary! However the taxi driver at the other end took one look at my pale face and tried to charge me double the fare. Needless to say I didn’t pay and we managed to have a scrappy conversation in Hebrew before I ran out of vocabulary.

That was the point I decided that I can’t speak my lousy Hebrish and need to start to learn right now. I won’t get much in allowances and I am not going to be there with a safety net, I need to work, so full time Ulpan is not an option.

I have signed up with the very well advertised online Hebrew classes and that will make me commit to learning. By September I should be able to have enough of a basic conversation to survive. I can read already but there are times when knowing the phonetic words in English because you can read, is just not enough.

Because of cyberspace, I can still work and network from here with Israelis. I have been in a long message thread in the last few days of a group of people around the works spreading joy and love and friendship. Some are Israelis and some are making aliyah or returning. And many will be friends for a long time. This is how I began to chat with many of the people I now call friends and have met face to face. The fact that the world is a smaller place is a blessing to me. It must have been much harder before technology was what it is now to move abroad and have no-one there.

So as well as meeting potential clients, I saw my boy, who makes my heart swell because he has found a path he has been drawn to and he is going for it. And he put up with being schlepped round the shops in Jerusalem because we could not stand to be outside and there is only so much coffee one can drink! Next time we will go exploring together but time is short for him before Shabbat.

Friday night saw me going to stay with a girlfriend who has become very dear to me. I had bags and laptops so took a cab on the way to her, and the driver again tried to charge me extortionate rates. We were chatting on the way on our cell phones and she was outraged that the driver was trying to rip me off as well as trying to forget the fare if I agreed to dinner! I was laughing almost til I cried and then he realised he was pushing his luck.... I knew my girlfriend would be waiting for me and warned him not to mess with her! My girlfriend met him with her little dog and began reading him the riot act in Ivrit I could just understand. It was like a comedy scene....the blonde with the dog scaring away the amorous driver, and my fare was not too bad!

I spent evenings with friends who kept calling until we had a half an hour in the same place. And I went back to the UK longing to be back in Tel Aviv. There are so many people who chat to me and I would really love to meet. Please G-d they will all be there when I get there and we will get together out of cyberspace.

Like the sun setting over the Namal (port) in Tel Aviv and the beauty of the coloured sky, Israelis know that every moment of life is precious and for living. Can’t wait to be there and live.

Spontaneously.