In Search of Other Reasons...

      When  I was a kid I never understood why  though American society demonized the Nazis  I didn't get the impression they were condemning them because of what they did to the Jews. To me this was the main reason to despise them. As time went by I learned more about the Nazis and found that Jew hatred was not their only evil though still the most heinous to me until this day . I think that this is why when people through around the word Nazi that though an insult , the insult isn't the same as if I would use it as a slur.

       Andrew Cuomo's covid policies put covid patients back in nursing homes but ultimately stopped being governor due to accusations of sexual harassment, not really his biggest sin.

     Claudine Gay stepped down from her position due to accusations of plagerism but not for her belief that words are violence but not when they are words of violence against Jews 

       The world is backwards. I think that a hope for the world to condemn Hamas is to find another reason for them to want to eradicate them than the  wanting  to genocide Jews and destroy the west  and then they will be on our side. The world is so upside down these days.  

        

        

Purim

      Society these days is so messed up. The only true binary is men and women and yet somehow that has become contraversial  yet with other things there can only be one derech otherwise one gets shut down or cancelled Only one way to look at covid 19.. If one doesn't have the same point of view as the special people decree then people don't even consider your opinion . Makes me feel like I'm living in the twilight zone. And all this has been going on before October 7.

    The saddest part of the post October 7 world is that it didn't surprise me, I just was hoping it wouldn't reach this place. . I am most confused by those who are trending onto the pro Hamas train. At first I thought they glommed on because they hate or are indifferent to Jews, and  actually knew what they were rallying for. I thought the university had taught them the why . Now I realize that they are brainwashed but don't really know what it is they are participating in. I keep waiting for the trend to pass. I wish that I could explain to them what is really going on. I try to enlighten those I know who are open to hearing the truth. 

     The demonstrations of hate feel like a gut punch . Though there are fewer pro Israel rallies  they are all the more powerful. They bring me hope. As much as I am disturbed by the destruction and the hate of the other side, when I see the humanity of the Jewish people and our allies I realize that though its a tough fight I know that I am on the right side and I am proud of us. Despite my trepidation I see that we are standing our ground. We are supporting each other . I see celebrities who were always known as public Jews really stand up for Israel in a way even they may not have thought was possible. I had read an internet troll comment who was annoyed by all of the "C" list celebrities who are speaking up for Israel . I smiled.. This is why it is the most awesome. They are out there shining in the most important way possible . I am so impressed with their sincerity and it helps keeps my spirits up to follow them. 

      I am ready for Purim to come and for an end to this war and a victory for the Jewish people. and for the road to a return to a new normal that actually is normal. 

      

Heartbreak

After the October 7 massacre in Israel I have not been able to get my thoughts together. There is so much to say and its hard to know where to start. I am so disturbed by the brutal massacre and mutilation as well as heartbroken by the abduction of 250 civilians. I lived in Israel for 2 years after high school. I went to a girl's yeshiva . Though it did not make me want to immediately make aliyah, it did give me a strong bond to my Jewish homeland. A few things have really stood out about Israel that have stayed with me for all of these years. In Israel there is a deep respect for older people . When I was eigtheen and went on buses in Jerusalem, if you did not stand up and give your seat to an older person there was someone religious or secular telling me to give them my seat. I have NEVER seen this anywhere else. On Israeli independence day everyone you knew or did not know would bop each other on the head with baby toy hammers. Not sure if this is still a tradition, but it was years ago. In what other country would this happen and you would not be afraid? None I have ever heard of. It was amazing to be in Israel and see Rachel's Tomb, Masada, Maarat Hamachpelah, and the kotel. All of these places I had just learned about in school had came to life. Machaneh Yehudah (the Jewish farmer's market) has the most incredible melange of produce and spices . I remember there being a pita bread oven on the premises that made the freshest most tasty pita bread I have ever eaten. When I lived in Israel it was before pita bread had been mainstreamed in the United States. Though I haven't visited Israel in years , Israel is still close to my heart. This is why what has happened there since 10/7 is most painful. I have friends and relatives who live in Israel. Watching people rip down the pictures of the Israeli hostages has been so upsetting. So many loveley people have posted pleas from their friends and relatives for their release. Many have postd videos of those who were taken hostage so we can get to know who they are. Others have posted memorial videos of those who were so tragically murdered. All of this makes me cry , but it also has made me feel closer to Israel. A few people have posted vigils of the hostage square in Tel Aviv where family members hold vigil for their loved ones who are being held hostage. The most touching is to hear them saying havdalah together at the end of Shabbos and seeing them sing shalom alechim by the Shabbat table set up for those who are held hostage. One can delude ones self living far from Israel that one does not know personally any of those who were taken hostage One of the shuls near me hosted an evening with two brave daughters of one of the hostages spoke. As it turns out one of the hostages from the Nova festival is the nephew of someone who was in my cabin in summer camp many years ago. He is also the cousin of a good friend I had when I was nine years old. I am praying for the end of this war, for peace , for the return of all of the hostages, the elimination of hamas and for peace and sefety for the Jewish people