Col (Retired) Richard Kemp’s advice to Israel is 1. promptly conduct and release your own inquiry findings into the Gaza Flotilla episode, and don’t be  pressured to involve other nations in the inquiry;   and 2. don’t rely on NATO for any security issues. 

Kemp, the former commander of the British forces in Afganistan, and a clear-sighted friend of Israel, was speaking  at a conference devoted to “Israel’s Critical Security Needs for a Viable Peace”  The proceedings are reproduced here and make important reading.  The site also has an excellent video summary of “what is Israel’s defensible borders”.

One paper by Dan Diker compares the 2 approaches of Diplomacy-based Security versus Security-based Diplomacy.  This is an important distinction, and the latter approach is the one that Israel has to take.  Fortunately, Netanyahu “gets it” and it is vital that he is able to resist external pressures. 

A positive outcome of the flotilla episode is that it has clarified the regional and international opposition that Israel and its supporters are up against,  as well as highlighting security issues including the need for Israeli self-reliance.  While more work is needed, Israel has also done a lot better to present its case than previously.  Tzipi Livni’s standing squarely with the government has been a welcome sign of unity.

On ANZAC day, it is worthwhile to look at some of the ties of friendship and support between Israel and Australia.  Last year, we focused on the Zion Mule Corps here and it is worth another look. 

The Charge of Beersheba is another important link between the 2 countries. The sunset charge by 800 Anzacs mounted on horses defeated 400 Turks, and captured Beersheba, which led to the liberation of Jerusalem and the fall of the Ottoman Empire.  It was the last mounted horse charge in the history of warfare  (see the image of the reenactment)

Richard Pratt established the “Park of the Australian Soldier”  in Beersheba to commemorate this historic moment.  As described in an article in the Australian Jewish News here,  “Jeanne Pratt joined around 400 people from the Australian and Israeli military, diplomatic and Jewish communities at a ceremony on October 31 (2009) that commemorated the Australian Light Horse charge at Be’er Sheva.  The ceremony took place at the Park of the Australian Soldier in Be’er Sheva in front of a monument to the Australian Light Horse regiment and also honoured the memory of businessman and philanthropist Richard Pratt, who died in April this year.  On October 31, 1917, the Australian Light Horse regiment charged the wells of Be’er Sheva, repelling Turkish forces and opening the route to the British arrival in Jerusalem and its victory in the World War I Middle Eastern campaign.”

Australian politician, Joe Hockey, has a special interest in Beersheba. His grandfather, Joseph Hocadonian, was deputy clerk of Beersheba after the war. And one of Joe Hockey’s predecessors in his seat of North Sydney was a commander of a division of the Light Horse at Beersheba.

Two books have been recently published on the subject.  Paul Daley, as mentioned here was the author of   Beersheba while Roland Perry, previous author of an excellent book on Sir John Monash,  wrote The Australian Light Horse 

A project contributed to by JNF Australia plans to develop an ANZAC trail in the area as described here.

Kelvin Crombie is an Australian historian who specialises in tours related to the ANZACS in Israel.

The pro-British NILI Spy Ring, under the leadership of Aaron Aarononsohn supplied valuable information to General Allenby which helped in the success of the Beersheba charge and other battles.

For the 4,000 people who attended the Sydney Yom Haatzmaut celebration organised by the NSW State Zionist Council, it was a great day.  Being at Randwick racecourse, people may have bet on the weather - it was glorious.

What were the personal highlights?  The concert, MC’d by Geoff Sirmai, would have to be my favourite, where the school and adult choirs, solo performers and small groups, celebrated Israel with new and classical songs.  The school-age performers reinforced that the future is bright! J-Wire has some good footage here.

Since the theme was “100 years of Kibbutz“, there was plenty of hay around, and an exhibition of old photos from kibbutz life.  “Draining the swamps” was a memorable photo, since my grandmother growing up in Israel had experienced rheumatic fever from being around the malarial swamps.  Also, in the kibbutz-themed tent, Dr Tamara Levine gave a fascinating talk on “Literature of the Kibbutz”. 

One new stand was KEVA (Kibbutz Ex-Volunteer Association), which was founded in 2000 by a group of local ex kibbutz volunteers with the idea of building stronger and personal personal relations between Australia and Israel.  As their website says here  “KEVA is based on human friendship, which we believe is the underlying force of goodwill between societies. Today, KEVA is the home of the Israel-Australia community in Wollongong.  In addition to its social character, KEVA promotes Israeli culture in the wider region.”

Besides some great photos of the group in Woollongong (look at their great website, with its kibbutz links), their stand had fun hebrew letter blocks that mentioned the variety of kibbutzim that their members had been too.  It’s a welcome reminder of how memorable Kibbutz experience can be for non-Jewish as well as Jewish volunteers, with long-lasting positive effect.

The organisation Bridges for Peace also had a stand, with dedicated people and excellent information.  National Director Keith Buxton had come especially for the event from the Gold Coast. It was a reminder of the important role played by Christians such as Lord Balfour and the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, prior to formation of Israel, and their ongoing vital role in support of Israel. 

Shir Madness is the name of the upcoming Jewish Music Festival slated for the Bondi Pavilion on Sunday August 15.  They had a musical information stand at the Yom Haatzmaut celebration.  With over 35 musical acts planned for 4 stages with a wide variety of musical styles, it should be a great day/night.  An article about the Festival is here and their preliminary website is here.

I was provided with a reminder of Israel’s traffic by 3 goes on the Bumper “Dodge um” Cars, followed by a Felafel - appropriately in that order.

So Yom Haatzmaut was a most successful day for Sydney to celebrate Israels’ 62nd birthday.  Contratulations to Aviva Kogus from the NSW State Zionist Council and her committee of helpers. 

… and the fireworks at the end were great.  If you want to write in with any other personal highlights, feel free.

.. J-wire describes the moving Yom Hazikaron evening held in Sydney

..  J-wire also has an article about the successful and very well-attended concert for Yom Haatzmaut in Melbourne here, as well as Yom Hazikaron, together with excerpts from the speeches from Danny Lamm, President of the Zionist Council of Victoria.

While Jews in Australia and elsewhere outside Israel celebrate an eighth day of Passover on Monday night and Tuesday, many Jews in Israel - especially those of Moroccan descent – are celebrating the Mimouna.  

As described in this article by Hillel Fendel,  “Mimouna is a Jewish post-Passover celebratory tradition brought to Israel by immigrants from North Africa. It begins with a festive meal, with families gathering together and opening their doors to neighbors to enjoy singing, traditional foods and spiritual nourishment for the coming months.”   One of the main centers of the commemorations takes place in Sacher Park in Jerusalem, where President Shimon Peres was again a guest of honor.

According to Fendel, two explanations for the word “Mimouna” are firstly, that it marks the hope and belief [emunah in Hebrew,  that just as the Jewish People were redeemed on Passover, so too they will merit the Final Redemption “speedily in our days.” Secondly, some scholars believe that the source of the name Mimouna is Maimon, father of the Rambam (Maimonides). 

Here is a brief video from Sacher Park in Jerusalem where Mimouna is celebrated.

Some years ago, I spent a very enjoyable weekend with a friend who, at the time, was living and working at Kibbutz Beit Guvrin.  One of the highlights was visiting the caves in the area.

A website, called Gems in Israel,  whose mission is to spotlight Israel’s less known gems, great places and people, has a feature on the caves of Beit Guvrin. 

While I remember crawling through the caves with a flashlight, the site talks about the impressive Bell Caves.  (see picture).   According to the article, this cave’s walls are made of beige coloured limestone, it is large (over 60 feet hight), airy and easily accessible.  It is also a very unique place to hold a special event.” 

The caves are in the Beit Guvrin National Park, which is located across from Kibbutz Beit Guvrin, at the junction of roads that lead from the Judean foothills to Jerusalem and Hebron.  Beit Guvrin is 56 kilometers south of Jeusalem.

More about the National Park, Caves, and history can be found here and here.

The Jezreel Valley is a beautiful part of Israel  - the spectacular Meggido (part of the walking tour shown in the picture)  - the gleaming plain where one can imagine biblical battles taking place like a giant football field - the successful Kibbutz Jezreel, with its ex-Australian and New Zealand contingent. 

Biblical history includes Ahab and Jezebel having their summer place, with Naboth’s unfortunate vineyard also being nearby.

So it is perturbing that just down the road is Jenin, the former hornets nest of terror.  At dusk, a wrong turn can have you fairly close to the border near Jenin quite quickly.

Yet Jenin is now a West Bank city that is showing economic development, improved local security and a general sense of progress.  Arab Israelis visit Jenin on weekends and there is increasing interaction with nearby Israeli towns and kibbutzim.

This current article in the Jerusalem Post reflects the positive developments.

One characteristic of Israel that is undeniable but nonetheless can arouse some confusion, is that Israel is both “Jewish and Democratic”. 

Daniel Gordis, in his excellent book “Saving Israel” provides some very helpful insights.  Here is a review of the book which is well worth buying.

Gordis notes that while the many similarities between Israel and the USA (and Australia) include a commitment to democracy, “the Jewish state was not created in order to be a democracy.  It was founded in order to change the condition of the Jews.”

Gordis then observes (page 131) that “ Professor Ruth Gavison has pointed out that the real tension is not between Israel’s Jewish and democratic aspects, but between competing ideas within democracy, which are forced to find a balance between complete civic equality and freedom for the majority to chart the country’s course.  The Jewish character of the state of Israel does not, in and of itself, mean violating basic human rights of non-Jews or the democratic character of the country.  She is, of course, fully aware that the distinct Jewishness of the state makes many Arabs feel like second-class citizens, but she denies that this means that Israel is somehow not democratic.  She writes – “non Jews may not enjoy a feeling of full membership in the majority culture; this however is not a right but an interest – again, it is something which national or ethnic minorities almost by definition do not enjoy – and its absence does not undermine the legitimacy of Israeli democracy.

Gordis adds that “Many observers, inside Israel and out, are deeply troubled by the notion that in a democracy, “non Jews may not enjoy a feeling of full membership.”  But it boils down to the states reason for being.  Gavison, again reflects on Israel’s purpose:  The idea of national self-determination doesn’t mean that all the population of a country belongs to one ethnic or national group.  It means .. this country does have a specificity and that specificity is the materialization of the right of a specific people with a specific culture, with a specific history, to self-determination, to enlisting the power of the state to protect themselves physically, culturally, and in terms of identity, against the forces of assimilation or liquidation or attack by other groups around them.”

“What Gavison has in mind for Israel, therefore, is not a pure liberal democracy; instead, her vision approximates “ethnic democracy” , a democratic system describes by Professor Sammy Smooha that “combines the extension of civil and political rights to permanent residents who wish to be citizens with the bestowal of a favoured status on the majority group. “   (for more from Smooha see here)

Because ethnic democracy is a system in which “the state belongs to the majority and serves it more than the minority” some legal philosophers consider it a “diminished” form of democracy, and for that reason, many Israelis and supporters of Israel are distinctly uncomfortable endorsing it.  Yet, even Smooha, a critic of ethnic democracy and a (Jewish) passionate defender of the rights of Israel’s Arabs, admits that “the democratic framework is real, not a facade”. 

The democratic framework may be real, but there is no question that for those not part of the majority ethnicity, it is diminished.  The feeling that Israeli Arabs have that they are not fully “mainstreamed” in Israeli society is real and undeniable.  The pain that this causes them is also real. Even Jews who may insist that there is no alternative if the Jewish state is to remain Jewish must admit the sense of relative deprivation that Israeli Arabs feel.  The fact that Israeli Arabs may have significantly more civil rights than they would have in Palestine is only partially relevant; relative to their Jewish fellow citizens, they are deprived.  And no serious discussion of this issue can proceed without acknowledging that.

Gordis emphasises that sympathisizing  with Arab frustrations about Israel being a Jewish state doesn’t mean that Israeli Jews should capitulate to it.

The critical question for Israel’s future is not what form of democracy in Israel might arouse the least objection.  Instead it is – what form of government system  both guarantees civil liberties to all of Israel’s citizens while preserving Israel as the sort of state that can contribute to the survival and flourishing of the Jewish people.  That, after all is precisely what a homeland is for.  That is the purpose of the Jewish state. 

A homeland, perhaps in a way that differs from liberal democracies, does not view citizenship simply as a bundle of rights with people bonded together solely or primarily for the protection of those rights.  Implicit in a national homeland is more a “moral” community, a “strong” community, as the political philosopher Michael Sandel notes.

These are the bonds of one history, of shared memory and aspirations.

…..  The tension between universal values and a specific commitment to Jewish thriving has always been a factor in Israeli life.  Israel’s Declaration of Independence says that the Jewish state “will uphold the full social and political equality of all its citizens, without distinction of race, creed or sex.  But it also says, that it “will be open to the immigration of Jews from all countries of their dispersion

Can the Law of Return mesh with the desire to create a society based on equality without regard to race, religion or gender?  Not at all easily.  It is thus not surprising that .. virtually every Israeli Arab organisation, in arguing for improved rights for Israeli Arabs, demand the nullification of the Law of Return.  From their point of view, the Law of Return clearly makes them second class citizens …

What, we might ask, did the Knesset intend when it passed the Law of Return?  It had in mind a sense of Jewish purpose.  Israel was not meant to be just another democracy, or simply one more member of the UN General Assembly.  It was a country with a mission: the saving and ingathering of the Jews.  And given that, nothing could make more sense that admitting Jews just because they were Jews. 

So again - It was a country with a mission – the saving and ingathering of the Jews.  It had a purpose.  Hit it!

The Zionist Federation meeting in Sydney last week (6^th September) provided an opportunity to hear three excellent Principals of Jewish Schools speak about important Jewish and Zionist related issues.  Joe Gerassi, Principal of Bialik College, Melbourne, discussed “Gen Y and my vision for Jewish Zionist Education for the Next Decade” showing vividly the way messages are being delivered to this generation - with audiovisuals and rap featuring.  Jeff Cohen, Principal of Middle School, Moriah College, Sydney’s topic was “Old Heads, Young Minds” which he illustrated by posing questions.

While all speakers were outstanding, the focus of this blog piece will be the presentation by Rabbi James Kennard, Principal of Mount Scopus, Melbourne  “Visits and Visions: Israel trips and the struggle for Jewish identity.” 

Rabbi Kennard began by commenting how the intermarriage rate provides a yardstick for the level of Jewish identity.  Ideally, youth should be provided with a Jewish identity and identification that enables them to appreciate that Judaism is desperately worth preserving,  and have a sense of why they should not intermarry, even if being Jewish  involves having to sacrifice and say no at some times. 

How might a trip to Israel help in providing a Jewish identity?  Since much time, resources and money is invested in trips to Israel, what are the critieria to judge success ie what should a trip to Israel provide?

Firstly, to understand what is a Jewish state. One might be a minority in Australia, but in Israel the majority are Jewish.  How does that Jewish presence influence society there.

Secondly, to provide a sense of history – that there is a chain going back and forward, and that each person is part of that chain;  something precious, with a richness and beauty in the historic links.

Thirdly, to witness the spririt of sacrifice.  Many people in Israel are prepared and have been prepared to make a sacrifice for the Jewish people, whether it is being on the front lines at risk or in their daily life, or whether it is passing up the opportunity to work in a Western country with higher economic standard of living. This provides a sense that we all may have to make a sacrifice to be Jewish.

Fourthly, that being Jewish is not something external;  each person has a part to play; the connection and love needs to be translated into action. While the action should be Aliya, an important second best is ongoing support and advocacy for Israel.

To the question, to what extent does fun on a trip to Israel play a role, the Rabbi mentioned that fun must be a means to an end, not an end in itself.  If fun is the goal, it leaves open the reply that outside Israel, one could have more fun or have better beaches or music.

In concluding, Rabbi Kennard suggested that to help in the fight against assimilation, trips to Israel will hopefully provide the sense that each person is not a passenger but a voyager, a traveller on their own journey but also a citizen of the global Jewish enterprise.

Jews have been counting the days of the Omer for the last 48 days, and now Shavuot is upon us. Moshe was told to prepare the people to receive the Torah. They had to wash themselves and their clothes, and refrain from marital relations and approaching the mountain. G-d told Moshe that the people should be sanctified for two days,but he instructed the people to prepare for three days. On the morning of the third day thunder and lightning and a dense cloud were upon the mountain and a very loud blast of the shofar; all the people in the camp trembled.

Moshe added the one extra day of preparation before receiving the 10 Commandments on his own initiative, and the Talmud says that G-d approved of this. The commentary interprets this as making sure that everyone was prepared. Rav Kook wrote that the flood of information can sometimes engender a feeling of exhaustion, which arises from the absence of reflection between each spiritual wave. Pauses are present in the nature of Torah, giving space for reflection. This three days of preparation would have helped the Israelites be ready, but they were still overwhelmed by the experience.

R’ Aryeh Ben David argues that we must attempt to make Shavuot a personal encounter with G-d. This would necessitate personal preparation, thinking about the nature of Torah wisdom and how it is different from other intellectual pursuits. One could also think about whether it is possible to sense the voice of G-d in Jewish wisdom.

Shavuot is greatly anticipated throughout Israel. Celebrations make this festival one of the highlights of the year. There is a celebration of the bountiful nature of agricultural produce, and the value of community. People picnic and attend concerts The book of Ruth is read on Shavuot and teaches us to  understand the essential nature of conversion to Judaism and the importance of welcoming the convert into the community.

Chag Sameach.

Ref: The Godfile:A personal Approach to prayer.

Aryeh Ben David.Web-site info@ayeka.org.il

The “I”’s have it. At the United Nations the countries whose name begins with “I” are a motley crew - including India, Ireland, Iran, Iraq, and Israel.

India and Israel have been playing together and the close ties - economic, cultural and military,  continue to improve.     The 2 countries recently celebrated their 15th year of recognition and interaction as shown on the video below.

Although it tends not to get high billing, the cricket scene in Israel is an eclectic one as shown on its official website. Based on pictures on the site, the outfield in Eilat and Dimona might be a slow.

Young Ashdod is currently doing well in the 2009 Israeli cricket league.  Ashdod’s team has a strong Indian line-up.  To celebrate Israels’ 60th anniversary last year, the India A team visited and played against an invitation Israel XI - that evidently included Steve Hertzberg from Australia.

According to a New York Times, article, the comfort level between Jews and Indians has also allowed for a specific strain of self-mockery.  As an imitation news story on the Web site Satire Wire put it:

“Hinjew leaders today conceded the merger of Hinduism and Judaism has not worked out as planned, as instead of forming a super-religion to fight off the common Islamic enemy, they have instead created a race of 900 million people who, no matter how many times they are reincarnated, can never please their mothers.”