I wish all a Happy New Year. I do not expect miracles. Peace and Goodwill to all is a nice thought, but does not appear to be realistic. What I wish for everyone is health, and inner peace, and the ability to ride the various waves that come our way.
It is 777 days since October 7, 2023. The war has NOT ended. 3 hostages are still to be returned. "Strikes" continue in Gaza. Hamas remains as leaders. The north of the country is exploding as Hezbollah rebuild and strengthen in Lebanon. Iran and Israel are on the verge again. The country is imploding - I wont go into details. Those who want can read about it, but just be sure you are not reading fake news. I think we are galloping toward a civil war - if we are not yet in it.
But what truly horrifies and saddens me is what is happening in the West Bank. Above are my illustrations of olive trees from photos I have taken of them (NOT in the West Bank.). I really love the olive trees, their ancient trunks that hold the stories of centuries. The sunlight which gleams through turning the leaves silver. They have been nurtured and harvested for ever. Their oil and fruit have fed and nurtured us. They. bear silent witness to the past and the present. I draw these trees and have entitled them "protect those who harvest us."
As for the West Bank, I have only been there once, and that was not long after I returned to Israel. I went with a group of people who dare to hope for peace - to listen to each others' stories. We listened to the story of someone who has been imprisoned. Israelis told their stories, equally tragic. We were graciously fed and hosted. It was an uplifting day, before October 7th. Other than that time I have never been because I do not, and never have, supported the occupation. Beside many other reasons, I am deeply concerned about the morality of being an occupier. It corrupts us - and now, as the olive harvest has begun, the West Bank has exploded. The settlers are rampaging, torching, abusing, pillaging those who live there. The insane Hilltop Youth are to me, petrifying. They abuse Israeli civilians, male and female, who come to help and support the Palestinians. What they do to the Palestinians who live and work on the land defies belief in humanity. Their hatred seems to know no bounds. Unfortunately the IDF are not containing them. Of course. this is going to explode - why would anyone be surprised?
And so, I draw and pray, and give what I can to the many groups who are working for peace.
We do not live in 'easy' times.
It is already November 2nd. Recently I have been thinking (I still do that sometimes, i.e. - think/ponder) that I came back to Israel on October 23rd 2022. I moved into my new home on November 14, 2022.
The elections were held on November 26, 2022. I could not vote, even though I am a citizen, because of some bureaucratic snafu. Bibi Netanyahu was voted in - again - that is, his Likud party. Would my one vote against him have made a difference? I actually do think that one person does make a difference in the grand scheme of things.
At that time the people I know in Israel were very upset that he returned to power. They knew things were changing, sliding downhill, but I don't think anyone foresaw the dreadful war that would erupt on October 7th, 2023, and still continues to this very day. From November 2022 protests began against the judicial reform - nothing changed, then came the war, protests continued - this time to bring back the hostages
, to end the war. Nothing changed. There is a "ceasefire" that is broken, remade, broken, no victory, still 11 hostage remains to be returned. Protests continue. The nation is traumatised. Last night I spoke to my. niece - I told her that every time I hear a car door slam, a siren, any kind of screech, my heart kind of stops, then pounds - "Oh no," I think, here we go. She says it is exactly the same for her, and her children, and everyone she knows. Two years of being on high alert is not particularly good for one's nervous system. People are angry, sad, confused. There are thousands of soldiers - wounded in body and spirit. Almost 1000 killed, the judicial reform continues, the corruption of the highest officials worsens ---- there is little hope, the religious continues to protest enlistment. Who would EVER have imagined what is happening.
As you may see, I am not writing for the people of Gaza - it is almost impossible to imagine their suffering.
All of the above is my excuse for not posting entries for almost three weeks. I just have not the heart to say anything, but I suppose I should - sort of to bear witness, so here, I have posted an entry. Thanks to those who read this.
Yesterday marked exactly two years since the "Black Shabat" - the slaughter of the innocents.
Two extremely difficult years. Two traumatic years. I find myself at some indescribable point - where I feel I cannot absorb much more. I do neither feel numb, nor necessarily depressed, more like a functioning zombie.
I went to Ein Dor for Yom Kippur and as ever it like being in a warm blanket with friends in familiar surroundings. The services were meaningful, my visit to the ever expanding ceremony comforting in its strange way. Everything familiar, and yet so very different. The bus ride is different - the Arab villages are now much larger. Afula is a growing town, with endless traffic, new aparatments and shopping centres everywhere.
On Yom Kipur we think of forgiveness, of morality, of justice?????
And now it is Succot - we are reminded that existence is temporary and impermanent - as if we are not reminded of this every minute of every day.
And once again we wait for bated breath to hear whether the hostages will be released - exchanged for prisoners. Whether there will be a cease fire? And I think of the players in this 'deal' - Trump, Bibi, Hamas, Jared Kushner, Erdogan, The Quattaris, the Saudi Arabians, the Egyptians, Ben Gvir, Smotrich - THESE are the players - what on earth can we expect from this obscene theatre of the absurd?
And then last night the families of the hostages held their ceremony from Park Hayarkon in Tel Aviv, and we see the truly beautiful, brave, inspiring side of Israel. The depth of the suffering. The need for this all to end - to rebuild, to return to the light and the truth.
Will this happen?
I took this photo of the squills which herald the coming of Autumn. They arise on every hill and in every valley and on every patch of land. It is the time of the bird migration, as millions of different species make their way to Africa. Nature continues undeterred, despite the horrors caused by humans. We are heading toward Rosh Hashana - The New Year, which begins on the evening of September 22nd this year. The beginning of the days of awe, between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kipur. A time of repentance, of introspection, of prayer. And here, a continued time of war, war, and more war. The hostages are not back - the soldiers fight and are killed. The inhabitants of Gaza either remain in their battered city, or pay large sums of money to leave - where do they go? As a nation we end another year of war, and move into the next year, there is no light, no hope. Despair. Grief. Anger. What a way to begin a new year.
