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​Welcome to Columbia Untisemity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHTNuBKtzHc
Watch the latest "news" from the BBC

I am learning all kinds of new things during this war we are having, one of which is: that satirical humour is the sharpest, most effective way to cut through the dishonest crap we are constantly being bombarded with. So, if on top of unspeakable ongoing horrors, and waking up to mornings that are never quite bright, we have to constantly absorb the rubbish depicted on the news, we may as well make the most of it ​

​I did not want to write this. For days I have been avoiding it, waiting for it to go away. But it won’t. It demands to be heard, and so I write. This is not an historical encounter, nor is it a political argument. Believe what you may.I grew up in a country where those who hate are loud and violent.
I also grew up in a pro-peace environment: ‘They are not all like this, most just want to live a quiet, peaceful life’. My father worked with them daily, in picking season at the orchards. We were invited once to a feast. I had never seen so much food. We were welcomed, and treated with respect. And still, I was uneasy, all of that night.
I remember once, on a peaceful afternoon, we were walking in the meadows, I would have been quite small. We came across a group of Arab ladies picking wild herbs. I was scared, out there with no one else around. My dad started chatting with them as if this was the most natural thing in the world, and for many, it probably was. At the end they wished each other Shalom, and Inshallah, may there be peace.
Eventually the first Intifada came, then the second. Israeli employers were murdered by their lifelong employees, and perceived friends. With riots throughout the country, Israelis stuck in the wrong places were in trouble. Some were saved by Israeli Arabs, proving to us again, that things are not always what they seem. Many were not so lucky.
We grew to believe in a ‘Silent Majority’ who want peace, but sadly, are impotent to exact change.
The Ramallah lynching, where two reserve soldiers were taken, murdered, and their bodies mutilated and dragged through the streets with glee, was a turning point for many. One of the wives was told by a terrorist while she was calling her partner’s phone: ‘I just slaughtered your husband’.
We began to get accustomed to pictures of ‘freedom fighters’ holding their bloody hands up to the cameras in triumph. And as this new level of madness prevailed, many an Israeli heart turned. Not with hate, but with anger, horror, and a resigned acceptance that the peace we were told to trust, is no longer. ‘Reinforce the wall, let them stay there, we will stay here. No more coming over the border for jobs, no more murdering our people….’ And the rockets began.
And that ‘Silent Majority’, seemed less likely.
All my life I had dreamed of my father being killed in a terrorist attack. He trusted in human nature and was never afraid to live and connect. Poetry for Peace was his life’s long devotion, and life never stopped. No matter how many busses were bombed, he would get to his weekly poetry group, be it in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, or anywhere else. When he finally died of old age, part of me was relieved, as my premonitions dissipated away.
And so it continues. Israeli forces and citizens evacuated Gaza in 2005. The occupation was over. Hamas was voted into government, and the rockets kept coming. ‘Palestine is not Hamas’; we are told by the news again and again. But Hamas is their government, elected by the Palestinian people. And the rockets keep coming. Food, water, electricity, fuel, all kept flowing through to Gaza from Israel because apparently, it is Israel’s moral responsibility to maintain Gazan life, despite the ongoing assault on its citizens. And the rockets keep coming.
Gazans kept coming through the border to work; thousands of new work permits were issued just before the Oct 7th Saturday massacre. Israelis, who had been volunteering to help provide medical aid to Gazan children for years, were kidnapped and murdered that day. The kibbutzim that were attacked had been providing Gazans with work, and their residents were murdered for it: Gazan workers had been providing Hamas with the detailed mapping information they needed to execute their attacks.
On Saturday, Oct 7th Hamas infiltrated Southern Israel, managed to invade border communities, and committed a massacre of unprecedented scale and barbarity. They murdered woman, children, babies, men, woman. Beheading babies, butchering people, raping girls, cutting babies out of mother’s wombs, burning families alive, this list of horrors goes on. They took hundreds of hostages, who they promptly raped, tortured, mutilated and paraded through the streets of Gaza like trophies. We all know that, we’ve all seen the gory footage, to some extent or another.
But I ask you, what were the Palestinian people doing while this was happening? What was the news showing us in the first 48 hours worldwide? Were there calls of outrage from the Palestinian people at these atrocities? Did they call on their elected governing body to stop the terror? Did they try to help the hostages who were paraded through Gaza's streets?
I did not hear a single voice of protest, not one! I did, however, see rallies of thousands of Palestinians, in Gaza and the West Bank, chanting and celebrating Hamas actions. Glee and sadistic joy were all there was to witness. I will forever remember that sweet, sweet girl, maybe 10 years old, such a peach she was. Held on her father’s shoulders, celebrating Saturdays horrifying events, a hand gun in one hand, a semi-automatic in the other. Her father holding weapons as well, and every other person around her, as far as the eye can see. This was in Jenin, in the West Bank, less than 10 kilometres from my own childhood home, where my family and friends still live today.
And what about the hostages? Even Hamas admitted only two days ago, that they do not hold all the hostages. Some are dead, and many unaccounted for, are held in Palestinian homes, in the hope of future ransom.
Israel retaliated, of course. And it didn’t take the rejoicing Palestinians long to cry foul! It took no time at all before the propaganda started, before false accusations of Israeli hostilities flooded the media (let’s not forget the hospital event, 500 declared dead, Israel blamed, and false footage emerged within minutes, and broadcasted by most media channels with no validation).
And of course, it’s all Isael’s fault. And when food, water, and fuel start running out, it is Israel’s fault. Apparently, it is Israel’s responsibility to support the people that bomb them on a regular basis and cheer-on the sadistic monsters they have elected to government. And one must wonder, while Egypt stubbornly refuses the Palestinian people entry to their own country, and Hamas are enjoying fuel, food, water, and medical supplies they have stockpiled for months, not to mention the shelter of their underground tunnels, why don’t the Palestinians, and the rest of the Palestinian-supporting world, turn to Hamas to please, share some of their spoils and underground safety with their own people?
And as this disgusting display of hypocritical sentiment continues, and pro-Palestinian demonstrations worldwide turn to violent riots against Jews and Israelis alike, I watch the silent majority I had put all my faith in, shrink to what seems to be a silent minority at best. As my hope for peace silently slips away, I look to those who have endured unspeakable horrors, but somehow, manage to hold strong onto the love in their hearts. I look to them as they shine ever so brightly, in hope they may show me a way, in these dark and terrible times.

​On a more heart-warming note:
A shoulder to lean on. Well, maybe…
‘Stay away from demonstrations, rallies, and political events of any kind! Promise me!’
‘I promise, mum’ says Ariel.
Well, only a short few days later, he calls me to tell me how he was in Trafalgar Square, with his cousins, and there was an Israeli demonstration taking place.
‘I asked you to avoid those places!’
‘Don’t worry, there were lots of people, and everyone was just sitting quietly listening to people talking’. Needless to say, none of this made me feel any better…
‘But mum, we were walking up the road, and a limousine pulls over by us. The passenger opens the window and gives us a fully fledged Borat smile. I couldn’t understand what the heck Borat was doing in Trafalgar Square in the middle of an Israeli demonstration. Then a bunch of boys came running up the road calling:
‘Ali G indahouse!’. Shasha turns to his driver: ‘drive, drive…’ he said, and that was that. But not before I got a photo of him. The shine off the window obscured most of him, but you can see his shoulder. I have another one of his ear... '
So, there you are. While the crazy in the world continues, there are pockets of moments worthy of our attention, and it is great to know that despite it all, Ariel is having a great time with family, resting up, and experiencing new (pleasantly) unexpected things.

​Ariel landed in Heathrow Airport a short while ago.
While a weight has been lifted and we are finding ourselves joking around for the first time in what seems like forever, it is also surreal, probably because he is not with us yet. He has been collected by family, where he will be well taken care of, and will return back to us on the next available flight.
Being a mum at this time, far from her boy, unable to help, protect, or even just give him a hug in this horrific time, has been very difficult. We have been so very blessed to know Ariel has been in good hands from the day he arrived in Israel. Surrounded by amazing family and friends, we have been helped in every turn, long before the war broke out. Whenever I needed something, anything, not wanting to ask too much, their response has always been: ‘Sarit, relax, everything is ok. Just tell us where and when’. And that didn’t change once the war began. Nothing was too inconvenient, too difficult, or too risky. Everyday someone would check on him and report back to me, whether I asked it of them or not. Words cannot begin to express my deepest, boundless gratitude. I do not know what we would have done without you all!
These incredible people are still there, where, despite our current joy, the horrors continue. My heart is with them every minute of every day. God bless everyone of your beautiful souls, and keep you safe in these dangerous times.

​OK, this is MY position on the matter of world opinion in these difficult times. I haven’t heard it spoken anywhere else, and so I am probably a solo voice, but this is what I think:
Israeli residents have just experienced the most horrific terror attack in recent history, both in scale and severity. Many, many accounts of what I call a fate worse than death have occurred, to babies, children, men, woman, young girls, and the elderly, not to mention all manner of barbaric forms of killing.
This was done at an age of rampant social media, and so was as public as can be. Moreover, as long as the hostages are held captive, the horrors continue, day in, day out, and are widely publicised.
Israel is now attempting to join the battle on the media front for world recognition, acceptance, and support. This is relatively unusual for Israel, unlike many terrorist organisations who have ceaselessly, for decades, spread dishonest propaganda against Israel. Israel has endured this relentless tactic with every incident and every war, since its inception in 1948.
It saddens me to watch Israelis step onto this arena, and I feel it is an insult to Jews and Israelis everywhere, especially at this time. It is also a complete waste of time. Israelis have so much to contend with right now, rebuilding, rehabilitation, a daunting ground offensive, and of course, the insurmountable challenge of getting 200 hostages back home, alive.
No one in Israel should be wasting their energy, in such a terrible time, in efforts to convince the world of their right to defend themselves, or their right to exist. And in fact, I don’t believe they can. People have made up their minds about Jews long before these horrifying events occurred, whatever that opinion may be. These events, displayed very publicly and graphically by Hamas to start with, on Saturday and thereafter, and even now, with current videos being released of hostages still held in Gaza, have been viewed by people all over the world. Most decent human beings would recoil at such horrors, but unbelievably, not all. If these horrifying images do not change the minds of these people, not a single word uttered by any Israeli or Jew, will.
So, I suggest every Israeli turn to the terrible task of doing what needs to be done for Israel and its citizens’ safety, because that is where their efforts and spirits need to be directed now.
As for those who may or may not understand the mentality and psychology of the terrorists they are defending, in their distant rallies and mob demonstrations, they will eventually know what every Jew, Israeli, and Arab already knows and in fact, admit to, if only behind closed doors: that next on their agenda, after Jews and Americans are the rest of the Western world. We saw a shocking, yet relatively brief demonstration of this after 9-11, in terror attacks of major European cities, in Bali, and elsewhere. People tend to forget very quickly, the events of the past. Sadly, these people will only ever understand what we are facing, when they are on the receiving end themselves.
Modern Antisemitism doesn’t show itself in waves of violent hate, but rather in the ongoing subtle display of human indifference. Indifference to Jewish well-being, indifferent to Israeli suffering.
I am currently living in a place where I have encountered none of this. On the contrary, the show of kindness, concern, support, and love has been heart warming in a very difficult time. Sadly, often, hate is so much louder than love, but it is devoid of substance, nonetheless.
So, I call to all Israelis: rather than waste your energy calling to the dark emptiness of hatred, for change, look towards the support of the loving, genuine embrace of our humanity, so that you may gain the strength you will need to push forward through the tough times that lie ahead.

I sent this update to one of Ariel's teachers, and as more of you are reaching out, asking about us and Ariel, I figure posting it here will be beneficial.
Ariel is, first and foremost, physically unharmed.
He is still in Israel and we are trying to get him back home, but it is not simple. Getting to the Airport can be dangerous. The airport itself is a Hamas target, and so, is unsafe, not to mention over crowded and chaotic. As for flights, many are delayed or cancelled, and so planning is difficult. We were trying to get him on one of the Qantas flights, but this has proven fruitless so far, and so we are looking toward alternative solutions.
All that aside, Ariel spent the first few days of this atrocious war in Tel Aviv, in and out of the bunker room, with rockets sometimes landing way too close for comfort. He was relocated to a safer place further north a few days ago (we are eternally grateful to all those helping us and Ariel, no matter what is needed), where he is now with family and friends, and doing his best to assist in relief efforts for families coming up from the south.
Obviously no place is safe. Israel is a small country both in terms of population and geographic size, and so every place you go you will be close to a border, and everyone you know, is either supporting mourning friends, mourning someone themselves, or anxiously (for lack of a better word) awaiting news. However, he is a strong, passionate, brave boy, and as his mother, who has grown up in Israel, I understand many of the situations he is facing. Many other situations, horrifyingly and ironically, are new even to us Israelis. It is tragic that he is having to face such an unfathomably gruesome reality first hand. For a kid who has never even heard a siren until a week ago, I think he has been extremely brave, and I am so very proud of him, and how he has handled himself.
We are hoping to have him back home with us very very soon.

I haven't posted anything since the atrocities in Israel began. Thank you everyone who has contacted us with concern and support. Ariel, who is in Israel, along with many of my family and friends are physically unharmed. I can't say everyone is ok, because no one is ok. But everyone is coping to the best of their abilities, and as expected, supporting each other unconditionally. Ariel spent the first days of the attack in Tel Aviv, and is now in a safer location with family. Thank you Tirza and Meir Dahan, Reut, Elite Haviv Gilad, your wonderful families, and of course my own family, for your incredible support. I will keep updates here, and apologise that I haven't been in touch much, we have had some very busy and stressful days.
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I felt I should say something for the people who are suffering terribly and have been, since this horror began. I don't know what I can say to do them justice. So instead, I will be sharing posts on my page, as requested by the families in Israel.