The Still Small Voice

In the morning, Eitan, the Manchester aliyah shaliach, came to my house and we had a profound talk about the pitfalls of aliyah. I don't think he is totally happy to learn that until someone like me declared an interest in emigrating to Haifa, no-one seemed to realise that the Mayor of Haifa is actively involved in trying to encourage western aliyah to Haifa, as well he might.

On June 7th Eitan wants me to give a twenty-minute talk on why I am going on aliyah now, aged 55, which he very unchivalrously sent out to all and sundry: for the talk is entitled  in very big letters: 'Life Begins at 55'.

And this reminds me of when I took Canon Andrew White, vicar of Iraq and CEO of the Foundation for Reconciliation in the Middle East (of which I am now a trustee) to meet members of BBC's Radio 4's Sunday Programme team, headed up by Amanda from previous blogs. And Andrew launched what I considered at the time to be a full-blown attack on Israel and all its facets, which made me feel very uncomfortable indeed. For instance, he said that the Israelis were the rudest people on earth, with which the team of course heartily agreed. However, he said, the Arabs are the opposite, very polite in fact, with which they also agreed. Nevertheless, he went on, they are polite and then stab you in the back, especially Hamas (which was not yet in power at the time), whereas you can always trust the Israelis: they are as straight as they come.

Well I suppose that's one way to do it. I did demur at the time and said I knew at least one Israeli who wasn't rude, and that was my daughter. But it is true: why call a spade a spade, when you can call it a bloody shovel. And at the end of the day, Eitan wants to get souls going to Israel, so if he has to embarrass me by shouting my age to all and sundry, then so be it.

Last night I received great encouragement from Professor Yossi Nevo of Haifa University (and the country's greatest expert on Jordan and the Palestinians), who is delighted that I have made contact with the French community in Haifa. He was so kind when I first visited the university on spec and he asked me how on earth I could remain in a Britain, which has Ken Livingstone as Mayor of London. And I couldn't disagree with that.

And after that, although it was very late, I posted a few paragraphs onto the Haifa French blog as to where I was from and why I was coming and why specifically to Haifa. And this has now been sent around the Haifa community.

And today I read Ruth Gledhill's article in the Times about the Bishop of Chelmsford's sad experiences in Kenya and you can also see her blog on the same subject here, with various comments. http://timescolumns.typepad.com/gledhill/2006/05/kenya_withdraws.html#more

For pride certainly does come before a fall and he deserves all the ridicule he gets, for he has done more than anyone in the country to bring enmity between Jews and Anglicans. And I don't think this breach will ever be repaired. And does he care? I don't think so.

I also heard from the organisation in Israel (there are appear to be two or three of these, much to my confusion), which meets olim at the airport and they have, eventually, confirmed that although Les isn't an oleh yet, he will be allowed to travel to Haifa in the same sherut as me. Phew, that's a relief!!

And otherwise I have been putting papers and newspapers clippings in files and therefore re-reading all the articles signalling the increasing gulf between the Anglican Church and the Jewish community. But, on the other hand, there are also the marvellous articles about Les and his pioneering work on Kabbalah and the study of mind.

And when he arrived home late this evening, having shopped at Tesco's, he gave me the very positive news that Eric Moonman, quite a big macher in the Anglo- Jewish community, has asked him to give a lecture in the autumn, as part of a drive to regenerate the areas in the North West of England where small Jewish communities exist and this is because, apparently, Les is regarded as the greatest expert on Kabbalah in the the country.

And this makes up for the truly dreadful Radio 4 Afternoon Play, which I listened to earlier, whilst packing up, in which yet again Jews and Judaism were ridiculed and attacked in ways that would be unthinkable of any other religion or ethnic minority in this country. And I cannot get away from the very sad fact that the Controller of Radio 4 is Jewish and the Director of Radio 4 Religious Broadcasting (but not for much longer) has a Jewish father. For I realise that there is absolutely nothing we can do about the BBC, for 90% of the time it will be utterly negative towards all things Jewish. And why is this, you might ask? Because Jews do not, and never have, posed any threat to the BBC and therefore, as in the Church and the universities, there is open house on the Jews, who you can treat either as figures of revulsion or fun. This has always been the case, and why should things change just because we have now reached in the 21st century?

But what Kabbalah and regeneration of regions have in common is the concept of Tikkun Olam, repairing the world, whilst repairing yourself: and don't expect any of our major British institutions to do that any more. No, Tikkun Olam is now only to be found where you least expect it: in smallness and insignificance and in the 'still small voice' of sanity.