Irene Lancaster's Diary

Glorious dancing at Jerusalem's celebration of the 60th anniversary of the UN vote to create the State of Israel, whilst Britain continues its downward spiral into dhimmitude and disgusting antisemitism, except for Westminster Abbey, that is

This article about the Balfour Declaration was published in today's Independent, the one which some years ago also published a cartoon of PM Sharon swallowing a Palestinian baby. That cartoon won a prize, in spite of being regarded as one of the most antisemitic examples of journalism in British history. Here is the latest article:

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article223199.ece

Two points should be made. The article cites Sir Martin Gilbert's view that the Jewish homeland was necessary because of

The precarious nature of Jewish acceptance in otherwise civilised societies

So that's what Sir Martin calls one's rabbi being beaten up in the streets of England's green and promised land, then!

The article also discusses the fact that a large proportion of the Edwardian and Georgian British establishment possessed

an almost mythical belief in the power of Jews to control financial and many other institutions

Did I say Edwardian and Georgian? Plus ca change!:

http://www.spectator.co.uk/melaniephillips/378771/britains-goebbels-moment.thtml

Meanwhile, on the exact 60th anniversary of the UN agreement to create the State of Israel, we have this from the ever-vigilant Norman Geras:

http://normblog.typepad.com/normblog/2007/11/an-unwanted-pre.html

Entitled:

An unwanted presence

the piece cites Hamas' current views regarding who should live in the Land of Israel, neither Jews, nor Christians - it seems:

Palestine is Arab Islamic land, from the river, to the sea, including Jeursalem ... there is no room for the Jews.

What Hamas has done here, of course (a typically Muslim move - this - ), is to twist the religions out of which it grew, i.e. Judaism and Christianity, for its own WARPED ends: a sort of double replacement theology, then.

So, just as at Christmas Christians commemorate the fact that there was NO ROOM AT THE INN and that therefore their saviour, the JEWISH Jesus, was born in a stable, the Muslims now ruling Gaza would like to think that we JEWS also have no room in their particular sharia-infested inn, and that we are therefore to find a stable of our own - preferably by drowning in the sea, probably.

Talking about which, I was most surprised to find out from school this week that quite a few Christian Arabs in Israel are unaware of the Jewish origins of Joseph, Mary (i.e. Miriam) and Jesus and think they would have worshipped in a church and not (as I pointed out) a SYNAGOGUE. 'What's that?' some of them asked.

But I have the happy solution to this. On Tuesday night it's Chanukah, and I understand from the

Church of England Newspaper and Ruth in The Times

http://www.churchnewspaper.com/ 

and

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article2949879.ece?Submitted=true

that, for the firs t time in its history,

Westminster Abbey (dating from 1065: home of the greatest dead of England and venue for royal weddings and countless other English national events) will be celebrating our own little Jewish winter holiday of lights

http://www.westminster-abbey.org/calendar/32911?date=this-week-sunday

- hopefully with sufganiot, i.e. lovely doughnuts! We''ll be getting some at our choir practice at the Haifa Technion on Tuesday night. Our very serious and painstaking administrator has written to inform us of this goody!

http://www.holidays.net/chanukah/

So I have decided to bring my chanukiah to school, to teach the kids what Joseph, Mary and Jesus would have lit in deepest winter, not Christmas trees, but a Chanukiah, in honour of Judaism's escape from pagan Greek tyranny.

And I shall also tell them about the lovely Hadassah-Israel evening we experienced last night in Jerusalem, where in time to Naomi Shemer's beautiful 'Jerusalem of Gold' (sung by the original singer who made it famous) we danced the Hora in celebration of the 60 years since the UN decision to create the State of Israel and the 40 years since the reunification of Jerusalem.

http://www.jerusalemofgold.co.il/

And the Director of the Hadassah Hospital joined in the celebrations at this truly wonderful gala dinner, in aid of stem cell research, in which Israel is a world leader:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1683424.stm

Somehow can't imagine Hamas getting into stem cell research, can you?

Happy Chanukah, everyone!

Flipflopping between Jews and Arabs at Christmas

It is of course nearly Christmas, a time (together with Easter) when some in the Christian world drop all semblance of sympathy or understanding of Judaism and revert to the same form they've been following for 2000 years.

This is a good example from the Archbishop of Canterbury:

http://timescolumns.typepad.com/gledhill/2007/11/why-we-should-a.html

and so is this about America (i.e. 'Christian Zionists')

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7111686.stm

Either the ABC hasn't read this about his own commission's meeting here in Jerusalem

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=43222

or just doesn't care.

Here's Melanie Phillips on the same subject:

http://www.spectator.co.uk/melaniephillips/371691/the-archbishop-of-cant.thtml#comments

Some of her readers don't pull their punches, either.

Question is, do I still attend the Christmas Bazaar at St. George's Cathedral, East Jerusalem to which I've been invited by the new Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem, who has also just initiated classes in Modern Hebrew for his staff and colleagues?

Probably yes - weather permitting.

Who's for Latin?

Just come back from our brilliant Latin class at Haifa University, where as well as learning about early Roman history and how to decline the first 10 numbers, we found out about the origin of ? (q, from quaero: to ask a question), lb (pounds in weight, from libra - scales) and 6d (as in old pennies, from denarii).

The class acted out a conversation in Latin - one of the characters being named 'Cornelia', a name also common in Germany and eastern Europe. It is also one of my middle names, for which I was teased dreadfully at school in Liverpool, but which happened to be that of my dead Polish grandmother!

http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/0/Cornelia

But most fascinating of all was when I was asked after the class to go over someone's thesis in English. It had already been checked by someone living in the north of England, who regularly gets 'A' for their 'A' level work in English, apparently. But, I am afraid to say that the piece was riddled with errors, ranging from simple typos to serious syntactical flaws.

The person I helped was not so much grateful for the help offered and the corrections made, as most concerned at the state of contemporary English education:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/1280087.stm

This seems to be part of a growing trend downwards in English education, where rather than throwing money at political correctness, maybe the powers-that-be should be investing in some basic grammar lessons. English education seemed to take a turn for the worse at around the time of 9/11:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/1280087.stm

and has got worse ever since.

The re-introduction of Latin might be one way of improving the English of the English!

http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=243

Beautiful games

On Friday I was at the shuk shopping for fruit and vegetable with Netta, a Haifa University student of music and art history , who I first met when she was a waitress at St. Andrews Church of Scotland Guesthouse in Jerusalem.

Having recently travelled to Laos and managed to navigate the tricky waters in primitive boats, she has already become acquainted with the highways and byways of Haifa in less than a month. So we met on the 37 bus (which luckily goes past my flat), walked through a beautiful pedestrian mall off Balfour St., replete with fountain, and descended a flight of steps into the shuk.

This area of Hadar reminds Netta of Jerusalem, because of its hustle and bustle. However, the market in Jerusalem is very different than the one here, which is peopled mainly by Russians and Ethiopians, whilst the one in Jerusalem is full of religious people rushing around before Shabbat.

It was a gorgeous day, after three days of storm, something like a warm May day in Britain, with a hint of a breeze.

The stall-holders were not very impressed that I was from England though.

One held up his hands in horror:

You really British

he exclaimed.

What do you think you're doing, letting us down like that? We played our hearts out to let you in and then you go and lose it all ... to Croatia!! No wonder you've moved here!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071122/ap_on_sp_so_ga_su/soc_croatia_england

I even think he might have undercharged me. Probably a Russian!

We got back to Netta's and she introduced me to the latest jazz CDS and also reintroduced me to

Leonard Cohen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Cohen

I helped her with the German she's studying as a subsid at Haifa U. All those cases and declensions are foreign to native Hebrew speakers. And then we had a great meal with all the fresh produce bought for rock-bottom prices at the market, and she put on a video of

The Postman

in Italian with Hebrew subtitles, which I had once watched in England. Dated, but still moving with its sea metaphors.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110877/

And finally we viewed Netta's stunning photos of North and South Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos - the one she loved best.

On the way back home, Netta described in detail the differences between the two Vietnams (north conservative, south full of transvestites), Cambodia (temples formed naturally out of tree trunks), Thailand (encounter with Swiss Buddhist monk who taught her walking meditation) and Laos (wonderful people, lack of electricity, children of six, boating themselves to school via the rivers).

http://www.quintessentialtravel.co.uk/

And I remembered that Netta was one of the reasons that my friend, Gwen (who accompanied me to the Christian Aid meeting in Jerusalem the week before) had, last summer, resigned from the Church of Scotland and from the Guesthouse itself.

For Netta is Jewish and, according to Gwen, the powers-that-be hadn't liked her employing a Jew at their West Jerusalem guesthouse - apparently - and some had even called it 'a Zionist haven'.

Will the beautiful game lead the Queen to the promised land in their joint Diamond Jubilee Year?

Do you think that this:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/euro_2008/article2896583.ece

and this:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=A1YourView&xml=/sport/2007/11/18/sfnfro118.xml

might possibly lead to the FCO having a change of heart over the Royals and their very evident lack of visits to Israel?

Last Tuesday, on a bus from Jaffa to Tel Aviv, the mood regarding Britain was not exactly positive, to say the least. People were holding up the hands in absolute incomprehension about Britain in the 21st century. They were all talking about this leaked e-mail from a member of Prince Charles' staff regarding the Jewish State:

http://irenelancaster.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/11/why-did-the-for.html

I must say I'm somewhat puzzled about British attitudes to Israel. People like me are educating Israel's Arab population; there are now very good relations between the Church of England and the Israeli rabbinate; I've just been invited to attend the Christmas Bazaar at St. George's Cathedral, East Jerusalem, for instance. And I shall try my very best to attend. Modern Hebrew classes have just been introduced by the Palestinian Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem himself (Suheil) for all staff who want it. His PA, who had two lessons in Biblical Hebrew from me, which she said revolutionized her attitude to the Bible, can't wait!

The threat of an academic boycott seems to be a distant nightmare, and at Haifa Technion the Symphony Choir and Orchestra, of which I'm a member, are actually performing a Nativity Cycle by Ramirez early in the New Year.

So, the very people who should be supporting the Jewish community in their hour of need, as the Danish King did during the Holocaust, seem to be the last bastion of ... well, something else?

If anyone has an explanation for this, I'd really like to know.

And meanwhile, it is Israel's 60th anniversary, which fits in nicely with a certain Diamond Wedding celebration. I wonder where they'll go to celebrate.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/portal/main.jhtml?xml=/portal/2007/11/20/ftqueen120.xml

Now that would be a good idea......!!!

Why did the Foreign and Commonwealth Office prevent Princess Di from coming to Israel?

Further to my last post about Prince Charles and his espousal of all things Saudi, I have just been sent this:

http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2007/11/kings-and-traitors-crowns-and-caliphs.html

which sort of proves my point.

Quite separately, I have just been phoned up by Simone Simmons, one of Princess Di's closest confidantes up her tragic death in 1997, who had just read my last blog:

http://irenelancaster.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/11/memo-to-prince.html

Simone is a healer who treated Diana towards the end of her life and would often visit her with chicken soup and the like.

This is what Simone told me:

I've written two books about Diana. I mentioned Israel in Diana the Secret Years and gave a long interivew to the Jewish Chronicle at the time, during which I mentioned Diana's yearning to visit Israel. I also mentioned the Israeli children's charity she want to be involved with. In 2005, I gave a long interview to the Israel paper, Yediot Achronot, but it was in Ivrit [Hebrew], of course.

These are the two books in question:

Diana The Secret Years (published in 1998 by Michael O'Mara)

http://www.amazon.com/Diana-Secret-Years-Simone-Simmons/dp/0345435907

Diana The Last Word (published in 2005 by Orion)

http://www.amazon.com/Diana-Last-Word-Simone-Simmons/dp/0312354991

'Our relationship started when Diana was recommended to me for healing, and we slowly became close friends.'

The two of us could often spend up to eight hours a day chatting on the phone and I became the princess's friend and confidante who was entrusted with her personal documentation.

According to Simone, Diana wanted to visit a children's charity in Israel and was told that she couldn't go for security reasons. However, Di herself believed that the prohibition on her movements by the FCO and the Palace was because they felt that her visit to Israel would jeopardize the Royal Family's rerelationship with the Arab states in the region.

Simone also mentioned that Diana told her that the Royal Family had too much respect for the liquid assets of the Saudis for her ever to be allowed to visit a country that was persona non grata to the latter.

Memo to Prince Charles

Just when you might have thought that everything was under control: the Church of England has no  plans to boycott Israel at present; the academic boycott is deemed illegal and the NUJ one scuppered, I receive this from The London Times, and asked to comment:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article2879783.ece

It's based on leaked e-mails obtained by the Jewish Chronicle and printed by them in full

http://www.thejc.com/home.aspx?ParentId=m11&SecId=11&AId=56622&ATypeId=1

These leaked e-mail show up yet again the utter duplicity and hypocrisy of Prince Charles' staff, no doubt reflecting the views of the man himself.

What is utterly ridiculous is the suggestion made in one of the e-mails that by visiting Israel, Prince Charles would somehow burnish its international image.

I've got news for the man. Most Israelis think that Charles a total idiot. And many go further, blaming him for Princess Diana's death.

So it might well be the case that in coming here Prince Charles would actually be burnishing his own somewhat tarnished image. To many Israelis, Britain is already persona non grata because of all its boycott attempts and antisemitic discourse, which the Royal Family has done absolutely nothing to stem, and some might say, a fair bit to encourage.

For example, the Queen's 2004 Christmas message was a sop to Muslim terrorists and Sikh instigators. Supposedly geared towards the ethnic minorities in Britain, it managed to leave out the Jewish community altogether, even though we had caused no bother to anyone, had lived peacefully and contributed to society well beyond our small numbers. In 2006 I was even invited to become a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, of which the Queen is patron.

Another insult to the Jewish community was the Queen's blunt refusal to attend Holocaust Memorial Day when first invited, at its instigation, by her own government.

Then, at the time of HMD 2005, her grandson, Charles' son, Harry, donned Nazi insignia, with William and an experienced aide standing by.

What is more, I also get the impression that many Biritsh institutions in Israel do not know much about the country and are in love with all things Arab. It's amazing how many of them speak Arabic (an extremely difficult language) and not Hebrew (an extremely easy language) for instance. So, it's not surprising that this leaked memo is typical of the type of duplicity that we've come to expect from Britain, especially in their dealings with the Jewish community.

Here's Melanie Phillips' take on the subject, with which I totally concur.

http://www.spectator.co.uk/melaniephillips/357606/no-friend-to-israel.thtml

And here's Haaretz

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/924860.html

which follows on from this:

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/901851.html

What's really interesting however is that the response of the outgoing Israeli Ambassador, Zvi Heifetz to this pathetic saga is quite different in Haaretz than in the Jewish Chronicle.

Bet he's glad to be home!

By the way, on last checking Haaretz had received nearly 500 irate comments about Prince Charles on their site. A record, I think.

But then, of course, he's always preferred the Saudi Arabian approach, where such lese majeste would be put down immediately.

Memo to Christian Aid

After Thursday's meeting with Christian Aid in Jerusalem, here's some ideas for them to ponder:

http://christianaidwatch.blogspot.com/2005/05/two-children-of-bethlehem.html

1)  They conceded to me that they now back a 'two-State' solution. This is my response. Their stated aim is the alleviation of poverty, so is it really their business to be meddling in Middle Eastern politics, when it's patently obvious that they haven't a clue as to the history of the area or the context of present-day realities? Despite this, when they met with me they reiterated their right to be critical of Israel's government, but not of the PA rulership in either the West Bank or Gaza. These glaring lacunae need some adequate response. But more to the point, what sort of two-State solution do they actually back, as pointed out here: http://www.forward.com/articles/12008/ 

2) If they are not anti-semitic, why do they concentrate most of their energies on Israel and Palestine? A trusted source which has spoken to them informs me that CA have conceded that they concentrate on Israel because they can do so without fear of the consequences. On the other hand, if they criticised the Burmese regime, for example, this would 'hamper our work'.

So let's get this straight, if you want Christian Aid to help you, all you need to do is make sure to vote for a fascist Islamic terror organisation, such as Hamas, which like Hitler before it, promises you all sorts of delectable delights, such as a Judenrein area and good housing, then moan and groan enough and CA will come along and be your messenger-boy in English all over the world.

For instance, in order to alleviate your poverty, they will devise games of snakes and ladders (copying the original Nazi model), in which the Jews (sorry, Israelis) are depicted as Nazis and the Palestinians as the new Jews.

On the other hand, in order to become the victim of Christian Aid's highly critical PR campaign, you need to be the only democratic country in the area. Not only that, you need to be a Jewish country, which many might feel that the Christian world should be doing their best to support, given their own history, and given the incredible freedoms offered to Christians and every other religion who are increasingly choosing to live here, unlike in the PA areas, of course.

3) They insist that they are not antisemitic, and wheeled out their Jewish big guns in reponse to my recent letter to the Church of England Newspaper. In that letter, I stated that the Christian Aid 2003 Manchester University Roadshow was by far the most antisemitic experience I or my colleague - formerly President of the Manchester Jewish Representative Council (who went through World War II) had ever encountered. I further stated that, as a result of their behaviour towards us that night, the Chair for that evening told me he would never be involved with Christian Aid again. They don't seem to realise that I'm an expert on antisemitism, having worked on the subject with Yad Vashem and also taught about the subject in depth at one of Britain's foremost universities. But this doesn't count for much with them, so if they would rather, here is the European Union definition of antisemitism:

http://philosemitism.blogspot.com/2007/11/european-union-definition-of-anti_8836.html

If you access the above, you will see that CA's constant criticism of and concentration on Israel falls within the EU definition of antisemitism. If that's not good enough for them, maybe not being 'English' enough, here is the UK Parliament's more recent definition, written a couple of weeks after I'd emigrated to Israel:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5319716.stm

And please note that the BBC had to apologize for wrongly imputing to Denis McShane MP the view that Israel and the USA are to blame for the increase in UK antisemitism. Now why should the BBC think that Israel and the USA are to blame for the increase in UK antisemitism, I wonder?  Could antisemitism possibly be the fault of .... surely not?

The idea being put about that somehow Jews are to blame for their own suffering is brought up in yesterday's Jewish Chronicle article by the Chief Rabbi of the UK, Sir Jonathan Sacks:

http://www.thejc.com/Home.aspx?ParentId=0&SecId=12

which owes a great deal to this earlier article by Melanie Phillips:

http://www.melaniephillips.com/articles-new/?p=548

Both describe antisemitism as a virus which mutates. That's the way Hitler referred to the Jews in Mein Kampf and what Christian Aid's partner, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, (also represented at Thursday's meeting in Jerusalem) called Israel in one of their newsletters a couple of years ago.

So we're back to square one: if you repeat Hitler's terms to describe the one country which houses half the world's Jewish population, what exactly does that make you, I wonder?

This is how the mutation of the virus of antisemitism actually works. The first two antisemitisms are religious in nature; the third is scientific (for instance, Richard Dawkins is coming perilously near to joining the club of William Marr et al) and the fourth is what we see, predominantly, but not exclusively, now - national antisemitism.

For let's also make no mistake: the Jews have always been a people with a national home, with their own characteristics, languages and dress. They have every right to be different and live in their own home, with their own traditions, just like the Tibetans, the Burmese and the many other groups who for some reason or other Christian Aid just don't appear to be that bothered about.

Christian Aid should read this as well, especially the last bit:

http://www.icjs-online.org/index.php?article=1389

I have offered to educate Christian Aid and their partners either here in Israel or in the UK. I'll keep you posted as to whether they take up my offer, or even bother to get in touch again.

So many have said that meeting me was just a PR exercise. It's up to them to prove those people wrong.

The week I'm asked to conduct the school carol service, am trained to sing like an angel, visit the BBC and meet with Christian Aid heads in Jerusalem

I've been away a great deal this week and have now found some time  to blog.

These are the highlights:

On Monday and Tuesday I was at school in Jaffa as usual and was asked whether I'd mind conducting the primary assemblies from now on, as well as devising the primary end-of-year carol service.

What a choice for a nice Jewish girl. However, it is a Church School and I'm in charge of the music, so the answer is probably 'Yes'.

Then on Tuesday, the theme of spirituality continued via the very non-spiritual methods used by our Russian conductor at the Haifa Symphony Technion choir to get us to sound like angels, literally that is, 'transparent and invisible', as he put it. It's all for the nativity cycle we're rehearsing.

But the bullying that goes on to get us there: is it really worth it, I ask myself, after a hard day's work, teaching 'Penny Lane' to the school kids in Jaffa, replete with a history and geography of Liverpool. Yes, it most definitely is!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHBKAyn17vw

Before this, I walked from my daughter's in Tel Aviv to the British Embassy, just to see where it was. As usual, the British abroad have a genius for finding the best spots. This one is situated opposite a charming park, with the waves swishing just behind. And I was lucky enough to bump into my contact there, as she was just on her way out. We're planning to meet again in the New Year.

http://www.britemb.org.il/

Then on Wednesday, I bumped into one of my former Hebrew students from St. Gabriel's Library classes, Manchester, who has just bought a place in Haifa and was attending sessions at the university. She used to teach at the International School in Jerusalem and accompanied my husband and myself on our educators' conference to Yad Vashem, summer 2003. More and more Christians are settling here, or wanting to. But, Haifa!!

http://www.yadvashem.org/

Then, that evening, attended a wonderful lecture on 'prayer' given by the wife of the Chief Rabbi of Haifa in a private house. I did like her explanation of the idea of what stones on wells symbolise in the Hebrew Bible. The stone represents the 'ego' side of us and the 'evil impulse'. Once rolled away, we are open to real goodness and mercy. And to think that some people take the Bible literally!

http://bible.cc/genesis/29-8.htm

She asked me to accompany her home and I told her I had been invited to meet with the NGO

Christian Aid

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=Christian+Aid&meta=

the next day.

'What will you do?'

She asked.

'I'll offer to work with them'. I said. 'It's the only way'. So she gave me a kiss and we parted. She's going to India with her husband next week to a 'conference of sages'. I love it!

So on Thursday I left by bus at the crack of dawn and arrived at the BBC at 10.00 am to meet Fuad, who is one of their freelance producers. Security told me to go right up, which caused a bit of confusion, as some thought I was part of the team. But eventually, I met the BBC's office manager, a delightful lady from Australia, who was interested in the work I was doing in Israel.

Then I was introduced to the new BBC Bureau Chief, James Stephenson, who has just arrived. And he asked me to send him the blog details. So I wished him luck. Does he realise that the hopes of many are resting on his shoulders, I wonder?

If you access this link, you'll see that he used to be executive editor of

Question Time

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/james_stephenson/

Fuad, from Abu Ghosh, took me for coffee to the 'Milky Way' bar next door, where we sat among Jews and Arabs and discussed the state of the State of Israel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Ghosh

Then he very kindly drove me to my next venue, Christian Friends of Israel, to await my great friend Gwen Thompson, former manager of the St. Andrews Church of Scotland guesthouse, who is visiting at present. She left her job with the Church of Scotland because of their negative attitude to the State of Israel. Before taking over at St. Andrews, she was Director of Frizzell Insurance for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

In the few months since she has been away, the powers-that-be have turned St. Andrews into a 1920s type officers' mess and removed the lively coffee bar, which was her own idea, and attracted the whole Jerusalem population to her guest-house. I wonder why they have changed it and made it user unfriendly.

CFI knew I was coming, and let me in, eventually. I gained the impression that they are involved with Messianic Jews and 'love' us for conversionary reasons. Their literature would confirm this.

http://www.cfijerusalem.org/aboutus.asp?id=1

I've now visited two Arab or 'pro-Arab' churches and two that love us and have to tell you that I was made to feel more at home in the former. I felt a reluctant respect from the Christian Arabs for me as a practising Jew, albeit an Israeli, whereas in the others, I felt a particular agenda at work which wasn't quite wholesome, in my view.

Gwen took me home to hers in Arnona and then we met with the Christian Aid delegation (which included the CEO of Churches Together in Britain and Northern Ireland) in the boardroom of Jerusalem's YMCA, which Gwen knew well from her time as manager of the Church of Scotland guesthouse.

http://www.ctbi.org.uk/index.php?op=modload&name=knowledge&file=index&viewCat=139

Churches Together is the anti-racist organisation which had, two years ago, compared the Israelis to 'bacteria', which I pointed out politely to their new General Secretary, who told me that he had known nothing about that.

I had been informed by the CA interfaith advisor that the Bishop wanted to hear my concerns, so had collected feedback from four or five different experts and agencies, both in Israel and elsewhere. I also had memories of the organisation from my own ghastly experience of their Manchester University roadshow, 2003, and also from the research I had done for a BBC-commissioned programme on them, which for some reason was dropped at the last minute, because it was deemed too 'controversial'.

The main concerns I pointed out to them (having first told them that I had worked for Christian Aid when a student at Cambridge) were as follows: their ignorance of Jewish theology and history, as well as of Israeli history; working with Israeli groups that are not mainstream; concentrating on Palestinians to the detriment of other Christian societies; politicking poverty; ignoring Muslim theology and the belligerence of Israel's neighbours; ignoring the effect of their own behaviour on Jewish-Christian relations world-wide; demeaning the Palestinians by treating them as irresponsible children; overlooking Jewish suffering; not responding to e-mails and letters; moving the goal-posts to suit themselves; links with Sabeel.

Sabeel is an organisation which regards Israel as an 'apartheid' state and has accused Israel of continuously 'crucifying' the Palestinians, just as the Jews have (in their view) always crucified Jesus.

http://ngo-monitor.org/digest_info.php?id=1680

Their founder, Naim Atteek has written for instance that:

Israel is responsible for the death of Jesus (the Palestinians) as infant, people and messiah

and

The Israel government crucifixion system is operating daily

Bishop John invited me to meet Naim Ateek and also various churches in the area, to which I agreed.

My own view is that all Christian Aid workers dealing with this region, as well as their partners, need educational input as to the history and theology of Judaism, including the central role played by Israel since time immemorial, as well as an up-to-date understanding of the context of the situation out here.

The CA delegation mentioned responses from various Palestinians, but I pointed out that Israelis and Palestinians work differently. Israelis tend to put on a gruff exterior and emphasize the positive even when it doesn't exist.

I never heard one complaint from my own parents, who were Holocaust survivors. They came to Britain after losing nearly their entire family and invested all their energies into building a new life and bringing up children who would love Britain and be happy. They had to start from scratch, learn a new language and get used to a totally different environment. They did not clamour to return to Poland or reclaim their property there, for instance. Their families had lived in Poland for centuries, but now they were British they were going to make sure that their children felt at home here, as well as retaining their Jewish identity.

Which brings me to the Dalai Lama who, as you know from reading my previous blogs, thinks that the Jewish people have found the secret of success in diaspora (my parents certainly did), but who also understands completely that Israel is the centre for the Jewish people, always has been, and always will be.

What about 'By the Rivers of Babylon' for instance?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm1g8FFRArc

Then the delegation gave me their cards. Bishop John asked me to continue sending him my blogs and they went off to their next meeting in East Jerusalem. whilst Gwen and Mark treated me to a meal and told me their opinion of the entire event.

This morning I got a bus back to Haifa and arrived back at about midday. And, having been woken by the sound of the muezzin last night at Gwen's, I am sure to have a very peaceful rest on Shabbat.

Shabbat Shalom.

Likud MK advocates that philosophers should run the State of Israel

Just attended Likud MK, Yuval Steinitz,' address to about 70 people from the Anglo community, held in a friend's lounge, entitled

Israel's Security Posture following the War in Lebanon 2006

The Anglo community in Haifa tends to be rather elderly, but there were one or two younger people, and when one of these asked me how I was, I couldn't place him for a minute. Was he from the Latin class? The Technion choir maybe? Definitely not the synagogue. I asked him where he knew me for, and he said 'I'm your doctor'. As I've said before, looking after yourself is serious business in Israel, and if you haven't visited your doctor for three months, they want to know why. I don't think I've been round to the surgery since the tests he recommended on first arriving, so it could be one year ago. No wonder he seemed somewhat concerned!

I had promised the hosts for this event that if the place were crowded, I'd volunteer to sit out on the terrace, being newly arrived from Britain and used to the cold. So I did as promised, and it was really freezing, but I had a bird's eye view of the speaker, from behind, and could take notes without poking out anyone's eye, since - strange as it may seem - no-one else elected to sit out in the freezing cold with me!

And whatever your political views, you had to agree that he was an excellent speaker, and not at all over the top in manner! He connected with the audience immediately by stating that although he had left Haifa to be nearer Jerusalem, his son had returned to join the navy here.

He then got into his talk with bite, stating that one and a half years ago, Israel's doctrine of defense had collapsed uncessarily due to the arrogance of the security establishment in concluding that there could be no security threat that the Israeli airforce couldn't handle. For this reason, ground forces hadn't been used when they should have been.

For the first time in Israeli history, he said, the enemy had been shooting daily at one of Israel's biggest cities and Israel had failed to save them. From this, he concluded, we have learned what our weaknesses are.

He then mentioned that he left the ivory tower of the philosopy department at the university to enter the political swamp (I think he probably meant 'quagmire' - this was all in English, for once. What a change!!) At that point, a voice from the audience chipped in: 'Believe me, it's not much different at the university, with all the politics which goes on'!

Steinitz' main contention is that Israel's national security should be run not just by Mossad and the generals, but by civilians. He said that you can tell the way the generals in government think by their clipped, short sentences. He, on the other hand, comes from the realm of philosophy, which entails a different approach: the Socratic approach, and before that the Parmenidean approach, which states:

I know only that I don't know

The beginning of wisdom, he said, is knowing how little you actually do know. The Cartesian philosophy of doubt is the opposite of that of the generals. We should combine both the direct approach of the generals and the discursive approach of thoughtful civilians. This would avoid arrogance.

He then went into the history of Israel, emphasising how much various PMs and the IDF had clashed over the building of the Dimona reactor and the Israeli outer space programme.

He reiterated that, as in the USA, civilians should control the national security system.

He said that since the 2006 war, the IDF had begun exercises again and are now in good condition. The generals have also been told not to appear so much in the media, nor to favour one journalist over another. He then asked for a translation of a word from the Hebrew. Someone said 'failure', but the same guy who had called the university a 'quagmire', said that the word actually meant 'total screw-up'. I can't remember exactly what that referred to and I'd better not say, just in case I get it wrong!

Importantly, Steinitz feels that the threat to Israel is greater from Syria, which has more accurate long-range missiles which can hit military compounds than Hezbollah ('that little terrorist organisation', as he put it), who are inaccurate and therefore hit only cities and towns!

Steinitz stated that Israel possesses the best airforce in the world, but that Syria could actually paralyse it through its accurate missile system. He feels that it is vital to put as much effort into defense as into offense, and to use the eastern Mediterranean as a strategic position. He stressed the importance of a long-term strategy and feels that the IDF is not, at present, taking this into account.

In response to questions, Steinitz stated that nobody directs Israeli intelligence at present and that it needs an 'external eye' and a 'historical approach' (at least I think he said 'historical', unless it was 'hysterical').

In response to another question about the kidnapped soldiers, he said that he cannot divulge confidential information, but that in principle, Israel should not give in to blackmail, should not bargain for bodies and should not negotiate, as is being done at present, with Hezbollah for signs of life. He cited the approach of the Americans and the British in Afghanistan as examples which are worthy of emulation in these situations.

On Gazae he said that, with the help of the Egyptians, Hamas are building a fundamentalist Muslim army. From the time of Ben Gurion Israel never allowed this sort of thing to happen between the sea and the Jordan. At Oslo, it was agreed to demilitarize the Occupied Territories (interested that he used that word!). This was also the nature of the agreement with Egypt over Sinai. What is happening in Gaza is in opposition to this and would, in the past, have been a casus belli. According to Steinitz, Egypt is cooperating with Iran and Hamas against Israel. This is why Abu Mazen is losing. For this reason, the USA has cut their normal budget to Egypt by 30%.

On Iran, he said that the western world has to act on this. It is not just Israel's problem. It is reminiscent of the re-arming of Germany in the 1930s. Iran is more important even than the War on Terrorism. Saddam Hussein, Gadaffi and the North Koreans were all stopped through threats and Iran has to feel threatened in the same way.

On Annapolis, he said that it is a very illogical step and that the Americans and Blair (whom he met recently) appear to be very surprised that Israel is agreeing to it. Steinitz admitted that he had belonged to 'Peace Now' in the 1980s, but had had to face realities. The present reality is that Gaza was uprooted. and he had agreed with this. Gaza had been delivered to Abu Mazen, and not to Hamas. Yet, two years later, Hamas is in power and 2,500 Kassam rockets are landing on Sderot and area.

According to Steinitz, the Israeli government wants to strengthen Abu Mazen because he is weak. But giving him concessions is actually making him weaker. Arafat was strong and had envisaged the Palestinian parliament in Abu Dis, in the case that Jerusalem did not materialize as a reality. Abu Mazen is not in that position. He is currently talking to Hamas. Whether Annapolis succeeds or fails, he will still sit and talk to Hamas.

The Annapolis conference is therefore, according to Steinetz, the most bizaree aspect of the peace-process.

I've tried to reproduce this as well as I can. And what stands out is the idea in Israel of philosopher politicians in the style of Ancient Greece. And the idea that the IDF, the hero to Jews all over the world, are actually being accused of arrogance and no-one in the audience objected.

There is certainly food for thought in what he said. And politics apart, it's always better to have ideas people working hand in hand with the people on the ground.

Now, I'd like to hear the views of MKs from Kadima and Labour, just to give it a bit of balance. But I'm quite sure that after tonight's meeting, a few people in the audience will sign up for Likud.

I