YESHURUN 12: Maaleh HaZeitim

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Maaleh HaZeitim

3. Upward and onward to the magnificent neighborhood of Maaleh HaZeitim, a beautiful Jewish residential area amidst the filth of Abu Dis. Pride for the Land and love for the ancient city reflects an aura of light in the midst of such gloominess which the Jews bring with them wherever they settle.

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Photos above by my friend, Renee Morgulis

Friends and family keep asking me to send photos of home. Well, here they are.
Myself at home in Shdema where renovations are taking place. All the graffiti will be white-washed. Too bad, too sad, since this is the ONLY graffiti I ever liked.
Windows and doors will be installed. Too bad since I love the breezy atmosphere. But the more elite, reputable guests are creatures of comfort.
S-o-o-o! Out with the old! In with the new!
Shdema is not really the place where I dwell. It remains an abanoned IDF military base that the surrounding hostile Arabs are trying to squat on. Whereas, Jews are determined its not going to happen. Therefore, they have started refurbishing it for a Cultural Center.
From Lebanon to the Sinai, from the Golan and the Jordan to the Great Mediteranean Sea is all 'home sweet home' for the Jews!

50 years without Pesach

by Gemma Blech - "I want to speak on behalf of perfidious Albion and other Europeans here [Abba Eban called the Brits 'perfidious' in their dealings with Israel] – as I know we are not all Americans here! I come from a 100% assimilated English Jewish family. We had hardly heard of Pesach and I celebrated it here for the first time when I made aliyah, aged 50 – 22 years ago last week! And this with 2 Jewish parents! So, in spite of this, we can trust the God of Israel to bring us back to His land – and to allow us to rebuild the land.
You ask how it was I came to make to make aliyah. On June 5th 1985 I was driving from London to Birmingham – a major UK motorway, in pouring rain [!!], when I heard a voice which said, 'Arise, arise and get yourself to Zion". I arrived at my Birmingham meeting, where they asked if I had had a great holiday, 'as your face is so red'. I replied, "No, but I have just met the living God on the motorway!" "How nice", they replied, and went back to their tea-cups!!
I knew what I had heard and I made aliyah 2 years later – on my 50th birthday for that is like the year of jubilee, when 'the land returns to its rightful owner'!
Maybe I should add, that now 22 years later I confirm that the God of Israel did become my God and He has never let me down!!!

Yudith's Escape from the Old City 1967

Yudith and I descended a steep path off the beaten trail, a path with dense trees and draping foliage. As we fought our way through the density, Yudith said softly and quietly as she reached out for my hand: "Here! Take my hand! I will help you. Sh-h-h! Be real quiet! Don't be afraid! Don't cry! It's only a game. It won't take long. We made it through the worst part. It's just a short way to safety! I promise you will be safe! We're almost there."
We were in our thirties when I relived that haunting memory...(For full story go to 1980 archive)