Bye Bye, Dubai

Dubai, the Persian Gulf emirate which grew into a fantastical, magical world with the tallest planned skyscraper in the world and palm tree-shaped islands, might be going bye bye. Dubai World cannot pay pack its loans and is asking for a 6-month moratorium on repaying its $60 billion debt, which is sending the international financial world reeling. (Hat tips to Rafi, and Yeranen Yaakov).

Now what if they had, with all that investment money, helped out their own brethren, say, the so-called Palestinians, in building an infrastructure of a new "Palestinian" state? Wouldn't that have shown the world that the Arabs do care for their own people, and are working towards building a better future for themselves?

Instead, they built a Middle Eastern fantasy land. And now the bubble has burst. Good thing Israel didn't BUY much into Dubai. . .

(But boy, do I love those hotel interiors!)















Oh, and let's not forget about the sheik's silver Audi A8. That is, it's not silver color: it's made out of silver.

(Now, if they would only make that in a mini-van. . . )

I couldn't resist--let's not forget the Dubai, um, ski slope:




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95-Year Old Jewish Athlete Gets Record Restored

It took 73 years, but Margaret Bergmann Lambert's 1936 high-jumping record, disallowed by the Nazis because she was Jewish, has now been finally restored.

She had been on the German Olympic Team in name only, as the Nazis never intended for her to play in the Olympic Games of 1936. They were actually putting on a show for the Americans and Europeans who were threatening to boycott the games because of Nazi discrimination against Jews.



A little late, wouldn't you say?

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have written previously about my feelings on Thanksgiving, and am linking my post from 2007 on the subject, here. This year, we are going to friends on Thanksgiving Day, and on Friday night-as per our years-long tradition-we are having another Thanksgiving/Shabbat dinner, this year at another friend, our regular 'Thanksgiving buddy' with whom we started this minhag, many snows ago.

But being that I still wanted to share a post related to the holiday, and seeing that I received this interesting holiday wish by email (from my now-famous "sister-in-law's sister-in-law"), I decided to pass it on to you, my loyal readers. (No animals were harmed in the making of this picture).

May your stuffing be tasty. May your turkey be plump. May your potatoes 'n gravy have nary a lump. May your yams be delicious. May your pies take the prize. May your Thanksgiving dinner stay off of your thighs. HAVE A BLESSED THANKSGIVING

(as always, thank you so much for your readership and support!)



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Flash Mob Chanukah--Puts You in the Mood!

Oh, I wish I had been on Rehov Ben Yehudah street this past Friday, November 20th, 2009, to see this flash mob dance in the middle of the midrachov*! It looks 'spontaneous,' but of course it was planned and choreographed to look that way, by none other than Nefesh b'Nefesh. It is just so catching and contagious. Makes one feel like celebrating. Chanukah is not far off; hey I've got an idea: let's all celebrate it in. . . ISRAEL!!




*midrachov: pedestrian mall, lit. "sidewalk-street."

My Kid's on Israel Channel Two News!

Okay, I searched and searched, and with my old eyes it went right past me. I knew my daughter, the one in the IDF, was going to be commanding new Golani recruits, and as they were filmed and a clip shown on Arutz Shtayim (channel 2) news which I embedded on this blog, I looked for her, in case she was on camera. Couldn't find her. Then, she called last night (this morning early, her time), and said she saw herself on TV!

While still on the phone, my husband and I found her on the news site on my blog, and took screen shots as she walked across the screen. Here she is (her 3 seconds of fame. . . )!

(If you are reading this today, you might still be able to see her in motion: watch the Channel Two News site to the right, it's in today's news.)

Five and Counting (ken yirbu)!

Well (I was taught never to begin a sentence with 'well'), big brother (all 1 year of him) --my new grandson's baby sister has a name, henceforth, in the interest of anonymity to be referred to as Googles and Tiddly, respectively. Her father, Nathaniel Bloomenstein managed to get to shul on Shabbat and get an aliyah to name her.

Everyone (Mister Arnold Mayergi and his lovely wife Hardally, Nathaniel's sister Rambo, and of course, his wife Noodles and their two kids Googles and Tiddly) were together for Friday night seudat Shabbat. I know that Toodles, who left Israel in July, misses them terribly and really wanted to be there, but like us, she couldn't, for financial reasons. But I also know that she is thrilled at their choice of the baby's name, Tiddly, which is very close to Toodles' own--can't you tell? ( -Just spoke to Nathaniel B. on the phone-he was in bed already-and he said his sister Toodles' name had nothing to do with it!)

He (Tiddly's abba) said they liked the name, and she just looked like it! Here is a first-foto, taken when she was 2 days old. I think she looks like a Tiddly, too. And here, to contrast, is a photo of her big brother, who also looks like a Googles.

One thing about them really shows that they are
brother and sister: the hair. They both have a lot 0f it, although Tiddly could use a little gel. . .

And, although I don't have a baby pic of their Eema, Noodles--I do have one, albeit not too clear, of their Abba:



Actually, the beauty in the family is Noodles, who everyone says looks something like this:


But Nathaniel B. isn't so bad-looking himself, if I do say so (not being prejudiced, of course). He and his brother, Mister Arnold, could be male models if they wanted to (which would probably solve all their financial troubles, if you ask me), as well as Noodles could (female model, that is).
Instead, they want to do something substantial and worthwhile with their lives, such as advancing in high technology and defending their country. Sigh.

Ok, time for the family montage, old and new, in no particular order--you figure out who everybody is--I'm not telling.

Remember the Lamp Lighters. . .

Yesterday I was not feeling well. After suffering chills and exteme fatique during the day--I managed to make through four hours of work (contract)--I went home and went to bed at 3:30 p.m. An hour and a half later, upon waking up, I realized that I was still weak and couldn't concentrate, so I cancelled the classes I was supposed to teach that night, and went to bed for the night at 8:19 p.m.

I am feeling a little better this morning, and I have to--because we are volunteering at the Lamp Lighter Tribute tonight, on the occasion of the first yahrtzeit of the deaths of Rav Gavriel Noach and Rebbetzin Rivka Holtzberg, ztz"l, who were brutally murdered last year, November 26th, 2008, during the terror attacks in Mumbai, India.

There is no need to repeat the praises about the Holtzbergs and the work they did as Chabad shluchim in Mumbai, because everyone in the tribe knows how wonderful they were, what good they did, what kindnesses they showed to strangers, and how they brought LIGHT into the world, to a place of darkness.

However, maybe there is a need to show the outside world who they were. To that effect, I have five videos here, telling just a little of who they were and what they did, and the evil atrocity that brought them to their untimely end on this earth. Please bear with me, and view them.

You see, that is the basic difference between the Jews and the terrorists--no matter who they are or where it happens--Christian Crusaders, Nazis, Turks committing genocide on the Armenians, Sudanese in Darfur, radical Islamists--all they know and their religion and culture produces is how to promote death, and how to destroy, in the name of their gods or beliefs.

In contrast, the Jews, as well as the Jewish religion and culture promote building and creating, and LIFE--in the name of our G-d and beliefs. And I do believe the world hates us for it. . .

Now, see below the good, that evil has cut down. May we avenge their deaths.

Ye'hey zichronam baruch*. . .






The following is a video of Rav Gavriel Holtzberg as a child, visiting the Rebbe, ztz"l. He is the only boy in the line with the courage to stop and ask the Rebbe for a bracha.









*may their memory be a blessing

I Did It! I Woke Up in Time. . .

. . . To see a bit of the meteor shower last night, er, this morning! I came out of REM sleep a little after 3:00 a.m., having gone to bed too late--slightly after eleven, figuring that that was it, I'll never wake up in time--and said to myself, 'groovy (I'm from the 60's), I have another hour's sleep before I need to do this.'

So I dozed till slightly after 4 a.m., heaved myself out of bed, padded downstairs still in my PJs and night socks, put on a snood and my warm Shabbat coat and went outside, first to the front of our townhome (there was no way I was getting into a car and driving anywhere half asleep.). I had already decided not to wake my husband, who was snoring-uh, in deep sleep, and wasn't that interested anyway (he said to me prior to going to bed, approximately--'it comes once a year, what's the rush?!)

The problem with the front of our place is, we have outside lights which go on automatically at night--turned on by the management--and they are not under our control; in addition, there are outdoor lamps all around the complex, so the urban effect was great, which made it hard to see the night sky. I walked a little way down the path which traversed our greenway in front of the townhomes and mid-rises, to where there was less light--and looked UP.

Remember, in a previous post I mentioned something about "dark-adapted vision"? It has to do with seeing all the stars of the Little Dipper. I actually saw the Little Dipper, but not all of it's stars. Nevertheless I was just thrilled to see most of them, with my own two eyes with glasses on (don't even ask what kind of prescription glasses I wear...).

I started to do a sweep, north to south, of the skies, but saw nothing except for the Little Dipper, part of the Big Dipper and several other stars and I'm sure constellations or parts thereof (which I long since forgot what they are called, Cassiopia, etc. - I used to know them, when I was little).

Beginning to get somewhat disappointed, I went back into the house and went out the back door to the patio and carports, and I saw immediately that, because of the huge field in back of our complex and fewer lights, there was much more expanse of sky to see. In addition, one of our street lamps lighting the carports and driveway area was not working well and kept blinking out--thus less urban effect!

I began to do my arched-neck sweep (yes, it was beginning to hurt a bit; I really should have been lying on a blanket right on the road to see it properly), this time south to north, and THERE IT WAS!! I saw a very, very bright meteor sweep to the north, it was a flash for a second--and then it was gone. What a beauty! I got a little emotional then, and sort of thanked Ribono shel Olam for the beauty of His creations. . .

Afterwards I kept searching the skies, because maybe, just maybe I'd get to see another one; only two, very faint meteors with tails--so faint, I'm almost wondering if I imagined them; and one more, slightly more visible one--and that was it. By that time, my neck was really aching me, it was 4:56 a.m. or so, and I was getting cold, so I decided to call it a night.

I had come outside at around 4:13 a.m., so it had been 40+ minutes, in an urban area full of lights, and had seen one bright meteor and three faint ones. Imagine how many more I might have seen, had I been lying down in the snow in a field outside of the city (not to mention the foxes or coyotes I might have seen, er--who might have seen me).

All in all, I can't remember the last time I saw a meteor, maybe when I was a child. It is quite awesome. . . and I'm glad I 'stepped outside of the box' for one night.

MAZAL TOV to US!!!

My husband and I now have a NEW BABY GRANDDAUGHTER in Jerusalem!!! She was born about an hour ago, and I am plastered on the ceiling!!!
Will posts pics of baby sister as soon as I get them; the following are pics of her Abba and her Big Brother!

(oh, and Haveil Havalim #243 is up at Ima on & off the Bima. Go, read--but first wish me a MAZAL TOV!!!)

"Chanukah is (Almost) Here Once Again. . . "

Really, Leora's post and looking at her photo of her 'chanukah table' with all their menorahs on them made me wax nostalgic. . .

Chanukah was one of our favorite magical holidays when our kids were little. I know it's a very Northern Hemisphere view of it, but our memories of Chanukah are of dark, snowy evenings with our chanukiyots'* blazing candles in all the colors of the rainbow, or their oil wicks flickering in the air, creating dancing shadows on the walls and reflections in the frosty windows, lighting up the night from within.

A Jewish Holiday Meme via Here in HP (who got it from Ima on the Bima, who got it from--oh, enough already!):

Everything that I am writing about below took place in the past. Our children haven't been home for a long time now, and except for 2004 in a different state, and 2005 in Israel, we have not been together for Chanukah in years. But this is what we used to do, and hopefully, in the near future, do again (with the addition of our new family members, our daughters-in-law and grandchildren, ken yirbu*).

1) One menorah, or several? Hillel or Shammai? ("just kidding about that part"-see HP, and Ima on the Bima, and--oh, never mind).

Our family minhag* is simple: every family member had his/her own chanukiah*, and said the brachot* by him or herself. After, we sang together in harmony the full "Hanerot Hallalu," and we are one of the few families in our community who have been singing the entire "Maoz Tzur*" for years (I don't think many families at Chabad know that there is more than one verse!)

2) Do you buy your children gifts for every night of Chanukah?

Are you kidding?! We'd go broke...well, we are broke--but we didn't buy gifts for every day--we bought some gifts for each other; I know, I know: it's not a Jewish minhag*, but we did it anyway. It increased the excitement; but it always came after the lighting, brachot, and singing, and sometimes telling the story of Chanukah, mainly in song (ever hear the song, "He Struck the Traitor to the Earth"? One of my kids' favorites. . . )

3) Do you and your spouse/partner or any other adults in your life exchange gifts?

Only maybe one night, when we were giving the kids gifts. I am guilty--of loving surprises!

4) Special family chanukah traditions?

We used to sit around the chanukiyot* and sing, harmonizing with our two sons and three daughters (and later on, after our eldest moved away, our two remaining daughters) traditional Israeli songs, first from memory, and then one year we had a big Chanukah party and invited lots of people (in the '90's), and mimeographed--remember those?--a booklet of all the songs in Hebrew, with some in English.

In later years we worked mainly from that booklet so we'd know all the words, singing and harmonizing as many as we could.

My husband and I sometimes make homemade sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts, or "Bismarks," as they are called in this-here territory), and always make levivot (latkes), including my mother's (a"h) spinach-latke recipe, which is heavenly.

5) Latkes or sufganiyot? If latkes, sour cream or applesauce?

We use both. I know Chanukah is often a milchig* holiday, but some years we'd have fleishig* meals, including hamburgers and hotdogs (not healthy but so delicious) or on rare occasions, steaks--and have the levivot with apple sauce.

6) Favorite chanukah book?

A favorite used to be Light Stories for Children, and also Hershel and the Chanukah Goblins. I will add, we also had two favorite Chanukah tapes (remember those?), one, the Israeli tape of children's and some adult's songs, and the second, called "Chanukah is Here Once Again" (which is why it is the title of this post). The latter contained the story of Chanukah told by adults and kids in a thick Brooklyn accent, with songs and niggunim, some of which were unique to it. My kids, especially my younger son, really loved that tape. I think it reminds him of his childhood at home. . .

7) Do you actually play dreidl? If so, what do you use for counters?
We sang so long, that often we didn't play the dreidel, or sevivon game; by the time we finished singing, we were starving.

But sometimes we did play the game, and used chocolate "gelt" or nuts, or even pennies. The kids showed off who could spin the sevivon upside down (just like Leora's family on HP--honest, I'm not copying this). At the very least, we looked at the many different sevivonim we had which I had saved, some even from my childhood, in various sizes from huge to tiny, and all the colors of the rainbow--some from Israel (nun, gimel, hey, pey) and most from chutz-la-aretz*.

8) What relationship, if any, do you have with Christmas and all things Christmas-y?
None. We never really 'shopped.' We were not such a consumer family (we never had the means). The closest thing might be, that I always enjoyed window-shopping, looking at the colored lights and decorated trees.

9) “If you’re reading, you’re tagged!” –

This is much easier than searching for bloggers to tag and linking their blogs, etc. Just go for it! If you are not Jewish, why don't you write something about your family traditions for Christmas? --And don't forget to link this blog to yours if you do!

Leora added something about her preparations here, so I will, too: we used to open up our card table and cover it with foil, where we'd put all the family's chanukiyot, and place it in front of our living room window, in our old house. But our living room faced the back--our yard, not the street--where no one walked. It's actually more halachically correct, here in the town home where we currently live. We place it in front of our living room window, which faces the front path which goes around the greenway, where people sometimes do walk.

But there are only the two of us here now, and in the past couple of years, we put out only two chanukiyot, and sometimes I would add my father's (a"h) old chanukiyah and light it without a bracha (after I've made the bracha on mine), just in memory. Because the table looked so sad with only two chanukiyot, flames flickering alone in the night. . .

(I don't have any photos of our little table to show you; I have not yet transferred all my photos from my old computer, Mergatroyd, to my new one, HaMachshev. Have to get to that someday...)

Glossary:
ken yirbu: 'may they increase'
minhag: Hebrew for 'custom'
chanukiya, chanukiyot: a menorah specifically for Chanukah, with 9 branches.
Maoz Tzur: Rock of Ages - the original is Hebrew
milchig: dairy
fleishig: meat
chutz la-aretz: outside of Israel

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Meteor Shower is Almost Here...

The Leonid Meteor Shower is supposed to be at it's peak in the wee hours of the morning Tuesday, which in my language is the 'middle of the night.' As much as I want to see it, I don't know if I can get up at 2 or 3 a.m. to watch the peak at 4 a.m. (you have to allow for driving time out of the city).

On the other hand, this might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (although G-d willing I will live to 120, so I might see it once or twice more. . . ). I need to make a decision. Go to bed at 8 p.m., perhaps, in order to get my 7-8 hours sleep?

I also don't think I have such good "dark-adapted vision"; last time I remember, I couldn't see all the stars of the Little Dipper with my naked eye.

Nevertheless, it would be an adventure, if I have the energy for it. Will let you know...

Found some interesting facts through the first article linked: Top Ten facts about Leonid meteor showers, here.





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Even the IDF Isn't. . . Perfect.

Oops. The army, er, "screwed up" (direct translation). At the Maccabim checkpoint near Modiin on Highway 443, the spikes suddenly. . . popped up. And more than twenty cars went across and had blowouts, all over the road.

See the whole story on the Kikar Shabat site, here. The Israeli equivalent of the AAA, called "Yedidim" ('friends') had their hands full that day.

As they say, STUFF happens. . .

The 'Nation of Palestine': Merely a Myth

I didn't put up my "Dept. of Redundancy Dept." pic by accident, but rather by design. In this blog, I find myself repeating myself and repeating myself (and, um, repeating myself). I've written about the legitimacy of the Jews' right to the Land of Israel and the BIG LIE of the so-called "Palestinians" many times, case in point, here, back in November of '07.

So I decided to post again a related excerpt of an article from Myths and Facts, about the BIG LIE (don't like that? Okay, call it a HUMONGOUS UNTRUTH) perpetrated by the Arabs after June 1967, when they lost yet another war that they had started against Israel. It is called "Palestinians- Peoplehood Based on a Big Lie" by Eli E. Hertz, from March 31, 2008:

The Palestinians claim that they are an ancient and indigenous people fails to stand up to historic scrutiny. Most Palestinian Arabs were newcomers to British Mandate Palestine. Until the 1967 Six-Day War made it expedient for Arabs to create a Palestinian peoplehood, local Arabs simply considered themselves part of the ‘great Arab nation’ or ‘southern Syrians.’

“Repeat a lie often enough and people will begin to believe it.”
Nazi propaganda master Joseph Goebbels

“All [that Palestinians] can agree on as a community is what they
want to destroy, not what they want to build.”
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman

There is no age-old Palestinian people. Most so-called Palestinians are relative newcomers to the Land of Israel

Like a mantra, Arabs repeatedly claim that the Palestinians are a native people. The concept of a ‘Stateless Palestinian people’ is not based on fact. It is a fabrication.

Palestinian Arabs cast themselves as a native people in “Palestine” – like the Aborigines in Australia or Native Americans in America. They portray the Jews as European imperialists and colonizers. This is simply untrue.

Until the Jews began returning to the Land of Israel in increasing numbers from the late 19^th century to the turn of the 20^th, the area called Palestine was a God-forsaken backwash that belonged to the Ottoman Empire, based in Turkey.

The land’s fragile ecology had been laid waste in the wake of the Arabs’ 7th-century conquest. In 1799, the population was at it lowest and estimated to be no more than 250,000 to 300,000 inhabitants in all the land.

At the turn of the 20th century, the Arab population west of the Jordan River (today, Israel and the West Bank) was about half a million inhabitants and east of the Jordan River perhaps 200,000.

The collapse of the agricultural system with the influx of nomadic tribes after the Arab conquest that created malarial swamps and denuded the ancient terrace system eroding the soil, was coupled by a tyrannous regime, a crippling tax system and absentee landowners that further decimated the population. Much of the indigenous population had long since migrated or disappeared. Very few Jews or Arabs lived in the region before the arrival of the first Zionists in the 1880s and most of those that did lived in abject poverty.

Most Arabs living west of the Jordan River in Israel, the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and Gaza are newcomers who came from surrounding Arab lands after the turn of the 20^th century because they were attracted to the relative economic prosperity brought about by the Zionist Movement and the British in the 1920s and 1930s.

(For the entire article click on the link above.)

America Needs to Wake Up--Fast!

This is the response of some New York Muslims, praising the atrocity committed by Major Nadal Hassan at Ft. Hood, Texas (hat tip, Aharon):



America, when will you wake up? When it's too late?

Haimishe. . . Gasoline?

Okay. This has got to 'take the cake.' Thanks to my illustrious, industrious sister-in-law's sister-in-law (thanks, A.!) in sunny Flawriduh, you are privileged to view this video news report (as seen on WeJew) about Kosher Gasoline, er--Gefilte Fish with Gas (as in, "I'll have some gas with that fish, please).

What's really cute, is people in the know can see immediately that the "reporter" (yeah, right) hasn't a clue of what she is reporting about. Unfortunately, the interview-ees don't seem to, either.
But, hey--just geeve ah keek, and enjoy.



(let's hear it for Borough Park!)

Find a Happy Place*: The Voca People (no monkeys)

The recent horrific events at Ft. Hood, Texas and everything else that is going on in the world have thrown me off kilter.

I need to get back to the Good, the Fun, and the Silly & Talented. Here's another video by (drum roll, please) -- The Voca People. (I wrote about them this past May, here.)



If the every nation worked on kindness and generosity to others, getting "Geshmack" divrei Torah and making people laugh with great performances by talented people, THE WORLD WOULD BE A BETTER PLACE!

(You know, with the two of us still unemployed, I really could use some royalties and commission from these free plugs...could someone--anyone--please support this blog??!)

(*btw, Haveil Havalim is UP, at Jack's.)

While the Monkeys Swing from the Trees, the Civilized Learn and Discover. . .

While the Palestinians and other Muslims are rioting, burning cars, boycotting Israeli products, beheading infidels, beating women, stabbing guards, blowing themselves up in the midst of civilians and murdering soldiers on Army bases,



A United States and Israeli team (should I assume Christians and, yes-- J-E-W-S ?) are studying supernova and discovering exploding stars.







*Copyright alert: No infringement of any text or graphic copyright is ever intended on this blog. If you own the copyright to any original image or document used for the creation of the graphics or information on this site, please contact the blog administrator with all pertinent info so that proper credit can be given. If you wish to have it removed from the site, just say the word; it shall be, ASAP.

Murder at Ft. Hood: a Coward Strikes

A major who was a psychiatrist in the United States Army who treated soldiers with PTSD, went on a rampage today and gunned down now 13 people, injuring 31 or so more, at Ft. Hood, Texas. He was about to be deployed to Afghanistan.

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Everyone is trying to figure out what his motives were for doing this horrific deed. The pundits are attributing possible political motives to his actions, as he had made statements that Muslims in Iraq should 'rise up against the Americans' and he spoke about 'suicide bombings' as an effective way to kill soldiers. Oh, by the way--his name is Major Malik Nadal Hassan, a Virginia-born Muslim who chose "Palestinian" as his nationality. (Did you expect anything different?)

He signed up for medical school, joining the Army after high school and completing college. The Army paid for all of it--at least six years. He worked at Walter Reed (and got a poor work evaluation, to boot)--but now it was Army-payback time; he was about to be deployed, and was petrified.

How about this for a theory as to his motives: let's try Occam's razor: the simplest explanation is usually the right one. Major Malik Nadal Hassan used the army to breeze through college and medical school on their paycheck, and now that he was about to go into a war zone to give back to the Army, he backed out, as cowards do, rather than risk his life like the soldier he was supposed to be, he ran around murdering twelve thirteen people and wounding thirty-one others.

It's something like the Jihadists running around shooting babies in the head, blowing up buses filled with women and children, or--how about hiding weapons-smuggling tunnel-entrances and rocket launchers under the bathroom sinks of civilian families?--you know, the way they did in Gaza, as were discovered during Operation Cast Lead.

All Major Hassan wanted--was a free ride from the Army. He knew very well what he was heading towards. After all, he himself counseled soldiers who returned from Iraq and Afghanistan, and dealt with their Post Traumatic Stresses. Anything was better than that. . .

Hey, didja notice that 99% of these cowardly atrocities are perpetrated by--you got it--let's hear it for those brave Muslims!

Dr. Siderer's Questions: Goldstone Has No Answers

U.N. Watch has done it again--brought to light testimony by an Israeli physician who was injured along with her patients when her clinic was attacked by rockets from Gaza. In the course of her formidable speech at the U.N. she asked several important questions of Judge Goldstone, which he totally ignored. The full text of the speech is below the video (emphasis mine).




UN Watch Oral Statement
Delivered by Dr. Mirela Siderer, 29 September 2009
Agenda Item 7: Report of the fact-finding mission on Gaza

My name is Dr. Mirela Siderer. I am a gynecologist living in Ashkelon, Israel.

Judge Richard Goldstone, in July you invited me to testify. I told you my story. I am known by my patients -- including many women from Gaza. For me, every human being is equal.

On May 14, 2008, my life was changed forever. I was working in my clinic. Suddenly, the building was hit by a missile, fired from Gaza. I was terribly wounded. Blood was everywhere. My patient was also wounded, and more than 100 others. Next month will be my eighth operation.

Judge Goldstone, I told you all of this, in detail. I testified in good faith. You sent me this letter, saying, "Your testimony is an essential part of the Mission's fact-finding activities."

But now I see your report. I have to tell you: I am shocked.

Judge Goldstone, in a 500-page report, why did you completely ignore my story? My name appears only in passing, in brackets, in a technical context. I feel humiliated.

Why are there only two pages about Israeli victims like me, who suffered thousands of rockets over eight years? Why did you choose to focus on the period of my country's response, but not on that of the attacks that caused it? Why did you not tell me that this council judged Israel guilty in advance, in its meeting of last January? Why did you not tell me that members of your panel signed public letters judging Israel guilty in advance?

Judge Goldstone, you, too, signed such a letter, saying you were "shocked" about Gaza. But where were you when Gaza attacked my medical clinic, in violation of international human rights and humanitarian law? Where was this council? Why were you all silent?


Goldstone’s Response:

With regard to the statement made by Dr. Siderer, I’m clearly upset that she feels humiliated by the report. She was treated in the report in no way different to that of other victims who spoke to us. She was referred to in the report as one of the people who was injured as a result of a rocket attack on a shopping center in Southern Israel. The report also refers to the fact that the evidence of the people who gave evidence to us are available on the website of the OHCHR. It is there for anybody to see.

____________

UN Watch Note: Dr. Siderer posed 8 simple questions. Goldstone avoided all except one, and on this was non-responsive and misleading. Dr. Siderer never said that she wasn’t “referred to,” but rather complained that her story was ignored, and that her name was mentioned only “in passing, in brackets, in a technical context;” and that this underscored how he overlooked 8 years of suffering of the rocket victims. Here is Dr. Siderer's original testimony; here is Goldstone's report. Search her name -- it turns up but once, in passing, in par. 1640. Goldstone' s claim that other witnesses were given similar treatment is manifestly false: see, e.g., the report's repeated and in-depth discussion of witness Abu Askar. What is clear is that the report gives short shrift to Israeli suffering by its selective focus on the period of Israel's response to the rocket attacks (Dec. 2008 and Jan. 2009), instead of to the attacks themselves (2001-2009).

Leonid Meteor Shower: Impact?

I know this is an annual event (my husband just tonight alerted me to it's impending appearance)--the Leonid meteor shower--but I am still reeling from the video we saw last night, a 3-hour production made from the TV mini-series, "Impact."

It is a science-fiction story about a meteor shower during which a brown dwarf crashes into the moon and jars it out of it's orbit, putting it on a collision course with Earth. The brown dwarf embedded in the moon also has a mass twice the mass of Earth and a strong magnetic and gravitational pull, and wreaks havoc on Earth with intermittent EMP events and gravitational anomalies. I have no idea whether or not this is scientifically possible, but I have to admit, the premise gave me pause.

Now, with the Leonid Meteor Shower about to present on or about November 17th, I am thinking, we are so vulnerable here on our little lonely planet, out there by itself in vast space. . .

Ok, enough of that. What we'll do is just break out the ol' telescope (yes, we have one), and prepare to watch it. Hope it's beautiful; and nothing more.




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