Saturday, July 7, 2012

War and Childhood


It was the night of the 22nd of May 1967. I had already been put to bed, when our neighbors Hana and Motti stormed in. My bedroom door, muffling their voices, could not mask the heated atmosphere in the other room. Nut my suspense did not last long. Rushing into my room, my mother cried, “Quickly. Put on your clothes. We are going to Grandpa's to watch the news!”

A three-quarter moon lit our way through the valley. A lone male Little Owl was screeching monotonously in the distance and I, holding my parents hands, was dragged up the hill faster than my legs could carry me. “Faster!” my father, my father, kept rushing us impatiently. “We mustn't miss the news.”

My grandparent's door was open, the place full of neighbors. Grandpa, on his knees, attempting to reduce the flickering of the image, was turning the television channel button. All around discussions, arguments, excited voices. “Quiet!” everybody hushed everyone else once the image of a large clock, its second-hand ticking towards the twelve, took over the screen. Five seconds to the English news ... four … three, the room turned silent. Only my father spoke, translating the words of the announcer. In the background Gamal Abdel Nasser, the president of Egypt, gave a speech.

"The Jews threaten us with war and we say to them, ahlan wa shlan, you are welcome. Rabin we are waiting for you. We are ready! We will not accept any coexistence with Israel. Today the issue is not the establishment of peace between the Arab states and Israel. Our basic objective will be the destruction of Israel. The Arab people want to fight…”

An image of a map replaced Nasser's speech. The announcer kept talking. Abba did not. “Why did you stop? What's he saying? Can anyone tell what’s going on?” The atmosphere in the room was clearly irritated, nervous, anxious. Everybody's stares were directed at my father.

“It is confirmed,” my father's whisper roared in the silenced room. “Nasser has blocked the Straits of Tiran … Another war is imminent.”

A question from the Honest Guru


If Jesus lived today, could he create Christianity without a blog, a Facebook twitter accounts?

Friday, July 6, 2012

Quotes From the Honest Guru: Life Choices



An entire generation goes to school to study subjects they have no interest in, so that they could find employment they don’t like, to afford things they don't need.