Conference taveng::bagels

since i started the topic, i'll go first.

for several days now, israel has done something that i doubt many nations 
could do: nothing in the face of attack of a vicious enemy.  i doubt that 
the U.S. or any other nation would have shown the restraint.

that restraint has cost people their lives, homes and put a pall of tension, 
wondering when the next attack will come, where it will hit.  i can't even 
fathom what it must be like.  

my sincere respect and gratitude for the lesson you have taught the world.
my prayers are with you for the anguish that restraint has caused.  response 
against this aggression would not diminish this lesson for me.

my constant prayers are with you for your safety and for the safety of 
israel.

g.

    I'll go next...
    
    Obviously, I cannot even imagine the way an Israeli citizen must feel
    about all of this, but I *do* empathize.  As each SCUD is reported, my
    heart leaps with fear for those who might be injured, my prayers go out
    to those who must live with the sound of the sirens ruling their daily
    activities.  As I read each report, each anecdote, from those of you in
    Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, I wonder, of course, how I would feel in your
    place.  Would I take the time to post reassuring notes to my brothers
    and sisters far from "the front"?  I don't know that I would, but I am
    so very grateful that Jonathon, Don, Monty, and all of the others *do*
    log in to this conference and ISRAEL_GULFWAR to let us know what they
    are feeling and thinking, what (within the guidelines of security) is
    happening.
    
    Like many American Jews, I (probably) have dozens of unknown relatives
    in Israel, as my paternal Grandmother had 11 siblings, seven of whom
    are known to have survived Hilter's horrors, and moved on to Israel
    after the war.  Bubbe lost track of all of her siblings before I was
    born.  I also have a cousin who moved to a kibbutz in the Galilee (I
    think) when I was quite young and cut most of her family ties in the
    states.  That only makes the conflict slightly more personal, since I
    am not close to these relatives.  
    
    On the other hand, reading the personal messages of our co-workers in
    Israel makes a stronger connection; we are already bound by our common
    work goals, our religion, and our joint heritage.  The ability to be
    "with" you all in this time of crisis gladdens my heart, even as the
    crisis itself cuts me to the quick.
    
    May G-d protect you all, keep you safe, and may we all know the joy of
    a speedy resolution to this war.  Would that I could send each and
    every Israeli I have "gotten to know" through this conference a
    personal message of my support for you, but I know your disks are
    overloaded as it is!  
    
    When this is all over, none of us anywhere will remember it fondly, but
    we will, hopefully, have made new friends with whom we will
    electronically share our lives across the many miles that separate us
    physically.
    
    Please know, each of you in Israel, that my family prays for you and
    yours, for your neighbors, for all of you to be safe and well.
    
    G-d bless you all!
    
    Marla Goldman, Costa Mesa CA...
    
    P.S. -- As mentioned in 1032.1, I am more than willing to pass on
    messages to family and friends in the states....please, don't hesitate
    to message me! 

    Shalom,
    
    I can't begin to imagine what it feels like to be attacked without
    provocation, and I'm awed by Israel's strength in restraint.  NO other
    country would endure as much without responding by this point - and
    though almost all would agree Israel would be within their rights to
    respond, I'm amazed at the composure - saddened by the deaths,
    injuries, and destruction - but hopeful for Israel's future.
    
    I don't know how much this helps you all there, but please know that
    people from literally the world over are praying for the peace of
    Israel.
    
    May G-d continue to protect His holy land and His chosen people.
    
    Steve
    
    PS - I've been reading Psalms 121-126 and continue to pray for your
    peace.  Shalom!

i thought some of you in israel might like to know just what your messages 
mean to someone in the states.

yesterday, after writing this base message, i was sitting at my workstation, 
trying to get things done, with one ear on the news.  suddenly, i hear of 
the sirens and i opened the notesfiles, to find out more.  and i found 
aharon's notes, first that it was just getting too intense to talk about, 
then that the sirens were wailing and finally, the wonderful message about 
the scud being shot down.

it probably would have come on the news in a couple of minutes, but somehow, 
hearing it from someone who is THERE, made it mean so much more.

your support of those who are concerned for you, who pray for you is such a 
blessing.  

thank-you.

g.

I am a Jew from Brookline, Massachusetts.  In my community we have many
friends and relatives in Israel.  The rabbi of my synagogue was in Israel
until two days before the war.  

Many of my friends pulled their sons and daughters out of Israel at the
first smell of trouble.  Others chose to stay and support and defend
Israel.  My best friend's daughter is in Jerusalem.  All of us have at 
least one friend or family member in Israel.

This conference has been a wonderful touchstone for us.  It has been good 
to be able to feel with you some of what is happening.  We feel so helpless.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us.

Last Sunday I went to a rally in Newton in support of Israel.  It was not
announced in the paper (to avoid inviting terrorists), it was announced
only by word, telephone chains, announcements in synagogues. I'm not a good
crowd-counter, but there must have been about 3,000 people there.  We are
with you in spirit, buying bonds, writing letters, calling friends and
family in Israel. 

One of my favorite quotes from Sunday was that since war broke out in the
Gulf, 900 Soviet emigres have arrived in Israel.  Even in wartime they
choose to leave the Soviet Union and go to Israel.  Rabbi Stern talked with
some of them at the airport while they were receiving and learning how to
use their welcome presents -- their gas masks.  He asked one man how long
he had waited for his exit visa.  "Meine ganze leben," he replied -- my
whole life. 

Israel is not just a place to send your kids after their bar mitzvah.  One
of the speakers said Sunday that Jews fled Poland, Jews flee the Soviet
Union, but Jews do not flee from Israel.  This is our homeland, yours and
ours. Whatever disagreements we may sometimes have with government
policies, or with specific actions as reported in the press, we respect the
extreme delicacy of the situation and have faith that you will do your very
best. 

The press here reports both sides as usual.  The Palestinian propagandists 
are out there still working hard, but I think their arguments are looking 
more and more transparent.  The Israeli officials who have appeared on TV 
have made an excellent impression with sensible, reasoned arguments.  

There was an interview on television with a Palestinian student in Newton.
Among other things, he criticized the Israeli government for the way the
gas masks were distributed among Palestinians.  He said that not everyone
had one, and that many of them did not work.  (I noticed more than one
account in these notes of Israelis finding gas masks with missing parts, so
I'm sure there was some failure rate.)  At the same time we saw on the news
that many Orthodox Jews in Israel rushed to get their gas masks at the last
minute before Shabbat.  I wondered how many of these Palestinians had, like
those Jewish Israelis, chosen not to pick up their gas mask and then -- too
late -- thought better of it.  I wondered how many other middle eastern
countries would have distributed gas masks to the revolutionary group which
is encouraging Saddam Hussein to send gas.  How many countries would have
permitted an openly revolutionary group within their borders to even
express dissent.  How many would have permitted their press to report it. 
How many would have permitted the Intafada to go on this long and would
have exercised such restraint.  Look at how Saddam Hussein handled the
Kurds. . . . 

During WaterGate when I, like so many Americans, was feeling ashamed of 
America, I had a long talk with a journalist friend in Washington.  He said 
that he thought we should take PRIDE in WaterGate -- that this sort of 
thing happened every day in every country of the world, and we should take 
pride that in America, as in very few countries, we were TALKING about 
it!  in most countries it would have been vigorously hushed up.

I hope that one of the good things to come of this awful time will be that
the world will see that Israel is a democratic country in a sea of
autocratic countries, a voice of reason in a sea of fanaticism.  With
democracy comes the risk that you will not always look good in the press.
If you allow people to talk freely, they won't always say what you'd like
them to say. They will report your flaws along with your excellence, and
not always in balance -- after all, the lurid sells more papers than the
cheerful.  And Israel, alone among its neighbors, is a democratic nation
with free enterprise and freedom of the press. 

I and many others are writing letters to Senators and Congressmen,
expressing our feelings about the war effort, about assistance to Israel,
about the issue of an international conference.  We have been silent too
long.  We have to be vocal.  We cannot assume that sentiment will always
flow one way, or that people with opposing opinions will not write in
greater numbers. 

You have a lot of friends in America.  I pray for your safety.  Be well.

Feel free to use me as a channel of communication, for yourself or others. 
I would be more than happy to help in any way. 

Shalom,
Joyce