Once again a miracle has happened! We have gotten together our 208th ESRA Magazine thanks to you, our writers, our editorial board members, our proofreaders, Neville who handles the adverts, and our totally involved graphic designers, Liora and Nitzan.
Esoteric it is, but that is its uniqueness and charm.
So what's special in 208? An inspiring Pesach related article by the illustrious Rabbi Jonathan Sacks who recently died. He talks about the duty of parents to educate their children, relating it to the Exodus and parshat Bo. Also on Pesach, Rabbi Gail Shuster-Bousika illustrates organizing a seder on her own due to the pandemic.
Sylvan Adams, originally from Canada, is a passionate Zionist and amateur cyclist. Pamela Peled writes of how Sylvan brought to Israel in 2018 the Giro d'Italia, the first time the Giro had taken place out of Europe - it cost Sylvan 20 million dollars, And in 2019 he flew Madonna to Israel as a guest of Eurovision so that 300 million world viewers could see the good stuff and beauty in Israel.
Another great philanthropist for Israel was Sir Moses Montefiore and you can read Richard Gordon's story about how in 1857 he built the windmill in Jerusalem to give the impoverished Jewish population access to low cost flour, has been restored into a museum with café, wine-tasting and educational activities.
Congratulations to Kay Wilson, author of The Rage Less Traveled, on receiving the Atlanta Israel Coalition's Impact Award. Kay, who was severely injured and her friend brutally murdered when they were attacked by terrorists in the Jerusalem Forest, turned her life horror into becoming a fierce advocate lobbying Western governments to end their aid that rewards terrorists. She is inspirational.
Art lovers will enjoy several articles that are featured. Our beautiful cover is by Jaffa artist Aurore Vigne who is interviewed by Ilana Shap; Frank Mecklenberg discovered artist Alexander Bainov in Arad, who adorns the walls of buildings in his neighborhood with his paintings. Artist Peter Viner does wonders for our eye, combining art and landscape - he has created on the Gilboa mountain range an artwork from grains, 100 Years in memory of the early settlers who labored to drain the swamps to create fertile fields. Marian Lebor tells us about photographer Carole Glauber who has published a photo book on her Unique Personal History. If you take good photographs, ESRA invites you to take part in a photographic competition on nature – the best photographs will be published on our 2021 – 2022 ESRA Calendar.
The peace treaty with the United Arab Emirates is an historic moment in Israel's relationship with our neighbors – Loretta Belik writes excitedly of her impressions when she traveled recently to Dubai where she felt an instant inclusion and welcome.
The struggle for saving our environment is uppermost in Alice Miller's life. She writes of her search for the Milky Way in Israel which is so hard to find in our skies which have become so polluted with light. Alice, by the way, was the soldier who 'fought' the IDF to be allowed to become a pilot, and some of you may remember her mother, Brenda Miller, who gave incredible lectures to ESRAites on music.
For those of you who love the environment and are so aware of its beauties, read Honey Stollman's article on the delights of the Ramat Gan National Park where her heart expands and a sense of tranquility enters her being; and Harry Glauber's sensitivity to sounds that he hears from his apartment in Raanana – the birds, the children, the prayers, the choir, and even the trash trucks.
Strong memories from the past… Lydia Aisenberg reminds us of the ten years since the ferocious forest fire in the Carmel range which destroyed 2,500 acres, 5 million trees, killing wildlife, burning homes, and above all, 41 firefighters and police lost their lives. Serah Beizer tells us how Finland stands as a model for its behavior to its Jewish citizens as it refused to turn them over to the Gestapo during World War II. Joe Schwarz did a roots trip to Germany in 2016. Sender Lees took part in the very first March of the Living in 1988. Siri Jones-Rosen shares the famous sail on the Bilu in 1964 when she and her father sailed from Naples to Haifa. Sara Rabani relives her nursing studies in Manchester in 1968 – 1972 when she lived and breathed nursing six days a week.
The pandemic almost wiped out our cultural activities. But some valiant people did everything they could think of to keep alive what they could. So Daniella and Grant Crankshaw, three months after they opened their English language theater Center Stage in Raanana, confronted by the lockdown created Zoom performances to keep alive their theater.
You can revel in seven pages of book reviews, and get ideas of what you would like to read. If you want to actively give to the community, why not tutor English, or befriend lonely people, or give counseling to people in stress, ESRA can help you. You too can help ESRA continue to exist by remembering us in your will.
To conclude, Naomi Ariel in her ConsumerWatch asks why people have to be hungry, why Israel talks of children hungry in Israel. She remembers growing up in England during the war when there was little food or money, and how they ate wholesome foods that filled their stomachs, like oatmeal porridge, which I too eat and love.