Our future is youth, AI, ChatGPT… They will lead the world, maybe they are already leading it.
Our lead story, a tragic one, is "Before He became a Hostage, Hersh had been a Person". It is an interview by Itai Corney with Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the mother of Hersh, the hostage who was murdered. Itai is a mere 13 years old. "A Philosophy of Joy" is a conversation that Miri Polis, a high school student, holds with Nahariya's Musical Ambassador. This is the third story by Miri that we have published. In the article "A Collective Yearning for Peace" you can read the literary works of two Arab high-school students who actively try to promote peace and hope for peace by participating in "Debate for Peace" and international writing competitions on Hope. We held an evening of tribute to students who participate in ESRA's prime project, Students Build a Community, now in four cities where they tutor disadvantaged neighborhood kids.
Lest you think it is only about youth, Philip Brooks, at 75, coaches English at an Arab school in Tira - he writes: "I saw this as an
opportunity to obtain a better understanding of our neighbors". For inspiration, read Aviva Lavi's "Ironwoman at 65", an endeavor of physical and mental strength. Steffa Reis, an artist aged 94, goes daily to her studio to paint pictures. Barbara Blum celebrated her 100th birthday at Beth Protea.
A Pesach illustration adorns the cover of this issue. It is by artist Alina Aimel, the daughter of a Jewish mother and a Tartar father. She writes lovingly about the differences of her grandmothers in her article, a "Mixed Cultural Heritage".
As always, we remember the Holocaust. Elizabeth Levi Senigaglia wrote a moving story entitled "Miracle in Terezin", the concentration camp near Prague, about a Jewish conductor, Rafael Schaecter, who performed Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem in 16 concerts with four soloists, a chorus of 150 singers and a piano in lieu of an orchestra. To achieve this, he had to teach and rehearse with over 500 prisoners, because the Nazis kept sending the singers to Auschwitz to be exterminated. The rows of white chairs laid out at the Beth Protea retirement home for residents to sit on during rocket attacks, brought back to Werner Bachmann memories of how he and his family were rescued to Sweden with 7,000 other Jewish Danes, in rows of White Busses.
Israel's never-ending wars evoke memories. Galia Miller Sprung's story is about "Coping Through Wars – Our Enduring Strength" and the one aspect that has never changed: the way we Israelis— civilians and soldiers — have coped with the realities of each different and grueling conflict. Sharonne Tidhar describes her memories of our war with Iran – the shards, sirens and shoelaces. Wendy Blumfield has to descend 58 steps to the shelter, and wait there for 10 minutes after the Boom Boom. The ESRA War Fund has given financial aid to 227 families amounting to NIS 454,000 since October 2023.
Love of Israel prevails, despite all. Yitzhak Maron remembers his emotional Aliyah from South Africa to Israel. Maria Peakin, who lives in London, volunteered at an Aliyah Fair in north London, organized by the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency with the theme "Explore your Future in Israel" to offer information and inspiration for those considering this life-changing move. Sharonne Tidhar, writes in her poem "An Ode to Israel" that for her Israel "It's a person—one you can truly love, not just for beauty, but for soul, for grit, for the stubborn resilience that refuses to be extinguished."
Lydia Aisenberg discovers the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens which offers access to the wondrous world of nature, with displays of exotic plants, flowers, fruits and more —all arranged by geographical regions. She describes the Kursi National Park with the impressive remains of a Byzantine church full of colorful mosaic floors, an ancient olive press and a marble lined Roman Bath — all a short walk away from the wreck of a turretless "blast from the past" German-manufactured Panzer 4 tank, once owned by the Syrian Army.
You'll enjoy reading "The Pierre Cardin Suit" by Edie Maddy-Weitzman, "Which came first, the Chicken or the Egg" by Isabel Berman, "On the other Hand" for lefties, the fascinating "Journey through Fire and Vision" of Avi Jorisch, "There used to be a Hotel here" by Dolores Greenberg, "Those were the Days" by Eli Libenson, "Promises Kept" by Morton Leibowitz, and of course, Jennia Chodorov's jokes in "Laugh out Loud".
Shlomo Liberman describes and illustrates his journey to the Jewish Catacombs and Remnants along the Adriatic Coast; Betty Shlomi writes of her trip to Berlin in 2010.
Bridge 'Redouble Trouble' by Stephen Freeman; a wine interview with Show R. Shai by Martin Sinkoff; legal articles by Adv. Assaf Hasson and Dr. Guy Carmi; English Theater returns to Ashkelon; book reviews; a New Year special - Activity Pages for Kids to fill in; and our Crossword.
Happy New Year to you and thank you for your support and encouragement.