Drumming on Heart Strings

Hospital Wing & Teenager

Wing (below)

It was a privilege to visit, together with a group visiting from the UK, the village of Aleh Hanegev, located not more than a few kilometers from the Gazan border. The UK team had raised funds to finance the equipment in a room dealing with seriously disabled teenagers.

Aleh believes that every child, regardless of the severity of the physical or cognitive disability, has the right to benefit from the best available care and develop to his or her fullest potential. The first home was established in 1982, and today Aleh is Israel's largest and most advanced network of residential facilities for children with severe disabilities.

Approximately 650 severely disabled Jewish children are receiving top quality medical, educational and rehabilitative care at branches in

Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Gedera and the Negev.

Aleh cares for children with medical conditions such as autism, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome, as well as genetic disorders including Tay-Sachs, Canavan disease and Rett syndrome. Many of them are learning how to overcome their handicaps and do the things that other children do, such as climb on jungle gyms, splash in the pool, finger paint, sing and dance. Others are learning how to eat and how to get dressed by themselves. They are also discovering how to communicate with the outside world, and some of them are now able to say those three important words: "I love you."

One story really touches the heart strings:-

“Avi’s birth was extremely traumatic, with serious complications resulting in a lack of oxygen as he was born. Unfortunately the damage was irreversible and Avi was left severely cognitively and physically disabled in addition to being blind.

His parents, without the resources to provide for his very specialized needs, brought him to Aleh. There, they hoped, Avi would be cared for, loved, and maybe even learn to respond to those around him.

At Aleh, Avi was indeed loved and cared for. His specialized feeding needs, daily medical care and therapies were all meticulously provided, and Avi grew into a beautiful boy with soft brown eyes. Unfortunately, however, those eyes were often glassy and remote.

Avi was completely engrossed in his own restricted world. He spent hours repeating the same activity or motion again and again. Aleh’s staff tried numerous approaches to connect with him, but he seemed unable to break through the barriers of silence surrounding him.

Until one day, when a miraculous breakthrough occurred in the form of Shai, an Israeli drummer with a heart that matches his incredible talent. Shai plays with Israel’s most popular bands, including performer Danny Sanderson. Looking for a way to share his unique blend of music, song and joy with vulnerable children, Shai began volunteering at Aleh on a steady basis.

Working with small groups of children at a time, Shai paid special notice to each child’s reactions and responses to his beat. Suddenly, little Avi caught his attention as he rhythmically tapped on his drum. Sitting in his wheelchair, calm and relaxed, Avi was copying his beat exactly with the palms of his hands!

The two continued playing together, as the celebrated drummer and the disabled little boy found a common language and connection that broke through all barriers. Week after week, Shai and Avi joined together in creating a concert of love and hope, of feeling and spirit. And the two have been best friends ever since.

The miracle of Avi’s breakthrough has led to his growth and development in every area. Today Avi smiles at familiar faces. He is a more active participant in daily activities. The concert of his life plays daily, as we witness his spirit come alive again with every music session.”

This is the real, compassionate Israel. During the visit we were told of the reaction of the staff, which consists of Israelis, Palestinians, Bedouin and Christians, to the outbreak of war in Gaza in 2008-9. The staff obviously had their own opinions of the war but at a staff meeting they joined hands and agreed that politics would not enter the walls of the center, the treatment of the occupants was paramount. Now, that should be newsworthy, but of course it ain't

Gush Katif Revisited

Having some time to spare between meetings in Jerusalem, I used the opportunity to visit the Gush Katif museum which was established just two years ago.

Most people seem to think of the settlement of the Gaza strip as a recent phenomenon, an outcome of the 6 day war in 1967. However, the museum traces the Jewish communities existence in the strip from way back in 145 BCE.

Below is the chronicle of their history, I hope you find it interesting.

145 BCE Jewish settlements started in Gaza, following the battles of Simon, the Hasmonean

61 BCE Governor of Syria exiles Jews from Gaza

508-9 BCE Largest synagogue built during Roman Byzantine occupation

700 CE Destroyed by Arab conquest

1400-1500 Israel conquered and Turkish occupation begins. At this time, the expansion of the Jewish community begins

1799 Napolean’s failure to conquer Israel affects the Jews in Gaza and they flee the city and settle in Hebron

1835 Egyptian ruler orders synagogue to be dismantled and stones used to build fortress in Majdal (Ashkelon)

1885 Renewed settlement in Gaza as part of wider plan to establish Jewish settlements throughout the country

1910 Jewish school founded in Gaza city

1917 Following outbreak of World War 1, the Turks expelled the residents of Gaza including the Jewish population, thus settlement in Gaza again came to an end.

1919 Jewish settlement again renewed, however in 1929 during the infamous Arab riots, the Arabs of Gaza sought to riot against the small Jewish community. The Jews barricaded themselves in the city’s hotel and the British managed to save them and transfer them to Tel Aviv in the middle of the night. Once again, the end of the Jewish community in Gaza

1946 After Yom Kippur ended, as part of the 11 points in the Negev settlement plan, the settlement of Kfar Darom was established. The kibbutz lasted for 18 months. During the war of independence 1948, the kibbutz staunchly defended against the Egyptian onslaught. In July ’48 the Chief of Staff ordered the abandonment.

1948 War of independence ended with Gaza and its locality from Bet Hanoun to Rafiah under Egyptian control, 200,000 Arabs fled into Gaza.

1956 During the military campaign, the Gaza strip was conquered by the IDF and a Nahal outpost establish at Rafiah

1957 Under pressure from the superpowers and the UN, the Strip was evacuated

1967 After 4 days of fighting the IDF captured the Strip and thus began the chapter Israel’s 38 years of rule which ended in 2005

"If Music Be the Food of Love"

Thus spoke Duke Orsino in Shalespeare's "Twelfth Night". And, if this is true, then the efforts of the Jerusalem Music Center in general and the family of my good friend who died some 11 years ago, will surely bring love not war to this region.

We attended, what was for us, a unique evening at the Jerusalem Music Center (JMC) for the launch of a sponsored program aimed at the development of young musicians.

The JMC is situated in one of Jerusalem’s most picturesque corners, see photograph, in the first Jewish neighborhood established outside the walls of the old city.

The Center has the mission of nurturing young musicians from the whole spectrum of Israeli society. It provides opportunities for Israeli music students to meet and learn from internationally renowned artists.

The special evening to which we were invited was to launch the David Goldman program for outstanding young musicians in conjunction with the Jerusalm foundation. As close friends of the Goldman family from our life in the UK, it was an emotional evening as it was attended by the late David's widow and her children and grandchildren.

The family have supported young musicians also in the UK but here in Jerusalem, these young talented people have a unique opportunity in a unique setting.

We were treated to performances by a number of quartets during the evening and were able to mingle with the students for coffee and cake at the end of the evening.

A prime aim of the center is also to develop co-existence and it seems this aim is succeeding. Let's hope that "the food of love" takes the place of hatred and jealously and helps to build a better future for all.

Moving closer to stem cell therapy

An Israeli discovery allowing stem cells to be cultivated in quantities ample enough to meet the world's needs means that stem cell therapy could soon be within the reach of millions.

Mass-market manufacture of stem cells is closer than ever after a breakthrough by researchers from Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem's Hadassah University Medical Center has announced a breakthrough in methods for cultivating embryonic stem cells that enables the next step in the development of stem cell therapy, and the world has taken notice.

Citing medical breakthroughs in the scientific community can be irresponsible. Such announcements can raise expectations and false hopes for cures that are plausible only decades in the future, or even impossible to attain.

However, Hadassah's advance, as the scientists report in the prestigious journal Nature Biotechnology, takes stem cell researchers closer to realizing their dream of manufacturing mass market stem cell treatments for disorders such as Parkinson's disease, diabetes and age-related macular degeneration.

Lead researcher in the Hadassah study, Prof. Benjamin Reubinoff, director of the Hadassah Human Embryonic Stem Cells Research Center and an established and recognized researcher in the field, reports to ISRAEL21c that stem cell therapy applications are not just science fiction.

Within the next year or two, companies in the US and Hadassah's technology company in Israel will start clinical trials on humans. His center's advance - a novel technique that allows researchers to grow and cultivate embryonic cells in suspension - paves the way for making this therapy available to everyone, not just the rich.

See full story at http://tinyurl.com/28nnmv3

Archeological investigation in the Land of Israel

There are some 20,000 recognized sites of antiquity in Israel that are protected by law. Every year, dozens of sites from every period of history and in all parts of the country are excavated. Licenses to excavate are issued to expeditions - from Israel and abroad - by the Israel Antiquities Authority, which is entrusted with the preservation of the country's antiquities. Israel's Antiquities Law requires every site slated for construction to be examined for archeological remains and a salvage excavation to be conducted if deemed necessary. The state also has the right to preserve finds of public interest; some of the more important of these are exhibited at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

Archeological research in Israel accords much importance to the fact that the country is the home of the spiritual heritage of the great monotheistic religions. Above all it clearly reveals the historical link between the Jewish people, the Bible and the Land of Israel, uncovering the remains of the cultural heritage of the Jewish people in its homeland. These visible remains, buried in the soil, constitute the physical link between the past, the present and the future of the Jewish people in its country.

See full report at http://tinyurl.com/36b6ahr

And now an amazing result from a dig showing proof of 2,000 years of water in Jerusalem. A spectacular arched bridge that was part of the ancient aqueduct which conveyed water to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem was exposed in archaeological excavations the Israel Antiquities Authority conducted near the Sultan's Pool

Work on the city's modern water infrastructure uncovered a section of Jerusalem's ancient aqueduct. While the Gihon Corporation was working on the sewage infrastructure in the vicinity of the Sultan's Pool in the Jerusalem Walls National Park, a section of Jerusalem's ancient aqueduct was discovered.

In the wake of this discovery, the Israel Antiquities Authority conducted an excavation in which a spectacular arched bridge was revealed that was part of the very old aqueduct that conveyed water to the Temple Mount.

The bridge was built in 1320 CE (in the Mamluke period) by Sultan Nasser al-Din Muhammed Ibn Qalawun, as evidenced by the dedicatory inscription set in it; however, it was apparently constructed to replace an earlier bridge dating to the time of the Second Temple period that was part of the original aqueduct."

See http://tinyurl.com/3xaj5ml

We Can or We Can't

The phrase "YES WE CAN" caught the imagination of the American electorate. The following article applying this to the conflict in the Middle East, perhaps should cause Obama to read the following:-

YES WE CAN – hold on to Cuban territory (Guantanamo Bay), and refuse the demands of the Cuban administration to return the area – yet at the same time demand that Israel transfer Abu Dis (a neighborhood in East Jerusalem) to Palestinian Authority control BEFORE negotiations are even begun.

YES WE CAN – incarcerate Iraqi and Afghan POWs in inhuman conditions – stating that because Guantanamo is not on U.S. soil, the prisoners have no rights under the U.S. Constitution, and, at the same time, demand that Israel release Palestinian terrorists as a gesture of goodwill to Abu Mazen.

YES WE CAN – send U.S. military forces to fight against any regime deemed to endanger U.S. interests – Vietnam, Panama, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. – yet, in the same breath, demand that Israel relinquish Judea and Samaria without receiving any security guarantees.

YES WE CAN – treat the Israeli Prime Minister like the chieftain of an Indian reservation who has come to visit the White House.

YES … YOU … CAN – because you are a Great Power, for which everything is permitted and justified.

But let's point out what YOU CAN’T…

NO YOU CAN’T – understand the Middle East mentality. You are unable to understand this different culture; you cannot comprehend that as long as the Palestinian Arabs believe that the State of Israel can be destroyed, there is no reason for them to enter true negotiations on coexistence and a two-state solution.

NO YOU CAN’T – influence the Palestinian Authority to change its Charter, calling for the destruction of the State of Israel.

NO YOU CAN’T – influence the Palestinian Arabs to recognize that the people of Israel have the inalienable right to live within the 1967 borders.

NO YOU CAN’T – influence the Palestinian Arabs to accept the fact that the Jews have a centuries-old attachment to the Land of Israel.

NO YOU CAN’T – prevent the Palestinian education system from teaching hatred and jihad – holy war – against Israel.

Only if – and when – you are able to change the NO YOU CAN’T's into YES WE CAN's, will I believe in the U.S. commitment to the continued existence of the State of Israel.

Even Palestinian Journalist Can't Report What They See

Last week a delegation of journalists from the West Bank and Gaza met with Israeli journalists in order to try to build bridges. The atmosphere was very friendly but there were natural differences of opinion. The Palestinian journalists commented on their lack of freedom of movement particularly in Gaza and also significant censorship by Hamas.

Thus an initiative created some dialogue where there had been none in the past.

Within a few days of this meeting, the same Palestinian journalists have now been condemned as "collaborators". They now face expulsion from the Fatah controlled Palestinian Journalists Syndicate on charges of promoting normalisation with Israel. This syndicate is to meet in the coming days to discuss punitive measures against any journalist who defies the ban on normalisation. The incident has been defined as a "tragedy" .

And the Western media persists on quoting reports from such journalistic organisation in Gaza and the West Bank, perceiving them as the "truth".

A total lack of objectivity in reporting on the Middle East is propagating the Anti Israel feelings around the world and creating an even greater concensus within the country.