Our Gluten Free Adventure...

Recently, my husband was diagnosed with a condition that requires him to go on a Gluten Free diet.

For Avraham, his world was turned upside down...having to change his diet, giving up some of his favorite foods, seemed like the end of the world. 

For me..learning the ins and outs of running a Gluten Free kitchen.

-learning about cross contamination & why it is so dangerous

-what to buy

-checking for the Gluten Free symbol

-finding new recipes

The first thing we did was check the pantry to see if we had any Gluten Free foods. To our surprise, only a couple of things were not acceptable. I sent them to Devorah.

Baruch Hashem for my daughter Naomi, who has been teaching me the ropes, and of course Whatsapp ...sending Naomi pictures of products while shopping ."is this okay or this..what should I buy" I can only imagine what other shoppers are thinking watching me.

I have learnt about rice flour, hummus flour, corn meal, potato flour, tapioca flour and the list goes on.

The difference between starches and flours and when to use each.

Many Gluten Foods contain sugar, something I avoid being a diabetic. This is another challenge for me.

Surfing the internet, reading articles about GF and searching for companies that produce GF products. Eventually, I did find several and even one in Netivot that produces many of the products we want to buy..  

The local grocery stores are carrying GF bread in their freezer, pizza, baked goods and so on. Willy Foods, a food broker, supplies the grocery stores with so many everyday GF products, and so does B&D have several products that we use. Truthfully, many Israeli food manufactures have a GF line. The main problem for me is finding the right flour. I want to bake bread & cakes....GF bread is very expensive. 

Avraham has been enjoying different GF breads [he tried an Italian bread and a flax seed bread that he really enjoyed], bourekas and pasta, even though he isn't a pasta fan. He was surprised how many foods are GF.

When shopping Avraham found a good quality beer..and he was happy. He is saving it for Yom Haatzmaut...doesn't have long now.

Last week for Shabbat, I baked my first Gluten Free banana marble cake and it came out pretty good.

We receive many challenges in life, some are easy to handle, others are harder.  I learnt a long time ago, we never receive a challenge harder than our ability.  

And so our challenge for now is Gluten Free foods...I have no doubt we will succeed.................

If you have any suggestions on GF, send me a message.

Chag Sameach

Miriam  

MAZAL-TOV TO US...

בס''ד

Avraham and I were married 52 1/2 years ago on the 17th of Sivan 5727 (June 25 1967) in Chomedey, Quebec. 

Little did we dream at the time, that many years down the road we would be living in Eretz Yisrael and be grandparents and great-grandparents to beautiful tzabarim. All our grandchildren and great-grandchildren were born in Israel.

Last week, my husband and I were blessed with our 4th great-grandchild, a little girl born in Rehovot to our grandson Yoni [who was our first grandchild] and our granddaughter-in-law Tamar.

In honour of the birth, I added another Shabbat candle to my tray. I now light 26 candles. May they always bring much light. 

I love to watch my candles flicker, and I can thank Hashem for all the blessings in our lives... 3 great children, 2 wonderful sons-in-laws, 13 grandchildren, two more grandchildren by marriage and 4 great-grandchildren. We are really so blessed.

Twenty-six has deep meaning in Judaism. Twenty-six is the gematria number for the Hebrew letters of Hashem’s name (Hebrew: יקיק). According to Jewish tradition, Hashem gave the Torah to the 26th generation after Creation. . aish.com & Chabad.com 

How I wish my parents a”H and Avraham’s parents a”H were here today. How they would enjoy spending time with the children and marvel at all the accomplishments of their family which now numbers over 80+ 

May our family continue to grow and may we share much nachat.

Miriam 

Shabbat Morning....

בס''ד

Parsha Beresheit...

It is still dark
it is peaceful
it is quiet.

Slowly the day is starting
as the moon slips away
and the sun is rising
behind the fluffy clouds. 

The birds are soaring across the sky
chirping a lovely melody
as they search the ground for food.

Mother bird has found a piece of bread
placed safely in her beak
she flies away
to feed her children.

Big birds
enormous in size
little birds
as tiny as a speck
each with spectacular colours
sitting on top of a street light
with a bird’s eye view
I wonder what they are seeing.

For me
watching the birds
go about their day
marveling at the miracles of nature.
Hashem, who but You
could have created such a magnificent world.

Miriam

The Rocking Chair.............

בס''ד

A light entry this time...

I have a little story to tell about our rocking chair that sits dominantly in our living room.

This chair has a great history. Many memories, so let’s begin..

Fifty years ago, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. She was as sweet as sugar, but she was not a sleeper. Day & night Naomi wanted to be held and walked. My husband & I were falling off our feet.

One afternoon, I thought if I don’t get some sleep, I’m going to collapse... I was so overtired.  I called my parents, spoke to my father and asked him if he was busy.

Being the smart man that he was, he immediately said, “what do you need?” and I said “sleep”. He asked me if I could wait about half and hour and they would come over. What could I say but “sure”.

Half an hour later, they arrived carrying a very large package with a big red bow.

Unwrapping the package, my father said “this is not for you, it’s for Naomi”. 

The gift was a gorgeous rocking chair with a large rabbit decal on the seat. Naomi loved her rocking chair. I fed her sitting on the rocking chair, and when it was time for her to sleep, a few rocks back and forth and she was out cold. 

As she got older, we would sit on the rocking chair and I would read to her, and as a toddler, she would ‘read’ to her dolls.

This chair was by far the best gift I had received.

A couple of years later, Devorah was born and we introduced her to the rocking chair. Sometimes, when I fed Devorah, Naomi would squeeze onto the chair and the three of us would rock.

What fun that was!

The girls loved their chair. As they grew up, the rocking chair stood proudly in their room. No way did they want it moved to another room.

Going forward, Eli-Chaim joined our family. The chair became his and he loved it. We would spend hours rocking and reading, laughing, watching Sesame Street, and bonding. I remember these days like it was yesterday.

Our kids grew up and our chair was folded up and put in a corner.

Twenty-five years ago, we made Aliyah, and our rocking chair was one of the few things in our lift. 

Naomi, the baby who my parents bought the rocking chair for, was now a mother and I offered her the rocking chair.

I was so excited the second generation was going to enjoy the chair. 
When Devorah gave birth, the chair went to her. This chair was well travelled. 

Years later,when I saw the chair folded up and sitting in a corner of Devorah’s house, I asked if she still needed the chair and she said “no” and so I took it home.

At some point over the years, all our grandchildren enjoyed the chair. They drew pictures & stuck stickers all over it.  

I took photos as a memory, then sanded it down, painted it mahogany, bought nice blue cushions and placed it in the living room. 

My fifty year old chair is home. 

That’s all for now
Miriam

Epilogue: The rocking chair was a gift for Naomi, and for tired me, my parents treated me to a once a week cleaning lady for as long as I needed one. The first cleaning lady tried to preach to me...she lasted 2 hours. The second cleaning lady was too busy telling me how to cook. She lasted an hour and a half. The third one was also a winner.  I told my parents, how much I appreciated the offer, but I’m not a cleaning lady person to have under my feet. 

And so I learned to managed. And if the floor didn't get washed...my world didn't come to an end.......

Our Time of Sorrow

בס''ד

We are now in the last week of the Three Weeks. 

The Three Weeks, which started on July 20th and will end with Tisha B’Av, is a period of mourning commemorating the destruction of the first and second Jewish Temples 

From sunset Aug.10th to sunset August 11th, Jews around the world will fast.

A couple of years ago, I wrote this poem.

The day of sorrow,
The 9th of Av.
The blackest day,
We Jews know.

Hashem commanded us to fast. 
To give up our comforts.
To be kind and respect each other.

We read Megillah Eicha
And learn about
The destruction of 
Yerushalayim.

Why do we have this terrible day?
Is it because we cried for nothing so long ago?
Hashem said “you want to cry,
I’ll give you something to cry about.”

So many tragedies have struck
The Jewish people on the 9th of Av.
Many were murdered on the 9th of Av
In pogroms and the Holocaust
For no other reason than they were Jews. 

Moshiach, Moshiach, where are you?
“Come now, come now,” the people beg.
For we have suffered all our history.
And bring glory to this nation. 

Today we have a homeland.
Eretz Yisrael
Our precious land 
Given to us by
Hashem.

Yerushalayim
Our undivided eternal capital city
Forever.

Am Yisrael Chai!

That's all for now.
Have an easy fast.

Feel free to comment.
Miriam  

And We Remember.....

בס''ד

The headline from Arutz 7 screamed 
23,741 have fallen in Israel's wars

56 soldiers added to list of fallen soldiers in past year.

Next Tuesday evening May 7th and Wednesday, May 8th, Israel remembers our fallen soldiers who served with pride and honour.

Remembrance Day in Israel is called Yom HaZikaron. This is an official day enacted into law in 1963.

At the same time we also remember all the victims of terrorism with ceremonies.

Yom HaZikaron is totally different from Remembrance Day in North America, and anywhere else in the world.

Beside the official ceremonies in military cemeteries, all places of entertainment are closed. TV channels have only programming dedicated to the fallen soldiers and their families. Songs about Israel and the IDF are played on the radio.

We have two sirens on Yom HaZikaron. A one minute siren at 8:00 pm on Tuesday evening and a two minute siren at 11:00 am on Wednesday.

When the siren wails, life stops and we remember. On the roads, all traffic comes to a standstill with drivers and passengers standing beside their vehicle. Quite a sight to see.

The day ends with a state ceremony at Mount Herzl military cemetery and starts Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel Independence Day. This year we will be celebrating 71 years.

There are many events that take place. Have a look.. Yom Ha'Atzmaut Events

Several years ago I wrote a poem in memory of our chayalim simply called Thank-you....

Thank-you dear chayalim and chayalot of the Israel Defense Forces.

Thank-you

for your service

in defending our nation.

Thank-you dear reservist

for answering the call

so that our country will not fall.

Many have sacrificed their life

So that we can live in our homeland.

Baruch Dayan HaEmet

May your memory be a blessing.

To those who are now serving

all over our precious land

our prayers are with you.

May the Hand of the One Above

watch over you

night and day

and bring you home safely

 into the arms of your family.

That's all for now
Feel free to comment and share.
Miriam

Getting Ready for Pesach...

בס''ד

Pesach is one of my favorite holidays, but getting ready for Pesach was a different story.

It has taken me many years to learn and more to except the fact that 
dust is not chametz .

And if the windows are not cleaned that doesn't make my house not ready.

Years ago, when I was younger, Pesach cleaning started the day after Purim. Carefully, I would make a calendar and mark which room and which closet   would be done that day.

I followed my calendar as if it was holy.

Everything and I mean everything was scrubbed. In each bedroom and we had three, the walls washed from ceiling to floor. The floor scrubbed. The windows shined. The curtains washed and the furniture cleaned and polished.

When our children were young, their toys and dolls were scrubbed, books wiped down, and stuffed toys went thru the laundry

My neighbours would laugh when they would see the selection of stuffed toys hanging on the clothesline.

As my girls got older, they looked after their rooms. 

I remember my 4 year old son wanting to help. He took a box of cheerios, spread them all over the floor in his room and then called me to see ‘he was cleaning also’’. 

Lying flat on his stomach, with a rag, he was making piles of Cheerios to pick-up. As tired as I was, who could get angry, the picture was too precious.

Reaching the living room.... the scene was pretty much the same. A few times we rented the portable machine that cleaned carpets and sofas. It did a decent job, but it was hard work and the mess it made, wasn’t worth the trouble.

Down to the wire, 3 days before Pesach, it was finally the kitchens turn. Everyone helped scrub the appliances. The refrigerator, freezer [no self cleaning], stove, and oven. The appliances were moved so that I could wash the walls behind them.

How crazy I was in those days.... Meanwhile with very little chametzdik food in the house [I didn’t want any crumbs], my family starving [they survived], tempers flared. 

The last cleaning job was the washing and waxing the kitchen & dining area floor. 

We were now ready to start the foiling, every inch of counter space, the fridge shelves, stove and the sinks. 

The apartment ready for Pesach, just in time to do bedikat chametz.

Shlepping the Pesach dishes up from the basement and unpacking was my husband and children’s job. I don’t know why, but we saved the wrapping newspaper. 

Erev Pesach day, was a marathon of cooking, baking and of course the preparation for the seder plate. As my daughters became teens, they loved to go through the Pesach cookbook, find interesting recipes, bake and help with the cooking. 

By the time we sat down to the seder, I was exhausted..the kids had many interesting facts to tell and our seder was wonderful. The first night was just our family. The second night was for guests.

Today, getting ready for Pesach goes a lot easier and smoother. I still go room by room but I know when to stop. I do have to keep telling 
myself “that’s not chametz. Move on!” 

I have the beautiful ‘chametz’ signs the kids made at different ages. They are precious. And when my kitchen is ready, I will hang them up on the cupboards. Each picture brings back a flood of memories...

Wishing everyone a meaningful Pesach
Chag Pesach Sameach.
Miriam 

ENOUGH ALREADY!

בס''ד

In the South of Israel,

the Israeli side

of the Gaza Strip

is known as the Gaza Envelope.

The South called The Negev

is the desert land of Eretz Yisrael. 

The history it has witnessed.

Where our forefather Avraham Avinu

-walked

-lived

-his animals grazed

-and he did business with passing caravans of merchants

in the biblical area called Gerar.

Today, still called Gerar

Avraham Avinu’s home

is a beautiful forest

where families can enjoy its beauty.

It is hard for me to believe that

2 kilometers away

is where we live.

The fact that we

-live

-walk

-shop

-pray

on the same land is beyond belief to me.

How blessed we are!

From the barren land of long ago

now sits..........

kibbutzim

moshavim

yishuvim

cities

Thousands of Israeli citizens

call home.

The South has seen much terror.

And once again

is under attack 

by the descendants of Ishmael 

who live in Gaza. 

They launch rockets, mortars. explosive balloons. 

They try to infiltrate the Gaza fence

with knives and other weapons. 

They want to maim and kill our brave chayalim.

They want the land of Israel.

Day and night, life for the border residents is unsettling. 

Their children are suffering 

They can't sleep 

They have nightmares

The noise from explosions is deafening

The rocket siren is wailing

Everyone to the bomb shelter

And then.........

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!

IDF jets are overhead

defending our precious land.

Enough already!

How much are we supposed to suffer?

That’s all for now. Feel free to comment and share.

Purim Sameach

Miriam

* Map of Gaza Envelope Aug.2011

The Creative Side Of Me................

בס''ד
I haven’t blogged for awhile. Every time I wanted to sit down and blog a few words, there was always something else for me to do...

I have always enjoyed hand work.

When I was a young girl, my mother a”H taught me how to knit. I can’t tell you how many scarves I started but never finished.  One time I saw a pattern for a sweater and I asked my mother [who could knit quickly and beautifully] to knit it for me. she said “no, you do it, and I’ll help you.”

Well, I started my project and guess what, it was harder than I thought, didn’t want to ask for help, so I put it aside...

One day, my Bubby a”H asked me how the sweater was coming along. I told her it was too hard and she being the great Bubby she was, told me to give her the pattern and she would finish it for me. A week later, she gave me my beautiful finished sweater.

Time passed, life went on and when my children were young, I learnt how to needlepoint. I loved do the needlework and made many wall hangings including a large carpet wall hanging. 

 
     
For my young son’s room, I made a little chassidic boy with the sweetest face and long peyot. We named the little boy Shlomie. Today, Shlomie hangs in the bedroom of 2 of my grandsons.

My mother-in-law a”H had an old Singer sewing machine. When she bought her new one, my husband [who knows how to sew] asked her for the Singer.

We made throw pillows, sewed doll and animal patterns and made toys. We also made several curtains. I even managed to follow a pattern and made a couple of skirts. 

When my daughters were in the Ulpana, they learnt to crochet kippot. I asked them to teach me to crochet, they tried, but I couldn’t catch on.. 😔

Many years passed.....and I became a senior. After much nagging from our yishuv social worker, I joined a 60+ mosaic and ceramic chug at our moetza. 

I found my passion..I was like a fish to water.. I caught on right away and I created my first mosaic picture

My teacher suggested I try making a piece from ceramics. We had a fabulous supply of broken tiles, cups and plates. Using my imagination I made an abstract... Have a look.

I was having a blast. I waited for Sunday morning all week... I attended this chug for 2 years...

I took my enjoyment one step further, bought wood & stones and started making creations at home...

I found that working and creating relaxed me. My son made a comment that I like everything done ‘yesterday’, but for this I could sit and sit and sit.

My first home creation was a hanger piece for my great-granddaughter’s room. I came out okay, but truth be told, today, I would have made it better....

My next creative projects was using cord,wool,fish tank stones, and domino blocks.

How do you like my Hot Air balloon? This was fun to make...

  
For my son’s room, I made a peaceful sailboat

And for one of my grandsons who loves soccer

For my daughters 

Last week I finished my abstract pinwheel.

I have so many more creations, to many to post. Every inch of wall has something...

Creating give me a sense of accomplishment. Like photographs, the pieces are for now to enjoy and for the future. It is leaving a piece of me.

That’s all for now
Feel free to comment

Miriam

And the Rocket Siren Rang & Rang & Rang...

בס''ד
Once again, Israelis living around the Gaza Fence, spent hours in their bomb shelters Monday evening and Tuesday during the day, as Hamas, the terrorists organization, unleashed a flurry of rockets at residents of the South.

This time, Hamas outdid themselves firing 466 rockets. There were many injuries, a lot of damage, direct hits on private homes and an apartment building. Schools and some businesses closed. The train was cancelled and highways and roads were closed to non residents.

Our Yishuv is 9 km from Gaza [about 5 1/2 miles]. We received 9 rockets sirens with 7 coming every few minutes. The booming was ear piercing. Our house vibrated and the windows rattled.

Israel Home Front ordered all residents to stay in or near our bomb shelter.   

We have only 15 seconds to seek safety. Yes! Only 15 seconds. 
What do families with young children do?

My daughter Devorah, as a mother of 7 children, living in the Gaza Envelope, was asked to make an English video called ‘Life Under Fire’ - What can you do in 15 seconds?

Have a look. Devorah will leave you with chills.  Life Under Fire

I challenge you to take the 15 second test. See if you can get your family and pets to safety in 15 seconds.

1. choose a room in your house to be your safe room
2. set anytime on an alarm clock
3. set a second alarm clock for 15 seconds later.
4. when the alarm rings, gather your kids and pets and get to your safe room before the second alarm goes off.

Did you make it?

The Gaza Belt has many senior residents made up of families who made aliyah from Europe and Arab countries to escape discrimination. They came from Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Yemen, and so forth, before 1948 and after. The Jewish Agency settled them in the South on a barren piece of land. 

With very little food or money, these ‘settlers’ started moshavim, kibbutzim, and businesses. They worked tirelessly to settle the land and make the Negev the beautiful area it is. 

They turned a desert into rich land that grows vegetables, fruit, wheat, & flowers. As young men and women, they served in the IDF.

Today, they are seniors in their 80’s, 90’s and I’m sure some are 100 years old. 

When the siren rings, their lives are literally in danger. Many do not have bomb shelters in their homes and can’t get to a public shelter. There are seniors in wheelchairs, some have serious illnesses and are bed ridden, others suffer from dementia and alzheimers. They just can’t get to safety in 15 seconds. They can’t get to safety in any amount of time.

Last week, I visited a neighbour who is confined to a wheelchair. She does not have a bomb shelter in her house. I asked her what does she do when the siren rings. She told me, “I just sit here. I can’t go anywhere”. I told her to make sure she is not near any windows. The glass can shatter and fly.

This is not a way to live. We constantly wait for the next barrage of rockets. Hamas are a bunch of thugs, fickle ones at that. They don’t need a reason to fire rockets. 

I would like my government to explain why they allow a bunch of terrorist thugs to call the shots... And I don’t want them to say there is a bigger picture. Residents of the south deserve to be protected by their government.

Miriam

And The Hate Continues

בס''ד
My parents were both Canadian born. My father served in the Canadian army during WW2 and was deployed to Europe, where he was stationed for 3 years.

Except for telling us about some cousins he met in Paris, he never wanted to speak about his war experience.

And so the horrors of the war weren’t spoken in our home. Only before a Yom HaShoah program, when our Rabbi spoke about the holocaust, did I learn bits and piece. Truthfully, except for the fact that six million Jews were murdered, I was very ignorant.  

I knew that my Bubby’s parents were murdered in a pogrom before WW1. And the only reason I knew this was because we had a kiddush cup that belonged to them. My Bubby hid their kiddush cup and lachter in-between her clothes when she and some of her 14 siblings were able to escape from Minsk.

Today, this 100+year old Kiddush cup, sits proudly on my Seder table, waiting for Eliyahu HaNavi. 

The first time I heard the word Kristallnacht, was when I was a group leader for NCSY in Chomedey [suburb of Montreal], and our head group leader wanted to do program.

Six teenagers, all Canadian born, sat around the table and said, “a program for what?” 

Asking my parents about Kristallnacht, the answer I got was ‘it’s over and will never happen again.”

On Shabbat and today, November 9th and 10th, is the 80th anniversary of the 1938 Kristallnacht [also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass] pogroms. 

Overnight, non Jewish friends and neighbours turned on their Jewish neighbours and friends with delight. That night in Germany, thousands upon thousands of Jews were subject to terror and violence by the Nazis. Over 1,000 Jewish synagogues and over 7,500 Jewish businesses were destroyed, and approximately 30,000+  Jewish men were arrested and taken to concentration camps.

They destroyed everything Jewish. Store windows were smashed, shuls were set on fire, holy books and Torahs were burnt to a crisp.

What has the world learned in 80 years? Nothing! Anti-semitism is alive and flourishing world wide. The anti semites are crawling out of the closets, spouting their hatred words.

And what is the world’s answer? Anti-semitic laws are weak at best and not very often enforced. 

Poland is erasing their history. They say they too were victims...Nonsense..The Poles hands are dripping in Jewish blood. 

Today, BDS, is the modern anti-semitic movement. When someone says, “I like Jews, it is Israel I’m against, that’s an anti-semitic comment.

Anti-semitic and Anti Israel are one and the same.

Many years ago, when we were still living in Hamilton, Ontario, we had our own personal anti-semitic experiences.

One morning, my young son and I were getting ready to go to school. He opened the front door and stepped into a puddle of rotten eggs. He screamed ‘Mommy”. 

On the walls and front door, in black marker were  swastikas and the word Jew. 

We called the police, took pictures, and our building super and building managers. They didn’t know what to say. The police sent their race relation team to speak to us. The manager said, go to work and I will have it cleaned up.  When we came home there wasn’t a trace of anything. The walls had been cleaned and painted.

A few days later, the swastikas were back. But this time we had a death threat. On our front door, scribbled in black marker, Die Jew. 

This was a couple of days before Yom Kippur. The building manager set up cameras by our door. We explained to the police about Yom Kippur and they said they would add extra patrols around the building. 

We had our suspicion on who was responsible, but no proof. To this day, I don’t believe anyone was ever charged.

Baruch Hashem, Jews now have a homeland. Eretz Yisrael is calling you to come home. We have room for everyone.

Feel free to share and comment.
Miriam

The Sitting Ducks of the South...

בס''ד

The caption says ‘If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it's a resident of the Western Negev.’

Simple and true words. We, the residents of the South, Israeli tax paying citizens, are sitting ducks waiting for the other shoe to fall.

We are subjected to the whims of Hamas, a terrorist organization that honours death, lives for death, and has no respect for any life.

Hamas is a fickle band of terrorists who at any given moment can fire one, two, three or 150 missiles at the South aiming for our destruction. They fly kites, balloons, condoms and drones with a molotov fire bomb attached wanting to burn our land and injure firefighters and soldiers. 

To date they have burnt thousands of acres of Israeli farm land and forests. These flying firebombs have also landed and started fires on kibbutzim, moshavim, schoolyards, cities, just about anywhere and everywhere. 

Last Wednesday night, July 8th, from late evening and all night Hamas fired 150 missiles at southern residents. During the day they fired more missiles.

The government ordered the IDF to do a full assault and when Hamas cried ‘uncle’ and ran to Egypt to arrange a ceasefire, the IDF was ordered to stop. Instead of finishing the job, we said we will meet terror with actions and calm with calm. Who is our government trying so hard to please?

The first duty of an elected government is to protect its citizens. As citizens of the south, we feel we are second class citizens. Why isn’t the government protecting us?

I'm not a military expert, nor do I pretend to be, and it is not my place to tell the government how to answer, it is my place to say to this government "whether it is balloon launchers, terrorists firing missiles or trying to tear down the border fence, every offence must be answered strongly, not with words but with actions."

It is not normal for people to wait for the other shoe to fall. 

That’s all for now

Miriam

* Many thanks to Adele Reamer for the use of her duck photo  

Who Will Protect Us? Who Will Speak For Us?

בס''ד

This blog is about forest animals, farm animals, birds, bees and molotov firebombs.  

I’m not an animal activist. I’m just a person who can’t stand the fact that innocent animals, birds and bees, which never did anything to Hamas are being abused in the worse way.  

This is why I am writing a blog. 

Quick Review  

Back in March, Hamas, a terrorist organization from Gaza, decided that an easy way to do a terror attack was to burn Israeli land in the South. They knew that fire would cause terror among the residents.

And so they took children’s kites and balloon’s and made them into weapons.  

They filled the balloons with helium, which the IDF said they stole from the hospital in Gaza, and attached a molotov firebomb to the tail and let it fly into Israel, fall and start a fire.

When they ran out of balloons they used condoms. Yes, you read correctly.  Today, they are using both balloons and small drones with gas canisters attached.

Thousands of dunams [acres] of Israeli forests and farmland have been burnt.  Burning balloons have landed in schoolyards and private homes.

Living in the forests are hundreds of small and large animals, from turtles to deer and everything in-between. These animals are being burnt to death alive trying to escape the fires. The fortunate ones, who do manage to survive, graze on burnt fields and have nothing to eat.  

We have farmers who have beehives. The last report said that 200+ beehives have been burnt. It is painful to see pictures of the bees trying to escape. A couple of weeks ago, Hamas caused a fire in a cowshed with the cows inside.  

Israeli firefighters do everything possible to save animals, but it is really an impossible job.  

In one of our Nature Reserve, a dead, burnt Falcon was found. It had a firebomb attached to its body. Its wing had gotten tangled in a tree. Hamas’s plan was to let the bird fly to Israel and have a canister explode.  

That was the final straw for me. After I saw the photo of the burnt, dead bird, I knew I had to do something. I wanted to know why after so many months, where was PETA? Why were they silent? PETA says they are the voice for animals. They are the protectors.  

On June 20th and July 9th, I posted blogs about the molotov fires. I wrote about the burned animals and asked where was PETA ? I was really surprised PETA hadn’t commented, after all they are always complaining about kosher slaughtering. At the end of this blog are the links to my two previous blogs. 

On Tuesday, July 16th, I sent an open letter to PETA on their Report Animal Cruelty page, explained the situation and asked them to condemn Hamas for the killings of innocent animals. 

I then posted my letter to PETA on my Facebook timeline with the contact link. Friends shared and took up the cause.  

Unknown to me at the time, a reporter took the situation a step further and contacted PETA for a statement.  

On Wednesday July 18th, in the Jerusalem Post, there was a very sterile statement from PETA.  

PETA’s statement: As human beings, every one of us at PETA is concerned about human civilians, children, and anyone else caught in the line of fire of any conflict. As an animal-protection organization, PETA notes that animals claim allegiance to no nation, don't choose sides, and can only rely on human beings to show them mercy, and it is unacceptable to use them as weapons of war.  

PETA did not condemn Hamas by name. I would like them to issue another statement condemning Hamas by name. PETA needs to receive complaints about their sterile statement. I don’t expect Hamas to stop the fires because PETA has named them. They will laugh it off. But PETA has a responsibility to publicly name the persons / organizations abusing animals. 

The link to contact PETA is..Peta condemn Hamas by name

I hope you will contact PETA. These animals are counting on us. Thank-you for your time. 

Until next time, feel free to comment and share.

Miriam

Previous blogs.

June 20th Rockets and Fire

July 9th 100 Days of Destruction