Letter to the Editor, by R. A. Shani
The year 1976 is vivid in my mind. It was a good year to be Israeli. Rina Mor was crowned Miss Universe. SSK, the Moscow basketball team was beaten by Tal Brody and his fellow Macebees from Tel-Aviv; Israel was on the map -- al ha-mapa. No need to mention that Yoni Netanyahu was a household name in every Jewish home across the world. All the gentiles saw the footage of the Entebe attack and realized it might not be a good idea to mess with the Jews.
On that year one of the songs that vied to be sent to the Eurovision contest was noladeti la- shalom, I was Born for Peace. That song defined me and probably a generation of girls, of erets Israel ha-shelma, the whole land of Israel. It lost, by the way, to Halleluya, which earned this rising power of ours a second victory in a row in this cultural race.
Thirty two years have gone by. Two weeks ago I found myself saying out loud, in disbelief --
remember, as a sweet sixteen I hated Ariel Sharon for his crimes against humanities, I went to kikar malchey Israel quite a few times way before the plaza changed its name to honor our slain leader Rabin, my favorite song to sing in the shower was shir la-shalom, Song for Peace, my eyes still well up whenever I hear Miri Aloni's rendition of it in the ha-lehaka soundtrack --
so I find myself saying out loud, in disbelief --
You know how there are thousands of palestinians fleeing to Egypt through a hole in the wall? The IDF should drop three atomic bombs on them.
There. I said it.
What brought this outburst on, from a Peace Now protege like me, was the news about the bombs that went off in Bagdad. Turns out that the bombs were remotely controlled, strapped to two young retarded girls. Yes, that's right. An innovative tactic of suicide bombs invented by muslim freedom fighters.
Peace Now?!?! It does not make sense.
There is no place to turn to but to the poets... the older the better...
Everything has its season, and there is a time for everything under the heaven:
A time to bear life, and a time to die,
a time to plant & a time to uproot,
a time to kill & a time to heal,
a time to wreck & a time to build,
a time to weep & a time to laugh,
a time to mourn & a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones & a time to gather stone,
a time to embrace & a time to shun embraces,
a time to seek & a time to lose,
a time to keep & a time to discard,
a time to tear & a time to mend,
a time to be silent & a time to speak up,
a time to love & a time to hate,
a time for war & a time for peace.
(Kohelet, 3,1:8)
I continue to pray for shalom al Israel, peace on Israel,
R. A. Shani
February 2008, Los Angeles
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Click here to read more of R. A. Shani's story
On that year one of the songs that vied to be sent to the Eurovision contest was noladeti la- shalom, I was Born for Peace. That song defined me and probably a generation of girls, of erets Israel ha-shelma, the whole land of Israel. It lost, by the way, to Halleluya, which earned this rising power of ours a second victory in a row in this cultural race.
Thirty two years have gone by. Two weeks ago I found myself saying out loud, in disbelief --
remember, as a sweet sixteen I hated Ariel Sharon for his crimes against humanities, I went to kikar malchey Israel quite a few times way before the plaza changed its name to honor our slain leader Rabin, my favorite song to sing in the shower was shir la-shalom, Song for Peace, my eyes still well up whenever I hear Miri Aloni's rendition of it in the ha-lehaka soundtrack --
so I find myself saying out loud, in disbelief --
You know how there are thousands of palestinians fleeing to Egypt through a hole in the wall? The IDF should drop three atomic bombs on them.
There. I said it.
What brought this outburst on, from a Peace Now protege like me, was the news about the bombs that went off in Bagdad. Turns out that the bombs were remotely controlled, strapped to two young retarded girls. Yes, that's right. An innovative tactic of suicide bombs invented by muslim freedom fighters.
Peace Now?!?! It does not make sense.
There is no place to turn to but to the poets... the older the better...
Everything has its season, and there is a time for everything under the heaven:
A time to bear life, and a time to die,
a time to plant & a time to uproot,
a time to kill & a time to heal,
a time to wreck & a time to build,
a time to weep & a time to laugh,
a time to mourn & a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones & a time to gather stone,
a time to embrace & a time to shun embraces,
a time to seek & a time to lose,
a time to keep & a time to discard,
a time to tear & a time to mend,
a time to be silent & a time to speak up,
a time to love & a time to hate,
a time for war & a time for peace.
(Kohelet, 3,1:8)
I continue to pray for shalom al Israel, peace on Israel,
R. A. Shani
February 2008, Los Angeles
------------------------------------------------------
Click here to read more of R. A. Shani's story