The Jewish New Year 9 Years after 9/11

For Jewish people all over the world Rosh Hashanah marks the creation of the universe. According to Jewish tradition that creation reoccurs all the time and this recreation is what enables change, choice and other free-will concepts. This is why Rosh Hashanah is also a time of reconciliation, atonement and judgment. Jews look back at the year, what has been created, what part have they taken in this creation and what they would like to create in the future. The holiday ends on a positive note with the festive blows of a ram’s horn, signifying that redemption is one year nearer.

9 Years ago WTC bomings

Yesterday was September 11th; in America people bowed their heads in silent memory of the victims of the WTC bombings. 9 years have passed since that bloody day. The USA went guns blazing into Iraq and Afghanistan, Bombing occurred in London, Iran has become a nuclear power. Obama was elected president of the USA under the slogan YES WE CAN, Israel withdrew from Gaza and built a wall around the West Bank, Palestinians have elected Hamas into power and a new round of peace talks began in Washington between President Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.

When we look at all these years, the chain of events, it’s easy to feel like nothing can be done, to sit at home, watch the TV screen and sigh at our cruel fate. But it is important for us to remember that nothing is predetermined, that despite conflicts, deaths, hatred the potential for change is always there and that we can influence the world and change it for the better until the day of redemption comes when:

"They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore." - Isaiah 2:4

President Obama: Greeting for Rosh Hashanah

Couldn't have said it better ourselves.
A happy Rosh Hashana from the team at Identity Travel

Rare People in the White House

"Statesmanship is knowing how to combine vision and reality,” said Netanyahu before heading to the summit in Washington to promote the vision of peace in the Middle East. Reality caught up with him on the plane.

Rare People in the White House

The murders in Hebron showed how delicate the situation is. Hamas took credit for the attack and settlers immediately responded by reinitiating their building projects in the West Bank.

In the Middle East there is no shortage of vision. Some have a vision of a future where Israel is replaced with a Palestinian state. Some envision a bigger Israel, which spans from the Jordan River all the way across to the Mediterranean. Some envision a two state solution and peace.

There is also a large dose of reality in the Middle East. Demographics, geographics, politics, cultural gaps, historical injustice, armed factions, settlements, terrorist attacks, an endless list of words and connotations that make up a complex reality.

What we are lacking in the Middle East are people who combine the two, people who envision a better world. People, whose vision is realistic, people who envision a way and not just an end. This combination is rare here. These people are rare.

We hope that at least two of these people are meeting today in Washington.

Life and Death in Abraham's Hebron

Mount Hebron was once the home of Abraham (Ibrahim as the Muslims call him). Abraham was know for being a extraordinarily hospitable man. A depiction of his meeting with the angels (Genesis) can be found under the term hospitality in Wikipedia – the text says "In Middle Eastern Culture, it was considered a cultural norm to take care of the strangers and foreigners living among you. These norms are reflected in many Biblical commands and examples".

Abraham would not have recognized Hebron today.

Yesterday a Palestinian gunman shot down 4 Jewish people including a pregnant woman and in the process orphaned 7 children.

Since Abraham, in Mamlukian and Ottoman empires Jews and Arabs have resided in and around the mountain.

As Jewish and Arab numbers rose steadily so did tensions, until in 1929 following rumor that the Jews were planning to seize Temple Mount, Arab mobs massacred scores of Jews. Few Jews would remain in Hebron. Neighborly spirit evaporated. 

In 1948 the UN decided on dividing the land according to demographic data. Since Hebron was no longer inhabited by many Jews it would not be a part of the Jewish state. Neighboring Jordan conquered the land and would not allow Jews to visit Hebron.

In 1967 Israel conquered Hebron. Jewish settlements popped up everywhere. Jews were not welcome in Arab neighborhoods, nor were Arabs in Jewish neighborhoods. In 1994 a Jewish man opened fire on praying Arab worshipers at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and killing 29 people.

Today residents of this mountain live apart entrenched in separate and fortified enclaves. They fear their neighbors.

It was said that Abraham's tent had 4 openings to welcome visitors from all directions – it is also said that a house in mount Hebron has 4 locks.

The legacy of Abraham or Ibrahim, whatever you may call him is gone for good. Mount Hebron today is a very inhospitable place.