We missed our Lighthouse, so we came to the open space near Gaza. We came to listen again to the voices criss-crossing in the wind. But we also wished to keep those who had been our partners in the virtual circles we held by Zoom in the past two months.
Shmulik, Nahshi and Oded unsuccessfully tried to take a shortcut to the Migdalor site, an attempt that cost us getting stuck in the mud ‘prepared ahead of time’ by the Kibbutz Be’eri irrigation system, and luckily we were unstuck by Rami and all four of us arrived at the sulfur plant. We were welcomed there by Roni and Jaber who had already prepared a circle of chairs.
In the pine clump next to the building we found a spot with reception and moved our circle to it.
We connected to Zoom and discovered Noga, Marwan, Leora, Rosie, Malki and Uzi. There was also a face we had only now met, named Tal, our volunteer translator into English. Her translations are posted on the Gaza-Lighthouse Facebook page.
While holding an improvised acquaintance circle among all the participants, at home and on the ground, Mary arrived, well protected against evil viruses. She too as we all did, lets go of the protective gear and soon lets the pleasant wind – and atmosphere – do their stuff.
One by one we introduce ourselves to Tal who is new to all of us except Nahshi, our contact with her.
Leora tells us, before leaving for her Friday cooking, that she has found work at a hostel for the mentally ill, where she has met a patient who teacher her Arabic. A win-win situation…
Malki and Uzi, driving, stay with us by Zoom and listen until they arrive at their destination.
When I mention that today, May 8, 2020, marks 75 years since the end of World War Two and the Nazi surrender, that for some reason stretches over three days, Rosie comments that in England and the rest of the world today is the day.
Noga, who must have understood that combining with Zoom is difficult, has taken her leave.
Marwan, with translations by Jaber stayed, as did Tal.
At 15:30 we part with Zoom and with them as well.
Roni shows a letter from 1938 received by her grandfather, Dr. Emanuel Olsberger (poet, translator, researcher of folklore, Zionist activist, Esperantist, orator and linguist. He translated classical literature into Hebrew from various languages. He initiated the bringing of the Cochin Jews of India to Israel, and until he died was active on behalf of this community). The letter was from Jawaharlal Nehru (leader of the moderate socialist faction in India’s National Congress Party during the struggle for independence from the British empire. He later became India’s Prime Minister and served in this office for about 17 years, until he died). In his letter, Nehru achingly related to the goings on in Palestine and recommended that the Jews rely less on the British in their attempts to constitute a state, and negotiate directly with the Arab inhabitants of the land – as this was fairer and more sustainable… The letter is a sobering document in its wisdom and relevance, to this day.
Jaber tells about two brothers who were in bitter conflict and had dug a deep water ditch to separate them. The older brother brought a contractor and asked him to build a wall too, while he – the brother – goes away for a while. The contractor gets the picture, builds, and instead of a wall, a bridge over the ditch is created. When the older brother returns, he is surprised to find his younger brother embracing him and thanking him for the brave measure he took…
Roni tells us about the worldwide efforts made to free our detained acquaintances in the Gaza Strip. Unfortunately, there is no news.
Rami tells us about a fascinating encounter he had while staying in Tamera (Portugal), with Jurgen, a German whose life and his father’s had been tied with Israel’s wars. Eventually they founded a plant dealing with solar energy, and Jurgen has taken upon himself to do good in the world.
We spoke of our will to continue and combine Migdalor circles by Zoom. We shall try to improve this and suggestions are more than welcome.
Our last topic was collaboration with “Another Voice” organization. This is a positive direction of action, but because of the different character of the groups rules will be very difficult to implement. We could definitely maximize every organization’s advantages for various types of action. The circle this time ended not with exiting Zoom but with entering our cars…
Participants: Rosie, Rami, Roni, Mary, Malki, Marwan, Nahshi, Noga, Jaber, Shulik, Leora, Uzi, Oded and Tal.
Oded