Rabbi Berk has been in Jerusalem since July 8, and has been safe, thanks in large part, to Israel’s Iron Dome, which has been financed by the U.S. Please watch his video message, sharing his experience and what we can do to defend Israel and the Jewish people from behind the lines.
Here are some earlier posts Rabbi Berk shared with us during his trip to Israel:
July 9 – Rabbi Berk here. The AIPAC rabbinic mission to Israel first day was quite full with meetings on a broad range of views. But the mood is dominated by the current situation with Gaza. I urge everyone to be careful in judging Israel. Too easy to miss the complexities. Israel doesn’t want this fight. And on the other side don’t criticize Israel for being cautious and not so eager to start a groumd offensive. Whatever one thinks about Netanyahu, he is the most cautious Prime Minister in Israel’s history. Nearly the longest serving PM, he has not taken Israel to war. Last night, hours after arriving, we had to take shelter diue to an air raid warning of a missile headed towards Jerusalem. It didn’t quite reach us. But it was quite an introduction to what life is like here now. Tense. But Israel’s vibrancy is not compromised. Our host at dinner tonight was so gracious and thanked us for being in Israel at this difficult time. It was touching and sincere. Glad I have this extraordinary opportunity. Am Yisrael chai. The people of Israel live and are well, though anxious and worried right now. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem…
July 9 – Rabbi Berk: getting ready for another packed day on AIPAC’s rabbinic mission to Israel. A few minutes ago I saw a crowd gathering for either a wedding or bar mitzvah. Not sure which, but just now, coming up through the hotel, is the sound of a shofar blasting. What a country!
July 10 – Friends, you will be hearing the news Thursday morning about a red alert in Jerusalem. I want everyone to know that I am fine and safe. And grateful and a bit angry. What I’m about to say is not a political statement, it’s from my heart. At the time of the alert, we were at the Ministry of Foreign Service. We were hearing about Mashav, the agency of the Israeli government that does all the good works in foreign countries. This all started back in the mid-1950’s, when Golda Meir said Israel, at the time a poor country which had nothing except it’s ingenuity, had a moral obligation to share what it had learned about agriculture and food production with other poor developing nations. Everyone in Africa knows about Mashav. While listening to this talk, the red alert came over the loudspeaker in the building. We were in a safe room and didn’t have to move. We were outside a few minutes later, and we actually saw the smoke from the missles exploded by Israel’s Iron Dome. So this little country which has a noble and honorable tradition of helping poor countries learn how to grow food in horrible conditions is just about the most vilified and isolated country on earth, and right now the entire country is under vicious attack by people who a few years ago in Gaza destroyed infrastructure Israel built and left when it left Gaza. Instead of improving the lives of their people with it, Hamas uses all it’s might to hate and hurt Israel. And the world is quiet. It’s just not right.
July 10 – Here’s a photo of the smoke left after the missile was destroyed by iIron Dome. It’s faint but someone who saw it explode showed it to us.
July 11 – Rabbi Berk here. A Shabbat calm is descending upon Jerusalem, though I guess it’s a melancholy calm. For a Shabbat message I’d like to share with you a Facebook message my brother wrote: “Here’s what hurts–4 beautiful boys murdered, Hamas rockets forcing two of our children to leave their homes in the south of Israel, and we, safe in Jerusalem, suddenly needing to twice run for shelter, Here’s what hurts even more–media voices that make it seem like Israel is as guilty as Hamas. We have plenty of faults but we didn’t start this spree of kidnapping and murder of children or this… targeting of folks like me with deadly rockets. When we hit a target in Gaza we begin by calling or texting the people in the building and asking them to leave–we don’t want them to get hurt. Here’s the deep inner hurt–there is so much unprocessed pain in our part of the world. The Arabs haven’t gotten over the Crusades. The Jews are still traumatized by the Holocaust. The pain turns so easily into hatred and poison. Healing and peace need to go hand in hand. But first things first. Before our therapy and our healing–stop shooting rockets into the heart of our cities. Don’t sing and dance when your rockets find their mark.”From my heart to yours, with love and blessings and a prayer for peace from Jerusalem– Rabbi Berk