Re: Question from BBC

[Shirona <shirona...>]

> As far as I'm concerned, my heritage is in Eastern Europe, the land of
> Yiddish and kugel and Chelm, not Israel.  I don't see why it has to be so
> personal....

This kind of statement can only be made by someone who takes their daily
comforts and security, or right to exist, for granted.... never experiencing
the utter fear and horror of annihilation - whether it be by the Arab league
seeking the destruction of Israel or your garden-variety pogrom... in our
beloved Eastern Europe of days gone by...

Anyone who knows even a little Jewish history knows that the sum total
experience of being Jewish for the past 2000 years has alot more to do with
being victimized, killed, chased from country to country and discriminated
against than eating Kugel and telling jokes.

Are things any different now?  Only if we sit here smugly in America
thinking that ISRAEL and her desperate struggle for survival are somehow
irrelevant to being Jewish. Think again.  How many 9/11's will it take
before American Jews who choose to dissociate from Israel - as if to say
that they would behave differently under the same circumstances- would
realize that we're ALL TOGETHER in a global struggle for justice and peace.

Shirona
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Singer, Songwriter and Teacher of Jewish Music
 Visit my website at    www.shirona.com
Listen to my music at www.mp3.com/shirona
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