# 461 – Hostages + 4

Hostages + 4

“Tell me something positive”, I said to Aviva this morning. She had to stop and think. She’d been listening to the news for some time already. “Breakfast is ready”, she replied, producing a smile.

Unbelievably, it was the BBC’s own Laurence Peter who recently reminded us of the fact that Ethiopian-Israeli Avera Mengistu and Bedouin Arab Israeli Hisham al-Sayed, were seized in 2014 and 2015 respectively, and it is thought they are still in Gaza…AFTER 9 YEARS!!And Israel awaits news of the bodies of IDF soldiers, Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, who were killed during a war between Israel and Hamas in 2014.Humanitarian? War Crimes? Give me strength.

And still, the ‘average person in the street attacks Israel’.

More proof of Al Shifa hospital tunnels used by Hamas militants. And CTV (their hospital CTV) showing a hostage being bundled into the hospital corridor. The proof is trickling out. In the meantime, it is quite obvious that the ugly campaign to get Hamas and to save hostages will spread to the south. More civilians will die. Israel will be blamed.

If I now mention ‘integration into Western society’, that may get me into trouble. Those in the North, South and East have every right to complain. But Western society is the only one in which I grew up, and with which I have some experience. Why is it that a ‘community’ which has contributed so ‘warmly’ to Western society is now so attacked.

Consider the voices of Streisand, Dylan and Diamond, the humour of Crystal, Seinfeld and Brooks, the direction of Allen, Kubrick and Wilder, the music of Berlin, Gershwin and Bernstein, the fiddles of Menuhin, Perlman and Stern, the piano chords of Horowitz, Rubinstein and Borge, the literature of Kafka, Roth and Rand, the acting of Douglas, Matthau, Hoffman, the art of Chagall, Gottlieb and Modigliani, and that’s just the arts.

(And Danny Kaye – David Kaminksy to his family. Most only remember him as spreading love and happiness to kids and romantics. But he also appeared in ‘Skokie’, the story of how the Jewish community in a suburb of Chicago had to deal with a Nazi protest in their neighbourhood. They had to deal with the First Amendment, Free Speech, which legally permitted the Nazis to demonstrate, despite the obvious incitement to violence. I know a lot about that story. I knew well the leader of the Jewish community. He was a prominent dental manufacturer. I worked with him).

What have the ‘recent additions to Western society’ contributed? Ali G?

So why the hate? Have we perhaps done too well? (The immigrants from the Orient into NW America and Canada are artistic, mad-keen on study, trying hard to make a strong contribution to Western society. Should I tell them to lay off? Take a step back into the grey?).

Letter to the Jerusalem Post, published today….and thanks to Letter-recipient Alf…

And Eric Clapton just came out with a new piece – with video. For me, he was always one of the greatest guitarists. Now he’s just another Roger Waters. (I bet they hate together, in secret, in the dark).

Stephen