Cycling and a world changed, twice
Your article last week (How the JC made its first visit to Jordan, July 26) brought back memories for me. In 1994 I had just retired and signed up to ride the charity cycle ride from Israel to Jordan in aid of Norwood Ravenswood, the first of fifteen international rides that I ultimately did.
The first week started in the very north of Israel at Gesha Aziv, spending the next five days riding to Jerusalem. At the start of the second week as we left Jerusalem to ride towards the Allenby Bridge I felt a little apprehensive as to how would we be greeted.
My fears immediately vanished when the Jordanian police motor cyclist escorts gave a big wave. As I rode along the side of the Dead Sea, the side I had never been on before, I couldn’t stop wondering if this was the start of something big — the peace we all wanted. Then up an enormous hill to Karak with its crusader fort, on to Petra spending the next two days riding through the Wadi Rum, sleeping in two large Bedouin tents and grateful for their fire and hot tea when we arrived as the lorryies with our clothes and evening meal was stuck in the sand, miles away.
The next day we arrived in Aqaba — imagine the scene, seventy five sweaty Jewish men and women dressed in yellow T shirts, some torn for an extra sweat band, being greeted by Princess Aliya, the eldest daughter of the late King Hussain, and the Crown Prince. A huge spread of iced soft drinks, biscuits and cakes had been laid out for us.
We said our thanks and goodbyes and rode into Eilat to be greeted by our families. After Shabbat was out we partied, danced and drank a few beers but all went quiet when the terrible news arrived that Rabin had been murdered, not by a Arab but a religious Jew. All my prayers and hopes were shattered. If we can’t life with each other what chance do we have? I look back now, twenty five years later as I approach ninety and think what could have been.
Eric Sayliss
Sheffield
Norman Bright’s cycle ride through Normandy to honour Allied soldiers is inspiring. (Childhood memories of the Shoah drove me to cycle to the front line, July 26). I agree that more people should visit the area.
My wife and I were there shortly before the recent birth of our first child. The easily-researched stories behind the several Jewish graves in the Commonwealth cemetery at Bayeux are shattering.
I hope it will please Mr Bright that at the Pegasus Bridge museum we bought a fluffy toy version of a Horsa glider, used so successfully there. As soon as possible, I intend to tell our little boy why he has this odd plaything!
Ben Vos
Hendon, NW4
False premise
In the article on the weekly portion of Pinchas (Judaism page, July 26) Rabbi Robyn Ashworth-Steen makes a classic error in regard to the interpretation of a Biblical text.
The article is well balanced up to the final paragraph. In order to prove the point of the collective power of female opinion, an assumption is made in the final paragraph — not evident from the text — that God changes his mind in order to accommodate the claim of the daughters of Tzelophchod.
Our most illustrious Bible commentator, Rashi, states simply that Moses forgot that particular nuance of the law and hence was forced to bring their dispute before God for adjudication.
By suggesting that God changed his mind, the author goes on to prove the power of collective female persuasion in achieving a change in the law from the highest possible authority.
But since that conclusion is based on a false premise, the whole argument amounts to nothing.
Dr Neil Joseph
Manchester M8
A Corbyn Talmud
Basil Jeuda provides a litany of apologies due from Jeremy Corbyn (Letters, July 26). But what should we do with them? Perhaps carve them on stone stellae like Hammurabi and erect the stones in significant places in our cities. Then what?
Why didn’t the Labour MPs and Peers resign from the Labour Party ? What plagues do we need to experience before our parliamentary chaverim leave Corbyn’s toxic Egypt? Where are our leaders who are willing to say, ‘This is wrong and we cannot and must not be a part of it’? Where are our Akibas, our Hillels, our Golda Meirs, our Jacobovitses? We will have created a Corbyn Talmud by the time we finish discussing it all and we still won’t have done anything. I suspect Corbyn knows this.
Lewis Herlitz
Leigh on Sea, Essex
Buy Israeli Bonds
I found Jonathan Boyd’s article (It’s getting harder to connect kids to Israel, July 26) rather naïve, in that he referred to “kids” and assumed that we should try to continue old selling techniques when the product is now mature and 71 years old.
By all means continue to send younger children to holiday camps in Israel and also in their Gap Year. But making people aware of the miracle of Israel needs new marketing techniques.
Youngsters are finding problems with Israel and antisemitism when they get to higher education and it is causing concern. In my small way I have tried another tack. For things like presents for the new born, Bar/Batmitzvah and for non-Jews Christening and Confirmation, I buy 10 or 5 year Israeli Bonds as these children will prick up their ears in later years when they get a cheque from Israeli Bonds of which they know nothing. The parents have to explain this windfall and hopefully offer to send them on a trip to see the land of their first income. For relatives, I offer to participate in the cost of a visit in which I always include a visit to the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev where they see Jews and Bedouins learning in absolute harmony.
Conrad Sandler
London NW3
Finding lost boys
We are trying to locate anyone living in the UK who attended Boys Town Jerusalem (Kiryat Noar) as a student or who worked there as a teacher. We are keen to connect with alumni to help the British Friends with our charitable work on behalf of the school.
Please email me at office@boystownjerusalem.co.uk.
Sidney Myers
Chairman
British Friends of Boys Town Jerusalem
What a chutzpah
I noticed that all the answers to the ‘across’ clues for last week’s crossword (July 26) begin with the letter H. Even the word ‘chutzpah’ is spelled without the first C. And that is a chutzpah!
Howard Napper
St Albans, Herts
