Margaret Kartus Duvdevani, a Birmingham native who lives in Israel near the Gaza Strip, will be in Birmingham for a series of events over the next two weeks.
She will give her perspective on the current Israeli actions in Gaza, as well as the background of how it has been living within firing range of missiles from Gaza over the last several years.
Duvdevani lives in Moshav Talmei Yosef, which grows flowers for export, and has been there for 30 years. The moshav is three miles from Gaza, which means the community lives under the constant threat of random Hamas missiles.
School is not in session and most on the moshav do not work because of the constant threat. Duvdevani reported, “We venture out only when necessary, for food, to the doctor, or out of the area to a safer part of the country for a few days of relaxation away from the stresses of the moment.”
When a missile is launched, “We are warned of an imminent strike by a siren as well as a beeper that everyone has in their homes that beeps like crazy and sends us running to the "safest" room in the house. We have exactly 15 seconds to take cover, where we anxiously await the big boom.”
She will speak on Jan. 13 at a joint meeting of the Birmingham Jewish Federation board and the Birmingham Jewish Community Relations Committee. The 5:30 p.m. event will be at the Bais Ariel Chabad Center and is open to the community.
On Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. she will speak at the annual Birmingham Lion of Judah program, at the Pine Tree Country Club. Lion of Judah is the group for women who contribute at least $5000 annually to the Federation’s annual campaign. Originally, Israeli Consul General Reda Mansour, who serves the Southeastern United States from the Atlanta Consulate, was to speak, but the situation requires him to stay in Atlanta.
On Jan. 16, Duvdevani will speak at the 5:45 p.m. Shabbat service at Temple Emanu-El, where she grew up.
She is also scheduled to speak at the Levite Jewish Community Center’s annual meeting, Jan. 18 at 6 p.m.
Kirk Epstein holds his pro-Israel posters at today's rallyFor Kirk Epstein, it was often a struggle to get his message across.
Epstein was the lone counter-protester at a pro-Palestinian rally held at Birmingham’s Linn Park today, organized by the Birmingham Islamic Society and area peace activists. Epstein rotated three signs denouncing Hamas’ use of human shields, and missile attacks into Israeli villages.
Some attending the rally often attempted to surround him with their Palestinian flags and posters. At one point, a woman in the crowd of about 250 shouted “murderer” at him.
The rally was part of three days of activities by local Muslims, starting with an event at the Hoover Crescent Islamic Center on Jan. 8. In addition to the Islamic Society, the events were sponsored by the Birmingham Peace Project, National Lawyers Guild and Christian Peacemaker Teams.
About 200 members of the organizations were at what had been billed as a press conference.
Abdullah Kendrick and Sammy Kanpher showed a Powerpoint presentation giving some historical background from the Palestinian perspective, and showed numerous slides of children’s bodies in Gaza. There were also slides that purported to show Israeli soldiers pointing guns at children, and the speakers accused Israel of using Palestinians as human shields.
A large number of signs at the rally and at the press conference criticized Israel for allegedly trying to fight against children.
U.S. aid to Israel was also criticized. Kanpher said “we talk about our bad economy, homeless people… and we are sponsoring that killing.”
Tunnels under the border between Gaza and Egypt, which Israel is destroying because they are used for weapons smuggling, were characterized as being for bringing in food.
Likewise, the missiles sent by Hamas into southern Israel were minimized as little more than fancy July 4th fireworks, and were a response to Israel’s “blockade” of the strip.
David Gespass, representing the National Lawyers Guild, read a statement condemning “the illegal and inhumane killing of the Palestinian People living in the Gaza strip by the Israeli forces.”
The statement characterizes Israel as causing a “humanitarian catastrophe” and urges “our government to reevaluate its unconditional support for Israel and make it clear to the Israeli leadership that nothing can excuse nor justify targeting innocent civilians, charities, hospitals, pharmacies, mosques and universities, causing maximum casualties.”
In the seven paragraphs, there was one mention of the rocket attacks against Israel. “Of course our organizations do not condone the killing of any innocent people including Israeli civilians hit by Hamas Rocket attacks.”
There were many children at the rally, echoing a main theme of the protestOn Jan. 9, the Islamic Academy of Alabama held a silent demonstration.
The Birmingham Jewish Federation issued a statement supporting the groups’ right of free speech, but “What is perplexing and frustrating, however, is that we never hear from groups such as the Birmingham Peace Project when Hamas fires rockets into Israel, killing Israeli civilians with no provocation, or when suicide bombers blow up Israeli civilians in malls and restaurants.
“While the innocent casualties in Gaza are tragic, it's important to remember who is to blame. For eight years, Hamas has fired deadly rockets to kill civilians in southern Israel. Finally, after asking Hamas to stop and providing warnings, Israel has responded to protect its citizens. Isn't this exactly what we would want and expect our own country to do under similar circumstances?”
The statement also reminds that Israel left Gaza three years ago, making talk about “occupation” moot, and that the rocket attacks against Israel increased after the withdrawal.
LOS ANGELES (JTA) -- Police in California are investigating as hate crimes the posting of anti-Israel and pro-Hamas placards at two synagogues.
Three letter-sized, hand-written signs were discovered Tuesday at Beth Jacob, an Orthodox congregation in Irvine, Calif. One poster proclaimed, "Gaza-- The New Shoah" and a second read, "Hamas Recognizes Israeli Genocide."
Similar posters were found on the same day at the nearby Reform Congregation Shir Ha-Ma'alot.
Kevin O'Grady, Orange County regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, condemned the "targeting of temples to express anger toward Israeli action in Gaza."
Knoxville incidents
(DSJV) -- In Knoxville, Tenn., both local synagogues were vandalized during the past week.
According to the Knoxville News-Sentinel, four of six stained glass windows were broken by thrown rocks at Temple Beth El, and rocks were also thrown at Heska Amuna Synagogue but did little more than chip the windows. While timing is not known, speculation is that it happened on Thursday night.
None of the other dozen religious institutions in the immediate vicinity was vandalized.
The Secure Communities Network, which monitors threats to local Jewish communities nationally, also reported an unconfirmed vandalism of a billboard promoting a well-known Jewish-owned business in Knoxville.
This is reportedly the first such incident against Knoxville's Jewish institutions in at least 50 years.
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