Dr. Jeanne Kirkpatrick, the United States first female ambassador to the United Nations died this weekend at the age of 80. Kirkpatrick, served under Ronald Reagan and was known as a staunch supporter of the Israel. The only connection that I had to her was that while I was working in the Heritage Foundation building I got to hear her former deputy, Charles Lichtenstein speak and meet him. I think that Lichtenstien had one of the greatest comments in the history of U.S. diplomacy at the U.N. in 1983. I believe that either the Russians proposed to either leave the U.N. or move it out of the U.S. in response Lichtenstein said:

"We will put no impediment in your way, and will be down at the dockside bidding you a fond farewell as you sail into the sunset."

Oh, what could have been.

Someone sent me the following story, I can not verify its accuracy, but I'll let you decide for yourself what to think. Personally, I just don't understand what we're coming to.


For the past 5 weeks, I have been waking up at 3:50 a.m. to catch the # 2
bus out of Har Nof to the Kotel. I enjoy davening by the neitz at the Kotel
HaKatan in the Moslem quarter. It is peaceful, quiet, and yes, even
though I am totally alone - it IS safe. I have never been bothered by the
Arabs there in that area.

On several occasions, both men and women have stopped by my seat and asked
me to move to the back of the bus. I have politely - and firmly - refused
this "invitation". This is not a Mehadrin bus and there are no signs
indicating that it is. It is, rather, the arbitrary decision reached
without due process by a group that claims it is "the majority" to render
the # 2 bus a Mehadrin bus. I checked with Egged - it is not.

After a few weeks, other women decided that they, too, do not enjoy sitting
in the back and sat down next to me or behind me. These women were verbally
bullied by the other passengers to move to the back. All of them caved.
However, 1 woman who had been literally picked up by 2 other women and moved
to the back of the bus, came back a few days later, took a seat behind me
and adamantly refused to move when beckoned to move to the back. Another
woman later sat next to her but moved when other women loudly demanded that
she moved. In the meantime, they were leaving me alone and I became
somewhat confident that they would continue to leave me alone. But . . . .

Last Friday morning, November 24th, I took my makom kavua on the bus and did
my usual thing of just looking out the window. A few stops later, a man who
is regularly on this bus, stopped at my seat and said, "I want to sit here.
Please move to the back of the bus". I smiled and said, "I'm sorry, I'm not
moving but there are 2 seats in front of me, 1 across the aisle - you can
sit there". He refused and demanded MY seat. I was somewhat amused at this
childish and arrogant behavior but told him again, politely and quietly,
that I am not moving and that if he really, really wants to sit here, he
could even sit in the empty seat next to me. But - I'm not moving. This
man stared at me for about 10 straight seconds and then spat in my face.
Without missing a beat, I jumped up, called him a son-of-a-bitch, and spat
back at him. This brought screams from the women calling me a crazy woman.
He responded to my response with a push in the face and a punch to the
breasts that sent me flying on to the floor. I jumped up and punched him
back. At this point, no fewer than 4 other men jumped up - not to defend ME
- but to ATTACK me by punching, hitting, slapping, and kicking me to the
floor. I was fighting back the whole time but was no match for 4 men in
such cramped quarters. I finally got enough aim to kick one man in the
privates and he went limping back to his seat in unmistakable agony. (Yes,
I DO smile every time I think about it in the aftermath). But, in the
meantime, the "holy" man sat in my seat and had discarded my bag onto the
middle of the aisle. I went after him again, demanding my seat back. He
spat at me which evoked the same response from me. My snood had come off my
head during this scuffle so I knelt down to the floor to find it and the
"holy" man kicked me in the face. The kick was so strong that the dirty
outline of his shoe could be seen on my right cheek. Within a short amount
of time my cheek began to swell and it took no less that 4 Ibuprofens over
Shabbos to keep the swelling and the pain down. At the time of the kick,
however, I felt no pain - only rage, equally distributed between the Chillul
Hashem and the perversion of what some of these Chareidim call "kedusha". I
kicked him back, grabbed his black hat and threw it down the aisle. It was
handed back up to him but I grabbed it again, turned it upside down and spat
into it. It was grabbed from me and I yelled that he would not get his hat
back until I got my snood back. Someone passed up a knitted beret, I said
"Todah", and put it on my head. I went back to demanding my seat back but
he stared straight ahead, refusing to move. He was being protected by one
particular man who held both poles between the seats to block my access.

By this time you are most likely asking: What was the bus driver doing
during all this? What about the other passengers? Answer: NOTHING!!!!
Other than 4 men protecting him by beating, kicking, punching, slapping me -
not one person on the bus came to my assistance. In fact, the women were
screaming at me that this was MY fault because "you don't know your place,
you stupid American". The wheels on the bus kept rolling along as the bus
driver never once stopped the bus or got on his PA to demand order.

HOWEVER - almost immediately after the initial spitting, kicking, and
punching, 2 men - both secular and whom I've never seen on that bus before -
got on the bus with 2 large video cameras and filmed the "activities".

While catching my breath and regaining my strength, I looked around at me
and saw men sitting there with their noses in their siddurim as if a woman
being beaten and kicked was normal. I began yelling at them: "Is this the
Chareidi way of life??? How can you sit there with your noses in your
siddurim while a Jewish woman is being beaten and kicked and spat in the
face??? Do you think your tefillahs are being answered while you sit there
and DO NOTHING????!!! Your tefillahs are being flushed bittul - how can you
stand before the Ribbono Shel Olam at the Kotel this morning and expect that
Hashem will hear you???? What is wrong with you people???" And then, I
turned to the women: "And - you women! - you let a Jewish woman be treated
this way and you say and do NOTHING - ABSOLUTLEY NOTHING! - to help her?
Last week it was your trash cans they burned, soon it will be your homes and
then it will be you. These men will treat you worse than the Arabs treat
their wives and daughters - You are MAKING A HUGE MISTAKE!!! What are you
worried about - that if you speak up your daughter won't get a shidduch???
Well - you've perverted the whole thing. If you are wiling to condone this
then you will get everything you deserve. You are just as bad as this rasha
is!" I then told all of them - men and women - that they could take their
Torah learning and their tefillahs and flush them down the toilet because
they have learned NOTHING - ABSOLUTLEY NOTHING - and they are a perversion
to everything that is kadosh. Note: During the entire time I was being
blocked in the human cage of 4 men, these holy men were pressed against
every part of my body. I taunted them asking - "Ah - so this is more tzniut
than me sitting there? Or is this really what you all wanted?" One of them
actually replied: "Yes, this is more tzniut".

As we approached the Old City, I whispered to one of the camera men to get
me the police. As one of them attempted to get off, he was blocked by the
men and several of the men yelled at him in Hebrew to not get the police.
He backed away. However, when we got off the bus, I attempted to stay with
the "holy man" who was cowardly trying to avoid me. I began yelling at the
top of my lungs for the police, ran through security and a soldier and
police man came and detained him. At this point a bunch of women came up to
the police and the soldier and loudly started telling them that this was all
my fault, that I had started it by refusing to move to the back of the bus.
(Yes, I know, the Kafkaesque nature of it does not elude me either).
However, the police and the soldier weren't buying it and demanded that this
man wait while they went to get a supervisor. While waiting, an American
woman came up to me and calmly asked me, "Why is it so important to you to
sit there? We are the majority - we have decided that we want a separate
seating bus." I calmly responded: "Why is it so important to you that I
NOT sit there? And who says you are the majority? If you are, then why not
use the 2 choices available to you: 1) Petition Egged to make this a
Mehadrin bus, or 2) Get your own private hasa'a. But until you succeed in
doing either, this is a public bus and anybody can sit wherever they want.
Now, let me ask you, is there really more kedusha in men beating, kicking,
and spitting at a woman because she won't give up her seat?" She never
responded, she just looked down, shrugged, and walked away.

While waiting for the supervisor, several of the "holy" man's friends
surrounded him and quickly ran with him escorting him to the tunnel in the
men's section of the Kotel. I would not go into the men's section of the
Kotel so I waited there mistakenly thinking he had to go out from where he
went in. I later learned that one can escape into the Moslem quarter via an
exit. This was apparently what he did as the police came back and could not
find him. In the meantime, the men with the video cameras showed the film
to the police. And then, one brave soul . . . . .

One of the men on the bus came up to me while I was standing with the police
and said he would like to help me. He was thoroughly disgusted by what
happened and he had witnessed the entire series of events. This man gave
the police his name and phone number and offered to be a witness. He said
he could not get up to help me because he was blocked by the men beating me
and he was sure they would have all ganged up on him, too. Perhaps this is
why the bus driver did not stop. I don't know. But, the bus driver did not
summon the police at the Kotel, either. Yes - he was wearing a kippa, the
black velvet kind.

The witness offered to get me a doctor as my face was red and starting to
swell but I declined his kind offer and wished him a good Shabbos. The
police advised me to make a report at the Old City Police Station (Kishlei)
inside Sha'ar Yaffo which I did at 9 a.m. with the commander, Yoram.

And, Sunday morning, November 26 I was back on the # 2 bus in my makom
kavua. Curiously missing was the "holy" man and his defenders. And nobody
asked me to go to the back of the bus.

Miriam Shear

P.S. I have sent an email to Egged filing a formal complaint. I am asking
that the # 2 bus not be granted Mehadrin status as I feel that this
privilege has been nullified by the actions and inactions of the # 2
passengers. And YES - you may print this, post it on your web site,
forward it, do with it as you please. Covering up what we are afraid will
be a Chillul Hashem will not rein in such evil - only exposure. Violence
against one's fellow Jews should have a very, very heavy cost until it is no
longer "acceptable".

Just when you thought that we here in Israel did not have enough to worry about, we have had a convicted rapist on the loose for almost two weeks now. If you haven't followed this story I would recommend going to your favorite source for Israeli news and read up.

The story of Benny Sela sort of reminds me of the famous "Sniper Case" that rocked the Washington D.C. area about four years ago. There has been so much media coverage of the story that there are those who believed that it was helping Sela remain on the lamb. The police also look like such idiots that, the unintentional effect is that Sela almost appears to be an almost mythical figure as he continues to elude the police. Things have gotten so out of hand that a court has ordered a gag order on any media coverage of the case.

There are large signs throughout the country with Sela's picture and the bold headline saying something like "together we can capture Benny Sela". Sela, escaped police custody while being transported to a court date that he didn't have. The police officers that accompanied him failed to use shackle his legs and Sela used a ruse to distract officers and scale a wall at the court. Police claim that Sela is acting alone, but this seems really hard to believe. There are alleged Benny Sela sightings all over the country. In one instance in Tiberias, a poor homeless guy kept being arrested and finally appeared on television appealing to the public and police not to arrest him anymore since he wasn't the wanted fugitive.

At one point there were at least 3,000 police officers and volunteers involved in the search for Sela. Publicly, the police say that they have scaled back the search for Sela, but here in Modiin at least the police continue to work extended shifts to deal with the effects of the ongoing man hunt.

Last night, we had an uneventful evening on patrol. My partner who was the shift commander managed to get a hair cut and I took the patrol car for a spin while he was on break. In what has to be a first for me here in Modiin, I actually saw someone get a parking ticket. There was a car that was parked on one of the major streets here in the city and was blocking on lane of traffic. My partner wrote the guy a ticket which will cost him or (in this case his company car) 250 Shekels.

Everyone seemed to be worn down and tired from the long hours that they have been putting in. Benny Sela, however, remains on the loose.

It is hard to believe that the political situation can get anymore absurd than it already is. However, Ehud Olmert seems to have been able to elevate the situation to a new level of absurdity. In fact, there are times that if you close your eyes and listen to what's going on, our country seems like it is run by the foolish men of Chelm that Isaac Bashevis Singer made famous.

Let's take this so called "cease fire". Imagine, Olmert and his cronies sit around his house trying to think of ways to keep their jobs. They scratch their heads and mumble to themselves as they search for answers. The country is in a mess. The people don't seem to be buying what Olmert has been telling them about how we won the war. There are seven separate investigations into Olmert himself. The President might be indicted for rape or other sex crimes. Cabinet members try to out do themselves as to who can be more of an idiot than the other. One day its the Defense Minister, then its Tzipi Livni, oh, how about the Army Chief of Staff we can't forget about him.

If Olmert did not have enough problems, there is the continuing "annoyance" of those Kassam missiles being fired into the backwater town of Sderot, where the hated Defense Minister Putz (I mean Peretz) lives. Olmert and his wise men, have to figure away out of this crisis. After much thinking, and more thinking, Olmert has an idea. "I've got it" he explains. "We will tell the people that there is a cease fire" he yells. The wise men, seem incredulous, "how can that be?", "why Abbas can't stop a fly let alone a Kassam rocket" declares another. Olmert tells them that there is no need to worry as he quickly picks up the phone and dials. "Muhmad, my friend how are you" he says to Abbas. After listening to Abbas tell him about all of his problems with Hamas, Olmert tells him of his idea. "But, Ehud they won't listen to me" Abbas says dejectedly, "don't worry about that" says Olmert, "if we tell people there's a cease fire, then there is one".

Hmmmm......Abbas and the wise men all ponder the idea, a cease fire that is not a cease fire.....It could work. Almost in unison, the wise men tell Olmert, "oh, this is a great idea" "this is why you are the prime minister". Abbas agrees that it is a wonderful idea.

Soon, Olmert's wife Aliza the Yenta, wanders into the kitchen and asks what is going on. The wise men inform Yenta of her husbands wonderful idea. "You fool" she screams, no one will ever believe that and she begins to hit him with a broom. "Stop you foolish woman I am the prime minister" Olmert cries.

Then I wake up from my dream and realize that I'm not in Chelm.

Did I really say that I wasn't going to blog anymore? I have learnt that I don't owe the hosting company an arm and a leg I guess I continue to blog. Please stay tuned for a post on the riveting subject of Israel: The Country They Call Chelm.

Those of you who frequently visit this site will know that time between posts grows ever longer and so I wonder is that we are near the end or that the end is near? The original purpose of this blog was to write about the transition of our life from Baltimore to Israel. I seem to have stopped writing about that long ago. We certainly have not completely transitioned to our new life here. We continue to learn new things all the time. In fact, just today we finally figure out how to play the lottery. We did so in honor of Ilene's birthday and she won ten shekel! So, I guess there is always more to write. Of course, there is always stuff to write about the political situation, the security (or lack thereof) situation, political corruption, education, and so on.

Writing this blog has been great and I could have only done this through the generosity of my good friend Greg. I really enjoy reading other blogs as well. However, the bulk of my time is now spent.....well writing. No, I haven't gotten a job as a marketing writer or a technical writer. I have spent the last year writing a book on my experiences as a nursing home administrator. Some of you know this some of you do not. I have almost finished writing this book and I really have been trying to spend the bulk of my time on it. I really have enjoyed doing it and I really hope that some day in the future you will all be able to run out to your local bookstore or just go to Amazaon.com and buy it. It's really hard to imagine that day may actually come, but it is possible.

So, I see so many things coming to an end, but with the hope of new beginnings. I may just stop writing this blog and buy the domain name for use down the road. One never knows when Cahan might run for city council again. I might just start another blog and do it under another name. I'm really not sure.

I certainly hope that there was an end to other things, maybe I should list them:

I wish that the reign of the Olmert Government would end.
I wish that the rain of Kassam rockets on Sderot would end.
I wish that construction on the train to Tel Aviv would end.
I wish that my kids bickering with each other would end.
I wish that the constant need to wash dishes would end.
I wish that my wife's "to do" list would end.
I wish that Jewish infighting would end.

Well, that's at least a partial list. In the past I might have tried to solicit suggestions from the audience, but that just doesn't happen. So, that is the end.

Well, as fate would have it I find myself in a hotel room in Solomons, Maryland. My room over looks the marina on Back Creek. It is really quite an impressive view with the all the leaves changing colors and everything. This Shabbat we will read Parshat Lech Lecha, which some have come to refer as "Shabbat Aliyah" due to the many references in which our fore father Abraham and his descendant's are promised the Land of Israel. This Shabbat I will discuss what I see as the "Relevance of Parshat Lech Lecha" at Shomrei Emunah. There is so much to discuss. I guess I can't give it away here. Shabbat Shalom.