Chagall was here

Sandstorms in Jerusalem...it felt as if my glasses would be sandblasted like a windshield at Herring Cove on a windy day. We started the day going to the Hadassah Medical Center; fully funded by Americans, it is one of the 10 best hospitals in the world. They are at the forefront of embryonic stem cell research, moving ahead of US research institutes who were hobbled by the Bush administration policies. The reason for going there was to see the windows designed by Marc Chagall for the small synagogue in the medical center. There are 12 windows, each based on the 12 tribes of Israel and signifcant moments in Jewish biblical history.

After that, we headed for the Israel Museum where we saw the Dead Sea Scrolls. Yup, the real deal except for the book of Isaiah which was the only one of the scrolls that was complete. There is a reproduction of it to be viewed with the original in a location not available to the public. We asked Isaac, our guide, why it was not displayed and he said that there was concern that the scroll could be subject to an attack because of its value to Jewish history. Also at the Israel Museum, is a 1/50 replica of the Old City of Jerusalem as it stood in 70 AD. Herod, being a meglomaniac, had a huge palace (Isaac thought it was funny when I used the expression McMansion for the palace). It was great to have the history lesson from Isaac on what life would have been like at that time in this multi-layered city. Isaac told us that Herod had two passions, killing and building. Makes me want to read more about Herod and that period in Jerusalem.

We then moved on to Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust Museum. We were only given 2 hours there, which was too short for us, but Isaac said it was too long a time for some people who became overwhelmed. Although much of the information was familiar to me, there is always something new to learn about what happened in Europe under Nazi occupation. The museum was filled with new Israeli soldiers; it appears that this is part of their training, for good reason. Isaac (who is the child of survivors) said that the lessons of the Holocaust cannot be separated from the belief that Israel has a right to exist. He is right. After it became apparent that the Nazi goal was to have Europe become Judenfrei (Jew-free) and that millions of people needed to be rescued, almost no countries stepped forward to assist in rescuing the Jews of Europe. Oddly enough, as other countries were turning away people, the Dominican Republic accepted a few hundred; drop in the bucket, but worth mentioning. Hundreds of Jews were also allowed to enter China at Shanghai. Isaac pointed out that if there had been an Israel at that time, there would have been no Holocaust. Michele and I both were at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington when it first opened. Although Yad Vashem is an incredible place with a wealth of information about those years, I think the USHMM has a wider variety of exhibits and is more creative in its approach. Maybe I'm nitpicking and we should all be thankful that both of these museums exist. Friends scoff at me when I say that I think every Jew in America should have a passport and a gun; the lessons of the Holocaust are undeniable and we can never be complacent. Years ago, Nat Hentoff wrote that if he woke up one morning in NYC and heard on the radio that all Jews should pack one bag and go to Grand Central Station, he wouldn't be surprised. Just 'cause you're paranoid doesn't mean they are not out to get you. On that note, I'm going to tuck in for the night in the lovely King David Hotel. Two more days here. Tomorrow, the Dead Sea and Massada, as well as a visit to Qumran, the site of the discovery of the aforementioned Dead Sea Scrolls. More to come.....