עם ישראל חי

Am Yisrael chai

The people of Israel live.

I hurt inside. Hamas attacked Israel, kidnapped little kids, women, men, elderly Holocaust survivors. I’ve no illusions the victims are still alive. Hamas attacked music festival goers and gunned down people as they tried to run to safety. Hamas screams God is great. I scream you have no God for there is no god of hatred and murder.

I see the photos. The one that hurt the most was of two Israeli soldiers shielding a child as they huddled against a wall while sirens warning of an attack wailed.

Once again, Israel fights for the right to exist. This war isn’t about land or money, or any other tangible. This was is about Hamas, a terrorist organization whose stated purpose is to murder Israelis, attempting to wipe out Israel.

Golda Meir said we have a secret weapon. We have nowhere else to go. She’s right. Nowhere else on earth is it completely safe to be a Jew.

I was on the receiving end of anti-Semitism in my painting class on Tuesday. It came from a Muslim woman. I won’t be attending class for a while. How long a while I don’t know yet. It’s not a lack of courage. It’s a reality that I could very well say something that would make the situation worse and I don’t want to do that. Instead, I’ll be working on my paintings during open studio time. I like working by myself. I like working when it’s quiet. I like working when I can enter the Art Zone and the entire world disappears.

I’ve the start of an idea for a fiber piece about this war. I intend to do a painting as a study for the fiber piece. I want to have the colors worked out before I start cutting fabric.