Simcha on the Square

In celebrating 350 years of the establishment of Anglo-Jewry in London, the festival last Sunday of "Simcha on the Square" landmarked the historic Jewish event with fascinating music in the idiom of Chassidic, Sefardi, Klezmer, Yiddish, and Hebrew. Along with the ancient Shofar Blowing or blowing of the ram's horn. And not
to also mention Synagogue Songs! Added to such was Greek and Turkish Romaniote music of the diasporas that included "Yehme Levovi or My Heart Groans - a poem by Israel Ben-Moshe Najara (1555-1625) as sung," so stated the Simcha programme, "in the Maftirim tradition to music by Ottoman composer Neyzen Yusaf Pasha (1821-1884). This tradition began in the 17th century and represents a remarkable encounter between Sephardi synagogue and the Mevlevi dervishes."

A number of noted Jewish organisations like B'nai B'rith, The Jewish Renaissance Magazine, Rabbinic Conference of Liberal Judaism, etc., were naturally represented at the festival that was held at London's
famed Trafalgar Square at where about a 1,000 folkz gathered in rapt attention that also included me.

Next year in 2oo8, the Diamond Anniversary of the State of Israel is also marked. What surprised me, however, at the Simcha (or Celebration) was seeing no Israeli national flag at the festival mast. I saw
plenty of Judaica and so I bought my first Yarmulka or Jewish skullcap to add to my collection of interfaith
memorabilia. I tried some good Kosher food, too.

But aside from the public fanfare of the Simcha festival, all wasn't really sugar and spice and all thingz
nice for today's World Jewry. At least not from what I read in the 46-page British weekly called The Jewish News (TJN), which was given away as gratis by the newspaper to all at the festival. TJN was replete with condemnations, accusations, complaints and criticism against non-Jews.

It was disheartening for me as a Gentile to first read such a condemnatory story, as reported by TJN's Marc
Shoffman, against South Africa's beloved Nobel Peace Laureate and Anglican Archbishop-Emeritus Desmond Tutu of Cape Town. I read that His Grace, the archbishop, has been ban from speaking at next year's American PeaceJam at St. Thomas University (the Jam has now been moved to Minnesota's Metropolitan State University) because an un-named Jewish group has objected to his statement that he was "deeply distressed" by his visit to Israel. At that visit, His Grace had roundly condemned what he believes are serious political and military problems "between Israel's policies and those of Nazi Germany and between Zionism and racism." Next, they'll ban the Dalai Lama from speaking for something or other won't they? And to read TJN, one would almost think the Gestapo was standing on every street corner ... My impression was TJN seems to thrive and survive on portraying Jews through the spectrum and prism of victimology.

Today, I think Jews are overwhelmingly safer than they were 50 or 60 years ago despite the rash of anti-semitism, from time to time and here and there, and some heated debates between Gentiles and Jews due sometimes to pure misunderstandings between them. When I visited Auschwitz and Birkenau Nazi Camps in Poland last year, I was moved almost beyond words to see, some 60 years after the Jewish pogrom, the utter starkness and diabolical presence as I stood at what was once a Fascist enclave of raw iron bars, concertina wire, medical torture, human expriments, wicked starvation, gruelling deaths, and hideous gas chambers.

After that shattering experience in Poland, I now believe that our Jewish friends need to look forward and not always see evil of the past as an indication of others' intention to repeat evil against them in our modern age.
I think Jews have many more friends than they realise or even frankly appreciate ... They don't need to apologise, but neither do they need, either individually or collectively, to condemn non-Jews at every turn
satisfy their deep-rooted sense of victimization and self-inflicted paranoia. If you feel you're a victim, you begin to behave like a victim even when perhaps you're not a victim, except in the figment of one's own
imagination or false memory.

I was so glad I made it to the "Simcha on the Square." Just like I was when I was invited to this year's Holocaust Memorial Day Lecture held at The Imperial War Museum at where I also first met and photographed Ben Helfgott, 78, a Polish survivor of two Nazi Death Camps. Ben was the first ex-concentration camp inmate I
had encountered and for him to then share some of his thoughts and life experiences with me was a treasure
indeed as an avowed and avid Anglican that I am. Oh, the only country I have been to that stated it officially has no Jews -- not even one -- that lived there was at North Korea's capital of Pyongyang that I visited earlier this year ...

Immediately after Simcha, I then went and visited Brian Haw at Parliament Square as we discussed the issues
of war and peace under the shadows of the House of Commons and Big Ben that chimed at 2:00pm.
Brian, who I have personally known now for close to three years, was surrounded with plenty of graphic
anti-war posters and degroatory signs aimed at Gordon Brown and, of course, Anthony Blair the archtypical warmonger of New Labour. Since Blair's departure as PM, the sick joke is that he's been made International
Peace Envoy to the Middle East. I've never known a warmonger to be a peace activisit let alone appointed
a "peace envoy" that's an insult to true pacificist wherever they may be. As for Brian Haw, he looked alot better than when I last saw him over a year ago outside Bow Street Magistrates Court, where the British cops have constantly hauled him into for something or other to help disrupt his permanant peace camp across from the Houses of Parliment that no longer truly represents the people to which it claims to represent! Hardly! Since Brian won't budge from his ant-war stance, some Members of Parliament have complained about his "eyesore" and "obnoxious" display against the New Labour's present British Government that shows more and more contempt against the wishes of the people. From the Iraq War to the denial of a referendum
on the major national issue of the new European Treaty, New Labour has been truly been foul in its aggrogance to dismiss or ignore the will of the British people. Gordon Brown is a cloned clone of hideous Anthony Blair - nothing more and nothing less in my opinion. And what they've done against Brian Haw with
vicious police raids and harassment against his British anti-war campsite is the shame of the nation. They might as well have committed disphendonamena against, I guess ... Asinine Bush and Blair will live forever
in ignomy, I believe, for the murderous, illegal, and brutal invasion and occupation of Iraq that is now being seen for what it really is - an ill-conceived and misadventure of American military might to grab oil and further the stranglehold of the Neo-American Empire on the world. Like the Nazis, perhaps one day Bush and Blair will br tried for war crimes no matter what they now say in their ignorant and chavaliar self-
justification for attacking weak Iraq ... and now destroying its very fabric and core in the name of imposing Western democracy and American say so!
UPDATE: Just three days after I visited Brain Haw, cocky Westminister officials, with 10 Met police constables standing guard, forcibly removed the sleeping tents used by him and his supporters at Parliament Square under the guise of enforcing the council's local by-law that prohibits such tents to be there. On my way to Winchester the day after the latest raid, I saw from the coach how Brain's tents were now left on the concrete sidewalk or pavement for him to sleep instead of on the green grass to where the small tents had been. Westminister Council is perhaps one of the coldest and most callous councils in England today. They treat the homeless like dirt and their predatory traffic wardens are notorous and vicious to which the council has extracted over 63 million pounds (or more than $US125 million) in fines and penalties against motorists of every kind within the past year alone. Like Parliament, Westminister Council officials have no shame in what they do. They lower the quality of life for all, except for themselves. Sorry, Brian, that the bastards have attacked you again all because you seek peace of the kind they obviously hate ... Take care for now ...