Following our publication of several poems in the January 10 INBOX section, I received this wonderful New Year’s poetic greeting from Canadian-Israeli writer Simone Cohen Scott, an occasional contributor to The Jerusalem Report:
My wish for you in ’22Is this: May all your dreams come true!And all our hopes that things be betterGet actualized, right to the letter.Let’s make a list, in this dire time,Of what needs fixing. Make it rhyme.There’s health, of course, as everyone knows.May these bug battles finally close.I wish that truth would reappearIn everything we see and hearI’d like to see us more obsessedWith loving than with things possessed.Let’s value time like we do moneyAnd use it wisely. That’s not funny!We often let it drip away,As if we think we’re here to stay.Let’s put each moment to good use;Increase our love; don’t be obtuse!‘Acts of Loving Kindness,’ that’s where it’s at.It would make God happy if we did that.Some make New Year’s Resolutions,Looking for their life’s solutions.If that’s your style I wish you well,Hope you keep ‘em, that’d be swell.But as for me, here’s what I’ll do,I’ll pray a steadfast prayer for you.For health & joy & love & truth,And may your faith grow through the roof!
It comforted me after learning of the passing in Jerusalem of a dear friend and colleague, Ralph (Rafi) Dobrin, who would have appreciated the lines about truth. Dobrin, who was born in Johannesburg in 1937 and grew up in Durban, was laid to rest at Har Hamenuhot Cemetery on December 30. A fine human being and writer, he started his own publishing business in 1970 after working at The Jerusalem Post and Israel Magazine.
Describing himself, Dobrin wrote, “I came to Israel in 1957 and my main concern, apart from the wellbeing of my family, is this country’s survival in the face of the ongoing quest of a large part of humanity to obliterate us – using falsehood, half-truths and the self-indulgent obtuseness of the so-called enlightened peoples of the free world. But Israel’s survival is dependent mainly on the character and spirit of its people. Integrity, common decency and a feeling of togetherness must be developed as well as a belief in national destiny.”
Dobrin was a fervent Zionist who believed that the best path for effective Israel advocacy was what he termed “truthfulness” – and he ran a website named Israel and Truth (truthandsurvival.wordpress.com), based on principles he summed up as follows:
The principles of truthfulness
- Don’t lie. Be honest and accurate in whatever we say.
- Refrain from telling half-truths and the omission of relevant facts. That’s as deceptive as outright lies.
- Don’t exaggerate unduly.
- Admit if we realize that we have been wrong about something.
By following these rules, Dobrin wrote, we will “make this a better, safer and happier world for everyone.” In his book, How to Avoid Armageddon (2011), he wrote: “How do we resolve the Israel-Arab conflict? And how will we avoid a global doomsday situation? Armageddon! Well, if it is usually falsehood that enables wrongdoing and evil to be done, then the logical answer is... truthfulness, in the sense of being honest about what we’re saying. Actually, this is humanity’s most important and precious value.”
Dobrin sometimes overstated his case, but he made many salient points, which – like him – are worthy and worth remembering.
May his memory truly be a blessing!