another sunny and busy winter's day

the frisbee today was AWESOME - right until i started wearing out and my responses got all awkward. still, there was an hour or so of craziness before that point ^_^

drinks before, coffee and drinks afterwards, all carried through by a wonderful, sunny and busy winter's day - fantastic, although it bodes ill for the summer :S

i'm off now to handle the laundry - i just had to post the following (i received it in the mail, i don't know who the author is):

Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2009, 6:48 PM

It was a day that will go down in the annals of history for the Jewish community of Johannesburg.

With only a few hours notice, the Johannesburg Jewish community mobilised and converged on Beyachad, the headquarters of communal organisations including the South African Zionist Federation and stood tall and proud and defiant against a counter rally by the Palestinian Solidarity Committee and COSATU (Council of South African Trade Unions).

Having been denied permission to rally against the Jewish community, the PSC and COSATU decided to go ahead with their demonstration. With great appreciation for the technological tools of bulk sms and Facebook (a few phonecalls and a regular broadcasting on our community station, Chai FM) we organised press and security and placards, flags and a sound system and gathered in the grounds of Beyachad to face our opposition. From within the perimeter of Beyachad ours would be a legal gathering as opposed to theirs which was illegal and drew wary policemen who cordoned off the area surrounding us.

We came out in our numbers to say that the brazen act of aggression perpetrated by the PSC and COSATU against our community by coming into our neighbourhoods where we have schools and synagogues and private homes is unacceptable and will not be tolerated! A provocative act by South Africans against fellow South Africans will not be tolerated! Importing the Middle East conflict into our neighbourhood will not be tolerated! Coming into our neighbourhood on the eve of Shabbat, disrespecting our holy tenets will not be tolerated! Burning flags outside of Sydenham-Highlands North Shul will not be tolerated! At a time when the levels of anti-Semitism are rising rapidly in South Africa and the community is feeling vulnerable and unsettled, this open act of provocation showed us that the battle lines have been drawn.

While we respect and encourage the freedom of speech which is a benchmark of democracy, if you take political issue against another country, protest in your own neighbourhood, protest outside an embassy or in a public stadium but do not bring your hatred into our neighbourhoods!!!

I wish I could bottle and sell the vibe that resonated through everyone that day. How proud we are of our community. How magnificently Avrom Krengel, Chairman of the SAZF and Chief Rabbi Goldstein as well as Mendel Kaplan and Zev Krengel spoke. How we belted out Hatikvah and when Avrom yelled Am Yisrael Chai, he was answered with a resounding chorus of CHAI!!!!

To our organisations whose efforts are inexhaustible we salute you.

Let it be known that on Friday 6 February 2009, the Johannesburg Jewish community, young and old, affiliated and non-affiliated, religious and secular stood together and said WE STAND WITH THE STATE OF ISRAEL. SHOULDER TO SHOULDER. BROTHER TO SISTER. WE WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED!

Let it be known that on the 6th of February 2006 the Jews of Johannesburg took back their neighbourhood!

i'm really proud of them for standing up, but really saddened that it's come to this. if only the hasbara (explanation) movement weren't so pathetic, the rest of the civilized world might actually understand that we're fighting on the frontline for the entire western world.

the rally in the news
more worrying related news