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Abi Taylor-Abt

Why I can’t talk right now..

It isn’t that I’m not available to talk on Skype, in fact currently, I’m almost constantly at the computer. It’s that I am reticent to talk. The intense emotions that I feel are so ingrained within me right now that talking to people who aren’t here is a challenge. Reading facebook posts from well-meaning friends makes me physically ache. That sounds melodramatic but its true.

Each day I watch the news, talk to my friends here, and worry about all of us.  Over 30 families will never again be complete and the sheer numbers of wounded that have to recover, deal with loss of income and devastated routines, they too, are preying on everyones minds.  The fields lying forgotten, with crops untended, will have yet another unintended consequence in the coming months of financial costs for us all along with a shortage of vegetables. International flight restrictions, however temporary, help Hamas win a media war of bias and destroy years of educating people that Israel is not a total war zone.

I’m right here and I don’t know how to fix this. I can’t fix this. Twenty years a Jewish Educator and I can’t educate the world and my heart hurts.

So here’s what I can do. Share my status, share my thoughts. Remember our troops. Ignore the politics, our boys are fighting and need us. Israel needs us.  Pizza, underwear, showers, sandwiches, even dog food for the canine unit.  There are lots of different ways to do this.

Share all our posts, pass on the requests.  Inform yourselves, inform others, fight the media war online whilst our loved ones fight the war on the ground. No more reticence, no more hiding behind half-hearted posts, don’t just like the pro-Israel stuff, share it and action it, for the world to see. If we can just get people to listen, if we can just get people to talk…

So try me again, give me a call. I’m next to my computer and my Skype is on.

About the Author
Abi Taylor-Abt is an outstanding Jewish Educator and Curriculum Developer who has worked in the field of Jewish Primary and Secondary Educational Curriculum Development for over twenty years. She is the author of Lessons in Jewish Learning - a grab and go curriculum for communities and Jewish schools. Originally from London, Abi spent time living in Israel, South Africa, England and the United States. After working in Boise, Idaho, Abi spent 5 years in Israel for the second time whilst her children served in the army. She is currently Director of Education for Yachad a combined educational endeavour between the conservative congregation of Beth Shalom and the reform community of Temple Emanu-El in Michigan, USA. A 2018 recipient of the Klein/Grinspoon Award for Excellence in Jewish Education, Abi is also awaiting the video version of her recent ELI Talk Detroit Speaker Fellowship.