Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Thoughts on the War

christinapaschyn — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:05:43 +0000

Thoughts on the War
By Christina Maria Paschyn
Piece originally appeared in the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Masters of Arts Program in Middle East Studies 2008-2009 Bulletin

Accompanying photograph published in bulletin; I am holding a Rotary Club of Parma pendant

“Is this what it feels like to be an Israeli?” I thought with a sigh as I cowered underneath the door frame to my room. Clinging to one another, my German roommate and her visiting boyfriend did the same; the three of us stood there staring at each other with a mix of fear and excitement in our eyes waiting for the wail of the siren to stop. I’m not sure if we really thought we could protect ourselves from an incoming rocket by following the safety procedures for an earthquake. But since the start of the Gaza War on December 27th, we had not bothered to search for the bomb shelter in our dormitory complex, nor had we really thought that Hamas would be brazen enough to hit Be’er-Sheva, the largest city in the Negev Desert. The reality of the war set in, however, when we heard the sickening thuds of two grad rockets landing somewhere in the city. I barely slept that night – I was too afraid I would not hear the next alarm and thus risk my chance for survival.

The 2009 Gaza War ultimately deepened my understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the months leading up to it, I had traveled to the cities in Israel and the West Bank that had been hit hardest by ethnic/religious tension and violence like East and West Jerusalem, Sderot and Hebron. I had spoken with Palestinian nationalists, rabbis, community leaders and everyday people in an effort to grasp the underlying issues. But while I could sympathize with their depressing stories of terrorist and settler attacks, human rights violations and fallen friends and family members, I could not empathize with them. They were facing a reality completely foreign to me and my somewhat sheltered Midwestern existence. I worried that I would be forever stuck approaching the conflict from a solely detached and intellectual perspective. But that changed when the first rocket touched down in Be’er-Sheva. Suddenly I was thrown into a world full of anxiety and dread. My parents urged me to leave the city – even the country – for a few weeks, but I had no choice but to stay close. I had joined an English-speaking theater group called the Light Opera Group of the Negev (LOGON), and I just couldn’t bring myself to flee at the peak of our rehearsal season.

Luckily a fellow cast member offered me a place to stay in her home in Meitar, a city just outside of Be’er-Sheva. While still close enough to the rocket zone to hear the sirens every day, I took comfort in the knowledge that the rockets would probably never reach the suburb. But the relief was short-lasting for although I was now out of harm’s way, I knew that plenty of my friends were facing a more serious danger than I could ever imagine.

I turned pale when I heard that a friend, a 19-year-old army recruit, was being deployed to the Gaza border, and my heart ached for my Bedouin colleagues in Rahat when they expressed the fear they felt for their families in the Gaza Strip. I cried at footage showing the death and destruction in the Palestinian territory, but I could not contain my anger for news reports that described Hamas rocket and mortar fire as mere “pinpricks” on Israeli soil. Because of these pinpricks, life was disrupted and innocent lives were lost. University students were called up to fight and theater groups like LOGON were forced to rehearse in bomb shelters. One seven-year-old boy in Be’er-Sheva was left fighting for his life after rocket shrapnel pierced his skull, and today children in Sderot continue to seek counseling for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Thankfully, my Israeli friends and the sons and daughters of my cast members returned from the battlefield unharmed, but I only wish I could say the same about my Arab friends’ families in Gaza. The war has had lasting repercussions for me and my classmates; even as we prepare to leave Israel, some of us still jump at sounds that slightly resemble a siren like the creaking of a closing door or the revving of a distant motorcycle. But in the end, it reaffirmed for me the need for coexistence and peace in this region. I can only hope that the leaders of both sides of this conflict will one day embrace this message.

Remembering the Holocaust

christinapaschyn — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:53:16 +0000

On April 21st, Israelis paused for a two-minute silence to remember the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. It was marked by a series of sirens and according to the BBC, “pedestrians stopped in their tracks, drivers pulled over and got out of their cars and people in offices rose to stand next to their desks.”

On the day I attended a ceremony at Ben-Gurion University, which had invited Beersheba Rotarian Nathan Noach to speak about his own experience in the Holocaust. For those of you who may not remember, I had written about Nathan’s story in my previous post, “The Holocaust Inheritance,” and I consider him and his wife Ruth (and their children and grandchildren) to be my “host family.”

Nathan is truly an inspiration. He endured so much hardship and pain in his childhood and yet he emerged from that harrowing experience a warm and high-spirited individual, whose generosity and affection knows no bounds.

Although I can never truly repay Nathan for his hospitality and kindness towards me, I can share with you his story. Indeed, it is one that everyone should hear and it serves as a testament to the importance and necessity of the creation of this Jewish state.

Here is a video I took of his speech, with an English translation below.

Nathan Noach Holocaust Speech Part 1:

Nathan Speech Part 2:

My name is Hans Nathan Noach born in Eindhoven, Holland. We were six in the family: my parents, two brothers and a sister whom were older than I. We are from the city where there are the big factories of Philips. They are an important part for my being here. When the Germans entered Holland they started quickly with separating the Jews from the rest of the citizens. They did it by forbidding a lot of things for the Jews. For us it was forbidden to speak with people who were not Jews, even on the street. We the children were forbidden to play and speak with the children of our neighbors. All of our belongings from the house were taken even our bicycles (a principle thing for Dutch people) and it was forbidden for Jews to go or visit parks, cinemas, theaters or to learn at school or at the university. For the Jews it was forbidden to have a high position in any place because in the eyes of the Germans they were inferior. In a lot of places it was written on signs in the street and in public places that the entrance of Jews was forbidden. We had to go with a David Star not only on our coats but also on our shirts.

The Germans wanted to show to all of the citizens of the city that they are the conquerors of the country and for that reason on a day they toke fifteen workers – men and women non Jewish– and let them stand against a wall near the entrance of the factory and executed them. All that without any reason and without a trial or anything like that, but because they wanted the citizens to be afraid to open their mouths or to do anything against the Germans. My father before the war had a high managerial job at the Philips Factory but it was forbidden for Jews to work in such positions. The owner of Philips started a workplace for his Jewish workers to try to protect them from the Nazis.

A lot of the people of Holland tried to earn money by telling the Germans where Jews were hiding and that for small pocket money. They got 7 Dutch florins for each Jewish head.

On one day the Germans entered the workplace where my father was working and took all the Jewish workers including my father to a concentration camp in Holland. My family stood before the decision to go with our father to the camp or to leave him alone and to go in hiding. And without any hesitation we decided to go with him. My mother gave me as a child of eight-years old to make by myself the decision to hide or to go with them. I personally decided to go with my family.

Nobody has the right to say that the Jews went like sheep to the slaughter! A normal human being cannot understand, believe and get on his mind the unfathomable, cruel and barbarian conduct that was used by the Germans and their accomplices by trying to stamp out the Jews. The Satan should have had a blush on his cheek by seeing what the Germans and their collaborators did and when the moral assets were trampled down with a unbelievable cruelty.

In every human being there will be always be a flash of hope and we had that to! Let all of us learn an important lesson and that is that hatred to minorities is the reason for what they did to our people.

In the concentration camp the Philips factory again thought about their workers and built another workplace for them inside of the camp. Our group got a special treatment because the Germans needed the people of Philips for their craftsmanship. On the 2 of June 1944, we were taken by cattle train at night, when the directors of Philips were not in the camp. We were fifty people in every car. I was with the women and in that way we were on the railroad for four days long in closed cattle cars from Holland to Auschwitz-Birkenau. That is1500 kilometers. In the camps the men and women were split up. During the whole travel to Auschwitz only once we were allowed to go out of the train for a sort time. I had the possibility to run to my father and two brothers, and that’s the last time that I spoke to them in my life. When we passed the border of Holland, we sang in the train the Dutch national anthem and the Hatikva Hebrew hymn (now the national anthem of Israel), which were forbidden to sing. With our arrival at Birkenau we had to leave anything that we had with us behind us. Then we started to walk to the entrance of the camp and there we would get the clothes of the prisoners and get the number tattooed on our arms. During the travel in Europe there was connected to our train another one with Hungarian Jews. When we stood on the platforms the Hungarians passed us and they were taken straight to the gas chambers and crematoriums. Everybody who was living in the camp could see the killing system worked – how they entered the gas chambers and then the smoke would appear from the crematoriums.

All of us shall forever have to remember that the system was created especially for the “final solution” by killing all the Jews on earth. The Germans didn’t make any difference between Orthodox or secular Jews.

Just as the trucks spill the sand and concrete here on the campus to build the buildings of the university, just in that way the people were thrown out of the train cars. But together with their sacrifice of their life they were the foundation and the righteous reason for creating and building the state of Israel.

In Birkenau were the gas chambers and crematoriums. Children wouldn’t enter the camp – they would go straight to the gas chambers. Only twins and dwarfs were allowed to enter the camp because the German doctors wanted to use them for medical experiments. And that was done by beasts that were called doctors. We, 17 Dutch children from the Philips group entered the camp because of the importance of our group but we were apart from our mothers and from our families. And we were together with the twins and dwarfs.

Near the barrack where we lived, they assembled every day on a big pile all the people that died during the last day and night .The dead were brought afterward to the crematorium. They were totally naked because people from their barracks had taken everything that was on them.

One of the special experiences I had with my sister is the following story:

A few days before we were freed by the Russian army, a man (a friend of Nathan’s brother) came to us and told us that he had promised to my oldest brother that when it’s possible for him he will take us under his wing. One night he came to us and took us from Birkenau to Auschwitz by foot but during the walk a German army car with soldiers came up to us and they loaded their rifles because they wanted to kill us. Of course I cried because I understood what will going to happen with us. The man who took us spoke to them and they left us and didn’t shoot.

After we came back to Holland I was twice ill with tuberculosis, I had to be in bed for rest a few years. And in 1952 I made aliyah. After two year’s I was recruited to the army and got the highest health grade. I served in the Golani division. The first rifle that I learned to shoot with was a German rifle and on that rifle was engraved the German swastika but this time the rifle was not against me but for my defense, and that is our victory.

My mother Esther died of exhaustion in Birkenau when my sister and I were at her side. My father Abraham also died of exhaustion in a camp in Germany and my two brothers Max and Jules died of exhaustion and froze to death. Let all of them be remembered.

Together with that we have to remember to thank, to respect and to learn from “The righteous under the Nations” that were non Jews who put their lives and their families at risk to try to save Jews from the Nazis. We owe them our appreciation and thanks for their immense heroism.

My sister Rachel is living here in the country but she lost a son in the air force. Two of my granddaughters are now in the army and one of them is an officer and we are very proud of them.

I want to read a poem that is written by my son when he was eight years old, born in Beer-Sheva and after that graduated from Ben-Gurion University:

Six million
Six million thoughts whirl
Six million graves
Six million
just like a balloon
the balloon explodes
Just like a dream
12 million eyes with fear
12 million trembling hands
12 million legs bungling
Hundreds of millions in the world deny,
that our brothers, our grandparents, our parents died brutal deaths
Six million miserable

I would also like to share with you this video of a BGU student singing the Jewish prayer “God Full of Mercy.” It is typically sung at funerals, and I don’t think the university could have found a more perfect voice for this particular memorial service. It moved me to tears.

Spring Has Sprung!

christinapaschyn — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:02:37 +0000

The flowers are blooming, the birds are chirping and Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is at the UN denouncing Israel as a “racist state” – again. Hooray, it’s spring time!!!

Greek procession around the tomb of Jesus!

Tomorrow I start my spring classes – perfect timing considering that I only finished my fall semester papers on Thursday. I wish I could say that I spent my spring break traveling the Middle East, but unfortunately I was cooped up for most of it, caught in a continuous cycle of writing, writing and writing. But it wasn’t all bad. I discovered some new television programs like Pushing Daisies (too bad it’s been canceled) and the Big Bang Theory, and I caught up with a few old ones like The Office and 30 Rock. But now I’m free as a bird, and since I no longer have play rehearsals to attend, I’m looking forward to discovering some new hobbies.

But what a better way to start off the season than by celebrating Easter – the mother of all holy holidays – in the Holy Land? Well, I technically celebrated Orthodox Easter, but I think it was a better choice on my part. After falling asleep at the Roman Catholic Christmas mass in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, I’ve realized that us Byzantine Catholics really have the better “tradition.” And Orthodox Christianity is practically the same thing. So on Saturday night, I hopped on a bus with my Orthodox-Russian/Ukrainian friend Anton (who is also from Parma, now attending med school in Haifa) to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem – the alleged site of the Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, burial and resurrection!

At first, the experience was a bit disappointing. We stood close to the supposed tomb of Jesus to watch the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate process around the rotunda three times (an Eastern Christian tradition), but there were just too many tourists crowding the entire place. Worst of all, they were Russian tourists! If you have ever been to Ukraine or Russia, then you know what I’m getting at. Russians just seem to be completely bereft of manners. I don’t know if it has something to do with all those years of standing in long Soviet breadlines, but they push and snarl at you to no end. One camera-crazy lady even started shoving an altar boy just so she could take a better picture! Seriously, the way they act you would think that Stalin was coming to deport them all to Siberia tomorrow!

Syrian Coptic Mass in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

The Greek Orthodox priests were no better. If you recall, in the fourth post of my (un)Holy Land series , I explained briefly that the Holy Sepulcher Church is tenuously divided among several different Christian groups and occasionally when one Christian sect crosses into another sects’ territory the whole Church erupts in fist fights (I tell ya, only in Jerusalem!). Well, I thought the hostilities were going to explode again on Easter Sunday. As tourists slowly made their way into Jesus’ final resting spot, a Greek priest suddenly marched right in and started shoving and pulling every one out. Apparently, he wanted to prepare the tomb for the mass, but he really could have gone about it in a better way. Aggravated by his utterly rude behavior, the tourists began shouting at him! Even the Christian Palestinian ceremonial guard, who had been ordered to guard the tomb, couldn’t control his aggravation. Another priest had to step in to prevent the guard and priest from striking each other. I’m sure Jesus was looking down with pride.

The actual procession was interesting, and after it the entire crowd erupted in cheers, shouting “Xpuctoc Bockpec” (Christ is Risen) in several different languages. One Russian nun got particularly excited, and she led the crowd in repeating a Russian Easter chant five or six times. But after about a two hours of non-stop standing – without the mass having even started yet – we decided to go outside to get some fresh air. Instead we came across a chapel in the Church run by the Syrian Coptics, who also were holding their Easter service. We stayed there the rest of the night (until 4am),

Me and Anton outside the Holy Sepulcher Church

and it was well worth it. This mass was much smaller and as a result much more intimate and meaningful. And let me tell you, those Syrian parishioners had to be some of the nicest people I have ever met! Everyone was full of smiles, and a nice old lady even offered me her extra foldaway chair to sit on during the two hour service!

All the women were wearing head scarves/veils in accordance with Orthodox/Coptic tradition (it’s a sexist tradition, but what can you do), although nobody seemed to care that I had come unequipped without one. But when it was time for communion, I asked a woman standing nearby if I could still receive the host without a veil. She shook her head no as she threw her own head scarf onto my head! It was a wonderful act of kindness at a beautiful Easter service. The friendliness of the Syrians was a much welcomed relief – I very much doubt that any of the Russian tourists would have offered me their headscarves should I have required one!

So in all, Easter in the Holy Land was a fascinating experience. I look forward to what the next six months will bring (a war with Iran perchance?)! Tomorrow is Holocaust Remembrance Day, and my Rotary “host dad” (well, that’s what he practically is anyway) will be speaking at the university about his own experience as a six-year-old boy in Auschwitz. I will provide a full account of the event this week. Also, in the next few weeks the Pope will be coming to visit the Holy Land. Let’s see if I will get the chance to meet him!

The Curtain Closes

christinapaschyn — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 14:19:18 +0000

Scene from the song "Marry the Man Today"

Guys and Dolls closed on Thursday, and I spent the weekend lying in a vegetative state, depressed to no end while stuffing an assortment of low-grade Israeli chocolate into my mouth.

LOGON was the shining jewel of my existence here in Israel, and I fear the next five months will be no where near as fun and fabulous. It had been five years since I had performed in some sort of a community theater production, and LOGON was no mere reintroduction.

Despite my long sabbatical, LOGON was perhaps the culmination of a lifetime of theatrical adoration and ambition. Sadly, I’m afraid that I will never find another musical theater group as warm, welcoming and fantastic. I truly wish I could make aliyah…I have fallen in love with Beersheba, and it’s all thanks to my friends and fellow actors in Guys and Dolls.

The shows went great, and we received some really amazing reviews from local theater connoisseurs. We performed in theaters all across the country from Or Akiva to Jerusalem (oh how I’ll treasure the memory of all those long, tedious bus rides), and my boyfriend Alex even got the chance to watch me on the stage!

I wish I could say the same about my mother…seriously what’s the point of having an expiration date on your passport if countries require a six-month buffer?!

Anyway, here are some of the reviews we received:

Drunk Dancing in Havana

Written to Anglobeersheba Yahoo Group by JPOST Freelancer Yocheved Miriam Russo

B”H
I have to admit that I was prepared to be disappointed in this year’s LOGON production, “Guys and Dolls”. It’s just that I thought last year’s show – “The King and I” – was so excellent, whatever they did this year would most likely be not as good.

But wow, was I wrong. Having seen the nearly flawless opening performance last night, I can tell you this: They outdid themselves this year – unbelievable, how wonderful it all was, the actors, the music, scenery and costumes, the choreography, the whole thing. It was the best ever.

It’s too bad the LOGON website doesn’t list the names of the actors who played each part. I’d love to praise a few of them by name – like the handsome rake who played Sky Masterson with such perfection – but apparently I dropped the program walking home last night, and I don’t
remember his name.

Whoever that actor was, he was magnificent – not just the words and songs, but even his body language spelled “professional gambler” – he was just great.

Out with the LOGON Boys (L to R: Gal, Jacob, Or and Shalev)

I don’t have any trouble remembering Christina Paschyn’s name – the day will come when we’ll all remember her. We’ll be saying, “Remember that year when she played with LOGON?” Playing the ingיnue role of Miss Sarah Brown, the Salvation Army-type missionary who incongruously ends up tipping a few too many Bacardi’s in a Havana nightclub, Christina was not only movie-star gorgeous, but had an awesome professional stage presence. It wasn’t only Sky Masterson who fell in love with her – I think the whole audience did. Wow.

There just aren’t words of praise enough for two of the LOGON
stalwarts. You just don’t get any better than Dov Landzbaum and Myra Bennett playing Natan Detroit and his patient fiance of 14 long years, Adelaide. Dov bought down the house several times, but the revival tune, “Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat” was absolutely amazing, the music, singing and dancing. What a talent Dov is — amazing that people with so much acting and singing talent live right here in the Negev.

Me with the director Yaacov Amsellem

Hard to say it, but Myra really outdoes herself in these floozy roles. As a Runyonesque “Doll” she plays a slightly-risquי ‘Hot
Box’ Broadway nightclub performer, but Myra also conveyed Adelaide’s inner shyness, as a woman who wants nothing more than to settle down with the man she loves in a nice little house with a picket fence. My favorite song was ‘Adelaide’s Lament’. Myra made it both funny and profound at the same time.

Ed Spitz had the show’s loveliest ballad, “More I cannot Wish
You” and sang with such feeling it was hard not to cry, while Amiel Schotz’s amazing ability to elegantly lift one eyebrow conveys more meaning than a dozen sentences. These two guys were marvelous. Every time Amiel came on stage, I started to smile before he did or said anything at all.

LOGON's "Riverdance" Warm Up!

Speaking as a die-hard Damon Runyon fan, one thing I really appreciated about the whole production was how the whole cast worked to stick to Runyon’s characteristic speech patterns. In all of Runyon’s productions,his characters never use contractions of any kind – they’ll never say, “I’ll see you”, but rather “I will see you.” Not “It’ll be fun” but rather, “It will be fun”. It’s not easy to stay in that speech mode – but all the players, and especially Dov, managed it very well.

Lastly, whoever was responsible for the scenery really worked miracles. It was not only cleverly contrived, but beautiful as well. Totally amazing — the billboards for “Gone with the Wind”, the ‘Coca Cola’sign, and the beautiful set in Havana. Those trees!

I don’t mean to leave anyone out. Everyone – the missionaries, Adelaide’s crowd, the news kids, the whole crowd of craps players were marvelous, every one of them. Not to mention the tireless producers! I thank each of them for a wonderful evening!

Sky and Sarah in Love

This is, by the way, a wholly unsolicited commercial. But remember, ‘Guys and Dolls’ plays again in Beersheba on March 18 and 19. Don’t miss it. Call 08- 653 2126 to see if there are any tickets left.

Yocheved Miriam Russo

From Rob Binder (Producer/Director of Encore!)

Congratulations on LOGON’s production of Guys and Dolls, which I attended in Jerusalem on Sunday evening. I think this show was a step-up from previous hits and does you much credit. I especially liked Sarah Brown and Sky Masterson (is he here just for the year, or for a longer stay?)

With best wishes,

Rob

Joe Simon, Theater lover from Kfar Aviv

Last night we had the pleasure of seeing your performance – in Modiin – of Guys and Dolls. This was the first time that we saw one of your performances.

We enjoyed every minute of it.

All of the cast performed in a professional manner (as one of my friends put it, “Amateur professionals”) but some were really impressive.

The Hot Box girls perform "A Bushel and a Peck!"

Of special note were:
Myra Bennett. All through her performance she reminded me of Sophie Tucker “Last of the Red Hot Mommas.” She could really belt out a song and was absolutely poifict as Adelaide.

Dov Landzbaum. He brought Nathan Detroit to life.

Alan Cohen. He reminded me of Stubby Kaye.

Christina Maria Paschyn. Beautiful with a sweet voice.

Jacob Schatz. He did “Sky” justice. The last time that I saw Guys and Dolls – as a movie – Marlon Brando played Sky Masterson. Jacob sings much nicer (I could even say Nicely, nicely).

The Conductor and orchestra did a marvelous job of accompaniment and, as we saw in several of the scenes, were

The Finale

able to adapt themselves to the timing of the actors. This was especially appreciated immediately after scene changes thereby allowing for a smooth production.

At one point – I don’t remember the exact moment – Yamima Osher, who did a wonderful job in the part of Mimi – fumbled her lines. Her recovery, however, was so smooth that I don’t think anyone else noticed it. Probably, the only reason that I did was because at that point I was looking directly at her. Sitting in the second row, to the left of the stage, I was able to see every nuance of expression on the actor’s faces.

Amiel Schotz – the original Irish Cop with the accent to match. Fantastic.

All in all, a wonderful and memorable performance.

I hope that we will have additional opportunities to enjoy your talents.

Do you have any plans for productions of Gilbert and Sullivan operas (or is it operettas?)?

Best Regards,

Joe Simon
Kfar Aviv

So I guess it’s now my turn to give a review!

Everyone in the show, from the actors to the backstage crew, was incredible and amazing. It was an honor and a pleasure to star alongside Jacob Schatz (Sky Masterson), who not only gave an outstanding performance, but also devoted much time and energy helping me with my songs and self-confidence. Dov Landzbaum (Nathan Detroit) and Myra Bennett (Adelaide) also shone on stage and they delivered so many show-stoppers. But Myra went above and beyond, designing and constructing the set as well as providing me with some much needed love and comfort in her home during the Gaza War. It was because of her that I was able to get any sleep at all during those awful weeks of rocket fire.

Lisa Rubinovich is quite possibly the world’s greatest stage manager. She put so much effort into making sure the show ran smoothly that I’m surprised she hasn’t collapsed from exhaustion yet. I also have to give her thanks for carting my bum to almost every rehearsal. Not even Hamas could deter her!

Last but certainly not least is the ingenious Yaacov Amsellem, who is most certainly the best director I have ever worked with. He is so imaginative, patient and kind, and he knew how to bring out the best of all our abilities. After many of our performances, audience members would comment that this show was LOGON’s finest production. And of course it was because Yaacov directed it!!!

So now that the show is over, what’s next on my agenda? Well, I have two long papers to write by April 16th, which I am not looking forward to. But I think I will spend most of the next few weeks procrastinating by watching 3rd Rock From the Sun reruns.

Sigh…not even John Lithgow can compete with LOGON.

LOGON flier

Nothing Says War Like Musical Theater!

christinapaschyn — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 11:27:32 +0000

Maybe this will persuade people to come see my show…

Picture appeared in The Jerusalem Post

Yesterday the Light Opera Group of the Negev was featured in the print edition of The Jerusalem Post. I was even interviewed about my on-the-job training as a “war correspondent!”

The Show Goes On

Here’s the full article:

The show goes on
Jan. 29, 2009
YOCHEVED MIRIAM RUSSO, THE JERUSALEM POST

In George S. Kaufman’s lively Broadway musical, Damon Runyon’s “guys and dolls” worry about winning craps games and finding true love. In real life, the guys and dolls of LOGON, the Light Opera Group of the Negev, have more serious problems, with their hometown of Beersheba recently enduring weeks of rocket fire.

The loss of rehearsal space was LOGON’S first casualty of the war. Traditionally, the troupe spends six months rehearsing locally in Beersheba for its 10 cross-country performances. “For several years, we’ve rehearsed in the auditorium in a local psychiatric hospital,” co-producer Frieda Gilmour tells Metro. “But with the Grads and missiles raining down, we had to move. The hospital’s bomb shelter would barely hold their patients and staff. They couldn’t accommodate an extra 40 LOGON actors.”

The troupe resettled in Meitar. “We were lucky. Meitar’s Masorti Congregation uses a bomb shelter for its services, and they offered to let us rehearse there,” Gilmour says. “It’s too small to move our scenery in, and Meitar, 25 kilometers from Beersheba, is a drive for most of us, but we’re doing fine. Even our director, Yaacov Amsellem, who lives right on the Gaza border, [drove] in every night straight through the danger zone.”

This year marks 28 years of musical comedy for the all-amateur group, which means that performing under fire has become old hat. During the first Gulf War in 1991, everyone toted gas masks to rehearsals. “We were doing The Yeomen of the Guard that year, and on our printed programs, we depicted a Yeoman wearing a gas mask,” Gilmour laughs.

“We weren’t even sure there’d even be a show,” she says. “Then a cease-fire took hold, so we went ahead. But at first, we weren’t permitted to sell more than half the tickets, because that’s all the theater’s bomb shelter would hold. We had to cut the orchestra by half, too, and everyone was so jumpy that one time when the cellist played a note, everyone ran for the shelter – it sounded like the siren. Still, only one venue canceled, and the rest of the time we played to full houses.”

The first wave of suicide bombings in 1996 presented another challenge. “Even among ourselves, we debated whether it was right to put on a musical when so many people were being killed. But we were doing Fiddler on the Roof, and because of the kind of show it is, we decided to go ahead. The day before our Jerusalem performance there was another serious attack. Calls came from all over, asking us to cancel, not only out of respect, but also because of the very real danger for everyone. But again, we decided the show must go on, so it did – we just hoped we’d get an audience.”

The whole LOGON crew recalls that Jerusalem performance of Fiddler as their finest moment. “The auditorium sat a thousand people, and we were turning people away. We were so packed people sat on the stairs. Maybe they came out of defiance, to show that Israel wouldn’t be cowed, or maybe it was just a show everyone loved so much. Maybe they hoped a couple of hours of Fiddler would offer a little respite. Whatever it was, the love that flowed back and forth between the audience and the actors that night is something none of us will ever forget.”

This year, the war situation meant that one of LOGON’S “dolls,” Christina Paschyn – in Israel for a year on a scholarship from Rotary International – earned on-the-job experience as a war correspondent. In the play, Paschyn plays Miss Sarah Brown, the pure-at-heart Salvation Army reformer who finally succumbs to the charms of Sky Masterson, the rakish craps player. Off stage, Paschyn offered live commentary for her hometown television station, WEWS in Cleveland, Ohio.

Some of her war stories were all too personal. “One of the rockets hit right next to our dorm, in a place I frequently go to relax. That day, I’d just been there, and had actually planned to stay longer, but something came up so I left – and the rocket hit exactly where I’d been. Driving in the car is the only time I’m really edgy. It’s scary to get out of the car to lie on the ground when the sirens sound,” the Parma, Ohio, native says.

“My career goal is to work in journalism in the Middle East, so when the chance came to do some reporting, I jumped at it. I [did] the interviews every night by Skype. It [was] a great opportunity to tell people in America’s Midwest what it’s like to live in a city that’s under rocket fire.”

Guys and Dolls plays in Beersheba, Kfar Saba, Modi’in, Or Akiva, Givatayim, Haifa, Netanya and Jerusalem, February 16 through March 19. For ticket information, call 08-641-4081.

Ceasefires, Elections and News, Oh My!

christinapaschyn — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:44:58 +0000

So this post is a bit late in coming, but I guess there’s never a bad time to celebrate peace (however temporary it may be)!!!

Yes, both Israel and Hamas have announced their own unilateral ceasefires. And now my classes are back on track, Guys and Dolls is no longer performing in a tiny bomb shelter and I once again can walk down the street with my iPod on full blast!

The country is moving forward too. On Feb 10th Israelis will head to the polls to vote for a new prime minister and governing coalition. Unfortunately, Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu and his right-wing Likud party seem to be in the lead, and his election will most likely thwart any hopes for a peace agreement to be reached in the near future.

I suppose that possibility had already been “severely injured” in the war; nevertheless, a Bibi election could prove to be the final nail in the coffin. His views are well known – he holds much disdain for a two-state solution and indeed, as my friend and fellow MAPMES student Ellis Weintraub recently put it, Bibi’s economic peace plan shows that he regards Arabs as mere “oriental scenery.”

In other words, Bibi dismisses Palestinians as a group of people who can easily be manipulated into slaving away for Israel and abandoning their aspirations for a homeland once the country begins to inundate them with Western luxuries.

But Bibi will be getting a rude awakening, for this “innovative” approach didn’t work for his political inspiration Moshe Dayan and it certainly won’t work for him.

Yet Israeli public opinion has a habit of fluctuating dramatically in times of war and peace, so it is still too early to call who will emerge victorious. I’m rooting for Tzipi Livni; out of all the candidates, she seems the most committed to knackering out a peace solution (the fact that she played a major role in past talks only strengthens her credibility). Plus I have to give her bonus points for being a woman. Chicks before…well, you get the idea.

To bring my war experience full circle, here are the links to my latest news reports:

CNN:
iReport for CNN Jan 26 part 2
iReport for CNN Jan 26 Part 1

WEWS News Channel 5, Cleveland:
Student in Israel Talks About Impact of Ceasefire

Now let’s all pray that this ceasefire sticks!

Breaking News: 6 Hurt in Beersheba Rocket Attack

christinapaschyn — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:56:48 +0000

Six people were injured, two seriously, in Beersheba this afternoon when a Grad rocket fired from Gaza landed in a residential area of the city. A boy sustained serious wounds to his head and a woman was severely hurt after the rocket scored a direct hit on a nearby vehicle.

Rocket hit on Beersheba car

This is the first case of Beershebans suffering physical injuries from a rocket strike since the war began 20 days ago.

I was in my friend Jacob’s apartment at the time, and from the building’s bomb shelter we could hear three “booms” loud and clear. However, the news is reporting that only two rockets were fired at Beersheba; the second presumably landed in an open area somewhere.

Nevertheless, the most damaging rocket struck very near to the university and in a good friend’s neighborhood. Fortunately, she and her family are OK.

So much for things getting better. I wonder if my university is rethinking its “practical” decision to resume classes this week.

Below is a video I shot of me and my friends running to the basement bomb shelter. You can hear all three booms.

We were laughing as we ran, completely desensitized to the sound of the siren as we had heard it almost every day in the last two and a half weeks. But reality quickly set in when we learned just how devastating this attack turned out to be.

Complacency is impossible during war.

In the Press Box

christinapaschyn — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 23:15:17 +0000

So here’s a sum up of my media appearances since the “war” began:

WEWS News Channel 5, Cleveland:

Parma Native Returns to Class in Middle East

Bombings Cancel Classes for Local Woman in MidEast

Local Woman in Israel has Seconds to Get to Bomb Shelter

Parma Native Shows Photos of Bombed Buildings in MidEast

Local Woman Will Stay Put in Israel during Bombings

Parma Native Studying for Masters in MidEast

Student in Israel Talks About the Attacks

WKYC Channel 3 News, Cleveland:

Local college student in Israel dodges rocket fire

KGTV Channel 10 News, San Diego:

Mideast Bloodshed Grim Reminder For Local Woman

American Journalist Studying In Israel Reacts To Mideast Attacks

Local Student Describes Middle East Conflict

Children of Hamas

christinapaschyn — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 21:19:24 +0000

Human shields, suicide bombers in training…Why aren’t these images being played on the news?

The Terror (Really) Hits Home

christinapaschyn — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:47:38 +0000

A grad rocket hit Beer-Sheva yesterday,and it landed in an area that let’s just say my friends and I frequently visit. In fact, I had been in that same area just a few hours earlier, and had I stayed longer (like I originally wanted to) then who knows! I might have been injured or – God-forbid – killed.

I spoke about the rocket attack for WEWS News Channel 5 News as a live shot for the twelve o’clock news:

Parma Native Shows Photos of Bombed Buildings in MidEast

The attack occurred just 25 minutes after Israel’s three-hour ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. Clearly, Hamas used those three-hours to prepare more rocket fire against Israel.

A local Israeli shot footage of the attack – you can see a plume of smoke rising from the site.

God, I hope this war ends soon, but it doesn’t look like it will. This morning two rockets from Lebanon hit northern Israel including the city of Nahariya, which is only a few miles away from Haifa.

Many people don’t remember, but the Second Israel-Lebanon War in 2006 started off as a battle against Hamas, and then Hizbullah joined in the fun. Israeli media is saying that the rockets were most likely shot by Hamas agents operating in Lebanon or a different jihadist group not affiliated with Hizbullah. But who knows. Yesterday, Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah boasted on television that the terrorist group is ready to fight Israel again.

If this turns into a two-front war, then I may have to reconsider my options and that includes possibly leaving the country.

Damage from the rocket hit

The spot where the rocket hit yesterday in Beer-Sheva