Prague Journal

Friday, June 3, 2005.

Services at the Spanish Synagogue were preceded by a concert by Coleman Reaboi, accompanied by Peter Gyori on classical guitar. I had not heard Peter perform before, so I was surprised at how good he is. He and Coleman had not had much chance to practice together, since Peter has been spending most of his time at the hospital with Magda and the baby. Peter left right after the short concert, and Coleman led the service.
We joined Howard and Marketa at their flat for a light dinner after the service. This week marks the 38th anniversary of the liberation of Jerusalem’s Holy City and the Temple Mount from Jordanian occupation. Monday, 28 Iyar, corresponding this year with June 6th, is celebrated as Yom Yerushalayim, Jerusalem Day. Howard was among the Israeli soldiers who fought in the 1967 war, a time that is still vivid in his memory (and in the pains in his back).
This evening is the 16th anniversary of the Tiananamen Square massacre. During the night of June 3-4, 1989, the communist “People’s Liberation Army” murdered hundreds, if not thousands, of students, workers, and other innocent Chinese people who peacefully demanded reform in the People’s Republic of China. These horrendous crimes committed sixteen years ago in central Beijing have were been properly investigated and prosecuted. To commemorate the sacrifice of the Tiananmen martyrs, people have been requested to put a light in their window on June 3, 2005, at 8:00pm local time. We didn’t return home until after 11pm, but we lit candles and placed them in our windows, in the spirit of our opposition to the Chinese party’s brutality. We may have become more sensitized to these issues lately, having seen some of the aftermath of the destruction from the Nazis and the Communists in central Europe.

posted by JWinn @ 10:13 PM