Today was the first day in almost two weeks that I was finally strong enough to do my laundry again. I have had a sinus infection for over two weeks, and I finally got to the doctor and got some medicine on Friday. The medicine finally began to kick in today, and so my strength has been gradually but irregularly returning.
In other news, I can only say that G-d sent me to this particular location in Miami-Dade County because my member of Congress is now Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Last night I received my voter registration card in the mail, and it said my new Congressional district was 18. I was thrilled to find out who my new member of Congress is. Ms. Ros-Lehtinen is one of my favorite members of Congress. I admire her fiery passion for freedom in her Cuban homeland as a Cuban-American and her support of Israel and the Jews. I also like her support of Arab and Iranian freedom and I am impressed by her moral leadership of the House Foreign Relations Committee. I am proud and excited to call her my member of Congress, and I look forward to working with her on issues relating to Israel and also to freedom in the Arab and Iranian world and perhaps Latin America as well.
I called her office today to tell her staff about Maikel’s case, and I was very happy but not surprised by the compassionate response that I received. Right away I was transferred to the staff of the House Committee on Foreign Relations. I was told to email the committee staff member covering Africa. I sent this woman an email and am awaiting her response. After calling the office of the Congresswoman and then the House Committee on Foreign Relations, I felt like I could breathe for the first time since I learned of Maikel’s hunger strike last week.
Why? Because there was finally something constructive I could do to help him. I felt like this huge weight was lifted off my shoulders and my stomach immediately began to relax. My body stopped feeling constipated, and I began to feel a lot lighter and better. And then I saw that Maikel had published yet another loving appeal for peace between Arabs and Jews from prison, which only reinforced my inner sense that I was doing the right thing by concentrating on helping him. And then I began doing research on the uprising in Syria for my next post about that, and I found some encouraging signs although unfortunately no real indication that the Assad regime is imminently headed for the dustbin of history.
I also made inquiries about a Jewish community tonight and am awaiting the responses. I contacted a local Chabad in the area and also a Conservative synagogue to tell them my story and see how they react to it. I am scared to contact the Jewish community because the last synagogue that I belonged to sided with my parents against me. But I am going to try and see what happens. I am missing a sense of spiritual connection with my fellow Jews and want to find a community where people love and embrace me.
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