Remembering Christopher Stevens RIP

Tomorrow is the 30th day since the murder of Chris Stevens, U.S. Ambassador to Libya, and three other members of his diplomatic staff. In Judaism, 30 days represents the end of the second cycle of mourning (7 days sitting shiva and the year anniversary when a stone is set on the grave).

I didn’t know Chris Stevens but he is from around my part of the world. He graduated from Piedmont High School, UC Berkeley, and UC Hastings College of Law (in San Francisco). I wrote about the violence itself, but I don’t want to let this date pass by.

Stevens was killed when the U.S. consulate was attacked in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, 2012. Libyan protestors, provoked by insults against the Islamic prophet Mohammed in the US-made film Innocence of Muslims attacked the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

There were questions about this being a planned attack given that this happened on September 11th and that the murderers knew which safe house the staff had been evacuated to. At the very least, someone tipped them off where to aim the rocket propelled grenade (RPG), where the safe houses are.

Stevens loved Libya, he had worked there before. He passionately believed in cultivating close relationships between that part of the world and the U.S. America has lost a passionate, intelligent and articulate man, a leader of our country who’s path was on the ascent.

The true tragedy is that Libya has lost a very good friend. Please take a few minutes and watch the video that he produced only a few short months ago.

Chris Stevens RIP

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Alon Shalev is the author of The Accidental Activist and A Gardener’s Tale. He is the Executive Director of the San Francisco Hillel Foundation, a non-profit that provides spiritual and social justice opportunities to Jewish students in the Bay Area. More on Alon Shalev at http://www.alonshalev.com/ and on Twitter (@alonshalevsf).

Summer’s Over – A Personal Post

It’s been a roller coaster of a summer and today, the last day of August, it seems a good time to catch up and look forward.

The high point was my family camping trip. My boys caught some tasty trout, completed their first serious bike ride (five hours) on bike paths around Lake Siskiyou and we enjoyed some wonderful quality family time that is invaluable in our stressful and packed world.

The low point, as I blogged last week, was the sad passing away of my dear friend Rebecca. Judaism has many beautiful rituals surrounding death. I participated in Shmirat Hagoof (guarding the body) whereby friends took turns to sit with the body for the time between passing and burial. I spent two hours sitting and talking with her, and it was very meaningful. The funeral and the shiva (visiting the mourners in their house) were both fitting tributes to a wonderful woman. Many, many family and friends bonded and shared inspiring memories and humorous stories. While mourning her death, we celebrated her life, as she wanted.

In my writing life, I completed the manuscript for the sequel to Unwanted Heroes (due 01/2012) and a sequel to my fantasy novel together with my oldest son, and Left Coast Voices was nominated as one of San Francisco’s Most Valuable Blogs.

Also, The Accidental Activist is now in The Berkeley Public Library system after the California Writer’s Club donated a number of their authors’ books.

Author JoAnn Smith Ainsworth makes the presentation on behalf of the California Writer's Club

Looking forward to the next few months and there are three exciting landmarks coming up.

1. A Gardener’s Tale will be released on kindle. It is being professionally edited at the moment.

2. Three Clover Press is sending me on a national 10-15 stop book tour in November – without me having to leave home. They have signed a deal with a company that specializes in this. I will keep you informed as I learn more.

3. Unwanted Heroes is planned for a January release. We will begin looking for a cover artist and the rest of the exciting process.

Finally, for a limited time, The Accidental Activist is available on Kindle at $2.99 – less than the last cappuccino I bought (though the book doesn’t come with chocolate powder).

Have a great September,

Alon

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Alon Shalev is the author of The Accidental Activist (now available on Kindle) and A Gardener’s Tale. He is the Executive Director of the San Francisco Hillel Foundation, a non-profit that provides spiritual and social justice opportunities to Jewish students in the Bay Area. More on Alon Shalev at http://www.alonshalev.com/and on Twitter (#alonshalevsf).