The Teacher, Vladimir Putin - the Student, and the Tel Aviv Apartment

 

While the world's stage is often dominated by geopolitics, there is a deeply personal story that bridges the gap between the Soviet Union of old and the Israel of today. 

It is the story of Mina Yuditskaya Berliner, a Jewish woman who taught German to a young Vladimir Putin in Leningrad, and how that bond survived decades of silence and a move across the world.

The Leningrad Classroom In the late 1960s, at High School No. 281, Mina was more than just a teacher; she was a mentor to a young man who was reportedly quite reserved. She remembered him as a student who excelled in her German classes—a skill that would later define much of his early career in the KGB.

The Aliyah In 1973, Mina left the Soviet Union and made Aliyah, joining the "People of Israel" in their indigenous home. For decades, she lived a quiet, humble life in a small, rent-controlled flat in Tel Aviv, likely never imagining that her former student would one day become one of the most powerful men on Earth.

The King David Hotel Meeting (2005) When Putin arrived in Jerusalem for an official state visit in 2005, Mina reached out to the Russian Consulate. She didn't want a favor; she simply wanted to see her student.To her surprise, she was invited to the King David Hotel for tea with the President of Russia.

"I walked in and told him: 'Now you really look like yourself.' He looked at me and said: 'See, I haven't changed much,'" she later recalled."

The reunion was filled with nostalgia. She later told the press that they sat and talked about their old school days as if no time had passed at all.

The Gift on Pinsker Street Following that meeting, Putin demonstrated a level of loyalty that is rarely seen in international politics. After discovering his former teacher was living in cramped conditions, he instructed the Russian government to purchase a comfortable apartment for her on Pinsker Street in Tel Aviv. He also sent her a signed copy of his autobiography and a clock.

The Final Honor Mina passed away in December 2017 at the age of 96. In a final act of respect, the Russian Embassy funded her funeral in Petah Tikva, and Putin himself reportedly sent a wreath to be laid at her grave.

A Teacher’s Legacy As a retired teacher myself, I find this story particularly resonant. It reminds us that:

• The relationship between a teacher and a student transcends borders, political shifts, and even the "civil" frameworks of states.
• Even those who rise to lead empires cannot forget the Jewish educators who shaped their formative years.

Mina’s journey from a Leningrad classroom to a Tel Aviv apartment is the story of our people—the quiet, persistent return to Zion.

For those of us observing the Hebrew calendar and the approaching Tu BiShvat, Mina’s life is a reminder of a different kind of "planting"—the seeds of knowledge and language planted in a classroom that bore fruit decades later in the Land of Israel.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) Tu BiShvat and the Jewish New Year for Trees

As always when the two old guys had began to argue I woke up made coffee and opened my computer and came to the Facebook prompt; "What is on my mind? 

So as a historian and retired teacher of English literature what was "On my mind" from the argument in this old guys head, was memory of a recent post by a "Lover of Balestine" in their abysmal attempt to belittle the "People of Israel" regarding the lack by Jews / Zionists in our non observance of the New Year as proof that Jesus was indeed a Balestinian.

As indigeneity is defined by whose calendar matches the land’s seasons, the Symbolism of Tu BiShvat to the "People of Israel" means that we ARE the true indigenous inhabitants of the land of "Eretz Yirael" and Zion. 

The "secular" calendar doesn't know when the rains of Israel start or when the almond blossoms; the Hebrew calendar does. This is the ultimate proof of who is truly "native."

For those of us in Israel today we note that we are entering the Hebrew month of Tevet, the contrast is particularly sharp. 

While the secular world is focused on the "New Year" and mid-winter, the Hebrew calendar is moving toward Tu BiShvat (the Jewish New Year for Trees) which is the exact time those early returnees / Halutzim would have been preparing for tree-planting ceremonies, reaffirming that the land was no longer "forsaken" but "remembered."

Our celebration of our Hebrew / Jewish calender highlights the difference between a calendar based on a human-made starting point and one based on the natural and spiritual cycles of the Land of Israel.

So for the record while the Christian and secular world is focused on the "New Year" and mid-winter, we the indigenous inhabitants of "Eretz Yisrael" the "Land of Israel" -aka "Eretz HaKadosh" the Holyland-  recognise the Hebrew calendar which is moving toward Tu BiShvat (the Jewish New Year for Trees) in just a few weeks. 

As such when the first Jews returned to Israel one of the first thing these Jewish returnees did was to plant trees.

To reinforce my story I refer you to one of the most stark and famous descriptions of the Land of Israel in modern literature, the description given by Samuel Longhorn Clemmens of the country side of the Holyland.

While reading this blog entry note how we the "Native inhabitants" go from Twain’s "ghosts of trees" to the millions of trees planted by the pioneers, which is one of the most significant environmental "translations" in history.

I of course am referring you to some of the most famous and stark descriptions of the Land of Israel in modern literature, given by Samuel Longhorn Clemmens of the "bleak and barren" country side of the Holyland that he and his compatriots encountered.

When Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) visited in 1867, he recorded his observations in newspaper articles which he later made into a book entitled simply, The Innocents Abroad. In his work, his prose painted a picture of absolute desolation that serves as a powerful "before" to the Zionist "after."

Twain’s description is often cited by historians as the proverbial "Sackcloth and Ashes" story because he had no political agenda; he was simply a cynical, sharp-eyed traveler. 

Clemens (Mark Twain) famously wrote:

"Of all the lands there are for dismal scenery, I think Palestine must be the prince. The hills are barren, they are dull of color... The valleys are unsightly deserts fringed with a feeble vegetation that has an expression about it of being sorrowful and despondent."

Most specifically regarding the absence of trees, he described the land as "blistering" and "naked". In Chapter 46 of The Innocents Abroad, page numbers vary depending on the edition (for example, in the original 1869 American Publishing Company edition, this begins around page 485), the chapter is the most reliable way to locate it. 

In this passage he describes the journey from the Sea of Galilee toward Mount Tabor and the surrounding plains:

"We traversed some miles of desolate country whose very rocks intended for blistering nakedness; we passed the traditional spot where the five thousand were miraculously fed... There was not a single foot of shade, and the sun beat down with a power that was almost insupportable."

Twain's specific choice of "blistering nakedness"is fascinating in that he isn't just describing a lack of plants; he is personifying the land as something exposed and suffering.

Later in the same chapter, he reinforces this "unshaded" theme:

"The desertion of the country was complete... we never saw a human being on the whole route. We moved blindly on, through the blistering heat."

There is, "A desolation is here that not even imagination can grace with the pomp of life and action... there was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, had almost deserted the country."

Here Twain uses "fast" in the archaic/literary sense of "firm" or "loyal" (like a "fast friend" or "color-fast"). He is marveling that even plants known for being indestructible and loyal to the poorest dirt have "given up" on this land.

It is worth noting that while Twain saw the "pallid" cactus as a "friend of a worthless soil," the Halutzim saw the "Sabra" as symbol of the "People of Israel" proving once again that the land was only waiting for those who knew how to speak its language.

In Chapter 52 of "The Innocents Abroad" on their journey from Samaria toward Jerusalem, note his rhythmic use of "mournful" and "desolation"as he builds a prose of despair that makes the absence of life feel almost intentional.

"The narrow canyon in which Nablous, or Shechem, is situated, is green and fertile—happily we call it so, for it is one of the very few spots in a dismal territory that is entitled to the epithet—but beyond it we came again upon the side-hills of Zion, with their sear and barren terraces.

It is a hopeless, dreary, heartbroken land. Small shreds and patches of it must be very fertile, but there is no help for it—it is only a rocky desert after all. The olive and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, had almost deserted the country, and the trees were few and far between and had no majestic size about them. They were only the ghosts of trees—pallid and discouraged."

Clemens (Mark Twain) describes the Sea of Galilee as a place of terrible "solitude" and Jerusalem as "mournful," reinforcing the idea that the "Prince" of dismal scenery was a land stripped of its former glory. For it' s indigenous inhabitants the "People of Israel" have been exiled. 

Clemens (Mark Twain) concluded by stating that the land sat in "sackcloth and ashes," which is famously cited in the final chapter of Mark Twain’s The Innocents Abroad (1869)—specifically Chapter 61. By using "sackcloth and ashes" (traditionally symbols of Jewish mourning and repentance found in the books of Esther, Job, and Daniel). Clemens (Mark Twain) is reinforcing to his readers a true view that the appearence of the Holyland without the "People of Israel" that the land itself appeared to be under a spell as though in a state of grieving or mourning in a divine punishment that had withered its fields.

When the first wave of early pioneers (Halutzim), the Biluim- "Bilu" is a Hebrew acronym for the biblical verse Beit Ya'akov Lekhu Venelkha ("House of Jacob, let us go [up]" those first returnees to Zion, who arrived shortly after Twain's visit. They didn't just see the desolation he described; they saw a mandate for reversing the desolation in restoration since the planting trees was not just an agricultural necessity—it was a foundational act of reclaiming the land.

Yet another of one of the most famous early efforts by these early returnees was the planting of Eucalyptus trees (often called "the Jewish tree" by locals at the time) specifically to drain the malaria-ridden swamps in places like Hadera and the Hula Valley.

In 1908, the Jewish National Fund (JNF) or Keren Kayemeth LeYisrael (KKL), is a Zionist organization founded in 1901 to buy land and develop infrastructure for Jewish settlement in historic Palestine, playing a crucial role in land acquisition and reforestation for the future state of Israel. The JNF / KKL  planted its first forest at Ben Shemen. 

This began a movement that transformed the "verdureless" hills Twain saw into the green landscape of modern Israel.

It is a profound irony of history that a man as famous for his wit and skepticism as Mark Twain provided the very "baseline" of despair that makes the subsequent greening of the land look like a literal fulfillment of prophecy.

The New Tower of Babel: A Tale of Two Middle Easts

The ancient story of the Tower of Babel is often read as a divine punishment—a sudden fracturing of humanity into a "confusion of tongues." 

In reality, Babel is a timeless warning about the collapse of shared understanding.

Today, the Middle East stands as a vivid reflection of this narrative, split between those building "new towers" of progress and those trapped in the rubble of ideological hatred.

The Blueprint of 1919: A Lost Translation

In 1919, Prince Faisal wrote a remarkable letter to Felix Frankfurter, outlining a vision where the "educated among us" could transcend tribalism:

"We Arabs, especially the educated among us, look with the deepest sympathy on the Zionist movement... we regard them as moderate and proper... we will wish the Jews a most hearty welcome home."

Faisal was the architect of a "reformed and revived Near East." As I noted in a previous entry from 2014, this was a moment where the "educated" on both sides attempted to prevent the rivalry and hatred that has since consumed the region. Faisal warned that "less informed" parties—the anti-Semitic nationalists and extremists—would misrepresent these aims to the "peasantry." This was the first "Tower" of the modern era, toppled not by God, but by the "confusion" of radicalized ignorance and the Machiavellian maneuvers of colonial powers.

The Divine Pedagogy: From Tanakh to the Stars

In the Tanakh, the message of HaShem (YHWH) to humanity was never meant to be a static set of rituals, but a "Divine Pedagogy". This is the method by which HaShem progressively teaches and reveals the path of righteousness to a primitive mankind, adapting His communication to human understanding as it evolves through history.

Instead of culminating in a single individual, this pedagogy culminates in Tikkun Olam—the repair of the world through the collective pursuit of knowledge and moral clarity. It is the quest to create the utopian future for mankind that was later echoed by Gene Roddenberry in his vision of the 23rd century.

The Tanakh provides us with the moral scaffolding that allows a society to transition from barbarism to civilization. The overwhelming tragedy, however, lies in the corruption of "His words" by religious dogmatists. 

These corruptions have stalled the pedagogy, turning a process of education into a tool for tribal control. To reach the "Federation" future, we must oust these corrupted beliefs and return to the original Divine intent: the education of an enlightened, unified humanity.

The "Rose-Colored Glasses" of the West

A major obstacle to this future is the perspective of the liberal Western world, particularly in the USA. Many in the West view the globe through "rose-colored glasses," projecting their own stability and liberal values onto cultures that do not share them.

Living in a protected "Federation-like" "Kumbaya" bubble,(which is shorthand for a specific kind of forced, naive harmony), those outside of the "Middle East" have no inkling of the "Heart of Darkness" that still beats in much of the world. 

They assume that everyone, if given the chance, wants the same democratic freedoms. They fail to recognize that in many regions, the "language" being spoken is not one of civil rights, but of raw, primitive conquest. 

This naivety allows the "less informed" to exploit Western sympathy while they sharpen their swords. The "Kumbaya" bubble is a psychological defense mechanism used by those who cannot fathom the existence of the truth of the barbarity that still beats in the  "Heart of Darkness."

I wish all my readrs to comprehend that I am not just being cynical here; I am describing a documented psychological state that exists in "Western denial."

The Abrahamic Accords: HaShem’s Vision Reclaimed

The Abrahamic Accords are not just a political treaty; it is HaShem’s intended vision for ALL mankind. 

In a modern-day reversal of the division at the Tower of Babel, the Accords provide a "common tongue" of progress and mutual recognition. The Accords envision a Middle East built on technology, joint security, and mutual prosperity. It is a regional "Federation" where Israel and its Arab neighbors build upward together, reversing the scattering of Shinar.

Opposing the Abrahamic Accords set of agreements is the "Heart of Darkness" like those radical Islamic extremists in Iran and Yemen—who remain trapped in the rubble of ideological hatred. They do not want to build; they want to ensure that if they cannot reach the heavens, no one can.

Facing the "Klingons" Realistically

In this blog entry of mine of the realization to the truth, I was reminded of Gene Roddenberry's vision of the 23rd century of a "humanoid warrior" species developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon in 1967 called "Klingons".

Both the Klingons and Hamas, Hezbollah, the IRGC, and the Houthis of radical Islam speak a "tongue" that the Western "Kumbaya" bubble cannot translate. It is a language where power is the only currency and conquest is the highest virtue.

In the Star Trek universe, the Klingon Empire initially viewed the Federation’s talk of "peace" and "diplomacy" as a sign of weakness. Similarly, Hezbollah and the IRGC view Western diplomacy not as a bridge to peace, but as a tactical opening to be exploited. This strategy is deeply rooted in the seventh-century Truce of al-Hudaybiyya (Sulh al-Hudaybiyya). While the West sees a signed document as a resolution, the "Heart of Darkness" sees it as a Hudna—a period to "sharpen their swords" and wait for the moment of betrayal.

My comparison here is a warning. In the Federation's history, the Klingons were eventually brought into a state of peace because they followed a Code of Honor. Even at their most barbaric, there were rules, a hierarchy, and a sense of "civilized" warfare.

Unlike the fictional Klingons, groups like Hamas and the Houthis have corrupted the "Divine Pedagogy" into a cult of death. They do not seek a seat at the table of a "United Federation of Planets"; they seek to burn the table and everyone sitting at it. They represent a "Klingon" impulse that has lost its honor and replaced it with the Heart of Darkness—the targetting of the innocent as a primary religious duty.

In Star Trek, the peace treaty (The Khitomer Accords) only happened because the Federation stood its ground with unwavering strength. * The Federation didn't "Kumbaya" the Klingons into submission. They showed the Klingons that the Federation’s "common tongue" was backed by a phaser bank that could match their own.

The Abrahamic Accords can only succeed if they are backed by the strength of a "Federation" that understands the "Klingon" mindset. You cannot negotiate with the IRGC or the Houthis using the grammar of a liberal arts college; you must use the grammar of strength that they respect.

For us in Israel, specifically all of those screaming and protesting demanding a commision of inquiry. It is not "just" the abject failure of "King Bibi" and our Israeli failed form of government, but that of the non-Mizrachi mindset in our "intelligence branches". This failure was essentially like the failure of a Federation officer who has never left Earth. ("Their are always two sides to a coin!")

The Israeli leftist liberal camp looked at the  "Palestinians" (Klingons) and assumed and mistranslated "that" they were just "Arabs with grievances"  thinking that the conflict was one of "socio-economic dispute over land" who could be incentivized with the "Peace Now " acceptance of a "Two State" policy.

They failed to see that the Palestinian's on the whole are a radicalized "warrior cult" that is devoted to a religious war of annihilation! 

They have consistently misread the reality of the radical Islamic Moslem Brotherhood version of the "Heart of Darkness" and that lost translation led directly to the tragedy of the 7th of October.

Conclusion: Eradicating Ignorance through Tikkun Olam

The lesson of the Tower of Babel is that hatred and division must be faced realistically. We cannot build a stable region on the sand of "lost translations" or Western naivety.

The "Tower" of a stable world can only be rebuilt when the "educated among us" stand united against the forces of ignorance. True security requires an intelligence that is culturally grounded—not one that views the Middle East through the filters of the West. 

To reach the "reformed Near East" of 1919, the divine vision of the Abrahamic Accords, and the "United Worlds" of the future, we must accept a hard truth: peace is only possible when we oust the ideologies of the sword and stop pretending the "Heart of Darkness" can be cured by mere rhetoric.

This is the true work of Tikkun Olam—repairing the fracture of Babel by facing reality with strength and logic. Ultimately, the "Chance of a Peace Lost" was not just a historical footnote, but a warning that remains unheeded by the current Westernized intelligence establishment.