Rolling Stones cover band - Jerusalem Pub/Restaurant - Kubiya
Friday, August 18, 2006
What I do on my summer vacation
I'm ending my first week of summer vacation. One more week to go and I want it to be more eventful than my first which was an unorganized mish-mash of things listed on my To Do list - most of which I never got to do.
I never did get to sleep in. On Thursday morning, before dawn, and on my day off I should not hear ANYTHING before dawn, it's a damn sin - I hear Hubby cursing and banging things in the kitchen with yells of "FUCK" "DAMN" and I heard brooms zooming across the floor and thought 'hey, he's playing a great game of floor hockey at 4:00 am, but with whom?' Finally, after the cussing and banging wouldn't stop, I got up from bed.
"What the hell is going on there?"
"DON'T COME OUT OF YOUR ROOM. I'M TRYING TO CATCH A BEE."
It must have been one giant muthafucka bee because I heard it buzzing beyond the door, and I didn't dare venture out of my safe room.
A few more minutes of broom swishing and then the front door banged shut. The bee had left the building. Thank God. Now that made me hate bees more than ever, having my vacation slumber disturbed by those annoying and scary and stinging pests.
I never got to Tel Aviv yet. I've never been inside Azrielli towers. I never got to go to the beach yet. I didn't get to go to Mini Israel yet. And there's a Bat Yam Beach festival next week. There's free movies on Banana Beach in Tel Aviv next week. There are soccer players that my son wants to meet during practice. There's a real Romanian band playing gypsy music at the Khan Theater on Wednesday night. There's even my living room floor that I want to take time to wax and make it shine so that Hubby believes I'm doing substantial stuff during my time off work.
But I did go on the double-decker tour bus of Jerusalem along with other fake tourists. My son thought they'd throw us off the bus if they'd realize we're not really tourists.
"No honey. That's not how the world works. It works on money. They'll charge you an absolute fortune to get on that bus. 10 times the price of a regular bus. Then you pay that fee and they'll never think of throwing you off the bus. Kapish?"
"Hey - even Nasrallah and his wife can go on this bus (if they pay, of course) - there's an Arabic translation among the 8 languages outfitted for earphones."
And today, we had a lovely organic breakfast over at Tavlin (spices) Restaurant in the pastoral moshav of Eshtaol overlooking the fields of planted spices and the country homes.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
No Sulha
I just found out yesterday that the Sulha which was planned for August 22 and 23rd was cancelled. I am so disappointed. It seems that the Arab Sulha staff are just too piping hot mad about the war in Lebanon and do not feel it is the right time now to meet with the Other. I, on the other hand, feel it is the perfect time to meet. Right after a conflict. After all, we could be just as angry. We've had civilian hits too from Katyushas and plenty of them.
I am also heartbroken by this because I feel that this conflict set grassroots peace movements back to below zero. I had felt, up until then, that we were somewhere close to midpoint. Now we have to begin all over again and build trust and friendships from the start. What a disaster.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Summer Holiday
I've got two weeks "forced" vacation from work. The office is closed and I'm bouncing around town, feeling lazy at home, not wanting to do anything on my To Do list. I'm wanting to take in some touristy things like going on the double-decker tour bus of Jerusalem with my son, but instead I've been running around doing yicky stuff like taking him to the dentist and orthodontist for future braces. He wants yellow and black braces - the color of the Jerusalem soccer team. Yuck.
But I did manage to go to the Hutzot Hayotzer arts and crafts fair in Jerusalem, which was absolutely lovely.
My daughter came by to give us our copy of her wedding album and dvd's which took 2 months in the making. I tried putting the disk on my computer and it wouldn't work. The color is better on my computer than on my TV which shows everything in red. Color tubes are expensive. The natives were getting restless while the computer was "searching" the disk.
"Ma! Don't you know how to run this on your computer?" the kids asked.
"No. But she knows how to hold a plateful of food" remarked Hubby.
Yes, and I also know how to throw same plateful of food over Hubby's head too, but I held back. Yes I did.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
cruise conversations
I had a very interesting conversation, in my many hours of leisure on this cruise, with a middle-aged man who is a Lebanese Jew. His grandfather was born in Beirut, so he is Lebanese through and through. He had his insights on the Lebanese/Israeli conflict.
I asked him "Why couldn't the Lebanese government open up their borders to Israel like Egypt and Jordan did? Why did they have to have Hezbollah in their country. Why couldn't they just shoo them out of Lebanon?"
He said - "You see, Lebanon is like a virgin girl when it comes to peace with Israel. They want it, but they don't want, they want it, but they're afraid of having it, if they're relatives find out, they'll kill her..."
He was telling us that we don't know "the Middle East mentality" and tried to explain it in various parables and stories.
One story was that he, his grandfather and father were walking in the Jerusalem area of Talpiot. They began small-talk with an Arab family in Arabic and were very cordial and friendly to each other. As soon as they left each other, his grandfather and father began to curse those Arabs under their breath, and he began to laugh.
"Why are you laughing" asked grandad.
"Because that's EXACTLY what they're doing right now about us!"
He described former prime minister Sharon's dealing with the Gaza disengagement action as rushed as a little boy needing to pee.
"Instead of focusing on Hizbollah in Lebanon, who is the real enemy of Israel, they trained our soldiers in how to take Jews from their homes - believing that the Arabs will absolutely love us after we do this. And the Wall was the worst thing the government could have done because now more will hate us and it will bring in more fanatic nationalism of theirs. The Israeli government should have spent the money instead on building hospitals in Gaza City."
I certainly agreed with him on this matter.
He cautioned me further - "remember that what they say to you is very different from what they say at home" and he continued with his quickie lesson on Middle East culture believing it will also help me with my Tunisian son-in-law.
"Even if you haven't eaten in 3 days and you are starving. You go to someone's home and they will offer you food. You must refuse!! It's the proper thing to do. If they really mean that they want to offer you food, then they'll put the food in front of you even though you said no and INSIST that you eat it 100 times!
And I thought, well, Jeez. My Arab friends must think I'm a total boor, ill bred and all that. I never refuse an offer of food.
colors of friendship
I just got this e-mail:
Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel. All claimed that
they were the best. The most important. The most useful. The most beautiful. The
favorite.
Green said:
"Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope. I was
chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Without me, all animals would die. Look over
the countryside and you will see that I am in the majority."
Blue interrupted:
"You only think about the earth, but consider the sky and the sea. It is the
water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea.
The sky gives space and peace and serenity. Without my peace, you would all be
nothing."
Yellow chuckled:
"You are all so serious. I bring laughter, gaiety, and warmth into the world.
The sun is yellow, the moon is yellow, the stars are yellow. Every time you look
at a sunflower, the whole world starts to smile. Without me there would be no
fun."
Orange started next to blow her trumpet:
"I am the color of health and strength. I may be scarce, but I am precious for I
serve the needs of human life. I carry the most important vitamins. Think of
carrots, pumpkins, oranges, mangoes, and papayas. I don't hang around all the
time, but when I fill the sky at sunrise or sunset, my beauty is so striking
that no one gives another thought to any of you."
Red could stand it no longer he shouted out:
"I am the ruler of all of you. I am blood - life's blood! I am the color of
danger and of bravery. I am willing to fight for a cause. I bring fire into the
blood. Without me, the earth would be as empty as the moon. I am the color of
passion and of love, the red rose, the poinsettia and the poppy."
Purple rose up to his full height:
He was very tall and spoke with great pomp: "I am the color of royalty and
power. Kings, chiefs, and bishops have always chosen me for I am the sign of
authority and wisdom. People do not question me! They listen and obey."
Finally Indigo spoke, much more quietly than all the others, but with just as
much determination: "Think of me. I am the color of silence. You hardly notice
me, but without me you all become superficial. I represent thought and
reflection, twilight and deep water. You need me for balance and contrast, for
prayer and inner peace."
And so the colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own
superiority. Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a
startling flash of bright lightening, thunder rolled and boomed. Rain started to
pour down relentlessly. The colors crouched down in fear, drawing close to one
another for comfort.
In the midst of the clamor, rain began to speak:
"You foolish colors, fighting amongst yourselves, each trying to dominate the
rest. Don't you know that you were each made for a special purpose, unique and
different? Join hands with one another and come to me."
Doing as they were told, the colors united and joined
hands.
The rain continued:
"From now on, when it rains, each of you will stretch across the sky in a great
bow of color as a reminder that you can all live in peace. The Rainbow is a sign
of hope for tomorrow." And so, whenever a good rain washes the world, and a
Rainbow appears in the sky, to let us remember to appreciate one another.
author unknown
cruisin'
Hubby and I took a 3 day cruise over the weekend to forget about the war, forget about the kids, forget about the puppy we were fostering and the collection of his poo throughout the house, forget that we have jobs, forget that we have bills, faggedabout everything in fact.
The trip was to Alanya in Turkey and Limassol in Cyprus. It was our first cruise. And if we ever wondered where all the heavy people are in Israel, we found out where they were - right on the cruise with us. Maybe it was the 4 huge meals a day we were served by attentive Egyptian staff but alot of the 800 patrons were, well, big.
It took time to get used to the motion of the ship and I felt like a drunken sailor most of the time, and this was calm water season. I laughed at the spaghetti shaking around at the midnight buffet, recalling my friends telling me years ago about their acid trips where they would eat spaghetti their mother prepared for them and the spaghetti seemed to spin around in their plate. Yup - it was trippy indeed. The first night, I stepped around puke here and there on the deck and in the aisles - but people's stomachs seemed to have calmed down after that first night, praise the Lord. That seemed to make me more ill than the boat's motion.
We got to Turkey which suprised me at its very European look. I thought it would look more Oriental than European. European with mosques. Alanya was lovely and we sipped apple tea and Turkish coffee at a place in the mountains called Dim Cai - which had restaurant seating above a river where kids splashed down from a bridge. I walked around the modern bazaar and bought some Turkish music - Tarkan, Ibrahim Tatlises and an interesting Analolian mix, recommended to me by the cool sales guy in the cd shop. He simply abhorred Tarkan (too teenybop) and Ibrahim wasn't ethnic music (I told him I thought it was ethnic) - so he recommended something he thought was cool - and ethnic. Walking around it was amusing to hear the Turkish shopkeepers call out to us in Hebrew.
The next day we toured Limassol (nothing to see there) and took a bus to a quaint 800 year old winemaking village called Omodos. Others on our ship took a trip to the island of Napa but I wanted to see the sites... I had the local Frappe coffee, which seemed like a coffee milkshake. It's their speciality. And the women were making lace everything - doilies, tissue box covers, tableclothes, whatever. There was no bargaining in Cyprus whatsoever - a bit of a downer after the Turkish bargaining and Israelis do love to get discounts.
And before we knew it, we were heading back home - back to real life. The trip - was absolutely short - but lovely!
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Sisters are doing it for themselves
Not being present at a Tel Aviv demonstration on Saturday because I don't do demonstrations where people chanted Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies, I was especially pleased to attend a special women's interfaith gathering on Monday evening at Ticho House , a Jerusalem landmark restaurant. We were a group of nearly 30 women, many Moslems and many Jews and a handful of Christians. Our program was "How is each of us coping with the war?". I was very pleased to see a handful of Orthodox Jewish women in attendance as well. They're generally not present at meeting the Other, tending to be more insular.
Of course people's curiosity piqued at the sight of our eclectic group speaking Arabic, Hebrew and English, and even the Arab chef came out to meet some of us, while the waiters were doing double-takes, not knowing what to make of our group. I absolutely love when that happens.
We began with Moslem, Jewish and Christian prayers and each one of us spoke about how the war is affecting us. There was certainly alot of emotion in our short dialogues from the heart - some even speaking as tears ran down their faces.
Many of us spoke about how horrified we are at the irrational violence. One person spoke of how frustrating it was because she knew that both sides are saying the same things - namely, how 'the other side only understands violence - we have to show them we're strong' which only breeds another cycle of violence. Another said that to follow the way of God is not to kill. I spoke about my long-harbored desire to visit Lebanon, feeling it was going to be the next country after Jordan and Egypt to open up its borders to Israelis – unfortunately now its borders are not opened up to me, but to soldiers. I was angered by the fact that Arab towns in the North of Israel had no bomb shelters and no siren warning systems as Jewish towns have, and aimed to start a petition for the Israeli government to build these for them, as they have for others. Many nodded their heads in agreement and we are meeting next week for an "action planning group". Finally. I always thought our meetings were lovely but too passive. Nothing will change with just monthly meetings.
We stated our wishes to God that He should put the right thoughts into Hezbollah and our government - and compassion in the hearts of the leaders of this war. We feel peace cannot happen otherwise.
The leader of our group told everyone that she wanted each one of us to contact someone we would not "normally" socialize with and go to their homes. I applauded her for this because people just go to meetings and real friendships can form better with home visits of people you click with. And you can click with others. A Moslem woman named Adia, whose daughter lives in Haifa, who is in Jerusalem with her mom now, took my number. We had a wonderful conversation about Beirut and she told me how lovely Lebanon was - the Switzerland of the Middle East. She was especially thrilled when my cellphone rang because the ring tone is a well known Arabic tune. She held my phone up for her friends to hear and of course I missed the phone call, but what the hell. She just seemed too happy for me to grab it back from her. I do hope she invites me to her home. I'd love to visit and talk about everything. Like what all mothers and wives can talk about. We'll have what to say, I'm sure.
JSPCA Day
I was feeling rather ditzy the last few days like spraying my underarms with my hair silicone spray instead of deodorant. Then I'm writing out my "to do" list at work and I notice a co-worker staring at my first item which said "buy bag of greens for 30 shekels". She probably thought I was buying a stash of weed or something, when actually it was for kale and collards which are very difficult to come buy. Israelis think kale is for decoration and never heard of collards. Private people sell these healthy greens for the health conscience and since I'm a woman of contradictions, I can easily eat a large bowl chocolates together with brown rice and greens.
But getting back to the subject matter, I ended up trying to do a good deed by fostering a dog for a bit until someone can adopt him. I took him for adoption at the JSPCA mobile adoption day in our city and this one scary big lug of a woman was the first to request him.
"ANI ROTZEH OTO!!!" she bellowed over and over again (I WANT HIM!!). She was staring at him as if he were her next meal. I was frightened and I prayed - please God do NOT let this pooch go to this woman. Fortunately my prayers were answered because she didn't want to pay the $120 or so (the fee for all innoculations and spaying) whatsoever and thought she'd get a freebie from them. But no one else wanted to deal with pups and he is now still in my house. Any takers? 
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Cussing the Tee Vee
I spent most of my evening on Thursday looking at Nasrallah's image on TV while he was threatening Israel again with missiles in Tel Aviv if the IDF attacks Beirut.
"Fuck you, you piece of shit!" I said to him, hoping he'd hear me through the tv glass and throwing a pistachio shell at him.
There I was, Mrs. Peacemaker of Jerusalem, suddenly hurling more "F" words at him than Hezbullah's missiles being flung at us daily.
Has it boiled down to this for me?
I'm actually royally pissed off at him and his cronies for fucking up all my plans to visit Beirut one day and take a lovely drive through their once-lovely country and take in some seaside cafes. I'm not the only one who had that vision. But that seems so far off now by light years.
And it seems like it will never end. Each side waiting for the other to be the first one to stop. Well none of them want to be the first. And if they do stop, and Hezbollah does not change its ideology, which it won't, otherwise they won't be called Hezbollah, my fear is that they will only re-arm and re-group and make a stronger attack against us next time. And other similar groups like them might see how difficult it was for the IDF to "smash" them and may join in the conflict to "liberate" the country from us Jews. So what can we really do? It's like if I could ever come face-to-face with a Genie, one of my wishes would be that every militant Islamist be turned into a peace-loving, whirling dervish Sufi. But Genies are hard to find....
Thursday, August 03, 2006
To fast or not to fast
It's already 10 am, and not a stitch of water or food has gone into my mouth since last night. I'm a terrible faster and feel terribly thirsty. It's hot here and thank the Good Lord that I have air conditioning which isn't on at the moment, but at the flick of a switch it could be. I don't know if I'll last the full day - maybe yes or maybe no.
I'm a pick and choose Jew. Lots of options to choose from for fasting on Tisha B'av (9th of Av).
Orthodox - 25 hour fast
Conservative - half day fasting - they feel that we have a State, therefore, there is no real need to fast fully because of the Temple's destruction
Reform - no fasting
Me - depends on the year. Sometimes I feel because there is no peace in the region I must fast for peace. I must fast for the Lebanese/Israeli war to end. I must fast for Hizbollah to stop throwing rockets on us and give us back our kidnapped soldiers. The war would end in a second if they did just that. I must fast because my brother's newly married kid just got called up to fight in Lebanon, and his wife is besides herself with worry. Another one of his kids is being called up on Monday - so even as much as I want to ignore this war, I can't. It's too close to home now.
There was a Women in Green walk around the walls of Jerusalem last night - which even my Fox-News-Addict-Hubby said was too right-wing for him to participate in, and then there was this interesting thing called Dveikus which is a group that meets monthly or weekly and they cry and scream together. I'd love to just check it out. But I'd probably end up laughing looking at everyone doing their thing instead of crying and screaming. This is some sort of Jewish healing therapy, which they claim gets prayers answered and opens up the heart. I can kind of understand it, but picture a whole bunch of Jews getting together crying and screaming in a room about whatever it is they want to cry and scream about and it seems more amusing to me than anything. But I'm sure "letting it all out" is healthy and empowering in a way. Sorta like Primal Scream therapy which John Lennon and Yoko were into in the 70s.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Nine Days
I've been busy trying to ignore a war that's going on while Hubby does just the opposite, sitting at home glued to Fox News.
"they're pro-Israel" he says to me - because that's true and they are truly in the minority. I'm silently glad someone is pro-Israel. Even though I'm against war at the same time. We all certainly know Mel Gibson ain't pro-Israel, but I have my own secret wish for him - that his children marry ultra-orthodox Jews. Mwaaa haa haa.
How does one forget the ills of her country. I went and got a pedicure on Sunday. I hadn't had one in nearly a year. This is very contrary to all the millions of rabbinic laws that they put on us for the 9 days of mourning before the fast of the 9th of Av on Thursday - the only other 25 hour fast besides Yom Kippur. One shouldn't bathe (I do - it's too hot not to), cut hair (I don't), eat meat (I don't), do laundry (I do), listen to music (I don't), go to the movies (only watch videos) until the fast is over. But my feet were bothering me and I needed a bit of pampering. Anyway, this woman who does my feet is Mrs. Barbie Doll. Her place is all done up in pink puffy pillows and rugs and furniture. You gotta see it to believe it. Next time I go, I'll photograph it. She has the biggest boobs, natural ones, that put Pamela Anderson's to shame. And she toned down her hair to a nice ash blonde instead of the yellow shade she had last year.
"Wow! It's great! Where did you do it?"
It seems that everything she does, I want to do.
She had her laser surgery on her eyes and loves being able to see first thing in the morning. She simply raves about it.
"Wow! That's great" I gushed. "Where did you do it?"
Then she had taken a cruise last year, which I booked for Hubby and me for sometime this summer. The same cruise line she had taken.
"It's great! You'll love it" she gushed just like Barbie would do. And she didn't seem to mind that I wanted the same cruise, the same hair color, the same eye surgery and definitely the same boobs as she has.
Friday, July 28, 2006
Sulha - Jerusalem
I had to take a test for Osteoporosis at Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital on Mt. Scopus. I took a sick day off work, which is something I hadn't done in 4 years, and thought it was high time I did. Normally hospitals give me the creeps, but when you walk into one in Israel, you see the many kinds of people all being given treatment here - Arabs, Druze, Jews - and I thought what a nice place for a "Sulha"
I had to prepare for a visit by 19 interfaith workers from the States later that afternoon and really didn't want to give the impression of being a "dirty Jew" in my home. I ended up doing what I usually delegate to my kids - cleaning the bathroom and thought that'll better my reputation. I managed to give a 45 minute lecture and field questions from the group. The reason they were so interested in visiting with me is that I live over the green line - so that kind of makes me a settler of sorts. I don't live way over the green line, but about a 10 minute drive. And I'm a peace worker. So settlers and peace workers don't usually jive and they were curious to meet me, after one of the members of their group had met me at an olive-picking expedition with Taayush or Rabbis for Human Rights.
"Can I clone you?" asked one of the visitors after my speech.
"Huh? I think my kids would be absolutely horrifed to have two of me around..."
One thought I'd make a good rabbi. A gypsy rabbi. That'll be a first.
I invited another resident of our town to speak because I wanted them to get another perspective of how the majority of people think around here. I'm definitely not in the majority. After he spoke and talked about how awful it was not to be able to pray on the Temple Mount because it is the Jews' holiest site (not the Western Wall as most people think) and expressing wishes that the 3rd temple will be rebuilt right there, someone asked him about the Nakba. Before he arrived, part of my lecture was that we are ignorant of one another and most Israelis don't really know or care about what Palestinians call the Nakba (the 1948 catastrophe where they were forced to leave or voluntarily left their villages inside Israel - after which most of these villages were totally demolished).
"NAKBA??" he walked towards the questioner. "Why is it a Nakba? Because Israel was created?" He seemed to be fuming.
I smiled because - hey - I'm right on. This guy has no clue what it means.
The person explained - "It's because in 1948 many Arabs had to flee their homes and this created many refugees...."
But he didn't continue.
The speaker actually said he would like to come to one of my interfaith meetings, which would be great because then he'd get some more knowledge in, and he wouldn't have to feel so defensive when someone mentions the Nakba or other things Palestinians go through. We certainly know what we go through - the constant fear of terrorist attacks when in crowded buses and streets and cafes - but we simply do not know the fear of the Other. And this is what we have to be brave enough to face as well.
The next day was the 3 hour Sulha gathering in Jerusalem. I tried to pull in others to the gathering, but it was quite difficult at this time. I met up with Hubby and his friend just in from Toronto and a young man who was his driver and friend of this guy's family.
Hubby had already prepped him about my peace work. They were totally not into it.
The young guy, a cute 22 year old, explained to me his difficulties when he served in the army while going into Ramallah for an operation searching for terrorists.
"There was a man there with his kid. He was holding a gun towards us. We're given orders that if they have a gun on them, we're allowed to shoot. Look, it's either us or the guy." He paused. "So I shot him"
I didn't ask - what did the little kid do? What did you do about him? I just said "That is absolutely awful." How awful to have to make life and death decisions like this when you're no older than 18 or 19 years old yourself.
And with that sad thought, I walked towards the Sulha gathering in Jerusalem's Gan Sacher park where you couldn't help but notice the large circle of people sitting quietly in a meditation for peace. Arabs from the North had come in droves with their families - some traumatized by the Katyushas. I invited some Arab teens to stay in my home and they thanked me, but I think they still want to return to their families later in the evening.
We spoke in a listening circle for an hour - everyone spoke from their heart about their anger, sadness and hope about today's situation in Lebanon and Gaza - after which we listened to some prayers. Standing in a circle, we sang together one traditional prayer in Hebrew (Ein K'eloheinu - "there is no God but our God") and Arabic (la illa il Allah - also - "there is no other god besides God") in a particularly beautiful melody, which is still ringing in my head this morning, and my soul was happy to be in the midst of an oasis of peace in a public park in Jerusalem where many curious onlookers looked but didn't join. Seeing is believing though and I hope they went back to their families to tell them about seeing this unusual large group of Jews and Arabs sitting peacefully together.
And as the evening ended, I had a spiritual revelation of sorts. Remembering that these are the 9 days before our ancient fast of Tisha B'av when the Jewish Temple was destroyed 2,000 years ago, where even the 9 days take on some aspects of mourning, many Jewish sages have said the reason the temple was destroyed was because of baseless hatred between Jews. Then there was the split of the Israeli kingdom to become separate kingdoms of Israel (North) and Judea (South) around 500 or 800 b.c.(and am too lazy to look up the exact date) and the subsequent destruction of the first Temple on the same date of Tisha B'av.
An Orthodox Jewish onlooker spoke to me about our group and said "The North and South of Israel are really divided" - the North is feeling the war, and the South feels nothing. Not to mention all these refugees trickling into Jerusalem from the North.
Perhaps God is somehow "dividing" the North and South of this country again so we can do a "tikkun" (repair) of an ancient wrong. And I think somehow we are doing this tikkun, as many many people from the North are being hosted by people from the South - people here are opening up their homes. I see public notices in newspapers of people willing to host Northern families. I get daily e-mails by the dozens about this not to mention Jerusalemites going on holiday who are giving their empty homes over to Northern families until this situation quiets down...
Somehow - this, together with the Sulha, makes for a really good tikkun.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
A Must Read!!
This is a "must read" about the situation we are in right now - Israel and Lebanon. He is a terrific writer. I think he hits it right on. Unfortunately.
wishful thinking
I've been getting e-mails from many different sources about the conflict - most are hopeful. The first is from Taayush
"Dear Friends,
Please find below a link to a new forum – "JULY 2006: IF NOT NOW, WHEN". Nestled in between the thunder of the guns and the wailing of the media, this is a place for Israelis, Lebanese, Palestinians and everyone else connected with or affected by the conflict to directly exchange views, information, experiences, and sometimes also blows, I guess. The forum will also host digests from media on all sides of the conflict, as well as links and excerpts from blogs from the field. It will be great if you would be the first to pick up the gauntlet and to start posting – if each would just tell a bit about herself or himself (age so and so, doing such and such, living there and there), so that when new people show up to the forum they don't find it completely empty.
Moderator vacancies are open, by the way.
The link is here "
==================================================
The second e-mail I got today is from this guy, whom I don't know - and I don't really know what light workers do, but whatever it is, it's much better than what's going on between our country and Lebanon.
"Dear light worker,
This is a letter from Israel, my name is Jacob Avidan and I'm light worker and I live in Israel as well as you know the middle east is in a state of war as a light worker im sending love and light to the battle zone everyday recently Ihave noticed a powerful energy that sent from around the world to this area so I start receive this energy and anchored it with my body and spirit and now I'm receiving everyday this powerful energy and I want to say thank you from the center of my heart for sending this powerful love yesterday as I'm working with this powerful love I received an understanding about focusing the energy and I need your help
At Friday morning im gathering a group of light workers to anchored this energy in three points at of the battle zone:
At 9 am in the Golan heights
At 11 am in the Galilee
At 1 pm in Haifa
These three points will create a triangle that will be the base of a powerful pyramid that you and the group going to create I hope that this energetic work going to help the people of the middle east
With your wonderful love and open their hearts and end this ancient hate
So send your love to Israel Friday July 28 2006 at 9am 11am and 1pm and we will receive it
If you have any question please write to me
humangel@nana.co.il
Love and light
Jacob Avidan, Israel"
The third e-mail I got was about a Sulha for Palestinians and Israelis to take place in Jerusalem on Thursday (pre-empting the big one in August) between 5:00 and 8:00 pm at Gan Sacher. I hope to be there.
The fourth e-mail was from a macrobiotic food group thinking to expand and include not just Jews from Israel but everyone from the Middle East - peace through eating...
So we all have our hopes for peace, and the e-mails seem to be coming in more frequently with people more desperate to want to end the conflict. Unfortunately, I heard some news that a katyusha hit the village I went to visit in May - Mughrar in the Galilee - a village with Moslems, Druze and Christian Arabs. A young teenage girl was killed. And with that, I will print out the e-mail I received today from Arthur Waskow of the Jewish Renewal Movement who sent out a revised Mourner's Kaddish (prayer) for this occasion.
Yitgadal V'yit'kadash Shmei Rabah
May the Great Name, through our expanding awareness and our fuller action, lift Itself to become still higher and more holy;
May our names, along with all the names of all the beings in the universe, live within the Great Name;
May the names of all whom we can no longer touch but who have touched our hearts and lives, remain alight within our memories and in the Great Name;
May the names of all
who have died in violence and war
be kept alight in our sight and in the Great Name, with sorrow that we were not yet able
to shape a world in which they would have lived.
(Cong: Amein)
B'alma di vra chi'rooteh v'yamlich malchuteh b'chayeichun, u'v'yomeichun, u'v'chayei d'chol beit yisrael, b'agalah u'vzman kariv, v'imru: --
May Your Great Name lift Itself
still higher and more holy
throughout the world that You have offered us,
a world of majestic peaceful order
that gives life to the Godwrestling folk
through time and through eternity ----
And let's say, Amein (Cong: Amein)
Y'hei sh'mei rabbah me'vorach
l'olam almei almaya.
So therefore may the Great Name be blessed, through every Mystery and Mastery
of every universe.
Yitbarach, v'yishtabach, v'yitpa'ar, v'yitromam, v'yitnasei, v'yithadar, v'yit'aleh, v'yithalal -- Shmei di'kudshah, -- Brich hu, (Cong: Brich Hu) >
May the Great Name be blessed and celebrated,
Its beauty honored and raised high;
may It be lifted and carried,
may Its radiance be praised in all Its Holiness –-- Blessed be!
L'eylah min kol bir'chatah v'shir'atah tush'be'chatah v'nechematah, de'amiran be'alma, v'imru: Amein (Cong: Amein)
Even though we cannot give You enough blessing, enough song, enough praise, enough consolation
to match what we wish to lay before You –
And though we know that today there is
no way to console You
when among us some who bear Your Image in our being
are slaughtering others
who bear Your Image in our being.
Yehei Shlama Rabah min Shemaya v'chayyim { aleinu v'al kol Yisrael, v'imru Amein.
Still we beseech that from the unity of Your Great Name flow a great and joyful harmony and life for us and for all our family, the Godwrestling folk;
(Cong: Amein)
Oseh Shalom bi'm'romav, hu ya'aseh shalom aleinu v'al kol yisrael v'al kol yishmael v'al kol yoshvei tevel -- v'imru: Amein.
You who make harmony
in the ultimate reaches of the universe,
teach us to make harmony
within ourselves, among ourselves --
and peace for the Godwrestling folk,
the people Israel;
for our cousins the children of Ishmael; and for all who dwell upon this planet.
(Cong: Amein)
wishful thinking
I've been getting e-mails from many different sources about the conflict - most are hopeful. The first is from Taayush
"Dear Friends,
Please find below a link to a new forum – "JULY 2006: IF NOT NOW, WHEN". Nestled in between the thunder of the guns and the wailing of the media, this is a place for Israelis, Lebanese, Palestinians and everyone else connected with or affected by the conflict to directly exchange views, information, experiences, and sometimes also blows, I guess. The forum will also host digests from media on all sides of the conflict, as well as links and excerpts from blogs from the field. It will be great if you would be the first to pick up the gauntlet and to start posting – if each would just tell a bit about herself or himself (age so and so, doing such and such, living there and there), so that when new people show up to the forum they don't find it completely empty.
Moderator vacancies are open, by the way.
The link is:
here "
==================================================
The second e-mail I got today is from this guy, whom I don't know - and I don't really know what light workers do, but whatever it is, it's much better than what's going on between our country and Lebanon.
"Dear light worker,
This is a letter from Israel, my name is Jacob Avidan and I'm light worker and I live in Israel as well as you know the middle east is in a state of war as a light worker im sending love and light to the battle zone everyday recently Ihave noticed a powerful energy that sent from around the world to this area so I start receive this energy and anchored it with my body and spirit and now I'm receiving everyday this powerful energy and I want to say thank you from the center of my heart for sending this powerful love yesterday as I'm working with this powerful love I received an understanding about focusing the energy and I need your help
At Friday morning im gathering a group of light workers to anchored this energy in three points at of the battle zone:
At 9 am in the Golan heights
At 11 am in the Galilee
At 1 pm in Haifa
These three points will create a triangle that will be the base of a powerful pyramid that you and the group going to create I hope that this energetic work going to help the people of the middle east
With your wonderful love and open their hearts and end this ancient hate
So send your love to Israel Friday July 28 2006 at 9am 11am and 1pm and we will receive it
If you have any question please write to me
humangel@nana.co.il
Love and light
Jacob Avidan, Israel"
The third e-mail I got was about a Sulha for Palestinians and Israelis to take place in Jerusalem on Thursday (pre-empting the big one in August) between 5:00 and 8:00 pm at Gan Sacher. I hope to be there.
The fourth e-mail was from a macrobiotic food group thinking to expand and include not just Jews from Israel but everyone from the Middle East - peace through eating...
So we all have our hopes for peace, and the e-mails seem to be coming in more frequently with people more desperate to want to end the conflict. Unfortunately, I heard some news that a katyusha hit the village I went to visit in May - Mughrar in the Galilee - a village with Moslems, Druze and Christian Arabs. A young teenage girl was killed. And with that, I will print out the e-mail I received today from Arthur Waskow of the Jewish Renewal Movement who sent out a revised Mourner's Kaddish (prayer) for this occasion.
Yitgadal V'yit'kadash Shmei Rabah
May the Great Name, through our expanding awareness and our fuller action, lift Itself to become still higher and more holy;
May our names, along with all the names of all the beings in the universe, live within the Great Name;
May the names of all whom we can no longer touch but who have touched our hearts and lives, remain alight within our memories and in the Great Name;
May the names of all
who have died in violence and war
be kept alight in our sight and in the Great Name, with sorrow that we were not yet able
to shape a world in which they would have lived.
(Cong: Amein)
B'alma di vra chi'rooteh v'yamlich malchuteh b'chayeichun, u'v'yomeichun, u'v'chayei d'chol beit yisrael, b'agalah u'vzman kariv, v'imru: --
May Your Great Name lift Itself
still higher and more holy
throughout the world that You have offered us,
a world of majestic peaceful order
that gives life to the Godwrestling folk
through time and through eternity ----
And let's say, Amein (Cong: Amein)
Y'hei sh'mei rabbah me'vorach
l'olam almei almaya.
So therefore may the Great Name be blessed, through every Mystery and Mastery
of every universe.
Yitbarach, v'yishtabach, v'yitpa'ar, v'yitromam, v'yitnasei, v'yithadar, v'yit'aleh, v'yithalal -- Shmei di'kudshah, -- Brich hu, (Cong: Brich Hu) >
May the Great Name be blessed and celebrated,
Its beauty honored and raised high;
may It be lifted and carried,
may Its radiance be praised in all Its Holiness –-- Blessed be!
L'eylah min kol bir'chatah v'shir'atah tush'be'chatah v'nechematah, de'amiran be'alma, v'imru: Amein (Cong: Amein)
Even though we cannot give You enough blessing, enough song, enough praise, enough consolation
to match what we wish to lay before You –
And though we know that today there is
no way to console You
when among us some who bear Your Image in our being
are slaughtering others
who bear Your Image in our being.
Yehei Shlama Rabah min Shemaya v'chayyim { aleinu v'al kol Yisrael, v'imru Amein.
Still we beseech that from the unity of Your Great Name flow a great and joyful harmony and life for us and for all our family, the Godwrestling folk;
(Cong: Amein)
Oseh Shalom bi'm'romav, hu ya'aseh shalom aleinu v'al kol yisrael v'al kol yishmael v'al kol yoshvei tevel -- v'imru: Amein.
You who make harmony
in the ultimate reaches of the universe,
teach us to make harmony
within ourselves, among ourselves --
and peace for the Godwrestling folk,
the people Israel;
for our cousins the children of Ishmael; and for all who dwell upon this planet.
(Cong: Amein)
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Weekend Survival Tips
We survived the weekend with the two Haifa refugees, and our newlywed daughter and Hubby. We even had a more traditional Shabbat than usual. Son-in-law didn't care what we do in our home but my daughter had more angst about it.
"Make sure you have a 'plata' on" she begged - a plata meaning a hot plate where one doesn't cook on the Sabbath but is allowed to warm up pre-cooked foods on a hot plate instead. Plus her Hubby drinks tons of mint tea, so the water had to be pre-boiled and put on the hot plate as well for drinking throughout the Sabbath.
I needed some peace and quiet this weekend, so they came at a good time. We banned all cellphones (on vibrator only) and there was no TV or music playing. Only the quiet noise of backgammon and chess playing and the rustling of newspapers could be heard.
My married daughter and I usually have a routine of pretending we're Russian women at mealtime on Friday night, where we talk in Russian accents and curse in Russian. My daughter started.
"Peederas!! (homo!)"
"Piesdietz!! (slut!)"
The blonde teenage refugee looked absolutely horrified, as we laughed at these naughty words. We realized we cannot play "Russian" this weekend - her folks are Russian and she can not only teach us more words, but can understand what was being said.
The refugees together with my daughter went to town later that night and sauntered back in around 8:30 am on Saturday. Hubby had set up the tent for them on our porch, but by 10:30 am, the heat was unbearable and they collapsed on our couches.
"Why are THEY all sprawled out on the couch?" asked my daughter.
Hubby - "Because I forgot to lock the porch door."
The two laughed.
We had time to taunt each other throughout the day. The Complainer wanted a job waitressing where my married daughter waitressed.
"She can't even speak English properly - how can she waitress?" asked one of my older daughters.
"Would you like some piss-ghetti with ong-ions???" she asked - mimicking the way the Complainer actually pronounces these words.
"That might get her extra tips if the customers have a good sense of humor" I interjected.
Anyway, many of the waitresses in the meat section of that restaurant are now engaged to be married in the next few months. Maybe it's a lucky restaurant. I think I'm gonna send my next two oldest daughters there to work and find decent husbands.
Anybody take Ong-ions with that please?
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Another Peace-nik in Iran
Didn't think there were any peaceniks there, didya? Well I came across one . I really believe there are more out there. And besides, I like the flying peace dove on his site better than the one on mine!
A misfit in Lebanon
I came across this site and I think we are kindred spirits. Here's a guy who sincerely wants peace. Like I do. And it also seems like he's going against the grain/wind or whatever. Not too many people up there are thinking like him. He seems like a really good bloke. Let's give him some support!
Great Deals on B&B's
My brother called me up this afternoon,
"There are great deals on zimmers (B&Bs) in the North! They're practically giving weekends away."
Yup. Dunno if he was joking or not, but summertime is when Israelis flock to these picturesque country zimmers, nestled in the Galilean hills - some are decorated simply for families with enough yard for a barbecue and some are luxurious for couples with a jacuzzi and romantic breakfasts for two. They are pretty much empty now.
I told him I had about 11 people over for the weekend, for Sabbath dinner.
"Are they all Jewish?" he asked. Which got me thinking that I could ask my Israeli Arab friends from some of the Northern villages if they are ok – and if they wouldn't mind sending some of their (older) kids down to me. They're probably better behaved than my kids and would get a crash course in English.
He continued - "How can you afford this?"
Afford what? Having guests? I learned from both my Ultra-Orthodox Jewish friends and my Arab friends that having guests is not a financial issue. If there are guests – then it's a blessing. And anyways, I have to work on myself on the guest issue. I'm certainly not as generous as Ibrahim from the Mt. Of Olives who has built a separate wing of his home just for guests, mostly internationals who pass by for a few weeks or even months, but sometimes for Jewish Israelis who want to get a taste of Arabic culture. I wish I could learn from him how he does it. Here I have guests for 5 days, and I'm nearly tearing my hair out. Maybe it's just because they're teenagers. Maybe I need adult guests. Or a separate wing to my house so if I want to disappear from the friendly chatter, I can.
But I was insulted at being asked if I could afford guests. I could only answer him with what I hear both my Arab and Ultra-Orthodox Jewish friends say – God will provide.
Friday, July 21, 2006
Chaos in the House
I was perusing who is perusing my site from which sites and I came across this particular website from Iran . Unfortunately, I cannot tell whether he is writing in Arabic and Farsi, but he looks like a nice guy. Not like that idiot President of his.
There were no buses back to my neighborhood from Jerusalem and the bus stop was packed full of people. I decided to share a cab with three other women also waiting. The cab driver was crazy.
"That'll be 80 shekel" he told us the fare would be.
"that's ridiculous. I never pay more than 50"
I wanted to get out of the cab but the other women didn't care - they were just going to pay him 15 shekels each, take it or leave it. I pointed to a taxi stand where I always take cabs from. He glared at me.
"You go with all those Muhammads?" letting me know that everyone at that stand were probably East Jerusalem Arabs, which I already knew but didn't care.
"Yeah. They're good drivers and they don't rip me off like you are doing"
Meanwhile, he's going on and on the rest of the ride about a French homosexual passenger, mimicking his accent, telling us we're all fat because his cab can't get up the hill (this is where I asked him for my money back), and thought I was the filthy rich one because I was from North America. What a dick. Next time, I'm stuck, I'll be sure to use the taxi drivers from East Jerusalem who stand by Kikar Zion in downtown Jerusalem.
It's day 5 that two teenage refugees are staying in our home. Our town is full of refugees from the North and I felt it last night while shopping. It seemed like pre-holiday shopping with the crowds and carts filled to the brim. My cart was equally brimming full of food. One of my checks to the supermarket had recently bounced causing me not to be able to write any more checks. But here I was with $150 worth of food for 10 people, all packed up in my cart, ready for the trunk of my car. I shelled out my ID card and gave it to the supermarket manager.
"I'll bring you the cash tomorrow for today's stuff and the bounced check" I promised. And off I went with my stuff.
Later that night the refugees were planning a night on the town with my Daughter. They had the blow dryer going for 1 1/2 hours and the cellphones ringing and the house phone ringing and the front door opening and closing. Hubby was sleeping again on the couch, but I thought I'd go out of my mind with all the noise. Sunday they all go back to their hostel and I'll have my peace and quiet back.
In the morning, I needed to have a quiet respite from my chaotic household which grew in size because my other daughter brought in 2 more friends and my married daughter and her hubby were coming in for the weekend. I took Hubby to a hotel brunch, where it was quiet and peaceful - unlike the noisy places I usually frequent in the shuk.
Married daughter kept on interrupting my quiet brunch threatening to leave because of all the people in the house. I decided the best thing for me this weekend would be to have a real Shabbat (Sabbath) in the house - kind of like what the Orthodox Jews do. No phones ringing, no television, no blow dryer noise for 2 hours, no cellphones, no computer clicking, no nothing. Just sitting back and reading and talking, not to mention eating - and lots of it. It actually sounds ideal. It might be just what I need this weekend.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Bad choices
Still seeing and hearing nothing in Jerusalem - war wise. Thank God. We have one refugee staying in our house from Haifa who phones home daily to speak to her mother who is cooped up in her bomb shelter. Our cousins in Safed have relocated with relatives on the coast.
I am weary of this - even though it seems like a million miles from home. I find I have no energy for peace efforts at the moment. I didn't even go to the Sulha Planning Committee meeting yesterday. Bad choice. I should have gone, because I would have found kindred spirits there. Instead I went home where my very own family are thrilled whenever Israel's bombs hit Lebanon. Don't they care about the civilians? Not at this time.
The Israeli Arabs up North in their villages told the Jerusalem Post they do not have any bomb shelters like the city dwellers do in Haifa. Why? Bad choice for the Israeli government not to have thought about building for them too...
And obviously Hizbollah don't give a fuck either about who gets killed - whether it's a fellow Moslem or an Arab Christian in Nazareth - as long as they are able to toss their katyushas around.
And the rabbis said all this chaos is happening here because of the planned international Gay Pride event in August. I think it's because my boss died and since then, all this stuff began, plus everything is breaking down in my office, which would never have happened had he been around. I think even our office machines were petrified of him. Hubby thinks all this is happening because our house is filthy and chaos reigns inside and out. It's not really filthy though. I've seen filthier.
Plus my Complainer daughter is lying to me, telling me she is Eilat with girlfriends when one of my "spys" found her in Eilat with her "should-have-been-an-ex" boyfriend. He is not allowed in our home anymore after terrifying all of us in a 12 hour siege outside our home one Saturday a few weeks ago, telling her he was going to beat her up. We thought by calling the police he would be shooed away from her and from us for good. But here's another kid, with her bad choices, that's not digging a peaceful life for herself either. Go figure.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Loser thieves
Everything was pissing me off this week. I get to work rather sluggishly these days - there's no old man waiting for me impatiently at 7:30 am to begin the day. I returned home on two buses, looking at everyone thinking - what if I actually "said" what I was thinking. Like seeing a young Ultra-Orthodox married couple, and she was so, so young. I felt like going over to her and asking - "what are you? Like 16 or something?"
Later on a nutcase came on the bus with tons of packages. She was blabbering to herself and crying, even though from looking at her, she looked quite pretty and put together, with rings on all her fingers. People were being nice and trying to help her, but she was totally wacko. I felt like telling her "Gee, I'm so glad there's someone crazier than me on this bus."
Taking the 2nd bus home, there was standing room only. Some young woman kept on stubbing my toes with her heels - I felt like telling her "Don't you dare step on me again with your Russian high heels...." I knew she was Russian.
And last night, while Hubby was sleeping on the couch, falling asleep while watching Fox News, someone crept in and stole his briefcase with his car keys, ID card, business papers, etc. He woke me up at 2:30 am totally devastated.
"My whole LIFE is in that bag!!"
After searching the entire house, I concluded that Hubby was right in that it was stolen. We took a very early am walk (in my nightdress, mind you) through the park - perhaps the thief threw the useless-for-him briefcase in the bushes. We walked around the back of our place, and peeked in the trash can. Nothing.
He called the police and guess what? It was waiting for him there. They found it a few blocks away near the mall. Minus his cellphone and checkbook and ATM card. Stupid thief. He didn't bother stealing our car, even though the car keys were there. He took shit he wouldn't be able to use because the checks were cancelled as well as the ATM card and the cellphone. Now what will Stupid Thief do with all these things? The cash was with me, fuckwad!! Heh heh! And I never leave it on the diningroom table.
So I'm partially working on like 3 hours of sleep. I'm OK, though. But I'm so tired that I told my 16 year old that she can have 2 of her friends from Haifa over for the rest of the week. These kids aren't having too much fun these days. They've been spending their vacation in bomb shelters and I thought Jerusalem might be just the vacation resort it was always meant to be... Plus I could use a few good deeds up my way.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
What War??
Shel Booli Restaurant in the Machane Yehuda shuk - Jerusalem
For those of you thinking I'm cowering in a bomb shelter while planes are flying overhead....nah. War's not for me. And besides you can all read about it in the papers and watch that shit on tv. I'm fed up with wars and warriors and of course you all know how miserable this all makes me.
Jerusalem felt normal yesterday and people just went about their business on Fridays. For some - that meant shopping. For me - that meant eating. I found a great little gem in the Machane Yehuda shuk called "Shel Booli". The owner, a cancer survivor, makes healthy sandwiches and salads and they are half the price of what you would find at a regular joint.
Great salads..on "happy" plates
Check this salad out and the plates my friend and I called Happy Plates. I think it was the colors of the plates that put us in a great mood aside from the great tasting food.
Friday, July 14, 2006
Righteous Ogre
Ogres scare people. Like Shrek. Outside they terrify everybody, but inside, they're wonderful people. You just have to get to know them.
My boss died this week. Suddenly. He wasn't young, but I was sure he'd live to around 100 years old and never retire. I was sure I'd retire before him. And it is difficult for me and anyone who has worked in my office to bounce back to work - and we were told we can have a week's respite in order to mourn.
We used to come in at 7:30 in the morning and he'd be waiting impatiently for us to begin our day's routine. Now nothing. No routine.
He was difficult to work for but I managed and looked beyond the pettiness of me not being able to write my own e-mails and him checking every word that I did write on my own, and not rustling papers lest it disturb his train of thought, never being allowed to leave the office in case he'd "need" me for something, never being allowed to work for anyone else who needed my "English language" expertise, because he may need me at the same time, and I even learned to lie to him about my computer crashing, and printers not working, telling him it's better if this was typed on another computer or printed on another printer because it would be quicker - because he'd get hysterical if there was ever a lapse in the running of equipment here. I'd type list after list for him - personal and work-related of things to do, of which he'd get to only 1/3 of them, if he were lucky. And I'd never dare take a sick day or be late 5 minutes. That would surely be my demise. Plus, he'd scream and yell at the receptionists for all kinds of very minor infractions, like disconnecting a phone call, or not being at their desk even for a moment. When he'd leave the office we'd gather together and have coffee at the front desk for a few minutes of chit chat, only to scatter like cockroaches when we'd see him coming back in.
But there was another side to him, like the time he treated me and his secretary to a fancy lunch at the King David Hotel, for no reason at all. Every time he barked at me, he'd always apologize 10 minutes later, and compiment me on my work. Every time I was distressed for personal reasons, his laser would pick it up and he'd know something was wrong. Sometimes I'd tell him, sometimes not. One time last year, when I was walking around without any money for weeks, and feeling quite depressed about it, he found out about my situation and gave me and a fellow coworker who was a close friend, some money to go to see a wonderful movie playing at the Jerusalem Theater. He was raving about it and asked me if I'd go to see it.
"I won't be able to go to the movies for a while" I told him.
"Here" he said, dishing out some money for popcorn, a taxi and 2 tickets. "I want you to see it tonight."
You couldn't refuse a gift from him.
Last week I found myself thrown off a bus because all I had was a counterfeit coin. I was 10 minutes late to work because I had to walk. His secretary told him what happened, and later that morning handed me a 50 shekel bill which she said was from her. I had a feeling it was from him.
Yesterday, I told her I wanted to pay her back the money.
She told me "Give it to charity in his name."
"He gave me the money, didn't he?"
She nodded. "He didn't want you to know it was from him."
But I knew. And I wasn't the only one he did stuff like this to. There were many others.
I will miss him terribly. Rest in peace, Mr. Boss.
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Jerusalem Film Festival
I couldn't get tickets for the opening night at the beautiful outdoor venue of Sultan's Pool, next to the walls of the Old City, but that never fazes me. First of all, it has been my tradition for years to stand at one certain gate and ask passerbys if they have extra tickets. They always have extras. Either for free or for sale. Even more exciting for me was the fact that Hubby said he would join me, which is a rarity. I usually do all these things alone or with friends or with daughters. So I wanted this to especially work.
An hour before the show I parked myself in my spot, even getting pessimistic comments from people like "forget about it" when I told them I was trying to get into a sold-out show. I probably even walked up to a few VIPs I didn't know were VIPs, like Atom Egoyan, the director, who was here from Toronto or the Canadian producer whose name I forgot, even Debra Winger whom I didn't recognize until they announced her on stage, asking them for tickets and getting laughed at while commenting - "yeah, for $500 I'll sell it to you." I did an eyeroll for them. Really. This is not a fucking Stones concert.
I felt like one of those Jerusalem Beggars asking for money on the street. I am a yearly Jerusalem Film Festival Opening beggar for sure.
After about 25 minutes, droves of people came in and among them 2 different kindly souls who handed me their extra ticket which I didn't have to pay for. God is kind!!
Especially so, since we are a bit tight on cash, and I was going to blow my last wad on 2 tickets.
The weather was getting cool, and Hubby mocked me for bringing a jacket, as it was unbearably hot during the day. But being a seasoned Opening goer I nearly froze to death 2 years ago when they showed Heroes and swore I'd never go through that again, no matter how hot it gets during the day. I felt bad for Hubby, though. I knew he was going to shiver.
We sat through 1 1/2 hours of a performance by a band called Atlantic, who did shitty covers of the Stones, Animals and other 60's oldies, but did wonderful on popular Israeli songs. And the speeches were short but plentiful. This director, that producer, this politician, that politician, etc. And I was surprised to see Jeff Goldblum there, looking quite handsome.
"We could eat sushi with him at the after-party" I told Hubby. I was successful last year in standing by the gates of the party after the movie asking for extra invites. One person handed me two. I could swing it this year. But as the weather got colder, I figured none of us will want to eat sushi with Debra Winger and Jeff Goldblum. I pitied her looking at how she was dressed with a sleeveless, summery top. Had no one warned her about the chilly Jerusalem evenings either?
The movie shown was the first Israeli film to be shown on opening night. Someone to Run With. I had no idea what it was about, but if it had subtitles, Hubby can follow along. Turned out we both thoroughly enjoyed the movie about Jerusalem's wayward youth, with a good plot to boot. I even recognized a few of the extras as downtown regulars who hang out.
Halfway through the movie Hubby was too cold to sit and went up the stairs for a hot beverage and to walk around to warm up.
The next day a friend of mine and I saw another movie from the Festival called Ticket to Heaven - an old one (1981) about Moonies and how they deprogrammed this guy who got sucked into the cult.
People seem to be so forthcoming and happy during festival week. And everyone chatted with everyone on line at the ticket counter when I wanted to exchange some tickets for other movies.
I saw someone I knew at the Cinemateque's coffee shop who handed me 2 free tickets to see a new Gypsy movie just added to the list of 300 films being shown during the Festival. She knew I was associated with the Gypsies here in Jerusalem. I was so happy to get another gift.
While my friend rushed in to see another movie where we were offered, yet again, free entrance (to fill up empty seats), I headed back home to reality - Shabbat was coming and someone needs to feed the family.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Counterfeits
I'm having a really awful bad quality moment - or shall I say a few bad quality moments.
My boss rushed me into work yesterday and I took the bus thinking I would take the 2nd bus inside Jerusalem to get to my work instead of walking 25 minutes. It would speed things up greatly. I handed the bus driver a 10 shekel coin and he looks at it.
"It's not real"
"Whaddya mean it's not real. It's a coin!"
"I'm sorry, I can't take this coin. You'll have to give me other coins"
Well, I had no other coins and no other bills. I'm flat broke. I got off the bus, half humiliated, and walked the rest of the way to work, calling my frantic boss to tell him I'll be 10 minutes late because of a counterfeit coin - which was all the money I had in the world.
Meanwhile, my kids were supposed to close a deal on an apartment they bought the other day and the lawyer they hired told them the builder "slipped in" a few papers she had never seen before, holding them responsible for the rest of the mortgage or having to lose whatever they deposited should the builder go bankrupt. They had been sitting in the office for 3 hours, ready to sign the deal, when voila. They were told by their lawyer not to sign until the other side gets their shit together. What a "bassa"(disappointment).
Back to the counterfeit stuff - I went to one of the stores that may have given me the bad coin. The salesperson immediately gave me a good coin in its place and we figured out together how to notice a fraudulent one.
In a 10 shekel coin - the fakes are lighter and the side is not uniformly lined. It looks sloppy.
In a 5 shekel coin - it looks exactly the same except for the sides again. The fake is rounder and the real ones are octagon-like.
So beware out there of these evil coins.
This morning, hoping for a better day - I got a loan from a friend so I can go to the opening of the Jerusalem Film Festival tonight, which has been my tradition for the past 6 years or so, I put on my funky pants from India, got into Hubby's car, and heard "rrrrrriipp" somewhere. The entire upper side of these lovely but awful quality pants were ripped. Thankfully, I'm wearing a knee-high top so it covers the rip, otherwise I'd look like some bag lady with ripped clothing near her behind or - maybe it's in fashion somewhere in the world.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Monday, July 03, 2006
Mideast Youth
I was asked to write for this up-and-coming great website. I jumped at the chance, not only because I was flattered at being asked to write for it, and having some great moments of being read by mostly Arab readers, but because it was for Middle East Youth.
"Me? Youth?"
OK, I'm way beyond my youth years, but nevertheless, if someone thinks I'm cool enough to write for some of the "youth" in this world - I'm in.
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Running with Rabbis (for Human Rights)
I was feeling quite gloomy Friday morning, my boss having told me and the entire office that he will be retiring in a couple of months, which left me in tears most of the day on Thursday. It took me a year to get used to working with him - and he used to brag how people who worked with him needed to be under the care of a psychologist/psychiatrist after their stint with him. He was one tough bugger, and an old one too - way past retirement age. But I thought he'd never retire, and I even got to enjoy his rantings during the day, because they were so silly most of the times over simply nothing. I likened my reaction to the Biblical slaves that were able to go free after 50 years, but many chose to remain as slaves having gotten used to their owners.
What would make me happy this morning? I didn't have a penny to my name so a scrumptious breakfast out was not an option. I hadn't done any kind of volunteer work with Rabbis for Human Rights since the Olive Harvest a year before last October. And they were going to a tiny village south of Hebron, Jawawis, at the normal hour of 11:00 am instead of leaving at their usual ungodly times at 6:00 am on Friday, my day off of work.
I thought maybe I really am crazy going in the heat of the day to this place in the middle of nowhere. But doing things like this gives me a high, which I cannot fully describe. Knowing that you are going where most Israelis dare not venture and instead of seeing an "enemy" you see people, simple farmers, who are so appreciative that you are there, that you are supporting them.
Turns out just a handful of us were there and Arik Ascherman, the Chief Rabbi of Rabbis for Human Rights took us in his own car. He explained what had happened and some of the area's history with the army and settlers. This village's hay supply (20 bales) was burnt, supposedly by settlers from Susiya nearby. Rabbis and Taayush and the Kibbutz Movement had donated 12 bales of hay and we were to unload it for them.
Arik's car bumped over the unruly paths leading to the village that I told him, if I won a lottery, I would donate a 4-wheel drive to Rabbis for Human Rights. We waited for the hay to arrive, and there were only a few women there, so I chatted with some Christian Peacemaker Team women from Italy and the US who are living in Twane to help the villagers there.
Some of the young men wanted me to take their photos and then grabbed my camera to see the photos I took of them. But they didn't stop there. I heard some shrieks from them and laughter, and then I realized - hey! they're looking at the wedding photos and at my daughters who looked absolutely lovely, but were, in comparison to traditional Arab women, much more scantily dressed. The redheaded one ran to me with my camera showing me the photo in my camera of my dark haired, sultry, 16 year old, Ex Criminal, and the Good Daughter, who had the blonde bombshell look for the wedding, and excitedly got his friends to talk to me.
Who are these girls??? they wanted to know.
"They're my daughters and they're MARRIED" I lied, grabbing the camera back from them.
When the hay did arrive, it was 3 strong locals and Rabbi Arik, together with Taayush activist Ezra Nawi, who unloaded the supply and went off to demonstrate at the main road against settler violence. I don't do demonstrations and stayed back only to be joined by some of the village's women who asked me why I wasn't at the demo. I showed them my camera. "I just take the photos". My Arabic consists of maybe 10 words, and I disappointingly could not carry on a conversation with these women, but that still did not stop the feeling of closeness I had with them. I offered them some of my water. I smiled. It was my only way of communicating, but it was enough. One teenager asked me something in Arabic I couldn't understand but I accosted Arik coming back from the short demonstration.
He translated - "She wants to know if there will be any internationals staying with them in their village"
"Will there be"? I asked
"We'll have to work something out". I'm sure he will get to it.
After we left, with Arik wishing the Israeli soldiers who were at the scene a "Shabbat Shalom" he said we'd be making a detour to Beit Umar (Beit Umma?) near Hebron. There had been some previous trouble there with settlers and he was called to check it out. We met a Palestinian taxi who showed us the way and through the village we twisted and turned, about 15 minutes. It was a huge place, and I thought, my family would truly be shitting themselves if they knew what I was doing at the moment. Now is not the ideal time for excursions deep into Palestinian territory with kidnappings of Israelis on the rise by terrorist cells. But I stuck to my belief that if you go with the aim of giving help to these people, there may some kind of immunity against this sort of thing. I hope I am never proven wrong. We overlooked beautiful groves of plums and apricots overlooking the settlement of Bat Ayin.
Apparently they were tending their groves in the wadi and encountered Jewish shepherds from that area whose animals were eating their crops, vines, etc. The Jews called the police and the police arrested the Palestinians. They seem to be nervous getting to their fields now. Arik said we don't need to be taken down to the wadi, but nevertheless, after 15 minutes a tractor appeared taking the 5 of us down to the wadi.
"They don't take 'no" for an answer, do they?" I mentioned to Arik.
Riding down in the back of the tractor, the 5 of us squished together, I felt like I was riding on a bucking bronco. The ride was breathtakingly beautiful and it felt idyllic looking at the beautiful groves but it wasn't really. Not for them. While riding down there with 5 Palestinians and us 5 I wondered to myself again, what many Israelis believe (wrongly) of most Palestinians - that if they wanted to, they could easily chop us up into little pieces down here and no one would ever find out.
It really takes a lot of trust on both sides for us to be here together nowadays. To talk, to sympathize, to listen unconditionally, to offer help.
On the way back I got a call from my ex-Criminal daughter who was let out of her hostel on her way to her friend in Netanya.
"Where are you?" she asked.
"Oh, I'm on a tour" I told her not wanting her to worry, even though I wasn't too worried myself about myself.
"Where will you be going tonight?" I asked.
"Probably to a club somewhere in Netanya" she told me.
I think I'm more worried about her going clubbling in Netanya at 16 years old than I am about myself running with Rabbis for Human Rights deep in Palestinian Territory.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
The Prutza of Jerusalem
My good friend who is Ultra Orthodox and who lives in a totally Ultra Orthodox town outside Jerusalem was called a "Prutza" yesterday by a man walking on the opposite side of the street - a total stranger. Prutza means a loose woman, a whore.
I know my friend. She is a modest, wonderful woman, who is kind to everyone and who, even though she is swamped with work, doesn't hesitate to cook us all a lunch of pasta, rice or couscous and scrumptious salads when the bosses are away.
But she is very attractive and wears a shoulder-length wig and nice clothing. She doesn't wear a rag on her head nor does she walk around in sloppy house dresses the way other non-working mothers/wives do in that neighborhood.
So instead of enjoying her attractiveness, some Breslover Hasidic male idiot decided to call her names.
"I hadn't been called that in 2 years. I thought maybe I lost some weight!" she told me excitedly.
"Nu, so what did you answer him?" I asked. "Did you thank him. You know at your age, being called a prutza is a compliment."
And we thought of things she should have answered him or use for future prutza-callers.
1. If you think I'm a Prutza, you should see my friend JerusalemGypsy. She's a REAL Prutza.
2. That's a hell of a pick-up line.
3. No thank you, I'm married.
4. Fuck off, you stupid c...t - (if he's English/American)
5. Ishtekha (your wife is a) Prutza (if he's Israeli)
Any other ideas out there?
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Wild and Crazy Gay Guy
I love my crazy brother-in-law. He has the best sense of humor. I warned Hubby that if he keeps on aggravating me, I will leave him for a rich gay man.
Brother-in-law (BIL) was staying at a hotel where all these Nigerian Christians were staying.
He described them.
"They were HUGE! All aunt Jemima types. I told mum 'I know what this sect is called. They're called - Eating For Jesus.'"
He tried to join them for (probably very lively)church services on Sunday, but by then, they had gone.
My son took a big liking to him. And even he wasn't spared.
Brother-in-law: "Remember when we ran out of toilet paper and I had to use a toothbrush? Well, I found it. Here it is!" and he popped out my son's toothbrush out of his bag and threw it to him.
Saturday we walked together to the Old City. We walked into a shop selling exquisite carpets on the Via Dolorosa.
"Are you married?" asked the salesman.
"Yes - to a MAN" answered BIL without batting one of his long eyelashes.
No more closet for him. He enjoys giving people shock treatments.
We walked past several convents and we were invited in for a look and a tour.
BIL: "It's OK, we don't have to see the place. We're actually from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence"
Saturday night, my 20 year old daughter and myself took him to Jerusalem's only gay club. It was empty at 11:30 but by midnight it began to fill up - with mostly young Palestinian men in their late teens and twenties from East Jerusalem and environs. I think perhaps because it was Middle-Eastern night with my favorite sweet Knafe being dished out for free. My brother-in-law was chatting to a really cute Palestinian but I wanted to dance. And dance I did to excellent Arabic music, with all these adorable "fairies" who were more adorable than me. There were a couple of drag queens up on stage who had legs I would kill for. And for once in her life there was no one hitting on my blonde bombshell daughter, but she enjoyed the evening nevertheless.
Wedding Tales
Well it happened and I can't believe I have a married daughter and gained a son-in-law. The wedding was lovely and went practically hitchless except I kept on feeling like Tevye from Fiddler on The Roof when I approached my daughter to do something traditional like walk down the aisle to soulful Jewish music instead of Enya and she refused. But back to the music later.
I spent the wedding day at the hairdresser and makeup place with my 4 daughters. I was bored stiff half the time, even though we got a kick out of the photographer looking exactly like my second oldest's ex-boyfriend. I was restless and didn't have the patience to sit around for 5 hours. But there was nothing I could do. I was trapped.
It takes me 5 minutes to put on my makeup and I would assume it takes a professional to do it in 15-20 minutes. My hair took 1/2 hour just to blowp-dry it out. I watched my daughters' transformation - one morphed her hair into a Pamela Anderson type blonde-do, then cried because she hated her dramatic eye makeup. The others did themselves up beautifully but less dramatic.
By the time the groom came to pick up the bride, whom he hadn't seen in a week, for photographs and a blessing from Grand Sephardic rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, I was in the dressing room futzing around with my plastic bra straps trying to make them tighter. Meanwhile, everyone's annoyingly calling me to tell me the groom is here and to come out and I'm telling them -"honey if you want some photos to remember, I WILL come out completely topless to greet the groom but I'd like to be on good terms with my daughter."
Walking towards the Wedding Canopy the DJ put on the Enya song from The Gladiator. It was indeed very lovely, but as soon as the song finished and the entire family had been gathered together, Mr. DJ began playing some calypso-hand-clapping crap which totally fucked up the mood. He could have continued with some other gorgeous New Age type stuff, but he must have been on one too many Red Bull & Vodkas or whatever.
The ceremony began and it is different from Ashkenazi weddings, as the bride does not walk around the husband 7 times, and I thought at one point the Rabbi asked me to drink the wine, and I was about to as I was handed the cup.
"You're ruining MY WEDDING" hissed my daughter loudly, hopefully loudly enough for the video to pick up this conversation. Others whispered to me that I must lift up her veil, and put the wine to her lips for her to sip. It was red wine and she was petrified I'd get it all over her dress. I didn't. A trick for next wedding is to buy white wine.
My brother-in-law was called up to say one blessing. He didn't understand the Rabbi's Hebrew telling him to put the wine glass in his right hand. I hissed at my daughter - NOW HE'S RUINING YOUR WEDDING!!! And I laughed.
The dancing was lively during the dinner, the DJ played good music - first Hasidic music with a mechitza (barrier to divide the sexes) for 20 minutes and then a slow dance with the couple alone - my daughter had 6 sets of floor sparklers going off as well as confetti pouring down on them during the dance and it looked lovely. Then we had our eclectic music going - salsa, R&B, country, Middle Eastern (I brought my belly dancing belts) and I really think we all had a wonderful celebration. We had a matching eclectic crowd - Jewish, Arab, Chassidic, secular, modern orthodox,Messianic Jews - you name it, we had it.
Around midnight the ex-Criminal got totally wasted, unbeknowest to me, and one of the groom's relatives went over to me and said "go to her - she's passed out." The Complainer complained that she's causing us embarrassment.
"Now the other family will know that we're all crazy."
Too late. The wedding can't be called off now. Mwaaa haa haa.
In fact it ended at 1:30 and we shoved the "unconscious" Drunk Daughter into the back seat with 3 other girls trying to shove her around to make room for themselves (she couldn't wake up for shit) and headed home. It took us about 1/2 hour to get the Drunk One out of the car.
And may the newlyweds have a life as beautiful as my daughter's wedding dress!!!
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Jewish - Arab Women's Tent
On Sunday in Beersheva, there was an Arab-Jewish women's tent. I couldn't go. There's too much to take care of before my family's major event. But my new friend did. And she's a great photographer to boot. You can read about this here.
The Mother of (the Bride of) Frankenstein
It sums up the way I feel. Daughter has been so bitchy to me. But that's ok. The wedding is tomorrow. I guess all brides are bitchy before their weddings. I took off like a bat out of hell yesterday morning, haven been given the okay to leave work to rush off to do errands, like buy my son clothing for the wedding, and other assorted millions of little piddly things. Rushing from store to store, I realize it is a blessing not to have so much leisure time. Because if I had so much time on my hands, I'd shop for this and that - beginning with bras and underwear, to pajamas, to sandals, to a long skirt, short, skirt, a few tops and pants. It's hard work. The few leisurely hours I had yesterday wore me down. I managed to find my son what to wear and I can tell you that I love shopping with boys. They put on clothes, and if it fits, and they can close the zippers and buttons, and the pants don't fall down around their waist, it's good enough to buy. We didn't search from store to store like I would with one of my daughters. The first store was It.
Today I picked up my mother-in-law and brother-in-law from the airport. He was insane as usual.
"We just bought a house near Lake Wilcox" he said turning to my son in the car. "You say Wilcox with an emphasis on Cox. Lake Wil COX."
He went on about the gay shul in Toronto that he nicknamed "Shaarei Tuches" ("tuches" is Yiddish for "ass").
Hubby's mom was touched that we seemed so close to her even though we live so far. It's been 10 years since she's seen most of us.
"We always talk about you at home, that's why!" I interjected.
"That's because Bubby smokes pot." laughed brother-in-law.
Are we not the Jewish Osbourne family, I ask?
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