It’s been almost a week since I wrote, but I’ve been “taking notes” all week in my “machberet” (notebook) that I keep in my purse. I feel like I have a lot to share, but mostly my notes are on things that have happened and conversations I have had, rather than a chronological day-by-day account. I’ll try to put some order to this post to let you know what’s going on here and how things are going as we head into our last month in Jerusalem.
Last weekend, we had lots of company. A family who used to live in Cambridge and made aliyah several years ago was invited to dinner Friday night. (This is the family at whose house the CK had an allergic reaction to “Sheleg” (Snow), their white, fuzzy dog.) We hadn’t seen them since we had Shabbat dinner at their house before Rosh Hashanah. They brought challah from “Borekas Ima” (Mom’s Borekas), a bakery with the best challah in Jerusalem (at least in my opinion). We had a lovely dinner and spent a lot of time talking about Israeli politics, especially about the UN upgrade in status of Palestine to a non-member state. What I heard from our guests, as well as from the other people whom I have bugged about this issue, is that Israelis are generally upset about the upgrade in status, primarily because of the “unilateral” nature of the UN vote. Many people I have met are, in theory, in favor of a two-state solution, but are upset that a Palestinian non-member state emerged from the UN instead of from negotiations with Israel. That being said, I read an online article this morning in Slate, which argued that UN vote (in which 138 countries voted in favor of a Palestinian upgrade) was in fact the example of “multi-lateral” action and that a “unilateral” action would have been if the Palestinian Authority had declared itself as a “state” without any negotiations with, and voting by, other UN countries. Everyone keeps saying that the upgrade "changes nothing on the ground" but I'm not sure that is true, considering the 3,000 new units Netanyahu initiated last Friday in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Other Israelis believe Netanyahu's actions have just complicated the issue and reflect punitive action by the Israeli government. As I have written before, it’s never boring here in Israel!
Over the Shabbat, Shir Chadash (our synagogue) hosted a group of Hebrew University students involved in a "chevruta" (study session), so we hosted overnight a young man from Winnipeg, Canada and 3 young women at Shabbat lunch. It was nice to meet them, and I think the boys enjoyed listening in on our conversations. I remember being here for the year in 1985-86 with Young Judea, a Zionist youth group, and thinking it was cool to spend Shabbat with Israelis. I hope none of the Hebrew U kids felt like they “missed out” because they were spending time with Americans who were visiting Israel, as opposed to being with people who actually lived in Israel.
I’ve been reading novels by Sayed Kashua, an Arab-Israeli journalist who also writes for Ha’aretz, the very left-leaning Israeli newspaper. The first book I read was Let It Be Morning, a fictional account of an Arab-Israeli journalist (hmm, suddenly it’s not sounding so “fictional”) and his family’s experiences living inside the Green Line (i.e., in Israel proper and not the West Bank territories) during the time when a peace accord is signed by Israeli and the Palestinians. The book provided a perspective to which I haven't been exposed much, and many of his Kashua’s insights and the reality of being Arab in Israel were both fascinating and heart-breaking. I just started Kashua’s first novel, Dancing Arabs, and am already engrossed in the story. I’m glad I am reading them now, especially in light of the UN vote last week, and as everyone wonders what changes, if any, will result in Israeli society as a result.
Earlier this week, when I was reading Let It Be Morning at Café Duvshaneet, a man tapped me on the shoulder and asked me in Hebrew, if I had been in Young Judaea. When I answered “yes” and looked at him, I realized it was Amir, my “madrich” (counselor), from my study abroad program in 1985! I totally recognized him but might not have noticed him because at the table where he was sitting, his back was to me. Apparently, Amir saw my face when I got up to use the restroom. It was fun to catch up with Amir, but it was totally freaky to see him! When I told Jessie (who made aliyah to Jerusalem in the early 90’s) that I saw Amir, she couldn’t believe it - there are probably a half-dozen people from my study abroad program who now live in Israel, most of them either in, or just outside, Jerusalem, and I run into him at Café Duvshaneet!
On Tuesday, the boys and I went to “Canyon Malcha” (the Malka Mall) late in the afternoon, after their Hebrew tutoring session. It was raining hard, and we needed to get out of the house – the boys had “the actives” (the CK’s word) and Pentheus had work to do. The boys picked out their Chanukah presents from Papa (my Dad) – two English books (each!). The boys were so excited to get new books, and they wanted to stay up reading until late Tuesday night. We had to take the books away so that they could get some sleep. Of course, by last night they had finished (actually, devoured is more like it) the books and are asking for more. At the mall, the CK also bought a new “kippah” (“it’s MIT colors,” the CK exclaimed!), and a “chanukia” (a menorah or candelabra used specifically for lighting Chanukah candles). When Chanukah starts on Saturday night, I will take a picture of the chanukia with candles lit and of the CK in his new “kippah” saying the blessings!
On the way home from the Malka Mall, we saw our first fire trucks since we’ve been in Israel. We’ve seen plenty of ambulances and police cars (and, yes, the CK is still announcing aloud what kind of siren we are hearing, as if to inform us that it is not a “tseva adom”), but never any fire trucks. We can’t speak to all Israeli fire trucks, but the two that we saw were the same color red as in the States but were much shorter. It’s kind of weird, I think, that for almost 4 months, we didn’t see any fire trucks.
Yesterday, I went to Tel Aviv for the day to go to the Rabin Center and have lunch with a friend who made aliyah 7 years ago. I took a #14 bus to the “tachanat merkazit” (central bus station) in Jerusalem and then took the #480 express bus the 70km to Tel Aviv. I am not good about directions and get nervous traveling alone, so it felt kind of like a big deal that I went by myself, even if that sounds silly. The Jerusalem-Tel Aviv bus fare is 18 shekels (about $4.50) each way – pretty inexpensive. In fact, my cab ride from the “tachanat merkazit” in Tel Aviv to the Yitzchak Rabin Center/Museum was only one shekel less than my bus fare and entrance to the museum was almost 3 times as much!
The Rabin Center was great – inspiring, informative, and very well-done. Opened only a few years ago, the museum tells two parallel (“mahkbeel” – I learned that word yesterday) stories: the story of the State of Israel and Israeli society and the life story of Yitzchak Rabin. The way the information was presented was innovative (everyone wears headphones, and the audio for each section begins automatically when you stand in front of a specific display). Both stories (of the State of Israel and about Rabin himself) were presented with surprising candor, warts and all. The set up of the museum is moving; it starts and ends with a “surround screen” showing actual footage of the peace rally at which Rabin was assassinated.
The photo above illustrates some of the vitriol against Rabin - the photo second from the top calls Rabin a "bogehd" (traitor) and the wall in the background of the bottom photo has "death to Rabin" written on it.
One of the coolest things I saw in the museum was Rabin’s actual living room in his house, where Rabin was before he went to the peace rally to speak. They essentially picked up the room and placed it in the museum, exactly as it was, down to replaying the soccer game that Rabin was watching on TV. Note the Nobel Peace Prize propped up on top of the TV, in the same way we might prop up a TV guide or a photograph!
I also took some time yesterday afternoon to get a mani/pedi and to get my eyebrows done. There are certainly places to do that in Jerusalem, but I wanted to go back where my sister Karen and I had gone in mid-October. I even allowed them to put nail polish on my fingernails (which I almost never do), so that I can look extra nice for a wedding Pentheus and I are attending next Tuesday in Jerusalem. (For those of you who care, and I imagine there are only 1 or 2, I am wearing OPI "Been There, Done That" on my fingers and Essie "Smokin' Hot" on my toes.) I got some natool afterwards and headed to the “tachanat merkazit” in Tel Aviv to return to Jerusalem.
On Friday, I am going back to Tel Aviv with the WK for a Human Rights March (http://www.acri.org.il/en/2012/11/26/human-rights-march-2012/) sponsored by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. Jessie had initially told us about the march, which is the flagship event for more than 130 civil rights organizations in Israel and thousands of human rights activists. The march is ahead of International Human Rights Day held annually on December 10 and promotes key human rights issues including rights for migrant workers, GLBT people, Palestinians in (and outside of) the Territories, women, Negev Bedouins, and many more. I have no sense as to how many people will be there or what the experience will be like, but I am glad that the WK is joining me. I am sure it will be interesting to participate.
To end this post on a less serious note, here a bumper sticker I saw on a car yesterday: 
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