Autumn in the Holy Land

It's starting to get cooler, finally. I thought my bike commute to work couldn't get any better, but now the crisp cool air is proving me wrong.

Autumn in Israel is a very festive season, with the New Year (Rosh Hashanah), Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), the Harvest Holiday (Sukkot), and Simchah Torah (when they...start the Torah from the beginning...or something like that).  Makes me realize how much I've forgotten since I was a 5-year old in Holiday Happenings. I hosted my first Warmshowers guest recently, a touring cyclist from Italy, and I tried to explain Sukkot to him. "What you do, is first you build a little hut, and then you have this lemon on a stick, and you shake it and wave it around." He must have thought I was nuts.

It's a nice atmosphere. I hadn't realized how this is a string of holidays and festivals here, sort of like the Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Years season in the States. Lots of half-weeks off, and a full 10-day vacation for Sukkot. But it's nice to be back in the routine.

It was really interesting to observe the differences between the holidays here in Israel vs. home. Whereas in America Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are sort of grouped together as the "High Holy Days" or the "Days of Awe," in Israel they are quite different. Rosh Hashanah is not a very big deal in Israel. People mostly have dinner with their families on the Erev (eve), and see it as a time to spend at home with their loved ones. Some religious people go to Synagogue in the evening and / or morning, but not everyone. Lots of people go the beach.

This year for Rosh Hashanah, because the two-day holiday fell on Thursday and Friday, and the following day was Shabbat, it was three days of a sort-of limbo where lots of places were closed, some places were open, and I wasn't really sure what to do with myself.

This weirdness was furthered by the nature of the synagogues here. The vast majority (I'm guessing 99%+) of synagogues in Israel are Orthodox. The joke is that Israelis want the synagogue that they don't go to, to be Orthodox. And the far-reaching institutional influence of the Rabbinate in Israel has worked over the years to quell any expression of Judaism besides the one acceptable to it. This has extended not only to prayer but also to marriage: If you wanted to marry a person of a different faith (for instance a Jew marrying an Arab, or Christian marrying a Jew) or if you want to marry a person of the same sex, you need to catch a flight to Cyprus to have the wedding. And if you want to convert to Judaism, Orthodox is your only option. And if you're a woman and you want to pray at Judaism's most holy site, well, you can have a tiny spot in the corner on the right-hand side. (Fortunately, in recent years the control of the Rabbinate on such personal matters is finally beginning to subside. Just today, a coalition of several parties got a bill into the Knesset that lets more Rabbis oversee Jewish conversions. 

This phenomenon has played out in parallel with the non-religious Kibbutzniks, who have as little interest in Reform Judaism as they do in Orthodox. For example, a co-worker of mine named Ziv, who grew up on a Kibbutz and is a high-ranking IDF Officer, proudly told me how his 6-year-old son eats a salami-and-cheese omelette every Saturday morning. When Ziv's friend came over and was shocked to find this boy eating an un-Kosher meal, the boy asked, "What is Kosher?" to his father's delight.

Anyway. For these reasons, I would describe the Reform movement here as "fledgling," at best. The movement in Israel didn't evolve organically over time from a foundation of secular German immigrants, the way it did in America. Instead, the movement is mostly influenced and funded by American foundations and followed by American Olim. But more and more Israelis are discovering Reform Judaism as a fulfilling alternative. This is a great article about a secular Israeli kibbutznik learning about Reform Judiasm and then becoming a Rabbi: Israelis shocked to discover: There is more than one Judaism

Ok, so what does all that mean for me? I didn't want to go to Rosh Hashanah at an Orthodox synagogue. I've done that before, when I studied abroad and also once here in Israel during Passover, and I wasn't comfortable at all. It's not the tradition that I grew up with and it's not meaningful for me. Plus, at this point in my 27-year career as a human, I'm repulsed by the idea of women and men sitting separately. I wanted to sit with Adi.

So I chickened out and didn't go anywhere. My Reform and Conservative friends from the program did the same thing. I went to a lovely dinner with Adi's family, and then a great lunch with my friends the next day, but my friends felt the same way I did: It's sadly ironic that we are skipping Rosh Hashanah services for the first time in our lives and we're in Israel for crying out loud. 

So the Jewish guilt set in. As I was moping around, Adi in all her sweetness went online and found a small Reform congregation in our neighborhood -- a branch of Beit Daniel, the only reform synagogue in all of Tel Aviv. We went on the second night of Rosh Hashanah and found a nice little group of people, with a warm female Rabbi who led the service in both Hebrew and English. Adi was really excited to see a woman on the Bima for the first time.

I was determined to be more proactive for Yom Kippur, so I became a member of the congregation and brought a group of friends back for Kol Nidre services. In America, you have to clamor to get seats for all the services during the High Holy Days, and most synagogues require an advance reservation ticket. So I rushed everyone there half an hour early, figuring there would be a huge crowd, considering this was one of the only Reform congregations in the whole city.

Nope.

We were some of the first people to arrive and we got seats in the front. The same happened for services the following day. Crazy!

In Israel, Yom Kippur is the most important day of the year and the only holiday more important than the weekly Shabbat. (Reference point: It is the only day of the year when even the AM-PM convenience stores are closed!) Adi had told me that Yom Kippur is a total "see-and-be-seen" event, when everyone is out and about in the streets all night and all day, in their best outfits, socializing and mingling. I found this hard to believe given the somber nature of the Day of Atonement. But it was true. Irreverent Tel Avivians couldn't care less.

There were no cars anywhere besides the occasional police car and ambulance, so gangs of children were riding their bikes all over the place. Even though I was fasting, Adi and I did a short bikeride on the 8-lane Ayalon Highway, just to say we did. It was sort of post-apocolyptic, but in a cool way!

We broke the fast the traditional Ashkenazi way, with lox and cream cheese, smoked whitefish, hardboiled eggs, lots of vegetable and fruit salads, and challah (we couldn't find bagels). Jonathan, my roomate, and Adi both come from Mizrachi households, and they were psyched -- they usually just break the fast with some cakes pastries. Jonathan totally plans on bringing this tradition to his family.

So in the end, I felt content that I embraced my traditions for the High Holy Days within a completely new and interesting context, in Israel, surrounded by other Jews doing their own thing - whether in Synagogue or out on the town.

---

The Sukkot holiday was awesome. I went with my colleague Eran and his friends on a bike tour from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. Almost the entire route was off-road, connected by several trails and paths.  It was my first tour since the big one, and it was incredible. It lasted two days, and we stayed overnight in a guest house in Neve HaShalom (translates to Village of Peace) where Jews and Arabs coexist side by side. See photos below.

One memory that stuck with me, though, was towards the end of the journey, making our way towards the outer suburbs of Tel Aviv, we rode by a group of twenty or so people, men and women of different ages, with sleeping bags and backpacks. I thought that this hilltop was a strange place to go camping, and then I saw a taxi-van below stopped on the side of the road. Eran saw my confusion and told me these were Palestinians who had come to Israel to work. Most likely, it's too difficult for them to get in and out of the territories each day, so they sleep on this hilltop. I'm not sure how many days they do this, or how often they get to go home. It was a difficult sight to see.

Anyway, right after the bike adventure, Adi and I went on another adventure to Prague! I spent a semester abroad in Prague and knew the place, and it was Adi's first time in Europe, so I was able to show her a great time. It was an action-packed four days. Photos below.

There's one ridiculous story from the trip that I think really showcases Israeli cultural uniqueness.  Our flight was at 8:20 am, so I said we should get there at 6:15 am to be safe. That's 2+ hours, which is as early as I've ever shown up for a flight. We got there and got on the check-in line, and lo and behold, nobody showed up behind us. We were the very last ones, and because of this, we didn't get seats next to each other.

I couldn't believe how early these Israelis arrived. But then, when we got to our gate, it was empty except for one family with a baby. Where the heck was everyone? Shopping at the Duty-Free, of course. Apparently Israelis LOVE the duty-free. Even Adi was into it, and she bought some chocolate for her family for the same price as the same chocolate in the regular supermarket...

Anyway, they called us to board, and we shrugged and figured we'd get on the plane. Once on, we learned that it was actually open-seating, and being the first ones, we got third-row seats together!

But we knew the Israelis wouldn't be fooled twice. For the 2:30 am return-flight from Prague, we pushed and shoved to get checked-in, and then found everyone camped out in front of the gate, sitting on the floor closely together. When the attendant began taking tickets, it was a mad rush. But instead of getting onto the plane, we were just ushered into another room. For THIRTY FRICKIN' MINUTES.

Some of the passengers gave up and sat in the chairs, but most held tightly to their place in line. Then two buses pulled up outside, and the doors opened, and it was another frenzied dash. The prior order of the line was completely abandoned.

When we were on the bus, everyone was jockeying for position near the doors, so we were crammed really tight even as the middle of the bus was free. Finally, after another ten minutes of waiting beside the plane, the bus door opened (I think they may have timed the two buses to open at the same time) and it was like the starting gate of the Kentucky Derby. Adi, being small and lithe, maneuvered through the madness and scored us two good seats, so after two hours of cramming from one line to the next, we got what we wanted. All the previous queuing in line was for naught: the young and strong were victorious, while the old and infirm were left in the trenches.

Was it worth the effort? I'd say yes, since I got to put my head in Adi's lap and then I passed out for the entire four-hour flight. Adi, who was stuck upright without any way to sleep, might give you a different answer :)

I think this says a lot about the Israeli "not-gonna-be-a-sucker" attitude. I was surprised how few Israelis complained on the first flight, since they had arrived at the airport so early to get their seats, only to find that those seat assignments didn't matter. And I was utterly shocked at how few complained while waiting to board the flight home. I was actually one of only three people who complained, and believe me, I gave them a piece of my mind.

I wonder if the airline, which usually operates only in Hungary (many planes are specially chartered for the Sukkot holiday) had ever dealt with this sort of behavior from passengers. And I also wonder how Americans would behave, if confronted with what is essentially the Southwest Airlines 24-hour online check-in frenzy, dramatically played out in real f***ing life.

My guess is that a lot more Americans would have complained, and plenty would have had all-out temper tantrums. The Israelis, on the other hand, even though they were crammed like sardines, and even though it was 2 am, kept their cool, and even had an attitude of camaraderie, as if they were all pals from District 12, about to go into the Arena. When one guy took a selfie, everyone raised their hands and cheered.

Crazy son-of-a-bitch Israelis, I'll tell you what.

---

Work is still going well. I'm getting more responsibility and am delving deeper into projects, and the people are great mentors and teammates.

We are currently working with the government of Suriname to deploy innovative Israeli agriculture projects in the country, and they recently sent over a delegation of university students to see the technologies and methods first-hand. I was tasked with accompanying them for a few days of the visit, since it would be my first time seeing many of the farms and technologies too. What a cool experience. I got to see high-yield dairy farms, processing factories, greenhouses, and a jojoba oil farm (Jojoba is an oil used in many cosmetics and beauty products, and Israel produces something like 90% of the jojoba in the world).

But the coolest experience by far was visiting Kibbutz Hatzerim, near Beersheva, right where the terrain starts to shift from fertile coastal plain into the dry, rocky desert of the Negev. In this unfertile, unforgiving climate, pioneering scouts came and set up a thriving farming village in 1946. Drip irrigation was invented here in 1965, and there is still a major production plant on-site.

Now, the agriculture and technology were of course super cool, but my keenest interest was in the socioeconomic aspects. It was fascinating to learn about this Kibbutz and its company called Netafim.

You enter Kibbutz Hatzerim and you feel like you're in another world -- a summer camp in real life, a picturesque, edenesque even, agrarian commune. The dining hall serves delicious food -- the best Kibbutz food I've ever eaten -- and people ride their bikes along the paths through manicured lawns (no cars are allowed). Children run around freely from cottage to cottage.

This is the Kibbutz setting that many of my adult colleagues remember from their youth. But today, Hatzerim is the exception. As Israel has evolved from collectivist to capitalist, and as the country reckons with the world economy, this idyllic life doesn't really exist anymore. Hatzerim exists because of Netafim.

Indeed, Hatzerim is well-endowed. Today, the Kibbutz owns approximately 30% of Netafim, which has thousands of employees and factories all over the world. That means the Kibbutz's members have a gigantic source of revenue. While many kibbutzim (plural for kibbutz) have shifted partially or fully away from collectivism, Hatzerim is still completely socialist.

The next day my colleague Zeca, who has lived at Kibbutz Hatzerim for 20 years, explained: "It's easy to be socialist when you have a lot of money."

Many Hatzerim members work in the fields or at the Netafim factory, but they don't receive a salary. The factory manager does not receive anything more or anything less than the line worker. Others, like Zeca, work in outside jobs, and their salaries and (and bonus) go directly into the kibbutz's coffers.

There are some complications, though. For instance, Zeca has a company car that he uses to get to the office, and he can use this car in the evenings and on weekends as he pleases. But other members of the Kibbutz can only reserve and use cars from the Kibbutz. So Zeca gets this personal benefit that others don't get, and this is an issue they have to deal with: a lack of equality. 

Then there's the issue of being a socialist entity, but competing in the global economy. As I mentioned, Netafim is a for-profit corporation, and Hatzerim only owns 30%. The majority of Netafim's ownership is made up of private investors. Hatzerim prides itself on educating its youth in agronomy, engineering and business, to take up the mantle of managing Netafim into the future. But in order to maintain its edge, Netafim must also employ global talent -- talent that needs to be compensated.

This blurriness can also be seen at the local level: the factory we visited, which churns out endless strips of tubing for its drip irrigation systems, was not just staffed by Hatzerim members, but also by people commuting in from Beersheva and surrounding towns -- and these people receive salaries.

Kibbutz Hatzerim had an incredible appeal, especially to a nature guy like me. Living and working outside, being part of a tight-knit community with so much common ground...it would be a wonderful life. But then I wonder how long I could tolerate the food in the mess hall before wanting something more. And I think how I'd like to take my family on nice vacations, and maybe own a car and a nice bike, with the money I earn. A lot of young Israelis feel this way, and they leave the Kibbutz for the city. But a surprising amount of young Israelis stay. As long as this foundation exists, the ethos of the Kibbutz will remain a substantial part of Israel's identity.

---

Otherwise, things are going well. I've been studying hebrew with a private tutor and I'm slowly improving. It's tough, because most people in the street or at shops immediately switch to English even when I'm trying my best. Adi's mother is my best teacher -- she doesn't know much English, so talking with her is a great way to practice my Hebrew. Plus, it's nice because I can disagree with her or tell her how I really feel, and everyone just awkwardly laughs and says how great my Hebrew is, but the conversation can't go any further than that. It's awesome!

---

Months ago, soon after I started the program, I was talking to an American who had made Aliyah. I asked him what compelled him to do it. He told me that in his case and the case of many other thoughtful people, you don't have some big wonderful epiphane and shout from the hilltops "I love Israel, Israel is my home!" Instead, in his words, you sort of "get stuck." I've talked to friends who have the same mindset. They say that after about 5 years, they start telling people that they live in Israel rather than the United States, and have already accumulated all their stuff in Israel, and realize they're here to stay.

But now, having been here for nearly a year, I don't think "getting stuck" is the right description of this sentiment. Instead, I think a person slowly, over time, comes to terms with a sense of obligation, a sense of urgency, a sense of being part of something greater than him or herself in a very tangible way. It's different than, say, climate change (my usual cause celebre) or even more human issues like poverty in Africa, because it's just so immediate. So familiar and so intimate, and so messy. The Jews are a very tiny group of people, and they're still alive and kicking, and against all odds they now they have this tiny piece of land where they can determine their own future. I know it sounds cliche, but history is being made here every day. And you don't fully realize that until you live here for a while. Once you're part of this thing for a year or two, other places start to seem, well, sterile.

Now don't get me wrong. I still totally plan on coming home. For me, the draw of family is very powerful. But I do acknowledge the pull.

Jewish Quarter Cemetery, just as beautiful and stirring as I remember. The Jewish Quarter of Prague had even more meaning this time, after living in Israel. 

Posing next to the Franz Kafka statue during our city tour. We had an awesome tour guide named Jean Paul, and he had a loud, clear booming voice, which was important so Adi could understand him :) We took another tour of Prague castle with him because he was so great. 

Prague Castle at sunset, seen from Visehrad Castle

Visehrad Castle

We went to Cesky Krumlov, a little medieval Castle village on the Czech Republic / Austria border. It's one of my favorite places in the whole world, and it was sweet to return with Adi

Cesky Krumlov 

Un-Kosher pork heaven. Despite a lot of peer pressure from me, Adi stuck to her roots and refrained. 

The Cathedral at Prague Castle 

At Prague Castle 

Wenceslas Square at Night 

Jewish Quarter of Prague 

Cycling on the empty Ayalon Highway on Yom Kippur! 

Hanging out with our good friend Riki 

My company had an awesome re-branding party at one of Tel Aviv's swankiest restaurants. Cool, right? 

My cycling shoes after the tour from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. After 8,000+ miles and 18 countries, it might be time for new ones. I'll spare you the photo of my chafed butt cheeks, which were in even worse shape.

The Suriname Students at a Dairy Processing Plant in the north of Israel. Did you know that Suriname is next to Brazil, and they speak Dutch there?

A father riding with his child on Ayalon highway on Yom Kippur. Adorable!

Day 2 of the bike tour, somewhere between Bet Shemesh and Modi'in, the sun first peaking through the clouds

Yafo promenade in the early evening 

Day 1: In the mountains south of Jerusalem 

Why I hate Shabbat, and other grievances

Lots to write. I promise that a really interesting reflective post is coming soon. And I'm having such a great time here! But first, I need to air a few grievances. 

 

Firstly: Shabbat is honestly the bane of my existence here and a major reason why I wouldn’t stay in this country. It is completely unsuited to modern society. I’ll tell you why: 

 

So the weekend here is on Friday and Saturday. Which is fine - if you don’t mind that global Israeli companies are forced to miss out on 20% of the international workweek. While most young professionals can often scoot out early on Friday afternoon, I'm usually working into the evening Thursday night to get items out to the rest of the world. Fine.

 

Anyway. Sometimes I like to sleep a little late on the weekends and then make breakfast, but usually I’m out and about by 10 am. And sometimes, I’ve been waking up at 4:30 am to go mountain biking with friends, and I get back at 11 or 12 and begin my errands then.  A mere 3 hours later, around 2:30 pm, shops start to close. By 4 pm, everything is shuttered. And most places will stay shuttered until 9 am on Sunday morning, when I'm already back at the office. What this means is on Friday during the hours of 10 am to 2:30 pm, I’m running around like crazy trying to take care of my personal life against a ticking clock, while everyone else in the country is doing the exact same thing. It’s crowded, noisy and stressful.

 

Last Friday, I had to prioritize between getting my bike fixed, getting a haircut, buying groceries for the weekend, getting bedsheets, and buying a rug for my room. Even though I canceled on meeting my friends for lunch, I still ran out of time, and the haircut and rug had to be postponed to next Friday. Indeed, I find myself earmarking errands for three or four Fridays into the future.

 

But at least I wasn't planning on going to the bank, since banks are closed ALL DAY on Friday AND Saturday. I’ll get back to that in a minute. 

 

It’s ABSOLUTELY NOT equivalent to Sunday in America, because most shops don’t re-open Saturday evening when Shabbat is over. So it’s truly 3/4 of the weekend that you lose. 

 

I know this sounds whiney. "First world problems," you might say. But I will retort that when a modern, metropolitan society's public transportation system completely shuts down for the majority of the weekend, it disproportionately hurts the poor (and young expats like me). People with cars can choose to go wherever they want over the weekend, but the poor are stuck in place. Renting a car is a huge pain also, because the rental car places are completely closed Friday at noon through Sunday morning, and I can't return the car without being late to work. And they have the gall to charge you for the time that they are closed, even if you want to return the car earlier. The situation is the same for Holidays. Which is why, at this very moment, I'm off of work for Sukkot and I'm sitting here writing a blog instead of hiking in the Carmel Mountains.

The whole idea of Shabbat is to stop and take a deep breath and relax. And I see the reasoning behind it. Well, I’d be much more relaxed if I could get things done in a leisurely manner, maybe stop and eat lunch with a friend, god forbid (no pun intended) take a break and get a coffee during my errands. I don’t recall ever once being in a good mood by Friday afternoon; I'm a hot, sweaty, tired, angry mess. So much for welcoming the Sabbath.

And the loopholes that people go through to observe Shabbat! I had Shabbat dinner with my girlfriend's family, and noticed they use a big hot plate which is hooked up to a timer, so they don't need to use a stove. But it's on basically from 7 am until midnight: an incredible waste of energy. They also use a timer for the lights. They're allowed to adjust the timer, but not allowed to actually flip the switch. Apparently it's because to actually turn on an electrical device is to complete a circuit, which is "building," and is not allowed. But adjusting a timer is OK?!? And then there's this - the Shabbos App. I'm sorry but it's laughable.

 

I live off of a famous shopping street in Tel Aviv called Sheinkin. It’s known for its funky fashion boutiques and other cool stores. Friday afternoon and all of Saturday, it’s completely dead. These shops could make boatloads more money if they close on Sunday and Monday, even on Tuesday, but just stay open Saturday, when the entire 9-5 working public is free for leisure activities. But that would make too much sense. 

 

Yeah, there are overpriced 24/7 convenience stores, and although I’m forced to shop at these places too often, I’m really grateful for them. Same with restaurants that stay open on Shabbat. I’m lucky to live in the center of Tel Aviv, because far fewer places stay open in Jerusalem or in smaller towns. But when it comes to errands like buying hardware or bike gear or home goods, I’m generally SOL. And it irritates the hell out of me.

 

I remember the times in America when my friends and I would decide spontaneously to grill some burgers on a Sunday afternoon, and we’d run down to the supermarket and pick up the fresh ingredients. That’s just out of the question here. Every Shabbat is like Christmas Day. Movies and gas stations and not much else. 

 

Maybe this was all fine back in ancient history when my wife could ride the donkey into town while I worked on the farm with my sons, and then we all sit down to Shabbat dinner on Friday night. And it's just lovely for the government-subsidized Haredi (ultra-orthodox), since since they don't have jobs. But for a young bachelor, especially someone who wants to do fun things during time off from work, it's completely F**d.

 

And to top it all off, the Haredi are constantly lobbying for more places to be closed on Shabbat. But luckily, Tel Aviv is fighting back. A recent city law forced all 24-7 stores to close on Shabbat, but the stores just paid the fine and stayed open, and people went grocery shopping in large numbers to show their solidarity. And we're safe for now, because the hypocrital author of the law just resigned due to rumors of a sex scandal.

 

Even though I'm not going to be here for a long time, I'm seriously considering buying a car. It's just too constraining otherwise.

 

Now, for the banks. Ohh, the Israeli banks. Closed all weekend, and open during the week some days from 8:30 until 12 and other days from 2 until 5. It requires me to miss an hour of work every time I go, because, amazingly, I can only go to my home branch to take care of my account. There’s a branch next to my office in Herzlya, but I'm not allowed to do anything there. I’ve had to go four times simply to get a debit card, and each time they told me it would be a few more days. Most recently, I got an automated text saying it had arrived, but then I went and learned that was incorrect. But at least it gave me the chance to practice angry hebrew.

 

I could have it mailed to me, but I have zero trust for Israeli mail after these experiences:

First, while I was still on Career Israel, my parents sent me a package with some bike gear. Two weeks later, I asked my program counselor about it. He said there was a strike at the post office, so it would be more time. A couple weeks later, he told me the post office shuts down during the Passover holiday, so it would be a bit longer. When I finally received a notification slip, it took me two weeks to find time to go to the Post Office since, you guessed it, it’s only open until noon on Fridays and I was traveling, busy, etc. When I finally got there, they said I had taken too long to come, so they sent the package back to the central distribution facility. Two months later, back home at my parents' place in South Carolina, a mere day before I was supposed to return to Israel, we received a crumpled, dirty package held together by rubber bands. It was the exact same package, returned to sender after a 4 month world tour. 

Then, when I lost my debit card, I had my American bank rush a new one to me. A week later, nothing. Ten days, nothing. Finally I mustered the strength to navigate the archaic Israeli postal system. Eventually I learned the package was sitting in Lod, and had been for a week. I asked them to, you know, send it to the destination address, and they said sure. Thanks for that.

I won't bore you too much with the other grievances, but just to mention a few:

 

My new health insurance card took 6 weeks to come, during which I caught pinkeye and couldn't get in to see a doctor.

 

I got saddle sores from the bike, went to the pharmacy, and learned that I can't get neosporin over the counter in Israel, and I need doctor's prescription. But I didn't have an insurance card (see above). So I had my friend bring some from the states.  Some people smuggle in drugs or electronics. I smuggle in neosporin.

 

Women are forced to sit in the back of the bus in some Haredi neighborhoods in Jerusalem. And recently, an El Al flight on Rosh Hashanah was grounded for hours because Haredi men refused to sit next to women. It's like Rosa frickin' Parks in a supposedly modern "secular" country. Not to mention the Black people I know who are getting racially profiled by police so often, we may as well be in Ferguson.

 

Ok, that is all. Otherwise, having a great time here in Israel! Yay!

 

 

 

 

Dialogue on the Gaza Conflict

A friend of mine shared my recent post, "Context on the Conflict," with his friends and family, and one of his friends wrote a response to it. Her email was definitely heated, but thoughtful and well-informed in my opinion. It took me a while to sit down and write back to her, but I finally did it. I think it's a pretty solid discourse if I do say so myself. The whole thing is below. If Dana writes another response, I'll share it too. 

Dana's email: 

Hey Kevin,

So far I have only gotten as far as to responding to your friend's summary of the conflict. I would welcome you to share my response with him, as he seems like a genuine and good person who is sincerely trying as hard as he can to understand the conflict within the context of his life, as am I. 

In response to Zach's reference to the IDF as "careful" by dropping leaflets, funneling humanitarian aid, and treating Gazan patients. These are actions done by a country that has completely surrounded and isolated another country. (we can play around with the word "occupation" and what that technically means, but all it means to me is that Palestine lives under Israel's invasive control that prevents it from being a self determining state, which is currently true. See this link:http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mehdi-hasan/gaza-israel_b_5624401.html)  Israel is required by international law to provide this aid. The welfare of Gazans is in Israel`s hands because of the embargo. Syria does not have this same, unique, dynamic. Syrian rebels are not besieged and completely isolated by Assad.  It`s a completely different situation. 

The other situations aren`t even war situations at all. They are terrorist situations.  The Christians being expelled from Iraq is the only thing kind of resembling the Israel-Palestine problem and YES. That is SUPER HORRIBLE TOO. I have openly condemned it on twitter and shared a Muslim's response to  how "this isn't Islam." But the entire world isn't being demanded to support ISIS's right to defend itself, are they? It is Israel that is asking the world to support it's right to defend itself. So why are you trying to argue your point by comparing Israel's acts to acts of terrorism elsewhere in the world, and then saying how it's not as bad because you are sending out pamphlets first? I hope you see how audacious and self-condemning that is. You are essentially just categorizing Israel as more polite terrorists. 

Also, who exactly is it you are referring to that is blaming Israel for Hamas' rockets or Hamas' storing of these rockets in civilian places? People are blaming Israel for responding to these rockets with excessive bombing inflicting damage being described as a "man made hurricane," and responding to rockets being found in VACANT schools to blowing up schools that are FULL OF PEOPLE.  (Schools whose location Israel was warned about 17 times....)  

How has Hamas prioritized the destruction of Israel over the well being of it's people?  Hamas has a working and relatively effective government and has changed very little of the old PA's structure, unless it was out of necessity since most of Fatah boycotted when Hamas took power. (They WERE democratically elected in 2006, as I'm sure you know. So as proponents of democracy we are in a position where we must consider why we don't allow them to rule. Not saying we should, just saying we need to think about it.) Hamas has reduced street violence and has established social charities. They have NOT left Gazans to starve while they spend all their time building tunnels to go and kill Israelis. They actually originally built the tunnels to Egypt in order to get food, because Israel was only supplying Gazans with just enough not to starve to death. (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/2-279-calories-per-person-how-israel-made-sure-gaza-didn-t-starve.premium-1.470419) It is through these tunnels and ONLY through these tunnels that Hamas was able to stabilize Gaza's economy after the embargo was placed. 

You believe that Hamas is a terrorist organization using Human Shields. But Israel has been named a terrorist state as of a few days ago and has also been accused by the UN of using human shields. So where is this moral high ground based? 

The term human shield is misleading. Asserting that Hamas admires the citizens who choose to ignore the evacuation notices and stay in their homes is completely valid. They do, I've heard them say it on the news. But suggesting that they are somehow cowardly hiding behind little babies while encouraging the people to sacrifice themselves is misleading and simply wrong.  Also, finding rockets in schools is a problem, but few articles mention that both of those schools were vacant.  A crime none the less, but considering Hamas is not an army and has to hide any resistance efforts (despite the fact that they are allowed to resist against Israel according to international law due to the fact that Israel is not acting in good faith as their occupying force) it can be seen as extremely irresponsible, but not necessarily as an argument that they have no respect for the lives or wellbeing of children. Also, to quote a colleague Robert Sullivan, "just because Hamas stores weapons in densely populated area does not mean that Israel has the right to kill all of the civilians to destroy said weapons. If a bank robber took multiple people hostage the police would not have the right to kill all of the hostages just to kill the bank robber."

The argument that people who take an interest in this conflict while being relatively silent on other injustices means there is something wrong with THEM really angers me. Heres why I care significantly more about this issue than any other issue in the media right now: 

It has an affect on countless other geo-political problems in the world. 

It is the only situation where the public is being demanded to acknowledge the occupiers right to defend itself against the occupied. 

It is the only situation where the aggressor is rendered the victim. 

It is the only situation where I feel controversial for condemning the murder of little children. 

It is the only situation that has led me to look up Martin Luther King Jr. quotes just to remind me to stay calm and peaceful and patient when the entire world seems to accept an injustice as just. 

Maybe you are the one who needs to ask yourself why I can sit and bear it when I hear about countless other injustices in the world, but this one makes me, and so much of the rest of the world, so sick and disheartened that I quite literally can not shut myself up about it. Maybe Israel needs to sit down and think about why this issue is causing so many people to take a stand, instead of just assuming it is because all of these people are irrational and unfair. 

This is a war, as you say. But it is a very uneven war, considering that one side has an army and the other doesn't. I sincerely ask you to step outside yourself for a moment and just consider that the tactics Hamas is using that you scoff at as barbaric or ruthless are simply common strategies of guerrilla warfare. Because that is the people you are choosing to attack. Poor people. If you want pretty brochures and perfect public relations teams that will calmly explain to the public why the killings are actually totally justified and okay, why don't you try attacking the United States. (I am obviously being sarcastic to prove a point.) 

Furthermore, Israel has NOT been committed to ending the occupation. Re: In one week of December alone, Netanyahu’s government pushed forward plans for 11,000 homes beyond the Green Line that marked Israel’s 1967 border — nearly as many settler homes as were approved in the previous 10 years combined. The explosion in activity has made 2012 the Year of the Settlement, inspiring a new level of war-themed rhetoric from settlement opponents. “Unprecedented Planning Strike on East Jerusalem,” says the Peace Now website, “6,600 units in 4 days,”

Time Magazine, 2012

In a statement late Wednesday, Israel’s housing minister, Uri Ariel, published bids for the construction of nearly 1,500 housing units in settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, calling them “an appropriate Zionist response to the establishment of the Palestinian terror government.” He said he believed this would be “just the beginning.” In addition, the authorities revived plans on Thursday for 1,800 more housing units.

New York Times, 2014

Furthermore, the argument that the continued settlements is not really an impediment to peace, because most Palestinians would choose to free their prisoners from prison before choosing to enforce laws against settlements is like saying that starvation is not really an impediment to surviving a famine because most dying people would choose to drink water before choosing food. Just because they pick another important issue before this one doesn't mean the issue doesn't matter. I certainly hope that if you were locked up in prison, your country would bargain to get you back before worrying about land. 

Also, these arguments that Palestine "never misses the opportunity to miss an opportunity" are so incredibly offensive. Maybe Palestine is  missing opportunities because they are ALWAYS on Israel's terms and because they are busy trying to find enough food to put into their bodies. Are you seriously scolding them for not getting their stuff together to form an infrastructure while they are so hungry and oppressed that they need to dig underground to sneak in food?

All in all I found your summary extremely biased while trying to pass for being objective and sympathetic to both sides. I think that a bias towards Israel is so engrained in our public policy that we often don't even notice it anymore. If you are as interested in finding peace and truth as you seem to be, I hope you will think about and respond to my arguments. I have a lot to learn as well and I think debates such as these are an effective and peaceful way to do so.

Sincerely, 

Dana 

My response: 

Hi Dana, 

I appreciate your email and I’m sorry it has taken me so long to respond. I totally agree with some of the points you made, but I also would like to dispute a few of your claims. Many of the things you said and the way you framed things were the first time I've heard them, and they made me think differently. You are obviously knowledgeable on the subject and I appreciate you giving me your perspective. 

I think the link you shared is a good one and if I had more time I would try and engage every point separately. I reluctantly agree with the #10, #11, and #8. I think #7 and #1 are taken out of context, and I totally disagree with #2 and #5 as I’ll talk about. For now, the best article I’ve seen for “the other side,” in terms of disputing specific talking points is this one. 

People from both sides of the political spectrum praised my post for being fair and balanced, and I stated my personal positions from the outset. So I don’t agree with you that my post is "extremely biased while trying to pass for being objective and sympathetic to both sides.” 

Also, I specifically tried to talk about historical context because that is sometimes lost in the debate, and you didn’t really engage a couple of my arguments. I’m curious what you think about the fact that Palestinians are the only refugees who are not resettled and how this perpetuates and festers the conflict over time. I also wonder what you think specifically of the 2000 peace process I wrote about, when the deal was more "on Palestine's terms." I also ask what your opinion is on the original Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, which occurred before the blockade. (the blockade which was a result of Hamas’ election win, yes, but also its violent overthrow of the PA and subsequent violence against Israeli civilians.) Do you think if Gazan leadership had handled it differently, when handed a piece of land completely free of Israelis, there might have been a process towards an independent Gazan state? 

As for your points. First I want to talk about where we agree: 

I agree with you that I don’t think Netanyahu or his government is a partner for peace.  Netanyahu is committed to security first, which resonates with many Israelis, but this isn't productive towards the peace process. And some of the government policies, officially or unofficially, make me really mad. And the actions of some of the settlers on the west bank, from threats to “price tag attacks” make me ashamed.      

Israel’s economic restrictions on Gaza — including calorie counts — is just one example of misguided policy that attempted to weaken Hamas but actually just made life hell for the people of Gaza. There are many other examples of these types of brutal Israeli actions in the West Bank over the past decades. I don’t dispute that at all. 

What I was trying to say about Israel's commitment to peace is that in the past two decades, the two sides have been very close to making peace on a few occasions. Rabin’s assassination by a Jewish terrorist was a tragedy, but that was a time when the Israeli gov't was indeed open to peace. Same thing with Barak in 2000, which I discussed in my last post...After Arafat’s betrayal in 2000, when the Israeli public learned how much Barak was willing to offer for peace and STILL was turned down, people became a lot more cynical. (although my girlfriend Adi has just informed me that this wasn't so black-and-white, and there were a lot of misunderstandings going on at the time, and it wasn't completely Arafat's fault). Olmert supposedly was pretty close to peace with Abbas, but he had too many problems of his own with scandal, mismanagement in the 2nd Lebanon War, lack of public trust, etc. Which is part of the reason we are where we are now. Maybe Tzipi Livni could have made something happen when Kadima won the elections in 2009, but she couldn’t form a government and that’s why we’re stuck with Bibi now. So I stand by what I said that Israel has “sometimes more and sometimes less” been committed to peace. 

And I in no way meant to downplay the issue of the settlements, because they’re a huge impediment to peace. But to weigh in on your point: the expansion of existing settlements, especially those in parts of East Jerusalem that would become part of Israel in any conceivable land swap, should not be given the same weight as brand new settlements deeper in the west bank. When Obama naively called for a “full settlement freeze” early in his presidency, it put Abbas in a tough position because he couldn’t push for anything less than what a U.S. president demanded. Yet everyone knew that those settlements in East Jerusalem are not disputed in the peace talks, and everything including repairs to existing homes are now stuck in limbo. I’m not condoning the new settlements called for by right-wing politicians, but it’s a lot more complex of an issue than just the number of housing units. 

As for innocent civilians. According to British Col. Richard Kemp, “No other army in the world has ever done more than Israel is doing now to save the lives of innocent civilians in a combat zone.” This is corroborated by Richard Goldstone’s backpedalingon his own report after the 2012 fighting, which originally accused Israeli of targeting civilians. But the report didn’t hold water once the facts were revealed. When the lopsided casualty counts (which are fed to the UN directly by Hamas) are further analyzed for this current conflict, we might be looking at much different numbers, as happened in 2012. 

Regarding the targeting of innocent civilians in this recent conflict: Like I said in my earlier post, the specific events in which Israel allegedly killed innocent civilians need to be investigated. My girlfriend does PR for the New Israel Fund (a group of left-leaning Israeli non-profits), and they are calling for an independent investigation into these events. 

My buddy served in the IDF, and I asked him specifically about this after reading your email. He said: "The claim that Israel targets citizens is simply untrue. I have sat through countless IDF briefings and there is always the highest stress placed on the need to limit civilian deaths. Every civilian death in Gaza has been a success for Hamas' military strategy and an unfortunate price to bear for Israel to protect its citizens from rocket fire and terrorist infiltration. Israel is all too aware of the scrutiny it faces and every civilian death places additional pressure on Israel to halt its activities when it has a serious and lengthy mission ahead of it: to obtain a quiet border with Gaza.” But still, I saw what you saw with those kids on the beach getting gunned down. That’s unacceptable, and you should know that many Israelis are calling for an external investigation. 

About Israel bombing schools: First, one of the school bombings was a misfire by a Hamas rocket, revealed by a reporter once he was away from Gaza and free from Hamas intimidation and censorship.

The second instance was Israeli fire that hit an empty courtyard, and then Hamas moved corpses onto the scene to stage the events. And I’m not sure what argument you were making by saying that rockets were found in vacant schools. I don’t think it’s ever ok to house rockets in schools, or to base your headquarters at a busy hospital, or to store weapons caches in civilian houses, or to arrange dead children near schools for the cameras, or to use UN ambulances for war purposes, or to pretend to be dead at a staged funeral. 

The analogy about the bank robber is accurate as far as it portrays normal Gazans as hostages caught in a horrible, horrible situation for which Israel shoulders some of the blame. But the analogy would make more sense if the bank robber was just quietly looking to steal some money and move on. But the bank robber is launching rockets into civilian areas from behind the hostages. IDF soldiers have reported seeing terrorists charging with a child in one hand and an AK47 in the other, because their operation manuals instruct them that this is the best way to throw an IDF soldier off his guard in a volatile situation. The Hamas manuals also explicitly state that IDF soldiers are instructed to limit civilian casualties, and instruct terrorists how to use this to their advantage. Confirmed by CNN, “The manual reveals that Hamas recognizes the IDF is committed to minimizing harm to civilians and explains how civilians can be used against it.” 

But beyond all this is the simple point that Hamas has plenty of open areas away from the neighborhoods from which to fire their rockets, but they don’t, because Israel would have an easier time neutralizing those weapons. Israel has a much harder time destroying rocket launching sites when they are nestled in civilian neighborhoods, precisely because it requires the IDF to carefully navigate civilian zones. The IDF puts its own troops at greater risk in its efforts to limit civilian casualties, because like I said, Israel suffers hugely in the international PR arena when Palestinians are killed. It’s Hamas's strategy and it unfortunately works. 

Regarding your claims about Hamas’s governance: Yes, Hamas was democratically elected, but that doesn’t change Hamas’ objectives towards Israel, as stated in their official charter. For all the bombastic comparisons of this current conflict with actual genocide, we can’t forget an important point. When a group actually states - when it officially commits in their charter - that they want to commit genocide against us, we should believe them. This is Hamas’ stance towards Jews and nothing Hamas has done would make me think differently. 

And I disagree with your claims that Hamas has made things better for Gazans and has an “effective government.” I have never been to Gaza, but I have heard and read about it. Hamas has cracked down on freedom and self-expression, and has ruled as anyone would expect from an Islamic fundamentalist regime. Yes, Hamas built tunnels to smuggle food in from Egypt, (forcing children to work and killing 160 in the process) but Hamas taxed those transactions to enrich their leaders. The leaders also siphoned off billions of dollars from donations for their personal fortunes. And I’m sure you’ve seen the news about Hamas’ brutal killing of suspected collaborators without trial. Contrast this with Leftist Israelis that freely protest against their own country without fear of retaliation by their own government. 

And while we’re on tunnels: The tunnels into Israeli kindergartens and houses were most certainly NOT to smuggle food. They were to kidnap and murder Israelis. 

And of course Hamas could stop lobbing rockets and mortars at Israel, and agree to one of the past 6 cease-fires that Israel has agreed to (all but the first one proposed). That would be helpful for its civilians too. But Hamas refuses to demilitarize in exchange for 1) a new seaport, 2) the lifting of the blockade, and 3) enough economic development aid to make Gaza the next Singapore. Because demilitarizing would mean Hamas can’t attack Israel anymore and - most likely - eventual moderation of its extremist stance. What we're seeing is a desperate terrorist group on the verge of irrelevance, being more interested in its own power and Israel’s destruction, than its citizens. 

And I actually have been to the West Bank a couple times. I made friends with a Palestinian man at the King Hussein Bridge Border Crossing when I was coming back from Amman, and he offered to give me a lift through Jericho and Ramallah to Jerusalem. He drove me in his model year BMW SUV. He told me about his anger with Israel, his thoughts on the conflict and the peace process, etc, and it was fascinating, but he most certainly wasn’t starving. The fact of the matter is that Palestinians have “gotten their stuff together” and formed an infrastructure quite well in the West Bank, sometimes with help from Israel, often in spite of Israel's oppressive policies. I have been to Ramallah, which is a culture capital with cafes, universities, a strong feminist movement, and intellectual clubs, where the PA and Israel perform joint operations. The Palestinians have “gotten their stuff together” enough to participate in a peace process, and to deny this is just playing into the Palestinian victim mentality, which - yeah - I totally believe exists, when I see how the Druze and Arab Christians are thriving and are safer in Israel than anywhere else in the middle east, and their sons and daughters are serving alongside Jews in the IDF, and they have unparalleled upward mobility, all while the Islamic State rapes and decapitates their brethren across the border in Syria and Iraq. 

As you said, this is an uneven war. One side has an army and has successfully, miraculously, defended itself time and time again from the armies of its neighbors, whose objective was to annihilate it. Then more recently, its army has - also miraculously - defended its civilians from bus-bombings, synagogue-bombings, school-bombings, targeting of mothers with their children. This side has deployed advanced technology to defend itself from rockets aimed at civilians. And sometimes its soldiers falter, and sometimes the army makes mistakes or acts unethically. And some Israelis cheer when their army kills civilians, but most lament it, even if only because this hurts Israel’s public image. And everyone - EVERYONE - hates to see its soldiers die in the battlefield. And when a group of Jews killed an Arab teenager as revenge for the kidnappings, the entire country spoke out against it, and the murderers were prosecuted under the law. 

Contrast that with the other side. The other side has been a hotbed of innovation for terrorism — the first suicide bombings, the first plane hijackings, the murdering of olympic athletes. And now, the mastery of a sinister PR strategy. When terrorists kidnap three innocent Israeli teenagers, some civilians celebrate and take selfies of themselves holding up three fingers. And one of the kidnappers’ mothers says how proud of him she is. This side teaches its children hate. It’s asymmetrical warfare alright. But its moral asymmetry. 

I want to refer to several instances of non-violent resistance actually being far more effective than terrorism and violence. The Black civil rights movement in America. Ghandi in India. South Africa. And yes, the Fatah (PA) renunciation of violence, the boycott movement (which I don't like, because I think it has anti-semitic elements, but I do see a cause-and-effect bringing Israel back to the negotiating table) and of course the threat of going to the International Criminal Court. The difference with these non-violent protests is that neither African Americans nor Indians nor the South Africans wanted to completely kill all of the other side. Hamas's M.O. is to exterminate and expel the Jews.

I will clarify my argument about those who "take an interest in this conflict while being relatively silent on other injustices.” I'm not saying something is "wrong with them." I'm saying Israel is held to a double standard and it’s fueled by anti-semitism. China occupies Tibet and Taiwan. Russia is occupying part of Georgia and Crimea, and may take even more of Ukraine. Turkey is occupying Northern Cyprus. The US occupied Iraq, and may have to again. Great Britain is still technically occupying Northern Ireland. 

But the protests you see all over the world that quickly devolve into anti-semitic taunts, into attacks on Jewish neighborhoods and stores and synagogues that have absolutely nothing to do with Israel, into boycotts of Jewish-owned shops, and into cold-blooded murder, is above and beyond. The leaders of Turkey, which has its own sordid history of genocide against Armenians, are so quick to condemn every Israeli move and equate Israel with Nazi genocide. It’s ironic and clearly due to anti-semitism. 

I would go even further and say that this anti-semitism, this revulsion at the idea of the Jews having a tiny sliver of land where they can have self-determination and safety, is why this conflict has perpetuated this long. I already spoke about this in my original post. 

Lastly. The notion that Israel "has an effect on countless other geo-political problems in the world” is a drastic oversimplification. It’s so easy to think that “if only Israel would go away, everything would be fine.” But as the middle east erupts in turmoil, Israeli society remains stable. Yeah, Israel has an effect on the region, and some would argue that it has a stabilizing effect. You could argue against them. But the country can’t and shouldn't be blamed for everything. 

Phew. I tried to cover as many of your arguments as possible. And I just summoned way more righty-right-winger than I thought I could muster, while my girlfriend yapped over my shoulder disagreeing with basically everything I wrote. So I will end with this link, which most accurately sums up how I feel. 

The Hebrew word for shrimp is..."shrimp"

My first month as a bona fide employed expat has been really great. I went with my friend Esty and her friends on a camping / hiking weekend in the north. They were all Americans but one of the guys works for Young Judea and has organized lots of overnight trips, and the other guys had served in the IDF. So they knew all the best spots. Highlights of the trip were hiking through a stream in Yehudiya, swinging off a "tarzan" swing into the Jordan River, camping on the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) and cooking a monstrous Poyke Pot filled with beef shoulder and veggies. My favorite part of the weekend, though, was cliff diving in a beautiful hidden cove. We had to hike an hour in the blistering mid-day sun to get there, but it was so worth it!

 

I made some really good friends during the weekend. It was mostly young Americans who joined the IDF as “lone soldiers,” and it was fascinating to hear their various reasons for making Aliyah and enlisting.

 

I got to know Esty’s roommate, Ilya, a cool Israeli dude who speaks English, Hebrew, and French with a Russian accent, but speaks Russian with an Israeli accent. Go figure. Ilya works as a software programmer for internet security, using the skills he learned in an intelligence unit in the IDF. He's preparing to move to his company's New York branch in February.

 

Ilya was born in Israel to parents who made Aliyah from Russia, but he was actually formally kicked out of the country when he turned 18. This is because he is a “fourth-generation Jew.” What this means is that his great-grandmother is his only Jewish relative. (His mother is completely non-Jewish, and his father had only one Jewish grandparent.) Israel welcomes anyone with third-generation Jewish roots and their spouses, but that’s where the line is drawn. Later, I asked Adi about this. She said it's actually a bit of an issue, because people from Russia and Ethiopia who only have one Jewish grandparent, and no practical or spiritual connection to Judaism, are able to move to Israel for a better life. Are these people Jewish? Should they be considered Jewish? I said that it seemed like a stretch…these people aren’t actually Jewish, and they are diluting Israel’s Jewish identity, and maybe it would be better to only allow people who have a Jewish parent at least. But Adi responded that this rule was created to mirror the litmus test used by the Nazis. If someone had just one Jewish grandparent, he would have been rounded up and sent to the camps like any other Jew. So, that same someone would now have a home in Israel.

 

Adi also said that these Russians and Ethiopians who come here are favored by some left-leaning political groups, because they provide a secular counterweight to the rapidly multiplying Horadim (ultra-orthodox). Interesting point.   

 

Back to Ilya. So when he turned 18, he wrote a letter and met with the Dept of Immigration, and he explained that he is a Zionist and he wants to stay, he promised he’ll be a good citizen, etc, and the government let him stay. And after four years in the army and a few more years contributing to the Israeli hi-tech sector, (and the fact that he’s an unmitigated badass) it’s safe to say Israel is lucky to have this guy.

---

I just moved into my new apartment. I’m really excited about it. It’s got two balconies and lots of natural light. And it’s in the best location! The apartment is on a quiet, tree-lined street, but a mere hundred feet away is the Carmel Shuk and all the restaurants and cafes of Nahalat Binyamin. My favorite bar is a Jazz club called 50 For Your Soul, and it’s around the corner. I’m also a stone’s throw from King George Street, and walking distance to Rothschild Street and the beach. It’s the center of the center!

It’s interesting how the things you look for in an apartment here are different than in America. Although Tel Aviv is a bustling metropolitan cultural center, it’s still a city in the Middle East with a low GDP per capita compared to Western countries. What that means is that the residential buildings are more like Belgrade than Boston. You can get a really nice place, but you have to pay high prices – especially relative to the lower incomes here. So a nice room in the center with good A.C. and lots of windows, maybe with a chillaxing rooftop, is all I’m asking for, even if the building doesn’t have an elevator and the pipes and wiring run all over the hallway ceiling and walls. And the added bonus is that the staircase does not have any windows, which is a big benefit when you’re sheltering from rocket attacks. Different priorities for sure…

---

I’ve been getting into a weekend mountain biking routine with my colleague Eran and his friends. He picks me up Friday morning around 6 am, we link up with his buddies, and then I pass out in the back seat and wake up at the trailhead, not sure exactly where I am in this tiny country, but ready to ride. His friends are – to say it mildly – not in peak physical condition, so the pace is slow and we take lots of breaks for coffee and cigarettes. (They bring at least two thermoses of coffee). To them it’s a social thing as much as it’s exercise. And I’m happy, because I’m chilling with Israelis, watching them talk shit and sometimes even participating with my broken Hebrew. That’s what I love about mountain biking: you have the whole gamut, from competitive trail-burning, to farting around with more time spent stopped in the shade than in the saddle. You don't see much of the latter with the lycra-clad roadies.

I feel like I’ve already seen most of the cultural sights here, so now it’s on to the nature / outdoorsy side. If I can look back on this year and say that I hit all the best Israeli trails, I’ll be satisfied!

One of Eran’s biking buddies, Yuval, is a tour guide and driver by profession. For obvious reasons, business has been slow for the past two months and Yuval has had lots of time on his hands. So he decided he was going to get in shape and mountain bike every single day. And his current bike was starting to fall apart here and there. So, he went out and spontaneously bought himself a new $5,000 bike! To reiterate, Yuval was seeing very little income during the peak summer season, but instead of worrying about his economic situation, he blew a huge chunk of money so he could be productive towards his health during this slow period. That’s such an Israeli Carpe Diem attitude, and I dig it.

Otherwise, just having a good time and living the life. I’m still learning a lot at work, and checking out new restaurants now that I’m actually making money again. I’m trying to learn Hebrew every day. I discovered a grocery chain that sells all the un-kosher treats I could ask for: Bacon and scallops and shrimp, oh my! Adi won’t eat that stuff, so I only indulge every so often, but it’s enough to get me through. 

Anti-war protest in Rabin Square

Some signs were more inspiring than others

Another sunset on my bike ride home from the beach

This is usually just a barren dirt road that connects the bike path to the road towards my office. But on several evenings this month, it's been filled with dozens of busses! It's all Ultra-Orthodox people -- I'm not sure where they're from, but it's cool that they get to come to the beach. As long as my route isn't blocked, that is...

...but sometimes my route IS blocked, and I try to remain calm. I have a loud bell that I use liberally when needed. First-world problems. 

Water hike in Yehudiya

Yehudiya

Chilling at the waterfall in Yehudiya, we saw this contraption. How awesome! When (if) I have kids, I'm totally getting one! 

Sunset on the Kinneret during our camping trip.  

Another gorgeous sunset. Lately, after working out at the outdoor gym on my ride home from work, I've been jumping in the sea! Total paradise. Nothing like a sunset swim to make you appreciate each and every day :)

Sweet mountain biking. Usually, when you see mountains on the horizon, they are in another country...either Jordan or Lebanon or Syria. These are the Hevron mountains, which are in the West Bank. So...depends who you ask...regardless, it makes you realize just how small Israel is.

When I think about Israeli agriculture, I think "intensive, innovative, high-yield, efficient," etc. So it's easy to forget that this sort of agriculture still takes place in beautiful valleys adjacent to moshavs and kibbutzim. It's definitely not the endless monocrops of the USA! This was the end of our mountain biking ride.

Families with half-asleep children huddling in the staircases during an early morning rocket alarm. 

The view from the balcony of my apartment! There's a parking lot and then a really nice building, and from here it sort of looks like the country