Judenstadt

2006-08-02T07:11:00.000+03:00

Yyalla Ya Nasrallah

Yall ya Nasrallah - we will screw you inshallah

Anderson Cooper = Good

2006-07-28T15:42:00.000+03:00

http://newsbusters.org/node/6574

"Unlike Robertson, Cooper was explicit about how Hezbollah’s operatives had set all of the rules: “Young men on motor scooters followed our every movement. They only allowed us to videotape certain streets, certain buildings,” he explained. He countered Hezbollah claims that Israel targets civilians by pointing out that the group based itself in civilian areas and that Israel's air force drops leaflets warning of attacks."

"Cooper exposed for CNN viewers that the sight of speeding ambulances, sirens blaring, was just a phony play staged by Hezbollah: “One by one, they’ve been told to turn on their sirens and zoom off so that all the photographers here can get shots of ambulances rushing off to treat civilians....These ambulances aren’t responding to any new bombings. The sirens are strictly for effect.”

Final Shabbat

2006-06-20T21:34:00.000+03:00

I spent my last erev Shabbat with my family cooking out on Sharon beach in Herzliyah. It was also right after I picked up Dave from the airport for his summer in Jerusalem.

Amira (my sister), and Dad. Amira is making the cup move with her eyes.

Dave, me, and a typical Israeli house in the background.

Amira on phone

Mini beach

Leaving

2006-06-13T20:13:00.000+03:00

I took the LSAT at 8:30 AM today at the ZOA House in Tel Aviv (relief). It also happens to be the day I'm leaving. I can tell you one thing, the only redeeming factor about going back to the states is seeing Liat. Hopefully soon I can have my parents and sister, the place I love and the person I'll marry all in one place with me, instead of different countries (and hemispheres).

Until then I'll keep putting up some pictures and things I didn't have time for the last few days.

Final Look

2006-06-12T06:47:00.000+03:00

Last view from my apartment in Jerusalem before moving out the other day.

Classmate

2006-06-11T07:26:00.000+03:00

So there is this overly open-minded kid from Brown that was in my archaeology class. The only thing he talks about is how much he loves Cairo but hates Egyptian food. He also enjoys his frequent visits to the West Bank. Well, here he is:

"Earlier Saturday, Fatah activists sent a tape to the Reuters News Agency, claiming it showed an Israeli, Benjamin Bright-Fishbein, of Jerusalem. They threatened to kill him if Israel did not free Palestinian prisoners.

Fishbein was snatched by gunmen while having coffee at a Nablus coffeeshop, said Rafa Roagbe, head of Palestinian security in the city."

Bright-Fishbein told Reuters that he had visited Nablus by himself because he had heard it was a beautiful place, but could find nobody else to come with him.

"It was a mistake, a really big mistake," he said, looking drawn after his ordeal.

"Everything is fine. I am in a safe place," he said.

Bright-Fishbein recounted how he had been abducted by a gunman called Ahmed who bumped into him in a coffee shop where the student, who speaks Arabic, had been smoking a water pipe.

"He (Ahmed) had a pistol, a grenade and a machinegun. I didn't want to be in his company, but it seemed I didn't have any choice at that point," Bright-Fishbein said.

For the videotaped statement, Bright-Fishbein was dressed in the skullcap of a religious Jew. Looking into the camera he said "If the prisoners are not released, they will execute me."

Well, I guess he got the adventure he was looking for.

If you look closely he is holding up his Hebrew U student ID card for international students. What a weird guy.

Watch the video and read the feedback at the bottom. It's all really weird and kind of funny.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3261195,00.html

Shavuot at the Moshav

2006-06-09T14:48:00.000+03:00

We spent Shavuot with friends at Moshav Lachish near Kiryat Gat. Kiryat Gat has the most land to people ratio in all of Israel. They have around 40,000 dunams of land for 65 families. It's one of the few places in Israel where you can stand on top of a hill and not see people for miles. The reason they have so much land is because back during early settlement of the state this was in the middle of the desert, and basically no one wanted to live there - thus the enormous incentive. This particular moshav has the edible grape (not the ones used for wine) market cornered.

There are always lots of tractors and trucks representing different parts of the harvest for the moshav. This one had its own unique twist. It says Lachish (the name of the moshav) Inside. A take off of "Intel Inside" - I'm guessing a good percentage of the moshavnikim work at the Intel in Kiryat Gat.

This is the Thailandi truck - since most of the people working in the fields now are from Thailand. It was nice to see how comfortable and appreciated they were at this moshav. They get paid a little over minimum wage and are given a place to stay. They make as much in two weeks of working on this moshav as they make in a year in Thailand.
The milk truck.

The cars driving up to the top of the hill for the celebration.

An old moshav truck.

Everyone getting their kites ready to fly.

Kites

Israeli audience watching the Thai game being played.
Two Israeli guys and a Thailandi reading off the rules of the game. They asked him if he knows Hebrew and for how many years he has been working in Israel. His response: "ken, ani mebiin, l'eser sanim."

The game.

Kids dressed as Israeli soldiers.

Line of tractors and trucks.

Some of the organic grapes up close.

Inside the vineyard.

Vineyard from up above.

More and more vineyards.

Shit

2006-06-01T21:56:00.000+03:00

Today at the beach in Herzliyah there was a plane flying by with a banner that read:
"!הולכים על חוף כקי" with an image of a man throwing garbage into a trash can.

Which means: "Going to the shit beach!"

Not a bad way to get a message across in this country, especially since today must have been the busiest day at the beach - thanks to Shavuot.

Israeli Kids

2006-05-30T14:51:00.000+03:00

Yesterday was a giant boost to my self-esteem. It has been at least 10 years since I've been able to think of myself as both the fastest, and the tallest member of a sports team.

My Hebrew teacher, Chen, due to enormous pressure by her students, took us on a field trip to her son's third grade class.

(If you have spent much time in Jerusalem then you have probably seen the school - it's right off Ben Yehudah street).

As an introduction to the third graders, all of us American/French university students were drilled as to why we are in their classroom, why we are in Israel, what our names are, where we are from, why do we care about learning Hebrew, and then, if Jeff is a rapper.

We then split up into groups. The boy university students played basketball or soccer with the kids, and the girls did something else... I think they probably cooked or something.

So it was Jeff and me versus five third grade boys. And if it weren't for our height, we definitely would have lost. There was one kid, as you'll see in the pictures, who was a little over-weight, yet he could do everything ten times better than we could. I don't know if his lack of intimidation was because he is Israeli, or just because he could sense that Jeff and I were weak.

Anyway, the end score was tied 15 to 15 when the teacher called us in from recess.

And in the middle of all this, I did succeed in achieving the purpose of the trip. I improved my Hebrew speaking abilities. For example, "Sa! Sa! Sa!" means "drive the ball!". "Fowwelll Bawl" means foul. And "SHEET!" means "shit!" which was used a lot, without any reservation. They also liked to give eachother the finger.

One thing I recommend, if you get the chance, is to speak to kids when you are learning Hebrew. They aren't afraid to correct you, they actually don't know enough English to ruin your chance to practice speaking, and they are not too intimidating.

The classroom

Jeff trying to guard that kid. Ariel and French David playing soccer with the other kids.

The star. I'm not sure if it's visible or not, but there is a ton of random shit and rocks all around the basketball goals - good for falling on.

Israeli Films

2006-05-28T15:48:00.000+03:00

Good analysis on Israeli films by Michael from Jewlicious.

http://www.jewlicious.com/?p=2226

Evil

2006-05-25T16:43:00.000+03:00

There are two main sources of evil in this world.

They are both vehemently anti-Israel, inspire intense hatred and anger, and are counter to all modernity.

The first is the president of Iran: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. (For obvious reasons, ie, not thinking the Holocaust was effective enough).

The second is the municipality of Jerusalem (I assume other municipalities are bad too, but I wouldn't know).

The iriyya in Jerusalem must be the main rationale for not making aliyah to Israel, and is certainly the only justification for leaving this country.

How can a municipality offer a 'student discount' on property taxes (arnona), entirely based on the fact that you are not allowed to be able to afford to pay to go to university?

You are instantly disqualified from the student discount if you pay tuition. Seems backwards doesn't it? Isn't attending university the essence of being a student?

In addition to this, there is an absurd requirement that you must go to a lawyer and pay him $250 dollars to validate your desitute student status. BUT, if you can afford this letter then you are also unable to receive the discount!

So basically, this is not a student discount.

This is a discount for destitute people who do not actually go to school and have lawyers in their families OR a discount in disguise for yeshiva students. Is that a leap of logic? No. You are either forced to get a letter from a lawyer (that you are not allowed to be able to afford to pay), or you are allowed to get your rabbi to write it for free.

So us non-orthodox, tuition paying, university attending, semi-productive people are excluded from this "student" discount. But we aren't overtly excluded. No one ever tells us that this discount is impossible. We are messed around with, led on, and given impossible tasks with the intention of us eventually getting the point that this is not really a discount for students.

And in case you think you have thick enough skin to deal with this bullshit. Believe me, you don't. Not only do they offer empty promises, but there are only a couple months a year when you can go in and try to deal with them. Moreover, in those two months they work half-days, and tend to go on strike. They will make it a point that you make multiple visits inspired by false hope.

These are the Ahmadinejads of Israel.

Goats

2006-05-23T17:09:00.000+03:00

There were about ten goats wandering around a parking lot at Hebrew University today.

I guess they got past the security fence.

Lag B

2006-05-21T20:25:00.000+03:00

Here are some belated Lag b'Omer pictures.

First on the list: pre-bonfire set up.

While I was walking around looking for people setting up their stuff, I came across a drum circle. As I got closer, I noticed it was a drum circle for disabled people. Not sure what their disabilities were, but I'm guessing this was either being done as a kind of therapy, or just plain entertainment.

Then some actual bonfires, there were literally hundreds of them in this one park.

And for the grand finale.... a forest fire that was about 4 stories high. I could see it from my roof, and would like to consider it my own personal Lag b'Omer bonfire.

Man of Culture

2006-05-16T19:04:00.000+03:00

Jerusalem bus rides have become my primary source for sub-cultural experiences.

Today is Lag b'Omer, which means my bus had to take an alternate route in order to avoid the thousands of Haredim lining up to get their hair cut on Mea Shearim. It was a terribly inconvenient way to go, and it added another twenty minutes onto my trip back from Hebrew University to Nayot.

To top it all off, there were two Germans behind me who wouldn't shut up. It got to the point where they were sitting across from each other calling each other over and over again and laughing as hard as they could every time the other would check to see who was calling.

It got really irritating, I even turned around to tell them to shut the hell up, and then I noticed... they weren't Germans. Not even close. They were a 60-something year old Haredi couple speaking Yiddish to each other (not German). I didn't tell them to shut up, but I did start staring - suddenly I became the annoying tourist that I was resenting just two minutes before (even if I am inherently less annoying).

They were actually pretty entertaining once I realized this. In addition to the idiotic prank phone calls, they kept threatening to attack each other - the woman threatened to use her walker, the man used his hat. And every time a generic elderly person struggled to stand or sit down, the Haredi couple would yell "oopah!!"

And then, as if it couldn't get anymore intriguing, this jovial/fanatical duo got up from their seats, and actually.... put their trash in the trash can. I know...it's hard to believe, but it really happened.

So next time you debate cabbing or taking the bus, weigh all the obvious pros and cons, but in the end go ahead and pick the cultural experience.

A.B. Yehoshua

2006-05-13T14:45:00.000+03:00

Click on the link below to read his explanation of what he said at the AJC conference. And I would have to say, I agree with him.

"What I sought to explain to my American hosts, in overly blunt and harsh language perhaps, is that, for me, Jewish values are not located in a fancy spice box that is only opened to release its pleasing fragrance on Shabbat and holidays, but in the daily reality of dozens of problems through which Jewish values are shaped and defined, for better or worse. A religious Israeli Jew also deals with a depth and breadth of life issues that is incomparably larger and more substantial than those with which his religious counterpart in New York or Antwerp must contend."

The link: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArtVty.jhtml?sw=yehoshua&itemNo=715028

Really, read it.

Pictures

2006-05-11T00:15:00.000+03:00

I put up 3 new flickr albums. That's all I am allowed to put up this month unless I want to pay for the service. Like that is ever going to happen.

Anyway, if anyone knows how to 1)arrange the pictures other than by date etc, and 2)knows how to change the cover picture of each album, then please let me know.

At home in Israel, taking life as it comes

2006-05-06T17:18:00.000+03:00

Tulsa World
By BILL SHERMAN World Religion Writer
5/6/2006

JERUSALEM, Israel -- A Tulsa family's move to Israel more than two years ago was part of an ancient Jewish practice called "making aliyah," returning to the Jewish homeland.

Making aliyah has been in the Jewish psyche since the children of Israel, led by Moses, returned to Palestine 3,200 years ago after 400 years of slavery in Egypt.

Jews also returned to their homeland after being taken into captivity in Babylon about 600 B.C.

And in modern times, first a trickle and then a flood of Jews from all over the world returned from nearly 2,000 years of dispersion after the Romans sacked Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

Aliyah is the Hebrew word for immigration to the land of Israel. It means ascending, and has a spiritual as well as a physical context, signifying identification with the Jewish people and their historic link to the land of Israel.

Larry and Carol Feldman, their son Seth, 21, and daughter Amira, 16, met with a reporter Sunday evening in the lobby of a hotel near the walls of Jerusalem's

old city to talk about their personal aliyah.

"It's been a riot," Larry said.

The Feldmans' decision to move to Israel came at a time when they were looking for a life change. Larry had sold his dental practice in Tulsa and was doing some property investing.

When the idea of moving to Israel came up, it immediately appealed to the Feldmans, and they acted on it quickly.

"We'd visited Israel many times and always found it rewarding," Larry said. "The idea of moving here was a beautiful dream."

They are glad they made the decision, but the reality is far different from the dream, he said.

"We were naive."

Said Carol: "We always came as tourists. Living here is much different. People in Tulsa don't realize how easy life is there. In Israel, it can take two or three hours to cash a check."

Their life in Israel continues to be challenging.

While daughter Amira quickly picked up Hebrew, the new language has been tough for the parents -- in their 50s -- both to speak and to write. It is entirely different from Western languages, using a different alphabet and reading from right to left.

Jobs are difficult to get without good language skills. Larry is doing some land investment but does not plan to practice dentistry.

Life in Israel is expensive. The Feldmans sold their 4,000-square-foot house in Tulsa for about $300,000 and are spending more than that for an 800-square-foot flat in Tel Aviv.

But the pressure to "keep up with the Joneses" does not exist in Israel, Larry said. Life is more relaxed. More time is spent walking and socializing with neighbors.

The Israeli government provides good, free medical care.

The Feldmans now feel at home in Israel.

"This feels like my country," Carol said. "I've never felt this way before."

Larry agreed.

"Having a majority experience is important," he said. "You feel like you're among your own. But Tulsa feels like home too."

One member of the family strongly protested the move.

Amira said she hated the idea of leaving her friends in Tulsa just as she was going into high school, and leaving the only house she had ever known as home. She begged her parents not to move.

"But now I feel like I'm home in Israel. It's the best place for me," she said.

Some time after their move, Amira left Israel to go to a Jewish summer camp in Texas. As she headed back, she realized she was anxious to get home.

"She went to camp an American, and came back an Israeli," Larry said.

Amira said she loves it that teens in Israel have so much freedom.

"We can stay out 'til 6 a.m., and it's normal, and it's safe."

She is even looking forward to her mandatory two years of service in the army after high school.

Son Seth was a student at the University of Wisconsin when his family moved. He is spending his junior year studying in Jerusalem this year and plans to move to Israel some time after he graduates.

The Feldmans said they feel completely safe living in a country regularly attacked by suicide bombers.

Carol said she often walks home alone from friends' houses late at night without a concern. Parents have no fear to let their children stay out all night, because personal crimes are rare.

The religious breakdown in this 80 percent Jewish nation does not conform to U.S. Judaism.

In Tulsa, the Feldmans were members of Temple Israel, a Reform congregation. Now they attend a synagogue that would be described as traditional. And they are not there every Sabbath.

"In Tulsa, going to synagogue is a way to identify with your Jewishness," Larry said. Here, Judaism is practiced as part of the culture, in a less religious way.

Will the Feldmans ever return to the United States?

Larry shrugged.

"People in the United States feel like they have to plan all the details of their lives and their retirement. We're going to just take it as it comes," he said.

As for Amira, she plans to stay in Israel.

Itai Lavi, Israeli emissary to Tulsa whose job includes helping Americans who want to move to Israel, said Israel encourages immigration because of a belief that the nation is the homeland of all Jewish people.

Israelis also believe it is their duty to help Jews living in danger or poverty around the world to find better living conditions in Israel.

And, he said, the Jewish population in Israel is not growing fast enough, so immigration is needed to maintain a Jewish majority in the country.

He said one or two Tulsa families make aliyah each year.

Since 2002, 8,000 Jews from the U.S. and Canada have moved to Israel, Lavi said.

The government has an extensive program to help immigrants adjust to life in Israel.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/ReligionSceneStory.asp?ID=060506_Re_A10_Athom23218#

Yom HaZikaron

2006-05-02T19:27:00.000+03:00

It's amazing, even when the entire country is completely silent, it still has a lot to say.

Last night was Yom HaZikaron - Israeli Memorial Day. It commemorates and honors all the soldiers who fought for Israel and were killed as well as all the people who were victims to Arab terror.

There were a few thousand people at the memorial last night at the Ra'anana community center. It went from the chaotic noise of thousands of Israelis all pushing to the front to get the best spot, to utter silence as soon as the two minute siren started. It's really nice to see how serious people take this. The only sound in the entire crowd was a baby crying off in the distance.

The event started with a few speeches, and miscellaneous photos of soldiers. The rest of the night was split into three main sections. They started by naming and showing a picture of every person from Ra'anana that was killed in war between 1938 and 1967. It then showed everyone from 1968 to 1980, and then everyone between 1981 and 2006. It was very well done.

Only in a place like Israel does the entire community come out to commemorate the people who sacrificed their lives for their children and the future of the state. There is just something really special about being here, and I can't really put my finger on it yet.

First time period of people killed. I think it says 1946.
Second time period.
Rabbi speaking
Third time period.

Yartzeit candles along the wall.

Israeli Soldiers

2006-04-28T23:23:00.000+03:00

The other night Jon and I went to see the new Israeli soldiers get sworn into the army.

This is after the soldiers finish weeks of basic training which includes intensive physical work on essentially no sleep. The basic training is finished off by a long hike (I can't remember the exact distance) where they all end up at the Kotel. The swearing in includes some speeches, the acquiring of rifles, and a Tanach (Bible).

If you were ever considering joining the Israeli army before, then going to this will certainly push you over the brink. The enthusiasm and comradery, coupled with the support by everyone's family, causes that warm Zionist feeling inside to really heat up, as the hundreds of people at the Wall take part in a personal and national milestone.

Entering the Kotel area, hundreds of soldiers

Soldiers dancing and celebrating before the ceremony

Picture taking

Two soldiers

Beginning of the ceremony

Officer going around making sure everyone's uniform is on straight, in a friendly way.

Time will tell

2006-04-26T22:34:00.000+03:00

I have a problem.

I must look knowledgable/unassuming, because everytime I walk in Israel (which is pretty much everyday) several people stop their cars, pull over, roll down their windows and ask me for directions.

Today on the way back from the Kotel (that's another story all together as to why I was there) three cars stopped and asked me how to reach their destinations. One even asked me where she could get something good to eat in Jerusalem.

And its a problem, because I only know enough Hebrew to understand what they are saying, but not enough to actually sound like I know what I'm talking about. I end up just telling them something simple like "ehh, go straight, then right." Which isn't incredibly helpful.

I guess I am so flattered that they ask me in Hebrew, that I forget that I can probably just answer them in English. I just hate getting that disappointed look in their faces when they find out I'm just an American, possibly a tourist, and most likely don't really know that much about Jerusalem, especially a good place for a genuine Israeli to eat. But the truth is that I know Jerusalem like the back of my hand, and am able to suggest many tasty places to eat.

Oh well, at least I don't look like a tourist as much anymore - and anyone who has been here for an extended period of time knows that's something that is very important in how you are treated here.

Ohhh Mamoud, how I love youd

2006-04-24T18:31:00.000+03:00

According to Haaretz, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says that Israel does not not have a right to exist...... ???? Jeeez, quit flip-flopping.

"Some 60 years has passed since the end of World War II, why should the people of Germany and Palestine pay now for a war in which the current generation was not involved," Ahmadinejad told a press conference. We say that this fake regime cannot not logically continue to live," he said.

Funny.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/708832.html

Passover in the Tzafon

2006-04-15T15:33:00.000+03:00

Some distant family friends invited my family up north for a seder the other night. I went with out any expectations but was certainly pleased with the experience.

On the way there from Raanana we sat through traffic in Umm Al-Fahm (not exactly the safest place to be stuck) for about 3 hours. We decided the Arabs all made a deliberate effort to go for a drive that day just to increase the amount of traffic - possibly the new face of the Intifada. Basically, it took way longer than it should have.

We began the evening at Moshav Sharona, in the mountains over-looking the Kinneret. After waiting around for a couple of hours we went to the seder. It took place at Kibbutz Kinneret, with a seating arrangement of about 50 people (this was a private seder separate from the massive seder of a few hundred people in the kibbutz dining hall). Not only was it the biggest seder I've ever attended, it was also the most enthusiastic one. In addition to the yelling and singing, musical instruments kept showing up in peoples' hands. It even got to the point where someone would bang on a gong after naming each plague.

Between the electric key-board and the tamberines, it was certainly my favorite seder. But it wasn't only entertaining, it was also extremely comfortable and familiar. The way in which these people were able to make us feel like part of their family was unprecedented. My expectations of an awkward interaction that tends to be interwoven with a language barrior were proven wrong by the family's warmth and openness.

It started at about 8PM and lasted until 3AM. And despite how long it was, I didn't see one yawn or sleeping teenager. Even the 90 year old grandmother was there until the end.

Nimrod

2006-04-14T16:42:00.000+03:00

Beautiful views from Nimrod's castle up in the Galil/Golan(?) on Pesach.

Well articulated by Yair Lapid

2006-04-03T23:30:00.000+03:00

The Full Article
(click here)

"It’s not a particularly good feeling. I would prefer to live in a world where people who are very different know how to get along, to reconcile differences and close gaps, how to smile and to be tolerant when faced with the other’s craziness. But alas, that is not the world that I live in, and neither do you.

As a way of avoiding this oppressive reality, the left and the right have invented their own brands of Palestinians. The right has invented the Palestinians that in the end will be forced to surrender to our spiritual superiority. In a duel of faith and commitment, the Palestinians will break, if only because their God is weaker than our God.

The left, for its part, has invented Palestinians who deep inside are just like us. We’ll just talk to them for a bit longer and before you know it, they’ll adopt liberal values, download U2 songs to their iPods, support women’s lib and become a democratic, Western society yearning for peace.

..............

One of the problems of the convergence [West Bank disengagement] – how shall I put this – is that it’s really boring. It lacks the fiery dogma of faith expounded by the religious Zionists. Nor does it contain the magnanimous hope that characterizes the peace bloc. Instead, we have a cold, technical, uninspired solution.

The barrier is the continuation of the security guard at the entrance to the shopping mall. It’s job – to tell 3 million Palestinians to “open your bags please.” We know, sadly, that this will not stop terror but in most cases, the bomb will explode elsewhere and fewer people will die."

Kaki Metumtam

2006-03-30T23:15:00.000+02:00

I should probably post this before I forget about it.

Kaki Metumtam
(click to play the video)

It's from an Israeli comedy show, it's making fun of when Israelis interview Americans, specifically on the Guy Pines show.

Meretz on Sheinkin

2006-03-30T22:56:00.000+02:00

Pre-election picture I took on Sheinkin in Tel Aviv.

More stuff below ->

The side of Purim (and Israel) you've never seen before

2006-03-30T20:59:00.000+02:00

A tradition has slowly taken grip of most of Israel.

Every Purim, since all the kids have a day off of school, it is basically the last week to go skiing on Hermon, and just because it's fun, the Israeli municipalities bring piles of snow to public areas for people to play in.

So when you look at this next picture and see an Israeli girl running through the snow in shorts and a t-shirt, it isn't because she is crazy, and it is not due to negligent parents, the reason is that it's actually shorts and t-shirt weather (about 75 or 80 degrees).

Make-shift sled.
Purim costume. This is kind of misleading, because in reality, almost everyone dresses up on Purim, not just the kids.
Soldier.

Israeli Wedding

2006-03-27T19:02:00.000+02:00

Liat's cousin got married. If you have ever been to a Jewish non-Ashkenazi wedding, then you probably don't know what you're missing. And if you have been, then you know you can never go back to Ashkenaz and actually enjoy it.

This is from the outside, eating the food that comes before the food.

The chupah.
Outside look at the banquet hall
Inside look.Family (or at least a small fraction of it) picture: Parents of groom, sister of groom, aunt of groom, Liat's dad, a great aunt, another aunt, a cousin, and Liat.

An aunt, a rabbi, Liat's dad.
Groom putting on his tallis.
Hundreds of guests rushing to the chupah to congratulate the new husband and wife.
First dance.
Uncles dancing.

Liat and small cousin dancing.
Liat dancing with regular-sized cousin.

Karmei Bravdo (Bravdo Vineyards)

2006-03-25T21:57:00.000+02:00

Yesterday my parents, their friends and I went on a trip to the Bravdo Vineyards just outside of Rehovot. The vineyards belong to a family friend of my parents' friends.

Thinking of vineyards in Israel seems like kind of an anomoly, but this was truly unique, and truly authentic. It is a family-owned, medium-sized vineyard resting on top of the rolling hills in the Israeli country side. It resembled something you might see in Italy, but certainly not in this small desert country.

It was an intimate wine-tasting party - it was a cozy place, with beautiful weather, and tasty wine.

FYI

2006-03-24T01:29:00.000+02:00

Just so you know I haven't given up. The reason I didn't post the past few days is not because I haven't done anything interesting lately, it is because I have had too much to do. After I got back from Sinai I had to do Purim stuff, start school, get back into my internship again, go to a wedding, and say goodbye to Liat. Soon enough I will have pictures up of everything including election day Tuesday.

Back from Sinai!

2006-03-15T21:16:00.000+02:00

And here is what it looks like.....

If you happen to visit this place, watch out for the nomadic necklace vendors. It is in your best interest to not be polite. That is unless you want them to take it as a sign that you might want to buy a necklace, and then they won't leave.

The water was really clean and really cold.

This was the campsite next to us, it had more authentic hippies. For example, there was a hippy mother with her hippy toddler. The child's name was Phoenix.

Dinner bon-fire.

It's interesting because the waiters and staff don't know English. Only Arabic and Hebrew.
Some Israelis meditating.

Amir Peretz

2006-03-01T23:14:00.000+02:00

(I stole all this from someone else, but I don't remember who) It's funny though... that is unless you like the guy.

"Because it's time" (exemplifying Amir's inability to translate Hebrew to English, or read tranliterations).

and the grand finale.....

http://www.onejerusalem.com/2005/11/23/amir-peretz-speechless/

the end

Trouble in Sudan

2006-02-28T19:19:00.000+02:00

Everyone knows there are problems in Sudan these days, but I don't think people realize how far the Sudanese are willing to go.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4748292.stm

-------

2006-02-26T18:16:00.000+02:00

Shulamit Lapid, the Zionist

2006-02-26T13:54:00.000+02:00

"Lapid is a Zionist of the old-school, unfashionable variety: She barely finds flaws in the Zionist dream that she loves. To an extent, she sets forth, in this book, to defend old elites.

"When I wrote 'Gai Oni,' the Second Aliyah was well-established in the awareness of a public that granted it status and esteem. There was no reason to have any concern for the movement at all," she says. "Meanwhile, things have changed and the respect that we had for members of the Second Aliyah, the kibbutzim, the moshavim, the kvutzot [early kibbutzim], for everything that they established - it has been marred. I decided that I have to write about them."

What has actually changed?

"People started talking about the rich kibbutzim, hedonist and condescending, and I found it important to show what they gave the nation - they actually created the boundaries of the nation, everywhere they settled was paid for in full and not taken from anyone. They lived, at first, in abject poverty, with starvation, disease and horrible isolation. They died, they were killed and they committed suicide. They suffered terrible deprivation and didn't dare discuss it with their friends in order not to break their spirit. But on the other hand, they are well-documented - they wrote about themselves. That created a feeling that we didn't have to worry about them. But I felt a new sense of objection in the attitude toward them that isn't fair."

There is no other place in the world for Jews, Lapid firmly declares. The nation is still only a blink-of-the-eye in Jewish history - we must still defend it and care for it as we would care for a newborn infant. "Many of the children of families that surround me have left the country, and I still think, as Rabin did in his day, that this represents elimination of the weak. It is not nice to say that, but we still have a role to play. This place is not yet secure."

How do you confront post-Zionist critiques that consider Zionism a form of colonialism?

"Post-Zionism may only be born of a position of security, when we can afford to criticize what we have done. Colonialism? If the effendi sold his land, where the Bedouins lived, and they, justifiably from their perspective, felt that their land was being taken from them and began to steal so that they would have bread to eat, then the conflict was between individuals who need the same plot of land.

"This nation is a miracle that happened to the Jewish people. People leave Eastern Europe - 5 million emigrate to the United States, 3 million of them are Jews, and 3,000 of them come to Israel. The crazy ones came to Israel, while the establishment institutions were telling them, 'Don't come because you will have nothing to eat and you will cast aspersion on Israel.' To relate to these people as feudalists who exploited others is simply incorrect.""

Yom haTel Aviv

2006-02-19T20:22:00.000+02:00

This is in the art shuk that takes place on Friday mornings. If you look closely you can see an old man under all that stuff.

Born in Poland in 1911 and is 100 percent handicapped, his wife has had cancer for a year, moved to Haifa in 1934 and is the parent of 6 children.
Oranges in the shuk.

Spices in Kerem haTemanim

Dizengoff

Yaffo

Yaffo boats.

Grocery Store Edition

2006-02-19T19:59:00.000+02:00

This is me introducing the grocery store edition at Mega in Raanana~

Liat refusing to be a part of this project~

And it ended with a bang ~

All European Life is Dead

2006-02-14T18:45:00.000+02:00

(translated from Spanish)

By: Sebastian Vilar Rodrigez
------------

I walked down the street in Barcelona, and suddenly discovered a terrible truth - Europe died in Auschwitz.

We killed six million Jews and replaced them with 20 million Muslims. In Auschwitz we burned a culture, thought, creativity, talent. We destroyed the chosen people, truly chosen, because they produced great and wonderful people who changed the world.

The contribution of this people is felt in all areas of life: science, art, international trade, and above all, as the conscience of the world. These are the people we burned.

And under the pretense of tolerance, and because we wanted to prove to ourselves that we were cured of the disease of racism, we opened our gates to 20 million Muslims, who brought us stupidity and ignorance, religious
extremism and lack of tolerance, crime and poverty due to an unwillingness to work and support their families with pride.

They have turned our beautiful Spanish cities into the third world, drowning in filth and crime.

Shut up in the apartments they receive free from the government, they plan the murder and destruction of their naive hosts.

And thus, in our misery, we have exchanged culture for fanatical hatred, creative skill for destructive skill, intelligence for backwardness and superstition. We have exchanged the pursuit of peace of the Jews of
Europe and their talent for hoping for a better future for their children, their determined clinging to life because life is holy, for those who pursue death, for people consumed by the desire for death for themselves and
others, for our children and theirs.

What a terrible mistake was made by miserable Europe.

Al Waff

2006-02-12T00:15:00.000+02:00

There is this fun, hole-in-the-wall waffle place next to Ben Yehudah at the end of Shamai street. Most of you who hang around that area may be familiar with it because of all the waffle-eaters pouring out of it, but for those who have not been, now is your chance. There is no sign, and basically no seats inside, you will have to watch out for it and then be prepared to take it to go.

I ordered a waffle with caramel sauce and nuts. Liat bought a waffle with apple sauce, and 'sour whipped cream.'

Rosh Ha'Ayin

2006-02-09T20:23:00.000+02:00

Watches at the Rosh Ha'Ayin shuk... for 6 dollars..... with (believe it or not) a warranty.

Settling the Land

2006-02-08T03:38:00.000+02:00

On our walk back from the film "Munich" - a beautiful 'prayer for peace' (just kidding), Liat and I found somethink very special.

We came across a heap of garbage. Liat is cheap, and of course I'm not, but I saw an old leather couch that I thought might be a little useful. So we surveyed the furniture checking for bugs, smells and tears in the leather and soon decided that the love-seat was suitable for my room. We started off carrying the couch (which is a lot heavier than it looks) but that did not last long. This was around 1:30 AM too, so it's not like what we were doing was anything less than sketchy.

While carrying the couch we passed someone walking a dog. The man asked "genavtem??" Which is translated as "are you stealing that?" Which is funny because we were walking at about 1 step per minute, not the ideal pace for someone robbing a house.

As the journey continued, our choice for moving this thing evolved. It was probably humerous to anyone who saw us, but we decided the best way to accomplish our task was to get in the middle of the street and slide the couch home. We finally made it all the way down Herzog, up Nayot, and up four flights of stairs by about 2:30 AM.

Here are some pictures: (Tu Bishvat is here, the holiday for the trees)

Faisl Country

2006-02-07T14:31:00.000+02:00

Here are the Jordan pictures. Over all the Jordanians were surprisingly friendly. I don't know if it's because they saw Jordanian Dinar signs when they looked at us, or because they are actually nice. Most of the population is poor, and I learned from a cab driver that there is no public education. Is there a connection between a huge discrepency in the rich and poor and no access to education? Of course.

Just got back

2006-02-05T15:24:00.000+02:00

i just got back from my trip to the Negev and Jordan.

Israel pictures first:

some Arab West Bank apartments:

some hills in the West Bank
near Ein Gedi:

Liat climbing a tree:

the actual Ein Gedi spring:
i think this was an ancient flour mill.... that's the Dead Sea behind me:
ibex?:
mountains, Dead Sea:
ancient Nabatean/Roman/Byzantine complex in Ovdat:

Student Life

2006-01-24T01:59:00.000+02:00

In case you were wondering who to vote for on the JIB Best Student Life section....

Jewlicious wrote this about me:

"Seth Feldman is a student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He runs a blog called Judenstadt. As you can imagine, the blog centers around his daily life in Israel and in Jerusalem. Far from being a ccollection of posts about who he has a crush on today or what cereal he ate this morning, Seth puts us in the shoes of a student studying for a year at Hebrew U.’s Rothberg School for Overseas students. For those of us who have been, the opportunity to relive those glory days is awesome. For those of you poor suckers who haven’t, well… you get to kind of see what that’s like. Seth also has the good taste to link to us and that guy on his site davening by the beach in a colorful talit? That photo was taken by laya. Consequently, I like Judenstadt!"

Stone Throwers

2006-01-22T20:14:00.000+02:00

Us throwing rocks:

Them throwing rocks:
We all do it. But what really matters is what you're aiming at.

Tramping

2006-01-14T01:32:00.000+02:00

There are a few things that happen here but never happen in the US.

For example:

As an introduction: It is common for most American toursists to refuse to ride a bus when they get here - especially in Jerusalem.

This was true for our friend who came to visit yesterday. Luckily for us, after minimal convincing, we were able to persuade him that riding the bus in Israel is more than just a cheap convenience - it is a cultural experience. And with that we pushed him on the bus.

We weren't lying either. It really is a cultural experience. You get to see the everyday life of average Israelis. I'm talking about the ones that don't own two hi-tech company cars or take cabs everywhere they go. Nor am I talking about the ones who won't leave their houses because they too are afraid of public transportation.

I'm referring to the average Israeli who is able to overlook the scary thought of what can happen on a bus and can continue his daily life as a normal citizen who needs and takes advantage of the affordable transportation system.

However, we were especially lucky this time.

On this occasion, on our way back from Har Herzel, there were about five teenage boys in the back of the bus with us. As we were leaving Har Herzel and passing the central bus station, one of the boys noticed something on the car next to us that must have indicated where the car was from. Immediately he began banging on the window while trying to mouth to the passenger in the car that he needed a ride to a specific kibbutz.

The passenger of the car did his best to understand, but couldn't quite get what the teenager was saying. The teenager was trying to form the word "TRAMP" as clearly as he could, but it wasn't sufficient. Eventually the passenger in the car wrote down his phone number on a large pad of paper and showed it to the teenager on the bus. The teenager called the number and asked if he could get a tramp (hitchhike) to a specific kibbutz. The driver said "of course" and the kid screamed with joy and gesticulated his gratitude for the car next to us by clasping his hands together and making a kind of bow to the driver while smiling from ear to ear .

That alone is something that does not happen outside of Israel - a random teenager asking a strange car from the outside of a bus if he can hitchhike, the passenger giving the kid his cell phone number, and everything working out as if they were family friends.

But there is a second part as well.

We were stuck in traffic, so immediately the teenager ran to the bus driver and asked if he could get off since we weren't moving and he needed to catch his ride. The bus driver, as is typical of Israeli bus drivers in Jerusalem, strongly refused. This was actually a sad moment because the teenager had gone from looking like a prisoner set free from the long agony of a prison sentence to resembeling a puppy that was just smacked in the nose for being too annoying. The bus driver was the only thing holding him back.

However, the other four teenagers in the back began chanting "O-PEN!! O-PEN!! O-PEN!!" Maybe it was the peer pressure, I don't know, but the bus driver did open the doors, and the teenager got his ride home.

Four things happened here:

1.The boy hitchhiked with someone he did not know.
2.The car was open to letting the boy hitchhike.
3.The bus was screaming "OPEN!" to the bus driver without being threatening.
4. The bus driver saw this as a valid reason to open the bus doors in the middle of the street to let the teenager out."

Now, you can understand why the intimacy of Israel is a major factor in what keeps people here. I would link to the article that explicitly says this, but I can't find it right now....

JIB

2006-01-09T22:51:00.000+02:00

Vote for me!

Nominated on JPost for best: Student Life Blog, Life in Israel Blog, New Blog, Jewish Culture Blog

http://info.jpost.com/C005/BlogCentral/JIB.2005/

I got what I asked for

2006-01-08T14:57:00.000+02:00

I ended up posting on a Jerusalem list-serve that I am interested in an internship dealing with law, goverment, advocacy, etc. Well, I got some really generous offers, in fact I kind of feel bad about posting them, but they weren't exactly what I'm looking for.
It's funny what "legal internship" can be translated into.

Some examples:

"You're welcome to work at our office.

International Shipping and Shopping Since 1979"

And....

"Hmm. Well I'm not sure if we'd have what you're looking for, but we were just
discussing today the idea of bringing some interns in - I work at apublishing
house, we publish fiction, for the American market (it's anAmerican company). We
were thinking of getting interns in (unpaid) towork on marketing/sales areas of
the business. Does that sound like thekind of thing you might be interested in
doing for a few weeks?"

As well as....

" What kind of an internship? What kind of activity? If by
"internship" you mean volunteering to work with kids, we
could use some help!"

And finally...

"We're a non-profit agency that runs day care centers for Alzheimer's
patients. We might be able to use an intern in either one of our
day centers, or in our public relations office."

Internships???

2006-01-04T17:59:00.000+02:00

So I have been trying to find an internship in law, government, business, advocacy, basically anything besides the typical "Arabs-and-Jews-should-live-together-in-harmony-always" internship.

I tried the Jewish Agency and it was anything but helpful. They said I am useless to them unless I commit to four months and 20 hours per week even though I attend university here. I asked them if they have any suggestions of places I could start searching and Vered (the woman heading the internship program) said "yeah, the internet."
Thanks, Vered, as if the Jewish Agency was my FIRST choice to begin my search....

Anyway, I need suggestions of places to look into. The only requirements are of those listed above and that it is in Jerusalem.

A Wonderful Country

2006-01-02T18:07:00.000+02:00

I hope everyone saw this article in the New York Times about "A Wonderful Country." It's the popular satirical show strictly focused on Israeli current events. The article takes specific note of recent shows:

" The character playing his rival, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, appears taken aback by Mr. Sharon's recovery and mutters under his breath, "I'm going to sue the Western Wall," referring to a note to God, apparently not containing good wishes, that he had tucked into the holiest site in Judaism."

and....

"A cartoonish version of the former far-right politician Geula Cohen, wild-haired and hysterical, recently chased her politician son, Tzachi Hanegbi, around the studio with a shoe, berating him for leaving the Likud Party for Mr. Sharon's new Kadima Party. "You had to become a leftist?" she shouted. "You couldn't just be a murderer or a homosexual?""

as well as...

"In a recent episode, Mr. Sharon is shown with an equally portly Omri bent over his knee. The prime minister repeatedly spanks him, blaming him not only for the recent corruption scandal but also for everything controversial in his own career, including his role two decades ago in leading Israel into war in Lebanon."

Too bad I couldn't understand 3/4ths of it when I was watching it on TV.

Sylvester

2006-01-01T02:01:00.000+02:00

"That's what Rocky is all about : pride, reputation, and not being another bum in the neighborhood."
-Sylvester Stallone

There is something really cynical about New Years in Israel that I love.
I've spent the past four years celebrating this holiday here and it hadn't hit me until tonight that even though New Years is not as built up of a day in the Jewish state as it is virtually everywhere else, it still has something about it that you can't witness in any other country.
Unlike the US, everyone went out tonight. But more shockingly, and without thinking twice, everyone will go to work or school tomorrow.

Israelis don't call it "New Years." There's already a new year celebration and it's called Rosh Hashana. In Israel "New Years" is known as Sylvester. And that's where the cynicism comes in.

Saint Sylvester was an anti-Semite who wouldn't allow Jews into Jerusalem. In Israel this day is called Sylvester, not to honor the anti-Semitic saint, but to remember his end.
Yep, the guy died on December 31st, and we consider it celebration-worthy.

Ironically, I spent my Sylvester in downtown Jerusalem. I wasn't sure what to expect because Tel Aviv was a bit low-key last year, but Jerusalem proved itself to be pretty lively.
Unexpected ethnic sing-along on Ben Yehudah:

Zolly's:

Rain.... yeah.... so what?

2005-12-26T21:09:00.000+02:00

"We will never be an advanced civilization as long as rain showers delay the launching of a space rocket." - George Carlin

So, we went to the Kotel and around Nachlaot for the first night of Chanukah. Usually other people would be out too to see the lighting of the enormous Chanukiah at the Wall and all the small Chanukiot spread all over the old neighborhoods of Jerusalem. But not this time. Not this Chanukah because it had rained about an hour before candle lighting. So I guess the miracle of Chanukah can only be a miracle when it's perfect weather outside or on your couch in front of the TV.

Usually the holiest site in Judaism is packed with people either praying, taking pictures or at least begging. But not the first night of Chanukah. On the first night of Chanukah there were maybe twenty people outside, and that's if you include the Bar Mitzvah trip that was there.

Looking left:
And right.....

Nope. They weren't hiding in the women's section either.
Hopefully as the week dries up and gets a little warmer then people will start coming back again.

Until then, have a Chanukah Sameach indoors!

Sufganiot

2005-12-21T21:55:00.000+02:00

After an exhausting few days, Liat and I decided to go downtown and get some good sufganiot since she won't be here for Chanukah. When I say good, I don't mean the ones that are 30 for a shekel at the super market. I mean the ones that have flavor.... are soft.... and still warm...

Approaching the sufganiot, mouths watering...

Choices are: caramel filling or jelly filling.

And.... Liat stuffing her face (take note of the hickey I gave her on her forehead).

Intel/Inappropriate

2005-12-14T22:30:00.000+02:00

For my business class we went on a field trip to the Intel on Har Hotzvim (in Jerusalem). Beforehand, my professor explained to us some of the reasons why it is difficult to have companies spread out all over the world, specifically in Israel.

The primary reason was that the American employees can't relate to Israeli employees, especially when it comes to the area of business etiquette. My professor explained to us that Israeli employees tend to make uncouth remarks, and Americans just simply don't approve.

At Intel we were on a tour led by the head of public relations at Intel. Within an hour tour he made two references to Pamela Anderson and silicon in the same sentence.

He also explained to us that people in Israel just can't accept that Intel was trying to help the community by installing wireless internet all over Jerusalem. He said he gets many complaints from concerned and/or disappointed users. His response was a very blunt and amused "who cares." Frankly, I agreed with him, but you would never find the head of public relations of Intel in the US saying "who cares" about the public in front of people he doesn't know.

Anyway, just pointing out one of the many charming informalities of Israel.

here's a picture I took of Intel:

So maybe God does exist?

2005-12-11T01:09:00.000+02:00

Today I got back from Raanana. I spend every other weekend there and usually get back early Saturday evening following Shabbat.
Usually I just come back, eat dinner and go to sleep. However, tonight we went downtown to hang out. After walking around for a while we became a little stressed about finding a place to use the bathroom so we decided to walk down Hillel street. Eventually we found a good spot. A place down an alley, in between some bushes and a wall.

Well anyway, while we were using the outdoor restroom we noticed a Haredi couple walk by. Normally this would be an embarrassing thing because Haredi people are so strict about modesty and most likely about public urination.
Well, not these Haredim.
These were an exception.
No, they didn't join us in public urination..... but they did start making out! Up against the wall, not even hidden!
I guess they thought this was the secret hedonistic public urination/making-out alley in Jerusalem.
It was pretty intense making-out too, not just kissing.

And here's a picture of what the guy most likely resembled, except the guy we saw was much fatter.

Soccer

2005-12-07T17:53:00.000+02:00

Unusual reason for punishment.

Well, at least you can say they are consistent.

Roof

2005-12-02T17:08:00.000+02:00

So, it was a cool 79 degrees today in Jerusalem. The perfect temperature for getting on the roof and soaking in some sun.

Rabin Rally

2005-12-02T16:43:00.000+02:00

I know it's been awhile, but I just got around to getting my pictures on my computer.

The rally was everything you would imagine it to be and more.There were about 200,000 people there. All the really important politicians and famous Israeli singers were there. Of them including: Shimon Peres, the Clintons, and some other less famous ones. In addition, there was everything I didn't want at the rally. For one, there was Amir Peretz, but also there were so many annoying, obsolete, and irrelevant slogans out there. Amir Peretz hilighted this by trying to compare the Palestinian Arabs to the blacks in the US and pretending that going back to Oslo would be a good idea.
Thanks, Amir, but you are totally uninteresting.

Anyway, here are some pictures:

Just some random people

10 years since Rabin's murder.

Some enormous signs

Jon and I holding up irrelevant sings, trying to blend in.

Israeli highschool girls preparing something for the rally.

There were about 200,000 people behind us (we were in the front row).

Shimon Peres

Bill Clinton

Daniel Gordis

2005-11-26T20:06:00.000+02:00

Great article by Daniel Gordis.

For all you concerned centrists out there.

Really, he thinks so clearly.

Facebook Messages

2005-11-16T17:44:00.000+02:00

-------------------------------------------------
From:Adam

To:Seth Feldman

Subject:Zionism

Message:

hi, i was just browsing groups on facebook and came across this one. i was wondering, because i am quite sympathetic with and involved in the palestinian right to return and their plight in general, if you could give me an explanation of zionism today. its just that from what i have listened to from zionists here, its very unintellectual regurgitated arguments which usually start at the holocaust, but im just really interested and invested in the situation and was hoping you could give me your perspective.

--------------------------------------------------------------

From: Seth Feldman

To:Adam

Subject: re: zionism

Message:

Hi Adam,

I'm assuming you've heard the Palestinian perspective that Zionism is a selfish act where the Jews decided to take land from the Palestinians. You've heard it is racist, colonialist, apartheid, etc etc etc etc.

Those are pretty convincing. But only out of context.
When the Palestinians explain Zionism they explain it as if it took place in a vacuum. As if the only thing going on in the world was that Jews suddenly decided to take land from Arabs.
The truth is that Zionism is just the idea that Jews, after years and years of persecution and transience need a form of self-determination. The goal of Zionism is not to oppress or segregate. The goal is only that if Jews want to be self-determinate they can not be an extreme minority in every country and in every region. For example, Jews are about 2 percent of the population in the US. They aren't persecuted in the US, but they still have no control over their fate if the US decided to persecute them.

This may sound paranoid, but there is too much evidence out there proving that Jews need to be self-determinate in order to survive.

It is unfortunate that the creation of the Jewish state had to be created in a very hostile and monolythic region. A region that rejects outsiders and minorities. It is also a region that has official policies on treating its minorities as second class citizens. There is a reason why over 1 million Jews left all the Muslim countries immediately when Israel was declared independent. And it wasn't because the Arabs were so nice to them.

You can argue back and forth over who is the most violent and who is wrong. But when you come down to it, all Israel is about is giving Jews a way to be self-determinate and avoid another possibility of extinction.

From the Window to the Wall

2005-11-11T11:08:00.000+02:00

So yesterday I managed to fit two wonderful parts of Israel into one day.

After Hebrew class, Jon and I needed something to do with our time. Seeing that going downtown everyday can get old.... and also realizing that I've only been to the Old City once since I've been here, we decided to head to the Wall.

We entered Jaffa gate and were immediately angered by an Armenian guy who was yelling at some fat American tourists because the tourists led the vendor on into believing that they were going to buy something, but then didn't. It's really something ok to get mad about, but it's not ok to slap fat American tourists on the back and try to intimidate them into buying things by yelling at them and insulting them. That kind of thing is only tolerated in places like the Old City where the vendors know the tourists will keep coming.

We then went to the Wall. I decided that I was actually going to make the Chabbadnikim happy and put on some Tefilin. I did. It was nice. He had me read the Shema, etc, bless my family, etc. And then Jon did, and I guess that was nice too

But then the guy asked me what I study, and I reluctantly told him I study philosophy...just like I reluctantly tell every Haredi guy. He then told me how he used to be this big Hindu/Buddhist guru in New York, had his own cult, and was able to meditate straight for over one day without sleeping, eating, or going to the toilet. He then informed me Descartes was stupid, etc etc.

This is him, so if you see him trying to get people to where Tefilin, then go for it.

That was the first part of Israel that I love.

The second part was around midnight when we went over to HaOman 17. HaOman, from what I've heard, is the biggest club in Jerusalem. Fortunately, they had student discounts last night, so we actually went. Here's a good description of HaOman 17 by Gideon Levy (that Haaretz writer we all hate):

"Inside, the earth shakes. Every muscle of the body vibrates from the
force of the music, in the head, in the belly, in the back and in the
legs - everything trembles. Thousands of partyers writhe and caper on
the enormous, stylish dance floor, at the foot of the DJ station, which
is raised above the crowd, like the speaker's podium in the Knesset. A
wealth of spotlights does wonders, rising and falling like at an
amusement park, and the noise is unbearable."

Actually, maybe that is a little dramatic... but it's close.

A better description is that when we were waiting in line to get in, they gave us bags of chocolate milk to drink, and then we went inside, drank, and danced. A lot of people, free whistles, loud music, an Israeli band showed up once, then there was techno (trance?), and in the other room there was hip-hop.

Also, I accidentally bumped into a girl on the way out and she tried to start a fight with me. Luckily Liat was there to take the punches. I kind of wonder if the girl tried to fight all the other thousands of people who bumped into her in the enormous and crowded room that night.

The band:
The dance floor:

Article

2005-11-04T23:03:00.000+02:00

I was reading this article about entering the army by Yair Lapid and I liked this:

"Every other stage of your life is an improved version of the previous one. University is like high school which is like grade school which was an annoying version of kindergarten."

Oh, and also the part about the cliche post-zionism vs the old Zionism.

Just a Reminder

2005-11-02T21:44:00.000+02:00

Madison Wisconsin

Today	Tomorrow	Fri	Sat	Sun	6-10 Day
Low: 47°	Low: 52°	Low: 37°	Low: 44°	Low: 37°

Tel Aviv, Israel............. and that's with rain everyday.

Today	Tomorrow	Fri	Sat	Sun	6-10 Day
High: 74°	High: 74°	High: 75°	High: 71°	High: 71°

Tel Aviv Love Parade

2005-11-02T21:42:00.000+02:00

Great picture.

Sukkot

2005-10-17T02:43:00.000+02:00

Sukkot is here, and we went to the Sukkah fair!

Etrogs:

Etrogs, me, sister:

Official etrog checker:

I think we got a good deal... All the vendors were offering a complete Sukkot set for 80 shekels but I got mine for 50 (mainly because the guy selling me mine didn't have enough change).

Boogie-Board/ Peanuts

2005-10-16T19:06:00.000+02:00

Saturday was my birthday. I was fortunate because I got to spend it with Liat and my family. But more importantly, I got to spend it at the beach.

First off, Liat and I went to a beach to boogie-board. It was nice. It's something I haven't done since I was 15 and in Mexico. It was even more special because it was in the Jewish State and I've always wanted to combine my Zionist fervor with boogie-boarding.

Picture:

Following a couple hours at the beach we ran across a large field. At first glance you might think it's a field filled with foreign workers just doing their jobs:

But you might ask yourself "why do the foreign workers look like 6 year old children with their parents?"

So we went over to ask someone what was going on and he told us that it was a peanut farm and that people were picking up the left-over peanuts that the machines didn't pick up. Also known as gleaning.

Our nuts:

Then I took my Sukkot surprises home and honey-roasted them:

And that's it.

We Have a Roof-top

2005-10-10T23:11:00.000+02:00

So we discovered that we have a roof-top right above our apartment (on the top floor of the building). So that means we get to go up there and BBQ/drink with an incredible view of Jerusalem. - It's really nice not being in the dorms-

Apartments suck

2005-10-04T00:52:00.000+03:00

People always ttell me that I shouldn't decide if I want to move here until I deal with the mean, competitive, heartless side of Israel. Well, I went apartment hunting for 2 months. Does that count?
I mean, I guess you could say I started out naive. We began by being extremely selective - only looking at very affordable, nice, furnished, 3 bedroom apartments in the center of the city. You can probably guess that was doomed for failure. They were either too dirty, not furnished, cost too much, or weren't in the right location.
Then we broadened our location. Still no luck.
Then we basically took anything that was in our price range. This was a little better, if it weren't for the whole Israeli factor. There must have been three or four times when we decided we wanted a place, called the owner to tell him we wanted the place, the owner told us to meet him the next morning, only to call him the next day and hear that someone brought their security deposit and rent to them the night before we got there.
You would think that after discussing the details and arranging a time to meet in order to sign a contract that a landlord wouldn't just hand it off to someone else. That's not the case. And by the time we finished our hunt for apartments, I realized that the landlords do it purely out of fear for Israelis who would want to guarantee the possibility of multiple apartments.
This is the problem with Israelis. The prisoner's dilemma. It would be great if everyone were nice to eachother and did pretty well. It would be really good for some people and really bad for others if some people screwed over others. But when everyone thinks they are screwing eachother, it becomes a problem - no one gets anything.
In the end, we got lucky. We found an American teacher who is in America for the year and wanted to rent out his enormous 3 bedroom apartment to us for adequate rent and in a good location. We found this place the very last possible day we could find an apartment. It was our last day in the dorms, and our last chance before all the holidays start in October and no one can show anything.

Anyway, here are pictures of my room and living room from day 2 when I just started moving in.

Wiesenthal

2005-09-24T14:41:00.000+03:00

It's funny the things that can show up in your life all around the same time. On Wednesday I went to the Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem. At the zoo there was a 104 year old parrot.
Here is the description of the parrot.

Here is a picture of the parrot.

This leads me to my next thing. Being that Simon Wiesenthal, a Shoa survivor and dedicated individual who personally tracked down and brought to justice approximately 1,100 mass-murderering Nazis died in his sleep on Tuesday. On Friday was his funeral. I went to the funeral with my parents and Liat in order to witness and pay tribute to someone so important to the Jewish people, and yet so under-appreciated. Although he has earned many awards from goverments all over the world, everyone I mention his name to either has no idea who he was or only recognizes his name, but has no recollection of what he did that made his name famous.

To read about him you should go to the Wiesenthal Center historical biography of Simon Wiesenthal.

To just read a short description about him go to Yediot Aranot's article about him.

Favorite Pastime

2005-09-18T16:21:00.000+03:00

What is the story behind this?
Well, the story is that there is a little Haredi boy kicking a mannequin around Nachlaot. I guess this is what happens when you don't let your kids play competitive sports.

Drum Beach

2005-09-10T04:02:00.000+03:00

Today was fun. We went to Om beach, like I always do. But today way Friday afternooon, so it was very crowded and shamefully fun. There are these misters by the bar that shoot mist out onto people who go under them when it gets hot. They are always there and are always on, but today there were tons of people dancing under them. There were so many people dancing around them that they had to bring out tables on the side for people to dance on just to make more room. All this at 4 in the afternoon. Very nice.

Later, Jesse, Jon and I went to Drum Beach to hear the Friday drum session in the evening at around sunset. It's in Tel Aviv so there is usually a pretty eclectic crowd. I got a few pictures, but they don't explain much of what was going on.

First we walked in and saw the sign Drum Beach and could only hear a few drums. Then we saw a few people playing drums.

After, we noticed a big circle with people doing Capuera complemented by a nice sunset to the left and a beautiful view of the city and the beach on the right.

Shuk People

2005-09-02T18:36:00.000+03:00

Today we were buying food for Shabbat in Machane Yehudah when I noticed out of the corner of my eye, an old man, in a white t-shirt, and a comb-over. I knew he looked familiar, so I looked harder and then noticed, it was Ehud Olmert, the former mayor of Jerusalem and current cabinet member in the Sharon government. I showed Liat and Jon and we took pictures. It was kind of funny seeing the him in a white t-shirt and slacks, bargaining with some guy at the shuk, and surrounded by a security team of about 10 people.

Wedding

2005-09-01T16:06:00.000+03:00

I just thought this looked cool.

A wedding at the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem.

And then half a block later - protest against the use of animals as food.

Places

2005-08-25T09:28:00.000+03:00

So Liat and I have been spending an unexpected amount of time searching for an apartment for October. I think we have walked all over the city center and its neighboring areas looking for a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment that is furnished and within our price range. We've found nice unfurnished ones, furnished filthy ones, and some that don't have the same amount of space as people claim.

However, two nights ago was a very special night. After waiting for someone who had already made us wait until 8:30 and then was 30 minutes late we were fortunate enough to see an apartment that was dirty and not available when we want it. Although, that's not what made the night special. What made the night uniquely memorable was after the tour of the apartment.

When we went outside there was a 70 year old woman with an arm brace moving the bench we used while waiting for the guy to show us the place. She ran up to us and demanded/begged us to carry the bench up the stairs. No explanation given.

It was a big bench so I told her "it's really heavy, why do you need this bench?" She nervously and angrily asked me if I know what a "CON-dom" is. I nodded and smirked. And she told me in her antiquated Israeli accent that people were doing "bad things!" And then to better our understanding of what she meant by 'bad things' she began to bang her hands together, illustrating what people do on benches with 'con-doms' so that I could visually understand what she meant by 'bad things.'

Liat and I held in our laughs, and told the lady we could move the bench somewhere else - just not up the stairs. She then thanked us, and we walked away from her quickly and carefully, so that she couldn't see us laughing as we left the apartment area.

Soon

2005-08-22T10:22:00.000+03:00

This is tough because the university is closed this week so there really isn't any computer access. I went to the arts fair at the Sultan's Pool near the Old City last night. So I'll have a couple of pictures of that soon enough.

Sick

2005-08-13T22:03:00.000+03:00

So, I had a lot to post here, but I left my camera wire at the dorms so I can't put any pictures up.

Anyway... I went to the beach a lot the past couple days. Big waves, no jellyfish, lots of sun, alcohol at night.

And now I'm sick.

Hopefully it will go away by tomorrow so that ulpan doesn't get any less tolerable.

Here's an old picture in honor of Hamas' declaration of not quitting deadly attacks on Israel after the disengagement........ My dad and two Argentinian immigrants at an ulpan get-together.

We'll see if this gets in the Washington Post's out-of-context picture portfolio of the disengagement.

No Internet

2005-08-10T14:57:00.000+03:00

So, I've been kind of busy....not very busy, but just enough. The problem is that I live 25 minutes away from the nearest media source. I'm sure there was some kind of reasoning as to why Hebrew U decided to build the majority of its dorms almost half an hour away from campus, but I have yet to discover it.

Ulpan is good. I have experienced teachers. Although...I could go without the last hour or so. About 3.5 hours into it I lose focus, get hungry, and start getting frustrated. It's actually kind of amazing that anyone is able to last that long after being lectured to in a language they dont quite understand. It's not like I can just half pay attention or take notes while not listening. I have to pay attention constantly or I am totally lost. It gets tiring.

Went to Machane Yehudah the other night with Liat. It was right when almost every shop was closing down for the night. But when we were about to leave, I heard the most euphonious and agreeable sound "ESER PITOT -SHEKEL- HALLLLLO!!" So we did exactly that. We bought 10 pitas for about 25 cents.

Empty Club

2005-08-02T14:10:00.000+03:00

There's a funny thing about girls in Israel. And it has to do with their dancing. If you've been to a club here then you've noticed that Israeli girls 1) prefer to dance alone and 2) when they dance with someone it is at arm's length. Maybe it's understandable if there are hundreds of people in a club and they are surrounded by people anyway, but that isn't usually the case.

For example, last night (a Monday night) three of us went to a small club in Jerusalem. It was a frustrating place to begin with because they lured us in by telling us there are free drinks for the next fifteen minutes - only to find out that it was a complete lie. And that was after being lied to about a drink special at the bar we went to beforehand.
So there were maybe 20 people in this entire place if you include the bartender/DJ and the security guard. In the middle of the dance floor there were girls dancing all over the place by themselves.
So my new roommate, Dave, went up to them and started trying to dance with them, only to find himself being pushed away. It was like some kind of inherent reaction. He put his arm on her, and she pushed him. She was obviously experienced at this.Fortunately, I got a picture.

Tel Aviv Afternoon

2005-07-30T18:49:00.000+03:00

Today we went to the Rubin museum in Tel Aviv. The museum is the renovated house of the former artist Rubin. It was very nice, and very air-conditioned. Something you don't get too often in this country.
Rubin was formerly a painter in Europe. It was interesting because in Europe he used a variety of dark colors and shades. However, in 'Eretz Yisrael' he only used a few colors, brown, yellow, black, and gray. In Europe his paintings had many shadows and dark images, however, in Eretz Yisrael there were "no shadows, because even the shadows are illuminated." His paintings were bright and colorful and pleasing to see.I enjoyed hearing about how the painter came to Israel and that everything was familiar to him even though he had never been here. I'm sure most Jews on pilgrimage to here also feel that way to an extent.
What was funny was that several times he mentioned that he almost never paints portraits of himself. I don't know if he was lying or if this museum just had an unusual amount of self-portraits, but there were definitely a few self-portraits of Rubin. If you look at the picture above you'll notice the second portrait on the bottom. That too is Rubin.

Following the museum we went to Neve Tzedek to walk around. It was a little bit empty but was interesting - I was given the opportunity to see what used to be the nicest part of Tel Aviv, and then the delapidated part of Tel Aviv, now existing as the artsy district of Israel's metropolitan city.
We walked through the Bat Sheva dance school located close to the center of Neve Tzedek in order to get to a restaurant called Suzanne's. It has a pleasing atmosphere and attractive food.

Next we went to Montanna's. Montanna's is an ice cream parlor that was established about half a century ago on edge of Tel Aviv. It's still standing, almost exactly as it was, still claiming to have an American atmosphere with American style ice cream, and still maintained by the same two old men.

Close to Montanna's is the newly built-up board-walk on the old port. No one was there today, because it's Saturday, but tonight Liat, Carmit, Jon and I will probably go back there for its night life.

Beaches

2005-07-29T22:33:00.000+03:00

I decided that 1) I need to live near the beach when I get out of school, and 2) it should be in Israel.

I always assummed that everyone was drawn to the sand and the waves, but I think it's more of a pleasurable novelty to the majority rather than a necessity. I've been here since July 12th and have been to the beach everyday but two of them maybe. I don't even really know if I took two days off. There's something about it. I'm not sure if it's the sound or the sun, or even if it's just everything encompassed into one. But it's one of those places where you can essentially do nothing and feel like you are doing everything. That's compared to sitting inside and watching a movie or just making idle conversation. I guess it's essentially the same thing at the beach, it's just that there's some kind of inherent value to doing those mundane activities at the beach compared to in a living room in front of the TV. Anyway, it was the cause of some argument the past few days.

Tonight we went to Sharon beach for a cook-out (again). It was pretty crowded and I took some pictures.

(click pictures to enlarge)

On Target

2005-07-25T23:30:00.000+03:00

This is a fair assessment:

While Sharon has surprised his critics, it is not conceivable that he would leave Israel more vulnerable than he found it when he took office. He will be adamant that Israel get what it has been promised: "secure and recognized borders." Who made that promise? The international community did, in UN Security Council Resolution 242 of Nov. 22, 1967 - the only agreed basis for negotiations between Israel and all its Arab neighbors. Resolution 242 also calls on Israel to relinquish land occupied in the 1967 war - but not to withdraw from all territories since, by definition, that would leave Israel without secure borders. (Townhall) leave

See also Defensible Borders for a Lasting Peace (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)

--------
As for now, I have to keep checking the El Al site to see if Jon's flight is going to continue its predictable pattern of delay (if you've flown from Chicago you know what I mean).

Hats

2005-07-24T09:29:00.000+03:00

So I know this color thing is redundant now, and there really isn't a story behind this post, but I thought I would share anyway.
It's very common to see big tour groups in Israel, especially in Jerusalem -specifically in the Old City. Another common characteristic is that the tour company tends to make the participants wear something conspicuous so the tour guides have an easy time finding their tourists. It is usually a bright-colored hat, a noticiable t-shirt, or something else a little embarrassing, but nothing particularly noteworthy. This time however, when I went to the Old City, I smirked at a herd of Asian tourists (as if that doesn't make them stand out in the first place) wearing big cowboy hats. Big purple cowboy hats. At first I was reluctant to take pictures, but then convinced myself that nothing could be as embarrassing as dressing like these people in the middle of Jerusalem.

(click pictures to enlarge)

Orange

2005-07-20T09:50:00.000+03:00

If you've been to Jerusalem in the past few weeks, then you've noticed something that resembles road construction. There's orange everywhere. Orange ribbons, orange shirts, orange bracelets, and then to top it off - an annoying slogan that says "Jews don't expel Jews" in orange writing. I guess none of it is actually that hard to notice but one thing that does seem to be sparse are the blue and white ribbons that are a little more popular in my neighborhood.

Now about that slogan. If they really want to convince other people (me) that disengagement is bad, then they should focus on more convincing slogans like: "Don't reward terrorists with the Gaza strip" or "Giving up Gaza is Giving up Security" or whatever, you get the point. But even those reasons for not disengaging are weak. First, staying in Gaza creates a demographic, economic, and security nightmare. But then there are those who worry about unilateral withdrawal compared to the typically more favorable withdrawal as an outcome of negotiations. It's always funny to me that people think that we are sending the wrong message by not negotiating with them. That we are giving in to their brutality. But if you think about it, negotiating with them has the same effect. When we negotiate with the Arabs we always ask for peace in exchange for land. Isn't that the same thing? If you stop killing us then we will give you stuff? At least this time we are calling the shots.

Anyway, I was in the Old City last night. While approaching the Kotel I noticed a tent surrounded by an unusual amount of orange.

(click pictures to enlarge)

Then I looked to my right and there was some more orange.

As I kept walking I heard someone speaking loudly in English on their cell phone. I continued towards the Kotel, and to my left I found the facilitator of this orange affair. An American dressed completely in orange. It looked funny at the time so I took some pictures.

Marina

2005-07-17T23:15:00.001+03:00

Went to the marina in Herzliya with my parents tonight. Nice place to go if you want to stop to have a drink, eat a nice meal outside, or sit on the swinging benches.

Netanya

2005-07-17T22:16:00.000+03:00

A few days ago my parents and I went to Netanya. Nothing special or outrageous about that. The only unique thing about it was that the bombing outside the shopping mall had been the night before. In a way, my family is still a bunch of tourists staying here. On
one hand, we were eager to go see something that is still very peculiar to us - a bombing of something so common as a mall. It's weird to think that one of Israel's most famous characteristics is its terrorist attacks by Pals. Obviously that's what drew us to the site. And at the same time it's what drives everyone else away from this country. By no means do we want the bombings to happen. It's more like something that is just so specific to Israel, in an awful way, and we wanted to see it up close.

In this specific bombing there were three members from three generations of the same family mutilated by the bombing. A child, a parent, and a grandparent. It's funny how in the eyes of a Palestinian, this is how they exert their desperation - devastating a family that was on its way to a mall.

Netanya is no stranger to these types of bombings, and while we were sitting down to eat at a restaurant on top of a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, the waittress confided in us that she just can't concentrate on work or pull herself together emotionally when this stuff happens - especially when she thought all this violence was coming to an end after the last 5 years of fear.

Although the bombing is awful because of the deaths it caused that day, it is even more painful because of its breaking of a faux truce. Even if it was a *faux truce, it was still better than what existed before, and the last thing we need here are more terrorist bombings when Israel is devoting all its human resources towards evacuating the stubborn and selfish Gaza settlers.

*Five months ago, Israel reached a ceasefire agreement with PA President Abbas, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad. Despite the agreement, the terrorist groups have attempted a constant stream of attacks (most thwarted by Israeli security, and under-reported by the media).

Here are some pictures from the Netanya bombing site.
Note how quickly the authorities cleaned up the site. In just a matter of hours.

(click on pictures to enlarge)

Beach Pictures

2005-07-15T18:04:00.000+03:00

Here are some pictures from last night in Tel Aviv and from today at Beach 9 in Herzliya.

Tel Aviv Night

2005-07-15T02:13:00.000+03:00

Tonight was fun. I was given permission to drive to Tel Aviv. It's kind of a milestone for me - I'm stepping into adulthood now, I can drive.... on the highway.... in Israel... alone....

It's been over a week since I had seen Liat before this. I picked her up from her hotel and we walked to the Tayelet. It was a great night. We found a nice cafe/bar to sit at on the beach and to our left were some enormous and colorful fireworks. It definitely made up for Rhythm and Booms at the terrace. I still haven't found out why exactly there were fireworks. The only holiday I know of is French independence day.... and I have a feeling that is not what they were celebrating in Yaffo.
Oh yeah, we also got ice cream at the Beer Sheva ice cream place. If you're in the mood for some cold sweetness, then Beer Sheva ice cream is the stuff to get.

Pictures soon.

Questions

2005-07-13T08:08:00.000+03:00

Some questions for Israelis:

Why do Israelis clap when the plane lands?

Why aren't there more blue/white ribbons?

Why doesn't it matter to Israelis whether you say 'thank you' or 'you're welcome' first?

When there are three lanes on a backed up highway, why do Israelis drive in between the lanes causing traffic to be even more backed up?

Maccabiah?

I know conversational Hebrew was just brought back to life in the past hundred years....but considering all the different cultures and dialects that were brought to Israel by immigration how is there already a standard Israeli accent?

Some questions for the 'Pals.'

Why malls?

In a Day

2005-07-10T20:31:00.000+03:00

I'll be there in a day.

PS: My fan just broke....good timing.

Lakes

2005-07-10T10:23:00.000+03:00

Today Jon and I got back from a small lake in Wisconsin. It was nice - we were able to come in direct contact with 'lake people' and enjoy some 'lake humor.' Unless you've experienced this people consumed by lake culture first hand, then you have no idea what I'm talking about.
Imagine rural Wisconsin. Now imagine people not from rural Wisconsin. Now stick those people who aren't from rural Wisconsin and put them in rural Wisconsin. You get a kind of wannabe Hamptons life style - a kind of stylish bleached blonde hair, the outdoor bar/marina, the uncountable hours under the sun in front of the summer house. It really is a scene taken straight out of Born Rich or Laguna Beach (which by the way, you can now celebrate for the DVD is now on sale...)
We started our night off last night with a drinking competition. This isn't one of those fun drinking games like beer pong or flip cup. This game is that one where you split into teams and see which team can finish a cube of beer the fastest. Of course, there was the big fat guy who could guzzle down 8 beers in 25 minutes. But then there was also the two or three of us (myself included) who could only finish about 3 drinks in 45 minutes. Either way, I was satisfied not being sick.
That was the beginning of the evening, the end was punctuated with us standing on one another's shoulders and changing the letters of a 100 ft sign that originally said "Great Margaritas" on one side, and something else on the other side, to simply "Great Anal." It was some fun lake times.
And while all of this was going on, I pondered with Jon about the lake life in rural Wisconsin compared to where I'll be in a matter of hours. Instead of a small lake culture situated in the center of acres upon acres of land occupied by a couple hundred million semi-conscious people, I'm going to be stuck in the middle of a tiny country, inhabited by a few million stressed out, hyper-involved people whose biggest lake is known as a sea and is too salty and hot to consider entertainment.
Anyway, I leave tomorrow night at 2:00 am from Madison on my way to Chicago, and then meet my parents at 7:50am in Tel Aviv. As always, it will be a long, excrutiatingly monotonous 20 hours of traveling, followed by possibly one of my best years.