From Jerusalem with Love

Been Here Before

This morning there was a suicide bombing in Israel for the first time since last April. This was what you might call a "low profile" attack because (a) "only" three people were killed and (b) the bombing took place in Eilat, which is not Tel Aviv, Jerusalem or Haifa.

The fact that terrorist attacks can be "low profile" or "high profile" and that things return to normal (even on the street of an attack) within hours is something of a smokescreen that most of us like having in front of us. This smokescreen - which has international reach - is reminiscent of the 1930's, when Hitler told the world (often) of his plans to murder the Jews and conquer the world.

"Oh, that's just a German problem," most of the world responded. European countries signed pacts with Hitler, and his threats went ignored or discounted. After Britain did the "land for peace" thing with Hitler in the Sudetenland, everyone assumed his appetite was satiated, and there would be "peace in our time."

History has always repeated itself, even within one individual's lifetime. Once again, we have fanatics clearing broadcasting their goals: we seek to destroy the West, put an end to democracy, and convert the world to Islam. Tellingly, once again the Jews are the "canary in the mine" - the first to come under attack and the brunt of threats.

Rest assured nothing would be different if Israel stopped "occupying" Palestinian lands from which Arab nations have launched several wars of annihilation. The Muslim world's hatred for Israel has nothing to do with borders, or land, or rights, but the very existence of the satanic Zionist entity in the midst of their heartland. Similarly, jihad's loathing for the West includes - but is independent of - the existence of Israel.

Those who point to "occupation" or America's role in the Middle East as the source of the problem gravely confuse cause and symptom. The application of Western "they have to have a reason to hate us, right?" values is entirely misplaced. The men leading the jihad war hate the West for many reasons, most of which have nothing to do with what Western countries have "done" to the Arab world. These reasons include not worshiping Allah, letting women out of the house, and little things along those lines.

The jihad ideology is nothing like the "mutually assured destruction" of the Cold War years, and has no connections to our very Western values that put protecting life above all things. The rulers of Iran are quite ready to sacrifice half their nation's lives so long as Israel is destroyed in the process. For years, Palestinian terrorists have chosen to operate surrounded by women and children, knowing Israel will not strike back and - if it does - civilians will be killed.

Jihad values death far more than life, and this is why knee-jerk liberals just don't get it, preferring to write the onslaught off to "cultural differences," "desperation," "occupation," etc. Take a look at Arab media and then you'll see what CNN and the New York Times consider too "politically incorrect" to report (i.e., the truth).

The jihad war's top patron, Iran, will within months have its own nuclear weapons. As with Hitler's rise, the world is once again ignoring, underestimating or tacitly accepting this new reality. The botched Iraq war could not have come at a better time for Tehran and its proxies throughout the world (including the many Hizballah and Hamas cells in the US). Most of the world is vehemently opposed to US military action to halt Iran's nuclear program. Hitler marches on as the world waits, hopes, and wastes precious time.

As with World War II, it is increasingly likely that millions of people will pay with their lives before it again becomes "politically correct" to call evil by its name. The first jihad shots have been fired in New York, Bali, Madrid and London, but - still - most people aren't so worried.

We've been here before, and not too long ago.

(Internet photo)

Recommended sites to learn about the jihad threat:

www.littlegreenfootballs.com

www.honestreporting.com

www.camera.org

The Set-up

It’s nice when there’s a theme connecting recent events in your life, unless of course that theme is “this sucks, why me?” A theme I can use for this entry is the set-up – quite a versatile expression.

The Hebrew Final Set-up

Today I took the final for my fourth semester of Hebrew. This is always the most important day of the semester, as the final determines passage to the next level. I definitely did the worst ever, but I don’t feel bad, because I know the test was largely not appropriate for our level.

The exams always consist of several “set-ups,” including a long text with comprehension questions, a passage where you have to fill in conjugated verbs, another passage where you have to fill in words that have been deleted, etc. There is also an essay, which never worries me because bullshitting carries over into new languages.

Of the three choices today, I picked an essay on why people like science fiction movies and books. I wrote about escapism, the need to explore and the process of “mapping” the future. The exam set-ups included an essay from HaAretz (the New York Times of Israel) on anthropological research (this was the most inappropriate part, because almost all of our assignments and classwork are at an Entertainment Weekly language level, not New York Times). There was a “fill in the missing verb, noun or adjective” set-up about seasonal affect disorder, and a “conjugate the verbs” set-up about the US president announcing a new policy on combating terrorism.

As you can see, I’ve learned to read and write a lot more than, “I like ice cream” and “I am from New York.” I am always interested in the choices made for exam set-ups, usually a bizarre combination of current events, sociology and the Dead Sea Scrolls (Google it).

The Fraud Set-up

Two weeks ago, a $450 charge appeared on my debit card from a company called International Freedom in Tel Aviv. Not only had I never heard of this company, but the only thing I spend that much money on is rent.

I reported the charge as fraud to Bank of America, which promptly put the funds back in my account. Of course I had to cancel my debit card, get a new one, and notify the host of vendors who automatically withdraw payment each month (including the site this blog lives on).

Until last week, I had been unable to find this International Freedom company. Then, a package arrived from these rancid individuals, a package containing a smoking cessation kit (I don’t smoke). I found a phone number and called these beasts to settle the score, and was pretty much laughed at and told I had to return the package to get my money back.

I am going to Tel Aviv tomorrow and will pay a visit to these entrepeneurs, package in hand. While on the premises, I will search for signs that International Freedom is really a brothel, money laundering operation, or at least a group of bastards that steals money from unsuspecting foreigners. Set-up!

The Romantic set-up

How many times have I heard the words, “I know someone for you!” This is something generally said to people perceived as desperate, and/or people whose minority status leads observers to wonder if they know anyone else in the same (gay) boat.

Almost always, the person “known” is not known at all, but rather some random poon about whom the recommender has about zero details. But, oh my God, he’s gay, you’re gay, it’s a match!! Do people do this to disabled people, or infertile people, or people with seasonal affect disorder? What if neither person wants to be set up? Maybe I should chill out and recognize these "set-up" mavens are at least better than people who'd like to lynch gays.

Last night I was at a party (instead of studying verbs) and met one such "him" in the "you have to meet him!" Within seconds, I heard the following words fall out of his mouth: “Holy shit, I snorted Zanax for the first time the other night!” Not one to let such a comment go to the wind, I said, “Why, was your nose depressed?” Then, at the hostess’ request, I proceeded to make and post a “Crack Room” sign pointing to the room next to the bomb shelter.

The Scandal Set-up (or not)

The president of Israel (not to be confused with the prime minister, who has the real power), is being indicted for rape and other related offenses. Two nights ago he went on TV and gave a terrific half-hour rant denouncing everyone in the country – the media, justice officials, dog walkers, etc. He compared his plight to the McCarthy-led Communist-hunt, insisting he was innocent.

Following the prime-time rant, President Moshe Katsav has lost even more credibility, and he is being replaced (at least temporarily) by the first female president ever. It’s interesting how we almost never hear about people being exonerated following allegations of misconduct. Look at Clinton’s initial fierce denials of “sexual relations” with that nice Jewish girl, or go back to Nixon, or forward to that congressman the other month with the dirty intern Emails.

Politicians always claim it’s a “set-up,” but we usually learn otherwise, even if it's after they die. In Israel, a shocking array of government leaders are under investigation for corruption, sexual misconduct, etc. They all claim it’s a set-up, get indicted, convicted, and then, after a few years, they’re back on the scene for another round. The circle of life!

(Above, President Katsav rants about "the set-up" - photo from Internet.)

Just Listen

This week I had two noteworthy experiences, both in Hebrew.

The first was my visit to the Hand in Hand school in Jerusalem, one of only three schools in Israel where Jewish and Arab children learn together, speak Hebrew and Arabic, and learn about each other's cultures. I am writing a story on the school for Heeb magazine's upcoming "Kids" issue.

To my mild horror, I found myself speaking with teachers in Hebrew and writing down what they said in English (using a notepad taken from the home of my Boston Globe reporter friends). As a college of mentor of mine used to say, "fake it 'til you make it!"

My speaking level is many months of practice behind my comprehension, reading and writing levels. This means that when people hear me speak Hebrew, they assume I don't understand much. In reality, I can read basic newspaper articles, fully understand soap operas and reality shows, and write entire essays without using a dictionary. These are skills learned in my academic ulpan. Since I very rarely speak Hebrew in my free time, it's that piece of the language I have made the least progress in.

The Hand in Hand school was inspiring in any language. Though I've lived in Israel almost three years between this stint and the volunteer year, I've never been to a place where the ideals of co-existence and mutual respect have been put into practice so passionately.

As with the GLBT Jerusalem Open House, you can correctly assume that some Jerusalem municipal leaders work to deny this utopian co-existence school funding. The pretense this time is that the school allows Arab students to commemorate "al-Nakhba" ("the catastrophe"), known to Israelis as their Independence Day.

It's obvious to me that there will never be "peace" until people on both sides come to learn and respect the narratives of "the other." That the creation of Israel was a miracle and God-send for the Jewish people, and something less than that for local Arabs, should not surprise anyone. There is no point in denying the past or seeking to invalidate alternate narratives, especially since none of these children carried guns in 1948, or today for that matter.

I spent two hours at the school and was intrigued to watch a Palestinian math teacher explain a problem in both Hebrew and Arabic to Jewish and Palestinian students. The people at Hand in Hand do not merely preach co-existence and acceptance, they make it happen every day of the year.

My second experience was a two-hour taxi ride from Haifa to Jerusalem the other night (don't worry, I didn't pay for it). My driver - named Tomer - was 69 years old and came to Israel is 1949, after hiding out in forests during the Holocaust. I learned about his role in all of Israel's subsequent wars (Intelligence), his take on today's political leaders, assessment of the Arab world's alleged desire for a two-state solution, and a host of other topics.

This man knows every corner of the country and it was exhilarating to traverse the coastal plain with someone who has literally lived the history of the state. I thought about my own love for Israel and how my experiences here are (and will never be) anything like his - surviving the Holocaust, spending three decades serving many weeks a year in the reserves, etc.

We also talked about the role of Zionism in the lives of Israelis in my generation, and how it is no longer taken for granted that a Jewish state is a necessity and worthwhile. I have been reading an academic book about "post-Zionism" scholars who seek to delegitimize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state. I wonder how many of these esteemed scholars had their families killed in the Holocaust, and how many have had to physically defend their freedom and right to survive in Israel.

This was probably the longest conversation I've ever had in Hebrew. Though my speech was riddled with grammatical errors and mispronounced words, I understood almost everything Tomer said. When he dropped me off in Jerusalem at midnight, he turned around for the two-hour trip back to his wife in Haifa, this 69-year old man who is a walking history exhibit of modern Israel.

With G-d's help I will be around in four decades to explain Israel's past to a Hebrew student like myself one day. Assumedly, I will have better grammar and - we can only pray - there will be much less bloodshed on which to reflect. Both my visit to the Hand in Hand school and the two-hour cab ride reminded me that to get to such a point, we must first learn to listen.

(Above, one of my photos from Jerusalem's Hand in Hand School)

A Wonderful Country

Yesterday was a very “Israeli” day for me.

The national students’ union declared a strike in protest of planned tuition increases at Israeli universities. In Israel, the public universities (including mine) are heavily subsidized by the government, allowing post-army students to obtain a first degree without going into massive debt.

The government’s plan to decrease university subsidies has sent student leaders into a tizzy. Ten campuses went on strike yesterday, with most students either staying at home or engaging in protest activities. Tires were burned, donkeys were paraded (?) and accusations were hurled at the gates of some of Israel’s finest institutions. Posters and placards littering my campus claimed things like, “No Education, No Country.”

Because Israel is so small, something like a nation-wide university student strike can not only take place, but even force the hand of the government. I don’t have evidence, but I bet that Israel has more strikes, protests, demonstrations, marches and general public debate per capita than any country on Earth.

If it’s not the teachers, it’s the municipal workers who are on strike. Or maybe it’s the airport workers, paralyzing all flights for a day. There might not be peace, but the labor union is alive and well here.

The other very Israeli aspect of my day was a 250-guest bar mitzvah celebration I attended in Jerusalem for the little brother of a friend. The family is Kurdish, which means they are Mizrachi Jews (of Middle Eastern origin) as opposed to Askenazi (“white” Jews from America, Europe, etc.).

Below are some defining characteristics of a Mizrachi celebration in Israel, all of which applied to last night’s affair but almost none of which apply to Jewish celebrations in the US:

• My friend and I called the older sister to find out the bar mitzvah boy’s name for the card an hour before the party. Invitations here can be word-of-mouth, or printed, and we got the word-of-mouth kind. It did not come with a name.
• Speaking of invitations, it’s apparently a massive insult to mail such a thing in Mizrachi culture. They must be hand-delivered. At last night’s party, I spotted more than one attendee handing out invitations for an upcoming celebration. This is not considered as tacky as mailing the invitations.
• The party was in a gorgeous hall overlooking the Old City walls, but this did not stop dozen of attendees from smoking throughout the night. I inhaled other people’s cigarette smoke for several hours, thank you. Believe me when I say that none of these smokers cared about the nauseating effects of their habit on other attendees.
• About 20% of the people showed up wearing jeans, many in sneakers. Israel is decidedly less formal than the US, a throwback to its socialist/egalitarian roots. But don’t these people at least have khakis? Wearing jeans to a wedding or bar mitzvah is quite common here, and these are often the same people using the centerpiece as an ashtray.
• The first thing you see at most Israeli affairs is a lock-box with a stack of envelopes. Guests open wallets, remove cash, place bills in envelope, write their name on the front, and slip said envelope into the lock-box. Greeting cards are quite superfluous, like RSVP’s and dress clothes.

Photo of Kurdish dancing from the party last night, with bar mitzvah boy at left