Pam goes to Israel

The Saddest thing about leaving... Furry Friends

2010-04-06T06:27:00.003+03:00

Ever since we arrived and saw all the feral cats, I made it my business to adopt or try to care for a dozen or so in my own neighborhood (I still carry kibble for those I bump into on my walks). The cats in Jerusalem are everywhere. My first walk fully armed with food in plastic baggies was a disaster, I couldn't find a cat to feed... disheartened, I tried again in the early evening and there they were, all rising from the afternoon slumber.

An apartment a block away from where we live, with a grassy courtyard provided me a group of cats I could visit regularly. At first they were shy and would run or hide when I meowed or made the clicking sounds that Mr Gryff (our cat in Portland) come running. Slowly one cat fell for me! And wouldn't you know if... it was the cat who looked most like Mr Gryff, except for the funky bent ear. He could hear me calling him from 100 yards away and come to see me. I left food on the top of a low rock wall, and soon he was eating from my hand, purring and talking to me. A dozen other cats in the yard would come a watch their friend purr and get treats, soon they realized they could benefit from this "cat lady" from America. I would ask Noa and Paul to come and see this spectacle of my playing the role of the "Pied Piper Feeder", they rolled their eyes and thought I was nutty. Finally Noa came with me, only a few came out, and my black cat ran away:-(

One of our favorite restaurants Restobar, serves an incredible Israeli breakfast. For 48 Shekels ($14) you get a large cappucino, large fresh squeezed juice, and kind of eggs or omelet, fresh bread,large salad of tomatoes and cucumber and 8 small ramekins of things like olives, 4 kinds of cheese, tuna, and spreads..OY. I've taken to having all the ramekins except the olives and asking for them to go. The cats love Restobar!

Which all leads me to last night, and the serendipitous ending to my cat relationships. I took my last evening stroll around the neighborhood and of course stopped by to say hello to my furry friends. A young man came from the yard after hearing my calling and meowing. He asked if I was the American who fed the cats,( I met his mom from her 2nd floor balcony weeks ago). He thanked me for feeding the cats, and invited me behind the gate to see the home he set up for the cats, and their food bowls! There are 11 cats and three new kittens. I met the momma cat and two of the kittens in front of our apartment weeks ago, hiding behind our rental car. When we approached the momma cat hissed and was in serious protection mode. She had been howling for days as if she was in pain. Turns out she lost the 3rd kitten and was looking for it. After leaving food for them under our car, they suddenly disappeared, and I had been wondering if they survived as we had not seen them for over a week. Here they were, momma was more pleasant and the thrid kitten had come home.

My new neighbor Gal told me about all the cats, and their names! My black cat is Mambo, and it urns out my second favorite cat (black and white with a funky bent ear)who purrs and follows me, is called Nuva and is Mambos brother! Momma is called Zorro, and the gorgeous mini tiger is Ralph. Gal is going to send me photos of all the cats and let me know the kittens names once he names them. I am truly sad to say goodbye to such good friends.

A Tale of Two Cities, or Rather a City and a Settlement...

2010-04-02T16:46:00.020+03:00

For months Paul had been asking me and Noa about going to visit and stay with a fellow Fulbrighter from Israel. We found many ways to avoid accepting this invitation... we were afraid to travel to and stay in an Arab Village. Paul told us of how wonderful this family was as Paul spent time with them in Washington DC last August for an orientation, and the wife wore a head scarf! We were then invited to an Arab wedding which was taking place on the same day as Passover. We learned the wedding was canceled as a relative of the bride was shot by another Arab male. No wedding, no visit, not so quick.

So after we received our 7th invitation to yet another Passover Seder (the first night is the big one), we decided that since we've been to, and hosted lots of Seders... (and we doubted Israelis did the 7 minute seder that we do, and serve ONLY matzo ball soup, charoset, and chocolate covered macaroons at our Seder), Israeli Seders would be four hours plus with brisket and 16 additional courses)! Why not go to visit Ahmad and the family in Kafr Qasim. The way Paul got us to go along was to tell us that Ahmad and Manal wanted to move to the US as they had a fabulous Fulbright experience in Nashville at Vanderbilt.

To play nice Paul got the rental car early so we could go to Tel Aviv walk and wander the board walk, and hang out in the sun. By 3pm we were on our way to our first Arab city. Throughout Israel we have always been on treed streets with traffic controls and street lamps, once we turned into Kafr Qasim, there were no more lights, paved sidewalks, actually there were no side walks at all, there was a lack of garbage/ debris removal too. I turned around in the car, Noa and I looked at each other and thought RUN!

Ahmad met us at a gas station just at the entry to the city of 20,000 people. We followed him over unpaved potholed streets for about 5 minutes and drove up to a huge 3 story home at the very end of the city. We could not have been greeted more warmly by Ahmad and Manal. We went upstairs to meet their 2 children son Sayyed, age 10 and daughter Fatima age 5. This was the cleanest and least cluttered home (that has people living in it)! I have ever seen. Both the ladies were very shy, especially with Paul,( the male thing). We were offered beverages on the balcony with a lovely view of the West Bank.old

At 9pm we went to dinner at a fabulous restaurant with no English menu. For those of you who know us well, yes; I said 9pm to eat, our normal time to go to bed. The restaurant had amazing food, nice waiters who spoke English, but the most amazing thing were the eight young women at another table that were celebrating something. Ahmad told me these were old university students of his. He invited me over to say hello. All wore head scarves, but in bold colors. I asked whose birthday it was and they chuckled... one of the women had just become the first female medical doctor, from Kfar Qasim.

Ahmad explained the problems facing the youth in this Arab Israeli city, and to other Arab Israeli villages and cities. There is high unemployment and the male youth have turned to violence against each other. After our dinner Manal took me and Noa to her parents home, a large building with a newly added apartment for her brother that was soon to get married. The parents 1st floor apartment was basic, but the house above was magnificent. It was on three floors with a marble winding staircase, with a kitchen as nice as any I've seen in the west hills. We were introduced to several of her other family members, and one very handsome 17 year old brother. Manal later told us he had been shot six times and had been in very serious condition just six months ago. The women in the city study harder and are becoming professionals, and the men in the city aren't looking quite so attractive to these women... divorce is also setting in.

Manal is a 5th grade history teacher, and an awesome cook. Is was she who began the discussion of coming to the USA. They are very disappointed with the life of being Israeli Arabs... and I can't say I blame them. They told us they pay the same rate of property tax as Israeli Jews, and yet they get no services. This is a town of fairly well to do Arab Israelis, and they are supposed to be equal citizens. They live in Forest Heights style homes (without roads and sidewalks etc (see photo of contemporary home). Their schools are abysmal, and their own children are very bright. Their son Sayyed just won a math award and is just about fluent in English. Ahmad told us his father had 220 acres of land in this city, and without good reason 200 we confiscated by the Israeli government. There is a home 200 yards away from theirs that is about to be torn down because there was no permit (see photo of unfinished house). It is more complex however. Before building began, the owner went to the housing ministry, requesting a permit to build on his own land. The Ministry told him not to worry, they could begin building and the permit would follow. The house was all framed, bricked etc. Then came the letter from the Ministry, "as there was no permit to build they must tear it down, or pay the Israeli government to tear it down for them. Sadly, this is not an uncommon situation.

We openly discussed Gaza, and the incidents against Israeli Jews, from rock throwing to bombing. He is against all the violence. This is one VERY complex country. I have empathy for the Israeli Arabs who just want to be a part of the country of which they are supposed to be equal citizens. I have empathy for the Jewish Israelis who want to live in peace and not be terrified to put their kids, spouses or friends on a bus.
The next morning we toured the city and then traveled a dirt road to Oranit, a Jewish Settlement in the West Bank. Paul, Ahmad and Noa were in our new Toyota rental car, I was following in an older and rather banged up car with Manal wearing a head scarf, and Sayyed and Fatima in the back seat. Paul and his group sailed through the check point, and when Manal drove up our vehicle was searched. we were asked where we were going, why we were going, did I have identification too. It took several attempts explaining I was American, (dressed head to toe in Nike), with my husband and daughter NOA in the car ahead. I finally charmed my way through. Manal said it happens to her every time she goes to Oranit as the kids have swim lessons at an beautiful athletic facility there. Did I mention that there is no public athletic facility in Kafr Qasim with a population 20,000 or that Oranit with a population of 6,000 has a state of the art sports facility? I can understand why Israeli Arabs are rather frustrated, I would be too.

It was like leaving one planet and entering another. Gone were the rubble piles, and unpaved roads, and I felt like I was in any number of planned communities in a wealthy US suburb.

The saddest past of this visit was when we learned that there had been a massacre in this town in 1956, please read more if you are interested:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kafr_Qasim_massacre

I feel like a ping pong ball, just as I think I understand something I see another side and realize how little I understand. For another perspective please read Noa's blog on the same subject: http://catlinnoaisrael.blogspot.com/2010/03/arab-villiage.html

As we were driving on a dirt road near the mansions being built we saw a mare with her baby, just hanging out.

A different blog than I started early this morning

2010-03-24T17:30:00.005+02:00

I had started writing about our wonderful trip to Eilat (Red Sea), and the Dead Sea, I will be able to complete that blog tomorrow as I will have plenty of time on my hands (and on my back). When Paul and Noa awoke, we finalized our plans to get to the bus stop and go to Tel Aviv to see those few remaining museums and neighborhoods we wanted to see before we come home in 13 days. I saw the # 18 bus coming and shouted "Run", three steps later I had what appears to be a lateral tear of my left meniscus. After playing Peter Cotton Tail hopping back home, I spent a few hours online researching orthopedic surgeons, sports medicine docs and the like. I emailed every friend I made in Jerusalem and all responded within minutes, each with several doctors to contact. Paul and Noa took great great care of me... Nice people:-)

I saw the top sports medicine physiotherapist today @ 3pm I had also an appointment with the head of Hadassah Hospitals department of Orthopedic Surgery for tomorrow afternoon. The physiotherapist thinks I have a tear in the meniscus and can deal with it when we return to Portland, he advised me not to see the surgeon tomorrow as he would want to operate. I will get to work out at a fabulous facility for rehab and and got a gool new knee brace. Paul, Noa and the doctor were cracking jokes, so all had a good time. We finally got to see Mount Scopus in a taxi (not a total loss).

Next we were off to Yad Sarah to pick up my free crutches. This is an amazing organization Yad Sarah, is the largest voluntary organization in Israel, provides a spectrum of free or nominal cost services designed to make life easier for sick, disabled and elderly people and their families. My doctor sent us here with a prescription for the crutches, in less than 5 minutes I had crutches and all is took was a 60ILS or about $16 in a deposit to be refunded when I return them. Can you imagine having this service in the US?

Well, the bad news is if I needed surgery in Israel Noa would kill me as we would be late coming home, the good news is I can survive with crutches for the next few weeks and experience physical therapy in Israel:-) Hopefully this will simmer down and I can be walking again soon.

Tel Aviv, always something new and different...

2010-03-10T11:15:00.016+02:00

Noa and I went to Tel Aviv and Jaffa (Yafo) and stayed with our friend Katherine, a Fulbright Scholar we met on our trip north last month. Her apartment in Jaffa is amazing, in a new building but decorated in Arabic style. We quickly left for the beach and saw an amazing sight...no not Noa all grown up in a bikini..., as I was laying on my belly I looked up to see what was shading the sun, umm that would be a horse walking by and stepping on our blankets' corner. Huh, a horse going for a swim? After getting too hot in the sun, we opted to walk back to Katherine's for a shower we left for our usual 15 mile walk.

I love this city because people are secular for the most part, and don't have all the hang ups or issues about showing shoulders or knees, heaven forbid cleavage. I promised Noa we would go back to her favorite restaurant... again. Benedict is a 24-7 breakfast restaurant, and is always packed. Our waitress's name was Noa and she told me there were 2 other Noa's at a table of young women celebrating a birthday. Being the sly dog I am, I arranged for the other three Noa's to stop by our table when my Noa came out of the rest room. After the MOM**** (why do you do thing that embarrass me all the time), they all posed for a photo:-) Nice ladies.

Jaffa is a fascinating place as Israelis and Arabs get along. The area called the "flea market" that has shops full of fleas:-) and even then the fleas give it a 2nd thought, next door you can have a hip new restaurant with people at tables eating and drinking past 2am. Lots of small boutique shops are moving in too. Photo is from our balcony, it is typical to toss (or hoist) their garbage onto the roof, I suspect this is less expensive than paying to have it removed.

Enjoy the phot0s of Yafo, our favorite Bridal dress (yes it does say I'm in love and cost $15,000), and Katherine's apartment.

Worst Fears?

2010-03-03T20:12:00.007+02:00

I really wanted for this to be the most amazing adventure for me, and for Paul and Noa. My earliest apprehensions about going to Israel (and bringing Noa) were pure fear and if were we nutty to go to a place where people blow up buses and pizza parlors. I asked Paul if there wasn't a way to see if Paris, Oslo or South Africa could be negotiated for... NO. We wanted for Noa to have an overseas experience with us and this would be the last chance before HS when she might do an overseas trip without us:-( Not to mention this was a big honor for Paul so I worked on my backbone and refused to show any fear to Noa (like I did with spiders). At first I wasn't going to go into markets or restaurants, or any scary places... then we arrived and as if someone placed a spell over me all fear was gone. Tel Aviv was a cinch, it was a modern, hip and very fun city. Our first day we were in the Dizengoff Mall (if you've heard of this place it's been attacked several times), buying sim cards for our phones, the Carmel Market (remember those first photos of olives and halvah and huge produce)? When we arrived in Jerusalem 5 days later those pangs reared up a bit, but Paul talked me throughit and once we picked a meeting place should anything "happen I was fine". We were going up on Temple Mount and walking deep into East Jerusalem without incidence on a regular basis and made friends at Abu Ali the very local restaurant and a coffee shop. A few nasty things have happened since we've been here, Arab boys aged 10-20 have been the culprits every time. It is my opinion that these are the same aged kids that throw stones at tourists and the Israeli soldiers. They often walk by us and spit (at us) or make the gutteral sounds as if they are going to. I do not hesitate to yell and scare the heck out of them (the instinct to protect Noa is very strong) and it catches them off guard. Mostly this happens in the old city and the edge of Abu Tor the Arab neighborhood that abuts the Peace Park Forest (previous blog with Molotov cocktails to burn the gorgeous greenery).

Since the Hamas leader was killed in Dubai there has been much tighter security. I noticed this on buses/bus station, shopping centers and the Purim festival. I do not want to feel this way, I hate feeling this way but when I read the following artice in today's Haaretz newspaper (comes with the International Hearld Tribune), My heart sank. Read it below if you like, basically the author a prominent left wing journalist that suggests the next intifada is underway. So what do you do? As my friend Serge in Tel Aviv says "Oy Vavoy".

@@@ added after many emails of concern:
Ever since I subscribed to Haaretz/ International Tribune a few weeks ago, my hackles went up... me and the stupid news print. Reading these things online didn't affect me so much. We will stay till April 6th unless the US State Dept. changes the status on travel here. They have not even made a note on the website.

I am not so concerned that I am canceling my bus trip with Noa to Tel Aviv in an hour:-) I thought it would be of interest to share some of my thoughts and feelings of the darker variety. @@@

How will the next Palestinian uprising look?

By Amira Hass

By judging from articles written by both Israelis and Palestinians, the next intifada is already in the air. They are predicting it is on the way and the most punctilious know it will be "popular." Bil'in and Na'alin are perceived as its models.

Some Palestinians are guessing it will first erupt in Jerusalem. There, the constant clash between a dispossessing first world and a misery-stricken world is palpable, and the presence of the discriminatory regime is particularly violent because of the daily mingling of the two worlds. In Jerusalem, as opposed to the Ramallah enclave, it is impossible to fake normalcy.

Jerusalem or Bil'in, the supreme challenge facing the initiators of the next uprising - if it indeed erupts - is to prevent its descent into a so-called armed struggle, which inevitably will expropriate the street and the struggle from the public. The militarization of the second intifada led to grave disasters - personal, collective and geo-political. Off the record, many admit this but a number of factors are still preventing frank, public debate.

For years the theory of armed struggle, until liberation and independence are achieved, has been held sacred. Many people feel ill at ease to criticize the militarization publicly, as though they would thereby dishonor the dead, the wounded, the prisoners and their families.

The Hamas movement has not only claimed the word "resistance" - muqawama - it has also succeeded in imposing a narrative claiming its armed resistance has borne fruit. According to this narrative, this resistance prevented the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization from surrendering to Israeli dictates in the 1990s, forced the Israeli occupation out of the Gaza Strip (and soon Jerusalem's and Ashkelon's turn will come), and prevented the occupation of the Gaza Strip in 2009.

The truth is that the suicide attacks on civilians gave Israel a golden opportunity to implement plans, which had always existed, to confiscate more and more Palestinian lands, using the excuse of "security." The use of weapons did not stop the colonialist expansion of the Jewish settlements. On the contrary. And the use of weapons only accelerated a process Israel began in 1991: disconnecting the Gaza Strip from the West Bank.

At an academic conference on Hamas's political agenda, which took place in Ramallah two weeks ago, a senior member of the movement took pride at what he termed the resistance's success in upsetting the normal course of life in Israel. Along similar veins of propaganda, Hamas succeeded in the past in "selling" to its public the "efficacy" of suicide attacks and the firing of Qassam rockets.

But Israel has proved it knows very well how to exploit the Palestinians' primitive weapons in order to develop and upgrade its sophisticated security industry, an important export expertise and an asset in world politics. This connection is absent from the permitted public discourse on "the armed struggle."

Free discussion will open a Pandora's box in the Fatah movement, because it will be asked why its leaders encouraged the use of weapons ("Shooting at the sky," as one opponent with a military background in Fatah described it). One explanation - but not the only one - is that in the first popular demonstrations in September and October of 2000, Yasser Arafat and his people heard the clear criticism directed at the PA government and Fatah. To silence this criticism and divert it they let the young men play before them - like King David and his people in the Second Book of Samuel (2:14). And many of the young men played with weapons in order to obtain social and economic status in the movement and the PA. When Fatah people dare today to renounce the sanctity of the armed struggle, their collective reputation as corrupt automatically detracts from peoples' faith in their arguments, even if those arguments are logical.

Another challenge facing the initiators of the popular uprising, if it indeed erupts in the near future, is actually a challenge that Israeli society must face. Will it once again adopt the deceptive narrative of the IDF and the politicians ("the Palestinians attacked us," "terror") and allow them, as in the two previous intifadas, to suppress the uprising using disproportionate and deadly means? These are the deadly means that, in the Palestinians' eyes, make Israeli rule look like a series of bloody acts from 1948 to this day.

Will Israel once again invent oppressive logistical and bureaucratic means instead of listening to the political message: Normalcy will not be possible for Israel as long as it perpetuates the sequence of dispossessions that began in 1948.

Purim in Jerusalem

2010-03-01T20:31:00.014+02:00

After 5 days of stormy weather Purim turned out to be a wild time for all. Think Halloween on steroids. Growing up in Chicago, living in Los Angeles and Portland I never knew Purim was such an intense celebration. All ages participate, most schools are closed for the day and there is security everywhere. I'm going to let the photos speak for themselves. We walked to the "shuk" Mahane Yehhuda market and to our surprise even a few seriously orthodox got into the spirit. The Chabad folks (these are Jews who believe that all Jews are equal in their Jewishness before God)... or so that is what one of the nice men told me when he handed us bags of candy. Not all Jews believe that, I will do a blog on that just before we leave the country... if you catch my drift.

We then walked towards Ben Yehuda the main pedestrian street figuring we'd find some costumes, we heard music turned a corner and the first sight we saw were two soldiers eating cotton candy. We struck gold and saw 3 bands, tightrope walkers, people on stilts, dancers and some of the most creative costumes imaginable, but not a witch was to be found. The security was very intense as the Arabs are very upset about Israel wanting to have Rachel's Tomb and the Tombs of the Patriarchs be National Heritage Sights. Now Palestinians are throwing stones at tourists in the old city... OY, why can't we be friends already. There were police and soldiers everywhere including roofs ... like an uzi parade.
It's now 9pm here and fire crackers are going off in all directions and children in our apartment building are laughing and screeching:-) I'm ready for bed.

I Was Walking Down the Street One Day...

2010-02-25T13:54:00.000+02:00

In a matter of a few hours while out walking I saw the following things, some funny some disgusting but it is life in Jerusalem and Israel:

1: 3-4 year old children playing with fire and sticks without close by adult supervision We watched this go on for at least 5 minutes), it was a preschool group in a park. In general Israelis are not as uptight about safety and security as are us Americans. OSHA does not exist here... they have bigger fish to fry.

2: On a major road I saw a large turtle walking down the street (I carried him to a green space).

3: Honking Cars; this is one of my 2 pet peeves; Israelis* are the MOST OBNOXIOUS DRIVERS in the world. They will sit in their cars for ten minutes honking for a friend to come out rather than to get out of their car and ring the doorbell or use their cell phone... and this goes on all day and all night. They honk (like a scream) if someone isn't going fast enough , Everyone honks at taxis as they stop wherever they please to pick up or drop off fares, or just to try to pick up a potential fare, and bus drivers honk because they can! I may never honk again.

3: Egg plant (someone has a sense of humor)

4. I stopped to feed cats a chopped up can of sardines ( Paul and Noa made fun of me, pretending I was the old woman from Mary Poppins with the tuppence) I love cats and someday when I weigh 300 pounds and have a house full of cats, I'll have the last laugh:-)

5. Man on an accordion; as I read The Book Thief along with Noa, I have a special place in my heart for men like Hans Hubermann.

6: Dog Poop Pet Peeve #2; Israelis* are BARBARIANS, as most people live in apartments and there are not back yards or parking strips, they let their dogs poop right in front of your front door! I hate this more than the honkers. For example the lady with two adolescent boys who lives just below us, was fighting with a neighbor across the street as she walked her large dog to poop on their sidewalk in front of their apartment, and they yelled at her to have her dog poop in front of her own home. When I returned home later in the afternoon, there it was a huge smoking pile in front of our gate... I'll spare you that photo. People don't bother to pick up after their dogs or themselves for that matter... future blog will be on Recycling in Israel.

* A few people have begun to pick up after their pets and there are a handful of kind drivers. After living in Portland for 17 years, I too became a more civilized driver. As we are more than halfway through our adventure, part of the charm of everyday life has worn off a bit. Sorry to sound like a bummer, it is just an honest look at life in Jerusalem.

Negev Desert, yes it was hot and dry

2010-02-21T17:02:00.000+02:00

Paul's dad and step mother came to visit for a few weeks and as a last trip with them we went off to Mitzpe Ramon, south and east of Be'er Sheva, and if it sounds exotic it was. Be'er Sheva still has it's Bedouin markets, but only on Thursday, sadly; US Customs wouldn't allow us to bring in a camel home anyway. On our way down to Mitzpe Ramon we stopped at the Kibbutz home of David Ben Gurion (place he retired after the 1948 War of Israel's Independence. Five miles further down the road is the site he selected for his tomb as well as his wife Paula, do they ever have a great view! We made it to Mitzpe Ramon and had quickly started for the hiking path to the bottom of the crater. This is not like hiking to Multnomah Falls or in the Rose garden, no railings or paved step, just boulders and fracturing limestone.

The trail markings were only paint on rocks and hope you don't miss one. There were several trails of varying difficulty and location (down or the crater rim). We went for the hard core green trail which went straight down and there were more than a few spots where I sat on my tuchas to get down. The sights were more than a little like being on the moon, and a bit like the computer game MYST. All of the rock and dirt was in shades of tan and gold. It was BARREN. Alas; I saw a plant growing out of a rock! At one point Noa said mom there is an Ibex... I didn't know what was talking about, and then... there were a dozen or more of these lovely creatures (well until you got close and saw how chewed up their fur was). They were not fazed by us or any other humans for that matter.

The ride home provided home some entertainment: The (L)

lamed is the Hebrew letter ( L) and in this case stands for Learner Driver. We have seen these all over Israel on small cars where you see teens and others learning how to drive. This one was a surprise as it was a soldier learning how to drive a Hummer. Also in Israel it is not unusual for a smaller vehicle to take on a larger one, see photo. You should see the buses racing cars on two wheels.

Trip North to Golan Heights, Akko, Tzvat, etc.

2010-02-17T09:40:00.000+02:00

Traveling can take the "blogging" right out of you. Little or no wi-fi and two weeks later, finally an update to our adventure, and mostly in photos, (you can click to enlarge). Paul's dad and step-mother arrived and we traveled with them to Tzvat (Safed) the birthplace of mystical Judaism (where Madonna hangs out when she works on her spirituality) as well as a few days with other Fulbrighters (mostly college professors and some grad students... lots of brainpower on the bus).We made many of stops in out of the way places and at one point we were on the Syrian and Lebanese borders.

It was an interesting feeling to see signs warning us, "Caution Land Mines" and "Check Points" along the way. If you are interested in History or descriptions of places please see Noa's Blog. Our hotel, Hotel Ron was expensive and dirty The breakfast was inedible. When an omelet was delivered to our table it nearly slid off the plate as it was in so much hydrogenated grease (you could see the molecules) and instant coffee was served next to a hot water heater with a tap. The most interesting thing to me was the old Tzvat cemetery. Graves dating back more than 1000 years. In an earlier blog I mentioned being intrigued by grave-sites being painted blue, and learned they were Rabbis' graves, on the Mount of Olives there were a handful. In this cemetery there were what looked like a hundred or more. Some were in caves. In a town nearby we saw a rabbi's grave in a cave where he lived for 13 years as he was hiding from the Syrians. The story was that he lived naked (to preserve his only clothing) and covered himself with sand unless he was praying, and then he put on his black suit and hat so he could show respect to god. For the life of me I can't figure out where Madonna would sleep in this town, let alone eat. On the bright side there was a cute street of artists shops. In Akko (Acre) the longest continually inhabited city by Jews, we were warned by our tour guide that the is some occasional mischief by young Arab men/boys towards westerners, and we were not disappointed. On our way to the old walled city our Fulbright group of about 40 people was the target of two Arab teens on a motorcycle... they tried twice to run into us:-( One of the men in our group socked one of them in the back and let them have it... other than that we enjoyed our visit. Akko dates back several thousand years and has a very interesting history. Inside the old city is a Crusader Castle who hashad many landlords since it was built. Most interesting to me was that it was used as a prison during the British Mandate, a huge prison break by the Jewish underground took place and the prisoners, many of my heroes of the Irgun and Jewish underground were hung (see gallows). Sorry about the layout, my net-book is a windows machine... need I say more?

Shopping; The Good, the Bad, and the Double Ugly

2010-02-04T17:51:00.000+02:00

Today's weather was so cold and rainy (sorry Portland friends...I know you've been living with this for a while... but it's hard to be a tourist in this) the only reason I could find to go out was to go shopping for dinner as we were entertaining. I made two trips out, for food, stories to follow.

I need to unload about the entire Israeli shopping experience. Good news is, other than food, jewelry and art (all are VERY expensive, and I can live without the art). Bad News is I couldn't afford it anyway. We were looking for warm clothes, I could buy Nike here for three times US retail, but as I get all our stuff at the employee store, it would only cost 6 times as much. Israel has a store called FOX that everyone wears... think Abercrombie and Fitch (double the price and half the quality) Dressy clothes... forget it. There is a hot designer named Ronen Chen, I saw a winter clearance sale sign, and saw a lovely sweater with couture detail out of yummy warm velour... and it was on sale for only $200. When we were in Tel Aviv, we heard about all the Israeli designers... not at any price. Most everything looks like a shma'∙teh. I suppose it is the style:-( I am a bit spoiled as I can get a Giorgio Armani suit on Ebay for $50 (yes it was worn once on Law and Order, but who cares... it has seams)! The Double Ugly is, the experience. You go into a place and expect help. Not in grocery stores. Other shoppers are pushy and aggressive, like the drivers, but that is another entire blog. When you go to the "Shuk" like the Mahane Yehuda market as we have all blogged about, you expect a bit of pushing and shoving, and you get plenty of it. Last week we were attempting to buy halvah for Ellen's return trip to SD, and we waited and waited while others just pushed in front and after trying to get the sellers attention we went elsewhere. I think I am aggressive enough and if I couldn't get the goods you know what this place is like. Today at Mega (think Safeway), Noa and I had 14 items in our cart. We looked at all the lines, and as usual I picked the wrong one, after waiting in line for over 15 minutes, we decided to go to the 10 items or less aisle. We each had seven. A nice man had a loaf of bread so I signaled him to go ahead of me. Next thing I knew a "Russian Beauty" as Noa and I call them, woman with loads of make-up, dressed like they were wishing they were 30 years younger and more than a few kilos lighter, tried pushing ahead, I told her "no", we are in line, then her other gal pals started the pushing. As I was now into 25 minutes of waiting in line my patience was growing thin. I went to get a manager and the nice man with the bread held the Russians away from Noa. Like a mama bear protecting her young cub.more than a few choice words were spoken, some even made me blush when repeating the story to Paul, The "Russian Beauties" were surprised that we held our own, and I bet don't want to see me again. Later in the day I went in search for fresh bread and dessert for our company (plus I needed 5 more miles to walk). It started raining and hailing. I was dressed for the weather, but this was ridiculous. I found what I wanted at a neighborhood bakery, I just don't know what neighborhood I was in... the sun being my usual guide was absent. After going several miles out of my way, my waterproof hiking boots were soaked as was my gore-tex jacket. I was officially crabby and crazed to get home and I was darned if I was going to spend $30 in a taxi to get home. After meeting a nice man from the foreign ministry he set me in the right direction and made my way home... like a wet dog. The apple strudel was put back together and re-baked and all loved it!

Kibbutz Life, Caving with Unruly Brats , Psycho Drivers

2010-02-01T09:12:00.000+02:00

We spent the weekend at Kibbutz Hatzor, the home of Paul's mentor (Jay and his lovely family) from the Israeli Ministry of Education. I'd heard about kibbutzim since I was a young child and learned of Israel and it's being seen by many as "The Land of Milk of Land and Honey" After 5 weeks of city living (honking horns, loud voices and vehicle exhaust), it was a delight to come to what seemed like "Eden". We saw and smelled wildflowers, heard birds singing, and yes, the smells of farm life, horses, and cows. Hatzor as most Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism. Over the last decades, most Kibbutzim have been privatized and no longer practice communal living. Less than five percent of Israelis now live on kibbutzim. Jay invited us this weekend as it was a holiday Tu'bishvat, the day that marks the beginning of a "New Year for Trees." This is the season in which the earliest-blooming trees in the Land of Israel emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle. We watched the young planting trees in this Eden that was once not quite so lush before the Kibbutz was founded.

Jay and his wife Tzippi were extremely gracious and hospitable. We ate very well and finally had our hottest showers to date! Noa became friend with their lovely daughter Hila (pronounced Heela). She was darling and it was great to see Noa and her communicating as Hila is studying English and as Noa can only bless things, not speak the language other than basic greeting and counting to 10:-)

Other Kibbutz photos are of bomb shelter turned into a nightclub, famous Israeli Sculptor Ze'ev Karisher, Original Kibbutz building and new, Wild flowers, me with freshly picked maracas. We attempted to see Ashdod on the Mediterranean coast, not an easy thing to do in a sand storm. This morning we drove to the Sorek Cave, the largest and most beautiful in Israel. My tour book said there would be tours every 15 minutes and in English! The drive up to the cave was gorgeous (weather was crystal clear).

As we parked we saw BUSES, argh. We heard SHRIEKING boys, and lots of them. We waited for them to buy junk food, ice cream (yes it was before 10am) as the same lady sold entry tickets. These were Orthodox boys (all male schools), and all boys, completely out of control. I asked about tickets for the English tour, the crabby woman said "NO ENGLISH TOUR", I asked when the next tour was "TWENTY_FIVE MINUTES", I said; tour book says English tours every 15 minutes, She said "ONLY HEBREW, 25 MINUTES and 75 SHEKELS". I asked if we could go on our own (not with the obnoxious boys who looked like 4th or 5th graders). Lady said "YOU GO WITH THEM, NO ENGLISH 25 MINUTES" I told Paul I could not do it. We decided to to walk the lovely path towards the cave (Secretly I knew I was going to see that cave, and not with obnoxious boys). We saw an earlier group who was just about to enter the cave... OK, it was a mixed group of secular 3rd graders, but we did NOT PAY... we snuck in:-). First you have to watch a 15 minute film... all in Hebrew, after three minutes we heard a girl barfing... we were getting what we paid for. These kids were also boisterous, taking photos of the film with cell phones and texting, and shining flashlights at each other. We hung behind (you have to be with a group as the cave is very rare/ delicate, etc). It was amazing and worth every Shekel!

The trip home was almost uneventful... driving in Israel could make you religious. We were on a very busy NARROW road with a lot of car and truck traffic. EVERYONE in Israel is an impatient driver, a man in a small blue car took this to a new level. He would pull out into oncoming traffic and when another vehicle would come almost nose to nose with him, he'd pull over to the LEFT and into a parking space or onto the sidewalk. I do mean that he was on the other side of the street from where he should be driving. When all the opposing traffic subsided, he would jam back into our lane of traffic. He performed this stunt more than a dozen times over the course of a few kilometers. All in all he got TWO cars ahead... OY VEY.

DANGER, THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU EAT TOO MUCH HALVAH!

Ellen's Guest Blog: Two Cities and Four Millennia

2010-01-25T11:25:00.000+02:00

It was a dark and stormy night….but that came later.

This is Paul’s sister, Ellen, honored to be Pam’s first guest blogger. We began the day with a walk to the Old City to visit the Temple Mount. Paul and Noa both have blogged about their first visit to this place, with its four thousand-year history, one of the most contested 35.5 acres on the planet. I had pretty high expectations as I walked by the plastic riot shields strategically placed on the walkway past security. I was struck by the separation feeling of walking by (and above) Jews praying at the Western Wall onto Temple Mount, controlled by an Islamic Waqf. What is holiness? There’s nothing visually remarkable about the Temple Mount. The al-Aqsa Mosque isn’t pretty, it isn’t even majestic. Non-Muslims are barred entry to it and the Dome of the Rock – selective holiness? I listened to a tour guide say the Dome of the Rock is, in fact, in direct contravention of Mohammed’s dictum that money should not be wasted on temples. Apparently the $8.2 million spent by King Hussein in 1998 to purchase the 80 kg of gold for the latest dome refurbishment was critical.

Apparently holiness doesn’t prohibit either trash burning on or general trashing of Temple Mount. Apparently holiness doesn’t extend to taking care of this tree section, which has been carbon dated to the time of the First Temple, built by King Solomon about three thousand years ago. Maybe holiness is what you make of it.

Pam and I walked to the Central Bus Station in spite of the forecast for rain and thunderstorms in Tel Aviv (which did not materialize, rather we enjoyed six sunny, warm hours!). Paul and Noa went home for a productive day of study and work in the warm, sunny Jerusalem apartment. Except for driving past burned out remains of military transport left on the side of a major highway, the east to west bus trip was an uneventful hour.

Tel Aviv shows every bit of the four thousand year difference from where we began the day. As secular as Jerusalem is religious, as modern as Jerusalem is old, as wide open as Jerusalem is narrow. Pam, an ace after living here for five days, took me on a whirlwind tour. With no map, we headed directly from the bus station onto Levinski St. courtesy of Ruth, a lovely young woman who guided us to her favorite spice shop. As we were the only people, we were showered with the proprietor’s enthusiastic pride in his custom-made spice blends and procured a delightful selection. My quinoa will be well-spiced when I return home, and I’ll need to keep yogurt at the ready by any dish in which I include the chili powder – it’s about a 9/10.

Continuing on our mapless way, we roamed through Neveh Tzedek (trendy) and the Carmel Market (Whole Foods just DREAMS about produce this good and fresh) to visit Serge and Michael, the hosts of the bed & breakfast with whom Paul, Pam and Noa stayed last month. How Serge’s face positively lit up when he opened the gate is testament to Pam’s ability to connect with people. In spite of the lovely invitation to stay, we could not tarry and moved on.

Another key difference from Jerusalem is that Tel Aviv is on the ocean. So it has a beach. A beautiful beach. But unlike the beaches of Southern California, even on a winter’s day, there were no crowds. There were hardly any people. True, the wind was blowing above 30 knots, which made walking a bit….refreshing. And, like all winds, it was directly against us. But the windsurfers and kiteboarders were in heaven.

We finally clawed our way into Old Yafo and stopped for a delicious pre-lunch gelato. Life is short, eat dessert first. We asked the store clerk for directions to Puaa, our lunch restaurant destination. “Go down this street past the clock tower, at not the first street but the second, turn left and ask the people there, they’ll direct you.” So we did. At the furniture shop, we then asked a woman how to find Puaa. “Go straight, at not the first street but the second, turn right and ask the people there.” So we did. We went through this same scene two more times and deep in the heart of Old Yaffo we found Puaa! We then enjoyed possibly the best two dishes we’ve had – lentils & rice and pumpkin dumplings in curry sauce.

More wanderings took us through trendier upscale neighborhoods and a West Village-like (NYC) shopping street before succumbing to weariness reflective of the 30,000 steps (~15 miles) we’d trod and taking buses all the way home (intra-Tel Aviv, TA  Jerusalem, and intra-Jerusalem). On the bus back to Jerusalem, a nice 41-year old Israeli named David used the 20-something boy next to him to talk to us and invite me to go with him for a drink tomorrow night. Given that he didn’t particularly speak English, and I certainly don’t speak Hebrew, I had a difficult time imagining even what the cultural benefits could be. Pam, supportive as ever, made sure to get his phone number. Oy.

There are, of course, similarities between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, but Tel Aviv produces extremes - the chazzerei in Old Yaffo is junkier, the produce in Carmel Market is oversize and beautiful (that may be a Tel Aviv thing – even the bagels are huge!), and the rebuilding/renovation appears be conducted at a furious pace. Both cities have intense energy. But Jerusalem looks to the past. Tel Aviv looks to the future. God doesn’t choose. But I think s/he’d prefer to live in Tel Aviv.

And there were all these dead people and religion...

2010-01-22T22:14:00.000+02:00

Finally some adventure again! Poor Paul had to work...again, those Fulbright folks expect so much. Oh yeah, that's why we're here. We were on our way to Tel Aviv for the day when Paul called to let us know it was pouring there, at least Jerusalem had some blue sky poking through the clouds.
We bailed on TA.

Off to the old city yet again, we head back to East Jerusalem (Muslim part of Jerusalem) to see if we could find access to the "GOLDEN GATE" (See photo with me Noa and Ellen)
For those of you who don't know what the Golden Gate is, here's a quick primer: The Golden Gate has long interested many Muslims, most Jews and Christians as the place of the Last Judgment. Historically, judgments were rendered in the gates of the city (Gen. 19:1, 23:10, for instance). Since the Messiah was to come from the East (Matthew 24:27), it was concluded that his judgment would be at the eastern gate. This is one reason for the many Muslim, Christian, and Jewish graves on the Eastern slopes of the Temple Mount, in the Kidron Valley, and on the Western slopes of the Mount of Olives. The Golden Gate was walled up by the Arabs in the year 810. It has remained closed now for nearly 12 centuries. (Photo above is Arab cemetery adjacent to Golden Gate).

Because of the Messianic association with the Golden Gate - which clearly symbolizes both judgment and mercy because of the Arabic names attached to the gate - adherents to all three faiths have wanted to be buried as close as possible to the Golden Gate. The assumption was that the dead in the immediate vicinity would be the first to be raised. In the Middle Ages the Jews were forbidden to bury on Mount Moriah. Instead they buried their dead opposite the gate and to the South on the Mount of Olives. This Jewish cemetery is the oldest in continuous use anywhere in the world. A burial plot, it is said, if it were available there, could cost $50,000 or more. The Christian cemetery lies in the bottom of the Kidron Valley (in sad condition) while the Muslim burial area covers the eastern Temple Mount hillside up to and surrounding the Golden Gate. Thank you to Mr. L. Dolphin who's website I lifted this from:-)

When we were on the Temple Mount a few weeks ago we came close to the Golden Gates from inside the old city we were YELLED at and told to "GET OUT" by the Muslim security person. Getting to the gate was a no brainer from outside the old city. We walked the Kidron Valley (Vale of Jehoshaphat which contained the Tomb of Absalom and the Tomb of Zechariah, which are believed to be part of a 1st Century necropolis that encircled Jerusalem and served wealthy citizens and/or nobles of the Herodian court.

We then crossed the street to the east and were on the mount of Olives the Jewish cemetery side. The gravestones were lined up perfectly and all faced the Golden Gate (waiting for the Messiah). This is a photo of a funeral I was able to shoot with a good zoom (I am using a point and shoot camera).

We walked about 15 miles today as we couldn't stop, each step (all uphill of course) was more and more interesting. On the way down we walked through the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was betrayed; the olive trees (I think 8 of them are said to be over 2000 years old and is said that it was from one of these trees that Judas hung himself). Continuing on we walked into a small church which just happened to hold Mary's tomb. (mother of Jesus). It is so strange to wander into places and History happened there.

My least favorite part of the day was when we were walking up Jericho Road and I spied the photo of the bombed bus carcass:-(

Well it is late here and I need to sleep so I can walk and discover more tomorrow.

Aunt Ellen and a few Favorite Things

2010-01-19T21:50:00.000+02:00

Paul's sister Ellen arrived last weekend, for those of you who don't know the story Ellen and I were pals in Los Angeles long before I met Paul. After every visit with Ellen I always have tighter abs from all the laughing we do... as in non stop. Here we are atop the ramparts in the old city. We have had the best run of weather 60's through 80's since we arrived... until two nights ago when the largest storm in recent years hit, the lightening was so bright and thunder so loud sleep was difficult to come by and we are fortunate to have a skylight above our bed so I was able to watch the production while Paul slept and missed the whole thing.

We walked the usual 15 miles today, Noa and Paul kept up. We toured the usual tourist hot spots with Ellen and saw the following, Kosher McDonald's, interesting people, including sleeping soldiers. lots of religious sorts, the scene above is in the Church of the Holy Seulchre at the place where Jesus was taken down from the cross. People rub everything from their linens, to candles, and water bottles on the stone over this sacred place.... and hope their items are blessed.

This religious man covered his hat (all of this sect appear to) as it was raining outside, you may have noticed each sect has a different type of hat, some wear what look like bathrobes, some wear knickers... all look very religious as they walk down the street praying or talking on cell phones... perhaps to the lord.

I can't tell much about,this man, only that he looked very ...umm different, and was drinking a cappuccino.

My dear friend Marilyn is a bit of a shoe fanatic, this is a piece of art by a famous Israeli artist named David Gerstein. How did they say in "Fiddler on the Roof"... If I were a rich man, I would buy my friend a shoe sculpture for $22,000? It is made of small butterflies and is 3 layers deep:-) And VERY BEAUTIFUL.

Cats

2010-01-16T22:08:00.000+02:00

Ever since we arrived over three weeks ago I have seen hundreds of feral cats. My initial reaction was to complain to the government about starting a campaign to spay and neuter the cats on the street as there are truly dozens on almost every block! Some live near the open markets, some in the old city hiding among ruins, ancient buildings and roads and all look pretty streetwise and thin. Some have missing eyes from fighting, some show the wounds of recent fights. All make me sad. The local people seem indifferent.

At first I thought the Israelis were lazy or didn't care about animals. I talked to many people about the stray cats, and the fact that there aren't many birds for a place in such a Mediterranean and perfect environment. I was told that the cats were initially brought in to "take care of the rodent problem". The rodents disappeared and the cats multiplied. There was an uproar by the citizens about all the cats, so they were... taken care of too, Soon the rodents returned, and cats were brought back in... Can you say vicious cycle?

These cats were in the oldest part of the old city in the Kardo fighting. I broke it up and the aggressor (the black cat that looks like Mr Gryff) became my friend. I have seen him every time I've gone through that area and he purrs and lets me pet him... and Noa says "USE THE PURELL"

The cats congregate near open markets especially around fish and meat sellers Many nice people leave out fresh water, we even saw an old man feeding 30+ cats in a park. You can walk down a major shopping street and see cats in the trash bins or just walking down the street. Some even walk into restaurants, we saw one on a chair in a Tel Aviv restaurant.

I don't know what the answer is, but a country that has loads of smart people can certainly do better than this.

People

2010-01-14T21:37:00.000+02:00

It's been two days without earth shattering things to write about. It's been very calm and sweet spending time with Noa as Paul has been working and traveling. I took Noa back to some of the places I discovered on my own and just did everyday things like laundry and grocery shopping. I always take a camera as I never know what I will stumble upon or what interesting characters I will see. Here are two days worth of people I wouldn't see in Portland.

This is Hussein we met him at the entry to the Damascus Gate. He was very kind and offered to help us with any thing we needed, and didn't try to sell us anything.

This is not a person but I had to include it as it was so beautiful. We walked past a spice shop and saw this pyramid of powdered oregano, chili peppers and sesame seeds. I mindlessly touched it as it was so perfect and I didn't think it was real... there was a very small avalanche and I didn't get yelled at or my hand cut off.

Photo from my patio, old woman putting out her grown sons laundry

Old religious man

Not so religious woman but very spiritual:-)

I saw this Russian woman reading by the entryway to the Temple Mount. Later in the day she was preening and plucking her eyebrows in a luxury mall restroom.

Cutest boy in Israel (per Noa) we call him Potato Boy as he served us cold roasted potatoes

Christian Orthodox man in a hurry with his shopping bags.

I hope to have another adventure tomorrow.

What do Alaska and Jerusalem have in Common?

2010-01-12T18:58:00.000+02:00

They both have a bridge to nowhere, and the Dollar Store... well sort of. We walked to the main bus station with Paul so he could see where to catch his bus to Tel Aviv and Alon Shvuk in the West Bank... OY. Paul tells me the bus to the West Bank bus is bullet proof, Noa and I feel better:-) The security to enter the bus station was tighter than any US airport! Questions, conveyor belts, and a magnetometer. We saw more IDF soldiers in the bus depot than anywhere else in the country. We have seen so many soldiers that we can now tell army, from air-force, and border control. Most are cute and very young carrying huge guns!

We saw the Bridge to Nowhere which we heard about from our taxi driver to Jerusalem. It was beautiful and when we saw it in the distance we had to walk over it... we were 3 of 6 people who used it today. Here are Paul and Noa coming and going:

In the bus station there were many restaurants and shops, bakeries, sporting goods, chazeri, and yes the 5 Shekel Store! Israel also has junk from China. 5 Shekels is about $1.30, and yes it is the same stuff we can get in Portland (and it really is called the 5 Shekel Store!.

We passed through a park with all sorts of gym equipment for the people. Noa and I took full advantage of the sort of... elliptical machine:-)

Last but not least my favorite photo of the day: Religious man with a mission on the Bridge to Nowhere!

Wandering again

2010-01-11T21:36:00.000+02:00

So much to see and so little time. After spraining my ankle yesterday and being stuck in bed with my leg on ice I needed to make up for lost time. I was on my own and needed to see something new. I was walking down the main street in our neighborhood and found the wine store, I then bumped into Avital, my dear friends Rabbis Laurie and Gary's daughter from Portland. I backtracked with her (schlepping 3 bottle of red wine) and then went back to our apartment to unload (only 3000 steps). Now I was really off to adventure!

For me all roads lead back to the old city... but I was determined to find a new way in... I was going to find the Zion Gate and without a map. Where as Paul will use a map... I point and shoot. I get a direction and aim and will crawl over, under or through private property to get where I want to go. After moseying through the "Tombs of Herods Family" I saw the road I need to cross to get onto the hill I needed to climb... aren't I fun? The 1st photo is a house (sort of) that I passed climbing up towards my goal. Past mountains of garbage... this place really needs to learn to take better care of the sacred land they all want.

I saw the back of a church and had to hop a rock fence but a pathway was in view. Through an open rock wall I walked and I thought I had found a new gate to the old city... I felt like a true explorer! Not quite, this old building and other structures were special... OK; King David's Tomb, but I was not inside the old city yet... They couldn't put his Tomb inside? I wandered through and avoided the few people I saw or who offered me a cheap tour...

Next I saw a rather lovely church and just looked a round a bit and asked someone what it was...remember, no map. That would be the Dormition Abbey Where The Last Supper too place (Coenaclum). Where can you wander in Portland like this? Finally I found the Zion Gate, anticlimactic at this point.

I walked through portions of the Jewish Quarter I hadn't seen before, the remaining photos were taken there. I love seeing the way trees can survive in just about any condition... the oranges were amazing. The Jewish man was collecting money for the poor, and the old Arab man was such an interesting character.

If a Place Can Make you Cry...

2010-01-08T21:39:00.000+02:00

I'm reading this book called "If a Place Can Make you Cry" written by Daniel Gordis, a well know writer for the NYT's and other news services. This book was written nearly 10 years ago when he and his young family decided to move to Jerusalem. He tells stories of the sadness and disillusionment with both side of the conflict here. Like Daniel, I am trying not to take sides... .but today made it a bit more difficult for me.

Paul and I took a walk to the Peace Forest (The Jerusalem municipality plants a tree in this forest for every child born in Jerusalem, representing the eternal hope of peace bridging the Arab and Jewish populations). We walked past some of the most gorgeous contemporary homes I've ever seen. We turned a corner an beheld the most beautiful panorama imaginable (photo above), the old city off to the left, Mount of Olives and Mount Scopus, and the Valley of Hinnom laid before us, all places I'd read about but never really seen, at least not this closely. This was an amazingly lovey park with walking paths, play equipment and all sorts of birds and trees. Almost like heaven... but this turned into a bad dream. One of the homes overlooking the promenade appeared to have its front garden burned, many trees were burned or down and the landscape was bare, (Molotov cocktail).

In the distance to East Jerusalem we saw black smoke in the clear blue sky something was burning... reminding me of the fires and rioting in Nairobi when we had to cut our trip to Kenya short.. As we got deeper into the forest away from the lovely Haas Promenade we saw the garbage we've seen so much of. The photo shows acres of plastic bottles, bags and and broken glass from hard liquor bottles... heaven was appearing to become a garbage dump. We kept seeing signs reminding people to take care of the park as it belongs to the people.

We saw these amazing looking structures (5 or 6) that looked like they were from the game "Myst", they were all newish and very contemporary, but had "moats", several levels and popped in and out of view through the trees. As we climbed up to them we saw they had plaques mentioning who donated them (in the late 1990's). Each was viewing center with several levels.

As we went from one site to the next we were greeted with Arabic graffiti, human feces, broken booze bottles, and intentional destruction of these generous gifts to the people.The photo below is of a large Menorah that was part of the viewing site grouping that was destroyed by vandals.

We talked with a few people and I later read of the abuse of this wonderful idea gone terribly wrong. I don't even want to repeat what I read and heard:-( If there can't be peace in a forest, I fear for this city and country.

Other photos are of the graffiti in one of the view sites, Arab children playing soccer amid garbage, Paul and I at the top of the park... It took at least a dozen attempts to get me to smile... I didn't feel happy.

East Jerusalem... A Walk on the Not so Wild Side

2010-01-07T19:03:00.000+02:00

Paul and I were on our own today as Noa wanted to stay home and do three months worth of science homework… I don’t know if we were great parents or she just didn’t want to walk another 12 miles today. I always want to head off in a new direction. We heard the American Colony Hotel was an amazing place so off we went. It is located in East Jerusalem (the Palestinian side). As in the olden days all roads pass through Jerusalem (ok, so I think I made that up).
We needed to go through the old city again, this time we finally made it to Via Dolorosa, one of the most important places (streets) in Christianity. Several Stations of the Cross are on the Via Doloroso. The picture above shows the 5^th Station.

We needed to get to the Damascus Gate to find Nablus Road. The scene was active, chaotic, colorful and noisy. We were outside the old city and in East Jerusalem. One of the first signs I saw was for Che Guevara Rich Life Market and Souvenirs. Other than the dozens of young male Israeli soldiers (didn’t see any young female soldiers in East Jerusalem) , all walking with their uzis for effect, Paul and I were a rare commodity, dressed head to toe in Nike…perhaps I should have thought twice about wearing the yoga pants:-) Less than 3 blocks from the chaos of activity at the Damascus Gate, we were in a ring of large hotels with Western guests and American flags flying.

Paul and I looked at each other and realized it was QUIET! Nobody was on the street. Other than the security personnel at the front of each hotel we saw nobody. One thing Jerusalem has too little of is quiet, and we found it. We walked another few blocks to the American Colony Hotel and it was like an oasis. Even with backpacks on, the security just waved us by… do we really look that American? We walked through the gardens and fountains and I helped myself to handfuls of kumquats, there were also oranges and lemons, I couldn’t get Paul to let me stand on his shoulders to help myself (food is VERY expensive here)!

We sat in the lobby regrouping with our map, and decided we were hungry. I went up to the front desk and asked for an authentic local restaurant. He gave me the name Abu Ali (yes we thought of Aladdin too). In one block were back into the chaos of life. A few hundred meters and a left turn put us in front of Abu Ali (look down the stairs in the photo above). It was like going into a basement. The restaurant was almost full and I was the only female. In a matter of minutes there were 4 patrons left. I did keep my flowered sunhat on the entire time. The food was awesome and was way too much to eat. We figured it would cost 30 to 40 NIS ($9-11) for both for one falafel plate, one lamb plate and two cokes. No receipt, the guy said 50 NIS. $13 and knew we were getting ripped off, it was still the cheapest meal we had, and probably the best.

We walked back to the Damascus Gate in a new direction and saw more of life in East Jerusalem. My favorite photo of the day is the woman selling vegetables while blowing her nose…

The Old City, Round 2

2010-01-05T17:58:00.000+02:00

We ventured off early this morning as we wanted to go to the Temple Mount. Please read Paul's and Noa's blogs for the details of this fascinating place and our experience there.
http://fulbrightisrael.blogspot.com/
http://catlinnoaisrael.blogspot.com/

I'm writing about my experience after they went back to our apartment. I walked on the ramparts of the old city. Please click the link if you want to see a map of the Old City http://www.itsgila.com/images/tipsgatesmap.gif

It is a bizarre arrangement as you go up at the Jaffa Gate, and can go to the right and follow along to see the inside and outside of the Zion Gate and the Dung Gate, then you have to turn around and either retrace your steps, and there are a LOT of steps as it is up 10 steps (think 12-15 inches per each step), then down 20, etc. I opted to walk through the old market again, and then you have to go back to the start and go the opposite direction. This time past the New Gate, Damascus Gate and Herods Gate. The scenery was so different than seeing the old city from street level, now I saw the back of the buildings, markets, the basketball courts towards the inside of the ramparts.

And then to the outside I could see the commercial areas, the Mount of Olives, and the valleys in the distance. It was strange to see what looked like millions of grave sites, the wall separating west and east Jerusalem (the security wall). And lots of poverty. Sometime just before I reached Herods Gate I saw men who looked like locals, and not those who paid the $5 to walk the ramparts. All the guidebooks say "Do not go alone in the Arab part of the rampart". The hackles on the back of my neck were up and I was gone. I walked for over two hours and saw only 8 other tourists (mostly Germans).

My photos show fun parts of the day, and an interesting mix of the old city when it wasn't crowded like last Saturday.

This is for some bathing ritual outside the Al Aqsa Mosque
Hula skirts in the Moslem Quarter?

Noa's new Dentist?

Paul and Noa buying Crocs? She said she hated them...

Mount of Olives

Wandering Jeruslaem on Foot

2010-01-04T17:17:00.000+02:00

You didn't' expect I'd take a taxi or bus did you? For the last few days, Paul and Noa have been working (I just had to go explore by myself). Photo to the left is our home for now. Yesterday I walked in search of a grocery store to buy food that didn't come out the 24 hour local place that sells milk for $6 a 1/2 gallon. I found one a few miles away. It was located in a shopping malls lower level. I thought the hardest part would be finding the entry... it was where the security guard with the uzi was standing... open the backpack, empty electronics from pockets. I go wild finding Nutella in a dozen sizes and varieties, an organic department where you could buy granola for $28 a kilo, cheap after my cheddar escapade of last Friday. I load up with the double bags of food and realize I have to carry all this home, not to worry, it's down hill. I was exhausted by the time I had to reenter the mall to exit as security doesn't allow you to exit the same way cars do... OY. Paul and Noa came to help with 1/2 mile to go:-)

I walked our neighborhood of Emek Rafaim, and the homes (apartments) are quite lovely. I decided to wander my way up to the Knesset and Supreme Court. In the parks here they have mini gym equipment that works with your own body weight (same as I saw in Beijing... you'd think the US could provide these for us too).
My photos of the Knesset didn't come out as well as the signs leading up to it, You see the sign warning of death everywhere, I love the way it is combines with the pedestrian zone.

Saved

A quick walk through the old city and three major religious visits...

2010-01-02T20:27:00.000+02:00

We walked to the old city and saw many highly religious sites... all very close together, think "Why Can't We Be Friends" by War. First we walked through a maze of tourist shops and wondered does anybody buy this stuff?

We saw the turnoff for the Western Wall (right next to the Muslim Quarter) and were right there at the holiest of all places to Jews.

You can see how close the Western Wall is to the Dome of the Rock.

I wanted to walk through the Muslim Quarter, and what a shock it was when we came to a security check point at an opening in a very rough looking area... I asked the police what was behind... the Dome of the Rock! We got to peek in thanks to the police officer in the photo with Noa. There are tourist hours where all can visit.

Continuing on in the Arab Quarter a shop keeper took a photo of me and Noa.

The colorful doorway is typical in the area.

Lastly we saw the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, it was full with religious pilgrims.The photos show the Stone of Unction where Jesus was laid after he was taken down from the cross and my favorite tourist of the day.

Next Year in Jerusalem... Here!

2010-01-02T07:28:00.000+02:00

It's 6am and I am sitting in our Jerusalem apartment drinking coffee, looking out our patio window (looking up slightly over our drying rack filled with clothes and towels...it was quite warm yesterday) with a view of the golden Jerusalem stone is all around us. Birds flying by are the only activity as most of the city shuts down for the sabbath. Jerusalem is huge, at least compared to TA, and there are hills...everywhere, so when I get my ten miles of walking in it is a bit of a schlep:-)

Yesterday, our 1st day here began rather strangely. We entered a lovely courtyard to gorgeous building with a very tiny elevator (at least our luggage took the lift) and opened the door to see all furniture up off the floor and dust bunnies and messy floors, wet laundry in a basket in the hall etc. The cleaning person was obviously not quite done. We made do and figured the cleaning would be finished the next morning... wrong, Turns out we arrived a day earlier than expected and the cleaning person arrived back at midnight to find the door bolted from the inside leaving no note. We went about our day figuring the place would be cleaned by the time we got home... not. Will be finished on Sunday... OY

We walked to the best known market in Israel, Mahane Yehuda, 2.6 km away and all up hill. Paul with map in hand guided us street by street so as to not make any wrong turns. We arrived with empty backpacks as the thought of being without any particular food for the sabbath was horrifying. We bought fruits and vegetables, hummous, two kinds of cream cheese (forgot the bagels), challah, French baguette, feta, and then I spotted it THE CHEESE MAN. We needed cheddar for our baked potatoes. I asked if he had any, he said six types. He cut me a taste and i said great, I'll take a 1/2 kilo. With 30 NIS in hand he said 120... without thinking Paul ran back to Paul and asked for 100 NIS ($37). so goes my lesson in asking how much... I WAS NOT aggressive, and I am ( if Walden K should find out.. i'm ruined). We had the potatoes of a life time for dinner. We walked 6 miles for this errand.

Needing a little more mileage, and really wanted to get a glimpse of the old city, I told Paul and Noa I'd be back in 90 minutes as I just wanted to see the walls. They laughed, and said sure... they knew I couldn't stop myself. I did make it back, 5 minutes early, but I went inside. It is as if something was calling me, my heart was pounding like I was having a spiritual calling... it was just the hills. I was in Jerusalem only once and for one day 29 years ago, and my memories had faded except for walking through the Arab quarter thinking I wasn't in Chicago anymore. It was an amazing sight... I'll give more details in next posting.

Tel Aviv Reflections

2009-12-31T20:57:00.000+02:00

Tel Aviv has been an eye opener. Most of the preconceived notions I had were incorrect. The people we kind warm, opinionated and HELPFUL. From our hosts Serge and Michael to the folks we met in cafes, shops or on the street all made me want to stay around as these are my kind of people.

We have eaten very well from local cuisine to Iraqi food, and daily visits to the Carmel Market for a few home made meals.

The thing the made the biggest impression was that Tel Aviv is not a world class city as I had expected, it is run down and being built up at the same time. There is debris everywhere, yet there is daily garbage pick-up. It has a small town feel from neighborhood to neighborhood. and people get along with much less than most Americans would consider acceptable... and they seem to love their lives here (all 12 people I have talked to) :-)

Paul and I took a walk to a "nice area", this two block long street Nachmani, was between Rothchild and Menachem Begin. As the typical style there were half demolished homes/apartments and half completed newer construction. Trees are so hardy, they grow out of cement, with crooks and bends that seem impossible, yet they bear fruit and flowers, in a way they are survivalists like the people.

It was quite a surprise to see a street named Oliphant for our friends Patricia and Richard:-)

Cats and Candy

2009-12-29T20:30:00.000+02:00

Today was a slower day, Paul had his first day of work and Noa and I just wandered around a few neighborhoods. The photo above is halvah, a sweet made from sesame and in this case chocolate... Marilyn, please expect a few pounds:-).

Two things they have here are there are plenty of are Cats and Candy. There are cats everywhere. They don't bother to spay them, and all the open air markets with fish and meat keep them here. All day long you hear them meowing, and fighting. I love cats and it breaks my heart to see hundreds of cats roaming the streets, parks, even in restaurants! Thankfully they are feral and know how to cross streets and take care of themselves except for the unprotected sex. The photo above where stripey looks like he is in jail... he is actually in a shop hiding in the mop display.. brazen. I wish I didn't promise Paul I would remain quiet about my views as I would be bothering the government about spaying all pets and those on the street. While I was at city hall... I would also be SCREAMING about their littering and plasctic bag problems. There are plastic bags everywhere including the beach... by the thousands, and those are the ones I've seen. The garbage is extreme, which seems like an oxymoron as this is an evolved thoughtful place.... MEOW.

As for candy, they do a fine of of having every type of sweet on every corner. Noa says everytime we pass a display, so and so would go nuts for this, and that one would love all of those etc.

Old and New .. a day of contrasts

2009-12-28T21:45:00.000+02:00

I awoke at 4, OK nothing new for me, I killed time until sunrise and went for an early morning walk to see Tel Aviv awaken. I wanted to see an area called Neve Tzedek, adjacent to our home base and then on to Jaffa also known as Old Yafo (please refer to Paul and Noa's blogs for more on that). As I walked purposely leaving my ipod home so I'd pay attention to everything going on around me. It struck me that a place that just celebtated its 100th birthday (Tel Aviv) and to biblical times (Old Yafo) that nothing is complete. Everything is under construction or in need of reconstruction. There is garbage or debris everywhere... like a war zone.

I stopped in old Yafo and saw a Napoleonic sign telling me which way to go... was he here too?

Next I walked through the Carmel Market where the fishmongers, olive sellers, bakery, dairy men, produce folks and seller of all kinds of garbage. It was fresh, clean and ready for business.. At the end of the day I went back to pick up a few things for dinner and it looked like a disaster zone. Entrails in the street, lone chicken feet, plastic bags from the made in China junk and rotting produce. Then came the garbage truck, think "snow plow" pushing it all together and putting it all where I hope to never visit. All this will begin anew tomorrow.I wish there was more recycling going on.

First 24 hours In Tel Aviv

2009-12-27T18:42:00.000+02:00

What started out as an iffy scenario, quickly became a very positive situation. When we arrived at Eden House at around 7pm nothing looked good:-( We were all exhausted and our taxi driver with GPS had a rough go of it. We are residing on a VERY TINY street... more about that later. Noa's face was so long when she saw our quarters I thought she would just about burst into tears. Thanks to Paul's work with the American Academy of achievement, (Noa and I always tagged along) thus her idea of hotels were The Four Seasons, Claridge's, Kempinski etc. Not to mention grandma trips Noa only had experiences in the world of 5*. Paul and I had discussed what a mixed blessing it was for her and that we both preferred to travel more in the "local spirit" with trips to foreign countries with backpacks and on bicycle etc. We both wanted her to learn to love to travel in a more modest style. Well Noa has now seen the world of the 2*. I found this place on Trip Advisor as a B & B and it had/has on the top review from ALL that have stayed here. We have a kitchen, bedroom, sitting area and bath. Two blocks to the beach. Think $96 USD/day vs. $300 or more. It is rustic, complete with dry rot in the bath, 4 types of flooring in less than 400 sq.ft,with humble furnishings. To make Noa feel better, we took a walk down the waterfront promenade and found a gelato shop. The flavors were excellent and for the first time in my life I could not finish. We next walked in to the Sheraton so she could see the nice sterile environment with everyone dressed up and playing nice. We decided we would wait until the morning to see if we should consider other digs. The walk home was fine until we got lost and were getting very frustrated to know how close we were. Noa grabbed the map from Paul and found our way home.

In the morning we all gathered around our technology table, the sun was shining and we discussed how well we all slept, so the ugly beds were comfortable after all, and it was so nice for mom to be able to make coffee in the room and we had enough space for a bit of privacy. The kicker was our hosts Serge and Michael sent us to an AWESOME cafe for breakfast a few blocks away. We met a very cool Sabra, a native born Israeli (very liberal, intelligent etc. As in she could be a best friend). We learned that our neighborhood is adjacent to Neve Tsedek the most expensive area to live in In all of Israel. What more could we want, the beach, quiet neighborhood and room to not be in each others way. WE all were sold, it didn't even have to be discussed.

In the late afternoon we walked Rothschild Blvd toured the Bauhaus architecture, and found the funky shopping area of Shenkin Street. Over the course of 6 miles of walking Tel Aviv streets and shopping centers, it would figure that Noa and I would find the only French store in Tel Aviv having a moving sale and buy a few things all more than 70% off! We will be styling now!

To Booboo: yes I miss you, you appear to be everywhere.

Is it time to pack yet?

2009-12-20T08:39:00.000+02:00

As if getting ready to move 8000 miles away wasn’t difficult enough, my mom passed away on Tuesday, I flew to Chicago on Thursday, her funeral was on Friday and I’m on a flight back to Portland today Saturday. I had so many emotions, feelings I was about to crawl out of my skin. I’ve never been to a funeral in several inches of snow, followed by a luxurious luncheon at Arlington Park Race Track, courtesy of my darling sister Sherrie’s in laws who own the race track. It was a repeat of her wedding held there with entirely diffent emotional feel. It was also a blessing as I was able to visit with many relatives and old friends. I also got to spend several quality hours afterward with my dad. There was serendipity everywhere. One of my brother Fred’s good friends knows Rosy the owner of the amazing apartment we are renting in Jerusalem. I went with my dad to Friday night services at a synagogue in Northbrook. The Rabbi also knows of Rosy and knows his dad, if that’s not enough my dear Portland friend Sheryl’s family is buried at the same cemetery as my mom and all the rest of my family. Well we are about to land and I get to see Noa and Paul.

I guess I will finally start packing.

December 25th the adventure begins...

2009-09-26T02:31:00.000+03:00

But till then the planning goes on. As of several weeks ago we have found a fabulous place to live in Jerusalem which proves, that serendipity does exist. We received the names of a Portland couple from more than a dozen friends and acquaintances. Paul met the husband and told him "We want to live in Tel Aviv", but thanks for the offer. When I finally started researching where we should live, taking into consideration safety, ability to walk everywhere for anything at any time, natural beauty and somewhere just plain interesting, it hit me, (the agnostic of the family): JERUSALEM! Why go to Israel and not be in the center of the universe for the 3 key monotheistic religions of the world, and history, all that history! I looked at Paul like he had lost it... why wouldn't the king of history teachers want to live in the most historic of all cities? "Tel Aviv is like NYC without theater" I ranted. As usual he smiled...ok, he smirked in that always knowing way that he was getting what he wanted and it took me a bit longer to get there:-) Our new home is spectacular! Filled with Israeli contemporary art, skylights and balconies, and a guest room.

As to packing I am using the air sucking kitchen device to hermetically seal Tom's toothpaste, shampoo, toiletries etc. My friend Priscilla told me those items cost 10 times more in Israel. More money for daily falafel! Paul keeps telling me not to pack to much... I think he forgot I live in yoga pants and are already hermetically sealed.

Noa is becoming more comfortable with the idea. She no longer growls at us and threaten to move to Gabby's house. Little does she know that the girl who hurts for nothing and can not think of anything for us to buy her for Hanukkah, will get to see Beyonce in Tel Aviv in January.