Crying...straight into Happiness

So I've pretty much determined that there is no place on the face of the earth (that I've been to, anyways) that is more emotionally available than Israeli society. It's astonishingly beautiful to be part of a culture that has so much self-esteem that it doesn't care if you see it succeed, mess up, laugh, or cry. And last week, on Yom Ha'Zikaron (Israeli Memorial Day to her fallen soldiers and victims of terror), we saw the country cry.

For a day starting last Sunday night, the country basically stopped and remembered those who fought and died for Israel. Twice during Yom Ha'Zikaron, a siren sounded all over the country (the same bone-chilling siren that went off during Yom Ha'Shoah) and people stopped whatever they were doing for a minute of silence. Unless you're an ultra-religious Jew (who doesn't believe that Israel should exist), a member of some Israeli Arab neighborhoods (who doesn't believe that Israel should exist), or a complete a$$hole, you probably stopped whatever you were doing for this. In a country as small as this one, chances are pretty good you know someone who's been affected.

I was at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem for the "tekes" (ceremony), which was a very moving tribute and especially poignant when you consider that the Wall is the holiest site to Jews.

Israelis here talk a lot about how the country is becoming less and less patriotic. But when you come from the States or France, and you witness first-hand the public displays of weeping, and you listen to the sad songs on the radio, and you stand with Israelis for tributes, it's enough to make you wonder if the country you come from recognizes its fallen soldiers the same way...



The Kotel, or Western Wall, during Yom Ha'Zikaron ceremonies.


Soldiers "protecting" the flag and, what I
think, is some kind of eternal flame.


Moving experience to be a part of...

As moving as Yom Ha'Zikaron was, the most amazing part of the day is what it leads into...Yom Ha'Atzmaut: Israel Independence Day. The logic is genius in its simplicity. Celebrate Independence Day the day after Memorial Day to remind everyone what the sacrifice was for. In the States, we have over a month in between Memorial Day and July 4. Hard to make an obvious connection between the two holidays with 6 weeks in between them. That's not a knock on how we do things in the States...it's just an observation.

Anyways, the way Yom Ha'Zikaron blends right into Yom Ha'Atzmaut is interesting. On Monday night, people started mulling around in the streets and slowly the mood changed from sadness to celebration. By midnight, the streets in downtown Jerusalem had all been closed off and people were singing and dancing...sheer happiness. I, of course, had no idea how to move along to any of these dances. But, relying on my experiences as unofficial bar/bat mitzvah dance contest king from 15 years ago, I managed to fit in perfectly.

Here are some pictures of Israel's 59th birthday party:



Kikar Safra blowin' up.


Random people doing what appears to be dancing. No one really knows
and no one really cared...


Kikar Zion, the main city square in Jerusalem, packed.


Happy 59th birthday, Israel. A long way to go until
"forever" years old...


Little girl preparing to beat her father with a hammer...


Me and the roommates: Ilan and Naty


Me and my friend Dikla. I don't care what anyone thinks...glowstick necklaces ARE cool.


Naty and Miriam. Naty almost looks normal in this picture for a change...


We don't drink alcohol...and especially never on Independence Day.


Me and my buddy Josh. He's borrowing my beard for a while...


Jason, Ilan, me, Arye, and Naty. I am eating an Israeli flag...
I'm not sure why, it didn't taste particularly good.

The parties raged on all night, which allowed me to be good and exhausted for the next day's trip to Tel Aviv for another Israeli Yom Ha'Atzmaut tradition: bbq on the beach. Kudos to my friend Jacob for supplying a feast...

So there you have it...another few slices of Israel life. By the way for those who have inquired...yes I still do go to school and I am still an M.A. student in between all this "fun."

-E

Mark it down...

I have no shame for this kind of promotion...

Get a clue, then get a drink. Or several.

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT??!!

I didn't want to post this until the day after Yom Ha'Shoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) out of respect for 6 million murdered Jews. But now see for yourself what's going down in England...


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/6517359.stm



Schools 'avoid Holocaust lessons'
Some schools avoid teaching the Holocaust and other controversial history subjects as they do not want to cause offence, research has claimed.

Teachers fear meeting anti-Semitic sentiment, particularly from Muslim pupils, the government-funded study by the Historical Association said...

The report gave the example of a history department in a northern city which decided not to teach the Holocaust as a topic for GCSE coursework.

It cited another school which taught the Holocaust, but then avoided teaching the Crusades because "balanced treatment" of the topic would have challenged what some local mosques were teaching.

Is everyone in the GOD DAMN world surrendering to fear of Muslim "anger?" This is clearly the most disgusting thing I have come across in a long long time. Clearly the Brits have already decided to pack it in and surrender to the racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, you-name-it-they-hate-'em Islamists. And if you think they don't have their sights set on America, you're living in a dream world.

The question, as it always is, is whether or not anyone has the balls to do anything about this...

Have a wonderful day!
-E

Yom Ha'Shoah

Today is Yom Ha'Shoah in Israel...Holocaust Remembrance Day.

At 10 a.m. this morning, a siren went off throughout the whole country. Everything and everyone stopped for one minute.

People stopped walking and stood still in the street.

Cars and buses came to a halt in the middle of the highway.

Jerusalem's busy and bustling Machane Yehuda market fell silent.

Life stopped for one minute as we all listened to that siren. I have to say...it was chilling. And I'm glad I was here for it.

Never again. Think about it...

Welcome to the Twilight Zone

Maybe you can help me over here cause I've scratched a 6-inch hole into my head trying to figure this one out...

Here's the lead from a story you may have missed over the weekend, courtesy of the Jerusalem Post:
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1176152792457&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull



Britain's National Union of Journalists denounced Israel on Friday for its "military adventures" in Gaza and Lebanon, called on the government to impose sanctions and urged a boycott of Israeli goods.


Why is this completely ludicrous and backwards? BECAUSE THEY'RE JOURNALISTS! Hello? Supposed to be unbiased? Not take sides? As someone who used to work in the news business, this is a very sad day. Then again...maybe the NUJ is just making official what has already been unofficial for a long time. Think about it for a second...These are the people bringing you your news!

The irony is that, while those brain morons want to boycott Israel, some Palestinian terrorists have kidnapped and, it appears, killed Alan Johnston, one of their colleagues at the BBC.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6559619.stm



Where is the f'n LOGIC? Do these people at NUJ hate Israel so much, they're willing to turn a blind eye to actual terrorism hitting their own people? Those idiots really bought into the Palestinian BS propaganda hook, line, and sinker, didn't they? It's a sick, deranged world. I hate to admit it, but some days it feels like the bad guys are winning...

Passover Exile

In the spirit of the Jewish holiday of Passover, where we celebrate our freedom from the ancient Egyptians as well as the acting skills of Charlton Heston, I embarked on a 10-day adventure that was one the most incredible mini-vacations I have ever been on.

In the interest of time and my sleep-deprived body, I'll sum this up as quickly and tightly as humanly possible. Good 'ol Hebrew University gave us two weeks off for Passover so me and most of my friends decided to emulate the ancient Hebrews by wandering around as much of Israel as we could.

3/29/07 'till 4/1/07: Yam l'Yam

A yearly rite of passage for many Israelis is the gorgeous springtime hike in northern Israel called Yam l'Yam, or Sea to Sea, because it starts on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and ends in Tiberias on the Kinneret (or Sea of Galilee...where the New Testament says Jesus walked on water). We did the 55 km-hike, which was a combination of difficult and stunningly beautiful, in about three days. Not bad. My legs, of course, were a mess by the end. But camping out, sleeping in tents, playing guitar by the fire, and eating canned tuna was well worth it.


6 a.m. wake up call for the first day of the hike


The necessary equipment


First stop: the shores of the Mediterranean in northern Israel


Me and Naty


The Yam l'Yam Gang


Mapping out the 4-day hike


...and we're off. Jason being a tourist.


Ancient Crusader castle in the background


Same castle...closer view


Jessica, Naty, and me


This is most beautiful time of year in Israel


Rest stop...this water was NOT warm


Naty flexing on Zack...who happens to be in the U.S. Army.
Those steroids are clearly really helping Naty.


Naty (btw, how French does he look in that buttoned shirt???),
Adam, me, Jason, Dan.


Sunset over Galilee


Sharing a tent with Naty. I won't tell you how I woke
up the next morning to find Naty snuggling in my armpit. Weird kid.


Nice view on Day 2 of the hike. Mt. Hermon is in the distance


Naty being "rugged"


Scenic stuff


The Francophiles: Swiss Gabriel, French Naty, Franco-American Erik


The Jordan River


Jordan River Valley


Fields of gold


I love this picture...even though that tree looked so lonely.


Finally...after three days of hiking...the shores of the Kinneret!



4/4/07 'till 4/8/07 - Eilat and Petra, Jordan

After being virtually as far north in Israel as possible, Naty and I decided that it only made sense to go as far south as possible. So after a brief two-day pit stop in Bersheva to visit my family for the Passover "seder" (or festive meal...more on that in a coming post), we decided to head to Israel's version of Las Vegas...Eilat.

Now I've been to Eilat a few times already, so there wasn't much to surprise me there. It's basically a resort town on the Red Sea where all the Israeli THs come to get hit on by "arsim" (Israel's version of the "guido"). The cool thing about Eilat, though, is that you can see Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia from the same beach. I went to Eilat back in the fall in order to go to Egypt on my scuba diving safari. This time we decided to cross the border to Jordan and go on a day trip through the desert to Petra. Very wise decision.

Petra is a 2,200 year old city which really should be one of the seven wonders of the world. The Nabataeans who built the joint chose not to build free-standing buildings. Instead, they built their fortresses INTO the sandstone mountains. Amazing. Seriously, it's one of the most unreal things I've ever seen. This is where they shot Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Next time you're in Jordan, you MUST check it out.

What? You weren't planning on making any trips to Jordan in the near future? Fine...here are some pictures to tide you over.




At the Aqaba border crossing


King Abdullah and his old man King Hussein were ALL over the place


Picture time in the Jordanian desert


Jordanian schoolchildren walking into Petra


The entrance to the series of canyons that lead into Petra


You can either walk through the canyon or hitch a ride...


The end of the main canyon eventually leads to...


Al-Khazneh (the Treasury)...simply stunning



That's a biiiiig door


The funny thing about this Jordanian royal guard is that
he has a ton of bullets...but no gun.


Camels are just funny-looking aren't they?


Bedouin man smokin' a heat stick


Me on the Street of Facades


Me and Naty. He wants everyone to know that he really
IS this tall in real life


Solitary tree from high above a valley


Stunning shot of the Petra valley


Another ancient palace dug into the mountain


Bedouin children who live in Petra


Yes, it's gum. No, I don't want your's


Doesn't it look like this donkey should be riding ME?


Ancient Roman-style amphitheatre...I'm in between the two pillars


Later, Jordan


God welcoming us back? Happy to be back home...



Some highlights from the last week:

-Wine Time: Walking into bars all over Israel and seeing almost the entire clientel drinking wine. Why wine? Cause beer, like bread, is not kosher for passover. I can't tell you all how cool that is to see. In the last few weeks, I went to a bunch of bars and clubs, and a lot of them weren't even serving beer. And people didn't mind. No apologizing or explanations needed. That's standard operating procedure in Israel. May we all be so proud when going out in NYC or LA or wherever.

-Israel Is Still Israel: Of course, this is far from the most kosher country in the world. I was watching the news on TV and this woman was being interviewed while she was eating shrimp (clearly not kosher) in a restaurant in Tel Aviv. The reporter asked her why she wasn't eating bread with her shrimp. Her answer: "cause it's Passover." Amazing.

-Hi Egypt, Have a Nice F'n Day: One of the shorter yet most powerful moments while I was in Eilat: Going to the Egyptian border and giving the country the "finger." No pictures to document this - don't wanna disturb the fragile peace - but as we celebrated our emancipation from Egyptian slavery, I couldn't help but think: the Pharaohs tried to keep us as slaves and now they're extinct. And we Jews now have our own country right where they used to whip us and keep us in chains. To be in Israel, looking into Egypt, on Passover...pretty deep stuff for me.

Anyways, that's been the last week or so. Pretty average I guess.

-E