The Red Carpet

People who live in LA, NY or DC are used to seeing celebrities and power brokers. People who live in Chicago, not so much.

Israel too sees lots of the internationally known and recognizable. Ringo Starr was here this week (finally, for the first time). He performed two shows in Tel Aviv (to mixed reviews, I might add).

But we've never had a member of the British Royal Family here on an official visit. This wrong, in a very long line of wrongs committed by the Brits against Israel and the Jews, was righted this week. Or maybe not.

Prince William's visit stirred controversy the moment his 4-day itinerary was published. What ruffled feathers here was the wording that identified the Old City as being located in the "Occupied Palestinian Territories". The announcement came from Kensington Palace, but was likely formulated by the Foreign Office, which has a deep and abiding hostility to Israel, not unlike our State Department.

I don't have a lot of respect for the Royal Family. I think they are a dysfunctional tribe of inbreds, who have been programmed to walk, talk, ride horses and dress well, but they're not known for their brains. This might not be a bad thing. It would be unthinkable if they were allowed to say whatever is on their minds, as proved by an unscripted comment the Prince made during his visit with Mahmoud Abbas. He used the phrase "our two countries", which could have caused a big diplomatic dust-up had Israel decided to pursue it. Someone obviously forgot to tell William that "Palestine" is not a country. Or maybe that's exactly what they wanted him to say.

The fact that a member of the Royal Family was here on an official visit is a big deal. Commentators have weighed in on what the visit means and what it's supposed to accomplish. Some think it's a counterweight to all the love Israel is getting from the Trump administration. Others think it might reflect a small change in the Foreign Office's attitude. The visit was a departure from 70 years of tradition, an acknowledgement that in spite of its best efforts the Brits weren't able to derail Israel. And if he has eyes to see for himself, the future king of England would have to note two realities. One, Israel is a dynamic, successful country. Two, BDS, which is actively promoted in the British media, not to mention the Labour Party, is a complete lie. There is no apartheid, there are no massacres.

The Prince stayed at the King David, which was British Military Headquarters when they were the occupying power in this region under the Mandate. The hotel pulled out all the stops to make William feel at home, including importing his favorite tea from England. Our friend Jeremy is the assistant manager for guest relations, and he told us a little back story, known only to a select few. Jeremy's mom personally went to Fortnum & Mason to buy the tea, and hand delivered it to the hotel last Sunday. I'm sure no one mentioned this to the Prince, but now she wants to get a royal appointment as a buyer of deliverer of tea.

We had another royal event this week, in the sense that on their wedding day brides and grooms are compared to a king and queen. Our friends Evelyne and Jacques' son Yaniv got married to the lovely and charming Natalie. The wedding was held in Caesarea and it was beautiful. Weddings here are not like they are at home. They are not staged, there is no bridal party, procession or recession. There is a reception before the ceremony, with plenty of food and drink. You need the sustenance because you can count on at least 3 hours from the start time on the invitation until dinner is served. Traditionally the bride and her mother and mother-in-law are seated and female guests tell them how beautiful they look and give them their best wishes. The groom and male guests are in a separate area where they sign the ketuba, learn some Torah, and knock back a few shots. Two things you can count on when you go to an Israeli wedding in the summer. One, it won't rain so you can hold the ceremony outside. Two, the food will be sensational. It's not uncommon for people to stand during the ceremony, and it's very participatory. The rabbi usually makes lighthearted comments to put everyone at ease and there's a lot of singing. 

L to R Natalie's mom, Natalie and Evelyne

Under the chuppa

Note the groom's tallit. In some traditions a man doesn't wear one until he gets married.

Yes, they pass out swag at these parties

We finished the week with the Melabev Sunset Hike. Melabev is an organization we got involved with 5 years ago. It provides care for Alzheimer's patients and families. They have day centers with activities geared towards patients with varying degrees of the illness. They also have a phone center, staffed by volunteers, who make daily wellness calls. In addition they provide services to homebound elderly, such as shopping, transportation and small repairs, again by volunteers. In addition they have a research division that has made significant contributions to medical treatment options. All this costs money, and we are reaching out for help. Please click on or copy the link below and sponsor us in ANY amount. Every penny is appreciated and wisely used.

https://walk4alz.melabev.org/walkers/?page=2

Because this is Israel's 70th anniversary, we began the hike at Mt Herzl, the military cemetery. It's the highest point in Jerusalem; Yad Vashem in the adjacent valley is the lowest. The placement is no coincidence. Also buried at Mt Herzl are Theodore Herzl himself and several presidents and prime ministers. Soldiers' headstones are marked with their names, ranks, dates and places of birth, dates of aliya for those who were not born in Israel, and when and where they died. Talk about the ingathering of exiles. Two of the graves we visited were those of Bibi's brother Yoni Netanyahu, the only casualty of the Entebbe Rescue on July 4, 1976, and Michael Levin, a lone soldier from Philadelphia who was killed during the second Lebanon War in 2006. Michael's grave is one of the most visited in the cemetery because his story resonates with so many people. There are hundreds of mementos in solidarity to his devotion to Israel. He had no family in Israel, yet his funeral was attended by literally thousands of strangers who wanted to make sure he was not buried alone. 

The hike itself was in the Jerusalem Park, a wilderness area within the city limits.  It is part of the Israel Trail, a hiking route that bisects the country from north to south. We only did 1.5 kilometers, but it was a bit challenging, downhill on rocks and gravel almost the entire way. There's a real sense of accomplishment when you get to the end of the hike ... and they rolled out the red carpet with a great barbecue dinner for us.

Registration

Jeff, our guide, explains the cemetery's layout

Yoni Netanyahu's grave 

Michael Levin's grave covered with mementos

This is the terrain. We hiked down to the road in the background.

And a good time was had by all

Till next time ...

Shabbat shalom from Jerusalem,
Peggy and Sid

Getting over jetlag: a thankless task

One of the highlights of being here for me is my Monday morning women's class. The intellectual level beats anything I've ever experienced. The class consists of three 45 minute lectures - Prophets, Torah and a guest lecture. In the Prophets class we're studying the relationship between the books of Samuel and the Psalms of David. In the Torah class I think we've moved ahead by two weekly portions in the 6 months since we were here last. The guest lectures vary in quality. This week's guest is someone highly regarded in the ultra-Orthodox world, but her topic was entry-level and honestly I think she misjudged her audience. Oh well, they can't all be winners.

Sid walked me over to the class. It was a perfect Jerusalem morning - sunny and about 75 degrees with a light breeze. There is something about the air in Jerusalem in the morning. You get the scent of jacarandas without the fumes from buses that still run on diesel and leave clouds of black smoke in their wake. This is rapidly changing. The new buses are air-conditioned, wifi-enabled and equipped with charging stations. And they're much nicer to the environment and the air we all breathe.

Afterwards we needed to go to the shuk and then return the car. Well guess what. Another ticket. WHY????? The girl who set up my parking account told me the meter would automatically start at 8AM and shut off at 6PM. But that's not what happened. When I looked at the app the meter wasn't running. So now I'm the proud recipient of two 100 shekel tickets. It's useless to complain to the parking company, but I will throw myself on the mercy of the municipality and claim tourist-ignorance. We'll see how it goes.

So we went to the shuk, which is always a treat It has become the second most visited site in Jerusalem. By now I think there's an equal number of vendors and restaurants. This says a lot about how food is distributed and how the city has developed. 

Once upon a time when I lived here the population was about 325,000. You had three options for buying groceries: the makolet, the shuk or one of Jerusalem's two supermarkets. 

The makolet is more or less what we would call a convenience store. They were very small but had most things people need on a daily basis. At the time people shopped every day or every other day. Fridges were small and there's a thing here about fresh bread, produce and dairy products. There was a makolet every few blocks to serve the neighborhood, and the owners knew their customers. They played a significant role in the economics of the city. It's important to remember that between 1948-1967 Jerusalem was a backwater. There was very little business and almost no industry. It was a struggle to make a living, and to make it to the end of the month as we used to say. A lot of people had to buy on credit until they got their monthly paycheck, and they could do so at the local makolet. Fast forward 50 years. The population of Jerusalem is about 860,000 and new planned neighborhoods sprang up all over the place. Part of the planning included shopping centers with supermarkets, hardware stores etc. In the older neighborhoods many of the makolets have turned into 24-hour stores, or disappeared altogether. We have an authentic from the old days makolet a couple doors down from this apartment. 

The first supermarket in Jerusalem, Supersol, opened in the early 60's. It was a phenomenon and a curiosity. People flocked to see this new world of shopping and it was a great success. But it didn't replace the local makolet. Back then owning a car was the exception and shlepping a week's worth of groceries on the bus was difficult. Besides, there was the freshness factor and Supersol didn't extend credit.

Third was the shuk. No question about freshness. Produce that was picked in the morning was sold the same day. Everyone had their favorite vendors and they got to know each other. They could chat, get advice on cooking (and life in general), exchange political opinions. Most of the shopping was done on Thursdays and Fridays in preparation for Shabbat, and people did shlep on the bus. But the vendors didn't extend credit. 

It's different now. Everyone has a car, a credit card and a larger capacity fridge. Shopping habits have changed, the makolets began to disappear and even the shuk sees nearly as many tourists as shoppers.

A few years ago someone had the brilliant idea of developing the shuk after-hours. When the vendors went home at the end of the day it was a large empty space. The metamorphosis began when a famous graffiti artist started tagging the metal shutters that came down on the stalls at night. That in itself was a draw. Then someone figured out that where people gather maybe they'd like something to eat or drink. The idea caught on; now the shuk is full of restaurants, cafes, bars and a few boutiques. When it's time for the produce vendors to retire one of their options is to sell their space to a restaurateur. The ratio is changing and this has become a concern. The vendors' association is considering putting a limit on the number of non-produce businesses that can open. 

Then we returned the car. When I pulled into the rental garage the guy who took the car said I look angry. Was something wrong with the car? I was taken aback. I explained about the tickets. He listened patiently and said calling the parking company wouldn't get me anywhere, but calling the city parking department might. When he handed me the receipt I asked him if I still looked angry. No, he said, and I really did feel better. Shows what a sympathetic ear can do for a person.  

We walked home and I made one of our favorite dinners - schnitzel. 

On Tuesday we went to Tel Aviv for a meeting with the Jaffa Institute. They provide three types of social services to a very disadvantaged population in south Tel Aviv and Jaffa: a residential facility with 10 kids, after school programs and a parent-child drop in center. The stories are heartbreaking, and the work they do is amazing. Details on their website www.jaffainstitute.org. 

The residential facility

We got back to Jerusalem around 630PM and had dinner in the shuk. Someone set up a large screen and broadcast the World Cup game between Poland and Senegal. It was a sensational game. The Senegal goalie was amazing, but one got past him. Still, they won 2-1.

Last night we went to Nissim's for a barbecue and family reunion. Cousins from the States were visiting, and their kids, who are second cousins, met for the first time. An Israeli barbecue is serious business. Mountains of chicken wings, lamb ribs, burgers, kabobs, grilled vegetables and the requisite selection of salads. Plus dessert.

Wings

Salads

All this waiting to be grilled

Nissim, Shlomit & Sid

Some of the kids in the trampoline cage, where they can't get into too much trouble

Nissim and Shlomit live in the suburb of Mevasseret. It used to be a small village; now it's almost all the way to Jerusalem

Sleep still eludes us. They say (whoever "they" are) it takes one day for each hour of time difference to adjust. We arrived a week ago so maybe we're in sync. Maybe.

Shabbat shalom from Jerusalem,
Peggy and Sid

Getting here June 2018

The lyrics to Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again" keep running thru my head. Getting here took almost as long as a road trip.

We got to O'Hare at 10AM on Thursday June 14. Our flight to Philadelphia left at 1150, so we should have had plenty of time to sit in the Admiral's Club and relax. Except the guy who checked us in was a moron, and I don't suffer fools. It took him about 45 minutes. He had a confused look on his face, and I expected him to say something about a flight being cancelled or not being able to check our bags through. But no, he was just slow.

The flight to Philly was fully booked, and since I no longer have Gold status, we were in boarding group 8. As they boarded group 7 they announced that there was no more overhead space and all roll-aboard bags would have to be gate checked. Great. No way was I going to go along with that, particularly when the gate agent said they'd be checked to their final destination. Forget it. I had all my valuables in that bag. I begged and pleaded. I negotiated. I was willing to have the bag checked as far as Philly; we had enough time for me to get it from baggage claim and go back through security, but he said it has to go to the final destination. In fact this wasn't true. His colleague told him he could tag it to Philadelphia. Another idiot. Finally I told him I had medications that couldn't be in the heat and he relented, and a flight attendant actually cleared me a space in an overhead bin.

So we got to Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love. When we landed Sid realized he had forgotten to bring a change of clothes for the long flight to Prague. No worries, he said, there must be a souvenir store where I can buy a sweatshirt and sweatpants. Sure, at airport prices, I thought to myself. Well, I've never seen anything like the mall at the Philly airport. I don't know what motivated them to do this, but there's a shopping center in the terminal with stores like Brooks Brothers, Johnson & Murphy, The Gap, Mac, Victoria's Secret etc etc etc. And The Gap was having a sale ... imagine that. Problem solved. And then we went to their very nice Admiral's Club. For 4 hours.Yes, that long a layover. We could have taken a later flight out of Chicago, but flying at this time of year is actually more delay and cancellation prone than during the winter. Thunderstorms and lightening are not good for airplanes or the people inside.

The flight from Philly to Prague ... American is trying to out-do themselves in hiring idiots. We were in business class, where you get treated better, and there are certain things that you come to expect. Such as, when you board a flight attendant comes around with a tray of water, OJ and champagne. One of them did come down Sid's side, but not mine. I had to go to the galley and ask for a glass of water. Then the purser came around to get everyone's dinner order. I had pre-ordered - red snapper for Sid and a stuffed portobello mushroom for me. But Sid and I switched seats, which totally threw the purser; he just couldn't figure it out. And he kept referring to the fish as salmon. I thought maybe they had to change the menu for some reason. But in fact it was snapper. As far as my order, they kept bringing me multiple versions of vegetarian meals, which were for other people. Finally the flight attendant gave me something that was identifiable only by the covering of spinach on top of something that looked like oatmeal. No, this isn't what I ordered, and I showed her the menu that was very clear - PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM STUFFED WITH BULGAR WHEAT. How does that even remotely resemble spinach? Another confused look, but she finally brought the right item. I don't know who got stuck with the other vegetarian meals; maybe the crew. And the plane was a retrofitted 767 which should have been retired 20 years ago. I know, I'm a snob. Welcome to my pity party.

We landed in Prague and fortunately didn't have to change terminals. Just one thing ... the departure board doesn't give gate information. It says A, B or C, but no gate number. We asked two people, both of whom said the gate is A2. Having flown El Al many times and being very familiar with their security procedure we expected the gate to be open; it was 2 hours prior to departure. But no. No sign, no info, no staff. Nothing. We parked ourselves right across from the gate, and I took a little walk, just to move around after the long trans-Atlantic flight. I wandered into a Moser store, which makes Baccarat look cheap in comparison. You can buy a cordial glass for about $400. Absolutely the most stunning stemware, bowls and plates in Europe, if you can afford it.

The gate finally opened. It seemed everyone was waved through except us. Most likely it was because we were in transit. So we got asked the usual security questions (who packed your luggage, did anyone give you anything, who do we know in Israel etc) until we convinced the security officer we were trustworthy. We even had to identify our luggage, since we checked in at O'Hare; the security officer showed us a photo of our bags on his cell phone. Are these yours? Yes, and it's nice to know they hadn't been lost.

The flight was full, seats were small, overhead space crowded. That didn't bother us. The 3 women behind us, who never shut up, did. They talked nonstop during the 3-1/2 hour flight and they were loud. But to give you a sense of the contradictory nature of Israelis, when we landed and got up to get our bags from the overhead bin, the first to offer to help us were those women. We arrived at the far end of the airport, where the maintenance hangars are. That's what happens when you take a cheap airline. (We were on UP, which is the budget version of El Al.) We had to be taken by bus to the main arrival terminal, about a 10 minute drive. We got through immigration in no time, and our bags were priority (another perk of business class) so they came right away. And someone at baggage claim helped Sid grab them from the conveyor and put them on our carts.

Next came the rental car counter. There were 3 clerks taking care of 3 customers, so it should have taken about 5 minutes. Except the couple in front of us was trying to figure out the cheapest way for them to handle their cars. One of them was Israeli, meaning she has to pay VAT. The other was American, meaning he doesn't. I think they had to develop an algorithm to figure this out. When one of the other customers finished, Sid made a bee line to the open clerk. She had all our info, since we've rented from Eldan before, and it really did take only 5 minutes.

At last, we were on our way to Jerusalem. It was around 6PM and there were very few cars on the road. Within 15 minutes we were almost at Beit Shemesh when we hit the first traffic jam. It took 25 minutes to get through. It was a very bad accident; the car was completely burned up. We hadn't gone another 10 minutes when we hit the second traffic jam - another accident. Finally, traffic cleared and we sped our way to Jerusalem, only to discover that in the 6 months since we were here last, traffic patterns had changed but they hadn't gotten around to putting up directional signs. We took our best guess, which turned out to be right, and within 5 minutes got to the apartment. The landlord met us, gave a quick orientation, helped us get our luggage, and 5 minutes later we left to have dinner at Batsheva and Eli's.

Food, glorious food. They pulled out all the stops, as they always do. Everyone was there, all the kids and grandchildren (except Nir, who will be back from the States in 2 weeks), 15 in total. The girls, Hila and Talia, had a growth spurt. I think both of them added 6 inches. To give you an idea of how thoughtful Eli and Batsheva are, they sent us home with food for breakfast, knowing we wouldn't be able to go shopping till Sunday.

Neither of us slept well, tired as we were. Sid was up at 230 and for some odd reason, starving. It's a good thing we had food. I woke up at 345, tried my best to get back to sleep and failed. I got up at 530 and for some odd reason I too was starving. When you're wide awake at that hour, there's not much to do except unpack. At least we made good use of our time.

There was a sharav (sirocco) on Shabbat, which is a strong wind that starts in the Sahara and brings heat and sand. The temperature hit 105. We ventured out anyway, just for a 10 minute walk, which was as much as we could handle.

Finally around 3PM we were able to nap.

We spent the rest of the day in the apartment, which is very nice. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, totally renovated, and a nice garden. The landlord supplied us with milk, eggs, jam and ketchup. Yes, an odd combination. He also gave us a nice bottle of wine. It was like a welcome amenity at the hotel. Photos will be forthcoming.

Again we had a bad night last night. We both woke up at 3, tried to get back into sleep and couldn't. We finally did what we should have done on Friday - we took a sleeping pill, and slept soundly until 1130AM.

We had two objectives for today. The first was to go and see the US Embassy. We couldn't park. As soon as we slowed down guards shooed us away. Telling them we voted for Trump didn't matter to them. We managed to take a photo. The second was to provision the apartment. We went to my new favorite store, Osher Ad, which is like Costco. $350 later we returned home.

My next project was figuring out how to pay for parking. There was a 100 shekel ticket on the windshield when we got into the car today, In many parts of the city, even residential areas, parking has to be paid for from 8AM to 6PM. Unlike what we have in Chicago, where you buy parking from a vending machine, here everything is automated. Once upon a time you could buy parking stickers and put them on the dashboard. Not anymore in Start-Up Nation. Luckily there was an ad for two parking companies on the sign that tells you the parking hours. I called and spoke to a very nice agent who walked me though the various options and set up my account over the phone. We'll see tomorrow morning if it worked. I don't want any more tickets.

Tomorrow we resume our regularly scheduled programming, which I'll report on in my next post on Friday.

Shavuah tov - have a good week - from Jerusalem,

Peggy and Sid