Peg and Sid's blog: 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.