israeli politics

How do we teach our children about obeying laws?  We have basic rules in nursery school and the kids do what their teacher tells them to.  But if even the prime minister doesn’t obey the high court, why should a child learn to flush a toilet?  Why should a child respect his parents?  Why should I listen to a policeman who tells me to cross on the crosswalk?

As Ulysses says in Troilus and Cressida:

When that the general is not like the hive
To whom the foragers shall all repair,
What honey is expected? Degree being vizarded,
Th’ unworthiest shows as fairly in the mask.

It’s in all of his plays – when the king is not in order, no one in the kingdom is in order, and even the weather goes crazy.

So maybe the wisest thing is to tell Bibi that we forgive him if he just lets go of the crazy rule he’s persisting in.  And then rebuild some legal and moral order in this country.  Isn’t it worth sacrificing a little bit of justice for the sake of a nation?

 

whistling at high court – feb 7, 2023 Read Post »

israeli politics

We’ve got this storm named Barbara scaring us now.  Ezi and I lifted up the fallen vines and tied them to the columns of the building, and I wondered how long the building itself would hold up.  Some people mentioned this morning that their houses shook and now they are worried that with all the digging in the city, everything will collapse.  I think we’re just a bit oversensitive, what with all the political unrest, the general feeling that an understanding among the peoples here will never be achieved if we do not change course, and the natural disasters coming together all at once.

So the ‘big wind’ is Barbara and the ill wind of the government.  The wind and the windbag.

At least we’re sending crews to help in Turkey and I hope, to Syria.  The thousands of dead, the thousands homeless in this storm – it boggles the mind.

Just so you don’t feel too boggled, let me remind you of what a famous vet said a few years back:  if you want to protect your life in an earthquake, go to sleep with some sausage in your pajama pocket – so the dogs will be motivated to find you quickly.

 

big wind – feb 6, 2023 Read Post »

israeli politics

At somewhere 4:30 this morning I woke up, didn’t understand why, and went back to sleep.  In the morning my watch informed me that my heart had leaped at this moment of the earthquake, and there had been a quake of 7.8 magnitude in Turkey and Syria.   Then another earthquake of the same strength, not including the aftershocks.  We’ve already offered help, but we’re also terrified because we’re on that rift.

Forget about politics, forget about war.  Now is the time to help each other.

Turkey earthquake – Feb 6, 2023 Read Post »

israeli politics

I keep forgetting to write about restaurants lately.  And they are always great fun.  Yesterday we went to Abu Nassar, for instance, and it was a hoot.  We had planned to take our guests to somewhere elegant, but their seating times made it difficult, so we drove to Jaffa, and back to basics. 

I handed the camera to the waiter to take a picture of the group, but Ahmed decided to make it really memorable.

There is nothing like eating out in Tel Aviv, no matter where you go.

abu nasser – feb 5, 2023 Read Post »

israeli politics

I’m not at the demonstration.  I have a cold and am watching it on tv, feeling like I’ve betrayed everything I believe in.  What is a little chill in the face of this danger?

But I am comforted by the fact that even my grandchildren are there, and have been demonstrating their displeasure all week.  One demonstrated about the cancellation of the children’s channel, one demonstrated over the weakening of the high court.  They all had their own causes and I hope they will all have their results.

None of them, by the way, demonstrated against the school cuts or the unspeakable sizes of their classes, even though they suffer through short school days, long homework hours, and no extras like music or sports.

  

I’M NOT THERE- Feb 4, 2022 Read Post »

israeli politics

The high court has – unofficially – been eliminated already.  The two decisions made lately have been ignored – Deri is still unofficially, acting as a minister, keeping his position.  Bibi has been dealing with the court reforms even though it was decided he may not interfere with court reforms while he is under investigation.  So rules are not made to be followed.  I have been thinking that we are moving toward fascism, but it is worse than that – we’re on our way to total anarchy.

 

reform – Feb 3, 2023 Read Post »

israeli politics

We were sitting in a cafe in the shopping center talking about poetry when suddenly there was a big boom.  Everyone looked around, just a bit startled. and we went back to our poems.  It’s Tel Aviv, after all, and most of us aren’t even aware of the shower of rockets down south last night that sent all the people to the shelters within seconds, many for the entire night.  

It’s not surprising, then, that you don’t know about it.  It’s one of the things we don’t talk much about, the targeting of civilians in rocket attacks and/or terrorist incidents.  A stabbing here, a car-ramming there, a barrage of rockets – we on the left usually blame ourselves.  But it was the people on the right who elected a more aggressive government, and who expected results.  Me, I see times when our relationships improve, and it is worth working toward those times.

 

rockets – feb 2, 2023 Read Post »