The speeches from the government and the army are sabre-rattling, to say the least, and I’m hoping we get through this unscathed…
yup, we’re girding our loins Read Post »
israeli politics
israeli politics
The neighborhood WhatsApp is going crazy over the fact that religious residents have been inviting children off the streets to participate in their celebrations . Missionaries, they’re saying.
israeli politics
Of course, there’s going to be a response. And the tension of waiting for the response is part of the response. Me, I’m opening the shelter in our building so that when we go out others will be able to hide if necessary.
how silly of me – of course Read Post »
israeli politics
We wake up to the news that our response to the shelling of the area in the south a few days ago has finally begun. The emphasis in our news is on the killing of some of the instigators of the attack on Israel – 3 Jihad leaders.
I don’t know how many Israelis wake up to the news – but even those with incredibly busy mornings of getting kids ready for school and getting themselves ready for work, taking out the dog, and making breakfast with lunch to go, even they have one ear on the news.
Will they have to pack their bags and get ready to clear the area because an attack is about the occur, maybe even a war? Will they have to move into their shelters? Our seemingly easy, methodical lives are so tentative.
arrow and shield – may 9, 2023 Read Post »
israeli politics
Despite the immediate political crisis, and the letters I keep getting from friends asking everyone else what we should do, I’m taking a break from politics and binging on series. I didn’t even go to a lecture that had nothing to do with politics because it may have had some connection to reality. I have already concocted in my mind the perfect government that would replace the chaos we’re in – a government that includes the Zionist-religious parties, the Arab representatives, Gantz and Lapid – but I handpicked the people I want involved, and our party-election system would not allow it. For example, I’d like Zipi Livni involved, and she doesn’t have a party so can’t run. This means I need to change the election system in order to have an election that would make sense.
Better make vacation plans, right? We’re going to NY next week and seeing friends.
break from politics – may 8, 2023 Read Post »
israeli politics
When I first came to Israel I was overwhelmed by the masses that crowded into the concert hall for classical music. This is a cultured society like I’ve never seen before, even though I grew up in the Rochester Philharmonic.
Well, the audience is the same. I mean exactly the same people. Tonight I met Bettine Amir, who is 92 and still wearing heels, and a few other people I remember from way back then.
The hall is still full, and there are lots of young people dotted in the seats where the older ones listening from a much higher balcony, but it doesn’t feel as if it is part of our culture.
I miss the smell of camphor emitting from the fur coats…
philharmonic – May 7, 2023 Read Post »
israeli politics
Nobody believes the talks about judicial reform are working so it’s time to go to plan B. What is plan b? Nobody knows.
israeli politics
I fear we’re not going to make it tonight. There is just a bit too much effort involved in getting there and being involved in a mass crowd, even though it is incredibly polite. Last night someone said it is like a scout rally. We walk through the masses, muttering our excuses, and everyone adapts, incorporates, and accommodates us, as they accommodate each other. Hundreds and thousands of people, and the street is clean afterward. No one drops their trash, rarely loses a hat, and never drops a cigarette.
And it’s not a social event. Although I sometimes spy a long-lost friend, they disappear in the crowd before we get to embrace. People don’t stand around talking about their jobs – they are pretty much focused on the task at hand.
And now that I have described it, how could I not go tonight?
demonstration – May 6, 2023 Read Post »