israeli politics

 

Adelaide Crapsey must have been very much in love when she wrote this poem to the moon

 

Incantation

 

O mia Luna! Porta mi fortuna!
(You must say it nine times, curtseying, and then wish.)


In rose-pale, fading blue of twilight sky,
See, the new moon’s thin crescent shining clear;
Nine times I’ll curtsey murmuring mystic words, –
And wish good fortune to our love, my dear.

blue moon

All right, it’s not the same moon.  But it’s a blue moon, and I keep wishing it will bring some love and peace to the world.  

As I went to wish my grandchildren good luck with the new school year that starts tomorrow, I kept thinking what kind of love and peace will they enjoy in the coming years.  Tamar was the only one I managed to speak with about school, and she didn’t sound pleased at all with her near future.  There aren’t too many surprises: She already knows the teacher from last year, and the class celebrated his marriage with a video months ago.  And she sounds bored already.

My sixth grade teacher, on the other hand, Miss Lee, was antisemitic, and placed the four jews in her class of thirty together in a corner.  She never called on us, and made sure we didn’t get speaking parts in the school play.  I only discovered I had a brain in seventh grade when Mr. Cruikshank let me write plays and direct them for the class.  

Moral: a warm atmosphere elicits creativity and warmth.

moon + school – august 31, 2023 Read Post »

israeli politics,

Because they were working with concrete, the moshavniks worked day and night to build this breakwater, to make the coast safe for the fishing boats they thought would allow them to make a living in this sandy area.  And indeed there are boats there – from the maritime school.  But we only got in with special permission and the wharf isn’t open to the public.  It isn’t open to fishing, either.  The school and the camps seem to be the center of activity.  

But I remember the deep grief Bandi continued to feel for the rest of his life at the loss of his father, and only a place this beautiful, and a goal so fine, could have taken him out of the year-long immobility he experienced.

relax – august 30, 2023 Read Post »

israeli politics

Here’s a family story that was recently discovered.  I’ve got to scan all the newspaper articles so the whole story may take a while, but by tomorrow I should have all the details for you.

When I asked Ezi if he’d like to go with me to Michmoret last month, he said – great.  His father had built the wharf there and he’d never seen it.  I had thought I had managed to dig out all the stories in the family history, but it turned out there was a whole new chapter.

Bandi (Andre) Gut was bereft in May of 1948 when his father died, and became unable to work.  He had built many edifices in Israel with his father and for long months was totally at a loss.  As a kind of antidote a friend from Kfar Vitkin suggested that he helped build a wharf for Michmoret so they could become a prosperous fishing village.  They had been offered tenders of 130,000-200,000 lira, and there was no way they could afford this.  Bandi stepped in and volunteered.  In the end he built the wharf for 15,000 lira in 1948, and it is still in operation today.

And after that Bandi went back to work with his brother Pele.  

I’ll tell you more in my next blog, but I have to add that not a day goes by that I don’t think with deep love of Bandi and the many joys and tragedies he experienced as well as the pain he inflicted on others.  To me, he was more than a father. 

Michmoret and recovery – august 29, 2023 Read Post »

israeli politics

I’ve been listening to my friend in Budapest complain as the restrictions on freedom grow and the economy of the country diminishes until it became a total dictatorship and there is no recourse.  And now it is happening to us.  “Do everything you can to stop it before it is irreversible!” she shouts over the phone.  

But this week I began to break down. I just don’t have the strength to fight and it feels like we’ve lost.  Let’s just let him take over.  How bad could it get?  We can always move to Budapest, right?

Seriously, though, what is the alternative?  Elections….Can we make it to elections?

 

what a comparison Read Post »

israeli politics

There is a strip mall in Ramat Aviv Gimmel that could be one of the best place to be in the wonderful world of the nouveau bourgouisie.  It would work – especially if there were a few classy cafes.  But today when I scoured the place looking for gym clothes, a pair of jeans for my granddaughter, and maybe a good scarf, all I found were a lot of stores for rent and end of season sales – with a suspicious amount of last year’s merchandise.   Too many expensive opticians, not enough shoemakers.  Too many cheap-looking dresses, not enough children’s clothing establishments.   The post office is for rent, there’s no good hardware stores, no handcrafts, no joy.  So much potential, such a convenient location, no reason to go there.

ramat aviv Gimmel – august 27, 2023 Read Post »

israeli politics

If you’ve looked around this website you know it is a terrible mess.  Most of the links go no where, and a lot hasn’t even been put up.  I have an aversion to order, and love discovering new connections between seemingly unrelated things.  

But I have gone too far with this site – and things deserve to be straightened out and brought into the light.   So I started with poetry translations – first Amichai and Ronny Somekh.  You can find Amichai here 

https://karenalkalay-gut.com/amichai.html

and Someck here  

Ronny Someck

More to come.  

Let me know what you think.

 

ordnung – august 26, 2023 Read Post »

israeli politics

for years writers would gather on Friday afternoons.  For some groups it was at Cassit, for others it was Stern, but the vast majority found their way to the cafe in the Writers’ House.  

This was in the last century, before the cafe was closed, and before the big embezzlement brought the whole organization to its knees.  Now no one who is anyone still belongs.  

Except me.  I still believe in unions and their need to be a force in the community.  

But anyway today I met a bunch of writers in the cafe next door to the writers house, and it was almost like old times – sharing ideas, stories, complaints.  I can’t wait for next week.

 

writers on friday afternoon – august 25, 2023 Read Post »

israeli politics

Today I took the big step – I changed my cardiologist.  My heart hasn’t been the same since this government took over and it’s really hard to get to my cardiologist in Ichilov.  I’m pretty sure my medications are the reason I have no energy, and although they work 90% of the time, I have a feeling there should be some more intense investigation.  When I put all my medical portfolio together, it’s really surprising that I’m still walking around.  I place the blame on this government which surprises me every day with new blows below the belt and I have to take a break from the news.  

 

 

time to take off Read Post »