israeli politics

id el fitr - 4.1.25

Exhaustion hit me so hard the other day I couldn’t think straight, so when we had to think of a place to take our guest from abroad, I said Jaffa, thinking Eid El Fitr was over on April 1 and everything would be empty.  But not only were the restaurants crowded, there was no way to get through the streets.  Ezi did some driving up one way roads and around cars that should have been filmed and we finally got out to the more Jewish neighborhood of Puah restaurant and the other cool cafes, but by then I was so hungry nothing could satisfy me.  

I’m still exhausted but I had to confess my foolish cultural mess.  I should never have been so stupid to forget my neighbors’ holidays…

 

id el fitr – 4 Read Post »

israeli politics

post-birthday Blues - 30.3.25

the contrast between a perfect party and the reality outside has continued to intrude upon my pleasure over for the birthday.bash we had last night.  The first problem was that I didn’t invite everyone I wanted to see because I was afraid there would be too many – then the restaurant changed the time and I feared we wouldn’t finish in time for the demonstration.  Then I was going to do a separate party for our poet friends to read, but then I realized I’d never manafe 2 parties in the same week.  And anyhow I want to do a celebration at our place for arc 31, the journal of the Istael Association of Writers in English. 

The big signal that things were wrong though was what I’ve been deeling and noticing about others – that no one is wearing jewelry.  Noone has been wearing jewelry since  October 7, 2023.  We have never discussed this – but we’re not reeally celebrating.  And the presents I got were mostly contributions to charitable organizations – thank goodness. I was worried I didn’t say anything about this on the invitation.  It is another detail that shows our mood.

 

post Birthday blues – 30.3.25 Read Post »

israeli politics

birthday - 29.3.25

Today is my 80th birthday and my family is celebrating with a party in the afternoon.  Well, it was supposed to be in the afternoon so that we could all go down the road to demonstrate,  but the place we rented, it turned out, had another event before us and it turned out that they moved us to the early evening.  So we had to move it up an hour to the early evening.  This means people will be able to eat the hors d-oeuvres and then maybe hear the little speeches and then make sandwiches out of the roast beef and take them with them to the demonstration, stuffing their pockets with cream puffs to divert the horses from rushing the crowd….

 

birthday – 29.3.25 Read Post »

israeli politics

Tonight we turn back the clock.  At last.  It would be nice to turn back to before the demonstrations, before the masses in the streets, but when i think of it, I imagine we should have been in the streets long ago.  If I could turn back the clock to before the “reforms,” before the accusations against Bibi, before the elections, before the crazy laws instituted, I would have demonstrated long before…

  

turn back the clock - 27.3.25

turn back the clock – 27.3.25 Read Post »

israeli politics

the budget - 26.3.25

https://www.amazon.com/arc-31-Phoenix-Mike-Stone/dp/B0DW3JL1RXIf I were working out the national budget, I’d move most of the expense accounts of the knesset into rebuilding the numerous towns that have been destroyed here in the war.  That would be my first move.  I’d take a chunk of the funding for security of executive families living abroad and put it into security of the citizens who’ve been threatened on the borders. 

I’m looking at totally empty coffers in the Israel Association of Writers in English, and my office is full of books that were published today, journals that really encompass the level of writing in Israel today and the reactions of people who identify with Israel abroad.  You can get it on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/arc-31-Phoenix-Mike-Stone/dp/B0DW3JL1RX

 

the Budget – 26.3.25 Read Post »

israeli politics

today - 25.3.25

we were supposed to go on a trip today, visiting Roman antiquities and flowers, eating our sandwiches on the way.  But at the last minute I chickened out and decided that the bus trip was too much for my bruises from my fall of 2 months ago.  Seriously, I still can’t sit in one position for long.  Anyway we made up for missing the trip by going to see the flower reserves.  

Normally I would tell you how to get there and where else we went, but lately there is so much information about places in Israel floating around that goes to enemy countries I am getting incredibly paranoic – even about the most amazing wild flowers.

But of course if you ask me I’ll be happy to send you pictures. Maybe I’ll even put them on the next post.

 

 

today – 25.3.25 Read Post »