israeli politics

When we heard how miserable the kids were in isolation after they’d made such elaborate sukkot plans with their class trips, we decided to try to alleviate their misery with a tepanyaki. It may seem completely ridiculous, but our hopelessness is in so many directions that anything is a diversion.  

For example, friends write me constantly about how bad the Palestinian situation is, and even those who are physically endangering themselves to protect Palestinians and to work for an independent Palestine register their sense of the impossibility of their situation – unless of course, they manage to destroy us totally.  

And we’ve been trying to get hold of a tepanyaki for months.  Also unsuccessfully.

 

september 20, 2021 – sukkot Read Post »

israeli politics

My poor grandchildren are in lockdown – I don’t know the details yet but the vacation they were planning for the holiday is now cancelled and the untrained puppy who was going to keep us grandparents occupied this week is suddenly staying home.  Since we can’t go out anyway with all those holiday vacationers, it means I’ll be getting some work done….

 

september 19, 2021 – one thing after another Read Post »

israeli politics

Don’t get too attached to your house.

It may feel like you

but you may have to move

if only to survive

 

And that temple too

may be destroyed,

the school refuse

to contain your mind.

 

The sky is a better roof

always there in place.

Even when clouds cover the light

you can still see the stars

september 18, 2021 – a poem for sukkot Read Post »

israeli politics

There are a lot of children in this country – children under 12.  They are just going back to school in between the holidays, and many of them are sent home soon after because someone in the class has been tested positive for corona. So we old people have to watch out for our grandchildren – stay far away.  And even though we’re all vaccinated our numbers are up.   And now our kids are getting sick.  What an inhuman situation.  

Fortunately, even though the hospitals here are severely overloaded and underfunded we have one group of people that take care of us – the Arab population.    They may be 20% but they are 50% of the medical staff.  The days of the Jewish doctor are over.

september 17, 2021 Read Post »

israeli politics

I do want to take a moment to thank all those people in Israel who have refused vaccinations, especially our friends. It’s true we’re lab rats, but you guys are also part of the experiment. You’re the control group, and through you, we see how effective the vaccines are. Thanks again.

Unfortunately, because of you, Ezi can’t go anywhere there are people, and because I might infect him, I don’t dare either. So not only are there no concerts, plays, movies, etc., but I’ve been buying all my clothes online, and you have no idea how outdated and out-of-size my wardrobe is.

september 17, 2021 – thanks to unvaccinated friends Read Post »

israeli politics

Most people know that in Israel Yom Kippur is a day for bicycles.  It’s the only day cars don’t run, the only day the streets are empty, so people who don’t go to services, who can’t connect to religion, ride around with the kids.  Or maybe they walk – walk to the beach, walk around the synagogue, walk to parks.

Some of our friends have wild dinners, but the friends we visit late in the evening pretty much fast, so we don’t get to celebrate.  But always there is a feeling of contemplation, reflection.  

in fact, before the days begins, tonight in a few minutes, I’m going to apologize to a friend or two.

september 15, 2021 – yom kippur for epicorus Read Post »

israeli politics

Soon it will be too cold for me to swim in the sea, but even watching people at the beach is a marvelous treat.  The music is hypnotizing – sometimes trance, sometimes Arabic, sometimes rock – always with a sense of another world.  The sea has kept us sane all summer, and I hope we can keep it up into the winter.   A beer, the faint smell of grass, fries, fish… what more could one wish for?

 

september 14, 2021 – beach, beach, beach Read Post »