blog, israeli politics, my life in tel aviv

As I sat with a friend who is mourning the death of her lover, I began to lose concentration on the conversation of all her friends who were trying to divert her attention from her loss.  I knew she was mourning not only her lover, but all the past that had slipped away from her, and all that kept my mind occupied while people were chattering about vaccines.  But suddenly I found myself saying – I just wish we would vaccinate all the Palestinians.  And everyone became animated, even our distracted friend.  It was not because anyone disagreed – it was all about how we could help it to happen.  How I wish our government could have a conversation like that.

march 4, 2021 – vaccines for our neighbors Read Post »

israeli politics

There is no doubt that the world is divided now between the haves and have nots – and the gaps are growing.  Here, the poverty is great.    And of course, it is not only the poverty of today – but the future of each and every one is destroyed.  People who cannot afford to eat can’t afford to study, can’t afford to buy computers, to concentrate on any idea of a future.  

So I sincerely hope that the Israel Bonds that so many people have bought (see here )   actually reach these people and do not go into the pockets of our politicians.

When I was growing up I was enlisted for many years to help with the Bond drive, and I know that bonds helped build this country.  We all got great satisfaction from seeing the wonderful things that bonds helped to build.  I still have many charms she received for selling large quantities of bonds.  

Now, my husband chides, that money has gone to help out those businesses that haven’t been able to open for the past year.

What will happen to all of them now?

march 1, 2021 – where do donations go Read Post »

israeli politics

We never really had a close private conversation, so I am not the absolute judge of his character.  And I really didn’t want to get into the subject of his second daughter’s book about her father’s abuse of her.  My own experience of parenting when I was a child was that physical violence was a legitimate means of punishment.  In one of the families who lived with us when I was a child ear pulling and twisting was common and not the most extreme.  Kids going to emergency because their shoulder was dislocated was also not unusual.  But that was then, and the parents were survivors of camps with numbers on their arms…  

I was probably ‘patched’ once or twice.  But I don’t remember because that wasn’t part of the atmosphere.  

For Galia Oz, that WAS part of her atmosphere.  I gather that as the middle child she had the standard behavior problems and was treated differently.  And I wouldn’t be surprised if she wanted to sleep at her parents’ home and her father roughly ejected her and sent her to her kibbutz home.  And it was probably too harsh, but not outside the norm of behavior for the kibbutz.  

It sounds like she interpreted his every move afterward as aggressive and violent, even when it was conciliatory and friendly.

But from her obvious enjoyment at all the attention she is getting at the unmasking of our literary hero, it is clear she also has another agenda than just clearing her conscience about her past.  

And she’s gotten more attention from me than I would have liked to give  

 

 

 

february 28, 2021 – amos oz z”l Read Post »

blog, israeli politics, my life in tel aviv

we’ve been getting an inordinate amount of variants lately – most likely from the people who were allowed special entry into the country even though the borders are, theoretically closed.  It has been said that the airport is the entry point for the new mutants.  And who are these people? those who have been given special permission because they will be voting for the parties of the right?  I don’t know how true this is.  But I know of a few people who can’t seem to get back home to Israel, and some of them are fearful that they won’t be able to return to vote.  It’s an interesting way to win an election.

february 27, 2021 – who will be let into the country to vote? Read Post »

blog, israeli politics, my life in tel aviv

time to consider values.  the fact that we have ‘overbought’ and have vaccinations to spare means that we can give some away.  But to make the giving conditional on political concessions is somewhat questionable to me,  morally.  Diplomatic decisions – not clinical ones.

and who decides?  the government? the prime minister?  

and who decides who deserves vaccines?  our neighbors?  

Precisely because of the reversal of values characteristic of Purim, I wrote this poem It is connected to my fear of the decisions we make in the inebriation of success. 

february 24, 2021 – another thought on purim Read Post »

israeli politics, my life in tel aviv

This is a shamefaced confession.  We have elections in less than a month  and it should be a no-brainer for me. I’ve always voted Labor.  I believe in their ideology.  And Benny Ganz is considered such a loser that 150 Generals today asked him to take himself off the ballot because he won’t get enough votes to get into parliament.    But yesterday when someone asked me who I wanted most in the government I found myself saying his name.  The courage he showed by joining the government against all advice because he wanted to influence the decisions in the past year has proven effective.  He has forced a measure of honesty and answerability it has not known in ages.  A gadfly of the highest order, he took time to find his voice – but voice he found.  And I’m proud of him.  Doesn’t anyone else believe this?

february 22, 2021 – Benny ganz Read Post »

blog, israeli politics, my life in tel aviv,

Since almost everything opened yesterday, I have been scared to leave the house.  It seems like a no-brainer that everyone mixing together is going to create a wave – one like we have experienced numerous times in the past year.  

and tomorrow we’re going on the Israel Trail – mostly along the polluted beach.  I’m still recovering from our last visit to the beach.  It was just the beginning of the oil spill and the tar along the coast.  We don’t seem to be talking about the identity of the ship that perpetrated the crime because we are trying to make peace with our neighbors, but we’re really in trouble because we’re not containing the spill.  We’re just mopping up.  What’s more important? Turtles or peace?

 

february 22, 2021 – which masks for purim? Read Post »