Tel Aviv Diary - August 27-31, 2010 Karen Alkalay-Gut
August 27-31, 2010
Since we're talking about repentance, and sometimes not knowing what needs to be repented, the group shovrim shtika is particularly relevant. They are an organization of soldiers who discuss some of the inhumane occurences they have witnessed or participated in. Some say that they are mistaken, or they are betraying their people, even endangering their country. As far as I am concerned it is not at all wrong to speak about what they see, it is wrong that these things take place, and their moral obligation is to repeat the 'confessions,' to educate us. The only way we can be better people is to recognize, acknowledge, and endeavor to improve our behavior. This is the month for recognition. August 28, 2010 Gilad Shalit's birthday. I promise you he isn't celebrating his fourth birthday in a hole somewhere in Gaza. We made moussaka today - it was very much like Margalit's moussaka, which I gave up trying to imitate years ago. We only had 2 eggplants, so we added another kilo of zucchini, and started out with a layer or sliced partly cooked potatoes. while the eggplant and zucchini were baking in their breadcrumbs, we fried up some onions, garlic and a kilo of meat (I would have preferred lamb but this was a last minute thing), half a cup of wine, cup of crushed tomatoes and some paste, parsley, sugar, allspice,cinnamon, salt and pepper, layered it alternately with kashkaval, and covered it all with a bechamel flavored with nutmeg. An hour of baking at medium heat made it perfect. August 29, 2010 So we have one of our chief rabbis calling for the death of Mohammed Abbas and a few of our best theater people announcing their refusal to perform in Ariel. Well at least some people are taking a stand on something. To get serious for a minute, Rabbi Ovadiah Yossef has been saying things for years that show a total lack of connection with the real world. The theater people don't seem to be more in touch either. They are supported by the government so it would not be surprising that the government withdraw funds. Not terribly idealistic, but reasonable. August 30, 2010 Whoops. I too work for the government. And I'm proud of what they have accomplished in the university until now. Would I go to Ariel? Yes. Not if the government told me my job depended on it.
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