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 »

israeli politics

Here we are in the month of Elul, the last month of the year, and we’ve got to get things straight before the new year and the day of atonement.  We have to understand what has to be done to alleviate this terrible situation.  From the bottom up.  From random violence in the streets to the threat of atomic attacks.   All the violence is connected – all the indifference to climate change, all the indifference to global reaction, all the indifference to human lives.

Lets get all these ducks in a row.

ducks in a row – august 24, 2023 Read Post »