blog, israeli politics, my life in tel aviv

Paranoia is the new normal – at least for me.  When we see others on the street, we cross over to the other side.  We fear our children, and now even more than before because even though we’re on lockdown its only in theory – After all, children have to play with each other, shops have to open – even only through the back door, hairdressers seem to be going around to people’s homes.  All this makes life more difficult for those of us who remain vulnerable.

There is also a crazy mental isolation among the population.  In our walk today we met a number of neighbors our age who were without masks and big smiles on their faces.  “Aren’t we lucky?  We’re safe!” they said, as if the while thing is over.  it isn’t.  

january 30, 2021 – corona normal Read Post »

israeli politics

Why should I drive myself crazy over whether the lockdown continues or not?  I’m not going anywhere in any case until Ezi passes his serology somewhere in the second week of February.  And all my voting and campaigning hasn’t ever resulted in getting the government I wanted.  And sometimes I’ve discovered that I voted wrong, or campaigned for the wrong person.  I’m giving up.  Staying home and watching the dumbest series I can find.  

And trying to write wise or funny things.   

All right, I’ll admit it – I suddenly realized that I have been seeing the Labor Party all wrong for 50 years.  My family was devoted to the Labor Party because of its socialism, and the party today seems to follow in this basic theory. But the more I learn about the history of the factories here, the more I understand why there is such bad blood inherited between the haves and have-nots here.  

And I should have seen because I was in the middle of it.   When i came here in 1972 and didn’t get the job I was promised at the University of Tel Aviv, I went to meet a friend of a friend in the Histadrut, the workers’ union.  We met many times at Cafe Olga, where all the officials from Labor party had lunch.  And at last I was offered the position of cultural administrator.  

I was so totally unfit for the job, and maybe that was mutually understood, because I don’t remember ever getting something in writing.  But the fact that I had lunch with all these guys wearing white shirts and blue jackets and no tie means I too had ‘connections’ – probably through my father.   How did I not realize that the job offer was a sign of a corrupted system?  

or maybe the fact that there is no evidence of my job offer means he was just trying to get rid of his obligations by offering me a job I couldn’t take…

 

 

january 29, 2021 Read Post »

israeli politics

after years of trying to figure out what ever happened to the children of my aunt Batya who was either murdered by the Nazis in Lida (according to the Lida Memorial book), or died later in Auschwitz with her husband (according to Yad Vashem records).  My mother had claimed that they had 3-4 children but only one is mentioned as having perished (in the Lida book).  So what happened to the others?  The name Berenzyk or Baranchik could be spelled many different ways, and only one child that I know of would have been old enough to know his family name anyway. 

My brother copied the names of some of my mother’s nephews from the ’30’s when my mother left Lida.  Motl Baranzik was probably the eldest and in his early teens by the time of the Holocaust.  Anyone have any ideas how to progress?

 

january 28, 2021 – looking for cousins Read Post »

blog, israeli politics, my life in tel aviv,

This is the holiday of the new year of trees, and is usually celebrated by the planting of a sapling.  Since we have planted all our saplings, and can’t see our kids yet to plant with them, what I’ve decided to do is show my appreciation to my favorite tree.  

Both of us need a hug.   This tree has been through a great deal this year. Before the Covid 19 lockdown the entire street was renovated and many changes made – most of them pretty, but stupid.  This poor tree was knocked about by mistake at least 3 times, and lost many of its limbs. I watched in horror while branches were broken off by accident, and no attempt was made to even out the broken edges to prevent disease and allow for further growth.  Nevertheless it has survived, and it is due to blossom soon. 

january 28, 2021 – the new year of trees – tu b’shvat Read Post »

blog, israeli politics, my life in tel aviv, ,

Even though we have the highest percentage of vaccinated people (close to 3/8ths of the population as of today), we are also suffering a high percentage of deaths from corona, and a lot of younger people infected.   The big problem is the situation of the hospitals, suffering terribly from budgetary problems.  A friend suggested we turn the hospitals into yeshivas and that way the funding problem would be solved.  But seriously folks – this situation can’t go on.  For years we’ve seen the halls of the wards crowded with beds filled with seriously ill patients and the medical staff fighting to accomodate every one.  it couldn’t continue like this, and after almost a year of this I’m sure we’ll have many more deaths just because there aren’t enough nurses to keep an eye on those monitors that can totally change in seconds.

Somehow I was thinking of this today while I sat with a friend in the warm sun and watched the beautiful flowers and vegetables on the window sill.  Tonight there will be a storm and I wonder which plants will suffer, which survive.  It is my job to keep watch and try to protect them.

And to add to this strange combination of thoughts – I watched the Palestinian workers building a luxurious house down the street, and have learned since there are tens of thousands of workers who cross the border daily – not only to build houses, but also to work in hospitals.  They are rarely tested and the vaccinations haven’t yet arrived there.

This train of thought may seem to you to be only the musings of a poet, but I see it as essential to a politician as well…

january 27, 2021 – before a storm Read Post »

israeli politics

Obliteration

 
–It is…virtually impossible to find the full photographic record of any concentration camp.
Sybil Milton (1999)
 
Sometimes all you can see is a document,
Sometimes what you perceive
is only what someone else wants you to see.
The greatest tragedies are offstage.
But sometimes you can peek
into the details, beyond the frame,
around the corner, inside the eyes,
even behind the shutter.
And only then you know
what was really there.

january 26, 2021 – on the eve of holocaust day Read Post »

blog, israeli politics, my life in tel aviv

After more than 24 hours without internet, and much work on the part of Ezi throughout, we went online and received our green passports.  Theoretically this will allow us to go to concerts, museums, and who knows what – once they open.  But in actuality we have no idea if the vaccine works on Ezi, who is full of ritoximab that lowers resistance, and if it works on the new mutations.   So, theoretically, we are in a better place.  But, practically, nothing has changed.

At this moment, I’m actually much happier that Ezi managed to get new equipment and reconnect our internet.  I might have had to start to clean and cook had not my distraction returned.

january 26, 2021 – green passport Read Post »

blog, israeli politics, my life in tel aviv,

When i first started reading about the fact that we haven’t shared our vaccines with Palestinians, I thought it was understandable that we would take care of one population after another.  Now I’m beginning to wonder.  It would not only be legal but also the moral imperative to share with people for whom we have claimed responsibility, even though Abu Mazen has taken responsibility for getting the Sputnik vaccine to the west bank.   

There was also another reason that occurred to me this morning as we were walking around our neighborhood.  I watch the houses going up and realize that at least in one of them the builders are not from here.  I may not know Arabic well, but I seem to be able to distinguish different dialects and the one I heard today is not from any place I’ve been to in the past forty years.

  

january 25, 2021 – why we have to vaccinate palestinians Read Post »