Thursday, July 26, 2007

Dutch Treat

I'm writing this from Amsterdam, where Earl and I are spending 5 days with the 3 youngest on our way to LA to visit my dad. We're not away from Israel for too long because with Dani in the army I don't like leaving for an extended period, even if Assad is behaving for now. Poo poo. We chose to come here because we needed to go somewhere that Earl can pray 3 times a day with a minyan since he's saying Kaddish for his father so we looked for a place with members of the tribe, and because London is expensive and Paris is full of French people.



The affiliated Jews here don't live in the city center anymore but a bit out, in the Dutch 'burbs, so we tram it in every morning and back at night. Or what should be night; it's 10 PM and still light out. (That's why we came here after the fast of 9 Av.) Shabbat should be interesting, we're eating with an (Israeli, of course) family who does this for extra cash. I had falafel (really did, don't laugh, I'm not a big carnivore) for dinner at the Israeli run meat restaurant. (They're very homesick, I had a long shmooze with the owners. We hit the Israeli owned pizza place last night; he was closed but made us pies anyhow since we looked so pathetic. Did wonders for the chat I was having with the kids about Jewish hospitality to Jewish travelers over the centuries. Nothing like a real time 'chessed' to drive a point home.)



This place is so fascinating, canals, cool architecture and incredible museums- we all know lots about Rembrandt and Van Gogh and the stunning dollhouses that wealthy Amsterdam woman had built in the 1700's with money their husbands made importing spices and other goodies from far away. Tomorrow we take a walking tour in the afternoon of the old Jewish area which should be fun considering that at times today it poured and more is coming. Yesterday we went through Anne Frank's house and the Annex; it's extremely moving, even to the majority of visitors who are not Jewish. How can you not tear up at the site of the pencil marks on the wall marking the children's growth during their 2 years of hiding? There are a few commemorations to WWII and the Holocaust around, 90% of Dutch Jews went to the camps. We'll learn more tomorrow, but we already know that a big reason for the Dutch being a marine superpower in the 1600's was the influx of Portuguese Yiddin after the Expulsion from the Iberian peninsula, due to the relative freedom of religion here. We make things happen, that we do. Then they kill us. Is that stupid, or what?



I got a nice feeling telling the kidlets that the royal family was called....the House of Orange. Gush Katif notwithstanding.



The rest of Europe- and back home- is sizzling but here we wore jackets, and got sprinkled, as did all the cyclists whizzing by, talking on phones, with dogs and or toddlers in baskets. Maybe we'll rent some on Sunday and ride around. Be nice if my spinning muscles got a workout before they atrophy. But we'll stick to one of the beautiful parks and not the trafficky areas, not sure I want Nili dashing through a light on 2 wheels with 3 trams, 4 buses, 5 motorcycles and a bunch of pedestrians all vying for space.



Feeling lousy that I missed the Efrat attempt to settle the Eitam yesterday but just watched the YouTube clip and read all the updates. And there's more to come; I have a feeling that there will still be room for me to do something besides a housewarming party on the hill when I return.



So far we managed to avoid anything overtly red light, although what some people wear (and judging from some whiffs, smoke) on the streets comes as no surprise after what we've heard about the city. Not too bad, though, and certainly not a reason to skip a visit. We won't have time to do everything on the list, it's an amazingly diverse place. And we haven't even sampled the chocolate yet.....

Thursday, July 19, 2007

The End Game

Last Shabbat was very nice and most importantly, we didn't run out of food. (Or sand either, for that matter.) Thanks to all who asked and my deepest apologies for not posting sooner and keeping you in such a high state of suspense. We also did not get hit by Kassams, although a helicopter did spend many hours hovering over the beach. Maybe the pilots like bikinis.

Since this week has rapidly moved right along, I found myself shopping today for, you guessed it, this coming Shabbat. Grocery shopping is one of my least favorite things to do and actually, given how many hours of my life have spent doing it, it probably ranks #1 on my personal ratio chart of time:disliked activity. I mean, labor was no fun but the sum total for 7 kids was maybe 50 hours so I've gotten over it. Especially since they became teens and I had new horrors to deal with. But shopping for food is still with me.

One of these days I'm going to sit with an industrial designer and redo the damn carts. The whole shopping thing is incredibly inefficient and stressful (unless you enjoy ice cream melting onto your your nectarines, meticulously culled from the pile only to end up bruised anyhow.) I know the issue is money- these carts are cheap- and the need to provide storage for homeless people, but really, in 2007 I think we can do better.

We were low on toilet paper so I moseyed down the corresponding aisle. I wanted cream color, but the only brand they had in that color smelled like vanilla. I don't know about you, but in my humble opinion vanilla is a flavor for food, not for bathrooms. Not flagging, I spied a package of rolls that looked yellowish and could have passed for cream. Getting closer I saw that this wonder smelled like.....pineapple. Pineapple? Who is doing the marketing research around here- some Fijian? Has anyone bothered to check out what the, er, end user would like? Now maybe I'm all alone on this one, but does anyone really want their privates smelling like a fruit basket? I live in such an olfactory sensitive environment that I haven't even changed my perfume (Obsession, if you must know) for years because no one liked me wearing anything else, even Paloma Picasso, which I adored on my aunt. (My good friend Marilyn innocentlyly asked me why I was slathered in mosquito repellent. I know, I know, body chemistry. And $54 down the tubes.)

Most of the other choices had dog or ducks or hearts on them. I finally found a nice, soft package of plain white, 3 ply, now on the shelf awaiting use. No cream, guess we'll dim the lights.

So proud of myself that I can do apolitical posts now and again. Except ya know what, that joke about diapers and politicians needing to be changed often and for the same reason just crept into my head. Darn, so close.

Friday, July 13, 2007

Beach Boys

We're in Ashkelon for Shabbat at the beach apartment of a nephew who not only has a good business head but is generous about sharing his largess. Doesn't always go together, fortunately for us in his case it does. Earl just went down to the beach with the girls so I have a few minutes. (That makes 2 posts this week, I'm so proud.) Guys heading here on their own steam.

What was supposed to be an easy, quiet Shabbat turned a bit, well, noisier. Nili is the only one home these days and she wanted to join us but bring a friend. Fine, actually better since we don't have to entertain her; throw a noodle or 2 in their general direction and all is fine and dandy. Then Dani came home from the army for the weekend and decided that instead of having the house to himself he would come as well, with 2 friends also out for Shabbat (the other 3 that he invited couldn't make it).

Actually, I'm happy to spend time with him (he's a great kid, always was, and his friends are terrific as well, what a coincidence, that) so it's a pleasure. Still didn't spend the day in the kitchen, but did hit 4 places up this morning to load up on prepared food for these very hungry boy/men. And am not so sure that it's enough. (The bane of Jewish mothers everywhere- jostling for prime worry time with our concerns for everyone we love is the niggling fear that we may- gasp- run out of food for our guests.)

On the way here we heard the national radio news, the usual reports accompanied by our usual disgust at the time our public figures spend covering their you know whats. But then after the weather update (cooler for a coupla days) I heard what reminds me of why I live here, in the only Jewish country in the world. The times Shabbat begins in the different cities in Israel, and the name of the parsha (weekly Torah reading). On the main radio station. Those little things make up for a lot.

Boys just came in and left for the sand, grabbing the bag of my homemade chocolate chip banana muffins (snatched by me from the deep freeze on the way out the house door at the last minute in case the bakery stuff went). Managed to rescue 2 for Nili and Co., but that's the end of that. Oh, no, do I have enough chicken?

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Oblivious to the Obvious

The 4th of July found me at the American consulate reception in Jerusalem. I have been there before and they didn't disappoint and served Ben and Jerry's, which I ate in embarrassingly copious amounts. They also had a nice kosher table (dairy this year, so I could eat real food AND ice cream) for those of us who couldn't avail ourselves of the shrimps and other delectables that were being passed around by the Arab waiters. Listen, I still pay taxes to Uncle Sam so I felt okay with the birthday gorge. At least on the fiscal level.

It was quite a Jerusalem mix; former MK Menachem Porush was there in a wheelchair, some nuns and men in cassocks, a very colorful crew and medley of languages. I decided to stand far away from arch terrorist Jibril Rajoub and even further from Salem Fayyad, the new Pal PM. Didn't see anyone selling him life insurance either, but I guess it wasn't the forum for that kind of thing. I did see some friends of ours from the medical profession including a psychiatrist, though. Hmmm. Nah, he must have been there for other reasons. The bar, perhaps.

I really wonder if anyone believes in this whole road map/Oslo/peace process anymore or if a lot of people are just too invested to admit the failures and the mess. The consul's speech was very telling. He spoke about the American Civil war and how horrible it had been, till everyone realized that all Americans needed to unite for the common good. (He neglected to mention how Arab slave traders set up that war by kidnapping Africans and bringing them to North America, causing black slavery and the controversy that came from it. Not too politically correct, I suppose.) Anyhow, initially I was confused. Was he referring to Israelis and Arabs? After double checking with the guy from Bnai Brith who was listening, too, I concluded that he was talking to the various 'factions' within Pal society. Did he think, though, this quite intelligent man, that quoting the Gettysburg Address re all men being created equal, and the American mandate for 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" was in any way going to get these guys to knock off their death culture? Can the government of the world's superpower still be so oblivious to the obvious?

Not possible. I guess they're going through the motions, letting people get tanked so that others can fill their tanks, and hoping for the best.

With my own PM letting terrorists out of jail I can't exactly complain that the Americans are entertaining some. They really can't be more Catholic than the Pope. And speaking of the Wholly C, he's now allowing an anti-Jewish liturgy back in their prayers. What a great idea. Now we know who Avrum Burg is advising.

I hope that next year I'll still see cassocks, not Cossacks. But the way things are going I wouldn't bet on it.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Clueless

I have been busy with groups coming through in the past few days. Of all the challenges that I face in getting them to understand that the 'settlers' are not the cause of the problems here- or anywhere- there is one thing that stands out time and again:

Westerners have absolutely no clue how the Middle East works. They think that if we're nice to Arabs that Arabs will stop believing what they believe. It is an incredibly naive, arrogant and patronizing attitude. Like it's all about how we act to them, not about how they feel the world should run and the obligations they have, religious and otherwise, to make that happen.

8 doctors, privileged and educated are implicated in the British terrorism plots. The West's fault?

And as for here. One woman yesterday told me that she 'read an article' that Jewish and Moslem medical staff that work together really hate each other. When I told her that I know from personal experience that it's just not true, she demanded to know why there was little socializing. I tried to explain that while the Jews can have the Arabs over we have been told by the Arabs that live in Judea and Samaria that they can't return the favor for fear of being killed by their neighbors and that they can't guarantee our safety. Tends to put a damper on the wine and cheese side of things. But she repeated that she 'read the article'.

Just call me a liar and be done with it, lady. I mean, why let facts bother your notions. The hypocrisy of the liberal left, when pointed out to them, makes them squirm. Why isn't anyone screaming about the internecine violence in Gaza? To only harp on Israel doesn't really fit what is supposed to be honest policies.

Another one repeated that she just won't accept that there is no solution. I guess the dissonance is too hard for them to overcome so they prefer to blame us rather than have to deal with the idea that the solution to this is not what we'd like it to be, and not because of us but because of them.

That's 2 serious posts in a row. Well, fasting today put me in a lousy mood. Having my soldier son tell me that his last week was spent learning to identify dead bodies didn't help, either. And trying to get through to people who are sure they know it all- from their comfy Beverly Hills digs, just adds to my malaise.

So frustrating. I'll try for lighthearted next time.