Parents these days

Yesterday I was walking up Bugroshav street to meet my friend at Dizengoff Center. Reading her text, I hear a BOOM in the background. I look up and a two-year-old girl landed facedown on the cement. I am not surprised. Her mother, who was sitting on a bench on her cell phone, didn’t budge. Her father, also on the cell phone, at least helped the little girl up but neither of them hung up the phones. I don’t know which is worse: the mother who didn’t move a muscle or the fact that they both remained on their cell phones… 

Gilad Schalit returns home!

After attempting to bring him back for 5 years, Gilad Schalit returned home today. There has been an overwhelmingly {in a good way} support from all over the world on Facebook, with comments, likes, etc. Others, on the other hand, are saying how horrible it is that 1,000+ prisoners are set free for only one soldier. Most Israeli's would agree that one soldiers' life (although he isn't psychologically well after living more than 5 years in the dark, rarely seeing light) is worth 1,000+ prisoners. Knowing that, this is putting the soldiers in future danger. Israel knows that this was our only chance to unite Gilad with his family. These are the decisions that Benjamin Netanyahu continuously deals with.

Two Faces of Freedom in pictures:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2050377/Gilad-Shalit-release-Palestinians-wild-celebrations-1-000-militants-freed.html

On another note, I met my friend on Shenkin for a quick bite. We were catching up when the waitress came over to take our order. In the middle of asking her what is in the salad, a man completely interupts her and asks her something in Hebrew that I can't understand. What makes you think you can just do that? This is completely normal in the Israeli culture and is one of the nicer things. In America, we would patiently wait until the server has walked away from the customers table. I must be too curtious to live in this country!

Welcome

Before I start sharing about my life here I want to catch you up on what happened on October 12, 2011. Three major events occurred :

The news that Israel has been waiting for for what seems like forever is finally reality! Gilad Schalit, now 25, was captured by Hamas on June 25, 2006 at a cross-border raid. He has been held hostage at an unknown location at the Gaza Strip. Aside from one letter and one videotaped message, his parents have received no signs of life from their soldier son. Ever since that day, Israelis have wished for his release. Every day that passes the Schalit family loses hope that they will never see their son again. On this day, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) sealed the deal with Hamas that Gilad Schalit will be freed only in exchange for the release of 1000 Hamas prisoners- Palestinians serving prison sentences in Israel, as well as all female and underage Palestinians convicted and serving sentences. Although this will likely increase Hamas’ motivation to attack Israel and abduct more soldiers, at least Gilad is free! The Schalit family will be whole again in just a few days.  http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=241512 When an Israeli is abducted the whole country suffers and feels as though they have lost their brother. Its’ situations like these that make Israeli’s such strong people and create such a close-knit community.

            This day marked the first day of Sukkot (plural for booth in Hebrew). It is the holiday, which the Jews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to The Temple in Jerusalem. During this holiday you will see many makeshift booths covered with plant materials like tree branches or bamboo. This structure is intended as a reminiscence of the type of fragile dwellings in which the Israelites dealt with during their 40 years of travel in the desert after the Exodus from slavery in Egypt. The holiday lasts seven days.

This day also marked my three -month anniversary of moving to Israel. I can not believe I have already lived in this unorganized, rude, balagan (crazyness) of a country for already three months. Where does time go?