Take a Walk

After dinner with a girlfriend in Yafo, I took one look at the view of Tel Aviv, felt the breeze against my skin and decided to walk back to my place in South TLV.

As I heard the waves crashing, I heard Hebrew and Arabic in passing, as well as the typical French and Russian. Along the whole boardwalk I saw the following: friends talking on a bench, people drinking in parking lots, couples having a romantic moment on the beach, an Muslim family taking pictures, friends and couples eating dinner and having drinks, passerby's exercising and riding bikes, an Israeli family having a BBQ... While all of this is happening I can't help to think to myself that it is 11pm on a Saturday night (the last night of the weekend in Israel) and it seems like Friday's in America. So much action yet tranquility at the same time! I thought at that very moment that I'm so lucky to be able to experience a life like this; of 90% joy and happiness. Israel is very much like Europe; most smoke and the cafe's are full 24/7. There's a laid back attitude here. There's a mentality of 'I can do it later' which is good and bad, but mostly good because they enjoy the now. This is one of the reasons why I love the life in Israel... they don't merely exist, they live!

When I arrived home, I felt like the stroll was well worth it, and I felt the positive energies from this country! There is no place like Israel!

You know your Israeli or are in Israel when... (TLV edition)

- you wear sandalim daily
- the water that's dripping on you is not rain, it's water from the air conditioning pipe
- you see a crib on wheels used as a stroller.. with minimum 4 kids in it
- you take the NO PARKING sign as a recommendation
- you wear jeans/ cargo shorts/ sneakers to a wedding
- you see kids squatting next to a tree because the closest bathroom is too far away
- an Israeli asks an oleh/ tourist "From where are you?"
- you say "Ufff" when something bad happens
- you are standing in a blob instead of a line
- kids shrug their right shoulder and lean head to the right instead of simply saying No.
- you ask for cups of water and get it at the end of the meal, if at all
- you wind the paper towel around your hand ten times only to clean up a little spill
- you put the used toilet paper in the tube
- your answer to most questions are ככה
- the only way cars stop at the pedestrian crosswalk is to start crossing
- you smell the delicious shabbat meal of your religious neighbors
- you can't text on sidewalks or you will step on multiple piles of dog shit
- there are more cats on the street than people
- someone is trying to bargain on a sale item

Feel free to contribute :)

Yom HaZicaron

Today is Yom HaZicaron, Memorial Day for all of the fallen soldiers that sacrificed their lives for the independence and the existence of Israel. On this day, most businesses are closed; restaurants, nightclubs, theaters, etc, to not distract from this day.

On my way to the memorial ceremony, the planned siren went off in the whole country. All drivers stopped their cars, even those on the highway, all pedestrians stopped walking. I took off my headphones, stood still and in silence for one minute to observe this moment. I have never been a part of such a touching moment!

There were about a thousand people at the ceremony at Rabin Square; the lucky ones sitting by the stage. There was an opening speech and then the performances began. A singer sang a few songs then a video of family members, girlfriends, who had a son or partner, pass away during a war were being interviewed, showing pictures, black & white videos of war... It was very emotional. Then a different artist came on stage to sing more sad songs and so on. Most of the people that attended the ceremony can relate to this situation; since this country is on the small scale chances are they know someone who was killed in a war. I, a citizen of this country for nearly two years, have a friend whose brother died in the Second Lebanon War. It is simply the way of life here. Israel has been fighting for itself, literally since the day it gained independence in 1948.

Tel Aviv like I've never seen before

Tel Aviv is to Israel what Manhattan is to New York. Most young people from not only Israeli cities and towns, but also from all over the world, strive to live in Tel Aviv. It is a young, chic, expensive and fast-paced city. This comparison became much more a reality this week. For a city that has summer six months out of the year, and the winter season averaging at 17 degrees 〫(63 degrees ), this abrupt weather change came out of left field. The Tel Aviv residents were in shock Monday when they woke up to shaking windows from the strong winds, and air so frigid they were wearing layers under their clothes, thick jackets, gloves and hats -- if they owned them! We had about two days of this uncommon weather before it also started to hail - not once, but twice in one day. On top of this, the Ayalon highway was flooded so people couldn't even get to work! The weather caused a bit of a detour and distraction for Isael. As I lay in bed around midnight with Under Armour under my pajamas, long socks, a blanket on top of my comforter, windows and shutters closed with the heater on, I was pretty convinced I was in New York!

But the Tel Aviv weather was nothing compared to Jerusalem and the north of the country where it was snowing!! Yes, I was also not aware that snowing in parts of the Middle East was a common occurrence. Families stayed home from school and work and bundled up to make snowmen. The surrounding neighborhoods (by surrounding I mean towns as far as an hour away) visited Jerusalem to see what all of the hype was about! But don't be mistaken. This weather is not enough to stop believers from visiting the Wailing Wall.

Happy winter to all. Stay warm!

Just another day

Today I was just getting over a stomach bug. My day was slow and tiresome. I took a nap in the middle of the day. When I woke up I went straight to my couch to watch tv and see what was new on the web. About two minutes later, I hear an alarm. After a few seconds I realize it is the Red Alert alarm. I automatically think back to when I first heard the Red Alert alarm in Beer Sheva, when I was volunteering for the army. But this was different. It was going off in MY city, where is hasn't gone off since the Gulf War in 1991. For those of you who are not familiar with Tel Aviv, it is like the Manhattan of Israel; young, hip and expensive. It doesn't get targeted much during wars but that was about to change.

After I realized it was the alarm to warn us that a rocket has been launched in the area, I put down my computer in panic. I ran to the door and unlocked the door. Once I locked my door, I realized I didn't have my cell phone on me and started to wonder if that was a mistake. I didn't know for how long I will be out of there. 

I didn't know where our bomb shelter was in the building so I asked the woman calming walking down the stairs, while reading something on her cell phone, "Where is the bomb shelter?" "She responded "What" in hebrew a few times before realizing I was speaking English. In my panic, I didn't have time to think of how to say it in Hebrew. Right before I got frustrated at this woman - either because she was so calm or not responsive -  the neighbor across the hall came out, quickly locked her door, and carried her two year old son and her four year old son is walking alongside her, both kids in pajamas. Around this time, it was around 7 PM. 

In a rush, we all went to the floor under and waited in the stairway since our building is too old to have a bomb shelter. I could see the fear in the mother and the four year olds eyes. The two year old was sitting on the stairs playing with his mom's iPhone, oblivious to what was going on. After a minute, the older brother started jumping around and his mother told him to stop in Hebrew, that it is dangerous. After chatting for a few minutes we went back to our own places. Shocked to see my things in order, I went immediately to my phone to check that my friends and family are okay. Everyone is fine. Three rockets hit surrounding towns of Tel Aviv and there are no reported injuries as of yet. 

It is the first time that Gaza militants have developed rockets with the ability to reach Tel Aviv, located only about 70 km (50 miles) north of Gaza strip. Just to give you an idea of how serious the Israeli government is about rockets hitting Tel Aviv, the following is a quote from a Jerusalem Post article; "...a strike on Tel Aviv itself, Israel's commercial and cultural capital, would mark a significant escalation." 

An update of 274 rockets have landed in Israel since yesterday. Today is the second day of the war Operation Pillar of Defense. Yesterday the Israeli Defense Forces killed the head of Hamas' militant wing in Gaza, Ahmed Jaabari, who has been a threat to Israeli civilians since 1998. Israel's Shin Bet also destroyed dozens of rocket launchers. Israel made special efforts to destroy launchers for Hamas' Iranian-made "Fajr" rockets, which are believed capable of flying even deeper into Israel. Hamas says that the killing of their leader will "open the gates of Hell" for Israel. But words are just words to Israelis. 

I was chatting with an Israeli friend and he told me the whole situation is scary and of course I agreed. He responded with "everything will always be okay and good." I commented that Israelis have a such a positive mentality and he went on to say that it is because they have someone who keeps them in the sky's. I couldn't have thought of a more calming answer! If that isn't the right mentality during a war I don't know what is! They certainly know how to deal with it after 64 years of continuous terrorist attacks.

Another thing I love about Israelis is their passion to defend the country. My American friend who moved here for her boyfriend, now fiancee, moved back home last week. After hearing what was going on in Tel Aviv today, she texted me saying her fiancee wishes he was here to help fight. This is a true Israeli - one that is willing to die for the future of his country!!! 

The following is a link to the timeline of events that happened during the second day of the Pillar of Defense Operation: 

http://www.timesofisrael.com/southern-israel-under-fire-air-force-strikes-terrorist-targets-in-gaza/

Lyla tov Israel. I wish everyone a peaceful couple of nights...

the light at the end of the tunnel

Can you imagine what goes through your head after being captured?  Will they torture you and let you suffer? How will you pass the time and have fate you will make it alive? Are you psychologically prepared to survive this and if so what would be the aftermath? How can you see the light at the end of the tunnel?

On October 15 there was a one hour interview with Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier who was abducted by Hamas militants in a cross-border raid via underground tunnels near the Israeli border with Gaza on in June of 2006. The interview nearly marked the one year anniversary of his return home from a more than five year capture.


The interview first showed the support of all of Israel throughout the five years of his captivity, showing city marches, bumper stickers, fundraisers, and protests on the tv screen, all to get the then 20-year old young man back to his country. 

Gilad's mom mentioned in an interview taped during his captivity that everything she is surrounded with, she wonders if he has, wherever he may be: It's cold here, does he have a sweater? With every bite she wondered if he had any food. To pass the time he would "play all sorts of games, mostly sports-related. I would form a ball out of a sock or a shirt and throw all kinds of things to the trash bin. I also wrote." He regularly drew his neighborhood to not forget it, and followed a daily routine. He went to sleep around the same time every day, based on the sunset. 

Almost every Israeli citizen was backing him until the last hour that his release became reality. 

Referring to the day of his release he said the following: "I was nervous. There was a lot of pressure. I didn’t know if anything would happen at the last minute, if anyone would try and hit us, if something would go wrong.
Once I got out of the car and was handed over to the Egyptians, then there was a sense of relief. All of a sudden I saw all these people around, hundreds. After not seeing more than a handful of people for all those years." 

He wasn't home free just yet. The first interview after his release was conducted in Egypt by an Egyptian woman. Watching the clip, the viewer could see him nervously swiveling in a black chair. When Gilad was exposed to anybody during his captivity it was strictly Arab men. Gilad didn't know how to act in front of women. 

The first thing skinny Gilad did when he set foot in Israel was salute the Prime Minister Natanyahu. Not only was he about to see his parents in a few hundreds meters but it was the first time he was exposed to sun and the outside air in over five years. 


The first thing he wanted to do after this release was to play basketball with friends and ride his bike around the neighborhood. Although he has been waiting for this day for multiple years, he comments the following: "It's difficult coming back to normal life. It's difficult socially. People have changed, have grown up, you feel as if you were left behind."

The whole ambiance of the interview was calm and insightful, while at the same time keeping its' distance. The questions toward Gilad were positive and happy ones, such as "What did you look forward to?" His mother was asked "What did Gilad smell like to you?" This is a very respectable manner to interview someone who has just gone through a harsh situation like his. In America, they would first of all, not be able to give him his space and only be able to wait two days at most, to interview him. The questions would be more invasive and show the suffering much more. This is American culture. 

When the hour was over i felt happy that Israel got their son back and he had returned back to normal life!

This specific interview touched my heart  since I was in Israel for the release of his captivity and witnessed the energy and unity of the country. It's something very special that I have never witnessed in any other country.

25 hour fast

Only the first few hours of yom kippur (the day of atonement, and the holiest day in Jewish tradition, where we fast for 25 hours to repent our sins from the last year) has passed. People mainly reflect on the harm they have done to others, whether it was intentional or not. Along with this, i would like to add that no one should judge someone else before completely knowing them. Ask questions, learn about the life they have before you make a conclusion about who they are.

At 11pm, I took a walk down Rothschild Boulevard - literally ON the road. This is the only day in Israel where 100% of the country is at a complete halt; no businesses are open and no cars on the street. Just time to rest and think. Only today do you see people pushing strollers, walking their dogs, or on their bikes, or teenagers learning to skateboard ON the road. As I notice my surrounding environment and see all of the couples, friends, and dogs having a good time, I can't help but to realize that this is the first time since I moved here that I could hear the air conditioners making noise, rubber bike tires turning...  The Tel Aviv I'm used to has screaming children, drivers constantly honking their horns, people yelling from across the street. This is the one-time a year I (don't) hear my city noiseless.

In short, this day is to think about the ways you've hurt others and ways you need to change in order to   not have that reoccur. Besides judging, criticizing, and complaining about others or yourself, also gets you nowhere. Improve yourself for you.

I'm going to sleep because I'm too hungry to be awake right now! Lyla tov and I wish everyone an easy fast.