Protective Edge

As I started taking notes on this post, so many thoughts came to mind that I didn’t know what to write first. Here is the final copy:

First, the back story of what provoked the current war which we defend was named Operation Protective Edge. Today, July 15, is the seventh day of the ongoing war.  

On June 12^th, three teens, Eyal Yifrah, 19, Gilad Sha'ar,16, and Naftali Frenkel,16, were hitchhiking in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank.  Two Hamas militants were disguised as religious Jews, which is what lured the teens to get in the car. After hearing this news, the IDF, or Israeli Defense Forces (the Army) was searching for the boys and the kidnappers around the area where it took place.

                                

Shortly after the boys entered the car, they realized what was going on and one of the boys called an emergency service center. Just seconds after Gilad had told the operator they have been kidnapped, in panic, the militants fired at the boys ten times. The fact that they used a silenced firearm to kill the boys proves that this they intended to murder teens from the start.

The people behind this evil crime is a terrorist organization called Hamas. “The organization is based on an extreme religious ideology and is as committed to Jihad as its Islamist counterparts now carrying out terrorist atrocities in Kenya, Iraq, Nigeria and elsewhere. Hamas' "added value" is the antisemitism that is engrained in the core of its beliefs and its dedication to the destruction of Israel,” as quoted by the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. Not only did Hamas not take responsibility for the kidnapping, or any of it’s previous crimes against Israel but a Hamas spokesperson said the following: “any Israeli response will open the gates of hell,” as quoted by The Times of Israel article. Throughout the search, over 500 Palestinians thought to be a part of this abduction, mostly Hamas members, were arrested.

After 18 days of tireless searching, the country had received news that the bodies were found in a field less than 20 kilometers away from where they were abducted. Saddened by yet another tragedy, Israel and it’s people, gathered together to pray for these innocent boys’ souls. If you take one Israeli’s life, you take every Israeli’s heart with him. The people of Israel are a pretty united society, in part because of the size of the country. It is roughly the size of Maryland, the ninth smallest country in the US, with a total of 9,774 miles or 25,314 kilometers.

On television, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu declared that "Anyone trying to harm Israeli civilians will be harmed in return.” This is a fair statement considering Israel, just like any other country, has the right to defend itself and it’s people. If missiles are being launched at your citizens, would you take action or stand back and let them harm you?

Since the extremist organization Hamas were so outraged that we arrested so many of their people, including the Palestinian terrorist involved in the Gilad Shalit kidnapping, they started shooting missiles at Israel on July 8^th. Another war had begun.

Tel Aviv has the hustle and bustle of a metropolitan city; cafes on every corner, chic restaurants and fashionable people. It has been compared to New York City many times. On the second day of the Operation, I was walking on Dizengoff Street, a main shopping street in Tel Aviv, and could not believe what I heard. No, not a siren. I could actually hear the birds chirping, not the people. It was almost silent. No screaming kids, no shouting friends, no cars honking, and not much laughter. The mood was somber and gloomy, instead of joyful and loud.

With five days of non-stop rocketfire coming into Israel, and the Israeli’s responding, PM Netanyahu warned Hamas that if they don’t take quiet for quiet, the situation will escalate.

40,000 reservists, including some of my friends, have been called to prepare for the next steps in this war. The soldiers will be on standby, ready to make a move at any moment! 

Although Hamas is a very extreme terrorist group, they are good at one thing. Their Photoshop skills are up to par. What do I mean? Their people are very good at falsely showing the world what really happened. They edit a picture with Arab men on a mountain of rubble, from another war, and blame Israeli’s in the caption for the outcome of that picture. Oftentimes, the location of the old picture, is actually from another Muslim country, like in the link below. The original picture was taken in Syria a few months ago. Or better yet, they edit a picture to make it seem like the Israeli soldiers are attacking you! Also, all of their empty threats that Hamas will bomb all the cafes, and streets of Israel just proves to show that they know Israel has a stronger military and Air Force.

https://twitter.com/Shahidmasooddr/status/487929807913889792

Once the siren goes off, how long do you have to get to safety? The times range from fifteen seconds to 90 seconds depending on the distance the Israeli city they are targeting is to the Gaza Strip. The neighboring Israeli cities of the Strip have fifteen seconds to run to safety. If the alarm catches a mom in the car with children, chances are they won’t make it to safety. Because of this life-threatening situation, most Israeli residents that surround the terrorists land have a room designated as the bomb shelter. In areas like these, the alarm sounds so often that they often stay in the shelter for hours on end. And if you live in an old building with no bomb shelter than the residents just stand in the stairways or hallways until the siren has ended. Hamas throws missles to cities and towns all across Israel, hoping to kill as many Jewish civilians as possible. But they have not succeeded in doing so.

Why does Israeli have almost no casualties and there are 1000+ dead in the Gaza Strip? The Israeli people can thank the Iron Dome, an anti-missle defence system, for their safety. After detecting the Red Alert siren that warns you to get to a shelter, the system determines under 10 seconds if the missle will land in an open field or hit a building. In case of the latter, the Iron Dome sends a counter-missle to intercept it in mid-air. The accuracy rate of the system is around 90 percent! The Iron Dome batteries are placed in cities where citizens are most threatened by missles. It is literally a lifesaver for all of the Israelis. Let’s look at the numbers, shall we? “Since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge seven days ago, the IDF has attacked over 1,220 targets in the Gaza Strip, among them 632 rocket launchers, 130 military basis, 106 "command and control infrastructure” and 222 tunnels,” as read on the Ynetnews Facebook page. There has only been one casualty on the Israeli side and only a handful of wounded. 

More details on how it works:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2011/apr/11/israel-iron-dome-missile-defence-interactive

This is the best clip you'll see of the Iron Dome in action (notice the # of missiles):
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152235745348225&set=vb.690623224&type=2&theater 

But what is the reason for such a gap in the death poll? Both the Gazans and Israelis are throwing rockets but both have different strategies and intentions. The Israeli Army’s goal is to kill ONLY the terrorists that threaten the lives of their citizens. It is proven that Israeli’s don’t want to harm those not involved, since their methods of attack is as follow: they drop 2,000 leaflets warning the Palestinians to leave the vicinity, since they will be attacking it shortly. A quote from a New York Times article, July 8^th: “A resident of southeast Gaza receives a phone call saying ‘Everyone in the house must leave within five minutes, because it is going to be bombed.’ ” They also make over 100,000 phone calls to the residents telling them to evacuate. This is done to reduce civilian casualties. In addition, there is something called the ‘Roof Knock strategy.’ This is when a small rocket makes a small knock on the target, in order to warn them to evacuate the building before the real rocket hits.

Hamas deliberately tells people NOT to leave their homes when they receive the call or the leaflet. This way, they win either way; if the IAF (Israeli Air Force) does take action then the Palestinians can tell the media that the Israelis killed x number of their citizens. When the IAF doesn’t take action, because they see innocent civilians on the rooftops or around the target, then the terrorist was saved. They take advantage of the humane nature of the Israelis. Each year, Israeli hospitals open their doors to thousands of West Bank and Gaza residents! The picture below proves that Israeli's have a good heart by taking care of innocent people, even if they aren't their citizens. I challenge you to name ONE Army or country that is just as ethical as the IDF!

Hamas takes it one step further by disguising a military training compound (used as training grounds) in a terrorists house that is located in a schools backyard!!! So what does the inside of these ’houses’ look like?

    

This picture makes you realize that Hamas is protecting their missles with civilians and Israelis are protecting their civilians with missiles.

As of today, July 15, 2014, the Air Force has the go ahead to resume airstrikes in Gaza, after Gaza didn’t follow through with the cease-fire early this morning. “Israel had struck 1,320 sites within Gaza resulting in 170 deaths and over 1,000 injured,” as printed on Wikipedia. From July 15^th, more than 1,000 rockets have been launched at Israel from Gaza into Israel. I am praying for the safety of the Israeli citizens and even more, for the safety of the soldiers, who so bravely defend our country! Also for this war to stop very soon, because neither side deserves to live like this!

Here is a great video of ten myths that prevent peace with the Arabs:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=630107010349283&set=vb.100000499684351&type=2&theater

This post is not meant to inflict hate on one particular group. It is meant to spread knowledge and the facts of reality.

I want to leave you with two quotes that explain the situation quite simply:

“Peace will come when the Arabs love their children more than they hate us.”

-Golda Meir, 4^th Prime Minister of Israel in 1969

“If the Arabs lay down their arms there will be no more war, but if Israel lays down its weapons, there would be no more Israel.

-PM Netanyahu

               

                                                         עם ישראל חי 

                                                       

Only In Israel (OII)

While waiting on the sidewalk to cross the street, an old lady approached me - as if I had met her before-  and asked me something in Hebrew. Understanding only half of what she said, I wrinkled my forehead. She asked me "At mevina oti?" (Do you understand me?). I said No. After she rephrased it, I understood and agreed to help.

When the light turned green, I held her soft, wrinkly hand to help her cross the street. She wasn't feeling  so good so she wanted to make sure she would make it safely to the other side. And she did. As our hands parted, she thanked me and wished me a Shana Tovah (Happy New Year).

Only in Israel is the bond so close between citizens that you ask a complete stranger for help, but feel like they will do anything to make sure you are okay, even though they met you five minutes ago!

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.

this time last year

As I read the newspaper article that a Nesfesh B'Nefesh flight had landed that morning - July 12th - I run through all of my memories in the past year in fast forward mode. HOT customer service hanging up on me, sheirut rides, nature parties, kibbutz parties, changing diapers every Sunday and Thursday, learning Hebrew from my kiddies, being Israeli, many of my "Ahh ok" Ulpan moments, understanding that once you know fifteen people in Tel Aviv you know everyone...
Even though this is nothing like America I have definitely adapted to the life here and have become Israeli in just a year that felt like a few months. I don't know if I will stay here forever - only time will tell - but I do know that I will be here for at least a few more years. Israel is my home and there is only one place like here, for the good and bad.
Having my family visit and check out all of the major sites reminds me how ancient and special this country really is :) I am genuinely happy here.

Next week I am going to visit America and these are some of the things I will miss :



"Ah, you came on Taglit?"

Tamara juice bar before Ulpan

volunteering in the Army

hearing protests out my window

Rothschild Boulevard

being able to catch up with a friend for hours over dinner

street graffiti

the energy at the Wailing Wall

the sense of the whole city feeling like family/ being invited to strangers houses for Shabbat

telling Israelis where the closest parking lot is

the background noise of matkot on the beach

Friday afternoon art fairs

Saturday being reserved for beach day

meeting Olim from all over the world

never being bored

"From where are you?"

realizing how easy hebrew is

the energy in the whole country

"Yalla, bye"

the chutzpa

It was a typical day at the kindergarden; kids screaming after we told them to be quiet for the third time, a mess in the classroom. After Sam came up to me to ask me where the paper towels were I made a mental note to ask Yakov for more. Two minutes later, Yakov walks in. I tell him in Hebrew that we need paper towels. Since I don't know how to say paper towel in Hebrew I pointed to the paper towel holder. He said we only get one of those and i said "No, not that." and made the motion of rolling up paper towel. Then he understood. He told me he will get it now. After 45 minutes had passed and no sign of paper towels, I decided to look for him. I searched in the hallways; upstairs and downstairs. No Yakov. I then checked the office. There he was, sitting with a secretary. I ask him where the paper towels are, we need them! He pulls out his keychain with ten keys, and holds it out, leaving them all hanging, except for the one that belongs to the closet. Only understanding every other word, he told me "Go get them, they are in the closet..." I tell him "- No, i can't do it. I'm with the kids now," and I return to my class. It's not my job to do these kind of things, I wanted to tell him. Thirty minutes later he comes in with the set of six large paper towel rolls. Good, I don't have to deal with him for another few weeks.

Shul emotions

During the passed few weeks, I've been telling my friends that I want to join them at shul. I haven't had the chance to go until yesterday. I went to services for the first time since I moved here eight months ago. I wore a floor-length skirt with a tank top, a button up sweater and sandals. I exaggerated the length of the skirt because I didn't know how religious the synagogue was and didn't want to offend anyone. As I entered in the woman's section with my olim friends, I felt a sense of warmth, of belonging. Growing up in the States, I had been to services plenty of times, but this was different. Here there were Israeli's and immigrants alike who wanted to be there; not there for the obligation. When I sat down, I observed two kinds of woman; the more religious woman who had their shoulders, chest and knees covered with smalls scarves hiding their hair and the more conservative ones in knee-length skirts with their hair down.
As the crowd followed the Rabbi's lead, my friend whispered to me what will happen next, "Now we are going to stand up, turn around and bow to the entrance to welcome the Sabbath." When the Rabbi hit his hand on the podium a bit harder to emphasize the beat, the crowd simultaneously sang a bit louder. I thought to myself that I had never heard such beautiful, joyous praying. It was similar to that of a professional choir; such liveliness, such emotion.
Hebrew is such a happy, musical language. This made me love Hebrew even more than I already do. I will definitely go back soon.

Shabbat Shalom everyone!!

Pesach Patience

Shalom l'culam,
Sorry I've kept you in the dark for some time. I have been quite busy with work, dealing with bureaucracy and celebrating holidays...

Last week my father came to Israel to visit me for the Passover holiday. He comes every year at this time because it is the holiday where you feel the Jewish spirit. It is one of the most significant events in Jewish history. In short, this holiday is when the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt.

When we opened the door to our friends home in Jerusalem, we were greeted by Sheila (a Wales native, and olah for about 35 years) and her husband Zvi who was born in what was then called Palestine. Greeting the rest of the guests I noticed how diverse they were; an Israeli mother-son duo, a Russian couple with two Israeli teenagers, our guests' Israeli adult kids, and my father, the American. This is one of the many reasons why I love Israel; the diversity, the melting pot.

As my father read his part of the Haggadah, I scanned mine, noticing that I was only familiar with a few words. I was an Israeli now, so I decided to read my part like one. "Liba, go on darling," Sheila said from the other side of the table. Before I started reading I said "Savlanut vakasha" - patience please. My heart started beating fast as I struggled with the first few lines of the Shakespearian-level Hebrew. I noticed my father from the corner of my eye wiping his tears, in shock that his daughter was reading the language of the Jewish people! He is a Zionist at heart and has passed that on to me. After reading the paragraph like my four year old gan kids speak English, everyone at the table clapped for me, for they knew what that felt like. I have never smiled so big. I did it! I was so proud of myself. I could have chosen the easy route -- to read in English but I chose the struggle and I'm happy I did.

mosaic element

Yesterday on my sheirut ride back home, I realized how varied the citizens of this country are. When i got on, there were two Ashkenazi Israeli friends in the back row. To my right, on the other single seat was an Ethopian Jew. At the next stop, a Filipino mother-daughter duo walked in. And of course, me, an American-Israeli. Other places that people make Aliyah from include Canada, France, UK, Russia, and the list goes on. Singles, families with toddlers, grandparents, teens with or without their families make this huge decision. All of these diverse Jews from all different backgrounds decide to move to Israel and settle. There is an estimated 3,000+ Israeli born babies to olim (new immigrants) parents or a mix of Israeli and Oleh/ah. At the end of the day Israel isn't as bad as people complain about. People are willing to look past the bad and appreciate the good; the closeness between Israelis, the laughter, the pride.
Judging by the diverse people that Israel accepts into their country, how can people accuse Israel of being an apartheid state?

DIIIEEEEEEEE!!!

I can't believe I have been working at my gan (hebrew for kindergarten) for three months now. How time flies. I really got to love my kids like they are my own. You get to know their different personalities and even have favorites. I know, this is bad. Really bad. But I can't resist their cute little faces and English accents. They are so chamud!!!! Proof below.

I remember walking into the gan one of my first days and seeing a kid pulling his mothers shirt as she tried to drop him off in his class. She screamed DIE, DIE!! I thought to myself, "Wow, I knew Israeli's are aggressive but not as much as to tell their kids to die." As the days passed, still in shock I kept hearing mothers utter those words to their kids. In hebrew class the next week, the teacher explained the word DIE. I looked up from my notebook, immediately with the Gan image in my head. It all made sense now. Die is the hebrew word for stop! Because of the kids I will never forget the meaning of the word. Thanks yeladim  :)


Wishing everyone a healthy and happy New Year to come!!! 2011סוף

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There's nothing like a Friday morning in Tel Aviv -- not because I don't work or I can sleep in. I'm referring to the vibe. Families and friends are out in coffee shops, catching up, laughing. Dogs sit patiently under the tables while the owners eat breakfast and smoke a cigarette. Long lines outside trendy restaurants on trendy streets. Bikers ring their bells at pedestrians while the women move the carriage out of the bike lane. Friends play guitar on park benches. Every two blocks on Rothschild there is a different event... opera singers, dance show, music show and if you wish you can join in. The city doesn't allow you to get bored. Israelis really know how to live and appreciate life.

The weekends (start Thursday and end Saturday) are strictly dedicated to friends and family. No work.  This is why Shabbat is such an important thing to Jews; as busy as you may be with work and kids and life, you know that Friday night dinner is reserved to catch up with family.

what some Israelis consider English.. should have used spell check on this one!

"You're American. Oh so you're here with Birthright."

I have been a bit busy lately and have neglected my blog but I'm back... 

As time goes by I keep hearing stories about girls who made Aliyah for their Israeli boyfriends, including my neighbor on my Aliyah flight. The guys happen to be their soldiers on Taglit. It all of a sudden hit me: Taglit, and all of the organizations {Masa, Career Israel, study abroad programs} are Israeli recruitments in disguise. Rumor has it that the program chooses handsome/attractive soldiers on purpose, making it appealing for the American girls. For the soldiers that get chosen to guard a Birthright trip, they feel as though they have won the lottery! It’s like an American/Israeli dating service, and once they have you, you’re hooked. You Skype for a few months while your both home and then you make Aliyah for him a few months later because you think he’s the one and you want to build your life in Israel. It’s all a dream… until you get there and you have to deal with the beauracracy – but that’s a whole different story. Although I'm one of few exceptions, I feel proud to have moved to a place for my love of the country, not for a person. 

Although I have mostly spoken negatively about Israel (because it's things that would not happen in America) Israel/is also has many great qualities. Israelis are very warm people and truly want to get to know you, even if you'll never see them again. They appreciate family. Most Israeli families have close-knit relationships with one other. One of the main reasons I think this is so is because of Shabbat. If the family is busy all week, there is one day in the week where they can all get together and catch up. When I speak to an Israeli, I feel like I have known them my whole life. I can't explain why, I just feel like I have known them for years. Israeli's are the only people that will host you for Shabbat dinner or invite you over to break the fast, even if you just met that night. This is unheard of in America. The American parent would question it saying "You don't know who they are. It can put you in danger." That's the things about Israel, everyone is family. There is such a sense of community here that I have never felt in any other place. Israel is also, ironically, the safest place I have ever lived. They check every person that enters a mall, synogogue,  government building, clubs, etc. Yes, they are pushy and loud people, but every people have faults. I think the good definitely override the bad. 

You're in the Army now!

On a sunny Sunday in August, I was on a bus with other volunteers from all over the world; Argentina, America, Brazil, Holland, England… We were on our way to the base, close to Beer Sheva. Once on the base, we rested for a few hours before they put us to work.  At 1pm we were split off into groups of four. As we approached the workstation I saw two lines of huge white and red trucks. We were handed a stencil, a sponge and a small bucket of paint. The assignment was to paint three numbers on each front side of every truck. As I started completing more trucks, they started to look more like numbers. I don’t consider myself an artist but I thought it turned out pretty well.   

The next day I was sent with another volunteer to a nearby office who would send us to the workstation. We arrive there and the the overweight Russian commander says “Ain avodah” (There is no work).  I say “What? Didn’t you talk to my counselor, Tal? She sent us here and told us that you have work for us.” He replies with “Lo mevin. Ain avodah po” (I don’t understand you. There is no work here). So through sign language and broken Hebrew I understood to get paper to play games. After two hours of hearing soldiers and commanders speak over each other while trying to concentrate on my Hangman game, I thought to myself how useless I felt. The purpose of volunteering was to help out and learn something.

Monday night at around 10 pm I’m hanging out with a few soldiers and volunteers outside. All of a sudden I hear the loudspeaker come on and say something in Hebrew with the word Adom (red).  A volunteer explains to me that it means Red Alert. As I envision a rocket right behind me, I sprint 30 feet to the bomb shelter.  After reaching cover ten seconds later, I look back and the soldiers are strolling toward me.  As I scream “C’mon”, they were laughing at my reaction to this whole thing --- they have been dealing with this their whole lives and don't think it's a big deal. As I enter the hallway full of soldiers, my counselor runs upstairs to wake up the sleeping volunteers since the second floor is not built as a bomb shelter. I proceed to sit next to the other volunteers and talk about what just happened. To my right are soldiers; men calm and collected, girls a bit shaky and one on the phone crying. About fifteen minutes later we get the okay that it’s safe to go.

When an area is hit they have a certain amount of time to reach shelter. Beer Sheva has 1 minute, Mishmar has 40 seconds, and Sderot has 15 seconds. The times are based on how far the area is  in comparison to where the rockets usually come from.

            On Wednesday, I was assigned to kitchen duty after dinner. After all of the soldiers, commanders, and volunteers left the dining hall, I was left with another volunteer and the kitchen staff who instructed me what to do in broken English. “Dis” – pointing to the mop “like dis, chacol. Beseder?” When we were done, I went to Shlomo and tried to communicate in my broken Hebrew that we had finished. “Zeo. Tov?” I said. “Ken. Toda haverim,” he replied. On my way out, I thought to myself how much I hated that job and that was only one hour. Imagine doing that for three years! Soon after, I called my father. “So what did you do in the army today?” he asked. “I’m an immigrant mopping the floor and cleaning the tables after dinner. Now I know how Chepita feels.”  

When we boarded the bus Thursday at noon (the weekends here start on Thursdays), we got news about rockets hitting open field in Beer Sheva, only a meter or two away from where we were. After hearing my counselors at the front of the bus yell the frightening news, I couldn’t help but cry. What have I gotten myself into? What am I doing here? Is this what I want my life to be like? This is the way of life here and I knew that going into this. This news report just made it so real.

               I decided to change bases for the next week since I didn’t feel like I was doing much at the first base. I went to the medical base. This is a completely different scene. It’s just a bunch of warehouses filled with supplies that need to be sorted.  First I sorted syringes, Latex gloves, bandages, and so on, into the appropriate labeled boxes. We continued by grabbing a medium-sized plastic bag, where we placed the indicated number of items in each bag and added other bags with more supplies, to make a medical bag. The last thing would be a checklist of supplies for the medic. We filled a bin up with about forty bags. We would place four plastic bags in a cardboard box, where it would proceed to storage. The warehouse full of cardboard boxes was where the medical supplies from Israel came from that were sent to Japan during the earthquake this passed March. The duties would change from sealing the bags, to putting in the contents. These tasks seem mindless but on the other hand, if you forget one item, it could be crucial.

                                   

This time around the Army was much more fulfilling and feel as though I contributed. J


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZHnmCz6YvE

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…