29 יומ

So I definitely need to update this more often because a) these are way too long and b) I’m hoping I remember everything I wanted to say. Either way, I just put up 2 albums of pictures on Facebook for those of you who are interested.

Ok, so last week was my birthday! I’m finally done with the first 2 decades of my life. I’m not really sure what that means or what I have to look forward to in the next year, but for now I’m just happy with how it started off. Monday of course, we had class. That night a bunch of us went to Perla to celebrate. It was a lot of fun. One of the girls, Hannah, brought a friend who she met on her kibbutz this summer and he brought a friend of his too. They were really cool; they actually talked to me whereas most of the guys that hang out with us are significantly more interested in talking to the girls in the group. Andrea was DJ-ing that night and she (and some the other people there I’ve gotten to know) made it incredible. They brought me a plate of delicious chocolate truffles with a sparkling candle and all my drinks were buy one get one free plus every once in a while they’d just through in another free one.

The next day though was probably one of the most influential experiences I’ve had yet. Sruti came into my room I don’t remember why and mentioned she was about to leave for a trip with the Reporting Armed Conflict class to interview a group of people who were forcibly removed from their homes in Gaza in 2005 as a part of disengagement. She said I might be able to come with so I made a spur of the moment decision to get dressed and go. On the way there a journalist from the Jerusalem Post gave us a little background on the situation. So to pass it along, in 2004, PM Ariel Sharon decided that Israel was going to leave the Gaza Strip and that all Jewish Settlements would be forced to leave the region. There were 21 settlements in Gaza and an additional 4 in the West Bank were also evacuated. They were supposed to be compensated and relocated within 2 years. 5 years later, these people still live in mobile homes and are awaiting the government to grant them a place to live.

We met 3 people who were evacuated from their homes. I wish you could have been there and felt their words the way that I did. The first gentleman, I didn’t like as much, but upon reflection he was clearly very angry about what happened. He compared his community to Palestinian refugees and kind of did a “this is why we’re better” thing. But he also gave his reasons for why the pullout was a failure. 1) It was supposed to be a democratic process, but in reality Ariel Sharon, who is a part of the right wing Likud Party, was elected partially for his firm stance on Israel’s right to Gaza and in a referendum, most Likud members did not support Sharon. 2) The act was supposed to bring peace, but rockets and mortars have continued and in fact the infrastructure they left behind for the Palestinians to help themselves was used to build more weapons. 3) It was supposed to better Israel’s reputation in the international community, but events such as the Goldstone Report and the flotilla crisis have proved that the world is against Israel. While I think these opinions are not fully informed, they were very understandable reasons and I’m glad I got his perspective on the issue. He also showed us a video about how successful the Gazan settlements were in producing a rich agricultural industry on sand that was supposedly impossible to cultivate.

The more impacting part was the story of a woman named Rachel Sapperstein. She’s an older woman from Brooklyn who made Aliya (immigrated to Israel) many years ago and eventually found herself living in Gaza (what they call Gush Katif).Her story was one of raising a family building a home, a career, and a life in a place where she was helping to build the state of Israel despite violence that began during the Intifadas. It is a story of tragedy in which her husband lost an arm, half his face, and 3 fingers on the other hand to attacks. And in the end, the government which she believed in and had served for decades was the same that came and took it all away from her. A lot went through my head while she spoke and even more through my heart. I have spent a lot of time reading about the conflict and making removed judgments of what is just. The moment the issue became human it becomes infinitely more difficult to judge. I felt for her. I really did. I can’t imagine having my home and my life taken away from me. When asked “Why did you stay with all the violence?” She said “I wasn’t gonna be pushed around anymore. Jews are finally gonna stand up for themselves.” I started to think of all the generations of Jews who were exiled, ridiculed, and slaughtered and admired her for refusing to let that happen to her. And then I thought of all the Palestinians who were also forced from their homes in 1948; thought that if anyone should be able to understand their pain, it should be her. I couldn’t help but cry for both. No one should have their home taken from them. No one.

The last woman told a similar story of coming, building, fighting, and losing. I continued imagining being in her shoes, coming to feel the complexity of the issues at hand, and sympathizing in ways I couldn’t before. This was the best experience I’ve had here and one of the best experiences I’ve had in my life. It may be weird, but it was one of the best things I could have done on my birthday. This is exactly what I came here for.

To completely switch gears, that night, the whole group came out with me to a place called La Champa, which is a cava bar (Spanish champagne). We enjoyed a few bottles and just had a good time together. Everyone presented me with my birthday fund cup (a small plastic cup they had each contributed to to cover that night) which was awesome of them. After that, a few of us went with one of Hannah’s friends from the night before and One of Becky’s friend’s to a bar that was having a karaoke night. It was a bunch of old time Israeli music that everyone knew – except us of course. Becky decided to ask for an English song and that turned into an English night. We told them they could go back to Hebrew, but apparently it was fun for them too. After that we went back to Benedicts and had a late night breakfast. It was really great.

That Thursday, we the professor of The Production of Everydayness in Israel took some of us on a tour of cafes, bars, and sites around the center of town, especially an area called Neve Tzedek, which was the first neighborhood in Tel Aviv. It feels so Mediterranean, but a quick glance up and you realize it is surrounded by tons of modern skyscrapers. We ended up at a bar called Levontin 7, which is also a small local venue. The music was really cool at the bar part and when I went downstairs they were getting ready for a hip hop dance party which was actually sounding really awesome. It was more old school real hip hop than the popular stuff we’re used to.

Friday was another unique experience (I know, I’ll try to wrap us asap). It was Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. It symbolizes so much of modern Israel, the varying levels of religiosity but simultaneously the virtually universal respect everyone has for the holiest day in Judaism. Before sundown, everyone was scrambling at grocery stores to have food for the day and for the break-fast meal. DVD rentals are super popular and you have to go early to get a good one. You’d think it’s Black Friday at these places. The orthodox on the other hand are performing the ritual Kaparot, which involves swinging a chicken above your head and slaughtering to take away the sins of the penitent. A bit before sunset, the entire country shuts down. Literally. Not a single store is open. Cars do not drive and planes cannot land. Every Israeli TV station has a Yom Kippur message instead of airing anything. The secular spend the day biking, walking, and hanging out in the streets. The religious spend the day at services fasting, the stricter ones observing it as Shabbat (no electricity). Everyone wears white to symbolize the purity of atonement.

So I decided to try a quasi-religious Yom Kippur. I spent the day fasting, went to services, and didn’t use electronics. However, I did spend Friday night walking around the city to experience that. It was an interesting contrast to the services I had been to. The synagogue was packed, people were standing, and of course, it was all in Hebrew. But regardless, the chanting was beautiful and it was really cool to see what it’s like to be a part of it all (sort of). Guy walked us around the city to see what the major highway (the Ayalon) and Rabin Square are like. We walked around for hours and I counted a total of 5 cars. I could not even begin to count the people in the street. Everyone was out enjoying the empty streets.

After that, Guy took me to his friend’s apartment and we hung out there for a while. They were really cool. One thing that I love about Israelis is that discussions of politics and religion are not uncommon and almost everyone cares and has something to contribute. They were intrigued that in a room of 13 people, the 12 Jews were not fasting (and in fact were enjoying lots of wine, hommos, and pita) and the one non-Jew was fasting. We talked about Mormonism, Weapons dealing, American culture and misconceptions of the world and a million other things. Luckily this distracted me until 5 am, which is when I got back home. This allowed me to sleep until 1:30 and bypass hours of pain of fasting (you all know how much I love food). Becky and I made it through together by hanging out and going to services again. As soon as the shofar blew, we were out of there, got home and downed everything in hour fridges. That was probably the best hommos I’ve had since I got here.

If you got this far, I’m really impressed. I don’t think I could. Anyways, I again hope that despite the length, you enjoyed. Wednesday was the beginning of the last of the high holidays. It’s called Sukkot and is 8 days to commemorate the 40 years of wandering in the desert. Religious Jews eat all their meals in a Sukkah (tent) and some even sleep in them. The first two and last two days are the most observed and lots of things are again closed, but not quite like Yom Kippur. Tomorrow morning we’re off to Jerusalem and we’ll also be going to Masada, camping in a Bedouin village, and then busing to Cairo for a few days. Naturally this means another long entry awaits you, but hey, at least you have 10 days until I’ll be back.