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 |  My life in Tel Aviv. Welcome to Israel! |
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Shalom! I was born outside of Haifa, moved to Tel Aviv when I was twelve, and served in the Israeli Defense Force for two years. Now, I am a student at TAU. I hope I can show the world the humanity of my nation. We're not so different, after all.
** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Whoever destroys a single life is as guilty as though he had destroyed the entire world; and whoever rescues a single life earns as much merit as though he had rescued the entire world. |
| On January 5, 2003 I was 16-years-old and I was in high school. At that time I was living with my family in a neighborhood just south of Tel Aviv. It was a Sunday, so the first day of another long school week. I was already counting down days until the army and in constant contact with my sister who was stationed a short two hours away. It was cloudy. I had gone to the store after school because my calculator had broken. I needed a replacement. I thought about a bus but with all the violent stuff happening in Jerusalem, I was a little freaked out. So I walked. I got home later than usual because I had stopped to waste money on a frozen juice drink. When I got home my mother was crying. The news was on. My father was home from work. My brother was home from school and he was not doing his homework. In southern Tel Aviv a bus had been blown up. Twenty three civilians were dead. All the years since the Second Intifada had begun in 2000 there had not been a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. All of it had been in Jerusalem or Gaza or in heavily Arab areas. Never Tel Aviv. But now 23 people were dead. I knew six of them, and one of them I had played with for years as a child. She was not so good a friend to be when I was sixteen as she was when I was ten, but still. Is a childhood friend, yes? And I remember just not understanding. Out of nowhere, there had been an explosion and people were gone. Growing up in Israel, this is something that happens and you are used to it. But then it happens to you, or to someone you know, and I just remember being confused. I didn't understand. And it makes me think of the question I have been asked at University. Should we pray for peace, or pray for victory? |
| שא שלום יר Sha'alu Shalom Yerushalayim. For the peace of Jerusalem, we pray and seek solution. Such violence could never happen in Tel Aviv, they say, which is good. The media focuses on Jerusalem and we can live in peace, but meanwhile war with Lebanon and Iran seems more and more likely. I wish classes would resume. At least when you are busy, you have less time to think, yes? |
Happy  . Had a really nice day.No dancing. Just the sunset, some frozen pomegranate juice, the warm beach, and my childhood best friend. And life looks almost perfect from that kind of view  .The optimist sees the bagel, the pessimist sees the hole, yes? I think I am going to be optimistic now on. Like, I will not be so gloomy. I will smile more . Is my goal for Rosh Hashanah. A little late, but still okay. Hakol Beseder B'Eli Haseder! |
| I think I had a little too much fun last night. My family was split again on Shabbas so I went out. I had fun. A lot of fun. And now I have a headache. Ugh. |
| Today, a local high school greeted its German exchange students. In Israel, we have a very important program with Germany that works as an exchange between high school students. It is important to preserve the relations Israel has with Germany (which are, to be underdramatic, always a bit strained). Unfortunately there are some people in Israel who want nothing to do with the Germans (or the Austrians or the French or anyone else who sold Jews out last century) and cannot move on. They have a hatred for these people that is rooted mostly in fear, outrage, and vengeance. And someone of this group of Israelis drew a large swastika with an X through it on a wall of the school where all could see. Next to the X and swastika they wrote, in German, STAY THE F*CK AWAY FROM OUR CHILDREN, and then, in Hebrew, REMEMBER THE CRIMES OF THEIR GRANDPARENTS. So, naturally, it was reported and taken care of and the German exchange students never saw it. But I saw it, and many Israelis saw it, and it leaves you feel really uncomfortable. This kind of things happens a lot, not always against the Germans but against Arabs and other groups, too. There is much anger in Israel. History is history, yes? Why can't we remember what needs to be remembered, and move on? Punish not the child for the sins of his father, yes? I am not sure why this bothers me, but it bothers me. And in happier news, GIlad is okay! They released the footage and he is healthy and coherent, and looked good. He has been in capitivity over three years, but he seemed okay . His parents have not given up hope, and so neither can we. |
| To Live in the Land of Israel by Aryeh Sivan To be cocked like a rifle, a hand on your gun, to walk a tight, hard line, even when your cheeks have filled with dust, and your flesh is falling off, and your eyes Can no longer focus on the target. They say that a cocked gun is bound to go off. Well, it isn't. Anything can happen in this Land of Israel. a broken firing pin, a rusty spring, or an unexpectedly canceled order, as was the case with Abraham on Mount Moriah. It's from a collection of poems written by Israels regarding peace and war and the Holy Land. It's called Through the Rain and it is very good. And I do not even so much appreciate poetry like I should. I have a moral question for you Westerners: Can prejudice ever be justified in the interest of national security? If I answer as a Jew, my answer would be no, never. If I answer as an Israeli, my answer would be yes, absolutely. Funny how they go against one another, isn't it? |
| Hamas says it's going to send Israel a video of Gilad Shalit, but we have to free twenty female prisoners to get it. So it's like, for one kid and his family, is it worth setting twenty Palestinian terrorists free? In Israel, yes. And remember the hotel they were going to build on Babi Yar in Ukraine over the sight of the massacre during haShoah? The Ukrainian government backed down and said they would construct a monument instead. I will be in New York City in one month! I am hoping it is still very warm, yes? It is still summer in America, I think. |
| My sister's wedding is coming, and I am in it, so today Shira, my mother, and I all sat down for seriously nine hours to plan out details. Is exhausting! And by the end of it Shira was thinking maybe she did not want this color or that food or this guest...Is like, why is this so difficult, yes? My best friend just got a job working at a cemetary. She took it. Anything for money .AND I CAN EAT AGAIN! Do you know how GREAT food tastes when you've been deprived of it for so long? It tastes wonderful. I ate and ate and ate. I do not even really like a lot of what I ate, but I was so hungry. And now I am going to get a cappuccino and go to the cafe on the boardwalk that I love and read. |
| A long and exhausting today, but I feel wonderful. You cry and yell and argue and laugh and pray, and there's no food or drink or anything all day. The synagogue is hot and outside it is hot and people are loud, and some are angry and some are guilty and some are sad, but all are hungry and tired and hot. Sometimes it is hard to breathe. Sometimes you are not sorry, you have to apologize for, but you must. It is the most important day of the year, and every year I am so tired at the end of it I can barely walk home. But now I am home, and I am hungry and exhausted, but I feel refreshed and envigorated, all the same. When your sins, metaphorically or not, are taken from you and you are given a fresh chance? This is good feeling. Even if it is not so true, even if it is just symbolic, is still nice, yes? Now I can eat and drink and rest. It is a good year, I think, or will be. I will make it good year. And Hamas tried to attack us. The IAF intercepted a massive rocket launcher before it had the opportunity to do so. We learned from the Yom Kippur War. No day is safe from terrorism, after all. I am content. It is a new year . |
| Gmar Hatima Tovah. Even though all you Goy can eat. Fasting is tough. Apologizing is tougher. Here I am complaining and using technology when I am supposed to be atoning for my sins... Shalom, all. |
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