Jerusalem and the tale of two cities...

When I was younger and traveled to Israel, my heart was captured by the history and the beauty of Jerusalem. It is a rough kind of beauty with some spectacular sites sitting side by side with buildings that are crumbling and in need of great repair. There is always some construction project trying to create a bridge between old and new that makes this dusty town even dustier. And when the weather is hotter, there is often a warm wind blowing (as opposed to a cool breeze) that can be a bit stifling even though Jerusalem is at a higher altitude then Tel Aviv and supposed to be cooler in temperature. Perhaps that's true in winter. But this was spring and it was quite warm and a little gritty from the wind bouncing the sand off the streets and side walk. In any event, I arrived at the bus station from Tel Aviv without a map so I followed my instinct (mostly correct) which took me directly through a Hassidic neighborhood as I made my way to my favorite antique shop in Jerusalem. Since it was a Thursday afternoon I had no fear of offending the religious for improper dress (shorts) or for schlepping my bags which might be considered work on the sabbath.

Back to the Hassids. I was immediately struck that this group of Jews appears to be living in the 17th century -- which I suppose is no one's business by theirs -- but that's not really the entire story. It just so happens that these religious devotees live in modern Israel which is supposed to be a secular democracy with freedom to practice religion to whatever degree you wish. But it seems like there is a religious state within a state which, as you can imagine, comes with a lot of implications for the society as a whole.

I know this isn't news but after spending about a week in Tel Aviv where ultra hip is "in" the contrast of finding myself in the middle of a shtetl (the Yiddish term for the Jewish ghetto) was jolting. And what I was reminded of quite quickly is that it's not just religious in quaint little neighborhoods, it's almost everywhere in Jerusalem. So while Tel Aviv is about 90% secular, I'd guess that Jerusalem is probably about 60% or more religious. At least that's what it seemed like to me. I'll leave the cultural and political implications of all that to another time. Let's just say that while they have their right to practice, a right is not a mandate to command others to do likewise or to live off the rest of the society financially. And it seems like Jerusalem has tilted in that direction, especially when many families (and I'll include men and women here) don't work because they don't have time because they have to "learn" and pray. And, therefore, by the way, the state financially supports their communities more than seems rational. It's hard to believe but it seems like Israel has moved from a secular socialist state to a capitalist economy, with a huge carve out for the ultra religious who enjoy the benefits of welfare and subsidies more than one might expect. I'm sure it's not just the religious who survive on welfare but from everything I've read, and the debate that is taking place in the newspapers and among politicians, it sure seems like a lot of them have found the state to be a very convenient and permanent funding source.

Luckily as I made my way to the home of Betty Van Essen (my friend Shaul's mother) the area where I was headed was much more secular and a whole lot more comfortable. After all the neighborhood of Talpiot sits adjacent to the German Colony which was originally founded by Christians in the 19th century. (These German Christians were later found to be Nazi sympathizers and were eventually exiled to other parts of the world.) Not only is life a bit more contemporary on the opposite side of town from where I entered but it is also an easy walk to the Old City -- a stroll I took early Saturday morning when it was still cool and quite beautiful since we were in the throes of spring and everything was in bloom. I will say that it was very solitary since it was Shabbat morning and everything was quiet. It gave me a real opportunity to appreciate the surroundings, especially all the flowers, which stood in sharp contrast to the rocky, historic terrain through which I passed on my way to the Old City.

In any event, one of the purposes of my visit that weekend -- in addition to seeing Betty and Shaul's sister Guelit -- was to take a one day seminar on the future of Jerusalem which was sponsored by a group called Ir Amim. This is a civic group which is trying to educate Israelis and others to think hard about what Jerusalem means to all its inhabitants, Muslim, Jewish and Christian and how to think critically about finding a way to the future. They are not necessarily knee jerk lefists but they are definitely more left than right. After all, it's not a bunch of settlers running these tours which, by the way, was attended mostly by Israelis and not tourists. And it certainly challenges conventional wisdom when the guide announces that he's a retired officer in the national police. At least in the US you don't think of the police as a hot bed of leftist activism. In any event, for more information on what this group does, you can check out there website at http://www.ir-amim.org.il/eng/

I labeled this post the tale of two cities. It is meant really to be thought provoking about the tale of two cities comparing Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, comparing religious and secular Jerusalem and comparing Arab and Jewish Jerusalem.

Israel is a complicated and interesting place and being there stimulates all of those complicated thoughts in one's head -- so much so that it can make your head hurt. I had a chance to hear a lot of Israeli feelings about the unfair and undeserved pressure that Obama is putting on Israel. While I don't have too much sympathy for that position, it was, nonetheless, interesting to hear this view from so many people, especially on the left. The future of the Jews and Arabs is complicated and no one knows the best way forward. And, unfortunately, years of enmity breeds fear, finger pointing and anger that is difficult, perhaps impossible, to put aside. All I know is that not finding a solution is costly in every way imaginable for all the people involved. Hopefully, some group of leaders on both sides will figure that out and find a way. Unfortunately, I think it will be a long time before any real progress is made. You always want to think that it will happen "this time" but something tells me we're in for many more rounds of diplomacy ahead. And life goes on for better and for worse. Back to the bubble of Tel Aviv.

A Respite In Israel

When I arrived at the airport in Istanbul for my flight to Tel Aviv, I was quite nervous about the interview given all the interesting stamps in my passport (Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and two for the UAE -- in, out and back in as I circled the Gulf). And as my heart pounded, I guess this is Jewish guilt, the security guy asked me why I was coming to Israel. I immediately replied that I was coming to Israel to rest and relax. Rest in Israel?, he said. And that was the end of the interview.

Interestingly, that is exactly how it turned out. Not to be trite, but it was fun, relaxing and fairly social including meeting some new folks that I met, visiting with Shaul's mother and sister in Jerusalem and connecting with old friends who are stationed in Tel Aviv with the US embassy.

Best of all, the weather was exceptionally beautiful. Warm --but not too warm -- clear and sunny virtually every day. And for those of you who aren't familiar with Tel Aviv, it is a totally walkable city with lots of interesting neighborhoods and little nooks and crannies that you just wouldn't find without a month's time to wander and get lost -- as lost as one can get in a really small town that's really a very manageable small city.

Emblematic of the stay was a really neat experience I had on my first day. I should backtrack to explain that I stayed at the apartment of a friend with whom I am trading days at my place in San Francisco. I should add that the apartment is in a really terrific location and is very pleasant. In fact, after staying in hotel rooms for 2 1/2 months I was quite pleased to have a kitchen and a bit more living space. And that brings me to my first story.

I arrived from Turkey on a Saturday night. To add a little twist to the drama, the owner of the apartment, who was away for most of the time, passed off the keys via his office in Istanbul so I was really on my own when I arrived. I had been there once before but it was a very dark entry hall, I was unfamiliar with all the locks and I was just a bit tired after shlepping my abundant amount of luggage up to the apartment. I finally made it into the flat and headed to the kitchen for some water where I discovered there was no table to be found. Ok, no big deal but that was part of what I expected as part of my time in Tel Aviv. To hang out in the kitchen, cook some food, write my blog, read my paper etc. And I'm so sloppy when I eat that I was paranoid that if I had every meal on the couch, it would turn some other nasty shade by the time my host arrived home in several weeks.

I pondered this important question for a few minutes and went to bed hopeful that I would have a brainstorm in the morning -- which I did. I woke up recalling from my last trip that there is an Ikea north of Tel Aviv. I could resolve this quickly and just MOVE ON. After all, I realized this was just a silly little "problem."

But I really didn't want to start figuring out the buses, take a taxi back with my purchase and I especially didn't want to assemble a table, probably one of my least favorite things to do and something I'm really bad at. Instead, I got up and went for a walk, deciding that I would figure it out later.

So, I wandered down the main boulevard of Tel Aviv which is called Diezengoff, stopping for breakfast at a kiosk not too far from home where I was waited on by two handsome gentlemen who told me I could have whatever I wanted from their abundant case of sandwiches and accompaniments -- anything that would make me happy they each said in unison. What more could I ask for? Maybe I would eat every meal at this kiosk just a few blocks from home? After a fabulous sandwich stuffed with tuna, eggplant, hummus, pickles, roasted peppers, fresh tomatoes and every imaginable vegetable, I continued my stroll, ultimately making my way to Allenby Street. Allenby is an odd combination of retail stores, restaurants, bars (gay and straight), strip joints, flop houses, felafel stands, hardware stores and a few antique shops. After wandering in a big loop up and down Allenby, I was a little spaced out and stepped into the street at one point and almost got swiped by a car. I immediately stepped back onto the curb, turned around and found myself staring at a tiny antique store as narrow as a wedge of cheese.

As it turned out, this was a gem of a store overflowing with lots of interesting things including art deco dishes, old propaganda books, pottery of various sorts, food and candy tins, old photos and who knows what. Excited by all these antiques (at bargain prices I might add) I struck up a conversation with the owner, another handsome young guy (you get the theme) who was quite friendly and solicitous of my various antique interests. I bought a something from nearly every category mentioned above and, naturally, he was appreciative and kept trying to find more things to sell. At the end of this shopping spree which totaled about $80, the table situation crossed my mind and I asked him where I could find some cheap furniture. Since there wasn't room in his store for anything but knick knacks, I figured it was no offense to ask for a referral. After he gave me directions to a little neighborhood nearby that sells furniture (there's lots of segmented selling zones in Tel Aviv), he said "where are you living anyway?" One one hand I was a little reluctant to give my address to a stranger (even a member of the tribe) but I quickly got over it and said I was living at 21 Sokolov to which he replied that he lived at #8 Sokolov and he had a folding kitchen table that I could borrow and I should call him that night. And sure as shooting, I called him at 7PM and 5 minutes later I had a table for the duration of my visit. I guess that could happen anywhere but it sure seemed like a very happy set of coincidences and, possibly, a good omen for 3 enjoyable weeks ahead. Stay tuned...