Horowitz Travel-Israel-Jerusalem-Skyline
View-January 21, 2017
Our neighborhood welcomed Shabbat with someone broadcasting spirited and familiar songs.
Unfortunately, our dinner guest, was unable to come at the appointed time, so we were able to watch the entire grueling inauguration. Poorly attended, awkward pauses preceding strained applause, & a "same old, same old" speech. Enough said. I don't want to re-live it.
Our daughter, Wendy, her husband, Julian, & friends are in D.C. with the Women's March hoping to have their voices heard in protest to the hateful rhetoric of Trump's campaign. Our son, Daniel, & his girlfriend, Janet are in Cleveland participating in a similar protest.
Today, Terry took us on a drive around the high points of Jerusalem from Mt. Scopus to the Promenade of East Talpyot to give us a perspective. The Territories, Jerusalem, & Israel, in general, remind me of visiting Four Corners in the U.S. where the state lines of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, & Utah converge. We were able to stand with our feet and hands in four different states, separate, but united as states. Here, there's easy access in some places, walls, fences, barbed wire, & security guards in others. Israelis are conflicted about the walls, but they have cut down on terror attacks.
The original Hebrew University, established in 1918, & Hadassah Hospital built in1934, were cut off from the rest of Israel in 1948, when the area was taken over by Jordan. In 1967, the university was back in Israeli hands and was fortified with a system of tunnels connecting the buildings and through which students enter. There have been attacks.
We skirted barrier walls and landscaped parks. The Old City with the golden dome drew our eye as an iconic marker around which the metropolis and hills rose. East Talpyot Promenade, where a terrorist killed four soldiers with his car, was our last stop. There's a small memorial of flowers & candles. The promenade is a place where families gather on pleasant days to enjoy the view and walk the paths. Palestinians, Jews, Christians, & tourists rub elbows. And, evidently, terrorists too. It's two blocks from where Terry lives.
We rested before Terry & her husband, Ron, picked us up at 5 PM. for Stuart s 75th party. Ellyn put on a huge spread that served as both lunch and dinner for us. We met many people we knew from seminary days. One was David Geffen, a writer who appears in the Jerusalem Post, not the movie mogul. He's from Atlanta & has roots in many Southern states, including Florida. He knew a few girls I went to camp with in Georgia & some I knew from Jewish youth groups in Florida. If this party was any indication, senior American transplants to Israel go to bed early. People started leaving at 8PM & we were home shortly thereafter.
I have a cold, of course. I get one whenever we travel. I needed cough medicine so Terry took us to a pharmacy that was now open after Shabbat. Things we get at grocery stores in the States are behind the pharmacy counter here: Advil, Tylenol, & cough syrup. The pharmacist, a Palestinian woman, knew of Robitussin, but didn't have any. She spoke English & selected a DM cough medicine that was similar. Good service, friendly demeanor. Terry insists that if it was left to the everyday people who want to live in peace & provide for their families, there would be a path to an agreement. It's the extremists of every side who sustain and stir the pot of hatred. Discouraging.
Our neighborhood welcomed Shabbat with someone broadcasting spirited and familiar songs.
Unfortunately, our dinner guest, was unable to come at the appointed time, so we were able to watch the entire grueling inauguration. Poorly attended, awkward pauses preceding strained applause, & a "same old, same old" speech. Enough said. I don't want to re-live it.
Our daughter, Wendy, her husband, Julian, & friends are in D.C. with the Women's March hoping to have their voices heard in protest to the hateful rhetoric of Trump's campaign. Our son, Daniel, & his girlfriend, Janet are in Cleveland participating in a similar protest.
Today, Terry took us on a drive around the high points of Jerusalem from Mt. Scopus to the Promenade of East Talpyot to give us a perspective. The Territories, Jerusalem, & Israel, in general, remind me of visiting Four Corners in the U.S. where the state lines of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, & Utah converge. We were able to stand with our feet and hands in four different states, separate, but united as states. Here, there's easy access in some places, walls, fences, barbed wire, & security guards in others. Israelis are conflicted about the walls, but they have cut down on terror attacks.
The original Hebrew University, established in 1918, & Hadassah Hospital built in1934, were cut off from the rest of Israel in 1948, when the area was taken over by Jordan. In 1967, the university was back in Israeli hands and was fortified with a system of tunnels connecting the buildings and through which students enter. There have been attacks.
We skirted barrier walls and landscaped parks. The Old City with the golden dome drew our eye as an iconic marker around which the metropolis and hills rose. East Talpyot Promenade, where a terrorist killed four soldiers with his car, was our last stop. There's a small memorial of flowers & candles. The promenade is a place where families gather on pleasant days to enjoy the view and walk the paths. Palestinians, Jews, Christians, & tourists rub elbows. And, evidently, terrorists too. It's two blocks from where Terry lives.
We rested before Terry & her husband, Ron, picked us up at 5 PM. for Stuart s 75th party. Ellyn put on a huge spread that served as both lunch and dinner for us. We met many people we knew from seminary days. One was David Geffen, a writer who appears in the Jerusalem Post, not the movie mogul. He's from Atlanta & has roots in many Southern states, including Florida. He knew a few girls I went to camp with in Georgia & some I knew from Jewish youth groups in Florida. If this party was any indication, senior American transplants to Israel go to bed early. People started leaving at 8PM & we were home shortly thereafter.
I have a cold, of course. I get one whenever we travel. I needed cough medicine so Terry took us to a pharmacy that was now open after Shabbat. Things we get at grocery stores in the States are behind the pharmacy counter here: Advil, Tylenol, & cough syrup. The pharmacist, a Palestinian woman, knew of Robitussin, but didn't have any. She spoke English & selected a DM cough medicine that was similar. Good service, friendly demeanor. Terry insists that if it was left to the everyday people who want to live in peace & provide for their families, there would be a path to an agreement. It's the extremists of every side who sustain and stir the pot of hatred. Discouraging.
Toby
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| Barrier Wall |
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