Gathering Information

Horowitz Travel-Israel-Jerusalem-Feeling it-January 24, 2017

David wanted to come to Jerusalem, walk the streets, & feel the people. Today we did all that & what we felt were sore feet, knees, & backs.

Liberty Bell Park is near us & it had been suggested that we walk through it. There was a restaurant at the other end, so why not? The park was established in 1976, in honor of the bicentennial of the U.S. There is a replica of the bell, but, that aside, the 9 acre expanse is dedicated for use by "All the Children of Abraham." It's one of the most popular & culturally diverse parks in the city & features activities for all ages as well as outdoor theater & music venues. 

We didn't like the menu at the restaurant we'd chosen so continued on thinking we'd be able to meet up with Ben Yehuda Pedestrian Mall. We had to meet a woman at 4 PM & were running short of time. We turned around & ate closer to our meeting place.

David realized he'd left his sunglasses at a pharmacy we'd stopped at in the other direction. We thought we'd check to see if they'd found them. The problem was the pharmacist didn't speak English, & David didn't know the word for glasses. Before we went upstairs to the pharmacy (what do disabled do?) we stopped at a kiosk selling sunglasses, learned the word, & sure enough, she knew exactly what he meant & had saved them for him.

How do you drive a car from Florida to Jerusalem? Impossible. Ship it? Out-of-sight expensive. Yet, we saw such a license plate on a car parked on the street. Curious.

The woman we met, Robin, is from the LGBT community. She's a social worker who has lived here decades. We thought we'd learn more about the legalities of the Community, but she was unfamiliar with laws regarding employment & housing discrimination. She personally has not had any problems with the system, but admitted that transgender people had it harder. She & her partner had been married by a Reform Rabbi here. They each bore a child by artificial insemination (paid by insurance). Since "gay" marriage isn't recognized by the government, when they split, there were and are issues regarding custody of the children.

Tomorrow we're taking Terry, Ron, Stuart, & Ellyn out to lunch to reciprocate as best we can.

Toby

Strolling

Horowitz Travel-Israel-Jerusalem-Park Walk-January 23, 2017

Strolling? What's that? We set out to "stroll" through Blumfield Park where the Montefiore Windmill is. It skirts the wall of the Old City. Instead of following the street, our detour was scenic, but challenging. We climbed steps up & down then ramps up & down. We helped a woman drag a very heavy stroller with a toddler in it up steep steps only to find her husband waiting & watching from the top with three more children. David noticed that, unlike at home, people don't smile at each other as they pass. Maybe they're out of breath. 

We wanted to branch out into different quarters so went to lunch in an Armenian restaurant. We were coaxed in by the owner as he greeted us on the street & convinced us to follow him into an ancient courtyard. It always strikes me how new our country is. When we were in Greece, we thought that was old, but this building housed a shopping area from Biblical times. The Roman columns flanking the courtyard are considered "new." Versavee met our requirements. It was old, secluded, & served food new to us. David had "sujuk." It looked like a quesadilla cut in triangular pieces. The double layer of dough was pita-like & filled with beef sausage. A surprise at the end was that the toilet (more steps to climb) was modern. Lucky us.

The narrow lanes of the souk (market in the Old City) branch off a gently sloping main street of steps. Each step has small ramps to ease the passage of delivery carts. We followed one piled up to seven feet as the man in back stepped on a dragging bike tire to brake, & the man in front balanced the load. They both shouted "hello, hello" to warn others. The ramps, as the steps, have been there forever & are quite clever, unless you're making your way along without a cart. The steps &, thus the ramps, are unevenly spaced & the heights of each are different.   

Keeping with our theme of exploring new territory, we searched for the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  We followed a non-English speaking tour group into the building & realized we were clueless as to its significance. We learned. It was consecrated in 335, & for the last 160 years has been shared by Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, & to a lesser extent Egyptian Coptic, Syriac, & Ethiopians. It houses the traditional site of the crucifixion & the tomb from which it is believed Jesus was resurrected. More ups, downs, steps, & ramps.

As we left the Old City, a vendor who chatted us up a couple of days ago recognized us & asked us to come into his juice stand. The proprietor of Versavee greeted us in Hebrew (I doubt he's Jewish) & thanked us for coming to his restaurant. Then he invited us into his gift shop. Both were turned down with a smile & "perhaps tomorrow." We did go into a shop in Mamilla Mall where the clerk spoke excellent English & Spanish. When asked, she said she learned her English when she was in South  America.

We're whipped & came home for our last leftover Shabbat dinner. Time to start again.

Toby

Fountain in Blumfield Park

Church of Holy Sepulcher

Shops & Bus Stops

Horowitz Travel- Israel-Jerusalem-Machaneh Yehudah - January 22, 2017

No fair! The temperature in Akron is warmer than here.

There were jets flying overhead this morning. I hope it's only practice manuevers . No one seemed alarmed. I told David when we first got to the apartment, that if it came with gas masks, I was heading back to Akron. No gas masks.

Machaneh Yehudah is enough past the Old City (and everything is uphill) that we decided to take a bus. We bundled up (I have a down jacket, gloves, scarf & earmuffs) and went in search of Bus 18. It's a whole new bus stop & route! The bus was crowded, I was loopy from a head cold, & the buses move at quite a clip. I literally fell into a seat. Most people do. The goal is not to land on a person, package, or arm rest.

Machaneh Yehudah is a typical farmers’ market. We've been to many & each one has its own flavor. The produce was alluringly fresh, the dried fruit displays were hard to resist. There were spice stalls, & places to buy any lentil or legume your heart desired. There were more varieties of halvah than I knew existed. Housewares, hardware, clothing, you name it. David told me it was very aromatic in a good way (I can't smell). But at this market they also sold kepot (yarmulkes, head coverings) & mezzuzot. It wasn't a tourist mall. The customers were seriously shopping locals.

We wanted to find a Turkish-Kurdish restaurant, Azura, & asked directions many times. We got conflicting instructions in Hebrew, but fortunately, like most Mediterranean people, Israelis speak with gestures. We followed the "rights & lefts," but were vague on how many turns. After five tries, we found it. I was disappointed in that things I wanted were "finished" for the day. My first choice was stuffed eggplant, then goulash. I got a plate of beef with potatoes called beef Sofrito. 

David loved his huge meatball with rice & thin crispy noodles topped with lentil soup. I was relieved they had bathrooms. The one I used had a urinal outside the tiny room with the toilet. David had to tell me when it was safe to come out, although nobody really cared.

About this time, I asked David if he knew where the bus back to the apartment was. No clue, including the street where we were dropped off. Deciding to compound our "lostnes," we headed for Na'alot, supposedly an artistic area across from the souk "market." The streets looked empty & ominous. I hesitated until I saw a group of three young folks head down a side alley. Our courage increased as we followed them, & we eventually relaxed enough to wander on our own. We didn't find much. What we saw was residential or closed.

Luckily, David knows the bus routes, & I can find my way out of most maze-like streets. The street where the buses ran was where I thought it would be, & we headed back. We wanted some coffee at Ben Ami, near our place, but got waylaid at a shop we'd patronized before. We bought several items (I can't tell or it won't be a surprise to our kids).  We chatted with the owner's mother in her broken English & our more limited Hebrew. She told us of a woman who bought items she later returned because her daughter who taught at a U.S. university said she couldn't wear anything with Hebrew on it. Sounds extreme. We told her about our Iranian friend who joins us for Seder, & our synagogue that meets monthly with members for our local mosque. She was fascinated. She advised me on how to treat my cold (tea & honey), then she invited us to her house for dinner on Thursday or Sat. We can't go Thursday., but she gave us her phone number for Saturday. Who's knows?


We stopped for milk & David bailed out a couple who were having trouble understanding what they were buying. It was cheese yogurt & they didn't understand "cheese" in Hebrew. The man was Irish, the woman was from Finland, the baby was a Sabra (born in Israel), they spoke English, they weren't Jewish, & they'd been working in Ramallah for three years. They said their Arabic was quite passable.

We did make it for coffee & a succulent chocolate & cheese brownie. Dinner will be leftover Shabbat food & late.

Toby

Synagogue in Na'alot

Old Friends: New Perspectives

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.

Toby

Barrier Wall

Another Week Ends

Horowitz Travel-Israel-Jerusalem- Shabbat #2-January 20, 2017

The inauguration of Trump will begin 6:00 PM, Israeli time. That's about when our dinner guest, Lauren Werber, will arrive. I doubt we'll watch it live. Shabbat is about peace, not stress. We'll talk, eat, and eat some more.

We walked the now familiar route on Emek Refaim to what I've begun to think of as the Shabbat dinner store (only open Thurs. & Fri) It reminded me of being in a soup kitchen. The line was out the door. The one aisle was too narrow for two adults to pass without one turning sideways. Fortunately, the foods were labeled in English & Hebrew. Containers & lids were provided. We left our rolling shopping cart on the sidewalk as everyone does & dove in. We wanted to try one of everything: to the best of my recollection we got: Moroccan cigars, kebab, egg roll, green beans, potatoes, meatballs, stuffed eggplant, roast chicken (leg & thigh, stuffed breast, & boneless breasts), challah. I didn't mention what we didn't buy. David kept saying, "Get more. There are three people to feed." I think we two will have enough left until next Shabbat.  At another store, we got plain & pistachio halvah (a sweet, dense loaf made from sesame paste). Now all we have to do is figure out the oven in centigrade & decide if we want to use the convention setting. We also have to avoid activating the cleaning cycle or we’ll be eating charcoal.

Ironically, there's a store that we can only find when we walk in one direction. It's inset & the display is one-sided. We marked where it was by the store across the street. In looking for it, we saw that the gate to the Alliance Church International Cemetery was open. It's a park-like setting, & we were curious. There was a group gathered at a grave taking pictures of each other. We asked if we could take a group photo. They were at the grave of a Chinese man who died in 2003 and had been their tai chi teacher for fifty years. His daughter, who had been raised in Israel, was visiting on a college trip. They'd known her since she was a baby. Some of the people were from South Africa, & most all spoke English. We compared tai chi styles & one woman said she could play the music their sifu (teacher) did when he was alive. I was shocked to hear it was the same as my sifu plays in my class in Akron. As were left, one woman confided to me that the deceased had not really been a Christian. He died in hospice of leukemia. Some missionaries converted him without asking, but he didn't seem to mind.

At the far end of the cemetery was a mural depicting Jews coming to Jesus. Most tomb stones had Hebrew, English, Greek, Asian, or Arabic inscriptions. Those not born Christian had to have converted to Christianity to be buried there, even a rabbi. It's traditional to place a pebble or small stone on the grave at a Jewish cemetery. But, in Israel, the custom doesn't translate to a Christian cemetery.

We lunched at the Waffle Factory which was short on waffle options, but our food was photogenic. The sides were served on a large painter's pallet: fried halloumi & cream cheese balls, sweet potato chips, guacamole, cottage cheese, baba ghanoush, tuna salad, olive tapenade, feta. It came with a small salad, rolls, & two eggs.

I was interested in two articles in the paper this morning. One is about abortion in Israel. They view us as backward & even mentioned doctors who had been murdered for doing abortions in the U.S. Israeli law states that an abortion will only be given if the woman is under 17 or over 40 years old; if she's single or if the fetus was conceived outside her marriage; if the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape; if the fetus is likely to have mental or physical disabilities; or if the pregnancy is likely to put the woman's life at risk. She has to appear before a committee with medical & social work professionals. Ninety-nine per cent of requests are granted. Some women who don't fall into those categories lie to get an abortion. The consequences can cause problems in the future. If they say they had an extra-marital affair or fake a letter from a psychiatrist regarding mental health & later seek a divorce, it's a black mark against them. The other part of the right to choose issue is that birth control & education is available for those who want.

The second article was about women waging peace to put a political resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is composed of Israeli-Jews, Israeli-Arabs, Palestinian, Druse, Bedouin, Muslim, & Christian women. In the beginning (2014) they were mostly mothers of soldiers, but membership has spread. They were inspired by Liberia & Northern Ireland, two examples of women taking initiative to put pressure on their governments  for peace. Meanwhile, soldiers armed with Uzis casually shop & stroll the streets, & we saw a father & young son eating in a restaurant with the handle of a gun clearly visible under the dad's jacket.

As poly-cultural as Israel is, it maintains its identity as singularly Jewish. There's no mistake when it's Shabbat; even Christian cemeteries have Hebrew inscriptions; most people speak Hebrew no matter their ethnic identification. It doesn't seem to want to be a melting pot. It's a hodge-podge, a tossed salad, its own unique chaotic tumult, but Jewish.

Tomorrow we're getting a personally guided auto tour by Terry, then we're going to Stuart 's 75th birthday party.

Toby

Breakfast 

Dad packing at dinner with son

Parliament

Horowitz Travel-Israel-Jerusalem- K'nesset-January 19, 2017

Thank you for all your responses. Now I know I'm not blogging into a void.

We made a stupid American mistake yesterday. Rabbi Lauren Werber, former assistant at our Temple in Akron & now rabbi in Cleveland, is in Israel for a time. We invited her for Shabbat dinner tomorrow. We'll try the carry-out place that's only open Thursday & Friday. We gave her explicit directions on how to get here telling her what bus number to take & that we'd meet her at the bus stop. Duh! It's going to be Shabbat. No buses. She'll take a cab. Hope no ultra-Orthodox Jews throw stones or curse at it. It's been known to happen.

We took a bus to the K'nesset (Israeli Parliament). Bus drivers don't commonly speak English, but ours was helpful getting us to the closest stop to the iconic building. We easily found the entrance & were casually asked by a guard if we had a weapon. We said, "No." He said, "OK." Not very intimidating.

Passports were checked as we entered the building. We lined up to go through security where passports were checked again. For some reason, ours weren't stamped when we entered the country. We also don't have the card that's issued in lieu of stamps. Some Middle Eastern countries won't admit those with an Israeli stamp on their passport, thus separate cards are used. After some computer work, it was decided we weren't a threat.

The metal detectors are so sensitive that David almost didn't make it through fully clothed. He emptied his pockets, removed his belt, & jacket before he passed. It was warm, so I tied my scarf around my waist. That caught the eye of security. I had to remove it & explain what it was. Their care is reassuring.

When we went to the area for English speaking tours, the guide asked for younger people to stand so elders could sit in the available chairs. I think we were profiled. Didn't like it.

The Israeli government has three branches: executive, legislative, & judicial. K'nesset, the legislative branch, is from the Hebrew, “to congregate”. Two thousand years ago, when the twelve tribes of Israel (the children of Jacob) formalized how they'd govern themselves, ten men were chosen as representatives from each tribe. Today, there are 120 representatives in the K'nesset. They are elected by voters casting ballots for a party, not an individual. The composition is of men and women with seventeen non-Jews (Christians, Muslims, & Druze).

Chagall Hall is the main reception area decorated with mosaics and tapestries by the artist himself. When the government asked him if they could hire him to provide the art, he donated it. The Hall is primarily used for state receptions.

A copy of the Declaration of Independence, written in 1948, professes high ideals, some of which have been achieved, and some not. It calls for peace and justice for all regardless of race, religion or sex, and extends a hand to neighboring states in peace and neighborliness. It calls for a constitution to be written in one year. That still has not happened.

The place where the representatives go for voting & speechifying looks like any other, but the rows of desks there are configured in the shape of a menorah, the iconic candelabra & symbol of Israel.

We had errands to do and one of them had a bonus of doing a mitzvah, a good deed. Some of our purchases were from a store where all their products are made by people with Autism.

Lynn Wiskind, formerly of Akron, came by to pick up an item we brought for her. It was delightful to visit with her and catch up on her family. She observed that the ceilings in our apartment were very high and thought it had been built for Arabs years ago. High ceilings weren't typical of Israeli style.

Dinner was a bust. We looked forward to eating at Burgers Bar (not a typo). It's similar to Five Guys, but flavorless.

We found a liquor store that specialized in wine. The owner spoke no English. He was trying to be helpful, but his words fell on ignorant ears. We couldn't decide on an Israeli wine, & he interpreted that to be we wanted wine from another country. He came up with a Chianti from Italy. David finally got him to understand that we wanted a moderately priced Israeli wine, but didn't know one from the other. I told him to choose a Cabernet Sauvignon. We still don't know what we have except that it's a Cab. He assured us it was excellent. We'll find out tomorrow night.

We hit the streets early tomorrow to buy the weekend Jerusalem Post & prepared food at the Shabbat dinner carry-out. Wish us luck.

Toby

Chagall Art

K'nesset

Menorah, Symbol of Israel 

Past to Present

Horowitz Travel- Israel-Jerusalem- Seminary to Citadel-January 18, 2017,

I love hearing your reactions to my emails. My last few have been pessimistic & responses have decreased proportionately. Hopefully, there will be an uptick in the future.

Stoney, the resident dog, is getting used to us. I always greet him, & today he stood up & stuck his nose through the fence for a sniff. Evidently, he liked the back of my hand, because I got dog lickers.

We walked to Hebrew Union College to meet Chaim Shalom by noon. On the way, we stopped at the bank whose ATM generously gave David money yesterday. We waited in line 15 minutes to change some of the 200 shekel bills he got for smaller notes. The teller checked the authenticity of the bills, then gave us what we wanted. Later in the day, a woman approached me on the street asking for change for a 200 shekel bill. I didn't have it & David was in a store. I guess there's a problem with counterfeiting, & even if I'd had change, I wouldn't have helped her.

As I mentioned before, Israel is where the Jewish world crosses paths. As we entered the HUC campus, we ran into Jeff Klepper, who was the Cantor at our friend, Rabbi Peter Knobel's Temple in Chicago. He was also a song leader at the Union camp (OSRUI) in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin where our granddaughters go.

Rabbi Shalom was a most gracious host & guide. The College is built in the early 1960's on what was a slum. It was in a precarious position on the Jordanian border near the Old City into which Jews were barred. The original architecture reflects the vulnerability. It was built as a bunker with thick walls, narrow slits for windows to be used for defense, generators, & wells. The expansion after 1967, was on land purchased for $1, because it was in the No Man's Land in what had been the border between Israel & Jordan. The neighborhood is now considered prime real estate with tiny apartments across the street selling for $4 million. The programs have expanded with the campus from an archaeological center to a full seminary ordaining Reform rabbis. Israeli congregations want Israeli rabbis nowadays, not English speaking rabbis. They want to dispel the image of being "foreign" congregations.

We stopped for a late lunch on Mamilla Mall where we had to climb down two flights off steps to the rest rooms. All eateries have sinks outside the actual bathrooms so the Orthodox can wash their hands & says appropriate prayers before eating. I thought it was interesting that the bathrooms today had a trough style sink positioned between the men's & women's room. Lots of rest rooms here are unisex.

We almost didn't have enough time to tour the Tower of David/Citadel. By the way, the tower was named by Christians. David didn't build it. It's a minaret of an ancient mosque & now a symbol of the Jewish State of Israel.  David's actual city was outside the present walls.

It took us two hours to see it all. We took the audio guide and were impressed with the presentation and detail of the exhibit. I chuckled when the narrative assured us that none of the artifacts was "authentic." They're all replicas. They cited where the originals were housed. One was a 4000-year old Canaanite stele found in Egypt that mentioned Jerusalem, albeit as an enemy to be cursed. An artifact in Istanbul mentions the original water tunnel built by Herod in 19 BCE. One display illustrated the origin of the color yellow being associated with Jews. Thank you, Adolf, for doing your homework. During the Mamluk occupation, different color turbans signified whether a person was Christian, Muslim, or Jew, thus what taxes were paid. Jews wore yellow.

So, our day was a trek through time from a present day institution back 4000 years. Our trek continued towards home, but wasn't as orderly. We weren't paying attention & veered left at a fork in the road to find ourselves on Bet Lechem St. That's  Bethlehem St. Yup, we were on our way to that famed city. We caught our mistake early on & never would have made the 4.5 mile walk, but I do understand how tourists can get lost & end up in Iraq & in prison. Things are so darned close here.

We'd lengthened our walk so rested at a cafe. We learned why restaurants are crowded with young people. Housing is so costly that they have little hope of owning an apartment. They spend their extra money eating out.

Good news: there doesn't seem to be iceberg lettuce here in groceries or restaurants, & they have kosher chorizo.

Question: Who is in more denial about their security? American Jews or Israelis?

Tomorrow, the Knesset.

Toby

David's Citadel

Stoney