What I Did for My Birthday

April 30, 2005 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Food, General, Holidays, Life 

As my half-dozen readers may have gathered from a recent post, I just had a birthday — a rather significant one, in fact. I confess it: I flipped a digit. Yes, I know that’s a pretty serious thing do to, so I promise to wait ten years before doing it again.

So what did I do to celebrate? A few things.

There’s a wonderful all-you-can-eat meat restaurant downtown called Vaqueiro. It’s a combination South American/South African place. For a fixed price, the smiling, friendly waiters bring out samples of ten different kinds of meat (five if you’re there for lunch), and once you’re done sampling, they’ll bring you as much as you want of whichever kind you request. Once you’re on their database, they’ll send you an invitation for a free dinner on your birthday (and a free bottle of wine on your anniversary).

My friend and I went there a few days before Pessah and had a wonderful time. We were pretty full even before the end, though, and at one point we started laughing when the food just never seemed to end. “What — they’re bringing us more?” we asked each other in disbelief. We could hardly move by the time we left. Moderation? Not that evening!

Another friend took me to Mini-Israel. It was terrific — the models of various buildings throughout the country are exquisite and all the miniature plants are real. There’s even a plant nursery near the entrance where you can buy the same kinds of plants used in the park. (At the Mini-Israel website, click on the link in the upper left corner for the English-language version, and click on the icon of the speaker in the upper right corner to turn off the music.)

We continued my birthday romp with a trip to the new exhibit at David’s Citadel, “Train Tracks to Jerusalem.” It’s a history of the train to Jerusalem from Ottoman times to the present, and highly recommended. (Mind the gap!)

By the way, there are model trains all over Mini-Israel — quite literally — so the train-loving part of me was well nourished. I’m still planning a trip to the Railway Museum in Haifa, though.

(Cross-posted at Elms in the Yard)

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‘Hag’ thoughts

April 25, 2005 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Food, Holidays, Life 

There are two guys I see on a regular basis whom I assume are street dwellers but I can’t be sure. For a long time I thought they were the same person. Both are in their mid-thirties, I think, bearded, blue-eyed and always dressed similarly, with a sort of nerdy tidiness, only shabby and sad. They don’t smell bad, neither of lack of washing nor of drink. It crossed my mind recently that both are very good looking, but I doubt very much if women would find them attractive.

The reason I mix them up, I think, is because of something they transmit, or don’t transmit, something about the way they interact with the world. You can never catch their eye. They walk on the inner side of the sidewalk. They look down. I get the feeling that they don’t want people to notice them, that they are trying to be invisible.

On Seder Night, after the meal was over, I went round taking orders for coffee and tea. For some reason, everyone found it amusing that I wrote it all, like a waiter (okay, okay, I do know I’m not supposed to be writing on hag), so I wouldn’t forget who wanted what. Later when I brought Our Sis her tea before everyone else she said I shouldn’t bring hers first – FHB (Family Hold Back). But everyone in the room was family, close family, all nineteen of us (We were only nineteen in the end because our soldier had to stay on the base and our chef had to work – he is employed by one of the major Tel Aviv hotels).

And now I’m wondering where the two bearded men with the blue eyes spent Seder Night, and if they were surrounded by family, and if anyone asked them how many sugars they would like in their lemon tea.

Maybe this is why there is a tradition to invite a stranger to share the Seder. There is so much warmth and family feeling, not to mention food, it is only right to share it all with those who don’t have any of their own.

(Cross posted on Not a Fish)

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Burned out rockers come to Israel to fade away

April 19, 2005 by · 1 Comment
Filed under: General 

Venerable rock legends The Rolling Stones announced that they will make their first-ever appearance in Israel during their (farewell?) world tour in 2006. According to a report on Israel Radio, the band’s representatives cited a lowering of tension in the region and reduced insurance costs as reasons for making a concert in Israel viable.

The Stones are the latest geriatric name to jump on the Israel bandwagon in recent days, as German rockers The Scorpions and British rocker/crooner Phil Collins also announced tour dates in Israel – The Scorpions in July and Collins in November.

Is this our reward for a cease-fire with the Palestinians and leaving Gaza, or is it punishment? Granted, I would love to see The Stones one time while they’re still able to play, but has Israel become the receptacle for any aging rocker who used to be on the charts?

Where’s those artists who are on the charts now? Or on the fringes? Back in the late 90s, there was a string of great shows – with Lou Reed, Patti Smith, REM, and Nick Cave all making stops.

So, come on White Stripes, Strokes, Franz Ferdinand – put your alternative mouths where the real alternative venue is. Israel’s waiting for you.

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Now this is a blog posting.

April 19, 2005 by · 2 Comments
Filed under: Travel 

Here’s an interesting tidbit of info that only could come out of Israel. Following the Pope’s death, the IDF’s pop-music radio station introduced a song that would help the listeners in dealling with the Holy Father’s passing. What followed the DJ’s introduction was “Big Poppa,” by (the also late) Notorius B.I.G.

If you don’t know the song, and it is a good one, you should check it out. You’ll fast understand why this is funny. Unfortunately – for you, the reader -I am not allowed to reproduce the lyrics at length in this puritan forum; however, the title comes from the line, “I love it when you call me Big Poppa.” To be sure, this is an erotic reference.

Unrelated, but damn interesting and similarly profanity benign, I am in Budapest at the moment. Walking around, I can’t shake the nagging suspicion that there’re supposed to be more Jews here. Where the hell’d they all go? Someone told me they had all been thrown into the Danube. I checked and they’re not there.

Still related, I have been getting a total kick from telling people that I am Jewish and from Israel. At a dive of a beer bar the other night I found myself in a room with just about five or six middle-aged and drunken men – not one of which spoke English. In broken language, one of the gentleman asked if I speak English. “Yes,” I answered, adding that I can also form sentences in Hebrew. I got a raised eyebrow. I wanted to ask him if he knew who killed my grandfather back in the 40’s. But the reality of the situation is that I’m fourth generation American, so the accusation would have seemed forced.

Wandering around downtown, I was stopped by a Harry Krishna or Moonie or some type of whatever. After requesting a smile, to which I acquiesced, he then asked for some money. I obliged, giving him a few coins. I can’t help it, I really like Krishna – no shit. He then asked where I’m from, “Israel,” I answered. Upon departing he said to me, “Todah, shalom haver.” And people say Clinton doesn’t have a legacy – silly Republicans!

Of utmost importance, a raging debate amongst my crowd has been whether Israeli commercials on MTV are seen throughout Europe. Afterall, we get the crazy European ones, so why wouldn’t disillusioned European teens be treated to an ad for the whacky “Esc.” cell phone brand now and again? It was just too hard for some to believe that our little state could have such international representation. My first night here I saw a SuperPharm commercial. Now, to move on.

The Jewish Connection

My first night in town I headed to this counter culture club. Called the Trafor, it’s kind of a Hungarian Dalia. I read about a poetry performance of English translations of the Hungarian poet Yoseph Atilla’s work. Reading the pieces were the team of Gabor, the Hungarian translator, and Michael Castro, an American artist who shapes the language. Castro, it turns out, is a fellow yid, who also preformed some fantastic work of his own. An infusion of spoken word, soul and jazz (he was accompanied by a bassist and saxophonist) his content has much to do with civil rights themes, the blacks, the Jews, music, and the good ‘ole American south (he lives in St. Louis). Really good shit. After leaving the club, I passed a flower shop where there were two aprons hanging in the window. Each had printed on it the same recipe for Hungarian goulash – one in the local tongue and the other in Hebrew. Interesting.

Clickety click

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Kids, hot soup & ‘Occupied Territories’

April 18, 2005 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Food, General, Holidays 

I’ve been tele-fundraising from Israel to the UK in recent days for a small, but very intensive Jerusalem-based charity (http://www.ezranet.com) that distributes food baskets, clothing and related aid to the really poverty-stricken throughout the country; 2,500 baskets weekly, 10,000 by Pessach in a special campaign.

Several of those I spoke with in Great Britain – Jews, mind you – in London and Manchester were, and although a minority, quite adamant in their refusal to donate food to near-starving Israeli children… until Israel “changed its policies in the Occupied Territories.”

Now, while on-line with them, I bit my tongue and stayed professional and on-message, clarifying that the donations were totally non-political (as is the organization), non-sectarian and were meant, as in the Passover passage, “Kol Dichfin, y’tee v’uchal – “May all who are hungry come and eat.” Lot of good professionalism did for these kids.

One woman I spoke with (and I now wonder if she ever carried a child in her arms OR her womb) – insisted, despite my repeated attempts to sway her to understand that we were discussing hot soup for a cold and hungry child, and not politics – that “everything was politics.”

Another I spoke with opened the conversation with a hearty chuckle, and, “I’m not sure you understand just how un-sympathetic I am.” (Sigh). Talk about a callous heart.

I guess what struck me the most was the obsessive, near-gleeful, meaness of their attitude; hungry kids be damned – politics first!

And while we cavil about high-level academic snubbing of Israelis at UK universities and the like, in-duh-viduals like these are really ok, “quite fine thank you,” in the local parlance, I suppose with poverty-stricken Jewish children going hungry – as long as their noxious ideological appetite get a good meal out of it.

I suggest we show them and their ilk where we stand: please go over to http://www.ezranet.com, click onto the donations page in the upper right-hand corner of the home page and send a kid a few hot meals for this coming Shabbat and Pessach. They accept dollars and UK pounds, with over 90 percent of it going toward real food and it’s a tax-deductible donation in the US and UK.

May we all, the House of Israel and her supporters worldwide have a healthy and happy Passover festival.

(Cross-posted at http://betbender.blogspot.com)

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