Where “Subway” is just a sandwich
The young author of the blog “Sustainable Apple Pie” points to a recent op-ed piece about plans for a new Tel Aviv subway, and says that it would go a long way toward raising morale in this country, if only because finishing the subway would prove that our government is capable of actually getting something done.
. . . . people (particularly young people) still want to care about issues in the country, issues that go beyond security and war, but they have been raised into a culture lacking faith in a government that has lost all accountability since, well, I’d say since Yitzhak Rabin’s death in 1995. As an idealist myself (as I’m sure you’ve all noticed) I get a lot of funny looks from my friends when I talk hopefully about peace, cleaning up the environment, better social services, and a stronger economy in the future. I get that tsk tsk sound that Israelis love to make (and that I’ve happily adopted) and a look that if put into words would say, “Little sis, I love you, but open your eyes. The world is not as sweet and kind as you might think.”
. . . . .So, yalla! The arguments are there. Now action must be taken. Tel Aviv is amazing city, let’s give it one more thing that we can brag about. You can read more about the plan on Wikipedia. Or check out the project’s homepage (in Hebrew). This tongue-in-cheek subway aficionado site lists archived newspaper articles related to the project and ends with the words “Fat chance!” Sigh.
Jerusalem Street, Jaffa
Our favorite Filipino, Ernest, has once again posted a series of charming photos, this time of scenes from Jerusalem Street, in his Jaffa neighborhood (next to Tel Aviv). Ernest tells us that the street boasts a wide island with lovely trees and benches. Here’s a taste:
See the rest of his photos here.
Gone are her special pants
Israel has exceedingly low levels of violent street crime. Military crises, yes.
Murder, rape, armed robbery . . . not so much.
But petty theft? Yeah, we’ve got that. As Noorster was just reminded.
Dear Horrible Person Who Stole My Turquoise Trousers from the Dryer While I Was Buying Milk and Diet Coke at the Makolet,
I hope you FUCKING DIE!!! RAH RAH RAH!!!!
No, wait, I don’t actually want you to die… I just…
What kind of a trollop (I’m assuming you’re a woman, because those trousers? They’re turquoise…) goes to a self-service launderette to steal clothes? Obviously not the smart kind, because you took my trousers but left my €100 bra.
Those were my Fun Pants! You better start crying, because I had them custom fitted to my special ass – they will never fit you!
I hate you!
Two in One
Musings on dual American-Israeli citizenship, by Eliesheva:
So, it was brought to my attention this past week – quite a few times – that I am a dual citizen.
Being a dual citizen is fun, you get to have two identities. At least, two more than all the other ones you have from other various circumstances. As far as my dual citizenship:
> I’m me, the American, who loves shopping.
> I’m me, the Israeli, who loves meat chips wrapped in soft bread.
> I’m me, the American, who indulges in getting drunk stupidly occasionally and pissing off the French neighbor downstairs.
> I’m me, the Israeli, who has no patience for outerworld frivolties like waiting in line.
> I’m me, the American, who feels patriotic and unbreakable.
> I’m me, the Israeli, who is hard to the outside but somewhat fragile on deeper notice.
In Israel, I’m embarrassed to be known as American; in America, I find myself needing to defend my emigration to Israel. In Jerusalem, I miss New York; in New York, I long for Jerusalem.
I guess dual citizenship keeps me on my toes, though not in that fugitive-refugee kind of way.
The Wedding vs. The Electric Company: disaster happily averted!
One of the things that is striking about the Israeli character is the way that strangers get involved in each other’s lives. Some times this can be annoying, such as when a harried young mother is approached by a stranger and told “your baby looks cold, you should put a blanket on him.” But sometimes it’s touching, such as when my air conditioner repairman set me up on a blind date (and it was actually a reasonable match), and sometimes it is life-saving, such as when the stranger is watching your child closely enough not just to notice that he is cold, but that he is walking away and about to fall down a flight of stairs (or whatever). Same character trait, named by some as “pushiness” or “not minding your own business” and named by others as “caring about the people around you.”
Eliesheva posted a story by a friend of hers in Raanana, showing that when push comes to shove, the Israeli Electric Company is your friend:
My husband David called me up a week before my daughter Ruchama’s wedding to Moshe and said : “We have a wrinkle…” .
The electric company had posted a notice on our apartment building announcing that there was going to be a power outage in our neighborhood to allow for a major repair. The problem was that it fell out exactly on the day of the wedding… ..
I called the electric company to ask (read: beg) them to postpone the repair work, since we really, really needed the use of the apt. to prepare for the wedding (you know – makeup, hair, etc.). I was immediately transferred to a manager named Zion. He understood the problem and explained that they absolutely couldn’t reschedule the power outage but he would see what he could do.
Two days later we spoke again and he said that he had sent some people out to look at the site and that they were having trouble isolating our building from the rest of the area. But – not to worry- if he couldn’t resolve the problem – we could have a room in the electric company’s building to use as we wish! I was flabbergasted – I asked him if he’d ever see a bride leave from the Electric Company. He said: “actually, it’s happened before J”.
The next day he called and in a happy voice conveyed his best wishes for the upcoming wedding. He asked me to tell the bride Mazel Tov [congratulations] and that she would have electricity because he personally went to look at the location and he found a solution.
So we get up bright and early on Sunday, and lo and behold, there is a generator parked right outside of our building. That’s right – our building was hooked up to electricity all day from our own private generator while the rest of the neighborhood had a blackout!
It was truly amazing. There are people here with big hearts who made it clear that our happiness was important to them as well.
We sent a warm thank-you letter to the electric company along with the attached pictures.
Just goes to show that Chesed [kindness] is alive and well in the land and people of Israel.
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