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It All Comes Out in the Wash
An ode to laundry by Savta Dotty:
Over the years, I have practiced just about every form of laundry, including washing it by hand at the local stream during a wonderful summer bicycling in France 50 years ago.
Laundry is such a good socio-economic barometer I am amazed that it hasn’t received more attention, an omission I hope to rectify with this little essay. Tell me who does your laundry and where, and your geographic, social, and economic positions are revealed.
Apart from my summer in France, my laundry was always done indoors. That is, the washing part was an indoor affair. The drying was done outdoors during my childhood because, at first, we didn’t own a dryer, and later, because my mother believed that sunshine did a better job. She may have also been pleased to have an excuse to visit our back yard, because she was not into gardening. I was allowed to hand her clothespins when I couldn’t reach anything else. Even now, in Israel the sun is also used for drying clothes by many middle-class people for economic, ecological or habitual reason. Given the local climate, hanging laundry outdoors certainly makes sense, although some upscale apartment buildings here do prohibit external laundry lines now. Very snobby. The most sensible new buildings confine the laundry lines to off-street windows, barricaded behind “modesty panels.”
But hanging laundry to dry does take more time than throwing it into the dryer, and anyone who lived or lives in a “time is money” culture as I did can’t imagine life without a dryer. Which is why I brought one with me when I immigrated, thus labeling me forever in the eyes of the natives as a typical spoiled rich American. Never mind that in the interim, many Israeli homes now include a dryer…they didn’t so much when I first arrived, another indicator that the Israeli pioneer era is passing.
There’s more, believe it or not. I never thought someone would have so much to say about laundry….!
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Playing Israeli “Survivor” — Make It Through the Bureaucracy and You’ll Stay on the Island
Katrina Yellow, who is attempting to cope with immigrating from South Africa, relates her experiences and her important conclusion:
We were attempting to prove to the Misrad Hapanim (Interior Ministry) that we are a happily married couple. Ha! The half hour we were late was the crucial half hour, so we arrive at the Misrad Hapanim at 5 to 9, an hour later than planned. I got sent off to all the wrong places, and by the time we got to the right place they told us we came too late, try again tomorrow. At this point my usually mild husband throws his toys out of his cot and yells at everyone in the building. For those who have not experienced the joy that is dealing with an Israeli government official, you may find his reaction over the top. For those of you who have experienced that particular joy, you are probably wondering why he did not whip out a gun and pistol whip a few people. We got a list of all the things we need to bring to them when we next come, which of course was completely different from the all the things we had brought to the previous office we went to. It also included things we do not have, such as a piece of paper saying you are registered to study, which of course I am not yet. They either want you to be registered as a student somewhere, or they want pay slips. There is no option to not be doing anything of course.
I have decided that although Israel does not do formal tests of your knowledge of the language, or the history of the country, the process of becoming a citizen pretty much guarentees you are Israeli. If you cannot handle the immense beurocratic struggle and come out successful, you are clearly not cut out to be Israeli. If at the end you can scream and shout in rapid speed hebrew, jump all queues, and argue with everyone in sight, you have succeeded. Congratulations you are indeed Israeli.
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Doing Unto Others…Israelis helping Muslims celebrate Ramadan
The same Jewish group who gave food assistance to underprivileged Jews during Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot is now turning to help an unlikely crowd: underprivileged Muslims who will celebrate the end of the holy month of Ramadan next week with the holiday of Eid Al-Fiter.
On Tuesday, 150 members of the Jewish Reform Movement, in cooperation with the “Kavod Foundation” gathered in Jerusalem to assist with the packing of canned goods and other provisions to be delivered during the holiday to needy Muslims in East Jerusalem.
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JerusalemOnline news update: Oct. 19th (Video – Channel 2 TV)
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Steven Spielberg: New Tel Aviv Homeowner?
The word on the street is that Spielberg is househunting in Tel Aviv.
Steven Spielberg is looking for an apartment in Tel Aviv’s Florentin quarter. Yedioth Ahronoth has learned that an attorney from Beverly Hills is negotiating on behalf of the Jewish-American film director for the purchase of a penthouse in the neighborhood for investment purposes.
Spielberg heard about Florentin from an Israeli friend, who told him about the Israeli ‘Soho neighborhood,’ which is home to musicians, artists and actors.
“They approached me,” says Guy Gloshinski, marketing manager of the In Florentin project. “I was very surprised, but the lawyer told me he was Spielberg’s representative and asked for all the details about the project.”
Nearly all the apartments in the project, which belongs to Attorney Hili Levi, have already been sold. The penthouse Spielberg is interested in is on the building’s 9th and 10th floor and is spread out on an area of 120 square meters (1,292 square feet) and another 200 square meters (2,153 square feet) on the roof, and overlooks the sea.”
Just your average Tel Aviv place….
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