Construction Zone
There was nothing I could do about it. I knew that. Still, no one enjoys living upstairs from a construction site. Especially when the two dwellings in question share a common wall and the noise is so loud, you literally have to go into the stairwell to make a phone call.
When the drilling first started, I hoped the family who had bought the apartment was probably doing a little touch up work. Putting in a new light fixture or something. Happens all the time in this nation under perpetual renovation. It would have been nice if they had told us in advance they were going to be fixing up the place, but that wouldn’t affect the noise level.
When it went on for another day, then two, I went to check out the scene.
I saw a man talking on a cell phone. His body language had a bravado that could only be associated with the position of kablan – Hebrew for contractor or foreman.
I mustered up my best construction worker Hebrew. “So, you’re putting in a new kitchen, or…” It was more of a statement than a question.
“Guttin’ the whole thing,” he finished my sentence.
“Upstairs and downstairs?”
He managed a slight smile. This obviously wasn’t the first time someone had asked this question.
There was one more thing I needed to know. “Um, how long do you think it will take?” I asked, waiting in dread for the reply.
“Three months.”
Ouch. Because everyone knows that whatever a contractor in Israel says, multiply by a minimum of two. Or three.
The next morning, the drilling jolted me out of my reverie – and out of bed at 7:00 AM. I turned to wake my wife Jody, but she was already up.
“Do you think there’s a law governing how early they can start?” I said bitterly.
“What?” Jody mumbled, unable to hear me over the ongoing din. Yes, it was that loud.
We called “106”, the Jerusalem municipal hotline. The response was not encouraging.
“They can start as early as 6:00 AM,” explained Shmulik, the friendly but perfunctory clerk on the other end. “And they don’t have to stop until eleven at night.”
Despite the noise, it was hard to argue. After all, hadn’t we just done our own shiputz (renovation) a scant 4 years earlier?
“We could ask them to limit the work to certain hours,” I suggested. “Get a break in the middle of the day, maybe?”
Israeli law actually defines the time between 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM as “Quiet Hours.” Kids playing ball on the street are routinely chastised by napping neighbors. The same law applies to renovations.
“No…that would just extend the whole nightmare by another month.” I sighed.
The family that bought the apartment was, not surprising for Jerusalem these days, a New Jersey couple who weren’t planning to live there. So called “ghost apartments” – those that are left empty all year except for the Jewish holidays – are an increasing problem, particularly in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Netanya. They drive the prices of real estate up while contributing little to the local economy.
Indeed, Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat recently mailed out a letter to some 900 absentee owners to urge them to rent out their apartments.
Our new neighbors hadn’t gotten the letter but, via a polite email, informed me that they were indeed planning to rent the apartment and did we know anyone who might be interested.
We did. Several, in fact. We put out feelers and now several of our friends are in touch with the New Jerseyians.
They say you can’t pick your neighbors. It’s small consolation for all the noise, but maybe in this case, we can.
Baby namings
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness, Life, Religion
My weekend began and ended with babies, not my own, but two friends’ newborns, one who had his brit on Friday morning, and the other who had her simchat bat on Saturday night.
Both ceremonies took place on the eighth day after their respective births, although there was, of course, no clipping included in the simchat bat ceremony.
What did strike me were the unique similarities and dissimilarities between the two events. Sure, they were both religious ceremonies, held by two religiously observant families who take this kind of thing seriously. The mothers were both proud and weepy, exhausted and thankful, given that this was a second baby for both, and each have an active toddler to take care of as well.
But there were differences as well. The brit followed a more traditional pattern, with the clipping, naming and usual jokes of the mohel, who clips at least three-quarters of the baby boys in southern Jerusalem. The menu was bagels and cream cheese, coffee and cake.
At the simchat bat, the ceremony was more creative by definition, given that there still isn’t a set ceremony for girl babies, which allows for more creativity on the part of the parents. Both sets of grandparents spoke, as well as the parents, and the aunts and uncles had roles as well, offering blessings and quotes for the new baby. The menu? Cakes and cookies, strawberries and cream and fresh mint for one’s cup of tea.
And then there were the names. For the boy baby, Ilan Leib; Ilan for tree, given the proximity of his birthday to Tu B’shvat, the birthday for the trees, being celebrated next Saturday, January 30. And Leib for the baby’s paternal grandfather, who died last May.
For the girl, Amit Adva, named for her maternal grandfather who died this summer. His name was Moshe, but he was called Buddy by many, and so they called her Amit, which means friendly and faithful, the most obvious traits of her grandfather.
And now there are two more people in the world, small people at this point, but with names and families and generations who have come before them. They’re nine and ten days old, but they already have histories, and they haven’t yet emerged from their cocoon of feeding and sleeping and crying. I’m thinking that’s something to contemplate.
Nostalgia Sunday – Sing out!
Filed under: Art, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Music, Nostalgia Sunday, Pop Culture
Glee, the TV comedy about a high-school choral group, is coming to Israel and the streets are filled with billboards touting its arrival. Satellite service provider YES needn’t worry about the show’s popularity here. Israelis have a long-standing tradition of community choirs, vocal groups and other forms of “Gleekiness”.
This coming summer, for example, Israel will host the 22nd Zimriya World Assembly of Choirs.
Zimriya is a really unusual international celebration that invites choirs from all over the world to participate in concerts, workshops led by world renowned conductors, choir-to-choir sessions and informal singing into the wee hours.
But let’s go back in time, a bit, to the source of our geekiness. And by that, I mean, central and eastern Europe where the tradition of community-based choral singing was reinforced under socialism and communism as handy tool for educating the masses. Young Labor Zionists came to Palestine to establish kibbutzim and immediately set up choirs as part of collective cultural life. Some are still going strong, the most important of which is the Gevatron, today considered Israel’s national choir.
The Gevatron began in 1948 when, according to the choir’s site, “a group of singers in Kibbutz Geva performed at the dedication of a new basketball court on the kibbutz. They called themselves the ‘Gevatron’ – a combination of the name of the kibbutz with the name of the ‘Cheezbatron’, a singing troupe that performed during the War for Independence. The young group started performing for communal occasions in the kibbutz, with accordion accompaniment. They were amateurs and sang mainly verses, written by members of the kibbutz, to borrowed melodies, Russian songs for the most part.”
See what I mean about the Eastern European thing? Anyway, more information about the Gevatron is available on the site, including Bat 60, their most recent pop music coup, singing backup to rap artist Subliminal.
The Mila-Li website, which centralizes information about choirs in Israel, lists 114 choirs active in Israel today. Mila – the Israeli Organization for Choirs and Singing Groups, is now gearing up for a massive choral happening at the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) this coming weekend.
For more information about choral music from years gone by, the Zemereshet website is an absolute gem of an volunteer-run downloadable archive that includes hundreds of Hebrew songs (texts and sound files) from the early Zionist period and up to 1948. These include recordings from live sing-along performances and recent recordings of old songs, as well as valuable old commercial recordings by soloists and choruses.
There’s also a website run by songwriter Nahum Heyman and the Amuta for the Tradition of Hebrew Song (amuta is a uniquely Israeli form of non-profit organization), that has many songs for download.
Another great source of online videos is the Israeli Music History site, a labor of love compiled by lawyer Boaz Guttman. Leave aside his professional pages about forensic investigation – there are some real musical treasures to be found here if you dig around.
Israel’s choral tradition continues today, not just mired in tradition but also creating new and different forms of Gleekiness for all to enjoy. Case in point: the Voca People. Though their backstory is nerdiness incarnate — (they came from another planet and communicate with the earthlings through sound) — there’s no denying either their a capella musical prowess or the enjoyment they bring to audiences. It’s total, gleeful fun.
‘YES’ he can – Obama hawks for Israeli cable
Filed under: A New Reality, Business, General, Israeliness, Politics, Pop Culture, tv
President Barack Obama may not have pleased many Israelis with his Middle East policy during his first year of his presidency. To give him the benefit of the doubt, let’s just call it naive.
However, that doesn’t mean that we still don’t appreciate Obama’s charisma, his ability to inspire and his movie star charm and appeal. YES, one of the two cable TV providers here, apparently realizes that – which is why they recently started screening this very clever and well-made commercial for their new services they’re offering viewers.
I’m not sure we’re they got all the actors, but the ad – produced by McCann Films for McCann Erickson Israel, the local arm of international advertising giant – will surely put your week off to a good start.
Foto Friday – Design Museum Holon
Filed under: Art, design, Foto Friday, General, History and Culture, Movies, Pop Culture
Holon , the city on the dunes, has traditionally been a sleepy satellite and antithesis of Tel Aviv. So much so, in fact, that Holon’s first mayor, Dr. Haim Kugel, envisioned it as a place where the working man would drink a cup of tea on his balcony before retiring to bed at 9:30. No discos, night clubs or decadent “City That Never Stops” frippery for Kugel’s Holon.
Oh well, Haim, times change. Over the years, Holon has positioned itself as Israel’s center for niche museums, providing a home not only to the Egged Bus Museum and Israel Children’s Museum but also to the Mediatheque, a cultural centre that includes the National Cartoon Museum, repertory theater, cinematheque, a unique materials library and public library and the Israel Design Center.
And next week, on January 31st 2010, the Design Center inaugurates its new award-winning building by Ron Arad Architects, thus thwarting Kugel’s dream forever.
Design Museum Holon does fulfill the dream of its founders, Holon’s Mayor, Motti Sasson and Managing Director, Hana Hertsman who term it “the pinnacle of a sixteen-year urban regeneration programme, a process which is transforming the city of Holon, central Israel, into a global epicenter for culture and education.” A series of videos about their vision is available here.
That vision is more than matched by the building, a sexy ribbon of weathered steel, graduated in tone, that winds its way around a large central plaze, flanked by the Mediatheque.
The founders wanted Arad to create an iconic building that would provide visitors with an immersive design environment, and the Design Museum is Arad’s first architectural project of this scale. As he explains it, “Holon is a city which is re-inventing itself culturally, with ambitious plans that are investing a lot into culture. The concept of this museum in the Middle Eastern sun is just one instance.”
“Every project is unique; each one invites a different response. When we started working on Design Museum Holon, it was like a white canvas, things developed and a direction was formed. We created a hierarchy of outdoor spaces so you walk in under the building into a semi-covered yard, where you have a choice to take the air-conditioned route or one exposed to the elements. The building envelope is not just a pretty space; it’s also a structure.”
An interview with Arad about the museum can be found here:
The Design Museum’s annual program will showcase site-specific exhibitions by invited international curators as well as travelling exhibitions. A historical collection of Israeli design is also being created and the museum’s permanent collection will be unveiled in five to seven years. The first exhibition opens on March 4th 2010. More details on www.dmh.org.il. Photos courtesy of Design Museum Holon’s Facebook page – become a fan today!
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