An Israeli pioneer returns home
Filed under: A New Reality, General, History and Culture, Holidays, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness, Nostalgia Sunday
Mordecai Chertoff at the keyboard. (Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski)
They may be on the bus, in the makolet, in the park, or in the synagogue. Mordecai Chertoff is a good example. When he started praying with our Conservative congregation in Jerusalem a couple years ago, he seemed like another pleasant, elderly gentleman.
It was only after another congregant came up to me at kiddush and told me that I should talk to Chertoff because he had a good story, that I approached him. And it turned out that the new immigrant to Israael at age 86 had a great story.
Taking a break from rabbinical school in New York, Chertoff came to Israel in 1946 at 24 years of age. He walked into what was then called The Palestine Post and got a job on the spot as a copy editor. And within a few weeks, he had also been recruited to join the Haganah, the precursor of the IDF.
Chertoff, far left sitting, at the Palestine Post offices in 1948.
His experiences as a single, young American in pre-state Israel and during its creation intersect with some of the most dramatic moments of Israel’s history and provide a fascinating look at a time when figures like David Ben-Gurion, Gershon Agron, and Moshe Sharret were not mythical statues of history, but real life people interacting without bodyguards or pomp.
Chertoff was in the Post offices when a terrorist bomb exploded on February 1, 1948.
“At 24, nothing can happen to you. You’re immune to every illness, every bullet,” Chertoff told me, describing how he survived the bombing which caused many casualties.
“I remember that a colleague, Marlin Levin, an editor, was sitting in someone else’s chair who had gone to Tel Aviv that day. When the explosion came, a piece of metal from the window came flying across where Marlin would have usually been sitting. It would have taken his head off,” said Chertoff.
Chertoff took part in many clandestine activities for the Haganah, and became an IDF soldier soon after the state was declared on May 14, 1948. By 1950, however, he had returned to New York, where he became a Conservative rabbi and remained until his aliya two years ago.
“After I made aliya, somebody from the US wrote a note to me and said, ‘Mazel tov, you’re home.’ And it’s true, this is really home,” said Chertoff.
As we celebrate the country’s 62nd birthday this week, when you see an elderly person on a bus or a park bench, it might be wise to slow down and start talking to them. It just might be that they were also part of the building of modern-day Israel.
Foto Friday – Israel Independence Day is Coming
Filed under: A New Reality, Foto Friday, General, History and Culture, Picture of the Week, Pop Culture, Travel
Israel’s 62nd Day of Independence is coming and the country is bedecked with flags.
© Michael Freilich
All over Israel, the holiday will be celebrated with fireworks…
© Dudi.
And more flags…
© RomKri
As the citizenry continues its peculiar custom of showering friends and complete strangers with shaving foam. Well, that’s better than the other custom of hitting one another over the head with squeaky plastic hammers. And no, I’m not kidding about that.
© RomKri
And of course, Independence Day would be nowhere without its most important tradition, the outdoor barbecue!
© Пётр Рогов
Can a hookworm make you healthy?
Can a hookworm make you healthy? Jasper Lawrence seems to think so. And now his special therapeutic worm treatment is available for shipment to Israel.
I first heard about Lawrence and his worms when they were featured on a recent episode of “This American Life,” one of the most popular podcasts available on iTunes. Lawrence had been suffering from asthma and allergies that were so debilitating that he could barely step outside.
Lawrence began to study his condition and discovered some fascinating research going on about parasites. We’ve all been taught that worms in the gut is a bad thing, leading to a whole range of illnesses, some quite serious (ask anyone who’s picked up a nasty bug in India).
But some worms may actually be good for us. A particularly type, called helminths (specifically hookworms and whipworms), apparently calms down inflammation rather than induces it. Joel Weinstock, a gastroenterologist in Iowa, did much of the pioneering research in the early 1990s.
The story gets kind of yucky from here. Lawrence traveled to Africa and began stomping around barefoot in public latrines. Eventually he picked up the worm he wanted and, lo and behold, he was cured of his allergies.
Dr. Weinstock’s work was originally conducted to understand why instances of IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) had increased so rapidly in the last century. His conclusion, according to The New York Times:
“After a long co-evolution, the human immune system came to depend on the worms for proper functioning. When cleaner conditions and new medicines evicted the worms from our bodies, the immune system went out of kilter.”
As someone who suffers from the IBD condition of Crohn’s Disease, I know that the traditional treatments of steroids and surgery are highly intrusive and don’t work all that well. Weinstock says he has seen remarkable remission rates with worm “re-infestation.”
So where does Israel fit into the picture (other than the fact that Jews tend to be more prone to inflammatory bowel diseases)?
After allergy suffering Jasper Lawrence’s remarkable turn-around, he set up a company to harvest and sell worms to fellow sufferers. But the U.S. FDA shut him out of the North American market. But, as Lawrence wrote to me in a personal email, you can get his therapeutic worms here in Israel.
Helminth worm treatment reportedly works with other auto-immune ailments beyond IBD including celiac disease, psoriasis and MLS. There’s one big downside: treatment from Lawrence’s company starts at about $3,000. And you have to keep re-infesting yourself – it’s not a one time hit. And – no, don’t even ask – it’s definitely not covered by the local kuppot (Israeli HMOs).
My Crohn’s is mostly quiet these days. But if it heated up again and I were facing down another round of prednisone and pain, I’d seriously consider swallowing a cocktail of worm eggs.
More information at Lawrence’s website: http://autoimmunetherapies.com
All in the Netanyahu family
Filed under: A New Reality, education, General, History and Culture, Holidays, Israeliness, Religion
Prime Minister Netanyahu and his son Avner, along with the other Bible Quiz contestants.
Young high-school age contestants from around the world have been arriving in Israel and are currently in a camp with the Israeli contestants, getting ready for next week’s competition. Yesterday, both the Israeli and foreign contestants were brought to meet Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at his office.
Each one got up and said his name, but only one drew a big laugh from those gathered, when he stood, and said, “My name is Avner Netanyahu.”
The reason for the laughter was because 15-year-old Avner is the prime minister’s son, and a gifted Torah scholar. He won this year’s contest on the state school level and made it into the finals.
Without playing favorites, Netanyahu wished his son good luck and told the audience that he recently has been reading more and more Bible on a weekly basis, often under Avner’s guidance.
“Jerusalem is the city of the Bible, and the Bible is the book of life. It is the story of the people of Israel’ s life,” said Netanyahu at the gathering.
Shoni Michkei from Hungary promised Netanyahu in the name of the contestants, “When each of us returns to his country, we will be loyal ambassadors of the State of Israel.”
iPads banned from Israel?
Apple CEO Steve Jobs shows off the new iPad (AP)
but according to Israeli media reports, the Communications Ministry has blocked their import into the country and the customs authority has been directed to confiscate them.
The decision follows the refusal of the Communication Ministry’s engineering staff to compromise on testing the device’s suitability and compliance with Israeli wireless networks, Haaretz reported.
For now, the ministry has not given the device categorical approval required for wireless devices; and ministry officials say its wireless technology is not compatible with Israeli standards.
“The iPad device sold exclusively today in the United States operates at broadcast power levels [over its WiFi modem] compatible with American standards,” explained the officials. “As the Israeli regulations in the area of WiFi are similar to European standards, which are different from American standards, which permit broadcasting at lower power, therefore the broadcast levels of the device prevent approving its use in Israel,” said the officials.
An Israeli who returned from the US this week told TheMarker that when he tried to declare his new iPad at customs, it was confiscated. He was told to apply to the Communications Ministry to have it returned. When he spoke to the ministry, he was told: “It is forbidden to bring iPads into Israel; send it back overseas.”
Ha’aretz reported that the head of customs at Ben-Gurion International Airport said they have confiscated 10 iPads, including those their owners declared and on which they offered to pay the 16% VAT required by law.
According to an earlier story in Yediot Ahronot, Israeli cellular service providers are already clamoring to market the iPad, which is micro-SIM operated. Israel’s cell phone companies are already exploring micro-SIM application, and intend to offer the service to clients who will purchase an iPad abroad.
IDigital, Apple’s franchisee in Israel, could not name a specific date for the iPad’s launch in Israel. The tablet PC’s current version supports the Hebrew language, but does not offer a Hebrew keyboard.
The bottom line is – don’t expect to see any iPads on the streets of Tel Aviv too soon.
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