An eternal home in Israel
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Israeliness, Life, Travel
I’ve been spending a lot of time recently in the Holon civilian cemetery, a huge monstrosity on the Bat Yam-Holon border, not to be confused with the Holon military cemetery a few miles away.
It’s not due to any affinity for cemeteries, but due to the deaths – three months apart of my aunt and uncle, both well into their 90s. Though they resided in the US, their hearts were always in Israel, and over two decades ago, while in their 70s, they bought twin plots in the Holon cemetery, close to relatives of my uncle, who was born in Lithuania and spent many years in pre-state Palestine before leaving for the US where he met my aunt.
Since they never had children, it was up to their closest family members – myself and my uncle’s cousins – to oversee the flights of the bodies to Israel, liaise with the Hevrat Kadisha (the burial authority in Israel) and take care of the funerals. Thankfully, a close family friend living in their hometown of Brookline, Mass. took care of everything on the US side, making everything run much more smoothly than expected.
You need a road map to get around the cemetery, which is more massive than any I have previously been exposed to, including the monolithic Givat Shaul cemetery in Jerusalem.
But, in a country where bureaucracy manages to delay the most mundane tasks, the ordeal of flying deceased family members to Israel for burial was one of the most snag-free endeavors I’ve ever undertaken here. From El Al to the hevrat kadisha, everyone was accommodating and gracious.
While they never realized their dream of returning to Israel to live, my aunt and uncle are here now, lying side by side under the ground they cherished so much. They were inseparable in life, and now they’re inseparable for eternity.
Life in Israel is a beach
Surf's up in Haifa.
Unfortunately, no sooner do we indulge in our vast expanse of beautiful coastline, then a few elements arrive making a dip in the water somewhat of a perilous endeavor.
First of all, the jellyfish (medusa) season begins, with bigger and spikier species seemingly arriving on the shores of the Mediterranean each year. Evading the giant blobs is only half the battle, as their poison permeates the water, giving sensitive bathers a stingy, swollen feeling even if you don’t come in direct contact with them.
Secondly, the strong summer winds often mean that the black flags come out in force, restricting the official bathing areas to the size of a Jacuzzi at some beaches.
Despite the obstacles, though, Israeli beaches are among the nicest and most inviting anywhere and offer a wide variety of from the pristine North with Achziv, heading down through Tel Aviv which epitomizes beach culture and on down to Ashkelon and Ashdod. When the Mediterranean has too many bathers or jellyfish, there’s also the Red Sea near Eilat and The Dead Sea for the mud and salt crowd.
ISRAEL21c provides a nice overview of the country’s top 10 beaches that provides a guide to watering holes around the country. We’re headed to a pre-Shabbat family barbecue tomorrow at our own favorite beach spot – just north of Cinema City on the Ramat Hasharon-Herzliya border. But don’t tell anybody.
Dog days of Israel
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Israeliness, Life
Golden labrador puppies for sale in Israel.
And it appears that they’re not alone. According to figures put out last week by the Agriculture Ministry’s National Dog Register, there are more than 385,000 dogs registered on their website. In 2010, 50,768 new dogs were registered – 14,657 of them born that year.
According to the Ynet story on the report, for the third time in a row, the Labrador Retriever is the most popular purebred dog in Israel, with 20,490 registered dogs. The Pinscher came in second with 17,881 registered dogs. They are followed by the German Shepherd with 13,848 dogs. The Pekingese is fourth with 15,544 dogs and the Golden Retriever seals the top five with 13,093 dogs.
However, the Pekingese dog breed leads the list for the second year in a row in terms of the number of purebred dogs who have joined the reservoir with 2,222 dogs compared to the Labrador with 2,074 dogs.
When I was a kid, we used to go the pound and pick out a mutt, and while many Israelis also prefer the friendly, down-to-earth stability of a mutt, most people have a clear preference for purebred dogs. Some 250,000 purebred dogs, and dogs with physical traits similar to purebred dogs, were registered with the National Dog Register in 2010 – an addition of 30,000 dogs, compared to 183,000 dogs of mixed breed which were joined by only 21,000 new members last year.
What Israelis name their dogs is a different story – Forget Hebrew names, for female dogs, the most popular name is Lady (3,098 dogs) and males are getting stuck with Lucky (2,734), slightly ahead of the gender-confused Bonnie. More unique names found in the register include Red Bull, Kinor (Hebrew for violin), Nautika, Abu Ali and Escape.
You’ll find the most dogs in Tel Aviv – with 26,546 registered canines, followed by Jerusalem with 21,608 and Haifa with 14,321. But while Israelis have evidently taken to raising dogs, they haven’t necessarily taken to cleaning up after their dogs – so when you’re in those cities, be careful where you walk.
Celebrity flotilla invades Israel
UNICEF global goodwill ambassador Shakira and President Shimon Peres shake hands in Jerusalem
One might have been excused for thinking that Israel had turned into a celebrity magnet like Hollywood last week. In the course of a few days, noted international stars Bob Dylan, Laurie Anderson, Shakira, Rickie Lee Jones, Sarah Silverman and Matisyhahu were all crisscrossing the country, either here for performances or, in the case of hip-shaking Shakira, as a guest panelist at President Shimon Peres’s Israeli Presidential Conference.
And there was some cross-pollination going on. Hassidic reggae rapper Matisyahu reportedly was more stoked that singer/songwriter Jones was performing last week at Ramat Gan Stadium than he was about the headliner Dylan. He finagled his way to the “Chuck E’s in Love” songstress, revealed his longtime devotion to her, and invited her as his guest at his show the next night at a Tel Aviv club. It’s not clear if Jones took him up on the offer.
Later in the week, before appearing with local favorites Hadag Nahash at an outdoor show in Jerusalem, the busy Matisyahu appeared on a panel on Jewish identity at the Presidential conference with the irreverent Silverman.
The session was reportedly the epitome of the word ‘awkward’ as evidenced by the following video clip.
But it couldn’t have been stranger than Silverman’s hopefully comic admission a couple nights later at her stand up show in Tel Aviv that she had slept with the conference’s host – Shimon Peres. Of course, she didn’t put it in such cultured terms.
The American comedian was also seen schmoozing at another session of the conference with Shakira, one of the South American pop star’s many non-performance appearances during her visit as Unicef ambassador and founder of the Barefoot Foundation, which promotes the right to a quality education for children worldwide.
Between all the famous names walking around Jerusalem, one might have gotten a whiplash from turning their heads and exclaiming, ‘Isn’t that…?”
The situation is slated to repeat itself next month when – in one day – three musical artists will be performing at three different locations in the country. Paul Simon will be bringing his acclaimed tour to Ramat Gan Stadium, jazz/pop guitar legend George Benson will be bringing his soul stuff to the Caesarea Amphitheater and the inheritor of the reggae mantle, Ziggy Marley, will be headlining a reggae dance outdoor show in Jerusalem.
As one fan, who was deliberating which show to attend, mentioned, “We can pretend we actually live in a normal country for one day.”
Air bound along the Mediterranean
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Israeliness, Life, Sports
The birthday boy and the pro about to step off the cliff
For my son’s 17th birthday, we got a great deal on one of those online buying clubs for a 20-minute tandem gliding ride off a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea in Ga’ash, north of Tel Aviv. So on Friday, father and son drove up the coast and followed the directions which took us to Shefayim and onto sand dune trail reminding me of the labyrinth hedge maze in the The Shining. We could have been spinning around the trails there for hours, but eventually saw a few cars and a van parked at one point.
At the back of the van in the open trunk, was the company office for Sport-X, where Mikhail was taking names, as his staff of five professional gliders were readying their equipment. It was pretty straightforward. The passenger is attached to the pro in the front with a seat-like apparatus and the two of them together walk toward the end of the cliff and are suddenly airbound for a thrilling 20-minute ride at speeds of up to 20 miles an hours.
They return to the same spot, landing on their feet and none worse for the wear. It looked like so much fun that next time there’s a deal, I’m going up myself.
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