The people in your neighborhood

March 20, 2009 - 8:16 AM by Jessica · Leave a Comment
Filed under: General, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness, Life, coexistence 

baka-jerusalemThe longer I live in Israel, and in Jerusalem — 14 years and counting, this June — the more I’m certain that much of my life here is about the people, and certainly not the political, social or religious situation that exists here. Perhaps that’s because there is such an assortment of people in these parts, particularly in Jerusalem, which can be such an ingathering of exiles, and I don’t necessarily mean that in a positive light.

At the same time, living in one of the world’s holiest cities — even though that’s not why I live here — means that you live among a simply astounding assortment of people. I mean, hey, they don’t call it the Jerusalem Syndrome for nothing. Unusual people are clearly drawn to this place. But seriously. Living here has meant that I’ve met and become friends and acquaintances with all kinds of folk, and what I love is how we intersect in one another’s lives.

Consider Danny, my framer. He recently added an annex to his framing shop, which, mind you, is little more than a shack on Caspi Street, considered one of the ‘better’ streets in the city and lined with villas, overlooking the Old City and Mount of Olives. When I was last there, he had installed his framing colleague, Dudi, who used to be my framer, back when he had a shop on Bethlehem Road. Anyway, Danny and I were discussing my five-month-old twins, and this hippy, white-crocheted-kippah-wearing Israeli who used to be secular told me that I really need to have a pidyon haben for Ziv, my older twin. “Talk about it with your rabbi,” Danny tells me, “but hey, it’s a siba l’misiba.” (A great Israeli phrase which means a reason for a party.) So now we’re thinking about it.

Or Yossi, our newly installed gardener. As we chatted about the weedy post-winter state of my garden, and what succulents could be planted which wouldn’t need water, we connected on where he lives — the suburban/moshav enclave of Beit Zayit, which I’d written about recently. We then moved on to the issue of orla and whether we can yet eat the fruit from our lime or nectarine trees. He didn’t want to commit to whether I could or couldn’t according to Jewish law, but I like the fact that I can chat about it with my gardener, and that we both have a sense of what we’re talking about.

There’s also Sarah, who works at the dry cleaners and lives in Abu Gosh; Yossi, who owns the local lighting store and pickles lemons in the back, and Tali, who owns another nearby gift store with her sister, and also has twins. There are days when I spend more time talking to them than to closer friends and family, and you know what? Not a bad thing at all.

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Day tripping

September 15, 2008 - 2:03 PM by Jessica · 2 Comments
Filed under: Food, General, History and Culture, Travel 

Judean Hills-1.jpgI had to head out to the Maale Hahamisha hotel yesterday for a meeting, and was reminded as I drove through Abu Gosh, passing Yad HaShmona and Neve Ilan along the way, what a great little tour this area makes for a day tripper.

Abu Gosh is an Arab village that is named for the Abu Gosh family and which has remained friendly to Israel throughout 60 years of statehood. Known for its annual music festival and Christmas Eve services, Abu Gosh also has a slew of Middle Eastern style restaurants and hummousiya stops, serving grilled meats, salads and hummous. Two of the most famous are the Lebanese Restaurant, built around a mulberry tree and known for its popularity among Israeli politicians and the Abu Gosh Restaurant, which is owned by Ibrahim Jawdat, an Abu Gosh native who won $17 million in a Chicago, IL state lottery while working as a mechanic. Legend has it that Jawdat used his last $50 to buy a bunch of lottery tickets at a 7-11, and, well, got lucky.

If you keep on driving through Abu Gosh, you’ll see a signpost pointing up toward Maale Hahamisha, a kibbutz that has its own hotel — with a great indoor pool — and the orchid hospice, part of the kibbutz orchid greenhouse, for those possessing an orchid obsession. For another alternative cooperative community, stop at Yad Hashmona on the way out of the area, a moshav of Finnish Christians who offer lodging, food and a biblical village in the Judean Hills.

Finally, before heading home, stop at the Elvis Inn for a necessary viewing of the incredible collection of Elvis memorabilia…It’s one thing to see this kind of adulation in Graceland, but it’s fantastically out of place for the Judean Hills.

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