Wartime romance

January 23, 2009 - 8:32 AM by Jessica · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Israeliness, War

wartime_romance001002 Another ‘I know the war is over, but’ story. It comes by way of my niece, Elisheva, 20, who was in her last two weeks of her army service in the IDF spokesperson’s unit when the action in Gaza began. It was more than ironic for her, considering that Elisheva hadn’t loved the unit, despite its being one of the more prestigious postings in the army. She was, like all Israeli kids who are nearing the end of their service, very anxious to be done already, and has all her plans for post-army. But when the war began, she was one of the more senior soldiers in her particular area of the unit and they immediately took her down south, to a situation room just outside Gaza.

She couldn’t tell us where she was posted, and her cellphone usage was limited. But the reports via my sister were that she was having a great time, in the way that one does in a heightened, intense situation. For one, it was the most exciting period she’d ever experienced in the army, given the amount of work and responsibility that she had during this period. The other reason had to do with who she met, namely, a guy. He is another soldier who is no longer in a combat unit because of an injury he sustained earlier in his service. Now he’s a driver for one of the colonels who runs the spokesperson’s unit and was in close contact with our Elisheva. How close? TMI. Don’t want to know. What I do know is that being in such close quarters — they slept for four hours a day and in cars, because this wasn’t a proper base — for three weeks threw Elisheva and her new beau into the kind of romantic situation that she’d only previously experienced in summer camp. And camp is a lot different than a war situation in the Gaza Strip.

We’ve been warning her not to expect too much of the relationship now that the war is over and they’re both back in their regular bases. But you never know. And in this country, it’s de rigeur to meet your beloved in the army.

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Tags: Gaza offensive, IDF

Shvitzing together

January 4, 2009 - 10:49 AM by Jessica · 1 Comment
Filed under: Israeliness, War, coexistence

As I drove up the road toward Ramat Rachel the other afternoon, I thought about the fact that I was looking forward to a long-awaited Swedish massage — to offset the very physical aspects of new motherhood — while people living in the south were huddling in bomb shelters and sealed rooms, dealing with a very different set of expectations for the day.

jacuzzi But as usual, albeit unexpectedly, I found myself in a fairly altered reality sitting in the Jacuzzi before my massage. I had stepped in, gingerly, as one does, and relishing my first dip following the long months of pregnancy. As I slid down, savoring the hot bubbling water, I realized that the men around me — the Jacuzzi always seems to be filled with men with pot bellies — were all speaking Arabic. For better or for worse, that’s fairly unusual in the surroundings of the Ramat Rachel complex, which is a popular swimming pool and gym owned by the kibbutz and frequented by local, mostly Jewish, Jerusalemites. And it felt even more unusual, given the fact that Israeli Arabs haven’t been too pleased with Israel’s Gaza offensive and now the ground offensive.

I went on with my afternoon of relaxation, and soon realized that there must be some kind of company outing, because the entire complex was filled with Arab men; in the lockers near the massage rooms, in the sauna, in the steam room, and again, in the Jacuzzi. They didn’t seem bothered by my presence in the Jacuzzi, during the three minutes that I grabbed before my massage. I couldn’t help but wonder what they were talking about, and whether they were contemplating how unusual it was to be in fairly Jewish surroundings during this particular week. Moreover, the Ramat Rachel Jacuzzi looks out onto the towns of Gilo and Bethlehem; good choices for controversial views.

But as usual, people are people, talking about the most banal of subjects and issues, which was confirmed when the man to my left turned and asked me if it paid to go into the sauna and steamroom. I laughed at myself, and told him that it was all part of the ’shvitz’ experience, and one that shouldn’t be missed.

When we bumped into each other in the sauna later on, he thanked me for the recommendation, and told his buddies — in perfect Hebrew, better than mine — that I was the one to be thanked for their relaxing round. We smiled at each other, and maybe, I think, thought to ourselves that it should always be like this. I know I did. I hope he did as well.

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