Come Meet the “Other” at TEDxJaffa Today – Streaming Live!
Filed under: A New Reality, Life, Medical Breakthroughs, Music, News, Politics, Religion, Science, Technology
Watch the stream live today from Jaffa starting at 9 am EST.
It’s really easy to sit at your kitchen table in Brooklyn, Toronto, Vancouver, or Berkley and shoot off comments about the Middle East conflict. It’s harder when you live in it. It’s hard when you have to think twice about taking the bus, plane, or train because it might blow up, and it’s hard knowing that every person who shares your society with you are paying the majority of their taxes to a staggering defense budget.
I live in Israel. I live in Jaffa, Israel — a city next to Tel Aviv populated by Muslims, Christians and Jews. Some of us are atheists, some traditional and others defiantly religious. I chose to live here and it’s a crazy place. It’s not crazy because people here care about their religion, enough to fight over it or talk about it incessantly. It’s crazy because of its improbability.
In Jaffa, some Muslims call themselves Palestinians. Some Christians call themselves Israeli Palestinian Christian Arabs. The Jews are just Israelis of course, unless they come from Arab countries and they are Sephardic or those from Europe say they are Ashkenazi. You can find escaped donkeys galloping down the streets at midnight. You can find the best European chocolate cake beside a working man’s morning hummous joint. My husband says he wouldn’t be surprised to wake up one morning and find a dead body on our front porch: there is also a lot of crime in Jaffa.
But Jaffa has its charm. Its own rhythm is marked by the five calls to prayer, with the one at sunset telling my baby daughter (who is Jewish) it’s time to go to sleep. It’s got a roughness, and sharp corners, and just when you think it’s too hard to handle, you’ll catch a new smell reminding you of some other time from our collective memory when civilization began, somewhere around here.
But more than people know, Jaffa — the city of the Bible where Jonah disembarks from before getting swallowed by the whale and spat out on shore near Nineveh — is a lens through which the world can understand cultural diversity, and cultural freedom in Israel.
Today at my home the East West House we will help host TEDxJaffa under the theme the Desire to Know the Other. There is a strong line-up of people from Jaffa, like my musician husband Yisrael Borochov, but also people from Israel and the Palestinian Authority who will tell their personal and professional stories on working to know the other. One speaker survived a terror attack and was afraid to look in the mirror to see how much of her face was left; one speaker will be a successful Palestinian policeman turned businessman; and if you log on to our simulcast today (or see the videos later) you’ll meet Haya Samir, an Israeli Muslim whose family came to Israel as political refugees from Egypt. Raised as a Jew, she found out as a young woman that she was in fact a Muslim.
Haya is an Israeli diva. And we are so glad to know her. Today she will sing songs of the pioneering days in Israel – Debka Fantasia – before 1948 when young Jews met Bedouin and Arab shepherds. These pioneers longed for a culture that combined, not defined, the Middle East with European values. I think this is what the people in the Arab uprisings are coming to terms with.
Would you like to get off your chair and dance to a little music with us LIVE? Maybe meet someone whose views might change your worldview about the Middle East conflict?
The simulcast starts at at 9 am EST time today Wednesday if you are in New York City. Log on at the TEDxJaffa site to see it. Officially in Israel the event starts at 3.
Alli Meets Aladdin
The idea for TEDx in Jaffa started with my friend Alli Magidsohn, who is producing and curating the event. The fellow Jaffinian, who is from LA, was inspired to fulfill this dream after an encounter with a man (a genie?) in Sinai named Aladdin.
Her words: “We felt lucky to have the opportunity to meet and form a new friendship in an overall context that might have otherwise limited us as enemies and spoke about the area’s conflicts, spirituality, Love, and many other things together. His perspectives broadened my mind and this encounter made me realize that as an American Jew living in Israel, even opposite an Muslim Egyptian man, there is still so much more that we have in common than there is that separates us.
“Other encounters in Sinai, Israel and Palestine led to further ‘broadening’, deeper respect and more curiosity, and TEDxJaffa is the manifestation of this process of personal expansion. ‘The Desire to know The Other’, for me – not necessarily for the event’s speakers – isn’t about explicit things like politics or peace or coexistence, it’s really about that desire to look from the inside, outwards, and to try to take in, understand, or somehow be enriched by exposing oneself to another person’s experience.
Log in folks at 9 am if you are New York or Toronto. All other cities: the event’s at 3 PM + 7 hours EST. Link from here.
Darkness at the edge of town
As the darkness settled over us, I felt an unanticipated sense of panic. I had been expecting to be unsettled, startled, certainly disoriented; I didn’t realize it would bring up so many deep and hidden emotions.
To set the stage: my wife Jody and I were dining in the Black Out Restaurant at the Nalaga’at Center in Jaffa. Nalaga’at calls itself a “cultural, entertainment and training center” for deaf, blind and deaf-blind Israelis. A troupe of a dozen actors puts on a play each evening that is at once heartbreaking and heartwarming as it illustrates what it’s like to live with their particular disabilities.
Many theatergoers choose to start their night with a meal at the Black Out, a restaurant where blind and seeing impaired waiters guide their guests through a meal in total darkness. Not just “dark,” but total – not a speck of light seeped through the heavy curtains. We were even instructed to check our cell phones before entering, to prevent any light if they flashed from swarming through the room like Internet-savvy fireflies.
Our waitress Ma’ayan introduced herself to us and then led us to our table by placing hands on shoulders. We had to feel for our chairs, locate our water and glasses and silverware as if we were blind – which for the next two hours we essentially were.
There are two meal options at the Black Out – dairy and fish; we opted for the former. Within each option, there are three entrees and a “surprise me” choice, where the chef picks the dish and the diners try to discern what they’ve been served (mine was some sort or ravioli with sweet potato and peas – unusual but good).
First, though, we were brought a basket of fresh baked bread, pre-buttered with garlic and dried tomatoes. Perhaps (or probably) because one of our senses had been taken away, the taste of the bread was astonishing.
Jody and I also used the breadbasket to navigate the table, and to find each other’s hands to hold as the volume from the other diners in the small space cranked up towards metal head level, threatening to sonically overwhelm us. Ma’ayan explained that when you can’t see someone and you’re not used to that, you naturally tend to shout. The ears also compensate for the lack of sight, amplifying everything.
Which is when I started to panic. The sound level, which I am loathe to call deafening for abuse of a cliché, although it might nevertheless be the most appropriate, became oppressive, much like the humidity we’d earlier slogged through outside on the Jaffa beach.
I became silent. Jody tried to engage me in conversation. I couldn’t respond. It was then Jody’s turn to panic – had I left the table without telling her? Where was her usually unstoppably chatty husband?
Upon hearing Jody’s concern, I snapped out of my momentary melancholy fairly quickly, but my words were forced, uttered more for the sake of compassion than ordinary discourse.
Once the main meal came, my alarm was mitigated somewhat. I tried my best to eat with a fork, but lapsed too often into using my hands – after all, no one could see me, right?
Everyone will react differently to the temporary deprivation of one or more of their senses. Jody was calm but couldn’t keep her eyes open. My response to the sounds around me (made worse by the presence of a particularly boisterous group of un chaperoned teenagers) was not entirely surprising: I have always been sensitive to noise and the Black Out restaurant magnified that susceptibility a hundredfold. I can’t imagine how it must be to live like this all the time. I am thankful I don’t have to. And saddened that others do not have that choice.
Chickens (and Eggs) in Jaffa
From a long line of egg farmers, Karin’s dad finally builds her a chicken coop
Imagine getting fresh, free-range organic eggs every day? When my parents came to visit me in Jaffa a few months ago, Dad found himself bored. Back in Holland, my family the Van Der Meers were one of the biggest egg producers in the country before the Depression. So you could say, eggs are in our genes. With Dad nothing to do for a few weeks, I brought up the idea of having him build me a chicken coop. That got him kind of excited. He foraged for wood in my backyard and came up with a coop that resembles a bus stop. Read more
Foto Friday – Behind the Urban Outfitters Scene
Filed under: Art, Blogging, Business, design, Entertainment, Foto Friday, General, Pop Culture, Travel
A few weeks ago, Jessica reported that Urban Outfitters had come to Israel for a catalogue shoot. Urban Outfitters has since posted a sneak peek on Facebook at their Early Spring line, which includes some gorgeous shots of some equally gorgeous people making our drab winter surroundings that much brighter.
Along with the fashion shots, there are also some interesting artistic ones as well. That’s because three of the models — Coco Young, Marcel Castenmiller and Jonas Kesseler — are also photographers in their own right. Urban Outfitters who, despite their retro aesthetic, are ever on the cutting edge, asked the trio to document their Israel experience with a Behind the Scenes look.
The result: “Their photos reveal the little unexpected moments that make a trip special – snacks, late nights and the people that you meet for a second but will remember forever.”
The full exhibition is posted on the Urban Outfitters blog, along with interviews with the artists. Coco Young said that the Dead Sea was one of the trip’s highlights.
Photo by Coco Young
She also kept an eye out for unusual fashion statements.
Photo by Coco Young
The Dead Sea was also a highlight for Marcel Castenmiller but his favorite part of the day, he said, was “Getting back to the hotel room and staying up late with Coco and Jonas drinking wine.”
Photo by Marcel Castenmiller
And the absurd little details of a country where a kitchen clock gets tied to a street lamp — for heaven knows what reason — didn’t escape his notice.
Photo by Marcel Castenmiller
Jonas Kesseler said the funniest moment of his trip was arriving at the airport only to be strip-searched on his way into Israel. Glad to hear he kept a sense of humor about it. Certainly, that wit is reflected in his work.
Photos by Jonas Kesseler
Kesseler’s website, by the way, features a photo and drawing essay about his “wandering the endless streets of Tokyo”. Here’s hoping that a new edition — the lighter side of coming hard up against the finite borders of our little country, perhaps? — will turn up in the near future. As for Urban Outfitters, a radio commentator put it best today when he said, “Next time you come, please could you bring a branch of your store with you, too?”
What to do on the last week of summer vacation
Camping at HaBonim Beach
As the school year is quickly approaching, I thought I’d share a little of what we did on our summer vacation. You don’t have to be on holiday, though, to enjoy little downtime in Israel: these tips are handy any time of the year – all the more so in the final week of educational freedom.
We were fortunate to have friends in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ra’anana who suggested a house swap. While nothing is terribly far in little Israel, being closer to the “merkaz” (the center of the country) enabled us Jerusalemites to take advantage of more of what the greater Tel Aviv region offers.
Truth be told, the real advantage to our arrangement is that by going away – even an hour from home – we were “forced” to take the time off. Sure, we could have done day trips, but we wouldn’t have. Email and Facebook would have been just too enticing.
Since our vacation coincided with the recent heat wave in Israel, we spent a lot of time in the water. The Herzeliya beach is perfunctory – it has the requisite sand, lifeguard and bathrooms. Nothing special, but it’s the closest to Ra’anana (with better parking than at the central beaches of Tel Aviv), so that’s where we headed on our first day.
For a second beach trip a few days later, we drove up to the HaBonim beach, not from Zichron Ya’akov and south of Haifa. We had been told it was the most beautiful beach in Israel. It was.
This is a “camper’s beach” and when we arrived, most of the pergolas were already filled with tents. We shared some open space with a mangal (barbeque) and several toddlers.
Since many of the beachgoers are there for more than an afternoon, HaBonim has a more laid back family-friendly feel than trendy teenager-centric Herzeliya. But the real jewel is the nature walk – an hour-long loop along a marked trail (the beach is actually an official Israeli nature reserve) where we could lap up the shore as the sun set. It was lovely.
Waterslide at Yamit 2000
We also hit the Yamit 2000 water park – not recommended. In the summer, there must be a billion screaming kids (and even louder teenagers). Waits for 30-second water slides stretched to close an hour. Definitely not laid back.
We also rented bikes in Tel Aviv and rode along the Yarkon River all the way to the namal (the old Tel Aviv port) which is one of our favorite hang-out spots. We had packed picnic lunches to keep costs down, but we did manage to scarf down some Aldo Ice Cream before returning on the route we came. Biggest surprise: this bike route is actually part of the Israel Trail, normally only for hikers. Who knew?
One other highlight: the Jaffa Flea Market which stays open late Thursday nights during the summer and is filled with merrymakers, musicians and street comics.. It’s also packed with people, but it’s a fun atmosphere. This one is time-limited: go before the summer’s over!
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