A ‘tail’ of two cities

January 3, 2009 - 6:31 PM by · 4 Comments
Filed under: coexistence, Crime, General, Israeliness, Life 

It's the dog days for Jewish and Arab neighbors near Jerusalem.

It's the dog days for Jewish and Arab neighbors near Jerusalem.

Ma’aleh Adumim borders the Arab community of Azariya. There’s not much contact between the two peoples, and in fact, since 2002 Israelis from Ma’aleh Adumim are prevented by the army from entering the village for their own safety.

There are many residents of Azariya however, like laborers, construction workers, remodeling experts, who work in Ma’aleh Adumim with the proper Israeli identity card – either a work permit or a Jerusalem residency card.

However, it’s not too difficult to cross the road and climb the hill separating the two communities. And that’s what one 13-year-old Azariya youth did a couple weeks ago. My eight-year-old son’s friend Ephraim was out walking his dog near his home, when the teen grabbed his leash and ran off with the mutt.

Ephraim ran home to tell his father, who called the police. They arrived pretty quickly, heard the story, and said they would look around for the pooch. Ephraim, of course, had no idea that the thief was from Azariya, but the police warned his dad that there wasn’t much they could do if he was not from Ma’aleh Adumim.

The family put up signs and scoured the neighborhood over the next few days, to no avail. Then by chance, when Ephraim was walking home from school, he spotted the 13-year-old crook. He ran home again, his mother called the police and they picked up the youth for questioning. Aside from discovering he was indeed from Azariya, they weren’t able to get any useful information from him about the dog, and they released him.

Ephraim’s father had a lead though. The next day, he went to a construction site and asked around if any of the workers were from Azariya, and a couple of them said yes. He explained the situation to them, and they said they would try to find the kid and his family and help locate the dog.

That night, Ephraim’s dad got a call from one of the builders who told them, “We found the family and the kid, but there’s no dog here. They said he ran away.”

But, they added, don’t despair, we’re going to search around and look for the dog. Ephraim’s dad got another call a while later from the builder turned detective saying, “We found someone who said they saw the dog, so we’re getting a search party together in that area.”

The next morning, the builder called Ephraim’s dad and said, “We found him, and we’re sending him back in a taxi – he should be there in a half hour.”

Sure enough, Ephraim’s dog showed up chauffered at his home and eight days after he was abducted, had a joyful reunion with his family. Later that morning, Ephraim’s dad went to the construction site and gave the worker a cash reward for taking matters into his own hands, and helping to forge a ‘good neighbor’ policy between Ma’aleh Adumim and Azariya. It should be a lesson for all of us.

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New (Natural) World Order

November 19, 2008 - 1:45 AM by · 6 Comments
Filed under: General 

Okay folks, it’s time once again to defend the republic, or whatever it is you call it over here. Israel is once again being judged in the court of world opinion, and it’s up to we loyal Israelis to make sure we get ours. But we’re not alone this time – if you have any friends in Jordan or the Palestinian Authority, you might be able to get them to help, because they’ve got a stake in this, too. eingedi1120.jpg

First there were the Seven Wonders of the World – so named because they really were wonders. Till today, for example, nobody has been able to figure out how the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids. Now that’s a wonder! And you knew they were wonders because they had the imprimatur of the ancient Greeks. Later, though, it became clear that there were newer wonders that weren’t included in the original list, like the Great Wall of China, so various universities and the like compiled additional Seven Wonders lists. The Old City of Jerusalem, for example, is one of the New Seven Wonders, according to USA Today.

The latest Seven Wonders gimmick, however, has The People voting on what constitutes a Wonder of the World. The voting is coordinated by the New7Wonders Foundation, which was founded by aviator/explorer/museum curator Bernard Weber. One hundred million people voted to name the Foundation’s “New Seven Wonders,” which were announced on July 7, 2007, and include impressive monuments like the Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu, and Petra.

Now the Foundation is conducting voting for the Seven Wonders of the Natural World, with the i to be named in early 2009. The candidates include sites you would expect to be on such a list, like Mount Everest, Mount Fuji, the Grand Canyon, and Niagara Falls (the latter two being the only sites in North America to make the list). But there are lots of places many people are probably not familiar with. Interestingly, all of the top ten currently rated sites are in the Far East – with four of them in the Philippines, and three in Vietnam!

Israel is respectably represented as well: The coral reefs of the Red Sea are listed (actually, they’re listed as representing not only Israel, but the PA, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and other countries too), as is the Dead Sea (also Jordan and PA), both currently in 13th and 14th places respectively. Also on the list, at 64, is Ein Gedi, the oasis on the shores of the Dead Sea (exclusively Israeli).
red sea1120.jpg
Now, I’m sure the Philippines has many beautiful natural wonders  – but four of the current top seven? And while there are many occasions where tapping into The Wisdom of Crowds is a good idea, I’m not sure determining a question like this is one of them. Based on the current standings, it looks more like  a popularity contest – with people urging their friends to vote for their county’s site. But if that’ the way it works, I say “game on.” Just surf on over to the  New7Wonders site and cast your vote. When you register, you get to choose your seven picks – so why not get all three Israeli sites as close to the top seven as possible? Our national – or should I say “natural” – pride is at stake!

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Oktober knows no borders

October 16, 2008 - 12:17 PM by · 1 Comment
Filed under: Business, coexistence, Food, History and Culture 

Taybeh's OktoberfestModeled after Bavaria, Germany’s famous brew festival of the same name, which draws millions of participants each fall, the Taybeh Brewery held its own two-day version of Oktoberfest earlier this week. This is the fourth incarnation of the Palestinian village’s festival, sponsored by the industry named after it (the brewery’s founding Khoury family currently, er, occupies city hall over there).

The Taybeh Brewery, which offers Golden, Light, Amber and Dark beers, has a decidedly coexistence-themed flavor: It was founded thanks to peace momentum following the 1993 Oslo accords, it is marketed and bottled internationally, and a portion of the Oktoberfest profits is donated every year to peace-loving Palestinians and Israelis.

Although Taybeh is mostly a Christian village, the brewery premiered a non-alcoholic version at the festival, which should boost sales amongst the Palestinian nationalist crowd, traditionally forbidden to drink fermented liquids by the tenets of Islam. The festival also featured folk arts, musical and dance performances, as well as a tag rugby match between the Ramallah Blue Snakes and Beit Jala Lions.

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