It's Passover, Get Naked!

A man entered a store in J'lem and stripped but for a sock on his personality. He then called the police to arrest him. To this point, the story is either a lateral thinking puzzle or a trailer for Cops:Israel.

Why get nekkid on chol ha-moed (the interim days of Passover)? To stand up for religious tenets, of course. Israel bans the sale of chametz (leavened stuff like bread) in public places over Passover. Recently, the Israeli Supreme Court said, "Yes, but stores and restaurants aren't public places," effectively removing the restriction from the major places where it once applied. A demonstration was bound to ensue. The young man, claiming to be a yeshiva boy, went into a non-kosher supermarket where bread and other sundry items were sold, called the police, and then stripped. Store owners asked him to leave and he refused. When police got there, he asked to be arrested and they obliged.

His defense: This can't be a case of public exposure.

Problems: Not a bad idea. Two problems: (a) if the store is private it likely has the right to refuse service and remove people. He was asked to leave and didn't, so the charges might instead be for trespass. (b) Here in the U.S. we differentiate between a 'public place' and a 'public accomodation' - a private place open to the public. The wording of the Israeli indecency law vs. the sale ban could be critical. I doubt he checked.

Tel Aviv, Haifa Dec 30-31

RSC's sister is in med school in Tel Aviv, taking part in an English language program. She's not the only one. Our good friend and the brother of another good friend, both from Boston, are also there. Seems like everyone and their mother was in Israel over winter break. 4,000 birthrighters, us, half the young Brookline, MA community (who all got together at Cafe Rimon on Ben Yehuda Saturday night to complete our cliched existence), and bunches and bunches of others, some visiting, some having moved permanently. [ For the uninitiated, to move to Israel is to make "Aliyah", or "ascent"]
Then it was back up to Haifa as a home base to the north of the country. We hiked Haifa, a rolling, hilly city if there ever was one. Think Athens or San Francisco. Searching the internet for something of the beaten path, we found a nature hike in one of the many wadis (gully or gorge) that have been set aside as nature preserves to create a green link from the top of Mt. Carmel to the ocean.

In true Israeli fashion, the trails were painstakingly marked but the instructions as to how to get there were sketchy: Wadi Siach (SEE-ach, meaning bush), walk along the top of the Carmel, make a left at the Rapapport sports auditorium, make another left onto Lotus. Between 12 Lotus street and the elementary school there are steps onto a dirt path. Of course, this is Israel, so it worked after a few stops and starts down what were clearly private entrances.




The view was amazing. In the photo, you can see Kabrir, an Arab section of the Carmel (not a village, a neighborhood), at the top, and a Crusades-era church at the bottom. The church was made of the chalk rock found in the valley, lending it a beautiful white tone. But, like the chalk, it was infused with black flint seams shaped like twigs and branches. I can't imagine what it must have looked like when complete.

Towards the end of hike, I learned why they call the Wadi "siach." I have a weak ankle from a recent injury and I turned it stumbling on a loose stone near the bottom of the run. I leaned into the turn to avoid a serious sprain -- and planted my hand full force into a short, dry bramble bush -- a siach. Two minutes of cartoon-like yelps later, I had most of the 25 thorns out of right hand. Two minutes after that, I had recovered five more that had announced themselves. I held my hand up above my heart, but to no avail. Two minutes again passed and suddenly every nerve in my hand was atwitch in a sensation of pain-scratching that was distracting in the extreme. Of course, my ankle didn't hurt.

We hiked the remaining two clicks to the coast. At lunch, bussed back to the top of the Carmel and hiked down about 6-7 miles to Wadi Nisnas, the Arab-Christian quarter that was celebrating "Sylvester", the other name for New Years. For those who have seen only the Bahai gardens and the beach, you now know what to hit next time you are in town.

Back to J'lem, December 28-30

Those unfamiliar with Israel asked RSC to take photos depicting life there. Given the varied terrain in Israel, as well as the variety of cultures and ethnicities, that's tough. Toss in an ever-changing military/political landscape and it is damn-near impossible.

Here is something simple: How close are Arabs and Israelis really? Really, really close. This is a shot looking north from Givat Hatachmoshet - Ammunition Hill. It is the former base of the Jordanian Arab legion and sits about 15 minutes walk from the Old City. On the hill, there is a memorial to the battle for Jerusalem in 1967, and you can still wander through the trenches and bunkers. Looking off the hill at the top, you get a view of just how close things really are. This is a view of a small village about 1 km away from Ramallah. Close, huh?

Wait until tomorrow, when you'll hear about the area south of Jerusalem, where the roads are bordered by large concrete walls to prevent attack, or about the Lebanese border, where military outposts, radar and listening stations abut a scuba operation, ATV trails, and a cable car into gorgeous chalk grottoes by the sea. Yup, that close.

Luckily, things have calmed down for a bit. This is a view from inside the Arab shuk. The traffic is much higher now that Israelis of all types feel that it is safe to come back into these streets. That means non-Jewish tourists are back too, hanging a left into the Arab quarter in greater and greater numbers. I know, I and all the other Israelis have seen them in a quick leftward glance down the still-forbidden streets.

Weird place, I know.

Dec 26-28, Haifa

Haifa is beautiful. Following the Russian immigration, it became the center of Russian life in Israel. So much so, in fact, that Hadar, the older part of town where my grandfather lives, is now almost exclusively Russian. What is not Russian is orthodox. That might be the more surprising half. Haifa, long the bastion of Sabras, would have balked at the notion that a "Dati" population would spring up, but spring up they have.

So where are the Sabras? Burbs. Ah, yes. You know you're a first world country when you replace your condo in the city for an upgrade in a new development on the next rise over. New Romema, Vardiya, and so on have all popped up, usually with a shopping area at the summit and housing perched on the surrounding hill in concentric circles. Kids don't play together in the street as much any more. People drive rather than ride the bus to work. Progress people, progress.

Oh, and all Israelis have HDTV. All of them. HoT is one of the major providers, offering not just VOD, but gaming, trivia, and shopping, all from your remote.

Coming home exhausted one night from an urban hike, we caught "Idiocracy." I had no idea this movie was ever made, but it has B-movie appeal out the wazoo. Here is a promo for Brawndo, which in this dystopian future has replaced water as the sole source of liquid nourishment:



[ EDIT - Commenter Jeremy brought this to my attention: www.brawndo.com. OMG, you can actually buy the stuff. Similarly, this Wall-E fanboy loves: http://buynlarge.com/ ]

Dec 23-25, Jerusalem

What is most striking today about Jerusalem is the rush of development that has followed the relative calm after the Lebanese conflict almost 2 years ago. The Old City is undergoing renovations and excavations as seen above. The authorities took down the police station that overlooked the Wall to excavate the old structures underneath.

Outside the walls, Yad Veshem has completed the most breathtaking renovation I have ever seen in a museum. Before, I thought it was gripping to walk through because you could not look away from the holocaust imagery, but that reached a saturation point pretty fast. Now, the weaving of taped interviews and documentary clips evenly balances the artifacts and photos, so that you can stay in longer and get more depth without simply experiencing the shock.



Deep in the city, there is a light rail going in, luxury apartment foundations being poured and a bubbling tourism apparently revolving around Birthright, or at least getting the heck out of its way.

The security situation has improved to the point where folks are back in the Arab shuk in the Old City. I haven't been there in nearly 14 years. What a treat. Yeah, something about being there can bring out the right wingishness in even the staunchest lefty.

"So you think NPR has a slant?"

As an NPR junkie, I take more than my share of flak regarding that outfit's editorial position on Israel. First, let me say that NPR news is a small portion of public programming and, incidentally, not the best portion. I listen mostly by podcast (If you see me with my Shuffle on, you're watching a man enraptured by the dulcet tones of Peter Segal rather than the din of Anthrax), which means I'm getting feature programs on science, human interest, etc. that NPR is so good at. Some of the best are "This American Life", "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me...", and "Car Talk."

But I digress. More than NPR, the NYT, and the Berkeley Birkenstock-Ledger combined, the UK media (both liberal and conservative -- I am looking at you The Economist) has a decidedly contra-Israeli stance. Apparently, having long been the oppressors themselves, they are quick to see the same quality in others.

Enter this morning's Times of London Editorial Page, crying out against an academic boycott of Israeli institutions. Why? Because those institutions are bastions of liberal thinking, as they are in most countries. Sure, this is a small move. But it is also a reminder that Europe is not intransigent in its criticism of Israel. A little more humanitarian aid; a little more talk of peace; and the tides of public opinion may turn again.