The Expatriate

Belgrade!

2006-12-09T21:58:00.000+02:00

Hi everyone!
First of all, a special shout-out to those who specifically asked me when I would next update my blog (you know who you are). I apologize for being so behind on this project...I don't have much of an excuse, besides being busy and the fact that I haven't been able to get internet in my Budapest apartment most of the time.
Anyway, a lot has happened in the past six weeks or so, so I won't describe all of it in detail. This post will be about the trip I took with three of my girlfriends to Belgrade, Serbia for the day--yes, that's right, we took an overnight train on Thursday night, arrived around 8:30 AM on Friday morning, and took the 9:30 PM train 'home' to Budapest Friday evening. Call us crazy, but as Christine said, we're college students--we're supposed to do things like this :) And it was worth it.

The overnight train itself was quite an experience. We had to pay extra to get a sleeper car, which was very small but had actual beds that looked fairly clean--quite exciting. The conductor didn't speak English, but somehow made it clear that he was willing to communicate in "Francais"--lucky for us, even though he only knew a little. About halfway through the night, we woke up for passport control and were freezing, so I went to ask him if there was heat that could be turned on, trying to show through body language that we were cold. He went into one of the other rooms and came back with four more blankets, handing them to me and saying, "Pour toutes les madames" ("for all the ladies")!

The most distinctive thing about Belgrade, compared to Budapest, is perhaps the fact that they use the Cyrillic alphabet. Fortunately, one of my friends knows the alphabet and speaks some Russian, so she was a big help...and somehow I kind of taught myself to cipher out some of the letters so I could kind of figure out where I was.
We spent the day walking around the city, seeing the national museum, the Fortress (see pic), and the amazing Cathedral. Later, I split off from the others to go look at the Jewish cemetery. This was quite an interesting experience. It was a lot bigger than I had thought it would be, and many of the graves were crooked and weathered--perhaps because of age? In a strange way, though, I enjoyed walking down the old pathways and reading the Hebrew on the gravestones and the descriptions of the memorials. There were some commemorating Jews who gave their lives fighting for their country (Yugoslavia; this was before its breakup), for example, and one large monument was dedicated to the many Jews of Yugoslavia who were murdered by the Nazis. Right next to the cemetery was a building with a big Jewish star on its side--perhaps a synagogue, or some other type of building (since in Jewish tradition synagogues and cemeteries are not supposed to be together). But I couldn't get inside.

I found my way back to our predetermined meeting area by foot (a long walk, with the added challenge of correllating Cyrillic street signs with my Latin-alphabet map). After shopping a little, I met the others for dinner in a cute local place named "Question Mark" in Serbian, which had been recommended by a Serbian classmate of one of my roommates. Then, we made our way back to the train station for the ride home.

Here, we didn't get a sleeper car, figuring anyway that we'd sleep when we got back to Budapest. However, there was NO HEAT whatsoever, or blankets, and it was freezing. I was sitting on my feet and rubbing my legs to try to stay somewhat warm. And then, they told us the train was broken and we all had to get out, so we stood outside in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere, freezing cold, and waited for them to get another train or whatever they had to do. We got back on, and Monica thought the employees she heard talking to each other in Serbian about screws being loose were kidding, but perhaps not, because about 15 minutes later they kicked us off again. And we stood outside for a long time, thinking we'd get hypothermia. It was awful...as Monica later called it, "Serbia, Siberia-style". I managed to sleep a little afterwards, but when we got back to Budapest and had to stand outside in the early morning cold to wait for the metro replacement bus, since the underground was getting renovated and wasn't running regularly, I'd finally had it and I thought I was going to cry.

Finally, we got home and (after showering--wearing the same outfit for over 24 hours was not particularly thrilling) it was bedtime...the best part being that it was only Saturday morning, and we still had the entire weekend ahead of us!

Esztergom/Slovakia

2006-10-24T12:10:00.000+02:00

Lately I've been traveling every weekend, and I'm quite behind on blogging.
So let me start catching up by describing my weekend two weeks ago, when I took a day trip with two of my friends to a little town northeast of Budapest, called Esztergom.
A cute and quaint little town (though bigger than Szentendre, it seemed), it used to be the capital of Hungary and housed the royal castle. After a nice lunch outdoors in a local restaurant, we decided to head over to Esztergom's Castle Hill, which we spent a good deal of time exploring. At the top of it, we were able to take in several enchanted views of the Danube, complete with other visitors sunbathing on the walls. :)

We also toured around an old museum housed in what used to be the ancient castle. There we saw some very old coins, among several other artifacts.

Afterwards, we visited the Esztergom cathedral, which I read is/was the first and largest church in Hungary. There was actually a service going on when we walked in, but we were still able to look around parts of the sanctuary, which was elaborately decorated. For better or for worse, we saw what was purported to be the skull of St. Steven himself, preserved in some sort of glass case. Kind of eerie, though perhaps it has to do with the "relics" tradition of Catholicism. In Budapest, for instance, St. Steven's right hand is preserved, and on St. Steven's Day every August it is paraded around the city as part of a procession with church officials and political figures. I got here a few weeks after this yearly tradition, so I didn't have the chance to see it.

We paid the small fee to go downstairs into the Cathedral's crypt. In this dark dungeon were several tombs/graves with massive statues on top of them, as well as an area with lit candles commemorating a famous saint, whose picture was hanging on the wall. This memorial was also decorated with ribbons in the colors of Hungary's flag.

The other major site we saw in Esztergom, which I had been looking forward to since I'd suggested this trip, was what used to be the oldest synagogue in Hungary. It has now been turned into a science/technology house of some sort. However, having found it on a little street, I was disappointed to see that it was barely recognizable as a synagogue anymore, except for maybe the stone model of the 10 Commandments above the entrance. I also wasn't able to go inside, because it was closed. Later that night, back in Budapest, my roommate mentioned that she also found it strange that this building, formerly Hungary's oldest synagogue, had been converted into something completely unreminiscent of its historical role. She thought, and I agreed, that it might have something to do with the anti-Jewish sentiment that did, and unfortunately still does, exist in this country (though fortunately I haven't personally experienced any of it). She also told me that she had seen several swastikas in the area--not only graffiti, but also signs in windows! Pretty discomforting. She hadn't mentioned it to me at the time (though I wish she had), because she didn't want to upset me while we were there.

In the late afternoon, we headed across the big Maria Valeria bridge and walked across the border into Slovakia. This was an exciting experience, and we got our American passports stamped in the process. It was also quite entertaining, because at the border control stand, some bikers crashed (harmlessly) and one of the controllers proceeded to sing Queen ("I want to ride my bicycle..."). It's impressive how popular American music is in this region--many of the places I go abroad play largely American music (and often it's the music that was popular for us when we were in 6th-8th grade), and though it's fun/funny at times, I sometimes wish they'd play more of their native music while I'm there experiencing their country. Anyway, we strolled around the streets of this Slovakian border town (Sturovo) for a while, and then we headed back across the bridge to Hungary, accompanied by a magnificent sunset over the Danube. I also got a great photo of a Slovakian border controller stamping our passports (see right).

On the way back to Budapest, we had an amusing train ride with a little boy (whom we affectionately nicknamed Junior) who kept coming up to our seats and making faces at us through the glass. All in all, it was a very enjoyable day and we were all glad that we went.

High Holidays and more

2006-10-04T14:08:00.000+02:00

My first High Holiday season abroad, at least in recent memory, was quite nice.
For Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), I was lucky enough to find fairly cheap round-trip tickets to Paris even on short notice, so I was able to join my Parisian family as well as my aunt, uncle, and cousins from Jerusalem and celebrate the holiday with them. This of course involved an obscene amount of eating, both my aunt's and grandmother's amazing home-cooked foods (such as delectable honey-cake) and Parisian specialties I hadn't had in a while. I hadn't been to Paris in over 3 years, surprisingly, so it'd been a long time since I'd had cafe eclairs, Crotin de Chavignol (a special goat cheese), "opera" pastry, fresh French baguette, and REAL chocolate croissants (you really haven't had these unless you've been to Paris; any other place that sells them is grossly inferior to the French patisseries, esp. if you go in the morning when everything is just coming out of the oven). I also made a point of buying myself some Rochers Suchard (amazing chocolate I've gotten from France since I was little) and Carambar caramels to bring back to Budapest with me.
I finally had the chance to meet my "new" little cousin, Lev--he's now 8 months old but I hadn't met him yet until this visit. He has the most gorgeous eyes! I also got to spend more time with my little 2.5-year-old cousin Mia. She is adorable. Highlight of this was introducing her to "avion" ("airplane"), where I lie on my back with my feet on her stomach, hold her hands, and lift her into the air. She loved it, and every time I put her down she would say "Encore mas"--a reminder of her combined French and Colombian backgrounds.
Being in France also taught me to appreciate the Hungarian economy more. More specifically, I would suggest that one refrain from taking taxis in Paris at almost any cost. I had to take a cab to the airport on Sunday morning, and for the approximately half-hour ride from Paris to the airport I paid 70 Euros--that's around $90!!! Compare that to Budapest, where I get a one-month all-you-can-use metro pass for $13. In other words, I probably won't spend $90 on transportation in my entire semester here.

For Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), I stayed in Budapest. A rabbi back at Princeton got me in touch with a Chabad rabbi here in the city, whom I met before the chag. He and his wife and children are very friendly, and they invited me to join them at their house for the pre-fast dinner this past Sunday night. For this meal, the rebbetzin (rabbi's wife) had prepared a vast array of delicious foods, in order to ease the subsequent 25-hour fast. I met the children whom I hadn't met the day before, except for their daughter who is studying in Russia, and I also met some of their family friends, another American who is here for a month, and two Israeli girls who are working at the Chabad school for a few months. These girls were a little older than myself and very friendly, and I was glad because they seemed fairly impressed with my ability to speak Hebrew. I went to the Israeli Chabad shul with them for the Kol Nidrei service, and it was a very nice service, although I must say I did get annoyed by the little children running around and making a lot of noise.
The fast itself went by fairly easily for me; I guess I'm lucky in that usually I don't have such a hard time of it. I stayed at home most of the day, and then in the late afternoon I walked over to the Hungarian chabad shul for the end of the holiday's service/s. The funniest part of this service, I think, was the fact that since it ended late, people started filin out once the clock had struck the end of the fast. I stuck it out until the end about 15 minutes later, though I was tempted to eat the honey cake I had brought with me to break the fast (a tradition in my family). Then, we all went into another room off of the sanctuary where all sorts of cakes had been set out along with lots of water bottles--and there was almost utter silence as people literally stuffed their faces.
Following this slightly awkward event, I joined Steven (the American I'd met the night before) and one of his non-Jewish friends for dinner at Central Kavehaz in the city. I was surprised to find once we got there that I had already been to this reputed restaurant/coffee shop: it was the one to which Ilan had brought Monica and I before we almost closed the deal on the apartment he was going to rent us. The food was fairly good, and we also had the amusement of trying to get the waitress to understand some of the things we wanted; she admittedly thought some of our requests were rather strange (i.e. butter with the bread that we later found out had actually come with one of our meals).

Last night, after our "undergraduate class" on Central European history and culture, five of us girls had a drink/dessert at Cafe Montmartre near school, a nice little cafe/pub that also has live music every night. As we were finishing up, I heard a "Hello, girls" from behind me and felt someone's hand on my shoulder. I jumped, and then the source of the voice showed his face, telling me not to be afraid. He was an Australian guy who saw us sitting there and decided to come over and flirt/socialize, along with two of his guy friends who soon joined us. They wanted advice on where to go out in the city, and they also hung around and joked with us for a little while, to my combined amusement and annoyance (especially at the first guy's massaging my shoulders, etc.). At least it made us all laugh, I guess. Before they took off, one of them said to us, "If you come to Australia, be careful of the kangaroos...they're like us" and made a pawlike motion with his hands! Go figure. Afterwards, we all laughed when I saw a picture of a kangaroo on the window next to which we were sitting; after a less-than-noneventful evening, we all headed home.

"Good night, sleep tight...

2006-09-24T15:58:00.000+03:00

AND DON'T LET THE BEDBUGS BITE!"

So orientation week proceeded pretty well here in Budapest. I met a few of the graduate students in my department, got a tour of the library and the Open Society Archives, became acquainted with the "espresso-lady" on the 1st floor for those afternoon drowsies, etc.
My friends and I almost rented out an amazing apartment close to CEU from an Israeli guy, but even though I got the chance to bargain in Hebrew a little (always fun) and it almost worked out, in the end we didn't move in there. [Long story.] Our coordinator did help us find a fairly nice place that was even closer to school though, and much cheaper. We signed the contract and moved in, started unpacking our stuff, and spent our first night there (Friday).

On Saturday morning, as I was getting ready for our group trip to Szentendre, a little Hungarian village up the Danube, I noticed a bug on my bed. I had seen one the day before which Monica had flicked away, so I said, "Ew, there's another bug on my bed," not thinking much of it. But then Sophia said, "I hope it's not a bedbug". I squashed it and it stained the blanket with what looked like it might be blood (or I could have been anxious about nothing). I was worried, and Monica later admitted that she thought I was overreacting/exaggerating.
The trip to Szentendre was nice, after the entertaining boatride. Monica, Reanna, Christine, and I sat next to two drunk men who, at 10:30 in the morning, continually got up to purchase more beer and leaned over to us to ask repeatedly, "Where do you go?"--seemingly not satisfied with our various answers: Budapest, CEU, etc. They also purchased chocolate wafer bars for us, which was sweet if somewhat sketchy. When we originally refused to take them, they seemed put out or insulted, so we eventually took them; they were sealed, after all.

In Szentendre, Matt noticed a sign for a "Jewish Memorial Centre", so we wandered down this little street away from the crowded main tourist boulevard to see what it was. We entered a little courtyard where there was a plaque with names of people who had been killed in the Holocaust, presumably Hungarian Jews. Hungary was actually the last country to be taken over by the Nazis, and its Jews were not sent to concentration camps until 1944; however, once Hungary was conquered, very few of its Jews survived, and its Jewish population was severely diminished. Inside a little house at the other end of the courtyard was a makeshift museum, with all sorts of old memorabilia: a menorah, an old tallit and tefillin, a shofar, etc. I also saw deportation papers and a yellow star (which the Jews were forced to wear by the Nazis and their allies before/during World War II). It was touching, and I signed the guest book, which had signatures in various languages including Hebrew (in which I signed as well); I guess somehow people from all over the world found this little place.
Other interesting events from the trip: Tommi bought a T-shirt advertising Unicum, a truly foul liquor which I had tried to take a shot of and failed because it was so bad. Upon his purchase, the saleslady asked him if he liked Unicum; she laughed when he answered, "No, not really." [He just liked the shirt.] And I enjoyed my first Hungarian gelato, which I'd read was a true specialty/popular dessert in the country (it was good).

That night, after enjoying a nice dinner at the amazing Cafe Leroy by the basilica with my roommates, I went to a party at the flat of some of my fellow undergrads. I met a few more members of the IRES department but didn't stay too late. When I got home, I was getting ready to shower and I found another bug on my bed, at which point I freaked out and bothered Sophia, who had just gone to bed. She proceeded to call her boyfriend in the States to ask him to look up "bedbugs" on Google, from which an interesting conversation ensued. She then went back to bed, and after my shower I found two more nasty creatures in/on my sheets. They looked like little ticks, and were fairly difficult to squash because it seems they have a hard outer shell. At this point I was convinced that they were in fact bedbugs, and I called my mom in Boston. She subsequently read me the greater part of an online article about what to do, and I checked my fleece blanket for bugs, brought it and my comforter into the living room and slept on the couch.

The next morning, we had a roommate discussion/freak-out session. Monica had also found some in her room the night before, and Sophia had woken up to see one crawling across her pillow. Besides, the description of the bedbug's appearance that my mom had read to me matched what we'd seen, and the picture we later found online was exactly what I'd found not only in my bed but also underneath my suitcase. [This was further cause for concern, because apparently they are transferred through luggage; we had to check every article of clothing before packing it and moving back to the dorms.] So back to the dorms we went, and the next day I bought two kinds of pesticide and we literally drenched our suitcases with them; we also ran all of our clothes and bedding through the dryer at high heat. Meanwhile, Monica especially was itching from the bites, and we were all very frustrated. At first we considered having the apartment fumigated and the mattresses/beds replaced and moving back, but the more people I spoke with the more I was convinced that we shouldn't, because they live in the cracks and walls within the whole building even if we get them out of our flat, and they might just come back. We were also worried about getting our money back and finding a new place. Ultimately, it worked out: the woman was so horrified by the picture I showed her as evidence and the things we told her of our experiences and what we'd read/been told that she didn't even want to sit down on the cushioned benches in her entryway.

This past Thursday, we moved into our new--bedbug-free!--place, which is very nice albeit a little farther from CEU. On the upside, it gives us a chance to get to know another neighborhood, and it's only 2 metro stops away anyway. I sprayed my mattress before putting my sheets on it, and we sprayed the couches a little; every time I saw a piece of lint, I would jump and check what it was. But there's been nothing yet, and hopefully there won't be. I guess this whole ordeal at least makes for a good story, and I tried to maintain a sense of humor throughout, but it was certainly demoralizing, stressful, and upsetting, not to mention time-consuming. The funny thing, too, is that no one really knew what these things were (including me, before I had them); and when I show people pictures, they're fairly horrified/disgusted. [pic to be added if I ever get internet in my apartment]

So now that I've dealt with lice (several times in the past) and bedbugs, hopefully I'm bugged out--or will cockroaches be next? ;)

Sziasztok!

2006-09-11T23:34:00.000+03:00

Hi everyone! I'm back:) Well, back abroad that is.
Now writing from Budapest, Hungary, where I'm studying abroad this semester.
I got here 3 days ago, which is hard to believe even now. The journey wasn't so great, because I was pretty nervous and I almost never sleep on planes anyway, so I was pretty exhausted by the time I got here. Not to mention that there was something wrong on the ground with the air circulation, and/or maybe there were just a lot of people in a small area, and we were delayed on the ground before leaving Logan, so it got to be ridiculously hot in the plane. People were fanning themselves with the in-flight magazines or whatever they could get their hands on, and there was nothing to drink because you can't bring liquids on the plane anymore. The flight attendants finally came around with some water but it took forever to get to me...

Anyway, we eventually got off the ground and the air started. And as tired as I was the next morning, I definitely had a smile on my face when I finally boarded my 2nd flight in London: I'd been talking about it for so long, but now it was actually real and happening--I was GOING to BUDAPEST!

It was raining when I arrived, which dampened the mood a little. Someone from CEU was waiting for me with my name on a piece of paper (like they do for big businesspeople who are picked up by chauffeurs!). And, for once, my bags were some of the first onto the conveyor belt--maybe a good omen? ;)

The dorms where we are placed until we find an apartment closer to the university are kind of far from the downtown part of the city--we have to take a bus and then a metro to get there. But the public transportation is at least quite efficient here, and I even got to ride on one of the trams which reminds me of Brussels. Actually, I'm getting ahead of myself. The first night, completely jetlagged, a Hungarian friend of mine (who at the time I hadn't yet met) picked me up at the dorms to help me look for apartments in the city, so I saw the actual city for the first time. The streets really reminded me of Paris! I guess there's a reason they call Budapest the "Paris of the East". And I was told that some films which supposedly take place in Paris are actually filmed in Budapest, because it costs so much less to film it here than there. I saw the Great Synagogue, the Parliament, and more, and we even crossed the Danube (all at night)--it was so beautiful.

I should perhaps explain that Budapest is actually two cities in one: Buda on one side of the river and Pest on the other. Buda is known as the more elegant, upscale, greener side of the city and Pest is perhaps more urban/industrialized, for lack of a better way/knowledge to describe it (remember, I've only been here 3 days). Most of the students rent flats in Pest, and CEU (all but the business school) is also located in Pest. But the two parts are connected by various bridges which you can walk, drive, or bike across, and the view is incredible. I'll post pics when I can.

On Saturday I went into the city via public transportation for the first time, tagging along with a bunch of grad students who had been there longer than me and were heading in anyway. We didn't validate our metro tickets, though, which you can get fined for; as we stepped off the metro at our destination stop, we were met by "controllers" with big ugly blue "Metro" badges on their arms--to check if our tickets were validated. They caught at least one of us, and I realized that he was getting fined so I quickly went the other way, validated my ticket on the other side, and returned to meet them. This litte shenanigan of mine awarded me with the praise of "clever girl" from my Nepali companion.

Anyway, in town I met 3 of the other undergrad students who are studying abroad here this semester. We tried to visit the Market Hall, a huge market that is supposed to have great produce, but it was closed because we got there after 2 pm. Will definitely have to go back there, especially after we find our own apartment and start being able to cook for ourselves. I also had my first meal in a Hungarian restaurant/cafe, including the Lemon Fanta, which to my excitement is quite widespread here. I was less enthralled which my "Vegetarian sandwich", which consisted, literally, of toasted bread with plain vegetables inside! Though aesthetically quite pleasing (see the pic soon), it was not very tasty. At night I went out for drinks with two Bulgarian guys, my Nepali friend from earlier, and a Romanian girl. This whole day was insane, because it was one of the few times I've ever felt out of place or in the minority as an American. Not to say that it was bad--it was pretty awesome to meet people from about 10 different countries in the span of less than a day! I was reminded of the movie "L'auberge espagnole", which, if you haven't seen, I definitely recommend. One interesting little tidbit from Saturday night--I learned from Sarendre that Israel and Nepal are the only 2 countries that have only Saturday off from work. :)

Sunday was exciting because my future roomies arrived, and I got to meet the one I didn't know yet. It was funny because I was the one who was quasi-"experienced" now, and they had just gotten off the plane, more or less, when they met me in town. We saw a flat, walked around town, grabbed lunch, and eventually headed back to the dorm. Had dinner there in the cafeteria/canteen--I must say that though the food is definitely cheaper than in my college dorm at home, I do value the latter somewhat in comparison! Since I have to eat vegetarian here, they don't have all that much to offer. The evening was a lot of fun, though, because I hung out with a bunch of the other undergrad exchange students--many of whom I'd just met--and also an American grad student. I still don't quite understand the weather here--it's cold in the morning, then it gets really warm, and then at night the temperature changes again (aka it plummets). We were sitting outside and I was wearing three layers, and my teeth were pretty much chattering!

Another interesting thing to try to get used to is the currency. One U.S. dollar is the equivalent of approximately 217 HUF, or Hungarian Forints. I thought of a "trick" to ballpark-convert in my head, but it still feels weird to walk around with bills of 10,000 in my wallet, and to realize that a bill of 5,000 is only worth about $24 dollars. Paying at restaurants, too, has proved quite interesting--probably partially because of the order of magnitudes of difference in the currency values, i.e. adding/removing zeros incorrectly when trying to do the math. Fun stuff:)

Yesterday (Monday) was the first day of orientation/pre-session for my department here, called IRES (International Relations and European Studies). It was pretty boring actually, because much of it didn't apply to us undergraduates only here for one semester, and we'd also heard a lot of it already from our "coordinator". So we amused ourselves playing "3-D tic-tac-toe" and dots; I even made a fortune teller, something I hadn't done since about 2nd grade. One of the fortunes read: "You'll go to grad school only to spend your time playing tic tac toe". Coincidence? I think not. [CEU is a graduate school; we are allowed to study abroad there because, unlike most of the other students, we have the advantage of having English as a native language.]

At night we ate dinner at a nice little cafe/restaurant right outside of the St. Steven's Basilica--the rent for that place must be so expensive! The food was quite good, and not too expensive for what it was (at least by our American standards).

Anyway, this post is getting quite long...more on my adventures in Magyar-land later! [Note: the colors of the font match the Hungarian flag, 3 horizontal stripes of red, white, and green.]

The Jewish Advocate

2006-08-20T00:57:00.000+03:00

A while ago, I was asked to write a personal piece for the "Another View" column of Boston's The Jewish Advocate about what it was like to live and work as an American in Jerusalem during this time, while katyusha rockets struck northern cities. It was backed up a few weeks because of the current fighting, but it appeared in the issue of a few days ago, with even my picture, which was exciting. I've posted what they published with an asterisk where a part was omitted and copied it at the end, for whoever's interested. I personally didn't like the title so much either, but what can you do? At least it was published!

Living in a Scary Bubble
Throughout the past weeks, I have received e-mails and phone calls from around the world asking if I am alright amidst the insanity plaguing Israel and the Middle East. I have answered that I am fine, that Jerusalem is still – thankfully – more or less safe, and that I only hope the situation in the north will improve. On occasion, I have been asked not to share too many details with certain people, in order not to worry them. Yet while I want to offer reassuring words, I feel that people must know the truth about what happens here. In such times of difficulty, Israel needs support from abroad.
When I began working in Jerusalem this summer, I never dreamed that five weeks later the entire northern population of this country would flee their homes or live in underground bomb shelters. Personally, I still have trouble understanding the timing of Hezbollah’s attack on Israel’s northern border. Political dimensions notwithstanding, the July 12 offensive seemed random. In fact, taking Israel by surprise may have been the goal.
At work, I follow the news, constantly updating how many Katyusha rockets have hit northern cities and how many people have been killed or injured. I sometimes have the strange feeling of being isolated from today’s violence despite my physical proximity to it. Perhaps out of denial or self-protection, I have entertained the idea that I am separate from all of this, that it will not touch me here in Jerusalem. But then, indisputably, it does.
Recently, a suicide bomber was caught outside the hotel across from where I live. He was going to blow himself up on Jaffa Street – where I had planned to eat lunch. Along with Hezbollah’s attacks on northern communities, threats of terror have been made against all major Israeli cities, and I know that I am not immune.
The mood in Jerusalem since the beginning of the fighting in the north has been noticeably tense and subdued. Efforts are made to continue living life as normal, but the streets of Jerusalem are emptier than usual, and I must admit that I have been thinking twice about going to certain crowded places. * The miserable state of affairs has impacted me in less tangible ways as well: I find myself less energetic than usual, and though I am not truly depressed, I often don’t feel like doing anything.
No one can blame those who are leaving Israel. However, I have no intentions of departing early. As Israel’s ongoing struggle to defend itself becomes ever more real to me, I only hope that security will one day reign over this beautiful country.

*During the early fighting, the sister of one of my Israeli friends visited Nahariya, in the north; she could not get home because its residents were instructed to remain in bomb shelters due to the danger of rockets. Later, his family was among the many that moved into secure shelters—which Israeli law now requires be constructed in every new building.

I'm Leaving, on a Jet Plane...

2006-08-14T15:39:00.000+03:00

(...but I know that I'll be back again)

It's hard to believe that in 8 hours, my summer in Israel will have ended. That's it--no more sitting on Ben-Yehuda at 4:30 AM on a Sunday morning while the zambonis are cleaning and the street is so much deader than it is 3 hours before then, when everyone is out partying after Shabbat ends. No more sharing a "sherut" (12 or so person cab) with people from all over the world. No more getting hit on by sketchy guys at Layla club. No more eating kosher meat at nearly any "basari" restaurant in Jerusalem.

I've had such an amazing time here the past 2 months and a bit, and I'm grateful to everyone at the office and elsewhere that have helped make it that way for me. I've learned so much, made new friends, managed to get back in touch with others, and explored parts of this wonderful country that I hadn't yet seen.
I'm sad to be leaving, but I know I'll return soon. And may G-d protect the young Israelis who are fighting for their peers, fellow citizens, & country, and bring peace to this region.
BASHANA HABA'AH BIYERUSHALAYIM!
xoxo above: Jerusalem at sunset, viewed from the ramparts in the Old City

Closer to Home

2006-08-07T23:00:00.000+03:00

Today, I was relaxing by the pool with my family when I found out that my closest Israeli friend has been called to the reserves in the north. I guess it wasn't a complete shock, because I've been hearing about people being called for reserve service ("Milouim", in Hebrew) quite often recently. Still, though, the current war--as he told me, no one denies it anymore like they did 3 weeks ago, calling it a "restricted conflict" that would end soon--has never really been this closely connected to my life. And it's weird--and maybe scary--to think that my friend is now going to be directly involved.
I went to meet him to say goodbye, and I found out that at least he won't be in a combat unit, which is somewhat of a relief. But he'll still be in the north, in a part of the country that has been and continues to be targeted and hit with Hizbollah's damned Katyusha rockets. It's hard to believe, as much as I may sometimes think that I've already gotten used to the idea, how young so many of those who are responsible for protecting this country and its citizens are.
With my co-workers, I met a group of 19-year-old Israeli guys who are in the army and are going to leave this week to fight in Lebanon, in actual combat units (both elite and regular ones). Hanging out with them in Jerusalem, they seem so young; and then the next day, off they go to fight terrorists and extremists--some of whom, sadly, are also that young.
I don't really have much more to say; I just hope that things will improve in the near future and that all of the young Israeli soldiers who are risking their lives and worrying their families and friends in order to help ensure the future of their country will be safe and able to go home soon.
While they're away serving, we mustn't forget to remind them, in whatever ways we can, that we are thinking of them and appreciate everything they're doing for us.

To Kofi Annan

2006-08-03T17:41:00.000+03:00

One of the more touching parts of my memorable trip up to the North in late June was our meeting at the Haifa cemetery with Ron Kehrmann and Yossi Tzur, whose children were killed in a suicide bombing in 2003. Tal Kehrmann and Assaf Tzur, 16 and 17 at the time, respectively, were riding a public bus when a Palestinian terrorist blew himself up in it. It must be horrible for their families and friends to mourn them; in particular, I can't imagine what it must be like for their younger siblings to lose them.

After the Israeli Air Forces mistakenly bombed a UN peacekeeping post in southern Lebanon, killing 4 peacekeepers, I was very upset to read that Kofi Annan had declared that the attack "seemed deliberate". Why would Israel do something like that intentionally, and why would Mr. Annan accuse this country of doing such a thing? Israel DOESN'T target innocent people!

In fact, the UN has a history of anti-Israel sentiment. At work one day, I sat and looked through every Security Council resolution between 1989 and 2002. I was amazed at how many of them were blatantly biased against Israel. And, the UN General Assembly puts out a resolution every year condemning Israel for having Jerusalem as its capital. What is this? Jerusalem was supposed to be an international zone, anyway, if the Arab countries had accepted the UN's original 1948 proposition.

In light of recent events, Mr. Tzur and Mr. Kehrmann wrote an open letter to Kofi Annan, which they hope to publish in media worldwide in order to get their opinions out. In the meantime, I will post their valuable insights here as soon as I find the version in English:

A More Personal Piece

2006-08-03T13:50:00.000+03:00

Since none of us here are world-famous politicians or anything like that, we were advised that we should try to write op-eds that were more personal, because they would have a better chance of being published. After all, we are here in the middle of everything, and seeing so much and meeting so many diverse and interesting people on top of it. That's something that a 'regular' academic or citizen in the U.S. can't add to the forum.

On our visit to Sderot a few weeks ago, we met a resident named Atara Orenbach. She and her husband moved to this small town about seven years ago in order to help it develop more and better. Meeting with her was a unique experience, because she showed us all around Sderot and discussed her own life as a common citizen living in a terror-struck community.

When we were discussing the Israeli military actions in Gaza, Atara gave us a personal corroboration of the fact that the Israeli military only targets terrorist infrastructure and really does do everything possible to prevent harming innocent civilians. She told us that her brother, in the IDF four months ago, was one of those shooting missiles. He was ordered not to hit any population, animals, or anything else of Palestinians--basically, he was shooting empty land. Atara also told us that though recently, the rocket attacks have escalated, her town has been a victim of Qassams shot into Israel by Palestinian terrorists for much longer. There were Qassams before there existed the Red Dawn alert that now warns of a missile about to land, and sometimes now this alarm doesn't work. Atara also shared with us the feeling shared by many in Sderot--that the municipality of Sderot and the Israeli goverment do very little, and certainly not enough, for them (in terms of stopping the Qassam attacks from Gaza).

Two days ago, I heard that Atara's husband had recently been called up to the IDF reserves and was posted in Kiryat Shmona, a city in the north that has been struck by well over 100 Katyusha rockets since the start of the recent fighting less than a month ago. Therefore, as someone in my office said, she is like a microcosm of the Israeli two-front war. Thinking about this and other related issues, I wrote the following piece.

Collide

Imagine having to take cover multiple times a day, because your neighbors are once again trying to kill you. Imagine needing to teach your five-year-old to abandon his bicycle, so that he will make it to safety before a rocket lands in the mist of your community. Imagine your daughter refusing to shower without your accompanying her, for fear that she won’t hear the alarm that alerts your town of an incoming missile.

Meet Atara Orenbach, who has lived through all of the above and more. A resident of the Israeli town of Sderot whom I was fortunate to spend time with recently, Mrs. Orenbach truly knows what it means to “tough it out”. Her small development town of about 35,000 people has suffered constant terrorism as Qassam rockets are launched into it from across the Gaza border less than three miles away. In the past month, Palestinian terrorists have shot over 200 Qassams at them.

As an American who has never witnessed a terrorist act, I was captivated by Atara’s story. Taking us around Sderot, she showed us—through a shrapnel hole—where a rocket had recently hit a house. She brought us into a children’s center, where I saw a colorful board announcing a reading contest and Hebrew posters declaring “Say no to violence.” And she shared with us the story of her husband, a high school teacher who, in deciding to keep his students next door a few minutes late, spared them and himself from a Qassam that fell right into his classroom.

I couldn’t help but smile when Atara commented that politics wasn’t really her thing. In the United States, I would have accepted such a statement without hesitation. But in Israel—and especially in Sderot—no one is really uninvolved in politics. Atara may not protest in her town square, as I saw some in Sderot do, but she is hardly isolated from the political whirlwind that unfortunately plagues her country. “You can run, but you can’t hide”—here, politics will inevitably find you.

For Sderot residents and the one million people living in bomb shelters across northern Israel, personal lives are inextricably intertwined with politics. I’m sure people often want the two to be separate. Yet, that is not an option while Israel remains surrounded by countries housing terrorists who call for its destruction.

I can’t ignore politics when every time I walk into a café, mall, or office, I must present my bag to a security guard so he or she can verify that it doesn’t contain a bomb. My Israeli friend can’t ignore politics when his sister cannot get home, because while she was visiting a nearby town, its residents were ordered to remain in bomb shelters due to the threat of Hizbollah-fired Katyusha rockets. My aunt can’t ignore politics when her primary worry as she sends my cousins to summer camp is not whether it’s clean—as parents in France or the U.S. worry about—but rather how many kilometers it is from Gaza’s Qassam-launching sites.

Even in Jerusalem, I feel the tension and the anxiety. Here in the midst of it, Israel’s fight for its existence—one it has been forced to engage in since the United Nations approved its establishment 58 years ago—becomes much more real for me. This “conflict” acquires a meaning that watching CNN or Fox across the Atlantic can’t convey. Politics, violence, terror—it all becomes part of my personal life.

Nevertheless, I walk through the streets and see resilient people trying to live normal lives. Atara, despite the incredible hardships from which she has no respite, still smiled. I was awed by the ability of so many Israelis to continue wanting and believing in peace with people who have killed their family members in countless suicide bombings and other terror attacks.

Recently, Atara’s husband was called up to the IDF reserves. Israel’s two-front war, so distant and impersonal to others, is her life. She now sleeps with six children in a basement shelter in Sderot, avoiding Qassam rockets, while her husband risks his life to protect Israel from Hizbollah terrorists in the north.

Meeting such people, I begin to understand the immense scope of the current events here. I fear that Israel, the only true democracy in the Middle East, is just one target in an unprovoked war by Islamic extremists that has already developed onto many other fronts. Praying for both Israelis and other innocent people in the region whose safety and freedom are being denied by the same enemy, I hope the world will recognize the real danger. Then, security might some day come to reign over this beautiful country.

Letter to the Editor Published

2006-08-02T17:12:00.000+03:00

This morning, I was checking my email as I do every day when I get to work, since I hardly have internet access anywhere else here. To my surprise, one of my friends had written me, saying that he'd been flipping through his local paper, The Trenton Times, at lunch that day, when something caught his eye in the op-ed section. It was the letter I had sent to them two days earlier! I had no idea it had gotten published, since no one from the paper had ever gotten back to me about it and I didn't see it on the website (I still don't...). So anyway, that was pretty exciting, and I've pasted the text of it below. I've never gotten anything published before (except for magazine contests in elementary school). I've pasted it below. And I know this is a local paper, but at least it's something, and I got to voice an opinion in the public forum. :)
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July 30, 2006

To the editor:

We should mourn the innocent of Qana, Lebanon who were victims of today’s fighting between Hizballah and Israel. Yet we must also place the blame for this tragedy where it belongs. Twenty-seven children died unnecessarily, because Israel was defending itself against terrorists who intentionally shield themselves with innocent civilians.

Luckily, people like Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice understand that an immediate cease-fire would not effectively resolve the situation in the Middle East.

For a cease-fire to succeed, both sides have to accept it—and on more than just paper. In 2000, Israel withdrew completely from Lebanon, but Hizballah kept firing at its civilian communities. Today, Israelis flee from the constant Katyushas, turning northern cities into “ghost towns”. Those who remain there hardly leave the bomb shelters.

Israel could halt all attacks on terrorist infrastructure and rocket-launching sites in Lebanon. But would Hizballah, a terrorist organization that declares Israel itself illegitimate, keep a promise of cease-fire?

Respectfully,

"Lack of restraint"? An Op-Ed

2006-08-02T16:47:00.000+03:00

On July 12, Hezbollah executed an unprovoked attack in Israeli sovereign territory, kidnapping two IDF soldiers and killing eight others. This terrorist organization has also been constantly launching Katyusha rockets at northern Israeli communities. In response, Israel started targeting terrorist infrastructures in southern Lebanon, first with air forces only and subsequently with ground forces as well. While civilian difficulties and deaths have unfortunately resulted, Israel always tries to minimize civilian casualties; every building and structure that was bombed or attacked has served to transport arms or other equipment to Hizbollah operatives in Lebanon.
Israel was subsequently criticized worldwide for a "disproportionate reaction", for not restraining itself in its self-defense. I and many others I know felt this to be very unfair [never mind the added fact that other countries have done much worse in the name of their own self-defense, to less or no criticism]. So I wrote the following piece; please feel free to let me know what you think.
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Before Accusing Israel, Check the Dictionary

Today, Israel is blamed for a “lack of restraint” in its response to unprovoked attacks on it. Meanwhile, Hizballah launches over 1600 rockets that kill and injure Israeli civilians, destroy their towns, and cause them to live in fear. But then, perhaps one can’t expect restraint from terrorists.

Citing political correctness, some call Hamas and Hizballah “militants” or “freedom fighters”. Yet targeting innocent civilians is neither “resistance” nor acceptable revolt. Moreover, these groups actually fight against freedom—not only Israel’s, but also their own peoples’.

Hamas, which now leads the Palestinian Authority, continues to sponsor terrorism rather than use the money to improve infrastructure and schools in Palestinian communities. Its charter calls for Islam to “obliterate” Israel and claims that the “Day of Judgment will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews).”

As a former US ambassador to the region said, “there’s a lot more to a democracy than just holding elections.” I hope, at least, that Hamas’s radical views don’t reflect the voices of the majority whom it is supposed to represent.

On the other front, Hizballah considers Israel itself “occupied territory” that is illegitimately inhabited by Jews. Scarier still, it has exponentially grown in power and popularity by infiltrating and becoming associated with sovereign states.

Hizballah holds 23 of the 128 seats in Lebanon’s parliament and has two ministers in its government. Like Hamas, it did not renounce terror upon joining politics, and the rest of the Lebanese leadership is unable or unwilling to counter it effectively. Lebanon’s foreign minister defended Hizballah’s recent attack on Israel, and its government provided Hizballah, which itself lacks radar stations, with the coordinates of the Israeli ship attacked on July 14. Syria and Iran also support and sponsor Hizballah, many of whose rockets HHare made in Iran and brought to Lebanon through Damascus.

Many condemn Israel for killing innocent civilians by bombing Lebanon, and these deaths are indeed unfortunate. But they are caused by the indifference of the terrorists who hide their missiles in civilian houses and shield themselves with innocent children.

Calling Israel’s military operation an “overreaction” is completely unjustified. Israel has tried the diplomatic route, but its enemies clearly could not care less. After its withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah took over its outposts there. Katyushas continued to plague northern towns such as Kiryat Shmona—which acquired the nickname ‘Kiryat Katyusha’ due to how often it was hit and is now a ghost town, 80% of its residents having fled because of the constant danger.

Even now that Israel is finally responding strongly to this existential threat, it holds its army to the highest moral standards. It targets only terrorist residences and infrastructure that helps Hizballah attain weapons (the Beirut Airport has long served as a channel for bringing rockets into Lebanon). Israel also apologizes for the difficulties its self-defense must cause some innocent Lebanese, while Lebanese Shiites rejoiced over the kidnapping of the two IDF soldiers. “Collective punishment” is inflicted on civilian populations—by the terrorists, who work towards extremist goals rather than towards the general good.

What is “disproportionate” is not Israel’s reaction, but the number of attacks by Hizballah that have yielded one Israeli offensive.

Also “disproportionate” is the degree to which each side wants peace. Since its establishment, Israel has been willing to make concessions in order to establish friendly relations. In 1948, the United Nations proposed two states here with Jerusalem as an international zone. The Jews said yes; the Arab countries refused.

In 2005, Israel pulled out of Gaza, displacing 9,000 of its citizens in a painful sacrifice for peace. In turn, Hamas validated international skepticism by turning Gaza into a launching pad for over 300 Qassam rockets into Israeli border towns—attacks that continue today.

Israel wants Palestinians to have their own state and has demonstrated its willingness to pay certain prices for this end. But—rightfully—Israel does not want this state’s creation to cost its own existence. As long as terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hizballah lead Israel’s neighbors, advocating the annihilation of the Middle East’s only true democracy, Israel can only be expected to fight for its citizens’ security. It should be commended for doing so with as much integrity as possible.

Round-Table Discussion

2006-08-01T10:43:00.000+03:00

A while ago, when we visited the Government Press Office in Jerusalem, we met Haniya Bitar, a Christian Palestinian woman who runs an organization called PYALARA (Palestinian Youth Association for Leadership And Rights Activation). Its purpose is primarily to give young Palestinians outlets to express their opinions (via a youth newspaper, television program, etc.) in more effective and desirable ways than through extremism. According to Ms. Bitar, PYALARA wants young people who can think and not just bllindly follow propaganda, who work for the well-being of both Israel and Palestine. It was reassuring to hear a relatively well-known Palestinian say that she considers suicide bombing a crazy and inhuman act--that even in Islam, one who commits such an act is not believed to go to heaven. At the same time, though, Ms. Bitar ran in the most recent Palestinian election on an Independent ticket with Hanan Ashrawi, who is widely considered to be a terrorism apologist. She also referred to the security barrier only as a "wall", despite the fact that only about 5% is a wall rather than a fence, and that in the areas that have been most frequently used by terrorists to enter Israel.

On July 12, we met at St. Andrews Scottish Church (a neutral area) with 5 members of PYALARA, with the purpose of opening dialogue with them, hearing their views directly and sharing our own. The first thing we did was an icebreaker, wherein each person had to say a few things about themselves. Typical things shared in this game were one's name, how many languages one speaks, how many siblings one has, etc. However, one of the Palestinians in particular surprised me with her response: two of her shared facts were, "I love Palestine" and "I hate the occupation".

According to these young adults, no country in the world--even America--has "free journalism"; Palestine and Lebanon have the highest degree of journalist freedom among the Muslim/Arab world, they said. I guess I don't disagree completely with the first statement. It is basically impossible to have a completely objective paper, since any individual writer has predisposed biases, some of which are even subconscious; and I suppose some form of censorship does exist in almost any journalist organization, though certainly in some places and groups more than others.

We asked the Palestinians what they personally would see as a solution to the current conflict. Some of them believed there should be one state and one government, with both nations co-existing; they suggested something like the European Union, saying that it's not logical to tell Israelis who came in 1948 or whenever to pack up and go. One girl spent years in various hospitals with her little sister, who had a kidney problem and shared that in the Israeli hospital where her sister stayed, she was treated as a human, without doctors looking at her language or background [see my post about Hadassah]. This young woman elieves that if the situation is left to peole rather than governments and officials, things will be much better.
The only Palestinian guy in the group told us that he believes in establishing two states side-by-side, with Jerusalem an international zone where everyone can go worship where they want. [Note: That's exactly what the UN proposed in 1948, and the Jews said yes while the Arab countries refused.] He told us that most Palestinians believe in this solution.

On the issue of Hamas, a terrorist organization, running the Palestinian authority, one Palestinian shared the interesting insight that since the U.S. and the world don't want Hamas, the Palestinians will want it. She was also adamant about the idea that Hamas was never given a chance by the world, which she said rejected it from the minute it won the elections. On this topic, I said that many in America, while they don't support the terrorism sponsored by Hamas, were willing to seed if they would do otherwise now that they were elected. There were plenty of people who were willing to give them the chance, hoping that they would change now that they had official power and were responsible for an entire people. But many lost faith and were less willing to keep "giving them a chance" when the terrorist attacks didn't stop. I was shocked at the response I got: I was asked, "What terrorist acts?" Excuse me? What about the suicide bomber who posed as a Jewish hitchhiker on March 30, the suicide bombing outside a Tel Aviv fast-food restaurant that killed 11 and injured more than 60 on April 17, and the hundreds of Qassam rockets constantly shot into border towns near Gaza, among others? The guy from PYALARA said that while he doesn't condone suicide bombing, he doesn't think anything the Palestinians have been doing is terrorism!

Another young woman shared that anyone who wants death over life must be suffering; they feel powerless. I do feel badly for the innocent people who face difficulties because of security measures taken by Israel; and I sympathized with her when she said that she is taunted by Israeli soldiers when she is passing through checkpoints. Those soldiers are not doing the right thing. On the other hand, though, Israel's actions are taken for the safety of its citizens, and are only necessary because of the fight against terror it has been forced to be involved in since it was established. Moreover, I'm not sure that everyone who chooses to bomb themselves in public places actually feels desperate or helpless; rather, I think they may feel empowered by such an act. Consider the following, said on TV by Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah: "The most honorable death is death by killing, and the most honorable killing and the most glorious martyrdom is when a man is killed for the sake of Allah".

Israel always does the utmost to avoid harming innocent civilians, whereas the opposite is clearly true of the Palestinian "resistance". What I don't understand, I told them, is how suicide bombs that target civilians further any cause, other than the (pure) destruction of Israel. As another member of my group agreed, they don't.

Another shocking moment in the discussion was when one of the PYALARA members said to us, "Do you remember Jenin? It was a massacre." Hearing this, I thought, "Oh, my". It has long been known that what happened at Jenin in April 2002 was not an Israeli massacre of hundreds of Palestinians, as is (case in point) still claimed by some. The United Nations itself confirmed that the actual death toll was about 52 Palestinians, the majority of whom were armed militants, and 23 Israeli soldiers. As was pointed out, those who continue to use the propaganda of the "Jenin massacre" are negating the U.N. report, refusing to take its words as binding. How can we establish any kind of basis for negotiations with people who refuse to acknowledge facts recognized by the rest of the international community?

I am certainly glad that we had this discussion, and the general opinion among my group was that these Palestinians were much more open-minded than the Israeli-Arabs whom we met in the village of Arara on our trip north. However, I found much of the conversation pretty unnerving and hard to digest. I felt like certain things we told them, regardless of how corroborated, would just never be accepted, and certain key differences between the actions of our respective sides would just never be recognized. For example, how can you compare the morality of the Israeli government--which tries any civilians who engage in violence or extremist acts against Palestinians--with that of the Palestinian Authority, which supports, encourages, and praises suicide bombing and refuses to stop its people from engaging in terror attacks against innocent civilians?

At least our groups agreed that we both want peace. I guess, in the midst of all this mess, that's at least something that can serve as a seed of hope from which to cultivate a better future.

Gaza: Letter to the Editor

2006-08-01T10:32:00.000+03:00

ISRAEL STEPS UP GAZA RAIDS IN BID TO FREE SOLDIER
By IAN FISHER [reporting from Gaza] and STEVEN ERLANGER [reporting from Jerusalem].
Israeli aircraft intensified their attacks on Palestinian targets in Gaza early on Monday, ...a day after Israel's prime minister ordered his military to do whatever was necessary to pressure militants to free an Israeli soldier captured a week ago. …About 25 tanks entered Gaza to protect the troops, most of them from engineering brigades... Still, such an operation would be a logical preparation for a larger entry of forces later. The strikes appeared to be a direct response to the instructions of the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, who told subordinates at a cabinet meeting on Sunday that he intended to make the lives of Gazans ever more miserable until the captured soldier, 19-year-old Cpl. Gilad Shalit, was released. But Israel also yielded somewhat to outside pressure by allowing a limited supply of fuel and food into Gaza. Mr. Olmert, whose air force has already bombed Gaza's bridges, crippled its only power plant, shelled the Palestinian prime minister's office here and subjected all 1.4 million Gaza residents to night after night of sleep-depriving sonic booms, said he had ordered the military and government ''to do everything in order to bring Gilad back home.'' There were no immediate reports of casualties in the Israeli attacks early on Monday, but Israeli soldiers killed three Palestinian gunmen near the airport on Sunday night, raising the total Palestinian death toll in the latest crisis to five. … Israel has repeatedly signaled that it does not want to harm civilians or reoccupy Gaza, which it vacated last year, but it is struggling to find increasingly punitive ways to prevent any future kidnappings of soldiers, while trying to weaken Hamas, which Israel considers a terrorist organization. At the same time, leaders of the Fatah faction have appeared stymied by the refusal by Hamas and allied groups to release the corporal, as Hamas leaders have sought not to appear to be capitulating to Israeli pressure. Meanwhile, aid groups have warned of a looming humanitarian crisis in Gaza, completely sealed off for a week. The United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, added his voice to the concern on Sunday, telling reporters at an African Union summit meeting in Gambia that Israel's actions appeared counterproductive. …With Israel's limited reopening of two Gaza crossings, fuel began arriving by late morning at gas stations, many of them dry for days, but the relief did not necessarily ease anxiety here. With short tempers bursting into shouting matches, drivers waited for two hours at one station in Gaza City, which had received about 500 gallons of diesel -- less than one-tenth the capacity of a fuel tanker. ''Their aim is just to cause panic,'' said Sabem Bhar, an employee at the station. ''They can't cut it off completely. But they want to pressure us, to play with our nerves.'' Early on Wednesday, the Israeli military began its military operations to free Corporal Shalit, striking the power station, bridges, training camps for militants and suspected bomb-making factories. Israeli artillery fire -- suspended on June 9 after seven members of a Palestinian family were killed on a beach in Gaza -- resumed in force, with hundreds of rounds fired every day from the land and sea. … But for all the pyrotechnics, the operation has been relatively restrained... But the Israel military has been steadily increasing the pressure, on both the militant groups and Palestinians generally, in the hope that their discomfort forces the prisoner's release. In addition to the cuts in power -- which has also limited water and air-conditioning on sweltering days -- Israeli jets have scorched over the skies at night setting off sonic booms that jolt people out of bed. Overnight on Sunday, Israeli aircraft hit the empty office of the Palestinian prime minister, Ismail Haniya, who is also a top member of Hamas, which led the attack through a secret tunnel into Israel that ended with the capture of Corporal Shalit. … Mr. Haniya visited his office after the strike. ''This is the policy of the jungle and arrogance,'' Reuters quoted him as saying. …
Despite the small number of casualties, Israel has been coming under strong criticism for its attacks on the infrastructure in Gaza, especially for the bombing of the power plant, which is partly owned by an American company. The plant -- still smoking four days after all six of its transformers were hit -- was visited Sunday… Two days ago, Israeli warplanes also bombed the entrances to all four access roads to the plant...
Meantime on Sunday, hopes for any negotiated end to the standoff looked increasingly bleak. … It is uncertain what kind of deal might be acceptable to Israel. ... It is possible, however, that in a wider summit meeting later with Mr. Abbas, Mr. Olmert might be willing to release Palestinian prisoners, as former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon did in his summit meeting with Mr. Abbas in Egypt in February 2005.
GRAPHICS: ... .
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To the Editor:
Re: “Israel Steps up Raids in Bid to Free Soldier” (front page, July 3)

While the operations aimed at freeing Cpl. Shalit do sometimes cause unfortunate hardships (such as “sleep-depriving sonic booms”) for Palestinians, one must remember that Israelis constantly suffer difficulties, including noise and anxiety, as targets of almost daily attacks.

Israel withdrew from Gaza last summer, evacuating 9,000 citizens in a large and painful concession for peace. Yet, instead of abiding by the Palestinian Authority’s ceasefire agreement with Israel, Palestinian terrorists have turned Gaza into a launching site for over 500 Qassam rockets. These have destroyed Israeli schools, homes, and other buildings in towns such as Sderot and have killed both Israel and Gaza residents.

Israel has long sought diplomatically—through countless meetings with Palestinian leaders—to stop the Hamas government from perpetrating and condoning terror. These efforts have been to no avail.

With all other means having failed, Israel is engaging in these raids only in self-defense. Moreover, unlike its enemies, Israel does not target innocent civilians.

Respectfully,

Gaza and Sderot

2006-07-25T16:46:00.000+03:00

With all the attacks and fighting happening now in the north of Israel and Lebanon, the situation with Gaza and the nearby Israeli border towns has almost ceased to be discussed in the media. Nevertheless, these problems are worth mentioning.

Between October 2001 and June 9, 2006, more than 1000 Qassam rockets--homemade steel rockets carrying explosives that have a range of about 8-10 kilometers--have been fired by Hamas terrorists at Israel. Sderot, a small town located very close to the Gaza Strip, was the first Israeli town to be hit by a Qassam; it has also probably suffered the most as a result of the frequent shooting of these missiles across the border between Israel and Palestinian territory. Not only have these weapons killed at least 13 people--including both Israelis and Palestinians--but they have also made the people of targeted towns live in constant fear. In fact, it is now an Israeli law that any new house bulit must have a secure room (bomb shelter).

On our trip to Sderot and the surrounding area, we met a resident of Sderot. She told us that her 7-year-old daughter refuses to go shower without her, for fear that she will not hear the Red Dawn ("Shachar Adom") alert that warns of a Qassam fired in their direction. And this alarm is a relatively new invention; Sderot and neighboring communities have been hit by rockets without any prior warning, and the alarm they now have doesn't always work. Children as young as two years old are taught what to do and where to hide in case of an attack. Meanwhile, more advanced missiles continue to be developed. At right: the site of a Qassam landing in a Sderot street.

After the kidnapping of Cpl. Gilad Shalit in late June, Israeli forces entered the Gaza Strip to attempt to get him back. The IDF also targeted Hamas operatives in Gaza and attacked the places from which the Qassams are launched, in an effort to deteriorate Hamas's terrorist abilities. However, it must be noted that Israel did not re-occupy Gaza; troops moved in and quickly re-exited.
Many throughout the world criticized Israel's actions for the suffering they were causing innocent Palestinian civilians and condemned Israel's incursion into Gaza. I won't get started now on the injustice of the world's criticism of Israel--there have been books written on the subject. In a phrase, though, I'm not denying that innocent people were hurt; I'm just saying that many other countries--including the United States--have hurt civilians, and for worse reasons, without their being ostracized in the way that Israel is pretty much any time it tries to defend itself against the terrorism it constantly faces.

Anyway, on July 3, the New York Times had an article on the front page discussing Israel's entry into Gaza. This piece had a noticeably biased tone to it (I later heard that work by one of the authors, Steven Erlanger, has been used by an anti-Israel organization), and I was inspired to write a Letter to the Editor. Though it didn't get published, I've pasted it in the next post, along with excerpts from the article to which it refers. (Blogger wouldn't let me put it all in one post for some reason.)

Peace, Somehow?

2006-07-19T12:50:00.000+03:00

A few weeks ago, my group visited Hadassah Ein-Kerem hospital in Jerusalem.
Despite what some might expect in the center of this region of conflict, Hadassah is known for its policy of equal treatment for everyone, no matter what your politics are. Wherever you go within its walls, the population of doctors, staff, patients, and visitors is richly diverse, encompassing dimensions that supercede the miserable conflict raging outside. As one Palestinian patient said in a 60 Minutes film about the hospital, "You're not in Israel, you're not in Palestine, inside the hospital". CNN once did 5 stories here--with terrorists (guarded by police/security) and terror victims all lined up in beds one next to the other, unconscious. I'm not even sure how much I agree with that, but it's certainly a powerful image.

And regardless of your political opinions, it says a lot about Israel that its largest hospital treats the terrorists who are trying to destroy it alongside the civilians whom they injur and kill.

We met Dr. Ido Yatziv, head of the Pediatric Intensive Care unit. Only after being prodded, he shared the story of his curing the worst blast (lung) injury ever seen from a terrorist attack. On the spot, he creatively found a way to treat her; she lived and, 10 days later, entered 1st grade with the rest of her class. With this, Dr. Yatziv mentioned the prayer "Modeh Ani", in which one thanks G-d for returning one's soul to life; this girl was again able to take her first breath of air when she woke up after being treated.
The employees of the hospital were incredibly open, even letting us walk into rooms where patients lay so that we could see what happened there firsthand. We had the incredible opportunity to visit the pediatric unit (run by Dr. Yatziv), which unfortunately has only 8 beds. Standing by the reception desk, we were surrounded by 8 bays, each hosting a Muslim or Jewish child, most of whom had been hurt in the current conflict; the oldest child in the room was 6 years old. I have never even entered a childrens' ward in an American hospital, and this was quite a moving experience for me, though at the same time disturbing for all of us. On the way down in the elevator, I was asked if I still wanted to be a doctor. My answer? "Yes". Sometimes I get frustrated with pre-med classes, which often seem to have nothing to do with actual medicine. But when I learn about actual diseases or visit hospitals like Hadassah, my intrigue is piqued again and I realize that, at least for now, I'm not ready to give up my childhood aspiration to become a doctor.
Finally, we visited the trauma center, which has four beds that are always completely maintained with everything one could need for treatment in an emergency: they are X-ray beds, they have IV's already set up and open that are good for 72 hours, etc. [pics: shrapnel taken out of terror victims' bodies, and a bay in the trauma center] The head nurse there told us some amazing statistics that were determined by neutral centers using data from various hospitals. In 2003, the total mortality rate at Hadassah's trauma center was 2.1%, vs. 6.7% in 51 Level 1 trauma centers in the United States; and the mortality rate for very serious cases was about 11% at Hadassah, vs. about 19% at the US centers.

At Hadassah, medicine is a bridge to peace. In recovery rooms, Jewish Israelis communicate with Arab and Palestinian patients as they are treated together. In the words of one Israeli doctor whose partner is a Palestinian surgeon, "We're not politicians, but maybe peace can start on the human level..."
Sometimes it does seem like peace, or at least a prelude to it, makes an appearance in unlikely places. Hospitals, in my experience. Or even pickup games.

Backtracking, Part I

2006-07-10T12:25:00.000+03:00

So I've been in Jerusalem for over a month now--hard to believe. At this point, I think I've kind of lost the battle against the clock, and trying to blog about everything in the last packed 4.5 weeks would be futile. So I'll just highlight some of it here, and then I'll try to be more regular in the future.

We heard Nonie Darwish, an Arab woman who grew up in Egypt and Gaza. Her father was appointed commander of the Egyptian Army Intelligence in Gaza and founded the Fedayeen, a group that engaged in frequent terror attacks against Israel in the early years of the State's existence. He was subsequently assassinated by the Israeli Defense Forces in a targeted attack in 1956, which turned him into a "shahid", or martyr, to be praised by radical Islamists. Nonie grew up in the "culture of hate" that unfortunately characterizes so many Islamic communities in the Middle East and even worldwide; she was taught that Israel was to blame for her father's death and that it was her duty to kill Israelies and die for Islam. Nonie, impressively, succeeded in freeing herself from this bigoted and propagandist ideology; she started to see the good in Israel and the problems with radical Islam, and, after 9/11, she started speaking up. She is now a pro-Israel advocate who is to be commended for her work. One of the most important points people can take away from her hearing speak: Being pro-Israel does not mean being anti-Arab. Nonie is both, and she emphasizes that radical Islam is not only killing Jews; it is killing Arabs as well through its destruction of the Arab culture. For more information, see Nonie's website: http://arabsforisrael.com/

We met with someone from Palestinian Media Watch, an organization that monitors Arab media networks to see what messages are being sent out.
Palestinian propaganda claims that Palestine was occupied by Britain in 1917 and by Israel in 1948. I find it very scary that Princeton University offered a course this spring in its Near Eastern Studies/History Departments that advocated the same thing: "Palestinian society was occupied by the British in 1918, then partially by Israel in 1948, and then entirely by Israel in June 1967."
Some people oppose calling Hamas a terrorist organization, but consider the following, all direct quotes from Hamas's charter:
""Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it" (The Martyr, Imam Hassan al-Banna, of blessed memory) (Prologue)."
"The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him salvation, has said:"The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees." (Article Seven)."
"Initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences, are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Article Thirteen)."
"In face of the Jews' usurpation of Palestine, it is compulsory that the banner of Jihad be raised. ... "I swear by the holder of Mohammed's soul that I would like to invade and be killed for the sake of Allah, then invade and be killed, and then invade again and be killed." (As related by al-Bukhari and Moslem) (Article Fifteen)."
"They [the Zionists] were behind World War I...They were behind World War II, through which they made huge financial gains by trading in armaments, and paved the way for the establishment of their state. It was they who instigated the replacement of the League of Nations with the United Nations and the Security Council to enable them to rule the world through them (Article Twenty-Two)."
"World Zionism, together with imperialistic powers, try through a studied plan and an intelligent strategy to remove one Arab state after another from the circle of struggle against Zionism...Egypt was, to a great extent, removed from the circle of the struggle, through the treacherous Camp David Agreement (Article Thirty-Two)."
Allah obliges Moslems to fight and kill Jews? The Zionists instigated the creation of the United Nations, that in 1975 passed Resolution 3379 equating Zionism with racism? Camp David was a treacherous event, rather than a step towards peace? And all this and more from a "democratically elected government"??? Where is Israel's partner for peace?

A Long-Delayed Introduction

2006-07-10T12:24:00.000+03:00

hI eVeRyOnE! It might be hard to believe that I've actually--finally--started my blog. It's funny: had you asked me 2 months ago if I'd ever post my own blog, I would undoubtedly have said no, but here I am.Let me first of all explain my title: "The Expatriate" refers to the fact that as of June 2006, I am essentially living outside of the United States for the greater part of a year. The name may change, but for now, it's the best I could think of.The point of this blog is largely so that I can express some of my thoughts or reflections and memories from my summer, etc. You might find some of it boring; I hope at least some of it will be interesting/entertaining, and maybe even educational--I'm certainly learning things while I'm abroad.Thanks for reading!