UNESCO Rewrites History

October 15, 2016October 17, 2016 / IlanaB / 6 Comments

Mom told me a story once about her mother and how she had once been a history teacher in the Soviet Union. She was helping her students prepare for a big exam and reminding them how a certain general was a “hero of the people.” During the week of preparations, this general became an “enemy of the people,” so all the questions about him were changed to reflect his new status. Grandma was disillusioned and changed careers to become an accountant.

That was the Soviet Union then. This is now.

This week a UNESCO resolution is trying to rewrite history and suggest that Jews and Christians have no connection to the Old City of Jerusalem. I mentioned the resolution in a blog post in July and discussed very briefly the postmodern idea of “narratives of history” in May.

The main problem (among many others) with the resolution is that it purposely eliminates or minimizes the Jewish names of the holy sites: Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif is never referred to as the Temple Mount and Buraq Plaza is the name for the “Western Wall Plaza” (quotation marks in original). Full text is reprinted here.

The “Buraq Plaza” of 1916-1917 – not much of a plaza and not a Muslim site.

Source

The Office of Foreign Affairs posted this on their Facebook page to highlight the changing of history aspect of the purposeful elimination of names.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued a statement that said:

To say Israel has no connection to the Temple Mount is like saying that China has no connection to the Great Wall of China or that Egypt has no connection to the pyramids. With this absurd decision, UNESCO has lost the modicum of legitimacy it had left.

And he followed it up with this tweet.

In my opinion, the most worrisome thing is the vote. The resolution was approved in committee 24 for and 6 against, with 26 abstentions. The countries that stood up to vote against this resolution were: Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States. I applaud their strength! I wonder about the countries that abstained. They chose not to vote yes, but could not bring themselves to vote no. Abstaining doesn’t mean they get to pretend this resolution didn’t happen.

UNESCO’s Director-General issued a lukewarm statement mentioning that all three monotheistic religions have a connection to the Old City, but did not cancel or condemn the resolution.

In response, Israel’s government has suspended cooperation with UNESCO at this time. And rightly so.

Being a UNESCO Heritage Site used to be a badge of honor. But if UNESCO can vote on and pass resolutions that skew and twist history to suit a particular agenda, doesn’t it call into question all of UNESCO’s decisions and resolutions? Is UNESCO a new totalitarian regime telling us what history is?

Dire Straits Experience in the Sultan’s Pool

September 9, 2016 / IlanaB / 1 Comment

This week I had the absolute pleasure of seeing the Dire Straits Experience at the Sultan’s Pool in Jerusalem (with thanks to my friend LC for suggesting it).

I didn’t remember all the songs (and to be fair, I’m not a die-hard Dire Straits fan). But the Mark Knopfler feel was there – the voice, the guitar solos, the unique style. One of the members of the Dire Straits Experience was in Dire Straits and mentioned that the last time he was in Jerusalem was in 1985 and he was so glad to be back in this special city.

The last time I saw a concert in the Sultan’s Pool was also in 1985. I went with my cousin to see a popular Israeli band, Mashina. I was so impressed that my aunt bought me the record (and yes, I do mean the LP vinyl black round thing you play on a record player). There was a US kids group too, but I don’t remember anything about them. Most everyone was there to see Mashina.

We don’t get a lot of big names in Jerusalem. We only just upgraded our stadium, but I’m not sure anyone really wants to play in it because Jerusalem is complicated. Louis C.K. recently came to Jerusalem for a show, but his comedy tends to be complicated and we have a lot more native English speakers in Jerusalem than in Tel Aviv.

We have more small venues. One of the best is the Sultan’s Pool. In ancient times, it was a reservoir and in fact, an arch with a faucet and an inscription in Arabic still stands to remind us of the history. Now it’s an open-air amphitheater under the walls of the Old City.

Between ancient times and modern times, or more specifically, between 1948 and 1967, the Sultan’s Pool was no-man’s-land. Jordanian snipers sat on the walls of the Old City and guarded the border that ran through the valley.

I think it’s interesting that the Sultan’s Pool is the top of the valley called Guy Ben Hinnom. Slurring the words together you get the vocalization of “gehinom” or the Jewish equivalent of purgatory. The Bible mentions the valley (guy) of Ben Hinnom as a place of child sacrifice (II Kings 23:10; Jer. 7:31 and 32:35). And yes, from 1948 to 1967, the border (aka the Green Line) ran through this valley.

The saxophonist, who had played with Dire Straits in Jerusalem in 1985, mentioned that they’ve played in many different countries in a variety of political situations, but it was music that brought everyone together. And he’s right. Today, we’ve turned the no-man’s-land gehinom into a valley filled with music.

Here’s a video of a few collected clips that I took at the concert. The quality isn’t great, but it gives you the experience of the Experience. At the very end, I passed a street musician – a haredi guitarist – and it sounded like he had been inspired by the concert.

I was far away from the stage – and now I’m a little bit sad that they didn’t play “So Far Away.”

Concerts today – pictures of people taking pictures/video with their phones!

Still the light show was fun! The noise curfew is at 11:00pm and so after 2.5 hours, we said Good Night to the Dire Straits Experience.

“So Far Away” – Dire Straits

August in Israel

August 26, 2016 / IlanaB / Leave a comment

When people talk about the quality of life in Israel, they are not talking about the variety of things you can buy or the overabundance of choice in all things. Quality in Israel is intangible. I often mention rhythms of life – for example, businesses are closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays are part of the national calendar, which means people can be home with their families, out in nature, or just take a day for themselves.

“Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28)

God may have given the command, but he didn’t consider childcare in the twenty-first century and how all people, no matter their job, should be able to spend time with their children.

And so we come to August in Israel. Daycares shut down in August. All of them. This allows daycare providers to have a vacation to spend time with their own children. However, since we live in a modern society that doesn’t just shut down in August, parents have to look for alternate solutions.

Israel has a booming day camp business in August. Every kind of day camp you can think of can be found catering to most age groups. If you can’t afford camp (and many people can’t) the other option is to take your vacation days in August. Parks are filled with families; I’ve seen mostly ultra-religious families with their half-dozen or more children. I remember when I was a kid in the US, you could take yourself to the local pool and cool off in the summer. Jerusalem doesn’t have outdoor public swimming pools and the indoor pools require expensive memberships, so you see many kids playing in public fountains. Independence Park has a water feature that looks like a stream and there are dozens of children playing in it every day with families nearby picnicking on the grass.

Downtown Jerusalem is crowded and I hear mostly Hebrew in the streets (unlike other times when I hear a lot of English and French). Families take advantage of cool Jerusalem evenings and stroll late into the night with their children. “Bedtime” must be when the kids collapse because it is certainly not 8pm.

Those not taking vacation days in August or sending their kids to camp look for other solutions. Some people can rely on their parents to take care of the kids (often they joke that this is “Grandma Camp”), but others have to juggle other options. August is “take your child to work” month. I’m working in an office these days and since it’s August, I’m getting to meet everyone’s kids. This is completely normal and accepted; both mothers and fathers bring kids to the office (usually only one and not every day so as not to totally disrupt the office environment).

On the surface, August seems unnecessarily complicated. People have to work. That’s how a modern, capitalist society functions, right? So, if you want people to work and have children, then daycare should be available. Let’s say instead that the value is not just having children, but actually spending time with your family. Then August starts to make sense because it imposes a work/life balance. Quality of life doesn’t mean an easy life. Often it is the things you work the hardest for that give you the most value.

***

I had the chance this week to see Shakespeare’s Macbeth in the park – with lots of kids, who enjoyed it for the most part. No sets, minimal costume, no mics, and the audience moves around to different locations in the park with the scene changes. Over the years, I’ve seen Richard III, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Macbeth. It’s not Broadway or the West End, but it’s Shakespeare and it’s fun!

Macbeth plotting

The king is dead

Ghosts and guilt

More murder

Bagpipes in Jerusalem!

Love is in the air – Tu B’Av

August 19, 2016 / IlanaB / 1 Comment

It’s today! For lack of a better reference, Tu B’Av is Jewish Valentine’s Day. The name is simply the date (tet vav = ט’ו = 15, pronounced too; Av is the Hebrew month). It’s actually much older than Valentine’s Day and is shrouded in mystery, apparently. In the olden days – the Second Temple Period – unmarried women in borrowed white dresses would go out to the fields and dance under the full moon of the 15^th of Av. Unmarried men would go out and choose a bride. The borrowed white dresses ensured a level playing field for the women and men chose their brides based on personality rather than status.

Today, Israel has borrowed the romantic ideas of Valentine’s Day in the US, so chocolates are flying off the shelves and flowers are sold by the ton. It’s considered a great day to get married, so venues are booked far in advance.

In a previous post, I wrote about Jerusalem’s Love Map . Checking it again today, there are many more hearts and stories.

And since no one else in the world can see our special Google Doodle, here are some images (though they are actually tiny romantic animations).

I’m compelled to share one hilarious element of the Google Doodle. They spelled the holiday wrong. When you click on it to get more information, the first site is the Google Doodle site, everything else is related to the show Ab Fab or it has to do with abdominal exercises. So if you want to find out more about Jewish Valentine’s Day, don’t be Google and spell it To Be’Ab, spell it Tu B’Av and get the right search results.

And finally, I leave you with the song that inspired the title, from one of the best movies ever, Strictly Ballroom. Remember, a life lived in fear is a life half-lived!

Tisha B’Av and Dad’s birthday

August 12, 2016 / IlanaB / Leave a comment

On Sunday it will be Tisha B’Av – translated as the 9^th of the Hebrew month of Av – and Israel will slow down a bit. The 9^th of Av is an unusual day in the Jewish calendar. It commemorates the destruction of both Temples. It’s a fast day and considered to be a day of mourning. But many people in Israel kind of ignore it. Employers offer it as one of the several days a person can choose to take off for religious purposes. So a lot of people are still working – and according to religious laws, a person is allowed to work even if they are fasting.

For skeptics who wonder how it could be that both Temples were destroyed on the same day, well, it’s mostly a matter of odds. In ancient times, you usually didn’t gather your armies in winter – Israel isn’t in the tropics, so we do have a winter – which eliminates at least 4 or 5 months. In spring, you gather your armies and then you have to get to where you want to go, in this case Jerusalem. By the time the end of July or early August rolls around, there’s a good chance you’ll reach your goal. And because the Jewish calendar is lunar, the 9^th of Av moves around. So it’s possible that the First Temple fell on July 31 and the Second Temple fell on August 9, but they would still both be the 9^th of Av. There are also those who go through history and point out all the terrible things that happened to the Jews on the 9^th of Av. Two often-cited examples are the expulsions of the Jews from Spain and England.

In Israel there are groups that march around the outside of the walls of the Old City and those who will likely ascend the Temple Mount on Sunday. I hope it will be uneventful, but you never know. The atmosphere in Israel is always combustible.

The day after the 9^th of Av is Dad’s birthday. Actually, I’m not sure how to say that correctly. The day is still Dad’s birthday, but since he is no longer with us, maybe it’s more correct to say it in the past tense. To me, it’s still in the present tense. Monday is Dad’s birthday. It will also be one of the “firsts” in the mourning year – the first time that I can’t call my Dad on his birthday. His number is still in my phone, but it won’t connect, and for a minute I might say to myself, “Oh, he’s in a place where he doesn’t have cellular service.” And that will be true. Then I’ll have to remember that he won’t be answering at all. That will be hard.

Like Tisha B’Av, it will be a mournful day, but one in which I’ll still work and I’ll keep moving forward. As we all do even if our Temples, literal or symbolic, are destroyed.

Move over Paris, Jerusalem is the City of Love

July 29, 2016 / IlanaB / 2 Comments

In the evening I opened the window to let in some fresh air after sitting in air conditioning all day. Suddenly I heard loud buzzing and gargantuan hornets were flying around trying to get in my window. I ran around screaming and waving my arms. After pulling myself together I leapt to the window and shut it. Looking out the window, I saw that there is a hornets’ nest inside my neighbor’s wall. Yikes! I’m keeping my window closed for now!

This little story is a metaphor for how I feel about the news in the last few weeks. So after running around, screaming, and waving my arms, I’m shutting my metaphorical window on the news and am going to write about something else entirely. Something nice.

In a few weeks, we are going to be having a holiday of love called Tu B’Av. It’s not exactly the commercialized Valentine’s Day of the US, but it has some similarities. In preparation, the city of Jerusalem launched a website allowing people to pin hearts to a map of Jerusalem and tell their love story. (I’m giving the whole link because I like the name of the site: http://www.jerusalemlovemap.co.il/)

The various shades of pink and red reflect different kinds of stories: first meeting, first date, marriage proposal, perfect date, and, in a twist on romance, the last kiss.

I clicked through some of the stories and here are two that I liked.

Think romance is dead? Not here.

Proposal

By E. and R.

In summer 2010, I was a little wobbly after leaving a Jerusalem bar and saw a woman sitting on the sidewalk with her friends. I talked to her and pestered her a little and went on my way. After 50 meters, thanks to a little liquid courage in my veins, I turned back to ask for her phone number. At the end of February 2013, I came back with the same girl and asked her to be with me forever. She agreed. We’re married and happy for the past three years.

And then there is the humorous.

First meeting

By Anonymous

Unbelievably, we met in a car accident on the Begin Highway. My car was a total loss and was not drivable. She drove me home after we exchanged information. I did not have the heart to sue for an insurance claim, but used her number to invite her on a date. We’re happily married today and laugh when we pass by the garage.

I think this idea is marvelous. It’s cutting edge and a fabulous use of social media. (Have I mentioned recently how much I like our mayor?) All the citizens of Jerusalem are thinking about love stories instead of violence and attacks. Jerusalem can be the city of love; we just have to get together and make it so.

Be excellent to each other

July 22, 2016July 22, 2016 / IlanaB / 2 Comments

I’m on hiatus this week, but what a week to take a break!

This week the Jerusalem March for Pride and Tolerance took place in Jerusalem. After the murder that took place last year at the parade, this year’s parade was held under massive police security and 25,000 people attended.

The bubbles that were painted over the blood stains at the intersection where Shira Banki z”l was stabbed were repainted this year in her memory.

Many, many issues revolve around the parade and Jerusalem, but when I try to bring it down to basic principles, it seems pretty simple to me.

be excellent

Even Bill and Ted get it

Downtown Jerusalem

July 8, 2016July 8, 2016 / IlanaB / 1 Comment

Optimizing

I wasn’t going to bring this up, but my phone froze while I was trying to take pictures in town today. So, like with any computer, turn it off, turn it back on. Then my phone decided to optimize 131 apps. I certainly don’t use 131 apps, do I? Urg. So annoying!!

Optimizing 131 apps apparently takes a REALLY long time. So I stood in the shade with my overheated phone in my hand. Every time I checked, a two or three more apps optimized. Should I just go home and come back later? Should I overreact and throw my phone into a wall? I got a fruity popsicle and calmed down. I decided to walk around while I waited for my phone’s soul to come back from its journey in the Underworld.

Downtown today was filled with students raising money for their various summer camps. It was a mobile bake sale. Religious people were giving away Shabbat candles to women and helping men wrap tefillin. I passed at least five street musician groups in the space of one city block. Every few steps there was a different vibe – oldies, Israeli, Spanish, ballads, and more. Phone still optimizing.

I went into a bookstore and had a revelation. I was browsing and found two books that caught my interest and realized that whatever the algorithm is that brings up ads and suggestions on my computer would have never suggested these books to me. Going out into the world helps me to change the parameters of my algorithm and see things I might not usually see. Staying in and expecting to have my preferences handed to me on a silver platter just encourages me to have selective vision. There’s a whole world of things that I know nothing about simply because I’ve never seen them before and they’re all out there just waiting for me to open my eyes and see them. Whoa!

Finally, my phone apps were optimized and so was I.

Join me downtown!

I don’t know what the municipality has in mind for downtown, but so far I like it! This week the overhead decorations are celebrating different countries and cultures around the world. I’m sure I didn’t find them all, but here’s today’s selection.

Streets of the World

I happened upon some amazing murals down one of the streets.

This is also a good opportunity to share the pictures I took during Passover. The municipality brought artists to the center of town to create 3-D art. Some really worked, others didn’t, but it was fun to go around and discover the artwork. (I needed a map, Google maps with GPS, and two days to find them all.)

For those who want to see all the pictures in more detail, here’s a slideshow.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

“It’s better to light one candle than curse the darkness”

June 20, 2016 / IlanaB / 1 Comment

My favorite James Dean movie is East of Eden. The story moved me so much that I decided to read the book by John Steinbeck. I had the pleasure of visiting the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, CA, where I learned that Steinbeck considered East of Eden the culmination of his life’s work. He struggled with it all his life because he wanted to truly understand the fundamental ability to choose light or darkness.

God said to Cain, “If you do well, shall you not be accepted? But if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:7) Steinbeck’s East of Eden tells us that no matter what happens, you always have a choice.

The power to choose

There’s so much awful news: Tel Aviv, Orlando, the Stanford rape case, a British MP gunned down, and plenty more that I don’t know about. In each case someone made a choice to do evil; they chose darkness.

Debates are raging right now about why these tragedies happened. I’m not qualified to give an opinion about changes that need to be made in society and I’m not going to try. This post is about the power to choose.

Choosing compassion

The family of a police officer saw someone running from the scene of the Tel Aviv terror attack. He was badly shaken and could hardly speak. They brought him in and gave him water. The officer ran to the scene and when he saw that the detained shooter was dressed exactly like the man in his house, he rushed back, fearing the worst. Indeed, the family had sheltered the second shooter. The officer arrested him in the living room.

This family chose to help someone who looked to be in shock. Without a doubt, the situation could have ended tragically, but instead we have an example of what compassion to one’s neighbors looks like.

Unsung heroes

At Stanford, two Swedish graduate students pulled the rapist off of his victim and held him down until police arrived. The victim was completely unconscious, could not defend herself, and likely would not have been able to remember the events of what happened in order to bring her attacker to justice.

It was late at night. The two students could have passed by and done nothing. Instead, they chose to protect a young woman in a horrible situation.

Choosing to stand together

Sometimes you can’t save the person in danger, but you can stand beside the mourners. Two stories I came across – and surely there are many more – remind us that it’s fine to “Je suis …” and change your profile pictures, but actions are so much more powerful.

A rabbi brought members of his congregation to grieve with mourners of the Orlando terror attack. Just showing up was enough.

A flight crew found out that a passenger was on her way to her grandson’s funeral. He was one of the victims in Orlando. All the passengers wrote notes and when they deplaned, every person stopped to personally give their condolences.

Shavuot in Israel – Standing together

This week also marked Shavuot in Israel. Shavuot is the fiftieth day after Passover and marks the date that the Israelites received the Ten Commandments at Sinai. It’s a pilgrimage holiday meaning that when the Temple stood, people came to offer sacrifices. Today, we aren’t offering sacrifices, but we still stand together, raise our voices in song, and choose life.

Here’s a video I took while watching the sunrise on Shavuot at the Western Wall

From a single candle, thousands can be lit

When I watch the sun rise over the people and hear them singing, I know that the world is going to be okay. Some people choose to do evil. This is a fact and we see plenty of evidence of it. But more people choose to do good. More people choose light. Sure, there may be moments .of regret, but every day we have a choice. We can choose light and keep choosing it until we break down the power of darkness.

Wishing all the fathers a Happy Father’s Day!

And remembering my Dad z’’l

Observation: The streets of Jerusalem

June 3, 2016 / IlanaB / 1 Comment

I wanted to try something a little different this week. I sat in a few different squares in downtown Jerusalem and watched people. What I saw and heard was a symphony.

Panorama of Zion Square

Laughter

I saw a Korean Catholic couple, a priest and a nun, walking on Jaffa Street completely engrossed in conversation. I wondered if they hadn’t taken vows, would they be dating? Perhaps they were so happy simply because they were here in the holy city of Jerusalem.

The Chorus

The gaggles of girls, who appear to be religious and often roam in groups of five, are a phenomenon. They tend to have long, dark, curly hair, skirts that come down to their knees, and blouses that cover their shoulders. The phrase “same, same, but different” comes to mind.

Two-Part Harmony

Guys travel in pairs. They tend to complement one another. A tall guy has a short friend. A guy with long hair will have a friend with a buzz cut.

Duets

I saw many couples on the street. Older ones came to town together to run errands. Young couples – either just friends or hoping for more – came to sit together under a tree for an hour. The young religious marrieds have their own formula. They walk along with what appears to be their first child in a stroller and it’s always the dad pushing it. The mom sometimes seems nervous about it, but she’s genuinely happy that he’s taking a role.

Soloists

Cello

There are a lot of street sweepers in Jerusalem because the municipality is committed to keeping the streets clean. They are dressed in blue coveralls and always wear yellow Day-Glo vests. They push around a green plastic garbage bin that is about 4 feet tall and work with a broom and long-handled dustpan.

This particular street sweeper caught my eye, I think, because of his rimless glasses. He wore his collar stylishly up, was unshaven (I don’t know if it was scruff for style or just the 24-hour beard cycle), and the hair on his head matched the length of his beard. He was intensely conscientious in his work, with quick and purposeful movements, but appeared to be deep in thought. I wondered if after his morning shift cleaning streets he went home to write his manifesto, “On the Social Aspects of the Dirtiness of the Street,” or a play called “To Clean or Not to Clean,” or something cheerful like “The Unbearable Lightness of Cigarette Butts.”

Electric Guitar

Another often-seen pair are the security forces on a motorcycle. It was explained to me once that the front guy is the driver and the guy on the back is the shooter, which allows them to act quickly in case of an emergency. They ride on powerful BMW motorcycles with noise-reducing mufflers and wear black helmets, black motorcycle jackets, and black cargo pants (which seems crazy in the 90+ degree heat).

The pair that I saw were riding back and forth on Jaffa Street. They were chatting through the headsets in their helmets, but keeping an eye on everything around them. The guy in front was focused on driving and the guy in back had a rifle slung across his chest and visible in the back was a silver pistol tucked into his waistband. Later, I saw them stop for lunch at a burger place, because of course that’s what they would eat.

And so many more

The albino girl, the street musician, the Russian tourist chatting up a bottle-blond who also happened to speak Russian, the wanna-be punk who looked like he probably played bass in a band that played small venues, the odd, smiley religious guy who was hot strolling down the street so he rolled up his pant legs above his knees to show off scrawny white legs, or the worker setting up the stalls for the evening market who measured the spaces down to the last inch.

Jerusalem is a symphony, we just have take a moment to listen.

The Write Place (for me)

All the writings, all right here

Jerusalem