I went out on Thursday night. I don't usually go out, due to my insistence on the moral lifestyle, but my Brazilian friend used his Latin charm to convince me that once in a while it is good to be in the presence of large numbers of intoxicated people. So, we went out to an area between King George and Kikar Tzion that is packed with bars, some indoor some outdoor, some hippy-looking, some sheik. It was insanely packed, more packed than any cluster of night spots in New York. A cool place was Agon, which has, like many of these bars, an inconspicuous entrance, but turns out to include two courtyards, several bars and all sorts of space in between. There were at least 300 people in this place alone. An interesting mix goes out in Jerusalem. American yeshiva students studying here for a year, Mizrahi Jeruselamites, American tourists, non-American tourists, religious, secular, speaking a mixture of French, Spanish, English and Hebrew. There was alcohol to drink, nargilah to smoke, food to eat, quite fun I suppose. I did get the distinct feeling that most people were aged 18-22 though. Some of the more upscale places a bit farther from the frenentic bar scene had an older crowd and were, clearly, more expensive. As I now actually understand Hebrew, I determined that in many of the bars there exist, in fact, two price systems. One for locals and one for drunk Americans with their parents' credit cards who don't know the difference and couldn't care less. The restaurants, however, being respectable establishments, maintain a fair pricing system for all. I discovered a 24-7 restaurant that serves really high quality food. Generally, 24-7 means something fairly nasty, but this was quite the opposite.

I had some converstations with the most random, and interesting, people, but the highlight of the night was the onion and cheese quiche at 3am. It was flat out amazing, as was the side salad. For $10 it better have been. Ok, maybe there were other highlights, but only a picture would serve to adequately describe those.

This Shabbat I decided to stay at the Ulpan, and spent Saturday biking to the southeast. I explored Arnona, a very nice Jewish neighborhood that, although upscale, is still reasonably priced. Further to the south of it is Kibbut Ramat Rahel, to which most tourists get taken. It's on a hill and has a good view of the southern parts of East Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and assorted Judean Hills. It also has a view of the Malha Mall area where the stadium is located. Next to the kibbutz is the Arab village of Abu Zahr, which explored only a little bit before it became clear I don't really belong there and need to get pedalling in the opposite direction. East Jerusalem is really strange. Jewish and Arab neighborhoods are a few hundred meters away, but they might as well be in different worlds. I also did some biking today, and explored the UN area of Armon Hanatziv. This hill probably has the best view eastward into the Jewish heartland.

In preparation for Yom Ha'Atzmaut (Independence Day), flags are being put up all over the place. Balconies, windows, lamp posts, store fronts, car antennas and all sorts of inventive places. Pride is a virtue the rest of the West better recover if they hope to survive.

As you all know, Tuesday the 25th was Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel. It's actually called The Day of Holocaust Remembrance and Heroism. That last part is about remembering, and exalting, the various ghetto uprisings and the Jewish partisan units during World War II. I thought I'd write a long blog about how incredibly significant the entire World War II history is to Israeli self-determination, how it's a huge part of the national Jewish character here (much more so than I had ever imagined), how the new Yad V'Shem is a powerful experience, how intense it was to hear the siren that stopped the entire nation and everyone stood in silence for its duration, how the Shoah is a part of an almost daily national discourse, how it shapes national security policy, how it permeates the consciousness of average Israelis to a level definitely incomparable to what I am used to in the US Jewish community, and how all of these things make being Jewish and living in Israel an amazing and at times overwhelming feeling. But, I really can't get into it, it's too much, it's too deep, and frankly you have to live here to truly get it. Suffice it to say, it's as massive a part of the national Israeli culture as the Hebrew language and the IDF. In other words, life here doesn't make sense without an esssential understanding of the Shoah.

In other news, I was recently informed, thank you random reader, that the Conservative and Reform movements in the US are starting to promote aliyah amongst young people. I am usually on top of my favorite topic, but this is a new fact. Apparently, it's quite true, and Nefesh'b'Nefesh is starting to develop in the direction of the non-Orthodox. A lot of it has to do with the fact that the Jewish Agency is allowing Nefesh'b'Nefesh to basically dictate aliyah outreach policy. Lo and behold, the impossible is occuring. A bureacratic organization is realizing that a privately-run organization is cleverer, faster and more efficient. Miracles do happen. Lets hope G-d's plan is realized and a subconscious wave of Jewish Zionist fervor starts to spread throughout the young Jews of the Diaspora. Comfort and income security, they will realize, is not the essence of life. Ideology, even on a basic level, is more powerful and is the only real glue of a society with a future. Plus, comfort and income security are relative and can be improved with hard work. Not everything has to be served up on a silver platter.

Personally, I will offer what I can in order to promote the above. The rewards are as follows:

Friend level (a vacation of under 3 weeks) - you get a tub of hummus, the couch and a private tour of Jerusalem.

Special Friend level (3 weeks to 8 weeks) - you get hummus, free tours, and my bed.

Silver Friend level (2-5 months, usually a study program) - you get my hummus, bed, free tours, use of my bike, and an opportunity to play with fun toys (no, V, not those types of toys).

Gold Friend level (you make the big move) - you get my bed (yes, you can live in my room I will sleep on the couch), my food is your food, my bike is your bike, you get to play with fun toys and you'll get both regular tours and special tours.

Platinum Friend level (you make the move and do 'fun' activities) - same as Gold level plus something that can't be described.

so start making plans.

I forgot to mention that I bought a bike on Thursday. I rode it to Givat Tzarfatit for Shabbat and it's promising to make my life more mobile and less dependent on public transport. I never thought I would do this, but I wear a helmet. Doubtless, I look like a gimp, but (a) I am not as brave as I was at 17, and (b) Jerusalem is full of speeding cars so the chance of an accident is far higher than in the world's greatest suburb of West Hartford, CT. If you come visit the holy city, and you see some gimpy looking bicyclist with a backpack, waterbottle and pump on the frame, wearing a bike helmet and sunglasses, pathetically struggling up a steep hill at the pace of a snail, iyou'll know it's me. Most people walk.

Oh yes, and wish me good luck, I have a special date on May 1st. I've been dreaming about it for a while.

Pesach came to a nice ending yesterday (it's 7 days in Israel, 8 in the Galut), and the final seder, the night prior, was in this rabbi's apartment in the Old City. There was a conglomeration of people from all over, although the English speakers were the best represented, about 25 people in all. The rabbi is Chabad-affiliated, although I am not sure how his funding works. But he definitely hooks up young people with a meaningful religious experience on Shabbat or holidays. I liked it and I am coming back. It's getting much easier to read the Hebrew texts, and I am actually understanding the prayers, partially, without looking at the translation. So, progress is being made. There were quite a few young men there who gave me advice on the next stage of my "Israel experience." It's always encouraging to hear the stories of those whose life path is similar to mine. It also suggests that I am not crazy. Or if I am, there sure are a lot of people who are just as insane as me.

Aside from these quality types, there are also a lot of people in Jerusalem who treat this city as a vacation spot. I hate the tourist mentality, especially when it's applied to this city, and particularly because the economic behavior of our guests includes the buying of property, which raises prices on housing and everything else. You can tell a tourist from a mile away in Jerusalem, even though they technically look exactly like your typical Ashkenazi Jerusalemite. There is a foreign energy that emanates from the tourists, and it's clear they don't belong. I can feel the emptiness in their souls, it's palpable. We will take your money however, thank you, now go back to Cedarhurst.

I urge all of you to find meaning in your lives, even if it means doing something that you may have always thought was a bit crazy. The drudgery of corporate life and the spiritual emptiness it forces on its employees is made bearable by the opportunities to "relax" and "wind-down" and to "vacation." The "vacation" especially is an interesting concept in the Western cosmopolitan system. Just like people buy products to make their lives happier and more enjoyable, people also buy vacations to make them feel good about themselves. The vacation is the ultimate consumer product. The ideal way to get to that peak before you go right back down to the valley. It's a depressing, unstable way to live. By "live" I mean to truly live, not just to not die.

I'm back in Ulpan Etzion, watching the Sopranos and trying to read Hebrew newspapers. The kibbutz life was good, and, frankly, my life right now is pretty much the kibbutz life. Most people are still away for Pesach so the ulpan is quiet, there's plenty of free time and the free food keeps a-comin'. We're not sitting around singing songs and playing guitars, but the pace is nice and lazy.

The happy pace was interrupted by the suicide attack just a few hours ago in Tel-Aviv. Islamic Jihad and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (Fatah's suicide wing) claimed responsibility. Hamas, the governing power in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, stated that the attack was a legitimate response to the "state terrorism" that Israel perpetrates against the Arabs. With all due (non)-respect to those who believe there's a "cycle of violence" here, you have no idea what you're talking about. Violence is not cyclical, that's a just a convenient way for post-modern liberals to conceptualize conflicts without making a definitive determination of what is actually happening and who is exactly at fault and for what and what their specific goals are. This type of thinking is predicated on the belief that all human beings just want to live in peace, while extremists on both sides perpetrate violent attacks in support of hazy, fundamentalist goals, and that the violence is totally pointless and will lead nowhere, while overcoming the crazies will allow reasonable people from each side to sit down and work out a mutually acceptable solution. This thinking is completely disconnected from reality.

The terror organizations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip aren't criminal gangs full of sneaky ideologues who cleverly subvert innocent youths into committing violent acts, while the overwhelming majority of the population they live amongst is "just trying to live their daily lives." That's bullshit. The terror organizations are very extensive, with massive political, social and military wings. They have sophisticated, world-wide financial networks and have been using the cover of the "Palestinian Authority" to scam billions of dollars from the UN, the EU and the US. They directly or indirectly control all the municipalities and villages of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The leadership of the hamullahs, clans, that constitute the essence of Arab social and economic life are all members of or associates of one terror group of another. The entire social support network is run by the terror organizations, and there's no such thing as an independent private sector. Hence, they are so entrenched in the private, public, social and economic life of the West Bank and Gaza Arabs that to call them a minority is idiocy. The overwhelming majority of Arabs in the Palestinian territories support the actions of terrorist organizations, as can be evidenced by numerous polls that consistently put the figures at 75-80%. Of course, the greatest piece of proof is that Hamas is the most popular political faction and was voted in to dominate governance, collect taxes and spend the tax money on roads and schools, of course.

As for their ideology, the terror groups aren't crazy in the least. Their leaders are PhD's, doctors and engineers, many of them educated in Russia or in the West. They have a very clear and pragmatic plan to pressure the Jewish State indefinitely with terrorist attacks and skirmishes with the IDF, all the while keeping the left wing of Israeli society, and most of the world, enthralled with tales of peace and understanding delivered in flawless English. At the same time, they are openly discussing their greater plan for the destruction of the Jewish state in Arabic to their own people and to anyone else who would listen. They know that by stating contradictory intentions they confuse and slow their Jewish opponents as well as the Americans and the Europeans. They have figured out the basic weaknesses of a Western, liberal society - a deep desire to believe in peace regardless of the facts, a soft heart for the poor underdog, an over-sensitivity to casualities, and an inability to call and an enemy an enemy and kill him. This knowledge gives the terror groups a tremendous advantage as they work towards their goals against a more militarily and economically powerful opponent. To them, the conflict is, in the end, a zero-sum game. But, they know that it can take generations of manuevers to bring the game to an end. They are also aware that the end game, if it goes their way, will have to involve an Israeli economic collapse and massive Jewish flight from the Holy Land. With regard to the morally weak far left wing in Israeli society, the Arabs are right. Many of them don't have the staying power necessary in this happy little hotspot. However, there's a large, and growing, nationalist consensus that has strong convictions and has the capacity to use force when necessary. This right wing also has zero intentions of jumping ship and throwing the State of Israel into the dustbin of history like some ill-conceived experiment. If we base our calcuations on polls that ask how commited your average Israeli Jew is to keeping this land, fighting for it, and not bailing for Los Angeles, the patriotic nationalist camp is at about 75% of the Israeli Jewish population. Add to that the fact that the religious, for whom it is a basic principle of faith to stay here, account for virtually all of the population growth, and it's clear that the Jewish side is at least as committed to winning this thing in the long-term as the Arabs are.

The essence of the conflict is control of land, and the Arabs, including those with Israeli citizenship residing within the 1949 armistice lines, are overwhelmingly in favor of creating a 23rd Arab nation in the Middle East from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean coast. However, they cannot win this conflict, they can only carry it forward. The Jews are more advanced in every way, will always be richer and stronger, and will always have a proud nationalist majority that is willing to fight. The Arabs haven't controlled this land since that stint in the Middle Ages, and it has changed hands too many times to definitively state anything. If any piece of land anywhere was ever up for grabs, it's Israel in the 20th and 21st centuries. The claims are not settled, nothing is fully agreed upon, and there's no forseeable, predictable endpoint. Force has always set final boundaries, and humanity hasn't changed. Those who believe otherwise are fooling themselves.

With regard to this specific terrorist attack, in my opinion the proper response is to flatten the entire village from whence the suicide bomber came. Not just his family's house, but the entire village. The house demolition strategy is actually very effective in discouraging young men from signing up to get blown up, so a village or town demolition would work even better.

I am retarded - I said in my last post that I was spending Pesach at Kibbutz Yagur, that's way off. I am at Kibbutz Nachshon. It's west of Jerusalem and is N's future residence, when he finally gets away from the foolishness and superficiality of NYC. In related news, being around people speaking Hebrew quickly, with slang, jumping from topic to topic, is making my head spin a little bit. I am trying to understand what's going on, but it's not easy. Next Pesach I'll be fluent. It usually takes people about two years to carry on full conversations about whatever topic. Spanish probably takes people no more than half a year to master. At least I am not learning Chinese, although sometimes I feel like I am.

I am spending Pesach in Kibbutz Yagur. The seder they had here was nice, kind of comparable to a Reform seder in the US. But it's in a large, kibbutz format, so it was cool. After that, there was lots of hanging out on people's verandas, turkish coffee, wine, guitar, singing. Kibbutzim may not be socialist anymore, but the social aspect of people sitting around in large groups and enjoying themselves without the help of the entertainment industry is alive and well. And I like it. Around 2am when everyone went home, myself and three guys starting playing a drinking game. Simple card game, three types of alcohol, until 4:30am. I am not the drinker I used to be, but it's ok because Israelis get drunk faster than a college freshmen at his first party. Slept until 2pm today and so far have managed to eat fried maza and eggs and watch the Matrix. Kibbutz life is good. Or maybe I am just not the city type. Not that there are any real cities in Israel, Tel-Aviv barely qualifies. But it's better that way, the air is fresher, and it's quieter. I would hate it if Israel developed cities the size of New York or London.

Anyhow, Hag Sameach le'Kulam!

Went on a walk of Yemin Moshe and Abut Tor today. Yemin Moshe is probably one of the most physically attractive neighborhoods of Jerusalem. It's directly across the Gai Henom valley from the southern wall of the Old City. Most of the real estate there is owned by foreigners who only come once or twice a year. They rarely rent out, so the neighborhood is quite empty most of the year. Sad, really. Such a great location, in such a great city, and it's completely dead. In my opinion, people should only buy real estate here if they intend on living here.

Abu Tor is mostly Arab, but the upper part of it is actually Jewish, and quite exclusive. There are amazing views of the city and eastward toward the Judean Desert. The more I walk around this city the more I realize how many wealthy people live here. Poorest city in Israel? Those statistics are very misleading. I then walked from Abu Tor into the Armon Hanatziv park which is below the promenade I wrote about in one of my early posts. The park is actually one of the nicest and biggest in the city. Up to the top and I am on the promenade, 10 minutes from Ulpan Etzion. Lunch was an outdoor BBQ affair, with quality hummus.

Pesach - the holiday of freedom. More precisely, Pesach is the holiday of overcoming the lowest level of spirituality and physicality, as symbolized by our slavery in Egypt. Not only were we in a foreign land and suffered great abuse, but our observance levels dropped to previously unheard of levels. The Jews were in a complete rut. From the moment we left Egypt, we started to climb up the spiritual levels by increasing observance and growing closer and closer to Hashem. We were also elevating ourselves physically by nearing Israel. There are fifty Kabbalistic levels of spirituality (the actual structure is insanely complicated), and in Egypt we were at the lowest possible level. At the moment that we received the Torah at Mt. Sinai, we had reached the complete and total peak of spiritual realization as a people. We were literally in G-d's presence and we were elevated to a level that we can only imagine now. Shortly thereafter, we completed our ascension, "aliyah" in Hebrew, by entering the Land of Israel. Unfortunately, we slowly started to slip down the spiritual slope, and post-Torah Jewish history flows from there. As Jews, we have never been at the spiritual level we had achieved at Mt. Sinai. How did we merit it then, at that moment? At that moment, we came together as a people, there was no sina (hate) of one Jew for another, achiut (brotherhood) was in tzura shlema (complete form), and we all fully believed in G-d and his awesome power. Having reached that point, the Lord brought us to the Promised Land. From that point, the Torah ends. After that we have Prophets, Writings and all sorts of historical/interpretive texts that outline Jewish history, religion and practice since our first attempt at a State.

History has been both cruel and kind. But the point of Pesach is to teach us that regardless of how low sink, we have the capability to reach the highest spiritual level. And that, combined with being physically in the place G-d reserved for us, is how we will merit G-d's revelation in our physical world through the process of the Redemption. The ultimate goal is spiritual dedication and our presence in Israel. As a people we have not merited the full realization of these two goals. Hence, Jews must continually improve their level of belief and observance on the one hand, and strive to move to Israel on the other hand. That's why the apex of the Pesach seder is the statement "Next Year in Jerusalem!" - expressing the physical aspect of bringing about the Redemption. Of course, many of us are, in fact, already in Jerusalem. At this point, 43% of the world's Jews have realized the physical aspect of the goal of the Jewish way of life. So, Israeli Jews say "Shana Ha'Ba'a b'Yerushalayim Ha'Bnia!", meaning "Next Year in a Rebuilt Jerusalem." This means that even though we are here, we're not all here, and we, as a people still have a lot work to do. So our next step is to merit Jerusalem's rebuilding into the capital of the complete Jewish state, with the Third Temple rebuilt. That's when we get to the Redemption.

Almost there...

One of my faithful readers asked me about what was happening to me with regard to Judaism. Israel is not like the Diaspora. Many basic practices are taken for granted, whereas in the US they would require a special effort. Many other practices are also really easy to keep and require minimal effort here. So, in many ways, I am more observant than I was in the US. Lifestyle aside, Israel is spiritually an uplifting place. If you have the right philosophy, it's easy to have a strong belief in G-d here. Combine that with the uniqueness of the Land itself and you have a pretty potent mix.

In the US, being Jewish is an aspect of one's identity. In most US Jews, it's not a well-developed aspect and being Jewish is almost accidental. Like being Irish-American. Yes, I have a background, so what? Let's just move on with my standard, mainstream American life. Most American Jews are on the way out of the fold and there are very few forces pulling them back in. The 70% intermarriage rate, and rising, among the non-Orthodox American Jews pretty much spells out the end of the overwhelming majority of Jews in the US. For most Jews, now is the opportunity to decide. Having been part of an ongoing chain for 3,800 years, does he now break that chain and assimilate or reinforce and strengthen his identity? Pretty much all of the non-Orthodox will not even ask themselves such a question. They will just assimilate without giving their Judaism much thought at all.

However, if Jews never assimilated, there would be 300,000,000 of us in the world, according to Jewish population experts. So, together with genocides, assimilation has been an ever-present aspect in Jewish life everywhere. The herd must be thinned. Those that have the weakest Jewish identity and who are not interested in the incredible wealth of tradition and knowledge that their ancestors have kept going for thousands of years, will leave the tribe. Those that remain are therefore the most committed and the future of Judaism is ensured. The current process underway in the US is a perfect example of what happens with an almost complete lack of anti-Semitism and declining observance levels. The herd is thinning and it's a good thing. Also, with the Diaspora communities becoming smaller, and with the Israeli Jewish community becoming bigger (net positive immigration balance, high birthrate, almost 0% intermarriage), it's just a matter of time before the inevitable occurs. Israel is home to 43% of the world's Jews, and 60% of all Jewish children aged 15 and under. That means that in 20 years Israel will have the critical mass to be the absolute epicenter of Jewish life, with Diaspora communities surviving only by associating with Israel. By 2050, the Diaspora will become just a bunch of scattered sattelites of the State of Israel. All these numbers come from sociological studies by the likes of Sergio della Pergola, the number one Jewish demographer around. Ya'll can read up population statistics to your heart's content. Just make sure you mind the date they were published - The Israeli Jewish population is adding over 50,000 per year.

As important as the Diaspora was during the past 2,000 years, the present and the future of the Jewish people are once again in Israel. The third Galut is ending, the third Beit Ha'Mikdash will be built, and, as everyone knows, third time's the charm...

Last week, we had a little ceremony at the ulpan, kind of a Pesach thing. Due to my well-written essay on what freedom means, it was chosen from the 250 essays to get read during the ceremony. I guess I am honored. You know how sometimes you do something that other people think is really great and they give this look like they expect you to say something or somehow express how happy or honored you are or... I don't know but they definitely expect you to say something fitting. During those moments, I am just not on the same wavelength as the people expecting a certain reaction from me. So either I robotically say what needs to be said or I just tell them that I don't think it's that great and that I couldn't care less. The last approach shocks people, and I seem to prefer it. I just don't do sentimentality very well. I am a heartless bastard. Except when it comes to a few topics, then I have the potential to get emotional and moved to an almost absurd point.

Anyways, I spent last weeked in Givat Tzarfatit, and, unlike three months ago, I understood half of Eretz Nehederet. That's a comedy show kind of like the Daily Show in the US, that basically makes fun and parodies everything about Israeli culture/politics, while giving news with a comic spin. Comedy is the most difficult thing to understand in a foreign language, and when people are making jokes, they are usually speaking quickly, with lots of slang and cultural intonations that can't be taught in a classroom. So understanding even half of it is an accomplishment. In some scenes I got three quarters, which really surprised me. I guess it depends on the topic.

Two weekends ago, I visited Abu Gosh. Not for the hummus, although it's AMAZING there. Abu Gosh is an Arab village about 20 minutes west of Jerusalem. It's mostly Moslem, but it's one of the few villages that has never been hostile to Israel, not even during the insanity of 1948-9. My relatives went there to buy house plants. For some reason there are several large greenhouses that sell a wide variety of flowers and accoutremants relevant to having a nice looking balcony/garden in Abu Gosh. Really interesting town, and quite wealthy and attractive. The hills west of Jerusalem, while not as nice as the Judean Hills themselves, have a classic look when combined with well-tended white stone homes.

In keeping with the chronologically illogical structure of this post, now we're at last night. There was a nice house party in Moshava Germanit (German Colony), which I earlier explained was a nice residential area off of Emek Refaim. It was mainly Anglos, some of them studying here, others having moved here permanently. $900 for a three bedroom place, on 2.5 floors, with a garden, on a green street with expensive homes. Nice. Hopefully I'll get a similar living arrangement soon. Now, there generally is nothing particularly interesting about a house party. People come, people go, there's alcohol, some people smoke cigarettes, there's music and dancing, some people pretend that they are hitting on women, some women pretend they are attractive and thin, some actually are, a lot aren't. But the unusual thing here is that I met this dude. No, not like that. But he was a copy of me, just two years further down the line, since he was born in 1978. Other than that, very similary background story and life progression. Except that he's more right-wing than me. Which is probably where I am headed in a few years.

Today, I walked around Jerusalem with a bunch of guys from the ulpan, and with a random dude who's studying here in a yeshiva from Chicago. A bit of Mea Shearim, and we had to walk through the Muslim quarter to come out of the Lion's Gate. Chicago boy almost died of a heart attack a few times he was so nervous about being in a crazy Arab crowd. Granted, we were all wearing kippot, and we couldn't even pass for innocent tourists. But it went well.

I don't know why the Moslem quarter was so crowded, but the Lion's Gate was chock full of families. I need to find out what the draw is, maybe there's some sort of market or a particular set of religious services on certain days that draws Arabs from surrounding villages. We walked down into the Kidron Valley, and explored the Tomb of Abshalom and the bottom part of the Mt. of Olives cemetery. From there, we walked over to Silwan, an Arab village on a slope of the Mt. of Olives. We wouldn't have gone there, but it was the fastest way to get to a point from where we could climb the entire mountain via the cemetery. Silwan is one of the most anti-Israel of all the East Jerusalem Arab villages. In practical terms that means that they have stoned cars and people, have supported terrorists, and have had lots of people arrested for plotting unsavory things. They were also a nasty battleground in 1967, and Israel is not a place where people forget. We only had to be in the village itself briefly before getting into the main part of the cemetery.

Those of you who have seen the Mt. of Olives from the Jewish quarter know what a site it is. Well, it's worth a visit, and it's interesting to climb up and check out graves on the way. The further up we went, the more exclusive the plots became. At this point in history, there aren't any available plots, all have been bought, and most have been filled. Although there's still plenty of space, and if any of you have a few (million) shiney shekels to spend, you can buy a plot off someone. There are various sections, belonging to different groups of Jews. Kavkaz, Bukharan, Hassidic, Litvak, Sephardi, Mizrahi (which is not Sephardi, there's a difference although most people don't know). Towards the top, we came to a great view of the Old City westwards, and a view south into the Judean Hills. Parts of the separation fence can be seen from there, as well as Jewish towns that are in limbo with regard to whether the Israeli government will include them in the fence or not.

On top of the Mt. of Olives is a hotel build by the Jordanians before 1967 in order to profane the Jewish sanctity of the mountain. It's still there, I have no idea who operates it. But I wouldn't be surprised if the Israeli government allows the Arabs to run it so that rich Arab visitors can have a nice view of Al-Quds. It could run by the Hyatt family. The Hyatts are an Arab Christian family from East Jerusalem who have a few mansions on the Mt. of Olives. Yes, they own the Hyatt chain of hotels. To say that they are rich is an exreme understatement. They are one of the wealthiest families in the world. Our very own Israeli Arabs making it big time in hotels and real estate around the world. Yay.

There's also a Mormon university on the mountain, I still need to go snooping around there. There are some churches on the Mt. of Olives, and on the side of the mountain. The land was bought by the Church in the 19th century and the various European churches built there. The mountain contains the Gardens of Gethsemane where Jesus walked about, preached and was kissed by Judah. The Gardens are in a complex controlled by a Russian Orthodox church, which is beautiful by the way. It has a dozen onion-shaped golden domes and maintains its grounds impeccably. Part way down there are also tombs of two prophets - Hagai and Ben-Zoar. On the way down the Mt. of Olives, we were treated to a bizarre sight - two Jerusalem policemen came galloping up the mountain on massive horses.

Dinner was sabikh. Sabikh is served in a pita or laffa, it's basically fried eggplant and boiled egg. Various veggies, fresh and pickled, hummus, harif, tehina, amba and you have a serious meal. It's a good alternative to felafel and shwarma. I also downed about a gallon of ice cream after dinner, I don't know why but sometimes these things happen.

When I was in Tzfat, by the way, I had a really interesting experience that I forgot to relate two posts ago. My Dad were walking around the narrow streets, enjoying the old city, when we saw, in a little courtyard, a young religious guy practicing with nunchuks. He was wielding two nunchucks at the same time, going all Bruce Lee, but without the screaming. We watched him for a while. He took a break and we had a little chat. He studies in a yeshiva, with a focus on Kabbala. And he picked up the nunchuk skills while travelling around East Asia after his army service. Anways, seeing an Orthodox guy in Tzfat twirling nunchuks is a pretty bizarre sight.

On the evening of Wed March 29th I was asked to attend a dinner with a group made up of families from the Jewish community of Chicago. They were here under the auspices of the UJA, doing a "mission" to Israel. "Mission" is an idiotic term used for trips made by large groups of American Jews, generally from certain communities, who do a whirlwind 10-day tour of Israel, meet with various representatives of Israeli society/army/government and are continually asked by Sokhnut/UJA guides that organize and lead the "mission" that Israel needs their support and that they need to donate money if they wish to see Israel keep making wonderful progress in a variety of areas. So, a bunch of people and I, got up and spoke about ourselves, blah blah blah, yay Israel, blah blah blah, and then joined the families at their tables, where we ate good grub and fielded an array of child-like questions. These people were all from a bunch of Reform and Conservative synagogues in the ultra-rich north Chicago suburbs, and one of their rabbis was a woman named Patty. If that doesn't summarize their ignorance about Israel, Judaism, Jewish identity and the conflict, I don't know what does. Here are some of their questions and statements:

"Oh my G-d, Felix, you went to Dartmouth?! I hope my son gets into a good school like that! Who won the elections? What do you mean "coalition"? Why are IDF soldiers hurting innocent Arabs? Have you seen an Arab? Are you serious, there's an Arab village a mile away and there are army units there arresting people!? Israel can't survive without US aid! What, they have to spend all of it on US arms? I saw lots of people in black at the Western Wall, are they orthodox? Why are so many soldiers wearing kippas? I want to retire and be buried in Israel! Israel needs to do (insert baseless and stupid opinion) to achieve peace. Israel isn't doing enough of (insert opinions on policies that Americans don't understand). Why can't I order an ice cream right now? What do you mean I just had a meat entree... oh right! Why are there all these religious signs and papers on the walls? Where are all these Jews from, they look darker, or are they Arabs? Ah, Mizrahi Jews are from Arabic countries, you don't say, and they speak Hebrew and they are Jewish? Jessica, after this, lets go to a spa and get massages! My daughter, Jessica, and her friend Suzy, are getting their Bat-Mitzva tomorrow here in Jerusalem! Isn't that exciting?!? We have such a big Jewish community in Chicago, and everyone always has really big, really wonderful Bar/Bat-Mitzva's! No way, we're on the other side of Green Line right now?!!?! Kids, we're going to Eilat tomorrow and staying at the Royal Something-or-Other, it's SOOO nice, not as nice as when we were in St. Lucia, but we have to vacation in different places every year. Israel is such a crazy place, it's so dangerous, all these bombings and attacks all the time, how can you live here?!? Don't you worry you're gonna get blown up?! Why would you leave perfectly nice CT suburbia? It's so NOT convenient for people here, they don't have nice lawns and the cars are so small! It's so nice that there's a place for Jews, but it's too bad not enough people are coming here. You're here to do what?!? Oh my G-d, don't you think that's a little bit crazy? Wow, what a commitment, I wish others would do the same."

I can go on, but honestly, I, and others who came with me, we all felt like we were talking to children. And we all agreed that they just don't get it. If you're living an secular, culture-less, house/car/shopping oriented lifestyle in picture perfect suburbs, and your ups and downs are determined by meaningless things, your Israel identity is so marginal and your Judaism is so surface, that it is inevitable that there will be a huge gulf between your world view and knowledge base as compared to someone who lives Israel and who lives the Jewish expression and history of Israel as an everyday reality.

Spurred on by an overwhelming display of support from my massive base of faithful readers, I am back to posting. The minor hiatus was caused by a combination of factors that I might as well blame on those pesky Jews. It's clear that the breadth and depth of my life in Israel are simply too much to record in full, so my readers will have to, periodically, be satisfied with overviews.

March 15: My Dad and I walked around Jerusalem, and spent a lot of time in the Tower of David Museum. The latter is located in the Old City, near the Jaffa Gate. The fortified complex there is actually not the Tower of David, but that's what it has been mistakingly called forever. It was built by the Ottoman Turks 500 years ago when they set up an administrative center in Jerusalem and wanted and old-school fortress with a good view of the city. Today, within it is located a museum of the history of Jerusalem and makes for a great afternoon for anyone who wants a good grounding the history of this incredible city. That evening, we had dinner at my relatives' place in Givat Tzarfatit, where there was also a family visiting from LA. Nice people, but clueless about Israel to the point of idiocy. As an aside, I consider LA the central cesspool of Western immorality and the harbinger of societal decline. But if there was ever a perfect location for movie studios, expensive mansions and limitless numbers of easy blondes, LA is it.

March 16: I travel to Tel-Aviv with my Dad. We meet up with friends of the family who shows us around and feed us amazing borsch. My Dad is impressed by the number of futuristic looking high-rises that have gone up since the last time he was here in 1999. Frankly, so am I.

March 17: We spend the morning walking around Old Yaffo. It's a must-see by the way. The sea-side part of it has been restored and you get that medievial feel along with a great ocean view. Throw in artist's studios, little museums, a few archeological digs and a vista of the Tel-Aviv skyline, and any tourist should be more than satisfied. In the most ancient section, very close to the sea, is a beautiful Russian Orthodoox Church. My dad buys a mezuza from a little workshop, and we progress to the Tayelet (promenade) in Tel-Aviv proper. The weather is impressive, the kite-surfers are doing acrobatics on the waves, the outdoor cafe provides cold beer and friendly service (!), and the conversation carries into ancient Jewish history. In the late afternoon we make our way out of Israel's only real Western city and arrive in Migdal Ha'Emeq, a small northern town. Shabbat is spent eating the best Russian food outside of my mom's West Hartford, CT kitchen, and we do some laid back walking in the surrounding woods. There are lots of kibbutzim in the area so the views are of well-tended fields and wandering cows. On Motzei Shabbat, the 18th, we come back to the eternal capital of the sovereign nation of Judenrein Palestine, err... I mean... of the Jewish state of Israel.

March 19th: An organized excursion to Tzippori and Tzfat. These are both in the Galilee, a gorgeous, mountainous area close to the Kinneret. Tzippori used to be a major Jewish city in ancient times and is only now being excavated. As always, there's the original Jewish layer, followed by a Roman/Byzantine layer. The site hasn't been used since those times so there are not additional archeological layers. The town was built on a low hill, surrounded by large valleys, with a good view on all possible avenues of approach. It also has one of the best non-Kinneret water sources in the North. The ancients knew what they were doing. We then travelled to Tzfat, which really has to be visited with a knowledgable tour guide, I wouldn't do it justice here.

March 20th: Another excursion, this time to Caesaria, Haifa, Acco. Caesaria was build by King Herod, one of the biggest builders of the kings of Israel. At the time he ruled, he was actually a vassal of the Roman Empire, but Israel enjoyed de facto independence. The Romans were pretty much hands off, and Israel during most of the 2nd Temple period was a good and Jewish place to be. Until the Roman influences were pushed, and the rebellions started. Moral of the story, let the Jewish state live and all will be well, and everyone will be happy and business will prosper. Anyways, Herod built Caesaria as a sea side port where he could entertain the Roman administrators and soldiers. It was built to cater to Roman lifestyle and thus has all the requisite pieces of Roman architecture - aqueducts, a hippodrome, a circus, an arena/theater, baths. It was what Tel-Aviv is to Israel today. A part of Israel, but not really Israeli. And, like Tel-Aviv, it catered to foreign diplomats and businessmen. After the Roman period, the Christian Byzantine period brought some church structures to the site, and during the Crusader period, the European knights built some impressive walls. We then proceeded to Haifa for some in-depth lectures on the Carmelite order of Monks in their Stella Maris monastary and the required walk through the Bahai gardens. Interesting - there were lots of German Christians who moved to Israel in the 19th century and got permission from Ottoman authorities to build a community in Haifa. The main street that runs from the bottom part of the Bahai gardens to the port still has many of the houses of those German families. It's the straightest street in Israel. As befits the Germans, they didn't make any mathematical errors during construction. In 1941 the British Mandate authorities deported the community based on evidence that they were housing Nazi agents. We then went to Acco, which has a great Crusader fortress and the second holiest mosque in Israel. Interestingly, the powerful local Moslem ruler of Saladin's time, in whose honor the mosque was built, Al-Jahbar, was actually a Jew from the Balkans who converted to Islam. He was one of the most brutal military leaders during Seljuk times and is admired by Moslems to this day for his feats in fighting the Christian infidels. I think it's funny every time some Jew becomes the object of idolization by non-Jews.

March 21st: A guided tour of the Old City. Nothing to be said here, aside from the fact that tour guide was good enough so that I learned quite a lot about Christianity's sites in Jerusalem.

March 22nd: We checked the Knesset, the High Court of Justice and the government complexes in general. Good stuff. The Rova cafe in the Old City, although with a good view, is halavi (milk-only), which is annoying as I prefer shawarma to felafel any day.

March 23rd: My Dad gets some quality time with Jerusalem's Arabs and decides that we need to encourage them to emigrate to France. I concur. A huge benefit of having a family member visit is that all of a sudden you're no longer poverty-stricken and you can eat in more expensive restaurants. But, you still prefer to eat in little hummus places owned by crazy Mizrahi guys because the taste of the food is more important that the "atmosphere." The former is for people interested in enjoying local fare, the latter is for tourists and uppity locals trying to act American.

March 24: I go to Rehovot with my Dad, we visit my uncle, Shabbat comes and goes, and on the 25th at midnight Dad flies back to the land where streets are paved with gold. I wish he would have stayed.

March 26th: The first day of the big three day trip to the North with my ulpan. We visit Zichron Yaacov and places and stories of the first wave of Aliyah in the 1880's, along with the Rothchild narrative. That family did a lot for Israel and there's a great museum of the First Aliyah in Zichron that explores the positives and negatives of building up the land in the early years with outside support. Today, Zichron Yaacov is a upper-class town, I am gonna have to marry rich to live there. But the area is beautiful, forested, with gardens and nice views of the Mediterranean. We then travel to the northeast and hang out in a kibbutz on the Kinneret, hike around the Arbel, which is a pair of two identical cliffs that face each other and contain caves where Jewish rebels hid from Roman persecution in the 3rd-5th centuries. It was at this time that the Zohar, a defining work of the Kabbalah was written by Shimon Bar Yochai. The 3rd-16th centuries were the time when Jewish mysticism flourished, and even though the Jews did not hold sovereignty over the land of Israel, there was at that time a continuing stream of scholars flowing into Tsfat and the Galilee in general, and Jewish philosophy was expounded and recorded for us by some of the greatest minds the Jewish people had ever produced. The history of Kabbalistic scholarship and of Tzfat is an amazing topic, worthwhile for anyone to explore.

March 27th: We go up to Metulla in the part of the Upper Galile that sticks out like a finger in the northernmost tip of Israel. Great views of Southern Lebanon and of villages there flying yellow flags in support of Hezbollah. Go Hezbollah! Those people have the most and the best of equipment, personnel and training in the entire world of Moslem terrorists. Except the Chechens, those people are in a class all their own. Israel should be thankful to Hashem every day that our local Arabs aren't inviting Chechen guerillas to fight the IDF. Israel would still win, but the cost would be unbearable. We spend the night in a big hotel on the Kinneret, with partying, dancing and all that. I also watch Broken Wings, which apparently did well in the Cannes festival a few years ago. It sucks, don't watch it, or you may forever lost hope in the Israeli movie industry.

March 28th: We tour the Golan Heights, the bunkers facing Syria with a great view of the border and of the Syrian town of Kuneitra. We visit sites of famous engagements in the 1967 and 1973 wars. We then tour the Yarden Winery. I've never seen the inner workings of a winery, so I really enjoyed it. Especially the wine-tasting at the end. French wines don't stand a chance. On the way back to Jerusalem, we pass by Megiddo Junction where the War of Gog and Maggog will take place at the End of Times, ie the Apocalypse. I can't wait. Meanwhile, Israel's largest prison is located in the area and tons of kibbutzim and moshavim.

Oh yes, Tel Dan, almost forgot. We were there on the 27th, it's a nature reserve with narrow but very clean, clear and powerful streams. I drank the water and it was good.