Monday, June 30, 2008
At an edge of a boiling vat of sulfur - or just instability
An old friend asked me what is it like to live in Israel, in a political sense. So I tried to remember the last month's newspaper headlines. Every day there is a story about the "Palestinian situation". First it was the attacks from Gaza in the south and what to do about it. Than it was the exchange of prisoners. Than it was the talks through all kind of intermediaries between the Hamas and Hisbollah and Israel. Now it is about the cease fire and who controls it. You get the point, the "situation" is always present here. Politicians have gotten smart, when they don't know what to do they talk around the situation or try to focus the country's attention (or at least the media) at something else. But this woman asks: "why should you care if the Palestinians vote for one Islamic radical or the other"? Adding "In the US we don't care who is in charge in Afghanistan"! So I thought about this for a week. It really disturbed me that I couldn't give her a quick answer. I imagined her calmly sitting in front of a CNN report from Afghanistan showing one bearded soldier shooting at another with total amusement and detachment. After all, the organization and political view of people 1/2 way around the world does not matter that much!
Taliban in Gaza, the lava is boiling and bubbling... all the time! Than I realized, they are not 1/2 way around the world for us here in ISRAEL! Aha, I got it! BUT than again, who cares if they are 10 meters away or 10,000 miles away? Aha, you do care, very much. When you can see, hear, smell, and FEEL people, you care, and you notice, and you worry, and you get angry, and you get happy, and, and, and... So that's it! Israel is at an edge of this boiling, bubbling, steaming, cauldron of sulfur - a virtual lava flow of political, military, religious, economic, nationalistic -- and every other form of social category you can imagine. The long view is that the Arab world is modernizing. It has been doing so for about 100 years but still has some ways to go. The nationalist and religious conservative do not want to let go of power easily. This is true everywhere except for the countries that don't have a long history of religious or political power. That's why Qatar, Dubai, and to some extent Kuwait are on opposite side of the modernism spectrum than Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Yemen. The bigger countries, Egypt, Iraq, and Syria seem to be more mixed. And Turkey while certainly Islamic is moderated by close proximity to Europe and its geographic location as a hub between Europe and the Arab world.
Trucks going - not-going - going - not-going == to Gaza What does that mean to Israel? Well, we are in the very edge of the lava flow, the sulfur steaming volcano crater, the boiling pool of tar... that's the difference. When you are 1/2 a world away, news of the "situation" are not a big deal. But here we deal with not just the Palestinians, but the Iraqis, Iranian, Saudis, Egyptians, you name it. We deal with the rhetoric on TV, the threats and muscle flexing of every little group coming out of the Arab world. We are the "modern front" which is edging into the "pristine world" the "virgin territory" which the Arabs kept "clean" all these centuries. Well, a little exaggerated, but none the less true. The Arab conservatives see all of the modern world as a threat, but so do the Amish in Pennsylvania and the Indians in the Amazon. Even in Israel there are vestiges of very old cultures. The 'shamranim' are supposedly a group who has connections all the way back to Mosses and the Israelite tribes on this land over 2,500 years ago. But with numbers down to 700 and no real military strength they simply try to keep their culture and life as it is.
Does this help? Just like worrying about a volcano erupting and the lava that will start exploding any day, we keep our ears tuned to rumblings and our nose ready to smell the sulfur. Because that is what you do next to the volcano, a the edge of the crater!
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Yekety Yak - Let Them Eaty Horse? or just Rock away...
1) The International Herald Tribune last Friday (June 20, '08) ran a story by Michel Johnson that started with the intro: "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse". We've all said it but now it's a reality. Johnson reports that horse meat is gaining popularity as the meat of choice in France, China, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland. The yack-yack in Tel Aviv is horse meat. We don't eat horse in Tel Aviv. Beef, chicken, lamb, turkey, and some pork - but NO horse meat - I say let's keep it that way, build race tracks and enjoy watching these beautiful animals run - like the wind...
Life's a beach! End of June in T"A beach, if your hot - get in the water2) Hot Rock Hits Tel Aviv: The veteran rock band, Blondie is set to make its first visit to Tel Aviv. They are set to play their hit album "parallel lines" from start to finish. Blondie has been very hot in the US and Israel and the show should be a bit hit here. Check with your local ticket agent for dates, venues, and tickets. The music world comes to Tel Aviv -- enjoy retro rock.
3) Friday morning is "go out to breakfast day". You found the place, came early, and now the decision is where to sit. Some tables are round, some are square. Some chairs are big and comfy, some are normal. Better make a choice quick. The place is filling up fast. OK - square table, soft chairs, great view... BRING ON THE FOOD - Yakety yak!!
4) Sugar or NOT - Yakety yak! Ever notice the sugar choices offered at a restaurant? Several packets are real sugar. Some appear in long sticks. Some are white, some are brown, some a bit of a surprise. The substitutes are even more fun. Some taste just like sugar, some are bitter, some are... what is this??? Good luck, yakety yak ;8-)'
sam-D-man and Frakie too - from T"A
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Yakety Yak -- Do Talk Back
Remember the Coasters' song Yakety Yak (don't talk back)? It went like:
Take out the papers and the trash
Or you don't get no spendin' cash
If you don't scrub that kitchen floor
You ain't gonna rock and roll no more
Yakety yak (don't talk back)
The song advised a teenager not to talk back when told what to do. Well, we don't seem to have this problem in Israel. Everyone talks back, Yakety Yak -- and it almost does not matter if they live in Israel, have a stake in what is going on here, or even know the finer details. It seems like the freedom of speech and the huge amount of press makes every voice relevant. In reality this is not the case. Not every voice out there is relevant or even makes sense. Actually, most of what we hear is what we call 'Yakety Yak' - a bunch of dribbling nonsense that is confusing, sometimes humiliating, and in general gives us Israelis a bad image. In reality the Yakety Yaking is just that. People talking and getting their opinions out without real dialog or thought about how people in the outside world are going to perceive it. There is also a strange phenomena that we see here in Israel, the total misunderstanding off reality based on a single opinion. We all know that sometimes one voice can change public opinion, both for good and for bad. This certainly seem to be happening here.
There is a well known fact in media that some stories are not true but they are still perceived as real fact. In the US presidential candidates are very careful to answer every false story. They know how quickly public opinion can be set in the wrong position. Sometimes once public precept ion is set in a certain way it is too late or too hard to change it. Sometimes even if the public knows of how a story was not true they still form an opinion, which for the most part is not true. So what? you say, well we like to put out two cents (or agorot) worth. We think that by simply telling people what it is really like here in Israel (Tel Aviv) and what people are really talking and thinking about, Israel will not be so misunderstood. This is specially to politics, security, culture, and religion. So... let's get started with the Yackin'!
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