A short vacation in Eilat

The cliffs of Makhtesh Ramon at Mitzpe Ramon

David and I have long wanted to take a short winter vacation in Eilat. This year, we just decided to go ahead and do it. I booked a room for us at Kibbutz Eilot (located 3 km north of the city of Eilat) for 2 nights (the 25th and the 26th of December, 2011).

Here are some pictures I took on this trip. Rather than driving down the Jordan River valley and past the Dead Sea (the shortest route), we decided to go on highway 6, west of Judea and Samaria (the area also erroneously known as "the West Bank", the name given to it by the Kingdom of Jordan during the 19 years of illegal occupation of it, from 1948 to 1967).

We ate lunch at a pizza place in a mall in Be'er Sheva. Then we continued south to Mitzpe Ramon, a town that sits right at the edge of Makhtesh Ramon, a deep, dry valley with steep walls. The picture above was taken from the spot where the highway leaves Mitzpe Ramon and starts down into the makhtesh.

Here's a friendly Nubian ibix (we thought it was a goat, but the picture in the Wikipedia article shows one just like it and states that it's a Nubian ibix) at that same turnout.

An ibix at the overlook of Makhtesh Ramon from Mitzpe Ramon

This next view is from the floor of the makhtesh, looking back up towards Mitzpe Ramon.

Looking up towards Mitzpe Ramon from the floor of Makhtesh Ramon

This picture (and the one above, also) was taken on our way back north. This view looks north at two mesas which are on the south side of Makhtesh Ramon.

Taking pictures, looking north at 2 mesas on the south side of Makhtesh Ramon

I woke up early on our first morning at Kibbutz Eilot, so I grabbed my camera and went for a walk. I took the following picture from a spot only 100-200 meters from the border crossing to Jordan. The sun was just about to rise over the Jordanian mountains behind Aqaba, Jordan.

Sunrise over the Jordanian mountains behind Aqaba, Jordan

As I walked back up to the kibbutz, I saw this flock of little birds. Although you can only see 5 of them in this picture, there were at least a hundred in the flock.

Little birds near the entrance of Kibbutz Eilot (3 km north of Eilat)

Along the shore of the Red Sea south of Eilat, there is a coral reef. The structure in the picture is the above-water part of an underwater observatory there. Inside the small round center part, there are 2 interleaving spiral staircases by which one can go up to the balcony at the top of the tower or down to the underwater observatory. The city of Aqaba, Jordan, is in the background of this photo.

Tower above the underwater observatory at the Eilat coral reef (Aqaba, Jordan in the background)

This is the view south-southwest from the balcony at the top of the tower. The mountains in the background are in Sinai, the vast territory given by Israel to Egypt in exchange for a promise that they would not attack us. They've kept the promise so far (at least at the governmental level), but, with the current turmoils there and the rapid ascent of the Islamicist parties, it's anybody's guess how long that will last.

Looking south-southwest from the tower, towards the Sinai (Egypt) shore

Before going down to the underwater observatory, we took a short cruise on a ship that has windows below the water level. The young woman who was the guide on this little trip narrated everything in fluent Hebrew, Russian, and English!

Next, we went down to the underwater observatory. The views from both the boat and the observatory were absolutely stunning! Unfortunately, they generally didn't photograph very well. In real life, there are vivid colors, but in the photos, nearly everything seems blue-green. Nevertheless, you can get a little idea of the beauty from this photo, taken from the observatory.

A view of the coral reef and fish from the underwater observatory

In the afternoon, we were quite tired of being on our feet, so we took a drive up highway 12 into the Eilat Mountains, located immediately west of the city. Here's a view of the Red Sea taken from up there. Judging from Google Earth, the mountains in the distance, and possible even the smoke near the middle of the picture, are in Saudi Arabia!

Looking south-southeast from the Eilat Mountains, towards Saudi Arabia

Here's another nice picture from the Eilat Mountains. This small tree seemed quite lonely there in the nakhal (wadi), but it made a nice frame for my picture.

A lone tree in a nakhal (wadi) in the Eilat Mountains

We really enjoyed our short vacation in Eilat and the Negev. At this time of year, the weather up here in the North is really quite cold, and it's a constant (and expensive!) battle just to keep the house reasonably warm. In Eilat, on the other hand, it was warm enough to be comfortable in a short-sleeve shirt, at least by late morning. It WAS cold at night, of course, but not nearly as much as here!

Is the proposed "State of Palestine" part of a 2-state solution?

With the Palestinian Authority now going ahead with its attempt to seek recognition of a "Palestinian State" from the UN, most of the world is assuming that this is merely another attempt to come to the 2-state solution. However, the following recent statements clearly show that this is NOT the case. Instead, this move is yet another step in the Arabs' attempt to eliminate the Jewish State of Israel:

a)   Nabil Shaath, interviewed on Lebanese TV 11 July. Two states means a Jewish people over there and a Palestinian people here. We will never accept this...‏

-      [The new French UN peace initiative has] reshaped the issue of the “Jewish state” into a formula that is also unacceptable to us – two states for two peoples.

-      They can describe Israel itself as a state for two peoples, but we will be a state for one people.

-      The story of “two states for two peoples” means that there will be a Jewish people over there and a Palestinian people here. We will never accept this – not as part of the French initiative and not as part of the American initiative.

-      We will not sacrifice the 1.5 million Palestinians with Israeli citizenship who live within the 1948 borders, and we will never agree to a clause preventing the Palestinian refugees from returning to their country. We will not accept this, whether the initiative is French, American, or Czechoslovakian.

-      The recognition of a [Palestinian] state is basically a bilateral action, which receives the blessing of the UN. This act, however, will make many things possible in the future. Eventually, we will be able to sign bilateral agreements with states and this will enable us to exert pressure on Israel. At the end of the day, we want to exert pressure on Israel in order to force it to recognize us and to leave our country. This is our long-term goal. (translation - MEMRI)

b)   Hamas in Gaza: 'Palestine means Palestine in its entirety, and Israel cannot exist in our midst'  - Fri. 29 Jul. 2011 @ 13.06 -

-      Hamas foreign minister Al-Zahar reiterates Hamas' rejection of two-state solution and commitment to gaining 'Palestine in its entirety' by force. He also declared that Hamas would view any Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, or a compromise agreement with the Palestinian Authority, as only a 'first stage' towards the destruction of Israel in its entirety. He asserted that this was the key difference between Hamas and their secular rivals, Fatah.

-      In a recently conducted a television interview he once more set out Hamas' rejection of Israel's right to exist. According to Memri, Al-Zahar used the interview, from 21 July, to argue that 'Palestine in its entirety is Islamic waqf land, which cannot be relinquished':

'At this moment in time, we say to you, first of all: We want Palestine in its entirety - so there will not be any misunderstandings. If our generation is unable to achieve this, the next one will, and we are raising our children on this. Palestine means Palestine in its entirety, and Israel cannot exist in our midst.'

The 10th Anniversary of 9/11

On September 11, 2001, we were still living in California. The Fall quarter had not yet started at Cal State San Bernardino, so I had no classes that day. I got up in the morning and switched on the radio to the local NPR station, KVCR, as was my habit. Immediately, I realized that it was NOT the usual Morning Edition. I turned on the TV to see the shocking pictures of the twin towers burning and then, a little later, collapsing. I felt numb the whole day, even though I've never even been in New York and didn't have any friends living there. This was clearly a terrorist attack on the entire country, and, in reality, on modern civilization.

It wasn't long before it became very clear who had carried out the attack. More perplexing, to Americans at least, was "Why?" Americans are good-hearted people, and so they naturally have been trying to figure out what horrible thing they must have done to deserve such a terrible attack. This tendency to blame themselves has only grown as we prepare to mark the 10th anniversary of these attacks.

But what if the premise is wrong? Perhaps it wasn't a reaction to ANYTHING America had done at all. Or, perhaps it was a reaction to something GOOD that America stood for.

The first stop in searching for the reasons should be the writings of Al-Qaida and other radical Islamicist organizations. If you do this, the reasons become clear almost immediately.

Their entire philosophy and mode of operation is based on their interpretation of Islam (which, unfortunately, is quite orthodox and mainstream). Here are some of the key points:

According to them, Islam is the only true religion (something several other religions, though not all, also claim to be), and it is to be carried to all the world. Non-believers must first be told of the religion and given the opportunity to accept it. But, if they do not, believers are instructed to impose Islam by force (this is quite UNLIKE other religions). Islamic law, known as sharia, is to be imposed on everyone. At least two other religions (Judaism and Christianity) are tolerated, to some extent, under sharia law, but their adherents are to be strictly limited in many ways, including special clothing, lower places of worship, special taxes, and other clear symbols of their second-class status.

Most of America's most cherished ideals are basically anathema to sharia law, including nearly all freedoms: freedom of religion, freedom of speech (especially freedom to criticize religions and their prophets, including Mohammed), equality of men and women, etc. etc. In other words, by their own views, the radical Islamicists attack America precisely because of its ideals.

This means that there are really only two possible responses. The first is to capitulate to Islam and give up on American ideals and freedoms. Freedom of speech must be limited, especially speech critical of Islam or not sufficiently respectful of its Prophet. Other religions can, and perhaps even MUST, be criticized, but Islam must NEVER be criticized (no "Islamophobia" allowed!).

The second possible response is to defend America's values. This would require courage, long-term commitment, clarity about the enemy, and a willingness to fight, even when it means war.

So far, I'm sorry to say, America seems to be gradually but steadily choosing the first option more than the second. If this continues, the terrorists of 9/11 will have won.

The International Klezmer Festival

We are now right in the middle of a 3-day event (or, more accurately, 3-NIGHT event) that happens every summer right here in Tsfat. In fact, פסטיבל הכלייזמרים הבנלאומי festival ha-klezmerim ha-benleumi ("The International Klezmer Festival") is by far the biggest event of the year in Tsfat.

We have now lived here for more than 5 years, but last night was the first time we ever ventured into town to check out this major event! Partly this is due to geography. Although we do live within the city of Tsfat, the festival happens in the old area (the downtown) of Tsfat, which is probably a good mile from here, even as the crow flies, and, of course, since Tsfat is on a high hill, with several peaks and ridges, one does NOT get there in anything even approaching a straight line, not even when walking. Furthermore, we live at a somewhat higher elevation. So, whereas the walk into town is doable but much too tiring and time-consuming, the walk back home is simply unthinkable for us at our age and in our condition!

Even on normal days, parking in town can be tricky. During Klezmer, it could only be worse, despite the fact that only residents are allowed to even drive up from the base of our big hill after 5:00 p.m. So, driving into town is out of the question. That leaves the local buses, which means a wait at both ends and some worry about how late the buses will actually run.

Finally, this year, however, we decided to get in there. I had even planned ahead and taken Monday through Thursday this week off from Berlitz (as vacation time, so I'll still get paid). From the official festival website I downloaded and printed the schedule of events and the map of town showing where the various stages were located. The first concerts (ALL of which are outdoors and free!) begin at 8:00 p.m. each evening, and the last ones don't end until 1:00 a.m. (which is WAY after our bedtime!).

We left the house before 7:00 p.m. and arrived at the bus stop at about 7:05 - 7:10. We figured the bus should arrive soon, but it was quite some time before we even saw it going the other way. It didn't get back to us on its way into town until about 7:40, and it was already quite full of people with many standing in the aisle. A couple of young women actually got up and offered us their seats (which I was very thankful for but which made me feel rather old, I must admit!).

During the day, the number 4 bus is the only one that comes to our neighborhood, but, in the evening, both the number 4 and the number 3 are replaced by the number 10, which basically covers BOTH routes. So, rather than heading more or less directly into town, we had a tour of Kiryat Sara and Ibikor, with even MORE people getting on along the way. The central bus station was the end of the route, though normally the buses all go from there up Palmach Street and then back around down on Aliyah Bet Street.

So, we finally got off the bus and headed up into town from the Central Bus Station. Normally, at that hour (around 8:30 p.m.) downtown Tsfat would be pretty much dead, but, of course, it was just coming to life last night. A lot of the regular stores were closed, but the eating places were all open and even serving food along the sidewalks. People were walking in the street since almost no vehicles were being allowed to use it. After the intersection with Aliyah Bet Street, Y'rushalayim Street was completely closed to vehicular traffic. We continued under the bridge and down to the stage we had selected, in the Artists' Quarter.

Our friend, Norman, at our synagogue had mentioned to us that his cousin was the accordion player for a group from Vienna called "Shalom Aleichem" that would be playing in the Festival. Sure enough, I had found the group on the program, and naturally we had selected the stage where they would be performing.

We got there around 8:40, just shortly before the group playing the 8 o'clock hour had finished. Shalom Aleichem was scheduled for the 9:00 to 11:00 time slot. While listening to the last number of two of the previous group, David noticed that he was probably having an insulin reaction (i.e. dangerously low blood sugar levels). He tested, and, sure enough, he was. He immediately took glucose tablets that he always carries with him for this purpose, and I headed up to a nearby market to buy candy, completing my purchase there just before their 9:00 p.m. closing time! Between the glucose tablets and some of the candy I brought, he was soon just fine.

The Shalom Aleichem group was fabulous! Besides the accordion player (whose last name was indeed the same as Norman's!), they had a violinist, a string bass player, a trumpet player, and a clarinetist. The latter two were brothers, and the clarinetist also played the keyboard brilliantly for a couple of their pieces. There was also a singer for the most of the selections (the others were instrumental), and he also introduced each piece and said a few other things, as well. The words for the songs were invariably in Yiddish. All of the musicians were excellent, but perhaps the trumpet player was the most amazing. In part of one song, he played TWO trumpets at the same time, something I've NEVER seen before! One of the two trumpets was also somewhat bigger and a different shape, another thing I'd not seen before. I took a couple of pictures of them, but, not surprisingly they didn't turn out well because of the night and the bright illumination of the band.

On the walk back to the bus station, we heard booms. When I looked up, I saw that they were doing a fireworks show, launching them from the m'tzudah at the top of the hill of the old city. We stood there and watched until they were finished, and I'd say they were as good as some of the 4th of July fireworks I'd seen in the States.

Unfortunately, we couldn't stay for the whole 2 hours that Shalom Aleichem played (so we only heard their 1st hour) because it was already past our bedtime, and we still had to walk back to the station, wait for the bus, ride it to our neighborhood, and then walk home. Actually, in fact, David waited at our neighborhood bus stop while I walked home quickly and came back for him with the car. In the end, we got to bed around quarter to midnight. At least I slept very well and didn't get up until about quarter to 8:00 in the morning.

The whole thing was a bit much for us, so we won't try it again this year, at least, even though the Festival continues tonight (Tuesday) and tomorrow night. But it was a great adventure, and we enjoyed it very much, especially the wonderful Klezmer music!

Asuta Hospital - Tel Aviv

Recently, David has been having some extensive dental work done. Because of his unique combination of illnesses, we have to travel (many times!) to a dental clinic in Tel Aviv. The clinic is part of the MaccabiDent network, which is the dental service of our kupat kholim (health fund -- like an HMO in the U.S.). This particular clinic is in the Asuta Hospital of Tel Aviv.

The hospital is located in a new, very modern building in an area of the city that is still rapidly developing. The architecture of this building is very interesting, with different textures, many non-right angles, and even some walls that lean outward! The back side of the building faces a large natural park along a river, and there is a large, multi-story glass window. One of the most interesting features in this part of the building (which we walk right by on the way to the dental clinic) is the synagogue. As you can see in the picture below, it is a black box that looks likes it's suspended between heaven and earth. I rather like that symbolism for a place of prayer!

Dangers avoided

Today, I'm writing about 3 complete unrelated things. Unrelated, that is, except by the fact that, in each case, something dangerous ended up causing no one any harm at all.

First story

The first is about an anniversary. Five years ago this past week (on August 2, 2006, to be precise), two Katyusha rockets fell in our immediate neighborhood. This was, of course, during the Second Lebanon War. For those of you who haven't heard or don't remember the story, this is a very brief synopsis. It was about mid-morning, and David and I had just finished taking a shower. He was on the side of the bed right next to the north-facing window, and I was still in the bathroom (on the south side of the bedroom), drying myself. There were no sirens, but, suddenly, there were two very load BOOMS and we knew that we had been hit. Something (we later discovered it was a ball bearing) had come through 4 panes of glass (the window was open because of the lovely summer breezes), also damaging the frames as it came. It had to have flown less than a meter from David's head. It then bounced off the ceiling of the bedroom nearly on the opposite side and then hit the A/C unit located right above the door to the bathroom. I heard the coolant hissing as it leaked out.

As it turned out, one Katyusha had hit just across the street (which was where the ball bearing had come from) and another had hit very close to our neighbor's house. The first Katyusha did some minor damage to the north side of our house (including the above-mentioned broken windows), and the second broke the outer pane (but NOT the inner one!) of the upper half of our large stairwell window (which faces south). All the south facing windows on our neighbor's house were broken, and there were pock marks on the walls and ceilings of nearly every room of his house. The other 3 houses in our complex also suffered varying degrees of damage. But no one was injured at all.

The emergency services people showed up within only a few minutes and quickly determined, of course, that no one was hurt. Later that same day, someone from the government insurance agency came out and assessed the situation. Within a week, all the damage to our house was repaired, and by the end of August, the money from the government was in my account.

Second story

Last night, we were at Kabbalat Shabbat prayers at our synagogue, Emet V'Shalom (EVS), in Nahariya as usual. This week, there was a bar mitzvah. The boy is a descendant (great grandson, at least, if not more generations) of a founder of the synagogue (it was founded by German Jews before WW II, as was the city itself) who was also its rabbi at one time.

The service was nearly finished, and Rabbi Horovitz had just begun to talk about the bar mitzvah boy, as he usually does, when a policeman burst in the door and told us we must all get out immediately. Although I don't think he said why, we all pretty much knew, and we proceeded very calmly to exit. Of course, the reason was a suspicious package. David actually saw it as we went out. At first, they just sent us to the other side of the street, but then they pushed us back even further, around the corner. There was no panic at all, and, in fact, we all just hung around talking and socializing. I don't know exactly what the bomb squad (at least I assume they were called) did, but after some time, we were allowed to go back in. As soon as we all got back in, Rabbi just picked right up where he had left off.

As you can imagine, unattended packages are always considered suspicious here, especially if they are located near any significant group of people.

Third story

After we got home last night, David got to bed a little before I did. When I was about to get into bed, I noticed that Pascal (our BIG black white with a white bib and some white paws) was playing with something over on David's side of the bed. I went over to check it out. When I got there, I saw that there was a good-sized black scorpion, right on one of David's thongs by the bed! Very quickly, I could see that it was dead. I'm sure the cats had killed it, since, as you may remember, they are experienced scorpion hunters. Anyway, I just picked up the thong, took it into the bathroom, dumped it into the toilet, and flushed. If I hadn't have found it, though, David would have had a possibly nasty surprise when he got up in the night and put his thongs on.

Blackie finally caught!

A quick update to my last post. Last Monday, we finally caught the black cat that had been stealing our cats' food and molesting the kittens. We put the cage with him in it in the trunk (well, actually the small hatch) of our car. Then, with our neighbors, Shimon and Hava, in the back seat, we took off for the Golan, releasing "Blackie" in the same area where we had released Spot several years earlier.

We've decided to coin new verbs in both Hebrew and English to describe this action. Both mean "to catch a misbehaving cat and relocate him/her to the Golan". In English, the verb is, of course, "to golan". In Hebrew, it's לגוולן l'gavlen, a verb in the פיעל Pi'el binyan (conjugation) where nearly all new modern verbs are created. It's based on the root ג-ו-ל-נ gimel-vav-lamed-nun, the letters of the word גולן Golan in Hebrew.