Newsletter #12 (early Jan 2000)

Shana Tova (Happy New Year) and 21st Century to all!

Well we made it! And as of December 20, we've lived in Israel for six months! Kevin made some videotapes of our home, community, and sightseeing experiences, and sent them off to our families.

For New Year's Eve, we were invited to a potluck at the Messianic Jewish church we sometimes attend. (Messianic Jews are Christians so they believe Jesus is the Messiah.) We were warmly greeted even though we arrived a couple of minutes late. As it turned out, we brought one of the two main courses (everyone else brought side dishes and dessert). No wonder they were so happy to see us! We were complimented on our fine Jewish cooking, when actually we brought Lasgna Hamburger Helper and Duncan Hines lemon cake mix. We told them it was a recipe that had been in the family for years, which is sort of true, I guess. We admitted the truth later. The Shabbat blessing in this church uses real wine. Most of the worship songs are in Hebrew, spelled out phonetically in Latin characters on overhead slides so that us "Angleets" can attempt to sing along. We got to chat with a Dutch woman, and also with a Korean couple who were acquainted with the previous occupants of our Embassy flat, when assigned to the Korean Embassy. En route home, we saw hordes of partygoers strolling up and down the streets of Tel Aviv. Some were dressed rather strangely, like the guy in a trenchcoat wearing only a sequined speedo underneath. We arrived home in time to step out on our third-floor balcony to hear people at several different neighborhood parties counting down to the Millenium and screaming their heads off!

Early last month, we were invited to a double Messianic bat mitzvah at the Messianic church. A traditional Jewish bar mitzvah is a very significant religious ceremony for 13-year-old boys. It usually takes place in the synagogue, but in Israel they are often held at the Western Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. The boy may chant or read many scriptures in Hebrew. They are then considered men for the purpose of taking part in religious services. For girls, it's called a bat mitzvah, and usually it's more like a party or social event. In the Orthodox branch women don't participate in the religious services anyway. After the ceremony they played American music and danced. This was my first bat mitzvah since attending my girlfriend's back in junior high. It was very moving for me, as my friend's also took place around Chanukkah, and she passed away less than two years ago.

Kevin and I took an Embassy bus trip to Ein Karem, Herodion, and Bethlehem. Ein Karem is a lovely old suburb of Jerusalem. It's the traditional birthplace of John the Baptist, who was a contemporary of Jesus. There are two beautiful churches commemorating the place of the Magnificat (on the occasion of the Virgin Mary's visit to John's mother Elizabeth), and the actual birthplace. One of the churches contained a mosaic design of two turtles! (We used to raise exotic African and Yugoslavian land tortoises. Although all our critters are now with a pet-sitter back in the States, I still maintain my exotic animal dealer license issued by the State of Florida.) Ein Karem and Bethlehem were the fertile "breadbaskets" for the ancient city of Jerusalem.

Along the way, we stopped at the Elvis Inn. Yes, there really is an Elvis Inn in Israel! Complete with statues, photos, and other memorabilia including postcards depicting "The King" dressed in Beduoin clothing, riding a camel and pursuing similar activities. They claim to have the largest collection of Elvis memorabilia outside of Memphis. So, we can say we've seen Elvis in Israel!

We also passed several newer communities known as either "settlements" or "neighborhoods," depending on who you're talking to. Jews who don't want to give up land to Palestinians create new communities in the West Bank, with or without the blessing of the Israeli Government. Instead of calling their new community by the controversial term "settlement," the Jews claim they're merely expanding an existing settlement by adding another "neighborhood!" Even with the new construction all over Israel, one of my co-workers has been very successful buying and selling homes every couple of years. She is able to purchase a nicer home every time.

Our next stop was Herodion, which we had already visited, but you learn so much more with a tour guide. Herodion is a man-made mountain, one of Herod's palace/fort combos. He got help from the Egyptians to put down a rebellion there. It was quite luxurious for its time, with fires under the floor heating water for a steambath, a penthouse bedroom to which he was carried, and water imported at great expense. In spite of all the wicked things Herod did, like killing babies at the time of Christ's birth, and killing off his wife and son, his "great sin" is considered to be his necrophiliac behavior. As this is a G-rated newsletter, we'll say no more on that subject. After Herod's death the Romans took over the place. A couple of times Jewish zealots rebelled against the Romans and holed up there. These Jews built a synagogue which is the third oldest still existing in Israel, after Gamla and Masada. Although both times the Jews were defeated by the Romans, those were tough battles. The Jews fought from water cisterns tunnels built into the mountain, making it difficult to get them out.

Our last stop was Bethlehem, which has made great strides preparing for the Millenium tourists. Bethlehem is one of the areas turned over completely to the Palestinians as a result of the treaty between assassinated Israeli leader Yitzak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat. The Palestinians have been pouring money into Bethlehem ever since. Parking has always been a problem, so they erected a huge new parking garage, with pictures of Arafat plastered on every pillar. Our tour bus got stuck turning around in a narrow street. We backed up traffic for half a mile in each direction, and the Palestinian police came. To us American tourists this was mildly amusing, but to the Jewish tour guide and bus driver it was a potentially dangerous situation. They were afraid of getting arrested. However, everyone cooperated, and the situation was soon resolved.

We met a Syrian Christian vendor in Manger Square who said that the Bethlehem Christians are gradually moving out. He also said the Christians typically have fewer children than the Moslems. There is a mosque at Manger Square, and he said the muezzins are broadcasting longer and longer prayers over the loudspeakers. You can tell whether a Christian or a Muslim lives in a home by the carving in the stonework over the door. The Christian home will have a carving of St. George of dragon fame. The Muslim home will have the Dome of the Rock. The Crimean War, resulting from friction between various Christian denominations, was never fought in Israel. However, the original Star in the Manger was stolen, and the current Star is a replacement. The three denominations represented in the Church of the Nativity are Greek Orthodox, Syrian, and Armenian (the first national Christian church was the Armenian church). The Roman Catholic church, St. Catherine's, is attached to the others. The internationally broadcasted Christmas Eve service is from St. Catherine's. Even the shepherds' fields, another tourist attraction, are designated by denominations! We got footage of some priests chanting and scattering very strongly sceneted incense around the manger. Outside the buildings is a statue of Hieronymous, or St. Jerome, who translated the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate), with a skull at his feet. Apparently monks of that era kept a skull in their workroom to remind them that time is short.

The vendors around Manger Square are very aggressive. One of them offered Kevin sixty camels for his "daughter." Another promptly offered 300 camels! They were joking, of course - this sort of thing happens in Africa, but not in Israel! One of the vendors even carried merchandise onto our tour bus. Kevin bargained back and forth for a small creche. Several of our fellow tourists laughingly purchased stuffed camels that played "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" out the butt. And a good time was had by all!

At our office Christmas party, it was funny to watch the little Israeli kids who had never seen Santa Claus before. One of them got the word "Santa" mixed up with the Hebrew word for grandmother, "safta." He couldn't figure out why a grandmother had a beard! My boss, a strict Orthodox Jew, didn't bring his kids. They attend a local Hebrew school instead of the American International School. He is also very careful not to eat non-kosher food. If the label on an individual piece of candy doesn't say that it's kosher, to be on the safe side he won't eat it - unless he can inspect the bag the candy came from!

The Orthodox Jews have strict non-dietary rules, as well. The American Embassy issued each family a radio that beeps when the battery runs low. If the radio starts beeping on Shabat (the Sabbath), the religious Jewish family has to let it beep away until Shabat is over. Charging the radio or turning it off is considered work, and therefore forbidden on Shabat. Also, a religious Jewish family will not allow themselves to be photographed or videotaped on Shabat, as this would also be a form of "work." That's why you're not supposed to film Jewish religious sites on Shabat. An observant Jew might accidentally be caught on your film, causing him or her to violate the Sabbath!

At work, we had a wine-and-cheese party on the last day before the New Year's break. At first it looked like everyone had brought wine, without any cheese or crackers, which was of course no good. After some quick trips to Greenberg's grocery, things eventually worked out.

The Christmas-New Year's time frame is also the Moslem holy month of Ramadan. During this period the observant Muslim fasts during the day. He eats one big meal each evening after sunset, and won't eat again for 24 hours. So, they tend to get crabby during Ramadan. Americans are advised to be extra careful during this time, and to avoid Arab-controlled areas if possible. This year we received special warnings because of the Millenium. It seemed to bring out all the nuts. There was a bomb scare near my office last month. Usually these turn out to be false alarms, caused by an office worker who accidentally left his briefcase at a busstop. Then, my boss was walking from our office down the street to the Jewish prayer spot one evening, as is his custom, and was twice targeted by laser pointers. They may have been kids playing around with toys, or they may have been potential terrorists practicing their targeting skills with real weapons. You never know around here. But so far, things have been pretty normal.

There is a lot of emotionalism right now about giving the Golan Heights back to Syria. You see "Golan" bumper stickers everywhere. Kevin was even handed one at an intersection. We met a young Israeli man who told us "I burn there." Ouch! He meant he was BORN there.

I went to an Israeli stylist, Michael Mercier's, to get a perm. I had a previous perm at a different salon in July, and it damaged my hair terribly. At Mercier's the stylists have many of the female customers bend over upside down for a long time, faces turning red, while the stylist blows their hair around with a diffuser. (This is the only time some of the customers stop smoking!) It's amazing, the women come out of the salon with absolutely enormous hair. None of the stylists spoke very good English. I was concerned about how the perm would turn out, especially when I heard two of them conferring and using the word "bah-lay-GAHN" (mess). But, fortunately, this one looks fine.

Bye till next time!

Kevin & Liz (Elisheva)