MINI-NEWSLETTER #19 - More Israeli holidays! Early June 2000.
If you haven't already done so, check out our "Adventures in Israel" website at
We're both off to Germany for a month on business, so there won't be any more newsletters for a while. Kevin is getting to be quite a world traveler. He spent Memorial Day weekend in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, on an Embassy bus trip billed as "In the Footsteps of Moses." I don't think Moses rode around in a Toyota Landcruiser though. I didn't go because of the heat and the dust.
We had our first hot, sticky day on June 2. Since then, it's cooled off a little bit.
Passover ended none too soon for one Israeli community. The city is half-Arab and half-Jewish. This year, the city's Arab population decided to join their Jewish neighbors in eating matzoh during Passover. The local stores weren't prepared for this, and the entire city ran out of matzoh! Unlike the original Passover, there was no manna from heaven when the matzoh ran out!
Speaking of ethnic foods, some co-workers and I visited a contractor's plant recently. Many of the contractors maintain kosher cafeterias for their employees. We ate lunch there on a day when "bird parts" were on the menu. After eating a plate full of what tasted like chicken livers, we were informed that they were actually turkey testicles!!!!
On to more serious topics.
MEMORIAL DAY AND INDEPENDENCE DAY
The Israeli Memorial Day is held one day prior to the Independence Day celebration. It is taken very, very seriously, even more so than Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, because even non-religious Israelis honor it. Over 19,000 members of the Israeli Defense Force, often young men under the age of 25, have been killed in military incidents over the past 52 years. This is the first year that civilian victims of terrorism were also recognized on Memorial Day. Almost everyone knows someone, or the family of someone, who was killed in a military or terrorist incident.
The evening before Memorial Day, almost everyone in Israel attends a memorial service. Services are held in every town. Since everyone is required to join the military after high school or college, all the teenagers attend. Even small children participate, to ensure they become aware of these things as early as possible. The public is requested not to bring their weapons to the memorial services (probably cellphones are taboo too). All places of entertainment must close early, or they will be fined by the Government. At 8:00 p.m., a siren blows for a minute, and all activity comes to a halt, all over Israel.
The next day, sad songs are played all day on the radio. Some people fast. The cemeteries are packed with people weeping, praying, and placing flowers on graves. The Israeli engineer in our office, who was severely injured in a tank battle, was selected to be the surviving representative to lay a wreath for its victims. Someone hung small Israeli flags from our office cubicles. At 11:00 a.m., a siren blows again for two minutes, all over Israel. I was standing by my 4th-floor office window, watching the downtown Herzlia Pituach Industrial Area to see what happened. Everyone on the sidewalks and in the parking lots froze in his tracks, and stood rigidly at attention for the entire two minutes. Not a car moved. The only thing moving was the blue-and-white Israeli flags, flying bravely in the breeze from buildings and cars.
That evening, the mood changes abruptly as the country begins celebrating Independence Day. There are fireworks, street plays, big name Israeli performers, and parties in every city. Traffic is even worse than on New Year's Eve. On Independence Day itself, some military bases are open to the public. The celebration continues with more partying, barbecues, air shows, and other festivities.
The newspapers continue to report incidents on the Lebanese/Israeli border. (Things are still normal where we live, in a resort community on the Med.) If you're wondering why Israelis are so willing to live in a country near hostile neighbors who want to drive them into the sea, consider these excerpts from a typical weekly "Jerusalem Post" column, "This Week in Jewish History."
1096 - Worms Massacre. Survivors are murdered or forcibly baptized.
1248 - Odo of Chateaubroux condemns the Talmud
1527 - Rome is sacked by Charles V and Clement VII, leading to expulsion of Jews
1721 - 96-year-old woman is burned alive in Madrid, the oldest victim of the Inquisition
1745 - Empress Maria Theresa revokes decree banishing all Jews in Moravia and Bohemia
1882 - Alexander III issues laws requiring all Jews to either emigrate, starve, or accept baptism
1939 - England issues the White Paper, limiting Jewish immigration to Palestine (Israel), to placate the Arabs
1941 - pogram against Jews in Baghdad
1943 - last message from fighters in Warsaw Ghetto uprising received (we have met families who lost dozens of relatives in the Holocaust - K&E)
1948 - Syrian army is repulsed, marking the first significant victory for Israel in War of Independence
1950 - 120,000 Jews flee Iraq for Israel
Jewish people living in Israel are very conscious of past persecutions. This is one reason they were willing to emigrate to Palestine/Israel from all over the world, despite the many difficulties in resurrecting a 2000-year-old civilization. And they're still pouring in! Sometimes Israel seems like a massive construction zone. A recently published "Jerusalem Post" survey indicated that Israeli employers are most likely to hire another Israeli. The next most desirable employees, according to the survey, are Ethiopian (black) Jews, who seem to be very well-received here. The "least desirable" are Russian Jews. We've met some Jewish people who grew up in communist-controlled countries, such as Poland. They were forced to learn Russian in school. After making aliyah to Israel, they consciously tried to forget their Russian! Since moving to Israel, we've gotten to know several people who grew up behind the Iron Curtain. I even work with some, in our own Dept of Defense!
That's all for now folks. Hope to be back in touch some time in July!
K&E <><