Tel Aviv
28 December 2012
First thing this morning, I woke up, walked to the Mediterranean,
and stuck my hand in it. I’m not sure
why, but that simple act seemed very important to me.
The first site we visited this morning was the Yitzhak Rabin
Memorial site, followed by a visit to Little Israel, a truly corny place! I hate to sound so negative, but we wasted an
hour and a half there when there were so many other places we could have seen.
After that, we took out lunch in a central market area which
was very crowded, though I was able to find a spare cell phone battery. The afternoon was spent in Jaffa just outside
of Tel Aviv.
Tel Aviv looks older than I thought it would; I knew it was
a vibrant city, and with that label I expected it to be a bit more
contemporary, but it really feels like something out of the 1950’s. It wasn’t dirty or dilapidated, just an older
architecture style all around.
Since this was a Friday afternoon, we were able to observe
and experience the Jewish Shabat (Sabbath) with a special dinner which
consisted of a blessing of the wine and bread, very reminiscent of Communion or Eucharist.
The Shabat runs from Sundown Friday afternoon till Saturday
dusk, and the rules are rather arcane:
To use a simple gentile definition, it is not permitted to perform work
is during this time, although not all Jew adhere to it and you will find some
working in the hotels and the like. The
notion of “work” follows some obscure definitions and leads to some almost
humorous workarounds. For example,
during this time one cannot ignite or extinguish a flame. This interpretation is expanded to include a
prohibition against turning on or off electricity; note that the use of
electricity per se is permitted, but you cannot turn an appliance on or off. This means that technically somebody who is
adhering to the Shabat laws cannot legally operate an elevator, or a light
switch, or even an alarm clock. All of
these devices can be used, so long as the observant Jew doesn’t turn them on or
off. It’s OK to ride in an elevator if
somebody else pushes the button, or if it is on a preset scheduled to stop an
open the door on each floor. Lights can
be used if they are preset beforehand on a timer. Alarm clocks can be used if set beforehand,
and if they automatically mute after some time (or, in some cases, they are put
in baffles so that the sound is absorbed!)
One observation is that things such as the above explain why
I love travel: It gets my brain to think
differently, to see things differently, to see things more creatively. Yes, I have heard of these Shabat
restrictions before, but you really don’t understand them until you see them
firsthand.
A second observation, after having just been to Jordan (last
year Egypt) and now having spent a short time in Israel. I’m not biased. I’m not pro-Israeli or pro-Palestine. Even though we have only toured Israel for
one day now, something is becoming unfortunately clear to me. Both guides so far have been very obviously
biased…not to the point that they are raving at the other side, but they have
been surprisingly biased in the sense that even though they are professional
tour guides, they bluntly point their finger at “the other side” as being the
one who is at fault in the ongoing battle.
Both guides have claimed “their side” is unwilling to yield. This is not directed at the government
leaders or political parties, but instead at the individuals. This is disturbing, and I want to think a bit
more about it before expounding further.
A third observation, subject to possible revision
later: I’m not saying this to sound
pejorative, but putting aside religion, history and politics, the blatant
difference between prosperity and poverty accounts for much of the hatred. Jordan and Egypt are obviously impoverished,
but simply crossing over the border into Israel unveils a society that is
relatively rich. The restaurant in Tel
Aviv is a prime example: In Jordan, the
mixed grill meal was a little beef, chicken and lamb with a small amount of
rice….a reasonable meal. In Tel Aviv,
the amount of food I was given for “fish and chips” was decadent, quite
literally a sin. What they served me
could easily have served three or four people.
As with observation number two above, I want to think about this a bit
more before saying more.
