If I forget thee......

Rainy Shabbat

2009-10-31T20:37:00.002+02:00

Part of the pleasure of being home is that my baby bro can come for Shabbat with his family. We were joined Friday night by my old friend the Gooner and one of my soldier boys; Shabbat lunch by a young family and some sem girls.

Both meals were wonderful with lots of good company and food. Particularly special was the heavy rain fall over Jerusalem immediately prior to Shabbat which is so badly needed and the Sedra (Torah Reading) being one of the most Aliyah centred of all which I always enjoy.

We even had the pleasure of trying out a new (for us) minyan this morning, just down the road which, whilst lacking something in comparison to our usual haunt, is certainly a lot more convenient.

Shavua Tov,

Gilly

(Mainly) so far so good

2009-09-02T05:49:00.002+03:00

A long overdue post. It's 5:50 am and the sun is rising over Yerushalayim; I've been up for a while - I'm wired.

Home now for 2 weeks and couldn't be happier. After an amazing flight and arrival ceremony we spent our first ten days with my parents' in law who have been amazing. Free babysitting allowed us to get on and do stuff - really and truly, I take my hat off to all the Olim who manage somehow without a mother-in-law.

The apartment is great - big with lots of storage, outdoor space and spare rooms for guests. All our stuff made it across from the old apartment without incident; most of our stuff has made it's way from storage in the attic at my in-laws safely (1 wine glass and 1 tea cup broken in transit). The shipment from the US arrives in a few hours so we'll have plates to eat off and the monkey will have a proper bed at last.

We have a car - nothing fancy - a 2007 Hyundai Elantra. Boring but with a decent sized boot and enough leg room for all.

I finally treated myself to a new grill and cooked dinner last night - our oven may be redundant!

The monkey had his first day at Gan yesterday and came through with flying colours. Today I'm taking him along, will spend the first 1 1/2 hours with him and then leave him with that Gananot and other kids. Mrs G says that a pretty girl kept hitting him yesterday which means she's interested......

Back to my Monday night football game after 3 years of absence. Despite signs of rust I scored a couple and was better than I thought I'd be - could I be the midfielder that Rafa needs to replace Alonso?

The only blots on the landscape have been a series of visits to various Doctors over the last 2 days; Monday night Mrs G. took off her fingernail and a slice of finger when opening the blinds; we spent 4 hours in Terem and Miyun and she's wandering around with a bandage and instructions not to do any washing up; yesterday the monkey managed to dislocate his elbow but is now back to his normal boisterous self. Visits to Terem (10 minute walk), ER, hand specialist, Pediatrician (literally downstairs from our flat) and Orthopedic specialist (10 minute walk) - where necessary appointments were made no more than an hour later and with a total cost (including prescriptions) of no more than NIS 150 and a tremendous level of care. I love socialised medicine.

Gilly

Packing up

2009-07-24T21:14:00.002+03:00

With less than a month to go before we get home, we've been having a busy couple of weeks. We sold our old apartment which was way to small and would have been hazardous for the Monkey due to it being on multiple levels. We've also rented an apartment close by - significantly bigger with lots of space for guests and big balconies to make up for the loss of the garden. We've signed up the Monkey to start at a Gan on September 1st.

With so much good stuff going on, I was really worried about today - the shippers coming in to pack up all of our stuff which has potential to be a stressful activity. Last night found Mrs G and I frantically getting things in order so that things would go smoothly and we were just finishing off the final details this morning when the shippers showed up - bang on time.

After showing them what needed to be packed up they set to work and in double quick time the apartment was filled with large boxes as our stuff began to be packed away. We hit a slight glitch when the freight elevator was not available for use at the agreed upon time but shortly afterwards the guys were schlepping stuff down to the truck and departing for the port with generous tips for their hard work.

The shipment should arrive shortly after we do - hopefully all in one piece. If the remainder of our move is anywhere near as smooth I'll be a seriously happy camper.

Counting down the days - 26 more to go!

Shabbat shalom

sending off

2009-07-10T05:23:00.003+03:00

I spent 3 days in the Big Apple this week, giving our office there a bit of assistance in this, the busiest times of the year.

One of my conditions for coming to the big city was that I'd be able to go to JFK on Monday morning to see off the first NBN Charter flight of the summer which carried 21 of "my" Olim. It's one of my regrets that I haven't been able to do this more often during the course of my Shlichut (this was only the second time I've managed it out of 13 charter flights whilst I've been here) so I wasn't going to pass up on an opportunity.

I arrived at the airport with 3 of my colleagues and after saying hi to my friends on the NBN staff I went to find my people; a young girl just out of High School who's father I know from the football field who'll be going to the IDF, an incredible family who I've had lots of contact with over the years I've been here, young people from Philly, Richmond, Rockville and Atlanta and a great guy from SC. I missed 3 of my other people - young Olim, going to the army and also missed much of the goodbye ceremony when I realised that a family of 6 was nowhere to be seen.

Eventually I tracked the mother and kids down and it was obvious why they weren't at the ceremony; rental car being returned, unloading one car and another car with luggage somewhere at JFK (but not where it should have been). I take the view that different people need different things from their Shaliach. I did what was needed at that time - schlepped suitcases and drafted in others to help (a family of 6 takes a lot of bags!) and wrote out a dozen luggage labels to make sure that everything got there safely. I saw pictures of the family at Ben Gurion the next day so everything must have worked out (although I don't know about their bags).

All in all it was a tremendous experience to see my Olim off. The next time I do it, I'll be with Mrs G and the monkey and we'll be getting on the plane with the Olim on our way home - something which I've been dreaming of doing for a while (more in another post).

Leaving friends behind

2009-07-05T06:28:00.002+03:00

Friday night was a memorable one. I have been suggesting for a while that rather than spending all day cooking we should be having "bistro style" meals - simple and hearty with like minded friends, possibly with shared preparation.

The holiday weekend provided a perfect opportunity to try this out with a Bar B Q theme and an invite to one of our favourite couples with another of our favourites also on the guest list.

We arrived early on Friday with a 6 pack of Sam Adams and a marinated London Broil (basically a big steak - in London it's called something totally different). I took out the meat and made sure the grill man had a beer. Being a gentleman I didn't let him drink alone. Boneless chicken thighs (definitely the best for grilling) were already cooking and as the meat went on, so too did some thick slices of seasoned red peppers.

A couple of flips later and we were ready to roll. The menfolk went to shul, womenfolk discussed their knitting and the monkey played with their little lady (got a goodnight kiss out of the evening, we already like the parents.....)

The addition of an excellent green salad and some oven roasted potato and some sweetcorn finished the menu in style. A bottle of red, some beers and a 15 year old Balvenie graced the table.

We talked, laughed and ate our fill in a casual meal that continued until late. As Shabbat meals go it's up high on the list. Even the monkey transferred comfortably.

Although I've missed our friends at home, we've been blessed to land up in a community with plenty of like minded people and have made some amazing friendships. We'll miss them but look forward to hosting them in the years to come.

Gilly

Hard at work

2009-06-19T13:33:00.002+03:00

A busy week has seen me in Atlanta helping out a colleague by meeting with some people for her. Next week I'm doing a similar favour but in NYC for 3 days.

Just did a count and realised that (not even including the New York people next week) we'll be sending close to 150 people to Israel between now and the end of August which is pretty awesome!

Still trying to figure out the exact details of the return trip but will most certainly be home no later than the 18th which is incredibly exciting. The job front is still worrying me but I had an email from the HR guy the other day that he needs to speak with me - we just having been able to find a time to speak - hopefully next week I'll have something a little more concrete.

Shabbat shalom

Safe?

2009-06-11T05:00:00.004+03:00

Driving home from work I noted a police car parked outside the JCC, a second one outside our shul and a 3rd at Chabad. I'm sure that there was one parked up outside every Jewish "target" in the Greater DC area. This of course is the response to the horrific and senseless shooting today at the US Holocaust Museum.

I was at the Holocaust Museum 2 weeks ago with guests from Israel - it's an interesting Museum, filled with school groups from across the States with tickets sold out weeks in advance (entrance is free but if you want a specific time spot ahead of time you have to pay). It's got a very different feel from Yad Vashem and is one of the most visited museums in the country. It also has a hefty security presence of the type with which Israelis are very familiar - think of the Central Bus Station or the Kanyon - X ray machines, metal detectors and big men with guns and no sense of humour.

The US second amendment allows pretty much anyone the right to go into a store and buy a gun - Target doesn't sell them (not around these parts at least) but for a bog standard white supremacist nut (a reminder that it's not just the Islamic extremists who hate us) to get his hands on firearms doesn't take too much.

So the alternate scenario for today is what has got me seriously nervous - this guy chose a hard target - security sitting there armed to the teeth and, although he killed one guard (our thoughts are with his family) he was quickly dealt with (not well enough in my book as he's still in intensive care rather than the morgue). Had he chosen a soft target - walked into a Synagogue on Shabbat morning with a weapon and extra ammo however, the scene would have been one of carnage.

I'm glad to be going back to a place where the rules are so strict that I can't get a gun license just because I want to pack heat (the 2nd is one of the amendments which I don't buy into (the 18th was at least abolished later and the less said about the 19th the better :) ) and where the security services are able to deal with this sort of thing far more effectively than in the land of the free. Oftentimes people will tell me that they consider Israel a dangerous place - for Jews the US is potentially far more dangerous - I just wish people would take the hint before something really horrible happens.

Sundays

2009-06-08T04:44:00.002+03:00

The notion of having a lazy day on which you can do nothing - Sunday is certainly something that I shall miss.

Today, having woken as late as the monkey would allow, I took said young man to the park whilst Mrs G got together a picnic lunch. We then departed for the Eastern Market downtown. We had a most pleasant wander around the market which will very shortly be moving back to it's revamped location (a devastating fire destroyed most of the original location and it's been in a temporary spot whilst the rebuilding has been done). The weather was stunning, the crowd in good spirits. Excellent jazz from a pavement band kept the mood up and I even managed to find what it was that I'd come with a view to purchasing - a souvenir of DC for our wall in Israel.

From there we headed a few blocks over to the zoo. Like the other national institutions in DC, this has the added benefit of being completely free. We ate our lunch and then strolled through, stopping off at the gorillas and other apes, small mammals house (which delighted our own small mammal) and elephants. The pandas were left for another trip and the big cats had all gone in for an early night by the time we reached them.

We took a slow drive home and feasted on leftovers from our wonderful shabbat meals, leaving time for me to catch up on my emails and Mrs G to sprawl in front of the Tony awards.

One of my Olim put the Sunday experience into an interesting perspective which helps me to deal with the return to the Friday off, Sunday on structure. In Israel we look forward to Shabbat - our day of rest. The moment Shabbat goes out we're preparing for the week ahead and therefore every minute is precious. In Chutz La'aretz we're looking forward to the end of Shabbat so that we can go out on Saturday night and then enjoy our real day of rest - Sunday. that viewpoint really struck me - although it's quite a natural thing to do, it's so wrong if you think of it like that. So, although I will miss having a Sunday, I will be looking forward to what should be my day of rest when we get home.

Things we can't get in Israel

2009-06-03T04:49:00.005+03:00

I don't know how on earth I'll manage without Pegetables (pronounced pej'te-bels - it's "vegetables" with a P - thanks incredibly helpful website for helping me solve that one!) when we go back to Israel - we Israelis think we're creative but no-one has come up with something quite this brilliant and it's a poorer country for it.

What does a dog really need to keep him healthy? Vegetables cunningly disguised as........ vegetables! Yes - someone had the incredible idea that to get dogs to eat their 2 veg a day they should camouflage them in carrot, corn and celery shapes / flavors (sic). They keep the dog's coat shiny, give it energy and detoxify it's liver - presumably after a big night out and of course most importantly they are "fun"!

Healthy too - just check out the ingredients:

U.S.A. hydrolyzed wheat protein, glycerin, dehydrated carrot, corn meal, dehydrated celery, natural flavor, powdered cellulose, sunflower oil, mono and diglycerides, titanium dioxide, magnesium stearate, calcium carbonate, calcium hydroxide, wheat bran, flax oil (source of omega 3 fatty acid), vitamin mix (vitamins A, D3, E, and B12 supplements, riboflavin, niacin, d-calcium pantothenate, folic acid, menadione sodium bisulfite complex, pyridoxine, thiamin, biotin), yellow 5 lake, yellow 6 lake, blue 2 lake, preserved with sodium metabisulfite and mixed tocopherols, beta-carotene

Mmmmmmmmm - gotta love that yellow 5 lake! The more eagle eyed will have notived that they contain no peanuts so if your canine has a peanut allergy you're absolutely safe on that count (although the peanut thing is not as big in Israel as in the US so maybe that's not such a biggy).

Here was me thinking that dogs were actually carnivores and the best way to get them to eat something was to give them meat or something that looked like a bone to eat - thank goodness for this wonderful product that has shown me the error of my ways - I can't imagine how dogs have lived through all these milennia without them!

Everyone join in - "with a nick nack, paddy wack, give a dog a carrot....."

What amazing thing will these crazy Yanks think up next to remind us who leads the world?

2 days

2009-05-31T05:22:00.002+03:00

Observance of the festivals create a problem for an Israeli overseas. The major ones, Pesach (Passover), Sukkot (Tabernacles) and Shavuot (Pentecost) are celebrated for one day in Israel whilst outside of Israel they are celebrated for two days. Historically, outside of Israel there was uncertainty as to which day should be celebrated due to the time it took for word to get out from Israel. As there are certain restrictions on 'work' during the festival, two days were celebrated to be on the safe side. Despite the fact that the calendar has been set for hundreds of years the tradition is maintained.

Logically, in olden times, a Jew travelling outside of Israel would have been subject to the same uncertainty as to when the festival fell and would therefore have kept two days. For a Jew from outside of Israel who happened to be visiting during a festival, it would have been logical to keep one day. Nowadays however, when we keep two days because that's the way it's always been rather than for any practical reason, it's most often the case that Israelis who are outside of Israel for a holiday will still keep one day, whilst non-Israelis who visit over a festival will often keep two.

I find myself in a position therefore of having one day of festivities when all around are celebrating two days. This isn't usually a problem - typically I'll grab some DVDs beforehand and stay at home or head out surreptitiously wearing a cap (which involves a different issue - Ma'arit Ayin - which I may discuss at some other time but not here and now).

We have just celebrated the festival of Shavuot, the first day of which fell on Friday - which means that for those who celebrate two days, the second was today - Shabbat. It's the first time that I've encountered this combination and raises a slightly different set of issues than normal. Whereas usually synagogue is not a problem (on regular days I pray at home in the morning rather than at synagogue), here it presents a problem as it means that my normal Shabbat prayers are different - certain additions are made including a whole addition section - Hallel. The Torah reading is also different as is the kiddush.

I got around the problem in an obvious way - took a "sabbatical" (stayed at home with a book and the monkey). Just to get appropriate approval I checked with an appropriate authority - my father in law (who is not a Rabbi but my it keeps me out of trouble with Mrs G if I'm on the same page as he is) - and he told me without prompting that he'd probably do the same. When it came to kiddush we just did it in two different versions - problem solved.

Looking forward to being home where none of these conflicts exist and I don't have to get upset that we're carrying on another tradition for which there is no longer any rationale.

Gilly

Football

2009-05-28T04:01:00.002+03:00

Being here in the States has played havoc with my viewing schedule. In a country where football is played with one's hands wearing a suit of armour, I had a choice of paying for an expensive cable package or finding an expat pub to watch my games.

Given the time difference of 5 hours, Shabbat games were a no go and although I was occasionally able to tweak my schedule to be in DC for midweek games, in general these fell during the working day. This has left me with Sunday - the one day off when I can do things with my family. Whilst Mrs G has been absolutely amazing in letting me head off to the pub bright and early (first beer at 9 am for the earlier games), I do feel somewhat guilty and usually end up following games via an internet commentary (as I did today with Barcelona's thrashing / humilitiation of the Manchester Utd scum).

I am soooooooo looking forward to being back in a country where football is football and a fascination with all things Premier League means that I'll have easy access to my boys in red - not to mention the fact that Yossi Benayoun's amazing run of form means that there will be a bias towards showing my games. Shabbat games in the winter, Sunday matches and all of the Champions League and midweek schedule will be available to me and I'll have more than 101greatgoals to assist in keeping up with the league - in the season when the reds finally bring home the League trophy to its true home.

Cats and Dogs

2009-05-26T12:03:00.002+03:00

Despite the fact that Memorial Day is all about the start of summer in the States, the rain is pounding down and I'm not sure how I'm going to make it to work in the morning without a wetsuit and flippers.

Having been brought up in London, one of the things that I really appreciate about Israel is the ability to plan for the day ahead, knowing that you don't need an indoor contingency plan. The sun will shine from April - October - it's just a question of whether it's going to be a hot day or a very hot day. No need to pack umbrellas and rain suits just in case (my rain suit is part of the permanent loan collection from the IDF - they don't need them most of the year so I might as well get some benefit from my years of Miluim). I love having some things that are certain in life and decent weather is amongst them.

Now if we could only be certain that in winter it would rain.....

Memorial Day

2009-05-26T03:35:00.003+03:00

So as far as I can tell after today, Americans choose to remember the fallen by barbecuing, bouncing castles, music and funnel cakes. It marks the start of the summer; kids celebrate the start of the pool season (although canine /feline inspired rain put a damper on that) and we all enjoy a day off work.

Is it just me or is that not completely screwed up? "Memorial day sale" is not a phrase which should trip off the tongue - but it is treated as a completely normal concept here. Maybe I missed out on a briefing or something but surely we should be thinking about those who have died so that we can enjoy our freedom rather than simply going out and enjoying that freedom?

My next memorial day will be properly somber, with a siren that will bring the entire country to a halt in solemn unity - remembering all those who have died in defence of the State.

Neil

Surprising times

2009-05-17T20:11:00.003+03:00

Today is Mrs G's birthday. She's been telling me for years that she wants a surprise party but if you keep asking for it, how can it be a surprise? Anyhow - this year she hadn't mentioned it - in particular this past week I've been putting in some serious mileage and not having too much sleep whilst she was out of town for a few days for a wedding.

Wednesday night found me frantically baking (using the yeast from the previous post) - knot rolls with fried onion and plain rolls with lemon zest and rosemary. Thursday night I made sinfully rich, calorie laden brownies. I picked up beer and wine, chips and salsa and salad ingredients which were carefully stashed behind other things until they were needed.

Invites went round on facebook. Everyone volunteered to bring something.

Here's the kicker - the surprise took place in our little apartment, with all set up and people arriving whilst Mrs G was in the apartment having her Shabbat nap. So much could have gone wrong - she could have noticed extra food around the place or woken up early but I figured that I was due a little luck given the hard work that I'd put in and so it came to pass that at 18:00 there were somewhere around 30 people quietly waiting in the apartment, table laden with food whilst I went in to waken my sleeping beauty.

The look on her face was priceless as she walked out and suffice to say that she was speechless (anyone who knows her will understand just how surprised she must have been). It was a really lovely celebration.

We have an amazing bunch of friends here and we'll be sad to leave you behind but look forward to spending future smachot ba'Aretz with you.

I have an amazing wife.

Gilly

Seasonality

2009-05-15T07:30:00.002+03:00

I bake. The bread in the US sucks so rather than complain about it I decided to make my own. It comes out pretty good and I've started tweaking it with all sorts of additional little things like garlic, rosemary, fried onions, sun dried tomatoes and lemon zest (the latter is really good).

Anyhow - so as to figure out what I was doing I read a book with lots of great recipes and decided to buy it. Having done so, I figured that it was really a bit to complicated and went back to a simple Jamie Oliver recipe which I've been using since.

I managed to find the yeast that all the bakers recommend at Trader Joes, ditto the flour and all was happy - my challot keep getting better.

So I sauntered into Trader Joe's the other day and there's no yeast on the shelf where it usually is. I found a friendly person in a Hawaiian shirt to help me out and he informed me that yeast is a "seasonal product" which confused me. I ask if he was aware of what yeast is used for and when it became clear that he wasn't a complete moron, asked him whether he ate bread in the summer.

I decided to check out the Trader Joe's near my home when I headed out in that direction the next day and was amazed to be told exactly the same thing. Yeast people, is seasonal at Trader Joe's! I was distressed by now as no-one else sells that brand. Fortunately I was up in Baltimore the next day and the store there had lots so I bought up enough to see me through.

Any thoughts on this one - do Americans stop eating bread at the end of the hockey season? What do they put there hot dogs in on July 4th? Did I miss something here?

Gilly

Captive fish

2009-05-07T13:43:00.003+03:00

Michael Freund's article in the Jpost today expressed perfectly a lot of my frustrations with the place of Aliyah on the agenda of Orthodox Jewry in the US.

The piece made me think about the old argument that "as a fish lives in water, so a Jew should live in Israel". A friend of mine has a beautiful fish tank. Huge. Takes up the wall of his living room. A state of the art filter system keeps the water clean. The water is kept at the right temperature year round. On a regular basis he dumps the requisite amount of food into the tank so that all the fish need to do is open their mouths and swim to the top of the tank. New plants are added as old ones die out. He takes care to maintain a balance - sudden death is rare because there are no predators in the tank and it's conditions are controlled nicely. The lights go on and off on a regular basis.

Fish are not meant to live in a tank. They're meant to live in the sea, or a river, or a lake. The conditions are more difficult - hunting for food, keeping safe from sharks and other fish, occasional spills of pollution, icing over in the winter. That however is their natural condition and their overall quality of life when living as G-d intended will be far superior than going round and round in circles in an environment which whilst pleasant is still artificial - no matter the hardships involved.

Captive fish don't have the choice to go back to their home. If they did, they'd take it in a second.

Gilly

Things that I will miss

2009-05-04T03:12:00.001+03:00

We're into May which means that there's a little more than 3 months to go before we're back in Israel. I'm tremendously excited to be heading home, somewhat nervous as the future is a little uncertain but whatever happens is for the best. Having had a wonderful Shabbat, I've been thinking about the things that I'll miss - mainly little things to be honest but you do grow certain attachments.

If there was one store that I could take with me it would be Trader Joe's. Those who are in the know will most certainly be nodding your heads in agreement. For those who are unfamiliar, this is a market like no other that I've encountered - lots of good, imaginative food, much of it kosher (the web site has a guide to kosher symbols on it. The feel of a gourmet market but without inflated prices and a wicked sense of humour. We'll miss our two local stores very much - but will be happy to exchange them for Machane Yehuda - my very favourite place!

When we first visited the US after we got married I met and fell in love with Target - a store where you can really get everything (except fresh fruit and veg in most locations). Over the years I've bought clothes, furnishings, kitchenwares, photos, electronics, cosmetics, crisps (Archer Farms Wasabi Mustard - highly addictive), cleaning products, storage solutions and on and on and on........ Really there's no need to have any other store (apart from TJ's off course).

There are other things that I'll miss - plentiful, guilt free, piping hot water on demand 24/7, snow in winter, 4 seasons in the year, petrol at $2 a gallon, but mostly the thing that I'll be missing will be the friends who we've made whilst we've been here - you know who you are (though you probably aren't reading) - we feel blessed and will look forward to your visits and ultimately the day when you step off the airplane with an Aliyah visa in your passport.

The countdown is on!

Gilly

Important decisions - location, location, location

2009-04-21T12:35:00.003+03:00

Mrs G and I have been scratching our heads trying to figure out where we want to live upon our return to Israel. We've been somewhat spoiled - our beautiful Baka apartment has a private entrance and a garden which is great for entertaining and we renovated the place ourselves. It's also where I proposed so it has lots of sentimental connections. For the last 3 years we've been renting it out to lovely people and on visiting over Pesach we were pleased to see that it's looking great and that our lemon tree is bearing fruit for the first time.

The flip side is however, that a 2 bedroom place is too small and the different levels that it inhabits (it's an imaginatively renovated old Arab style apartment split into 3 levels) means that the monkey will climb on everything (and hence will also fall off everything too). Mrs G has finally conceded that we can't live there again so we've been looking for other possibilities.

We've made the call to stay in Jerusalem - although I'd be happy to find a Yishuv already, my better half is insistent and as I'll likely be working in Jerusalem I can concede on that without much difficulty. The expense of Jerusalem is a worry though and, recognising that finding a bigger place in Baka (ideally we'd love a 5 room - that is 4 bedroom place) might well break the bank, we've been looking at nearby areas which are not as popular.

Over Pesach we spent a day with a wonderful realtor, looking at apartments in Armon Hanatziv. As the community has moved southwards and Ulpan Etzion has relocated into this neighbourhood, I feel that it has become a more viable option and still within range of our old stomping grounds. We saw 7 places in 5 hours and were impressed by what's available at prices which I wouldn't have believed possible in Jerusalem (including a stunning house at a price similar to what is being paid in Buchman, Modi'in where prices are now through the roof). We're pretty happy with the idea of making the move and now just need to get our place on the market and figure out which of the properties most interests us. My main concern is selling our place in the current market and it may be that we will end up renting first in the neighbourhood or close by but fingers crossed we'll find a buyer!

Gilly

a teasing taster

2009-04-20T12:36:00.003+03:00

I have just spent two wonderful weeks in Israel over Pesach, knowing that we'll be back for good in August. Despite the fact that Mrs G. had her nose in her books for most of our visit, we were able to spend a lot of quality time with the family allowing the monkey to get to know his Grandparents, Uncles, Aunts and cousins again. We weren't able to cram in as many friends as we wanted to, but in particular spent our last Friday morning running up and down Emek from one to the next (including meeting the fiancee of a very close friend) and managing to fit in two things that I'd been really looking forward to - Kuba soup and Burgers Bar!

During the course of the trip I had some great meetings regarding possible jobs and we were able to make some reasonable ground regarding where we'll be living as we need to upsize somewhat. I made it to my favourite place in the world (the Shuk) where I treated myself to the breakfast of kings - pitta straight from the oven and freshly squeezed juice, something which I've missed tremendously.

We arrived back in the US after a long and trying flight (the monkey was well behaved but far too awake for 7 hours of a 9 hour flight) but with the knowledge that our next trip is one way and not too far off (less than 4 months to go). The visit has given my batteries a much needed charge to inspire me to August.

I'm going to be reviving this blog slowly with some of my thoughts about our return home.

Gilly

Frank Stein z"l

2009-03-31T02:40:00.002+03:00

I received a call today from a friend and colleague to tell me that Frank Stein passed away earlier. I'd been adding him to the list of Cholim (seriously ill people) for whom we pray in synagogue each week ever since I'd received an email from a different colleague notifying me of his cancer, but had been expecting him to pull through - an expert with whom I'm close had told me that it was one of the more curable strains.

In the days before Nefesh B'Nefesh, there were Olim associations. In 1991 Frank was taken on board by the British Olim Society (BOS) to act as a counsellor to Olim and prospective Olim. My first encounter with him was 5 years later when he came to my Ulpan on a regular basis to help Olim adjust to life and have an easy outlet for their questions. 3 years later I encountered him again - I was working for the Jpost at the time which was cosponsoring a series of English language election events together with the Olim associations at about a dozen locations around the country. Every night found me in a different city - Frank would be there too.

Frank really came into my life in a big way shortly after the elections when I answered an ad from UJIA Israel which incorporated the BOS in the 1990s. They were looking for 2 people to work with Olim - to show them the ropes. I was one of 15 people who were interviewed. Were I interviewing myself then for the same position now, I'd have said that I was too young and too green for the job. I got the job - Frank was the one who called to tell me. He and the boss, Shifra decided to give me a chance. I haven't looked back.

Frank mentored me through the early years, teaching me what I needed to know, patiently reviewing the material, sitting in on my first interviews, giving me my first independent assignments, letting me loose on the webpage, trusting me to do things right. He was very hands off but he was always close by when I had a question on some archaic detail of the rules of Bituach Leumi or Australian pensions law.

Every week, Frank would work late into Thursday night, catching up on the emails that had piled up over the previous seven days, making sure that people had appropriate, accurate and complete answers to their questions. Over the years he helped thousands of people to make the right choice, to come with appropriate expectations and information - he was a one man "Aliyahpedia".

I remember how terrified I was when Frank announced that he was not going to be dealing with Olim anymore, and how comforted I felt to know that he was close by still.

Frank was a very private person; his apartment in Talpiot shared with his beloved cats. He never met the right person with whom to settle down. I was lucky enough to be welcomed into his inner circle and to enjoy the fruits of his labours in the kitchen - complete with exquisite presentation.

Since he moved to other accommodation we saw less and less of each other and the last time I saw him was before I headed out for Shlichut. We exchanged emails earlier in the year when he did a short shlichut in South Africa before he was diagnosed at which time he seemed pretty upbeat.

Frank has touched the lives of thousands both directly and indirectly. Although I didn't need his assistance in my Aliyah, he was instrumental in my long term absorption by choosing me for a position which led in a pretty straight line to my current position - jobs which have enabled me to help thousands of people too, to weather the storms of the intifada and the recession and to have tremendous job satisfaction.

Sometimes you cross paths with a wonderful person; when our paths intersected Frank took my hand and guided me, sending me off on my own when I was capable - it's proven to be a successful route - like many people, I owe him a great deal. He'll be very missed.

The only good terrorist.....

2008-07-16T16:43:00.003+03:00

This morning, the bodies of Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser were returned to Israel. It's an incredibly sad day for their families and Am Yisrael.

In return, Samir Kuntar, perpetrator of one of the most infamous murders in Israeli history is being released together with 4 Hezbollah terrorists (I note that Haaretz has decided that they can be referred to as "militants" - thanks for nothing), Palestinian prisoners and remains. Hezbollah and Hamas are throwing parties in the streets of Gaza and Beirut in celebration at the release of this evil piece of work.

Following the Bulldozer pigua in Jerusalem, former Jerusalem Police Chief Mickey Levy wrote an op-ed in Ynetnews, under the headline "confirming kill immoral" arguing that once the terrorist:

"was neutralized, there is no room to shoot again – even if this is the most terrible and despicable terrorist."

Or in other words, take him prisoner, lock him up so that a subsequent government can release him to a hero's welcome, underlining our weakness so that he can kill again.

In April 1984, 4 Palestinian terrorists hijacked a number 300 bus and demanded the release of 500 prisoners. A unit led by Yitzchak Mordechai stormed the bus, freeing the prisoners. It later emerged that 2 of the terrorists were killed during the operation and 2 more were led off the bus and subsequently killed by the Shin Bet Security service. The killing was covered up at the time but later came to light.

Had the 2 not been killed at the time then they too, would doubtless have enjoyed a similar celebratory release to that which Kuntar is enjoying and would also have gone on to kill more innocent Israelis.

The rule of law is important. Sometimes however, we pander to the terrorist scum far too much. Marwhan Bargouti has become something of a martyr, a cause celebre by sitting in an Israeli jail. Calls go out periodically for his release too. The handing over of Kuntar will only cause the emboldening of Hizbollah and Hamas to kidnap more Israelis to use as bargaining chips to get Barghouti and the like released.

Sometimes it's pretty clear what the just thing to do is - that the police who watched Kuntar kill Danny and Einat Haran did not immediately fill him with lead, choosing instead to arrest him is inexplicable to me. We had the opportunity to kill Arafat in Lebanon and didn't go ahead - how many lives did that cost? How many lives will the failure to send Barghouti to his 72 virgins when we had the chance cost us.

Mickey Levy's moral concerns may be justified in New York or London but in our neighbourhood they're clearly flawed. It's time to take the gloves off and to send a clear message to terrorists: Zero tolerance. If you live by the sword, we will make sure that you die by the sword, bullet or missile. No more second chances.

Gilly

Celebrating 60

2008-05-08T16:30:00.002+03:00

It's a bitter sweet day for me - even before I arrived to take up my position in the States we have been talking about Israel at 60 and working towards planning celebrations. Last night I had the honour of lighting a torch at an extremely impressive and emotional local several hundred strong celebration. On June 1st I'll have the satisfaction of thousands (if not tens of thousands) of people visiting the community's major event, taking place at a location which is recognised around the world, which I've taken a small role in assisting to prepare.

I have spent much time over the last months talking about Israel's achievements in 60 short years, speaking to groups and individuals about my area of expertise in particular but plenty of general conversations, and admiring the incredible work that my talented colleagues have been bringing to their communities across the world.

I am blessed with the knowledge that today, literally hundreds of new Israelis, Olim from North America, are spending their first Yom Ha'atzmaut in Israel as citizens of the country, and that I had a part in their getting there.

But the feeling is muted by the fact that I'm celebrating from afar in the US - without the sirens for Yom Hazikaron, without the smoke rising and smell of mangal as I look out the window, without the enterprising young kids selling flags for the car at 5 shekels a throw at every traffic light, without the jams as I try to go out on tiyul, with no music on the radio or politicos on the TV, no sheleg spray on Ben Yehuda, air force fly past, without being able to spend this amazing day with my friends, family, neighbours and fellow Israelis - it's all something of a let down.

There will be other celebrations and the time will fly by until we get back home - a little over a year to go and we'll look back wondering where the time has gone.

Being able to celebrate in Israel is a very special thing. We are a privileged generation that can say L'shana Ha'ba B'yerushalayim and know that if we want to, we can pack up and get on a plane and be there in our holy city, celebrating our independence with all or Am Yisrael. As more and more of us choose to do so, let's hope that the day when all of the exiles shall be in gathered is not far off.

Chag Sameach

Gilly

Give thanks but walk with a big stick

2007-11-06T11:53:00.000+02:00

Sunday was spent at the National Mall with a heavily pregnant Mrs G, trying to shake the baby down by walking the monuments from Lincoln to Washington. A centrepiece of DC, the national monuments are all housed in the Mall, with the Capitol building at one end , a grassy expanse covered with pick up football and ultimate Frisbee games, the Washington Monument in the middle and the Lincoln Memorial at the far end. Sandwiched inbetween are monuments to Roosevelt and Jefferson and Memorials to the dead of WWII, Korea and Vietnam.

Whilst all the memorials are impressive, respectful, well looked after and serene, the one to which I really related was the Vietnam Memorial. 70 pieces of black granite rising to over 10 feet high, it carries the names of some 58 thousand Americans who gave their lives in this most controversial of wars in the 16 years between 1959 and 1975. Located between the monuments to 2 great Presidents, it is a place where people gather to mourn their loved ones in a public setting, which, although its design provoked controversy initially, now seems to be part of a consensus.

Every year at memorial day, the names of the dead and the MIAs are read from the wall, much as is done in Israel on Yom Hazikaron. It takes days to do so.

The Korean War memorial, on the other side of the mall, bears a simple inscription: "Freedom is not Free". It's a very basic truth and often forgotten. Sometimes you have to stand up and fight because it's the correct and moral thing to do. Some fight on their own doorsteps to protect their families and friends; others travel across the continents to fight for what is right.

We remember our war dead with great respect but we also need to remember what they fought for and to honour their memories by continuing to fight for it; the next conflict has already begun and it seems that much of the Western world doesn't have the stomach for it, expecting it's freedoms to be without price. Churchill was dismissed as a warmonger in the 1930s for continuously warning of the coming conflict, whilst Chamberlain sought to appease. There's a very obvious parallel in the way in which the world is dealing with Iran, Syria et al today. We should remember how far the policy of appeasement got us in 1939.

California Dreamin'

2007-09-04T04:18:00.000+03:00

One of the down sides to living in a different country to your family is that holidays tend to be spent returning to the home in which you grew up and revisiting your old friends and haunts. Rarely do you manage to get away somewhere else on the limited holiday time which most jobs offer.

A few years back, Gilly Jr. (really that should be Dr. Gilly Jr.) and I decided to break this trend by travelling to Turkey together. We did the same the following year only this time in Spain. Then I got married and a third country came into the picture - the Grandparents in the US. And now that we're in the US we have a UK, USA, Israel triangle so what are the chances of taking a holiday without causing a broiges?

Anyhow, having made the obligatory (but very welcome) trip home for Pesach this year, coinciding with a visit from my Mother, Mrs G was very keen to get away for a few days at the end of the summer after she quit her job and things quietened down in my office. A few restrictions needed to be overcome; a beach, no hurricanes, warm forecast and not too expensive - which looked a formidable obstacle in hurricane season with flights to the West Coast sky high (excuse the pun).

Then Mrs G found a very wonderful site called www.lastminute.com - basically the US equivalent of Daka90 - flights, hotel for 4 nights and rental of a car in Los Angeles came in at a steal and with the only down side being the possibility of running into the Beckhams we decided to book.

Intermission story.

Last month my credit card had a charge on it which looked dodgy so I queried it. After a couple of weeks I got a reasonable explanation - and an additional charge for not paying the bill (it was the only charge on a card I don't use much) - in other words, the only way to avoid this additional charge would have been to pay the charge that I was disputing and then to reclaim the money if it turned out to be bogus. Anyhow - I wanted to use this same credit card to pay for the holiday - the card got turned down as (on top of the charge) they'd put a block on my using the card again until the bill was paid because I hadn't paid because I was disputing. How's that for insult to injury? This was a credit card that I'd held for 15 years, never made a late payment on, have a credit line of over 6000 pounds a month (yes a British, not an Israeli card) and they've frozen it over a charge of 40 lousy quid!

End of intermission.

So we were to have 5 lovely days in LA. Landing at the airport we went to pick up the rental car and I came up with the smart idea of renting a GPS - my friends - if you want to promote Shalom Bayit this is a wonderful ideal. For $8 a day, we managed to get through the trip without one argument over directions - normally we'd have been at it hammer and tongs after 30 seconds! LA is big - huge actually and without a car you're lost - we covered a lot of ground.

We hit up a different beach every day: Venice, Huntingdon, Malibu, Balboa and Laguna - and I managed to avoid burning myself, returning a wonderful shade of brown. The Hollywood sign, Walk of Fame, Chinese Theatre, Mulholland Drive, Sunset Boulevard, Rodeo Drive (window!) shopping, Beverley Hills, Getty Center, Balboa Island Jeff's Gourmet, Open Air Cinema, free Jazz at Hollywood and Highland - what an amazing blast.

Even the weather was great - hot but not humid.

For all my grousing about the US I have to admit that I really loved LA and hope to visit the West Coast again at some point whilst we were here!

Gilly

Take me out to the Bor-ing

2007-08-22T12:38:00.000+03:00

As a sports fan, there are some American sports that I "get" and others that I really don't. Basketball and American "Football" fall into the former category, whilst Baseball is firmly fixed in the latter.

Baseball however, is one of those things like "Mom's Apple Pie" that is quintessentially American so when Mrs Gilly was offered a set of free tickets (face value $5) to a game between the Washington Nationals and the Phillies (her home town team and officially the "losingest (sic) team in sports" we headed off to RFK Stadium.

The basics of Baseball are pretty simple - effectively Rounders with testosterone: one team in the field with a guy throwing the ball, one team batting with a guy out in the middle trying to hit it and to advance round the bases - fairly simple to understand for the newcomer. Clearly it's a little more complex then that but in principle, you can walk into a game, never having heard of the sport and very quickly catch on to what's going on.

Understanding the game is made even simpler by the fact that there were long chunks of time when nothing happened during which I could ask the knowledgeable guy in front. Very long chunks of time in fact. This I found surprising as American sport has a reputation for always having plenty going on - short bites of action interspersed with plenty of commercial breaks to pay all the inflated salaries. Certainly, baseball is like cricket with ADD - the innings are short and the teams are constantly changing over - but watching one side sit down whilst the other gets up is hardly the stuff that highlight reels are made of.

Reading up on baseball and speaking with people about the game, it seems that the fact that it's boring is widely acknowledged (Google yielded 135,000 references when I searched for "baseball boring" - whilst "cricket boring" only came up with 96,700). The celebrated "7th innings stretch" whereby everyone gets out of their seats and stretches their legs was actually a high point. That everyone sings "take me out to the ball game" at this point (presumably every game) was very endearing.

So here's my take on the game and why it's so boring - basically the moments of excitement are when the batsman hits the ball forwards. In baseball the advantage is skewed in the direction of the pitcher due to the fact that the bat is skinny and rounded so that in order to get a worthwhile hit you've got to be extremely exact. The vast majority of the time therefore, the batter is either missing the ball or fouling it (the ball flies off behind or to the sides) - and therefore you're in yawn territory for 90% of the 3+ hours of the game. Moments of excitement are either fleeting (we had 3 home runs) or far between (batsman on bases hoping that the one at bat is going to hit something - most often coming up blank).

By way of comparison, cricket is of course a far longer game, even in the limited overs format, but as the batsman has to hit the ball in order to stay out in the middle there is a lot more going on. It's also a far more tactical game - I was unable to discern any difference in the field settings in baseball throughout the game - for cricket it's essential.

Even with the kosher hot dog stand, beer during the game and a free ticket, I walked away no closer to understanding its appeal and with the feeling that it lend itself far better to a short summary of the highlights on the news - it's an experience which I doubt will be repeated. For the record, the Phillies didn't add to their losses, taking this one 4 - 2.