The Israeli-Egyptian border

In light of the fact that Israel believes the suicide bomber who slaughtered Israelis in Eilat arrived via the Egyptian border, I feel it important to show the pictures I took while I was actually at the Israeli-Egyptian border, about two weeks ago, probably while the suicider was planning his attack. I am sorry for the poor quality of the images; they were taken with a cell phone camera, because my regular digicam had run out of batteries by this point in the day.

You can clearly see the puny barbed wire fence in this picture.

The lonely Egyptian "watchtower."

My fingers in Egypt. (to the left) The other fingers are of an Israeli's hand.

Barbed wire

Another picture of the 'watchtower.'

Israel's 'super high tech' defense system!

PLANE HORROR

I will get to posting more about my trip as soon as I can, but until then, I have a story to tell you all about my flight home... I was on a plane with a little baby who was running up and down the aisles, for almost the entire 12 hours. I took a sleeping pill soon after take off, and I was very confused about this all. My limbs were quite heavy and weighing me down. Then, I woke to people in shock and horror around me. Someone said to not touch a brown pile on the floor near where I was sitting. My half awake, half asleep brain did not comprehend anything, and accidently brushed my hands against...BABY SHIT! Yes, a baby shat on the floor right next to where I was sitting. I was instantly awake when I realized what happened, and in shock and horror, I started asking for a napkin, and I cleaned my hands. The mother of the baby, instead of appologizing, was yelling at the stewards and stewardesses who wanted her little demon spawn held securely in a seat. "MY CHILD NEEDS TO ROAM FREE ON A 12 HOUR FLIGHT!" There was then an argument with the flight attendants over who should have to clean up the baby shit. One of the flight attendants lost the argument, and I heard this man say, under his breath, "I cannot believe I am going to law school and cleaning up baby shit." After the poo was finally cleaned, I tried to lay back in my seat for some SLEEP, only this fat couple in the seats behind me would not let me and kept kicking my seat. I had enough, and tried to change my seat, only the plane was full, and there was no empty seat! So basically, I was stuck with a seat next to baby shit, with a couple that would not let me lean back in my seat without kicking it, for 12 hours! Afterwards, I went straight to work from the airport! I still am recovering from my flight, hehehehehe. I am really glad to be off that hellish plane, but I miss Israel terribly!! I feel I left a part of myself in Israel. Hoping no one else gets stuck on a plane for 12 hours with a crack mom and devil child, Red Tulips

My Israel adventure of a lifetime - Part ONE

I am finally back from Israel (actually, I got back yesterday), and I wanted to get out all my thoughts on the trip while they are fresh in my mind. I went to Israel with many thoughts on my mind, and questions in my head. I was bouncing around political, personal, and even spiritual questions and ideas for quite some time. I think this is what drove me to blog, that deep need to connect with others who are grappling with these same issues, and discuss my ideas with them. What did I see? Gosh, I saw so much. My itinerary was as follows: Day One: Get off the plane after little to no sleep on the plane, but I am greeted by the Birthright crew, who are singin to us upon arrival. It really brought a smile to my face, to see such a greeting. The group then got into a big circle and shouted "ACHIM (brotherhood), ACHIM, ACHIM, ACHIM, ACHIM, SIMCHA, SIMCHA, SIMCHA, SIMCHA SIMCHA!" This was right in the airport! We then went to Kibbutz Sdot Yam (sp?), near Ceasaria, for a breakfast/lunch. I sampled my of many meals containing hummus. Afterwards, we went to another kibbutz to change, and then went straight to Mount Arbel in the Galilee for a hike! This was a mountain where the zealots had their last stand against the Romans. This mountain was also very muddy from a recent rain, and I ended up nearly falling off! I held onto a rope for dear life, and one of the people from my group ended up helping me down. Mount Arbel is beautiful. When I reached the top, I was able to see down into an Arab village that was actually quite pretty. (not sure the name of the village at this point) After the hike, we went to dinner at a 'Small Mall" (in Qiryat Shemona, a town heavily hit by the Katusha rockets from Lebanon) where I had the first of many shawarma meals, and then tried to get sleep. Day Two: Wake up call at 7 am. I am a bit jet lagged and confused over this early wake up call, but heed the call nonetheless. The group wakes up at the kibbutz and eats a kibbutz breakfast of many cheeses, and then we are off to Tzfat. This is a Jewish city devoted to the study of Kabbalah. I purchased a Chai necklace, that I am wearing today. Chai, for those who do not know, means "life." We also got to speak with artist David Friedman about Kabbalah and his art. He spoke of meditation and numerology, and all sorts of things I really was not aware of re: Kabbalah. I can see how it is a trendy 'religion' with the glitterati. We also went to a synogogue in the classic Sephardic tradition, and saw a completely different layout than the normal synogogue, with the bima in the center, rather than in the front. The color of blue was siffused throughout, which is a color that has great significance to the Jewish people. (just as green is the color of Islam) After touring the town, we hiked up the Golan Heights. From the top, we saw very clearly into Lebanon and Syria. The phrase "antennae of Lebanon" became a catch phrase for the trip! After the beautiful Golan (pictures of all this will eventually follow), we went to hot springs, and then dinner at the Kibbutz again. The hot springs were lovely - just what was necessary after the two hikes. Of course, my bathing suit stank of sulfur after the hot springs, but I didn't care, as it was something that really eased my aching muscles. After we got back to the kibbutz, I joined many in the group for a lovely chat, and songs. We stayed awake as long as we could, not wanting the perfect day to end...but then sleep eventually overcame us. And then onto day three...which I will leave for another post. I hope you are enjoying this! Love, Red Tulips

Israel update

My trip is now halfway complete. I have seen the major sites in Israel - hiked the Galilee, Golan Heights, seen Safed (Kabbalah community), Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, hiked the Masada, swam in the Dead Sea and Red Sea, slept in a Bedouin tent, ate at a Druze family's home, had a long talk with an Arab Israeli bartender, and of cours, met the inimitable Raccoon. (I swear I was not drunk!) I cried at the Western Wall, and at Yad Vashem. Actually, there were many tears. I am sure there will be more tears. What do I think? Words cannot describe. I am very emotional writing this right now. One thing I really am struck by is how lucky I am to be alive, and how lucky the Jewish people are to exist. The state of Israel is in many ways a miracle. When my grandma was in the Holocaust, she would have laughed at the thought that somehow Israel would exist in such a short while. And yet it does. I was also amazed at the opinions of the staff members of the Birthright trip - most seemed to belong to the Labor party. Identity politics are certainly a major issue. But more than anything else, I am feeling so emotional right now because I feel like I am sorting out all the inner crap that my mind goes through. Who am I? Why am I? Why do I do what I do? I am such a passionate person - I often act with my instincts. Sometimes my instincts are right, and sometimes they are wrong. I realized during this trip that perhaps my passion is part of the problem - it is unfocused - I go in 20 directions at once, without doing anything. But I do have specific passions. I see, with this trip, that I love Jews and Judaism irrespective of antisemitism. There is really a family amongst Jewry that exists across the world. But sometimes families fight. And sometimes families turn their back upon one another. Sometimes they even, as horrifying as it is, kill each other. But it still is, more than anything else, a family. Islamofascism, can it be defeated? I don't know. All I know is I have to work on myself. I have to be the best person I can be and try to learn as much as I can about myself, my family, and the world in general. Only then can I even hope to effect positive change in the world. I feel that so strongly right now. And somehow, thinking this, recognizing this, I feel some of the anger at those who hate me slipping away. Will there be people who hate me because I exist as a Jew? Absolutely yes. Will I ever be able to change this? Absolutely no. But can I make some small changes in the world, bit by bit, chipping away at the hate wherever possible? Absolutely yes. And I think, recognizing this, it becomes clear that I was misdirecting my efforts for a long time. I feel so many emotions in my heart, but more than anything else, I feel joy. I am joyful that, be it the atomic superparticles that collapsed the universe, or some unknowable God, somehow I was created, and humanity was created, and that is so beautiful. Breathtaking. There will always be horrors in the world. There will always be genocide in every generation. But there also will be goodness, kindness, and love. And perhaps it's not possible to take one without the other. Perhaps it is all part of the crazy, seemingly incomprehensible world that we live in, and the only way to exist and not go mad is to focus on what each individual can change in their own lives to shine just that little candle of light into the unfathomable darkness. I will be in Israel a week longer, and I cannot even imagine what I will be thinking then. All the best, Red Tulips

In Israel - having an amazing time!

Hi all - I just thought I would say I am in Israel and having an amazing time. I thus far have seen Safed, hiked the Golan Heights, seen the Galilee, stayed at a kibbutz, seen Tel Aviv (and gotten drunk there), seen the Kotel (Western Wall), seen Yad Vashem (Holocaust Memorial), and walked around Jerusalem. Up next is hiking in Masada, Dead Sea, Bedouin tent, and then back to the Western Wall. I cannot even describe my time thus far. So memorable, words cannot explain. One of the most meaningful, spiritual, and just plain FUN times I have had. Beyond words. I feel horrible that I will be going home soon! My connection to the land and people is deep and spiritual. All the best, Red Tulips

So long for now, folks!

Well, I am off to Israel for two weeks! I leave as of tomorrow, and in the meantime, I am leaving C4A in the capable hands of Kevin and Thomas. (Adil may be contributing as well) I hope you enjoy all they have to say, and I will be reporting back on my journey after I get back! All the best, Red Tulips