2024-03 Israel

Israel 30,

April 15, 2024,

Hi Everyone,

After my training with MDA, in Jerusalem, I had 3 hours to spare before meeting my cousin David. I took the light rail train from the main train station to the old city. It always amazes me from visiting Europe and Israel, how these countries can a build an inexpensive 4-6 car surface, light , electric train at a low cost with no fuss or bother. It is beautiful, efficient and quiet. Why do projects take so long and are so expensive to build and run in Quebec. Need I answer my own question?

For those of you who have not had a chance to visit Israel, the old city of Jerusalem is quite amazing. The history of Jerusalem dates back 2000-3000 years. The 3 religions, Christianity with its variations, Judaism and Islam, for better or for worse have their origins here. The old part of the city is walled and has undergone considerable renovation since I first visited her in 1979, 3 years after the 6 day war. The streets are very narrow with cobblestones. Very few cars can navigate the passageways. All of the famous prophets walked these streets at some point in time. The original city is in many places much below the surface. The ‘dust of the ages’ has accumulated to raise the level of the city as is true in many old cities.

The city is divided into 4 sectors, the Armenian sector, the Jewish sector, the Christian sector and the Muslim sector. Due to the war, sadly, the city is empty of tourists. The shops and the cafes are empty. There is no business being done here.I have been here many times in the past, so the jewelry and ‘authentic’ clothes don’t interest me. I stopped to have a coffee late in the afternoon to call Marion and congratulate her and Jeremy on their new born son. I was alone in the cafe. In some ways I am of course drawn to the old city. Although there is no danger walking here and I never feel uncomfortable, I know that there is tension among the various religious people.

Of course, even though I am Jewish, and have no religious affiliation with Judaism, I wanted to see ‘the western wall’. You may of course ask me if I have no affiliation with the Jewish religion, why am I here? I think that I have answered that question on several occasions in my blog. The plaza in front of the wall is beautiful. The part of the wall that is visible represents the western wall. It runs about 100 meters and is probably 10 meters high. This represents only ⅓ of the height of the wall. The original temple was about 500 meters long. It must have been magnificent. Israel has done a fantastic job of excavating below the wall to see the ancient structure without either disturbing the wall or the mosque. I may visit this another time.

I met my cousin David at 6:00 at a small market. I have not seen him since 1972, when I returned from France the 1st time. He was 9 and I was 23 and he was staying at my grandmother’s house in Trout Lake. We have both changed since then. 10 years ago, we renewed acquaintances on the internet as he was doing some research on our ancestry. Our grandparents came from the Russian Empire, now Moldova, Rumania, Lithuania, Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. They lived in shtetles, in very poor conditions and left due to the pogroms that killed 1.5 million Jews from 1880 to 1917. The programs only stopped with the Russian Revolution to be replaced with another form of anti-semitism.

David and I are diametrically opposite to each other on the religious spectrum. He is very religious although not Haredi, and spent the greater part of his career as a rabbi in the Air Force. He now does IT research with the government. In spite of our religious differences, we got along splendidly together. We went to a particularly kosher restaurant where the Italian style food was delicious. If you want to go to a good restaurant in any country, you can always count on Italian style food. We exchanged family stories and laughed and joked with each other until rather late in the evening. He has 8 children and his sister has 9. There are a lot of grandchildren. I bid him farewell with a promesse to meet again later in the month. He lives just outside of the Green Line in a religious village. We spoke a little about politics and the future of Israel, but like all the Israelis, no one knows what to do and what a good solution would be to the I-P problem.

SI worked with MDA just outside of Tel Aviv on an ambulance which was fabulous. I was up at 5:30 to make work on time. I don’t have time to tell you my adventures so I will combine 2 days in 1 tomorrow. Tomorrow, I will work in Siderot, 5k from Gaza…..Don’t worry, I will be fine.

Love,

Brian