Week of November 28-December 4
I had no sooner gotten into the taxi to go to the Central Bus Station (Tahana Hamerkazi) when the driver said (in Hebrew ) “I can’t believe what is happening in India. They attacked and kidnapped Israelis”. That was the beginning of many tense hours watching the news and hoping, beyond hope, for a miraculous, safe rescue for those who were ultimately savagely murdered at Chabad House in Mumbai. We had gone to Eilat for a few days of sunshine and outdoor fun, but this was soberly tempered by hours spent watching Israel’s Channel 2, Skynews and Fox. The Israeli and British coverage were very detailed and highly outraged. Fox, usually the bastion of right wing, anti-terror rhetoric, was surprisingly (and disappointingly) more focused on the economy than on the carnage going on in India. Of course there were miraculous escapes (Jon Erlich of Vancouver and others) but none more than the 2 year old son of the late Chabad Rabbi and his wife. One clear difference between the Israeli News media and others was in the appellation of those killed. Most news services called them victims; Israeli papers uniformly called them Korbanot, or Sacrifices. Every life is precious, and all killed by these calculated murderers are not just nameless victims, but true sacrifices. Let us hope that the world wakes up to see the dangers of terror that have been plaguing us for decades (if not millennia) and confront them for the good of all.
Eilat is a gorgeous resort town on the Red Sea, bordered by Jordan and Egypt. The area on the water is lined with hotels, shops and restaurants, and the beach and Boardwalk have a flea market and arcades. And, lots of people. All walks of life, all stripes of religion, Jew, Arab, Christian, Israeli, American or European. The symbiosis in Eilat could be a model as everyone suns, swims and enjoys together. We certainly enjoyed, taking long walks, shopping (no VAT in Eilat, so prices are 17% lower) and relaxing. We stayed at a great hotel (Isrotel Agamim) with a beautiful pool area. Shabbat was wonderful (great food!) and we capped off the weekend with a trip to the Aquarium in the coral reef and a self-drive jeep tour of the desert.
And since Bruce did not flip our Jeep over or run it off the road, we got to enjoy the spectacular scenery and red, purple and brown mountains. Highly recommended holiday and we can even give you some good restaurants to try.
Back home Sunday night we went full force into a new week. Barbara spent time with Chaya Kessler on Tuesday and we had a full house for what is now a legend at Yeshivat Hakotel: “Mazer Dinner” at Elan and Nomi and Shoshana’s apartment. We have fun feeding some of Ariel’s hungrier friends. We also had the chance to catch up with Eddie and Michelle Schwartz from Baltimore, here for their nephew’s Bar Mitzvah. We had breakfast with them on Jaffa St. on Tuesday AM, and then we added to the “catching up” by meeting Rav Baruch Plaskow for coffee.
On Wednesday the annual Israel Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology annual meeting began, with a twist. For the first time, it was co-sponsored by both the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, and by Allergists for Israel, a great organization that organizes fellowships for teaching Israeli trainees and brings together Jewish Allergist from all over at major allergy meetings. Dozens of US and Canadian allergists attended with our Israeli colleagues. I had a great time seeing a lot of my friends from the allergy world, and also spoke at one of the opening sessions. Tonight in fact we are having Shabbat Dinner at the Inbal hotel as part of the conference. Meanwhile, Ariel invited 5 of his friends to dinner here, and is coming to lunch with 3 yeshiva friends as well. They are having a few other kids over after dinner to night for a tish (don’t tell our landlord). If the apartment is still standing, I will write again next week!!
Seriously, with a week that started with Mumbai and is ending with clashes between IDF soldiers and Jewish residents of Hebron, let us pray for a peaceful and meaningful Shabbat and great news for the week to come.
Shabbat Shalom U’mevorach
Barbara and Bruce
I had no sooner gotten into the taxi to go to the Central Bus Station (Tahana Hamerkazi) when the driver said (in Hebrew ) “I can’t believe what is happening in India. They attacked and kidnapped Israelis”. That was the beginning of many tense hours watching the news and hoping, beyond hope, for a miraculous, safe rescue for those who were ultimately savagely murdered at Chabad House in Mumbai. We had gone to Eilat for a few days of sunshine and outdoor fun, but this was soberly tempered by hours spent watching Israel’s Channel 2, Skynews and Fox. The Israeli and British coverage were very detailed and highly outraged. Fox, usually the bastion of right wing, anti-terror rhetoric, was surprisingly (and disappointingly) more focused on the economy than on the carnage going on in India. Of course there were miraculous escapes (Jon Erlich of Vancouver and others) but none more than the 2 year old son of the late Chabad Rabbi and his wife. One clear difference between the Israeli News media and others was in the appellation of those killed. Most news services called them victims; Israeli papers uniformly called them Korbanot, or Sacrifices. Every life is precious, and all killed by these calculated murderers are not just nameless victims, but true sacrifices. Let us hope that the world wakes up to see the dangers of terror that have been plaguing us for decades (if not millennia) and confront them for the good of all.
Eilat is a gorgeous resort town on the Red Sea, bordered by Jordan and Egypt. The area on the water is lined with hotels, shops and restaurants, and the beach and Boardwalk have a flea market and arcades. And, lots of people. All walks of life, all stripes of religion, Jew, Arab, Christian, Israeli, American or European. The symbiosis in Eilat could be a model as everyone suns, swims and enjoys together. We certainly enjoyed, taking long walks, shopping (no VAT in Eilat, so prices are 17% lower) and relaxing. We stayed at a great hotel (Isrotel Agamim) with a beautiful pool area. Shabbat was wonderful (great food!) and we capped off the weekend with a trip to the Aquarium in the coral reef and a self-drive jeep tour of the desert.
And since Bruce did not flip our Jeep over or run it off the road, we got to enjoy the spectacular scenery and red, purple and brown mountains. Highly recommended holiday and we can even give you some good restaurants to try.Back home Sunday night we went full force into a new week. Barbara spent time with Chaya Kessler on Tuesday and we had a full house for what is now a legend at Yeshivat Hakotel: “Mazer Dinner” at Elan and Nomi and Shoshana’s apartment. We have fun feeding some of Ariel’s hungrier friends. We also had the chance to catch up with Eddie and Michelle Schwartz from Baltimore, here for their nephew’s Bar Mitzvah. We had breakfast with them on Jaffa St. on Tuesday AM, and then we added to the “catching up” by meeting Rav Baruch Plaskow for coffee.
On Wednesday the annual Israel Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology annual meeting began, with a twist. For the first time, it was co-sponsored by both the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, and by Allergists for Israel, a great organization that organizes fellowships for teaching Israeli trainees and brings together Jewish Allergist from all over at major allergy meetings. Dozens of US and Canadian allergists attended with our Israeli colleagues. I had a great time seeing a lot of my friends from the allergy world, and also spoke at one of the opening sessions. Tonight in fact we are having Shabbat Dinner at the Inbal hotel as part of the conference. Meanwhile, Ariel invited 5 of his friends to dinner here, and is coming to lunch with 3 yeshiva friends as well. They are having a few other kids over after dinner to night for a tish (don’t tell our landlord). If the apartment is still standing, I will write again next week!!Seriously, with a week that started with Mumbai and is ending with clashes between IDF soldiers and Jewish residents of Hebron, let us pray for a peaceful and meaningful Shabbat and great news for the week to come.
Shabbat Shalom U’mevorach
Barbara and Bruce
PS: Hi to the Reichmans and Stoffmakers!!
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