Israel in the words of her people

My foot would never step in the West Bank. (long pause) Because, as an Israeli, I don't think I should be setting foot there. - A 

Life in Tel Aviv is insulated from the despair in the West Bank and Gaza. Discussing the Occupation and polices of Israel towards Palestine is not your common lunch table conversation. When I do discuss all that with an Israeli, my primal instinct as a journalist is to pull out my recorder and pen down notes. To learn about their thoughts on their country gives you a truly different perspective, one that you won't find in the newspapers or in policies framed by the government. 

Last evening's chat with a couple of Israeli friends was profound. 

We began with the contentious topic of Occupation. What is the average Israeli's opinion on the occupation? Pat came the reply from A, "Clearly, no one cares enough. Otherwise, we would have had a solution by now... Everyone thinks that the Arabs deserve what is happening and the current generation is not responsible for what is happening now." At a later point, A pointed out, "In fact, I don't mind Ultra-orthodox people so much. Yeah, they don't serve in the army. They get allowance to have more children. But it is the Settlers with whom I have a problem." According to him, they have a sense of entitlement over the West Bank. "I dread the day when Israel will give West Bank to the Arabs. Only because these Settlers will then become my neighbours. Just imagine!" 

This brought us to the topic of war. A asks me, "Were you here for the 50-day War? If you were not, don't worry, you will witness the next installment soon. Maybe this summer or the next. It is imminent." The Arabs have figured out that Israel will only respond to terror, he says. "Gazans live in abject poverty. The blockade did not help. Their only means of making money is by smuggling goods from Egypt. Israel claimed to be defending itself against attacks from Gaza, when an attack from Gaza cannot cause large-scale terror," says V. 

Conscription carries on...

A says wistfully, "In the early 90s when peace talks were going on, it looked like my nephews and sons may not have to join the army. But then (Yitzak Rabin was assassinated) the talks failed, my nephew served in the 50-day war last summer and he was in the thick of it." The IDF is one of the strongest military forces in the Middle East. It has complete control of the West Bank and exercises that control with impunity. "If the army thinks that Arab children were pelting stones or any such thing, the children can be taken into custody with no access to an attorney with no questions asked until the kids are released," says V. That is the power the military has in the West Bank. Quoting a rather absurd incident, A says, "Do you know about an Israeli university in a West Bank settlement?" I nod, no. "Well, the settlers wanted to upgrade a college to a university, but Israel's Council for Higher Education turned down the proposal because the college did not meet the standards of universities in Israel. But this was in the West Bank! So with the military's approval, they made the college a university. There, you have it." Read more about Ariel University here.

Serving as an air force pilot allowed A to watch Israel and consequently the West Bank develop over the last 20 years from the skies. "When I began flying, the West Bank was a dark place at night. Now though, you can't see the difference between Israeli cities and cities in the West Bank. It is all lit up at night," he says.

A mockingly says, "Why do they even bother with all this development if they have to eventually give it back?" V interrupts, "What makes you think they will give it back?" 

Real estate though has not caught up with Israeli standards in West Bank settlements. One of V's friends knows someone who lives in a West Bank settlement, when V learnt of this, she was surprised. The friend explained, "Well, it is cheaper there." And thus, the apathy grows.

And what about elections? "The Likud party (Netanyahu) has no manifesto.  The Labour party, which is supposed to be the left, identifies with right of the center because they know they cannot get votes if they are leftist..." says A. The Labour party won't talk about peace talks because it does not want to offend anyone, he continues. "Anyway, since Netanyahu is already PM, no one sees any other candidate as a fitting replacement," says B. What about the immigrant population, who do they vote for? "They are typically right wing. Most immigrants in Israel are from former USSR countries. They came here fed up with communism," notes A. Many Jews immigrated to Israel in the 90s after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, "They constituted nearly 20% of the population back then and they mostly end up voting for the right," he says. (The fraction of immigrants still hovers around 20%)

Is there hope for withdrawal from the West Bank, hope for a solution, peace? Is there hope for anything at all, I ask myself.

A state ruling a hostile population of 1.5 to 2 million foreigners would necessarily become a secret-police state, with all that this implies for education, free speech and democratic institutions. -- Prof. Yeshayahu Leibowitz, The Territories, 1968

I have been trying to dig up material to read/watch and educate myself on the various shades of gray that Israel stands for. This is a documentary that I found compelling. 

What Tel Aviv is and what it definitely is not

Telling friends and family that you want to move to Israel for a couple of years is not easy. It is a lot like informing parents of your choice to skip engineering to maybe pursue arts. No matter what reasons you give, they still ask you, "But, why?"

I am glad my parents and in-laws were on board with us for this big move. Colleagues and friends still wondered, "Why Israel of all places?" I want to clear the air about this country. I don't think I can do full justice yet, but I can tell you that it is not as scary as we perceive it to be from all the news reports we come across.

Two months in Tel Aviv has given me some insight to say for sure that:

There is no scare here and especially not right now 

A common sight in Israel and Tel Aviv is youth in army fatigue carrying rather intimidating fire arms going about daily chores like buying milk at the grocery store. This does seem out of the ordinary at first, but you get used to it. These are just men and women who have been conscripted for the mandatory 3/2 year term. This does not mean that a conflict is expected anytime soon.

If we reacted to all the negative news we read in India, be it rape or communal violence, we would not be able to go about our lives. And this applies to Tel Aviv too. One has to understand the nature of the incident before saying, "Oh! That's a scary place to be."

During my first two weeks here, there were a few stabbing incidents in Jerusalem and one even in Tel Aviv when an Israeli soldier was stabbed. These were random acts of violence that could not have been prevented. The offender just decided to attack someone when he woke up that morning and it was hardly premeditated. My AirBnB host (B), a history teacher a local school, told me that, "If someone is planning a large-scale attack, the government has the resources to intervene." His belief made me feel safe. This was around the same time when B's school planned a day trip to Jerusalem for the students. Few parents were apprehensive; to B, the panic seemed unwarranted. "There are more chances that one will die in a road accident on the way to Jerusalem than die in a terrorist attack," he said.

Tel Aviv is awesome

Tel Aviv is cosmopolitan, vibrant, secular diverse, a cultural hub and an uniquely international and very gay-friendly city. It has a high immigrant population, houses all the three religions as Jerusalem does and is far less religious in nature than the latter. It has great beaches and is one of the most pet-friendly cities I have come across. During a 45 minute bus ride you could see up to 10 dogs/cats boarding the bus. And what is very pleasing is that the dogs never bark and are well-behaved.

I have come across extremely helpful people in this city and I am willing to bet that the rest must be just as helpful. Your skin tone may make you a foreigner here but that's about it. An orthodox Jew (going by his outfit) who was selling Hanukkah candles asked me if I was a Jew and wanted to buy candles. I said that I was not one, he said, "Oh, but I thought only Jews could live in Israel."* When I clarified that I had not immigrated, he wanted to know my nationality. Until then, we had nothing in common, but India stuck a chord, he said, "Lot of Jews in India. Terrorist attack in Mumbai, you know?" We had a moment there, despairing over what the world had come to... And I felt like it no more mattered that I was not a Jew or that I was a foreigner.

Hummus is not overrated

Have you have watched You Don't Mess with the Zohan, where hummus is used for everything and even to extinguish fire at some point? While I am yet to find a hummus fire extinguisher, hummus has become a staple at home. I honestly panic if I do not have a box of hummus in the refrigerator. I make sure I stock up on my favourite because where you are in Tel Aviv or even Israel for that matter weighs heavily on the taste of hummus. From my experience, the hummus in the south of Tel Aviv in Jaffa is the best so far.

Shabbath to me 

Shabbath is typically a day of rest when it is forbidden to perform deliberate work (which may include turning on/off electrical switches, cooking and driving). Some public buildings and apartment complexes have shabbath elevators that stop at every floor so that if you are observing shabbath, you do not have to press any buttons.

In Tel Aviv, buses and trains do not ply during shabbath, most grocery stores and shops are closed. However, cafes, pubs and sit-down restaurants remain open and see a high-footfall during shabbath. Shabbath does not deter Tel Aviv from being its vibrant self and the city is known to have a rather relaxed attitude towards shabbath.

Though shabbath is technically from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown, the shops shut and buses stop plying around 3-4 pm to allow enough time for the employees to be back home to observe shabbath.

That said, you can travel around the city and to other parts of the country (for hiking and beach hopping) if you use the shared taxi service called sherut or have a car; taxis are an option, but far more expensive. Israel being a country with a varied geography and history offers a lot to those who want to explore and travel.

As one without a car, I would have to say that shabbath is a tad bit inconvenient for me. But I make the most of my weekend by either cooking/cleaning or just binge watching TV shows.

If your company has an office in Tel Aviv and they want to post you here, do not pass. Tel Aviv and Israel in general is an academic hot bed and is a hub for start-ups. In short, you do not want to miss an opportunity to visit this city.


*Anyone can immigrate to Israel. It is just easier for Jews.

Settling Down

Shalom!

I am finally writing this blog after nearly two months of:

• What will this break in my career do to me?
• Let's eat pita falafel for lunch and dinner
• I will surely do the laundry today
• Let's get to Season 3 of Arrow so that we can watch the Flash-Arrow crossover

I still have a ton of utensils to wash and cook for the day. But all that can wait.

Settling down in Tel Aviv took two weeks. And we found our way to the shuk (market) on Day 2 because our luggage did not make it to Tel Aviv with us. I found that forced shopping within a tight budget was not exciting. Especially when you are out dressed in your host's t-shirt and boxers.

Soon after, it was time for house hunting. House hunting in Tel Aviv was just as treacherous as it is anywhere else in the world, just the added misery of the websites being in Hebrew and Google Translate providing comedic relief. One Mr Wolf was looking for a tenant for his house on Peace Street. Zeev, a common name in Israel means wolf and I did not bother looking for what the name of the street in Hebrew really meant.

The reality of living in Israel does not hit you once you land. I realised what it meant to live here when a prospective landlady joked while mentioning that the bedroom was all concrete and comes in handy considering the recent war. She was referring to the 50-day war that had just ended. We did not rent that house, but when I moved in to my current residence, I did find out where the nearest bomb shelter is located. For those in Tel Aviv, the siren indicting that you rush to your nearest bomb shelter gives you a buffer of 90 seconds to make that dash. I was also informed by a 13-year-old that those who stay very close to Gaza do not have that luxury. "You hear the siren and you just sit in your home hoping it won't come fall on your house," he said.