Absolute Purim

The fiesta in the streets of Israel during Purim week brings back to my mind one of my most bizarre nights I ever had. This is the time when a Greek Orthodox Christian, his Muslim friend and a dozen of Yeshiva students spent a night of drinking Absolute vodka together.

Earlier that week I was trying to come up with an original costume for a Purim party I was planning to attend on Saturday. While my friend Shadi was driving us back from a night out in Tel Aviv we ran into a van full of Yeshiva students next to us. I was a bit drunk so I managed to get some courage to open the window and ask one of the young fellows for a Kipa. I had an idea to dress as a religious Yeshiva student to the Purim party latter that week. I couldn’t find a fashionable KIPA; I was actually looking for a specific Breslev Kipa and that fellow was my chance to make it happen.

He asked me to call him to his cell phone; he then offered a visit to his Yeshiva in Beer Yaakov to provide me with that unique Kipa - He said he has plenty of them out there. “What the heck” Shadi said and we found ourselves driving behind a van full of Yeshiva students to their Kolel in Beer Yaakov.

When we parked the car, we realized that most of the boys were half drunk. I told Shadi that our plan is to get that Kipa and head out as soon as possible. “Be careful with your Arabic accent” I said, we don’t want any unnecessary arguments. Gladly they didn’t ask about our names, which would have surely created some sort of discomfort.

Let me make this clearer, there’s some sort of a MITZVAH in Judaism during Purim to get drunk (sort of) and the students insisted we toast together for that occasion. “It’s a MITZVAH” (religion commandment) said one of the students of Rabbi Shapira. Next thing I know was me drinking Absolute vodka with my Muslim friend and a dozen of students in a Yeshiva! I kind of hesitated about the whole deal, considering the fact we were almost drunk, but these guys were super friendly so we settled there for a while. I ended up getting my desired Kipa and even giving a ride to one of the student with our car to his grandmother’s house. I think I even had the chance to give a Trumah (donation) to the Yeshiva, symbolic bill of 20 Shekels.

This was surly one of the most imaginary Purim celebration I will ever have. I wouldn’t mind doing that again, tomorrow? Shabbos? Shadi?

New Heritage Sites in Israel

Heritage sites are a key tool used by politicians to create a national memory. Yesterday, Netanyahu’s government announced a refreshing new list that will include heritage sites from the West Bank to the list. In addition, the list that includes 150 sites, will cost the tax payer NIS400 million, an amount that could be directed to Israeli Universities with its enormous deficits. Moreover, this is an act that adds up to the long list of actions by the current administration to divide any possible interaction and closeness between Arabs and Jews in Israel.

Looking at the heritage suggestion list, I find not even one single non-Jewish heritage site. Rather understandable if the lists’ title was “Zionist heritage list”. Instead, the list carries the name: “National Heritage List”. The lists’ implementation will obviously deepen the crack within the Israeli society and with the Palestinians. I’m not posing a bi-national resolution; I’m simply asking to bring all elements of Israeli society into a major symbolic act. Naming historic sites from the West Bank is nothing but a controversial act, in light of recent extremist forcibly entering the most safe and calm city in the West Bank; Jericho.

Israel has 20 sites submitted to the tentative list of UNESCO’s world heritage sites in addition to 6 sites that are already on the cultural list of UNESCO. Adding those 20 sites to the current list that Netanyahu’s government is suggesting would transfer large amounts of money to construction and developments of the pending list sites; a great boost towards the permanent list. Let's say I may be a bit biased since my hometown of Ramle has a representative site on the pending list but what the heck.

One can only anticipate some sort of logic in our leaders’ minds, to promote unity rather than division. Ultimately, stones and holidays might be another way to peoples’ hearts and minds.

My Weird iPod Playlist

I have lately formatted my iPod. I simply lost control over the playlists and the order in it so I decided to delete everything and reorganize.

My music player is a must considering the fact I ride the train almost every day. Passengers speak in their cell phones out loud and conversations are pretty common amongst the frequent “flyers”, something that drives me nuts, especially on 6:30am.

I sat last night and quickly updated my list. I got home now and plugged my iPod for battery charging and realized how rare my quickie playlist is. The combination and unique selection of artists is pretty odd yet remarkable. A list I doubt you would encounter anywhere else, well maybe at my friend Peter or Honey’s iPods.

The combination between all sorts of artists is worth a mention. My taste in music might be odd in its nature but having Ehud Banai’s performance album along side with May Nasr’s live concert in Homs is not a probable way of grouping. I always wonder if Gidi Gov would perform well with Rim Banna, they both have that passion a lot of artists lack. Rim would probably curse me for saying that and I’m assuming Gidi doesn’t even know who Rim is. I also found that Shlomo Artzi’s album “Yareach” from 1992 and Fairuz’s album “Walla Keef” from 2001 we there. Again, I’m not trying to compare, just sharing the strange placement. The list also includes my usual music I carry almost everywhere such as Coldplay.

Now that I have time to actually sit down and upload more music, I think I will pay more attention to the coexistence of all those artists in my little world. I wonder if I would be alive when a Palestinian and Israeli artists will perform together in Tel Aviv or Ramallah.

Just a thought…

Throwing Shoes

The coverage in yesterday's news about Pinchas Cohen, the Israeli citizen who threw a shoe at the Supreme Court Chief Dorit Beinisch, brings all sorts of thought to my mind.

I just have to put this in writing so that in a couple of months, when this happens again in our education system, I could come up to you all and say: “I told you”. It’s just unavoidable with the current respect student have for their teachers, Disgrace!

Somehow, despicable deeds as such tend to expand to other areas of our daily life. I am positive that Pinchas, as much as he could have been a creative person, borrowed his actions from the Iraqi journalist Muntather Zaidi, who throw his shoes toward the former president George W. Bush earlier in Dec 2008. Browsing the net brings more similar cases, without any comparison, the current president of Sudan, Omar Hassan Al-Bashir also experienced the flying shoe toward him. That’s someone who actually deserves a flying shoe.

I have the sense that these incidents won’t be the final in this shameful saga. Let’s just wait towards the end of the school year, I promise I won’t give any tips for high school students. I doubt that any of my readers are high school students but I sure feel like it is coming; or not.

נוח לי עם ליברמן

איך אפשר לא להתפעל כל פעם מחדש מאמירותיו של מר ליברמן, הבנאדם לא מפסיק להפציע בהצהרות של משוגע - פשוטו כמשמעו. כמה הזוי כמה מוזר - הבנאדם כנה ואין עוד רבים כמוהו.

מאז שליברמן סחף את מצביעיו לחמש עשר מנדטים בבחירות של 2009 החלטתי שאני נוקט במדיניות של התעלמות. זה לא שדעתי כה חשובה לאיווט ושות' אבל ההחלטה דיי שירתה אותי. פחות וג'ע ראס משגעונות החברה' של ישראל ביתנו ופחות עיסוק במה שמהווה לפי השקפתי את שוליי החברה הישראלית. חמש עשר מנדטים נכון, אבל עדיין שוליי החברה' הישראלית לתמימות דעתי.

ישבתי וחשבתי על מעלליו של מכובדנו ועולה לי לראש רשימה לא מבוקרת של הצהרות שנויות במחלוקת. לא ברור לי עדיין אם הוא החליט שהוא נכנס למערכת בחירות מרגע שהוא יצא מהשנייה אבל, אין ספק שהבחור עקבי.

ב-2004 הספיק מיודענו לומר כי לקבוצה ערבית כמו סכנין אין מקום בליגת העל, לאחר מכן ב-2008 הוא הסתכסך עם נשיאה של מצרים, חוסני מוברק, אחד המנהיגים הבודדים בעולם הערבי שתומך בישראל בצורה עקבית גם בנושא הסכסוך הישראלי-הפלסטיני, ע"ע עזה/חמאס וחיזבאללה. לפעמים אני תוהה מה היה עולה בגורלו של ליברמן לולא שמעון פרס היה נשיא המדינה ושר החוץ בפועל. מעלליו של ליברמן ממשיכים עם נזיפת שגרירינו בעולם ודרישתו מהם להפסיק להתרפס בפני מדינות העולם. לאחרונה סגן שר החוץ דני אילון, בחסותו של שר החוץ, כיכב במופע מביש בו הועלב שגריר טורקיה מול המצלמות עם פרשת הספה המפורסמת.

לרשימה המכובדת שלעיל התווספה היום הצהרת ליברמן כלפי סוריה. אחרי שרה"מ נתניהו ציין כי הוא מוכן לשאת ולתת עם הסורים ללא תנאים מקדימים, בא הבריון של השכונה בשנית, נואם באוניברסיטת בר-אילן וממשיך בהתנהגות העקבית והמבישה וטוען כי ממשל בשאר אסד לא ישרוד עוד מלחמה עם ישראל. גם איום על השלטון העלאווי וגם חלחול מלחמה. אל לנו להתעלם מהצהרות אהוד ברק, בשאר אסד, ואליד אל-מועלם ובנימין נתניהו. בשונה מליברמן, הנזכרים לעיל השתדלו להתנסח בצורה דיפלומטית, מעורפלת ונתונה לפרשנות. ייתכן כי ליברמן אינו דוגל בפתלתלות שכזו, ואם כן קבל היי פייב.

יקירי, הגיע הזמן להודות בזה. דיפלומט לא היית ולא תהיה. אפילו סגן שר החוץ, איש משרד החוץ שנים רבות נסחף להתנהגות המביישת. התנהגות שלא מביישת רק את ליברמן, מפלגתו ומצביעיו אלא בעיקר את מדינת ישראל.

קולו של מוקי לא מפסיק להדהד בראשי באומרו: מחליקות הפנים על התער, מלטפות אצבעות את החרב.

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