Beautiful Israel

After working with my counterpart in the North from her Carmiel office yesterday, I found this beautiful Magen David monument to a fallen soldier during the second to last war, the Second Lebanon War on the way out of town today. Gilad fell at the age of 29. The Jewish star says it all--that conflict, just like the one that ended for now last night, was all about terror organizations aiming to kill Jews so that we could not live here in our historic (and also beautiful, huh?) homeland. I'll get back on here soon to read and translate some of the memorial plaque. For now, enjoy the view behind the monument, where you can see the rolling hills of the Galilee region.

David Horovitz (yes, he's my main man. Ok, I'm obsessed for good reason, as he spoke to my OTZMA group eight years ago while I was Editor in Chief of the Jerusalem Post; he was just the nicest guy) echoed my sentiments from my post last night, writing "Until the next time." And the onion hit Israel's mood today on the head.

Alright, that's enough of everything that's wrong with Israel, what with her all too precarious position surrounded by enemies.
So here's everything that's right about Israel. This song was the NBA on Sport 5's song for those magical 2011 playoffs. Somehow, until now, I had missed this actual video, featuring the stunning Michal Shapira (the land here is beautiful, and so are the women). Enjoy a beautiful Israeli making some sublime Israeli music:

Now it's time for turkey, Jerusalem style! Missing my amazing Dad and our Turkey Trot 8 mile runs so much! He'd usually wax nostalgic around mile 5. A couple times I mentioned frustrations with the ladies.
I remember him replying along the lines of, "You'll be fine, just stay patient and keep looking. You'll know when it's right."
Anyone have Michal Shapira's number?
Kidding.

This guy is super thankful for the lovely Thanksgiving visit with Mom on Skype! Good luck Amy and the boys in hosting their big dinner in Stamford! בתאבון לכולם / b'teavon l'kulam = bon appetit to all!

And I'm out,
Eric

"Over" for now

I just watched my Prime Minister Netanyahu speak nicely, but with maybe 10% of his typical aplomb. He must have seen the survey showing that 70% of the country was against a ceasefire now. But he has the oh-so-undesirable job of leading this fine country, and it was so obvious that he reluctantly chose this to be the least-bad-option for the evening of November 21, 2012.

Now, I have to take a step back and appreciate how well I've, thank G-d, managed to integrate here. Four years ago during Operation Cast Lead, I had gotten my Hebrew up to speed, but in that gap between wars, I picked up more vocab; now I fully understood Netanyahu and used other words which I had picked up on the news or in the newspaper to be fully abreast of what's happening. And I'll continue to soak up new words--today's news further expanded my war-time vocab:

אוֹת קָלוֹן/ot kalon
stigma, mark of disgrace (used by Ben-Gurion University Med School administration staff to describe med students who didn't stay in town for their rotations)

חָפוּז/chafuz
hasty (used to describe the preparation of the Tel Aviv bus bomb)

and
התנסות ראשונה/hitnasut rishona
first time experience (used by Ben-Gurion University President Rivka Carmi to describe those Beer Sheva residents, like me, who were not yet around the last time during Operation Cast Lead)

But after we ceased our fire per the agreement, the terrorists continue to send rockets toward Israeli civilians. I type, they continue trying to kill us...

It's always something

Two and a half years ago, I got news that Dad's cancer had come back after his first round of chemo, the night before my first exam in grad school. That ambush of exams was the hardest I had in one semester, including Pathophysiology, Budget Management and Planning, and Epidemiology (all in Hebrew, of course). I used Tom Petty's "Runnin' Down a Dream" one of my aliyah anthems, to help me survive that summer's exams.

Last night I had what I think was my first nightmare of sirens and running to shelter to avoid rocket fire. Now I can only hope and pray that Hamas and their compadres will wise up and finally stop terrorizing Israel with rockets (the ceasefire as of now clearly means zilch to them). And I will catch up on my work, keep one foot in front of the next, and make that dream happen each day despite so many useless, hateful anti-Semities who don't want me here.

More recommended reading:

Michael Oren, who revoked his US citizenship for this moment of serving Israel as Ambassador to the US, giving fantastic historical perspective to the conflict of Israel against its haters.

David Horovitz, wisely warning Israel to beware of Hamas's future attempts to outsmart the Iron Dome.

And a touching personal depiction of his son's response to rocket fire and sirens by big-time Israeli writer Etgar Keret, who also lectures at Ben-Gurion!

With that I'll wrap up my visit to the North and head back to Jerusalem tomorrow morning.

Happy trails to everyone getting back home to the South and the tens of thousands of reserve soldiers returning home. And a רפואה שלמה/refua slema - full healing to all the Israelis injured.

Huge thanks again to everyone who reached out to me or my Mom! It means the world to me.

And Happy Thanksgiving America! Love,

אריק/Eric

Northbound

So my ten minute interview with WGN turned into one sentence. And the mispronunciations of my name and especially Beer Sheva were pretty comical! But the version at this link includes both my photo and my name spelled correctly (I'm 1:40 in).

My impassioned plea for Chicagoans to look past the headlines and truly understand the Israeli perspective in fighting terror--not deemed TV-friendly. But I'm glad I was able to provide the voice of a former Chicagoan so that people can try to relate to Israelis under fire.

45 minutes after I was on the air in Chicago as a Beer Sheva refugee who relocated to Jerusalem (Nancy didn't mention, but the relocation is temporary), a second air raid siren was heard in Jerusalem. The rocket landed outside of town.

So I'll go ahead and abstain from publicizing the next city on my Israel tour--I scheduled a visit up north with my work counterpart there once things got out of hand in Beer Sheva. Getting there from Jerusalem is a much more manageable journey. Looking forward to the change of scenery...

Here's another piece by Khaled Abu Toameh, even further dampening hopes of reconciliation with moderate Palestinians.

Thanks for listening, and a huge thanks to everyone for expressing their concern and support! It means the world to me--I couldn't make it without you!
Peace and love,
Eric

Interview on WGN

Watch/listen live to my interview on WGN offering the Beer Sheva perspective. Huge thanks go to former Chicago roommate Andy Zuick for getting me onto the news of one of my all-time favorite channels. As of now, I'll be on as part of a piece around 11:00, noon CT/19:00, 20:00 Israel.
If you can't catch that, here's an archived link. I speak at 1:10 on that. My ten minute interview turned into one sentence...

After Saturday's news of the 73-year-old Beer Sheva man who fell and died while running to shelter (which has not been reported in the media as it should as a murderous attack), I woke up Sunday to learn that a Holocaust survivor with whom I worked closely passed away on Thursday. This is a woman who survived the Holocaust in Romania, moved to Kiryat Shmona in Israel's North, suffered years of relentless rocket fire on her home there, then moved to Sderot, where she hoped she would experience some peace and quiet. Well, Sderot subsequently turned into Hamas' punching bag, the blunt of the majority of the thousands of rockets launched out of Gaza for the last 12 years.
I got the news too late in order to attend her funeral and have not learned her cause of death, but I do know that her last day on Earth was incredibly unpleasant, as rocket attacks on Sderot and the South intensified beginning last Wednesday night.

I'm working from Jerusalem and enjoying the opportunity to catch my friends here during the week. That meant watching the Cowboys' ugly win Sunday night with fellow Dallas fan Debbie and NFL fan and former roommate Noah. Then last night I caught another friend's birthday party. A facetime chat with Amy, Aron and the nephews will always make my week, but especially so this time! 
But I of course look forward to returning home to Beer Sheva and catching up on a great deal of work. It breaks my heart that so many of my training sessions and events will have to be delayed because of the rocket fire on my region.

Suggested reading/viewing:

Beer Sheva under attack
A portrait of my deserted alma mater, Ben-Gurion University. Now can I express gratitude for having completed my degree in between two wars.
Melanie Phillips' take on the news.
Daniel Gordis encouraging the Jewish community to support Israel, rather than focusing on balance and a universalistic approach. 
An in depth look at the development of the Iron Dome defense system, and the developer's prediction of future improvements of the system.
Khaled Abu Toameh once again shows how impossible it is to be a moderate Palestinian.
My friend Sara on the difficulties of supporting Israel in the academic world.
Amir Mizroch with some military insight on the situation.

And last but not least, in Michigan news, Denard Robinson just thanked me for coming out. Beer Sheva to Arlington for the Alabama game, of all games, was a pretty rough one to watch. But Denard just made it all ok.

An older Israeli dies, Hamas celebrates

I just got back from one last celebration tonight for the bride and groom, Racheli and Mark...

The host couldn't even join the party he organized, as he, like tens of thousands of other young Israelis (several of my friends included) was called up for reserve action. The party went on with another round of beautiful, joyous music by the violinist bride, flautist groom, and accompanists on guitar and hand drums. But of course, conspicuous beneath the ecstatic celebration for the amazing couple, we're all feeling this war heavily on our hearts.

הכל בסדר/ha'kol b'seder/everything's ok

Everything's fine here in Jerusalem (despite the siren Friday evening and two rockets landing nearby. Can't miss David Horovitz's crazy insightful analysis of that one). But back home in Beer Sheva, everything is very much not ok. A 73 year old man collapsed while running for shelter (one neighborhood over from me) during an Air Raid Siren (just one of over ten there on our holy Shabbat day of rest), due to a barrage of rockets fired at the city. Magen David Adom medics attempted to resuscitate the man, but he was declared dead. So I'll make my way to bed completely and utterly heartbroken for his family, my family.

My wish

שיהיה שבוע טוב ושקט/May it be a good, quiet week for the Jewish people. May we defeat the terror emanating from Hamas and their cohorts so that my people will never have to spend another Shabbat running for cover during prayer services. May Hamas stop despicably harming millions of people by aiming murderous rockets at our civilians while launching them amidst their own civilian population. May the world see through their pugnacious lies, stop hating on my people by even considering for a second that terrorism can be justified, and start to understand that we take outrageous efforts to kill only those who would wish to harm us, scrupulously avoiding Gazan civilian casualties. May those tens of thousands of soldiers be wildly successful in their mission to provide septuagenarians and all my brothers and sisters with a normal life in which we will not constantly walk around with a bull's eye on our heads, and may the soldiers all come home safe to their worried families and give their moms and wives and kids a big kiss. May those who are in shape successfully continue running on time to shelter to stay out of harm's way and do their part to keep this from escalating out of control. And may those who are unable to run, please G-d, hear no more air raid sirens. Ever. The Holocaust survivors for whom I work have been through enough already.

Most of all, may our enemies (of which we have no shortage) once and for all figure out that no matter how hard they may try, no matter how much they wish that we, the proud Jewish state of Israel, would cease to exist, that I would die or go back to the US...they will fail! They have failed in their murderous intents for nearly a century, and with G-d's help, we will continue to defeat them.

Yes, I am angry...

But I have nothing but love for you,

אריק/Eric

P.S. GO BLUE, Nice Michigan win for a diversion! While we manhandled Iowa this time, one of my all-time favorite memories was watching with Dad as we made the spectacular comeback against the Hawkeyes in 1997, a huge part of our National Championship run. Now Beat ohio!

נ.ב. - P.S.

נ.ב. = P.S.
I hit a shot! Not Dirk style, but I made the game winning shot no less from the paint.

Another small victory now was being able to take a shower without the terror of figuring out how to get the towel on in time to run to shelter. While I was terrified yesterday mid-shower in Beer Sheva, I thankfully made it in and out without having to handle that sticky situation.

In Beer Sheva we have one minute to get to shelter. In Sderot and the communities closer to Gaza, only 15 seconds. These poor souls have been dealing with that shower scenario for 12 years! Enough! That's why this operation is happening.

As we started the basketball game, Tel Aviv ran to shelter once again.

Off to services to pray hard for שלום רב על ישראל עמך/Shalom Rav Al Yisrael Amcha - Peace on Israel, Your people. May my extended family of Israelis know no more Shabbatot in shelters!

Much love once again

Exhaling

Eight glorious hours of sleep later...
My friend and old roommate Noah very quickly extended the offer of refuge from bombarded Beer Sheva. His wife Livia's in the States for a bit, so I'm glad to keep him company here in Jerusalem.

After the previous night of an alarm every hour from midnight to 3am in the form of an air raid siren, after a morning when Hamas wouldn't even let me use the bathroom in peace, I'm immensely enjoying the little things here...also enjoying some hearty laughs while watching absurd YouTube videos with Noah, reading about the insane mind of the Lakers' Metta World Peace, and playing some Wii baseball and tennis.

Cardio workouts and New Balance shoes vis-a-vis survival
Let's go back to Wednesday night. It's a good thing I've been making about three visits a week to the Ben-Gurion University pool, where you can find me "pool running" in the "slow lane." I kept the running shoes ready to go (thanks so much Mom for buying me those back in September in Dallas!). My new roommate Amatzia didn't bother taking his off and just slept with them on. He pulled a muscle on one run down to the shelter. I've been telling him since we moved in he needs to hit the gym with me!

The squeaky wheel gets the shelter unlocked
As for the shelter, I'm very grateful for my downstairs neighbors who called the Municipality ad nauseam until they came to unlock it for our use. Thankfully it's very spacious and clean. That same assertive neighbor must be in her fifties, and struggles with a sore knee to get downstairs to shelter and back up.

Three fellow Israelis were killed yesterday when a terrorist rocket hit their house in Kiryat Malachi. May their memories be a blessing.
They were reported to be by the window. Please know that I am uber-serious about following the orders of the Home Front Command, and will always put my running shoes to use to get to shelter. And for now I used the trusty 470 Egged bus to get out of range. About 45 minutes after we left, we were out of the range of rockets that Hamas had used.
But then last night, sirens were sounded in Tel Aviv.

I'll let my Prime Minister Netanyahu speak for me about the background and the untenable situation of a decade of terrorist rocket fire, with the insidious aim of killing as many of my brothers and sisters as possible:

As for last night's post, I failed to explain what Sheva Brachot is. After the wedding ceremony and for the next six nights, a series of festive meals for the bride and groom are followed by the traditional seven blessings (שבע ברכות/sheva brachot = seven blessings). So the party continued, but I was able to give a taste of the Southern experience to the room of Jerusalemites amidst blessings for the amazing Mark and Racheli.

Mark is one of the best friends a guy could ask for, always there to help, support, offer what he can; and just a happy, fun, deep, bright, musically-talented guy who digs sharing a tasty bottle of wine.

A successful aliyah
I mentioned last night the countless offers from friends here. Ironically, a ton of friends in Tel Aviv offered shelter by them, then had to run to shelter themselves yesterday evening.

I believe very firmly that a successful aliyah means meeting and encountering good people. With that in mind, my move to Israel has been an overwhelming success, with an unbelievable, diverse mix of great people who've entered my life here. Praise the Lord Halleluya for these awesome folks!

As Ben-Gurion--obviously--closed the pool, I am overdue for a workout. So while my heart and mind are with my brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews and grandparents in the South, and the brave soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces, you can find me on the basketball court for a direly needed ventilation session. Hoping to hit a basket in this Jerusalem pick-up league for the first time. I'm thinking something like this:

Peace and love and shelter from bad things. כן יהי רצון/cen y'hi ratzon/may it be G-d's will. And I'm out,
אריק/Eric

Living on the front page of Jewish history

Moving to Israel means living on the front page of Jewish history. That's usually exhilarating, something that offers wonderful growth and deep meaning to my life.

Other times, that means living on the front page of anti-Semitism and Islamic fundamentalism. That's quite a bit less pleasant.

After our targeted killing of a Hamas leader who was responsible for killing and terrorizing innocent Israeli civilians, not to mention kidnapping and holding onto Gilad Shalit; Israel's South knew the forecast for rockets wasn't any 40% chance--we were gonna feel the pain.

And pain we felt. I lost count very quickly. But my friend and fellow Beer Sheva resident Ravit painstakingly kept track of those last night 7:57, 8, 8:10, 9ish, 12:15, 1:15, 2:35, 3, 6:30, 7:45, 7:48, 8:06, 8:40, 9, 9:15...there were another couple on my way out of town to Jerusalem.

So that was more in about 16 and a half hours than all the sirens I had heard combined in the two years prior.

Skype-ing with Mom and off to Sheva Brachot for my amazing friend Mark (below, his wedding was two nights ago).

And this is the spectacular Negev sunset from my train ride to Beer Sheva yesterday. I got the news from my boss right before I took this, knowing that the sunset to the west would certainly beat anything else coming from that direction in the near future.

Lots of love and huge thanks to so many amazing friends here who offered me a place to crash to get out of rocket range.

Now I'll catch up on some old interesting links. A Wall Street Journal piece about rocking out the morning at work. An interesting guide to which types of produce it's important to buy organic, and which less so. And jazz guitar maestro Pat Metheny, on YouTube, talking about how YouTube's access to so much music has proved to be a game-changer for musicians.

שבת שלום מירושלים/Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem,
אריק/Eric