Foggy distance

I noticed that the rightist news broadcasting in Israel mentioned that the party "Sverigedemokraterna" (Swedish Democrats) have taken seats in the Swedish parliament after the general elections last Sunday. They referred to it as an anti-Muslim and pro-Israeli party, as if they were allies of some sort. However, they forgot to mention the important detail that the party has its origin in the neo-nazi movement. Alas, the flirting with the pro-Israeli lobby is just a dirty scam. They do not like Jews more than they like Arabs. Clearly, the Israeli coverage of Sweden is not more accurate than the Swedish coverage of Israel...

Update: Haaretz seems a bit more sober on the matter.

Late summer adventures

When I look back on all the days I spend at home, acting like a desperate housewife, I sometimes feel that my life is a little bit boring. Then I can just look in my image library from the last few weeks, and my mind switches. Certainly, it is not that satisfying to be somewhat stuck at home a lot, but hopefully things will change soon. I am doing some graphic design and translation jobs from home, but in the beginning of October we have another appointed battle with Misrad Hapnim to deliver our wedding certificate, and hopefully my residency here will be a bit more legal shortly after that.

In the meantime the camera documentation proofs that I am living the good life, roaming this blessed land. One evening, we took the horses on a longer ride from the stables. We visited Beit She'arim and the Alexander Zaïd statue, and stayed there until the sun set behind the Carmel mountain. The breeze almost felt a bit cooling for the first time in three months. However, the extreme summer does not seem to let go of its intense grip just yet. We still sleep with the fan all night long, butt naked on the bed. I have neither used warm water for any shower yet, and it is mid September! People have a hard time believing me, but I am totally loving it!

Jojo and the black mare Laila

Alexander Zaïd statue in the sunset

Last Shabbat we took the kids on another kayaking adventure. This time we started off a bit further up North, in HaGoshrim instead of Kfar Blum. The water in the river was now definitely cooler than when we were there in August, but with the mercilessly frying sun above, it was with pure joy that we spent more time in the water than in the boat.

We succeeded to match our trip with Eid ul-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that marks the end of the Ramadan, and it felt like all of Israel's 1,2 million Muslims had come to HaGoshrim to do some kayaking, or at least the adolescent ones. We all know what happens when adolescents with strict and religious parents go on holiday. They act like obnoxious testosterone-poisoned monsters, screaming, brawling and littering all around. All the boys tried to win the famous macho war, while the girls tried to squeal as high as possible if the boat rocked a bit too much. You who know me understand that this has nothing to do with bashing Muslims. I have enough Muslim friends to be able to speak up against bad manners among them. I do that with whoever deserves it.

Baptised? I don't think so. Blessed? Yes!

Beautiful Hasbani river, a tributary to Jordan river

Nevertheless, in between the herds of wild youngsters we enjoyed some quiet time on the river and after the kayaking we went to Kibbutz Dan for some time at the pool with the cousins of the boys. We got some nice tips for spots to camp on along one of the rivers that are well hidden from kayakers and the rest of the Israeli camping populace. After Sukkot we have five days in a row without kids and then we will put ourselves and the dogs on a river bank far away from civilisation. Or, as our tipper put it, "It is that far up North that if you meet anyone, it's Hezbollah".

The cultural shackles

This story comes a few days after it happened, but the depth of the comment made by Yoram struck me a bit later. We went to the pool for a few hours on Saturday and just relaxed. No kids and a quiet day. There were quite a lot of people and just as we arrived, a family Yoram knows was just about to leave, so we waited to take over their shade and chairs. They have a boy, around two years old, who they were about to change clothes on. He was standing butt naked, but suddenly refused to put new clothes on. The parents almost looked embarrassed and asked him "Bli klum?" (Without anything?). As they left, Yoram whispered to me "That's how it starts, hu..?", and I answered "Yes, that's how it starts". The boy went to the car wearing only sandals, but I am afraid that it was a small victory. They will break the naturism out of him no later than puberty.

However, Yoram showed that he has widened his awareness of the deceptive dynamics of moral codes.

Shana Tova & Eid Mabruk

I wish a Happy New Jewish Year for my Jewish friends and a Happy Ending of the Ramadan for my Muslim friends!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Shalom Salaam

Still a blueberry

I am pouring up a cold drink in preparation to watch live broadcasting from Washington, when Yoram looks at me with a funny grin on his face and says: "I can tell that this is your first peace process".

It is hard for people born elsewhere to grasp how deep the despair and cynicism goes...

Day by day

A second terror attack in two days. It is pretty clear that there are strong opponents against any kind of peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and I am sure we have not seen the end of that. On the other hand, the Jewish settler bullies promise to continue building on their settlements and outposts as a mere answer to the terror attacks. This is how peace talks are shattered, and it is not the first time. It is a pattern. I just hope that there will not be another terror wave within Israeli territory.

I wish that leftist pro-Palestinians in Sweden and other European countries would realise that supporting the Palestinian resistance movement is not any more about achieving peace and a sovereign state for the Palestinian people. Hailing Hamas, equals supporting a fascistic and ultra-nationalistic regime whose ultimate goal is to eliminate Israel and to create a totalitarian, theocratic state that will oppress women, as well as persecuting anyone who will not abide to their mediaeval moral standards. Sometimes I wonder what drug dazed the minds of these notorious Israel-haters.

Speaking of drugs, I have previously tried to illustrate with words how it is to live in this intense region, where life is embraced like every day was the last one, for valid reasons! Lately I have seen several persons refer to it like the whole population being on drugs. Michael Totten have published some interesting interviews with people who have extensive experience from both Israel and Lebanon that pictures the parallel universes that seem to exist within a nation. The bright side is that most people choose life in this environment of dark forces of terror, oppressing power and continuous war.

A night-club in the Lebanese capital Beirut has made a commercial that expresses this contrast in a fascinating, but at the same time disturbing way. Lebanon is much more polarised than Israel, but Beirut is still in many ways comparable to Tel Aviv, where people dance their heads off although bombs can start dropping any minute.

We have aikido friends in Lebanon. I wish that we one day can take the car and drive straight up to Beirut and join for a freeing aikido session. First we need to withdraw from the drugs. However, the heaviest addicts have to be dealt with first, and that is people like Ahmadinejad, Nasrallah, Haniyeh and Meshal, who seem to go on a mix of crack, meth and PCP.

Washington summit

"Everybody already know how the final agreement will look like", Moshe Amirav says on the TV news. Suddenly it strikes me that he is right. There is no other way. Approximately 9% of the West Bank will be annexed to Israel in a land swap, and this includes the largest settlement blocs. Jerusalem will be divided with the holy basin run by a special regime, and the Eastern Arab neighbourhoods will become the Palestinian capital. No Palestinian refugees will return to Israeli territory. The dream of a united Jerusalem is the sacrifice for the Jewish nation and the right to return is the Palestinian dream that is shattered. The procrastination is only a charade. The question is whether the leaders are brave enough. Are they ready to do the concessions? Bibi? Abu Mazen? Yalla! Kadima!

Then of course we have Hamas to deal with, who like loyal clockworks executed a terror attack just in time for the initiation of the peace negotiations. I do not have to put in words how I feel about the settlement enterprise, but being savagely shot down is a bit harsh punishment for occupying land.

Then there is Iran. I wish that people would understand that the Mideast conflict is about more than just some land in the Levant...