Whirlwind through Tel Aviv and Jerusalem

Yesterday morning at 9 sharp, Ari and I took to the road for the short (in American terms!) 1 hour drive to Tel Aviv - Ari had to visit the U.S. Embassy to renew his student visa, which he did successfully after waiting in a very inefficient line for 3 hours. I, on the other hand, had the luxury of venturing out into the streets of Tel Aviv for a stroll and some shopping. Keen shopper that I am, I ended up heading right up towards Dizengoff Street, home of punky, creative, and elegant boutiques.

From Feb 26-27

It was a little intimidating finding my way around, but this feeling only lasted about 2 minutes until I discovered that shopping is a universal skill and not culturally bound. Also, here I could practice my newfound negotiation skills that I just learned about last term. In about an hour, I bargained my way through two rings, a couple pairs of jeans, and a shirt and belt. The shopping service style is much more aggressive here - I was handed nearly one thing in every shop - and unfortunately I was not adept enough at Hebrew to make anyone consider that I might be a local, which meant higher prices (most likely). Fortunately there were marked prices on the items so I anchored low and held on for dear life. I even almost walked out a couple of times and this seemed to work well since it was a rainy day and the shops were starved for some business.

From Feb 26-27

Ari and I successfully met at the designated coffee shop around 1pm, and then we headed to Jerusalem to our hotel on Har HaTsofim (a hill that overlooks Jerusalem). We had a lovely dinner at Rivlin, right near the old city, and then headed to the Western Wall (Ha Kotel) for our tour at 9pm. I actually drove this part, since Ari and I both agreed that I was a better driver and he navigator, since the maps were all in Hebrew.

The old city at night is very beautiful - the walls seem even more solid and protective than I imagined. We ambled through narrow passageways and streets that one could barely imagine a car squeezing through. It had just stopped raining, and everything was damp and quiet so that our footsteps were the only audible sound within the yellow-lit walls. We descended toward Ha Kotel, went through the security station (checking your bag as you would in an airport) and walked out onto the broad plaza bordered by Ha Kotel.
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From Feb 26-27

I was surprised to find that while the place certainly seemed sanctified by the people there, there was nothing particularly compelling about the wall, and in fact I began to feel foolish as I stood facing the giant pieces of stone that have been in the same place since before 86BC. It seems strange to me that a people freed from idolatry choose to stand facing a wall to feel holy. Of all the places that I have been in my life, I have felt greater holiness in nature, during a sunrise, or watching an act of kindness and compassion.

From Feb 26-27

That is not to say that the Western Wall could be taken lightly; the emotional energy of the women was completely overwhelming. Women of all ages from all places were deep in prayer - most with a book - women about 20 taking photos of eachother at the wall with their cellphones (which made an oinking noise that I found highly disrespectful) - women with their daugthers, snapping photos and encouraging them to pray, women bowed over with eyes closed weeping, women rocking back and forth and singing prayers. As I have seen in photos, cracks were jam packed with handwritten notes - Ari even saw one note with a phone number.

From Feb 26-27

We lined up in the cold for our tour through the tunnels and visited the wall from underground, under the Arab quarter, and saw the greater extent of the extraordinary workmanship of the temple mount structure: a wall that extended all along the Old City, built using stones that would challenge the limits of modern-day technology. Our tour guide was informative but frustrating for me because she kept making very insidious comments about Arabs. There were a number of children on our tour - American Jews - and they all accepted the Anti-Arab rhetoric without question.

From Feb 26-27

The next morning after breakfast at the hotel, we headed to Yad VaShem (Holocaust Memorial Museum) for the first part of the day.

From Feb 26-27

It is a beautifully-designed stark landscape of concrete and glass, and every effort has been spent on making the place somber and trustworthy as a monument to the Holocaust. As you can imagine the museum is very very very sad. My favorite piece was a poem written by a 14 year old names Abraham who died at Auschwitz:

A Dream
By Avraham Koplowicz

When I grow up and reach the age of 20,
I'll set out to see the enchanting world.
I'll take a seat in a bird with a motor;
I'll rise and soar high into space.

I'll fly, sail, hover
Over the lovely faraway world.
I'll soar over rivers and ocean
Skyward shall I ascend and blossom,
A cloud my sister, the wind my brother.

I wish that this museum was more about hope and less about death. I understand that remembering will make this never happen again, but hope is what kept people alive, and I feel like they too would want a place dedicated to hope that remembered them as thoroughly as Yad VaShem.

Needless to say, I was completely exhausted after this experience. We headed out of Jerusalem and took one stop at Mini-Israel, which is a complte replica of over 350 famous sites in Israel made in perfect in 1:25 scale. I found some humor in the cats lying about (see photos) and the "giant" birds hanging out on the buildings. Plexiglass surrounding the Arab figurines was an uncomfortable reminder of the current situation.

From Feb 26-27

We came back to Haifa to Ari's Mom (Aviva)'s delicious bolognese, and watched Million Dollar Baby. More news tomorrow!

Re-enactment of Ari's Officer ceremony:

From Feb 26-27

Giant Cat!

From Feb 26-27

Replica of Western Wall:

From Feb 26-27

Does Southwest Airlines really fly to Israel?

From Feb 26-27

Before Yad VaShem:

From Feb 26-27