Once Upon a Busy Place in Baka

Bagel Bite is a restaurant in Baka, a neighborhood that used to be home to a few thousand Arabs. Today, it's a blossoming district of Jerusalem neighboring Talpiot and the German Colony, about 40-minutes walk from the center of town, and another 15 to the Wailing Wall. It's a busy place. You'll hear excited voices at any time of the day--or night. There's always something to do here.

Even though I live in a highly contested area, you won’t hear a word of politics at Bagel Bite because it’s a mixed staff of Jewish and Palestinian workers who try to have as much fun as possible while making a living selling bagels, and an assortment of foods ranging from muffins to sushi (sushi was recently added to their already-packed menu).

I've been coming here ever since I moved from Efrat to Jerusalem a year ago. It's a nice place with friendly waiters who do their best to make you happy, leaving you wanting to hand them a big tip. I’ve made some really good friends amongst both the staff and the usual customers. Somehow, I feel this is my “home away from home.” I come to Bagel Bite whenever I have a writing assignment, or need to finish a translation project. In fact, I’m sitting here now writing this.

One of my closest friends at Bagel Bite is a young Palestinian called “Baha.” I recently helped him put together an application to a German university. Yesterday he approached me and thanked me for having performed this act of kindness towards him. And the result: he was accepted to study there! Now, it’s on to bigger and better things for my friend, Baha.

Bagel Bite allows people of different backgrounds to come together for a hearty meal. It’s a place to read a good piece of literature, sip a cup of Latte, or do some work. I’m grateful to the Bagel Bite staff for treating me like I’m one of theirs. Even though I recently started working full-time, I continue frequenting this busy place in Baka in search of the company of good people, and a refuge from all the hustle and tussle of our beautiful capital.

Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem: A Tale of Two Cities

I got up early Friday morning, attended the local Chabad morning prayers, and took bus 75 to the central bus station in Jerusalem.

I hurried to find my way. I’d been here many times before, and the Friday morning hustle was nothing new to me. I encountered a few beggars on the way. Jerusalem is host to an array of both needy people and those pretending to be poor and spending their time benefiting from the locals’ generosity.

There’s a wide range of stores, pharmacies, cafes, restaurants, and even a place to donate blood at the central bus station. At this particular time of the year, it’s teaming with tourists from all over the world. Many are Christian pilgrims who’ve come to Israel for Christmas. Some continue on a tour of the Middle East, while others prefer to stay in Israel and remain shielded from the perils of our neighbors to the East.

Reprinted via The Algemeiner: Not the Typical IDF Soldier’s Mom: Muslim Arab Mother Whose Son Serves in the IDF Speaks Out

 

H/T: The Algemeiner

 

Anet Haskia is not the typical mom of a soldier serving in the Israel Defense Forces. A Muslim Arab, who grew up in a mixed Arab-Jewish city in the north, Haskia is breathing a little easier this week.
For Haskia, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision not to enter the Gaza Strip last week was “brave and right.”

The mother of three children, with a 20-year-old IDF combat soldier, Haskia told Tazpit News Agency, that “many Israeli soldiers’ lives were saved thanks to that decision.”

“Going into Gaza would have yielded success for the Hamas terrorists. Israel did what it had to do for the time being to stop the rocket attacks and played it smart.”

Haskia who was born and raised in Acre (Akko), a mixed Arab-Jewish city in the Western Galilee in northern Israel, is openly vocal about her support for the Jewish state of Israel.

A Day in the Muslim Quarter

I recently had an opportunity to take a walk in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. Before going there, I’d always been a little apprehensive about showing up—especially with my kippa and tzitzit (the traditional Jewish garb). It took some courage and the friendly smile of a close friend who made Aliya about a year ago to persuade me to venture out of my familiar comfort zone into a hereto unknown reality.

We entered the Old City, a place holy to the world’s three great faiths, perhaps the most hotly contested area in the world through the Yaffo Gate. I asked my friend if she was up for some coffee (the cold weather was beginning to be felt in Jerusalem). She gladly accepted my offer.

As we sat there watching passerby’s, we noticed people of a variety of backgrounds that’s difficult to spot just about anywhere else. Both of us are Russian-speakers, so I pointed out a group of Russian tourists taking in the beauty of the Old City. They spoke in the traditional jargon that I simply couldn’t resist ignoring them. It was like being back in Moscow again. Some kind of dejavu…

All Quiet On the Southern Front?

As Hamas and the Arab world continue to celebrate what they correctly perceive as a victory over Israel, FM Lieberman and PM Netanyahu are making their best effort to minimize damage to their electoral campaign.

Many Israelis are genuinely disappointed with Bibi for failing to carry out a full-fledged attack on Gaza despite more than a week of constant bombardment. Five Israelis, including four civilians and one soldier, were killed during the days of the operation and 240 people were wounded. 162 Gazans died from Israeli bombing raids targeting Hamas terrorists (according to Al-Jazeera), 150 according to BBC and “more than 140” according to Yahoo News.

The Palestinian death toll in comparison to the death toll of Israelis—the “bottom line”, if you will, is what all the major news sources are reporting. What they fail to report is that Israel is an independent state with a history of having to defend its borders from enemy armies, while Hamas-lead Gaza is a terrorist-escape that has no legitimacy in the eyes of the world community. They also fail to report than yesterday, around the same number of Syrians were murdered by Assad’s regime than Palestinians killed in a week of Israeli attacks.

What I Think Bibi's Thinking (Nice Title, Ey!?)

In lue of today's events:

• Tel-Aviv bus bombing
• 2 Katyusha rockets fired from Lebanon, one landing in Lebanese territory, mind you...
• An 18-year old IDF soldier killed by a Hamas mortar shell

...and more missiles landing in Israel following the "cease-fire" agreement between Bibi, Hamas, Egypt, and Hillary Clinton aka "The Witch" (feel free to replace the "W" with a "B"),

Bibi, a former Sayeret Matkal commander who's always been one of my favorite people/politicians is, in my opinion thinking the following:

1. This female guerilla (the animal type) is just too much for one Jew to handle.
2. Let's get rid of this dilemma and get on with bombing the Ayatollahs.
3. Screw the "Palestinians," screw Egypt, and keep screwing more women (no links because I still have respect for Bibi).

So those are my 2-cent's worth for this here, busy day in Israel, the only democracy in the Mil' East. Nighty night, folks and don't forget to spank your local Jihadist!

Message from Moshe Feiglin (Translated from Hebrew)

Part of an email I received from Manhigut Yehudit leader, Moshe Feiglin:

Early morning…I’m heading from Samaria to Gush Dan along the smog-filled highway. Another crazy day leading up to the Likud primaries is about to get under way.

The car phone rings. A young, confident voice from the other end: “Hi, XX speaking from ynet news.

“Hi there!”

“I’m preparing an article on donations made out to candidates in the Likud primaries, and just wanted to confirm something.”

“Yes…”

“I see that you received a donation from a woman by the name of Nitza Kahane.”

“And…”

“Is it correct that Nitza Kahane is the widow of Rabbi Kahane?

“Maybe I haven’t fully woken up yet; maybe this is the result of a lack of sleep and the amount of stress I’ve experienced lately, but the latest question raises my “politically correct” defenses.

War in Gaza...Again

Jerusalem 11/16/12: My friend who lives in the small rural town of Kiryat Malachi where I visited her a week ago, called me some time in the afternoon yesterday. I instantly noticed something was wrong. She sounded hysterical as she recounted what she’d just witnessed.

What happened in Kiryat Malachi yesterday has been taking place in Israel since the establishment of the Jewish national homeland. Three people were killed and a four members of the same family were injured as a Kassam rocket scored a direct hit on an apartment building where a Chabad family was staying.  News of the tragedy spread like wildfire as people scrambled to leave the south for places that would themselves soon become threatened by Hamas rocket fire. We were getting closer to war. Again.

What’s changed since Israel’s government pulled out of Gaza in the summer of 2005? Most Israelis agree that the situation has steadily declined and that offering Gaza to Hamas terrorists was perhaps the gravest mistake any Israeli government has ever committed.

On My Stay in Chicago and On Coming Home to Israel

My stay here, in Chicago, was an eventful one. Lots of things happened: some positive and some negative, but overall, I enjoyed my stay here. The worst thing to happen was my grandma's passing. My mom is still having a very difficult time adjusting to the new reality of not having her mother by her side. She (grandma) was sick for a very long time, but we all got used to her being there for us whether she was sick or not. It was definitely a very difficult experience.

The best thing that took place while I was here was having an opportunity to see all my friends, especially an old buddy of mine whom we reconnected with after a 3-year hiatus. We spent several days hanging out in a variety of cafes around Chicago and Skokie, doing some studying (I loaned a few books from the library), watching movies, and playing b-ball and tennis. I ran a bit, but not as much as I was running in Israel and definitely not as much as I hoped to run while here.


As a side-note, I'm probably going to move back to blogger unless something drastic happens, and I figure out how to use Wordpress. Honestly speaking, it's been a big hastle for me. I'm pondering watching the presidential debates tonight, but the NY-Detroid game sounds awfully enticing as well. What a decision: presidential debates vs. ALCS!

Job-wise, I'm hoping to start covering Israeli current events and daily life in Israel for "Reklama," a local Russian language newspaper. I'll be placing my articles here as well. I'm also looking into writing for the JPost blog. We'll see how that goes.

I feel a little guilty that I ended up not voting in the American elections. I'm a big Romney fan and hope he gets elected, but I just wasn't able to print up all the documents for the absantee ballot. It was harder than I expected, and I ended up passing on the whole thing altogether. Hopefully, Illinois will eventually become more balanced and my vote will make a difference in future elections.