Tag: Israelis
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When rockets fly overhead, look down at the grass.
When you’re a news junkie, everything sucks all the time. When you’re an optimist, you’ll never give up reading the news because something good is just around the corner. When you’re both… After 1.5 years of our co-directors building the 50:50 Startups tech accelerator against the backdrop of pandemic and evergreen conflict, it was really…
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The time has come to return to Israel.
They’re talking to you, Israelis. The Israeli government has been enticing Israeli ex-pats back for a while now. But it seems they’ve added emotionally heart-tugging videos to their Jewish guilt arsenal. The Returning Home Project – not just for born-diaspora Jews anymore. The campaign seems aimed at getting friends and family still in Israel to…
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Yom Haatzmaut this year.
My flight is on erev Yom Haatmzaut – the eve of Independence Day here in Israel. That is THE day of the year: everyone takes off work, everyone goes to parks, everyone barbecues as much meat as they can, and everyone coughs a lot and experiences stinging eyeballs as the other entire country is crammed…
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The baby leaves of Israel.
Today’s Hebrew lesson: עלי בייבי Not a hard term to learn in Hebrew. It means ‘baby leaves’ – you know, those tiny bits of greenery you put in salad that cost more than the other vegetables combined? It’s also a term I made up for a certain type of middle-aged Israeli woman – you know…
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The manliest men are in Israel.
Home, sweet Israel. Koala and I arrived back from my work trip to the States in two pieces. Soon to be five years here and, oh, how the tables have turned. Anyway, nothing says ‘welcome home to Israel, immigrant!’ like an Israeli marketing campaign. Bezeq Parrot, eat your heart out: Because the manliest men carry…
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An Israeli parenting first.
While I was pregnant, I found that I wasn’t getting too many invasive comments, suggestions and guesses from middle-aged to older Israeli women (as I had dreadfully expected). When I mentioned this to some, they said not to worry; the comments would come for sure once I had a baby to show for it. “They’ll…
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Everybody loves a pregnant lady.
Something I’ve discovered – maybe now that I’m so obviously pregnant or that I’ve actually realized I’m so obviously pregnant (it took a while) – is that in Israel, or maybe just Jerusalem, everybody loves a pregnant lady. The old guy scooping me ice cream? Big smiles and bigger scoops. “Have some more, it’s good…
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The New York questions.
When Israeliborns ask where I’m from ‘b’makor’ there are usually a few follow up questions that I get after I answer I’m from New York. Por example: Ahhh, so you lived/you have been to Brooklyn?! Are there a lot of Arabs there? Have you been to Harlem? Is it really scary? I wonder if you…
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You don’t mess with the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Last night I watched 3/4ths of Adam Sandler’s You Don’t Mess With the Zohan. Really, it was like any other Adam Sandler character acting film; Little Nicky, Waterboy. His extreme characters are not his strongest point for me (I’m more of a Billy Madison/Happy Gilmore fan). I’m always able to enjoy the twisted nature of…
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A true face of Jerusalem: the hospital waiting room.
Today I spent quite a bit of time in a Jerusalem hospital waiting room; no emergency, I just needed an x-ray. In the past few months, I’ve actually frequented Jerusalem hospital waiting rooms and have been fascinated by the faces I see and the languages I hear. I think the true face of any city…