Excitement
School bags have been packed. Suitable attire for making the right first impression has been chosen. Both girls start new schools tomorrow. Eldest starts Middle School and Youngest starts Budding Matilda (a.k.a Little Monsters) school. Both got to meet teachers and new classes last week, which slightly lowers the hysteria levels, but we'll still have to see how they get to sleep tonight.

Youngest will now have to get a bus to school. I don't find this particularly amusing, do you? Nor this. Pig. (Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude, it just sort of slipped out). Via A Small Victory. Actually, Youngest will be getting a special bus chartered by Tel Aviv municipality and I'm worried about road safety and about how they'll be getting on and off the bus, not about a Palestinian getting on wearing a bomb belt, but the association was automatic.
posted by Imshin 19:48

More on the Ehud and Nava split up over at Allison's, including comments by some Imshin person.
posted by Imshin 09:06

Is it just me or is the e-mail virus situation getting completely out of hand?
posted by Imshin 08:29

Evil Empires
I've started reading Mona Charen's "Useful Idiots". It's slow going, as usual, because I am simultaneously reading an interesting book in Hebrew called "Inquiring of God" by Yair Caspi, which I will probably tell you about sometime. In chapter two, in the section named "The press takes sides", Charen describes the way the American press covered, or should I say "covered", the Vietnam war. It all sounds so very familiar. Reporters with preconceived ideas of what they are about to see, twisting the facts to fit, and inventing American atrocities and brutality where there were none (or far less than insinuated), thus according to Charen. If I didn't see it happening daily with regard to the Palestinian Terror War, I would have found it a bit farfetched, but the similarities are unmistakable. The scary thing is that what the press said back then is still accepted, the world over, as the truth of what happened in Vietnam.

Does this mean our side of things will never be accepted? Does this mean we Israelis are doomed to play the villains for eternity? The North Vietnamese regime, after all, committed untold atrocities when they took over South Vietnam, but no one ever speaks of that. It was the Americans who were, and still are, the accepted baddies of that story.

A few years ago, I was witness to a meeting between a Vietnamese refugee who had just been granted asylum in the West and a group of Vietnamese who had been living in the West for many years. She spoke very emotionally, mainly in French and in Vietnamese, but also, shortly, in English. She told of a life of terrible hardship that she had endured in Vietnam, and which her fellow countrymen and women continue to endure. The dogs in the West, she said in amazement, were better treated than people in Vietnam.

Should the Palestinians become sole masters of this land, God forbid, we Jews will probably have to endure a fate far worse than that of the South Vietnamese. Should that happen, will we again become, in the eyes of the world, the underdog (and at what terrible price)? Judging by the Vietnamese experience, Israel will remain the villain, regardless, and the facts will be buried. If you tell a lie often enough, as Bish reminded me last night, it becomes the truth.

Last night I watched an interesting film, albeit rather superficial, on National Geographic TV, about the Roman Empire. Although it had nothing to do with the subject of the film, its makers could not help sticking in, ad nauseam, the comparison of the Roman Empire to the so-called present day "American Empire", even going so far as to repeatedly interview a group of anserine American history teachers on a visit to Rome, about the supposedly marked similarities. Funnily enough, they were the only people to talk on the film who were not academic experts on the subject they were discussing. Why was that? Why should the views of a group of unnamed teachers, prophesying the imminent doom of the Wicked "American Empire", be brought alongside learned explanations about Roman road-building skills and the Roman postal system? In the words of the immortal Josh Baskin, I don't get it.

I take comfort in the fact that, according to the film, the Roman Empire lasted for a thousand years. If I can make my own humble comparison, the so-called "American Empire" is just taking its first steps. With any luck, we'll all be long dead and so will all our descendants, before the fall of the so-called "American Empire".

One of the silly history teachers said something on the lines of "America is very nice unless you don't accept its values". What comes to mind, in response to that, is the persecution and vilification my brother-in-law's parents and their family had to endure when they had the gall to express an interest in leaving Rumania for Israel during the nineteen sixties. Apparently the sixties weren't very groovy on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain. And that was just if you wanted to leave. If you had a different political view and tried to express it publicly, they gunned you down, if you were lucky. If you weren't, they tortured you first. But hey, it's definitely the Americans who are the villains. No doubt about it.

Okay I'm done lecturing. Time for my yoga.

posted by Imshin 08:26

This unfortunate woman worked as a cleaner in the dorms of a British University. I am quite amazed that they supplied these spoilt, hypocritical ingrates with free cleaning services (as well as free everything else?), but apparently it wasn't out of any sincere care for their well-being but more to make sure they didn't totally wreck their rooms, so they could be used for conferences during the summer (or something like that).
posted by Imshin 16:56

Certainty
Thich Nhat Hanh suggests we write the question "Are you sure?" on a piece of paper and stick it up on the wall where we can see it. I did this. For ages I had this annoying little piece of paper sellotaped onto my computer screen at work. Every so often I would find myself in the middle of a heated discussion about some topic or other. I would be propagating my views with great self-assurance. I am regarded as something of an elder of the tribe at work. There's only one person who's been in my department longer. Everyone else has moved on. I've stayed put, too lazy or too unambitious to look for something else. So people, rather superstitiously, seemed to think that if I'd been there so long, maybe I knew a thing or two; maybe I had something of value to say. Thus I often managed to persuade my listeners that I was right.

At some point during the debate, I would suddenly notice the little piece of paper, and stop mid-sentence. "Am I sure?" Of course, I'm not sure. Can anyone ever be sure?

We bloggers are an arrogant lot.

Are we sure? No, but it's such fun pretending we are.

posted by Imshin 13:09

This e-mail has been making the rounds. DJ suggested I post it. I hope he/she will forgive me for shortening it slightly:

On Tuesday evening, August 19, 2003 a bus was packed with families and their young children, who were returning home from the Kotel. A Palestinian suicide bomber disguised as an Orthodox Jew stepped onto the bus and detonated a massive bomb. Words cannot express how tragic the results were. Twenty innocent people were killed and over 110 injured in the barbaric attack, which is now known as "the children's attack".

The Israeli government does not know how to respond. People are already forgetting. Some people are happy that our children have been severed from their heritage.

We will not forget and we will do our best to make sure the world cannot sweep this bloodbath out of view. On a Tuesday evening, September 16, 2003 we will respond. Any of us who can will go to the Kotel. We will strengthen our connection to our heritage and we will humble ourselves and pray. Go for Lilach Kardi, 22, of Jerusalem who was in her ninth month of pregnancy. Go for her unborn child, who will never be able to. Go for Menachem Leibel, 24, of Jerusalem who visited the Western Wall daily. Go for the baby Shmuel Zargari, of Jerusalem. Go for Chava Rechnitzer, of Bnei Brak, a new bride who will never have a child to take to the Kotel. Go for all the children who died and are in hospital.

Go. Remember and help others remember. Go and pray. Go for the victims who cannot. Go and say Tehillim for the victims and their families...

posted by Imshin 11:54

Sorry to go on and on about this, but
I'm still rather dumbfounded about why the teachers backed out of the strike so early. I reckoned they would make us suffer until Sunday morning (first day of school), at least. Ben Shabbat, the previous chairman of the teachers' organization, would have, he was the master menace of all times. Maybe that's why he's now awaiting trial for fraud and bribery, having bought a university degree for money without studying (And that's maybe why it felt like Hannukah to most parents when he was arrested. Oh, it was Hannukah?). Maybe Yossi Wasserman, the new guy, does actually have a conscience. What a refreshing change. There's hope yet. After all, Bish is a politician too, and he's nice. Well, he doesn't actually wield as much power as the head of the biggest teachers organization in the country.

posted by Imshin 11:47

This new blog looks good. Via Meryl Yourish. What's spathic? Sounds like someone with a lithp. I've found the word Spathe with the definition: "A conspicuous bract surrounding or subtending a spadix or other inflorescence."

Huh?

posted by Imshin 11:14

You see this is why I'm provincial. Targeted killings all over the place, Kassam rockets on Ashkelon, Ehud and Nava splitting up (Bish is still in shock) and what am I interested in? The teachers' strike that wasn't.
posted by Imshin 00:09

Imshin making things worse by trying to explain
Okay, so I was rather over the line when attacking Israeli teachers yesterday. I tend to see red when teacher-striking time comes around. At this point in time I couldn’t care less how justified their demands are, I'm so fed up. Since Eldest started state kindergarten nine years ago we have been repeatedly tortured by the teachers at every opportunity. They threaten to strike every few months and they actually strike once or twice a year. My situation is such that now its far less difficult for me to get organized than when the girls were smaller, but these strikes continue to infuriate me.

The Shaister has some good things to say in reaction to what I had to say, and I actually quite agree with most of it. So I apologize to all those teachers, used to be teachers, married to teachers and want to be teachers (??!) out there who took offense (those of you who didn't send me hate-mail, anyway). Yes, Shai, I do think you could say we're the kind of parents and kids that teachers like. We respect the authority of the school and the teachers and do not think we know how to do it better; we do not ring up to complain every night; we do not threaten with lawsuits (We had such a mother in Eldest's class at one point, believe it or not); and we contribute quite a lot to class and school projects, without trying to take over and run things. This is maybe one of the reasons I feel hurt every year, or should I say three or four times a year, when the Teacher Association flippantly takes advantage of its power.

I believe that people being able to strike is not just a right. It also gives them a responsibility. That responsibility is to be aware of the price other people have to pay for their striking and take into account. Mothers not fortunate enough to be teachers could lose their jobs as a result. Other mothers could (and do) find it harder and harder to get jobs at all. Yes, teachers have it tough. I'm not being cynical, I couldn't be a teacher. But at least they have jobs, good, steady ones. A lot of people can't say that these days. The pay may not be great, but a lot of people work far harder and get paid less. And they wouldn't dare behave like the teachers, because they know they'd find themselves out on the street. Maybe the teachers should be a bit more grateful for what they do have.

It just so happens that this time around it really was a case of the little boy crying wolf. The strike is off. The teachers now reckon they have a case for the High Court of Appeals with regard to the pay cut that some of them are facing. They apparently couldn't check this out before they started threatening and needlessly worrying parents. It has become such automatic behavior for them, it seems first they threaten with a strike and then they check the facts. Very educational. Or is it "Do as I say, not as I do"?

Maybe they're just weaseling out.

posted by Imshin 23:49

More Islamist terrorism, this time in India. Too terrible. There is talk of this lot being connected to Hamas and Al Qaeda. Funny, I thought Palestinian terrorism, being justified, was unrelated to other terrorism.

I see our security forces are trying to down as many terrorists as possible. They're going to "retaliate" by killing children and babies anyway, so at least let's get rid of as many as possible right now. If we wait for the PA to do it, we'll have a long wait. I'm sorry that an innocent man died, and a donkey too.

posted by Imshin 17:54

Ehud and Nava Barak have separated. Bish took it badly. You'll remember he is Barak's sole remaining fan. Now we have only to speculate, after 34 years of being the good supportive wife of an absent soldier and later politician, bringing up the girls on her own (well, I wouldn't stand for it), did Nava realize that she didn't really like him all that much once she was lumped at home with him all the time? Or is it quite the opposite? He is making sounds of staging a comeback – you know the score, he's lost weight, he's suddenly got an opinion on every subject under the sun, and he's being interviewed all the time, he's started talking about being a reserve soldier and that he'll come back if he's needed. We went through all this a year and a half ago with Bibi Netanyahu. This is a bit like a summer rerun. But no one would be devastated if Bibi dropped Sarah. No one can stand her. Nava is another matter. Which brings me back to supposition no. 2. How does this sound? Having tasted the good life (A husband at home and a normal family life, something hitherto unknown to the long-suffering Nava), she has at long last put her foot down. "It's me or politics, choose, one or the other." Barak, never the sentimental one shows Nava the door. Typical.

Or maybe she's met someone better looking. Or maybe he has.

Enough gossiping. Bish rather sees him as a role model. I hope he doesn't get any ideas.

posted by Imshin 17:39

I'm so busy doing nothing. I love it. I'm far too busy too blog. I hope my two and a half weeks off work last forever. Well, maybe not. I suppose I'll get bored eventually. Meantime, I'm having fun. So are the girls. Ima doesn't come home tired and grouchy and she has energy to do all fun things. And lets them do fun things without getting (as) annoyed about the mess.

As usual the teachers are threatening to strike and not start teaching on Sunday. They are, of course, exhausted following a harrowing two months at home with their kids (The rest of us have to spend a fortune on childcare during this time and/or use up valuable vacation days. We don’t get four months of vacations a year, and a paid sabbatical (every seven years, is it?) like the teachers, what can you do?). Those of you who have been reading Not a Fish for a while will know that the strike threat is regular and happens every year (at least). It's outrageous, of course, but the teachers don't seem to realize that it backfires, because it serves to further increase, if this is possible, the lack of respect the teachers skillfully manage to elicit in both parents and students. These days they are so despised by all, that the Education Ministry is trying desperate measures this year in an attempt to regain some of the respect that the teachers are obviously not capable of evoking by themselves. We’re told that students will be required to stand when teachers enter the classroom, for instance, something we used to do back in my day, but which was dropped apparently somewhere along the line (except in religious schools). The current situation makes this no more than a sad joke.

Both my girls are starting new schools this year. Eldest met her new class and class teacher this week. She seems quite happy. Today Youngest met hers. Youngest seems to have a wonderful teacher (I haven't met Eldest’s yet). The thing is that there are some great teachers out there, but they tend to get lost in a sea of mediocrity. It's mainly luck if your kids get to be taught by them. Increasing Youngest's chances of getting decent teachers is one of the reasons we are moving her to the special class she has been accepted into. The worst are the old teachers who should retire but whom they can't get rid of because they have tenure. So they give them some old subject to teach and hope they don't do too much damage. This creates crazy situations such as aging computer teachers pathetically trying to teach children who know far more than them.

And now they expect students to stand in honor of such teachers? And I can guess that these will be the teachers who will enforce this most strictly, naturally.

Starting new schools means that both girls are quite excited, and postponing the first day is rather unfair. It is especially cruel for the little ones just starting school this year for the first time, like Allison’s son.

posted by Imshin 17:30

I have been asked about my wall references. In yesterday's post about Jerusalem I was referring to the Western Wall, the remains of what used to be part of the outer wall of the Second Temple. In Hebrew the Western Wall is called the Kotel, literally "the wall", short for "HaKotel HaMa'arvi" - the Western Wall. Calling it the Western Wall or the Wailing Wall, or whatever just seems too awkward and unnatural. When you say "the Kotel", everyone knows what you are talking about, mainly because kotel is a sort of posh word for a wall. In everyday Hebrew a wall is called "keer".

In a previous post (from Wednesday, sorry archives are screwy again) I was talking about building the wall. That time I was referring to the Security Fence. Sorry about the mix up.
posted by Imshin 08:58

New blog by Tal. ISM Central
posted by Imshin 08:00

We did walk through the market in the old city after all. We even bought things there. We didn't eat at Abu Shukri's, though (thank you, Lynn, for the reminder). We also strolled through the alleys of the Jewish quarter at night, ending up at the Wall. The wall, what energy it has. I always cry at the wall. I knew the best time to go to the wall was at night, especially in the summer. I was there at night once, when I was a kid, with a scouts' trip. It was winter and it started raining. All the women who were there praying scuttled into that little room on the right. I wasn't bothered by the rain and was delighted to have the place to myself, a rare treat indeed. Yes, nighttime is definitely the time to go to the wall.

Later, when we had met up with Bish again (men and women have to split up when you go up close), we looked up to the sky and Bish pointed out Mars. The open area in front of the Wall is brightly lit at night and you can't see any stars in the sky. But Mars could clearly be seen shining brightly in the sky above us. Bish explained that the planet is extraordinarily close to Earth at the moment and that was why it was shining so brightly and was visible even through the bright spotlights*.

We were amazed that the hotel was full to bursting point with families. We could hardly get a table for breakfast on the first morning. The tourist spots were nearly empty though. I expected to queue at the Israel Museum on a Friday morning, but there was hardly anyone there. It was a pleasure. And we got a 50% reduction on all tickets to museums and other places you have to pay to get in because we were staying in a Jerusalem hotel. This was a special offer to attract people to Jerusalem this summer. Judging by the amount of guests in the hotel, it had worked. Maybe they weren’t rushing out to see the sites though, seeing it was just two days after the terrorist attack.

Another good idea (yours truly excelled herself in the planning and execution) – Haas Promenade, Armon HaNatziv at sunset. Beautiful.

At no point in our trip did we feel in any way uncomfortable or uneasy. It broke a barrier both Bish and I have, as diehard Tel Avivi's, with regard to Jerusalem. We’ll be back!

*Today, back in Tel Aviv, Youngest and I went to the Planetarium in the Eretz Yisrael Museum, where we heard an explanation about the universe, including our solar system, and Youngest could see pictures of Mars close up.

posted by Imshin 19:28

E-mail I received from one Avi Flax:

Below is a letter I sent today to the San Francisco Chronicle at
letters@sfchronicle.com.

Editor:

I am writing to protest a piece that appeared on sfgate.com today entitled
"Israel has a long history of attempts to kill leaders of violent groups":

This "article", by an unnamed AP writer, presents out of context only one
side of a very two-sided situation. It also cites numbers from unspecified
"Palestinian medical officials," and it categorizes anyone killed while
resisting arrest as assassinated. No attempt is made to allow Israeli
rebuttal of these Palestinian claims, which are presented as accepted fact.

In the name of honesty, please print a retraction of this "article" and
insist that the AP restore some level of responsibility and balance to
their writing and to journalism as a whole.

Avi Flax

posted by Imshin 17:18

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