May 24, 2019 - Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv has a vibrant energy, particularly in the area I'm staying where the Tel Avivians seem to love their beaches. I have spotted a number of people using the outdoor gym equipment, presumably so they can stay in shape and also look good. Bars and restaurants are busy, even late at night on weeknights, and it strikes me that people here are generally living a pretty good life. On a practical note, I'm glad that Shaul got me a SIM card so that I could access Google maps while exploring this city. It's a little challenging when there are...

May 8, 2019 - Jerusalem

I arrived by train to Jerusalem the evening of Memorial Day, after attending a memorial service with Irit and Shaul at one of the military cemeteries in Tel Aviv. Shaul had helped me figure out the transport, which I really appreciated since many signs were only in Hebrew. The train system in Israel is efficient and not too expensive (it cost me 23 Sheckels or approximately 12 dollars for the ticket). Irit packed me some home-made food, which she joked was her duty as a Jewish mother. The Paamonim hotel where I was staying was conveniently...

May 6, 2019 - Timrat/Haifa

Shaul took me to visit Haifa today, while Irit visited with her son's family. Haifa is the place where Shaul grew up. His parents had moved there after the Holocaust. His father worked as a lawyer and his mother as a nurse who eventually became the Director of Nursing at one of the local hospitals. We opted to take the walking tour of the Baha'i gardens. The gardens are built on a hill. The flowers and landscaping are beautiful and evoke a sense of harmony. The guide explained a bit about the Baha'i faith. It's a religion that aims to...

May 2, 2019 - Arrival in Tel Aviv, Israel

I arrived in Tel Aviv on May 2, 2019 which happened to be Holocaust Memorial Day. At 11am, while I was standing in the Customs line, I heard a siren, which marked 2 minutes of silence in remembrance of the Holocaust. This special event is observed by Jewish communities all over the world. Right outside the airport terminal, I could see that a stage had been set up for a special ceremony. Irit told me that this day's events usually include prayers, special songs, and testimonies by Holocaust survivors. During my drive with Irit and Shaul...

Oct 16, 2018 - Isreal Day 1-3

On October 14th, my friend Ina Mae and I left for a 9 day trip to Israel. The tour was booked thru Zola Tours, operated by the staff of Zola Levitt Ministries, specializing in a Christian tour of the Holy lands. Booked for $4,488 the cost included air fare from JFK to Tel Aviv, 2 meals a day, tips, taxes, and entrance fees to all sites that we visited. Day 1 - Sunday Oct. 14 - Fly to NY & Join the tour Ina Mae and I drove to Orlando and took a Jet Blue flight to JFK. We met up with the tour group at 8:00 pm in the International terminal by...

Oct 15, 2018 - Back in Tel Aviv getting ready to transition

We fly out today to Dubrovnik via Istanbul to start our next adventure. I am posting a few more pictures from our last few days along the Dead Sea. I noticed that I had not posted any from Masada, site of the Roman siege during the time of the Maccabees. Herod was quite the builder, and you can still see the remains of Roman camps from the top of the cliff. On our last night here in Tel Aviv we had our farewell dinner at a restaurant appropriately named the Olive Corner. Great food and a find farewellto our traveling buddies. We have...

Oct 14, 2018 - Masada and other places along the Dead Sea

On our way out of Jerusalem we stopped at the Church of Gethsemane. I had not realized that Gethsemane actually means olive press. When we arrived, there were folks (nuns and others ) picking olives from the trees in the courtyard in front of the church. The church is another one designed by Barluzzi, the Italian architect who designed so many of the churches in the Holy Land. Our guide read us the passage about the garden outside, but when we went inside mass was underway so I heard it again from the priest. There are tons of religious...

Oct 12, 2018 - Jerusalem museums

October 13 After 5 days in the lovely Orient Hotel, we will be leaving Jerusalem today. We have visited the Yad Vashem, memorial for the Holocaust, and the Museum of Israel. Included in the Museum of Israel is a special section on the Dead Sea Scrolls and a fabulous model of the city of Jerusalem in the time of the second temple. There are many departments in the Museum; I did not make it out of archaeology. It is a wonderful museum that traces the history of Israel from the earliest of days. We also had a home hosted dinner with an...

Oct 10, 2018 - Exploring the city of Jerusalem

We are getting to know the city of Jerusalem a bit. There is a lot to learn! We had an appointment to visit the tunnels of the West Wall which have been under reconstruction, exploration, and updating. We went to the West Wall courtyard but will go back again to actually spend time there. This time we zipped into the tunnels and walked through the passages. The wall is there; folks leave the papers and there were a lot of people saying prayers on the inside. Next we turned to Christianity as we followed the Via Dolorosa, or the path Jesus...

Oct 10, 2018 - Musings on Palestinians, t shirts, and politics

Our guide Della is a Jew; she lived in the US (Chicago) until she was five, then moved to France. She has immigrated to Israel and is a secular Jew. As we move through the city we see a lot of observant Orthodox Jews, the ones who wear the fringes (tzittzit) and the earlocks, the black trousers and white shirts, and the black hats. There are large Arab neighborhoods, and we have traveled in the Golan Heights and the West Bank. Israel and Jerusalem in particular are a swirl of culture, a complicated mix of history and personal story. What we...

Oct 9, 2018 - First impressions of Jerusalem

The afternoon we left the kibbutz (October 8) we made our way to Jerusalem. We stopped at the Mount of Olives to see the view. Below we could see the huge Jewish cemetery and we could look over to the Dome of the Rock. Mt. Moriah, the tip of which is inside the dome, is supposed to be the place where Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac before the angel intervened. It is not open to Christians at the moment. Our vantage point is perched on the Mount of Olives. We are staying at a lovely and very cushy hotel called the Isrotel Orient. It has...

Oct 9, 2018 - Hubie might not like the Harissa

Tuesday October 9, 2018 Tel Aviv, Israel Hubie might not like the Harissa Is it okay to start a paragraph with a question? I just did, so there. Here’s the real question. Where is Maya Cohen? When I first visited the Nachalat Binyamin Artisan’s Market in 2004 I was on a synagogue mission with 11 others and the tour guide told us we had 30 minutes to make our way from the northern starting point of the Carmel Market through to its southern exit, where the bus would be waiting for us. That’s a distance of only 3 blocks but with traffic what...