DAY ONE – Tel Aviv
My first day in Tel Aviv began of course with breakfast. This hotel brags about its breakfast and it did not disappoint. Had two lattes, a plate of smoked whitefish salad, some cream cheese and lox (very nice fresh rolls) and some fruit and two sunny side up eggs. Because of the jet lag and time zone changes I really didn’t know if it was breakfast or dinner but I was hungry and it was tasty. I sat at a table next to a single guy about my own age (old) and engaged him in conversation.
After breakfast I went back to my room and called the airline hoping to hear that my luggage was on route. Instead, I was surprised to learn only that they had located my suitcase at JFK and would put in a request promptly for it to be shipped out to Israel after it went through security. (I thought WTF). With every American airline I had previously experienced they would have already committed to putting it on the very next available fight. I knew from my own trip that El Al only had two flights a day (late at night) from JFK to Tel Aviv and they could not even promise that it would be on one of those flights nor would they let me know when it was in the air until after it had landed. I assume that is for security reasons but all I was left with was my persona mantra of not sweating the little things because there are real problems in the world to be upset about.
I took a shower and put back on the same clothes I had worn for the 30 plus hours I had spent travelling from Oregon. Getting a clean shirt went on to my to do list for the day.
I went downstairs asked the favor of the sweet young woman sitting at the front desk. I needed someone who spoke Hebrew to call the cemetery where I thought my grandfather was buried to confirm that it was the right location and then if possible, learn the specific grave site. When I had tried calling from home the person who answered spoke only Hebrew but when I asked if he spoke English, he answered that he also spoke Yiddish. My grandfather probably would have been comfortable with the choices.
Anyway, the favor was happily granted, and I now have the exact location of my grandfather’s grave site so I will go either tomorrow or the next day at the latest. I then had an opening to start talking to the woman at the desk about my grandfather’s journey from Berlin to Tel Aviv and she shared her background with me (her parents came from the Soviet Union in the 70’s ) and a bit of her experience growing up in Israel where terror attacks and bomb threats were normal parts of life. She also shared how grateful she and everyone that she knew was for the support of Jews around the world who were coming to visit them at this time.
I guess now would be a good time to answer one of the big questions as to why I am here. I had an enormous personal transformation after October 7. First of all, I experienced what I believe was genetic post traumatic stress reaction re-experiencing the pogroms that my ancestors had lived through in Russia. Second, I experienced (to my surprise) a gratitude that there was now an IDF that could go after the people who had attacked us. That made me a Zionist for the first time in my life understanding the reason for wanting to have a Jewish nation. And finally (sigh – I can feel my body shift as I prepare to write this) I experienced an enormous feeling of betrayal and isolation as I lost many former friends and political allies who expressed what I believe to be antisemitic support for Hamas and the October 7 massacre.
The next item on my agenda was a visit to Hostage Square. I walked the approximately 1.5 miles from my hotel.
I bought myself a new shirt.
(fyi that is Hebrew saying “Bring Them Home NOW”)
My plan had been to walk to hostage square and then take a taxi home figuring that with the jet lag and all I’d probably be tired by then and need a nap. As I’ve already learned to expect things don’t always work out according to plan. More on this in just a bit.
I was impressed with the signs and the flags and graffiti all along the route. Here are a few pictures from the day.
I started to feel myself crash so I bought a juice to drink and flagged down a taxi. The driver immediately told me a flat rate that I knew was significantly higher than it should have been on the meter. I said ok and then asked to confirm that he would take payment by credit card. He said NO, only shekels. So, I got out. Walked a little bit to a bank because my plan had been to turn a hundred-dollar bill into shekels anyway. As I was walking to the bank, I realized that I no longer had my new tee shirt. I had left it in the cab. At the bank I was told they would not give me shekels unless I had a passport. I had not brought my passport thinking it was one less thing to worry about losing. The clerk at the bank apologized. I said no worries and repeated my mantra about there being so many real things to be upset about that I was not sweating the little ones. I walked a little bit and saw a cab pulling out of a parking lot, so I thought I’d try again. Turns out it was the same cabbie and he said “can’t take you, you don’t have money”. I said I left my tee shirt in the back seat. I retrieved the shirt and walked back to my hotel.
The rest of the day was somewhat less interesting. I soaked my feet in the bathtub filled with cold water and then laid down and fell into a deep deep sleep. By the time I woke up I had missed the sunset over the Mediterranean which I had been hoping to enjoy. All that was left to do was to find a place for dinner. I asked for advice at the front desk and accepted the suggestion of a nearby Greek restaurant. I got to walk along the promenade and even though I’d missed sunset I enjoyed the lovely ocean air. The promenade runs approximately 4.3 miles from the Port of Tel Aviv to the Port of Jaffa. It’s really pleasant and full of people all day and night.
I’ll end this (my second) posting from my Israel trip with just a few quick comments that 1. I still haven’t seen my suitcase and really have no expectation of when it will be returned 2. I’ve been talking to people a lot but mainly so far about where they came from and how they got here and nothing about the politics of the moment and 3. I am thrilled to be here.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s update. Please feel free to write me at adrchildlaw@hotmail.com with comments and questions.