Make Love, Not Walls

Dear Friends,

After flying on October 11 from San Francisco to Zurich, we spent two weeks with Evi's parents, Nelly and Edi, in Basel, and also brother Jean-Claude, plus cousins and friends in Zurich.

Evi and I flew from Basel on October 23 from Basel to Tel Aviv,
arriving at 2:45 in the morning. The airport was bustling like it was
mid-day. Israel is a 24-hour country. People, dogs, car alarms can
be seen and heard any time of day. Israel has a brand new, expanded
airport, one of the most beautiful I have ever seen.

We took the taxi to the home of Evi's friends Jacki and Dov, who live
in Tel Aviv. Although they have a small apartment, and had 3 other
sleeping visitors (children, and mother), they managed to leave one
room available for us. After one day of acclimatizing, we drove the
next day to Jerusalem, where the wedding of Evi's cousin's son was to
take place at the social hall of Kibbutz Ramat Rachel, built on a hill
south of Jerusalem, right on the border of the west bank. From the
Kibbutz swimming pool one has a view of Bethlehem, birthplace of
Jesus, star of films and books, and one of the most famous Jews of all
time.

We stayed with a family whose son had been killed as a soldier a few
years ago in Jenin in a skirmish with Palestinians. The mother is
still distraught, and cried when she mentioned it to us. She has a

photo and small shrine to her son in the living room, as well as a
large painting of a flower that she made in his honor.

The wedding was beautiful: all of Evi's cousins were together, as well
as aunts, uncles, and friends. Also, Gadiel was there, as he is on
the road also. (see his travelblog at
www.travelblog.org/bloggers/chods). The food and drink were
overabundant and delicious. Before the wedding was a reception with a
full buffet. I tried not to overeat knowing there would be a full
meal after the wedding. After the outdoor wedding, officiated by
Rabbi David Bollag (Evi's cousin), and featuring singing by Hanko
Bollag (Evi's cousin), we all went into the beautiful hall for a great
food buffet. I ate so much I was full, not realizing the main course
had not arrived. The music was led by a five-peace band playing
Jewish music as well as pop music. Of course, the men danced
together, and the women danced together, mostly in large energetic
circles. There was so much spirit it was amazing. The band leader
was a ultra religious man wearing all black, featuring a long beard,
and playing an electric guitar. Totally defying prejudices.

Next day we moved to the home of a 74 year old woman who can only be
described as a left-wing peacenick. She is British, has lived in
Israel since the 1950's, is a big supporter of Israel, but leads
protests against the Israeli domination of the Palestinians. She and
her female cohorts ("Women in Black") stand at major traffic
intersections in Jerusalem during rush hour with signs of protest.
They also go to Israeli checkpoints to be sure the soldiers don't
harass or antagonize the Palestinians. She drove us out to see The
Wall, erected by Israel to keep out terrorists. All along the wall
one can see graffiti, such as "Canada supports the Palestinians,"
"India supports the Palestinians," "Make Love, not Walls," etc.
Supporters believe it makes Israel safer, detractors believe it
creates a de-facto border without international agreement.

Following day, we dropped Gadi off in Tel Aviv, and Evi and I drove up
to the north of the country to the Galilee, to visit one of Evi's
childhood friends, who lives in a small settlement not far from
Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee (known in Hebrew as the Kinneret). We
spent the day driving around the lake, up into the Golan Heights, and
visited a winery. Our tour guide at the winery also looked like a
very observant Jew, and was originally from Norway.

Next we returned to Tel Aviv, a busy modern city with some of the most
modern buildings I have seen. People say the following: In Jerusalem
they pray, in Tel Aviv they play, and in Haifa they work. Night clubs
in Tel Aviv open at midnight. In Jerusalem in Friday night the city
is totally quiet as no shops or restaurants are open, and there are
very few cars in the streets. In Tel Aviv Friday night is bumper to
bumper traffic, people going to cafes and restaurants and night clubs.

We flew back to Zurich after a full day stopover in Budapest, a very
cozy city which I would like to see more of. Maybe later.

Now Evi and I are in Zurich, staying at the home of our friends Robert
and Pascal, who left us for the weekend while they drove down to their
summer (winter, weekend) home in Italy, along the shore of Lake
Lugano.

Only few days of relaxation, because on Monday we will fly down to
Nice, in southern France, to visit Terri Isaacman, a Harrisburg
homegirl, and fellow high school grad of mine, who lives near St.
Raphael, and has a B and B with her husband.

More later. Love to hear from you all.
Howard R.

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