2017 Year in Review
Believe it or not today is one year ( Hebrew) since we made Aliyah. I wonder if the ten year tax break is on the Hebrew or English year. I digress. As with anything, there were ups and downs but for the most part I think coming here was the best thing for us. We are all very happy and seem to be integrating.
I do still have a way to go. On our last flight back, we were sitting next to Ayelet Shaked, the Minister of Justice, and I did not tell her how to run her ministry.
I am working on it.
The issues confronting this country are many and sometimes the future looks bleak. Watching the news and reading how some Jews, the ones who should know better, belittle and attack other Jews, will never be an acceptable, routine news item, for me. The lack of interest from my own Kippa Sruga community on this topic, is also unacceptable but has given me a new project to work on.
Lately, the news concerning Jerusalem is a constant reminder that, for the most part, the world is not a fan of Israel and they will never really accept our right to be here, no matter how many 2000 year old coins our ambassador shows the UN.
The flip side of that is that news from the states is no better. Antisemitism is on the rise and the fact that many of our people can't keep it in their pants, is not going to help. The country is divided as never before and the far right and the far left are not embarrassed to show their disdain for the Jews and Israel. In the end everyone will blame us.
Smile, not everything is dreary. I was in the hospital in Jerusalem yesterday ( more on that in a minute) and I must admit I was taken aback by all the Arabic I was hearing. In Herzliyah, you are in a bit of a bubble. Other than the guy we buy wine from ( the same person who sent Bibi his pink champagne) I don't really interact with any and although I try not to have prejudices, it is hard to live here and not have some. I am still not as bad as my neighbors who made aliyah from the states in the 70's. It seems that if you left in the 70's you did not get the memo on political correctness. It is a shock at what still comes out of people's mouths. Archie Bunker would fit right in ( look it up kids)
The hospital was a pleasant surprise. In this hospital, the differences between people seemed a bit smaller. There were Arab maintenance people, nurses and doctors. All were friendly. Some said Mazal Tov. One helped deliver the babies.
Arab patients and their families responded to my hellos. Setter types, Hasidim, secular and Arab, were all sharing similar experiences at the same time in a civilized manner. I have to believe that if people can work together on a micro level, like a hospital, then there has to be hope for the future. Instead of thinking about war and never ending conflict, at the end everyone was just happy bringing in a new generation.
Ok, I slipped that in, but most of you already knew my daughter had twins yesterday. One boy and one girl. They were 6 weeks early so they are tiny little things. 1.74 kilo and 1.66 for the girl. Multiply by 2.2 to get the real numbers.
They are basically OK but will need to stay in until they get a bit fatter. I would tell you they are cute ( my wife can't stop saying it) but I think it is too early to tell :) .
So the year ended on a high. It is weird to be a grandfather. In my head I am way to young for this but time marches on. I am told that I will be Saba but I am not sure how I like that. My dad was Saba and in my mind he always will be.
My last thought of the year that I would like to share is how great it is, that after my parents survived hell and rebuilt an observant Jewish family, that we are now living in a free Jewish Country, with two, new, first generation Jerusalemite grandchildren born in a united and free Jerusalem, capitol of the Jewish People and the State of Israel.
F the UN