Thoughts from the Holy Land

Yesterday I finally landed in the Holy Land, after a really long wait in 3 different airports in the day before.

The 30th started for me in the morning, around 9:00 am, when the alarm clock started ringing violently, and I did not really know what to do. It took me 30 minutes to get up, get ready and say goodbye to the two idiots that were with me at the time (Mr. Poleo and Mr. Rudarakanchana). When the Flytoget arrived I finally realised that it is over. Norway and people from RCNUWC are over for who knows how long, and a new journey is about to begin. My journey to become a grown up, a mature human being, a man who is able to confront the "Real World" and not only bubbles. Then, however, I have realised that I am trapped in a a serious problem, as the chances that I'll become a mature human being, who is able to confront the "Real World" are so slim, that it is rather frightening. Well well, I hope I'll survive the summer at least...

But realising the above (as you can notice, I have done a lot of realisation on the 30th) was not the real problem at that moment, but the memories that came up to my head during my flight from Oslo to Vienna. Memories from different times, with good friends and some other random people, the stupid mistakes I made, the good decisions I took, the classes I was trying to attend and other mysterious paths I walked through. When I finally saw Norway behind my back, it all went out. But it was good it all went out, because then I was finally ready to look towards the new journey. I hope to meet some people from the past in that new journey, but I also hope to meet new ones.

My first two days in Israel were slightly weird in a way. Most of my friends are in the army or doing civil service right now, so they are quite busy and I am rather bored and so tired for some reason. Yesterday I had a chance to meet some of them though, and we indeed had a nice meal and some glasses of wine. After that I also went to drink a bit more with some other friends in a kibbutz. It was nice. Tonight I'll probably be watching a film (not Pirates of the Caribbean 3, thanks to Nat, who persuade me to watch this film in my last full day in Noway, right before we went lost in Sandvika), and eat some nice meat somewhere and tomorrow we are going to meet all the Mishpucha (Family, as in: 'It all should stay in the Mishpucha, so you should not tell anyone that we killed the Rabbi yesterday' or 'We are all one big Mishpucha').

I am probably not going to go to many parties this summer, as in the past the parties I went to were in different Kibbutzim, and when all my friends were together, thanks to the fact we were schoolmates. Now everyone are scattered, and I am not a "club-party-person" but the other kind of parties-we-had-person, so I think I would no longer enjoy any wild cabins. Well, two Britons already pointed out in the last two days that I am a boring person, so I should fulfil this description.

There are two problems of coming back to my town right now:
*It is hot (around 28 degrees today, but next week it is going to reach 35 most probably).
*Rockets are falling once and a while (11 rockets since I came).

I reckon that I can handle the first problem, but the second problem is, indeed, a bit annoying, as I am forced by my parents to go down to the shelter, something I really cannot bother to do every time the alarm goes off. Well, apparently they are planning to install wireless internet at least, and put me in the lowest floor(out of 3. My actual room is on the third floor). Our first floor is divided into several rooms (kitchen and a very big room divided into two) and a shelter. I suppose to have a T.V. there and a personal air-conditioner, but I really prefer to sleep in my actual room. I will have to please them though, as my mother said she won't go to work without knowing that I am sleeping in the lowest floor (she assume I am going to sleep until 13:00 every day), where the shelter is. Because I need (her) money, and I still don't have a job, her wish is my command.

It is quite bizarre that rockets are falling sometimes but life continues as usual. It is like nothing is happening, and that there are normal life, until the alarm goes off, telling the people that a rocket is about to land in 15 seconds. I find it amusing, but some others do not. It seems no one likes our government, and especially not the people of Sderot. I don't like the government, but it is not like they can do much in order to prevent the launching of the rockets by the Palestinians. It is better not to invade the Gaza Strip for the rockets will continue to be fired after any such invasion anyway. I cannot say that everything is going to be better in the future, because I really cannot believe it. Anarchy in Gaza, incompetent politicians in both sides, and militants who just want everything to become worse are not the best ingredients for a prosperous and peaceful area. I hope Hashem is fine. I talked to him today, but every second that passes can change things over there. Too much madness under the surface, too much normality above it. I think one needs to experience this shift between existential situations in order to fully understand and grasps this sort of existence. It is just impossible to really describe; that everything seems to go just normal, until an alarm is going off that is. That only 60 minutes from here, in the centre of the country, everything is ever more normal. That only 20 minutes from here, the people of Gaza are living under their strip's own madness (well at least they stopped fighting each other over there, and are concentrating now in sending the rockets towards Israel). It is just confusing. Everything is so physically close, but yet mentally far.

Oh yes, and now it is about to be 40 years since the great victory in the Six-Days War. It was indeed a great victory, with brilliant strategic operations, and before the US and the USSR became really involved in the Middle East (actually this year's Pentagon papers were revealed lately, containing a rather interesting story - the US was planning to invade Israel, if it was to open a war against any Arab country. It was never implemented because Nassar was the one that seemed to put the basis for the war).

There are many T.V. broadcasts on that war now, and they are divided into two kinds. One is describing the war operations, while the other kind describes the political and cultural consequences of the war. It is indeed interesting to watch, though some of it is not critical enough in my opinion, to the mistakes made during and after the war. However, not surprisingly, most of the broadcasts are highlighting how this victory was actually a long-term defeat, as it started a 40 years long occupation that destroyed the moral values of our state. Nobody believed after the victory that Israel will stay in those territories (as before, for example in the Suez Crisis, Israel gave the territory back to the United Nations, which handed it back to the defeated country). They interviewed some Palestinians who said that they thoughts Israel will leave after maximum two months, and that they will have to live under the Jordanian or Egyptian rule again. Well the story enfolded differently, mainly because of the Khartoum Resolution, which was a statement made by the leaders of the eight main Arab countries in September 1967, after the war. They called it the "Three-Nos" of the Arab-Israeli relations - 'No peace with Israel, No recognition of Israel, No negotiations with Israel'. The "Three Nos" encouraged and prompted Israel to come out with a provocative statement of its own, and settlements in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip were established. What a foolish mistake, that was bound to cause many internal problems in the future.

Since the "Three-Nos" many things happened though. Egypt and Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel, but the occupied territories that were captured by Israel from Jordan (the West Bank and the Eastern part of Jerusalem) and Egypt (the Gaza Strip) stayed under Israel's control. In 1978, when the peace treaty with Egypt was signed, they refused to get the Gaza Strip back, and asked only for the Sinai Peninsula. When the peace treaty with Jordan was signed, the Palestinians refused, of course, to be ruled again by Jordan, and at that time peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians were progressing rather well. So 40 years of occupation, 40 years of confusion and 40 years of a continuous defeat, even though on the battlefield it was, and still is, a bit different. This war was also the starting point for the realisation of some, if not all, Arab countries that they cannot destroy Israel with their armies. Thus the Arab League, several Arab and Muslim countries, and especially Syria and internal Palestinian forces helped founding and sponsoring militant organisations. Unfortunately, it seems like it is impossible to win against militant organisations, without striking in civilian areas and thus hurt too many civilians. It is just impossible, and that is why the situation is dire as it is today.

I got to carried away with history and for that I apologise. With all the contemplations, I am happy to come back home. There is something in this place that makes it so, I don't know, I think I am just happy to live here in a way.

I have just finished a very interesting philosophy book of the Dutch-Portuguese-Jewish philosopher, Baruch Spinoza - "Treatise on the Improvement of the Understanding". I will, perhaps, write about it later, but I advise all to read it, as it is rather thoughtful for anyone who is interested in Ethics.

Getting ready for the Shabbat now and for another nice meal. The food, my friends, becomes much, but much, better when one is back home.

Shabbat Shalom from the only Jew among you.

P.S. The film about my family and me is about to be out next week. This should be interesting...