A letter from Israel

In a northern-ish corner of the Old City in Jerusalem, not far from the Damascus Gate and right at the edge of the Via Dolorosa, hides the Austrian Hospice of the Holy Family in Jerusalem. Outside the gates of the hospice, you find yourself in hustle and bustle of the Muslim quarter. Inside the hospice you will feel as though you have time-travelled to 19th century Europe. I first thought that I got the wrong address on the day that I visited. The building on 37 Via Dolorosa street looked like a large and imposing wall with a large and imposing wooden door. A huge and ancient door that was very firmly closed. A few locals, who were sitting in the shade on the steps, confirmed my feeling that I was not at the right place.  But this is Israel, and I know that the locals are always happy to help. “Is this the Austrian Hospice?”, I asked them. “Yes”, says one of the step sitters. “Do you know if it is open today?”, I asked. We are still living in the shade of the corona virus and many ...

Israeli watermelon have been modified to have soft edible white pips It is not an exaggeration to say that Israelis are hot-tempered and love to argue. It is sort of a national sport here. It is actually surprising that in such a small country, so many people find so much to argue about. Apart from the usual suspects such as politics, religion and parking spots, the people of Israel can argue about trivialities such as the shaded places at the beach, talking on the phone in the quiet train carriage and standing in a supermarket queue. There is however one thing in Israel that EVERY single person agrees about. Their love of eating cool watermelon in the hot Israeli summers. It doesn't matter if it is an Arab, Jew or Christian. Religious child or secular great-grandfather. Everyone passionately loves eating watermelon here in Israel. Most of us eat watermelons at home but it is also a firm favorite at picnics, parties and even restaurants. Be aware though that waterm...

The sea is blue but it is not really SUMMER in Israel. Summers in Israel always used to be special for me. The entire country feels as though it has entered vacation mode even though most of us are still working. This is the time when new ice cream flavours are announced - you can never eat enough ice cream to cool off properly in our summer heat!  I am always amused at how fond Israelis are of watermelon flavoured ice cream because Israelis eat real watermelon nearly as much as they drink water in the summer. Israelis who wear flip-flops year round invest in a new summer pair and the rest of us join this extreme casual look. Daily more and more people abandon their sport shoes and proper sandals and flip-flop everywhere.  We sign up at the local swimming pool for the summer and count the days until the @$%÷/ jellyfish leave our beaches. Israel is a small and skinny country and the coast is not that far away for most of us.  The Israelis might not swim ...

That is correct, we have a small wildflower here in Israel called the Blood of the Maccabees. I agree that this is quite a macabre name for such a cute little flower. However there is a long history behind this local wildflower and its unusual name. 

Every year in Israel, exactly one week before we celebrate Independence Day, we remember all the people who have died in the Holocaust. From sunset the previous day until the first three stars show up in the sky the next day, the entire country is in mourning. Restaurants, theatres and coffee shops are closed. Most of the television channels are paused while the others play Holocaust documentaries or movies such as Schindler's List. Many national institutes - schools, the Knesset (Israeli parlement) and army bases hold a special ceremony for Holocaust Remembrance. These ceremonies are usually organized in such a way that they coincide with the sirens. At ten am, loud sirens throughout the entire country bring everyone to a standstill for two minutes so that we all can remember the dead. Entire highways come to a standstill as drivers pull over, get out of their cars and bow their heads in silence. School children, shop owners, factory workers, office workers, hospital sta...

I wish that public smoking would be banned already If you have read any of my blog posts, you must have realized that this South African has learned to love the land of Israel and all the crazy Israelis inside it. It took awhile, probably because it took me so long to learn Hebrew, but it has become a place I call home. A tourist may think that the locals are kinda rude, I think that they just have a tendency to speak their minds 😁. Many Israeli's may not eat properly with a knife and fork or know how to stand in a queue but it does not really irk the heck out of me. I think that their warm and helpful nature makes up for these small etiquette faux pas. Buuttt…..one has to be realistic and acknowledge that there is always room for improvement. Right? So here is my list of dislikes about life in Israel.  Note that I am not mentioning anything about Israel's unique security situation. Just your ordinary basic garden variety life in Israel dislikes. Most a...

Photo by chuttersnap on Unsplash What happens in your country when a waiter drops a tray in a packed restaurant and everything on the tray shatters to pieces? Is there an awkward silence? Does everyone avert their eyes from the embarrassed waiter as he quickly sweeps up all the broken pieces? Maybe there are a few softly muttered curses from him or the floor manager..? Do you know what happens in Israel in such a situation?  The entire restaurant, including the manager and all the staff and the people passing by outside, and the person who sneaked in to use the toilet will gleefully shout out in unison: "MAZAL TOV!!" It means "Congratulations" in Hebrew and everyone is playfully 'congratulating' the waiter on his pending marriage.  The final act of a Jewish wedding is the symbolic breaking of something by stepping on a covered glass. It is done to remember the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Then it is time to congratulate the couple and...