Where has Everyone Gone?

I've been doing more than my normal amount of travel within Israel during the past 3 weeks, and within a broader geographical area than usual (including but hardly limited to an overnight in the Holy City of Jerusalem).  These are difficult times in Israel.  There is a wave of terror that impacts not only Israelis, but also American visitors who are not even Jewish.  Falling into that category is Taylor Force, a West Point grad who was one of America's best and brightest.  [RIP, Taylor.].

These Muslim attacks hit very closely and intimately.  Just a few days before one of the Jerusalem attacks I had passed by the very spot where it occurred.  A neighbor of mine had passed very close to the situs of another one of the attacks less than 24 hour before the event occurred.  The situation is worrying my friends and relatives back in the States.

Note that life continues here in a normal fashion, including the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem (and, for that matter, the town where I live).  Note also that most of the organized tours obtain armed military protection for visits to the critical areas.

On the positive side, I have been pleased and privileged to meet many Americans and people from other nations who have come in friendship to visit Israel.  To them, I give my thanks; your support means much to me (and many other Israelis no doubt agree with me 100%).

Many of the foreign visitors I have met (and will no doubt continue to meet) are not Jewish.  Of this I am most appreciative, while, at the same time, more than a little bit disgusted that so many American Jews are hesitant to come and visit Israel.  The liberal-leaning upbringing of so many Jewish baby-boomers has morphed into a disconnect from their Jewish heritage, and from the land G-d gave them.

Worse yet are the American Jews who have replaced their Jewish faith with a worship of the leftist political agenda, and who proactively oppose Israel.

When there are more American Christian groups at the hotel than American Jewish groups, it is a cause for at least a mild degree of concern; the Jewish groups should be flocking here in droves.

Something is definitely amiss when so many of our non-Jewish friends are more supportive of us than so many of our Jewish brethren.

So if you have traveled to visit us here in Israel, we I thank you.  And if you have not, then come visit us already!

[My travels have ended, but something big may well be in the works; if so, then it will likely inhibit postings to this Blog.]

Keeping the Illegals Out

I shall not go into the typical "We had a great time in Israel, we didn't get enough done in the short time we were there, and we can't wait to go back again" routine, other than to perfunctorily but unequivocally state that we had a great time in Israel, we didn't get enough done in the short time we were there, and we can't wait to go back again.

The afternoon before we departed, I received a telephone call from the airport limousine services purveyor with whom we had arranged our transportation.  Seems that another couple, about three-quarters of a mile away from us, wanted to catch the same flight to and the same return flight from.  Would we mind sharing the ride with them (and saving $10 in the process)?

I told the limo guy that as long as there was sufficient room in the vehicle, then I didn't have a problem with it.  He assured me that the van he would send would have ample room for four adults plus lots of luggage.  It did.

This particular couple is not quite 30 years our junior, married 2 years, no children yet (but they indicated that the situation was subject to change within the foreseeable future).  We have a number of mutual acquaintances.  To be sure, they were pleasant traveling companions, but they are where we were 25 years ago and still have quite a ways to go in order to bring their marriage up to the level of functionality my wife and I have achieved.  There obviously are no guarantees on such matters, but, having done it, I would give them a reasonable chance of hitting their quarter-century mark.

In any event, they were seated in a different section of the plane, so after the luggage was retrieved in Israel we each went our separate ways, and did not have occasion to contact or rendezvous with one another until we found ourselves waiting at the gate to board the return flight.

After landing at Newark Liberty, we of course had to clear the Customs & Border Protection people.  And that is where the other couple experienced a slight complication.

This year, the pomegranate crop in Israel yielded lots of specimens which are larger and sweeter than usual.  It was quite fortuitous that the holiday of Tu B'Shevat, the New Year for the Trees, occurred during our visit to Israel.  It is, of course, a custom to eat fruits on that day, especially the fruits for which the Land of Israel is historically known:  Olives, dates, figs, grapes, and pomegranates (The Jaffa oranges and the Sabra cactus pears would come onto the scene much later; immigrants, as it were, who succeeded and made good for themselves and their new country).  We, of course, feasted on those fruits and others.

Our limo companions were no less impressed with the pomegranates than we were.  They packed a dozen into one of their suitcases.  And when they were asked by the CBP people if they were bringing any fruits into the country, they truthfully answered in the affirmative.  They were sent to the CBP's agriculture specialist, who confiscated the pomegranates.

I am pleased to no end that the CBP people are protecting America from diseased fruits and plants.  Now, how about keeping out the illegal aliens who commit acts of fraud and violence upon the American people!

A Pleasurable Evening while away on Business

I'm away on some business.  Got here yesterday, and am looking to return home tomorrow if I can get done and out of here early enough.  My wife's cousin Patty lives near here, so we did dinner together, along with her son Corey and his girlfriend Naomi.  It was nice.  The only drawback was that Patty's car has an Obama bumper sticker on it, reflecting the political views of its driver.

I decided to not discuss politics unless they brought it up.  I didn't have to wait long.  Patty (who is now between jobs) asked me if I believed that the Obamacare would really help improve the health insurance crisis now upon us.  I told her that not only would it make the situation worse, but it has already begun to do just that.  Patty's COBRA coverage runs out in less than a year, so she is concerned.  And she really didn't have any good reason to gainsay my assessment of the situation.

Patty's son Corey was asking me what I thought about Snowden.  I told him that I was with Snowden, until he not only came out and identified himself, but started playing games with the USA and Russia and Venezuela and Hong Kong, et cetera.  Just because his purported cause is just does not mean that he is necessarily a good guy.  This was good for about 15 minutes.  All in all, Corey is not doing too poorly, considering that he has lived virtually his entire life (except for a yearlong stint as an exchange student 2 years ago) under the same roof as his mom.  Not that his dad, whom he visits 3 or 4 times a month and who lives about 2 miles away, is much better as far as grasp of reality goes.

Naomi was the one with the most sense.  She actually understands that there was cyclical climate change way before there were humans around to pollute the atmosphere with greenhouse gasses.  And while she is by no means a potential Republican voter, at least her brain isn't totally warped with the libtard garbage.

I must give Naomi credit for making the evening a pleasurable one.  It was she who steered the conversation away from politics and in to areas such as the arts and family history.  Not that she is going to change Corey into a clear thinker, but she can have a positive influence upon him -- if she stays with him.  I don't know if anything is going to come of that relationship, but it does have some interesting possibilities.  Even Patty is hoping for something to happen.

In any event, we did have a good evening out.  The only one missing was my wife.  I'm going to sign off from this blog and call her now.  I miss her!