Israel (2004)

Sunday, July 18th, Thru Monday, July 19th, 2004

The big day has arrived. In a few hours I will fly to Israel.

We stopped at a Denny’s for breakfast and were joined by Sharone, Gary, and Ya’ara who came separately with a friend.

After breakfast, Tovale’ dropped me at the airport and I boarded the Delta airlines jet at around 11:00.

The flight to New York – JFK was smooth. I used the five and a half hour flight to read James Patterson’s, ”Big Bad Wolf”.

Delta airlines has a new policy regarding food during flight: They distribute a menu to the passengers and you have to pay them depending on your selection. I opted not to order anything as I was still full from the delicious breakfast I had earlier.

Once in JFK, I walked from terminal 3 to terminal 4 to go through security of El Al and felt at “home” already. I guess I missed it more than I thought; the Hebrew language and being with Israelis.

The flight to Israel was pleasant and surprisingly accommodating as the crew gave their maximum for the passengers’ comfort. I slept most of the way and woke up only for breakfast.

Ronen was waiting at Ben-Gurion Airport. The encounter was very emotional. I rented a car (Hyundai – Automatic) from Eldan Rent-A-Car and followed Ronen to his home in Rishon Le-Zion.

Yehudit and the kids were not home and we decided to start my visit at one of my favorite restaurants: “Ha-Shipudim Shel Zipi”. The food, which included Israeli salads, assorted Bar-B-Q meats and Bavaria for desert, was delicious and by the quantities we ate, one might think that we haven’t had a meal for the past week. We also shopped at “Canyon Ha-Zahav”. Ronen asked me if I could help him fix his computer as he had many viruses on it.

We arrived home at around 9:00 PM and I got busy on fixing Ronen’s computer. In the meantime Yehudit returned and later on Ronit, Ortal, Tali, No’ah and my nephews Amit & Matan returned back from a circus show.

Later on, I was working on the computer and finished at around 1:00 AM.

When I went to sleep the computer was working great!

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Tuesday, July 20th, 2004

I woke up at 10:00 AM and felt great.

Ronen had just returned from the market where he bought lots of goodies for our upcoming trip to “Hamei Yoav” Hot Springs, claimed to be the “First Tourist Site In Israel to Meet International Quality Standards”.

After a short drive (45 minutes) we arrived at Hamei Yoav anticipating to have fun in Thermo-mineral pools and the massage center.

The natural waters of Hamei Yoav are the site’s greatest treasure - a treasure accumulated over thousands of years in the womb of the earth when at a depth of 1,500 meters, thermo mineral waters formed a reservoir.

The waters are pumped from two artesian wells by giant electrical pumps, while maintaining their natural heat and mineral content, and then flow into the various pools, where the visitors can benefit from their medicinal - and highly pleasurable – properties.

Hamei Yoav is named after Yoav - code name of the commander of Kibbutz Negba during the War of Independence, Yitzhak Dubno. (Also named after him are Kibbutz Sde Yoav and Yoav Fortress.

We plunged into the water and enjoyed the warm (sometime hot) pools and showers. The massage center was very accommodating as well.

At around 2:00 PM we sat in the adjacent “mini park” and enjoyed lunch, which included a variety of cheese, fresh bread and assorted salads, and a delicious juice, all bought by Ronen earlier at the market.

We left Hamei Yoav at 4:30 and headed toward Tel Aviv where I shopped for some Israeli CD’s. We then headed toward Sheinkin Street and stopped at a unique coffee shop on Alenbi Street. It’s name is “Café’ Bialik”. We arrived at Sheinkin Street with the many unique cafes, nice shops, and great atmosphere. We shopped a bit: I bought some clothes for Ya’ara and Ronen bought some soap bars for Yehudit.

We drove to Ronen’s office in Tel Aviv. Ronen provided me with a cell phone and after a short tour we headed to the airport to pick Emly, who arrived at around 10:00 PM.

We decided that dinner is what we need. In spite of the late hour we drove to Jaffa and stopped at “Chaji – Kachil Center” to have a delicious Falafel and Shwarma. At a nearby Ice Cream Parlor we tasted one of the best ice creams imagined.

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We came home at around midnight and went to bed at around 2:00 AM.

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Wednesday, July 21st, 2004

We woke up at 8:00 and decided to dedicate this day to visit relatives. We started the trip heading to Herzelia to have breakfast at ArCafe, on Shenkar Street.

As we sat down a familiar voice greeted me. It was Ra’anan Eltagar, my friend from my days at I.B.S. He was joined by D’vora Metrani, also from I.B.S. We talked a bit remembering the “good old days” and as I came back to our table I noticed that Yigal Shillon, a famous TV Host, is sitting right next to us. Emly asked him if I could take a picture of both of them and he was kind enough to agree.

I promised myself to visit the memorial site of my second cousin, who was killed in a terrible accident in May 2003. We continued north and found our way to “Ya’ara In Nature” site, located next to Wingate Institute. I was moved a lot when we arrived and shed many tears off my face.


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Our next stop was Zikhron Ya’akov as Emly wanted to visit the house she was born in. We arrived at the village at around 12:30 PM and after finding the house, we knocked on the door and asked for permission to “tour” the house. The lady who lives there now was very cooperative and we just entered and toured the house.

We then headed to the village’s center and were greeted by Hertzl, the local farmer, who now owns a restaurant in the middle of the promenade. He invited us for lunch and we accepted his offer with lots of enthusiasm as we were starving…

We continued our trip, heading south, to Netanya to visit Tovale’s parents, Bella & Shlomo place of rest. Fresh flowers were laid on Saba Shlomo’s grave. When I read the date of death, I realized that 2 days earlier was the anniversary of his tragic death. We found a Rabbi who prayed for their souls.



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Our next stop was Kfar Saba to visit both of my aunts: Ester & Haya, my uncle Gad, and my cousin Yoram (Yori).

We arrived back in Rishon Le-Zion at 9:00 PM.

Emly was joined by her friend Eitan and they went out for pool playing. Ronen and I went for dinner at the old port of Tel Aviv. We arrived at around 11:00 PM and I was surprised to see the number of people walking around (in the middle of the week!). We finally found a parking spot and “toured” the dock, which had been turned into a mall with shops and restaurants.

We enjoyed a delicious dinner at “Benny Ha-Dayag” which included 15 (!) different salads and a huge fish covered with fried calamari.

We returned home at around 1:30 AM. We talked a lot and went to bed at 3:00 AM.

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Thursday, January 22nd, 2004

We woke up at around 8:00 and prepared our luggage for a week long trips in Israel.

While packing her stuff, Emly discovered that few of her shirts were missing. She thought that they were stolen on her “Birth Right” trip.

Our first stop was at “Canyon Ha-Zahav” and after a couple of hours Emly picked up about 5 shirts, some cream for her face and suntan lotion, and off we went.

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Our first stop on our agenda was at Mendel & Edna’s home in Moshav Ro’ei, situated in the middle of the Jordan Valley.

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Mendel wanted to meet us half way to his home and we agreed that I will call him when we reach Ariel Junction. On the way to Ariel, we passed many Palestinian villages and could not believe how close their villages are to the their Israeli neighbors. As we got closer to Ariel, driving on Highway #6, I noticed that the cell phone requires a pass code to “release” the keypad. I stopped at Ariel and asked a lady to let me use her cell phone, so I could call Ronen and get the pass code. Ronen could not help me as he did not know the pass code, but provided me with the customer service phone number. I then called Mendel and he told me he would wait for us in Alon Junction. We passed through an army barrier and a few minutes later, we met with Mendel. We followed his car and arrived to his Moshav.

After situating ourselves there, Mendel asked me to resolve some of his problems with his computer. He actually wrote down a list of things to do and for the next five hours I was fixing his computer. In the meantime, Mendel prepared some meat on his Bar-B-Q and Edna prepared some delicious salads. When dinner was ready, we sat outside on the patio and dined for the next hour and a half eating and sipping a delicious wine. We ended the night by smoking great cigars and talking “politics” and some other “important issues” in regards to Israel.

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We all went to sleep at around 3:00 AM.

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Friday, July 23rd, 2004

We had a great night of sleep and woke up at 10:00 AM. We hung around the house while Edna was preparing a delicious dairy brunch.

We left at around 2:00 PM heading to Kfar Tavor. Mendel did not want us to drive on our own as the road is known to have some history of violence from the Palestinian terrorists. We followed Mendel’s car and passed through Bedouin tents and many Palestinian villages.


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We passed through Beit She’ an and drove our way to Beit Ha-Shita to stop for an excellent espresso.

We said our goodbyes to Mendel & Edna and drove to Kfar Tavor to visit my favorite cousin & his family. Before we left, we promised each other to try to meet on the day I go back to the USA, Saturday the 31st.

Ishai,Yaffa, Yankale’, and Yiftach were waiting for us and a few minutes after our arrival we drove to the local cemetery to visit Ya’ara Meir grave.

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It is hard to describe my feelings at the site. Last time I saw my second cousin, Ya’ara Meir, was when she turned 16 and here she is dead at 19. I think that the fact that Sharone & Gary named their girl Ya’ara after her had a lot to do with how close I felt being there. The grave is surrounded by trees and many flowers. Ishai & Yaffa are keeping the place in tact: few times a week they are watering the plants and the trees and making sure the headstone is clean.

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We returned home and as it turned out, they wanted me to sleep at Ya’ara’s room.

Shabbat’s dinner was served and was simple and delicious.

After dinner guests came over: Yaffa sisters (Yael & Anat) their husbands (Eyal & Itzik) and another friend (Lilach). Also came over were Yankale’s friends (Oded & Nir).

We all sat around in the patio, overlooking Mount Tavor and talked till the wee hours of the night.

At one point, Ishai asked Eyal if he could take us for a tour on Sunday, using his 4X4 Toyota Land Cruiser. Eyal wanted to check his schedule first and told us he will let us know.

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Saturday, July 24th, 2004

After five hours of sleep we woke up as the agenda for today was overwhelming.

We started our trip to stop at the Kvutzat Kinneret Cemetery. In this cemetery we found the fresh grave of my cousin Achi’hoo, who died a couple of months ago from cancer. Next to his burial site we found many significant graves: Rachel Ha-Me’shoreret, Neomi Shemer, who died a month ago, Beryl Katzanelson, who was a leader of the Zionist labor movement and a central figure of the Second Aliyah.

As we visited Neomi Shemer grave, Ishai pulled out his flute and played some of her popular songs to the delight of the few visitors.

Our next stop was at the “Elderly Home” in Kvutzat Kinneret. In there we found my uncle Dov, who suffers from Alzheimer disease. He did not recognize any of us, just sitting there and looking at space. His wife Irra, was there as well.

An hour later we met with Yael, Achi’hoo’s widow. She still lives in the kibbutz and is in charge of leading Neomi Shemer’s fans, who come by the thousands to the kibbutz to see the house, in which she had lived and listen to a lecture on her life and career.

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We followed a large group and enjoyed the sounds of an accordion, playing some of her popular songs.

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We left Kvutzat Kinneret and stopped at Beit Gabriel set in beautiful gardens, offers ever-changing art exhibits, concerts (only some are free) and a panoramic view of the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret).

Our next stop was about an hour and a half away. We wanted to taste the fish at Nachal Dan at a place called: Dag Al Ha-Dan, known to have one of the best fish in the Upper Galilee. We headed north passing many beautiful villages and arriving at Kiryat Sh’mona where we turned west, toward the Golan Heights and finally arrived at this secluded restaurant. Lunch was much more delightful than we anticipated with superb food and excellent service.

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Next to the restaurant is Nachal (river) S’nir and Emly who had visited the river the previous week with her “Birth Right” group, showed us around the paths where we saw a couple of water falls while walking inside the river.



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We arrived back at Kfar Tavor at around 4:30 PM.

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After a quick shower I headed to Mitzpe’ Adi, to join my class reunion from my elementary school days in Eilat.

I arrived around 6:00 PM and was so happy to see my old classmates, which I haven’t seen for the last 40 (plus) years. Here they were: Moti Margalit, Eitan Yahood, Atara Peretz, Nitza Peleg, Bracha Miller, Ya’akov Danieli, Bella Abramowitz, Rivka Kostritch, Michal Shweifel (Bilha’s sister), the teacher Shula Dekel, and of course the person responsible for the reunion Bilha Shweifel. Some of the guests had brought their spouses as well.

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We sat around eating, drinking and remembering and it was quite an experience. Moti Margalit, who lives now in Anatot, a suburb of Jerusalem, volunteered to be my tour guide when I arrive to the Holy City.

I returned to Kfar Tavor at around 11:00 PM. Ishai had a huge smile on his face when he announced that Eyal will show up tomorrow for a 4X4 tour of the Galilee and the Golan Heights. We sat around until almost 1:00 AM, talking…

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Sunday, July 25th, 2004

Eyal Yardenay showed up at 10:00 AM, with his Toyota Land Cruiser.

Ishai prepared an ice box full of goodies: Ice cream, fruits and a thermos full with fresh Ness café’.

We started our adventure by turning from the main road toward the mountains. We crossed Nachal Tavor and when we saw a field of sweet corn, we decided that we should taste few of them. They were yummy. Mount Tavor was in front of us with all its glory.

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We headed toward Nachal Zoran where we stopped for Ice Café’s break. We sat in nature and the only sounds we heard were those of the birds.

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We arrived at a spot where we had a panoramic view of the Kinneret, The Galilee Mountains, and the Golan Heights. Eyal identified each of the settlements in our view: Yavni’el, Kineret, Dgania Alef, Dgania Beit, Tzemach and Poria.

Eyal told us about a natural pool, which was discovered a few years earlier and still was kept as a secret, as the locals didn’t want the general public to come and destroy its natural beauties. We headed to Menachameya, to enjoy swimming in the fresh water of the pool. We met Ro’ei, a tour guide, who told us the story of the pool: few years earlier, a group of people were digging in the area for chalk and all of a sudden a geyser erupted, filling the huge crater. The men ran for their life, leaving their truck behind them. The truck is still there today, covered by water.

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An hour later we headed north to Kibbutz Ein Gev for lunch.

After a most delicious lunch we arrived at Kibbutz Ha-On and started climbing the Golan Heights on a dirt road.

We stopped at yet another natural pool, created by the underwater of the Golan Heights. The pool was cold and enjoyable. Vine, Fruit trees and beds of flowers were growing up next to the pool. At one point, Eyal pulled out of his bag a complete set for making Turkish Coffee. Emly and I toured the area and by the time we returned, the fresh and tasty coffee was ready.

Eyal surprised us all when he asked Emly if she would like to drive the rest of the trip. I will never forget her grin when she heard the offer.

Emly took over and was quite good in handling the vehicle.

We passed Mevo Khama as we reached the main road. An hour and a half later we were back in Kfar Tavor.

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We dropped Ishai and drove to Sde’ Ya’akov to surprise my friends Ronnie and David Sadeh. We hung around their beautiful home for about an hour learning that David needs a heart transplant and very soon as the one he has is functioning at 50%. The bad news were that he needs to wait about 5 years for his turn to come up.

We left the Sadeh family and ten minutes later arrived at Nahalal, to Eyal and Anat’s beautiful home.

Ishai & Yaffa were already there, enjoying some fruits and ice cream.

As soon as I finished helping Eyal figuring out a complex formula in Microsoft Excel, we headed back to Kfar Tavor.

We went to sleep at around 2:00 AM.

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Monday, July 26th, 2004

After five hours of sleep, I woke up and had breakfast. I read the morning papers and found out that today is “Erev Tish’ah Be’Av”. A day of mourning in Israel as it commemorates the destruction of the Holy Temple. A headline caught my eyes: “Ten Of Thousands Are Expected In Jerusalem Today”.

My plan for the day was to drive to Jerusalem and then (in the evening) drive to the Sinai Peninsula. But, as I read the headlines, I had a vision of how we are sitting in traffic and standing in lines in the Holy City. I woke Emly up and consulted with her. It took us about 30 seconds to change our itinerary and go to Eilat today, tour the city, enjoy the beach, etc. and then go to Sinai Peninsula the next day. We scheduled to visit Jerusalem on Thursday, instead of today.

And off we went.

We drove, using the newest highway in Israel: “Kvish Chotzeh Israel” and in no time we were around Be’er Sheva the capital of the Negev. We then took the route toward Mitzpe Ramon, passing by Bedouin tents and Israeli towns. At Mitzpe Ramon we enjoyed a diary lunch and watched the “Ha-Makhtesh Ha-Katan” (The Small Crater) panoramic view.

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We arrived to Eilat at 2:00 PM, found a hotel named Petra, and booked ourselves for the night. We then drove to the house where I lived, growing up as a boy. (1958-1971). I was so disappointed with what I had seen: The town became so ugly. The streets were dirty, the houses needed a lot of repairs and the residents extended their apartments without any proportions. In short: it looked like a third world town and not the one I used to love…

We decided to go to the beach (North Beach). Upon our arrival I found out that it is not any more a “beach” where we used to come and swim and run and have a good time. Instead, it became a tourist hub full with stores and vendors. We walked around and bought few souvenirs.

We arrived back at Petra Hotel at around 10:00 PM and went to sleep.

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Tuesday, July 27th, 2004

We woke up few times during the night as the air conditioner stopped working and the heat in the room was unbearable. At around 5:00 AM, we heard lots of noises coming from the hallway, across from our room. It turned out to be a group of teenagers getting up and making sure that no one in the hotel could sleep. It was horrible.

At around 7:00 AM we went to the lobby looking for the dining room. It turned out that the dining room is a small area next to the pool. It had 2 tables and four chairs. Breakfast was prepared already and included: 2 hard-boil eggs, 2 slices of cheese, 2 slices of (dry) bread, and a small glass of unidentified juice. Emly got so disgusted that had not touched a thing. I drank the juice and ate one egg. We took our bags and got out of there in a hurry!

On the way to the car, I asked Emly where did she put her passport. “Passport?”, she said, “I left it in Ronen’s house!”. I thought for a second that she is kidding, but she was dead serious and without her passport we could not cross the borders to Egypt and visit the Sinai Peninsula.

I called Ronen and woke him up. I explained the situation and he found a solution: He would personally drive to Sdeh Dov Airport and deliver the passport. Later on he called to let us know that we will have the passport at Eilat’s airport at around 1:30 PM.

We decided to spend the time we have (about 4 hours) enjoying the beaches of the Red Sea.

We headed toward “Khof Ha-Dekel” and after having a great coffee, in a café’ located on the beach, we swam, enjoying the warm water of the Red Sea. At around 12:30 PM we headed back to town to have lunch (a delicious Falafel) and went to the airport to pick up Emly’s passport.

Our next stop was the border crossing site of Taba.

We left our car on the Israeli side and after the regular stops, we crossed the border and took a cab to the Radisson SAS hotel, just north of the city of Nuweba.

After checking in we discovered why this hotel was so much recommended by Ronen: It is situated on the beach and it wasn’t really a hotel but a huge resort, with about 50 acres of lawn, trees, golf course, an amphitheatre, swimming pools and many facilities surrounding it.


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Our rooms were spacious and modern, with attached patios, a pretty big size bathrooms, a refrigerator and more.

After a long shower, we both took naps, waking up at 6:30 PM.

Dinner was so delicious. The tables in the dining room were full of varieties of middle eastern dishes. It also had an Italian Food section, where the cook prepared dishes a la carte. Outside they had huge Bar-B-Q preparing a delicious chicken. We tasted many dishes and ate with great appetite, while sipping from a delicious wine.

After dinner we walked around the facilities and later on joined the huge crowd at the club where we had tropical drinks and even played chess.

A couple who we met briefly, told us that we need to arrange transportation for tomorrow as it is hard to get. I talked to the hotel’s clerk, who promised me a “very very good price” and that I should “not worry” and look for him tomorrow.

We went to sleep at around 11:30 PM

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Wednesday, July 28th, 2004

We woke up at 7:00 AM and off to the dining room for breakfast. Once again we were impressed with variety of food they had there.

After breakfast, I located the hotel clerk (from last night) and he said he could arrange a taxi for 50 Egyptian Pounds (EP). The price seems fair as we heard it cost about 80 EP for a couple. (6 EP = 1 Dollar). However, when we stepped outside, the taxi driver showed up and asked us: “How much did he tell you to pay?” “50 EP”, I answered. “No, No, No”, he replied, “150 Shekels!” (about 180 EP). His calculations were that now that we have no choice we will pay him anything he wanted. They use this trick on tourists and are successful in many cases. An Israeli couple was sitting on the steps of the hotel and heard the whole thing. They told me it is a common practice here and that I will be more successful going to the main highway (about a mile away) and stop a taxi there. It should cost me about 40 EP a person.

I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I will hitch-hike in Egypt but there we were standing on the side of the road, trying to stop vehicles to take us to Nuweba.


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A few minutes later a van stopped for us. The driver, named Khaled, introduced himself as a tour guide and asked, in perfect Hebrew, where we wanted to go. I told him that we are looking for a scuba diving school, where we could learn how to dive and also practice it. “I have a cousin”, He told us, “who works for a place called SSI (Scuba diving School International)”.

On the way to SSI we talked (in Hebrew) and Khaled told us how difficult life is after the Egyptian were given the Sinai Peninsula by the Israelis. He also had harsh criticism on Yassir Arafat, telling me they all know how he took all the money given to him by the Americans and invest it for his own profits. We arrived at the school (which is also a hotel) and when I asked Khaled how much he wanted for his services, he refused to take any money and said that he will be back at noon to pick us up for more site-seeing.

The experience we had for the next three hours is hard to describe. First, we were given the suits and then an instructor named Simon (a German) gave us an hour long class about how to scuba dive. Later on, Mahmud, Simon’s assistant joined us and helped us put the special suits on. We then started our diving experience. It was so great!! For me it was strange at the beginning, being able to breath underwater and for Emly it was a natural thing, as if she did it before. However, after few minutes I got used to the idea and started to maneuver between the corals watching the many species of fish and other sea creatures. 42 minutes later the air in the balloon was almost empty and me and my private instructor (Mahmud) were back on the surface of the Red Sea. Emly, it turned out later, lasted 63 minutes only because the air of her instructor (Simon) was gone. She could have last over two hours since her lungs are so much smaller than Simon.

After a warm coffee, we showered. At twelve o’clock (on the nose) Khaled appeared and asked what is next. I told him that we would like to visit a Bedouin camp and ride camels. “I have a cousin”, he said, “that owns a 4X4 vehicle. He will take us to a camp in the heart of the Sinai Desert.”

Few minutes later, Khaled’s cousin named Sayid, joined us and we followed his car to his house so we could park Khaled’s car there. We then proceeded to the highway and 20 minutes later we were driving on a dirt road toward Bir Yizreil.

Bir Yizreil is a huge Bedouin camp. It has its own grocery store as well. We were invited to this huge tent where figs and fresh water (from the local well) were served. A short while later, 2 women came into the tent, covered with wails, and presented their goods, which were custom jewelry. We bought few of the items and then were led outside to the awaiting camels. We toured the village, riding these beautiful beasts. Hot, strong, and sweet tea were awaiting for us upon our return.

On the way out of the camp, Khaled asked me what we would like to do next. I told him that I had heard about the great sea food served in town and would like to try a restaurant. “I have a cousin” he said, “who owns a resort beach on the dunes. I will call for reservations”.

Thirty minutes later we were seated on a beach. The manager (named Yaid) showed up and told me that it will take about an hour and a half for the fish to be ready as he is sending his cook to town to buy a fresh fish from a local fisherman. When I asked for some salads or appetizers to be served until the fish arrives, he refused to serve them and explained: “If you eat the appetizers, you will not be hungry enough for the fish!”. I agreed with him. However, a can full with strong and very sweet tea was served.

An hour of a half was spent relaxing on the beach and breathing the fresh air, talking and napping. When the fish (made over charcoals) finally arrived, it was accompanied by 5 different salads and home made pita bread. It was so delicious!! And was enough for the three of us (I invited Khaled to eat with us). The feast lasted another hour or so as we ate slowly, drank and talked.

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“What’s next?”, asked Khaled. I told him that Emly would like to buy a Hookah and that I would like to buy some souvenirs. “I have an uncle”, he said, “that owns a bazaar. One of his sons, my cousin, owns a Hookah and souvenirs store”.

We arrived at the bazaar and met Hunny at his store. We purchased a Hookah and some souvenirs and after bargaining with him we agreed on a final price and left the bazaar, not before we were invited for some very strong coffee and smoke from a Hookah.


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It was already 7:30 PM and we asked Khaled to drive us to the hotel. On the way he told me that his family in the Sinai Peninsula is sized at about 25,000 people! No wonder he has so many cousins…

I asked Khaled again how much I should pay him and he asked if $60 (280 shekels) is a fair price, which included his services for the whole day. I paid him 300 shekels!

I asked Khaled to pick us up tomorrow at 8:00 AM and take us back to Taba. He agreed.

We got to our rooms at around 8:00 PM and collapsed on the beds, sleeping until the next morning.

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Thursday, July 29th, 2004

We woke up early (6:20 AM) and after a delicious breakfast (we were the first people to show up in the dining room!), we checked out and waited for Khaled, who showed up at 8:00 AM sharp.

We arrived at the border at 8:30 AM and half an hour later we were back in Israel, inside our car heading toward Jerusalem.

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The drive from Eilat to Jerusalem was beautiful. The scenery was changing rapidly as we crossed the Arava Desert going north and then driving along the Dead Sea, passing Sedom, arriving at Jericho Junction, climbing the Judea Mountains and finally we were at the gates of the Holy City.

Moti Margalit and his wife Idit, were waiting for us at Ha-Giv’ah Ha-Zorfatit and became our Tour Guides for the rest of the day.

Our first stop was at the Hebrew University on Har Ha-Zoffim. We entered the famous synagogue (Beit Hecht), located at the top of the university and in front of us was a full view of the city of Jerusalem. Looking at the panoramic view, I felt I am watching a movie. It was so beautiful!! We then found the office of foreign students and got some information regarding Emly’s wish to study there for her sophomore year (2005-2006). We got the necessary information and headed toward Yad Va-Shem where we purchased few books about the Holocaust. We then headed to the “Machaneh Yehuda” market to taste some food from one of the most popular restaurants in Israel: Rachmo. As we approached the market, we walked in the narrow streets, leading to the market breathing the fresh air and the many smells in the air. We found the restaurant and ordered “one of each” from their menu. It was unbelievably tasty!!

After lunch we walked the market, listening to the vendors chanting their deals, smelling the many scents of their goods and even interacting with them, buying some of their goods.

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Moti suggested that we drive to his house in Anatot and we agreed. We passed through Sho’afat, an Arab village, and Idit asked me to roll up the windows as in the past the locals would throw rocks at Israeli vehicles. We arrived at their beautiful house situated on a hill, overlooking a beautiful valley. We met Moti’s daughter: Eilat, had some ice cream and back to our car driving to the Western Wall. Idit stayed home so she could visit some friends and would join us later on.

The Western Wall always moves me. The first time I visited the place was in 1968, few months after it was liberated by the Israeli paratroopers and ever since then I feel so close to God when I am there. Today we arrived exactly during “T’fillat Ma’ariv” and it was so overwhelming to hear the chants and watch the hundred of prayers. I wrote a note, asking God for all the best and shoved it into one of the holes in the wall.

We left the wall an hour later and headed toward the “Midrachov” where we met Idit and Eilat.

It was my first time at the Midrachov at night and it was quite an experience. Thousands of people all in a festive mood had gathered there and had one thing in mind: Having a good time. There were three different music groups, who performed in the open space and dozens of vendors offered their goods. Security in the place was amazing with many policemen and soldiers guarding every alley that lead to the main street. We hung around for about 2 hours enjoying the atmosphere, buying more souvenirs and tasting some of the great food. We then said our goodbyes and thanks to Moti & Idit and headed toward Rishon Le-Zion.

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We arrived at 1:00 AM.

Ronen woke up and we told him all about our adventures for the past week.

We went to sleep at 2:30 AM

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Friday, July 30th, 2004

We woke up at 9:00 AM and after a quick breakfast, Ronen and I drove Emly to Tel Aviv so she could spend the next couple of days with her friend Rachel.

Lunch was served at a unique place called “Ha-Shovach”, located in a middle of a residential area.

Upon our return home, I called Shula & Yoske’ Zablodowitz, who lives in Holon and was surprised to hear that my friend Liki (their daughter) is in Israel. I drove to their house and found a very cheerful Shula, but a very sick Yoske’. We talked for a couple of hours and it felt great to be able to see them, as I was missing them a lot. Liki, was, as always, very cheerful and in high spirits. However, I could sense how hurt she was to see her father in this condition.

I returned to Rishon Le-Zion and after a “Shabbat Dinner” we dressed up and went to the movies. We saw an Israeli film called “Sof Ha-Olam S’mola”. I enjoyed the movie, which was about the clash of mild mannered Indians (from India) with outgoing and zealous (over zealous at times) Moroccan immigrants and how it deeply affects the lives of two female teenagers that out of the common search for reason in this age, form a genuinely deep bond.

After the movie we headed to the sea shores of Tel Aviv and found a nice restaurant on the beach. We had coffee and ice cream.

We returned home at 3:00 AM.

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Saturday, July 31st, 2004
I woke up at 11:00 and packed my bags. Today I am going back home!

The afternoon was spent with Ronen & Yehudit. I helped them both setting up their respective cameras.

At 6:30 PM I drove up to Tel Aviv to meet Mendel & Edna. They drove specially for me from the Jordan Valley and I was so happy to see them once more before my departure.

We met at Arcafe’, located in Bazel Center. We had a great espresso and a delicious cake. Emly and her friend Rachel had joined us later on.

After an emotional goodbye we drove back to Rishon Le-Zion.

When we arrived, I was happy to see my nephew Shachaf and see how much he grew in the last couple of years. I was also very happy to learn how well he is doing in school and the progress he has made with his Tennis.

We left the house at 10:00 PM and after returning the car to Eldan I said my goodbyes to everyone and boarded a plane to take me back home.

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