August 7, 2020
even though nothing worse occurred today, my spirits fell. everybody is going crazy. i keep hearing from my girlfriends that all their guys are doing is watching television. that they have aged irrecoverably, that even if they're not alone most of the time, they feel lonely. The confessions kept me up all night. And the worst sides of my own personality are also emerging in full force.
The feeling of helplessness at the sight of Lebanon falling apart has had the biggest effect on me. The Paris of the Middle East - the most sophisticated city in the area has fallen apart - and it was our intervention that did it from the beginning, that helped create the vacuum that allowed Nasrallah to bring the Hizballah in.
August 8, 2020
15000 people demonstrating before Bibi's house in Jerusalem, thousands before his house in Caesarea, thousands on bridges all around the country. not enough for a revolution but enough to show dissatisfaction. We almost went to the bridge down the street, but then i got scared about safety and turned to go home. it doesn't help that my heart is there. it doesn't help that I'm a cardiac dissident. But I still hope that Bibi thinks about the good of the country for a moment and steps down. I would have said that Benny Gantz should take over, but the history of partnership with Bibi shows that worthy opponents are always placed in a position to fail in his government.
Anyway, I was glad to know that my grandchildren were waving the flag on the bridge tonight!
August 9, 2020
i cheated - i went out to the Diaspora Museum or as it is now called The Museum of the Jewish People. I went because they have a great shop - but since there have been no tourists for 6 months, the amount of Israeli handicrafts has diminished. i wanted to get a pillow cover to match the crazy chairs we bought that will be delivered in 2 weeks and are scaring me even now. But everything was from India or China - The Museum of the Jewish People for goodness sake. all the israeli artists who are hungry and we're still not learning our lesson to privilege local products
We keep trying to buy Israeli products. My view has always been that areas should be as self sustainable as possible, that we should encourage a local diet, etc. etc. Ezi goes through the apples I buy and says 'pfui - this is from Spain, this is from the USA, this is from Mexico.' And we know that there are fruit hanging from the trees of our neighbors that drop to the ground and rot out of neglect - but they're behind a fence, or somehow on private property and we have to watch them decay. I see the advantage of conspicuous consumption - that if you look rich people will be impressed and give you money - but waste like this is just stupid. Think of the mismanagement of Lebanon. Those exploded granaries held 85% of the grain of the country . that unusuable port brought in most of Lebanese food. That country should have been managed as a self containable world - instead they had a weapon in every kitchen and a frozen chicken from elsewhere in every freezer. We may not have weapons because we don't have Hizballah controlling us - yet - but we do favor the foreign, the exotic, and we have let our farms disappear.
August 10, 2020
i'm not watching the news today - it hurts too much. instead we're catching up on Taagad, the series on the medical unit in the army. Escapist - but very actual. Here's the promo link
August 11, 2020
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