Tel Aviv Diary - December 19-23, 2012 - Karen Alkalay-Gut
December 19, 2012
PET was fine. Baby (name pending)is fine. Celebrations to come. I should be happy, but the passing today of Amnon Lipkin-Shachar was so very sad. Not only because - as I often said in these pages - he was a man I visualized as being the perfect prime minister, and a great human being - but also the growing evil of those who survive. Who will be our next prime minister? the thought frightens me? - and what will we do?
December 20, 2012 I can't help it - i'm a naughty old lady. I have to crack inappropriate jokes all the time. Sometimes people understand and sometimes they don't... Whoops. I forgot what I was going to say - got called away to babysit and then to the theater and now I have something else to tell you.
"Kazablan" opened at the Cameri Theater tonight. A musical, it was written in '54 and deals with the problems of Jews from Europe and Arab countries. Something like "West Side Story" but with a really happy ending that reflects the ultimate optimism of that period about a melting pot in the Jewish state. It's a great musical and too bad it is a dream in so many ways - December 21, 2012 So the shortest day of the year is also possibly the last day of the world? I would be so happy if the Mayan dream came true - that this day is the beginning of a new, more positive era. From here it doesn't look too great. December 22, 2012 It was surprising to learn that my poetry in Hebrew appeared on a site about positive thinking:Psychom. I'll try to be positive when I read in Jerusalem on Wednesdayat Tmol Shilshom But today I've been thinking about my optimism and realize that perhaps in my nature is a positive attitude, but it has been clouding this blog. I mean that my desire to be positive towards Israel has been distorting my report of the news and my experiences. December 23, 2012 I mean who you going to vote for? Oren says his favorite member of parliament is Ahmed Tibi. But even the Arab parties don't seem to join together in any major way. Like our left. Every one pulling in a different direction. Where we live there seem to be no Christians. No signs of Christmas anywhere. But in Tiv Tam - only a few minutes away - there's a rush on tree decorations, gift wrappings, lights, turkeys, you name it. I miss it.