Tel Aviv Diary - May 24-28 2009- - Karen Alkalay-Gut

Tel Aviv Diary - May 24-8, 2009 Karen Alkalay-Gut

May 24-8, 2009

May 24, 2009

you're not voting...

Here's a little poem for Shvuot - i think i did an earlier version of this once on this site but i can't look back

RUTH

“Sometimes you just can’t be subtle with these Jewish boys.”
My mother-in-law says,
“Forget the ways of the Diaspora,
the flirty eyes, a glimpse of stocking,
the wise, backward glance.
Jewish men have a thing for shikses.
Shikses and feet. Shikses
at their feet.

“So dress well, use all the nuit d’amour
you can absorb, and tell him all
about your relatives, especially me.

“The strategy is foolproof,
and I’m sure it’ll get you into the tribe
eventually, if you just stay loyal to me
and beget the right kind of sons..”

Which reminds me - the other night I had a chance to watch some locally made porno - incredibly self-conscious and imitative. It actually made me feel a little better about Israeli men - to see that they are not altogether happy about straight sex, even though the girl (who performed tirelessly with 8 odd men) was pretty. As for the woman, she improved a bit after number 4.

May 25, 2009

Dara Barnat's celebration of her new book, (Headwind Migration)at Tsomet Sfarim on Dizengoff Street, was not only a wonderful occasion in itself, but also gave me the opportunity to revisit Dizengoff Street. The book is about migration, as its title suggests, and what you take with you, and as i strolled toward the store, I thought of what Dizengoff was like when i first moved here, and how elegant and sophisticated it seemed to me then. I have lost the sense of strangeness, and feel at home now on the street, even though i visit it so infrequently now.

Got a big day in parliament tomorrow, so i have to go to sleep now...

My mind is still in a mess from today’s events. First, the arrival at the Knesset. Something was wrong with the computer so instead of going in one at a time and in order, there was a mad rush to convince the guards of the individual legitimacy of each queue member. At one point I was almost next to a guard when a large lady stepped on my foot and elbowed me away. I was thinking that if I had brought my own car I’d leave now, but I was too deep in the crowds and had no way to escape. My mind is still in a mess from today’s events. First, the arrival at the Knesset. Something was wrong with the computer so instead of going in one at a time and in order, there was a mad rush to convince the guards of the individual legitimacy of each queue member. At one point I was almost next to a guard when a large lady stepped on my foot and elbowed me away. I was thinking that if I had brought my own car I’d leave now, but I was too deep in the crowds and had no way to escape.

Somehow I managed to get in, and then began the search for the meeting of the education and immigration committee down the long corridors of the Knesset. Turns out that was the only show in town at the moment and everyone was trying to get in. I think there were over 70 people in there.

And the meeting was quite an experience – the number of jokes in Yiddish that took the place of speeches, the number of admissions of members of Knesset that their parents spoke the language but they do not, at first amused me and then began to depress. Because although this was a meeting about what should be done for the Yiddish language, there seemed like the only thing left was an admission that all that is left – according to them – are a few songs and a couple of witticisms. When I came home I turned on the tv to see how they viewed the “Yiddish Day” in the Knesset, but the feature was Ahmed Tibi reading a little joke. How funny to hear an Arab use the word “pish’n”….

As you can see I’m pissed.

The Yiddish theatre did a show for parliament after the meeting with ever kitsch piece I ever threw up over. Any song about “Yiddishkeit” seems to me to be another nail in the coffin. And if I hear “rozinkes and mandlen” one more time I’ll go crazy.

Well maybe something good will come of it.

Actually I’ve been thinking that if people could be exposed to the real Yiddish – the uncensored unprettified unsentimental Yiddish that forms the body of literature, they’d be overwhelmed. I know I identify far more with Shalom Asch than Shalom Aleichem ( even though I do love Shalom Aleichem)

May 26, 2009 - White Night

Right. Like i'm going to stroll Rothchild Boulevard all night when i have a Bone Scan at 8 in the morning.

I think i snapped last night as we were coming home from a wedding in Hadera. My body decided that it was enough. The traffic jam from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv because of the soccer game (Yes, I too waved my scarf out of the window and clapped) kept me away from a nap between the Knesset visit and our wedding up north. So by the time we hit our pillows it was way past midnight.

And today was taken up with the excessive maintenance necessary for women my age and holiday preparations. So now i will have to forgo the poetry reading i promised to do tonight at the Felicia Blumenthal center in Tel Aviv and go to sleep. But look for me in Metulla on Friday afternoon.

May 27, 2009

After we picked up my polka-dotted bone scan today, we started getting to work on the eggplant and techina we promised for dinner tonight. i was pretty worn out by the whole morning of health clinic but we had work to do, and a long night ahead. Especially since i want to get to Metulla as early in the morning as possible.

Family and friend traditions are important and our shvuot ritual is an annual dinner. Every year we follow our dinner with Shvuot related issues - interpretations of the bible, ethics, history, etc. Unfortunately we also drink, so nothing comes of all those discussions.

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