Things I've learned in Israel

Next week, I'm going home to the states. That is an amazing feeling. I love it here, but Dorothy put it best: there's no place like home. I've been living in Israel now for the past 8 months, but unlike my previous stay here of about 7 months from 2011-2012, I'm leaving with a much deeper understanding of this nation and its people. I feel like I know the real Israel now, and not just the well-to-do of Ramat Aviv. And it's really all thanks to YEDID.

An American style shooting?

This week Israelis bore witness to a brand of violence not usually seen in this country. An armed man walked into a bank and killed 4 people, before taking a hostage (she survived the ordeal) and killing himself with his own personal weapon. Admittedly, I was taken aback at the first headline I saw regarding the incident, "American style 'lone gunman' shooting stuns Israelis." "What the hell is an American style shooting?," I thought to myself. After reading the article I learned that what we have become accustomed to at home; the Aurora, Colorado's, the Newtown Connecticut's, the Virginia Tech's and so on, are viewed as uniquely American phenomena. Only in America can people become so desperate, so unhinged, and so well-armed, as to enter a place of business, recreation, or education and take the lives of innocent strangers. That is how many Israelis felt until Monday. And when this happens, there always follows a discussion about the exhaustive list of symptoms that afflicted the gunman, and the questions about why no one noticed sooner. He was a loner. He was mentally unstable. He owned weapons that should have been illegal. The list goes on. But add to this particular tragedy yet another symptom, and the only one I'm interested in talking about for the purposes of this post: He was broke.

Center visit: Petach Tikvah

This week I was fortunate enough once again to visit another one of the wonderful YEDID Citizen Rights Centers, this time in the nearby city of Petach Tikvah. My immediate impression was that it was much like the center in Tel Aviv, just on a smaller scale for a smaller city. What's unique about the Petach Tikvah center however, is that it has a really awesome roommate. We'll get to that in a minute.

Polite Society: Israel vs. the U.S.

I'm in a lighthearted mood right now so let's open this post with a joke, and one that I've conveniently lifted in it's entirety from a recent BBC article discussing the same topic as this post. A reporter walks up to an Israeli, a Russian and an American and says "Excuse me, what's your opinion on the food shortage in Africa?" The Russian asks "what's an opinion?" The American asks "what's a shortage?" And the the Israeli asks "what's excuse me?" (Zing!!!) Believe me, if you've ever been a foreigner living in Israel, not only do you get this joke, but it's hilarious. Native Israelis will tell you that they are frank, direct, to the point, brisk, etc., etc., but never rude. As much as I like living here, I'm sorry, but I just have to call a spade a spade.

Ask an Immigrant: Eddie

Israel's immigrant population added 16,500 people to its ranks in 2012. As a foreigner, sometimes it feels as if I have a connection to the immigrant population here not only because for the time being I'm making a home here, but because I am so often mistaken as a member of the immigrant community. But despite how things may look to some on the outside, I have very little in common with this group. I live in an upscale neighborhood with access to any and all goods and services I need. I have a community of people in the exact same situation as me that I can commiserate with. A short chat with my friend Eddie quickly informed me that sadly that's not the case for everyone here from another country. In fact, some of the things Eddie told me about his life here were so surprising (and disturbing), that the level of nonchalance with which he conveyed them gave me pause. Many of the tough situations that Eddie currently faces make him a candidate for help from YEDID, where I promptly referred him after this interview. I very much hope that he takes advantage of the assistance YEDID can offer him. So here is a little taste of what life is like for Eddie from Nigeria, the good, the bad and the ugly.
**(please note these are solely the opinions of the interviewee and do not reflect my own personal opinions)**

The Daily Israeli: A Light among us

Today I'm so excited to introduce my good friend Staci Light as The Daily Israeli. Staci is one of the first people I met in Israel and she wasted no time making me feel at home, showing me the best tour guides, beaches, restaurants, you name it. It wasn't until I learned of Staci's background in philanthropic work that I began to fully appreciate what an awesome woman she really is. Before permanently relocating to Tel Aviv from New York City, Staci headed up her own company, Philanthropic Alternatives, where she played matchmaker between organizations and independent philanthropists, and the non-profits that they'd choose to support. During her time with Philanthropic Alternatives Staci also developed a close relationship with YEDID, and she was the voice that suggested I start volunteering with them when I was bored and looking for something meaningful to do. We sat down to chat for a few minutes about both YEDID and life in Israel in general.

Who says it better: Israeli vs. U.S. politicians

These two have frighteningly similar and out of touch perceptions of what constitutes the middle class.

Monday was a banner day in Israel for mind-numbingly and inexplicably stupid things said by politicians. It's Wednesday, and the hangover has yet to subside from reaction to a Facebook post by the newly elected Finance Minister, Yair Lapid. Mr. Lapid went on at length Monday about how the job of he and his colleagues is not to focus on the calculators and Excel spreadsheets before them, but instead individual cases, such as that of one Mrs. Ricki Cohen. The hypothetical Mrs. Cohen and her husband represent the ideal middle class workers to Mr. Lapid's mind, hard-working taxpayers making just over $5500 a month with 3 kids to support. On that meager sum, the Cohens can hardly afford the trappings of a comfortable lifestyle, such as overseas vacations or the purchase of apartments for their children when they become adults. It's cases like Mrs. Cohen's which should guide the ministry's thinking on how to balance the budget and relieve the burden on middle class families.