i've got something to say about it. and it goes something like this...

people here are very passionate about their beliefs. surprise surprise! i just happen to live in the same neighborhood as the Prime Minister, a block away, in fact, so in addition to the frequent traffic issues this causes, our little pocket of Jerusalem is also a popular site for protesters to set up camp. 


this summer, while walking around looking at apartments, i noticed the Gilad Shalit vigil. a white tent with a sign counting how many days he had been held in captivity, a table with informational flyers. a banner proclaiming הצילו (rescue him). since that visit, we passed the 3 year anniversary of his capture, and the release of a video of him in captivity. the protest has ramped up significantly.

across the street, protestors have images and signs against "freeing terrorists." this likely refers to prisoner exchange, which is one of the ways israel has previously secured the return of captive soldiers. 

we are also host to protests about the occupation. these seniors gather every friday:

i don't feel the same palpable tension in the air as i did when i was here in 1996, when Rabin had just been assassinated and buses were being bombed frequently. 

and i don't feel the easy hopefulness i felt when i was here in 1999, when the peace process seemed to be clicking along. 

i feel some wounded hesitation, and i see many more visual representations of the frustration israelis are feeling at the political situation.

more tomorrow...

hmmm...watcha say?

okay, i love Obama as much as your average upper middle class left-wing arugula-eating democrat from Chicago. i think he's just the bees knees. but a nobel peace prize!?! he hasn't even done anything yet! if there was a nobel prize for potential, sure, give it to the man, but...really!?! what will we do when he actually achieves world peace!?

on another note, our refrigerator was broken but now it's fixed, so we got to go shopping at the shuk!

you gotta have friends

arriving in Israel could have been a culture shocky experience, and/or a jet-laggy experience. but mostly, it has just been great. i was picked up at the airport by my awesome cousin, who whisked me immediately to eat some hummus in abu gosh.

i unpacked quickly in order to head out to dinner with the RRC gang. being with such a dynamic and fun group of students is going to make this year in Jerusalem really special. it feels like home already with so many folks here i know. so the challenge might be to really embrace and appreciate and seek out ways to make it distinct, to not hang only with these wonderful folks but also to find new friends, new places to be and see. i'm sure that when classes start and i am here for more than a day that will just naturally happen. i'll let you know.

also had my first ice cafe today. so now i'm really here.

there's a thousand words that I could say

today i depart for a year(ish) in Israel. i have an apartment, an idea of where i'll be studying, and i'm even done packing up all my stuff! still, it doesn't feel real yet.

anyone who is visiting this blog is probably doing so for the first time right about now, since I finally came out of the blog closet by way of a mass e-mail. for the 2 or 3 of you who already knew I had a blog: get ready for lots more entries! and instead of random spurts of brainarrhea, I'm converting this blog into a place for pictures and stories, thoughts and reflections.

anticipating the question about the name of the blog, please see my very first entry!

it's all about the wordplay

i've been wordling.
here is my resume:

and here is my masters capstone paper:



and some notes from rabbinic civ class: