A few days ago I met with Jared and Shirly (pronounced sheer-lee) to go over the itinerary and discuss a variety of things regarding our trip. Suffice it to say, we are all very excited!! There are a few changes that we have to make here and there to the itinerary, but nothing too radical.
Yesterday I walked by the Prime Minister’s residence and saw the protest to raise awareness and pressure on the PM to work to ensure Gilad Shalit’s release. I saw his father surrounded by people who seemed to be friends of his, and others who came by to wish him well. They are giving out fluorescent yellow ribbons and asking people to tie them to things in solidarity with Gilad and his family. They seem to be everywhere.
Tali, the kids and I went to Alon yesterday to visit with Avinoam, Havi, Nadav, and Amit. It was wonderful to see them and of course, to spend time in their yishuv, which is dazzlingly beautiful. We sipped tea on their deck overlooking the hills of the Judean Desert. It was stunning. (See the above photo of our boys in their backyard with their neighbor.) They are very excited to host all of us in their home on the 22nd. It will be very special.
I watched the final game of the World Cup on the sidewalk of a café. They put a large screen TV on the sidewalk and set tables up outside. I think just about every café and home in Israel had the game on. Israelis are wild about soccer, though it was pretty relaxed where I was (they did hand out vodka, whisky, and tequila shots to celebrate!). In fact, there was a dangerous situation in a Druze village in which the Israeli police were conducting a criminal investigation and found themselves surrounded by a hostile mob from the village. The village elders worked to negotiate a peaceful end to this situation, but it was the start of the World Cup game that ultimately led to people leaving in order not to miss the game. As reported in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, “Another officer surmised that the beginning of the World Cup final game thinned the crowd considerably as the evening progressed.” There is a sermon in this somewhere. More on the World Cup and Israeli identity when you get here…
I am very excited to get going already!! Feel free to email me with any questions, don’t forget your sunscreen (there has been a heat-wave here but don’t worry, today is the last day), bring your CD (or put it onto your iPod), and please let me know if there are any vegetarians in the group.
Nitraeh B’karov- We shall see each other soon…
David
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