Talking to the People

Today, at my weekly Wednesday Israel Seminar, our assignment was simple: walk around Jerusalem for three hours and talk to people on the street or in stores and restaurants. Ask them questions about life in Israel, the upcoming elections, Jewish holidays and observances and who should be put on the 1000 sheckel bill. Report back with answers and insights. Go and Learn.

My group consisted of Rachel, Mel, Jen, Edie, Sandi and myself- the six of us began at the top of Ben Yehuda street and decided that coffee was needed to gain energy and confidence for the task ahead. We ended up stopping in a makoloet (little mini-grocery store a la 7-11) and speaking to Chanina who owns the shop and has worked there for 20 years along with her husband David.

Jen knows Chanina b/c her grandmother loves Chanina's ice cream. We asked what she thought the biggest challenge facing Israel's society is and she responded that she thinks that young people should all get jobs instead of relaying upon the government or charities. She's probably going to vote (Kadima), she used to send her kids to Dati schools, but recently switched them to secular schools. When we asked her which holidays were more important, Israeli or Jewish, she answered that they are "gam v'gam"- one in the same- for her, being Jewish and being Israeli are two parts of the same identity. She also told us that to be Israeli is "to be a human being...Human beings don't send their children to blow up buses...Christian and Jewish mothers would never do that...Moslem mothers on the other hand...We know the facts." Wow.

We continued down BY street and stopped in a bookstore on Yaffo. There we spoke to the store owner and his friend who told us that "I'm right...he's left...but we used to go to school together." The friend spoke to Rachel and me for a while about why he isn't voting in next month's elections- He said that he would never vote for Olmeret because "Olmeret wasn't so good when he was the mayor of Jerusalem...why would we elect him to run our country?" He also told us that his favorite holidays were Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur because it was "time with me and my G-d." fascinating.

After our conversations, we rewarded ourselves by having brunch at Timol Shilshom, a very cool bookstore/restaurant off Yoel Solomon street. I got the shakshuka which was excellent. I also got some nice catch-up time with five of my favorite people that I don't get to hang out with as much as I'd like to (outside of school)

We went back to school for a debrief of our mornings with our classmates- I really really liked the conversation we had and I loved hearing the viewpoints that we got- Rachel pointed something out though- most of us only got the viewpoint of a very small sect of Jerusalemite- one who is out on the street in the middle of the work day, one who owns a store or shop, or one who works in a restaurant. We didn't talk to people who live in surrounding neighborhoods or who might be working in the middle of the day. David Segal also pointed out that this is the type of exercise that we can do anytime- we all interact with Israelis everyday and we should ask them questions- I'm especially excited to talk to my guy at Zigmunds (home of the best shakshuka in the country!), Avi, my laundry guy and Yitzchak and Avram who own the fruit stand up the street from my apartment.

Living in this country never ceases to amaze me...you never know what you're going to learn...