Pope Francis in the Middle East

The Pope's first official visit in the region is something I cannot forget to mention. During the last few days, this topic was present in the news all around the world. Not surprisingly at all: Pope Francis is a significant religous and poltical leader, enjoying great popularity thanks to his open-minded, humble and joyful attitude. His recent speeches and meetings in the Middle East seem to prove that he does deserve this opinion.

Refering to the main values that Christianity stands for, he put a greatest emphasis on the issue of peace. His visit itself served as a great opportunity to unite people. The Catholic communities from Israel got a permission to attend the pope's speech in PA, entering which is usually impossible for them. The division, marked clearly by the infamous wall, was somewhat diminished by the common prayer of Arabs and Jews.

What also impressed me was the clarity and skillfullness of the Pope's diplomatic approach. As a person from the outside of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he clearly wanted to avoid being associated with one of its sides. He didn't come there as another actor with certain ecnomic or political interests. The aim of his visit was to remind people how essential is it to bring peace to the Holy Land. With respect and empathy, he acknowledged the national tragedies and problems of each of the two countries. He firmly stated that each of them has a right to exist in peace and sovereignity and condemned all the unacceptable actions that slow down the negotiation process.What's more, he invited both the president of the Palestinian Authority Mahmud Abbas and the president of Israel Simon Peretz to join him in the common prayer for peace in the Vatican. This may be an occasion for the two to meet on a "no-man's-land", in a less tense political atmposphere. 

Of course, I would be far from saying that this is a ground-breaking step that will be able bring these two countries to a completely different path. Many things stay the same: you still get the violence and 'price-tag ' attacks, the far-right and the terrorists don't care, both sides keep breaking the agreements. But I greatly hope the Pope's invitation might be this tiny little gesture that will contribute to altering their policies a bit. And that is something bigger than you may think.

*I really recommend you to read the transcript of his speech:

http://www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-of-pope-franciss-speech-on-arrival-in-israel/

Omer Adam ft. Arisa – Tel Aviv

Listen to this song.

Yes, I am aware, this is Hebrew pop. Indeed, this might not be the genre you listen to every day. I do agree, the cover photo is horribly kitschy. On the other hand… WHO CARES?

Listen once more. Ignore your inner critic, inner snob, inner melomaniac or whoever inside of your head wants to make a fuss about a pinch of electro-oriental disco. Embrace the simple beat, enjoy the energy bursting out from every line, let the quivering Mizrahi melody flow...

Religion and high tech at the JCC

I finished my Days of Israel experience this Friday by attending two magnificent lectures held at the JCC as a part of the ‘A Kaleidoscope of Israeli Cultures’ international expert panel. To start with: shame on you all who were too lazy to come! Sitting there, I kept wondering what’s the mysterious reason for all these free chairs around. Fascinating topics, renowned scholars and a great place – an opportunity not  to miss.  Now, as you guys are sobbing with regret, let me comfort you with an entertaining summary of the lectures.

The first one "Religions and Religiousness in Israel: A Coat of Many Colors" was delivered by dr Annamaria Orla-Bukowska from the UJ Institute of Sociology. She was describing the vibrant Israeli multireligousness in such a joyful, calm way that I couldn’t help smiling. What I loved in particular was her absolutely open-minded, respectful attitude towards every single denomination she would talk about. Perhaps it was this approach of a wise social anthropologist: no judging, just constant, curious observation. At the end, she said one brilliant sentence that seems to perfectly characterize the extreme intensity of Israel: “Our human nature tends to fit everything into these little boxes. Whereas in Israel, nothing fits into any box! Everything overflows”.

Dr Orla-Bukowska’s speech was followed by a presentation by Rabbi Avi Baumol “The Start-up Nation: How Talmud Shapes Modern Day Israeli Capitalism”. This one had what I enjoy most in lectures and books - completely new information and a fresh point of view. I am not very much into technology and economy so I wouldn’t rather get another opportunity to learn all these things. But to tell you the truth, it turned out to be far more interesting that I’d ever guess. Israel is known as a high tech world leader. But have you known how many genius devices come from this country? From flash drives through drop irrigation system up to endoscopic pills, our world is filled with tiny yet brilliant Israeli inventions. The authors of the cited book ‘The startup nation‘ believe that that this phenomena must be linked not only to the government policy or foreign grants but also to certain psychological aspects. The optimistic Israeli ambition and self-confidence close to arrogance (see:http://israelidreamin.blogspot.com/2014/05/israeli-movies-rule.html) make perfect businessmen, leaders and innovators. But these traits cannot come out of nowhere. 
The authors derive them mainly from the compulsory military service and constant immigration. The latter one is rather obvious. People abandoning their past homeland are always the risk-takers. They tend to treat the aliyah as a chance to fulfill their dreams and hopes – that applies to launching a business as well. Moreover, as Israelis are raised in a multicultural society, they naturally develop an open-minded, creative attitude. The latter one- military service - came as a bit of a shock to me. As a pacifist, I’ve always considered the army as something that kills all the personal qualities, transforming young people into thoughtless fighting machines. However, the Israeli Defence Forces appear to work quite differently. They actually encourage the soldiers to think and work independently, acquire leadership skills and question the authorities.
According to Rabbi Baumol, the last skill is not anything new for the Jews. Conversely, it is deeply rooted in the Jewish mentality thanks to… the Talmud. This was the shock number two. I’ve always associated Orthodox Judaism with a strict obedience to the 613 commandments. And here comes an orthodox rabbi, proving that the foundation of his religion is challenging the authority of God! The Old Testament and Talmud are plenty of stories in which the least significant ones argue with the Almighty himself. Mind-blowing. What’s more, the old Jewish tradition has its unique approach to intellectual development. The Talmud knowledge is all deep-rooted in logic, critical thinking and reality, it forms a culture of discussion, arguments and doubts.

If you ever wondered ‘Why are Jews so smart?”, that seems to be a fair answer.

Nakba, May 15

May 15 is not a day for fierce political debates nor exchanging arguments about which side of the whole Israeli-Palestinian issue is right. It is the day of recognition. Acknowledging the darkside of the short Israeli history: all the personal human suffering caused by its establishment in 1948. Denying this fact won't bring Israel any peace nor glory.

 Let me just quote what Saeb Erekat wrote in today's Haaretz:

"Today is the anniversary of what we Palestinians refer to as the Nakba, our catastrophe – although a single word cannot begin to explain it, and a single day cannot begin to commemorate it.(...) Israel can't erase Nakba from it's history"

Aleph, aleph, alphabet

Ladies and gentlemen, I've started to learn Hebrew.
Yes, I'm aware I won't be able to become fluent in the language in three months. Sure, there's actually no need to do that as all the Israelis I'll have to do with speak English really good. But... It's just that I can't stand the mere thought of going to a country where I can't read nor understand a single word. 'Come on' I said to myself 'Hebrew can't be that hard'. And got to work.
The first thing to do is to learn the alphabet. Here comes my luck: I've recently, just about 2 minutes away from my home, run into a poster advertising a 'free pilot course of Hebrew caligraphy' (those who live in Krakow still got a chance to enroll: http://www.biblijnespotkania.pl/kurs-kaligrafii-hebrajskiej/). Isn't that a coincidence? So far, I've taken part in one lesson only but it turned out to be easier and more fun than I'd guess.
The teacher would go through the alphabet letter by letter, calmly explaining us how to write it. We used special pens, not natural quills and ink, what made the whole task much easier. Each letter is written with two kinds of lines: the thin one and the wide one (exactly three times thicker). Depending on how you hold and press the pen, you get one of the two. What’s more, most of the letters have a very proportional, square shape and they consist mostly of straight lines- a dream for beginners.
What I loved about the teacher was that he didn’t just focus on the technical side. Leaning over our sheets, he would talk a lot about the biblical symbolism of each letter, its various meanings and usage and the number it’s associated with. There’s a whole magical world standing behind these 22 signs, it appears.
But if some of you thought that it’s enough to learn them in order to read and write in Hebrew, I must set you straight. It is nothing but the printed font, allowing you to read (be careful though, on Facebook the biblical letters are so simplified that they may be difficult for you to recognize) but hardly ever used for hand-writing. And this is why I needed another course. Again, the Krakow Days of Israel (here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/DniIzraelawKrakowie) came to rescue me, offering a free Hebrew class in the Jewish Community Centre. Despite how tired or busy I was, I simply couldn’t say no to such an opportunity. I’m glad I didn’t, as this hour turned out to be very helpful. Apart from learning a couple of useful phrases, we practiced all the written alphabet. Just what I needed. The teacher was very enthusiastic and she clearly knew what she was doing - if you are interested in taking up a course, regular classes at the JCC start in October.
At the top of the post there are my notes from both workshops: maybe nothing of extraordinary beauty but at least a proof that absolutely everyone can start learning. Hope that encourages some of you!
PS. The campaign slowly starts to roll: I have already received first two donations! Big big thanks for the sweet contributors!!! That makes me $35 closer to the Arava Valley for Peace Camp, $1165 still ahead. Wish me luck :)

Israeli movie time

I began the Krakow Days of Israel with a Hebrew movie night in a cosy shisha café (https://www.facebook.com/przyladekkrakow) in Kazimierz, the Krakow’s famous Jewish District. Lying Orient-style on a pile of comfy cushions with a warm pot of rooibos was a perfect way to switch to the Middle Eastern chillout vibe.  

The first film was Turn Left at the End of the World (סוף העולם שמאלה) – certainly worth recommending. No matter if you are searching for a vivid image of what aliyah is about or just two hours of laughter and emotion, I’m sure you’ll be satisfied. It tells a story of two Jewish families – one from Morocco and the other one from India – who choose to start a new life in the dream Eretz Israel. That is to say, in the middle of nowhere. The people who once considered themselves high-class, sophisticated and elegant now need to deal with a complete change of lifestyle: settling in the inhospitable desert, hard, low-paid job in a factory and… getting along with the neighbors. At first they treat each other with a certain dose of distance and superiority. But day after day, the wall of prejudices is crumbled  by common experiences. They are united by personal tragedies and successes, family problems and sport challenges, bonds of friendship and affection. The way it was shown in the movie took my heart completely: without exaggeration nor dramatic kitsch- just ordinary human life, with all its difficulties and wonders. Lovely, funny, moving.

The second movie, Café Tales, gave me somewhat mixed feelings. Café Braun, which splendor is long bygone, is under threat of being closed. A group of old friends  declares war on all the world’s injustices standing between them and their favorite local coffee shop. The plot itself seems to make quite a good movie material but to me it just wasn’t really convincing. All the characters were somewhat too obvious, crazy and lost: colorful but simply exaggerated. The same could be said about editing: sharp, chaotic transitions from one scene to another would just make the whole story unreal. However, there was one great thing about the Café Tales that caught my attention: the way it presented one peculiar feature of the Israeli personality. Although each of the characters was totally different, there was one thing that united them: each of them was firmly convinced about his righteousness. All these macho men and strong women who have gone through a lot shared one rule: fight for what you want. This motivating, but often troublesome motto seems to apply to quite a lot of Israelis. As my Hebrew girl friend  once shouted: “You gotta step out of this <what’s wrong, what’s right>! If you want somethin’, just get it!”

Campaign

Dear Everyone,

I am very very excited to announce that the crowdfunding campaign has just been launched :D

It took me a couple of days to get everything prepared but finally me and the FundAnything website managed to find a common ground. Here is the link:

https://fundanything.com/en/campaigns/julia-goes-hebrew

If you like it and think this is an initiative you want to support - don't hesitate to comment, contribute and share ;)Thank you guys, you've no idea how happy and motivated I feel by your interest in this blog. I have recently got so much of positive feedback and support from friends and family that I really feel this is something worth doing. Thanks a lot!

Apart from that, there is a lot of interesting things to come: the Week of Israel in Kraków is about to begin tomorrow. I'm planning to take part in loads of great events, from language workshops to cinema... and obviously I will write you about it in detail. Stay tuned!

Hamsa or Middle East united by a symbol

Although legally Israel grants religious freedom, calling it an entirely secular state would be a sweeping bias.  Judaism has played a major role in preserving the Diaspora’s identity over the years and there’s plenty of traditionally religious symbols that have become national ones. Take the flag with the star of David in the very center or the menorah in the national emblem. Even though a vast majority of the society- be it Orthodox or secularized- does identify with both of them, this somehow seems to exclude religious minorities, such as Muslims or Christians. Fortunately, there is one symbol that unites everybody in the Middle East. It is called Hamsa (five).

I’m sure you are familiar with this one: the palm with an eye in the Middle, coming in a great variety of shapes, colors and decorations. You can see it pretty much everywhere from North Africa to Turkey, which is probably why it’s associated mostly with Islam. However, it’s history is way more ancient. Some scholars trace it back to Mesopotamia, others search for the sign’s origins in Egypt or Phoenicia. It was later adopted by the Muslims, Jews and Christians (presumably in that order). Each of the three major monotheistic religions associates Hamsa with the palm of a sacred woman from its tradition. This is why it can be called either the hand of Fatima (Muhammad’s beloved daughter), Miriam (the sister of Moses) or Mary (Christ’s mother). Note that all of these religions were initially patriarchic, so women  are rather unlikely to play a major role as prophets or religious authorities in their tradition. However, that doesn’t mean they are neglected. It’s quite the contrary: they are loved and admired by the believers, as they represent this more subtle, caring and nurturing side of the Almighty. I find it really beautiful how the feminine kindness and purity is believed to protect from the evil. Because this is what Hamsa is made for: protection. Keeping evil spirits away, bringing good luck, wealth and fertility. The number five is believed to represent various things, depending on the religion. It may stand for the Five Pillars of Islam or the five Books of the Torah.

Historically Hand of Miriam was popular mainly amongst Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews, in the present-day Israel it can be found pretty much everywhere, sold as a charm or souvenir. Moreover, it has spread all over the world as a trendy, Oriental shape, perfect for decorating T-shirts or jewelry. My friend has recently called me to say she had bought me a tiny gift she thought I might like (so sweet of her, isn’t it?). It turned out to be a Hamsa ring, produced by Tally Weijl – an international company addressed to “young, self-condident, sexy and trendy women”. Funnily, that’s quite far from the Middle Eastern ideal represented by Fatima or Miram. But in spite of that, I wear it every single day.

If any of you is planning a travel to Israel, Hamsa is hands down (pun intended) the best thing to bring back home.

Walz with Bashir

Before this film was released, six years ago, an ‘animated documentary’ was considered an oxymoron. Whereas animation was associated mostly with little children or underground artists, documentaries were something dead-serious. How is it possible, people would ask skeptically, to combine such different genres?

With his film, Ari Folman proves it is not only possible but also ground-breaking. The director couldn’t think of a better way of expression. It forces the viewer to step out of his schematic ways of comparing and labeling. Waltz with Bashir simply can’t be watched as just-another-movie-for-a-Friday-night. Folman has an important story to tell.

The plot is relatively simple. A veteran of the Lebaneon War can’t recall anything of his traumatic experience. All he can remember is one hazy post-massacre vision. Driven by a strong desire to discover what really happened in the Palestinian refugee camp, he decides to regain his memory. He visits and interviews all his ex-brothers in arms, step by step reconstructing the truth. The way he does it takes war to the most personal, intimate level. Political events are just a background for psychological dramas and moral dilemmas. This attitude is far from judging: you don’t get to see two opposite sides of the conflict, clearly divided by the “good guys/bad guys” mark. All that Walz with Bashir is about is the human tragedy. But as you know, having watched zillions of war movies, people tend to become desensitized to sufferings. And this is why animation plays a key role here. The subtle, stencil-like drawings transform the ruthless reality into something more of a nightmare. The whole movie seems somewhat surreal, smoothly blending brutal images with dream-like scenes. The viewer - encouraged by the strikingly calm voices of the interviewed - steps into the head of a soldier, taking over his fears and desires. One can always ignore the dates, names and death toll but it is way harder to escape the feelings.

What is also worth noting is that Ari Folman's approach to the war is quite unusual for the Israelis. They really pride themselves on the efficiency and mightiness of IDF (Isreal Defence Forces) that have a great authority over there. Remember that serving the Israeli army is compulsory, three years for men and two for women. However, as far as I noticed, most of the young people consider it a fun and useful experience rather then a tough duty. As Israel's relations with all the neighboring states are constantly tense, IDF are treated by the society as real life-savers. Now you can imagine that Folman, making a movie about all the fear and pain related to the 'heroic act of protecting Israel's security', was quite a taboo-breaker in his homeland.

Celebration time

It turned out that I wasn't the only one who got accepted to a dream-like course. Two of my friends received scholarships from highschools abroad: one is going to study in the UK, the other one in - yes, you heard it right - Israel. That gave us quite a fair reason to celebrate. As the weather was beautiful, I figured out that the best way to start our little personal holiday would be having lunch on my beloved roof. That made a splendid excuse for preparing some yummy Israeli food. Check out the menu:

- Israeli salad (chopped cucumbers and tomatoes with parsley, mint, olive oil and lemon juice)

- home-made pita loaves with za'atar (the most delicous Middle Eastern spice ever)

- baked falafels

- spicy meatballs with dried fruits (this one was pork, neither kosher nor halal: what a shame! I blame the incompetence of my butcher, decent mutton is really hard to get in Poland. But despite this cultural inaccuracy, the taste was just perfect)

- fresh tahini and jogurt paprika sauce

- freshly squeezed orange juice

Tempting, isn't it? The way I see it, cooking can give you a great foretaste of travel. If you really can't wait to get on the road, play some Hebrew songs (I will write some more about these soon) and prepare yourself an Israeli treat. You can try some of my lunch ideas or use one of this article...

http://www.buzzfeed.com/h2/fbed/rethinkisrael/israeli-delicacies-that-arent-hummus

The headline speaks for itself. I love how the author shows the multiculturality of Israel, manifesting itself in all those diverse flavours.

...or:

http://etpub.eteachergroup.com/CookBook_English_Web_Hebrew.pdf

The main advantage of this one is the classy design and great photos. Plus, it contains recipes ;)

Be'te-avon!

How it all started

Israel came out of the blue, uninvited and unexpected. It didn’t fit my previous beliefs nor interests . To tell you the truth, this tiny spot somewhere in the Middle East was one of the few countries that would never virtually fascinate me. But one day, all of a sudden, I fell for it. Head over heels.

In order to understand this irrational infatuation, I decided to get to know this country as much as possible. I guess you all know this stage: borrowing books from friends and family, watching docs at night, taking loads of notes, desperate surfing the Web in search of some authentic music, hours spent on chat with the natives, reading three different local newspapers, downloading dictionary apps on your phone etc etc... Interestingly, the more I'd learn about it, the more my interest would grow. It was only then when I realized that there was quite a lot of aspects of the Israeli culture that would fit me perfectly. Take migration issues and multiculturalism: they've been my main passions for years. Uhm, helloooo... Here is a country consisting of nobody but immigrants! What could be more multicultural than that? Another one: I am fascinated by politics, learning about the complexity of international relations from MUN conferences and FP newsletters. Well... The Middle East is considered to be the hottest political zone of the world, torn by numerous territorial, religous and ethnic conficts, isn't it? This list could go on forever, ranging from top-class universities, through modern architecture and perfectly spicy cuisine, up to just-my-type guys. I felt I must go there. 

It was about the time when my friend mentioned some international highschool in Israel and a summer camp they organise. I checked out the website - the course seemed too tailor-made to be true. Three weeks of discovering the region, with emphasis put on peace-building, environmental activism and leadership. I prepared my application, crossed my fingers so hard that my middle finger touched my thumb and, two weeks later... BANG! I couldn't believe my own eyes: I got the acceptance letter.

(Let me omit a detailed description of the following seconds, just in case you find squealing and jumping of joy something awkwardly and childishly cheesy)

Having got back to reality, I decided to set up a crowdfunding campaign to finance the journey. In the meantime, I kept trying to discover Israel from a distance, immersed in the exciting world of books, news, films and workshops. And then is when I came up with the idea of combining these two: sharing my passion and allowing the people wishing to support me to track my progress in the preparation for the summer.

So, here is the blog. Written for traveller wannabes, experience seekers, open-minded bookworms, crazy philantropists, schoolkids and Israel lovers. I hope you all find something for yourself over here.

 Enjoy!