Municipal Elections in Israel 2013: Some Interesting Tidbits...

Municipal elections, no matter where they are held, in my experience, tend to attract more apathy than interest.  Some suggest that is part of a trend of more generalized voter disaffection.  But, it just may be that people simply don't feel it makes a difference who the mayor happens to be, much less the local councilors.  In any case, Israel is no exception from other democracies in this regard.  Voter turnout in Israel's municipal elections on October 22, 2013, according to Haaretz, hit a national average of 32.7%.  The turnout in Tel-Aviv was only 21%.  Contrast that with the 2013 Israeli national elections in which the voter turn out was close to 68%.  Still not a sparkling number, but not nearly as pathetic as the municipal numbers.

As much voter indifference as there may be, municipal elections are probably even less interesting to outsiders.  So to a non-Israeli, in this case, whether a Labour candidate or a Likud candidate happened to be elected in a particular city to oversee garbage collection and local education just does not seem too riveting.  After all, someone's arnona (Israeli property tax) might increase dramatically but as long as it does not affect your property taxes, do you really care?

Nevertheless, since there were municipal elections all across Israel, there had to be some interesting stories.  I thought you would enjoy a few interesting tidbits that emerged from Tuesday's election, some of which are rather amusing, in my view anyways.

1.  Jerusalem

This was probably the most interesting mayoral race.  Moshe Leon was the candidate favoured by the religious parties, backed by Avigdor Lieberman (leader of Yisrael Beitenu) (who is currently awaiting the verdict in a corruption trial) and by Aryeh Deri (a political leader of the ultra-orthodox Shas party, who was actually convicted of corruption and served his time).  Leon, who is not even a Jerusalem resident, was parachuted into the race to run against secular candidate and incumbent mayor Nir Barkat.  Well, don't we have to say "Thank G-d!" that Barkat won?   For many Jerusalem residents, it must have been a reverse endorsement for Moshe Leon to be backed by such esteemed public officials as Lieberman and Deri.  The race was not a landslide but Barkat managed to win, much to the chagrin of many of the ultra-orthodox.

2.  Ra'anana

Zeev Bielski

Of course I have to write about Ra'anana.  In Ra'anana, Mayor Nahum Hofri was one of the few incumbent mayors, across Israel, to lose an election.  But unlike some other mayors and mayoral candidates (many of whom were facing corruption charges or embroiled in different scandals), nothing of the sort was levelled against Hofri.  Rather, he found himself running against Ze'ev Bielski who had previously been a popular four-term mayor in Ra'anana.  Bielski had left to try his hand, unsuccessfully, in national politics.  Now he returned to Ra'anana politics and picked up 73% of the vote, a ringing endorsement for a returning former mayor.

3.  Beersheva

Ruvik Danilovich

I couldn't help but notice that the incumbent mayor Ruvik Danilovich won 92% of the vote.  Wow!  Either the candidate was immensely popular - or there was some funny water in the well somewhere....This is an incredible margin of victory in a contemporary democracy.  Okay, I guess it helped that he presented voters with a popular 10 year plan to turn Beersheva into a major Israeli metropolis...It is currently Israel's seventh largest city, with a population of just over 200,000.


4.  Kiryat Eqron

I have to mention the mayoral race in Kiryat Eqron, the small town located just outside of Rehovot (population 9,800).  Here, no one won.  That's right, there was no winner.  The incumbent, Arik Hadad, garnered just over 25% of the vote.  But there were a number of other other candidates with more than 10% each.  Sounds like there were almost as many candidates as voters!  So there will be a run-off election in Kiryat Eqron.  This is not surprising given that Kiryat Eqron, a small town, has more than 48 separate synagogues.  In some cases, there are two such shuls, right next to each other, on the same street, with different members of the same family attending different shuls.  With that type of community structure in place, it is not surprising that there would be large number of candidates.  We will eagerly await the results...

5.  Messy Bet Shemesh

Oops, I almost forgot Bet Shemesh.  How could I?  Incumbent ultra-orthodox mayor Moshe Abutbul apparently won the election in Bet Shemesh by less than 1,000 votes.  The problem is that, according to the Jerusalem Post, more than 800 ballots were declared "invalid."  As well, on election day, police raided two apartments owned by ultra-orthodox residents and confiscated more than 200 I.D. cards.  Let's see...800 plus 200...

Challenger Eli Cohen has indicated that he is considering a legal challenge to the results based on reports of possible electoral fraud and "irregularities."  According to the Post, more than 4,000 Bet Shemesh residents have signed a petition demanding that the results be suspended until a proper investigation is conducted.

6.   Corruption? Pshaw.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that corruption charges were no barrier to re-election in Israel.  This is illustrated by the results in Bat-Yam, Ramat Hasharon and Upper Nazareth all of which re-elected mayors facing corruption allegations or charges.  Only in the city of Hadera, voters ousted a candidate who had been accused of taking bribes.  In other jurisdictions these types of allegations seem to have enhanced electability or at least not impeded it.

None of the candidates, to my knowledge, were photographed smoking crack, talking on their cell phones while driving or accused of pinching other candidates in the buttocks at public events.  These are all accusations that have been leveled against the current incumbent mayor of Toronto, Canada - Rob Ford.  However, some of the allegations facing the Israeli mayoral candidates, some of whom were elected, - included bribery, corruption and racism.  These charges were on par with the Toronto municipal scene and were no impediment to re-election in Israel. 

Sukkoth 2013 - 5774

Spending Sukkoth in Israel is really a great privilege.  It is probably the best time to be in Israel.  The weather is still great, there are festivals all over the country and many people are off work.  Unlike Passover, there are no onerous food restrictions.  So during the intermediate days (Hol Hamoed), many Israelis are travelling, hosting each other (often in Sukkoth) and enjoying festivals, outdoor concerts and other events.

Panorama View of Our Family Sukkah

We enjoyed a large family dinner on the first night of Sukkoth and hosted friends in our sukkah the next day.  Great start to the holiday though it seems to get more and more difficult each year to find the time right after Yom Kippur ends to put up the sukkah in timely fashion.  Especially since we are usually putting up two - one at my in-laws - a huge 4x5 metre sukkah and one at our place.  We have customarily put up the large sukkah right after Yom Kippur ends.  But this year, Yom Kippur was in mid- September and Israel did not change its clocks for the first time in quite a number of years.  Very hard to put up a big sukkah starting only at 9:30/10:00 p.m. after a day of fasting. 

View of a Tzolk'in Board at Games Day

Sunday Sep 22, we attended the annual Jerusalem board games festival.  You might think that sounds rather boring.  Okay, for some it might be.  But for those who enjoy challenging board games, especially "Euro-games" that have been growing in popularity since 1995 or so (with the emergence of Settlers of Catan), this kind of festival is lots of fun.  We had the chance to play Puerto Rico and Tzolk`in, two terrific games.  At its peak, there were about 40 people attending, playing a wide range of board games with breaks for eating lunch and dinner in the sukkah.

Our festive day was cut short with news of the tragic death of a cousin in an early morning car accident. We left Jerusalem and attended the funeral in B'nai Ayish.  The funeral of our 27 year old cousin was only days after Yom Kippur.  I couldn't help but think of the High Holy Day liturgy that we had been reading, from the famous prayer Unetaneh Tokef - ..כְּצֵל עוֹבֵר וּכְעָנָן כָּלָה וּכְרוּחַ נוֹשָׁבֶת וּכְאָבָק פּוֹרֵחַ וְכַחֲלוֹם יָעוּף  Man is likened to a "broken shard, withering grass, a fading flower, a passing shade, a dissipating cloud, a blowing wind, flying dust, and a fleeting dream."  The words felt so real in the face of this type of horrible loss, of a cousin whose wedding we had attended so recently.  To hear the whole version of Unetaneh Tokef, try this link to an IDF version or this version, written by Yair Rosenblum. 

Despite the sombre mood, we still had to commemorate the holiday.  Simchat Torah, as usual, was a holiday highlight at Hod ve'Hadar.  This year, one Hakafah really stuck out for me.  ("Hakafoth" are rounds of singing and dancing in celebration of completing the annual cyle of reading the Torah.  Often accompanied by alcohol...).  For the third Hakafah, the congregation invited all those present who could not dance for physical reasons to come to the centre of the shul and sit in a circle.  Some were given Torahs to hold.  The congregants danced in a circle around this group of, mainly, elderly and disabled congregants.  It was such a beautiful, inclusive Hakafah, and the type of activity that captures the spirit and heart of Hod vHadar.  As I participated, I thought to myself that every shul should do this.   Yet in all of my years of celebrating Simchat Torah, I do not remember seeing it.   Once again, I thought of a verse from the High Holy Day liturgy, this time אל תשליכני לעת זקנה- "Do not cast me way in my old age - when my strength fails me."  For a moving musical version, try this link to Michel Cohen or this version by Avihu Medina.  This special Hakafah was an example of our shul taking this verse to heart and honouring its elderly.

I had to leave Israel after Simchat Torah to head back to Toronto, after a month or so in Israel.  I took a late night flight on United Airlines through Newark, since Air Canada only flies during the day and the prices sky rocket for a few days after the holidays end. 

I arrived in Toronto at about 8:30 a.m. on Friday September 27, 2013.  For me, the holiday had officially ended but for the Jewish community outside of Israel, it was still Simchat Torah.  So I decided to celebrate Simchat Torah twice, as I have done two or three times in the past.  I showed up at shul in time to share a Torah reading table and join the Hazzan for Musaf.  We finished the service with a version of Adon Olam sang to "Rock Around the Clock" which was quite fun.  Of course, it was simply not the same as being able to celebrate with my family the previous day but it just did not seem right to go to the office, even though the holy day had officially ended for Israelis.

In Israel, there are many songs and colloquialisms that refer to "Acharei HaHagim" - "after the holidays."  Everything will be done "after the holidays."  In fact, one person at shul in K'far Saba said to us on Thursday - "do you know what day it is tomorrow? - it's after the holidays..."  So now it is after the holidays for another year.  It is time to complete this period of reflection, introspection and celebration and get back to work.  It would probably also be a good idea to try losing some weight after all of those festive holiday meals.

Shana Tova and Shavua Tov.  Here's hoping for a peaceful, fulfilling and joyous year.

Davidson Center Bar/Bat Mitzvah Jerusalem - Changes to the Area

Earlier this year, in August 2013, the Israeli government made changes to the Davidson Center at the Kotel in Jerusalem.  For those unfamiliar with the Center, I wrote a blog article about hosting a bar or bat-mitzvah here.  It has been one of the most widely read articles on this site.  I felt reasonably qualified to write it, as a veteran planner and parent of two b'nai mitzvot at the Center.

There has been a great deal of controversy over access to the Kotel itself over the past few years.  It is widely known that the Western Wall itself, the Kotel, is treated as an Orthodox synagogue.  This means that there is a big wall running down the middle, a Mechitza, separating the mens' side from the womens' side of the wall.  Morever, the Orthodox rabbis running the site, with the force of Israeli law behind them for the most part, have prohibited women from praying out loud, reading from a Torah, wearing a Tallith or wearing Tefillin on the women's side of the Kotel.  There has been a push for reform of this state of affairs to improve equality of access for everyone to the site, even to those who might not wish to conform to Orthodox prayer standards.

This past year, Natan Sharansky led a commission to try to find a solution to this challenge.  His proposal, apparently, was a significant improvement to the Davidson Center in a way that would make it appear to be an extension (at the same level) of the Kotel.  Sharansky's plan would have created, effectively, three sections at the Kotel - men, women and mixed.  However, due to some Archaeological resistance and some resistance by Orthodox rabbis, the plan was put on indefinite hold, even though, as a compromise plan, it was approved by a number of different stakeholders.

Davidson Center - New Platform with Tables

After icing Sharansky's plan, powerful cabinet minister Naftali Bennett implemented an alternate solution.  A platform was built at the Southern Wall ( the Davidson Center) and a number of tables were set up.  The Israeli government indicated that the site would now be open 24/7 and would be free and accessible to all for non-Orthodox prayer.  This was Bennett's effort to thwart Sharansky's plan.  The plan, which was implemented on August 27, 2013, is described in the Jewish Week.

This did not solve the problem for some groups.  For example, Women of the Wall, a group which has been denied the ability to pray on the women's side of the Kotel out loud and with a Torah scroll.  Morever, the site is still difficult to access, out of the way and with limited ability for participants to actually touch the wall itself (unlike at the main Kotel).

Nevertheless, for those interested in conducting a religious service at the Kotel for a bar or bat mitzvah that is egalitarian and not separated, the Davidson Center is really the only alternative.  It is now somewhat more accessible than it was previously.  Certainly the hours are much better - and admission is free.  Although it is something of an improvement over the previous state of affairs, I can't help but think that this is a stepping stone towards a much more egalitarian, accessible solution even though that type of dramatic change may take some time to implement.

Toronto-Tel-Aviv Via Warsaw (Part 2)

I flew back to Tel-Aviv from Toronto via Warsaw on Lot Polish Airlines.  I wrote a review of the first leg of my flight a few weeks ago here.  I thought I would add some comments, since this time I stopped in Poland for a longer time.

The connection, travelling from Toronto to Tel-Aviv, is less than ideal.  You leave Toronto at 8:30 p.m. (we were delayed about an hour, but that could happen on any airline...) and you arrive in Warsaw at 10:30 a.m.  The flight from Warsaw to Tel-Aviv leaves Warsaw at 10:55 p.m.  There are no earlier connecting flights.

So if you take this route, you have to make a decision.  Either you leave the airport and spend the 10 hours or so that you have free in Warsaw - or you sit in the airport for about 12 hours.  You have to decide when you first arrive since  you are either sent to a "connecting flights area" or the passport control/ arrivals area.  If you first go to the connecting flights area and then change your mind and decide to go and see Warsaw (that's what I did), it is a bit complicated to get out of the airport.

The flight itself, from Toronto to Warsaw was fine.  Lot uses the new Dreamliner 787s for this route.  The planes are very quiet and very smooth.  You barely feel that you are taking off.  This time I was seated in economy class.  Lot has personal screens but many of the movies, TV shows and music require payment of an additional fee.  The free selection is very limited.  Even the paid selection did not look very enticing.  The flight is just over 8 1/2 hours and it was quite uneventful.  I watched a movie that I had on my own device ("Sarah's Key" which was quite a suitable selection for this trip).

When I arrived in Warsaw, I wasn't sure whether I wanted to travel to the city or stay in the airport.

I stopped off at the lounge (which is available for Star Alliance members).  It is a decent lounge with clean washrooms, showers, drinks, coffee (including a funky cappuccino machine) and some other light food offerings.  The lounge also has Kosher sandwiches which are under the supervision of the local Polish Kashrut council.

Right across from the lounge, there was a duty free shop with terrific prices.  The interesting thing is that the Chopin Airport in Warsaw has several duty free shops, all with varying prices.  The main shops, upstairs, are quite pricey.  The duty free shop downstairs (across from the lounge) was about 20-30% cheaper than upstairs.  So I managed to pick up a bottle of Scotch whiskey to contribute to our upcoming Simchat Torah festivities at our shul...(a Jura 16 year, in case you are wondering...at less than $35 - about 40% of the price at the LCBO in Ontario).

Nożyk Synagogue

I decided to head out and see a bit of Warsaw.  I had looked up some sites of Jewish interest and decided I would start with those.  I took a cab from the airport to the only operating Orthodox synagogue in Warsaw, the Nozyk Synagogue.  This beautiful shul was built in approximately 1900.  It was apparently the only synagogue in Warsaw to survive the war and it is now the only active Orthodox shul in Warsaw.  I wandered around and had a look.  Just outside the shul, there was a small, Kosher falafel shop, run by an Israeli.  I decided to patronize it, even though I wasn't too crazy about having a falafel.  It certainly wasn't the freshest or the best tasting falafel I have had but it was worth the experience.  The cab ride from the airport to the synagogue was about 45 Zloty - or about $13 (Cdn).  I had taken some money out of an ATM in the Polish airport.  Considering that this was about a 20 minute ride, the cab fare seemed quite reasonable.  I think a similar distance in Israel would easily cost  5 or 6 times that amount.

Museum of Jewish History- Warsaw

From the synagogue, I grabbed another cab and went over to the site of the new Polish Museum of Jewish History.  The museum is not open yet and will only open in early to mid-2014.  It promises to include an enormous collection of information and exhibits relating to the history of the Jewish community in Poland.  For now - you can see the building and the monument that has been erected but you cannot go into the building for a tour. 

From the Museum, I decided to walk over to the Old City - the historic parts of Warsaw - which feature cobblestone streets and old buildings, many of which have been renovated after being destroyed during the war.  I walked for about 20 minutes using my phone GPS (I had pre-loaded a full map of Warsaw from Google onto my phone) over to the old section of Warsaw and wandered around in that area for a while.

Old Warsaw

There were many historical sites and it was an interesting area to visit.  I couldn't help but wondering how the city must have looked in the 1930s or earlier.  After all, pre-war Warsaw had a Jewish population of close to 400,000.  It rivalled New York at the time, as one of the cities with the largest Jewish populations in the world.  The Jewish community comprised close to 1/3 of the entire population of Warsaw.  Now, wandering around Warsaw, a handful of Jews live in the city.  Most of the population was, of  course, murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust.  There is a little evidence that this was once a vibrant, thriving Jewish community with hundreds of synagogues, Jewish schools, shops, theatres and other important community landmarks.  While there are certainly some remaining sites of Jewish interest in Warsaw, the overwhelming feeling is one of amazement and sadness at the annihilation and disappearance of an entire community.

Nevertheless, I stopped for a latte and then continued wandering through old Warsaw before taking a cab back to the airport.

I took a panorama shot but this blog has only saved it as a jpg file - for some reason, so you have to imagine that this is one continuous photo...

I had thought of trying to make it to some more important Polish historical sites, but the camps were more of a distance and would have required a longer time period.  It would probably also be more suitable to get to those sites with a group.

Nevertheless, if you are travelling to Tel-Aviv through Warsaw (which could be hundreds of dollars cheaper than some other flights), you may want to try to see some of the city.  It is inexpensive, interesting and it seemed to be reasonably safe. 

Shirat Machar - Latest Video - Akum L'Shorer

Shirat Machar - Israeli show choir

 Shirat Machar released a new video yesterday and it is really outstanding!  Here is the link to it:  Akum L'Shorer - Video.  I think it is one of the best songs that the group has released.  Of course, I'm biased...

Shirat Machar has also included a link where you can support the group by purchasing a download of the song (a digital version in mp3 or flac) of this latest offering.  The link Akum L'Shoer also includes information about the song itself and the complete lyrics in Hebrew and English.

I won't repeat all of what is one the site, but  the timing is particularly relevant.  Released just days before Rosh Hashana, which is next week, the piyut, translated as "I will rise to write poetry" is a 16th century piyut that appears in the High Holyday Machzor.   The theme is especially poignant and connected to the ימים נוראים themes of repentence and justice.  Here is the translation of the last few lines - taken from the Shirat Machar site:

Take mercy with your grace, turn to your servant,
and grant him pity
God, for your sake, I will stand innocent in your court,
and you will forgive the guilty.
When I call, "Answer me, God of justice, Hear my prayer"

To top it all off, the music is quite well done - and very catchy.  I hope you enjoy it!

Shana Tova!

Air Canada "E-Upgrades"...More Costs For Non-Super Elite Travellers

Well the "free ride" is just about over...or at least the free upgrade ride.  In a warm and fuzzy email earlier this week - Air Canada announced that starting on March 1, 2014, it will charge "e-upgrade add-ons" for passengers looking to upgrade into the executive cabin from economy class on all flights other than those within North America.  For this year, at least, Super Elite members (now called "Altitude 100k") will be exempt from these charges.  But for all other travellers, it will cost $500 plus a pile of e-upgrade points to move up into the executive cabin.

The deterioration of benefits for non-super elite passengers over the past couple of years has been significant.  Last year, Air Canada introduced its "Altitude" program and effectively reduced the status of benefits for most Aeroplan members, other than previously named "Super Elite."  These changes made it much more difficult, if not impossible, for non-super elite passengers to be upgraded into executive first.

Now with the latest change, passengers hoping to upgrade from a cheap fare into executive first will have to pay $500 unless they are Superelite 100K.  That's $500 in addition to the exorbitant number of e-upgrade points that they will need- which have become harder and harder to collect.

There is now a greater and greater discrepancy between the value of Air Canada's highest level status, Altitude 100K and all other levels.

For those travelling back and forth between Israel and Canada, this will reduce the benefit of flying Air Canada for anyone travelling less than 8 1/2 times a year. Air Canada still offers a direct flight, with AC power outlets, personal entertainment screens and complementary alcohol (to name a few of the benefits).  But the loss of the ability to get a free upgrade, even once in a while, is a major change and it is certainly not a positive one.

The flip side is that anyone who is close to Altitude 100K status by the end of December will need to consider the value of taking an extra flight just to meet the required threshold.  The value of having 100K status will now include free upgrades (with e-upgrade points), double Aeroplan miles on Air Canada and United flights, and the ability to use Aeroplan points for priority bookings, even when most reward seats are no longer available.

For passengers on the Tel-Aviv-Toronto route, this will affect, most significantly, those passengers who might be flying 4 to 7 times a year.  Only two or three years ago, passengers in that category would have enjoyed regular upgrades to executive first at no additional charge.  Now they will be lucky to be eligible and when they are, it may cost more than half of the price of the ticket (during low season).

So if you are an Altitude member, but not 100K, the time to enjoy the free upgrades is now - or between now and March 1, 2014.  After that, well, luxury will have its price...

Here is the link to the Air Canada announcement:  Air Canada Add Ons

Lot Polish Airlines Review - Tel-Aviv - Toronto

I was expecting  that this would be one of my harshest reviews of airline service.  Given the high season airfares between Israel and North America in the summer, I booked my August trip from Tel Aviv to Toronto on Lot Polish Airlines. ("Lot")  The fare was close to $1,000 less than the available Air Canada fare and I could still get full Aeroplan points.  I could also get the other benefits of flying on a Star Alliance partner - including lounge access, extra baggage allowance and priority boarding.  Of course, it would also mean several hours of layover time in Warsaw which was less than enticing.  Nevertheless I decided to try it, despite the many stories that I had heard about Lot. 

Like the other Star Alliance flights out of Tel Aviv, Lot leaves Israel at the ungodly hour of 6 a.m.  This means check- in at 3 a.m. and of course no sleep.  Check-in at Ben Gurion Airport was a zoo, though I suppose that is always the case leaving Israel unless you are flying Air Canada which seems to have the 1 p.m. time slot all to itself.

The plane itself, for this first leg of the trip, was a base version of a Boeing 737.  The seats looked like they were the original seats. There were no TV screens or music devices - no entertainment of any kind.  As we were making our way towards the runway, the plane was making some awfully peculiar noises.  For the first time in quite a number of flights, I began to appreciate the need that some feel to recite "tefillat haderech" the traveller's prayer... This was reinforced for me by the high level of exuberence shown by the cabin crew as they demonstrated the safety equipment and procedures.  Perhaps this all explained why the passengers clapped so enthusiastically when we eventually arrived in Warsaw.

I did not have to worry about Kosher food as there was no meal service at all.  At one point, the flight attendants distributed chocolate bars...and they came a few times with water.  But no other beverages, were served on this flight.  They did not even serve coffee.  Although the flight was just under 4 hours, there was no meal service at all.  That was surprising.  Even Austrian Airlines serves food, however disgusting it might be.

On arrival in Warsaw, we had to take a bus to the terminal.  At the terminal, we were required to pass through full personal security, even though the bus stayed behind security at all times.  There was one security station for the whole plane.  It was tediously slow and poorly organized, especially compared to arrival in other European cities.  I was in that line for close to an hour and I was only somewhere in the middle.

To this point in my trip, it would be fair to say that Lot had met my original expectations. 

Chopin Airport in Warsaw is a modest airport.  There were  a couple of duty free stores and the prices were reasonable (if you know the exchange rates for a zloty..).  The Star Alliance lounge was quite decent.  It had coffee, alcoholic beverages, fresh juices and even stale kosher sandwhiches (dairy and meat versions, separately packaged of course.). The staff members were friendly and there was free unlimited WiFi.   They even lent me an adaptor plug piece.  The lounge had some nice showers as well, though I did not use these facilities.  Nevertheless, I had more than five hours to check out the lounge and the airport before my connecting flight.

Then it came time to check in to Toronto.  Check-in was a zoo, just like israel, although although unlike El-Al, there was still some semblance of boarding order.  

But here is where it gets unfair...I was pulled aside and upgraded to business "premium" class.  Was it because they knew my grandfather z"l had faced horrible anti-semitism in Poland and had been forced to flee the Polish army in 1917?  Or in consideration of my many family members killed in Poland during the Holocaust?  I don't think so.  I was simply the nearest Star Alliance Gold member...so I suppose that counts for something sometimes.

So I found myself placed in 6f, a window seat, in a new 787 Dreamliner.  I"ll have to review economy on my way back.   I was seated in the "Premium Business Class" section, which is one step below the business first section.  I can only really compare this to Air Canada's business class service, since I don't generally fly business class.

On this Lot plane, in the premium business section, the seats were nice and wide but did not have cubicles like Air Canada.  There were USB plugs, dual europe-north america outlets and personal screens. at every seat.

But unlike many other airlines, even at the economy class level, the Lot screens were showing a choice of about 12 movies (not hundreds like on United or US Air economy service).  For music, there were also a very small number of choices.

As well, as far as business seats go, these were quite crowded.  You cannot easily get out the seat if you are seated in the window seat.  You have to ask the other person to get up and move aside. And even then, you actually have to climb over the seat.

Also, suprisingly, there are no washrooms in the premium business class section so you have to leave the "protected area" and venture back to the middle if the plane...

Overall, I'm not complaining too much.  I"m thankful to have been upgraded.  I"ll have to add a note about economy on my way back.  However, they did announce at the beginning of the flight that for economy class, personal entertainment systems were available for rent.  So that didn't sound good.

The meals were fairly small.  The first meal was served an hour or so after the flight.  My vegetarian "meal" looked like about 4 or 5 fettuccini noodles cut in half and served with three mushrooms....needless to say, I was still hungry.  

Nevertheless, if Lot was hoping that I would say better things about this airline if it upgraded me, it worked...

Even for economy, these 787s seemed to be much better than the planes used by Austrian, or El Al...but I will have to reserve some of my assessment and add more after my return leg.  This may work out well for myself and for Lot ...maybe they"ll even upgrade me again to ensure a positive review...

But I also wanted to add a word or two, in general, about the 787 Dreamliner.

This huge new plane is impressive, despite the well-publicized difficulties in getting it off the ground (or back onto the ground).  It was very quiet and remarkably smooth.  The windows are described as one of the special new features.  They do not have pull down plastic shades. Instead there are five shading controls that work like increasingly strong sunglasses. 

But for all of the planning that must have gone into these planes, the plane does not have enough washrooms, causing congestion in the middle and at the back.  Most planes have a set of washrooms at the front of the business section and a set just after the business section.  This one does not.

I was in "premium" class which was not full-scale first class.  But "dinner" was a few pieces of lox, some kiwi, orange and cheese slices.  Like the lunch, it was minimalist.  And this was the enhanced meal..!  So i was fairly hungry on this 8 hour plus flight, even after being upgraded. 

Overall, this whole trip turned out much better than I had feared.  Flying in a Dreamliner (787) between Warsaw and Toronto was a neat experience.  This type of itinerary (Tel-Aviv to Toronto on Lot), in my view, would be at least as good as flying on Austrian, Lufthansa, Brussels Air or El Al.   Still not nearly as good as flying Air Canada direct, United or US Air (with a stopover).  But overall, if the price is right, I might even try this again, especially when compared to other options.