Pesach 2016 תשע"ו

It is Pesach (Passover) in Israel (and around the world) and it is a very important and widely celebrated holiday here.  There are laws that prohibit stores and restaurants from selling bread and other Hametz for the whole holiday.  Students are off for more than two weeks.  Many others have taken a week or two off or are working at a half-time pace.  Even many soldiers are off....

Although Pesach is also called Hag Ha-Aviv - the "Spring Holiday," it certainly feels more like summer.  Temperatures are in the 30s throughout the country.  Combine all of these things and what do you get?  Thousands of Israelis travelling - out of the country and all over the country itself.  There are traffic jams everywhere.  National parks across the country are filled with people and the beaches are packed.

Hexagonal Pool Trail

We decided to join the crowds and take a day trip yesterday.  We drove up north, just past the Kinneret to a national park featuring the "Hexagonal Pool."  From Central Israel, this is about a two hour drive.  We left early to try and beat the traffic but it wasn't quite early enough. We faced our share of highway congestion.

Hexagonal Pool Israel

We still managed to arrive before the park was completely jam- packed.  The site entrance is right near "Had Ness" a small community north of the Kinneret.  On entering the park, you have a choice of taking a five hour hike, a 2-3 hour hike or 1 to 1.5 hour trip.  These are all the suggested times.  We chose the medium length path.  This is essentially a downhill hike through a winding path (at times involving moderately difficult climbing).  The trail is about 2.5 km - with the option of adding on about another kilometre.

At the bottom of the hike - Nirvana.  A beautiful Hexagonal pool serving as the base of a waterfall and the collecting pool for water from the Jordan river.  The water was about 18C - quite cool and refreshing.  The pool reaches a depth of 17 metres at parts.  But when it is 35-36C outside and you have just hiked down a 3 km trail, 18C water is incredible.

Hexagonal Pool, Israel

When the swimming is over, the fun starts.  Time to walk back up the trail - 2.5 km of uphill path.  The trail is reasonably steep and includes some very rocky areas and some real climbing.  In mid-day summer heat, after having walked 3 km down - this type of activity offers some challenge for people like me....but it was well worth it.

Golan Heights Winery

We got back to the car and considered other possible activities.  Amazing how Google can help with suggestions.  As it turns out, we were only about 10 minutes away from the Golan Heights Winery so we decided to make a quick stop.  I had been there before several years ago - but it is quite a nice place to visit.  We did not have time to do the tour and tasting though we browsed in the gift shop for a few minutes.  The prices were simply the same as one would find all over the rest of Israel though they had some wine selections that are hard to find.

We decided to find something to eat.  Since it was Pesach, we had, of course, brought along lots of food, featuring delicious Pesach rolls.  But no one really wanted another one of those rolls.  So we decided to look for a Kosher for Pesach Restaurant.  This can be a bit tricky.  Many restaurants are closed for the holiday.  We couldn't find anything suitable in nearby Katzrin - so we decided to drive down to Teveria (Tiberias) and find a place there.  We settled on a South American meat restaurant that was "Kosher l'Mehadrin" but, for kitniyot eaters of course.  We decided to eat there anyways and told them to hold the kitniyot.  They get lots of requests for this, apparently, so we were fine.

The whole kitniyot thing on Pesach is still confounding us.  Although the Conservative movement in North American opted to permit Conservative Jews to eat kitniyot this year - and many Israeli rabbis (Orthodox Ashkenazi included among them) have made that same decree in the past, we have continued to stick with the traditional Ashkenazi mode of avoiding rice, corn, beans and other legumes during Pesach.  This is particularly challenging if one wants to eat out.  We see restaurants across the country open for Pesach serving corn flour bread and rolls - and other kitynot-based bread substitutes.  But after 50 years of doing things a certain way, it is difficult to make the leap to switch over and start eating all of those other things on Pesach.  It is also creates an even bigger gap between Israeli and non-Israeli Jews.  So we skipped the tehina and humus and ate our skewers with matzah, cabbage and some other vegetables.

Today the temperature in Israel was even hotter - a veritable heat wave.  But there are predictions that things will cool off to "reasonable" by Friday, the last official day of Pesach in Israel this year.  Of course, Pesach will actually continue for those who observe it until Saturday night - since there would be no time between the end of Pesach and Shabbat to change over dishes, buy back Hametz, etc.,

So now we have a few days to find a Moroccan friend who is hosting a Maymuna (an end of Pesach celebration).  But until then we still have time to enjoy matzah brie, matzah lasagne, matzah rolls and other delicacies.  Chag Sameach to everyone - and make sure to eat lots of prunes.

Austrian Airlines - with Stopover in Vienna

It was about time to try a different route from Toronto to Israel so I decided to give Austrian Airlines another chance - and spend a day travelling around Vienna.  I have transferred through the Vienna Airport a few times but have never left the airport to spend the day touring.  So this was a first.

I had previous written a blog on transferring through Vienna from Toronto to Tel-Aviv back in September 2011 here.  But there were a number of points to update.

I booked this flight through FlightHub - which was quite reasonable these days and it was "low season" in any event.  I managed to get a flight with one way via Vienna and the way back direct on Air Canada.  So it really wasn't a bad way to spend a day in Vienna and it worked with my schedule.

Austrian Airlines has some quirky policies.  For example, in economy class you can only book a seat in advance if you want to pay.  Otherwise, you can reserve a seat when you check in 36 hours before departure.  It is not that you get a special seat for booking in advance - just a regular seat.  Even having special status on the Star Alliance system does not help.  I took my chances and booked my seats 36 hours before check-in - and the seats were fine.  There were many good seats available.  So I guess you just have to make sure to go online exactly 36 hours or so before your flight and book the seats.

The flight itself from Toronto to Vienna was fine.  It was a 2-3-2 configuration - so reasonably roomy seats compared to the new Airbus planes that Air Canada is using.  With a 3-3-3 configuration, those seats are quite cramped.

Austrian has updated its planes somewhat. So there is now a reasonably modern entertainment system with a decent selection of new movies as well as games, TV programs etc.,  I watched one movie and tried to sleep for as much of the flight as I could.

I ordered an Asian Vegetarian meal (which usually means curried chick peas and/or tofu on rice).  It was a much more substantial meal than I get on Air Canada and it was fine.  The Austrian flight attendants are highly visible, wearing hideous bright red outfits with white aprons.  But they walk up and down the aisles all flight.  They are constantly coming around with beverages, which is quite a contrast with, for example, El Al.

The flight arrived in Vienna at about 8:30 a.m.  My baggage was checked though so it was just a matter of walking through immigration and then heading out to see the city.  There is a luggage storage facility at one end of the Terminal (upstairs).  For 4 Euros a day per bag, you can check whatever you like.  So I left my carry on items there, other then essentials, and headed out.

The Vienna airport is connected to the train system.  You have a few choices.  You can take a higher speed express train from the airport to downtown Vienna for 14 Euros each way - and the ride takes about 16 minutes.  Or you can use the regular train system in which case the train makes a few stops and takes about 26 minutes.  I bought an all day transit pass - which cost 7 Euros.  There was a 2 Euro supplement to take the train from the airport but I was all set.  The trains do not come every few minutes - it is more like two or three per hour.  So my next train was not until 9:45, arriving at 10:15 or so in Vienna. The "express train" was not operating more frequently so the difference would have been negligible.

In any case, I took the train to the main Vienna station "Wien Mitte."  From there, I changed trains and headed over to "Stephensplatz" a very centrally located station for walking tours.

Vienna is a very historic city with interesting buildings, palaces, statues and museums throughout the city.  Just wandering around the streets is certainly an experience.

Holocaust Memorial - Vienna

I decided to start off in the old Jewish Ghetto.  I saw the Holocaust memorial and went into the first of two Jewish museums.  I really wouldn't say that there was anything particularly fascinating about the museum.  In fact, if anything, the history of the Viennese Jewish community is quite a sordid one.  Both museums note that Vienna had one of the largest, most vibrant Jewish communities in the world as early as 1150-1200 C.E.  In 1420, the entire community was expelled, massacred and/or converted (but mostly expelled and massacred as far as I can determine...).

 After about 100 years or so, the Jewish community took advantage of Austrian "tolerance" and began to return to Vienna.  The community faced many challenges until its eventual "emancipation," hundreds of years later.  Of course, not so long after the emancipation, there was Hitler, the anschluss and we all know the rest of the story.  After wandering through these two Jewish museums, one is simply left with the question of how any Jew could consider living in Austria given the history of that country.  Yet there is Jewish community now (albeit a small one) with a Jewish Community Centre and some other facilities.

For a taste of Austrian culture and cuisine, I decided to visit an Austrian Coffee House. I went to Cafe Central, which is quite a well known place.  I tried the house specialty - Viennese Cafe Melange, which was basically a cappuccino.  I also tried a coffee with Apricot liqueur which was tasty.  It was a fairly formal atmosphere - service from waiters wearing tuxedos with white aprons.  There is a newspaper gallery so that patrons can pick up a newspaper and enjoy a leisurely read with their coffee.

I left the coffee house and decided to wander the streets of Vienna and see the palaces, sculptures and churches.  I was getting quite tired but the weather was fairly decent and the city was reasonably manageable by foot.  I didn't bother taking the train even though I had an all day pass.  Instead I walked from place to place.

I didn't actually go inside and take the inner tour of any of the churches or palaces.  Partially, this was simply timing but it was also due to the fact that preferred to wander around outside.

By 4:00 p.m. or so, I was sufficiently tired out. I took the train back to the airport, picked up my checked luggage, hit the duty free shop and made my way over to the lounge.  I should note that the duty free prices in Vienna for whisky were quite reasonable - especially compared to the prices in Israel or Canada.  For example, a bottle of Glenmorangie Duthac (a splendid whisky in my view) was 70 Euros for a one litre bottle. That same whisky sells for $130 USD at the Israeli duty free shop...

The lounge was decent.  It had some food, drinks, comfortable seats and free wi-fi.  So I had some rest and relaxation time for a few hours until the flight.

The flight from Vienna to Tel-Aviv is only about 3 1/2 hours.  It is a Airbus plane with very cramped seats and no entertainment of any sort.  The flight was jam packed but it was a short flight, on time and uneventful.  The only problem was that it arrived in Israel at 12:40 a.m., which is a really lousy time to arrive somewhere.

All in all, I guess I can say I have had a small taste of Vienna.  Nothing that I saw while wandering around or that I read about in the travel book that I had with me is calling me to spend another day.  In fact, I would probably pay a fair bit more to avoid the connection time and skip another day in Vienna. This is quite a contrast with the day I spend in Amsterdam - which left me feeling that I could easily spend another week there....

In any event, it is nice to be back in Israel in time to practice Megillah reading, get everyone's costumes ready, cook up some treats and prepare for the Purim celebrations.

More on other topics soon....

Latest Terrorist Attacks in Israel and Pew Study Link

  

We have been enjoying some unseasonably warm weather in Israel while dealing with a spate of Palestinian terror attacks.

Yonatan Azarihab

Yesterday, as U.S. Vice President Joe Biden was visiting Israel, Israelis fought back three different terrorist attacks in three different areas.  One attack occurred in Petah Tikvah.  The victim, Yonatan Azarihab, was stabbed several times in the shoulder and neck by a Palestinian attacker.  Though seriously injured, Azarihab pulled the knife out of his shoulder and used the knife to fight off the attacker.  The attacker, a 20 year old Palestinian, died of his wounds.  Azarihab is being treated at an Israeli hospital.

In another attack in Jaffa, a 21 year old Palestinian man ran down a a beach promenade stabbing several people in his path.  He injured twelve people and killed one.  Six of the injured were hospitalized, at least one of whom is in critical condition.  A local busker sprang to action by using his guitar to hit the attacker and slow him down before police arrived on the scene and shot the attacker.  The attacker killed an American student, Taylor Force, a U.S. military veteran, who was visiting Israel.  The Fatah website, which represents one of the strongest factions of the Palestinian authority, praised the attack as the work of a "martyr."

In a third attack, a Palestinian on a motorcycle opened fire on a police vehicle near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem.  One officer was killed in the attack and a second was seriously injured.  Police eventually caught up to the terrorist and killed him.

The current wave of attacks has been ongoing since September 2015.  Hundreds of Palestinians have attacked Israelis across Israel. Although many of the attacks have been knife attacks, there have also been shootings, car attacks (where the attacker purposely drives into a group of civilians) and other incidents.  Many of the attackers have been killed by nearby bystanders, police forces or others arriving at the scene to fight off the attacks.

The attacks have generally not been condemned by the Palestinian leadership or even by Israeli Arab Knesset members.  Many of the attacks have been celebrated and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has praised several of the attackers as "Martyrs."

One has to wonder about the end game for the Palestinians.  If they are of the view that the use of this type of violence will push Israel to make significant peace concessions, that would seem to be a mistaken assumption.  If anything, the Israeli political landscape has been shifting to the right as a result of these attacks.

A Pew Research Center study released this week reported that close to 50% of Israelis would now support a policy of transferring Israeli Arabs out of Israel.  To where?   Well maybe that is a corollary of the Palestinian position that the Palestinian state as part of a "two-state solution" should be emptied of its Jews.  If a "two-state solution" means that each people gets its own state, many interesting questions arise.  If each state has a minority of the other state's people - and provides full rights for that minority (as Israel now does for the Palestinian population), then it seems doubtful that many Israelis would push too hard for the expulsion or transfer from Israel of the Palestinians to the nascent Palestinian state.

But if it is a negotiated condition of a two state solution that Israel uproot any Jewish communities in the territory earmarked for the new Palestinian state and provide the Palestinian state with territory completely free of any Jewish residents, it is understandable that many would view the corollary to be a logical extension of the same premise. 

This is the position taken by Israeli Knesset Member Avigdor Lieberman of the "Yisrael Beitenu" party, which is currently not part of the governing coalition.  Lieberman would argue that this is what President Obama has referred to as "land swaps" where Israel would trade areas within Israel that have primarily Arab populations for areas of the West Bank that have primarily Jewish populations.

Funny enough, the Palestinian Authority view is that Israel should empty the West Bank of Jews as part of a territorial compromise and agree to accept Palestinian refugees into Israel itself rather than their new proposed homeland.  Obviously this makes no sense at all.  The whole purpose of a "two-state solution" would be that the Palestinians could resolve, completely, the issue of refugees within the borders of their new state.  Netanyahu and Lieberman have been criticized for taking this position as racist and intransigent.  But it is neither to accept that a two state solution means two states for two peoples.

Some 50% of Israelis apparently reject the premise of a "transfer," according to the study.  After all, Israeli Arabs comprise some 20% of Israel's population and are involved in all facets of Israeli life.  It is probably also incorrect to interpret the poll result as suggesting that Israelis who claimed to support a transfer would want to deport Arab Israeli citizens, proactively, outside of some type of political deal that created two ethnic nation states with a negotiated population exchange mechanism.

But this latest round of violence has impacted Israeli opinion. As the number of terrorist incidents on civilians within Israel continues to increase, Israeli attitudes towards Palestinians, Israeli and non-Israeli, continue to change for the worse.

Perhaps Palestinian leader Abbas figures that this is the way to force Israel into a deal and to gain international support.  But it seems to me that the current round of Palestinian violence has pushed things in the opposite direction.