First Impressions Aren't Deceiving

It's a long shlep, no matter how you slice it. Around 24-hours after locking up the condo, I stared through the window of a packed Boeing to just make out the emerging coastline of Israel. I was tired, more than usually crabby and overfed on that swell Delta cuisine. But this is my first trip back since the early '70s. I was more than a little excited and, well, rather moved to witness Tel Aviv, much larger than I remembered, filling the horizon.

We swooped south to Lod, where David Ben-Gurion International Airport resides, about halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. I anticipated long delays during the heavy three-phase security program required on entry, but after sailing through the passport line, my bag was ready for pickup. It was fun chatting up affairs of the day with the many Birthright students making their first, and highly anticipated, journey. There were hundreds of them at Passport Control, and the streets of Tel Aviv are filled with kids in this program. I'm glad it's still viable, post-Madoff.

A cursory observation confirms that the demographics of Tel Aviv are skewed to the young. Most everyone on the streets, in restaurants and in front of or behind the counters are energetic 20-somethings. True, the university is here. But so are the jobs and other opportunities. And the sense of Sabra pride! Residents walk tall and with focus. There are things to be done and these are the ones who will do it. It's more than their nationalism, which is considerable (I've never seen so many flags on display, outside of Disneyworld). There's also a running theme of courtesy that prevails. I've met no one who hasn't gone out of his/her way to be hospitable and helpful. I understand that this is the norm throughout Israel and on the West Bank. I look forward to finding out.

THE TOUR
I'll go into detail on this tour later (sorry, I'm only in Day 2 of adjustment to the 10-hour time change). For now, I can report that the other 15 folks in this group are fine and fun, the guide is articulate and I believe we'll all enjoy the experience. Discussion of domestic politics almost reared it's two-headed form this afternoon, and we immediately established a no-fly zone ground rule. Will we ever get over the antagonism?



Here's a photo of sunset over the Mediterranean during a beach dinner with the group last night. The food was almost as delicious as the atmosphere.

JAFFA
Today we did a lot of walking around the City of Jaffa. It's probably the oldest seaport in the world, once servicing Jerusalem. When I was here last, I purchased the Kiddish cup used at my sister and brother-in-law's wedding. The markets are completely unchanged. Why not? There's 5,000 years of mercantile behind them. We enjoyed a fantastic lunch. I ordered shaved lamb (shwarma) and a salad plate; the person next to me chose falafel and an additional salad plate. What eventually made it to our table was a buffet of so much Middle Eastern food that we could barely push ourselves away from the table. The proprietor insisted, "Eat this. You must try that. If you don't like it, you don't have to pay for it!" Needless to say, we liked it all, including the extra humus, baba ghanooj and a myriad of spiced, pickled and fried veggies, each served on separate dishes. Have I mentioned the breads? Well, post-feast the bill converted to $12.50 each. I think I'm gonna like it here.

ART
Final note for today, then a power nap before we visit a yeshiva for dinner and a roundtable with Orthodox students. We spent a bit of time in a couple of art galleries in Jaffa. This community is strongly into the arts (think Montmartre). One sculptor, who shared some time with us, is very much into life-sized works. I'm pictured here informally conversing with, and inadvertently fondling, some of her denizens.



Tomorrow: overland to Nazareth, Caesarea, then Haifa.

Location:בן יהודה,Tel Aviv District,Israel