Cottage Cheese

בס׳ד

Cottage Cheese?

That’s right, cottage cheese.

A news item caught my eye the other day, and it left me incredulous.

There is an organization of Israelis encouraging other Israelis to move to Berlin, of all places.  Why?  Because of the high cost of cottage cheese in Israel!  

The issue of cottage cheese was brought up in Israel about 2 or 3 years back.  It resulted in something of a popular rebellion over the cost of living.  But it started with cottage cheese.

As a new oleh (for just over a year) I can think of several things that might make a person reconsider living here.  Cottage cheese is NOT one of them.

And, in the spirit of absurdity, I must admit that I have come to the conclusion that on paper there is no logical reason why someone would give up the “good” life in America (or Berlin for that matter) to live in Israel.

Nevertheless, for my money, happiness is living in Israel.

I have never been happier in my life, and I truly feel that the Nefesh B’Nefesh slogan fits me - Live the Dream.

Having said that, here is my litany of complaints about life in the Holy Land:

The taxes are high - I have to pay real estate taxes on my RENTED apartment.  

The drivers are crazy, and the gas is expensive (about $100 a fill up). Driving the roads is an experience.  Rules of the road are only meant for people taking their licensing exam.  Many Israelis drive “aggressively”.  And, from my experience, the craziest drivers are the ones with the green and white license plates.  (For those not in the know, the PA issues license plates of that color).

The government is divided into fiefdoms with no agreed upon ideology, and the bureaucracy is a crawling octopus.  

I can’t figure out what the Police are for.  

Each bank branch appears to be a separate franchise - don’t try to get any banking done at a branch other than your own - and you are charged for everything including DEPOSITS.

Keeping kosher is a minefield.  There are dozens (at least) of different certification agencies - many of which consider all the others completely unacceptable.  And to add to the complexity, this year is a shmitta year - the last year of the seven year cycle - in which the rules for growing, purchasing, and eating produce become more complicated than usual.

Although I live in Gush Etzion - over the “green line” - I have yet to experience any problems from our Arab cousins.  In fact, my town of Efrat has good relations with the nearby Arab towns of Wadi Nis and Abdullah Ibrahim.  Nevertheless, every six weeks or so on average, Efrat’s security apparatus detects and foils attempted incursions - primarily for theft.

And that’s only some of the easy stuff.

We’ve had some heavy artillery fired our way during the last year.  A fatal kidnapping, and missiles from Gaza.

And it hurts my feelings that most of the world seems to think of us as one-eyed monsters.  

So then, why am I here?

There is a miracle going on.  After 2000 years, the Jewish people is being reestablished in its homeland.  How can I miss out on that?  And I want to emphasize the phrase “being reestablished”.  Israel is a developing country.  We’re still trying to figure out who we are, still trying to decide how to proceed.  The War of Independence is not over.  We still have a FRONTIER.  Our astounding successes cloud the fact that there is still lots of work to be done.  My wife and I have the opportunity to actually make a difference by being here, on both an historic and a cosmic level.

We are fortunate to have found a town that fits us - Efrat.  My wife - to whom I will refer, with her permission, as Eternal Patience - actually made the choice of Efrat.  Our deal was that if we move to Israel, we’d live where she wanted.

There are people we know who refer to us as the perfect olim. 

It’s an accident.  Well, to be more accurate, the Master of the Universe picked us up in His hand and placed us precisely where we should be.  I couldn’t be more grateful.

There are several things that make Efrat perfect for us.  

The weather is perfect three seasons out of the year.  Winter is chilly and wet, but doable.  We just finished Sukkot.  I was able to sleep out in the Sukkah every night, in perfect temperature, with no rain.

In my neighborhood, Gefen (Grape Vine), the people are amazing.  The people here are the ones I would have wanted to meet 30 years ago when I originally wanted to make aliyah.  I walked into shul on my first day here, and had a chevra in 5 minutes.  

A mixture of Anglos and IFBs (Israelis From Birth), they come

from every walk of life - including educators, Rabbis, doctors, lawyers, policemen, techies, plumbers and electricians - they are also very down-to-earth.  They are Ashkenazim, Sefardim, 

and Moroccans - Mitnagdim and Chasidim.  They like to learn Torah, laugh, talk, get together, and have a few l’chaims.  Very intelligent, and unpretentious - idealistic and, above all, still actively growing and becoming, just like the land they live in.

We live in a small apartment conveniently located so that we can walk to everything - shuls, grocery, hardware store, post office, library, medical center, etc.  There’s even a Yeshiva on the hill where I have been learning most days for a few hours.  And the view is spectacular.

Our adjustment to living in a new country with different ways of getting things done has been, for the most part, untroubled.  We came in with the desire to adjust, which is critical.

There aren’t many practical reasons for living here.  There is simply some intangible element that makes this my home.  I think it may have to do in part with with an inherent connection to the people around me, even strangers.  Somehow we speak the same internal language, even if my Hebrew is rotten.

I am fortunate to have children who, with Gd’s help, are smarter than I am, and have better characters than I do. (Isn’t that every parent’s goal?  If not, it should be!).  I sometimes try to convince my older son (The Rabbi!) that he should at least give living in Israel a try. 

He told me that he gives it a lot of thought from time to time.  The last time, a few months back, he was pondering why it might be that some people successfully make aliyah, and some don’t, and some don’t even try.  And I think there is wisdom in his words.  He said that the more “lishma” (for its own sake) one’s reasons are for coming to live in Israel, the less likely it is that the effort will succeed.

For instance, if my primary reason for coming is because it is a mitzvah to live in Israel, and my wife comes primarily because she wants to be a good wife, the chances of staying are reduced.  Alternatively, if one makes aliyah because he loves the land, feels more alive here, his learning is elevated here, and/or he feels a “resonance” with the land and the people, then success is in the air.

I mentioned “resonance”.  I have something to say about that.  I remember, in junior high school science class, an experiment in which we took two tuning forks having the same pitch, separated them, got one to vibrate, and then slowly brought them closer together.  As they were brought

closer, the vibrations from the active tuning fork started to cause the other tuning fork to vibrate as well.  This is what I am referring to as “resonance”.  The key is that the tuning forks have to have the same pitch.

I hear my son the Rabbi, and I agree with him.  For me, in coming to Eretz Yisrael, my world changed from black & white to living color.  Like in the Wizard of Oz.  When Dorothy is in Kansas, the film is in black & white, but when she lands over the rainbow, it’s all in living color.  I resonate.  We are pitched the same.

In theory, all Jews should feel the same resonance.  According to Yehuda HaLevi, in his sefer Kuzari, just as a plant will grow best in it’s native soil, so a Jew thrives best in his native soil, Eretz Yisrael.  Why this does not appear to be the case with many of us, I can not explain.  However, it’s not a new problem.  Why didn’t all of us return from Babylonia?  Tone deaf?

As for me, here I am, 62 years old, and feeling like I have my whole life ahead of me.  I could be back in Baltimore, just hanging on (as my mechutan says) until the ambulance shows up.  I try to resist becoming a shill for aliyah, because each person’s life is so different. But the happier I become, the harder it is for me to be objective.  So I sing the song that vibrates up from the ground beneath my feet.  Good Vibrations!

So my advice to my son, and to you, is not to focus on the cottage cheese.  Dance to the music!

Cottage cheese is such a small price to pay.

Or is it just me?

The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion

I never meant for my blog to become political.  The world seems to be upside down, and it bothers me a lot.  I wanted to let people know about the craziness that I have observed, and to find out if “it’s just me”.

So, based on the fact that two of my three postings have dealt with political issues (namely the “Apartheid State” designation, and Obama), I suppose I should just accept the fact that the absurdities that bother me the most are political.  And since I live in Israel, and have the privilege of ducking into a bomb shelter whenever Hamas is bored, most of that absurdity has to do with Israel vs. just about everybody.

We Jews have been accused of everything.  What I find fascinating in the current state of affairs, is that so much of what Hamas and other fanatical Islamic groups accuse us of is so unoriginal.  You’d think that, after 2000 years, someone would think of something new to hate us for.

One of the most infamous canards against the Jewish people is The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion.  All you have to do to find out about the history of this document is to do a Google search, so I won’t go into the historical details here. In short, it came out of Russia around the turn of the century (19th to 20th) in order to blame the Jews for just about everything. 

I thought that it would be an interesting exercise to compare the accusations in The Protocols with what Hamas is actually saying and doing.  Of course, I live in Israel, so finding a copy is not the easiest task.  I could download it from a delightful website called Jew Watch, but I really don’t want to add to their view count.  I sent an email to a bookstore in Jerusalem to see if they carry it, but they must think I’m some kind of crazy, because they haven’t responded.

So, I checked the catalogue at our local library here in Efrat, and this is what I found:

Goran Larsson, Fact or Fraud: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, 1994

Umberto Eco, The Prague Cemetery, 2010

I took out both of them.

Of course, Eco’s book is a novel, so that will just be for fun.

Larsson’s book was published by the Jerusalem Center for Biblical Studies and Research, with photos and illustrations from the Simon Wiesenthal Center.  Larsson is a Christian who wrote this to confront the rising tide of anti-Semitism.  So he clearly has an agenda, but that’s OK.  Who doesn't?.

Unfortunately, his book only contains a few excerpts from The Protocols (If anyone out there has a complete copy of The Protocols, may I borrow it?). The following are examples to demonstrate how Hamas unashamedly plagiarizes the Protocols. (Maybe we could get the UN to charge them with plagiarism?).

1)   From The Protocols: The Media is run by Jews:

“These newspapers, like the Hindu god Vishnu, will be possessed of hundreds of hands, each of which will be feeling the pulse of varying public opinion...If any chatterers are going to imagine that they are repeating the opinion of their party newspaper, they will in reality be repeating...the opinion which we desire.”

2)   From The Protocols: The Jews foment revolution in order to take over the world:

“When the populace noticed that it was being given all sorts of rights in the name of liberty, it imagined itself to be master, and tried to assume power.  Of course, like every blind man, the mass came up against numerous obstacles.  Then, as it did not wish to return to the former regime, it lays its power at our feet...We have led the nations from one disappointment to another, so that they should even renounce us in favor of the King-Despot of the blood of Zion, whom we are preparing for the world.”

OK.  Now read this from the political platform of Hamas, 1988:

“The Jews have taken over the world media and financial centers.  By fomenting revolutions, wars, and such movements as the Free Masons, Communism, Capitalism and Zionism, Rotary, Lions, B’nai B’rith etc. - they are subverting human society as a whole in order to bring about its destruction, propagate their own viciousness and corruption, and take over the world via such of their pet institutions as the League of Nations, the U.N., and the Security Council.  Their schemes are detailed in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.”

Really now.  Communism AND Capitalism?  The Rotary Club?  Is this for real?  What about the Boy Scouts, 4-H Club, and Future Farmers of America?  And we all know how friendly the UN is to Israel.  Nevertheless, PEOPLE BELIEVE THIS STUFF!

Here’s a cute little news item I just saw yesterday:

“A project management official at the Dutch National Cyber Security Center has been suspended after tweeting that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), now known as the Islamic State (IS), was a ‘Zionist plot’.

According to the English-language NL Times website the employee, Yasmina Haifi, wrote, “ISIS has nothing to do with Islam. It is a preconceived plan of Zionists who want to deliberately make Islam look bad.”

I assume that Haifi is educated. After all she appears to have a responsible position in a serious government agency.  Also, from her name, I assume she is Muslim.  But, maybe not.

So where does she get these idiotic notions?  Once again, it isn’t very original - just a rewarmed and regurgitated version of the same garbage.  And why would anybody believe it?

I know that I said I was only reading Umberto Eco’s book for fun.  I guess I lied.  Eco provides an astounding insight into the human mind, and why people believe this stuff.

Eco presents for our consideration the “Universal Form of Conspiracy”.  

It’s a standard form, which states that someone is to blame for all of your troubles, and all of the world’s troubles.  That “they” came from every part of the world to a secret and hidden place - “a forest clearing, a cave, a castle, a cemetery or a crypt, provided it is reasonably dark...”.  There someone presents a plan to take over the world.  All you have to do is fill in the blanks, depending on who your particular ogre is.  “For my Grandfather it was the Jews, for the Jesuits it was the Masons, for my Garibaldian father it was the Jesuits...Who knows how many other people in this world still think they are being threatened by some conspiracy.  Here’s a form to be filled out at will, by each person with his own conspiracy...if I wanted to sell a story of a conspiracy, I didn’t have to offer the buyer anything original, but simply something he already knew or could have found out more easily in other ways.  People only believe what they already know, and this is the beauty of the Universal Form of Conspiracy.”

In essence, if you provide people with a familiar tale that supports what they already believe, you can get them to believe anything.

In the novel, Eco is specifically referring to a “Jesuit plot” to take over the world.  They meet in an abandoned Jewish cemetery in Prague.

“By what cunning had the Jesuits decided to gather in a place that had been sacred to the Jews? And what control did they have over this place that was forgotten by everyone, and perhaps inaccessible?  All questions without an answer, which would have given credibility to the story, since I reckoned that Bianco would be firmly convinced that when all the facts appear fully explainable and likely, the story is false.”

Questions without answers give credibility to a story.  If the facts of a story can be verified, it is considered a fabrication.

Is anything more absurd than that?

Eureka! This explains why everybody believes Hamas, and nobody believes Israel!  The craziest lies of Hamas are believed exactly because they can’t be proven!

Not only that, but I have the answer to why the Israel-Palestinian “conflict” is irresolvable.  One can only resolve conflict, one can only negotiate a resolution to a grievance, if the grievance actually exists. 

So long as the Palestinians accuse us of absurdities that couldn’t possibly be true, then those grievances cannot be addressed in any way, shape, or form.  As long as we are accused of everything from genocide to body odor, there is nothing to negotiate about.

Fine.  You think we took your land?  Let’s talk about it.  You think we didn’t always treat you nicely.  We can talk about that, too.  We’ve got some grievances against you that we can bring up as well.  And they go back a few thousand years.

If you can’t come up with something real, then there’s nothing to talk about.

Okay.  I said I would bring up something to show that Hamas accuses us Jews of what Hamas actually does.  I’ve been going on and on, and I don’t want to take advantage of your patience.  So here is one item. If you want more, just let me know.

So, are you ready for this?  Directly from The Protocols:

“Metropolitan railways and underground passages will be constructed in all cities.  From these subterranean places we will explode all the cities of the world with their institutions and documents.”

In March 2004, Spanish trains in Madrid were bombed by Islamists.  In July 2005, the London subway system was bombed, also by Islamists.  Not to mention 9/11 and The World Trade Center.  And, by their own admission, and by verified fact, Hamas has been digging tunnels with the expressed intent of murdering Jews and abducting Jewish women and children to be captives.  This was planned for Rosh HaShanah.  It is verifiable.

So, here is my suggestion to the Israeli government.  We need to make up some bald-faced lies about Hamas.  We need to accuse them of murdering their own people.  We need to accuse them of wanting to drive all the Jews into the sea, and then kill all the rest of us.  Namely, of attempted genocide.  We need to accuse them of purposely targeting civilians.  We need to accuse ISIS of wanting to set up a worldwide Caliphate.  We need to accuse ISIS of offering Christians the choice of conversion, the Dhimmi tax, or death!

No.  That won’t work.  All that can be verified.  Fascinating.

Or is it just me?

Is Obama a Llama?

Absurdity: Is Obama a Llama?
(with apologies to Deborah Guarina and Steven Kellogg, Is Your Mama a Llama)

I am the President.
Make no mistake about that!

mama

Is Obama.....
          a Llama?









“Is Obama a llama”, 
    I asked my friend Dave,

 “I don’t think he is”,
    is the answer Dave gave,

“He views the world backwards 
    and he looks like a goon,

 why, he’s not a llama,
    he’s Ban Ki Moon!”

Ban Ki Money

                         “Is Obama a llama”,
                              I asked my friend Fred,

                         “Oh certainly not”, 
                              is what Freddy said,

                         “terrorists hide in his belly, 
                              like a Trojan horsey,

                         why, he’s not a llama, 
                              he’s Mohammed Morsi.”

Your 15 minutes of fame are up!

       “Is Obama a llama”, 
           I asked my friend Jane,
       “Are you out of your mind?” 
           she so tersely explained,

       “the worst of Obamacare
           hasn’t been told,

        why, he ain’t no llama, 
           he’s Benedict Arnold.”

West Point anyone?

                    “Is Obama a llama?”, 
                         I asked my friend Clyde,

                    “Now don’t be so silly”, 
                         is how Clyde replied,

                    “he plays golf, and takes selfies, 
                         and he thinks he’s a star,

                    why, he’s not a llama, 
                         he’s Emir of Qatar!”

A Pimple! Where's the Windex?

                “Is Obama a llama?”,
                      I asked my friend Rhonda,

                “You’re dreamin’ again” 
                      is how Rhonda responded,

                “he opens the borders, 
                      and blames it on others,

                why he’s not a llama, 
                      he’s Tom or Dick Smothers!”.

Which mouth should I speak out of?

                 “Is Obama a llama?”, 
                      I asked my friend Lyn,

                 “That’s an insult to llamas”, 
                     she said with a grin,

                 He snuggles up close 
                     with his friend Erdogan,

                 send the turkey to Turkey, 
                      in a cranberry can!”

Armenia? Where's that?

Bless us, Father, for we have sinned..

“Is Obama a llama?”
    I asked my friend Ben,

“You bet he is”, he replied, 
    with a swirl of his pen,

“llamas have big ears 
    and big lashes, too.

And they eat them as food 
    in the hills of Peru,

so I say let’s give him
    to Mahmoud Abbas,

humanitarian aid
    for his friends in Hamas!”

    

I got my eye on you !!

Get the feeling someone is watching?

    

Is there something wrong here,

or is it just me?

אלו ואלו דברי אלוקים חיים : Absurdity

"These and these are both the words of the Living G-d".

Warning: My Editor tells me that this post is way too technical.  Maybe so, but I'm just a beginner, so please have patience with me.

Torah

In attempting to determine how to implement Torah in our daily lives, the Sages of the Talmud often had different opinions and perspectives. Many times, these views were incompatible.

My Artscroll Gemara Gittin

In the Gemora in Gittin (6B) we find the following:

"Rav Evyasar met up with Eliyahu Hanavi and asked him what Hashem is doing right now. Eliyahu answered that Hashem is learning the Sugya (Talmudic discussion) of Pilegesh Begiv'a (a section of the Book of Judges), and He is saying, 'Evyasar my son says like this, Yonasan my son says like this.' He asked, 'are there uncertainties in heaven'? Eliyahu replied, 'Eilu veEilu Divrei Elokim Chaim'."

(A little background: The Gemora at this point is trying to establish the credentials of Rav Evyasar in an halachic dispute about gittin (divorce documents).   Rav Evyasar comes across Eluyahu HaNavi (Hey, Eli!  Wha'sup?), who informs him that in Heaven, the Ruler of the Universe supports both his answer and Rav Yonasan's.  Thus, Rav Evyasar is established as one of HaShem's beloved.)

Our point is that even in Shamayim, both opinions are true.  How can that be?

Imagine that.  Asks Rav Evyasar: The Holy One, Blessed be He, is sitting on His throne, and can't make up His mind?

The answer: well, as the Gemora continues, they are indeed both right.

Here's another one, from Eruvin, involving one of the famous disputes between Hillel and Shammai:

Eruvin 13a – R. Abba stated in the name of Shmuel: For three years there was a dispute between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel, the former asserting, ‘The halachah is in agreement with our views’ and the latter contending, ‘The halachah is in agreement with our views’. Then a bas kol [a Message from Heaven] issued forth, announcing, ‘These and these are [both] the words of the living G-d, but the halachah is in agreement with the rulings of Beit Hillel’.

In this instance, although both are correct, the decision we are to follow is that of Beit Hillel.  Is this to say that Shammai is wrong? No.  But given the current state of the human predicament, Hillel's is the opinion to follow.  

The Burning Bush

The existence of opposite and true things is inherent in these discussions.  As I stated in my first blog, it is my view that this situation - what I am calling absurdity - is inherently built into the structure of the universe.  On purpose.  By G-d.  To quote from someone named Yonasan Moshe ben Avraham (from Minneapolis.  I saw this on the web), "HaShem built a universe in which even mistakes can be true."

There are lots of other examples:  the burning bush - which burns but is not consumed; the plague of Hail - water (ice) that burned with fire; the prayer of Asher Yatzar (said on leaving the bathroom) which praises G-d for the absurd impossibility of placing a spiritual soul in a physical body; the song Lecha Dodi (sung on Friday night) which states that G-d said two words (Shomer - keep Shabbat, and Zachor - Remember Shabbat) in one utterance.

Science

As is often the case, the Torah and the wisdom of our Sages regularly reflects understandings that, although they predate Science - are independently reaffirmed by the scientific process.

To wit:  is light a particle or a wave?  The following is from Wikipedia:

"The idea of duality originated in a debate over the nature of light and matter that dates back to the 17th century, when Christiaan Huygens and Isaac Newton proposed competing theories of light.

Wave–particle duality is a theory that proposes that every elementary particle exhibits the properties of not only particles, but also waves. A central concept of quantum mechanics, this duality addresses the inability of the classical concepts "particle" or "wave" to fully describe the behavior of quantum-scale objects. As Einstein described: "It seems as though we must use sometimes the one theory and sometimes the other, while at times we may use either. We are faced with a new kind of difficulty. We have two contradictory pictures of reality; separately neither of them fully explains the phenomena of light, but together they do"."

Humor

Probably my favorite exposition of the concept of inherent absurdity can be found in an article entitled "Humor as a Spiritual Experience", by Morty Tennenbaum - a fellow "Baltimoron" - which appeared in the journal Introspection, Number 2, 5764 (2003-2004).

To Morty, "humor consists of a harmonious synthesis of misfits.  The unique humorous component of the fusion is that these two concepts don't fit together and yet for one momentous instant they do!"

peekaboo !

Morty is a comic genius.  To illustrate his point, he uses the example of the children's game Peekaboo.  We all know the game.  One moment you're here, the next moment you're not, and then you're back again.  Why is this so funny?  According to Morty, "Our game consists of two parts.  Part one: "Where did Mommy go?".  Part two: "Here's Mommy!".  Each one of these are equally valid states" and "independently self consistent".  "Peekaboo forms a construct which at once both exists and does not exist."  "Humor...consists of the concept of 'It isn't.  But it is!'."

Redemption

To me, the implication of Morty's article is that G-d has set up the world to be a cosmic game of peekaboo with Him.  He is here, but He is not here.  He will hide Himself from us, but if we search for Him hard enough, we will find Him.  "I will conceal My face from them..." (Devarim 31:18), yet "from there you will seek HaShem and you will find him, if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul" (Devarim 4:29).

The Beit HaMikdash - The Holy Temple

We find ourselves in the midst of the Three Weeks, and almost within the Nine Days leading up to Tisha B'Av, our national day of mourning.  

During this period, disasters befell us when HaShem hid His face from us.  Yet, the Maggid of Meziritch teaches us that this period is a time when HaShem is closest to us.  How can that be?  How can He be both Closest and Most Distant simultaneously?  According to the Maggid, during this period He comes to us.  Using a parable, the Maggid describes a King, who leaves his palace once a year to walk among the people.  During the year, the King is surrounded by guards and courtiers.  It's tough to get an appointment.  But at this time, any Tuvia, Dudu, or Chaim can just walk up to the King on the street and talk to him.  He comes to suffer with us in our exile.

I, for one, have a few choice thoughts to share with HaKodesh Baruch Hu on his annual tour.  I am looking forward to the end of our game of peekaboo.  The absurd may be a function of the nature of the universe, both spiritual and physical, as He created it.  It may even be the source of the humor that helps us to reconcile and get strength from the absurdity itself.  Despite all that, I'm a little tired, and I think I'm kind of old for this.  Especially when peekaboo becomes a game of Russian roulette using missiles.

Or is it just me?

Absurdity 101: An Introduction

Before we begin, it's time for introductions.

This blog is about absurdity.   Well, maybe it's about insanity.  Really, it's about paradox, contradiction, and the existence in the world of complete opposites that shouldn't exist, and be believed, simultaneously.  

It is my contention, based on anecdotal evidence, that absurdity is not a mistake.  In fact, it is a fundamental aspect of the universe.

Before I start to ramble, let me get back to introductions.

I am a former High School Football Player, motorcyclist, construction worker, SCUBA diver, Botanist, Ornithologist, waiter Captain,  and computer programmer.  I am still a practicing Massage Therapist.  

I have lived in metropolitan New York, St. Thomas (US Virgin Islands), Virginia, Massachusetts, and Maryland.  I was employed by the US Government, first at the Smithsonian Institution (Natural History), and later at the Social Security Administration. Now, I have retired, and fulfilled my dream to return home to Israel from exile.

I consider myself an Orthodox Jew - a neo-chasid of a dati leumi bent.  You'll see me in my streimel and bekishe on Shabbat.  The rest of the week, plain old American stuff, and a black yarmulka.

So, the first absurdity I would like to deal with is one which is currently popular in the media and much of the public at large.  It is the oft repeated mantra that Israel is an "Apartheid State".  

The great absurdity about this is that, any one who has ever walked down a street in Yerushalayim, sees that Arabs walk the same streets, ride the same public transportation, shop in the same stores, picnic in the same parks, are treated at the same hospitals.  Arabs
have nothing to fear in Jewish neighborhoods. Quite the opposite for a Jew who accidentally wanders into an Arab neighborhood.

The Palestinian Authority makes it immaculately clear that they will tolerate no Jews in their territory.  In addition, since the first intifada, the PA has systematically evicted most of the Christians from, of all places, Bethlehem.  

Isn't that Apartheid?

To illustrate:  Here is what one would see at the entrance to my village, Efrat, in Judea:

The sign reads: "Welcome to Efrat".

This is what one sees at the entrance to such PA cities as Bethelem:

Basically, "abandon hope all ye who enter here".  Now, you tell me, where does the "Apartheid" state begin?

So, in all its absurdity, Israel is branded with the perjorative term - while practicing quite the opposite - whereas the PA, which openly calls for Apartheid, is considered the land of the free.

How can it be?  How can the "Apartheid State" be the one where there is freedom of religion, where people of all races live together?  Is anyone awake out there?  

It is clear to me that it is in the nature of the human condition to believe what we want - or are told - despite any evidence to the contrary.  In other words, to willingly accept the absurd.

Or is it just me?