[img]96|left|||no_popup[/img] Dateline Jerusalem — There are many ways to get to Jerusalem from where I live, by car or taxi, by bus, by train. Depending on the time of day, traffic, and the mode of transportation, the trip can take from 45 minutes to two hours. Although the most scenic way to travel, the train route takes the longest because there is no direct train from my town. I must switch trains along the way, hoping I do not miss a connecting train since they run so infrequently. By bus, about the cost of train travel, I save close to an hour in travel time. Buses run more often than trains but are less comfortable. Either way, once I arrive in Jerusalem, I must transfer to the new light rail system, travel by local buses, or take a “monit” (taxi) to get to my destination. I do not own a car. If I did, I would not take it to Jerusalem because it is almost impossible to find parking, gasoline is about $8/gallon, and the crazy drivers would make me a nervous wreck.

Taking a taxi from my town to Jerusalem is usually unaffordable, but that is the choice I made today. I have the most wonderful taxi driver. He gives me a discount on all my travel and refuses to take a tip from me unless I insist. Then he gives me back half of the tip. He used to be a tour guide and bus driver. I get my own personal tour of Israel every time I ride with him. That in itself is worth the cost of travel. I have learned so much about Israel's history, religious sites and trivia. He is trying to teach me Hebrew. For five hours today he took me and my fellow passengers door to door, from my town to Jerusalem and back, and everywhere I wanted to go within that eternal city. He was literally at my beck and call, and did not charge me extra for the time he waited for me from destination to destination.

Peeking in on Indian History

I visited one of the first kosher Indian restaurants in Israel, in the center of Jerusalem. Picture authentic Indian decor, fabulous food and the Indian waiter dressed in Indian garb but wearing a kipa (yarmulke) on his head. Seventy-five thousand Indian Jews live in Israel, mostly from five areas of India. The Cochin Jews first settled in India over 2,500 years ago, and then again not long after the destruction of the holy Temple in Jerusalem. The Bene Israel arrived in India 2,100 years ago, settling in Mumbai (Bombay). Then 250 years ago, Mumbai and Calcutta became the home to Baghdadi Jews who emigrated to India from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and several Arab countries. The Bnei Menashe claim they are descendants of the lost tribe of Manasseh. The Bene Ephraim claim descent from the tribe of Ephraim, but both have only recently been practicing Judaism.

At one of my stops in Jerusalem, whom should I see but Jordan Farmar of the UCLA Bruins and the Los Angeles Lakers and New Jersey Nets basketball teams getting off Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv Basketball team bus. I guess while the basketball players are on strike (NBA lockout) in the U.S., many are playing basketball elsewhere. Farmar's father is African-American, but his Caucasian mother is Jewish and his step-father comes from Tel Aviv. It seems the natural choice for him to play basketball here. I thought I recognized a few other U.S. basketball players on the Israeli team, but their names escape me.

Then I went to the German Colony neighborhood of Jerusalem where a delicatessen was recommended to me, and a market that sells a lot of American products. I have had such a craving for a corned beef sandwich on rye or my favorite, corn rye. I would even settle for pastrami. They are almost impossible to get, except in Jerusalem or Ra'anana, where there is a large concentration of Americans. I did not go into the deli to eat as I had just been at the Indian restaurant buffet. But I bought corned beef and pastrami to take home and make sandwiches. At the market across the street, I found boxes of macaroni and cheese, cans of sloppy joe sauce, dried wild blueberries, panko and tempura breading, taco seasoning mix, V-8 juice, cranberry sauce, and a lot of other American products I cannot seem to find in the stores in my neighborhood. However, I am still on the lookout for beef jerky.

I also went to pick someone up from Hadassah hospital on Mt. Scopus (Har Ha'tzofim). Situated on the top of one of Jerusalem's highest hills, one can see the Dead Sea (Yam Ha Melech) from an observation point at the entrance to the hospital. It is an incredible sight. The hospital, almost 100 years old, is famous for its outstanding medical care, and is an example of how Jews and Arabs can work peacefully together. Its Jewish and Arab patients are treated by both Jewish and Arab doctors. There is no discrimination in their care.

L'hitraot. Shachar.