Shachar

Dateline Jerusalem — I am always afraid I will run out of topics for my emails and articles. But just when I think I have writer's block, somehow something happens, and I have plenty of material. Unfortunately, this week the topic is my unemployment.

Dateline Jerusalem — "The Nanny" and "Law and Order" are popular TV shows in Israel. Yet these two shows are in Russian with Hebrew subtitles.

The main characters bear a close resemblance to those on the American shows of the same name, but the acting and storylines do not compare.

Dateline Jerusalem — The other day I decided to take the train home instead of the bus.

I bought the ticket from a machine with directions in Hebrew, Arabic, Russian and English, the four languages spoken in Israel. However, French is now catching up to the others due to the large number of French Jews leaving France because of the anti-Semitism there.

Dateline Jerusalem — It is summer, and everyone is on vacation. School is out, offices are closed (except mine), and people are taking trips and tours all over Israel. Traffic is like Los Angeles freeways during rush hour — not moving at all except when someone isn't paying attention and rams into the car in front. That creates an unwanted forward motion.

Dateline Jerusalem — A single person in Israel becomes the object of everyone's good intentions to perform a "mitzvah" by finding the single person a spouse.  

Some take it upon themselves personally to find the perfect mate for their friends and relatives.

Dateline Jerusalem — Many have asked me if my perspective has changed since I arrived in Israel two years ago. 

It has. 

I have learned that the Israel I knew from my short vacations here and from newspaper, TV and media reports is not the real Israel I have come to know and love.

Dear family and friends — Mishpachati (family) v (and) chaverim (friends) yikarim (dear):

Shalom (peace, hello).

Dateline Jerusalem — Although people do belong to gyms here in Israel, not everyone can afford the luxury of being a member. My town has solved that problem. It built a road that circles the city. Adjacent to the road is a pedestrian path for those who want to jog or walk from one end to the other. Alongside the path are benches for those who are tired or who just want to enjoy the scenery. Between the benches are exercise machines!

I must admit that my having a job from almost the time I arrived was a contributing factor to my ability to stay here.

Dateline Jerusalem — In the next few days I will be celebrating my two-year anniversary here in Israel. To all those who said I would not last more than a month or two, what do you say now?

I must admit that my having a job from almost the time I arrived was a contributing factor to my ability to stay here.

Dateline Jerusalem — There are two places in the world that I will not drive, New York and Israel.

Perhaps because there are so many New Yorkers in Israel and so many Israelis in New York, their driving habits are similar. Having been a cop before becoming an attorney, I went through "pursuit driving" and all the other classes required by my department when I was in the academy.