Who's a Good Neighbor?

March 20, 2009

We had to come to Israel to drive a Chevrolet (see the U.S.A in a Chevrolet!), but that’s what Cal Auto was offering at a very reasonable price of $36 per day. This was two thirds or less the price at other agencies, probably because the cars are not brand new. Ours had 39,000 kilometers on it, so it was impressive to watch the agent mark every, and I mean every, scratch, smudge, and other irregularity, on the check out sheet.

Linda and I headed up the Ayalon Expressway to 65 through Afula, on our way to Korazim, just north of the Kinneret. This is the first time that I have seen the Galil in other than the dry season. The peaceful rolling hills seem covered with blankets of varying shades of green, pockmarked by the rocks and boulders that make up most of this terrain, except for the vast areas that have been cleared for farming.

We made a slight detour to Karmiel to visit Josey, the mother of friends in Chapel Hill. We worked our way through a series of traffic circles, through the center of town which seems newly built, to meet her waiting on the street in front of her apartment complex. She is a 70+ gracious, humorous, thoughtful British lady who made aliyah about 25 years ago. Her daughter, son-in-law, and two grandsons live nearby. She had prepared a light lunch to accompany what turned into a long conversation about family and about some of her experiences in Karmiel. For example, her congregation has an ongoing relationship with a Christian Arab community nearby and a women’s group used to have a similar relationship with women in another Arab community. Amusingly, the three Arab towns that neighbor Karmiel, don’t really get along with each other. She spoke of her disappointment with the changes in her apartment complex. Aside from her downstairs neighbors who have used the mandatory bomb shelter as a personal storage space, impeding her use, she commented on the demographic change reflected in the number of ultra-Orthodox Jews who have moved in. Apparently, the ultra-Orthodox are subsidized and encouraged or directed by their leaders to move into housing areas, so that her neighborhood has almost totally transformed. Sadly, they are not neighborly in the least. The men, of course, do not acknowledge her because of their difficulties in relating to women. The women are consumed by caring for the 6, 7, 8 or so children that they have, crammed into small apartments. One of the fundamental challenges facing Israel is how to build religious tolerance among sects of Judaism. David Ben Gurion made a political trade-off at the founding of the state in granting a religious monopoly to the Orthodox. Other branches of Judaism do not have official standing. In addition, substantial government funds, that is, tax funds, support this community. The ultra-Orthodox, as a group, are among the poorest in Israel, always mentioned as one of the “at-risk” sectors of Israeli society. I am respectful of ritual and the role of Jewish law, but it seems to me that being observant also means respecting an elderly neighbor, welcoming the stranger, and other behaviors are also part of building a holy community. As we said good-bye with the sun starting its slow descent marking the beginning of Shabbat, one of the neighbors had set up a table, filled with challot (bread) for members of the Orthodox community to take for their celebrations.

We arrived at the Frenkel’s bed and breakfast in Korazim, just north of the Kinneret. This who ridge overlooks the sea with gorgeous views. Erwin made aliyah in 1960. Etha was born in Israel, but had lived in the states for a number of years. Other than the obvious similarity in names, it did not take long to discover another connection. Erwin Frenkel, the retired editor of the Jerusalem Post, is a graduate of Wesleyan University.