Harris Berman's Blog Page

Boot U.S. apologist for Iran's bigotry

By Alan Dershowitz
There should be no double standards, especially given Olympic history Imagine the following Olympic scenario: A white American Olympic wrestler draws as his first opponent a black wrestler from an African country. Rather than touch a black man, the American wrestler forfeits the match. When the head of the American wrestling team is asked for his reaction, he says, "That's his choice, and I have to say that, frankly, I respect it."
The outcry would be instantaneous. The American wrestler would be permanently banned from Olympic competition and the U.S. would be condemned for having selected so bigoted a representative. The head of the team, who commended the wrestler, would be immediately replaced.
This is not quite what happened during the first days of the 2004 Olympics in Athens, but it's awfully close. An Iranian judo athlete drew as his first competitor a Jewish wrestler from Israel. Rather than compete against this son of a monkey and an ape, as Iranian mullahs repeatedly refer to Jews, Arash Miresmaeili avoided the competition. His teammate Haji Akhondzade claimed in public "Israel [is] no country," suggesting that the entire nation of Israel is really Palestine.
The Israeli opponent, Ehud Vaks, who knows Miresmaeili, said the decision to withdraw was not made by the wrestler himself, but rather by the Iranian government. This seems likely, especially since Iran publicly urged its other Olympians not to compete against Israelis. Had the Iranian wrestler drawn an Israeli Muslim as an opponent, I have no doubt that he would have wrestled him, despite the Iranian statement that this was a boycott of all Israelis.
This is to be expected from Iran, known for its anti-Jewish bigotry and for ordering its athletes to refuse to compete against Israelis in other international events.
The shock is that this bigoted decision has been praised by the leader of the U.S. judo team, an American named Buck Wessel. Wessel actually said that he respected Miresmaeili's decision, and he compared it to the American decision to pull out of the Olympic Games in 1980 to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Wessel should immediately be relieved of his responsibility as an American team leader. He does not speak for Americans in supporting the Iranian bigotry.
This particular act of Olympic bigotry took place in the shadow of the 1972 mass murder of 11 Israeli Olympic athletes and coaches. That massacre was approved in advance by Yasser Arafat, who boasted of it to Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. The group that actually carried out the killings was supported by the Iranian government, which continues to be the No. 1 supporter of worldwide terrorism.
If Israel is not a country, and if athletes from Israel are not acceptable competitors, then this is only a short step from advocating physical attacks against them. In 1972, after the murder of the Israeli Olympians, business went on as usual with barely a pause for a memorial. This time, there must be a powerful response to the Iranian bigotry and its acceptance by the head of the American team.

Tomorrow is my last day. This adventure is everything I wanted. I am not interested in Israel 2,000 yrs. ago. I get no spiritual uplifting standing atop Massada, nor am I moved visiting Rachel's tomb and most the 100s of other historical sites. The same reaction I had with the Sphinx, Pyramids and the liberty bell. None, zippo. I am into Israel today and what the future promises. I can see the old times on Discovery and History channels. I have enjoyed interacting with the people and making new havers (friends). Many American Jews should begin to understand how important this country is for them. History is repeating itself now in Europe, Argentina and other parts of the world. France is the perfect example. Unlike Hitler's time there is now a place to go where we are welcome. They need support. Not just with money, but, to come here, show their faces and just to say a simple thank you. It means a lot. We all live in relative luxury with our 2 cars, country clubs, designer clothes, tvs, etc. There is more to life. And Israel is a beacon unto the world. What this country has given to technology, medical advances and a lot of other things and as an example of how to live morally is worth preserving. Amen. See you all soon.

Next we went to Akko. It is an old Crusader city that Napolean tried to conquer. He failed. Saw some old fortreses. It is a very poor city. 60% Jews and 40% Arabs. Many of the Jews are black Jews from Ethiopia. Very high crime rate. Crime is not a big issue in Israel unless it is white collar. It is very safe almost everywhere. Coincidence #3: There is a hotel in town called Palm Beach Hotel. I do not think Renay would care to vacation there. Finally back to Tel Aviv where Moshe met us for dinner. We ate at Benni the Fisherman's at the old seaport and it was spectacular. I had a whole seabass cooked in garlic and olive oil. Got back to hotel around 10:30. Just a great day.

Continued to the northernmost part of Israel and the Lebanese border. The town of Rosh Hanikra. When we got to the checkpoint I told the guard we wanted to go to Beirut for a beer. Smiling he said it was not recommended. Taking his advice we went to the grottos. Not a big deal. Then we started back to Tel Aviv and stopped in Nahariah for coffee. Mine came with a hair in it. I called over the waitress and showed her the hair. She took it away and brought back the same coffee with the hair removed and a complimentary cookie. I drank the coffee.

We continued north to Haifa. i had not been there for many years and it is still wonderful. Very hilly. A lot like San Francisco except the weather is good and the food wonderful. We went to the Technion, comparable to M.I.T. Not only is this a school 2nd to none but a research center as well. We went to the welcome center and met the director. Coincidence #2: He was an emissary to 2 cities in U.S. Cherry Hill and North Miami Beach. I asked him if he knew Joel Kaber, and, of course he does. He insisted I give him regards. The presentaion was very informative. One of the projects they are working on is a minature vacuum that can be inserted into the human body and float around injecting insulin to fight diabetes and clean arteries of cholesteral among other things. Mind boggling. We then had lunch at Frangelico.

Wow! What a day. I will break up the posts as it takes a long time to upload a large post. There were 3 coincidences today and I will intertwine them herein. Left at 7 for Zichron Ya'akov (In memory of Jacob or more accurately Jacob's memorial). It is a farm area named by Baron deRothschild after his father. I have not decided his motive yet, be it philanthropic or for profit. That's a story for later. This is one of the 2 areas for Carmel wines. It is surrounded by Israeli Arabs and they get along beautifully. Today it is an artist area, wine and agriculture. We got there at 8 and could not get breakfast til 8:30. There are many cafes and old synagogues. It is a fovorite tourist destination for Israelis. We walked around and when the cafe opened, no English menus, I decided to order fresh orange juice, smoked salmon, eggs and vegetables. I asked the waitress how do you prepare the eggs and she said anyway you want. I said good, I'll have 2 eggs over medium and don't break the yolks. Chuckle, chuckle. She said no problem. The yolks were broken. She was some kind of Oriental (I know not politically correct). Coincidence #1: A woman was next to us with her baby. I thought I heard her call the baby's name. I said mah shem pointing to the baby. She said Maya. Just what I thought I heard. After breakfast we were walking to the car and passed a museum just opening for the day. At 1st I wasn't going in and then decided why not. It was the First Aliyah Museum and was wonderful. It is about the 1st settlers and was very moving. These people had courage and determination beyond belief. In Israel many of the museums have free admission with a MasterCard platinum. I had just got one before we left. My granddaughters made a contribution on the way out.

Had a wonderful dinner at Dita. Another place tourists would not know about. No English menus so I told waitress to order for me anything vegetarian. She is a veggie and did a great job. Had a red pepper filled with eggplant and cheese. Marvelous. Also had a salad with goat cheese. Moshe and Sagi had meat and I tried a few of the buffalo wings. Best ever. Had some kind of sweet and sour orange sauce. The waitress, a Yemenite thing of beauty, heard us discussing the fence and jumped in to the conversation. She stood there for 5 minutes and patrons and co-workers were staring. Only in Israel. She is very smart and admitting to being an ultra left wing. She did concede that the fence is necessary for security. We all agreed that a fence is a bad thing and must come down. She still thinks we could have had discussions and avoided the fence. I told her I was not willing to wait while another person is murdered. As far as putting fence in places it shouldn't be the Israeli Supreme Court has taken care of that. That's what a democracy and caring people do. I heard Condoleeza Rice said we should put nice paintings on the wall. If true, she is a moron. Anyway, I left her a nice big tip, which I am sure she will not return on ideological grounds. Off to Haifa. Starting to get anxious to go home and see family and friends.

Just got back from the pool. Read 2 pages and fell asleep. Can you imagine?

Sometimes the obvious does not become obvious until it is obvious. I googled before I came here with intention to purchase a time share. I never found anything. The obvious is now a realization. There are few time shares in Israel. Eilat, Tiberias and maybe a few other places. Definitely none in Tel Aviv. So this morning I set out to get info on condos. Anything on the sea runs minimum from 250k for 450 sq. ft. to 450K for 750 sq. ft. Perfect for a dwarf. Considering the amount of time we would spend here I cannot justify. I am positive the appreciation will be huge as the French, English, South Africans and many others are buying big time. They expect 200,000 French to move here. It is less in smaller cities, but, at this point not for me. Today was very hot (deep into the MeMe uncomfortable zone) and I tired. So we went to lunch in the old city of Jaffa. I had sukshuka which is a marvelous hot dish of egg, tomatoes, onions and peppers. I then dropped off my laundry, picked up a 6 pack and am now going to the rooftop pool with a book. Sagi will collect me later and out for the night.

Arik (nickname for Sharon) is the best. There was a vote on proposal to join with Labor to form a coalition. There is great opposition in Likud to disengageent. Arik wanted a hand vote so he could see where each Minister stood. It was decided to have the vote by electronic buttons. When it came time for the vote the system had mysteriously gone down. So the vote was held by hand and Arik lost. He has said that those who voted against him are idiots and he will ignore the vote and negotiate with Labor anyway. He has never, throughout his career worried about means. The end is all that matters to him. Not having a 2 party system it is difficult to get anything done with all the parties and factions. One thing he does have is the support of the people. Terrorism is not much of a problem anymore and the economy is thriving.

Why are the Israelis who are so tough and recognized as having one of the best arm yand air force so weak in sports. Easy. During their prime years they are in the army and then in reserves 28 days a year. They can never get the proper training. The kid who won the bronze in judo is a national hero. The newspaper headline was "arik melach yisroel" ARIK KING OF ISRAEL. They are so excited about this one medal.

Today was R & R. Got up late around 10 and went down for breakfast. The French were so loud and rude. I had it when a lady put her hands in the waffle dish and fingered them. Etay & Guy came by and we went to the sea for a few hours. The women are magnificent in their scant bikinis. I realize how old I am getting. I used to get a few stares. Now its like I am not even there. I showered and we went to their apt. so they could change. Their grandftaher, Israel, is staying there for a month while his wife is in South Africa with the boys' mother. The grandfather and grandmother were in Auseswitz for 5 yrs. His job was to move the dead bodies. We went to the cinemaplex, had something to eat and saw I, Robot. I highly recommend this movies. We saw it on the huge Cinemax screen. The Israelis do 2 things that I haven't seen in U.S. The seats are assigned so that eliminates the morons who get there early to save seats and they block cell phone reception to thwart the other idiots. So simple. I was home by 8:30 and caught most of basketball game. 1st Olympic event I have seen. Tomorrow Sagi will collect me at 8 and I will go apartment hunting. I hope to visit the Tel Aviv museum in the afternoon.

I found out tonight why the bar scene starts so late here and continues through the night. Until recently, from the age of 18-21 one could not drive between the hours of midnight to 5 am. So they became accustomed to starting their parties and drinking at midnight and not going on the road until the time limit expired. They became used to that routine. Of course, such a law was a disaster and the ban no longer exists. It will be interesting to see if this changes things in the future. I doubt it. These people enjoy themselves.

A cute aside. When we were at Boyars we ate at the bar as usual. There were 2 obviously gay men next to us and we struck up a nice conversation (this is normal in Israel). As they left one of them approached me and said when you get back to NJ tell your Governor he is not my type. We all had a hearty laugh.

This was my religious day. We started out on my mission to find a time share or condo to purchase. Time shares are not big in Tel Aviv, where I want to be. Prices are sky high. So I did some homework and am not close to making a deal. Then off to Jerusalem and the Wall. I put notes in the Wall for the speedy recovery of Buddy, Mark Hyman a high school classmate of mine who contacted me online after all these years, remebrances for my father Sam and father in law Milt, my dear uncle and friend Abe, and other notes given to me by Rabbi Plotkin, Harry Brown and Shirley Frankel. I wanted to attend services at an orthodox synagogue I heard about in the German colony and we did. It is the only orthodox synagogue in the world that allows women to participate in the service. They still sit separate divided by a curtain. Sagi, being like most Israelis has no interest in going to synagogue.. I asked him to go and he agreed. He lasted about 20 minutes and left. I fully understand his feelings and probably agree with him after a heated discussion we had on way back to Tel Aviv. Israelis feel that they do not have to prove they are Jewish as they are reminded of it every day. He said who are people to tell me what being Jewish is when we are here and they are somewhere else. He said I don't see Jews in America sending their children here to fight, so they have no business telling me that to be a Jew I have to be religious. It is hard to find fault with his argument when he tells me that he went into the army at 18 and served 3 years, some in Lebanon and some in Hebron where there are 4,500 Jews surrounded by 125,000 Arabs and he is must do reserves 28 days a year until he is 45. Not to mention he can be called to combat at any time. He said when he was discharged at age 21 he had the mind of a 60 yr. old. Only recently as he reached 30 has he been able to start learning how to enjoy life a little. In addition both his brother and sister have served. A compelling position and only by being here and hearing his anguish could I possibly understand this. As I typed these words I completely broke down and have just composed myself.

When we got back to Tel Aviv we went to the old seaport and had a wonderful dinner at Boyars. I have been there before and it is as good as ever. Boyars is the place where Cliton gave his greatest and only gift to Israel. He played the saxaphone there. He is despised here. Considered a liar who failed to keep his promises (can you imagine). The consensus from all I have s[poken with is that Bush did nothing at the beginning of his term to help. He just did nothing to correct the situation. But they are saying that 9/11 changed it all and Bush came to realize the threat of terrorism was real and had to be confronted. They now consider Bush the president who has been the greatest friend ever to Israel. Many of my friends do not subscribe to this. I am not giving any opinion, because it is well known, I am only relaying what I hear.

We met after dinner with 2 friends of Sagi, Daliah and Elon. Dahlia is in the catering business and is a carbon copy of Cookie, both in looks and energy. We had a few drinks and then I was delivered back to the hotel.

Tomorrow will be a day off. I invited two young boys, brothers, I know well, Etay and Guy to join me at the beach, then we shall have pizza and go to the cinemaplex.

Shalom

A strange day. I p[redicted that Moshe would not collect me at noon. I was right again. Sagi got me at 1 and we went to Herziliyah to meet Moshe and his friend Eli and 2 kids fpr lunch. Moshe decided to eat in Tel Aviv and never called. The good part is I remembered a great kids clothing store in the mall called Fox Kids. Its an Israeli company. I bought the grandkids some fabulous clothes. Wasn't sure of the sizes as they use a different system here. A lady came in with 2 kids about the same size and I had them hold the clothes to their bodies. I got what I thought may be a little large so worse case is they will grow into them. I hope my unscientific calculations are correct.

We finally caught up with Moshe and headed fo Zefat for the Klezmer festival. On the way he had to stop at a Bedouin village to see a friend who sells crap. It made Sanford and Sons look like Saks. He is an avid artifact collector and hopes to find a steal. I don't get it. We finally got to Zefat and the security was mind boggling. It took us a long time to get through. Finally we got there and it was packed. It was just like any outdoor fair in the States. Food vendors all over the place. I had a crepe filled with goat cheese and oregano. Very good, but not filling. Moshe couldn't help himself and we had to visit 2 ancient synagogues I have seen many times. He has such a love for the land he has to educate us in case we missed it the 1st, 2nd or 50th time. It was impossible to get into the bldgs. that had the entertainment so Moshe decided we should leave. It was hell getting out. After all Zefat is 2,000 yrs. old and was not built with autos in mind. As we left the cars were backed up for miles to get in. I cannot imagine how long it took to get out after the event. On the way back I told Moshe that the worst part of the day was him deciding to go and the best his deciding to leave early. Of course, he said the worst part of the day was me. We got back about midnight and Sagi and I went out for a bite and some drinks. Again, everything was packed. We left at 3 and it was busier than when we got there. This is truly the best city in the world. Cutural, historic, modern, whatever you want. Its all here, thriving, growing, exciting.

Tomorrow off to Jerusalem, the Wall and services at night.

Shalom

A strange day. I p[redicted that Moshe would not collect me at noon. I was right again. Sagi got me at 1 and we went to Herziliyah to meet Moshe and his friend Eli and 2 kids fpr lunch. Moshe decided to eat in Tel Aviv and never called. The good part is I remembered a great kids clothing store in the mall called Fox Kids. Its an Israeli company. I bought the grandkids some fabulous clothes. Wasn't sure of the sizes as they use a different system here. A lady came in with 2 kids about the same size and I had them hold the clothes to their bodies. I got what I thought may be a little large so worse case is they will grow into them. I hope my unscientific calculations are correct.

We finally caught up with Moshe and headed fo Zefat for the Klezmer festival. On the way he had to stop at a Bedouin village to see a friend who sells crap. It made Sanford and Sons look like Saks. He is an avid artifact collector and hopes to find a steal. I don't get it. We finally got to Zefat and the security was mind boggling. It took us a long time to get through. Finally we got there and it was packed. It was just like any outdoor fair in the States. Food vendors all over the place. I had a crepe filled with goat cheese and oregano. Very good, but not filling. Moshe couldn't help himself and we had to visit 2 ancient synagogues I have seen many times. He has such a love for the land he has to educate us in case we missed it the 1st, 2nd or 50th time. It was impossible to get into the bldgs. that had the entertainment so Moshe decided we should leave. It was hell getting out. After all Zefat is 2,000 yrs. old and was not built with autos in mind. As we left the cars were backed up for miles to get in. I cannot imagine how long it took to get out after the event. On the way back I told Moshe that the worst part of the day was him deciding to go and the best his deciding to leave early. Of course, he said the worst part of the day was me. We got back about midnight and Sagi and I went out for a bite and some drinks. Again, everything was packed. We left at 3 and it was busier than when we got there. This is truly the best city in the world. Cutural, historic, modern, whatever you want. Its all here, thriving, growing, exciting.

Tomorrow off to Jerusalem, the Wall and services at night.

Shalom

A strange day. I p[redicted that Moshe would not collect me at noon. I was right again. Sagi got me at 1 and we went to Herziliyah to meet Moshe and his friend Eli and 2 kids fpr lunch. Moshe decided to eat in Tel Aviv and never called. The good part is I remembered a great kids clothing store in the mall called Fox Kids. Its an Israeli company. I bought the grandkids some fabulous clothes. Wasn't sure of the sizes as they use a different system here. A lady came in with 2 kids about the same size and I had them hold the clothes to their bodies. I got what I thought may be a little large so worse case is they will grow into them. I hope my unscientific calculations are correct.

We finally caught up with Moshe and headed fo Zefat for the Klezmer festival. On the way he had to stop at a Bedouin village to see a friend who sells crap. It made Sanford and Sons look like Saks. He is an avid artifact collector and hopes to find a steal. I don't get it. We finally got to Zefat and the security was mind boggling. It took us a long time to get through. Finally we got there and it was packed. It was just like any outdoor fair in the States. Food vendors all over the place. I had a crepe filled with goat cheese and oregano. Very good, but not filling. Moshe couldn't help himself and we had to visit 2 ancient synagogues I have seen many times. He has such a love for the land he has to educate us in case we missed it the 1st, 2nd or 50th time. It was impossible to get into the bldgs. that had the entertainment so Moshe decided we should leave. It was hell getting out. After all Zefat is 2,000 yrs. old and was not built with autos in mind. As we left the cars were backed up for miles to get in. I cannot imagine how long it took to get out after the event. On the way back I told Moshe that the worst part of the day was him deciding to go and the best his deciding to leave early. Of course, he said the worst part of the day was me. We got back about midnight and Sagi and I went out for a bite and some drinks. Again, everything was packed. We left at 3 and it was busier than when we got there. This is truly the best city in the world. Cutural, historic, modern, whatever you want. Its all here, thriving, growing, exciting.

Tomorrow off to Jerusalem, the Wall and services at night.

Shalom

I knew 12 noon was optimistic. Sagi is on his way and 1pm will be departure time. We are stopping at the port in Herziliyah and going to the beach. I am packing my ipod and bringing a book. Later Moshe will meet us with the van and some other people and we are off to Safed for Klezmer band festival.

Grabbed dinner at Tal Bagel in Tel Aviv. Had tuna with vegetables on a plain bagel. best bagel I ever had. Just awesome. Drank a coke that came in a real glass bottle, full size, not like the short bottle in U.S. that costs a fortune. Did the pub crawl. Went to Bugsy's, Lansky's, Dimitz and Gollden Bar. We left at 3 and the place was still packed. In Israel there are no liquor licenses. Just open and start pouring. They are allowed to be open 24 hrs. Everywhere I asked, what time do you close and standard answer is when last customer leaves. Everyone of thes epeople work next day. So how do they do it? They come home from work, eat dinner and sleep until 10. They go home around 5 and catch a few hours. When we were at the Golden bar we could not ger a seat at the bar. We were at a table like 2 asses. Sagi told the waitress I was a big Hollywood producer. All of a sudden 2 seats were given to uis. People were staring at me. I have been mistaken for Spielberg previously. It was embarrassing. There is no question I was the only non-Israeli in the place. When I got here I told Sagi I only wanted to frequent establishments Israelis go to. That is being accom[plished.

There is a new method of development in Israel. Its called BLT, I believe. It works thusly, a corporation builds a project and runs it for 25 years. After that the project is turned over to the government. Recently, a new toll oad opened. It runs from Bersheba to Haifa. About 400 meters. The cost is 15 shillings,a little over $3.00. There are no toll booths. When you enter a picture is taken and a bill sent. There is the option of purchasing an ez pass device and buying blocks at a discounted rate. Now get this..it took 1 1/2 years to build the road including all exit and entrance ramps. Consider that the new airport terminal is 5 yrs. behind. The company that did the deal is a non-Jewish foreign outfit.

Today was a confusing. Last night Sagi told me he would pick me up at 8. At 9 Moshe called and said Sagi would be here @10. I wasn't concerned when 11 came, as I know Israeli time. By 12 I was upset and to make a longh story short they got their signals crossed. At any rate we were to go to Jerusalem to meet Moshe. He told us to meet him for lunch in the Palestinian neighborhood, name I cannot recall. This is a friendly place and a favorite for Israelis. These Palestinians do not flee the country in 1948 and even fought in the army. They have been well rewarded. They are full citizens and many are very prosperous. So we met at the Cravan Restaurant and had a traditional midest arab meal. It was wonderful. I ordered every appetizer on the menus..so we endulged in tahini, beets, olives and other goodies I am not familiar with. A great time. We then went to Mt. Adar the highest point in Jerusalem..900 meters. From there one has a panoramic view of most of the country. Moshe explained how they took Jerusalem and the strategy. We were joined at lunch by Moshe's best friend, Eli Berger. They grew up together and were in the army at the same time. He now lives in L.A. and is a professional photographer. His son has been here all summer and his daughter arrived this afternoon. There has been a new discovery that the public is not awrae of and not open. It is supposed to be Joh the Baptist's cave. They say he baptized people there. That was on our agenda, but, because of the mix up we did not have time. So we will do it another day. Tomorrow we are going to the north to Safed. There is a Klezmer band festival at night. It will be amazing as there is a competition. Moshe said he will collect me at noon, which means 1 at the earliest and 2 probably. Its amazing that things like that which bother me at home do not disturb me here. So I shall go to the beach in the morning, read and swim in the Med.

Its 9:30 and Sagi will be here at 10 so we can get dinner. Nothing happens at night until late. I am tired of being the only 2 people in a restaurant and then going to a pub. This way I will be home at the same time and imbibe less.

I noticed a lot of hits on the blog so please email me so I know who is watching.

Shalom

I am having a wonderful time. More commited than ever. Today I went to the home of Professor Arkin who teaches chemistry at Hebrew University. He is the owner of the 2nd largest pharmaceutical company in Israel . His wife and David a sculptor were there. David is from Lithuania and he works out of Hadassah Neurim. Moshe says he is the greatest living sculptor in the world. Moshe is prone to hyperbole. At any arte his works are amazing and I had the privilge to have him explain to me what the art works represent. The deal is they are sending some of his pieces to USA with the hopes of selling them and the profits are his fees and expenses go to the charity. I am being set up, but, I don't care. It is a worthwhile cause as I said before there are at risk kids..370,000 out of 2 1/2 million. The house was the most impressive I have seen. The Arkins have 15 help, gardeners, cooks, etc. Many of the sculptors are on display in their gardens. I ahve a few pix and will post them. My internet connection sucks here so I will probably change hotels if I can get a room. The city is full and very exciting. Restaurants and bars are all full and new. This is the new Europe. People from all over the world are coming here. Especially the French. Thety are buying houses and condos. The real estate market has exploded. The newest hotspot is Old Jaffa just south of Tel Aviv. After Arkin visit we went to the Palmach museum. The Palmach was 1 of 3 underground movements before Independence. (I am sure George knows of this).It takes 3 months to get in. Of course, Moshe pulled it off. Very overpowering. When I think of the sacrifices they made with the ultimate I am truly humbled. After that we went to the artist area and had a wonderful lunch at Suzzana. I had yogurt and cucumber soup and a wonderful Greek sald and drank my usual fresh squozed lemonade. Not having had much sleep I went back to the hotel and went swimming in the Mediterranean. The water was very warm (not MeMe pool warm, but warm). I then went to the hotel pool on the roof (not warm). Sagi collected me about 8 and we went to Orca Restaurant where I had aparagus in an amazing parmesan sauce and red drum fish over eggplant. Just a wonderful meal in a modern beautiful atmosphere. Of course, we had dessert in one of the 1,000 pubs. They are all over the city. The bread here is the best I have ever had. Its 3 am and I will be collected at 8 so time to sleep. I am very happy and miss you all.

HB

The lines through immigration were long. However, a rep of Moshe's came thru with a sign with my name and was yelling Mr. Berman. She walked me right through. Leave it to Moshe. He was there to meet me with his son and as usual his 1st words to me were "welcome home". We checked in at the hotel and then went to Old Jaffa for food. It is a restaurant that a tourist would not know of. It was great. I had a chopped salad with tahini and sunflower seed and freshly squozed lemonade (made with limes). Then we drove north to see Nachum Katz who is the director of Hadassak Neurim. This is one of several villages in Israel for at risk children. I will meet with Nachum next week for several hours as he wants to show me around and explain the work they do. I was introduced to him by Buddy Feinberg, who is a great supporter of this project. Moshe and his son Sagi dropped me off at the hotel and told me to get some sleep. Ifinally got on the net after some minor frustrations. The hotel could not help me. Naturally, I figured it out myself (with a little luck). The hotel is ok. However, it is right on the Med and close to restaqurants and bars. The flight was 100% full as are all the hotels in Tel Aviv. This hotel is loaded with French. They are a pain in the ass. Its 8 so time for dinner. Moshe will pick me up in the morning. Sagi is meeting me later.

The flight left an hour late and arrived 15 mins. early. It was wonderful. Food excellent. I do not like flight and chat. So I caught a break..neither did the guy next to me. Did not speak 1 word to each other. Perfect.

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From the NY Times: "Mr. McGreevey's governorship has, in a way, been similar to his dramatic performance yesterday. His goals were noble, and some of his accomplishments laudable - like the millionaire's tax he pushed through as a partial solution to the problem of the state's huge deficit"

I want to throw up!

2 guides and friends from Israel. Moshe Bronstein who I will be with most of the time is on the right. 

Interesting. As I typed the last entry the Israeli Olympic team went by.

I am packed and ready to go. My flight leaves Sunday at 3:30 pm. I arrive in Tel Aviv 9:15 am Sun. There is a 7 hour time difference..Israel being ahead of here. I will bite the bullet and pay the $10.00 a day for internet access. Therefore, I will be accessible to all.

The media is awful led by Chris Mathews. Thet are portraying McGreedy as a hero, when, in fact, he is a lying, cheating scumbug.

Thank the lord we wont have to hear about Smarty Jones anymore.

In 1 week I will be on my way to the homeland.

Front doors finally came after a year. Beautiful.

Grandkids were here this afternoon. They were great in the pool. Had Sacco subs for dinner.

Played shitty golf. Considered throwing my clubs away. Won $75 anyway. Had a good partner.

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