Bomb in Netanya

There was a bomb on Dec 5th In Netanya- outside a shopping mall. 5 dead (including the suicide bomber) and many injured- I think it's at 70, but the reports kept changing. So. Not good. I'm really not happy about Eli having this job as a security guard outside the Azrieli. I work in the Azrieli. It's a really big building, offices, shopping centre etc.. like westfield bondi junction but on a MUCH bigger scale. It may actually be the largest bulding in Tel Aviv. They're extremely tight on security there, as with everywhere you go- you get used to it though. Bags being checked and walking through scanners etc.. anyway. Eli's job is to stand outside the building, infront of all the bag checking and scanners... and keep an eye out for suspicious looking people and if spotted, to keep these people away from the entrances. So basically, it's a job for people who are trained as fighters in the army, it's a respected job, it pays well, but it means he's in the line of fire in my opinion. Today the suicide bomber detonated when he was approached by one of these kind of security guards.

Eli came home from shooting practise today. His gun was in his pants. It's weird welcoming him home with a kiss whilst he unloads his gun. Just mind-numbingly bizarre actually. I never (not even in my wildest dreams) pictured myself kissing a man with a gun. I'm really not happy about all of this. Stern discussions are being had. But I can see he's relly enjoying this job. He's had 2 shifts (at the time of this post) and it's such a power trip for him. He loves having 'his staff' under him, and being a 'commander'. I listen to his stories when he comes hme and some insane shit goes on down at the Azrielli every day....sheeesh

Anyway, the day of the bomb was interesting. I was in the markets when the news began to spread like wild fire ('pegua' means bomb) all of a sudden- from one stall to the next, "pegua, haya pegua gadola.. pegua pegua"!! That was all the conversation, people were shouting it out for the benefit of keeping others informed and everyone jumped on their mobile phones. Everyone was listening intently to radio reports in every shop. How many died, how many were injured, who was claiming responsibility now, which roads were blocked... I wasn't panicked or scared or anything, but I felt the sense of tension in the air, and there was a very profound feeling of community and what it's like to be living in Israel and dealing with this sort of shit.. you're not just one pair of ears listening to a snippet of news, you're part of a million pairs of ears listening out for and thinking about that same snippet of news. It was interesting.

I came out of the markets and saw one of the craziest things I've ever seen. Ok- there's this graffiti ALL over Israel- and no matter who I ask, no one seems to really know exactly where it came from or what it means. ['na nach nachma nachman meuman'] anyway... thanks to Ezra, this has been explained to me. [Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Na_Nach_Nachma]it's some kind of religious thing- it's on stickers, inside shops, inside taxis, buses, on buildings, bus stops... you get the point. So when I came out of the markets, where everything was pretty tense, I saw these ultra religious Jews driving on the street alongside the kerb really slowly in a van with HUMUNGOUS speakers.. like, I'm talking just basically speakers on wheels here... but covered totally with this graffiti slogan- and blaring out reggae music and wearing hippy glasses and dancing- Eli says they're totally stoned all the time. There were at least 6 of these religious dudes- with the full curly long payos and black clothes, all circling the van, dancing and jumping up and down in the streets, making their way slowly along the main drag.. holding out donation boxes with the meshiach.. it was sooo bizarre. Eli says this happens on our street too but I hadn't noticed it yet.

I came home and listened to the radio. I noticed that all the radio stations after the bombs play a lot of patriotic music- I imagine to keep peoples' spirits high. (Eli confirmed this for me later) A LOT of feel good music- both in English and Hebrew... and apart from these fantastic uplifting songs where everyone feels like singing out loud, there were just updates on the bomb situation. Interesting.

I bought 2nd hand english books to read from the markets! I've never done that in my life! It's on par with my pen philosophy. And lighters. I just accumulate them. They appear. But I'm done reading my hebrew childrens books. There's only so much one can take... So I got me a Steve Martin novella (didn't know he's also an author) and Irvine Welsh's 'Glue'. This is going to take me a while to get thru. It's fucking not even English. I read trainspotting last time I was in Israel, so I felt it was apropriate to read this. I like that I have to read it out loud so I can understand what I'm reading. Anyway, it's a cool system, if I take the books back, I get 50% off the next ones. Cool, huh?

I also went to the ministers office to sort out my working visa. Crazy process. So unnecessarily complicated. There were 60+ people in this tiny room waiting to have their number read out, and to be served by the one man working there at a tiny window. No loud speakers, no screen... just an angry man yelling numbers- the same pace he would spelling his name... You sneeze and you miss your turn. That's it. So everyone hovers around the desk, pushing and edging to get closer, too scared he'll race past their number. We did this for more than an hour. Eli of course made lots of friends whilst we were waiting... haha it was great.

Anyway, I've almost caught up to date..