THE DIVERS

Lately, I've been reading about the indonesian divers struggling in the Java Sea to recover pieces of the Air Asia jet and dead bodies of the passengers and crew that were on that unfortunate plane crashed on 28 December 2014.

Java Sea is a shallow sea which lies beteen the indonesian islands  of Borneo, Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi.(see the blue contour in the above Web picture).
Historically, it is known for 'the Battle of Java Sea' in World War 2,  when the naval allied forces were defeated by the japanese( on February 1942).

The divers were (still are, as not all bodies have been recovered) struggling not only with bad weather conditions, but also with the sights of disaster and death. Their task was not merely to locate and retrieve objects and bodies , but also to assess possibilities and take hard decisions on the spot.
It is easy for us to say "someone has to do the job", but it's terrible for those who actually do it. It might traumatize their whole life.

Anyway, the divers' struggle with the sea and weather will in its end allow a decent burial to the the victims, bring closure to their families,  make it, perhaps, possible (through the analysis of the recovered  'black boxes'), to learn ways of preventing such catastrophies in the future.

These people- the divers, deserve our highest esteem and appreciation for their efforts.

Rotschild Boulevard

'If I were a Rotschild... if I were a richman', sings Tevye , the poor jewish milkman in the famous musical  "Fiddler on the Roof".
Rotschild is a magic name,  the name of the well-known jewish banking dynasty which has always been associated with wealth and charity.

Rotschild Boulevard, named after the french Baron Edmond de Rotschild, is a lovely and popular boulevard in Tel-Aviv . I happened to be there two weeks ago; enjoyed a stroll and  took some pictures. While there, I thought about the stormy protest demonstrations that started on this very street, in July 2011.

pedestrian zone

A few details about the boulevard. The central, middle part of it, lined by trees , is a pedestrian zone.  It has walking / bike paths, and various recreational facilities : benches, small tables, spots for hiring as well as for parking bikes, kiosks selling sandwiches and beverages. 
The usual daily views include parents and children,  dog walkers, people resting on  benches watching the world go by,  bikers , friends sitting around a kiosk for a bite, drink and chat, etc..,

 

parenta and children

dog walker

chatting, eating and drinking

The street itself, which displays a blending of old and modern architecture,   houses cultural institutions (the national theater 'Habima' and the concert hall  'Mann' at its north end), culinary establishments (fine restaurants and cafes on both sides of the boulevard), and banking offices (headquarters of israeli and foreign banks :  Bank Hapoalim, HBSC, U Bank).

old (Bauhaus style) building

HSBC  bank offices

Ironical or not, the fact is that it was on this Rotschild boulevard where 'the rich and beautiful'  feel at home, that the Protest Movement for Social Justice broke out in Israel of July 2011. It expanded in August , and then faded away in September. People who saw themselves as middle class were protesting against the high cost of living (high prices of food, fuel, electricity, housing) and calling for social justice- which would mean higher taxes for the rich, reduction of indirect taxes, and the establishment of some sort of new social order.

Now, three years later , all I remember of that event is that two of its three young leaders joined the Labor Party and got themselves seats in Parliament . In other words, the protesters became politicians.

The high prices are still here, social justice is still waiting to be rescued. It seems to me , that even the first mayor of the city sitting on his horse, looks dissappointed.

statue of first mayor of  Tel Aviv overlooking the boulevard

Don't be right; Be smart !

I must confess I don't feel comfortable with USA's initiative of imposing sanctions on Russia. For one thing, it could escalate to something very bad for the world.

After all, Russia is not just another country; she's a superpower. It's  insulting to act as if Russia's some kind of naughty child who has to be punished.   Moreover, there was no obvious reason for sanctions,  as there was practically no invasion of Crimea, and no bloodshed. 

All the mistakes, all the wrong moves, including human casualties, were done by Ukrainean nationalists.

The latter have almost asked for trouble. They started to talk  about covering Ukraine's territory with Nato bases. Yes, Nato on the russian doorstep!.  And of course, there were  demonstrations  which brought about the overthrow of president Victor Yanukovich.

All this took place, while Russia was subsidising the gas she was selling to Ukraine and transferring a lot of cash to help its failing economy.

The strategic Crimean peninsula on the northern coast of the Black Sea,  with its historically significant  cities of Sevastopol and Yalta, was not originally part of Ukraine; it was given to her as a symbolic present in 1954. 
Its inhabitants are mostly russians. There was no need for Putin's soldiers to invade the peninsula,  as its residents  widely opened the borders and the doors to them.

Anyway, it's a regional conflict involving Russia and Ukraine over control of the Crimean Peninsula;  that is, it was - regional , until the americans decided they want some kind of "russian spring" after the so-called arab spring.

Maybe the americans and their western  followers thought they were right with imposing  sanctions.  I hardly think they were smart.

Following The Missing Jet

"Let's go back to horse and carriage, and no black boxes, please" suggested a talkbacker who called himself  'clever guy'...
Not a bad idea, I thought, considering  the chain of events surrounding the mysterious disappearance of the Malaysian jet,  flight 370 from Kuala Lumpur to Bejing on  March 8, 2014.
A lot of speculations since then; it is believed the plane has crashed into the southern part of the Indian Ocean,  but still no wreckage found, fate of passengers and crew not known.

"Look that plane up in Somalia"  came a suggestion in the first week after the disappearance.
Right. Maybe the somalians have switched roles  from ship pirates to plane hijackers.
"You better look it up in Yemen" wrote another.
Right again. Yemen, the birthplace of Osama bin Laden, founder of Al-Quaida fiercest terror net, seems quite a plausible location for a hijacked plane.

"The plane is sure in one of the -an suffix countries: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, getting ready for some huge terror mission, style 9/11"-  that's the prevailing theory so far.
Very tempting to agree to that, judging by the troubling background  of these countries.

" Bermuda Triangle strikes again" remarked some reader.
Could  be, could be that the notorious Bermuda triangle that had "swallowed up" a lot of ships and planes in the past, has a twin somewhere between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.
It would sound like a more reasonable possibility than the one of muslims hijacking a plane from their malaysian muslim brothers,  which happens to have on board a lot of chinese, and... one doesn't do this sort of thing to China.

I approached the world map trying to look up all  the places mentioned in the news,including the american military base Diego Garcia which has become the theme of wildest conspiracy theories.

Sad way to learn geography; too tragic a situation to learn at all, as all thoughts are focused on the tragedy of the passengers and their families. 
There's one thing though I'm sure of - I'll always stick to my prayer to God for a safe journey before, during, and after flight.


Kalimera, Cyprus!

End of May 2013. My first time on the island of Cyprus, altough this place is only an hour flight from Tel Aviv. The wave of heat outside, and the  Mediterranean  beaches make me immediately feel at home.

This little island country has lately been in the world news because of financial restrictions imposed on its citizens. Like  other western or semi-western countries, Cyprus has a lot of rich people, but the country's money bag seems to be empty. How so?

Well, the usual triangle of bankers, politicians, Media . This triangle  generates  financial manipulations which lead to corruption,  and ultimately to the country's high debt and the need for austere measures to prevent collapse. Familiar, isn't it?

There are a lot of foreigners here and  they appear to be doing well, especially the brits and the russians. It seems they have found here, most of the distant world  "paradises" : Canada without the fierce cold, USA without the tornadoes and hurricanes, Australia without its 'end of the world'  location.

Cyprus is a member of the European Union, and the old continent of Europe with all its giant problems is still considered by many the heart and brains of the world.
 
Cyprus is known for its fine lace and handwork,  best olive oil,  exquisite wines. Also for its beautiful songs and talented singers that participate  at the  annual Eurovision contest. 

However,its most famous icon is the late archibishop Makarios who was the first president of the Republic of Cyprus, a great political and religious personality. Major streets were named after  him, statues erected in his memory.

Nicosia, the capital city, is the last divided capital in Europe. It's divided between  turkish cypriots and greek cypriots. The 'border' crossing in Nicosia between the two parts of the city, located at the end of the pedestrian shopping street, Ledra,  looks kind of strange in the eyes of a tourist.  The impressive Monument, though, near the police station on the greek side of the crossing, is  definitely worth a visit to the spot.



Belarus, of all the places

He was in a critical condition; he urgently needed a liver transplant. He appealed , using his best connections, to hospitals in USA, Germany, India, but no luck. The first two required a long wait for a liver, and the third one , so they say, refused to perform surgery on him because of the nature of his former job .  Those in his homeland, Israel, refused to even put him on the waiting list as he didn't qualify for their age criterion (age up to 65).  

In the end, Mr. Meir Dagan, 67, former head of the israeli Secret Service ,the Mossad, was  admitted to an hospital in Belarus (October 2012) where he successfully underwent a liver transplant.

Meir Dagan after transplant

The Republic of Belarus, with its capital city Minsk, is a landlocked country bordered by five countries:  Russia (in the north and east), Ukraine (south), Poland(west), Lithuania and Latvia (north).

Belarus,  considered by many analysts "Europe's last dictatorship" has a relatively decent health  system , but is certainly not among the world's leading providers of health care.

President of  Belarus, Mr. Alexander Lukashenko has used this liver transplant case to make quite a publicity to himself, and to his country's surgeons, humanity, hospitality. Well, why not?

I've learnt two things from this dramatic story:

1.   No matter how important you once were for your country, you might nevertheless find out one day, while  facing death, that she considers you a regular citizen  and will  only  'play by the book'.

2.  Never underestimate a small, modest, country in East Europe. Belarus, of all the countries in the world  "did it"and did it well.

(* above photos - taken from the Web.)

From Chechnya with ..Soccer

Chechnya, a small country in the Caucasus area of the Russian Federation, has been in the news lately;  the two bombers in the Boston marathon tragedy are originally from that part of the world.

In Israel, two chechen football players (Dzhabrail Kadaiyev and Zaur Sadayev) were the passive protagonists of a big drama at the beginning of this year. And this is the story:

The owner of a major football club in Jerusalem (Beitar club), a russian-israeli oligarch, decided to hire two muslim football players from Chechnya despite the strong objection of the team' s supporters.. Motive: the team needed reinforcement, and the two players , he believed, will do a good job.

 Beitar fans, anti-arab oriented, stated they would not have a muslim player wear the club's uniform. The arrival of the two chechen players (see the above photo with the two in Beitar uniform) sparked a series of provocative actions by the Beitar  hardcore fans:  harassment of the chechens, protests (including racist banners), cursing, and even torching of the club's offices.

The atmosphere became so "hot" that the PM, the President, the Mayor of Jerusalem, and other political and cultural personalities  in the country stood up to condemn the highly provocative attitude displayed by Beitar supporters  towards the two football players from Chechnya.There were also some arrests  carried out among those fans.

I don't know much about sports, but it seems football can bring out the worst in people.