Through a sandstorm to the Cochin Jewish Heritage Center

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Two van-loads of Meitar folks drove through a desert sandstorm this morning to reach this place in the Negev.
What's under the big top?
A circus??

No!
Something better--a lunch prepared by the women of Nevatim!

Nice chicken, rice, salads.
Thankfully, not with TOO much Indian spices.
Tapioca pudding-type dessert with silvery pearl tapioca "beads." 

In the framework of the Agriculture and Tourism Ministries' 'Village 2000' program, Nevatim was recognized as a 'Tourism-oriented Village' with the aim of developing tourism as an alternative to the declining economy of family farms. - See more at: http://www.ica-is.org.il/en/projects/bnei-shimon-regional-council#sthash.Eka8Df1G.dpuf

These two women are part of the Cochin Jewish community who started to leave Kerala in the early 1950s and immigrate to the young state of Israel.

Lunch was served after we had a fascinating lecture and  video  about the Jews of India, a guided tour of the Cochin Jewish Heritage Center, and a visit to the moshav's beautiful synagogue built in the Kerala style.
I'll try to post those photos over the coming days (grandchildren permitting).
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(Linking to Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors and to  Our World Tuesday.)
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In the framework of the Agriculture and Tourism Ministries' 'Village 2000' program, Nevatim was recognized as a 'Tourism-oriented Village' with the aim of developing tourism as an alternative to the declining economy of family farms. - See more at: http://www.ica-is.org.il/en/projects/bnei-shimon-regional-council#sthash.Eka8Df1G.dpuf

In the framework of the Agriculture and Tourism Ministries' 'Village 2000' program, Nevatim was recognized as a 'Tourism-oriented Village' with the aim of developing tourism as an alternative to the declining economy of family farms. - See more at: http://www.ica-is.org.il/en/projects/bnei-shimon-regional-council#sthash.Eka8Df1G.dpuf

In the framework of the Agriculture and Tourism Ministries' 'Village 2000' program, Nevatim was recognized as a 'Tourism-oriented Village' with the aim of developing tourism as an alternative to the declining economy of family farms. - See more at: http://www.ica-is.org.il/en/projects/bnei-shimon-regional-council#sthash.Eka8Df1G.dpuf

In the framework of the Agriculture and Tourism Ministries' 'Village 2000' program, Nevatim was recognized as a 'Tourism-oriented Village' with the aim of developing tourism as an alternative to the declining economy of family farms. - See more at: http://www.ica-is.org.il/en/projects/bnei-shimon-regional-council#sthash.Eka8Df1G.dpuf

In the framework of the Agriculture and Tourism Ministries' 'Village 2000' program, Nevatim was recognized as a 'Tourism-oriented Village' with the aim of developing tourism as an alternative to the declining economy of family farms. - See more at: http://www.ica-is.org.il/en/projects/bnei-shimon-regional-council#sthash.Eka8Df1G.dpuf

Mirror mirror on the billboard, for whom to cast my Tuesday vote?

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Libby and I walked home from  pre-school and found nice  things along the way.
Like this clever  campaign that has hung mirrors on billboards that are advertising candidates for this Tuesday's local elections.

The paper above the mirror says "Kehila zeh be'etsem ATA!!!"  which means  "Actually, community is YOU!!!

I should explain that Meitar (aka Metar) is a yeshuv kehilati.
The term means "community settlement"  but it can also be translated as an  "incorporated community."
Meitar has grown to almost 8,000 since it was begun in 1984.

Wikipedia makes this good point: 

Residents of community settlements are typically very involved in their community. They know their neighbors well, they volunteer for various committees which run the town and its facilities, and they often meet together for various events and celebrations. A genuine feeling of community is often felt in these settlements, which is why that word was chosen to describe this form of settlement. The strong sense of community is of course made possible by the small size of the towns, and also by favoring applicants who seek strong community ties over applicants who seek to live within their own four walls without ever seeing a neighbor.

A Government ministry publication explains like this:

Yishuvim kehilatim (plural) range in size from 10 to 20 residents to hundreds of families.  Many reach populations of up to 1000 families.  Yet, on a yishuv kehilati, a rural atmosphere is preserved.
Residents maintain a network that provides educational and cultural services but do not have any economic ties to each other. 
On a yishuv kehilati, each family builds or purchases a home.  On some, each family makes its own arrangements for buildings, while on others construction is centrally organized. . . .
Many of these communities have an acceptance committee that handles membership applications.

UPDATE: Meanwhile I learned that Kehila, as well as meaning community, is also the name of the party of the incumbent Head of the Local Council (like a mayor).
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(Linking to Weekend Reflections.)
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Three old wooden ?????s on the hill

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Three mystery things stand atop the highest bare hill, right in the center of Meitar.

I  decided it was time to climb the steep sort-of path next to the planted cacti and see what's up there.

Under each of the three wooden frames someone had tried to make a cement chair (or throne?) in or on the big stones.
Maybe it was the Scouts or another youth movement?
Maybe I should ask some of the residents.
Or maybe I prefer it to remain the mystery place. . . .

In any case, the view of the sky and of Meitar's several neighborhoods is great from up there.
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(Linking to SkyWatch Friday.)
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Fun with a loofah

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The loofah that I bought at the shuk (for 18 shekels) was a big hit with my grandkids.
They had never heard of such a plant.
First Eyal pretended it was a telephone.
Then we played with it, and in the end we cut it up into five pieces.
The kids could hardly wait to get into the tub and try washing with their sponge-like loofahs. 

To see the loofah as a living plant, visit http://www.luffa.info/luffaharvest.htm .
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New fruits and a loofah

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I know, you are probably thinking, "We saw this photo before."
But actually what I bought at the shuk two weeks ago were different kinds of fruit and some of them are already out of season.
And today I splurged (because of a family party coming up) and bought a few spiky pink-and-green  pitaya (dragon fruit), guava, and carambola (star fruit).

Also of interest on my table here are a pomelit (a small pomela), kiwi, figs, pomegranates, and "a personal watermelon."
Oh, and a loofah! 
It's a fibrous plant seed pod.
After amusing the grandkids with it (e.g. bopping them on the head), I'm going to cut it into smaller pieces and try to use one like a sponge in the shower.

Here is the entrance to Beersheva's Municipal Market where all these fun fruits came from today.
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(Linking to Our World Tuesday.)
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Our dove of peace in the Rabin Neighborhood

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Here's my grandson Dean under the wings of a white dove.
The statue is in a roundabout in Meitar's Rabin Neighborhood.
At the base are the famous words Shalom chaver (Goodbye friend) with which President Clinton ended his eulogy at the funeral of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

Last night some 33,000 young people, members of Israel's youth movements, gathered in  Tel Aviv to mark 18 years since the assassination.
The ceremony, titled “Remembering the murder, fighting for democracy,” was held at Rabin Square, where Rabin was shot during a peace rally on November 4, 1995 by a right-wing Israeli extremist.

A 2-minute video from last night's rally is in the Jerusalem Post  and another article is in The Times of Israel.
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Why do partridges walk in a line?

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When I walk in nature places in Meitar I sometimes run into  groups of partridges.
(Enlarge the photo 2x to find the three fowl.)
Whenever I startled these funny birds in the Jerusalem Hills, they would always run and hide or run away fast and take to the air.
Here in friendly Meitar wild animals are laid back and calm, as if they know from experience that no one will hurt them.

The partridges in the top photo were in this grove of eucalyptus trees planted in the bottom of a wadi.
Often I take this shortcut from home to the supermarket (or now, to the grandkids!).
It's more fun than walking on the hot sidewalks. 
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See more about Israel's partridge at http://jerusalemhillsdailyphoto.blogspot.co.il/2012/05/monastery-full-of-animals.html
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(Linking to Camera Critters.)
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The kids have landed!

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The family has landed!
After two long long flights from Australia they drove into Meitar at 1:30 a.m. on Sunday.
But in these first few days my grandkids have already  done the most important things:

(Photo by Naomi, Libby's mom/my daughter)

Libby did the quintessential Israeli thing: she ate a Krembo.

Krembo  has its own entry in Wikipedia which says "Krembos have achieved the status of a pop-cultural item and a national icon."

Also says this (believe it or not!):

Under Jewish law (Halacha), there is some significance to the order in which one eats a Krembo. The blessing over the biscuit is boreh miney mezonot, whereas the blessing over the cream and chocolate is shehakol nihiyya bidvaro. According to halacha, when eating a dish of mixed components, one need pronounce only the blessing over the main components, thus for a chocolate croissant one would say the blessing over the dough, and skip the blessing over the chocolate. But in the case of the Krembo, there is no consensus as to which is the "main" component: the biscuit, or the cream and chocolate. One solution is to bless over each component separately.

 
Eyal bought a school uniform shirt for Psagot School and  started  where everything was new to him--the classmates, the teachers, the place, the language.
His favorite class the first day was English.
(The kids know some Hebrew from home but they will learn a lot more living in Israel.) 
Eyal was a pretty brave boy. 

Ten-year-old Dean found the trampoline at the house the family is renting for their six-month stay in Israel.
How they had so much energy instead of jet lag I'll never understand.

Humidity now 10%

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Here's the view from the supermarket, i.e. from the little  Meitar commercial center that I showed yesterday.
A few houses at the foot of the hill and some off to the north and  a little forest.
And then the desert.

The nights have recently become cooler; good sleeping temperatures.
Then the days warm up to the low 30s C (around 90 F).
But the last few days have been abnormally dry, like 10% humidity, in much of the country.
Hard on the nose.
I've got a pan of water simmering and some wet towels hung around the house to moisten the air and ease the breathing.
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(For SkyWatch Friday.)
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My Meitar

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A whole medley of M words in one photo for ABC Wednesday meme.

My new hometown,  Meitar,  is built around one Mercaz, the commercial center, in its middle.
From right to left: Mercantile Bank, Michlol for school supplies, Maccabi Healthcare Services, and below the antennas--Moetsa Mekomit Meitar, the Meitar Local Council (which is like a municipality/city hall but for small communities).

There are other little businesses and a big supermarket, but their names don't start with M. 
And even an outdoor cafe where you can munch on freshly baked pastries and drink mocha.
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Noise maker

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Yeah, so the local country club (the 3 pools  post) had a healthy living happening on Friday.
Venders set up booths to explain and hopefully sell everything from Speedo bathing suits to health food lines.

But what caught my attention poolside was this ATV.
Meitar's neighbor, Kibbutz Kramim, apparently has a company called Tslil Noded that offers guided off-road tours on these  Terracross 2-person  buggies.
Anything from a 1.5 hour tour of the kibbutz and the surrounding forests to a 2-day adventure in the Negev desert.

You might be surprised at the other activities the tourism department offers!

I might have to go check out that kibbutz myself.
So far,  all I can see of them from the entrance road of Meitar is Kramim's huge solar field off in the distance.
Enlarge the photo with two separate clicks  and see the many ground-mounted  solar panels.
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Honey Bunny

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 I crossed paths with a hare!
My first sighting of a wild animal in Meitar!

He was interested in licking the water from a drip irrigation pipe and felt no need to run away from me.

He was so long, and pretty too.

After tiring of posing for Camera-Critters photos,  he just jumped  back up toward the row of houses that border the wadi.
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Pools in the desert

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Just in case you were feeling sorry for me living down here in the hot dry Negev desert, I'll show you the wet part of Meitar's country club. 

And here in the foreground is the kiddie pool.
Oh, and there's a big indoor swimming pool as well.

Today they hosted a Healthy Living Happening at this sport center so I was able to get in free and see the pools for the first time.

The blue sky and the blue pools and the greenery all around were certainly tempting, but I doubt if I'll allow myself to splurge and spend several thousand shekels for a year's entrance.
But it's nice to know that such luxury exists just ten minutes walk from home. 
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(Linking to SkyWatch Friday.)
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Houses from Within, Jerusalem, list now online!

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The visitors standing in the narrow Ein Kerem lane were waiting for their chance to wind their way up through the fascinating old house and eventually emerge on the roof.
This was part of last year's annual  Jerusalem Houses from Within.

Above the front door was the event's poster.
That 2012 logo showed a bouquet of buildings.

The list of THIS year's Houses from Within guided tours just now went online--120 locations and the list is still growing!
If you are anywhere near Israel, mark your calendar for November 7-8-9.

A few venues require registration, which begins bright and early online on November 1.

Maybe your own city has a similar Open House event?
Check the date at http://www.openhouseworldwide.org/
In 2014  Athens,  Gdansk, San Diego, and Vienna will be joining this wonderful cultural tradition. 
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(Linking to Lesley's meme, Signs, signs.)

Old joke for new Theme Day

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City Daily Photo's Theme Day today is about DETAIL.
It reminds me of a joke from long ago during my school days in Chicago:

The teacher asks a pupil to use the words deface, detail, and defense in one sentence.
The boy answers, "Dat's easy!   De face went over de fence before de tail."
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See other posts on Detail, more serious than mine, at the City Daily Photo October Gallery.
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A lot for less

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My family will be arriving from Australia on Saturday night!
I wanted to welcome them back with what we call kol tuv ha-aretz,  all the best our land has to offer.
So I took the 45-minute bus ride into Beersheva and wandered around the big shuk (what the English map calls the Town Market, not to be confused with the Bedouin Market).
I found the best of the produce and bought a little of each kind.

Unpacked on my kitchen table, it doesn't LOOK like a lot.

The fruits and vegetables and nuts  looked more voluminous when still in bags.

I can assure you they weighed a ton when I shlepped them in two tote bags and in my backpack from the shuk to the bus  and then from the corner bus stop to my house.
It was almost my limit.
But I was happy to be a good provider for my grandkids, at least for their first day or two in Israel.
And the price was right (at least when compared to the inflated supermarket prices in Meitar).
At the shuk you always get A LOT FOR LESS (which is good because today is L Day at ABC Wednesday)!
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Centralized mail

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The houses here in Meitar do not have mailboxes.
Every family has to go check its own little box at one of two distribution places  at the center of town.
My landlady's post box, which I share, is on the highest row and my arm just barely reaches into it when I stand on my toes. 
Meitar has grown to  something like 7,500 residents so you can imagine how many rows of ta-ei chaluka boxes there are.

We  have a (literally)  hole-in-the-wall post office, way too small, and only a few people can fit inside.
If the line is long you have to wait outdoors.
The governing Local Council has promised  a proper post office will be built by April.
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(Linking to Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors.)
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Sky and his sky-blue eyes

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The young man was obviously very proud of his Siberian Husky.
He was happy to pose (the dog) for a picture on my blog.
He had given Sky a free run on the lawn near the fountain (the fountain in yesterday's post about Be'er Sheva becoming Israel's "Water City.")
(You will enjoy Sky's blue eyes more if you click a few times on the photos.)

Actually Sky and I had met ten minutes earlier when the three of us were "trapped" on the narrow traffic island in the middle of a busy boulevard.
My little camera was in the palm of my hand at my side  as we stood waiting for the second green light.
The Husky sniffed my hand and, to my surprise, gave it (my hand, not the camera!)  a lick.
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UPDATE:   I see on YouTube that some  Israelis are doing urban mushing with their huskies!
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(For Camera Critters meme.)
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Off in a corner, by the fountain

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Be'er Sheva, the landlocked city in the Negev desert, has started trying to brand itself as Israel's "water city."

All around this nice fountain near City Hall are cozy seating ensembles.

This couple was enjoying the morning with some knitting and newspaper reading.
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Courthouse under clouds

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Ever since autumn started a few days ago the Negev is definitely getting some welcome new cloud cover.
Here is the sky over Beer Sheva, "the capital of the Negev."
This is the new court building, Heichal Hamishpat.
You can enlarge the photo nicely with two clicks. 
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(Linking to SkyWatch Friday and Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors.)
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