My God, its'a giant . . . giant . . . Come to think of it, I'm not sure.

For several years there has been construction on a light rail system in Jerusalem, which has turned out to be fuller of graft and mismanagement than even Jerusalemites expected. That’s saying something, because Jerusalem’s government has so much corruption that even Chicago's Mayor Daley thinks it’s a bit slimy. Now scheduled for competition 2010, there are elements of the light rail visible, especially by the entrance to the city. Most notably, they are building this huge... thingy. (sorry it's sideways- just hold your monitor on a 90 degree angle until I can rotate it) I asked dozens of people what it was, and their reply as always the same: "Some thing to do with the light light rail."

I consulted the oracle of our day, Wikipedeia. Sure enough, it's a big public project with no practical benefit to anyone besides the artist and those involved in tis construction. There's no money for schools, but as always, there is money for a 220 million shekel (that's about $58 million bucks) sculpture. It’s called the "Chords Bridge." It has nothing to do with music and it’s not a bridge. It’s a monument to rest at the entrance to the city in a base of glass and local stone. It will be the highest feature of the city, visible almost everywhere. This is a nice thought- it is sure to be very pretty.

Jerusalem is a city with problems. It remains divided along racial and religious lines (I'm sure you're shocked) to begin with, and the city faces massive challenges to infrastructure. For example many homes still use sewer systems last repaired during the Ottoman Freakin' Empire.

Shamefully, on the fringes of the city of Jerusalem there are Bedouins - and Jews - living in squalor. There are schools without the supplies they need. Affordable housing is disappearing, as more and more luxury apartments go up. As more and more of this city becomes empty for 50 weeks of the year, the economy dies a bit more, and life becomes a bit more of anightmare for local retailers. The makolet down the block can not survive on the influx of jews from Teaneck who come in for Passover and Sukkot. Its getting too expensive for students and families to live here-- crisis is looming over the city's future.

There are all these real problems in addition to the fact that the light rail is several years (years, not months) behind schedule and several tens of millions of shekels over budget. Yet this thing can go up with no problem? Yes, art is critical to the development of a city. But if it was your house, you would make sure there was food and water and light before you went shopping for replicas of your favorite Picasso print. Massive civic artworks should wait when kids don't have what they need to learn and when families are hungry.

In the words of Tevye, "There is no other hand." This thing is a shameful waste, no matter how pretty it will look.

Is there a blessing... for the Tzar?

President Bush canceled my Talmud class.

Okay, that’s an exaggeration. But not by much. After all, with all the security precautions in Jerusalem for the President’s visit, my Talmud teacher would not have been able to enter the city by car if he hadn’t left home at 6:15am. There are no trains that work from the suburbs of Jerusalem. Busses have been rerouted in ways so complex even the kabalah teacher can’t explain them. And if you are a reform rabbinical student, your Talmud class really was cancelled along with every other class you have; the authorities shut down the entire Jerusalem campus of HUC (Hebrew Union College). So things are a bit messy in terms of getting anywhere in Jerusalem while Mr. Bush is in town (until Friday).

The core of the city is shut down, even to pedestrians, with kilometers of blue metal barricades. Where are these things kept? These are not stackable wooden horses- these are metal gates with wide feet to prevent being tipped over. They have sealed off the streets with thousands of the things- they must have their own suburb. Oh, and there are 8,000 extra police in town, in addition to the local Jerusalem constabulary.

What are they all doing? First and foremost, they are freezing their buts off. It’s not that cold per se, but its’ been drizzling rain all day and they have to stand in place. And of course, most Israelis are made miserable by temperatures that would find most Canadians outdoors in shorts. So they shiver in place and perform and a few other tasks, some more obtrusive than others. For example my Hebrew teacher went home to her apartment across from the Israeli’s President’s residence between jobs. She found a policewoman waiting in the doorway to her building. When she wanted to leave, she had to wait for a police escort from the area. Note that when she came in, there were no questions, but to leave she needed to answer a questionnaire and then wait for two officers to walk her down the street. What was usually a 5 minute walk took her over half an hour. She didn't mind, though. I think the message is clear: most Israelis like Mr. Bush, and they don’t want anything to happen to him.

The center which houses us has put up a banner welcoming Mr. Bush (sorry mom, but I’m still going into the building to study). We get a side benefit from all the chaos. Normally our intersection is one of the most noisy and dangerous in Jerusalem. Part of that comes from the fact that it is a point where 6 streets come together. Also, on the east-west avenue, the middle of three lanes in both directions is the left turn lane. To review, the street works like this: right lane, ahead or straight; left lane: ahead; middle lane, TURN LEFT THROUGH THE LEFT LANE. Makes for a fun intersection and endless honking, no? But today, there was a delightful silence around the Yeshiva. Not a single honk could be heard, which I must say was great.

Also around the yeshiva are the products of the local side of the fight to release Jonathan Pollard. Kikar Paris (Paris Square), which is scheduled to have a 30 meter high replica of the Eiffel Tower built in 2009, has been renamed “Freedom for Jonathan Pollard Square” until he is released. Also, there is a 50 foot wide banner on the building across from the Yeshiva. Frankly, his sentence is so lopsided and unfair that even Caspar Weinberger, who as SecState made Pollard into a target of his patriotic wrath, is saying it is time to let the man go (which it is). People are hoping Bush will free him from prison, but I think that won’t come until President Bush is on his way out.

One of the most ironic parts of the visit remains the political polarization. Here, the left is welcoming Bush’s mission and his efforts (in general) , and the right wing is telling him to not say anything and please go home soon. The right wing only wants him to praise Israel; they are furious that he is saying that any settlements should be stopped or that Palestinian prisoners should be released. I’m not saying they are wrong or right- but it is ironic how much of the right wing of American Jews must be uncomfortable with the rhetoric from the right wing of Israel these days.

I’ve never heard of English being on the front page of Israel’s largest circulation paper “Yediot Achronot.” But today, this flagship of modern Hebrew placed a greeting for Bush on the front page in English. Hell, they didn’t just greet him, they called him “righteous among the nations.” That’s putting him on the same level as Oscar Schindler and Chiune Sugihara. 50 years ago, this would have been seen as the worst of heresy; a Hebrew paper wouldn’t have put English on the page even for Truman.

This visit is costing the Israeli government $25,000 every hour. It’s costing Jerusalem economically, as all sorts of stores and cafés are empty- nobody can get to them. Major bus lines are being re-routed all over. In what must be a nightmare for those running group tours for American kids, Pizza is not available for delivery, no matter how much money you offer. Nobody can enter King David street, with its high- end stores and restaurants. I hope that the trip is worth it, because Israelis are footing quite the bill. I fear that Israelis may come to feel about this visit what many Americans have begun to feel about Mr. Bush’s presidency- ripped off.

I wonder if they get a better connection OR When Judaism is the dominant culture #17

From the land where Condaliza Rice's name has become a verb (l'kandel, to talk a lot and achieve nothing) we bring you this example of "signs you know it's a Jewish country." These things continue to surprise us, even after a year and a half. Of course, we did not go looking for something to remind us we are in a country where Judaism is the dominant culture. We went to get a phone line.

No, not a phone- a phone line. Without an Israeli ID number, you can't get a DSL line set up over the phone- you have to go in the store and get one. The store is in the bezek headquarters. After waiting in line, you set up the line, and then wait for the technician to come to your place in 2-5 days. Once the guys shows up (this time it was 7 hours early) then can you come back to the store and get the DSL modem- and and since the ISP in this country is a separate venture from the DSL line service in and of itself, you then can call the ISP.

But this is all an side- knowing just what we would have to do, we walked to the Bezek store. This is located in their main building just behind the central bus station. We were just in time for mincha at the Bezek synagogue.

Yep. Bezek, Israel's phone company, has a synagogue just inside the front lobby of their building. The minayn was pretty full, let me tell you. Feel free to bring up whatever jokes about phones and God you care for- but even at Bezek, the the sign on the shul door asks you to turn off your cellphone when you come in.

There you go: the Israeli phone company telling you to turn off your phone when in the official Bezek synogogue.