Marganit - Away from you

 From Marganit's Facebook: On one of my trips to India I signed up for a 10-day silence meditation- a kind of self-isolation; a gathering and self-observation, of my feelings. An opportunity to heal carved pains and "to calculate a new route". 10 days in which there are no phones, no internet, no books or writing tools...

10 days with myself in basic conditions.

On around the 5th day in one of the meditations, I started to sing a chorus of a song in my head-one I didn't know before, that didn't exist yet...
I sang it silently to myself over and over so as not to forget.
10 days of silence, designed to balance the heart,
Eventually created a song that crosses cultures and languages,
They created "Away from you"!

Last summer, when the skies were still open, I flew back to India,
In order to fulfill a dream and perform there and shoot for "Away from you" the video I had always wanted, now I am delighted to finally share it with you.

I hope we will know easier and calmer days,
Marganit


Traveling for two months now,
Rivers and waterfalls,
The mountains call me:
"Come and watch".

And the paved road
It leads to the village,
The laughter of children,
Interwoven with my laughter.

It's not that I needed
To fly away from you,
Everything I needed
Was for you to love me
Like I love you.

Between the sky and the balcony
Looking not searching,
Between the spirit and reality
It feels like independence.

It's not that I needed to
Fly away from you,
Everything I needed
Was for you to love me
Like I love you.


So soothing and beautiful. I've discovered that during this period I'm finding more beauty in art and I'm quicker to laugh at silly stuff I wouldn't have laughed at before. David Grossman put it best when he wrote recently "And blessed be humor, the best way to withstand all this. When we are able to laugh at the coronavirus, we are actually saying that it has not yet driven us into total paralysis. That within us there is still freedom of movement in facing it."

And so here are a few moments which made me laugh in the past few weeks and made me forget for a bit about everything going on.

"If Corona doesn't kill us, distance learning will". Shiri Keninsberg Levi, a special-ed teacher and mom of four, explains in a very Israeli way the hardships of distance learning during this crazy time. Working parents, I feel for you.

When Rabbis gave an order not to kiss mezuzahs anymore this clip from the satire "The Jews are Coming" made the social media rounds. Check out more of their bits with English subtitles here.

Eretz Nehederet released this relevant spoof of Fauda a few weeks ago and I'm glad they finally added subtitles. The guys at Eretz Nehederet have been providing us with much-needed comic relief and I really loved this parody of an 80's Israeli workout show, fit for these times. It's in Hebrew but I think you can get the idea :)

And last but not least, the Friends theme song, Coronavirus edition. Enjoy!

Gazoz - Tea Could Make You Dizzy

It's a confusing time and it's slowly becoming clear that the dizzying events of the past few weeks will have a long-lasting impact on the country. To try to make sense of things here is a summary of the recent weeks

Most of this is from Wikipedia, my additions are marked with a *

30 January- Israel suspended all flights from China.

17 February-Israel extends the ban to include arrivals from Thailand, Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore.

21 February-The first case of the coronavirus pandemic in Israel was confirmed after a female citizen tested positive for coronavirus at the Sheba Medical Center after returning from quarantine on the Diamond Princess ship in Japan.

*Self-quarantines are ordered for anyone who had contact with diagnosed patients. The whereabouts of patients are published for the public.

21 February-Israel instituted a 14-day home isolation rule for anyone who had been in South Korea or Japan.

26 February-Israel issued a travel warning to Italy and urged canceling all travel abroad.

2 March-The 2020 Israeli legislative election was held. Multiple secluded booths were established for 5,630 quarantined Israeli citizens who were eligible to vote. 

*The final results: Netanyahu's bloc of right-wing and religious parties gained 58 seats, three away from obtaining a blocking majority.

*6 March-All Israelis returning from Germany, Austria, France, Spain and Switzerland were instructed to enter self-quarantine for a period of 14 days after their last day in those nations. The decision applied retroactively to all who have come from those countries in the last 14 days.

9 March-Prime Minister Netanyahu declared a mandatory quarantine for all people entering Israel, requiring all entrants to quarantine themselves for fourteen days upon entering the country. The order was effective immediately for all returning Israelis, and would apply beginning on 13 March for all foreign citizens, who must show that they have arranged for accommodation during their quarantine period. 

*Gatherings are limited to 5,000 people.

*10 March-Purim. Street parades are canceled but many parties go on as usual.

11 March-Israel began limiting gatherings to 100 people.

12 March-Israel announced that all universities and schools would close until after the Passover break.

14 March-Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the public, addressed the public, announcing new regulations and stating the need to "adopt a new way of life". The Health Ministry posted new regulations, effective 15 March. These included banning gatherings of more than 10 people and closure of all educational institutions, among them daycare centers, special education, youth movements and after-school programs. The list of venues required to close included malls, restaurants, hotel dining rooms, pubs, dance clubs, gyms, pools, beaches, water and amusement parks, zoos and petting zoos, bathhouses and ritual baths for men, beauty and massage salons, event and conference venues, public boats and cable cars, and heritage sites. Take-away restaurants, supermarkets and pharmacies were to remain open.

As late as 15 March, doctors complained that guidelines for testing were too restrictive. 

*The criteria for testing were only those who are self-quarantined: if they arrived from abroad or were near someone who was diagnosed and they suffer from both a high fever and a dry cough. The Ministry of Health announced it would increase testing. In addition, it takes around 3 days for results to come in. 

*15 March-Israeli president Reuven Rivlin announced that he has asked Blue and White leader Benny Gantz to form the new government after Gantz received support from 61 of the 120 MKs. 

15 March-Justice Minister Amir Ochana expanded his powers and announced that non-urgent court activity would be frozen. As a result, the corruption trial of Prime Minister Netanyahu was postponed from 17 March to 24 May.

15 March-The Israeli government proposed allowing the Shin Bet security service to track the prior movements of people diagnosed with coronavirus through their mobile phones. The security service would not require a court order for its surveillance. The stated goal of the measure was to identify other people with whom infected individuals came in contact for the two weeks prior to their diagnosis, and to dispatch text messages informing those people that they must enter the 14-day self-quarantine. The security measure was to be in place for only 30 days after approval by a Knesset subcommittee, and all records were to be deleted after that point. Critics branded the proposal as an invasion of privacy and civil liberties.

16 March-Israel imposed limitations on the public and private sectors. All non-critical government and local authority workers were placed on paid leave until the end of the Passover holiday. Private sector firms exceeding 10 employees were required to reduce staff present in the workplace by 70%.

17 March-at 1:30 AM, a Knesset committee approved the phone tracking program. Within the first two days, the Ministry of Health text-messaged 400 individuals who had been in proximity to an infected person and told them to enter a 14-day self-quarantine.

18 March-the Defense Ministry took over the purchasing of corona-related gear.

19 March-The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Adaleh, and the Joint List political alliance of Arab parties filed a petition in the Supreme Court of Israel to halt the monitoring program.

19 March-Several hundred protesters converged on the Knesset to protest the phone surveillance and other restrictions on citizens' movements, as well as the shutdown of the judicial and legislative branches of the government. Police arrested three protestors for violating the ban on gatherings over 10 people, and also blocked dozens of cars from entering Jerusalem and approaching the Knesset building.

19 March-Prime Minister Netanyahu declared a national state of emergency. He said that existing restrictions would henceforth be legally enforceable, and violators would be fined. Israelis were not allowed to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary. Essential services would remain open.

20 March-an 88-year-old man was announced as the country's first casualty. 

*21 March: 883 patients are diagnosed.

  

I'll be posting in the following weeks about life in this new, surreal reality. At the moment there are many things I feel grateful for: I have a relatively stable full-time job in which I can work easily from home, I can afford to live on my own without any roommates and I live within walking distance from my Mom, sister, and their dog. My grandparents, who are in their late 80's, have finally agreed to give up their independence and let us do grocery shopping for them and they are both in relatively good spirits, though the thought of them spending Passover alone is heartbreaking and difficult to bear. I'm in good health and live very close to a pharmacy and supermarkets. 

I'm worried about everything else: how my family and friends are dealing with the new isolation measures and how this country will be after the virus leaves us. I'm worried that many local shops and restaurants won't survive the economic crisis, not to mention the 500,000 Israelis who will be newly unemployed. I'm worried that due to bureaucratic reasons the official number of patients does not reflect the reality and in fact the situation is much more serious than we think. I'm worried that the hospitals, which are under strain in normal circumstances, won't be able to cope with a high number of critical patients. I'm also worried that those in power are taking advantage of this situation, looking out for their own interests and causing fear and suspicion of others. I'd like to say that this time of crisis will make room for empathy and solidarity but I'm not sure that this is the case.

On a lighter note, who would have thought that this humorous song from 1979 would be so relevant today? I found it surprisingly comforting, like meeting an old friend. Youtube user Trans Lator is responsible for the excellent translation:

Tea could make you dizzy

And yogurt makes me ill
And chicken feet are easy
To make me puke they will
I refrain from eating things with vast potential damage
Including any chicken wings,
Yeast pastries, eggs and cabbage
Never touch ceramic cups not fully sterilized
Nor any plates which weren't dehumidified
Taking great care, I'm not pretending
Cause in any place with poor hygiene
Some potential germ's attending

Ice cream makes nose running
Stew will expose your vein
Your stomach gets upset by
Each sandwich you obtain
There are germs around us
In the trees and air non-visible
I try to never walk on the grass
And breathe as less as feasible
Never yawn with an open mouth while at the station
Until I'm sure about the wind direction
Medically being extra careful
A hundred thirty years to live
I will call that successful

Who is there approaching?
My nerves are on alert
And then he goes and sneezes
Well now it's all too late
If there won't be a choice
I'm gonna lock my room hermetically
Won't even use my voice
Won't ever go outside indefinitely
I'll rinse the hair shampoo before I issue
I will pick up the phone just with some tissue
Make sure my forehead goes hot never
And if it all goes well I'll simply live forever


Sending my love to everyone going through this mess.

Marcus- Head in the Sand

Cabin fever.

https://www.facebook.com/ansheyhamearot/

Code red
Code red
A Shabbat dress
A peace dove

A crow of war
We ran out of time
Grab a weapon and shoot
Or a pencil and become an artist

I'm lucky
I have a high school diploma I'm okay
Mom got the certificate
I got Ritalin

The consolation is over
The atonement is over
It's better to bury your head in the sand
Than shove it into shit

I'm floating in the big world (burying my head in the sand)
I'm floating in the big world (burying my head in the sand)

Shit floats
Sand doesn't
What now?
Oh no

Try to escape
Close your eyes
But even one drop of ink
Darkens a glass of water

It's not really cool to be a grief junkie
Stop scrolling, start burying your head in the sand
Shut the evil eye
After all, we'll all learn here Gemara (Gemara lesson)

It's a story about a child among us
Someone wrote it long ago
And it's actually about us
(Just like) our rabbi taught us something important
No matter what side you look at it, they played us

And don't worry, now the drama begins
In front of him are two bowls, this is what the Gemara says
In one there is gold and it symbolizes the shit
In the other there are coals and she sings to him like a guitar

One is the Nigra Falls
The other is Wadi Ara
One is sweet and tender
The other is sullen and grim

So it doesn't matter which bowl
Put it in a bucket or in a jar
It's better to bury your head in the sand (than shove it into shit)

I'm floating in the big world (burying my head in the sand)
I'm floating in the big world (burying my head in the sand)

We came from mammals
And we'll die as mammals
And we'll absorb every drop of information
From every demon that pops up
This is the end of the story and now the whole choir sings
It's better to bury your head in the sand than to shove ittt

I'm floating in the big world
(it's better to bury your head in the sand)
I'm floating in the big world
(it's better to bury your head in the sand)
I'm floating in the big world
(it's better to bury your head in the sand)
I'm floating in the big world
(it's better to bury your head in the sand) What's Moses doing in the middle of Tel Aviv?

Eden Alene - Feker Libi

We don't have a government yet but we do have an entry for the Eurovision contest and it is STRONG! Eden has a magnetic stage presence and this soon-to-be hit by Doron Medalie and Idan Raichel brings out the best of her. It's clear that she's having a great time - and so are we :) Good luck!