diatribes

The other day an old friend of mine sent these questions. I'm putting them up here along with what I wrote back to him because I found them thought-provoking. Anyone reading this, feel free to post opinions or questions.
(Ed:) Hearing constant criticism of Israel here in NY makes me wonder about what the young people in tel-aviv are thinking these days. I know there was that show that parodied Sharon, with a guy in a fat suit, it was supposed be very popular. But are people pissed off at the government? At Abbas? Europe? Everyone? No-one? Have you met any arabs living in tel-aviv? If so are they totally alienated? Or do they feel they are treated fairly? (or are there even any there??)

(me:) People here view the world media as being very pro-Palestinian and anti- Israeli. Israelis are always quick to say that no one criticizes the Israeli government more than they do. Which may be true, but when it comes to actually doing anything about it, there's so much bickering nothing gets done. But also it's really hard, because the media shows them literally nothing of what's on the other side of the fence. They have no idea what it's like to be Palestinian. So when all they see is rockets and bombs and kidnappings, they get all super supportive of the army even though the culture of it seems to be fading. It's easier now to get out of it. In my quartet only one of them served, and she was in the army string quartet and fired a gun once in basic training. People love Sharon, especially since he went into a coma! It's like Rabin all over again, they think they lost the one person who could do the job. What they don't see is that even Sharon wasn't willing to go the rest of the way after Disengagement, to make the rest of the sacrifices necessary, and if anything Olmert was doing better. Now I don't know. The whole thing going on now makes me so angry at both sides- whatever, nothing new. What pisses me off is that it's been all about the kidnapped soldier and the killed settler was like nothing big, because he was a settler so everyone in the world media and in ISraeli media has this attitude like he was asking for it.
And in terms of Arabs in Tel Aviv, I've met none, but I've seen a few, mostly at the University actually. Every time I see them I get happy. This city is so segregated. Or, just Jewish, barely anything to segregate!
In terms of the show with the actor in the fat suit, I think Ed is referring to "Eretz Nehederet," or "Gorgeous Country," which is a really funny fake-news/sketch-comedy show. On my last El Al flight, from Bangkok, they had a little video on the lady who does makeup for it, and showed the brilliant transformations she was able to effect.

By the way, a couple of things. The other day I was at my friends Hilla and Alex's house, and noticed all their clocks were much faster than my cell phone clock. I like to have a couple of clocks set fast to get my butt in gear, but I usually keep that at what I think is "Tel Aviv Mean Time" or whatever just so I know what's real. But more and more it's seemed that that one's been slower than all the other clocks. Now the phone could just be getting slow, or I could have messed up in setting it, but it made me think of how in classical music, A keeps getting higher. When I was a kid we learned A was 440. Now it's almost always 442, and the summers I spent in Germany it was 443, 444, sometimes even 445! It's like the clocks of the world are following that higher-tension pitch trend, and everyone's trying to get there faster.
Also, one of the homesick-type feelings I've felt since I got here was that I was missing out on all the big movies of the last year, since they come out earlier in the states, and I never have time anyway to see them. Well, Christopher and I have been watching a bunch of movies, including some of the big hyped ones. They're all so bad it makes me angry! Like, how's everyone been duped all this time! King Kong sucked. Million Dollar Baby sucked. The Squid and the Whale, which was supposed to be this great independent film made by a guy who normally works with Wes Anderson, one of my favorites, sucked. There are more, but those are the ones that made me most indignant. I'm going to stop reading movie reviews because there must be something in the water that's making people desperate, and liking movies they'd obviously hate if they had any sense. (Now I know I'm being very mean. It's my way or the highway!)