Since the Lozenge is not at school, Rashimi, he and I are getting to know this city together. One of the best ways to find your way about is to jump into the car and let yourself get lost. In my case, I not only lose my way, but generally also my cool, as Rashimi has a habit of breaking out of his car seat and throwing himself about the car while the Lozenge makes me play Paul Simon's: 'Me and Julio down in the school yard' over and over again: his new favourite song ('Washimi - this is my thong, not yourth'). I'm waiting for the day we get a fine from the police who are harder hearted than the ones in Jordan - or should I say more professional. I had a bit of a shout the other day as Rashimi was swinging from the handles and cackling with raucous laughter as he saw I could do nothing about it as we hurtled down a freeway. 'Mummy, will you be happy tomorrow?' asked the Lozenge.
One of the dwarves' favourite places so far is Liberty Bell park founded in 1976 to mark the USA's bicentennial, and right next door to this is the old Jerusalem rail station which is tranformed into an outdoor/indoor hang out with cafes, shops and bikes for hire, and where we do music classes. While pranking around one morning in the park, we met a guy originally from Chicago who now lives in Jerusalem having completed 'Aliyah' literally "ascent" or the right to return to the state of Israel, which is one of the basic tenets of Zionist ideology. He was interested that we'd been in Jordan. 'I've heard mixed reports about that place,' he said, shaking his head, reflecting the music teacher's doubts about whether she'd be welcomed there.
We mustn't take for granted that as foreigners we can come and go from both places as we please - and come to love the best from each of these worlds, so closely linked culturally, yet so politically polarised.
During Purim, many Jewish people wander about the city in costume. While the dwarves and I were sitting in a cafe drinking carrot juice, a human-sized penguin wandered by our table causing Rashimi to emit a harmonic yelp, and to leap onto my lap smashing the glass of juice. 'Scaaaawy pinguuuuu! I not like pinguuuuu!' And he would not let me go.
Then we went to a music class where I met a lot of Jewish mothers, one of whom was called Hadassah, who has also moved here from Europe, to live in Jerusalem with her family - perhaps the Aliyah too? I've since discovered that Hadassah is another name for Esther, from the bible. She is in fact heroine of the Purim festival, having been responsible for saving the Jewish people from death at the hands of the Persian king, her husband, Ahasuerus. It occurred to me that around 2,500 years after they were in danger of their lives within the Persian empire, not much has changed when you look at relations between Iran and Israel.
I've just come to the end of the book about the founders of the American Colony in Jerusalem, which is like losing a friend, and a metaphorical tour guide, in one. The author, Bertha Spafford Vester, was in Jerusalem on the fateful occasion when Lord Balfour, of the eponymous declaration, written in 1917, visits the city.
She wrote: 'When Lord Balfour followed the road through Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives to be entertained by the High Commissioner at Government House, he did not notice the Arab residences and places of business draped in black with black flags flying and women giving the death cry. He would not have understood what it meant even if he had heard the shrill cry, for he was surrounded by Zionists who did not enlighten him. We heard it, and pondered what the future might hold for Palestine.'
One of the dwarves' favourite places so far is Liberty Bell park founded in 1976 to mark the USA's bicentennial, and right next door to this is the old Jerusalem rail station which is tranformed into an outdoor/indoor hang out with cafes, shops and bikes for hire, and where we do music classes. While pranking around one morning in the park, we met a guy originally from Chicago who now lives in Jerusalem having completed 'Aliyah' literally "ascent" or the right to return to the state of Israel, which is one of the basic tenets of Zionist ideology. He was interested that we'd been in Jordan. 'I've heard mixed reports about that place,' he said, shaking his head, reflecting the music teacher's doubts about whether she'd be welcomed there.
We mustn't take for granted that as foreigners we can come and go from both places as we please - and come to love the best from each of these worlds, so closely linked culturally, yet so politically polarised.
During Purim, many Jewish people wander about the city in costume. While the dwarves and I were sitting in a cafe drinking carrot juice, a human-sized penguin wandered by our table causing Rashimi to emit a harmonic yelp, and to leap onto my lap smashing the glass of juice. 'Scaaaawy pinguuuuu! I not like pinguuuuu!' And he would not let me go.
Then we went to a music class where I met a lot of Jewish mothers, one of whom was called Hadassah, who has also moved here from Europe, to live in Jerusalem with her family - perhaps the Aliyah too? I've since discovered that Hadassah is another name for Esther, from the bible. She is in fact heroine of the Purim festival, having been responsible for saving the Jewish people from death at the hands of the Persian king, her husband, Ahasuerus. It occurred to me that around 2,500 years after they were in danger of their lives within the Persian empire, not much has changed when you look at relations between Iran and Israel.
I've just come to the end of the book about the founders of the American Colony in Jerusalem, which is like losing a friend, and a metaphorical tour guide, in one. The author, Bertha Spafford Vester, was in Jerusalem on the fateful occasion when Lord Balfour, of the eponymous declaration, written in 1917, visits the city.
She wrote: 'When Lord Balfour followed the road through Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives to be entertained by the High Commissioner at Government House, he did not notice the Arab residences and places of business draped in black with black flags flying and women giving the death cry. He would not have understood what it meant even if he had heard the shrill cry, for he was surrounded by Zionists who did not enlighten him. We heard it, and pondered what the future might hold for Palestine.'
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