driving in israel
for the past 8 months that I've been living in Israel, I have relied on public transportation. Yesterday however, I acquired a rental car in anticipation of my mom's arrival to Israel for her visit. Early this morning I drove to the airport on my own private highway in the fog, blaring Nelly Furtado on the CD player, it was dark and it was Shabbat. This scenario was somewhat reminiscent of driving in the fog in San Diego, as the weather in Tel Aviv can be likened to that of America's Finest City. The last time I had driven at all was back in early February in my super rental SUV in San Diego. Driving always provides me with the necessary personal time to think, reflect and project - on my life and the various nuances thereof.
As much as I love driving, riding trains and busses in Israel has really given me a different perspective of the country than if I had relied on people with cars or had my own vehicle. Early in the school year I had made friends with an Arab man with a car for the convenience factor, only to find that he had a different agenda in his relationship with me. Fortunately I've had a few other friends with cars who have given me rides as needed, but my bus pass has been just as important as my student ID as a resident of Beer Sheva.
One thing that makes the public transportation experience so unique is the presence of the Israeli Defense Force - your ride is not complete without members of the IDF. Often times when boarding a train or Egged bus (between cities) at least half the train will be filled with IDF soldiers! This used to really bother me, and sometimes freak me out as they walk around with their guns like it is nothing. First of all, service in the IDF is required for all Israeli citizens, male or female, directly after high school for about three years. So they are all really young, the age range which I consider to be impressionable yet naive - at least I was ;) I am accustomed to people of this age to be university students, so its strange for me that all the undergrad university students are actually somewhere in the neighborhood of 24-28 after their service, rather than 18-21 like in the US.
Secondly, the presence of the IDF on the trains means the absence of Arabs. Until the other day, I never made the connection as to why I would hardly ever see any Arabs on the bus. It used to make me mad, as I have generally been fond of Arabs - I study them and their culture with my MA in Middle East Studies, and their coexistence among Jews here in Israel has always interested me. However now that I know how shady Arabs can be, and that they all seem to know each other and cover for each other, it makes perfect sense. It's like a light bulb went on and it took me a whole 8 months of living here and riding around on busses and trains to figure it out. The nice thing about being Pro-Israel is that I am now very Pro-IDF. After all, these young ones are not only the future of Israel, they Protect and Serve with vigilance and dominance to make any Arab heed to their presence. I feel safe here, and its been handy to even have a few friends in the IDF.
As much as I love driving, riding trains and busses in Israel has really given me a different perspective of the country than if I had relied on people with cars or had my own vehicle. Early in the school year I had made friends with an Arab man with a car for the convenience factor, only to find that he had a different agenda in his relationship with me. Fortunately I've had a few other friends with cars who have given me rides as needed, but my bus pass has been just as important as my student ID as a resident of Beer Sheva.
One thing that makes the public transportation experience so unique is the presence of the Israeli Defense Force - your ride is not complete without members of the IDF. Often times when boarding a train or Egged bus (between cities) at least half the train will be filled with IDF soldiers! This used to really bother me, and sometimes freak me out as they walk around with their guns like it is nothing. First of all, service in the IDF is required for all Israeli citizens, male or female, directly after high school for about three years. So they are all really young, the age range which I consider to be impressionable yet naive - at least I was ;) I am accustomed to people of this age to be university students, so its strange for me that all the undergrad university students are actually somewhere in the neighborhood of 24-28 after their service, rather than 18-21 like in the US.
Secondly, the presence of the IDF on the trains means the absence of Arabs. Until the other day, I never made the connection as to why I would hardly ever see any Arabs on the bus. It used to make me mad, as I have generally been fond of Arabs - I study them and their culture with my MA in Middle East Studies, and their coexistence among Jews here in Israel has always interested me. However now that I know how shady Arabs can be, and that they all seem to know each other and cover for each other, it makes perfect sense. It's like a light bulb went on and it took me a whole 8 months of living here and riding around on busses and trains to figure it out. The nice thing about being Pro-Israel is that I am now very Pro-IDF. After all, these young ones are not only the future of Israel, they Protect and Serve with vigilance and dominance to make any Arab heed to their presence. I feel safe here, and its been handy to even have a few friends in the IDF.
posted by :: Lisa :: at 2:43 AM
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