british airways cabin crew appreciation

So much for getting back in the habit of blogging.

Something wonderful just happened which I feel compelled to share with the world:

I booked my flight home a bit less than a year ago through British Airways. BA caps the amount of time in advance it is possible to book flights, so the arbitrary date I chose was June 9. The program I run (Boneh) ends June 10, and I'm staying in Israel for several weeks after that to be a delegate at the World Zionist Congress. Knowing this, I obviously should have chosen a new flight with BA several months ago. But I didn't do anything about this until last week.

In addition to the $250 change of flight fee (which I knew about), BA requires passengers to pay the difference in the price of the flight (which I thought would be negligible). When I called BA last week, I found out that flights from Israel to the US can be far more expensive in mid July than mid June, to the tune of $300 or more (for a total of $550 or more). I refused to book a new flight last week, hoping that the $300 would be reduced a bit closer to June 9.

Today I checked in on my flight. The BA website announced apologetically that there is a cabin crew strike scheduled for some days in late May and early June, including June 9, and that all passengers who had flights on those days can reschedule for free.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my support for Unite, a union that represents many faithful members of the cabin crews of British Airways. BA wants to make drastic cuts to its workforce, impose a two-year wage freeze, and introduce a second tier workforce. This is an outrage, and I for one stand in solidarity with the workers of Unite.

ironic poetry contest

I was just made aware of a poetry contest sponsored by Tablet Magazine, in which entrants are asked to reinterpret a poem by Judah Halevi, a Spanish Jewish philosopher who lived in the early 12th century. Halevi's poetry often deals with the theme of yearning for Zion, as in this translation rendered by Hillel Halkin of "My Heart in the East":

My heart in the East
But the rest of me far in the West --
How can I savor this life, even taste what I eat?
How, in the bonds of the Moor,
Zion chained to the Cross,
Can I do what I’ve vowed to and must?
Yet gladly I’d leave
All the best of grand Spain
For one glimpse of Jerusalem’s dust.

The grand prize is an iPad. Whoever wins this contest will undoubtedly be as torn as Halevi was, because the he or she will not be permitted to enter Israel with the iPad.

har tavor

It's been a long time since I posted anything. I think its a matter of habit, so I'm going to ease myself back into the habit with a brief post.

On Thursday I led the Australians and South Africans on a hike. We hiked from Kibbutz Ein Dor to the top of Har Tavor, ate lunch at the peak, then hiked down the opposite side into the town of Shibli, where a bus picked us up and took us back to Ein Dor.

Yesterday I went to Haifa to prepare to lead a siyur (field trip) there, which will be a few weeks from now.

poland

I am leaving for Poland tonight. I'll be back in Israel on Feb 14. In preparation for the week, I ran from my apartment in Ramat Gan to the beach and back this afternoon. I hope the endorphins will last the whole week. If you DC folks look out your windows at the thirty inches of snow and imagine me standing there for about six hours a day, I think that's approximately what Poland will be like.

amos elon and poland

I'm reading The Israelis by Amos Elon (published in 1971). I just found a section that explains why my "game" works. From page 305:

The average Israeli recognizes few regulations of universal applicability. In his dealings with the authorities he invariably demands, firmly and loudly, exceptional treatment. His demands are frequently accompanied by an emotionalism so intense that a public official, if his heart is not wholly stone, will be hard put to resist.

How exceptional can the treatment really be if everyone demands it? More:

In dealings with the Israeli bureaucracy, few measures are as effective...as a high tone of outrage, a demanding wail.

Maybe this explains some of the difficulty of enforcing a settlement freeze.

I'm going to Poland next week with the North Americans and Europeans who were on Boneh and some guides from hanoar haoved vehalomed. The journey will focus on the Shoah. I spent all day yesterday with the staff of the program, preparing for the emotional and moral issues we'll encounter.

torat hamelech part two

Yitzhak Shapira, one of the two authors of Torat Hamelech, was arrested today.

vaad bayit

The apartment residents in my building just finished a meeting. It was hilarious.

There were twelve people including me. Most of the time, two to five of the participants were speaking and gesturing vigorously. The three main topics were the gardener, a potential addition to the building, and the building manager.

Gavriel, the older man who lives closest to Ari and me, would raise an occasional objection and be shushed by almost everyone else present. There were two people named Yaniv, one of whom was the building manager and one of whom translated for me once in a while.

The garden hasn't been tended for months but Gavriel objected to bringing the gardener back. Yaniv the translator explained that Gavriel hated the old gardener.

Yaniv the translator introduced a proposal is to add a room and a porch to each existing apartment and two floors to the whole building.

Yaniv the building manager said there were a lot of rude people (chutzpanim), so he wanted to turn his duties over to a professional, which would cost more. But he'd be willing to continue in his role if he got as much money as would have to be paid to the professional.