Thirty years away from Israel

PETA KROST MAUNDER

I am relieved to say this was not true. I recognised the country, and especially Tel Aviv, where I had lived.

At eye level, it all looked familiar. I saw the old buildings that appeared to be built on stilts with trissim (blinds) in their windows. And going upstairs, if there was a lift, you could just squeeze in. There were the same narrow streets interlinking the main roads of Tel Aviv. It was only when I looked up that I saw the massive development. I saw dozens of magnificent, super-modern high rise buildings.

Getting on the highways that interlinked the cities was something incredible to behold. They certainly weren’t there three decades ago.

There was far more traffic than the old days, but people still hooted at everything, and everyone and drove like they were in a race. That is, unless they were stuck in a traffic jam, which is pretty common as so many more people have their own vehicles. And most of the cars look practically new.

I recall that back then, about two out of three cars on the road were Subarus. I used to think it was because it was the most popular car. Well, it wasn’t, it was just what was most available in Israel. Today, you hardly see a Subaru. In its place are so many different makes and models.

Now, some cars have in-built technology that polices people’s driving skills. So, as a car veers out of its lane or drives too close to the car in front, the driver is beeped at… a lot. To avoid the noise and irritation factor, drivers need to improve their skills.

It is one of the many technological improvements in the “start-up capital”.

There is an app for everything. If you need to know which bus to catch, which direction to walk, or ride, how many stops you need until you get off a bus, there is an app for it. If you want to know what to do in Tel Aviv on that particular day, there is an app for it. And there is Wi-Fi everywhere.

Waze, Israel’s greatest export (bar actress Gal Gadot), guides Israelis and visitors alike to their destinations on the roads. I have to wonder how frustrating it must be for those officials manning speed traps, cameras, or police roadblocks because Waze makes sure to tell everyone to “Sim lev (pay attention)” well in advance when they are up ahead.

Rewind 30 years, and I saw soldiers everywhere. They were on the side of the roads, on buses, having a coffee at a pitstop, or wherever you looked. I got quite used to sitting next to soldiers on buses or bus stops, having their weapons inadvertently facing my direction.

Now, I saw very few soldiers. I wondered where they were, as most young Israelis between 18 and 21 are in the army.

Granted I was there over Sukkot. The explanation I got from a few Israelis is that there are cameras, drones and sensors keeping an eye on what is happening while the soldiers – if they aren’t on the borders or strategically placed – are in air-conditioned offices monitoring the technology.

This high-tech country has made sure that its inhabitants feel secure. There is the so-called iron dome that averts any incoming missiles, and cameras, drones, and sensors across all borders and high-threat zones. I couldn’t help but notice the whirring sound of the drones when I was close to the Lebanon and Gaza borders. All this is so strategically placed, it is hardly noticeable.

When I was last in Israel, we all knew where our bomb shelters were. Now, every Airbnb apartment I stayed in had a safe room, with fortified walls and doors, and a strange, alien-looking silver pipe on the wall. All in the name of safety.

The people haven’t changed at all. They still appear fairly abrasive on encounter, but have the kindest hearts. I know people say that, but I kept being reminded while there. One example was when I took a dive off a bicycle, and sprained my ankle (which I didn’t know at first). We messaged my Israeli cousin in Rechovot to ask about a doctor to visit the following day. He was having none of it, and brought his doctor neighbour to our Airbnb in Tel Aviv at midnight to see what was wrong. He made it clear, despite my insistence that it wasn’t necessary, that they would escort me to the hospital if it came to that.

As it wasn’t serious, they dished out bandages and painkillers and stayed for coffee, leaving at 02:30 on a school night.

I am convinced that Israelis don’t sleep, especially in the Tel Aviv area. I know it is the city that supposedly doesn’t sleep, but it is not just the city. At 02:30 in the morning, you can still get a meal in a restaurant, get your groceries, get a drink, and find bars and night spots pumping. Whereas in South Africa, people go for dinner parties and leave at 22:00 feeling like they had a good evening, in Israel, 02:30 is almost a reasonable time to leave. Frequently, there are midnight traffic jams.

Another thing that remains unchanged is the Israeli preference for hand signals. So, while it is a nation of very verbal people, when it comes to the crunch, messages that say, “Wait”, “What do you think you are doing?” (among other things) and telling people where to get off, are conveyed succinctly with the hands.

Another wonderful Israeli-ism is the country’s fabulous lack-of-space issue. Today, the Tel Aviv beaches are so swish that you never have to sit on the sand or accidentally get burnt as there are deck chairs and umbrellas galore for hire. However, if there is 300m of beach and 150m is full, the next group of people coming onto the beach will sit right in the middle of the crowd rather than finding their own space.

And, so it is when there is some performance or activity happening on the street, in a mall, or wherever. Inquisitive Israelis will gather around to watch. It is a country of people who struggle with FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).

And, having been there on Sukkot, nobody needed to miss out on the mitzvah of being in a sukkah. There were sukkot everywhere you looked in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and all over the country. I saw them on the beaches, all along Dizengoff Street, Ben Yehuda, King George. I even saw a long-bearded man on roller blades pushing a sukkah on wheels down a main road in Tel Aviv, stopping to ask people in cars if they wanted to perform a mitzvah. And, Israelis ran out to see what was going on.

It seemed to me that Israel – while having become politically more right-wing – has also become more religious. I recall that Israel was a mix of very religious and very secular people. Now, there seem to be fewer hard and fast secular people, and more people finding a version of Judaism to practice, from Progressive, Conservative, to Modern Orthodox, all the way to Haredi. This is visible on Shabbat and religious festivals, when there is very little activity on the streets (other than on the beachfront).

I also observed that while the world is occupied by Israel’s relationship with the West Bank and Gaza, most Israelis don’t expend energy on this. Obviously, it is part of their lives because of the army, but they seem far more concerned about internal politics, high tech, the economy, and day to day living.

Having heard so much about this wall separating the West Bank before I got to Israel, I kept an eye out for it. In the end, I had to ask where it was. When I did see it, I was amazed because while it is grey concrete slabs that are an eyesore, they don’t appear to be much higher than the walls we surround ourselves with back home.

Israel remains a wonderful mix of third world and first world. You can be enjoying a feast at a restaurant at the upmarket and newly developed Tel Aviv Port at lunchtime. Then, for dinner you can sit almost in the middle of the road at an eatery in the Yemenite Quarter, where you have to get up and move every time a car needs to pass.

The food is delicious, and seems to be better than I remember, with more variety and costing more. Israel is expensive, especially with our rands. That, too, is very different from when I was last there.

The development and growth in the country is astonishing, and is not stopping for a moment. I foresee that all the areas that are not yet built up will get there soon.

I am left with the certainty that I will not wait another 30 years before I go back. Right now, I am already trying to figure out a reason for my next visit.