So long 2020!! Hello 2021! What a year it’s been for all of us!!! Pandemics. Quarantines and lockdowns. Face diapers. Isolation. Election fatigue. Fake news. We’ve all been through it. But, I prefer to look on the bright side. It’s not been ALL that bad. I even bought a 2021 calendar (probably my most wasted purchase of 2020 was my past years’ calendar).
Our first lockdown happened during the coldest, rainiest winter/spring I have experienced since moving to Israel, so being unable to roam the country freely wasn’t a huge sacrifice. There were books I read that had been stacked up beside my bed. Movies and shows to catch up on. Virtual museum tours and operas and Broadway shows. A few of our favorite musicians gave regular concerts via Facebook and Instagram Live. Such a treat! We watched friends in Tel Aviv spreading cheer through group serenades from their apartment balconies. That was fun. And our local mayor made sure to have the “fun wagon” blaring out music and inspirational messages from a loudspeaker as it slowly wound its way through every city street once a month. Things could be worse. At least people in Israel were not hoarding toilet paper – that was HYSTERICAL, Americans!!!! Thanks for the laughs, memes and jokes about that one!
Many of us started making our own bread and fermenting pickles and cooking up elaborate gourmet meals with the items we found in our fridges and pantries. Cooking classes. Crafts classes. Book clubs. We were never big drinkers, but a friend of a friend gave a free online professional bartending course, which was a blast! Later in the spring, backyard/balcony gardening became the rage. It became the Year of Zoom. Thank goodness we were living in 2020 instead of 10 years ago! Yes. Celebrating all those spring holidays over Zoom was a bit weird, but it was an adventure…. at least at the outset. Through the course of the year, we attended virtual Passover seders, virtual weddings, and virtual classes of all kinds. We longed for more ‘human’ interaction.
Six weeks to turn the corner turned into six months plus of marathon. We were “allowed out” on a limited basis this summer, so I was able to get in a few tiyuulim, or field trips. We celebrated my husband’s being cancer-free. What a celebration and a gift that is!!! We’ve learned that each day is precious and not to be taken for granted. We’ve grown closer to our children. Four are back in University, so John and I spent a lot of time editing papers. We really do need to be presented with honorary degrees at the time of their graduations. In a few weeks, we will be blessed with another grandbaby…. she’ll be joining the new gen of “Quaranteens” in a dozen years. Hopefully, we’ll be able to travel back to the States in 2021!
Our international airport has been pretty much closed to tourists and visitors since early March. It’s been surreally quiet without all the tourists and pilgrims. John and I have been able to go to holy sites in Jerusalem and be the only ones there – the Western Wall was strange with cubicles set up so there would be limited contact between those praying. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was completely desolate: no long lines and craning necks. The vendors lining the shuk (bazaar) are shuttered or emptied with occasional old men sitting outside their stalls playing chess or smoking on their hookah pipes. I must say, my heart breaks for all those who make a living off the tourist industry here: hotels, restaurants, bus drivers, tour guides, vendors. These lockdowns (we’re in the middle of our third, presently!!!) are beginning to take their toll on livelihoods and peoples’ patience everywhere.
And just as in the United States, people are showing signs of election fatigue – we’re in a similar situation here. Our “unity government” has been anything but. We are now facing our fourth election in just under two years! We, too, have had protests and marches – thankfully without the rioting and violence that has happened in the US. But we HAVE seen diplomacy at its best with the Abraham Accords. Who, even five years ago, would have thought any type of peace in the Middle East would be possible, much less a reality? This year, Israel has signed peace treaties and cooperation agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, Bhutan, and Sudan. At least five other countries are ‘in the wings’ towards normalization of ties. That’s a miracle!!! Is a trip to Dubai on the list for us in 2021?
We have no clue what this next year has in store for any of us. I will keep writing my blog – spoiler alert: a lot more new (and ethnic recipes!) and quite a few archaeological and historic sites will be among my 2021 posts. I’ll share new towns we’ve visited; unique artwork; and hopefully some interviews with our diverse population (new immigrants; a nearby Arab farming community that has been using ancient techniques and growing heritage produce for hundreds of years in the same tiny valley; artisanal foods; local crafts). It should be quite the year.
Until then, I’ll be deleting much of my social media and game apps as of 1 January. They have become waaaaay too much of a black hole sucking up time. I WILL be keeping my Instagram platform. You can follow me there @eemahleh. You’ll be able to see my beautiful pictures of the Holy Land and all that we’re doing here. And if you want to keep in touch personally, just leave a comment after the blog – I’ll give you my email and personal contact info.
My prayer for 2021 is that all of this COVID-related lifestyle and concern will be a thing of the past. That we can all put aside baseless hatred for those who are different from ourselves in any way. That more people, groups and countries will put down their swords and pick up their plowshares. That we will be able to travel the world freely again. For an end to political wrangling. For health, for happiness, for peace and prosperity and freedom to reign supreme. Here’s to seeking out the True, the Beautiful, the Positive and for living each day to the fullest in Love, Respect, and Holiness. Happy Sylvester for those in Israel! Happy New Year to All!!!
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Israel Dreams 