Israel has many lessons for SA
I was also aware of a peaceful feeling, there was nothing to fear, nothing to look out for, the way life should be.
EDITOR – I was blessed to visit Israel recently.
I stayed in Jerusalem. What an amazing city.
On going for my first of many walks, I noticed the clean streets and pavements, it looked as though they had been vacuumed, as there was no dirt in sight.
I was also aware of a peaceful feeling, there was nothing to fear, nothing to look out for, the way life should be. Even though there are dark clouds of doom and hate over the Israelis, they remain positive and happily carry on with their lives.They are a proud race and it is reflected in everything they do.
A shopping trip is a real treat, as shop assistants greet one with a friendly ‘shalom’, and if you are from SA, they tell you how much they love you.
Visiting the local market, Machane Yehuda was a real treat. Because I love cooking, my eyes feasted on the displays of vegetables, fruit where the apples looked as though they had been polished, the biggest pomegranates I have ever seen, piles of olives, spices, fresh fish temptingly set out on crushed ice in glass fronted units, glass trays with different types of pickled fish (a sushi lover’s dream), the aroma of fresh bread, rolls, big fat doughnuts filled with caramel and freshly made fallafels filled the air. The stallholders, proud of their wares, handed out goodies to sample on little trays, my favourite being halva and tiny, spicy sausages.
Jerusalem experienced a freak thunderstorm, with water rushing down the streets. This was not something that they were used to, hence the next day there were storm water drains and so on to see to. This was carried out in amazing precision by a gang of men in orange overalls, obviously dedicated to the job they were doing. There were no earphones, cell phones or water being boiled for tea. With heads down they proceeded to rectify the problem.
It was a bit different to something I witnessed in St Winifreds this week – a man was busy raising a portion of a wall. He was building diligently in the sun, his boss or perhaps foreman was sitting close by with his chair and head tilted back, feet on a bucket, cap over his face.
One more example of the slack and lazy attitude of some where I live. Israel is sadly missed by me. I wish I could share more with you, however I may fill all the Sun’s pages. Take care,
MARIE BOWKER
