Musings From Kiev

It is with considerable happiness and relief that I sit in an Internet cafe on Meidan Square in the center of Kiev and read on Haaretz and CNN that the ceasefire in Lebanon seems to be holding and the Lebanese and international contingents are moving into the area between the Litani and the border, with the support of Israel. The thought that all those people I met in shelters or in refugee camps in Zichron Yaakov and Bet Shemesh must now be on their way home and will be able to go back to normal life without the threat of imminent extinction from missiles fills me with unrelieved joy. It is a joy too to read that Israelis have already gone back to scandals concerning apartment deals by the PM and sexual harrassment by the President--in other words, normality, --tawdry normality, true, but normality. Better sex scandals than falling missiles. I am left by my week in Israel with an intense love for the country and the conviction that I need to return to live there at some point before I get too old to be of use to the cause of helping to build a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike...I have spoken to my life partner, Tatyana, about it and she has agreed, although we have many things to deal with first, like finding her daughter Hannah a good college, and helping her get started in life, so it may be years before we head Artza (to Israel)

Kiev feels normal too--banal reklama (advertisement) everywhere, people slowly and painfully getting on their feet economically...Yuschenko and Yanukovich somehow finding a way to share power to the disgust of almost everyone--but hey, its better than violence. Anything is better than violence. History moves forward haltingly, with lots of jogs and ups and downs, and who knows where the hell we are all headed, but in the meantime, Tanya and I are alive and well and headed for beautiful Crimea, where those green mountains plunge dramatically to the limpid Black Sea and life is full and rich. And so chevreh, rybyatimi, I hearby announce that I am leaving behind politika for a week of swimming, touring ancient fortresses, some with connections to the mysterious Khazars and other proto-Jews, lots of wine, beer and great food. I'll be back August 27 or thereabouts in NY and will at that point turn this thing into a serious blog with links up the wazoo, and an agressive outreach strategy I expect to make up as I go along with the help of serious blogosphere affectionados like Dima Zabarko and Dan Ruby. Until then, my friends, my advice is to love life and live every day to the fullest. I certainly plan to.