Hi everyone,
I am sometimes amused at how God tackles my character defects. Last week I was a verbal punching bag for a secretary, taking advantage of me when my boss had ordered me not to retaliate. I found the limit of my patience was turnining one cheek. If there is a second occasion, I explode. Okay, progress not perfection.
Now about prejudices. Probably my last remaining prejudice is about Moroccans. (Americans may say "huh?", but Moroccans here are like Sicilians in America, complete with their own Mafia. I've been screwed over several times by Moroccans in Israel, including one who sold me car that wasn't his. So I'm very wary of the tribe.
However, the South African partner in my European project dropped out, and we all agree that Morocco seems like the best bet for a new parter, partly because it is convenient for travel and costs are low, and partly because it gets us into the Sahara, and we need more desert in this project. So now I have to find a Moroccan partner for research! God laughs his a** off about things like that.
So I did a quick study of Morocco, and put my finger on Marrkesh, gateway to the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara:
Fortunately we have a few people in my organization with professional connections in Morocco. I consulted one, and he knows scientists at the university in Marrkesh (hey, they have university?) so some poor unsuspecting soul in the Sahara is going to get a letter from Israel very shortly. We will see.
Anyway, I'm getting intrigued. Last time I was in North Africa was Egypt in 1982, and that was just the standard tourist route. Field work in the Sahara.....now that could be interesting. Might even overcome my prejudice about Moroccans. God has a sense of humor.
This has been a week for explosions, however. I was invited for Friday dinner at a neighbor's house; they are also members of my congregation. We get along although I am classified as liberal (I'm not sure it's true but even I can't classify myself) and they are Fox News conservatives. Normally we get along if we avoid politics. They also invited another family who are conservatives. Damn, I should have seen what was coming.
But no, I went over unsuspecting, and had no sooner put the guacamole on the burrito when they started Arab bashing. I asked 'em to change the subject, but they kept on trucking. So I put down my napkin, picked up my jacket, and stomped out. Then stomped back and forth in my house a few minutes, then stomped back, threw the door open, called them all a bunch of ignorant hatemongers, slammed it shut and stomped home.....
I guess deep down I still have a temper like a Roman candle although I manage to keep it suppressed most of the time. It's been a long while since I was that mad. I was right to stomp out, but I wasn't right to stomp back and insult them all; that was pure hot temper. It is also the reason I should not argue politics or religion with conservatives; the afterburners ignite.
There were compensations. The kids I interviewed from Ramallah Friends (Quaker) school turned out to be very nice, and through them I have connected with Quakers again. The kids had put on localized version of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" and recorded it on video, are now in the process of making a DVD for distribution to Quaker communities and schools. They asked me to view it and comment, and suggest talking points. (Any idea how weird it is to see kids in keffiyas and jeans speaking Elizabethan English?) You can find a traier of the film on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHNndYQ79nQ and you will see what I mean.
It would have been interesting to screen the dvd at that Friday night dinner. The diners would probably shit bricks in the first five minutes.....
So, I'm having a rather bumpy social life. Happy to connect with Quakers again. I was an attender at Friends Meeting for eight years while at Cornell, and am still a Quaker at heart (although I doubt I could convince anyone, even myself, that I have any potential either as a pacifist or as a liberal. My opinion of the human race is just too low for that.) Spiritually, the Quaker way is the best one for me, but there has been no way to follow it when Israel has no meetings. Maybe someday the travel restrictions for Israelis to go to Ramallah may lift, and then we will see.
Anyway, lots of things seem to be on the move. We'll see what develops.
shabbat shalom,
Linda++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://shabbat-shalom-jerusalem.blogspot.com/
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