by Bruce Gross – August 2006

I had a great opportunity to visit Israel for two weeks in July 2006 in addition to my visits to Budapest, Hungary and Berlin, Germany. I am going to write here about my experiences that I encountered when I was in the State of Israel.

I arrived to Israel the day after the war broke out between Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israel on July 13th.  During my stay in Israel I was being vigilant of the war situation but refused to leave Israel or to cut my vacation short. I was advised by relatives and friends to leave Israel but I was having a good time and wanted to stay there to be with the Israelis. I made the right decision and had my Sidekick pager activated the whole time I was in the country so I was kept informed of the  war developments and other news. I also had television in my hotel room whenever I was there and watched CNN News and kept myself informed of any news breaks. I actually planned to visit Northern Israel but because of the fighting up north in Haifa and other areas, I decided to cancel my trip to Haifa and other Israeli towns there and remained mostly in the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem areas.

This was my second trip to Israel and for sure it is not going to be my last one either. I already have plans to return to Israel next summer and stay there longer as well as visiting parts of Northern Israel that I missed this summer.

Weather in Israel was nice, hot and dry, almost like here in Southern California. I was fortunate to have a nice room at the Metropolitian Hotel in Tel Aviv that was a block away from the beach. I found the hotel through the internet (www.orbritz.com) for a great rate.

Before arriving to Israel I contacted a deaf leader there to help me make arrangements to give lectures about WRAD to the deaf and hard of hearing community and I was referred to a wonderful hard of hearing friend in Tel Aviv. I did not realize until later that that guy’s mother grew up with me in New York City before she moved to Israel and gave birth to her son who was my guide. It was a small world, indeed!

Tel Aviv is a beautiful city but very crowded. It is almost impossible to find parking there if you have a car but I was lucky to park my car in the garage of my hotel and walked to many places including restaurants. There are many people riding motorcycles in Tel Aviv and the rest of the country so look out for them. You can also visit Yafo in southern part of Tel Aviv as it is a beautiful old city with discos, restaurants, and sightseeing. Some friends and I bought fantastic souvenirs there to bring home.

I did rent a car for two weeks and it was worth it, especially driving to other towns like Netanya to visit an old friend of mine. Be sure to visit Netanya because it reminds me of Laguna Beach in Orange County, California. There are many new apartments as well as beautiful condos and townhouses there by the beach.  Downtown Netanya was wonderful to walk and to go shopping as they have a new shopping mall. Of course everytime you visit a mall or even a restaurant or a hotel, you will be searched by security but it was worth it. Security is very tight everywhere in Israel to help protect the citizens and tourists there. One night while I was in Tel Aviv, I made arrangements to go to a disco with an American friend and his fiance but we cancelled it after she heard through her relative on the radio that there were terrorists on the loose in Tel Aviv that time but they were captured later that night.

Be sure to visit Caesarea not too far from Netanya as you will see Roman ruins there. I have been to Greece and Italy many times but must admit that Caesarea was one of the best if you wanted to see how the ancient Romans lived. There were magnificent buildings in ruins  as well as the oval amphitheater that seated about 15,000  spectators  in Herod’s days which was first used as the horseracing stadium. The site was awesome and you would enjoy walking through the ruins that is right by the beautiful beach. There were restaurants and some hotels in that area if you wanted to stay there. I did not stay there because Tel Aviv was not that far away, about an hour drive. It is a good idea to spend at least four to six hours in Caesarea to have lunch, go for a swim, and see the ruins.

I also visited Jerusalem to attend the bar mitzvah of a friend’s son at the Western Wall of the Old City. (Also known as the Wailing Wall) I truly enjoyed myself attending the ceremony and was surprised to see some friends there from the United States, especially a professor from California State University, Northridge who came to the bar mitzvah as she was his Hebrew teacher. We had a wonderful reunion there then attended the reception at the beautiful hotel for the boy and his family and friends. I also got to meet the nephew of the famous Moshe Dayan at the reception. (Moshe Dayan was an Israeli military warrior who became a crusader for peace. He was skilled in both battle and diplomacy. He played a key role in four wars, but also helped negotiate the historic Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty.)

Also in Jerusalem I visited the deaf club at 23 Ben Yehuda Street. It was on the 4th floor of a very busy street with shops and restaurants. On the corner was a very good kabab restaurant that I had dinner there twice!!! It was good to visit the deaf club as I got to meet wonderful deaf and hard of hearing Israelis. There were photos of their past activities on the wall and they had a person giving massages in a room. Some Israelis were glued to the television set to watch the breaking news of the war.  During that time they had someone talking to the audience in the auditorium about the war and what to expect. Many  deaf and hard of hearing Israelis had their pagers with vibrators to warn them of sirens to run to the shelters immediately.

Also in the Jerusalem area I visited the Yad Vashem, the Holocaust History Museum which is a MUST to visit if you are in Israel.  The site covers 45 acres and includes the most extensive Holocaust Library and Archive in the world as well as the world’s premier site for commemoration and memorialization of the tragic events of the Holocaust that  about 6 million  European Jews were murdered during World War Two by the Nazis. The Memorial is a must to visit so be sure to have at least 5 hours of your time to walk through it. Everything inside the Memorial is captioned in English and Hebrew.

There were many Arabs living in the Jerusalem area and they got along good with the Israelis. I wish it was the same for other Arabs outside of Israel.

In Tel Aviv I was lucky to be there when they had a big deaf and hard of hearing beach party  along with the volleyball games to select the deaf Israeli volleyball players for the Deaflympics. Approximately 300 deaf and hard of hearing people were in attendance and I met some old friends from the States and Israel. It was at Gordon Beach near the Hiton Hotel and we had a great time swimming in the warm Mediterranean  as well as chatting with other friends. I got to meet many Russian immigrants and other tourists that were in Israel at that time.

Soon after arriving to Israel, I gave a lecture about WRAD  to the group at Bekol, an organization of hard of hearing and deafened people. It was at the 17 Tchernihovski Street which is close to the busy Allenby Street. They served us refreshments afterwards so hope you can visit it if you are in Israel.

There is a big community center for the deaf in Tel Aviv and it is called the Helen Keller Center. I was there when they had a meeting about the war and other things. The address is 13 Yad-Lebanim in the Tel Aviv area. They have rooms for interpreter trainings, workshops for the community including senior citizens and children and others. It is worth a visit.

Some of my friends told me I must go and see Mini Israel which is a must for every visitor to Israel so I went there with another American friend who visited Israel at that time. It was worth it! Be sure to go there when you are in Israel as it is near the Ben Gurion International Airport, halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. It is Israel’s newest and most exciting tourist attraction featuring over 350 beautifully crafted exact-replica models of historical, religious, archeological and modern sities. It is like a theme park of “Israel in Minature” with about 13 acres of land. The layout of Mini Israel is in the shape of a “Magen David”, The Star of David. Some of the mini-objects at the theme park  moved like planes, cars, and people including prayers at the Western Wall. It was AWESOME so go there if you are in Israel.

I also visited a town called Ashelon which is south of Tel Aviv and very close to the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Autonomy. Many Russian immigrants live there as well as my deaf friend and his wife who immigrated there from the Ukraine. We went on a hike to the beach and saw some Roman ruins but it was not like what i saw in Caesarea.  My Ukrainian friend has plans to WALK across America next year from New York to California and when that happens I will keep you posted on the internet so maybe you can meet him as he is walking across the country. He has a deaf son who is a professional hairstylist  in Kfar-Sava which is located north of Tel Aviv. I visited him and was impressed with his job as a hair stylist.

Also in Israel I got to meet a few DEAF soldiers serving in the Israeli military. Yes, they were DEAF and HARD OF HEARING and they were allowed to serve in non-combat positions within the military.  I am beginning to wonder why here in the United States the deaf are not allowed to serve in the military. I think it would be a good opportunity for them to have the military experience and get wonderful benefits if they wanted to serve for the country. It is better than seeing deaf people on government assistance like the SSI without any military experience! Speaking of the military, I got to visit the Armored Corps Museum next to the Mini Israel and it was worth a visit as you will get to see over 120 armored battle vehicles on display as well as some captured military tanks and other equipment at the museum.

There are many good restaurants in Israel including Tel Aviv. The food in Israel is very good with many salads to choose with your meal. Salads are usually free when you order a meal and they are tasty. Among the restaurants I went in Tel Aviv are the Moses at 35 Rothschild Blvd (Rothschild Blvd by the way is a beautiful street for pedestrians and skaters with many upper-scale stores and restaurants) and Max Brenner, a wonderful chocolate restaurant also on Rothschild Blvd across the street from Moses. You can go to Max Brenner for dessert but they serve good meals too.

I really had a wonderful time in Israel especially making new friends and I plan to go back next year to continue my tour including visiting beautiful Haifa and other areas in Northern Israel.