The Weekend Roundup

It's all a blur: After Friday's first meeting with the new Tel Aviv class, I turn around and go back down Saturday afternoon to do another presentation. This is an orientation session for a group of American security personnel here for an anti-terrorism seminar. I face a room filled with fit, cool, competent men and women, many of whom have served overseas in the US armed forces before tackling the daily challenges of urban police work. They are bright, engaging, exceptionally well-informed, and remarkably cheerful despite the jet-lag. I leave them feeling more optimistic about America's future.

Gill and I take advantage of the balmy weather to sit outside at a fake Mexican restaurant. The salsa is misguided spaghetti sauce, the black beans are not quite it, and the seasonings are more Middle Eastern than Mexican, but the food is fresh and hot and the service is great, and we enjoy the chance to sit and catch our breath. In the crush of my current schedule, we have had little time to have civilized meals together. It's almost like a date.

Sunday morning turns into one of those rare winter days in Tel Aviv. It is cold, blustery, and rainy, and the sea is a frenzy of frothed waves and spray. I'm indoors all day leading an editing workshop. The wind howls outside and a loose awning whips against the window, but we are snug and dry inside. We finish in time to catch the 17:23 train back north.

A gay time in Jerusalem: It's a weekend of mixed news for the Israeli gay scene. The Gay Pride march, normally held in Tel Aviv, was to be moved to Jerusalem this year (10 November), but violent protests by the twitchy ultra-religious have police so nervous that they ask Attorney General Menachem Mazuz to ban the parade. Mazuz won't ban it, but is hoping that the two groups can meet and negotiate something. Fat chance. Meanwhile, Natan Shaked of Tel Aviv wins Mr. Gay International in Palm Springs. Very nice, but I'm more impressed by the courage of the contestant from Iran! (You have to assume that he no longer lives in Iran...)

The weekend marks more ups and downs, with a huge turnout for the memorial rally marking the 11th anniversary of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin z'l. David Grossman's speech captured all the news, as he launched an articulate and thought-provoking attack of the current administration. Grossman, a highly-acclaimed author, felt the effects of the Hezbullah war first hand when his son was killed in the fighting.

And there may be more to come. IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz warns of a possible war with Syria in our near future.

I can't think about that right now. But I sincerely hope that our leaders can!