Election Fever: a Not Impartial View

 

Israel is due to hold a general election on April 9^th, and polls are indicating that there might be a chance that Bibi Netanyahu and the Likud will not be forming the next government. I’ll probably be annoying a few readers by saying that it’s high time that Israel saw a change of government from the right-wing groups that have been running the country for more than a decade. For the first time in ages it looks as if a new centrist concatenation of politicians and former military commanders has a chance of unseating the cabal that has been running the country for far too long. Other polls show that this optimistic view may have been unfounded, however. We’ll have to wait until the actual election day (or night) to find out.

Each day fresh opinion polls upset the apple-cart, giving us new figures and ratios over which to puzzle out what any future coalition might look like. Over forty parties have registered to stand for election, and Israel’s proportional representation system of elections means that however the Knesset is formed it will always be necessary to set up combinations of parties in order to be able to gain a majority in the House. This means that all manner of fringe groups will be able to serve in the government, demanding positions of power involving budgets, appointments and various favours. This has created the stranglehold that the ultra-orthodox have managed to obtain in their alliance with the Likud, leading to the severe misallocation of funds, neglect of the national health system and the unequal burden of taxation and military service that is rampant in Israel today.

Bibi is under threat of legal proceedings for bribery and corruption and, like a cornered animal, he retaliates by lashing out at anyone and everyone he considers a threat to his continued control of power. So he has attacked the Attorney-General, the media, and above all the only party, the newly-formed ‘Blue and White,’ that seems to stand a chance of toppling him. Anyone holding views which in any normal country would be considered a legitimate political stance, namely, being on the left, is maligned by Bibi and his followers as a traitor. The people at the head of Blue and White are condemned on those grounds as well as being accused of having the nefarious intent of ‘overthrowing the government.’ But what could be more legitimate than having that as their aim?

Then, of course, there are the Arabs. They make up over twenty-percent of Israel’s population, are represented in the Knesset and have the right to vote. In the last general election Bibi wielded their perfectly legitimate participation in the election as a threat to Israel’s democracy, using it as his trump card in getting Likud voters to go and vote. This time, too, he is using the Arab vote as a weapon with which to threaten Israel’s electorate. What Bibi’s intentions are with regard to the Arab population, both within Israel and in the Territories, are unclear, though the fact that he has allied the Likud with the extremist ‘Power to Israel’ party of followers of Meir Kahane, who advocated the forcible expulsion of the Arabs, does not bode well for Israel’s democratic tradition.

The Labour party, which once dominated the elections, has been steadily losing support to Likud and today is expected to barely scrape into the Knesset. Although its aims and message have remained unchanged, and its candidates are experienced and accomplished parliamentarians, the fact that it does not have a charismatic leader means that it is unable to attract votes as it once did. This is a tragedy for those of us who still believe in its ideals and remember the seminal role it played in establishing the State of Israel and creating its democratic institutions. The seductive tones of right-wing rhetoric seem to have drowned out what I believe to be the voice of reason.

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The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante

 It is with a mixture of relief, admiration and sadness that I come to the end of the fourth book in the author’s series of novels about contemporary life in Naples, and Italy in general. This last volume is long, intense, full of emotion – some might say too full of too much emotion – and takes the reader on a veritable roller-coaster of events. The narrative focuses primarily on the personal – the loves, betrayals, jealousies of the main characters—as well as those of the many incidental characters. But it also refers to the general, political and social situation in Italy as a whole. All this sometimes leaves the reader catching her breath, or gasping in surprise, at the wealth of detail, intensity of intimate emotions, and intellectual honesty with which every scene is depicted.

In addition, the writer (and presumably also the translator, Ann Goldstein) writes in an admirably articulate way. This could, if one were critical, be condemned as overly wordy, and ‘succinct’ is not a word that comes to mind in describing this and the other three books in the series, but the wordiness builds up to create an intensely detailed account of the lives, loves and loathings of the myriad characters who people the world we are drawn into when reading this book. Not all the characters are equally likeable, and many, if not most, of them are flawed in one way or another, but that only adds to the sense of reality and identification that the reader experiences.

To describe the plot would make it seem banal. The main characters fall in love, get married, have children, betray – and are betrayed by – their partners and friends, almost ad infinitum. The vagaries, quirks and foibles of both adults and children are described in great detail, with insights that will raise an echo in many readers’ minds as well as occasionally causing eyebrows to be raised in surprise, shock and even dismay. The detailed accounts of pregnancy and delivery, of infancy and childhood, relations between siblings and between parents and their offspring are often startling in their brutal honesty, sometimes tender to the point of being cloying, but always ring true to form. It is, of course, the relationships between the adult characters that are the main crux of the book.The tragedy hinted at in the book’s title is as devastating and all-consuming as anything I’ve ever read, and one cannot help identifying with the mother whose child is lost, even though she is not always portrayed sympathetically.

Underlying the various individual lives are the social and political currents and events that churn through twentieth-century Italy as a whole, so that the book’s focus moves away from the tiny neighbourhood in Naples where the first books are set to a much wider canvas. Here, too, emotions are rampant and nothing that takes place, whether locally or nationally, is irrelevant to the torrent of events, emotions and ideas that pour out of this book.

But above all, at least for this particular reader, the author’s honesty and openness about the dilemmas and decisions confronting her as a writer had a particular impact. Very few writers are prepared to share with their readers the vortex of mutually contradictory considerations involved in writing about individuals and societies or to face up to the reactions, and often opprobrium, that her writing arouses in those nearest and dearest to her.

So, from many points of view, this book succeeds in creating a credible world peopled by living, breathing individuals with whom the reader can identify and in whose lives we can share. That, after all, is the purpose of fiction, and in this Elena Ferrante has undoubtedly succeeded beyond all expectations.

Music: The Path to Progress

Not long ago I was privileged to attend a concert in a private home given by young musicians who are students at Jerusalem’s Hassadna Music Conservatory. Together with the rest of the audience, I was greatly impressed by their professional standard and aplomb. Some of the musicians were of Ethiopian background and displayed admirable technical skill and musicality, performing complex works – both classical and jazz – for a variety of instruments, playing  individually and in small ensembles.

The Hassadna Music Conservatory was founded in 1973 in the belief that all children are entitled to benefit from being able to enjoy music, and that the way to help children from deprived and underprivileged backgrounds to advance is through music,. The idea was to make musical education available to all children, irrespective of their physical or mental ability, socio-economic level, ethnicity or religious affiliation.

Now, forty years later, the institution is firmly established and has trained numbers of leading Israeli musicians. After many years of being housed in accommodation that was not always best suited to its task, the Conservatory is currently in the process of building its own dedicated structure. Since its inception the institution has employed first-rate musicians as its teaching staff, enabling youngsters from diverse backgrounds to benefit from an education that would otherwise be unavailable to them.

While I was preparing material for this article my cleaner, who is of Ethiopian origin, noticed the page with a picture of some of the pupils on my desk. He pointed to an Ethiopian youngster holding an oboe and said: “I know him. He’s the son of a friend of mine. He travels all over the world now.” Just one more illustration of the connection between the different groups living in Jerusalem and the Conservatory’s contribution to this.

The Conservatory now numbers 700 pupils aged from three to eighteen, representing the full range of Jerusalem’s religious, national and economic diversity. The staff comprises one hundred professionals, some of them born in Israel, others immigrants from various countries. They include concert artists, chamber musicians, established composers and members of Israel’s leading orchestras. Together they provide the careful guidance necessary to bring out the best in the gifted students, enabling them to achieve excellence and international acclaim.

In the framework of its pre-music track, the Conservatory undertakes an outreach programme for children in kindergarten and elementary school, seeking to expose very young children to the fundamentals of music – rhythmic movement, dance, singing and improvisation – as well as enabling them to experiment with a variety of instruments. The Conservatory has also introduced a programme called ‘Bridges of Light’ which offers youngsters with disabilities or special needs a course of study that is adapted to their abilities. All these children learn piano, and some also learn voice, as well as participating in activities with the rest of the students. The project has won national and international renown as one of the most successful programmes for children with special needs.

In fact, the Shalva Choir, consisting of children with special needs, was a leading contender for inclusion as Israel’s entry for the forthcoming Eurovision contest, to be held in Tel-Aviv, but eventually withdrew as some of its members are observant Jews and could not perform on Shabbat.

Many of Hassadna’s students have won prizes in Israeli and international competitions, and have been awarded scholarships to continue with their musical studies. Several have received the status of ‘Distinguished Musician’ from the IDF, enabling them to pursue their muical education while undertaking military service. The Conservatory’s orchestral ensembles have performed at music festivals in the USA and throughout Europe, winning prizes at several of them.

(This article first appeared in the March edition of the AJR Journal)

Two Colleges in Galilee

An acquaintance connected with the UK’s UIJA (United Israel Jewish Appeal) suggested that I write an article about the Western Galilee College for the AJR Journal (Association of Jewish Refugees), for which I write a monthly column entitled ‘Letter from Israel.’ The college, situated just outside the ancient city of Acre (Akko) in the north of Israel, was happy to set up a meeting for me with members of the administration and some of the students involved in special outreach projects, and so on a sunny winter’s day my OH and I set out on the two-hour drive to the north, passing emerald-green fields, pastures and hills that had benefited from this year’s bountiful rains.

After our meeting in Akko our personal inclination took us across the verdant countryside to another college, the Kinneret Academic College, which is situated in eastern Galilee and is where our grandson Gil is currently studying for his B.Sc. in Energy Engineering. After trying courses in Civil Engineering at other institutions, Gil settled for the innovative degree course in Energy Engineering that has recently been established at the Kinneret Academic College.

Gil had arranged an interview with the President of the college, Professor Shimon Gepstein, who has retired from his post as Professor of Biology at the Haifa Technion. The Kinneret college is certainly worthy of an article of its own, and I hope that in the not-too-distant future I’ll be able to write a report that does that institution justice.

In our meeting Professor Gepstein told us that many of the academic staff at the college are in fact retired academics from other institutions, and in this day and age it is important to find useful employment for people who are experts in their field and are eager to impart knowledge to the younger generation of students.

It was thrilling to be shown around the campus by Gil, and especially to visit its magnificent library (listed as one of the ten most beautiful buildings in Israel). It would be hard to find a setting more enchanting than the vista overlooking the Lake of Galilee. The college library, which was inaugurated in 2010, is built with windows that set off the view to perfection while letting in the light that irradiates the building’s open, wood-lined interior. Sponge mattresses have been placed along one interior wall on some of the wide wooden steps inside the building that go up to the top level, enabling students to take a rest when studying gets too much for them. If only I’d had something like that when I was at university! The ultra-modern library contains many thousands of volumes as well as an array of computers providing access to virtually all the academic research being conducted anywhere in the world.

Gil had also arranged for us to stay overnight in the guest house of Kibbutz Degania Bet, one of the first kibbutzim to be established in Israel, and we were accommodated in a comfortable room that was as spacious and well-equipped as any fancy hotel anywhere in the world. For dinner we had booked a table at the kibbutz restaurant named 1910 (the year the kibbutz was founded). Contrary to traditional kibbutz communal dining, this was a very elegant establishment with a menu based largely on the most exquisite Italian cuisine. For Gil and me it was a culinary delight, although my OH had difficulties finding a meal without cheese or cream that met his dietary requirements.

The time we spent with Gil was extremely enjoyable, including the nice things said to us about him by some of his colleagues and associates in the kibbutz and the college, where he works on a part-time basis.

As we drove home we felt elated at the thought that Gil is about to embark on a career in a field that is at the forefront of one the most pressing concerns of our modern world, one that is assuming ever-increasing importance. As the world finally wakes up to the fact that the subject of energy is one that will continue to preoccupy humankind in order to guarantee our future and that of our planet, it is becoming increasingly important to apply our minds and capabilities to overcoming the problems we are facing. I salute the Kinneret Academic College for focusing on one of the most crucial topics of our time.

 

Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay

 

The third of Elena Ferrante’s four Neapolitan Novels gives us a picture of Elena the chief protagonist as a mature – or almost mature – adult, who has completed her studies and graduated from the college in Pisa where she was awarded a scholarship that enabled her to study. She has a relationship with Pietro Airota, a brilliant young academic and the son of a distinguished scholar in Milan, and becomes engaged to him. Upon completing her studies Elena feels impelled to sit down and write, and the novel she produces in a short space of time is passed on to a publisher by her future mother-in-law, Adele, is published and achieves considerable success.

Defying her family’s traditions and wishes, the couple have a small wedding with only a civil ceremony, but Elena is surprised to find that Pietro’s parents have organized a grand reception in their home in Milan. However, the encounter between Pietro and Elena’s family in Naples goes well, and despite Elena’s misgivings they all seem to take a liking to one another.

Throughout the book, Elena is haunted by memories of her erstwhile relationship with Lina, a.k.a. Lila, her friend, and on impulse she goes to track her down in the modest apartment where she is living with her childhood admirer, Enzo, and her son from her failed marriage to Stefano Caracci. Lila, once the darling of the neighbourhood where the two girls grew up, is now employed in a sausage factory, where she is obliged to do menial work that is detrimental to her health and is exposed to sexual harassment by other workers and her boss.

Meanwhile Elena settles down to the comfortable life of a bourgeois housewife and mother married to an up-and-coming albeit boring academic. She goes on book tours and is surprised to find Nino, the young man whom she once idolized, speaking in her favour her at one of those meetings. Nino is now a respected academic, but is also periphelly involved in the political opposition that was ravaging Italy at the time. Elena finds herself drawn into the political and feminist movement, although remains aloof from activism. She does, however, write newspaper articles on the subject. She finds out that Lila is also drawn into quasi-revolutionary activity and gets into trouble with the authorities for writing a leaflet about conditions in the sausage factory.

As the years pass Elena is concerned with looking after her two little girls but feels frustrated at not being able to settle down to writing. She begins to interest herself in feminist matters, and eventually produces a booklet on the subject. Lila and Enzo have become computer programmers, and move back to the neighbourhood in Naples where they grew up, but are now prosperous. Altogether, as in the previous books in the series, there is too much agonizing, anguish and angst for my taste.

Elena grows increasingly dissatisfied with her life, and is overjoyed when Pietro brings Nino home for dinner one evening. One thing leads to another, of course, and Elena and Nino end up sleeping together, discovering that they have always really loved one another. Ultimately, Elena leaves her husband for Nino, and goes with him to attend a conference in Nanterre, France.

And that is where volume no. 3 ends. Let’s hope that the fourth and final volume ties all the ends together neatly and brings everything to a happy conclusion (though I doubt it).