Twenty minutes to Shabbat. Friends came to spend Shabbat with us all, and we spent the late afternoon at the beach at Jaffa. M pointed something out as we sat there, getting sunburned: we were the only Jews there.
People in Tel Aviv, about 10 minutes away, refuse to come to this beach because they’re terrified of the Arabs. Some friends in Tel Aviv won’t even come to M and C’s house in Jaffa because it’s in a mixed neighborhood — Sunni Muslims, Christian Arabs of a sort of liberal variety, Jews.
But it was a lovely afternoon. Everyone frolicked and swam and talked, and the children chased each other and swam and flew kites. Some women were draped in dark clothes and scarves, but still had no problem plopping themselves down in the surf despite the yards of cloth.
I was hoping I’d get by without too bad of a burn, but my nose is already turning pink. I think I might not be online till Shabbat is over, but then again, who can resist the lure of the laptop?
white pebble 