Jennifer Bell lectures at ESRA Tel Aviv

On May 13, as part of our ongoing Sunday lectures in Tel Aviv, Jennifer Bell talked to us on "All you wanted to know about medicines." Her lecture did live up to its title. Ms Bell is a pharmacist and a drug maintenance councilor. In a very interesting and informative way she discussed how drugs work, the interactions between various drugs, and how to manage our drugs. One important point was that if one has over seven medications it would be wise to consult with someone to determine whether all the medications are necessary and whether there is the possibility that some could be eliminated. She also discussed when and why to take vitamins. We all left the lecture much more aware of the use of our everyday medications.

 Merry Kane

Tel Aviv Committee

Editor’s comment: if you would like to know more about polypharmacy, the use of multiple medications by a patient, especially when too many forms of medication are used by a patient, read our article online: http://www.esramagazine.com/blog/post/post-polypharmacy

Dear ESRA

We are retiring to Mediterranean Towers at the end of June. This is an appropriate time for me to also retire from volunteering.

I joined Denis in the old ESRA second hand store at Joseftal, Kfar Saba, and moved with him to Weizmann Street. I had great times under the supervision of the legendary Motti Weiner, the initiator and volunteer in charge of ESRA shops. Some of the original customers are still paying for about half of what goes out in their bags.

I also packed the original magazines on Merle’s dining table before becoming a door to door deliverer in Kfar Saba. I graduated to area distributor until the list approached 30 at which time Joe Goldberg split the load with me.

I enjoyed the courtesy and kind consideration of all the magazine managers whom I sincerely thank for helping to make my task as easy and as pleasant as possible. They are all very special people.

I look forward to receiving my September copy of the excellent magazine at our future address.

Gordon Futeran

Kfar Saba

Editor’s note: Thank you, Gordon, for your many and long years of volunteering with the magazine distribution and the shops. You were a great and industrious volunteer and we will sorely miss your help. We wish you both good luck and pleasure in your new home, and hope you will get back the desire to volunteer again – our door is always open to you. Love, Merle

A correction in the boardwalk story

For free parking north of the Tel Aviv port: the street mentioned in the story should be Shai Agnon (which runs parallel to Sde Dov airport).  A sharp right turn at the end of this street (after the dog pound – you’ll hear them barking) leads you to the Reading Power Station. 

You can also go along Rokach Avenue until you come to the turn-off to the Ibn Gvirol bridge.  Here you make a sharp right turn (away from the bridge and the city center) and carry straight on until you pass the amazing fire station.   

In each case you end up by eventually turning left in the direction of the sea.

Mike Porter

Tel Aviv

Editor’s note: to read the Broadwalk article go online:  http://www.esramagazine.com/blog/post/tel-aviv-boardwalk

Sorry, but we have to leave the Club

Recently we had to leave what may well be the largest club in Israel (and maybe the world), but we’re not unduly worried about this demotion.

Okay, okay, so perhaps you are a proud member of COLT (Club of Owners of Leaking Toilets), or maybe you belong to it without even knowing it.  It’s simple to join.  You just put a small square of toilet paper (that’s your entry ticket) on the back of the bowl.  That’s all – no down payment, no membership card.  But if that piece of paper doesn’t become soggy from secretly-seeping water silently flowing down from the toilet cistern (Niagara)', then you are indeed out in the cold – you belong to a small group of people whose homes have toilets which do not leak.

If one thinks about it, this is surely the most water-wasting room (besides being the smallest) in the whole house – water falls down that cistern non-stop: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year – enough already!

To fix it we had to call in a specialized plumber, as the 'lady of the house' had proudly had a hidden cistern installed; besides having to fish it out (it hides behind the wall), it works on a system I know nothing about.  It cost us NIS 200 (just for the visit): the worn-out rubber band (gumiyah) was changed for free. But to compensate I occasionally proudly plunk a piece of paper on the back of the bowl – and it stays dry! 

We might belong to a very small club indeed, but still we’re pleased that we’re doing our bit to help the country save water – at least until the next rubber band wears out.  Nothing lasts forever.

Mike Porter

Tel Aviv

A massive thank you, Lola Katz

I would like to express my appreciation to ESRA and all the wonderful ESRA volunteers who came forward and offered to help train our young leaders and, together, to conduct an English Summer Day Camp in Sderot throughout  July. 

 Despite the best of intentions to organize the camp, the logistical obstacles proved insurmountable.   

 However, Lola Katz, ESRA’s volunteer coordinator didn't give up. She set herself the goal of training and certifying a cadre of qualified peer teachers and mentors who could work with 3rd and 4th graders throughout the school year.

 Her first step was to travel to Sderot and meet with Miryam Sassi, the municipal education director, and receive her blessing to initiate an English enrichment program in the coming school year.

Lola then created a curriculum for training peer teachers, designed to provide them with the skills and knowledge to enable young learners to learn English “the right way" from the very beginning.

Eight carefully selected 14-15 year-old young leaders, all with excellent English for their age, were selected to participate. They spent three days of intensive tutoring at Kibbutz Givulot from July 24 - July 26.

Lola prepared amazing material, much of it in color. [All color copies and reference texts were generously donated by Eric Cohen Books.] Each lesson was carefully planned and dynamically presented by Lola.

By the end of day three, the teens felt confident that they had acquired the knowledge and gained the confidence to be successful peer teachers, and they returned to Sderot tired but very happy.

The Sderot Young Leaders, my wife Ruti and I were greatly inspired and motivated by Lola's infectious energy and determination.

 We all send Lola a massive thank you, and are all looking forward to the school year and to kicking off an English enrichment program that will result in dramatic improvement for the children of Sderot.  

 Herb Levine, Ramat Hasharon, and the Sderot Young Leaders who participated in Lola's seminar

Carmen – thank you

A BIG thanks to Janet Kiesari, Rishon ESRA chairperson, and to the staff of ESRA for their efforts in organizing our group to attend the opera Carmen at Masada. We arrived well before the crowds and were able to situate ourselves comfortably to enjoy our picnic as the sun set, in the atmosphere of Carmen's world to the strums of guitar and Spanish ballads. The proportions of the production, the endless depth of the setting in the desert including Masada - all bathed in blood red at the demise of the heroine - added a dimension that Carmen never had before. We enjoyed the graceful and energetic dancers, and were amazed at the singers who performed beautifully in spite of wind-driven dust.

An experience I can enthusiastically recommend to those who have not yet attended an opera at Masada.

Brenda, Margo and Danielle Delano and Yolande Tordjman 

To drink or not to drink

The bottle of Aviv wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, dry red, 2009) had been in storage for some time waiting for an appropriate occasion, and at last it came. After resting in the freezer for a while, the bottle was opened, poured – and what emerged was a most interesting emerald-green liquid.

After a very small sip I took the coward’s way out and put the bottle back in the fridge.

Why was the wine green?

We’ve tried several places and methods, but so far haven’t managed to find an answer.

However, we did have an address – far north of Tel Aviv – and not long ago (on a normal working day) we found ourselves driving in this direction. Somewhere in the vicinity of the coastal town of Atlit, I hoped, there would be an answer, and I could let it be.

We turned the car off the Tel Aviv – Haifa highway and in the general direction of the Carmel range. Some searching in that wide stretch of open countryside between the sea and the mountain, and we found ourselves on a rutted and bumpy dirt road which, I’m sure, a tractor could have negotiated with ease.

Travelling in first gear most of the way  we reached a large fenced-off area of field, a shed, abandoned equipment, an adjoining block of offices, and not a soul in sight – everything was locked, forlorn and deserted. A sad sight!

This leaves us with several interesting questions, not the least of which is: should I drink the green wine and, in a best-case scenario, risk getting a stomach ache? And where did the grapes come from in all this open countryside? And ---

No more questions! This is a case for a wine expert, and I know that ESRA MAGAZINE has such a person who writes for this wonderful magazine. Can you help me please? To drink or not to drink, that is the question which is giving me sleepless nights (well, maybe I exagerate). Meanwhile the bottle, with its bright-green contents, awaits our attention.

Thank you,

Mike Porter

Tel Aviv

Looking for:

A Bilingual Hebrew-English edition of poems by Natan Alterman with a translation by Robert Friend

Can anyone help, please?

I am seeking to buy a copy of the bilingual Hebrew-English edition of poems by Natan Alterman – with the English language translation by Robert Friend.

I do not know the ISBN number, but believe the title to be:

Natan Alterman; Selected Poems, published by Ha-Kibbutz Ha-Meuchad Publishing House, Israel, 1978.

I would really appreciate it if someone could please suggest a current source – together with contact details – for my potential acquisition of a copy in good condition, or even advise the ISBN number for this particular edition, please.

Thank you,

Lewis (London)

P333p@btinternet.com 

Children without Shadows
I am also a child survivor and I read with great interest this article on the film “Children without Shadows”. However, I don't think a Holocaust child ever overcomes their Holocaust past. He or she may learn how to live with it. There are no neat packages in which to wrap up the Holocaust.

Lillian Boraks Nemetz

Canada
The article was published in ESRA MAGAZINE # 160 (June-August 2011). It can be read online http://www.esramagazine.com/blog/post/children-without-children

Don't Boycott Tnuva

Last summer's social justice protests left me skeptical. It looked as if the kids had some naive socialist illusion that the government was going to help them. Sure enough, a year later it's clear that the government won't help working people. Instead, the government will protect the oligopolies, tax us into poverty, and give our tax shekels to someone else. Forget about help from the government; social justice is in our own hands.

Here are a few new ideas for saving some shekels and achieving social justice - our way.

Don't Boycott Tnuva

You don't have to boycott Tnuva. Just buy straight from a dairy. In a tiny country like Israel, it's easy for Tnuva to dominate a market. But it's also easy for us to bypass Tnuva.

We buy our cheese and yogurt from Doron Meen HaTeva on HaHermon Street in Nechalim, just outside of Petach Tikvah. Doron's products taste much better than those you'll find in a supermarket. His prices are lower than what we saw at Supersol. And we take satisfaction in buying straight from Doron, a working man, and not from a predatory oligopolist or an importer.

Honey

We buy our honey from Ya'arat HaDvash in Alonei Abba outside of Tivon. It tastes better than Yad Mordechai's honey and our shekels go straight to a hardworking beekeeper named Israel. Whenever we take a vacation trip north, we stop off at Israel's and stock up.

Humus

Lilah Kalkalee had a humus taste-test. "Which was better?" they wanted to know: Strauss' humus, Achla's humus, or some other company's humus? Not too smart! The economic gurus at Lilah Kalkalee didn't mention that we could buy humus from our local steak houses. We buy ours from Avi and Ronen's 'steakiya' in Sadav Center in Kiryat Ben Gurion, Holon. It tastes better than supermarket humus, and has no preservatives or fillers. More important, from a social justice viewpoint, we're buying from Avi and Ronen, our neighbors, instead of from a monster company owned by rich people.

Buy in Quantity

We buy non-perishable goods at Shimorey Ichut on Maktesh Street in Holon. Shimorey Ichut is a no-frills warehouse store. Groceries and convenience stores buy their goods at Shimorey Ichut, so their prices are often lower than supermarket prices. The downside is that for some items you must buy in quantity, and prices aren't listed on most items.

At Shimorey Ichut, we paid only NIS 24 for a 5-kilo package of Sod laundry detergent. This is so much less than you'll find elsewhere that my friends and neighbors asked me to buy laundry detergent for them, too.

Shimorey Ichut charges only NIS 100 for a 4-liter container of Jahashan Israeli olive oil. It's worth 2 minutes of my time to pour this container into 4 1-liter containers, and give a liter each to my son and in-laws. That comes to just NIS 25 a liter, which is dramatically cheaper than the NIS 40 that you'll generally pay for a liter. (By the way, be careful with olive oil. It's often sold in .75 liter containers that closely resemble 1-liter containers, so you may be paying a lot more than you think.)

What Else?

ESRA, how about asking your readers for other alternatives to the large companies? Instead of boycotts of questionable efficacy, we can both cut our expenses and truly open Israel's economy. 

Eli Lato

Holon

A voice from the past

Dear Merle,

This is a voice out of the past. Perhaps you remember me, Caroline Fierst, formerly from Herzliya. I was privileged to be with you when you founded ESRA and was the "consumer lady" from its beginning until we had to leave Israel in 1987.

In 2003 my son and daughter-in-law bought an apartment in Modiin, where they spend two months each year, and I have joined them about once a year. Every time I come I marvel over the tremendous growth of ESRA, and my son and daughter-in-law always save the amazing ESRA publication for me.

Merle, the work of your hands has truly been blessed!

With fond memories,

Caroline Fierst

Silver Spring, Maryland, USA

Thank you ESRA Breast Cancer Fund:

(1)   For your grant of NIS 1500 which enabled me to acquire an artificial breast, new bras, travel expenses to various hospitals, and medical tests. My income is an invalid’s grant of NIS 2400, so your contribution was of vital importance.

      Gila H.

(2)   For the financial grant I received from you. Before I was diagnosed with the disease I did not work and was looking for employment, which I had to stop doing once my illness was discovered which worsened my situation even more severely. The grant helped me through a very difficult period in my life, both economically and emotionally.

     Yishar Koah.

      Ella S.

TO KEEP COOLER IN HOT WEATHER

The Middle East Israel Green Chamber of Commerce suggests:

Clean the filters of your air conditioner every two weeks.

Clean the blades and protective screens of your fans every two weeks.

These steps will allow your air conditioners and fans to operate more efficiently and to produce more cooling air. 

Daniel Berger

Lod 

Mah Jong set available

I have just received ESRA MAGAZINE # 165 with great pleasure as always, but especially for this edition with my daughter's painting on the front cover.  Thank you for that – as you can imagine, I am very proud of her for her talent.  Her name for the elephant – “The Peace Ephilant” - is our private joke.  I wonder if you would like my set of Mah Jong and some Mah Jong cards, as I read that ESRA is starting up a group?  A group of us used to play till the early hours of the morning, and my daughter still remembers hearing the clicking sounds made by our movements of the dice when she was going to sleep nearby.

Hazel Agami

Nof Yam

Dear Modiin bookshop committee members: Anita, Rene, Rachel S, Rachel M and Ilana,

Thank you for your unbelievable efforts and tireless enthusiasm in ensuring that the two-day sale was such a huge success. We also want to thank Alissa for her great advertising efforts to our growing list of over 1000 households!

It was truly rewarding to see how each and every one of you pulled your weight and performed despite the long hours and the ongoing re-shelving. All this contributed towards the superb atmosphere that reigned in the shop on both days. I hope that you heard some of the compliments from our many customers, well-deserving to us individually and as a team. We are really performing a terrific service to our community in Modiin and the feedback from the public is the best evidence that we have not only made our mark in the city, but that ESRA is synonymous with spirited volunteering for the community.

Operating the bookshop demands relentless attention and innovative thinking. Without you all, the project may have been just another bookshop. But you make it tick in a special and unique way.

So our deepest appreciation for stepping up to the plate when it most counts. We are blessed to have such a fantastic team.

At a rough count, we took in some 4,500 shekels, which is fantastic, and also moved a massive amount of books.

Warmly,

Cynthia Barmor & Jackie Klein

Co-Chairs ESRA Modiin

Fuel saving tips cont 

I found the fuel-saving tips in your last edition very interesting and potential material for a regular motoring column 

I now monitor tyre pressure in a far more serious light and will check potential fuel-saving results of exceeding manufacturer's recommendations.My grandchildren simply cannot conceive of a situation where I could drive any slower but I am determined to put my new knowledge to the test.I am now able to explain the purpose of the second round dial on the dashboard, of identical size to the speedometer, called the 'rev-counter'.Where overloading is concerned, however, I have difficulty with the advice suggested regarding not filling up.  The idea of doubling my visits to the filling station for a half tank-full each time is not appealing.Finally, as the article refers to changing driving habits, could your experts please explain at which stage one is obliged to apply brakes at traffic lights showing orange.  Ideally a recommendation which takes into account the driver immediately behind who may not necessarily agree with my selected timing.

Angela Benjamin Haifa

Is this our HaYarkon River?

For those who weren't lucky enough to join us for our Tel Aviv late afternoon boat trip on the Yarkon, you missed such a lovely hour on the river.

What a shock to breathe that fresh, clean air.......could this really be our very own smelly, dirty Yarkon River?

Fish were abundant - and many became dinner to those beautiful birds from the Zippari swooping down to catch them. The river banks were lush and green and beautiful. The children and families playing there were a pleasure to watch. It was cool and delightful and our captain, though short on good English but long on charm, spun us tales of our river.

Our participants were enthusiastic and complimentary thanks, Merry, for a job well done and for giving me a new place to take my visitors.

Stay as cool as possible,

Fran Flamholz

Tel Aviv

Thank you ESRA Welfare Committee

We wish to thank you for your generous grant of 2,000 shekels which we received on the eve of Passover. This aid has also emphasized the fact that there are good and kind people in Israel.  As young students and parents of two sweet little girls, we hope that we too will be privileged to be on the giving side and not only on the receiving side in the very near future.

The Barzilai Family

Netanya