Fine moments that bring us closer together
24th July, 2005
I was sitting in my room when Michael, my officer, entered and called me out for a talk. He told me I was chosen to represent our battery in an interview tomorrow by the Russian-Israeli television NTV. They'll interview our battery commander and a few other soldiers as well.
I called my family and friends and notified them about it.
25th July, 2005
The interview has been eventually cancelled.
I talked to Angel today. I missed her so much!
I told her about everything, including how I feel for her and about Natalie's demand that we stop communicating. She said I could either talk to her in secret, without letting Natalie know, or we could do as she says.
"If I don't be with Natalie in a year from now, would you want us to be together?" "Yes, I do."
No, I don't intend to break up with Natalie, I'm just considering all the possibilities here.
After this conversation I realized that I can't just walk away from Angel. Natalie didn't want to hear about it... "It's either me or her!" After a while we reached an agreement: I explained her of the situation, meaning I can't give Angel up unless I have a guarantee that we'll be together until the end. If we keep fighting like that and I leave Angel, I'll end up losing you both.
I told her she should go to northern Tel Aviv and meet those rich guys that Shachar was talking about, to find out what she really wants. I agreed to stop communication with Angel in case she agrees to go with it until the end.
29th July, 2005
Angel showed up online. I didn't talk to her. She didn't start talking to me either.
Meanwhile, my relationship with Natalie was improving...
1st August, 2005
Natalie doesn't feel anything for Amir anymore. Today he's coming over to her place for a few hours. She says she loves me very very much and promises that she would restrain herself around Amir.
Fine, let them meet...
The result is... They sat in her room for a while and chatted. There was one moment that their lips met, but then she thought of me and pushed him away. Afterwards, they visited the Azrieli towers. In a deserted corridor leading to the restrooms they stood, facing each other.
Amir: "Can I kiss you."
Natalie: "I don't know." (?!)
Amir: "Well... can I?"
She explained this by saying the she didn't want to upset him by saying "no". Instead, she leaned ahead and kissed him lightly on the lips, smiling. It seems she still has some feelings for him, but clearly less.
3rd August, 2005
She arrived to my place, meeting me downstairs. "Where's the warm hug that I so greatly deserve?" I hugged her from behind, kissing her cheeks, the sweet sensation, the smell of her hair, feelings that I can't really describe.
5th August, 2005
We agreed to meet at her place this morning at 10:30am, then take our bikes and travel around Tel Aviv, crossing the whole Ha-Yarkon park and proceeding down to the beach.
I was getting late. Arrived at 10:50am to her place, only to find out that she hadn't even woke up. It took her a looong time to get ready. Girls...
At 12:30pm we set out on a long journey. Riding the bycicle with her was a lot of fun. The windy weather and the beautiful park have only contributed to the wonderful atmosphere.
In the middle of the park there's a small lake where boats can be rented. It was a great idea of hers. We took a boat and spent an hour at the lake. The sun was setting. It was so quiet and peaceful.
"In 30 years from now, you'd come here to this very place and see that nothing here has changed. But at the same time, nothing would be the same as before. The leaves, falling from the trees would remind you of your youth, times that you cannot bring back, great times. You would shed a tear, wishing you could experience it all again. So enjoy it now as much as possible."
That wasn't very encouraging, but she remembered those words...
We proceeded to the beach heading far into the south, until we've reached the mall on Allenby st. next to the fountains. We went up to the top floor and ordered food in a restaurant-bar the name of which I couldn't qutie recall. The food was awful. It came in small quantities in contrast to its price.
On our way back home, we saw a lot of police cars patrolling around. Natalie said it's because of a high drug-sale activity in this area. She used to volunteer in the national guard a year ago, that's how she knows it. Her brother volunteers in the police.
She says he worked in Jaffo - a part of southern Tel Aviv, inhabited mostly by Israeli Arabs. I told her about the cops I met in roadblocks. She says her brother is no less racist than them. Great! Dad's a stalinist, mom's his executive dictator and her brother is a racist cop. Hmm... If I marry her one day, that will be my family? *chills* Poor Natalie... :(
6th August, 2005
My dad booked a room in the hotel "Sun" in Bat Yam for me and Natalie. We took a cab over there at 12pm. The hotel looked very nice.
I approached the reception desk and asked for the key registered on my name. The receptionist looked for it and didn't find any rooms booked on my name. I called my dad and he talked to the woman at the desk. It turns out he booked a room from a different receptionist who worked here yesterday. After 2 minutes of hearing him yelling at her, she opened a drawer and found it.
I pitied the woman. Judging by the look on her pale face, this call had ruined her day. :(
She gave me 2 keys - room 301 and 404, to choose which one would be more suitable for us. Room 512, which was originally booked for us has already been taken by someone else. It's alright, mistakes happen.
Room 301 faced the swimming pool and the sea. The other one faced a deserted tennis and soccer courts and a big pile of garbage, just outside the hotel.
We really had a great time together. We ate at a Japenese-Chinese restaurant. The food was great. This time the meal was big enough to feed 4 people and the price was the same.
The waiter that served us was a cute Russian 20+ girl who reminded me of Lena, my step-cousin. I gave her a relatively big tip - 20NIS. But that's not only because she was cute, I just didn't have any coins. =)
The swimming pool closed down at 7pm, so we went to the sea instead. The water wasn't cold. It looked like it was Natalie's first swimming experience. She seeked refuge in my arms with every incoming wave. She screamed often, but in overall I think she enjoyed swimming with me.
We layed down on the sand, watching the sun sink in the horizon, painting the sky in pink and red.
We kissed. She told me how much she enjoys spending time with me. She wanted to spend the night here with me, since we have to be checked out tomorrow morning, but her parents had forbid her.
The sun was setting down fast, as they were arguing and shouting over the phone. She hung up several times, unable to listen to her parents much longer. For the next 10 minutes she was crying and there was nothing I could to help. It was only later that I was able to comfort her and help her deal with whatever her parents had said.
Her mother wanted to speak to me. She said that she wants to see her daughter back home by 10pm, that I'm in charge and therefore I shouldn't surrender to Natalie's pleads, that our stay wasn't planned to extend until tomorrow morning and that we're not a married couple to do such things. (Are you kidding me? I have to be married in order to her to spend a night with her alone?!)
It would have been pointless arguing with her.
My dad picked us up at 9pm and brought us to her place. I'd been thinking about her on my way home.
I love her so much. It's been so great together...
7th August, 2005
We spent some time at my place. After her work, we'd met at the entrance to the mall in Givataim. I was late, but to my surprise she wasn't mad at me. It's usually easy to upset her.
We went to the cinema and watched "Sky high", it was an average movie. I walked her home and it was time for us to part. Tomorrow I'm back in the army again.
It was hard. She didn't want to get inside the elevator. I held her tight and when I started leaving, I saw her standing there with tears in her eyes. I couldn't go... I ran back and held her tighter, kissing her passionately. Tears were now all over our faces. It was getting even more difficult for us to part.
I had to let her go... for now.
She entered the elevator. The time slowed down... We were looking at each other as the door slowly closed down between us.
A single moment later I felt a wave of melancholy surge through my body. I felt pain in my chest. Why is it so hard to part? The thought of not seeing her again for 16 days... My eyes were becoming watery.
Natalie!!! I don't wanna fight with you anymore.
Is it always up to me? Can I control it?
Showing posts with label hotel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hotel. Show all posts
Friday, November 02, 2007
Friday, August 24, 2007
Fast Forward
After the last entry, I've stopped writing in my diary for about 3 months, however I still remember the more significant events of that preiod of time...
The Car Assault
About a mile ahead of the roadblock, an Israeli car was assaulted by a Palestinian gunman. Luckily, no one got hurt. The windows were broken and the driver had managed to escape the assault, get to the roadblock and alarm the soldiers.
I was at the base at the time. It was at around 8pm in the evening. The alarm sounded from the communications room, the battery's commander team was, as always, the first to react.
Another team was assembled, due to the severity of this event. By the time we got there, there were already dozens of soldiers walking all around the place. Shattered pieces of glass lay on the closed road. Bullet casings and projectiles were found at the scene.
Our regiment's commander was also there. There were various forces from all over the place. A few minutes later, we joined our battery's commander and his team, and headed to a nearby village, located just about 150 meters north of the road.
We walked silently in the night, watching each other's backs and ready for anything.
As we reached the first few houses, some of us stayed to watch the road, the others entered the houses and started asking people whether they saw or heard anything. As expected, people denied having any knowledge of the incident.
I was the one watching the road. Some cars would pass by, we would inspect them and ask them if they know anything about the incident. They had no idea what we were talking about. I was quite surprised to hear their car radio playing Modern Talking. How rare is that?
We walked down the road. Gil, the battery's commander, inspected some more houses. Then we gave up the search and left the village. Maybe it was the regiment commander's call, it doesn't matter. Everybody left with empty handed.
How do you find them criminals? You'd need to search the whole village. Even then, nothing is guaranteed. You can't do nothing and wait until they murder someone and hope that this time you'll be there on time.
That way, more Palestinians will feel safe enough to inflict chaos on the Israeli roads, more people will get killed and the murderers will never be found.
First of all, there's the obvious need of maximizing army's chances of catching them in the act. There are many cameras being installed on electric poles and antennas, watching over the hills, the villages and the roads for any hostile activities.
In case they DO get away, the army should pursue them until they're caught... they mustn't feel safe once they committed a crime. Instead, they should count the days before the army gets to them.
Four Sides Of The Fence
Before leaving Qalqilya in early March 2005, I've had several shifts on the AV patrol. One of our duties during the patrol was opening the gates for Palestinians.
What does it mean? It's only when I got there, I realized the absurdity of the situation. Just about a mile south of Qalqilya there's a fence... The thing is, it doesn't really separate the Israeli lands with the Palestinian ones. Instead, it separates some Palestinian lands and villages from the other. Each day, they are allowed to cross from one side to another at a specific time. At 4pm, we'd open the gates and they'd cross the road between the two fenced sectors. The same happens some time in the morning as well.
The fence was built that way in an attempt to include a settlement inside the Israeli side of the fence. Here's the map: (Red dots = Palestinian towns. Blue dots = Israeli settlements. Red line = seaparation fence. Purple line = 1967 borders.)
Note how much territory inside the west bank was planned to stay on the Israeli side of the fence, just because of a single, tiny settlement in the middle of that pocket.
But now as I can see, some of it has been fixed and parts of the fence were later dismantled as you can see on this updated April 07 map:
http://www.securityfence.mod.gov.il/Pages/Heb/map_heb.htm
Now some of those villages are no longer separated and the fence has been extended further east to include more Israeli settlements in it.
Hezbollah's aggression
Sometime around February, Hezbollah guerillas opened rocket fire on Israeli towns located along the northern border. Immediately after, we were informed to pack our bags and get ready in case we're needed there. Eventually, other forces were sent over there to deal with Hezbollah. Our turn to deal with them was yet to come...
Angel's visit
It's March 2005. We've finished our service in the Qalqiliya sector and moved on to the south for artillery training.
Matan called our team for some briefing and told us what's planned ahead. "Each week, two teams will be released home for a week. Our team will be released next week."
I asked my commander if I could switch with someone from another so that I could be released home exactly when Angel comes to visit. I informed her of the dates. It was time that she ordered the tickets.
Now it depended on her. I crossed my fingers and hoped it would all work out. I've been waiting for this for half a year.
Day after day have passed and I haven't heard a word from her. She wouldn't reply to my messages, she wouldn't answer the phone. What's going on? It's really important that we stay in contact.
Three days remained. It was still unknown whether I'll be allowed to postpone my release home by 1 week.
Eventually, I've managed to reach her by phone. I called her home number. Her mom picked it up and gave her the phone. Angel told me that she's trying to find a flight to Israel but there aren't any available. Those that are available, are way too expensive - over $700. No way. I called my mom and asked her to check this for me. Within half an hour, my mom found a flight from Munich to Tel Aviv for less than $500 with available seats.
I quickly informed Angel and told her I could even order the tickets for her if needed.
But it wasn't the flight. It was something else that stood in our way. "I'm sorry, I can't come to Israel." "Why?" "I have 2 important interviews in hotels. They'll determine my future career."
Yes, she's been planning to enter an apprenticeship program of 3 years and work at a hotel. I wondered why it couldn't wait. Soon enough she'd start working and she might never have the time to come visit me. I guess in some way it could be understood. I know that there's nothing that could stand in our way, as long as we choose to stay together, no matter what. But if we choose other things over each other, there's a chance we might lose this unique relationship. I'd rather find a solution that would make it all work.
The question is, how do we preserve one dream without destroying the others? There has to be a solution to everything..
I had to cope with the disappointment. At first I was angry and upset. My words to her didn't help the situation at all. But I told her I support her no matter what she decides to do in her life. We'll find a way to make it work. I just wish it weren't so sudden. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? I'm searching for flights, I'm asking my commanders and officers to do everything they can so that I would be released home on time." "I didn't want to make you mad, to disappoint you." "Honey, but you know that eventually, you'll have to tell me everything. The longer you wait, the bigger will be my disappointment. Please, always tell me what's on your mind. Don't be afraid to dissappoint me, you know I can never really be mad at you."
I told my commander I no longer need to postpone it.
* * * * *
After a few weeks in the south, we were given our next task - 3 weeks in the northern Jordanian border, near Hamat Gader... The quietest border in Israel.
After the last entry, I've stopped writing in my diary for about 3 months, however I still remember the more significant events of that preiod of time...
The Car Assault
About a mile ahead of the roadblock, an Israeli car was assaulted by a Palestinian gunman. Luckily, no one got hurt. The windows were broken and the driver had managed to escape the assault, get to the roadblock and alarm the soldiers.
I was at the base at the time. It was at around 8pm in the evening. The alarm sounded from the communications room, the battery's commander team was, as always, the first to react.
Another team was assembled, due to the severity of this event. By the time we got there, there were already dozens of soldiers walking all around the place. Shattered pieces of glass lay on the closed road. Bullet casings and projectiles were found at the scene.
Our regiment's commander was also there. There were various forces from all over the place. A few minutes later, we joined our battery's commander and his team, and headed to a nearby village, located just about 150 meters north of the road.
We walked silently in the night, watching each other's backs and ready for anything.
As we reached the first few houses, some of us stayed to watch the road, the others entered the houses and started asking people whether they saw or heard anything. As expected, people denied having any knowledge of the incident.
I was the one watching the road. Some cars would pass by, we would inspect them and ask them if they know anything about the incident. They had no idea what we were talking about. I was quite surprised to hear their car radio playing Modern Talking. How rare is that?
We walked down the road. Gil, the battery's commander, inspected some more houses. Then we gave up the search and left the village. Maybe it was the regiment commander's call, it doesn't matter. Everybody left with empty handed.
How do you find them criminals? You'd need to search the whole village. Even then, nothing is guaranteed. You can't do nothing and wait until they murder someone and hope that this time you'll be there on time.
That way, more Palestinians will feel safe enough to inflict chaos on the Israeli roads, more people will get killed and the murderers will never be found.
First of all, there's the obvious need of maximizing army's chances of catching them in the act. There are many cameras being installed on electric poles and antennas, watching over the hills, the villages and the roads for any hostile activities.
In case they DO get away, the army should pursue them until they're caught... they mustn't feel safe once they committed a crime. Instead, they should count the days before the army gets to them.
Four Sides Of The Fence
Before leaving Qalqilya in early March 2005, I've had several shifts on the AV patrol. One of our duties during the patrol was opening the gates for Palestinians.
What does it mean? It's only when I got there, I realized the absurdity of the situation. Just about a mile south of Qalqilya there's a fence... The thing is, it doesn't really separate the Israeli lands with the Palestinian ones. Instead, it separates some Palestinian lands and villages from the other. Each day, they are allowed to cross from one side to another at a specific time. At 4pm, we'd open the gates and they'd cross the road between the two fenced sectors. The same happens some time in the morning as well.
The fence was built that way in an attempt to include a settlement inside the Israeli side of the fence. Here's the map: (Red dots = Palestinian towns. Blue dots = Israeli settlements. Red line = seaparation fence. Purple line = 1967 borders.)
Note how much territory inside the west bank was planned to stay on the Israeli side of the fence, just because of a single, tiny settlement in the middle of that pocket.
But now as I can see, some of it has been fixed and parts of the fence were later dismantled as you can see on this updated April 07 map:
http://www.securityfence.mod.gov.il/Pages/Heb/map_heb.htm
Now some of those villages are no longer separated and the fence has been extended further east to include more Israeli settlements in it.
Hezbollah's aggression
Sometime around February, Hezbollah guerillas opened rocket fire on Israeli towns located along the northern border. Immediately after, we were informed to pack our bags and get ready in case we're needed there. Eventually, other forces were sent over there to deal with Hezbollah. Our turn to deal with them was yet to come...
Angel's visit
It's March 2005. We've finished our service in the Qalqiliya sector and moved on to the south for artillery training.
Matan called our team for some briefing and told us what's planned ahead. "Each week, two teams will be released home for a week. Our team will be released next week."
I asked my commander if I could switch with someone from another so that I could be released home exactly when Angel comes to visit. I informed her of the dates. It was time that she ordered the tickets.
Now it depended on her. I crossed my fingers and hoped it would all work out. I've been waiting for this for half a year.
Day after day have passed and I haven't heard a word from her. She wouldn't reply to my messages, she wouldn't answer the phone. What's going on? It's really important that we stay in contact.
Three days remained. It was still unknown whether I'll be allowed to postpone my release home by 1 week.
Eventually, I've managed to reach her by phone. I called her home number. Her mom picked it up and gave her the phone. Angel told me that she's trying to find a flight to Israel but there aren't any available. Those that are available, are way too expensive - over $700. No way. I called my mom and asked her to check this for me. Within half an hour, my mom found a flight from Munich to Tel Aviv for less than $500 with available seats.
I quickly informed Angel and told her I could even order the tickets for her if needed.
But it wasn't the flight. It was something else that stood in our way. "I'm sorry, I can't come to Israel." "Why?" "I have 2 important interviews in hotels. They'll determine my future career."
Yes, she's been planning to enter an apprenticeship program of 3 years and work at a hotel. I wondered why it couldn't wait. Soon enough she'd start working and she might never have the time to come visit me. I guess in some way it could be understood. I know that there's nothing that could stand in our way, as long as we choose to stay together, no matter what. But if we choose other things over each other, there's a chance we might lose this unique relationship. I'd rather find a solution that would make it all work.
The question is, how do we preserve one dream without destroying the others? There has to be a solution to everything..
I had to cope with the disappointment. At first I was angry and upset. My words to her didn't help the situation at all. But I told her I support her no matter what she decides to do in her life. We'll find a way to make it work. I just wish it weren't so sudden. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? I'm searching for flights, I'm asking my commanders and officers to do everything they can so that I would be released home on time." "I didn't want to make you mad, to disappoint you." "Honey, but you know that eventually, you'll have to tell me everything. The longer you wait, the bigger will be my disappointment. Please, always tell me what's on your mind. Don't be afraid to dissappoint me, you know I can never really be mad at you."
I told my commander I no longer need to postpone it.
After a few weeks in the south, we were given our next task - 3 weeks in the northern Jordanian border, near Hamat Gader... The quietest border in Israel.
Friday, June 15, 2007
The next chapter: Maccabim
27th September, 2004
When I came back to the army on 26th, my friends and a few other soldiers including my commander asked me about the trip. I brought pictures with me to show them... and to look at them myself once in a while.
On the next day, my battery was moving out of Hebron and getting ready to be replaced by other forces. I was in Telem settlement, doing some packing and cleaning up.
We had to wait in the parking lot for 3 hours until the bus came. It took us to Jerusalem, to "Beit HaHayal" - it's what you'd call a soldier's hotel.
Any soldier can spend a night at the hotel for around 35NIS ($8). Soldiers without parents, or with certain problems in the family are allowed to stay at the hotel for free.
There are such hotels in Ashqelon and Eilat that are primarily used for annual week-long vacations organized by the regiments. For example, 4 months ago - when I was in the middle of a commander's course, my regiment had a week-long vacation in Ashqelon.
This time, however, it was not a vacation. The next day we would proceed to our new home - Maccabim.
The same night, my throat hurt and I had temperature. I talked to our battery's medic, but he refused to help me, explaining me that all the medicine is packed and will only be unpacked tomorrow.
28th September-4th October, 2004
The regiment was ready to leave the hotel. Our battery would move to a small base on road number 443 connecting Modi'in and Jerusalem. The second battery would move to Maccabim - a base located on the Israeli side of the green-line border, next to the city Maccabim-Reut, close to Modi'in.
In Macabbim, soldiers have to prevent illegal Palestinian workers from entering the country. The fence is being constructed there, but it would take a few more years until it's finished.
The soldiers there are also responsible for the 443 roadblock. Thousands of people use that road every day, including Knesset members. Since the roadblock is located at the border between Israeli and the Palestinian territories, cars have to be checked.
Palestinian cars aren't allowed on that road, but Arab-Israeli cars are. If a soldier notices a car with Arabs or if he's not sure whether the man in the car is Arab or not, he signals the car to turn to the right-most lane for a routine check.
I know, this kind of selection is discriminative, but since not a single Israeli had yet carried out a suicide bombing, there is no reason to check them or their vehicles for explosives or anything of the kind.
As for Israeli-Arabs, they're checked only because you can rarely tell the difference between an Israeli-Arab and a Palestinian one, and sometimes Israeli-Arabs drive Palestinians into Israel.
But that's what the second battery will be doing in the following month, not mine.
I know it all because I served in that base for 2 months during my advanced training in the third battery. (4th battery is basic training. It doesn't officially belong to the regiment. 3rd battery is advanced training. 2nd and 1st batteries are where soldiers spend the rest of their military service, unless they leave for all kinds of reasons.)
My battery arrived to a small base, more of a post I'd say. There's barely enough space for the whole battery to fit in. I'd been here as well, during my advanced training, but since then the post has been re-arranged and improved. There are more containers now (Yes, in most bases we live in containers!), the entrance gate's been moved to a completely different location and the observation post has been upgraded with a monitor and a joystick.
It was an unbearable heat of around 45 degrees. The weather man said it was the hottest day of the year, yet we had to work without break during the whole day, unpacking the trucks, moving things from one place to another - beds, mattrasses, personal bags, army bags, vests, sofas, chairs, tables and a lot of miscellaenous battery accessories. Every 5 minutes I ran to the bathroom to drink water from the sink, despite my sore throat.
A while later, while the others were still unpacking, Aaron called me and a few others for a briefing... (Aaron is a very good guy from Ireland. He immigrated to Israel when he was a kid, just like me. We've completed both basic and advanced training together. Then he took the full commander's course and now he's assigned as a commander of the 2nd team of the 2nd platoon, while I'm in the 1st team of the 2nd platoon. My commander, Matan, also served the first 8 months of his military service with me. When he became my commander it felt really strange. But that's how it works here in the army. Even officers are younger than some of the regular soldiers. Never mind the rank, the younger ones should always respect the older soldiers, for they're usually more experienced.
When we all gathered, Yair, my officer, briefed us on the first mission. Normally, we would've been happy to skip all the unpacking, go on a mission and have a good sleep. But this mission wasn't something to be happy about: The regiment commander wants a team in one of the Palestinian villages. He wants us to be there for three straight days, guard on a terrace outside a Palestinian house, wearing a ceramic vest. No electricity. Peeing in bottles. The rest I'll leave to your own imagination. What was the purpose of this mission? Nobody knew.
It was madness! I've never heard of such things before.
We were waiting for a vehicle to take us there. We all hoped this mission would be cancelled.... and it eventually was. :)
I was assigned to guard at the observation post. An officer had given me a quick tutorial on how to use the joystick and the various camera functions, including night vision and I was happy to do the job. I became a regular observator - guarding from 2 to 6 am and pm and performing all the morning and evening cleaning duties with the other soldiers who were currently off their missions. Other missions included AV patrol and a foot patrol. The main mission is to protect the road and prevent Palestinians from throwing Molotov cocktails and stones on Israeli cars.
My throat was still sore, but nobody really cared about it. I couldn't drink anything cold, but the only drink that was available to us at dinner was ice cold raspberry juice. The medic gave me "Kalgaron" which is more like a candy-pill for little children. It obviously didn't help. My mom visited my on Saturday and gave me some medicine, honey and a thermos along with some fruits and sweets. Thanks Mom!
Lior officially became the battery's sergeant and inherited the job from one of the finest sergeants I've ever known - Avi. (If you ever watched the popular TV-Series "Lost", Avi is a COPY of Matthew Fox, the leading actor. The only two differences are that Avi's hair is already gray at age 21 and his voice is that of Vladimir Vysotsky, a famous Russian singer.)
Lior decided to show his authority on the second day of his duty. He asked everyone to wear a hat during morning and evening formation. (After morning/evening cleaning routine, soldiers have to wear vests with their flasks and magazines full, and stand in a U formation facing the commanders who check their flasks, their magazines, their weapons, the rooms, the toilets and the whole area of the base. A soldier is punished if he doesn't have his flasks or magazines full. If the base is not clean enough, soldiers have to keep cleaning until commanders are satisfied. Sometimes it depends on the mood and character of present commanders.)
On the next morning I had to wear a hat but I couldn't find it. I asked guys if they could lend me one, but no one had a spare hat. Standing in the formation without a hat resulted in a 1-day punishment. It means that one day of my vacation at home is taken away because of a stupid hat. He didn't accept any explanations. My commander supported me, but he couldn't anything about it. Lior wanted people to obey him, to fear his punishment. He needed an example to prove that he's serious. There I was.
Matan helped me nevertheless. He told me to come back from home a day earlier, but sometime in the evening. That way it would only be a few hours instead of a day.
I didn't hear any news from Angel, apart from one message. I don't want to bother her by sending too many SMS messages, but I do want to hear from her more often.
5th October, 2004
The whole battery gathered in the center and we spent a wonderful evening, playing games with music, barbecue and karaoke. November 2001 soldiers were singing the song "Gone till November" originally performed by Wyclef Jean, marking their upcoming release in November 2004.
The next morning we were released home at 8:30am. :)
27th September, 2004
When I came back to the army on 26th, my friends and a few other soldiers including my commander asked me about the trip. I brought pictures with me to show them... and to look at them myself once in a while.
On the next day, my battery was moving out of Hebron and getting ready to be replaced by other forces. I was in Telem settlement, doing some packing and cleaning up.
We had to wait in the parking lot for 3 hours until the bus came. It took us to Jerusalem, to "Beit HaHayal" - it's what you'd call a soldier's hotel.
Any soldier can spend a night at the hotel for around 35NIS ($8). Soldiers without parents, or with certain problems in the family are allowed to stay at the hotel for free.
There are such hotels in Ashqelon and Eilat that are primarily used for annual week-long vacations organized by the regiments. For example, 4 months ago - when I was in the middle of a commander's course, my regiment had a week-long vacation in Ashqelon.
This time, however, it was not a vacation. The next day we would proceed to our new home - Maccabim.
The same night, my throat hurt and I had temperature. I talked to our battery's medic, but he refused to help me, explaining me that all the medicine is packed and will only be unpacked tomorrow.
28th September-4th October, 2004
The regiment was ready to leave the hotel. Our battery would move to a small base on road number 443 connecting Modi'in and Jerusalem. The second battery would move to Maccabim - a base located on the Israeli side of the green-line border, next to the city Maccabim-Reut, close to Modi'in.
In Macabbim, soldiers have to prevent illegal Palestinian workers from entering the country. The fence is being constructed there, but it would take a few more years until it's finished.
The soldiers there are also responsible for the 443 roadblock. Thousands of people use that road every day, including Knesset members. Since the roadblock is located at the border between Israeli and the Palestinian territories, cars have to be checked.
Palestinian cars aren't allowed on that road, but Arab-Israeli cars are. If a soldier notices a car with Arabs or if he's not sure whether the man in the car is Arab or not, he signals the car to turn to the right-most lane for a routine check.
I know, this kind of selection is discriminative, but since not a single Israeli had yet carried out a suicide bombing, there is no reason to check them or their vehicles for explosives or anything of the kind.
As for Israeli-Arabs, they're checked only because you can rarely tell the difference between an Israeli-Arab and a Palestinian one, and sometimes Israeli-Arabs drive Palestinians into Israel.
But that's what the second battery will be doing in the following month, not mine.
I know it all because I served in that base for 2 months during my advanced training in the third battery. (4th battery is basic training. It doesn't officially belong to the regiment. 3rd battery is advanced training. 2nd and 1st batteries are where soldiers spend the rest of their military service, unless they leave for all kinds of reasons.)
My battery arrived to a small base, more of a post I'd say. There's barely enough space for the whole battery to fit in. I'd been here as well, during my advanced training, but since then the post has been re-arranged and improved. There are more containers now (Yes, in most bases we live in containers!), the entrance gate's been moved to a completely different location and the observation post has been upgraded with a monitor and a joystick.
It was an unbearable heat of around 45 degrees. The weather man said it was the hottest day of the year, yet we had to work without break during the whole day, unpacking the trucks, moving things from one place to another - beds, mattrasses, personal bags, army bags, vests, sofas, chairs, tables and a lot of miscellaenous battery accessories. Every 5 minutes I ran to the bathroom to drink water from the sink, despite my sore throat.
A while later, while the others were still unpacking, Aaron called me and a few others for a briefing... (Aaron is a very good guy from Ireland. He immigrated to Israel when he was a kid, just like me. We've completed both basic and advanced training together. Then he took the full commander's course and now he's assigned as a commander of the 2nd team of the 2nd platoon, while I'm in the 1st team of the 2nd platoon. My commander, Matan, also served the first 8 months of his military service with me. When he became my commander it felt really strange. But that's how it works here in the army. Even officers are younger than some of the regular soldiers. Never mind the rank, the younger ones should always respect the older soldiers, for they're usually more experienced.
When we all gathered, Yair, my officer, briefed us on the first mission. Normally, we would've been happy to skip all the unpacking, go on a mission and have a good sleep. But this mission wasn't something to be happy about: The regiment commander wants a team in one of the Palestinian villages. He wants us to be there for three straight days, guard on a terrace outside a Palestinian house, wearing a ceramic vest. No electricity. Peeing in bottles. The rest I'll leave to your own imagination. What was the purpose of this mission? Nobody knew.
It was madness! I've never heard of such things before.
We were waiting for a vehicle to take us there. We all hoped this mission would be cancelled.... and it eventually was. :)
I was assigned to guard at the observation post. An officer had given me a quick tutorial on how to use the joystick and the various camera functions, including night vision and I was happy to do the job. I became a regular observator - guarding from 2 to 6 am and pm and performing all the morning and evening cleaning duties with the other soldiers who were currently off their missions. Other missions included AV patrol and a foot patrol. The main mission is to protect the road and prevent Palestinians from throwing Molotov cocktails and stones on Israeli cars.
My throat was still sore, but nobody really cared about it. I couldn't drink anything cold, but the only drink that was available to us at dinner was ice cold raspberry juice. The medic gave me "Kalgaron" which is more like a candy-pill for little children. It obviously didn't help. My mom visited my on Saturday and gave me some medicine, honey and a thermos along with some fruits and sweets. Thanks Mom!
Lior officially became the battery's sergeant and inherited the job from one of the finest sergeants I've ever known - Avi. (If you ever watched the popular TV-Series "Lost", Avi is a COPY of Matthew Fox, the leading actor. The only two differences are that Avi's hair is already gray at age 21 and his voice is that of Vladimir Vysotsky, a famous Russian singer.)
Lior decided to show his authority on the second day of his duty. He asked everyone to wear a hat during morning and evening formation. (After morning/evening cleaning routine, soldiers have to wear vests with their flasks and magazines full, and stand in a U formation facing the commanders who check their flasks, their magazines, their weapons, the rooms, the toilets and the whole area of the base. A soldier is punished if he doesn't have his flasks or magazines full. If the base is not clean enough, soldiers have to keep cleaning until commanders are satisfied. Sometimes it depends on the mood and character of present commanders.)
On the next morning I had to wear a hat but I couldn't find it. I asked guys if they could lend me one, but no one had a spare hat. Standing in the formation without a hat resulted in a 1-day punishment. It means that one day of my vacation at home is taken away because of a stupid hat. He didn't accept any explanations. My commander supported me, but he couldn't anything about it. Lior wanted people to obey him, to fear his punishment. He needed an example to prove that he's serious. There I was.
Matan helped me nevertheless. He told me to come back from home a day earlier, but sometime in the evening. That way it would only be a few hours instead of a day.
I didn't hear any news from Angel, apart from one message. I don't want to bother her by sending too many SMS messages, but I do want to hear from her more often.
5th October, 2004
The whole battery gathered in the center and we spent a wonderful evening, playing games with music, barbecue and karaoke. November 2001 soldiers were singing the song "Gone till November" originally performed by Wyclef Jean, marking their upcoming release in November 2004.
The next morning we were released home at 8:30am. :)
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