One sour ‘n’ sweet Israeli day
I recently had two different “Israeli” experiences in one day, one sour and one sweet:
The sour one: I was shown a commercial space in Ashdod where the landlords had — some time ago — smashed everything (toilets, lighting, electrical panels, interior cinder block walls, windows) so that they could say the place is uninhabitable and, therefore, avoid paying any property taxes. This, no doubt, goes on all over this country, making it extremely difficult to rent office / industrial space. And what little space is available is expensive to say the least. The taxes are all that much higher because the system can be manipulated by the tax cheats.
The sweet one: I was simultaneously unloading my full grocery cart onto the cashier’s conveyor belt and bagging the groceries at the other end. An Ethiopian Israeli, who was probably in his mid-30s and who was next in line, offered to unload my groceries for me. He said, “I can help you; I’m just standing here.” I was so pleased and so thankful. This small act of random kindness reset the tone for the whole day.
Uncategorized | Alison | 
21 February 2011 11:11
