Transport In Haifa

We are sitting at a cafe in the Mercaz HaCarmel(center) part of Haifa looking at the shortest subway in the world. The Carmelit is the only direct path to downtown Haifa and the city center.The city is known for its hilly nature and winding roads. It reminds be of my native Colorado but without the snow. Driving can be difficult not only due to the terrain but a lack of parking and short fuses of many Israeli drivers. Therefore, I choose to use public transportation rather than own a car.

Haifa has buses, cabs, and a high speed train that connects with cities such as Tel Aviv and Nahariya. The international airport known as Ben Gurion is just an hour and a quarter trip from here. Internet access is available plus power outlets to charge cell phones on trains and many buses. . The noise from cell phone chatter often drowns out other surrounding sounds. Due to quick and low cost transportation many Haifa residents commute to work daily using public services.

Buses are modern, air conditioned, and low cost The basic cost is about $1.50 per ride but discount passes are available.I use what is called a Rav Kav which gives me unlimited monthly rides at a very low price. Buses operate seven days a week in Haifa but only major routes on Saturday (Sabbath)

Cab rides are often entertaining as well as convenient. Most major thoroughfares have cab stations and ongoing hail cabs. Fare are negotiable and the mood of the driver is an important factor. It is rare that the same trip has the same rate. Having an honest and reliable cab driver in Haifa is a big plus.

Drivers only take cash and are often independent businessman. Many cabs are manufactured by Mercedes Benz, but you see all makes of vehicles. Cab riding is safe in Israel as robberies are rare. You can sit in the front seat with your driver which was a new experience for me. Not all drivers speak English Therefore it helps to have a your destination written in Hebrew when you hail a cab.

Low cost coach service connects Haifa to most other Israeli communities including Jerusalem. The country is small enough to visit Nazareth, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv in the same day.

For those us who like to walk, there are many trails, steps, and main thoroughfares it is not unusual topass historical sites such as The Bhai Gardens, the tomb of Elijah the Prophet, or the Madatech museum which was co -founded by Albert Einstein.

So for would be visitors, Haifa is both accessible and offers low cost travel.

Bees Borekas and Bibi

There is a great deal of discussion in today’s news regarding the recent conciliation between Israel and Turkey. Behind the news is the fact that the agreement is part of a process that dates back to the days of the old testament.

The ancient Israelites were known to have imported honeybees from what is modern-day Turkey. A team of Israeli archaeologists recently found thirty intact hives made of straw and unbaked clay, with evidence that there had been over 100-200 more, on the site of the joint Israelite-Canaanite city of Tel Rehov. According to some evidence, the bees were probably imported from the region after the locals proved easier to handle than the Israeli bees, which had proved to be extremely aggressive.
The history of the Jews in Turkey encompasses 2,400 years. There have been Jewish communities in Asia since at least the 5th century BCE, and many Spanish and Portuguese Jews expelled from Spain were welcomed into the Ottoman Empire in the late 15th century. Despite emigration during the 20th century, modern-day Turkey only has  a small Jewish population. I have several friends in Haifa who immigrated to Israel from Turkey at various times since 1948.

Turkey was the first Muslim country to  recognize the State of Israel in 1948. Turkey and Israel have closely cooperated militarily and economically. The formal diplomatic relations between the nations has seen many ups and downs. However, there is a strong social-cultural bond between the peoples that continues to thrive and even strengthen.

I write this post at a Turkish café in the port area of my home city of Haifa. The “Namal” is a bustling area with ships both commercial and passenger bound for their destinations throughout the world. The owner of the café immigrated to Haifa from Turkey in 1970. We talked about the massage energy discoveries and proposed energy pipeline to connect the nations of this region. Eli still speaks the ancient language of Ladino which he learned in “The Old Country”. We enjoyed my favorite Turkish contribution to Israel  borekas and a  strong cup of sweet Turkish coffee.

Borekas are a family of baked or fried filled pastries made of a thin flaky dough known as phyllo (or yufka). It can be filled with cheese, often feta, sirene or kaşar; minced meat, or vegetables. It was most probably invented in what is now Modern Turkey, in the Anatolian Provinces of the Ottoman Empire in its early era, to become a popular element of Ottoman cuisine. A börek may be prepared in a large pan and cut into portions after baking, or as individual pastries. The top of the börek is often sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Israel and Turkey trumpeted their recent agreement to restore full diplomatic ties after a six-year hiatus, with the Israelis welcoming the economic benefits and the Turkish emphasizing the easing of the embargo on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and its humane benefits. Many people believe that Turkey could serve to bridge the gap between Israel and the Palestinians. We were discussing this at my Talmud group this week, my teacher Brume made the statement that any negotiations that may have a positive impact are worth the effort.

Speaking to reporters in Rome after meeting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi} Netanyahu said the agreement would boost Israel’s economy through natural-gas exports and help maintain the country’s long-term security. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the deal would allow his country to send humanitarian aid to Gaza with plans to build a 200 bed hospital, new power plants, residential buildings and other infrastructure. Mr. Kerry welcomed the deal. “It’s a positive step we wanted,” he said. “We hope it’s the beginning of others.”

How will this agreement affect my city of Haifa and the region? My neighbor Carlos is looking forward to increased prosperity as Haifa is located just east of the energy deposits He is a cab driver and expects increased trade as is my other neighbor Simon who a construction foreman. With the expected influx of foreign workers, this can only strengthen the economy and bring the benefits associated with this to my home town.

The hope that one day people in this region will live together in peace is widely discussed in the media. Conflict, very sadly, has been the nature of humanity since the beginning of time. Will political leaders and agreements bring Shalom? I have no idea. My strong conviction is that the improvement of social, cultural, and spiritual bonds between nations holds the best answer. Food of course is the universal peacemaker. I myself, am looking to more Turkish restaurants!

GREEK ISRAELI RELATIONS - CHANGES IN THE MIDDLE EAST

I am sitting on the porch of the Cafein in the upscale community of Haifa in Israel known as Horev It is named after the mount where Moses received the ten commandments. In this area there is a small canyon or mall, several cafes and middle class homes. This community has a mixed population of Jewish, Christian and Muslims. I am eating Moussaka, drinking Arak a local variation of Greek Ouzo, and watching the pedestrians pass by which is my favorite afternoon pleasure except for the Shabat or Sabbath of course. I can see the namal or port where many of the workers trace their roots back for centuries to Salonika.

There is a lot of news currently about the changing relations between Israel and Greece, including the tripartite agreement between Israel, Greece and Cyprus. I decided to learn more about the history of the relationship between Judaic and Hellenic culture. We are one week away from Passover and I am surprised to find how amazingly the relationship between the 2 cultures has endured over the centuries. The Hellenic influence began in 332 BCE when Alexander the great concurred the world including much of this region. The two cultures at times clashed but ofter shared values. Many of the ancient Hebrews took Greek names, wore togas, and even the tallit was influenced by the Greek pissim or stripe. The Jewish Sanhedrin or higher court has a Greek morphology. During the Passover Sedar Jews are expected to lean rather than sit upright similar to ancient Greek aristocracy. The word afikoman is also a Greek word.

The Hellenic influence also extended to included Christianity. In Jerusalem, The Greek Altar of Calvary, Church of the Holy Sepulchre is widely considered the holiest site in Christianity. The Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem is an Autocephalous Orthodox Church within the wider communion of Orthodox Christianity and it is headed by the Patriarch of Jerusalem

The nature of modern ties between the two countries were rekindled on the rebirth of modern Israel in 1948. Along with Cuba, Greece was one of only two Christian-majority nations to vote against the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine. Following the signing of armistice agreements confirming Israel's survival in the aftermath of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Greece recognized the State of Israel on 15 March 1949, although it was diplomatically represented in Tel Aviv on lower-than-embassy level. For many years Greece was seen as very pro-Palestinian.

Since May 1991, however, relations between the two countries have been upgraded from Diplomatic Representation to Embassy level. Whilst relations between the two countries have been less warm in the late 20th century, since 2008 they have become the strongest relations in the Eastern Mediterranean. Israel and Greece consider each other as strong collaborator in the aspects of military intelligence, economy and culture. Both countries are part of the Energy Triangle which referred to the extraction of oil and gas from both Israel and Cyprus, these supplies being delivered to mainland Europe with a pipeline through Greece. Israel-Greece relations have been heavily influenced by the relation between Israel and Turkey. Haifa is the center of Israel's energy industry and largest port. It is guesstimated that as much as thirty trillion dollars of energy could be traded in the future.

The joint Cyprus-Israel oil and gas explorations centered on the Leviathan gas field just west of Haifa is an important factor for Greece, given its strong links with Cyprus, the third member of the tripartite. The Greeks are looking to expand their economy with the western nations and see Israel as a conduit to this goal.

So what lies ahead? Greece sees Israel as a reliable secure source of energy in the years ahead in a turbulent region of the world. Israel sees Greece as a gateway to trade in the Eastern Mediterranean. May the relationship prosper.

This week is was announced that Israel and Turkey are moving closer to cooperation between the two nations. Turkey has a strong interest in Israels offshore energy supplies which will reduce Turkeys dependency on Russia for its energy needs. Israels Prime Minister has expressed confidence that an agreement will be in place within 60 days.

From Pittsburgh to Haifa: Steps and Energy

My roots are in the City of Pittsburgh, USA. I currently live in Haifa Israel. Both cities are known for many wonderful things. Pittsburgh was the birthplace of Heinz Ketchup, United States Steel, and of course the mighty Steelers. Haifa is the largest port city in Israel, home and world headquarters of the Bahia faith, Achmadiyya Muslims in Israel and the Technion. One of the schools founders was Albert Einstein. Haifa is also the center of Israel's energy industry. The two cities also share the traits of smog and very hilly terrain. Both have roughly 300,000 residents.

The city of Pittsburgh is located over an unruly terrain of hills, hollows, valleys and three intersecting rivers. Back in the late 19th and early 20th century, when Pittsburgh was growing as a coal and steel town, factory workers built houses in the hills rising above the flat riverbanks that were lined with factories. In order to commute to work. City officials and residents built staircases along the mountainside, originally of wood and later with concrete. Most were built in the 1940s.

Certain sections of the city are so steep and narrow that these neighborhoods are serviced by special fire trucks that are small and have a tighter than normal turning radius. Many of the streets that appear on maps are, in fact, are not streets at all but long staircases that often surprise unsuspecting visitors. Just like real streets, they have names, signs and even house numbers. I remember the days when I drove down cobblestone streets that were thoroughfares to nowhere.

There are a total of 712 public stairways and 44,645 steps in the city, accounting for 24,108 feet of vertical height and 23 miles in distance. Vertigo has been a lifetime problem for me and I often shuddered as I crossed hilly roads and the numerous bridges across the steel cities rivers and streets.

Haifa is a port city built on the side of Mount Carmel where legend has it was the home of Elijah the Prophet. His tomb is one the most venerated visited sites of Haifa. The port but meanders upward through the city Haifa to The Mercaz or center. The world center of the Bhai faith is located on the Mercaz and has its own set of steps leading downward. There is a one hour tour in Hebrew, Russian, and English for those in decent shape.

Some of the sites that hikers can see along include the Wadi Nismas, a predominantly Arab speaking community famous for great food and shopping. There is the Bet Gefin House which is an interfaith youth center. Haifa, which is known as The City of Peaceful Coexistance has a population of Jews, Christians, Muslims,Druze and of course the Bhaia center world famous for their magnificent gardens. which brings visitors from around the world. The steps also pass Hadar the oldest part of Haifa which centered the British administration when this was still Palestine. Your splendid view is dotted with Mosques, Synagogues, and Chuches many of which are hundreds of years old. Your view of the Haifa port includes dozens of freighters and passenger ships from around the world. I even saw the Queen Mary when she docked two years ago. The port will a hub for offshore future energy administration. It is expected that our next step is to become the land of oil and gas rather than milk and honey.

The 20th of Sivan

The 20th of Sivan is a Jewish day of remembrance twice, designated as a fast day for massacres against European Jewry. I attended a lesson about this remembrance this week at a Jewish Kollel or study center. It was both a prayer session to commemorate this date and for the three missing Israeli youth who disappeared near Hebron.

This date is associated with two major catastrophes that befell European Jewry, one during the crusades in France, the second five hundred years later by the Cossacks against Ukrainian Jewry. In both cases Jews were slaughtered by the thousands for the crime of practicing our faith.

In Judaism, the purpose of a fast is to lower the volume on our physical pursuits in order to focus more acutely on our spiritual selves. This facilitates the process of:

1. Teshuva – literally means "return." We return to G-d, and to our essential state of purity.

2. Selicha – 'selicha' means not holding a grudge, not feeling affronted or aggrieved. If someone is angry with you, you would ask him to forgive you, to be "soleach."

3. Kappara – 'Kappara' is fundamentally different from the previous two terms. Kappara means "atonement." The object of atonement, that which is changed as a result, is not God (His attitude, as in selicha) or God's demands of us (His demands, as in 'mechila'), but Man and the sin itself. Objects which have been defiled by sin need kappara to return to a state of purity.

Our Rabbi spent much of the evening discussing the concepts of kindness and self-responsibility in Judaism. Many people think of Judaism as the religion of cold, harsh laws. This is an unfair characterization of both Judaism and Jewish law. Love and kindness have been a part of Judaism from the very beginning. When Jesus said, "love thy neighbor as thyself," he was merely quoting the Torah, and he was quoting the book that is most commonly dismissed as a source of harsh laws: Leviticus 19:18. The point is repeated in Leviticus 19:34: love [the stranger] as thyself.

The Talmud tells a story of Rabbi Hillel, who lived around the time of Jesus. A pagan came to him saying that he would convert to Judaism if Hillel could teach him the whole of the Torah in the time he could stand on one foot. Rabbi Hillel replied, "What is hateful to yourself, do not do to your fellow man. That is the whole Torah; the rest is just commentary. Go and study it." (Talmud, Shabbat 31a).

Our Rabbi discussed the need to forgive our enemies and to look deeply within ourselves before we judge others. How do you do this when you look at the history of the Jewish people and the world in general? How can followers of Judaism forgive the horrors of the Holocaust or the injustices of the Crusades? Do we dare ask the parent of the three children to understand and not hate? I personally cannot say that I have an answer.

I can, however, look at my own life and see that my enemy’s treatment of me has often brought more long term good than suffering. Often I have discovered that those who inflicted hurt upon me were despondent about their own lives than attacking mine. The component of my soul that most needs improvement in the ability to protect myself but not feel rage at those who try to harm me and mine. This is the intended meaning of the 20th of Sivan.

Natural gas: Peace and Prosperity?

I am sitting here at The Kapiot Café in Haifa drinking a Southern Comfort while enjoying the beautiful view of the Namal (port) at my favorite pub. The port is laden with shipping both commercial and pleasure including passenger ships bound for Turkey, commercial freighters, and yachts of various dimensions. The manager of the café, Avi comes from a maritime family. His dad was one of the port managers and he spends much of his retirement boating and diving. Both the crew of the Kapiot and guests often discuss the search for peace in our region and the incredible economic growth of Eretz Israel in the past sixty five years. The answer to even greater prosperity and stronger ties with our neighbors may well lie under the Mediterranean waters just off the Haifa coast.
 

Capiot Cafe, Haifa

Two potentially huge natural gas discoveries occurred in this region in 2009 and 2010. The Tamar gas field is located in Israel's exclusive economic zone, roughly 80 kilometers (50 mi) west of Haifa in waters 1,700 meters (5,600 ft) deep. While there have been small oil and gas discoveries in Israel over the decades, it was the first large one in the country. Tamar alone, it is estimated, could provide 50% to 80% of Israel’s natural-gas needs for a decade.

The Leviathan gas field is a second large natural gas field located in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel, 47 kilometers (29 mi) south-west of the Tamar gas field. The gas field is located roughly 130 kilometers (81 mi) west of Haifa in waters 1,500 meters (4,900 ft) deep in the Levantine basin, a rich hydrocarbon area in one of the world's largest offshore gas finds of the past decade. These two discoveries alone offer Israel the potential to serve its own energy needs and be an energy exporter within the next several years producing substantial economic benefits.

The gas finds also have the potential to change Israel's foreign relations towards a closer collaboration with Cyprus, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt and our Palestinian neighbors.

The possible enhancement of ties between Turkey and Israel receives a lot of press attention and is a one possible example.

Nearly four years ago, an Israeli raid on a Turkish ship MV Mavi Marmara bound for Gaza unhinged the relatively close relationship between the two countries.

Israel and Turkey have made efforts to mend diplomatic ties in recent months to resolve this damage and improve ties. The two nations have grown closer and have signed a draft agreement to compensate Turkey for the deaths of protesters aboard the ship; once finalized, the agreement restores full diplomatic ties. The two nations continue to trade and promote mutual tourism, which should expand with the easing of diplomatic tensions.

The port of Haifa

One of the benefits to the nations could be an export route for Israeli natural gas. A leading option for Israel to get its natural-gas riches to the market is an undersea pipeline linking Israel and Turkey. The Turkish market for natural gas is the only growing one (in the region), and the drive to diversify away from Russia will justify Israeli gas to join Azeri, Iranian and Kurdish gas.

In recent months Israel has already signed energy deals with Jordan and the Palestinian Authority. Israel and Jordan signed $500 million natural gas deal.
The accord may grow into $30-billion partnership for Israel to become Jordan’s main supplier.

If all goes well, the latest developments could see first pipelines being laid between Israel and Turkey as soon as 2015, and gas cooperation between Israel and Egypt would allow export access to Asia's major markets.

I am writing this story while energy negotiation involving Israel and Egypt have been reported. Egypt and Israel have had only limited economic cooperation since signing a landmark peace accord in 1979. Political turmoil in Egypt in recent years has further limited cooperation between the neighboring countries.

Israeli gas could help ease domestic shortages, bolster the Egyptian economy, alleviate internal political unrest, and bolster trade and tourism between the two nations.

We in Israel and Jews throughout the world have just completed celebrating the holiday of Passover, which commemorates our flight to freedom out of Egypt three thousand years ago. The Jewish people spent the last two thousand years without our ancestral homeland, Eretz Israel. Sixty five years ago it was returned to us to build both a safe haven for Jews throughout the world, but many feel this also fulfills Biblical prophecy. Jews, Muslims, and Christians live together in a fairly democratic and economically robust society. Perhaps, indeed “a land flowing with milk and honey" is a reference in the Hebrew Bible to the agricultural abundance of the Land of Israel. The phrase is used in the Book of Exodus during Moses' vision of the burning bush.[3:1–22] Could milk and honey in today's world be oil and natural gas? Who knows! In either case, I and my friends at The Kapiot Café offer our readers a hearty Shalom or peace from Haifa, “the City of Peaceful Coexistence”.

From Haifa to Istanbul

From my favorite pub in Haifa, the Kapiot Café, where I am writing, I am enjoying the beautiful view of the Namal or port. My coauthor Danit comes from a family whose roots are in Istanbul. They immigrated to Israel at the time of the rebirth of the Jewish state in 1948. She quips that our namal has certainly changed since her grandparents landed sixty five years ago. The port is laden with shipping both commercial and pleasure including passenger cruise ships bound for Turkey, commercial freighters, and yachts of various dimensions. Danit adds that her family and friends brought with them a social and cultural influence that is still seen in Haifa today, such as the Ladino language and music. 

Ladino is a Romance language derived from Old Spanish. It was originally spoken in the former territories of the Ottoman Empire (the Balkans, Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa) as well as in France, Italy, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Morocco and the UK. Today it is spoken mainly by Sephardic minorities in more than thirty countries, most of the speakers residing in Israel. Although it has no official status in any country, it has been acknowledged as a minority language in Israel and Turkey. Ladino music festivals are held each year in Haifa. Artists from all over the world come to sing and dance and celebrate this culture. In addition, Borekas pastries and Turkish coffee are mainstays of our local diet.


Turkey is an important tourism destination for Israelis. Istanbul is a 90-minute flight from Tel Aviv. No visas are required for Israelis to visit Turkey, while Turkish citizens with ordinary passports need a visa prior to travelling Israel. In 2008, before the 2008-09 Gaza war, 560,000 Israelis vacationed in Turkey, according to Israeli tourism officials. In October 2010 Israel's Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov encouraged Israelis to boycott Turkey as a vacation spot in response to Turkey's stance on Gaza. The number of Israeli tourists in Turkey dropped to 300,000 in 2009 and to 110,000 in 2010; it declined further to about 62,000 between January and August 2011. According to Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Israelis' share of Turkey's total tourism declined from 3% to 0.05%. However, the trending as during the recent Passover holiday more than twenty thousand Israelis have chosen Turkey as a holiday get-away. More than a quarter million people from Israel are expected to visit Turkey this summer as Israeli trade unions are ending a five-year boycott of the country. Among the top destinations in Turkey for Israeli tourists are Antalya, Bodrum and Marmaris. Haifa is a major hub for tourists choosing to enjoy the beautiful Mediterranean waters and short a cruise to visit our Turkish friends. 

Turkey is Israel's sixth-largest export destination. Chemicals and oil distillates are the primary exports. Natural gas is expected to greatly expand the trade between our two states including a possible energy pipeline. Israeli import of Turkish vegetable products has remained steady since 2007, and imports of prepared foodstuffs, beverages and tobacco doubled in the last ten years. 


Two potentially huge natural gas discoveries occurred in this region in 2009 and 2010. The Tamar gas field is located in Israel's exclusive economic zone, roughly 80 kilometers (50 mi) west of Haifa in waters 1,700 meters (5,600 ft) deep. While there have been small oil and gas discoveries in Israel over the decades, it was the first large one in the country. Tamar alone, it is estimated, could provide 50% to 80% of Israel’s natural-gas needs for a decade. 


The Leviathan gas field is a second large natural gas field located in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel, 47 kilometers (29 mi) south-west of the Tamar gas field. The gas field is located roughly 130 kilometers (81 mi) west of Haifa in waters 1,500 meters (4,900 ft) deep in the Levantine basin, a rich hydrocarbon area in one of the world's largest offshore gas finds of the past decade. These two discoveries alone offer Israel the potential to serve its own energy needs and be an energy exporter within the next several years producing substantial economic benefits. Our primary partners in these endeavors are expected to be our friends in Istanbul.