Not buying it

 Not buying it The Jerusalem Post, August 21, 2009 The crowd is small and subdued Friday morning at Tel Aviv’s Hangar 11. Drifts of Israeli Arabs and Israelis walk through an air-conditioned shuk, passing stalls lined with pickles, olives, baklawa, cosmetics, clothes, arts and crafts. One vendor—a tall, lanky man with black hair—sprays puffs of …

After the ‘non-revolution’

  After the ‘non-revolution’ The Jerusalem Post, August 21, 2009 I’ve tucked away my guidebook and happily stumbled upon an unmarked bar on a low-key street in Budapest. The scene is relaxed—simple blue jeans on casually crossed legs, uncomplicated drinks like beer and wine on plain wooden tables. The bright lighting, high ceilings, and a …

The Balkan two-step

 The Balkan two-step The Jerusalem Post, August 7, 2009 Another shot of ouzo? Why not? I wince as I down the alcohol. I get back out on the floor and study the footsteps of the ring of dancers. I nod my head and mutter to myself—right, left, right, return—and when I think I’ve got the …

An Interview with Adina Hoffman

 An Interview with Adina Hoffman Bookslut, August 2009 In the opening pages of My Happiness Bears No Relation to Happiness author Adina Hoffman journeys from her home in Jerusalem to the north of Israel. The landscape there is dismal—blocks of rundown apartment buildings show signs of life but remain eerily quiet. If it serves as …

Big trouble in little China

 Big trouble in little China The Jerusalem Post, July 31, 2009 As the sky darkens over the sagging cement buildings of South Tel Aviv, Chinese workers gather on the sidewalk outside of Kav LaOved. Inside, the translators that volunteer their time to Kav LaOved every Monday night prepare. “It’s like a party out there,” one …