It’s 10pm. I enter the lively Machane Yehuda (outdoor market) on a 25-degree night. I see a colourful crowd twirling to Middle Eastern beats. In front of the rusty shutter doors, a band called Sabir is performing. I experience peculiar instruments making unique sounds. I order a frozen limonana (lemonade with mint), with a touch of alcohol, and join my Israeli friend and Spanish friend. I watch the crowd beam. I am back in Jerusalem.

Undeniably, it has been a ‘heated few weeks’ in this city, and I am not only referring to the weather. While it has been hard to swallow the unprecedented attacks here, it was rather pleasant to take a break for a weekend and come back to the prevailing summer energy. Jerusalem is alive in August and some would even term it ‘festival month’. Let me begin…

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SUMMER NIGHTS

Whilst Tel Aviv thrives itself on the beach, Jerusalem (for those abroad) prides itself on the weather. The evening breeze is delightful and almost saves you in the summertime.

One night after work I attend the Jerusalem Summer party with colleagues, which is hosted at the JVP Media Quarter. Cocktails in branded milk bottles await us at the door and a band with English cover music is playing. Erel Margalit, a member of Knesset and a Israeli hi-tech and social entrepreneur, welcomes everybody. We gather to celebrate this growing startup community that Time Magazine recently coined as one as one out of ‘five emerging tech hubs around the world’.

Another night after dinner, en route to my home in Rehaviah, my friend and I stop at the beautiful Emek Hamazlevah (The valley of the cross). Hearing whispers about a gig, we walk past and in the middle of a graffiti tunnel, in a picturesque valley, 200 Israelis are there dancing to the techno beats. Such a lively scene, hidden in between a valley and a park.

The wine festival is pumping, next week the beer festival, and a plethora of other events put on by the Jerusalem Season of Culture. Not enough days in the week!

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A ‘MAGYAR’ AT HEART

What is a Magyar you may ask? It is a Hungarian person. My late grandmother Judith (hence my middle name) was born in Budapest and migrated to Australia after the Second World War. Although I never met her, I feel intrinsically connected to her and my strong Hungarian roots.

I visit Budapest on my weekend away. Pretty unique to still have family there, I pop in to my family’s antique chandelier shop and say hi to Tamás and Gabor (see below). Budapest blows me away and I feel a whimsical charm to the city. Ruin pubs are the norm, abandoned downtown buildings turned zingy bars and restaurants. Olden day Eastern Europe meets a modern and very hipster town!

      

Once a country with a thriving Jewish community and around 1,000,000 inhabitants, Budapest still possesses a sense of Jewishness. I stroll one early evening along the gorgeous Danube River, which separates Buda and Pest. Without any warning (or even signs) I see a myriad of steel shoes along the waters edge. I ask the American lady next to me what is the significance of the memorial; she explains how 30,000 Jews were taken to this very point in 1944. “They were forced to remove their shoes and belongings and paired up, with one of the two shot and thus both killing both of them.” I take a large gulp while standing in one of the most idyllic spots in Eastern Europe and find myself overwhelmed with sadness. How is this conceivable?

We visit the stunning Dohany Synagogue, the biggest shul (synagogue) in Europe. Tours in numerous languages fill this stunning space, which was built in the late 1800s and revamped after the Holocaust.  New fact of the day: Theodor Herzl was born across the road from the shul. For those who don’t know, Herzl was the father of modern day secular Zionism (love of Israel). This ambitious Hungarian dreamt of a Jewish state and promoted Jewish migration to Palestine, and here I am visiting from that same country, Israel, 100+ years later. Typically, we find a bar called ‘Mazel Tov’ and neglecting our oath to only eat Hungarian food, once again we find ourselves eating pita and hummus in the middle of the 7th district. Mind you, there was hardly any shortage of gulyás (goulash), paprikáscsirke (chicken paprika) and Palacsinta (crepes) in our diet (or lack of thereof). My new theory: 1 dessert shop for every 2 people in Budapest; who needs that many cake shops? Overall, a fun-filled and invigorating ‘gals’ weekend away.

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YAD VASHEM

“When I grow up and get to twenty I’ll travel and see this this world of plenty. In a bird with an engine I will sit myself down, Take off and fly into space, far above the ground. I’ll Fly, I’ll cruise and soar up high above a world so lovely, into the sky…..” Abramek Kopolowicz, murdered in Auschwitz at age 14.

Returning from Hungary and feeling the inherent connection to my past, when the opportunity came to go with my non-Jewish Mexican friend and English guy and French girl to Yad Vashem (Holocaust Memorial), it was only natural to accept. Here I share stories passed down from my grandfather having survived Auschwitz, not once but twice. This time connecting more to my Polish roots (3/4 Polish grandparents), I am astonished to read that out of 3.25 million Polish Jews that lived in Poland before the war, only 325,000 survived. With a feeling of gloominess, I exit the museum and walk out to to the unrivalled views of Jerusalem. The contrast of backdrops, for me anyway, only bolsters my love of this country!

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CAN YOU EVER GET SICK OF HUMMUS?

I believe not! After work one night I meet my friend for quick hummus stop in Rehaviah. The meal was quick and delicious. I return home, turn on the television to Israeli Masterchef and naturally, the two remaining contestants were having a ‘hummus off’. The challenge – who can prepare the most flavoursome dish of hummus. Only in Israel!

Everyone in this country seems to ‘know’ the best hummus in town. I have to say on my ‘Shvil ha Hummus’ (hummus trail), to me the more local, the better. It’s now Friday afternoon and I finally visit ‘Azura’. A Jerusalem gem, which has been around for the past 25 years. Preparing a variety of Kurdish, Iraqi and Sephardic dishes, this family-run restaurant gives a new meaning to the word ‘authenticity’. Whilst the squash and goulash soup leaves me speechless, the hummus here was by far the best I have had in town! I look forward to returning on a cooler day to try their famous Kubbeh Soup (traditional Iraqi soup).

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GOOD SHABBOS 

The sirens sound and after a busy Friday, I calmly welcome the Shabbat. Tucked away in the quaint alleyways of Nachalot, I join my friends for a ‘speed’ prayer service at a shul, which was overflowing with young single Israelis. Fun fact: Ohavei Zion, is referred to as ‘Banai Shul’, and was built in 1906 by the Banai family (famous Israeli family renowned for singing). It was originally established for Parsim (Persian) Immigrants, for the soul purpose of giving them a ‘home’ in Jerusalem.

I spend this Shabbat with a friend who isn’t of the faith and love sharing with him customs and traditions of the Jewish ‘day of rest’. Excitedly, we are invited to a Moishe House for Friday night dinner. Moishe House is a pluralistic Jewish organisation that reaches out to young adults in their 20s. In we walk, near the happening market, where these three modern orthodox dudes live in an eclectic and grungy space. Part of living in this house is that they host a minimum of 4 events a month. We sing, pray, eat and continue to eat, drink Arak, and share stories and experiences from Israel and around the world!

Shabbat wouldn’t be fulfilled without more eating! Enter Saturday, and we peacefully walk to the Greek Colony into another great living space, this time an old Jerusalem building with a contemporary interior. Stimulating conversations, really lovely people, and delicious food, the highlight dish was the ground turkey, (of course with humus). What I appreciate about a Shabbat meal in addition to the oversupply of great food is everyone is entirely present, pun intended! With no phones and no technology, people actually listen. Why can’t every meal be like this?

I visit a friend and sit on his rooftop to wind down from Shabbat over a cold beer. This story is too good not to write about. I sit with his roommate from Toronto and discuss the most random of topics. 20 minutes into the conversation he says, “I spoke to my mom a few hours ago and she told me her friend’s friend’s daughter is living in Jerusalem and I should take her out.” I respond agreeing how annoying it is when parents try to match you up thinking nothing of it. He tells his mother unfortunately he is seeing someone. He then laughs that the girl his mother is talking about is me!!!! My mother has ONE friend in the whole of Canada, what are the odds that that one friend is his mother’s best friend? The Jewish world, I tell you, is just too small, and it only gets smaller when you are living in Israel. Just for the record, no we did not go out! That’s about as much as I am giving away on my ‘social life’.

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A DAY IN THE OFFICE

I often get asked what exactly it is I do at OurCrowd everyday? In short, the team I am working in, Investor Relations, connects investors to remarkable startups with huge growth potential. I also have the privilege of mingling with other teams, be it Business Development Team, Marketing, or Product Development. I am now in the process of becoming a Salesforce pro too, and currently writing technical guides. I talk events, attend events (I know not ‘up my alley’ at all), and try to plan cool events too. There has never been a time when Israel’s technology was more respected, and it’s so wonderful to be engrossed in it all day!

Spontaneity enters my day too. I come to the office after an invigorating morning working in Tel Aviv, flowing in our hallway, is a presentation with a delegation of MBA students from Instead Business School, half of them studying in France and the other half Singapore. How about the South African group, a bunch of 20 or so young South African CEO’s from all different ethic backgrounds, who come for a few hours? Admittedly, I get extra enthusiastic when an Australian walks into the office, as a bit of Melbourne lingo is always refreshing! Just to top this off for the week, I am about to sit down to have a productive afternoon and a group of people are standing next to me asking “Amanda, aren’t you coming to the Brit Milla (circumcision)?” Just another day at OurCrowd!

The interns are slowly leaving and soon I will be the last one standing. So the questions start to flood! I have decided to stay on here through September as I am simply learning too much to leave at this point. In discussing my life in Australia compared to here, in the most typical Israeli fashion, an Israeli colleague passionately remarks, “Why do you need to bother here? You have a bright future in Australia, this Middle Eastern, olive eating country we call ‘ Modeldet’ (birth place). I know its fun, but seriously, don’t think of moving your life here.” You have to love Israeli’s – you don’t even need to ask what they think because they will tell you anyway. This vigorous level of honesty really rubs off on you!

AJJ’s Tips of the Week

• Hottest restaurant of the week: Mona – Tucked away in what used to be a historic museum in Jerusalem, the Tartare de Bouef and Crispy Salmon was worth returning for.
• Funniest interaction: During a presentation to a group of international delegates at work the presenter (a colleague), in talking about the revolution of mobile phones, puts up a photo of a guy playing with his phone in bathroom. Unintentionally he says, “Nokia was the first company who let us play with snake in the bathroom.” People in the room were literally crying of laughter! I think you had to be there
• New discovery: Intel employs 10,000 people here in Israel and 80% of Intel’s chips make a visit to the Holy Land.
• Coolest Bar: Sorry to jump between two countries here, but Szmpla Kert, the oldest ruin pub in Budapest. Hands down, the best interior at a bar I have seen in my life. Too many tourists though.
• Startup to be on the lookout: OrCam – This company has created a technologically advanced device unique in its ability to provide visual aid through a discreet wearable platform.

So that’s it from me, off to humid Tel Aviv for a weekend of fun and sun (and hopefully some strong air-conditioning). Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom! I hope there is a bit of hummus or paprika on your table this weekend too 🙂

AJJ x