Improving Safety and Traffic at Shiloh Junction

Just a few years ago, the powers that be in our Binyamin region thought they were improving our lives by building a sort of bus stop/hitchhiking post on Highway 60 going north at the Shiloh Junction. It has a bench, top and backing. For safety there are even a few poles that in theory would stop a terrorist vehicle from ramming into waiting Jews seated there.

Yes, in theory, sitting at some desk, designed and planned by "experts" who own cars and get cars from their employers, that bus stop/hitchhiking post is a gem.

But for us, those who get dropped off there, or those who have to that bus stop/hitchhiking post, it's terrifying.

• The bus stop/hitchhiking post is far north from the Shiloh junction.
• There's no safety barrier, or even sidewalk between the "shelter" and the turnoff to Shiloh.
• Walking to the Shiloh turnoff requires walking directly into traffic, and most of the traffic is Arab. 
• Walking from the Shiloh turnoff requires having your back to the traffic.
• All this brings up my post traumatic stress from the terror attack, first ramming, in which I was injured over twenty years ago.

A couple of months ago, there was an announcement that due to the heavy traffic by the Shiloh Junction, we're being upgraded to a traffic light. 

Thank Gd, more than just a traffic light will be gracing our junction. The entire Shiloh Junction is being upgraded. There will be designated lanes for right turns. The construction of this new Shiloh Junction has been causing traffic delays most nights. It's far from finished, but the terrifying walk along the road is now a thing of the past. Last night I happily hopped, skipped and jumped while making my way through the dirt and rocks until I could cross the road and catch a ride going into Shiloh. The icing on the cake was when someone offered me a ride before I even reached the sidewalk. 

Next big request is that they make that  bus stop/hitchhiking post into an official bus stop, so we'll have more transportation northwards to Eli, Ariel and Tapuach. Gd willing....

Saga Riding the Ariel Arab-Filled Buses, Yesterday

Yesterday, again, I needed to catch a bus to Ariel from the "shfeilah," west of Shiloh, after a festive luncheon with friends in Pardes Chana. This time I was dropped off at the Oranit/Elkana bus stop, which I hoped would give me a better chance to get on a bus than at the Yarkon Junction. 

In the afternoon, buses to Ariel are full of Arab workers who get off before Ariel. The buses are so full that most don't even stop unless someone needs to get off. At the Oranit/Elkana bus stop, generally a few people get off, so there's a better chance to get on the bus, and in addition there are a few more lines going to Ariel. 

After close to ten minutes of waiting a bus came that did let passengers off from the back, but the driver didn't open the door. BTW, I was waiting with a bunch of Arab men for a bus to Ariel, no other women or Jews. A few Arabs went/snuck in by the back door, something I wrote about a few weeks ago. I got closer to the front door and tried to get the attention of the driver and succeeded. 

The bus driver opened the door and signaled to the men waiting that only I was to board the bus. Happily I did, even though all I could see on the bus were Arab men. The driver also asked the man sitting in the first seat to get up so I could sit. Yes, not for the first time, I sat next to an Arab on a bus. 

My view from the front seat of the bus to Ariel. Our road was clear, while most vehicles were traveling towards Yarkon Junction and beyond.

The bus was packed, with people standing in the aisle until we got to the Revava Junction. That's the last stop on the Trans-Samaria Highway before turning into Ariel. And that's where all of the remaining Arabs got off. Look to the right of the picture below, and you will see dozens of cars, Arab cars. Sometimes I've seen a market setup there, too. There was lots of noise coming from it, which we could hear on the bus. That's where the Arab workers leave their cars or get rides home to their villages. Also some Jewish passengers get off there at the Revava Junction and cross the street to go to communities in the northern Shomron, Samaria.

When we pulled out of that bus stop, the bus was almost totally empty. A few minutes later we entered Ariel, and I got off at the Ariel University. I walked to the trempiada, hitchhiking post there and miraculously got a ride to Shiloh within a couple of minutes. My neighbor took me straight to my door. Gd is great!

Shabbat Shalom U'Mevorach

Have a Blessed and Peaceful Shabbat

Learning to be Late and Accepting Blessings

For as long as I've known how to tell time and been old enough to have control over "arrivals," I've been fixated and obsessive with being not just "on time," but early. I've never seen a stated "time to start" as an approximation. For me, even as a little girl going to a birthday party, I was horrified, totally mortified at the idea that I may be late.

No matter what the occasion, I'd treat it like catching a train or plane or making sure I made it to the theater well before the curtain was to go up.

When I got older, I learned that, at least here in Israel, times stated for wedding invitations were always much earlier than we needed to be there. After arriving too many times while the caterer was still having the tables set up, we learned how much time we had to add to the "invitation time." Here in Shiloh, it took a few years to learn that events are on what they call "Bnai Akiva time," which is nothing like the exact scheduling in NCSY or the LIRR.

Since we don't have a car and not only can't one rely on the bus schedule, besides the fact that sometimes there aren't buses from Shiloh to our destinations, I've learned to accurately plan my departures for all eventualities. But yesterday afternoon/last night, even I failed.

I needed to get to a "surprise party" in Kfar Saba by 6:30pm. With the help of google maps, I discovered that with bus connections at both the Yarkon Junction and Morasha, it would be very doable. There is even a 5pm bus to Kfar Saba from Ariel, though is goes through Rosh Ha'ayin. My plan was to give myself two and a half hours, which should have made me about a half hour early, at the latest.

Man plans and Gd laughs, as they say. At 3pm, I got a message from my kids that there had been a horrific fatal accident "outside of Ariel. The roads are blocked in both directions." Click here for report and photos.

"Maybe you should meet one of us in Jerusalem, and we'll take you." My kids suggested.

Considering that going via Jerusalem also would include traffic jams and double the distance, I declined.

"The Trans-Samaria Highway is wide road. No doubt it will be cleared by the time I get there."

To be honest, I was wrong.

At first it seemed like "business as usual" in Ariel, lots of buses and traffic near the university. I even declined to get on a Petach Tikva bus, because it wasn't going to Morasha, which would give me the quickest and best public transportation to Kfar Saba. Since I couldn't find the bus stop to the direct bus, I waited for the 386, which not only goes to Morasha, but it doesn't do the "grand tour" of Ariel. It's a great bus, but although the electric sign kept saying it was coming, the bus never showed, nor did any other for at least a half an hour. Finally, in desperation I took the next bus to arrive, which was a 296. The driver said that he goes to Yarkon but not Morasha. He warned us that the road was still blocked, and he may need to make a detour.

Actually, even with all the delays, I still had a good chance of being on time. That's how much "extra" time I had allocated to my trip.

The driver was optimistic and even said that it looked like the road had opened. But as we got a few kilometers from the accident scene, all we could see was the long line of lights of cars stuck in traffic. Yes, it was very dark by then. I began to realize that I'd probably be late and arrive long after the joyous "surprise."

When we passed the almost totally burnt up bus, all that remained was the spooky skeleton, I became very grateful for the fact that I was on a functioning bus, sitting comfortably and safely. Gd willing I'd arrive safe and sound, albeit a bit late. It wasn't the end of the world.

At the Yarkon Junction, I quickly caught a bus to Kfar Saba, and one of my kids picked me up to take me the rest of the way. I was glad, because even with the help of Google maps, I'd have trouble finding the house in the dark.

Yes, we walked in after the guest of honor, but it was before the "program." We had a wonderful joyous time. It was no tragedy to be late. It certainly wasn't the end of the world. Everyone was happy to see me and appreciated the efforts I make to attend all events. B"H, going home was easy; we had a ride with one of our kids, who would anyhow have passed Shiloh on the way home.

It's so important to remember to say תפילת הדרך Tefilat Haderech, the Traveler's Prayer when you start a trip. It may not guarantee a safe journey, but it reminds us that all journeys have their potential dangers, and we must thank Gd for our safety.

Waiting for rides/tremps and buses yesterday, Eli Junction and the Ariel University bus stop

Gd is Great! Such a Siyate d'Shamya Shopping Trip

Gd gifts us with miracles when we least expect them, and we really ought to open our eyes to Gd's gifts even among a mundane day.

We've had all sorts of intermittent internet and wifi disruptions for quite awhile. We figured that it's "normal" out in the sticks. But the other night the service just didn't return. Before Shabbat my husband had complained that his computer, a laptop in the boys' old bedroom, now his den, wasn't working. And after Shabbat, I noticed that my phone didn't show the wifi icon. So I pressed, pulled in and out the usual buttons and wires on the router, and things just got worse. No internet ether. So we called Bezeq.

After a couple of hours, remote control adjustments and multiple phone technicians, a lovely female tech told me that the chronic problems were caused by having the wrong type of cord from phone to wall, which needs a "box" instead of directly plugging it in. I needed a "rosh gadol" (large head) rather than the "Americai'i rosh katan" (small head, American.) With the right cord, I wouldn't need the box. She assured me that I could buy it in all sorts of stores besides the Bezeq store in Jerusalem.

At least she got the internet and wifi working again. Since I understood exactly what was needed, I decided to buy the cord and figured I'd find it in the humongous they have everything hardware, building supply shop in the local industrial zone. So yesterday late morning I braved the strong summer sun and heat to go down to shop for it. Nu, they didn't have it.

A bit later in the afternoon, I was getting antsy after being home so much and knowing that I still needed the cord and a new watch, too. There was no way I could reasonably get through Rosh Hashanah without a functioning watch, since we also don't have a wall clock. It's one of those things we still have to buy post-new kitchen. I decided to take a "quick trip" to Jerusalem to shop. Both the Bezeq store and Center 1 where I was hoping to find a watch are easy to get to on the bus near a bus stop. Of course, we never know if the bus will actually arrive, but that's another issue entirely.

Amazingly the bus showed and pretty much on time, but as we approached Sha'ar Binyamin I received notification that there had been an accident near Adam, and we could see traffic backed up. As the bus went into Shaar Binyamin I debated until the very last second about whether or not to get off and try shopping there, but I knew that they didn't have the stores I needed, so I prayed that I'd get to Jerusalem without too much delay. It was clocked at a forty minute delay, but at least Yirmiyahu Street was empty.

I ran to the Bezeq store, and the guard had mercy on me, even though as he said:
"It closes in one second."

I took a number and waited. Yes, I was the very last customer. Even though the clerk wasn't sure she had the cord I needed she checked and found one. It was only NS15, just a bit more than my roundtrip bus fare. I paid and then went to search for a watch in nearby Center 1.

In previous visits to Center 1 I had noticed a new watch stand, which had very thrifty prices, but suddenly it was gone. The closest stand I found with watches, better than the jewelry store or low quality discount store, had watches starting at NS100. I took a quick look and entered the main part of Center 1. There was an even smaller selection there, and the NS100 watches looked like rejects and had no guarantee.

I returned to the first watch stand and asked about guarantees:

"One year," the salesgirl replied.

First I took a look at the NS100 watches. There were two of the design I liked but not the colors. I tried a few on and ended up spending a bit more than I had planned, but the price was OK.

Now to get home, which is always a challenge, since so many buses are inexplicably cancelled sans notification.

After checking the efobus app and discovering that there wouldn't be a bus very soon, I got to the closest bus stop and grabbed the first bus to Hizme, the cityline. On the way, I checked efobus again, and it said that the Shiloh bus was actually on its way and would come in 15 minutes. Just as I stepped off the bus in Hizme, a car pulled up, my daughter. That was a super treat; she lives on the way to Shiloh. So I decided to catch my bus at her stop. A minute after I got off at that bus stop a car passed signalling to the right, in the direction of Shiloh. I quickly recognized my neighbor, signalled back and began chasing his car. B"H, thank Gd he noticed me stopped, and I had a ride straight to my door.

I thank Gd for His Mercy and Blessings

Yesterday's shopping trip was a gift from Gd Almighty for sure.

No Room on Ariel Buses

Yesterday afternoon I was pretty lucky. Only one overfull bus bypassed/skipped the Tzomet Yarkon (Junction) as I waited for a bus to Ariel. I noticed from the computerized bus sign earlier in the day and my public transportation phone app that buses are more frequent than previously, but they were still full of Arab workers at 4pm. Besides the Israeli public transportation, I saw Arab vans picking up Arabs at the bus stop.

After another few minutes of waiting, a #286 stopped to let off passengers. I could see that there were some passengers standing, but I went to the driver's door anyhow. She, yes a female bus driver, let me in. I paid and was about to sit on the stairs when I noticed a young woman signalling me that she was giving me her seat. She and an older Arab got up for me. I got in, and then they each insisted that the other sit with me. In the end, the young woman did.

Looking around I didn't see any other females, just us and the driver. And I only heard Arabic being spoken. The bus was packed, and the driver skipped all the stops, since nobody rang to get off. It's against regulations to have passengers standing in the aisle.

But at the Oranit/Elkana Junction stop, a couple of young Jewish women got off from further back. And then a few stops later, the bus pretty much emptied out at the last stop before Ariel. Only a handful of us remained on it as it entered Ariel.

I got off at Ariel University and then waited for a ride home to Shiloh. B"H, three rides later I got home safe, sound and relatively quickly.

Tremping, (Hitchhiking) Dilemma

As everyone must know by now, we don't have a car, and

• I work in a place that, although near as the crow flies, does not have a direct bus line to Shiloh, nor does it have frequent bus service.
• I am not the type of person with patience.
• I cannot sit and wait without going nuts.

I generally combine public transportation with tremping aka hitchhiking and in order to get to work in Kochav Hashachar, I send out some whatsapp messages to teachers and staff members who either live in or pass Shiloh. I haven't yet been forced to tremp there from Shiloh, but I have to use tremps and lots of siyata d'Shmaya to get to work on Wednesdays from Jerusalem.

When I finish work to go home or to Sha'ar Binyamin for shopping or to Jerusalem for whatever, I wait at the security gate, and usually I get a ride to wherever I need pretty quickly. But yesterday I waited and waited for a ride in the direction of home. Even one of the staff members who lives nearby ended up going in the wrong direction. I had even planned on taking any ride to the eastern Gush Shiloh area and just tremp, but there weren't any.

I kept staring at the main road, Kvish Alon a few hundred meters away.

There are tremping posts, hitchhiking stations, on the road in both directions, as you can see circled in the photo above. They are even equipped with anti-terror-ramming cement blocks. But I've never seen anyone standing at either of them, though I'm sure some people do. I've gotten off at one coming from Jerusalem, in a tremp going to Beit She'an.

I know that many people going to eastern Gush Shiloh travel on the road, and also those traveling to the Shiloh area from Rimonim and Michmas pass and are potential rides. As I waited I became more and more tempted to walk out to the road. But I didn't. Just as I was about to consult with the guard at the gate, the same neighbor who had given me a ride in the morning came by on his way home, B"H.

But the question still holds. Should I wait there for rides?

More in My Car-less Traveling Saga

Crossposted on A Jewish Grandmother.

As most of you certainly know, we don't have a car. My husband's travel needs are relatively simple, so like many in the modern world he has no big problem commuting to and from work and other activities by public transportation. He actually enjoys the quiet time for napping and whatever. My travel needs are sometimes more complicated, but since there's no car on the horizon at all, I find myself enjoying periodic adventures.

Wednesday is my most complicated day of the week. Of course, it starts off simply enough, because I usually sleep at a friend's apartment Tuesday night. She's one of my "learning buddies," aka chevruta, so we travel together to Matan in her car, where we meet the rest of the group for our Al Haperek studies. After that we stay for Yael Ziegler's class,  "Kings, Prophets and Hurban,"  and then I rush to catch a bus plus in order to get me to Kochav Hashachar to teach on time.

In theory, it's possible to just catch the bus on Eshkol Boulevard if it's slightly delayed, though I frequently miss it. Last week as I rushed out of the light-rail (which I caught on Jaffa Street after getting off the 77 bus) at Ammunition Hill, I spotted the bus already standing at the traffic light. So I took a bus (after waiting a bit) to Sha'ar Binyamin and stood there for at least twenty minutes with a sign saying כוכב השחר KOCHAV HASHACHAR in my hands to attract drivers to that community who wouldn't have thought of stopping for me. It did help,and I got a ride and arrived on time.

So, yesterday, I decided to stay on the 77 until Eshkol Boulevard, although I knew I'd have to run a couple a hundred meters to a bus stop. As I caught my breath at that stop, I saw the 949--yes the bus to Kocahv Hashachar-- approaching. I signaled and got on very gratefully, thanking Gd for my great luck. I paid, sat down and relaxed. Everything was fine until about a half a kilometer from the city-line, the Jerusalem-Hisme border. The bus died.

So, I went out with another passenger to try to hail a bus or a ride at least to Sha'ar Binyamin or Hisme. The other buses wouldn't pick us up, because they are Egged Tavura and the 949 is Egged, so since it wasn't a proper bus stop they couldn't stop for us. Finally a young bearded man stopped, opened the door and said:

"Batya, come on in."
It ended up being a guy who had grown up in Shiloh, was my son's madrich, youth movement counselor, and my daughter had been his. He was on his way to visit his mother and was disappointed that he couldn't take me all the way home.

I asked him if I was crazy to get off at the Alon Road turnoff from Road 60, where there's a proper hitchhiking stop, with barriers and all. I've been asking many about it since there are many more possibilities for rides to Kochav Hashachar than Hizme and Sha'ar Binyamin. So that's where I got off.

Finally a young woman picked me up who was going to Kochav Hashachar and told me that it's a fine place to wait for rides. So now I know that I must find a tremp willing to drop me off there when I have to get to work.

And don't think that getting home from Kochav Hashachar didn't cause stress, too. There is no direct way, so I have to speak to other teachers and get a ride somehow.

Kochav Hashachar is just north of Rimonim and southeast of Shiloh. They are on the Alon Road, and Shiloh is on #60.



The best rides are when I'm taken via Kida/Shvut Rachel which at its worst will leave me a mile or kilometer and a half from my house. But recently, after hectic stressful searches for a ride out, which leave me with little patience to teach my difficult students, I end up with a ride that drops me off at Givat Asaf, the Beit El junction. When there I whip out my שילה SHILOH sign to attract drivers going north. That's what happened yesterday. I caught a ride, thanks to the sign of course, to the Shiloh Junction, where I got a ride to the Shvut Rachel-Shiloh Junction, then another ride to the middle of Shiloh where the stores and Kupat Leumit clinic are. And there I got tired of waiting, started walking up when a neighbor stopped to give me a ride to my door, B"H, thank the Good Lord!!

As Arab Terror Increases, What Helps?

From the news, it's pretty obvious that the Arab terrorists are getting more active again. The big question is:

"What can we do to stop them?"

A while ago, the government began to place soldiers at various bus stops and trempiadas, places where people wait for tremps which are outside of "gated" communities and towns.

Thank Gd, it's mostly a boring job. I hope they are equipped with lots of sunscreen, since standing in the sun hour after hour, day after day, is usually the most dangerous part of the job.

Again, unfortunately, like with many of the government's policies, it won't stop terrorism. At best the soldiers won't be injured, and they will manage to eliminate aka execute the terrorist on the spot.

Very frustrating for all of us, and no doubt that most soldiers find the assignment excruciatingly boring.

Safety Tremping- Are The New Poles Safer Than Cement Blocks?

Yesterday, while on the bus on the way to work, while passing Ofra I saw that the cement blocks protecting trempistim aka hitchhikers were being replaced by brightly colored  poles.

going north, towards Shiloh, Eli, Ariel etc

going north, towards Shiloh, Eli, Ariel etc

going south, towards Jerusalem

Even though these poles are installed well and into the ground, I am not impressed, nor am I comforted nor feel safer. The security experts first started putting in poles to protect bus stops and hose waiting, after the terrorist rammed into us twenty years ago. They do protect a bit when the weapon is a regular car. But I always felt much safer when able to hid behind those cement barriers if there would be a shooting attack by terrorists.

No, Baruch Hashem and bli eyin haraa, (not the tempt the Evil Eye,) I was never shot at. But while waiting for buses and tremps (rides) I do rehearse in my mind how to hide from danger. And considering the amount of shooting attacks, I don't think that the cement barriers should be scrapped.

What do you think?

Travel Dangers in Judea vs Binyamin

The other week when traveling with my daughter and her daughters to Alon Shvut, Gush Etzion to see the play "Sisters," we noticed something very surprising to us. On the Gush Etzion part of Highway 60, unlike the Mateh Binyamin section of the same highway, there are bus stops.

thanks to Ruth Jaffe Lieberman

Security authorities in our area, Highway 60 from Adam to Eli, do not permit bus stops on the main road. There are trempiadas, places one can wait for rides or offer rides outside of communities like Ofra or at junctions like Shiloh and Eli, but no public bus is permitted to have stops there. We, the carless, have to decide at times whether or not to wait for a bus and possible tremp inside at a bus stop, or wait for a tremp where this is no chance a bus will stop.

In Gush Etzion, the trempiadas on the main road,  Highway 60, are also bus stops, which can make traveling easier, but there's a downside to this. Highway 60 is a popular venue for Arab terrorists. They take advantage of the lack of real protection for innocent Jews. It's very easy for them to shoot and stab, since they don't have to pass through a security check to get to the bus stop. And as we all know, many of the victims of Arab terror at the Gush Etzion bus stops had considered themselves careful since they weren't going to tremp.

I don't claim to be a security expert, and didn't serve in the IDF, but I've been living in Israel since 1970 and in Shiloh since 1981, and I'm also a terror attack survivor, injured, too. But it seems to me that life in Gush Etzion would be safer if they kept bus stops off of the road. At least it would be harder for the terrorists to reach/harm/kill innocent Israelis.

Why Grandmothers and Others Tremp aka Hitchhike

Even bus stops aren't all that safe and comfortable, especially when you don't know when the bus will arrive.

One of the things that kept me from falling asleep last night was wondering what to blog here on Shiloh Musings this morning. I do try t keep my blogging topics varied and interesting and from a perspective you may not get anyplace else. I guess you'd call this one in the "not get anyplace else" category. How many retirement age grandmothers admit to hitchhiking besides yours truly?

It's not that I have anything against buses. There are times I really look forward to taking a bus for the comfort and quiet and chance to say my daily Tihillim Psalms or the Mincha Afternoon prayer. When my husband travels home, especially, heavy bags from the shuq, open air Machane Yehuda Market he has been known to wait hours for a bus to Shiloh rather than struggle with his bulky, heavy bags and tall frame in a small crowded car seat.

 Our buses do not stop
on the road.

Why would he be waiting so long when there are generally one or even two buses to Shiloh from Jerusalem when he's on his way home? Well, that's the schedule, but sometimes the buses just don't arrive. Apparently there aren't any spare buses. That means that the very impressive bus schedule that the "powers" worked out took for granted that no bus would ever break down, and all drivers would be in good health and show up as scheduled. Of course in the real world you need backup plans, and when you don't have good ones, innocent, trusting travelers are left in the cold. And we are also in a panic.

If we take another bus in order to get to a bus/hitchhiking stop will we see our bus passing and then miss it?

That's the "Murphy's Law" for travelers like us? If we take a ride to Ofra, we may have to run like mad, or end up missing the bus if it comes quickly. And if I take a ride to the Shiloh Junction, there is a bus stop, but few drivers pick up passengers there. A number of times I've ended up waiting either there or at the Shvut Rachel-Shiloh Junction where no bus stops at all.

So you must wonder why I tremp. First of all, you should know that most of the drivers are friends or very familiar people, considering that I've been living in Shiloh for over 34 years. I know lots of people from nearby communities and my work in Yafiz, Sha'ar Binyamin. We do quick profiling, as do the drivers.

I'll give an example of what happened to me the other day. I was on my way home and had taken the lightrail to Ammunition Hill, which is near Ramat Eshkol and French Hill, Jerusalem. From there I walked to the bus stop on the top of Eshkol Blvd. There was supposed to be a bus in a few minutes, so I waited, and I waited. And I didn't get on any of the buses that could easily have taken me to the "cityline," the border of Jerusalem, where there are buses and tremps. I was waiting for the bus that would take me just a few steps from my house. Yes, I have absolutely nothing against taking buses. But the bus never came. I was getting tired of standing, and if you're wondering about safety, there's no guarantee that standing there is any safer than standing at the "cityline."

Finally, when a bus to Ariel, which doesn't stop in Shiloh, came I got in. I was able to use my train ticket's free transfer which made the trip free until the Psagot/Tel Zion/Kochav Yaakov stop. But I got off at the "cityline." And just as I got off, a neighbor pulled up, so I got in, and someone told me that another neighbor was right behind her. She took me straight to my door. To me, that was the sign that I had done the right thing by tremping.

I think the bus came just a few minutes later, but since I had no idea it would be arriving at all, I think I did the smart thing. Too many times my husband reports that buses didn't show at all, and there's a limit to how long anyone should stand helplessly at a bus stop.

Yes, that's me at the "cityline." Those signs are no longer there, but cars still stop supplementing the bus service.

Biblical Rape of Dina vs Terror at The Trempiada

This week's Parshat Shavua, Torah Portion of the Week, Vayichi, doesn't have the "rape of Dina," but the terrible event is alluded to in Jacob's blessing of Simon and Levi. At the Shabbat Women's class I was at, we ended up discussing the topic of the rape.

• Was Dina guilty, provocative by going out on her own in Shechem?
• Was it Dina's fault?
• Should she have been better guarded?
• Didn't she realize that Shechem wasn't like her grandfather's compound?
• Certainly it wasn't acceptable for girls to be wandering out by themselves....

I had no patience for that train of thought. Didn't her aunt and grandmother go out by themselves? I can just imagine that Jacob raised his growing family with stories of their real home, the Land his grandfather Abraham had gone to according to Gd's instructions, the Land that his father Isaac had never left. 

The rape was not Dina's fault.

And when a Jew is attacked by Arabs when waiting for a ride/tremp or a bus, it's not his/her fault either. 

We have to recognize that our enemies have different values and culture. They glorify terror and murder. I'm always chastising others who stand in the road and/or have their backs to the traffic. There are proper ways to wait for a tremp or bus,and there are ways that are asking for trouble. I don't think that Dina's trying to meet the other young women from Shechem was wrong. She was raped, and the rapist was the guilty party.

This was written a few days ago and was scheduled to post.

Soldiers all Over and More

The other night when I was waiting for a ride home from Ofra one of the soldiers stationed at the trempiada, aka hitchhiking post just outside of Ofra heard me speak and spoke to me in English asking where I'm from. It ends up that he's from Monsey and has grandparents someplace on Long Island. He knows the street name but not the town. We didn't get to talk too much, because a neighbor pulled up and took me home.

Yes, there are soldiers stationed everywhere. Last week when I was waiting at the T Junction to Beit El aka Givat Asaf, there were a whole bunch there, too. I could hardly see them and then, after looking up, I realized that the lightbulb in the streetlight over the spot had gone out. It was awful. You couldn't see who was in the cars pulling up to offer rides. And you couldn't see what license plates that were on the cars. That's not safe at all. I'm an old hand at tremping aka hitchhiking, and I like to see who's coming. So I asked the soldiers to please report the lack of proper lighting to their superiors or whomever, which they did. But a few nights lighter when passing by I could see that it hadn't yet been repaired. (If you're from Beit El or work there, please have it fixed if it hasn't been.)

I've also seen a lot more fully equipped soldiers at Sha'ar Binyamin. Some are standing around guarding and others shopping for noshes.

No doubt they find it a lot more pleasant and convenient being stationed by Rami Levy than wandering the roads by Arab villages. The presence of all the soldiers is more a deterrence than anything. Most terrorists, like muggers, look for "easy marks" to attack.

Nowadays, many more Israelis who have licensed guns are taking their guns with them everyplace. That's what neighbors tell me. Last night at work a young family came into the shoe store, and while they had the young children trying on shoes, one of the kids began to cry:

"What happened?" asked the mother.
"Abba's (daddy's) gun scraped me." said the little girl.

Apparently when the father picked her up, his easy to draw gun or the metal I saw sticking out of his waistband got in the way. That's today's reality here. Many of the Arab terrorists of late have been immediately executed on the spot by prepared civilians like that young father. Most people are not letting the fear of Arab terrorism keep them home, but there's no Pollyanna-like ignoring of dangers.

I'm not the only one who hasn't changed routines at all. But one thing is that don't travel with earphones listening to lectures the way I once did. We have to stay alert. It's also not good to be busy reading/watching the screen when outside. And remember not to panic and stay home. The very vast majority of Israelis, towns, cities and neighborhoods will never be targeted by Arab terrorists. And about the Yafiz and Rami Levy compound in Sha'ar Binyamin, besides the soldiers there have always been extra security and a gate. Even though there are Arab employees, I think it's safer than the rest of Sha'ar Binyamin or any Israeli street and most stores.

New Bus Routes Between Jerusalem and Binyamin-Shomron Will Force More Tremping (Hitchhiking)

On one hand I can't argue with the numbers, because the massive overhaul in the public transportation between Jerusalem and the Jewish communities of Samaria and Benjamin, where I live, will have more buses, more routes, which will be more frequent etc.

New W. Bank bus lines to offer better service, security
(the Jerusalem Post's headline)

But like many seemingly good deals, this one has some tricks and lots of disadvantages. The rationale behind it, according to the article, is "security" by making "tremping" unnecessary, but that's the one thing it doesn't give us.

A big advantage to taking the bus, especially before a long trip of an hour or more, is that you can go to the bus station, a closed building, with toilets and shelter from the elements. With this new plan, we must wait outdoors. The nearby to the new bus stops' Pisgat Ze'ev Mall usually has a line to get in and the trip from Pisgat Ze'ev by train to the Central Bus Station, if anyone needs to travel to or from another Israeli city can take about an hour by the "lightrail." It can even take more when you take into account waiting for the train and the walk from the train to the bus station. The train isn't a direct route. It goes through Arab neighborhoods and there have been attacks there of late. At present there isn't a direct bus route from the Pisgat Zeev Mall to the CBS. That means taking a couple of buses, and even though our ticket will give us a transfer for 90 minutes, those 90 minutes will probably be finished by the time we need the local Jerusalem bus. And also many of the Shomron and northern Binyamin destinations/starting points are more than a 90 minutes ride.

If we have to stand outside waiting for a bus, we may as well choose to wait where we also have an option for a "tremp," like the boys when they were kidnapped by terrorists.

And another big draw to tremping is the fact that our last bus home is only at 10pm from Pisgat Ze'ev. At present it's 11:30, and there's a 10:30, also. To get to that 10pm bus, we have to leave the more central parts of Jerusalem well before 9:30, so more and more people will be forced to hitchhike home.

So, to put it mildly, the Ministry of Transportation and Egged management and our hapless local leaders are conning us and endangering us.

No surprise.  They all get cars from work.

I Can't Keep Track of the Tremps aka Rides

Yes, I'm an unabashed, unrepentant hitchhiker. Since I don't have a car and am realistic enough to know that we'd never be able to afford one, and if we'd get one I'd have to spend a fortune to re-qualify as driver, it seems like tremping and I will stay "married" a long time.

And to be honest, if we got a car, we'd be giving rides/tremps, which also has its risks.

But I don't tremp because I'm a risk-taker. I am not a risk taker at all. I'm scared and phobic about most things. It's just that with the job and hobbies I have, tremping is the most efficient mode of transportation. It's not that I don't take buses. I certainly do when they arrive and I try to make plans according to buses. But if I had a rule only to travel by bus, I wouldn't yet be home from work. And I still would have needed a ride to get to the bus most probably. And I'd be waiting for that bus in a place much more isolated than where I did wait, all the places I ended up waiting.

Here's how I got home:

1. I asked a woman who was with a full shopping cart and two teenage children to where she was going. "Ofra" was her answer. So I had ride #1.
2. At Ofra a neighbor and I caught a ride to the Shiloh Junction.
3. From there we caught another ride to the Shiloh-Shvut Junction.
4. Then within a minute or two, there was a ride to the "center" of Shiloh. I got off and he stayed in the ride.
5. I started walking up the hill to may neighborhood when a young family took me up to my street. They would have taken me to my door, but I told them that they should just continue to their home.

Yes, that's five "tremps." The tremps or rides are nothing like what hitchhiking looks like in the movies, when young people in need of a shower get into trucks or unsuitably fancy vehicles driven by people who look like they may have just knifed someone.

Some of the people who give me rides end up being people I or my husband or children know. Some actually become friends. I've even had job offers. 

Now, I need to sleep, so good night. 

PS I'm glad that I got home so easily. To think that if I had taken the bus I'd still be on it and then have to walk up the hill, a half a mile, a kilometer.

In Praise of Tremping aka Hitchhiking

The "tremping post" outside of Ofra.
I find myself there at least a few times a week.

In my world tremping  is a pretty normal form of transportation. I know that it has gotten a rather bad rap of late, but I wouldn't survive without it.  We don't have a car, and public transportation isn't all that frequent. And sometimes it isn't even all that reliable.

Tonight was a wonderful example of how tremping was extremely helpful.

Just before I finished work at Yafiz, Sha'ar Binyamin I saw a friend who lives nearby. We set that if I didn't get a ride sooner, I'd wait for her. She had a big shopping to do in Rami Levy and I was tired. I sat down near the exit and looked at the people checking out. There weren't too many. At least pretty much everyone shopping was Jewish. Since the Arab terrorist kidnapping of the three Jewish teenagers, the percentage of Arabs shopping in Sha'ar Binyamin has gone down drastically.

Since I wasn't desperate for a ride, I didn't ask everyone passing me, not like there were all that many. Most just didn't look like they'd be going to Shiloh, Shvut Rachel or passing by on their way to the Shomron. And none looked like they were going to Ofra or the communities west and northwest of Ofra. Suddenly I saw a woman who looked "just right." I asked her where she was going:

"The Shomron," she said. "Where do you need?"
"Shiloh," I said. And off we went to her car.

But we didn't get very far when we saw a young man with a wagon full of purchases. He asked where we were going, and she asked him where he needed to go.

"Shiloh," he said.

He didn't look familiar, but I don't know everyone in Shiloh.

We got moving and when we got to Ofra there were many people waiting for a ride including two more neighbors. So they got in, too. It ended up that the neighbors told us that they hadn't planned on tremping. They had taken the bus which had broken down. That's why they were waiting at the "tremping post."

Our driver, the mitzvah lady, announced that she'd take us all the way home and not drop us off on the road at the junction. She insisted that it was no problem. That's what the car was for, to help others. We discussed how life in rural Israel, such as the Shomron (Samaria) requires that neighbors and strangers help one another. Tremping and giving tremps is a very necessary part of life here.

After I was already home, my friend called to ask if I still needed a ride. And now I can go to sleep.

People are so wonderful!

Quiet in Shuafat, Beit Chanina, East Jerusalem, Thank G-d

Late this morning went down to the bus stop in Shiloh to get to Jerusalem, but the bus didn't come... so I hitched a ride, actually two. One after another. And that second ride was to Jerusalem. As usual, I asked where and how, meaning which route. The driver said that he was hoping to take the Benzion Netanyahu Road which goes through the Arab neighborhoods where the rioting had been these past few days.

"I checked and was told it was open and quiet," he said.

Considering that he would take me close to where I needed to go and said that if the road looked bad, he'd go the other way, so I stayed in the car.

The driver was right. The streets were empty, and so were the sidewalks. The road was totally clear.

We had a very quick and pleasant drive. He dropped me off a short walk from the Israel Museum, which I'll, bli neder, write about another day on me-ander. B"H, thank G-d things were quiet.

Postmortem: After Finding the Bodies of the Three Murdered Teenagers, The Blame Game

Mako / Channel 2, Jewish Press
"The bodies of the three teenagers have been found."

Now, even before the bereaved and mourning families and friends of  have buried their beloved boys, Eyal Yifrah 19, from Elad; Gilad Sha'ar, 16, from Talmon; and Naftali Frenkel, also 16, from Nof Ayalon, HaYa"D, May G-d Avenge Their Blood, the blame game has begun.

The minute it had been announced less than three weeks ago, that three teenagers were missing and last seen at the main Gush Etzion bus stop/hitching post, the media and politicians began blaming the youths for daring to hitch/tremp a ride. Many of us who write, wrote reams in the cyber sense of things doing our best to refocus and remind everyone that Arab terrorists are obviously guilty, not tremping/hitchhiking.

I'm a pension age grandmother who frequently tremps, simply because it is the most efficient, direct and pleasant way to travel to a from work, study and visiting all over when Shiloh is my hometown. We don't own a car. Actually we never owned one. I'm impatient by nature and enjoy the interaction with friends and strangers.

The media and internet are now blaming a large variety of Israeli politicians for the kidnapping and murder of the three young teenagers.  Right now, I am focusing on one group and their supporters as the guilty party:

ARAB TERRORISTS!

Arab terrorists kidnapped and murdered the boys. Everyone who helped them are themselves also terrorists. All of those who continue to support the idea that Arab terrorists can and should have a state they are planning to call "Palestine" are among their supporters.

Bli neder, not a vow, I plan on elaborating in a later post.

Yes, I am Still Tremping, aka Hitchhiking!

Too many people bother me with the foolish question asking if I still tremp since the three teenage boys, Eyal Yirfah, Gilad Shaar and Naftali Frenkel, were kidnapped.

The terrible, cruel kidnapping of children by Arab terrorists won't stop me from tremping, just like the Arab terrorist bus bombs didn't make me stop riding buses. And the rocks and stones which used to be thrown by Arab terrorists at Jewish buses and cars didn't keep me off the roads or make me hightail it back to Bayit Vegan, Jerusalem. And the bus bomb by Arab terrorists which blew up a bus right in the middle of Bayit Vegan murdering six Jews, June 1978, didn't make me leave Jerusalem, either!

Tremping and giving rides is a way of life for many of us. I don't have time to wait for buses all the time.  I frequently save time by tremping, and there are many times when there aren't buses. I can't restrict my life to the bus schedule.

REMEMBER THAT TREMPING ISN'T THE DANGER; THE ARAB TERRORISTS ARE THE DANGER!!

Too many people forget that simple fact.

And I'm not being very original by reminding everyone that if we let the terrorists chase us away from the Land of Israel via terrorism. If we end up in a crowded ghetto by Tel Aviv, the Arab terrorists will just keep pushing. So if we go back to Europe and America and North Africa, Asia etc where many of us or our ancestors had lived, then antisemitism and terrorism will just follow us, and people who hate us will just say:

"Go Back!!"

They'll mean the Land of the Bible, and that's where I am right now.

Arab terrorism isn't about tremping, and it isn't about Shiloh. The Arab terrorists don't want us any place. So, I believe that we have to take the initiative and make their lives more difficult. One thing for sure that must be done is to make it law that:

All convicted Arab terrorists must be executed!

Make sure that terrorism doesn't pay!

How to Make Tremping aka Hitchhiking Safer

Tremping aka hitchhiking is here to stay, as far as I'm concerned. Actually I just used that lovely method of semi-private transportation to get home from Jerusalem today. I took two buses from the shuk, Machane Yehuda to the "city line," the border of Jerusalem and the Benjamin Regional Council, where I quickly caught a ride going to Givat Harel, which is across from the Shiloh Junction, then a second ride to the Shvut Rachel-Shiloh Junction and then a ride to my street.

It was daylight, a bright afternoon and I could see the drivers, and they could see me.

One of the big problems is when you really can't see who's driving or waiting, because it's dark. And some places aren't lit all that well, so the drivers can't see who's waiting. And I understand why they don't stop. I wouldn't stop for someone if I couldn't see exactly who it is. And another equally dangerous situation is when you can't see at all who is driving up, nor see the color of the license plate. I once came home via Ariel at night and got a tremp that was going to Eli. I thought it would be fine, like waiting at the Ofra Junction, which I do a lot even at night. There is enough light there so we can see who is pulling up or driving by. Waiting across from Eli I couldn't see anything of the cars coming from Ariel or Tapuach. It wasn't pleasant. And I know that the majority of cars on the road are Arab, so I ignored all the cars from that direction. Finally a car came out of Eli in the direction of Shiloh and stopped for me.

There must be better light at all of the junctions where people wait, and the light mustn't only be on the trempistim, those waiting for rides or buses. They must also project onto the cars, so we can see who is driving and who is with him/her. Just like bright lights make some bugs scamper away, I have no doubt that the terrorists won't like being under a spotlight.