Joel Schalit

Congratulations, Abba!

Elie Schalit, Tiberias, 2006.

This is my father. He was born in Jerusalem’s Russian Compound on March 13th, 1921. Elie still works 12 hour days. At this very moment, he’s calling colleagues in Europe and sending out faxes in several different languages. Respect.

Shawarma with Sharon

It was late in the afternoon at Tel Aviv’s Olympia restaurant. Barely a soul was present, with the exception of an overweight middle aged man sitting at the center of a large table, surrounded by several IDF officers sporting berets neatly folded inside their epaulets. Some were sipping cups of  Turkish coffee. Others were smoking cigarettes and talking, while the gentleman at the center of the proceedings sat there in silence.

Eventually a large plate of shawarma arrived, and when it did, all of the soldiers present allowed him to help himself first. Digging his hands into the steaming hot dish, he ended his silence. “Nu, Elie,” he yelled out across the room to my father. “Manishma?” (“how are you?” ) he asked. My father got up from our table and politely made his way over to him. “Beseder,” (“Fine”) he said politely, explaining that he had arrived for a late lunch with his son, whom he’d just brought over from the United States.

“Who is that man you just said hi to?” I asked my father after he returned to our table. “That’s Ariel Sharon,” my father said. “He’s a retired general, who’se now working in politics.” I recognized Sharon’s name. I’d seen it in the newspaper. It corresponded with a picture book I was reading about the 1973 war. “Isn’t he a hero?” I asked.  “Well, yes,” my father replied, sounding a little conflicted. “He lead the charge against the Egyptians two years ago in the Sinai.”

Over dinner at a friend’s apartment in Tel Aviv in 2005, I asked what had become of the Olympia. “It closed many years ago,” the hostess said. “When did you last go there?” “When I was eight,” I replied. “In 1975.” Telling them the story of running into Sharon, they both laughed. “I once worked on Sharon’s ranch when I was a kid,” the host  said. “Watching him eat was an amazing – and a somewhat unpleasant experience. He would attack food like it was the enemy.”