Danny, I paint him in a Kibbutz he, my dad and I stayed at on our journey up north. It was called Lavi, had about 1500 members, a hotel, furniture factory and farm. The 3 of us sit drinking mint tea before bed.
Danny's wife, Yafa, one of her many grandsons and her daughter (I'm afraid I forgot both their names!) at Danny's son's military ceremony. She is an extremely warm and positive lady. We later spoke in the car about her love of theatre, the Yiddish language and children (hers especially which she has 9 of)Many Israelis sat in the outdoor amphitheatre watching the pomp and ceremony, military band and sing the national anthem. It felt strange and had very mixed emotions. I was moved by the collective spirit but saddened that it had to be focused around war. It exemplified the complexities of life in Israel.
We visit Ruth, Danny's aunt and Miriam's only sister who lives in Haifa on the West coast. She two seems to have lived a difficult life too but one very different from Miriam's. Because of her age at war time in Berlin she managed to emigrate straight to Israel as opposed to Miriam who was younger and had to go on the Kinder transport to London. It seemed like it was this point that Ruth and Miriams lives changed and in some ways led them to lead very separate lives away from each other. Even to this day Ruth does not visit the family in Jerusalem very often. She is creative and makes dresses and stitched fabric collages. She seems resourceful, makes do. Vivacious like her sister but a lingering sadness and nervousness peers out after spending a hour or so with her. We talk of the family, shows more photos of my great grandfather. She speaks a mix of German, English and Hebrew so we can all understand.
