The True Dangers of a General Strike in Israel

ג׳ לחודש האחד עשר תשע"ו

There is a joke among "preppers" and other survivalists...

Q: What do you call a power outage? 

A: Practice

If you do not get the joke, then I highly recommend that you read on.

A few weeks ago, a general strike was averted at the last minute. I checked the news in the morning, like everyone else, to check if buses were running, of if I would have to track down a cab, and then when I found one, probably have to fight over it with 10 other people.

But, it was averted. So, no big deal. Right?

Histadrut Chairman Avi Nissenkorn and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon (Kulanu)
(Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

Guess again. The only things which were accomplished by this threat of a strike, real or orchestrated, had nothing to do with whether union workers were getting paid fairly or not.

The Finance Minister looked good, if not heroic, thus strengthening his political influence.

The union leader looked good, and maintains his seat of power, until he can position himself for an even better position in the future, perhaps in the private business sector.

And whether or not the workers actually got what they wanted in the deal, both the government and the union can say to their constituents, "Look at us. We sure showed them!"

But, most importantly, the masses have been reminded of their vulnerability, and dependence upon the establishment. 

I remember the general strike of תשנ"ז/1997, as if it was yesterday. I was living in Tel-Aviv at the time, and had only been in Israel for a few months. In fact, the strike ended up lasting for almost as much time as I had been in the country.

Although transportation services were still operating, government, banking, postal, and several other services were at a stand still. Garbage seemed to pile up over night, and then keep piling up. I do not know if you could possibly imagine the smell we had to endure. Needless to say, there were concerns over the health hazard of it all.

It also did not matter if you had money in the bank. It the Caspomat (ATM) ran out of cash, then you did not get any cash. Checks were useless, unless you went to cash them at a money changer for a higher than usual fee. The worldwide goal of a cash free economy had gotten a booster shot.

Fortunately, the religious accountants, knowing, and interested in adhering to, the halakhah (Torah law) necessitating the payment of employees on time, broke the picket line, went into work, and deposited salaries into people's accounts.

How about that? Predominantly secular Tel-Aviv was saved by Torah observant employees of its municipality. Who would have thought? Don't worry. Tel-Aviv residents have long since forgotten the event, assuming they even knew about this, in the first place.

Furthermore, bank managers also crossed the picket line, refilling the Caspomats with cash.

The dispute was eventually resolved, the general strike stopped, and everything went back to normal, right? Wrong.

Even though the general strike affecting the entire country stopped, the strike continued in Tel-Aviv, by its city employees. The trash still was not getting picked up, and continued to pile up.

But, then as you might have guessed, this dispute was also eventually resolved, and we all rejoiced, and proceeded to go back into denial of the situation. "Nah! That could never happen again!" Could it?

Now imagine this...

Truck drivers stop working. Or better yet, the Arabs we are so dependent on hold a general strike. It does not matter if there is enough food, if it does not get to you, and perhaps does not even get picked!

What would do you do? Are you prepared? Do you have cash on you? Will your cash even be accepted? If so, are you prepared for the inflation which will certainly ensue?

Do you have any food and water stored? What about an extra gas balloon, in order to cook your food? Do you know where to find free food? Do know which plants are edible?

Have you decided that I am just one of those "nuts," yet, you hear about on reality television shows?

Just stop and think about it, for a minute.

How many of you even thought about carrying pepper spray, knife, baseball bat, or any other weapon for that matter, five months ago? And now? Most of you have at least thought about it.

So far, here in Jerusalem, we have not been shut down by any snow storms, as in previous years. But, the winter is not over yet. Can you imagine that while there was a pile of snow outside, people were actually worried about their food going bad, because the power was down? The thought to store food in a a bucket of snow, never even occurred to them.

In a crisis, most people get injured, or even die, not because of the crisis itself, but from panic and lack of preparation.

Do the scenarios above seem too far-fetched for you? Do you really feel safe in your Katamon or Ramat Aviv bubbles?

After all, things have "calmed down," and the Prime Minister has promised to protect us. So, everything is A-Okay, right?

I guess that only time will tell.

Are You Prepared for Israel's Next Snow Storm?

ערב שבת קודש פר׳ בראשית תשע״ה

Last winter, when Israel was hit by one of the worst snow storms in its recent history, with about 19,000 homes losing electrical power. I was one of the lucky ones who did not. Yet, I think about what I would have done, if I had not been so lucky. Would I have been prepared to weather the storm? Will I be prepared for the next time snow or another surprise hits? Will you be prepared?

When I complain that Jerusalem winters are unbearable, my friends from New York, Chicago, Montreal, and northern domains, just laugh at me, and tell me that I don't not what real cold is like. When I tell you that I was born and raised in San Diego, where it is not unheard of to wear shorts during most of the winter, you will probably understand my point. I don't "do" cold. Give me one of these 35 C/95 F days anytime. You can keep the cold!

However, since I have chosen to live in Jerusalem, and not along Israel's Mediterranean coast, I have no choice but to "deal with" the cold of Jerusalem's winter.

View from my balcony:
The lights on the sukkah still haven't been taken down, and are collecting snow.

Last year's snow storm began on a Thursday morning, and continued through Shabbath. Travel within Jerusalem, on Sunday and Monday, was challenging, to say the least. Bus service was delayed during the early morning to avoid travel on iced over streets. Plus, just like every time it snows in Jerusalem, travel was always further complicated by everyone and his cousin coming into the city from Tel-Aviv, in order to see and enjoy the novelty of the snow.

While those of you living in New York, Chicago, or Montreal maybe rolling your eyes, I must emphasize that since snow is still a relatively rare occurrence in Jerusalem, the municipality does not see it as economically feasible to invest in the kind of equipment other cities around the world use daily throughout the winter. Instead, last year, we were told to stock up, and stay off of the streets. The city's economy might be stung, but accidents would be avoided.

Screen Shot: Live Kotel Cam
9 Teveth, 5774/December 12, 2013, 12:30 PM

My boss called me that fateful Thursday morning, and told me not to bother to come into work. Already out and about, I took the opportunity to stock up on food for the weekend and beyond, having in mind to purchase some food which would not require any cooking,...just in case.

However, if the power had gone out, I would have not have had any idea what I would do for heat. Even my awesome camping sleeping bag would leave me with a chill to keep me up most of the night. I had tried it out, so I already knew. Always test out your equipment!

Nevertheless, according to the chatter I heard after the storm had passed, I was much better prepared than most. I heard one man talking about how worried he was during the storm, that the food in his refrigerator would go bad, because thy did not have any power. Apparently, this man failed to notice all of the freezing cold white stuff laying around, which he could have shoveled into a bucket, and used to keep his perishables from perishing. Of course, he noticed the snow, but did not put two and two together.

Fortunately, one friend of mine who lives north of Jerusalem, thought to turn on all of the gas burners in his kitchen before Shabbath,* as they had lost electricity during the storm. He stationed his wife's bed there for her and their week-old newborn son. He and his daughters took every sweater, jacket, and blanket they owned, and camped out in another bedroom.

I have heard that a great many people become injured, or even die, from panic, and lack of preparation, than from the actual crisis or event itself. Even my friend who spent the night, this snowy Shabbath, had to remind me to fill up several bottles with water, from the faucet in the event that the freezing temperatures would cause pipes to burst, or affect our water supply in some other way.

One would think that such ideas would come to those of you in New York, Chicago, Canada, and Russia, quite naturally, just like knowing what to do in the event of an earthquake, and being prepared in advance for such an occasion is second hat to most Californians. However, that does not seem to be the case after all. Perhaps, we have become so dependent on technology, that our "thinking caps" have become impaired, when left without it.



Remember

Ask others with more experience that you. In mind case that mean learning about "layering," and the importance of wearing a hat, from a friend from Maryland. Likewise, during the summer months, I suggest to my roommate from upstate New York that he try jumping into the shower briefly, or just running the water on his neck for a few minutes.

Test Run
A few months ago, the power went out for a couple of hours. I was amazed that people did not know what to do with themselves, unless of course, they had a full battery on their computers and independent access to the Internet.

Lighting candles and reading a book, or going for a walk never would have occurred to them, except for maybe when their batteries ran out.

Recently, on a Friday, my power went out, while in the middle of cooking for Shabbath. I forgot where I heard this joke, but it is priceless:

Q: What does a 'prepper' call a power outage?

A: Practice.

Sure enough, I got some practice, as well as a friendly reminder to get my act in gear, and acquire what I have, so far, only been thinking about acquiring.

Truth be told, most of my cooking was done. I had only the meat left to prepare. As I knew that my local grocery store was open, I jaunted over to buy some charcoal, something which I really should have had on hand anyway. This experience also reminded me to get that gas canister I keep telling myself to get for cooking back-up, as well heating in an absolute pinch.

Well, once again, I lucked out. An electrician friend of mine was in the area, so he came over to sort everything out. My electric oven apparently was the culprit which tripped the electrical board. I would really prefer to have gas cooking appliances. But, as a renter, I have what I have.

For the coming winter, I hope to stop procrastinating, and buy a canister of gas to have on hand for back-up, if for nothing else. The gas canister can also be used for heat, in a pinch. Attachments can been bought which direct and diffuse the heat. But, I have been warned that it is not the heating system for use on Shabbath, without a proper gas heater hooked up to it.

I have even thought of the possibility of acquiring a wood burning stove, even just a small one for back up.

I have been, but must still confirm, that kerosene  heaters made for the indoors have been made illegal, for the populace's "own good." So, the option here would be finding a used one whose owner would be willing to part with. Kerosene  heaters made for outdoor use, are just that, made for outdoor use. As far as I understand, it is really not a good idea to use them indoors.

Jerusalem sits 800 plus meters in elevation. That is about 2,600 feet. It never gets within a few degrees below 0 C (32 F). If you are inside at night without heat during such temperatures, with all of your sweaters and jackets and blankets piled on, chances are that you will more likely than not, survive the night, Just like my friend and his family, I mentioned above did. But, what if you have small children or babies or elderly at home?


As part of my preparation for the coming winter, I have tried to talk about it with friends, particularly those with more experience than I when it comes to snowy winters. When I first moved to the East Coast, after living my entire life in California, a friend of mine who grew up in the Northeast, had to point out to me various things about living through the winter, I never would have thought of, everything from a hat, gloves, and thermal underwear, to layering clothing. I probably would have never thought of these things on my own.

Unforntunately, my experience, so far, has been that nobody wants to talk about the coming winter, let alone getting "prepped" for different case scenarios, such as power outages.

According to IsraelWeather.co.il, snow is expected in Jerusalem, this January. So, hopefully, as we get closer to Jerusalem, snow potential, my neighbors will become more amenable to such discussions.

Stay tuned!

*********

*The Torah forbids Jews from creating, transferring, and extinguishing of fire on Shabbath. The addition and subtraction of fuel is also forbidden to Jews on Shabbath.