Jerusalem 7 January 2026

Today is day 2 of this year's trip to Israel/Palestine. I haven't been here for three years because of the war and conflict following the 7Oct23 attacks. I have missed my family here so much it's difficult to even describe.

Just to bring everyone up to speed as a recap: My family here are all descendants of my maternal grandfather's brothers who came here in the 1920's as Zionists who were fleeing terrible persecution and genocide in Poland/Austria-Hungary, in their town in the region called Gailicia. Their town was called Gologory and is now actually technically within the borders of Ukraine. When my now-long-deceased great uncles all came here, Gologory was in Poland; my understanding is they considered themselves Jews and not Poles, because Jews were never embraced in Poland as Polish. During one of my previous trips here, I mildly offended Ilil (wife of my cousin Ofer) when I told her she looked Polish and she said, "Not Jewish?" I apologized profusely -- and thus learned that here in Israel, where the vast majority of European-Jewish descendants I have mert here are descended from "Polish Jews," the terms "Poland" and "Polish" are very very loaded and almost "four letter words." Like most Jews of my generation who were born here in Israel, almost all of Ilil's family was murdered in the Holocaust and she is descended from the few who survived.

When I am here in Israel, I am keenly aware at all times that pretty much all Jewish Israelis are "descended from the ones who survived." I suppose all Jews are. Of course, everyone in the world is technically "descended from the ones who survived," but saying this is especially important when I think about peoples who have been targets of genocide.

This is a country full of ghosts of so many kinds: surviving genocided Jews, the persecuted and genocided Arabs, and the other tribes and people's who have lived here throughout thousands of years of human history.

A reminder that all of my family here were cut off from my American family from 1955 until I came here for the first time to find them, which I did, in 2014. The lack of contact for decades happened for no particular reason other than, I think, the fact that after my grandfather died in NYC in 1955, he left my gentile-Polish-descended grandmother in poverty with three young daughters and she was overwhelmed and devastated by grief,, and she didn't speak Hebrew of Yiddish. I am told that after my grandfather died she had to reply on her Jewish neighbors in NYC to translate and write letters back-and-forth to and from my grandfather's brothers who were here In what has become "Israel" and only spoke European languages like Polish, plus Yiddish and Hebrew.

Here's a recap of who my family here are/were:

• Yehuda, now deceased, was my mother's first cousin, therefore my first cousin once removed. He died in early 2024 and I was not able to see him before he died because of the war. The last time i saw him was January 2023. Yehuda was the son of my maternal grandfather's brother, Eisig (Isaac or Yitzhak, although I am told he always went by Eisig).

• Ofer, the cousin here in my generation with whom I am closest. Ofer is the middle child of Yehuda (and he is thus maybe my first cousin twice removed (???), but anyhow he is my cousin). Ofer is around my age and is a biologist with a PhD who is Senior Scientist of Technological Innovation at Cell Cure Neurosciences, Inc., a biotech startup here that is trying to develop cures for macular degeneration and is privately funded by Americans. (https://il.linkedin.com/company/cell-cure-neurosciences-ltd-). Ofer is married to Ilil who works at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum here, as a researcher. Her job is to help identify Jews in videos and photographs from the Holocaust, which is one of the most profound and emotionally difficult jobs I have ever heard of. Ofer and Ilil have a son, Yahli who is 18 and he is going into the Israeli army next month. (Every Israeli [Jewish Israeli? I don't know] here must join the army at 18 for three years minimum -- this includes men and women. The only people excluded are people who (I guess?) register as conscientious objectors, and also the ultra-Orthodox here who in theory must be studying Torah at all times although many people everywhere including non-ultra-Othodox Israelis think this is bullshit, as do I.) They have a younger daughter named Libi who is 15. They all live in Jerusalem.

• Sharon, the youngest child of Yehuda (Ofer's younger sister). She is also around my age. She is an art historian who is a curator of Judaica at the Israel Museum (which is sort of like the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC). https://eshkolot.ru/en/speakers/43657 Sharon is married to Max who is a really talented realist artist who is from NYC. http://maxferguson.com/about.php Sharon and Max have three children: Daniel who has been in the army since late 2022 in a combat division and is a super brilliant, sensitive, thoughtful young man. I know I am going to cry when I see him; Michal who is now in the army since last year and he is in an intelligence unit; and Noa, the youngest, she is around 15. They all live in Jerusalem.

• Ofer and Sharon's older sister is Vered, and she lives with her husband in Petach Tikva, a city a bit north of Tel Aviv. They are both developmentally disabled and live very hg functioning lives. They have a daughter who is developmentally disabled and lives in a group hime and has a job and is quite high functioning. Their son is a career army officer and is married and has children. I am not as close with them because none of them except their son speak much English, but Yehuda used to take me to see them every time I visited. Vered's physical health is not great right now and I probably won't see them while I am here but I love them and especially Vered and her daughter are super sweet. They also have a tiny dog and they're the only relatives I have here who have a pet, which of course I appreciate.

• I have family in Tel Aviv who are the widow and four daughters of Yehuda's younger brother Shmueli. Shmueli was 15 years younger than Yehuda and was a physician but he died young from cancer after having four daughters with his now-widow Einat who is a very prominent oncologist here. I also visited them with Yehuda several times but there is a bit of an estrangement now between Shmueli's family and Ofer and Sharon's family, for complicated reasons. They haven't been answering my text messages which is sad because I had a lovely time when I visited them with Yehuda. Families are complicated.

• I also have family here who are the daughter and descendants of Yehuda's fatrher's brother Dov, who was deceased before I met Yehuda. Ofer and Sharon's families are not close with them. Again, families are complicated.

Okay that was really long. More later. Here are some photos of the guest house where I am currently staying but I am checking out today and moving into an Airbnb studio nearby.