Last night while taking a bus across the city, the last bus of the night, I was a witness to a scene that is truly found only in Israel.

Fairly soon after sitting down, a group of three boys got on the bus, and I pegged them for Americans the second I saw the first one. Some of us tend to stick out like sore thumbs, some more than others, and these teens were among the most easily noticed. First of all, they all had on baseball hats with MLB logos, and the hats were cocked on their heads in the true "prep" fashion. Baseball is not an Israeli sport, and wearing a baseball hat in this manner screams 'American.'

The point is that these young men were probably of the 'conservative Jewish' movement, spending some amount of months here on some type of high school exchange or yeshiva program. That being said, one could presume that they know some Jewish law and principles.

Soon after these guys, two twenty-some year old gentlemen get on the bus. At first I thought one of them was a girl, actually. This feminine one had a wild 'Jew-fro,' the type of afro that a stereotypically curly-haired Jewish guy gets. Otherwise he looked normal, wearing a sweatshirt and jeans. His friend stuck out to me as a band-geek, or some type of artistic person, as he had the characteristic stereotypes of that group. He had long hair pulled back in a ponytail, wearing black rimmed, fancy glasses, a corduroy jacket, a nice sweater underneath, and dark, acid-washed jeans. They both were Israeli, speaking Hebrew, and were pretty hard to miss.

These two were homosexual. The effeminate one was quite physical with his other-half, and it seemed like the artsy one was not quite into the public display of affection. I'm not saying he shunned the fro-man, I'm just saying he wasn't nearly as physical. They were quite undoubtedly gay, however, and I could tell that the entire bus was watching them. The young Americans, being the prime age of needing to prove their masculinity, actually surprised me a bit.

This is the 'only in Israel' observation. Like anywhere in the world, Israel has homosexuals. Tel Aviv, the most hip, posh, and liberal area in Israel, is well known for its tolerance and acceptance of homosexuality, and occasionally you will hear boasts that that city is more accepting than most places in the "Western world," San Francisco excluded, of course. You can only imagine what the religious people of Jerusalem think of all this. For whatever reason, the homosexual alliance of Israel chooses Jerusalem every year to be the site of the gay pride parade, an event that I have witnessed twice. There is always violence, a mass protest by the religious, and inevitably some type of rioting throughout religious neighborhoods (ie- burning of dumpsters, smashing cars, etc). It's all really quite ridiculous.

Expecting these young men to sneer, or mumble vicious slurs to each other, I was a little blown away to hear their conversation on the matter turn to Torah. I was sitting by the window, with one of the guys sitting on the seat next to me, and the other two sitting in the seats directly in front of me. You see, I was just another member of their group, in the middle of the lion's den. They, however, must have mistaken me for an Israeli. In no way did I stick out as an American, in my dress, demeanor, or language...so, as I said, I was privy to their unbridled opinions. I kept my mouth shut in order to hear what 15 year old New Yorkers thought of the scene.

The young men quickly quoted the Torah, which says something along the lines of "two men laying together is an abomination to the Lord." There's really no way around this Biblical proscription, so the teens were quickly quoting sources in agreeance, but their personal opinions also came out. All three of them were obviously 'against' homosexuality, but one of them stood out among the group. I didn't hear exactly what he said, but from what I did hear, it sounded like it was along the lines of something a little more militant than most would find tasteful. The two other boys quickly rebutted, admonishing him for saying something "assur," or forbidden. In Jewish law, you basically have "assur" and "motair," or forbidden and permitted. To say something like, "we should kill all gays," as I think the boy said, is certainly assur, and his Torah-conscious friend was right to chastise him.

Where else would you find 15 year old preppy guys, getting their first taste of adolescent testosterone, ready to prove their virility, discussing the philosophical and theological dimensions of such an issue? Sure, all across the world people talk about homosexuality along the lines of the Bible, but where, really, do 15 year old boys know to quote ancillary sources and the social implications of this topic? I was a little bit proud of these three Americans, considering that it would have been quite easy for them to turn their words to slurs and jokes, mockingly throwing off the humanity of those two partners. Instead, they treated the issue quite academically, and besides the one outburst, they could have had the same conversation in front of adults in any academic or theological environment. They were mature, in a word.

There are so many of these exchange programs, and Jerusalem is well known as being the hub, the center for Americans in Israel. Additionally, these teens are known for being rowdy, getting drunk under the relaxed liquor laws in Israel, and just generally bringing shame and a bad reputation to Americans. If you are an American here, in Jerusalem, many Israelis will look at you as immature and obnoxious, in many ways due to these unleashed teenagers.

The boys I saw were still young boys, of course. After a while, two of them started picking on the less tolerant one, by rubbing his shoulders, putting their arms around him, and sensually touching his face. It was quite humourous to see him get upset, and then hear the inevitable "you seem a bit defensive...everything ok?" Eh, at least they were mature at first!

One last word. Being that this ride was near to midnight, the bus was not so full. I was wondering what would have happened if the two homosexuals were being affectionate while the bus was full, with religious men and women watching. I know that there would have been a confrontation, with the religious literally yelling at them. There would have been much screaming, quoting religious sources, shaming them and showing quite the lack of tolerance. If you read what I wrote about Israelis not holding back with their opinions, vocally letting their presence be known, multiply that by two for religious Israelis speaking about religious law.

Now, that would have been something to write about!

In order to sign up for medical insurance, you have to visit, of all places, the post office. Unfortunately for a normal postal visitor, one also has to wait behind a myriad of people paying bills. Yes, you go to the post office to pay bills here, instead of doing automatic debits from your account. Automatic debiting is a reality here, but Israelis prefer to leave that to their material purchases. Any credit card purchase is greeted with a question of whether or not you want to do "tashlomim," or monthly payments. A $50 grocery bill? "Yeah, sure, I'll pay for it over 3 months." Cell phone deals are advertised as being only a few bucks a month, but, over 36 months! This is an extremely common financial decision...and it leads so many people to credit card debt. A few dollars here and there, no big deal! But then, all of a sudden, you're over drawn and have no way to pay that next month's slew of installments. Smart business tactic.

Anyway, I was waiting in line at the post office with a friend, just about to be seen, when 5 people, not kidding, walk in from outside and bump in front of me. "Oh, we were here!" Ok, because I've been standing in one of those slow, snaking lines for 10 minutes, and never saw you! But yeah, sure, go ahead and bump in front of me! No problem! Hey, you gotta get used to it. As I said before, the Israeli rudeness is just another part of the game.

My friend that went with me told me a fun little story about her most recent trip to the same post office. Her mother's birthday was in a few days, and she wanted to send an enveloped letter express. She wanted it to get home on or around the birthday -- pretty standard stuff. The cost was 60 shekels, which is about $15 American. The post office lady began questioning my friend on her economic well-being.

"You really think you want to spend 60 shekels on sending just an envelope? That's a waste of money, isn't it?"
"It's for my mother's birthday. I want it to get there on time, so I kinda have to send it express."
"Yeah, I see, but wouldn't you rather spend that money in buying some type of gift for your mom? I mean, is a letter really worth it? Do you think you mom would really care about a letter?"
"Yes, it's kinda a thing in America, you know, to send a letter to someone on their birthday."

At this point, the clerk began to speak to her fellow workers, and soon enough, the entire post office was telling my friend that it was a waste of money.

"Your mom would rather get a package of something."
"Yeah, why spend all that money on a letter?"
"Seriously, don't waste your money!"

After speaking to everyone in Hebrew for 10 minutes, the clerk began to question her anew.

"Oh, you just don't understand Hebrew!," now speaking in English. "See, it costs 60 shekel, which is really expensive! Your mom won't care about the letter for all that money!"
Exasperated, my friend loses it. "Are you stupid? Are you that dull? I've been speaking to you in perfect Hebrew since I walked in here! It's my money, just GIVE ME THE EXPRESS shipment! I'm American, I'm rich, just do it!"

If in doubt, just combat Israeli presumptuousness with the claim of being American -- which in foreign terms, means you are rich. Hey, sometimes you gotta swing for the fences.

In a nice little coincidence, out of 4 clerks, the person I was directed to was the same woman that so deftly handled my friend's envelope. She greeted me, and then said, "Hey, weren't you in here the other day?" Oh, what a fun day.

The strangest thing that has ever happened to me in Israel happened after the post office. I was waiting in line at the medical center, where you actually sign up for insurance. Lines, again. One of the clerks left her desk, approached me, and shot some serious Hebrew at me. I caught enough to figure out that she was asking whether or not I was a new immigrant. First of all, if you suspect someone of being a new immigrant, would you speak to them as fast as humanely possible in a language that normally isn't their mother-tongue? Second, I figured she was going to tell me, as all the horror stories I've heard about having to run around here and there with various papers, that I had the wrong papers, or had to go to another office, or come back at another time. Great.

Instead, she pulled me out of line to help me before my number was called. What? I received preferential treatment, in a line system, in Israel? Preferential, as in I was the one that was preferred? And helped out of line? Amazing and rare. The day was going great, and then I saw something heartwarming...

Nearby was a religious Arab woman, and a religious Jewish woman, both sitting in front of the same clerk, being helped in turn. They were smiling and chatting with each other, as if their people were not at each others' throats. They didn't have to chat like best friends, and I've seen plenty of religious Arab men and religious Jewish men give each other the death stare.

I suppose that goes to show you that no matter what the political scene appears to be, and that no matter what the media shows, the actual situation on the ground, between individuals, doesn't happen to always be so easily discernible. Some people think that Israel is in the grips of some continual war, as if Israel is Iraq.

In fact, Israel is not Iraq. Bullets aren't flying, improvised explosives aren't blowing cars and convoys away, snipers aren't reigning terror down on the masses...

Maybe these two woman showed me that if the Israelis and Arabs want peace, they'll need women in office. So, who's voting for Hillary?

After one of the worst periods of procrastination in my life, I finally signed up with a medical insurance plan here. Let me try to explain how the medical system works. The system isn't that clear to me yet, but here's what I do know.

The Israeli national insurance system is universal. All citizens are given nearly-free coverage which handles everything from basic doctor visits to hospitalizations, surgery to reduced cost medications, and even treatment of chronic diseases. The best part is that all insurance companies have to take a citizen under their service, regardless of age or health status. There are four insurance companies, and all the companies are treated as equal under the law. So, it doesn't really matter who you sign up with, but people choose their company based on word of mouth, as well as which facilities are closer to their homes. Universal pretty much means universal: everyone is accepted regardless of any condition, and being accepted means the same thing for everyone, namely, insurance in matters of health.

Ok, so I cheated and went to the government's webpage for national insurance (http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/1990_1999/1998/7/National%20Health%20Insurance). All in all, this system seems to be working pretty well. I see pharmacies everywhere, and each one is attached to an insurance company. There seems to be a medical building on every block. In fact, I live in a somewhat out of the way cul-de-sac, and we have a large facility on our street! I've asked around, and everyone seems to be fairly satisfied with the system. Sure, it's socialized health care, so maybe you have to wait in a longer line than you'd like, but don't we wait for hours in doctor's offices in America as well? Moreover, Israel has one of the highest per capita rates of doctors in the world, and we have some of the world's leading pharmeceutical companies...so we like to say we have the best medical system in the world. I'm sure other countries have more resources, but I can say this for sure: Israel makes the most out of what it has.

I'm not sure if America is ready for this universal health care system, but after observing Israel and her system, a main sticking point for America in universal care seems irrelevant. That sticking point would be, of course, money. I realize that Israel has about 7 million citizens, while America has over 300 million. However, the main difference is that America has trillions of dollars to spend, while Israel has about $35 bucks, give or take. No, seriously, Israel has to spend 9% of her GDP on defense, one of the highest rates around the world, and that percentage is on the lower scale of what we have spent during the Palestinian terror campaigns (commonly referred to as an "intifada"). The scary part is that Israel has to spend this money in order to exist. Israel has no choice but to beef up it's military. Even though Israel spends so much of her money on defense, she still has enough to care for her citizens.

On the other hand, America has now spent hundreds of billions of dollars in Iraq, fighting an enemy that will never give up. One estimate claims, at least by last year, that we were spending $255 million per day in Iraq.* Per Day! And this is to fight an enemy that hides as civilians, hides behind families, uses remotely detonated weapons instead of engaging in a real war. Not only is the war a money pit, it is another Vietnam, which only served and only serves to drain the national reserve of confidence and morale.

I'm not trying to say anything in particular about the Iraq war. I've already said too much, maybe. What I am trying to say, however, is that America sure has spent a gross amount of money that could have gone a long way to establishing a universal health care system. I'm not even saying we should have a universal health care system in America. I am no expert on the benefits and drawbacks of universal versus private health care systems. Both have pros and cons, and I'll leave it to the experts to tell you what is what.

All that I am trying to get across is that money should not be the main stumbling block for America on the road to a better health care system. Israel is showing that even with a strapped financial outlook, a first-world country can look after its people. Israel's system is not perfect, but we all know that America needs some type of health care reform. That's all.

*http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15377059/

You think you have it bad? Check this out!

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/11/05/injured.soldier/index.html#cnnSTCText

You have to see the pictures. They aren't too bad. This is why I will miss CNN!

Thursday was the day on the docket for the main cable provider of Israel, HOT, to either cancel or renew their contract with the American news channel, CNN. Actually, the only chance for a renewal of the contract would have been a miracle along the lines of CNN giving away their service for free. The cancellation of CNN has been relatively big news here, considering the fairly large population of English speakers seeking 'real' news stations. The Israeli parliament went so far as to hold discussions on whether or not HOT was even allowed to drop this station from its list.

To make matters worse, the rumor before Thursday was that HOT would replace CNN, a provider that many people here find to be synonymous with anti-Israel media bias, with the super-friendly Arab station, Al Jazeera. Wouldn't that have been fun? Instead, CNN was pulled abruptly on Thursday, even though HOT said they would give the channel 10 more days of air-time, and replaced with the intellectual, unbiased, and supremely fair Fox News.

To be honest, CNN is my favorite news station in America. Who doesn't enjoy watching CNN Headline News, with all the important stuff given over in just 45 minutes? Fast, easy, and entertaining! In regards to anti-Israel media bias, it's impossible to find a station that not only is fair towards Israel, but is fair in general. After all, stations and newspapers tend to get all their big stories from the stringers like AP and Reuters anyway. You just can't avoid anti-Israel media bias, so you might as well get your news from the most respected American source...CNN.

The problem is that the CNN I saw over here is not Headline News. In fact, the programming seemed to be run by the Brits. All the reporters and anchors were British, and the studio seemed to be out of England. That's not CNN! CNN is out of Atlanta, Georgia. Quite a ways from London, thank you very much. Moreover, every time I turned it on it seemed that they were playing sports news. Seriously, who cares about car racing when people are dying all around the world? I'm not so sad about losing this CNN.

The kicker was that CNN played certain shows that you would never find on the channel in America. The best example: The Daily Show with John Stewart. You can only imagine how surprised I was to see an admittedly unfair, half-serious take on important matters being shown by a company that should be seeking to maximize its reputation for excellence. Not that I complained -- how else would I get to see that staple of Americana, the hard-hitting, no holds-barred funny man?

It would have been nice to see John every night, knowing my dad was religiously watching the same show the night before...but we all have to make sacrifices don't we? Like for Fox News?

Bill O'Reilly is as entertaining as John Stewart, right?