There’s a lot of pain out there. Let’s keep our eye and ears open and help where we can.
By BOAZ DAVIDOFFIsraelis mark Independence Day 2020 by enjoying some grilled meat on their balcony (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
On Thursday night, May 14, I was winding down from a long week. After work, I went to my cousin’s place for a BBQ with him, my aunt, and his sister and her kids. A good time was had by all. When I left all I wanted was a hot shower and to pass out in bed.There I was in my bathrobe, all wet and warm and fully fed, laying in bed drifting in and out of consciousness. My peace and quite were quickly broken by sounds of screaming from outside. At first I figured in was kids causing mayhem, so I tried to ignore it, hoping it would soon go away.But it didn’t. It only got more intense and even urgent. Finally I got my sleepy ass out bed and went to my balcony to see what the hell was going on. I live on the 15th floor and have a long balcony. While walking to the south end where the screaming was coming from, I figured I’d soon have to call the police.When I got to the edge of the balcony I saw that the police were already there, and that a man in a white T-shirt is screaming at them. I couldn’t believe it. He’s screaming at the top of his lungs at two police officers and they’re just listening to him. In New York, where I grew up, this scene would not last long.On a good day they would have cracked open his head with a night stick and then have arrested him. On a bad day they would emptied out their clips and shot him full of holes.Then I started to listen to what he was screaming about.It turned out that he was making a delivery with his little tender (small truck) and the cops gave him a ticket for parking illegally. He was screaming that he didn’t even have enough money for food; that he had no place to live; and that all the cops do was give tickets.It was heartbreaking. The cops tried to calm him down but he was inconsolable. At one point he laid down on the ground and asked the police officers to just kill him; he had enough.“Just run me over,” he said.My heart sank as I watched the drama unfold below. At some point the cops just drove away (not over him) and left the poor man screaming. And then I saw something beautiful, like a prophetic vision.People from the neighborhood came pouring out toward the man. One man put his arm around him and told him not to worry and offered to pay the fine. Other people offered money and comfort as well; some with cash while others wired money to him on the spot. After a few minutes of this outpouring of love, the man finally calmed down and drove away. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the neighborhood.That for me is Israel. That is why I’m here.There’s a lot of pain out there. People have lost their jobs and businesses due to the corona lock-down. Let’s keep our eye and ears open and help where we can.The writer immigrated to Israel in 1996 from New York and is currently working at Israel Aerospace Industries Drone Division as a software engineer.
