Christmas in July, Thanksgiving in Tel Aviv
It happens without fail: Every year, someone in America will ask me if we celebrate Thanksgiving here in Israel. I know it is very PC to say that there is no such thing as a stupid question, but this to me was simply that: dumb. I’m not even going to explain why. And yet here, again, I’m setting up our soul food menu at Etzlenu for a Thanksgiving special. So obviously the question is more nuanced than I give it credit for.
Does Israel celebrate Thanksgiving? No. Do (some) Israelis celebrate Thanksgiving? Most certainly yes. There are a bunch of American expats living here who want to celebrate and/or re-live (or perhaps remake) the holiday. And also a whole bunch of Israelis who have lived in the States, who have fond memories of the holiday (amazingly enough), and want to do something a bit special this time of year. And given the outcome of this recent national election, I say, go for it.
My own childhood memories of Thanksgiving do not comport with the typical images of a rather formal dinner table laden with shit. On the contrary. Mom would lay out a vast array of cold cuts, salads, sliced breads, and YES! mustard, we would invite a bunch of family friends over, and we would gather in the den, watching the classic football rivalries on TV and helping ourselves at the buffet. No chance to have awkward, politically-divisive conversations around the dining room table. We all held liberal political views and there was no common dinner table with overstuffed pomposities. Ahh, for a simpler times.
I miss those days. And so I wish to give thanks here to the smell of cigar smoke wafting from the den. And to give thanks to the time I had with dear family members and friends, no longer here. And to give thanks to the idea of buffet-style eating in a large communal setting. And to give thanks to the essential values of democracy that have played out this past week after a nightmarish four years.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Thanksgiving in Tel Aviv. And all across this globe. It’s just a matter of looking for it.
