BS Tutu, Bethlehem, Jerusalem

Aerogramme to Steve & Dale from Kibbutz Regavim

Jan. 9, 1990

Kibbutz Regavim

Israel

Dear haverim (friends),

Shalom!

I received your letter today, Dale, & one recently from a Church friend near Santa Barbara, Calif. Letters are the highlight of our day, & so therefore are greatly appreciated. I'm in Hebrew class now so I'm just starting this letter before I get busted. Tonight I work in a plastic factory from 8 p.m. - 4 a.m. We not only make toys, we manufacture all the parts for disposable razors. To be continued... It's break now. Tho' I don't celebrate Xmas because of its pagan birth (origin) & it's nowhere commanded, etc. it's around the same time as Hanukkah. So I went to Jerusalem Dec. 24th, & even tho' I hate S. Afrikan Bishop (Bullshit) Desmond Tutu, I wanted to see him on his historic - tho' wicked - visit to Israel, so I heard him give midnight mass at St. George's Anglican Church in Jerusalem. Later we all evacuated because of a bomb threat. Xmas Day I visited Bethlehem where I met 4 nice guys from a different Kibbutz & visited... (class just let out) the Church of Nativity - the traditional site of Jesus' birth & Manger Square. We discussed how tradition is so deep & how people are stuck in its muck. What's important was Jesus was born somewhere in Bethlehem because his ancestor King David was born there. I was later told I was on Israeli TV - about 7 different Kibbutz members said they saw me next to the Western ("Wailing") Wall on TV - and I didn't even notice any cameras! They recognized my blond hair (that needs cut!). I spent a quiet New Year's eve visiting Miriam at Kibbutz Ramat Yohanan near Haifa. On, on the way to Jerusalem I rode a train halfway there - a first for me. Jerusalem was packed because of Hanukkah & Xmas. I also went dancing again at the UNDERGROUND...crazy as usual! I wonder if Ramon's wife had her baby yet... All the Garin came again this weekend - a wild group of pre-army 17 & 18 yr. olds who all like me... Well I'm going to Miriam's again next week for 2 or 3 days, but now I'd better go to sleep since I'll be up 'till 4 in the MORNING! Help. (Actually it's quite easy). Oh, I've also conveniently had my own room now - double bed - for the last week or so.

Write ya later.

David