Subscribe to Print Edition | Fri., September 12, 2008 Elul 12, 5768 | | Israel Time: 14:27 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Haaretz Toolbar Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Family affair / The Yegers By Avner Avrahami and Reli Avrahami Tags: Israel W The cast: Amos (51), Einat (40), Oz (15), Hagar (13), Roi (7). W The home: New, one-level, detached, flat-roofed, light plaster exterior finish, 160 square meters, on half a dunam (1/8 acre). The family moved here in April 2007 and are still in the process of organizing. The front door is a contemporary affair of green metal; in the back is a deck with a pergola from which hang white canvas strips like sails, on the edge of the lawn. We meet the aged Guli and the young Hetz (dogs) and step into a large illuminated space with floor tiles of light sesame color, which ends in a vitrine (built by Jimmy, from Shuafat). The stylized home is modest in its materials. The two sofas in the center of the living room were acquired in south Tel Aviv; the black piano (which no one plays) is from Einat's parents' home; and the dining table (white) and country-style kitchen (olive beige) were built by a carpenter from Moshav Orot (Motti Sa'ad). All the decisions, they say, were made in consultation with a designer (Emi Reshef), without whom they don't make a move. W Internal division: To the right of the central space is a sleeping wing with a synthetic parquet floor (Amos: "too synthetic") and a den (a sofa facing a television set), three children's rooms, a library and the master bedroom. A peek inside reveals that Amos and Einat have not yet bought themselves a bed frame; they sleep on just a mattress ("We gave the kids priority"). Advertisement W Real estate history: They were granted the right to a "slot" in the moshav (a cooperative farming village) by Aharon and Matilda Noy, who are relatives of Einat's ("the gift of a lifetime"). Building the house cost $220,000, and they are paying a mortgage of NIS 4,000 a month ("We entered into some complicated obligations"). The term "a home of our own" is very meaningful for them, the couple say. They appear to be thrilled at being property owners. For 17 years they lived on a kibbutz (Dorot). W Livelihoods and occupations: Einat, who has an undergraduate degree in history (from Sapir Academic College), is a tax adviser and chief bookkeeper at a metals factory in Moshav Timorim. She works a five-day week, calculating the salaries of the plant's 80 employees. She gets to work and back (20 minutes each way) in the family car, a Chevrolet Aveo, leaving at 7:30 A.M. and getting home at 4:45 P.M. She is satisfied with her job, generally speaking, though now, at the age of 40, she is having some thoughts. W Thoughts: She feels "a certain sadness." She regrets not having studied something creative, such as architecture or art, and is currently looking for enrichment groups to attend. She leans toward gardening and sports, and in the evenings drags Amos out to go walking ("He doesn't have crises"). W Amos: Agricultural instructor, expert in growing carrots; works with farmers, mainly in the south. He acquired his knowledge on kibbutz. W Carrots: A world unto themselves. Amos says he is professionally and psychologically attached to every long vegetable that is orange in color. There are not many types of carrot in Israel ("They all know one another"). At the moment, he is assisting evacuee farmers from the former settlement of Atzmona, in the Gaza Strip. They now live in Moshav Yeted, where their labors are bearing fruit ("They are very practical religious people"). He works a six-day week, and winter is his busy season. To get around he uses a four-wheel-drive Hyundai Tucson. He leaves the house early (sometimes at 4:30 A.M.) and gets home late (by 8 P.M.), though sometimes earlier ("depending on the season"). According to Einat, he is a full partner in raising the children. W A good day at work: "There are no days that are not good." At night he dreams about carrots, he says. Every farmer, he notes, carries the trauma of the frost and the pests. W The good tidings: Get ready for the "rainbow" - a multicolored carrot. He recently attended the world carrot conference, held in France ("The Israelis were treated with respect"). W The children: Hagar and Oz attend the Qassam-challenged Sha'ar Hanegev comprehensive high school, and are now entering grades 8 and 9, respectively. They have busing back and forth. Oz continued to attend school even at the height of the rocket attacks, while Hagar's class was occasionally sent home ("A Qassam landed next to our house"). Until the cease-fire, Einat says, they parted from the children every morning in trepidation. Amos says that life in a situation in which the children are in danger is "far from simple." In any event, they did not consider moving, and now feel a certain relief. Oz is indifferent, compared to his parents; he "projects coolness," Einat says. The Qassams have never bothered him, Oz says. In general, he is connected to the Web, and is not yet certain what he will do in the future. Hagar, who attends jazz, ceramics and spinning groups after school, knows that she will work in high-tech. She is involved in everything and responsible for what goes on in the house, including external relations, such as the e-mail, thanks to which we met. W Roi: Now starting second grade in Kibbutz Nitzanim, where he also eats lunch. He goes to judo classes and wants to be a soccer player in Barcelona. W Amos' bio: Born 1957, Kibbutz Dorot, near Sderot. His parents, who were kibbutz members, are deceased. His father, who came to Palestine in the middle of World War II from Romania, worked in the fields; his mother, who was born in Transylvania and survived Auschwitz, was a seamstress. He grew up in the kibbutz children's house ("I missed the family experience that today's children have"). He attended high school at Sha'ar Hanegev and did his army service in the Armored Corps - without fighting in a war ("It never happened"). Afterward he was a leader of the core groups of the Hanoar Ha'oved youth movement (affiliated with the labor movement) that entered the Nahal paramilitary brigade. He then moved to Jerusalem (1984) to complete the requirements for a matriculation certificate and obtain an undergraduate degree in biology and earth sciences at the Hebrew University. Returning to the kibbutz, he was appointed coordinator of field crops and met Einat. W Einat: Born 1968, Ashkelon, to parents (both now retired), who immigrated to Israel in the 1950s. Her father, Moroccan-born, taught draftsmanship and lathe; her mother, Argentine-born, was a special-education teacher. After high school, during which she was a group leader in the Scouts, Einat worked as an au pair in Tennessee, served in the Gadna (Youth Battalions) in Kibbutz Sde Boker, attended Sapir College and rented a room in Kibbutz Dorot. W The meeting: 1989. She was a student; he was in charge of the kibbutz crops. On the first day she entered thekibbutz dining hall, she saw him and knew he was the one ("Ask anyone"). They dated for a year, he did not get down on his knee (Einat: "I am always the initiator"), and they were married. W The wedding: The ceremony was held at the rabbinate in Sderot, the party on the lawn of Kibbutz Dorot, the food came from the dining hall, the guests numbered no more than 50 ("Amos wanted it modest"). Among the gifts they received were pictures and an aluminum ladder. They lived on the kibbutz until 2004. W Leaving the kibbutz: "When Amos decided to leave," Einat says, "I, as the one who had pressured him, got scared." Amos was torn. He felt that if he left "there would be a problem with the crops." In the end, they decided to do it. They received $35,000 as "leaving money" from the kibbutz. They have nothing against the kibbutz, have many friends there and visit often. Amos' parents are buried there, too. "It's still like home" (Amos). W In retrospect: "The decision came too late," Amos says. In the first year, he recalls, they were on a high, then came a fall, and finally things stabilized. W Daily routine: Amos gets up an hour before he leaves (5 A.M. at the latest), makes sandwiches for the kids, black coffee for himself, and hot water with honey and lemon for Einat. They sip the drinks until 6 on the front porch ("with the sun in back"). The children's bus leaves at 6:40. Amos is already on the road, listening to Army Radio's early-morning program. Einat leaves for work at 7:30 and is in the office by 8, when she has a cup of instant coffee (no sugar). W Lunch: "A painful issue," Amos says. Usually he will gnaw on some vegetables from a picnic box ("I am a vegetarian"). Anat eats in the dining hall ("There is excellent catering"). The children heat up food in the microwave; each of them has a prepared dish waiting. Amos gets back after dark and makes a salad for everyone. They go to sleep late. The family has three television sets, but they all want to watch on the new, flat one. W Television: Roi dictates the program schedule ("He always has the remote"). After he goes to sleep, Einat watches reruns ("Sex and the City"). Amos abstains. W Housecleaning: Once every two weeks, by a cleaning woman from Sderot (NIS 200). On a daily basis, Einat and the children (Einat: "It's a built-in thing"). W Cooking: Einat and Amos. Baking - it depends. Yeast cake with carrots (Einat), cheesecake (Amos), chocolate cake (Hagar). W Dream: A trip to Alaska with the family (Einat); "a return of solidarity" (Amos). W God: Einat believes, Amos doesn't ("Prayers don't speak to me"). W Educational orientation: "The most important thing is who the teacher is, and we did well in that regard". W Nostalgia: "For my parents" (Amos); "For 12/14 Hatayasim Street, Ashkelon, opposite the sea" (Einat). W Israel: Einat is apprehensive about the state's existence. Amos: "That's a thought that has suddenly come up; it never existed in the past." W Quarrels: "If we don't fight, something is wrong," Einat says. She admits to being the one who starts; Amos, she says, never quarrels. W Romance: "To sit on the porch and abandon the soles of my feet to a massage by Amos" (Einat); "To listen to sprinklers at night with Einat" (Amos). W Happiness quotient (scale of 1-10): Amos - 8; Einat - 7; Hagar - 6; Oz - 6-7; Roi - 7. The place Kochav Michael - A moshav east of Ashkelon, established in 1950 and named Kochav after the Arab village of Kaukaba (whose residents fled in 1948). The moshav was then abandoned and resettled, with the name Michael added, after Michael Sobell, a British philanthropist. Bookmark to del.icio.us   'I didn't kill Rose' Rose's mother, grandfather request court delay autopsy of body found in Yarkon River. Israeli requests Israel asks U.S. for arms and permission to use an air corridor to attack Iran.

Read & React Palin: U.S. shouldn't 'second guess' Israeli defensive measures Responses: 6 Antony Lerman / The bogus concept known as Jewish 'self-hatred' Responses: 1 Saab and Riedel / For the sake of peace, Israel and Syria must keep talking Send response Ari Shavit / Israel needs leadership and a renewed ability to strike first Send response More Headlines 07:24 Abbas to Haaretz: Peace deal unlikely this year 13:09 Palin: U.S. shouldn't 'second guess' defensive military steps taken by Israel 10:26 Father,infant son, hurt in second suspected Netanya mob hit this week 11:28 Police: Likelihood that this is Rose's body is very high 05:27 Who are the 100 most influential people in Israel? 07:41 Canada PM's holiday cards raise concern over religious profiling 14:26 Austrian Jews irate as court unfreezes $10m account of number 1 terrorist of the 80s 05:03 Pollsters use new gadget to gauge Mofaz, Livni credibility 04:26 PM vows to resign as soon as new Kadima leader chosen 11:52 Eskimos at the Kinneret? No, you aren't hallucinating 04:45 Reports of child abuse nearly doubled in past decade Previous Editions Select Day 11 sep 10 sep 09 sep 08 sep 07 sep 05 sep 04 sep 03 sep 02 sep 01 sep 31 aug 29 aug

Special Offers Advertisement Fattal Hotel Chain Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel. Eldan Rent a Car Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations Jewish Singles Personal Ads Find the love of your life on JDate.com Israel's Premier Real Estate Website www. israel-property.com Hebrew Summer courses From $39.95 ISRAEL BONDS Build Israel Israel bonds - a multi-purpose way to celebrate Israel's 60th Junkyard Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt

Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |

Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel

birthright Israel | Search engine marketing

Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.

© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved