1988-1989 Rothberg Yearbook

WALES.
I th in k th a t I can consider m yself to be one of a rare breed, in that I am a W elsh Je w w ho has come to
study in Israel, even if it's only fo r a year. Being a Je w in W ales, is quite a rarity, fo r all the ones there
w ere m any th rivin g com m unities in South W ales and the Valley Regions (in am ongst the coal mines)
there now rem ains only one center of Judaism in W ales, in the capital city, Cardiff. Even there, there is
only one orthodox synagogue and about a thousand Jews, of w h ich only a score are strictly Observant.
These are, indeed, sad tim es for a country w h ich has so m uch in com m on w ith Israel. W ales is
approxim ately the same size as Israel, w ith approxim ately the same population. Like Israel, W ales has
the sea as one of her borders, and a language different to those spoken in other lands. W ales has
th e Israeli tra it of being fa irly pathetic at sports, w ith the exception of rugby. The tw o countries are also
both surrounded by th e ir enem ies on all sides. W ales has a beautiful countryside, m uch like Israel has
in the Golan and G alil. Also, the in stitu te s w here the W elsh language is taught are called Ulpanim.
A lthough Israel is the place w h ere all Jew s should try to live their lives, W ales, in my opinion, w ould
perhaps be one of the next best places, if it had a larger Jew ish population. 0
W hat is encouraging fo r Je w s in W ales, and C ardiff in particular, is the num ber of youngsters
com ing to Israel, e ith e r tem porarily or perm anently. It is doubtful w h e th e r my com m unity in Britain, of
com parable size can boast as many high ranking soldiers in the Israeli arm y and airforce as Cardiff.
A m ongst the youngsters w ho are still in Cardiff, many express a preference to move away from the
city, although quite a high num ber say that living in Israel is a realistic possibility.
Having been in Israel for 8 m onths now, it w ill be w ith m ixedfe e lin g sth a t I return to W ales. On one
hand, I w ill retu rn to the "Land of my Fathers" as the fam ous rugby song goes, and there I w ill be able
to encourage more people from Cardiff to come to Israel, but I w ill be leaving Eretz Israel, the beautiful
country w h ere I made so m any friends and had such good tim es. Hopefully, my departure w ill only be
tem porary.
Jonathan Cantor •
SQUEEGY W O M EN
• •
BASP
If your alarm doesn't w ake you, they w ill. They come every m orning at the crack of daw n and are
more punctual than an atom ic clock. And they come armed, armed w ith a soppy old rag on the end of
an odd-looking mop thing and a sloppy pail of stagnant w ater. B u tw o rs e .fa rw o rs e th a n th e irp e c u lia r
w eaponry is the noxious , stom ach-turning odour, capable of pervading an entire building, th a t they
e m it w h ils t going about th e ir ritu a listic business. They belong to a unique breed of m am m al. They are
the Squeegy W om en, origins unknow n, but possibly D arw in's m issing link. They are the w om en w ho
come and erect an assault course of suds and floods on your floor every day. They are unavoidable. The
squeegies are loud, clattering and conspicuous. Go into the kitchen, th e y'll be there. Go into the toilet,
th e y 'll be there. Go into the showers, th e y'll be there, squeegying away. These tribeslike wom en,
atired in the m ost bizarre costum ery and headwear, haven't yet m astered th e art of speech. They are
not uncom m unicative, but th e ir w ords are unin te llig ib le and they raise th e ir voices to fe w decibels
short of concord. Nor are they unskilled, for they are experts at getting in your way, and they shaft
around w ith the speed of a sloth.
The Squeegy W om en are a phenomena. Come the m orning and these causers of the greatest
floods since Noah suddenly leave. They announce th e ir arrival at an unearthly hour like a bomb gone
off, but w hen they go you do not even notice. W here they go, nobody knows. Despite the damp and
a w ful lingering sm ell of tackled grim e, you can breathe a sigh of relief, leave the sanctuary of your
room and w ade out across the landing. But come the crack of dawn the Squeegies w ill be back.
Raffi Berg
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