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gothhabiba · 5 months

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loving your falafel research saga and just wanted to ask - something I remember hearing about falafel is that while Israeli culture definitely appropriated it, the concept of serving it in pita bread with salads, tahini etc. is a specifically Israeli twist on the dish. I wonder if you found/know anything about that?

The short answer is: it's not impossible, but I don't think there's any way to tell for sure. The long answer is:

The most prominent claim I've heard of this nature is specifically that Yemeni Jews (who had immigrated to Israel under 'right of return' laws and were Israeli citizens) invented the concept of serving falafel in "pita" bread in the 1930s—perhaps after they (in addition to Jews from Morocco or Syria) had brought falafel over and introduced it to Palestinians in the first place.

"Mizrahim brought falafel to Palestine"

This latter claim, which is purely nonsense (again... no such thing as Moroccan falafel!)—and which Joel Denker (linked above) repeats with no source or evidence—was able to arise because it was often Mizrahim who introduced Israelis to Palestinian food. Mizrahi falafel sellers in the early 20th century might run licensed falafel stands, or carry tins full of hot falafel on their backs and go from door to door selling them (see Shaul Stampfer on a Yemeni man doing this, "Bagel and Falafel: Two Iconic Jewish Foods and One Modern Jewish Identity," in Jews and their Foodways, p. 183; this Arabic source mentions a 1985 Arabic novel in which a falafel seller uses such a tin; Yael Raviv writes that "Running falafel stands had been popular with Yemenite immigrants to Palestine as early as the 1920s and ’30s," "Falafel: A National Icon," Gastronomica 3.3 (2003), p. 22).

On Mizrahi preparation of Palestinian food, Dafna Hirsch writes:

As Sami Zubaida notes, Middle Eastern foodways, while far from homogeneous, are nevertheless describable in a vocabulary and set of idioms that are “often comprehensible, if not familiar, to the socially diverse parties” [...]. Thus, for the Jews who arrived in Palestine from the Middle East, Palestinian Arab foods and foodways were “comprehensible, if not familiar,” even if some of the dishes were previously unknown to most of them. [...] They found nothing extraordinary or exotic in the consumption, preparation, and selling of foods from the Palestinian Arab kitchen. Therefore, it was often Mizrahi Jews who mediated local foods to Ashkenazi consumers, as street food vendors and restaurant owners. ("Urban Food Venues as Contact Zones between Arabs and Jews during the British Mandate Period," in Making Levantine Cuisine: Modern Foodways of the Eastern Mediterranean, p. 101).

Raviv concurs and furnishes a possible mechanism for this borrowing:

Other Mizrahi Jewish vendors sold falafel, which by the late 1930s had become quite prevalent and popular on the streets of Tel Aviv. [...] Tel Aviv had eight licensed Mizrahi falafel vendors by 1941 and others who sold falafel without a license. [FN: The Tel Aviv municipality granted vending license to people who could not make their living in any other way as a form of welfare.] Many of the vendors were of Yemenite origins, although falafel was unknown in Yemen. [FN: Many of the immigrants from Yemen arrived in Palestine via Egypt, so it is possible that they learned to prepare it there and then adjusted the recipe to the Palestinian version, which was made from chickpeas and not from fava beans (ṭaʿmiya). Shmuel Yefet, an Israeli falafel maker, tells about his father, Yosef Ben Aharon Yefet, who arrived in Palestine from Aden [Yemen] in the early 1920s and then traveled to Port Said in 1939. There he became acquainted with ṭaʿmiya, learned to prepare it, and then went back to Palestine and opened a falafel shop in Tel Aviv [youtube video].]*

But why claim that Yemeni Jews invented falafel (or at least that they had introduced it from Yemen), even though its adoption from Palestinian Arabs in the early days of the second Aliya, aka the 1920s (before Mizrahim had begun to immigrate in larger numbers; see Raviv, p. 20) was within living memory at this point (i.e. the 1950s)? Raviv notes that an increasing (I mean, actually she says new, which... lol) negative attitude towards Arabs in the wake of the Nakba (I mean... she says "War of Independence") created a new sense of urgency around de-Arabizing "Israeli" culture (p. 22). Its association with Mizrahi sellers allowed falafel to "be linked to Jewish immigrants who had come from the Middle East and Africa" and thus to "shed its Arab association in favor of an overarching Israeli identification" (p. 21).

Stampfer again:

On the one hand (with regard to immigrants from Eastern Europe), [falafel] underscored the break between immediate past East European Jewish foods and the new “Oriental” world of Eretz Israel.** At the same time, this food could be seen as a link with an (idealized) past. Among the Jewish public in Eretz Israel, Yemenite falafel was regarded as the most original and tastiest version. This is a bit odd, as falafel—whether in or out of a pita—was not a traditional Yemenite food, neither among Muslims nor among Jews. To understand the ascription of falafel to Yemenite Jews, it is necessary to consider their image. Yemenite Jews were widely regarded in the mid-20th century as the most faithful transmitters of a form of Jewish life that was closest to the biblical world—and if not the biblical world, at least the world of the Second Temple, which marked the last period of autonomous Jewish life in Eretz Israel. In this sense, eating “Yemenite” could be regarded as an act of bodily identification with the Zionist claim to the land of Israel. (p. 189)

So, when it's undeniable that a food is "Arab" or "Oriental" in origin, Zionists will often attribute it to Yemen, Syria, Morocco, Turkey, &c.—and especially to Jewish communities within these regions—because it cannot be permitted that Palestinians have a specific culture that differentiates them in any way from other "Arabs." A culinary culture based in the foodstuffs cultivated from this particular area of land would mean a tie and a claim to the land, which Zionist logic cannot allow Palestinians to possess. This is why you'll hear Zionists correct people who say "Palestinians" to say "Arab" instead, or suggest that Palestinians should just scooch over into other "Arab" countries because it would make no difference to them. Raviv's conclusion that the attribution of falafel to Yemeni immigrants is an effort to detach it from its "Arab" origins isn't quite right—it is an attempt to detach it, and thus Palestinians themselves, from Palestinian roots.

"Yemeni Jews first put falafel in 'pita'"

As for this claim, it's often attributed to Gil Marks: "Jews didn’t invent falafel. They didn’t invent hummus. They didn’t invent pita. But what they did invent was the sandwich. Putting it all together.” (Hilariously, the author of the interview follows this up with "With each story, I wanted to ask, but how do you know that?")

Another author (signed "Philologos") speculates (after, by the way, falsely claiming that "falafel" is the plural of the Arabic "filfil" "pepper," and that falafel is always brown, not green, inside?!):

Yet while falafel balls are undoubtedly Arab in origin, too, it may well be that the idea of serving them as a street-corner food in pita bread, to which all kinds of extras can be added, ranging from sour pickles to whole salads, initially was a product of Jewish entrepreneurship.

Shaul Stampfer cites both of these articles as further reading on the "novelty of the combination of pita, falafel balls, and salad" (FN 76, p. 198)—but neither of them cites any evidence! They're both just some guy saying something!

Marks had, however, elaborated a little bit in his 2010 Encyclopedia of Jewish Food:

Falafel was enjoyed in salads as part of a mezze (appetizer assortment) or as a snack by itself. An early Middle Eastern fast food, falafel was commonly sold wrapped in paper, but not served in the familiar pita sandwich until Yemenites in Israel introduced the concept. [...] Yemenite immigrants in Israel, who had made a chickpea version in Yemen, took up falafel making as a business and transformed this ancient treat into the Israeli iconic national food. Most importantly, Israelis wanted a portable fast food and began eating the falafel tucked into a pita topped with the ubiquitous Israeli salad (cucumber-and-tomato salad).

He references one of the pieces that Lillian Cornfeld (columnist for the English-language, Jerusalem-based newspaper Palestine Post) wrote about "filafel":

An article from October 19, 1939 concluded with a description of the common preparation style of the most popular street food, 'There is first half a pita (Arab loaf), slit open and filled with five filafels, a few fried chips and sometimes even a little salad,' the first written record of serving falafel in pita. [Marks doesn't tell you the title or page—it's "Seaside Temptations: Juveniles' Fare at Tel Aviv," p. 4.]

You will first of all notice that Marks gives us the "falafel from Yemen" story. I also notice that he calls Salat al-bundura "Israeli salad" (in its entry he does not claim that European Jewish immigrants invented it, but neither does he attribute it to Palestinian influence: the dish was originally "Turkish coban salatsi"). His encyclopedia also elsewhere contains Zionist claims such as "wild za'atar was declared a protected plant in Israel" "[d]ue to overexploitation" because of how much of the plant "Arab families consume[d]," and that Israeli cultivation of the crop yielded "superior" plants (entry for "Za'atar")—a narrative of "Arab" mismanagement, and Israeli improvement, of land used to justify settler-colonialism. He writes that Palestinians who accuse "the Jews" of theft in claiming falafel are "creat[ing] a controversy" and that "food and culture cannot be stolen," with no reflection on the context of settler-colonialism and literal, physical theft that lies behind said "controversy." This isn't relevant except that it makes me sceptical of Marks's motivations in general.

More pertinent is the fact that this quote doesn't actually suggest that this falafel vendor was Yemeni (or otherwise) Jewish, nor does it suggest that he was the first one to prepare falafel in pitas with "fried chips," "sometimes even a little salad," and "Tehina, a local mayonnaise made with sesame oil" (Cornfeld, p. 4). I think it likely that this food had been sold for a while before it was described in published writing. The idea that this preparation is "Israeli" in origin must be false, since this was before the state of "Israel" existed—that it was first created by Yemeni Jewish falafel vendors is possible, but again, I've never seen any direct evidence for it, or anyone giving a clear reason for why they believe it to be the case, and the political reasons that people have for believing this narrative make me wary of it. There were Palestinian Arab falafel vendors at this time as well.

"Chickpea falafel is a Jewish invention"

There is also a claim that falafel originated in Egypt, where it was made with fava beans; spread to the Levant, including Palestine, where it was made with a combination of fava beans and chickpeas; but that Jewish immigration to Israel caused the origin of the chickpea-only falafal currently eaten in Palestine, because a lot of Jewish people have G6PD deficiencies or favism (inherited enzymatic deficiencies making fava beans anywhere from unpleasant to dangerous to eat)—or that Jewish populations in Yemen had already been making chickpea-only falafel, and this was the falafel which they brought with them to Palestine.

As far as I can tell, this claim comes from Joan Nathan's 2001 The Foods of Israel:

Zadok explained that at the time of the establishment of the state, falafel—the name of which probably comes from the word pilpel (pepper)—was made in two ways: either as it is in Egypt today, from crushed, soaked fava beans or fava beans combined with chickpeas, spices, and bulgur; or, as Yemenite Jews and the Arabs of Jerusalem did, from chickpeas alone. But favism, an inherited enzymatic deficiency occurring among some Jews—mainly those of Kurdish and Iraqi ancestry, many of whom came to Israel during the mid 1900s—proved potentially lethal, so all falafel makers in Israel ultimately stopped using fava beans, and chickpea falafel became an Israeli dish.

Gil Marks's 2010 Encyclopedia of Jewish Food echoes (but does not cite):

Middle Eastern Jews have been eating falafel for centuries, the pareve fritter being ideal in a kosher diet. However, many Jews inherited G6PD deficiency or its more severe form, favism; these hereditary enzymatic deficiencies are triggered by items like fava beans and can prove fatal. Accordingly, Middle Eastern Jews overwhelmingly favored chickpeas solo in their falafel. (Entry for "Falafel")

The "centuries" thing is consistent with the fact that Marks believes falafel to be of Medieval origin, a claim which most scholars I've read on the subject don't believe (no documentary evidence, + oil was expensive so it seems unlikely that people were deep frying anything). And, again, this claim is speculation with no documentary evidence to support it.

As for the specific modern toppings including the Yemeni hot sauce سَحاوِق / סְחוּג (saHawiq / "zhug"), Baghdadi mango pickle عنبة / עמבה ('anba), and Moroccan هريسة / חריסה ("harissa"), it seems likely that these were introduced by Mizrahim given their place of origin.

*You might be interested to know that, despite their Jewishness mediating this borrowing, Mizrahim were during the Mandate years largely ethnically segregated from Eastern European Zionists, who were pushing to create a "new" European-Israeli Judaism separate from what they viewed as the indolence and ignorance of "Oriental" Jewishness (Hirsch p. 101).

This was evidenced in part by Europeans' attitudes towards the "Oriental" diet. Ari Ariel, summarizing Yael Raviv's Falafel Nation, writes:

Although all immigrants were thought to require culinary education as an aspect of their absorption into the new national culture, Middle Eastern Jews, who began to immigrate in increasing numbers after 1948, provoked greater anxiety on the part of the state than did their Ashkenazi co-religionists. Israeli politicians and ideologues spoke of the dangers of Levantization and stereotyped Jews from the Middle East and North Africa as primitive, lazy, and ignorant. In keeping with this Orientalism, the state pressured Middle Easterners to change their foodways and organized cooking demonstrations in transit camps and new housing developments. (Book review, Israel Studies Review 31.2 (2016), p. 169.)

See also Esther Meir-Glitzenstein, "Longing for the Aromas of Baghdad: Food, Emigration, and Transformation in the Lives of Iraqi Jews in Israel in the 1950s," in Jews and their Foodways:

[...] [T]he Israeli establishment was set on “educating” the new immigrants not only in matters of health and hygiene, [77] but also in the realm of nutrition. A concerted propaganda effort was launched by well-baby clinics, kindergartens, schools, health clinics, and various organizations such as the Women’s International Zionist Organization (WIZO) and the Organization of Working Mothers in order to promote the consumption of milk and dairy products, in particular. [78] (These had a marginal place in Iraqi cuisine, consumed mainly by children.) Arab and North African cuisines were criticized for being not sufficiently nutritious, whereas the Israeli diet was touted as ideal, as it was western and modern. […] [T]he assault on traditional Middle Eastern cuisines reflected cultural arrogance yet another attempt to transform immigrants into “new Jews” in accordance with the Zionist ethos. Thus, European table manners were presented as the norm. Eating with the hands was equated with primitive behavior, and use of a fork and knife became the hallmark of modernity and progress. (pp. 100-101)

[77. On health matters, see Davidovich and Shvarts, “Health and Hegemony,” 150–179; Sahlav Stoller-Liss, “ ‘Mothers Birth the Nation’: The Social Construction of Zionist Motherhood in Wartime in Israeli Parents’ Manuals,” Nashim 6 (Fall 2003), 104–118.]

[78. On propaganda for drinking milk and eating dairy products, see Mor Dvorkin, “Mif’alei hahazanah haḥinukhit bishnot ha’aliyah hagedolah: mekorot umeafyenim” (seminar paper, Ben-Gurion University, 2010).]

**On the desire to shed "old, European" "Jewish" identity and take on a "new, Oriental" "Hebrew" one, and the contradictory impulses to use Palestinian Arabs as models in this endeavour and to claim that they needed to be "corrected," see:

Itamar Even-Zohar, "The Emergence of a Native Hebrew Culture in Palestine, 1882—1948"

Dafna Hirsch, "We Are Here to Bring the West, Not Only to Ourselves": Zionist Occidentalism and the Discourse of Hygiene in Mandate Palestine"

Ofra Tene, "'The New Immigrant Must Not Only Learn, He Must Also Forget': The Making of Eretz Israeli Ashkenazi Cuisine."

#sorry for this but you should've known better than to ask me about falafel at this stage in my life #falafel research saga

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earanemith · 2 months

Text

Promises made

Chapter 6: Home

Read on Ao3

She hated it with a passion. Understanding they needed to turn her, put pillows in different places touch her, and liking it were two very different things. Looking forward to the day she was able and allowed to do it herself so they'd stop touching her. The only positive thing about it was Miriam. She was very glad that Miriam seemed to be her main nurse. Where the others just came in and did what needed to be done. Miriam talked to her while doing it. Warning her every time when she was going to touch her. It made her less anxious to be told beforehand what would happen with her body. Already she felt unstable enough without the uncertainty of what would happen.

This time Miriam did not come in with the goal to move her body.

"Hello Ziva. I am going to take you to get some more scans. If they look good you will start with physical therapy."

No better news could have come at that time. This laying around was not what she and thus by extend her body was used to. Every time Liat held up the cup to let her drink she could feel the weakness in her arms, from disuse. If everything in her life was changing she at least could get back on of the things she'd loved before. Exercising, keeping her body moving. In the past it had also helped her get her mind of other things.

Rolling Ziva's bed out of the room was the last Liat saw from both of them for the next hour. Not noticing that as soon as Ziva's bed was moved the woman in question closed her eyes. The scans were taken and after Ziva was being rolled in again. Liat could see the exhaustion on her face. Not surprising. The moving that came with preventing bedsores already made her tired. Moving her to the scanning machines would take even more energy from Ziva.

Back barely half an hour and doctor Raviv already entered the room.

"I have very good news for you Ziva" she said as a way of greeting "the scans look good. The events from a couple of days ago did no further damage. For both your spine and pelvic region there are good signs that it's starting to heal."

Finally some good news. While Ziva tried her hardest to pretend her emotional outburst at Eli's abandonment hadn't happened she had feared she made things worse for herself.

"Later today your physical therapist will visit you to discuss everything. I will also send in a dietitian. Before we can truly get you out of this bed and moved to occupational therapy we need to be sure to get you eating again. Any questions?"

"No, thank you doctor Raviv" pleased with the good news she had gotten.

- -

Habits. Hard to break if it was a wrong one, hard to get right if it was something not completely natural to the person. After his weeks at sea only one habit had stuck. Not the getting up early, he still had as much trouble with that as before. Writing his letters to Ziva however did stick.

Even with being back at his desk, the place he longed to be back at the moment he left. Even with being able to actually talk to Abby, tease McGee, get his head set straight by a slap to it by Gibbs. He still needed her. Not that he'd ever thought he would not. Getting to walk back into the bullpen every morning was great. Finally hearing from Ziva would be better. It became clear to him that no one from NCIS had heard from her since she left. The only one he had not approached about it was director Vance. He'd rather not do that.

Not after his attempt to question Gibbs about her. They had been going to a witnesses house to question them when on the drive there Tony had finally dared to ask.

"Have you heard from Ziva?"

Silence as it was so often with Gibbs was also his answer now.

"I never thought I'd say this but I miss our Israeli officer. Did you know that neither McGee or Abby have heard from her? I had hoped you had any contact with her, is she on another mission for Mossad? She told me once it wasn't all hot women and car chases but I had always wondered if she was just.."

"DiNozzo. Your rambling" His boss said in a gruff voice, Tony knew that if Gibbs had not been driving instead of speaking he'd have head slapped him.

"Shutting up boss"

So, even though he had gotten almost everything he had wished for he still picked up his pen and paper and wrote to her. Late in the night when no one would glance twice at the senior field agent still at his desk.

The hope that she was send out on a mission and unable to contact him at all grew smaller and smaller. Or maybe it just got harder to cling to that hope.

As always he started his letter with her name. Just her name.

'Ziva, McGee and I have been back at NCIS for some time now and it is not the same without you here. I need my partner. You still haven't contacted me. I know what we said right before we left but.... I am starting to get worried. Where are you? Do you know how many times I picked up my phone to call you? The only thing that prevented me to press call was you yelling at me for compromising the mission you're on. That is the only explanation I can think of for you not contacting me.'

- -

Just as promised later that day a new face entered the hospital room. Shaking Ziva's hand and introducing herself as "Rasha" explaining since she and Ziva would be working close together she did not see the need for fancy titles or last names.

"Now I read through your medical file but I would like to hear from you what your life looked liked before you came here. How much exercise did you get? That way I can best make a plan for our sessions to get your body in the best condition for when you start occupational therapy"

"The normal amount. I always run...ran about eight kilometers every morning. Three times a week I would go to the gym for martial arts training. Sometimes more if work allow it. "

Inside Rasha had to chuckle, with Ziva saying the normal amount. Rasha read in the files that Ziva was a Mossad officer. Now she did not know about their training regime but she had patients that were in the IDF before, knowing how much they trained Rasha could only believe Mossad was at least that focused on physical strength and health.

"That is a good baseline to start from. That means you are in excellent form" her level of health greatly improved the odds of her recovery.

"I am not so sure about that" Ziva answered her even though no question was asked. "Since I have woken up my friend has had to help me hold a cup, they have to move me because I cannot do it myself. My arms feel weak"

"That is all perfectly normal. Your body has had to go through a lot these past weeks. The weakness you experience is normal after the coma you've been in. Loss of strength is already expected after a week. Let alone the time it was for you." A soft smile appeared on Rasha's face. If all of her patients were in the shape Ziva had been in before she would for sure see quicker recoveries. "The fact that you were in good shape before your accident means that your body is used to working. We will get you back in shape, get your strength back up. I cannot promise you you'll get back one hundred percent. But if you are willing to work so am I. Don't forget your body is also not getting the nutrients the way it is used to. Once you get back to eating you will find your strength will return fast. I'll take my notes and start working on a program. I will be back tomorrow. Prepare to start working then."

- -

The dietician Michael was a nice enough man, though that was maybe also due to Ziva's excitement at him being there. Longing for a bite of real food, not ice chips. After checking her mouth and swallow reflex quickly jolting things down in his file he gave her the good news. "You are good to go with oral ingestion again. Any swelling from the ventilator is gone. This does not mean you can immediately get back to eating full meals. You're digestive track has not been working on solid foods for too long for that. We will start you off slowly with broths onto mashes and introduce more fiber into your diet again. It is all written out so the nurses can handle that. I will check in periodically with you to see if the plan needs to be tweaked." Looking up when Miriam came into the room holding a tray with a bowl on it. "Now are you ready for real food? We will go slowly since you have been flat for a while. Give us a sign if you feel uncomfortable"

He pushed the button to raise her bed. Then everything went wrong, the bed had barely moved up a couple of inches. Nausea swept over her. More intense than at all the times they had moved her or had rolled her bed down to the scans.

"Stop" was all she was able to say before her stomach protested. At once she started dry heaving. For nothing was there to come up. Quickly she was lowered down again.

"Deep breaths Ziva. This is just a reaction from your body from laying down for so long. We will wait a couple of minutes before we try again. Let it sink down"

And like that, a couple of minutes later they tried again. Ziva closing her eyes before he could start the bed to lift her up a bit. Again with just a bit of movement the nausea came back. This time instead of lowering her down Michael just stopped the bed.

"Remember Ziva deep breaths. We'll try to stay like this to see if the nausea goes away. Your balancing organ just needs to get the message that everything is okay"

With the minutes passing the nausea did not go away. It just seemed to get worse. Ziva felt herself grow warm and start to sweat. When Michael saw this then he lowered her down again.

That whole process was repeated a handful of times more in the next half an hour. Sadly without any change.

"Please no more" Ziva finally said. Since the second time they'd tried to lift her she had not opened her eyes anymore.

Then finally it clicked with Miriam. Who remembered she had Ziva close her eyes on purpose quite a bit in the last couple of days.

"Ziva, did you feel dizzy or nauseated before going up?"

Nodding her head not daring to speak in fear of dry heaving again.

"All the time?" the answer now being a shake of her head.

"Ziva I know it is hard but I need you to answer me. When do you start to get dizzy?"

"When moved" were the only two words Ziva dared to speak.

"When we move you around, also when we move your bed right?" A nod confirmed it.

"I think we need to get you on some different pain medication before we try to get you up again. I think you are experiencing a side effect. I will talk with doctor Raviv to see about the change" leaving her alone with Michael.

"I believe Miriam might be right. For now we will wait until the medicine is changed. Depending on how you are feeling I will be back late in the afternoon."

After Miriam's talk with doctor Raviv it was decided to indeed change Ziva's pain medication. One that was ever so slightly less strong but with a lot less side effects. The change of the medication was not easy. The pain medicine that had made her so sick going out of her system being sure it was noticed one last time. Which caused another bout of dry heaving even though Ziva was laying flat on her back. The morning she woke up after was better, the change in medicine very noticeable.

When Michael came back that day and they repeated the whole process there was a big change. She still got dizzy and nauseas when they lifted her but not as much. The need to throw up was gone. In slow fazes she was lifted. Somewhere between laying down and upright was where they left it for today. Not wanting to overwhelm Ziva's system. Because the day had taken a lot of energy out of Ziva it was Miriam who spoon fed her the soup. Trying to get over that embarrassment was hard but was made somewhat okay at the feeling of the broth going down. The taste of the salty broth did her good, finally something ells than the ice chips she had been allowed before.

When everyone concluded she would keep it down Michael told her again how they would build up her tolerance to solid foods. If at any point she felt her body fight against the food or feel nauseas by it she needed to let them know. Before he left he wanted to lower Ziva, who stopped him, down again.

"Can you leave me up please?"

He continued with lowering her "Your body has enough to adjust to. The half hour you have been up is the max I can allow right now. Mostly because of your spine. I will message your physical therapist, noting you responded well with being as upright as you are right now. You will work on being up for longer periods of time."

"You did well today Ziva." Miriam, always being kind to her, said before both she and Michael left. Leaving Ziva alone in the room with Liat. Who had come back from the gym right when Ziva had finished her broth. They talked some. Ziva informing her of what happened when she was gone. Satisfied with a day where she finally did something it was not much later that Ziva closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

- -

A new day had started and for the first time since Ziva landed in the hospital Liat finally thought things were taking a turn, for the better and staying that way. Where she had thought that before this was different. This was the first day that Ziva had woken up with a smile. Looking forward to eating, to starting to work with Rasha.

"Hey Ziva, Liat" Rasha greeted her happiness being infectious. "Ready to work?"

Having to only look at Ziva to see her smile in reply. "Let's first get you up a bit more. I got the note from Michael and I agree with everything getting you stable upright is important right now"

Slowly she raised the bed. Ziva was happy to note that she did not get as dizzy today and not at all nauseated. After checking if Ziva felt okay Rasha took a seat on the other side of the bed that Liat sat. "Before we start I wanted us to talk about something. I know a lot has happened in the last couple of days and that everything can be very overwhelming. That is why I want you to know that this whole process that we start today is in your hands. Everything we do here is to give you as much choice and control for when you are okayed to leave. There will be times when progress seems none existent and things will get hard. But I am here to work through that with you."

Ziva understood. She did not fully trust Rasha for that was not in her nature. As long as what Rasha said was true, that she would do anything in her power to help Ziva they would be okay.

"What helps is to set a goal for yourself. Something to work towards. Tell me, what do you want? How does life look like when you get out of here?"

For a moment Ziva did not know what her answer should be. The past days had started and ended with her mostly focusing on the here and now. More overwhelmed by the drastic change her life had taken. In the past whenever an injury had brought her to the hospital she had fought tooth and nail to get out as soon as humanly possible to be able to return to work.

She turned the question Rasha had asked her over in her head. Again and again. What did she want? Most of the things she had wanted for her life were not a possibility anymore. Or at least the things that Eli had wanted for her. Without deciding to a memory popped in her head. Tony's voice "Promise me you'll come back. Promise me we'll get a chance?". That made her think of him. For the first time since she'd woken up. The thought of him brought a lot of new questions with it. Would he still want her like this? Unable to be his partner again? Would any of them? Right now she was a world away, she could not return in the same state she had left in. Would that change anything for them? Would Gibbs still trust her as he once had? Would Abby, McGee and Ducky receive her back with open arms? Even like this?

When she asked herself that question her mind answered with memories. Memories of them all hanging out after a case had been closed, thanksgiving at Ducky's, her girls nights with Abby, all the moments shared in the last years. They had taught her what it had meant to be part of a team. A team more often than not working as family. They taught her that is was okay to show what she had kept inside when working for Mossad. It was okay to be human, to make mistakes, to cry to laugh with the people around you. It was okay to love.

The answer to all of her questions would be yes. Even this far away from them she was still a part of them, just as they were a part of her. Things would not be as they were before but they could work at a new normal. She did not need her legs to sit down for tea with Ducky and listen to his stories. She did not need to be physically strong to have fun with McGee or a girls outing with Abby. Her and Gibbs shared a bond to deep to just break because of this. And Tony. She had seen him change in the years since she met him, especially in the last year when they had really gotten close. He slowly got into her heart as more than a friend even if that was hard to admit somehow. She knew it was the same for him. The connection they shared would hold, this would not change that. Ziva would make sure to keep her promises to him.

Rasha waited patiently as Ziva seemed to be deep in thoughts. She noticed Liat start to fidget next to Ziva, probably wondering if she should step in. Years of experience had taught Rasha that often times patients had not thought about that question before she asked it to them. Would not think much further than all the medical stuff happening around them. That was why this question was important. Once they realized what they wanted they became motivated they could push through the hard parts. It was visible the moment Ziva had found her answer. A tiny smile broke out on her face and she looked straight into Rasha's eyes. With conviction she spoke, a single word but it encompassed all that Ziva wanted to accomplish.

"Home"11

Tagglist: @benedettabeby, @benditlikepress, @happygirl-0408, @tivafanfic, @loudlooks @hopeless-nostalgiac @mrsmungus @and-he-will @kmpotter4140 @litningmyway @koogamy @oceangirl24 @danceswithdarkspawn @irish-trish @residentdormouse @munstysmind @lovelyme12m @tonysziva @artemisscabin @television-overload @tiva2023vibes @tivancis @ncisfanatics@tonyandzivauk@tonylovesziva@tony-love-ziva@tonyandzivamakestiva-blog@missbuckynat@zivaninja@do-it-for-the-fandom@ztarlucy@take-it-on-the-run@stonetee@mackidockie@chenfordsrollisi@fairy-tales-of-yesterday@sweetsouldhavernas @delicatefalice

#Promises made #NCIS #Ziva David #Tony DiNozzo #Jethro Gibbs #Leroy Jethro Gibbs #Liat Tuvia #Tiva #Zony #my fanfic #hurt/comfort #ao3 #fanfic.net #abby scuito #tim mcgee

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bucksboobs · 1 year

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The Disney boys: David Henrie and Raviv Ullman

And if I said bottom for David WHILE topping Raviv? What then???

Celeb Top or Bottom Ask Game

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mioritic · 11 months

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“Working Eretz Yisrael asks: Did you get your shekel?”

World Zionist Organization poster promoting the purchase of the Zionist shekel, both a fundraising item for Zionist activities and the prerequisite for voting for delegates to the Zionist Congress.

Farkash Gallery

#moshe vorobeichik #moi ver #1941 #zionism #israel #mandatory palestine #jewish art #jewish history #yidishkeyt #wzo

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tea-with-evan-and-me · 6 months

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A few people in Raviv’s instagram comments are asking him to re-post his and Evan’s podcast from 2013. But Ravid scrubbed it from the internet. The only proof of it is a screenshot and our memories of Evan singing Nelly’s “Drop down and get your eagle on”

the only app it was still on, though it wouldn't play, is also no longer in existence :(

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execrational · 9 months

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i am raviv, augur, miracle, revenant. maybe i’m the bone-reader. if you want.

it/its/that thing. divinatory technician. curseworker.

i am the tenth head. of whom? you already know, if you’re here. in case you don’t, well,

whites ask to follow me, in the situation you have somehow gone astray into this, my abyss. i am not white and i do not like you.

#a prayer.

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vivitalks · 1 year

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15 questions for 15 mutuals

hey so @girls-and-honey tagged me in this a month ago and i forgot about it til now!! thanks for the tag g :)

Are you named after anyone? yup! my great grandpa ralph. “but how do you get raviv from ralph-” no idea, take it up with my folks.

When was the last time you cried? four hours ago when i finished rewatching the good place. that finale will never not get me.

Do you have kids? god no can you imagine lmao

Do you use sarcasm a lot? PFFFT i didnt see this question when i answered the last one i swear. and i want to say i don’t use sarcasm a lot so much as just like. deadpan commitment to the bit.

What's the first thing you notice about people? hmmmmm im gonna say hair. i think i always notice people’s hair, followed by outfit.

What's your eye color? hazel ish? one is more brown than the other

Scary movies or happy endings? happy endings by a gazillion miles. both because i love happy endings and because i hate scary movies

Any special talents? i don’t know what counts as a special talent. i can recite the entire best song ever by 1d music video by heart does that count?

Where were you born? hadassah hospital, jerusalem, israel

What are your hobbies? anytime anyone asks me about my hobbies i immediately forget everything ive ever done. i play guitar, i write a lottt of fanfiction, i write music (...sometimes...), i like to follow baseball, i like watching tv, i’m really interested in A/V tech, uhhh, i’m in acappella in college so that’s a big thing with me, i love listening to music and going to concerts, i don’t think i’m really answering the question correctly but that’s some stuff about me. OH and currently im really into playing stardew valley

Do you have any pets? yes!! i have a perfect boy named samson. he is the best boy in the universe.

What sports do you play/have played? as a kid i played lots of different sports for like one season each (tennis, soccer, ice skating, softball) but i did gymnastics for like five years when i was younger. currently though i do no sports, although i work out regularly. i like watching baseball but i don’t like playing it.

How tall are you? 5′4 if you believe!

Favorite subjects in school? english, psychology, and ive unfortunately developed a slight enjoyment of philosophy simply because i love to talk in class and philosophy classes are all talking

Dream job? i don’t think im the type to have a dream job anymore, but the job that i would really enjoy having i think is being a roadie for a band i really like. yknow. being the person who sets up and tears down the tech. i think that would be rad as hell.

i don’t know if i even have 15 mutuals but here are the people i can think of @annabelle--cane @futureempressoftheuniverse @iwriteshakespeareanninsults @4thbrighteststar @rotten-candie have fun besties and if anyone who sees this wants to do it then consider yourself tagged and say it’s from me xo

#tag games #this was fun i havent done a tag game on here in a minute i feel like #thanks girls-and-honey !!!!!#stuff #stuff about me

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wtfcl0ud · 3 months

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i love talking to ai chatbots bc it's like qu'est ce que vous pensez se passe apres la mort and then it responds and you're like je viens de termine ma tasse de cafe et je me ses ravive maintenant! and it responds and then you ask it to write some code for you and it responds and ...

#like the range baby!!!!!#cloud nonsense

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iwriteshakespeareanninsults · 1 year

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your unhinged vibes bring me unparalleled joy on the dash. i'm obsessed with you and i miss you and i have taylor swift stickers for you. also my guesses for the lies are new type of mold and mom's gambling ring although it would also not surprise me to learn that your mom did in fact run a gambling ring ok never mind i'm changing my answer i think you didn't sprain both ankles still love you bye again xoxo vivi

i feel like the fact someone who has known me for 7 years and i used to be bff's with believes it's feasible my mom ran a gambling ring simply proves how truly unhinged my life is.

No haha, I fell down the stairs yesterday and sprained both my ankles. during the first official day of finals too.

You are correct though, no new subspecies of mold! just whatever is growing in my gatorade (which according to the food scientist could be a new subspecies of bacteria and, knowing me, it would be).

anyway sniff ur gatorade before u drink it and take the elevator, those are my life lessons for the semester

#id talks #asks #raviv #i can also now make this fun joke #damn. the fda will really call me back when i get poisoned by a consumer product #but not when i want an internship 🙄#also i'm not kidding abt the sniff thing #every time i told a doctor the gatorade smelled like paint thinner they asked why i drank it #and i was like 'YOU THINK I SNIFF THINGS BEFORE I DRINK THEM?'#like i'm sorry. who is going around taking deep whiffs of their gatorade before they take a sip #like it's MY fault i got poisoned #anyway sniff ur gatorade

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newsworld-nw · 6 months

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Relatives of those kidnapped by Hamas ask Madrid for help: "It's not Israel's problem, it's everyone's problem"

Mayan Segal-Koren, whose mom and different family have been kidnapped throughout a Hamas assault in Israel, throughout a press convention in Madrid, Oct. 26.Claudio AlvarezA bunch of family of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 requested in Madrid this Thursday that the Spanish society, the appearing authorities of Pedro Sánchez and the worldwide neighborhood assist them to free their family members. "This isn't an Israel downside, this can be a downside for the entire world, Hamas have to be stopped right this moment," shouted Nama Weinberg, whose cousin was kidnapped and killed at a information convention held at a kibbutz (agricultural cooperative) of her uncles. . Headquarters of the Jewish Neighborhood of Madrid. The occasion, attended by 5 family of the kidnapped and who've additionally visited different cities to induce the federal government to prepare their launch, came about with out assurances from the Islamic militia, which the US and the European Union take into account a terrorist group. Extra info: 50 hostages killed in Israeli bombing."The felony abduction of such a lot of civilians is unprecedented on the planet, a real case of warfare crime, with all its worldwide, ethical, authorized and diplomatic implications," stated Mayan Segal-Koren. The mom and different family have been kidnapped from a kibbutz. This Thursday, the Israeli military detained a minimum of 224 folks; 1,400 killed in Hamas assaultextra info"What we hear from survivors is like tales of the Holocaust, dad and mom killed in entrance of youngsters, and youngsters who have been kidnapped and are actually alone in Gaza," stated Merav Mor Raviv, who has an uncle, a cousin. And his son is imprisoned. "My cousin was later discovered along with his arms tied and his physique riddled with bullet holes," lamented the girl, who additionally recalled that her uncle had all the time been a "peace activist". "We're a household that loves peace, my uncle helped kids transfer from Gaza to Israel for higher well being care," she stated. However in his kibbutz, the place his uncles had been dwelling "for greater than 60 years," they kidnapped "about 80 folks from 9 months to 85 years previous." "They got here in, killed folks, burned their homes, there have been dad and mom and three kids inside," he denounced. "We all know this as a result of Hamas confirmed the movies," he added.

From left to proper, Mayan Segal-Koren, Merav Mor Raviv, Rachel Piled (translator on the press convention), Nama Weinberg, Yuli Ben-Ami and Roberto Meyer. Claudio AlvarezIn keeping with the girl, some of the "unhappy" tales is that of a 14-year-old boy who was instructed that Hamas pressured him to knock on the doorways of residents of the Nahal Ozkibbutz. "He needed to name out in Hebrew for them to come back out and supposedly not be killed, however when the entire household got here out, they might kill all of them, together with the boy," Merav Mor Raviv stated.Yuli Ben Ami, whose dad and mom have been kidnapped by Hamas within the Beeri kibbutz, and who attended the occasion along with her husband Roberto Meier, additionally survived the assault: “We stayed within the shelter with the lights off; "We heard the screams of youngsters and girls and acquired many bullets all through the day," he recalled, visibly moved. "At seven (October 7 morning) I texted my mom, and she or he instructed me that she was listening to terrorists exterior the home and so they have been making an attempt to get in," he recalled. Within the subsequent message, he instructed her that "terrorists have been already inside the home and so they have been destroying all the pieces," stated Ben Amy, who defined by tears that "his mom may be very sick." "He wants medicine and we do not know if he can reside with out it." One of many requests from the family is exactly that the Pink Cross is ready to go to the hostages to show their situation and produce them the drugs they want. "We nonetheless haven't any information about them or what their situation is."Members agreed to keep away from speaking concerning the Israeli military's assault on the Gaza Strip (which killed greater than 7,000 folks, in response to enclave authorities) to free hostages and finish Hamas. Benjamin Sarkar, Netanyahu. "We're Israeli residents, we aren't diplomats or politicians," defined Merav Mor Raviv. "I do not know what may be executed to get them out, I simply need to hug my household," Segal-Koren stated.The press convention, held after a gathering of the family with Spanish Overseas Minister Jose Manuel Albarez, is a part of a tour with which they need to ship their message to "Europe". The members of the family have been in Paris on Wednesday and within the coming days they are going to go to different cities resembling Brussels, Copenhagen, Vienna or Berlin.Comply with all worldwide info Fb And Xor between Our weekly publication._ #Family members #kidnapped #Hamas #Madrid #Israels #downside #everyones #downside Read the full article

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