As I was coming home from work yesterday, I noticed a man wearing a kippah talking to some other well dressed men in suits. Naturally, my razor sharp Jewdar immediately sprang into action. “Hmm…. ” I thought, “a religious businessman from New York?” As I got closer to the group, I heard them speaking Hebrew, and one of the men looked oddly familiar. Who was this guy? I did a none-too-subtle double-take and realized he was Israeli Knesset Member Dan Meridor with a religious guy, a shabak agent (for security), and an Israeli businessman (fancy suit, no kippah, what would you think?). They were standing around talking, right outside the Rockridge BART station.
What do you suppose they were doing here? Maybe Meridor and posse were visiting the local Jewish community in honor of the recent Israel Independence Day celebration in the city. A thinks Meridor was here for the food–Olivetto, perhaps.
I was considering saying hello and possibly “Mr. Meridor, let me tell you why I left Israel” (telling off politicians is an Israeli national pastime), but they got into an SUV and drove off. This only goes to show you have to move half way across the world and take public transportation to meet your elected representative.
