0-0

This is the final score of last night's Maccabi Haifa - Beitar Jerusalem game. And that is wrong. Games should not end without a single score. They just should not. It's an affront to the concept of competition, and it's the reason this game will never catch on in the United States. It could have ended differently, and it should have. M. Haifa had their chances. There was a direct penalty kick that missed the goal completely. Then there was the goal that was called back on a foul (or "alleged" foul according to Menachem.) In the end it made no difference. What a total waste.

Haifa fans pack Kiryat Eliezer Stadium, prepare to kiss their sisters.

Kiryat Eliezer is much nicer than that dump in Netanya. They have a scoreboard and more than twice as much seating than at M. Netanya's stadium. Of course its the same whackos here, and in far greater numbers. This place was rocking. Beitar Jerusalem is Haifa's arch nemesis. Both teams have had recent success, including championship seasons, and they are the two richest and most popular teams in the country. This situation has spawned an intense and hostile rivalry between the opposing fan bases. The Haifa fans were chanting "Jerusalem on the dick" (it rhymes in Hebrew.) Beitar fans responded with chants of "we will fuck your mothers." Wholesome family entertainment.

The Premier League reminds fans that violence and racism set a poor example.

Of course there was no need for brawling with no winner. Rather the atmosphere was significantly tamer on the way out of the stadium than it was during the game. Getting home was an ordeal too. We waited for nearly an hour for a bus before finally breaking down and taking a cab home. I swear, Egged is less reliable than the CTA. It gets pretty frustrating. Our cabbie was easily the worst driver I've encountered in Israel too. I negotiated a price with him before we got in, so apparently he had no incentive to drive slowly. There is a road that winds up the mountain towards the University, and the speed limit is 70 KM/H. He was going 100, and weaving in and out of lanes like he had a death wish. I was thrilled to arrive back home in one piece.

My cabbie, B.D. Joe

Today was a very long day. 7 hours of class, plus my volunteer project this evening. I finally really got underway. My tutee is a 17 year old Ethiopian girl named Macey, who speaks almost no English. This is of course great practice for my Hebrew, but my goal is help her learn some English. Now that I know the situation I can start prepping for the tutoring session on the weekends. I'm not getting a curriculum or even materials from the University or the program, so I'll write my own exercises. No hassle there, it will afford me the kind of freedom that I crave in these situations.