Quite a few people have written emails asking me why Hossein isn't writing more about his impressions of Israel on his English language blog. I know that he's written quite a bit on his Persian blog; he has also taken a lot of photos and some video clips. I hope he'll write more in English about his impressions; meanwhile here are some of mine.

We're both amused that he is constantly mistaken for an Israeli. People on the street ask him for directions and waiters address him in Hebrew; the man simply seems to blend right in - unlike, for example, Jewish tourists from the USA and France.

I think one of the reasons he "blends" is because of his low-key attitude. He takes photos discreetly, so no-one notices; he never points or makes loud observations along the lines of "how quaint these natives be." He's a cool guy, our H; he didn't even jump up and down when his byline appeared in today's New York Times.

Things he has mentioned to me: that Tel Avivis dress stylishly, but not expensively; that he didn't know there was such a large community of Israelis who are of Persian descent; that he was surprised by how warmly he has been received; that he'd expected people to be more surprised at meeting an Iranian Muslim in Israel; that he hadn't known how "normal" it is to be Iranian in Israel - albeit of the Jewish variety.

I also loved watching him race to record the meuzzin's call for prayer. We heard it during a break between sessions of the Ben Gurion University meeting with faculty that was held at a kibbutz near the Arab village of Abu Ghosh.

Besides the two presentations, we haven't done much running around. Mostly we have hung out with various people at their homes and in cafes, or we've walked around the city, with Hossein using his camera and recorder to document everything for his upcoming podcasts. Neither one of us is into a jam-packed touring schedule. We're planning to go to Jerusalem on Sunday or Monday, though.

Funny story about paranoia

The day before Hossein arrived, I told a friend who did his army service in an intelligence unit that I'd invited an Iranian guy to stay at my place for a week.

"Tell me," said my friend, "Did you fall and hit your head really hard?"

"Oh don't be ridiculous," I said. "He has a Canadian passport, he's been invited to speak at two Israeli universities and his articles against the current Iranian government are all over the Internet. He's a friend, he wants to visit Israel and he's staying at my place. What's the big deal?"

"His Canadian passport says that his place of birth is Iran, and his first name is Hossein! You realize, of course, that someone will be following you from the moment he lands, right?"

"I really don't think so," I answered. "We don't live in a damned police state. But even if we are followed, who cares? We've got nothing to hide."

Still, I admit that I did my fair share of nervous pacing during the 90 minutes it took for security to clear Hossein at Ben Gurion Airport. I knew that he would be detained, as are most unusual visitors, but after an hour had passed I started to get a little restless. I sent Hossein an SMS: "Everything okay?" Response: "Yes. Waiting." After 90 minutes I started to feel a little pissy, so I went upstairs to the information desk and put a call through to airport security.

Yes, my name is Lisa Goldman and I'm waiting for a passenger who landed more than an hour ago. Would you please tell me what's going on?

Name of passenger, please?

Hossein Derakhshan.

One moment please. Okay, he's just been released this minute. You can go meet him in the arrivals area.

</end hissy fit>.

While waiting in the arrivals area, I'd noticed a rather striking young woman with an enormous mane of thick, black hair and very white skin who was dressed in a sort of black catsuit with knee-high boots. She was also waiting around, all alone, while passengers from three different flights came through the sliding doors and fell into the arms of their waiting loved ones.

Two days later I saw the same woman - still dressed in skin-tight black - at the Tel Aviv University cafe where Hossein and I met Allison. Then I remembered that I'd also seen her walking on Sheinkin Street the previous day.

I grabbed Hossein's arm and hissed into his ear, "Don't look now, but I think we are actually being followed."

We both started looking around while pretending not to look. After awhile I detached a bit from the paranoia and remembered that Shin Bet (internal security) uses agents one would never notice - bland-looking people who blend easily into a crowd. So it was pretty unlikely they'd send someone who looked like a member of the Addams Family to shadow us around Tel Aviv.

But I wasn't the only one with paranoia. Just before Hossein was supposed to go out and meet an Iranian guy who'd been at his Tel Aviv University presentation, he said to me, "Um, could you come with me?"

"Why, are you worried you'll get lost?" I asked.

"No, but what if one of those radical Iranians who reads my blog contacted a Hamas guy and he contacted some radical Arab Israeli guy and there's someone waiting outside to beat me up?"

I looked at him. He looked at me. Pause. Then we both started to laugh, and he went to meet the Iranian guy.

Reading some of the (English) comments on Hossein's Persian blog and around the blogosphere has been a fascinating experience.  I've been struck by how many people seem to think that a (non-practicing) Muslim from Iran, which is not an Arab country, who has come to visit Israel in order to humanize Israelis and Iranians to one another should also visit the occupied territories and write about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Does that mean that I should've visited Tibet the last time I was in China, or that I should've taken the friends who visited me in New York on a tour of housing projects in the South Bronx?

Why do so many people start frothing at the mouth every time the word Israel is mentioned?

One blogger who seems to live in the New York area even implied that I was taking Hossein on a PR tour of a "prettified" Israel.

(cue burst of giggles)

Mom, remember I told you that I was getting sick of the financial instability of freelancing and was planning to find a steady job? Well look, I did it! I now work for the Israeli Propaganda Ministry.

Oh, wait. There is no Israeli Propaganda Ministry. (oops).*

People, please. Cool it. A friend of mine came to visit. He planned his own schedule; he's just staying at my place because he can't afford a hotel and we enjoy each other's company. He's trying to break down the barriers of misperception and ignorance between Israelis and Iranians. This is a good thing. But that's it. He's not here to resolve or analyze the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and I'm not hosting him in order to make Israel look good.

Israeli bloggers who have written over the last couple of days about Hossein's visit:
Yael (about the really interesting conversation we had with some Ben Gurion University faculty)
Allison
Savtadotty (my lovely neighbour, who hosts a sort of Friday afternoon "open house")
Dave

Iranian bloggers:
Iranian Woman
Sarbazekuchack
The Miner
An Iranian Student

Neither nor:
Jeff Jarvis
Stowe Boyd
Andy Carvin (here and here)
Norman Geras

Also, my traffic counter went completely insane when The Iranian chose Hossein as their Iranian of the day.

I'm starting to get the giggles again.


*For the sense-of-humour-impaired, that was a joke.