Yossi Berger • Product designer, photographer and writer from Haifa

A meeting with Yossi Berger may give a taste of being in the company of a cluster man, since he is good at planning things and even executing them in an incredibly functional and even extremely perfect way.

Four of his thrillers have been published

Yossi Berger, who has a bachelor's degree in industrial design from the Bezalel Academy of Art and a master's degree in industrial engineering and management from the Technion, worked for over 35 years at the Rafael company in the development and management of the Spike missile project and their marketing in Finland by Raphael).

Today, Berger is a retiree who until recently volunteered as a police officer in the traffic police, as well as a photographer and now he is mainly engaged in writing.

Four suspense books he wrote have already been published: "The Ninth Jew", "The Clarinet Player from Kazan", "The Mystery of the Neighbor Across the Street" and "The Mystery of the Disappearing Horse". Yossi is also a partner in the group of poets from the Kiryats, under the direction of Mrs. Anat Lekrief.

I live here too

Here is the section that brings you fascinating Haifa characters in their homes where the introduction is through the stories, the charges and the unique point of view of the people who make up the human mosaic of our city Haifa. That is, these are the people who live and live here - just like the name of the section - "I also live here".

As part of this section we will get to know Haifa characters and their place of residence. The acquaintance is not through the square footage of the apartment, or a real estate appraisal or a design description only, rather, the essence of this acquaintance is to get to know through the stories, the emotional charge and the unique personal point of view in the host's house.

Born in Dejani Hospital

Yossi's father, Aharon, was the only Holocaust survivor among all his family members. He immigrated from Poland in 1946, settled in Jaffa, where he met his wife, a daughter of new immigrants from Persia. At the beginning of their journey, the young parents lived in a shared apartment on Eilat Street. In 1953, Yossi was born in the Dejani Hospital in Jaffa (the name of Dejani Street was changed after the establishment of the state to "Erlich Street").

Dajani Hospital was the first private hospital in Jaffa, and was equipped with modern equipment. It had 50 hospital beds in the wards: maternity, ophthalmology and surgery. In the 50s, in the basement of this hospital, was the laboratory of Nathan Goldblum, which was designed to produce the components of the vaccine in order to eradicate the polio epidemic, which in those years affected the children of the country.

from a young age - Storyteller

Until the time of the first grade, the Berger family lived in Jaffa and Azi moved their place of residence to Moshav Hatsev, where his mother's sister, Aunt Shoshana, and her family lived. The move to the moshav was good for the family members and soon Yossi, his older sister and his younger brother - together with the three cousins, formed a close-knit "gang" that spent the days and nights in the fields of the moshav.

Together they went for a walk and explored the topography of the area, listening to Yossi and his stories, and later with the help of their imagination games - they even managed to "conquer" an abandoned Arab village.

Academic studies and an award alongside them

After studying at the elementary school in Moshav Hatzav - Berger studied at the regional high school in Beer Tovia. In 71, he enlisted in the engineering corps on the direct route to becoming an officer. He served in Sinai and in the Yom Kippur War at the 101st kilometer before Cairo - he was injured by a mine that exploded near him.

Later on in his career, Berger debated between studying biology and studying architecture, but in the end he completed his studies at Bezalel majoring in environmental and industrial design. In the final project which was held after the 4 years of study at Bezalel, the student who so loved to plan things in the most functional way - won the "Sapir Award for Design".

Project leader and manager of the spike missile campaign in Finland

Shortly after graduating, Berger started working at Rafael, where he had a fascinating career in the areas of development, marketing and management. Yossi was assigned to work with a unique work team and coordinated the business relationship of the Rafael company with potential buyers of Rafael's equipment in Finland.

Berger established a personal and friendly relationship with the Finns and he defines them as "quiet and modest people, who have an innocence and integrity that is unparalleled." He created both friendships and professional relationships with those who even bought the spike missiles, and in this international deal they were the first European customer of the product.

As a team manager Berger was involved in the development and management of the Spike missile project and their marketing in Finland and Europe. As you know, Spike is a series of anti-tank missiles developed and manufactured by Rafael and sold worldwide.

The reason why Finland is arming itself

During World War II - Finland was the least known country among the Axis countries. The Finnish-German partnership was based almost entirely on a common enemy in the form of the Soviet Union.

Although many Finns abhorred Hitler and Nazism, past experience proved to them that they were unable to fight the Soviets without some form of external support. In addition, after the defeat in 1944, the Finnish army fought the German forces to drive them out of Finland, a campaign known as the "Lapland War".

As a Finnish collective memory of the winter war, in which Russia invaded Finland, there is the conclusion that the Finnish government must always stand ready against the red bear.

Photography, prose and poetry

In his last position and for over a decade, Berger served as co-CEO of the German subsidiary EuroSpike. Several years ago he decided to retire from Rafael and focus on a minor lifestyle and the well-being of his family members. Yossi is a father of six and a grandfather to one granddaughter named Alma. Today his main occupation and Tali's, his partner For life, he is educating and raising their two young children. He devotes his remaining time to photography, writing poetry and prose and publishing his books.

In 2010 Berger studied at the Glitz School of Photography and specialized in street photography and landscape photography and even bought cameras and fine photography equipment. The star of photography faded a little when he joined the Writers' Association and the publication of his four books, as well as the beginning of the poetry writing class where the family atmosphere is encouraging and quite overwhelming.

Where did the ninth Jew go?

Following Berger's work in Finland, where he spent many months, the history of the state of Finland during World War II was the inspiration for writing the book "The Ninth Jew".

The policy of the governors of Finland towards the Jews who lived in this country was good, and they were not handed over to the Germans. Moreover, Finnish Jews even served in the army that fought in the Soviet Union. The historical fact is that only eight Jews, foreign citizens, were handed over to the Nazis and in their memory a monument was even erected in Helsinki. The Finnish Jewish conscripts were the only declared Jews who fought on the side of the Nazis in World War II.

Hatzav - Yuvals - Kiryat Haim

Berger lived most of his life in a rural area. During his childhood and youth in Moshav Hatzav - and with his first wife and their four children he lived until 2003 in the community settlement of Yuval, which has a substantial nucleus of Rafael employees. In 2004 he joined his wife Tali Bat Kiryat Haim.

Tali is an economist with bachelor's and master's degrees who studied accounting. Today, Tali spends most of her time engaged in volunteer activities as a team leader at "Bells" (an association for financial assistance to families in difficulty) and as a volunteer at the police's 100 hotline. In the past, Tali volunteered with psychological assistance at the Aran center.

About a decade ago, their residence in Kiryat Haim was renovated and expanded - where Yossi is responsible for the architectural plans and Tali is responsible for the interior design. The house is spacious, bright, cozy, inviting and has a warm atmosphere. Before the entrance to the terrace area - there is a wide tree with a top, which contains among its branches a wooden house, which was previously used by the two young teenagers and is now the home of the three house cats.

Four cats and four dogs

In addition to the house cats - four dogs also live here in peace and comfort. Two of them are the ones who "control" the living room and have a very important domestic status.

In addition to this, the dog Nessie, who at the time was adopted from the Animal Welfare Society, has a permanent place at the family dinner table. During family meals, Nessie sits on a chair at the head of the table. Although she does not participate in the feast and the reasons for the food served - but her position in the family hierarchy is quite defined and clear.

Harmony the house chef and responsible for cleaning

In Beit Berger - the home kitchen is an area of ​​great importance. Every day delicious flavors emerge from this kitchen, and even more so on Shabbat and holiday evenings - times when most members of the extended family gather around the dining table.

Tali, the house chef, is responsible for the appetizing and deliciously smelling pots and pans... while Yossi is responsible for cleaning and washing the dishes. Although the praise of the delicacies is told by everyone - but to achieve this is not simple at all. Because Tali and Yossi are vegetarians, the daughter - vegan, while the youngest son and the guests are "omnivores".

A large wooden table

Another entertaining area which is no less important - is located at the front of the house in the spacious garden area. In this area is a large wooden table that Yossi built, installed and painted.

During your free time, this is a fine corner where you can stare, examine and learn about garden plants, listen to pleasant music and even fly with many thoughts intended to be the basis for new stories and books.

The computer in the study

Undoubtedly, for Yossi - now Chaya, the "most important room" is the study where his stationary computer is located, in which the plots of his stories, poems and photographs are cooked.

In this room is also the library with all the writings of the writer Yossi Berger. The plot of the first book in the "Mystery Solver Team" series is based on characters and places taken from the writer's world. The plot develops while combining plot and technological imagination. It goes without saying that Yossi's two young children are the inspiration for the heroes of the series, in which they are called Gali and Veytam. This book is intended for both teenagers and adults alike.

The Camino de Santiago hat

One of the unique objects close to Yossi's heart is a blue visor hat with the inscription: "Camino de Santiago". As a family that travels a lot, it was decided in 2018 to go on a very unique trip... and so the Berger children set out on a family journey along the Camino de Santiago. Tali, Yossi and their two children, who were then about 10 and 12 years old, set out on this unique road, when the journey took about 10 days.

"The Camino" is first and foremost a journey, a journey that is both for the body and the soul. Similar to a normal trip or vacation, the Camino allows for a break from everyday life. But the essential difference is that on a classic vacation one usually does not go through a continuous process of a journey towards a destination that is both physical (Santiago de Compostela) and an inner journey into ourselves, into the soul inside.

Although at its historical base the Camino is a pilgrimage of pilgrimage for religious reasons, today the vast majority of those who walk its paths do not come for religious reasons. Most people come to go through a spiritual, physical process or for cultural acquaintance. Therefore, differences in religion, race and gender should not be any reason to stop the travelers from setting out.

Upgraded keychain

The key is a tool that is usually used alongside the lock, for the physical security of objects and spaces and allows its holder to lock and unlock locks suitable only for him. In the present case, Yossi's personal bunch of keys contains additional items that are typical and intended solely for his personal use.

For example: in Yossi's bunch of keys is a USB flash drive that contains literary ideas as well as essential photographs that are considered a supply for the materials that make up his works.

In addition, the bundle contains folding scissors, a template for a shopping cart in a supermarket and two whistles used by Yossi during the civil demonstrations. Berger is very adamant about his political positions and is one of the regular participants in the civil protest demonstrations against the coup d'état - after the Shia disaster in October, he even sided with his support for renewed elections to change the government in Israel.

"Kevin" – the small trailer

The Berger family is a family that travels in Israel and the world. For the convenience of going to the natural areas in our country, in 2017 Yossi bought a Fiat Ducato commercial vehicle, which was converted into a travel trailer.

The Berger couple take their children, disconnect from the commercialized entertainment and go out to spend time in nature with them and only with them while having an intense, exclusive and perfect experience in the Israeli nature. For this purpose we bought the same commercial vehicle which was converted into a "Queen" which is an affectionate nickname for a small trailer. Yossi planned and carried out all the interior work with his own hands.

Today "Queen" contains an area designated for the kitchen with cupboards and storage drawers for the cooking and eating utensils and the dry food that does not require refrigeration. This kitchen also has a sink, a cooking stove, a refrigerator and a freezer. "Queen" also contains the possibility of arranging sleeping beds for the two teenagers and the two adults, as well as a connection to electricity and bathroom plumbing.

A lot of reading - contributes to the development of the brain

The Berger couple have an annual subscription to the Cinematheque in the Haifa Auditorium and on Fridays a week they are able to watch 2-3 movies in a row. However, in addition to writing books, Yossi himself is a "bookworm"...

The book that has recently occupied his thoughts is the book "Alone in Berlin" by the author Hans Pallada - which discusses the lives of the people during the atmosphere of the Nazi regime. The plot in this book describes the lives of Berlin residents during the Third Reich. It centers on the story of the couple Otto and Anna Kwengel, who, after losing their son, Sebastian, who was killed at the front, decided to distribute postcards throughout Berlin calling for resistance to the Nazi regime.

The other book that won Yossi's heart is "The Century-Old Man Who Went Out of the Window and Disappeared" by the author Yunus Yunson. The plot of the book is a rather funny story about an elderly man who retired after a long and stormy life to a nursing home. Although this is supposed to be his last stop - but his body is healthy and refuses to betray him. When his 100th birthday arrives, a high-profile event is prepared in his honor, but Alan escapes from his own birthday party. He decides to run away and disappear. The plot gets more and more complicated until the police and gangsters, the Swedish media and the people of the nation are after him.

Despite all that and in addition to that, the book that "plays" in Yossi's head the most, and not without reason - is: "A step and another step" by Graham Simsion van Beust.

This is an introductory book for those who wish to embark on a special journey, a journey on foot of many kilometers from France to Spain, the Camino de Santiago journey. The book inspires about a physical and mental journey in the middle of life, about the ability to change and change even when everything seems lost, and yes - it is also a book about a second chance and exciting and mature love. As someone who has already experienced the family journey along the Camino de Santiago - this book is used by Yossi as a "bible of memories".

The difference is in the cultural atmosphere

According to his world view - Yossi believes that all over the world the people of all types and species are the same. According to him, in his creation, the essence of a person is not different, but the difference is in the cultural atmosphere that surrounds the person himself. In his opinion, evil is not accepted as a superior good value anywhere in the world.

Berger points to the verse that expresses the saying "the desire of the human heart" which is evil from his youth - and wonders if this is indeed the case?

The evil instinct in this context speaks of the desires and urges that exist in humans, which may cause them to act in a harmful manner that may cause harm to themselves and others. Changes in the nature of the world may cause a reduction in the degree of man's pride, and his ability to refrain from bad deeds, which will ensure that in the future (perhaps) there will be no more chaos and/or flood in the world.

If Berger could - then he would have changed the perception of the emotion of revenge that exists in humans and turned it into an emotion of accepting the essence of the other, including its negative aspects. He has no pride in actually defeating evil, and therefore a person does not have to riot in order to take revenge - but only to fight evil by means of self-restraint.

May we indeed know better times which are without negative emotions that sweep hard times with them.