Elections 2013, Israel
I’m lucky. My visit to Israel happened to occur the same time as the Israeli elections and I’ve had the great privilege of being part of the Election Day happening. And what exciting elections these turned to be. Continue reading
Children having fun on Netanya Beach on a beautiful winter day
It is the midst of winter in Chicago, Illinois, and in Israel, but what a difference. While my friends in the Windy City are weathering 1°F (-17°C), I am vacationing in Israel and enjoying a spring like 68°F (20°C),
Today I spent a glorious day on the beach in Netanya, about 18 miles north of Tel-Aviv. Here are some photos I took on the beach.
Yitzhak Rabin, Israel’s fifth prime minster was assassinated on 09.30 on Nov 4, 1995, at the end of a peace rally. Yigal Amir, a right winged extremist, strongly opposed to the Oslo Accords, shot the Prime Minster.
The next morning my husband and I told our son what happened. He was three years old at a time but with everyone talking about nothing else, he would end up overhearing about the murder anyways so it would be better if her heard about it from us first. Continue reading
A Grad Rocket hit the nursery in the home of the Amar family in Netivot, Israel
Source: Front page of Ma’ariv, Israel Daily (www.nrg.co.il). Photographer: Yehudah Lachyani
A Grad Rocket hit the home of the Amar family in Netivot this Friday. Their decision to hide in the walk-in closet saved their lives.
According to the IDF Blog number of rockets shot at Israel from Gaza:
Israel unilaterally disengaged from Gaza on 2005.
IDF chief in 2011 annual memorial service for Yom Kippur fallen Photo IDF Spokesperson Unit
There is an important lesson to be learned from the Yom Kippur War, a lesson that must be applied to the current conflict with Iran. While the US is an important ally of Israel, it is Israel’s prerogative, Israel’s duty to its citizens, to act on its own best interests, to make it own decisions. While the American approval is important, Israel must first and foremost make its own judgement call on how to defend itself and its citizens.This may sound obvious but this is not the way things played out during the Yom Kippur War. Continue reading
Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, is most commonly associated with the image of a white clad rabbi swaying to and fro in prayer; the parched, dry aftertaste of fasting; and the sound of the cantor’s voice reciting a litany of sins and asking god to “… pardon us, forgive us, grant us remission”. For me, Yom Kippur will always be associated with the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and the voice of the cantor always mingles in my mind with the sharp, keening, wail of a siren.
Unless we stand up,speak out and reverse this trend, the next generation of American leaders – those who will assume power around the year 2020 – will not see Israel as an ally. They will see Israel as a burden – and one that may not be worth carrying. (America 2020: How the next generation views Israel, by Dr. Frank I. Luntz for The Israel Project) Continue reading
Iran is close to be capabale of producing nuclear weapons
On June 7, 1981 Israel destroyed Iraq’s nuclear reactor. The reactor had less than a month to go before it became critical. On September 6. 2007, Israel destroyed Syria’s nuclear reactor weeks before it was ready to go live. In both cases, the air strike came as a surprise. There was no media festival pre-announcing the attacks, no declaration from Israel leaders about the Israel’s right to defend itself, by itself, against any threat , and certainly no military plan published before the fighters took off. In fact, the story about the bombing of the Syrian reactor was not exposed until more than three years later.
The current media festival around Israel allegedly imminent attack on Iran brings to mind another media festival which occurred before and during the First Gulf War, on 1990-1991.
Benjamin Netanyahu
In today’s raging debate on whether Israel should and will strike Iran, it is important to keep in mind the root of the problem: why a nuclear-armed Iran is a danger not only to Israel but to the entire world, why Iran’s nuclear program must be stopped. Benjamin Netanyahu dedicated his speech in AiPAC Policy Conference on March this year to the subject. Reading it again, it sounds more relevant than ever. Here is a partial transcript of the speech:
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Tonight, I’d like to talk to you about a subject that no one has been talking about recently…: Iran.
Every day, I open the newspapers and read about these redlines and these timelines. I read about what Israel has supposedly decided to do, or what Israel might do.
Well, I’m not going to talk to you about what Israel will do or will not do, I never talk about that. Continue reading
Infograhics by Honest Reporting
I don’t know about you, but I can tell you that many times I hesitated to act for causes near and dear to my heart because I didn’t believe I, as an individual, can make a difference. So here is a true story from HonestReporting about how individuals can make a difference in fighting the media bias against Israel. Continue reading
