Israel and Hamas: Who won the last round?

Operation Pillar of Defense lasted eight days, during which Israel and Hamas exchanged numerous blows. This “boxing match” was the latest round of violence between Israel and the militant organizations based in Gaza, including Hamas, Islamic Jihad and a few smaller factions. During eight long days, Hamas and its allies fired rockets and mortars into Israeli cities, while Israel dropped precision bombs on infrastructure and fired guided missiles at Palestinian militants. With 1500 rockets matched by 1500 air raids, one might wonder “who won this round?” ^(*)

The Value of Technology Education

I graduated from high school over 35yrs ago. All these years I never came back to visit. Granted, there were logistical reasons, such as living over 7000 miles away for the past 20yrs. But let’s face it, there were emotional reasons as well. High school wasn’t much fun for me. It involved long days, tons of homework, strict discipline, and hardly any social life. Today I returned to my high school to give a talk about: “The value of technology education”.  It was an interesting experience, to say the least, kind of "back to the Future".

Don’t Argue With a Traffic Officer

I recently started doing my volunteer shifts with the Tel-Aviv traffic police. I spend 5hrs each week accompanying a traffic police officer on his duty. We help some drivers and pedestrians, attend to traffic accidents, and issue traffic tickets. The latter gives me an opportunity to experience the interaction between drivers and traffic officers – this time from the other side of the fence. I have one suggestion for drivers out there – please don’t argue with a traffic officer…

Israel and Apartheid – never the twain shall meet?

Post moved to: http://back-to-israel.com/2012/10/28/israel-and-apartheid-never-the-twain-shall-meet/

Don’t Blame the [Orthodox] Jews…

Before the state of Israel existed, the majority of Jewish people lived in the diaspora. For centuries they served as “scapegoats” for their gentile neighbors.  Famine? Plague? Financial crisis? War? Simply blame the Jews. Clearly they have done “something” to bring that disaster about. But these were the “dark ages”, when antisemitism was the popular thing to do. Thankfully we are in the 21^st century - the Jews have a state of their own, and “blaming Jews” is a thing of the past. Not quite…

Tour de Tel-Aviv

When you think bicycles, you probably think ‘Tour de France’. Well, think again. Tel Aviv has its own bike tour, called ‘סובב תל-אביב’ (i.e. Around Tel Aviv). And true to Tel Aviv style, it is a grand happening: major streets are turned into bike lanes (including ‘Ayalon’ highway), and thousands of bicycle riders gush the streets.

Tune-in From 8000 Miles Away

When you move away, there are little things you’ve learn to appreciate over the years that you must leave behind. Perhaps it’s the coffee shop around the corner. Maybe it’s the neighborhood park you used to visit, or a hardware store that carried your favorite supplies. For me it was a radio station I used to listen to.