My Love Affair with Israel
My love affair with Israel began in 1972 when I journeyed for the first time with my immediate family. My parents had been for the first time in February of 1968, six months after the Six Day War. We also were there six months before the Yom Kippur War.
An IDF Soldier's Yom HaZikaron Reflections from a Kibbutz
Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut: The Juxtaposition of Extremes
"It's Personal": Scenes from Israel on Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut
Galilee Diary: In the Memory Bunker
Monday was Memorial Day for the fallen – in the Israeli army, in the pre-state undergrounds, and in terrorist attacks. It is the day before Yom Ha’atzma’ut (to emphasize the connection), and is observed through ceremonies in schools and other public institutions, cemetery visits, and speeches by politicians. The sense of loss is immediate and inescapable as there is no one who does not have a connection of family, friendship, work, or neighborhood with at least one of the 23,000 fallen.
Galilee Diary: Independence Day I
And the Lord said to Moses, "Command the people of Israel and say to them, 'My offering, my food for my offerings by fire, my pleasing odor, you shall take heed to offer to me in its due season.'"
–Numbers 28:1-2
Galilee Diary: Independence Day II
If you will it, it will not remain just a dream.
-Theodor Herzl
So I had a little too much to drink at the Independence Day picnic and my head was spinning so I lay down on the grass for a minute…
A Birthday Card for Israel, My Home
How do you give your country a gift?
What kind of gift will you give your country?
What can you wish to your country?
Remembering and Forgetting
Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, after you left Egypt - how, undeterred by fear of God, he surprised you on the march, when you were famished and weary, and cut down all the stragglers in your rear.
Israel and Chocolate: A Love Affair
Chocolate is a hot commodity in Israel, where you can spread it, bake it, and drink it in uniquely Israeli ways. Chocolate establishments dot Israel's countryside as abundantly as sabra (cactus) plants.