Thoughts on being Jewish

It was inevitable: Jerusalem once again is at the center of political debates and international storms. New and old tensions surface at a disturbing pace. Seventeen times destroyed and seventeen times rebuilt, it is still in the middle of diplomatic confrontations that could lead to armed conflict. Neither Athens nor Rome has aroused that many passions. For me, the Jew that I am, Jerusalem is above politics. It is mentioned more than six hundred times in Scripture—and not a single time in the... Sign in to see full entry.

When we travel to Israel, we don't give up culture or creature comforts - or even the nasty fast foods imported from the US. Tel Aviv is not a two-camel, one stoplight pile of sand-dunes (as it once was) but a thriving, some would say Yuppie, metropolis. Case in point: Yep, even here the Mickey-D's prevails, though notice the caliber of outdoor seating. Quite nicer than the scooped plastic we find at ours here in the States. Also, notice the mural on the exterior wall celebrating the israeli... Sign in to see full entry.

One of the things I love about Israel is how the ancient juxtaposes with state-of-the-art contemporary. It happens all the time in Jerusalem, of course, but even in modern Tel Aviv there's this kind of time warp. One night, we went to a very trendy restaurant called "Northern Abraxis" - owned by a "celebrity chef" with his own TV show. (Yes, Israel has those, too). The conceit here is that every raw ingredient is purchased daily and based on what looks good and shows up first thing in the... Sign in to see full entry.

I took a short "Passover" break from my Israel posts, but I'm back - with photos this time. After leaving Jerusalem, we took a short overnight trip to the Galil - the northern part of Israel. On the way, we stopped at the newly chic Carmel Winery. Carmel has been around since Baron Rothschild founded it in 1882. Our friend, R. whose Mom is now the PR Director for the whole shibang, kept us informed. She took out a ledger - dated from the late 1800's and showed how Rothschild paid "Backsheesh" (a... Sign in to see full entry.

In A Perfect World: Israel is the Solution, Not the Problem Time was when someone dissed Israel, they'd get slammed for being unpatriotic. Now, it's so commonplace, no less than General Patreas was quoted as saying that Israel was to blame for Iraqi war fatalities. And both our President and Stateswoman Clinton have gone on record as saying that israeli policy is the only impediment to peace in that region. There are rockets flying from Gaza (two days ago, a Thai field worker was killed in the... Sign in to see full entry.