Don’t Poke A Lion With A Short Stick
31 May 2010 28 Comments
Update 2: Here is a video from Israeli TV showing an IDF soldier being stabbed on one of the boats this morning:
Update: Here are videos of the so-called “peace activists” attacking IDF soldiers landing on their ship this morning off the coast of Israel, after repeated warnings to leave.
Here is a link to a video of some of the “preparations” for the confrontation with the soldiers. I wonder if the lady shown at the end who wanted martyrdom got her wish.
“Don’t poke a lion with a short stick”: I am shamelessly stealing a phrase from one of the talkbalks on Ynet which sums up this morning’s events on the boats trying to force their way past the Israeli Navy.
I personally am very happy that the soldiers were not afraid to use weapons to defend themselves and carry out the takeover of the boats. I am sure there will be a media outcry at first, but later on it will be harder to find “useful idiots” to carry out this kind of stunt. (How many idiots stood in front of bulldozers after Rachel Corrie was killed?)
Tangling with the Israeli Navy is not a pleasure trip.
Not Another Boring Press Release
27 May 2010 2 Comments
The GPO (Government Press Office) released a very interesing press release regarding Gaza recently. No, not another boring missive about how the Israelis send humanitarian relief to Gaza (although it does).
This time it was a friendly suggestion about an upscale restaurant in Gaza that may be of interest to the press covering the area. Another suggestion was the use of the Olympic size swimming pool recently opened.
In my neck of the woods (in the eastern part of Samaria) they have recently opened a blocked road from the Arab village nearby – so we see more cars with white and green license plates lately (Israelis, including Arab Israelis, have yellow license plates on their cars). Some are broken down jalopies, but quite a lot of the cars we see nowadays are expensive cars (Audis and Mazda 6′s, etc.). Don’t get me wrong – I think it is wonderful that the local Arabs can afford nice cars. I personally think that the more the local population has to lose, the more cautious they will be when deciding about starting riots.
In addition, the supermarket chain Big Zol plans to open 15 new branches in Arab towns in the next few years, hoping to attract both the average consumer and the emerging Arab yuppies.
I just wish that the media would cover this aspect of the Israeli Arab conflict, and acknowledge that just as there are rich and poor Jews, there are rich and poor Arabs.
Time for an Upbeat Song
25 May 2010 Leave a Comment
in Jewish music
I know that there are people who grew up in religious homes who cringe at this group – but I love them. I grew up with pop and rock music (70′s stuff – Fleetwood Mac, Earth Wind and Fire, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Billy Joel, etc.). After I became Orthodox I began to appreciate the Jewish music (although I never developed a taste for the syrupy stuff…)but the combination of Jewish lyrics with a beat is really my favorite.
Here is a video by the group Oif Simchas (a Yiddish term meaning – “at celebrations”). The title of the song is Dor Metzuyan – loosely translated as “An excellent generation”. It is a rebuke to the old fogies who claim our young people are not as good as the older generation. Enjoy!
Planning for All Hell to Break Loose
24 May 2010 1 Comment
in Israel Update, Israeli Life
This week there is a special drill taking place, where the police, the IDF, and the municipalities are going through a dry run for all hell breaking loose.
Circa 2010 in Israel this means rockets falling in major cities throughout the whole country, some with chemical warheads.
Wednesday at 11:00 am there will be sirens throughout the country, and everyone needs to go to the local bomb shelter (or the safe room in their house). I asked the other woman where I work where the shelter was, and it is just down the stairs from us, although I am not sure it is really equipped for all of the people who work in our area. I guess I will see then….
Much is being made about the publicity of this drill. On the one hand, Netanyahu is officially saying that this is just a drill and is not meant to be taken as an agressive posture. On the other hand, just last week he was photographed with the Chief of Staff in the north viewing a war drill. It is clear that a message is being sent – perhaps as an attempt at prevention. Showing that you are strong and prepared will sometimes discourage an enemy from attacking (although the Arabs have been somewhat tone deaf to this message in the past).
In any case, there have been sales lately on bottled water (the summer vacation season is upon us) so we stocked up. I’ve been taking a look at the food stores we have and we are ok – in case we need to go for awhile without getting groceries. The only thing missing are batteries for the flashlights and some UHT milk (that doesn’t need refrigeration). I plan on getting some in our next big grocery shopping. Hopefully these things will just sit and gather dust, but you never know…
Book Swap!
13 May 2010 Leave a Comment
in Book reviews
The two things I love to do most in the world is eating chocolate and reading, and I usually do the two together! That is why I was very happy to be introduced to the website goodreads. I quickly joined in and have found great recommendations for books.
One of the groups on the website is called Israeli book exchange, and Yael is calling for a book swap in Tel-Aviv. She rightly wants to wait until we have about 100 members in the group, so that the book swap will be successful.
If this sounds good to you, go on over and join up!
The More Things Change….
11 May 2010 1 Comment
in Israeli Life, Jewish Holidays
Tonight is the start of Yom Yerushalayim, the day we celebrate the unification of Jerusalem during the Six Day War. Although most people know of the victory in the war and the emotional reunion of the Jews with the Kotel (the Western Wall), many do not know of the fear of annihilation that preceded it.
From stories that I have heard from older Israelis, the people in Israel were terrified. Thousands of graves were dug in public parks in anticipation of heavy casualties. Children were drilled on what to do during an air raid. My kids receive a bi-weekly magazine, and one of the featured articles this past issue was one by a woman who was a young girl during the war. She shares how her classes at the end of the school year were cut short prematurely, and she contrasts the joy of some of the students at this unexpected holiday and the tension of the adults around her.
All of this came to mind in the past week when I spoke to a friend whose husband does frequent military reserve duty. He told her that there were serious rumors about a war coming during the summer, when all of Israel would be affected (vs. just the north during the Second Lebanon War in 2006). I then saw this article by Carolyn Glick about the need to prepare for war, and this video on PJTV about how Iran (through its proxies in Lebanon and Syria) may be gearing up to do a pre-emptive attack on Israel to supposedly precede our pre-emptive attack on them.
The fact that Hizbullah has been re-arming is not new. Most Israelis knew that another war with them was inevitable. The prevailing mood is calm for now. But it is interesting that these rumors are starting to go around. I plan on keeping an eye on how many men are called up for reserve duty in the near future – usually a sign that things are warming up.
Well, That Was Scary!
06 May 2010 9 Comments
in Family Stuff
Last week my 14 year old complained of a headache in the morning, so I let him stay home from school. He later called me at work and told me that in addition to throwing up, he couldn’t see well from his right eye, and his fingers on his right hand were numb. When he started 7th grade last year he was sick a lot more than usual, and he had frequent headaches and stomach upsets. I remember thinking that he seemed to be getting a lot of weird stomach viruses, because after resting for an hour or two he would just bounce back to his normal self, including being able to eat whatever he wanted, and he never had a fever. But he never had these weird symptoms before.
Needless to say I came home immediately and took him to the doctor. She did a few minor tests with him, and asked if we had a history of migraines in the family (we don’t). She then said that given his symptoms and age, she thought that it was migraines, and she gave us a referral to a neurologist, which she wanted us to see within two weeks. She also said that if the symptoms recurred within 24 hours to go to the emergency room.
I tried every which way to get an appointment with the neurologist, but the earliest I could get was for June 7 (six week wait). Two days ago my son woke up and told me he had the same symptoms again. The rational part of me said “migraine – don’t panic” but the emotional part of me said “emergency room”. I really wanted a neurologist to see him and rule out something scary – the sooner the better. Westbankpapa took him and spent the whole day at Schneider Children’s Hospital (if you ever need to take your kid to the hospital, this is the one. Great medical care and facilities designed with children – and teenagers – in mind).
The bottom line was that their doctors also think that it is migraines, but they have recommended a series of tests to rule out some things. I of course hit both the internet and the phone lines, gathering all of the information I could on migraines. It turns out that his symptoms are not so weird after all, and from what a friend told me, the doctor’s don’t have a definite diagnosis for migraines – they first rule out a bunch of other things and are left with that.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thank G-d my son is taking everything in stride (“Ima, try to schedule the tests DURING school hours, ok?”) and he is able to deal with the pain with just Acamol (for now). But I’d love to find a really good doctor who can guide us in the future, if need be.
Some Advice on Self-Defense for Women
03 May 2010 1 Comment
in Girl talk
Shimshonit has a great post with some very practical tips about self-defense for women. I have always toyed with the idea of taking a self-defense course. When I worked as a balanit in the mikveh (mikveh attendant) I was in a relatively isolated place (except for other women, of course) for three evenings a week. Granted, it was on my yishuv, which is surrounded by a patrolled fence, but I still thought that the skills might come in handy.
Now that I don’t work in the mikveh anymore, it seems less urgent, but nevertheless…..Another thing to add to the “someday” list!
Havel-Havalim, The Lag B’Omer Edition
03 May 2010 Leave a Comment
in Havel-Havalim, Uncategorized
The Lag B’Omer edition of HH is up at Times of the Signs.
