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Sappers in RBS or how I visited Beit Jamal

This past Friday, while I was out with the kids checking out Beit Jamal, my wife got to witness the sappers diffuse a potential bomb on a bus right in front of our house. Apparently someone left a suspicious package that looked like a bomb on a local bus. They stoppped the bus right in front of our porch, took out the package, hung it up on a really long string that was stretched across trees to the opposite side of the street, and then shook it until the contents came out. The sappers in full bullet proof gear stood on the other side of the street ready for this thing to explode. Of course, it was just a bag full of junk, so in the end nothing happened, Thank G-d. But my wife got pretty traumatized.

As for Beit Jamal, it's a very interesting place to visit. It's a Catholic monastery and on its premises there is The First Meteorological Station and supposably is the grave of Raban Gamliel I (which I still couldn't find) which is located somewhere near or under the church. According to the Christian tradition Raban Gamliel was Paul's teacher and actually converted to Christianity at the end of his life. Interesting story, although sounds like a bunch of bologna. I was told, periodically local Breslov hassidim come to daven at the grave.

They also have a huge number of really old Olive trees growing all around the grounds. I got to talk to the Abbot who himself is an Italian from Venice. He got all excited when I spoke to him a few lines in my rusty Italian and he got to talk back to me and I actually understood.

You can see the old Byzantian mosaics from the 5th century mounted on the wall of the church and their wine and olive presses. They even offered some grape juice to the kids, but I had to decline. I think this was my first ever real encounter with Stam Yeynam right out of the vat.

Will have to go back there to find Raban Gamliel.

Aloe Tree

Today I drove around surrounding moshavs with my son. On road 3835, between Kibbutz Tzorah and Deir Rafat Monastery (at the end of the road by the entrance into the monastery) we saw this beatiful Aloe tree. I didn't even know that Aloe can grow into a tree especially such a huge one.

It's nice to get away from thinking about this crazy war that surrounds out, even if it's just for a moment.

Pictures speak a thousand words

An IDF soldier praying next to an artillery unit as it fires into southern Lebanon from near Kiryat Shmona on Monday. (Reuters)

Missing Seeing the Soldiers with Big Guns

Today my wife and I went shopping. Suddenly, she said to me. "Do you notice anything weird? There are no soldiers around."
It's funny how most visitors to Israel for the 1st time feel nervous when they see soldiers walking around (during their time off) with their huge guns over their sholders. But now I realize that time to worry is when none of them are around, because all of them have been called up to the front.
So next time you see a soldier in Israel, feel good about it, because it's the time of peace.

Feeling More Edgy

I just talked to my cousin's in Haifa. They said they hear the rockets fly and explode but because they are on the southern side ofHaifa their building doesn't shake. It seems that Hezbollah are using more powerful missiles now than Katyushas so they cause more damage.
We are pretty far south, but you never know. I guess if something would actually fly to Tel Aviv, we would be next in line.
For those who want to read what it's like to be on the front line of this, read Rock of Galilee Blog.

Feeling Edgy

As Hizbollah bombing Northern cities in Israel and IDF retaliating I am beginning to feel edgy. In Bet Shemesh it’s peaceful since we are too far away from the Lebanese border, but I am still feeling weird. It’s my first time in Israel during what looks like a real war.

Last night and this morning army planes were buzzing over our heads flying from southern bases to the North. Today I decided to call my great-uncle who is in his 80s and lives in the Qerayot near Haifa already for over 30 years. Here is what our conversation was like.

Me: How are you?
Him: Great to hear from you. How is your family in the US?
Me: Great. And you?
Him: Fine
Me: See any missiles out of your window?
Him: No. Do you?
Me: No. (smiling) Only hear planes flying above my head.
Him: Me too.
Me: Do you have a bunker to go too?
Him: No, I don’t have a bunker. I am staying in my living room.
Me: Sealed room?
Him: No.
Me: So what will you do if they bomb your town?
Him: Nothing. Continue sitting in my living room. What do you think it’s the first time this happened?
Me: Well, it’s the first for me.
Him: Ahhhhhh. OK. So how is your family in the US?

You get the idea.

And then I bumped into my Hareidi neighbors. I said to the wife, “Do you know they bombed Tzfat?” With a really surprised look on her face she called her husband and told him that. He replied: “Damn Zionists. They deserve it. What else do they expect?” I was standing there with my mouth open. This is someone who served in the IDF himself a while ago before he became a baal teshuva. I just said “You’re sick, you need help!” and closed my door.

PM Olmert tells off the Brits

Read the transcript of a press conference where Olmert told off (below in RED) the Brits when they asked him about blowing up the Electric Power Station in Gaza. Right on. You tell them.

Matt Matski: Matt Matski of Finland. On entering southern Gaza, Israel air force was bombing a power station which was the power station in Gaza which in turn risked to create problems with the water supply, sanitation, health, their health risks and so on. Was this action okayed beforehand by on the political level and if so, what purpose did it serve in attaining those goals that you were talking about and what consequences do you think that this will have in making Gaza more dependent on Israel in the future for their electricity supply and so on?

PM Olmert: I want to remind you that Gaza is entirely dependent on Israel for the supply of water and electricity and that we continue to supply Gaza water and electricity. I am not aware that any of the very friendly nations to the Palestinians offered the Palestinians to supply them with this basic commodities which are essential for the quality of life of the people in Gaza or in the West Bank. Israel is the only country which is doing it, at a very fair cost. And the reason we are doing it is because we care for the population and we don’t want to punish the population in either Gaza or the West Bank. The measures that were taken in this military operation were taken for the sole purpose, or purposes which I have outlined to you before. One is to make the possible release of Corporal Shalit a reality and the other is to try and stop the Kassam missile shooting at Israeli civilians. The measures including the damage to the power stations was part of an effort to have a more effective control on the crossings and on the movements because we were afraid that the Israeli corporal will be smuggled out of Gaza and that once he will not be in this controlled area, he might be lost entirely. And some of the measures that were taken, were taken for that purpose. All was approved by the political leadership. Not only this operation, every operation is approved by the political leadership. We are not military experts. Of course we get the advice from the military on what do they need to do in order to achieve the goals that the government set for them, but it is always, it needs, it requires the approval of the political leadership without which the army doesn’t act.

Daniel Seaman: On the right, Simon, please.

Simon Wilson: Simon Wilson from BBC News. Mr. Prime Minister, two points, just to pick up from my colleague and if you’ll permit me to put it in a slightly different fashion, but perhaps a bit more directly. The bombing of the power station…

PM Olmert: Do you think that the question before was indirect?

Simon Wilson: Allow me to put a direct BBC question.

PM Olmert: I see.

Simon Wilson: The bombing of the power station and other measures such as the use of sonic booms to disrupt the lives of Palestinians in Gaza have led to charges that Israel is or may be guilty of war crimes in this operation. I’d like to ask you how you respond to that and secondly, I would like to ask you a personal question which is how are you coping with this crisis without your mentor, Ariel Sharon?

PM Olmert: As for the first question, tell me do you think your country would have supplied electricity for a state which is shooting at Great Britain one thousand missiles? In return for the generosity of shooting at you a thousand missiles, you would have supplied them with electricity and if you cut the supply about one third – it’s not that there is no supply of electricity by Israel. There is still most of the, all of the electricity of Gaza is supplied by Israel and 70% of the population still have supply of electricity. All is provided by Israel, in spite of the shooting. There was in the past sometimes a flexible definition of war crimes, particularly by some biased unprincipled and unfair people, so I’m not responsible for the definition of these actions outside of their context, but every person with a reasonable moral principle would have first to answer the question what do you say to people that are continuously threatened by the shooting of missiles, what do they have to do in order to defend their own lives and the lives of their children?

Watch Israeli TV Online

This is a great web site with Israeli News in English for free:
http://www.infolive.tv/

Do you know what you are eating?

I picked up a candy at lunch at work and noticed the following ingredients.



What does ??? supposed to mean? Of course, the Hebrew ingredients are complete. I guess the translator quit before finishing the list. And "May be contains"? May be it's good for you, may be it's not, who knows? But either way, very Israeli.

Zhirinovsky discovers his Jewish father's grave in Israel ...

One of the biggest Russian antisemites, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, discovers his Jewish father's grave in Holon, Israel. And The One That Sits in Heaven Laughs. .(יושב בשמים ישחק (תהלים ב:ד How ironic?
Read the story: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/732918.html

But it gets better. Now he wants to sue Germany for killing his Jewish family during the Holocaust and Israel for not being able to save his father's life when he got into a bus accident which killed him in 1983.
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060627-114025-7079r