When I left for Israel, I knew that living there wasn’t going to be easy.  I was prepared to experience a different way of life; to be shoved out of line by aggressive natives, to ride the crowded buses for hours each day and to feel like an outsider until I adjusted.  What I didn’t realize I needed… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 03/16/09 at 03:04 PM | Comments (0)

Traveling in Thailand

Hello from the Chabad House in Bangkok Thailand!  The beautiful building, with kosher food, computers, and tour books, is packed with Israelis.  It is amazing to hear Hebrew on the street and see signs in Hebrew so far from home.  Tonight, we will be going to Shabbat dinner here and will hopefully meet a ton more people.

In… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 02/13/09 at 01:31 AM | Comments (0)

The Hummus Trail

It hasn’t made it to Wikipedia yet, but the Hummus Trail apparently exists in the mountains of northern Thailand.  Thousands of post-army young Israelis travel there (South America and Australia are also popular destinations) to decompress and see the world before they reenter life as an Israeli civilian.  They go for various lengths of time, usually from four… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 02/08/09 at 08:12 AM | Comments (0)

Israeli Arabs

10:03 am every morning I race out of my apartment to catch the number 30 bus from Mt. Scopus to Talpiot.  I try to pinpoint the places you can feel the change in atmosphere as I travel from East Jerusalem, the Arab part of the city, through the center of town to end in the wealthy American hub… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/27/09 at 06:54 AM | Comments (1)

Jerusalem Reality Check

Sirens went off in Jerusalem yesterday.  I was sitting with the writing team in our Wednesday lunch meetings, chowing down on salad, fruit and leftover birthday brownie with sprinkles, when alert started.  The siren was faint and no one moved or even acknowledged the noise as we continued eating and chatting about our current projects.

Arie, the Spanish… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/15/09 at 08:04 AM | Comments (1)

Supporting the South

Societal reactions from Israeli media (sent to us by the director of our program)...
1) In the last week, 4,500 Israeli families in the center and north of the country have volunteered their homes to fellow citizens from the south. This is a trend that began during the second Lebanon war, in which Israelis signed up in… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/05/09 at 06:02 AM | Comments (0)

Gaza. again.

Frustration.  Pure and utter, heart wrenching, hair pulling, foot stomping frustration.  So far three of my friends have been called for reserve duty and many of them are speculating they will be called soon. 
The retaliation attacks on Gaza have escalated the situation to the point where a prolonged exchange will be inevitable.  Hamas leaders are… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/28/08 at 09:34 AM | Comments (0)

Parallel Lives

Part of MASA’s Building Future Leaders Seminar, I was able to participate in the Parallel Lives Program that aims to bring Israeli soldiers and Diaspora peers together to dialogue.  The Seminar is three weekends and the soldiers participate in all of the workshops in order to bring the Israeli perspective.  All of the soldiers except for one were… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/20/08 at 06:06 PM | Comments (0)

Learning the Definition of Israeli

I sat across from Guy at dinner at the Roladin Café in the new posh Mamila Shopping area adjacent to the David Citadel Hotel.  It is clear from the stores- Tommy Hilfiger, North Face, Roledex- that the majority of the people who shop there are wealthy tourists.  Scattered between the tourist traps are some decent cafes that have… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/16/08 at 06:04 AM | Comments (0)

Settling In

The effects of the evacuation of Jewish settlers from a house in Hebron last week were felt all over the country as heightened alerts were issued for all public areas in Jerusalem.  I was out for dinner with a friend in the city center when her phone started ringing off hook with phone calls from her roommates.  Apparently… read more
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/08/08 at 08:50 AM | Comments (0)