I heard an interesting and telling Gaza war story today.
Our neighbors' gardener, like many Israelis, was called up for army reserve duty and was sent to Gaza. He and his platoon were patrolling in Gaza City when they observed something suspicious. Although the streets were generally deserted, a woman began approaching them holding the hand of a small child. Sensing that somethings was not right, they ordered her, in Arabic, to halt, and she did. Then they told her to raise her dress, which she also did, revealing a suicide belt! After consulting via radio with their commanding officers, they had no choice but to shoot her dead. By killing her before she could detonate herself, they saved the life of the child, although, very sadly, she was probably his mother. They examined the belt, and it definitely DID contain plenty of explosives. The child was turned over to the Red Cross.
The haunting and pressingly important question is: how do you fight an enemy that resorts to such shocking barbarity?
Monday, February 9, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Wildflowers, Caterpillars, and a Cow
This afternoon, we decided to take a little walk near our house. It was a beautiful sunny day, and the flowers are definitely beginning to bloom. Here are some of the pictures that I took.
To my mind, this is the most beautiful of all the wildflowers here in Israel: the כלנית kalanit ("anemone" or "wind flower" according to my dictionary). These beautiful red flowers beginning blooming early and continue to bloom for quite a while. And they are EVERYWHERE here in the North!
This is an extreme close-up of a big pile of caterpillars. These may not seem so beautiful to you now, but the butterflies that will come later are really nice, and we have quite a variety of them here, too.
Here's a picture of a cluster of pretty yellow flowers. In fact, most of the flowers blooming this early in the season are yellow flowers, including at least 3 or 4 different kinds.
Here's a nice cream-colored cow who was also out enjoying the lovely day.
This is a very tiny orange flower which is blooming now. On our walk, we saw hundreds of them. They are really very small, and this picture is an extreme close-up.
We saw quite a few of these maroon flowers blooming today, as well.
So, I hope you enjoyed the pictures. Actually, this is still early in the season. Over the next 2 to 3 months, there will be many more beautiful flowers blooming right here in our neighborhood! I'll certainly post more pictures throughout the glorious Spring season here!
To my mind, this is the most beautiful of all the wildflowers here in Israel: the כלנית kalanit ("anemone" or "wind flower" according to my dictionary). These beautiful red flowers beginning blooming early and continue to bloom for quite a while. And they are EVERYWHERE here in the North!
This is an extreme close-up of a big pile of caterpillars. These may not seem so beautiful to you now, but the butterflies that will come later are really nice, and we have quite a variety of them here, too.
Here's a picture of a cluster of pretty yellow flowers. In fact, most of the flowers blooming this early in the season are yellow flowers, including at least 3 or 4 different kinds.
Here's a nice cream-colored cow who was also out enjoying the lovely day.
This is a very tiny orange flower which is blooming now. On our walk, we saw hundreds of them. They are really very small, and this picture is an extreme close-up.
We saw quite a few of these maroon flowers blooming today, as well.So, I hope you enjoyed the pictures. Actually, this is still early in the season. Over the next 2 to 3 months, there will be many more beautiful flowers blooming right here in our neighborhood! I'll certainly post more pictures throughout the glorious Spring season here!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Another trip to the Golan
Today is a beautiful day, so we decided to take a little trip to the Golan. First we drove up Har Avital (Mt. Avital), which is one of the highest places in the central part of the Golan.
In the following picture, looking north, you can see snow-capped Har Khermon (Mt. Hermon). Towards the left side of the picture, you can see Har Bental (Mt. Bental), the twin peak of Har Avital and our next destination. These twin peaks are prominently visible in the view of the Golan from our house.
After Har Avital, we drove over to Har Bental. Here is a picture of Har Avital taken from Har Bental.
Here is another picture of Har Khermon, this one taken from Har Bental.
From Har Bental, there is a great view into Syria. This is a view of the Syrian city of Kuneitra. This city was originally located slightly closer to the Golan, but it was destroyed in one of the wars. In the armistice agreement, Syria was supposed to rebuild it in its original location, but they instead built it a little further northeast. Nevertheless, you can see it quite clearly in this picture (thanks to the 5x zoom on my camera!)
In the following picture, looking north, you can see snow-capped Har Khermon (Mt. Hermon). Towards the left side of the picture, you can see Har Bental (Mt. Bental), the twin peak of Har Avital and our next destination. These twin peaks are prominently visible in the view of the Golan from our house.
After Har Avital, we drove over to Har Bental. Here is a picture of Har Avital taken from Har Bental.
Here is another picture of Har Khermon, this one taken from Har Bental.
From Har Bental, there is a great view into Syria. This is a view of the Syrian city of Kuneitra. This city was originally located slightly closer to the Golan, but it was destroyed in one of the wars. In the armistice agreement, Syria was supposed to rebuild it in its original location, but they instead built it a little further northeast. Nevertheless, you can see it quite clearly in this picture (thanks to the 5x zoom on my camera!)
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Birya Fortress
Yesterday, we took a short tiyul to Birya Fortress. This is a fort near the north end of the hill on which Tsfat sits, from which there are some great views. To the west, one can see Har Meron (Mt. Meron), the highest point in Israel outside the Golan, and Har Adir (Mt. Adir), another peak just north of Har Meron.
To the north, one can see Bint Jabal in Lebanon, the town of Dalton, and the grave of Talmudic Rabbi Yosi HaGlili on a beautiful hill near Dalton. Well, actually his grave isn't quite in this picture; it's just to the right of Dalton outside this view.
To the northeast, there is a great view of Keren Naftali; snow-covered Har Khermon (Mt. Hermon), the highest point in Israel; and the northern Golan.
To the north, one can see Bint Jabal in Lebanon, the town of Dalton, and the grave of Talmudic Rabbi Yosi HaGlili on a beautiful hill near Dalton. Well, actually his grave isn't quite in this picture; it's just to the right of Dalton outside this view.
To the northeast, there is a great view of Keren Naftali; snow-covered Har Khermon (Mt. Hermon), the highest point in Israel; and the northern Golan.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Warmer weather!
Yesterday, it was very foggy here in the morning, but today it was sunny and a bit warmer. In the middle of the day, David and I took a nice walk, and we noticed that many flowers are blooming now, especially several kinds of yellow ones. But the kalaniot (bright red anemones) are also starting to appear. I didn't take the camera with me today, but I'll plan to do so in the near future, and, when I do, I take some pictures to post here.
Watching programs in Hebrew on TV
Lately, David and I have been spending quite a bit more time watching programs in Hebrew on TV. Besides the children's show, a couple of which I have already written about here, we have also watched a number of adult programs, including news shows. We still both miss the bulk of what is being said, but I'm beginning to be able to get a very general idea of what they're talking about.
With the Israeli election approaching in just one week, there has, of course, been a lot of talk about politics. I've also seen a few of the political ads, which, not so surprisingly, are somewhat easier to understand (they want as many people as possible to be sure to know what they're saying!). There has also been a public service announcement about voting. The slogan is מי שמצביע משפיע Mi she-matzbiya mashpiya ("Whoever votes influences" - but, of course, it's has a MUCH better ring in Hebrew due to the similarity of the 2 verbs).
Speaking of the election, here in Israel, election day is an official holiday. Because of this, Berlitz is required to give us the day off if we wish. On Sunday, they called me and offered to pay me double for the hours I work on that day, something which I readily agreed to, of course! There will still be PLENTY of time during the day for me to get over to the polls and vote.
With the Israeli election approaching in just one week, there has, of course, been a lot of talk about politics. I've also seen a few of the political ads, which, not so surprisingly, are somewhat easier to understand (they want as many people as possible to be sure to know what they're saying!). There has also been a public service announcement about voting. The slogan is מי שמצביע משפיע Mi she-matzbiya mashpiya ("Whoever votes influences" - but, of course, it's has a MUCH better ring in Hebrew due to the similarity of the 2 verbs).
Speaking of the election, here in Israel, election day is an official holiday. Because of this, Berlitz is required to give us the day off if we wish. On Sunday, they called me and offered to pay me double for the hours I work on that day, something which I readily agreed to, of course! There will still be PLENTY of time during the day for me to get over to the polls and vote.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
New favorite TV shows
We have 2 new favorite shows on TV. Their names are: פרפר נחמד Parpar Nechmad ("Lovely Butterfly") and דובי רופרט Dubi Rupert ("Rupert the Bear"). Of course, these are programs for little children, but they have cute stories, and, most importantly, the Hebrew is simple enough, clear enough, and slow enough that I can pick out quite a bit of it. Finally, I may be able to improve my understanding of spoken Hebrew!
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