Attack in Tel-Aviv - Good thing we have the border Security Fence.

This morning I received a routine SMS message on my cellphone of active security alerts around the country: 83 general terror attack alerts, with 19 specific ones targeting exact locations.

At 1:39 PM my Hatzalah Nextel/MEERS announced the explosive terror attack in Tel-Aviv. A minute later my MDA beeper provided more information; nothing makes your heart sink faster than the familiar "MDA National Information Center: ***Initial Report***" message and the declaration of a mass casualty event.

Fast Forward to the 8:00 PM news on Channel 2. (if you can fast forward past 9 dead and over 60 wounded still hospitalized).

The Channel Two news starts as follows -- The Yonit Halevy talking head starts off the broadcast in her typical laconic voice:

"Despite the Terror Warnings, Despite the best efforts of the Police, Despite the Shabak, a terrorist managed to blow himself up in the middle of Tel-Aviv this afternoon..."

How come there was no mention of "Despite the billion dollar security fence?"

You'll hear everyone say that the security fence is Israel's #1 terrorist prevention measure, but no one in the media will ever say a bad word against it.

5 years ago, pre-fence, I would also get the exact same messages daily of "83 general terror attack alerts, with 19 specific ones targeting exact locations..."

The false sense of security, the demarcated, de-facto border, the animosity from uprooted trees, land confiscation, roadblocks and hatred from "machsom watch" -- not to mention the difficulties for all parties involved (Israeli and Palestinian)...is it all worth it for the billion dollar "security fence?"

Sorry, not in my book.

And this probably isn't the first time you'll find Settlers and Palestinians in agreement.

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

And don't forget to count the omer!

hat-tip: LabRab


Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Jameel's Recommendations for Chol HaMoed

Places Not to go: Yad Yair.

I'm generally not the type to tell you where NOT to go, but I knew this was one trip not worth taking. A few friends called up to go on this family "hike" between Beit-El and Dolev along the "Wallerstein Road", but knowing this road very well -- I advised them against it. Not only is the road adjacent to Ramalla and you are a total sitting duck for a sniper attack, but the IDF clearly didn't want this "outing" to happen. When the IDF tells you in advance that this is dangerous AND from personal experience I can tell you this is one dangerous road, then its not the brightest place to go for a walk with your family. The people that went just looked stupid, fanatical, and obviously - a 17 year old getting shot was the low light. (Baruch Hashem he's OK).

On the flip-side - I DO encourage people to visit Hevron! This event is fully coordinated with the IDF (as it is every year) along with Israel's ministry of tourism and prime minister's office. Why someone decided to put up fake posters that allegedly cancelled the event is beyond me:

The large concert and gala Passover event set to take place in Hevron Sunday and Monday began as planned, despite fraudulent billboard notifications throughout Jerusalem claiming it had been cancelled. (Arutz-Sheva)

Whatever you do - have a great chag -

Moadim l'Simcha!


Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

New Matza Splitting Technology Video

Yachatz.

Splitting the middle matza.

Don't you just hate the crumble and mess?

This video demonstrates a new product which solves all your problems...though its probably not for gebrucht eaters.

(Litvaks rule! :)

Hattp: LK.


Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Extreme Matza: Life on the Edge.

After a hectic trip to the US on the week before Pesach, I'm blogging less than usual due to lots of "work" work and helping clean up for Pesach at home.

However, I wanted to share an Erev Pesach experience from the Muqata that has already become a routine custom for us.

Many people view living in Israel as "life on the edge" -- as if there's an inherent danger to living in Israel or a settlement-yishuv in the Shomron as we do. As I've blogged about before, we go on trips all around Israel, and try to maximize safety and security, while at the same time maximizing the Jewish experience of living in Eretz Yisrael.

We've gone to Har Eval (I, II), Hevron, Har Grizim, Kever Yosef, Tekhelet Snail snorkling on the Dor Beach, and countless other places...they all help strenghten our religious and national connection to the land of Eretz Yisrael.

And then comes Erev Pesach. While some would say the following experience is the most dangerous of all, we believe it is important enough to carefully weigh the risks involved, and involve our children in this venture so that we can positively enhance our Pesach experience.

Extreme Matza.

Going back in time, to when the Korban Pesach was sacrificed in Yerushalayim, matza was baked for the seder...on Erev Pesach. In fact, matza for the seder was baked was after mid-day on Erev Pesach.

Therefore, in preparation for the Pesach when we will once again merit bringing the Korban Pesach, a group of us from our yishuv bake matzot on Erev Pesach, after mid-day.

The stakes are high, as the experience is radical and the possible consequences, rather extreme.

It is forbidden to have any chametz in your posession on Erev Pesach after mid-morning, and absolutely forbidden by the afternoon. Therefore, we take radical precautions in the baking of matza on Erev Pesach.

One slight mess up and if the 18 minute minute matza becomes chametz -- we would be transgressing one of the most serious of sins. (No snippy comments here about showering during the 18 minutes on Erev Shabbat -- chametz on Pesach is kareit, serious excommunication)

To minimize the inherent danger involved, we carefully arrange the different tasks; the timekeeper, the flour watcher, the water watcher, the expert group of dough kneaders and rollers, the matza perforater, the oven baker and the cleanup crew.

We only use the most mehadrin flour - organic wheat grown by Jews from a nearby settlement which was watched from the second it was cut to ensure it had no contact with water and securely kept from any contact with chametz. We use "Mayim Shelanu" -- cold water that's sat outside overnight. We have our own outdoor matza oven - a huge hand-built brick oven used once a year exclusviely for matza baking.

From the sound of a whistle, we work quickly and excitedly to prepare the matzot, mixing the flour and water, kneading it, rolling it, performating it, and rolling it into the oven. Time is carefully kept to ensure we don't even approach the danger zone of 18 minutes. After the dough process is finished, the entire plastic tablecloth, rollers, and any remnants of flour are quickly rolled up and thrown away into the public dumpster. A quick and thorough check is done to ensure nothing was missed. The matzot are baked and then carefully stored in the living room.

And during the matza baking process, all of us together -- children, teenagers, and adults all sing songs of Pesach, Redemption and Hallel to the backdrop of guitars, flutes and bongo drums.

And then at the evening seder, we use these special matzot -- which our children know were hand baked only a few hours earlier.

May we all experience a Pesach of personal and national redemption, and merit the ingathering of the Jewish people from all corners of the Earth, to Eretz Yisrael and Yerushalayim.

This coming Year in a Rebuilt Jerusalem!

לשנה הבאה בירושלים הבנויה

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Pesach and the Jewish Agency (UK)

Fellow blogger and settler, "Aliya Blog" has an excellent (though depressing) post about how officials from the Jewish Agency and the United Jewish Israel Appeal of Great Britain (UJIA) feel threatened by the new kid on the block, Nefesh B'Nefesh.

Labeling NBN as an "American" organization instead of a Jewish one, these mainstream organizations are worried about NBN's entrance into Britain's "aliya advocacy" turf.

Till NBN appeared in the USA, aliya figures of American Jewry was rather dismal -- with horizontal aliya far outpacing that of vertical aliya. The financial incentive is just too much a crucial factor that often is the deal maker or breaker for many potential olim.

Yet, these British organizations seem more worried about personal status than the actual good of olim (like giving olim, much needed MONEY!)

Now we can all understand the Hagadda, when it says:

Why did HASHEM personally take the Jews out of Egypt?

אני ולא מלאך
"Ani, vlo Malach" (myself - G-d, and not an Angel)

אני ולא שליח
"Ani, vlo Shaliach" (myself - G-d, and not a [Jewish Agency] Shaliach messenger)

Why did G-d not use a Jewish Agency Shaliach?

Because HE wanted the Jews to ACTUALLY make it out of Egypt.

In fact, the Jews did get lots of financial perks when leaving Egypt, like all the gold from the Egyptians...so I guess Nefesh B'Nefesh tactis were being employed even back then.

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Wild Weather in Israel - Kansas comes to the Galilee

The tornado touched down during a hailstorm in the Acco region, striking the Arab villages of Julis, Fassouta and Jedaideh. Hail as big as ping-pong balls was reported as far away as Nahariya. In southern Israel, sandstorms reduced visibility to less than three feet.

(and here's a video of the tornado as well)

Tornados are very rare in Israel. When I was little and saw the "Wizard of Oz" on TV, I was totally freaked out by the tornado scene and Dorothy's house spinning in the air.

My father reassured me that there were no tornados on the East Coast...and I've told my kids there are no tornados in Israel.

Oh well. I guess my credibility with them has been shot.

I'd better bring back some decent gifts from the US...



Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Mars & Venus on Erev Pesach Cleaning

Mars & Venus on Erev Pesach Cleaning.
(or, why my wife, the Mrs. @ The Muqata is totally going to kill me)

Men and Women are totally different. Different, and not necessarily equal either. My wife is much better at multi-tasking a million different events at once (cooking, cleaning, work, kids, laundry, etc.), while I can parallel park in my sleep, fix all sorts of electrical and mechanical problems, and sleep without being woken up by the soft cry of a baby.

Even the loud cry of a baby usually fails to bring me out of a deep sleep, and it’s the powerful shove out of bed from my wife that wakes me up (the dull thud of hitting the floor usually works).

So we’re totally different, and we have a variety of roles & responsibilities to make our marriage work.

However, there are times which can try any marriage, one of the most harrowing being “The Erev Pesach” era.

Starting the day after Purim, Jewish women around the world start the mad rush towards cleaning our homes for Pesach. Jewish men more or less continue on blissfully with whatever it is they usually do, somewhere knowing in the back of their mind that Pesach is approaching.

Women clean the house…and cook for Pesach…and buy food…and take care of the kids (who in Israel, start their vacation a week before Pesach)…some also work in addition to all of the above.

And what do guys do?

Err….lets think. We do a lot! I vacuum out the cars…hmmm….my oldest son did that this year. I ordered the hand shmura matza! Well, actually no, I just agreed on the amount we needed to buy…and my wife took care of it

OK, I’m going to sell the chametz! That’s something I’m definitely capable of taking care of.

Let’s face it. Men, are totally pathetic when it comes to really helping for Pesach.

But then, when we’ve come to this brutal realization, there are those of us who add insult to injury, and do what no self-respecting Jewish husband should ever do.

The week before Pesach, “business trip”… (Thank G-d I'm not the only one)

Last week at the Muqata...

Jameel: Hi Honey, I’ve got some really awful news…

The Mrs.: Really, What’s wrong?

Jameel: Remember how I was supposed to go to the US on business last month, and how happy we were that the trip was cancelled? Well, I have to fly to LA for a few days.

The Mrs. (in a frosty voice): Really? Only a few days?

Jameel: Well, leaving motzei Shabbat, returning home on Friday.

The Mrs.: Exactly. Just like every other time estimate you ever give; multiply any time guesstimate by 2 or 3…you say you're leaving the office at 6:00…and “out of the blue” you have a phone call which keeps you at the office till 6:30…by the time you get out of the parking lot its 6:45, don’t forget the traffic which never seems to happen when you WANT to be home on time…and voila. You’re home promptly at 8:15…just in time for Maariv. So “a few days” turns into an entire week.

Jameel: But at least I’ll be home for Shabbat!

The Mrs.: How is it that EVERY single year you manage to “have” to be sent on business the week before Pesach?

One of the kids “picks up” on the conversation, and they all rush in cheering: “YAY! Abba’s going to America! Abba’s going to America! Please buy me a new cellphone, buy me a new RAM card for my MP3 player…I want a new zip-zap car…can you get me this…buy me that…”

Jameel: I’m only going for 2 days…I won’t really have any time to buy stuff for you.

The Mrs.: Yeah, Two days. Motzei Shabbat to Friday equals 2 days…

Jameel: Fine, 2.5 days, but there’s all the travel overhead! Its 19 hours of flying time each way!

Kids: (upset) You’re going to America for a week and not buying us anything?!?!?!

So…I fly to the land where the streets are paved with electronic gadgets and great sales….while my tzadeikes of a wife is left with the kids…the cooking…the cleaning…the laundry…and her own full time job…and I fly off to the US.

When I speak to my wife on the phone after landing, its like treading on Styrofoam cups…

Jameel; Hi – how are things? I just landed and called to say hi…

The Mrs.: OK, (sounds very tired)…how was your flight?

Now what the heck am I supposed to answer? That I slept for 8 uninterrupted hours, watched a movie, blogged about something, and did some work? That the business class food was very good, the wine was good, and the chair was more comfortable than our LAY-Z-BOY chair in our living room?

Jameel: (answering very gingerly) Well, the flight was OK, I slept for 8 hours….

(Survey Says: BUZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!! Wrong Answer!)

The Mrs.: 8 hours? It must be so nice sleeping 8 hours without getting woken up by any kids…

Jameel: Yes – but it was awful! One of the movie channels wasn’t working, and I already saw most of the other ones the last time I flew…

(Survey Says: BUZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!! Wrong Answer!)

The Mrs.: Must have been awful.

Jameel: How's the house cleaning going? Are the kids being helpful?

(Survey Says: BUZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!! Strike 3 – Wrong Answer!)

The Mrs.: Why? You expect the house to magically clean itself and you’ll arrive home after your “business” trip and everything will be ready for Pesach???

Let's face it. It's very hard to work it out every single year...time after time...to ensure that I fly away on business the week before Pesach.

Guys: A word to the wise. Don't believe everything in the "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" books. Women can be very Mars-like, and like most Israeli citizens, are very good shots with automatic weapons.

That's why I locked up my M16 before leaving to America....

On the other hand, I really love my wife alot, and she knows I had nothing to do with planning this trip. And I feel incredibly guilty for being away from home this week....but I can't even send this to her for approval, because she'll say, "you're on a business trip, and yet you're blogging again?!?"

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Poison Israeli Soda Soft Drinks?

At our home at the Muqata, our kids know we never serve soda soft drinks during the week -- we reserve those drinks exclusively for shabbat. Even if the take-out pizza special comes with a free bottle of Coke per pizza pie ordered, we still save the coke for shabbat.

There are a few reasons for this:

1. Makes Shabbat meals more special for kids.
2. Reduced needless sugar intake minimizes kids bouncing off the walls.
3. Healthier to drink water or whatever else we have for them to drink.

Our kids’ favorite bubbly drinks in Israel are definitely the from the psychedelically colored “Fanta” product line – deep puple (grape), radiator-coolant green (Shokata – blended kiwi and other flavores), spray-paint yellowish-orange, and Rusted Burnt-Sunset Red (exotic fruit?).

Deep down, I always wonder how safe these drinks really are. Artificial food coloring has always worried us on some level -- we used to search high and low to only buy yellow soup nuts/almonds, “mondlin” without the dreaded “tartrezine” yellow coloring in them. We tried green ketchup once to see what the kids thought if of it, yet the artifical coloring in the ingredients prevented us from ever buying it again -- “Aluminum Lake Blue #5”.

It even sounds disgusting.

The only place I want aluminum near my food is in foil wrapping. I don’t want it anywhere in the ingredients list.

While reading up on our local economic news in Israel, I was rather surprised to read about a 200 NIS million ($42.8 million) class action suit against Coca-Cola in Israel, the owners of the Fanta product line. Apparently, Fanta contains sodium preservatives and acerbic acid—that together create Benzene, which is believed to be a cancer-causing ingredient in humans.

In response the article states

The company explained that a combination of the ingredients exists in two Fanta products and both were analyzed by the company's global laboratory in Europe. The findings also support the claims that the amount of Benzene is drastically lower than the Israeli standard and the World Health Organization standard for drinking water. Therefore, Coca Cola said, "it's important to stress that Fanta products carry no health risks."

So what do we do now?

Tell the kids that their favorite soft drinks are now off limits even on Shabbat?
Switch to something less poisonous, like regular Coke?

Only have water and OJ?

One thing is for certain, we are not going to switch to “petel” – the awful drink syrup similar to camp “bug juice.”

Then again, I haven’t really discussed this with the Mrs. @ The Muqata who hasn’t read this yet, so we’ll see…

Any advice from out there in pre-pesach blogland?


Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael