Observations about life in Israel from a Canadian immigrant's perspective.
V’shavu banim l’gvulam….and the sons have returned home. We must have belted out this song dozens of times in the last few months when we hosted my daughter’s newest ‘family’ for meals. Shlomo Katz singing this song. Our rendition is more boisterous and involves lots of clapping and cheering! In August, Aviva left her beloved… Continue reading A Family for Life
Terror hit Ra’anana yesterday. At nine in the morning, a man was stabbed while waiting for a bus on Ahuza, the city’s main street. Within minutes, ambulance sirens were wailing, cell phones ringing, our concerned kids calling to check if we were ok. Helicopters hovered just above the palms. We did not yet have the… Continue reading Resilience in Ra'anana
Words at IDF Officers' Training school "Look on me, and then do likewise." (Judges Ch. 7. v 17) Last week marked ten years of living in Israel. We made aliya on July 13, 2005, landing at Ben Gurion Airport with slight trepidation, crazed looks and four children aged 12, 10, 6 and 4. What has happened… Continue reading Tenth aliya anniversary
We are a tight nation. The more fiercely we are attacked, the closer we become; the more we are threatened, the stronger we grow. On June 11, Ayala Shapira celebrated her bat mitzvah. Seems like a wonderful simcha for any 12-year-old girl. But Ayala is not a regular 12 year old. She is a hero,… Continue reading United We Grow
Selling flags in anticipation of Yom Ha'atzma'ut. Twenty three thousand three hundred and twenty flags are flying half-mast today. These blue and white flags were lovingly placed at the graveside of fallen Israeli soldiers and victims of terror. Sixty seven years of statehood: 23,320 lives lost for the sake of being Jews in a Jewish… Continue reading 23,320 flags
One big family. When my daughter Aviva’s new Ethiopian soldiers arrive on base, they are beaming, white teeth gleaming behind open ready smiles, happy to please and succeed. Aviva shows them how to stand at attention and how to work under time constraints. Echad, shtaim, shalosh (one, two, three). She shouts this mantra several hundred times… Continue reading Wearing army boots
Their lives are too hard. They are so sweet and know so little. They’re like my children. Learning how to tell time. These are the words of my 19-year-old daughter, Aviva, who is talking about the Ethiopian soldiers she supervises. All are all new immigrants to Israel. Aviva started working as a mefakadet (sergeant) in… Continue reading Our mosaic, Eretz Israel
It is Wednesday afternoon and we are at the tekes siyum (graduation ceremony) of our son Ariel’s 32 soldiers. This exciting moment marks the end of their six months’ basic training. Proud parents, grandparents, siblings and cousins come out. Some hold up large signs, others wear matching T-shirts printed with their soldier’s picture on them. Everyone… Continue reading An Officer (and a Gentleman)
They hate us. Again. Israel and the Jews are equally despised and blamed for world calamity, tragedy, economic downturn and political unrest. I am so accustomed to Israel bashing, Jew hating and anti-semitic lies, I am no longer surprised when we get blamed. When something terrible happens and we first hear about it on the… Continue reading Israel's Good News
<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145… Continue reading Of Ceasefires and Cinnamon
Life in Israel 