In just a few hours, Israeli’s will go to the polls and direct the country’s path over the next few years. I hope that turnout is high, people consider all potential consquences of their vote and choose wisely.
May Israel’s choices cause her to go from strength to strength.
It might be in Israel – it being the bird flu.
Here are some links:
Haaretz on the status of 3 people suspected of having bird flu (they might not have it)
JPost on Israel working with the Palestinian Authority to combat the potential bird flu.
Blogger Allison Kaplan Sommer on the bird flu scare
As we enter shabbat here in the states, may the Holy One bring healing to Israel and the world.
Shabbat shalom
Check out a woman engaging in tzedek, helping to clean-up and rebuild part of devestated Mississippi – Deb’s Katrina in Mississippi Log.
May she go from strength to strength.
Take a look at this enjoyable, well written Israeli blog – Frothing at the mouth about politics, idea and culture.
Enjoy!
UPDATE: Allison wrote about another powerful blog (with a terrifying parenting story), Stefanella’s Drive-Thru.
The Israeli government launched a video blog called Israel Videoblog. Any Israeli can submit video to it. As Allison writes (thanks for the tip), it is “designed to show the world the sides of the country that you don’t see on CNN.
It’s open to everyone — any Israeli can send in their video and if it makes the grade, it will be put on the site. It’s being put together by the consulate in New York, and its target audience is internet-savvy international youth aged 16-30.”
Check it out, submit video and let’s do our part to raise Israel’s image in the world.
Allison (mazal tov on your new neice) introduced me to Giving Up Sundays, an Israeli blog.
The title itself brought back memories of living in Israel. One of the elements of minor culture-shock when I first arrived was the idea that the weekend was Shabbat only – Friday mid-day through Saturday. Sunday was a regular day. Wow – living the Jewish calendar each week and holidays. Fun – most of the time.
Many who work in the rabbinate are long used to giving up our Sundays for Religious School, teaching, tutoring, programs and events. Maybe instead of grumbling about it, I can think of it as one way to live my life closer to how it is lived in Israel!
Typing farewell to use my time well now and every day.
It’s almost 1 am and I am wide awake, so as I watch the Olympics (and fast forward through quite a bit – hooray for Tivo) I’m blog surfing, finding many new interesting blogs. Here are some I’m adding into my links:
Israeli Blogs:
Adventures in Nikkiland
Am Echad
Homey in a Strange Land, Stranger in a Homeland
Horsefeathers
My Home in Israel
Raanana Ramblings
The Dry Bones Blog
Tour Guide Tales
Jewish Blogs:
The Hazzn’s Tish
Rachel’s Adventures
Enjoy and feel free to suggest more!
So, did you watch/listen to the prez tonight? I didn’t, but I heard that he planned to speak about the environment and conserving engergy. Somehow it is hard to imagine a prez whose family fortune is in the oil industry with a vp whose money is in the oil industry (along with rebuilding Iraq at very high bids) wanting to truely conserve.
One of the countries around the world doing something about energy invention and conservation is Israel.
A company called Genova has created a way to use organic waste for energy. Yep, you read it right, olive pits can create electricity and coke (the energy, not the drug)! Tania Hershman writes all about it in Israel 21c
Let’s hear it for invention and cleaner fuels!!!
Go Israeli inventors!
In case you haven’t already heard, an Iranian blogger named Hossein Derakhshan (aka Hoder) is visiting Israel, experiencing life there.
Read his English and Persian blogs.
Lisa of On the Face is hosting him and is posting about their visit together.
Search him on Google and you will find a number of other posts about him.
Interesting stuff. Enjoy!
UPDATE – SavtaDotty has also posted about his visit.
I’m waiting for Tefillin. Yep. I took the plunge and bought a new set of tefillin. According to the tracking on USPS.com, they have made it through customs and are on their way to me. What fun it will be to get them and use them for the first time!