L’Chayalim B’Ahava!

It's easy to sit back and watch TV, read a newspaper and forget about the hardship real people have to go through to [attempt] to bring peace & safety to a young nation.

There is a simple way to express your worldly appreciation to those that do the work.

Happy Birthday Ha'Aretz!

Never will I forget how we met, how the initial moments where, how deeply I was moved by you and how a profound impact you made on me and my live.

It was a coincidence, no really, it was. It was not as if my live was aimed at that particular event, not that was I was brought up to come to you, not that I had any known desire to experience you. It was purely coincidental that we met. Or was it? Was it not so that in my family your name was uttered in soft words of the highest respect? Was it not so that the 'coded' words my grant parents & parents whispered to each other, hidden for us kids, when saying goodby, where words that ended with something like '...Jerusalem'?

It does not matter. Fact is, that on December the 27th, in the year 1989 you welcomed me. Fact is that ever since that day there is no place on earth that has touched me deeper, felt better, shines brighter then you.

Happy birthday, state of Israel. May you and your inhabitants live, prosper & find the peace and integrity you deserve.

Gazastreifen vor der endgültigen Pleite

Drei der acht Geldautomaten an der Hauptstrasse von Gaza sind schon aus dem Verkehr gezogen. Nachdem zwei israelische Banken ihre Geschäfte mit dem Hamas-kontrollierten Autonomiegebiet aufgekündigt haben, herrscht Panik unter der Bevölkerung. Jeder will noch schnell etwas abheben und lieber Bargeld horten, denn die Zeichen sind überdeutlich: Schon bald dürfte der Gazastreifen endgültig pleite sein.

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