We had a fieldtrip planned to the Temple Mount in our History of Islam class, and when we got to Jerusalem, IT WAS CLOSED FOR A MUSLIM HOLIDAY - the temple mount.  So, Dr. Luz decided to take us on a tour of Jerusalem that we had never experienced before.  The Arab-Muslim tour.  We visited places that we were familiar with, but were able to see the old city through a different lense.  Did you know that there are ruins of an Umayyad Palace right below the al-Aqsa Mosque?  I've been there, and never knew about it!  It was a great day.

 
 


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_and_the_apartheid_analogy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_of_apartheid
He is crazy!  Those who follow the United Nations, even casually, are well aware that it is heavily anti-Israeli in many of its policies. The UN President of the General Assembly recently claimed that Israel is an Apartheid State...  They also had a solidarity day for the Palestinian people which turned into an anti-Israel day (see video below). The wall that they speak of is real, but it is not blocking Arab from Jew.   Israel has a large population of Arabs who are Israeli citizens, who have been Israeli citizens for years because they didn't oppose the development of the State of Israel.  They live peacefully within Israel.  The wall the UN speaks of is blocking terrorists from Israel, and has greatly reduced terrorist attacks in Israel. The Palestinians are not, nor would they ever claiming to be living in Israel, so why is the UN claiming that Israel is an Apartheid state? Wouldn't that mean they are admitting that Gaza and the West Bank are indeed part of Israel?...  

Below - UN GA President is honored for claiming that Israel is an Apartheid State.

 
 

I went to the Kfir's for Shabbat... and we had an awesome time... I spent the night, and in the morning I made the kids Mickey Mouse pancakes, just like my dad used to do... They were a big hit.  Then we went and played basketball in the park.  It was a fabulous day.  

 
 

All Work and No Play makes Daveed a Dull Boy!  So... Omer and I called-up our friend Rotem and she aranged a great evening of fun on Thursday night.  Pictures below!

 
 

So, I'm super thankful right now!!! I was pricing flights to get from California to Tel aviv at the end of February.  Needless to say, everything was coming up between $710 and $900 one way.  Well, I was thinking to myself "I've never been to Ireland!" I remembered that my friend Scott Brady flew from Indianapolis to Dublin for next to nothing, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to try... Here's what ended up happening...
I found a flight from San Francisco (DIRECT) to Dublin for $242!!! Then I found a flight from Manchester England to TLV on special for $130!!! Then I found a flight from Dublin to Manchester for $27!!! Add all that up: $399!!!


I'm flying back to Israel - stopping in Ireland and England, and the flights are only costing me $399!  WOW!!! HALLELUIAH

 
 

My roommate Tzachi doesn't believe in Christmas... and in jest told me not to mention that holiday in our apartment.  I know it was the Catholic church's response to pagans who celebrated the winter solstice, but honestly!  'Tis the Season... and I wanted to throw myself a pitty party because I don't have a Christmas tree.  And this is my first Christmas away from home in 24 years!!!  So I stuck on some headphones and started listening to Frank Sinatra's Christmas album... I think I figured out why Tzachi is so bitter, and it has nothing to do with religion... He always wanted Santa to visit him, and Santa never did. Santa doesn't usually come to Israel.  But, now that I'm here... well, I think I'll have some fun with this one!

 
Ethiopian Food 12/05/2008
 

Last night, my Ethiopian friend Bilen invited some friends to come to her aunt's house for authentic ethiopian food.  Omer, my roommate is borrowing a big van from his work, and he doesn't have alot of driving experience... at least not navigation experience.  So, we got lost and drove all the way Ashdod - about 45 minutes south of Tel-Aviv.  We finally arrived at the house and we wasted no time!  We gorged ourselves on the wonderful flavors of East Africa, and then Bilen's friend taught us some dance moves.  It was a blast.

 
The Family Tree 12/03/2008
 

My cousin Clarissa and I worked on organizing our family tree this weekend. Click on the PDF file below to see a diagram of the Linhard/Hymovich family tree (see if you can find me).  There are several other branches that I just didn't have time to complete.
Pictured above is Clarissa's grandfather and grandmother, Avram and Eva Linhard.  They were my grandma's great-uncle and great-aunt!

linhard.pdf
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Moshav Liman 12/03/2008
 

This last weekend, I had the wonderful pleasure of traveling up to the border of Lebanon (on the Mediterranean Sea) to a village (near Acre and Nahariyya) called Moshav Liman.  I was visiting my grandma's second cousin, Clarissa Kfir and her family.  The place was beautiful.  There is a mountain separating the two countries (with a military base on the top), so you feel very safe.  Their house, or 'plantation' was built in the 70s, and is very comfortable.  Clarissa grows olives, oranges and avocados for a living, and Rueven (her husband) works in technology.  I was able to visit Inbar and her husband Gidon's new home that they are still building, and also hang out with Daniel their 5-year-old son.  Dov (27) is Clarissa and Rueven's youngest son is dating a really nice girl named Bina.  Rueven's mother was a holocaust survivor.  His father, now deceased was married with a family before the holocaust and lost everyone, then later married Rueven's mother and had to start over.  She shared their story and it was very moving.  Overall, I had a spectacular time eating, conversing, playing games, eating, looking at photos, mapping out our family trees, (did I say eating?!?!) and just enjoying my new-found-family!


Below: a 'Shalom' from Clarissa!

 
Mumbai & Israel 12/03/2008
 

My heart goes out to all of the families who lost loved ones in the tragic attack on Mumbai this last week.  Israel was very moved by the tragedy - especially the story of the Jewish Rabbi and his wife who were tortured and killed, leaving behind a two-year-old child.  They had duel citizenship with the US and Israel.  I took this photo of an orthodox man reading about the tragedy on the train the other day from Haifa.  I wanted to share it.