David In Israel . דוד בישראל . داوود في اسرائيل 

Lilah Levan is a celebration in Tel Aviv celebrating the cities admission to the Architectural Hall of Fame for it's unique architectural style: Bauhaus, but really it was just an excuse to party.  It was an evening of white - many people dressed in white - and an evening of history - there were people dressed in gowns and tuxedos waltzing among other things. People stayed up all night celebrating in the streets.  I went to a friend's birthday party and then went with a friend Stephanie downtown to see what all the action was about... We had a great time, and we met up with our friends Ariel and Chaim!  Check out the pics.  Afterwards, we got some frozen yogurt - and I decided to put on a little skit.  Check out the video!

I was invited to the wedding of some friends here in Israel.  The setting for the reception was so beautiful.  It was at a Bistro hidden away beneath the cliffs at the sea, just north of Netanya.  They asked that everyone wear white, which is something I'm not used to doing at a wedding!  It was so much fun.  We danced the night away and enjoyed wonderful music and company.  The bride and groom were so happy too!

Shavuot is the holiday that reminds us of when God revealed to us His Torah.  Because of the kosher laws that were established from that, Jews around the world eat only dairy (no meat), and many stay up all night reading from the Tanakh (the Bible), especially the book of Ruth. People also wear something white - which doesn't work out to well when you spill tomato sauce all over yourself.  I spent Shavuot eve with my cousin Tuvya's in-laws, and then the next day we went up to Moshav Liman where my cousin Clarissa lives (Tuvya's parents).  It was a great time.  There were all sorts of activities for the children, and as always, good food! 

As you know, I recently moved into a great new apartment.  Today that status was threatened by a fire on the fourth floor... I guess everything is alright, but it certainly does smell like an ashtray now.

I have to be honest, I did absolutely nothing this weekend except for clean and party!  Thursday was Yom haStudent - or Student Day at the University.  They pulled out the stops, bands, activities, food, everything.  It was great fun.  I got back at 3 in the morning from that.

Alot has happened since I posted last time in the beginning of May.  Obama met with Netanyahu, Iran has tested rockets that can hit Europe, and I have moved houses - gone to several conferences on Middle Eastern Relations, met a long-lost relative, and threw a housewarming party... Let me go into detail...

Okay, so I totally blew it on Mother's day... I had plenty of excuses - including being out of the country and moving apartments, but perhaps even worse than forgetting to call on mother's day is calling and forgetting that it is mother's day... that was me this year.  I thought mom sounded wierd when I called her - I asked how her day was and everything... and she finally got around to saying... "Are you forgetting something?"  By then, it was too late... I was back-pedaling big time.  Oh well... I guess I still called, and I will have to make it up for her birthday when I'm back in California.

My friend Joyce and I (who I went to Bethlehem with at Christmas) were invited by our friend Saed to come visit him in Ramallah.  Ramallah is a place that most tourists don't enter because it is in the West Bank and the best way to get there is on the Palestinian buses... so most people avoid them.  I won't say I wasn't at all nervous, but I was glad I had the chance to do it, and also glad I knew someone there. 
We visited the street market where we saw Stars & Bucks Coffee, We saw a Labour day parade, we ate Falafel with Hummus and Fuoll. Then we visited Arafat's tomb, saw Saed's bank and his old school.  We also visited his family for dinner, and we saw the new house they are building.  After that we went to the city and saw a modern dance performance, ate a palestinan desert and saw a wood-worker making keychains as well as a group of students from a peace-oriented NGO rap and break dance... It was a great day!

This week was Israel's 61st Indendence Day (Proceeded by Holocaust Remembrance Day and Memorial Day).  Generally, Israeli holidays start on the eve of the day and go until the sun goes down the next day, so the party started right after a day of mourning.  Most Israelis know someone who has given their life in military service and paid the ultimate sacrifice, so Memorial day is quite solumn, but as soon as the sun goes down... it is a different story.
For Independence Eve, some friends and I hit the town until about 3 in the morning... it was lots of fun.  The next day, I went to a barbeque with the masters students from my school... It was a great holiday.

When learning a new language, one is definitely going to experience embarrassing moments.  Tonight, I had one!  We are moving and the landlady came by to show the place... I was trying to get on her good side and I told her we would have her over to our new place and cook her dinner, because she is the queen... BUT in hebrew, QUEEN is Malaka and I replaced it with Malkhama, which means WAR. I caught myself immediately, but it was too late... We all had a good laugh.