David In Israel . דוד בישראל . داوود في اسرائيل 

Joyce and I left from the Jaffa Gate of the Old City in Jerusalem and took a minibus to Rachel's Pass - the border crossing for Bethlehem.  We befriended a really nice guy named Saed there who is a Palestinian Christian.  We walked about 2 miles to the Manger Square - and all along the way, the town of Bethlehem had Christmas lights - EVERYWHERE.  It was so festive.  At the Manger Square, there were thousands of people (mostly Muslims and Christians) visiting for the holiday.  There were musicians from all over the world performing on the stage, and food vendor outside of the gift shops selling hot Corn-on-the-Cob, Falafels and Shwarmas.  Joyce and I walked around for a couple of hours, and then we thought we would try to get into the Church of the Nativity.  It seemed impossible as tickets are rare and need to be arranged days in advance - and so I prayed.  God answered with a yes.  We met a man name Paul from Australia who was training to be a Roman Catholic priest.  He asked a couple beside us if they could use two extra tickets to the church... they suprisingly said no, and so I piped up... "Joyce and I would love the tickets - How much?"  "Nothing, I'm giving them away!" He said, and handed us the tickets.  We were able to enter the church for the Midnight mass and we were there for a good portion of the festivities.  We left at around 1:30 and went into the Orthodox section of the Church later - then caught a cab back to Tel Aviv.  It was an unforgettable experience!

My friend Joyce and I went to a wonderful Christmas concert at the Jerusalem International YMCA.  It was so well done.  We were so thankful to hear about it.  The man giving the message was the Executive Director of the YMCA and he shared the ties between the prophesies of Isaiah and Michah and the birth of Jesus.  He also shared a verse I wasn't expecting... What does God expect of us, he asked?  And he read one of my favorite passage
from Micah Chapter 6:8 -
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 הִגִּיד לְךָ אָדָם, מַה-טּוֹב; וּמָה-יְהוָה דּוֹרֵשׁ מִמְּךָ, כִּי אִם-עֲשׂוֹת
מִשְׁפָּט וְאַהֲבַת חֶסֶד, וְהַצְנֵעַ לֶכֶת, עִם-אֱלֹהֶיךָ

 It hath been told thee, O man, what is good, and what the LORD doth require of thee: only to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.
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It was such a wonderful event - but wait, there's more... Then we walked to the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem to catch the minibus to BETHLEHEM for Christmas Eve.

My friend Joyce (from the Netherlands) and I went to Jerusalem to meet up with some other friends in Bethlehem for Christmas Eve.  Joyce and I wanted to go to the Christmas Caroling Concert at the International YMCA Jerusalem.  Right across the street is the world-famous King David Hotel - the most luxurious hotel in Israel.  We wanted to check it out.  When we entered the lobby, we saw in the back there was a giant Chanukiyah (Chanukah Menorah) and below it was a table with dozens of small Chanukiyot, some lit and some waiting to be lit.  Well... Joyce and I thought we should help light one, so I put on one of the Kippas (Yarmulkas) sang the blessing as quietly as I could (I am not that good and I didn't want anyone correcting me).  It was really special.  And four is one of my favorite numbers.  I got to light the fourth night Chanukiyah in the KING DAVID HOTEL!  So Cool!

Some of the exchange students at Tel Aviv University are from Poland (a very Catholic country). They were excited to share their holiday of Christmas with the primarily Jewish student body at the University and threw a Caroling & Taste-testing Seminar for us.  Many of their traditions are shared with Americans, but many are not.  They talked about a special ceremony where they wake up at around 4:30 or 5:00 and bundle up then light Christmas lanterns and everyone carries their own Christmas lanterns as they walk to the church in the dark for a Christmas sunrise service, after which they feast for 2 days.  It was alot of fun to learn about their Christmas traditions.

A good family friend, Nola Moss, who has served as the tour guide for many of our family's trips to Israel, invited me to spend the first night of Chanukah with her family.  It was my first Chanukah experience in Israel.  It was filled with Zeviv'nim (Dreidels), Candle-light, laughter, music - and of course - lots of fried food.  Chanukah is the celebration of the victory of the Jews over the Greek invaders when they were trying to desecrate the Holy Temple.  They only had enough oil for 1 night, but a miracle happened... the oil lasted 8 nights!  Well - we celebrate by eating oily things.  Yum!  Latka's, Sufganiot, Fried Apples... You name it!  It was there!

I've come to the conclusion that you can make just about anything here... for a price!  For instance - I wanted to make cookies - but the powdered sugar is really expensive and it comes in little tiny bags.  But - Egg Nog isn't so bad.  I couldn't remember how to make it, so I had to call my dad.  He was kind enough to explain it to me (like he does every year).  It really is easy enough:  Eggs - Milk - Sugar - Ice Cream - and Nutmeg!  And it was a big hit among the friends that tried it.

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!

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.

Above - Thanksgiving candle from Mom - Thanks!!!

Thanksgiving... Well, it wasn't exactly like home, but we had fun!  Several of the Masters students wanted to keep the holiday, so we all prepared food... I made greenbean casserole... I had to use the toaster-oven, just like my grandma Welch used to do.  Anyway, I'm glad I was able to enjoy a thanksgiving with my friends - but it definitely made me miss my family!
By-the-way: the beer isn't mine, Dad - in case you were wondering! (-;

Today I had the unique privilege of attending an all-day security workshop sponsored by a top security research institute in the region. There were representatives from the EU, NATO, and several regional countries present.  I cannot discuss who was involved in this seminar (let's just say I didn't deserve to be there and that I was likely the youngest one there), because it was conducted under the Chatham House Rule which simply states that: "When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed".  I can, however, discuss the general topics of conversation.  These included - NATO involvement in the Middle East Peace Process, EU involvement in the Southern Mediterranean countries, and Weapons of Mass Destruction and the steps to regional disarmament.  So... needless-to-say, my brain is tired!