On the other hand
Living in Israel one really does not need to have a calendar in order to know when the next festival is approaching.
The reason for this is revealed in our supermarkets and other shops.
Well in advance of a Jewish holiday shelves are overflowing with food and delicacies as well as other items appropriate to the Chag.
Prior to Rosh Hashanah honey, apples and pomegranates are on special together of course with every type of gourmet delight. Sukkot is coming when shops display decorations for our Sukkah and the four species are available in a myriad of sizes.
Chanukah is just around the corner when sufganiyot (donuts) proliferate and the smell of latkes is in the air as you shop in the Shuk. Channukiyot are on display in a variety of designs. Tu B’Shvat is not far away when dried fruits suddenly are on special and Purim is fast approaching when you see baskets of mishloach manot being offered.
The prize of course for the greatest food frenzy is during the weeks leading up to Pesach. Growing up in New Zealand at a time when kosher food for Pesach could be counted on the fingers of one hand, today’s overwhelming choices are something previous generations could only dream about. Shavuot is the time for a dazzling variety of dairy products to be offered and so the year unfolds gastronomically.
This is what makes Israel so special.
Here are some other things which make this country special.
WE ARE HOME
Listen to this beautiful and most moving song in memory of the late Esther Pollard. She sang this to her husband, Jonathan, when they landed in Israel after years of struggle to make aliyah.
EXPOSING THE LIES
Here is another expose of the untruths contained in the Amnesty International report.
Is criticism of Israel antisemitic? NO – but you need to know when the fine line has been crossed. This video should help.
Enlighten your friends and acquaintances about the true situation. The only way to counter the proliferation of slanderous mistruths is to spread the real facts.
GROW A SPINE
Once again Israeli innovation has come up with something which could revolutionize the lives of those who are paralyzed.
JEWS WERE INDEED HERE
As historical revisionist narratives spread faster than the Omicron virus our archaeologists keep discovering ever more evidence that Jewish sovereignty in this land is not a modern invention of “colonialist settlers.”
