Happy Independence Day! Join us live!

.

The abrupt transition from the somber Day of Remembrance to the joyous Independence Day  will happen very soon, at sundown.
The State of Israel's 65th birthday!
.
Join us for the festivities on Mount Herzl, broadcast live.
Our soldiers do fancy marching displays only once a year and this is your chance to hear the band and watch the young men and women.

The TV broadcast starts at 19.50 our time.
Israel is GMT +2 hours.   Time and Date can help you convert the time zones.
Go to http://iba.org.il/media/ and click on the flashing red words to open the TV coverage, and click for full screen.

First comes the ceremonial lighting of 12 torches, symbolizing the 12 tribes of Israel.
The theme this year is the national legacy and the preservation of national cultural assets for generations to come.

Quoting The Times of Israel,  the honorees will be
 

1) Colonel (Ret.) Dani Shapira, one of the first Israel Air Force pilots, who went on to spend 57 years flying planes as a service pilot and test pilot.

2) Historian and researcher Muki Tzur, for his work on investigating the settlement of Israel and the kibbutz movement.

3) David Blumberg, chairman of the board of the National Library.

4) Tamar Ross, researcher and presenter in the field of philosophy of Israel.

5)  Meir Buzaglo, mathematician and philosopher, who has worked to renew interest in Jewish poetry.

6) Rishon Lezion Mayor Dov Tzur, who will light a torch together with Iris Halperen, principal of the Haviv school, who has spent over 24 years in education.

7) Bilah Ben Eliyahu, presenter on contemporary Jewish literature.

8) Eliyan Elkrainu, the first Bedouin to preside over an academic institute, the Ahva Institute.

9)  Daphne Shimshon, the daughter of Indian immigrants. Her father was a community leader who was active in gaining full recognition of the community as being Jewish.

10) Rino Tzror, veteran journalist and radio host.

11) Ron Hedvati, a ranger for the Council for the Preservation for Heritage Sites and the founder of a museum in Kibbutz Ein Shemer.

12)  Agatha Farchick, a Ukrainian-born youth leader in the Hashomer Hatzair youth movement that this year marks its 100th anniversary, and Eliyana Elbaz, a youth leader in the Revisionist Youth movement that is marking its 90th year. A year and a half ago Elbaz’s father, who was active in the security forces and the police, was killed on his way to a mission. They will light a torch dedicated to the country’s youth.

.

45 years (!) since my aliyah

.

Israel is much in my thoughts today.
First, because I just  watched the televised  swearing-in ceremony of our new government at the Knesset.
The elections were on January 22 and it took this long for Prime Minister Netanyahu to form a coalition.
Many changes and new faces. 

Secondly, today is my Aliyah  anniversary.
Exactly 45 years ago my good ship Enotria docked in Haifa and I set foot in Israel for the first time.
I was a new immigrant, olah chadasha!
.
If you're interested, previous posts about how I left America and made the journey are here and here.
And you can see my Italian ship, built in Livorno!
.
P.S.  If you are wondering about the Aliyah Caravan van in my photo, I think it has something to do with a Jewish Agency program for "bringing Israel to Russian Jews living in Germany," similar to a "Zionist Caravan" that drove through Italy.
.
.
(Linking to Our World Tuesday.).

Would you like your hay bagged?

.
Many favorite blogs here in the northern hemisphere are showing pastoral scenes of freshly-baled hay sitting in golden fields.
Over the years and the miles I've seen quite a few ways of protecting bales--but never saw hay in a zippered bag!
This one, encountered at the Polysack booth at last May's big Agritech exhibition, made me smile for some reason. :)
.
Browse their website and be surprised by all the Israeli high-tech agricultural innovations, including amazing agrotextiles.
At a kibbutz in the Negev, 150 people work at Polysack to supply solutions for world agriculture.
.

Feast at the Church of the Transfiguration

.
The festive Mass for the Feast of the Transfiguration was broadcast live as streaming video.

Hundreds ascended to the top of Mount Tabor, believed to be the place of Jesus' transfiguration, and packed the beautiful Franciscan basilica.

Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Custodian of the Holy Land, and many other priests conducted Mass in the upper part of the church.
Enlarge the first photo to appreciate the splendid golden mosaic.


Cameras of the Franciscan Media Center were grinding away (including one on a huge long boom).

The view of the Jezreel Valley from the top of Mt. Tabor, the lone rounded mountain in the region, was splendid.
Someone really picked a good place for the transfiguration.
.
UPDATE: Archbishop Pizzaballa is no longer the Custos of the Holy Land.  He is now the Apostolic Administrator of Jerusalem.

For more about Mt. Tabor and the Transfiguration please see my posts here.

(Linking to inSPIRED Sunday.)
.

Photography from a powered parachute!

.
This man has to have the most exciting photography job in the world!
Above the world, actually.
He makes photos of the earth below while flying in a powered parachute.

You can see his flying machine on the cover of his book, Knafayim shel tsipor (Bird's Wings).
Asaf Solomon stood still a minute for this picture with his book and with Or Solomon at the big AgriTech exhibition in Tel Aviv.

Go to the AgriTech website and click on the box "A Bird's Eye View of Agriculture in Israel" to see a short and amazing slideshow of some of his best shots.

Under Asaf's hand you can see his handout: each of the 18 boxes shows one aspect of what his photos are good for.
Artistic aerial photography and postcards of Israel, of course, and coverage of special events like hot air ballooning.
But also to find drainage problems in farm lands, to document the extent of forest fires, to better see roof solar panels and to map acres of greenhouses, to document building violations, to plan water reservoirs . . . and much more.
Asaf is also helping archaeologists see "the big picture" that they can't grasp while standing on the ground.

Channel 10 News made a video of Asaf in action!
You can watch it at the photographer's website, http://asafsolomon.com/en .
Just don't get too jealous.
.

Understanding the desert images

.
When one needs strength, consolation, encouragement, hope, or help--the 23rd Psalm is the best psalm to know by heart.
Or so I have found in times and places that I was lost.
.
Since today's psalm is already so well-known, I want to do something a little different for Robert's weekly PsalmChallenge. I want to recommend a book.

You can enlarge the photo and read a sample.
.
The book is a must for those who have never walked Israel's deserts or never herded sheep and goats (I have done both, but I still need this book!).
-- This because so much of the imagery of David, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and other prophets and sages assumes an understanding of such things.
.
As the dust jacket says

One of the Bible's best-known and best-loved psalms begins with the words of the young David: "The Lord is my shepherd" (23:1). The experiences of David as a shepherd in the Judean Desert affected the imagery of his psalms, his escapes from the pursuit of Saul, and even the judgments he rendered as king.

Each chapter bears the name of a verse from Psalm 23.
For example

Chapter IV "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."
--
Terrifying cliffs and canyons
. An arid land, a land of the shadow of death
A land of darkness
Cliff and fortress
. Rock of Ages
The shepherd's staff

The late great Nogah Hareuveni, of blessed memory, wrote Desert and Shepherd in Our Biblical Heritage several decades ago.
There are three in his Biblical Heritage series.
He also founded Neot Kedumim, the only Biblical Landscape Reserve in the world.
.
Enjoy the Neot Kedumim website.
You can order the book there too. I would be lost without it.
.

PSALM 23

¹The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

²He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

³He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

⁴Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

⁵Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

.

Wild weather in the Middle East

.

"Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
. . . "
The events in Israel over the past twelve days sometimes made me think of Robert Frost's poem. A few days after our forest fire inferno, winter suddenly struck the country with snow, rain, gale force winds, and a sandstorm.
.
The photo, albeit from December 2008, shows how weird and dark the sun gets over Jerusalem during a duststorm.
.
From Friday until today I shut myself into the house, but still the fine particles entered.
They entered my eyes and nose and throat. Oi .
Jerusalem suffered with ten times the "legal" amount of air pollution until this morning when some rain washed our air.
Ahh, so nice to breathe again.
.
The 9-meter waves battered the Mediterranean coast and did great damage.
A Turkish ship sank 8 miles from Ashdod Port, with all crew members rescued.
.
Everything that could blow over did so. Huge damage to agriculture. And the hothouse flowers meant for Europe's Christmas markets.
Thousands of trees down. On people inside their cars, and on electric wires. Thousands of residents are still without electricity.
Trees on the railroad tracks stopped the trains. No visibility closed airports for a while. The waves were too dangerous for ships to dock. Winds gusting to 110 km/h were too much for cars on the highways.
Flooding of streets and houses.
Schools were closed in the northern Golan Heights due to snow.
Mt. Hermon already has 120 cm of snow.
.
Land mines from previous wars in the Golan Heights have washed down or shifted positions.
Future hikers are warned to stay on marked trails.
.
The homeless (2000 known to the welfare authorities and ~ 1000 not known) are being offered shelter and hot meals and showers to save them from the freezing cold.
Jerusalem, the coldest city, is down to 7-8 degrees C (about 45 F).
.
But our neighbors are also suffering. We are all in this together!
The low pressure zone and SW winds blew sand from Egypt and wild weather into Israel, Cyprus, Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. In Egypt 18 are dead from the storm.
.
May we all make it through this latest trial, and soon.
.
.
Such is our world in the Middle East, these last few days, for That's My World Tuesday.
.

Under, on, and next to the bridges

.
Somewhere in central Israel, somewhere between Jerusalem and Megiddo . . .

folks in the bus must have wondered why I was snapping so many pictures of "boring" bridges.

But this was a bridge with a tiny house being transported beneath it,

and this one with a Magnum ice cream truck on it,

and behind this one, some major construction was starting, in the middle of nowhere.

And one single bridge had actual greenery under it.

Could it really be spanning some water?!

.

Bon dimanche to Louis la Vache and all the bloggers at his Sunday Bridges.

Go take a look; there are some REAL bridges there!

.

Waiting for the train

.
It's hard to find proper bridges here for Louis la Vache's "Sunday Bridges," just because Jerusalem has no body of water.


Seems like most of Israel's bridges are over dry land, like this one seen from the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway.
I think it is meant for the future high speed train between the cities. The railroad might be completed, if ever, in the very distant future.
.

How Israel is helping Haitians

.
For ABC Wednesday's H day: How Israel is helping Haiti.

This photo is borrowed from a Facebook album of IsraAID: The Israel Forum for International Humanitarian Aid.

.

After the earthquake Israel was prompt to send in medical and rescue teams and equipment.

Probably you followed on TV how everyone in Haiti loved the Israeli doctors and soldiers and volunteers. And here in Israel we could easily see in the videos that our people in the field were becoming very fond of the injured children and all those that they helped.

I think they were almost sorry to finish their mission there and fly home.

.

So it didn't surprise us too much when this great news was announced last week:

(quoted from the Foreign Affairs Ministry website)

"The Israeli government has decided to continue its official assistance to Haiti as part of the global effort of reconstruction of the country. This will be coordinated through MASHAV - Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Israeli ambassador in Santo Domingo, Amos Radian, is in contact with the authorities in Haiti to find an appropriate site for building an Israeli Children's Village and to obtain the necessary approval. The project plans include an elementary school that will operate in two shifts, a playground/sports field, and a medical center. The site could also be utilized for conducting evening adult education classes. A planned community center will work with youngsters on post trauma treatment and counseling, psychological rehabilitation and afternoon activities.

In coordination with the mayor of Port au Prince, a local principal and teaching staff will be recruited for the school, which will be comprised of 6-8 classrooms (between 30-50 students per class). They will be joined by professionals from Israel and, possibly, volunteer teachers from Jewish communities around the world. Meals will be provided to the school through an arrangement with various NGOs."

.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There are many other current Israeli aid efforts in Haiti.

I promise, it will make you feel good about humanity to read about them and about the many Israeli and Jewish volunteer organizations committed to helping where help is needed. Wonderful photos, videos, and links at the MFA website!

.

GA '08 in Jerusalem this year

The 2008 General Assembly (GA) of the United Jewish Communities/Federations of North America celebrated Israel's 60th anniversary, with the theme “One People, One Destiny.”
These are the Americans and Canadians who contribute their money, time, energy, moral support, and love to Israel all year long.
I got to attend their closing session this morning. The real, registered, paying GA delegates numbered 4,579.

Several floors of the convention center were full of booths exhibiting the good things Israeli Jewish society is doing. I filled a free tote bag with free literature, pen, candy, keyring, calendar, and a DVD. I even scored a T-shirt from a favorite organization. And delicious rogelach at coffee break time.

Who says we don't have trick-or-treating here?! ;)

It was my first time to see our government leaders in person. Prof. Stanley Fisher, Governor of the Bank of Israel, spoke about the current challenges to our economy. Opposition Leader Benjamin Bibi Netanyahu said that he would like to "weave an economic peace for the ordinary Palestinian" and to incorporate Egypt and Jordan in economic development of our region.

.

On the big screen on the stage you see the topic of the second plenary: TIKKUN OLAM.

A central pillar of Judaism, it means "fixing the world," or healing the world, making it a better place. Shari Arison stressed that our mission of tikkun olam must begin with personal transformation, inner repair work.

.

Foreign Minister Tsipi Livni stressed that the character of Israel must remain a Jewish state and that the nations should accept it as such. My favorite line from her speech: "And a Jewish state is not a monopoly of Jewish rabbis! It is what each and everyone feels inside."

.

40 years

.

"God said to Abram, 'Lech lecha, go away from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you . . . and I will bless you . . . .' "
.

In March 1968 I did, I left America behind and made aliyah, the spiritual ascent up to Israel.
On today's date, March 18, the good ship Enotria sailed into Haifa port, just as the sun was rising over Mount Carmel.
I disembarked, kissed the ground, and embarked on a new life.
I had never been to Israel except in my dreams, knew no one, had little money.
Fresh out of college, a 22-year-old idealist coming into an idealistic 19 year old country. Population just two million.
We both had a lot of growing up to do.

The photo shows my teudat zehut, my identity card.
We have been together forty years.

Citizen of the State of Israel--this indeed is my identity.
This is the promised blessing. Thank you, God, for showing me the way home.

.