When I was a kid back in Russia, my family would spend all our summer vacations in Yalta, a seaside resort on the Black Sea. One year, as we were driving to the airport for our flight back home, we were stopped by the police and diverted into the local botanical gardens. Together with several [...]
Posts under ‘israel’
The Gilad Shalit Deal as a Mirror of the Israeli Society
The discourse over the anticipated deal with Hamas to free Gilad Shalit has become the center of Israel’s public agenda in recent weeks. Although I oppose the release of some one thousand terrorists, which will only serve to whet Hamas’s appetite and encourage additional kidnappings, the very fact that the Israeli government would even consider [...]
The financial sense of aliyah
This week, our close friends are coming on a pilot trip in preparation for their planned aliyah in the summer. Although the move will involve many challenges, there is one thing they’ll be glad to leave behind – spending over one half of their annual income on kids’ education. While visiting family in the US [...]
Is Israel a High Trust Society?
Lately, I’ve been reading about Francis Fukuyama’s idea of social trust. Fukuyama argues that the degree of social trust between people (beyond family or immediate social networks) in a society has sweeping consequences on its economic prosperity. To demonstrate this, Fukuyama compares countries with high levels of social trust, such as Japan, Germany, and the [...]
Is Israel Good Enough for Your Charity
Several days ago, Mother in Israel asked her readers to compare American and Israeli parenting styles. In response, someone mentioned Israelis’ lack of social graces, which has led one reader to make the following comment. …let’s look at the effects of this aspect of Israeli culture. When tourists return from Israel with a bad taste [...]
The great hummus war
A group of 300 Lebanese chefs got together to beat the Israeli Guinness record for the largest hummus plate in the world and prepared a 2,056 kg (4,523 lb) plate, complete with a Lebanese flag on top. If you think this is a simple celebration of national cuisine, think again, According to the AP report, [...]
This is just shocking…
This week Reporters Without Borders published its annual Press Freedom Index. As could be expected in the current political and media climate, Israel was ranked 93rd and 150th (inside and outside the Green Line), behind such bastions of the freedom of expression as Lebanon, Kuwait, and United Arab Emirates. Sure enough, Israel was singled out [...]
Free text messaging (SMS) in Israel
For anyone located in Israel, there is a free program that enables you to send unlimited text messages (SMS) for free to whomever you like. I’ve checked the site through McAfee’s site advisor and it was found to be safe. To access the program click here. Happy texting!
A Letter to Goldstone
Someone sent me a copy of a letter in which a personal friend of Judge Goldstone berates him for his involvement with the anti-Israel committee named after him. I have no idea whether the cover story is true and who really penned this letter, but that in no way diminishes the poignancy of the arguments [...]
Etrog jam may be poisonous – UPDATE
Several readers have expressed interest in pesticide-free etrogs for cooking. Today, I spoke with a friend of ours, who grows etrogs up in the Galilee. He told me that they stop applying pesticides after picking the fruit for Sukkot, so etrogs that will ripen in the winter (around November – December) will grow without being [...]
