Tikkun Olam

Israel is developing a new concept in cars: an electric car based on a hybrid lithium-ion and aluminum-air battery system. It's being developed and tested by Israel's start-up company, Phinergy , which stated that the car has a 1,100 mile range far outpacing the Tesla's 300 mile range between charges. But don't tell the BDS people. They might just drop their membership... (Oh, and by the way, what have the Arab nations produced to help mankind lately...?)

I vowed (well, I promised, bli neder) not to post of terrible events happening throughout the world, but there have been many, many terrorist attacks, against people in Western countries, and specifically, the Jews. Even since the horrific execution-style murders of the Charlie Hebdo editorial staff and the four Jews in the Hyper Cacher kosher market in Paris by radical Islamist terrorists and stabbing attacks on a #40 bus in Tel Aviv, by a Palestinian Arab illegally living in Israel. The so-called "moderate" Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah continues to support terrorism and has even portrayed Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu as Hitler .As recently as November, 2014, Fatah has stated that our bullets will continue to be aimed at your chests and heads.   Abba's Fatah continues to praise and glorify terrorists who murder civilians as 'heroes.' And finally, the Palestinian Authority has NO intention of 'making peace' with Israel. On the contrary, its f...

I'm returning to blogging--albeit sporadically--after a hiatus (since July) due to family issues which are taking all my attention and draining my energy. It's largely for this reason that I wish to blog about the good in this world. Thus I start with positive thoughts of, and appreciation for, the special nature of the Jewish People and the State of Israel. For, at the risk of sounding arrogant, which I am not-I would venture to say, more in awe of- the State of Israel and the Jewish people collectively, who are different and special. What do I mean by that? I mean highly civilized, humanitarian and inventive with creations which benefit all mankind. Not in any particular order, let me count (just a few of) the ways... (1) Israel has developed a computer algorithm to retard aging .  Yes, you might say that Israel is in the forefront of finding the fountain of youth .  Most of us have heard or read that the older one gets, the less one should eat; we know that our meta...

So many blog posts have been written about this Gaza operation, Protective Edge, the response to the incessant rockets raining over the heads of Israeli civilians that I didn't add another one.  I listen to NPR reports which are all slanted against Israel, decrying the "disproportionate" number of Gazans killed versus the much smaller number (thank G-d) of Israelis killed.  The world is railing against Israel for killing "innocent" civilians.  But in fact, they are not "innocent civilians": by an overwhelming majority in a democratic election they voted in the bloody Jew-hating terrorist group Hamas into government. Those who do not leave, after being warned by telephone calls ( telephone calls! ) from Israel and leaflets dropped from planes to flee or be in the line of fire, are no different than Hamas. They've made their choice, and chose their sides. And yet, everyone posted about this. I didn't. There was no need for me to.  Until no...

You've probably been reading dozens of stories and articles about the ongoing Israeli offensive (finally!) into Gaza to stop the rockets raining over the heads of their countrymen, women and children. Perhaps you've read other bloggers live-blogging the war (like The Muqata . Find him on Facebook). Here's something you may not have seen. An incredibly astute preschool teacher wrote a song to help children cope with constant "tzeva adom" sirens* (literally, "color red," translated into "code red"). By singing, using their bodies and hand motions, the children create for themselves a plan of action, execution of that action, and then when it's over, release. Here it is below. *The Code Red early warning radar system was initially called "Shachar Adom," which means "Red Dawn." The name was changed in 2006 when it was discovered that kids named "Shachar" were having "emotional distress.

This positive piece about our president's "support for Israel" was written by Haim Saban and published in the New York Times before Mr. Obama was elected for his second term. Here is a video from the Israel Video Network showing the opposite. There may be some truths to both of them...but I'm leaning towards the video.

When the three Israeli boys, Gil'Ad Shaar, Eyal Yifrach and Naftali Fraenkel were kidnapped, everyone went into a frenzy. They (we all) needed to "do something." This is very normal.  Most of us, far removed from the situation--even those in Israel who are not connected by family or close friends to the victims--felt helpless in the face of this atrocity.  So I can understand the call to prayer or to say Tehillim.  For people who don't have any other option, it's better than sitting and doing nothing.  I, for one, called my congressperson, in addition to saying Tehillim.  I wrote about it in a blog post and sent it out to everybody. But do I really believe that saying Tehillim or praying specific tefillot from a siddur will bring them back? Doubtful. There have been "studies" - not controlled, double-blind scientific ones however - which seem to indicate that mass prayer often helps to alleviate a situation, such as helping to heal someone. We say ...

This is the first post I am writing since May, as there are many stresses - medical and otherwise which I will not elaborate here - in my life these days. But I could not refrain from writing a little background information first--before I go into the subject of this post-- about the three kidnapped Israeli youngsters, the incident which happened this past Thursday night as they were waiting to hitch a ride home from Yeshiva at a traffic circle in Gush Etzion. Here is a perfect example, in this cowardly kidnapping of unarmed 16 and 19 year old students, of the value system, culture and mindset of our enemies who wish us to disappear from the face of the Earth--yes, not only from the Middle East, but the Jewish people seem to be a thorn in their side; with the rise in Antisemitism world-wide, it's apparent that we're a thorn in the entire world's side. There was one report on NPR that I could find about the kidnapping, here . The tenor is slightly negative towards...

The Hareidim *, in Israel as well as the United States apparently, have no understanding of the proposed new law drafting the Ultra-Orthodox into the IDF (Israeli Defense Force). In their thinking, it will mean a cancellation of Torah study and a secularization of their bochurim *. They seem to forget, ignore--or are totally ignorant of--the current system which includes what is know as " Hesder Yeshivot ," which combine Yeshiva Torah and Talmud learning with service in the IDF. But that system was for the Dati Leumi - the "National Religious" Israelis, or the "Modern Orthodox." It wasn't for the so-called "Ultra-Orthodox," who learned Torah full-time, excluding army service and even working for a living. The way it stood until now was that the Hareidim were exempt from military service until the expiration of the Tal Law. This exemption dated back almost to the founding of the State of Israel, when then Defense Minister David Ben Gurion ...

Thank you to Paula for posting this short-but-so-important post.  Who helped the United States after Hurricane Sandy and the devastating tornadoes in Oklahoma? Guess (hint: the world's scapegoat). My mother always taught me that it is not only proper - but it is also never to late to say thank you to someone who has helped you. I got this email - I've seen it before, but then I thought to share it because what I assume is public knowledge, often isn't. Read on, here ....

 Too many terrible, terrible happenings, some new, some old. Not in any particular order, a huge prisoner release by Israel of Palestinians (read: Arabs who calls themselves Palestinians in order to gain world sympathy, when they were just plain "Arabs" before they lost the 6-day war in 1967), also here --who murdered men, women and children in cold blood , in order to further "peace talks;"  Also here .  A 19 year old youngster asleep on a bus is stabbed to death by a 16 year old Arab from Jenin illegally in Israel. The left-leaning, liberal Judiciary in Israel ruling against Palestinian Media Watch founder's testimony, effectively acting as appeasing the Arabs. Women on some buses harassed and sometimes attacked physically because they are sitting in the front of the bus instead of the back .  Jewish " modesty police " forcing people to comply with their interpretation of halachic rulings. Child molester "Rabbis" who also masquerade as...

...Or should it be the other way around, as in 'Skyping with Real Friends, Virtually...?  My new Ladies' Group in Israel which I had met on Facebook had another F2F, or 'face to face,' where they get together-rather infrequently, unfortunately-because they have busy lives and live in various cities, towns and "settlements" (I hate the fact that that word has a negative connotation to much of the world) all around the country, and traveling in Israel is not as easy as in the States where almost everyone owns or leases a car.  As a matter of fact, their previous F2F--I'd like to say, "our previous," because I was fortunate enough to Skype with them then, as well--was as long ago as April.  I posted about it then, too, here .  This time I was able to see the beautiful jewelry they were beading, necklaces, bracelets and earrings of all shapes and colors.  I wish I could post photos, but it was just after 6:00 a.m. my time and I was barely awake, le...

I think there is a change coming in the Haredi, or Ultra-Orthodox world.  A group of women in the town of El'ad*, a town South East of Petach Tikva which is Ultra-Orthodox decided to run in the elections for City Council which were held yesterday in Israel along with other City Council and Mayoral elections across the country. They defied convention by even getting their names on the ballots.  Women in Ultra-Orthodox tradition are supposed to be private people, not public.  They are not supposed to be vociferous, even with regard to improving community or town services; basically, they are required to take care of their homes, children, perhaps work and sometimes are the main breadwinners (usually as teachers in Ultra-Orthodox schools) while their husbands "learn," meaning they study the Torah, written and oral, specifically concentrating on the Talmud, the oral law.   Instead, these women decided that issues important to them, their children and the communi...

The hospital Shaare Tzedek in Jerusalem has a special place in my heart, because many, many years ago, my cousins, who were in the Israeli cement industry at the time, helped build it in the early 1900s. They're now in the 21st Century, with a " hygiene rap " by hospital staff which has gone viral-no pun intended.  If you always forget to wash your hands, this Israeli rap should help you remember!  It's entirely in Hebrew (with Hebrew subtitles as well), but pretty self-explanatory just by viewing.  Basically it raps about how washing one's hands will get rid of the germs--germ played by the lady in green, who infiltrates the hospital.

I have not blogged since September 9th.  Two posts in one month.  In August, I posted twice; in July, twice or three times (-not even checking to make sure my numbers are correct. Go ahead, check it yourself).  In analyzing why this is happening, I think it's all Facebook's fault.  Instead of posting about my life, subjects important to me, people I care about, daily activities--on my own blog, I do it by commenting on my and others' pages and updating my status on Facebook! What has this world come to?  I've commented to certain friends on the concern in Israel vis a vis its Arab neighbors, most recently and more specifically,Syria and its terrible civil strife. I've commented on the holidays--our most important chagim , which this year were a veritable marathon, with a three-day Yom Tov (holy day) leading into Shabbat, starting from the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana--through this past week with the holiday of Sukkot.  I've written about my daughter hav...

This is a continuation of the previous post.  Gosh, I keep seeing my statements in other articles, my words and views repeated time and time again.  I talk about an Israeli identity crisis, I talk about the Jewish still-existing "ghetto mentality," the impossibility of a two-state solution, the fact that the Arabs don't really give a damn about having a state of their own--and there are all sorts of articles reiterating my points.  It's amazing.  No, I'm not copying theirs.  Look in the archives of this blog, which I started in 2006. Here's another one, on the American disgust with the farce that is called the 'peace process' and the Israeli release of murderers. American Jews Protest Release of Terrorists and Start of False Talks Buddy Macy - Israeli Consulate Press Conference/Protest Rally Speech,  July 30th, 2013 Yesterday I received an email from a fellow activist, in which he argued that releasing thugs and murderers was the least...

The world is going in the wrong direction.  The source of terror is not named and thus tolerated, for if you are afraid to name your enemy, the enemy will win. The ridiculous one-sided so-called "peace process" and the "two-state solution" idiocy are another example.  Israel is supposed to show good faith by certain measures--stopping settlements, releasing 104 long-time Islamist prisoners guilty of murder of civilians including women, children--sometimes almost entire families--but the Arabs are not required to show their good faith by, say, even beginning by accepting the fact of the existence and permanence of the Jewish state.  To read the Washington newspapers this week, which are representative, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are meeting under the auspices of the American government to make Palestine. The Palestinians and Secretary of State John Kerry allowed it to be known that the Israelis were asked/pushed/threatened to provide a prisoner rele...

My daughter, who has been in a wheel chair for almost two years has told me her own horror stories about navigating the Tel Aviv streets and sidewalks.  These--streets and sidewalks--were not built in the early years for accessibility.  No one had any idea what that was. The disabled were in essence shunted aside, and were effectively excluded from  typical activities which we consider to be 'normal' and which are totally accessible in the United States, such as traveling by bus to a restaurant, being able to enter the restaurant and sitting at a table, going shopping at the shuk (outdoor market), going to a movie--just to name a few.  There is very little in this young country which is accessible to people in wheelchairs.  Israel is somewhat like the United States was before the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act ,which was enacted in 1990 and amended in 2009 . The activities which I mentioned above being inaccessible are bad enough, but how a...