Travelin’ Tales
Some things you can’t make up. From my friend Jellyfish who recently returned from a visit to England…

Nostalgia Sunday
Filed under: Art, History and Culture, Israeliness, Pop Culture
This isn’t a dated video but Naomi Shemer’s a classic, Chaim Tzinovitch is cool and the song is one of the country’s “goodies..” From the Galilee….
When Perspectives Shift
Filed under: Blogging, History and Culture, Politics
One thing gleaned from years spent in San Francisco: Stereotyping based upon a person’s gender, sexual orientation, religious affiliation or background leaves little room for the unexpected, a shift in perspective, potential growth or a simple “doesn’t fit the mold” scenario.
Case in point: Out of the box initiator Jerusalem Wanderings, a blogging settler living across the green line, decided to organize meetings between people within her community – that would be Jewish settlers – and neighboring Palestinians. 
They had a first get-together in February and another will soon follow.
The response from fellow settlers has been positive.
“I advertised the second meeting on our local e-mail list. I didn’t get one hate mail.
Instead, I met another woman waiting at the bus stop who told me “I’m doing such wonderful things.” She looks like the typical settler woman, wearing a long skirt and head-covering. I didn’t expect such a wide smile from her …”
BBC Radio is covering the meetings and a “top university researcher” will go to meeting #2 to witness events as they unfold.
You-Go-Girl. We already know what can be accomplished by the power of One.
Galilee in Spring
It’s not Israelity Foto Friday but it IS Spring and Passover is a few weeks down the road.
Time to get out the travelin’ shoes, rev the engines and commune with nature before the hot, dry days settle.
From Dutchblog Israel come these lovely images of Tzipori Moshav near Nazareth.


Until the End of the Land
When author David Grossman began working on a novel about a young soldier who goes off to a major military operation and the ensuing angst suffered by the boy’s mother, he was hoping to somehow safeguard his own son.
When he began writing, Grossman’s son Uri was entering Israel’s army and the two often discussed story line and plot direction when Uri phoned home from his army base.
“I had a feeling, or more accurately, a wish that the book I was writing would protect him. On August 12, 2006, during the last hours of the Second Lebanon War, Uri was killed in south Lebanon. His tank was hit by a missile during an operation to rescue a damaged tank. Also killed with Uri was the entire crew of the tank: Benaya Rein, Adam Goren and Alexander Bonimovitch. After the end of the shiva, I went back to the book. Most of it was already written. What changed, more than anything else, was the resonance of the reality in which the final version was written.”

Until the End of the Land advance sales started last week and release date is April 7.
Read Dion Nissenbaum’s moving interview with Grossman here.











