Please pray for Eliyahu Pinchas Asheri and Gilad ben Aviva

From the Jpost

PRC threaten to 'butcher' Asheri on TV


According to a Palestinian Resistance Committees statement Wednesday morning, the group claimed it was holding, "Eliyahu Pinchas Asheri," the 18-year-old Itamar resident who went missing on Sunday.

A spokesman for the group, known only as Abu Abir, told Al-Jazeera satellite TV early Wednesday that Asheri would be "butchered in front of TV cameras" if the IDF operation in Gaza did not stop. "Our patience is running out," said Abu Abir.

"I am announcing for the first time that the kidnapped Zionist Israel is searching for is the same settler who is being held by us. He is aged 18-and-a-half... and is a soldier in a pre-military academy," said Abu Abir, the terrorist group's mouthpiece. The claim was being taken very seriously by security forces because Asheri's middle name, Pinchas, had not been revealed to the public.

The PRC also said that no more information about Asheri would be given without a price.

Two days after IDF soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, was captured by Palestinian terrorists near Gaza, security establishment officials began assessing on Tuesday evening that the 18-year-old had, in fact, also been kidnapped by Palestinian terrorists.

Sources had revealed the assessment was based on circumstantial evidence, while the IDF and Shin Bet had no concrete proof, Israel Radio reported.

Asheri, a yeshiva student and resident of the West Bank settlement of Itamar, was reportedly seen twice on Sunday night, both times attempting to hitchhike. Rabbi Avihai Ronsky of Itamar told The Jerusalem Post that Asheri, a student at the Neveh Tzuf pre-military academy, was last seen near Beitar, attempting to hitchhike home.

A fellow student at Neveh Tzuf told police that he had spotted Asheri trying to hitch a ride at the French Hill hitchhiking post in Jerusalem on Sunday night.

Asheri's father arrived at the Ariel police station to report his son missing on Tuesday afternoon. According to police, the youth's parents had been under the impression that their son was at Neveh Tzuf, and that in Neveh Tzuf, Asheri's companions believed that he was with his family.

Asheri's disappearance was coupled with a number of alarming announcements and intelligence leads coming from Palestinian terror organizations that led security officials to fear the worst.

Shortly before midnight on Monday evening, the Palestinian Resistance Committees issued a statement announcing that they had kidnapped an Israeli settler in the West Bank, saying that the kidnapping was part of an operation called "Horsemen's Rage," intended to avenge the targeted killing of the group's leaders by Israel.

"One of our elements in the West Bank succeeded in kidnapping the settler as part of a chain of reactions against the Zionist attack, and as revenge for the blood of Palestinian martyrs," said the statement, which was issued by the Salah al-Din Brigades, the PRC's military wing.

"We have information about the attack, but we will not pass it on at this point in order to keep the ball in the Zionist court, and so that the Zionists continue in their confusion. We will allow actions on the ground to speak for us." The group also had formed a special unit to kidnap IDF soldiers and settlers in the West Bank, PRC spokesman Abu Abir said.

According to Abu Abir, the new unit, which consists of several dozen gunmen, is called Knights of Rage. "We will continue our attacks on Israel until the leaders of Israel are brought to their knees," he said. "[Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert and [Defense Minister Amir] Peretz must know that we will never be defeated and that we will continue to fight for our rights."

In addition, security sources claimed that they had received two independent pieces of intelligence information, one indicating that Palestinians had killed an Israeli on Sunday night, and one indicating that Palestinians were holding the body of an Israeli. On Tuesday night, IDF forces were reportedly combing villages in the Ramallah area.

Meanwhile, in Itamar, Asheri's neighbors were trying to do their best to search for clues that could help locate the missing teenager. In the early evening, a busload of residents, adults and youth, were sent out to comb busy intersections on Route 60, the north-south road transecting the West Bank, carrying pictures of the missing youth in the hopes that a traveler would recall seeing the student.

Other Itamar residents held a prayer vigil for Asheri, the oldest of six children, described by a neighbor as "a smiling, nice boy."

"There is a feeling here of unknowing, of concern, of wanting to do something," said resident Orit Deri. "We just discussed the fact that God tests us because he knows we can stand the test. We are strong and we are unified."

Eliyahu Asheri's father, an immigrant from Australia, and mother are veteran members of the close-knit Itamar community.

The IDF confirmed that ever since the attempted kidnapping of two teenage girls near the Tapuah Junction ten days ago, security forces have been received general warnings of kidnapping attempts in the West Bank. The IDF spokesman's office said that they had been working together in recent days with settlements' security officers in order to warn settlers as to the danger of kidnapping attempts.


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The possibility that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
– Abraham Lincoln

"It's all lies and false propaganda to support this antagonistic and violent government."

Got sent some more propoganda for the Palestinian cause.

take a look

J.

Quote is from Rocky IV(1985)

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The possibility that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
– Abraham Lincoln

"People handle fear in different ways Mr. Keller, it turns some people into stand up comedians. "

Tonight, I had the pleasure of attending

CROSSROADS COMEDY: Benefit Performance Stand-up comedians from America!

which was sponsored by Crossroads, the only
organization helping at-risk, English-speaking youth in Jerusalem.

They started doing this benefit last year and this year that had four very funny comedians come to Israel to perform.

The host was Avi Liberman, who has appeared on a number of US sitcoms.

Accompaning Avi on this benefit tour in Israel were:


Allan Murray, who actually came to Israel for the first time in his life to do this benefit.

Saleem who recently appeared on NBC's Last comic standing (here's a clip)

and Mary Ellen Hooper, winner of the best female stand-up award from the American Comedy Award.

They had four shows while they were here: Raanana, Tel Aviv, Efrat and Jerusalem.


All of the comedians have worked with Stand With Us which I understand helped the comedians raise money for their trip here.



Had a great time and after missing it last year, I look forward to it for many years to come.

J.

Quote is from The Interpreter(2005)


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The possibility that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
– Abraham Lincoln

"Don't do that with the liquor, Russ. It's so... George Bush."

I saw this posted on B. Kitty's site and decided to put it up here too.

It's about 2:30 minutes and I found it quite entertaining.

J.




Quote is from My Fellow American's(1996)


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The possibility that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
– Abraham Lincoln

"Jay says you guys had a Star Wars themed wedding, and you tied the knot dressed as Storm Troopers"

Saw this great short video.

"How to Combine Any Movie with ''Star Wars''"



Quote is from Jay and Silent Bob strike Back (2001)
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The possibility that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
– Abraham Lincoln

"Are you really crazy? Or are you as good as you say you are?"

MTV music awards always has some great entertainment.

Check this out





Quote is from Lethal Weapon (1987)
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The possibility that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
– Abraham Lincoln

"When the moon is like that, every monkey for 200 miles thinks he's Elvis Presley."

I got into an argument with my neighbor last week and look what he did

J.

Scroll down

















Quote is from Congo (1995)
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The possibility that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
– Abraham Lincoln

"Since the World Cup the Ministry has been intercepting more and more owls"

I know I haven't been posting lately, just been busy at work. Here is my contribution to the absurdity of World Cup Soccer. (Yeah Jameel!!!)

J.





Quote is from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
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The possibility that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
– Abraham Lincoln

"Yeah, why don't we call up and find out who's in charge over there this week."

Very funny clip. I actually never thought GWB was able to poke fun at himself like this. I was rolling on the floor with laughter while watching this.

It's about 10 minutes long

Enjoy

J.




Quote is from Canadian Bacon (1995)
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The possibility that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
– Abraham Lincoln

"I can't believe this. They forgot my birthday."

I had an interesting converstaion with a colleague yesterday. We were discussing her upcoming 34th birthday and she told me that she doesn't even acknowledge her birthday anymore, she just lets it pass like any other day of the year.

It got me thinking about what do birthdays mean to people.

Tell me your thoughts on birthdays. In your eyes are they happy occasions? nostalgic occasions? depressing?

Shabbat shalom

J.

Quote is from Sixteen Candles (1984)




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The possibility that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
– Abraham Lincoln

"Ronald Reagan? The actor? [chuckles in disbelief] Then who's VICE-President? Jerry Lewis?"

Check out Jameel's post about the Mondial (World Cup), has a great Simpson's clip.

While reading the comments to his blog, RockofGalilee wrote "I explained to my kids that mondale was the guy who lost to Reagan, and anything that is boring and can't hack it in the US is exciting to the rest of the world."

This reminded me of a funny story I heard a few years back.

A cousin of mine works for a big Japanese Company and is one of the top American's in the company. He was taking Walter Mondale to a conference or dinner from the Corporation and after Mondale was picked up from the airport (I think JFK), he was brought to my cousin's house so that they could go together to the dinner. While there, my cousin introduced him to his children including his young daughter.

The following day, my cousins got a phone call from their daughter's teacher asking for an urgent meeting. They met with the teacher who requested that they have a long discussion with their daughter, because apparently, she is a telling lies, she even told everyone in the class that she met former VP, Walter Mondale.

The teacher's jaw is still open all these years later after hearing that it was true.



Who can guess what movie this posts quote is from?

J.


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The possibility that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
– Abraham Lincoln

"I never knew Canada could be this much fun."

Hopefully now more people in the world will see that these are not just "isolated incidents"

J.

Canada prime minister reportedly target of plot
Government says at least one suspect planned to behead Harper
The Associated Press

Updated: 4:28 p.m. ET June 7, 2006

TORONTO - At least one member of a group of terror suspects plotted to storm Canada's parliament and behead officials, including the prime minister, if Muslim prisoners in Canada and Afghanistan were not released, according to charges made public Tuesday.

Authorities also alleged that in addition to targeting Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Steven Vikash Chand plotted to take over media outlets such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

“There’s an allegation apparently that my client personally indicated that he wanted to behead the prime minister of Canada,” attorney Gary Batasar said. “It’s a very serious allegation. My client has said nothing about that.”

Chand is a 25-year-old restaurant worker from Toronto. Charges were expected to be read against at least some of the other suspects Tuesday.

Batasar spoke outside the courthouse, where bail hearings for 10 of the 17 suspects were postponed.

He said the charges were based on fear-mongering by government officials.

Police expect more arrests, while intelligence officers sought ties between 12 men accused of scheming to blow up Canadian targets and five other teen suspects and Islamic terror cells in the United States and five other countries.

The Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton, a small city just west of Toronto, said Monday the men arrested over the weekend were charged with participating in a terrorist group. Other charges include importing weapons and planning a bombing.

The charges against the five minors were not made public.

Sermons ‘filled with hate’
Toronto Mayor David Miller said CN Tower, a downtown landmark, and the city’s subway were not targets as had been speculated in local media, but declined to identify sites that were.

A Muslim leader who knew the oldest suspect, 43-year-old Qayyum Abdul Jamal, told The Associated Press that Jamal’s sermons at a local mosque were “filled with hate” against Canada.

Authorities said more arrests were expected, possibly this week, as police pursue leads about a group that they say was inspired by the violent ideology of the al-Qaida terror network.

“We’ve by no means finished this investigation,” Mike McDonell, deputy commissioner for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, told AP. “In fact, you might look at it that, really, we’re just
starting with the arrests. We have a responsibility to follow every lead.”

‘Foreign connections’ alleged
Although both Canadian and U.S. officials said over the weekend there was no indication the purported terror group had targets outside Ontario, McDonell told AP on Monday that there are “foreign connections,” but he would not elaborate.

Responding to the arrests, the U.S. Border Patrol stepped up inspections of traffic entering the country from Canada and put agents on high alert along the 4,000-mile border.

In Washington, a spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House said President Bush spoke with Harper about the case Monday afternoon, but gave no specifics of what was discussed.

A U.S. law enforcement official said investigators were looking for connections between those detained in Canada and suspected Islamic militants held in the United States, Britain, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Denmark and Sweden.

American authorities have established that two men from Georgia who were charged this year in a terrorism case had been in contact with some of the Canadian suspects via computer, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing.

“It came to a point where our concern for the safety and security of the public far outweighed our appetite for collecting evidence,” said McDonell, the RCMP deputy commissioner.

Police: No evidence of ties to al-Qaida
Canadian police say there is no evidence the suspect group had ties to al-Qaida, but describe its members as sympathetic to jihadist ideology. Officials are concerned that many of the suspects were roughly 20 years old and had been radicalized in a short amount of time.

Each is charged with one count of participating in a terrorist group.

Three of them — Fahim Ahmad, 21, Mohammed Dirie, 22, and Yasim Abdi Mohamed, 24 — also are charged with importing weapons and ammunition for the purpose of terrorist activity.

Nine face charges of receiving training from a terrorist group, while four are charged with providing training. Six also are charged with intending to cause an explosion that could cause serious bodily harm or death.

No information was released on the five young males arrested due to federal privacy laws that protect minors.

Officials announced Saturday that the suspects were arrested after the group acquired three tons of ammonium nitrate, which can be mixed with fuel oil to make a powerful explosive. One-third that amount was used in the deadly bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995.

Some people who know the suspects said they were astonished by the arrests.

Change of behavior
But Faheem Bukhari, a director of the Mississauga Muslim Community Center, said Jamal, the oldest suspect, had taken to giving hateful sermons and preaching intolerance to young Muslims at a storefront mosque in Mississauga, a city near Toronto where six of the suspects lived.

“These youth were very fun-loving guys, soccer-loving guys, and then all of sudden they were not associating with guys they used to,” Bukhari said, referring to the younger suspects.

“People around him knew he was very extreme,” Bukhari said, adding that Jamal once told “the audience that the Canadian Forces were going to Afghanistan to rape women.”

Canada has about 2,300 soldiers in southern Afghanistan to bolster Afghan reconstruction and combat Taliban militants.
© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13150516/

Quote from Die Hard with a Vengence (1995)
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The possibility that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
– Abraham Lincoln

"Exactly! Temporary. You're nothing but a wannabe, a placebo, a generic brand. Marked-down, over-the-counter, useless Tic-Tac!"

Thanks to SIS for the hat-tip

Ruling: Snickers, Tic-Tac not kosher



Attention kosher keepers: Israeli Chief Rabbinate ordered to remove from shelves Tic-Tac mints as well as Snickers, Mars and Bounty ice-creams
Haim Levinson


The Israeli Chief Rabbinate ordered to remove Tic-Tac mints as well as Snickers, Mars and Bounty ice-cream from shelves in stores. The reason: The Rabbinate found that the products, branded as kosher, are in fact non-kosher.



"The products are displayed as approved by Rabbi Ralbag and the Israeli Chief Rabbinate," wrote Thursday Rabbi Yaakov Sabag, head of Kashrut Department at the Rabbinate. "But when we checked the facts with Ralbag," he added, "We learned that he didn't approve the products. It's a serious forgery."


Leimen-Shclissel, which imports Tic-Tac to Israel, said in response: "In the coming days we are about to receive a kosher certificate from an American kashrut organization, approved by the Rabbinate."



Importers of the ice-cream snacks, Moshe Sidas and Sons LTD, claimed that they are doing their best in order to resolve the issue as soon as possible.



(06.12.06, 15:03)

Quote from Osmosis Jones (2001)
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The possibility that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
– Abraham Lincoln

"You know, Daddy, I like this place. All the 'gators and snakes and stuff. Why don't we move down here?"

These pics are posted in honor of my new "blog-friend" Sobersubmrnr, a cop who lives in Southern Florida and deals all the time with Gators and Hurricanes (and bad guys too)

Enjoy your summer, Sobersubmrnr.

J.


Quote from Smokey and the Bandit Part II (1980)
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The possibility that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
– Abraham Lincoln

"Your search is over"

Here are some new and interesting google searches that have brought traffic to this site.

"cant say bomb on an airplane"
"baras israel baseball"
"look memory can change the shape of a room"
"what makes a piece of meat kosher"
"brad ausmus naked"
"israel baseball jerusalem cop"
"aharon rabinowitz"+"inspector"
"baseball in israel duquette"
"sephardic centre jerusalem hostel"
"memory can change the shape of a room"

J.

Quote is from No Way Out (1987)



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The possibility that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
– Abraham Lincoln

"All right! What I know is that daylight savings wasn't established until World War I. If it's 3 p.m. now that means that in 1776 it would be 2 p.m."

While reading Jameel's post about Zionist time, I recalled that the winner of the 1999 Darwin award was also related to zionist time.

The darwin award is given every year and is named in honor of Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, the Darwin Awards commemorate those who improve our gene pool by removing themselves from it.

From the Darwin Awards Website

5 September 1999, Jerusalem In most parts of the world, the switch away from Daylight Saving Time proceeds smoothly. But the time change raised havoc with Palestinian terrorists this year.

Israel insisted on a premature switch from Daylight Savings Time to Standard Time to accommodate a week of pre-sunrise prayers. Palestinians refused to live on "Zionist Time." Two weeks of scheduling havoc ensued. Nobody knew the "correct" time.

At precisely 5:30pm on Sunday, two coordinated car bombs exploded in different cities, killing three terrorists who were transporting the bombs. It was initially believed that the devices had been detonated prematurely by klutzy amateurs. A closer look revealed the truth behind the explosions.

The bombs had been prepared in a Palestine-controlled area, and set to detonate on Daylight Saving Time. But the confused drivers had already switched to Standard Time. When they picked up the bombs, they neglected to ask whose watch was used to set the timing mechanism. As a result, the cars were still en-route when the explosives detonated, delivering the terrorists to their untimely demises.

Have a good one.

J.

Quote is from National Treasure (2004)


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The possibility that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
– Abraham Lincoln

"I'm from the lost black tribe of Israel, the Yos."

I was emailed this link by Elliot Cahan.

"This is a link to a short film (18 minutes) that I believe won some awards at the Sundance film festival. I found this film interesting from the perspective of dealing with being Jewish in America, but also being an immigrant what it is like to try to assimilate into a different culture." E.C.

Watch The Tribe

J.

Quote is from Clockers (1995)
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The possibility that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
– Abraham Lincoln

"The shaft leads directly to the reactor system. A precise hit will start a chain reaction which should destroy the station."

Full quote: "The approach will not be easy. You are required to maneuver straight down this trench and skim the surface to this point. The target area is only two meters wide. It's a small thermal exhaust port, right below the main port. The shaft leads directly to the reactor system. A precise hit will start a chain reaction which should destroy the station."


Appeared on American TV recently. 45 minutes long.
Incredible, considering what's going on now with Iran!

If you have the time, watch it, it's quite interesting.




I'm not even gonna bother saying where this quote is from. Let's see who can guess. I assume .co.il will probably be the first to answer.

Have a good one.

J.

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The possibility that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
– Abraham Lincoln

"All science trembles at the searing logic of your fiery intellect."

Check this out.

...and they say we are out of touch with the world.



J.


quote is from Gettysburg(1993)
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The possibility that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
– Abraham Lincoln

"Three thousand years of beautiful tradition, from Moses to Sandy Koufax... You're goddamn right I'm living in the past!"

I know Shavuot already past, but I thought this was funny.

take a look

J.

Quote is from The Big Lewbowski (1998)
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The possibility that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
– Abraham Lincoln

"It will come to you, this love of the land. There's no gettin' away from it"

I was asked by WestBankMama a few weeks ago to post my aliyah story and being the procrastinator that I am, I'm only doing this at the last minute.

So here goes....


I grew up in the Midwestern US and although my family was Zionistic, it was never really pressed on us. Israel was always the place I dreamt of and I still recall how I imagined the road to Jerusalem all those years ago. I had heard that on the road to J-town there were shells of tanks from the wars along the road. I imagined a road going thru a desert with tanks stuck in the sand along the way and in the distance was the city of gold, alone in the desert.

People would bring back souvenirs from Israel and I always thought it was a real exotic place and I couldn't wait until I'd be able to go. Friends of mine had their bar-mitzvah in Israel or visited over the summer with their families, but I never had those experiences. The first time that I came to Israel was on a 6-week summer tour in the summer of 1990.

In high school, I was very active in NCSY while most of my friends from school were only interested in Bnei Akiva (The irony is that up until 3 years ago, I was the only member of my graduating class who had made aliyah). During the beginning of 1990, I argued with my parents that I wanted to travel to Israel with NCSY, but my parents were adamant in not wanting me to go with NCSY, because the trip was geared more to non-observant teens. they wanted me to get a different kind of experience in Israel. they told me that if I wanted to spend the summer in Israel, I would have to go with Achva (which was the Young Israel summer tour group). I was told that the tour would involve lots of hikes and I reluctantly agreed eventhough I knew no one going on the tour. I wanted to go to Israel and if I had to do it with Achva, so be it.

I arrived in israel for teh first time on July 12th, 1990. We arrived in the airport and one of the first things we did was meet with some Ethiopian olim that had just arrived in Israel. We then got on the buses and went in the direction of Jerusalem. I tried listening to the madricha while she told us many facts about the road. I was glued to my window and couldn't believe how different the view was from what I had imagined. When we saw the tanks, I knew that anything I thought I knew about Israel was wrong and I eagerly waited finding out the true facts.

Once we entered Jerusalem itself, I saw that the city looked modern and "normal". We entered the old city and since the bus couldn't get in, we parked near Shaar Zion (Zion gate) and had to carry our stuff to the Sephardic center, where we would stay for over a week. By now, I was very anxious to get to the Kotel, but they held off. They wanted us to go get settled in first and they promised to take us after dinner. After dinner, we left the "center" and made our way towards the Kotel. Before we got within site of it, the madrich sat us all down and we had a discussion on what Jerusalem means to us and what the Kotel itself has meant to us as Jews over the years. I really wanted to get moving, but was also intrigue by the discussion. At the end of the discussion, we were all handed a piece of paper and asked to write down what we thought we would get out of our summer in Israel. they put our messages in a bottle and told us that we would get them back the last night of the trip.

I obviously don't recall what I wrote exactly, but it was something like "I hope to get a better understanding of Israel and what it means to me".

We then were led towards the steps leading to the Kotel. I was in awe. from this vantage point, I saw something I never even realized; the Kotel is not a lone wall standing by itself. It was connected to many other parts of the outer walls of the second Temple. It had never dawned on me that there was more to it than the "wall" you see in pictures. I must've seen pictures of the mosque, but just never put two and two together. It hit me emotionally like I never thought it could. I quickly went down the steps with everyone else and as I reached those ancient stones, I felt that I was touching a part of our history. (I know this sounds corny, but thats really how I felt).

The rest of the summer was somewhat of a blur. We traveled to so many places and I began to appreciate this country more and more. Every day we went on at least one hike and sometimes even two hikes. we visited touristy places, but also spend a week on a kibbutz {pruning trees for a week made me vow that I would never want to live on a kibbutz but the clincher was that if I brought a TV with me to the kibbutz someone there would get it instead of me. :)} We were here when Saddam invaded Kuwait and I even recall that there was a fire on that morning in a tree at the hostel where we were staying in Har Gilo.

All in all, those six weeks gave me such an overwhelming appreciation for the country, that by the end of August, I knew that I wanted to eventually live in Israel. I felt so at home here and that was something I had never felt in the US.

During the summer, I made a bunch of new friends, but my best friend that summer became a lifelong friend. We are still very close after almost 16 years, and I consider him to be one of my closest friends, if not the closest.

On the night we were to leave, we once again visited the Kotel. We broke open the bottle with our wishes and we were practically all surprised that we each in our own way got more than we expected out of our summer. Whether it had to do with Israel per se or friendships or who knows what.

I vowed (to myself) that I would be back one day to live here and bring up a family here.

This is not an advertisement, but I thought I should mention that about 4 years ago, I met the organizer of the trip and whole heartedly thanked him for creating a tour that really helped cultivate my love for Israel.

Fast forward 15 months to November 1991. I was offered to go on an NCSY solidarity mission for 6 days over Thanksgiving weekend for very cheap. I knew it was an opportunity not to be missed, but my class was having it's senior year class trip to Florida that week. I debated the issue with myself for a few seconds and rationally decided to take this once in a lifetime trip. I could go to Disneyworld whenever I wanted, but how often can I go to Israel for a solidarity mission. (BTW, I have yet to be in Florida since then).

I came on the trip with 10 other teens and because we were traveling light, we were able to help a family making aliyah with their excess luggage. The most vivid memory of the flight though was how I felt when the plane was about to land and the plane started playing Hatikva, I felt like I was coming back home.

The week was amazing, we spent it entirely in the old city and as we were told before we left, Israel was in a drought and it probably won't rain, it poured the entire time from when we stepped off the plane right up until we left. The streets of the Old City were constantly flooded and being on a hill, the water was always running.

One of the seminars was delivered by an organization called F.A.I.R. (Fighting Anti- Israel Rhetoric). I was amazed at the media bias and lies against Israel. It was a real eye opener and it influenced my eventual decision to study communications. I wanted to be on the front line of what FAIR was doing.

But I digress.....

This week in Israel, helped solidify my resolve once more that this was where I wanted to live....eventually.

Fast forward once again to August 28, 1992. I arrive in Israel to study for year in Yeshiva. Finally after two "tours" visiting Israel, I got the chance to "live" here for a while. Living in Israel gave me such an amazing rush. I truly felt that I was where I belonged and the more and more I thought about it, the more I realized that I would be making a terrible mistake if I went back to live and study in the states.
I realized that I was at the point in my life where I had nothing tying me down in America. I knew many people who said they wanted to make aliyah, but because of commitments to family, education, work or a thousand other important things in life, they never made it here to live.

At that moment, I decided that I wanted to join the IDF and live my life here in Israel. I had no excuses for not making aliyah and didn't want to wait until I would have some.

My year in Yeshiva was a totally different experience for me, because I knew within a month that I was gonna be staying here for the rest of my life.

...and the rest is history

Hope you all have a great Yom Tov.

Chag Shavuot Sameach

J.


Quote is from Gone with the Wind (1939)

the full quote has nothing to do with Israel, the full quote is:"It will come to you, this love of the land. There's no gettin' away from it if you're Irish."

media manipulation can work both ways.

:)


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The possibility that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
– Abraham Lincoln