Thursday, April 29, 2010

23 Days

The highest ratio of shooting down airplanes to losing airplanes in dogfights with enemy countries belongs to the Israel Air Force (IAF). Since the birth of Israel, the IAF has shot down 687 enemy aircrafts in air-to-air combats and has only lost 23 aircrafts, yielding a ratio of 30:1!

To quote the website www.amazing-airplanes.com:

"18 enemy planes were shot down in dogfights in the 1948 War of Independence. A single Israeli plane may have been shot down in a dogfight over the Galilee, but the exact circumstances of its demise were never established in certainty.

Seven enemy planes were shot down in the course of the Sinai Campaign, without a single Israeli plane being shot down.

In the Six Day War, 60 enemy planes and 12 IAF planes were shot down.

The War of Attrition saw 111 enemy planes and four Israeli planes shot down.

277 enemy planes were shot down in the Yom Kippur War - accounting for over a third of the IAF`s total kills since 1948. Of the planes lost by the IAF in the war, only five were shot down in dogfights.

88 enemy planes were shot down in the Peace for Galilee Campaign. Not one Israeli plane was shot down in a dogfight.

126 enemy planes were shot down in dogfights in the years between the wars - most of them in the 70`s. The IAF lost only two planes in dogfights between the wars, in 1959 and in 1964."

While this record is certainly impressive, we shouldn't be surprised by this ratio after reading about how Israelis are incredible strategists in the post from Day 56 about how Israel has more chess grandmasters per capita than any other country in the world....

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Speaking of setting records, the Salute to Israel Parade will be attempting to set a Guinness Book Record on May 21st for the Largest Falafel Ball in the world! Five Mediterranean-style restaurants will compete to cook, through natural ingredients and traditional cooking methods, the falafel ball with the largest circumference. For more information about the contest and the results, keep checking our website...

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

24 Days

Remember the blog post from three days ago about Bob Dylan's "Neighborhood Bully", an ironic folk-rock take-down of Israel's hypocritical opponents? Well, here is a video that characterizes our feelings about Israel's 62nd birthday. It features Canada's greatest folk composer, the incomparable Leonard Cohen, who went to a Jewish day school and composed such well-known songs (full of allusion to Jewish themes and the Bible) as "Hallelujah".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYK8pnEr4d0

This is a video of Cohen playing a concert in Tel Aviv last year, on September 24th. Tel Aviv is often called "The City that Never Sleeps" (New Yorkers, don't roll your eyes. Every region thinks they have one, it's not their fault they're not us!), because of its 24/7 hustle and bustle. Leonard Cohen's show comes less than a year before the upcoming Bob Dylan concert and an array of other exciting musical events to occur this year in Tel Aviv (off the top of my head, I know Metallica's coming soon, but that might not be everyone's cup of tea...).

Though big bands might be wary at first of traveling to Israel to perform, once they see the enthusiasm of Israeli fans at a concert, they know it's worth the trip. And aside for the big bands, there are the amazingly diverse and talented artists within Israel - bands like the funky "The Apples" or "Funkenstein", the profoundly soulful reggae of Idan Raichel, the politically left-wing oriented rap of Hadag Nachash and the Zionism-inspired rap of Subliminal (sometimes spelled Sabliminal), the incomparable violinist Itzhak Perlman (who played, among other things, the theme of Schindler's List) and other virtuosos like Gil Shaham (Israel has more violinists per capita than any other country in the world), the jazz and jazz-fusion artist Avishai Cohen, a tremendous bassist who shares a name with the trumpetist Avishai Cohen of another jazz act, a trio of Cohens...

We could go on forever... Like we said before, the music scene of Israel, especially Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, is hopping 24/7!
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The contest to ride in the Parade in the electric car that will soon be featured in Israel's battery swap stations ends this Monday, May 3rd. Don't miss the opportunity to ride up Fifth Avenue in this groundbreaking innovation - enter now before it's too late!

25 Days

The TA - 25 is the Tel Aviv 25 index, a list of 25 stocks traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Its been consistently rising for several months now. It is notable that Israel's economy, in spite of how closely linked the sheqel is to the dollar, has weathered the global financial crisis beautifully. If I had to pin that on the guy, it'd be Stanley Fischer.

Stan Fischer was born in Zambia (then Northern Rhodesia) in 1943, and got some fancy econ degrees at a little place called LSE (the London School of Economics) is the top university in the world for its field), and got his PhD from MIT, where he taught for several years and wrote two textbooks. His connection to America? Let's put it this way, when Ben Bernanke, our Fed chairman, was worrying sick over meeting deadlines for his thesis advisor, that advisor putting the fear of God into Bernanke was none other than Stanley Fischer. He also strongly influenced the prominent conservative economist Greg Mankiw.

He served for two years as Vice President of the World Bank and their Chief Economist. He was also the First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (if these names mean nothing to you, let me put it this way: this guy's got a resume that'd make most Nobel Prize winning economists jealous).

So what does this genius do now? He is Governor of the Bank of Israel. America's Federal Reserve Chairman's college thesis advisor is Israel's national bank governor! Amusing, no? And, it seems, the master has performed as admirably in old age as he did when teaching his student. As mentioned, the TA-25, along with the rest of the Israeli stock market, continues to grow. Businesses are booming; new startups are being bought up by American companies all the time (as you can read about in Dan Senor's new bestseller, Start-Up Nation, an excellent book detailing the miracle that is the Israeli economy).

Fischer joins a venerable list of brilliant field leaders (much like the chemist Chaim Weizmann) who have opted to use their prodigious talents for the good of the Jewish people in their own state. He speaks perfect Hebrew, of course.

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The Parade is AROUND the corner and at our highly anticipated falafel contest, which will take place on Friday, May 21st, we will set a Guinness Book Record for the largest falafel in the world... How cool!

Monday, April 26, 2010

26 Days

Since we're sure you were wondering about the significance of the number 26 in Israel's history, here are a few important dates that relate to that number:

- An order on May 26, 1948 from then Defense Minister David Ben-Gurion officially organized the Israel Defense Forces as a conscript army formed from the paramilitary group Haganah and incorporating the Irgun and Lehi military groups.

- The eleventh government of Israel was formed on June 26, 1963, halfway through the fifth Knesset. This government followed the second resignation of David Ben-Gurion as prime minister and was formed by Levi Eshkol.

- The Yom Kippur War (Milhemet Yom HaKipurim) lasted three weeks and ended on October 26, 1973.

- Ron Huldai, former fighter pilot in the Israel Defense Forces and current Mayor of Tel Aviv-Yafo, was born on August 26, 1944 and served in the Israeli Air Force for 26 years (1963-1989).
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Mayor Ron Huldai was an Honorary Grand Marshall in the 2009 Salute to Israel Parade. This year's Honorary Grand Marshalls include Omri Casspi - first Israeli basketball player, Yuri Foreman - Israeli World Boxing Champion, and Adi Neumann - Israeli supermodel. For more information about the Parade's "Dream Team" of celebrities and to find out who is the 2010 Grand Marshall, click here!

Sunday, April 25, 2010

27 Days

27 years ago, in 1983, Bob Dylan's "Infidels" album rocked the music scene. Perhaps not one of Robert Zimmerman's (Dylan's real name) best albums, but it featured the following beauty, a song about a state the great American antiwar musician knew to love:

"Well the neighborhood bully he's just one man

His enemies say he's on their land

They got him outnumbered about a million to one

He got no place to escape to no place to run

He's the neighborhood bully

Neighborhood bully he just lives to survive

He's criticized and condemned for being alive

Not supposed to fight back and have thick skin

Supposed to lay down and die when his door is kicked in

He's the neighborhood bully

Neighborhood bully been driven out of every land

He's wandered the earth an exiled man

Seen his family scattered people hounded and torn

He's always on trial for just being born

He's the neighborhood bully

Well he knocked out a lynch mob he was criticized

Old women condemned him said "he should apologize"

The he destroyed a bomb factory ain't nobody was glad

The bombs were meant for him he was supposed to feel bad

He's the neighborhood bully

Well the chances are against it and the odds are slim

That he'll live by the rules that the world makes for him

There's a noose at his neck and a gun at his back

And a license to kill him given out to every maniac

He's the neighborhood bully

But he gets he must pay for he don't get it out of love

He buys obsolete weapons and he won't be denied

But no one sends flesh and blood to fight by his side

He's the neighborhood bully

Well he's surrounded by pacifists who all want peace

They pray for it nightly that the bloodshed must cease

Now they wouldn't hurt a fly to hurt one they would weep

They lay and they wait for this bully to fall asleep

He's the neighborhood bully

Every empire that's enslaved him is gone

Egypt and Rome even the great Babylon

He's made a Garden of Paradise in the desert sand

In bed with nobody under no ones command

He's the neighborhood bully

Now his holiest books have been trampled upon

No contract he signed was worth what it was written on

He took the crumbs of the world and he turned it into wealth

Took sickness and disease and he turned it into health

He's the neighborhood bully

What's anybody indebted to him for?

Nothin' they say he just likes to cause war

Pride and prejudice and superstition indeed

They wait for this bully like a dog waits to feed

Neighborhood bully

What has he done to wear so many scars?

Does he change the course of rivers?

Does he pollute the moon and stars?

Neighborhood bully standing on the hill

Running out the clock time standing still neighborhood bully”

In Israel, the times they are a-changin’ as always, but one thing remains constant: Bob Dylan keeps going like a rollin’ stone when it comes to loving the place. He’s performing a concert in Tel Aviv this June!

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Speaking of music and bands playing in support of Israel... come to the Salute to Israel Parade and hear the Sesame Flyers Steel Pan Orchestra perform! Though the Sesame Flyers have performed in many public events and have won many steel pan competitions, this will be their very first appearance in the Salute to Israel Parade - don't miss it!

28 Days

As anyone who has ever taken public transportation in Jerusalem knows, familiarity with the bus map is key to getting around. An earlier post mentioned some of the most useful lines for tourists; one of the most important lines for students is the 28/28a, which takes you to Mt. Scopus to see Israel's first university - the Hebrew University ("Hebrew U").

Hebrew U is quite an impressive institution. Its first Board of Governors included Albert Einstein (a major Zionist and fundraiser for Israel, who was also asked to be Israel's first president), Chaim Weizmann (another brilliant scientist, Zionist, and friend of Einstein, and who actually became Israel's first president), Martin Buber (a great Jewish philosopher) and Sigmund Freud (a psychologist who couldn't get his mind out of the gutter - serious, Dr. Freud, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar...).

Four of Israel's prime ministers are alumni of Hebrew U. Most impressively, in the last decade, six graduates of the University received the Nobel Prize.

Hebrew U is one of the true symbols of Zionist achievement. A Jewish university in the Land of Israel was always one of the goals of forward-thinking Jews of the world, and indeed Einstein was so dedicated to the idea, he left his entire literary estate to the university. The university opened in 1925 to great acclaim, and it has been going strong ever since, with a brief hiatus during the War of Independence.

Some notable faculty:

Robert Aumann, game theorist and 2005 Nobel Prize laureate for Economics, sharing it with Thomas Schelling.

Aharon Barak, Defense Minster Ehud Barak's brother and the former President of the Israeli Supreme Court; an internationally admired jurist.

Martin Buber, great Jewish philosopher and theologian.

Ephraim Halevy, the former Mossad Chief who now comments on politics in the Financial Times.

Yeshayahu Liebowicz, brilliant professor of biochemistry and Jewish Philosophy who is known for his left-wing politics as well as his logical positivism (not usually what you expect from a Jewish philosopher!). He is the brother of the famoous Hebrew Bible scholar Nechama Liebowicz.

Amihai Mazar and Benjamin Mazar, famous archaeoligist who won Israel prizes.

Gershom Scholem, great scholar of Jewish mysticism.

Zeev Sternhell, political scientist and historian.

Amos Tversky, psycholigist who pioneered much of rational-choice theory.

Now, that was just faculty! Conclusion: The Hebrew University is a pretty awesome place. Oh, and did I mention that it houses Israel's biggest library at its Giv'at Ram campus?

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Come to the Parade, text a vote for your favorite float, and you will be entered to win a round-trip ticket to Israel on El Al Israel Airlines! More information coming soon, please keep visiting our website for details....

Friday, April 23, 2010

29 Days

The 29th of November is a funny date in Israel -- it is the only date on the secular, solar calendar (as opposed to the lunar Hebrew calender) that is commemorated with Hebrew letters. That is, the date is called Kaf Tet (letters equivalent to the number 29 in Hebrew numerology) B'November, instead of the 29th of November -- a practice usually reversed for Hebrew dates, the dates of Jewish festivals and holidays.

That's because Kaf Tet B'November, 1947, the United Nations passed General Assembly Resolution 181, by a vote of 33 to 13, with ten abstentions. The resolution, known as the partition plan, divided the area administrated by the british under the British Mandate for Palestine into a jewish state and an Arab state. The Arabs rejected the plan, but the Jewish Agency Executive accepted, making this the first explicit call for a Jewish state by a UN Resolution. Of course, we know the rest -- British withdrawal, a War of Independence, and an Israel bigger and better than the Jewish Agency Executive had dared to hope for.

Rham Israel Emanuel, President Obama's Chief of Staff, is the son of a Jerusalem born pediatrician and Irgun member. His name last name was actually adopted by the family in honor of his father's brother Emanuel Auerbach, who was killed in Arab- Jewish fighting in Jerusalem. Rahm Emanuel was born on the 29th of November, exactly twelve years after the UN voted for partition of Israel and the creation of a Jewish State.

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Thank you so much Hudson Terrace for hosting our exciting event - "The Largest Falafel in the world" more details to follow...

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

30 Days

Israel's contributions to technology are well known. It's no secret that Intel developed its Pentium chips there, that ICQ instant messaging technology was invented by a couple of Israeli Defense Forces guys as a convenient way to communicate between themselves, or that trip irrigation technology developed by Israeli inventor Simcha Blass in 1959 minimizes the amount of water needed to grow crops in even arid climates.

But biotechnology is an area people know less about, even though it may very well be the way of the future, a way to heal the sick, minimize suffering, and unlock untold human potential.

In 1990, Israel had just 30 biotechnology companies employing just 600 employees, but by 2000 there were 160 companies employing more than 4,000 staff. The rate of growth accelerated markedly toward the end of the decade: during 2000, 25 new companies were registered, $238 million was invested privately in biotechnology-based business, and three companies raised $140 million on foreign stock exchanges. This trend has only continued into the present decade.

There is, unsurprisingly, cooperation between America (the world leader in biotechnological research) and Israel (an up-and-comer) in the area of biotechnology. Check out what this Israel 121c.org article had to say about this corporation.

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Any creative recipes for making falafel? Since we told you about our upcoming exciting Largest Falafel in The World" contest we received many requests for a good recipe for Falafel... Please post your recipe if you have a good one!

31 Days

31 years into its existence, or 31 years ago, the State of Israel signed a peace treaty with its southern neighbor and longtime foe, Egypt. The historic handshake between prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat led to the return of the Sinai Peninsula to Egyptian sovereignty, an end to all belligerency from Egypt, mutual recognition of each country by the other, and fee passage for Israeli ships through the Suez Canal.

The wheel of fortune turned twice that year, however, and 1979 saw the Islamic Revolution of Iran that ousted the Shah and replaced him with the style of government Iran still 'enjoys'. Today, Israeli and Iran are, shall we say, not so friendly.

So it is with politics -- you win some, you lose some. The long arc of history tends towards peace, and some day the Middle East will be no more hostile to Israel than the American Midwest. As the 31 verse of the Torah, and Bible, states: " And the Lord saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good". So why worry?

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Be one of the first ever to ride in the groundbreaking innovation soon to be featured in Israel's eco-friendly battery swap stations - an electric car!! Contest ends on May 3rd. Quick! Hurry and sign up!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

32 Days

Did you know? Israel is currently on it's 32nd government in 64 years! The current government body, headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was presented to the Knesset on March 31, 2009 and received the Knesset's approval on March 31, 2009 at 11:15pm with a majority vote of 69 votes in favor and 45 votes against.

Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, born October 21, 1949, is the first and, to date, only Israeli prime minister born after the State of Israel's foundation. Netanyahu is currently serving his second term as Israel's prime minister - his first term was from 1996-1999. In 1996, the Israeli public quickly lost faith that then Prime Minister Shimon Peres could stop the series of Palestinian terror attacks on Israel's civilian population. Two attacks in particular, those from March 3rd and 4th, 1996, resulted in the deaths of 32 Israelis, and were ultimately the main catalysts in the downfall of Peres and the election of Bibi Netanyahu to his first term.
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The 2010 Salute to Israel Parade is coming up quickly... and we are looking for volunteers to ensure that this year's Parade is successful! If you're interested in helping us on May 23rd, please send an email to parade@salutetoisrael.com.

Monday, April 19, 2010

33 Days

Israel lies on the 33rd north parallel latitude, a geographical distinction it shares with the stats of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. Israel has many fascinating geographical features. Connecting to the Sinai desert, it serves as a bridge between Africa and Asia. Touching the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea (in Eilat), its easily accesses both Europe and the Indian Ocean. It holds every climate, from the snow-capped Hermon mountain where Israelis go to ski (Israel's highest peak), to the perpetually warm climate of the Dead Sea area and surrounding desert (the lowest point on earth)

The Dead Sea is itself a wonder of the world -- I have personally sat on that water reading a newspaper. The high mineral density makes it extremely buoyant, which ,makes it all but impossible to submerge a person more than partially.

Few places on Earth contain seas, rivers, desert, mountains, ski-able peaks and spa-worthy valleys, in so small a geographic area. It makes for an exciting trip, for anyone willing to get on the plane!

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Today is the day!! Happy Independence Day to Israel!!! יום העצמאות שמח!!!

:)

34 Days

on January , 2009, the U.S House of Representatives passed House-Resolution "Recognizing Israel's right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza", and expressing "vigorous support and unwavering commitment to the welfare, security, and survival of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state with secure borders".

This resolution passed with an overwhelming majority, a symbol of the strong popular support Israel has always enjoyed in America. The relationship between the west's first true democracy and the Middle East's only one has long been characterized by friendship and mutual support.

Of course, Operation Cast Lead, for which house 34 declared support, was only the latest in a series of battles for Israel's safety. Israel's most dire moment came during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, during which enemy forces attacked on the holiest day of the Jewish calender. If not for an airlift of supplies approved by the Nixon administration, the Jewish state might have been cut in two by Egyptian forces that year. This war, much like the earlier Six Day War, was fought in a Cold War context - with America generally supporting the Jewish democracy, and the Soviet Union generally supporting its Arab enemies. The latter were armed with MIG airplanes and various other Soviet hardware, including the venerable T-34 tank. Captured Syrian T-34's may still be seen at an Israeli war museum, Batey ha-Osef in Tel Aviv.

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Yom Hzikaron is beyond us... TOMORROW NYC will be celebrating Israeli Independence Day... משואה לתקומה they say in Hebrew ... lots of good celebrations are ahead of us! Here is one: Dor Chadash Yom Ha'Atzmaut. Chag Sameach to all!

Saturday, April 17, 2010

35 Days

Its a well-known fact that Israel and America cooperate closely on military matters. That is why the F-35, a new plane build in America, is being sold in large numbers to Israel -- with some important technological input from Israeli engineers, that is.

While on the topic of the Israeli military, the Convoy of 35 is one of the most famous names to come out of War of independence. Streets on Israeli cities are named for the 35-soldier convoy of young soldiers who perished trying to resupply Gush Etzion, a Jewish area under siege during the war. A poem about them the day after the fighting, by Haim Gouri entitled "Here Lie Our Bodies", can be read in Hebrew.

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Yom Hazikaron for the fallen soldiers of Israel will take place on Monday, April 19th. Communities across the country will be reading the names of all those Israelis who have fallen in battle since the founding of the State. The Parade is saluting all those brave soldiers and their families.

36 Days

Mystical Jewish tradition had it that the world continues to exist only because of 36 hidden righteous people whose identities are concealed, even from one another. Maybe they live in Bahrain...

Confused? well, I was just referring to the 36 Jews of Bahrain profiled by New York Times article last year. Don't worry, they're protected by the government... in fact, all 36 of them are in positions of political power! The ambassador to America from Bahrain can be seen next to George W. Bush in a picture in this story.

Houda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo, the first Jewish ambassador in the Arab world, and a women too!

Interested in a trip to the Holy Land? Hiking is a national pastime in Israel. A recent publication called Hiking in Israel: 36 of Israel's best Hiking Routs is now available here

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As if our Honorary Grand Marshall Omri Casspi & our Grand Marshall Meshulam Ricklis are not enough, the two will be accompanied by Yuri Foreman the first Israeli fighter to win a world boxing championship!

37 Days

In the year 37, two intricately related characters were born. One was the Roman Emperor Nero, and one was Josephus Flavius, an early historian crucial to our understanding of Jews during the end of the Second Temple period.

Nero, the fifth and last Emperor from Julius Caesar's dynasty, came to power at the age of 17 (54 CE) and ruled for fourteen more, During his reign, the first Roman-Jewish War was fought (66-70), the one which culminated in the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE under a different Emperor's reign. Nero, not exactly a nice fellow, is remembered for executing his mother and stepbrother, persecuting early Christians, and "fiddling while Rome burned". After a coup ousted him from power, he committed suicide in 68.

Josephus Flavius, or as some might call him, "Benedict Josephus", was a Jewish warrior who switched sides and became an historian of the Jewish wars with Rome. Much of what we know of the last stand of Mesada's Jewish resistance against the Romans comes through him. He is similarly important as the only primary source who writes about the Essenes, a mystical Jewish sect that might have existed if we take his word for it. His book The Jewish War, contains much detail about the destruction of the Second Temple and how events of the war transpired.

But lets leave this post on a hopeful note. Ezekiel 37, the prophecy of the dry bones, is closely related to the two characters above. In it, a confused Ezekiel is shown a valley full of dry bones, and is incredulous that their situation can have any hope of changing. In his vision, however, they grow flesh and begin to walk, and God informs him that his vision is a symbol for the return of the seemingly destroyed nation of Israel to its homeland.

That chapter actually features a verse, "יָבְשׁוּ עַצְמוֹתֵינוּ וְאָבְדָה תִקְוָתֵנוּ", which means "Our nones have dried and our hope is lost". The second phrase is alluded to in Israel's national anthem, Hatikva ("The Hope"), and the line "Our hope is still not lost" (עוד לא אבדה תקוותנו)

Hope for Israel is back and here to stay, 37 day before the Salute to Israel Parade!

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Do you like Falafel? Falafel is a fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas. Falafel is usually served in a pita which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flat bread known as laffa. The falafel balls are topped with salads, pickled vegetables and hot sauce, and drizzled with tahini-based sauces. Yummy! A few days prior to the Parade we will be conducting the Largest Falafel in the World contest. More details to follow!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

38 Days

Getting around Jerusalem by bus is pretty easy. There's a bus to go pretty much anywhere, and until the train under construction begins operating (supposedly this year - governments are governments, even in israel, so there is a reason to be skeptical). Buses are not the only source of reliable public transportation within the city. The 38 line is particularly significant because it travels around the Old City, with stops near the Western Wall, the Old Train Station, Jaffa Road, Jaffa Gate, the Armenian Quarter, Zion Gate and Jewish Quarter.

Another buss tourists in Jerusalem will find helpful, should you not want to pay for a cab, is the 18, which hits the central Bis Station of Jerusalem, the city Center with much of the night life and shopping, Emek Refaim ( a trendy street with numerous restaurants), Malcha Mall, and Machane Yehuda (an eastern-style market or Shuq, first established by Iraqi and Kurdish Jews, which today maintains its traditional layout but sells to clientele of all kinds). It also comes very close to the Old City on one of its stops near the City Center, and along King David Citadel, the YMCA, and the venerable King david Hotel.

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The 2010 Salute to Israel Parade is proud to announce that Omri Casspi - Israel's first NBA basketball player - will be an Honorary Grand Marshall!!! Stay tuned for more exciting news about the Parade's VIP's...

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

39 Days

Looking to visit Israel? There is a multitude of luxury hotels, medium hotels, cheap hotels, hostels and holes-in-the-wall available to house any tourist or visitor. Among them is the Dan Panorama in Jerusalem, on 39 Keren HaYesod Street. One of Jerusalem's tallest structures, the Dan Panorama features a rooftop pool with a great view of the city, in particular the Old City.

Jerusalem isn't the only city in Israel with hotels, of course. In Tel Aviv, a boutique hotel called Dizengoff Suites can be found at 39 Gordon Street, off the corner of Tel Aviv's trendy Dizengoff Street. This is just one from among dozens and dozens of other options, again ranging from some of the most luxurious in the Middle East to the more typically affordable accommodations.

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Announcing the Grand Marshall at the 2010 Salute to Israel Parade - Meshulam Ricklis! Though born in Istanbul, Turkey, Meshulam spent his formative years in Tel Aviv. Since he moved to the United States in 1947, Meshulam has been an ardent and staunch supporter of Israel.

40 Days

The Hebrew Bible attaches a certain significance to the number 40. for 40 days and forty nights, the deluge rained upon the earth while Noah weathered the storm in his ark. For 40 days and forty nights, Moses stood on Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. For 40 years, King David reigned over Israel, as did his son King Solomon. And it was 40 years, also, that Atniel son of Kenaz, the first of the Judges or Chieftains, presided over a peaceful Israel.

And one of the most meaningful biblical passages to a lover of Israel today is from Isaiah, Chapter 40 - a prophecy of comfort to the Israelites, and one which promises a return to Israel for the Jewish people.

The Hebrew Bible (as well as the Christian New Testament) once had no chapters. It was Archbishop of Canterbury Stephen Langton (1150-1228) who divided the Bible into chapters that Jews and Christians alike use today (with minor discrepencies). He also, interestingly, was one of the main figures of the dispute that eventually led to King John's signature of the Magna Carta - one of the foundational documents of western democracy today. Not bad for a life's work! In this regard, Israel owes Archbishop Langton two debts: one of church (or synagogue, anyway) and one of state.

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Congratulations to our Poster Contest Winner - Matthew Hoenig, Grade 6, from the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway! To see Matthew's winning design, click here. And we appreciate the efforts of all of the students who entered our Poster Design Contest - your designs were truly incredible.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

41 Days

41 years ago, in the Negev city of Be'ersheva in 1969, Israel built a modern marvel: a university in the desert. Ben Gurion University, or "The University of the Negev," is named or David Ben-Gurion, the first Israeli Prime Minister. He loved the Negev desert, and actually lived the last years of his life on a kibbutz called Sde Boker in the arid souther region of his country. Making the desert bloom was his greatest pride. The university's faculty include such illustrious names as Israeli novelist and peace activist Amos Oz and historian Benny Morris.

One of the fastest growing universities in Israel, Ben Gurion University currently has 17,400 matriculating students. Through cooperation in fields such as agriculture, desertification and irrigation, the university has issued a mandate to develop a sound peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

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Though David Ben Gurion never attended the Salute to Israel Parade, many prominent Israeli government offiicals have participated over the years, including current Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, former Minister of Industry and Tradey, Natan Sharansky and former Minister of Education Limor Livnat.