Off the grid.

So, as usual, it's holiday season again in Israel.
I've been on break from school for about two weeks (Happy Passover!) and the holiday seemed to magically bring with it the beginning of summer- the weather has been beautiful (warm enough to go to the beach!!!!) but not too hot yet.

For the last weekend of vacation I was lucky enough to be invited to a "canta"- which means a bunch of Israelis camping out on the beach, eating tons of meat, drinking tons of alcohol, and chilling out hardcore- this is my scene. My phone died, and for three days I was completely off the grid (and totally happy).

the men TCOBing

the tent city in the dunes (the guys in the corner are grilling meat. this picture was taken approximately 30 min after arriving to the beach)

this kite was helpful for finding your way back to the tent city

yes. someone brought an inflatable couch. these people meant business.

you have to be serious about sun protection.

matcot at the sea (matcot is a paddle/tennis situation)

I'll take my coffee on a sand dune any day.

The weekend was exactly my speed. We went to a beach north of Tel Aviv that was so beautiful and MUCH less crowded than the beaches near my house. The speed of life slowed down for a few days and I could've stayed forever. I loved not checking my phone or email or blog for a little while. 90% of the weekend was in Hebrew, which was overwhelming at times, but most everyone spoke some English, so I wasn't isolated by any means, and it was really good exposure to the language.

I've made a point to not discuss my dating life on this blog because some things are private, and because there hasn't really been anyone worth introducing all of you too. However, things have changed a bit. I would be remiss if I went on and on about how great this weekend was without telling you about the part I liked the most- this kid:

I would like to introduce my public to the new man in my life- Itzik. His friends organized the canta. He's so cute, right? I know. Trust me, he's worth introducing to you. He's my new best friend, and he makes me so happy... (and between you and me? when he kisses me I can feel it all the way into my toes).

The crow.

Okay, so there are a lot of crows in Israel. Like, think of the pigeon situation in New York City. But, pigeons aren't the size of toddlers...these crows are. They're HUGE.

Today, I was walking through my favorite park/playground on my way home and one of these crows swooped down and tried to pick me up by the crown of my head with its talons!

The only people around were paying attention to their children, so I just stood there. Traumatized.

Yeah. That happened.

The return of summer.

It seems to me that every weekend between February and May is some sort of holiday in Israel-

this country is not joking around...work hard, play harder.

This week began a two-week break from school for Pesach (Passover).

And, as if in a message from the Lord saying "enjoy yourself in the Land of Milk and Honey"

the weather conveniently became instantly beautiful. It's warm and sunny in the afternoons and cool and comfortable in the evenings.

Nicole, Cara and I decided to start our mini-vacation by marking the opening of beach season.

Yesterday we walked down to the sea, found a few friends from school on the sand to frolic around with, and basically it was a perfect Tel Aviv afternoon.

Summer has arrived.

(We may have even indulged in some shawarma at some point. mmmmmmm.)

Hijacking the Holocaust

The following is a video (followed by the accompanying press release and relevant contact information) released this week about what is currently happening at Norteastern University. As you may know, this is Holocaust Rememberance Week- and faculty at Northeastern are perverting the sanctity of this important  subject to demonize Israel by comparing Israelis to Nazis- certainly beyond the pale.

APT/On Campus is an interfaith group educating the public about the radical threats  to academic integrity  at America’s Universities . In particular, APT on Campus works to increase public awareness of the growing hostile campus environment currently confronting Jewish students (and others) who support Israel.

Please take a 15 minutes to watch and share if you find it as appalling as I do.

_______________________________________

VIDEO: NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS ABUSING HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT: Americans for Peace and Tolerance/ On Campus

Contact Person: Dr. Charles Jacobs
Voice Phone Number:  617 202 3004     
Email Address:  cj@peaceandtolerance.org
Website URL www.hijackingholocaust.org

VIDEO: NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS ABUSING HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE

April 2, 2012
BOSTON – Americans for Peace and Tolerance/On Campus today released a video documenting Northeastern University faculty members abusing Holocaust Remembrance events for political purposes. Northeastern professors and their invited guest lecturers are seen comparing Israelis to Nazis and denying Jewish peoplehood – on tape recordings and in internal emails. Some making these claims were invited by professors holding the Stotsky Professorship in Jewish Historical and Cultural Studies, established specifically to study the genocide of European Jewry.

The video was posted at: www.hijackingholocaust.com

“Northeastern is a popular and respected school,” said APT President, Charles Jacobs, “but there does exist a problem - mostly confined to a few anti-Israel radicals among the professoriate and the administration. These individuals have used a chair donated for the purpose of teaching students about the genocide of European Jews to demonize and delegitimize the state of Israel and its supporters.”
Jacobs said, “It is extraordinarily unscholarly, insensitive and hurtful for university professors to invite speakers who tell Jewish students in front of their classmates that Jews today act like Nazis. It is outrageous that somebody who denies Jews the right to self-determination and compares the Jewish state to Nazis is responsible for commemorating the Jewish genocide.”  

“It is also very troubling,” he said, “that some Jewish faculty members are too intimidated to speak publicly about these issues, and that some Universities use   ‘academic freedom’ to shield bigoted professors who defame the Jewish community.”

Jacobs said he is encouraged by recent efforts by the administration and he hopes that bringing public attention to this problem will lead the administration at Northeastern to comply with its own policies in its treatment of all minorities on campus.

APT/OC is calling for three specific actions:

1. The University should apologize and launch an independent investigation into how such demonization of Israel and the Jewish community could have occurred on campus.
2. The University should form a new Holocaust Awareness Committee composed of faculty sympathetic to Jewish peoplehood.
3. Professors who claim that Jews act like Nazis are engaging in hateful bigotry. To prevent such bigotry in the future, the University should extend its existing minority sensitivity training programs to include the Jewish people.

It's happening.

Nicole and I are moving up in the world.

We got a couch.

Some people across the street moved out this weekend, 

and left this on the street outside.

We got our muscles on and carried this piece all by ourselves.

Yes.