Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Comparing the USA to Israel

Even since my book / memoir was published about life in Israel in 2010
 "Leaving Home Going Home Returning Home : A Hebrew American's Sojourn in the Land of Israel"
I find that I am most asked the following question - What differences do you find between the USA and Israel. Well I was just asked this at a recent art workshop I gave in  Ogunquit,  Maine and it gave me time to reflect. Well I answered , " Really  the USA has become more like Israel and the rest of the world more like the USA.  Yes the world is becoming flatter with internet and social media. But how is it that the USA is becoming like Israel.There are constant cutbacks.  Well , as an economy goes down things happen. You have problems making your monthly payments. Companies go from a weekly pay check to a bi-weekly paycheck. In Israel you get paid monthly I assume to save on accounting costs and it also keeps your money in the employers hands longer. Bureaucracy goes up. On the good side , I learned in Israel to check where every cent goes. you do not have the freedom to waste money. I am now doing the same here. Also, in Israel people pay by check because credit card payments get out of hand and you do not know what the companies do with recurring billing. This is happening to me here now too. So I am going to go back to paying by check . etc etc etc etc . But all in all , there are more similarities between the USA today than there were in the past and I am sure this is happening all around the world.

https://www.createspace.com/1000252310

Iran nuclear explosion- the moral of this story?

As the news of the possible Iran nuclear explosion is being debated as usual it is what is not being said that reveals the most in the Middle East. That is , if there was or was not an explosion, then the CIA and Mossad should know for a fact if their knowledge of what is really happening at these facilities is accurate. But, this confusion leads me to think- Does Israel or the USA really know what is happening in Iran?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/29/white-house-debunks-iran-nuclear-explosion-but-iran-denies-planting-story.htm l

Iran nuclear explosion