BNI Israel I talk about BNI in the book

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JG-hsE9kSsg

Israel song playlist

Some of my favorite Israeli songs
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL01530AB6FBB1DE49&feature=mh_lolz

https://www.createspace.com/1000252310

YouTube readings from the book (recap)

This is a reading from the chapter " Post Script and Eilat Fish" where i found much out about the Palestinian Israeli saga  at a stamp show in my home town of  Hartford , CT. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEUyRk5fPbA

Review by Jim Smith webpage designer / author

By Jim Smith (Amston, CT USA) - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning Home: A Hebrew American's Sojourn in the Land of Israel (Paperback)


I confess that "Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning Home" is a book that I normally would not read. I am a web designer by trade and a techie book author as well (How to Start a Home-Based Web Design Business, 4th (Home-Based Business Series)). A book about a guy's journey to Israel didn't seem to match my normal pattern of technical tomes. But when I picked it up and thumbed through it, I found myself settling back in my easy chair starting the first chapter. By time I had read a few chapters, I felt the book warranted my full attention.



Alster taught me more about Israel, its people, culture, and history than I had ever been aware of before. I was able to view it through the eyes of someone who was willing to give a non-judgemental panoramic view of a culture that I previously only knew superficially. Through his eyes, I was able to see a part of the Jewish history that allowed me to understand more than I ever did before.



I remember in the early 1990's when I watched the televised version of Iraq shooting scud missiles during the Gulf War. It was a low-impact experience so many miles away. However, as I read about Alster protecting his daughter and family as he could hear the scud missiles just outside his own home, it became very real to me. This was not just a crazed dictator firing random artillery into the desert -- this was a real threat to real people! Seems obvious now but it took the skilled writing of Alster to bring me into the house with him and his family, feeling each painful explosion. By this time, I couldn't put the book down.



This book was written in a style in which I feel I have a better understanding of why so many of my Jewish friends talk respectfully about a desert land so far away. I understand it through a glimpse of someone with American values growing up in a Jewish household. And through someone who, forsaking all he grew up with, moved to a land of his heritage to make a new home. And then when he decided to return to the US, it made me think of it as the modern day equivalent to the 1915 book "Acre of Diamonds" (Acres of Diamonds: -1915).



If you are looking for a well-written book on a young man traveling to Israel and back, you can't go wrong with this one. It is educational, entertaining, and inspirational.

I believed in Israel bought Alon stock it went up 46% in a day!

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/04/alonusa-krotz-bakersfield-idUSN1E7A30ZJ20111104?feedType=RSS&feedName=rbssEnergyNews&rpc=43

I believed in Israel and bought an Israeli American oil refinery stock  ALJ Alon J and it went up a whoping 46% in one day!!!! Jim Cramer- eat your heart out :) ( I love Cramer BOOOYA) .

Reviews on Amazon.com for Leaving Home ...

Leaving Home Going Home Returning Home

5.0 out of 5 stars Israel discovered, January 25, 2010
By Gilbert Maron "Red Sox Fan" (New Britain, Ct, US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning Home: A Hebrew American's Sojourn in the Land of Israel (Paperback)
After receiving a review copy , I was happy to learn about a country that I had not been to, Israel. First of all I must say I liked the larger type as I am 67 years of age. Being Jewish , I always wanted to visit Israel one day. The easy to read book gave me insight into the real Israeli character and life there, not like what I was being fed in the news media which does not really reflect what life is like there. I was sad because of the daily struggle for existence the Israelis have to go through. But Jason's book was a real positive breath of fresh air about the day to day life there. The book was insightful about what one has to do when moving from the USA to another country of a different culture even though I am Jewish, and how to adapt. So the lessons in the book are universal. The book was also entertaining in that it was like a travel log of the country from the perspective of an American Jew or Hebrew as Jason calls himself. One of the best chapters in the book that I liked was " The Nothingness" because that chapter showed that even with our differences, people are people anywhere. I enjoyed each and every chapter and did get a feeling that I was walking in the footsteps of the author. I felt the book was not only entertaining , and humorous, but of a very professional quality and am happy to give it the highest rating because I know others will love the book as I did. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | Permalink
Comment Comment



1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Becoming A Citizen of the World in Israel, the United States and Europe, July 15, 2010
By Christopher Meade - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning Home: A Hebrew American's Sojourn in the Land of Israel (Paperback)
In 1996 I traveled to Israel on a pilgrimage with about twenty Catholics. I left with a sense of gratitude for the dynamic culture of modern day Israel with its diverse population of Jews, Palestinians and Arabs. Without fail, when I share with others that I spent a few weeks in Israel, most respond that they would love to visit but are afraid that the region is too dangerous and volatile to venture into.
Jason Alster's book offers to would be travelers an enjoyable account of one man's decision to make a life in Israel over a twenty-year period. He captures the joy and thrill of an American Jew learning about a new culture with its distinctive cuisine, economy and historical narrative. Living through the anxiety produced by the Gulf War and periodic episodes of terrorism he manages to fall in love, marry, raise two daughters and embrace with open arms the joy of reconnecting with his Jewish heritage.
The book's charm revolves around its personal and funny anecdotes. I especially enjoyed the story of the couple who sought out Mr. Alster's biofeedback services to reduce stress and blood-pressure issues. As the husband sat down to begin his session his chair gave way and he harmlessly fell to the ground. Laughter can be a great stress reducer.
For those interested in getting beyond the often ominous headlines in the news about Israel and the Middle East, for those who would like to understand what it's really like to live in that nation and, perhaps, one day visit Mr. Alster's book is a great place to start.
Author of Icons & Iconoclasts
Icons & Iconoclasts: How Secrecy and Denial Shattered the Catholic Church's Prestige - And How It Can Recover Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | Permalink
Comment Comment



1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A mosaic of vivid snapshots that clearly exhibits a remarkable insight into the heterogeneous and dynamic culture of Israel, April 22, 2010
By Norman Goldman "Publisher & Editor of Bookp... (Montreal) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME) This review is from: Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning Home: A Hebrew American's Sojourn in the Land of Israel (Paperback)
Author: Jason Alster
ISBN: 9781439258750

Part memoir and part travelogue, Jason Alster with his Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning Home: A Hebrew American's Sojourn in the Land of Israel reminisces about his experiences when he made Aliyah to Israel in 1984 at the age of twenty-eight, and where he lived until returning to the USA in 2007.

The term Aliyah in Hebrew means "going up" both spiritually and physically. As Alster informs us, the geographic and spiritual center of Israel is Jerusalem, situated on a high mountain, and thus you need to go up to get there. It is an important Jewish cultural concept and a key element of Zionism, which is enshrined into Israel's Law of Return. Someone who makes Aliyah is called an oleh, if a male or olah, if a female and olim if in the plural.

At the age of twelve, Alster had his first inkling that one day he would be make Aliyah to Israel. This came while attending Bible class at the Yeshiva of Hartford Hebrew Academy. It was not until sixteen years later that he actually took the plunge. According to Alster, the principal reason for his move to Israel was that he was searching for his real home and homeland and he didn't want to be a minority anymore. Later, when people would ask him why he moved to Israel, he would tell them that his father originally planned on making Aliyah and he came instead.

Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning Home is a deeply personal adventure, wherein Alster chronicles the process of his immersion into a society, culture and language far different from his native USA. Surprises were abundant, beginning with his initial meeting with an Israeli representative that tried to dissuade him from moving to Israel. After all, was this not the official policy of Israel to invite people to her land? As he later discovered, stated policy and reality are two different animals. Interestingly, Alster wasn't sure what he was going to do in Israel and perhaps this was the key to his adaptation. As he states, he expected to live a normal life, watch TV, go to the movies, work and raise a family-"Israel for better or for worse."

Written in a highly readable style that is both enlightening and at times funny, this fascinating memoir provides the reader with a window and unique perspective of Israeli life. One of its principal strengths is the number of interesting fly-on-the wall anecdotes scattered throughout. One such account is the chapter entitled "Don't touch the shawarma, no matter how delicious." Alster had a rude awakening when he discovered that his shawarma sandwiches were not one hundred percent meat but rather fifty percent pure fat and the remainder meat. Another was his agonizing experience with an Israeli builder-something, by the way, could very well have taken place in my home-town of Montreal. Also sprinkled throughout are interesting tidbits of information. For example, I have been eating tilapia for many years and I never knew that it was the same famous St. Peter's fish that my wife and I ate several years ago while visiting Tiberius. It is fished from the Sea of Galilee (Kineret).

Among Alster's many vocations is that of a biofeedback practitioner/learning specialist, who has over the years helped hundreds of learning challenged students with Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) dylexia, and test anxiety to succeed in school. Consequently, a great deal of ink, and perhaps a trifle too much, is devoted to his experiences in working in this field and applying his specialized knowledge while living in Israel. In fact, he was very much sought after, as he was one of the few experts in Israel during his sojourn.

Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning Home is a mosaic of vivid snapshots that clearly exhibits a remarkable insight into the heterogeneous and dynamic culture of Israel, while at the same time conveying to the reader the nuances of feelings, as well as the harshness of reality. And for anyone contemplating aliyah or even visiting Israel, this is a must read.

Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor Bookpleasures Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | Permalink
Comment Comment



1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A deep look at life in Israel, December 26, 2009
By Jason Mark Alster M.Sc "Millenium man" (Wethersfield , CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning Home: A Hebrew American's Sojourn in the Land of Israel (Paperback)
A synopsis of this novel is in the author's profile/blog.

I never thought I would write a novel. To me, this book about life in Israel was just something that had to be told. I felt, and was told many times, that I had a unique perspective and could see things from many angles. That is because of my background and different endeavors. My mother was a traditional Jewish lady born to secular parents , while my father was a secular Jew born to a traditional family. I myself had went to Hebrew school , but had grown up with many gentile friends from my neighborhood, and am secular today. By age 14, I had moved away from home to enter a private Hebrew school in another state, Maryland, and by the time I moved to Israel in 1984 at age 28, I had moved as many as five times and lived in four different states; Connecticut, Maryland, New York, and New Jersey. I guess I could identify with people who moved allot. By the time I had published this book, I had moved about fourteen times.
To this I also add my different vocations that give me different perspectives; psychology/biology, electro-neuro-diagnostics, real estate agent, sleep-wake disorders research, biofeedback, natural medicine, art teacher, educational technology, and author publisher. Well, I wanted to have a positive book that would be a real joy to read, but at the same time identify with other people who are deciding to follow their dreams , but know that might mean relocating. So the novel may be read on different levels. As an informative book on life in Israel spanning the years from 1984, an exciting adventerous novel, and a book about following your dreams. I know you will enjoy this book and hopefully be inspired.
Being in Control: Natural Techniques for Increasing Your Potential and Creativity for Success in School , Creative Painting for the Young Artist , Relaxing Sights and Sounds of Natural Israel , Exotic and Meditative Sights and Sounds from Israel Why no voting buttons? We don't let customers vote on their own reviews, so the voting buttons appear only when you look at reviews submitted by others. Permalink
Comment Comment



5.0 out of 5 stars A Homerun, Whether Leaving, Going, or Returning, October 11, 2011
By Jim Smith (Amston, CT USA) - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning Home: A Hebrew American's Sojourn in the Land of Israel (Paperback)
I confess that "Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning Home" is a book that I normally would not read. I am a web designer by trade and a techie book author as well (How to Start a Home-Based Web Design Business, 4th (Home-Based Business Series)). A book about a guy's journey to Israel didn't seem to match my normal pattern of technical tomes. But when I picked it up and thumbed through it, I found myself settling back in my easy chair starting the first chapter. By time I had read a few chapters, I felt the book warranted my full attention.

Alster taught me more about Israel, its people, culture, and history than I had ever been aware of before. I was able to view it through the eyes of someone who was willing to give a non-judgemental panoramic view of a culture that I previously only knew superficially. Through his eyes, I was able to see a part of the Jewish history that allowed me to understand more than I ever did before.

I remember in the early 1990's when I watched the televised version of Iraq shooting scud missiles during the Gulf War. It was a low-impact experience so many miles away. However, as I read about Alster protecting his daughter and family as he could hear the scud missiles just outside his own home, it became very real to me. This was not just a crazed dictator firing random artillery into the desert -- this was a real threat to real people! Seems obvious now but it took the skilled writing of Alster to bring me into the house with him and his family, feeling each painful explosion. By this time, I couldn't put the book down.

This book was written in a style in which I feel I have a better understanding of why so many of my Jewish friends talk respectfully about a desert land so far away. I understand it through a glimpse of someone with American values growing up in a Jewish household. And through someone who, forsaking all he grew up with, moved to a land of his heritage to make a new home. And then when he decided to return to the US, it made me think of it as the modern day equivalent to the 1915 book "Acre of Diamonds" (Acres of Diamonds: -1915).

If you are looking for a well-written book on a young man traveling to Israel and back, you can't go wrong with this one. It is educational, entertaining, and inspirational.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | Permalink
Comment Comment



4.0 out of 5 stars Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning Home: A Hebrew American's Sojourn in the Land of Israel, February 22, 2011
By M. Giskin - See all my reviewsAmazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning Home: A Hebrew American's Sojourn in the Land of Israel (Paperback)
The conversational style of this book is very inviting. It is as if the author is talking to you as a friend over a cup of coffee. The insider's look would be interesting to anyone contemplating a trip to Israel but especially to Jews considering making aliyah. We often view Israel from a political perspective but this book shows it as a real and vibrant country. A place the author called home with all its aspects, both good and bad. One gets a real feel for the culture of everday life and a sense of what it would be like to live and work there. In addition the author's love of his ancestral homeland and her resilient citizens comes through. The book also inspires an appreciation for Israel as the lovely Mediterranean country that it is with its beautiful beaches and natural beauty, something often overshadowed in newsclips of desert violence. An enjoyable read that provides many interesting insights. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | Permalink
Comment Comment



5.0 out of 5 stars Required Reading For Those Making Aliya, Made Aliya, Understanding Israel, December 11, 2010
By Joel Leyden - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning Home: A Hebrew American's Sojourn in the Land of Israel (Paperback)
"Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning Home: A Hebrew American's Sojourn in the Land of Israel" is written by an American who has lived in Israel for over 20 years and has observed this tiny, democratic state with the accuracy of a medical scientist - for which Alster is.

Furthermore, Jason is a gifted, natural writer - able to articulate all that he has witnessed and deliver it into exciting nouns, verbs and adjectives that equal some of today's most respected, read authors.

It is an honest, objective, no hold punches account of Israel which maintains its own integrity while supporting the Jewish state.

I feel that this book is required reading for every person who is contemplating making Aliya, has made Aliya and cares to understand the inner workings of Israeli culture. It provides support for those who have made Aliya and those who have returned from their tour of duty in defending the Jewish nation.

From experiencing an Israeli McDonalds, the Aliyah experience (12 chapters are dedicated to this process), enjoying the colorful historical, biblical history, shopping, driving, war, peace, the economy, the native food, marriage and divorce, doing business and then returning to your native country - this book covers it all.

Learning how to "expect the unexpected" and survive. Learning to appreciate and adapt to completely opposing cultures (Israel is polychronic - relationship oriented while the US is monochronic - rule oriented) without judging which is right or wrong but rather embracing the differences is what makes this truly informative book shine.

Hey , I am from the Technion too.

In my book Leaving Home ... I mention my work and research at the Technion and also my work on an objective physiological measure of relaxed concentration in ADHD. I published the concept this work .




http://www.opednews.com/populum/print_friendly.php?p=life_a_jasonmar_060608_new_concept_in_testi.htm&c=a

I also produced a video on Amazon.com where I show the protocol for the ADHD test. " Guide to GSR Biofeedback Techniques for the Natural ADHD Practitioner". Hey you never know, maybe another Nobel jointly for the USA and Israel.

Leaving Home required reading in Universities

http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishNews/Article.aspx?id=236524
Suggestion : Leaving Home Going Home should be required reading in every University course on Middle eastern studies amd Israel studies.

Interview on Positively West Hartford.

An interview I gave about the book Leaving Home, Going Home,Returning Home.
http://www.whctv.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2615:positively-west-hartford-september-2011&catid=241:positively-west-hartford&Itemid=11

An Israeli sense of Humor

Some funny stories - a reading from the book.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etnbei49S-Y

Now with Kindle

Leaving Home Going Home Returning Home is now with Kindle

QR code scan on video card of book trailer for Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning Home"

Book on Israel used to demonstrate QR Code technology.

http://youtu.be/7vVXTiLrbwI

Author Jason Alster uses QR code video card technology to market book.

Leaving Home Going Home Returning Home might be the first book to use QR code, video book trailer, and smartphone technology on a vodeo card by Send Out Cards to promote and market book. Now you can show your book's video book trailer by card to someone with a smartphone. You do not need a computer with you anymore.


Need a book trailer?
https://sites.google.com/site/booktrailervideos/

please follow me on facebook

http://www.facebook.com/mobileprotection#!/pages/Leaving-Home-Going-Home-Returning-Home-Israel-US/114389235295677
Please follow me on Facebook
Leaving Home Going Home Returning Home. Thanks

Author signing

27 Coogan Boulevard
Mystic, CT 06355
Open 7 Days a week
OldeMistickVillage.com
(Exit 90, off I-95)

Presents:
GREET THE AUTHORS WEEKEND
May 21 and May 22 ~ 10 am to 5 pm
Greet Over 30 Local
Connecticut Authors
Authors will be set-up throughout the Village,
In stores and on the Green, autographing your books
Sponsored By:
You Should Be Reading!
Authors are members of:
Connecticut Authors & Publishers Association
Local Chapter, SE CAPA, meeting in Groton
For information about this event or joining CAPA
Please contact
Tom Santos, Cell 860-287-9298
Email: santostom@msn.com
Locally Owned, Fiercely Independent
CAPA
53 West Main Street, Mystic CT 06355
860-536-3795
Www.BankSquareBooks.com
Www.AboutCAPA.com
Www.SECAPA.org

Article by Israeli journalist deals with issues in book Leaving Home.

http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-4050195,00.html

https://www.createspace.com/1000252310

“I Am Not A Hero!” - The Gulf War

Leaving Home Going Home Returning Home


“I Am Not A Hero!” - The Gulf War
The Jews have an expression that we repeat every year while reading
the Passover Haggadah, or the story of the exodus from Egypt: “In
every generation someone arises to smite us, and we nonetheless prevail.”
During the Gulf War of 1990-1991, we heard another expression
from Nachman Shay, a radio announcer entrusted with keeping the
Israeli home front population informed about Scud missile attacks
in a relaxed and cool manner: “Na-avor gam et zeh,” which translated
means “we will get over this too.” This became a huge catchphrase of
the first Gulf War and it was repeated during many Israeli television
shows of the time. It was Saddam Hussein’s threat that he was going
to “burn half of Israel” that scared me the most. I think many Israelis
who had become accustomed to hearing these threats from Arab
nations took this one in stride or did not even pay attention at first.
Yet early on, I felt that this threat was different and ominous. I felt
that this threat was not like any other threat, for it was made by an
Arab leader that had already used chemical weapons on his people.
Saddam Hussein surely wanted vengeance for the Israeli Air Force
attack on the Iraqi nuclear plant in Baghdad in 1981.
Up until this point, living in Israel proper was relatively peaceful.
We had a resolute Prime Minister, Yitzhak Shamir, who would
protect us. In spite of this, Israel still had to be concerned with the
buffered and fenced border of Lebanon to the north, the Palestinians
in the volatile West Bank and Gaza, and the PLO exiled to Tunisia.
Syria, Jordan, and Egypt, meanwhile, fortunately kept relatively
Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning Home
114
“I Am Not A Hero!” - The Gulf War
115
quiet thanks to various UN negotiations, peace treaties, agreements
made behind closed doors, and an electric fence. We felt secure inside
Israel proper except for the occasional terrorist attack. These,
when foiled, gave Tza’hal (the Israeli Army) a good name, granting
Israel confidence in that she would be able to dictate the terms of a
lasting peace. With terrorist attacks down to an all-time low at the
time after the first Lebanon War and before the first Intifada, Israel
felt it had deterred Arab attacks on the whole. During this time
period, there were fewer than two dozen casualties versus hundreds
killed in an Arab war. For comparison, in 1948, a full one percent
of the population was a casualty.
When Saddam Hussein rose to power, though, he became the
fly in the ointment. He called for Tel-Aviv to “burn,” not unlike
the big mouth from Iran today. Note that Hussein used the word
“burn.” In this context, “burn” is a code name for a chemical attack;
chemicals burn the flesh down to the bone. We knew that he had
chemical weapons and missiles; he used them in his ten-year war
with Iran. Iraq also had battle experience. Israel asserted that she
could beat Egypt, Syria, and Jordan independently or collectively
in a war because Israel has “more real time battle experience” fighting
terrorism. Here, however, was a vindictive Iraq with a motive,
with battle experience, and with dangerous unconventional weapons,
vying for leadership in the Arab world. Soon, a real fear grew in
Israel – a fear that a reckless Iraq would join forces with Syria or
Jordan to form a coalition of Arab armies poised to decimate Israel’s
largest and quietest border to the east.
By December 1990, six months passed since Iraq invaded
Kuwait. Operation Desert Shield by the UN coalition had not
begun as of yet. At this time, I had just begun working as a biofeedback
practitioner for about two months in the Tel-Aviv Mental Day
Care Clinic at Ramat Chen, a suburb outside Tel- Aviv. Living in Haifa
in an apartment I purchased overlooking the coast, I traveled two
hours every day to work in Ramat-Chen by public transportation.
I had just finished my master degree in medical sciences and neurophysiology
at the Haifa Technion Technical Institute’s medical
school. I took the job position at Ramat-Chen as an opportunity
to move from medical diagnostics (sleep wake disorders and EEG)
to something more behavioral and people oriented (biofeedback). I
was drawn to biofeedback as a profession ever since I took a course
in medical hypnosis. I always loved the study of psychology and
started out in college majoring in psychology. However, my grades
on exams did not reflect the effort I put in as well as I had hoped.
In my opinion, the questions were too theoretical in nature; I needed
more substance, so I switched my major to combined physiological
psychology. In this more concrete and practical branch of
psychology, the exam questions were more clear-cut and scientific
rather than being open to interpretation. In retrospect, if I had
known what I wanted out of life at the time that I was in college,
I should have majored in clinical or research psychology. Instead,
the change I made then ended up leading me astray, deeper into the
medical diagnostics field instead of the behavioral field. Biofeedback
would later lend me a chance to come full circle and work in what
I initially wanted.
Coming February 1991, all that stood between me and the completion
of a thesis was the oral exam. Of course, living in Israel
meant that you knew a war with an Arab state could happen at any
time, without warning. Even as far back as my very first weeks of
working at the Technion in December 1984, I overheard a staff secretary
talking about the 1982 Lebanon War. Still fresh in her mind,
she lamented aloud: “all the Technion students that had died…so
many students.” Now that I was a student in Israel too and at the
Technion, any new war that might arise would naturally be the last
thing I could possibly want for obvious reasons, yet I could not hope
to control the events to be. Iraq started a war and she invaded…
Kuwait, at first. Six months later, Israel was next in Iraq’s sights.
The Gulf War was on, and Iraq threatened to use Israel as a hostage.
Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning Home
116
“I Am Not A Hero!” - The Gulf War
117
If anyone attacked Iraq, she would burn Tel Aviv or Saudi Arabia–
again, not bomb, but “burn.”
Everyone, especially those in the pan-Arab society wondered why
Iraq invaded Kuwait instead of attacking Israel. “Oh Saddam”, they
wailed amongst themselves – “was it for power? Was it for money?
Was it for leadership of the Arab world?” The attack on Kuwait was
the Joker in the deck of cards for the design of pan Arabism.
In the midst of all of this, Israel was merely a decoy. Whether
she was a decoy or target made little difference, though – she was
still between a rock and a hard place. Constant wonder and fear
raced through everyone’s minds.
Will Saddam deliver the chemicals by plane or by Scud missile?
Are the Scuds accurate weapons?
Do the Scuds have a long enough range to reach Israel without
falling on Jordan first?
How will the jets attack us?
Would the Scud war heads be of chemical mustard gas, nerve
agents, biological poisons or anthrax?
The answers the public received were not entirely comforting, yet
they offered some solace since they helped us understand the threat as
best we could. We soon learned that the Scuds can hit large cities, but
they are not accurate enough to hit smaller army targets. This meant
that they also can’t hit you if they are aiming right at you, but if the
Scuds are aiming away from you, there would still be a higher chance
that they could end up swerving in your direction. On TV and in the
newspapers, we are shown photos of Israel moving anti-aircraft missiles
out in the open to the eastern border, through a mountain rift
in the desert between Jordan and Syria, of course. You would think
we would feel secure from this display, but these are the same missiles
used in the Vietnam War. These anti-aircraft missiles may be effective
against fighter planes, but not for ballistic missiles and Scuds.
The pessimists droned on about another holocaust or just left
the country, yet everyone else worked remarkably hard together to
keep Israel’s spirit and conviction strong. Engineers became instant
media experts talking about the latest in weapons technology to the
point where you could have completed engineering school if you
paid close enough attention. Psychologists discussed mental, emotional,
and spiritual casualties of war in the average person’s mind
and the need to “talk it out” to survive it all. Medical professionals
panned over what chemical and biological weapons can do to the
body, and politicians stressed being strong in the face of adversity.
Rabbis recalled miracles of the past, happening again but Nachman
Shay talked to us, the ordinary citizens, through our radios about
getting over this bridge on stormy waters.
Army officials, meanwhile, took every chance to reassure us
about modern warfare by talking to every newspaper, news radio,
and news TV station in Israel. The Israeli Army and the Civilian
Guard worked hard to give the survivors of the Holocaust generation
a sense of security and a sense that Israel can defend herself even
against unconventional weapons. While all you could hear about was
the war and its mass destruction, the Israeli Army and the Civilian
Guard stressed that the only real defense we have if we are attacked
is retaliation. The more of the population wiped out in a first strike,
the stronger the retaliation. Israelis in the know understood this as
code for “if the Scuds are conventional, Israel will destroy the Iraqi
infrastructure”…but if the Scuds kill too many people, Israel will
attack the higher echelon and even tell us which neighborhoods they
live in so the other side understands Israel is serious. If the Scuds
are unconventional, Israel will fight fire with fire, hinting it will go
nuclear if pushed to the brink. The code word for that was
“The lesson will be very, very painful and unexpected in its intensity.”
Fortunately, Saddam waited. He flinched. Maybe Israel was just
a diversion away from his invasion of oil-rich Kuwait. Maybe Israel
did not have enough oil to bother with. Maybe he expected
a weak world response and an American weakness indicative of a
Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning Home
118
“I Am Not A Hero!” - The Gulf War
119
post-Vietnam mentality. It could be that he never really cared about
the Palestinians and their cause, just supplied lip service. In the end,
Saddam did not foresee the coalition of forces that joined against
him. The war was over before it started. Israel cleverly took the
unexpected defensive, with the notion this time that a good defense
makes for a good offense. Saddam failed to anticipate this strategy
as well, and it actually foiled his plans to get other Arabs on his side
to start another Arab-Israeli war with the focus away from his invasion
of Kuwait. As part of their defensive strategy, Israel decided
to supply the whole population with gas masks – Jews, Christians,
Arabs, and even pro Hussein Intifada-prone Palestinians. This is
a little known fact, that Israel supplied her then-enemy the Palestinians,
with gas masks. Even though Yassir Arafat supported and
visited with Saddam Hussein publically, the Palestinian people were
just as scared as the rest of us. They knew that the wind could blow
from Tel-Aviv to their cities only a few miles away. What if a chemical
missile from Iraq missed and landed in the Palestinian territories,
only a few minutes away by car from the Israeli green line?
Layer’s of protection was the key to Israel’s defensive strategy. In
addition to the gas masks, everyone was instructed to have a sealed
room in the house. Plastic sheets were used to cover all the windows
and openings and these were taped down. Everyone did it. It was a
hardware store field day. Can you imagine the hottest item for sale in
Israel was duct tape?
We waited in lines to get gas masks fitted for the whole family,
children included. It was the modern day family affair, like going to
a science fair. My daughter Limor was only 3 months old at the time.
Since she was just a baby and could not put on a gas mask, so she
would have to be placed in a plastic chamber that looked like the incubators
used in the neonatal ICU. The chamber was complete with
holes for hands to enter without letting in contaminated air and had
a battery operated fan ventilation system through charcoal filters.
We then had to practice drills with air raid sirens that would go off
and give us about 10 minutes to enter our sealed rooms. During the
last couple of years people of Sderot, Israel, given their proximity to
missile launches from Gaza, found themselves in an even more difficult
situation with half that time to seek protection.
The air raid sirens were perched atop schools, and one was across
the street from us. United States Navy missile cruisers began to enter
Haifa port on their way to the gulf. As a volunteer for the American
in Israel version of the USO Navy Home Hospitality Program, I
was invited with a group of other members to board a missile boat
and visit. The captain of the ship gave a speech on how the USA was
going to the gulf to protect world peace and stand by Israel…and
that’s exactly what they did. Here I was, an American in Israel, on
an American missile ship in an Israeli port, sending her off to war.
I could never have imagined that! I understood then what it meant
for America to have Israel as an ally, a friendly port halfway around
the world from American shores.
When the war began, the allies started their bombing raids on
Iraq. I was happy that Saddam was going to get his. It was night
in Israel and we all went to sleep in the designated plastic-covered
window security room, not knowing what tomorrow would bring. I
kept the radio on and it was now announced that a code word on
the radio in addition to the outdoor sirens was Nahash Tzeffa (Viper
snake).
Lo and behold, at about 2 AM – not even the light of next day
yet – we heard multiple alarms.
Oh my G-d. It’s real!
As Nena’s song “99 Red Balloons” says, “this is it boys, this is
war!”
Hurry! Get up! Put the cloth across the doorway airspace. Shut
the shutters. Turn on the lights. Get out the boxes with the gas masks.
Have them ready. Wait for the radio announcement to open the seals
over the boxes with the gas masks. Call down to the neighbors and
make sure they got out of bed. Ten minutes passed by, and I heard
Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning Home
120
“I Am Not A Hero!” - The Gulf War
121
two soft and distant thuds. It did not sound like anything I have ever
heard before. Where did the thuds happen? I could not look out the
shuttered window.
The radio crackled: Nahash Tzeffa, Nahash Tzeffa, this is not a drill, open
up your mask kits and put them on. Seven scuds just landed all over Israel including
Haifa. Special armored vehicles just donated from Germany are checking the damage
sites to determine if the missiles have chemical warheads. I open the seal on
the mask kits and made sure my family did the same. My neighbor
below was a little slow in closing the blinds. Since we lived on the
Carmel Mountain above the Haifa Bay, we had a panoramic view
all the way to the Lebanon border. He witnessed Scuds landing
on a large shopping mall on the coast that was only just built and
another two Scuds landed in the sea. He called us by phone from
his downstairs apartment to notify us it’s for real. He didn’t dare
leave his plastic security room either so we communicated by
phone. The mall, Lev Hamifratz, Heart of the Haifa Bay, was later
nicknamed “Scud Mall” and became a tourist destination with
before and after photographs proudly displayed on the walls. Talk
about the Israeli way to turn a negative into a positive! Saddam was
aiming for the large Haifa oil refinery next to the mall. He missed,
but only by a half mile or so. Not bad for an inaccurate Scud missile
coming all the way from Iraq. It’s unsettling to imagine what
damage he could have done even if the missile did hit the refinery
grounds.
On the news, the adults were told to put the gas masks on even
before the children so that we could help them. Limor was a baby
that had a very loud colicky scream, but as our first miracle of the
Gulf War, Limor became suddenly quiet in the Mamat (the neonatal
gas protection chamber). She quit crying and acted as if she liked
the closed space. I took off a sealer used to keep the charcoal in the
filters fresh then I put on the mask myself. Outside and above in the
sky, I heard what must have been dozens and dozens of jet fighters
fly overhead towards Jordan on the way to Iraq for retaliation.
Suddenly, I was hit by a strong stench of something that smelled
like ammonia. Was it coming from inside the mask, or was it coming
from the room? I was trapped, for I could not take off the mask to
hunt down the source of the stench.
Was I breathing in gas?
Since I did not shave my beard, did I have a poor gas mask seal?
Does poison gas have an ammonia smell?
How did the gas get into the sealed room so fast?
If this is real gas, I would have little time to act.
Wearing my gas mask, I checked the windows and found them
unbroken. Adrenaline pumping, I cursed the whole idea of the sealed
room. Saddam could shoot two missiles at once – one to break the
windows, and one to launch the poison gas. What a waste of time!
I glanced at Limor, safe and sound in the closed-off mamat, and
asked my wife and daughter Shanee if they smelled ammonia. You
could talk with the mask on. They did not smell anything. I was
the only one!
What was I going to do? The smell was real and I was breathing
it, and I use to have asthma. I began to worry that this would trigger
an asthma attack while I am wearing the mask. I was supposed to
be the leader of the sealed room. What if it really was poison gas?
What else could it be? I had to survive, didn’t I?
There was a syringe in the gas mask kit with epinephrine used
to accelerate the body’s immune system in case of poison. Unfortunately,
there was no attachment for testing room air. I rifled through
the kit and found instructions on how to inject yourself but the
instructions were written in Hebrew only with a few visuals. I spoke
Hebrew well, but these were not common day-to-day Hebrew words,
so I had to improvise. I looked at the syringe and it had one color on
top and another on the bottom, one side green, and the other red.
When you press on one of the sides, the needle is suppose to eject
out into your thick thigh muscle.
Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning Home
122
“I Am Not A Hero!” - The Gulf War
123
It was a fifty-fifty shot, but I had to survive to help my family.
I held the syringe up high, thumb on one end and brought it down
briskly into my thigh. Fifty-fifty, green or red…and I got the wrong
fifty. A sharp and serious needle shot right through my thumb,
somehow missing the bone. Pain coursed through my hand as some
of the epinephrine blasted through my thumb muscle, kicking my
heartbeat into hyperactive mode for what would become a good few
hours.
I ripped off the mask and breathed the dreaded room air, it was
better than choking to death. Israel was at war for less than 20 minutes,
and I was already a casualty, a causality of self induced chemicals,
and a statistic. The bright red blood dripping from my thumb
was my red badge of courage.
Unfortunately, there were about 20 deaths in the Gulf War, with
only one as a result of a direct rocket hit. It was sadly from friendly
fire from an exploding Patriot Missile that crashed into a house. The
other casualties ended up being from stress and gas mask related
injuries. People did not follow the instructions to take off the new
mask sealer before wearing their masks and choked to death. Others
died from the injections due to the shock to the body. I was lucky
then that I muddled up the injection, sending a smaller dose into my
body via my thumb instead of my thigh. Finally, years later, I would
find out that the ammonia smell in the mask was a cleaning agent
for sterilizing any masks that were used and not new. There was no
warning about the smell. In my hose hold only my mask was previously
used.
The Israeli fighters were already over Jordan when they were called
back to base. The Scuds then were fitted with conventional warheads.
It turned out that Saddam did have chemical weapons with the ability
to deliver them by Scuds, but he never did use them. He still kept
us guessing the whole war, even up to the very last missile barrage.
He saved that option in case he was going to be captured. The brave
infamous Arab leader, found hiding in a rat hole after the second
Gulf War, never used his card to attack Israel, the so-called “Zionist
Enemy”. In the end, we saw that Saddam was more interested in
surviving than in “burning half of Israel”. Each Israeli family that
strapped gas masks on that first night, was braver than he was.
America eventually sent Patriot missiles to Israel so that Israel
would feel secure and not retaliate, which would threaten the cohesion
of the allied coalition. This maneuver would allow America to
build a coalition against Iraq that included other Arab nations – even
with Syria, which was technically at war with Israel. The Patriot missiles
were set up on mountain tops and by the Tel-Aviv coast. One
of these missile posts set up on the Carmel Mountain ridge outside
Haifa University was a five minute ride from my home. Manned
with joint American and Israeli crews, it was the first time Israel allowed
foreign troops, American soldiers, in defense of Israel on her
soil. I passed by a missile battery on my way to work in Tel-Aviv. By
a twist of fate, my father worked for a company called Anderson
Laboratories just outside Hartford, Connecticut that was involved in
the manufacturing of the Patriot missile. My Dad told me by phone
that the Patriot missile is a very good system that will lend us protection.
That conversation gave me a sort of peace of mind and a false
sense of security. The missiles were more effective against fighter jets
than Scuds, but thankfully Saddam did not know that. I wondered
how my father felt speaking to his son far off in a foreign land and
at war, having a conversation like this.
About 40 missiles in 19 different volleys fell only during the
nights in a period of a month. That’s because the Iraqis were afraid
the American air force would detect the missile launchers, so we
were told. During the day, I traveled from Haifa to my workplace in
Tel-Aviv. The war was still raging, and I had to take my master thesis
oral. I completed a study comparing the sleep waves in the EEG of a
comatose patient to normal sleep, which I entitled “Density Spectral
Array, Evoked Potentials, and Temperature Rhythms in the Prognosis
of The Comatose Patient.” The exam, by hospital neurosurgeons,
Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning Home
124
“I Am Not A Hero!” - The Gulf War
125
would be early in the morning at the Rambam Medical Centre in
Haifa. Driving from my house in Nesher, and out in the open, was a
very uncomfortable feeling. I had my traveling gas mask kit with me,
and wore a long sleeve shirt and jacket in case of a chemical attack.
It was 6: AM and the morning news came on. It always started with
the well-known Jewish prayer: Shema Yisrael, Hashem Eloheynu, Hashem
Ehchad. “Hear Oh Israel the Lord is our G-d, the Lord is one.” This
prayer, brought down through the ages from the Bible, is said when
awakening in the morning, before bed, and before death. I recited
the Shema that morning driving to the medical center, praying that I
would be able to complete my degree. When I arrived, I found it surreal
that inside the labs, it was business as usual for the doctors. They
did not even ask me how I was holding up; it was naturally expected
that I would put on a face of doing just fine. In the midst of that
bizarre calm, I passed the exam. The research I conducted on coma
and sleep later won the International Carskadon Award for Excellence
in Sleep Research by a technologist. I guess that good things
do come out of hard places, if they only knew.
At the biofeedback lab, we used relaxation techniques to help
people suffering from anxiety to prepare to wear their masks when
the alarms may sound. School-age children would bring in their
parents to the clinic to have them instructed on how to put on the
masks. One night, a Scud missile collided with Patriot right above
Ramat-Chen, bringing about the friendly fire casualty mentioned
earlier while damaging the biofeedback lab. A television news crew
raced to the scene and also visited the biofeedback lab to report
on the psychological terror and counter-psychology measures of the
biofeedback lab! Sometimes, fate knocks when you least expect it.
On site, the news crew filmed me using biofeedback relaxation machines
for the Ramat-Chen anxiety patients. The news story came on
late that same night. I was to be on Israeli television! Most people
were now staying home nights and watching the high-quality programs
Israeli TV was just now providing. The movie The Deep was to
follow the nightly news with the alluring, bikini-clad Jacqueline Bisset.
Needless to say, a lot of people were looking forward to that
night’s film. As fate would have it, my segment would end up having
quite a large audience since it was the last news feature introduced just
before the station screened The Deep. The Israeli anchorman boomed
about a new psychological “secret weapon” being introduced to
fight a psychological war: it was biofeedback. I was now using the
“secret weapon” in a psychological war, teaching people to control
their anxieties. The next day, every person I met, mentioned seeing
my segment on the news. Once the war concluded, a documentary
named Nahash Tzeffa (Viper Snake) was compiled of the news stories
of the war, and my news segment made the final cut.
Psychologists were considered the heroes of this psychological
warfare, and I was the TV example used for a new secret weapon,
biofeedback.

Talk on book soon

http://events.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/calendar/details/author_jason_alster/

http://events.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/calendar/details/author_jason_alster/

Workshops at CAPA U

I will be giving a workshop on Writer's Block at the Connecticut Authors and Publishers Workshop on May 7th 2011.

My Israel favorite song list - can be found on Youtube

My Israel Songs and Movies A1- List


No doubt about it. Israel music is great. With a mix of musicians

from all around the world, you get the best. My favorite songs along

with their rough translations.

1) Oshik Levi - Ze Me’cvar.

2) Shalom Chanoch - Because Man Is Like A Tree In The Field.

3) Riki Gal- Here I opened A Window.

4) The Idan Raichel Project. Mima’amakim, from the depths.

5) Netanela- We Have Not Spoken Yet Of Love.

6) Netanela - Be a Friend, Be a Brother.

7) Riki Gal - Electricity Flows From Your Hands

8) Arik Einstein - I Peeled an Orange.

9) Netanela - The Dove Song.

10) Gazes, She Will Never Know.

11) Esther Shamir- In The Lowest Place in Tel Aviv.

12) Lea Shabat - Only Life Takes Me.

13) Matti Caspi - I Did Not Know You Would Leave Me.

14) Matti Caspi - No Peace and Quiet

15) Norit Gilron- You Are Here Missing From Me

16) Esther Ofarim-Song of the Wayfarer.

17) Coreen Elal - When It’s Deep.

18) Gingiot- Lelot Klelolot

19) Gingiot-L.A. (An amazing melody).

20) Arik Einstein - San Francisco.

21) Shlomi Yadov - Now Is The Time.

22) Yossi Banai - Out Of Love.

23) Gidi Gov - A Love Song for the Sea.

24) Yael Levi- Don’t Buy Me A Rose.

25) Chava Alberstein - London

26) Elephant- Seder Yom. The day.

27) Sashi Keshet - Pincus Hakaton. Pincus the small.

28) Harela Bar- Rak Beagadot, Only in fairy tales.
 
 
One of my favorite songs , and all can be found on YOUTUBE.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHWFO8m7m9o&list=PL01530AB6FBB1DE49&index=5

Chasing the Ark of the Convenant

While sitting in a movie theatre in Israel it came to me like a spark. Intuition, a bout of creativity, a decision to take action, doesn’t always hit you light a bolt of lightning, but can be more subtle. In my case, the idea jelled while I was watching the movie Under the Tuscan Sun. The movie initially caught my attention because a neighbor of mine took his wife to Tuscany, Italy for a wedding anniversary and enjoyed it there. I was now wondering if I should vacation there too. In the movie, an American woman named Francis decides to purchase a home in the Tuscan countryside and begin her life anew. Keeping a positive attitude, she was determined to acclimate with the locals, overcome the hurdles associated with moving, find the fulfillment she was seeking, and even meet the man of her dreams. During the movie I realized that I have had similar experiences while moving and living in a Mediterranean country. I too started anew, acclimated with the locals, and had funny and enlightening encounters with the characters I met. I became conscious that I am now really a part of this corner of the world. Couldn’t I write a book about it?

Chasing The Ark of the Convenant
I am wondering where to begin this book. Should I start from the beginning of the adventure and make it chronological, or should I start from the more pertinent? While having my daily look at the news from my other home, Israel, a country frequently compared to the state of New Jersey because of her shape and size, an article stood out. For once, what I read wasn’t about politics and conflict. With all of those horrible news stories, beautiful little Israel had come to symbolize a place of strife and intifada instead of “a land of milk and honey.”
The news I found was of an archaeologist named Tudor Partiff, a British Professor of Modern Jewish Studies. A real-life Indiana Jones, Partiff is chasing after the biblical Ark of the Covenant – in Africa. Whatever happened to the ark after the Romans captured it in 70 AD is one of the world’s greatest unsolved mysteries. In the article, Partiff claims to have found a remnant of the ark in a museum in Harare, Zimbabwe, hiding in plain sight on a dusty shelf. Partiff feels the ark was simpler than what we were led to imagine. He argues that Moses and his people were just recently freed slaves and could not have had the ability to mold an ark like the ones recreated in books of the Bible. Instead, the ark was more humble, small like a drum and made of wood, possibly once covered in gold. I hope I understood that one correctly. I later saw a television documentary on Partiff.
Partiff’s story sparked a light bulb in my head, for I had some questions of my own about the Exodus story. If the Israelites built the cities in Egypt and were thus witnesses to Egyptian art, why did they not copy Egyptian art in the land of Israel or even build pyramids of their own? All in all, Partiff’s story is what finally got me inspired enough to put pen to hand. After all, some people who made aliyah to Israel joined archaeological digs in search of lost treasure and biblical "facts on the ground.” I had that spirit too – to uncover my roots in the Holy Land and make an adventure out of it.
Within my first months in Israel, I volunteered to join an archaeological dig on the Gamla Mountain atop the Golan Heights. Gamla, which is “camel” in Hebrew, resembles the humps on a camel’s back. The Gamla overlooks the Sea of Galilee, has its own waterfall, and is surrounded by two rivers: the Nahal Gamla and the Nahal Dalyot. On Gamla, there is a walled Jewish city with a synagogue etched sideways on a high, rocky, mountain cliff. Josephus Flavius was the Jewish Commander of Galilee and in 66 CE fortified Gamla as his main stronghold on the Golan Heights. The Israelites of Gamla revolted against Roman rule in 67 AD as part of the Jewish Wars against Rome. For that, Gamla was set to siege and destroyed by the Roman legion general Vespasian who later became a Roman emperor.
At Gamla, reminders of the revolt and destruction were all around. I saw stone cannonballs, ballista, and bronze or copper Roman arrowheads – a rare find in the Middle East indicating a ferocious battle took place. There was a tower with a breach in it and a large spearhead sticking out at the base. On my trip, I also uncovered Jewish coins, clay lanterns, and Roman glass. Reminiscent of the history of Masada, legend tells that the Jews from Gamla committed suicide rather than be captured by the dreaded Romans. According to this tale, the Jews from Gamla jumped off the cliff into the ravine, yet one of the great Israeli archaeological mysteries is that no human bones have ever been found at the bottom of the cliff anywhere on Gamla. It is thought that wild boars dragged them away for a meal, but no one knows for sure. Shemarya Gutman, a famous Israeli archaeologist who was one of the first people to discover Gamla after the Six Day War, was there on the dig that I had joined. He looked like Ben Gurion and was from that generation too – same hairdo. He told me and the rest of the volunteers on the dig that day that any coins found buried on Gamla are historically valuable. Since no other city is known to have been built atop Gamla and since no bones have been found in the area, the coins are the best clues to find to prove the legend of Gamla is true.
I brought my first Israeli girlfriend with me to Gamla to join me for the week at the dig. I met her at an aliyah absorption center where I was staying at in Herzliya by the coast. She made aliyah from the south of France, and like me, made aliyah on her own with her parents were still living in France. One of her parents was French and the other Tunisian. At the time I met her, Bridget was serving in the Israel army and going to the dig with me would be her vacation. She spoke English with a British accent and sounded allot like Kyle Minogue. Bridget smoked European cigarettes, looking like someone out of a foreign film. Her hair was long, wavy, and light golden brown. What the Israelis call “gingi.” But most of all, she was French and knew more about the affairs of men and women more than me. I enjoyed meeting a European woman. The word was that European women were not in a gender war with their men like American girls and were supposed to be better at supporting relaxed relationships. That part was debatable.
At Gamla, we dug early in the morning before the hot sun came out. I found Roman glass, pottery, a few encrusted coins, and half a signet ring. The coins are probably sitting in a museum somewhere. Every now and then, an Israeli Cobra helicopter would patrol the narrow and steep ravine below us. They flew so close and below us, that if I threw a stone I would have hit the top rotor blades. In the afternoon, after digging, we hiked down to the stream Nahal Dalyot - and dunked ourselves in the water. There were fish in there that looked like trout, but when I threw a piece of bread on the water, they grouped and devoured it like piranhas. When we returned to the camp, we sat for dinner on picnic tables under tents provided by the dig organizers. There was that cowboy atmosphere. The food came by jeep from a local kibbutz a few miles away. It was hot dogs, baked beans, bread and famous Israeli chocolate spread with plenty of apples and oranges. The Israeli hot dogs were skinnier but spicier than the American version. One of the kibbutz members who supplied us walked barefoot all the way over from the kibbutz. Wearing only khaki shorts, he was tall, blonde, toned with striking good looks; undeniably a natural poster child for a kibbutz advertisement. One of the young girls on the dig, a tourist, tried to start a conversation with him and asked if his feet hurt. He said he had strong soles and had been walking barefoot since he was a child. This reminded me of barefoot Greek marathon runners. I let them be. There was so much food brought in the boxes that they must have been expecting an army of volunteers. Alternatively, the antiquities authority had to buy a minimum amount from the kibbutz to get supplied. That night, the leftover food was thrown down the same cliff the early defenders jumped off. Suddenly, pairs of small bright red lights shined out of the dark from the distance. It was the eyes of wild boars making their appearance for the feast. Could the theory of the wild boars stealing the ancient skeletons be true? Were the early settlers really carried away by the ancestors of these boars? It remains an open mystery.
On my last day of the dig, after lunch, I bit into an apple and left it on the table, enjoying the beautiful scenery. The workday was already over. There was no afternoon digging because of the heat. Quietly, a green chameleon crawls up onto the wood table. Its eyes, each one a cone shape, are looking in different directions. One eye looking at me and the other eyes my apple. Is the chameleon going to eat my apple? A fly then lands on the apple oblivious to the chameleon which now had the color of the table, grey.
Zooop!
A long and fast sticky tongue darts out from the chameleon's mouth. The fly is lunch. Soon, another unsuspecting fly lands on the lonely apple, and disappears without leaving any evidence at the crime scene.
Zooop!
The chameleon, whose tongue hits its prey in about 30 thousandths of a second, made a meal of at least five or six flies. I picked up the chameleon and it hung to my finger with its curled tail. I never saw a chameleon in action before, actually I never even saw a chameleon and now we were friends. There I was, young, in Israel with a lady friend on an archeology dig enjoying sunshine, beautiful scenery, good food, exotic animals, and adventure. All of this in one package, I could hardly ask for more. Till that moment, it was the best day of my life.

Israel is truely a land of milk and honey