Relaxing Zen from Israel - a relaxation video using scenes filmed in Israel by a biofeedback specialist

Israel is really one of the worlds most beautiful countries. I had been to no less than 18 different countries so I can attest to that. I am also an artist so I have developed an artistic mode of seeing. Also working in biofeedback and relaxation and meditation techniques have come to find what is relaxing. So while I was living in Israel I filmed and compiled different video scenes that I though would make a good relaxation film sort of like a screen saver. I call it "Relaxing Zen From Israel" and it can be downloaded as a streaming video on Amazon.com    

For a copy of the memoir Leaving Home Going Home 

Great article why some American Jews went to Israel to join IDF

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4462695,00.html

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

https://www.createspace.com/1000252310

Leaving Home Going Home Returning Home.

The Hittites narration by Jeremy Irons - what a great video - opens my eyes, food for new thoughts .

The Hittites
Wow , what a great video. I suspect if you look at the map the land of Canaan and early Israelites were in the middle of this war and peace and the story of Exodus is about changing alliances. First the story of Joseph and the Israelites being allied with Egypt and building Pithom ( Ptah or Pi ) , then through Moses, being also allied with Egypt , then the Exodus where alliances probably changed to be pro Hittite the winners against Ramses . The moving around in the desert probably makes them like the Bedouin in the story , during the war and peace between the Hittites and Egyptians. When the Hittites fell, the reign of Joshua and Saul and David, came to being with the Bible combining the one God idea of early Egypt and the Egyptian creativity , but the other ideas about love and the notion of written  laws from the Hittite.  The Israelites had a problem with the too many Gods of the Hittites and the slavery of the New rulers in Egypt who also gave up on the idea of the one God. Thus the need eventually for their own kingdom. The going out of Egypt in the bible could have well meant the going out of Egyptian alliance as Egypt itself was in Canaan. Who knows if the Kadesh Barnea was really the Kadesh of the battle here in Turkey, Syria. This fits in with the new findings that the Israelites were idol worshipers at first and were really a branch of Canaanites who never really left Canaan , but that Egypt came to Canaan . The location of Jerusalem in this context , the City of David , makes sense as it is off the route between Egypt and Hittite Kindom  by the sea or Jordan valley in the hard to reach mountains. The strong connection of Ramses the second and Pi the Egyptian god could somehow be related to Pithom and Ramses in the bible.  
http://youtu.be/Jq9FyI6D-xo

Now remember , in the first chapter of  Leaving Home Going Home Returning Home, I had mentioned that the way we understood early Israel till now as a direct historical interpretation of  the story of Exodus, did not add up to what archaeology in Israel was now revealing to us. Well  the truth is finally coming out and we are finally  getting a really good picture of how Israel came about and her gift to the world through the Bible and what the Bible was really about - an allegorical story based on the times , to position the New Israelites , between the greater Egypt and Hittite , Babylonian .empires with a message that integrates and refines the teachings of all these peoples.
Leaving Home Going Home Returning Home can also be purchased at Createspace. 

Leaving Home Going Home Returning Home
 https://www.createspace.com/1000252310

Pope invited to Jerusalem, Christians and Jews are in same movie with different parts.

I always felt that the Jewish people and the Christian people , in this time , are like cowboys and Indians in the same movie. You need both the cowboys and the Indians to make a western . Even though the Jewish people and the Christian people have had a tough history together most of the time, they still have shared values, family , history. They are in the same movie script. This new alliance , is especially portrayed in this article where Netanyahu gives the Pope a history of the inquistion, but at the same time tells him to visit the Holy land especially because Israel needs the Vatican's support and tourism it brings. The Vatican is one of Israel's best customers. from the Vatican's side, " If you can't beat them, then join them" applies. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4460493,00.html

https://www.createspace.com/1000252310

Thanksgiving/ Hanukah.

Someone asked me to write a post about Thanksgiving on my Facebook page  . Cool. I do take requests. I am just getting up to a cold New England morning in the first official, American town, Wethersfield ,Connecticut and the town where George Washington met French General Rochambeau to plan the seige of Yorktown . By the way, the Wethersfield sign is the onion, yea it transferred onions around the world by the Connecticut river. I am just putting on Turkish coffee , a gift from my Daughter Shanee who lives in Israel and says the coffee here is not strong enough. Yesterday, I heard that Israeli Icon Arik Einstein passed away. I know his songs well , and watched him on Israeli TV many times. I am listening to his music on YouTube. In this world where Israel is boycotted and also appreciated , they get their message out by social media. Looking on his passing away, we only then realize what we missed. Arik, always showed love in his music , even in the hardest times in Israel, he showed us that there is a new Israeli culture, and it is beautiful. Period. We also have the debate between my president Barak Obama and my daughters prime minister BiBi Netanyau. Bibi, with a new Israeli and Jewish freedom of speech he gained with the help of America, negates Obama's policy, and rightly so. So Obama is calling him to the USA - as a true friend and partner, to discuss the debate about nuclear weapons and Iran. My father Felix Alster was a Holocaust survivor , in his wildest dreams his generation would never have expected the Jewish people to arise to such a level that they are a world player with the USA , Great Britain France and Germany on the world stage. Guess what , these are the same nations present at the Battle of Yorktown and now all allies. For me it is going to be a great Thanks giving .

https://www.createspace.com/1000252310 A Thanksgiving Hannukah Christmas special on Meet The Author. Meet The Author

Two Artists capture life in Israel - Alex Levin and Jason Alster

I love the work By Mr Levin from Ukraine . He says he loves the colors in Israel. When I lived in Israel I use to call it an artist's paradise. I would compare the  sunlight paintings in Israel  to that of the darker paintings coming out of Europe. Below and above are links to Alex Levin's art. By the way, my grandmother Anna Neiman,  also came from the Ukraine- a survivor of the Odessa Pogrom.
 Thus, I myself also painted paintings and gave workshops in parks . I use to hold art workshops in the Baron Rothchild Park in Zichron Yacov.
I placed my own paintings in a book I published in Israel " Creative Painting for the Young Artist" . This book was the first art book that I know of that teaches youngsters  topics such as "artistic mode of seeing", "painting critique",  "artist statements" and "dealing with mistakes" . I even just sold a few this week to a pastel art class I taught . A book trailer for Creative Painting is below. However , as I can't say if Steven Spielberg purchased a copy. Maybe he did? :)

https://www.createspace.com/1000252310








On the topic of art, another video I just published is " John Singer Sargent : Secrets of Composition and Design" .

Bibles Buried Treasures - Did G-d Have A Wife.


Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning Home (Israel US) with amazon.com I love this program. As I came to feel - like many- during my stay in Israel - that the archaeology and the Bible account as told by the Rabbinical Judaism, - were not matching up. Thus I started my own account of life in Israel with an archaeological dig and my own research which pre-dated the recent concepts held by the scientific community. I gave evidence - as an artist - that if the Jewish people were in Egypt - as told in the bible - then why were there no straight lines or ancient Israel signet and paintings, sculptures. In Egypt there are many straight lines, which are man made discovery. Only till the Greeks entered Israel - does this change for the art there. I mention this in the very first chapter of Leaving Home Going Home Returning Home. I am not against the Bible of course, but think it is more important for it's allegorical message than for it's literal account. Thus the archaeology and Bible will not match up. In the end- the Bible would want the truth to come out.

https://www.createspace.com/1000252310

The Great WHO DONE IT!

Well isn't this a great WhoDoneIt? The Egyptian military let Morsi get rid of Mubarak after a prison break, and now is getting rid of Morsi after he did the dirty work. However , in a twist , the bad guys are also Hamas and Hezbullah. Well I wonder what the Israeli's think of that?

You can always tell what is happening in the middle east by what is not said or left out on purpose. Mike Peled son of Yossi Peled writes book. Talks bad about Israel and gives proof that Israel is the bad guy visa vie the Palestinians. Listen to his talk and ask this. Why did he not mention the Mufti of Jerusalem connection to Hitler. Why did he not mention that Nassar wanted to throw the Jews into the sea in 1967. He says the Palestinians were defenseless but did not mention the terror attacks before the 1948 war. He does not mention that it was the British that liberated Palestine from the Ottomans and thus it was for Britain to decide what would happen to the land- that is open it up for Jews to make a state. He also forgot to mention the pogroms against the Jews in Arab lands and the anti semitism in the world when the Jews could not defend themselves. It is very sad that Miko warps history. it won't help. he says israel did not want to negotiate with the Palestinians without mentioning the three no's in Khartoum after the six day war, - No negotiation, No recognition, No peace, for all Arabs with Israel. There are two narratives and Miko is just repeating the Palestinian narrative without even giving any credit to the Israelis . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etXAm-OylQQ

https://www.createspace.com/1000252310

Torrington Fair Connecticut book signing experience.

I had a great experience at a book signing at the Torrington Fair. I never expected to meet an ex - navy sailor whose ship docked in Haifa port , Israel at the time I was living there and he purchased my non-fiction novel about Israel. We got to talking about his experiences in Israel and he told me that the best pizza place he ever visited was in Haifa Israel on Mount Carmel next to the USO office in Haifa. I told him that Anglo's who lived in Israel thought the same way and it was delicious and unique because the Arab cook who made the pizza used the middle eastern spice mixture called Za'tar - a mixture of oregano, basil , thyme , sumac, sesame . and Israeli olive oil which is very light.- We both couldn't believe that in the middle of Torrington we agreed that the best pizza in the world to our collective knowledge was in Haifa. I told him that being in the home hospitality program for American sailors at the time I was invited on his ship- the Enterprise ( 1980's) when it docked in port. He then purchased my book - "Leaving Home Going home Returning Home : A Hebrew American's Sojourn in the Land of Israel." You never know.

Is World War Z biased towards Israel sparks controversy.

Is ‘World War Z’ pro-Israel? Movie-goers in region share mixed views

Film sparked controversy around the world for its alleged pro-Israel bias.

This is the title of an article from The Gulf News. ( Persian gulf for those that don't know -Dubai/Muscat ). Now I just wanted to  read some reviews of the movie before I went on a hot July day to get into some air conditioned room and I see this. I now knew I just had to rush over and see the movie to find out what is so controversial.  The news paper writes "Dubai resident Aleena Khan, from Pakistan, also said she believed that the movie was glorifying Israel, adding that the movie presented a misleading picture of the relationship between Palestinians and Israelis."

Well I might ask - what is wrong with " glorifying Israel" at a time the gulf states are Glorifying the Syrian rebels, but of course have a theocratic/ monarchy  rule of their own? 

The paper goes on to read into the movie "I don’t think it was trying to justify Israel’s occupation, but it was glorifying the Israelis by emphasising on peace and harmony of the two nations, which is far from the truth." Well how would they know- were they ever in Israel to see for themselves? Do they know that there are even Palestinian Arab citizens of the state of Israel that serve in the Israeli army? 

Even worse the paper goes on to write ." It was a very rose-tinted version of what the relationship between the Israelis and Palestinians actually is,” she added."  I might add - and whose fault is that ? The glorification of suicide bombing that the "Wall" has prevented, maybe that is the  hint at the wall in the movie. Then of course the propoganda machine brings in experts like "Dr Abdul Khaleq Abdullah Professor of Political Science at UAE University on the other hand thought that the wall symbolised Israel’s insecurity.

“Plenty of Israeli propaganda came from the movie but the fact that they built a wall in my opinion shows how Israel feels insecure and so would go to any length to protect itself even if it meant coming up with over-the-top solutions like building the barrier or wall”. Yea like the next movie will include Iron Dome because the wall is not sufficient to stop Grad missiles.

Of course Israel is insecure. He could have mentioned Golda Meir's famous phrase - " The Jews are paranoid, but it does not mean we don't have enemies". This is the message the Mossad chief in the movie  was really alluding to.
However , I would agree to this statement in the paper "Other movie-goers in the region said some people, especially Arabs and Muslims, were reading too much into the movie."
Come on, it's a Zombie flick not a political documentary. Lets face it, Israel is here to stay, it already is part of the world like the other countries and locations mentioned like  Wales, Koreas, Belarussia, Nova Scotia, Cyprus and even the Palestinians etc. I say it was one of the most exciting movies I ever saw and the Israeli girl soldier in the movie was probably the most realistic part of the movie, than Brad Pitt or even "The Wall".
For a great read about Israel the way she is read " Leaving Home Going Home Returning Home : A Hebrew American's Sojourn in the Land of Israel." Notice, no one from the Gulf News ever did a review on my book- by someone who was actually in Israel.
https://www.createspace.com/1000252310

Is Israel an Apartheid State = Arab Israeli citizen comments.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i4BZZWRK-U

My review of the movie The Flat by Arnon Goldfinger

http://www.amazon.com/The-Flat/dp/B00BSBUPB4/

   In his award-winning, emotionally riveting documentary, THE FLAT, Arnon Goldfinger follows the hints his grandparents left behind to investigate long-buried family secrets and unravel the mystery of their painful past. The result is a moving family portrait and an insightful look at the ways different generations deal with the memory ... Starring: Arnon Goldfinger, Hannah Goldfinger Directed by: Arnon Goldfinger Runtime: 1 hour 39 minutes Release year: 2012 Studio: IFC Films http://www.amazon.com/The-Flat/dp/B00BSBUPB4/ 5.0 out of 5 stars For true German Jewish reconciliation there has to be a true recognition of the past, June 12, 2013 By Jason Mark Alster M.Sc "Millenium man" (Wethersfield , CT) - See all my reviews This review is from: The Flat (DVD) This was a very interesting story that brought to my mind some questions. Did Middlestein , an associate of Adolf Eichman, successfully avoid the Neuremberg trials and keep up the facade by keeping on the surface a friendship with an Israeli German Jew unwitting to the role that Middlestein had in the war? Were there not any Germans during the war that were willing to oppose Hitlers final solution even Germans who had close relationships with Jewish friends and neighbors and shared the same meals? Today Germany the country and Israel are allies , and Germany has made a true effort at reconciliation and that has to be commended. Yet, for a true reconciliation between Jews and Germans to happen, the past can't be swept under the carpet because that will mean the Germans did not really learn the lessons of their past even though they might be atoning for them in a collective way. As my father was a holocaust survivor from Germany who came to the USA , he never held a true malice to the German people even though his immediate family were sacrificed. He still enjoyed German food , language , and culture as did many of my German family relatives who survived, so I can totally understand the needs of the German Israeli grandfather and grandmother to travel to Germany, a country they loved but was betrayed them. In my book " Leaving Home, Going Home,Returning Home: A Hebrew American's Sojourn in the land of Israel" I myself also talk about my own visits to Germany and my encounters with young German's who to my surprise treated me very very well. I also saw this in the heart felt greetings the Israeli family had by the German families in the movie. Yet, it is time for Germans to deal completely with their past honestly for themselves and not live in denial- so that what happened in Germany can really never ever happen again. I understand that it might be painful to dig up the not so distant past. Yet, the Holocaust was painful too and will be with the Jewish people for generations to come.

Epilogue : The Passover Seder

In 2010 , When I released the historical and social studies memoir of my experiences in Israel "Leaving Home Going Home Returning Home : A Hebrew American's sojourn in the Land of Israel" , I ended the book with the Passover Seder and mentioning that the then new President Obama had brought the tradition of the Passover Seder to the White House. Now during the recent trip by President Obama to Israel , he mentioned as one of his achievements the bringing of the Passover Seder to the White House with it's common message of freedom and redemption. Thus I post the last chapter of Leaving Home Going Home... and marvel at how accurate and poignant the book is today in understanding Israel. i only hope that President Obama read the book before his trip to Israel. Epilogue: The Passover Seder When and how does an artist know when the painting they are painting is done? There are a couple of methods to making this call, and they happen to be very similar for completing a book. For one, your intuition may just tell you it’s done. Or, you no longer find yourself inspired by the work, and thus find yourself unmotivated or unwilling to continue adding content. You may take up the option to put the work down for awhile and come back to it later with new insight and knowledge for resolving snags. But, if you return and continue to feel the same way, perhaps it’s time to polish that project up and start another anew. I have debated much about when to end this book searching for just the right way to go about finding that proper ending. What I thought would take six months actually took three years. Most of this book was written in eight months, but then newer ideas would come and older memories that had to be retold resurfaced. I started telling people I had written a book on my life in Israel and it would be ready in a few months. I figured that if I made it a public announcement, it would be so, but as I write this epilogue, I have to admit that was over a year ago. I was still enjoying memories that this project conjured up, and I wanted to remember more and write more. To truly help bring the project to a close, I began to read chapters to friends. I really felt I accomplished something when a friend let me read the chapters to him for a second time. Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning Home 280 Epilogue: The Passover Seder 281 So at last, the time came. I laid out the ultimatum for myself that any more stories would have to wait for a sequel, and that’s that. The process of ending the book had begun, but how long it would take and how the process would turn out remained a mystery. I decided to meet with my nephew Jeremy Yanofsky, who by now graduated with an English major in college, and I asked him to help me to edit this book. I chose to ask Jeremy to help me in particular not just because of his expertise in writing and not just because he was my nephew, but also because I surmised that he may have some unique insight into the relationships I had between myself, Israel, and the USA, specifically because he had the opportunity to visit Israel via the Taglit-Birthright Israel program. According to their webpage, Birthright has provided gifts of first time educational trips to Israel so as to “strengthen the sense of solidarity among world Jewry” and to strengthen the “participant’s personal Jewish identity.” After partaking in this trip, Jeremy happened to take advantage and visit me when I still lived in Zichron Yacov, making him a bit more familiar with the subject at hand. The opportune moment for completing the story ironically arrived on the night of the Passover Seder, April 2009, during which Jews around the world spent the evening commemorating freedom and redemption from bondage. My sister Audrey, Jeremy’s Mom, invited me to her house for this Seder, where we all read passages from the Haggadah, retelling the story of how the Israelites were led from bondage and Egypt by Moses at the behest of the Lord. As the story goes, the Israelites leave havoc behind and wander in the Sinai wilderness on their way to entering the Promised Land. On my way to my sister’s home, I stop in a local wine and spirits store, and I find it stocked with kosher wines from Israel, Spain, Italy, France, New York and California. I picked up a few bottles, one of them containing dry white wine but in a green bottle. At the counter, a woman asks me if I was buying green wine, and I told her it was regular white wine in a green bottle shipped in from Israel. She asked me if it was any good, to which I replied of course – I lived in Israeli wine country for ten years, I should know. I felt like a good will ambassador for Israel. Audrey invited seventeen friends along to her house, most of which I had become acquainted with by this time. From the conversations around the Seder plate, I gathered that some of these people wanted their children to go to Israel like my nephew did. Some were planning to go, but did not yet. Others did not have any plans to ever go, but wished they did. Several said they are going to go when the time is right, but remorsefully settled on the idea that they probably won’t. One person even happened to be brought as a child from Israel to live here in America. This Seder was on the second night of Passover. In Israel, Jewish celebrations and observances like the Passover Seder last only one night, but out in the world of the Diaspora, the age-old custom of extending certain holidays with an added night to ensure that the timing of one’s observance of the holiday properly aligned with the timing of the holiday in the Promised Land was still in practice. While this practice may have been necessary in post-Biblical times, it just seems like an obsolete concept in the age of the Internet, especially to someone who has celebrated these occasions right in Israel just fine without adding that extra evening. The day began with frost on the ground. I mention this because Israel is sunny this time of year and the depictions of the stories of Passover in my sister’s Haggadah are all bright and sunny. There are palm trees and a warm, blue, Nile with people wading in the waters to extract the baby Moses from his reed basket. The pyramids and sand dunes bask in the sun. Egyptians and Israelites pose in light cotton clothes, wearing hats for shade, working in the fields to reap a hay harvest to use in making bricks for Egyptian buildings. Gazing at these pictures in the Haggadah, I wondered if I was drawn to that part of the world to get away from the cold New England winters. Leaving Home, Going Home, Returning Home 282 283 Glancing at the news that day, I read that President Barack Obama was having a Passover Seder in the White House, marking the first ever for an American president. Of course, editorials in the Jewish newspapers were ripe with “See, we told you so, Obama is good for the Jews.” Listening to the reading of the Haggadah around our Seder table of how the Hebrews were slaves in Egypt and how they longed to be free, I couldn’t help but wonder about the universality of the message of longing for freedom. What reaction would President Obama hold regarding the story? I would presume that he could not help but consider the parallels to black slavery, bondage, and redemption in America’s history and perhaps compare Moses to Abraham Lincoln. Was Obama now going to be a black Moses of sorts, redeeming America from her economic and social troubles? Are we going to a new promised future and a new promised land? Much remained uncertain about the future of America and Israel alike that night, but in reading the Haggadah with my family, I was certain of at least one truth in my life. I no longer felt like the son of a refugee, or a minority citizen, or a fish out of its aquarium, I felt free and content. I was able to follow my dream. This year, Jews were invited to a genuine kosher for Passover White House dinner through the front door. The Jewish people now had a homeland under an Israeli sun; and with it a thriving culture to be proud of, a strong army, strong allies, and a beautiful lady model on the front page of Sports Illustrated. As the traditional conclusion of the Haggadah meets its readers with the blessing “next year in Jerusalem,” so may this blessing come true for you someday.

https://www.createspace.com/1000252310

Straddling the Fence by Thomas L. Friedman

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-L-Friedman-Reporting-Straddling/dp/B007Q91SDG/ Just reviewed a great video about The Wall in Israel by Thomas Friedman " Straddling The Fence " Review on Amazon.com This was a great piece of honest journalism showing both sides of the story as best as possible about the building of the Wall more or less along the green line. However , since the report , still when Yassir Arafat was alive , we now know that he started the intifada with its suicide bombings as revealed by his wife but known by all Israelis. Unfortunately, today, while suicide bombings in Israel are down , probably because of " The Wall" many places in the Arab world that supported suicide bombings against Israel now have suicide bombings themselves on an almost daily basis - Syria, Iraq , to name a few countries. Unfortunately , in his analysis of the situation , Friedman when talking about one man one vote forgets that the Arab and Bedouin and Druse population in Israel are citizens of the state of Israel, serve in the army if they want, and have the vote. So too Palestinians that choose to from Jerusalem. However, Israelis see the Palestinians as part of the greater Arab nation and as such, have to worry about a homeland for the Jewish people first. The only one among the many Arab states. For a viable Palestinian State that official Israel also supports, the two state solution is viable, however, other neighboring nations will have to help re-draw the Ottoman Empire map and also give back lands they were arbitrarily given too much of, for a Palestinian state. That is why there is probably no peace today, for a fear of having to donate lands to the Palestinian cause. Jordan made peace with Israel for this exact reason because she was afraid of the notion that is felt by many Israelis that "Jordan is Palestine", and Egypt did not want to incorporate Gaza into Egypt for a similar reason. On another note, America today is even more supportive of Israel strategically and politically, than since this report , not as Friedman predicted. Author of "Leaving Home Going Home Returning Home: A Hebrew American's Sojourn in the Land of Israel".

Relaxing Zen From Israel Relaxation De-Stress video

A relaxing video of scenes from Israel by biofeedback specialist Jason Alster MSc . Let serenity surround you with harmonious elements from the natural environment. Peace of mind from simplicity let's you escape to far off places.

http://www.amazon.com/Relaxing-Zen-from-Israel/dp/B0077FY4S0/
Relaxaing Zen From Israel

IAF operation in Syria- speaking with sign language

From my perspective, when parties don't communicate by talking with each other directly , then they go through diplomatic channels. this has been the case between Israel and her Arab foes / neighbors. However , when they don't even communicate through channels then they speak through sign language. The IAF attack on Syria was a case of just that. It gave a sign to Syria , but it gave a sign to Iran and Hezbullah. More like " put up or shut up". Israel is basically giving a few messages.

ONE- if no one will help the rebels against ASSAD aggression then it works two ways. No one will help ASSAD against Israeli operations. 

TWO- Israel is going to decide her own destiny.

THREE - The USA and France have strikes away from their borders against terrorism so Israel is justified next to her border.

FOUR - Unlike the Syrians who have borders to run to, the Jews don't. So let's nip it in the bud.

FIVE- It is Iran and Russia giving help to Syria and Syria and Iran then passing that help to Hezbullah. By attacking Russian armament in Syria going to the Syrian Iranian proxy Hezbullah then Israel hits 4 birds with one stone. 

SIX - for those who question the strategic alliance between the USA and Israel, then think again, you just got a lesson. The USA picked a winner in Israel. 

SEVEN- Lebanon. The Lebanon people should understand that their country would be brought into another war not of their choice if the missiles and biological/chemical  agents would have ended up on Lebanon soil- illegally. 

EIGHT- The Israelis. It's country will defend her people.this is in stark contrast to what is happening in Egypt . Libya, Syria, Lebanon. etc. and thus the strength of Israel. 

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