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Archive for February, 2008

Cries from the Beloved Country Part IV

Posted in Uncategorized on February 28, 2008 | 2 Comments »

I’m sorry to be only reporting negative things from South Africa, but this is absolutely terrible. This video is shocking and  has set off a firestorm in SA. There are many Afrikaners, especially more elderly ones, who just cannot come to terms with the new South Africa. Most young Afrikaners I think have made the [...]

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Bubbles within bubbles

Posted in Ehud Olmert, Gaza, Israel, Israel Defense Forces, Sderot, tagged on February 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »

“The State of Israel has lost its dignity. Yes, countries have dignity too. Any country that allows its sovereignty to be violated 50 times a day will eventually wither and fall,” Sderot mayor Eli Moyal says Tuesday at a small protest tent he has established in a corner of Rabin Square in Tel-Aviv. The tent, [...]

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A very cool man

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on February 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment »

A former Israeli now living in Cape Town has survived life-threatening conditions and defied contemporary wisdom by undertaking the most southerly swim in the world, completing one kilometer in an Antarctic lake in sub-zero air temperatures.

Previous extreme cold water swims in the area had only ventured as far south as 65ยบ latitude.
Ram Barkai, 50, undertook [...]

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Israel, Europe to get closer

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on February 24, 2008 | 1 Comment »

The Foreign Ministry has begun a strategic overhaul of relations with the EU and its member nations, increasingly “plugging into” EU institutions and, in turn, allowing Europe to play a greater role in Israeli diplomatic and economic processes, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
So central has Europe become to Israel’s well-being, diplomatic officials have told the [...]

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Before the Uniform, there was the Star

Posted in Uncategorized on February 22, 2008 | 2 Comments »

In her native New York, Estee Nemeth was warned not to wear any visible symbols of Jewish or Israeli identity in the subway. So she wore her Star of David inside her shirt. But she never dreamed that in Sderot, the Kassam-battered symbol of Israel’s struggle against terrorism, the chain around her neck and the [...]

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Raul don’t Rumba

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on February 20, 2008 | 1 Comment »

In 1961, about 500 Jewish Cubans secretly left their island and flew to Israel on three planes to start new lives in the Jewish homeland. Once the Jews disembarked, the planes were serviced, cleaned and loaded with dozens of sheep – a gift from the Kibbutz Movement to the government of Cuba – then turned [...]

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The Balkan Beat [Tinder]Box

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on February 19, 2008 | 1 Comment »

The Balkan Beat Box is a NY-based Israeli electro folk band that fuses
mystical Jewish influences with the varied sounds of the Balkan
nations in southern Europe. The band, which performed in Israel over
the weekend and moves next to Canada, is taking the world by storm.
The mix of ethnic Balkan styles and influences with Western electronic
music make [...]

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Cries from the Beloved Country #3

Posted in Uncategorized on February 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment »

Got this emailed to me today from someone who is keeping an eye on the situation of Jews in Johannesburg. I’m not aware of letters like this in the past, and its just another indication that the dismay and anger within the community is genuine, and deep:

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Duet in Damascus

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on February 14, 2008 | 1 Comment »

“Gathering intelligence in Shiite neighborhoods is complex, of course, the nature of the neighborhood almost didn’t allow them to walk around on foot and look at things, neither were they able to drive around in a rented car. One of the buildings in the street matched the description given to them in an intelligence briefing [...]

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Sderot’s Facebook status: Angry

Posted in Facebook, Israel, Sderot, tagged , , , on February 10, 2008 | 5 Comments »

Since I wrote this story at the start of the week, hundreds of people have joined the group. The group currently has over 350 members [up from 45 on Monday] and a whole new range of materials on building and firing rockets. I’m not sure how I feel about the ’success’ this group is seeing, [...]

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Cries from the Beloved Country, Part II

Posted in South Africa, tagged , , on February 8, 2008 | 5 Comments »

Sheldon Cohen’s murder, as well as the power cuts are still a burning issue amongst Johannesburg Jews. Some people I talk to there are either thinking seriously about leaving, or are in the process of taking out a second passport. Others don’t even want to contemplate leaving, but are hearing stories about other JHB Jews [...]

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Cries from the beloved country

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on February 3, 2008 | 4 Comments »

Just got this email sent to me [scroll down]; its making the rounds amongst former South Africans here in Israel. The violent crime in SA seems to be worsening, and every time a Jew is a victim, we hear about it here. Invariably somebody knows the victim. I’ve spoken with several friends back home over [...]

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