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Proverbs 1:5, “A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise council.”

My B&B is a very interesting place. It is like a mini-drama every day. The cast comes and goes and is so rich in character. They are from all over the world and bring with them their cultures and language. A couple of days ago, I was sitting at “my” table reading the morning news, when a couple of new people came down for breakfast. The Canadian lady with the little boy and girl asked where they were from. One was from Amarillo and the other was from Dallas. I nearly dropped my fork in mid air. Here, I am, 5,000 miles from Texas, and in walks other Texans. So, naturally we got to talking.

They are part of a small group (7) who have come to Israel to show their support. It was great to visit with them. It will be interesting to talk about where they go and what they do each day. I always say, give me a microphone and let me talk about Israel and I am a happy camper.

While we were getting acquainted, another man joined our conversation. He is from the Boca Raton area in Florida—a Holocaust survivor. He was in a concentration camp in Germany for 14 months and tried to get to Israel but the British put him on Cyprus. He finally made it to Israel and lived here for several years before moving to the States. I would really like to talk to him about his experiences, but I don’t want to upset him either. It is interesting where God leads us each day.

Will and I went to the Old City on Sunday to drop off his new book, “Disengagement through the Lens” to a couple of people that he wanted to have the book. I must say I am a proud mother. Will has worked hard on the book and it is terrific. We went and had lunch at the Quarter Cafe—probably my favorite restaurant in Jerusalem. The potato latkes were as good as usual. Alon and his family are doing well. It was good to see them and have lunch with them.

We met a couple of friends, Gary and Cindy, for coffee/tea later in the afternoon. We laughed and laughed about being Americans in Israel. Most of the apartments do not have heat or air conditioning. It is just the norm and not unusual at all. But, we laughed at the attempts to stay warm in the winter, including doing computer work wrapped in the blanket from the bed. There are heaters available but they are so expensive to run. The apartments have electric meters and when the heaters are used, the hands on the meter whirl around faster than a second hand on a watch. You stay warm, but at a tremendous price.

They were headed to church at King of Kings and then to the Deli to buy (non-kosher) bacon and cheddar cheese. Again we laughed at what we could and could not get at the grocery stores. We did agree that it was a small price to be in Israel. It was good to fellowship.

Now for the pie crust saga. As I have told Greg, our website webmaster, my pie crust/Thanksgiving dinner is starting to sound like an off off Broadway play. First act, getting the ingredients, second act, cooking and the third act would be the actual dinner. Cindy suggested that I go to a web site and get the recipe for pie crust. I did it! I even made a pecan pie last night. It must have been OK, because Will had two pieces. Challenging, but rewarding.

Most outrageous item in the Jerusalem Post today: “German globe-maker establishes Palestine.” It seems that the Ravensburger Puzzle Ball Classic Globe includes both Israel and Palestine as countries. The company touts the globe as a geography teaching tool for children. Since there is no country named Palestine, one has to wonder why and how the globe is being sold in Israel. Ravensburger said the design was bought from a Chinese company and they promised to change the globe.

Again, don’t believe all you see on TV about the violence in Israel. It is localized and the Israelis are trying to fight terrorism. They are even talking about using ground troops to overcome the human shield tactics that the enemy uses. I ask why? Israel is the only country concerned with human lives. What other country would go to those extremes? None.

The editor of the Jerusalem Post had a wonderful article today, “Tell the Truth about Peace:”

It is time for Israel to urge the U.S. to call the Arab bluff. If Arab leaders really want peace, they should help the Palestinians out of their suicidal stalemate by setting three critical examples: 1. meeting with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem and their own capitals, 2. calling on Palestinians to give up the dream of “returning” to Israel by the millions, 3. beginning to settle Palestinians “refugees” rather than continuing to use them as pawns against Israel.

In addition the Arab states could be called upon to stop fomenting anti-semitism and supporting groups such as Hamas and Hizbullah.

I would add a number 4. Acknowledge Israel’s right to exist.

This entry was posted by Sandra on Monday, November 20th, 2006 at 4:56 am and is filed under From Israel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.