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The heat wave is on. The weathermen are predicting temperatures in the 90’s for Jerusalem this weekend. I noticed last night that it was not as cool when I was heading back to the hotel from Emek.

I had a chance to visit with Aviel Schneider with Israel Today. I think his magazine is a good source for what is going on in Israel. We talked about wars and rumors of wars. He is always interesting to visit with.

Yesterday morning on my way to downtown (Ben Yehuda), I got on the bus as usual. Yesterday afternoon, when I was returning from downtown, I noticed that there was security on each bus and at each stop. It was enough for me to notice. This morning in the paper, the Shin Bet foiled a bombing of a Modi’in synagogue. I was not afraid because I know how good the security is in Israel. It was just a little unusual. Normally, there is not that much security on the bus line. It is still one of the best ways to get around Jerusalem.

The news seems to have settled down at bit about Gaza. What was it someone once said about the newspaper being used in the bird cage?

I had the opportunity to attend a media forum at the American Colony Hotel last night. I had not been to that hotel in almost nine years. It was one of the places Zola showed me the first time I was in Israel. It is a beautiful old hotel. Zola would say that people think the American Colony Hotel is the real Israel. It has mysterious people hanging around (mostly Arabs) and dark places where intrigues take place. It does look like it belongs in a Hollywood movie. It brought back lots of memories for me.

We were there to hear the “new” Liberal Democracy in Palestinian Society. Natan Sharansky made a few opening remarks. He is the author of “The Case for Democracy” and head of the Institute for Strategic Studies at the Shalom Center and former Israeli minister and MK. Mr. Shransky opposed the Oslo Agreement of 1993. You’ve got to admit that 14 years is a long time for the Arabs to get their act together.

He left after making his opening remarks. I wish he had stayed. He would have been as angry as I was. The main theme from the Palestinian speakers was “it is not our fault; Israel is the occupier; we did not know that Hamas was a terrorist organization; Arafat was a democrat; we need more time.”

Let me be clear and name the men involved with this group: Walid Salem, Hanna Siniora, Muhammed Dajani. It is the same old story, only with a different group involved. They are part of a new “movement” and hope someday to have a political party. In the meantime, they are thinking that maybe a “benevolent dictator” would be good for them. They also are putting forth the belief that Islam and democracy can live together. After all, Islam believes in moderation.

It was all I could do to sit there until the Q and A started, and then I got up and left. I was glad to hear the forum because sometimes I think I have blinders on when it comes to the other side. Nope! These people mean the Jewish state nothing but harm.

The breakfast crowd was serenaded again this morning by the piano player. Just a lovely way to start the day.

I took a bus man’s holiday this morning and rode the Number 99 double decker bus that tours Jerusalem. You can buy a 2-hour tour for about $10 or an all-day tour for about $15. I took the two hour tour. I would recommend it to everyone.

After boarding the bus at the King David Hotel stop, I was given an ear bud that plugged into a system with 8 recorded languages on it to choose from. The tour started and the recording began explaining what we were seeing. When the recording was not on, Israeli music played. I was on the top deck with a nice breeze, watching Jerusalem go by from one end to the other. It was fun.

I am making a cobbler today.

This entry was posted by Sandra on Wednesday, June 20th, 2007 at 6:14 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.