Israeli Poet On Jerusalem & Exclusive Photography

'After Words. We'll Talk' (Dave Bender. All Rights Reserved)
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'Curved Sky' (Dave Bender. All Rights Reserved)
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'David's Silhouette' (Dave Bender. All Rights Reserved)
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Yehuda Amichai | Tourists:

"Once I sat on the steps by a gate at David's Tower. I placed my two heavy baskets at my side.

A group of tourists was standing around their guide and I became their target marker.

'You see that man with the baskets? Just right of his head there's an arch from the Roman period. Just right of his head.'

'But he's moving, he's moving!' I said to myself: redemption will come only if their guide tells them, 'You see that arch from the Roman period? It's not important: but next to it, left and down a bit, there sits a man who's bought fruit and vegetables for his family.'"

'Amichai's Arch' (Dave Bender. All Rights Reserved)

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(These and other photographs of Israel and other scenes are available for purchase at www.cafepress.com/davebender, and on my website photo page: www.davebrianbender.com )

Damning video expose': Israelis Set Up 13 Settlements 'Overnight'

Click the photo for the backstory about the weary members of a similar, struggling desert settlement. (H-T: Ritchie)

In a startling 'facts-on-the-ground' rebuke to the US Administration, Israeli settlers erect over a dozen rural communities, in defiance of world opinion...

...in 1938.

(Only now they're called "kibbutzim" - expansive rural collective farms, that are internationally lauded as exemplary centerpieces of Israel's agricultural, industrial and social prowess).

Many of the kibbutz movement leaders' and a host of others, now decry their modern day counterparts, in what is hard to see but as a breathtaking display of hutzpa.

Oh, and there's a classic movie bit of flipping pages of "The Palestine Post" as it comes off the printing press: that's what's known today as The Jerusalem Post. Like the British Army's middle east unit during World War II, commonly known as the "Palestine Brigade." Made up of - better sit down for this revelation - Jews, and not today's putative Palestinians. Draw your own conclusions. Jes' sayin...

Sorry - no embed code, so go watch it here.

Full disclosure: I was a member of such a foolhardy, against-the-grain political settlement years ago, greening the inhospitable, stony desert. Nowadays, guess that makes me (the guy on the left in the photo up there) and my bleary-eyed cohorts veteran settlers, now, too.

And a helluva' party it was, too...

(H-T: EoZ)

'Tisha B'av' & Beating the Odds (video)

...not a new video, but just some salient, extremely well-parsed thoughts by Israel's ambassador to the United States, New Jersey-born and raised Dr. Michael Oren. Appropriately enough, he's weighing intertwined and contrasting Diaspora Jewish and Israeli fates, leading up through the "Nine Days," and culminating in the Tisha B'av fast this Wednesday/Thursday. Worth watching:

Israeli Army Recruiting Overseas, Interested?

From the IDF website:

IDF Volunteer Programs MAHAL GARIN TZABAR MARVA SAR-EL Volunteer Program		General Information Lone Soldiers (Chayalim Bodedim) Academic & Immigrant Reserve (Atuda) Town Majors

And if you're wondering about those allegations of misconduct against IDF troops in the Gaza assault against Hamas, or elsewhere, watch them them describe their experiences: http://www.soldiersspeakout.com/

Jes' sayin', that's all.

A Video Postcard from Hell: The Gaza War Up Close and Personal

Ariel Siegelman, whose family lives in Atlanta, was an infantryman with the Israel Defense Forces and fought in Gaza against Hamas last winter.

In a film prepared for Aish, he movingly and succinctly describes his experiences and personal revelations during the hellish house-to-house fighting.

I have met Ariel, and interviewed him for a story for my website. I trust his account.

The Aish video embed code is broken, so go watch it there.

Speaking with him during a recent visit with his family, he talks about his experiences as a professional seaborne Israeli security guard on international shipping lanes:

At first glance, 30-year-old former Atlanta resident Ariel Siegelman doesn't strike you as someone who's used to facing off against pirates and gunmen. But then, the soft-spoken, observant Jew starts describing hair-raising experiences as a professional Israeli security chief guarding passenger vessels and freighters plying the treacherous waters of the Gulf of Aden.

"One day, his ship was in the sea lanes alongside the Maersk Alabama, and the pirates' motorboat first headed for him..

"With some coaxing, the nominally taciturn Siegelman allows us into a secretive world on a little-seen front line, and how the violent contours of such daily skirmishes affect him, and his family.

"We talk about his recent visit to the United States, primarily to train urban SWAT teams, and his heartfelt recommendations for the Jewish community, in the wake of recent terror threats.

Go take a listen. I'm editing more tape and will upload there soon, so stop back.

I LOL@ Knoxville Nazis

Nazi/KKK'ers tried to host a hate rally in Knoxville, Tennessee over the weekend.

Clowns - yes - clowns in tutus, wigs, red shoes and noses ripped them a collective new one.

Epically:http://tinyurl.com/26q7x5

“White Power!” the Nazi’s shouted, “White Flour?” the clowns yelled back running in circles throwing flour in the air and raising separate letters which spelled “White Flour."

(H-T: Harry R.)

Hey - do both of us a favor and check out my website: www.davebrianbender.com. Thanks.D

'Breaking The Silence;' So Shut Up Already, Will'ya?

Past JPost colleague, news editor Amir Mizroch takes the "Breaking The Silence" NGO to the woodshed over allegations of IDF abuse of Palestinians during the Cast Lead op in Gaza in January.

Personally? My money's on Amir's take - but what do I know? I just worked with the guy, and know his reputation for integrity as a solid newsman...

My other straight news and multimedia production site is here: www.davebrianbender.com

Acupuncture & Tefillin - Parallel Paths, Same Goal

Now it can be told, in the Chinese Journal of Medicine:

"The article conclusively establishes that the contact and pressure points covered by the hand and head Tefillin are exactly those points at which the Acupuncture needles are inserted in order 'to increase spirituality and to purify thoughts.'" (.pdf doc - worth reading, virus-checked)

(H-T: frumhacks)

Take a moment and check out my new website: www.davebrianbender.com
Thanks!

Hizbullah-bility: 600 Rockets for 60 Days on Tel Aviv

IDF Artillery Corps corporal in brief morning prayers, near his unit along the Lebanese border during the Second Lebanon War. (Photo: Dave Bender, All Rights Reserved)

...not that it hasn't been noticed elsewhere, but still:

After reporting extensively from bunkers, bomb shelters and hospitals across Israel's northern border with Lebanon throughout much of the 2006 war against Hizbullah, this report quoting Israel's Ma'ariv newspaper (if accurate - and likely is) is depressing beyond words...

"Calm on the Lebanese and Palestinian borders does not necessarily involve good news for Israel, a report published by the Israeli daily Maariv said on Friday.

"The report addresses the growing capacity of Hezbollah in Lebanon, three years after the 2006 war.

"The journal emphasized that Hezbollah is tremendously magnifying its military capacities and compiling new combative techniques in addition to a remarkable increase in the number of its fighters and trainers. The Maariv report pointed that Hezbollah is seeking to reach a level of capability that would enable it to launch a thousand rockets on “Israel” during a 60-day period of time.

"Citing Israeli intelligence assessments, the Israeli daily also estimated that the party was close to reaching this level of capacity as it can today send between 500 and 600 rockets a day to Tel Aviv and surrounding areas."

I'm searching for the original Hebrew version link (dovrei Ivrit mi'beyinchem, ta'azroo...)

War archives:

• Flickerstream
• Blog Linkdump
• Audio
• Video

Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs backgrounders on the "Second Lebanon War" are here.

(H-T: Weasel Zippers)

Steve Vai, Israel Studio Guitar Legend Trade Shred, Decimate Tel Aviv

From Israel21c:

"With the media touting doomsday scenarios at every opportunity about a fracture between the Israeli government and US administration regarding the peace process, it’s nice to know Israelis and Americans can still make beautiful music together.

"Legendary American hard rock guitar virtuoso Steve Vai was in town this week, presenting his Alien Guitar Secrets masterclass to a Tel Aviv auditorium full of 1,500 adoring fans. While not my cup of musical tea, Vai, who in addition to an illustrious 20-year solo career, has played with everyone from Frank Zappa to David Lee Roth, was simply dazzling - both his guitar playing and his personality."

Go here for more.

Sympathetic BBC article about life in Sderot

"They say time heals, but each day is more difficult than the last," says Ayelet Modoh, 37.

Six months after the Israeli military operation in Gaza, her sister Irit Shitrit's death in a Palestinian rocket strike is still sinking in.

Leafing through a photo album, she describes how the missile exploded as the two sisters headed home from the gym in the port town of Ashdod.

The youngest children can barely speak of the loss of their mother (left)

The siren sounded, they got out of the car, discussed where to lie on the ground because they could not find a shelter, started sending text messages to their children. Then came a faint whistle, followed by a massive blast and a deadly wave of shrapnel.

Ms Shitrit, 39, was one of three Israeli civilians killed in similar attacks during the 22-day January operation in Gaza.

Read the rest.