This Just In: Israel Dismantles: World's Problems End

Arabs: Welcome to your new home. Jews: But where do we hang the mezuzas? (Photo: Pria Bender. All Rights Reserved)

Reposting the link to a classic satire (...at least I think it is), since it seems to be even more timely now than when it first came out.

"My cabinet and I had long discussions about world troubles, and we concluded that our critics are right - all the troubles can be traced back to us. So, in order to resolve "We are dismantling the Nation of Israel. I'm leaving for Poland next week."these issues, we felt it would be best to extend our withdrawal beyond Gaza to include the West Bank and Israel proper."

"We are dismantling the Nation of Israel. I'm leaving for Poland next week."

Read the rest: http://betbender.blogspot.com/2006/07/this-just-in-israel-dismantles-worlds_11.html

Finally: An Anthem For Israel & Palestine - together (musical video)

It swings, it's got a hook, and by golly, it might just have peace breaking out all over.

Efrat: Misty Morn'

Click the photo to see the larger version (Dave Bender, All Rights Reserved)

A panoramic, chilly morning in the Judean hills at the community of Efrat, 20 minutes south of Jerusalem.

More photos here.

Single Chinese Woman 'Be-moms' Orphaned Toddler for Israeli Heart Surgery

By Dave Bender, Hao Fangjia
Quan Shiyi, a volunteer of Beijing, China, is caring for a one-year-and-half-old orphan suffering from a life-threatening congenital heart defect.

Gretel, her English name, is 26 years old and unmarried, and had never looked after a baby, even not changed a diaper. But all that changed in 2009 when she met Qian Baoxin at an orphanage in Beijing, where Gretel volunteered as a translator.

There, she learned the meaning of motherhood. Read the rest.