Breaking: 'Jew-On-Jew' Violence Rampant at Israel's 63rd Independence Day Events (photos series)

Tomorrow's NYT Headline: ' Uncontrolled Jewish Mobs go Wilding in the Streets of Jerusalem'


Oh, the humanity!


Even the elderly are not immune to the Zionist Hammers of Justice.


And yeah, well, payback's a bitch, ain't it?


Two young toughs out looking for a rumble.


Beating some Zionist sense into each other.


Snow far - snow good...


A late winter's frost. (I know - I totally slay with the funny, don't I?)

Happy Yom Ha'atzmaut!

Israel at 62: Fireworks!

(Photos: Dave Bender, All Rights Reserved)

Israel at 62: Fireworks
Originally uploaded by Dave Bender

I shot these from a party held at the home of some new friends', overlooking Kfar Saba's central square.

Shot with my Samsung Omnia i910, using the "fireworks" setting, and lightly p'shopped for crop, color correction.


(Photos: Dave Bender, All Rights Reserved)


(Photos: Dave Bender, All Rights Reserved)


(Photos: Dave Bender, All Rights Reserved)


(Photos: Dave Bender, All Rights Reserved)


(Photos: Dave Bender, All Rights Reserved)

'Never Again' vs 'Once More With Luck'

Israel at 60: two recent videos, with an abyss between them. Draw your own conclusions.



(Courtesy: Israel Channel 10 TV)


(Courtesy: www.InfoLive.tv)


Text of a proposed speech for an Israel prime minister.

A wealth of videos about Israel At 60 are here.

Israel At 59: Megadeath, Hip-Hop Hatikva, 'Human Beat-Box' & Dudu Fisher

There. That got your attention.

Click the flag.

Also from Ynet News, other artists do Hatikva:

• Teapacks

• Zehava Ben

• Rivka Zohar

• Daniel Zamir

And, of course, while we're talkin' odd musical covers in the national anthem, why not try out Megadeath guitarist Marty Friedman, from a recent gig in Tel Aviv:

Happy 59th.

22,305 Fallen: Every number a name, a face, a memory

Faith Under Fire

War Against Hizbullah, Summer 2006:
Israeli Defense Forces soldier at brief morning prayers
along northern border; smoke from a recently fallen Katyusha rocket rises in distance.
(Photo: Dave Bender - More images are here)

From the Israel Foreign Ministry:

A total of 22,305 men and women have been killed defending the land of Israel since 1860, the year that the first Jewish settlers left the secure walls of Jerusalem to build new Jewish neighborhoods.

In the past year, since Remembrance Day 2005, 233 members of the security forces - police, IDF, Border Police, Israel Security Agency and other organizations - have been killed in the service of the state.

Israel's 59th Independence Day celebrations will commence on Monday evening, April 23, when the state flag is raised to full mast at a national ceremony on Mount Herzl, at which twelve torches are lit.

Israel at 59: Statistics

Click image to view a memorial
film on Israel's fallen

Israel At 59: Orthodox Union slideshow

Ok. Shameless self-promotion disclaimer here - but hey, they asked.

So, What Does Israel Mean To You?

(Image courtesy AJC)

This?


This?


This?

Or something in between?

Comments are welcome, and many will be posted here (some with appropriate replies, so be nice...). So, c'mon - speak up.

To see an Israel beyond the headlines, go here and here for features, and here and here for images.