Shachar

Dateline Jerusalem -- This week Jews throughout the world will observe Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the year. For 25 hours we fast from food and water, dress in white clothes and wear no leather shoes. We ask for forgiveness for our sins and hope that our prayers will be accepted, and that we will be sealed in the Book of Life, Health, and Prosperity for a year of goodness and happiness. We wear white because ...

Dateline Jerusalem -- As Israel prepares for the coming new year, 5,775 years from the birth of mankind, the country is cognizant of the fact it is a peaceful island surrounded by a sea of terrorist sharks. We must constantly be on alert.

Dateline Jerusalem -- Happy Birthday, mankind. A mere 5,775 years ago G-d created mankind. Next week on Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, we will celebrate the anniversary of the occasion. Rosh Hashana actually is observed rather than celebrated. There are no New Year parties, no glittering ball dropping from up high in New York's Times Square, no noisemakers, fireworks or bubbly champagne. Instead, Jews throughout the world will sit in prayer all day in synagogue, reflecting and repenting, asking forgiveness for our transgressions.

Dateline Jerusalem -- I am often asked why I chose to live in Rehovot, the 14th largest city in Israel with a population of 120,000, centrally located with trains for traveling throughout Israel. Tel Aviv is half an hour away, Jerusalem one hour. By Israeli standards, it is a big city with a charming small-town atmosphere, tree-lined streets and narrow passages (pronounced liked massages), modern buildings adjacent to 120-year-old structures, and picturesque outdoor cafes.

Dateline Jerusalem -- Such a pleasure to be back to writing my once-a-week essays. Doing daily updates on the war with Gaza was hectic. Never a dull day in Israel. This week there has been an increase in the number of terror- related incidents and attacks against Israelis. Border Patrol officers, soldiers, police and medics have kept busy.

Dateline Jerusalem -- If the cease-fire holds, this will be my last daily update. However, I will continue to write my regular once-a-week essays that will encompass more than just Israel at war. I want everyone to know the real Israel via its cities and tourist attractions, its accomplishments in technology, science and medicine, its unique character, its food, its people, its history, its politics, every aspect of daily life.

Dateline Jerusalem – With the cease- fire still in effect, it may be giving Hamas time to re-arm and re-build. It is giving Israel the opportunity to do the same. During the war, Israel built up alliances with several nations, allowing it no longer to be so dependent upon the U.S. and England for weaponry. As we have seen, in wartime, the Israeli government cannot be playing childish games with governments who threaten and actually withhold necessary military ammunition, missiles, and parts. I do not condone burning any bridges with "allies," but it is imperative that Israel become an independent sovereign nation as soon as possible. This war showed again, Israel can depend on no one but itself.

Dateline Jerusalem -- Hamas has declared a victory, and righteously so. I do not know why it took 24 hours to come out with a statement. Israel claimed it would not be in a cease-fire as long as Hamas was shooting rockets, and that it had not sent negotiators to Cairo since the last cease-fire was violated. But that was yesterday morning.

Dateline Jerusalem -- Another cease-fire? It is midnight, and I do not know. I expect to find out in the middle of the night, the best time of day to break the bad news to Israelis, when they are sleeping. There won't be much of an immediate protest to the fait accompli in their slumberous state. Worse, the pause is for a month, ending on Rosh Hashana, the day Hamas originally planned to attack Israel via its terror tunnels.

Dateline Jerusalem -- Sunday must have set a record for the number of Code Red Alert sirens, rockets, missiles, and mortars fired from Gaza. My computer application that notifies me whenever a siren goes off in a populated area has been working overtime. There were well over 200 sirens alerts for populated areas by 9 p.m., a record for the war with Hamas. I don’t know how many rockets hit unpopulated areas. As of midnight, there had been 278 alerts for a 24-hour period, a normal three days’ worth.