Shachar

Dateline Jerusalem —If you aren't a mathematician or scientist then the word "disproportionate" probably was not part of your everyday vocabulary — until recently.

Now, thanks to the "disproportionate" use of the word by the media and their "disproportionate" one-sided coverage of the conflict between Hamas and Israel, the word is almost as commonplace as the word "the."

Dateline Jerusalem —We have all heard the "statistics" of this war, the comparisons between the number of dead Israelis to the number of dead Palestinians. Injuries are not reported as much by the media because those statistics are similar. Israelis might actually get sympathy and be portrayed as victims of rocket fire from Gaza.

Dateline Jerusalem — I have been in Israel a year and a half and I still do not know how to speak Hebrew. I can read it but I do not have the vocabulary to know what I am reading.

When I do utter a few words, no one understands me because my pronunciation is so bad. I work for an American company. So I only speak English on the job. I belong to an "Anglo" synagogue. The people there speak English even though the services are conducted in Hebrew. I know how to read the letters, so I am able to follow along. And, because I have been praying for so many years, I do know enough words in Hebrew to figure out what it is all about.

­ Dateline Jerusalem – It is that time of year again and people are on vacation or off from school. It is definitely tourist season in Israel in spite of the financial mess in the rest of the world. Everything slows down when school is out and many companies close down for the winter holidays.

This is the time families get together and go off to explore this beautiful country. Except I must work, no matter what.

­ Dateline Jerusalem – It is that time of year again and people are on vacation or off from school. It is definitely tourist season in Israel in spite of the financial mess in the rest of the world. Everything slows down when school is out and many companies close down for the winter holidays.

This is the time families get together and go off to explore this beautiful country. Except I must work, no matter what.

­ Dateline Jerusalem – Shalom from Israel! I wish everyone a happy, healthy and safe holiday season.

Throughout the world, Jews will be celebrating Chanukah in a few hours. In the U.S., the holiday is observed by lighting colorful candles in a Chanukah menorah for eight nights of the holiday, starting this year on Sunday at nightfall.

­ Dateline Jerusalem – When will the terror end?

Never, if we keep appeasing the terrorists.

A good friend of mine here in Israel has a daughter the same age as my youngest daughter. The girl is a such a lovely person. She is sweet, relatively shy, and very thoughtful. She just finished her service in the Israeli army and like most young Israelis, she is traveling the world between army service and the beginning of her university studies.
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Dateline Jerusalem — I went to pray at the Kotel in Jerusalem today (also known as The Wall, The Western Wall and The Wailing Wall) .

It is the only remnant of the Holy Temple. It is also the holiest place in all of Judaism. Not only are the Holy Temple and Jerusalem mentioned in the Torah, but no matter where Jews are in the world, Jews pray facing Jerusalem.

Dateline Jerusalem — I have been in Israel for almost 1 1/2 years and not a day goes by without seeing something that fascinates me. Yesterday I had to travel to a medical center in Tel Aviv for a CT scan. ­

Dateline Jerusalem — I voted for President via overseas absentee ballot.

Although I have been sick (sore throat and bad cough), I went out and walked to the Post Office in the thunderstorm we had here in Israel in order to mail my ballot.