In a comment to this post about our visit to Neve Daniel, Shoshana asked the following: I’d like to know what hit you the ‘wrong’ way (about Neve Daniel). We are also looking for a community we would like to live in. We have already visited kochav yakov and I’d like to know what you [...]

Time to leave now. Looks like the US is being Revoked! Update: This brilliant piece of satire was not written by the listed author – but it’s still brilliant (thanks to Shanna for pointing this out)

I have just received the below article from my teacher, Rav Chaim Eisen (the mesader kiddushin at our wedding). Rav Eisen has taught at various yeshivot in Israel and lectured extensively on Jewish thought and Jewish philosophy throughout Israel and the US. He recently relocated with his family to Gush Katif. I just received the [...]

My condolences to the citizens of London and the families of the victims. Tom Gross of the Jerusalem Post puts things into perspective: Last Friday, as British police frantically searched for four presumed suicide bombers on the run, the people of London had a glimpse of what the people of Israel live with daily. The [...]

The security forces of the Palestinian Authority are divided, weak, overstaffed, badly motivated and underarmed, and more attention must be paid to building up institutions rather than personalities, says the first independent survey of the complicated Palestinian security environment since the death of Yasir Arafat… Duh! From the NY Times (free registration required). And if [...]

I have heard from a number of people that one of the hardest adjustments for a North American oleh to make is the loss of Sundays. Having one day a week with “no responsibilities” (at least as far as work is concerned) is a great luxury and sanity-saver. Israel, as a Jewish state, does not [...]

My wife and I dress in a way that gives our religion and level of observance away (I wear a kippa and my tzitzis are usually visible, my wife wears skirts and long-sleeve shirts and covers her hair). Because of this (so we postulate) many people who are Jewish but do not advertise it (or [...]

Save $1 Million in tuition costs, do a mitzva (see article for more info)

Read Double tax trouble for US olim by Debbie Inker at Globes Online. (If you are having trouble getting to the article, try here instead). This article talks about how American olim could suffer some serious tax setbacks due to lack of a social security tax treaty between Israel and the USA. I had not [...]

Looks like Israel has once again failed the Town Square Test with flying colors.