Welcome to my blog!! Welcome to Israel!

I moved to Israel in 2007 after falling in love with the country and its beautiful, resilient people during a visit the year before.  This blog was created for sharing experiences that I feel are unique to daily life in Israel.  It was first proposed by a friend in America who, along with her friends, wanted up-to-the-minute information on the war with Gaza in November 2012.  But there are good things happening here too.  So many good things.

Jerusalem is rich with history and culture.  It boasts gourmet restaurants, musical and cinematic events, and ancient structures that once formed the foundation of the three largest religions of the world.  Tel Aviv is called the Silicon Valley of the Middle East.  Israeli start-ups, such as Waze and invi have rocked the high-tech world and catapaulted to mega-success.  Haifa is home to Google, Intel, Microsoft, and the world-famous Technion, Israel's leading science and technology university, and the source of its globally-reaching innovations.  

Then there are the small miracles, the ones that happen in an average day.  It might occur on a bus or a train, or hitchiking through the desert.  Perhaps a small kindness that changes the world for a few short moments, but whose presence was so undoubtedly conjured by the unbreakable strength and faith that envelopes its citizens.  Perhaps this does not make sense to you now but will so more and more as we share special anecdotes on this blog.    

I hope you enjoy this forum for what it is meant to be - a tribute to a miraculous land and its people, from the minimarket clerk with the blue mohawk to the bearded gentleman in the skullcap walking in the park in his soldier's uniform, holding his child in one hand and an M-16 in the other.  This blog is dedicated to them, whose hearts form the pulse of this holy land.