Roundup of Israel Blogs Issue #2

Here is the weekly thursday roundup of different blogs coming from Israel or about Israel. Please contact me if you would like your blog to be included in this list.

*A Mother In Israel discusses Israeli baby names.

*A Soldier's Mother posts a message to Anat Kam, an Israeli soldier who stole classified documents.

*Bat Aliyah talks about what to say to her friends that want to make aliyah but aren't able to yet.

*Rav Reuven Spolter notes some observations about the yishuv Otniel.   The picture to the right is the famous hesder yeshiva in Otniel.

*Esser Agaroth blogs about eating locuts.  The picture to the left is a locust from the 1915 locust plague in Israel.

*Rav Zev Shandalov writes personal reflections following Yom Hashoa in Israel.

*Deena writes at Habitza about why people bring challenges into their lives.

*Igoogledisrael comments how March was a record breaker for Israel's tourism.

*Ruti Mizrachi at Ki Yachol Nuchal! blogs about children collecting wood for Lag B'omer. 

*Yisroel Medad at My Right Word shares some pictures from the top of the Hurva synagogue.

*One Tired Ema has a call for help.  She is looking for advice on how to get her friend's children registered in Maamad Israeli schools.

*Miriam Woelke shares some positive thinking for Rosh Chodesh Iyar.

*Batya Medad tells us why she is different than everyone else in her generation.

*Molly at The Big Falafel tell us why she loves her 5 shekel ice coffee.

*Benji Levitt blogs from Ben Gurion airport.

*The Muqata points us to this ridiculous newpaper article from Britain.  The article does not believe Israeli tourism brochures should include pictures of the Kotel.

*Brian at This Norman Life was irked about the Simpson's episode in Israel. 

Thanks for reading this roundup!

Want to Buy an Ereader for Israel? Don't Buy the iPAD.

I recommend that you buy yourself an ebook reader if you're making aliyah and want to be able to access and read books in English while living in Israel. An ebook reader is a electronic device designed for reading digital books and periodicals. With an ebook reader, you can download and read books in English from anywhere in the world, within a matter of minutes.

There are currently 3 main manufacturers of ebook readers: Amazon's Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nook, and now — Apple's iPad. Apple’s iPad (considered to be in a category between the smartphone and the laptop computer) is the newest ebook reader to the market, released earlier this month on April 3rd.

At this point, however, it is not legal to have an iPad in Israel. Israel's Communications Ministry has blocked imports of iPads and ordered customs officials to confiscate the units when people enter the country carrying iPads. Israel says the wireless technology that Apple uses in the iPad is not compatible with the country's wifi standards. Ben-Gurion International Airport's customs division has impounded 10 iPads so far.

UPDATE 04/19/2010: The Wall Street Journal openly wonders why Israel is banning the iPad.  They write that: "Some technology experts have speculated the ban could have to do with fears that the more powerful wireless frequency used by American devices could interfere with Israeli military communications technology."

Amazing Facts About The Country of Israel

(Source: aish.com)


Israel is the 100th smallest country, and has about 1/1000th of the world's population. It is only 62 years old,

Only 62 years old, 7 million people strong (less than Virginia), and smaller in size than New Jersey, surrounded by enemies, under constant threat and possessing almost no natural resources, and yet…

• Relative to its population, Israel is the largest immigrant-absorbing nation on earth. It has absorbed 350% of its population in 60 years.¹
• Israel is the only country in history to have revived an unspoken language.
• Since the founding of the state, Israel has more Nobel Prices per capita than any other country. It has more laureates in real numbers than China, Mexico and Spain.²
• Israel has the 8^th longest life expectancy (80.7 years), longer than the UK, US, and Germany³
• Israeli films were nominated three years in a row for the Academy Award's Best Foreign Film⁴

Environment

• Israel is the only country that entered the 21st century with a net gain in its number of trees, even more remarkable -- in an area that's mainly desert.⁵
• Over 90% of Israeli homes use solar energy for hot water, the highest percentage in the world.^6, 7
• Israel will be the first country to host a national electric car network.⁸
• Israel is ranked in the top five Cleantech countries of the world, and operates the world’s largest desalinization plant.⁹
• Israeli companies are producing the largest solar energy production facility in the world.

Science & Technology

• Israel leads the world in the number of scientists and technicians in the workforce, 63% more than the U.S. It also has the most physicians and engineers per capita.¹⁰
• Israel's scientific research institutions are ranked 3^rd in the world.¹¹
• Israel is ranked 2^nd in space sciences.¹²
• Israel produces the 3rd most scientific papers per capita, and the most in stem cell science.¹³
• More Israeli patents are registered in the United States than from Russia, India and China combined (combined population 2.5 billion). It leads the world in patents for medical equipment.^11, 14, 15
• Israeli companies invented the drip irrigation system, discovered the world’s most used drug for multiple sclerosis, designed the Pentium NMX Chip technology and the Pentium 4 and Centrium microprocessors, created Instant Messenger (ICQ), and Israeli cows produce more milk per cow than any other in the world!

Business

• Israel has the 3^rd highest rate of entrepreneurship among women in the world.¹⁶
• Israel has attracted the most venture capital investment per capita in the world, 30 times more than Europe¹⁷
• Israel has more NASDAQ-listed companies than any country besides the US -- more than all of Europe, India, China and Japan combined.¹⁸
• In proportion to its population, Israel has the largest number of startup companies in the world. In absolute numbers, Israel has more startups than any country other than the U.S.¹⁹

Defying the Odds

• Israel is the only country whose indigenous population returned to its native land after 2,000 years of forced exile.
• There are 26 official Muslim states in the world, and 18 official Christian states, but there is only one Jewish state.²⁰

Obama's Passover Seder at the White House

Yes, President Obama hosted a Passover seder at the White House on the second night of Passover.  You can read all about it, including what was served at the meal, on Politics Daily's website.    

In the picture above, President Obama is dipping his fingers to commemorate the 10 plagues that the Egyptains were afflicted with.

The are many potential captions for the above picture.  My caption is: "Obama learns from the Hagadah."  One of the lessons from the Hagada is that both history and G-d takes the side of the Jews and the land of Israel.  This is said clearly in Chapter 12 of Genesis:  "I will bless those who bless you."  Obama will hopefully take this lesson into consideration before making future policy decisions regarding Israel.

Roundup of Israel Blogs Issue #1

The "Round-Up of Israel Blogs" is a new feature.  Every thursday, I will have a roundup of different blogs coming from Israel or about Israel. 

Please contact me if you would like your blog to be included in this list.

* Deena at Habitza shares the exciting news that 2 of her friends from Katamon (aka the Bitza) are engaged! 

* Ilene Rosenblum describes her experience using a Breslover Hagadah this past Pesach.

* A Mother in Israel discusses a gas mask distribution dilemma - what to tell the kids?

* A Soldier's Mother shares her thoughts on Passover.

* Rav Spolter at Chopping Wood posts an audio shiur on Aharon's role in Parashat Shemini.

* Esser Agaroth discusses what he has heard on the street about kitniyot on Pesach.

* Rav Zev Shandalov describes what chol moed is like is in Israel.

* Igoogledisrael tells us why the Kinneret is NOT the place to visit on Chol Moed.

* Yehoshua Halevy shares another one of his beautiful pictures.  The picture this time is a beautiful shot of the Old City, taken from a distance.

* Ruti Mizrachi reminds us to not forget to bake Shissel Challah this week for good luck!

* Miriam Woelke shares some pictures she took of the Kaliver Rebbe who visited the Kotel on Chol Moed.

* Batya Medad shows up some of the exquisitve meals she made for Shabbat Pesach.

* The Muqata tells us why Obama is good for aliya.

* The Normal Life tells us about some trips he made to the Galil and the Golan over chol moed.

* Rafi at Israel Easy asks whether it is better today to live in Israel than the US?

* Aliyah Blog discusses Ravi Lichtenstein's review of The Eye of the Storm.

* Reb Akiva at Mystical Paths talks about how a kassam rocket landed in the area he was in on his chol moed trip.

* Rabbi Tzvi Fishman blogs about how it could not be clearer from the straightforward reading of the Torah that G-d wants the Jewish People to live in Israel.