Tzedek-Tzedek

Unlike previous wars and operations, Lema’an Achai is NOT immediately launching a major program to house hundreds of families fleeing from the South, here in Beit Shemesh. The reason is that this time, officially, Beit Shemesh is not a refuge. The main targets of Hamas missiles are Sderot, Ashkelon, Ashdod , and Beersheva. Anywhere within 40 km range of the Gaza border is a vulnerable target. So Kireat Gat and Kireat Malachi (where three civilians were killed by a missile today) are also within range. This map illustrates the ranges of missiles and the Israeli cities under fire.  You can see why Beit Shemesh was considered a (relatively) safe haven for families under fire.  Five kilometers out of Grad range, made all the difference. However, this map is now out-of-date. Hamas now has Iranian Fajr-5 missiles in its arsenal. The Fajr-5 has a range of up to 75 kilometers. This includes Tel Aviv. That is why the IDF opened t...

Good riddance to Ahmed Al-Jabari & Son,  who murderously ran Hamas's armed wing, the Izz al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades. Yes, the consequences to the pin-point assassination are unknown, and may be severe. Let the chips fall where they may - Hashem Yishmor.   Kudos to our awesome armed forces and courageous political leadership.

Me: (playfully snooty)...if you actually remember what a BOOK is?!! My Kid (defensive): of course I do, dad, what do you take me for?! "Book", is short for "Face-Book".

Pashkevilles (ultra-orthodox posters) have been plastered around Ramat Beit Shemesh (Aleph and Bet) about a man who is 'wanted for questioning' by Rav Nissim Karelitz's Beit Din in Bnei Braq. According to the poster, a man referred to by his initials "Chet Kuf", is of chasidic appearance, lives on Nahal Kishon in RBS A, drives around in a black Volvo trying to pick up children, and has a history of offenses against children. This poster is a demand that he appear at Rav Karelitz's Beit Din on Monday 12th November. If he doesn't appear at Beit Din, then the poster threatens to publicise Chet Kuf's full name and photograph. Apparently the posters were produced by the Committee for Purity on the Camp - AKA The Beit Shemesh Modesty Patrol, by instruction of the Beit Din. Pashkevilles are well known for their lapses into fiction - and are sometimes simply a pack of lies. In this case, I do believe that "Chet Kuf" really exists and ...

" You can take the Yorkshireman out of Yorkshire, but you can’t take Yorkshire out of the Yorkshireman." One of the main reasons we moved to Bet Shemesh, was the lure of the green hills. They remind me of my upbringing in Harrogate, Yorkshire, a small town in the rural  Yorkshire dales; we would walk out of our home and into the surrounding fields – the rolling landscape peppered with Swaledale sheep and Friesian cows,  trickling streams, bedecked with the lush deep green grass – stretching forever. In Israel , if you crave green, you either need to go to the Galilee in the North, or Beit Shemesh in the center. The hills around Bet Shemesh are verdant. In Spring they explode with blankets of shimmering flowers. Seasonal fruits and herbs grow wild – first come, first served! Migrating and resident birds of every hew and species. Occasionally, deer will sprint to new cover. As night falls, the coyotes howl like the wolves of yes...

Far be it, for we Israelis to interfere in America's internal national elections...