Victory on the Board

The chessboard, that is. Israel was well represented by 12-year-old Marsel Efroimaski from Kfar Saba this past week - as she sailed to win the 2007 World Youth Chess Championships for girls 12 and under. It's a wonderful testimony to the peaceful activities many Israelis encourage their children to undertake. Most cities and villages offer after-school activities such as ballet, art, music, English lessons, sports of all types and much more. It's what a normal, peace-loving country does - because it means we want our children to focus on the important things in life, despite the violence that all-too-often surrounds us.

So this week, as we celebrate with Marsel's family, we celebrate a victory for our children and for us - we are doing something right!

Excerpt from the Jerusalem Post:

Marsel Efroimaski, a 12-year-old from Kfar Saba, is the new world chess champion for girls 12 and under. She won the title after eight rounds of play at the 2007 World Youth Chess Championships held this week in Antalya, Turkey.

Efroimaski, who returned to Israel on Thursday, is still trying to grasp her huge victory. "At the moment I knew I got first place, it was exciting and confusing and it was hard to believe that I had won," Marsel told The Jerusalem Post. "I was overtaken by emotion."

The young chess champion started to play after-school chess when she was eight. She continued to play in the Kfar Saba chess club, and now plays in Ashdod.

There's A Helicopter Over My Head...

Circling and circling. They are waiting, as many of us are...for a boom, for the moment when the terrorists succeed. Sometimes it seems inevitable; sometimes it seems we are winning the battle. The pressure is high here now in Israel as we wait for the Annapolis Summit to begin...knowing that there are forces trying to derail it. Sadly, the only way, or perhaps their favorite way of doing this is by murdering Israelis and so our security forces have raised the warning level and put all forces on alert. It's disconcerting to have a helicopter flying over head, making large circles, disappearing for a few minutes to some other side of the city, and then returning here. Being on alert, even high alert, is another part of life in Israel. It can go away for months at a time...but usually, especially when the world believes the opportunity for peace might be at hand...those who would see otherwise choose to act. And we, who sit at our desks and try to work...listen to the helicopters and simply pray that this is yet another day when they don't get through, when nothing explodes. No matter what happens in Annapolis or in the weeks and months and years to come...at this moment...I hope the helicopter pilot is vigilant and that when he goes home tonight, he can say to his wife, "Nothing happened...except I got to fly over the most beautiful city for hours, around and around...and then I came home...in peace."

From Israel National News:

Jerusalem on High Alert

Jerusalem went on high alert on Sunday after security forces received a warning early on Sunday afternoon that a terrorist group plans to carry out an attack in the city. Two terrorists are reportedly on their way to the capital.

Forces are stationed in eastern Jerusalem in particular, near the entrances to the city. Witnesses say police have blocked the entrance to Hizme and the bridge at French Hill. Additional roadblocks have been set up near Adam and Shaar Binyamin. Police Special Forces are mobilized, wearing helmets and bullet-proof vests.

Ever Have Your Car Stolen?

Well, I have...and it's no fun. It's a shock, a violation of your property and you feel that you have this anger in side of you...and no one on whom to vent it.

My car was stolen from a street in the middle of Petach Tikvah, in the middle of the day, approximately 10 years ago. A friend of a friend...that sort of thing happens a lot in Israel...had a friend who was a private detective. He made some calls and told me my car had been stolen by Arabs from a nearby village and was sitting there, waiting to be taken apart. He told me for a small fee, I could get it back.

There were back and forth talks, but in the meantime, some Arab took a fancy to my car and decided to take it to Ramallah. From there, it was seen months later, parked outside the Ramallah police department...and my white car had been painted blue.

"How do you know it was my car?" I asked the person who told me.

"It had your license plate on the floor of the back seat."

Well, ten years later, and thousands of stolen cars later...today's news tells us that even Knesset members are not immune.

According to recent news reports:

A Palestinian Authority Arab stole MK Effie Eitam’s car early on Thursday
morning. In the car was a cell phone with the phone numbers of several
senior government officials, including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The
Mazda 5 was leased by the Knesset.

Eitam said the thief called him to negotiate, saying he was in Ramallah and would return the car in exchange for NIS 12,000. "At first he [the thief] called my family, then my assistant and finally me," the National Union-NRP member told news agencies. "He said to me: 'I stole your car. I'm in Ramallah. If you want it back, I'm willing to hand it over for NIS 12,000 (approximately $3,000)'."

"You frequently hear of such cases, but when it happens to you it's kind of a shock," Eitam continued.

"You know deep inside that you won't be seeing that car again. And the thief? He's just a few kilometers from here and wants to negotiate. On his way he even passed an Israeli checkpoint. He couldn't have reached Ramallah any other way. I immediately informed the Knesset's chief security officer of the incident. There is one positive aspect to this incident. As a Knesset member I now feel what many regular Israeli citizens feel when their car is stolen. Unfortunately, a meter from our house exists a lawless entity [the Palestinian Authority], with no order or security," Eitam said.

So, I just want to remind MK Eitam...if you happen to find someway to get your car back...please remember all of those who didn't manage to have the connections....us...regular Israeli civilians who came out of meetings and found that almost-new car...gone. We were angry, as you are now. We were shocked to find those pieces of glass on the ground and no car in sight. Mitsubishi SuperLancer of Mazda 5, the feeling is the same. Someone took what was mine, what I worked hard to buy, what I took care of, and what I needed.

On the bright side, apparently the security fence has had a great impact not only on reducing the number of terrorist attacks, but has also drastically reduced the number of car thefts in Israel. Well, I've always thought MK Eitam was a good man...an incredible rarity in the Knesset, so...if you ever need a lift, call me...at least till the insurance company pays on the policy :-)