Amazingly enough...Israel

It's nice to get back to normal - to post something ironic and funny about my country, rather than something about the war. For now, things are quiet and so Israel today is a country struggling to be normal, to return to our every day activities. And for many Israelis, too many Israelis, that means speeding.

Here's one for the books (from several news sources, including Israel National News):

Police caught Wednesday a driver going 139 kph on the coast highway where the speed limit stands at 90 kph. The 30 year old driver from Ramat Gan claimed he was on the way to a corrective driving course. According to his claim, he has to participate in the course because of his numerous driving violations in the past. The police decided to suspend the driver’s license for 30 days.

Wounded Gazans...Treated by Israelis

There are stories that boggle the mind; that both amaze me and, in a way, give me pride. We are at war. Our civilians and soldiers are being wounded every day. We did not start this war. It was started with each rocket and mortar fired at Israeli citizens. One million of our people live in a war zone. And yet, we will not forget out humanity in the midst of this terrible war. Our humanity is there - in the targets we work hard to hit; the civilian population centers we work hard to avoid. No such efforts exist on the Arab side. It is our civilian population centers that they target!

And here, in the midst of dealing with our own wounded, Israel has opened its hospitals to bring in wounded Gazans. I don't know many other nations that do this but this is yet another aspect of our country.

Starting Saturday, injured Palestinians from Gaza will be transferred to Israeli hospitals, based on their medical condition, according to an agreement between Israel and the Red Cross. Pursuant to the agreement, Israel's Ministry of Health announced it would open a temporary Magen David Adom station at the Erez crossing for Gaza patients. It would include pediatricians, gynecologists, GPs and trauma doctors.

Don't Drink Coffee in New Zealand

Ok, you can drink coffee in New Zealand - unless you are Israeli. In that case, perhaps you'd better just go to the store and ask for a Coke? I'm sure this isn't funny - but, on the other hand, one can hope that local residents and visitors will choose to "refuse" to serve this cafe and not purchase there any more. I'm also equally sure that Israel's war efforts and the task it must do in Gaza will not be effected by one man's hatred.

Two Israeli women described themselves as “shocked” after being expelled from a New Zealand cafe this week because they are Israeli citizens. The cafe's owner, a Turkish Muslim, said he had refused to serve the two as a protest against Israel's Cast Lead operation in Gaza, and added that he would deny service to any other Israelis who entered his shop.

Local officials said the storeowner's actions were illegal.