Coming Home

There are bittersweet reunions that take place all over the world, all the time. There are happy, "coming home" celebrations that take place in Israel. Beyond the happiness of the individual families that choose to make aliyah (move back to Israel), there is a feeling that some ancient wrong has been made right.

Interestingly enough, sometimes it isn't even about people. Sometimes, as in the story below, it's about something holy but not human.

According to Israel National News:

A rare 215-year-old Jewish manuscript that was discovered missing 10 years
ago has shown up in the German National Library, which it is returning to the
Rambam Library in Tel Aviv, cultural official Avigdor Levin said. The missing
one-of-a-kind- book was written by a Berlin rabbi in 1793.

Training to Save...Saves Lives

This is a wonderful news story which shows the incredible bravery and quick-thinking instincts of many of Israel's rescue teams. This story is so Israel!

According to YNET:

A team of Israeli firemen performing rescue drills in France saved the life of a local girl found drowning in a river Wednesday. The firemen rushed to pull her out when the kayak in which she was paddling turned over in the water. The men are in France conducting drills focusing on rescue missions in water and high places. They arrived at the Mieux River to practice in its strong current; however the practice soon became a reality.

"We were on the river bank preparing for water rescue. The current was strong, and families were paddling it in kayaks, one of which held a 10-year old girl," Oren Shishatzki, of the Petah Tikva fire station said.

Suddenly the firemen noticed that the girl had turned over, and that her head was in the water below the kayak. The strong current pushed her towards the rocks near the bank.

The Israeli firemen did not lose their cool, however, and rushed to her aid. "Two immediately jumped in and swam to the overturned kayak," Shishatzki said. "The kayak couldn't be righted, so they dove under the water, released the girl, and pulled her out onto the bank."

The girl emerged unscathed, and thanked the firemen for saving her life. "She was
surprised and wouldn't stop thanking us," Shishatzki recalled.

Pictures of the life-saving event can be found at: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3591889,00.html

Another Reason Israeli Americans Won't Vote Obama

Israelis are known to disagree on about as many things as they might happen to agree, but almost universally, those of us who love this country know that a nuclear option is simply not an option.

What that means, how it will be prevented, we have no idea. So Vice-President Hopeful Joe Biden's recent comment that "Israel will have to reconcile itself with the nuclearization of Iran" (quoted on Army Radio Monday as telling senior Israeli officials), is yet another reason why most Americans living in Israel will not vote for the Obama-Biden ticket.

Obama's history and comments on Israel are concerning enough - Joe Biden's quotes (and a well-known slant towards Iran and Iranian culture) helps cement where we will place our votes.

The only question for us, I guess - is who stands with us in America. Will you vote for Obama-Biden, knowing that this likely endangers Israel? I guess that is the question many American Jews will have to decide.