Operation Thunderbolt

"We asked the soldiers, 'Why do you look sad?' We've told them you've done one of the most heroic deeds in military history, which will probably be studied in military academies for many many years"
"Yes, but our leader was killed"

A very good 6 part documentary about the Entebbe Raid:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Relentless

Relentless - The Struggle for Peace in the Middle East (by HonestReporting.com)

Who's doing the Carrying?

Two days ago, a good friend of mine at work asked me to pray for our mutual friend who had sadly miscarried. I spoke with her elder brother, a good friend, last night and heard a deeply concerned sibling just hoping for good news. Today, I was further updated and I myself was taken aback by the event. My friend had not only miscarried but had nearly died after losing 1.5 liters of blood. In an 'attempt' to bring life into this world, this vibrant, wonderful 21 year old was almost taken away from her family & friends.

The bus ride home today gave me a lot of time to think. Having a family is something that Talya & I very much want - and these kind of stories scare me, no one is immune from the possibility. It takes millions of processes in order to bring a healthy child to this world - one thing goes wrong, and the pregnancy is in jeopardy. Who's in control? I think some people want to think that we're in control of our destiny. Many actually manage to convince themselves that they are in fact in control. When it comes down to it, I think we're all very well aware that we're not ...

You know you're married when ...

You know you're married when you come home Friday afternoon and you mop the apartment in preparation for Shabbat, or you take leftovers (which I love) to work for lunch instead of making (well she now helps with that task too) sandwiches. Just a few of the 'minor' changes in my weekly routine which have definitely ushered in the new stage in life. The apartment is coming along nicely. We still need to buy a few pieces of furniture and other items but overall, Talya & I are both very happy with how everything is going so far. It's been a rather smooth transition into married life so far and lets hope that continues.

I spent Shabbat lunch with Talya's mother and younger siblings. Avi, the latest addition to the IDF's Nachal brigade, bought along two army friends. One, a 22 year old religious Jew from Cleveland, had studied with Avi in the Gush and was now volunteering for the army before returning to the States before his aliyah. The other, a 25 year old secular Jew from Indiana, had become extremely involved in Israel activism during his tenure at Indiana University before deciding Israel was the only place for him. Talking to him reminded me a lot of my time at Binghamton and it made me feel good (sheesh, I have been here a long time if I'm saying this!) to see the next generation of Zionists staking their claim to our joint dream and future.

A Different Goodbye

As I said goodbye to my teary eyed parents today, I walked away from a different goodbye. It wasn't like the goodbyes at Carmel, which left a scared and unsure 12 year old in a foreign British boarding school environment. Nor was it like the goodbyes at Binghamton, where an 18 year old went searching for his place in this world and knew that he'd see his family every few months at the most. It wasn't comparable to the goodbyes before a confident & sure 22 year old made aliyah. This was just different. Waiting for me as I said goodbye to my dear family was the woman of my dreams, my dear wife. As I smiled sadly to her, we started to make our way back home. Family has always been an integral part of my life but knowing that this new addition to the Piha family was waiting there to comfort me softened the 'blow' of saying goodbye to my wonderful parents & siblings.

This past week has been unreal. I don't have any words to do justice to the wedding - it was quite simply a fantastic event and celebration of our love for each other. The week of food and quality family time was wonderful and I can honestly say it has been one of the best weeks of my life. As things settle down, Talya and I are beginning to take the first baby steps of our joint adventure here in Israel. I am looking forward to it ...