Bet She'an, Bet Alpha, Gilboa Mts.

Bet She'an was once called Scythopolis, and provides strategic control of the Jezreal Valley.

Bet Alpha is the site of an ancient Synagogue, containing a floor depicting greek deities, zodiacs, and biblical scenes.

The Gilboa mountains also have biblical significance, but they also provide a stunning view of the Jezreal Valley, and Jordan.

We also had a wonderful swim in the Sahkne Pools!

PICTURES

Rabin Rally, Tel Aviv 2010, 15 Year Anniversary

A cold quiet carried through the tens of thousands who congregated around Rabin Square on Saturday night. We got there just in time to hear President Shimon Peres talk. Mosh Ben Ari also performed. This might be the last time that the yearly rally takes place, because the event isn't bringing the same crowds anymore...

PICTURES

Haaretz on Rally and Peres

JPost on the Rally and Peres

Goodybe, Ehud

Ira's Visit: Herodion, According to Ehud Netzer...

Ehud Netzer, archeologist who located Herod's tomb, dies at 76

By: Nir Hassson, Haaretz, 28.10.10

Professor Ehud Netzer, one of Israel's most renowned archeologists, marked for his discovery of King Herod's tomb in 2007, died on Thursday after succumbing to wounds related to a recent accident at the famed archeological site.

Netzer was seriously injured after falling down a six-meter drop at the Herodium site on Monday, as a wooden banister he had leaned on suddenly collapsed. He was rushed to Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Karem with a fractured skull and neck vertebrae.

Professor Netzer, considered one of the most senior researchers on Herod, has been excavating at the Herodium site south of Jerusalem since 1972 in efforts to identify the burial site of the King of the Jews. Netzer continued his active participation in the excavations following the discovery, despite reaching the age of 76.

The tomb, which Netzer had been searching for the better part of 35 years, had been desecrated and intentionally concealed by rebels at the time of Great Jewish Rebellion against the Roman empire in the first century CE.

Netzer had begun his studies as an architecture student in Haifa's Israel Institute of Technology, moving to archeology after working under Yigal Yadin in the Hatzor excavations. He then studies archeology in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where he served as professor until his retirement eight years ago.

In a statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "Netzer's tragic death is a loss for his family, for research into the heritage of Israel and for archaeology."

Professor Netzer's funeral will take place on 10:00 A.M. Friday at the Kiryat Anavim cemetery.

Susan B. Komen Race for a Cure Jerusalem 2010

It's rare that a city with so much to argue about can find something to agree on. The need to cure Cancer is one of these universal agreements. I attended the inaugural Israel Race for a Cure today, and invite you to see the faces, clothes, signs, and Old City walls, draped in pink...

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Evening Before

PICTURES FROM THE EVENT

In the News the Next Day

An Israeli-Arab History of Israel

While so much of the regional conflict here assumes participation by Israeli and Palestinian players, there is another story. Tuesday night, Mohammad Darawshe, the co-executive director of the Abraham Fund, an organization dedicated to coexistence and equal rights, especially for Arabs in Israel. His presentation addressed 20% of Israel's population, including Bedouin, Druze, and Christian-Arabs, from civic, national and political perspectives.

Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem

Today was a formal introduction to Christianity, with a concentration on Greek Orthodoxy, in preparation for the students' upcoming trips to Greece and Bulgaria. Along with a lecture, the students toured the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and met with his Beatitude Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Listen to how he explains his work by recognizing the various political entities under his religious supervision, his interactions with the other religious representatives in the region, and how he perceives Christian thought in relation to Jewish thought.

Death and Fireworks

Of late, the group has been studying structures of government in Israel. We visited the Knesset, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and heard lectures by Matti Gill, an associate of the past Minister of Internal Security, and by Erez Eshel, an extremely charismatic character who consults politicians around the world. We discussed the challenges of coalition governments, corruption of leadership, and realized the incapacity for Israel to get its public image right and own up to its mistakes in diplomacy and marketing.

However, while Israel's image will always remain problematic, tonight we observed more directly the internal conflicts brewing in this land. This is the eve of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's 15th Yarzheit, marking 15 years since his assassination by a Jewish Israeli.

Moving Mountains3: The Possibilities

This is one story of Kivunim Orientation, and a preview of the struggles and experiences that await.