Short Hiatus; Texting

Hi all--I'm taking a hiatus from posting current events for the next month, until after the New Year. Things are just a bit too busy right now...Thanks for understanding and please check back in 2015! 

For a final hurrah: speak with your kids about texting/using mobile devices. When is it safe/unsafe to do so and why? When is it rude to do so and why? When is it appropriate? Then watch the following two videos to help generate discussion.  

Video #1: Texting during dinner.

Video #2: Texting while driving

Happy Chanukah, Happy New Year and see you again in 2015!

Commemorating Jews from Arab Lands

Article: Yesterday, history was made in Israel. November 30 is now the official day commemorating the plight of Jewish refugees from Arab lands and Iran. Kids: do you know someone whose family originates from an Arab land/Iran? Ask them how and why their family left and how long they had been there (likely thousands of years). Nov. 30 was chosen because it is the day after the anniversary of the UN resolution partitioning Palestine (Nov. 29, 1947), after which Arab states basically expelled their Jewish populations that had been living there since the 1st Temple's destruction thousands of years ago. In 1948, close to 1 million Jews lived in Arab lands. After 1948, Algeria Jews went from 135,000 to 0, Tunisia Jews went from 90,000 to 1000, Libyan Jews went from 40,000 to 0, Egyptian Jews went from 75,000 to less than 100, Iraqi Jews went from 125,000 to 0, Yemenite Jews went from 45,000 to 200, Syrian Jews went from 27,000 to 1000, etc. Kids: find each of these lands on a map. Because of this new heritage day, the history of Jews from Arab lands will become part of the school curriculum and the commemorated history of the Jewish people. Kids: why is this important?

Here is a film on the history. PARENTS: I would cut it off at 5.00 minutes because it gets graphic (killings, pogroms, etc.)

Yemenite Jews arriving in Israel around 1948

 

Nazi-Looted Paintings: Who Owns It?

Article: The German son of a Nazi-era art dealer, who hoarded hundreds of artworks looted from Jews during WWII, has died. What does it mean to loot? (= steal) Give an example. In his will, he left all the art to teh Bern Art Museum. His familial heirs have pledged to immediately return the works to their rightful owners, should they inherit. What does it mean to inherit? The museum has agreed to accept all the works but if their Board of Trustees refuses, they will go to the family heirs. The art is estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Ronald Lauder, head of the World Jewish Congress, has told the museum not to accept the art. Why would the museum choose to accept or not to accept it? What do you think is the right thing to do? 

Vote Scheduled for Today on CA Tuition Increase

Article: Today, the CA Board of Regents is voting on whether to increase tuition to California's 10 state universities by 25% over the next 5 years. That is a big hike. What does "tuition" mean? Why do some schools require tuition? Ask your parents if they pay tuition for you to go to school and why? Students have been protesting this idea. Some say it is necessary because of budget cuts; others say it is a formidable increase for students. What do you think? Students say their loans are already too much. What are student loans? Ask your parents if they had to pay student loans. Pretend you are the students or the head of the university system. Discuss why you think tuition should go up or not and why.

Jordanian Citizen Begins Trial in Jordan for Attempting to Hurt Israel

Article: A security court in Jordan (find Jordan on map) started proceedings this week for a trial involving a Jordanian citizen who is suspected of having attempted to sneak into Israel from the Northern Jordanian border to commit a terrorist attack. He was caught by Jordanian border police as hew as trying to cross into Israel. Anas Awamra, 21, has been arrested and in Jordanian jail since August, and has pleaded not guilty. Awamra was charged with (1) performing actions that harm the Jordanian kingdom's relations with a foreign state and (2) for attempting to enter Israel illegally. If convicted, he will be in jail for 3 to 10 years.

Further Questions: 

1. Why do these criminal charges mean? Break them down. 
2. Why does Jordan have these crimes? What purpose are they meant to serve (keep relations good with Israel and help Israel)
3. Why would Jordan want to help Israel and keep relations good? (1994 peace treaty between Jordan and Israel; good for economy; for politics; Jordan has billion dollar oil deal in place with Israel, etc.) What does it mean to be an ally? 
4. You can be an ally as a nation or as a person in school or really anywhere. What is an example of a time when you were an ally or saw someone being an ally? 

Jerusalem Today and Alternate Current Event

Parents: this morning, there was a terrorist attack at a synagogue in Jerusalem (Haf Nof), where four rabbis were murdered while praying and many others wounded. The attack left behind four widows and 24 fatherless children. While PA President Abbas and many others in the Arab world condemned the attack for targeting people at prayer, people in Gaza handed out candies and celebrated the news. It's up to you whether to share any of this with your kids; I'm not sure I will. Here's an alternate article for tonight's current event that is empowering for kids: 

Article: In the tiny Tunisian island of Djerba (kids: find on map) where Jews have lived since the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem (three thousand years), a Jewish boy testified that a bearded man and accomplice entered the Jewish neighborhood, approached the boy and told him to get into a waiting taxi. The boy used a child's most powerful weapon (Kids: what is your most powerful weapon?)--his voice. He started shouting for help and refused to get in the taxi. The men fled. This incident is a great example of how kids can be empowered, even in scary situations. You can role play with your kids, telling them to scream, shout and run away at first chance.

Follow up: Chicago Immigration Trial Case

Article; Last week, I posted about the guilty verdict in the Rasmieh Odeh immigration case. A new article has filled in some new information about the case, answering some questions my kids had about the case (and maybe yours did too):

Odeh faces 10 years in prison and is expected to lose her US citizenship. 

Odeh immigrated to the U.S. from Jordan, so if she is deported, it will be to Jordan, not Israel. 

When first arrested on charges, Odeh claimed "mistaken identity;" this means that she said the police had the wrong woman; the terror charges did not relate to her but to someone else. How do you think this later impacted whether the judge/jury felt Rasmieh was an honest person who didn't lie? 

An Israeli NGO, Shurat Hadin, helped the US prosecutors find documents from the IDF, proving that Odeh was the right woman who had spent time in Israeli jail for terrorism. Without this information, do you think Rasmieh still could have been convicted?

Spacecraft lands on a comet, for the first time in history!

Article; Yesterday, in an amazing technological feat, European space scientists successfully landed a small spacecraft on the surface of a speeding comet, for the first time in history. What is a comet? A comet is frozen leftovers from when the solar system was formed, made of ice and rock. Where else have humans landed spacecrafts? Mars and the moon. What do you imagine is the hardest thing about trying to land on a comet? Issues of gravity and how to land on something that is a 2.5 mile wide ball of rock, ice and dust, moving faster than 40,000 miles per hour! One of the purposes of this spacecraft is to find out whether the earth’s oceans are filled with melted comets; some scientists believe that water came to earth on comets slamming into earth carrying water from elsewhere. What could be some problems with the landing? The scientists say the spacecraft is not very securely attached to the comet, as previously hoped. How does the lander get its energy to conduct scientific experiments and send photographs and information back to earth? From solar panels that recharge the batteries. Lastly, the operation is named “Rosetta,” after the Rosetta Stone, used to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics. Scientists hope this operation will help decipher the solar system.

Click here for a slide show of the comet and landing!

 

Lying to Become a US Citizen--Guilty Verdict for Rasmieh Odeh

Parents, this current event may be a little hard for kids under age 6 to understand. 

Article: A high profile trial of Rasmieh Odeh, 67, has been underway for the last few months and on Monday concluded with a guilty verdict. Federal prosecutors brought Rasmieh to trial for lying on her immigration papers. In 1967, Rasmieh, who was then living in Israel, bombed a crowded supermarket in Jerusalem, killing two people. Then she exploded a bomb at the British Consulate in Jerusalem though no one was injured. She was arrested and convicted in Israel, sentenced to life in prison but released 10 years later as part of a prisoner exchange. She immigrated to the US in 1995 and became a citizen in 2004. On all of her US immigration papers--when she came into the country, when she applied to be a US citizen--she lied when asked the question, "Have you been convicted of a crime?" (Kids: why does the government ask this question? They ask this question because they don't want criminals hiding in America.) Because Rasmieh lied about her arrest, conviction and imprisonment, she was found guilty of immigration fraud this week. (Kids: what do you think will happen to her? She will likely be deported and lose her citizenship.)

Argue as if you are Rasmieh's lawyer and as if you are the prosecutor. (Rasmieh's lawyer says her conviction doesn't matter; she already served her time. She is now an upstanding citizen working in Chicago and she is being targeted only because she is Arab. The prosecutor says she is a terrorist who lied to get into America.) What do you think?

Amazing New Israeli App to Help the Disabled

Article: At the recent WSJ.D Live global technology conference in California, an Israeli start-up won audience favorite. The company, Voiceitt, won for its new translation app, Talkitt, which is expected to be released to the public next year. The app is the brainchild of Israeli Arab Rabea Ziuod, VP of business development, who has a brother and sister with cerebral palsy. As a result of this disease, few people can understand the disabled individuals when they talk; but this doesn't mean they don't understand what is going on around them and that they don't have a lot to say. Through this app, people with disabilities and speech impairment talk and the app "translates" it into understandable speech, using algorithms to learn how that person speaks and understand them. Watch the amazing video of how this app works.

Kids: what do you think of this? What are some of the challenges in creating this type of app? If you had to create an app to help a type of disability, what would it be and how would it work?

Who Gets to Keep Antiquities?

Article: Have you ever gone to a museum and seen "antiquities," or artifacts from other countries? Almost all major Western art museums have exhibits of items taken from other countries during the years of colonization. Now, their is a discussion about whether these items should be returned to the countries from where they were taken/stolen. For instance, the Getty Museum in LA, the MET in NY, the British Museum in London, all have masterpieces from Egypt, Turkey and elsewhere. The British Museum has the famous Parthenon Marble statues and Greece wants them back; they were removed by British Lord Elgin in 1801 and acquired by the museum in 1816. (Kids: have you read any Greek myths? If so, that is what the statutes are of). The Getty has already repatriated (dissect "repatriate"--"re" = again/return; "patria" = fatherland) more than 40 objects, including some of its best ancient Greek and Roman sculptures, after evidence surfaced that they had been stolen by looters. UNESCO thinks all of these types of art should be returned to the current government of the ancient land. Others say that the items could be in danger if returned (think what Islamic militants have done with other national treasures). Kids: what do you think should be done? Argue pros/cons.

Here's a picture of the Parthenon statutes in the British Museum:

 

The World's First "E-Tree"

Article: Kids: what do you think "e-tree" means? Israeli engineers and an Israeli artist have created something that looks like a real tree, but actually is much more. It's canopy, which is made of solar panels that produces energy from the sun, provides shade and a cold water drinking fountain. It also uses its solar power to provide WiFi, a docking station to charger tablets and smartphones, electrical outlets and even fancy looking night lighting. It is meant for parks, schoolyards, hiking trails, museums, residential neighborhoods and campus courtyards. It will operate automatically and with little maintenance, providing solar energy around the clock. It is also radiation free, doesn't pose risk of electrocution and meets safety standards. The company that makes the tree is already in talks with China and France to install them.

Kids: what do you think of it? Here's a picture:

How Israel's Helping to Fight Ebola

Article; Kids: review what is Ebola and where it is impacting the world most. So far the number of people who have been infected is more than 10,000 in 8 countries, and half of them have died from the virus. Israelis are stepping in to help and have received commendation from the UN for their work fighting Ebola. The Israeli company SYS Technologies has invented an inflatable isolation tent and installed them in Guinea and elsewhere. The tents enable countries to isolate patients so others aren't infected--so far the best way to stop the spread of the virus. Kids: how might these tents help? These tents are more available than other structures, they are hermetically sealed, and protect the surroundings by creating an absolute clear and isolated patient environment. It takes about two weeks from order to delivery. They are inflated upon arrival. The company has even created an incubator-like stretcher for the safe transfer of patients into the tents. But there is more -- Israel is also helping African by providing them with an infra-red camera that measures body temperature of passengers at airports quickly so diagnoses can happen quickly.


 Kids: isolation is the key way to fight Ebola as of now because there is no medical cure. What are the pluses and minuses of this (think in terms of the Ebola patient's emotional state)

Heart Disease & Egypt's Demolitions

We know a young man who was hospitalized this weekend with heart failure. The doctor asked him several questions to find out the reasons for his heart failure. Kids, guess which are the reasons for his heart failure (more than one can apply), why it may cause heart failure, and why this is bad:

1. He does drugs (cocaine)
2. He smokes cigarettes
3. He has an iPhone
4. He drinks too much wine and liquor
5. He has a pet dog
6. (Answers: 1, 2, and 4)

Article: This past week, Egypt has decided to crack down on Islamist militants in the Sinai, operating with the help of Hamas in Gaza. (Kids: find on map the Sinai, Gaza and Egypt; recall what else we have learned about Hamas in Gaza.)

Just last week, such terrorists killed 31 Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai. Egypt has already destroyed over a thousands tunnels between Gaza and Sinai, used to smuggle weapons and money to terrorists. Seeing that isn't enough, Egypt has now decided to create a buffer zone between Gaza and Egypt in the Sinai desert by demolishing hundreds of homes along in the border with Gaza, in the town of Rafah. They hope this wills top Gazan terrorists from enabling terrorism in the Sinai and smuggling things to them. Kids: do you think this will work? People are very upset that their homes are being demolished. Why? (Where are they supposed to live now, etc.?)

BDS Causes Hundreds of Palestinians to Lose Jobs

Article: Last year, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) activists called upon people to boycott SodaStream, an Israeli company that produces soda making machines for residential use. Famously, Scarlet Johannson refused to stop being the spokeswoman for the company, despite intense pressure on her to do so. Previously, the SodaStream factory was in an area of Israel where Palestinians and Israelis could both work. However, due to pressure from BDS to move the factory because it was in the "settlements," SodaStream has moved its factory to a new location in Israel that most of its Palestinian employees cannot go to because it is too far away to travel daily. They have thus lost their jobs. And as a result, BDS has cost Palestinians workers hundreds of jobs.

Kids: Do you think activists in BDS care? Argue why and why not. What is their larger goal?

Hawaii Lava Flowing

Article: Mount Kilauea started erupting in June in fits and starts. Now lava is appearing close to some homes. Scientists know that big eruption will happen any time now but don't know when to tell people to evacuate their homes. See pictures here of the lava beginning to flow. 
If you were a scientist in Hawaii, what would you recommend that people do?  

Chinese Hebrew U Student Wins 1st Round in Chinese TV Competition

Article: Lechao Tang is 24 years old. His name means "happy."  He went to college at the University of Oregon to study linguistics and fell in love with Hebrew, so he decided to pursue his masters degree at Hebrew University in Bible and Ancient Near East Studies. “I couldn't resist the beauty of the Hebrew language, so I chose to study further." He also teaches Hebrew online through a Chinese web service and runs a Chinese blog about ancient Israel. 

This past week, Tang was invited to represent Hebrew University and Israel on China's highest-rated game TV show, alongside students from Harvard, Yale, Cambridge and other prominent universities. The episode was a trivia program, testing their knowledge of the Bible. Tang won! Tang said on the show that he was excited to represent both China and Israel, and spoke for two minutes about what it is like to live in Israel and at Hebrew U. The hosts of the TV show--a husband and wife team--spoke on the show about how went to Israel and placed a note in the Kotel/Western Wall, praying for a baby boy. And this year they had one! They said the Kotel brought them luck.  

Kids: in what ways are Tang and the show's hosts "good will ambassadors" for Israel? 

Watch his video here. At 32 minutes into it, see a clip of Tang's ulpan/Hebrew language classmates wishing him luck in Hebrew and a tour of Hebrew University in Chinese. 

 

IsraAid in Kurdistan

Kids: recap of what is going on with ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

Article: Israeli volunteer workers have joined the effort to help the Kurdish people, who have been displaced because of ISIS. These people have been kicked out of their homes and are in desperate need of everything: beds, food, clothing, etc. (Kids: how would you feel if you were suddenly forced out of your home and had nothing? What would you miss most?) IsraAID has now sent beds, blankest, and food to over 1,000 families in the Kurdish city, Duhok, in northern Iraq. It also included enough powdered milk for all of the 1,015 babies under the age of 1. Many of those in the refugee camp are living in tents even though there were recent rainstorms flooding the camp and cold weather has caused temperatures to dip below zero. More Kurdish refugees are arriving each day from Turkey.

According to IsraAID, the Kurdish people "really love Israel." They were aware that the foods were coming from Israel and were so happy. The Kurds and Israelis have much in common--both are battling radical Islam and trying to promote democracy in the region.

IsraAID has provided help to disaster zones around the world, from Haiti's earthquake to Japan's tsunami.

 

NY Times Goes to Iran -- Ironic?

Article: The New York Times, one of the most trusted and celebrated sources of news in the world, is offering a 13-day trip to the "once-forbidden land of Iran" for $7000 a person. The New York Times' motto is "All the News That's Fit to Print" and prides itself as a bastion of liberalism. Yet they are not printing in their advertisement that Jews, gays, and anyone who has an Israeli stamp on their passport is not welcome on the trip. Kids: why? The purpose of the trip is to learn about Iran, yet the trip skips over Iran's desire to have an atomic weapon, its hosting of anti-Semitic conferences, its entrenched hatred of Jews and Israel, its public lashings and killings of gays and women, and its persecution of non-Muslims. Kids: why?

Kids: why is it ironic that the NY Times is sponsoring a trip to Iran if the NY Times also purports to support liberal values? (Parents, help unpack this question for your kids) What could be dangerous about going to Iran as a tourist? Why are people interested in going to Iran? Do you think an American trusted news source should promote a trip to a place that discriminates and persecutes Jews, gays and minorities?

The Ice Bucket Challenge to Cure Disease

Article: There is a big trend right now -- the Ice Bucket Challenge. People nominate a friend to take the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, which means posting a YouTube video of themselves being doused in ice water and hopefully then donating to research to find a cure for Lou Gehrig's Disease, a terrible neurodegenerative disorder which confines patients to wheelchairs and limits the ability to speak and breathe. Click here for a video of celebrities doing the Challenge. (Kids: have any of you seen this yet?)

While this Challenge is the new fad, many people don't know that Israeli researchers are helping look for the cure, doing stem cell treatments. They may have had breakthrough success, extracting stem cells from ALS patients, inserting chemicals into the cells, and then re-injecting the stem cells into the muscles and spines of the patients. The few patients who have had this treatment showed dramatic improvement within weeks in breathing, speech, even walking!  A cure may be on the way. 

Ebola Around the World

Article: Ebola, a deadly virus, is having its worst outbreak in history, mainly in Western Africa. It is spreading to other countries by people who visit West Africa--often as aid workers--and bring it back home with them. Ebola first presents as fever and stomach problems, but can quickly lead to death. As of now there is no vaccine for it. Ebola is not an air-borne virus, meaning you can't catch it by breathing the same air (like on an airplane) as someone who has the virus. It is caught through bodily contact or fluids, meaning someone who sneezes on you or touches you who is infected. Right now governments are working to keep those with the virus away from those without it and anyone who has come in contact with someone with Ebola is kept apart for 21 days--the time it takes for the virus to present itself. Obama is talking about screening people at the airport about where they have been and maybe even taking their temperatures (kids: why?) because fever is one of the first symptoms. Obama is not yet blocking flights from Africa (kids: why?) because aid workers need to get there.

Kids: what are ways to help the people in West Africa? Israel is sending three mobile clinics to Africa to help. Israelis will train local people on how to use the clinic equipment and treat others. In the coming months, IsraAID plans to send 30 medical personnel to West Africa to train people and help fight Ebola.

Happy Sukkot!

Chag Sameach! We are currently celebrating Sukkot, the Feast of the Tabernacles, where Jews traditionally build Sukkot or booths to "dwell" in for seven days like the Israelites wandering in the desert.

Here are some pictures of how Jews in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, celebrate Sukkot. Look at these pictures then compare them to where you live and how you celebrate the holiday. Look at things like dress, weather, where the sukkahs are placed, how people prepare for the holiday.Now look at these pictures from Sukkot in Jerusalem. And compare Brooklyn and Jerusalem to how your life.

Have a wonderful holiday!

Israeli Teenage Gymnasts Receive Silver Medal in Worldwide Competition

Article: Israel's national gymnastics team made a historical win this past week, taking home the silver medal in the 2014 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships. The event took place in Turkey and was the Israeli team's biggest win ever. The five Israeli girls, all teenagers, performed as a group in perfect synchronization. The girls are Alona Kushewtzki, Ida Meirin, Yuval Pilo, Katia Levin, Karina Lichber, Lihi Shuchtowitz. (A lot of these names sound Russian. Why might that be?) The girls didn't even make one mistake! They had been practicing for up to 10 hours a day, every day, before the competition. See the video of their performance. Congrats Israel!

Gmar Chatimah Tovah -- a Meaningful Yom Kippur

Tomorrow marks Erev Yom Kippur, the most holy day of the Jewish calendar. Ask your children:

• Why do grownups fast on Yom Kippur?
• What do we pray for? 
• What special prayers do you have for this Yom Kippur? 
• Watch this video, of the Lubavitcher Rebbe giving advice on Yom Kippur customs. Then speak about why the Rebbe suggests eating sweet cake (like honey cake) before Yom Kippur, and why someone who gives tzedakkah/charity receives more in return than the monetary value he gave.  

School: a History in the U.S.

My daughter asked me to do a "current event" on the history of schools: when did kids start going to school, etc. So here we go: 

For thousands of years, people have had the ability to read and write, though often it was only boys who were taught or only the elite. For instance, during Roman times, it is estimated that only 3% of Jews were literate (could read and write their names). In Medieval Europe, only the clergy were usually literate. The first "schools" were through institutions set up by the Church to teach their own.

Question #1: How many years ago did the first schools begin in the United States? 
Answer: 1635 (almost 400 years ago!) There wasn't even a U.S. yet, just British colonies. In 1690, the first textbooks were brought over from England.

Question #2: Where was the first public school? 
Answer: Boston (why was Boston probably the first place?). In 1642, the colonies made it a law that all colonies provide public education, however it was not free. Two hundred years later, by 1870, all states had free public schools.

Question #3: Who went to school initially? 
Answer: Only boys. (Why not girls? What were they doing?) Girls who did learn to read and write were usually taught at home, by tutors, and were part of the elite.

Question #4: Were there separate classes for each grade?
Answer: No, all classes were in one room, under the direction of one teacher.

Question #5: When did it become a rule that all kids had to go to school? 
Answer: By 1900 (a little over 100 years ago), almost all states required kids to go to school until age 14. (Why not 18?) Half of all kids at this time went to one-room schools.

Kids: what do you love most about school? What would you do if you didn't have to go to school? 

How Learning an Instrument Makes you Smarter

Watch this video about how learning an instrument impacts your brain. Then discuss what you learned in the video and how the neurology works. Kids: do you play an instrument? If so, when you play, do you notice your brain working in a new way? How do you feel when you play?

Syrian Rebel Leader Visit Israeli Hospital

Article: A Syrian rebel leader visited Syrians who had been wounded in fighting and evacuated to an Israeli hospital. This was the first time a senior Syrian official had ever officially visited Israel. Dr. Al-Labwani, now living in Turkey, visited Israel for a week and met with Israelis on how to deal with the civilians hurt in Syria and how to rescue the remaining Jews in Syria. He met with a 12-year old Syrian boy whose big brother brought him on a donkey to Israel, after no one would treat his brother in Syria. Israel is treating him in a hospital in the north. The boy is severely injured, lost a limb, and is blind from shelling on his house in Damascus. But he is alive, thanks to Israel and his big brother.

Al-Labwani said his visit was, "amazing" and that "For 60 years, Assad [the leader of Syria] has taught us that Israel is the enemy, and now he slaughters us and Israel is taking care of us. Then who is the killer and who is the enemy?" He spoke about a desire for peace between Syria and Israel. See a video of him talking here.

Kids: what do you think of this?

  

Happy New Year!

Shanah Tovah! Happy (Jewish) New Year! 

As we begin a new year, let us first pause and watch this video, in which the mother of Naftali Fraenkel gives a New Year's message. Remember that if not for these boys, Israel might have faced catastrophe this Rosh Hashanah. 

And now, in honor of a new year, here's a video of IDF soldiers saying Shanah Tovah

And a return to a favorite musical number for Rosh Hashanah!

Shanah Tovah U'Metukah -- a sweet, happy New Year!

Iranian Youth Sentenced for Making "Happy" Video

Article: Ever heard Pharrell William's hit song, "Happy?" Iranian teenagers made their own version of the song that showed them dancing and celebrating in Tehran. As an Islamic State, Iran's government does not allow boys and girls to dance together or for women to appear without veils/their heads covered. The Iranian government responded by arresting them and now the 6 teenagers have been sentenced for "vulgar behavior:" 6 months in prison and 91 lashes. However, the sentences have been suspended for 3 years, as long as they don't do a similar offense during that time. Watch the video here. If you don't think these teenagers should be punished for being "Happy," sign the petition here. 

Imagine That: Violinist Performs During Brain Surgery

Naomi Elishuv was a violinist in the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra. Twenty years ago, she was diagnosed with essential tremor and was forced to stop playing. Last week, Naomi was operated on at a medical center in Tel Aviv to suppress her tremor symptoms. Amazingly, while the surgery was being performed, she returned to playing the violin! Naomi now feels she is finally returning to life, after not being able to play for so long. Watch this video of her playing Tchaikovsky during the surgery!

Kids: what is one thing you love so much that it would be devastating for you not to be able to do it for 20 years? Also, how do you think the doctors were able to perform surgery on someone while they played violin? Why did they want her to play violin?

Iron Dome for Snipers

Article: It seems there is nothing Israeli inventors don't think of. An Israeli weapons company says they have come up with a solution to keep Israeli and other friendly soldiers safe from snipers during fighting. (Kids: what is a sniper?) Using an electro-optical system (Kids: break these words down. What does this mean?) that the company created with the US Army, the system recognizes muzzle flash from a distant sniper shooter, fires a laser to figure out where exactly the fire is coming from, sends the information to friendly sniper shooters and other unites, and enables them to know where to respond to. The system can also locate several targets at once. (kids: how does this help friendly soldiers?) Click here for a video demonstration.

All Ashkenazi Jews are Cousins

Article: Kids: if you are Jewish, what is your Jewish ancestry? Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Ethiopian, Yemenite, etc. (where was your family from a few hundred years ago)?

A new study, conducted by medical researchers from America and Israel, has found that all Ashkenazi Jews can trace their ancestry to about 350 individuals, about 600 to 800 years ago. First they found that 128 Ashkenazi Jews, in comparison to non-Jewish Europeans, have extremely similar genetic markings, making them all 30th cousins. Genetics show that the original Ashkenazi Jews were half European, half Middle Eastern (this clarifies a long-standing question of whether Ashkenazi Jews are 100% European in origin or had roots in the Levant). Because the Ashkenazim Jewish community started out so small and remained genetically isolated (they didn't intermarry), they developed more disease-causing mutations, like breast and ovarian cancer, Tay-Sach's disease, as well as other traits, like longevity (living a long life).

One of the benefits of the study is hopefully to map Ashkenazi Jews' genes and study diseases prevalent among Ashkenazi Jews, as well as providing insight into the history of European Jews. (Kids: how will this help or prove useful?)

What Would You Build?

Article: This is what this guy decided to do with his dreams of being an inventor, combining his knowledge of computers and contracting. Watch the video. Then answer: what would you build? And how would you build it?

Israel Saves Irish Troops in Golan

Article: This weekend on the border of Israel in the Golan Heights and Syria (Kids: find on map), IS battled with UN peacekeeping troops from Ireland and the Philippines. IS was probably trying to kill or take the UN troops hostage, as they did last week with soldiers from Fiji. The UN told the troops to surrender to IS, which would have meant they be taken captive and tried under Shariah Law. Instead, they decided to defend their base and fight off IS. Israel, which had troops on the higher ground, helped them fight off IS and apparently Israel's help led to success: IS was successfully fought off. Then, Israeli soldiers helped guide the Irish and Filipino troops to safety.

Yosemite Hikers Saved from Wildfire

Two recent articles about hiking in CA:

Article #1: A wildfire has been raging through Yosemite National Park. At least 700 acres so far have been burned. The famous meadow has been on fire and other areas near Half Dome. Earlier, all roads leading into Yosemite were closed but now they have been reopened. At least 100 hikers were saved from the wildfire by helicopter. Kids: have you been to Yosemite or other hiking areas? What do you think it looks like and smells like right now? What would you do you came upon a wildfire?

Article #2: Recently a mountain lion attacked a 6 year old boy while he and his parents were hiking in a preserve near a winery in Cupertino. The mountain lion came out of nowhere, bit the boy on his neck and began dragging him into the woods. His parents fought back and managed to save the boy, who was taken to the hospital but is going to be 100% fine. Kids: what do you do if you ever encounter a wild animal on a hike? Experts say to stand tall, wave your arms, shout aggressively and fight back if attacked. Parents: do a role modeling/practice with your kids. They'll love to act it out.

Egypt Proposal to Palestinians

Article: The Egyptian President, General al-Sisi (Kids: find Egypt on a map) has proposed to Palestinian President Abbas to create a Palestinian state from the Gaza Strip into the Sinai, with partial autonomy in the West Bank. Egypt, which currently controls the Sinai, will give Palestinians land to make a Palestinian state under total control of the Palestinians. It would be demilitarized (Kids: what does this mean?) and all Palestinian refugees could live there. This new area would be 5x the size of current Gaza. In exchange Abbas would give up his demand of land from Israel. It is remarkable that the plan, which formerly was conceived by academics, was brought forward by the President of Egypt. (Kids: why?) Apparently Abbas has already rejected the idea. (Kids: why?)

How We Read: Electronic v. Paper

In a very interesting NPR segment this morning, a Tufts professor spoke about how we read and process information based on what we are reading on. Kids: do you read differently if you are reading off a phone/iPad or from a paper book? How? Which do you prefer? According to many studies, when we read electronically, our brain processes it as skimming and as if we are multitasking. When we read from paper, our brain analyzes and absorbs it more deeply. Kids: what other differences do you notice when you read on one format v. the other? The professor said she would love to do a study comparing Orthodox Jews or Amish children who rarely or never read off of electronic devices v. children who only read off of electronic devices and study how their brains process the material differently or similarly. Kids: what do you think the study would find?

First Bedouin Collective in World -- In Israel!

Article: Bedouin shepherds are having trouble in today's economy. They have having problems with grazing land being reduced, costs of animal feed increased and higher taxes. Looking for solutions, 10 shepherds from different Bedouin families have joined the Mara'i Sheep Breeders Cooperative near Beer Sheva, after a year of preparing. The goal is to lower costs and increase profits, despite deep traditions of family business and tribal identity and loyalty. The shepherds are also receiving training on business development and breeding methods to help their Cooperative thrive. This is the first beduin cooperative in the world.

Kids: what is a bedouin? Why is working collectively through a cooperative revolutionary for their lifestyle and traditions? Guess why this first cooperative may be happening in Israel and not elsewhere in the Middle East.

Part II: Genetics and Cloning

Article: A while back on this blog, we did a current event on bringing animals back from extinction through playing with DNA. What about a different version of the same game: creating a new predator by mixing genes? Scientists have created a new top predator that is taking over the Northeast, a mix of a coyote and wolf, called an Eastern Coyote. From an evolution perspective, wolves and coyotes stopped mating around 2 million years ago. However, scientists created this hybrid in labs, mating female coyotes with male grey wolves. The result is an animal 40% bigger than a coyote with powerful wolf-like jaws, but more social than the loner coyote; it hunts in packs. Kids: what do you think about this? Click here for pictures of the hybrid. 

Plastic Waste

Article: In today's NYT op-ed, a U.S. marine captain and researcher wrote about the devastating impact of plastic on ocean life and the environment. Kids: name 5 things in your house made from plastic. Now think of what you do with those plastic things when you don't want them anymore (answer: throw them away or recycle them). Plastic is very hard to recycle--it melts quickly but is hard to clean and sanitize. And it makes its way into ocean trash very easily. Once in the ocean, it breaks down slowly over centuries and in the meantime, entangles and slowly kills millions of sea animals: fish think plastic is food when it is actually toxic for them and chokes them to death. Or they eat the plastic particles and then when we eat those fish, we carry those toxins. Fishermen use plastics in their floats, nets, lines and tubes. When this equipment is accidentally lost or lost in storms, it also contribute to harmful ocean waste. Kids: what can we do to stop this problem? If we use less plastic, what are replacements? (Use glass containers instead of plastic ones; use cloth shopping bags instead of plastic, etc.) What did people use before plastic?

Math and Science from Israel

Article: The Israeli team, for the first time ever, has won the International Math Competition, held this year in Bulgaria. The students were two Tel Aviv University students and 4 Technion students. Go Israel!

Article: Israeli scientists have created a brand new technology that closes open wounds quickly and temporarily to prevent them from further hurt or contamination until they can get to a hospital. TopClosure 3S Trauma Management System is for mass-casualty situations, like in war or natural disasters (Kids: what are some examples?) How wounds have traditionally been treated is that medics clean the wound and then suture it, applying a skin graft. TopClosure instead stretches the edges of the skin over the wound using adhesive plates on either side. This creates more tension, which is better for the wound. Later, the device can be "zipped" open to further treat the wound. (Kids: who can use TopClosure?) It is being most lauded for its simplicity. Click here for a video.

Just for fun: Fireworks Quiz and Video

See if your kids can answer these questions about fireworks:

• When were fireworks invented? (7th Century, over 1000 years ago)
• Where were fireworks invented? (China)
• Is there such thing as fireworks competitions? (Yes, international events in Montreal, Vietnam, and Philippines, to name a few)
• Where was the largest display of fireworks ever? (Dubai, New Year celebrations, 2014. It took 10 months to plan, and 6 minutes to unleash over 500,000 fireworks)
• Are fireworks good or bad for the environment? (Some say bad. The smoke and dust resulting from fireworks, when distributed into water, can be toxic to fish and other water life)

Now watch this Video of Chinese fireworks, considered the best in the world!

Obituary: David Azrieli, died at the age of 92

Article: David Azrieli,one of the greatest Israeli personalities, died recently. His famous Azrieli towers dominate the Tel Aviv skyline; he brought the indoor mall to Israel and even named them (kanyon). David was born in 1922 Poland as David Azrylewicz. He escaped into Russia during the Holocaust, survived getting shot, and made his way to Palestine with Moshe Dayan. He fought in the War of Independence then went to Canada in 1954 where he worked as a Hebrew teacher and real estate developer. He built a real estate empire in Canada, the US and Israel. He also became a philanthropist (Yad Vashem, Technion, Weizmann Institute), married and had four children. A tremendous Zionist and real estate visionary, he built in areas people thought him crazy (a mall in Jerusalem!) and never stopped defending the State of Israel and Jewish people.

  

When to Take Threats Seriously?

Article: There have been problems with some people using guns irresponsibly, mainly because guns are pretty easy to acquire in America (as opposed to other countries). In some (often public) high schools, some students even bring guns to school and sometimes try to shoot them there. Recently, a 15-year old student from Valencia, Santa Clarita County, CA, threatened on Instagram to bring his gun to school and use it. He also posted pictures of guns and made mean comments about girls, minorities, and others. Police took this very seriously, have arrested the boy and searched his home for weapons.

Questions for Kids: Do you think the police did the right thing? If someone writes something online, when should police get involved? If you were to create the law on this, what would it be and how would you determine when to use the law?

Detroit Water Problem

Article: Apparently in the city of Detroit, there is a tradition not to pay your water bill. If you can't afford to pay all your bills that month, the water bill is the one to skip because they probably won't notice you haven't paid your bill for almost a year. But lately, the water department has gotten upset that thousands of people stopped paying their water bill and owe the them cumulatively millions of dollars. And so the water department finally began turning off people's water. People in Detroit are furious that they have no water and the UN has even castigated Detroit for depriving people of this basic human right. In response, Detroit has worked out a new payment plan that keeps people's water on and helps them pay their bills. Kids: who is in the wrong here? Make arguments pretending you are either the city or people who's water has been turned off.

Star Fish Dying En Masse

Article: Massive amounts of star fish are being found dead off the West Coast and no one knows why. It seems there is a disease spreading among them, causing them to catch the disease and die in as short as 24 hours. Sea cucumbers are also suffering from this. Scientists are scrambling to find out why. 12 different star fish species are at risk. In some areas, the star fish are going extinct overnight. The disease appears to be very lethal. Starfish may seem not very important, but they're actually a critical species in many marine environments. Most live near the shore, but some live at the bottom of sea. Few things eat them, so they are a top predator, eating mussels, barnacles and sea snails.

Not Letting BDS Win

Article: An Israeli hip hop opera company, The City, was supposed to perform in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. But anti-Israel protesters succeeded in getting the venue owner to cancel the performances. The Israeli performers were very upset. They didn't think it was fair that they be targeted just because they are Isrealis. The show is totally not political. So they decided to still perform. They went to a local meadow and performed their show to an audience of 20 people. See a Video about the show. Kids: what do you think about this--about the show being cancelled; about how the Israeli performers responded.

Hand of God Protecting Israel

Article: We read of miracles in the Bible/Torah and today we are actually seeing miracles happen, God intervening to help Israel against Hamas, who is set to destroy Israel. All of the praying we have been doing all summer and all the mitzvot have had a direct impact and are not only bringing the Jewish people together but are causing miracles. In Judaism, we believe that people must not rely on miracles, they must act on their own. These are two great examples of both at work:

(1) Israel, with American aid, invented Iron Dome, which shoots rockets into the air to stop rockets from Gaza. Last week, as testified by an Iron Dome operator, a rocket was heading straight for Tel Aviv. Two iron dome rockets were sent to stop it, one after another, and neither one worked for a reason no one understands. The Hamas rocket was headed straight for the Azrieli tours, the Israeli pentagon or the main train station. Any of these locations would have been catastrophe. With seconds left before the rocket hit, IDF soldiers called emergency services and told them to prepare for the worst. And then, 4 seconds before hitting, a mighty wind came from nowhere and pushed the Hamas rocket into the sea.

(2) IDF soldiers were undergoing a pre-dawn raid in Gaza. They were doing it secretly, at night. It took longer than expected and dawn was breaking. If they were exposed, they would likely be killed by Hamas. Suddenly, a thick mist covered them and shielded them onto the raid was over and they were safe. Just like the cloud that protected the Jews in the desert.

In a powerful quote, a journalist asked one of the terrorists from Gaza why they couldn't aim their rockets to do more damage in Israel. The terrorist replied, We do aim them, but their God changes their path in mid-air.” 

Today is Tisha B'Av

Today is Tisha B'Av a traditional day of mourning for the Jewish people and a collective fast day. On this one day, both the First and Second Temple in Jerusalem were destroyed, 500 years apart, on this day, Jews were ordered expelled from Spain in 1492, and other tragedies in Jewish history. It is also said that the Messiah/mashiach will be born on Tisha B'Av.
Here is a video about this day. Ask kids what they are thinking and praying for today. What do they think the Beit Hamikdash/New Temple in Jerusalem will look like when it is rebuilt?

UCLA Pipe Bursts Causing Major Damage

Article: This weekend, a major water pipe burst under UCLA's Pauley Pavilion, spewing 20 millions gallons of water. (Kids: why is this terrible at his particular time -- the Drought!) Just as bad, Pauley Pavilion just finished a major $136 million renovation 2 years ago. Because of the water pipe burst, 400 cars were submerged and had to be towed out; the entire floor of Pauley Pavilion must be replaced. People had to be rescued. The entire area was submerged for hours. Click here for pictures of the damage. It will take till October to repair all of the damage.

Turks Coming to Israel in Record Numbers

Article: In the past decades, Israelis have traveled to Turkey, a Muslim country north of Israel, but few Turks have visited Israel. (Kids: find Turkey and Israel on a map). 2008 was the record year for Israeli travel to Turkey, with over half a million Israelis travelling there. That same year, only 17,253 Turks visited Israel. However, numbers are up. In 2013, 24,385 Turks visited Israel, including day visitors and cruise tourists. Israel's Ministry of Tourism has not invested in promoting tourism to Israel, so many don't know why the sudden upsurge. One reason may be because StandWithUs, an Israel education organization (which I work for) sought to improve Israel's image in the world. They sent prominent figures from around the world on an Instragram social networking tour of Israel. A famous Turkish couple went on the tour and returned to Turkey to post beautiful photos of Israel. Since then, tourism has spiked (though not necessarily this summer)! Lesson learned: you never know who will respond to your positive marketing of Israel! Kids: what are some ways you can positively market Israel? 

How Did the Dinosaurs Die and Was it Just Bad Timing?

Article: Taking a break from Israel's war for a moment, let's look at this interesting article about why the dinos went extinct. The latest working theory is that an asteroid (Kids: what's an asteroid?) smashed into earth, creating so much dust and environmental turmoil all at the same time that all the dinosaurs went extinct. They simply couldn't breathe. The only animals to survive with tiny mammals, who buried underground and waited for the storm to subside. Without this asteroid crash in Mexico 66 million years ago, dinosaurs would still be around and dominant. Their only dinosaur-type to survive were birds, which could fly above the disaster. A new study also says that if the asteroid hit a few million years later or earlier, the dinosaurs would have survived the crash. Their extinction was the product of timing: the asteroid crash and a very vulnerable food web. At the time, dinosaurs were going through evolution of plant eating species. Plant eaters were particularly vulnerable. They didn't have enough time to evolve to confront the asteroid. As a result = extinction and rise of the mammals.

IDF Sets up Hospital to Treat Gaza's Wounded

Article: The IDF announced today that it will set up a field hospital to help Gaza's wounded, mainly for women and children. (Kids: why not mainly men?) The hospital will include a delivery room. (Kids: why?) Watch this short video about the hospital's construction. Then ask yourselves: why is this remarkable? By building this hospital, what message is Israel conveying? (That we are at war with Hamas, not with the people of Gaza). Who is helped by this hospital?

Supporting Israel in Creative Ways

Article: StandWithUs, an Israel education organization, began a Facebook campaign to raise support for Israel. It asked people from around the world who support Israel to take a picture of their passports and post it to a dedicated Facebook page. People began doing that, along with messages in their open palm, handwritten for Israel. Now the Facebook page has passport pictures from over 900 people representing 100 countries, including the US, France, Australia, Germany, Canada, Ukraine, South African, Brazil, Georgia, Turkey, India, China, Pakistan, Indonesia and Iran. Kids: look at the Facebook page and see how many different countries you can find with people supporting Israel; Kids Activity: take a picture of your passport with a message for Israel and post it on the page; or just post a picture with a message on your hand!

More On Water

Video: Yesterday we learned about how California is panicking over its severe drought. Watch this video for how Israel has dealt with similar conditions. Then discuss with kids what practices can be brought to California to help.

CA's Drought -- Little Known Crisis Situation

Article: California is in the worst drought in history. The Governor of CA is calling for everyone to reduce water use by 20%; but so far people have only reduced by 5%. The Governor has already consulted with Israel on what to do. CA will be in an emergency situation over the drought by November. Pay attention to prices in grocery stores: as the supplier of over 90% the nation's broccoli, tomatoes and almonds, prices for certain vegies are going to soar. Watch this important video on the drought situation.

Kids: what are things we can do to help the drought? Ideas:

• Use less water in the bathtub when you bathe.
• Stop using the dishwasher. Wash dishes by hand; take the leftover dish water and pour onto plants. 
• Do less laundry. Only wash what is really dirty and smelly. 
• Water your lawn less, or not at all.
• Plant drought resistant plants. 
• When washing fruits and vegetables, catch the water (don't let it go down the drain) and use it to water plants. Ditto when you boil water for cooking or leftover water in water bottles. 

War in Israel Continues, with Irony

Article: As we all know by now, each day and night, Hamas in Gaza has been showering rockets into Israel. Ironically, they hit themselves by mistake on Sunday and again yesterday. As they were shooting rockets into Israel, some of the rocket fire hit two power lines that feed electricity to Gaza. As a result, Gazans have now lost about 20% of their power supply, which means over 100,000 Gazans do not have electricity anymore. (Kids: what are examples of things they can now no longer do?) Israel refuses to have its workers repair the lines until Gaza stops shooting rockets, otherwise the employees could be hurt. Sadly, those Gazans without power probably think it's Israel's fault. The Hamas government in Gaza has stopped all news from reaching Gazans except the news that the government creates. So Gazans have no way of knowing the truth...

Kids: go outside and find a power line. Find Gaza on a map. Then watch this Video of what it's like to live with rockets, as Israelis are right now.

Egyptians Show Support for Israel

Article: As Israel fights a war against Hamas, Egyptian newscasters and leaders are hoping Israel will win the fight and destroy Hamas in Gaza. This is because an Islamist group affiliated with Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, tried to take over Egypt last year. Kids: why does support for Israel within Egypt surprise many people? (Answer: because Egypt would seem to be a natural ally with Palestinians.) Yet instead, a famous Egyptian newscaster called on Egypt to help Israel, saying "The Egyptian people know exactly who [Israel is] facing, and understand that there is no alternative to employing the Egyptian army to strike terror cells in Gaza and destroy Hamas in a military operation;" Another newscaster said, “Thank you (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and may God give us more [people] like you to destroy Hamas.”
Kids: find Egypt on a map. Why do you think some in Egypt are supporting Israel?

Week 2 of the War: 2 Stories

Article: As of today, over 1,000 rockets have been launched into Israel in the last week. Since rockets are being launched from Gaza, Lebanon and Egypt, 100% of Israel is now under attack. (See map). We should all continue praying for the safety of Israel and Israeli soldiers.

Here are two stories from the war to share with kids: David Khashdi, 7 years old, saved his great-grandmother's life yesterday afternoon. He lives in Ashdod with his family; they are originally from the Caucasus region (Kids: find on map) and his great-grandmother only speaks Russian, no Hebrew. Yesterday, while the great-grandmother was in the kitchen and David was watching TV in the protected room, an air raid siren went off alerting them to an oncoming rocket. The great-grandmother didn't hear the siren (Kids: why not?) so David called out to her and then helped her into the protected room. Seconds later, a rocket hit the road outside, shattering all the house's windows on the bottom floor and blasting a hole through the living room wall. David wasn't able to close the protected room's door in time, so some of the glass flew into the protected room and cut his leg. David was fine after being treated at the hospital. Their car outside was thrown into the air and destroyed by the blast. Because of David's quick thinking, his grandmother's life was saved. (Kids: what lesson to learn here? That even kids can save lives; that we should protect ourselves; that we should look out for others, etc.)

David's next door neighbor also had a close call. Usually when the siren goes off, the wife always runs to the safe room but the husband doesn't, preferring to sit at his computer and ignore the risk. (Kids: is this a smart thing to do?) For some reason he can't explain, when the siren went off this time, the husband ran into the protected room. It saved his life. If he hadn't left his computer, he would have died from the window glass shattering. He says his "sixth sense" to get up was a miracle from God.

  

War in Israel Continues

Israel is now into its second week of war against Gaza, in Operation Protective Shield. As rockets pour into all different areas of Israel, people have 15 seconds from the time a siren sounds to get into a bomb shelter. A new Facebook page has been created for people to post pictures of themselves in bomb shelters. See those pictures here and "like" the page to show your support for brave Israelis.

Article: Remember in past current events we spoke about "cyber warfare"? How you can fight wars not only with weapons but online? Over the weekend, Hamas hackers tried to wage cyber warfare by hacking into Israel's Domino Pizza website. They posted a picture of a Hamas terrorist with a gun and a sign that said, Beware, We are Sending Thousands of Rockets Into Israel!" This was meant to make Israelis fearful. But instead Israel responding with humor. One person responded, "Please reserve a missile for me with jalapenos, green olives, extra cheese, and mushrooms. You have my address. Tell the delivery boy to activate the alarm when it is arriving, so I know to put my pants on." Another person put up a picture of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles eating pizza! When Domino's got their page back, they put up the message "You cannot defeat...the Israeli hunger for pizza!" Kids: what do you think of this way of responding? Was it successful?

Israel at War; Flash Mob in Ariel, Israel

Right now is a hard time in Israel. Rockets are raining down on Israel in Tel Aviv, in the North, in the South. Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two different groups in Gaza, are both competing to who can throw rockets faster into Israel, often from the same site. Israel is trying to figure out how to fire back at them, when the leaders are hiding in tunnels below the ground. Kids: if you were Israel, how would you fight back or deal with the situation? What must it be like to a kid in Israel right now? If you are/were in Israel, what are things you could do to help pass the time while sitting in a "safe room?"

To cheer things up, here is a nice video of a Flash mob singing in Ariel, Israel.

Recent Supreme Court Decision: cell phones

Article: The Supreme Court recently had to decide a case regarding cell phone. A man as stopped by police for a minor traffic infraction. When the police pulled him over and searched his car, they found guns. They then searched his cell phone and found pictures that were incriminating (showing guilt of a crime). They arrested him and he went to jail. He appealed, claiming that the search of his cell phone was illegal. (Kids: why? Argue both sides of the case.) The Supreme Court found that the search was illegal and not incident to the arrest, unless it was exigent circumstances (emergency situation), such as terrorism.

Immigration Crisis in U.S. Regarding Children

Article: President Obama is seeking almost $4 billion in emergency money from Congress due to an immigration crisis along the U.S. southern border with Mexico. (Kids: locate border on map). The crisis is from a recent wave of unaccompanied children coming across the border. (Kids: what does it mean that the children are "unaccompanied?" Why would parents send their children this way? Do the parents even know?) Obama wants to use the money for increasing patrols along the border, immigration judges once the kids are caught, aerial surveillance, and new facilities to hold for and care for the children. He wants to return the kids back to Mexico and other countries in Central America as quickly as possible. Kids: what do you think about this? What are the pros/cons of what Obama is doing?  How would you feel if you were one of these kids.

Video: Watch a trailer from an excellent, heartbreaking documentary about this phenomenon of unaccompanied minors trying to come into the U.S.

To the Moon...

Article: Google is putting together a competition among private companies to send Earth's most precious relics to the moon, in case a cataclysmic event ever happens on Earth, destroying everything. The relics would be sent in a capsule that could survive for the next 10,000 years. Kids: what would you send? Already a capsule has gone into space with pictures of humans; sounds of nature; pictures of what humans have done on earth -- to memorialize humanity. An Israeli team wants to send the Torah.
Kids: what are some challenges they have to think about? The moon has extreme temperature changes. In the day, it can get up to 253 degrees; at night down to 279 degrees. Any capsule would have to withstand this. So far nothing has been created that can. But the Israeli team is currently working on something so the Torah can go to the moon and be preserved, just in case...

Saturday-Sunday Weekend?

Article: Israel currently has a Friday-Saturday weekend. This means that school is Sunday-Friday and most people work half-days on Friday, to get ready for the Sabbath (Jews) or to celebrate their holy day (Muslims). However, there has been a movement since 2011 to get Israel to have the same weekend as the rest of the Western world -- Saturday and Sunday. A minister is about to propose it to the Israeli Knesset. Kids: make arguments for/against this idea. What do you think should happen and why?

(Some arguments: Israel would then be on the same schedule as the rest of the world, which would help Israel's economy; right now, Israel only works 4 work days the same as the rest of the world instead of 5; it would be harmful to religious Jews/Arabs who will take off part of Friday anyway; to make it happen, the workweek on Monday-Thursday would have to be lengthened and studies show people are less efficient the later they work).

From Janitor to Principal, through hard work

Article: Gabe Sonnier used to be the janitor at an elementary school. Now he is the principal! Here's the story: Sonnier came from a poor family with 5 children. His mother was working as a housekeeper and struggling to pay for his education at Southern University. But he dropped out to help her and began working as a janitor. He was still working as a janitor in 1985 when the school's principal at the time pulled Sonnier aside and told him, "I"d rather see you grading papers than picking them up." Sonnier was 39 years old but decided to go back to school. He would work from 5 AM - 7 AM, go to school all day, then come back and work another 6 hours as a janitor, then go home and do homework. He eventually earned a college degree and a masters degree in education. He became principal a few months ago. Sonnier credits his hard work for making it possible and for never giving up.

Kids: if you could ask him one question, what would it be?

See a video with Gabe Sonnier here.

Horrible News

It was just announced that Gilad, Eyal and Naftali's Z"L bodies were found dead in a field near Hebron. I don't know how to break the news to kids.  It is horrific. They were killed only because they are Jews. Instead of doing a current event today, we will take a moment to reflect instead. 

More Ways to Help Bring Our Boys Home

I will not be blogging current events for the next week. 

Please tune back in on Monday, June 30. 

In the meantime: 

• Please keep praying for safe and speedy return of the three kidnapped boys, Eyal, Gilad and Naftali, especially with Psalm 121. 
• Sign this letter for the families of the boys. 
• Show your kids this video of people singing at the Kotel/Western Wall for the boys' return.
• See this fundraising campaign to bring food and care packages to the Israeli soldiers directly working on Operation Brothers Keeper. 
• Have your kids make a card or letter for the soldiers working to find the boys. Take a picture of the card/letter and send it to Help Our Soldiers Help Our Boys Facebook page. It will be printed out and delivered to the soldiers, who could use a boost of morale. 

Search for Boys Continues; Iraq-Syria Chaos

Please continue to pray for the kidnapped Israeli boys; here is a video of the first public joint statement from their parents. I will be showing it to my kids. 

Also, StandWithUs is initiating a campaign to tie white ribbons in honor of the boys around your cars, trees, doors, etc, to show solidarity. You can like this campaign on Facebook; you make make it your Facebook Profile picture using this image (you have copyright permission to use it); you can send a picture of your white ribbon to social@standwithus.com to keep the campaign momentum going:

Article: Since the end of World War I, there have been two independent countries of Syria and Iraq. However, in the last few days, an Islamic terrorist group, known as ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant), which has already taken over Syria, has attacked Iraq and gaining a foothold in the country. Their goal is to create one joint Islamic nation ruled by Shariah law. (Kids: look on map and find these two countries). A recent find by the Iraqi army uncovered all the intelligence about the ISIS and their money. It is a treasure trove of info that no one knew before. US CIA agents are hard at work decrypting all of it. But already it is now known that they have billions of dollars in cash--making them probably the richest terrorist group in the world--and that likely it was taken from Syria's oil rich fields and looting Syria's archaeological priceless treasures. (Kids: what does this mean?)

Help an Inventor!

Article: 2 guys were tired of having to throw the guck out of the kitchen sink after washing dishes. So they invented a new contraption to throw out the mess. Now they are looking for donations of $1 or more to help fund their invention. Watch their Video. 

Kids: Do you think it is a good idea? Should it be funded? Would you fund it? What invention would you like to design and get funding for? 

Come Togetherl for Kidnapped Boys

Article: As most of you reading this posting probably know, on Thursday night, three teenage Israel boys were kidnapped as they were coming home from yeshiva/school by terrorists/bad guys. The boys are Eyal Yifrach, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Frenkel, 16 (an American citizen, whose wonderful mother recently visited Los Angeles and spoke about her amazing work helping women.) Click here for a picture of the boys and here for a video of Naftali's mother thanking people for their prayers. I have spoken about it with my kids.

Jews around the world are praying for the boys' speedy and safe return. Kids are said to have a direct pipeline to God. Instead of doing a current event tonight, please discuss how yesterday in Israel, over 30,000 people gathered to pray at the Western Wall for the boys' return. See a picture here. See a video here of Eyal's brother praying for his return, saying Psalm 121. Please begin dinner tonight by reciting two psalms for the boys' safe return: Psalm #121 and Psalm #130. 

May the boys be returned to their family quickly and unharmed: 

Yaakov Naftali ben Rachel Devorah

Gilad Michael ben Bat Galim

Eyal ben Iris Teshurah 

If your kids want to do something proactive, have them pledge a mitzvah for the boys return and declare it on this site 

Landmark Victories Against BDS This Week!

This week, for the first time, a university has adopted an anti-BDS resolution. (Kids: do you remember what BDS is--boycotts, divestment, and sanctions against Israel?) Western Washington University  is now the first university in America to adopt a resolution saying that it will not consider boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS) resolutions based on national origin. This means that anti-Israel students can no longer bring resolutions to boycott Israel to the student Senate. The university student government unanimously adopted the resolution saying that the BDS resolutions lead to tensions on campus and discrimination and intimidation based on national origin (being Israeli). The resolution was brought by a StandWithUs Emerson Fellow, Alysa Kipersztok. 

Kids: why does the fact that the vote was unanimous matter? What does it signify? How is this an example of proactive activism? As opposed to reactive? Discuss pros/cons of each type.

Also this week, the Modern Language Association (MLA), one of the US's main academic associations, also voted against an anti-Israel resolution, which would have said Israel denies academics entry into Palestinian territories.

More Pharmacists in ERs to Cut Errors in Medication

Article: Often, when you get prescription medication from a doctor, there is something wrong with the medication--the wrong dosage amount, the wrong drug even. This leads to over 7000 deaths a year in the U.S. It could be the result of bad doctor handwriting, name mix ups, etc. Now, hospitals are trying to avoid this problem by having pharmacies directly in the hospital. When you are in the hospital and the doctor assigns medicine, the doctor send the prescription to the hospital pharmacy, who will do an extra careful job to make sure it is correct for that patient. They look at the patient, the quantity of the drugs, allergies, other drugs the patient is taking, and do extra review of children's medication. Not all hospitals have this because it costs money to have full time pharmacists on staff, 24 hours a day. 

Kids: how can this help reduce mix ups and even deaths? If a pharmacist fills out a prescription and doesn't check carefully what other medicines that patient is taking, how could this lead to a big problem? 

      

Special Unit of the IDF for People with Special Needs

Article: The IDF is a people's army, meaning everyone in the country is supposed to enlist when graduating from high school. But what about kids with special needs? Israel has created a unit for them too. Now, kids with special needs can go into a special unit where they can do tasks to help Israel -- they assemble kits, clean devices, etc. It empowers them with a feeling of equality, unity, and success. They feel like they are also part of Israeli society and gives them some skills to help integrate into regular society afterwards. Watch this powerful video about the special needs unit.

Kids: what does it mean to have special needs? Whom does it help to have them integrated into society? (Their families, the kids themselves, all who interact with them and learn compassion)

Obituary: Maya Angelou Dies at 86

Article: One of my favorite authors died last week, Maya Angelou. Known for her memoirs, such as "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sing" and most recently, "Mom & Me & Mom," she broke down literary and racial boundaries in her life and work. Once you heard it, you never forgot her deep, resonating voice. (Click here to listen.)

(Parents Only: Angelou had a complex life. I don't know what you want to share with your children. She was raped when she was seven years old by her mother's boyfriend and stopped speaking for years. She got pregnant after her first sexual encounter and gave birth as a single mom at the age of 17. After graduating high school, she moved out with her son and worked as a stripper for a while. These are the parts of her life you may not want to tell your kids about. She also knew over 6 languages, worked as a reporter, was the first black street car conductor in San Francisco, became a famous author, and never felt sorry for herself in hard times. Click here for her biography to choose what you wish to share).

To read a beautiful letter she wrote to her "younger self," click here.

For a great story from when she was a teenager:

"I was the first black person to be on the streetcars of San Francisco, a conductorette. And my mother had asked me, 'What would you like to do this semester? You're ahead of your class, what would you like to do? You have to work.' So I said, 'I'd like to be a streetcar conductor.' She said, 'All right, go get the job.'

“ I told her, 'That's what you were — you were my great protection.'

"[My mother] drove me [to work] as long as I kept the job, which was a few months. And she'd drive right behind the streetcar until daylight. And at daylight, she'd honk her horn and blow me a kiss. [Angelou's mother carried a gun in that car, to protect Angelou.]

"I told her, 'That's what you were — you were my great protection.' She said, 'I was more than that. You were mine, too.'"