Bassi Gruen
There are moments we wish would disappear from our memories, just be swallowed up in our past, leaving no trace, no painful residue. Most of those moments involve our doing something we wish could be undone: harsh words we dream of stuffing back into our mouth, hasty actions we yearn to erase. But sometimes, our regret comes from our inertia, our inability to stand up for what was right while there was still time. And that something right can be as seemingly trivial as a plate of creampuffs…
Several years ago, when I was employed as a social worker, my boss asked me to arrange social events for the women our agency helped. Most of our clients were mothers of large families who were being crushed under the double burden of too much stress and too little money. Social ties were weak and emotional resources not often present. My boss dreamt of arranging monthly events which would give the women a much needed social outlet as well as foster interdependence.
I had the necessary experience – I had co-headed our block’s Neshei events for a number of years. Now I just had to trim the template I already ...   more »

(IsraelNN.com) Fatah Palestinian Authority-controlled news agency Ma'an reported Sunday that an organization called Liberators of the Galilee - the Imad Mughniyah Group has announced the manufacture of a local missile that is currently positioned on a Galilee hilltop ready for launching.
According to Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (translated by MEMRI.org) this is the first announcement of its kind in the history of Israel's Arabs.
The message conveyed by the group to Al-Hayat was that if any harm comes to Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv would receive a direct hit.
Original Source
   more »

By Zafrir Rinat, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service   
Tags: earthquake, Israel 
Two consecutive earthquakes shook northern Israel on Friday, causing no casualties or damage.
Israel's Geophysical Institute stated that the tremors, which were felt by many northern residents, had a magnitude of 3.8 and 3.9 on the Richter Scale. Their epicenter was in southern Lebanon.
Friday's tremors came a day after five quakes jolted Lebanon in the space of three hours. Two of the quakes had a magnitude of over 4, and were felt in parts of northern Israel, especially in Kiryat Shmona.  
A recent report by the Health Ministry indicates a series of serious failings in the structure of hospitals in northern Israel. The report states that in case of an earthquake, there will be no hospital to treat the wounded.
None of the recent quakes have caused injuries or damage. But in the past, earthquakes have caused serious damage to Safed, Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Nablus, and have damaged holy sites, including the Al-Aqsa mosque, Islam's third-holiest site, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, sacred to many Christians as the site of Jesus' crucifixion and burial.
The last major earthquake to strike ...   more »

A tremor in Lebanon measuring 3.8 on the Richter scale was felt in northern Israel on Friday morning. No one was injured and no damage was reported.
On Thursday, four similar tremors were felt in the North and parts of central Israel.
The first tremor Thursday, measuring 3.9 on the Richter scale, occurred at 4 p.m. and it was followed two-and-a-half hours later by three more, measuring 3.8, 4.2 and 4.1 respectively.
Last February, a quake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale was felt in the North. The source of that quake was also Lebanon, about 15 kilometers northeast of Tyre. In the same week, a tremor, also originating in the Tyre area, and measuring 4 on the Richter scale, was felt in northern and central Israel.
At the start of the year, there was a series of four quakes in the Dead Sea area measuring between 3 and 4.3 on the Richter scale.
Seismologists said there was no link between the quakes and that a series of several tremors in no way indicates that a large earthquake is likely to hit the region.
Original Source
   more »