Israel and the Media

Israel and the media

After the horrible and tragic events in Paris it's been a week of
extensive media coverage on every channel, every newspaper the World
over has dealt with this awful event. Yet in amongst the stories there
is once again the tired old cliché of blaming Israel for it.

Most of those pointing the finger are harmless people posting on
Twitter or Facebook, either genuinely believing what they have read or
just hoping to provoke a reaction. It does not help that comments made
by Politicians make their way into the press and fan the flames of
hate towards Israel at a time when the headlines should be 'we want
peace and we stand together'. Instead the press through poor wording
or just stupidity seem to turn the anger towards Israel.

Many times I have read headlines about a Palestinian being shot by
Israel and for some people that is enough for them, they don't read any more
and hear the full story, the reason why they were shot, they just
assume once again evil Israel is picking on the Palestinians.

What can be done to change this, even social media seems to be
anti-Israel. Last month Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas claimed
that Israel had executed a 13 year old boy after he and his cousin
stabbed two people. Israel acted quickly to show this was a lie, but
how much damage was done by his statement to the media, how many more
people saw Israel as child killers?

The truth is in war, the media; social and printed is a more powerful
tool than weapons. It can make people believe anything and do far more
damage and that is more scary than anything a gun can do.

Four years and still standing.

Well it’s a little delayed but nearly 2 weeks after my 4 year Aliyahversary; here it is my latest blog post. I actually spent about 5 minutes contemplating what the title would be. I suppose the four years is obvious but the still standing is me referring to the ups and downs I've had over my time here.  I honestly wonder with some of the setbacks I've had since I made aliyah, why haven't I gone back to England.  It’s easy to say it, easy for me to do, just pack up and head back to the UK where I have family and friends and I'm fluent in the language.  Honestly I think it’s just stubbornness or a desire and a belief that despite everything I can make this work, that I can build a life and in a few years I will be able to look back and say that was my challenge and I went through it and have come out stronger.

Am I a stronger person than I was four years ago, I'm not sure, I would hope if you’re a member of my family or friends reading this and you can turn round and tell me "yes" that the person I am today is not the same person I was when I left the UK.

Anyway moving away from my little contemplation, what has been going on in the last few months?  Well all the Jewish Holidays that are usually part of September and October have been and gone, it was nice for the first time since I came here that I was able to spend Rosh Hashana with my family, with my Uncle and Aunt and one of my cousins and his family, which is something I've not done since being here.  Not saying that the friends I've spent other holidays with is not nice, but this was a different kind of nice.  Also having very short weeks at work because all the holidays were during the working week a big plus :-).

Work is fine itself, like any job it is either very busy or quiet which is good, but sometimes I would settle for somewhere in-between of very busy to not so busy.  I've actually been helping train a new English Typist alongside my fellow typist Samantha, one thing I've realized is I'm not a patient person when it comes to training someone and I can't remember how I was when I started in this job, but I hope I was a good student for you Sam. We're actually helping our boss prepare for a meeting overseas which is where the busy part is, after that it will be quiet for a couple of weeks and then back to busy and then back normal levels.  I've also found time to help the other departments, it’s kind of fun to learn new stuff in the firm I'm working at, though it mostly is preparing emails and in some cases filing papers in the storage area.

Socially probably because of the festivals it was a bit quiet, I've been out and about and had some laughs with friends, birthdays and just nights out which is good, it’s still my intention to get my social life going better than ever and any of my friends here in Tel Aviv who are reading, feel free to drag me out of the house when your off out :-)

I've also had chance to celebrate with friends as they got married in the last few weeks.  The first will be forever memorable because of the vehicle the 10 of us were travelling in decided to break down and we as a result missed the Chuppah and the starter :-(.  Still we got there and I got to see friends from Ulpan and dance the night away... and then go into work on Friday morning with a little headache....... 

The second wedding was my friend and former roommate Kylie to Yuval which if you have seen the pictures she looked amazing. Disappointed they didn't bring Kiki as a part of the wedding party, but having lived with the little devil, I can only imagine the chaos she would have caused LMAO.  Still a very nice wedding and again nice to see friends and also it brought one of my best friends from England to Israel for the week, so I got to hangout with her and take a break from work.

So that's what I've been up to, it’s all good.  4 years here and I'm still standing, still working away to carve a life here, I knew it would be a struggle but I'm going to keep working on it.  Maybe one day I will actually be fluent in Hebrew... anything is possible.  

So to my friends and family here in Israel, be well and stay safe and to my friends and family back in the UK, don't be strangers.