Celebrating Thanksgiving in Israel —
The Search for the Cranberry Sauce
by Israel HighWay staff

Thanksgiving is a secular American holiday (not holy day), and is celebrated by Americans of all faiths. It's a day of family reunions and a chance to reflect on the bounty and opportunities America has given its citizens. For many, it's a day for the "rituals" of the day: watching the Macy's Parade, TV-surfing the football games, and eating too much at the turkey dinner.

[Click here for halachik discussion of commemorating Thanksgiving. Bottom line: It's kosher.]

As a popular American tradition, Thanksgiving is celebrated by American expatriates or "expats" all over the world. In Israel, how is it commemorated, why, and when? The answers are not so simple.

Issue of the Week is continued below

Israeli Town On Edge after Gaza Rocket Attacks by Ari Rabinovitch

When the siren sounds, residents of the southern Israeli town of Sderot, opposite Gaza, have 20 seconds to find a safe place before the rockets land. "At home the family runs to our shelter. If you are outside, you stand up against a wall," said Milenna Alhazov, 15. Shlomo Zarka, 49, said he saw a rocket fly overhead last week and land near a bank. "People don't realize how serious they are until someone is killed. Just leaving your house means taking a chance," he said. "The rockets are armed with shrapnel and ball-bearings that are sent flying when the rocket lands," said Haim Ben-Shimon, 55, head of the Magen David Adom ambulance service in Sderot. "They are meant to shred the body and tear off limbs." (Reuters)

Iran Gave $120 Million to Hamas Government

Iran has donated $120 million to the Palestinian Hamas-led government and has said it is ready to give more, Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar said last week in Tehran after talks with Iran's Islamic government. (Reuters/San Diego Union Tribune)

View Video: Hamas Trains New Army by Ben Wedeman.
Hamas recruits at an army training base in the former Neve Dekelim industrial zone in Gaza. (CNN)

Fighting Fires in the Name of Israel

In the distant country of Chile, Israel has been getting some positive, yet surprising exposure. In Chile, just like any other place in the world, children grow up with the dream of being firefighters. But in Chile there is a chance to put out fires and to feel close to Israel at the same time. The country has two fire squad stations called "Bomba Israel," a slang expression for a powerful vehicle. One station is in the capital Santiago, and the other in the coastal town of Valparaiso. In Santiago, there are a few dozens of firefighters in the squad, most of them Jews from the local community.

Groups of Israeli firefighters have visited Chile,and were surprised to see fire engines with Israeli flags flying high and proud, and a Menorah and Star of David emblem on the firefighters' uniforms. (Israel Today)

Yeshiva Students to Get Diploma from Bill Gates by Eran Navon

Students from an ultra-Orthodox high school in northern Israel will have their computer technician diplomas signed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

The ultra-Orthodox Sitrin boarding school near Atlit has added an unusual subject to its curriculum of Torah and Talmud - computer science. The subject is taught in a special course for haredi youth, who study in special computer labs constructed in Sitrin by the Mediatec College for Computers and Technology. At the end of the school year students will take their final exams at the Microsoft International Testing Center. (Ynet News)

Teacher Hands Out Anti-Israel Assignment, Then Resigns

A Spanish teacher at Smithfield-Selma Senior High School (NC) resigned last week after handing out an assignment that some students and parents said teaches hate. Khalid Chahhou, who was in his first year of teaching, gave students a worksheet in which they were to translate words and find them within a word-search puzzle.

Some students started uncovering strange words in the process. "Sharon killed a lot of innocent people," a possible reference to former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "Palestine is not a terrorist group." "Allah help destroy this body of evil making humanity miserable." "Destroy America." Chahhou also teaches Arabic at a religious school affiliated with the Islamic Association of Cary. (WRAL)

Haifa Students Help Boost Israeli PR by Itamar Eichner

The communications department at the Reali School in Haifa will contribute its film archive to the 'isRealli' blog, which was launched by the consulate in New York about a year ago in a bid to reach young people around the world.

The films were produced by the school's students and depict the 'normal' lives of young people in the country. Furthermore, the Reali students are set to produce videos clips of unique Israeli sports events (such as Paddle Ball) and original music to be posted on the blog. Project organizer David Saranga, Israel's communications consul in New York, said the cooperation with the Reali students will allow youngsters in Israel to contact youth from around the world and present the human aspect of Israeli society. (Ynet News)

Teens Make their Presence Known at GA
by Jane Ulman and Sara Bakhshian

Erika Levy and Alie Kussin-Shoptaw, seniors at New Community Jewish High School in West Hills, easily spotted in their bright orange volunteer vests, stood by the escalators at the Los Angeles Convention Center, greeting arriving United Jewish Communities General Assembly (GA) attendees and directing them to meeting rooms, halls and hospitality suites. The girls, both 17, were part of a cadre of teen volunteers brought together by Sulam, the Center for Jewish Service Learning, part of Los Angeles' Bureau of Jewish Education (BJE). The group included 15 students from New Community Jewish High School, 20 from Shalhevet High School, 11 from the Jewish Student Union (JSU) and 20 from United Synagogue Youth. (Jewish Journal)

"Anglos" in Israel to Protest Darfur Deaths by Daphne Berman

A rally to raise awareness about the genocide in Darfur will take place on Monday in Jerusalem, the English-speaking students organizing the event announced this week. Hatzilu et Amei Darfur, (Save the Nations of Darfur), or Ha'ed, is a new group comprising mainly yeshiva and seminary students who say that they wanted to bring Darfur advocacy to Israel.

"After the Holocaust, it's important that we don't stand by and let another group of people become victims of genocide," group co-founder Seraphya Berrin, a student at the Har Etzion Yeshiva in Gush Etzion said.

"American Jewry understands that it is the Jewish thing to help people escape genocide, but unfortunately Israelis' understanding of what is going on in Darfur is the closest thing above zero," said Eytan Schwartz (pictured), spokesperson for the Committee for the Advancement of the Refugees of Darfur (and former winner of "The Ambassador" reality show). (Ha'aretz)

Volunteers Rescue Puppies from Israel

Puppies speak a universal language, even when they come from war-torn northern Israel, unwanted fallout from the conflict with Hizballah. A planeload of 40 wiggly 4-month-olds arrived in Washington, D.C., this month with members of an Alexandria, Va., rescue group, Concern for Helping Animals in Israel (CHAI), which last year swept Gaza and the West Bank for abandoned chickens, turtles, cats, dogs, turkeys, goats and birds.

While CHAI rounded up four-legged victims to bring back home, its sister charity, Hakol Chai, distributed more than 12 tons of food, hundreds of water bowls, vaccines, leashes and other supplies to pets left behind. (Beacon Journal)

Israeli-Arab Activist in Mission to Tackle Iran over Holocaust
by Donald Macintyre

An Israeli-Arab lawyer plans to travel to Iran next month to preach his message at an official conference that all Muslims need to appreciate the true magnitude of the Holocaust.

Khaled Mahameed, who started the Arab world's first Holocaust museum in Nazareth, has been invited to address the conference, Review of the Holocaust: Global Vision, in Tehran on 11 and 12 December. Mr. Mahameed said his challenge to the questioning of the Holocaust by the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, would be: "Do not deny or even argue about the authenticity of the Holocaust ... You are not helping the Palestinian people. You are hurting their cause."

Mr. Mahameed also believes that Arab understanding of the Holocaust is an important step to a lasting peace between the Palestinians and Israel. He is passionate in arguing that Palestinians cannot expect Jews to appreciate the suffering of Palestinians displaced or driven out of their homes in the war of 1948 unless they first start to understand what he acknowledges is the far greater Jewish catastrophe of the Holocaust. (Independent)

To Akko with Love from Qatar by Tamar Travelsi-Hadad

A story ripped almost directly from the movie-of-the-week venue. An 89-year-old doctor returns to the Akko high-school of his youth and donates almost $2 million for state of the art computer labs, resource center and assembly hall. But the plot gets even thicker when it is revealed that the generous donation bestowed upon the Israeli school hails all the way from the Persian Gulf country of Qatar, courtesy of the Emir's Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani's wife.

Seventy-four years ago Abed Yashruti enrolled at the Hilmi Shafi school in Akko. He later moved to Lebanon and Scotland, finishing medical school and becoming a surgeon. He later moved to Qatar where he served as an advisor to the Qatari ministry of health. Some 12 years ago Dr. Yashruti came to visit Israel and was surprised to discover that his old school was still standing. He then donated $160,000 for the establishment of a computer lab for the school. (Ynet News)

Editor's note: According to the principal of the Hilmi Shafi School in Akko, Mohammed Hagjoj, the school joined the ORT school network three years ago. Students' grades skyrocketed and student literacy increased.

Jerusalem School Brings Together Jews and Arabs by Sascha Zastiral

A school project in Jerusalem aims to quietly revolutionize the country. Jewish and Arab children sit in the same classrooms and are taught by teachers from both communities. The most important lesson they learn is empathy for one another. Every morning parents bring their children to school through a guarded gate at the Yad BeYad ("Hand-in-Hand") School in Jerusalem. A dozen children, including two girls, play football on the playground. A boy with a brown ponytail calls out in Hebrew: "Here, kick it to me!" He gets the ball, dribbles it past a boy from the other team, shoots a goal and yells in Arabic: "Goal!"

The school in Jerusalem's Katamon neighborhood is a highly unusual place. That's because it serves both Arab and Jewish students, and lessons are conducted in Hebrew and Arabic. (Der Spiegel)

Canadian Students Travel to Northern Israel by Sheri Shefa

About a dozen Canadians rode the "MASA Train to the North" last month from Jerusalem to Akko, where they joined hundreds of other volunteers in a solidarity event for Israelis who were affected by last summer's war with Hizballah. Elan Ezrachi, executive director of MASA and the organizer of the event, said the ride was his organization's way of welcoming MASA participants to Israel, some of whom had arrived in the country only weeks before. 1,000 people rode the train, which was leased from an Israeli train corporation.

During the three-hour ride to Akko, MASA volunteers were treated to live music, dancing and performances. Soldiers and guides also travelled on the train to share their experiences and answer students' questions. (Canadian Jewish News)

Matisyahu Rocks the Holy Land by Or Barnea

A new DVD by Matisyahu, a popular American Jewish reggae artist, will be available at stores internationally commencing December 26th. The DVD was filmed at the Israeli Barbie night club in December of last year when Matisyahu came to Israel to perform in front of Israeli audiences both at the Barbie Club and at the Ma'abada club in Jerusalem. In June of this year Matisyahu visited Israel again to give the opening act for Sting and another unforgettable performance at the Barbie Club. Catch the YouTube performance. (Ynet News)

Israeli Minister, American Idol by Itamar Eichner

The well-known singer and dancer Paula Abdul, who recently revealed that she is Jewish, will be coming to Israel during the Hanukkah festival as the guest of Tourist Minister Isaac Herzog. Abdul's host also offered to make a "shidduch" for her during her visit. "My dream is to visit Israel, go to the Dead Sea, to tour the Western Wall and other holy sites," Abdul told Herzog last week. Herzog is currently touring the West Coast on a tour aimed at promoting tourism to Israel. During the tour he also met with California's governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Ynet News)

Judging a Book by its Cover and its Contents by Abraham Foxman

One should never judge a book by its cover, but in the case of former President Jimmy Carter's latest work, "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid," we should make an exception. All one really needs to know about this biased account is found in the title. Listen to his conclusions: "Israel's continued control and colonization of Palestinian land have been the primary obstacles to a comprehensive peace agreement in the Holy Land." In order to reach such a simplistic and distorted view of the region, Carter (pictured) has to ignore or downplay the continuing examples of Palestinian rejection of Israel and terrorism. (New Jersey Jewish Standard)

Too Hot to Handle by Jack Halpern

The question for students and administrators at Brandeis, UC Irvine, Penn State, and other schools is this: Why is it so hard to talk about Israel in an open, civil, and constructive manner? After all, our college campuses have long provided a forum for discussing the nation's most divisive and controversial issues. So why, exactly, is the subject of Israel so difficult to discuss? The answer in part is that Christian, Jewish, and Muslim college students are more organized than they ever have been - and more outspoken, especially when it comes to Israel. (Boston Globe)