What Makes People Tick?

 About 11 years ago, I penned " A Two-State Solution with a Twist - My approach to the problems facing Israel and Palestine today "  full of hope and idealism. Af ter October 7th 2023 and the long, drawn-out war in Gaza that followed those horrific attacks, a peaceful so lution seems further away than ever. Ever the optimist, I find myself revisiting my thoughts on the topic. Today, I'm finishing the post from 2014 with some edits and some newer thoughts mixed in. M any years have passed since 1948 and whether one likes it or not (I'm looking at you, Hamas !), the State of Israel is an established fact. The only way to remove the State of Israel is to wipe every last bit of it off the map entirely, which would equate to the mass genocide of millions of innocent people. Seeing the world already tried that 'solution' some seventy-odd years ago, let's try building bridges this time instead of fences. Just as the State of Israel is an established fact , so...

 When news reports started coming in on Saturday evening (European central time) that Iran had launched an attack against Israel, I started worrying. I have no family in Israel. I'm not Israeli. I'm not Jewish. I'm not worrying about 'my home' or about family members. But I am a supporter of Israel. I'm not always a staunch supporter of the Israeli government, true. There are decisions that I, as a person, do not agree with. There are things I would change, would do differently, if it were up to me. But am I a staunch supporter of Israel's right to exist, of the right of Israeli people to live in freedom? Definitely. I have friends in Israel. People I've met as I travelled the world. Good people. Kind people. People with parents, with siblings, with children. People I care about.  My main thought as I was watching the news on television and reading the updates on Twitter/X however, wasn't about my friends in Israel. I wasn't worried about them: T...

  Last weekend, on Saturday the 7th of October, a great number of people got together to cross a border. Some flew over using gliders. Others toppled a fence in a lot of places. Through the breaches in the fence came people. Men. In cars. On motorcycles. They didn't come through that fence to find freedom, or to flee from persecution. They didn't cross the border hoping for a better life, for the fulfilment of a dream. The men who crossed the border, they came to kill, to murder. To shoot people in their homes. To kill babies and children in their beds. To go into communities full of people, civilians, and indiscriminately shoot everyone and everything. To go to a festival where people were dancing, enjoying themselves, and to shoot, kill, rape those people. The stories of the survivors are horrifying. Stories of people rushing for their cars, driving, being shot at. Stories of people running, being shot in the back. Stories of people hiding, being found, finding new places to ...

 I'm quite certain that I'm not the only one who's recently learnt about Adriana Rosie's social media channels where she writes about being a non-Jewish nanny for Jewish families in Florida in the US. It was an article from the Times of Israel ( ‘Non-Jewish Nanny’ to Orthodox kids gains TikTok fame with cute culture-shock videos ) that got me reading about what she does. And honestly, I've really enjoyed going through this young woman's Every Single Instagram Post. Check it out for yourself:  Adriana Rosie @nonjewishnanny .  While I usually prefer using Instagram to check out photos as opposed to videos (one of the reasons I'm not on TikTok...), I have to admit that I've just been eating up the content, and have really enjoyed learning about all her experiences. This is someone who's respectful of a community with many customs, rules and regulations that may not make sense to, or seem strange to outsiders, and opens up that community to the wider wor...

Mary of Magdala, or Mary Magdalene, is possibly one of history's most misunderstood women. A follower of Jesus, she is mentioned in the Christian Bible a number of times. Many think of her as a whore or a prostitute, despite the fact that she isn't actually called anything like that. Ever. I recently came across an article that described the Gospel of Mary Magdalene and was fascinated by what I read. Having read it, now it's time to share it with others. In the age of #YesAllWomen and #MeToo, I believe that it is important to look at how women are portrayed today, and how they were portrayed in the past. Mary, the Magdalene, is a woman branded by history as something she probably wasn't at all - a prostitute, an 'easy' woman, a whore as modern-day people might describe her. Yet upon reading the Gospel of Mary Magdalene , one's views may change, if only a little. While it's never been an official or unofficial gospel, the fragmented pieces of writing ...

Personally, I'm for peace between Israel and the Arab / Muslim world, the Palestinians included. I'm for a one-state, a two-state, a three-state or even a four-state solution IF that solution brings peace, prosperity and stability for ALL people of the region. I definitely do not think that Hamas will bring peace to anyone. They are open and honest about their desires: To destroy Israel and kill the world's Jews.  Read the Hamas Covenant 1988  to find out for yourself, or read some excerpts of that Covenant through clicking the 'Hamas' tag underneath this post. In an ideal world a " One Land Two States " solution would be my suggestion for peace in the Holy Land. Turning the presence and reality of Israel from a 'bad thing' into a 'good thing' in the eyes of Muslims might help them see that the Jewish people are NOT the enemy. Look at what Israel has achieved since 1948, look at how they have managed to make the desert bloom, look at the ...

Finally! A headline that makes me smile instead of wonder what the world is coming to. Instead of talking about Hamas or the Islamic State or threats made against the governments of European and other non-Muslim countries, today I'd like to talk about what's right in the world: "The Light of Israel is Defeating the Forces of Darkness" as the website United with Israel reports. What a joy to read those words! The article (from exactly a year ago) reads like an advertisement for Israeli technology and innovation, showing the world that Israel, unlike the terrorists in neighbouring Gaza and Syria, is more interested in technological advancement and helping the world than wasting time on rape, murder, rocket attacks and destruction. "On the Jewish festival of Simchat Torah (Rejoicing of the Law) we read how the universe was created – starting with the four words “Let there be light”. Today, Israeli solar energy projects light up countless homes. However, the Jew...

What else did the IDF do to minimize harm to civilians in Gaza? Read more --> https://t.co/tg9GtZH1A4 pic.twitter.com/Y33t0Ut9gx — IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) June 22, 2015

Read an article today that got me thinking. Sharing the first paragraph of the article here. Hope you'll head over to the Jewish Press to read the entire article. It's worth reading and the question the article asks is worth thinking about, no matter what you think about the Israel / Palestine situation. With the BDS movement gaining momentum, many on the Israeli Left are increasing their calls for negotiations under the premise of a two-state solution. In their minds, the two-state solution is the only practical solution that could end the international isolation of Israel and lead to peace. But in the midst of the exhausted political ping-pong of whether or not the two-state solution is actually viable, the most important question often goes unasked – what if they are wrong? Source: What if they are wrong? | The Jewish Press | 22 June 2015 Now, whether you went and read the article or not - and I hope you did, it's worth reading - do yourself a favour and use your i...

The Times of Israel reports that Pope Francis spoke out about anti-Semitism: In comments made to veteran Portuguese-Israeli journalist Henrique Cymerman Thursday, Francis was quoted as saying that “anyone who does not recognize the Jewish people and the State of Israel — and their right to exist — is guilty of anti-Semitism.” Source: ‘Not recognizing Israel as Jewish is anti-Semitic, Pope says’ | The Times of Israel | 28 May 2015 Below, the Tweet from international journalist Henrique Cymerman: In an email we got from Pope Francis:"Whoever does not recognize the Jewish People and the State of Israel falls in antisemitism" — Henrique Cymerman (@Henrique_B_C) May 28, 2015 Seventy years after the end of the Holocaust, as the internet connects and unites the world and people are able to make up their own minds based on the information freely available to them online, isn't it about time that we all kick anti-Semitism to the curb? The Nazis and those who helped th...

As if all in Europe is well and all European countries are flourishing, the European Union seems to feel the need to meddle in affairs that - as far as I am concerned - are none of their (or should I say 'our'?) business. On the 16th April 2015, Israel National News writes that Sixteen out of the 28 EU countries want the bloc to label products from Judea and Samaria in an economic attack on the Jewish state, diplomatic sources told AFP Thursday, confirming a Haaretz report. The plan was first mooted in 2012, but the 16 member states told EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini it was now time to press ahead as part of efforts to force Israel to divide in a "two state solution." Source: EU Label on Israeli 'Settlement' Goods: A Yellow 'Jude' Badge | Israel National News / Arutz Sheva The sixteen countries whose foreign ministers (seem to) want to force Israel to give up parts of historical Israel to a second Palestinian-Arab state (the first ...

Yom HaShoah How do you remember a tragedy some seventy years ago when you see it happening all over again, all around you and all around the world? How do you tell your children that those bad and evil people who murdered so many last century are not dead and gone as we once thought but still here, just wearing different faces, shouting different slogans? How do you honour your family members, the ones still here who lived through it and the ones long gone, murdered or gassed or shot or simply left to rot, how do you remember them without the promise, always, of Never Again? How do you tell your children, your neighbours, your ancestors and future generations? How do you explain to them that despite the horror and the knowledge and the pain, it is happening again? In Brussels (Belgium) where three innocents were murdered at a museum. In Paris (France) where four were murdered at a kosher store. In Copenhagen (Denmark) where a man was killed outside a party. In Amsterdam (Nethe...

In 2014, when Hamas attacked innocent Israelis with numerous rockets day in day out, the world was mostly silent. Or I should say: The world quietly applauded the so-called Palestinian 'freedom fighters' and their despicable terrorist acts, calling them heroes and courageous people.  What is courageous about terror and hatred? What is courageous about killing innocents? What is courageous about sending rocket after rocket at men, women and children simply trying to live their lives? What is courageous about terror tunnels meant to attack non-combatants? What is courageous about hating Jews because an old book tells you that you should? Yet when Israel fought back, when the Jewish people responded by protecting their own instead of waiting to be slaughtered the way the world seems to think they should, the world reacted. The world shouted about the 'evil Jews' and the supposedly horrible acts they committed. The world shouted about 'concentration camps' in Gaza...

Once upon a time, this blog started as a simple collection of ideas in one person's head. Those ideas were expanded to ever so slowly become a dream. The dream became reality through faith, hard work and dedication. While I usually write "I" in the blog posts for What Makes People Tick, I the writer / editor could not do my writing-work without a team of people to support me, sustain me, teach me, help me and guide me. This blog is a team effort as much as it is an individual effort. Why start a post entitled "The Power of the Israeli Knesset" by talking about something that has very little to do with said Knesset; a blog run / written by a non-Israeli? Because the State of Israel inspires this humble writer greatly. As John Lennon said, "A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality." How very true with regards to Israel, a country that was a dream in the hearts and minds of so many for thousands of years and became ...

Today, April 1st 2015, the so-called State of Palestine has become a member of the ICC, the International Criminal Court. For the sake of innocent peace-loving civilian Palestinians who simply want to live in peace, security and safety, I welcome and applaud this move. However I also want to remind readers of this blog of what ICC membership for 'Palestine' actually means. The 'State of Palestine' is made up of Hamas-controlled Gaza and the Fatah-controlled West Bank - Judea and Samaria. WhileI am not a supporter of Hamas or of Fatah and personally believe that the Palestinian people would be better off without these so-called leaders, today I do not want to talk about my opinion, I simply want to share some facts: The Hamas Covenant 1988, known as the " The Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement " is the founding document of Hamas. The document makes it very clear what Hamas' hopes and dreams are for the future. From that Covenant, here are three...

In a 26 March 2015 article, The Jewish Press writes that "Rhetoric plays a major role in the demonization of Israel. The dissemination of false arguments is prevalent among the major demonization techniques. It is thus important that those who publicly defend Israel be trained to see through such tactics. One technique used against Israel is false moral equivalence. It is based on the deceitful claim that there is no difference between two greatly dissimilar actions. Examples abound and only some of the most frequent ones can be mentioned here. A prominent one is the perverse claim that Israel’s behavior is equivalent to that of the Nazis. This example of false moral equivalence is widespread throughout Europe. Five studies covering nine European countries show that about 40 percent of Europeans think Israel is a Nazi state." Source: Demonizing Israel With False Moral Equivalence | The Jewish Press http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/demonizing-israel-with-fa...