Len Zwelling

Defining Borders By Leonard Zwelling          Since the start of my blogging from Israel, I have referred to various peoples and geographies without defining them. This was an error, but it is just as well that I made it for if I had defined these critical terms two weeks ago, I would have gotten them […]

Tunnels: If It’s Saturday in Jerusalem It Must Be Time for the History of Early Christianity By Leonard Zwelling          What are you going to do in the most religious Jewish city in the world on the Sabbath? Go to the Christian sites, of course. In the past on a Saturday in Jerusalem, we climbed

Finding Masada Empty and Yad Vashem Full By Leonard Zwelling          When the Romans finally breached the outer walls of the high desert mesa and former palace of King Herod called Masada in 73 AD, they found that all but a few women and children of the almost 1000 Jewish rebels who had lived atop

Patients From the West Bank; Five Miles From Gaza; Swimming in the Negev; the Significance of Ramon By Leonard Zwelling          Abraham was sick and his father Ayman knew it. For two years his first-born was complaining and getting weaker. He was not himself. The doctors in all of the hospitals to which he was

What Makes You Good Makes Your Country Better By Leonard Zwelling          For 4000 years, Tel Aviv was a sandy, barren suburb north of the port city of Jaffa on the Mediterranean coast. Jaffa was once the major port of this part of Palestine. Today, about 100 years after its founding, Tel Aviv is the

War? What War? By Leonard Zwelling          The sun poured into the breakfast room several floors above the beach in Tel Aviv on our first morning in Israel. The surfers were out. The volley ballers were active and the chaise lounges awaited the sun bathers. Does this look like a country at war? Not at

Twinkies to Strudel to Rugalach: Getting to My Promised Land By Leonard Zwelling          Heads up, Houston. Continental Airlines is dead and supplanted by a behemoth called United that is characterized by high production value videos to start your flight, long-winded pilots to remind you what seat belts are for and food to die from.

Blogging From Zion By Leonard Zwelling          Despite all suggestions from my children that I am out of my mind (nothing new there), we are all headed to Israel today, August 27, which happens to be the 42nd wedding anniversary for the BW (Beautiful Wife) and me.          Knowing that I will never keep my

The Cancer Letter Did Not Make This Up By Leonard Zwelling          On August 25, the Cancer Letter went to press with a free edition that does the public a tremendous service. http://www.cancerletter.com/articles/20140825 It creates a comprehensive and comprehensible time line for the events that seem to have culminated in the indictment of a sitting

Disproportionate Force By Leonard Zwelling          This phrase has been thrown around a lot in the past few weeks. The claim by many, especially in the media and on the left, is that the Israeli government has employed disproportionate force in attacking the Palestinian population of Gaza. There are several reasons they make this claim.