Tag: Matte Yehuda

  • Protest: Ramat Bet Shemesh expands, the environment pays the price.

    Apparently, this is the next big developmental overstepping/environmental boundary  issue in our corner of Matte Yehuda… This time featuring the ever-glamorous Ramat Bet Shemesh expansion. If you haven’t heard, Ramat Bet Shemesh Gimmel is a controversial funhouse and construction is already well underway. The projects are promising to expand even further (D and E!) and…

  • Israeli gan system, here we come.

    Yowsa. Seven years from the month I made aliyah, I’m registering my first kid to ‘gan trom trom chova’ (compulsory kindergarten registration). The Israeli gan/school system baffles me. And I get the feeling it isn’t going to get any clearer any soon. But fortunately, the education registration website experience was spectacular! Smooth form-filling, clear instructions,…

  • A picture is worth… wait, what?

    Here I am, reading the latest copy of בקיצור, the biweekly Matte Yehuda ‘news’ publication. It’s got its usual collection of local fare – who’s who, what’s new, sales, sales, sales. But now, something new. I came across this ad and my first reaction was, Oh, how horrible… Yes, a picture is worth a thousand…

  • Thank you, Beit Shemesh fire fighters.

    Very appreciative, very uncharacteristic.

  • Tzur Hadassah update: new council, more mail.

    Lots of interest in Tzur Hadassah these days, at least in my crowd. Thought I’d update on how the yishuv is doing since our local election and a new local council has letter-bombed all of us residents with their promises. Here are some of those promises:  Plans to finish a locale for the Tzofim (scouts)…

  • Ella Valley winery.

    My father’s in town, and as I got my habit of fermented grape-consumption from somewhere, we took him over to Ella Valley winery. The Ella Valley is just about my backyard, nestled in Matte Yehuda. It’s lush, it’s green, and according to the winery’s 6-minute propaganda video, it’s the perfect place to grow the right…

  • B’kitzur… Israeli advertising is scary.

    So I’m going through my July edition of “בקיצור” (b’kitzur, in short)  which is a newsletter for yishuvim in the Matte Yehuda region. It’s packed with ads and superficial articles, but once in a while there is a gem – or two – that must be shared. Take the following advertisement, for example. It’s a…