Wednesday 30 December 2015

Alwayswriteagain: ‘We’re Not in Kansas Any More’!

Alwayswriteagain: ‘We’re Not in Kansas Any More’!: This essay was supposed to examine why so many western immigrants to Israel return to their birth countries or move on elsewhere. But a sta...

Monday 28 December 2015

Alwayswriteagain: Make Eating a Joy

Alwayswriteagain: Make Eating a Joy: Only in Naples is a fun book with a serious message. Author Katherine Wilson makes it clear that when families eat (and sometimes pray) t...

Sunday 20 December 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: It's Never, Ever, 'All Over'.

PerfectlyWritePoetry: It's Never, Ever, 'All Over'.: Bob Dylan 's song, It' s All Over Now, Baby Blue , prompted the theme of veteran US writer Joyce Carol Oates 's most noted s...

Saturday 19 December 2015

Alwayswriteagain: Still Sowing Wild 'Oates'!

Alwayswriteagain: Still Sowing Wild 'Oates'!: N ow aged 77, Joyce Carol Oates still writes with the terrific – and terrifying vigour of a young woman flowing in full spate. Mo...

Friday 18 December 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Poetry with Punch

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Poetry with Punch: When I opened this blog in April last year, I mused on the nature of poetry, and suggested that a poem is more than its base material...

Tuesday 8 December 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Then – and Now

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Then – and Now: (“ Generation after generation reads the same words and says: ‘Was that then or is that now’?” – Rabbi Lord Sacks)   Then and Now   An...

Monday 7 December 2015

Alwayswriteagain: Rudolf Abel’s Anglo-Jewish Connection?

Alwayswriteagain: Rudolf Abel’s Anglo-Jewish Connection?: I’m beginning to wonder if Soviet Cold War spy, Colonel Rudolf Abel was acquainted with anyone in the Jewish community of  Newcastle upon...

Sunday 6 December 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: ‘Time for You and Time for Me’

PerfectlyWritePoetry: ‘Time for You and Time for Me’:   Cake   “Cake – let’s have cake”, you said. The same rotund vowels that robed us in a swish of velvet drapes drawn swiftly against ...

Monday 23 November 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: The World Is Their Wedding

PerfectlyWritePoetry: The World Is Their Wedding: A young Israeli couple have issued an open invitation to their wedding in Jerusalem on Thursday. Sarah Techiya Litman and Ariel Biegel se...

Friday 13 November 2015

Alwayswriteagain: Brave New World in Galilee!

Alwayswriteagain: Brave New World in Galilee!: The innovative English language ADG-TNT Theatre Company hopes to return to Israel next spring with a nationwide touring production of Shakes...

Thursday 12 November 2015

Alwayswriteagain: Coco the Swinger - Another Wandering Jew

Alwayswriteagain: Coco the Swinger - Another Wandering Jew: Events in Europe marking the 77th anniversary of Kristallnacht were as bad as they were bizarre. Hanin Zoabi , the extremist Arab...

Sunday 8 November 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Where the Cage Bird Was Forced to Sing

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Where the Cage Bird Was Forced to Sing:   When the Basque composer,  Sebastian de Iradier composed La Paloma - his  universally loved habanera (Cuban dance melody) - little cou...

Saturday 31 October 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: The Most Beloved One of All

PerfectlyWritePoetry: The Most Beloved One of All: (Prompted by a translation of a Greek poem inscribed on the wall of the burial cave at Beit Guvrin, south of Jerusalem). Betrothed to Me...

Wednesday 21 October 2015

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: ‘The Art of Impalement’

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: ‘The Art of Impalement’: “The Ministry of Love was the really frightening one. There were no windows in it at all”  – George Orwell, 1984 . ---------------- “Good...

Monday 19 October 2015

Karmiel Writers Group Expands!

 

 

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© Natalie Wood (19 October 2015)

Friday 16 October 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: The Jewish Poet of Sri Lanka

PerfectlyWritePoetry: The Jewish Poet of Sri Lanka: The huge swathes  of immigrants currently flooding Europe will soon learn that they’ll make and re-make their lives a dozen times over befor...

Tuesday 13 October 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Days of Rage

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Days of Rage: Some traditions believe that when one dreams of the skies raining stones or blood, it foretells disaster; a punishment for sin. ( http://dr...

Alwayswriteagain: Living in Fear

Alwayswriteagain: Living in Fear: As the Mayor of Nazareth Ali Salem has condemned  fellow Arab politician,  Ayman Odeh for helping to encourage the current spate anti-Jew...

Friday 9 October 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Herschel Silverman –‘Beat Poet Candy Man’

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Herschel Silverman –‘Beat Poet Candy Man’: Below is a clip of a reading by US Beat poet Herschel Silverman who died last month aged 89. If you rub your chin and confide that his na...

Monday 5 October 2015

Alwayswriteagain: Sorry, I Wrote!

Alwayswriteagain: Sorry, I Wrote!: It’s now uber chic to insult someone – and then apologise. It makes life so easy. But the damage has been done; the mud sticks and the s...

Friday 2 October 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: This Dinner Guest’s Personal Exodus?

PerfectlyWritePoetry: This Dinner Guest’s Personal Exodus?: Even as a strong IRAC (Israel Religion Action Centre) supporter and its feisty director, Anat Hoffman I can’t agree with everything she and...

Alwayswriteagain: Walks on the Wild – and Wet – Side!

Alwayswriteagain: Walks on the Wild – and Wet – Side!: Wilder and yet more wondrous grows the free, on-street entertainment offered by Israeli municipalities and never has this been more evident ...

Friday 25 September 2015

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: ‘Saving Private Grief’

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: ‘Saving Private Grief’: “I have a story to tell about the opening of the film, Saving Private Ryan . This was about 17 years ago and my then best friend – I’m s...

Tuesday 22 September 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: The Burden of Great Age

PerfectlyWritePoetry: The Burden of Great Age: When Goldie Steinberg died on August 16, 2015 she was aged 114 and the oldest verified Jewish person in the world. Mrs Steinberg had also ...

Saturday 19 September 2015

Alwayswriteagain: Why Hungarian Envoy Loves Israel

Alwayswriteagain: Why Hungarian Envoy Loves Israel: The centre piece of this year’s international Karmiel Dance Festival was an open-air performance of Zorba the Greek performed by the  N...

Alwayswriteagain: Why Hungarian Envoy Loves Israel

Alwayswriteagain: Why Hungarian Envoy Loves Israel: The centre piece of this year’s international Karmiel Dance Festival was an open-air performance of Zorba the Greek performed by the  N...

Tuesday 15 September 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: A Day of Love - and Hatred

PerfectlyWritePoetry: A Day of Love - and Hatred: Israeli authorities are ‘convinced’ that Jewish extremists perpetrated the firebombing of two adjacent homes in the northern West Bank Arab ...

Sunday 6 September 2015

Alwayswriteagain: כתיבה וחתימה טובה 5776

Alwayswriteagain: כתיבה וחתימה טובה 5776: With every good wish for a happy, healthy and sweet Jewish New Year, 5776 from Natalie Wood and Brian Fink in Karmiel, Galilee, Israel. ...

Tuesday 1 September 2015

Alwayswriteagain: From This Weakness Comes Forth Strength!

Alwayswriteagain: From This Weakness Comes Forth Strength!: It is widely accepted that suicide is a leading cause of death among young adults in India and among the top three causes of death in the p...

Saturday 29 August 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Reigns in Spain – Mainly All the Same!

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Reigns in Spain – Mainly All the Same!:   “Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off, ....” ( Hamlet , Act 1 Scene 2 – Shakespeare) Yesterday, I posted  an item showing how the ...

Friday 28 August 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: ‘Matis’ Affair Proves Jews Still Tried for Their B...

PerfectlyWritePoetry: ‘Matis’ Affair Proves Jews Still Tried for Their B...: On Sunday of this past week  Matisyahu , the US Jewish rap artist performed at the Rototom Sunsplash Festival in Benicassim, Spain amid hec...

Saturday 22 August 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: At the Art Café, Tzfat

PerfectlyWritePoetry: At the Art Café, Tzfat: At the Art Café, Tzfat Last night I ate inside a painting.  The north light had long since fled, fearful of th...

Friday 21 August 2015

Alwayswriteagain: The Love of Complete Contempt

Alwayswriteagain: The Love of Complete Contempt: “For thus hath the Lord said unto me: Go, set a watchman; let him declare what he seeth!” (Isaiah, 21:6) “I have said what I wanted to say...

Alwayswriteagain: A Glimpse of ‘The Threat Beneath’

Alwayswriteagain: A Glimpse of ‘The Threat Beneath’: Ilya Meyer Swedish-born Israel advocate, Ilya Meyer returns to Karmiel next month to discuss the second book in his thriller serie...

Tuesday 11 August 2015

Alwayswriteagain: Naughty – but Nice!

Alwayswriteagain: Naughty – but Nice!: “Never”, advised writer Warren Sanford Lee , stabbing a slab of darkly luscious cake, “eat chocolate before you talk in public. It alters yo...

Saturday 1 August 2015

Alwayswriteagain: A Most Sacred Circle of Friends

Alwayswriteagain: A Most Sacred Circle of Friends: About 155,000 people die around the world each day. But this crude figure seems like nothing when we’re faced with personal loss. Even  ho...

Monday 27 July 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: His God Was Sun!

PerfectlyWritePoetry: His God Was Sun!: Another Seascape with Storm Coming On ‘The sun is God’ – JMW Turner     January and deepest winter. Turner’s in the sky at Acco. ...

Saturday 25 July 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: From Pakistan to Israel – in Peace

PerfectlyWritePoetry: From Pakistan to Israel – in Peace: Political relations between Israel and Pakistan remain troubled, highly complex and as I write, a sole self-declared Jew,   Fishel Benkhald ...

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Another Prize for a Poet of Peace

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Another Prize for a Poet of Peace:   Israeli poet and writer, Ada Aharoni has been awarded the Haifa Citizen Award for her outstanding contribution to world peace and cult...

Tuesday 21 July 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Reuben Rose Poetry Competition 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Reuben Rose Poetry Competition 2015: The 26th annual Reuben Rose Poetry Competition of Voices Israel is open for entries, now until 15 September 2015. Reuben Rose was among ...

Sunday 19 July 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: When Fantasy Meets Reality

PerfectlyWritePoetry: When Fantasy Meets Reality: Here’s something original! An animated poem describing how a child’s imagination helps him to cope with reality. The words of  Bensonhurst...

PerfectlyWritePoetry: When Fantasy Meets Reality

PerfectlyWritePoetry: When Fantasy Meets Reality: Here’s something original! An animated poem describing how a child’s imagination helps him to cope with reality. The words of  Bensonhurst...

Alwayswriteagain: All Heart and No Heart: The Debate About Jewish Id...

Alwayswriteagain: All Heart and No Heart: The Debate About Jewish Id...: The UK Assembly of Reform Rabbis has decided that people born of  a Jewish father and non-Jewish mother will no longer have to undergo a ful...

Friday 17 July 2015

Alwayswriteagain: In His Own Words …

Alwayswriteagain: In His Own Words …: During a week when Viennese-born publisher George Lord Weidenfeld is reported to be funding the rescue of about 2,000 Christians from Syria...

Alwayswriteagain: Return of a Wandering Star

Alwayswriteagain: Return of a Wandering Star: Tour the old quarter in Rosh Pina, Galilee and the guide will enthral you with tales of how the early East European chalutzim – pioneers – b...

Friday 3 July 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: All Their Sons

PerfectlyWritePoetry: All Their Sons: Today I start with a cliché. Big people make huge mistakes and there’s no-one writ larger in British journalism than the gutsy, feisty, cand...

Thursday 2 July 2015

Alwayswriteagain: THURSDAY IN THE PARK WITH ESRA KARMIEL!

Alwayswriteagain: THURSDAY IN THE PARK WITH ESRA KARMIEL!: ESRA Karmiel celebrated its fifth anniversary with a picnic and country and western style sing-along in the town’s Galilee Park. The musi...

Monday 29 June 2015

Alwayswriteagain: “We’re All Israelis”– Bedouin Envoy

Alwayswriteagain: “We’re All Israelis”– Bedouin Envoy: Israel’s first Bedouin diplomat attracted a record 80-plus crowd to the penultimate social event of the Karmiel Anglo community calendar bef...

Sunday 28 June 2015

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: ‘The Price of Love’

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: ‘The Price of Love’: The day I proposed to Eunice was Saturday 20 July 1957. A big day for us during an exciting period for Britain. “Most of our people have n...

Saturday 27 June 2015

Alwayswriteagain: Whistling in the Dark!

Alwayswriteagain: Whistling in the Dark!: Twenty-seven years ago, on Sunday 26  June 1988, I married my husband, Brian Fink . Now let’s look at other  world-changing events that h...

Thursday 18 June 2015

Alwayswriteagain: Aching for the Past

Alwayswriteagain: Aching for the Past: I am no fan of National Novel Writing Month . It smacks too much of an international publishers’ promotion fest for my tastes. So it’s for...

Thursday 11 June 2015

Alwayswriteagain: A Good Shepherd Who Loves Israel

Alwayswriteagain: A Good Shepherd Who Loves Israel: In what is being regarded as a  triumph for both sides, ESRA Karmiel is to host a lecture by Israel’s first Bedouin diplomat. Moreover, I...

Tuesday 2 June 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Poetic Slivers from a Dreary Slice of Life

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Poetic Slivers from a Dreary Slice of Life: I’ve never attended a Jewish funeral (‘ memorial ’) service  that has started with a secular poem and included the universal Lord’s Prayer ...

Tuesday 26 May 2015

Alwayswriteagain: Debbie’s P.A.W.S. in Israel!

Alwayswriteagain: Debbie’s P.A.W.S. in Israel!: No w, here’s a conundrum: Which UK-born young adult fiction writer with links to Israel also enjoys constructing puzzles? I’m thi...

Sunday 24 May 2015

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: ‘A Witness to Israeli Racism Speaks Out’

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: ‘A Witness to Israeli Racism Speaks Out’: Anna Grynhaus , Social Affairs Editor, Liberal Israel and Modern Orthodox Rabbi Ren é Bloch examine the tensions tearing the fabric of ...

PerfectlyWritePoetry: A ‘Need’ to Break the Silence!

PerfectlyWritePoetry: A ‘Need’ to Break the Silence!: The poem Need written by deaf poet Peter Cook and his hearing counterpart, Kenny Lerner was devised in 2008, partly as a response to the ...

Saturday 23 May 2015

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: ‘On First Looking into Hitchcock’s Holocaust’

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: ‘On First Looking into Hitchcock’s Holocaust’: “Then felt I like some watcher of the skies” ( On First Looking into Chapman's Homer - John Keats) “I can’t believe my own eyes” gas...

Friday 15 May 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: The Mourning After

PerfectlyWritePoetry: The Mourning After: ( Based on a Times of Israel critique by Melanie Lidman of the international aid and rescue efforts made following the Nepal Earthquake, Apr...

Monday 11 May 2015

Alwayswriteagain: Jews Imprisoned by the Colour of Their Skin

Alwayswriteagain: Jews Imprisoned by the Colour of Their Skin: “Are ye not as the children of the Ethiopians unto Me, O children of Israel?” (Amos 9:7) Israel is the land of the paradox. “We don’...

Saturday 9 May 2015

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: The End of FridayFlash.org.?

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: The End of FridayFlash.org.?: In announcement that could well be the opener for a micro-mystery, Jon Strother of  FridayFlash.org has announced the closure of the webs...

Tuesday 5 May 2015

Alwayswriteagain: The Christian Gospel - According to Amos Oz!

Alwayswriteagain: The Christian Gospel - According to Amos Oz!: The Yezreel Valley College, Galilee is preparing to host one of Israel’s most distinguished living novelists for a reading of his latest wo...

Thursday 30 April 2015

Alwayswriteagain: Israeli Voters Examine Their Scars

Alwayswriteagain: Israeli Voters Examine Their Scars: By the time you read this, the first, intense pain delivered by Israel’s bruising  General Election campaign should have faded – but the sca...

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Alas, Poor Yolek!

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Alas, Poor Yolek!: The US-Jewish poet Anthony Hecht never sparkled at school! He often referred to his ‘conspicuous’ lack of talent as a boy and explained th...

Wednesday 22 April 2015

Alwayswriteagain: Eating Soul Food!

Alwayswriteagain: Eating Soul Food!: "I will … talk with you, walk with you … but I will not eat with you, drink with you, nor pray with you”. (Shakespeare - The Merchant...

Saturday 18 April 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: ‘This Ghastly Masquerade’

PerfectlyWritePoetry: ‘This Ghastly Masquerade’: I guess there’d have been something akin to a nuclear fall-out if the fictional Thomas Gradgrind had met the real-life poet Percy Shelley ....

Thursday 16 April 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: She Will Never Be Silenced!

PerfectlyWritePoetry: She Will Never Be Silenced!: No-one is sure of the exact date of Anne Frank ‘s death. We know only that the young diarist died 70 years ago - shortly before the liberat...

Wednesday 15 April 2015

Alwayswriteagain: Holocaust Day - Yom Hashoa 2015

Alwayswriteagain: Holocaust Day - Yom Haashoa 2015: For the remainder of today, April 15 2015 and tomorrow, April 16 2015, my cover photograph will be in remembrance. This year I will think mo...

Friday 10 April 2015

Alwayswriteagain: Still Alice – and Richard, Too!

Alwayswriteagain: Still Alice – and Richard, Too!: I was wrong. I could have sworn that Iris – the biopic of the British novelist, Iris Murdoch – was released after   Away From Her , a fi...

Thursday 9 April 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: A Poetic Gift From a Shah – Fit for a Queen!

PerfectlyWritePoetry: A Poetic Gift From a Shah – Fit for a Queen!: So Queen Elizabeth II is not impressed with the present crop of royal party loot bags! While touring the the digitised archive of royal p...

Wednesday 8 April 2015

Alwayswriteagain: Two More Very Narrow Bridges …

Alwayswriteagain: Two More Very Narrow Bridges …: "All the world is a very narrow bridge, but the main thing is to have no fear at all." - Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav The scores of...

Tuesday 7 April 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: The Afterlife of a Wandering Sailor-Poet

PerfectlyWritePoetry: The Afterlife of a Wandering Sailor-Poet: Broadcast journalists, Paul Heiney and Libby Purves are still trying to come to terms with the death by suicide of their son, Nicholas al...

Monday 6 April 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Talking - Eating – Poetry!

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Talking - Eating – Poetry!: Just in time for National Poetry Month, James Berkowitz , a US-based poet, writer, and multidimensional artist was yesterday interviewed on...

Tuesday 31 March 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: A Prize for Hebrew Poetry?

PerfectlyWritePoetry: A Prize for Hebrew Poetry?: The latest recipient of the Israel Prize for Hebrew Literature and Poetry says he represents "Hebrew poetry and not the Jews of the eas...

Monday 30 March 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Giving a Dissident Poet More Space

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Giving a Dissident Poet More Space: The radical German writer Wolfgang Borchert died almost 68 years ago but his legacy is so tightly woven into the fabric of present-day Germ...

Sunday 29 March 2015

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: ‘The Best of the Rest –a Modern Fairy Tale’

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: ‘The Best of the Rest –a Modern Fairy Tale’: ‘ Thou hast nor youth nor age, But, as it were, an after-dinner's sleep, Dreaming on both’   (Act 3, Scene 1, ‘Measure for Measure’, ...

Thursday 26 March 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: His Name Now Carved in History

PerfectlyWritePoetry: His Name Now Carved in History: The more I have read of the short, troubled reign of  England’s King Richard III the more I am sure that he was at least as much ‘sinned ag...

Wednesday 25 March 2015

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: ‘Sugar Cones and Salt Men’

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: ‘Sugar Cones and Salt Men’: “Dance ti' thy daddy, ti' thy mammy sing; Thou shall hev a fishy on a little dishy, Thou shall hev a salmon when the boat comes in.”...

Monday 23 March 2015

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: ‘The Regal Bones’

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: ‘The Regal Bones’: "Even the dead want to be loved for their own sake"                                    (Fleur Adcock, Grandma , Poems 1960-2000 ...

Friday 20 March 2015

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: ‘Hello, Dolly!’

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: ‘Hello, Dolly!’: Once Loved – Always Loved Your Favourite Second-Hand Sales Site www.once-loved-always.loved.com Advertisement   FOR SALE   VINTA...

Wednesday 11 March 2015

Alwayswriteagain: Shechita-Halal Protection May Still Be Debated at ...

Alwayswriteagain: Shechita-Halal Protection May Still Be Debated at ...: The British Government e-petition regarding the protection of religious slaughter in the UK and EU received 134,389 signatures  and a formal...

Sunday 8 March 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: How They Worked It Out

PerfectlyWritePoetry: How They Worked It Out: To mark International Women’s Day 2015, I’m sharing a snippet about the late Linda McCartney , first wife and eternal soul-mate of musician,...

Saturday 7 March 2015

Alwayswriteagain: ‘Gaza Man’– the Video Game Teaching How to Maim an...

Alwayswriteagain: ‘Gaza Man’– the Video Game Teaching How to Maim an...: The video clip below is the launch trailer for Gaza Man , a terror and murder promoting game  that has been sold by both the Google Play St...

Alwayswriteagain: How Indian Women Stay Alive …

Alwayswriteagain: How Indian Women Stay Alive …:   Mark Ulyseas , editor of Live Encounters magazine has asked that this video be distributed widely to highlight International Women’s...

Wednesday 25 February 2015

Alwayswriteagain: The Illusion of Jewish Security

Alwayswriteagain: The Illusion of Jewish Security: Reports that a popular communal Berlin Jewish newsletter must now be distributed under wraps does not make happy reading. But this is t...

Alwayswriteagain: UK Muslims ‘Sympathise’ with Charlie Hebdo Attack

Alwayswriteagain: UK Muslims ‘Sympathise’ with Charlie Hebdo Attack: A small percentage of British Muslims have admitted to sympathising with extremists.  In a BBC poll conducted among one thousand Muslims ...

Tuesday 24 February 2015

Truth, Tourism Among Top Casualties of War

TZFAT.05If truth is the first casualty of war, in Israel, tourism runs a very close second.

During 2014, for example, after a spectacular 18 per cent jump  during the first half of the year, visitor totals later crashed by an overall seven per cent because of Operation Protective Edge – the IDF’s invasion of Gaza.

Indeed, the 182,000 recorded visitors to Israel during August marked the lowest total for the month since 2006 – the year of the Second Lebanon War.

Instead, Israelis fled in their droves and  trips abroad during July and August rose by two per cent compared to the same period in 2013.

In September, soon after the war ended, Tourism Minister Uzi Landau revealed that incoming tourism had plummeted by 20-30% during the hostilities but it was estimated that matters would be back to normal within three-six months.

However, while Bank of Israel Governor Karnit Flug expressed confidence that the war would have only a ‘moderate effect’ on the economy, she warned soon after it ended that its impact on certain sectors, especially tourism, was likely to continue for some time.

Her words now seem prophetic as recent IDF-Hezbollah clashes in the Golan have had a harsh effect on domestic tourism.

Indeed, I’ve seen the consequences first-hand while dining at two excellent eateries.

The first, in July, was at the Eitz Tut (Mulberry Tree) Restaurant deep in the artists’ quarter of Tzfat, the famous holy hilltop city of mystic piety.

The other, during January, was at Bella Mia, an Italian Grill Bar in Ma'alot-Tarshiha,  a mixed Jewish-Arab town, near to both Karmiel and the coastal resort of Nahariya.  

Eitz Tut Restaurant SignEitz Tut, in Tet Vav Street and adjacent to the Khan of the White Donkey cultural centre, was previously known as Isidora. The new owner has renamed it in honour of the splendid, ancient tree that provides a presiding presence over both the  trellised courtyard and   patrons while they dine. 

As customers were so few the day we visited, the friendly young owner’s wife and infant daughter enjoyed their own meal at a table directly under the tree while he served us.

It was, as my husband observed, war or no war, an idyllic setting on a perfect summer late afternoon. The only thing missing was more company for us all!

Although Eitz Tut is not fully vegetarian, the menu is varied and between us we chose an imaginative  blue cheese salad and a pasta dish accompanied by hearty bread, followed  by suitably indulgent desserts. An English language menu is available on request.

Our only caveat was that when we visited, the restaurant was not open in the evening. This policy may have changed but I can offer no further details as none are apparent on the web. I must presume this is because of the relatively recent change in owners.

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Bella Mia is billed as  ‘romantic’ but also suitable for families with children! Whatever the reason for an outing there, we found it eccentrically fetching with its log cabin facade and European bar interior.

Again, we noted a dearth of fellow diners but were greeted by  extremely friendly and efficient staff who provided a full English language menu.

Portions at Bella Mia are extremely generous and soon we began to wish we had not devoured such large starters of home-made bread and savoury dips!

Dishes each of richly flavoured ravioli and spaghetti followed in speedily served succession,  with a grand finale of a shared giant slab of excellent cheesecake.

As we visited Bella Mia on a dark, cold winter’s evening, we could not take advantage of the attractive outdoor seating that overlooks spectacular countryside. Bella.Mia.Restaurant

But Bella Mia, like  Eitz Tut, is well worth a second visit, so  we’ll be back to both soon.

Bella Mia is open: Sunday – Saturday- 10:00 - 12:00 midnight.

Email: Bella_mia@walla.com

Tel: 04-957-5075

----------------

Mark.UlyseasThis piece first appeared in the March 2015 edition of Live Encounters magazine (http://liveencounters.net/?p=9988) edited by Mark Ulyseas, a faithful supporter of Israel and all matters Jewish.

 

© Natalie Wood (24 February 2015)

Thursday 19 February 2015

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: ‘The Hourglass’

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: ‘The Hourglass’: ‘A time to mourn” - Ecclesiastes 3:4 Crazier than cracked paving, we’ve punched the unforgiving wall; tried to beat the clock, drilled ...

Sunday 15 February 2015

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: ‘Wonderful Copenhagen’

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: ‘Wonderful Copenhagen’: “Hi, I’m  Dan Uzan and I’ve been standing guard outside the Great Synagogue, in Copenhagen. It’s  bitrerly cold but I can deal with that. “...

PerfectlyWritePoetry: For Those Without Poetry ….

PerfectlyWritePoetry: For Those Without Poetry ….: Today I  pay tribute to  Philip Levine , a great modern US poet who was most probably not nearly well enough appreciated on his side of the ...

Wednesday 11 February 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Only One Kid

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Only One Kid: The doe kid being cuddled in this picture was barely 24 hours old when members of the Karmiel branch of the English Speakers Residents Assoc...

Alwayswriteagain: ‘Notes on the Nature of Love’

Alwayswriteagain: ‘Notes on the Nature of Love’: While the weather’s  cold, wet and nasty, there’s no better way of beating it than by snuggling up with a good book – on a sofa - with your ...

Tuesday 10 February 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Where They’re All Named ‘Mom’

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Where They’re All Named ‘Mom’: Prize-winning Israeli poet, Ada Aharoni has asked that details of the US-based   Syndic Literary Journal be distributed. She appears in th...

Monday 9 February 2015

Alwayswriteagain: Greed, Glory – and Adventure!

Alwayswriteagain: Greed, Glory – and Adventure!: Laurence Bergreen loves the worlds of ancient travel and exploration. But the internationally-renowned, prize-winning biographer of Marco...

Friday 6 February 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Just Lovin’ Ya!

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Just Lovin’ Ya!: ( With apologies to  Mancunian poet,                                   Cathy Bryant and Verbatim Poetry )   Vining flowers from vintag...

Alwayswriteagain: Does British Anti-Israel MP George Galloway Fuel J...

Alwayswriteagain: Does British Anti-Israel MP George Galloway Fuel J...: ‘ No!’,  insisted Galloway during the BBC TV Question Time current affairs panel show aired last night, Thursday 05 February. The 18 mi...

Saturday 31 January 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Ada’s Prize-Winning Testimony to Peace

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Ada’s Prize-Winning Testimony to Peace: Ada Aharoni , the respected Israeli writer and peace activist,  has won an international prize for her biography of a heroic Egyptian Jewish...

Sunday 25 January 2015

Alwayswriteagain: 70 Essays Over 70 Days for 70 Years

Alwayswriteagain: 70 Essays Over 70 Days for 70 Years: The figure ‘seventy’ has great resonance in Jewish tradition:       Psalm 90 suggests 70 year...

Saturday 24 January 2015

Alwayswriteagain: Tales of Burial and Resurrection

Alwayswriteagain: Tales of Burial and Resurrection: No wonder adults never used to remark on a child’s extensive vocabulary. Please look at the opening words of a book I was given to read aged...

Friday 23 January 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Giving the Killing Fields New Life

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Giving the Killing Fields New Life: Elizabeth Rose Murray blogs as the ‘ Green-Fingered Writer , living for adventure and word’. A poet and short fiction writer, she is curre...

Wednesday 21 January 2015

Alwayswriteagain: How Billings Fought Only Half Its Hate

Alwayswriteagain: How Billings Fought Only Half Its Hate: I had never heard of Billings, Montana until late December last year and had to search for its location on a map. My interest in the nort...

Tuesday 20 January 2015

Alwayswriteagain: A Doggie Tale to Capture Your Heart!

Alwayswriteagain: A Doggie Tale to Capture Your Heart!: UK-born Mark Watson says that as a child he would amble to school through a park and daydream about being chased by a shark hiding under th...

Sunday 18 January 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: A Tea Ceremony

PerfectlyWritePoetry: A Tea Ceremony: Grandpa once made tea in this – his stout silvered pot with chain. He’d rise at six; sit sideways on his bed; grunt, shuffle on well...

Saturday 17 January 2015

Alwayswriteagain: Naughty – but Nice!

Alwayswriteagain: Naughty – but Nice!: ‘Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who hast not made me a woman’. ( From the Jewish morning prayer service ) The...

Sunday 11 January 2015

Alwayswriteagain: A Right Rockin’ Read

Alwayswriteagain: A Right Rockin’ Read: I once worked for an accountancy firm whose male staff boasted they were Men Behaving Badly . No surprise then that Danny Honeywell,  prot...

Wednesday 7 January 2015

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: ‘Ha, Ha! All in a Funny Week’s Work’

PerfectlyWriteFamilyTales: ‘Ha, Ha! All in a Funny Week’s Work’: At least  a dozen people died and five more were severely injured when the Paris offices of French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, were ...

Friday 2 January 2015

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Keeping the Shabbat Bride on Trend

PerfectlyWritePoetry: Keeping the Shabbat Bride on Trend: Israel never ceases to surprise. I was once in Nahariya, a quiet and refined northern coastal resort near Karmiel, and was intrigued to see ...