By Gideon The melody and lyrics of the two songs highlighted here were written by IIftach Kerzner. In 2006, during the 2nd Lebanon War, two Israeli Air Force pilots were killed when their Apache Longbow hlicopter crashed near Tzfat while on a…
Author: Gideon
A Stolen Russian fighter Jet, America, Israel, and a Cold War
MiG -21 By Gideon In the early years of the Vietnam war American fighter pilots were losing the air-to-air battle over Vietnam. In the mid 1960s the “Kill Ratio” over the Vietnamese sky was in favor of North Vietnam . The…
Gal Gadot: How I Became Wonder Woman
Gal Gadot chats with Jimmy Fallon about nearly giving up on acting before Zack Snyder secretly gave her a chance at Wonder Woman and how she hid her baby bump during filming.
Book Review: The Tin Horse
By Gideon The Tin Horse is a “first” in my books review list in three categories: It is the first fiction book that I’m writing and publishing a review for. It is the first book ever, that I was so intrigued to know…
“The Rebbe” – The Great Chabad Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Rabbi Schneerson was born April 18, 1902 in Nikolayev, Ukraine. His father, Rabbi Levi Yitzchock Schneerson, was a renowned scholar, while his mother, Rebbitzen Chana Schneerson, was an aristocratic women from a prestigious rabbinic family. He had two younger brothers, Dovber and Yisroel aryeh Leib. When Menachem Mendel was…
Who was the Rambam (Maimonides)
Moses, son of Maimon, (Rambam in Hebrew, Abu Imram Musa Ibn Maimun in Arabic and Maimonides in Greek) was born in Cordova, Spainon March 30, 1135 corresponding to Passover eve of the Hebrew year 4895. His mother died in childbirth…
Chiune Sugihara – The Japanese Spy that Saved Jews in WWII
Today, there are over a hundred thousand decedents of the Jews saved by Chiune Sugihara and Jan Zwartendijk. Despite being a member of the Axis powers during World War II, Japan was considered to be a safe place for Jews fleeing from…
King Herod The Great- The Unpopular Jewish King
King Herod (B.C. 73–B.C. 4) increased the land he governed from Judea to parts of modern Jordan, Lebanon and Syria constructing fortresses, aqueducts and amphitheaters and earned him the title ‘Herodes Magnus’, Herod the Great. Herod’s rule marked a new beginning in…
The exodus of the Soviet Jews
By Gideon Soviet Jews suffered from intense descrimination against them fueld by strong antisemitic beliefs of their gentile neighbors. They suffered physical abuse. In schools and work places they were discriminated against regularly. They were sent to prisons and labor camps…
Albanians and Jews in WW2
Although Albania was under Nazi occupation, there were more Jews in Albania at the end of WW2 than when the war started. In a short interview at the AIPAC 2018 convention, the prime minister of Albania, Edi Rama, tells how Albanians…
Nikki Haley’s wonderful pro-Israeli speech at AIPAC 2018
“Nikki, I love you” people at the audience interrupted Nikki’s speech and she responded “I love you too”. In a heartwarming speech Nikki Haley reassured the audience that America stands with Israel. A must-see video. Click “Play” below
How Israel prepares for the next war
IDF Cheif of Staff Gadi Eizenkut with IDF commanders in a field excercise By Gideon The following article is based on public statements by Israeli defense experts, internet defense news outlets, but most of all it is based on my wild…
The Jewish holiday PURIM
Purim is one of the most joyous and fun holidays on the Jewish calendar. It is customary to hold carnival-like celebrations on Purim, to perform plays and parodies, and to hold beauty contests. Americans sometimes refer to Purim as the Jewish…
Becoming a Sayeret (IDF Special Forces) Combat Soldier
The following is Michael’s memories from his training with Israel’s elite forces in the 1960s, during one of Israel’s most difficult periods, when the small Israeli army faced much larger Arab forces. Michael Pick fought in defense of Israel in…
The Great Israeli fighter pilot – Ace of Aces – Giora “Hawkeye” Epstein
Colonel Giora “Hawkeye” Epstein, today Giora Even , is a retired colonel in the Israeli Air Force (IAF) and a fighter ace credited with 17 victories, 16 against Egyptian jets, making Epstein the ace of aces of supersonic fighter jets and of the Israeli Air Force. Epstein…
Israeli War Heroes
By Gideon Note: The personal stories highlighted in this article are just the tip of the heroism iceberg displayed on the battlefield by Israeli soldiers. The stories are not organized in any specific order. One act of bravery cannot be compared to…
Spotlight: Israel’s National Ice Hockey Team
by Gideon In the spirit of the ongoing olympic games in Korea, where the hockey games are taking a center stage, I’d like to shine the light on the Israeli national hockey team. Yes, Israel has a hockey team! The team…
The brave Israeli pilots and their mighty air force
by Gideon A phone call woke me up very early this morning. It was my uncle in Israel. He called to tell me that sirens are going off in my old hometown in Northern Israel. The Israeli air force was…
Paul Warburg: The Story of a German-American Jewish banker and the American Banking System
by Gideon The Federal Reserve System, often referred to as the Federal Reserve or simply “the Fed,” is the central bank of the United States. It was created by the Congress to provide the nation with a safer, more flexible, and…
Elai Botner – A leading Israeli composer and songwriter
The multi talented Elai Botner is a leading Israeli composer, singer, songwriter and guitarist. These are some of his songs, performed by Ran Danker, Hadar Gold, Ohad Shragai, Tom Gefen, and Gal Lugasi. Elai Botner plays the lead guitar. Elai…