2025-03 Israel

Israel 20,

April 9, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

Good and hopefully wonderful news. The 4 month old baby that we treated 2 days ago has woken up with apparently no neurological deficits. It may however be some time until they see the long term outcome of the event. At the very least, we know that he is on the right track. In my mind, there is no question, the chief paramedic on our team who by his quick action, under difficult circumstances, saved the life of the child. Kol Hakavod. Way to go!

The news from around the world is getting worse and worse. Trumps tariffs, which have not been thought through by anyone who understands world economics, is wreaking havoc on the stock market in the USA, Canada, the EU and Europe. Now, even his billionaire henchmen who surround him, and lavish praise on him are having second thoughts as their portfolios decrease by the billions. No European country will ever trust the USA again. The good will that has taken 80 years to build since WW2, has been destroyed in one fell swoop, by one powerful man. Trump is 99% wrong in all his policies but may be 1% correct in his Middle East policies. He has announced that he will have direct talks with Iran in 3 days on Saturday about Iran’s nuclear policy. Iran has announced that the talks, which will take place in Oman, will be indirect through mediators. Has Trump misspoken and will he back down? I doubt it as it would cause him to lose face which he is not like him even if he is wrong. Here in Israel we are watching, this holding our breaths, with caution and hoping for the best outcome. One way or another, Iran must not acquire nuclear weapons.

Last evening I went to Bat Yam, a suburb of Tel Aviv for dinner with a friend who I met at Sar-el. We had dinner in a beach restaurant overlooking the beach. I ate a fish called mullet which I have only eaten once before here in Tel Aviv. It was delicious.

We had a quiet day with MDA today. The 1st case was a lady who called the ambulance because she had an anxiety attack. The paramedics spoke with her for 1 hour. When it came time for her to come with us in the ambulance to the hospital, she went into her kitchen and brought out a pot of soup that she insisted in bringing with her in the ambulance and to the hospital. This is absolutely not forbidden. A neighbour came over to try to convince her that she could not take the soup with her. In the end, we were forced to leave the lady and her soup behind at curb side.

The 2nd case was an 18 year old girl that had an episode of tonic, clonic epilepsy. This was her first episode and the parents were obviously very frightened. The epileptic fit had finished by the time we got there and had only lasted a few minutes. Her VS were normal as was the EKG. She had not fever. We brought her to the hospital for a full neurological exam, blood work and a CT scan.

The 3rd case was an elderly Russian patient who didn’t feel well. She only spoke a few word of Hebrew. The paramedics did the best they could to get a proper history from her with signs and gestures. They are very patient with patients in these cases. There were changes on her EKG with no discernible chest pain. We took her to Tel Hashomer for further evaluation including blood work, serial EKGs and tropes.

The 4th case concerned a 30 year old female patient who was crying, yelling and had broken a glass in the stairwell. On further questioning which took some time, we were able to conclude that the entire family including the husband, the mother and the father were partners in a totally dysfunctional family. There may have been a court order that a judge had ordered house arrest for the husband and that the wife, who was the patient, had to stay and look after him. Go figure. The police were called for back up but they did not interfere with us. Eventually, after much discussion, the woman came with us to the hospital for stabilization. I was able to talk to the policemen who were motorcycle cops. We got to talking about motorcycles and they were quite impressed that I own a 1973 Triumph 750cc Tiger.

Over the last few days, I have really seen a cross section of Tel Aviv society. If you walk on the beach in Tel Aviv, you falsely may get the impression that everyone is tall, beautiful and in good shape. Once you leave the beach however, you can be surprised with what you see. Some people are overweight. Many of the apartments are somewhat run down. Some apartments are beautiful from the outside and in the lobbies , but the individual apartments are not well kept at all. There is a large immigrant population with different ideas of cleanliness and neatness than our own. Of course, that is what makes a society.

Love,

Brian

Bat Yam Beach

An older and poorer area of Tel Aviv

The fruit and vegetable stores are always good

Motorcycle cops with their permission to publish. Who is the little guy in the middle with white hair?

2025-03 Israel

Israel 19,

April 8, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

It is 36C with cloudy skies, muggy and humid, not at all the weather that I am used to in Tel Aviv. Today was a boring, quiet day with MDA also what I am not used to with the ambulance service. We got our first call at 11:30. We arrived at a nice apartment building in a nice area of Tel Aviv and were shocked by the condition of the apartment that we entered. The couple were hoarders, something that I have only witnessed once in the city. Israelis, even if they are poor, are very clean in their personal apartments. This was an exception. There was rubbage piled up everywhere although the apartment was not particularly dirty. The lady appeared to be about 40, obese weighing 130 kg and lying in bed. Her husband was my size and cleanly dressed. There was a child of about 5 years old, sleeping. Why she was not at school is anybodies guess. We spoke with the woman for a while. She was in no acute distress although she thought that she was in anaphylactic shock from something that she ate yesterday. We convinced her otherwise, reassured her and left her in the care of her husband. What kind of future does the little girl have with parents like this?

The second case was a drug addict that was sleeping in front of a supermarket. She was in no acute distress and not a danger to either herself or the public. She did not want to come with us. The manager wanted us to take her to the hospital by force but we had no authority or reason to do so. We left her and eventually she will find her way home.

The third case was a 63 year old female who had just had an MI, cardiac arrest and resuscitation 3 months ago. She had chest pain that was resolving. Her EKG showed new changes. She refused to come with us to the hospital. 2 of the paramedics spoke with her for 1 hour to try to convince her to come with us. They always have incredible patience with patients. Her Phillipino helper had called the ambulance as she felt that her condition was deteriorating. At one point she asked the paramedic who I was. He introduced me as Dr Brian from Canada. The woman spoke English fluently. I reinforced the point that she had EKG changes and needed to come to Tel Hashomer for further evaluation including an echocardiogram and cardiac trops. She told me that she is afraid of hospitals. I then saw her looking at my chest scar. I told her that I knew from personal experience what chest pain feels like. I explained to her that I am also afraid of hospitals as a patient but sometimes you just have to go. She said that she would like to consult her rabbi, Reb Bal Shem Tov. I told her that it was not necessary as I had already consulted with the Reb and that he had sent me here from Canada to take care of her and have her come with us to the hospital. She laughed and then agreed to come to the hospital in our ambulance. The conversation with me had not taken more that 3 minutes. I later told the paramedics that I thought that had looked at my white hair and decided that I must be right with all my experience in these types of cases. Little did I know…..

Love,

Brian

Modern buildings in Tel Aviv. The architects here are not afraid to be original in their design.

2025-03 Israel

Israel 18,

April 7, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

I wore my Nike running shoes for the first time today and they were wonderful. I was bouncing all over the place each time I took a step, it was a wonder that I didn’t just fly away. I will try running with them in a few days.

I had a new team at MDA today but I was posted on the same base. We checked the ambulance at 6:30 and had our first call at 7:00. We walked up 3 flights of stair and found an 85 year old woman in bed, short of breath. The woman was already on oxygen. The room was 10ft x 10ft. We somehow lifted the patient onto a stretcher. The stretcher is made so that it can turn into a chair which is easier to manage. We then carried her down the stairs to the ambulance and took her to the hospital. She was oedematous and probably in congestive heart failure.

The second case was an elderly man in the very religious sector of Tel Aviv called Bnai Brak. These people have 6-10 children so you see children running around everywhere. It is a shame but religious areas in Israel are often over crowded, run down and dirty. There was garbage everywhere as if people don’t care about cleanliness. The man was short of breath from bradycardia. His pulse was 46 meaning sinus bradycardia, an athlete or a heart block. He was in no acute distress so we took his VS, gave him oxygen and monitored him.

We were on our way to a hospital when we received an emergency call that a child had fallen into the water and was unconscious. When we arrived, the child had already been brought down stairs and 2 paramedics were giving CPR. In a child you give heart massage with your thumbs. They were bagging the child with a mask and oxygen. There was a discussion among the paramedics and it was decided that we had the most experience with children. While continuing with CPR, we transferred our elderly patient to another ambulance and took charge of the child.

The chief paramedic in my ambulance was amazing. He took charge immediately and gave orders to the other paramedics in a calm but direct fashion. We did an EKG and found that the child was flat lined. In this case, defibrilation is not indicated. He got an IV access by directly putting an IV into the knee. He then delivered adrenaline. The ambulance took off at full speed to Schneider Children’s Hospital which is a major children’s hospital in Israel. While the ambulance was moving, he intubated the child which is not an easy manoeuvre to do in a 4 month old child in a moving ambulance. I was very impressed with his work. He obviously has had a lot of experience with infants.

The physicians at the hospital were waiting for us to arrive. By the time we arrived in the hospital we had a pulse with a heart rate and a blood pressure. The chief of the ER took charge immediately. After a few moments, the child started to breath spontaneously but they continued to bag him for support. The child’s pupils were dilated but maybe not fixed which would indicate brain damage.

We left at this point and as usual with MDA, we usually don’t know the final result of our work. The mother looked to be between 25 and 30, ultra religious with a long dress. She had left the child next to the sink for an unknown period of time and for an unknown reason. Somehow the child had rolled over and fallen into the sink, and drowned. We could not find out how long the child was not breathing. The first ambulance was on the scene within minutes and CPR was done immediately. Brain damage begins 4 minutes after a lack of oxygen and is irreversible at 10 minutes. A child can sometimes last longer.

The chief paramedic was sitting alone in the ambulance writing out his report. I went over to him, touched his shoulder and told him that he had done his best. I know that he appreciated my words of support.

The woman sat in the ambulance with us staring ahead with absolutely no emotion. She never spoke or cried. Her husband arrived at the hospital just after us. He was dressed in ultra religious clothes. He also expressed no emotion. The woman will never forgive herself for the 1-2 minutes of inattention. The child is in God’s hands now. Unfortunately, there is no God.

Our last patient was a 6 month old child with a first episode of epilepsy probably viral related. The child had stopped convulsing when we arrived and was waking up. We brought the child to the nearest hospital for further evaluation and treatment.

All in all it was a busy, emotionally packed day.

Love,

Brian

Paramedics

Tel Hashomer Hospital, the 8th best hospital in the world according to Newsweeks evaluation. The country has 9 million people. University of Toronto is 3rd in the world. McGill is in the 90s. It is not surprising if you read my last evaluation of McGill.

Schneider Children’s Hospital

My MDA team

2025-03 2025

Israel 17,

April 6, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

Today was my first day with MDA, Magan David Adom, Israeli civic ambulance service. We do not go to a war zone. Military ambulances take care of war casualties. I was posted at the MDA base in Raman Gan about 30 minutes from Tel Aviv. I was not posted there last year. I was introduced to my 3 paramedics. One was an experienced driver, 1 girl was 19 years old and in training and 1 was 28 years old and has done ambulance service with the army. I was up at 5:30 and had a quick breakfast as the hotel had generous supplied me with a breakfast and lunch to go. With Waze I had no trouble getting to the ambulance base. I have to be at the base at 6:30 to check the medications on the ambulance. They let me check all the medications and although every was written in Hebrew, I was able to make out ok.

Our 1st call was rather simple. A 16 year old girl with tachycardia probably due to stress. We went through the usual routine of a history and physical exam. The patient was not in acute distress. We brought her to the hospital for monitoring and further treatment if necessary.

The 2nd patient was an 84 year old lady with COPD, asthma and diabetes. She was on oxygen chronically. We took a history and physical, started an IV, EKG, blood sugar, temperature, blood pressure, blood oxygen level, pulse, resperation. Her temp was 39 C so she probably had a pneumonia with an exacerbation of asthma and COPD. She was wheezing. We gave her Oxygen, placed her on an ambulance chair and carried her down 3 flights of stairs to our ambulance and brought her to the hospital.

The 3rd patient was a 45 year old patient, overweight who had fallen down the stairs. She was sitting, leaning against the wall in severe pain. She had an open fracture of the lower tibia and fibula, bleeding with her left angulated at 70 degrees.

We started an IV and gave her fentanyl for the pain. She calmed down in a few minutes. We were then able to straighten out the leg and splint the fractured leg to the good leg. We covered the fracture with a bandage. We lifted her onto a sling and then placed her onto a stretcher. Present was a BLS ambulance (basic life support) with 3 paramedics and a ACLS ambulance (advanced cardiac life support) with 3 paramedics and me. It took 6 of us to carry her down 3 flights of a narrow staircase to get her into our ambulance. Then, with sirens blazing, we rushed her to the hospital. The treatment on arrival at the hospital was instantaneous.

I have nothing but good words and praise for the paramedics. They are calm and very kind to the patient and family. They are extremely well trained. They follow protocols which make them efficient and effective. No one ever gets excited. They always know exactly what to do to help the patient. Israel is very well served by the paramedics of MDA.

The 2nd patient was accompanied by her daughter who rode in the ambulance with us. She comes from New Jersey and is in Israel for 3 months to visit with her mother who was the patient. She bought her husband with her to Israel. He was in a wheelchair as he had a traumatic brain injury 12 years ago when, as a pedestrian, was hit by a car. He had 7 brain operations and has obvious deficits. I don’t know how she has the courage to face the day when she wakes up in the morning.

After my cases, I bought a pair of Nike running shoes to replace the shoes that I destroyed on the IDF base. MDA requires closed shoes so my sandals were not acceptable. Great, I needed a new pair of running shoes anyway. My old pair at home are 10 years old. Boy, have running shoes changed in 10 years. These new shoes bounce when I run. Maybe it will help me win more triathlon races. I can’t wait to try them out when I run this week.

Love,

Brian

I

2025-03 2025

Israel 16,

April 5, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

Today was a great day as usual. I woke up reasonably early, wrote my blog on my feelings of the events in Canada, went down to the beach and let my mind wander to pleasant thoughts. It was 21 C with a cool breeze. The beach had its usual amount of people but very few people in the water. It reminds me of what I have heard about Florida in December. The Florida natives are dressed up warmly and the Canadians are in their bathing suits and swimming. Only a small part of the beach was open for swimming, the rest was black flagged.

After lathering up with suntan oil, I lay in the sun on a rented lounge chair until I was warm enough to go into the water. I swam out to the breakwater as usual but I was the only swimmer out there. There were small waves today but there was a strong current blowing in a northerly direction. Although I had no trouble swimming to shore, I found myself blown 200 meters further up the beach onto the black flagged beach. The life guards didn’t whistle or say anything to me. I guess that they are used to me swimming out to the breakwater. I warmed up by taking a long walk on the beach and had my usual Magnum ice cream for lunch.

In the evening I went for dinner at my cousin Rochelle’s place. They bought a new apartment with 3 bedrooms and their own private safe room in the apartment itself. The safe room is reinforced with thick concrete. After a long talk to get us up to date with family news, one of her daughters took me for a long walk to see the neighbourhood called Peta Tikva. The Israel architecture is amazing. The taller build are no more than 8-12 stories high. Each apartment is different although most are built with the same stone. Each apartment faces in a different direction. There are many parks filled with young people playing soccer and basketball. I was very impressed.

Love,

Brian

my Krav Maga team

2025-03 Israel

Israel 15,

April 5, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

‘When this hole world starts getting me down, And people are just too much for me to face, I climb way up to the top of the stairs, And all my cares just drift right into space, On the roof,its peaceful as can be, And there the world can’t bother me.’

It’s Saturday morning, cool, sunny with blue skies and 18C. I am up on the terrace at my hotel over looking the beach. The sailboats are out but people are waiting for it to warm up before venturing into the water. The view here is sublime. I just had breakfast with 3 ladies from the States, Australia and Canada. I meet people from everywhere here. The words of the above song unfortunately ring clear to me today. The news from Canada is awful. At McGill, my alma mater and where I have a teaching position as Clinical Lecturer, the pro-Palestinian hoodlums are striking against classes for 3 days. They occupied buildings, broke windows and prevented legitimate students from attending classes. The police were called, made no arrests and didn’t use tear gas. Are the tariffs imposed on tear gas too high so there is a lack of it in Canada. Are the police still serving cappuchinos to the demonstrators? Can you still spit on a police man with impunity, an event that occurred in Toronto last year? Canada is the only country in the world where you can spit on a police man and be arrested. In every other country such as France, the USA or Saudi Arabia, you would be beaten into the ground so badly that there would be nothing left to arrest. I don’t recognize McGill anymore. In Toronto the demonstrators occupied Union Station and stopped transportation. Once again where are the police? Have they not heard of tear gas? Do they no longer use tasers to control violent protesters? You don’t have to taser a lot of them. Taser one and the other cowards will run away. These people are not French demonstrators from the 60s who knew how to dig up paving stones on the street and throw them at the cops. They are pro-Palestinians who are afraid of a good fight. If they really were tough and wanted to support the Palestinians, they would be in Gaza fighting

I blame the former Prime Minister, the mayor of Toronto, the mayor of Montreal and the Dean of McGill for letting this happen. This ‘protest’ should have been nipped in the bud 1 year ago when it first started. Instead it was allowed to occur resulting in an escalation in which saying ‘death to the Jews’ is a common occurrence and is no longer considered to be racist. Throwing paint or fire bombs at so called Jewish institutions is now considered to be one’s natural right to self expression. Is a bakery that sells bagel owned by citizens of Greek ancestry now considered to be a ‘Jewish Institution’ that must be stamped out. Last year I received a letter from the Dean of McGill saying that protest is a healthy reaction by students in a university setting. I warned him in a personal letter that of course was not answered, that violence will occur if nothing is done. Are they waiting for someone to be beaten up or killed for them to do something? Or will the reaction be ‘oh my, tut tut’. I received another letter from the same Dean on Holocaust Memorial Day saying that is a day of remembrance for the people that were killed in the Holocaust. So, to fight this racism, McGill has set up a committee to fight racism called the Committee to Fight Islamophobia and Antisemitism. Excuse me!! What does Islamophobia have to do with Holocaust Memorial day? Except for a few isolated incidents, where is there Islamophobia in Canada today? Islamophobia and Holocaust Memorial Day should not even be mentioned in the same sentence. As for the committee, why is Islamophobia and Antisemitism given equal footing in the name of the Committee. Islamophobia is obviously more important at McGill than Antisemitism or else the 2 words should have been placed in alphabetical order!!

Yesterday morning I met up with my cousin Richard and 3 of his friends in Richon le Tzion for a run on the beach. I told Richard that he could run at his pace and that I would catch up with him on his run back. He is a real gentleman and elected to run with me at my pace. We ran for 7.35 km which took about 1 hour. Of the 3 disciplines in a triathlon, running is my weakest. However, I can do 10 km if I pace myself. We ran on the beach without shoes mostly on the hard packed sand. There were some patches of shells on the beach so you had to be a little careful. Afterwards, we met up with his 3 friends at Golda’s where he treated me to an ice cream and a cappuccino. The portions of ice cream that they give you in a medium cup are enormous and delicious. I didn’t eat for the rest of the day. I hope that they invite me next week. Richard and I might do a long distance swim.

In the afternoon, I went out to the beach. After a hard week’s work on the IDF base topped off with Krav Maga, I think that I deserve a little R and R. As usual I swam out to the breakwater. There were big waves so I did some body surfing later in the afternoon. In the early evening I was back at my usual haunt, the laundromat, to do my weekly laundry. I am now quite good with the machines, knowing how to purchase soap with a coin, pay for the right machine with a credit card as they are numbered and starting the machine by pushing the start button. I even helped a newbie to get started with her machine.

Love,

Brian

My running team

My terrace and the view of the beach from the terrace

Never forget, Never forgive, Never again

2025-03 Israel

Israel 14,

April 3, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

We did a major cleanup last evening as it was our last night at the base. The planes were out all night and we could hear the bombing and shelling in Gaza. Hamas once again gave there nonsensical terms that they would give back some of the hostages if the Israelis withdraw completely, if they continue to remain in power and if some country rebuilds Gaza for them. They don’t seem to learn or even try to remember that it was they who started the war in the first place. 5000 Hamas came across the border, attacked a peaceful kibbutz as well as young people dancing at a music festival. They killed 1200 Israelis, wounded 2500, took 251 hostages and raped many women. Do they really believe that after 500 days that they can now go back to square one with no consequences? What other country in the world would accept this nonsense?

We were up early this morning for breakfast as we were taking the bus to Natanya for our Krav Maga session with the Grand Master. He is a heavy set 65 year old man who really knows his stuff. It is amazing how fast he can move if attacked from any angle. He emphasized how important it is to know one’s surroundings. A woman walking alone, carrying a purse, walking and talking at the same time on her cell phone is an easy target even if there are people around. Always be aware and constantly look around. In Krav Maga, speed is more important than strength. A small person reacting quickly can overcome a bigger, untrained assailant. A terrorist is a different story as he is often well trained to kill.

The Master would pick out one of us to demonstrate his craft. In practice you are supposed to pull your punches but it is not hard to accumulate a few bruises. Once he finished his demonstration, we would split up into pairs or groups of 3 to practice the movements. First we would do the movement in slow motion, gradually picking up speed both with the attack and with the defence. I think that we all learned quite a few defensive moves. Several of us said that they would try to continue practicing with a Krav Maga school on their return to their home country. There are half a dozen schools in Montreal, though not as many as karate or tae kwondo schools. I may or may not decide to continue in Montreal.

The class lasted a whole day at the Wingate Academy. We took the bus back to Tel Aviv and I checked into my usual Maxim Hotel. I then took the bus and train to the airport to get my car rental. I went out to eat at a great seafood restaurant with my friend from Grand Rapids Michigan.

Love,

Brian

Our shelter on the base. We have 45 seconds to get there

Brian

Modern Tel Aviv

Wingate Academy for the study of the science of athletics.

Dizengoff square (which is a circle) with pictures of the hostages and victims of Oct. 7

A great Tel Aviv restaurant

2025-03 Israel

Israel 13,

April 2, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

Today work was much like yesterday. We finished painting the trailer which I just learned are tank transport trailers. They have 4 rows of tires with 6 tires in each row. They are made to carry a very heavy load. At the end of the day we sorted heavy tools used to work on the trucks such as changing tires.

At the end of the day I scrubbed my army boots to get the paint off and polished them for 1 hour until they shined. I was sad to have to give them back but they belong to the Israeli army.

It was too hot to run today and we had some work to do to clean up the rooms. bathrooms and hallways. Everything must be especially cleaned as next week is passover which requires a special cleaning. We had a final meeting with the team and our madrihot. Everyone had to answer a prearranged question mostly about our opinions of the last two weeks. Everyone was very positive. Tomorrow we leave the base for the last time. We will go to the Wingate Academy in Natanya for our Krav Maga lesson and then on to Tel Aviv.

Love,

Brian

Today they let me drive a tank.

Tools for the trucks

My truck driving partner a former NFL football player.

The bags we packed.

Volvo trucks

Trailer to be painted next time

2025-03 Israel

Israel 12,

April 1, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

Today was virtually the same as yesterday so I will not go into details. I was chosen/volunteered to paint the truck trailers with 3 other volunteers and later joined by 2 others. This made the work go much faster. My uniform has a lot of paint spots so it will be used for painting in the future. My beautiful Israeli boots must unfortunately be returned to the army. They are also covered with paint dots. I removed some of them with turpentine and will polish them over tomorrow with black shoe polish.

This evening we sat out in the garden for a chat. The weather was warm with a cool breeze and a few drops of rain. One of the volunteers who is a lady who made Aliyah to Israel 20 years ago gave us a basic course in Hebrew.

In the distance we could hear the plains flying over to Gaza. The Israelis are now very determined. The war will end when the hostages are returned and Hamas is no longer the governing body. There will be no more negotiations with 2 or 3 hostages returned. All the hostages must come home to Israel now! What happens afterwards is anyone’ guess. A ceasefire means Israel ceases, and Hamas reloads and fires. This is what has been happening for over 30 years. What happened on Oct 7, put an end to this once and for all. A war ends when 1 side drops their weapons, gets down on their knees, puts their hands over their heads and says don’t shoot. At this point in time, nothing else will do.

Love,

Brian

Antoine’s shoes made Aliyah

2025-03 Israel

Israel 11,

Mar. 31, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

We were up early this morning and had a change of pace. After breakfast and flag raising, our mahidrot asked for volunteers to paint. My hand and 2 other fellows hands shot up and all of a sudden I was a professional painter. We were driven off to a new place on base with several flat bed trailers which were in serious need of a paint job. We split into 2 groups, the red paint group and the yellow paint group. One fellow was in charge of scraping and dusting first. The red paint was very thick and specially made to go over rust and partially peeling paint. We worked for 2 hours, had a short coffee break and continued on to lunch. I tried to be careful about getting paint on myself. 1 of the fellows was less careful and spent some time at the wash basin with turpentine.

After lunch we had our Krav Maga session outside on the grass with a new instructor. We went over a few of the moves that we had learned from our previous session. We are now proficient at slow motion attack from behind, attack from the front or side with a head lock. All of the methods involve several quick moves to neutralize the attacker followed by punches, kicks and knee moves to disable the attacker. The fight is over in 5 seconds. Our instructor explained the 4 levels of defence, 1) don’t get into a situation where you will be compromised, 2) run away, 3) try to talk your way out including give him your money, 4) fight and in the situation there is no second chance. You must do what I described above.

The second part of the course was what to do if you are attacked by someone with a baseball bat or equivalent, a chain on another dangerous object. The natural defence is to back off. The real defence is to move in as close as possible to the attacker rendering his weapon useless. After that when you are as close as possible, you neutralize the attacker followed by quick blows to sensitive parts of his body and then recuperate his weapon and finish the job. For me personally, at my age, size and hair colour, I will try to stick to the first 3 levels of defence.

After the course, I waited an hour or two until it cooled off a little and then ran 6 km with one of my buddies. There was a slight breeze that made running more agreeable.

After supper we had a course on water supply in Israel. Israel is situated on a small piece of land, mostly desert and has a population of 9 million people. Some of the industry also requires a great deal of water. Israel has been at the forefront of water conservation. Some of the water comes from Sea of Galilee, some comes from the Jordon River. Unfortunately, the water from these 2 sources is 4% of what it used to be. There are some underground sources but Israel tries to preserve as much of this as possible. A large part of the water comes from 5 desalination plants which take water from the Mediterranean. 87% of water is recycled. These 2 sources are not used for drinking water. Israelis are also very careful of not wasting water such as not letting water just run when you are brushing your teeth.

One thing that the Israelis have not been up to par on is recycling. Right now they have other more important problems to deal with. Also most of the immigrants that Israel receives now come from countries that have no clue about recycling so the government must start from zero.

Tonight we are sitting outside on benches enjoying the night air. The conversation is varied as we come from many different backgrounds. Israel is once again on the offensive in order to get the hostages back. In the background we can hear the boom boom from bombing and shelling in Gaza.

Love,

Brian