2025-03 Israel

Israel 29,

April 19, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

This is my last evening in Israel and could well be my last entry for this trip. The manager of Maxim Hotel allowed me to have a late check out without paying for the night. That was very nice of him as I know him very well from this year and last year. I have a 6:00 am flight for Ben Gururion Airprort to Vienna with Austrian Airlines. I will try to get a few hours sleep from 10:00 pm to 2:00 am when I will drive to the airport to drop off my car.

If I am lucky they will allow me to stay in the fancy Dan Lounge at the airport for a few hours. My expensive Visa and Master Card credit cards sometimes allow me this privilege. This morning I met up with my cousin Erez and his running partner who I know from previous jogs. He was with his son so they were faster than me and went a head of us. Richard ran at my pace and we covered 9 km in 1:15 or so. We then went out for a 500m swim. The water was cool but great for swimming once you got past the 1st 10 strokes. We then met up with his wife at Golda’s a fabulous ice cream place for frozen yogurts. I hope that I ran and swam enough to work off the calories.

In the afternoon after packing, I went out onto the beach for my last sun tanning and swimming. I lie in the sun for 30 min and then go for a 15 min swim. I also picked up a few rocks on the beach for my kid’s and friend’s rock collection. I walked along the beach until I found the noisiest bar and restaurant. The music is deafening, a real party atmosphere which is just what I need for my last evening in Tel Aviv. I am treating myself to a white fish brochette and a beer while sitting on a high chair at a table over looking the beach. Why not, I guess that I have to celebrate a successful adventure in Israel.

Today Trump is meeting with Iran to discuss nuclear disarmament. In my opinion it is a waste of time as Iran will not budge. They may pretend that they will reduce their nuclear capabilities but their real goal is to develop a nuclear bomb which will make them the most powerful and dangerous Arab country in the Middle East. One way or another their nuclear capabilities must be destroyed. This would probably lead to a revolution in the country against the mullahs who run the country in a religious manner with an iron fist. I worked at a clinic in Toronto run by Iranian doctors. I had many Iranian patients both there and here in Montreal. They are a very well educated, soft spoken, good looking and kind people. An elderly patient is never allowed to come to the office alone. They are always accompanied by a child or grandchild to help with the translation if necessary. They always tell me that they came to Canada to escape the bad government there.

Many times I have tried to engage in a political conversation with Israelis. They are usually reluctant to give an opinion as to what the outcome of the conflict will be. They of course want peace but the question is always at what price. Before Oct 7, things were more or less stable. There had been progress with certain Arab countries with the Abraham Accords. There is 1 thing for certain however, they will never trust the Palestinian leadership as it stands today. Hamas must be destroyed or the ceasefire will only last for 3-5 years allowing them to rearm. Hamas was and I still believe is still supported by the majority of the population in Gaza. A few hundred people in Gaza demonstrating against Hamas does not mean that there is a lack of support for Hamas by the general population. I still vividly remember remember the short clip that can be seen on u-tube of the jeep carrying the German-Israeli girl and the mobs of people cheering as if murdering a poor girl is a great military victory. I still remember the fat Palestinian woman coming up to the jeep and spitting on the poor girl. Why did she do that? Does she not have a daughter herself? Would she like if someone did that to her daughter? Is she still spitting now. Look at the destruction that Hamas has caused to happen in Gaza. There is a famous quote ‘if the Arabs lay down their arms, there will be peace. If the Israelis lay down their arms, there will be no Israel. There will be peace only when the Arabs love their children more that they hate the Jews’.

As for me and my plans for the future, I will return to Canada to continue with my life there. I spent 2 months in Israel last year and 1 month this year. I received no monetary compensation for my efforts. I came here because I was, I am and I will always be a Zionist. I firmly believe that the Jews are a nation and as such have a right to a country. That country is Israel, 15 km wide, and without the desert is 10% smaller than Greater Montreal. Can’t the world accept this fact? In Canada we are facing an election next week in which the outcome is not obvious. 2 of the 3 leaders cannot be counted on to support Israel and hence the Jews in Canada. We have seen a rise in antisemitism in Canada that is unprecedented since WW2. And why? Are not the Jews good citizens in Canada? Do they not contribute to Canada to make the country better for everyone? I have always said, if you come to Canada to live, leave your prejudices and other baggage behind in your old country. Try to integrate and become a Canadian citizen with Canadian values. if not, why did you come here in the first place?

What are my plans for the future? I will come back to Israel next year that is a given. In what capacity will I come back? I am not sure. I will have to see how things develop here in Israel. I wrote my blog every day, spending 1.5 hours writing. The first part of my blot written last year has been made in to a book. I will add the next part on returning home and will include this months adventures. I have more experience but my feelings for Israel not changed. The proceeds of the book with be given to MDA.

Love

Brian

Tel Aviv Beach and restaurant 10:00 pm

Piano player at Maxim, She is in her 90s

2025-03 Israel

Israel 28,

April 18, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

The sirens went off at 6:40 in Tel Aviv and all over central Israel. I learned my lesson from last time when I was in Eilat, and put on a pair of pants and a fleece before heading out to the shelter. Everyone in the hotel stood in the stairwell for the 10 minutes that the sirens were going off. We learned later that the Houthis had fired a ballis I wandered over to Dizengoff Square for a late dinner last night and am doing the same tonight. On the circle are several restaurants, three of which I frequent often for dinner. Except for a few grandparents who are taking their children and grandchildren for dinner, I am well past the average age here. Great, I love to be with 20-30-40 year olds as it makes me feel young again. I am always shocked when I walk past a mirror and see a reflection of myself with wrinkles and white hair. I skipped grey and went straight from blond to white after my bypass, 12 years and 15 triathlons ago.

Last year and again this year while at the laundromat and waiting for my clothes to wash and dry, I noticed a storefront gym with young people doing shadow kickboxing without actually fighting, accompanied by loud rock music. Everyone seemed to be sweating and enjoy themselves so I decided, why not, maybe I will give it a whirl. With my 3 days of training in krav maga, why not try a new challenge. I spoke to the instructor who invited me to come to a group class this morning.

There were about 8 of us in the group class, mixed men and women, the oldest of whom could not be more than 35. Great, I felt really at home with the group. We donned 12 oz gloves and then stood in front of the boxing bags, quite heavy and hung from the ceiling. Each of us had our own bag. The instructor then went through different moves of punching and kicking the bag. For each round of 3, he added a new kick or punch. We then moved on to weights with a bar. Most of the students took 30 lbs weights. The instructor gave me 10 lbs to start. He told me to take it easy as this was my first lesson. After lifting the weights we did a series of push ups and sit-ups. Most of the students did 10, 3 times. I was ok for the sit ups but to my surprise, I could only do 5 push ups at a time. I will have to practice before my next session next year. I may consider purchasing a punching bag and gloves at home for my basement.

I came back to the hotel to change into my bathing suit. I learned my lesson yesterday and reserved a beach chair at 9:00 before going out for my kick-boxing lessons. The chairs are hard to come by at 12:00 which I found out yesterday. It was at least 35C today with a slight breeze. There was not enough wind for sailing or kite surging. My usual routine is to lie on the beach chair for 30-45 min and then take a dip in the sea. Today, I felt enthousiastic after my boxing lesson, so I swam out to the breakwater twice, a distance of 1 km.

I ate my Magnum ice cream cone and then went for a manicure in a shop near my hotel. The lady was really nice and did a great job on my nails. It was only the second time in my life that I had a professional manicure.

continuation from paragraph 1,

We learned later that the Houthis had fired a ballistic missile at us. The ballistic missiles are much more dangerous than rockets or drones. They obviously are being given to the Houthis from Iran. Well they asked for it and they are going to get it. The missile was taken out over the water by the iron dome and no damage was done to Israel. However this cannot continue to go on forever without punishment. Trump is again meeting with Iran this Saturday. Neither Iran nor Trump will back down on Iran’s nuclear strategie. Iran has so much oil that they really don’t need nuclear energy unless they are contemplating using it for making a nuclear bomb. If Iran gets a nuclear bomb, every country in the Middle East will get a nuclear bomb. This is like having babies playing with fire. It just won’t work if the world wants to have another generation of children. One way or another, be it through diplomacy or war, the nuclear capacity of Iran must be destroyed.

On this happy note,

Love,

Brian

Dizengoff

my kick boxing instructor

Sirens went off at 6:40 am due to ballistic missile fired by Houthis

2025-03 Israel

Israel 27,

April 17, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

I started the morning off with 1 cultural event, a visit to Erez Israel Museum. It is a nice museum with many low rise buildings featuring the development of Israel fromprehistoric times to the present day. Over the centuries, following the destruction of the 2nd temple by the Romans and the beginning of the diaspora, there were many invaders of the land. Prior to the Romans, the land was invaded by the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Mamyluks, the Greeks, and the Romans to name a few. After the fall of Rome the land was invaded by the Arabs, the Christians and the Turks of the Ottoman Empire. Israel was always a crossroads so many peoples passed through the land. The above list is by no means complete. The final rulers before Israel became a state were the British being given the land by the League of Nations that became known as the Palestine Mandate. I spent 1.5 to 2 hours visiting the museum and as in any museum, one can spend days studying each exhibition.

It was 36C at 1:00 so I went off to the beach for a few hours of sun. As usual I swam out to the breakwater and back, a distance of 500 meters. There was a cool breeze making the day pleasant in spite of the heat. The beach was packed with sunbathers. This is a very different population than what I saw in apartment buildings with MDA. There was 20-25 knots of wind with a westerly wind blowing on shore 1-2 ft waves. There were no sailboats out but the water and beach was filled with kite surfers. At one point I counted 50 kite surfers in the water and flying through the air. It is a wonder that there ropes do not cross each other.

The kite is semi circle about 10 ft long and 2 ft wide. One edge is inflated with air. There are 4 strings attached to the kite which lead into 2 strings that attach to a 1.5 ft bar. The surfer holds onto the bar and also has a belt attachment. The surfer holds board is 4 ft long and 1 ft wide with places for one’s feet. 1 person holds onto the kite and eventually lets it fly. His partner holds onto the bar and puts his feet into the attachments on the board. When the string is taught, the surfer just seems to take off on the water. By switching the bar around, he can control the direction of the kite. Some of the surfers can obtain 20-30 feet in the air. One day when I am older, I must try this sport. It really looks like fun.

Love,

Brian

2025-03 Israel

Israel 24,

April 14, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

I finally got enough sleep to face the day properly. My usual 6hr30min progressed to 7hr and I awoke fully refreshed. ⅔ of my team was new to me today. 1 of the paramedics who is in the army and doing her training with me was with me today. She is both lovely and lovely to work with. The chief of staff of the MDA station was the driver today. He is very experienced in his work and a good driver. The chief of the team was another lovely girl who finished her MDA training with the military in Gaza. For a young girl of 21, she has seen a lot of trauma. She would like to go into medicine. She is currently studying for the SAT exam which is an American exam accepted for admission into Israeli medical schools. She is calm, cool and collective which makes her a very professional paramedic to work with. She explained the admission requirements to get into an Israeli medical school. One way is to apply after high school. This is a 7 year course. The student must at one point go into the army for 3 years. The other way which she has chosen, is to do paramedic training and work as a paramedic both with MDA, a civic ambulance service and as a paramedic in the army. The student then has 4 years of medicine to do. There are 7 medical schools in Israel, all of very good quality. I hope that she is successful with her exams as in my opinion she will make a very good physician. I will be working with the 2 young ladies tomorrow. I am happy as they are very proficient in their approach to patients.

We had 3 patients today which were very routine and I will not describe in detail. The 1st patient was an elderly woman who may have had a urinary tract infection, had been prescribed Cipro and was not doing well. She looked dehydrated so we rehydrated her with ringers lactate. She also had a tender abdomen and will require a full work up including a CT scan of her abdomen. She made a remarkable improvement on arrival at the hospital. 2nd patient was weak and had an abnormal EKG in spite of the fact that he had a pacemaker. The 3rd patient was a routine patient with shortness of breath. I have not seen any major trauma since arriving here in Israel.

It is passover and a number of restaurants are closed for the holidays. Some of my usual restaurants were full and I could not get a table without a reservation. It is Monday night and the restaurants are packed. I walked over to Dizengoff Square where there are several restaurants to choose from. I am sitting at a table over looking the square and just had a dish of shrimps accompanied with a beer. Delicious. The night air is cool and comfortable with Israeli rock music in the background.

Love,

Brian

My MDA station and my team,