(Community Matters) hard to believe it’s coming to an end. Not just my visit to Israel but 29 days abroad, seven nights without Steven (we wish to keep most at 5), so many days away from so many dear friends, so many days here with such dear friends especially Diane & Steve, Lily & Yigal Saad on this last leg, Jill, Stephen, Tana & Charles on the first, Suzanne in Rome.
Ended the trip spectacularly, as guests of two of Israel’s most celebrated industrialists’, Shlomo and Tanya Fogel, bat mitzvah for their daughter Eden, at their home in Kfar Shmaryahu. It was obviously last night’s Israeli social event – Lily Saad chatting with Sara Netanyahu (the prime minister’s wife), Ambassador Cunningham and Ha’aretz’s Ari Shavitz (I met the latter and had a few minutes chat with the former – about Israel PR in the US and his recent conversations with the PM and Ehud Barak) and intriguing conversations with Shaike Daliot who’s a former Mossad leader in Israel and abroad, now an industrialist. I promised Shaike I’d come back soon; he’s promised to introduce me & Steve to important thinkers and players in Middle East peace. I have so many observations, as Steve says, also still gaps in information. Also great stories of these conversations and our time in the West Bank. Perhaps they’ll coalesce during today’s 17 hours flying home.
Ha, then a night cap at our hotel with Lily, Yigal, Diane & Steve watching the US tie the UK in soccer!
A wee sad to miss Diane & Steve’s breakfast with Raya Strauss this morning – fingers crossed about support for The Light.
Steven’s promised to stock up on Chango’s queso, fresh flour tortillas, rotisserie chicken and a ripe avocado – oh yeah, and limes Babe, a dozen juicy limes (I have the perfect tequilla & plenty of quantro)
Community Matters 