POW_ARCHIVES

I clearly remember when this photo was taken in their house in Neveh Magen, but had no picture of the event. Thanks to cousin Jonty Levy for sending me this picture last week, a great addition to my Old Pictures collection.

As an aside: Jonty's uncle on his mother's side (Tony Edelstein- Sheila's husband) was the brother of his aunt on his father's side ( Winnie Levy - Eric's wife.)

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

Ex brother in law Melly Braverman has informed us of the happy news that his daughter Tamara and Kevin Morrow have just adopted two sisters, 4 year old Lily and 1 year old Neveah. Picture of the happy new family here.
Yael Segoli, mother of daughter in law Mikhal, is recovering after major surgery last week. Our thoughts are with the Segoli families.
Best wishes to cousin Cecile Cotton who started her radiation therapy this week.
Doreen and I have just got a little older - granddaughter Danielle Ron celebrated her 25th birthday this week.
We were saddened this week by the death of long time friend Dr Jossy Faktor. Jossy had a distinguished career both as a doctor and in the Air force (he was the doctor during the Entebbe Mission) and played a crucial role in one of our life's important decisions.

26th September 2020

Charles Levy and daughter Katherine

In these times of Covid lockdowns, quarantines and isolation, it's great to hear of some travelling safely. We have heard of South African friends visiting Game Parks - certainly the wide open spaces are less susceptible to virus infection. Among these lucky ones are cousins Charles and Sheenagh and their daughter Katherine who spent some days in Sabie and the Kruger Park. As Sheenagh wrote "soooo lucky, overcast day and cool, all the animals out to play". They sent us some outstanding pictures of the animals they saw - some of which can be seen here.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

Yael Segoli, mother of daughter in law Mikhal will be undergoing a major operation this week. We wish her a speedy recovery, and our thoughts are with the Segoli families.
Daughter Vered Ron fell quite badly a few days ago when upended by dogs playing and chasing each other. She was badly bruised and couldn't walk for a few days. Fortunately she fell on soft sand otherwise the damage would have been far worse.
We were happy to receive a note from Debra Hock (see Nochimovitz family tree). She is studying for her PhD in Paleontology and recently became engaged to Zach (see picture). We remember her lovely visit with us at the beginning of last year.

Happy Birthday this week to: Hagar Yehezkel (26), Leah Forman (26), Belinda Levy (27), Michal O'Dwyer (27), Yoav Pashas (27), Gali Nickel (28), Daniel Hakim (28), Mark Glasser (28), Steven Taylor (28), Meital Stern (28), Margo Gordon (28), Dotan Shavit (29), Danielle Ron (30), Caryn Sangupta (30) Robyn Matz (Oct 1st), Leroy Kahn (Oct 1st), Haley Bacher (Oct 1st)

Happy Anniversary this week to: Tessa and Jason Capra (28)

19th September 2020

Rosh Hashanah 5781
לשנה טובה תיכתבו ותחתמו

Today is Rosh Hashanah - the start of the Jewish New Year. As every New Year we reflect on the past year and express our hopes for the coming year. Last year's achievements and pleasures have been overshadowed by the dread of the Covid pandemic during the last 7 months. In spite of the difficulties, cuts in income, restricted movement and other precautions our family's spirits remain high and we meet physically as often as we safely can and electronically almost every day.
On the larger scale, our country is in a mess. Our prime minister's priority is evading his looming corruption trials and everything else takes second place to this. Our Covid infection rate is soaring and from yesterday we are in partial lockdown with of course political concessions especially to the ultra-orthodox. Normalization and "peace" with UAE and Bahrein is certainly an achievement (despite its obvious political timimg both for Israel and USA) but the real problem of peace with the Palestinians is nowhere near solution.
We can only hope that the coming year will reverse the frustrations and disappointments of the last few months.

We wish all our family and friends happiness, success and above all good health in the year ahead of us. Le'shana tova!

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

Doreen's usual New Year letter is replaced this year by some thoughts on her hopes for the coming year. Read it here in her column.

12th September 2020

A Successful Culinary Experiment - Sea Bass Baked in Salt
preparation - removing the salt crust - serving the fish

Doreen writes:

Last year in June, I went with Eitan to the European Open Bridge Championships which was held in Istanbul. Istanbul is a huge city and we were about 1 ½ hours from the center. So we and the other bridge officials explored the closer restaurants. We were fascinated by a fish restaurant on the water’s edge facing a small yacht marina where the specialty was fish baked in salt. The floor was covered with salt that crackled as you walked to your table.

Because now in this Covid period we no longer go to restaurants, we try to make restaurant quality food at home. Salt baked fish seemed a great idea! After watching you-tube demonstrations and reading recipes we felt we were ready to try it, forgoing the golden rule of never to make an untried dish for guests.

Eyal Shani is the Israeli food guru and philosopher, who waxes eloquently about fish and the advantages of baking the fish intact. Heeding his advice we went to a fish shop newly opened in our area and chose a large labrak/sea bass, instructing the fishmonger to leave the scales on. Disregarding Eyal’s advice I also instructed the fishmonger to clean the insides.

For something so special we invited Eitan’s cousins Joel and Beryl Klotnick and my sister Louise to join us. While our intrigued guests watched, we placed the fish on a bed of Atlantic sea salt on a baking tray and then covered it with lots more salt. Finally we sprinkled a little water over the salt and packed it down.

While it baked, 10 minutes for every inch (2.5 centimeters) in the gills area plus another 10 minutes for the pan, we sat down to eat our appetizers.

After 35 minutes we removed the fish from the oven. Eitan cracked the salt crust open, and peeled off the skin with the scales to reveal a beautifully white moist fish ready for eating. It was delicious.

Just like in the restaurant, but without throwing the salt on the floor.

Success!

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

Happy 21st birthday, granddaughter Lior. Unfortunately due to Corona worries we missed Lior's 21st birthday celebrations. However we did drive to the Ron's house to deliver a home-baked vegan chocolate cake. Picture here.

5th September 2020

On board the Blue Dawn - December 1994

Aviv Ron, Moran Segoli, Aviv Levy, Vered Ron, me, Doreen, Fern Levy

Sailing on the Antares III 10 days ago brought back many memories of sailing not only on the Antares III but also on previous trips on Morris's yachts like the Antares I, the Jacquelina and the Blue Dawn. The picture above was taken on the Blue Dawn in 1994 when we lived in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands. On our 30th wedding anniversary our children surprised us with a visit together with my sister Fern. We then surprised them with a visit to Virgin Gorda on the British Virgin Islands. This was our third Family Reunion.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

Cousin Jaffa Loew (see Schank family tree) is moving house and Doreen and sister Louise Braverman went to visit Jaffa and see her new house near Ashkelon. They also enjoyed a meal at an Ashdod restaurant. (Picture)
We again "bridge" demonstrated against Bibi last Saturday and were delighted to meet Michal Riza there. Michal had been our grandchildren's au pair when daughter Vered and Aviv were in Paris. (Picture)

29th August 2020

The Front Page of Dome, Natal University Review, April 1983

A few weeks ago I was delighted to receive an email from Ian Robertson, a colleague from my University days whom I last saw some 56 years ago. He had also been friendly with Fern my sister and searching for her on Google was directed to this family site. I always knew he was talented and an excellent speaker but apparently writing is his forte, for he is the author of the the world's top selling textbook on Sociology*. Reconnecting with him brought back many memories of my university years. The Corona pandemic with its lockdowns and quarantines has led many of us to open the boxes of old photos and papers last visited decades ago. Ian found the copy of the University monthly review shown above, and sent me the article written by him and published when I was elected President of the Students' Representative Council (S.R.C) of Natal University.
A transcription of the relevant text can be seen here.
Ian now lives in England and I hope to see him when I visit England some timeafter the Covid19 era.

_________________________

*Reviews of Ian Robertson's book:
Amazon, Good Reads:
This comprehensive introduction to contemporary sociology, known for its captivating writing, cross-cultural examples, and careful applications of theory to elucidate ideas, has long been a classroom favorite for both students and professors.

Abe Books:
This is quite simply the best intro sociology text ever. The author is a fabulous writer and is well versed in the discipline of sociology. He no longer writes textbooks, and no one since has come close to being this informative and illustrative. Unlike most academic works, this one is not a chore to read, but a pleasure.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

We came back this week from our 9-day sail along the coast of Croatia on the Antares III. We were royally entertained by Morris Kahn and had a wonderful time. Fortunately, the isolation requirement for returnees from Croatia had been lifted but even isolation would have been worth the opportunity to get away from the Corona stress. Pictures and a short account of our trip can be accessed by clicking here.
Congratulations to Cale Klaff (Goldberg family tree) on being appointed Captain of his High School Varsity soccer team. Cale is a sophomore which makes his appointment all the more exceptional.
Nephew Rafael Braverman (see Glazer family tree) aged 11 visited our Kirshner relatives Moshe and Rochelle (see Schank family tree) on their farm and experienced heaven - he was allowed to drive a farm vehicle! See picture and video here.
Doreen writes about the problems of finding a suitable burial site. Read her column.

22nd August 2020

Croatia: The Kornati Nature Reserve from the mast of the Antares III

(bottom left: Jacquelina)

photo: Michael Scouse

After months of lockdown or virtual lockdown and having had to cancel six overseas trips we were delighted to receive an invitation from friend Morris Kahn to join him on his yacht Antares III sailing among the beautiful islands of the Croatian coast. For 7 days we've been sailing, swimmimg, eating and just lazing on deck. Two more days and then we're back to Israel.
We've been sailing in tandem with the Jacquelina, the yacht of Morris's son, Benjamin and one of the highlights was a three hour race with them.
This is being written on the yacht. We'll write more next week - in the meantime see some pictures here.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

Our immediate family moved around this week: While we were sailing in Croatia the Rons came back from USA to quarantine, the Aviv Levys spent a few days in our Netanya apartment, and the Segolis had a 3 day camping break in Ashkelon, and our dog Joanie had a holiday stay with Nurit's family.
We are happy to hear from cousin Cecile Cotton in South Africa that she is making good progress recovering from her surgery.
Condolences to Dave Rothschild, Estelle Sapir and Frankie Klaff (see Goldberg family tree) on the passing of Barbara Coll, David and Estelle's step-sister.

15th August 2020

Mikhal Segoli

Congratulations to our daughter-in-law Mikhal on being granted a fellowship in the Israel Istitute for Advanced Studies (IIAS). The IIAS is Israel's primary institute for facilitating outstanding collaborative academic reseach. Mikhal will work in Jerusalem for 5 months with teams of scientists from all over the world researching biological control interaction to support agriculture and conservation.
More details can be found in the Ben Gurion University bulletin, reproduced here.
This is a fantastic achievement, Mikhal, and the whole family is proud of you!

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

We are saddened to report the passing of my aunt Malia Levy earlier this week. Malia was the last of my father's generation. She and her husband Abe my father's youngest brother, made aliyah to Israel before us and they were of great help to us in adapting and integrating to Israel. We send our heartfelt condolences to her son Jonty and his wife Dina, and to her grandchildren Efrat, Nadav and Yarden and granddaughter Tamar. Condolences to her sister Sheila Edelstein with whom we spent some wonderful time with her and husband Tony ז"ל in South Africa. Click for a picture of Malia.
Mazal Tov to good friend Geoff Bethlehem on his 80th birthday. We enjoyed the Zoom event that his family organised.
Due to corona we have had to cancel six overseas trips (so far!). So it was a wonderful surprise when we received an invitation from friend Morris Kahn to join him on his yacht sailing along the Croatian coast. Croatia is one of the few countries we are allowed to visit and it seems like tthe 2-week isolation regulation when we return has been lifted. Yesterday we tested negative for the virus and early tomorrow morning we fly to Croatia for a week's sailing. Paradise!!

8th August 2020

Doreen and I at Anti-Netanyahu Demonstration at Neurim Bridge

Politics are heating up in Israel - even more than usual. Another election may be in the offing, while there is growing dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Netanyahu, for his failure in dealing with the Covid 19 crisis, the economic distress, for his efforts to avoid standing trial on corruption charges and for his attacks on democracy. There are daily protests outside his official residence and on Saturday evenings the protests are augmented by thousand of people standing on bridges and at intersections throughout the country calling for his resignation.

Click for another picture showing the bridge.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

Nobody, including the government, quite knows what Covid restrictions are in place. We decided to go out a little this week: breakfast with Levia Passwell, and dinner with old friends Haim and Malka Lev. See picture
We also went to Mevaseret Zion to say hello to Yael and Avraham Segoli and to our Segoli family from Sde Boqer who were visiting there.. See picture.
Doreen has taken sewing repairs activities away from me, and given them to granddaugher Lotem, who, I admit, is doing a much better job. See picture.
Daughter Vered Ron with husband Aviv and daughter Lior return from their USA visit in a few days.

1st August 2020

For a change - not quite the usual family photos of children
Vered and mom - Aviv - Moran

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

We were happy to hear from cousin Cecile Cotton that she is making good progress after her operation. (see Matz and Levy family trees).
Daughter Vered Ron with husband Aviv and daughter Lior are in USA for a visit. Click for a picture at the deserted Ben Gurion airport which is normally teeming with travellers.

25th July 2020

Solomon William - Ethel Levy: Married on 18th August 1942

As most of you know, I am a keen amateur genealogist and try to keep my family trees as updated as possible. For the "modern" additions I need help from family members to send me updates. For the "historic" records I look for information found in various archives (many of which are available on the internet), search among old photos and listen and record family recollections. But above all, I need LUCK! Take my late Aunt Ethel as an example.

Ethel Levy was the eldest sibling of my father. She was the second wife of Sol William, who owned a hotel in Pretoria. She married late in life and died when I was 19 so I well remember her and Sol (who died before her). From her gravestone I knew her date of death, and had some other information without documentation. I also had some details about her parents who were of course my grandparents. That's about all I knew about her. I had no real information about her husband Sol.
Now luck enters the picture.

I had contact with R.O. in USA about a genealogical question unrelated to Ethel. By sheer chance it turned out that he was the grandson of Sol through Sol’s first marriage, and had grown up regarding Ethel as a grandmother.R.O. and I exchanged information about our respective families and could add details to our family trees. We were both interested in finding out more about Sol and Ethel's marriage, but had no information about where or when.

Now more luck: I found an old picture of a silver tray presented to Ethel on the occasion of her marriage in 1942 so we knew she lived and worked in Cape Town and had married in 1942. Try as we might, we could not find any extra information and it became almost an obsession to find out! But we were unsuccessful and abandoned our search.

About 5 years passed. Cut to June 2020: Luck again. My cousin Joel found a letter from my uncle Eric to his sister Ethel sent from Egypt during his service in WWII. The letter was addressed to Federal Hotel in Pretoria, and mentioned names I did not recognize. I forwarded the letter to R.O. who identified the people as his relatives, one of them his mother. This rekindled our interest in Sol and Ethel's marriage.
Again we both looked in archives and found nothing.

I asked Joel if he had any further material on Ethel. With nothing much else to do during the Corona crisis he found the above picture of Sol and Ethel smartly dressed. The original sender of the picture had written on the back 12/8/1942. We tentatively assumed this was the marriage date and with this vital additional data R.O. was able yesterday to locate their marriage certificate on the internet.

So, as a result of various lucky discoveries along the way, I now can add date of birth, place of birth, occupation, date of marriage and place of marriage (all with appropriate documentation) to my aunt Ethel's entry in my family tree.

We still don't know how they met, but that is another potential story....

See pictures of the gravestone, the tray, the letter address and the marriage certificate.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

Last night we "sort of" completed our truncated family reunion when the Segoli and the Ron families came for dinner.
As usual, granddaughter Zoe made sure that Joanie our dog was part of the party, but also knew her place. See picture.
We wish daughter-in-law Limor well and a speedy painless recovery from the surgery on her gums and teeth.

18th July 2020

This Week 10 Years Ago - On the City Walls in Dubrovnik, Croatia

Covid-19 ensured that 2020 would be a stay-at-home summer for Doreen and me. We look back on previous years when "social distancing", "face masks" and "lockdown" were words we knew were in dictionaries but had no inkling of their importance.

10 years ago in summer we travelled to Aups in France with Hans and Lottie Reijzer in June, to Croatia and surroundings in July for bridge and touring, and to South Africa with the family in August. This year in summer we travelled to the supermarket and occasionally to family and friends.

On this day 10 years ago we were in Dubrovnik Croatia having spent some time in Zagreb, Opatija, Istria, Slovenia, Trieste, Split and on our way to Plitivice Reserve. In Dubrovnik we went to an open air performance of Carmina Burana where social distancing meant trying not to sit one on top of another.

A picture in Dubrovnik was This Week's Picture 10 years ago, and Doreen wrote a lovely account of our time in Croatia with pictures.

So, while "home sweet home" is fine, travelling is fun. Of course, sometimes it's even better fun remembering afterwards. I was reminded of this when I read of our frustrating 5 minute tram trip in Zagreb which took over an hour.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

Good news from South Africa. Cousin Cecile Cotton (Matz and Levy family trees) in Johannesburg is recovering well from her operation.
Son Moran Segoli has tested negative for Covid-19 and is no longer in isolation.

Happy Birthday this week to: Dion Levin (19), Keren Stern (19), Yoav Shavit (19), Daniel Klotnick (20), Rossie Geffen (20), Suzanne Lazarus (20), Arie Bortz (21), Adam Tal (22), Rachelle Smith (22), Joel Feinstein (23), Shari Levy (24)

No Happy Anniversary this week

11th July 2020

2/3 1/3

25th Family Reunion - "The best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry"

We carefully planned our 25th Family Reunion taking into account all the restrictiobns and problems due to the corona virus. We planned to celebrate at our home, at daughter Vered's home and a grand finale barbecue and swim at the lovely pool at our friends Ruti and Danny.

We started off well with great spirits, distributing the custom-made 25th Reunion masks and enjoying pizzas for lunch.
But then suddenly Covid-19 had the last word, and Moran and family had to return home towards the end of the first day.
So our group picture above - planned originally for all 16 of us at Vered's house - only shows 11 (us, the Rons, the Eilat Levys). The picture on the right is of the Segolis, with Moran behind a window in isolation

Doreen has written about the 2/3 Reunion ( including an unintended midnight adventure) in her Column .

See a picture of our celebratory dinner at the Nammos Restaurant.

See the above picture without masks

4th July 2020

Some of our family reunions over the years

We try and have a family reunion - children and spouses and grandchildren - about every year. Sometimes we have added other family members. The five of us (Doreen, I, and our 3 children) often visited different places together but the holiday at Club Med in Chamonix France in 1996 when Aviv Ron joined the family vacation is defined as our first family reunion. With the addition of the spouses and granchildren over the years the reunions have got bigger. We have had 24 reunions and the 25th, with 16 family members, is due next week. We usually have a special t-shirt for each reunion, but this year we'll have something else.
The pictures of the past reunions (with links to descriptions) can be seen here, and the pictures of next week's reunion will wait for next week's homepage update.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

Grandsons Itamar and Maayan went diving in Eilat and send their love to all the family. See picture.
What we used to take for granted has become special. Last Thursday evening we finally had friends (Colin and Louise Kessel, Pam and Geoff Bethlehem, Levia Paswell) for dinner. It was so great being able to meet again and we had a wonderful time and Doreen went out of her way to prepare a fabulous meal.

27th June 2020

Celebrating Aviv Levy's birthday
Eitan, Limor, Itamar, Doreen, Amit, Margalit Sadeh, Aviv, Ilai

Doreen and I went to Eilat for a few days to celebrate our son Aviv's birtthday. We enjoyed a meal at a local fish restaurant (alternatives for the vegans!) and the next day Aviv celebrated his birthday by cooking on a barbecue in the Eilat 43 degree heat preparing hamburgers for us.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

Doreen 11th, Aviv 21st - tomorrow 28th we celebrate daughter Vered's birthday - the third family birthday this month.
Although Covid-19 infections are on the rise many restrictions have been lifted, although we still need to wear masks. We have limited our travel to family and restaurants in the open, but it seems as if face-to-face bridge will probably be allowed soon and we will consider whether to start playing again. I wonder how we'll adapt to this new freedom with no zoom, opera (we saw over 30!), play or music in the evening?
Meanwhile, the outrageous actions of our politicians are only getting worse, and I'm not only talking asbout political differences which are legitimate nor the increasing anti-democratic trends. In the midst of all the financial hardships faced by millions of citizens, our government decides to listen to the plea of the prime minister (whose family wealth according to Forbes is worth US$14 million) and whose supporters claim that he has difficulty making a living and feeding his family and granted him a retroactive tax break worth about US$290,000. This after the over-inflated appointment of a record number of government members and "extra" members of Knesset is costing tens of millions. So many citizens out of work, taking cuts in salary - but not one agora cut from the parliamentarians salaries. To cap it all, police arrested demonstrators agaist the income tax deal at the Prime Minister's residence last night for "disturbing public order". Doreen joined a protest at a road intersection this evening (see picture) for free speech and demanding the release of those arrested, one of whom is a retired Army general.

20th June 2020

Itze-Ber Glezer 1844-1939 and his wife Feige Blume 1845-1943

Itze-Ber and Faige-Blume are Doreen's great grandparents. They lived in Moletai and Vilna in Lithuania. There is a picture of the whole Glezer/Glazer/Glesser family taken in Vilna in 1929. Doreen's father Maurice had by then emigrated to South Africa and is not in the picture. Doreen's grandparents and many others in the family were murdered by the Nazis during the Second World War.
Our children Moran, Aviv and Vered are Itze-Ber's great great grandchildren, and I was reminded of this when Moran and the Segoli family this week visited another of Itze-Ber's great-great grandchildren, Yori Leshem. Moran and Mikhal were colleagues and friends of third cousin Yori before they knew they knew there was a family connection. They knew each other in Israel, both studied at UC Davis in Sacramento and stayed in the same complex there. On one of our visits to the Segolis in Davis, we met Yori and by chance discovered the relationship.
A few years ago, through this family site, I was contacted by Glenda Cleaver, also a descendant of Itze-Ber, who wanted to pass on a family heirloom that had belonged to her grandmother, Hinde Glasser wife of one of Itze Ber's sons, Hershel. She gave the heirloom, a Magen David necklace, to Yori and it now belongs to Yori and Michal's daughter, Galya who Hinde's great great granddaughter and Itze-Ber's great great great granddaughter! (See story and picture here).

See pictures of the Segolis visit this week.
See Glezer family tree.

from my Old Pictures collection - thanks to Florence Levin

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

We hope to join son Aviv in Eilat, celebrating his birthday this week.
We get regular updates from my cousin Cecile Cotton who is responding well to her cancer treatments.
We wish close and longtime friend Terry Kessel a speedy and full recovery from his medical problem.

Happy Birthday this week to: Aviv Levy (21), Brandon Glasser (21), Carl Thiele (21), Rivka Glasser (21) , Shoshana Bortz (22), Nicole Blotnick (22), Efrat Shabtai (23), Neill Glasser (24), Joel Thiele (25), Melissa Marcus (25), Sheila Ezra (26), Donna Leibowitz (26), Ethan Schochat (26), Jacob Gordon (26)

Happy Anniversary this week to: Aviva and Arie Schochat (22), Dina and Jonathan Levy (23), Tarryn and Stephen Marcus (23), Talya and Ian Klotnick (24)

13th June 2020

Avram and Riva Bortenstein at work in their chicken coop

Riva Drue (a cousin of Doreen's father - see Schank family tree) lived in Estonia and after the war met Avram Bortenstein who had been released there after serving in the Russian army in the fight against the Nazis. They moved to a town in Poland near the Czechoslovakian border where Avram had a grocery store and became active in the Zionist political party Ichud. One of his roles was to identify Jewish children who had been placed in Catholic institutions for protection from the Nazis and help in their release and transportation to Palestine. Read Doreen's Column for a more detailed description.
In 1950 Avram and Riva relocated to Palestine and lived in Kfar Mishar. There they farmed and in particular had a large chicken coop mainly for producing eggs. We still remember visiting them and their children Yaffa, Yaakov and Rochele with our young children Vered and Aviv who loved to help collect the eggs. Collecting the eggs was also a favorite with Rael and Denise (our nephew and niece). On one occasion when the kids slept over Rael went to bed fully clothed so he could wake up in the morning ready to immediately begin collecting eggs.

Avram died in 1991 and Riva in 2007. Yaakov again lives in the the same house - but without the chicken coop.

from my Old Pictures collection - thanks to Yaffa Loew

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

We celebrated Doreen's birthday this week. Being able to celebrate properly, and not virtually or through Zoom, was something we have waited for and the family took full advantage of this. Pictures here.
We invited our two oldest grandghildren Danielle and Lior for dinner on Friday evening when their parents were going away for the weekend. Instead they insisted on inviting us and preparing a meal for us. They went out of their way to prepare a delicious feast (enough for 10 people!) of multiple dishes. We had a great time!
With 5 vegetarian or vegan granddaughters Doreen has adapted many recipes to vegan friendly. Her latest was a delicious vegan cheese cake without cheese, baked for Shavuot.

6th June 2020

Doreen Bungy Jump December 2001

<>Thursday this week is my lovely wife's birthday. Going through our old pictures reminded me time and time again of the wonderful life we and our children have enjoyed, and of the so many ways Doreen has exploited the joy of living. The picture above was taken in New Zealand on our Round the World trip in 2001-2002. The first bungy jumping operation in the world was from the bridge over the Kawarau River just outside Queenstown, and when we were in Queenstown it was obvious that this was something that Doreen wouldn't miss.
Click here to see 'before' and 'after' pictures of the jump; and here to read Doreen's account, written soon after the jump, of how she felt before, during and after the jump.

(For those with lots of time to spare, here is the link to our Round the World Trip.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DARLING DOREEN!

Click her for a photo collage of some of Doreen's activities during the past 50 years.

<>THIS WEEK'S NEWS

We paid a long-overdue visit to Sydney and Ari Lossi n who live about an hour's drive from us. Sydney's mother and my father were cousins on the Matz side of the family. We had a most enjoyable visit, and Sydney showed us some of her old photos of the Matz family. Click for Matz family tree (and for some old pictures of Matz family).
Thanks to Melly Braverman for sending us this delightful picture of his grandson Rafael enjoying boating in Kfar Blum last month.
Last night the Rons and Segolis came for dinner and Doreen outdid herself preparing Paella (two versions: regular and Vegan) as well as various salads and side dishes suitable for all ('normal', vegetarian, vegan, "soft food only"). The Segolis slept over with Saba and Granny and Joanie, and enjoyed the beach the next morning.

30th May 2020

Gertie Nickel Glazer ז"ל

died 31st May 1983 aged 69 years

Tomorrow is the yahrzeit - anniversary of her death - of Gertie, Doreen's mother This photo reflects her beauty, delightful smile and grace. Although initially opposed to our marriage, Gertie soon accepted me as a son.She died while we were working in St Thomas Virgin Islands. A few days prior, Doreen hiking on St. John had rubbed lemon juice on her arms to prevent the swarms of mosquitos from biting. It may have helped the locals but exposed to the direct sun rays Doreen got third degree burns on her arms and flew to the funeral swathed in bandages. A very difficult time for all of us.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

Although there has been a loosening of many restrictions we are still wary of going to public places especially as most people seem to be disregarding "social distancing" and the wearing of face masks. Because of this we are not too optimistic that the low infection rates will continue and fear that a second wave is in the offing.
We are limiting ourselves to some supermarket shopping, close friends and family - the Eilat family came for the weekend and we all had dinner with the Ron family.

23rd May 2020

Our first 4 grandchildren
Maayan, Lior, Itamar, Danielle

from my OLD PICTURES collection.

Many old photos can be seen on the Old Photos page, which also contains a list of old photos appearing on other pages throughout my site.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

As if Covid-19 wasn't enough the last week has been the hottest May week ever recorded. I kept my plants well watered so most of them they quite enjoyed the heat and grew well. Inside we had air-conditioning but going outside was quite unbearable. Melly Braverman sent us this picture from Eilat with the temperature showing an incredible 49°C (120°F)
Last week I mentioned a document sent by ancestor Shaya Matz to his granddaughter in South Africa. Click to see a copy and read a brief explanation.
By chance I received an email this week from a Jewish history researcher who had found a "brilliant manuscript" in the University of Cape Town Archives containing a Commentary on Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers, a tractate of the Mishna) written by the above mentioned Yeshayahu Avraham "Shaya" Matz (my great-great grandfather). He wanted to know whether this had ever been published. I had never even heard of this manuscript and neither had two other g-g-grandsons (Robert Lewenson and Gavin Matz, nor a granddaughter (Sydney Lossin). If anyone knows anyting about this manuscript please let me know. More next week.
If you missed it last week, Doreen has posted the recipe for a Vegan Carrot Cake. And last night we enjoyed Vegan Blueberry Muffins baked by granddaughter Lotem Segoli. Both the cake and the muffins were delicious and highly recommended.

16th May 2020

Cindy Berman 1945 - 2019

I received the sad news that Cindy (Thelma) Berman passed away at the end of last year. Cindy was the principal factor that got me started on my work on the family tree when I came across a hand-drawn outline of the Levy tree. I had no idea who the author was, But I was impressed and used it as a basis for starting my own tree. When I contacted Joyce Bernstein for extra details for my tree, she told me that Cindy was also interested in the family tree and it turned out that the hand-drawn tree was Cindy's. I contacted Cindy and that was the start of a long and fruitful exchange of information, including a visit to her in California in 1998 where the above picture was taken. Thank you, Cindy, you were an inspiration to me in keeping up the family tree.

I send my deepest condolences on their sad loss to her husband Kenneth and to her daughters Jennifer and Michelle.

Cindy wrote a brief history of the family in 2001 - see here for the introduction.

See Levy/Hirshovitz family tree.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

Thanks to Gavin Matz I made contact with 2nd cousin Robert Lewenson and his mother Ros and sent them a copy of a document sent by his great great grandfather on the occasion of his grandparents wedding. Robert sent me updates to his side of the tree and the updated version of the Matz tree (including some corrections by Gavin) is now on the internet. Many thanks, Gavin and Robert.
We wish David Rothschild, married to Frankie Klaff (see Goldberg Family Tree), a quick recovery from his kidney stones problems.
Many of the Covid-19 restrictions have been relaxed and last night daughter Vered and the Ron family came for a most enjoyable dinner. The dinner was capped off with a delicious vegan carrot cake. See recipe.
One of the few (only?) advantages of this virus is that the traditional bonfires on the Lag B'Omer festival this week were prohibited saving who knows how many tons of wood being burnt, and saving us from the usual clouds of blanketing heavy smoke which made breathing so very uncomfortable .

9th May 2020

Family Meals

Following the easing of travel and meeting restrictions Doreen and I decided to visit Midreshet Sde Boqer and Eilat to meet the children and grandchildren we had not seen for so long. We decided it was best not to sleep over so that meant a return journey of 760 Kms. We drove to Eilat early in the morning, had a delicious barbecue lunch with Aviv and family, drove to Sde Boqer, had another delicious dinner, and then drove back to Netanya.
Although the long trip was tiring it was well worth it. We have seen daughter Vered and family a few times as they live about 20 kms from us, but we have not seen our other children for about 2 months, so it was wonderful making contact (visual only!) again.
We hope soon we'll be able to hug them again.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

Congratulations to Dikla (Segoli) and Pini Cruchi on the birth of their daughter, sister to Mili and Tal. Dikla is a sister of our daughter in law, Michal Segoli. (see picture)
Our long-time very good friend Caroline Livneh celebrated her birthday today. We invited her over for a cup of English tea and a birthday cake. (pictures here.)

2nd May 2020

My 80th Zoom Party

This week I turned 80. My planned large family birthday party was a victim of Covid19 and was cancelled and replaced by a Zoom meeting with my children and grandchildren, which was a surprise and much appreciated, as was a book of pictures and greetings (delivered to our door by daughter Vered.)
Doreen went out of her way and even managed to outdo her usual excellent cooking by preparing a gourmet birthday dinner.
Click here for some pictures.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

This week we commemorated Remembrance Day and then Independence Day. A complete lockdown over these days prevented the usual mass gatherings on these days and we spent a lot of time in front of the TV.
The ban on gatherings on Remembrance Day for Fallen Soldiers meant Yaffa Loew (Schank family tree) could not visit son Guy's gravesite for the first time since his death 20 years ago. A short while before the commemorating siren, soldiers from Guy's army unit, a local police officer, neighbors and friends gathered in the road outside Yaffa's home (observing distancing) and stood in silence with her while the siren sounded. It was a truly emotional moment for Yaffa. Click for a picture.
Some schools and classes will be re-opening tomorrow, which is good news I suppose for grandchildren Zoe (2nd grade) and Itamar (11th grade). The rest will have to wait a little longer.
Amongst other things, I'm continuing with the job of organising the Old Pictures pages on this site. Some family pictures have already been partly organised - you can access them by family branch from here.

25th April 2020

Yes, I once was young too

I turn 80 the day after tomorrow. My celebration has been cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions but I don't really mind as I feel much younger.
The above pictures are to show my grandchildren that once I was very young too. The middle picture is of me with my grandfather, known to all his grandchildren as "oupa" - the Afrikaans word for grandfather. Below that is a picture of my mother with Fern and me.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

Thanks to Ros Hakim for sending us a picture of the Barnett Nickel family and to her cousins Sheryl Zadok Kavin and Michelle Kirstein for sending pictures of the portraits of our common ancestor, Pinhas Aaron Nochomovicz. These pictures are posted here. (also see Nochomovicz/Nickel family tree which has been updated thanks to Sheryl.
We celebrated granddaughter Zoe's 8th birthday on Zoom. We also used Kahoot, an online quiz game with questions set by Zoe. Good fun! Zoe got a guinea pig for a present, and is also looking after a bunny during the corona period. See pictures here.
Slowly I'm beginning to organise the Old Pictures pages of this site. Some family pictures have already been partly organised - you can access them by family branch from here.

18th April 2020

Our children - Aviv, Moran, Vered

Old Photo collection:
Our three children, taken at Aviv's barmitzvah in 1981. Apart from the hair styles they haven't changed too much!

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

Isolation continues so not much new to write about. As I write this on Saturday morning I can hear, for the first time for a long time, the sounds of children playing and laughing outside. apparently people are becomong more and more frustrated and are starting to ignore the social distancing guidelines. The fact that our leaders have on occasions ignored their own advice doesn't help.
We don't have the problem of having children and keeping them occupied. Granddaughter Ilai found something useful to do. She sand-papered their outside wood table and repainted it See picture here. We've got lots of work for you to do at our apartment, Ilai!
On Shabbat eve we again had kabbalat shabbat with our family led by Aviv Levy, via ZOOM. A few weeks ago we had never heard of ZOOM but now it is an integral part of our restricted lives.
Passover has passed over, but for next year here is another pesach kosher recipe - Easy Passover Chocolate Cake. Delicious.

11th April 2020

Some pre-Covid19 Pesach (Passover) Seders

Normally for the Pesach seder we have large family get-togethers. We read the Haggadah (or at least some of it) and enjoy the delicious food prepared by the various families. This year the strict Covid-19 isolation restricions prevented us from gathering, so like thousands of others we celebrated "together" with the help of Zoom. As the only option it was OK, but a Pesach table set for two (see picture) is not a very satisfying substitute for a real physical celebration.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

I repeat what I wrote last week - we're still confined to our apartment. We continue our digital activities such as lectures, plays, opera and movies. Going through long-neglected boxes of material continued, this week concentrationg on scanning hundreds and hundreds of old photos before discarding them.
While looking for pictures for the photo collage above I found this delightful video from Pesach 5 years ago with granddaughters Danielle and Lior singing the traditional "Who Knows One" with Doreen who completely loses it half way through.
Pesach brings with it special recipes and food. Here is Doreen's recipe for 'kosher for passover' pancakes made with matzo flour. They're really very good!

4th April 2020

At the Bahamas Police Gym

(from Old Photo Collection)
Doreen is a gym and exercise addict. Even though confined by the Covid-19 lockdown she does exercises every morning and in the evening exercises on "Zoom" with grandchildren Danielle and Lior (see video from last week).
She has a subscription to the College Gym near our apartment and a few days ago tried Zumba dancing.
When we were living in the Bahamas she used to go regularly to the Police gym in Nassau and exercise with the cops (including weight exercises!). When daughter Vered visited us, Doreen took her along too.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

We're still confined to our apartment so not much to report. Many of our activities are digital - plays, movies, bridge meeting - and going through long-neglected boxes of material which in many cases bring back almost-forgotten memories.

Our usual family seder to celebrate Pesach - Passover - will this year be conducted on-line via Zoom and we will share the reading of the Haggadah between the us and the Rons, Segolis and Levys. Unfortunately we cannot share the se-uda, the meal. Our grandchildren will no doubt miss Doreen's delicious and tender kneidlach.

We were delighted to hear today that Donni Dvir, partner of our niece Yahel Braverman (see Nochimovitz/Nickel tree) is healthy and fully recovered from the Covid-19 virus.

We wish all our family and friends good health during this coronavirus crisis and hope that it will not be too long before we can all return to something approaching "normal."

28th March 2020

Friday night dinner - a screen shot courtesy of Zoom
.

Friday night - Erev Shabbat - is important. Families gather to welcome the Shabbat and enjoy a delicious dinner. We are not religious; although we do light candles and say the kiddush. We do not regard it primarily as a religious ceremony. For us iit is a moment in the week that brings family together to share an ancient tradition while stressing family ties. We all are busy and have activities that tend to separate families and family members. At least for the Friday night meal we are all together, whether within our own homes or in our larger family groups.
Covid-19 made meeting for dinner impossible, so we utilized "Zoom" and together celebrated Erev Shabbat and kiddush. It was very emotional to see how happy everyone was to see each other and 'be together.'

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

The Coronavirus Covid-19 lockdown continues. As shown above, we are finding other ways to keep together while observing social distance. Our two oldest granddaughters Danielle and Lior Ron decided that exercising together with Granny Doreen was an appropriate activity. Click here for short videos.

Congratulations to Raphael Cotton on his marriage to Tamar Gralnick in Johannesburg South Africa. (see pictures). Mazel Tov too to parents Cecile and Raymond Cotton. (See Matz and Hershovitz/Levy family trees.). Covid-19 restricted the number of participants but Cecile reports that there was a wonderful relaxed atmosphere at the wedding. Cecile is continuing her new set of treatments and we wish her a speedy and full recovery.

Granddaughter Zoe is utilizing the break from School to scan some of her dad's old photo slides. She has sent some to us. Here is an example. I'll be using some of her other pics in future issues of this site.

We've still going through the contents of the boxes in our storeroom, and have discarded much once considered essential and now considered junk. We have been meaning to do this for the last 9 years since we moved to Kiryat Hasharon in Netanya.

21st March 2020

Happy 60th Birthday to Aviv Ron
Doreen and I prepared a short birthday video for Aviv - click here or on the picture above to see it.

Many happy returns to son-in-law Aviv Ron on his 60th birthday. The planned family celebration was cancelled due to the coronavirus emergency but Doreen baked a cake and we drove to the Ron's house, waved to them through the window, and left the cake on an outside table to pick up after we left.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

The coronavirus lockdown has kept us at home this week except for some short walks with Joanie our dog and 'outings' to buy food. Entrance to public spaces like parks is forbidden, even to the small park opposite our building.

We've taken advantage of the lockdown to go through, sort and discard much of the contents of the boxes in our storeroom. We have been meaning to do this for the last 9 years since we moved to Kiryat Hasharon in Netanya.

Schools are closed, children get bored, so the Segolis went to Eilat to spend the time with the Eilat Levys. (see picture) For granddaughter Zoe this was an opportunity to get to know another family dog, Oreo. (see picture).The kids have on-line contact with their teachers and 7 year old Zoe informed me that she was helping 15 year old Amit with her homework!

Zoe in 2nd grade also had homework - read about it here.

14th March 2020

The Israel relatives welcome Ali and Shira Bacher on their visit to Israel.

We were delighted that Ali and Shira Bacher (see Nochimovitz/Nickel Family trees) could join us for dinner this week. It was a great opportunity for the some of the Nickel descendants of siblings Rose, Gertie and Julius to get together, and for many of the children to meet with Ali for the first time. We enjoyed the lovely atmosphere, the delicious food and the remembrances of Louise, Doreen and Ali from their young days when they lived in Cyrildene in Johannesburg. I said a few words and Ali movingly recounted how "Uncle Yudel" (Julius) had influenced his youth, bought him his first cricket bat and played an important role in his path to great success as an international sportsman..

See another picture here.

Present:
Julius's wife Laura Nickel, with sons Richard and Louis and daughter-in-law Eti and grandchildren Gali, Amit and Assaf.
Gertie Glazer's daughters Louise Braverman and Doreen and son-in-law Eitan Levy and children Vered with her husband Aviv Ron and their children Danielle and Lior, and Moran Segoli with Maayan, Lotem and Zoe.
Rose Bacher's son Ali and daughter-in-law Shira.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

We're in the midst of the coronavirus crisis and have no idea how long it will last. We have cancelled our planned trips to Cyprus and Lausanne and are scrupulously following the medical guidelines. Hand sanitizers are sold out, but while having lunch with granddaughter Danielle Ron, I remembered that I had a degree in Chemistry and bought the raw materials and made up our own.

Grandson Itamar Levy has just had his first army call-up for medical and various other tests. Our grandchildren seem to be growing up at a much quicker rate than we expected!

Due to the coronavirus situation Purim celebrations and costumes were more subdued this year, but granddaughter Ilai Levy was happy to dress up in an Anime costume. See also last week's Adloyada and Purim at Midreshet Sde Boqer.

The Segolis stayed on after the dinner with Ali and Shira and the next morning I took Maayan (see picture) and Zoe (see pictures) to the local wall-climbing site.

Lotem has much artistic talent and Doreen took her to visit friend and well-known artist Maureen Fain in Jerusalem (see picture).

Doreen's cousin (and Ali's older sister) Mushe Kirsh (see Nochimovitz/Nickel Family trees) has just published a book detailing the story of the Bacher and Kirsh families. We have just received a copy and have found it extremely intersting as it not only details the two families but also includes much background on our common heritage as Jews from the Baltic and Byelorussia who emigrated to South Africa.

The last few days have seen stormy weather in Israel, particularly in the normally dry southern areas. Eilat experienced high winds and seas, and son Aviv Levy reports much damage there, including underwater to the corals. In the Negev desert the normally dry riverbeds (wadis) became rivers. Many went to see the rare sights of the flooded areas, among them son Moran Segoli and family who by chance met relative Uri Haberman and family (see Goldberg family tree) who were also there. (see picture).

7th March 2020

Grandson Maayan Segoli in the Sdeh Boqer Adloyada

The Festival of Purim¹ will be celebrated next week, but in Sde Boqer it was celebrated a few days early, yesterday, Friday, with the traditional Adloyada¹.

The Adloyada is a traditional carnival-like parade taking place in various cities in Israel during the Purim festival. This year almost all the parades were cancelled due to the coronavirus precautions. The tradtional Adloyada at Midreshet Ben Gurion in the Negev, completely organized, prepared, constructed and staged by the high school students at the School for Environmental studies there, was "partly cancelled" as the onlookers were restricted to residents and parents of residents. Doreen and I joined in the festivities and we were extremely impressed with the standard of the floats and the enthusiasm of the high school participants.
In addition to the traditional parade, people dress in costume - "fancy dress" - and in normal times the streets are full of villains and princesses and various other representations of current personalities and events.

Click here to see some pictures of our celebration and the parade at Sde Boqer, and here for a couple of pictures of Maayan in the parade.

from Wlkipedia:

(1) "Purim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, ...... who was planning to kill all the Jews as recounted in the Book of Esther, whose plans were foiled by Mordecai and Esther his niece and adopted daughter, who had risen to become Queen of Persia".

(2) Adloyada literally means "until one no longer knows" (ad de-lo yada, Aramaic: עַד דְּלָא יָדַע. "The expression comes from the Aramaic expression stated by Rabbah in the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Megilla: 'It is the duty of a man to mellow himself ... on Purim until he cannot tell the difference between cursed be Haman and blessed be Mordecai'. This means that people should drink on Purim until he reaches a state of not being able to distinguish between the evil Haman and the blessed Mordecai."

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

Next week we celebrate Purim. As noted above, it was celebrated early this week in Sde Boqer (see pictures).

A special "happy birthday" wish to cousin Cecile Cotton who celebrated her 60th this week. We are happy to see that Cecile is responding favourably to treatment. She will start another round of chemotherapy next week. Click for happy picture. (See Matz and Hershovitz/Levy family trees.)

The results of the latest - 3rd round - of the Israel parliamentary elections indicate we may be in for a fourth round! I voluntered to to work on election day and was the chairman of a polling station representing the Meretz-Labour party, whose results were for us very disappointing - 7 seats instead of the 10 expected. See picture.

Our dog Joanie is still at Midreshet Sde Boqer "on holiday" with grandchildren Zoe, Lotem and Maayan. Next week he'll be back with us again, and missing all the attention the children give him..

29th February 2020

A Society Lady

Granddaughter Zoe's class put on a short show for the school, and Zoe stole the show as a fancy Society Lady.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

We spent the weekend in Eilat with son Aviv and family. We paid a visit to Coral world which is looking very attractive indeed, and were happy to see the grandchildren. See a picture here.

On the way to Eilat we dropped off our dog Joanie at Midreshet Sde Boqer where he will have a few days holiday with his girl-friend Zoe. While there we saw a show by Zoe's class - see picture above.

This week we've all been busy with coronavirus talk, facts and rumours. Next week we'll be busy with Israel elections (again!).

And a "first" for this site. Since it first appeared in January 2004 this is the first time it is dated 29th February. And it also appears that no family member was born on 29th February.

22nd February 2020

Snow falling in Majdal Shams

While we were dealing with the interruptions on our trip to the UK (see last weeks Archives) Israel was also experiencing unusual conditions of very cold weather and even snow in some places where snow doesn't usually fall. The Eilat Levys took the opportunity to take a short break and travel north to see the snow. They stayed in a B&B at Yavne'el Village and drove to Mt Hermon. Because of heavy snow the roads and paths up the mountain were closed, but they experienced falling snow in the village of Majdal Shams by the foothills of Mt Hermon.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

We returned earlier this week from our UK visit (see last weeks Archives) on time in spite of storm Dennis. We're busy with various arrangements, doctors' appointments and so on that we've been postponing. Friday night dinner with the Rons and the Segolis was welcome, and today we spent a lovely afternoon at the home of friends Pam and Geoff Bethlehem with some long-time friends dating from our South African days.

Son Moran and the Segolis paid a visit to the Dead Sea area and were rewarded with views of colourful flowers covering usually barren plains. Pictures here.

15th February 2020

Doreen sprinkles tomato seeds on Fern's burial site

My sister Fern died in 2008, 12 years ago, aged 65, in Wrexham, Wales. She was buried in a Woodland Burial Site in St Asaph, Wales. Doreen and I caught a train to Chester this week on our way to visit her burial site. When I spoke to Fern a few days before her death she told me that she hoped to be able to eat tomatoes from the plants she had so carefully tended. Unfortunately this was not to be. Instead of flowers, we placed her tomato plants on her grave. On our visit this week we sprinkled tomato seeds over her burial site. Perhaps they will grow.(more pictures)

Click here for the Memorial Site dedicated to Fern.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

The Tournament Directors Workshop I organized in Belfast was very successful. Click for a picture of the staff .

Last week in Belfast, at the end of the Workshop I wrote "tomorrow we fly to London where we will spend a few days". Alas storm Ciara made us change our plans as our flight was cancelled shortly before we were due to take off and we had to join the thousands of stranded passengers trying to find alternate arrangements. After two days (!) we finally flew from Belfast to London to spend a "very" few days there.

Two of our "London days" were spent in Chester, from where we went to visit my sister Fern's burial site. (see also This Week's Picture above.) Chester was delightful - see some pictures here.

The cancelled flights meant we missed the Opera we had booked for Tuesday, but fortunately there were seats available on Thursday and we were able to exchange our tickets and see a truly fantastic performance of Puccini's La Boheme.

On one of the extra days in Belfast we decided on the spur of the moment to actually eat at a KFC and not only photograph the entrance. We'll be returning to photographing in the future!

I shouldn't really write it, but we are due to fly to Israel tomorrow. There are already warnings about storm Dennis approaching. Am I tempting fate?

8th February 2020

Puppy has a tummy tickle (click here or on the picture)

The Rons have given their new dog a name - Alma, but we prefer Puppy. Although tiny in size she's highy active, and knows how to growl and bark. She loves a "tummy tickle" as the picture above shows. Click on the picture for a short video.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

We're in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where I am organizing a workshop for tournament directors. This is my fifth visit here in the last 3 years. See some pictures here.
Granddaughter Lotem's report card for the first semester is a joy to see.
Son Moran was in Berlin, Germany for a conference. He saw a KFC and of course wanted to eat there. This was vetoed by his companions and his disappointment is clear from this picture.
Tomorrow we fly to London where we will spend a few days

1st February 2020

Doreen and Eitan in Prague

We are spending a few days in Prague - me at a bridge seminar. It's my 8th visit to Prague but I couldn't resist the temptation to visit the old city. In spite of the many times I have been there I still enjoy the walk through this marvelous and beautiful city (see here, for example of a previous visit.).
Of course while in Prague we took our mandatory family picture of KFC (another one, for example!). Although its my favourite fast food restaurant we hardly ever eat there and did not eat there this time either. We did have a meal at our usual "Blue Duckling" Restaurant - a truly fabulous restaurant with atmoshere and great food.
Doreen took some of the wives to see the more conventional views of the old city.
Pictures here.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

The Segolis are back from their skiing holiday in Romania. While there grandchildren Zoe, Lotem and Maayan enjoyed the skiing and Maayan and Lotem they also loved the hang gliding. Pictures are here, and on the pages of Zoe, Lotem and Maayan.
Tomorrow we return home, where we'll be for two days before flying to Belfast, N. Ireland where I am organizing a Workshop for the training of bridge Tournament Directors. After the Workshop we will spend a few days in London. (although Brexit happens today I understand that travel to Britain will not be affected in any way for the time being.)

25th January 2020

Itamar receives Certificate of Excellence

Congratulations to grandson Itamar Levy who received a Certificate of Excellence at his school. This Certificate is awarded to one pupil per class based on teachers' recommendations. Way to go, Itamar. We're all proud of you.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

Both the Ron and Levy families came to us for Shabbat dinner (see picture). We celebrated Itamar's school achievement (see above) and granddaughter Ilai's birthday. Today we joined the Levys and went for shabbat cholent lunch to the Rons. (see picture)
We also had the opportnity of meeting the Ron's new cutest dog - an toy poodle without a name yet.
The Segolis are in Rumania skiing. We haven't had any pictures yet except for this one taken on the plane to Romania.
Cousin Cecile Cotton (Hershovitz/Levy and Matz family trees) seems to be reacting well to her chemotherapy although there are up and downs. We are kept regularly informed and wish her a speedy recovery.
Towards the end of the week we are flying to Prague for 3 days to attend the European Bridge League Officers' Seminar.

18th January 2020

Aviv releases an Electric Ray after treatment

Son Aviv Levy, the Marine Director of the Underwater Observatory, has often appeared on TV giving news or explanations of various matters concerning the marine life in Eilat. A few days ago he was interviewed on Channel 11 (Kann TV) describing how he and his staff at the Eilat Underwater Observatory treated an injured electric ray (Torpedo) while avoiding the dangers of electric shock.
Aviv's performance was excellent as you can see by viewing the interview (in Hebrew, but you can still enjoy the video even if you don't understand.)

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

Granddaughter Lior Ron is recuperating from her back operation. There is a big improvement in her walking and moving but she is still experiencing a lot of pain. Doreen bought her a knitting loom to help her pass the time (see picture) and I'm waiting for my present of a scarf.

Ex brother-in-law Mellie Braverman has recovered nicely from his bad fall and sounded like his old self when I spoke to him.
Other news this week concerns food and eating - apparently the Levy family's favourite pastime!

Doreen and the Segolis visited Microsculpture - the amazing exhibition of insect photographs by Levon Bliss now being exhibited at the Natural History Museum of Tel Aviv University. (Read about it here). After the visit they had lunch at the currently very popular vegan restaurant Meshek Barzilai. see picture.
The Segolis are in Eilat for the weekend. Click for a picture of last night's Shabbat dinner there.

One of my favourite dishes is curried fish. Doreen prepares it based on her Aunt Laura's recipe and it is delicious! She prepared it this week, and agreed to put the recipe on this site.

11th January 2020
(Due to circumstances beyond our control this site was not updated between 21st December 2019 and 10th January 2020)

Lior Ron after her operation

Granddaughter Lior, who has been suffering severe backache for some time due to scoliosis was physically unable to continue as a combat soldier. She was released from the army (see picture here) to speedily enable a back operation.. She needed a major operation for a rachete-like metal support to be attached to her vertebral column. Grandaughter Ilai Levy, Lior's younger cousin, had a similar back problem requiring a different operation about two and a half years ago.
The operation last week was successful but recovery, mobility and freedom from pain will take some time. She is improving slowly every day and as expected by those knowing Lior she is in good spirits.
We all wish you a speedy and full recovery!

THE LAST FOUR WEEK'S NEWS

Due to circumstances beyond our control this site was not updated between 21st December 2019 and 11th January 2020

I know it's a bit late, but we hope all our friends and family enjoyed a happy Channuka or Christmas, and we wish you all a Happy New Year and may 2020 be a healthy, happy and successful year.
We were thrilled that Lior felt well enough to join us for Shabbat dinner last night (10/01/20) together wirth the Segolis. See pictures.
We wish a speedy recovery to ex brother-in-law Mellie Braverman who had a bad fall in Eilat .
We paid a visit to New Kirshner Farm (Meshek Kirshner Hadash), the 'direct to consumer' fruit and vegetable market operated by Moshe Kirshner, the husband of relative Rochelle (nee Bortenstein, (see Schank family tree) and were very impressed. To understand why we were so impressed, click here.
At the beginning of last December we travelled to Amsterdam for the unveiling of Lottie Reizer's stone, and while there enjoyed a Friday night dinner with Lottie's daughter Jose and the Keyson clan (see picture). We were delighted when we had another opportunity to be with them on their visit to Israel at the end of December when Daughter Vered Ron had them over for dinner. See picture.
As every year, we enjoyed the Channukah gathering at the home of Shuly and Eitan Habernan. It's always a pleasure to be with this branch of the family.(see Goldberg family tree). Unfortunately Shuly's mother 96 year-old Sarah Olkienitski (my mother's cousin) couldn't attend, but we visited her last week in Tel Aviv.
Granddaughter Danielle has begun her studies (Sustainability and Government) at the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Centre and is finding it interesting but hard.
News from Frankie Klaff (see Goldberg family tree), late cousin Vivian's wife, has kept us up to date swith news of the successes of her two sons. Oren published his second book Flip the Script a few months ago and it has been an Amazon best seller, as was his his first book, How to Pitch Anything. Tamir, a geologist by profession has started making sculptures from discarded metal - click to see two of them and to access his site.

Happy Birthday this week to: Mushe Kirsh, Orianna Royle (11th), Avraham Segoli , Daniel Kirsh, Sarah Cleaver (12th), Asaf Karlsbad, Maayan Shavit (14th), Shaun Glogauer, Dylan Thiele (15th), Itay Gur, Ryan Smith (17th)
Happy Anniversary this week to: Melissa and Shaun Glogauer (9th)