THIS WEEK'S PICTURE
30th Dec. 2023

New Year's Eve 2024
Three generations with a 2024 cake

To try to overcome some of our depresion since October 7 and to express hopes for a much improved 2024 we decided to have a small party for some friends and family.
It was most successful - delightful company, terrific atmosphere and of course delicious food.

Here are some pictures.

^{THIS WEEK'S NEWS}

• 2023 started out well but is ending disasterly, not only for Israel but for many parts of the world.  We wish everyone  a very much better 2024
  
• We've had a more than interesting 2023. Before the events of October 7th we enjoyed life and visited many places.
•  New York - New Year 2023 in Times Square
• London
• Italy at Villa Ponziana with son Aviv and Limor.
• Amsterdam and Veldhoven - twice
• Morocco - Marrakech and Fez
• Latvia and Estonia
• Cyprus
  
• Our children and grandchildren are all well and settled and also appear to be enjoying life.
• We said goodbye to too many of our friends and family - Gail Nickel, Binny Blass, Jeff Geffen, Myra Simon, Dovvy Glassman, Claude Hakim, Orit Ron and Hans Reijzer.

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THIS WEEK'S PICTURE
23rd Dec. 2023

• We thoroughly enjoyed an original Israeli opera Theodor. It showed some aspects of the life of Theodor Herzl who is considered the father of the state of Israel. The opera was extremely well presented, the concept and  production were excellent and the music and singing surprisingly good. It was not only an enjoyable spectacle but also left us with food for thought, especially for Herzl's vision and what has happened now in Israel.
  
• We wish all our friends celebrating Christmas a  merry and enjoyable Christmas, and wish them and all our relatives and friends a happy holiday season.

THIS WEEK'S PICTURE
  2nd Dec. 2023

29th Family (2/3) Reunion

Unfortunately due to a last minute security concerns, the Eilatis did not participate

This Reunion celebrated family milestones: our 59th wedding anniversary, 18th birthday of Lotem and of Amit, Aviv and Limor's Silver anniversary (unfortunately in abstentia.). The Reunion was at the home of the Segoli family in Midreshet Ben Gurion (Sde Boqer)

The T-shirts showed "Together we make a family" on the front and a delightful picture of cousins Amit Levy and  Lotem Segoli as babies, who have recently celebrated their 18th birthdays.

See more here.

(Click here for pictures of all our family reunions)

^{THIS WEEK'S NEWS}

• Daughter in law Mikhal Segoli has initiated an educational project at the Midreshet campus of Ben Gurion University and showed and explained it to the Ron family.
• The temporary truce with Hamas has ended and we anxiously await the fate of the hostages who still remain in Gaza.
  

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THIS WEEK'S PICTURE
  25 Nov. 2023

Aviv and Limor - Henna (חינה) Ceremony 25 years ago.

Congratulation to our son Aviv and daughter-in-law Limor on their Silver Wedding Anniversary tomorrow. We wish you many many years of happiness and love.

(Some more wedding pictures here.)

^{THIS WEEK'S NEWS}

• We are happy that some hostages have been returned to Israel but sad that there are many more remaining under Hamas control. There is a temporary cease-fire but the war goes on.
• This last week we visited my relatives Sydney and Ari Lossin and Doreen's relatives Yaffa Loew and  Yaakov Bortenstein 
• There are still many volunteers who provide help to soldiers and displaced victims. Some of our family's contributions are described in previous posts. This last week Doreen volunteered to prepare food for soldiers - see picture.
• Those who have not yet read are invited to read Doreen's thoughts on the war, posted in her columns 62 - 65.
  
• If all goes well we hope to celebrate our 29th Family Reunion, this time at the Segolis at Midreshet Ben Gurion in Sde Boqer. Pictures of previous reunions can be seen here.

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THIS WEEK'S PICTURE
18 Nov. 2023

Amit is 18

Mazel tov to granddaughter Amit Levy who turned 18 yesterday. You're 'officially' an adult now! We're sure that you will continue to be the wonderful person that you are, and wish you success in whatever you choose to do.

^{THIS WEEK'S NEWS}

• Doreen visited  the Cultural Centre in Nes Ziona to see the life-sized figures cut out from  metal symbolizing the kidnapped hostages. Read her description in her column.
• The Segolis came for the weekend and helped us pick about 30 of the almost last papayas and the avocados from our trees. Our avocado yield this year was smaller than usual but we still had many more than we could eat.
  
• On the way to spending the weekend with us the Segolis went on a hike in the Judean Desert at Nachal Ashelim.
  
• Like many of my friends and acquaintances I am addicted to the New York Times Wordle Puzzle, which I play every day. In addition, there are other copy-cat Wordle sites, including Wordle Unlimited, which I occasionally play.  Today the ultimate was achieved!

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THIS WEEK'S PICTURE
11 Nov. 2023

Hammerhead Shark - Eilat 1970's

Hammerhead sharks are fairly common in the southern Red Sea but they can also be found in Eilat. One this size is much rarer. This picture was taken about 50 years ago and I remember it well. What I don't remember is what caused the death of the shark. It may have been killed by local fisherman although I doubt it (and hope not) or it may have been due to natural causes. Whatever the reason, it was a great photo opportunity.

From my old photo collection - colorized by My Heritage

^{THIS WEEK'S NEWS}

• We're proud that niece Denise Braverman has also joined those helping farmers in the war area pick their crops.
  
• We went to a special market selling fruit and vegetables brought from the area affected by the war.  Among the vegetables were leeks. Doreen made a delicious Vichyssoise soup with them. See recipe.
• As we reported previously we have a glut of papayas in our garden. We eat them in the traditional way - fresh with lemon, but the family has come up with new papaya ideas.  The Segolis prepared Cheese Fondue with papaya and son-in-law Aviv Ron prepared papaya with his extra spicy sauce. Aviv also made a soup from papaya and yellow peppers picked when volunteering. See his soup recipe here.

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THIS WEEK'S PICTURE
04 Nov 2023

Kyoto, Japan

I found this picture among some unsorted old photos while tidying up the mess in our storeroom. It was taken on a visit to Japan, probably in the late 1970's and we have many stories about this visit which took place before Japan became well known to Israeli tourists and before Japanese cuisine became known in Israel.
We were told not to miss Kobe steak and "sushi" and "sashimi". We had no idea what Sushi and sashimi were except that they were made from raw fish. We duly ordered  at a restaurant and were horrified to see a greenish streak on the food. We assumed the fish was bad but Doreen noticed that at the other tables people were eating the green streaked fish, so we also ate and enjoyed it. Only much later did we find out that this green was wasabi.
(This picture has been repaired and colourized)

^{THIS WEEK'S NEWS}

• This morning we attended a short concert at the Vera Solomons Centre where Doreen's sister Louise is living. The performers were two young army volunteers Itai Paz (violin) and Noa Kapelyushnik (piano) who delighted us with their excellent playing. After the concert there was a very moving homage to Israel and the army by the devoted Phillipine caregivers at the centre.
  
• We received a welcome email from Vanessa (Glasser) Terazza updating us with news and pictures about her family. Belated congratulations to her daughter Micaela  who married Marco Balboni last December. We were also happy to get pictures of her daughter Cinzia Mulder's little girl Mia. The Glezer family tree has been updated.
  
• Many of the Thai agricultural workers were killed or captured or have returned to Thailand and our grandchildren Maayan and Lotem are continuing with their volunteering, helping to pick farm produce.
• Our friend Pam Bethlehem is not well and we visited her and Geoff in Haifa. We wish her a complete recovery.
• In Haifa we also paid a visit to Doreen's cousin Louis Nickel who runs a 'Humusia' restaurant in the Talpiot market. (See Nochomovitz family tree.)
  
• Doreen has expressed her thoughts in her columns on various aspects of the war  - The War, Musings on the War and Hostage Square.

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THIS WEEK'S PICTURE
28th Oct. 2023

A meal for 500

Doreen's cousin Yaakov Bortenstein helped organise a day of relaxation (יום כיף) for 500 soldiers in a battalion that had seen heavy action. Included was a steak meal for all - a tremendous undertaking involving among other thing a mobile meat smoking apparatus.
Two more pictures here.

^{THIS WEEK'S NEWS}

• The situation in Israel is still unclear and worrying. The country, so divided a few weeks ago, is now working together to alleviate the situation affecting so many. We are fortunate that our family is safe.
  
• We hosted a 'lone soldier' this weekend.
• Niece Denise Braverman and her running group organised an event on behalf of the release of hostages. See picture.
  
• Granddaughter Lotem Segoli celebrated her 18th birthday this week.
• Doreen has expressed her thoughts in her columns on various aspects of the war  - The War, Musings on the War and Hostage Square.

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THIS WEEK'S PICTURE
21st Oct. 2023

The Segolis visited us this weekend and on their way home today there was a 'red alert' siren warning. They lay on the ground and a bomb/rocket exploded near to where they were. Moran took a picture of the smoke some seconds after the explosion. Fortunately no one was hurt.

^{THIS WEEK'S NEWS}

• Doreen has written about our trip to Estonia 10 days ago. Events in Israel clouded our experience in Estonia but we were happy to meet Doreen's family again and visit places connected to her family's history.
• The war here in Israel is still ongoing and the end doesn't look in sight.
• The Segolis visited us this weekend and we learnt about their volunteering efforts in the south. We were happy to see grandson Maayan and to help granddaughter Zoe prepare cookies for soldiers.
• We have had amazing success with our papaya (paw-paw) yield this year.

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THIS WEEK'S PICTURE
14th Oct. 2023

The Israeli flag on the Riga Parliament building

After attending the bridge workshop in Riga we left for Estonia on the day following the terrorist invasion of southern Israel without realisng the extent of Hamas terrorists' murderous attacks on innocent civilians, men, women, old women and babies. Our time in Estonia was clouded by the events back home and we weren't really in the mood for touring, but we were heartened by the letters of support from relatives and friends from all over the world inquiring about the safety of our families and expressing their support for Israel.  Both Estonia and Riga flew the Israeli flag from their parliament buildings.

^{THIS WEEK'S NEWS}

In Estonia we spent time with the Drue family and learnt much about our family history there. We will write more about our visit another time.
When we returned to Riga we learnt that our flight home had been cancelled and after spending hours investigating how to get back we found a rather indirect flight path and finally got home early this morning.
 Our immediate family is safe but we mourn for all those murdered by the Hamas terrorists. We know of friends, acquaintances and family relatives who were victims and the first hand  reports we hear are heart breaking. We mourn all those who lost their lives in the surprise attack and  grieve for those taken as hostages into Gaza
Two of our grandchildren are in the army in non combat positions. We are proud of the actions of our family who are devoting their time and efforts for the relief of those affected by the hostilities. Here are just a few examples.

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THIS WEEK'S PICTURE
7th Oct. 2023

Itamar and Maayan (in uniform)

A couple of weeks ago we reported that grandson Maayan Segoli, who is in a special programme which combines university education with basic army service (עתודאי), went off to start his basic training. Here he is in army uniform being wished well and given advice by his cousin and our grandson Itamar Levy who is doing his regular army servic. Both attended a musical performance in Tel Aviv, just days before the horror of the attacks from Gaza started.

^{THIS WEEK'S NEWS}

• We are in Riga and the news of the attack by Hamas is very disturbing. We hope our friends and family are safe. Mikhal Segolis sister Naama and family were visiting son Moran when hostilities started, and when a siren sounded they all went into the special strong room.  Click for a picture of Naama's husband Moishik, who is a yoga teacher, exercising yoga with the family in the strong room.
• We are in Riga, Latvia for a bridge workshop. I was in charge of organising these bridge training events for the last 8 years and, as reported earlier, retired from this job last year. I was asked to come to this workshop to help my replacement take over the job.
• This is our second visit to Riga. You can read what Doreen has written on this visit. 
  
• Tomorrow we fly to Tallinn, Estonia to visit relatives Heini snd Tiina Drui and will return to Israel next week-end.
• We're on holiday which means that our dog Joanie is also on holiday as can be seen in this picture of Joanie and friends.
  
• Before we left for Riga Doreen prepared delicious poached trout. See her recipe for Truite au Bleu

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THIS WEEK'S PICTURE
30th Sep. 2023

Danielle's Birthday September 2023

We celebrated granddaughter Danielle's birthday with her family, the Rons. Dani has recently returned from India and she wanted an Indian style dinner - vegan of course. My favourite Indian dish is spicy chicken or lamb curry but I enjoyed the delicious curry dishes prepared by the family.
Some  more pictures of the party here.

^{THIS WEEK'S NEWS}

• We spent Yom Kippur as usual in Eilat with the Levys. Fasting didn't prevent a scrabble challenge between grandson Itamar with two of his friends and Doreen with granddaughter Amit. Who won? doesn't matter! Picture here.
  
• Raphael Cotton, son of my late cousin Cecile, is visiting Israel with Tamara his wife. They  are a lovely couple and have been staying with us for a few days. Tamara has a cousin who also lives in our building.  This evening we went for supper to relatives Joel and  Beryl Klotnick in their sukkah  As usual with the Klotnicks the food was excellent and the company wonderful. See Matz and Hershovitz/Levy family trees.
  
• We were delighted that Selma and Lennie Cartoon could join us this afternoon for a sushi lunch from the sushi shop near us. We have known the Cartoons for many years but don't see them often enough. Lennie is a cousin of my late Aunt Malia.

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THIS WEEK'S PICTURE
23rd Sep. 2023

Tajine Dinner
Lior, Gal, Caroline, Doreen

The tajine we bought in Morocco arrived and Doreen decided to put into practice what she had learnt at the cooking class in Marrakech. Daughter Vered and Aviv Ron were away on a short break so we invited granddaughter Lior Ron and her friend Gal and friend Caroline Livneh for a vegetarian couscous dinner cooked in a tajine.
The vegetables were stacked over a mound of cabbage with added spices and broth, and the tajine heated over the stove for 1 1/2 hours.
Although quite tasty and an extremely eye-catching presentation we are not sure that it was worth the effort.

^{THIS WEEK'S NEWS}

• We wish those who fast on Yom Kippur tomorrow  "well over the fast" - גמר חתימה טובה.
• Granddaughter Ilay Levy had expressed an interest in preparing the hot pepper pickles - a favourite of the family - that I make. .As she was with us during Rosh Hashanah we spent time together preparing a kilo or so for her and the Segolis to take home.
  
• Grandson Maayan Segoli was off to army basic training this week. He is in a special programme which combines university education with basic army service (עתודאי). When he finishes his degree he will spend extra time in the army utilizing the skills he learned in his studies.
• In addition to our tajine dinner (above)  we had a very pleasant dinner with bridge friends Finn and Ann Wardi from Finland and Jan Kamras the President of the World Bridge, and a lovely brunch at the home of Colin and Louise Kessel with Harry and Evelyn  Brand (whom we met for the first time) and good friends Basil and Noga Porter.
  

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THIS WEEK'S PICTURE
16th Sep. 2023

The Family - Rosh Hashanah Second Night

Rosh Hashanah 5784 - September 2023
Doreen writes:

As we celebrate  Rosh Hashanah 5784, it is with mixed feelings that we thought about sending greetings to family and friends.

This was only intensified when 3 days after an extensive stay in Morocco we read about the horrific earthquake devastating Marrakech, the area where we had spent the last few weeks. Some of the places we visited in Marrakech are now piles of rubble.

This has been a very difficult year, losing friends and family and seeing others disabled; life is becoming increasingly fragile and we realize that even if we are spared horrible diseases, falling is the enemy of old age.

We are experiencing changes in Israel that are turning the country we loved into a right wing ultra-nationalistic, messianic and undemocratic one. It is no longer possible to live in a bubble and not be affected by outside events.

In all of this, loving contact with family and friends becomes increasingly meaningful

We personally have had a very full year. Our small garden is full of papaya trees that Eitan has grown from seed; we have had delicious mangoes and look forward to the ripening of our avocados. Soon he will plant lettuces, peas and beans.

Eitan has continued to be involved in the World Bridge Federation and we have been overseas a number of times for Championships. I am an active volunteer in Road to Recovery, transporting Palestinians, mainly children from the West Bank, to hospitals in Israel and back. I continue to be involved in ESRA, giving support to people in need.

Happily we are still active and enjoy full lives. We wish the same for you; to enjoy health with the ability to enjoy life around you.

L’shana tova!

^{THIS WEEK'S NEWS}

• Apart from some preparations  and a couple of doctors' visits a quiet week leading up to Rosh Hashanah.
  
• On the first evening of Rosh Hashanah we celebrated at the home of daughter Vered and Aviv together with the Eilat Levy family.
• On the second evening we were joined by the Segolis for a mini family reunion. (see above and here.).
  
• In addition to Doreen's delicious pepper filet steak, Maayan prepared "flaumen tzimis" from Doreen's cookbook. which he is going through and making her recipes.  Her  recipes are linked to family and friends' stories, and before each meal prepared from her book Maayan reads the associated story.

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THIS WEEK'S PICTURE
9th Sep. 2023

 
Barmitzvah of Sa'ar Kasorla
Ziva Boretenstein; Lital, Dvir,and  Sa'ar Kasorla; Sa'ar
Zahava and Rahel Karlsblad; Ya'ara Shavit; Yaffa Loew
Yaakov and Lior Bortenstein; Lital and Dvir Kasorla; Moriah and Gil Pashas, Rochelle and Moshe Kirshner

Mazal tov to Sa'ar Karsola on his barmitzvah this week. Congratulations too to parents Dvir and Lital and grandparents Yaakov and Ziva Bortenstein ( Schank family tree). It's always a pleasure to spend time with our "farm" family and especially when there is a celebration.

^{THIS WEEK'S NEWS}

• After a month overseas in The Netherlands and Morocco we're back home for a month before we're off again for 10 days to Latvia and Estonia.
  
• Doreen has written extensively about our time in Morocco in Marrakech and about our visits to Fez and Chefchaouen and her visits to Rabat. and Casablanca. The pages have been updated and can be accessed from here.
  
• Today we read about the disastrous earthquake that shook Marrakech yesterday. Although we are relieved that it took place after we left we are saddened by the loss of life there and by the destruction of many historical places.
• Last night the Segolis and Rons joined us for supper and had to listen to accounts of our Moroccan trip.
• We wish long-time friend Yael Paperna a speedy recovery from her fall.

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THIS WEEK'S PICTURE
2nd Sep. 2023

 
The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca

The Hassan II mosque, a most impressive building, stands on a huge square. Google said it was the largest in Africa, the 7^th largest in the world. The mosque not only stands by the sea but a third of it is over the Atlantic Ocean reflecting a verse from the Quran: “the throne of God was upon the water.”

• We were saddened to receive the news that Claude Hakim passed away. We extend our deepest condolences to his wife Roslyn (see Nochomovicz family tree) and his sons Daniel and Jean Marc. We fondly remember  our trip to Australia where we spent some time with Claude and Ros.
  
• Our third and final week in Marrakech, Morocco. Doreen has written extensively about our time so far in Marrakech and about our visits to Fez and Chefchaouen and her visits to Rabat. and Casablanca.
  
• The World  Bridge Championships ended today. The are 3 categories: Open, Women, Seniors and Mixed. I am proud that the new Women World Champion is Israel. The team consists of 6 young women who overcame challenges from 23 other countries.
  
• It's back to school time. Good luck to all our grandchildren.
  
• Daughter Vered Ron met with two friends from her school days who are visitng Israel - Simona Gringart from Australia and Patisa Rasmussen from Denmark.

 
Doreen enjoying a visit to Utrecht

We are in the Netherlands for the World Bridge Federation Youth Championships taking place in Veldhoven, about 1 1/2 hours by train from Amsterdam. Yesterday Doreen went to Amsterdam and I will join her there for a few days later this week.
While I was busy with bridge, Doreen visited the nearby city of Eindhoven, the Veldhoven village and also Utrecht.

• In Utrecht Doreen was surprised to find a place that was a pub 6 days a week, and on Sunday was a church with services. See picture.
• The World Youth Bridge Championships take place every second year. There are five categories from Under 16 to Under 31. This year 36 countries took part.  Clich here for a picture at the opening ceremony.
  
• We return home on Thursday, 3 days to do washing, pack, hopefully eat a ripe papaya from our tree and anything urgent (like trying to get my computer working properly) and then on Monday off to Morocco for another bridge event, the World Bridge Championships.

• Mazal Tov to daughter-in-law Limor Levy on her 50th birthday this week.
  
• We were happy to receive an email from Melodie Nathan, daughter of Doreen's cousin Lucille Melamed. Melodie and Mark and their daughter Gabriella visted London where they experienced the sights and attractions and also met with their Ginsberg relatives. Click for pictures and more.  (see Nickel family tree).
• The fast-food chain KFC is opening branches in Israel. As KFC is my favourite fast food restaurant I was delighted that there is now a KFC in Netanya, a 10-minute drive from our home. Of course I couldn't wait to go there, together with half the population of Israel who apparently also like KFC. The staff was a bit overwhelmed but we managed to receive our meal without too long a wait. Doreen's salad came without a fork or spoon (sorry we don't have any) so we returned it but the rest of the meal was good. As always, the family looks for KFC's in the various countries they visit and send me photos - the latest from Moran in New Delhi India. See pictures of Netanya and New Delhi and links to some previous family KFC visits.
• Our papaya trees are bountiful this year and there are tens of papayas waiting to ripen and fall down. Unfortunately we will be away and most of the papayas wiill fall into the street below and splatter. So we designed a papaya trap to catch the falling fruit. See here. Some will fall while we are away- daughter Vered will be happy to come and pick those up.

THIS WEEK'S PICTURE
24th June 2023

Caryn and Rhetick Sangupta with Vered

Daughter Vered Ron was in Seattle in USA and met with her second cousin Caryn Klaff and her husband Rhetick Sangupta. Caryn is the daughter of Frankie and my late cousin Vivian Klaff. Doreen was at Caryn and Rhetick's wedding in 2009 but since then we have not been in direct contact with her so Doreen and I were happy that she and Vered met up. We are always delighted when next generation family are in touch.
See Goldberg family tree.

^{THIS WEEK'S NEWS}

• We are deeply saddened by the passing of Dovvy Glassman. Dovvy was a friend and a colleague at Coral World where we both worked. We enjoyed many shared experiences (for example our trip to Sinai many years ago) with Dovvy and his wife Ziona, Doreen's close friend for over 50 years. We send her and Dovvy's sons our heartfelt condolences.
  
• Congratulations to grandson Itamar Levy on his promotion to Sergeant in the Israel Army.
  
• We and the Segolis had a most enjoyable visit with the Levys in Eilat this weekend. This time, apart from the usual enjoyable meals together, there was ice skating and a family dive. Pictures here.

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THIS WEEK'S PICTURE/MYSTERY
17th June 2023

The Fisherwoman

Friend Caroline Livne  found this picture on her phone. Neither Doreen nor I remember the picture or the occasion or the location.  Peles, the family dog is in the picture so it must be from around 1980. The fish look like palamida (Spanish mackerel), common in Sinai, so we think that the picture may have been taken on a visit to the fishing village in Nuweiba Sinai owned by our friend Harry Brodie. We visited there occasionally on our trips to Sinai when we lived in Eilat, but the background does not look like a Sinai background so we are not sure, but where else could Doreen have carried (caught?!) so many fish.

^{THIS WEEK'S NEWS}

• We renewed our contact with Micky Gur with whom I worked  during my time at Coral World in St Thomas and the Bahamas..On Friday night he and his wife Yael joined us together with Colin and Louise Kessel and  our daughter at dinner. Doreen didn't disappoint us with a delicious seafood paella served after excellent focaccia bread (see recipe)
  
• I was sad to learn from Micky that the tower in the Bahamas of which we were so proud is now a rusty structure. Its only value now is as an interesting item attracting drone photography. See pictures and links here.

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THIS WEEK'S PICTURE
10th June 2023

• Son Moran Segoli with family and friends went rappelling down a salt cave in Sodom. See the pictures.
• Daughter Vered and Aviv Ron invited us to dinner last night. At the end of the meal we were surprised when the Ron's brought out a cake and candles for Doreen's birthday.
  
• Two of Doreen's friends also have birthdays round about this time, and Doreen, Caroline Livne and Ruti Erez celebrated at a nearby coffee shop.
  
• Another celebration - a wedding. Nadav Keyson and Asal Reyhanian married in a lovely ceremony last Sunday. Nadav is the son of  David and Jose Reijzer Keyson. Our close relationship with the Reijzer family goes back nearly 60 years. See picture of wedding.
  
• Son Moran Segoli was part of a delegation to Jordan from the Volcani Institute  to explain the use of phosphorous waste to enrich agricultural fertilizers.
  
• Second cousin Susan Nathan is making a good recovery after her operation and is now out of her wheel-chair and walking. Picture.
  
• We are delighted that a sushi shop has opened at the mall a 3 minute walk from our apartment.. Of course we had to try it out (on the opening day) and very much enjoyed our sushi lunch there.

THIS WEEK'S PICTURE
20th May 2023

FAMILY and FRIENDS
(Clockwise from left) Morris Kahn, Aviv Ron, Caroline Livne, Louise Braverman, Doreen, Me
(Vered Ron, taking picture)

We returned this week from our holiday in Italy and decided with some family and friends to enjoy the bottle of Brunello di Montalcino we had bought there.
Doreen went out of her way and as usual prepared a great meal. She included Italian bread sticks (grissini - see recipe), Cannalloni and lasagna, and also a delicious onion soup and a very successful tarte tatin (see pictures).

^{THIS WEEK'S NEWS}

• Doreen has written a report with pictures of our holiday in Tuscany at the Villa Poliziana. For pictures of the earlier visit to Rome see here.
  
• Today we visited relative Susan Nathan at the Bet Ha-Emek Retirement Home in Nof Hagalil. She is recovering nicely from her operation. Her son Dan had extended his visit to take care of Susan and flew home this week.
  
• On the way back from our visit with Susan we dropped into Kibbutz Yizrael to see our friend Steve Blass, whose wife Bini passed away a few months ago.
  
• Doreen has written in her column about her visit to Del' Ara Pacis when we were in Rome.

THIS WEEK'S PICTURE
29th April 2023

Doreen Dives with the Sharks

Doreen's diving insurance expires soon and as she is not sure whether it will be renewed she decided that her (perhaps) last dive should be  dive with the sharks (and of course with son Aviv).
See some more pictures here.

^{THIS WEEK'S NEWS}

• This week was Israel's 75 Independence Day (Yom Ha-atzmaut) and we celebrated as always at the home of  Terry and Carol Kessel. It was lovely to see old friends again and of course to enjoy the food and the special Kessel hospitality.
• Yom Ha-atzmaut is celebrated by torch lighting ceremonies. Apart from the central ceremony there are also local ceremonies. We were very proud that granddaughter Lotem Segoli was invited to light a torch together with two team-mates of her victorious Robotics team.
  
• This week was my 83rd birthday. The dates of Jewish festivals are in accordance with a lunar calendar. I was born during Passover but this year year my birthday corresponded to Israel's Independence Day (actually a day later). On my birthay eve Doreen prepared a fantastic delicious meal and the next day daughter Vered Ron organised a dinner for me and granddaughter Zoe decorated a cake. The family surprised me by showing up and we had a virtual one night family reunion.
  
• After my birthday dinner the Segolis and Eilatis slept over at our apartment. Despite the squashing in of so many in our small apartment the grandchildren are always delighted to be together. The youngest Zoe was especially happy to be with Joannie.
• We were delighted to meet relatives on our Levy side. Dan Nathan and his sister Tanya (Nathan) Wood came on a short visit to Israel to visit their mother Susan (my second cousin) who is recuperating after a heart operation. We were glad they managed to meet some of our children and grandchildren who were staying with us. (see picture). We wish Susan a speedy recovery. See Hershovitz/Levy tree.
• Daughter-in-law Mikhal Segoli is in USA doing some research at the University of Minnesota. (Picture)
  
• Next week we will be on holiday with son Aviv and Limor in Italy.

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THIS WEEK'S PICTURE
22nd April 2023

Lotem presents her robotics alliance

As we reported last week granddaughter Lotem Segoli and her Fata  Morgana team, after winning the Israel Championships, are in Houston at the World Robotics Championships.
The contestants are distributed into four sections of 48 teams in each section. The winning team in each section (after semi- and final playoffs play against the winners of the other 3 sections for the "World Champion" title.
The team achieved excellent results in the qualifications winning 9 of their 11 matches (and losing 2 by one point only). They ended up in third place in their section. For the next stage they had to choose an "alliance", 2 non-qualifying teams to be their partners competing against the alliance of the 2nd ranked team. It's not easy deciding whom to choose and the team, under Lotem's direction, studied the performances and form of the possible partners. (see picture).
After deciding, the teams report their alliances - see picture above of Lotem making her announcement. Fata Morgana won their semi-final match but unfortunately lost in the finals.
So the team did not advance to the final stage. It was a big disappointment but Fata Morgana are ranked among the top 8 robotics teams in the world.
Congratulations, Lotem and you team. You achieved a fantastic result that you can proud of.

^{THIS WEEK'S NEWS}

• We spent the weekend in Eilat. Doreen wanted to dive but the weather was not good - perhaps she'll have a chance tomorrow. Last night we went to Greco Restaurant for a family meal.  
• Son Aviv was one of the organisers for a sea "clean-up" in Eilat today when divers removed nearly a ton of debris from the sea floor.
  
• Cricket is the national sport of India, and while in India Dani of course decided to see what it was like with a cricket bat.
  
• Congratulations to Danielle Glasser in Melbourne on her wedding today to Luke Walker. Mazal tov also to parents cousin Mark and Sue. See Glasser family tree.

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THIS WEEK'S PICTURE
15th April 2023

MIMOUNA CELEBRATION
Me, Doreen, Simona (Edri) Grinnart, Nurit (Cohen) Yehuda, Vered Levy-Ron

The Mimouna celebration is a traditional Maghrebi Jewish custom held on the eve of and on the day after Passover, where the first hametz is eaten. (see Wikipedia).
We have on occasion taken part and this year we were invited by Cecila Lugasi and her family to her home. Celia is the sister of Vered's close friend (and classmate) Simona . The Edri family lived in Eilat when we were there and Simona is visiting her family in Israel. (She lives in Australia and on our round the World Trip we visted her and her husband Eyal). We were happy to see her again, and also another close friend of our daughter, Nurit (Cohen) Yehuda.
As expected there was a wide array of traditional Moroccan favourites to enjoy, including of course moffletta, a type of sweet crepe. Click for a picture of Celia preparing mofletta.

• The Segolis have returned from their trip to Sinai. It looks amazing - see some pictures here.
  
• The travelling Rons: Aviv is back from India, and Lior and Gal are back from Istanbul (see pictures)
  
• Granddaughters Amit and Ilay Levy came up north to us for a couple of days and enjoyed Tel Aviv. They didn't enjoy the trip home - a 5 1/2   trip home to Eilat took over 9 hours due to the roads being flooded.
• Uri Jeremias' restaurant was burnt down during the last riots. After reading about Uri Jeremias  and his unwavering belief in co-existence,  Doreen and I drove to Uri Buri, his rebuilt restaurant in Acre, and enjoyed a meal there.
  
• Good luck to granddaughter Lotem Segoli and her robotic group Fata Morgana. Today they flew to USA to take part in the FIRST World Robotics Championship.
  
• We visited 2nd cousin Susan Nathan in hospital after her heart surgery. We wish her a speedy recovery.

THIS WEEK'S PICTURE
1st April 2023

Marriage Certificate -Maurice Glazer - Gertie Nickel

Last week I posted the marriage certificate of my parents, and this week here is the certificate of Doreen's parents who were married in Johannesburg on January 10th, 1937. The place of marriage is not listed. Maurice's occupation is 'shop keeper' and Gertie's 'shop assistant'. We know that they had their own shop (see Doreen's account in her column) but we're not sure whether Maurice owned the shop or whether he worked in a shop before they married. The addresses are 104 Plein street and 106 Plein street - were they neighbours or living together or was this the address of their shop?
(For both the country of birth is listed as Poland although Maurice was born in Lithuania and Gertie in Belarus. At that time these countries see-sawed between independence and 'belonging' to Russia , Poland or other empires. My grandfather was listed as born in 'Russia' even though he was born in Lithuania.)
Doreen's family trees:
On her father's side - Gordon/Glasser  and  Schank
On her mother's side - Nochimovitz/Nickel

 

• Eleanor Pines, Doreen's close friend from school days in South Africa, is visiting Israel with her companion  Dennis Feinberg (see picture) and we met twice for lunch. Doreen and Eleanor were close friends in South Africa and my first memories of  Doreen are of her being always with Eleanor. Eleanor lives in South Africa but we have met a few times, in Israel and South Africa and once even in London.
• We wish all our friends and relatives a very happy pesach - Passover. We will celebrate the seder in Eilat with our Eilat Levy family and with daughter-in-law Limor's family. Some of the Segolis and Rons will also join us.

• We had lunch this week with cousin Shirley Kansky  and second cousin Joel and Beryl Klotnick. Last week we saw the Geffens and Sydney Losin, so it's been a family week for us.

THIS WEEK'S PICTURE
11th February 2023

Anthony and Doreen are engaged!

Melly Braverman, Gertie Glazer, Louise Braverman, Hayman Levy, Ray Brower Levy, Me, Maurice Glazer, Doreen, Dave Zolty  (best man), Fern Levy

This coming Tuesday is Valentine's Day. I don't remember celebrating Valentine's Day when we were young but the above picture shows that despite no cards we did celebrate our love.
Although originally a religious holy day today Valentine's Day has become an important commercial event with billions of greeting cards actual or digital. In Israel secular Jews celebrate both Valentine's Day and the Jewish version "Tu B'av" as a holiday of love.

^{THIS WEEK'S NEWS}

• I was very sad to hear of the passing of my second cousin Jeffrey Geffen.  Jeff stayed in our home while studying as a pharmacist in Durban. He was about 13 years older than me and I looked upon him as a big brother. I have many fond memories of him and his keen sense of humour. He was a keen sportsman until tubercolosis curtailed most of his sport activities. Jeff and his wife Doreen (Altshuler) made aliyah to Israel and lived in Ashdod. He founded and developed the sport of Badminton in Israel. Click here for a picture in badminton outfit.  See Levy family tree.
• My cousin Sharon (Levy) Leibowitz in Australia is not well. We all wish her a speedy recovery and a return to her active life.

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THIS WEEK'S PICTURE
4th February 2023

Moran on his way to 50

Congratulations to our youngest child Moran on his 50th birthday this week. We'll be celebrating it with Family Reunion #28 in a few week's time.
Here are some pictures of his younger days.

• We were saddened by the passing of Bini Blass, a friend from our South Africa days. Condolences to husband Steve and family. See also a visit to them on Kibbutz Yizrael earlier this year and more links.
  

28th January 2023

From Zelig Goldberg to Isaac Shapiro  

    ^{Dear children}

• Daughter Vered Ron returned this week from USA and now all our children and grandchildren are in Israel
  
• We were saddened this week by the passing of Tirza Naor whom Doreen had befriended for a number of years.
  
• Tiina Drui (see Schank family tree) is a very talented artist. Her painting of her husband Heini acurately depicts him. This painting and some more of Tiina's artwork can be seen here.
  
• Last week we saw pictures of the Segolis in Tromso viewing the Northern Lights. It looks like an amazing sight. That's something we've never experienced or even come close to. Our visits to the far north were all in summer. At least we did see the midnight sun in Tromso and had lunch and bought a tee shirt at the Northern Lights Inn in Labrador!
  
• Granddughter Lotem Segoli's robotics team took first place in the Israel Robotic Competition preliminaries. We're proud of her team and of Lotem who was also nominated for the FIRST Dean's List for excellence. FIRST is an international not-for-profit organisation that sponsors mentor-based programs that build science, engineering and technology skills for high school students. 
  
• Like father like son: About 50 years ago the Chief Rabbi of Israel Ovadia Yosef visited Coral World and I showed him around the site. This year his son, Chief Rabbi Yitschak Yosef visited Coral World and my son showed him around the site. Click for pictures

14th January 2023