Shana Tova!!!

Well blog followers, this is the last blog post for this Hebrew year and what a year it has been. At this time last year another Ulpan in Tel Aviv was just a dream and now, when I come in to work in the morning, I can’t help smiling to myself and being amazed at what a difference year can make. As you will probably all have heard, the vote on the Palestinian state was put off and is supposed to take place sometime this week. Benjamin Netanyahu, (the Israeli Prime Minister), gave a moving speech to the UN reminding them of the reason that the UN was created in the first place and to fulfill the mandate for which they were created, to protect lives and to stand against injustice. He brought to their attention the day to day lives of normal Israelis and the number of rockets that arrive in Israeli civilian neighborhoods on a daily basis. We are all waiting to see what the outcome will be. In the meantime life carries on…. I think I’ve already mentioned that we are in the process of upgrading our web-site and so I have already been on the phone for quite a while this morning making decisions as to what navigation tools to use, (drop down boxes etc.), to make sure that the site is as user friendly and easy to use as possible. Watch this space… Yesterday I was up in the North of Israel to visit the Kibbutz Sdeh Eliyahu where the autumn project will be taking place. I went with Sarai and Efrat, the teachers on the project and we were warmly welcomed and shown around before discussing the final practical details and logistics of the course. The students arrive from Australia in only a week or two’s time and it looks like everyone is very much looking forward to the experience. The next blog post will be at the beginning of the New Year and I just wanted to wish everyone Chag Sameach and Shana Tovah. May this next year be the best one yet, filled with happiness and fulfillment. Don’t forget, it’s not too late to sign up for Hebrew lessons and get working on accomplishing your New Year’s resolutions straight away!!!!! SHANA TOVA VECHAG SAMECH, Gil Pentzak Ulpan Aviv- Director