I am formerly from London, England. I made aliya in 1977, living first in Jerusalem until my marriage, and then moved to Petach Tikva. We now have baruch Hashem children and grandchildren living around the country.
I blog about life in Israel, my family, funny things kids do, and my main hobby-horse: pro-Israel activism, events and politics in the Middle East, and most importantly, the rising tide worldwide of antisemitism and the anti-Zionism which provides a “cover” for antisemitism, whether in international diplomacy, at international institutions like the UN, or on campus.
I started my “blogging” life back in 2001 at the height of the terror wave against Israel (aka the Second Intifada), mainly on talkbacks on various websites. I became a regular at the now defunct blog Discarded Lies and would thank blog-mentors “zorkmidden” and “evariste” for teaching me so many tricks of the trade.
A word about the blog’s banner: On the left is “my” orange tree, symbol of the original settlement of Petach Tikva which was famous for its orange groves; the center picture is of Rechov Pinsker in Petach Tikva at the time of its founding in the 1880s. You can be sure it does not look like that picturesque rural scene today! It is now right in the busy center of town. And on the right, the Israeli flag. No explanation needed.
My thanks to my brother Mark for the original idea and design, and to my son Dovi for changing, formatting and photoshopping the final banner.
Anne's Opinions 
I have come across you website by chance and really enjoyed read it, and will be following it from now. please feel free to check my own http://scotfella-directimpact.blogspot.com. I would be delighted if you could add mine to your blog listings
Best wishes
Renaud
Thank you. I follow you on Twitter and I have added you to my blogroll. Keep up the good work!
I think your blog is great – incisive and insightful. Despite the fact that there isn’t a palm tree or a camel to be seen…
It’s good to know that you’re out there doing this, and doing it so well. We all benefit!
Vera
Thanks Vera! Good to “see” you over here. Do you know I’d completely forgotten about camels! And palm trees… Perhaps I’ll redo my banner one of these days. 😀
But I do love my orange trees.
Hey Vera nice to hear from you! You’re right where are the palm trees & camels?
let rack up the pressure!
Amazing thing this website… well done Anne and looks like (just entirely by chance) I am following in the footsteps of my sister….
Oh well
Chag sameach and keep up the good work!
Btw did you post the apartheid thing too, could you send me the link so i can send it on, thanks
Hi Judit, welcome to my blog and thank you for your kind remarks! I look forward to seeing you more often. Which apartheid thing did you mean? You can email me offline if you want or comment here.
Chag sameach to you and your family.
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For me the word apartheid is totally unfair many here in the UK are really ill informed regarding Israel’s politics, or have an understanding of the way of life. Israel should be making more of how the country does have lots of different religions and cultures a good understanding and respect of others.
Perhaps the world should look and understand what has happened to Israeli’s at different times when Israel had to work at survival.
A friend of mine created an amazing short video I think would be great for your blog.
Its called Palestinian Oppression:
It shows how the Palestinians have been oppressed, and what the real issues are.
Please let me know if it is something you may consider using.
Thanks,
Michael
Thanks but no thanks Michael. I deal with the oppression of Israelis and Jews, and how they are misrepresented in the media. There are enough other sites to promote the Palestinian cause.
Hi Michael once again. I’ve now had a chance to look at the video and it is very good. I’m going to keep it to use (bli neder) when I next write about the treatment of the Palestinians, or about how Israel is accused of mistreating them.
Many thanks for sending it to me. I hope you visit here more often.
I may not have explained it well enough. It deals with how the media may be showing how the Palestinian problems are Israel’s fault when it is really more the fault of the Arab nations.
Ah, OK, my apologies. I will have a look later on, and I might very well find a use for it. Many thanks.
I came across your site by accident while googling something completely different. I can’t seem to post in the Foley’s Bar blog which was my intention, it is a frustrating read to be honest. Basically you have been had in a classic Irish publican style. The bar mentioned is opposite the most expensive hotel in Ireland, in an area where money flows and American tourists are 2 a penny. This is not about Irsrael or Palestine, its about greed and profit, a publican using a PR stunt to nab more punters. Spend ten minutes on google and find out just how “innocent” the owner of that bar is.
It’s irrelevant what the intentions of the publican are. He flew an Israeli flag – whether out of conviction or out of a wish for free publicity; either choice is perfectly valid – and he was subsequently vilified, boycotted and smeared by anti-Israel campaigners who have no interest in Foley’s reasons. Just the sight of an Israeli flag is enough to enrage them to a frothing fit.
I have no reason to doubt the letter that Foley sent to Israel supporters and am jolly glad that he chose to fly our flag.
Shavua tov Anne , just found your blog
i will come back , but just now have a busy week ahead of me, i will join the 6th international conference of “Women and the Holocuast” [ Beth Berl/ Beth Terezin/Betj Lohame haGhetaot.
mirjam from Haifa
see my site http://www.fibersiv.net
and my blog
http://www.differentart.org
mirjam
The conference sounds very interesting Miriam. You might also find my family history pages of interest to you.
Thank you for your comment and welcome to my blog.
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Anne,
I don’t know why, but I assumed you were Irish from Ireland. Now after thoroughly reading your web pages, I see that you were born in England and then made aliyah when you were a bit older. I’m still trying to figure out why on earth I thought you were Irish.
Anne, I like what you’re doing. But in your article on Israel as a Jewish State, you have a passage that reads: “This concept was later incorporated into British and UN proposals for the establishment of a Jewish State in Palestine, culminating in the partition plan adopted by the UN in 1947.” The partition plan was embodied only in a resolution by the U.N. General Assembly, which cannot make binding resolutions and thus UNGA resolutions function only as recommendations. (Only the Security Council can make binding resolutions–and even then, only under Chapter VII.) The only way for the partition resolution to become binding would have been if both affected parties, Jews and Arabs, agreed to it. The Jews accepted and established their state, ending up with slightly more than the partition resolution allotted them but with much less than what the 1920 San Remo Resolution, the 1922 Palestine Mandate, and the 1924 Anglo-American Treaty had designated for them, which was all of Western Palestine. As we know, the Arabs violently rejected partition and started attacking Jews as soon as passage of the partition resolution was announced in November of 1947, killing almost 2,000 Jews in the ensuing 6 months. The 1967 War with Egypt, Jordan, and Syria liberated the rest of the territory designated for the Jews. Even today, the Eastern border of Israel as described in the 1994 Peace Treaty with Jordan is the middle of the Jordan River. I think we should avoid writing anything that makes it sound as if the U.N. partitioned Western Palestine into two parts, one for a Jewish State and one for an Arab State. This is a common misimpression that has led to the accusation that Israel is stealing Palestinian Arab land.
Marjorie, I’m moving your comment to the Jewish state thread and I’ll answer there. Thanks.
Hi Anne,
I do hope your advice on comment pictures helps, so I’m trying this here.
Thanks so much!
Eric
Very informative and interesting.