Israel 2010

Music: Stojnele' Stokole by Lumin. This movie is released under the Bulgarian version of the CC-BY-NC-SA license. (Take note, the Bulgarian version only allows sharing under the same license, not under any similar license, as the international version does.)

The posters in the background are called pashkevil (pl. pashkeviln) and contain statements on how to lead a virtuous life. While some of them are signed by rabbis, most are posted anonymously. They can be seen as components of a public discussion, where readers can cover them up or remove them if they disagree, or simply adhere to them if they agree. They are also a way of trash-talking others anonymously as partof internal power struggles in the community, although such use is against the Torah.

I have no idea how this one came to be called "Swedish". The best I could come up with was a theory that Selma Lagerlöf's "Jerusalem", a pair of novels about Swedish migration to that same city, had some truth in them and that this was one of the footprints left. But according to any source that I could find, the Swedes that did emigrate ended up joining the American Colony here and were absorbed. Either way, I haven't found any connection.

The graffiti reads Am Israel Hay, or "Long Live Israel!" (lit. "The people of Israel live!")

Centurion tank of the 679th. The tanks were scheduled to undergo a modernization program over a three-year period when hostilities broke out. Despite this, the 679th was considered a "good" brigade - slightly inferior to the 188th "Barak" Brigade (which was the main brigade covering this area) in terms of equipment, but still suitable for front-line duty.

Israeli memorial.

View of Hezbollah positions just north of the Israel-Lebanon border.

Close up-view of the village of Yaroun, sometimes used as launch site.

The houses of Ahuzat Barak, seen from the north. In the foreground is a new set of houses being built along the northernmost street.

Links

[a]	http://www.jamendo.com/en/track/594126
[b]	http://www.myspace.com/luminmusic
[c]	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/bg/
[d]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pashkevil
[e]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chai_%28symbol%29