► 1:00Music: Stojnele' Stokole[a] by Lumin[b]. This movie is released under the Bulgarian version of the CC-BY-NC-SA[c] 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[d] (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.
2010-07-05 17:56
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.
2010-07-05 16:17
The graffiti reads Am Israel Hay[e], or "Long Live Israel!" (lit. "The people of Israel live!")
2010-07-02 15:46
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.
Other brigades were much worse off: The 70th, for example, looked like a historical re-enactment club, with their old-style "football" helmets instead of the new plastic ones.
679th Reserve Armored Brigade Memorial
2010-07-01 14:59
View of Hezbollah positions just north of the Israel-Lebanon border.
2010-07-01 10:27
Close up-view of the village of Yaroun, sometimes used as launch site.
2010-07-01 10:33
The houses of Ahuzat Barak, seen from the north. In the foreground is a new set of houses being built along the northernmost street.
2010-07-04 18:55