Shabbat June 19-20, 2026

Welcome back everyone! Its Israel adventure time again. But be prepared! We will be travelling at breakneck speed, so hang on tight and enjoy the ride!

A good place to start is with preparations for our flight. Although we all know the outcome now, about 9 days ago the passage from Montreal to Israel was still only about 70% assured. When we took off on Wednesday evening, we knew we would make it to Athens, but then, what if things went haywire with Iran, the Houtis, or Hezbollah? Would Sky Express, an airline we had never heard of before a few weeks ago, actually fly to Israel? In preparation for uncertainty, Elan, who by coincidence was on the same Sky Express flight as we were, had booked as a backup a refundable El Al ticket in case of a change in flight plans. 

We all arrived in Athens midday Thursday, scheduled to take off at 8:30 PM but not sure what the next move will be…but with CNN on the big screen nearby and checking our phones constantly, we finally saw that that the evening would be calm and we would be able to take off. However, we were delayed 1:15 hr due to an unforeseen circumstance (it seems a baby travelling with his family did not have a ticket/visa?). Hopefully this would be the only hiccup in the trip. 

Now to really provide context, we were travelling to do things that grandparents can do only if they are in the vicinity of their grandchildren; go to graduations, recitals, year-end events, and the like. Fun stuff!  

Friday morning, we prepared for Shabbat, which was going to be in Petach Tikvah with Gila and Ariel. We picked up a few groceries, some Shabbat take-out and took off to Petach Tikvah. We were greeted by Elisha who must have grown 4 inches since we were here this winter! He is now 12 and graduating grade 6 (an event we will attend next week). Ariel and Gila outdid themselves with great meals and the kids were amazing. Ora, now 9, and Adi, 6 are into gymnastics and of course K-Pop dance! We had a terrific shabbat which included a bar mitzvah lesson; I have had the pleasure of working with both Elisha and Nadav who are celebrating their bar-mitzvahs 3 weeks apart in March 2027. Save the date for a lot more blogs and stories!

 

Back to Netanya Saturday night, followed by a jet-lag sleep (one of several) and we the got organized for a busy Sunday. We drove to Efrat, picked up Eitan and had a bar mitzvah lesson with Nadav. Then off to an open house at Aryeh and Nadav’s elementary school. We were taught Torah and the history of the area around Efrat by our grandchildren and participated in activities like virtual reality, calligraphy, and other art projects.  The kids were great and the school was really hopping. We returned to Elan and Nomi’s home for dinner with the kids, including Shoshana, who was to graduate high school the next day!

Sunday night our plan we to sleep in Jerusalem at a hotel. If you can remember that far back, Israel continued to pressure Hezbollah, Iran threatened to retaliate, and Trump kept intervening and told everyone a peace deal was near. When we went to bed Sunday night, we did not know if we would spend it in a hotel room on the 6th floor or in a shelter on -3! As it turned out we were able to stay in our room all night, due to the imminent Trump peace deal. More about that later.

After the quiet night, we had breakfast at the hotel which was a bit too quiet with only a handful of people around. I guess that’s what turmoil does to tourism; the quality of the breakfast, however, was excellent. After a walk around the park overlooking Yemin Moshe and the Old City, we picked up Shoshana, who had just completed her second to last exam. We took her to lunch and shopping at Malcha Mall, and then home to prepare for her graduation ceremony.

We were told that Israeli graduations were not quite like one’s that we have experienced in North America; they are much more informal with not as much focus on the graduates as individuals. The Horev Girls School in Jerusalem had 5 Grade 12 classes with 150 students. The graduation ceremony was held in the school gym, and we sat around tables munching on fruits and veggies and cookies while people spoke from the podium (and spoke and spoke) and the families chatted. No awards, no recognitions for graduates, but then, diplomas were given out by class. That led to families pushing and jostling for position to take the best pictures. We are super proud of Shoshana, who did amazingly academically, ran a bunch of programs to help out farmers during the war with Hamas, and was accepted into a top-flight post high school seminary program at Migdal Oz next year. She is a spectacular young woman, and the sky is the limit for her!

Now things get a bit calmer….we returned to Netanya on Monday night and spent Tuesday and Wednesday walking along the beach, minor shopping and a great dinner out at a beach-side restaurant called The View, appropriately named because you can catch the most beautiful sunsets there.  After a bit of clean up and catching up on messages and emails, we set out Thursday for Petach Tikvah for another grandparent special. We picked up Elisha, Ora and Adi and took them for a “fancy” lunch to the local café and then home so Elisha could prepare for the play he would be in that evening. He has been part of a local drama troupe for at least 3 years. At the play, Elisha had a big cheering section (Ariel, Gila, Ora, Adi, Sabi, Savti, Jenna and her fiancé Noam, more about that soon!) and he put on a great performance. The play was very original, about integrating a colony of Jewish kids who had been living on a space colony on the star Brocolloni, back into life on Earth. Great themes of tolerance, cooperation, etc, after the initial reaction of both parties to being thrust into a very uncomfortable situation. Elisha was brilliant, not only acing his lines but reminding the others in the troupe when to come in and what to do! He is super expressive and a natural at acting. Kol HaKavod-Well done! 

The Trump peace agreement, or MOU, is, to be charitable, a real head scratcher. It is no secret that the Israeli public were much more pro-Trump than the American population, considering the US actions a year ago by sending B-52 bombers to the Iranian nuclear sites. What has leaked out of this agreement not only appears on the surface as a monetary win for the Iranian regime, but includes restrictions on Israel in terms of its defense against Hezbollah. Trump’s approval rating in Israel has now tanked like in the US. For now, there are 60 days to see what happens. Obviously, it would be wonderful if the cross-border bombing stopped and people in both northern Israel and southern Lebanon could live in peace. In this instance, the protagonists in Tehran and Hezbollah have not changed; it’s hard to see this as more than a pause to reload rather than a peace agreement. 

But wait, there’s more! We are thrilled to announce that our niece Jenna Weisz, daughter of Roanne and David, sister of Danielle/Brandon and Aviva is engaged to Noam Bar-Yaacov! We also are thrilled to be here to celebrate at their engagement party on Friday morning. We met Noam several months ago and he rapidly received the stamp of approval from all the assorted Israeli Mazer grandchildren! What more do you need? The party was at Noam’s parents’ home in Nes Harim, which is (for those who know Israeli geography) is past Bet Shemesh and before Tzur Hadassah on the road to Efrat. It was very special to meet Noam’s parents and sisters, they were very welcoming and it all looks like a perfect match! 

So, now that we were 20 minutes away from Efrat, of course our next cross-country move was….to Efrat to spend Shabbat with Nomi, Elan, Shoshana, Shlomo, Nadav, Aryeh and Eitan. This coming week, Shoshana is going back to Camp Moshava in Ennismore, Ontario to be a counsellor. She is flying to Canada via Rome and will spend a day in Rome with Nomi and Elan! Now, you may ask, who will be staying with the rest of the kids? I know, despite Shlomo and Nadav being very mature and responsible, we are staying anyway just to make sure all goes smoothly! That will lead to more great adventures to share next week.

We wish you an amazing Shabbat Shalom!

Barbara and Bruce

Happy Birthday to Andy (next Friday!)

Happy Birthday to Joey Brook!

Happy Father’s Day to all the wonderful fathers! Make yourselves a BBQ! 

Refuah Shelema for Chaya Leah bat Hadassah Eta Hanah

Refuah Shelema for Edna Bat Osnat

Refuah Shelema for Aharon Ephraim ben Kayla Shoshana

Refuah Shelema for Shmuel Zev ben Rachel Ita

Refuah Shelema for Shmuel Yosef Ben Alexandra Ariella