I was returning to my home in Israel after being in the States for a month.

Near the end of the ride, the airline attendants gave the 15 minute warning, after which everyone would have to stay seated, buckled-up in preparation for landing.

I was near the front of the line, waiting.  A heavy-set man, perhaps in his early sixties, began speaking to me in Hebrew. I turned and smiled, and explained my Hebrew was not very good. He then continued speaking, this time in a broad mid-western American English.

I asked the man how it was that his Hebrew was so good, and he explained he had served in the IDF in the 1970′s. I was a little surprised, as he was not very rugged looking (or sounding), but I thanked him for serving.

He asked me whether I had been to Israel before, and I explained to him that I have been many times before and was living in the country for this whole year.

So far so good. An easy, smile-filled patter continued briefly, although I sensed a small dip of disappointment, perhaps realizing he would not be able to play the role of informed insider to a wide-eyed new visitor.

And then everything changed.

It changed when I told him where I was living this year.

Once I told him I was living in Gush Etzion, in the community of Efrat, a prickly shell began forming.

“Oh, one of my relatives lives there. He’s very right-wing,” he said to me.

“Really?” I replied, “What does that mean?” Perhaps my gaze became a little more focused at this point, perhaps a shell began coating my soft outer flesh.

“Oh, well, I know many settlers, I met them when I was serving in the West Bank, actually many are very nice.”

“But?” I prompted, still gazing intently at him.

“Well, like my friends, and as all of the major military figures agree, I know that the only hope for Israel is the new party with Herzog and Livni*,” he said, assuming that because there are former members of the Israeli military championing his dream ticket, he would win this round.

“What do you mean, the only hope for Israel?” I asked.

“Well, the only hope for peace,” he explained.

“So, you think Israel is the obstacle to peace?” I asked. That was the end of the conversation. He looked away, found a teenage girl who had come up behind us, and began querying her about her future plans. I heard him encouraging her to consider applying to the midwestern state university where he teaches.

It took a few minutes for my blood to cool.

I am sure my airplane bathroom line partner really believes he knows what’s best for Israel. He has to believe he loves Israel. And yet, he actually believes that Israel is the obstacle to peace. He firmly believes that unless a less “hardline” regime is voted in, Israel is doomed.

Never mind that Ehud Olmert tried to hand over control of Israel’s security to the moderate terrorist sitting in the driver’s seat over at the Palestinian Authority. Never mind that from before the time Israel was reborn she has never had true peace no matter who was sitting in the Prime Minister’s office, left, right or center.

On whom can we blame this man’s misguided thinking? And how can we hope to counter the message he so quickly shares on bathroom lines and, no doubt, in his classroom and synagogue listserv and possibly at public speaking events in his midwestern community?

Weather buffs have come up with predictions of accumulations of 2-6 inches in Jerusalem on Wednesday and Thursday.

It appears that all areas 600 meters (2,000 feet) above sea level will see the white stuff pile up.

Snow may fall in lower-lying areas, even in Modi’in halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, but it will not accumulate, according to current weather maps.

The prediction for Gush Etzion , which includes hills higher than Jerusalem, is for 6-10 inches.

On the Hermon ski slopes, 3-5 feet will fall, and 1-2 feet will dump on Tzfat (Safed).

As usually, snow accumulation predictions have to be taken with a grain of – uh – snow because a change of one degree here or there is significant.

The amount of snow in Jerusalem and to the south depends on how far and how fast the storm system moves southward.

In any case, the storm will be previewed by a sudden drop in temperatures Wednesday afternoon and will leave behind freezing weather.

Residents are advised to be prepared for electric outages due to heavy demand for electric and  due to gale-force winds, which are likely to tear down trees and power lines.

Current maps show that a re-rerun might be in store for next week.

Last year, a huge early winter storm dumped accumulations far beyond what was predicted.

what was predicted.

Firebombs were thrown on the road near the village of Husan which is right next to Beitar Illit in Gush Etzion.

No injuries of damage were reported.

Palestinian Authority terrorists targeted Gush Etzion Sunday morning and lightly wounded a four-year-old boy, who was treated by Hatzalah medics.

Soldiers are looking for the culprits.

The attack occurred at the junction of Highway 60 with Jewish communities in Gush Etzion, which has become a popular target for Palestinian Authority Arabs trying to murder Jews.

In the last two months, they have killed one woman and wounded several people with different means of trying to kill them – knives, guns, rocks, firebombs, and hit-and-run driving.

On December 12, a PA Arab began attacking Jews near the Gush Etzion tunnels, throwing chemicals onto a family in a car, into the face of a Jewish hitchhiker, and then trying to stab people with a screwdriver.

The terrorist was neutralized by a bystander, M. who was driving home when the attack happened.

M. (24) described to Israeli site, Walla, how he stopped the terrorist in Gush Etzion.

M. a lifelong resident of the Gush was waiting at the traffic light near El Hadr when he saw the Arab terrorist running towards him holding a screwdriver.

He heard people screaming to stop him, and he quickly realized what was going on.

M. drove his car forward and clipped the terrorist, the terrorist fell, but he quickly got up and continued to run.

M.then got out of his car, pulled his gun and shot the terrorist twice.

Four Border Policeman then ran up, reached the terrorist and arrested him, at which point the terrorist was transported to the hospital.

After the event was over, M. says he was concerned about what just happened, what he did and if he would get in trouble because of it, but the police at the scene calmed him down and told him he did exactly what he should have done.

An interview, in Hebrew, with Moshe Claud Kamon, who was attacked in Gush Etzion, near the El Hadr junction by a terrorist who threw a chemical in his face.

The terrorist also attacked a family, and threw a chemical on 3 children and their mother in a car.

Part 1

Part 2