Yael Politis

A great love story set against the violent birth of a nation This is really the story of Tonia Shulman and Amos Amrani.

Tonia moves with her family from Poland to British Mandate Palestine, first to her uncle’s small apartment in Tel Aviv and later to the kibbutz that her father Josef helped to establish. Due to the hardships of life in the kibbutz and against the backdrop of what is happening in Nazi-occupied Europe, she longs for security and comfort. Amos is a handsome and exotic Yemenite who fights in the Jewish underground, to which Tonia's father is vehemently opposed. Despite their different backgrounds Tonia and Amos fall in love.

This budding romance is interrupted by the siege of Tonia’s home, Kfar Etzion. The desperate fight is described very movingly and it is the first fictionalised account of the true story of the siege and fall of the Etzion Bloc.

Tonia finally achieves her dream and moves to Michigan in the US, hoping her family will follow her. But is this where she belongs?

Find out about Tonia’s true heritage and buy the book from: www.hollandparkpress.co.ukbook_detail.php?book_id=17

Yael Politis grew up in Dearborn, Michigan and moved to Israel in 1973. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and studied towards an MA at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The Lonely Tree, which won a YouWriteOn Book of Year 2009 award, is her debut novel.

Creative writing by women and men of joy and wisdom

Edited by Toby Klein Greenwald

The English-speaking senior citizens of Gush Etzion, many of whom have made aliya to Israel in the footsteps of their children, have brought with them a lifetime full of stories, professions and experiences. Now these former teachers, business owners, sales people, community activists, dancers, actors, soldiers and raisers of successful families meet several times a week to study, exercise, learn new skills and discover latent talents.

The fruits of their labor in a class on creative writing are brought here. We thank them for sharing their wisdom with us. May they continue to grow, and to light the way for us all.

In addition to being good reading for any age, this book can be used as a guide to other teachers of creative writing who are seeking writing prompts for writers of any age. It is currently being used by a teacher of English as a new language to recent immigrants to Canada.

More information about this book!

The book is soft covered, 250 pages long and a bit larger than the standard pocket book. The price is $40 includes shipping and handling.

All proceeds from the book go to support the activities of the Golden agers of Gush Etzion and Efrat.

$40 including shipping and handling

Allow 3 weeks for delivery

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The story of Kfar Etzion for children in Hebrew. An 11 minute audio CD plus kit with 18 historical black and white photos and 24 page color brochure with map of Gush Etzion today.

$20 including shipping and handling

Allow 3 weeks for delivery

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The book "Siege in the Hills of Hebron" by Dov Knohl, 400 pages and hardcover, with an introduction by Abba Eban, evaluations by Yigael Yadin and Yig'al Allon was first published in Hebrew in 1954.

Its compiler and editor, Dov Knohl was a founding member of Kfar Etzion and one of the few survivors of the final battle in Kibbutz Kfar Etzion. He collected diaries, letters, official reports and other primary sources which serve as the authentic material for the book.

His son serves as the Rabbi of the Kibbutz today.

Though the English edition has been abridged by about a half, it has remained completely faithful to the original.

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In the USA: $50 including shipping and handling

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A wise scholar once said that our Rabbis teach us that human action determines the nature of time, and that when God is brought into that time, by us through our mitzvoth, then our time is whole and complete.

Even though our experiences are often fraught with disappointments and frustration, it is because, as a people, we have certain expectations that there ought to be justice in the world. When our experience falls short of those expectations we can sometimes lose faith.

Our tradition teaches us that God has a plan. He is here with us, albeit sometimes hidden, but we must continue to have faith and to bring Him into our time, our lives, and especially to be focused on acts of loving kindness towards one another.

Our second edition of COURAGE and HOPE, Inspirational Writings by Youth in Gush Etzion, comes out on the heels of one of the most difficult and painful chapters in Jewish History, the expulsion of Jews by Jews from our own land. Whether one was for or against this act, all would agree that it was a heart-rending experience for our whole Nation. The residents of Gush Katif and our religious Zionist youth, raised on a love for the land of Israel, were hit the hardest by this tragedy. As this goes to print we still have former residents of Gush Katif living in temporary housing, with no jobs, and broken lives.

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In the USA: $15.00 including shipping and handling

In Israel: 55 NIS

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By Laura Ben-David

The book, published by Mazo Publishers, is a compilation of all of the crazy stories that occurred the first year of our Aliyah to Neve Daniel in Gush Etzion.

Filled with photos, and replete with both humorous and poignant anecdotes, the book gives a humorous spin to all of the bureaucracy and madness that is par for the Aliyah course.

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In the USA: $16.95 including shipping and handling

In Israel: 50 NIS (Instead of 69 NIS in shops!)

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Commemorating 60 Years of the Fall of the Heroic Lamed Hey

Important Educational and Teaching Materials

Historical DVD , 20 min. long with Hebrew subtitles

Presently available only in Hebrew .

Director: Ranni Magar
Producers: Odette and Yuval Or
Narrator: Eli Altoni

The Song of the Lamed Hey by Yosef Hadar and Yoram Tahar-Lev, sung by the Amranim duo

Price: $15 including shipping and handling To purchase now:

Commemorating 60 Years of the Fall of the Heroic Lamed Hey

A 40-page pictorial testimony written in Hebrew by the historian Yochanan Ben Yaakov, of Kibbutz Kfar Etzion in conjunction with the Kfar Etzion Field School and the Regional Council of Gush Etzion.

New revised and updated edition in memory of the Lamed Hey January 2008, Shvat 5768

Price: $9 including shipping and handling

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