Dearest family and friends,
Friday feb 12th at 2 am our daughter Yum was born.
Funny. I had to go to the hospital on the 11th, when my water broke. But when 11 became 12, when 1 became 2, so did i….

Yum, in Hebrew… sea.
A sea of love.
She was delivered naturally. I was in the water a lot and asher and I were together, holding on to each other for dear life…
It was very painful but went well and the feeling of achievement, doing it this way like some amazon, is indescribable.
Debby our midwife was wonderful. thank you debby.
I'm exhausted but happy and honored to have been host to this miracle for the third time.
We were home 12 hours after the delivery.
Ayehli and Enea are super excited. As are grand and great-grandparents alike.
So,
New life begins…
I wish Yum a life of depth and discovery, befitting of her name.
(she's 4 days old in the photos attached..)

Love
achiNoam.

food for thought...a personal note on the verge of new life

Hello all.

Tick tock, tick tock...

I am waiting to give birth, for the third time. due formally feb 24th but feel it could be any day.

What a strange, suspended state of being... my thoughts are like the waves of the sea (the one near our house, i attached a photo...)

New life soon to emerge, a new chance for....for what?

For clearer vision, for purer heart, for hope, for change, for sanity. A new chance for humanity in the form of a tiny fractal of its colossal whole..

A tiny fractal that could maybe be the one cell to multiply differently. To change the warped genetics of this generation, that emotional DNA which has brought so much pain and suffering to this world. Will it be this new little bud, a leader of the future, a discoverer, a fighter, a mover....

will this little bud be the one to finally experience the highest form of bliss, a life untainted by war??

These questions and so many more fill my sleepless nights.

I saw an amazing movie last night, called AJAMI, Israel's contender for this year's Oscar Award.

This movie is a must see in my opinion, i applaud its creators with all my heart. Its perspective, message and insight into the complexity of our painful situation here in Israel is so moving, so brilliant, it left me awed and heartbroken.

for all of you who feel you are in the dark about what's going on here, and that includes my fellow Israelis, this is your chance for a rare and magnificent peek into a reality far from the black and white propaganda presented by almost everyone, almost always, here in our own back-yard. Here, 15 minutes away from this house where i now sit and write..not in Gaza, not in Syria, not in iran. Here. This is our face, this is all of us.

Spectacular, Highly recommended.

While we're on the subject of perspective, find below, a link to a speech given by a journalist and woman i admire greatly, Pilar Rahola from Spain. (both English and Spanish version links).

Another brave soul, willing to fight against singular, propaganda-driven thinking. A real free thinker, the sort of which i admire greatly.

The sort of which i hope our new daughter will be.

Sending all of you much love,

Noa (Achinoam)


http://www.pilarrahola.com/3_0/XTRAS/print.cfm?ID=1775&TIPO=11&IDIOMA=3

in Spanish:

http://www.pilarrahola.com/3_0/CONFERENCIAS/default.cfm?ID=1775

pace of peace, POP, the seeds of hope.

hello all.

i's like to bring to your attention an animated film called "pace of peace", made by Israel high school students, arab and jewish, in collaboration with some very fine Italina animators.

the story was conceived by the kids, and i had the pleasure of writing and performing the theme song. gil dor did the prodcution. i asked Rim Banna, palestinian/israeli singer songwriter, to join...and the result is before you.

the film was made a few years ago, and won several prizes. much has happened since, but nothing has really changed, so it remains highly relevant in my eyes...

in troubled times lke these, all i can do to keep sane is spread seeds of hope and pray the winds of good will carry them as far as they can go.

to see the film please go to YOUTUBE and search for "Pace of Peace" . it's the anumated film right on top. i tried to put in alink but something went wrong.

thanks and enjoy.

love

noa

hello all,

here is my ' fim debut', the trailer from a film called "the Golden Pomegranate"!

the film is visually beautiful and historically very interesting. the story of one strong Jewish Yemenite woman's struggle for survival and independence against all odds.

i play a tiny part and i'm basically playing myslef so no need to hold your breath for an oscar any time this century, Penelope can relax, but it's a start! LOL :-) (Almodovar here i come!!)

check it out.
love
noa

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AxtshXZddk

as the new year approaches

hello everbody.
The two videos below are really amazing. I got them from different people over time, you may have seen them already, but if you haven’t , this is DEFINALTELY worth the couple of minutes it takes.
It’s a wow. Believe me :-)
As we approach a new year, good to know where we’re headed, or rather, to understand we have NO IDEA where we’re headed!
My conclusion?
“ all we need is love” .
Hope you got lots of it this year and all of those to come.
Hug
achiNOAam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9Wu2kWwSY&feature=fvst

And the last update:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ILQrUrEWe8

hunger

hello all,
a few years ago i was chosen to be good will ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. i am very proud to be able to contribute to the important work done by the good people there.
this is a 15 second video i would ask you to watch. and read on, if your heart leads you to....
warmly,
noa
http://www.1billionhungry.org/

and watch this, you must:
http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/1081/Chicken-a-la-Carte

once again in the name of balance

Dear friends,
The link below is a speech made in the UN human rights council by the president of the ‘UN watch’ group.
I think it is worth your time. Especially interesting the reaction of the chairman at the end. I listened to the speech several times and could not under any circumstances understand why the chairman asked to remove the speech from the protocol….is it not the job of UN watch to criticize UN activity? If there is no such freedom of speech, what legitimacy does this respectable organization have?
I am sending you this under the slogan of ‘there is no black and white’. The slogan so important for us all to remember.
I will also say, for the sake of balance, that I believe Israel should be looking seriously into all the points mentioned in the Goldstone report. I think my country has the responsibility of checking and rechecking it’s actions and it is my duty as a citizen to call for this action to take place, as I have on my blog and every other forum. Our worst enemy is self-righteousness. I want to make it clear that I am not a spokesman for Israeli foreign policy. On the contrary, I am very critical of it.
BUT, at the same time, I will not tolerate the racism, hypocrisy and bigotry against Israel displayed in almost every international forum including, sadly, the UN, as the speaker below summarizes so well.
If you care about forming a balanced, intelligent opinion, I think hope you should take the time to see this. The speech is in English.

Sincerely,
Achinoam (noa)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhWgZu6tcZU

this is the UN watch site, many interesting things here, mostly not about the middle east.

www.unwatch.org