The State of Israel celebrated its 62nd birthday this week, quite an achievement when one considers the many challenges to its existence that this tiny Jewish nation has faced since 1948.

The sad truth is that whatever trials and tribulations have been overcome thus far may well pale into insignificance with what lies ahead. Over the last few weeks I have spoken to quite a sample of people from across the political and religious spectrum, and whilst most are agreed that we have created an extraordinary country in such a relatively short space of time, most also fear the enormity of the problems that are staring us in the face.

I'm not trying to be a scaremonger or harbinger of doom, I'm simply attempting to relate to you the feelings of the man on the street, those that work hard for relatively low pay, whose children serve in the armed forces, who struggle to afford a mortgage due to the massive rise in house process here, but who believe passionately that  the Jewish people need a place of their own if we are to avoid a repeat of the awful happenings of the late-1930's and 1940's in western and central Europe.

I've been surprised at the level of agreement about exactly where the main dangers lie. We're all concerned about Iran's attempt to produce nuclear weapons given its leader's promise that he will wipe Israel off the face off the earth. There have been many  recently corroborated reports of Hizbollah arming themselves with longer range weapons on the Lebanese border, right under the nose of the 'supposed' UN peacekeeping force. And in Gaza, despite their assertion that they won't use the smuggling tunnels any more, there have been enough unsavoury incidents and sporadic clashes to suggest that it will take just the merest of touch papers to ignite further violence in that extremist Hamas entity.

For me, and for the majority of Israeli citizens, the most distasteful sight of the last week was the demonstration by members of the Haredi communities in Jerusalem and B'nei Barak against the very existence of the State of Israel! To those unfamiliar with mainstream Haredi thinking, they don't acknowledge the existence of Israel because the Messiah hasn't come, and only then can there be a country called Israel that will be home to the Jews – that it, of course, to ultra-religious Jews like themselves. Me, and those many Israeli citizens like me, (and that includes modern Orthodox Jews who pray every day and wear a 'kippa' (skullcap), are seen by many Haredim as not even Jewish, because we are not religious enough for their liking.

In both Jerusalem and B'nei Barak, a handful of young Haredim were arrested for burning the Israeli flag and chanting "death to Israel", as they refused to stand and respect the siren honouring the fallen soldiers of the wars and those that died in the Holocaust.
 
The token arrests have sickened many people over here who point out that if it were Arab, Bedouin, Druze or secular Israelis doing the same, they would be arrested in droves and sent down for long periods. This will not happen to the Haredim, you can be sure of that.

I've expressed my feelings about these people before in this blog, but it should be understood that I am not some renegade voice sailing against the tide. Judging by the masses of correspondence in the Israeli media and on the principal internet sites, a significant majority agree with me when I say that people that don't acknowledge the existence of the Israel, who refuse to work but have families of as many as 16 children and receive astounding amounts of social security and other benefits, whose children do not fight in the army, who pay no taxes, and who wish to impose their way of life on everyone else in the country (given the chance), represent the biggest threat to the continued existence of the State of Israel – as we know it.

According to a report in the Jerusalem Post this week, if the current demographic trends continue, in 25 years only 50% of the adult Israeli population will be from working families whose children are obliged to serve in the army. The Haredim know that if they continue breeding at the same rate as today, in 40 years they will form a majority of the electorate in this democracy.

The Arabs who surround Israel have no need to go to war against us, If they sit tight and consider feeding funds to the Haredim – you may or may not know that a deputation of Haredim was received warmly recently by President Ahmedinejad in Tehran where they expressed their solidarity with the megalomaniac leader who doubtless didn’t send them home empty-handed – Israel will be theirs for the taking as the formerly everyday secular, traditional and modern-Orthodox Jews will doubtless up sticks and go elsewhere. That is, of course, assuming there is somewhere else to go.

The other trump card for the Arabs is to again sit back and wait for Israel to descend into civil chaos as the religious and secular societies battle over a clash of ideologies. If there is one grain of hope, it might possibly come from the presently very small minority of Haredim who themselves have realized that their stance on many subjects is causing them to be hated by so many.

To their credit a few Haredi leaders came out and publicly condemned the violence seen this week, and the Hadrei Haredi website, using unprecedented strong words against one of their own, described the Deputy Health Minister Litzman's decision to scupper the building of an emergency room at a major hospital in Ashkleon because some ancient graves had been found their that he thought might be Jewish, (even though all archealogical evidence has proved otherwise), as "an unnecessary battle that caused immense damage to the Ultra-Orthodox sector".

The Hadre Haredi site went on to point out that Litzman had,"aggressively and disgracefully exploited his power in a way that turned the entire nation against us... it is not the honor of the dead at stake here, but solely that of the deputy minister." In an astonishing public attack against one of their own leading politicians, they concluded in a somewhat unfortunate turn of phrase, "…to safeguard the graves, while it was clear to [Litzman] and anyone who dealt with the topic that there is no halachic, ethical or moral problem, has brought a holocaust upon our heads that will take many years to amend."

The disproportionate power the Haredim have on the coalition government means that many of the leading parties are obliged to team up with these people if they want to govern. It's about time, having survived 62 hard and dramatic years, that a new political mettle is revealed that gives our politicians the backbone to stand up and say that no more will the law abiding, tax paying, military serving citizens of this country be held to ransom by people who, like Hamas, Syria and Iran, don't even accept that this country has a right to exist. 

 
 
When  Paz and I decided we wanted to leave England and bring our children up in Israel, we chose to live in Zichron Yaakov, one of the most beautiful towns in the country.

Zichron is located close to the Carmel beaches, in particular Dor beach, a beautiful unspoiled inlet that has perfect sand and a natural breakwater 100 metres from shore that means that families can play in the Mediterranean waters at a maximum depth of little more than 1 metre 20 – perfect for me in particular, as I can barely swim. It is a truly breathtaking spot and one that is treasured by all the locals. For many in this part of the world, like us, Dor beach is one of the main reasons they chose to live here.

Two years ago one of the largest new gas fields in the world was discovered off shore, spanning an area some 10 to 12 miles long including a stretch that runs parallel to Dor beach, although some way out to sea. A decision has been taken by government and by the gas companies who lobby individual parliamentarians to support their cause, (say no more), to site the onshore gas terminal on Dor beach so they don't have to pay compensation to landowners as it is part of a rural, what we thought to be a semi-protected area, and is almost completely undeveloped.

Even though there is a fully operating power station just eight miles away at Caesarea with all the infrastructure capable of supporting the gas project, and even though Haifa (12 miles to the north) already has an operating gas refinery, as a way of maximizing their potential profits the gas companies, led by Itzak Tshuva, one of Israel's richest businessmen, want to develop Dor, a project that will almost certainly ruin the environment and beaches for all the local population. 

Apart from losing a spectacular natural location, there are also the potential health risks that come with heavy industry on the doorstep, not to mention the eyesore that will appear where until now there has been an unspoiled view of nature reserves, beaches and the Mediterranean.

There have been a number of recent roadside demonstrations as well as petitions and plenty of news coverage as local residents from across the religious, cultural and social divides have joined together in a bid to make 'people power' a tool strong enough to spoke the wheel of big business.

Signs in Hebrew, Arabic, and English have appeared all along the main highways and at traffic lights in the area, and at a recent major demonstration, Jews (secular and religious) and Arabs (secular and religious), joined together and stood side by side to protest the terrible damage that will inevitably be done to our environment.

Could the combined Jewish/Arab people power really prove strong enough to defeat both government and big business? It is, unfortunately, very doubtful, but in an area where there is considerable religious tolerance and respect from communities for each other, (a fact rarely reported in the mainstream media who seem obsessed with magnifying the negative incidents that occur), this issue has done more than anything in recent memory to highlight the shared values that we all have in common.

None of us want to raise our children under a filthy pall of noxious fumes from a nearby gas terminal; we all want to continue to enjoy the beauty of the local beaches; we all want to protect the rare species of fish, birds and flowers that flourish in this area; and we all want to look out to sea without having to peer past a 15 metre high, block long gas terminal, fed by masses of pipelines and sub terminals that will exist solely to further line the pockets of a few Israeli oligarchs supported by government and local officials who will almost certainly be receiving hefty backhanders to do all they can to ensure that this project goes ahead.

Few if any of us who want to save our local environment oppose the actual development of the gas field that will provide a much needed energy source for Israel. It's about time, after decades of seeing Arab states all around getting filthy rich on 'black gold' that we have something to help us provide our own energy needs. But surely, with two alternative sights already processing energy materials within a 25 kilometre radius, there is no need to wipe Dor beach off the face of the map.

Israel is a tiny country, a fact that most people outside the country fail to appreciate due to its dominant position in news bulletins. The few remaining treasured beauty spots and nature reserves must be saved for future generations Every year more and more highways are built, towns within Israel grow at a frightening pace, (I should make it clear that I'm not the least bit interested in those settlements in the West Bank), and more and more cars choke the streets, making the dwindling number of
places like Dor true oases amongst the growing urbanization of Israeli life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW7FZgplR6s

Take a look at the campaign video (above) that has been produced to show what we will lose if the project goes ahead and, should you wish, use the comments feature on this blog to register your support for both Jewish and Arab Israelis intent on saving this treasured beach for future generations.

 
 
Most people that meet me, when told that I originally made my living as a horse racing commentator, invariably appear rather taken aback. After their initial surprise they almost always ask, 'Well why did you get into that then?'

The answer is, because it was a great opportunity to combine my love of horses and horse racing with a career in media. The actual moment when it dawned on me that this was the most exciting sport on the planet, was when watching Red Rum win his third Grand National at Aintree in 1977 and listening to the extraordinary live commentary from the legendary Sir Peter O'Sullevan.

Along with Kenneth Wolstenholme's immortal 'They think it's all over … it is now' commentary on England's win in the 1966 World Cup, and the recently departed and much loved Harry Carpenter's unforgettably emotional, 'Oh my God, he's won the title back at 32!' when Muhammad Ali beat George Foreman in the 'Rumble in the Jungle' in Zaire in 1974, O'Sullevan's description of the closing stages of Red Rum's epic third Grand National victory is an integral part of the great moments of sport.

After watching that race and hearing that commentary, I wondered if it could just be possible to make a living doing what O'Sullevan did. Well, I did, for quite a long time, but wasn't quite in the same league as 'The Voice' as O'Sullevan is known in sports media circles.

Very often, when you get to meet a great sporting idol you can be in for a disappointment. On my first visit to Haydock racecourse as a journalist I went into the Press Room not knowing where I should sit down and set up my phones, etc. It's a bit like a new player arriving in a 'Premier League' dressing room and not knowing which peg to use. There was just the one seating apparently vacant so I sat down and set my gear up before sensing that someone was standing behind me. I looked around and there was Sir Peter O'Sullevan. I jumped out of the chair and apologised if I had taken his seat. He just smiled, and said in that extraordinary voice "Don't mind me. You just get on with your work. There's no pecking order here." What a gentleman.

When I came to live in Israel in 2007 I did so with the intention of doing everything I could to help those seeking to establish professional horse racing over here. I tried very hard for more than two years to bridge the divide between various governmental departments, the Israel Sports Betting Board, the local racehorse owners (most of whom it transpired were mafia people seeking to launder money through illegal gambling), and the decent Israeli thoroughbred and Arabian horse breeders who had strived to establish proper racing against all the odds.

My fight to have betting on horse racing legalised and take the market for illegal sports betting away from the underworld and placed in the hands of government who would tax the industry and return profits to sporting institutions and good causes, has so far proved fruitless. Let's just say that sadly there aren’t enough honest politicians here to want to change the status quo.

I've walked away from all connections to horse racing in Israel, a move that was regrettable but inevitable in light of the difficulties that I faced. Last year, I presented a series of live horse racing specials for Israel's Channel 5 sports channel, as there was some momentum at the time behind introducing the sport to the general public here. With the legislation to legalise racing and betting on horses mired in miles of red tape, I expected Channel 5 to forget all about it.

Then, lo and behold, last week I got a call from one of the producers at the Tel Aviv-based studio asking me to choose from a list of major international races which I would like to present through spring, summer and autumn this year. Top of my list was the Grand National, and so this coming Saturday I'll return to my career of more than 20 years to commentate on the world's greatest steeplechase – in Hebrew!

Now, before you all fall off your collective chairs with laughter, I should point out that I commentated and presented last season's racing shows on Channel 5 in Hebrew. I was a little nervous for the first programme feeling that my command of the language fell some way short of broadcasting standard, but the production team told me that my accent was "charming" and that my mistakes in pronunciation and grammar were "often entertaining and always forgivable".

When I sat down and listened back to my first TV presentation in Hebrew I realised that I am to Israeli sports commentary what the French policeman was to the resistance in 'Allo Alllo'! Apparently, despite my occasional mistakes and verbal faux pas, the shows proved popular enough for another series to have been commissioned for this year.

Last year's Grand National was won by the unconsidered 100/1 chance Mon Mome, nine minutes or so (the time it takes to run the race) after I had told doubtless bewildered Israeli TV viewers unfamiliar with the betting, the ceremony and the awesome challenge of the race, that rank outsiders very rarely win big races, even a race as unpredictable as the 'National'.

I gave three selections for the race, one of whom fell at the 2nd fence, another who led until tiring at the second last and the horse that finished sixth called Big Fella Thanks, who is now favourite for this year's renewal.

Note to self at that time – 'Could do better'.

So, after much poring over the form book for this year's Grand National here are my three against the field in the 40 runner, four-and-a-half mile, 30 fence marathon that has half of Britain and an estimated 600 million plus TV viewers around the world (including a probable 428 in Israel) on the edge of their seats.

Believe it or not, even though no horse has won back-to-back Grand National since Red Rum in 1974, I think Mon Mome has a tremendous chance of winning again. He is in better form that he was coming into the race 12 months ago and despite having one of the top weights to carry he looks to have a great chance (granted luck in running), to win again. At 12/1 he looks good value.

My other two are both offered at odds of around 40/1. Irish Raptor has won over the big Grand National fences before when winning the Topham Trophy over one lap of the National course last year. In the National itself they have to go round twice. His trainer is in great form and fancies him to run a big race too. The other outsider I fancy is a grey horse called King John's Castle, runner-up in 2008 to Comply Or Die and who has been trained specially for this race all year.

There you go, Mon Mome, Irish Raptor and King John's Castle, the first three home in this year's John Smith's Grand National, or as I shall be telling them on Saturday from the studio in Tel Aviv – 'Ha shalosh susim ha rishonim b'kav hagamar shell ha John Smith's Grand National 2010.'

Wish me luck!

 
 
I hate Pessach (Passover – as Anglos call it! I know I sound like an old grouch, but the combination of wheat-starved Israelis, high temperatures and traffic jams as far as the eye can see, doesn't strike me as a reason to celebrate.

Of course, you take a large number of Israeli drivers, add in an average speed of 5kph, soaring temperatures and the obligatory roadworks reducing highways to one lane, and the already awful standard of driving here plummets to new lows. There has been much driving down the emergency lane, shaking of fists, and the truly shocking sight yours truly witnessed of some half-whit reversing backwards around a roundabout as he had missed his exit, and it adds up to a recipe for disaster.

Israel has one of the highest rates of death on the roads anywhere in the world. If the Arabs just bought every Israeli a sports car there would be nobody left to fight them within five years! Many's the time that I've returned home to 'er indoors over the last three years and regaled her with the latest tale of a near miss caused by a maniac driver doing something that would cause even an Italian driver to blush. I've doubled my life insurance and last year bought a sturdier car in the hope that should I get hit by one of these nuts, I might at least have half a chance of doing as the Bee Gees suggested -'Staying Alive'.

For my birthday last September Paz presented me with an envelope that contained an invitation to join an advanced Israeli driving course. It didn't at first whet the appetite. It sounded a bit like Hannibal The Cannibal asking you round for a wine tasting session!

By early February I received a reminder saying that I only had four weeks left in which to use my gift, so I gave them a call and arranged to go along one Friday morning for a full day's course.

There were sixteen of us seated in a portacabin on a large public car park, closed for the day to allow us to do with it what we may; fourteen men and two women, the males ranging in age from 17 to 69 and the two women in their 30's. There were a couple of corporate types, a husband and wife, a couple of pensioners, quite a number of lads in their mid-20's to 30's and a boy racer, who arrived in a souped-up Nissan, dressed resplendent in a white track suit adorned by much gold jewellery and sporting a gelled haircut that would keep Brylcream in business for a year on its own. The boy with the bling took a seat next to me. It's going to be a long day, I thought.

The instructors were good. They spoke very entertainingly but with total authority on the awful habits of Israeli drivers and went over stopping distances in different conditions, road signs, essential car maintenance, particularly tyres, and the correct position in which to drive your car. Of the 16 of us no-one (it transpired) actually had the seat in the desired position to control the car to maximum effect. It also transpired that only three (me not included) had their rear view and side mirrors in the ideal positions. I have to say, that since taking on board their advice, I have felt much more in control of the vehicle – and that was before the skidpan training.

We split into groups of three or four and each group was allotted a trainer. I was teamed up with Menachem, a grumpy 69-year old whose wife had said she would never get in a car with him again unless he took this course, and Dafna, a bubbly 30-something female executive who explained how she loved an adrenalin rush and did bungey jumping and sky diving. Interesting!

I was invited first into the driver's seat, the instructor, Elad, next to me and the other two in the back. A bend had been marked about 200 metres ahead with traffic cones and the surface had been soaked with water. I was told to drive at 40kph to a certain cone and then slam on the breaks which would activate the ABS system. I did just that and was astonished at how the car held straight and didn't slide. We had been taught that not keeping the wheels straight when emergency breaking is one of the main causes of bad accidents. It was true. I was beginning to enjoy myself.

Next was coming around a bend at 50kph and doing an emergency stop and controlling the subsequent spin. The instructor would suddenly pull up the handbrake and I had to resist the urge to use the foot break and just steer into the spin to control the car.

I put my foot down and headed to the bend where, upon hitting 50kph, he pulled the handbrake and the car started spinning like a Wurlitzer on speed. I just managed to refrain from touching the foot break and steered rapidly into the spin as we spun back and forth, eventually coming to a stop a few seconds later. I was astounded, and the instructor told me I had done great. I turned to the two in the back. Menachem looked a pale shade of grey.

'Are you two OK?' I asked.
'OK?' said Dafna, 'what a thrill. I nearly came!'
Menachem just raised an eyebrow and continued to stare straight ahead. 

I had four more goes at controlling various different spins and then we went by rotation into the cars of the other two and went through the same procedure. Dafna was good – Menachem was awful.

At lunch the whole group got chatting and I enjoyed their company. 'Boy racer' turned out to be a bit of a 'girl's blouse' as they used to say in the north of England. He had panicked the first time the car skidded and wouldn’t leave the foot break alone after that. So much for appearances.

After lunch it was the race. A course had been laid out and we were put in pair's and given half an hour to go around the course with our 'co-driver'. Gershon was my partner, a young guy with a name like Gershon, the Israeli equivalent of Walter or Cedric. Nice guy though, quiet at first but we soon egged each other on. I loved the thrill of the controlled speed and on one practice lap pushed two hard and went into a spin. Amazing though, my training of a few hours before kicked in and I handled the spin well. The instructors were applauding in the centre of the track.

Then the race itself. Four goes at recording the fastest time, everyone using their own car. The sports cars obviously had an advantage and my Hyundai saloon wasn't the quickest set of wheels of the sixteen. First round, I clocked 35.2 and about ninth place. Elad, my instructor, gave me a few pointers and I went again returning in 33.9 seconds and moved up to sixth. Then Elad jumped into my car and took control, telling me to watch what he did and then try and knock at least a second off my own time. Wow!! What a thrill! We blitzed around in a shade over 30 seconds. Unbelievable! 

I went again, being aware that touching a cone was a two second penalty and that not coming to a halt on the starting line was a five second penalty. I gave it all I had, controlling the car based on the instructions of earlier in the day and screeching to a halt right on the line. I looked across to the clocker, in anticipation. 32.4!

I finished third over all. The first of the saloon cars behind two sports cars, the second of which only clocked a tenth of a second faster than me.

The race was all about fun, but the course was about respect on the road and controlling your car. Boy Wonder (who finished 14th by the way), was asked what he had taken out of the day. He said that he had learned more in this day than in all the lessons and classes for his driving test and couldn't understand why people in Israel didn't have to do this course as a compulsory part of their driving test. It would save lives. He was right - it would.