Today marks the end of the first week of school.  Although much of the week, as in American schools, has been dedicated to the business of getting started, figuring out where everyone is going, getting the correct books, and so forth, the teachers have also found time and space to talk about Gaza and the events of the summer.  Haifa is far enough away that the kids here, like our family, experienced events from afar but that does not seem to stop opinions from being strong and highly varied, but the teachers seem able to let them all be heard.  I am impressed with how quickly the school is able to take in new kids, assess their abilities, place them in classes, and begin the process of making them part of a hevre. Although not everything goes smoothly (the boys are still attempting to get copies of the math and science books, for example), the sense that other kids are having the same problems and the humor with which they deal with them seems to make it work.  Having no physics book is a problem.  Having the librarian faced with a line of kids clamoring for books announce that the library is now closed is funny, and a problem for another day.

Last Shabbat, we stayed with GJC alumni Hila, Itai, Nadav and Roni in Jerusalem and in addition to a wonderful visit with them, were able to be at the bar mitzvah of Adam Bonn-Yavneh, grandson of Chana  Bonn.  Adam's davenning and dvar were amazing but I think my favorite part were the calls first from his mother Jessie to Adam and then later from Adam to Jessie of l'at l'at (slower, slower).  Such a treat to be part of such a warm, loving community celebration!  This Shabbat the boys and I are going to try to find Or Hadash, a reform congregation about 3 km from our apartment.  Everything here is either up a steep hill, down a steep hill, or both, so hoping we find it on the first try.

Amid dealing with figuring out the details of daily life, I've continued trying to learn more about health and healthcare here.  This past weekend, Itai was able to explain to me a bit about conditions for foreign workers, since much of my work in healthcare in the US has been around access to care for immigrants.  As in the US, foreign workers provide most of the home health care here (among other occupations) but unlike the US where they are one of the groups least likely to have health insurance, in Israel their employers are required to provide them with insurance.   One of the things that fascinates me about Israel's health system is the fact that it has kept costs stable at about 8% of GDP for the past 2 decades while costs in the US have skyrocketed.  As I wrote in my last post, health outcomes including life expectancy continue to improve in Israel and exceed those of the US.  Every resident of the country, whether a citizen, foreign worker, or temporary residents like our family on sabbatical must have health insurance, but that insurance is easy to obtain and remarkably affordable.  Part of the reason this system works is that overall costs for healthcare have been kept remarkably low through strict governmental regulation.  See Health Affairs for a detailed explanation.  90% of Israelis say they are satisfied or very satisfied with their health plan compared to about 87% in the US (including only those who have insurance).