Two lights? Hanukkah and Christmas
from Benjamin Two lights in a dark timeThis winter in Israel and the autonomous territories, two festivals of light coincide with a time characterized by exhaustion, mourning and cautious hope. ...
Hezbollah chief threatens new escalation – “We will not give up our weapons”
In a combative speech in Beirut, Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem warned against further escalation with Israel. In view of the increasing number of Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon, he ...
A new beginning not far from the lake – between risk, gratitude and trust
from Benjamin Crazy or brave?Perhaps both. And yet with complete trust in God. This is how our new adventure begins. Looking ahead is accompanied by uncertainty, the situation in the country re ...
Iran arms itself – Israel warns of new escalation
Despite US President Donald Trump's claim that he has "wiped out" Iran's nuclear program, there is growing concern in Jerusalem and among Western intelligence agencies that Tehran has largely preserve ...
Podcast with Alex and Benjamin: Surviving in times of war
from Benjamin We, Alex and I, were guests at Gespräche mit Goldrand Dorothea BronsemaAlex in particular has spoken openly about her experiences. We are now approaching two years of war and crise ...
The first days of the war: what we experienced
from Benjamin It's been a week since I started following the news more closely again. Tensions in the Middle East are exploding. This report first appeared on www.fokus-jerusalem.tv. The regime ...
Experienced: Shavuot – A festival between history, community and the future
from Alex For many years, the festival of Shavuot passed me by without me attaching much importance to it. It was clear to me that people eat more cheesecake on these days than usual - but I sim ...
Israel’s gigantic water highway, an example for Germany?
from Benjamin How a desert state became a water exporterWater scarcity is one of the greatest challenges of our time worldwide. Israel, a country with hot, dry summers and little rainfall, has l ...
Four TV shots. A huge ice cream. And valuable time in Jerusalem.
from Benjamin Four new TV reports are in the can 🙌🏻. You will see them on Fokus Jerusalem over the next two months. It was a productive day of filming and I am very grateful for the strong teamw ...
Iranischer Abgeordneter wirft Israel Beteiligung an Explosion im Hafen vor – Brände schwelen weiter
Der iranische Parlamentarier Mohammad Siraj beschuldigte Israel, an der Explosion im Hafen beteiligt gewesen zu sein. Seinen Angaben zufolge seien "Sprengstoffe entweder im Ursprungsland des Container ...
Commemoration: Yom HaShoah in Ramat Zvi
from Benjamin Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, is the Israeli day of remembrance for the victims of the Shoah, the genocide of around six million Jews.It started yesterday evening and end ...
Dramatic report: Israel planned attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities – Trump stopped the operation
Israel prepared an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities together with the USA, but US President Donald Trump prevented the operation in favor of diplomatic talks with Tehran. The New York Times reports ...
Production in Safed
from Benjamin As part of our production trip for the upcoming episodes of Focus on Jerusalem, we traveled to northern Israel in April 2025 - in particular to the northern city of Safed.But as pi ...
Article Patchwork – Dad, a look back
from Benjamin Exactly one year ago, I was allowed to contribute an article to the magazine Family:"Patchwork-Papa: Vom Umgang mi ...
Agriculture at the time Israel was founded
from Benjamin Finally enjoying a day off together as a family again.No appointments, no hectic pace - just being together. I'm still recovering from my cold, but there was something special abou ...
The Jewish festival of Passover: an important festival of liberation and tradition
from Alexandra Passover (Pesach) is one of the central festivals in the Jewish calendar and commemorates the liberation of the people of Israel from Egyptian slavery. It is a festival of freedom ...
Hannukah – It’s time for a miracle
from Alexandra Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, is one of the most joyous festivals in the Jewish calendar and has a special significance in Israel. This eight-day festival begins ...
Rosh Hashanah: background, traditions and culinary customs
from Alexandra Rosh Hashanah, literally "head of the year", marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year. This two-day festival falls on the first and second day of the month of Tishrei in the Jew ...
Our vision… once through the shredder
from Benjamin Funk I screamed at the steering wheel, my fingernails dug into the leather. I'd had enough, the barrel had overflowed, my patience had snapped. Before that, I had left the house ...
Jerusalem, we’re back! A first brief impression
from Benjamin Funk "It's fuller than we thought" - we are amazed. Who would have thought that Jerusalem would be so well visited after all the lockdowns and entry bans.We had forgotten how to qu ...
Almost like Christmas … the first rain!
Autumn in Israel is not noticeable as usual by the leaves falling from the trees, the lower temperatures or the frequent rain.No!Autumn arrives here, almost gradually and silently. It stays a constan ...
Make a delicious pesto yourself
In this article, you will learn how to make an excellent pesto yourself.It is impossible to imagine our kitchens without this green spice plant. Whether fresh on a pizza, in a salad or simply with moz ...
How Israel pushed me to my limits
"It's a bit crazy what you're doing!"was the response of a friend when I told him that I was emigrating to Israel. Some people told me it was brave. I could have collected plenty of statements like t ...
Hiking in the heat, part 1 – The best tips against blisters
Every step hurts, my feet are burning. Nevertheless, I try to take every step carefully, despite the rocky terrain. "Left, right, left, right," I mumble to myself. This goes on for hours. As far as my ...
Tart or quiche – really tasty for hot days
Do you know where I have my oven? In the washroom! That's right, in the far corner. You're probably wondering why? The answer is easy - it's the heat. In Israel, it gets so hot that you want to preve ...
Flexibility and small travel treasures :)
If we were asked to compose guiding principles for emigrating to Israel, one of them would be: "A high degree of flexibility and spontaneity is a must." Especially in the last few months, a generous " ...
Pita bread with a difference (flatbread)
As promised on Instagram, here is my flatbread recipe. It is the perfect bread with a Mediterranean touch. The spices create a vacation atmosphere and the olive oil gently rounds off the whole thing. ...
Original Israeli pita
And here is the recipe that Alex mentioned in the blog article. Guys, this is soooo good! You have to try it! Here's the recipe for your pita dough. As there are a lot of us (thank goodness) we use on ...
What do we take away from the crisis? What do we learn from it?
As we mentioned in our YouTube video, sooner or later the coronavirus era will come to an end, and five or ten years down the line we will look back and ask ourselves: "What have we learned from this? ...
Spring is coming. Time for the garden
Self-catering We already talked about this in the previous blog post. We've had more rain in Israel than we've had for 50 years. That's why we've spent a lot of time indoors this year and the garde ...
There is no wrong weather, only the wrong clothes
Winter in Israel "What, you have winter here too?" is a question we often hear. If you want to ski here, you can. Mount Hermon, an hour and a half away, offers a few ski slopes. Certainly no compar ...
10 travel tips for Israel
1.) When is the best time to travel? The most common question we get ordered is: "When is the best time to come?" That's a good question. Because, even though it's the Middle East, there are season ...
Israeli falafel – Recipe
In Israel, falafel is considered a national dish alongside shakshuka. That's why we have a simple and good recipe for you. 250g chickpeas½ bunch of fresh parsley + (a ¼ bunch of coriander), alternat ...
Gan HaShlosha, the Garden of Eden?
If we want to see amazed and wide-open eyes, then we accompany our guests to Gan HaShlosha! This beautiful oasis not far from Gan Ner is described by many as a small paradise. I am particularly fa ...
Safed, the city high on the mountain
Do you know this too? You know that you are about to reach a beautiful place, but you can't imagine it because the way, the road there is anything but promising? It's the same when you drive to Safe ...
Israel. A coffee nation
Good coffee is part of a good morning! Coffee lovers will definitely agree. I, Benjamin, enjoy a hot cup of fragrant coffee with all my senses. In Germany, I preferred to drink coffee from pods or fil ...
Kangaroos in Israel?
Yes, and lots of them! This is unusual for Israel, but not absurd, because the climate is good for the animals. The main theme of the zoo is Australia. The animal species and plants that can be admire ...
Crazy, isn’t it?
It's not as if these questions are unknown to us: "What, you want to brew beer?", "More chickens? Are you opening a zoo?", "Making ham and sausage? Is that another hobby of yours?". Most of the questi ...
Recipe: Delicious challah bread, Israeli bread
Mhhh, how it smells. There is no better scent in the house than the smell of home-baked bread. It gives me, Alexandra, the feeling of warmth and security. The feeling of being at home. Today I would l ...
The butterflies are here!
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Das haben selbst wir nicht erlebt. Diesen Frühling flogen Tausende Schmetterlinge stündlich durch Israel. Bis zu einer Milliarde Distelfalter, so schätzt man, ware ...
Fish can bite, but they don’t have to
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] I am downright embarrassed to admit that the first attempts at fishing on the Sea of Galilee were unsuccessful. Instead, we watered fishing lures and spread food ar ...
A dreamlike spring
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Our previous guests were amazed. Israel is greener and more flourishing than it has been for many years. Some may have rubbed their eyes at the sight of the landsc ...
Wine tasting in the north
Israel also stands for particularly good wines. It's quite clear! Winegrowing in Israel can even be traced back to biblical times and has won a few international awards. Since this year we have bee ...
A real original recipe – Humus recipe
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It is clear that hummus is an integral part of Israeli cuisine and is also becoming increasingly popular in Europe. In addition to its unique taste and the many vari ...
Do it yourself or “do it yourself”
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We are amazed at ourselves! Many people know that we run a small guest farm in Israel and also offer tour guiding, that we grow vegetables and keep chickens. But at ...
Shakshuka- incredibly tasty and good
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Shakshuka is a dish that everyone in the Middle East knows. We love it. Many people traditionally eat it for breakfast. But we think it also makes a great lunch or d ...
Spicy and super tasty chicken skewers
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]When lots of hungry stomachs gather around a table, you need something tasty and lots of it! Who knows this too? We are very blessed with a family of six and we of ...
