WOW, I am so sorry everyone for taking such a long, unexpected time off! Happy new year to all, hope everyone had a lovely end to 2011. 2012 is going to be a great one!

Israel has been experiencing a bout of protests to kick off the new year, from within the ultra-conservative sect of the population. Feeling persecuted by the more secular Israelis, Orthodox citizens in Jersulaem protested by dressing as and reenacting the treatment of prisoners of concentration camps during the Holocaust.

This blunt and unnerving display benefitted the Orthodox protestors, as Israel has been taking steps closer to ban symbols of the Third Reich and even the use of the word "Nazi". Interestingly, in Germany, the word "Nazi" has already been banned for some time.

For more, read: http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/10/israel-moves-to-ban-use-of-the-word-nazi-and-symbols-of-the-third-reich/

Enjoy, and happy January to all!