(Note: This can cost quite a
lot to mail, so you might want
to make this a multi-family pro-
ject).

• Poster board

• Markers, paints, or other
arts supplies

• A large piece of butcher
or other strong paper

Packaging tape

Fold poster board in half to
form a large birthday card. Af-
ter you have illustrated and
signed it, carefully wrap in
butcher paper to form an enve-
lope. Send to:

Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu
The Knesset
Givat Ram, Jerusalem
Israel

lfyou want to write "Happy
Birthday" in Hebrew, it looks
like this:

!Wei .1)116)

/ 01

1

2 Play blue-and-white team
games.
Invite over a group of your
child's friends, asking half to
wear white T-shirts and the
other half to wear blue. Here
are some fun games to play
when they arrive:

1) Here's Using Your Head.
Have both teams line up be-
hind one starting point. Place
a book on the head of the first
player of each team, and have
them walk to one side of the

room and back to the start.
When the first player is fin-
ished, he removes the book
from his head and gives it to
the next person on his
team.
See which team can be
the first to have all mem-
bers make the complete
journey from start to finish
without toppling their
books.

2) A Quick Trip To Israel
(a rough-and-tumble kind
of game for younger chil-
dren): Use masking tape
to make a simple outline of
the State of Israel on an old
blanket. On a large piece of
poster board, draw a plane
(it's a good idea to tape this to
the floor as children will be
jumping on it). Buy one small
Sift bag (to serve as a suitcase)
for each child and set aside a
few "travel" items to put in-
side (a crayon, a pretend map,
a few coins). A grownup will
serve as emcee and will call
out various trip plans:

a) "It's time for everybody to
go to Israel! Pack your bags,
jump on the plane and land
in Israel." Here, see which
team can most quickly put
the items in their bags, step
on the plane and then run to
the blanket. (Stress the im-
portance of courtesy, not just
speed in this game).

b) "It's time to go home.
Get to the plane and return
to the States." But just as the
children arrive, they realize
they forgot their bags, so
they have to run back on the
plane and fly to Israel again
and retrieve their suitcases,
then hop on the plane head-

ed for the States. (Don't you
love games that allow the lit-
tle dears to use up lots and
lots of energy, so that maybe
once, just once, they will go
to bed on time?)

c) "Everybody jump right
into Israel, then off, then
back on!" allows children to
go back and forth (with rela-
tively little commotion) on
the blanket.

3) I went to Israel and I saw...
This is aversion of the popular
"Grandmother's Trunk,"
though it requires some ac-
tion, too. The first player on
Team A says, "I went to Israel
and I saw.." here, he can say
anything you might actually
see (some ideas: an orange
tree, a camel, a falafel sand-
wich, a soldier). Everyone in
the room repeats his phrase
and acts out the item he has
named.
Now it's Team B's turn. The
first player repeats the item
listed by the first, then adds
his own ("I went to Israel and
I saw an orange tree, and a
camel"). The phrase is then
repeated and acted out by the
entire group. Continue until
all players on both teams have
had a chance to add to the list
of something they "saw in Is-
rael."

4) Photo Album Prepare 20
items of anything having to do
with Israel (remember all
those souvenirs you brought
home and couldn't figure out
how to use?). Set 10 items on
two different tables and cover
with a blanket, then place one
team around each table.
Give each team one piece
of paper and a pencil. At the

same moment lift the blan-
kets, allowing the teams to see
all the items; then quickly
cover them up again. Ask the
two teams to write down as
many of the objects as they
can remember. After they
have played on one side, let
them try the other.
(Note: If you can't find 20
items from Israel around your
home, you can always draw
these yourself. But instead of
using a blanket, which likely
will send the papers flying
everywhere, cover with a
cardboard box.)

5) Swell Spell (for older chil-
dren): Give each team a
poster board with the word
"ISRAEL" written vertically,
leaving plenty of space be-
tween the letters. See which
team can come up with the
most words, relating to Israel
and Judaism, that begin with
each letter:

wk.*

hot vegetable oil until gold-
en. Taste for texture and
seasoning, adjust the fla-
vors, add more bread
crumbs if mixture is too
soft, or more lemon juice or
water if mixture is too dry.
Repeat the test, then cook
all falafel. Serve hot or at
room temperature in pita
with chopped tomato and
lettuce and cucumber, and
tahina. Serves four.

Tahina

1 /2 cup tahina (sesame-
seed paste, available in
gourmet and specialty
markets)
1/4 to 1/2 cup water
(depending on thickness
of tahina)
1 clove garlic
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 /4 cup fresh lemon juice

I - IDF, Independence Day,
industry, Isaac

S - Sun, sabras,
Sukkot, Simhat
Torah

R - Rabbis, Reform
(movement), Rosh
Hashanah, (Yitzhak)
Rabin

A - Abraham, Acco, Aaron,
Adam, Adar, Ashkenazim

E - Elijah, Eliezer (ben Yehu-
dah), Exodus

L - Labor Zionist Organiza-
tion, Lamentations, (tribe of)
Levi

(Hint: If you get stuck, try
turning to the Encyclopedia
Judaica.)

Combine all ingredients in
bowl of food processor or
blender. Puree until
smooth.

Easy,
One-Step
Ilummus

2 cups cooked chick pease
(drained well if canned)
I /4 cup .water (if needed

•