The region close to the Gaza Strip (known as the 'Gaza Envelope') is one of the most underappreciated parts of the country. Back in May, I led a security briefing of the area for students from the world (part of the Impact Israel program). After a lookout over the Gaza Strip, we visited the border town of Sderot (the above picture was taken in the town's fortified playground), the Erez Crossing, before finishing at Moshav Netiv HaAsara's 'Peace Wall' (see picture below). This

Last month, I gave a special tour in the footsteps of the latest Amos Oz novel for translators of the book. Judas takes place in Jerusalem in 1959, and tells the story of a young Judas scholar who goes to live with a mysterious old man. The novel features some extremely evocative descriptions of pre-1967 Jerusalem, and it was great to explore the text with the translators (who came from China, Turkey, Holland, Russia, and Albania), who were attending a special seminar at Mish