Publisher's Note
Wide Open Spaces is the theme of our latest issue, which is being delivered to subscribers in 61 countries. There are many places in our small and beautiful country where you can enjoy the outdoors; in this issue we've chosen to feature just a few of them - including the newest National Park, Apollonia. In this issue, we're also pleased to announce the winners of our essay contest; "What Israel Means to Me".
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Apollonia National Park
 In 1191 BC, a decisive battle
was fought at the very place that today is the latest
addition to Israel's National Park System. For 18
successive centuries it was inhabited. The place is
known as, Apollonia, or Tel Arsuf. In 1191 the Crusaders
triumphant win at this spot, established their reign in
the Holy- Land for another 100 years. The park is
conveniently located on the coast, just a 15- minute
drive from Tel Aviv and less than five minutes from
Herzeliya Pituach, between two other ancient ports,
Jaffa and Caesarea.
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The
Jerusalem Botanical Gardens
by Julie Baretz
 Nayot is a quiet, unremarkable
residential neighborhood not far from downtown
Jerusalem; to most passers-by, a small strip-mall
appears to be its most salient feature. However, many
people are unaware that the entrance to one of
Jerusalem’s magical contemporary treasures - the
University Botanical Gardens - lies unassumingly between
the supermarket and the gas station on Yehuda Burla
Street.
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The
Bible's Landscape Comes Alive
 Isaiah's Vineyard, the Forest
of Milk and Honey and the Dale of the Song of Song's are
just a few of areas that you will encounter when you
visit Neot Kedumim, one of Israel's most beautiful and
interesting nature reserves. Known as The Biblical
Landscape Reserve in Israel, Neot Kedumim is located
just minutes from Ben Gurion Airport, halfway between
Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in the Judean foothills, in area
known in the Bible as the Shfela.
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The
Jerusalem Bird Observatory
"Tread Lightly" and "Back to Basics" are two
terms that are at the heart of the activities at The
Jerusalem Bird Observatory (JBO), a haven of wilderness,
tucked away between the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament)
and the Supreme Court. If it's manicured gardens that
you want, just stroll across the way to the Edith Wohl
Rose Garden (another of Jerusalem's true Gems or visit
the Botanical Gardens). However, this small prime plot
of real-estate, just over an acre (five dunam) has been
left as a natural green habitat for birds and therein
lays its beauty.
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Finding Life In Israel's Dead Sea
Those with
Psoriasis Combine Tourism with Spa
by George Medovoy
A voyage to the bottom of the earth may conjure up
visions of a trek through uncharted territory, but
in my case it was as easy as flying away on a
comfortable EL AL 747 and waking up the next morning in
a land that has been on the tourist map since ancient
times.
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First
Prize - What Israel Means to Me
by Nina S.
Hi.
My name is Nina. I am nine years old and have been to
Israel twice in the last two years. Israel means so much
to me that I would be another person without it. Some
times I imagine that I am in Israel because I wish I was
there so much. I feel that even though I was born in
Ohio that Israel is my home. I'm not one of those people
who just wants to go to Israel because it is fun. I want
to go to Israel because it is physically and emotionally
important to me.
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Second
Prize - What Israel Means to Me
by Netta Kaplan
The
other day I was driving, through Tel Aviv down the
Ayalon in the direction of Jerusalem. I was looking out
the window at the beautifully landscaped slopes along
the highway with blooming pink and white oleander and I
could feel myself taking in the beauty. All this spring
as I’ve walked or traveled around Israel I have seen the
greeness of the country side from the North to the
Negev. Along the main streets of the cities, too, there
are fresh plantings with the feeling of caring evident
here.
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Second
Prize - What Israel Means to Me
by Lee Seleck
Since I was 10 I wanted to come to live in
Israel. For 10 years I saved everything I could about
Israel. At the end of High School I tried to come on a
Year Course but my parents wouldn't pay. After Collage I
paid for myself by working in the dining room in the
dorm and Arbby's at weekends.
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