My apologies for not writing in November. I didn't forget you, but I had no time and wasn't in the right mood to write. There won't be an additional December letter, but don't worry, I plan something else instead.
On November I have been here for two years. I was thinking what happened in Israel during this period. Just after I left the government collapsed and there were elections. The war in Iraq came after. Then the separation wall (I should have thought about this clean name few years ago), and the disengagement plan. Maccabi Tel-Aviv won the Euroleague cup, and right after came the Likud referendum. All this happened as countless terror attacks and military operations were occurring, including Yassin's assassination. Recently Arafat's died, and Sharon's coalition collapsed. At the same time all this is going on, there were strong suspicions against the prime minister ("the Greek island"), it is found that one minister planed to frame another minister, and an ex-minister is caught smuggling ecstasy. I am sure many other interesting things happened that you could tell me about. You may even look at some of these events as far history. All I am saying is that I just haven't been there, and definitely couldn't imagine all this two years ago. What happened in Canada at the same time? Nothing of that scale that people will remember. You probably don't know how to appreciate the fact you are living in a country where things are happening and it is never boring.
As I was writing these letters for the last two years, it always warmed my heart to see my web counter jumping each month. I am happy to say that the vast majority of you replied at least once. This is the place to mention that friendship, in the mathematical jargon, doesn't have to be transitive but is always a symmetric relation. For those in computer science, a social network is an undirected graph. However, I realize that as there are many stories I wouldn't post on the university's website, there are many things you won't write on an email.
Now the cold winter is approaching and the Christmas break is just beyond the exams period. It is a perfect time for a visit to warm up. You are all invited to my parents' place on Friday, December 24, 10:00-13:00. Email me if you are coming or would like to meet another time. There won't be food, but there will be a lot of food for thought (that's my diet).
