Shai Tsur, who nearly made me cry when he decided to stop blogging, has written a post for the Guardian Newsblog in which he explains why Israelis have reacted so strongly to the kidnappings of Gilad Shalit and Eliyahu Asheri, whose body was found last night.

Kidnappings affect us much more strongly than rocket attacks or even suicide bombings. Over the years, we have developed coping mechanisms for bombings that allow us to pick up and move on. But when an Israeli is taken prisoner the whole country gets wrapped up in the drama.

Read the rest here. And please, intelligent commenters of the world - unite! The Guardian Newsblog attracts some serious nutters, including a quite a few who are rabid haters of the Zionist entity and/or Jews in general. It'd be great to have some sensible voices out there as a counterweight.

The other Shai blogs about Utopia at Israel2046. In his most recent post he takes us on a trip from Tel Aviv to Beirut, forty years from now. There's the rapid rail option (the Pilgrim Express from Jerusalem),  the Israrail option and the scenic route. Check out the links - as usual, they are all real. Utopia need not be fantasy.

Update: Ooh, and lookee here: Keith Porter has written a lovely plug for Israel2046 on about.com.