The United Nations and the Golani Brigade

Adi and Gabi each receive one of my customised birthday cards every year. Their Mum says that my cards have become an essential part of the family's birthday celebrations and that they spend the run-up to their big day guessing what the theme will be that year! Their sister gets a card too, and Mum and Dad order for each other.

This year Mum asked me to create a card showing Adi standing in the United Nations General Assembly hall which he visited this summer. She wanted me to show the actual room where the United Nations voted for the partition of the British-ruled Palestine Mandate into a Jewish state and an Arab state in November 1947. In May 1948, Israel became an independent state after Israel was recognised as a country in its own right within the Middle East.

My card shows Adi standing proudly in front of the assembly hall, which has a seating capacity of 1,800 and is the largest room in the headquarters of the United Nations. At the front of the chamber is the rostrum containing the green marble desk for the President of the General Assembly, Secretary-General and Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services and matching lectern for speakers. Behind the rostrum is the United Nations emblem on a gold background. The big orange number 20, which is not part of the room, reveals Adi's age.

Gabi, Adi's twin brother, is now an officer in the Golani Brigade, an Israeli infantry brigade that is traditionally responsible for the northern front with Syria and Lebanon. The brigade is one of the most highly decorated infantry units in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).

I was asked to show Gabi wearing his olive green army uniform on his card. Behind him is the Golani Brigade's insignia: a green olive tree with its roots on a yellow background. Apparently the symbol was drawn by the 12th Battalion's intelligence officer who came from kibbutz Beit Keshet, a kibbutz in the Lower Galilee which is home to numerous olive trees. The colour green symbolises the green hills of the Galilee, where the brigade was stationed at the time of its creation, and the olive tree is known for its strong roots that penetrate and firmly hold the land, reflecting the brigade's connection with the State of Israel's heritage. Early Golani soldiers were farmers and new immigrants, so the strong connection to the land was important to symbolise. The yellow background on which the tree stands reflects the brigade's role in the south of the country in the war of 1948, when it captured Umm-Rashrash, now Eilat, Israel's southernmost city.

Oddly enough, Mum asked me to add a television showing the Disney film Frozen to the card. Apparently Gabi "studied" it on one of his army courses and the film has become a bit of a running joke within the family. It does seem rather incongruous with the olive green army uniform, but apparently Gabi was happy and Mum declared the card "amazing as usual."

With Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, approaching, I would like to wish all my Jewish customers and friends G'mar Hatima Tova (May you be sealed in the Book of Life). This reflects the Jewish view of Yom Kippur as the day when God seals our fates (determined by our actions) for the upcoming year in the Books of Life or Death. Have an easy fast, or in Hebrew, Tzom Kal.