gabriellaeliezer-blog

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Reflection Letter

Gabriella Eliezer Professor Edward McCulloch English Composition I 21 December 2018 Dear Professor McCulloch, I have many successes and failures as a writer. One success is using evidence to support my data. I use many citations in me writing to back up my point in the essay. Another success is staying on topic. I only write about the topic given and do not go off topic. My last success is I will hand in my writing in on time. I rarely hand in a paper after the due date. My failure is I never check for spelling and grammar mistakes. I rarely use the tools that check spelling and grammar, even though I should. Another failure as a writer is that I can be repetitive. I will often repeat the same word or phrase in an essay. My last failure is I can have trouble coming up with new reasons or topics to talk about in my essay. I do not write out my reasons beforehand, so I can get stuck in one part of the essay thinking of a reason and wasting time. Those are my successes and failures as a writer. My favorite assignment was the personal narrative essay. It made me feel comfortable and it was an easy first assignment for the class. It loosens the tension for the first essay assignment of the class. You should keep it because it allows you to get closer to your students and learn more about them. It will also give students a chance to open about a problem or experience that they had. Also, as you had stated in class it is easy to write about yourself. You were correct it is easy to write about an experience you had. That is why you should keep doing the personal narrative essay.

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Research Paper

Gabriella Eliezer Edward McCulloch English Composition I 18 November 2018 Israel is the Way Israel is a model for how the U.S. should go about gun control. In the United states mass school shooting are very common, but for places like Israel it is very rare to hear about mass school shootings. Israel takes a very different approach to guns then the U.S. In Israel guns are a privilege and not a right. The government gives the people the guns and can take them away. They are extremely strict with getting the permits, the reason, the ammo, and where to shoot. Outside the military very few people have a gun. Here are a few reasons why the United States should model themselves after Israel. They have stricter requirements for getting a gun. They have certain criteria to even sell guns. The Times of Israel says, “Israelis must meet a detailed list of criteria to be allowed to own a firearm. They must ask the state for a license, are permitted only one gun at a time, and must even ask for permission to sell their gun. And the Firearms Licensing Department is no rubber stamp: Roughly 40 percent of requests are rejected.” (Gur). Israel rejects almost half of their requests for guns while the United States only rejects 1 to 2 percent. (Kessler). This shows that while people request guns in Israel does not guarantee that the State will allow them to have one. The United States does this completely different. It is almost guaranteed that people can get a gun and unlike in Israel people can have more than one gun. Israel is far stricter and has more control over guns. Israel only gives out guns who need it for security reasons. There are certain areas or jobs that increase your likelihood to get a gun in Israel. The Washington Post states, “Residents of Tel Aviv, for example, are unlikely to receive gun licenses, whereas Israelis living in border areas or in the Jewish settlements in the West Bank, places where they could be targets for Palestinian militants, are more likely to be approved for gun licenses. In addition, retired army officers above a certain rank, former police officers, firefighters, ambulance technicians, special forces veterans and licensed public transportation drivers can also qualify for permits.” (Eglash). Israel does not give its’ citizens guns because they want them, but for security reasons. “Guards are stationed not just at schools, but at many other public facilities, including bus and train stations, parking lots, malls and restaurants (Israel). Israel has security all over the place. That it completely different than the United States. The U.S. gives the people guns whenever they ask for almost any reason. In Israel they must have a very good reason as to why they need the gun, or it is very likely you will be denied for one. In The New York Times it reads, “The United States considers handgun ownership a constitutionally protected right, while Israel considers gun permits a privilege, granted by the Ministry of Public Security strictly on the basis of need.” (Kershner). Israel only gives guns out only if they view it needed. Here is the last argument for why Israel is a model for gun control. The type and number of guns is extremely restricted in Israel. Israel only allows people with a permit to get one gun. That is very different then the U.S. who allows people to have multiple guns. Israel only allow people who have permits to have a certain type of gun. The New York Time states, “A majority of the licenses are granted for 9 mm pistols. The few licenses for automatic rifles are reserved for people who need them for ongoing security roles. Annual bullet supplies are limited to 50 per licensed individual, or 100 for security guards.” (Kershner). Israel does not allow for its’ citizens to carry automatic guns, unlike the United States. The United Sates allow people to not only purchase multiple guns, but heavy fire power too. For the Israeli government it is easier to track the guns and make sure they are being used properly and safely. For the U.S. that can make keeping track of guns and their uses hard. When comparing the two countries Israel has far less gun violence then in the United States. The total number of gun death is America is 38,658, while Israel is only 98 (Alpers and Wilson, Guns in Israel: Total Number of Gun Deaths.). “Israeli security experts also say that gun violence is rare in Israel because privately held guns are so rare. According to data from Israel’s Ministry of Internal Security, which registers all gun owners, about 260,000 Israelis, or about 3.5 percent of the population, have permits to carry firearms. Half of the permit holders are private citizens, and the others work for security firms” (Eglash). The United States has far more gun related deaths than Israel. The Time of Israel says, “In the wake of a shooting at a South Carolina church last week, US President Barack Obama on Saturday called for action to reduce US gun violence, noting that the homicide rate in America was far higher than other developed countries, and 33 times that of Israel” (STAFF, AP and AFP). The rates of gun violence are vastly different between Israel and the United States. The reason for these vastly different rates is the gun control laws. “Israel has stringent gun control laws regulating possession firearms and requiring health, mental health and criminal background checks in addition to providing a credible reason for ownership. Unlike the US, where the Constitution’s Second Amendment enshrines the right to bear arms, firearm possession in Israel is not a legal right” (STAFF, AP and AFP). That is the biggest difference between the two countries. In the US guns are a right, while in Israel it is a privilege. (Fisher). The Unites States should look to Israel for gun control laws. When looking at this chart people can see the clear difference between Israel and America with gun violence. The United States of America has one of the highest firearm homicides in the world. Israel is the opposite where it has one of the lowest rates in the world. “The U.S. gun murder rate is about 20 times the average for all other countries on this chart. That means that Americans are 20 times as likely to be killed by a gun than is someone from another developed country” (Fisher). Americans and Israelis view guns differently. In America it the right to have a gun, but in Israel it is only a privilege. The Jerusalem Post states, “Israelis view guns as a necessity while Americans see them as a right,” Portnoe told The Media Line. “There is a sense in Israel that if people didn’t feel they needed those guns, they wouldn’t carry them. In the US, people feel entitled to carry a gun” (LINE). Israel is surrounded by hostile people and only ever use guns as a safety measure. Americans use guns for different reasons, then Israel. Americans use guns to go hunting and to the shooting range. Americans use guns more for a hobby, then safety. Israel does not use guns for hobby, they only allow guns for safety. That is the difference between the two. Israelis are taught as a teen how to use a gun properly in defense of their country. “Most people in Israel go to the military. Even if they are not combat soldiers, they are given some weapons training. They are taught how to handle a weapon and how to respect a weapon,” Perry said. And, he said, “it is very, very hard to obtain a weapon in Israel” (Eglash). Once an Israeli turn eighteen they go into the military. That is when they are taught how to wield a gun. “As Israel has compulsory military service, many citizens receive military training in their teens and continue to do reserve duty well into adulthood. They are trained to see guns as dangerous, but are drilled in gun safety with stiff penalties for violating weapons protocols” (LINE). The people of Israel are taught discipline and only use guns in self-defense. Americans do not have that same discipline. Americans are not taught to see guns as dangerous, but a right to have. Americans do not have the responsibility taught to them like the Israelis, unless they join the military in America. Unlike in America if they find out you have a gun and are not in a fit state of mind, they will take the gun away from them. “Robby Berman, the head of an organ donation society in Israel, applied for a gun in 1991 when he was living in Jerusalem’s Old City. His application was approved, and he purchased a pistol, and went to a shooting range where he learned to use the gun. Several years afterwards, he says, he went through a period of depression, and began seeing a therapist. She insisted that he give up the gun, fearing he could harm himself, and he agreed” (LINE). Once he started displaying the symptoms of depression, he was immediately asked to hand over his gun for safety reasons. The rate of gun suicide is vastly different. In America the rate of gun suicide is 22,938, while Israel is only 31 (Alpers and Wilson, Guns in Israel: Gun Suicides). In some parts of the US, doctors are not allowed to ask if they have guns because of privacy issues. “As of two weeks ago, that is no longer legal in Florida. In a 2-1 vote, a U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a law called the Florida Privacy of Firearm Owners Act, ruling that doctors asking patients about firearms violates patients' right to privacy” (HAMBLIN). If an American had a mental illness and had a gun, some doctors would never know because they are unable to ask. However, in Israel it is highly unlikely that they would have a gun and if they did, the doctors would ask to give the gun up for safety reasons. In Israel they have far less school shootings then in America. The reason for this is instead of people with guns coming in and shooting the school they must deal with terrorism. The Times of Israel states, “Israel’s policy on issuing guns is restrictive, and armed guards at its schools are meant to stop terrorists, not crazed or disgruntled gunmen, experts said Monday, rejecting claims by America’s top gun lobby that Israel serves as proof for its philosophy that the US needs more weapons, not fewer” (Israel). The schools of Israel are more focused on protecting their schools from terrorism, then they are of other Israeli with guns. “The guards are there for other reasons, mainly terrorism,” said Amos Shavit, spokesman for the Ministry of Education. He said the guards stationed at schools are under the authority of the police. In large cities, he said, the police and the local authority carry out security patrols around the educational institutions throughout the school day” (Eglash). Other Israeli with guns is not a problem because they only have their gun because of safety reason, thus will less likely shoot a school. As stated previously unlike America were anyone can get a gun without any real reason. “Israel never had “a whole lot of school shootings. “Authorities could only recall two in the past four decades” (Israel). Unlike in America in which the past year alone there were 94 school shootings (Lopez). Another reason why Israel does not have many mass shootings is because they are more familiar with each other. “Aside from Israel’s strict gun laws, reasons for the lack of mass shootings can be attributed to the country’s closely knit family structure, small size and intimacy and informality between strangers or the universal health care which makes mental health services available for all” (HARTMAN). While the strict gun laws are a very large factor in less mass shooting, Israelis have a tight community. In America it is hard to be close to people when there are over 325.7 million people. In Israel people have served together and have big families. In America, while people are patriotic, do not have the same commitment or bond as the Israelis. Israel gun licenses have a stricter policy. “Gun licensing to private citizens is limited largely to people who are deemed to need a firearm because they work or live in dangerous areas, Amit said. West Bank settlers, for instance, can apply for weapons licenses, as can residents of communities on the borders with Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. Licensing requires multiple levels of screening, and permits must be renewed every three years. Renewal is not automatic. The policy is designed “to strike a balance between needs and risks,” Amit said. “We know that weapons are a dangerous thing, and in the hands of someone who isn’t trained or isn’t reliable, it causes problems” (Israel). Unlike America they do not give out guns to people who want them but need them due to safety concerns. Americans want guns because to them it is a right, but they really have no need for the gun. The people of Israel trust the government to keep them safe. There is a distinct difference in trust when it comes both America and Israel when it comes to trusting the government. Israeli trust the government and the military to keep them safe from attacks. While in America there is a lack of trust in the government. People in America feel more secure and feel like they have more power with the rights to having a gun and protecting themselves. However, in Israel they must trust the government and the military to keep them safe. They have confidence the government will protect them. “There is no inkling of a belief among Israelis that citizens should be permitted to own guns as a check on government power — that is, as a limit to the sovereignty of the state expressed in its monopoly on violence” (Gur). That is why the gun policy in Israel is effective as it is, then in America. “A comparison of the gun control regimes of the US and Israel lays bare some fundamental differences between the two societies. For one thing, Israelis are much more likely to trust in state power than are Americans. When it comes to guns, Israelis want a well-armed society, and expect the state to manage things in such a way that only the right people are armed. In other words, Israelis are armed not against the state, but by the state against external threats like terror attacks. For American gun advocates, of course, the right to gun ownership is, at its core, a right to defend one’s self from the state – and from one’s neighbors” (Gur). The background checks are more thorough than America. “Indeed, before even requesting a license, Israelis must meet minimum age requirements, be in good health and of sound mind, and have no criminal record, among other precondition” (Gur). Israel is far more conscious about safety and weapons. In Israel, applicants must undergo police screening and medical exams, in part to determine their mental state, Amit said. Many Israelis receive weapons training in the military. But to be licensed to receive a weapon outside the military, they must undergo at least two hours of additional training, then repeat the training and medical exams every three years before they can renew their licenses. Anybody who possesses a legally acquired gun waives the right to confidentiality, and authorities cross-reference for new information about the gunholder every three months. “The point is not to complicate, but to make sure the system makes things safer,” Amit said” (Israel). American background checks are far less strict. “An application for a Federal firearms license will be approved if the applicant: • Is 21 years of age or over; • Is not prohibited from shipping, transporting, receiving or possessing firearms or ammunition, nor in the case of a corporation, partnership, or association, is any individual possessing, directly or indirectly, the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of the corporation, partnership, or association prohibited from shipping, transporting, receiving or possessing firearms or ammunition; • Has not willfully violated the Gun Control Act (GCA) or its regulations; • Has not willfully failed to disclose material information or has not made false statements concerning material facts in connection with his or her application; • Has premises for conducting business or collecting; and • The applicant certifies that: (1) the business to be conducted under the license is not prohibited by State or local law in the place where the licensed premises is located; (2) within 30 days after the application is approved the business will comply with the requirements of State and local law applicable to the conduct of the business; (3) the business will not be conducted under the license until the requirements of State and local law applicable to the business have been met; (4) the applicant has sent or delivered a form to the chief law enforcement officer where the premises is located notifying the officer that the applicant intends to apply for a license; and * if the applicant is to be a licensed dealer, the applicant certifies that secure gun storage or safety devices will be available at any place in which firearms are sold under the license to persons who are not licensees (“secure gun storage or safety device” is defined in 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(34))” (ATF). The United States should model their gun control after Israel. Israel has stricter regulations, only ever giving guns out for those who need it and restrict the number and types of guns. This has reduced the number of gun violence in Israel significantly. The New York Times says, “The gun death rate in Israel is low by international standards: about two homicides per 100,000 people in Israel, according to Arye Rattner, a criminologist at the University of Haifa. Some years in the United States the rate has been four or five times higher.” (Kershner)

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Persuasive Letter

Gabriella Eliezer Edward McCulloch English Composition I 18 November 2018 Israel is the Way Israel is a model for how the U.S. should go about gun control. In the United states mass school shooting are very common, but for places like Israel it is very rare to hear about mass school shootings. Israel takes a very different approach to guns then the U.S. In Israel guns are a privilege and not a right. The government gives the people the guns and can take them away. They are extremely strict with getting the permits, the reason, the ammo, and where to shoot. Outside the military very few people have a gun. Here are a few reasons why the United States should model themselves after Israel. They have stricter requirements for getting a gun. They have certain criteria to even sell guns. The Times of Israel say, “Israelis must meet a detailed list of criteria to be allowed to own a firearm. They must ask the state for a license, are permitted only one gun at a time, and must even ask for permission to sell their gun. And the Firearms Licensing Department is no rubber stamp: Roughly 40 percent of requests are rejected.” (Gur). Israel rejects almost half of their requests for guns while the United States only rejects 1 to 2 percent. (Kessler). This shows that while people request guns in Israel does not guarantee that the State will allow them to have one. The United States does this completely different. It is almost guaranteed that people can get a gun and unlike in Israel people can have more than one gun. Israel is far stricter and has more control over guns. Here is another reason why Israel is a model. Israel only gives out guns who need it for security reasons. There are certain areas or jobs that increase your likelihood to get a gun in Israel. The Washington Post states, “Residents of Tel Aviv, for example, are unlikely to receive gun licenses, whereas Israelis living in border areas or in the Jewish settlements in the West Bank, places where they could be targets for Palestinian militants, are more likely to be approved for gun licenses. In addition, retired army officers above a certain rank, former police officers, firefighters, ambulance technicians, special forces veterans and licensed public transportation drivers can also qualify for permits.” (Eglash). Israel does not give its’ citizens guns because they want them, but for security reasons. That it completely different than the United States. The U.S. gives the people guns whenever they ask for almost any reason. In Israel they must have a very good reason as to why they need the gun, or it is very likely you will be denied for one. In The New York Times it reads, “The United States considers handgun ownership a constitutionally protected right, while Israel considers gun permits a privilege, granted by the Ministry of Public Security strictly on the basis of need.” (Kershner). Israel only gives guns out only if they view it needed. Here is the last argument for why Israel is a model for gun control. The type and number of guns is extremely restricted in Israel. Israel only allows people with a permit to get one gun. That is very different then the U.S. who allows people to have multiple guns. Israel only allow people who have permits to have a certain type of gun. The New York Time states, “A majority of the licenses are granted for 9 mm pistols. The few licenses for automatic rifles are reserved for people who need them for ongoing security roles. Annual bullet supplies are limited to 50 per licensed individual, or 100 for security guards.” (Kershner). Israel does not allow for its’ citizens to carry automatic guns, unlike the United States. The United Sates allow people to not only purchase multiple guns, but heavy fire power too. For the Israeli government it is easier to track the guns and make sure they are being used properly and safely. For the U.S. that can make keeping track of guns and their uses hard. The United States should model their gun control after Israel. Israel has stricter regulations, only ever giving guns out for those who need it and restrict the number and types of guns. This has reduced the number of gun violence in Israel significantly. The New York Times says, “The gun death rate in Israel is low by international standards: about two homicides per 100,000 people in Israel, according to Arye Rattner, a criminologist at the University of Haifa. Some years in the United States the rate has been four or five times higher.” (Kershner). The Unites States should look to Israel for gun control laws.  

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Analysis of a Visual Text

Gabriella Eliezer Professor Edward McCulloch English Composition I 26 October 2018 The Meaning of Girl To define being a girl is to be yourself. Being a girl is being who they are on the inside, not stereotypes. Society is telling girls that they must act weak, unintelligent, and they must rely on a man to do everything. That is not what a girl should be. A girl should act naturally. If they are tuff, serious, independent, then that is what a girl is. If they are shy, sweet, and innocent then that is what a girl is. Being a girl is such a broad thing because there are many girls in the world who are different. The meaning of girl is when they act like themselves, not what society is telling them. The author of “Why Women Smile” says, “A friend remembers being pulled aside by a teacher after class and asked, "What is wrong, dear? You sat there for the whole hour looking so sad!" "All I could figure," my friends says now, "is that I wasn't smiling. And the fact that she felt sorry for me for looking normal made me feel horrible" (Cunningham 2). Girls have many expectations put on them that are not true. Some examples are smiling, wanting to get married, be a mother and much more. When girls do not live up to those expectations people think there is something wrong with them. Girls are made to feel horrible when they act like themselves. The commercial ad that Always has done #LikeAGirl responds to this. They are focusing on girls who feel insecure and telling them that it is okay to be themselves. They are saying that being a girl is not an insult and to be who they are. Always is trying to subvert the stereotypes about girls. Girls are made to believe that being a girl is an insult. That it means to be weak, to be dainty, and not be yourself. Always disagrees rom this by showing young girls doing activities as they normally would and doing the exact opposite. They show girls that being a girl is okay because that is who you are and there is nothing wrong with that. Always creates visual cues by showing the difference between boys, girls, and age group. They ask each person, whether boy or girl to do something like a girl. The older girls and boys run, throw, fight, etc. in a typical girl stereotype. They all did it weak and made it feel unnatural. The boys seemed to make fun of the girls, by joking and laughing about it. They did not take “like a girl” very seriously. The older girls, when asked, were very awaked about it. Like the boys they did not seem to take it seriously and were a bit embarrassed about it. When they are asked to do it again, they take it more seriously. How the older girls did it again was completely different then in the beginning. They were driven and more focused. When the young girls did the same actions, they did it completely different and more natural. They did what felt natural from the start. They were focused, determined, and took it seriously. The girls go on to explain how it is natural and being a girl is being who you are. The narrative the commercial is trying to convey is that being a girl is not an insult and to keep doing what they are doing because it is working for them. Being “like a girl” is not an insult and to just be themselves. That is the narrative of the commercial. The narrative reinforces the traditional femininity by showing people how girls are viewed. They show girls being weak, pretty, and a bit airheaded. The narrative show that even girl think that is how a girl should be. Always show how the boys and older girls view themselves which reinforces the traditional femininity. They viewed girls as awkward, not as strong, or fast. That is how the narrative reinforces traditional femininity. The meaning of girl is who they are, not how they are supposed to be. There are many girls who are all different from each other. Being a girl cannot be put into one category. Being a girl is being who they are naturally. The Always commercial shows this the best. The Why Women Smile shows how girls feel when people think something is wrong when they act naturally. Being a girl is being who they want to be.

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Personal Narrative Final Draft

Gabriella Eliezer Professor Edward McCulloch English Composition I 23 September 2018 Cancer Struggle I see my mom walk in and open her mouth to say something to me. She says my name, “Gabriella”. She asked me if I could pick up my little brother Daniel from the bus stop. Since the chemotherapy she has little strength to do anything, even drive to the bus stop that is five minutes away. It hurt to think that she could not even go and greet my little brother from the bus. I have taken a good amount of responsibility, since mom got her breast cancer. Driving both my brothers to and from everywhere they needed to go. It saddens me this is how I learned responsibility. I remembered in my health class during high school how the teacher asked us how many people who knew someone who had breast cancer and that I never raised my hand until my senior year of high school. All those years before I never truly thought I was going to ever be one of those people who raise their hand, but there I was raising mine. I remembered the day she got the call clearly as if it were yesterday. We were on vacation in Israel and it was nighttime, I was asleep on the living room couch of our uncle’s house. In that moment I thought of what my mom was going through and hoped that she was all right. I worried about her constantly and always asked if she needed help or if she was okay. She always said yes when the boys were around. She never wanted them to see her break down, she did not even want me too, but I was there most of the time and was her oldest and only daughter. It made me feel so useless that I could not stop her tears. My Abba, which means father in Hebrew, had to work to support the family, so he was not home often. My Abba owns his own moving company NGH Transport and he goes to multiple states. He was the only source of income at the time. Looking back, I remember being excited that at seventeen years old I could get a job, but with my mom’s cancer I had to stay home and help with my brothers. I essentially took over the house as my mom could not do it and Abba had to work. It was a very trying time for my family and I, especially me, as the oldest and the one that mostly in charge. I always wished my Abba was there, so I did not have to take on so much responsibility. Even at seventeen and on the verge of adulthood I could not prepare for this as the most challenging time in my life. She first told us that she just had to do radiation, which would not be as bad as chemotherapy. I was so happy that she did not have to do chemotherapy. My happiness did not last long. My mom gathered all three of us together and told us she had stage two breast cancer and it was more aggressive then the doctors first thought. She had to do chemotherapy due to the more aggressive cancer. I had wanted to cry, but I knew I had to remain strong for everyone. I will never forget the day my mom broke down crying because she was starting to lose her hair. That moment forever changed my life and I have never felt more powerless. One of the greatest feelings that stood out to me were powerlessness and pride. Powerlessness because I could not help my mom and make her feel better. Pride because of how my mom pulled through this. She always looked at the positive like how she could buy cool hates and how she survived. I had never felt happier that this amazing woman was my mom and promised myself to be just as strong as her one day. My mom taught me the greatest lesson that you must be strong in bad times. This is the most difficult time of my life. I never felt more pushed to the brink before. In the beginning all I felt was negativity, but as my mom got better and started doing well, I have come to only felt happiness. Almost two weeks ago, my mother came back with the greatest news – she was cancer free! This experience taught me that you must be strong and never let the good ruin the bad. This period in my life when my mom has breast cancer has only made me stronger.