Dateline Monday 7th April 2025

Happy Monday morning, sunny, sunny, warm, dry, crystal-clear greetings from the sun kissed streets of London W10 I hope you are well, what a difference nice weather makes to one’s demeanour (posh word) and it looks like this weather might last a while.

Lots going on for me and my tribe towards the end of the week, on Saturday night Passover, Pesach which in Hebrew is חַג הַפֶּסַח,  Chag ha Pesacḥ, a major Jewish holiday starts, it celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan the first month of spring. The word Pesach or Passover can also refer to the Korban Pesach, the paschal lamb that was offered when the Temple in Jerusalem stood; to the Passover Seder, the ritual meal on Passover night; or to the Feast of Unleavened Bread. One of the biblically ordained Three Pilgrimage Festivals, Passover is traditionally celebrated in the Land of Israel for seven days and for eight days among many Jews in the Diaspora. In the Bible, the seven-day holiday is known as Chag HaMatzot, the feast of unleavened bread that we call matzah

According to the Book of Exodus, G-d commanded Moses to tell the Israelites to mark a lamb's blood above their doors in order that the Angel of Death would pass over them (i.e., that they would not be touched by the tenth plague, death of the firstborn). After the death of the firstborn, Pharaoh ordered the Israelites to leave, taking whatever they want, and asked Moses to bless him in the name of the Lord. The passage goes on to state that the Passover sacrifice recalls the time when G-d "passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt". This story is recounted at the Passover meal in the form of the Haggadah, in fulfilment of the command "And thou shalt tell [Higgadata] thy son in that day, saying: It is because of that which the LORD did for me when I came forth out of Egypt." Nowadays, in addition to the biblical prohibition of owning leavened foods for the duration of the holiday, the Passover Seder, at which the Haggadah is read aloud, is one of the most widely observed rituals in Judaism.

Clearly Israel has to explain why aid workers were attacked and killed, we have seen Hamas fighters commandeer ambulances in the past to transport fighters to the battle areas whilst Israel cannot take chances when ambulances advance on their position, the soldiers need to be on their guard and cautious, but they have ask questions first before engaging.

Everyone traveling to Israel and to many other countries in the World must complete a web based electronic questionnaire, for entry into the USA it is called an ESTA once that is complete permission is granted or denied as the case may be. I wonder if the two British Labour MPs who were recently refused entry completed the online questionnaire, the speeches the two MPs made in the House of Commons are a record of their stance against Israel, if a sovereign country does not want hat type of visitor then they have the option to deny entry.    

Soap box time

The bitter news AGAIN today, it is 546 days since Israeli and other nations’ citizens were on 7th October 2023 wrenched violently from their homes, streets, fields, and places of leisure in Israel and taken to be held hostage as pawns of war imprisoned in squalid conditions in the Hamas terror tunnels in Gaza. A total of 59 Israelis are still being held captive by the group of evil, blood thirsty, barbaric terrorists called Hamas. Sadly out of the 59 people being kept in horrific conditions only 24 are still alive.

Off the soap box now

Congratulations to Max Verstappen on winning the Grand Prix in Japan

Good to see the Holy Father Pope Francis is making progress in his recovery from pneumonia

That’s it from a David point of view for this week.

MM and Company news update

Germany, Frankfurt IMEX 20th – 22nd May 2025

Eva of Cornerstone Meetings DMC Germanyinsight and I were chatting last week Eva asked if I was planning to attend IMEX in May I confirmed that I would be attending Eva suggested we host a client dinner in a fancy restaurant of course I was all up for that, so if you are attending IMEX in Frankfurt and you are not hosted please let me know Eva and I would be delighted if you would like to join us for dinner on Wednesday 21st May 2025 

So far Stephane of Hello Islands DMC Mauritius

Eva of Cornerstone Meeting DMC Germanyinsight

Pascal NACARA DMC on the EUROMIC Stand

Nassos of AME DMC Greece

A number of DMCs we at MM and Company work with and recommend will also be there amongst them Enjoy Slovakia DMC and Hadler DMC Scandinavia   

 And that is it you are totally up to date, wishing you a terrifi week ahead.