THE Josh Aronson

 Today I had a meeting on a project (which I can't tell you about yet) which is pretty exciting for me and my company. Over the weekend, I met several people who told me they read my blog and how insightful they find it. So a shout-out to all my fans! For me to know that my work is being read and utilised means a lot. Some people don't know, but I have a dream. That dream is to be knighted. So if anyone in the Royal Family is reading this or anyone has connections, recommend me for a knighthood for my services to Brits in UK and Brits overseas. I was once asked why I am a journalist. My answer was that I believe that through my work and my talent, I can help people and this is what my life is all about. My Hebrew name is 'Ezriel', which means the helper of God, and my second Hebrew name is 'Yehoshua', which means God's saviour. Names have meanings and we can learn a lot about people if they use the meanings of their names for their character. A rabbi contact...

 Did you know a third of those committing suicide in Israel are olim (new immigrants)? This statistic is insane, yet true. Suicide prevention hotlines have no funding for English speaking therapists and so many immigrants have a difficult time getting the help they need in Israel. Fortunately, there is a non-governmental organization that goes above and beyond to help new olim and provides free therapy and other assistance. The NGO is called “Keep Olim in Israel” and I am very lucky and privileged to be on its Board of Directors. I am also in charge of its Government Relations Program which helps olim with bureaucratic issues. Additionally, I am an administrator of Keep Olim’s facebook group, which has over 40 thousand members!  The organization does so much in addition to the mental health program ; it has programs that make sure no oleh (new immigrant) is alone and matches them up with families for holiday meals, the Bikur Holim (Visiting the sick) program where volunteers t...

 I'm not crying, you are! I've just been watching videos of surprise homecomings on YouTube and for some reason when I watch them, literal tears stream down my cheeks, I really get emotional. I've surprised my family several times myself and it is a surreal experience but that's not the topic on my blog today. The topic is emotion. Many people think that people with autism don't feel, but that's not true. We feel but often we just have trouble expressing our emotions. I get scared and stressed, and I feel when someone is hurt or upset. Often you will see me as strong and vibrant, but inside I'm quaking. I find it very hard to tell people that I'm not ok - it is difficult for me. I really need to hear positive feedback for the work I do and for people to say, "Josh, how can we help you?" Like now, in Manchester, I'm trying so hard to find a job but in my field it is difficult. If only I had someone here to sit and sift through applications, ...

 Today I came across a picture from the UAE, it was a McDonald's order. There was a card that said "We see you placed the order from a hospital. We hope you're keeping well - this order is on us! From the McDonalds UAE team. My initial thought was 'Wow!' Kindness in marketing is a very powerful tool. “DON'T JUDGE EACH DAY BY THE HARVEST YOU REAP BUT BY THE SEEDS THAT YOU PLANT.” is a quote from Robert Louis Stevenson that says it all. Kindness is a seed and by planting that seed you can bring about a viral action that leads to a major harvest, to a revolution. Take Greta Thunberg for example, she planted the seed of climate change through one act and it led to worldwide change. In the miracle of Hanukah, we see that even the small and weak are able to beat the powerful and mighty. Even small businesses can become big by doing the right thing. An example of that is Mobileye Systems in Israel: wanting to do a kindness, they hired a few boys with autism to analyse...

 I've shared with you that I have stomach issues, but what I haven’t told you sometimes it’s so bad that I can’t do anything. I feel so ill that all day I am lying in bed with stomach ache, or in the toilet with cramps or gastro coughing. My doctor referred me to a gastroenterologist and on the referral letter it said that if you haven’t heard regarding an appointment by July 22, ring up to check. Last Friday was July 22, so I waited until today to call up. After over half an hour on hold, I got through only to hear, yes, we have a referral but the doctor hasn’t decided which clinic to send you to yet. Really NHS? Is that the attitude we want to hear?  Don’t worry, I have a phone appointment with my doctor tomorrow to try work out what to do.  In the meantime, I want to tell you that my doctor is amazing. A big shout-out to Dr. Adam Shogger, whom I actually first met on facebook group ‘Brits living in Israel’. One day he bumped into me at a clinic while I was there esco...

 It's ok to dream, but at the same time its very important to have a semblance of reality as one dreams can only happen if we take reality to the fullest and then push the boundries. I'm almost 36 years old, and went through hell and back as I pushed dreams before me myself. But once I put myself forward, my lifestyle as a person, I became successful. I'm not ashamed to say because of my dreams I have been in mental homes but that is something that built me, something that defined me that made me understand the realities of this harsh place that is called life. It made me understand life is like a roller coaster, sometimes you're up, but at the same point you get down. But when you're down, you have to go back up. I am percieved as someone in control, but I have plenty people who guide me every step of my way because I know I don't always see the main focus in life.  When I was a young kid, my parents took me to Israel to see Professer Reuven Feuerstein and Pr...

 When I was a young kid, we were told that the ozone layer has a hole in it due to the effect of harmful chemicals being released into the atmosphere. Several years later it became extremely hot in Manchester, so I wrote to then Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, as I was worried that people were using the wrong chemicals and damaging the ozone layer more. I received a letter back thanking me for bringing this to his attention and telling me that it has been sent to be dealt with. A few days, later I received a letter from UK's Chief Scientist thanking me and explaining the science of how the world revolves around the sun so that the ozone hole returns to the same position every few years and that lead to the hot weather. As a kid, it gave me a great thrill that the Prime Minister and Chief Scientist took me seriously. Around the same time, I also received a letter from the Queen. We had a family wedding in London and being a big family, we had to separate to sleep in different houses. ...