Yom Hashoah v'Gvurah 2025

It is the evening of Yom Hashoah v'Gvurah -  2025 (Remembrance Day for .  In less than one month, we will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II - or at least the surrender of Nazi Germany and their allies.  This means 80 years since the end of the Holocaust - the murder and destruction of 6 million Jews and their communities across Europe.

In the ashes of the Holocaust, the State of Israel was born three years later, in 1948.  This marked one of the themes of tonight's commemoration of Yom Hashoah v'Gvurah in Ra'anana, Israel.  We attended the one-hour commemoration in the Ra'anana city centre - Yad Lebanim - along with thousands of other Ra'anana residents many of whom were wearing white.  Restaurants and shops had all closed at 6 p.m.  to commemorate the evening.  This moving commemoration included testimonials from Holocaust survivors, readings of poetry, letters and diary entries, of survivors and victims, as well as several moving musical performances.  The ceremony concluded with the reading of "Nizkor," El Maleh Rachamim and a power Hatikvah, Israel's national anthem.

We came home from the city commemoration and turned on the national commemoration, shown on Israel's different television stations.  Like the Ra'anana ceremony, the national program included testimonials from survivors (Including the mother of famous comedian Adir Miller).  The musical performances were powerful and included a Hebrew version of "Bring Him Home" (from Les Miserables) by well known Israeli singer Amir Dadon - and several songs by Christian Israeli singer Valeri Hamaty (a two-time runner up in Israeli season long singing contests).  There were also several performances by singer and pianist Rami Kleinstein.

Israeli commemorations of  the saddest days on the calendar - Yom Hazikaron (Israeli Remembrance  Day for Soldiers and Terror Victims) and Yom Hashoah v'Gvurah - are generally marked by some of the most powerful, moving and emotional musical performances of the year.

In any case, it is on days like Yom Hashoah v'Gvurah that we feel the overwhelming privilege of being able to live in Israel - of being part of a country that has been built to serve as a haven for worldwide Jewry and to mark a return to our ancient ancestral homeland.  Especially these days, where we look around the world and see such a tremendous resurgence of anti-Semitism in so many places, we take some comfort in knowing that Israel will do whatever it can to safeguard, protect and foster Jewish identity and the Jewish people - not just in Israel but across the world.

I was going to add comments on a range of other topics - but I decided that Yom Hashoah v'Gvurah should have its own individual entry.  I am off to attend, virtually, the Law Society of Ontario's annual Yom Hashoah program.  I will spend a good part of the day tomorrow watching special programming and perhaps attending in person at other nearby events (while also trying to get some work done).

Even after 80 years, it remains unfathomable that an advanced, industrialized country would set up a wide ranging murder industry complete with dedicated trains, gas chambers, death camps - and would enlist so much of its citizenry and the citizenry of other countries to assist and participate in trying to eliminate every last Jewish person in Europe. Indeed, the Nazis were hoping to eliminate all of world Jewry. The murder of some 6 million Jewish in this fashion surely marks the depths of humanity's evil.  How could the German people and their accomplices do this?  How could the world not intervene?  How can human beings carry out such despicable and evil acts?

These are unanswerable questions.  They are questions that shake faith in humanity for many people - and for others, they even shake faith in God.  What kind of omni-powerful, omni-benevolent being could allow these atrocities to occur? These are questions for another time - perhaps an in-depth theological blog.

But these questions remind us that we have so much work to do to create a world without these types of horrible atrocities.  While one of the key purposes of Yom Hashoah, is to remember and commemorate these horrible events as Jews and in the interest of ensuring that these types of events can never happen again to the Jewish people - Yom Hashoah also reminds us and the world of the work that we must do to prevent these kind of atrocities from taking place anywhere in the world. 

Israel Update March 2025

Israel AG Baharav-Miara

I had a look and noticed that I hadn't written a blog since mid-January.  Is it because there is simply nothing going on Israel that is worth writing about?  Well, I probably can't say that.  So I guess I will either have to attribute it to laziness on my part - or an extremely high workload in my day job, coupled with all kinds of other things going on.  I'll leave it for the readers to decide.

In case, I will try to cover a range of topics in a pot pourri style in no particular order, other than whatever might pop into my head.

Getting To and From Israel

I might as well start with this since I have still been flying back and forth - even though that is much more difficult (and expensive) than it used to be.  As you may know, Air Canada is still not flying to Israel. The airline has set a restart date of June 8, 2025.  I think it's fair to say that one cannot count on this date as "Torah mi'Sinai," to put it mildly, especially since Air Canada had previously set restart dates of April 1, May 1 and then June 1.  There are probably many considerations including insurance, regional stability and yes, political considerations.  I'll venture to say that if the Liberals win the election, Air Canada will be unlikely to start flying again to Israel any time soon. If the Conservatives win and Pollievre becomes the Prime Minister of Canada - I think there is a greater likelihood of Air Canada restarting its service at an earlier date.  That is not, by the way, intended to be a comment one way or the other on whether Pollievre would be a good Prime Minister - it is simply my prediction of what would happen on this issue.  But let's just stay that the resumption of Air Canada's direct service to Israel is still very much up in the air.

As you know, El Al ceased flying directly to Canada long before the war started in October 2023.  As a result, there are currently no direct flights to Canada.  So for people looking to travel back and forth between Toronto and Israel - there are a range of options - but none of them are great.

The "easiest" and "smoothest" option is to book  on the El Al site or with El Al using an agent, and to take a connecting flight through somewhere in the U.S.  El Al still has some code share arrangements with flights to Toronto, Montreal etc.,  However, these flights can easily sell for $3,000 or $4,000 or more - just for economy seats.  Since the war  began with the massive Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023, El Al has had a virtual monopoly on flights to Israel for extended periods of time.  As a result, it has increased its prices dramatically, generated massive profits for itself, and cut favourable tax deals with the Israeli government.  

I have not flown from the U.S. on El Al since October 7th, primarily because of the high prices.  I also find it more convenient and more relaxing to transfer in many European cities rather than transferring in the U.S.  

On the other hand, flying from Europe on any carrier that is not El Al can be very risky if you have to arrive in Israel for any specific event. You just do not know when one of these carriers might suspend its service in these uncertain times and El Al is the only airline that continues to fly back and forth to Israel no matter what.  As I result, I have flown through Paris, Rome, London and Frankfurt all on El Al.  None of these flights have been with a code share so I have had to retrieve my suitcase/s if I was flying with checked baggage and re-check in - which means that you have to allow at least 4-5 hours to this.  If you fly without checked baggage, which I have done a few times, then I would say that 1-2 hours is sufficient.

I prefer transferring through Rome or Zurich if I have to do this.  I find both airports to be reasonably user friendly and easy enough to navigate.  London and Frankfurt involve quite a bit of walking and are more awkward to transfer through.  Paris can also be quite challenging.  Zurich is probably the easiest as the airport size seems quite manageable.  The airport is efficiently run and the Star Alliance lounge is great (with a full whisky tasting bar included).

I have flown with Lot Polish airlines once or twice through Warsaw and I understand that is somewhat cheaper than many of the other options.  If the connection is with El Al, that might be something that I would try.  If it is all Lot Polish  - I don't think there is any certainty that Lot will continue to fly at any given time. I have not flown Lot since well before October 7, 2023.

For my flight back to Israel just before Pesach (Passover), I am flying Air Canada to Athens and then El Al from Athens.  On one leg of the flight, the connection is great - but the other way I think I have 8 hours or so at the Athens Airport.

So for those of you who might be looking at how best to fly to an upcoming wedding in late August / early September, those are my comments.  Best to try to find a  connecting flight with an El Al leg to Israel if you want to be assured that you will arrive in time for the festivities.

The War in Israel

As you know, Israel has been involved in a multi-front war since October 2023.  Up until recently, we had a form  of ceasefire with Hezbollah in the north and  with Hamas in the southwest.  After the completion of stage 1 of the ceasefire with Hamas, the negotiations fell apart and Israel and Hamas have resumed hostilities.  It is unclear whether Israel is about to use massive force in Gaza in an effort to extract a surrender or whether Israel is hoping that the threat of the use of massive force will accomplish the same goal. I am really not sure. Israel has called up quite a large number of reservists and  the army certainly seems poised for a major ramp-up in fighting if Hamas does not release the remaining hostages (approximately 59, of whom approximately 25 are believed to be alive).  Of course, on a cynical note, as you might know, Israeli cabinet minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and his far right party left the Israeli government in protest when Israel agreed to a cease-fire with Hamas.  Ben-Gvir said he would only rejoin  the government if the government fired the Attorney General, fired the head of the Shabak (Israel's secret service) and resumed the war in Gaza.  Netanyahu needs Ben-Gvir's support to avoid a non-confidence motion - especially with an upcoming budget vote.  So, the cynics among us have argued that the war was restarted just in time to get Ben-Gvir back into the government and ensure the continuity of the fragile government.  I'll come back to politics shortly.

Early this morning, we were woken up  by an alarm as a result of a missile fired by the Houthis in Yemen at Israel.  Now as you know, the Houthis are thousands of miles away, have no direct border with Israel and no real basis for ongoing conflict with Israel, other than their stated intention to support their Palestinian cousins and portray themselves as champions of the Palestinian cause.  As a result, they have been using Iran-supplied armaments to disrupt international shipping by attacking ships in the Red Sea (more than 145 commercial ships according to U.S. Defence Department - along with more than 170 attacks on U.S. military vessels).  The Houthis have also fired more than 40 ballistic missiles at Israel including four this week (three of which caused us to have to go to our safe room and halted air traffic to Israel temporarily).  All of the Houthi missiles this week were shot down by Israel and/or the U.S. On this front, the U.S. has shown a refreshing resolve to hit the Houthis with a full show of force in an effort to dismantle their arsenal.  This is one of the benefits of the change of administration in the U.S. If the previous administration had been willing to show this type of resolve against the Houthis, that may have hastened the end to the war. (This is not global commentary about the current U.S. administration, just a comment about this particular issue).

We have also had to head to the safe room on one occasion as a result of a Hamas attack over the past week.  It is  unclear whether Hamas is holding back in an effort to negotiate a new deal, or whether its capabilities are more limited now.  I think it is more likely that they still have the capabilities but are saving them for whatever reason.

I also note that the front with Iran has not yet started up again, though the U.S.  appears to be making major threats of an attack on the Iranian nuclear sites if an agreement is not reached with Iran.  

Overall, much like the airline situation, though these issues go hand in hand, there is a great deal of uncertainty over what is likely to happen.  Hopefully, Israel can reach some kind of deal to release the remaining hostages and bring about some type of end of  hostilities, even for a few years, with the various surrounding neighbours.  Hard to be optimistic that this is likely to happen soon - especially with an Israeli government that now seems intent on conquering all of Gaza (and perhaps handing it over to Trump to build his "Riviera").

I don't know what this means for the people of Gaza - though I understand that Egypt has apparently told Trump that it would take 500,000 Gazans to live "temporarily" in the northern Sinai (on Israel's border).  If the people of Gaza are still considered "refugees" by U.N. definitions, then it makes sense that they should be settled somewhere and  no longer treated as refugees.  I would suggest that all of those countries that have been most strident in their anti-Israel campaigns including Ireland, Spain, South Africa and others, should all agree to make  a show of their benevolence and Palestinian support and absorb at least 200-300,000.  It will be interesting to see if these countries remain as stridently anti-Israel after 3 or 4 years. Unfortunately, this also includes Canada - especially  under the leadership of the current government.  Given that Mark Carney (the current Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal party) has apparently pledged some $100 million in support for the Palestinians in Gaza (i.e. Hamas), it may not be surprising if the Liberals are also among those countries that would accept a few hundred thousand Gazan refugees.  This would, of course, be a disaster for the Canadian  Jewish community which has seen a massive rise in antisemitic attacks - on synagogues, schools, Jewish-owned stores and institutions etc., since October 7, 2023.

The only alternative to all of this that would make sense would be the kind of plan that the Allies imposed on Japan and Germany after World War II - governance of Gaza and the people of Gaza by leadership with a completely different mindset - intended to reeducate the population, demilitarize it and develop a population that can live alongside Israel.  I'm not not saying that this is realistic or likely but it seems like the only alternative to a major population transfer.  The other  alternatives, including continued or ongoing Hamas rule, will simply lead to further cycles of fighting with Israel for the foreseeable future.

Israeli Politics

The Israeli political situation is at, perhaps, the  lowest point that it has been at since the founding of the country in 1948.  Prime Minister Netanyahu is leading a far-right government that, boosted by the election of Trump, seems intent on eviscerating all of the democratic institutions in Israel and centralizing as much power as possible in Netanyahu's hands.

As you know, Prime Minister Netanyahu is in the midst of a criminal trial that is still ongoing.  There is little reason to believe Netanyahu's supporters who claim that the case has "fallen apart" or is "all about nothing."  Netanyahu is still facing very serious corruption charges.  He has currently been giving his testimony in chief and will shortly be cross-examined (if there is no plea bargain before that starts).

It was a condition of his trial, while continuing to serve as Prime Minister, that he recuse himself from any involvement in issues that could affect his trial.  But Prime Minister Netanyahu has long since abandoned any pretense of following those rules.  His government is now actively engaged in a process to fire the current Attorney General, Gali Baharav-Miara and replace her with someone more sympathetic to Netanyahu.  In Israel, the AG role is an independent position.  Although appointed by the government in power, the AG ("Legal Advisor to the Government") is intended to act independently to ensure that the government acts in accordance with the law.  It is obviously problematic if the government is actively trying to act contrary to the law in a wide range of situations - since the AG has a duty to restrain the government, uphold the rule of law and call out any infringements.

Of course Netanyahu and others on the far right, in Israel and the U.S., have called out these types of checks and balances as the operation of the "Deep State" - which in their world view means anyone who opposes what they seek to do.  In fact, Netanyahu himself and his son Yair (living in Florida), both fired off a bunch of tweets on X this week - and posted on Instagram - arguing that the "Deep State" was running the country and trying to thwart Netanyahu from carrying out certain actions.  According to Netanyahu and his supporters, since his party won the election, they were "democratically elected" and can therefore do anything they want. 

But that is not really the way things are intended to work.  Countries that operate on the basis of the rule of law have laws, rules and conventions in place that restrain certain governmental activity.  Some actions  of government officials can be challenged in the courts which act as an arbiter and are charged with upholding the rule of the law.  This is not the "deep state" - it is rules that were put in place and agreed upon by the people and their representatives (often including right wing parties and politicians) as boundaries for acceptable conduct.

It is true that democracies can be fragile.  As soon as leaders show a reluctance to abide by and honour the laws, rules and conventions that serve as the bullwork of the democracy, things can slide quickly into different forms of rule.  We have witnessed this historically on many occasions.

One of the current issues that the Israel government was recently facing was the termination of the head of the Shabak (the Israeli secret service).  One the one hand, the Shabak is one of the groups that apparently made significant errors leading up to the October 7 attacks.  (We would know a lot more if we were able to have a full National, Independent  Inquiry into these events - but so far Netanyahu has opposed and resisted any such inquiry).  The head of the Shabak, Ronen Bar, has publicly acknowledged that his agency made serious mistakes and he has pledged to resign once this war is completed.  So I am not really passing any judgment on whether or not Bar should continue to be the head of the Shabak.

However, Israeli news stations recently uncovered a  major scandal where two of Netanyahu's closest advisors were being paid by agents of the Qatari government on an ongoing basis.  Qatar is a hostile state to Israel with no diplomatic relations.  So just as the Shabak, under Bar, opened a major investigation into this issue (now being called "Qatargate"), Netanyahu pulled out all the stops to hold urgent, emergency meetings and fire Ronen Bar. (Netanyahu gave an urgent political address last night trying to present his own version of the timeline - but it was quickly shown to have been riddled with holes).

Netanyahu's supporters say that since he is the Prime Minister, he can do anything he likes, including firing anyone he wants to fire.  But there are procedures in place in Israel for this type of dismissal, that can involve a hearing, an oversight committee etc., as well as rules about conflicts of interest. So the Netanyahu government voted (with no dissenting voices) to dismiss Bar.  But now a range of groups brought petitions to the Supreme Court of Israel arguing that the proper process (which Netanyahu had put into place himself years ago) for the dismissal the head of Shabak was not followed and there was also a violation of conflict of interest rules.  The Court granted an injunction preventing Bar's dismissal until a full hearing can be conducted, which is expected in April.  Netanyahu and his cabinet ministers all responded promptly that they would not follow the rulings of the Supreme Court.  As you might imagine, an announcement by the Prime Minister and his cabinet that they will not abide by rulings of the Supreme Court is shocking, dangerous and threatening to the foundations of Israel as a democratic state that adheres to the rule of law.

Again, this is not a "deep state" issue.  The Supreme Court does not have the power to say "we don't like this head of Shabak - pick another one" or "you must keep this person in power no matter what." But the Court does have the power to hear petitions that are brought that allege that legal processes in Israel were not followed and that laws were broken in the course of firing someone or appointing someone.  In other words, there are some limits on what the Prime Minister and the current government can do (call them "checks and balances") and this is normal in a rule of law country.  Netanyahu would like to eliminate any such checks and balances which is what his whole program of "legal revolution" has been about.  That is why so many Israelis have taken to the streets in protest.

Once the government dismissed Ronen Bar, it turned its attention to the current AG, Baharav-Miara, who was, herself, originally appointed by Gideon Saar, a fairly right wing Likud member.  Netanyahu and the ruling coalition are having all sorts of problems with the current AG because she seems intent on upholding the law, much to their dismay.  This is a  real problem for the current cast of characters.  Netanyahu himself is in the throes of a criminal trial where he is facing prison time.  He is supposed to be recusing himself from making decisions that could impact his trial - but he is not even making a pretense of doing that.  He is intent on bringing back Ben-Gvir as the head of the police - and Ben-Gvir himself is a convicted criminal.  He is also looking to make this new "Qatar-gate" scandal go away as quickly as possible.

So earlier today, the Likud government voted, with no dissenting  voices, to dismiss the AG.   There are more procedural hurdles in place for the dismissal of the AG and this cannot be done by a simple cabinet vote. None of these procedural hurdles have been followed so far.  So you can be assured that there will be more petitions to the Supreme Court seeking to freeze the dismissal of the AG.  And you can also be assured that Netanyahu will double down on his pledge not to abide by the Supreme Court's rulings.

For Netanyahu himself, the stakes are obvious. For one thing, he wanted to bring back Ben-Gvir to bolster the stability of his government.  Ben Gvir's demands for rejoining included the resumption of the war in Gaza and  the dismissal of the head of Shabak and the AG (and presumably anyone else who would raise obstacles to potential governmental action that may or may not be legal). Secondly, the dismissal of Bar allows Netanyahu to claim that he has fired  or replaced almost all of the key people who were at the heads of different governmental institutions that were in place on October 7, 2023. (Though he remains in charge and was in charge on October 7, 2023). But most importantly, in my view - there is another key point.  Netanyahu's cross-examination is coming up in his trial.

In his examination in chief, some of Netanyahu's key evidence was that he routinely signs all kinds of documents all the time, has no idea what he is signing and does not even understand many of the key documents that he signs.  (These were all documents that relate to the serious criminal charges against Netanyahu). This was his evidence in chief.  There is little doubt that the state's prosecution attorneys are salivating at their chance to cross-examine Netanyahu on this evidence.  Netanyahu is, of course, known for his incredible attention to detail, his amazing memory and his high level of intelligence.  It is hard to imagine that any of Netanyahu's evidence will be considered believable once his cross-examination is concluded. 

This is a pressing reason for a change in AG.  If Netanyahu and  his cronies can install a friendlier AG - perhaps he can get a much better plea bargain deal - before he ever has to appear for cross-examination.  Call that cynical if you will, but given the testimony in chief, I find it highly unlikely that Netanyahu is looking forward to his cross-examination.  And if it does actually take place, it will undoubtedly be quite the judicial spectacle - entertaining, at times comedic, bombastic (on Netanyahu's part) and almost certainly - unwinnable for Netanyahu.  Better to cut a deal with a friendly AG as soon as possible if only one can be installed - quickly.

As a result of this government's statements calling for refusing to follow rulings of the Supreme Court, several prominent Israelis, including the former Supreme Court head Aharon Barak, the current head of the Labour Party (Yair Golan) and others have openly ruminated about the dangers of a possible civil war.  To me that seems extreme for sure and  I would not even want to entertain that type of vocabulary - but we are in the midst of a very dangerous constitutional crisis.  The long-term solution for Israel, ultimately, will need to be a constitution that spells out in detail, the limits of power for each branch of the government.  (Israel does not currently have a  written constitution in place).

U.S. - Israel Relations

For some countries, Canada included, President Trump has been a major and immediate threat. Declaring a trade war against one of the U.S.'s best friends and closest partners seems like an awfully strange strategy (unless you are working for the Russians) but I digress.

But for Israel, and the Jewish community, even though many Jewish Americans did not and do not support Trump, some of Trump's policies have been a breath of fresh air.

It is likely that it was Trump's arm-twisting of both sides that brought about the second hostage deal and cease-fire arrangement with Hamas. President Trump has made it clear that the Houthis will suffer serious consequences for their actions in attacking the U.S. and  Israel.  Trump's willingness to support Israel in a big way in the region seems to have acted as a deterrent to Hezbollah and to Iran.  

It remains to be seen what will happen with Gaza.  On the one hand, standing up for Israel unconditionally vis-a-vis Hamas seems much more likely to bring about a deal than the policies of the former administration.  Although President Biden showed more support for Israel right after October 7th than any president in history, the support slid over time and was accompanied by threats of arms delays or bans towards the end of Biden's administration.  This probably lead to the prolongation of the war. If the U.S. had continued with a policy of "all-in" support for Israel - this may have left Hamas feeling more isolated and may have brought about an earlier cease-fire deal.

It seems to me that many Israelis and Jews around the world are also quite happy to see actions that Trump has taken against Columbia University and other institutions.  It is inconceivable that, under the guise of "freedom of expression," masked demonstrators were allowed to terrorize Jewish students and others on the campus of Columbia.  People have a right to demonstrate and to freedom of  expression.  But that surely doesn't include masked, violent encampments that occupy university property, threaten other students and create an intolerant and threatening atmosphere on campus. I'm very sorry but I have little sympathy for foreign students who lose their visas or even their green cards and are deported for  these kind of activities.  

As Toronto faces massive pro-Hamas demonstrations marking "al-Quds Day" on March 23, 2025, this is one area where Toronto and its pro-Hamas Mayor Olivia Chow, would be much better off moving closer to a U.S. model - banning masked demonstrations, arresting those who advocate violence and taking appropriate steps to censure and  stop  anti-Semitic activity.  Both York University and the University of Toronto have been hotbeds for this conduct.  A Trump-like approach to York and U of T would make Toronto a much safer place for everyone.  And kudos to the Mayor of Vaughan, Steven Del Duca, who recently thwarted these types of protests outside of a Thornhill synagogue by providing proper security and perimeter protection, thereby protecting the synagogue and its attendees.

All of this is not, as I mentioned earlier, a general statement in favour of the current U.S. President.  For certain Israel-related issues, his policies have been better than those of his predecessor.  But it is easy to imagine that Trump could  turn on any particular Israeli leader just as easily as the U.S. flipped on the Ukraine.  And in the long run, a U.S. realignment with  Russia and away from the EU and  Canada (and other democratic countries) would not be in Israel's interests if Israel hopes to remain, itself, a free and democratic country.

The disdain shown by Trump for the  rule of law and the courts is a theme that is currently being echoed by Netanyahu here in Israel.  As a lawyer and  someone who greatly prioritizes the rule of  law, I cannot possibly countenance governmental actions that weaken and detract from the rule of law whether they are here in Israel or in the U.S.  In both countries, there are procedures in place  for laws that need to be followed - and there are judicial constraints on the exercise of power.  These constraints help ensure the paramountcy of the rule of  law and we know what happens when that breaks down.

Weather Update

After arriving back here in early March, it seemed that winter was gone, that we had skipped spring and that we were right into summer temperatures of  close to 30c.  We enjoyed several days of those temperatures before getting another taste of "winter," which meant 15-20 C and heavy rain.  Today we were  back to sunny skies and had the chance to enjoy brunch at an outdoor restaurant listening to hundreds of birds, mostly green parrots, singing and  squawking. We are probably close the end of the days of "moderate temperatures" and will soon need to have the AC going non-stop.  No doubt that  it will be quite hot at the end of August/ early September - but the good  news is that it does sometimes cool down in the evenings in Jerusalem for those of you who will be visiting that time of year.

Sports

I would call this time of year a bit of a black hole for sports viewership - (as a hockey and NFL fan) where I don't have too much to get excited about.  I enjoyed the "Four Nations Challenge" that the NHL put on in Mid-February - which was surprisingly competitive and  energetic. I'm not really a huge basketball fan - so the different March tournaments don't really attract my interest.

Now I am awaiting the NHL playoffs though I am very concerned that the  Toronto Maple Leafs may be escorted out the door by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round. 

I am not that optimistic about baseball season and don't really have much hope for the Toronto Blue Jays who appear to be managed incompetently.

There is not much to watch here in the way of sports.  Now I suppose all of this is good because it provides me with fewer distractions. Between political news (which is 24/7 in Israel), work and event planning, I have more than enough going on already. So I can happily do without the added distraction of compelling sporting events - at least for a couple of months.

There are many other topics to cover but I think I am done for now.  Even though it is a Sunday, Sunday is regular work day in Israel.  So I intend to use the time to try and catch up on all of my work.  

Until the next blog, I wish everyone all best.  As usual, I am always happy to discuss and debate these ideas with anyone who might like to have some fun.   

Cease Fire, Hostage Release Deal and Other Updates

It has been a while since my last post - I think about three months.  So for all of you who have been waiting for a monthly (or weekly) blog - sorry about that.  I am just two busy.  But much has happened since October 2024.  At different times, I had thoughts of writing a blog - and some ideas - but I just couldn't get around to it.  As it is - I have a very packed schedule today - but I thought I would see how much I could put together in one hour or maybe two.

Hostage Deal/ Cease Fire

As you might have guessed, the first thing I have to write about is the apparent deal that Israel has reached with Hamas - as negotiated with Qatar, Egypt, the U.S. and others.  In case the Canadian readers are wondering - Canada does not seem to have played any role in these negotiations other than cheering on Hamas, backing anti-Israel U.N. resolutions etc.,

There is nobody on the Israeli side that I have heard that will say this is a "good" deal.  It is not. The apparent deal is staged over a 42 day period - by which time a total of 34 Israelis will have been released - though we don't know for sure how many of them are (or will be) alive.  Rumours are that the number is 23 living hostages.  In exchange, Israel will release some 3,000 Hamas terrorists, many of whom are serving jail sentences, will allow a dramatic increase in aid coming into Gaza and will pull back troops from many areas of Gaza - and eventually leave Gaza altogether.

Although the deal is highly problematic, it seems highly unlikely that Israel will get a better deal any time soon - and continued fighting will doom the 34 hostages - as well as hundreds of soldiers who will die in further fighting.  It is unclear that this continued fighting will wind up getting Israel a better deal.

If we have a chance to save the lives of these 34 hostages - and maybe more - there are still 98 being held, even though we do not know how many are still alive - then the State of Israel has an obligation to its citizens to save as many as possible.  Especially since we do  not have an alternate plan to either save them or end the war.

There are many different stories emerging about the negotiations - and it is really hard to say what is true and what is not.  Different sources from inside Israel and from the U.S. have indicated that a deal was almost completed in May 2024 but Netanyahu's government added additional conditions at the last  minute.  Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, both ministers in Bibi's government, have taken credit for "preventing" the deal at that time - which effectively means - taking credit for minimal gains in Gaza, the deaths of many Israeli soldiers and the deaths of many of the hostages who may have been released.

At the same time, Israel's accomplishments in Lebanon and Syria - and even Iran - were all significant and seem to have put Israel in a much better position geopolitically.  According to other reports, it is Hamas that was refusing a deal between June and  now - and has only now agreed to a similar deal because it has been weakened considerably.

I cannot give any authoritative answer to these questions. However, if there is any chance of saving these lives after so much time in captivity, I think it is the time is right for us to do so.

On the cynical side - many reports suggest that it was Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, who broke the logjam this week by essentially reading Bibi the riot act and telling him that the war had to end now. It certainly seems to me that earlier reports are correct - that Bibi did not want to end the war early - at Trump's request - because it would be viewed as helping the Democrats with the election.  Of course there is no proof of that - but the timing does speak for itself in my view.  

The interesting point here is that Bibi and his far right cohorts - Smotrich and Ben-Gvir - were convinced that Trump would more or less let them do whatever they wanted when he became President - and "finish off" Hamas (whatever that might mean).  However, instead, Trump apparently told them, through his envoy, that the war had to end now - and this would be the end of the war.  Trump has indicated that he wants to move ahead with peace talks with Saudi Arabia - which means some kind of permanent arrangement for the Palestinians.  This is all terrifying to Ben Gvir and Smotrich who were hoping to build settlements in Gaza  and are adamantly insisting that they will be able to continue the war after the 42 day cease fire period.

All of this being said, there are still reports that the deal has not yet been approved by the Israeli cabinet or signed by both sides yet, even though it is supposed to take effect on Sunday at Noon (Israel time).  I believe that the deal will proceed but I guess anything can happen between now and then as Smotrich and Ben-Gvir try to stop the deal. (As a late postscript - Bibi has now apparently  delayed the start of the deal to Monday instead of Sunday - with no apparent reason - other than - so that the release of prisoners coincides with the inauguration of Mr. Trump....)

The Future of Bibi's Government

Two of Bibi's coalition partners, Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, are threatening to leave the government if this hostage/cease fire deal goes ahead.  However, it is important to listen to them closely.  Ben-Gvir says he will officially leave the government but he will not vote against it or bring it down and will still support it from the outside.  Smotrich says he will leave the government if the army does not return to Gaza to fight some more - after the 42 day deal is complete.  Effectively, neither of these two coalition partners are promising to bring down the government now - they are only making idle threats at this point for political reasons.

Ultimately, the far-right parties have no interest in an election any time soon.  They are in key positions of power - controlling the police, the budget, and many other ministries.  They could risk all of that if an election were to be held, which is not supposed to take place until October 2026, unless the government falls before then.  I don't believe that they are about to cause the government to fall.

The ultra-Orthodox parties are also making a great deal of noise - and are continuing to demand a blanket exemption from the army.  It seems increasingly unlikely that this government will be able to get that bill passed - with growing opposition from Bibi's own party,  internally.  However, I don't believe that the ultra-Orthodox are interested in an election at this time - since they are enjoying a golden era of massive funding for their yeshivas, rabbinical institutions and other programs - which could face huge cuts after an election.

There are other two other major sources of tension.  Some of the far right extremists in Bibi's coalition -  Simcha Rotman and Yariv Levin - would like to bring back the "judicial reform" plan to the centre of the agenda.  Their logic is that the war is almost "over" and they should use this opportunity, while this far-right government is still in power - to take over the judiciary and implement changes that will favour their agenda.  This is creating tension within the Likud party itself - as even some of the Likud members cannot stomach these proposed changes.  It is hard to say what will happen here though I would imagine that some of the changes will go ahead and some will be "delayed."

The other source of tension is Bibi's criminal trial which may now proceed at a faster pace if the cease fire deal is implemented. I am not going to get into that too much at this point - other than to mention that he has had a few days of "examination-in-chief" - which means giving evidence that he and his lawyers have tailored for his benefit. Included in this testimony, Bibi gave evidence that he signs "all kinds of paperwork everyday and often has no idea what he is signing."  In fact, he testified that even today - he still does not understand some of the key deals that he signed (including deals  that allegedly favoured Bezeq - to the tune of hundreds of millions of shequels - in exchange for favourable publicity).

Suffice it to say that Bibi's cross-examination on all of this - if it ever occurs - should be fascinating - especially for lawyers....who greatly enjoy watching these types of proceedings.  From where I sit - it seems hard to imagine that Bibi will go ahead with the cross-examinations - rather than cut some sort of deal before they occur.  Given that his starting point - is "I had no idea what I was signing" - and that is normally evidence that might be adduced in a cross-examination not an examination in chief, it can only get worse in a cross-examination.  I have no idea where this will all end up - but I have predicted all along - and continue to maintain  - that this case will never go to a verdict.  Either a plea bargain deal will be reached at some point - or Bibi's coalition partners will succeed in somehow legislating an end to the trial.  I think the former is more likely but that remains to be seen.

Getting to Israel

As you may know, it has been incredibly difficult to get to Israel since October 7, 2023, with most airlines, including all of the major U.S. airlines and most of the European airlines, cancelling their service to Israel.  Only El Al and a few other Israeli airlines have continued to fly and earn record profits.

With the announcement of the pending deal, Lufthansa has just announced that it plans to resume flights very shortly.  I imagine many other airlines will follow suit.

An Air Canada representative told me that Air Canada was set to resume flights on April 1, 2025, assuming that this deal goes ahead and remains in place.

All of that is great news for those looking to fly to Israel.  Hopefully tourists will start to come back - and hopefully all of these guests that want to come for our family wedding will be able to get here easily and safely.

I am still planning to return on my next flight through Rome but perhaps my next flight back to Israel will be on an Air Canada direct flight - if they begin earlier than April.

Yemen and Iran

We had to get up at about 2:30 a.m. two nights ago to run to our "safe room" because of a missile alert.  Apparently the Houthis had fired some ballistic missiles at Israel from Yemen.  The Houthis have always said that they will stop firing missiles when the war with Hamas ends - but I do not know if Israel will agree to stop taking any action against these Yemeni terrorists.

Israel is also pushing for approval from the incoming Trump administration to conduct a joint operation and take out the Iranian nuclear program.  Certainly, it seems that Israel would prefer a regime change and an opportunity to try and work with a new Iranian regime and build peace between the two countries.  Israel is still hoping that this will be the outcome in Lebanon and in Syria with the destruction of much of Hezbollah.   It also seems that Trump would prefer to avoid a military confrontation with Iran.   Netanyahu has always indicated that it is the centrepiece of his government's program - to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. This war has made that objective even more pressing.  

Nevertheless, it seems to me that Trump will try to use diplomatic means rather than military to deal with Iran and Israel will not be able to do anything alone.  This all remains to be seen.

Eurovision

For the past few years - Israel has used its reality TV singing contest - "the Next Star" to select Israel's choice for the annual Eurovision contest.  The show is now down to five contestants.  Unlike some years, there is no clear favourite and it should be an interesting finish next week (or the week after).  A very interesting story is that one of the favourites is an Israeli Arab Christian - named Valeri Hamati. She is extraordinarily talented though not "head and shoulders" above the field. It is particularly fascinating because some people have very strong views about having a Christian Arab represent Israel on the world stage at an international singing contest.  She almost lost in the last round but made it through to the final five.  I think that she would be a great contestant though I am not sure that she will win - and if she doesn't  - I would  not necessarily blame it on her background.  I would say that it is a close field.  If she was clearly above  the other contestants - it would have been really interesting to see.  But her last performance was less than earth-shattering and at least two of the other contestants delivered excellent presentations.  We will know soon enough.

Movies

I am trying to do my best to catch up on all of the Oscar nominated movies before the Oscars.  Of course, the list of nominations is not out yet - so we can only speculate.  But I have seen three movies that are almost certain to be on the list.  Anora, Wicked and, most recently "A Real Pain."

I watched A Real Pain this week.  I thought it was really well done.  It is the story of two first cousins who join up with a tour of Poland and its concentration camps. There are many themes that really resonated with me (as someone who has ancestors who were killed in these camps).  The movie covers a variety of themes - including the manner in which a tour guide should lead this type of group (we have a family member who is a tour guide as you may know), the effect on people of visiting the death camps, the interaction with Polish civilians, and issues of depression and mental illness.  I know it probably sounds like a real downer from that description but I would strongly recommend it.

I am not going to discuss the others for now - I have to leave some material for future blogs, though I really enjoyed Wicked and would have loved to go to one of the "sing-along" performances of it.

Sports

Not related to Israel at all, since sports events are not really followed here nearly as much as in North America - other than major soccer events - like the  World Cup etc., but nevertheless I have to add just a couple of comments.

Since I grew up (since the age of 12 anyways), closest to Buffalo, I have always been a Buffalo Bills' fan.  As you might know, Buffalo played in the Super Bowl four years  in a row - and  has the distinct honour of being able to say that it lost all four times.

But here we are - with the Bills playing this Sunday - still having a chance to make it to the Super Bowl.  They are playing a very tough opponent - the Baltimore Ravens - but I will be watching the game starting at 1:30 a.m.  on Sunday night.

I doubt I would actually want to go the game in person and sit for 3 hours in -15C weather - even if I were in Toronto and could get to Buffalo.  It  is much more comfortable to fire up the barbecue in 21C weather and watch in optimal conditions.  But I am hoping for the best.

I might also stay up and watch the NCAA football final on Monday night - but I don't have a particular horse in that race - other than to cheer for Ohio State on behalf of my family members who live in Columbus.

Conclusion

At this point, my conclusion has to be that I am hoping for the return of all of the hostages - and that they will be able to get the support they need to return to their lives. They will need medical, psychological, emotional and all kinds of other support after this devastating experience but we are hoping for the best for them.  Israel will also have to endure a large number of funerals as the bodies of many dead hostages are likely to be returned.  This will be very traumatic.

I am also hoping for the safety of our soldiers - who are generally recruited civilians from the Israeli population called to serve their country. To date, a total of 840 Israeli soldiers have been killed including 405 in combat operations after the start of the war.

Of course I would also like to see an end to this conflict but we will require a much more significant change. There cannot really be an end to the conflict unless the Palestinians have leadership that is committed to a non-violent long-term solution to the conflict.  If Hamas remains in power - and that seems to be the case with this current deal - it is hard to imagine that we will see any kind of long term peace any time soon.  But maybe with big changes in Lebanon and Syria - there is a glimmer of hope that we will see some major changes in the region.  If changes do occur - and are attributable to this war - that may well be viewed as a long term gain from the war - despite the terrible cost that it exacted from Israelis and Palestinians.

Wishing everyone peace and the best of health.

Oct 7 Anniversary and Other thoughts

One Year Anniversary of October 7, 2023

It is the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel, which began at 6:28 a.m. on October 7, 2023.  That day, more than 3,000 armed Hamas terrorists crossed into Israel in 4x4s and on motorcycles and went on a murderous killing spree.  They attacked the nearby communities, murdering and raping residents, burning down homes and businesses, and taking hostages back to Gaza.  They also attacked a music festival - the Nova Festival at which more than 4,500 participants from around the world were attending a trance music festival.  They murdered more than 400 concertgoers and injured hundreds more.  In total, more than 1,200 Israelis were murdered and more than 250 were taken to Gaza as hostages.  It was the worst single day for the loss of Jewish lives since the Holocaust.  There are still 101 Israeli hostages being held in Gaza, though we do not know how many are still alive.

To commemorate this day, there are many events scheduled across Israel, including two different commemorative events this evening.  One is being organized and run by the government, specifically Minister Miri Regev.  Another event is being run by the families of the hostages and families of the victims.  Perhaps not surprisingly, it is the second event that will have the star-studded line up of Israeli performers, volunteering their time, to lead mournful songs for the Israeli public, though their event will take place starting at 7:15 p.m., followed by the "official" Israel event at 9:30 p.m. (Israel time).

Last night, we went to a special event at the Peres Center in Yafo, Tel-Aviv.  There is a huge photographic exhibition of photos by photographer Ziv Koren, aimed at memorializing and preserving the memory of one of the greatest disasters in Israel's history. We walked around looking at the exhibit and then went upstairs to see a special screening of the movie "We Will Dance Again" - a documentary about the massacres at the Nova festival - as told through the words and experiences of some of the survivors.  It was chilling and powerful.  Numbing and paralyzing, in fact.  The movie was fairly graphic and does feature footage, in some cases taken  by Hamas terrorists on their cell phones - and in other cases by victims or witnesses on cell phones that were recovered - of brutal murders of defenseless victims.

The evil displayed in the film is simply boundless and frightening.  There were some incredible stories of bravery and heroism.  For example, Aner Shapira, who was a member of the Nahal military unit.  He was attending the Nova Festival as a civilian.  He and a whole group of others hid in a protective shelter.  Hamas found the shelter and began throwing grenades into the shelter.  Shapira grabbed and threw back 7 live grenades before they could explode in the shelter.  The 8th one exploded and Shapira was killed. But 7 of the people in the shelter managed to survive and they believe that this was at least, in part, due to the heroic actions of Shapira.

One year later, there are still more than 100 hostages being held by Hamas, dead or alive. The war with Hamas is still raging, though Hamas has suffered enormous damage.  Israeli estimates that at the start of the war, Hamas had approximately 40,000 fighters spread among its various units.  Hamas has not differentiated in its reports of casualties between fighters and civilians but Israeli officials maintain that a significant number of those 40,000 fighters have been killed.  In other words, any  publicized Hamas numbers of casualties, which are  from the "Hamas Health Ministry" include large numbers of fighters, though we do not know exact percentages.

Israel has destroyed many of the Hamas-built tunnels in Gaza and has severely damaged the Hamas forces.  But the hostages have still not been returned and the fighting still continues. Hamas has not yet surrendered or been defeated - and the hostages have not yet been freed.  But Israel is hopeful that this will happen soon.

Lebanon and Iran

Meanwhile, fighting in Israel's north has now become the main focal point for the Israeli army.  After all, Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon began firing rockets at Israel on October 7, 2023, at the start of the attack - in "sympathy" with Hamas.  This was a concerted and deliberate attack, orchestrated by Iran.  Unfortunately for Hamas and fortunately for Israel, this did not turn out the way that Hamas had planned it.  Hamas was apparently aiming to take over several Israel towns and cities including Ashkelon and Ashdod. Hamas was also hoping that Hezbollah and Iran would join the war fully at the outset.  

As you might recall, the United States sent immediate and massive military reinforcements, which undoubtedly helped deter Hezbollah and Iran from widening the war at the outset.  But although that may have deterred Hezbollah and Iran from widening the war at that point, it did not deter Hezbollah from firing rockets, sending drones, firing RPGs and other forms of attack at Israel.  Since October 7, 2023, tens of thousands of Israelis have been evacuated from their homes in the north and have not been able to return.  Israel has absorbed massive damage throughout the north - in cities like Kiryat Shemona - all the way to Safed and Tiberias.  Homes, businesses, vineyards and other agricultural areas have been attacked, burned and destroyed.

For many residents of Israel's north, the recent start of the counterattack against Hezbollah  in the north was long overdue.  Northerners have felt abandoned.  Unable to return home, to their businesses, their lives in the north - they have begged the Israeli government to take action.  The government and the army seem to have made a strategic decision to try and fight one major front at a time - and have only now turned to dealing with Hezbollah in the north.

As you may know, the fighting is now raging in Lebanon between the Israeli army and  Hezbollah.  The main goal is to reach some  kind of agreement whereby Hezbollah will agree to move its forces away  from the border  - and there will be some mechanism for enforcing that deal.  The hope is that Israel's northern residents will be able to return to their homes. In 2006, a deal like that was reached - but it was not followed by Hezbollah - which built tunnels and stationed troops on Israel's border starting just after that deal. So far, Hezbollah is not wavering - and is indicating that it will not agree to such a deal - even though much of its leadership has been destroyed in attacks  by Israeli forces.  

So Israeli forces may well be in for a lengthy and  difficult battle with Hezbollah in Lebanon until a deal can be reached that will allow residents on both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border to live in peace.

Of course, in the midst of all of this, we are waiting to see how and when Israel will respond to the massive Iranian attack - during which more than 180 ballistic missiles were fired at Israel.  Although many were shot down by Israeli defence systems, it is apparent that many landed - although we do  not know the details of the damage that was caused.  

There are discussions of which targets Israel will go after in Iran - missile storage silos, the Iranian nuclear program - the oil fields.....or the political leadership.  And when this response will occur.  We have heard President Biden ruminating about which targets Israel should not hit (though who knows whether this is all part of some kind of deception) and we have heard French President Macron warning Israel about responsive actions that it might take.  Perhaps Israel has already decided - and put together a plan - or perhaps they are still working with the U.S.  and other countries to decide on the right  approach.  I have no idea but it seems all but certain that there will be a significant retaliation by Israel in the coming days.  Perhaps, this will help nudge the Iranian people towards changing their leadership and freeing themselves from the fanatical ultra-religious government that controls their lives.  

Whatever Israel does chose to do, it is clear that it will not be targeting civilians.  There is no equivalence between the Hamas attacks on Israel and the responses from Israel.  Israel will pursue military targets, those responsible and facilities used for supporting the attacks against Israel.  Even though this has meant many civilian casualties in Gaza, Israel has not targeted civilians deliberately. Civilian casualties in a war always occur - and especially where the fighting forces are embedded in schools, hospitals and religious institutions.  But there is a massive difference between civilian deaths that occur during fighting between military forces - and terrorists that run around shooting unarmed civilians, burning down houses, raping and dismembering victims.  I haven't seen any credible suggestions that Israeli forces have been involved in  this type of activity.

So Israel is not about to attack Iranian civilians.  In fact, in the long run - I believe that one day, when Iran unshackles itself, Israelis believe that we will have good relations with Iran and the Iranian people - perhaps even the Lebanese as well - if Lebanon and Iran can succeed in changing their governments.

For now, however, we are sitting somewhat on edge, waiting to see what type of action Israel will take, how successful it will be and what will happen afterwards.  

Yesterday, there were reports of an earthquake in Iran.  I couldn't help but wonder - can Israel create an earthquake?  Was this the famous Israeli agent "Rita Tadama?" (like the agent "Eli Copter" who was alleged to have killed the Iranian leader or the agent "Moti Rola" responsible for the beeper attacks). Another theory, that I am writing in an updated version of this article, is that Iran was testing nuclear weapons.  But I digress. 

Something is likely to happen soon and we will have to hope that it leads to worldwide pressure (on all of the players, not just Israel) for a full, global deal - one that returns the hostages, moves the Hezbollah forces back from Israel's border, ends all of the fighting and leads to a broader discussion of how to deal with Gaza and the West Bank in the long range. Stay tuned.

Getting to Israel

As you may know, there are now very limited options for getting to Israel.  El Al, Israel's national (though private) airline, continues to fly and earn record profits.  Israeli carriers Israir and Arkia are also flying and a handful of foreign carriers.  This morning's paper reported that there are flights available to Romania - but that flights to closer destinations - such has Athens and Cyprus are now costing upwards of $700 for a one-way flight.

Most other airlines have cancelled or postponed their service.  All of the Star Alliance carriers have stopped flying as have the carriers of the other major world alliances.  

To get here this time, I flew to Rome on Air Canada and then took an El Al flight from Rome - one day later.  So I had to "suffer" in Rome for a day.  I visited "Flour, Farina e Cucina" a Kosher dairy restaurant in Rome - wandered the city and had some delicious gelato.  The next morning, I got on the flight from Rome to Israel with one of the few remaining "reasonable priced" tickets.  Somehow, I was chosen for an upgrade to business class on this three-hour flight.  So I enjoyed a full Israeli breakfast and a cappuccino on the flight - even though there was no entertainment system or trappings of business class that you might get on other airlines.  

One of our family members travelling to the U.S. was supposed to fly on Austrian Airlines shortly before the holidays.  The flight was cancelled at the last minute and he was offered his money back.  But he needed to get to the U.S.  So we pushed and pushed and they put him on a route via Athens on Aegean Airlines.  Just days after he left, Aegean Airlines cancelled all flights to Tel-Aviv.  So we are not sure how he will get back after the holidays but perhaps things will change for the better by then.  We have other friends who have had to cancel flights - or are hoping to get back to Israel somehow.  The only reliable option right now is El Al - from somewhere in the world.  Everything else is questionable.

Diversions

Through all of this, we managed to watch the much discussed Netflix Romcom - "Nobody Wants This" about an interfaith romance between a rabbi and a non Jewish woman.  The main characters are outstanding - compelling, empathetic and interesting.  But, on reflection, the show is somewhat problematic.  I have read many of the different reviews about it and I would agree with two of the primary criticisms.

First of  all, the rabbi in the show is depicted as an incredibly empathetic, decent person - but not really committed to any  Jewish practices or rituals.  He is probably an outstanding family counselor, teacher and listener - all of which are important traits for a rabbi.  Yet, even though everyone knows he is a rabbi - he doesn't seem to follow anything.  He  drives and goes out to restaurants and pubs on Friday nights, leaves his congregation in the middle of services to pursue romantic interests - and eats just about anything - so it seems.  Those around him, including his mother, are portrayed as equally blasé and hypocritical about religious practices.  So perhaps it is not a surprise that he is so attracted to someone outside of his faith. Sure he makes some nice speeches about the importance of religion and his culture and heritage - and his chosen career and calling - and perhaps - he really is reflective of many Reform and Conservative rabbis, especially in the U.S.  But mostly, I tend to doubt it (even though I know of at least two real life stories that seem fairly close to this one).  I would think that if his religious devotion was really that important to him, he would behave differently.

Another major criticism that has been levelled at the show is the way that the Jewish women  are portrayed.  Almost universally - domineering, sexless, controlling, and boring. In contrast with the fun, exciting, non-Jewish, mostly blonde women.  In this repressed world - it is easy  enough to see why the rabbi would be so drawn to the world of excitement.  But it is a very negative portrayal of Jewish women.  One critic suggested that it channeled Woody Allen's Annie Hall in that respect - and there is something to that.  The repressed nerdy Jewish male character looking for excitement by finding the blonde, exciting, non-Jewish, sexually liberated character.   

Perhaps this is how the writer Erin Foster - views her experience as someone who converted to Judaism and married a Jewish person.  Foster had been writing scripts with her sister - much like the protagonist in the film - and may view the Jewish community through the lens of Reform practice.  

Overall, I would say that I quite enjoyed much of this show - though there was a fair bit of cringe - and, ultimately, I am just not convinced about many of the scenes or about the show's ultimate message.  But that may be because I might be considered a bit more to the traditional side of the spectrum.  (Though not too far over).  But it is quite a bit of food for thought in my view, even if there is also quite a bit of fluff and some distastefulness.

The other diversion I wanted to mention is that I recently acquired a board game (one of my major hobbies as you might know) called "Ezra and Nehemiah."  Over the course of the game, players are trying to rebuilt the second Temple in Jerusalem, teach Torah lessons, bring sacrifices to the Cohanim - and take other actions to acquire the most points.  I have been trying to convince my board game group in Israel to try it but we haven't managed to play it yet.  Hopefully we  will get to it shortly.  In case you are wondering what we have been playing - I will mention a few - though it is unlikely you will have heard of them unless you are really interested in the "Euro Board Game" industry.  Brass Birmingham, Trickerion, Ark Nova, Lisboa, Scythe, Kanban.  These are a few of our favourites.  You can read all about them on the site BoardGameGeek.com.  I believe that Brass Birmingham is currently rated as the most popular game in the world on that site.  Most of these games (if not all of them) can be played on Shabbat and are fairly challenging.  But they can take several hours to learn - and several hours to play in many cases.

Rosh Hashanah and  Yom Kippur

We are now in the midst of the "Awesome Days" - the 10 days of Penitence in between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  On Rosh Hashanah, which we observed on Thursday and Friday - we heard the Shofar and reflected on our past year and on the coming year.  This Friday night and Saturday we will observe Yom Kippur - where I will lead our local Kol Nidrei service - and the next day - the closing Neilah service - at a friend's backyard  with about 50 of our nearest and dearest.  As an aside, I should mention that I am blessed and proud to have a family member leading Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services at Hillel houses in the U.S. this year - and that is pretty exciting.

One of the most poignant prayers it the centrepiece of both the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services - the "Unetaneh Tokef" prayer - in which we actually recite, explicitly, the various ways that people might die in the coming year.  And we hope that through prayer, repentance and good deeds, we will somehow change our fate. Reading that prayer - while considering what happened to so many of our people over the past year - is chilling and difficult.  

And following Yom Kippur - we will be  approaching the holiday  of Sukkot  - which is known as the "time of our happiness." It ends with the festival of Simchat Torah (the day of Rejoicing of the Torah) - which is usually marked by dancing, drinking, singing - and all manners of festivity.  But the Hamas attacks were carried out, quite deliberately, on Simchat Torah last year.  

How do we deal with this?  How can we be "happy" on such a terrible anniversary?

I attended a lecture by Rabbi Shai Held recently - who has written a book called "Judaism Is About Love."  He spoke, in part, about this very challenge.  And he noted that the Jewish people have faced so many horrific events over the years - the destruction of both of our Temples in Jerusalem and our exile from Israel, other exiles and massacres throughout the centuries - including the Spanish Inquisition and Exile, the pogroms in Europe, the Holocaust and so many other tragedies.  And yet, we have, over the years, exhibited a special resilience.  A will to live - and a will to live in a way that emphasizes love rather than hatred - music, togetherness, family.  Rabbi Held noted that only 6 days after Tisha B'Av - the most solemn day of the Jewish calendar on which we commemorate the destruction of the Temples - we mark "Tu B'Av" the day of romance - and the Jewish equivalent of "Valentine's Day" - or something close to it.

In Israel - we commemorate Yom Hazikaron one day - Israel's day of remembrance for soldiers and victims of terror - and the very next day - starting at sunset - we celebrate Yom Haatzmaut - Israel's Independence Day. So the need to find a way to commemorate the very difficult days but still celebrate and rejoice in life - is one of the key messages of Judaism - as explained by Rabbi Held.  And it is something that I have heard from many soldiers and civilians in Israel over the past year - even those who have lost love ones.

As I mentioned at the outset - I saw the movie "We Will Dance Again" last night - and it was this topic that was raised with the survivors at the end of the movie.  And almost all of them said quite clearly - "I will  dance again."  That theme has been engraved on necklaces that many in Israel are wearing - "We will Dance Again."

And so with that, I hope that this Jewish New Year will bring a year in which the war ends, the hostages are returned to their homes safely, Israelis are able to return to their homes in the south and the north, our soldiers can return home safely and we are able to implement some sort of lasting peace deal.  And that Israelis and our neighbours, who want peace - will have many opportunities to dance again. Shana Tova.

Waiting for Doha: The Middle East on the Edge and More August 2024

Much has taken place since my last blog.  As I have said on a few occasions, I can't keep up with everything going on so this cannot be viewed  as a definitive news source. I pick and choose what I write about when I have the time to do it - so it is a fairly limited snapshot viewed through my lens - from here in Ra'anana, Israel.  But I felt that I should write about a few things at this point.  There may well be a great deal more to write about in the coming days.

State of the War

As you probably know, Israel representatives are in Doha, Qatar meeting with a range of delegates from the U.S., Qatar, Egypt and others - to try and negotiate a multi-party deal of some sort that could end or pause current hostilities. There are many different moving parts here and much of the information is of questionable accuracy - so I think all that we can do is speak about what we are hearing - and ruminate about what seems likely.

Gaza

First of all, the main negotiations, of course, are about trying to end or pause the current Israeli war with Hamas and Gaza.  Hamas is still holding in the range of 120 Israeli prisoners, many of whom are dead.  Current negotiations are apparently discussing the return of 30 to 35 live prisoners - with the remaining prisoners and/or bodies to be returned at later stages.  

The only decision makers left for Hamas appear to be Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas and his brother Mohammed, though Yahya is apparently in charge.  Yahya Sinwar has been hoping, all along, since the massacres of October 7, 2023, that Hezbollah and Iran would become fully involved in the war and turn it into a wide, destabilizing, regional conflagration.  Hamas was quite disappointed that Hezbollah did not go "all in" at the outset and use its full rocket supply to bombard all of Israel.  More on Hezbollah shortly.

At this point, Hamas is still looking to portray this war as a victory.  The organization has caused significant damage to Israel, has killed, mutilated and kidnapped a large number of Israelis, civilians and soldiers - and has caused severe damage to the Israeli economy.  Sinwar would like to emerge from all of this with his leadership intact, the ability to rebuild and rearm - and the ability to re-control Gaza.  An arrangement that meets these criteria for him would allow him to proclaim victory, despite the extraordinary costs incurred by Gaza - in terms of Hamas casualties, civilian deaths and infrastructure damage.

Not surprisingly, Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli government are adamantly opposed to this type of deal.  While Israel is trying to negotiate a deal that would return the hostages, especially those who are still alive, to Israel as soon as possible, Israel is deeply concerned about a deal that would allow Sinwar to "restock" and try this again in a few years - as he has committed to doing.

One issue that is being negotiated is the control of the "Philadelphi corridor" - the border between Gaza and Egypt.  Israel would like to ensure that this border is  no longer used for weaponizing Gaza - as it has apparently been used  for years.  If Hamas can simply rearm by bringing in weapons through Egypt, there will simply be a continued cycle of further wars between Israel and Hamas.

A second issue - is the Hamas insistence on being able to take armed control over most of Gaza as part of any "truce."   For the people of Gaza - this would mean more of the same - from a leadership that has shown little interest in governing the civilian population for anything other than military aims.

A third issue is a dispute over who Israel will agree to release in exchange for the Israeli hostages.  Hamas would like the return of high profile, convicted murderers, such as Marwan Barguti, whereas Israel is concerned about making the same mistakes it made when it released Yahya Sinwar himself, years earlier.

On the Israeli side, Prime Minister Netanyahu has promised "total victory" on several occasions, which he has defined as returning all of the hostages and destroying Hamas.  Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, this week, called Netanyahu's position "nonsense" and basically stated that it was unattainable and that Israel should cut the best deal possible.

Netanyahu's coalition is made up of his party along with a far right party.  His far right coalition partners have no interest in a deal of any kind and would like to see a complete Hamas surrender - which includes the death of Sinwar himself and his brother.  It is unclear whether Netanyahu himself actually wants any kind  of deal or agrees with his coalition partners - that the war must be prosecuted until it is completed (much like the Allies fight against Nazi Germany, they proclaim).

Of course, that type of "total victory" would also require a complete rebuilding of Gaza to change the current situation and would require that the people of Gaza agree to that type of rebuilding and some new governance  structure.

Ultimately, I am skeptical about whether a truce will be reached at this time - while Sinwar is still alive.  For one thing, I am not sure that Sinwar himself is prepared to agree to conditions that would be palatable to Israel. Similarly, I am not sure that Netanyahu and his coalition, despite US pressure, are prepared to agree to the type of deal that might be available at this time.

I guess we will have a better idea over the next few days.  The U.S. pressure for a deal is immense but it is unclear that there is any real corresponding pressure on Hamas.

Hezbollah

As all of this rages on, Israel is still embroiled in a major conflict with Hezbollah, which essentially controls Lebanon.  Since  October 7, 2023, Hezbollah has been attacking Israel from the north, firing drones, rockets, rpgs and other projectiles.  Hezbollah has killed many Israeli soldiers and civilians and has caused damage all across northern Israel.  Tens of thousands of Israelis are still displaced from their homes in the north.

Netanyahu decided at the outset that he would try to fight one war at a time and resist the calls to launch a full scale war against Hezbollah until the Gaza war was completed.  Hezbollah has therefore continued  to attack Israel since October 7, 2023.  Although Israel has certainly responded, it has not launched the kind of full-scale war that many Israelis have demanded - as a way of stopping the attacks on the North.

Hezbollah is a proxy of Iran and takes its instructions from Iran, much like the Houthis in Yemen. Hezbollah has been trying to calculate how much damage it can cause Israel without having Israel launch an all out war in response - and above all - without damaging Iran, the real force behind Hezbollah.

Quite simply, it is unclear what Hezbollah sees as an outcome at this point.

On the one hand, Hezbollah has stated that if there is a truce between Israel and Gaza, Hezbollah will stop its attacks.  Of course, if the truce talks fail, there may be a major war - which could start any day now - initially between Hezbollah and Israel.

Israel would like to see its citizens return to their homes in the north with assurances of safety.  Under a truce deal in 2006, Hezbollah agreed to keep its forces at least 12 km from the border between Lebanon and Israel.  This was supposed to be a "demilitarized zone."  Over the past few years, Hezbollah has moved closer and closer to the border, despite the agreement, violating just about all of the relevant provisions.  If there is to be a deal without a war, Israel will need international, enforceable, assurances that Hezbollah will move back from the border and will not attack.

It is unclear whether Hezbollah is prepared to agree to these conditions.  Moreover, Netanyahu's coalition partners believe that an all out war with Lebanon will be the only way to create the conditions that can allow Israel's northern residents return to their homes.  Hezbollah has very sophisticated Iranian-built weaponry including long range missiles, drones and all sorts of other weapons. An Israeli-Hezbollah war will be very costly to both sides. There may be tens of thousands of casualties - and Beirut and Tel-Aviv are both likely to suffer significant damage.  

Iran

Iran is the mastermind behind everything going on  now in the region.  Its leadership has sworn to destroy Israel.  It armed and trained the Hamas terrorists who carried out the October 7, 2023 massacres.  It arms and trains Hezbollah and  it has armed and trained the Houthis in Yemen.

Other than its one major attack in April 2024, Iran has so far avoided attacking Israel directly, preferring instead to use its proxies, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. 

As you know, one of the main Hamas leaders, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in Tehran in a mysterious explosion - and the Iranians have blamed Israel and have vowed to take revenge for  killing their "guest."  Iran has stated on several occasions since Haniyeh's death that it is going to launch a major attack against Israel.  This has crippled  Israeli air  travel - with most foreign carriers cancelling their flights (other than  Emirates, Fly Dubai, Air France, Wizz Air, and a few others).  El Al is dominating the Israeli skies (for non-military purposes).  Iranian threats have put Israel on its "highest" level of alert and military readiness.  Moreover, the U.S. has sent aircraft carries and other vessels to the region to bolster deterrence against Iran.

Once again, the outcome is hard to predict. Netanyahu and his coalition partners seem to believe that this is their big chance to destroy the Iranian nuclear program with a major war against Iran.  They also seem to realize that they cannot do this alone - and seem to be trying to drag the U.S. into a major conflict with Iran.

The U.S., on the other hand, is trying to avoid this, wary of turning the whole region into a major war zone - and looking down the road at long-term stability.  The Iranian nuclear program is a major threat to regional and world peace - especially since Iran has threatened to use it to destroy Israel.  But I still think the U.S. believes that it can  come up with a peaceful solution to this problem.

I don't think Netanyahu agrees (and certainly his coalition partners do not) but I think he also realizes that he cannot just launch a war against Iran and expect U.S. assistance.

There are all kinds of articles and opinions about these issues - and I think it is something that could be discussed at much greater length.  The bottom line is that we are,  in my view, very close to a major Middle Eastern war involving several countries and I think much of the decision making at this point as to whether that happens rests with Tehran.

Ultimately, Israel (or at least its current leadership) would like the opportunity to try and destroy the Iranian nuclear program.  It would also like to see regime change in Iran - with the hope that Israel can, one day, have peaceful relations with Iran as it did when Iran was ruled by the Shah.  At the same time, a war with Iran could be devastating to both countries.  It could get completely out of hand and could involve the U.S., Turkey, Saudi Arabia and many other countries in the region. It could even cause  instability in Egypt.  Moreover, if Iran already has nuclear weapons, it could try to use them.  And we know what type of response that would draw.

There are some very frightening scenarios - and I think it is fair to say that Israelis, and many others in the region, have been thinking and worrying about those scenarios for quite a while now, especially over the last week.

If the Doha truce talks succeed, these concerns may be brought down a few notches for the time being. If they fail, things may well explode, in fairly short order.

Israeli Terrorism and other offences

Some of you may not like the language, but we need to call a spade a spade.  As you know, Israel's current Minister of National Security is Itamar Ben-Gvir, a convicted criminal.  He has been refashioning the Israeli police forces and overlooking serious criminal activity in the West Bank.

Yesterday, a group of masked Israeli settlers apparently attacked a Palestinian village outside of Nablus, killing at least one resident and wounding several others. This was essentially a "pogrom" - criminal terrorist activity by a gang of thugs - attacking Arab residents.  Just weeks ago, a group of Israelis attacked an Arab Israeli family in their vehicle.

There have, unfortunately, been far too many of these attacks.  These were  not the first such attacks. The Israeli government needs to take immediate steps to stop these attacks, to arrest the perpetrators and to punish them with the full severity of Israeli law. 

There are also reports of torture at the Israeli facility called Sde Teiman - which was used to hold captured Hamas Nukhba fighters.  Now these captured people were not exactly sympathetic figures - they were people involved in rapes, mutilations, murders and other related activities on October 7, 2023.

At the same time, Israel is governed, we like to believe, by the rule of law.  The Israeli Supreme Court has set guidelines for  how prisoners are to be treated - even prisoners who, ultimately, deserve the most severe punishments.  If these guidelines were breached - and if there is truth to some of the allegations that have been made, the perpetrators should be tried and, if convicted, punished to the fullest extent  of the law, despite the protestations from Netanyahu's coalition members.  (Some of these coalition members and their supporters actually went and attacked an Israeli army base where the accused were being held for interrogation.  This was a very serious threat to the Israel's stability).

At the same time, the calls by the ICJ to have Netanyahu and Gallant arrested and charged with genocide are fairly ridiculous and obviously political. Hamas has estimated that more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7.  However, it does not differentiate between civilians and armed fighters.  The Israeli estimates had been that Hamas had between 40,000 and 50,000 guerillas at the time the war started.  A sizeable number of these fighters have been killed.

Although I agree that a large number of civilians have been killed and I feel that is tragic, I have not seen any evidence that Israel is deliberately targeting civilians or taking other steps that would even come close to the definition of genocide.   Yes, it is a war - and yes, quite a large number of Palestinians have been killed, especially members of the Hamas military forces.  But  given the type of attacks that Hamas launched and the continuing missile attacks that ensued, it seems to me that just about any Israeli government on the right or the left would have a launched a similar military response to the Hamas massacres.

For example, in one report last week, Israel was accused of bombing a school and killing a large number of civilians. But the school was being used as a military base by Hamas. More than 30 Hamas fighters were killed by Israel in the attack and Israel even released their names to show that this was an attack on a military target.  That didn't help with the world media, which jumped to accuse Israel of having committed a "war crime."

The fact that so many countries oppose Israel's right to defend itself after these types of attacks - tells us  much more about those countries than it does about justice or the rules of  war.   Unfortunately, it also raises concerns about how international law can be used as a political tool by the majority.  In my view, it is very short sighted of the ICJ to pick Israel  - after having ignored so many other conflicts in the world that have been far worse - and in which there has been evidence of the deliberate targeting and massacre of large numbers of civilians.  It degrades the legitimacy of international law, which creates a long term crisis of confidence and justice.

Olympics

You have probably been reading this - thinking that there has been nothing but bad news.  So I thought I should try to add something that is a bit more  positive.

The Israeli Olympic delegation won a total of 7 medals - 1 gold, 5 silver and 1 bronze.   This was Israeli's best Olympics ever.  Even though there had been some calls from various countries to bar Israel from participating, and even though Israeli athletes received death threats and were routinely booed at events, the 88-member Israeli delegation still competed valiantly and came home with a  record medal haul.

Israel's gold medal was won by Tom Reuveny in sailing in the "IQ Foil" event.  After winning, he urged Israelis to take their kids to sailing clubs across the country and get them started early.  I have to say that it does look like quite a bit of fun.  Fellow Israeli Sharon Kantor also won a silver in women's IQ Foil.

Three Israelis won medals in Judo - Inbar Lanir and Raz Hershko won silvers and Peter Paltchik won a bronze.  Hershko has been a world champion and lost a very close bout.  She was really hoping for a gold. Judo doesn't look nearly as fun as sailing - to me at least.

Artem Dolgopyat won a silver medal in men's artistic gymnastics and the Israeli women's rhythmic gymnastics team picked up a silver medal in the group rhythmic gymnastics competition.   They were also hoping to win gold - as they had previously won a European  title.  It was close - but they were all still quite happy to return home with silver.

The Israeli football (soccer) team competed for only the second time ever in the Olympics.  The team wound up in a tie with Mali after giving up a late goal.  It then lost badly to Paraguay and lost a very close match to Japan.  There had been high hopes that the team could advance to the second round but the team came  up short.

Tisha B'Av

As you may know, Jewish people around the world commemorated Tisha B'av this past week on Monday night and  Tuesday.  Tisha B'Av commemorates the destruction of the first and second Temples - which, of course, stood on the spot where the Dome of the Rock now stands in Jerusalem.

It is a day of mourning and fasting and many people try to visit Jerusalem.  Unlike other Jewish commemorations and holydays, it is not classified as a  "yom tov" so work is allowed  if necessary, as well as driving etc., 

I wasn't able to get to the Kotel this year but I did fast and wound up leading some of the tefillot at our local shul.  Jewish fast days mean no food or water for about 26 hours - which is especially challenging in the summer when the fast only ends around 8:30 p.m.

There was a great deal of concern this year that the Iranians  and/or Hezbollah would choose to attack on Tisha B'Av - just as Hamas attacked on October 7, 2023 on a different Jewish Holy Day.  But that did not materialize - and the day came and went with relatively little fanfare.

For observant Jews, the period between Tisha B'Av and Rosh Hashanah is called "bein Hazmanim" which means "the in between-period."  This is often a time when many  people travel - either in Israel or outside of Israel.

For sports fans, I would also say  that it is like an "in between time."  The Olympics are over and we are waiting for the start of NFL and NHL sports seasons.  I suppose if I were a bigger baseball fan, I might be excited about the baseball homestretch - but the Blue Jays have been abysmal this year.  

Now that the Maple Leafs have named Auston Matthews as their new captain - perhaps this will finally be the year the Maple Leafs break through (spoiler - I am not counting on it).  And I am also hoping that the Buffalo Bills will have a great season, though I am concerned that their off season activity has left them in a weaker position overall.  I can't say that I am that excited about the Raptors or basketball in general, though I greatly enjoyed Steph Curry's performance in the Olympic gold medal game. I also enjoyed watching the American women's basketball team squeak out a win over the French team - in a game that literally came  down to the final buzzer.  Unfortunately, the Canadian teams fell quite short of the goals they hoping to reach - in basketball and in soccer.

Flight Update

There are very few International airlines flying to Israel these days.  Some, like Air Canada and United - have no plans to fly  to Israel until well into 2025.  Other airlines are postponing fights with much shorter windows.  Air France is the largest non-Israeli carrier that has continued to fly - and  Emirates has also continued its Tel-Aviv-Dubai route. On the other  hand, El Al is continuing to fly and is delivering record financial results.  To give you an idea of how it is doing that - try this.  I looked up airfares yesterday for a flight from Toronto to Tel Aviv via New York on El Al, in September/October.  The cost?  $5,600.  Economy.  That flight would normally be in the range of $1,200 to $1,500.  But since El Al has a virtual monopoly to so many destinations, the prices are nothing less than outrageous.

I have had to change my travel plans several times.  My latest iteration is to fly Arkia airlines to Rome and then Air Canada from Rome.  Hopefully that will work out and I will be able to get back to Toronto for a bit. The total cost is, of course, nowhere close to $5,600 even with a hotel stay in Rome.

Not sure when my next update will be - but what can I say - hoping for the safe return  of all of the hostages, an end to the war, a deal with Hezbollah and Iran - and  then hopefully a State Inquiry into  everything that has taken place in Israel - and, ideally an Israeli election.

Best regards.