Israeli Military Response in Yemen, Olympics and Other Updates July 2024

It is not often that I write blogs so closely together but sometimes there are so many things going on that I feel the urge to put together a few in a row in rapid succession.  This often happens just before or during Israeli elections or when there are some very unusual, challenging or different events taking place.  So whether or not you managed to read my blog from Friday July 19, 2024, I have put this one together to cover 6 or 7 items that I wanted to write about.  In a way, this might be viewed as an extension of the last blog but, quite simply, there are so many things going on here that I felt I just had to put this one together.  Of course it helps that today is Sunday - and I do not really have to work too hard on my normal business today (which is looking quite hectic for the coming week, thankfully).  So here goes - I have divided it into a bunch of headings and I hope you will find it interesting.

1. The Israeli Counter-Attack on Yemen

As you probably read, Israel launched a counter attack against the Houthis in Yemen yesterday.  Israel attacked the port town of Hodeidah, Yemen, which is apparently used as one of the main supply areas for the delivery of weapons from Iran to the Houthi forces.  Interestingly, Hodeidah had a large Jewish population at one time, with members of the Jewish community very active in trade, commerce, crafts and other artisanal efforts.  As with most of the rest of the Yemenite Jewish community, the Jews of Hodeidah left Yemen as part of Operation Magic Carpet in 1948-49 and immigrated to Israel.  

The targets hit by Israeli forces included oil fields and power stations.  Israel used fighter jets that flew on a 1700 km mission (each way) to carry out the counter attacks.  The attacks came after Yemen claimed responsibility for its drone attack against Tel-Aviv on Thursday night that killed one Israeli and injured 8 others.  Since October 7, 2024, the Houthis of Yemen have also been launching numerous missile attacks against Eilat and other parts of Israel, attacking Israeli ships and other ships bound for Israel - and taking other hostile actions against Israel.  The Houthis are armed, trained and supported by Iran and have been used as one of the proxies of Iran since October 7, 2023 to attack Israel without the attacks coming directly from Iran other than on one occasion.  The Houthis have reported that 3 people were killed and many others injured in these Israeli counterattacks.

The Houthis, the Iranians and various other groups are now vowing further attacks against Israel in response to this counterattack - so it seems reasonably likely that things will continue to escalate between Israel and Yemen and sooner or later between Israel and Iran - which is the main source and force behind just about all of the fronts that Israel is currently facing in the current war.

I just saw an interview with a Tel Aviv resident who was asleep on his balcony one building over from the drone attack in Tel-Aviv.  Debris from the drone crashed  through his makeshift roof and destroyed one of the two sofas he had on the balcony.  He was sleeping on a sofa that was connected to the other sofa that was destroyed.  He was in remarkably good spirits for someone who had been just a few feet away from likely death.  When asked about this, he said "I am especially thankful that the debris didn't destroy my barbecue.  That would have been a real disaster."  

I don't mean to make light of the situation.  One person was killed by this drone attack and 8 others were injured.  But sometimes, a sense of humour is the way people deal with very stressful situations.

2. The Olympics

As you know the Olympic games open this week - on Friday.  Some events start before the official opening. The Israeli men's soccer team will be playing its opening game against Mali on Wednesday.  That is very exciting since it is only the second time  in Israel's history that its soccer team has qualified and will be participating in the Olympic games.  In the first round, Israel will also play Paraguay and Japan.  They will need to come up with some major upsets to get out of this group and advance to the next round.

But the big story in Israel - is the security concerns.  Israeli athletes in a wide range of sports have been receiving death threats, mock funeral notices and subjected to all kinds of other intimidation tactics.  

The athletes all seem resolved to press ahead, represent Israel and put their trust in the security arrangements that are being made to protect them.  But these threats are very frightening and I can imagine that it must be quite difficult to have that additional layer of worry - while preparing for the biggest sports challenge of one's life.

3. Adidas

In a related note, as you might have read, Adidas chose this occasion to roll out a new advertising campaign for a retro shoe - its 1972 version of one of its sneakers.  Hmm.... Adidas chose to use Bella Hadid for its advertising campaign.  Hadid has been a fierce defender of Palestinians and Hamas since the October 7, 2023 attacks.  And as you might recall, 1972 is the year in which Palestinian terrorists attacked Israeli athletes and murdered 11 athletes and coaches.  So when you string all of this together, this was quite obviously a pro-terrorism, anti-Israel campaign by Adidas to commemorate, in a positive way, the massacre of Israeli athletes.  Completely disgusting.  After receiving all kinds of complaints (Not only from Israelis and Jews), Adidas has apparently "suspended" this offensive campaign.  Adidas has claimed that it "didn't make the connection..."  I will leave it to intelligent readers to draw their own conclusions.

4. Ultra-Religious Enlistment    

As you might recall, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that Israeli Haredim (ultra-religious) are no longer entitled to an exemption from the army and must now be recruited like everyone else.  Apparently, today is the first day that thousands of ultra-religious 18 year-olds began receiving conscription orders.  It remains to  be seen whether they will actually report for duty and if so, how many, but there is a sense that the landscape on this issue is starting to change. We may soon seen large numbers of Haredim in the Israeli army.

5. Prime Minister Netanyahu

Prime Minister Netanyahu is planning to fly to the U.S. this week and address a joint session of Congress. He is also supposed to meet with President Biden and apparently he will also meet with former President Trump.  The meeting with Biden is contingent of course on whether Biden is healthy enough to meet Netanyahu and whether Netanyahu can be assured that Biden is no longer contagious. Netanyahu is not particularly interested in picking up a case of Covid - even though thousands of Israeli soldiers are risking their lives as we speak in much more dangerous ways.

Netanyahu is, of course, looking to bolster U.S. assistance in the war with Gaza as well as all of the other fronts that Israel is currently facing - including Hezbollah, the Houthis, the Syrians, the Iranians, the Iraqis and other potential threats.  Netanyahu is certainly looking for assurances that the U.S. will continue to supply much needed weaponry as well as diplomatic support.

For the U.S., the current administration is quite interested in bringing the war to an end and is likely to push Netanyahu to agree to a deal.  Apparently, the parties are fairly close to a deal though there are a number of issues that have not yet been resolved.  One issue relates to the Gaza-Egypt border - and what assurances will be in place to keep Hamas from being resupplied with weapons through this border.  Israel would like to retain some level of control over that border which it now controls.

A second concern is that Hamas has been insisting on the right to send armed forces to reestablish control over northern Gaza.  Israel has not been prepared to agree to this condition, which would lead to further hostilities very shortly.

There is some concern that Netanyahu will be using the trip to try to pressure Biden and campaign implicitly (if not explicitly) for Trump, just as he did while Obama was President. It is a calculated gamble by Netanyahu since there is always the possibility that things could turn around for the Democrats and he will have alienated an administration that he would have to work with.  Moreover, it is not even clear that Trump will be as supportive as expected, if Trump does win.  J.D. Vance has espoused some very isolationist views and is certainly unclear that Trump will be as great for Israel as many assume.

Finally, it hasn't escaped anyone in Israel's attention that Prime Minister Netanyahu's son, Yair, will be celebrating his 33rd birthday on Friday July 26, 2024.  Netanyahu will of course stick around after speaking at Congress to help his son celebrate.  It is unclear what form the celebrations will take or whether they will be paid for by the State of Israel. No one seems to know what Yair is even doing in the U.S. but he has requested a diplomatic passport and full 24 hour security detail.  I'm not about to speculate on what Yair has been up to - (other than sending out obnoxious twitter feeds) but I know that his father really enjoys fine wines, Cuban cigars and high end meals.  So it will probably be a pretty nice celebration, wherever it takes place.

6. Flying to Israel

As you may have seen, Air Canada announced that it would now cancel all flights through November 2024 at least between Canada and Tel-Aviv.  El Al stopped flying directly a while ago.  So if you are planning a trip between Toronto and Tel-Aviv, you can either fly through the US and connect with one of the El Al routes - or you can travel through Europe.  El Al flights are generally heavily booked and very expensive.

For my next flight, I am planning to fly Aegean via Greece and the pick up an Air Canada flight.  We will see how that goes.  I haven't tried that route yet.

That's all for now.  As usual, hoping for a deal that leads to the safe return of all of our hostages, the safety of our soldiers, some type of lasting peace deal for the whole region - and best of health for everyone otherwise.

Iranian UAV Strike on Tel-Aviv July 2024 and Other Updates

I have put together another blog with a few updates and a variety of issues - since there are so many different things going on here. This is really just a limited snapshot of a few things I wanted to highlight - so I hope you find it interesting and informative.

UAV Attack on Israel

Tel-Aviv was hit today by an Iranian UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle), which was launched by the Houthis (a proxy of Iran, operating out of Yemen).  Apparently, at least 5 of these UAVs were launched from Yemen and four of them were shot down by the Americans, from somewhere off the coast of Yemen.  The Israeli military claims that it was tracking the UAV but decided not to shoot it down.  It is hard to understand why this gross miscalculation occurred but the the bottom line is that the military failed to shoot down the threat.

The UAV crashed into an apartment building in Tel-Aviv, just two blocks from two of our immediate family members.  This was around 3:30 a.m.  One person was killed and 8 others were injured, all civilians.  Within a short period of time, as slew of ambulances arrived to care for the injured.  Thankfully, none of our family members were injured though we are obviously deeply concerned about the loss of life of the one victim and hopeful for the speedy recovery of the other eight. 

A military spokesman for the Houthis announced that this attack was "in sympathy with the Palestinians of Gaza" and promised that further attacks would be carried out.  Although Israel is technically in a state of war with Yemen and has no peace treaty with that country - Israel has never previously been engaged in any kind of direct hostilities with Yemen (or with Iran for that matter) prior to October 7, 2023.

This is a crazy situation and it is unclear how Israel will respond. It is obviously completely untenable for the security of Israel to sit back and absorb lethal attacks like this from Yemen without responding.  

The War

As you  probably know, the war in Gaza and the war with Hezbollah in the north both continue to rage on.  There is some sense that the Israeli army is operating in Gaza at a greatly reduced capacity - though there is still a great deal of fighting still taking place in several areas.  Last week, Israel carried a targeted assassination attempt on the life of Mohamed Deif, who is or was one of Hamas' top military commanders - and one of the masterminds behind the October 7, 2023 massacre.  Deif was surrounded by several Hamas military personnel and other top Hamas commanders.  There has been no official confirmation by Hamas or by the Israeli army that Deif was killed but the top commander with whom he was meeting was identified by Hamas has having been among those killed.

Israeli reports have indicated that  somewhere in the range of 15,000 to 18,000 Hamas military personnel have been killed in the fighting since October 7, 2023 - with estimates of the Hamas forces in Gaza running up to 40,000 or so.  Many others have been injured or taken into custody.  

Although the Hamas military has suffered a significant blow, the Hamas leader, Yehiah Sinwar, still seems to view this whole war as a victory for Hamas.  Hamas has managed to tilt the public and political opinion in several countries towards the Palestinians - some of whom have even decided to declare recognition of a "Palestinian State" (without any defined borders).  Sinwar has stated that he would be willing to sacrifice the lives of several hundred thousand Palestinians to achieve his long term goals (presumably as long as he and his family members are not among those being "sacrificed.").

While there are apparently ongoing talks to try and reach some sort of agreement to free the 120 Israeli hostages that Hamas is holding in Gaza and reach some sort of cease fire, there is no reason to believe at this point that a deal is imminent.

Prime Minister Netanyahu's government relies on the support of the far right parties, led by Itamir Ben-Gvir, Betzalel Smotrich and others, all of whom have stated that they will not accept this type of deal.  They are looking for a complete surrender by Hamas - and they compare this to the deal the Allies were seeking when fighting the Nazis in World War II.  Essentially, they are less interested in trying to save the lives of whichever hostages are still alive (possibly 30-60, according to some reports) and more interested in trying to achieve a "complete victory."

There are many in Israel challenging this perspective, including past and current heads of the Mossad, various high ranking military personnel, and a wide range of politicians - even some on the "right."  They are concerned that this "complete victory" may not be achievable, that all of the lives of the hostages will be lost and that there is no plan for what comes next, even if this type of victory can be achieved.

The long and the short of it is that Netanyahu does not seem to be in any hurry to end this war - and certainly not on the terms that have thus far been proposed.  Or at least, he does not seem willing to abandon his coalition partners to agree to a proposal of the type that is currently on the table.

In my view, this is not something that is easy to navigate.  It is clearly in Israel's best interests to do everything possible to save as many of the lives of the hostages as possible.  This has always been an expectation of every Israeli government - and is like a contract with the citizens of Israel.  If there is a deal that can be made that will save a large number of lives - that must be an urgent priority for Israel.

The flip side is that if the deal that is envisioned would allow Hamas to resume importing weapons, underground, from Egypt, Israel will simply face the same types of attacks weeks or months later.  There needs to be a second track that is dedicated to figuring out how Gaza can be run or administered in a way that will not present an ongoing threat to Israel - and which entity will be responsible for that administration.  I am not even sure that there is an appetite for this on the Gaza side of the border - but the status quo is obviously untenable.

The war in the north has also been raging on with daily hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.  Hezbollah has continued to launch all sorts of attacks against cities and towns in the Israeli north and many have been lethal.  Homes and institutions have been destroyed throughout the north and more than 100,000 Israelis are currently displaced from their homes and living in make-do arrangements in different parts of Israel.  Aside from the human cost - in terms of civilians and military personnel who have been killed and injured in the north, the economic damage has also been massive.  For example, many of the wineries in the north have suffered massive damage.  This week a sizeable percentage of the Pelter vineyards were set aflame and destroyed.  Many other wineries have suffered massive damage.  That is just one example of an industry that has paid an enormous price for this war.

Yet the Israeli military response to all of this in the north has been relatively restrained. Israel has stated repeatedly that it is trying to finish the Gaza war first but this has led to a horrible situation for Israel's northern residents who are feeling abandoned.  In this regard, even many of Netanyahu's critics on the left have called for a much greater response from Israel towards Hezbollah, even at the risk of escalation with Iran.  Some have speculated that the U.S. has dictated this policy - to avoid a direct and massive confrontation with Iran - but that is unclear.  For its part, Hezbollah has stated that if an agreement is reached between Hamas and Israel - it will cease its attacks against Israel.  From Israel's perspective, that will only be good  enough if Hezbollah withdraws its forces from the border and agrees to abide by previous cease fire agreements which have required Hezbollah to adhere to a demilitarized zone within a defined area of Lebanon.

The ICJ

Amidst all of this, Israeli TV broadcast some of the proceedings of the ICJ - the International Court of Justice - attacking Israel. Led by a Lebanese judge - the level of bias, irony and pure ridiculousness is, frankly outrageous.  It is in many ways even worse than watching a group of Trump-appointed judges on the U.S. Supreme Court rule that he is immune from most criminal prosecution.  But I digress. 

I won't dignify the ICJ further by spending more time on it - but the whole situation in Israel since October 7, 2023  has demonstrated the incredible double standard and bias to which Israel is subjected on the world stage.  Much of that is attributable to the fact that there are some two billion Muslims in the world and only about 13 million Jews.  But you can be sure that if any other country were subjected to the type of massacre that Hamas carried out in Israel, the type of response would be virtually unlimited.

Imagine, for example, what the U.S. would have done, if 9/11 had killed ten times as many people proportionately - and had resulted in the taking of hostages and  ongoing missile attacks against U.S. territory.  You can be sure that the U.S. would have taken every possible step to eliminate the threat completely. Of course if this type of attack were carried out against other UN luminaries, like  Russia, Iran, China or others, you can imagine what they would do.

Managing in Israel

Medical Issues and Getting an MRI

I have from time to time written about different issues relating to life in Israel.  Some people reading these sections might not be interested at all and some might be curious about how some of these things work in Israel.

As you may know, the Israeli medical system is a universal health care system, similar to the system in Canada but with some twists.  Unlike the Canadian system, Israelis can choose to pay more and see a doctor privately.  As well, instead of a monopoly system, like OHIP in Ontario, there are four or five competing HMOs and Israelis can choose which one they would like to have as their provider.  

The Israeli universal system includes dental coverage, a subsidized pharmaceutical program and  a range of other components.

I recently suffered a bit of leg injury and required urgent care.  The HMO that I use (Maccabi) runs a fractures and urgent care clinic and urges you to attend that clinic for non-life threatening injuries.  If you go to the emergency section of a hospital and you are not actually hospitalized, you can face a "co-pay" of approximately $500 Cdn.

The urgent care clinic conducts x-rays on site but not ultrasounds or MRIs.  So I was able to have an x-ray taken relatively quickly with the good news that nothing was broken.  However, the treating physician recommended an ultra-sound.

Booking this is somewhat centralized - so we were able to phone a few times and find a cancelled appointment opening in Jerusalem the next day (about an hour's drive).  After that, we were assured that the radiologist would provide a report within a  week or so, which was exactly the time it took.

We were lucky enough to have a connection to an orthopedic doctor - which can normally take several weeks to see, if not longer, like in Ontario (unless you want to pay privately).  We were willing to visit late at night and wait two hours in a reception room to see the doctor.

In the meantime, we received the report and the report included a recommendation to book an MRI.  This can take several months to book, unless you can find a cancellation.  But there is a process that is available - which we followed.  You get the approval form from the HMO and then send an email to each hospital's MRI department individually and request an appointment.  We sent out 14 such requests by email  - and - ta-da - managed to get an MRI scheduled for the next day at 1 a.m.  We were told that it could take up to 3 weeks to get a radiologist's report and we are still waiting - but it does seem that if you are willing to travel and flexible on timing - you can get an MRI scheduled reasonably quickly in Israel.  (If you want to pay privately, you can apparently pay about $1,200 USD - which is another option).

Identity Cards And Driver's License Renewals

My driver's licence was due to expire next month.  For renewal of a licence in Israel, the process was ridiculously easy.  You simply go online, pay the fee - and they use their existing file photo of you to renew the licence for a ten year period.  Perhaps on the downside, it was not necessary to do a vision test, a health test or any other kind of check. I'm not complaining - since my new licence is on the way - but it was even easier than renewing a licence in Ontario which is really not that bad. And it was about $200 Cdn for a 10 year renewal.

Renewing a vehicle permit is much more rigorous.  You have take your car to a testing centre, each year, and have it pass a test in order to renew the permit.  This is a full test of all aspects of the vehicle - brakes, lighting, steering, exhaust, you name it.  The line-up at these testing centres can be quite long.  Our car apparently had a lighting problem - where the front headlights were  insufficiently intense.  We were told that there was a "recall" on our vehicle for this problem and the dealership should fix the problem for free - even though we had just recently gone for full service at the dealership.  So we went back to the dealership - and after some back and forth - they finally agreed to change the lighting  as part of the recall.  Then we had to go back to the testing centre - and wait in a  line again (a slightly shorter line for follow-up visits) and get retested.  But it all worked out.  Overall, much more time-consuming than renewing a licence - but this probably explains why all of the cars on the road in Israel are in such great shape....(If you are not laughing, you are overdue for a visit here).

Israelis also have to have and carry around a "National Identity Card" which serves as a combination of an SSN/SIN and/or a photo ID that can be used instead of a drivers' licence.  You would not normally think that this was not something that would expire - but I was advised that Israel is moving to a fully biometric system and that my current ID would expire in January 2025.  If I didn't renew mine - I would be left without an identity....

So I went online to find a date to book an appointment and found a date in mid-September.  But of course there are new cancellation dates released every day as long as you are flexible.  So we found an appointment the next day and drove up to Hadera (about 45 minutes north) for an early morning meeting.  I had my old ID card - which is a photo ID - but that is apparently not enough for the clerks.  I also needed to answer a whole pile of questions -  my parents' first names, my wife's parents' names, my kids names, the date of  my anniversary, the year we arrived in Israel - and a few others.  I managed to pass (turns out that I really was who I said I was....) - and then posed for a new photo and was assured that my new identity card would be in the mail within three weeks or so.  Obviously not nearly as efficient as renewing a licence but perhaps the ID card is even more important in Israeli society.  Of course I am comforted in knowing that I will not lose my identity.

I probably have several other anecdotes that you might find amusing - but I have to save some material for future blogs.

For now, as with my past blogs, I am continuing to hope for  the safe return of all of our hostages, the safety of all of our military and other security personnel, an end to this war with some type of viable solution in place for long term peace  and my general best wishes for health and safety for all of us.  Shabbat Shalom.

July 2024 Israel Update

We are into the summer months - where it is, of course, very hot here in Israel.  It has been 9 months since Hamas launched its massive terrorist operation and massacre in Israel - and the war is still continuing on several fronts.  So, in my normal blog style, I am writing a few comments about how  things are seen here, where things might be headed - and some other remarks that come to mind.  I'll add in a bit of sports and other comments for fun.

The War

I think in wartime, it is very hard to get any really accurate news.  So my comments are really limited to what I gather from a variety of sources including Israeli news (Ynet Hebrew, the Jerusalem Post, the Times of Israel, Haaretz, Channels 11, 12 and 13 (we don't watch Israeli channel 14 - which is like Fox news but but with less truth and even more extremism).  I also try to read articles in the New York Times, CNN, the Canadian newspapers - and sometimes, for a totally different perspective (though not that often) Al Jazeera.

The war with Hamas in Gaza is continuing on.  Some reports seem to be indicating that the Israeli army is close to determining that it has defeated most of the Hamas armed brigades and that it can only continue with small scale operations.  At the same time, there are still somewhere in the range  of 120 hostages in Gaza, though we do not not how many are still alive - and the main leaders of Hamas including Yihyeh Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh are still alive. I believe that the army planned to conclude this operation in a much shorter time period.  

Things have been slow partially because Israeli has gone out of its way to minimize civilian casualties and partially because the army has also made efforts to minimize Israeli military casualties.  On the Israeli side, 679 soldiers have been killed since October 7, 2023, of whom 323 have been killed in fighting since October 27, 2023.  The official Israeli government site lists a further 4,000 soldiers as having been wounded.

According to Hamas sources, estimates of Palestinians killed are in the range of 35,000.  However, that does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.  Israel had estimated that Hamas had about 30,000 fighters divided into 5 divisions before October 7, 2023.  Israeli military reports indicate that quite a large number of these fighters have been killed or wounded in fighting.  Many others have been captured.  Some Israeli reports had put the percentages at 50-60% of the Palestinian  casualties.  We also know that Hamas tends to exaggerate its numbers.  So there is a strong likelihood that the number of military casualties on the Palestinian side is in the the range of 15,000-20,000, perhaps even more - and the total number of civilian casualties in closer to the range of 10,000.  We do not know the exact numbers but the Israeli troops are not out there fighting and killing civilians.  They are fighting armed military units and it is very likely that this would account for most of the casualties on the Palestinian side.

The point is that the allegations of "genocide" being thrown around against Israel are clearly ridiculous by any sane definition or measure.  It actually degrades the meaning of the word "genocide" to try and suggest that Israel's war against Gaza - falls into the category of situations around the world where civilians are massacred en masse, deliberately - or to even begin to compare this situation to Nazi Germany and the Holocaust or to the slaughter of Armenians by the Turks, the Rwandan genocide or other such atrocities.

There are many reports that suggest that a deal to end the Gaza war is being negotiated but I am not holding my breath at this point, for several reasons.

First of all, at this point, Hamas is looking for a deal where they will return about 22 live hostages (out of about 120) and still stay in power.  Although much of Gaza will have been devasted, Hamas will sell that as a big "win" and will try to rebuild its forces, restock its ammunition and get ready for another round.  This would be a major defeat for Israel - and would leave us with another ticking time bomb.  

It is unclear that Netanyahu is even interested in this type of deal, even though the U.S. is pushing for it, and it is unclear that he can muster political support for it.  Many Israelis, even those who do not support Netanyahu would like to see  a more decisive defeat of Hamas which seems attainable, according to Israeli military sources.  

At the same time, Hamas does not seem that eager for a deal either.  They figure that they have picked up major international support for this war - especially from the despicable leadership of countries like Ireland, Spain and Norway - and they do not really care about civilian casualties.  They would prefer to be able to consolidate power, rebuild and restock and argue that they could not be defeated by Israel - even if that means thousands of additional Palestinian casualties.

Concurrently, Israel is fighting an active war with Hezbollah up north, Iran's proxy forces.   Every day, Israel has been subjected to barrages of rocket attacks, missile attacks and rpgs.  Thousands of Israelis have evacuated their homes and the border towns are all ghost towns - other than military personnel.  Soldiers and civilians are being killed - and shockingly, Israel's Prime Minister, Netanyahu, previously self-described as "Mr. Security" has done very little to counter all of this.

Many in Israel are calling for a major war in Lebanon to fight Hezbollah and try to move the Hezbollah forces out of the border area in Lebanon.  It is hard to say what will happen but this seems very likely.  There is a possibility that some kind of deal with Hamas will also bring about a deal with Hezbollah.  But a Hezbollah deal seem even less likely than a Hamas deal since Israel would need guarantees that the Hezbollah forces would move back from the border and refrain from attacking Israel. There is such a deal in place from 2016 but Hezbollah has simply refused to honour it.  Any such deal would need enforcement provisions, "teeth" and perhaps real international guarantors.  I suppose anything can happen, but it seems that a major war with Lebanon is more likely than a deal of this type.

Of course the other major threat is an all out war with Iran.  Israeli historian Benny Morris (who at one time was a far left historian and then later moved to the right) has called for Israel to launch an all out war against Iran as the only way of defeating the threat from Hezbollah, Hamas and other enemies and to eliminate the Iranian nuclear threat against Israel.  While there is some logic to this given that this whole war has been a proxy war with Iran, I hardly think that Israel, with its 10 million people - is in a position to start launching all out wars on the whole middle east with hundreds of millions of enemies. 

Perhaps Netanyahu is hoping that Trump will win the U.S. election - and will actively support an all out war against Iran.  Or at least the threat of one.  I'm not sure what to say about this - other than it would really throw the whole region into something massive and unpredictable.  As if things are not already difficult enough here. Contrary to Netanyahu's expectations, even if Trump wins, I think it is far from predictable that Trump would support the kinds of activities that Netanyahu has in mind.  

Ultimately the difficulty we have in Israel is that we have a leader, Netanyahu, whose decisions are necessarily coloured by his own political and legal predicament.  If the war ends, his coalition might fall.  His trial might continue.  A national inquiry might be launched.   He could face all kinds of personal and political challenges - that he views as worse than continuing the war.  He could even face new and additional criminal charges.  Yes, this is a cynical view but it is compelling.

Under Netanyahu, who was supposed to provide security, deterrence and a strong military, Israel has never been weaker, even though he has his dream "fully right wing" coalition in place.  The war with Hamas has taken much longer than expected, the hostages have not been released, the leaders of Hamas are still in place and a large number of soldiers have been killed or injured.  

In the north, thousands of Israelis are still displaced, Hezbollah has been attacking Israel at will, and Israel has done very little to respond.  The economy in Israel has faced all kinds of challenges - and relatively few airlines are flying here.  There is simply no way to assess this situation as favourable for Netanyahu unless one is completely blinded by support for him and his party.

Other Israeli Politics

Despite all of the above, Netanyahu's coalition can stay in power until October 2026 unless one of the parties leaves the coalition.  Two of the parties are ultra-orthodox and would have nowhere to go politically.  One of the parties is made up of far-right extremists and they would also have nowhere else to go politically.  So as long as things don't change  dramatically, his government is fairly "safe" for now, contrary to whatever his political opponents or other  commentators might say.

The one potential way that the government could collapse is if his own party collapses internally.  This possibility has been increasing but is still relatively low.

Just to review a few possible issues - Netanyahu's coalition partners have demanded a few things and some members of his own party - have been reluctant to support them.

One major demand of the ultra-orthodox is a blanket military exemption for all "ultra-orthodox" males up to the age of 25.  There were different proposed pieces of legislation in place - and the Israeli supreme Court had issued an ultimatum that this needed to be addressed by June 1, 2024.  When the date came and went and there was still no legislation, the Supreme Court ordered the conscription of the ultra-orthodox.

As a result, the ultra-orthodox have been demanding that the coalition pass a bill to protect them from this Supreme Court decision. (Referred to by opponents as the "Draft Evasion Bill").  Netanyahu is willing to do so. After all, he will do anything to stay in power, seemingly.  But there are more and more rumblings in his party - Likud members who have begun to come out and say that they will not support  this type of bill.  This could lead to a no-confidence motion or it could lead to Netanyahu withdrawing the bill -  and the ultra-orthodox might decide to pull the plug. All in all, I think the latter option is unlikely since any deal they might get would be worse after an election and they know that.

I have to point out that, at the same time, the IDF has indicated that it needs more recruits in the short and long term.  The ultra-orthodox answer is to extend the service time for  existing conscripts and reserve soldiers.  This type of bill has been floated.  But once again - there is quite a bit of resistance to this from other Likud MKs in the governing coalition.

The ultra-orthodox have also been trying to pass another bill - to provide for the centralized hiring of some 600 ultra-orthodox rabbis by the State and to give them the authority to take over religious control of towns and cities across Israel.  This bill has been referred to by opponents as the "Rabbi corruption law."  Once again, a number of Likud members have come forward and stated that they will not support this bill.  So this is another potential area where things could explode.

The far right coalition members have different ideas. They would like annex the west bank, build settlements in Gaza, continue the war - and generally avoid any kind of deal with the Palestinians.  They are threatening to bolt the government if Netanyahu actually reaches a deal with Hamas.  A deal could be saved by the support of other non-coalition Knesset members but this would cause the government to collapse.

Many Israelis listened attentively as the U.S. Supreme Court granted wide reaching immunity to President Trump for various alleged criminal conduct.  Before this whole war broke out with Hamas, Israel had been gripped in a national fight over proposed judicial reform by Netanyahu and his political partners.  The proposed reforms were intended, ultimately, to do exactly what Trump succeeded in doing in the U.S.  Stack the court with a bunch of right wing idealogues who would do whatever he wanted - and then grant  him wide ranging immunity from any criminal charges.  Netanyahu, like Trump, figured that this would be his "get of jail free" card.  So far, Netanyahu has not yet succeeded and the war has probably set him back quite a bit politically in his efforts to get this done.  Netanyahu is, however, looking enviously at Mr. Trump - who probably had quite the celebration  when the Supreme Court immunity decision  came out.

One more comment on Israeli politics.  The Labour Party and the Meretz Party have banded together to form one left wing bloc - though they still have to formally approve the merger.  The party is being led by Yair Golan.  Golan is a  former Israeli general who saved many Israelis on October 7, 2024 when he rushed into action and became a "one-man army" driving around, fighting Hamas terrorists and rescuing Israelis.  He is forceful, opinionated and resolute.  On the one hand, he is of course, a supporter of a strong IDF and not afraid to use IDF forces where appropriate.  On the other hand, he is very much in favour of finding a long term resolution with the Palestinians that is workable - and of protecting democracy in Israel from the threats of those that have been in power currently.  I am not thrilled that they have decided to call the party "the Democrats."  I would have suggested something more Israeli, with less baggage and less Americanized.  At the same time - I think they are likely to do quite well in a national election - and that much of their expected gains will come at the expense of Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz.  But we may not know until 2026.

Sports

Israelis are huge soccer fans, as you know, so the big news here has been the FIFA Euro 2024 Soccer Tournament. Everyone is watching even though Israelis don't really have a horse in the race.  The games are on at a reasonable time and the soccer is at the highest level in the world (just about).  Once the Euro tournament is over, Israelis will look forward to watching the Israeli national team compete in the men's Olympic soccer tournament for only the second time in Israel's history. Israel will play Mali, Paraguay and Japan.  That should be very exciting. Maybe Israel can come up with a win  or two - and advance to the next round.

My preferred sport as you know is ice hockey.  I stayed up some very late nights to watch the Stanley Cup finals and cheer for the only remaining Canadian team. It was a tough loss for the Edmonton Oilers - but the fact that the Oilers were able to come back from a 3-0 deficit and get to a game 7 was really incredible.  

So with no more ice hockey, I have turned my attention to watching some of the "Coppa America" - the North/South America FIFA soccer tournament.   As you might know, the Canadian national team has advanced to the  semi-finals and will play Argentina on Tuesday night.  That is the furthest any Canadian team has ever advanced in a top level soccer tournament.  While it is expected that Canada will get pummeled by Argentina - anything can happen in one game.  Maybe Canada can pull out a big surprise and get to a final against the winner of Uruguay-Columbia.

I can't say that I have watched very much baseball as the Blue Jays have been atrocious and baseball does  not attract very much viewership at all here.  I'm still happy to go to a game or two when I am in Toronto - and to support the kosher food provider there - that expanded the menu this year.  But it is really more about spending time with friends, enjoying the weather etc., than watching the underperforming Jays play.

Other Comments - Worldwide Protests and Anti-Semitism

I couldn't let this blog conclude without a few other comments on this issue.  As you many know, pro-Hamas "encampments" have been put up all over the U.S. and Canada - and many other places around the world.  

In Toronto, a bunch of hoodlums - (let's not mince words - we can also use "terrorism supporters") invaded the University of Toronto and put up a tent encampment.   They set up their own "security forces" and  controlled entry to the area. They chanted antisemitic slogans, harassed students and others and occupied a chunk of U of T property.  And of course demanded that U of T "divest" from anything to do with Israel.  In what sane universe is this permissible?  U of T should have called in the police immediately, to remove and/or arrest all involved.  This should not  have been allowed to last even one day. I think the University of Alberta took the proper approach when it cleared out a similar encampment immediately. 

But instead, the encampment remained in place for approximately two months.  U of T went to court to get an injunction and the Ontario Superior Court issued a 61 page decision last week - ordering the protesters to dismantle the  encampment and leave  - which they did.  The decision was striking.  The Judge spent the majority of the decision making all kinds of unnecessary comments and  findings that had nothing to do with the real issues - and were simply bad precedents.  In the decision, Justice Koehnen of the Ontario Superior Court, bent over backwards to find that the actions of the protestors were not "antisemitic" or violent  and seems to even suggest that their demands were justified.  Thankfully, he also concluded that the University of Toronto had no legal obligation to negotiate with this band of thugs and that there is no legal right to simply build an encampment and take over a property that belongs to someone else.  From my perspective, this probably should have been a three page decision with those conclusions.

But Israel continues to face these kinds of challenges all around the world from Pro-Hamas/Pro-Palestinian demonstrators who are calling for the destruction of Israel.  Israeli PR efforts have fallen short (other than some major crusaders like Noa Tishby - who has been phenomenal).  This is partially attributable to the disarray of the current Israeli government and its inability to appoint or designate proper and  competent people to lead these efforts.

There are probably other things that I need to cover, but I will have to leave some topics for next time.  My plans to be back in Toronto  were delayed for a bit due to personal reasons but I am hoping to be back in mid-July.  Wishing everyone the best of health - and wishing for peaceful times for all of us, Israel and all of its neighbours (as well as other locations around the world), the release of all of our hostages and the safety of our soldiers.  We are thinking of all of the families of victims, casualties and losses since October 7, 2023 and hoping for better times. 

June 2024 Blog - Shavuot and Beyond

 

These are challenging times to write this kind of blog.  Israel is in a very difficult period - facing challenges of all sorts.  We are in the midst of one of Israel's most difficult wars - with Hamas, Hezbollah and, primarily, Iran (even though an active Israel-Iran war has not yet broken out directly).  We have more than 120 hostages still being held by Hamas and its partners. We do not know for sure how many of these hostages are still alive. 

Tens of thousands of Israelis have been displaced and have still not returned to their homes since  October 7, 2023.  Many cities along Israel's northern border and south of those areas are virtual ghost towns with only the military present. Many cities and towns near the Gaza border are also uninhabited. There are rocket, missile and drone attacks from Hezbollah in the north daily - and many have been lethal - for soldiers and for civilians.  Many soldiers are dying and still more are being injured each day.  The situation in Gaza itself is awful for Gazans, though that is somewhat predictable when you launch an all out war.  We also have our fair share of political disarray with no clearly defined direction for how to proceed with this war, what the "end game" is and how long all of this might take.  

Despite all of this, I am still covering a few different areas in my blog - since ultimately, life is like that.  There are difficult and challenging events - even horrible occurrences - and sometimes - alongside those events - other happy, even joyous occasions.  There are many serious things to write about - and if I were a news journalist - I suppose I would simply fill my blog with those topics.  But my intent is to cover some news highlights and commentary and some other observations, comments and thoughts about life in Israel or related topics - sometimes only tangentially related. Despite the ongoing war - and the fact that I could fill the blog with war news, I would rather continue writing this blog the way I have for the past 15 years or so.  So here are a few different items which may or may not be connected.

Travelling Back to Israel

It is still hit or miss as to which international  airlines have restored their service to Toronto.  Air Canada had indicated that it would resume flights to Israel in August (and some people that I spoke to last night sounded hopeful about this).  But Air Canada has postponed or cancelled its resumption of flights to Israel a few times now.   I don't really believe that they will restore service until the war is "over" or there is some semblance of a cease fire in place.  And I am really not sure when that will be. 

El Al, as you might recall, cancelled its direct service to Toronto some time ago  - unrelated to the war.  So there are no options for direct flights from Toronto to Tel-Aviv currently.

I have written in past blogs about some of the routes that I have taken since October 7 2023.  I have combined Air Canada and El Al transferring through Europe in Amsterdam (awful), Rome (much better) and London (big hassle).  I have also travelled the whole way or with partner connections on KLM (awful), Delta (not bad) and Air France (great between Israel and Paris - but not so nice between Paris and Toronto).  Overall, it has been a big hassle and has made travel much more tiring and challenging.   

Just before Shavuot, I was finally able to get a fully integrated Star Alliance flight - with a connection and this was certainly the best flight I have had since October.  The check-in and security in Terminal 1 at Pearson Airport are so much easier than what goes on at Terminal 3.  For my most recent flight - it took me a total of about 12 minutes from the time I got to the airport until the time I was at the international lounge - including baggage  drop off and security.  For this type of trip - that is, as we say in Yiddish, a "mechayeh." (something very pleasing).

I was very happy to be back on Air Canada - which is a step above many other airlines  in terms of boarding process, amenities on board, etc.,  especially when compared to Air France, KLM or El Al. The connection in Vienna was very easy.  We arrived at the gate and were let out through a connections area  right into the departure gates area.  No supplementary security or passport security  - like in Paris or Amsterdam.  The Israel gate was right nearby.  My connection time was only 1 hour and 50 minutes - but I had more than an hour to go to the lounge in Vienna (and have some pretty decent coffee).

So hopefully my next few flights will be connections with Air Canada through Vienna, Frankfurt or Zurich so I can stay with the Star Alliance partners and get the benefit of a relatively seamless connection.  Of course it is very difficult to predict whether all of these airlines will continue to fly to Israel and what might happen.

If you are planning to come here and do not want to risk things - your best bet is probably a European connection to an El Al flight - even  if that is not the most comfortable or economical.  It is likely to be secure and reliable.

Shavuot

I did not leave myself too much time between arriving and the  start of Shavuot - which is only one day in Israel.  Like so many other Jewish holidays, Shavuot is associated with food - in this case dairy - especially cheese blintzes and cheesecake.  So I did manage to make some blintzes.  A shout out to Tori Avey and her wonderful website - which has so many great Jewish recipes.  This cheese blintz recipe is just like the recipe that I had from my grandmother z"l, though my grandmother used to add raisins as well.  I have made several other dishes using recipes from Tori Avey's site including a delicious apple honey cake, some lemon bars and a few other items - and they have all been great.  One of my favourite sites.

Ultimately, Shavuot is not just  about the food - we do commemorate our receipt of the Torah - and it is customary to study all night on Erev Shavuot.  At my former shul in Toronto, there used to be an amazing Shavuot program.  We would study for about 45 minutes to an hour, take a short break, then sing for 30-45 minutes, then eat.  We would repeat this all night - until it was time for an early Shacharit service at 6 a.m.  During each break, there would be a different food item. One break might be ice cream sundaes.  Another break might be a selection of wraps.  Maybe one break would be just fruit.  I have managed to find a few different all night study sessions here in Israel over the years - but nothing that was nearly as fun or stimulating.  This year I was too jet lagged.  So it was a dairy dinner with the family and some discussion about everything going on here - but no all night study session.

The "Situation"

I mentioned some of what we are dealing with above.  Yesterday was one of those disastrous days  - 10 soldiers were killed in Gaza - 8 of them when an RPG hit their "Tiger" vehicle.  Their ages ranged from 19 to 49.  Unfortunately, reports like this have become all too commonplace.  These soldiers are mostly recruits - people from all walks of life who perform their mandatory military service - either during the three year period between the ages of 19 and 22 - or as "reserve" soldiers - called to duty afterwards.

Since October 7, 2023, 659 soldiers have been killed and close to 4,000 injured according to the Israeli government site.  

As you know, there is all kinds of world pressure on Israel - from Europe, the U.S. and many other places to end the war - but Hamas has not agreed to any kind of cease fire arrangement that would be acceptable to Israel (or even to the U.S.) and so the war continues.   Meanwhile, there is no indication that a deal with Hezbollah in the north is close - and there is a great deal of talk - that Israel will soon be in a full blown war with Hezbollah/Lebanon/Iran in the north.  That is not to say that we are not in a war right now - we most certainly are.  However, it has not become an all out full blown war - perhaps due to world pressure.  The situation is untenable for Israel.  People cannot return to their homes.  Hezbollah is launching attacks daily - using drones, missiles and RPGs and has set several places on fire.  Although Israel has been attacking sites in different places in Lebanon and Syria (according to news reports), it has not yet taken the kind of action that would be needed to make the northern border safe for return for  Israeli residents.

Meanwhile, the destruction in Gaza is undoubtedly immense but Hamas has not yet been defeated nor has it shown a  willingness to release the hostages and end the war.  Declaring a "Palestinian State" like some countries have done (see Ireland, Spain and Norway) does not seem like a practical way to deal with these issues.  Does that mean recognizing Hamas to run the state?  Will it be demilitarized?  Israel does need to work with the world and the Palestinians to come up with different potential solutions for Gaza - but solutions that will not involve ongoing military and terrorist attacks by Hamas.

Some Knesset members in the current government like Ben-Gvir and Smotrich seem to want to occupy Gaza completely and run it like the West Bank  - with Israeli settlements throughout.  This was the proposal of a former  Knesset member, Moshe Feiglin, on TV last night.

But years ago, even the hawkish Ariel Sharon, came to the conclusion that it was untenable for Israel to continue to run Gaza.  Many  on the right are now blaming his policies for the "Hamasization" of Gaza - but most of what has developed in Gaza has taken place over the past 15-20 years - while Israel has had right wing governments (mainly).  I cannot accept the idea that occupying Gaza and building settlements throughout will bring Israel long term peace  or security.

Of course at the same time, I heard someone from the Israeli "centre-left" yesterday say that many people in Israel in the centre and even some on the "left" have come to the conclusion, post October 7, 2023, that it is "either us or them."  

I am not sure that anyone really has a solution right now - one that would work for Israelis and Palestinians.  Maybe there isn't one.  But we will have to try and find one.  Surely that will be better for both sides than spending the next 100 years killing each other - and perhaps even more time than that.

The Government

Israel continues to be government by an elected 64-56 seat coalition (with 64 seats in a Knesset of 120 members) which is made up of the Likud party (Netanyahu's party), two ultra-religious ("Haredi") parties - one Ashkenazi, one Sephardi and a collection of ultra-nationalist religious parties.  None of these coalition members seem ready to cause the government to fall - irrespective of how popular the government  may or may not be currently.  It can continue to govern until October 2026 if nothing changes.

One of the priorities of this government is to keep its ultra-orthodox coalition members happy.  So even though Israel is talking about a manpower shortage in the army - and floating the idea of extending military service for recruits and calling up more reserves - the government also put a bill through first reading in the Knesset this week to bolster the exemption from military service for the ultra-orthodox.  

Many Israelis are infuriated - even many who support Netanyahu's party.  It seems incredibly tone deaf for Netanyahu to read reports of soldiers being killed and injured - and on the very same day - be seem smiling with the Ultra-Orthodox Knesset members while they pass a bill to have their constituency evade the draft.  This may well be an issue that will spell big trouble for this governing coalition when there is an eventual election.

The Heat

All of this, of course, comes at a time when we are entering peak summer weather season.  I heard a forecast on the radio the other day.  They didn't give any actual temperatures - just said that it was going to be between "very hot and extremely hot."  They also said it would be "hotter than seasonal."  I don't know what that actually meant - but reading the reports - it was between 35 and 40c.  It must be unbearable for our soldiers these days - with all of their equipment - in the southern parts of Israel.

Sports

I don't have too much in the way of Sports news to mention here.  Israelis are all excited about watching the 2024 Euros which kicked off on Friday.  Israel did not make it in.  Israelis are also looking forward to watching the Israeli football (soccer) team participate in the Paris Olympics.  Israel has rarely qualified previously so this will be exciting.

Personally, as you might recall, I am much more of an ice hockey fan.  So I was up watching the Edmonton Oilers play at 3 a.m.  Israel time yesterday.  The last Canada-based team. Edmonton was losing 3-0 in the series - and it was looking likely that they would simply go out quietly.  But they roared back and won the game 8-1 - setting up another elimination game in Florida on Tuesday night at which the Stanley Cup could be presented if Florida wins the game.  Chat (Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto) graduate Zach Hyman is leading the playoffs in goal scoring with 14 goals.  I  haven't looked that up to check - but it might be the highest goal total for a Jewish player ever in one NHL playoff season.

My other comment for the non-hockey fans - is that we are also watching one of the greatest hockey players ever - Connor McDavid.  During this year's playoffs - he has 38 points - which is the 5th highest total in one season's playoffs ever.  The record holder is, of course, Wayne Gretzky, with 47.  So it would still take a minor miracle for McDavid to get 9 or 10 more points - since that would probably also mean helping his team to come back and win three games in a row - after being down 3-0.  (Something that is almost impossible in hockey).

How does this related to my blog?  Israeli singer Hanan Ben-Ari wrote a song a few years ago called "Our life is strawberries."  The first part of the song was a litany of complaints about how difficult life is in Israel - the cost of living, the military situation, the traffic etc.,  But towards the end of the song - he switched to thankfulness for all of the great things in life.  As an observant Orthodox Jew, he mentioned Shabbat - and of course, family, friends, togetherness.  And - the "privilege of being able to watch Lionel  Messi play."  So I am not as excited about Messi - (since I am less of a soccer fan) - but the privilege of being able to watch McDavid play (and players like him) is an amazing thing.  

Canada Comments

I was in Canada over the past few weeks and there are lots of crazy things going on connected to Israel and the Jewish community.  There have been several attacks on synagogues across the country - vandalism, attempted arson etc., There is an ongoing "encampment" on the University of Toronto grounds that has still not been cleared out.  And a bunch of protesters were cleared out by police using tear gas in Montreal - after taking over the president's office at McGill University in Montreal. Very few Canadian political leaders are speaking out in support of the Canadian Jewish community with some notable exceptions - including Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and a few others.  On the other hand - the Prime Minister has been moving Canada's Israel policies closer and closer to those of countries like Ireland, Spain and Norway.  The leader of the NDP, Jagmit Singh, has been spouting all kinds of anti-Israel diatribes.  And for some reason, union leaders across the country  have been  at the forefront of anti-Israeli activism - even though they are much more likely to find common cause with Israelis than with Hamas supporters - on a whole range of issues - from social equality, gender equality, worker rights  - to freedom of expression and other issues.

Toronto's annual Walk for Israel was a bright spot for the Jewish diaspora, with estimates ranging up to 50,000 people attending.  There were counter-protesters - who showed up wearing face masks and keffiyehs. Some of these "protesters" arranged to meet in Jewish neighbourhoods in Toronto and tried to follow participants of the Walk back to their homes. Fortunately, the Toronto police were in full force  and managed to prevent the situation from deteriorating.   There are videos of these interactions - on links provided by the National Post and other publications.

The Mayor of Toronto, Olivia Chow, elected to avoid the event - and instead, she attended a "Grill Cheese Festival" in Etobicoke.  Mayor Chow is not a big supporter of the Toronto Jewish community, to say the least.  And the current Canadian Prime Minister, Trudeau, is probably the least supportive Canadian Prime Minister that we have seen in many  years - perhaps since his late father, Pierre Trudeau.

To change to another positive note - I understand that a group of Toronto lawyers are planning a solidarity trip to Israel in September - and are hoping to have 25-30 participants.  They plan to visit the areas of the October 7, 2023 attacks, meet with politicians, families of hostages, and others.  I could provide a link to further information on request if anyone is interested in attending.

So even though Israelis living in Canada and other members of the Jewish community are being threatened all over the country (and in many places around the world), there are some positive and hopeful events.   

I cannot say that things look that positive from here right now but I don't think we have any choice but to do whatever we can to try and improve things - to hope that there is some sort of feasible, peaceful solution that can be reached and that we can restore things soon to some level of sanity.  All while sharing information with people about what is really going on here. 

With that, I wish everyone all the best and welcome any comments or thoughts you might have.

Travel Comments and Israel Update May 2024

I am writing this blog as I fly back to Toronto from Israel via a circuitous route of Amsterdam and Paris. A fairly crazy route but $1,500Cdn less in economy than flying any other available route (other than via Ethiopia which didn't interest me).  I thought I would write a bit about the routes I have been taking back and forth and then deal with some other issues.

Flights Between Tel-Aviv and Toronto these days - via KLM/Air France or El Al

It is a close competition between KLM and El Al as to which is the more unpalatable flight between Israel and Europe. KLM uses bare-bones Boeing 737 planes for the 4 hour 50 minute flight from Tel Aviv to Amsterdam. There are no entertainment screens or plugs for charging devices. No wi-fi available, even for texting. The airplane configuration is 3-3 and it's very cramped. The seats don't recline. The "meal service" is one sandwich (served warm) of kosher egg and vegan cheese with tomato - served to everyone. In fairness, slightly better than the El Al offering of a yam and gouda microwaved sandwich but only slightly.

There is also drink service so I was able to get a red wine - a South African Shiraz that was passable. That is one up on El Al which only distributes bottles of water.

This would be fine for a 2-3 hour flight - but for a five hour flight it is really unpleasant. Air France, by contrast, for flights between Tel Aviv and Paris - about 4 hours - uses beautiful new planes with wi-fi, entertainment systems, full meal service and full drink service - even cognac.

Given the circumstances in Israel these days, I am not about to complain too much. But there is a major difference among the airlines that are still flying between Europe and Tel Aviv.

I should mention that Air Canada recently cancelled all flights through August. United and Delta are scheduled to restart sooner. As far as I understand, ITA (Italy), Lufthansa, Austrian and Swiss are all flying to Israel - along with Lot Polish and Emirates/ Fly Dubai.  There may be others.

If you are planning to fly to Israel any time soon - and you want to be sure (or almost sure) that your flight will take place, a connection with El Al is probably the only itinerary you can really count on these days. (Though an economy ticket, if you can find one, might cost $2,500-$3,000). Other airlines are likely to be cheaper and more comfortable. But they may not actually fly.

Landing in Amsterdam is very inconvenient. The immigration area is understaffed and overcrowded. It can take 45-60 minutes to get through immigration. This is a huge contrast with Rome and London, both of which have reasonable immigration procedures in place.  I would strongly advise against any kind of short connection through Amsterdam.

For the rest of the route, I had a stopover in Paris. We were required to go through French exit customs before getting to the gate - which was almost as bad as Dutch immigration.  Long lineups, understaffed area and some out of order machines.  For all of those people who complain about Canadian airport immigration incompetence, try going through Amsterdam or Paris and then report back.

The Air France flight back from Paris to Toronto was incredibly crowded - one of those 3-4-3 configurations (in what felt like it was designed for a 3-3-3).  It was very uncomfortable.  The English version of the announcements was unintelligible.  The entertainment selection was lame and the wi-fi was spotty.  I guess you can tell that I miss being able to take direct Air Canada flights to Tel-Aviv on the 787 Dreamliners but, as I said, these are not the world's worst problems.

For my next trip back, I have booked a connection through Vienna using Air Canada and Austrian.  I was planning to come back on a direct Air Canada flight - but these have been postponed until late August at the earliest.  It seems like Air Canada is not likely to restart its flights to Tel-Aviv until the war is over.  And that does not look like it is going to be anytime soon.

April/May Holidays and Commemorations

We have completed observances of Pesach, Yom Hashoah, Yom Hazikaron and Yom Haatzmaut. I have written about these days in earlier blogs.

Yom Haatzmaut was the strangest national observance. The official government sponsored event was taped without an audience and broadcast on the evening of Yom Haatzmaut. It is usually held as a live event. The minister responsible, Miri Regev, one of Netanyahu's most reliable "yes people" announced that this was due to "security concerns.". Mainly that seems to mean the risk of Netanyahu getting booed at the ceremony.

In my view, however, there was one highlight. Israeli superstar Omer Adam, sang the song "One connected Human Tapestry" (my preferred translation). "If one of us dies, a part of all of us dies. And if one of us dies, that person takes a part of us with them." I have included the link - hopefully it works.  It begins with an interpretive dance, commemorating the October 7, 2023 massacres.  Midway through the song, families of victims of the Hamas massacres joined Omer Adam and sang with him. It was chilling, emotional and one of the most intense things I have seen in quite a while. The song was originally recorded by Chava Alberstein (one of my personal favourites) who included a version of the song on a commemorative album after the assassination of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Omer Adam's rendition was outstanding, though tear evoking for sure.

We also watched the annual event hosted by Eidan Raichel, which I have written about previously. Raichel travels around the country to army bases to pick 10 soldiers to sing with him on Yom Haatzmaut. The soldiers or their friends have submitted demo tapes in advance. Raichel surprises then at their bases and invites them to sing at the main event. He also invites their friends and family members to attend. At the end of the evening, he picks one winner to record a song with him. He introduces each soldier, shows a video clip about them and speaks to them in a way that exudes empathy and genuine appreciation. One of my favourite events of the year.

The Situation (in Hebrew "Hamatzav")

Israel remains at war on several fronts. I don't see any near term resolution to any of this.

The Gaza front remains the focus of attention. Israel is fighting to defeat the Hamas regime - and eliminate Hamas' military threat (by capturing or killing the Hamas leadership) while releasing as many living hostages as possible.

Hamas continues to hold 128 hostages (though some may no longer be alive). It also continues to fire rockets at Israel and has vowed to carry out more attacks like the October 7 massacres.

Israel simply cannot allow this to continue and cannot agree to a cease fire deal that does not ensure that this won't happen again. There is heavy fighting now in the last major Hamas stronghold of Rafah (Rafiah in Hebrew/Arabic). Deaths of Israeli soldiers are being reported every day - and there are also many Hamas casualties. There are also Palestinian civilian casualties.

I have no idea, quite frankly, whether a ,"victory" is actually achievable - and if so, what the cost will be - in terms of the number of Israeli soldiers, civilians, Hamas fighters and Palestinian civilians. Israel likens this to the fight to rid Germany of the Nazis. The idea is that total victory is the only option when dealing with a genocidal, dictatorial regime.

Perhaps this is a proper analogy if the Palestinians can be left with a new leadership committed to resolving things peacefully with Israel coupled with a rebuilding and education plan. But so far, there is no such emerging Palestinian leadership option. And, the current Israeli government does not seem to be Interested in backing or bolstering such a government.

Contrary to the South African allegations, bolstered by Ireland, Norway, Turkey and some other countries, there is no genocide. Israel is not massacring civilians. (If you want to discuss genocide - check out what is going on currently in Sudan).

Moreover, Israel did not start this war (unlike Russia which launched an unprovoked invasion of the Ukraine).

It was Hamas that attacked Israel - murdering, raping, and torturing civilians on Oct 7, 2023. No country in the world would allow this to occur without taking every possible action in response to ensure that it does not happen again. (Hamas spokespeople have vowed that they will do the same thing over and over again).

Gaza is not an enormous area though it is a very densely populated place. I do not think this can continue indefinitely. I would imagine that Israel will soon conquer the area and take control or reach some kind of brokered agreement. But this may still take several months. And there needs to be some kind of plan for what happens next.

Who will actually govern Gaza? Who will rebuild it? Who will fund it? Who will ensure that it is demilitarized? Clearly it can't be Hamas. And it can't be UNRWA, which is essentially Hamas. At this point, I really have no idea.  

Waiting in the wings, Israel is on the precipice of a massive war with Hezbollah, Lebanon, Syria and perhaps Iran. There is a very active war taking place right now, as we speak.  Northern Israel has been evacuated and many of the border towns (like Kiryat Shemona) are ghost towns, filled only with army personnel.  Hezbollah continues to attack Israel with drones, rpgs, rockets, and all sorts of other weaponry.  Israel continues to fight back. But Hezbollah has not yet started using its medium and long range missiles - and Israel has not launched an all out attack against Hezbollah.  Most Israeli commentators seem to feel that this war is inevitable.  The only way out is some sort of agreement whereby Hezbollah agrees to move its forces well back from the Israeli border (which was part of a previous cease fire agreement).  But so far Hezbollah has shown no inclination to do so.

The latest "front" is the growing publicity and public opinion front being fought by Israel against an increasingly large number of countries.  The latest salvo as you know, came from Ireland, Norway and Spain, which decided to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian State.  I really don't think that this decision is likely to assist anyone.  It will bolster supporters of Hamas and and other violent Palestinian groups - who will view this decision as a "win" emanating from the Hamas massacres. That will obviously encourage more violence.  It will also antagonize Israel and diminish the credibility of these countries as partners in any negotiation.  I saw one commentary that suggested that Israel should recognize the Catalan Independence movement or the Basque separatist movement in response to Spain's decision.  

This new front that Israel is facing - worldwide pressure - is in the arenas of political, economic and public opinion.  Backers of Hamas have used social media to circulate fake videos, disinformation, TikTok clips and all means of other trickery to distort the events that took place on October 7, 2023 and that have taken place since then.

You may have read one of the most recent examples - that some people - as a joke - put up a post that the Iranian leader was killed by an Israeli Mossad agent named "Eli Copter."  Apparently, this spun out of control and Israel was being accused on all sorts of channels (including some mainstream news media) of having assassinated the Iranian leader.  Yes, the crash was caused by "Eli Copter" - or in English, Helicopter - as in a Helicopter failure.  But there is nothing to suggest the Mossad was in any way involved - and I doubt there is an Israeli agent named "Eli Copter" - though there are probably lots of "Elis".  

Although the current Israeli leadership is not helping the situation, there is a clear worldwide current of outrageous and ridiculous anti-Israel activity.  The proposed criminal charges against Israeli leaders are a massive overreach - and seem to create a new standard of allegedly criminal activity - just for Israel and its leaders - even while there are so many worse conflicts taking place throughout the world - and many in situations in which civilians are being actively targeted and murdered. (That is clearly not happening in Gaza). 

There have also been waves of anti-Semitic incidents throughout the world including firebombs thrown at synagogues, physical attacks against Jews, and of course, anti-Israel (and often, quite clearly, anti-Jewish) encampments with Nazi symbolism and rhetoric calling for Jews to be murdered.  It's a crazy world out there for sure.  For those who might attack Israel and say that Zionism is a racist ideology or that Zionism (and the Jewish State) is unnecessary - that the Jewish people do not need a homeland - the events since October 7, 2023, throughout the world, have demonstrated that Israel is, right now, one of the only places that is really willing to defend its Jewish population.  

At the same time, to ensure its long-term survival, Israel will need to resolve many outstanding issues.  It will need to come up with some kind of long-term peaceful solution with the Palestinians.  It will need to resolve its own internal issues, that were raging before the war and continue to simmer on a back-burner even while the war continues on.  How to reconcile being a "Jewish State" and a "Democratic State."  How to ensure equality for all of its citizens. Whether to finally put a constitution in place.  How the powers of the Israeli Supreme Court should be delineated - and what the boundaries of the Court's jurisdiction should be.  How to manage anticipated demographic changes.  These are all incredibly complex challenges facing the country - but they are also challenges that the country will only be able to address once this war has ended.

Sports and other Competitions

To end on a positive note, I wanted to mention that a high school team from Binyamina, Israel, recently won an international robotics competition in Houston, Texas.  This was Israel's first win in that particular competition in 20 years.  

Israel also recently won a gold medal in its division in ice hockey at the international ice hockey Federation's U20 World Championship - division III group A.  Israel will now move up to Division II, Group B for next year's tournament.

Israel's Eden Golan finished in 5th place in the Eurovision signing competition.  She was able to do so by winning a massive share of the audience vote - even while the anti-Israel judging panel gave Golan miserably low scores.  This all came after the judging panel insisted that Israel change the lyrics and title of its song from "October Rain" to "Hurricane" to make the song "less political."  And of course, the Eurovision committee held its ground and refused to give in to public pressure from Ireland and other anti-Israel countries to oust Israel from the competition because of the war in Gaza. The Irish performer at the actual competition performed some kind of dark simulated satanic ritual on stage marked with violence, nastiness and, in my view, horrible "music."  It was comforting to see that the worldwide audiences weren't buying it and heavily supported Israel over Ireland.

My last sports note is that the Israeli men's soccer team is scheduled to participate in this year's Paris Olympics.   Israel last participated in this tournament in 1976.  Israel will be in Group D with games against Japan, Paraguay and Mali with the first matches schedule for July 25, 2024.  I have to say that I am quite looking forward to watching these games.  Of course some countries are lobbying FIFA to kick Israel out of the tournament.  Hopefully, they will not succeed.  Although one of my close family members routinely complains that watching soccer is about as exciting as "watching paint dry" - I actually quite enjoy international football (soccer) tournaments.  Granted these games are not as exciting as the Stanley Cup playoffs (which the Toronto Maple Leaf exited so unceremoniously) but seeing Israel compete in the Olympic soccer tournament on the world stage will be fun.  Hopefully the French security will be up to the challenge to provide proper protection for the athletes.

Until that starts, I'll be cheering for the Edmonton Oilers, the last standing Canadian hockey team in the final four - hoping that a Canadian team can finally win the Cup and bring it back to Canada. In Israel those games start at about 4 a.m. and run until around 7 a.m. (without overtime).  But here in Canada for a bit, I will get to watch some games at reasonable times.

Yom Hazikaron - Israel Remembrance Day - 2024

The Jewish /Israeli calendar has several difficult days.  We have fast days, days of mourning and days of remembrance.  On Yom Kippur, we fast for 26 hours, without even water, while contemplating how we will improve our lives in the coming year and what lies in store for us and those near to us.  On Tisha B'Av, another long fast day, in the middle of the summer, we commemorate the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem and all those who lost their lives more than 2000 years ago.  On Yom Hashoah v'Hagvurah, Holocaust and Bravery Remembrance Day, we remember the 6 million victims of the Holocaust and all those who fought bravely against the Nazi regime.  Yom Hashoah v'Hagvurah was commemorated last week.

But perhaps the most difficult day of all is Yom Hazikaron - Remembrance Day for Israeli soldiers, security personnel and victims of terror.  Especially this year, while Israel is still in the midst of  a war on several fronts. 

I think there are several reasons why the day is even more difficult than other days.  For one thing, the Israeli Army is very much a people's army. With mandatory conscription, the vast majority of Israelis serve in the army in some capacity.  This means that almost everyone we know in Israel has either served in the army or has one or more family members who have served.  We have four in our immediate family and too many to count in our extended family.

It also means that when there is a war or a military operation, people that we know are putting themselves at risk.  Family members, friends, neighbours, classmates, fellow soldiers.  Since the army is universal, this can also include Israeli celebrities - popular singers, accomplished athletes, politicians and so many other categories.  And unfortunately, people from among all of these groups are included in those who have lost their lives fighting for the country.

Another reason is the immediacy and contemporaneousness of the losses.  On Tisha B'Av, we mourn events that took place more than 2000 years ago.  On Yom Hashoah, we mourn the victims of the Holocaust that ended almost 80 years ago.  But on Yom Hazikaron, we may be remembering people who died over the past few months, over the past few weeks - or this year, at yesterday's ceremony, we spoke about one soldier who was killed on Saturday, just one day before Erev Yom Hazikaron.

A third reason, which is particularly poignant this year, is that the losses continue.  Israel continues to be engaged in a multi-front war.  Soldiers are being killed.  Rockets are being fired at civilian targets and civilians are being killed, especially  in the North of Israel and in the areas surrounding Gaza. And there is a great deal of uncertainty over how and when this war might end, whether the more than 130 hostages will return home - and what condition they will be in, and what will happen here in the long term. Right now, there are no easy answers.  

Ra'anana Commemoration

We walked over to the main Ra'anana ceremony at Yad L'Banim, the city centre, where all of the city's ceremonies and commemorations take place.  The event  was scheduled for 8 p.m., with thousands of seats set up, many reserved for bereaved families.  We decided to go early and we got there for 7:15 p.m.  Too late.  All of the seats were already full.  There were thousands more behind the seating, standing.  There were multiple screens set up to the sides of and behind the main stage.

We found a place to sit on the grass way off to the side.  During the ceremony this year, there was a focus on the stories of the 24 Ra'anana residents who have died since the October 7 attacks by Hamas.  Some were killed at the Nova Music festival massacre, where Hamas terrorists killed everyone in sight.  Several concert goers hid in a bomb shelter.  The Hamas terrorists opened the door and threw grenades inside.  One brave off duty soldier picked up the grenades and threw them back outside.  He managed to throw 9 grenades back out of the shelter.  The 10th  one blew up killing him and several others in the shelter. The other Ra'anana residents included soldiers and security personnel, many of whom fought bravely on October 7, 2024 against the thousands of terrorists that had entered Israel.  The list also included other civilians.

In between the stories of the fallen, there were musical performances.  These were moving, mournful, expressive performances.  The thousands and thousands of people at the ceremony were silent and there were few dry eyes. During the ceremony, they also read out the names of the more than 200 Ra'anana residents who have been killed since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 - while showing on screen information about each person, the date the person died and their age at the time of death.  They divide this reading into two parts since there are so many names to read.

After the ceremony concluded with the "El Male Rachamim" prayer and a very powerful singing of Hatikvah (Israel's national anthem) by the entire audience, we walked back home in a sea of white shirt wearing Ra'anana residents.  Stores and restaurants were all closed, the roads were closed off to traffic in major parts of the city and it seemed like the whole city had come to this commemoration.

The evening of Yom Hazikaron is also one of the most compelling evenings of TV.  There is a national ceremony that is broadcast, though that is at the same time as the ceremonies across the country.  After that, there is a musical event called "Songs in the Square."  This event was broadcast live from the Sultan's Pool in Jerusalem, a huge amphitheatre outside the walls of the Old City.  A massive stage was set up with enough room for the full Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra.  A who's who of the Israeli music scene took turns taking the stage and singing sorrowful songs.  In between the musical performances, there were stories about different soldiers, their lives, their families and what happened.  Many of these performances were simply amazing.  We heard Tamir Greenberg, Keren Peles, Shiri Maimon, Hanan Ben Ari and many others.  Unlike other musical performances on other days, the audience was silent.  No clapping or other noise.  Just silence and tears.  

The event ended at around midnight.  After that Israeli stations continued to broadcast music, documentaries, movies, interviews and other Yom Hazikaron appropriate programming.

This morning, we went to the nearby military cemetery in Ra'anana - which is only a few blocks away.  There  were so many people that we could not get anywhere near the cemetery - we had to watch and listen from across the street.  This was a much shorter commemoration.  

At 11 a.m., there is a one minute siren all across the country.  Everyone stops what they are doing and stands silently for the full minute.  The ceremony also included a number of speeches, the laying of wreaths, a gun salute, prayers and another  moving rendition of Hatikvah sung by many people trying to manage unfathomable grief.

As you might know, Israel's Independence Day is celebrated the very next day after Yom Hazikaron.  Many places, including our Synagogue in K'far Saba hold commemorative events to mark the closing of Yom Hazikaron and the transition to the joy of Yom Haatzmaut.  It its always incredible difficult to make that transition - but there is a sense that it is extremely important to do so - to celebrate all of the achievements of the State of Israel - even after remembering so many terrible losses.

This year, I sense a much more subdued attitude.  How can people truly celebrate while there are so many soldiers still in harm's way?  And so many hostages still being held and brutalized by Hamas.  And no clear idea for how and when this war might end.  

Some young soldiers we spoke to - urged people to celebrate.  They said that they fight to defend the country so that people in Israel can have a life -and can embrace the festive occasions.  For them, that is what makes it all worthwhile.   I appreciate that perspective.  But it is so hard with so many losses in such a small country.

We have been invited to barbecues, there are people still planning to go to parks and nature reserves across the country and there are many major events planned across the country to mark Israel's 76th birthday.   I'm still not sure what will do.  There is also a great deal to watch on TV including Idan Raichel's annual program (Raichel is one of Israel's most popular recording artists)  - where he  selects 10 soldiers from across the country to sing for a national audience - and then picks one of them to record a special duet with him.  It is an incredible evening.  He surprises each solder that he has selected by showing up at their base (after arranging it in advance with their commander) and tells them in front of their fellow soldiers that they have been selected.  They then have the chance to rehearse with Raichel and his band before the big day.

And has you might know, it is also a family member's birthday today - though we will move that celebration until after these two days of commemoration and celebration.

I have more to write about several topics - Eurovision, President Biden's decision to halt certain arms shipments to Israel (and his apparent walkback of at least some  of that), the ongoing negotiations with Hamas, the disheartening events at university campuses across the United States and Canada and other topics, but I felt that I should limit my discussion today to these two powerful days on our calendar.

On this Yom Hazikaron, we have no alternative but to hope and pray for an end to the wars that we are fighting, that no more soldiers or civilians will lose their lives, that our hostages being held by Hamas will all be returned safely, that we will come up with some kind of long term plan to bring peace and stability to the region and that our neighbours will all want  to live in peace with us and repair their own societies and rid themselves of oppressive, extremist dictatorships.  We hope for all of this so that we can have a truly meaningful  and complete celebration of Israel's Independence Day.  These are dreams for sure, and perhaps they are elusive, but hopefully, one day, they will come true.