Although no one knows for sure what will take place and Trump could be bluffing to try and get the Iranians to agree to some kind of deal - reports from the Israeli press have indicated that the Iranians have rejected any kind of deal proposed by the U.S. or the mediators at this point in time - and the gap between the U.S. and Iran is simply too wide to close.
In Israel, various news commentators have been speculating that an attack could come at any time, with many almost predicting that it will be tonight or tomorrow sometime.
Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel if the U.S. crosses certain Iranian "red lines." Just as it is unclear whether Trump will actually commence broad attacks against Iran, it is equally unclear whether Iran will decide to bring Israel into the conflict now. However, if Iran does attack Israel, it is almost certain that Israel will respond with significant force.
Another possibility is that Trump will ask Israel to participate in some type of massive attack that he would like to carry out against Iran. Israel would almost certainly say yes to any such request by Trump. However, I think it is more likely that Trump would like to show that the U.S. can carry out these attacks on its own without Israel and will only involve Israel if Iran draws Israel into the conflict.
One report indicated that Israeli hospitals across the country have been told to be on their highest alert levels and to be prepared to move all operations underground on short notice. Some Israeli officials denied that this order was given.
I guess we will find out soon enough. We are scheduled to leave Israel on July 28th (completely unrelated to anything going on) for a few weeks. I guess we will see soon enough if we are actually able to leave. In short, we have had to prepare the "safe room" in our home and we are definitely facing the possibility of a stressful period of time.
Tisha B'Av 5786 תשפ"ו
We had a very meaningful Tisha B'Av. We joined the Masorti Israel movement (affiliated with the Conservative Jewish movement) for a program along with more than 100 participants from across Israel. We travelled from Ra'anana to Jerusalem and began the program with a tour of the tunnels behind the Kotel (the Western Wall). The available tours are constantly changing as different sections open up and new finds are discovered or developed.
If you have never been to these tunnels, I would say that it is one of the most interesting things to do in Israel. The tours give you access to a picture of how the two great Temples were when they were active in Jerusalem and the vibrancy of Jewish life at the time centred around these Temples.
The tours also provide a great deal of information about what happened to Jerusalem after the destruction of the second Temple in the year 70 CE. There is even a full model of the Temple area that can be changed with the press of a button to show how it looked at different periods of time. It helped that we had a terrific tour guide who was knowledgeable, energetic and engaging. (No, it wasn't our family member, though I suppose it could have been...)
After the tunnel tours, we had tefillah (Minhah) and then a pre-fast dinner of "deconstructed Sabich" - which is basically hard boiled eggs, fried eggplant, salad, humus, tehina and "amba" (pickled mango sauce - slightly spicy). The deconstructed means that you can decide if you want to make it in a pita (the way it is usually served) or if you would rather go with the low carb option and skip the pita. Sabich is sometimes called the "poor person's falafel" in Israel - since it is often about half the cost of a falafel and is a less substantial meal.
Our meal was followed by Maariv, the reading of Eichah (the book of Lamentations), and a lecture from Professor Doron Bar, author of a book about the history of the Western Wall. These events were interspersed with the group singing and reading some modern Kinot and singing songs about Jerusalem, as the sun set and the stars emerged, overlooking the golden beauty of Jerusalem. We were joined in time for the start of Eichah by several hundred Ramah seminar students, some of whom read parts of Eichah. Our evening concluded with three panelists discussing different visions of unity and challenges to modern day Israel. Overall, it was a terrific program.
Tisha B'Av is a fast day in Israel (no food or water for about 24.5 hours). At the same time, work and travel are permitted unlike other "Holy Days" - like Yom Kippur for example. Everything is closed on Erev Tisha B'Av in most parts of Israel - but many shops, including many restaurants, actually open up on Tisha B'Av during the day.
In any case, the fast ended at about 8:30 p.m. (I went with bagels, cream cheese and lox - one of our usual fast-break options). And we are now ready for Shabbat Nachamu - the Shabbat that is intended to comfort us after Tisha B'Av.
Tehran
We are a bit late in getting to Season 3 of Tehran - we still had not finished watching Season 2 - but recently we had the chance to sit down and watch several episodes - even if that meant keeping really crazy hours. We thought it was riveting. We still have one episode left - the final episode of season 3 - and we understand that a fourth season is being filmed.
Tehran is a spy thriller about an Israeli agent, operating in Iran, working to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. At times, it seems somewhat unrealistic, I suppose, but considering what we have heard about Israeli operations, it is probably not too far off from reality.
For us, it was highly compelling and worth seeing. I would say that Season 3 was probably better than season 1 - and a close call with Season 2 as to which was better.
Once we finish - we will have to start watching the newest season of Fauda (season 5 I think) - so don't spoil anything if you have watched these shows.
Election News
As you know the Israeli election is scheduled for October 27, 2026.
Party slates are still not absolutely finalized and there may still be some surprises.
The news this week was an attack ad that Netanyahu used. The ad showed Gadi Eisenkot (leader of the Yashar party - right now Likud's strongest opposition) running towards a soldier in a uniform. The ad was generated by AI. At the last minute, the ad shows Eisenkot turning away from the soldier and embracing the Arab party (Ra'am) leader Monsour Abbas.
One of the big criticisms was that Eisenkot had lost his son in the recent Gaza war. Many viewers felt that the soldier depicted looked very much like Eisenkot's son and that this ad was therefore very inappropriate.
Likud did not apologize for or withdraw the ad. However, they published a second version one day later, using a female soldier instead of a male soldier - but with the same content.
Public reaction to the ad was apparently very swift and polls taken after the release of the ad, showed Netanyahu's party losing between 1 and 2 seats to Eisenkot (though that amount may be statistically insignificant).
In any case, still lots of time until the election, lots of ads to be released - and lots of animosity I suspect - despite the message of Tisha B'Av that urges the people of Israel to find away to avoid "baseless hatred."
I am sure that I will have lots more to say about the coming elections over the coming three month period.
I wish everyone a shabbat shalom - and look forward to seeing many of you in Toronto or elsewhere in the coming weeks.
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