Israel, Iran, the U.S. and More - June 22, 2015

Fordow Nuclear Plant, Iran

I left Israel on June 9th with the intention of coming to Toronto for about 2 weeks - and getting back to Israel on June 23rd.  Although I wrote, in my blog on May 30th about the possibility of something major happening, including a possible attack on Iran by Israel, I had no idea about the possible scale, timing and implications of the operation that would be carried out.  Now, here we are, less than one day after the U.S. has stepped into the fray with its attacks on three Iranian nuclear sites - and there is much to write about.

Some Comments about the Operation

As I have discussed previously, it is hard to view this as an "attack" or an "aggression" by Israel.  Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been fighting a multi-front war with Iran and its proxies, which was all initiated by Iran.  Iran was responsible for funding and training Hamas and Hezbollah, for arming the Houthis and for supporting other terroristic attacks against Israel worldwide.  All while threatening that it was finally about to destroy Israel.  In context, Israel's operation that started on June 13th, 2025 (6-13 for  those who like to think about this biblically  - being the  total number of mitzvoth according to Jewish tradition) is really a counterattack in response the multi-front war initiated by Iran including Iran's own ballistic missile attacks against Israel.

There was a significant indication that Iran was racing towards rolling out a nuclear bomb - and its stated intention was to use it.  Since Israel's attack, various international  sources have confirmed that this was the case. So the perceived urgency on the part of Israel - was that Iran was getting "too close for comfort" to using a nuclear weapon against Israel - something Israel couldn't wait for. 

The initial stage of this counterattack was carried out by Israel with near perfection, according to most reports and was historic, dramatic and brilliantly effective.

As you know from various reports, more than 30 top Iranian commanders, including the head of the Air Force, the head of the Army and the head of the ballistic missile program, were all killed on the first night of the operation.  This apparently included the use of Mossad agents and AI to lure various Iranian senior officers into a mass gathering, at which they were attacked and killed.  Together with this, Israel established air superiority and has carried out attacks on Iranian military targets, nuclear sites, missile launch sites and other equipment. Many Iranian nuclear scientists have also been killed.

Iranian Response

Since June 13th, Iran's primary response has been to launch ballistic missiles, drones and other missiles at Israel.  According to an article in the Jerusalem Post written moments ago, Iran has launched approximately 500 ballistic missiles at Israel since June 13th and close to 500 drones.  Most of these missiles and almost all of the drones have been intercepted.  However, a significant number have hit Israel.  Most of these missiles have targeted civilian targets.  Among the hardest hit locations have been the Soroka Hospital in Beersheva, the Rambam hospital in Haifa, a mosque (the Al-Jarina Mosque) in Haifa and several residential buildings in Ramat Gan, Bat Yam, Rishon L'Tzion, Nes Ziona and other places.  A large research facility was destroyed at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, much of which housed advanced cancer research facilities.  More than 25 Israelis have been killed, several hundred people have been injured (it may be over a thousand at this point) and more than 25,000 property damage claims have been filed by Israelis with the Israeli government.  (The Israeli government covers a significant amount of the property damage in these circumstances).  Unlike the Hamas-controlled hospitals in Gaza, the Israeli hospitals did not house any military bases, missiles or army equipment.  Iran's primary attacks have been against civilians.

On Saturday June 21, the Iranians began using additional types of missiles including missiles that they have purchased from North Korea - that can change directions and evade the U.S. THAAD systems and the Israeli anti-ballistic missile systems - at least some of the time.  Some of these missiles have included Iran's "Haj Qasem" missiles which are armed with cluster bombs and  massive warheads. At least two or three of these have landed in Israel and caused massive damage.  The deadliest missile used so far by Iran is the Hwasong 10 from North Korea - named the Khorramshahr by Iran.  This is apparently the missile that hit the Soroka Hospital last week. It carries more than 1,500 kilograms of explosives.

Although Israel has been defending against these missile attacks - with the help of the U.S., Jordan and other regional allies, some of these missiles  have still been getting through and causing quite a bit of  damage.  Israel has been attacking missile storage sites, launching  equipment and other targets, but it is quite likely that Iran still has significant capacity to  cause severe damage with various types of ballistic missiles.

Israel has an alert system in place and usually have 10-13 minutes to get to the nearest bomb shelter (or in-house "safe room") if the missiles are coming from Iran or Yemen, and less time if they are coming from Lebanon.  Since 1991, Israeli buildings are all built with at least one thick-walled concrete room per floor (or per unit) with a heavy metal door - than can withstand shrapnel, hits to other parts of the building and other types of attacks.  These safe rooms cannot withstand direct hits. But the vast  majority of Israelis who have been in safe rooms when their buildings have been hit - or when nearby buildings have been hit -  have suffered only minor injuries.

I should note that Iran has hit other targets, including an Oil Refinery in Haifa and some targets about which details have not been released or published.  Still it is apparent that the vast majority of targets have been civilian.

The U.S Entry

As you may know, according to many different world reports, only the U.S. has the type of bunker busting bombs that would be necessary to  destroy some of the Iranian nuclear facilities - including the Fordow nuclear plant which was 90 metres below ground in central Iran.  Fordow has or had more than 3,000 centrifuges and was being used to enrich uranium to near-bomb grade of close to 90% U-235.

President Trump said in a statement earlier today that the Fordow plant has been "obliterated."  I hope that he is right - but I am not sure that the U.S. has the full damage assessment yet.  Reports are that Iran has already produced approximately 500 kilograms of near weapons-grade uranium and the Iranians claim that this uranium was moved to a secret location before the U.S. attacks.

In my  view, it is more likely than not that this whole operation was jointly planned with the Israelis from the outset.  It seems unlikely to me that Israel would have embarked on an operation against Iran, on this scale, while knowing that it could not destroy the Fordow plant itself.  

President Trump was under intense pressure from different elements of his party. The "hawks," including Lindsay Graham and others were pushing Trump to "seize the moment" and help Israel destroy the nuclear plants.  In their view, it was a necessary step not only to protect Israel - but to protect the whole world - including, in particular, U.S interests in the region, from a nuclear armed Iran.  The evangelical wing, including ambassador Mike Huckabee, were pushing Trump to act because it was "God's will."  Weighed against this, Trump was  getting an earful from "isolationists" and anti-Israeli voices including Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon and Marjorie Green.  In the end, he sided, as we know with the hawks and evangelicals - and with the Israeli right.  To the extent that one might wonder about a particular angle by considering the voices who are advocating it - it seems that any rational decision maker - when faced with a unified position coming from Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon and Marjorie Green - might wish to decide exactly the opposite of whatever they are proposing.

In an interesting interview that I heard recently, a former Israel ambassador indicated that even the JOCPA (the nuclear deal with Iran that President Obama had signed) was only going to buy the world some additional time - and still would have permitted Iran to develop a nuclear weapon eventually. In other words, even those on Obama's team recognized that the JOCPA was a very flawed deal.  However, even through Trump ripped up the deal during his first term - Trump did not replace it with anything - nor did he attack Iran militarily.  So he left Iran sailing towards a nuclear bomb, at a much faster clip - and now had to deal with the consequences of that policy. Granted in the intervening period - President Biden took no  discernible action on this file. In short, there is enough blame to go around between Obama, Trump and Biden, but President Trump was now the one to take the courageous decision to destroy these plants (or at least try to).

What Now?

At this point, we are waiting to see how Iran will respond to the U.S. attacks.  Iran sent a barrage of missiles to Israel just hours after the U.S. attacks and some of them landed in Israel, causing significant civilian damage and  injuring many Israelis.

But Iran and its leadership have a choice to make at this point.  If they decide to "go all in" in a war with the U.S. - that is almost certainly going to end in disaster for this Iranian regime.  They have been weakened militarily by Israel's attacks since June 13, 2025 and, according to most reports, they do not seem to be in any position to take on the U.S. Army.  However, since at least some of the leadership are fanatic, suicidal and not necessarily realistic about their prospects, they may decide to go this route and hope that other countries join or assist them (Russia? North Korea? China? others). In my view, this would be a dangerous escalation but is really not likely to end well for Iran.  I would hope that someone will  deliver this prognosis to the Iranian Supreme Leader - but he may not be in any mood to hear it - or to listen to it.  This might draw President Trump and the U.S. into a  war to a greater extent than they had hoped, but I believe that it will be, primarily, a campaign of aerial and missile attacks. Hopefully, the Iranians will not be able to produce and deploy a nuclear weapon during the course of this fight.

A second option is for the Iranians to effectively "surrender" to the U.S. and agree to U.S. terms for a cease fire.  I believe that this is highly unlikely at this point.  It would result in the disintegration of the Iranian regime and it would be humiliating.  It is apparently not a consideration for the current Iranian leadership even if things continue to deteriorate.

A third option would be, what I would call - a hybrid.  It is possible, in my view, that Iran will attack some U.S. bases but to a limited extent - with relatively minimal damage.  This would allow Iran to claim (to the Iranian public and the world) that it had responded to the U.S. attack with "devastating results" and was now ready to negotiate.  If the U.S. were to decide that it could "live with" the damage caused - this might be a way out for both parties.  If the Iranians go too far and actually damage U.S. interests significantly - they will be met by a massive response from the U.S. Nevertheless, I think that this is the most realistic possibility for a quick end to the situation, provided that the Iranians are willing to end their nuclear program and agree to U.S. inspections as part of a deal.

One Israel-based commentator noted earlier today that the Iranians made exactly this type of "least worst" deal when ending the Iran-Iraq war.  They publicly characterized it as drinking a cup of poison to save the regime.  

If Iran does not find a way to negotiate a resolution, the continuation of the current war is likely to devastate Iran and bring about the downfall of the current regime.  The difficulty then becomes figuring out how Iran can govern itself without descending into a chaotic civil war or anarchy.

It is possible that other players will become involved and will threaten the use of nuclear weapons - and try to cause this conflict to spread.  I believe that the chances of this happening are relatively low since I do not believe that Russia or China want to go "all in" at this point - to hope a fanatical Iranian regime - despite the lip service that they might pay to that possibility.

Situation in Israel

As of last night, the Homefront Command in Israel announced the full emergency measures were in place.  No gatherings of more than 30 people, schools and universities closed - and most establishments closed other than those designated as "essential."

The airport was officially closed last night - however, it was reopened (partially today).

For Israelis looking to get back to Israel - and yes, many thousands are, some Israeli airlines have organized "rescue" flights. El Al, Arkia and Israir are asking people to sign up and are prioritizing them according to various factors including  any  humanitarian issues (need for medicine or medical treatment, family situation etc.,.)  In English, these flights are being called "repatriation flights" but in Hebrew the word is "chilutz" which means rescue.  

This means that I could agree to be "rescued" from Canada and  make my way back to Israel by flying from one of several destinations chosen by El Al - including Rome, Larnaca (Cyprus), Athens and some yet to be named U.S. cities - likely New York and Los Angeles.  However, this would, of course, be a one-way flight.  Given that I have certain work commitments in July, including some trials that I am running in Toronto, it would be risky to go back to Israel indefinitely at this time (irrespective of the potential physical danger, which I am less worried about). 

Some Israelis are coming back to Israel by boat. For example, I have some family members who are getting on a cruise ship from Cyprus and taking a 15 hour cruise back to Israel.   That actually sounds like fun - as long as the accompanying navy destroyer can protect the cruise ship from any  incoming missiles.  

It would probably seem surreal to be on a cruise ship, complete with its fine dining restaurants, gambling rooms, swimming pools and perhaps even some entertainment, while on the way back to Israel to face the uncertainty  of nightly missile attacks. 

For those looking to leave Israel, the options are limited.  I read that El Al would now be departing with a maximum of 50 passengers on a range of flights though I am not sure how easy it is to get a seat on these flights.  Some birthright groups and others left Israel on those same cruise ships - to Cyprus - and picked up flights from there  

The magnanimous and considerate Canadian  government has offered to provide a free bus ride for Canadians from Tel-Aviv to Amman.  From Amman, they are "on their own" though the Canadian government will try to help people find flights from Amman to other locations and eventually back to Canada.  I spoke to someone yesterday at Synagogue - who told me that their family member took one of these rides to Amman and has now been told that the next available flight out is July 3rd, 2025 - or about 11 days from now.  

My understanding is that Amman does not have the types of shelters that Israel does and his being hit with occasional pieces of missiles that have been shot down. As well, the Jordanian airport has been opening and closing depending on the situation.  Even though Jordanian falafel is apparently quite good, I would rather wait in Israel and take my chances in the Israeli shelters. But maybe that's just me...

In contrast to Canada, by the way, the U.S. has been organizing flights for U.S. citizens from Tel-Aviv to Athens.  Americans can register with the U.S. government and wait to be notified of an available flight. Beats a bus ride to Amman, in my view, even though the falafels at the Ben Gurion airport (if any of the food places are open) might not be as tasty as those in Amman. (Though in Israel they will be Kosher).

Religion

I couldn't finish this blog without mentioning at least 2 or 3 religious references.

For one thing, many observant Jews were convinced that the U.S. attack would take place this week to coincide with the dates in the  Biblical story of Purim on which King Achashverosh decreed that the Jewish of Shushan (modern day Iran) and surrounding areas could defend themselves with arms against those who were seeking to kill them.  Okay the date did not work out exactly as planned -  but considering that the operation was planned months ago  for  6-13 - this may well have been a consideration.

I am part of a social media group that discusses "leining issues" (issues relating to the reading of the weekly Torah portion. There was a whole discussion - about what happens if a forced synagogue closure causes a shul to skip the weekly Torah reading.  Does it do a double reading the next week?  Apparently, the halachic answer was that you read the entire previous week's portion as the first aliyah, combined with the first aliyah for that week.  That is a lot of Torah reading!  Everyone has their own priority list of issues to consider when dealing with ongoing missile barrages.  (Other Israelis are preoccupied with which items they need to keep in the safe room - in ready-to-go bags - in case the building is hit by a missile and  destroyed). 

Lastly - I note that Prime Minister Netanyahu found quite a healthy dose of religion over the past few days.  Just now, I heard him explaining that he wrapped himself in a Tallith, visited the Kotel and said "Shema Yisrael" just before authorizing the Israeli operation.  He said that he repeated this gestures in thanks yesterday after hearing from President Trump that the operation had been a success. This is fascinating coming from an avowedly secular Prime Minister.  Perhaps the more cynical among us might wonder if he is trying  to appeal to his Orthodox supporters to bolster his support -  but surely Prime Minister Netanyahu could not be that cynical...could he?  I leave that to you to determine.

Conclusion

We remain hopeful that our planned family wedding for September 4th will go ahead along with all of the other events including the aufruf, Hina and Shabbat dinner. Hopefully, there will be some kind of deal in place - with Iran and Hamas, the war will be over and the hostages will be back home.  And I hope that I will have been able to go back and forth at least once or twice between now and then.

There are many things that I have not covered  in this blog - just too much going on - so I will save some material for next time. In the meantime, I am hoping and praying for the safety of our Israeli armed forces in carrying out their operations, for the safety of Israeli civilians all over Israel (Jewish, Christian and Muslim - all of whom have been targeted by Iranian missiles), for the safe return of the  hostages and an end to the Gaza war  and for an end to this war that results in many years of peace in the Middle East. Shavua Tov.

Pre-Shavuot Update 2025

It is the weekend before Shavuot 2025 and I thought it was time to try and put together a blog covering a variety of things in no particular order.  There is much to write about - too much, in fact - and I have been very busy with remunerative work - so less time for the hobby of writing blogs. But I will try to cover a bunch of items and leave some for later.

1. The Hostages and the Gaza War

I should really start with the hostages.  There are still 58 Israelis being held by Hamas, of whom, it is believed that 20 are alive.  This week marked 600 days since the attack and massacre by Hamas on October 7, 2023.  While President Trump's designee, Steve Witkoff, has been making all sorts of efforts to strike a deal between Hamas and Israel, both sides seem reluctant to agree.  This week, there were some hints from all sides that a deal was imminent but this morning Hamas rejected the latest proposal from the U.S., after Israel tentatively agreed to it. The hostages are being held in brutal, inhumane conditions.  The more time that passes, the less likely it is that the remaining live hostages will survive.

The war is also taking a significant toll on the lives of Gazans - and for Israeli soldiers - both regular soldiers and reservists.  It does not appear that Hamas has any interest in a cease fire deal other than one that will leave it in power - ready to rebuild for another attack.  For Israel, there is little appetite for a deal that will leave Hamas in power in Gaza.  As several U.S. Senators said this week  - when fighting against a band of terrorists - the goal is the surrender of the terrorists - the same goal that the U.S. pursued when fighting Nazi Germany in World War II (and Japan as well).  

If Witkoff is not able to broker a deal, Israel may well expand its operations in Gaza in an effort to force a surrender.  This is a daunting task - especially since Israel is dealing with an enemy that would rather die than surrender (in many cases)  In short, this war may continue for quite a while.

2. World Pressure

As time goes on and a deal seems remote, the casualties in Gaza are continuing to mount.  France is now leading the charge to start pressuring Israel economically and politically - to end the war.  Some of the other protagonists include Spain, Great Britain and Canada.  France and  several other countries have pledged to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian State next week - though it is unclear what the defined boundaries or other parameters will be.   It would obviously be helpful  for these same countries to exert their influence to cause Hamas to release the hostages and push for the end  of the war - and to allow food and supplies to be transferred to the Gaza civilian population (Hamas has been confiscating food and  supplies for its own use up until this week - when a new mechanism was put into place to supply civilians directly with food). 

At the same time, the current Israeli government is isolating Israel more and more from the rest of the world and this could have significant  consequences for Israel in the short and long term. 

3. The Houthis and Iran

Israel is also fighting a war with the Yemen-based Houthis (who do not even share a border with Israel).  They are promoting themselves as the defenders of the Palestinians - which for them, means, firing ballistic rockets at Israel sporadically.  As  you may know, Trump reached a deal with the Houthis and agreed not to attack them in exchange for an undertaking by the Houthis not to attack U.S. ships.  So Israel has been left with the task of fighting the Houthis and defending against the barrages of Iranian-supplied ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis. 

Yesterday, we were in an elevator, in the middle of the day, when a missile siren went off, signifying that  there was an incoming ballistic missile, sent by the Houthis.  Fortunately, it was shot down. though we had to wait in a safe bomb shelter room for about 10 minutes. 

Just weeks ago, a Houthi missile got through the defence systems and landed near Ben-Gurion Airport.  That missile hit about 45 minutes after I took off from Israel en route to Athens.  As a result of that attack, most foreign airlines cancelled all of their air traffic to Tel-Aviv.  Some airlines have now restarted their service but many others have extended their suspensions of service.  For example, British Airways, Ryannair, Wizz Air and others all announced they would continue to suspend their service to Tel-Aviv.  I note that Air Canada, not long after the recent Canadian election (see my last blog) announced that it would not resume service before September 2025, which is one of the latest proposed dates from any airline that I have seen.

Israel's fight with the Houthis is, of course, a proxy fight with Iran.  As Trump is negotiating a new JOCPA with Iran, he seems to also be playing "good cop bad cop" with Iran and threatening to allow Israel to attack Iran and try to take out its nuclear program if a deal is not reached.  It may be that Trump's game is more "good cop" than "bad cop" as it seems likely that he will push Netanyahu not to attack at this point.  However, in the case of both Trump and Netanyahu, things are quite unpredictable.

4. Netanyahu

As you know, Prime Minister Netanyahu is in the midst of his criminal trial - which is coming to the most crucial part of the trial - next week - the cross examination of Netanyahu is set to begin as early as Tuesday or Wednesday next week. Despite all of his bravado, I find it hard to believe that Netanyahu is anxious to go through this cross-examination.  Much of his testimony in chief, as reported, was unbelievable and incredible.  I believe that the prosecutors are salivating at the opportunity to cross examine Bibi and I also  believe that he knows it will be very uncomfortable.  He may well pull out all of the stops to derail or postpone the cross-examination.  What could that include?  Just about anything.  A sudden illness (real or imaginary).  The break up of his current governing coalition.   The launching of a sudden attack on Iran.  Or even some kind of plea bargain deal.  I think it is likely that something big is going to happen this coming week - just in time to stave off this cross-examination.  This should be an incredibly pivotal week for Israel.

5.    Eurovision

As you might know, Israel finished 2nd in the annual Eurovision song contest last week that took place in Basel Switzerland.  This was a politically charged contest with some of the European countries pushing to expel Israel and prevent it from participating.  

The Israeli contestant was Yuval Raphael, a singer who had survived the Hamas massacres on October 7, 2023 by hiding under a pile of dead bodies and pretending to be dead herself. She faced demonstrations and boos from Pro-Palestinian/ Pro-Hamas agitators.  The panel of judges, representing each participating country, awarded Raphael/Israel a total of only 60 points (out of 32 scoring countries).  Only Azerbaijan awarded the first place award of 12 points to Israel.  Several countries gave Israel no points -  and most countries awarded very low point totals to Raphael/Israel.

However, the Eurovision contest also involves audience voting by country.  Here Israel finished in first place overall - which included winning the full 12 points from the audience in several countries including Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and others.  In fact, Israel came in 2nd place in Ireland, a country whose current policies have been among the most anti-Israel anywhere.  Israel also came in first place in the voting in Australia (which participates in Eurovision even though it is a bit far away from Europe) and Spain, two other countries whose leadership has been virulently ant-Israel. Overall, Raphael/Israel wound up finishing second in the contest, which was a really strong result.

Much of the music in any given Eurovision contest is quite awful - shlocky, poppy, minimally complex and often annoying.  But you can watch the Israeli entry - Raphael's powerful  "New Day Will Rise" and come to your own conclusions -  especially by comparing it to the winner, JJ and their song "Wasted Love" from Austria.  Last year's winner "The Code" by non-binary  and stridently anti-Israel performer Nemo from Switzerland - was also fairly  atrocious (in my humble opinion)

Israelis get really excited about this event and watch it in droves, even though so many of the performances are usually insufferable.  But Israel's participation the contest has become a political hot potato - especially with the increasingly large Arab/Muslim populations in so many European countries that are looking for any opportunity to delegitimize Israel.

6.    Flight Routes

As I touched on earlier, the options for getting back and forth from Israel are fairly limited.  For my most recent flight - I flew Air Canada to Athens and then El Al to Israel.  I had a long wait in Athens  - about 9 hours - so I decided to get a day room a the Sofitel Hotel - conveniently located rate across from the arrival doors at the airport.  Not exactly cheap but it offered some well needed rest.

So many airlines  have cancelled their flights - that it is really hard to predict who might be flying on any given day.  Only El Al has consistently flown back and forth - and taken full advantage of supply and demand - to charge record prices - and earn record profits.

It will be interesting to see what consumers do once this is all over.  On the one hand, El Al has charged exorbitant, outrageous, even usurious prices.  On the other hand, it is one of the only airlines that has continued to fly.  Some consumers may stay  away from El Al  when there are other options - as a response to the crazy pricing.  Others may appreciate that El Al has continued to serve the Israeli public - even at a high cost.  I have no idea what will happen - but, for now, El Al is continuing to fly and is earning record profits.

Of course I wish they were still flying back and forth direct from Toronto or  Montreal to Tel-Aviv - but they cancelled those flights well before the war broke out.

7. Nova Exhibition

While in Toronto recently, I attended at the Nova Exhibition, which will be in Toronto until June 22, 2025.  After that it is moving to Washington D.C. It will actually open in Washington on June 14, 2025.

The Exhibition is a huge installation of artifacts, videos, testimony from survivors and victims (collected from their cell phones in many cases) of the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacres at the Nova festival.  The Exhibition is quite powerful and well worth attending.  Allow about 2-3 hours if you go.

8. Sports News- Ice Hockey

As you probably know, there is one Canadian team  left in the  NHL playoffs this year.  The games will all be at 8 p.m., starting on Wednesday June 4th, 2025 - which means 3 a.m. Israel time.  In Israel, they are being  shown live on channel 59, which is better quality then my streaming services.

The Edmonton Oilers, of course, include the best player in the world, Connor McDavid.  McDavid is probably the most  exciting player I have ever seen play (and I have watched a lot of hockey).  But he still hasn't won the Stanley Cup.  Hopefully this will be his year.  One of his teammates is Zack Hyman, a player who attended CHAT (the Community Hebrew Academy of  Toronto).  Some people are hoping that if the Oilers win the Cup, Hyman will bring it to CHAT for a visit. Unfortunately, Hyman was injured in game 4 of the semi-finals against Dallas and required surgery.  Looks like he will be out for the rest of this year's playoffs but hopefully he can still come out on the ice and kiss the cup if the Oilers win.

Given the Jewish/Israeli theme of my blog - I also wanted to mention another Israeli/Jewish hockey player - Zeev Buium.  Born in San Diego, California, Buium, is the son of two Israeli parents.  He has dual citizenship and is apparently the first Israeli to play in the NHL - he plays for the Minnesota Wild and saw some action in the playoffs this year.  Buium played for Team USA in the World Hockey Championships this year.  He scored one goal and had three assists - and helped the USA win the gold medal for the first time since 1933 in the World Ice Hocky Championships.  (Canada flamed out with an embarrassing loss to Denmark, despite icing a roster that included Sid Crosby and Nathan McKinnon).

I'll try to watch as many of the Oilers' games as I can - hoping to see a Canadian team bring the cup back to Canada.  I did have tickets lined up for game 3 of the finals in Toronto if the Maple Leafs had been able to make it - but as you may know, they lost 4-3 in a 7 game series against the Florida Panthers.  Yet again, another disappointing year for Toronto.

9. Shavuot

The holiday of Shavuot beings on Sunday night.  This marks 50 days since Passover started -and commemorates the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people.  More recently, the holiday has been known for being the only Jewish holiday  where everyone eats dairy (and maybe has some fish).  I will be making some cheese blintzes on Sunday  -  I try to make them in a way that is as close as  possible to the way that my grandmother z"l used to make them.  I find the cheese blintz recipe on toryavey.com to be as close as it gets.

We were at the supermarket this morning and there was a huge run on cheeses and dairy products of every possible kind. It was very hard to find ricotta cheese for the filling.  We  also visited a wine store - and they were, not surprisingly, pushing white and  rose wines.   We picked up Rose wines by Gvaot and Tulip's White Franc - which looks like a Rose but is technically not.   We also bought some white wine from Castel (the La Vie en Rose line) and a Sauvignon Blanc from Psagot. We have to make some decisions about what to serve for an important upcoming Friday night dinner in August. We have already picked out the red wine that we will serve.

Shavuot can mark the start of some really  intense heat in Israel - and the predictions are that it will be very hot across the country tomorrow and  Sunday.  In Ra'anana, the current prediction is about 30c for tomorrow - while in Tiberias (T'veria) it will be a balmy 36c.  Apparently it will "cool down" by Monday but let's hope that the air conditioning  holds up.

That's about it for now.  It should be a very eventful week or two in Israel with all kinds of things going on.  I am hoping for the safe return of all of the remaining hostages and for some kind of deal or end to this war. Especially hoping for the safe return of all of our soldiers including some family members that are in Gaza and other areas.  Wishing everyone a happy and  healthy Shavuot.

 

Oct 7 Anniversary and Other thoughts

One Year Anniversary of October 7, 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lebanon and Iran

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Getting to Israel

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

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

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

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

Diversions

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rosh Hashanah and  Yom Kippur

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Israel Wrap Up Update 2023

Fallen Soldiers

Captain Shaul Greenglick z"l was killed this week in northern Gaza.  He was 26 years old.  He was an officer in the Nahal brigades, unit 931.  He was from Ra'anana.  Just a few weeks ago, he participated, in uniform, in Israel's reality singing contest "Kochav Nolad" ("A Star is Born") and passed into the next round. He impressed the panel of four judges with his rendition of a Hanan Ben Ari song, "Blind Bat."  After performing, he returned to Gaza to fight with his unit.  He was killed along with 26 year old Captain Shay Shamriz. In total, six soldiers were killed on Monday.  The IDF has just announced three more names of soldiers killed yesterday, including Eliezer Chitiz z"l, who was also from Ra'anana.   In total, 164 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the start of the ground operation in Gaza and a total of 498 soldiers have been killed since the start of the war on October 7, 2023.

Captain Greenglick's funeral was today in Ra'anana.  We joined thousands of Ra'anana residents to line the streets and wave Israeli flags as the military hearse drove by, escorted by several security vehicles.  I would think the same scene will take place again tomorrow in Ra'anana for the funeral of Eliezer Chitiz, who will also be laid to rest in the military cemetery in Ra'anana, which is two blocks away from our home.

Military Situation - State of the War

Israel is in a very dangerous phase of the war now.  The country's military forces are fighting actively (to different degrees) on seven different fronts.  One area of heavy fighting is in Gaza, where thousands of Israeli troops are fighting Hamas guerillas in many different locations.  The Israeli army has gone into the tunnel network in various locations and has been fighting in many different areas in northern and southern areas of Gaza.  Since the temporary cease fire deal ended, the casualty rate for Israeli soldiers has spiked dramatically.  I have not heard any reports to suggest that the fighting is close to a conclusion.

In the north, Israel is fighting on two fronts.  On the Lebanon border, from Israel's west coast to the point where Lebanon, Syria and Israel all meet, Israel is fighting a very active and very difficult war against Hezbollah.  Hezbollah is stationed right at Israel's border and has been launching anti-tank missiles against civilian and military targets, unmanned suicide drone attacks, weaponized, controlled drone attacks and other military and terrorist campaigns.  Israel has been defending against these attacks and launching its own counter-offensive measures on an ongoing basis.  Many Israeli soldiers have fallen in these northern battles.

In the northeast, Israel is fighting against Syria and Iraq, with Hezbollah and other Iranian backed military groups launching attacks from Syrian territory.  Israeli has responded to these attacks in many different ways, some  of which have been reported in the media - reaching as far as the Damascus area.

Israel is also fighting against Hamas-backed groups of terrorists in areas of Judea and Samaria (the "West Bank").  Some areas have seen particularly heavy fighting including Jenin and the Tulkarem area.

In the south, Israel has had to deal with proxy attacks from the Houthi rebels, an Iranian-sponsored military organization situated in Yemen that has vowed to attack any and all ships travelling through the Red Sea Strait en route to or from Israel.  The Houthis have fired several long-range, Iranian-supplied missiles at Eilat and other places in Israel.  To date, these missiles have been shot down by U.S. or Israeli defence forces using anti-missile systems.

The big "mastermind" behind all of this - and the main enemy is, of course, the Republic of Iran, which has armed, trained, sponsored and, largely, controlled all of these forces.  Iran is using Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and other groups as proxies to attack Israeli while, to date, avoiding any direct attacks on Israel.  As recently as yesterday, Iran threatened to begin direct attacks against Israel soon. Iran has, for several years, called for the destruction of Israel and is certainly the most hostile country in the region towards the State of  Israel.  Iran has also been the sponsor of virulent anti-Semitic propaganda including Holocaust denial and other poisonous forms of anti-Jewish bigotry.

To get to seven fronts, you can separate the Syrian forces from the Iraqi forces - though attacks and activity from these two groups are largely originating from the same place.

Now with that all in mind, calling for an "unconditional cease fire" is tantamount to calling for Israel to surrender to these various enemies, which Israel certainly will not do.  The Hamas leadership, in interviews since October 7, 2023, has stated that they plan to carry out the same types of attacks "over and over again" until "Israel is destroyed."  Iran has made similar threats. Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah started this war and they have not offered any proposals or concessions that would form the basis for a short or long term cease fire.

For now, the prospects of all of this ending any time soon seem bleak.  At this point, it seems unfathomable that Israel will conclude the war in Gaza without destroying the Hamas leadership or coming to a deal whereby the Hamas leadership leaves Gaza (like the Lebanon war deal in the 1980s in which Arafat and the PLO left Beirut and went to Tunisia).  Israel will also need to insist on a deal whereby Hezbollah moves back, several kilometres, from the Israeli-Lebanon border and the Israeli-Syrian border.  If there is no deal with Hezbollah, there may will be a full-blown war with Lebanon, that could start any time now.

As for Iran, I don't believe that Israel is about to launch a major attack on Iran, though there are certainly scenarios in which Iran could draw the U.S. into the conflict and provoke U.S. operations against Iran.  This does not seem too likely as of now, but the Middle East is quite unpredictable.

Israeli Appreciation towards Soldiers

One of our family members was home for a break from reserve duty in Gaza.  We went to grab breakfast before he had to return.  He was in uniform.  As we were sitting in the cafe, some Ra'anana residents came over to talk to him.  They thanked him for his service and insisted on paying for whatever he wanted to order (as well as anything his friend and fellow soldier ordered).  Of course we would have been happy to pay the bill but this was such a nice gesture.  It is something that happens all  over Israel wherever civilians see soldiers in uniform, especially these days.

Hostages

According to current reports, there are still about 133 hostages being held by Hamas who were taken into captivity on October 7, 2023.  Some were soldiers, some were residents of the various Kibbutzim and communities near Gaza that were attacked and some were concert-goers attending the Nova music festival. Some very young children are still in captivity, assuming they are alive.  No list has been provided by Hamas or the International Red Cross - or anyone else.  We really don't know how many of  these hostages are still alive, what condition they are in or where they are being held.  

Based on information we have received from released hostages, we know that the hostages were being held in very difficult conditions with very little food  and water provided each day.  Some of the women were separated out and kept in different areas.  There are reports (from the released hostages and others) about widespread sexual abuse.  Some of the other hostages were quite elderly, in their 80s, with various medical conditions.  

Israelis have been demonstrating in support of the families of these hostages and demanding that the government take all appropriate steps to return the hostages home.  But so far, there is no available deal on the table that would bring this about.  There are rumours of different negotiations taking place, brokered by Egypt, Qatar or others - but I have not heard any reports that a deal is close.

Civilian Deaths

Israel is obviously facing a difficult situation trying to extricate Hamas from Gaza while they have embedded their fighters in civilian populations and launched attacks from schools, mosques, hospitals and other crowded areas.  Even the Hamas leadership is apparently now using groups of hostages as human shields to avoid being killed or captured.

The Hamas Health Ministry has been reporting more than 20,000 Gazans as having been killed.  But there are a few things to remember.

First of all, the numbers are not verified and Hamas has notoriously exaggerated or fabricated numbers of casualties (remember the hospital incident early this year).  

Secondly, Hamas does not announce the numbers of fighters who are killed.  By Israel estimates, the numbers of Hamas fighters killed are 1/2 to 2/3 of the total number killed.  In other words - the actual Hamas numbers of total casualties my be anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 - we just don't know.

Of those, the number of Hamas fighters killed is between 8,000 and 12,000, according to different Israeli sources.

Suffice it to say that the civilian casualty numbers are therefore much lower than the numbers that are simply accepted and printed by publications and news media around the world.

This is not to say that anyone in Israel is happy to see high numbers of civilian casualties in Gaza.

But at the same time - we are dealing with an enemy that is trying to kill as many of us as possible- civilians and military personnel.  In that circumstance - Israelis feel that we are better off killing our enemies than being killed ourselves.  This is the same type of reaction that the Allies had when dealing with Germany - or Japan in World War II - or that any nation has when confronted with an armed conflict started by an enemy.

The Israeli army would rather protect the lives of as many Israelis (soldiers and civilians) as possible, even if that means that there are civilian casualties while fighting Hamas. That's unfortunate but it is a by-product of war.  Certainly the civilian casualties in Gaza or far lower than the casualty numbers in conflicts involving Russia, Syria or even the United States (see Afghanistan, Iraq or other places).

To call the Israeli war against Hamas a "genocide" is  nothing less than a morally vacuous blood libel.  Yet that is the language coming from Turkey, Iran, Hamas-sponsored university groups across the United States and Canada and other places.

Volunteers and Visitors

Amidst all of this, people are still visiting Israel, as difficult as it might be to get here (with El Al and Emirates being the only airlines that are currently flying to Israel).  One of our friends arrived last week and is volunteering with "Sar-El" a group that stations volunteers for two-week periods at army bases around Israel to help pack supplies, equipment, food and assist in other ways.  Another friend has been visiting and volunteering to pick fruit and vegetables at various sites around the country.  Israel normally relies on labour from Thailand, Judea and Samaria, some Gazans and other foreign workers for much of the seasonal agricultural work.  Very few workers from any of these places are available.  Farmers around the country have been begging Israelis and others to come help  out - sometimes on a paid basis and sometimes as volunteers.  Israelis and people from all over the world have been answering the call.

Many synagogues from across  North America and other places have been bringing "missions" to Israel.  A group from the Park Avenue Synagogue in New York came earlier this month.  In mid-January, a group will be visiting Israel from Beth Tikvah Synagogue in Toronto.  Just today, some friends told us that they will be arriving in mid-January for a 10 day trip - including some time volunteering in different places.

In short, there are lots of volunteer opportunities and I think Israelis are very grateful for the help - both from non-Israelis - who have shown up to volunteer - and from Israelis - many of whom are volunteering in different ways.

Of course, many other tours have been cancelled - including the various birthright groups. Some friends who were planning to come cancelled - and others postponed their trips. I think the short term future of tourism to Israel is very much up in the air - like so many other things for Israelis now including academic programs, social events, work and so many other parts of a normal routine. So many of our young people are cancelling all of these events to serve in life and death missions in Gaza, Israel's north, or wherever else they might be stationed.

Getting Here

As I mentioned above, only El Al and Emirates (as well as the Emirates subsidiary "Fly Dubai") are flying to Tel-Aviv now.  El Al is flying to several cities in the U.S. - so if you are flying from New York, Boston, Chicago, Miami or some other cities - and don't mind flying El Al - there are still available flights.

In my case, as I have written in different articles in the past, I tend to stick with Star Alliance airlines,  flying  Air Canada as often as I can.  So I have been joining Air Canada flights with El Al flights.  They don't have a baggage sharing arrangement - so I have had to collect my bags, go through immigration and then re-check-in to drop off my bag.  It is very cumbersome.  If you are doing this, you need to allow about four hours for a transfer.

For my flight back to Toronto, I flew through Amsterdam without a checked bag.  This was much better than flying with a bag since I did not have to go through immigration, security or anything else.  I was just able to make my way over to the Air Canada gate with lots of time to spare and even managed to spend time in the lounge in Amsterdam (which was nothing exciting).

On my way back to Israel, I flew Air Canada to London.  That part of the flight was fine.  I then had to collect my bags and walk quite a long distance to the subway system to take a train to terminal 4.  This took quite a while and was a bit of a pain since I had a suitcase with me - along with a carry on bag and a knapsack.  There were lots of escalators, moving walkways, corridors and other parts to this journey - which took close to an hour in total.

Once I arrived at terminal 4 - things were fine - though the El Al gate was not even open yet.  So I wound up sitting around in a coffee bar waiting for the El Al desk to open.

Overall, it was certainly better than Amsterdam but it was not fun. At least the immigration line was efficient.

I haven't found the ideal arrangement yet though I will have to go back to Toronto in mid-January.  My current plan is to travel again through Rome.  (El Al to Rome and then Air Canada to Toronto).

Although some airlines have announced a resumption of service to Israel, scheduled for mid-January, I don't believe that these flights will begin again until there is a cease fire of some sort. I guess we will have to see.

Entertainment

Throughout all of this, Israeli TV has continued to broadcast episodes of "Eretz Nehederet" ("It's a Wonderful Country") which is the closest thing Israel has to Saturday Night Live. The show is replete with satirical sketches involving impersonators of many of Israel's political leaders and other public figures.  Eretz Nehederet has aired some sketches in English poking fun at the BBC's coverage of the war, the U.S. college campus situation and other world events.  Much of the humour is very dark - but they are trying to bring a bit of levity to a very difficult situation.  The skits are hit or miss.  Some are extremely funny, some not so much.  Isn't that the case with any satirical show?

Last week's show included an impersonation of Tzvi Yehezkeli - an Israeli commentator who is fluent in Arabic and has been on Israeli TV continuously, providing interpretations of Arabic news releases and statements.  The Eretz Nehederet version was quite spot-on, making fun of Yehezkeli's  explanation of Arabic phrases and idioms.  At one point - the impersonator provided a sentence in Arabic - and then offered the translation - "The world is like a cucumber....one day you are holding it in your hand - and the next day it is stuck up your butt."  I'm not here to interpret these things - I am just passing on what I heard (and laughed at, I have to say).

Last  night, Eretz Nehederet aired a very serious sketch involving a traumatized soldier showing up to watch his family arguing about politics as usual. This one was tear-inducing and difficult to watch. The skit was done with an overlay of the song "Kama Tov She'bata Habayta" - ("How great it is that you have come home") - sung originally in 1971 by the late Israeli singer Arik Einstein. The song was originally written as a group effort by Yankele Rotblitt, Shalom Hanoch and Itzkhak Klapter.  The original version was written welcoming someone back after returning from a long trip abroad. Eretz Nehederet changed the words somewhat. Not sure if there is a translation available yet - but if your Hebrew is up to it - and the link works wherever you are - you can use the link above to watch it. Even without the Hebrew translation, you can probably get the mood from the sombre tone and the scene itself.

The other Israeli show that has been airing twice a week is "Zehu Zeh"  ("That's that") which is also a satirical show but a very different format. I think I have written about it in the past. They have also been airing skits making fun of the Houthis - implying that they are launching rockets at Israel from Yemen because they are bored. Zehu Zeh usually features two songs each episode, one with a guest singer.  Over the past few weeks - many different guests have appeared including Eidan Reichel, Chava Alberstein, and others.  The music has generally been excellent.  The comedy sketches - hit or miss.

Israeli singers have continued to travel the country performing for soldiers all over - whether in bases near Gaza, Gaza itself - or in different places in the north.  Some stand-up comedians have also been entertaining soldiers.  As you might have seen, Jerry Seinfeld showed up in Israel last week as a gesture of support - though I am not sure that he entertained troops anywhere.

December Holidays in Israeli

As you might know, Christmas is largely a non-event in Israel, outside of pockets of Christian communities.  It is a regular workday, everything is open.  It is quite something to see - for someone who is used to being bombarded with Christmas music in restaurants, shopping malls and everywhere else for two months before the holiday in Canada.

I have nothing against people celebrating Christmas - I wish all of my friends the very best in enjoying their celebrations. And if I am in Toronto and invited to a party or a dinner, I am certainly happy to join them.

At the same time, it is a season where, when I am in Toronto, I am constantly reminded how I differ from everyone else - how I stick out as a minority - and how I don't belong.  

Even though Israel is a majority Jewish state, the malls are not generally decorated with any particular holiday's decorations - and there is no time of the year where Jewish holiday-themed music is on the radio 24/7.  On the actual holidays, everything is closed. But it seems to me it would be a lot less "in your face" than the way Christmas is celebrated in North America - even though Canada is not supposed to be a "religious" country by definition.

In Toronto this year, the local Second Cup starting playing Christmas music right after Canadian Thanksgiving ended (in October). I would have thought that even people who celebrate Christmas would be happy with two to three weeks of Christmas music at most.  But maybe I'm wrong.

Anti-Semitism Around the World

One of the major effects of this war has been a massive ramp up in anti-Semitism around the world.  The U.S. Ivy League schools (many of which receive huge donations from Qatar) have been at the forefront of anti-Israel demonstrations - many of which have blended into anti-Jewish hatefests.  

In Canada, the universities have not been much better.  Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson) has been the source of some of the most vitriolic anti-Israel - and anti-Jewish hate speech.  York University has not been far behind. University of Toronto's "Varsity" publication has been spewing repugnant disinformation. CUPE (the Canadian Union of Public Employees) has a leader who "rejoiced" the day after the October 7th massacres and has engaged in an outrageous smear campaign against Israel.

Through all of this, Canada's Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, was the proud recipient of thank you video put out by one of the Hamas leaders - obviously an ignominious and dubious honour.  I think that Australia and New Zealand also received this fine mention from Hamas - and perhaps Ireland as well.

There have also been demonstrations across Europe and around the world, chanting "from the River to the Sea..." which is a call for the destruction of Israel. As a result, there is quite a feeling of isolation here right now. Israel seems to have very few real friends - the United States, Germany - and some days Britain  Maybe a handful of others.

Interestingly, there was a poll published last week in Israel - in which Israelis were asked "who is a better friend of Israel - Trump or Biden?" Far more Israelis went with Biden - which was a new phenomenon for Israelis, many of whom had viewed Trump as one of the best U.S. Presidents that Israel ever had as a friend in the White House.

But really - aside from all of this - for those European Countries that are wavering, and others, the situation is not that complicated.  You have on the one hand an axis of Russia, Hamas, Turkey, Qatar, Hezbollah, Iran and a handful of others. On the other hand - Israel, the U.S., Germany, Great Britain and some others.  I don't even think one needs to say more than that. For the countries supporting the Hamas-Qatar-Iran group - unfortunately, they will probably wind up next on the list soon enough.  And frankly, this is probably a very real warning to Trudeau and his government who want to bring hundreds of thousands of Hamas sympathizers to Canada. All I can do here is quote President Biden - "Don't!....just don't!..."

And I think that is about it for now.  I wish everyone a happy and healthy 2024 and hope that it will be a much more peaceful year.  Best regards from Israel.

War in Israel - Day 16 - Update

We are in day 16 of war and there are no signs that we are anywhere near any kind of cease-fire.  On the contrary, there are significant signs that this war will expand very soon.  It is evident that Israel is fighting a war against Iran, to this point, against Iran's proxies - Hamas, Hezbollah, Syrian-based fighters and now, the Houthis, in Yemen.  Many different articles, including articles in Reuters and other places (often pro-Hamas) have quoted Iranian sources as all but admitting that Iran is pulling the strings and controlling the extent to which Hezbollah, the Houthis, and others, will be involved.  

Iran has stated many times, for years, that it would like to destroy Israel and plans to so. To that end, it has armed Hamas, Hezbollah and other forces, and worked on developing nuclear weapons, with the primary intention of carrying out attacks against Israel.  If Iran views this war as the opportunity it has been waiting for, it may join the war directly. That would almost certainly mean fighting directly against the U.S. On the optimistic side, it is far from clear at this point that Iran is ready for or interested in that entanglement.

With that opening, I would like to cover a few different areas in the limited scope of this blog. Call it news or items that jump out at me since I could not possibly write this as a comprehensive blog. Even in non-war times, the task would be Herculean.  In times of war it would be impossible.

Fall Out from October 7 - Simchat Torah Massacre 

As of now, the Israeli government reports that Hamas and its allies are holding 212 hostages in Gaza - the majority of whom are civilians including young children, senior citizens, men and women of all ages.  Some soldiers are also being held captive.  More than 1,300 Israelis were killed in the attacks on October 7, the vast majority of whom were civilians.  More than 3,000 were injured. More than 300 are still in the hospital and at least 50 of those are in serious or critical condition.

Since October 7, extensive information has emerged about what took place, about Hamas'  preparations, plans, weaponry and goals. The details are often too gruesome to recount. Victims were burned alive, often tied together with wires before being set on fire. Some of the bodies have not yet been identified. Infants were murdered and in many cases decapitated. Whole families were tortured and then murdered. Civilians of all different ages were murdered in horrendous fashion.

Investigators found Hamas instruction booklets carried by many of the terrorists with detailed plans.  The plans specifically noted where the schools, nurseries and  synagogues were with instructions for  murdering everyone in those places. These Hamas terrorists also brought with them extra blood supplies, food provisions, medicines and sufficient provisions to last for one to two months. They also brought large quantities of captogen (fenethylline), a psychostimulant, which is mainly produced in Syria, a drug that was also used by members of ISIS. The plans that Hamas terrorists were carrying included instructions for massacring civilians in Ashqelon and Kiryat Gat.

This mass terrorist attack has devasted most of the Israeli communities that were situated near the Gaza strip. Whole neighbourhoods were destroyed, the homes were burned down, everything nearby was set aflame or destroyed. The survivors have been placed in hotels in different places in Israel - or with other communities or Israelis in different places. Israelis across the country have organized groups to help with supplies, fundraising, food and every other possible type of help.  

Israel's Reaction So Far

How is a country to react to this type of attack? Since Israel disengaged from Gaza in 2005, Gaza has been controlled and run by Hamas, a terrorist organization, which acts as the Gaza government. Hamas has dedicated itself to building up weaponry, tunnels, military forces and it has repeatedly called for Israel's destruction. It has fostered hatred of Jews in its schools, training camps and throughout the Gaza strip. This is our neighbour.

Israel has fought several wars with Gaza during which Gaza has launched rocket attacks at civilian targets across Israel and targeted Israeli civilians in every way possible. On each occasion, world leaders have called for "restraint" and "proportionality" while Israel has tried to get to the source of these attacks by going after Hamas and Islamic Jihad forces - while trying to minimize civilian casualties. That is a challenging task since Hamas sets up its headquarters and its munitions depots in densely populated centres including schools, mosques, hospitals and underground beneath residential areas.

But the scope of this 2023 attack is on an entirely different scale. More than 1,400 people killed in an  attack in Israel is an unimaginable number. On a per-capita basis, this would be the equivalent of an attack on the U.S. from a neighbouring country that killed more than 40,000 people (in gruesome  ways) in several different cities - and injured more than 90,000.   

It is also worth noting that at the time Hamas carried out these attacks on Israeli communities, it announced that it was "declaring war" on Israel. Contrary to some reports you may have read, Israel did not just go ahead and launch a war on Hamas. Rather, it responded to Hamas.

When a country is faced with a murderous, terrorist regime next door, that carries out these types of attacks, it should be fairly evident that there are few alternatives. Israel has no alternative now but to fight to destroy and overthrow the Hamas regime, much in the same way the Allies had to rid the world of the murderous Nazi regime or the Japanese leadership during World War II. Israel will target the entire Hamas leadership, its military infrastructure, its tunnel systems and its military arsenals. I think it is unlikely that this war will end until the vast majority of this has all been destroyed. Anything short will leave Israel fighting these wars over and over and over, every two or three years.

What are the alternatives?  Around the world, some Hamas allies, supporters and other apologists are calling  for an immediate "cease fire."  What would that mean?  It would pretty much be a surrender for  Israel and would allow Hamas to rebuild its arsenal and prepare for the next attack. This is not happening. Israel cannot function with this type of regime continuing to threaten and carry out attacks repeatedly.

Political  Solution?  There isn't really one at this time. Although many Israelis are hoping that it will be possible to reach a political deal with the Palestinians, especially those currently living in Judea and  Samaria (the "West Bank"), there is no possibility of reaching a deal with a terrorist group like Hamas, dedicated to destroying Israel. Ultimately, the regime will need to be replaced with some other form of government, with careful controls to keep the area demilitarized - and a build up of economic infrastructure and opportunity, rather than military infrastructure. Alternatives might include another Palestinian leadership, some type of international coalition or some other arrangements. If the Palestinian people in Gaza are able to install a government that is focused on economic, health care, infrastructure and other initiatives, rather then on destroying Israel, there may be a chance for future, peaceful co-existence.

Since 2005, Israel and Egypt have both controlled different parts of the border to Gaza. Palestinian advocates are constantly arguing that Israel should "open its borders" and let Gazans into Israel to work, travel etc., But look at what happened now. For one thing, Hamas has spent years building up weaponry, rockets, all kinds of military equipment, while planning its attacks. Nothing about what Hamas has done since 2005, and especially in these attacks, provides any reason for Israel to open or ease its border with Gaza.

There were many workers from Gaza with permits to work in Israel, who were crossing into Israel to work regularly. We now know that many of these workers were cooperating with Hamas - taking pictures, providing information about military bases, security arrangements in communities and detailed drawings and plans of places in Israel. Much of this information was used by Hamas in its attacks. I do not see a situation in the near future where Gaza residents will be crossing into Israel, for any reason after this war ends. If one of the supposed "reasons" for this Hamas massacre was to "open the gates," this type of terrorism will certainly set back any discussion of looser borders.

Other Conflict Areas

As I mentioned above, it is quite clear that much of the current anti-Israeli activity is being controlled by the Iranian regime, which is the primary sponsor of Hamas. Iran also sponsors, equips, trains and controls the Hezbollah regime, which is the largest non-state military actor in the region and which controls Lebanon.

Since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, Hezbollah has been making all kinds of threats against Israel. As well, Hezbollah has been launching increasingly severe attacks against Israel from the north.  They have launched rockets, drones, anti-tank missiles and artillery fire at Israel, killing several  Israelis and wounding many others. Israel has responded with attacks that have killed several Hezbollah fighters and that have corresponded to the intensity of the Hezbollah attacks.  

There is a growing sense that Israel will soon be embroiled in a full scale war with Lebanon. Israel has ordered the evacuation of many of its northern cities, including Metullah. The U.S. has moved two aircraft carriers to the region. Canada has announced an evacuation of its citizens from Lebanon. Israel has called up a massive number of reserve soldiers and has an enormous number of troops ready to fight on its northern border. It is all up to the leaders in Iran - to give the signal to Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary General of Hezbollah - to launch a full scale war. The U.S. has, thus far, indicated that it will not put "boots on the ground" in Lebanon - but it may well be that aircraft from the U.S.S. Gerald Ford or the U.S.S. Eisenhower would become involved if Israel were to be attacked by Lebanon.

It seems unlikely that Israel will launch a pre-emptive strike on Hezbollah, even though some Israeli military leaders now believe that would be better for Israel than waiting to be attacked. But President Biden seems to be urging Israel to refrain, with the hope that Hezbollah may ultimately choose to stay out of the conflict. It is really hard to predict at this point. But if Hezbollah goes all in for a full military conflict with Israel, that may well spread to include Iran and the U.S.

Iran also has armed forces in north eastern Syria that have been arriving from Iraq. Israel has already launched some defensive actions against some of these forces as they progress towards Israel.

On Thursday night - the Iranian backed Houthis, a Yemenite group, loyal to Iran, launched several drones at Israel, destined for Eilat. These attacks were reportedly thwarted by the U.S. navy - but we  now have an indication that another Iranian proxy, the Yemenite Houthis, want to become involved as well. I don't think they were really on Israel's radar - and the Houthis have had enough problems fighting their own civil war in Yemen. But here we are, adding in another possible party to the conflict.  As a breaking news addition to this update, just before I complete it, the Houthis have just announced that if Israel begins a ground incursion into Gaza, the Houthis will launch an all out attack on all Israeli ships in the Red Sea. I would imagine that Israel and/or the U.S. would strike the Houthis very hard if they carry out these threats.

Overall, it is quite evident that Israel is now fighting a broad, regional war, sponsored by Iran and its proxies, which has become more of an existential threat than what I might have previously described as a more localized but large-scale Hamas terrorist attack. The war is still simmering in some places but it may boil over soon and the scale of this war may be unfathomable. 

The World

This past week, leaders from around the world visited Israel, including President Biden, French President Macron, British Prime Minister Sunak, German Chancellor Scholz. For the most part, these leaders were sympathetic to Israel, aware of the situation - and at the same time, trying to do whatever they can to limit the spread of the war and to minimize civilian casualties. Israelis were particularly comforted impressed by President Biden who showed extraordinary leadership. He sent two aircraft carriers to the region immediately. He visited Israel during war time, in dangerous conditions. He met with families of hostages and with Israelis who acted heroically to save others. Further, President Biden delivered three speeches, two of which were exceptional (the two speeches he gave in Israel). 

As a side note, President Biden's second speech in Israel included a mini "dvar-Torah" - a Bible-related discussion - during which he spoke about the holiday that the Jewish people were celebrating the day of the Hamas massacre. He mentioned the tremendous loss that the Jewish people faced when Moses died at the end of the last book of the Torah. The President spoke about how the holiday marks a point in the year where the Jewish people conclude the annual reading of the Torah, by reading the final chapter, with all of its sadness, and then somehow move on to a new beginning, by starting the reading of the Torah over again, right away. I thought was very well done, whether it was written by the President himself, one of his speech writers or hired rabbi somewhere.   

All of this support and empathy stands in enormous contrast to the U.S. stance 50 years ago, during the Yom Kippur  War, in which President Nixon and Secretary of State Kissinger were reluctant to support Israel in any way at the war's outset.  The U.S. initially turned down Israel's requests even though the U.S.S.R. was providing airlifts of military equipment to Egypt and Syria, the countries that had launched the 1973 war. President Biden still has to deal with some  in his party who would prefer a less "pro-Israel" stance but for now, in my view, just as he has done in the case of the Ukraine, President Biden has shown some real leadership. 

The Press

The war is just over two weeks old but we have already seen some examples of outrageous reporting.  The New York Times reported on an alleged Israeli attack on a Palestinian hospital just minutes after it  occurred, promptly blaming the Israelis and claiming that Israel had killed more than 500 civilians. As we now know, the attack was from an Islamic Jihad missile, aimed at Israel, that misfired. This has been verified by U.S., French, British, Israeli and even Canadian intelligence (the Canadians took the  longest time to confirm). The rocket landed in the hospital parking lot and killed less than 50 people.  So it wasn't Israel targeting a hospital, it wasn't an airstrike and the rocket, sent by the Islamic Jihad, killed less than 50 people and not 500. How does the New York Times get something like this so wrong?  And how do they repair the damage they caused? The NYT headlines and those of media outlets around the world led to Arab demonstrations around the world, in Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and other countries. We should expect more from the New York Times and other media outlets. Is it too much to ask for the truth?

The CBC in Canada continues to avoid calling Hamas members terrorists. Instead we get "fighters," "gunmen" or "militants." Surely those are the right labels for these types of attacks including burning people alive, rapes, hostage taking, beheadings, torture and other atrocities. Even though the UK lists  Hamas, officially, as a "terrorist organization," the BBC has, to date, refused to call Hamas members "terrorists," preferring "Hamas Fighters" and other labels. Needless to say, all of this is shameful.

There are a great many other points to cover over worldwide media issues, but I will leave this for another blog.  I would just say, for one, I have seen and read some outstanding speeches and articles over the past few weeks that have made the case for Israel very well, including some talks by Michal Cotler-Wunsh, Rabbi Cosgrove of the Park Avenue Synagogue and many others.  

I have also read about the backfire against the Harvard students who are upset that they have been "doxxed" and "outed" for making statements supportive of Hamas after its brutal attacks.  They claim  "freedom of speech."  But I really don't think that freedom of speech means anonymously supporting terrorist attacks and remaining free of any accountability or consequences. If these people were lauding other terrorist attacks (like 9/11) or promoting attacks against blacks, women, other minorities, etc., they would almost certainly be sanctioned, in some cases, dismissed from their jobs or they would face other consequences. Anyone who has any justification to offer for these obscene and outrageous crimes against civilians obviously has other motives.  

Other

Most international airlines have suspended their service to Israel, though El Al and a handful of other airlines continue to fly.  I was scheduled to fly to Canada this week but all Air Canada flights have been suspended at least until October 31, 2023. Looks like I will have to fly El Al to leave the country in early November (and change somewhere in Europe or the U.S.) to attend to different matters that require me to be in Canada. Will have to see what things look like at that point in time.

We supplied about 160 soldiers (one of whom was a family member) with Jachnun for Shabbat along with the usual accompaniments - hard boiled  eggs, grated tomato sauce, hot sauce etc.,  The soldiers  were thrilled.  They have food and are not short of supplies. But they are always happy to get something special, especially for Shabbat. Israel is a small country and the distances are manageable, so many parents make food deliveries to bases where there children are stationed - when that is possible. I won't give a detailed description of "Jachnun" other than to say that it is originally a Yemenite Jewish food, eaten on Shabbat, that has become a Shabbat morning delicacy for Israelis everywhere over the years.

Our drive to meet up with the soldiers was a bit nail-biting, even though it was uneventful, thankfully.

For now, Ra'anana has been relatively quiet. We have had several sirens go off, which require us to go to the "secured room" - a form of bomb shelter.  But I'm not aware of anything landing in Ra'anana so far. If Hezbollah joins the war, things may be very different.

Many businesses are still open around Israel but this war is very different from anything I have seen here since my first time coming to Israel in 1982. There is a real concern that this has been, and will be, one of the most difficult wars that Israel has fought. We are mourning for the more than 1400 victims of this Hamas massacre. Some of the bodies have not yet been identified and many funerals have not yet taken place. We are hoping and praying for the safety and well being of our soldiers and civilians, for the return of all of the hostages and for the full recovery of all those of who have been injured. We also hope for a speedy victory over Hamas with the lowest possible number of civilian casualties among Israelis and innocent Palestinians and a real opportunity to change the reality in this region when this is all over. I cannot say that I am too optimistic at this point but we have no alternative but to hope for the best.