Showing posts with label Israel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Israel. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 27, 2023

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.






Sunday, October 22, 2023

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.





Wednesday, September 27, 2023

After Yom Kippur 2023 - 5784

Shana Tova and "almost Chag Sameach."  Yom Kippur has come and gone and we are now gearing up for the holiday of Sukkot, which starts on Friday night. I didn't get a chance to write a blog before Yom Kippur - and much has happened since then - so I thought I would put this together and  cover  off a variety  of topics.

Yom Kippur in Israel

I suppose we are not supposed to think of Yom Kippur as a "fun" holiday - after all how much fun can it be to  fast (no food or water) for 26 hours while spending 7-8 hours in Synagogue (even more  for  some), much of that standing up?  But Yom Kippur is really a special day - wherever we might be observing it - and all the more so here in Israel.  Here in Israel, pretty much all traffic stops  across the country, other than emergency vehicles and  some non-conformists (it is not "illegal" to  drive).   The airports are closed - and just about everything else is closed.

For the past  15 years or so, we have been participating  in a small community service.  It has been held, at different times, at different people's homes, at a shul we have rented out (that shul itself rents out a school gym because it has too many people to fit in its building).  Usually it is a five or ten minute walk from our place in Ra'anana.  This year, that meant spending  about 10 minutes each way 6 times, in 31-34c heat - with high humidity.  As we were walking through the streets, we passed by many different people on their way to shul, many dressed all in white, from head to toe.  Very few actually wearing suits, which is a good thing in light of the heat.  

Of course we also saw  hundreds of kids with their bicycles, some  accompanied by parents or other adults, many on their own, taking advantage of the car-free streets to ride around the city - or even to go and ride on empty highways.  For those who are observing Yom Kippur in a religious way and  for those  who "observe" in a non-religious way -  it is a special day for all.

For Israel, our service is somewhat unique.   Although we cover most of the traditional  liturgy, including the Torah readings, haftarah readings and different prayer services, using traditional tunes ("nusach") our service is a fully egalitarian, Conservative ("Masorti") service.  While egalitarian is the norm in most Conservative and Reform congregations in the U.S. and Canada, it only represents a small minority of  the shul-going public in Israel.  Here the vast majority of synagogues follow Orthodox traditions and are decidedly non-egalitarian.

With the higher than normal heat, an outdoor service - and the fact that I was the one leading Kol Nidrei and Neilah this year - as well as as assisting with the morning services,  I have to say that I was a bit thirstier than usual this year.  But we made it through, I was able to get a reasonably decent sound from our Shofar at the end - and we enjoyed a tasty community break-fast with our fellow congregants.

As we were walking home, we could already hear the sounds of clanging metal bars as people were starting to assemble their Sukkot -  temporary booths for the festival of Sukkot which starts only four days after Yom Kippur.

Now on a side note - even though I should have been all "shul-ed out" by this point - I decided to turn on the Park Avenue Synagogue stream and watch the PAS Neilah service.  (Sorry to my Toronto Beth Tikvah community...).  That was about 12:30 a.m.  at night here - well after the holy day had ended in Israel.  Although musical instruments in a shul are not necessarily my thing (I don't really know of many, if any other conservative shuls that use them other than PAS), I have to say that it is a real pleasure to watch Hazan Azi Schwartz.  It was really a musical treat.

In addition, Rabbi Cosgrove ran a flawless service.  I was particularly moved by his near closing discussion of the Unetaneh Tokef prayer, which forms part of the Musaf service in the morning of  Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah.   Unetanah Tokef is the "centrepiece" of the Yom Kippur Musaf service -  and, among other things, the source for Leonard Cohen's "who by fire."  In very short - I think you could probably still watch the service on the PAS site if interested - Cosgrove - explained that the final lines of the prayer "Prayer, Repentance and  Acts of Charity can cancel the harshness of the decree" is intended to mean that by doing great things with the time we have in this world - we can lessen the harshness of the reality that  our time is limited and there is a great deal of uncertainty - even if we can't change those facts themselves.  I hope that does some justice to Rabbi Cosgrove - but I thought it was really a wonderful and meaningful discussion near the very end of Yom Kippur.

Some Current Events

As  usual, there is a great deal going on here in Israel, and I will just comment on a few things.

Tel Aviv Yom Kippur Incident

I could write a whole blog about this one but here is my very short version.  A group called "Rosh Yehudi" - the Jewish Head (Probably taken from a Yiddishe Kop ) - announced that it wanted to run an Orthodox prayer service in Dizengoff Square.  The Tel-Aviv City council authorized the service provided that there was no mehitzah put up - i.e. that there was no physical barrier erected between men and women - which is a normal feature in an Orthodox shul.  The Tel Aviv City council noted that there are some 500 shuls in Tel-Aviv, mostly Orthodox and that the City Centre is a public place, open to all, without barriers.  Rosh Yehudi tried its luck in court and lost.  The court upheld the ban on erecting a mehitzah in a public square.  Well wouldn't you know it, Rosh Yehudi and its Rabbi (who has gotten himself  into all kinds of trouble with a torrent of homophobic comments) decided to show up and run the service with a mehitzah anyways, in Dizengoff Square - the heart of Tel-Aviv.  Many people in the square decided to sit wherever they pleased and disregard the mehitzah.  It turned chaotic and became a huge disruption.  TV and radio stations are discussing it around the clock.   And now Itamar Ben-Gvir, cabinet member from the Religious Zionist party (and current Minister of National Security in the Netanyahu government) has announced that he is going to bus in hundreds of worshippers and run a service with a mehitzah in Dizengoff Square  in defiance of the court order on Thursday night.  Even some of his coalition partners, including Simcha Rotman (who is fairly extreme himself) and Bezalel Smotrich (who is an off the charts fanatic) are calling Ben-Gvir's plan "provocative" and "unnecessary."  If Ben-Gvir goes ahead - things may get  completely crazy in Tel-Aviv on Thursday night.  Some Ben-Gvir supporters called "the Family" (as in the Mafia family) have announced they will come and  "participate."  Among other things, Ben-Gvir is really trying  to  ignite a religious war - there  is no other objective way to look at it.   **Breaking news update - Ben-Gvir or his spokespeople have announced that he has cancelled his proposed event for Thursday night.  I would imagine that for Ben-Gvir this amounts to a tactical delay rather than  any kind of change in policy.

US Visa Waiver Program

As you might know, Israelis have generally required visas to visit the U.S. unless they have another  passport that is part of the Visa Waiver Program.  It can be notoriously difficult for Israelis to get their U.S. visas and  can often take months if not years to set up appointments and get through the process.  Over the past few years, U.S. Ambassadors to Israel have been working with Israeli politicians including Bennett, Shaked, Lapid, and  now Netanyahu to get Israel into the VWP.  One challenge is that Israel would be  required to treat all Americans equally when they arrive in Israel - including Palestinian Americans living in the West Bank and in Gaza - even those who might be a security threat.  Nevertheless, Israeli officials announced this week - that the program will come into effect as early as October 2023 - and Israelis will no longer need visas to visit the U.S.  U.S. officials have called the announcement premature - but it looks like it is coming.  Maybe we  will now run into some  fellow  Israelis when  visiting New York City?

Israeli-Saudi Arabia Normalization

Prime Minister Netanyahu is on an all-out blitz campaign to try to bring about a  peace deal and "normalization" with Saudi Arabia - at as low a cost as possible.  Certainly, some Israelis have already been showing up in Saudi Arabia for events - and planes are flying over Saudi Arabia from Israel as we speak.  

We do not know all of the details of what is being negotiated.   But the Saudis have apparently been demanding  that Israel make significant concessions towards the  Palestinians and that the Saudis are able to develop a "peaceful" nuclear program.   Netanyahu's coalition partners  have stated quite clearly that they will oppose these concessions.  So Netanyahu is in a bit of a spot - as he tries to juggle U.S. pressure to agree to a deal with domestic pressure to get a deal without giving up anything.   I'm not convinced the deal will happen that quickly - but it would be a major foreign policy accomplishment for Netanyahu and for Biden.

Canada's Parliament Honours a Nazi War Criminal

Canada made the news around the world this week - especially in Israel (as well as Russia and Poland and other places) when the Canadian speaker of the house dredged up a Ukrainian war criminal (former member of the SS - volunteer Ukrainian brigade) and introduced him in the Parliament as a  "war hero" while President Zelensky was visiting from the Ukraine.    Quite sickening really - one would have thought somebody would do a background check. The truly sad part of the story is why Canada admitted so many war criminals after WWII and failed to prosecute them or extradite them.  Very embarrassing. And Sad.

Yom Kippur War Commemoration

As you may now, this year marked the 50th  Anniversary of the Yom Kippur war, in which Egypt and Syria launched a major surprise attack against Israel - causing massive casualties in the Israeli armed forces - and  leading Israel to fear for its existence, especially in the early days of  the war.  Only after several days of fighting, Israel managed to turn things around  in the Golan and in the Sinai.  By the end of the  war, Israel had a strong upper hand - even though the Americans and USSR stepped in and prevented Israel from inflicting serious damage to the Syrian and Egyptian armies.  Israel lost close to 2,700 soldiers in that war, its second highest total  number of  casualties - after the Israel War of Independence  in 1948.

Needless to say, there have been quite a large number of TV shows, movies, radio shows and other media discussing and analyzing different aspects of the war.  I watched one show on Monday night which was put together by Yehoram Gaon, a well  known Israeli singer.  It focused on musicians who spent the 1973 war entertaining troops near the front lines, not knowing whether the soldiers they were entertaining would ever return.  The show included footage of Canadian singer Leonard Cohen z"l, who flew to Israel when the war broke out and spent close to a month singing for soldiers during the war.  It also included footage and interviewers with a whose-who of the Israeli music industry - Gidi Gov, Shlomo Artzi, Chava Alberstein and many  others played prominent roles.   There have been many other shows - about Golda Meir and Moshe  Dayan,  about all of the losses that Israeli suffered, about the link between 1973 and the subsequent peace deal with Egypt and about many other topics.  Unfortunately, I am too busy to watch all of it - but there are some really interesting angles and discussions being presented.

Other Movies

Of course that was an intentional segue.  As you will recall if you read my last blog - I mentioned two of the "Jewish-themed" movies that were being released. I hadn't seen them at the time.

I had a chance to watch Golda late Saturday night - a day before Yom Kippur.   It is a very dark movie.  It is not a biopic about Golda.  Rather it only deals with  how she handled the Yom Kippur war in October 1973 - and how she responded to a commission of inquiry in Israel a year later.  Helen Mirren does an excellent job of bringing  Golda to life - which seemed to be quite an authentic portrayal.  

Many of the scenes show Golda Meir smoking - just about everywhere - in meetings,  in her bed, while speaking to doctors - or while receiving treatments for cancer.   There are many close ups as things seem to have been frozen in time at key parts - perhaps to emphasize the existential importance of some of the decisions Meir had to make.  I don't think it is fair to say that the movie dumps the blame for the war on Meir - certainly Moshe Dayan, and other army officials seem to have made some disastrous errors - the film suggests.  The movie also suggests that Meir laid the groundwork for a future peace deal with Sadat by insisting on recognition and face to face meetings to end the conflict.  Overall, I thought it was an interesting film, even though it has its flaws.

One criticism has been that there are scenes in the movie with background Arabic and Hebrew discussion and no sub-titles.  Maybe that will be corrected.  I understood the Hebrew but I can certainly see how that would be  frustrating.  Another criticism is that it is ultimately a war movie, but with little or  no war footage.  In any case, as a time-limited character study of Golda and how she handled a serious crisis, I thought the film did a good  job.

It would take quite a stretch to tie in this blog to the other recent movie I saw - Adam Sandler's "You are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah."  I am generally not a huge Adam  Sandler fan - and I have to admit I was tempted to turn this off after about  five minutes.  The target audience is probably 11 to 15 year old girls and I guess that is not quite my category.  But as they say, I wanted  to see what all the yichus was about - so I stuck it out and  watched the whole thing.

There are quite a number of cringey scenes, Sandler humour (often not in the best of taste - but maybe suited to 11 to 15 year-olds) - and lots of scenes of the stereotypical bar and bat mitzvah "spectacles" - of the type that one might find in some very wealthy communities particularly in the U.S.  I thought the crazy Israeli DJ - "DJ Shmuly" was a character that I have seen before at bar and bat mitzvahs while my kids were doing a version of the circuit in Toronto.  The Rabbi was also an interesting character - trying to find new and "hip" ways to appeal to the kids.   

I actually thought that the ending was fairly good, if predictable (I won't spoil anything) and the movie wound up being "not as bad as I thought it might be" at the start. Sandler himself was pretty good as a father and some of the other characters performed well.  I wouldn't really want people watching this movie as their only exposure to bar and bat mitzvahs and thinking that this is what it is all about - but the reality for many Jews  whether in North America or in Israel - is that many of these events are all  about the party.

Sports

Israel is aiming to make it into the FIFA 2024 Euro Soccer championships.  They have a reasonable  shot and play some huge games on October 12, 2023 vs  Switzerland and October 15, 2023 vs. Kosovo.  So still a few weeks to go - but these are some enormous soccer matches for Israel's national team.  

In other  interesting news, Israel has been chosen to host the World Under 19 Soccer Championship Finals in 2027.  That should be very exciting.

I have been staying up late this week watching the Blue  Jays try to secure  a spot in the MLB playoffs.  So you know where to find me at 3 a.m.  Israel time - at least for one or two more days.  Hard to watch those games here - without a proper streaming service, though I do have one that seems to work most of the time.

That's about it  for now - time to go and put up the new "downsized" sukkah - for a much smaller crowd this year.  Forecast in Israel is for some very hot weather until at least Monday or Tuesday and then some nice Sukkot rain - scheduled to start even before we say the annual "prayer for rain."   

Wishing  everyone  a joyous, fun Sukkot holiday and a Shana Tova!



Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Soccer Soccer Soccer - Israel in the U20 FIFA World Cup

Dor Turgeman - Israel U20 Team
Thursday June 8, 2023 is a huge, historic day in Israel sports history.  As you may have heard, Israel will be playing Uruguay in the Under 20 FIFA World Cup - in the Semi-Finals at 1:30 p .m. EST (8:30 p.m. Israeli time)  The winner will play either Italy or South Korea in the championship game on Sunday at 5 p.m. EST. (Midnight Israel time).  Israel has never been this close to a world championship.  Israel's Under 19 team wound up in a runner up spot in the European tournament two years ago - but that was only Europe - this is the whole world.

Israeli national soccer teams face some exceptional hurdles in world tournaments.  The  Arab countries (and some  other Muslim countries) refuse to play against Israel and FIFA (the international governing body of "Futbal" (soccer) more or less goes along.  Since 1974, Israel has been forced to compete against European teams in a crowded, extremely competitive division instead of being able to qualify by playing against its neighbours.  In short, it is very difficult for Israel to even qualify for world cup soccer tournaments, let alone advance.  Israel has only been in the FIFA World Cup once - in 1970.  That year, Israel qualified as an Asian team.  They lost to Uruguay 2-0, tied Italy 0-0 and tied Sweden 1-1.  That record of one loss and two draws was not enough to enable Israel to advance to the knockout stage.  Since then, Israel has failed to qualify in 13 attempts - against European competitors.

This 2023 tournament is a bit different - it is only for players under 20 years old - the future stars of soccer, rather than the biggest stars.  Of course, Israel had to play hard - and really well -  to qualify.  In fact, the tournament was originally scheduled to be held in Indonesia.  The Indonesians assumed that Israel would not qualify.  Once it became clear that Israel would qualify, Indonesia announced that it would refuse to permit the Israeli team to play in Indonesia.  So FIFA moved the tournament to Argentina.

At the tournament, Israel's play has been stellar.  They beat Japan with moments to go in the round robin section of the tournament to secure a spot in the knockout round.  Then they beat Uzbekistan in the round of 16 (1-0) to advance to the quarter finals.  Their next opponent was Brazil - a world soccer titan.  In a miraculous win, this past Saturday afternoon, Israel outscored Brazil 3-2 in overtime and will now play Uruguay in the semi finals.

Two members of the Israel squad have each scored two goals - Dor Turgeman and Anan Khalaili.

Anan Khalaili

Turgeman is 19 years old and was born in Ashdod, Israel.  He is exciting to watch and happy to try all kinds of fancy footwork.  Anon Khalaili is an Israeli from Sakhnin, Israel.  He has also played extremely well and has scored two very exciting and timely goals.  Both players are hoping to come up with some even  bigger goals in an effort to propel the team to a win over Uruguay.

Personally, I am not normally a huge soccer fan, as you might know.  I enjoy watching the big tournaments - the World Cup, the European Championships - and maybe some of the Champions League games.  But regular season soccer games can often end in a 0-0 tie.  To quote my dad - that can sometimes be as exciting as watching "paint dry."

But my year as a sports fan and spectator has fizzled dramatically.  The Buffalo Bills went down with a thud, despite all of the high expectations.  The Maple Leafs managed to win a round but then exited in rather pedestrian fashion against the Florida Panthers in the second round of the NHL playoffs.  The Raptors were nowhere to be found in the playoffs.   The Blue Jays are doing reasonably well but it's early in the season and it seems like they still have 300 games left to play.  So not that much for me to cheer about, overall.

In fact, this U20 FIFA tournament was not even on my radar as an event to watch.

But when I saw that the Israeli squad had eked out a victory over Japan - I definitely became interested in watching the Israel-Uzbekistan match.  I have to say, I felt little doubt that they would beat the Uzbekkies but it turned out to be a much closer match than I expected.

Against Brazil - well - I was just hoping it wouldn't be ugly or embarrassing.  Sure, we were all dreaming of an Israeli win - but no one really predicted that Israel would be beat Brazil.

So here we are - all set for tomorrow and I will definitely be glued to the TV, watching with a VPN before heading back to Israel next week.  The Uruguay team looked very solid against a strong American side on Sunday and will present quite a challenge.  But given that Israel managed to beat Brazil, you have to think that anything can happen.

Stay tuned and if you have the chance - try to watch the big game.  Back to regular scheduled programming shortly - political commentary, winery reviews and other random ruminations - not necessarily flowing together smoothly.  Since I will be back in Israel, I am sure I will have a variety of topics to write about.  For today, on this historic semi-final eve, it had to be soccer, soccer and  soccer.  

Go  Israel!!!



Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Yom Hazikaron 2023

One  week  after Yom HaShoah v'Hagvurah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) is  commemorated, Israel marks Yom Hazikaron - national remembrance day for soldiers, victims of terrorism and other state service people.

Yom Hazikaron is commonly referred to by many people - as "K'dosh Kdoshim" - the  holiest of the holies.  For some Israelis, it is more meaningful then Yom Kippur.  It is a day marked or observed by Israelis across the political spectrum, religious and non-religious, of different ethnicities, and all different ages.

According to official Israeli sites, 24,068 soldiers  and security  personnel have died since Jews first began modern efforts to rebuild Israel in 1860.  In addition, approximately 4,216 Israelis have  been  killed  in terrorist attacks.   Following the founding  of the State of  Israel in 1948, Yom Hazikaron was established as a day to remember fallen soldiers, which would take place every year the day before Israel's national Independence Day.  Over the years, Yom Hazikaron was expanded to include those who were killed prior to the  establishment of the State and in 1997, the Knesset enacted a law to include remembrance of victims of terrorism on Yom Hazikaron.

Like with Yom Hashoah, which we observed last week,  we walked over to the Ra'anana ceremony last night at 8 p.m. All of Ra'anana's stores and restaurants closed early (around 6 p.m.) last night, as they did across the country.  We went early to be able to find seats.  There were thousands and thousands of people.  Large sections of seating were reserved for families of fallen soldiers.  

The ceremony started with a two minute long piercing siren.  Thousands stood silently thinking  about those who had died and. bracing themselves for a difficult ceremony.

The commemoration itself was about 1 hour and 20 minutes.  It included speeches from the  Mayor of Ra'anana, a representative of the bereaved families, the city Rabbi, and others.  There was a special emphasis  on the Yom Kippur War, which took place fifty years ago, in 1973.  Images flashed across screens of worshippers in synagogue the day the  war broke out - suddenly hearing  sirens and  alarms across the country as Israel was  attacked by Egypt and Syria on Yom Kippur.   There were several stories about the lives of different soldiers who lost their lives fighting for the  country and the names of every soldier,  originally from  Ra'anana, who had been killed, were read out.  There were also several musical performances which were emotional, moving and exceptionally well  presented.

We went back  home and watched the tail end of the national Israeli ceremony.  After that, TV stations broadcast musical performances for several hours by Israeli artists singing mournful loss-themed  songs, much of this from a live performance in Tel-Aviv.  This was all interspersed with interviews and  stories about fallen soldiers, their families and their fellow soldiers who  served with them.

Over the course of the day, Israeli TV programming is  non-stop Yom Hazikaron programming.  There was a second nationwide two minute siren at 11 a.m.  There was a national ceremony at Mount Herzl and there are stories throughout the day of fallen soldiers and their families.

Yom Hazikaron is such a powerful day in Israel because of the nature of Israel's army and the role it plays in society.  Since everyone is or can be  drafted in Israel, the army is still very much a  citizen's army.  Israelis, young men and women, from all  walks of  life serve and units can be made up of people from different places, different backgrounds,  different ethnic origins, economic circumstances and political views.  They come together in the belief that it is necessary to defend the  country. (I am not pretending there are no political issues here - including issues relating to who is required to serve - but I am deliberately avoiding those issues for now - that is for another post).

Israelis recognize  that the army is there to protect Israel against very real existential threats.  Two of Israel's wars, the 1948 War of  Independence and the 1973 Yom Kippur War were very much existential wars in the truest sense of the word.  In 1948, Israel was heavily outnumbered and had vastly inferior equipment to that of the array of surrounding countries that invaded, right after Israel declared its independence.  In 1973, Israel suffered crushing losses during the first few days of the war, with Syria threatening to march towards Tel Aviv and Egypt threatening to march northwards.   In both cases, heroic efforts by Israeli military forces led to eventual victory, at a heavy, heavy price.

In 1982, when Israel became involved in the first Lebanon War, Israel's north was under incessant attack from rocket fire from Lebanon.  In 1996, during the Second  Lebanon War, rockets from Lebanon hit Israeli targets (mostly civilian) across the country.  More recently, Israel has faced barrages of rocket fire, targeting civilian areas, from Gaza and has had to defend the country.

And today, although  things can seem relatively peaceful at times, there are serious threats to Israel from Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Hamas and Palestinians.  The army  must maintain a constant state of readiness, relying heavily on a wide range of intelligence operations, as well as the readiness of its well trained forces, in preparation for any possible outbreak of hostilities.

A common  theme at Yom Hazikaron  is the gratitude that we owe these fallen soldiers.  It is because of them, their colleagues, their efforts and  their sacrifices, that Israel was established and has been able to make it to his year's 75th anniversary.

The founders of Israel recognized that Israel's establishment and independence came at a great price.  They determined that the  only logical day on the  calendar to mark Yom Hazikaron would have to be the day before Yom Haatzmaut - Israel's Independence Day.

They  understood that Israel's greatest day of celebration, which is marked by fireworks, street partying,  festivities  across the country - could only be celebrated properly if it was preceded by a day  honouring, thanking and commemorating those who made it all possible.

Yom Hazikaron will end tonight at sundown and Israel's 75th Independence Day - Yom Haatzmaut - will begin immediately after sundown.  The country will demonstrate its resilience by moving seamlessly from grief to joy, from remembrance to celebration and from the country's cemeteries to national parks, musical stages, outdoor festivals and fireworks.  It is a difficult transition.  The message is that Israelis have no choice but to remember and thank those who were lost - while at the same time doing everything possible to get the  most out of life and celebrate what we have.

To all those who we  remember on Yom Hazikaron - Y'hi Zichram Baruch - may their memories be  blessed.




Tuesday, November 1, 2022

Big Win for Netanyahu in Israeli Elections 2022 - Apparently

We are still waiting for the actual final results in the 2022 Israeli elections.  But at this point, it appears that former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has won a resounding victory and will be able to form a government with somewhere between 62 and 64 seats in the Knesset of 120 seats.

According to exit polls as well as the real time results that are still pouring in, Netanyahu's Likud party has captured approximately 30 seats or 25% of the eligible vote.  The  number of seats for the Likud is not at an all-time high - but it is the results of  Netanyahu's intended coalition partners that will put him in the driver's seat.

The election appears to have been a major victory for the Religious Zionist ("RZ") party, led by Betzalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir.  This is a far-right party that includes members who were Kahane party members in the past.  At the press conference that Ben-Gvir held earlier this evening, members were chanting "death to terrorists," referring to one of Ben-Gvir's demands that Israel institute capital punishment for terrrorists.  I was listening - and could have sworn I heard the crowd chanting "death to the Arabs" but I will give the crowd the benefit of the doubt and go with the reported chant.  The RZ party seems to be headed for 14-16 seats, a huge number for a party that has never come close to these numbers.   And a frightening number for those who prefer governments without fascist parties.

Another of Netanyahu's partners is the Shas party, the ultra-religious Sephardi party, which is being reported as winning 10 seats.  Shas has been running at 7-8  seats over the past few elections  so this is a reasonably significant improvement for them.  The other ultra-religious party - "United Torah Judaism" is being reported as winning 8 seats.

If we add up these numbers, we arrive at between 61 and 63 seats for Netanyahu and his bloc.  

Netanyahu will not have an easy time responding to the various demands for cabinet posts, huge budgets and and laundry lists  of action items from these three extreme parties.  He will also need to satisfy his own Likud members by showering them with cabinet posts.  I expect that there will be a huge cabinet - with close to 30 members if not more.

Yair Lapid's party, to this point, is registering 23 seats, which is a disappointing result for a party that was hoping to lead the government.  Some people  had expected that Yesh Atid could get up to 27-28 seats, which would have provided the party with a real opportunity to form a government.  If Yesh Atid winds up on the opposition benches for the next four years,  it will need to consider holding party primaries and acting more like a political party than a one-person show.

Benjamin Gantz's party, the National Camp, is running at about 10 seats, which is very low for a party that ran with the slogans "Only  Gantz can do it" and "After Him" (or "Follow Him").   This party is certainly disappointed with their apparent showing.

If the curent results hold up, the other "bloc" members that had worked with Yesh Atid including Labour (5), Meretz (4), and Ra'am (5) will come in at close to the predicted numbers from advance polls.  Lieberman's party is currently running at 5 seats, which is a bit lower than expected.

But overall, no matter how you slice these numbers, Lapid's best case  scenario so far is 52-53 seats.  There just does not seem to be a path to 61, even if some of the results change.

The voting turnout for this election, the fifth election in about three and a half years, was just over 80% of eligible votes, which is quite high for a western democracy these days and Israel's highest turnout since 1999.

One of the big reasons for the current state of affairs is the results among the Israeli Arab population.  In the past several elections, there were three Arab parties running together - Hadash, Ta'al and Bal'ad  These are generally anti-Zionist parties - who have in the past reached numbers as high as 15-16 seats.  Leading up to this election, Hadash and Ta'al began to discuss the possibility of cooperating with a Zionist government.  The most extreme party of the three - Bal'ad - broke off from the coaltion as the prospect of cooperating in any way with a Zionist government was unacceptable.  

Following that break-up - the Hadash-Ta'al coalition of two Arab parties is in line to obtain 5 seats.  But Bal'ad is apparently likely to finish below the required cut-off perentage of 3.25%, which would leave the party outside of the Knesset.  This means that the total Arab representation in the Knesset would only be 5 seats from Hadash-Ta'al and 5 seats from Ra'am.  Ra'am is a party that entered into a coalition agreement in the most recent government.  Hadash-Ta'al and Bal'ad are both groups that generally have no interest in cooperating with a sitting Israeli Zionist government.

According to some reports, Bal'ad is polling at more than 3.1%.  If it gets to 3.25%, it would suddenly pick up 4 seats - and 2 of those seats reportedly could come from the right wing bloc.  In other words, there is a still a chance between now and the end of the week that Bibi's bloc could  be reduced to 60 seats, which would mean a stalemate.   However, the way things are trending at this point, that does not seem likely.

Assuming that these results hold up, this will be the furthest right-wing government that Israel has ever had.  The Shas party has been a government partner several times.  They will insist on increased funding for yeshivas, prefential housing arrangements for yeshiva students  and their families, an end to any discussion of mandatory enlistment to the army for ultra-religious men, and an end to any discussed requirements of forcing the ultra-religious to study secular subjects in their schools and institutions.  They will also ask for huge budgets for their party and their constituency - all  to be overseen by  their leader Aryah Deri, a convicted fraudster.  He previously spent years in prison for bribery and corruption while serving as the Minister of the Interior.  But he made a comeback years later, was re-elected as leader of the Shas party and now has 10 seats or more.

The United Torah Judaism party will make similar demands to those of Shas - though for their constituency.  They  will seek greater power for the rabbinate and will launch ongoing attacks on gender equality as they have in the past.  They strongly oppose LGBTQ rights, gender equality, science (generally) and secular law.  Having sat in the opposition for the past year and half, they are hungry to make up for the lost time and will present Netanyahu with quite a large list of demands.

The largest coalition partner for Netanyahu, the RZ party, has never played  such an active role in the government.  The RZ party has proposed  removing the  offences of corruption and public breach of trust from the criminal code, which would  effectively end Netanyahu's trial.  They seek to appoint a majority  of right wing judges to the courts, to "untie the hands" of soldiers and  police in dealing with Palestinian  and Arab violence and they aim to expend the settlements, provide greater protection for settlers in Judea and Samaria (the "west bank") and take a much harder line towards the Palestinians and Palestinian terrorism and attacks.  Some of the demands of the RZ may conflict with the two ultra-religious parties  since the RZ members do believe in studying secular subjects, they work, serve in the army and pay taxes (unlike many of the ultra-Orthodox).  They have called for the institution of  capital punishment for terrorists, the expulsion of "non-loyal" Palestinians from the country and a range of other far-right policies.

Netanyahu is certainly aware that Israel would face a major international backlash if it were to  implement some  of these policies.  At the same time, he has promised to support these parties as part of his election campaign.  In his speech tonight, he called for the restoration of  "Israeli pride" and claimed that Israel needs to show the world that it is strong and not weak.  Perhaps his partners will insist, for example, on a military attack on the Iranian nuclear program.

If Netanyahu were to implement much or all of this agenda, as demanded by his three coalition partners, the country would start to look like Turkey or even Iran.  Netanyahu is not necessarily interested in going that far and some of his fellow Likud members are also likely to resist some of this agenda.  But it is a rather motley group.  Israelis in the centre  and on the left are not getting a warm and fuzzy feeling thinking about what lies ahead.

If the results hold up and Netanyahu can enter coalition agreements with these three partners, he is likely to have a reasonably stable government for the next 3-4 years, even if it is one that generates lots of negative publicity and makes some very unpopular decisions.  I hope that saner heads will prevail and  that the government will act in a reasonably measured fashion.  if it does not, we may see a tech "brain drain" and enormous damage to the Israeli economy and world image.  

Some are still hoping that, somehow, overnight, the numbers will magically change.  As the  evening progresses, this seems to be less and less likely.  It is far more likely that in the coming weeks, we will see the reinstallation of Prime Minister Netanyahu - a reincarnation that seems likely to  seek vindication, vengance and most importantly, historical rehabilitation.  

I wish Medinat Yisrael (the State of Israel) and Am Yisrael (the people of Israel) the best of luck.





Monday, October 3, 2022

October 2022 - Day Before Yom Kippur

It is the day before Yom Kippur - the holiest day of the Jewish Calendar.  Okay there is an argument about that - it may well be that Shabbat - every Saturday - is actually considered the holiest day - but let's put that aside for a bit.  If you have never been to Israel on Yom  Kippur - it is really an amazing experience.  All traffic ceases to a halt - other than an handful of emergency and security vehicles.  Even secular Israelis refrain from using their cars.  There is no "law" that bans cars - but I guess the collective society has decided that everyone is willing to agree to make the day special.

Non observant Israelis have turned Yom Kippur into a national biking holiday.  People who are not going to synagogue - get on their bikes - by themselves or with friends and family.  Some take cross country routes - using highways that are normally filled with cars but are now filled only with bicycles.  Some use the opportunity to teach their children to ride bikes - since there are so many "safe" places to do that on this day.  Others use skateboards, roller blades or even electric bikes - and some just walk or jog.

So far, we have stayed on the sidelines from this alternate Yom Kippur celebration - since we tend to observe the day in more traditional fashion.  It would actually be quite amazing to be able to do both - have one day a year with no cars just for biking and walking - without that day falling on Yom  Kippur.  But I guess life is always filled with choices.

Instead, as you might  know, we join our friends and Synagogue community in running Yom Kippur prayer services - tefillot.  For the past 10-15 years, we have been running a satellite service  in Ra'anana - since our main synagogue is in K'far Saba - about 7 km away.   We either hold it in an available synagogue in Ra'anana (some synagogues rent out gyms or halls for Yom Kippur since there are too many people for their synagogue) or we use someone's house or backyard.  We have hosted once but fortunately we have found another venue at a lucky friend's house.  I have been conducting the Neilah service for somewhere in the range of 10 years.  That is the last service of Yom Kippur which runs for about the last hour and half of the fast (no food no water for 26 hours) - and everyone  is standing for most of it - while I get to sing prayers  for most of that time....hopefully with everyone  joining in.

About three or four years ago, we added the Kol Nidrei service - before that - everyone in our group was attending at other synagogues or walking to our shul in K'far Saba.  I agreed to take that on - so that is another 2 hours or so of singing at the start of the fast.  On top of that, we have a full service in the morning - though we abbreviate it a bit.  Lots  of work to do there to  share the Torah reading etc.,  All in all, it is quite a bit of preparation, quite an investment  of  time - but quite rewarding.  Hopefully it is spiritually rewarding for those attending.  

So really - I should probably be preparing  some more now - "cramming" rather  than taking the time to write  this blog.  Or cooking for the pre-fast meal....Or cooking for the break-fast meal....or  resting.  Well.  Much of the cooking is done.  And I think I'm fairly ready since I have done this  more than a few times.  But it always helps to review.

As I am writing - tens of thousands of people are at the Kotel in Jerusalem, attending at the annual last minute selichot ("forgiveness") prayers.  People come from all over the country to sing  and pray late into the night.  Since driving  is permitted  - people are able to attend selichot from anywhere in the country whereas during Yom Kippur itself, people can only get to the Kotel if they can walk there.  Or bike, I suppose....

There are some  people who manage the blend the  two.  Perhaps they bike all day on Yom Kippur and then find  some Neilah service to attend where  they can hear the final shofar blown marking the end of Yom  Kippur.  Even at our small service, we probably wind up with double the normal number right near the end.   We were once at a synagogue in Mazkeret  Batya (a small town near Rehovot) for the Neilah service.  As the end  of Yom Kippur drew near, the synagogue filled up so completely it was standing  room only.  In fact, people were looking in to the synagogue from windows surrounding the building and at the door entrance.  It was like everyone  in the town showed up - secular and religious  for the last 15-20 minutes of Yom Kippur.  All waiting for the sound  of final shofar note.

Election Update

As you might also know, Israel's next election is only one month away.  It will be held on November 2, 2022.  This blog would be too long if I reviewed all of the political parties and their chances so I will do that in another blog - closer to the  actual election.  But I do have a few short comments.

First of all, there is a reasonable chance that this 2022 election will end  up in a stalemate.  Former  Prime Minister Netanyahu and his Likud party are polling at anywhere from 30-35 seats.  No Israeli party ever manages to get a majority government by itself - with 61 seats required to form a government in the 120 seat Knesset.  Netanyahu is counting on the support of two ultra-religious parties - Shas (Ultra-religious Sephardic party) and Yehadut HaTorah (Torah Judaism) - which are likely to get about 14 seats combined.  He is also counting  on support from an ultra-right party - the Religious Zionist  party, led by Betzalel Smotrich and Itamar  Ben Gvir.  These are some pretty scary folks - who would like to turn Israel into a state run according to Jewish religious law - and  have little appreciation for democracy.   But for some reason, they are polling at somewhere in the range of 10-13 seats, which is shockingly high.  So  if you add all of that up - there is a scenario where these four parties  could combine and get past  61 and form a government.   It would be Israel's most right wing government ever, heavily weighted with religious extremists.   It would also be a government that  would be likely to help Netanyahu get out  of his legal troubles even though he is in the middle of a criminal trial.

The Israeli Knesset

The possibilities for the current  Prime Minister, Yair Lapid, look somewhat more  daunting.  His party has been polling at somewhere between 22 and 26  seats.  He needs a whole constellation of parties to join him, from across the political spectrum, to get to 61.  Some of those parties are flirting with crossing the election threshold - set at 4% of the total votes.  Assuming  that they all pass through - Lapid could  count  on support from Labour (left wing  workers' party,  historically), Meretz  (left wing  secularists), Yisraeli Beytenu (Right wing  nationalist/Russian immigrants party) that might all add up to Between 38 and 42.  There is another centrist  party running, led by Benny Gantz - who swears up and down that he won't  join Netanyahu (though  he did once  before).  They are polling at 10 to 12 seats, though they want to try and get Gantz into  the Prime Minister's seat.  If they join  Lapid, that could get them to between 48 and 54.  If they  cut a deal with the Ra'am (Arab/Muslim fundamentalist party) again, they could get up to between 52 and 58.  Still three short.  

So unless the numbers change dramatically between now and November 2, 2022, Israel is likely to wind up with either a stalemate and another election or a right wing government, led by Bibi.   That being said - a month is a long time.  Numbers could change quite a bit.  Buckle up.  It should be interesting.

Sports News

The Israel under 21 soccer team has qualified for the European Championships - which is very exciting for Israelis since soccer is the most popular sport  here.  Unfortunately, the senior  team  didn't  qualify for the World Cup, which starts in November in Qatar.  It is simply too difficult for Israel to qualify.   Instead of having  to play teams from its region, the Middle  East, Israel is stuck in the European division, which makes it much harder to qualify.  This is due to Israel's lack of peaceful relations with many of the surrounding  countries - or to put it another way - the refusal of those countries to recognize Israel's right to exist.   Maybe  the day is getting  closer when Israel will have to play Egypt, Jordan,  Saudi Arabia, Iran  and  Iraq to qualify.  But for now, we still have to get past France, Portugal, Germany and  others, which is much more  difficult.  

Meanwhile, with my relative lack of interest in watching soccer, I have preferred to jump on the bandwagon and  watch our home  town Blue Jays - having one of their best seasons ever.  Playoffs start this week - which means watching games that start at 2 a.m. here in Israel.  I'm hoping to be back in Toronto for some really meaningful Blue  Jay playoff games.

I'm also quite excited about the Buffalo Bills - the closest thing Toronto has to an NFL home town team.  I have been to many games in Buffalo.  While they have had some fantastic seasons, inlcuding four losing  Super Bowl appearances in a row - the 2022-23 edition of the Bills may be their best team ever.  That also means watching at some crazy hours when  I'm in Israel - though if they play a 1 p.m. game - that is a very manageable  8 p.m. start here  in Israel.

I am going to wrap this up for now and  wish everyone who is observing a Gmar Hatima Tova - may you have a meaningful fast - and be inscribed in the good books of life  and everything positive for the coming New Year.  I hope to write  some  more soon - likely with a bit more political analysis.