Latest Blog From Israel - February 2026

Good evening from Ra'anana Israel.  It has been a busy few months but I am going to cover a variety of topics - not necessarily as much focused on politics or Israeli legal developments as some of my more recent blogs.  Instead, perhaps a few other stories that might interest you.  Of course, I will probably stick some discussion of Israeli politics in here but I'm starting a bit differently.  Here goes.

1. Milk Revolution

I find this one fascinating.  "New Milk" or "HeHalav HeHadash" in Hebrew, is a new cow-free dairy product, that features real milk proteins which are identical to dairy milk.  It is produced and sold by Gad Dairies.  The "milk" is produced using yeast fermentation to create proteins in labs.  No cows, no animal product of any kind.  New Milk is designed to taste, look, smell and act like regular milk but it is lactose free and has lower sugar content then regular milk.  

Most interestingly, it has been certified as Kosher and Pareve (Neither dairy nor meat) by the highest levels of Kashruth authorities in Israel and by the OU in the U.S.  

For those who keep kosher - and would like a cappuccino or other traditionally dairy dessert after a meat meal, the options until now have included products made with soy, coconut, almonds or rice.  (Maybe there are others as well).  But this is now a game changer.  Since it looks, tastes and acts like regular milk, you can now have a regular cappuccino after a meat meal - or cheeses can be made with this product. Or many other traditionally dairy desserts. 

In Israel, for example, most wedding halls are strictly Kosher and most are designated as having meat kitchens.  After a wedding meal, you can usually get a cappuccino made using one of the milks I have mentioned above - soy, coconut, almond, rice etc.,  But these usually have their own unique taste and are not nearly the same as milk.  (Which is fine because we are used to having these rules in place).

But now - you will be able to order a cappuccino that will pretty much look and taste like a regular cappuccino.

That's just one small mention of the uses of this new milk but if it takes off, it will probably spread like wildfire in the observant Jewish community.  It is probably not Kosher for Passover (made from yeast) and is apparently nut free and lactose free.  And of course no cows are required. Sales just began in October 2025.  

I bought a container of it this week and I intend to try it.  I'll have to report back.

2. Sports News

I know some of you roll your eyes when you get to the sports section of my blog (if it is included) but it is usually connected in some way to the theme of the blog.  So bear with me.

A. Olympics

Israel has sent a delegation of 9 athletes to the 2026 Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, competing in five different sports.  Israel has two skiers (alpine skiing), 4 bobsledders (a men's team), 1 cross-country skier, 1 figure skater and 1 brave soul competing in the  "skeleton."

Israel's bobsled team reported that their apartment in the Olympic village was burglarized on February 7th. Their suitcases, shoes, equipment and  passports were stolen.  The robbery is being investigated by Italian police.

Not sure whether Israel has a chance at any medals but it is nice to see some representation.

There are also at least 8 other Jewish (non-Israeli) athletes participating including Aerin Frankel, the Team USA women's hockey goaltender, Avital Carroll, a mogul skier representing Austria, Emery Lehman, a speed skater from the U.S., Jack Hughes, Quinn Hughes and Jeremy Swayman, all hockey players for the U.S. men's team, and Korey Dropkin, a curler for the U.S. Yes, there are Jewish curlers.

There may be others but those are the names  I have been able to find.

Here in Israel, there are at least 4 different cable networks (sports channels) showing Olympics night and  day - including the various hockey games.  I watched the Canadian women secure their first victory and we are all set to see them face off against the Czech team tonight.  I am really looking forward to the Canadian "dream team"  hitting the ice later this week - the Canadian men's hockey team - truly an amazing chance to see Canada's best hockey players all on one team.

B. Super Bowl

Congratulations to the  Seattle Seahawks on their Superbowl win over the New England Patriots.  It was not the  most  exciting game ever though the Seattle defence was incredible.   I watched it on an Israeli  sports channel which featured Israeli commentators using  all sorts of funny lines.  My favourite was (In English with a thick Israeli accent) "the New England Patriots offence is very offensive tonight..."

Here we watched the game starting at 1:30 a.m., after seeing the Green Day kick off show at 1 a.m. I think bed time was around 5:30 a.m. after watching the final ceremonies etc.,

Can't say that I loved the Bad Bunny half-time show, though I have read some  interesting articles about everything that was referenced and can appreciate that much thought was put into it even if it wasn't my type of music.  For me, it was probably more enjoyable than the previous year's Kendrick Lamar show though there was also quite a bit of thought put into that performance - even if the music  genre wasn't my thing. I had no interest in watching the Turning Point alternative half-time show.  I'll leave it at that.

Once the Olympics end, I get a bunch of free time for other pursuits - unless I become an avid March Madness college basketball fan - though that is looking fairly unlikely as of now.  By mid to late April, hockey playoffs will start and that is one of my favourite things to watch and can be all consuming until mid-June.

3. Flights To and From Israel

As you may know, Air Canada resumed its direct flights to Israel from Toronto and I have been taking advantage of that.  The prices have been okay though they have not been filling up the planes -  perhaps because of the uncertainty as to whether Air Canada will continue to fly.  Having a direct flight is terrific, especially after not having any direct flights available during the war and before that during Covid.

El Al was apparently considering adding a range of new cities - some were hoping that would include Toronto.  But instead, El Al announced a number of new direct destinations from Israel - Hanoi, Manila and Seoul and a number of others - but still no Toronto.

Meanwhile, Air Canada completely revamped its Aeroplan program effective January 1, 2026, to focus almost exclusively on money spent with Air Canada rather than miles travelled.  This is a terrible change for long distance "commuters" who were able to pick up lots of Aeroplan miles at a fairly reasonable cost. Now, the more you spend, the more Aeroplan points you get and that is just about it.

To give you an example, I was flying "Flex" between Toronto and Tel-Aviv, which meant earning 5,750 each way or 11,500 for a round trip in 2025.  In addition, "Super Elite" members would get a bonus of another 5,750 each way, while 75K status members would get 4,312.  This means that for a round trip up to December 31, 2025, I was earning a total of about 23,000 Aeroplan miles for one round trip to Israel.

I flew back in January, from Toronto to Tel Aviv, in flex and I earned a total (including bonuses) of 4,875 (instead of 11,500 including bonuses).

So for flyers like me, the program represents a massive devaluation.

On the other hand, if you go to Israel from Toronto  4 times a year and you buy business class tickets, let's say at $8,000 Canadian per round trip ticket, you would make Super Elite and enjoy all of the benefits that entails.

4. Stuart Razin Z"L

I recently lost a good friend, teacher, mentor (and avid blog reader of mine).  Stuart Razin z"l passed away on January 17th.  

Stuart had served as the Executive Director of Beth Tikvah Synagogue in Toronto where had played a key role in overseeing the growth of Beth Tikvah into a 1000+ member shul.

Before taking on the Executive Director role, he had served as the Principal of the school and had run the Hebrew High School program.  I had the privilege of studying Holocaust literature with him.

I also worked with him as a Board Member of the shul while he was the Executive Director.  One of the most memorable events that we worked on together was a fundraising concert where the great Israeli singer Chava Alberstein came to perform at Beth Tikvah.

Stuart and his late first wife Marsha Razin z"l made Aliyah to Israel, where their three children lived (or were in the process of moving to). Marsha was a wonderful and engaging teacher.  Stuart and Marsha shared a wonderful life together for many years. After Marsha died, Stuart remarried to Jennifer.  Stuart was tragically predeceased by his son Gideon 2019.  Stuart will be missed by his large extended family of children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and so many people who loved him.

Over the years, Stuart and I spoke regularly.  He attended  at our family simchas and we would get together with him regularly.

Stuart was always up to date on the latest current events.  He took an active interest in Israeli, American and Canadian politics and loved to speak for hours about the latest developments.  He would regularly read this blog and then call or write to me to discuss things that I wrote.

While at Beth Tikvah, Stuart had been known for his amazing memory and his attention to each and every one of the members. He took a keen interest in people.  He would ask about each family member, how they were doing, what they were up to - and then he would remember all of the information and keep it updated. He genuinely cared about each and every one of the people with whom he interacted.

For me and my family, he was always a pleasure to speak to, and always had interesting things to say and principled points of view.  He was a true mensch and someone who I will dearly miss.

5. Israel - Latest News

I do not have too much to write this time - not because of a lack of topics - but more in the interest of keeping this blog to a reasonable length.  Instead I will quickly mention a few things:

A. Iran

We continue to wait to see what the U.S. will do and whether it will attack Iran, either to harm Iran's nuclear ambitions, to damage Iran's missile program or to try to foment regime change in Iran. There has been lots of rhetoric, lots of threats and lots of speculation.  An attack on Iran may well draw Israel into a war and we may face large barrages of missile attacks.  Whether this will occur or not is unclear - and probably depends as much as anything on which side of the bed President Trump wakes up on any given day. Israelis seem to be relatively relaxed about it, all things considered, but it is a real powder keg that could go off any day.

B. Gaza

There continues to be a great deal of uncertainty as to how Gaza will be governed going forward, whether Hamas will disarm, whether there will be further rounds of intense fighting - and what, if anything, the U.S. and the international community will do to affect things in Gaza.  Frankly, I have no idea where this is all headed but I am hoping that there will be some level of stability for Gaza and in the whole region.

C. Syria

With U.S. involvement, some progress seems to be taking place with Syria. For example, the Syrian government  this week announced that it would restore a synagogue in Aleppo and permit or even encourage free Jewish worship there.  If that is the start of a genuine change - we might even be able to visit Damascus in my lifetime (and perhaps Beirut).  Let's not get ahead of ourselves, but anything is possible and these are really amazing developments.

D. Netanyahu's Trial

Prime Minister Netanyahu's trial continues to plug along.  He is involved in several "fronts" to try to get out of it - including a possible plea bargain deal, a request for a pardon from the President of Israel (including recruiting Trump to pressure the President of  Israel) and the possibility of a legislated end to the trial (which would probably never get passed the Israeli Supreme Court).   The clock is ticking for Bibi and I believe he is hoping to get this all resolved before Israel's elections - scheduled to take place later this year. For Bibi trial watchers, this should be a really interesting period of  time.

E. Israeli Elections

Israel will have an election this year before the end of October 2026.  Some new parties are still in the process of amalgamating, registering or redefining themselves.  We will probably not have the final list  of competing parties and configurations until much closer to the election date.  However, the polls are now predicting a fairly close race - with Prime  Minister Netanyahu still having a reasonable shot at winning once again, much to the  chagrin of his many detractors.  Israeli politics promises to be super interesting over the coming months.

Okay these were all of the things I planned to cover for now.  I will probably write a few much more political blogs in the coming months - as Israeli elections approach.  For now, let's all  enjoying the remaining month or so of winter and get ready for Purim which takes place starting on March 2, 2026 in the evening.  Here in Ra'anana it is about 22C during the day.  While I was in Toronto, we enjoyed a few days of -24C weather - which meant a 46C spread from one place to the other.  That's a very big shift in temperature. 

So to those of you in North America - it's "stay warm" and to those here in Israel - it's "enjoy the weather"  (even though Israelis are upset that it is not yet warm enough to swim in the Mediterranean - though that can change as soon as early March).

Best regards to all - and for the most part, based on those reading this - stay warm!

Edge of War with Hezbollah? July 2024 Update

Majdal Shams

I was planning another pot pourri blog touching on a  range of topics - including some distractions - like a visit to a winery - but, as you might know, circumstances have changed quite a bit here now since yesterday. I will still add in a few other topics - but I start with what is most urgent.

Hezbollah Attack on Majdal Shams

Hezbollah launched a rocket attack yesterday on the Golan Heights town of Majdal Shams, which is populated by Druze Israelis.  As you might know, the Druze are Arab Israelis, but not Muslims.  They serve in the Israeli army, speak Hebrew and actively support the State of Israel, while maintaining their own closely knit communities and religious practises.

The rocket attack from Hezbollah yesterday was an Iranian made rocket, carrying more than 50kg of explosives.  It slammed into a soccer field where a group of children were playing soccer - and killed at least 11 kids (several more are still in critical condition) and injured more than 30 others.  The soccer field was right next to a playground.  Almost all of the injured were kids between the ages of 10 and 20. One family lost four of their children in this attack.

Murdered Children of Majdal Shams

Since October 7, 2023, Hezbollah has been attacking northern Israel in all kinds of ways - using rocket attacks, RPGs, drones and other weapons.  Israel has responded but in a relatively restrained way.  There have been several reasons for the restraint.  Israel has, of course, been concerned about opening an all out war with Hezbollah which has tens of thousands of Iranian-made rockets, and thousands of drones - ready to be fired at Israel.  The U.S. has been pressuring Israel to avoid escalation.  Israel has been trying to focus on the war with Hamas first.  And Israel and the U.S. have been trying to avoid an all out war with Iran (the main sponsor and supporter of Hezbollah), which could drag  in several other parties -  and spiral out of hand, throughout the region and other areas.

The residents of northern Israel, including the Druze and other communities, have all been clamouring for Israel to take decisive action in the north, even at the risk of further escalation.  Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from the north and are living in the centre of Israel and other areas.  Hundreds of homes have been destroyed as well as all kinds of other buildings, businesses, agricultural areas and other sites.  Yet, the Israeli government has kept the military action to a relatively restrained level even in the face of all of these attacks.  For Israel's northern residents, the situation is outrageous. They wonder what would happen if even one of these types of attacks targeted Tel-Aviv.  They feel that they have been treated as second class citizens and abandoned by the the government and the army.

But this massive and murderous attack on a large group of children is likely to be seen as the last straw by the Israeli government.  Hezbollah has tried to deny that they fired the rocket - but the Israeli military has identified the type of rocket and noted that only Hezbollah has this type of  ammunition. I don't know what would happen if Hezbollah were to issue an apology and state that the rocket missed its target and that they regret the loss of life. (Spoiler - highly unlikely). Perhaps that could lead to some type of negotiations. But so far, Hezbollah has doubled down and is warning Israel of even more attacks. Hezbollah is not the type of group to apologize and back down even after attacking a large group of children.

The Israeli war cabinet is meeting at 4 p.m. today (Israel time) and then there will be a larger cabinet meeting at 6 p.m.  I expect that the Israeli response will be significant though I have no idea, of course, exactly what targets they will attack in Lebanon and/or Syria (where Hezbollah also has a large number of bases).  It remains to be seen whether Hezbollah will absorb the Israeli response without a major escalation - or whether this will quickly escalate.  Israelis are being told to get their shelters ready, to stock up on water and other provisions and to prepare for a major war. Canada and other countries are warning people to leave Lebanon as soon as possible. Hard to say how long the Beirut airport will be fully functional.

Israel at the Olympics

Israel has sent 88 delegates to the Paris Olympics, its second largest delegation ever.  The athletes have been subjected to all kinds of threats - including death threats, fake funeral notices and boos when competing.  There is extensive security - far more than at any other Olympic games - it seems - and we are hoping that all of the athletes will be safe.  The Israeli under-23 Men's' soccer team drew a difficult group - with three games to play against Mali, Paraguay and  Japan.  In the first game, Israel jumped out to a 1-0 lead but wound up in a 1-1 draw.  In the second game, played last night, Israel fell behind  twice but came back to tie the score.  The Israeli side was heavily outplayed by Paraguay but managed to keep the game close until the end.  However, over the last few minutes, Paraguay scored twice and went on to win the match 4-2.  Even if Israel were to beat Japan in a major surprise on Tuesday night, it appears that the Israeli soccer team will be leaving the tournament without advancing.  This is only Israel's third appearance at the Olympic soccer tournament in its history, so just being in the tournament has been a major accomplishment.  But the Israeli side was hoping for better results. Israel has some very accomplished athletes competing in judo, swimming, sailing and other sports and we hope that Israel will be able to bring home some medals.

Netanyahu Visits the U.S.

I am  not going to write extensively about Prime Minister Netanyahu's trip to the U.S. or his speech in Congress. There is no shortage of criticism on the Israeli side - that the Prime Minister's timing was suspect and he did not really delivery any accomplishments from this trip.  Some Israelis were hoping that he would use the trip to negotiate and/or announce some kind of deal to bring home the hostages but this was not on the agenda.  Netanyahu flew to the U.S on the newly commissioned "Wing  of Zion" plane that he had ordered a few governments ago.  In the intervening period, Prime Ministers Lapid and Bennett had cancelled the plane order, arguing that it was an unnecessary and excessive expense.  But Netanyahu, travelling in the middle of a war, happily circulated photos of himself and his wife Sara, sitting comfortably at a desk on the plane, all smiles, with a hat next to the Prime Minister saying "Total Victory" in English. This was the first official flight for this plane - a project of Netanyahu's.

While in the U.S., Prime Minister Netanyahu seemed to have some fairly uncomfortable meetings with President Biden and Vice-President Harris.  He thanked Biden for his 50 years of support of Israel.  Of course Biden seems very fragile right now and, unfortunately, it is not clear that he was all there to accept these compliments.  Vice President Harris took a different approach. She greeted Netanyahu in a much more "down to business" manner and told him that they had lots to talk about.  She then held a press-conference after the meeting, without Netanyahu, and gave a unilateral statement.  On the one hand, support for Israel does not mean blind support for Netanyahu and his policies.  I can certainly accept that.  On the other hand, the tone was somewhat condescending, sharp and somewhat reminiscent of President Obama's dealings with Israel towards the end of his Presidency.

It may well be that Harris is trying to demonstrate daylight between her policies and Netanyahu's, to shore up her base.  This may be an adroit political move for her in some states.  On the other hand, it may provide fodder for centrists in other states - who may become alarmed that Harris will move the needle too far to the left on Israel issues.  To be more specific, it might help her in Michigan but hurt her in Pennsylvania. There are probably other examples.

Netanyahu's meeting with Trump, of course, was quite different. The greetings did not appear to be super warm - but there was certainly a great deal of political maneuvering both ways.  Trump announced that he couldn't imagine how any Jewish American could vote for Harris in light of her Israel policies.  Netanyahu's plan seems to have been to visit Trump and try to bolster Trump with his implicit, if not explicit, support.  However, this plan took shape before President Biden announced his decision not to run - and before Harris began to close the gap in U.S. polling numbers.  

If the gap starts to decrease further - and if Harris wins the election - Netanyahu may well be in for a very rocky relationship with Harris, perhaps even rockier than his relationship with Obama.  (Assuming that Netanyahu is still the Prime Minister by the time of the election).  At the same time, notwithstanding the support the Trump is receiving from the observant Jewish community - there is no guarantee that Trump's policies will be particularly supportive of Israel.  Trump is very unstable and prone to change his mind about any given policies at any time. If Trump damages the democratic nature of the U.S. (he has already promised to "rip up the Constitution" and this past week told a group of Christian voters that "after they vote in this election, they wouldn't need to worry about voting again."), this will certainly harm Israel and its perceived legitimacy in the long run.  It is in Israel's long term interests that the U.S. continue to be a vibrant, liberal democracy - and that Israel continue to be one as well.  Both Netanyahu and Trump would prefer to take control of their respective supreme courts, have all charges against them thrown out and advance laws and policies that allow themselves to govern unhindered.  Sorry to get too political here - and many of you may disagree with me - but I am trying to blend a variety of voices that I hear speaking in Israel, from both sides - and give a sense of what the Israeli public is thinking.  I think there is quite a split.  Supporters of Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir, Smotrich and their parties are clearly rooting for and supporting Trump. Many Israelis in the centre and left have very different views. A significant number of Israelis, according to recent polls, thought Biden was a good friend of  Israel's and was very supportive and empathetic towards Israel, though the most recent polls show that Jewish Israelis, overall, have a preference for Trump - by about 48 to 35% according to one recent Jerusalem Post poll. 

Brain Eating Amoeba in the Kinneret

Here is something totally different.  A swimmer in his 20s died last week - as a result of a brain eating amoeba attacking him in the Sea of Galilea - the Kinneret.  This has now, of course, put the fear of God into swimmers in Israel's only freshwater lake.  As if the possibility of a missile attack in the area wasn't bad enough - we now have brain eating amoebae.  Fortunately, only one other case has been discovered - and the victim seems to have survived.  I have no idea what steps the government or health authorities can take to ensure the safety of this lake - but many Israelis are now thinking twice about cooling off in the Kinneret during these prime time swimming conditions. Even some of my family members, who were up near the Kinneret and are not scared of anything (having been through military service) decided not to go into the water (or so they tell us).

Kosher Cell Phone Bills

This is not an April fool's joke.  It is July.  The Israeli Knesset is scheduled to complete its sitting today and go on a break until after Simchat Torah - i.e. until the end of October.  So the governing coalition has been  scrambling to try and pass a range of bills intended to placate Netanyahu's coalition partners.  One of the bills that was passed into law last week - is in this category.  The bill passed was called the Kosher cellphone bill.  It included the creation of a Cellphone Kashrut Committee to oversee the issuance and control of kosher cell phones.  What are "kosher cellphones"?  They are cellphones used by some ultra-orthodox Israelis that do not have internet access and can only be used for phone calls and text messages.  God forbid the ultra-orthodox should carry a device that would allow them to view inappropriate pictures or videos on their cell phones.  They might even see Israeli Knesset members speaking (including some women) or, even worse - they might be tempted to watch videos of women singing.  So the Israeli Knesset has officially handed over control over a large bloc of phone numbers that will be designated as available for "kosher  phones only."  This will prevent wayward Haredim from secretly switching their phones to a smart phone.  Instead they will have to duck into a different store in Tel-Aviv (or elsewhere in Israel) and simply buy a second phone with a new number that they can keep in a an inside suit pocket (which is what most of them apparently do anyways).  Ultimately, this bill is a money making bill for a group of rabbis who will have economic control over a large number of phone numbers.  I am not sure whether, for example, these certified "Kosher" phones will require a special Passover certification - which could mean an additional hefty fee.  In the midst of an ongoing war, a hostage crisis, huge challenges in the north and all over the country, this is evidently a matter of prime urgency for the current government.  As they say in Israel - this is a sign that someone is "disconnected."  I might add that there were plans to try and pass other bills by tonight - including the "Rabbi corruption bill" (as it has been referred to pejoratively) and some other bills that Simcha Rotman has been trying to pass as part of his judicial revolution.  Some of these bills may now be delayed as a result of the security situation with Lebanon.

Canadian Passport Holder Attempts Knife Attack - Shot and Killed by Israeli Forces

As you might have read, a Canadian passport holder, Qawarshi Zakaria Adam, showed up at the Israeli town of Netiv HaAsara not far from the Gaza border.  He had apparently arrived at the Tel-Aviv airport using a Canadian passport, rented a car and headed south.  When he arrived at Netiv HaAsara, he got out of his car with a knife and moved towards some members of the community's rapid response team - saying "you're murdering people in Gaza.."  As he got closer, he was shot and killed by the security personnel.  There is a video of the incident. I saw a range of different captions for the incident - including some of the Canadian media that are happy to  turn this type of incident on its head and somehow accuse the Israelis of doing something nefarious. For the benefit of those considering similar actions, I would strongly suggest that brandishing a knife and threatening Israeli police or other military personnel - in the midst of a war zone - is not a recommended course of action - it is not likely to end well.

I was planning to write about a recent trip that we took to the Clos de Gat winery, which was quite an exceptional  experience. But I am going to save that for another blog.  

Let's hope that a major regional war and crisis will be averted and that this whole war will end soon - with the return of the hostages, an enforceable agreement in the north and some type of stable  agreement that brings many years of peace.  I am not particularly hopeful at this point, but we can always hope.

Wishing everyone the best of health.