Pre-Pesach and War Update 2026

I arrived back in Israel last night on a full El Al flight from London.  Okay - it wasn't totally full - the seat next to me was vacant - which was nice.  But otherwise, it was fairly full.  These days, the only airlines flying into Israel are El Al, Arkia, Israir and Air Haifa.  The flights coming in are full -  even though only a limited number are arriving.

It is much harder to leave.  Flights are leaving Israel with only 40 or 50 passengers and many of  these flights have been cancelled.  I know quite a number of people who have left Israel though Taba (at the Egyptian-Israeli border) and taken a cab or other transportation to the Sharm-El-Sheikh airport and flown from there.  Some  have been flying from  the Taba airport.  They fly to Cyprus, Athens, Istanbul or other European destinations - and then onwards to wherever they are going.

Some have been crossing into Jordan and flying on Arkia from Aqaba airport in Jordan.  However, apparently, today, the  Jordanian government announced a change in its policies and refused to allow Arkia flights to take off with a large number of Israelis stranded at the Aqaba airport.  This is a developing story - and I am not sure how this will get sorted out.  Apparently, some of these flights are now being rerouted to Taba airport but some have been cancelled altogether.  Sounds like quite a bit of chaos for people trying to leave Israel through these alternate routes. Meanwhile, the Egyptian government has been increasing the border fees that are being charged to people who want to cross from Israel into Egypt to leave from the  Taba airport - payable only in U.S. cash. So if you are crossing into Egypt from Israel, you should probably have at least $500 USD per person with you - arrive early - and be prepared for delays and cancellations.  As for Aqaba - that seems like an even less reliable option - unless you fly on a Jordanian airline - or  one that has clearly been approved by the  Jordanian government.

For my return flight, since it was so close to Pesach (which starts on Wednesday night) there were many people on the plane coming to Israel (or coming home) for the holiday.  Several men held a Mincha service before the plane left - so of course we knew our flight would be a safe one. The last twenty minutes of the flight were quite nerve wracking as everyone wondered if there would be a missile alert as we were coming in for landing (despite the prophylactic prayer service that had taken place earlier together with multiple people reading tefillat haderech - the prayer for the traveller).  But all was quiet and the plane landed uneventfully - at which point clapping, cheering and signing all broke out.  It was quite emotional. So perhaps the cynicism is unwarranted.  I'll let each person drawn their own conclusions.

The Ben Gurion airport was quite empty. This was the only flight arriving.  No flights were leaving at this time.  It still took a while to collect my suitcase (they made me check my carry on bag for "security reasons.") The roads were  also fairly empty and  it took only about 20 minutes to get back to Ra'anana once I had collected my bag.

At  1:30 a.m. we had our first missile alert - and had to go into the safe room (the "Mamad") until we received the "all clear."  Our next missile alert was at about 2 p.m. or so.  This contrasts quite a bit with yesterday where central Israel had 11 sirens through the first 2/3 of the day. From Friday's missile barrage, six people were reported as having been wounded, though none are in serious condition. Since I have been back (Thursday March 26th in the evening) there have been 5 missile alert sirens in Ra'anana - which means going into our protected safe room and waiting until the threat has passed - usually about 10 minutes in total).  We have not had one yet today - I think that last one was at some point on Saturday morning.

That's not to say that there have not been missile attacks today - there were apparently several in southern Israel including Beersheva and other places - including a reported direct hit on a factory.  But so far, missiles have not been aimed today at Tel-Aviv and its surrounding cities.

State of the War

As you might know, President Trump delivered an ultimatum last week.  If the Iranians did not agree to his demands by 5:30 p.m. on Friday (right after the markets closed), he was going to escalate the war and  attack Iranian  energy sites and/or seize the Hormuz Strait. The Iranians responded by threatening to attack sites across the Gulf and to take other escalated actions.  So we were left to speculate as to what would happen.  In one of his posts this week, Hillel Fuld, a well known blogger, went though the different scenarios and I do agree that he outlined them correctly:

1. One scenario is that if Iran does not acquiesce (and it seems highly unlikely that they would), the U.S. would escalate the war significantly.  This could include trying to find the Iranian enriched uranium, seizing Iranian oil-producing facilities or taking steps to open the Strait of Hormuz.  Iranians have threatened their own forms of escalation in response.  The U.S. has moved a significant number of marines and other service personnel to the region and it still seems like there is a decent chance that the U.S. will proceed with a massive escalation at some point.  Supporters of escalation include Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Trump's Evangelical supporters, MBS of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and most of the Israeli public (70-75% according to some poll numbers).  These different proponents believe that the job is not finished, that none of the war aims have been achieved yet and that the mission can actually be accomplished.

2. Another scenario is that Trump could simply look for the best off-ramp and take it.  It seems that he is being pushed in this direction by many non-Evangelical MAGA supporters.  He is also facing pressure from world leaders in many different countries, poll numbers in the U.S. showing vast disapproval of this war, other domestic opposition and pressures of the markets and the rising price of oil.  Trump of course, likes to portray his image as being dependent only on himself - so it is unclear that all of these pressures would really sway him. Especially if the Iranians are not prepared to  present a proposal that Trump can sell as a victory.

3. A third scenario would be for the U.S. to end its involvement and let Israel continue on its own versus Iran, Hezbollah and the Houthis. This is  not very likely in my view.  If Trump declares an end to the war - Israeli will almost surely follow, irrespective of whether Bibi has yet to receive his pardon or whether Israel agrees that the war should end.  The war may continue for a period  of time between Israel and Hezbollah until a deal can be reached - even after there is a deal with Iran.

Earlier in the week, I was wavering on which was more likely.  It looked to me like Trump was pulling the  plug on the whole war and looking for an off-ramp. However, he couldn't give the name of  anyone  he was actually speaking to, the Iranians were denying that they had agreed to anything - or were going to -   and more troops were being moved to the region. This was looking more like a potential U.S. surrender (like the way that the U.S. left Viet Nam).

By Wednesday, I was convinced that we would know by Friday night.  Either there would be a big announcement of a breakthrough deal - or a huge U.S. attack would begin Friday night. My thought was that a major escalation was starting to look a bit more likely.

However, on Friday, Trump announced that he was giving the Iranians 10 more days until April 6th to agree to his plan or reach a deal. Although a major U.S. escalation is still possible, this is looking much more like a U.S. capitulation.  The Iranians  do not appear to be giving in on any major points - and Trump appears to be increasingly interested in concluding this war.

However, as of mid-day today, Trump has continued to announce further troop deployments - either to ramp up the threat as a bluff - or because he has decided that he is going to escalate.  We will know the answer soon.

I think the situation is not looking great either way.

At the war's outset, the U.S. set out four war aims.  The aims included ending the Iranian nuclear program, changing the leadership in Iran, destroying the system of Iranian proxies getting support for terrorism from Iran (Hamas, the Houthis, Hezbollah, Iraqi militias) and destroying the Iranian long-range missile program. Although the U.S. and Israel appear to have made progress on items 1 and 4, it does not appear that any of these goals have really been accomplished.

The U.S. has now, as of Sunday March 29, 2026, announced that even more U.S. troops, planes and ships will be deployed to the region.  Unless Trump is able to negotiate something that looks like he has achieved at least one of his aims, we may see a major escalation starting by April 6th.

From the Israeli side of things, Israel has been advancing further into Lebanon in a bid to push Hezbollah back and stop or reduce attacks on Israel - especially the towns and cities in Israel's north.  Hezbollah may face a reduced access to funds as Iran is weakened but it is still a formidable challenge for Israel.  The solution is a peace deal with Lebanon in which there is an agreement that Hezbollah will not return to Israel's borders.  This need to be enforced, perhaps by some sort of international force that will actually do the job (unlike the UN which simply turned a blind eye to Hezbollah violations of past agreements).

Meanwhile, many Israeli reservists (which is the vast majority of people aged 21-45 in the country) have been called into reserve duty including, now, two of our family members, at least one of whom may have to miss our family Passover Seder. 

Pesach

Pesach begins with the Seder on Wednesday April 1, 2026.  Israel just changed its clocks and sprung ahead on Thursday night March 26/27 - so sundown in the centre of the country is  now 6:42 p.m., which means that the Seder can begin at about 7:30 p.m. after people come back from synagogue.  That  is about an hour earlier than Toronto, which is quite nice. There is only one Seder in Israel and only a total of 7 days of Pesach instead of  8 outside of  Israel.

Stores are well stocked with Passover products but do not go as crazy with the shelf lining paper etc., as they do in North America.  However, during Passover, Israeli stores do not even sell products that are not kosher for Passover - they block whole sections off and temporarily remove the bar codes from the cash register systems - so that you cannot even pay for the Hametz  products.  This is all dictated by Israeli law.

Israel Elections

As of now, Israeli elections are still scheduled to occur by the end of  October 31, 2026.  Hopefully this war will be over well before then.  I will hold off on making any  election predictions until closer to the election date.  

I would simply say that if there is no clear indication that  this war has been a success for Israel (and right now, that seems to be the case), the situation is likely to be similar to what it is now or perhaps a bit worse for Prime Minister Netanyahu.  On the other hand, if the United States and Israel wind up accomplishing one or two of the war goals that they had set out - that could  provide Netanyahu with a significant jump.

Mood

It has been a very difficult period for Israelis - going all the way back to 2020.  Since Covid and then the October 7th war - things have been in a state of uncertainty and extreme economic challenge for most of the 6 year period.

In speaking to various people, many are really finding the challenges difficult - economically, psychologically, physically.  So many Israelis have spent a huge amount of time serving in reserve duty. People are in and out of shelters.  Some people have safe areas in their homes or apartments - which is convenient and reasonably safe.  Other people have to run down to shared community shelters -  where people bring their pets, their friends, etc., Some of these shelters can hold more than a hundred people  -any time of day - even in the middle of the night.

All of that being said, I think Israelis are still generally optimistic and hopeful - that this will all work out well - and that the end result will have made things worthwhile.  I hope that this optimism is well founded.

Lighter Note

Someone sent me a meme the other day - that said "Israel is one of the few countries in which you have no idea when exactly your bus or train might come - but you know, to the minute, what time the missile attack will be arriving."  

Sports

Even in these crazy times, I have managed to catch a bit of the first two Toronto Blue Jay games -  both walk-off wins.  I think we are in for a super-exciting season for the Blue Jays.  That's not something that you can watch too easily when in Israel -  unless you have a VPN and a Sportsnet login.   

Usually this time of year, I am getting ready to watch some hockey playoffs - and see the Leafs go one or two rounds (usually just one).  This year, they collapsed even before the playoffs - so I am left with two Canadian teams to cheer for - the Montreal Canadiens and the Edmonton Oilers.  Small chance that either the Ottawa Senators or the Winnipeg Jets might also make it in but for  now, it is looking like only two Canadian teams.  Less hockey to watch, more time for work and keeping up with the news.

Oscars

This was one of the first years where I think I managed to watch all 10 Oscar nominees.  I actually enjoyed most of them.  A full article about all of the movies is for another time.

However, one theme that ran through at least three of the movies -  Train Dreams, Sentimental Value and Hamnet - was the theme of a family member working far away from his family for periods of time - and some of the challenges that creates.  One a writer, one a movie director and one a railway worker/ lumberjack.  Different types of work for sure, but a common theme of being away from family while young children grow up.  For someone who has been doing this for 17 years now, this is a theme that resonated quite a bit with me.  I would recommend all three movies - not  necessarily because of that theme. They were all really good movies otherwise.  

With that, I am going to wish everyone a happy, healthy and  Kosher Pesach. With the hope that we will soon see an end to these wars - and that we will have accomplished some of war goals aimed at creating conditions for a long lasting period of peace in Israel and throughout the Middle East.

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!

Deal Has Been Signed - Hostages Are Coming Home

I was in the local convenience store this morning, getting a few items that we  had forgotten earlier.  We were talking with the cashier - who said - "it is the first day in two years that he has actually seen several people smiling."  And that about sums up the type of night we had - with the news about a cease fire that has been reached.

In my last blog, I wrote that we were hoping for a deal soon.  That was in July.  Here we are, more than three months later, and we seem to have finally reached some sort of deal that will see the return of all of the live Israeli hostages and an end to this current war with Hamas, at least for now.

I have not had the chance to go through the deal in detail yet - I am not sure it is even available in full.  However, I think we can take several key points from the detail:

1. All of the live hostages will be returned immediately, as early as Sunday or Monday of this week, all at once. No more deals of releasing one or two a week or anything like that.  This was apparently not something that Hamas had been willing to agree on earlier - though I am not sure anyone really knows.

2. In return, Israel will release some prisoners from its jails (these are mostly, if not all, convicted murderers and terrorists  who have killed or tried to kill Israeli civilians).  However, Israel (for now at least) won't release some of the highest profile prisoners (like Marwan Barghuti) and won't return the bodies of Yahyah Sinwar or Mohammad Def. 

3. Many of the subsequent details have yet to be agreed upon.  However, Israel will pull back its troops from some of their current positions and Hamas will agree that a new - international supported entity will take over the administration of the Gaza Strip - even though that may take time to implement.

4. President Trump used his extraordinary influence (or whatever else) to get Turkey, Egypt, Qatar and others onside. I don't think we know what he promised each of them at this point, though I am quite sure that it is something significant. It remains to be seen how harmful these promises may turn - some articles claim that Trump agreed to supply Turkey and Egypt with new, very sophisticated military airplanes.  Apparently, there are also stronger assurances of defence for Qatar - though I am not sure Qatar has agreed, in exchange, to stop sponsoring worldwide terrorism.

I am sure that more details will emerge in the coming days.  For now, we are hoping that the initial phase goes ahead as planned and that the 20 hostages will come home alive and that they can be rehabilitated.  Many of them have probably been tortured, starved and suffered all kinds of injuries, physical and psychological.  Israel is also seeking the remains of the other 28 hostages who were captured but Hamas is claiming that it only has 13-15 of those bodies at this point.

I am definitely concerned about the prospect of terrorist attacks - in Israel and around the world at Jewish sites in the coming days - especially with so much of the BDS and terror supporting crowd opposing this deal.  I hope that our security forces here and around the world will be on full alert and will prevent or minimize any such attacks.

Meanwhile in Israel, the deal itself still has to approved by Israel's cabinet, which is expected to take place tonight.  By all accounts, it is anticipated that the deal will pass by a significant majority.  Cabinet ministers Ben-Gvir and  Smotrich still have not announced their positions, but they may well oppose the deal.  However, this will not bring about the fall of the government, since there are enough votes to pass the deal and keep the government in power, for now.

What's Next:

Israel is due to have elections by October 2026.  It is unlikely that Prime Minister Netanyahu would ever be in a better position to win an election than he would be shortly after the return of all of the hostages and so there is a strong prospect that elections will take place earlier.

There is one "little" problem - Bibi's criminal charges.  One option is  a plea bargain deal.  However, I don't believe that the State Prosecutor is prepared to recommend a deal that Bibi could live with - i.e. the dropping of all the charges - or a guilty plea to some very inconsequential offences.   The Prosecution continues to insist that, at a minimum, Bibi plead guilty to offences that are deemed more serious under Israeli law and would bar him from running for office for 7 years, even if he avoids jail time.

An alternative would be a pardon from the President of Israel - Isaac Bougie Herzog. Up until recently, President Herzog maintained that he would not grant an unconditional pardon.  However I believe that Herzog may now be willing to provide one under conditions that are much less severe.  In other words - we could see a guilty plea of some sort, combined with a pardon - that would free Netanyahu to run again.

Ultimately, once Netanyahu has received a pardon - he may be willing to leave public office at some point.  I believe that he would like to first secure a peace deal with Saudi Arabia - but that is pure speculation on my part.

Many Israelis, a large majority according to many polls, would like to see a  full public inquiry into what happened on October 7, 2023 - with every issue, every failure and every event subject to full examination.  Only with this type of inquiry will we be in a position to address security issues and strengthen our borders and our military readiness. For now, Netanyahu has strongly opposed this type of inquiry.

Other Stuff to Mention

There are so many things that I could write about since so much has been taking place.  But I have been very busy - with personal celebratory events (thankfully), with work and with many other things.  We are in the midst of the last holiday of the holiday season - the holiday of Sukkot - which is also known as the "time of our happiness."  It culminates in the holiday of Simchat Torah - the "Rejoicing of the Torah" but that is also the day on which the horrible massacre of October 7th occurred.

Our Rosh Hashanah was a bit more low key than usual with a few of our family members out of the country.  Days later, we conducted our Ra'anana Yom Kippur tefillot (prayer services) outdoors in one of the family's backyards - with about  50 participants.  It was intimate, inspiring, participatory - and particularly comfortable (weatherwise this year). Yom Kippur, the day of  awe, is  actually quite awesome in Israel - to see the country come to a complete standstill - other than people taking the streets to walk or bike around.  

We were a bit slow off the mark to get our Sukkah put up - but we managed to stop by the  annual Ra'anana sukkot market - buy a lulav set with an etrog - that we could wave around in all the different  directions - and now the sukkah is ready for an event or two.

Around the World

The news of all kinds of outrageous anti-Semitic and  anti-Israel activity around the world is simply shocking.  

In Canada, our extremist Prime Minister (yes it is fair to call him extremist on this issue) has recognized a Palestinian State - without negotiations, borders, concessions, terms....  In fact, just a year prior, the House of Commons voted down such a step.  But the Prime Minister did not put it to a new vote. Prime Minister Carney, bolstered by some even more extremist cabinet ministers, like Minister Anita Anand, has joined the ranks of some of the most extreme anti-Israel world leaders - in places like Ireland, Sweden, Spain and Turkey.  I think one can only say that this is frightening, sad and very concerning about where Canada might be headed in the future. And do not think that this is only an issue affecting Israel and the Jewish community. Supporting Muslim extremism can have disastrous long term consequences in a range of other issues.

There were several demonstrations across Canada by pro-Hamas agitators mixed together with extreme leftists (those in the Syd Ryan /CUPE camp) - in support of the October 7, 2023 massacres - and very little outrage, that I saw, other than from the leader of the opposition Pierre Poilievre and a handful of others.  Imagine widespread demonstrations across the U.S. or Canada in support of the 9/11 attacks. Or commemorating the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in a positive way.  That is what we are talking about.

In a North York High School, on October 7, 2025, the two year anniversary of the October 7, 2023 massacres, Earl Haig High School played the Canadian national anthem - "Oh Canada" on its speaker system in Arabic.  Yes this is true! The principal explained that this was organized by a  student group, that they were commemorating "Islamic Heritage Month" and that they didn't know it was related to October 7th.   Give me a break!  It's obscene.  Simply obscene.  A celebration of, indeed, an encouragement of  the terrorism that took place on October 7, 2023. 

We have seen attacks on synagogues, Jewish high profile figures, university students and other Jews and  Jewish institutions all over the world since October 2023 - even while leaders in some places - rail on about "islamophobia."  This is simply unjustifiable.  I hope that countries like Canada and  others will take steps to assure the safety of their Jewish communities in the face of these vile activities. But often, these issues require leadership from the top. We need leadership that will make it clear that  these types of activities - from shutting  down universities to vandalizing Jewish owned businesses - to protesting outside synagogues are not permitted and  will stopped. And the perpetrators will be prosecuted, fully.

I hope that the current deal will  bring about a change for Israel and for its friends and allies around the world.

Sports News

I can't write one these blogs without a few sports comments.

First of all, Israel will be playing Norway and Italy on Saturday night and Tuesday night respectively in World Cup qualifying games.  These are crucial games if Israel is to have any chance of making it to the World Cup. There has been a great deal of pressure on FIFA from anti-Israel countries and some football players to try and expel Israel from FIFA.  But to date, FIFA has rejected these demands.  Israel's chances of qualifying are still quite low - since Norway is a very strong side but I think that it is fair to say that these are some of  Israel's biggest football games in quite a while.

Last night, as I was watching  the breaking news from Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt and Washington D.C., I was also watching the Blue Jays clinch a trip to the MLB American League Championship Series - a best of seven semi-final - with the winner going to the World Series.  It was super exciting and I am hoping that I will be able to get to an ALCS or even a World Series game in the coming weeks.

While this is not sports news - I wanted to mention that those same anti-Israel  protagonists -  especially Ireland and Spain, have been clamouring to kick Israel out of the annual Eurovision song competition.  Fortunately, Germany and a few others have apparently stood up to this pressure and  refused to given in to this anti-Israel sentiment and kick Israel out.  So as of now, Israel will participate in the 2026  Eurovision contest - Israel placed second last year - winning a large majority of the popular vote

Airline News

Air Canada is scheduled to restart direct flights to Israel today - almost as if they knew that this is when the war would end.  I always believed that Air Canada (unlike so many other airlines) would only begin flying when there was a cease fire deal.  Now there is one - and perhaps Air Canada will now be back on track with regular direct flights.

There is so much more to write but my time is limited. I wish everyone a Chag Sukkot Sameach. Hoping that the deal with proceed, that the hostages will be returned and that the war will end and usher in many years of expended peace with all of Israel's neighbours.

- 

Israel Update July 4, 2025 - Close to a Deal with Hamas?

I arrived back in Israel last Friday, shortly after President Trump had declared a cease fire between Iran and Israel.  I had to scramble to find a ticket to Israel and wound up flying on Arkia Airlines from Athens.

Getting to and From Israel

In case you are thinking of flying Arkia - my suggestion would be to try to find something else if you can. 

I arrived in Athens via Air Canada and was supposed to have about four hours until my Arkia flight.  Of course there is no baggage transfer agreement so I had to go through Greek immigration (which had a long line-up but moved quickly), pick up my suitcase (which wasn't too bad) and then go check in for the Arkia flight.  Surprisingly, when I got to the Arkia counter, I was offered the chance to get on an earlier flight (almost 3 hours earlier than scheduled).  I asked if I would have enough time (only 45 minutes left according to the flight schedule).  I was assured I would be fine so I took the earlier flight - no extra charge.

From the check-in counter, I had to go through the Greek exit security (Immigration).  The line-up  was unbelievably long and very slow.  Pylons everywhere directing people to walk up and down temporary aisles.  Every few minutes, the authorities would call out an airline and destination and take people out of the line-up into an expedited process.  "Anyone on the Air Canada flight to Toronto? Come with me..."  As I was waiting in line, I noticed that we were only about 30 minutes before departure time, but nobody was calling out Arkia passengers to Tel-Aviv.

I finally got through this line up at 12:55, which was exactly the boarding time for the flight.  But still no call for Arkia passengers.  I still had to go through personal security (the x-ray machines etc.,).  By the time I left the whole area and headed towards the gate - it was about 1:15.  I got to the gate - and no worries - there was a whole line-up of Arkia passengers waiting in line.  Boarding was delayed.  We would still need to take a bus to the plane and then board.

Ultimately, the "earlier" flight that I was able to get on - left 1.5 hours after its revised scheduled time - which was about 4.5 hours after its original scheduled time.  So I actually wound up leaving about half an hour before my originally scheduled time even though I was put on an earlier flight.  Meanwhile the flight that I had been scheduled for originally wound up about two and a half hours late.

For this privilege, I had to spend about $600 - the only way available to get to Israel - during that period of time. (That was just the cost of a one way Arkia ticket from Athens to Tel-Aviv).

Since last week, several airlines have resumed flights to Israel but so far it is mainly the Israeli carriers and a handful of others - Arkia, Israir, Tus Airlines and of course El Al.  Several other airlines have announced that they will be resuming service but at all different dates. From my quick look at the Ben Gurion Arrivals board today - there are flights showing for Air France, Fly Dubai, Delta and some other airlines - though some of these may be code shares with El Al or other airlines.

Over the coming months, it certainly appears that more and more airlines will resume service as long as the security situation continues to improve.  I understand that British Airways, Wizz Air, Air Canada, American Airlines and several others have cancelled their service to Israel until well after September 2025.  If you are planning to come to Israel (let's say for a wedding and a Hina or something like that....), the only airline you are really going to be able to count on for the coming months is El Al, which has demonstrated that it will continue to fly to Israel even in the most difficult conditions - albeit at very exorbitant prices.

It is likely that Arkia, Israir, Tus Airways and Blue Bird airways will also continue to fly - especially from Cyprus or Athens - and maybe  from Rome. These may all be fine as long as you don't mind lengthy delays and sky high baggage charges. After that, some of the airlines that have been willing to bring back their service more quickly than others have been Aegean Airlines (Greece), Fly Dubai, Emirates, Ethiopian Air and Lufthansa.  Several other airlines have scheduled dates for return in August 2025 including United Airlines - but I think it is going to be questionable for now to rely on United.  For Canadians, we may well not see Air Canada resuming its Tel-Aviv service until deep into the fall or even sometime until 2026 but hopefully, with a pending cease fire, Air Canada will resume sooner rather than later.

Gaza War

As of the time I am writing this article, indications are that Hamas is prepared to accept or mostly accept - a cease fire deal for 60 days proposed by President Trump and his negotiators.  I am not going to get into all of the specifics here other than to say that the deal apparently calls for the immediate release of 8 live Israeli hostages by Hamas, followed by the release of 15 bodies.  2 more live Israeli hostages would be released 60 days later, with information provided about the remaining hostages at some point along the way. Estimates are that between 20 and 23 Israeli hostages are still alive and that Hamas is holding a total of approximately 50 hostages in total - including those who are no longer living.

Israel would release hundreds of Hamas prisoners, many of whom are facing lengthy prison sentences for violent terrorist attacks.  Negotiations would continue over the coming 60 days for a settlement of all outstanding issues.  If negotiations fail, hostilities could resume though President Trump is apparently providing "personal assurances" that the war will not restart.  Of course there is nothing more reliable than the word of President Trump - so the Hamas terrorists will certainly take comfort knowing that they have the President's promise.  (You can read this any way you like, depending on your politics).

The war with Hamas will not go down in Israeli history as one of Israel's great victories.  Israel suffered tremendous losses initially - civilian and military losses - and whole villages were wiped out by Hamas even though they will now be rebuilt. While Israel was able to assassinate many Hamas leaders and destroy a significant part of Gaza, Israel was not able to recover the hostages militarily, defeat Hamas or end, definitively, its rule in Gaza.

881 Israeli soldiers have been killed since October 7, 2023 and close to 6,000 have been injured.

The war has also caused a high rate of casualties for Palestinians in Gaza, although the breakdown between military and civilian casualties is difficult to ascertain.  While the Hamas "Gaza Health Ministry" claims that more than 59,600 Palestinians have been killed, there is a great deal of uncertainty when examining any claims made by Hamas.  We do not know how many of these Palestinian casualties were Hamas fighters, though it is likely to be a fairly high number.

It does appear that as the war has progressed, the proportion of Palestinian civilians being killed relative to the total numbers of casualties has been growing -  even though the numbers are likely not as as high as those reported by Hamas.  We also know of several cases where Hamas claimed that Israeli troops opened fire on groups of civilians - and it turned out that the reports were completely false (even after they were reported as true by the BBC, for example).(The BBC later recanted and apologized).

Unquestionably this war has been a disaster for Hamas and for the Palestinians living in Gaza.  But it was also the culmination of several smaller wars started by Hamas over the past several years since Israel disengaged from Gaza in 2005 and Hamas took over the Gaza strip.

Ultimately the only long term solution for the Palestinians in Gaza is going to be having a government committed to resolving issues peacefully with Israel rather than militarily.  Hopefully that train has not left the station.  Continued Hamas rule will only lead to more violent confrontations with Israel.  President Trump's plan of "voluntary relocation" coupled with building a riviera in Gaza might be dismissed as a pipedream (or a war crime) but the geography, topography and location of Gaza does create endless economic possibilities if Gaza were to be run in a collaborative way with Israel.

Other Regional Developments

Israelis were hoping (and continue to hope) for a regime change in Iran and the emergence of a new Iranian government willing to make peace with Israel.  One of Israeli's leading Iranian experts, Benny Sabati, who was born in Iran and lived there for several years before emigrating to Israel, predicts that within 3 to 5 years, Iran will have diplomatic relations with Israel.  He believes that the current Iranian regime will fall during this period of time.  Let's hope that he is correct. A  change of regime in Iran could lead to very significant developments in the Middle East and a future with much more  stability.

President Trump and  Israeli officials are openly talking about trying to add Lebanon and  Syria to the Abraham Accords.  I think the talk about Syria is likely somewhat premature since it will be difficult to resolve the dispute over the Golan Heights.  During President Trump's first term, he recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan  Heights (which Israel first captured in the 1967 Six Day War).  Syria is not about to enter into a peace arrangement with Israel that sees Israel continuing to hold the Golan Heights - and Israel is  not about to give up the Golan  Heights to a Jihadi-led, ISIS inspired neighbour.  If Syria gives up its dream of taking back the Golan Heights - at least for now - perhaps a peace deal can be signed but I am not holding my breath on that one.

Now that Assad is out of the picture in Syria and Hezbollah has been weakened, there may be no impediment to Lebanon coming to a deal with Israel.  A stable Lebanon, with the restoration of Beirut as the "Paris of the Middle East" would be a very exciting development - not just for Lebanon and its people but for the whole of the Middle East.  It this were to happen, it would be a direct result of one of the clear victories in Israel's current war - the tremendous weakening of Hezbollah as a regional force, one which controlled and terrorized the people  of Lebanon for many years.

Meanwhile, if Iran sets out to rebuild its nuclear program as quickly as possible, there may be a second round of this war between Iran and Israel, though it may be a year or two down the road.  The alternative for Iran will be a negotiated solution with the United States and Israel - and perhaps the Iranian leadership will start to falter afterwards. In the short term, it  is hard to predict which way this will go.  In the long term, we have to be optimistic that the people of Iran will be able to shed themselves of this horrible dictatorship.

Bibi's Trial

One cannot overestimate the impact of Prime Minister Netanyahu's current criminal trial on all of  these matters. Bibi is currently in the midst of his cross examination, even though last week he asked the court for a two week hiatus to deal with "security affairs."  The court agreed so the cross-examinations will not resume until the week of July 14th, I believe.

We are clearly at the "meat" of the trial - the cross-examination, and Bibi has no interest in having this continue.  It is embarrassing, excruciating and by most analysts' accounts that I have read - unwinnable.  Accordingly, Bibi had his lawyers contact the state prosecutors last week to feel out the prosecution for a plea bargain deal. (His lawyers later issued a denial that they initiated the contacts).

It appears that all of the lawyers, on both sides of this trial, recognize that Netanyahu is highly likely to be  convicted on at least some counts if this ever gets to a verdict. As  I have said previously, I do not believe we will ever see a verdict in this case.

If a conviction,  as part of a verdict or a plea bargain deal, carries with it the designation of "Kahlon" or "moral turpitude," Netanyahu, under Israeli law, would be barred from running for office for several years.  He is not prepared to agree to that.

On the other hand, the state is not prepared to agree to a guilty plea to only more minor offences, especially since the prosecution feels very confident that it can get a conviction with "Kahlon."

One way of trying to change this reality for Bibi has been a campaign to oust the current Attorney General, replace her with someone more "Bibi-friendly" and then negotiate a deal that is more palatable.  Bibi and his Likud party  have been trying to do this - but they face several legal hurdles and conflict of  interest allegations that are making it difficult to replace the AG.

A second alternative, floated by some of Bibi's Likud party members just last week, would be to legislate an end to the trial.  This would be shocking.  Even some Likud members have indicated that they would not support it  And the Israeli Supreme Court would surely strike it down.  I am hopeful that this idea is a non-starter. Netanyahu would need an even more right-wing government to have a chance at pulling this off.

A third idea, and I think one that is most likely at this point, is a negotiated plea-bargain deal combined with a pardon from President Herzog.  This type of  deal might allow Bibi to plead guilty to more serious offences (which would save face for the prosecution) but with a pardon, he would still be able to run again.  The issue is that this could cause somewhat of a crisis for the justice system.  The State would have to demonstrate that it obtained some concessions from Bibi in exchange for the pardon, even though the pardon would be coming from the President rather  than the State.  So Bibi will have to give something to get this type of deal - and I am not really sure what that could be.

There is another alternative.  The current Israeli government might fall, even without a plea bargain deal in place  for Bibi and he may hope that an election will give him a government more willing to help him deal with his criminal challenges. In my view, that is probably a risky strategy.  I think we are more likely to see  a deal in place before an election is called.

I am not going to spend much time dealing with President Trump's tweets calling for Israel to "free Bibi from his trial" as if this were a purely political trial. Fortunately, Israel is not a banana republic (not yet anyways) and none of the actors involved in Bibi's trial (the judges, the prosecutors etc.,) are going to be moved by Trump's calls.  It is more likely that Trump's tweets show a certain desperation on Bibi's part as he tries to enlist the help of Trump to get him out of his legal predicament.  In fact, a number of Israeli commentators speculated that the tweets were written by Bibi himself based on the language used. I am not in a position to comment one way or other but it is an extraordinary level of interference by President Trump into Israel's domestic affairs.  Then again, Bibi himself did everything he could to help the Republicans defeat Obama, Biden and Harris - so interference in domestic political affairs for Bibi and for Trump are par for the course.

Mood in Israel

Israelis are a resilient lot - they have to be to survive in this area of the world.  The 12 day war with Iran was quite frightening.  Many buildings were destroyed. 29 people were killed and more than 3,200 were injured.  But the war was perceived as a major military victory for Israel - perhaps one  of  historic proportions.

The war with Hamas has been going on since October 7, 2023  and over the past few weeks, Israelis have been receiving reports of soldiers dying in battle almost daily.  I believe that the majority of Israelis are hoping that this war with Hamas will end as soon as possible and that things will start to improve.  In other words, I think there is a combination of despair over how things have gone in Gaza but cautious optimism about the future.

Concerts and events have reopened. The airport is gradually increasing its capacity.  I am hopeful that by the end of August (big event time for us...), things will be even better than they are now.

Sports News

I do not have too much to write about sports as the moment.  But I thought I would mention a couple of things quickly.

The Israeli men's national football (soccer) team is trying to qualify for the 2026 world cup.  Israel is in a group with Norway, Estonia, Italy and  Moldova.  On June 6, 2025, Israel beat Estonia for the second time.  Israel will play Moldova on September 5th in Moldova and it will play Italy on September 8, 2025 in Hungary.  It will also play Norway  on October 11, 2025 in Oslo.  Israel lost its first game to Norway but as of now, still has a chance to make it into the 2026 World Cup.  It looks like the road will go through Rome - (Israel will have to beat Italy) but stay tuned.

Israeli TV does not broadcast very many baseball games - but I couldn't resist streaming last night's Blue Jay game.  The Blue Jays swept the New York Yankees in a four game series, featuring a gazillion runs, which moved the Blue Jays into first place in their division.  Even if that is only temporary and even though it is only July, it was still pretty exciting. There may be some very meaningful baseball games for Toronto fans to watch in October.

I think that is about it for now - but I wanted to share these thoughts and wish everyone  a Shabbat Shalom, a happy Fourth of July, a belated Happy Canada Day - and a celebration of all the great events that our family has in July - birthdays, an anniversary etc., Hoping for some good news in the coming days including the return of our  hostages, the cessation of hostilities and maybe even an Israeli election call.

Israel Attack on Iran June 13 2025

Since my last post just before Shavuot (May 30, 2025), I have been accumulating material for my next blog.  I was planning to cover a number of topics including flights and various things going on in Israel.  Perhaps towards the end  of this blog, I can add in some of those items.  But given the events that have taken place since last night, I thought that there was a pretty compelling need to put this together as soon as possible.

Israel's Attack on Iran

As you know by know, Israel launched at major attack on Iran last night at approximately 2:30 a.m. last night (Israel time).  The attack is still ongoing so the results are not yet clear.  This appears to be the  start of a major war but it remains to be seen how Iran will respond and how long this will go on. I wanted to write about a few aspects of this.

As you know from reading my blog (hopefully), it is not my goal to write "propaganda" or "hasbara."  I try to sift through news that I pick up from various sources and use that to discuss particular situations.  I do pick up quite a bit of information from Israeli sources since I regularly watch and listen to Israeli news and radio channels.  But I do also pick up news from a variety of other sources on different ends of the spectrum so I try to provide some amount of balance.

I want to tackle a few issues.

Why Attack Iran?

There are several reasons for this attack.  The Israeli government has also announced a series of war "objectives" and then there are other speculated reasons.  I will try to cover some of this.

1. Historical Threats from Nuclear Program

The Iranian Ayatollah regime has been explicitly threatening Israel with destruction for many years.  Iran has been building a nuclear bomb program and indicating in no uncertain terms that the plan is to attack and destroy Israel with it.  Israel has been facing this clouded existential threat.  Prime Minister Netanyahu has been warning for years that Israel would not permit Iran to develop a nuclear weapon and attack Israel with it.  U.S. Presidents, including Obama, Biden and Trump have all stated that they would not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon.  Obama sought a diplomatic route.  Trump, in his first term, dismantled the diplomatic route.  On this file, Biden did nothing.  The result was that Iran has been racing towards finalizing its nuclear program - and according to the IAEA, just this week (the world's nuclear watchdog), Iran was not complying with its commitment to nuclear safeguards and was on the verge of producing nuclear weapons.  Given Iran's repeated threats, Israel had to view this as a real, existential threat.

2. Iran has been fighting Israel since October 7, 2023

It is quite clear that the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023 including the Hamas massacres of civilians, kidnapping of hostages and destruction of homes and business was supported and funded by the Iranian regime.  The Iranians trained the Hamas terrorists, in many cases at training camps in Iran and funded them.  But Iran also armed and activated the Hezbollah forces in Lebanon and Syria on Israel's borders, who have also been fighting with Israel since October 7, 2023.  Further, as you know, Iran has been supplying the Houthis in Yemen with long range ballistic missiles to fire at Israel regularly.   Although Iran has only attacked Israel "directly" twice since October 7, it fired hundreds of ballistic missiles, drones and cruise missiles on both of those occasions.  So although Iran has not been directly involved since Oct 7 with attacks from its own territory, it has been running a four-front war against Israel and Israel's response, until now, has been relatively minimal as against Iran itself.

3. Perceived Opportunity

The success of Israeli operations against Hezbollah, a key proxy of Iran, has left Iran with a vastly reduced proxy threat to  Israel from the north.  Moreover, Israel's responding attacks on Iran in April 2024 apparently caused significant damage to Iran's defence forces.  The political situation in Syria has minimized the perceived threat of Syria  becoming involved in the  conflict. Given  the combination of these factors, the Iranian closeness to completing its nuclear program and a more sympathetic U.S.  government, Israeli government officials determined that a narrow window was open for this attack.

Israeli Statements and U.S. Position

Prime Minister Netanyahu stated today that he gave the order to carry out the attack in November 2024.  He stated that the original date was supposed to be in April 2025, but the operation was pushed back.  According to Netanyahu, with the collapse of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Iranian leadership redoubled its efforts to complete the nuclear bomb program and were threatening to use it.  Netanyahu claimed that he has been trying to get support for this type of attack since 2012 but did not have the political support, either domestically or from the U.S.  Implicitly, he has suggested that the "green light" only came after Trump's election in November 2024.

President Trump and other U.S. leaders have stated that the U.S. was not involved in these attacks - but knew about them. First of all, I don't really believe that Israel went ahead with this operation without active support, approval and encouragement of President Trump.  It seems likely that President Biden was not willing to authorize this type of operation.  Secondly, President Trump's tweets have underscored the message that he was threatening Iran that something "terrible" would happen if Iran did not agree to a nuclear deal that was acceptable to the U.S. Thirdly, the U.S. is still calling on Iran to drop its nuclear program, come to the table and reach an agreement.  But for Iran, it is hard to  imagine that this looks like an inviting offer at this point. Prime Minister Netanyahu stated that the date, June 13, 2025, was selected months ago and that President Trump was kept fully apprised.

Preliminary Reports

From reports to date, from across the world, the Israeli operation to this point, has been devastating.  A large number of senior Iranian military and political leaders have been eliminated including the head of the army, the head of the air force, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and others.  Estimates are that more than 30 military and political leaders were targeted and killed.

Israel has been attacking Iranian nuclear facilities, missile depots and other military operations.

Just now, Israeli news is reporting that Iranian missiles are "self-destructing" all over the country - and that is being compared to the "beeper" operation with Hezbollah. I have no way of verifying these reports at this point, but they are fascinating.

It is unclear how long this operation will take but Israel appears to be targeting all of the different Iranian nuclear facilities including those that are deep underground.

Stated Objectives

The Israeli government has claimed that the war has several objectives.  First of all to significantly degrade the Iranian nuclear  program and set it back several years.  Secondly, to destroy much of the  Iranian ballistic program to minimize Iran's ability to attack Israel (itself or by using the Houthis).  Thirdly, to target the Iranian military leadership to force Iran into a change of position with respect to its ongoing war against Israel.  

Other Objectives

The Israeli government has stated that it is not attempting regime change in Iran.  However, Israel has targeted as wide range of Iranian political and military leaders.  Moreover, the current regime, much like Hamas, has stated that its long range goal is the  destruction of Israel.  Israelis do not believe that to be the general sentiment of  the Iranian people and generally believe that if there were a regime change in Iran,  Iran and Israel could have a peace deal in place.  Israelis point to the fact that under the Iranian Shah, Israel had peaceful relations with Iran. It seems to me that Israel (perhaps with the help of the  U.S.) will do everything possible to enable the Iran people to rid themselves of this oppressive regime.  A stable, free, more secular Iran would create a dramatic opportunity for long term middle eastern stability.  It remains to be seen  whether this is realistic or possible.

Cynical Objectives

While I did suggest in a previous blog that Netanyahu would do everything possible to avoid his ongoing trial (and current cross-examination). there does seem to be fairly wide bi-partisan (or multi-partisan) support in Israel at this time for this attack - especially with the latest reports of how close Iran was getting to deploying nuclear bombs to be used for offensive purposes. Israel has been fighting Iran now indirectly since October 7, 2023 with Iran paying a very small price for all of the destruction and damage that it has caused to Israel. I think the Israeli leadership came to a determination that the only way to end the war with Hamas and Hezbollah, and the Houthis, was to get "behind the curtain" to the real decision maker and orchestrator of the war against Israel.

What's Next

Israel is continuing its attacks across Iran as I write but is also now anticipating a massive Iranian response.  I guess we will have to stay tuned and see what happens.  Hopefully, Israeli defences, supported by the Americans, will be able to repel any counter attacks with minimum casualties and damage.

Other

The Israeli national airport, Ben Gurion Airport is currently closed to all traffic.  The civilian authority  has ordered all schools, restaurants, clubs, concert venues and other public places of large gatherings closed including synagogues and other places of worship. Airlines from across the world have announced indefinite cancellations of flights to and from Israel.  

I am currently in Toronto with a flight scheduled for the 22nd of June, via Athens.  It remains to be seen whether that will be possible. I have real concerns that anti-Israeli sympathizers, including protestors, rabble rousers and terrorists, will target Jewish institutions across the world - even here in Toronto and I hope that the police and security forces will stop up the level of security for these places.

I am going to leave my discussions of other issues for future blogs.  For now, I hope that this situation is resolved as quickly as possible - hopefully with a stable end to the entire war, a return of the hostages, a peace deal with a new Iranian regime - and a completely changed Middle East.  Okay, it's okay to hope for a lot.  But  given the changes in Syria and Lebanon, we have every reason to believe that change is possible and within reach.

Shabbat Shalom

Israel Update March 2025

Israel AG Baharav-Miara

I had a look and noticed that I hadn't written a blog since mid-January.  Is it because there is simply nothing going on Israel that is worth writing about?  Well, I probably can't say that.  So I guess I will either have to attribute it to laziness on my part - or an extremely high workload in my day job, coupled with all kinds of other things going on.  I'll leave it for the readers to decide.

In case, I will try to cover a range of topics in a pot pourri style in no particular order, other than whatever might pop into my head.

Getting To and From Israel

I might as well start with this since I have still been flying back and forth - even though that is much more difficult (and expensive) than it used to be.  As you may know, Air Canada is still not flying to Israel. The airline has set a restart date of June 8, 2025.  I think it's fair to say that one cannot count on this date as "Torah mi'Sinai," to put it mildly, especially since Air Canada had previously set restart dates of April 1, May 1 and then June 1.  There are probably many considerations including insurance, regional stability and yes, political considerations.  I'll venture to say that if the Liberals win the election, Air Canada will be unlikely to start flying again to Israel any time soon. If the Conservatives win and Pollievre becomes the Prime Minister of Canada - I think there is a greater likelihood of Air Canada restarting its service at an earlier date.  That is not, by the way, intended to be a comment one way or the other on whether Pollievre would be a good Prime Minister - it is simply my prediction of what would happen on this issue.  But let's just stay that the resumption of Air Canada's direct service to Israel is still very much up in the air.

As you know, El Al ceased flying directly to Canada long before the war started in October 2023.  As a result, there are currently no direct flights to Canada.  So for people looking to travel back and forth between Toronto and Israel - there are a range of options - but none of them are great.

The "easiest" and "smoothest" option is to book  on the El Al site or with El Al using an agent, and to take a connecting flight through somewhere in the U.S.  El Al still has some code share arrangements with flights to Toronto, Montreal etc.,  However, these flights can easily sell for $3,000 or $4,000 or more - just for economy seats.  Since the war  began with the massive Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023, El Al has had a virtual monopoly on flights to Israel for extended periods of time.  As a result, it has increased its prices dramatically, generated massive profits for itself, and cut favourable tax deals with the Israeli government.  

I have not flown from the U.S. on El Al since October 7th, primarily because of the high prices.  I also find it more convenient and more relaxing to transfer in many European cities rather than transferring in the U.S.  

On the other hand, flying from Europe on any carrier that is not El Al can be very risky if you have to arrive in Israel for any specific event. You just do not know when one of these carriers might suspend its service in these uncertain times and El Al is the only airline that continues to fly back and forth to Israel no matter what.  As I result, I have flown through Paris, Rome, London and Frankfurt all on El Al.  None of these flights have been with a code share so I have had to retrieve my suitcase/s if I was flying with checked baggage and re-check in - which means that you have to allow at least 4-5 hours to this.  If you fly without checked baggage, which I have done a few times, then I would say that 1-2 hours is sufficient.

I prefer transferring through Rome or Zurich if I have to do this.  I find both airports to be reasonably user friendly and easy enough to navigate.  London and Frankfurt involve quite a bit of walking and are more awkward to transfer through.  Paris can also be quite challenging.  Zurich is probably the easiest as the airport size seems quite manageable.  The airport is efficiently run and the Star Alliance lounge is great (with a full whisky tasting bar included).

I have flown with Lot Polish airlines once or twice through Warsaw and I understand that is somewhat cheaper than many of the other options.  If the connection is with El Al, that might be something that I would try.  If it is all Lot Polish  - I don't think there is any certainty that Lot will continue to fly at any given time. I have not flown Lot since well before October 7, 2023.

For my flight back to Israel just before Pesach (Passover), I am flying Air Canada to Athens and then El Al from Athens.  On one leg of the flight, the connection is great - but the other way I think I have 8 hours or so at the Athens Airport.

So for those of you who might be looking at how best to fly to an upcoming wedding in late August / early September, those are my comments.  Best to try to find a  connecting flight with an El Al leg to Israel if you want to be assured that you will arrive in time for the festivities.

The War in Israel

As you know, Israel has been involved in a multi-front war since October 2023.  Up until recently, we had a form  of ceasefire with Hezbollah in the north and  with Hamas in the southwest.  After the completion of stage 1 of the ceasefire with Hamas, the negotiations fell apart and Israel and Hamas have resumed hostilities.  It is unclear whether Israel is about to use massive force in Gaza in an effort to extract a surrender or whether Israel is hoping that the threat of the use of massive force will accomplish the same goal. I am really not sure. Israel has called up quite a large number of reservists and  the army certainly seems poised for a major ramp-up in fighting if Hamas does not release the remaining hostages (approximately 59, of whom approximately 25 are believed to be alive).  Of course, on a cynical note, as you might know, Israeli cabinet minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and his far right party left the Israeli government in protest when Israel agreed to a cease-fire with Hamas.  Ben-Gvir said he would only rejoin  the government if the government fired the Attorney General, fired the head of the Shabak (Israel's secret service) and resumed the war in Gaza.  Netanyahu needs Ben-Gvir's support to avoid a non-confidence motion - especially with an upcoming budget vote.  So, the cynics among us have argued that the war was restarted just in time to get Ben-Gvir back into the government and ensure the continuity of the fragile government.  I'll come back to politics shortly.

Early this morning, we were woken up  by an alarm as a result of a missile fired by the Houthis in Yemen at Israel.  Now as you know, the Houthis are thousands of miles away, have no direct border with Israel and no real basis for ongoing conflict with Israel, other than their stated intention to support their Palestinian cousins and portray themselves as champions of the Palestinian cause.  As a result, they have been using Iran-supplied armaments to disrupt international shipping by attacking ships in the Red Sea (more than 145 commercial ships according to U.S. Defence Department - along with more than 170 attacks on U.S. military vessels).  The Houthis have also fired more than 40 ballistic missiles at Israel including four this week (three of which caused us to have to go to our safe room and halted air traffic to Israel temporarily).  All of the Houthi missiles this week were shot down by Israel and/or the U.S. On this front, the U.S. has shown a refreshing resolve to hit the Houthis with a full show of force in an effort to dismantle their arsenal.  This is one of the benefits of the change of administration in the U.S. If the previous administration had been willing to show this type of resolve against the Houthis, that may have hastened the end to the war. (This is not global commentary about the current U.S. administration, just a comment about this particular issue).

We have also had to head to the safe room on one occasion as a result of a Hamas attack over the past week.  It is  unclear whether Hamas is holding back in an effort to negotiate a new deal, or whether its capabilities are more limited now.  I think it is more likely that they still have the capabilities but are saving them for whatever reason.

I also note that the front with Iran has not yet started up again, though the U.S.  appears to be making major threats of an attack on the Iranian nuclear sites if an agreement is not reached with Iran.  

Overall, much like the airline situation, though these issues go hand in hand, there is a great deal of uncertainty over what is likely to happen.  Hopefully, Israel can reach some kind of deal to release the remaining hostages and bring about some type of end of  hostilities, even for a few years, with the various surrounding neighbours.  Hard to be optimistic that this is likely to happen soon - especially with an Israeli government that now seems intent on conquering all of Gaza (and perhaps handing it over to Trump to build his "Riviera").

I don't know what this means for the people of Gaza - though I understand that Egypt has apparently told Trump that it would take 500,000 Gazans to live "temporarily" in the northern Sinai (on Israel's border).  If the people of Gaza are still considered "refugees" by U.N. definitions, then it makes sense that they should be settled somewhere and  no longer treated as refugees.  I would suggest that all of those countries that have been most strident in their anti-Israel campaigns including Ireland, Spain, South Africa and others, should all agree to make  a show of their benevolence and Palestinian support and absorb at least 200-300,000.  It will be interesting to see if these countries remain as stridently anti-Israel after 3 or 4 years. Unfortunately, this also includes Canada - especially  under the leadership of the current government.  Given that Mark Carney (the current Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal party) has apparently pledged some $100 million in support for the Palestinians in Gaza (i.e. Hamas), it may not be surprising if the Liberals are also among those countries that would accept a few hundred thousand Gazan refugees.  This would, of course, be a disaster for the Canadian  Jewish community which has seen a massive rise in antisemitic attacks - on synagogues, schools, Jewish-owned stores and institutions etc., since October 7, 2023.

The only alternative to all of this that would make sense would be the kind of plan that the Allies imposed on Japan and Germany after World War II - governance of Gaza and the people of Gaza by leadership with a completely different mindset - intended to reeducate the population, demilitarize it and develop a population that can live alongside Israel.  I'm not not saying that this is realistic or likely but it seems like the only alternative to a major population transfer.  The other  alternatives, including continued or ongoing Hamas rule, will simply lead to further cycles of fighting with Israel for the foreseeable future.

Israeli Politics

The Israeli political situation is at, perhaps, the  lowest point that it has been at since the founding of the country in 1948.  Prime Minister Netanyahu is leading a far-right government that, boosted by the election of Trump, seems intent on eviscerating all of the democratic institutions in Israel and centralizing as much power as possible in Netanyahu's hands.

As you know, Prime Minister Netanyahu is in the midst of a criminal trial that is still ongoing.  There is little reason to believe Netanyahu's supporters who claim that the case has "fallen apart" or is "all about nothing."  Netanyahu is still facing very serious corruption charges.  He has currently been giving his testimony in chief and will shortly be cross-examined (if there is no plea bargain before that starts).

It was a condition of his trial, while continuing to serve as Prime Minister, that he recuse himself from any involvement in issues that could affect his trial.  But Prime Minister Netanyahu has long since abandoned any pretense of following those rules.  His government is now actively engaged in a process to fire the current Attorney General, Gali Baharav-Miara and replace her with someone more sympathetic to Netanyahu.  In Israel, the AG role is an independent position.  Although appointed by the government in power, the AG ("Legal Advisor to the Government") is intended to act independently to ensure that the government acts in accordance with the law.  It is obviously problematic if the government is actively trying to act contrary to the law in a wide range of situations - since the AG has a duty to restrain the government, uphold the rule of law and call out any infringements.

Of course Netanyahu and others on the far right, in Israel and the U.S., have called out these types of checks and balances as the operation of the "Deep State" - which in their world view means anyone who opposes what they seek to do.  In fact, Netanyahu himself and his son Yair (living in Florida), both fired off a bunch of tweets on X this week - and posted on Instagram - arguing that the "Deep State" was running the country and trying to thwart Netanyahu from carrying out certain actions.  According to Netanyahu and his supporters, since his party won the election, they were "democratically elected" and can therefore do anything they want. 

But that is not really the way things are intended to work.  Countries that operate on the basis of the rule of law have laws, rules and conventions in place that restrain certain governmental activity.  Some actions  of government officials can be challenged in the courts which act as an arbiter and are charged with upholding the rule of the law.  This is not the "deep state" - it is rules that were put in place and agreed upon by the people and their representatives (often including right wing parties and politicians) as boundaries for acceptable conduct.

It is true that democracies can be fragile.  As soon as leaders show a reluctance to abide by and honour the laws, rules and conventions that serve as the bullwork of the democracy, things can slide quickly into different forms of rule.  We have witnessed this historically on many occasions.

One of the current issues that the Israel government was recently facing was the termination of the head of the Shabak (the Israeli secret service).  One the one hand, the Shabak is one of the groups that apparently made significant errors leading up to the October 7 attacks.  (We would know a lot more if we were able to have a full National, Independent  Inquiry into these events - but so far Netanyahu has opposed and resisted any such inquiry).  The head of the Shabak, Ronen Bar, has publicly acknowledged that his agency made serious mistakes and he has pledged to resign once this war is completed.  So I am not really passing any judgment on whether or not Bar should continue to be the head of the Shabak.

However, Israeli news stations recently uncovered a  major scandal where two of Netanyahu's closest advisors were being paid by agents of the Qatari government on an ongoing basis.  Qatar is a hostile state to Israel with no diplomatic relations.  So just as the Shabak, under Bar, opened a major investigation into this issue (now being called "Qatargate"), Netanyahu pulled out all the stops to hold urgent, emergency meetings and fire Ronen Bar. (Netanyahu gave an urgent political address last night trying to present his own version of the timeline - but it was quickly shown to have been riddled with holes).

Netanyahu's supporters say that since he is the Prime Minister, he can do anything he likes, including firing anyone he wants to fire.  But there are procedures in place in Israel for this type of dismissal, that can involve a hearing, an oversight committee etc., as well as rules about conflicts of interest. So the Netanyahu government voted (with no dissenting voices) to dismiss Bar.  But now a range of groups brought petitions to the Supreme Court of Israel arguing that the proper process (which Netanyahu had put into place himself years ago) for the dismissal the head of Shabak was not followed and there was also a violation of conflict of interest rules.  The Court granted an injunction preventing Bar's dismissal until a full hearing can be conducted, which is expected in April.  Netanyahu and his cabinet ministers all responded promptly that they would not follow the rulings of the Supreme Court.  As you might imagine, an announcement by the Prime Minister and his cabinet that they will not abide by rulings of the Supreme Court is shocking, dangerous and threatening to the foundations of Israel as a democratic state that adheres to the rule of law.

Again, this is not a "deep state" issue.  The Supreme Court does not have the power to say "we don't like this head of Shabak - pick another one" or "you must keep this person in power no matter what." But the Court does have the power to hear petitions that are brought that allege that legal processes in Israel were not followed and that laws were broken in the course of firing someone or appointing someone.  In other words, there are some limits on what the Prime Minister and the current government can do (call them "checks and balances") and this is normal in a rule of law country.  Netanyahu would like to eliminate any such checks and balances which is what his whole program of "legal revolution" has been about.  That is why so many Israelis have taken to the streets in protest.

Once the government dismissed Ronen Bar, it turned its attention to the current AG, Baharav-Miara, who was, herself, originally appointed by Gideon Saar, a fairly right wing Likud member.  Netanyahu and the ruling coalition are having all sorts of problems with the current AG because she seems intent on upholding the law, much to their dismay.  This is a  real problem for the current cast of characters.  Netanyahu himself is in the throes of a criminal trial where he is facing prison time.  He is supposed to be recusing himself from making decisions that could impact his trial - but he is not even making a pretense of doing that.  He is intent on bringing back Ben-Gvir as the head of the police - and Ben-Gvir himself is a convicted criminal.  He is also looking to make this new "Qatar-gate" scandal go away as quickly as possible.

So earlier today, the Likud government voted, with no dissenting  voices, to dismiss the AG.   There are more procedural hurdles in place for the dismissal of the AG and this cannot be done by a simple cabinet vote. None of these procedural hurdles have been followed so far.  So you can be assured that there will be more petitions to the Supreme Court seeking to freeze the dismissal of the AG.  And you can also be assured that Netanyahu will double down on his pledge not to abide by the Supreme Court's rulings.

For Netanyahu himself, the stakes are obvious. For one thing, he wanted to bring back Ben-Gvir to bolster the stability of his government.  Ben Gvir's demands for rejoining included the resumption of the war in Gaza and  the dismissal of the head of Shabak and the AG (and presumably anyone else who would raise obstacles to potential governmental action that may or may not be legal). Secondly, the dismissal of Bar allows Netanyahu to claim that he has fired  or replaced almost all of the key people who were at the heads of different governmental institutions that were in place on October 7, 2023. (Though he remains in charge and was in charge on October 7, 2023). But most importantly, in my view - there is another key point.  Netanyahu's cross-examination is coming up in his trial.

In his examination in chief, some of Netanyahu's key evidence was that he routinely signs all kinds of documents all the time, has no idea what he is signing and does not even understand many of the key documents that he signs.  (These were all documents that relate to the serious criminal charges against Netanyahu). This was his evidence in chief.  There is little doubt that the state's prosecution attorneys are salivating at their chance to cross-examine Netanyahu on this evidence.  Netanyahu is, of course, known for his incredible attention to detail, his amazing memory and his high level of intelligence.  It is hard to imagine that any of Netanyahu's evidence will be considered believable once his cross-examination is concluded. 

This is a pressing reason for a change in AG.  If Netanyahu and  his cronies can install a friendlier AG - perhaps he can get a much better plea bargain deal - before he ever has to appear for cross-examination.  Call that cynical if you will, but given the testimony in chief, I find it highly unlikely that Netanyahu is looking forward to his cross-examination.  And if it does actually take place, it will undoubtedly be quite the judicial spectacle - entertaining, at times comedic, bombastic (on Netanyahu's part) and almost certainly - unwinnable for Netanyahu.  Better to cut a deal with a friendly AG as soon as possible if only one can be installed - quickly.

As a result of this government's statements calling for refusing to follow rulings of the Supreme Court, several prominent Israelis, including the former Supreme Court head Aharon Barak, the current head of the Labour Party (Yair Golan) and others have openly ruminated about the dangers of a possible civil war.  To me that seems extreme for sure and  I would not even want to entertain that type of vocabulary - but we are in the midst of a very dangerous constitutional crisis.  The long-term solution for Israel, ultimately, will need to be a constitution that spells out in detail, the limits of power for each branch of the government.  (Israel does not currently have a  written constitution in place).

U.S. - Israel Relations

For some countries, Canada included, President Trump has been a major and immediate threat. Declaring a trade war against one of the U.S.'s best friends and closest partners seems like an awfully strange strategy (unless you are working for the Russians) but I digress.

But for Israel, and the Jewish community, even though many Jewish Americans did not and do not support Trump, some of Trump's policies have been a breath of fresh air.

It is likely that it was Trump's arm-twisting of both sides that brought about the second hostage deal and cease-fire arrangement with Hamas. President Trump has made it clear that the Houthis will suffer serious consequences for their actions in attacking the U.S. and  Israel.  Trump's willingness to support Israel in a big way in the region seems to have acted as a deterrent to Hezbollah and to Iran.  

It remains to be seen what will happen with Gaza.  On the one hand, standing up for Israel unconditionally vis-a-vis Hamas seems much more likely to bring about a deal than the policies of the former administration.  Although President Biden showed more support for Israel right after October 7th than any president in history, the support slid over time and was accompanied by threats of arms delays or bans towards the end of Biden's administration.  This probably lead to the prolongation of the war. If the U.S. had continued with a policy of "all-in" support for Israel - this may have left Hamas feeling more isolated and may have brought about an earlier cease-fire deal.

It seems to me that many Israelis and Jews around the world are also quite happy to see actions that Trump has taken against Columbia University and other institutions.  It is inconceivable that, under the guise of "freedom of expression," masked demonstrators were allowed to terrorize Jewish students and others on the campus of Columbia.  People have a right to demonstrate and to freedom of  expression.  But that surely doesn't include masked, violent encampments that occupy university property, threaten other students and create an intolerant and threatening atmosphere on campus. I'm very sorry but I have little sympathy for foreign students who lose their visas or even their green cards and are deported for  these kind of activities.  

As Toronto faces massive pro-Hamas demonstrations marking "al-Quds Day" on March 23, 2025, this is one area where Toronto and its pro-Hamas Mayor Olivia Chow, would be much better off moving closer to a U.S. model - banning masked demonstrations, arresting those who advocate violence and taking appropriate steps to censure and  stop  anti-Semitic activity.  Both York University and the University of Toronto have been hotbeds for this conduct.  A Trump-like approach to York and U of T would make Toronto a much safer place for everyone.  And kudos to the Mayor of Vaughan, Steven Del Duca, who recently thwarted these types of protests outside of a Thornhill synagogue by providing proper security and perimeter protection, thereby protecting the synagogue and its attendees.

All of this is not, as I mentioned earlier, a general statement in favour of the current U.S. President.  For certain Israel-related issues, his policies have been better than those of his predecessor.  But it is easy to imagine that Trump could  turn on any particular Israeli leader just as easily as the U.S. flipped on the Ukraine.  And in the long run, a U.S. realignment with  Russia and away from the EU and  Canada (and other democratic countries) would not be in Israel's interests if Israel hopes to remain, itself, a free and democratic country.

The disdain shown by Trump for the  rule of law and the courts is a theme that is currently being echoed by Netanyahu here in Israel.  As a lawyer and  someone who greatly prioritizes the rule of  law, I cannot possibly countenance governmental actions that weaken and detract from the rule of law whether they are here in Israel or in the U.S.  In both countries, there are procedures in place  for laws that need to be followed - and there are judicial constraints on the exercise of power.  These constraints help ensure the paramountcy of the rule of  law and we know what happens when that breaks down.

Weather Update

After arriving back here in early March, it seemed that winter was gone, that we had skipped spring and that we were right into summer temperatures of  close to 30c.  We enjoyed several days of those temperatures before getting another taste of "winter," which meant 15-20 C and heavy rain.  Today we were  back to sunny skies and had the chance to enjoy brunch at an outdoor restaurant listening to hundreds of birds, mostly green parrots, singing and  squawking. We are probably close the end of the days of "moderate temperatures" and will soon need to have the AC going non-stop.  No doubt that  it will be quite hot at the end of August/ early September - but the good  news is that it does sometimes cool down in the evenings in Jerusalem for those of you who will be visiting that time of year.

Sports

I would call this time of year a bit of a black hole for sports viewership - (as a hockey and NFL fan) where I don't have too much to get excited about.  I enjoyed the "Four Nations Challenge" that the NHL put on in Mid-February - which was surprisingly competitive and  energetic. I'm not really a huge basketball fan - so the different March tournaments don't really attract my interest.

Now I am awaiting the NHL playoffs though I am very concerned that the  Toronto Maple Leafs may be escorted out the door by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round. 

I am not that optimistic about baseball season and don't really have much hope for the Toronto Blue Jays who appear to be managed incompetently.

There is not much to watch here in the way of sports.  Now I suppose all of this is good because it provides me with fewer distractions. Between political news (which is 24/7 in Israel), work and event planning, I have more than enough going on already. So I can happily do without the added distraction of compelling sporting events - at least for a couple of months.

There are many other topics to cover but I think I am done for now.  Even though it is a Sunday, Sunday is regular work day in Israel.  So I intend to use the time to try and catch up on all of my work.  

Until the next blog, I wish everyone all best.  As usual, I am always happy to discuss and debate these ideas with anyone who might like to have some fun.