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| Majdal Shams |
Hezbollah Attack on Majdal Shams
Hezbollah launched a rocket attack yesterday on the Golan Heights town of Majdal Shams, which is populated by Druze Israelis. As you might know, the Druze are Arab Israelis, but not Muslims. They serve in the Israeli army, speak Hebrew and actively support the State of Israel, while maintaining their own closely knit communities and religious practises.
The rocket attack from Hezbollah yesterday was an Iranian made rocket, carrying more than 50kg of explosives. It slammed into a soccer field where a group of children were playing soccer - and killed at least 11 kids (several more are still in critical condition) and injured more than 30 others. The soccer field was right next to a playground. Almost all of the injured were kids between the ages of 10 and 20. One family lost four of their children in this attack.
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| Murdered Children of Majdal Shams |
Since October 7, 2023, Hezbollah has been attacking northern Israel in all kinds of ways - using rocket attacks, RPGs, drones and other weapons. Israel has responded but in a relatively restrained way. There have been several reasons for the restraint. Israel has, of course, been concerned about opening an all out war with Hezbollah which has tens of thousands of Iranian-made rockets, and thousands of drones - ready to be fired at Israel. The U.S. has been pressuring Israel to avoid escalation. Israel has been trying to focus on the war with Hamas first. And Israel and the U.S. have been trying to avoid an all out war with Iran (the main sponsor and supporter of Hezbollah), which could drag in several other parties - and spiral out of hand, throughout the region and other areas.
The residents of northern Israel, including the Druze and other communities, have all been clamouring for Israel to take decisive action in the north, even at the risk of further escalation. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from the north and are living in the centre of Israel and other areas. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed as well as all kinds of other buildings, businesses, agricultural areas and other sites. Yet, the Israeli government has kept the military action to a relatively restrained level even in the face of all of these attacks. For Israel's northern residents, the situation is outrageous. They wonder what would happen if even one of these types of attacks targeted Tel-Aviv. They feel that they have been treated as second class citizens and abandoned by the the government and the army.
But this massive and murderous attack on a large group of children is likely to be seen as the last straw by the Israeli government. Hezbollah has tried to deny that they fired the rocket - but the Israeli military has identified the type of rocket and noted that only Hezbollah has this type of ammunition. I don't know what would happen if Hezbollah were to issue an apology and state that the rocket missed its target and that they regret the loss of life. (Spoiler - highly unlikely). Perhaps that could lead to some type of negotiations. But so far, Hezbollah has doubled down and is warning Israel of even more attacks. Hezbollah is not the type of group to apologize and back down even after attacking a large group of children.
The Israeli war cabinet is meeting at 4 p.m. today (Israel time) and then there will be a larger cabinet meeting at 6 p.m. I expect that the Israeli response will be significant though I have no idea, of course, exactly what targets they will attack in Lebanon and/or Syria (where Hezbollah also has a large number of bases). It remains to be seen whether Hezbollah will absorb the Israeli response without a major escalation - or whether this will quickly escalate. Israelis are being told to get their shelters ready, to stock up on water and other provisions and to prepare for a major war. Canada and other countries are warning people to leave Lebanon as soon as possible. Hard to say how long the Beirut airport will be fully functional.
Israel at the Olympics
Israel has sent 88 delegates to the Paris Olympics, its second largest delegation ever. The athletes have been subjected to all kinds of threats - including death threats, fake funeral notices and boos when competing. There is extensive security - far more than at any other Olympic games - it seems - and we are hoping that all of the athletes will be safe. The Israeli under-23 Men's' soccer team drew a difficult group - with three games to play against Mali, Paraguay and Japan. In the first game, Israel jumped out to a 1-0 lead but wound up in a 1-1 draw. In the second game, played last night, Israel fell behind twice but came back to tie the score. The Israeli side was heavily outplayed by Paraguay but managed to keep the game close until the end. However, over the last few minutes, Paraguay scored twice and went on to win the match 4-2. Even if Israel were to beat Japan in a major surprise on Tuesday night, it appears that the Israeli soccer team will be leaving the tournament without advancing. This is only Israel's third appearance at the Olympic soccer tournament in its history, so just being in the tournament has been a major accomplishment. But the Israeli side was hoping for better results. Israel has some very accomplished athletes competing in judo, swimming, sailing and other sports and we hope that Israel will be able to bring home some medals.
Netanyahu Visits the U.S.
I am not going to write extensively about Prime Minister Netanyahu's trip to the U.S. or his speech in Congress. There is no shortage of criticism on the Israeli side - that the Prime Minister's timing was suspect and he did not really delivery any accomplishments from this trip. Some Israelis were hoping that he would use the trip to negotiate and/or announce some kind of deal to bring home the hostages but this was not on the agenda. Netanyahu flew to the U.S on the newly commissioned "Wing of Zion" plane that he had ordered a few governments ago. In the intervening period, Prime Ministers Lapid and Bennett had cancelled the plane order, arguing that it was an unnecessary and excessive expense. But Netanyahu, travelling in the middle of a war, happily circulated photos of himself and his wife Sara, sitting comfortably at a desk on the plane, all smiles, with a hat next to the Prime Minister saying "Total Victory" in English. This was the first official flight for this plane - a project of Netanyahu's.
While in the U.S., Prime Minister Netanyahu seemed to have some fairly uncomfortable meetings with President Biden and Vice-President Harris. He thanked Biden for his 50 years of support of Israel. Of course Biden seems very fragile right now and, unfortunately, it is not clear that he was all there to accept these compliments. Vice President Harris took a different approach. She greeted Netanyahu in a much more "down to business" manner and told him that they had lots to talk about. She then held a press-conference after the meeting, without Netanyahu, and gave a unilateral statement. On the one hand, support for Israel does not mean blind support for Netanyahu and his policies. I can certainly accept that. On the other hand, the tone was somewhat condescending, sharp and somewhat reminiscent of President Obama's dealings with Israel towards the end of his Presidency.
It may well be that Harris is trying to demonstrate daylight between her policies and Netanyahu's, to shore up her base. This may be an adroit political move for her in some states. On the other hand, it may provide fodder for centrists in other states - who may become alarmed that Harris will move the needle too far to the left on Israel issues. To be more specific, it might help her in Michigan but hurt her in Pennsylvania. There are probably other examples.
Netanyahu's meeting with Trump, of course, was quite different. The greetings did not appear to be super warm - but there was certainly a great deal of political maneuvering both ways. Trump announced that he couldn't imagine how any Jewish American could vote for Harris in light of her Israel policies. Netanyahu's plan seems to have been to visit Trump and try to bolster Trump with his implicit, if not explicit, support. However, this plan took shape before President Biden announced his decision not to run - and before Harris began to close the gap in U.S. polling numbers.
If the gap starts to decrease further - and if Harris wins the election - Netanyahu may well be in for a very rocky relationship with Harris, perhaps even rockier than his relationship with Obama. (Assuming that Netanyahu is still the Prime Minister by the time of the election). At the same time, notwithstanding the support the Trump is receiving from the observant Jewish community - there is no guarantee that Trump's policies will be particularly supportive of Israel. Trump is very unstable and prone to change his mind about any given policies at any time. If Trump damages the democratic nature of the U.S. (he has already promised to "rip up the Constitution" and this past week told a group of Christian voters that "after they vote in this election, they wouldn't need to worry about voting again."), this will certainly harm Israel and its perceived legitimacy in the long run. It is in Israel's long term interests that the U.S. continue to be a vibrant, liberal democracy - and that Israel continue to be one as well. Both Netanyahu and Trump would prefer to take control of their respective supreme courts, have all charges against them thrown out and advance laws and policies that allow themselves to govern unhindered. Sorry to get too political here - and many of you may disagree with me - but I am trying to blend a variety of voices that I hear speaking in Israel, from both sides - and give a sense of what the Israeli public is thinking. I think there is quite a split. Supporters of Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir, Smotrich and their parties are clearly rooting for and supporting Trump. Many Israelis in the centre and left have very different views. A significant number of Israelis, according to recent polls, thought Biden was a good friend of Israel's and was very supportive and empathetic towards Israel, though the most recent polls show that Jewish Israelis, overall, have a preference for Trump - by about 48 to 35% according to one recent Jerusalem Post poll.
Brain Eating Amoeba in the Kinneret
Here is something totally different. A swimmer in his 20s died last week - as a result of a brain eating amoeba attacking him in the Sea of Galilea - the Kinneret. This has now, of course, put the fear of God into swimmers in Israel's only freshwater lake. As if the possibility of a missile attack in the area wasn't bad enough - we now have brain eating amoebae. Fortunately, only one other case has been discovered - and the victim seems to have survived. I have no idea what steps the government or health authorities can take to ensure the safety of this lake - but many Israelis are now thinking twice about cooling off in the Kinneret during these prime time swimming conditions. Even some of my family members, who were up near the Kinneret and are not scared of anything (having been through military service) decided not to go into the water (or so they tell us).
Kosher Cell Phone Bills
This is not an April fool's joke. It is July. The Israeli Knesset is scheduled to complete its sitting today and go on a break until after Simchat Torah - i.e. until the end of October. So the governing coalition has been scrambling to try and pass a range of bills intended to placate Netanyahu's coalition partners. One of the bills that was passed into law last week - is in this category. The bill passed was called the Kosher cellphone bill. It included the creation of a Cellphone Kashrut Committee to oversee the issuance and control of kosher cell phones. What are "kosher cellphones"? They are cellphones used by some ultra-orthodox Israelis that do not have internet access and can only be used for phone calls and text messages. God forbid the ultra-orthodox should carry a device that would allow them to view inappropriate pictures or videos on their cell phones. They might even see Israeli Knesset members speaking (including some women) or, even worse - they might be tempted to watch videos of women singing. So the Israeli Knesset has officially handed over control over a large bloc of phone numbers that will be designated as available for "kosher phones only." This will prevent wayward Haredim from secretly switching their phones to a smart phone. Instead they will have to duck into a different store in Tel-Aviv (or elsewhere in Israel) and simply buy a second phone with a new number that they can keep in a an inside suit pocket (which is what most of them apparently do anyways). Ultimately, this bill is a money making bill for a group of rabbis who will have economic control over a large number of phone numbers. I am not sure whether, for example, these certified "Kosher" phones will require a special Passover certification - which could mean an additional hefty fee. In the midst of an ongoing war, a hostage crisis, huge challenges in the north and all over the country, this is evidently a matter of prime urgency for the current government. As they say in Israel - this is a sign that someone is "disconnected." I might add that there were plans to try and pass other bills by tonight - including the "Rabbi corruption bill" (as it has been referred to pejoratively) and some other bills that Simcha Rotman has been trying to pass as part of his judicial revolution. Some of these bills may now be delayed as a result of the security situation with Lebanon.
Canadian Passport Holder Attempts Knife Attack - Shot and Killed by Israeli Forces
As you might have read, a Canadian passport holder, Qawarshi Zakaria Adam, showed up at the Israeli town of Netiv HaAsara not far from the Gaza border. He had apparently arrived at the Tel-Aviv airport using a Canadian passport, rented a car and headed south. When he arrived at Netiv HaAsara, he got out of his car with a knife and moved towards some members of the community's rapid response team - saying "you're murdering people in Gaza.." As he got closer, he was shot and killed by the security personnel. There is a video of the incident. I saw a range of different captions for the incident - including some of the Canadian media that are happy to turn this type of incident on its head and somehow accuse the Israelis of doing something nefarious. For the benefit of those considering similar actions, I would strongly suggest that brandishing a knife and threatening Israeli police or other military personnel - in the midst of a war zone - is not a recommended course of action - it is not likely to end well.
I was planning to write about a recent trip that we took to the Clos de Gat winery, which was quite an exceptional experience. But I am going to save that for another blog.
Let's hope that a major regional war and crisis will be averted and that this whole war will end soon - with the return of the hostages, an enforceable agreement in the north and some type of stable agreement that brings many years of peace. I am not particularly hopeful at this point, but we can always hope.
Wishing everyone the best of health.
