December 2022 Update from Israel

As we close out 2022, I am overdue to put together another blog.  I could probably devote this whole blog to political developments in Israel - but that would be a depressing post and would probably bore those of us you who are less interested in Israeli politics.  So I have instead put together a smattering of items.  Hopefully one or more  will interest you.  That's not to say that I will skip Israeli  politics entirely - I certainly won't.  But this will be  more of one of those "stream of consciousness blogs" hitting on a few different topics.  Hopefully it will all come together.

"Holiday Season" in Israel

This year, I came to Israel a bit earlier than usual in December since we had guests arriving for Chanuka.  I usually tend to come back to Israel later in the month, once things quieten down in Toronto.  For me, one of the nice aspects of being in Israel in December is the complete lack of Christmas and  Christmas celebrations.

I don't mean that in a negative way towards those who celebrate.  But in Canada, the November-December period is the time of year when I am reminded that I don't really belong.  Decorations and trees are everywhere - in stores, office places, malls.  The Second Cup that I go to in the mornings to grab a coffee starts playing all Christmas music 24/7 the day after Halloween.  Is that really necessary?  I guess if the majority of people enjoy it - then great.  Even for people who fully embrace the holiday - I think they probably used to start getting ready in early December.  Now the whole month of November has also become entirely Christmas oriented in many places.

I grew up in an environment in which in my early years the school I attended recited the "Lord's Prayer," (and forced everyone  to do so) even though it was a "public school."  We had Christmas concerts, Christmas Carols and other trappings of the ubiquitous Christian majority culture.  As one the small minority who did  not celebrate these holidays, I always felt that I just didn't fit in this time of year.  

So for me, it is somewhat refreshing to spend this time in a place where things are  completely different.  Christmas in Israel, in most areas, is a normal work day.  Everything is open and  operates on a normal, non-holiday schedule.  In some  predominantly Christian areas, there are certainly festivities,  decorations and celebrations.  In Nazareth, Bethlehem, parts of Jerusalem and other areas, Christmas is celebrated actively.  I certainly have nothing against that and wish everyone celebrating a Merry Christmas.  But, around the rest of Israel, there is a totally different December atmosphere.

Although Chanuka coincides this year with Christmas, it is a relatively minor holiday.  Some places have a Chanukiah set up for lighting (for example, this restaurant that we were at the other day - pictured above).  But since it is not really a major holiday, most places  haven't really done any decorating.  No one is wearing ugly Chanuka sweaters in Israel (even  though it is cold and rainy) and people are working as usual.  Our  visiting guests couldn't believe it since I think it was their first "holiday season" in Israel.   

Our big  holiday period is the September-October holidays - from Rosh Hashanah to Simchat Torah - or again over Pesach  (Passover).  During those time periods, many businesses are closed, there are festivals around the country and many people are off work, travelling or celebrating.  I could imagine that Yom Kippur in Israel would feel very imposing to someone who is not Jewish since everything is closed.  Though I don't know of any radio station in Israel that would start playing  Yom Kippur and other high holiday music 6 weeks before the actual holiday.

In any event, I have been honoured to attend holiday celebrations with my friends in Canada - whether that is Christmas events, Diwali, or other religious occasions.  And of course  one of the great things about Canada is that people can feel free to celebrate whatever religious or other ethnic or cultural events they choose to celebrate.  But the holiday season still reminds those who don't celebrate Christmas that they are very much a minority - starting as early as Halloween.  I might add - that even in  2022 - Ontario, Canada is still a place where the  government funds Catholic school education  but  not that of other religious groups.  That's a bit of a digression but my overall point - simply - is that it is nice to be somewhere else for a change that time of year.   

We did mark Chanuka by lighting the candles each night, eating some potato latkes, trying some donuts (I tried to minimize my consumption of the donuts...).  But it was fairly low key.

We lit this beautiful Chanukiah that a friend of  ours made.   

Here you can see an example of some of the types of "sofganyot" (filled donuts, basically) that are sold this time of year.

And even though we actively try to minimize the frying - every once in a while  (like during Chanuka and Pesach) - we do enjoy a few  potato latkes.  I like them much more than donuts personally.  In fact, I'll admit that I like them too much - especially with home made apple sauce or fresh sour cream.  

Unlike the custom for many American Jews and some Canadians, we didn't go out for Chinese food on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Partially, that  is due my discussion above, that December 25th is more or less a normal work day here.  But the other reason is that there are relatively few Chinese restaurants.

Nevertheless, we actually wound up going out to pan-Asian restaurant - "Queen Lu" in Ra'anana - which is a mixture of Japanese and Thai, coincidentally on Saturday night December 24.  The food was quite good and the service was great. Queen Lu is a Kosher meat restaurant -  so they have meat and fish dishes as well as vegetarian options.   

Sports Comments

By far, the biggest event in Israel for the year - and probably for the past 4 years - was  the World Cup.  It was so huge here that the TV stations were wishing people a "Happy World Cup Holiday"  throughout the tournament, even though Israel wasn't even participating.  Thousands of Israelis flew to Qatar to attend even though they were not the most welcome guests.  Qatar does not have diplomatic relations with Israel but allowed Israeli to fly direct to Doha just for the World Cup.  Despite some anti-Israeli incidents that took place during the event, nothing major occurred (that I am aware of) and the Israeli soccer (football) fans returned safely.   

Israelis were mixed on whether to cheer for Messi and Argentina or Mbappe and France  in the finals - but I think, on balance, the pendulum was on the Argentina side and a majority of Israelis were cheering for Argentina and were happy to see  Messi win.  Sure there is a sense here (like everywhere else) that  FIFA tournaments tend to be rigged.  After all, the Qataris  own the Paris-St Germaine  club where Messi plays - and Qatar was hosting the tournment.....and Argentina (Messi's  team) won even though they were not  one  of the top favourites to win.  But all that being said, there were some fantastic games and I thoroughly enjoyed watching many of them.  It was fun to see Canada play - even though our national team was not able to come up with a win.  Canada did score its first ever World Cup goal and that was exciting.

Other than watching some international soccer, I am not really interested in the Israeli sports scene.  But I am excited about some other sports and sports tournaments which are a bit challenging to watch here in Israel.

As you might know, the annual World Junior Hockey Tournament opens today in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Moncton, New Brunswick.  For hockey fans - this is quite a big deal. This year's  tournament features the much touted 17 year old - Connor Bedard - who is expected to lead the Canadian team and promises to be one of professional hockey's next great stars.   Of course, trying to watch these games in Israel is quite a challenge - because of timing and difficulties in streaming the games.  But I'm hoping to watch a few, especially towards the end of the tournament.  I don't imagine that a huge number of my fellow Israelis will be watching  - but that's their loss.

I am also super excited about the Buffalo Bills this year - who are among the top 3 teams in the NFL with only 2 games to play.  Maybe this will be the year to exorcise those demons of the past - where the Bills played in the Super Bowl four years in a row (1991-1994) without winning any  of them.  As a Torontonian, I grew up travelling down  to Buffalo periodically to attend games - in what has to be the world's worst professional stadium.  But the Buffalo tailgate party, the fan enthusiasm and the general excitement often make  up for the terrible stadium.  We used to bring  barbecues, kosher meat  and other foods, a decent  supply of beer and whatever else was needed to enjoy tailgating starting at 7 or 8 in the morning -  even on snow days.  Sometimes, the weather was  so severe that we left early.  But since Canada does not have an NFL team - Buffalo is really Toronto's "home team" and I would love to see them win.

I have also been watching the odd Toronto Maple Leafs game.  The Leafs have  one of the  top records in hockey this year but Leaf fans know that hockey seasons usually end in disappointment.  After all, the last  Maple Leaf win was in 1967.  Since I still have a share of Leaf  season tickets - I am cheering for them - but I'm not yet convinced that this season will end well.  Watching hockey  from Israel is always a challenge since there is very little  interest here and the times are less than convenient.  But I have seen a few games - and during the playoffs I am willing to sacrifice some sleep to watch my favourite teams play.  But that is not until late April - so I have some time.

Travelling Around    

If you are planning to be in Israel - and looking for something fun to do with young kids - the Yodfat Monkey Forrest in north-central Israel  features a large collection of squirrel monkeys that roam free in the park.  Kids love feeding them (with park-supplied food).  So do many adults.

The park also has a collection of other animals wandering the park including sheep, rams, goats, peacocks and pea hens, and a variety of caged birds including parrots and other talking  birds.  Nothing dangerous, as far as I could see.  People spend about an hour and a half in the park, which closes most days around 3 p.m.

Right next door, there is a fantastic vegetarian restaurant, the Yodfat Cafe, which has a wide ranging menus of salads, pasta dishes, crepes, pizzas and delicious coffee.  We have been  several times and have never been disapppointed.  Next  to the park, there is a also a strictly Kosher bakery/cafe with take out baguettes, croissants and quiches, as well as a small food-truck style Kosher pizza stand.

There are also a whole  bunch of interesting shops  including a boutique  wine store, a cheese shop, a sock store and a  range of other interesting stores and  galleries all right next door to the Monkey Forrest.

Israeli Politics

As you know, Israel held its fifth election in a period of four years on November 1, 2022.  This time around, Netanyahu and his Likud party captured 32 seats which was not nearly enough on their own to establish a government in the 120 seat Knesset.  However, political parties on the right that were prepared to support Netanyahu  reached another 32 seats in total.  That meant that Netanyahu was on track to put togher a 64 seat governing coalition. 

At first, Netanyahu thought that this would be easy to do and might take  "only days."  However, it has now been more than 7 weeks and the government has still not been sworn in.  Netanyahu has advised the President of Israel  that he has reached agreements with his coalition partners  and he is expected  to swear in the government on Thursday December 29, 2022.

This version of Netanyahu's government will be the furthest right government that  Israel has  ever had.  Netanyahu's coalition includes two ultra-religious parties (Shas and United Torah Judaism) and the Religious Zionist Party - made up of three ultra-right nationalist parties.  

The coalition talks have been difficult for Netanyahu since each of of these five coalition partners have been demanding enormous concessions and Netanyahu has felt  obliged to given in, presumably with the hope  of getting  out of his own legal difficulties in exchange.   

Among the intended, reported agreements:

A change  in the law to allow the Knesset, by a simple majority, to override any decision of the Supreme Court of Israel.

A change in the law to allow convicted criminals (like Shas leader Aryeh Deri) to serve as a cabinet minister without waiting for a seven year "cooling off" period.

A change in the law to allow "freedom of religion" to override anti-discrimination laws - examples provided include the areas of housing, medical treatment,  the military and other areas.   It is apparently targeted at LGBTQ+ people, non-religious women, Arabs and other minorities.     If this is actually implemented, I would imagine it would create worldwide backlash against Israel, even among Jewish communities in countries around the world.     

Changes to further deligimize Reform and Conservative Judaism  in Israel (and worldwide) and to strengthen the power  of the Ultra-Orthodox Rabbinical Authority.

Changes to the land,  civil and military authority in Judea and Samaria (the "West Bank") to give significant power to the Otzma ("Jewish Power") party,  led by Itamar Ben-Gvir and the Religious Zionist party led by Betzalel Smotrich.  This will impact  Palestinian housing decisions as well as decisions relating to the growth of new settlements.   It will  also impact a wide range of other decisions affecting daily life throught the disputed terrorities and the rest of Israel.

This is only the tip of the iceberg.  In fairness, it remains to be seen  which of these intended and  announced changes will actually be implemented - by a government that has not yet  even  been sworn in.  But I have no reason to believe or expect that the changes will only be "minor" or that these  changes won't get implemented.  

Overall, in my view, it is a very frightening government, moving us closer to countries like Turkey or Iran in which religious fanatics have signficant power over the lives of all Israeli citizens. One can only hope that all of the in-fighting that we have seen over the past 7 weeks (they haven't even been able to form a government  yet) will continue to create dissonance that will prove too  difficult to overcome.

To be clear - I think that is overly optimistic.  This new  government is  likely to last for a while - and it is likely to cause signficant damage to Israel as a democracy, as a  place that values the rule of law and as a place that welcomes Jewish people and others from all over the world as visitors and as potential immigrants.  The retroactive legalization of different crimes including corruption, bribery and tax  evasion, (by allowing those convicted of these crimes to serve as ministers), the legitimization of discrimination, the hand-over  of power to nationalist extremists and religious extremists - and other intended changes to the law are all are all steps that should worry Israelis and Jews  around the world who have been proud of Israel's accomplishments as a liberal democracy -  even as one  with warts and spots that inevitably accompany any country.

On the political front, I am hoping that 2023 will bring better news for Israel but I am not counting on it.  

Wishing everyone the best  of health, happiness, success and fun times  in 2023.

Israeli Political Update, Sports News and Some other Comments - November 2022

Israeli Soccer fans in Israel

We are two-thirds of the way  into November, 2022, 19 days after the most recent Israeli election.   In  this blog, I am covering a few topics.   First some comments about Israeli politics and the ongoing coalition talks.  Next some sports news with a bit of an Israeli angle.  Then a comment on my most recent  flight to Israel from  Toronto.  And finally, a few comments on a movie I watched on the plane and other  Israeli programming.

Israeli Political Update

Israeli coalition talks continue and Israel still does not have a government in place.  Some had expected that these talks would be very quick and that a coalition would  be  formed well  within  the  28 day mandate that has been given to Netanyahu.  But as others probably expected, things aren't that simple.

As you may know from reading the news (or my other blogs), Netanyahu is trying to form a coalition government with three  parties, who will join his own Likud party as part of the government.  Two of the parties are ultra-religious ("Haredi") parties and the third party is a far right wing nationalist-religious party.

For all of the parties concerned here, there are no other real options.  The two ultra-religious parties were left out of the previous government.  This meant a reduction in budget allocations for Yeshivot and other ultra-religious institutions.   They are determined to be part of this government, no matter what to make up what they lost.  They also know that, for the most part, the other parties in the  Knesset do not want to give in to their  demands.  So they must make a deal with Netanyahu.

Likewise, the far right party, the Religious  Zionist party - also knows that it will not be part of any government  other than one with this current configuration.  Of course, the RZ party could  increase its seat total in future elections.  In fact, Ben-Gvir sees  himself, it seems, as a future Prime Minister.  But for now, they need the Likud and the ultra-religious parties to form their "dream governnment," a "completely right-wing government" as they referred to it during the election campaign.

At the  same time, Netanyahu needs all three of these parties (and only these parties) to form a government.  They are the only parties that will pass laws to help him end  his criminal proceedings.  He ran on a platform to govern with these parties.  And the ultra-religious parties  have been very loyal to him.  So all in all, I expect that these four parties will succeed in forming a government shortly.  Like any  good negotiators, they may all push the matter until the very last minute, just before the deadline, or even the extended deadline.  But they will eventually reach a deal.  They have no other choice.

The ultra-religious parties have made a wide range of demands.  First on the list is an "override law" that allows the Knesset to override any decision of the Supreme Court of  Israel.   This is somewhat like the "Notwithstanding  Clause" in the Canadian Charter.  It has served as a basis for attacks from a few different satire programs - including Eretz Nehedert ("A wonderful country") which ran a skit with impersonators of the different political leaders sitting around thinking up  bills that they could  pass with the power to override the Supreme Court.  The skit ended with "Bibi" wondering if he could change the electoral system to give himself a 10 year mandate instead of 4....

Other ultra-religious demands have included a steep hike in the monthly stipend paid to yeshiva students, a law that permits public gender segregation of certain events, an immediate repeal of the taxes on super  sweet beverages (cola etc.,) and on disposable products and a wide range of other changes.  The ultra-religious Shas party has also demanded that the law be changed to remove "public breach of trust" from the  criminal code and to overturn the  current  Israeli law that says that a convict cannot serve as a minister in the government if he or  she was convicted of  certain types of offences.  The leader of Shas, Aryeh Deri, has been convicted  twice (the second time in 2021) of financial improprieties.  He wants  to have the law changed so that  he can serve as the country's  Finance  Minister.  (You can't make this stuff up - but it sounds about  as absurd as things get....).   I suppose it is like putting some Arab or other Mideastern countries, like  Syria or Iran, in charge of the UN Human Rights committees....

Overall, it sounds like Bibi and his Likud party are more or less willling to go along with most of these requests  from the  ultra-religious.

The Religious Zionist party is giving  Bibi  more  difficulties so far.    RZ is comprised of three parties that run under  one umbrella.  One group, led by Ben-Gvir, "Jewish Power" is anxious to come to a quick deal.  They have met  with Bibi  and, apparently, agreed on a range of items, including the  legalization of certain settlements  that were previously classified as "illegal"by Israel.  Ben-Gvir  is pencilled  in to  be the Minister of the Interior - which includes  having charge over Israel's police forces.   As you may know, Ben-Gvir has been charged and  convicted in the past on incitement charges  (of violence  against Arabs  and  of threatening violence against gays and  leftists...).  So  this is not a particularly palatable posting for some of us but Bibi will agree to it.

The other two leaders of RZ - Bezalel Smotrich and Avi Moaz are apparently demanding  concessions above their political weight.   Smotrich would like to be  given  the Finance Ministry or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  So far, Bibi is  refusing these demands (preferring to put Deri in the Finance  Ministry and his own buddy, Ron Dermer, who wasn't even  elected, into the role of  Minister of Foreign Affairs).  Here  for the first time, Netanyahu is running into protests from some of his own  party members, since they feel  he is giving  away too many of the important roles and not rewarding  his own stalwart party members.  This rumbling might become louder  since the Likud loyalists who are  left are the ones who have stuck with Bibi through thick and thin - generally less qualified and  more extreme than other former Likudniks  who left Bibi when they felt  supporting him was no longer  viable.  They would now like to reap their rewards for having remained.

I guess they will all continue to negotiate until someone  blinks.  Sooner or later someone  will,  since they all realize that  they have  no other choice. As expected, this is shaping up to be a  very right wing  government, which will  overturn a  wide range  of legislation, weaken  the power of the Israeli Supreme Court, tilt laws towards religion in the sphere of secular-religious balance, set back gender equality progress and generally make things very uncomfortable for  Arabs, especially those  living  in the disputed territories.

We will see what  deal emerges and  I will write more  about this in the  coming  weeks.

Sport News

The big  sport  news, of course, is the opening of the  World Cup of Football in Qatar.  There is an Israeli angle here, even though the Israeli side did  not make it into this World Cup tournament.  In fact, Israel has only played in one World Cup.  Perhaps that will change one day (and perhaps the Toronto Maple Leafs will win the Stanley Cup...).

Israel does not have dipolomatic relations with Qatar.  However, Qatar agreed to allow Israelis to fly to Qatar and come watch the games. In fact, just yesterday it  was announced that Tus Airlines, which is 48% Israeli owned, will now run direct flights to Doha, Qatar for the World Cup.   This three-hour flight will set you back $666 USD though you can only get on the flight  if you can show proof of having a ticket to a World  Cup game.  Thousands of Israelis have apparently made plans to go  or are already there.  I watched a few being  interviewed just before the game  and they were  certainly very excited about being there.  None of them seemed to be concerned about any security issues.

Qatar has apparently agreed to allow cold  Kosher  food to be sold - but nothing warm and no meat, even though it had apparently promised to be  more hospitable earlier.   It has also stated that Jewish people will be prohibited  from praying in groups.  I would imagine that many of the soccer fans  going are  not  too concerned about these issues, but for observant Israeli soccer fans, this trip  might be somewhat uncomfortable.  Hopefully, there won't be any issues.  This is quite a contrast with what is going on in Dubai - where the UAE has opened up synagogues, brought in Kosher caterers and made extensive efforts to make Israelis feel at home since the signing  of the Abraham Accords.  Qatar is simply not there yet.

Soccer is the most  watched sport here in Israel.   On TV they are wishing everyone a "Happy World  Cup  Holiday."  One of the main channels, Channel 11, is interrupting much of its regular programming to show the games and there will probably be quite a number of people calling in sick or "working from  home"  over the next month. Sure this is also the case in many countries  around the world, even other countries that aren't actually participating in the tournament, like Israel.

As a Canadian, I am cheering  for Canada to do well.   Canada will face Belgium, Croatia and  Morocco in the first round.   The odds of Canada winning the World Cup are apparently 12,500 to 1 (though some sites are offering as much as 25,000 to 1 supposedly).  The odds of Canada emerging as one of the top two  teams from its group of four are apparently set at 215 to 1.  So if you think that Canada is about to be the big surprise of the tournament, there is lots of money to be made.  I imagine that quite a large number of Canadians will watch the Canadian side play - even if that means missing some work.  But the numbers probably won't  be as high  as the numbers who watch Team Canada Olympic Ice Hockey games.

Meanwhile,  I am not really sure if you could say Israelis are unified in cheering for a particular  team - though certainly Brazil, Argentina, and  France are all big  fan favourites.  I'm not normally a big watcher of soccer  but I have always enjoyed watching the World Cup  and I'm sure  I will watch my  share  of games, even though I won't be going to Qatar.  For now, I am clearly cheering for Canada.  If they exit the tournament quickly, as expected, I will have to find a different horse to cheer for.   Maybe  another underdog team.

Flight News

As you might know, El Al has "suspended" its Canadian service.   So there are no longer direct flights from Toronto to Tel-Aviv, which leaves Air Canada  as the only option.  In general, I have been flying  Air  Canada over the years.  Air  Canada offers a far superior  mileage  program, better deals with other partner  airlines,  lounge access  all over the world, and  a much greater  level of predictability, order, ease of boarding and baggage  allowance.  The in-flight service is also much better.

But with the decision by El Al to stop servicing Canada, Air Canada took the liberty of raising its prices - immediately and  drastically.  So whereas November is normally a "low season" to fly with very reasonable prices, it was much more expensive  now and the  flight was completely packed.  Clearly many of the people  were passengers who have  normally been flying El Al - which changed the feel of the flight as well.

Hopefully some other airline or  airlines will step forward and  offer some  competition on this route.  Otherwise, it looks like direct travel  between Toronto and Tel-Aviv (as well as Montreal and Tel-Aviv) is going to continue to get much more expensive.   

Movies and Shows 

On the flight from Toronto  to Tel-Aviv, I watched the movie "One of Us" which is a  documentary based on the lives of a few former Hassidic Jews in Brooklyn  who were able to "escape" and  are trying to rebuild  their  lives, some  with more success than others.  Certainly  the movie sheds light on some really horrible  situations and addresses a range of different issues,  including custody fights in the ultra-orthodox community in New  York courts, the cover-up of sexual abuse  in the  Haredi community, the limited  secular  education that community members receive and some other  issues.  It was  not a particularly balanced movie though it highlighted the work of Footsteps  a New York organization that assists those who have  chosen  to leave the ultra-religious community.  

Although there were interviews with some Hassidic rabbis and some attempts to discuss these  issues with community members, I felt that, overall, it was somewhat more of an attack on the community than a  balanced documentary.

That  being  said, there are similar organizations similar to Footsteps and  many similar stories in Israel.  It is a genuine  concern that this insular community  - in the U.S., Israel, and around the world, is not  providing its members with the proper  tools  to function and  make a living  and that creates ongoing, cyclical poverty.   Ultra-orthodox Jews are among the poorest Israelis.  Perhaps some of this is self-imposed, since  many of the men would  rather spend their lives  studying  in a Yeshiva instead of earning an  income.  In Israel, they don't serve in the army, they marry at a young age,  have  a large number of children,  and generally, have few skills that are marketable in the general workforce.

So although the movie itself was one-sided, the issues it raises are very serious  and are likely to be exacerbated by the Israeli  government in waiting that is rapidly taking shape - since the new government will be beholden  to  interests  that want  to promote and fund this way of life.

I should  also mention that after  I got back to Israel, I finished watching the  fourth  season of Fauda, centred on an  Israeli under cover unit that  fights terrorist cells in the disputed territories  and in other places.  I thought the fourth season was probaby the best.  Intense, riveting and more realistic than some  of the previous seasons.  I won't  give anything away - but it is really  quite a dramatic show.

The weather  has been beautiful here - 28 C during the day and sunny though we  have some days of rain forecast for later in the week.  We are looking forward to seeing a number of different guests, including family members and friends, here in December and then  in the spring and  fall  as well.   I don't celebrate American Thanksgiving myself - other than to  do my part by watching some of the NFL games that day - but I have attended a few Thanksgiving dinners  in Israel with some American friends.  Nothing  planned this year (since at least one of my American observing friends will be away) - but for all those celebrating - I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving!  

As it turns out, there is a chance that we will finally have our  whole  crew together for  dinner on Thursday  night - so maybe I need to consider making  some turkey....We could combine that  with some World Cup viewing and some  quality Israeli wine.  I guess we have a few days  to decide.