End of 2021 Wrap Up

I haven't written very much the past few months.  I think my last few articles were reviews of different books about Bibi (both of which were actually quite interesting).  I have been back and forth a few times and I am now back in Ra'anana for some period of time.  So I thought I would write about a few things that come to mind as we conclude 2021.  

Since my blog is not the most regular blog out there, I try not to make it a news service generally, other than when there is an election or some other really big event.  Otherwise, it is more likely to be observational commentary or discussion of different topics that  have caught my attention.

Israeli Politics - a few short comments

First of all,  I might as well hit on Israeli  politics.  I don't have that much to say at this point (very surprising I'm sure for those who know me well).  In general, the current government under the leadership of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is continuing to remain in power and looks to be reasonably likely to do so for at least the next several months.  As you may know, it is a government made up of some very divergent voices.  It includes members of the fairly far right and members of the fairly far left as well as some centrists and an Arab nationalist party.  It is actually incredible that this group has been able to hold things together but in my view, there is a general shared commitment to trying to do things that will benefit the country and the people living in it.

The government has presented and  passed several pieces of legislation and is intent on bringing about refreshing reforms in a wide range of areas including some issues that involve religion and the state.  No government is  perfect (or even close) and certainly this government has made several mistakes.  But so far,  it seems to be holding on to the support that it had and probably represents, cumulatively, just  over 50% of the Israeli voting population.  It will be interesting to see whether the government goes ahead with the planned rotation and turns  power over to Yair Lapid, as scheduled, in July 2022.  I am not the only one with doubts that this will occur but it seems likely that we  will  avoid an election at least until some time after that date.

Meanwhile, the trial of former Prime Minister Netanyahu continues (on various charges of bribery, breach of public trust and related issues).  It is hard to say how that is going though it certainly hasn't "collapsed" as Netanyahu predicted it would.  Legal commentators that I have heard have suggested that it is not going particularly well for Netanyahu.  For what it is worth, I maintain that he will cut a  deal at some point in time before a verdict though it is hard to say when that will be.

As you may have read, the leader of the ultra-religious Shas party, Aryeh Deri, a formerly convicted fraudster, has apparently agreed on a plea bargain deal to address his current criminal charges.  Interestingly, he will only be required to pay back some  of the money that he allegedly acquired (improperly).  He will also stay on as leader of the Shas  party for now, though he will do so from outside the Knesset.  Apparently that is a thing.   This way he can earn money from different sources  and not face the constricting reporting rules of the Knesset,  which bar work that might create conflicts of interest.  

The leader of the  other ultra-orthodox party, Litzman, is also rumoured to be  negotiating a plea bargain deal for  his pending criminal charges though nothing has been finalized yet.

Of course once  we have  completed these plea bargain deals, Israel will be totally free of  corrupt politicians....Sarcasm aside, it is a  start.  We, in Israel, take comfort these  days in comparing what is now going on here to what has been going on the U.S. (and many other parts of the world) the past  few years and really don't feel as badly as we used to.  

December Holidays, here  and there

I happened to be in Toronto for a chunk of  November and December, which reinforced my minority status in Toronto and reminded me of one of the great benefits of  being in Israel.  

For  example, I enjoy grabbing a coffee at the Second Cup (Wilson location) before heading to my office.  I guess they decided  to turn their radio to CHFI and start  playing Christmas music right after Halloween.  So for the entire months of November and December, it was Christmas music  all the time.  I guess the equivalent in Israel is seeing donuts appear in the  bakeries about two months  before  Chanukah each year.

I have nothing against Christmas music and I am glad that people  enjoy it. But I wonder whether even people that  enjoy  the music want to hear it  non-stop  for  two full months.  

It seemed to me there were  more articles than usual this year on the North American Jewish tradition of ordering Chinese food on December 24th or 25th, which supposedly started  in New  York.  I guess  Jewish and Chinese places were the only types of places open on Dec 24th and 25th, so the Jewish community developed a  "tradition"  of having  Chinese food on these  days.  

In Israel that is not really a tradition of any kind.   In fact, for most people in Israel, Christmas is a regular work day.  Everything is open, there are few  decorations and  although we  have many "pan-Asian" retaurants (mostly stir free dishes and sushi), there are very few strictly Chinese restaurants, so there is no tradition of ordering Chinese  food on Christmas.

There are areas with significant Christian populations - in Haifa, Nazareth and other places.   And there are certainly Israelis, even Israeli Jews, who go  to take photos  in front of the trees and the beautiful Christmas decorations.  But for the most part, in Ra'anana and so many other cities across Israel, Christmas is one of those times where Jews genuinely feel at home in contrast to the experience  in so many other parts of the world.

Certainly there are a large number of expatriate Russians celebrating "Novigod" and putting up trees, christmas decorations  etc.,  More so in some cities than in others. But to this point, it is still very much a minority practice.

Travelling Back

As you might  know, Canada and the U.S. have  been classified as "red" countries now by Israel which means that  Israelis are officially forbidden  from travelling to those places without special  permission.  Israelis who were out  of the country before  the ban came into place can travel back to the country.

So  for  now, this also means that non-Israelis cannot come to Israel without special  permission. And Israelis cannot  leave  to go to  "red" countries.

I have many friends planning  trips to Israel for festive occasions or other reasons and it looks like all  of those  plans will be up in the air  for  now.  Hopefully we will soon see a big change though it is impossible to predict when that will happen.

In order to come  back to Israel this time, I had to make  sure  to have  lots of ducks in a row.

Air  Canada  cancelled  all of its direct flights so I was routed  through Frankfurt.

First  on the  agenda is making sure to complete the  Israeli entry form - within 48 hours of departure from the  connecting city.   In other words,  it had  to be  within 48 hours of  the connection time in Frankfurt  not the  Toronto  departure. We had a two hour delay in Toronto because some dufus was refusing to comply with the mask wearing requirement.  He was removed from the plane by security but we were two hours late. So I had to redo the form in Frankfurt before Lufthansa would allow me to board the plane.

Next, I had to arrange  a Covid test.  If you have  been  vaccinated three  times (or  received your second dose within  the past six  months), you can get a rapid antigen test within 24 hours of the flight time (the time of the flight leaving Toronto, even if you are transiting).  Now just a  couple  of  months ago, these tests were going for $25-$35 in contrast  to the PCR tests which are about $120 in Toronto.  So I  thought I would  save quite a  bit.  But many of the Toronto labs  have raised the costs to about  $60-$65. Still cheaper but the gap is closing.

I also had to arrange (pre-pay for)  a PCR test on landing in Israel.  That was 80 Shekels (about $32Cdn).  If you don't pre-pay, I believe it is  about 120 Shekels when you land at the airport ($48Cdn).

After all that, on landing in Israel from  a "red" country, you must stay  in isolation for 7 days.  If you test negative  on day 1 and  day 7, you can get released on the 7th day once you receive  back test results.   If you don't do the second test, you have to remain in isolation for  14 days.

The airport was quite empty.  Israeli customs uses a random inspection self-declaration system,  much like many places in Europe.  So as you pass  Israeli customs, they randomly pull over people and put their luggage into an x-ray machine to look for any improperly imported or undeclared items.  Since I often have a decent amount of luggage, I am pulled over with some frequency.   This time since the  aiport was quite quiet, I was probably a pretty enticing target with my overloaded baggage  cart.  But even though I was pulled over, had my bags put through the x-ray machine and underwent an additional manual inspection, the disappointed customs officers still  couldn't  find anything that was problematic.  And I was released and left to repack my violated luggage.  

As I understand it, they are mainly looking for fruits and vegetables, drugs, undeclared electronics and undeclared  commercial goods.  And alcohol  that is  over the limit.  Overall, it was simply a  minor inconvenience and  not a problem  of any kind.  But if you do bring something into Israel that you were supposed to declare but didn't, you can face a fine equal to  double the duty/tax on the item.  So for example, someone caught smuggling a $1,000 cell phone could have to pay about $360 if caught and  possibly as much as $540.  People tend to try and negotiate these fines with varying degrees of success.  Generally, I do my best to avoid these problems.

So here I am in "isolation" in Ra'anana.  The police have been sending me automated "check-in" messages several times a day to verify that the  phone and the person in isolation are  both where they are supposed to be.  I am not overly concerned about  this "invasion of my privacy"  if that is what it takes to try and control the spread of the virus.

Animal News

In animal news, we were in Haifa last month and actually saw familes of wild boars wandering the streets in residential  areas. They were very large.   I am  not sure that  I have the pictures - I will look for them but it was quite a site.  

As you may have read recently, Israeli is facing a huge  bird flu problem  which has killed thousands of European cranes.  Israeli  farmers have also had to cull more than 600,000 chickens. So we may see an egg shortage in the  coming  months.   Hopefully  this won't continue to develop into  something more  complicated.

Sports 

As I have  written on other occasions, I am not really a follower of any Israeli sports except for international competitions.  As a Canadian, hockey is the number one sport, though I also enjoy NFL football.  

With NHL hockey, while in Israel, that usually means watching  between 2 and 5  a.m. or similar hours. NFL games are mostly more  reasonable since they start at 1 p.m.  and  4 p.m. EST on Sundays which means being able to watch at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. here.

NHL hockey is facing all kinds  of challenges with Covid as you may know and has suspended several games.  The world junior  hockey tournament (which is one of my favourite  sports events in any calendar year) was cancelled after only a few nights of games since there was such a  wide spread of the virus  So I am not sure when I will be back to watching hockey and  I am not as  excited in any event about the regular season. I really enjoy the playoffs.

That  leaves NFL which seems to be determined to finish its season no matter what.  For geographic reasons, primarily, my team is the  Buffalo  Bills and they are poised to make a playoff run.   So the next several weeks should see some really exciting football games.   It will mean staying  up very late on Sunday nights - and some Saturday nights - but NFL  playoff football is worth it for  me.  Not sure that I have many others to watch with so  I might  have to text and  email my friends  and  family members while watching.

In case you are wondering, the  weather forecast is about  15-20C for  most days over the next few weeks.  I like spending time here in January  where I can get a 25-35 degree temperature differential.  I do enjoy some nice winter weather but -20 to  -30C is not that fun.  Between 0 and -10 can be quite nice, especially if it is sunny, though that might be  something that only a true  Canadian would say.

So that is my round up for the end of 2021.  I am grateful to have spent some time this year  with friends and family on both sides  of the  ocean - and  hope that 2022 will be a healthy, joyous and happy year for everyone.  Hopefully we will all soon see some semblence of a return to normalcy.

Bibi - the Turbulent Life and Times of Benjamin Netanyahu

At the risk of being labelled a "Bibiphile," I recently read a second biography of Bibi, this one  written by Anshel Pfeffer, a columnist for  Haaretz.  In case you didn't get a chance to read my earlier blog, in September, I reviewed Ben Caspit's book The Netanyahu Years.  Caspit is a columnist for Maariv, a paper that is somewhat more to the right than Haaretz.

These books are written in quite a different style, though much of the ground covered is similar.  Pfeffer's book has references, footnotes, and, is seemingly, somewhat less speculative.  One gets the impression that he has been much more careful with his research and his sources even though that might be unfair to Caspit.  Since Pfeffer wrote in English, the writing is somewhat more enjoyable and fluent as one might expect.

Bibi reads a bit more like an historian's work with an overriding theme that Bibi's legacy is one that is all about political self-preservation and self-aggrandizement at just about any cost.  In that respect, there may not be that much daylight between this book and Caspit's.  But Pfeffer arrives at that conclusion in a different manner.  Overall, I would say that I enjoyed this book quite a bit and found it to be somewhat more balanced, as harsh as its conclusion might be.

Pfeffer's book examines Netanyahu's family history and covers the contributions to Zionism by his father and grandfather.  He circles back quite a bit to his father's career path, his unfulfilled aspirations to play a significant  role in the Zionist enterprise and, strikingly, the disconnect between his father's staunchly revisionist politics and his ultimate decision to spend most of his professional career in the United States.

Pfeffer also spends a great deal of time discussing Netanyahu's mixed attitudes towards the United States.  On the one hand, he  points out on several occasions that Bibi developed American style  capitalist views at an early age.  Netanyahu is characterized as scornful and dismissive of the centrist, liberal views of  so much of the American Jewish community and described as viewing "progressive" attitudes as weak.  He has always been contemptful of the Israeli Liberal-Zionist leaders who founded Israel as a socialist influenced state.  In another life, he might have liked to take a run at the U.S.  presidency, suggested at least one commentator. 

On the other hand, Netanyahu has always been an avid  Zionist with a strong interest in the Jewish people and a tireless  dedication to strengthening and preserving the State of Israel, in a way that he has best seen fit, especially if he is able to make all or most of the decisions.  And yet, at the same time, he has always enjoyed the "good life," including fine cigars, high-end restaurants, first class hotels and world travel.  For many Israelis, he has been viewed has having American taste and sensibilities and being completely detached from life for the average Israeli.

Bibi spends some time dealing with the tragic history of Bibi's late brother, Yoni Netanyahu, who was killed in the Israeli special operations  raid on Entebbe to free a plane-load of kidnapped hostages.  Pfeffer references some of the historical work that his been done and concludes that Bibi and his family exaggerated and amplified Yoni's involvement and dealth in the operation into the "Yoni Myth" for political purposes.  Incidentally, he asserts that Shimon Peres and some other politicians were also complicit in this process for their own political gains.  This is not an attack on Yoni Netanyahu but rather an examination of the way some politicians used his death for cynical political purposes, while downplaying the role of so many other heroes who planned and carried out the operation with Yoni.  Bibi is  portrayed as the chief architect and primary beneficiary of this cynical approach.

Perhaps Pfeffer uses this as an early example of Bibi being prone to exaggeration, prevarication and constant political deception.  Some sordid stuff, one might say, but well supported by the historical record according to many observers who have written about him.

Pfeffer does not downplay Bibi's intelligence, drive, focus or the meteoric nature of his rise to the top in Israeli politics.  He reviews Bibi's outstanding academic record, his tremendous talent in front of a camera and his knack for understanding the big picture and analysing situations.  He acknowledges that Bibi did a "brilliant job" as  Israel's ambassador to the U.N. in the early part of his career, though he also points out that he only managed to convince those who were already convinced.

Ultimately, Bibi's subsequent political history is one of divide and conquer.  Over the course his years in politics, Bibi's conduct led countless Likud members, trusted advisors, friends and colleagues to separate themselves from him, and in many cases, become bitter enemies, often forming opposing parties.  In fact, Israel's current Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, is a one-time Netanyahu protege.  Of course, this may be common in the Israeli political world, which is painted as a cesspool of backroom dealmaking, backstabbing and an environment generally devoid of trust.

At times, Pfeffer seems to pick up on the language of Israeli professor Avishai Ben Haim, who constantly rails on tv about the "second Israel"  - the "non-elite" who have, so often, been excluded from the corridors of power.  Bibi was about as "elite" as one could be in this regard, having been educated  at Yale, and having grown up in reasonably affluent circumstances.  Nevertheless, and perhaps ironically, he built up his voter base to consist of working class Israelis, the Mizrahi community, and other sectors of Israeli society that Ben-Haim describes as forming part of the "second Israel."  Unlike Ben-Haim, Pfeffer is not prepared to give Bibi a pass for his misdeeds on this basis and would prefer to hold him accountable irrespective of which constituency he might have been representing.

Bibi spends a fair bit of time looking at the relationship between Israel's leaders and the various U.S. Presidents over the years.  Bibi was certainly not the first Israeli Prime Minister to have disagreements with various U.S. presidents.  Pfeffer reminds the readers of various issues and disagreements that Israeli leaders had with Nixon, Bush Sr., Reagan, Clinton and others.  Bibi was no different than Shamir, Begin or, at times, even Golda Meir, in their willingness to fight for Israel's security and interests, even at the expense of their immediate political relationship with the U.S.  With respect to Obama, Pfeffer is somewhat easier on Obama than Caspit and seems to lay more of the blame for the failed relationship at Bibi's feet.

Although, like Caspit, Pfeffer decries Obama's decision to visit Egypt and Jordan early in his presidency but skip Israel, Pfeffer nevertheless concludes that "contrary to the “throwing Israel under the bus” narrative pushed by Netanyahu’s people in Jerusalem in Washington, Obama authorized taking the intelligence-sharing and operational coordination between the two countries to unprecedented levels.”  Pfeffer also notes that Obama authorized a 10 year $38 Billion military aid package on October 15, 2015, before leaving office.  This despite the fact that Netanyahu put everything he could into fighting Obama's Iran deal at all costs and waging an all-out political war against Obama  Overall, this is described as a failed policy that did not succeed in stopping the deal and did not help Israel politically.

In some ways, Netanyahu revelled in this characterization and sold himself around the world as “...the leader  of a small country who  had  brazenly defied two presidents of the United States and emerged  unscathed.”  Perhaps, viewed from some other angles, there were elements of success to Bibi's approach.

Pfeffer also suggests that Israel's stated intention of attacking Iran to destroy the nuclear program might have been a bluff to put pressure on the U.S. to deal with the situation.  Perhaps Bibi knew that Israel couldn't really launch this type of attack given the potential consequences.  Or perhaps he was hoping to convince the United States to go along and at least threaten the possible use of military action against Iran, even as a bluff to get a better nuclear deal.  None of this is to say that Pfeffer was convinced that the eventual Iran deal authored by Obama was a good deal - but his suggestion is that Israel might have been able to push for a better deal if Israel had cooperated with the U.S. adminstration rather than antagonizing it endlessly.

The book does not give other Israeli politicians, even opponents of  Bibi on the left, a free ride and is particurly harsh in its assessment of Ehud Barak, Shimon Peres, and even Tsipi Livini, who is described as thoroughly incapable.  There is also a discussion of the role that the late Lubavitch Rebbe Schneerson played in ensuring that his supporters helped deliver at least one electoral victory to Netanyahu, in exchange for dubious and sometimes opaque concessions.  Other Ultra-Orthodox and right wing extremist leaders are targeted as well. 

The book was written before Trump became President, or very early on in his presidency, so there is very little analysis of Trump's policies and actions.  However, Pfeffer does conclude that Trump's policies made a complete mess of Syria and ceded control to Russian and Iranian influence, while ousting the U.S. Pfeffer's comment here is that Bibi kept quiet and was largely uncritical of Trump's actions.  If it had been Obama or another Democratic president, Bibi would have acted very differently.

Like Caspit, Pfeffer touches on Bibi's three marriages, his history of infidelity and his strange relationship with his current wife, Sara Netanyahu, who has played a very active role in so much of Bibi's political life, particularly after Bibi was caught cheating on her.  The descriptions of Sara, along with the descriptions of her various legal troubles, allegations of corruption, employee abuse and her penchant for being treated like royalty, all contrast with the admiring descriptions of Bibi's previous two wives.  Incidentally, the book was published before Sara Netanyahu actually filed a guilty plea to several allegations  of corruption in the Israeli courts as part of a plea bargain deal.

Pfeffer leaves the book with hints of Bibi's pending legal troubles, a story that has developed to a much greater extent since the book was released.  That being said, over the course of the book, Pfeffer touches on a number of other scandals and corruption allegations that were closed before rising to the level of criminal charges.

Overall, it is not a flattering biography, but it is quite an interesting read.  There are few genuine political accomplishments that Pfeffer can cite over the course of Bibi's career, other than finding a way to remain in power.  In fairness, Pfeffer gives Bibi some credit for his work as Israel's finance minister. He also notes that Bibi has presided over a period of relatively few military casualties in comparison to other Israeli Prime Ministers, which he acknowledges.  There has been economic progress on some fronts, but Pfeffer also reviews contributions made to that progress under previous Israeli regimes.  But Bibi's overall legacy is to have left a deeply divided country with a festering Palestinian issue to address and some other potential powder-keg issues, while at the same  time damaging the American-Israeli relationship and causing it to become significantly less bi-partisan. And all of that is without any conclusions on the three sets of criminal charges for various forms of corruption, bribery and breach of trust that Bibi is now fighting.

Whereas Caspit's conclusion about Bibi is that his stewardship was one  of "wasted potential," Pfeffer seems more inclined to the view that this is precisely the legacy that Bibi wanted to leave and therein lies the problem.