Friday night: A man was murdered and his four year-old daughter was wounded, when two terrorists entered their home, an isolated illegal outpost near Kiryat Arba, on the outskirts of Hebron and opened fire.

According to this Hebrew link the man murdered, Netanel Ozeri, was a disciple of Rabbi Meir Kahana and a Kach activist.

posted by Imshin 21:15

Shabbat Shalom and Hag Same'ach
posted by Imshin 16:19

Solly of GedankenPundit wrote an excellent post about Israel, in response to someone who disagreed with him.
posted by Imshin 14:50

Tu Bi'Shvat

A few months ago on the radio, I heard the mother of a severely disabled child telling enthusiastically about the care center her child goes to run by an organization called Aleh. This morning, I was reminded of this in the supermarket, because I was asked to donate to them. The card I got had their website URL on it, so when I got home I had a look. Aleh means leaf.

Tomorrow is Tu Bi'Shvat, Jewish New Year of the Trees, and one of my favorite days of the year, because it’s a nature day and because we eat a lot of fruit, especially dried fruit. In Israel, this is the time when the new leaves begin to develop on the trees, along with the early springtime blossom. It is customary to plant trees on this day and it looks like we’re going to have a lovely weekend for it, although for many it’s falling on Shabbat, this year, means they won’t be planting, at least not on the day itself.

Tu Bi'Shvat reminds us of how nature renews and replenishes itself and that everything is forever being born again, fresh and new. This is a nice thing to remember, in these dark days.

posted by Imshin 10:31

”To be or not to be, that is not the question” (Thich Nhat Hanh)
I don’t really want to talk about what we should or should not be doing or what chances we have of surviving here. This is the reality of my life. Feeling bad or afraid won’t help or change anything.

Unfortunately, this knowledge is not enough.

Today was a beautiful day. The sky was blue, the trees were green and I could hear the birds singing even in the middle of Tel Aviv traffic. Tomorrow something from outer space could hit Earth and destroy it. More likely, I could cross the road and be run over by a bus. I could live in mortal fear of these things happening, or I could live in such a way that if they happen, I will die happy. Am I living in such a way? Not really, but I would like to. As Thich Nhat Hanh wrote in 1987 in his book “Being Peace”: “Each day 40,000 children die of hunger. The superpowers now have more than 50,000 nuclear warheads, enough to destroy our planet many times. Yet the sunrise is beautiful, and the rose that bloomed this morning along the wall is a miracle. Life is both dreadful and wonderful”. Do we dwell on the dreadful or do we enjoy the wonderful? Can we enjoy the wonderful, while being aware of the dreadful?

I don’t want to live my life angry and unsatisfied by things I can’t change. I often find that strong beliefs, that I once held, turned out to be completely wrong. I’m thankful I haven't been spending my life trying to change things that once angered me, but no longer do. Bish is much better at taking life as it comes, but I’m learning. Slowly. One step forward, two steps back.

There are two lines in a very famous poem by Hebrew Poet Rahel, which always move me to tears, however many times I hear them. She wrote (and please forgive my terrible translation): “I only knew to tell of myself / My world is as narrow as the world of an ant.”

posted by Imshin 21:18

Good News Day
This morning I took a bus to South Tel Aviv. I sat by the window and stared out of the window blankly, as one does, my eyes automatically searching for interesting things in store windows. And then suddenly it dawned on me. There was nothing interesting to see in the store windows, because so many of them were empty. Dirty windows with black nothingness behind.

On the way back, there was only standing room on the bus. This time I didn’t look out the window. I stood in the middle of the bus with my back to the driver, looking at the other passengers (except when it stopped to let on passengers, then I had a look at who was getting on). Just ordinary people on their way to work. Another bus came up next to our bus, covered with an enormous election banner with the slogan: “The Nation Wants Sharon”. These people just want to get to work, I thought.

Today is Good News Day. Yesterday the news was all about factories closing, children coming to school hungry, annual inflation data, suicide bombers being apprehended and Palestinian houses being demolished. Today the news is all about Ilan Ramon, first Israeli astronaut to be launched into space aboard NASA space shuttle Columbia, along with six American fellow astronauts. His father said on TV, that there was too much publicity, that maybe it would be better if the coverage was more modest. I don’t agree with him. We deserve a day with good news, don’t we?

Of course, Ilan Ramon isn’t joining this space mission to make us feel good. You can read here about some of the research he will be engaged in.

My girls are very interested and excited about this. It must have considerable educational value for Israeli children.

posted by Imshin 17:33

Rinat from Balagan, came to live here from Brazil five months ago. She is a wonderful, energetic and optimistic person. I love reading about her experience, learning to live in a new country. I find her blog inspirational. Lately she has been going through a tough period. She’s been working very hard at two exhausting jobs and was having difficulty finding an apartment. Her spirits have seemed uncharacteristically low at times. The last thing she has needed is nasty, petty harrassment on her comments. But some people couldn’t care less. If she’s Israeli she deserves it. Tired? Down? Ah, but you’d have it worse if you were a Palestinian, you nasty person you. Signed with a first name. No e-mail. No URL. The unbearable ease of anonymously kicking someone in the teeth and running away. Pathetic. A bit like this miserable human being, who drove his truck into a car parked at the side of the road, killing one person and injuring another, on the road to Jerusalem in the small hours of last night. He got out of his truck, saw that he’d done some serious damage, and then, instead of trying to help, he got back in his truck and drove off.

Enjoy your new apartment, Rinat. Hope the new job offer works out.

Update: That was a bit harsh. A nasty comment, is not like a hit and run accident, where someone gets killed. I apologize.
posted by Imshin 21:50

Good news.
Joe Katzman’s Winds of Change are back.

posted by Imshin 17:45

Exciting archeological find.
It’s apparently so exciting, specialists are questioning its authenticity.

“An inscription attributed to Jehoash, the king of Judea who ruled in Jerusalem at the end of the ninth century B.C.E., has been authenticated by experts from the National Infrastructure Ministry's Geological Survey of Israel following months of examination. The 10-line fragment, which was apparently found on the Temple Mount, is written in the first person on a black stone tablet in ancient Phoenician script. The inscription's description of Temple "house repairs" ordered by King Jehoash strongly resembles passages in the Second Book of Kings, chapter 12.

Dr. Gabriel Barkai, a leading Israeli archaeologist from Bar Ilan University's Land of Israel Studies Department, says that if the inscription proves to be authentic, the finding is a "sensation" of the greatest import. It could be, he says, the most significant archaeological finding yet in Jerusalem and the Land of Israel. It would be a first-of-its kind piece of physical evidence describing events in a manner that adheres to the narrative in the Bible.”

That’s from yesterday’s Haaretz. Today’s Haaretz (Hebrew print version, not available online) gives a lot of details about the tests it has been through for authentification purposes.

posted by Imshin 16:34

I can explain
Well, Dad, in case you’ve been wondering why I’ve been blogging all day, instead of being out making a living… eldest is ill. So instead of sitting by her bed, wiping the delicate droplets of perspiration off her little forehead with a damp cloth (she’s only 11, she doesn’t sweat, yet), soothing her with soft words of comfort … I’m on my computer and she’s on hers. Bringing up kids is much easier than it used to be in your day.

posted by Imshin 13:39

Fly Guy
This is lovely. I got it from Allison Lives and she got it from a curious frog.

posted by Imshin 13:16

Aha!
The Frog reports on Labor’s suggested new slogan. Sounds mysteriously like the slogan favored by far-right Herut party (Hebrew link), the one that suggests transfer! Naughty frog! (Ribbit?)

posted by Imshin 12:53

Diane was right?
OK, so we’re ready. The gas masks are in order. We’re all stocked up with plastic sheeting and masking tape. We’ve got the required amount of water. The security room is still empty (there’s a catch there but I’ll tell you about it later). We’re all psyched up and we’ve even been playing God by giving out invitations to the few fortunate close relatives who will get to play sardines with us in our apartment in Mitzpe Ramon.

And now you tell me it’ll only be NEXT YEAR???

What am I supposed to do with 32 bottles of water?

Update:
Diane (of Gotham) says: "Gotham is the town of "wise fools." I am definitely a fool, but whether I am wise or not time will tell.

I say there will be no invasion. Bush lost a major opportunity, because in war, momentum is legitimacy. This country was united like a mailed fist on 9/11. He could have announced, "the invasion starts tomorrow; Islam delenda est" and people would have lined up around the block to volunteer. I KNOW THIS.

The whole strategy since then has been to dampen the people's natural ardor for justice with a bunch of diplo-bullshit and delay and circumstance. They HAD TO KNOW that this would happen. HAD TO KNOW.

Ain't gonna be no war.

Am I a wise fool or just a fool? Time will tell".

Oy vey. I hope she's wrong.

Doesn't it just give you a nostalgic pang to read something so Gothamy?

posted by Imshin 12:28

Unheard of, unthinkable
Herb Keinon about the Likud's successful PR in this loan business (intentional or lucky?). Halting a press conference mid-sentence proves what we suspected all along: The left is out to get us. Brilliant. Tee hee. Who said this was a boring election campaign? I have never had such fun at election time before.
posted by Imshin 11:42

Arafat: Benefactor of Israeli thieves.
Maybe he should consider running for Knesset on behalf of the Likud.

posted by Imshin 11:29

Hmmmph
Akiva Eldar explains that Mitzna is not trying to win the elections any more (Hebrew link, requires registration – the English translation seems to have cut out the interesting bit). It seems that, having given up on winning the premiership, his goal, in the time-honored tradition of bad losers, is to put sticks between the spokes of the winner’s wheels. He gallantly intends to do his utmost to create a situation whereby the next elections will be necessary very soon. This is accomplished by pushing Likud into a coalition with the far right, thus creating a weaker government that will continually be contending with strong pressure for harsher measures against the Palestinians and will be victim to plenty of extortion for sectorial funding. All in all, an impossible (and in my view dangerous) situation for the whole country. Moreover, should the situation change (a cessation of Palestinian hostilities and a new Palestinian leadership, for instance), maybe as a result of the war with Iraq, in a way that enables renewing negotiations with the Palestinians, this will not be possible with a very right-wing government. Sharon doesn’t want such a government. Neither do most of the people, including most of Labor voters, according to polls. All this hardly increases my respect for Mitzna.

These wasteful and untimely elections were thrust upon us in the middle of a desperate, endless war of attrition, a terrible recession taking big bites out of our bank accounts and financial security (if we’re lucky enough to have any), and (if that wasn’t enough) war looming with Iraq. And all because then head of Labor, Ben-Eliezer, was doing well in party polls and mistakenly thought it would be advantageous for him (personally) to leave the government at that particular time.

Quoted by Amotz Asa-el in an interesting commentary, American political consultant, Arthur Finkelstein, says aptly: "When forced to choose between the crooks and the fools - the voters ultimately prefer the crooks."

Now which is the crook and which is the fool?

posted by Imshin 10:54

Thank you, Cousin D. for the delicious pecan pie. Cousin D. is from the creative part of the family. He's studying chefhood, or is it chefdom? Chefness? Chefinette? Chefery? Well anyway, he's learning how to cook well.
posted by Imshin 22:15

Acme Magic Election Winning Card
Surprise, surprise, latest polls (Hebrew) show Likud is back up to 32-33 mandates (seats in the Knesset), following Sharon’s infamous press conference, while Labor is back down to 20. The shocked Labor party (I warned them not to be too jubilant, but would they listen?) has announced drastic measures. They’re apparently considering emphasizing Sharon’s advanced age, for one thing (It’s like a cartoon race, with each team trying to think of the most diabolical plans to stop the other team from winning). Sounds like ageism to me. Maybe they were just having a bit of fun during a boring meeting. Their real ace is their apparent decision to announce that they will not be partner in a coalition with the Likud (Hebrew). Don’t laugh, they are really really desperate. They’re running out of ideas.

Seriously though, this is rather worrying, although it is not inconsistent with what Mitzna has been saying all along. How this is meant to attract voters from the center beats me. A TV analyst explained that it isn’t. The idea is apparently to move (further) left and try to get at Meretz voters. Haaretz says more or less the same thing. Sounds a lot like doomsday tactics to me. Yossi Sarid is probably apoplectic.

But I just don't get it. Even if they manage to schlep some votes off Meretz and the Arab parties and somehow win, who do they create a coalition with exactly? I can feel old fuzzy brain taking over here. This is way too complex for me.

Last week, when Labor was up to 24 and Likud was down to 27 according to one poll Shinui was getting 17mandates. This seems to have grabbed the imagination of a few journalists who have been fantasizing about Tommy Lapid as Prime Minister. Gil (still on his break) sent me this Hebrew Ynet article that suggest that all it would take would be 7 seats, 5 from the Likud and 2 from Labor and for Tommy Lapid to announce that he sees himself as a candidate for prime minister. Haaretz offers an interesting idea:“Even though the polls give Shinui at least 17 seats, they (Shinui) are refusing to consider that a tie between Likud and Labor could force President Moshe Katsav to ask Shinui leader Yosef Lapid to form a coalition. "We aren't that megalomaniac," says Paritzky, "though I think there was such a case in Italy once."” (Emphasis is mine)

Shinui hasn’t dropped in the most recent polls, but I must admit that the chances of all this happening are slim. They were slim last week and they are even slimmer this week. But still, the idea of breaking the monopoly of the Likud and Labor as the two big parties is deliciously tempting.

One day, I daydream, when we have peace (Why are you laughing? is this such a farfetched idea?), the electorate could see the current large parties as irrelevant. Maybe in that faraway, magical kingdom (of Peace), right and left will assume their natural form on the continuum of economic ideologies and not solely on that of hawk-dove. The party with the left-wing economic agenda may be a descendant of Meretz, whereas the party with the right-wing economic agenda could be a descendant of Shinui.

Will there be room for a large Sephardi protest movement? What will the percentage of the ultra-religious be and how will they affect this picture? Who knows? It's only a fantasy anyway. The spell will soon break and we'll be thrown back into reality with a bump. Back to a seemingly hopeless and endless war with the Palestinians. Back to the Likud with its influential criminals, vote buying and shady financing and back to Labor with its just as influential criminals (even if they’re probably not as open about it as they would be if they were in the Likud), vote buying and shady financing (all maybe less overt and hardly covered by the media, but there nonetheless).

When will we be a normal country? Someone asks. We already are, I answer. This is normal. What you dream of as normal - that's a fantasy, an illusion. It doesn't exist. "Normal" countries have their problems too. As Jennifer wrote to me recently: “.... I hate election-time.... but makes me warm and fuzzy to know that you all have to put up with the same %&*$ we do....”. Nowhere is perfect. At least this nook of the woods, with all its imperfections and problems, is ours.

posted by Imshin 22:09

Two people were killed yesterday as a result of Palestinian terrorism in two different parts of the country. Both inside the "Green Line". You can read about it here and here and here. In one case, terrorists entered a moshav (an agricultural village) and started shooting. I heard one of the moshavniks on the radio saying it could have been much worse, because the terrorist hid in the moshav's children's public playground. The children happened to be at a special event somewhere else, otherwise it could have been a bloodbath. Not that the death of 48 year-old Eli Biton is any less of a tragedy. So much for Arafat's kindly call for a cessation of terrorism against Israelis until the Israeli elections. A 23rd victim of last week's terrorist attack in Tel Aviv has died of her injuries. A Chinese worker.
posted by Imshin 20:24

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