18 Tammuz 5780
10 July 2020
Searingly Incisive Quote of the Day
“There’s a reason why most Israelis find it difficult to listen patiently to lectures from liberal American Jews. For Israelis, their country is a real place filled with real people and perplexing dilemmas that have no easy solutions. But for all too many American Jews, Israel is a dreamland—a place for intellectual tourism where we can project our own insecurities and anxieties on the Jewish state while expressing our moral superiority over the lesser beings who live there and lack our wisdom.”
Jonathan Tobin, from the essay “Understanding the Collapse of Liberal Zionism”. Tobin is editor in chief of JNS—Jewish News Syndicate
Click here to read the entire essay.
What a brilliant comment and essay.
Israeli Jews are here in Israel confronting real problems they face everyday, not the least of which are the problems of constant Palestinian terror and an existential threat from Iran and its proxies. On the other hand, American Jews cannot understand the reality of Israel simply because they do not live here on the front lines.
After decades of detachment from Israel and Judaism, many liberal American Jews have created an intellectual construct they call “Israel” which they visit as an “intellectual tourist.” When they do “visit” (and it is far down on their list of priorities), it is only to harshly criticize Israelis for not adhering to the supposed morality of their liberal construct and to arrogantly try to ram their bankrupt idea of what reality should be down our throats.
Photo/Map/Video of the Day
1.
The view from Metulla on the Lebanese border in northern Israel last night as the IDF fired flares into the air.
The IDF used the flares to track down and capture 3 infiltrators who were trying to make it into Israel.
2.
Another night, three more huge explosions in Iran (map and graphic from Telegram).
The targets this time were apparently missile warehouses belonging to the Revolutionary Guards. This makes 7 different “mysterious blasts” that have rocked Iran in the last week.
3.
It is that time of year again here along the coast. Click here to see the jellyfish clogging the Ashkelon Rothenburg power plant in a short video taken yesterday.
The News on the Israeli Street
Palestinian terror in the last 24 hours . . .
Palestinian terrorists opened fire on an Israeli woman and her daughter who were riding in a car at the Reihan Crossing in northern Samaria. The terrorists escaped and the Israelis were treated for trauma.
Palestinian terrorists threw grenades and Molotovs at an IDF post near Ariel. The IDF returned fire, killing a 33-year-old terrorist.
Elsewhere in Samaria, our soldiers were attacked with “rocks” and did not return fire (out of fear of being prosecuted). Click here to see an attack on our soldiers.
Another Palestinian terrorist, who is also a Jordanian citizen who was permitted to come and work in Eilat by our idiotic government, was convicted in court yesterday for the attempted murder of two dock workers 18 months ago. He tried to kill them with a hammer “for Palestine and Allah and as revenge for the “occupation.”
The daily Corona update . . .
As of 8 am this morning (Friday):
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There are 34,825 confirmed cases—an increase of 1,268 since this time yesterday
18,452 of these have recovered—an increase of 114
122 are in serious condition—an increase of 9
39 are on ventilators—the same as yesterday
348 have died–an increase of 4
The five hardest hit cities in the last three days are: Jerusalem 431 new confirmed cases, Bnei Brak 183, Tel Aviv 144, Ashdod 109, and Beitar Illit 79.
An interesting side effect of Corona is the decreased mortality of people with other respiratory problems. For example, the number of deaths caused by pneumonia is lower (percentage wise) than it has been in decades.
According to new guidelines issued last night, all unemployment benefits have now been extended to June of 2021, and self-employed Israelis will receive an immediate grant of up to 7500 shekels.
In case you missed it, Moderna announced yesterday that it has completed Phase 2 trials of a Corona vaccine, and will begin the final Phase 3 trials next week. Moderna is pledging to deliver 500 million doses of vaccine by the end of 2020 and 1 billion by 2021.
TODAY’S BLOG:
Food In the Time of Corona
What do you see? (photo: giraffelist).
Among the other skyrocketing prices of consumer items in Israel is the price of food. In the last few days, there has been an outcry here precipitated by a comment from Tzahi Hanegbi that all talk of starving Israelis is nothing more than “bullsh.t.”
Hanegbi has since apologized for his remark as well he should have. Food prices are already o.8% higher than they were this time last year, and this is amidst food shortages of such basic items as eggs and chicken.
The fact is that there are more people–many more people–shopping and eating than ever because it is impossible to fly abroad. This may seem almost nonsensical but when you consider that in normal summers at least 2 or 3 Israelis out of every 10 are out of the country traveling at any given time then the scope of the problem becomes more apparent.
What are Israelis eating?
The sharpest increase in products purchased are in:
baking and cooking foods–26.8%
rice, pasta, stews–21%
dairy products–11.6%
On the other hand, the following food (and drink) products showed the sharpest decreases:
ice cream–down 9.4%
liquor–down 0.7%
Lots of bread, pasta, and cheese–a surefire recipe for weight gain. When the Corona situation finally subsides, it will be interesting to see what the average weight gain of Israelis has been.
A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.