Yom Chamishee, Thursday
16 Tevet, 5781
December 31, 2020
Photo of the Year
The IDF Photo of the Year taken by Amit Agronov 669.
The above photo of a night landing was chosen by vote of IDF soldiers as the IDF Photo of the Year.
The Idiotic Quote of the Year (from yesterday)
“Israel has no threat from Iran, Lebanon, Syria, or the Palestinians . . . our main threat is division at home.”
Gadi Eisenkot, IDF Chief of Staff (2015-2019)
Wow! Can you believe the insanity has infected our IDF General Command?
No threat from Iran? Only the possibility of nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles.
No threat from Lebanon? Only 200,000 Hezbollah precision guided missiles pointed at every part of Israel.
No threat from Syria? Only Iranian proxy militias parked on our border attempting monthly infiltrations.
No threat from the Palestinians? Only nonstop daily terror against our citizens in Judea and Samaria and weekly missiles, explosive balloons, and breaches of the security fence from Gaza.
Is it any wonder that Eisenkot withdrew his name yesterday from consideration of being chosen by one of the political parties running in the coming elections? Who wants a lunatic in their party?
The News on the Israeli Street
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Palestinian terror in the last 24 hours . . .
In Judea and Samaria:
Palestinian terrorists attacked the security fence at Beit El with an IED.
Palestinian terrorists attacked buses with “rocks” and Molotovs at Road 55 in northern Samaria (a passenger was wounded), near Mevo Dotan, and on Road 465 near Ateret.
Palestinian terrorists attacked Israeli motorists with “rocks” and Molotovs at Azzun, on the Gilad Road near the Jit Junction, on the Gush Etzion-Hevron Road, and Givat Assaf among dozens of places.
Palestinian terrorists attacked IDF forces at Salfit, Al-Mu’ayyir, and Kedum.
In Gaza:
Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other terror organizations in Gaza completed a joint terror exercise yesterday, marking its conclusion with the firing of numerous missiles into the Mediterranean which continues this morning.
The daily Corona (Covid-19) update . . .
Here are the numbers over the last 24 hours (from 8 am yesterday until 8 am today):
416,584 Israelis have been confirmed with the virus since the pandemic began last March.
There are 4,186 newly confirmed cases.
622 are in critical condition—a decrease of 1
162 of the most critically ill are on ventilators—an increase of 4
3,307 have died–an increase of 51
There are currently 40,993 active Corona cases in Israel.
800,000 Israelis have now been vaccinated, but because of a shortage of vaccine, the countrywide vaccination campaign will be suspended for two weeks in January.
So far, some 300 Israelis have had adverse reactions to the Pfizer vaccine, and 224 Israelis have become infected after receiving the vaccine.
The Health Ministry reports that of the 35,000 Israelis who visited Dubai in November and December, 343 returned to Israel with Corona.
More on Jonathan Pollard . . .
In case you missed his eloquent words after he and his wife kissed the tarmac at Ben Gurion airport, here they are:
“We are ecstatic to be home at last. There is no one who is more proud of this country or its leader than we are. We hope to become productive citizens as soon as possible.”
Today they have issued another statement calling on all to pray for the recovery of Esther Pollard whose full name is Esther Yocheved Bat Reisel Bracha.
They also are encouraging people to write them at: letters4pollard@gmail.com
And to send them a photo or video if you like. It might be a nice way for you, dear reader, to end your year by writing a congratulatory note to Jonathan.
The latest Iranian threat . . .
In a speech this morning, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani issued this death threat:
“In the coming weeks President Trump will be expelled not only from the presidency, but from life.”
TODAY’S BLOG:
2020 Ends Like It Began: Israel In Total Disarray
Your humble servant is not by nature a pessimistic person; however, it’s difficult to be optimistic when looking at the current situation of Israel.
We could write about the the rift between orthodox and secular, the gap between the rich and poor, the passivity and political correctness that infects the IDF General Command, the threats facing us on all of our borders and beyond, this latest surge of Corona with deaths and bankruptcies in its wake, and on and on.
On the other hand, we might slightly counterbalance the above with the seeming normalization that has occurred between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco. I say “seeming” because who knows whether these agreements will hold–based as they are on what President Trump promised.
However, the startling facet of Israel this year has been the political chaos which has enveloped the country.
With PM Netanyahu wholly concerned with his indictments and events outside the country, there is no one at the helm domestically. Decisions are made and rescinded; budget plans are made and withdrawn; construction is started and halted. The so-called “coalition government” of the last year has been a disaster.
Now we have another ridiculous election looming in March which promises a result that will be much of the same as Israel splinters into ever more political parties, the two new ones being Gideon Sa’ar’s “New Hope” and Ron Huldai’s “Israelis”.
We can easily predict the result now: Likud 23-28 seats, Lapid’s Yesh Atid 15-17 seats, the Joint Arab List 14-16 seats (assuming the 4 parties in the list hold together), New Hope 14-16 seats, Shas 8-9 seats, Yamina 7-9 seats, “Israelis” 7-9 seats, United Torah Judaism 7-8 seats, Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu 6-7 seats, Meretz 5-6 seats, and Kahol Lavan 4-5 seats.
Again, the question will be who will form a coalition with whom and whether the anti-Netanyahu parties (Yesh Atid, Joint Arab List, New Hope, Yamina, Yisrael Beiteinu, Meretz, Kahol Lavan) can hold their individual noses long enough to muster 61 seats..
In the meantime, the political parties are now experiencing fruit basket turnover. Just think about the last few days:
*Faced with numerous defections, the Likud Party of Benjamin Netanyahu, is now reaching out to the Joint Arab List in an effort to shore up its situation. This is the same Netanyahu and Likud that swore they would never include the Joint Arab List in a coalition.
*The Kahol Lavan (Blue and White) Party of Benny Gantz is falling apart. Two of its most stalwart members have just jumped ship: Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi.
Nissenkorn has resigned his post, but Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi announced that he would not give up his post as Foreign Minister “until he feels like it.” By the way, Ashkenazi said that his greatest achievement has been blocking sovereignty for Parts of Area C of Judea and Samaria.
And so it goes on this last day of 2020: political madness which only serves to hurt this country.
Stay safe tonight as you enjoy New Year’s Eve!
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.