Yom Rishon
Sunday
3 Kislev 5782
November 7 2021
The Photos of the Day
A Hiking Trail along the Kineret
The weather was cooler than normal so people hit the trails (courtesy Israel Nature and Parks Authority and photographer Matan Bogomolsky) .
According to the Authority, more than 100,000 Israelis went hiking on Saturday. In addition, the three most heavily visited parks were the Yarkon Tel Afek National Park, Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, and the Tel Ashkelon National Park.
An Endangered Species
When is the last time anyone saw this in Israel? This photo was taken at the Visitors’ Center in Masada.
What is the endangered species? Tourists.
The Hollow Quote Of The Day
“After the transfer of Bennett and Lapid’s bad budget – which raises prices, imposes taxes and transfers tens of billions of shekels from Israeli citizens to the Islamic movement – the chances of overthrowing the government increase. The united opposition of the right will overthrow the dangerous government of Bennett, Lapid and Ra’am much faster than they think.”
The Likud Party in a statement following the press conference of PM Bennett, FM Lapid, and Finance Minister Liberman which touted the new budget.
Yes, the budget does raise prices, impose taxes, and transfer some 30 billion shekels to the Islamic movement, but the chances of overthrowing the government dwindle by the day. The united opposition of the Right may not be united much longer with talk of the orthodox parties perhaps joining the Coalition Concession Government.
The News on the Israeli Street
The weekly Corona update . . .
556 more Israelis were confirmed over weekend as having Covid-19 (compared to 619 last weekend). There are now 6,434 active cases in the country (compared to 8,601 last Sunday).
1,333,605 Israelis have contracted Corona since the pandemic began–an increase of 6,479 since last Sunday.
The positive test rate yesterday was 0.74%– compared to 0.80% last Sunday.
177 Israelis are in serious condition (a decrease of 43 since last Sunday) with another 111 in critical condition (a decrease of 20 since last Sunday).
8,114 Israelis have died–29 since last Sunday.
The numbers show that this latest surge of Corona is on the wane. Any number of people dying is too many, but an average of 4 per day is much better than the double digit days during the last few months.
Vaccinations:
6,244,671 Israelis have received one dose (an increase of 13,972 since last Sunday).
5,739,849 Israelis have received two doses (an increase of 13,305 since last Sunday).
3,976,374 Israelis have received three doses (an increase of 33,254 since last Sunday).
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As we reported last week, the numbers of Israelis getting vaccinated has virtually stalled–with fewer than 2,000 Israelis a day receiving their first or second dose. The numbers of those receiving the 3rd dose–the booster–has also slowed to around 4,750 per day.
More than a million Israelis have never gotten vaccinated at all–and more than 3 million have never received the booster.
TODAY’S BLOG
It’s Morning Again In Israel
(with apologies to Ronald Reagan and to the Passover Hagadah)
Israelis were treated to an amazingly disingenuous Facebook posting by PM Bennett Friday morning after the Knesset had passed the new budget.
Echoing Ronald Reagan’s campaign slogan in 1980 and of course the eternal words of Ma Nishtana of the Passover seder, Bennett was euphoric [my comments are bracketed]:
“This morning was not like all mornings.
This morning we all got up to a country with a budget.
It’s the end of an era.”
[What era is Bennett talking about? The clear implication is the “Netanyahu era”].
“A period of three years in which the State of Israel was in a political spin, one election after another, loud campaigns against each other, uncertainty and a constant atmosphere of conflict, dysfunctional governments that are unable to do the most basic thing – serve the public.”
[Where was Bennett during these three years of political spin? Delivering the biggest political spin of all: loudly proclaiming that he was a politician that would represent the “Right” and that he was a politician who would stay true to his word.]
“Our beloved country, which has been derailed for several years, is back on track. The transfer of the budget guarantees two things: one, political stability. From this morning the whole political system knows that the government will be here for years and that no elections are on the horizon. It’s relaxing.”
[How is the budget guaranteeing political stability? Simple, the Bennett-Lapid-Liberman-Gantz government has raided the treasury and poured billions of shekels into every leftist social program under the sun on the progressive agenda. The real stability is being provided by the Islamist Ra’am Party which received a 30 billion dollar allocation for its 4 votes in the Knesset.]
“The second thing is – work! Every government ministry has a budget, it has goals, it has an updated priority, and everyone knows what they are supposed to do.”
[As if the ministries of the government did not operate under provisional budgets during the last three years. And yes, everyone knows what they are supposed to do: toe the line and remain in power. As for “work”, the cornerstone of this government appears to be taking political junkets around the world.]
“This is the beginning of a new era. Of a normal government, managed responsibly and diligently, which puts the good of the citizens and their security first, and that takes the country forward, in all dimensions. We will do and we will succeed! . . .”
[Again a slap at Netanyahu who, reading between the lines, allegedly operated an abnormal, irresponsible, and slackardly government that put citizens and the country’s security last–and moved the country backwards.]
“Many things need to happen, from many directions. [We] need industrial and technological superiority, fighting ability, high-level leadership, and also – moral clarity regarding the purpose and righteousness of the way . . . We need to have a strong and growing economy, a stable political system and most important of all – a united people who are confident in their justice and in their own way.”
[Morally clear, righteous, and just: if there is anything that Bennett has not been, it is morally clear. As for righteous, well, your humble servant is reminded of something he read a few years ago written by Gerard Alexander: “Liberals are self-righteous egotists who use their positions of power to lecture, judge, and disdain those who don’t agree with them.”]
“. . . If there is one thing we can learn from our brethren in the Diaspora, it is to rise above the labels, and the sub-labels, that we stick to ourselves, and to each other. Such a kipa, another kipa, with no kipa at all. I’m Jewish. That’s it.”
[Say what? I don’t know what planet Bennett is living on, but the western world these days is beset with labels despite its incessant striving for inclusivity. As for those Jews in the Diaspora, does he really think that Reform Jews do not label Orthodox Jews with disdain and vice versa?]
And so it goes this “morning” in Israel.
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.