Yom Shabbat-Rishon
Saturday-Sunday
9-10 Adar II 5782
March 12-13 2022
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Photo of the Evening
The projection on the walls of the old city of Jerusalem tonight.
The right message? Even though the Russian and Ukrainian flags are both there–and they are accompanied by doves of peace wishing “Shalom”, many wonder why the Russian flag is there at all. After all it is Ukraine that fervently desires peace, not the Russians who have brutally invaded their country.
See Today’s Blog below for more comment about Israel vis a vis Ukraine and Russia.
The Astonishing Quotation of the Day
“I believe my gut tells me that what Jewish people in this country want is to know that there’s a sanctuary that is a safe and sustainable place that the Jews, the Jewish people, can call home.
Rather than a Jewish state, American Jews want a safe Jewish space. I think they can be convinced over time that the key to sustainability is to adhere to what I see as core Jewish values, which are to be principled and fair and just in creating that space.
The right of people to self-determination and to be protected is without a doubt something that we believe in, and I personally believe that, but we [Amnesty] are opposed to the idea that Israel should be preserved as a state for the Jewish people.
Israel shouldn’t exist as a Jewish state.”
Paul O’Brien, USA Director of Amnesty International, speaking to the U.S. Women’s National Democratic Club. O’Brien’s comments came as a follow-up to Amnesty’s recent fraudulent report labeling Israel as “an apartheid state.”
This is what the left hopes for: the elimination of Israel as a Jewish state–in this case brazenly stated for the world to see, not couched in the usual ambiguities.
No doubt O’Brien is right when he says that he thinks that a substantial portion of American Jews–especially young Jews–would be happy with nothing more than “a safe and sustainable place” that Jews can call home. After all, numerous surveys in recent years have shown American Jews placing “Israel” very far down on their list of priorities.
The widely used symbol for “a safe place.”
A safe and sustainable place–echoing what is now taking place on university campuses across the United States where “safe” places are created for self-described “marginalized individuals” to communicate with each other about their experiences with marginalization.”
And obviously, O’Brien and other leftists believe that a Jewish safe place would better be at a Hillel House on campus or a community center than in Israel.
The News on the Israeli Street
The daily Corona update . . .
3,958 new cases of Corona were confirmed yesterday bringing to 40,286 the total number of Israelis with an active case of Covid-19. One of the people who tested positive yesterday is former PM Netanyahu.
The positive test rate was 15.31%.
366 Israelis are in serious condition in hospitals with another 180 in critical condition on ventilators.
10,379 Israelis have died of Corona–20 since Friday.
It is worthwhile remembering that there was a time at which the Health Ministry had the goal of a positive test rate less than 1%. The fact that there are “so few” new cases is merely because “so few” Israelis are now getting tested.
Note that the number of those in critical condition dropped by about 20 over the last two days while the number who died rose by the same number.
Palestinian terror in the last 24 hours . . .
Palestinian terrorists using Molotovs and “rocks” attacked Israelis between Anatot and Hizma, at Luban a-Sharqiya, on the Gush Etzion-Hevron Road, at Al-Abud, and at least a dozen other locations.
Palestinian terrorists using Molotovs and “rocks” attacked Israeli buses at Hawara and at Tekoa.
TODAY’S BLOG:
Clueless Amateurs At The Helm:
One Debacle After Another
No matter which way you look at it, our Israeli government looks like rank amateurs in regard to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
First we had a condemnation from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry before the war began because Israel refused to along with moves in the United Nations to condemn Russia for its imminent invasion.
Then we had Israel saying it would remain neutral on the U.N. General Assembly Resolution condemning Russia only to finally be strong-armed into supporting it by the U.S.
Then we had news that the Knesset had turned down Zelenskyy’s request to speak before our legislature. Then a special session was going to be called for him to speak, and now it’s not. [This was followed this morning by a refusal of Yad Vashem to let Zelenskyy speak there.]
Next came PM Bennett’s so-called “mediation” efforts which resulted in the Ukrainians lambasting Bennett for telling Zelenskyy to surrender.
This was followed by a PR push from Bennett on Shabbat yesterday to news media around the world proclaiming that he did not really tell the Ukrainians to accept Putin’s terms.
Then came news that Israel has established a quota of 25,000 Ukrainians that will be accepted as refugees–only to be amended today that the family members of Ukrainians who are Israeli citizens are not subject to the quota. Only to be amended again by comments from FM Lapid who is on the Polish border.
Finally, after the government said that Russian oligarchs would not be given safe haven in Israel came news late last night that more than a dozen Russian oligarchs have flown to Israel, and their planes are parked at Ben Gurion Airport.
In short, no policy has ever been worked out about anything with the result that Israel government officials end up looking like the clueless amateurs that they are.
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.