Yom Shnee
Monday
24 Nisan 5782
April 25 2022
TODAY’S BLOG
Missiles From Lebanon, A Corona Update,
Glass Houses, Natural Gas
On the Lebanese border . . .
Two Grad missiles were fired at Israel yesterday from Kalia, a town south of Tyre in Lebanon. They exploded near Shlomi in northern Israel.
No incoming missile sirens were sounded due to (according to the IDF) a malfunction in the warning system.
In response, Israel lobbed 63 artillery shells into the forested area where it was believed the launch originated.
The failure of the warning system to be activated is similar to what often happens along the southern border with Gaza.
The weekly Corona update . . .
With a new BA4 variant being reported in Israel this morning (3 passengers who flew into Ben Gurion Airport from Italy, South Africa, and Singapore respectively) and the dropping of all mask requirements for indoor gatherings, Corona remains in the news.
3,759 new cases were verified yesterday bringing to 27,477 the number of active cases in the country.
The positive test rate continues to drop–now being at 5.92%; however, the coefficient of infection is beginning to rise, and is at 0.85% this morning.
594 Israelis are hospitalized with the virus.
218 of these are in serious condition. 94 are in critical condition: 77 are intubated, and 7 are on ECMO (heart and lung) machines.
Thus far, 10,670 have died of coronavirus in Israel since the pandemic began.
People who live in glass houses . . .
During the last few election campaigns, those opposed to then PM Netanyahu constantly railed about how things like garden furniture that was moved from Jerusalem to the Netanyahu’s private residence in Caesarea and the supposed spendthrift ways of Sarah Netanyahu who ordered pizzas for her family–instead of having the cook make pizzas.
One of the most vocal of Netanyahu’s detractors was current PM Naftali Bennett.
In the last few days, it has come to light that Bennett has moved his official residence to his private home in Ra’anana. In the process, he ordered major additions and renovations to his home at the cost of tens of thousands of shekels. None of the additions and renovations were properly approved–and permits were never applied for or received.
And . . . it turns out that the Bennett family is now running up a 10,000+ shekel tab per month on food–which is not cooked by the official chef.
Good news on the economic and environmental front . . .
It is reported today that Israel saved about 65 billion shekels last year via the transition to natural gas produced in Israel’s offshore wells.
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.