Yom Shleeshee
Tuesday
3 Elul 5782
August 30 2022
SPECIAL NOTICE: TIME CHANGE
Your humble servant has just arrived in California for the next three weeks. The OneIsrael blog will be appearing approximately 10 hours later than usual. Thank you for your indulgence.
Appalling Photo of the Day
The destruction this morning at Ramat Magron, again.
For the third time this month, large numbers of police and the civil administration descended on the tiny Jewish community of Ramat Magron and destroyed the homes of three families who were living there.
Five of the women and children were wounded in the razing–which started at 4 am. Those wounded were then were denied medical treatment.
How many times have we pointed out the obsession that “Defense” Minister Benny Gantz has with destroying these tiny communities? It is an obsession that has turned into a psychosis.
The Ambitious Plan of the Day
What do you think you are looking at?
Believe it or not, this is a new hotel going up in the Dead Sea–built partially on floating islands like one might see in Maldives, Dubai, or Tahiti. The complex is supposed to be finished within a year.
The problem? Water is receding in the Dead Sea so quickly that one wonders if there will be water left to float on.
The News on the Israeli Street
Palestinian terror in the last 24 hours . . .
Intense firefights erupted in Shechem near Joseph’s tomb and in Jenin overnight.
Palestinian terrorists attacked Israelis at Luban a-Sharqiya, Katab, Psagot, south of the Leh Crossing, and between Ozrin and Akbara among dozens of locations.
Will the teachers strike or not? . . .
Israeli parents remain on the edge of their seats tonight.
Yesterday evening we had the Ministry of the Treasury saying that it was very optimistic that a strike could be averted.
Only to have Minister of Finance Avigdor Liberman saying this morning that the Treasury cannot make any more compromises, and that he was going to ask for a court injunction to order the teachers back into the classroom.
This evening the Israel Labor Court–not to be confused with Israel’s regular judiciary–rejected Liberman’s arguments.
So, where this leaves us nobody knows. No strike, a short strike, a longer strike: all look like possibilities.
The price of gasoline drops lower . . .
After already dropping from 8.08 shekels per liter to 6.58 shekels, the price will further drop 21 agorot tomorrow night to 6.37.
This is welcome relief to Israeli consumers.
The unseemly battle over Jonathan Pollard . . .
First we had news last week that Itamar Ben Gvir was actively recruiting Pollard to run for the Knesset under the banner of Otzma Yehudi.
However, this morning came the report that Pollard had decided to actively support Ayelet Shaked and her Zionist Spirit Party.
Shortly thereafter, Shaked and Pollard were mercilessly attacked by members of Likud led by longtime Netanyahu supporter Miri Regev.
By the end of the day, Pollard had retracted his support for Shaked.
TODAY’S BLOG
The Allenby Bridge Farce
The famed Allenby bridge between Israel and Jordan (photo Shay Levy).
President Biden may not be taking any phone calls from PM Lapid, but that doesn’t stop the Biden Administration from making demands of Israel.
You will recall that back in July, one dangerous concession that Israel gave to Biden and the Palestinians was to allow the Palestinians to have an observer at the Allenby Bridge crossing into Jordan. It was dangerous because it gives the Palestinians a foothold in the Jordan Valley.
Apparently, another concession was that Israel agreed to keep the Allenby Bridge crossing open 24 hours a day. This was supposed to go into effect on September 30.
However, a fight has broken out between Israel’s Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Defense as to which department should be in charge of overseeing the change. Apparently, Benny Gantz and his Defense Ministry gave Biden the promise without consulting the Ministry of Transportation.
To make a long story short, angry Americans in the form of U.S. Ambassador to Israel Nides and National Security Advisor Sullivan are now demanding that Israel keep its promise.
Once again, the fear is that by not fulfilling the promise, Israel risks offending President Biden.
Can you believe this?
This is a government that lives in fear of a frail U.S. president who almost certainly will serve no longer than one term.
The bottom line is that PM Lapid will undoubtedly move heaven and earth to make sure that the promise is kept–a promise that should have never been made in the first place.
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.