Yom Reva’ee
Wednesday
17 Shvat 5783
February 8 2023
Graphic of the Day:
Earthquake in Israel Last Night (11:14 pm)
The epicenter last night.
Located about 10 km south of Ariel, the earthquake measured 4.1 on the Richter scale–not nearly as strong as those in Turkey, but strong enough to be felt Jerusalem and crack masonry in Shechem.
The Earthquakes in Turkey
Meanwhile in Turkey, the Israeli rescue effort continues. Click here to see amazing video of IDF rescuers locating and saving people trapped under and within the rubble.
The Weather in Israel
Golani Brigade 188 in the Golan Heights with a snowman they built today.
And:
A snowy scene in Kiryat Arba beside Hevron this morning.
Click to see a 10-second video of the heavy snow in Tzfat (Safed)
The News on the Street in Israel
The Utterly Insane Quote of the Day
“The government of Israel is illegal. A black flag flies above her. We will shut down the economy on Monday.”
Former Defense Minister Moshe “Bogie” Yaalon, speaking at a press conference yesterday.
The “left” here in Israel has gone completely insane. One day we have a leading leftist calling for the assassination of the leaders of the government. Yesterday we had Yaalon ranting that the democratically elected government is illegal, and that “we” (the leftist organizations) will shut down the economy on Monday.
Once again, it is important to write that the demonstrations and declarations we are seeing have nothing whatsoever to do with “legal reform” and everything to do with undermining Israel and bringing down the government.
TODAY’S BLOG
We Need Legal Reform, and We Need It Now!
Here at OneIsrael we have written extensively about the unbelievable case of Amiram Ben Oliel. As you may remember, he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for allegedly being responsible for the deaths of 3 members of the Dawabshe family in Duma (who died as a result of a fire in their home).
Never mind that extensive evidence exists that the Dawabshe home was burned by members of a warring clan in Duma (there have been back and forth burnings of houses for years).
Amiram was ruthlessly tortured over the course of a month by the Shin Bet in order to extract a confession from him. This torture was fully documented in his trial with the prosecution even agreeing that it took place.
But he was found guilty anyway by a judicial system bent on finding a scapegoat.
Yesterday, Esther Hayut, the President of the Supreme Court and the person who has been leading the judicial fight against judicial reforms–on the basis that it would diminish “human rights” in Israel–rejected Amiram’s appeal of his conviction out of hand.
There is not one Supreme Court in any democratic country in the world that would not have thrown out Amiram’s conviction.
But Israel’s Supreme Court decides cases on the whim of Justices who personally determine who has human rights and who doesn’t.
What else can one say about a judicial system run amok?
We need legal reform, and we need it now!
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.