Yom Rishon
Sunday
2 Tishrei 5784
September 17 2023
Photo 1 of the Day
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi flanked by his two leading generals in front of an array of ballistic missiles.
The photo was published by the Iranian media just as Iran decided to prohibit IAEA inspectors from having access to the country’s nuclear facilities.
And not just any inspectors, but the most experienced inspectors involved in uranium enrichment technology.
Photo 2 of the Day
Firefighters trying to get control of an arson-started fire in the Tel Gezer Forest near Karmi Yosef.
The News On The Israeli Street
The war in Gaza, Judea, and Samaria.
Shooting attacks:
Palestinian terrorists fired on a military post near Shavika north of Tulkarm. There were no Israeli casualties; the terrorists escaped.
Palestinian terrorists fired on IDF soldiers along the Gaza fence yesterday. No Israelis were wounded.
TODAY’S BLOG
Evaluating Last Year’s Rosh Hashana Wish List
Your humble servant wrote the following blog on Rosh Hashana last year, on September 26, 2022. I thought it might be interesting to see what if anything that I wanted to see happen came to pass–my comments on what has happened are italics.
September 26, 2022
10 Things We Want To See In Israel In 5783
1. A new conservative government. Our hope is that the election on November 1 will result in the leaders of the current government being swept out of office. We would especially like to see Itamar Ben Gvir lead the “right” back into power.
This certainly came to pass: a new conservative government with Itamar Ben Gvir leading the “right” back into power was voted into office on November 1 2023. Unfortunately, from the outset of our new government, the Opposition has refused to accept those democratic results and has worked tirelessly to overthrow the Netanyahu led coalition. Nevertheless, the current government is infinitely better than the previous one.
2. A declaration of Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria. The 500,000 brave Israelis living in these areas deserve nothing less.
A declaration of Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria seems as far away as ever. However, with Minister of National Security Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich as part of the government, we have seen remarkable changes in Judea and Samaria with the legalization of 10 Jewish communities, the reversal of the withdrawal from the 4 communities in northern Samaria that PM Sharon unilaterally ordered, and renewed work on vast infrastructure projects designed to bring electricity, water, and safer driving conditions to those living in Judea and Samaria.
What has remained the same is the extraordinary number of daily terror attacks targeting Judeans and Samarians.
3. An IDF General Command that supports our soldiers. We are “sick” of seeing our soldiers thrown under the bus. Open fire regulations should be relaxed, and the Military Prosecutor’s Office should be eliminated.
It is fair to say that soldiers are still being thrown under the bus; however, Ben Gvir and Smotrich have ensured that soldiers have more support in the government. In some cases, open fire regulations have been relaxed, but unfortunately the abominable Military Prosecutor’s Office is still doing all it can to prosecute soldiers for even the most minor of infractions.
4. A judiciary that places a supreme value on protecting lives and not coddling terrorists. How many times do we have to see judges release terrorists only to have them kill Israelis shortly thereafter?
Nothing has changed. The Israeli judiciary remains hell-bent on protecting the rights of terrorists at the expense of the rights of Israelis.
5. Recognition of the PLO terror organization for what it is. The warm embrace of PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas by Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz has been nauseating to behold. Why do we continue to prop up a group that incites Palestinians to murder us and carries out terror attacks against us?
The situation has worsened. Arm-twisted by the Biden Administration, Israel is undertaking dozens of concessions to strengthen the PLO in the totally fraudulent belief that by strengthening the PLO, Hamas will somehow be weakened.
6. A continued resurgence of Jewish presence on the Temple Mount. It is good to see how more Jews are now going to our Har HaBeit–but this number needs to astronomically increase. There should be no more kowtowing to the Islamic Wakf or the Jordanian government.
The new year finds us still kowtowing to the Islamic Wakf and Jordanian government; however, more Jews went to the Mount during the past year than in any other recent year:
A group of Jews on the Temple Mount this morning. Note the number of police protecting them and making sure they do not break the rules of the Mount.
7. A more serious attempt to deal with with Israeli-Arabs. The Bedouins have effectively taken over the Negev, and PLO flags now wave in Israeli-Arab cities such as Umm Al-Fahm and Sakhnin.
The situation has worsened. What was true a year ago is even more true today with Bedouin gangs setting up fiefdoms, and PLO flags even flying in anti-government demonstrations in Tel Aviv.
8. A major reduction in the cost of living. Almost everything in Israel is outrageously expensive. Young couples are now leaving the country because they cannot afford to raise a family here.
The situation has worsened. When tomatoes are 10 shekels a kilo in some markets, and a basic car costs 175,000 shekels, and and and . . . virtually the entire country is living on its credit cards.
9. Sanity on the roads. We have often written about how dangerous it is to drive on Israel’s streets and highways.
The situation has definitely worsened. Hardly a day goes by that numerous people are killed in traffic accidents, pedestrians are run over by buses, or motorcyclists run over people or are run over (3 motorcyclists were killed in accidents last night). Nobody knows how to drive here–and every freeway is a racetrack.
10. The return of swagger. The years since 1967 have seen Israel and Israelis continually being put on the defensive. We need to care less about what international “humanitarians” think, and more about being proud of who we are. We don’t have to explain what we do to survive to those who want to delegitimize us.
The situation has remained the same. Fortunately with Netanyahu in power, we are somewhat less inclined to kowtow to the “humanitarians”, but the pressures on Israel and Israelis remain strong.
The final scorecard:
We obviously still have a long way to go to satisfy your humble servant. However, we are making inroads into Israeli control in Judea and Samaria–and, thank heavens, our conservative government is remaining stable for the moment.
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.