UPDATES
9:00 am Israel time, Thursday, June 18 2015
**The situation on the Golan Heights continues to degrade:
Artillery fire at Hader two days ago. Elements of IS have taken the high ground and surrounded the Druze town (picture: Times of Israel).
As the battles swirl around the Israel-Syrian border and missiles are fired into Israel (note the alarms yesterday), Israel continues to try to stay out of any ground involvement. However, the situation with the Syrian Druze who are now increasingly surrounded has ratcheted up Israel’s rhetoric–with the government warning IS-affiliated Jabhat al Nucera to not try to capture an important Druze town of Hader on the border.
Israel’s IDF Chief of Staff made it clear yesterday that Israel’s border is open to Syrian–especially Druze–refugees.
**Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon makes a pathetic apology:
If you can believe this, Moshe Kahlon apologized in a written letter to the U.S. Ambassador to Israel this morning for the new book, Ally, written by Michael Oren, the former Israel Ambassador to the United States–and member of Kahlon’s Koolanu party.
In that book, Oren has excoriated Obama for deliberately trying to sabotage relations between Israel and the U.S. Sections of the book have appeared in the Wall Street Journal.
Kahlon’s groveling words speak for themselves:
“I was always very candid and vocal expressing my deep and sincere appreciation for President Obama’s efforts to stand by Israel and defend its interests. The moment I became aware of Dr. Oren’s recent article I summoned him immediately to my office and he made it clear that all that was written reflects his own personal views . . . I hope that ou will find the proper way to convey my message to your administration and to the American people and hope that the relations between our countries will continue to grow. I will do whatever I can in my capacity to nurture them.”
Here’s a news flash for the weak-kneed, nurturing, Kahlon: the American people largely agree with Oren’s assessment of Obama.
**Israel expands children’s summer activities for communities along the Gaza border:
This is a “playground game” in Sderot. Let’s play: what do we do when the missiles strike? (picture: Haaretz).
Israel’s Education Ministry announced yesterday that the government will fund additional summer “fun” for children living in the Eshkol, Sha’ar Hanegev, and Chof Ashkelon regions along the Gaza border.
The fun activities will include summer camps for kindergarten and elementary school children. In addition, the children–the majority of whom suffer from PTSD–will have increased access to psychological counseling. As Education Minister Naftali Bennett commented:
“There is no country in the world whose children live under the threat of missiles like those in the Gaza vicinity. We are here to support them and to express our appreciation for their bravery. Last summer, the children had to run to their bomb shelters; this year they will be running to their swimming pools.”
**French immigration to Israel surges:
A group of French immigrants to Israel in Paris before boarding a flight to Tel Aviv. The man in the middle is Natan Sharansky.
The number of French Jews making aliya to Israel continues to grow. Between January 1 and June 1 of this year the number of French immigrants increased by 25%–5100 as compared to 4000 in 2014.
Israel’s Immigrant Absorption Minister Ze’ev Elkin says that his Ministry predicts that by the time this year is over, 9000 French Jews will have made new homes here.
TODAY’S BLOG:
A young ultra-Orthodox family in Jerusalem.
**Fascinating economic facts about the “ultra-orthodox” from Kol Chai Radio:
Keep two facts in mind as you read the statistics below.
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1. The “ultra-orthodox” do not include all the orthodox. “Modern orthodox” Israelis have relatively high salaries and a low unemployment rate.
2. The poverty line for couples with 3 children is 9000 shekels per month–and virtually every “ultra-orthodox” family has 5 or more children.
The statistics:
16% of ultra-orthodox families earn fewer than 4000 shekels ($1047) per month
47% earn between 4000 and 8000 shekels ($2094) per month
27% earn between 8000 and 12,000 shekels ($3141) per month
9% earn between 12,000 and 20,000 shekels ($5235) per month
1% earn more than 20,000 shekels per month
In other words, at least 75% (16% + 47% + a percentage of 27%) of all Israeli ultra-orthodox live below the poverty line. This outrageously high number is easily explained however. According to the survey:
*54% of ultra-orthodox men do not work (on the other hand, 76% of ultra-orthodox women work).
*In 42% of families, the woman is the only one who works; in 34% both the husband and wife work; in 12% both don’t work; and in 12% only the man works.
It is interesting to note that in Israeli as a whole, 23.6% of Israelis live below the poverty line–making Israel ranked 91 in the world in terms of citizens living below the poverty line (by contrast, the poorest country Chad is 1 with 80%, the “West Bank” is 110 with 18.3%, and the U.S. is 123 with 15.1%).*
Yes, you read that correctly, a greater percentage of Israelis live below the poverty line than Palestinians living in “the West Bank.”
The primary reason is the ultra-orthodox who are a drag on Israel’s economy because of their dependence on government subsidies to survive.
But ask yourself this simple question: where would Israel be demographically without the ultra-orthodox?
And finally, ask yourself this simple question: where would Judaism be today if the ultra-orthodox had not held it together for the last 2000 years?
The ultra-orthodox have for the most part been desperately poor down through the centuries, but they have remained true to their faith.
*Source: indexmundi
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.