SPECIAL NOTICE: In two hours, at 8:00 pm, Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s “Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism Remembrance Day”, officially begins. A 1 minute siren will be sounded followed by a memorial service at the Western Wall. Tomorrow’s israelstreet blog will be devoted to Yom HaZikaron.
UPDATE at 6 pm Tuesday: At 4:55 pm, Israeli soldiers rearrested Iyad Fanon, another Palestinian terrorist released in the Gilad Schalit exchange. At 3:43 pm, IEDs were defused near Hevron by IDF sappers. At around 1 am last night, a 30 year old Israeli taxi cab driver was savagely stabbed several times in the upper body by an Arab passenger or passengers between Tel Aviv and Kfar Saba–in what police are describing as a “nationalistic” crime. As of this time, the unnamed cab driver remains in critical condition–and two Palestinians terrorists have been captured.
TODAY’S BLOG:
Your humble servant thought that he would prelude the sad with the sweet today. In advance of Yom HaZikaron, here are four good things (and one amusing thing) that happened in Israel yesterday:
1. It was reported yesterday that India is considering using Israeli technology to help clean its sacred Ganges River. To this end, an Indian team of engineers, researchers, and representatives will visit Israel next week. Unfortunately, Hinduism’s holiest river has become a major source of infection and disease, and India is looking to Israel to provide technological solutions to help clean the river.
Specifically, the Indian team will spend time with several Israeli companies that specialize in sewage purification, solid waste treatment, desalination, and management of water resources–all areas in which Israeli technology leads the world.
2. The ministerial committee formed by PM Netanyahu to consider the situation with Beth El’s Ulpana neighborhood and with the Judean and Samarian Jewish communities of Rechavim, Bruchin, and Sansana voted–over Ehud Barak’s absurd objections–, to “legalize” the latter three, and instruct the Attorney General to ask Israel’s Supreme Court to postpone the razing of the Ulpana neighborhood.
A small section of the Ulpana neighborhood of Beth El created in 1999 by then PM Ehud Barak--who now wants to demolish the homes.
Why are Ehud Barak’s objections “absurd”? Because the Ulpana neighborhood was established in 1999 under the explicit directions of then Prime Minister Ehud Barak. So here we have a neighborhood that Ehud Barak personally approved–and in which Jewish community members personally encouraged by Ehud Barak have been living for 13 years—fighting for its existence against Ehud Barak.
3. The Kedem Battalion which is stationed hear the Halamish Jewish community in Samaria reported yesterday that its medics led by Lt. Col. Dr. Michael Findlar had saved the life of a 12 day old Palestinian baby from a nearby Palestinian settlement who had been suffering from “acute respiratory distress”–after the baby’s mother had brought the child to the Kedem base.
Dr. Findlar noted that this was the third such event in the last three weeks—previously a young Palestinian girl suffering from life-threatening meningitis was treated and afterwards, another Palestinian child suffering from severe jaundice was saved–each of the two girls was then taken to Israeli hospitals for further treatment.
4. Finally, the Israeli prison system got it right yesterday. After the debacle with previous hunger strikers which were allowed to be released early in exchange for stopping their strikes, the system cracked down on the 1200 new hunger strikers mentioned in a previous israelstreet blog.
The “Palestinian Prisoners’ Club” (can you believe this?) opined today that all of their possessions have been confiscated except for their towels and shoes, all family visits have been denied, and that the strikers have been separated from the rest of the prison population. Maybe the Israeli prison system will actually become more of a prison and less like a hotel.
A Small Amusing Item From Yesterday:
This may seem like an odd item to describe as “amusing” but the French Ambassador to Israel, Christophe Bigot, was robbed while he was walking alone near Nabi Musa–a valley near Jericho that is under the control of the PLO and an area in which “Jews” are not allowed. Bigot reported that two masked men “demanded his wallet and cellphone.”
Bigot was careful not to identify his assailants as Palestinian Arabs (even though they obviously were), but quick to excuse the assailants and blame himself by saying that they did not know he was the French Ambassador: “They just thought I was a regular tourist. Next time, I won’t hike in that area by myself.”
Ahh . . . the arrogance of the French . . . if only the Palestinian criminals had known he was the French Ambassador and not a “regular tourist”, he wouldn’t have been robbed. Laughing out loud.
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As noted in recent blogs, a list of vocabulary for Israel supporters to begin using is appended to today’s blog (and every blog for the next month).
1. Use ‘Judea and Samaria’ instead of ‘the West Bank‘.
2. Use ‘Jewish community’ instead of ‘settlement‘.
3. Use ‘construction of Jewish homes, schools, and hospitals’ instead of ‘settlement activity‘.
4. Use ‘new Jewish communities’ instead of ‘outposts‘.
5. Use ‘Jewish community member’ instead of ‘settler‘.
6. Use ‘conservative politicians’ instead of ‘right-wing politicians‘.
7. Use ‘PLO’ or ‘Palestine Liberation Organization’ instead of ‘Palestinian Authority‘.
8. Use ‘Palestinian Islamic Terrorist Organization–HAMAS’ instead of merely ‘Hamas‘.
9. Use ‘Israeli men, women, and children’ instead of ‘Israeli citizens‘.
10. Use ‘Palestinian cities’ instead of ‘Palestinian refugee camps‘.
11. Use Palestinian ‘settlements’ instead of Palestinian ‘villages’ or ‘hamlets’.
12. Use Palestinian ‘settlers’ instead of Palestinian ‘farmers’ and ‘villagers’.
13. Use international ‘lawbreakers’ instead of international ‘activists’.
14. Use ‘the suicide bomber prevention fence instead of the ‘separation fence’ or ‘wall’.
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.