Update 5:00 pm: We have just experienced three large explosions here in Ashdod at 4:46–causing everyone to run for the nearest bomb shelter. The IDF (which has lost credibility here because of not reporting all missiles fired at Ashdod–and doing nothing to stop them) has just assured everyone that it was “routine” practice fire from Israeli Naval vessels. However, the Palestinian terrorists in Gaza also report three explosions at roughly the same time.
Update 8:00 am: Reports of an unsuccessful attempt by Arab terrorists yesterday to kidnap a female Israeli soldier–now that a Saudi Arabian “prince” has offered a $1,000,000 bounty for a captured soldier, we can expect repeated attempts until some group of terrorists is successful.
Qassam damage to a house in the Eshkol region several months ago. Two more struck Israel last night. This is what we have to look forward to in southern Israel during the coming weeks.
So now we supposedly wait . . . again.
All indications are that the IDF is poised on the border ready to undertake a ground offensive against the terrorist missile launchers in Gaza. However, it appears that this is an offensive that will never happen (unless the crazies in Gaza begin launching again today). Yesterday “only 2 rockets” struck southern Israel, and all signs this morning are that the firing has tapered off.
To a steady drizzle . . . again.
Your humble servant, along with you dear reader, knows all too well what will happen next. We will have two or three days of quiet, followed by two or three weeks of one or two missiles a day, followed by another outbreak of more than a hundred missiles over the course of two or three days, followed by more excuses and empty threats coming from the IDF and Netanyahu and Barak, followed by ingratiating attempts to have the Egyptians or somebody else negotiate a ceasefire, followed by the whole cycle again.
Absolutely pathetic.
Would the government sit back and do nothing if rockets were raining down on Tel Aviv and Jerusalem? It was reported yesterday that because Rehovot experienced 1 red siren a few days ago warning of an incoming missile (that actually hit Ashdod), an Iron Dome battery is going to be positioned there–an Iron Dome battery desperately needed here in the south to stop real missiles.
Unbelievable.
And so life goes on and we return to some semblance of normalcy with our children going back to school today and people going back to work–all with the sad knowledge that our Israeli government views everyone here in southern Israel as second class citizens who are expendable.
SPECIAL NOTICE:
October was another month during which this israelstreet blog experienced a huge increase in readership for which your humble servant would like to thank you! Our israelstreet family now has readers in 75 different countries around the world–you may see yourself on the list below of countries where people live who visited this blog in the last 21 days:
Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China, Chile, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hong Kong C.D., Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Macao, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, USA
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On this day in the history of Israel:
The Balfour Declaration, dated November 2, 1917, was sent from British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Baron Walter Rothschild. It read:
His Majesty’s government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.
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.