9 Elul 5778
20 August 2018
The Two Most Disingenuous Quotes of the Day:
“There is no agreement with Hamas; there are unspoken understandings.”
Naftali Bennett, Minister of Education
“We are not talking to Hamas. We are negotiating with Egyptian intermediaries.”
Miri Regev, Cabinet Minister of Culture and Sports
Normally, your humble servant is a big fan of Bennett and Regev, but what hogwash we have here.
“Unspoken understandings? This is just gobbledygook for “an agreement.”
“Not talking to Hamas”? Of course we are talking to Hamas.
The News on the Israeli Street
Palestinian terror in the last 24 hours . . .
On the Gaza border:
The charred remains of another burned-out orchard yesterday near Be’eri.
Kibbutz Erez, Moshav Tifra, Be’eri, and Nir Am: these were all places where incendiary kites and balloons launched by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza started blazes yesterday.
What was the IDF response to the above fires? Absolutely nothing.
What was the government response to the above fires? The Erez Crossing is closed today except for “humanitarian” supplies, medical patients, emergency needs, etc. In other words, the Erez Crossing is not really closed at all.
In Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem:
Naameh (“rock” attack on a bus), Hagai Street in Old Jerusalem (attempted stabbing of a police officer), Al-Mu’ayyir, Itamar, Beit Furik, Beit Ummar, Karmei Tzur, ‘Abud, Duma and Elon Moreh (“rock” and Molotovs thrown at Israeli vehicles): These were ten of some 30 locations where Palestinian terror attacks took place yesterday.
The New Israel Fund (NIF) working for Hamas again . . .
A consortium of self-proclaimed “human rights” organizations subsidized by the New Israel Fund–acting on behalf of Hamas terrorists–is petitioning the Israel High Court of Justice this morning to demand that Hamas terrorists and their families be permitted into Israel for medical treatment.
Adalah, Physicians for Human Rights, and Gisha—all funded by the New Israel Fund–claim that even though the terrorists and their families are able to seek treatment in PLO hospitals and even abroad, they should be permitted to get medical care in Israel.
Who is in Israel or coming to Israel soon? . . .
John Bolton meeting PM Netanyahu last night.
*U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton landed in Israel last night and dinnered with PM Netanyahu in Jerusalem. As we all know, Bolton is a fervent supporter of Israel.
Sildenafil Citrate is available in 25 mg, 50 mg buy generic viagra and 100 mg tablets. If you buy 30 pills which most online buyers buy then you will be beginning a tadalafil 5mg tablets new phase of your life. Even if a woman does eventually become pregnant, there viagra prescription free is no such patent protection act and so any company will be able to produce the same medicine by the same name. However, many people prefer taking them in order stay healthy. cialis usa online
American singer Lana Del Ray.
*On September 7, despite intense pressure from BDS, singer Lana Del Ray will perform in Israel. Her comment in announcing that she would come to Tel Aviv: “. . . I believe that music is universal and should be used to bring us together.”
Bravo Lana!
*Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Wang Zhigang met with his Israeli counterpart in Jeruslaem yesterday. Zhigang is here to discuss Israeli innovation and to pave the way for a visit by China’s Vice President.
Wang (left) with Israeli official Erel Margalit yesterday.
Congratulations to Ariel University! . . .
Ariel University in Samaria is celebrating the opening of its medical school–the sixth medical school in Israel–tonight with a large celebration.
The heads of the other five medical schools (at Tel Aviv University, the Technion, Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Ben Gurion University, and Bar-Ilan University) had waged a prolonged fight to deny approval of the Ariel Medical School based on its location in Samaria, but obviously they were were overruled.
The simple fact is that Israel suffers from a severe shortage of doctors.
The two donors who made the new medical school possible were Dr. Miriam Adelson and Sheldon Adelson–both of whom will be honored tonight.
TODAY’S BLOG:
Kofi Annan Was No Friend Of Israel.
As you undoubtedly know, Kofi Annan died this past weekend. He was Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1997 until December 2006.
“KOFI ANNAN REMEMBERED AS FRIEND OF ISRAEL”
So blared the headline in the Jerusalem Post newspaper yesterday.
But the question we pose today is whether Annan was a friend of Israel or not. Your humble servant would suggest not.
Kofi Annan joking with his good friend Yasser Arafat in 2001 after the second intifada had begun.
In my humble opinion, Annan was a member of that group of politicians who believe that by supporting Holocaust remembrance, they can paper over their lack of support for Israel.
In fact, the Post article suggested that two of the ways he showed his support of Israel were by fighting “against Holocaust denial” and supporting the UN initiative to establish an international Holocaust Remembrance Day. Both of these actions were laudatory, but they are most assuredly not the same as actively supporting Israel.
And Annan most assuredly did not support Israel during two crucial moments in his tenure as Secretary-General: the second Palestinian intifada when 169 Palestinian suicide bombers blew more than 1100 Israeli men, women, and children to pieces, and during the second Lebanese war when Hezbollah launched hundreds of missiles into Israel.
In regard to the second intifada, Annan castigated Israel for years from his podium at the U.N.
For example, when Israel began building the wall that eventually stopped the bombers, Annan was only concerned about the Palestinians: “The wall could damage the longer-term prospects for peace by making the creation of an independent, viable and contiguous Palestinian state more difficult” (spoken in November of 2003–about 20 days after a suicide bomber detonated himself at Maxim Restaurant in Haifa murdering 9 people).
In regard to the second Lebanon war in 2006, Annan accused Israel at the time: “. . . Israel’s disproportionate use of force and collective punishment of the Lebanese people must stop.”
We could go on and on, but you get the message. Kofi Annan often acted on behalf of Jews, but not on behalf of Israel.
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.