23-24 Nissan 5780
17-18 April 2020
Photo of the Day
Soldiers unloading supplies in the ultra-orthodox city of Modi’in Illit on Friday.
As you may or may not know, there is often open hostility between the IDF and ultra-orthodox communities–mainly because the men in those communities do not want to serve in the Israel Defense Forces.
However, the Corona virus has shifted thinking somewhat, at least temporarily. Yesterday, soldiers handed out more than 5500 dry food boxes and 7000 hot meals to residents of Modi’in Illit. Instead of the usual rancor, there was nothing but thanks.
Quote of the Day
“Allah challenges the empty, degenerate civilization of the West contrasting its emptiness with the humane and honorable civilization of Islam. America and Israel have produced and are distributing the Corona virus throughout the world.”
From an op-ed in the Iranian newspaper Kayhan, the mouthpiece of the Iranian government.
Hmmm . . . obviously this is a little hard to fathom given the large number of deaths in both the United States and Iran.
The News on the Israeli Street
The daily Corona update . . .
As of this hour (8 pm on Saturday), there are 13,265 confirmed cases of Corona in Israel. 113 people are in critical condition on respirators. 164 Israelis have died. 3,456 have recovered (please see “breaking news” above for updates to these figures as they are published by the Israel Health Ministry).
What is there to say about these numbers? It’s a mixed bag. There have been more than 700 new cases in 48 hours; the number in critical condition continues to decline; the number of dead continues to rise at the rate of about 10 per day; and the number who have recovered increases by almost 300 a day.
9,950 Israelis were tested for Corona in the last 24 hours.
Plastic shrouded coffins unloaded and taken to waiting ambulances yesterday.
The bodies of 18 more Jews who died overseas were flown into Israel today for burial. During the last two weeks, more than 200 bodies have arrived at Ben Gurion.
The government has just announced that stores dealing with housewares, home maintenance, optics, computing, communications, electrical, and electronics will be allowed to open on Monday on conditions that the temperature of each potential shopper is taken at the entrance to the store, a limited number of customers at one time are allowed in the store, social distancing is maintained inside the store, and a partition is put in place between customers and cashiers at checkout.
What are not allowed to open are malls, clothing stores (including shoes), toy stores, and jewelry stores. Restaurants remain closed (no take out is allowed).
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A major incident on the Lebanese border . . .
Hezbollah terrorists tore holes in three places along the Israel-Lebanon border fence.
The smallest of the three “holes” cut into the border fence.
Interestingly, but not surprisingly (because the same thing happens all the time in Gaza) the IDF claims that there was no penetration into Israel. Of course, between the time that the holes were made and the holes were discovered, any number of Hezbollah fighters could have come through.
On the political front . . .
The two parties continue inching toward signing an agreement now that Benny Gantz has issued the “Monday threat” that if no agreement is reached by then, the anti-Bibi laws will be brought to the Knesset and voted on.
In the last hours, it has been reported that Netanyahu has given up on the idea of having a basic law giving him immunity from prosecution while the current Knesset is in session. Apparently there are still intense disagreements over the appointments of judges and other items.
The bottom line is simply: how much has Netanyahu agreed to give away to Gantz and his minions in order to remain prime minister for 18 months?
TODAY’S BLOG:
Throwing Israeli Farmers Under The Bus
Fields of fresh produce like this one are now being left to rot.
During the last month, we have witnessed sad scenes of Israeli farmers watching their crops rot in the fields. With hotel dining rooms and local markets (shuks) closed, and supermarkets operating under reduced hours, there seemed no market for the vegetables that Israeli farmers were producing.
One farmer was so upset at seeing his plants die that he invited Israelis to drive down to his farm and pick whatever vegetables they wanted. With the increasing lockdown, such driving became impossible.
However, the lockdown has also spurred increased consumption as Israelis are eating more while stuck at home.
One would think that in response to the increased demand, the government would be rushing to facilitate the ability of farmers to get produce to market.
But no.
Instead, the Israel Treasury has decided to “open quotas” for imported duties on fresh produce. This means that the Israeli market will be flooded with cheap produce from countries like Turkey. Not only will Israeli farmers not be facilitated, but also they will be undercut on price.
It is a lose-lose situation that throws Israeli farmers under the bus.
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.