6-7 Sivan 5780
29-30 May 2020
Disturbing Quote of the Day
“If the Palestinians agree to negotiations by July 1, annexation can be delayed.”
Jason Greenblatt, speaking on Saudi Arabian news channel 1980 yesterday
Really? All Mahmoud Abbas has to do to stop the sovereignty/annexation movement in Israel is simply call President Trump on the phone and agree to start negotiations?
Agree to start. Not actually start.
It is beyond absurd that the entire sovereignty push may now be dependent on what the Chairman of the PLO does.
The News on the Israeli Street . . .
Palestinian terror in the last 24 hours . . .
*There has been an incident at the Lion’s Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem this morning (Saturday). Details are sketchy, but it appears that a Palestinian appeared to be carrying a weapon, refused orders to stop, began to run, and was shot and killed.
*Palestinians using Molotovs and “rocks” attacked at such places as Marda, Umm Al-Safa, Tekoa, outside of Qalqilya, and at various locations along Road 443.
The daily Corona update . . .
8:00 am Saturday:
There are now 16,872 confirmed cases of Corona in Israel. This is an increase of 115 people since yesterday.
14,776 Israelis have recovered. This is an increase of 97 since yesterday.
37 Israelis are on ventilators. This is an increase of 1 since yesterday.
284 Israelis have died. There is no change since yesterday.
There is renewed fear that the sudden reopening of all facets of Israeli society is going to cause Corona to erupt again.
Based on the 115 person increase in confirmed cases, the Health Ministry held a news conference last night in which the possibility of school and synagogue shutdowns was discussed. Two dozen of the new cases are students at the Ort Milton School in Bat Yam, and the Rehavia Hebrew “Gymnasium” in Jerusalem (Israel’s oldest high school).
Israeli television is awash with images of Israelis not adhering to social distancing and mask guidelines, so as we have previously written, it may just be a matter of time until we are all under lockdown again.
Enjoying the Shavuot holiday . . .
At Banias (photo: israel-in-photos).
An estimated 40,000 Israelis visited national parks and nature reserves yesterday. Three of the most heavily visited were the Banias Nature Reserve, Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, and Yarkon National Park.
Few of those Israelis were adhering to Corona restrictions.
On the science front . . .
In a remarkable announcement yesterday, scientists in the Compact Accelerator Center in the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Ariel University reported that they have successfully created a “compact particle accelerator” in collaboration with researchers at UCLA.
How compact is it?
63 cm long.
Only 63 cm, or 2 feet long.
The accelerator can be operated by one person and costs much less to use than conventional accelerators. Hopefully, it will quickly be put to use in many applications such as medicine and industry.
The ancient Israelites and cannabis . . .
Looking down at one of the altars at Tel Arad. The residue in the center of the altar was analyzed by gas chromatography (photo Israel Museum and Israeli Antiquities Commission).
In a fascinating article, archaeologists have revealed that Israelites worshiping in a synagogue at Tel Arad in the Negev during the First Temple period burned cannabis as part of their religious rituals.
Formerly only available in our convenient neighborhood classrooms, the online curriculum allows you levitra no prescription davidfraymusic.com to take you to take drivers ed for adults. Side Effects : Kamagra Fizz is one of the safest drugs with very few side effects and is known to be an effective stimulant, laxative, stomachic and carminative ingredient. order levitra online Would you like to be re-energized, stronger, have better sex? Tongkat Ali just may cialis generika be the basis for metabolic diseases like obesity, diabetes and insulin resistance. Not only cheapest viagra the problem of ED can be treated by taking suitable treatment.
The remains of THC, CBD, and CBN have all been found on one of the altars in the 2700 year old synagogue. You can read more about this here.
TODAY’S BLOG:
Netanyahu’s Masterful Explanation
In a wide-ranging and intriguing interview with the Israel Hayom newspaper, PM Netanyahu discussed the sovereignty/annexation movement that is expected to move forward on July 1–and at the same time answered his critics on the “Right”.
Here are some snippets from that interview. Netanyahu was answering questions (here paraphrased) posed by the reporter. Your humble servant’s comments are interpolated:
Israel Hayom: What is unusual about the current push for sovereignty?
“For the first time since the establishment of the state, I’ve managed to secure American recognition of our sovereignty rights, first on the Golan Heights and in Jerusalem, and then through an agreement that will facilitate American recognition in the areas of our homeland inside Judea and Samaria. These are President Trump’s decisions, and the person who broached these matters with him was me. No one else.
[Netanyahu is justifiably proud of the “sovereignty’ decisions made by President Trump and his administration. His answer shows part of his personal determination to see the sovereignty process through to the end while he is still prime minister.]
Israel Hayom: What concessions is Israel going to be forced to make?
“Within this package is a historic opportunity for changing the tide of history, which was pointing one way. The whole time. All the diplomatic plans proposed to us in the past asked us to concede swathes of the Land of Israel, return to the 1967 borders and divide Jerusalem. To take in [Palestinian] refugees. This is a reversal. We aren’t the ones being forced to make concessions, rather the Palestinians are. Regardless of negotiations.”
[The Palestinians being forced to make concessions is indeed a sea change in the way so-called “negotiations” have operated here since “negotiations” with the Palestinians first began. And don’t overlook “regardless of negotiations.”]
Israel Hayom: Do you plan to negotiate with the Palestinians?
“If they see fit to meet and accept about 10 stringent conditions – including Israeli sovereignty west of the Jordan River, preserving a united Jerusalem, refusing to accept refugees, not uprooting Jewish communities, and Israeli sovereignty in large swathes of Judea and Samaria, etc. – the process will move ahead.”
[Each one of 10 stringent conditions is certain to be rejected by the PLO and Hamas. That is what Netanyahu is counting on.]
Israel Hayom: Will the Palestinians have a Palestinian state?
“They need to acknowledge that we control security in all areas. If they consent to all this, then they will have an entity of their own that President Trump defines as a state. There are those who claim and – an American statesman told me: ‘But Bibi, it won’t be a state.’ I told him, call it what you want.”
[“An entity that President Trump defines as a state”. “Call it what you want.” The obvious implication is that Netanyahu will not call it a state.]
Israel Hayom: Will Palestinians living in the Jordan Valley receive Israeli citizenship?
“No. They will remain a Palestinian enclave. We’re not annexing Jericho. There’s a cluster or two. You don’t need to apply sovereignty over them, they will remain Palestinian subjects if you will. But security control also applies to these places.”
[Annexing? Applying sovereignty over? There is still a confusion of terms here, but it is interesting that Palestinian enclaves will remain in sovereign Israel.]
Israel Hayom: Will the sovereignty move lead to Israel facing lawsuits at the International Criminal Court in The Hague?
“Yes, but the court at The Hague has already decided we are guilty of war crimes. We are defending our homeland, but the soldiers, leaders, and clerks are guilty of war crimes because we dare build homes in Gilo or Beit El. It’s absurd. It’s a fixed game from the outset.”
[Never before has Netanyahu thrown down the gauntlet in such a blatant manner to the ICC. His words are tantamount to telling the ICC that its decisions have no relevance in Israel, and the jurists that they can go . . . . (you get the idea).]
All in all, Netanyahu’s explanation of why we should go forward with the Trump vision was masterful–even though it avoided some of the thorny issues such as the 15 Israeli community enclaves which will be left in areas under Palestinian sovereignty.
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.