Yom Shishee
Friday
8 Tammuz 5781
June 18 2021
The News on the Israeli Street
Palestinian terror in the last 24 hours . . .
At 11:39 pm last night, a huge explosion rocked our house in Ashdod. Immediately afterward, Israeli social media from Sderot to Ashkelon to Ashdod lit up with users reporting the same.
Even as of this morning, it is unclear what happened. To begin with, the IAF attacked various sites in Gaza in response to the explosive balloon attacks yesterday. In the midst of those attacks, an incoming missile alarm sounded in Kfar Aza and surroundings. It was later reported (hard to believe) that the alarm went off because of machine gun fire from Gaza.
Insofar as the 11:39 pm blast is concerned, it appears that it was a huge bunker busting bomb dropped on a Hamas asset in northern Gaza.
Putting a halt to illegal Palestinian construction . . .
Since the government seems incapable or unwilling to stop illegal Palestinian construction in Area C of Judea and Samaria, residents are taking matters into their own hands. On June 21, there will be protests at 14 different locations at which illegal activity is going on:
Come out and support!
Is Corona creeping back? . . .
Many of us who are still wearing masks in Israel (and there are not many of us) have thought that the Health Ministry rush to announce the end of mandatory masks was premature.
Yesterday, it was reported that there has been a mini-outbreak of Corona at a school in Modi’in. 15 students including a teacher have all tested positive–three of these had already been vaccinated.
Do you want to invest in Israel-based companies? . . .
It has been an extraordinary few weeks for Israeli startups doing IPOs and other Funds headquartered here. Consider these:
Liberty Strategic: the new investment fund headed by former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman. The Fund will be investing in Israeli cybersecurity and “fintech.” Mnuchin and Friedman were in Tel Aviv yesterday touting their new company.
Claroty: An Israeli cybersecurity startup that raised $140 million this past month.
WalkMe: An Israeli company which “helps businesses simplify their online experience” raised $287 million on Nasdaq on Wednesday.
monday.com: An Israeli company specializing in work management whose price per share has zoomed from $155 at its opening last week to $214 at the end of trading on Wednesday
Global-E: an Israeli cross border E-commerce platform whose stock has gone up 85% since opening
Similarweb: an Israeli web traffic analytics company that raised $165 million
Playtika: an Israeli gaming platform that raised $1.9 billion when it went public.
Israeli companies soon to go public:
Sentinelone: another Israeli cybersecurity company
ironSource: an Israeli monetization firm
eToro: an Israeli company dealing with trading platforms
Taboola: an Israeli web advertising platform
OrCam: an Israeli company that specializes in technology that assists blind and visually impaired people
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TODAY’S BLOG:
Our Amazing Trip To Beit Eshel in Beersheva, Part 2
I left you yesterday with Gaza out the right window of our car as we sped toward Beersheva.
We passed the outskirts of Sderot and continued on to the turnoff for the Kerem Shalom Crossing which like the Erez Crossing before was swamped with large trucks streaming into Gaza. Most of these were concrete trucks undoubtedly intended for use in rebuilding Hamas tunnels.
On we drove to dusty yet completely transformed (a new home for high tech and the IDF) Beersheva, arriving at Beit Eshel at around 11 am.
An informational panel at the entrance to Beit Eshel.
For those of you unfamiliar with Beit Eshel, it was built as a small agricultural research station in 1943 on land purchased from the Bedouins.
Where research was carried out by scientists on growing crops in the desert .
Advanced research in such areas as hydroponics was done there, but fairly quickly the station morphed into the first Jewish community in the Negev in thousands of years. It was packed with single men, women, and families with children complete with a health clinic and other community buildings.
It also became a base for the Palmach–one of Israel’s fighting forces and the one in which my father-in-law served (after lying about his age so he would be accepted).
A bunker at Beit Eshel.
In a little known episode of Israeli history, the first Israeli air force operation took place from Beit Eshel:
As you can read on this panel at the site: on December 16, 1947 Pinchas Ben Porat landed in his Piper airplane at Beit Eshel, picked up a Palmach fighter, and proceeded to “ward off” an attack on Nevatim just down the road.
Speaking of my father-in-law:
91-year-old Shuka (Joshua) and his daughter (my wife) standing beside a plaque bearing his name.
Unfortunately, despite the determined resistance of its defenders Beit Eshel was virtually destroyed by Egyptian artillery in 1948 and was never really rebuilt after the War of Independence. The site fell into disrepair over the years until it was established as a national site administered by the KKL.
All in all it was a journey down memory lane for Shuka, and an inspiring trip for the your humble servant and his wife. Bravo to Shuka and his cohorts in the Palmach!
Upon leaving Beit Eshel, we called up a friend from Beersheva to get a suggestion on where to eat lunch, and he recommended Sadafa in the General Cinema Mall–about 10 minutes away.
But imagine our surprise when we reached the Mall and encountered this:
Moses and Aaron leading the Israelites out of Egypt –at the point where he is dividing the waters.
Life-sized, finely detailed pieces of sculpture–simply amazing. But if you think this was it, think again:
It was simply astonishing. Note in the far far back Pharoah in his chariot. Also note the Israelites carrying Joseph’s body. And who is that singing and playing the harp in the front on the left?
That is the young woman for whom my mother was named: Miriam.
Well, what can I say, a first class piece of historical sculpture at the General Cinema Mall in Beersheva!
You never know what you are going to find in 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.