Yom Chamishee
Thursday
24 Sivan 5782
June 23 2022
The Photo of the Day
The ridiculous situation at Ben Gurion Airport yesterday. Note that the line waiting to get into the airport to check-in stretches the length of the photograph and continues along the inner wall.
A shortage of workers? Extreme negligence by airport operations? An abject failure of the Transportation Ministry? Whatever the cause, the airport was a mess yesterday, and is again today.
The Most Ridiculous Quote of the Day
“We are ready for battle and if necessary we will march again to Beirut, Tyre and Sidon side or wherever we are required to.”
“Defense” Minister Benny Gantz blustering yesterday in response to Hezbollah threats
When he was the head of the IDF, Benny Gantz couldn’t march his troops 1 mile into Gaza–and now he blathers that the IDF is ready to march to Beirut?
What a sad joke.
The News on the Israeli Street
The daily Corona update . . .
10,845 Israelis tested positive yesterday (out of 30,986 tested) bringing to 56,249 the number of active patients in the country.
The positive test rate was 35%; the coefficient of infection was 1.28%.
201 Israelis are seriously ill; 49 are critically ill—41 of these are on ventilators.
10,911 have died, [no reportage in the last 48 hours].
As the number of seriously and critically ill continues to mount, hospitals are once again beginning to fill up. There is no shortage of beds yet; however, hospital officials are warning that such a shortage may be coming by the end of July if the current trend continues. Why the Health Ministry has begun only reporting deaths every three days or so is unknown.
On the Palestinian front . . .
A would-be terrorist entered the Shaar Shechem in Jerusalem armed with a knife yesterday. After being spotted by alert Border Police and being chased through the Old City, he finally turned himself in at a Police checkpoint.
Palestinian terrorists fired on a house in the Gal neighborhood of Kiryat Arba. No Israelis were wounded and the terrorists escaped.
Palestinian terrorists using Molotovs and “rocks” attacked Israelis near Ariel, at Hizma, on Road 465 east of Rantis Square, on the Gush Etzion-Hevron Road south of the Halhul East Junction, near Tekoa, and at Luban A-Sharqiya among some two dozen locations.
Two Palestinian terrorists carried out a drive-by shooting near Beit El. They were both wounded by return fire from IDF soldiers but escaped to a hospital in Ramallah.
TODAY’S BLOG
During Which War Was This Photo Taken?
IDF soldiers praying in the field during which war?
Here in Israel, wars are often referred to by their “operational” names. For example, Operation Cast Lead=the War with Gaza (2008-2009), Operation Pillar of Defense=the War with Gaza (2012), and Operation Protective Edge=the War with Gaza (2014).
The above photograph which was released today was taken during the “Peace for Galilee” campaign, otherwise known as the First Lebanon War (1982-1985). As you may not remember, Israel and the south Lebanese Army fought against the PLO, Syrian forces, Hezbollah, and Lebanese militias such as Amal.
Menachem Begin was Israel’s Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon was Israel Minister of Defense, and Rafi Eitan was the IDF Chief of Staff. During the three years of fighting, Israel forces made it to Beirut (hence, Gantz’s comment above) and managed to expel the PLO from Lebanon.
But not without a severe cost.
657 Israeli soldiers were killed including 1 Brigadier General, 1 Colonel, 2 Lt. Colonels, 19 Majors, 28 captains, 46 Lieutenants, and 132 Sergeants. 3,887 more soldiers were wounded.
This week during which Israel is commemorating the 40th anniversary of Peace for Galilee, we remember the brave soldiers who fought and especially those who fell.
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.