Yom Reva’ee
Wednesday
1 Adar 5783
February 22 2023
The Quote of the Day
“Lapid is willing to talk to supporters of terrorism, is willing to sit with them in the government, is willing to hand over national assets to Hezbollah – but is not willing to enter into negotiations with us to reach a broad national consensus on the reform to strengthen democracy.”
A statement from PM Netanyahu’s office yesterday.
The utter hypocrisy of former PM Lapid is astonishing.
Just stop and think back for a moment about how he undemocratically decided to sign an agreement with the U.S. concerning handing over to Lebanon our offshore natural gas fields, and then undemocratically refused to submit the agreement to the Knesset for approval (because he didn’t have the votes to pass it)–and now he refuses to talk with current government and wants to rail about its lack of democracy.
The News on the Israeli Street
The war in Judea and Samaria . . .
IDF, Shin Bet, and Border Police fighters captured 5 wanted Palestinian terrorists overnight.
Shooting attacks:
Palestinians opened fire at IDF soldiers in Jilazon.
Palestinians fired at IDF soldiers in Anta.
Palestinians opened fire at IDF soldiers in a-Zawiya.
Molotov, “rock”, IED attacks:
Palestinian terrorists attacked Israelis between the large Yitzhar Junction and the Hatmar Shomron Junction, near Kedumim at the Giyat Junction, south of the British Police Junction, in the vicinity of Taysir, on the Gush Etzion-Hevron Road near Beit Omer, north of Kiryat Arba near Beit Anon, Bona Nazm, and Turmus’aya northeast of Ramallah, and at many other locations.
Another followup to the Gottlieb incident . . .
And you wonder about the corrupt leftist judiciary in Israel.
A judge in Tel Aviv yesterday refused to follow normal procedure and rejected a police request to extend the detention for 4 more days of two of those arrested outside Tali Gottlieb’s apartment two days ago—and even refused to allow the publication of their names for 7 more days (despite the fact that the arrested proudly plastered their own photographs all over the internet).
The two remain charged with obstructing a police officer in the performance of his duties, violating a legal order, criminal trespass, and prohibited assembly.
In rejecting the extension, the judge said that it was unlikely the two would commit the same acts again.
What a joke.
Blame everything on the government’s reforms . . .
The value of the shekel dropped by another 2% yesterday to a 3-year low against the dollar, and has dropped slightly more this morning to 3.65 shekels per dollar. It is projected to drop even more by some analysts to about 3.95 shekels per dollar in the coming weeks or months.
And of course, all of the financial pundits and the media are blaming the drop on “political instability caused by the legal reforms.”
This is nonsense.
Take a look at the following chart that covers the last 10 years:
The shekel has never been exactly stable against the dollar.
Another earthquake . . .
At 8:01 am this morning there was a 4.5 earthquake centered 81 km northwest of Nahariya.
No damage was recorded other that cracked masonry in several apartments.
The destruction continues . . .
Despite the best efforts of many in the government, the Civil Administration continues carrying out the destruction or partial destruction of young Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.
The latest target is Givat Ronan in Samaria home to some 40 families.
Yesterday Civil Administration “inspectors” marked 9 homes in a new neighborhood for destruction. Let’s hope the destruction can be stopped.
Israel is trying to buy dozens of F-15 EX aircraft . . .
A USAF F-15 EX.
It was revealed that the president of Boeing’s military division was in Jerusalem for talks with PM Netanyahu and Defense Ministry officials.
Israel would like to buy 50 of the aircraft because of their ability to carry large quantities of ammunition as well as several KC-46 refueling planes. The EX model can carry 28 “smart glide bombs” weighing 250 kg each, two anti-radiation missiles, and two air-to-air missiles.
It also has “a fly-by-wire system, an advanced Open Mission System (OMS) and new electronic warfare systems for tracking and handling” many targets. According to Boeing, the plane can perform “87 million operations” which can provide quick solutions to many combat situations.
A final sales point is that the plane costs $30,000 per hour to fly instead of the $50,000 per hour that Israeli plane currently cost. The planes come at a sales price of just less than 100 million dollars per plane.
Obviously, Israel would need such planes in any future confrontation with Iran and/or Hezbollah.
The sale depends on the Biden Administration.
TODAY’S BLOG
Israel’s Astonishingly Biased President Herzog
“This is a difficult morning, because there is a feeling of sorrow and not of celebration.”
President Yitzhak Herzog speaking yesterday morning at the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper’s conference following the passage of the first readings of two pieces of the legal reform.
Herzog just doesn’t get it.
A difficult morning? A feeling of sorrow? No feeling of celebration? Obviously this is how the biased Herzog and his leftist cohorts feel, but how about the 2,361,739 people who voted for the coalition?
Celebratory: everyone your humble servant talked to in Ashdod yesterday was sky high with excitement and exuberance, full of the feeling that the country is finally headed in the right direction.
Herzog continued:
“Many citizens from all over Israeli society feel anxious for the unity of the people. I fear very disturbing developments in Israeli society.
Yes, it is true that citizens feel anxious about the unity of our people. Many of those disturbing developments have to do with the increasingly visible division between Ashkenazi and Sephardic–a division that the legal reform proposals have brought to the fore as the Ashkenazi “elite” vigorously fight to try to hang on to power via the Supreme Court and High Court of Justice.
Herzog had more:
“Now is the opportunity, prove that you intend to talk. Where do you want to take this confrontation? You have to take responsibility, accept responsibility on the part of the coalition.”
What in the world is Herzog talking about?
The right won the election decisively; it is legislatively implementing its agenda as all governments do. The left blatantly refuses to accept the results of the election and is organizing large demonstrations to confront and overthrow that the government.
Yet Herzog places all of the onus on the Coalition: where do you want to take this confrontation? You have take take and accept responsibility. You have to prove that you intend to talk.
And he places no responsibility on the leftist anti-government movement?
In fact, former PM Lapid and all of his anti-government cronies are steadfastly refusing to talk. Labor leader Merav Michaeli stridently urged yesterday that no one in the movement to even suggest that they might be willing to talk.
Herzog concluded:
This reform was born for a reason, out of deep frustration and criticism of the judicial system. I understand that and agree. But this does not mean that all the balances between the authorities should be undermined.”
The proposals would not undermine “all the balances between the authorities”; they would only undermine the glaring lack of balance between the Supreme and High Courts and the Knesset.
To sum this up, President Herzog is mired in his own elitist Ashkenazi bubble; he needs to either broaden his approach or keep quiet.
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.