Yom Rishon
Sunday
12 Adar 5783
March 5 2023
A Sad Passing
Alex Ziloni as a young and old fighter for Israel.
Alex Ziloni, one of the founders of the Israeli Air Force, died yesterday at age 107. According to his daughter, his death came as a surprise because he was in “excellent condition.”
Polish by birth, Ziloni served in the Royal Air Force in England, and brought airplanes to Israel in “Operation Black” in 1948.
Ziloni was the first Chief of Staff of the “Israeli Air Service”, and retired from the IAF in 1960 as a Lieutenant Colonel.
But he was exceptionally busy in retirement, and was also responsible for the creation of the cable cars at Masada and Rosh HaNikra.
His daughter Ruth released this statement:
“Father was a special man. I was very attached to him. He was a great and very talented painter . . . He went through hard things in life and he was always strong. 30 years ago mom died of cancer and left him alone. He never complained. He always took special care of me. We were very close. I was the poet and he was the painter.”
Orna, another daughter, commented: “He loved the country very much . . . [he] was a person who did not give up anything and did not agree to give up anything. He went to meetings and was active all the time. He did not think at all that he would not be here. He planned a year in advance. He was a good family man, a good father and always took care of us and was interested in us. He had many occupations. He was very concerned about the situation in the country. He knew the country as it started and it had changed a lot and it was hard for him to accept that. He was an artist in his soul.”
President Herzog had this to say:
“At the age of 107, the hero of Israel and our beloved neighbor, Alexander (Alex) Ziloni, left us. Alex belonged to the generation of the country’s founders, one of the first Air Force commanders of the Haganah and the founders of the Israeli Air Force. I will not forget his fascinating stories that I had the pleasure of hearing recently and will always remember his work and his contribution to the Zionist enterprise.”
May Alex Ziloni’s memory always be for a blessing.
The News on the Israeli Street
The war in Judea and Samaria . . .
Shooting attacks:
Palestinian terrorists opened fire on an Israeli on Mt. Hevron near the Beit Haji Junction. A 65-year-old Israeli was shot in the leg and taken to Sha’are Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem.
Palestinian terrorists opened fire on IDF troops in Kablan, a Palestinian settlement near Shechem. The soldiers are part of the manhunt for the murderers of the Yaniv brothers in Huwara.
Palestinian terrorists opened fire at the Tzur Vineyards. No further details are available at this time.
IED, Molotov, and “rock” attacks:
Palestinian terrorists throwing “rocks” and Molotovs attacked this bus at Jiptalik. Fortunately, no passenger was sitting next to the shattered window.
Palestinian terrorists attacked between the Beitar Junction and Al Khader, on the Har Huma Road near Beit Sahor, between the Sela Outpost and Gilad Farm, on the Gush Etzion-Hevron Road near Beit Omer, south of Givat Assaf, between Hatmar Shomron Square and Yitzhar, on Road 5 near the Ariel Junction, north of Beit Anon, Azzun (1 terrorist was killed and 2 more seriously wounded), between Asvia and Rahlim, at various points along Road 55, on the Hosan Bypass, Al Aruv, at the Avraham Hasnou Junction, Jilazon, on Road 60 south of the British Police Junction, and at another two dozen locations.
Thanks to Josh at Rescue without Borders SSF for much of the above reportage.
The protests last night . . .
An estimated 150,000 “demonstrated” against the government throughout Israel with the vast majority being in Tel Aviv where “protesters” broke through barricades to reach the Ayalon Freeway. Once there, police water cannons cleared the roadway.
The anti-government organizers have ludicrously announced that this coming Thursday will be “A Day of Resistance Against The Dictatorship.”
Here at OneIsrael, we have decided to post no photos of the “protests” in the obvious belief that the anti-government forces are feeding off of the publicity.
The protests are going nowhere fast . . .
The more protests, the faster the moves in the Knesset to enact legal reforms.
This morning, Simcha Rothman, the Chairman of the Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee, announced that a committee vote will be held today on the proposed law restricting the High Court’s ability to review cases. The law also contains clauses for overriding Court decisions. If the Committee approves the proposal as expected, it moves to the full Knesset for three readings.
Another vote will be held in the Special Committee for Amendments to Basic Law: Government. That vote will be on a proposed amendment which would specify under what conditions a prime minister can be deemed “medically unfit” to serve.
TODAY’S BLOG
From Astute To Outrageous: Six Quotes Of The Day
“There is no way that the legal reforms will have any economic impact. I state this as an economist and as a Nobel Prize winner in economics.”
Robert (Yisrael) Aumann, Israel mathematician and 2005 Nobel Prize winner in Economics
[The only economic impact is the one caused by leftists trying to encourage Israeli businesses to leave the country.]
“The weakening of the shekel against the dollar is not an economically disturbing event, but actually a natural return to the previous balance between the currencies.”
Cedric Barry, currency analyst at Fitch
[This is exactly what we pointed out here at OneIsrael with the graph we posted several weeks ago.]
“Many years have passed since I said in 2005 that roads should not be blocked by right-wing demonstrators. This is a different situation with different people.”
Opposition leader Yair Lapid
[Yair Lapid is a disgusting hypocrite.]
“Aharon Barak was not a judge. A person who sees the text of a law and says that he is not interested in what is written but instead says “I do what I think” is not a judge.”
Simcha Rothman, Chairman of the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee.
[Absolutely true. Barak made up laws as he saw fit.]
“It’s a shame and a disgrace that Aharon Barak, the former head of the Israel Supreme Court, does not know the Shema Israel.”
Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef
[Indeed, it is amazing that an 86-year-old man who as a Justice of the Israel Supreme Court created the quagmire we are now and decided numerous cases having to do with Judaism cannot recite the Shema.]
“I am really angry with him [Finance Minister Smotrich], he is stupid. I understand he is going to Washington, if I could I would throw him off the plane.”
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides
[Nides harshly criticized Smotrich for his remarks about Huwara (since retracted), and in the same breath incites violence against Smotrich. Nides is a garden variety shmuck.]
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.