Yom Shleeshee
Tuesday
28 Adar 5783
March 21 2023
Or Eshkar: May his memory always be for a blessing.
Or Eshkar died last night after a valiant eleven day fight for survival. Shot in the neck in the terrorist attack on Dizengoff on March 9, the 32-year-old underwent multiple complex surgeries but in the end succumbed to his wound.
Or’s mother Natalie issued this statement: “A light of rare quality, which showered nothing but goodness, love and giving on everyone who crossed its path, went out today. Thanks on our behalf to all the staff at the Ichilov Hospital, who for days and nights did everything they could with professionalism, dedication and sensitivity. To the dozens of amazing friends who surrounded us day and night, hugged and cried with us during the whole week that will be engraved in our hearts forever. To all the people of Israel who were with us, strengthened, supported and prayed – each in his own way and according to his faith.’
When news of Or’s death was made public last night, a makeshift memorial began to materialize at the place on Dizengoff where he was shot.
As you recall, one of the terrorists involved in the attack was killed; however, the second terrorist remains at large.
The Photo of the Morning
A posting on Facebook yesterday by Lihi Lapid (on left), the wife of the leader of the Opposition Yair Lapid. Do you notice anything unusual in this photo?
Obviously, this photo was meant to underscore Lihi Lapid’s support for the performance group “The Handmaids” (based on Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale about the enslavement of women) that are now appearing at every anti-government demonstration. The group of women all dress in red habits with hoods or with white bonnets.
Your humble servant has wondered why they always walk with their faces down.
So now we may have a reason. Take a good look at the photo above at the red-hooded “handmaid” to the left.
This is no handmaid at all, but a bearded man dressed as if he were.
Again, the question should be asked: “who is paying for these performances?”
The News on the Israeli Street
A major update on the “legal reforms” . . .
The Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee will approve the preparation of the second and third readings of the “softened” judicial selection committee composition part of the legal reforms today and send it immediately to the Knesset for the 2nd and 3rd readings.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin announced on Israeli television last night that he wants to see the entire legal reform passed before Passover.
To recapitulate the new Judicial Selection Committee proposal presented yesterday:
The committee will consist of 11 members:
6 from the Coalition (3 Cabinet ministers and 3 non-Cabinet Coalition members)
3 Justices from the Supreme Court
2 Members of the Opposition
Each new Justice will be chosen by a simple majority vote (6 are needed).
During the remaining term of the court, 4 Justices will reach the mandatory retirement age of 70 and will need to be replaced. 2 of those will be this year; 1 in 2024, and 1 in 2025.
For the two this year, the 6 Coalition members will be able to choose a Justice without the support of the Opposition or the Justices. For the Justice in 2024, the Coalition and the Opposition must agree on the choice. For the Justice in 2025, the Coalition and the Opposition and the Justices must agree.
Importantly, one of the Justices retiring this year is Supreme Court President Esther Hayut. In the past, the members of the Court have chosen the President’s replacement based on seniority. The new law specifies that the Selection Committee will make that decision.
The war in Judea and Samaria.
The IDF announced yesterday that in accordance with the agreement with the Palestinians at Sharm Al-Sheikh two days ago that our forces will not be proactively entering Jenin and Shechem (Nablus) during Ramadan “in order to not cause anger among the Palestinians.”
How many times have we been down this road before. Every time we hold back, the terrorists regroup and Israelis are killed. Let’s see how long it takes for that to happen during the next month.
Shooting attacks:
IED, Molotov, and “rock” attacks:
The car of one of the motorists attacked at Karmi Tzur. The people in the back seat were wounded by shattered glass.
Palestinian terrorists attacked Israelis in the Singil area northeast of Ramallah, on the Gush Etzion-Hevron Road near Beit Omer, at Karmi Tzur, near Tekoa, on Road 60, and at numerous locations in Gush Etzion.
It has been determined that the person who placed the IED bomb on the bus at Beitar Illit which was fortunately defused before detonation was a Palestinian woman.
If you can believe this . . .
After all of the terrorism that has emanated from Judea, Samaria, and Gaza in recent weeks, the IDF head of the abominable COGAT branch, General Rasan Aliyan greeted PLO officials and members of the international community yesterday with “Blessed Shahr Mubarak and Ramadan Kareem”, and announced that Israel will:
**allow Palestinian women of all ages and children until the age of 12 to enter Jerusalem and go to the Temple Mount without the need of a permit.
**allow Palestinian men aged 55 and older to enter Jerusalem and go to the Temple Mount without a permit.
**allow Palestinian men aged 45-55 to enter Jerusalem and the Temple Mount with a permit.
**allow Palestinians living in Judea and Samaria to visit families in Israel.
**allow Palestinians from foreign countries to visit families in Israel.
**allow Palestinians to fly abroad from Ramon Airport near Eilat.
**allow Palestinians to enter and exit Israel through crossings with extended hours of operation from Jordan.
**allow Palestinians from Gaza (women over age 50 and men over 55) to come to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.
It was also announced that Israel will disburse to the PLO some of the tax funds it is holding because of the continual payment of terrorists by the PLO.
Talk about a recipe for disaster. Israel flooded with potential terrorists. Money flowing to terrorists. How long will it be until something disastrous happens?
Israel’s apparent elimination of the head of Islamic Jihad in Damascus . . .
Israelis apparently were responsible for the assassination of Islamic Jihad head Ali Ramzi al-Soud in Damascus two days ago.
Al-Soud walked out the front door of his house into a hail of 30 armor-piercing bullets. Then he was stabbed in the heart.
TODAY’S BLOG
A Major Victory For Our Ancestral Homeland And The Israeli “Right”
In a landmark vote last night, the Knesset repealed the 2005 Disengagement Law as it pertained to 4 communities in Samaria: Ganim, Kadim, Sa-Nur, and Homesh. The residents of those evacuated and then destroyed communities have fought tenaciously for the last 18 years to return to their homes.
According to the Knesset vote, Israelis are now enabled to go to the communities which have been closed military zones for all of these years.
The 4 Samarian Jewish communities unilaterally evacuated by Israel in 2005: Homesh, Sa-Nur, Kadim, and Ganim.
The Knesset Law was bitterly opposed by the Biden Administration which continues to insist that Judea and Samaria belong to the Palestinians, and that such a move will inflame the Palestinians.
However you portray it, the Knesset Law is a major victory for our ancestral homeland of Israel and for the Israeli “Right.”
Kolakevod to the Knesset!
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.