Yom Chamishee
Thursday
30 Av 5783
August 17 2023
TODAY’S BLOG:
The Beautiful Photo of the Morning
A beautiful photo of the Kineret (Sea of Galilee) this morning (photo: hamal).
Good News
Some new Israeli citizens arriving on a Nefesh b’Nefesh flight yesterday. This was the 64th such Nefesh flight since the organization begin. Kolakevod to the new citizens and to Nefesh! See below.
*215 North American Jews from the U.S. and Canada made aliya to Israel yesterday. Among them were 22 families with 75 children, 15 single men and women, and 17 retirees. The oldest was 77 years old; the youngest 4 months old. 7 new doctors were among the new citizens.
*Following the Paraguayan decision yesterday to establish its embassy in Jerusalem, Uruguay announced that it will open a diplomatic office to promote innovation in our capital.
*A Palestinian terrorist preparing IED explosives in Kabatia accidentally blew off his own hand.
*Israel’s GDP increased by 3.3% in the second quarter this year.
*According to the Bernstein Research Institute which monitors hi-tech jobs in Israel, the rate of layoffs has dramatically decreased from 51,000 per month during the first six months of this year to a projected 11,000 this month. Bernstein analysts say that “The recession in high-tech jobs is over.”
The Flag of Shame
The Lebanese flag was raised yesterday on the gas rig drilling platform that was put into operation in the Kana field off the coast of Israel.
You will remember how almost a year ago then-PM Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz undemocratically (without approval of the Knesset) gave away Israeli maritime territory in Block 9 to Lebanon and Hezbollah for absolutely nothing. That flag you see is an everlasting mark of Israeli shame.
The News on the Israeli Street
The war in Judea and Samaria.
Shooting attacks:
Palestinian terrorists fired on IDF troops in Jenin. No Israelis were wounded. One terrorist, a leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, was killed; another terrorist was critically wounded.
Palestinian terrorists fired on IDF troops at the Hawara Junction. No Israelis were wounded. Two terrorists were shot.
“Rock”, Molotov, and IED attacks:
Palestinian terrorists tried to murder Israeli children, women, and men in more than 25 attacks yesterday; the most egregious were on Road 60 at Luban al-Sharqiya (2 Israelis wounded), Hizma, Psagot, and at Ali (2 Israelis wounded).
TODAY’S BLOG:
Eliezer Ben-Ami
Eliezer Ben-Ami. 1923-2023. His funeral is today at 6:00 pm in Holon.
May His Memory Be For A Blessing
You may not be familiar with Eliezer Ben Ami dear reader, but he was perhaps the last surviving member of the underground Lehi organization which played an integral role in bringing modern Israel to statehood.
Perhaps the best way to remember him is to reprint–slightly abridged–his Lehi citation (click here to see the original).
Eliezer Ben-Ami
Lehi Alias: Yechezkel
Date of Birth: November 1, 1923
“Eliezer was born November 1, 1923 in Jerusalem. Father Dov Ben-Ami and mother Rivka had emigrated from Ukraine in May 1923. The family settled in Rehovot and acquired a farm and an orchard.
Eliezer’s childhood was spent in Rehovot and Tel Aviv. He studied at Tel-Nordoi Elementary School and Montefiore High School. As a young man he was a member of Maccabi and Beitar.
At the end of 1939, he was recruited to Etzel, and joined Lehi in 1940. He served as contact person and supply storage manager. He underwent courses in weapons and explosives.
At his parents’ farm he hid Lehi fugitives. His parents built an underground bunker under the farm’s dairy cows to house the Lehi clandestine press. In 1942, he worked in developing arms and was active in Lehi operations.
On April 8, 1943 he was arrested during an operation and sentenced to six years in prison in Jerusalem where he became the living spirit behind escape operations. He became known for assembling the “grenade filled oranges” (hollowed out oranges that contained shrapnel and a detonator) that were used by prisoners Moshe Barzani and Meir Feinstein to blow themselves up three hours before their hanging by the British.
He was released February 9, 1948 and joined the IDF on May 31, 1948.
Eliezer served in the 8th Brigade, the Engineering Corps and the Ordnance Corps–from dismantling bombshells to commanding a battalion.
In 1951, he successfully finished an Engineer Corps Officers’ Course and was sent to study at the Technion. Afterwards he was involved in developing and testing armaments. He graduated Command and HQ School. Among his positions were: instructor, sapper, production officer, experimental branch head, 276 Battalion Commander, and head of the Atomic-Biological-Chemical Weapons Branch.
He was discharged in September 1969 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After military service he worked as an engineer in research and development and military construction. In 1994 he retired.
In his personal life, he married Lehi comrade Drora Giladi Reznitsky on April 20, 1948. They had three children: Arnon, Doron, and Ravit–and seven grandchildren: Roi, Guy, Adi, Nir, Yuval, Ori, and Hadar.
After his wife passed away in 1992, he began painting and sculpting. He was active in the Akko and Jerusalem Prisoners’ Association, in the Lehi Foundaion, and on the lecture circuit.”
In summary, Eliezer was a hero of Israel.
*Addendum from your humble servant:
Moshe Barzani and Meir Feinstein, who committed suicide before their hanging by blowing themselves up with the “orange hand grenades” became legendary Zionist icons.
PM Menachem Begin (who had led the Irgun) died in 1992; he specified in his will that he was to be buried beside them on the Mount of Olives:
The graves of Barzani and Feinstein.
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.