This week, the “drizzle” of rocket fire continued in the south. Israelis are worried that we may have a repeat of last summer. And in the meantime, life goes on. This is what you missed this week:
1. June 2nd- if you thought Israel sends aid only to third world countries such as Nepal, guess again-
“IsraAid sends team to flood-ravaged Texas to help with relief efforts“, from thetower.org, via The Israel Project.
2. June 2nd- an historic and refreshing change of tune coming from Egypt: “MEMRI: Egyptian historian Maged Farag in support of normalized relations with Israel“. From MEMRITV.org.
3. June 2nd- an organization with ties to Hamas was given observer status at the UN. This is what the “Dry Bones” cartoon had to say about the UN. “History and the UN“.
4. Israel has a complicated relationship with its minorities. Nevertheless, our minorities are part of Israel and we’re proud of it! “Khawaled Village- Bedouin pride in Israel“. From LegalInsurrection.com
5. June 3rd- yet another video from the official Palestinian TV showing what the Palestinian endgame really is- this conflict is not about Israelis living in “settlements” in Judea and Samaria (“the West Bank”), but rather about Israelis living in any part of Israel. From MEMRITV.org, via StandWithUs. Watch it on this link.
6. June 3rd, a cool video from training of the IDF’s elite unit 669, which specializes in search & rescue at sea. Link.
7. June 4th, “Weekly commentary: the one ultimate fact that must not be ignored“, from IMRA.org.il
8. June 4th, the big news of the week- is Orange joining the BDS movement?
Haviv Rettig-Gur, from the TimesofIsrael writes:
Speaking from Cairo, capital of the rights-abusing Sissi government where he hopes to expand his business, Orange’s CEO says he’d take his company out of Israel if not for the financial risks involved, presumably from lost revenue and lawsuits.
So many moral compromises in one convoluted sentence.
In case someone has the ability to send M. Richard a message, you might want to clearly articulate the compromises. He doesn’t seem to have grasped them on his own.
1. Don’t announce you’re boycotting a country on moral grounds from the capital of a neighboring country censured around the world for rampant and systemic rights abuses — all while announcing you are hoping to expand your business dealings in the latter. That suggests you’re acting out of prejudice rather than any moral standard.
2. Don’t boycott Israel at least until you’ve learned enough about the conflict to discover what happened after the last couple Israeli territorial withdrawals. Doing otherwise suggests you prefer self-righteous ignorance over humanizing complexity.
3. If you finally decide to boycott Israel in support of the Palestinian cause, don’t then explain that you’re delaying doing so because it’s not immediately convenient business-wise. That just tells Palestinians their freedom has a monetary value, and it’s too expensive for you.
Richard seems to have tried to satisfy everybody all at once: Arab and French anti-Israel activists (by supporting divestment), but also Orange shareholders and Israeli partners (by saying so only after renewing his contract with Partner for 10 more years). In the attempt, he came off as a hypocritical coward who deserves equal ridicule from both Jews and Arabs.
Read the article from TheTimesOfIsrael here:
“Mobile giant Orange seeking to join Israel boycott, CEO says”
9. June 4th- here we go again…
“Code red rocket sirens sound in Gaza frontier towns of Netivot, Ashkelon“, from Jpost.com
10. June 5th- a great status by Abi Djanogly:
So I was just at the supermarket doing my pre-Shabbat shop – and as everyone knows that queuing for the cashier requires a heavy handful of painkillers on a Thursday night here, I chose to go to the self-service checkout.
Me being me, and hopeless at most technical things, I obviously got stuck quite a few times – and asked the Arab supervisor there to help me.
She kindly aided me in putting the rest of my shopping through; we chatted about the picture of my kids on my phone; shared a joke about the cost of mushrooms – all in all, she made my shopping experience far better than I would have expected on a crowded Thursday night.
And I was angry.
Why? Because literally most of the world couldn’t care less that there ARE Muslims and Jews in Israel who want peace – that people DO live ordinary lives here, and get on with each other, and share civil conversation with each other.
Seven months ago I gave birth in Meir, a hospital in Kfar Saba with an equal number of Jewish and Israeli Arab patients. It was wonderful to see Arab and Israeli women being treated EXACTLY THE SAME; Jewish and Muslim babies being treated EXACTLY THE SAME; Nurses and doctors of all cultures being treated EXACTLY THE SAME.
Why on earth can’t they make a documentary in an Israeli hospital, showing the positive aspects of living side-by-side?
Because unless there is a chance to show Israel in a bad light, basically no one gives a crap. So many people in this world are so intent on criticizing Israel, they couldn’t care less about the fact that the lovely Israeli Arab lady who helped me so much tonight, is treated somuch better by Jewish people in Israel than she would be anywhere else in the Middle East.I’m asking all my friends on Facebook, Jewish and non-Jewish, to actually take the time to LEARN THE FACTS before you start spouting ignorant rubbish that you have picked up from anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist news channels, websites and papers.
Yes, feel free to have your free speech and offer your opinions – but for pity’s sake, at least bother to learn about the socio-dynamic situation here, before you start criticisng Israel, boycotting their products, and bandying about ridiculous statements such as ‘apartheid state.’
Some of the things I have read recently on Facebook are just so incorrect it is actually laughable – most notably the UN and NUS’s recent anti-Semitic b**s**t statements.
Please please PLEASE educate yourselves on what actually goes on here – because if you don’t, the hatred just spreads. There are too many people in this world are that have allowed their anti-Israel views to grow due to sheer ignorance – please don’t let yourself be one of them.
11. June 5th, “Number of women growing in Israel’s Knesset“, from cnn.com
12. June 5th, guess who was in Israel this week? Levar Burton!
If you don’t know who he is, shame on you, and go stand in a corner.
Ok, now that you’re back- Levar Burton is Lieutenant Commander Geordi La-Forge from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
And his speech in this video is great even if you aren’t a trekkie. via StandWithUs.
13. June 5th, something good is happening in Egypt: “In new Egyptian Ramadan drama, Jews are the good guys“, from TimesOfIsrael.com
14. June 6th- another rocket attack: “Sirens signalling rocket attack sound in southern Israel“, from TimesOfIsrael.com
15. June 7th- Despite everything, guess who’s the 5th happiest country in the world?
“The 5 happiest countries in the world“, from MSN.com
16. June 7th- Canadians get it. Good job Canada! watch this video from last summer- link.
17. And finally, the Jerusalem light festival began last week and is continuing until Thursday, June 11th. If you’re in Israel this week, make sure to come over and see it- every night from 20:00 to 23:00 in the Old City of Jerusalem. I’ll post photos separately later on. Here’s a taste for now.
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The wizard of .il- News from Israel 