| |
Direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon are supposed to start tomorrow in Washington, and that's certainly more encouraging than their not taking place, but it's hard to be optimistic. While for us it's been another quiet day it's been more of the same in the north. That, and what's being done to Lebanon, is certainly a good reason to hope that the negotiations succeed, but it's hard to be optimistic. Hezbollah has already stated that they're against the Lebanese government taking part. Add to that the ongoing question of will he or won't he blockade the Strait of Hormuz (which is apparently now in effect, even if it's totally unclear what doing that actually means) and it's hard to feel that the war is really behind us. The ceasefire is still supposed to hold for another week and a half, but at present it's hard to believe that we'll even get that far. And when was the last time I found myself agreeing with the Pope? In the meantime my government is giving the green light to a slew of settlements in the west bank, some of them on private Palestinian land. This seems to be a sort of "just try and stop me" dare toward Europe. I for one certainly hope Europe tries.
So things continue to be bad. How bad? I suggest reading this HaAretz article by Ami Kaufman - MAGA, Israel-style: Netanyahu Just Hired His 'Deep State' Theorist-in-chief (https://archive.li/Md2Rf). Not only, but perhaps primarily, because of Netanyahu's legal difficulties, our populace has to be convinced that our deep state is even worse than yours. It's not only our governmental policies, but the attempt to make sure that they can't be countered.
This evening was the start of Holocaust Remembrance Day. The central ceremony, at Yad VaShem, was pre recorded, basically for security reasons (it wasn't clear that a crowd would be allowed to gather). The Prime Minister gives a talk each year, and each year Netanyahu has been seriously distasteful, but it seems that he outdid himself this time. Essentially he gave another election speech, explaining to whoever was listening (I'm not sure how many Israelis actually watch this broadcast each year) how he has again saved us from destruction. How this was related to the Holocaust, other than by continuing to instill in us existential dread, is beyond me.
On the other hand, we clicked into the ceremony at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai and it was impressive and moving. One of the speakers clearly emphasized that what is taking place in the west bank contradicts what should be the message of the Holocaust. (Yes, I don't think that events like the Holocaust have "messages", but I don't object to him saying this today.) Part of the ceremony was a short clip of Hila's group at Nir-Oz, though I don't think she was caught on camera.
I think that this is enough. When I write reports like this I wonder whether there's any reason to continue a daily report. But it's important for me to try to save a picture of how our lives are throughout this war.
I'm linking here to an article in today's English HaAretz by Libby Lenkinski - The Cruel Chorus Calling Out the 'Sin' of non-Zionist Bundism (https://archive.li/GvwOt). With all the heated debate taking place, I think she does a good job of representing a complex position (regardless of the fact that I'd argue with parts of it).
|
|