(Since publication, the Seen section below has been updated. The initial version of this post radically understated the number of rockets launched at Israel during the war.)
Done
Went to a yoga class, and took a pass through the edge of the shuk to see if my Yemenite Grandma's shop is open. It is!
One minute tour:
Lunch was had.
Seen
Information and observation indicate that dozens or even hundreds of rockets are being launched every day from multiple areas of Gaza. Some of them fall in Gaza (and are blamed on Israel). One or two landed in the West Bank in the past 24 hours. Amazing that 3+ weeks in there are still rockets to shoot. As of a week ago, over seven thousand had been launched over three weeks (the start of the conflict).
Cars
Have I mentioned that there are cars all over turned into Journalist wagons? You see this kind of thing all over:
Electric Cars
Electric buses have been mentioned. A decent percentage in Tel Aviv. Also spotted in Jerusalem. I have noticed a decent number of Teslas and other electric cars. Today just noticed that there is electric car charging a block from my apartment. (1 minute.)
There are also electric cars here that I never heard of in the U.S. Like Leapmotor, BYD, Geely and Seres. I have seen most of these on the road here.
How The BBC Looks from Israel
From what I can tell, this is the perception across the Israeli political spectrum. (In English. The "Arabic" bits in Hebrew, with English subs)
For what it is worth, in the past 24 hours Raf has seen fresh British television news footage from Gaza that includes footage "released by Hamas" that via public sources is either years old and/or debunked.
Why Western news continues to publish material that is easily checked is beyond me. The acceptance of information from Hamas is odd and telling. The problem extends to "normal people." Many in my extended circle have been duped by various pieces of scammy fakes ("Beware of inquiries from organization ____!"). One source of debunking info is the Anti Defamation League. Possibly worth a visit to see the scope.
Contrast
A reservist, a Braslav Hassid.
Read & Watched
Barack Obama’s written response to the conflict. Yuval Harari’s (author of Sapiens) recent television interview (15 minutes). And Rabbi Jill Jacobs’ essay “How to tell when criticism of Israel is actually anti-Semitism” (PDF here, first page intentionally blank.)
Relief Area
Alef
מי שמנהיג מדינה בציוצים רצוי שיישב בכלוב
Whoever leads a country with tweets should do so sitting in a cage.
Bet
I just finished reading FUP (for the Nth time-g). 56 pages. Recommended!
That is it for the day.
Raf
(Thanks to A.K., _ and R.N. for content)