First Time Here? Readers suggest starting with the expanded Gaza Explainer in #133 and #120.
Top Ten IsRafOK Entries: #85; #123; #128; #140; #144; #154; #161; #162; #164; #171
Tags: 9 Min Read; Jumbo Relief
Updates: On July 15, context added to Relief Tet, Relief Nun enhanced.
Anecdotes about money. The following are first hand.
I went to the bank today [Friday, June 11]. Some workmen prefer to be paid cash. It's Friday. There is a bank branch nearby that is kind of at the junction of Jewish and Arab Jerusalem.
It was crowded.
The ATM vestibule has four ATMs inside. On the outside are another two. The outside ATMs both had error messages on screen. A line ran out the door for indoor machines. I poked my head in. Everyone was lined up for a single machine. A second machine had a couple of bank workers restocking it. "What about those two?" I asked. "They’re empty. No money. The country is out of cash," I was told, as a joke.
The second machine restocked, the line moved faster.
Paying the workman, I said, "Every time I go to that bank on Friday, it's a zoo. It's always like that?" He lives nearby and said, "Yup. And if you go on Shabbat, every machine is empty."
Nexus of the cash economy?
Yesterday, in Tel Aviv, my arms were full of groceries and I was second in line at the cashier. The lady above me has a problem. Her credit card is in her phone's digital wallet, and it isn't going through. The cashier says, "Mastercard isn't working right now, only Visa." Ahhh, this is why I couldn't pay for my new pair of shorts twenty minutes ago. I have a Mastercard debit card and a Mastercard Israeli credit card, and neither worked.
The woman is beside herself. She has no way to pay and can't go to an ATM with only a digital wallet (ATMs require the actual card). I ask her if she has the BIT app. This is like Venmo in the U.S., except that everybody has it and it is absolutely free of charge to use.
She does. I pay cash for her groceries (all of US$15), she BITs me the money, and we all move on.
Dept of The Invisible
Items invisible in the Western media. (Now combined with the Postmark concept, to help consolidate topics by locale.)
Washington D.C.
After the spectacle of a White House dinner, Netanyahu posed with a 'Trump was right about everything' hat – a gesture too on the nose to be humiliating, and yet somehow still was. (Rachel Fink, Haaretz)
Iraq
Historic ceremony in the Sulaymaniyah province – members of the Kurdish PKK organization are disarming, following the call of their leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is imprisoned in Turkey.
A Turkish security delegation will take part in the historic ceremony after decades of military rivalry.
Did the Kurds do the right thing? Time will tell. Erdoğan can be satisfied. His enemies are laying down their arms.
(Kurdish soldiers are male and female, in keeping with the radical feminist/progressive philosophy of their leader Abdullah Öcalan.)
A social media pundit:
President Erdoğan should kindly pick up the phone to his brothers in the Hamas movement, send them the videos, and explain that this is how the fighting in Gaza should end—exactly with such a ceremony. A long convoy of Hamas operatives laying down their arms. This is how it is supposed to look. Nothing less.
Gazan humanitarian activist Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib (who lost dozens of family members in Gaza) posted:
The fiercely ideological Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) began the disarmament process today after 40 years of armed struggle that killed tens of thousands, opting to evolve & engage in politics. Imagine if Hamas had done that in Gaza, before or after 10/7? There's still time 🙏
Syria
Large explosions at military facilities:
July 12: Western Syria: Last night, explosions were heard at the headquarters of the Syrian Army’s 107th Brigade near the village of Zama, in the Jableh area, Latakia Governorate. It is unclear what caused the explosions.
July 11: Significant explosions were recorded at the air defense complex of the Neirab military airfield in Aleppo
Tribal War
A "tribal map" of the area:
July 12-14: 30 killed and about 100 wounded in clashes between Druze and Bedouins in southern Syria
Overnight, armed clashes continued between the Druze and Bedouins (Sunnis) in the western and northwestern parts of the Suwayda Governorate. The Druze regained control of several villages that were taken over by the Bedouins, and according to an official report from the Syrian Ministry of Interior, since the clashes broke out, 30 people have been killed and about 100 wounded.
The clashes erupted against the backdrop of ambushes set up by Bedouins for vehicles traveling between Suwayda and Damascus - the ambushes resulted in murders, kidnappings, and robberies.
The Syrian Ministry of Interior claims this is happening due to the absence of its security forces in southern Syria and announced that it intends to intervene in the conflict to restore calm and bring those responsible to justice.
The regime will use this move to deploy additional forces in southern Syria. Armed convoys from Damascus are on their way to Suwayda.
From available info, it is not clear that the Syrian government is capable of maintaining control in these areas. Low level conflict has been simmering for some days/weeks, including intermittent firefights with casualties. The Druze have every reason to be concerned.
Below allegedly shows Druze fighters with captured soldiers of the Syrian government in As-Suwayda, southern Syria.
There are reports that the IAF is overflying southern Syria and possibly acting in support of the Druze. Footage of bodies of Syrian government soldiers is all attributed to action by Druze militias.
Iran
Tehran: Palestine Square
“You are no longer safe.”
State TV
Official Iranian media: Iranian security forces have uncovered another “factory” for the production of UAVs belonging to the Israeli Mossad in... Tehran.
"Gas Leaks"
Every day or two there has been a "mysterious explosion" affecting the apartment of an Iranian leader.
An explosion occurred this morning [July 14] in an apartment on the first floor of the Pardisan residential complex in the city of Qom.
Seven casualties have been reported.
Raf would add: That has the visual footprint of an Israeli precision missile.
A few days ago it was in a building where the Iranian leadership lives.
June 14: There have been fires in Tehran. Every incident is attributed, on social media, to the Mossad. Iranian official channels continually deny Israeli involvement:
Reports of an explosion in Mashhad.
Reports of an explosion in the prestigious Shemiran neighborhood in northern Tehran.
Reports of an explosion in Tabriz.
Yemen: Houthi Hijacking of the Greek ship Eternity C
The U.S. Embassy in Yemen announced that the ship's crew was kidnapped by the Houthis, who claim they were "brought to a safe shore."
The Houthis are joining Hamas in taking hostages?
Gaza
That Leadership Question...
Gershon Baskin posted in Arabic, July 11, 2025
His Excellency President Mahmoud Abbas - If you want to end the war in Gaza, if you don't want to see an Israeli military government controlling Gaza, if you want to remove Hamas from power in Gaza - then appoint a person from Gaza to preside an interim government there. Choose someone who is trustworthy, clean, dependable, who will share with you the vision of a two state solution and say no to violence. This person should be from Gaza, but doesn't have to be currently in it. Choose the person who will fulfill your promises to President Macron and to His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman. You claim to be the president of all Palestine - you are the only one with the authority to appoint the interim president of Gaza. And this person will in turn appoint other members of government. Palestinian people are waiting for you. The international community is waiting for you. Arab countries are waiting for you. Do it right now. Netanyahu's claim that if Israel withdrew from Gaza, Hamas would remain in power.
Civilian Casualties
Last night, the IDF carried out a precision strike on the Halima al-Saadiya school in Jabaliya, in the northern part of the Strip, where displaced Gazans are still staying despite evacuation orders. The target of this strike was the commander of the Jabaliya Battalion in Hamas’s military wing.
The target, the target's assistant, and several members of the target's family were killed in the strike.
Gazan social media users criticize that a commander of his rank hid among the civilian population, endangering them.
Gazans know what draws IDF fire.
Hamas's ideology is to never surrender. As the leader of Hezbollah said a few days ago: Surrender is not an option. Only victory or martyrdom.
Many (or all) Israeli airstrikes in recent days have been assassinations, including of Hamas commanders and terrorists who participated in the October 7 attack.
Tunnels
The never ending saga of tunnels. This one approximately 500 meters long and approximately 13 meters deep. Posted by the IDF on July 11.
Refugees
Since refugees are on the mind, did you know that as of 2014, there were a million+ Afghan refugees in Iran?
Earlier in 2025, the Iranian government announced their expulsion, ruling that all those without Iranian documents would need to leave Iran by July 6.
About half a million had gone back to Afghanistan by June. Then in a five day period, July 1 to July 5, another ~half a million were kicked out of Iran, bringing to total in 2025 to over 900,000.
The Taliban government of Afghanistan announced on July 11:
We cannot cope with the burden of refugees returning from Iran to Afghanistan, we need international assistance. Since the beginning of the year, more than 900,000 Afghans have been expelled from Iran to Afghanistan, including about 450,000 in the past month.
It is now reported in the Western press that Iran is in the process of expelling 4 million Afghans.
Afghan refugees lack the social media presence of Hamas. They are forgotten.
It's all about Instagram.
Israel
More airlines are flying every week. Tourists are still thin on the ground. At an art gallery today, the gallerist said 90% of galleries have closed. (This doesn’t sound right to Raf, but it’s what she said.)
Relief Area
Alef
Bet: For Prime Minister, Mayor or Gaza Administrator?
(If you're looking for 90 minutes of distraction.)
Gimmel: Israeli Culture Snippet...
Left to right:
Lower left: It is forbidden to smoke in buses
Lower right: Arsim [uncultured Israelis]
Dalet
Hey: Of The Options Below, Which One Is Immoral?
Aryeh Deri (אריה דרעי), leader of the Shaas party (a key part of the current coalition), convicted of breach of trust (this is the Israeli law that covers corruption), sentenced to three years in prison. After his release from prison, convicted again of breach of trust and sentenced to three months in prison on probation and a fine of 10,000 NIS. (There are other convictions.)
Serious power broker in Israeli politics.
a: Evade military service
b: Tear toilet paper on shabbat
c: Steal public funds
d: Force people into poverty
Vav: Bibi reading biography of Churchill
Haredim holding the newspaper Yated Neeman: Replace Churchill
We will dodge at the beaches
We will dodge at the sea
We will dodge in the air
And on land
We will dodge the army
We will dodge work too
And we will never enlist [in the IDF]
Zayin: Israel and Cypress
Chet
Can I get one too?
Tet
Will you join the Avraham accords?
If You Will it, it is No Dream.
[Syrian president al-Julani looks like Herzl. “If you will it, it is no dream” is one of the key slogans Herzl gave to the movement to found a Jewish state.]
Yod
Come [to your trial] when you can…
Chaf
(First appearance of the pawn shop meme!)
Deal for the hostages?
The best I can do is give a recommendation for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Lammed
Mem
Also our son Yair had his service extended for a year in Miami.
(Refers to a recent, controversial, move to extend mandatory service for combat soldiers. In Yair’s case, he stayed in Miami for an extra year due to the war.)
Nun
A vector/axis that is foundational to our existence
Netzarim Axis (in Gaza, apparently abandoned as a ceasefire red line)
Philadelphi Axis (in Gaza, apparently abandoned as a ceasefire red line)Morag Axis (in Gaza, active as of first half of July 2025)
X Axis (math)
Y Axis (math)
Beef Soup
Samech
(Far right minister Ben Gvir taking shots at the hostages… with the weapon of Palestinian teens in the west bank, who his West Bank supporters emulate in their violent methods.)
Ayin
Forward! You can do it!
Pey
Tzade: RE The "Gas Explosions" in the Iran section above
Iranians mock the Iranian regime on social media in light of the mysterious explosions attributed to “gas leaks”:
“A short while ago, a group of gas canisters was arrested on charges of collaborating with the Zionist entity.”
Kuf
Supporters of the Iranian opposition "modified" the logo of the Iranian gas company, following a series of "gas leak" incidents in Iran in recent days.
Resh
Top: It's a crisis in the governing coalition! [The far right threatens to bolt]
Bottom: This is the 70th time in a row you have presented to class a coalition crisis...
Shin
Invisible sides of Israel… when you go to the X-Ray/CT scan floor of Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem (I’m fine, was the driver, long story), what do you experience?
Easily half of the nurses/doctors/PA’s/security guards are Israeli Arabs. And, at least the day I was there, most of the folks waiting to be scanned.
To Peace,
Raf
(Thank you A.K., M.T., R.G.)