Is Raf OK? -- Installment #89
2024-03-13 -- Jerusalem & Tel Aviv
2024-03-15: Correction: The section “Adjustment Challenges” was renamed “Months and Days” and the content adjusted to reflect my current understanding.
Tags: 3 Min Read; Great video clips
Read
Polls: Support for Hostage Deal
From a March 4 Haaretz article:
73 percent of secular Israeli Jews support the hostage release and cease-fire deal currently on the table compared to 52 percent of traditional Jews and 24 percent of ultra-Orthodox Jews
What Raf finds odd: Redeeming captives is a religious mitzvah. Even paying a very high price (like releasing 100's of violent terrorists for a single captive) has been Rabbinically supported for decades. Why would support for a hostage deal fade with religiosity? Ishay Rosen-Zvi seems to say: A new national pride is the reason, and as the religious right merges with the political right, this ethos takes over.
This pains me.
IDF Strike Near UNRWA Building in Rafah
In case this hit your radar...
Joint IDF and ISA announcement
Precise strike on a Hamas terrorist in Rafah; the IDF and ISA eliminated a commander in Hamas’ Operations Unit
Earlier today (Wednesday), following IDF and ISA intelligence, an IDF aircraft precisely targeted and eliminated a terrorist in Hamas’ Operations Unit in the area of Rafah: Muhammad Abu Hasna.
Hasna was a combat support operative in Hamas’ military wing. He was also involved in taking control of humanitarian aid and distributing it to Hamas terrorists. Furthermore, Hasna coordinated the activities of various Hamas units and communicated with and activated Hamas field operatives. Hasna was also responsible for an intelligence operations room which provides information on IDF positions for use in Hamas attacks.
His precise targeting significantly damages the operational capabilities of various Hamas units in Rafah.
30 seconds. Military footage
Purim is Coming
Cookies
A cookie initiative: Making mishloach manot? An online cookbook of cookies has been compiled: It lists the favorite cookie, with recipe, for each of the hostages. Make em and include in mishloach manot. (Cookbook is in Hebrew)
The Zoroastrian Holiday of Chaharshanbe Suri
In Social-Media land, the Iranian opposition has been posting (for months) to effect "Real Iran has no issue with Israel." Israel returns the favor. Today's example:
Representatives of the IDF Spokesperson in Persian with heartfelt wishes to the Iranian people on the occasion of the Chaharshanbe Suri "Fourth Day of Light"
(From an account associated with the Iranian opposition.)
Seen
From 2017... Billy Joel In Concert
After White Supremacists marched in Charlotte:
Social Media Clip
Integration of Arab/Palestinian Israelis is mixed. The clip below isn't wrong, but it is incomplete. (I once mentioned the reality TV question posed to Israeli Arabs/Palestinians: "Why are you all pharmacists?" -- A high percentage of medical professionals, in all roles, are Israeli Arabs/Palestinians.)
Pallywood Example of the Hour: Pennsylvania Ave
In front of the White House:
Yeah… But... the boy in that photograph died of a disease and not starvation. Here he is shortly before he died with his father (from the family's social media) a week or two ago:
The boy Yazen Kafarna died of an illness in the hospital in Rafah. There is no shortage of food in Rafah (this is where all the supplies come in on trucks from Egypt). Sitting next to Kafarna in the picture above is his father, who does not seem to lack food and does not seem to live in difficult conditions.
Ramadan in the IDF
2 Min, in Arabic. Worth sticking with for at least a minute.
File under: Not your Grandpa’s IDF.
Heard
Road Hazards
Combat soldier was deployed to Gaza for four months. Survived many close calls. Home for a few weeks. Died in an accident on his motorcycle.
Months and Days
I went to a shiva in Jerusalem today. For a fallen soldier. 29 years old. Had served three months as a reservist. Out for some weeks and then called back to service. He was killed by a Hamas booby trapped building a day before his unit was released.
His divorced parents handled it this way: The mom sat in her apartment. The dad in the building courtyard.
Relief Area
Alef
Bet: Music Video
Hebrew with English subs. A lot of people feel exactly like this.
Gimmel
Once upon a time (in a galaxy far away) I was a college student. For two semesters I was on the debate team. The first semester’s topic had to do with U.S. Presidential Elections and their susceptibility to non democratic forces.
In one round, our opponents (we debated in teams of two) said to the judge, "A minority group can swing a few states and throw the whole election. For example Blacks or Jews could team up and control the outcome."
My dear partner, a nice Jewish boy (Aaron S.) stood up and said, no he plead, "Look, I'm Jewish. And I can vote. And no one has ever asked me to take part in such a plot. And my partner, Raf, he's Jewish, and he's my friend. If there were a plot, he'd tell me. It just can't be that groups like this have such influence or control."
The faces of the other team fell.
We won the round.
I know of families that had two, three even four members called up. A kid or two in regular service. An older kid or two called up for reserves. Maybe the dad too. Families with two and three members in Gaza.
Wars of this duration are rare. Especially in this region.
A friend, without immediate family in Gaza, runs a fruit coop. A citrus farmer near Gaza delivers once a week. She volunteers to be the distribution point in her Jerusalem neighborhood. Folks order on line. The delivery comes. She makes sure the boxes get to the recipients. No middleman or distributor. The farmer gets full retail, and everyone gets a good feeling.
A Seattle foundation did an event at the new Israel National Library. All manner of Seattle-ite was present. The tour is amazing (if you visit, give it a shot!). Was wonderful to catch up with everyone.
Stay well,
Raf
(Thank you A.K.)