Israel’s News Blog Magazine: Daily Stories Video and Photos

With Israel Labor Party primaries only hours away, and on top of current security issues such as the beleaguered town of Sderot and military actions into Gaza, tomorrow’s inter-party primary elections for a new Labor Party leader seem to be so boring that even the most mediocre TV program will probably receive better ratings.

The three front-runners, including present party leader and Defense Minister Amir Peretz, also include former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and a newer ‘kid on the block’ former Naval Chief Ami Ayalon; who appears to be the front runner, and the only new face among a group of hopefuls whose aspirations are not generating any excitement within a political party which is only a shadow of it’s former self.

Peretz, running a distant third behind ‘Rear-Admiral’ Ayalon and Barak ‘The Watchmaker’ (Barak’s favorite hobby is disassembling and reassembling watches and clocks) still thinks he can pull off an upset and retain his present position, made increasingly unstable in the aftermath of the sensational Winograd Report. Amir appears to have delusions of grandeur, however, as pre-primary polls show him able to garner less than 20% of the party vote, compared to Barak’s 31% and Ayalon’s 35%.

Barak also appears to be suffering from a few delusions himself, as his short term as Prime Minister resulted in Israel’s hasty pull-out from Lebanon in May, 2000, followed by the disappointing Camp David Summit later that summer and the Second Intifada in the fall. Even Barak himself seems to have some doubts as he was quoted recently as saying: “if there will be a run-off, I’ll lose it (the election)”.

Ayalon appears to be the only possible man who might possibly be able to bring some new life into the party which was virtually unopposed in Israeli politics for nearly thirty years. But in light of present realities, even he may have an uphill struggle due to infighting within Labor, together with Ayalon’s personal connections with Palestinian Professor Sari Nusseibeh concerning a two state solution for Israelis and Palestinians; a not too popular conception nowadays with Kassam rockets still raining
down on Israel’s southern regions. The aftermath of last summer’s war, coupled with the present Hamas led hostilities in the south, has increased right winged feelings and given strength to more hawkish political parties, particularly opposition Likud party leader Benjamin ‘Bibi’ Natanyahu.

In the fall-out from events which may occur during the coming days (especially if the conflict with the Palestinians grows more intense) it may even set the stage for such people as Arkady Gaidamak to become even more popular at the expense of current politicians, including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who appears to holding onto power by the skin of his teeth. If Gaidamak continues to win friends and influence people, as he has with his assistance to Sderot residents and others in distress, even he might be a possible political leader in the not so distant future. After all, with all the millions that Arkady has, he doesn’t need to be corrupt – he has enough money already.

Labor’s chances of being in the next Israeli government are not too good at this point. But Israeli politics often results in strange bedfellows; and when push comes to shove, this party could very well be right in there again, alongside an even more right-winged government. After all, a deal is a deal, even if the ‘menu’ is not too palatable.

Last Monday afternoon thousands of people were expected to gather in one big hug of love around the Old City of Jerusalem. Unfortunately, though, I don’t really think there were several thousand people who showed up - it seemed more like several hundred to me - but we still evoked stares and curiosity from passers-by. It was a touchy-feely type of thing, a truly spiritual experience, and those who prefer and are used to angry, violent, political demonstrations (which is just WAY too many people) seemed to stay away.

Most of the day, starting from around 12 noon, people of all religions, all “types”, young and old (I’m talking from infants to some incredibly adorable elders who appeared to be in their 80’s or even 90’s), gathered on the luscious, green lawn of Hutzot Hayotzer in preparation for the historic event. Those hours of preparation proved to be no less mystical and significant than the “Hug” itself. It was sort of like Woodstock all over again (only minus the hundreds of thousands of people and the hallucinative drugs).

These people didn’t need the drugs. Some of them were on that “natural, spiritual high” that you hear so much about and can only dream of one day reaching: true ecstasy from a higher level of consciousness - while all the rest were simply high on life. Most of the hours were spent making music, singing, dancing, meditating, practicing capoeira, laughing, smiling and just plain and simple “being”. Oh, and there was hugging. Lots and lots of spontaneous hugging everywhere I looked.

Love was truly in the air. And so was peace, enlightenment and a true and passionate hope for a better world.

Of course, the police were all prepared for the event and were circling the area with weapons in hand. But they, too, were occasionally caught smiling to themselves, observing the serene moment, only to catch themselves in time and keep “doing their jobs”.

At around 5:00 pm, we all set out to circle the Old City, following the beats of the drums which led us, and gathering curious pedestrians along the way. Im not going to get into the Hug itself because no words can describe the sensation you get when you suddenly find yourself One with the people around you, One with the ancient historic walls, One with the world, One with the Universe… One with God. You just simply cannot describe that kind of silence.

Ok, so you might think that all of this is nonsense, or you might think that we are all wackos for choosing to participate in such an event.

But I can tell you one thing I now know for sure:

When you hug the beautiful city of Jerusalem - Jerusalem hugs you back.

Sad but true. Finally Ismail Haniyeh and Abu Mazen are meeting….Moshik! had this

I am telling you, this Arkady Gaydamak can take care of everything. He is just everywhere…
Moshik! thinks so as well. For the Hebrew challanged, the wife says to the husband: “But you said it wasn’t happening for you..”

This is a second video by Noah Ickowitz.

I got this in the email the other day. It’s a nice video about Yom Hazikaron and Yom Haatzmaut 2007.

Thank you Noah

I really love to see the power of the Internet. Thanks to our postings on Ali Baba and here, we managed to get this UK business man out of Guilin and the hands of Guilin Youlianshiye Co.…Too bad he had to fly out there but at least they never got the “loot” (never actually had a chance to use that word..)

Hi, I am one of those suckers who have just visited Guilin Youlianshiye Co. We received an order of over US$500,000 for chandeliers manufactured in the UK and received the letter of invitation and a draft contract. I was asked to visit Guilin to sign the contract “because it was their tradition”. I booked my own flight and hotel. They picked me up in the morning and took me to their premises. Their young female interpreter explained that their Financial Director had to visit our premises in London to make sure he was confident we could produce the work. If he was happy he would authorise the payment of the deposit. She said the FD would expect to be looked after well in London and would want special benfits. When I asked what type of benefits, she said he collected art of up and coming young Chinese artists. She said she could take me to a gallery where I could purchase a piece which I could take back to London to give him when he came over to see me. She suggested some art was available for around 20,000 yuan (about 1,400 stirling). I was due to return the next day to sign the contract. I emailed my wife in the UK and told her I thought it was a scam and she searched through the internet and found your subject on Alibaba, I just wish I had found it before I jumped on a plane! Obviously, I did not return to sign the contract. Does anyone know who I should report this to? Everyone I spoke to out there suggested there is very little in the way of business in Guilin other than tourism. Got off the plane this morning a bit wiser!

“We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats’ feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar”
T.S. Eliot: The Hollow Men – 1925

Is the student strike coming to an end as in T.S. Eliot’s classic poem, The Hollow Men? After 31 days of protest and demonstrations, some of which actually became violent, the students appear to be ready to settle for an amended governmental agreement hacked out by the Shochat Committee, and approved by the Educational Ministry’s representative Ovadia Yeheskiel. The agreement calls for the sum for NS 45 million to be allocated to Colleges for covering educational costs. This may help students attending private colleges and paying annual tuition fees amounting to three times the sum paid by students attending government universities.
Another agreement earmarks a sum of N.S 20 million to be paid to educational colleges and partially reinstating sums that were cancelled by the government by budget cutting on educational allotments.

Did the students win their protest, or was this simply another lesson in futility, as what occurred as a result of previous student protests and strikes. For many students, losing a month of their educational time-frame is something that sums of money may not be able to cover; as if the money might benefit these students directly anyway. State university students need to realize that they pay a very small tuition fee in comparison with students in other countries, especially in North America. A reality that many students fail to realize is that some universities, notably Tel Aviv University, are already in dire financial straits, resulting in some study programs either drastically cut back or eliminated altogether.

The private academic institutions, often the only option available for students who don’t score high enough on their psychometric examinations, are the ones where government funding needs to be available. The tuition costs of these institutions average around N.S. 26,000 per year, considerably more than the N.S. 8,000 paid at the State run universities.

So what did the students gain from all of this hullabaloo? Actually, very little in comparison with what transpired during the protests. Many observers are saying that most of the strikers decided to end their strike when the reality of losing the academic became a stark possibility.

This may be why they are willing to reach this agreement, just to save face as well as salvage the school year. With all of this in mind, one might refer back to T.S. Elliot’s poem especially it’s ending in which the poet wrote:

“And that’s how the world ends; not with a bang but with a whimper”.

And apparently, this most recent student strike is ending is ending with a whimper as well.

Israeli soldier entertains Palestinian kids at the border. Who says soldiers aren’t humane?

Peres is running for President in place of Katzav (Mr. Schlong!). The question is, will he win? I mean Peres has a bad track record when it comes to winning anything really. Moshik! is wondering if he would win if he ran against himself…