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

Picture: Ynet
With all the ‘combinations’ of precipitation and lower temperatures coming into form, “Jerusalem the Golden” became all white as the winter season’s first snow storm blanked the city with 2 to 3 inches of snow. The snowfall is always a welcome diversion to the city’s children, though more a nuisance to their parents since the municipality announced that schools in the Holy City will be closed on Wednesday due to the Frosty the Snowman’s visit. The snowy weather also reached some higher elevations in the Galilee and really hit the northern Golan Heights, especially the ski site at Mt. Hermon, which had been unused for that purpose so far this year. With a little more snow in next few days, the site will probably be at least partially open to both skiers and people who just want to bring their kids to frolic in the “sheleg” the Hebrew word for snow.

The moisture for both the snow and the rains that have reached Israel is welcome relief to the country’s chronic water problems, and anyone who has visit the Kineret lately must have noticed that the lake level is a bit low – even to the point where fishing boats are sitting in the mud instead of floating in their mooring berths. The lake should receive enough water from both the melting snows on Mr. Hermon and from feeder streams (including the Jordan) to raise the water level at least half a meter. Even so, the lake level will still be about 2 meters below the accepted level to not cause any water shortage problems during the long dry season of April through October.

Not much rain has reached Israel so far this year, and what has arrived previously is far below what the country should have received by late January. Israel’s “rainy season” if one were to call it that, is only from December to March, although some rain does fall occasionally in October and November; and even some freak rain storms come as late as mid May.

But getting back to Jerusalem, a winter snowfall adds a special beauty and charm to an already beautiful and charming city. Seeing pictures of a snowy blanket on the Old City and the Mt. of Olives is especially enchanting, and despite any temporary inconveniences, I’m sure the citizens of Jerusalem will agree. It is written in Jewish daily prayer, referring to God’s divine assistance to the Land of Israel: “Thou causest the winds to blow and the rains to fall”.

What a night. The deep freeze is here and there is snow in Jerusalem, the Golan and anything that sticks up a few meters over sea level. Wind, gusting winds, we got winter. The Electric company says we broke a record for consumption (again) and I better finish this before the OHH..
This winter is the nastiest I have seen in a while but as long as you have a roof over your head and someone to snuggle with, I love it. It’s still beats Canada any day of the week. Checkout the cool snow shots on Sabra at Heart…..

Omri Sharon, Airik Sharon’s elder son and former Likud Party Knesset member, lost out on his latest appeal of what is now going to be a 7 month term in the hoosegow for campaign funds manipulation and other similar crimes. Sharon, who has tried to prevent his incarceration by claiming he is constantly at the bedside of his still comatose father, will be allowed two visits to his father per week during the sentence which is now slated to begin on February 27.

In addition to the prison sentence, Sharon also has to pay a N.S. 300,000 fine, equivalent to around $65,000.

During his father’s last re-election campaign, Omri is alleged to have received illegal campaign contributions on behalf of this father which were used in a manner not allowed under Israeli political campaign rules. Omri was also involved in other questionable activities which may also have gone back to the so-called “Greek Island Affair” in which his brother, Gilad was said to have been involved in concerning the purchase of a couple of small Greek islands for use as tourism resorts catering to Israeli holiday makers.

Omri was said to have used monies for paying off people involved in acts of political favoritism as well, and some of these activities were even recorded by hidden TV cameras and used on local reality TV shows covering crime investigations.

Ariel Sharon is still languishing in a vegetative state where he has been for more than two years. Nearly 80, it is highly unlikely that he will ever regain consciousness and his present state has helped keep Omri from meeting his prison sentence date. Omri did succeed in having his sentence reduced by two months, which makes his sentence only slightly longer than American cooking show host Martha Stewart had when she served five months for inside stock trading.

Omri will probably not be thrown in with super hardened criminals, and will most likely be sent to a minimum security facility to serve
his sentence, similar to what happened to another former politician, Arieh Deryeh. Recent Video clips of Omri show that he has grown hair again on his once bald head, a possible indication that he fears what might happen to him in prison if he looks too much like a “pretty boy” to fellow inmates, especially those with “one gender orientation”. Seven months isn’t the end of the world, although with a prison record, Omri’s possible return to politics will be a bit doubtful. He can spend most of his time at the Sharon Ranch, taking care of his father’s sheep and cattle, and even venture into some private business dealings, where his particular expertise in wheeler dealing will be appreciated.

Hat Tip: Abba | Pictures: Spiegel Online

I got this in the email and probably never would have come across it, but its definitely worth a read. This is an article called A Visit to a Gaza Rocket Factory and I selected these excerpts…

The vehicle finally stops at a dirt track. The Islamic Jihad rocket factory is housed in a kind of garden shed. The hut measures five meters by five meters, metal pipes with small wings lean against the wall in the corner: Half finished Qassams. There are several tightly packed garbage bags on a shelf. “TNT,” says Abdul and produces a chunk. The explosive looks like lumpy sugar. A large cauldron is sitting ready on a gas cooker while bags with Hebrew writing are piled up high up against the wall. “Fertilizer for the rocket fuel,” Abdul says and grins. “We get it in Israel.”

The team can make up to 100 rockets per night shift, but today it won’t be more than 10. Instead of the usual 12, only three of Abdul’s men have turned up tonight. “The other guys are over in Egypt, shopping”

“The TNT comes to us from Sudan via Egypt.” Other elements arrive by boat across the sea to Gaza. “We get some from Eastern Europe.” The raw materials for one large rocket cost up to €500. The money to finance the operation comes the same route as the materials. “The Israeli blockade doesn’t affect us; it’s just intended to plunge the people into misery.”

A cauldron full of fuel is set on it, and one of the men stirs in a lump of golden syrup, while the others weigh the fertilizer, which contains nitrate. They explain that the nitrate has to be mixed very slowly with the sugar solution. “The thing is highly explosive.” Abdul admits that many of his friends have suffered severe burns or lost fingers. He shrugs his shoulders: “There is a local saying in Gaza: He who cooks poison has to also try it.”

Over tea on the porch Abdul tells of his career as a rocket maker. A few hours of theory, then he and his friends did their apprenticeship with an experienced rocket builder. He doesn’t want to explicitly say it, but it seems as if he also trained abroad. “I was in Syria, Jordan and one other country,” he says. In Iran? Abdul smiles slightly.

More than 42 years after their initial Israel concert was canceled by government authorities, the two remaining members of the original Beatles have been invited to perform here during Israel’s 60th anniversary celebrations. Present government officials extended the invitations to Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, along with an official apology for canceling the original concert which would have taken place when the British pop group was at the height of their international fame.

There appear to be many versions as to why the 1965 concert was canceled at the last moment; but for the most part, the main reasons were that officials were afraid that the screaming fans would cause severe damage to the newly completed Hechal Hatarbut cultural center in Tel Aviv (located by the Habima Theater), and that the Finance Ministry was afraid there wouldn’t be enough foreign currency to pay the mop-haired group after Israeli Lirot was converted into either Pounds Sterling or U.S. Dollars. Both reasons seem a bit weak when looking back on the subject. The main reason might have been that the Ministry of Culture didn’t seem to think that the pop music quartet wasn’t of a high enough cultural standard to perform along with the likes of classical music greats like American violinist Isaac Stern.

Perhaps it was due to the fact that there wasn’t any “tele” (as the Brits call it) in Israel at the time in order to broadcast the event; and that the Labor led socialist folk in the government didn’t want to corrupt the innocent young minds that were being groomed to some day lead the country to great academic and cultural heights, despite being completely surrounded by Arabs who wanted to push an even smaller and more fragile Israel into the depths of the Mediterranean Sea. After all, the Six Day War had not been fought yet, and the West Bank and the Golan heights were still in Jordanian and Syrian hands. Gaza was being administered by Egypt who really didn’t give a hoot about the nearly million refugees from the 1948 Way of Independence, living on U.N. administered hand-outs.

Although both McCartney and Starr have visited here since that time, they haven’t been here together as the surviving members of what may go down in history as the most successful singing group of all times. In reference to the then government’s fear that the Beatles would corrupt the innocent youth of Israel, that fact that they played in the best concert halls in America and were featured on television programs like the Ed Sullivan show (where Elvis also made his big debut) means that John, Paul, George and Ringo were not considered to be morally corrupting in most places they appeared (expect possibly to a few fundamentalist Christian groups, that is). The other two former Beatles, John Lennon and George Harrison, are now playing their tunes “up above”.

Maybe now the remaining Beatles will finally get the welcome they deserve here, albeit blatantly, like they should have had more than 42 years ago.

Israeli tennis players Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich had a sterling victory in the men’s doubles segment of the Australian Open tennis tournament. Ram and Erlich, immediately celebrated their 7-5,7-6 finals victory over Michael Llodra and Arnaud Clement by lifting each other in the air in the pandemonium that ensued following the conclusion of the final set. Their victory as the first for Israeli players in this tournament that marks the beginning of the 2008 Grand Slam tennis tournament season.

Ram, who won a similar victory in the mixed doubles segment of the Roland Garros (French Open) tournament last June, said afterwards that “this is an unbelievable moment, a great, great moment for us” . Yoni, his partner, joined in by saying that he had watched grand slam tournaments as a boy but never believed he would ever be in one – let alone win it. The two Israeli stars accomplished what to many seems like the impossible by never losing a set during the entire tournament.

The men’s doubles win follows on the heels of Israel female star Shahar Peer and her doubles partner Victoria Azarenka placing second in their finals match against the Bondarenko sisters Kathryna and Alona in a disappointing three set match that ended 2-6, 6-1, 6-4. “We mad e lot of silly mistakes that shouldn’t have happened in a Grand Slam tournament, Shahar said afterwards. Still, her second place showing isn’t a bad way to start the tournament season.

Rams’ victory comes after being knocked out of the third round of the mixed doubles part of the tournament. His victory with Erlich is sure to raise bother their international rankings, along with Shahar’s second place win (she is currently ranked 17th).

Ram credited a strong wining attitude and careful concentration for their victory, saying that “we played every ball as if it were a ‘match point’. The good showing of both Israeli male and female tennis stars indicate that Israeli tennis is definitely on the way up, and we should all look forward to some fine performances by plays like Ron, Yoni, and Shahar in the coming months. Word also has it that world women’s tennis star Maria Sharapanova is on her way to Israel to play against Shahar Peer and others in a local tournament. That should be one well worth watching, since Sharapanova won the women’s singles championship of the Australian Open over such rivals as Belgian ace Justin Henin and Americans Serena and Venus Williams.

I never expected to see the spectacle that occurred Friday morning at a local branch of Bank Mizrachi-Tefahot in the city of Netanya. Friday mornings are always are always a bit hectic in banks but what occurred there was completely unexpected as the usual morning sounds were suddenly filled with the shrill blasts of whistles blown by a large group of what appeared to be very unhappy people. When I asked the bank clerk what the commotion was all about, she simply said: “Oh, I think it’s some kind of demonstration.”

And a demonstration it certainly was, as the entrance foyer of the bank, and the passageway to the entrance outside was filled with people shouting, blowing whistles and holding scores of signs and banners. Out on Smilansky Street in front of the back, things were heating up even more, with the demonstrators shouting for people to not only avoid going into the bank, but to close their accounts there as well.

One tall blonde lady, holding a white paper pad with a number of name on it said she was soliciting a petition to put pressure on the banks’ main branch to assist them concerning their being cheated out of their money when they purchased apartments in a project that was being built by the now bankrupt Heftsiba Construction company, which has lately been broadcast considerably in the news.

By this time several police cars had arrived as well as what appeared to by a television news crew to film the event. With all this going on I knew that the was more serious than I had originally thought, especially when a young guy named Daniel pulled me aside and begin explaining what it was all about. He said that he and 126 others had purchased apartments in a project called Green towers located in the new residential area known as Kiryat Hasharon, located not far from Netanya’s academic college. He said that everyone who had purchased apartments from Heftsiba had deposited money in a trust account at Mizrachi-Tefahot and that when the company went bankrupt they tried to obtain their funds from the bank. It was only later that they found out that the monies that were supposed to be kept in for them had been given by the bank to Heftsiba to pay off the company’s numerous creditors. Heftsiba’s CEO, Boaz Yona is still incarcerated in Milan Italy while legal proceedings continue to have him extradited to Israel to face numerous charges of fraud and larceny concerning unfinished building projects all over Israel, including Netanya.

Daniel said that although the issue was taken to court, and a compromise solution was worked out concerning completing the building project, it wasn’t acceptable by him and the other purchasers since they would be required to pay an additional N.S. 500,000 each. I asked Daniel who had worked out the compromise plan, and he answered immediately: “It was done through the offices of the bank’s CEO Eli Younis in Tel Aviv. And even if all of Boaz Yona’s personal assets are liquidated, they wouldn’t be enough to pay even a part of what his company owes us”.

“To make matters worse, many people are literally living in the streets, as they sold their apartments to purchase the new one in Green Towers. Many of us are now paying a mortgage payment to Mizrachi-Tefahot as well as rental payments for temporary housing, and we don’t have any property to look forward to”, Daniel continued. And Daniel and his unfortunate fellow purchasers are wondering if they’ll ever see either their money or receive the keys to a newly completed apartment.

And until that day should come, they will continue to meet every Friday morning in front of the bank, armed with petitions, placards, and their whistles.

One of America’s most popular daytime talk show hosts, Dr. Phil McGraw, coined a very popular saying: “you either get it or you don’t”. And Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert still apparently doesn’t seem to get it as the Winograd Commission’s final report considers him largely responsible for the outcome of the 2006 war in Lebanon. Speaking at the recent Herzelia Security Conference, which took place at the Daniel Hotel in Herzelia Petuach, the Prime Minister said that although lessons can be learned from the 34 day war:

” I am not sorry about the critical decisions I made as prime minister - neither those related to the fighting in Lebanon, nor those related to other events.”

There you have it. This guy just doesn’t seem to be bothered by the fact that many reserve soldiers, including officers, are calling for him to step down, and parents of slain solders are camping out in front of the Knesset holding signs saying for him to go home.

Olmert has managed to wheel and deal himself into staying in power for nearly two years, much longer than many expected him to. Continuing to gloss over his past deeds, Olmert said the following in respect to reports that people close to him have been criticizing his manner in handling the conflict, and its aftermath:

“I would like to add, from the bottom of my heart - I appreciate and respect the determination and courage, the sacrifice and willingness of our fighters, both regular and reserve, soldiers and officers alike, company commanders and regiment commanders. And if anyone posed as my ‘confidant’ and said otherwise, he is not my confidant”.

Speaking of confidants, it is a wonder that he still has any, even in his own political party. U.S. President Bush asked government officials here to support Olmert during Bush’s recent Israel visit. But as many have said after the President’s two and a half day visit to Israel and the West Bank part of the Palestinian Authority, that nothing really was accomplished by the visit; and no sooner had Bush left the country than Gaza Palestinians began to bombard Israel’s southern regions with their Kassam rockets.

American real estate tycoon Trump, who plans to build a mega skyscraper near the Diamond Exchange in Ramat Gan, said the following in regards to Bush’s visit”: “He (Bush) had some great photo sessions and some nice luncheons, but nothing else was really accomplished”.

Trying make himself look successful, Olmert also stated that not “any political party or personal consideration” will deflect him from making an agreement with the Palestinian Authority. O.K, if that’s the case, what is he really doing in regards to a so-called “agreement”, especially when a third of Gaza’s residents are pouring into Egypt to find food (and other stuff like Katyusha rockets, perhaps?). Just who the hell is the Palestinian Authority anyway?

Mr. Olmert, I’m afraid you really don’t get it!

:) Great Parody - Thanks Allison….

Following a series of explosions last night, a section of a security wall between Egypt and Gaza was blown up, allowing thousands of Palestinians to swarm into the Egyptian side of Rafiah to buy much needed food and supplies. With neither Palestinian or Egyptian security authorities making any effort to stop them, the frantic Gazans could be seen bringing back virtually everything imaginable, including cartons of Egyptian made cigarettes which cost a fraction of those available in Gaza.

Concerned Israel governmental officials are worried that not only can all kinds of contraband, including narcotics and weapons, can be literally carried back to Gaza; but that anyone desiring can just walk over the now unguarded border, including terrorists such as members of Al Qaeda.

The residents of Gaza were already in an unpleasant situation when Israeli authorities shut the border crossings between Israel and Gaza following a series of Kassam missile attacks Israelis. These missiles caused both personal injury and property damage to Israelis, especially in the town of Sderot.

Israeli government officials in Jerusalem were quick to point out that as previously agreed it is Egypt’s responsibility to maintain security along its border with Gaza. But this apparently is not working out with Egyptian police officials doing nothing from preventing people from bringing what could wind up being tons of arms and explosives into Gaza.

Following Israel’s complete closure of its border with Gaza this week, in the aftermath of more than 150 Kassam rockets being fired into Israeli territory, Prime Minister Olmert went one step further by shutting down the electricity grid and preventing supplies of fuel oil and gasoline from reaching Gaza, which virtually kept the Strip in the dark. Despite a slight let up by Israeli authorities to allow limited supplies of fuel and medicines into Gaza, residents of Rafiah decided to take measures into their own hands, which resulted in to explosions that opened a large section of the security wall. For most residents of Gaza, this is the first time they have been able to cross freely into Egypt, and this includes even students who had been enrolled in universities abroad. One Gaza man was heard saying that he planned to take his son to Cairo to board a flight to Morocco where he was supposed to be attending school.

What will happen next is very much up in the air, as Egyptian authorities do not seem willing to assert their authority following a riot at the border crossing the day before which resulted in a number of Palestinians being wounded when Egyptians opened fire in the air to prevent Gazans from breaking down the border gate. What now concerns Israeli authorities is the possibility of scores of terrorist of all kinds, including members of Al Qaeda, from literally walking into Gaza to assist them in their armed struggle against Israel. There is also the possibility of various types of armament being brought in to Gaza, including longer range rockets capable of reaching further into Israel.

Israeli government ministers said that they hold Hamas responsible for what has occurred, as “Hamas controls the territory”. Even before this event occurred, many say that it was easier to purchase arms in Gaza, including RPG’s, than to purchase soft drinks or medications.