Scoop: IDF Chief of Staff's Leverage

I read an interesting analysis on rotter.net in Hebrew -- a scoop from news reporter Nitzan Chen, who usually is very accurate and responsible about his reporting.

Some background: We lost the war in Lebanon this past summer. So far, the general of the Northern Command resigned, and just yesterday, Lt. General Gal Hirsch resigned as well (before being "forced" to resign by a damning report against him).

However, Israel's IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz is above reproach, as is Israel's Minister of Defense, Amir Peretz and Israel's PM, Ehud Olmert.

In a poll released today, from GeoCartegraph for the "Politika" TV show, the Israeli public feels as follows:

Should the IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz be replaced?

62% Yes
21% No
17% No opinion (weird for Israelis who have opinions on everything!)


Should PM Ehud Olmert be replaced/new elections be held?

53% Yes
33% No
14% No opinion

Should Minister of Defense, Amir Peretz be fired/replaced?

59% Yes
26% No
15% No opinion

Nitzan reports that Dan Halutz's supporters are threatening that if Halutz is fired, he will spill all the beans on the Disengagement's dirty laundry...how all the IDF generals and heads of security warned Sharon that the IDF should not leave Gaza, and that the Disengagement would be a tragic mistake. Ultimately, the IDF's return to Gaza would be after much loss of civilian life, and the necessary return to Gaza would be a very difficult military operation.

With the incessant Gaza Qassam attacks against Southern Israel following the Disengagement, and today's deadly Qassam attack against Sderot, leaving one dead**, one critical and over a dozen wounded, it's apparent that the first part of this analysis has come true.

With mounting public criticism against Halutz -- it's convenient for Olmert and Peretz to let him take the fall (it deflects direct criticism against them). The question is, if Halutz falls, will he take anyone with him?

Regardless, he's yet another fallen leader of the Disengagement -- joining a long list of pro-Disengagement leaders who are under investigation for all sorts of things: Arik & Omri Sharon, Chaim Ramon, Tzachi Hanegbi...even President Katzav -- whose apathy towards the Gush Katif refugees puts him in the same category as the others.

Update: got this from WestBankMama's blog. If it doesn't give you the chills, I don't know what will...

Update: 10:00am Israel time: Another barrage of rockets fell in Sderot. A psychologist who works there came on to IDF radio to report that there is a severe shortage of psychologists to help with the trauma that everyone is experiencing. The shortage is not just for today's short term need - but is long term also. She says that professionals are afraid to go to Sderot to work because of the security situation. She is describing some of the difficulties -There are babies whose first words are "BOOM". There are children who can't concentrate in school. There are adults who are experiencing marital problems due to the stress...

** Just found out that this was my friend's mother :(

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Olmert should "get with the program"

In his typical snarky fashion, Prime Minister Olmert raised the ire of many US Democratic leaders when he openly declaring his support for the American war on Iraq during his trip to the US yesterday.

Olmert may approve of the war, but at this current juncture in time, many see Olmert's comments as an attempt to interfere with internal politics in the USA.

Haaretz reports:

Politicians from the Democratic Party said they wanted to speak to Olmert about his comments on the Iraq war before responding publicly, but said they were uncomfortable with the comments. If Olmert planned his remarks and intended them to come out as they did, a Democratic official said, then they are not acceptable and can be seen as an attempt to influence the American political dispute.

On the one hand, American leaders have done this to Israel many times. US Presidents, including Bush Sr. and Clinton have always made comments that could be seen as attempting to influence internal Israeli politics.

Yet Olmert needs to understand that he's not the President of the United States, and that it's not correct to publically orate on such a politicial hot potato -- definitely not after the elections which indicates that US public opinion wants US forces out of Iraq as quickly as possible.

This is just another example of Olmert's super-ego getting the best of him.

No surprise here; Olmert's just not Prime Minister material, he should just go back to real-estate, where his financial acumen seems to earn him quite a lot.

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Jameel's picks of the day.

I'm slightly too busy to write a posting today, but did come across the following worthwhile reads:

EsserAgoroth writes about the new bus routes in the Shomron (which affect me as well) and how the new routes/cancellation of the old routes are a premonition of things to come for the Shomron.

JoeSettler writes about an unbelievable story; how the franchise owner of McDonalds in Israel is so radically left in his hatred towards Judaism, that he would rather lose money than allow for certain branches to be Kosher. More on this to come; we should start a campaign to have him lose the franchise.

Yisrael Medad tell us how ex-Chief Justice Aharon Barak aligns himself with Reform Judaism and declares it to be the Universal Stream of Judaism (aligned with Israel). No wonder they gave the high priest of Israel's secularism, a PhD. The weird thing is, I don't Reform Judaism would consider themselves, "secular" -- which in Barak's eyes, are "absent of religion."

New Blog Alert: No, this isn't about Lot's Daughter that DovBear pointed me to last week, but to an excellent new blog: The Maggid of Bergenfield. Very Highly Recommended.

Maybe I'll post something a bit later this evening...

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Ehud Olmert Copperfield

A country's system of government is not a politician's plaything to be toyed with, thrown around the room, and modified at whim.

Any self-respecting country invests thousands of hours planning their system of government -- France, England, the United States, all great bastions of democracy and government.

And then there's Israel. With no constitution, no checks and balances, we unfortunately have many of the semblances of a banana republic. Yes, it's embaressing -- but the emperor has no clothes. Israelis honestly believe they live in a real, vibrant democracy -- and yet I've personally heard politicians say, "Democracy in Israel comes to the electorate once every 4 years at election time. After that, shut up."

Under the guise of "improvement", Israeli politicians have a knack of selling "new and improved" ideas to the public, which are really only methods which benifit them to retain or gain political power.

Let's look at some examples:

1. In the 1980's, Rav Meir Kahana's party was gaining rapidly in the polls, to the point that at a random sampling in Tel-Aviv, they were getting over 20%. So what did Likud and Labor do? They outlawed the Kach party for the sake of "democracy" (but really to keep their electorate). And who was partner to this? The ultra-nationalist party, Techiya, which stood to lose the most votes to Kach. While they "claimed" they were taking the "moral highground" by outlawing the Kach party, they really just wanted to get the votes.

2. The "Direct Elections of the Prime Minister" -- in a crafty sell to the Israeli public, they were led to believe that the single most important change to Israel's form of government, would be that of direct elections of the Prime Minister. All sorts of individuals had their own agenda for "Direct elections"...Ehud Barak was among them. In the end, this was another failed quickie experiment in Israeli civics, that was changed back to the exclusive party system.

3. Olmert's latest: Radically increasing the power of the Prime Minister at the expense of the Knesset. Obivously, there are no checks and balances in play, since his entire policy is to allow him to push whatever platforms he wishes to implement without the hindrenace of the Israeli parliment. This hastily put-together radical change of government spells bad news, and reeks of Olmert's typical small-minded politicking, with the end result, a government of quasi dictatorship.

As noted Israeli columnist, Sever Plocker wrote in YNET:

Here are the words of the magician in his last show: "Ladies and gentlemen, closely watch my hat, because I'm about to do an amazing magic trick. The hat seems empty to you, right? But, hocus-pocus, and I'm about to pull out the rabbit of the year: Government system revolution. R-e-v-o-l-u-t-i-o-n, ladies and gentlemen, no less.

Pay attention, ladies and gentlemen: This isn't the white mouse I pulled out of my sleeve in the previous show. I nicknamed the previous mouse "government system reform". Unfortunately, the exposure wasn't good for it, so we were forced to butcher and bury it.

Ladies and gentlemen, my dear audience, now I present to you a whole new, different crossbreed. "The government system revolution." I'm holding on to its ears so it doesn't run away, so you can see it from all angles. Isn't it wonderful? Unique? The best there is? The government system revolution I pulled out of my magic hat has the neck of a bulldog, the spine of a mole, the legs of a stork, and the muscle system of a carp…what does it remind you of? Come on, I'm waiting for answers from the audience.

A duck? Who said a duck? Why duck? This is a government system revolution, ladies and gentlemen, not a duck. You don't believe me? Ladies and gentlemen, I know that recently I presented more magic shows and you may have tired of them a little. But you have no choice: You paid good money for this show. Some gambled their entire political fortune only to win a ticket! At such prices, you simply cannot afford to yawn and doubt my magic abilities.

You have to, my precious audience, trust me and my instincts. The government revolution I pulled out of my hat is very good. For me.

After this revolution, the prime minister (that is, me) will always be the head of the largest party, even when it is a small party. It's enough that all other parties are smaller. How convenient, how efficient! In order to be a prime minister there's no need to work hard to win the people's trust. It would be enough to end up with one more Knesset member than opponents in the elections. And then, there we go, you automatically become a prime minister. Automatically! Think about it when you look at me.

The show has only started

I request that the lightening technician turn up the spotlight. Yes, that's better: You see only me and my magic hat, and not the dark corners where my enemies whisper. And music, more music, so we don't hear the sounds of Qassam rockets and artillery fire outside this hall. We came here to be entertained, not to worry. In my magic space I'm protected and you're my captivated audience.

Following the government system revolution, I'll be a thousand times more protected. You won't like my show? You want to topple my government and dismantle the Knesset? Forget about it! The revolution will attach the prime minister to the chair. So many Knesset members will be required to dismiss me that it won't happen at any point during my term.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, the cherry on top, the climax: Following the revolution, I and only I will appoint the ministers. Their fate will depend on my words. They won't even serve in the Knesset. Think about it, ladies and gentleman, when you recall the appointments in my government to this point.

I'm repeating the question: What does my government system revolution remind you of? What, still a duck? Ladies and gentlemen, impossible, I'm really disappointed. You're so narrow-minded! Where's your vision? Where is your loud applause? Why is everyone no longer impressed with my coalition tricks and the way I manage to emerge out of investigations unscathed? What happened, my dear audience, you don't like my magic anymore?

I promise: The government rabbit I pulled out will be roaring like a lion. And what if it won't? What if it quacks like a duck? We'll butcher that one too, as we did its predecessors.

Those are the words of the magic. And the show has only started.

Olmert spells disaster for Israel.

And if you read this and say, "Why the heck would I want to move there?"

Because despite all of them, it's ours. And the more like minded people we have here, the more possibly we could change things.

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

The Hevron Shuk, where you can get anything you want...

Sort of reminds me of, "You can can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant..."

Except this is the shuk in Hevron, where you can get anything you want as well.

Spices...Clothes...Food...even cow heads.






OK, since I've totally spoiled your appetite, I won't post about the waffles...yet.

(pictures courtesy of rotter.net)

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Erev Shabbat Update

Normally, I wouldn't update my blog on Erev Shabbat, especially after being up all night on a MDA shift in Kefar Sava, and definitely not during the winter months, when there's so little time on Friday to get things ready for Shabbat.

However, I had two very important updates to mention.

1. Back of the Hill pointed me to a very interesting post he wrote about the San Francisco branch of the hate Israel crowd, and how the are planning to commemorate Kristalnacht in their own, unique way.

2. The Great Waffle experiment...worked! Pictures and update next week. (Even though Jack didn't show up for breakfast)

Shabbat Shalom!

Jameel






Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

The Fifth Son -- Muqata's View of the Gay Parade

With the entire parade's existence in question due to the over 80 active terror warnings (that's equivalent to INFRARED on the USA's Homefront Security Warning scale) resulting from yesterday's IDF artillery shelling of terror positions in Beit Hanoun -- I decided to be the absolute LAST blogger to discuss the issue.

Everyone's given their 2 cents, from Treppenwitz, Orthomom, Akiva, DovBear, JoeSettler, The Purple Parrot, Robby, Israel-Rules, and many more...so I can now write mine (having the benefit of reading theirs as well)

Listening to IDF army radio this morning on my way to work, a Chareidi columnist was interviewed and he admitted that perhaps...maybe...the entire Chareidi threat of "defending the honor of Jerusalem" from the Gay Parade, was wrong (tactically, not strategically).

He commented that the Gerer Rebbe said NOTHING about the entire episode and that many rabbanim remained quiet. Not because they agree with it, but by escalating the issue to mammoth proportions including violence and destruction, they inadvertently gave so much publicity to the parade, that EVERYONE knows about it now.

From a small parade that would have ended with little publicity, the parade has become a symbol of fighting the religious establishment -- instead of just a pro-rights parade. From a parade which would probably have had little davka to it, it has become a cause to rally around for many people who ordinarily wouldn't have cared.

Unfortunately, my kids now know all about gays, lesbians and the parade, since the Chareidim have made this a huge issue, and now I have to discuss these issues with them at a far younger age than I would have preferred.

Commerical Break: A Muqata Dinner Story from Tuesday evening.

My 8 year old son brought to the dinner table, a rainbow kite he had made, to show off his kite-building talent.

My 13 year old son takes one look at it, and says, "I didn't know you were going to the P A R A D E this Friday...."

Not surprisingly, my 3 oldest knew exactly what he meant.

The radio interviewer said that the Fifth son at the seder who doesn't show up, is the gay one. Or maybe he does show up, but the Hagadda doesn't specifically label him. There's no reason to, as it will just attract more attention than it's worth.

Perhaps if the Chareidim would have let the parade happen without all the violence and hoopla surrounding it, there would be so little attention, that it would have just passed...and we could get back to dealing with other issues.

Let me say this clearly; the Torah clearly prohibits certain acts and calls them an abomination. Yet I also have enough serious things to do with my limited time, and I'm not sure the most important thing religious Jews should be doing now, is trying to shut down a parade...which will just attract even more attention to a lifestyle we disagree with.

And to tell you the truth, I'm surprised the Chareidim are even reacting like this in the first place. The usual Chareidi hashkafic answer to everything is to sit, learn, daven and say tehillim.

Which makes me surer that politics are involved here, and not purely the wish to "keep Jerusalem holy."

Wishing everyone a quiet, safe and peaceful shabbat (with lots of rain).

Jameel.

PS: Due to the security situation, I doubt I will be awake enough tomorrow morning to make waffles. We'll see. Updates on Sunday :-)


Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Who's Collateral Damage in Gaza - IDF or Hamas?

The top story this morning on Israel Radio was supposed to be about how the Democratic Party wrested control of the US House of Representatives from the Republicans.

At 6:00 AM all of that changed, when a large apartment building collapsed in Beit Hanoun (Northern Gaza Strip) killing 18 Palestinian civilians and wounding over 30.

IDF officials said that artillery fire was directed at a Qassam launching spot and at another nearby spot from where Palestinians planned to launch Qassam rockets, and at this time, are unsure if the casualties were a result of IDF artillery fire.

The Arab (and Israeli left wing) rhetoric was quick to come.

One mother of victims said, "I am proud to be the mother of the shahids, it is a great honor and we pray to Allah to compensate us"

"I call on all the armed groups everywhere to avenge the blood of the dead with suicide bombings against Israeli civilians" -- Jamal Abed, who heads Fatah in northern Gaza.

"The slaughter in Beit Hanoun, with dozens dead and dozens wounded, all innocent civilians and most of them children, testifies to the fact that this is a policy of ethnic cleansing," Dahlan said. (Dahlan was involved in planning the terrorist attack against the Kfar Darom school bus that blew off the legs of the Cohen children, and killed 2 other people).

Sheikh Nafez Azzam, a leader of the Islamic Jihad, said "The massacre in Beit Hanoun is an intentional act aimed at bringing the members of the town to emigrate from it."

Dr. Erekat, who currently resides in the West Bank, told Ynet of his impressions from Wednesday morning: "What Israel did is a war crime against the civilian population in Gaza," he declared.

Only a fool (or an Arab leader) would believe that Israel intentionally targeted civilian targets. Unlike the Palestinian Terror organizations, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the PFLP, DFLP, and other alphabet soup named terrorists, the IDF are not blood-thirsty organizations who intentionally target civilians.

It is the Arabs terrorists who intentionally target Israeli civilians with their Qassam rockets, suicide bomber attacks and attempted terrorist infiltration into settlements. Make no mistake, they explicitly say they want to kill as many Jewish civilians as possible, and they gain more from a buildingfull of Palestinian civilian casualties than Israel does.

Which makes it important not to jump to conclusions (as Israel always does).

We've already seen cases of the IDF being blamed for Palestinian terrorist "work accidents" which caused the deaths of Palestinian civilians...or simply, Terrorist collateral damage.

If the casualties DID result from IDF artillery, then it's IDF collateral damage -- and not the targeted killing of Palestinians.

No one in Israel wants to see Palestinian civilian casualties, but to bend over backwards apologizing is wrong. When the Palestinians stop the daily shelling of Sderot and Ashkelon with Qassam rockets, when they stop terrorism as a way of life...then we have what to talk about, and apologize for.

Till then, we're at war.

And the Palestinians have full responsibility for the consequences of shooting rockets from civilian areas and hiding among civilians.

PS; And it's not like an Israeli apology really matters to anyone, anyway.

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Muqata Housekeeping Musings (MHM)

Hi All -

A few important notes to all:

1. Despite Jack's best intention there will NOT be an open house Muqata breakfast for waffles this coming Friday...for many reasons.

a. We haven't yet tried out the waffle maker yet.
b. Friday's is usually a crazy day at our home and the day we clean it up for shabbat.
c. If our responsible, oldest child would be slightly more helpful on Friday's, then perhaps it could happen. (You hear me? You're doing a great job so far...all we need is a little bit more help!)

I'm finding teenagers in general to be more and more of a challenge. Granted, it's not like I'm reading books on or attending classes on how to deal with teenagers (which I probably should). Just this past Saturday night, my oldest decided to change the water bottle for our bottled-water contraption. He should get credit for doing this on his own, without any asking from us, but does he HAVE to go outside, dressed like this?

I promise you, I did NOT encourage this behavior from him. (Unless you think, that the yellow smiley mask I wear all day long to protect my identity gave him the idea).

Sigh. Any advice on how to deal with teens?

2. No, I haven't forgotten about the new banner for the Muqata blog. There's an excellent one ready to go, but the executive management of the blog still hasn't given's it's blessing to the banner. Still working on it.

3. If you have a blog that's NOT on my blogroll, please feel free to email it to me and I'll be happy to include it. My apologies if you've asked me before and I've forgotten...

4. If you find something blog-worthy, please send me your ideas. I can't blog about Muqata Waffles every day...(and if your suggestion is decent, maybe we will invite you for a Waffle Breakfast :)

5. No, there is no item five today. Unless of course, I blog about it later.

Have a great day!


Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael