Lock-Down and “it won’t happen to me”
The worsening Corona crisis has led the Israeli government to (again) impose a “lock-down” in an attempt to bring down the number of new infections and halt the spread of the disease. The lock-down comes with many, sometimes very confusing rules and limitations, all of which have exemptions and it is just further proof that […]
Protests are worth your while?
For more than three months now, Israelis have taken to the streets to protest. It started with demonstrations outside the official residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Balfour Street in Jerusalem but quickly expanded into large protests in Tel Aviv, and many, many more localities all around the country, at intersections, on overpasses and […]
Corona and Religious Freedom
The Corona virus is on the loose in Israel and the number of people infected by the virus has increased sharply and is now in the order of 12% of those tested. As a result, the government has taken rather drastic measures and a “lock down” has been imposed, which restricts the movement of people […]
A Woman from Alkmaar
During the Yom Kippur holyday, I had a somewhat unsettling exchange of e-mails with a woman from Holland, who claimed that the name of my blog was too close to the name of her blog and that I should change mine. After I explained to her, that the domain names are approved by international organizations […]
The Farce that is called Netanyahu
A farce! Our Prime minister Netanyahu called it. Unfortunately, he was not talking about the scandalous behavior of his government, and his cronies outside of it, in the devastating mishandling of the Corona crisis. Netanyahu was talking about the only thing that is bothering and driving him crazy at the moment, the uprising of the […]
Malka Leifer: A Moral Blot on Israel
Yesterday, one of the most embarrassing episodes in Israeli politics and Justice, moved an important step closer to resolution when the District Court in Jerusalem ruled that Malka Leifer, the accused Australian-Israeli pedophile may be extradited to Australia to stand trial for 74 charges of sexual abuse. While the outcome of this horror story is […]
There are (still) Judges in Jerusalem (And in Lod also)
This week the Israeli justice system showed that despite unrelenting attacks by right wing politicians, including Prime Minister Netanyahu, the courts still are independent, and have the power and the courage, to hand out justice where justice is due. The Jewish terrorist Amiram Ben-Uliel, was handed three life sentences and an additional twenty years, by […]
Hell on Earth: The Moria refugee Camp on Lesbos
It already was for many, Hell on Earth. But without the flames. That changed this week, when the refugee camp Moria on the Greek island of Lesbos, erupted in fire and was destroyed. The makeshift tents (often made from supermarket plastic bags), with the belongings of the refugees, the infrastructure (if you can call the […]
Corona in Israel: Time to Step Up
The corona virus crisis in Israel is reaching new heights, with increasing numbers of identified patients almost every day, the hospitals filling up and IC units being overwhelmed. But there still doesn’t seem to be a consensus among the people who are supposed to lead us, that it is time to let the professionals do […]
Jew or Israeli, or Both?
This week, the depth to which Israeli parliamentarians can sink was explored by MK Bezalel Smotrich, and he may well have set a new record, which is an impressive feat all by itself. This ultra-right religious MK presented to the plenum an amendment to a law that was originally passed by the Knesset in 1950 […]
