There are repeated in quite a few sources reports over Israeli hit at the convoy carrying weapons from Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Presumably in this transport were Russian made SA-17 rockets but it is just educated guess.
I am thinking about fear there once was (quite many years ago now but still it is well remembered by many) in Western world over possibility of cold war turning hot - in fact hot as a place hit by nuclear bomb.
Today the danger of THIS particular conflict is gone and we may engage in unending debate how close were we to war, say during Cuba crisis or on few other occasions. It is a task for historians.
Yet it is not history I think about. There are millions of people living in Israel, there are subsequent millions in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, in region...
Assad's regime was manufacturing and storing unconventional weapons for a long time. And nobody can be sure how much of it and what kind he has. He was thinking rather about his internal opposition but maybe not only. The important thing is it is there, it has been for years, it is deadly, and Assad's regime hasn't done it on his own, he was helped by some countries while other governments turned blind eye not caring to know, to blow the whistle, it was far away...
Well it is NOT! The breaking of the international law on producing and spreading atomic, biological and chemical weapons was purposefully broken (or let to be broken). The world keeps turning blind eye on domestic war in Syria already responsible for 60,000 casualties and millions of badly affected. It is immoral! Yet there is much more at stake.
Like regional attack by whoever of terrorist organizations comes into possession of unconventional weapons and uses them. Like transferring those weapons through leaking borders further into the world. Like using it on civil planes (including biological factors which could be detected only when it is long too late).
There is enough unconventional weapons in Syria, fanatical madmen in various terrorist organizations and cold-blooded efficient strategists working for those organizations to feel uneasiness. No matter where you live.
It is enough people under threat on spot to feel urge to do something!
Something has been done. And I am pretty sure (already spotted some of the comments-to-come) that there will be callings that Israeli planes were in breach of Syrian territory, that it is against UN charter (obviously producing, gathering these weapons, domestic war and bombing refugees including Palestinian refugees camps (I mention it as anti-Israeli activists usually using "Palestinian refugees" word as comas in sentences this time were reluctant to talk about it) were in accordance with the charter). And everybody will just assume that it is not their problem as Israel will take care of the threat and they will be safe to discuss if it was just and what does it theoretically mean.
I hope Israel will take care. For the sake of Israelis, Syrians, Lebanese and all those who think (but are wrong) they live to far to be affected.
It was a sin and a crime in moral sense (and in many cases in legal as well) to let those weapons be there, to let so many be affected by them and not to try and diminish this threat.
Thursday 31 January 2013
Saturday 26 January 2013
Occupied territories?
Judea and Samaria, known widely to contemporary readers as West Bank are often named by media as "occupied territories". So let's see how it was with this occupation...
After collapse of the Ottoman Empire as an aftermath of the I World War the territories of today's Israel as well as Syria, Lebanon or Jordan were under British rule legalized by the League of Nations (know as mandate or Palestine, BTW check my story where does the name Palestine come from). The idea was to gradually let the new countries be created and the first major step towards this goal was in 1921 when 80% of mandate's territory was turned into emirate of Transjordan (from 1946-1949 independent Transjordan later transformed into Jordan). Arabs who took over Transjordan demanded (and this was granted to them) that no Jewish people may stay in Transjordan. So effectively the division into Jewish and Arab countries on this territory has been started by British but in these 20% remaining territory nobody thought about getting rid of Arabs (and that's fine, it would have been unjust, but let's not forget about Jews forcibly moved from Transjordan). Today Palestinians demand Palestine free from Jews and Israel never have or would propose to get rid of her citizens who are Arabs, yet demanding "Judenrein" (yes, just like Nazis did) Palestine PA authorities are not accused of racism, Israel is.....
As a consequence of further demands of Arabs in mandate (in 30s and during the II WW openly collaborating with Nazis) British radically diminished the number of Jews allowed to come which - in many cases - caused their death in Holocaust.
When in 1948 Israel was created she was attacked the very next day by 7 Arab armies with clear and declared intention of destroying her. After a year's war of independence Israel was slightly bigger than in UN resolution of 1947. But Jerusalem (originally intended to be international zone) was under Jordanian occupation. Jews were expelled, synagogues destroyed, burial grounds desecrated. And Jordanian authorities were checking baptismal certificates of foreigners coming to Jerusalem to make sure no Jews will be admitted. Nobody protested (or very few indeed).
Came 1967. Jordan attacked Israel (being talked into it by Egypt, but that doesn't change the fact, 55.000 Jordanian soldiers entered into battles and military operations despite Israel's appeals to stay away from the conflict). Jordan lost, we all know about it and as a consequence some of its territories were taken by Israel (no Palestinian lands, there has never been Palestine).
Wars have it in themselves - they change borders.
Saying that Israel occupies Palestinian (hey, not JORDANIAN? and with Jordan there is a peace treaty) territory equals for me with saying that Ukraine occupies Lvov (always Polish city, and yet there was not even independent Ukraine by the end of II WW), Poland occupies Wroclaw, Szczecin, Zielona Gora and many other cities (for centuries before WW II German ones), Russia occupies Kurylski Islands (hey, Japan lost the war, maybe you have heard) or Slovakia occupies part of Hungary. And many, many others.
Yet, under occupation is e.g. West Sahara and EU corroborates it to have access to fishing waters, same goes for part of Cyprus military taken without provocation by Turkey in 1970, over 10,000 British citizens have their second homes there, nobody cares.
When I hear that the main obstacle to peace process is building in C zone by Israel (which is perfectly in accordance with Oslo treaty, same treaty establishing autonomy in the West Bank and constantly broken by Palestinians) I think that:
- those claiming it agree for PA authorities of future Palestine without Jews (after all theoretically if and when Palestine is created Jewish settlers should have an option of either moving away or staying with Palestinian citizenship, isn't it so?) so they actively corroborate with racist and apartheid policy but NOT of Israel but of PA authorities,
- they believe Palestinians are free to break Oslo accords without consequences, but Israelis should give more than treaties require,
- their stance - in Polish reality if you remember Europe after II WW - could be written as: Poland had no right to build in Wroclaw, Szczecin. Walbrzych, Zielona Gora and all former German territories as there was no peace treaty and Germany could claim the territory back (so what that it has started the war? So did Jordan!). The Polish-German treaty about integrity of borders was signed in 1970. Does it mean everything Poland built between 1945 and 1970 was illegal? I don't think so.
So, here it goes for "occupied territories". And I believe I will be going back to this topic sometime....
After collapse of the Ottoman Empire as an aftermath of the I World War the territories of today's Israel as well as Syria, Lebanon or Jordan were under British rule legalized by the League of Nations (know as mandate or Palestine, BTW check my story where does the name Palestine come from). The idea was to gradually let the new countries be created and the first major step towards this goal was in 1921 when 80% of mandate's territory was turned into emirate of Transjordan (from 1946-1949 independent Transjordan later transformed into Jordan). Arabs who took over Transjordan demanded (and this was granted to them) that no Jewish people may stay in Transjordan. So effectively the division into Jewish and Arab countries on this territory has been started by British but in these 20% remaining territory nobody thought about getting rid of Arabs (and that's fine, it would have been unjust, but let's not forget about Jews forcibly moved from Transjordan). Today Palestinians demand Palestine free from Jews and Israel never have or would propose to get rid of her citizens who are Arabs, yet demanding "Judenrein" (yes, just like Nazis did) Palestine PA authorities are not accused of racism, Israel is.....
As a consequence of further demands of Arabs in mandate (in 30s and during the II WW openly collaborating with Nazis) British radically diminished the number of Jews allowed to come which - in many cases - caused their death in Holocaust.
When in 1948 Israel was created she was attacked the very next day by 7 Arab armies with clear and declared intention of destroying her. After a year's war of independence Israel was slightly bigger than in UN resolution of 1947. But Jerusalem (originally intended to be international zone) was under Jordanian occupation. Jews were expelled, synagogues destroyed, burial grounds desecrated. And Jordanian authorities were checking baptismal certificates of foreigners coming to Jerusalem to make sure no Jews will be admitted. Nobody protested (or very few indeed).
Came 1967. Jordan attacked Israel (being talked into it by Egypt, but that doesn't change the fact, 55.000 Jordanian soldiers entered into battles and military operations despite Israel's appeals to stay away from the conflict). Jordan lost, we all know about it and as a consequence some of its territories were taken by Israel (no Palestinian lands, there has never been Palestine).
Wars have it in themselves - they change borders.
Saying that Israel occupies Palestinian (hey, not JORDANIAN? and with Jordan there is a peace treaty) territory equals for me with saying that Ukraine occupies Lvov (always Polish city, and yet there was not even independent Ukraine by the end of II WW), Poland occupies Wroclaw, Szczecin, Zielona Gora and many other cities (for centuries before WW II German ones), Russia occupies Kurylski Islands (hey, Japan lost the war, maybe you have heard) or Slovakia occupies part of Hungary. And many, many others.
Yet, under occupation is e.g. West Sahara and EU corroborates it to have access to fishing waters, same goes for part of Cyprus military taken without provocation by Turkey in 1970, over 10,000 British citizens have their second homes there, nobody cares.
When I hear that the main obstacle to peace process is building in C zone by Israel (which is perfectly in accordance with Oslo treaty, same treaty establishing autonomy in the West Bank and constantly broken by Palestinians) I think that:
- those claiming it agree for PA authorities of future Palestine without Jews (after all theoretically if and when Palestine is created Jewish settlers should have an option of either moving away or staying with Palestinian citizenship, isn't it so?) so they actively corroborate with racist and apartheid policy but NOT of Israel but of PA authorities,
- they believe Palestinians are free to break Oslo accords without consequences, but Israelis should give more than treaties require,
- their stance - in Polish reality if you remember Europe after II WW - could be written as: Poland had no right to build in Wroclaw, Szczecin. Walbrzych, Zielona Gora and all former German territories as there was no peace treaty and Germany could claim the territory back (so what that it has started the war? So did Jordan!). The Polish-German treaty about integrity of borders was signed in 1970. Does it mean everything Poland built between 1945 and 1970 was illegal? I don't think so.
So, here it goes for "occupied territories". And I believe I will be going back to this topic sometime....
Tuesday 22 January 2013
Great rabbis of XVI century
The end of Middle Ages and introduction of Renaissance is usually connected to few happenings - taking of Constantinople by Turks in 1453, discovering of America by Columbus in 1492 or publishing his thesis by Martin Luther in 1517.
In Jewish world lots was going on at the time with consequences for all others - specially Spain but definitely not limited to Spain. Let's try to have a look...
In 1490 the so called catholic kings - Ferdinand of Argon and Isabelle of Castillo - demanded that all Jews (long prosecuted already) will either convert to Christianity or leave Spain without any possessions. Many left in consequence: doctors, bankers, rabbis among them. Some went to Italy and Sicily which (though partly under Spanish rule) tolerated some of the refugees, some joined their Ashkenazim bothers in Eastern Europe, many left for Northern Africa and Ottoman Empire (specifically heading for Israel). Jews were welcomed into Ottoman lands by Sultan Bayezid II, who declared: "They tell me that Ferdinand of Spain is a wise man but he is a fool. For he takes his treasure and sends it all to me."
Jerusalem and Tsfat were among most desired places to live for rabbis. Here are some of their stories:
First, we must mention Rabbi Jacob Berav (1475 to 1546). He's very significant because he tried to do something which had not been done in the Jewish world for well over 1,000 years. He tried to re-institute semichah, "rabbinic ordination." Semichah is a "proper" rabbinic ordination which would come in a direct line from teacher to student traceable all the way back to Moses. It had been interrupted during Roman persecutions. Yet his attempt at re-instituting semichah was not successful. The rabbis in Jerusalem didn't recognize it, and, to this day, rabbinical ordination is symbolic only.
One of the few ordained by Jacob Berav was Rabbi Joseph Karo. Rabbi Karo (1488 to 1575) who was among the Jews expelled from Spain, and had made his way through Europe and Turkey and finally ended in Tzfat. There he wrote one of the most important books in Judaism - the Shulchan Aruch "The Prepared Table" - and it is a code of Jewish law which is followed to this day.
The slightly later commentary to Shulchan Aruch was written by Ashkenazim rabbi Moses Isserles based in Krakow, Poland. To this day there is working orthodox synagogue in Krakow built by Moses Isserles's father-in-law and named after this famous rabbi. Vandalized by Nazis it was long abandoned but for the last 20 years it serves again small Jewish orthodox congregation.
When one looks at this speedy spreading of ideas - great books written by refugees, soon commented by Jewish chachans from different tradition and far lands - it is very impressive. XVI century was the time (soon after Gutenberg made his great discovery) when printing was ruling. In this century alone (think about how few people were there and how many were illiterate) one million copies of the Bible translated by Martin Luther was put to print. Yet even at this amazing time it is a wonder when one looks at works of great rabbis and kabbalists.
In Jewish world lots was going on at the time with consequences for all others - specially Spain but definitely not limited to Spain. Let's try to have a look...
In 1490 the so called catholic kings - Ferdinand of Argon and Isabelle of Castillo - demanded that all Jews (long prosecuted already) will either convert to Christianity or leave Spain without any possessions. Many left in consequence: doctors, bankers, rabbis among them. Some went to Italy and Sicily which (though partly under Spanish rule) tolerated some of the refugees, some joined their Ashkenazim bothers in Eastern Europe, many left for Northern Africa and Ottoman Empire (specifically heading for Israel). Jews were welcomed into Ottoman lands by Sultan Bayezid II, who declared: "They tell me that Ferdinand of Spain is a wise man but he is a fool. For he takes his treasure and sends it all to me."
Jerusalem and Tsfat were among most desired places to live for rabbis. Here are some of their stories:
First, we must mention Rabbi Jacob Berav (1475 to 1546). He's very significant because he tried to do something which had not been done in the Jewish world for well over 1,000 years. He tried to re-institute semichah, "rabbinic ordination." Semichah is a "proper" rabbinic ordination which would come in a direct line from teacher to student traceable all the way back to Moses. It had been interrupted during Roman persecutions. Yet his attempt at re-instituting semichah was not successful. The rabbis in Jerusalem didn't recognize it, and, to this day, rabbinical ordination is symbolic only.
One of the few ordained by Jacob Berav was Rabbi Joseph Karo. Rabbi Karo (1488 to 1575) who was among the Jews expelled from Spain, and had made his way through Europe and Turkey and finally ended in Tzfat. There he wrote one of the most important books in Judaism - the Shulchan Aruch "The Prepared Table" - and it is a code of Jewish law which is followed to this day.
The slightly later commentary to Shulchan Aruch was written by Ashkenazim rabbi Moses Isserles based in Krakow, Poland. To this day there is working orthodox synagogue in Krakow built by Moses Isserles's father-in-law and named after this famous rabbi. Vandalized by Nazis it was long abandoned but for the last 20 years it serves again small Jewish orthodox congregation.
When one looks at this speedy spreading of ideas - great books written by refugees, soon commented by Jewish chachans from different tradition and far lands - it is very impressive. XVI century was the time (soon after Gutenberg made his great discovery) when printing was ruling. In this century alone (think about how few people were there and how many were illiterate) one million copies of the Bible translated by Martin Luther was put to print. Yet even at this amazing time it is a wonder when one looks at works of great rabbis and kabbalists.
Sunday 20 January 2013
The only free country in the region
According to the US-based Freedom House that has just released its new rating Israel is the only free country in the ME. Not surprisingly at all!
Israel’s ranking is completely dissimilar to that given the West Bank and Gaza – one under Palestinian Authority control and the other under Hamas rule – which are both classified as “not free.” Of the “worst of the worst” countries, the nine countries given the absolute worst ratings in the world, two were in the region: Saudi Arabia and Syria. Sudan was also rated in the bottom nine.
Also Turkey, so engaged recently in anti-Israeli rhetoric was rated "partly free" due to recent jailing of hundreds of journalists, academics and opposition party officials and Kurdish activists.
There has even been talk about possibility of link between murder of two Kurdish women in France and Turkish official bodies....
Israel having in its parliament - body creating law in a country - members oppose to the existence of her (just imagine having in Congress or Dail or Common House people oppose to the very existence of the USA/ Ireland/ UK and it being tolerated as part of democracy at the time when the country is at war, as it technically is having peace agreements exclusively with Egypt and Jordan).
That is called the single island of democracy in the region!
As one Israeli friend has told me once - do not try to be more critical of Israeli government than Israeli media - you cant succeed - but stick to the facts! Here is one of them.
Israel’s ranking is completely dissimilar to that given the West Bank and Gaza – one under Palestinian Authority control and the other under Hamas rule – which are both classified as “not free.” Of the “worst of the worst” countries, the nine countries given the absolute worst ratings in the world, two were in the region: Saudi Arabia and Syria. Sudan was also rated in the bottom nine.
Also Turkey, so engaged recently in anti-Israeli rhetoric was rated "partly free" due to recent jailing of hundreds of journalists, academics and opposition party officials and Kurdish activists.
There has even been talk about possibility of link between murder of two Kurdish women in France and Turkish official bodies....
Israel having in its parliament - body creating law in a country - members oppose to the existence of her (just imagine having in Congress or Dail or Common House people oppose to the very existence of the USA/ Ireland/ UK and it being tolerated as part of democracy at the time when the country is at war, as it technically is having peace agreements exclusively with Egypt and Jordan).
That is called the single island of democracy in the region!
As one Israeli friend has told me once - do not try to be more critical of Israeli government than Israeli media - you cant succeed - but stick to the facts! Here is one of them.
Sunday 13 January 2013
It is in Mali not in Gaza.....
For last 2 days we are witnessing French operation against Islamic terrorists in Mali. Very few is being said in mainstream European media and I don't know enough about Mali to express publicly my views yet few things are striking!
European media labelled the operation "anti-terrorist" and pointed at "Islamic extremists".
At least 100 people were killed so far and we may suppose some just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I don't recall ANY rockets falling from Mali on French territory and citizens, do you?
Citizens of Mali are possibly the most suffering due to terrorist groups based in Mali.
No big cry about "French war crimes" was delivered so far.
It brings to memories recent operation Pillars of Fire by Israeli forces.
12,000 rockets were launched from Gaza onto Israeli territory aimed at Israeli citizens (Jews or Arabs likewise).
During operation IDF made ALL the effort to warn people who could be in the wrong place at the wrong time and considering the Hamas's habit of hiding in schools, hospitals, mosques, kindergartens and alike there were very few casualties who had just bad luck.
Hamas is targeting Israelis but at the same time terrorizing Palestinians. Nobody on the West cares.
All the European media were crying about war crimes and war on innocent by Israel (never mentioning terrorism, rockets, calling for genocide etc., or at very few times).
Reading European newspapers (and I made an effort to check many from at least 4 countries) one gets predominant feeling that:
- Europe has right to decide who is right and who is wrong, nobody else does (Europe meaning European leftists, of course, the rest should believe what they are told),
- it also has right to safety, others don't,
- it leads "right wars" (Falklands being example) unless it is made to go to war by the USA (and than it's bad), but its citizens should have right to live in peace, others not necessary,
- there are double or even triple standards for different peoples: Israelis just shouldn't defend themselves as it "causes the war" "threatens peace" and "kills warriors for peace". Those same warriors transferred to Syria are better not talked bout at all (or as little as possible) and transferred to Mali are terrorists.
Well.... I am just sick of those triple standards and people trying to tell me what I should think or what the truth is (even if I happen to know it isn't so). Just like Sartre supporting Stalin or French leftists supporting Pol Pot. Death and terror were OK, collateral damage, under the condition that they were for other people.
Well, most of us are "other people" for those claiming they know the only truth.
European media labelled the operation "anti-terrorist" and pointed at "Islamic extremists".
At least 100 people were killed so far and we may suppose some just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I don't recall ANY rockets falling from Mali on French territory and citizens, do you?
Citizens of Mali are possibly the most suffering due to terrorist groups based in Mali.
No big cry about "French war crimes" was delivered so far.
It brings to memories recent operation Pillars of Fire by Israeli forces.
12,000 rockets were launched from Gaza onto Israeli territory aimed at Israeli citizens (Jews or Arabs likewise).
During operation IDF made ALL the effort to warn people who could be in the wrong place at the wrong time and considering the Hamas's habit of hiding in schools, hospitals, mosques, kindergartens and alike there were very few casualties who had just bad luck.
Hamas is targeting Israelis but at the same time terrorizing Palestinians. Nobody on the West cares.
All the European media were crying about war crimes and war on innocent by Israel (never mentioning terrorism, rockets, calling for genocide etc., or at very few times).
Reading European newspapers (and I made an effort to check many from at least 4 countries) one gets predominant feeling that:
- Europe has right to decide who is right and who is wrong, nobody else does (Europe meaning European leftists, of course, the rest should believe what they are told),
- it also has right to safety, others don't,
- it leads "right wars" (Falklands being example) unless it is made to go to war by the USA (and than it's bad), but its citizens should have right to live in peace, others not necessary,
- there are double or even triple standards for different peoples: Israelis just shouldn't defend themselves as it "causes the war" "threatens peace" and "kills warriors for peace". Those same warriors transferred to Syria are better not talked bout at all (or as little as possible) and transferred to Mali are terrorists.
Well.... I am just sick of those triple standards and people trying to tell me what I should think or what the truth is (even if I happen to know it isn't so). Just like Sartre supporting Stalin or French leftists supporting Pol Pot. Death and terror were OK, collateral damage, under the condition that they were for other people.
Well, most of us are "other people" for those claiming they know the only truth.
Friday 11 January 2013
Living in Israel
Here is an article by a Canadian who studied in Israel for a while before 6 days war and now has gone back to check how does this country look like 50 years down the road.
Israel revisited
I read it and I smiled as, though much younger (in 1964 I wasn't even born) I have very similar impressions myself.
While walking through Haifa - not lost at all - I tried few times to consult my guidebook to check what is there worth seeing on my way. Each and every time at least one person (more often two) were stopping to ask me if I got lost and do I need assistance.
Every time I visited tourist attraction, cafe or ice-cream shop (being, and it was obvious, on shoe-string budget) I was welcomed warmly. During stay on Negev, as I had my 9-year-old son with me and it was summer I was constantly reminded to take care, take plenty of water, I was told where and when to go for the most spectacular and available routes. Everybody cared for me and my son however it was obvious we had some really good traveling experience.
I also witnessed how people cared about each other. They really did! During my former stay in Israel when my son was only 7 we were waiting for a bus near Cezarea. It was very hot. At one point a car was approaching so I decided to try hitch-hiking but seeing it was a police car I dropped hand. Having a rich experience in hitch hiking from many European countries from my university years I knew the police car won't take us. I was wrong. Not only did the police car stopped and took us but a nice policeman apologized for not having cold drinks to treat us! It was the only moment I thought I might actually started developing sun stroke.
There were more stories like that. And this feeling of being cared for even by complete strangers is one of the reasons I fell in love with Israel.
Israel revisited
I read it and I smiled as, though much younger (in 1964 I wasn't even born) I have very similar impressions myself.
While walking through Haifa - not lost at all - I tried few times to consult my guidebook to check what is there worth seeing on my way. Each and every time at least one person (more often two) were stopping to ask me if I got lost and do I need assistance.
Every time I visited tourist attraction, cafe or ice-cream shop (being, and it was obvious, on shoe-string budget) I was welcomed warmly. During stay on Negev, as I had my 9-year-old son with me and it was summer I was constantly reminded to take care, take plenty of water, I was told where and when to go for the most spectacular and available routes. Everybody cared for me and my son however it was obvious we had some really good traveling experience.
I also witnessed how people cared about each other. They really did! During my former stay in Israel when my son was only 7 we were waiting for a bus near Cezarea. It was very hot. At one point a car was approaching so I decided to try hitch-hiking but seeing it was a police car I dropped hand. Having a rich experience in hitch hiking from many European countries from my university years I knew the police car won't take us. I was wrong. Not only did the police car stopped and took us but a nice policeman apologized for not having cold drinks to treat us! It was the only moment I thought I might actually started developing sun stroke.
There were more stories like that. And this feeling of being cared for even by complete strangers is one of the reasons I fell in love with Israel.
Tuesday 8 January 2013
It is raining....
Well, north hemisphere is in wintertime and for most of us rain or snow are just expected, aren't they?
Depending where you live winter conditions might look differently but they are (or are supposed to be) there. So is in Israel. Yet it is more so :)
It is extremely windy (up to 100 km/h in gusts), very wet, Mt. Hermon is covered in snowstorm, Jerusalem is expecting snow and some railway stations have problems with flooding. Harsh! But happy too!
Israel experienced during last few years very long drought. There were times when water, bought from Turkey, was brought by planes to be put into Kinneret as letting the water level in this lake to drop below certain level would mean that salty water, kept near the bottom by pressure and coming from salty springs, will mix with the fresh one - one time process giving us salty lake in place of freshwater one.
This winter it is nearly full and it is still raining :)
Israel is pioneer in desalinating water in order to make it potable. Israeli techniques are sold worldwide and are constantly being developed. Most of the tap water comes from desalination plants. But it is vital for environment, wildlife and humans alike to preserve and protect fresh waters, winter rains are vital!
In orthodox Judaism it is forbidden to pray for rain between Shavuot (late spring) and Sukkot (early summer) as it is trying the Lord. You are supposed to pray only for dew at the time. But everybody, observant or not, is waiting for the goodness of winter rains. And here they have come :)
Depending where you live winter conditions might look differently but they are (or are supposed to be) there. So is in Israel. Yet it is more so :)
It is extremely windy (up to 100 km/h in gusts), very wet, Mt. Hermon is covered in snowstorm, Jerusalem is expecting snow and some railway stations have problems with flooding. Harsh! But happy too!
Israel experienced during last few years very long drought. There were times when water, bought from Turkey, was brought by planes to be put into Kinneret as letting the water level in this lake to drop below certain level would mean that salty water, kept near the bottom by pressure and coming from salty springs, will mix with the fresh one - one time process giving us salty lake in place of freshwater one.
This winter it is nearly full and it is still raining :)
Israel is pioneer in desalinating water in order to make it potable. Israeli techniques are sold worldwide and are constantly being developed. Most of the tap water comes from desalination plants. But it is vital for environment, wildlife and humans alike to preserve and protect fresh waters, winter rains are vital!
In orthodox Judaism it is forbidden to pray for rain between Shavuot (late spring) and Sukkot (early summer) as it is trying the Lord. You are supposed to pray only for dew at the time. But everybody, observant or not, is waiting for the goodness of winter rains. And here they have come :)
Thursday 3 January 2013
To teach others is to create future
And this future can be bright or horrible.
Today in free countries people tend to think the information should be given freely and only commentaries may differ as there is no discussing with facts. It would have been great had it been so. Of course there is no going back to the times when neighboring town was far away and information took ages (and changes) to reach other country. There is also no going back to totally closed countries (North Korea being possibly one exception) where authorities could control all media in such successful way that people even if didn't believe totally in information provided by official media had no way to check which is true (here I remember the joke from communist times about news being certain, probable and other: certain were about death of normal people, probable was the weather forecast...).
Yet being (at least partially) right about availability of information we tend to forget that:
- people are busy, lazy, have to accept easy answers sometimes as are not able to analyze and check everything and finally checking in many places is neither easy nor safe,
- the mine and avalanche of information we receive every day is often impossible to deal with,
- manipulation (information included) is as old as humankind
- propaganda is just as old
- we tend to accept things we are told at school or by parents or by people we trust
There are topics specially prone to manipulation and Middle East politics specially concerning Israel (but not only) belongs to this category. And while many people accept even media coverage (often shown to be untrue) more even will be prone to accept school books texts, won't they?
Check it here:
UK school books wipe Israel of the map
After all we rarely examine school books designed to teach writing for accuracy of their information!
Yes, the freedom of speech means the truth can be abused and social agreement goes that such abuses will be easy to contradict and less dangerous than censorship. The attitude I generally agree with! Yet we are thinking about grown-ups in free country. In many countries the official truth is the only available even if there is no truth in it. Which in global world means that we should cherish the truth even more and finding abuses of it try to correct it. But that is not so (for many reasons). At the same time if textbooks would try to teach school children officially that Civil War was won by South, Lincoln was not assassinated, Pearl Harbor was caused by - say - Russians or treacherous Americans we would act, wouldn't we? Whatever our admiration for free speech. Yet when school texts try to teach our children or immigrant children in the way to become citizens things that are absolutely untrue and that bring propaganda from their countries of origin we look in other way. Yet they are children, and citizens, and future.
The truth is a delicate thing. And it is hard for itself to defend. We have to stand up for it so our children will have the privilege (as it is privilege and not right) to have freedom of speech, pleasure of discussion about implications of facts were and are (here we may differ, but not when it comes to facts) and still be well educated based on facts and not prejudices and facts created by publishers.
So - let's stand for truth in school textbooks!
Today in free countries people tend to think the information should be given freely and only commentaries may differ as there is no discussing with facts. It would have been great had it been so. Of course there is no going back to the times when neighboring town was far away and information took ages (and changes) to reach other country. There is also no going back to totally closed countries (North Korea being possibly one exception) where authorities could control all media in such successful way that people even if didn't believe totally in information provided by official media had no way to check which is true (here I remember the joke from communist times about news being certain, probable and other: certain were about death of normal people, probable was the weather forecast...).
Yet being (at least partially) right about availability of information we tend to forget that:
- people are busy, lazy, have to accept easy answers sometimes as are not able to analyze and check everything and finally checking in many places is neither easy nor safe,
- the mine and avalanche of information we receive every day is often impossible to deal with,
- manipulation (information included) is as old as humankind
- propaganda is just as old
- we tend to accept things we are told at school or by parents or by people we trust
There are topics specially prone to manipulation and Middle East politics specially concerning Israel (but not only) belongs to this category. And while many people accept even media coverage (often shown to be untrue) more even will be prone to accept school books texts, won't they?
Check it here:
UK school books wipe Israel of the map
After all we rarely examine school books designed to teach writing for accuracy of their information!
Yes, the freedom of speech means the truth can be abused and social agreement goes that such abuses will be easy to contradict and less dangerous than censorship. The attitude I generally agree with! Yet we are thinking about grown-ups in free country. In many countries the official truth is the only available even if there is no truth in it. Which in global world means that we should cherish the truth even more and finding abuses of it try to correct it. But that is not so (for many reasons). At the same time if textbooks would try to teach school children officially that Civil War was won by South, Lincoln was not assassinated, Pearl Harbor was caused by - say - Russians or treacherous Americans we would act, wouldn't we? Whatever our admiration for free speech. Yet when school texts try to teach our children or immigrant children in the way to become citizens things that are absolutely untrue and that bring propaganda from their countries of origin we look in other way. Yet they are children, and citizens, and future.
The truth is a delicate thing. And it is hard for itself to defend. We have to stand up for it so our children will have the privilege (as it is privilege and not right) to have freedom of speech, pleasure of discussion about implications of facts were and are (here we may differ, but not when it comes to facts) and still be well educated based on facts and not prejudices and facts created by publishers.
So - let's stand for truth in school textbooks!
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