A country prepares for .... Shabbat? Or .... ?
This nation takes a deep breath, prepares to be attacked by Iran, and goes about its business.
We actually had not planned on sending out a post today, but matters are so surreal (and might change so dramatically by next week) that we decided to send a brief (and in parts, light-hearted) glimpse of Israeli life as we wait to see what Iran will do.
Assuming that things are somewhat similar to what they are now, we are also providing a very tentative schedule of what we’ve got planned for next week, which will include the promised-but-delayed discussion of how to conduct a Seder in these unprecedented times.
First, though, today’s headlines.
Even on days when there’s one clear news story in Israel, Israeli newspapers have a way of coming up with headlines that differ radically, one from the other. Not today. I was looking at three of the papers we got today, and was struck by the similarity of three of the headlines. So I took a quick photo.
Today’s headlines, from left to right (papers in no particular order):
MAKOR RISHON: Headline reads, “Israel and the US coordinating response to Iranian attack.”
YEDI’OT AHRONOT: Headline reads, “IDF and Shin Bet have approved plan to attack Iran, if we are attacked from its territory.”
YISRAEL HAYOM: Headline reads, “Israel prepares to attack Iran, if attacked.”
All this might amount to nothing, but I guess that might amount to something. Things here next week could be more of the (lousy) same, or we could be in a different world. We’ll soon see.
My wife said we should leave a TV on in one of the spare bedrooms, just in case. Sounds like a good idea.
Despite it all, Israeli humor continues apace. There are too many examples for even a cursory summary, but here are two very different ones.
The following made its way all around social media yesterday:
“Can someone ask the f***ing Iranians for the timeline of our annihilation? Should we clean for Passover, or should we not clean for Passover?
Or here’s one, hoping the Iranians improve our skyline. The translation is Google-generated:
I actually love this about Israelis. We’ve been through versions of this promised Armageddon before, and by now, there’s not much than any of us not in the security establishment can do. So we’re preparing on Shabbat, and reading humor on-line.
Life could be much worse.
Shabbat Shalom (literally).
We had intended to post some thoughts for discussions during the Seder last week, but news got in the way.
But assuming life hasn’t changed all that dramatically, we plan to post that on Monday. We’ll post a segment for everyone, and the full discussion for our paid subscribers.
SUNDAY (04/14): In a post I imagine we’ll call something like “Home Alone,” we’ll look at how Israelis now see the government. We are told that we’re facing attack by Iran, yet most people (71% want Netanyahu to resign) have virtually zero faith in the people leading the country. We’ll try to explain why.
MONDAY (04/15): Our promised discussion of how to fashion a Seder appropriate to these unprecedented times.
TUESDAY (04/116): We will cover where we are with Iran, and how the Israeli pundits in the press have assessed the government’s actions. And those of the US, which is playing a critical role. We will also see Nir Dvori, one of Israel’s leading military analysts, go off teleprompter and express his revulsion at the way the war has been waged.
WEDNESDAY (04/17): Rabbi David Stav is to many people one of the most venerated religious figures in Israel. Once a candidate for the Chief Rabbinate, he exerts more influence than almost anyone else calling for a more embracing, inclusive, moral and Zionist Orthodox Judaism. We got together to speak about the drafting of the Haredim, a move Rabbi Stav strongly supports.
As rumors are now beginning to leak that Netanyahu and the Haredim have reached a compromise that might for the drafting of as many as 25% of the Haredi eligible young men, the issue could well take on heightened importance, and we’ll hear Rabbi Stav on why the current situation is one of the Haredim stealing from the country in four different ways. As usual, we’ll post a segment for everyone, and the full discussion along with a transcript for our paid readers.
THURSDAY (04/18): There has been much coverage of women who lost their husbands, fiancés, boyfriends, etc., during this war. But there is of course also the obverse: men who have lost wives, fiancées, girlfriends—yet these men receive much less recognition. We’ll share some coverage of this issue from the Israeli press.
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