A week
before the Jewish New Year holiday Israelis realised that they face a greater
existential threat than Iran's
nuclear aspirations, namely the price of tomatoes! Admittedly King David lived
three score years and ten without eating tomatoes and our sages of old never
mentioned them, but we can't live without that vegetable, sometimes claimed as
a fruit. Our forefathers overlooked the tomato simply because it is a
comparatively recent arrival here. Well,
as everyone knows Israelis love salads. They are a staple, essential component
in every meal we eat. A tomato-less salad is unthinkable, so when the price of
tomatoes increased to $3.5 a kg we were really angry. Hell knows no fury like a
tomato deprived Israeli. The tomato crisis replaced the ever present Iran
threat on our prime-time news. Maybe we will have to risk shopping across the
"Green Line" in order to buy an affordable tomato. Across the river
in Jordan
tomatoes are cheaper still, but the hassle with visas and border crossings
rules out that option.
The Iranians don't need a bomb, all they have
to do is infect our tomato crops with a virulent blight and we will surrender
without terms or conditions.
While
Netanyahu rants on about fixing a red line to stop the Iranians building their
bomb and complaining about President Obama placing a red light to stop his
projected preemptive attack on Iranian nuclear sites, we are more concerned
about that succulent red vegetable we can't afford to buy.
Let's forget
the Mullahs this week and discuss some of our other problems.
In the Gaza Strip
yet another hitherto unknown breakaway fundamentalist Islamic group took its
turn to bombard nearby Israeli communities. The people living in these
communities, kibbutzim, moshavim and small towns, collectively known as the Gaza periphery area, are
ever alert for the "Colour Red" siren warning them to take cover.
Finding a safe place isn't always easy. If you are out in a field or any other
open space finding a place to shelter is near to impossible. Fortunately the
Qassam rockets and mortar shells fired from Gaza are not accurately targeted;
nevertheless they are aimed to strike rural communities and urban centres. Even
at times when the damage is slight and
the injuries suffered are mostly cases of trauma, there is an accumulative
stress and anxiety factor that can’t be ignored. The slight damage and few injuries
statistic is often cited by the various human rights groups defending the
"desperate people in Gaza" and
condemning Israel’s
asymmetric reprisals. Unlike the indiscriminate mortar
and rocket attacks the IDF reprisals are carefully aimed to hit the people
firing at us. The casualties inflicted on the terrorist groups often deter them
for a while till the next attack and reprisal. The Hamas administration in Gaza isn’t interested in
maintaining a war of attrition with the IDF, however breakaway groups of
various persuasions often initiate attacks with the object of distancing
themselves from Hamas to demarcate their independence.
Further
south along the Israeli-Egyptian border the construction of a
formidable border fence is nearing completion. So far this barrier has
effectively reduced the number of Africans trying to enter Israel by as
much as ninety percent.
Two weeks ago a group
Eritrean asylum seekers got as far as the fence and waited for something to
happen. Behind them the Egyptian border police who allowed them to reach the
fence wouldn’t let them return. As soon as the news of their arrival leaked out
droves
of news media reporters tried vainly to approach the group. At the same time representatives
of human rights groups attempted to intervene on behalf of the Eritreans, but the
police and the IDF wouldn’t let them approach the fence. The fence was erected
a few metres inside Israel
so the refugees camped on the Egyptian side were technically in Israeli
territory. Refugees mainly from Somalia,
Eritrea, and Sudan
suffer extraordinary hardships
attempting to reach Israel
. It seems they haven’t heard that Ahmadinejad
wants to wipe us off the map. As far as they are concerned
we are the closest bit of Europe in the Middle East.
The border standoff dramatised as never before our dilemma over how to stop the
influx of tens of thousands of Africans fleeing repressive governments who are
seeking to enter Israel illegally
and our collective memory as a nation built by refugees. Although similar
border confrontations have occurred in the past, this was the first caught on
camera. In the end the problem was resolved. The Egyptians allowed the
Eritreans to return, all except for two women and a teenager who were allowed
to enter Israel.
It’s extremely difficult to determine how many of these refugees are genuine
asylum seekers and how many are looking for work.
Minister of the
Interior Eli Yishai and many other people consider the African influx an existential threat.
Our indigenous defence systems: the Iron Dome, David's Sling sometimes called Magic
Wand and the Arrow group of anti-ballistic missiles provide a comprehensive
tiered defence coverage. The latter
system is being developed jointly by the
Israeli
defence company Rafael Advanced Defence Systems
and Raytheon
an American defence contractor. It is designed to intercept medium- to
long-range rockets
and cruise missiles, such as those possessed by Hezbollah,
fired at ranges from 40 km
to 300 km.
Although it will be a while before the full array of systems will be
operational Israel is well able to intercept missiles, short, medium and long
range missiles.
Now if that doesn’t satisfy you there’s yet
another powerful defence system in our arsenal. Something far more powerful
than all the state-of-the-art pyrotechnics we have been spending billions of
dollars on.
For the past eleven years Yoshiyahu
Yosef Pinto, a young Israel
rabbi has brought hundreds of his
followers on their annual pilgrimage to the grave of a kabbalist rabbi in Silistra, Bulgaria.
The renowned Rabbi Eliezer
Papo, died prematurely in 1827 during a cholera plague that afflicted eastern
Europe. Today Rabbi Pinto and his followers believe that prayers said at the
grave of Rabbi Eliezer Papo have the power to ward off all of Israel’s
enemies. Maybe so, just the same I place my trust in our three tiered defence
system.
For a change
I want add a bit of local news. My kibbutz is quite green-conscious. All the
garbage collection points have separate bins for different kinds of rubbish. A
lot of people manage their own garden compost bin and now we have embarked on a
major clean energy project. Ricor Solar started three years ago by Ricor
Cryogenic & Vacuum Systems as a fully owned subsidiary. Its primary goal is
to develop and manufacture cost effective Stirling
engines which convert thermal energy into electrical power. Several prototypes are being tested in Spain by a
potential Spanish partner. Another enterprise with more immediate benefits is
under construction at present We have
replaced the roof covering of all the sheds in our dairy and sheep pens with
solar panels. At present the same project is being extended to include all the
roofs of our factories. Early next year
the entire roof area will be producing electricity which will be sold to the
Israel Electric Company. It will take about five years to return the initial
investment. After that it’s profit less a small upkeep cost. Other energy
projects are being considered including a partnership for harnessing wind
energy on the Issachar plane just north of the kibbutz. Among the suggested names for the proposed joint venture
is “Luftgeschäfte”
I want to conclude by wishing everyone Shana Tova . May
the New Year bring us all good health, happiness and a little more money to pay
for the rest.
Beni 13th
of September, 2012.
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