It seems the chosen people's Promised Land was the
worst realty deal in history. In a direct reference to it Golda Meir once said,
"Let me tell you something that we Israelis have against Moses. He took us 40 years
through the desert in order to bring us to the one spot in the Middle East that has no oil!" Even if it's
understood in a figurative sense only, the land flowing with milk and honey was
probably a pleasanter place than the country Mark Twain visited in 1867. In the letters he
wrote to his editor, later collated and published as “Innocents Abroad,” he
depicts disconsolate landscapes. “Of all the lands there are for dismal
scenery, I think Palestine
must be the prince. The hills are barren, they are dull of color, they are
unpicturesque in shape. The valleys are unsightly deserts fringed with a feeble
vegetation that has an expression about it of being sorrowful and
despondent…..Every outline is harsh, every feature is distinct, there is no
perspective--distance works no enchantment here. It is a hopeless, dreary,
heart-broken land.”
While Mark Twain was touring the Holy
Land the U.S government was negotiating a land acquisition that
some in Congress at that time described as
a foolhardy venture. The American tax payers paid $7.2 million, worth $120 million
today, in order to buy Alaska
from Imperial Russia. At an approximate
cost of two cents an acre the Americans got a bargain. The discovery of gold, oil and gas later on
made America’s
northernmost state with or without Sarah Palin, .the best realty deal in
history
Back in the Middle East,
Golda’s grievance was also borne out on the ground. Our Holy
Land has stubbornly refused
to yield all but the tiniest amount of hydrocarbons. Then almost miraculously,
as Tobias Buck described it in the Financial Times . " After
decades of importing every drop of fuel, Israel has struck it rich, uncovering
vast reserves of natural gas in the Mediterranean " Of course our
ancestors didn't expect to find a land gushing with gas and petroleum. The
frequent mention of rain, water and drought in the Bible indicates that then
too a large part of the country was semi-arid to arid and the rest afflicted by
periodic droughts. The discovery of gas fields under the Mediterranean
sea bed wasn't
an Act of God, but the result of prospectors’ obstinate and determined efforts.
Our "hopeless, dreary, heart-broken land" is beginning to flow
with more water than God gave it. Desalination plants, brackish water
treatment, sewage purification systems and aquifer management projects are
gradually making Israel
self-sufficient in water resources with prospects of a surplus for export.
I have written about this before, so before you decide
to write me off as a senile old codger I hasten to add that I mention it again
because the week-long Sukkot festival includes three imbedded events, related
to water and rain. For many Jews and
especially for non-Jews the conclusion of the Sukkot holiday is a little
confusing. Simchat Torah ., (Rejoicing with/of the Torah,)
marks the conclusion of the annual cycle
of public Torah readings and the beginning of a new
cycle. The name Simchat
Torah is
a relatively late epithet dating from the Middle Ages. In the Talmud
it is called Shemini Atzeret, namely "Eighth Day of
Assembly", which follows immediately after Sukkot
. Simchat Torah is a component of Shemini Atzeret .
To add to the confusion different communities celebrate the events separately
or together. In Israel,
Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are celebrated on the same day.
Before the destruction of the Temple a water libation
ceremony was performed every morning during Sukkot. Our sages of old determined
that during Sukkot God judges the world
for rainfall; According to ancient accounts the
water drawing ceremony (Simchat Beit Hashoeva) was a joyous occasion
replete with dancing and music It was an invocation for God's blessing for rain in its proper time.
The water for the libation ceremony was drawn from the Pool of Siloam in
the City of David and carried up the Jerusalem pilgrim route to
the Temple. Recently,
during excavations being carried along the route a huge water cistern dating
from the First
Temple
period was unearthed. Archeologists surmise that the cistern was used for the everyday
activities of the Temple Mount itself and also by the pilgrims who went up to
the Temple and
required water for bathing and drinking.
The
Sukkot holiday is over and now we are back to the normal Middle
East routine. Our neighbours however, ignored our automatic
"out of office" postings and continued their belligerent actions. A
few stray mortar shells fired from Syria
landed in the Golan Heights. The fire wasn't
returned but IDF exercises in the area were intended to show that we are alert
and ready for any contingency. A Jordanian news, blogging and media website
called Al Bawaba added a lot spin to an unusual but otherwise
uneventful incident that occurred during Sukkot. It described how an
unidentified drone had penetrated Israel’s airspace
on Saturday causing concern and embarrassment. Our news sources on the other
hand, reported that the drone was detected flying over the Mediterranean
Sea parallel to our coastline and was under surveillance
throughout the whole course of its flight. It veered inland near Gaza and headed east . The drone could have easily been
destroyed while it was flying out at sea, however retrieving it for examination
would have been difficult, perhaps impossible. Its flight was terminated by a
rocket fired from an F16 fighter while it was flying over open country close to
Hebron.
According to news media reports an examination of the wreckage revealed that the drone was
either a Russian or an Iranian type of UAV supplied to Hezbollah.
Another
flare-up in the western Negev occurred on Monday morning when more than 50
rockets and mortar shells fired from the Gaza Strip hit the Gaza periphery region. The armed wing of
Hamas and the Islamic Jihad organisation claimed responsibility for the attack.
Previous attacks were carried out by Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups
while Hamas preferred to maintain some semblance of a truce with Israel.
Monday's attack was a clear change of policy. Apparently Hamas is adopting a
more assertive stance. It's possible that the recent attacks along the Israel - Egyptian border carried out by
terrorist groups in Sinai and the regime change in Egypt have caused this new
assertiveness. Residents of the Gaza periphery communities
were concerned more about their own safety during Monday's barrage. Simchat Torah
celebrations were cancelled on account of the likelihood of further attacks.
On Tuesday
the prime minister announced that new Knesset elections will be held early next
year. Although the pretext for the early elections was the government's failure
to muster a majority vote for the new budget, it appears that Netanyahu
believes his chances of being reelected
are better at the beginning of 2013 than at the end of the year when the
government's tenure is due to end. This assumption is borne out by the results
of a Haaretz-Dialog
poll conducted under the supervision of Professor Camil Fuchs of Tel Aviv
University. The results show
that Netanyahu easily defeats all his possible rivals from the centre-left bloc.
As far as the public is concerned, Netanyahu is deemed much more suitable for
the post of prime minister than any of his potential rivals. The poll also
indicated that the Likud-right wing-ultra-Orthodox bloc has increased its
strength to 68 Knesset seats, while the centre-left bloc has dropped to 52
seats, compared to the blocs' respective strength in the outgoing Knesset and
the previous poll. As we know political polls reflect prevailing views on the
day they are conducted. The scope of the poll has a direct bearing on the
results. In the poll supervised by Professor Fuchs a number of variables were
included in the questions posed to the respondents. It's not certain that all
the political candidates included in the poll will contest the elections. For
example 28 percent the respondents favoured Tzipi Livni, who might return to
politics. Other possible contenders haven't confirmed their intention to
participate in the forthcoming elections. Most political analysts concur that
Netanyahu will base his election campaign strategy on foreign policy and
security matters. Labour party leader Shelly Yachimovich is an assertive champion of the
social justice struggle, but she has no international experience and no credentials on security matters. At the
moment it appears she will base her election campaign on a socio-economic
agenda. Nevertheless, I'm sure she knows that without a few battle-scarred
generals in her ranks Netanyahu will outgun her. The much coveted centre ground
that attracts so many would-be leaders often turns out to be a quagmire. The current opposition
leader, Shaul Mofaz
of the centrist Kadima party, has strong
security credentials as a former defence minister and IDF chief of staff; however
his brief coalition with Netanyahu damaged his credibility. Former TV anchor Yair Lapid has
likewise captured some attention after entering politics earlier this year launching
a new centrist party. His political platform is a little hazy based on “improving
Israeli society." The analysts predict that he will win a few seats in the
next Knesset. Other centre of the field maybes/hopefuls are former Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert, Haim Ramon and Tzipi Livni
Economic
issues, including a rise in housing costs and the burden of an underemployed
and rapidly expanding ultra-Orthodox sector, are expected to feature more
prominently in this election, particularly after last year’s socioeconomic
protests.
One
commentator summed up, "But even when voters say they care more about
economics, they tend to vote largely along the lines of their positions on
security. On that point, Netanyahu has won respect, if not love, from the
public."… . “I don’t think they love his approach to
Iran
but I think they see him as doing the right thing by making it such a central
aspect of global affairs.”
At the
moment the betting odds are in favour of Benyamin Netanyahu, however events in our
volatile region, the results of the U.S. presidential elections as well
as unforeseen surprises in the months ahead could possibly erode his present
lead.
Have a
good weekend.
Beni 11th
of October, 2013.
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