PROTESTS AND PURIM

 

I have a few ‘leftovers’ from last week’s post.

First and foremost, the terrorist who murdered two Israeli brothers, Hallel and Yagel Yaniv in Huwara on February 26, was killed in a joint IDF, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and Border Police operation in Jenin, on Tuesday. At least five other Palestinians who shot at the combined Israeli force were killed in the exchange of fire.

The Hawara ‘pogrom’ that followed the Yaniv brothers’ murder has evoked worldwide condemnation!

Despite that, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich issued a call to “wipe out” Hawara.

Later on, he tried to retract his deplorable remark by saying. “It was a ‘slip of the tongue made in ‘the heat of the moment.’”

Our sages of blessed memory posited – “A man is not judged for things said in the heat of the moment.” However, our finance minister uttered his angry opinion three days after settler hooligans carried out their vicious attack. That’s hardly in the heat of the moment.

Furthermore, Bezalel Smotrich refused to call the settlers’ assault at Huwara a terror attack. Instead, he described the torching of property (cars and homes) and attacking Palestinian civilians, killing one and wounding several others, as no more than a ‘criminal act.’

A statement issued by a US spokesman called Smotrich’s remarks “repugnant” and “disgusting”. Likewise, a UN spokesman said the Minister’s remarks were “provocative, inflammatory and just unacceptable.” Similar condemnations followed from Jordan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and others.

Meanwhile, officials say the White House has been holding discussions on whether or not to grant Smotrich a visa for a scheduled visit to the US.

More or less in the same time-slot, several news outlets reported on a crowdfunding campaign started by Israeli Labour party activist Yair “Yaya” Fink to raise funds for Huwara residents who suffered property damage in the rampage. To date, he has received more than 1.7 million shekels (nearly $500,000) from Israeli donors.

Fink said he simply had to act after seeing the “horrifying” footage from the rampage, which showed the Jewish perpetrators gathering for an evening prayer quorum in front of Huwara buildings engulfed in flames

“As a religious person, a Zionist, a major in the IDF reserves and as a responsible human being, I cannot be silent while my peers are burning villages,” Fink tweeted the day after the rampage.

Fink says he’s received death threats, spam calls and other texts because of his campaign. “Nevertheless, I’ll continue.” Fink tweeted - “Whoever thinks that threats on my life will intimidate me doesn’t know me, it’s just added motivation to fight against the terrorist anarchists.”

While Bezalel Smotrich is still waiting for a visa for his scheduled US visit, the Netanyahus had problems finding a pilot to fly them to Italy.

On Sunday afternoon, local news outlets reported that none of El Al’s pilots had volunteered to fly Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, to Italy for an official visit scheduled to start on  Thursday.  The prime minister’s bureau countered by announcing it would issue a tender to other Israeli airlines to fly him on official visits.

According to the reports, the pilots were refusing to fly the couple over opposition to the coalition’s radical judicial overhaul plan, By Sunday night, Dina Ben Tal Ganancia, Chief Executive Officer at El Al Israel Airlines, said a crew had been found for the flight to Italy. El Al denied that the reason for the apparent boycott was political. A company spokesman explained that the difficulty was due to a shortage of pilots qualified to fly the Boeing 777, a relatively large aircraft that the Netanyahus insist on using when flying abroad, saying that several other 777 flights were also affected.

It was not immediately clear how opening up the tender to other companies would solve the problem, as neither of the other two Israeli airlines, Arkia and Israir, operate the 777.

The Netanyahus are scheduled to fly to Rome on Thursday, where the prime minister will meet with his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni and return on Saturday night. I read somewhere that at the height of the ‘commuting crisis’, one pilot volunteered to fly Bibi and Sara to Rome, but said he wouldn’t agree to fly them back home. I’m sure it’s ‘fake news’.

While the prime minister and his wife take off for their ‘Roman Holiday’ the protests continue. I’m still at a loss to understand how the largest demonstrations in this country’s history are organised.

A piece published by the Israeli business news outlet Globes shed light on the subject.

“Although CEOs of Israeli unicorns and publicly traded companies are taking an active part in the protests, it seems that venture capital partners, who have always kept their distance from the mainstream media, today serve as the main engine of the protest against the judicial reforms.

The venture capital partners manage funds that raise their money from investors in Europe and the US and invest it in Israeli companies. Because of this, they have a  vested interest in aiding the protests. Unlike Israeli tech companies, which sometimes hide behind international brands, Israeli venture capital groups raise money on the Israeli ticket, under the "Startup Nation" brand. There are Israeli funds that also invest overseas - such as JVP or 83North, but in most cases the Israeli venture capital funds put all their eggs in the Israeli basket.

The venture capital partners manage the money of foreign investors and operate almost exclusively in Israel - which is why they are the first to cry out. They have been joined by portfolio companies, startups and privately-held unicorns, as well as publicly-traded Israeli companies, but only to a relatively small extent.” Globes listed a number of Unicorn executives that have made their voices heard, adding that contrary to expectations, publicly-held companies that depend on foreign funds are also making their voices heard even more loudly.

“Not everybody has joined the protests. monday.com, for example, one of the biggest publicly-traded companies in Israel's tech sector, has declined to comment on the subject. Company CEO Roy Mann refused to sign the high-tech petition, although the company does provide free access to its online work tools to protest organisations planning and managing demonstrations and activities.

Both Palo Alto Networks and Check Point, two companies that keep well clear of politics, and have interests in Israel including supplying the government with software, have remained silent.

And finally, the development centres of the global tech giants have also remained silent - especially Google, Amazon and Microsoft, which all have contracts with the state. But in private, the managers of these development centres harshly condemn the judicial overhaul.

One notable executive who has spoken out is Facebook Israel general manager Adi Soffer Teeni. She signed a letter published by Alan Feld of Vintage Investment Partners that calls for an immediate halt to the judicial reform and talks on the matter. The tech giants are wary of protests and internal disputes, including their Israeli managers who are committed to a diplomatic approach.

So, where does the money come from to organise the protests? The logistics I mentioned last week. Crowd-funding has contributed a lot of money, but certainly not enough to finance the whole ‘enterprise.’ Professor Tamar Herman, a senior fellow at the Israel Democratic Institute opines that some of the money comes from hi-tech sources. Namely, groups that call themselves the “hi-tech protest”. Professor Herman added,” I know that not only Israeli hi-tech entrepreneurs are promoting the protests, but foreign hi-tech businesses have also made contributions. Some people in the coalition government have insinuated that enemy groups are behind these contributions. There is absolutely no indication that there is any truth in this accusation.  Herman said it’s possible that some of the professional and technical organisation and work is done pro-bono or provided at a discount rate. Whatever the case, organising everything costs millions. Flags, placards, shirts etc. are handed out to the demonstrators. It seems that there are international bodies actively involved in the protests against judicial reforms.  Understandably, they operate behind the scenes without leaving a clear ‘footprint’. As long as Israel doesn’t demand any form of official registration, their involvement is completely legitimate.

A number of women all over Israel masquerading as characters from The Handmaid's Tale the American dystopian television series based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Canadian author Margaret Atwood.

As part of the re-enactment, women from all over the country are marching in red robes and white hats in demonstrations against the judicial reforms planned by the government and in protest of the potential violation of women's rights.

The parades are meant to warn against the transformation of Israel from an egalitarian democracy to an authoritarian theocracy.

Let’s move on to a more festive topic. We are celebrating Purim this week!

Here at Ein Harod,  the main Purim celebration is held on Friday night. Most people are happy to celebrate Purim without doubting the historicity of the narrative.

Just the same, modern biblical scholars view the Book of Esther critically. I’m quoting from an authoritative source regarding the origins of Purim.

“Some historians of the Near East and Persia argue that Purim does not actually have a historical basis. Amnon Netzer and Shaul Shaked argue that the names "Mordecai" and "Esther" are similar to those of the Babylonian gods Marduk and Ishtar.  Scholars W.S. McCullough, Muhammad Dandamayev and Shaul Shaked say that the Book of Esther is historical fiction. Amelie Kuhrt says the Book of Esther was composed in the Hellenistic period and it shows a perspective of the Persian court identical to accounts in classical Greek literature. Shaul Shaked says the date of composition of the book is unknown, but most likely not much after the fall of the Achaemenid kingdom, during the Parthian period, perhaps in the 3rd or 2nd century BCE. McCullough also suggests that Herodotus recorded the name of Xerxes's queen as Amestris  (the daughter of Otanes ) and not as Esther. Scholars Albert I. Baumgarten, S. David Sperling and R.J. Littman say that, according to Herodotus, Xerxes could only marry a daughter of one of the six allies of his father Darius 1. 

That being said, I came across a news item that appeared to confirm the historicity of the Purim narrative.

An ostracon found by a hiker at Lachish in the Judean lowlands region was the first discovery of an inscription bearing the name of Darius I discovered anywhere in Israel.

Darius was the father of King Ahasuerus, from the Purim narrative.

Archaeological groups in Israel have a habit of announcing finds connected to Jewish festivals close to the dates of the celebrations.

Lachish was a prosperous city and a major administrative hub 2,500 years ago. The inscription was believed to be a receipt for goods received or shipped.

The potsherd that was used as a writing surface, bears an Aramaic inscription that reads “Year 24 of Darius,” which would have dated it to 498 BCE.

However, last Friday the Israel Antiquities Authority said the sherd bearing the name of the Persian king Darius the Great was “not authentic.”

The IAA said that following the publication of the find they were approached by an expert who participated in an excavation expedition last August, who informed the authority that she had created the inscription “while demonstrating to a group of students the manner in which sherds were inscribed in ancient times.”

“She then left the sherd at the site, which led to the erroneous identification. When questioned she said this was done unintentionally and without intention to deceive.”

“The IAA takes full responsibility for the unfortunate event,” said Prof. Gideon Avni, the antiquities authority’s chief scientist, who noted the piece had been examined by two leading researchers.

 

Never mind, trusting you had a ‘Chag Purim Sameach’

 

Beni,

9^th of March,2023