I may have been on vacation for two and a half weeks, but amazingly, the world didn’t stop chugging along in my absence. Here’s a bit of catch-up.
Firstly, a hearty MAZEL TOV to Allison on the birth of her new baby girl, Tamar! If she’s anything like her mom, we’ll be reading her byline in about 20 years or so.
Unfortunately, not all the news from Israel is that good. While I was in Israel, lots was happening there… and now that I’m home, time to catch up on it. The IJC ruled that the security fence is illegal – no surprises there. Meryl is essential reading, and Lynn has an increasingly popular view on the subject. Now that the UN General Assembly is preparing to do what it does best and issue yet another resolution against Israel, what can I really say on the subject other than it’s no worse than everyone expected. I used to wonder why Israel didn’t put more effort into winning the media war, but now I’m starting to come around to the view that none of that effort would make the slightest bit of difference. The world is determined to villainize Israel, and in the meantime the Israeli government should concentrate on defending its citizens. Especially if the fence helps prevent more incidents like this one. Whatever I could say on the subject, I know that, as usual, Imshin already said it better.
But, hey, the UN still acknowledges that Israel is the best place to live in the Mideast. Even despite all those GA resolutions.
It’s looking more and more like civil war in Gaza. But I have to agree with the Jerusalem Post commentary that this is not good news for Israel. Arafat is a murderer, a terrorist, and a corrupt leader who has inflicted most of the hurt he has caused on his own people. But he’s also incredibly attached to power, and extremely savvy at holding onto it. Speculation that he may be brought down is, I believe, no more than wishful thinking. Besides, anyone who could conceivably replace Arafat would probably only be worse. Chaos will just lead to more bloodshed, which is bad news all around.
The assassination of an Israeli judge is leading to shock and questions. Was it terrorism? Related to criminal or civil matters? Something else entirely? The police investigation will reveal more, and in the meantime, the papers are engaging in plenty of speculation.
The French seem to never tire of creating pointless headlines. Jacques Chirac has told Ariel Sharon that he is unwelcome in France, due to remarks Sharon made encouraging French Jews to make Aliyah to Israel to escape antisemitism. Way to go, Jacques, that’ll really convince people you’re committed to wiping out antisemitism, barring the Israeli Prime Minister and all. Right. To Mr. Sharon: I hear Eilat is much nicer than Paris this time of year anyway.
The violence in Iraq continues to claim more lives on a daily basis. Suicide bombings are becoming so common that they’re hardly even getting reactions anymore. Here’s a thought: maybe if the Americans built a fence…
On the home front, Paul hits the nail on the head on the CRTC decision to allow Al-Jazeera to broadcast, albeit with special restrictions. The CJC may see this as a good compromise. But I think it’s just further evidence that the CRTC needs to be dissolved. How is it okay, in a supposedly free society, for our government to decide that we’re allowed to watch Al-Jazeera but not HBO?
Canada has taken a small step away from our usual foreign policy of holding up a maple leaf and shouting “please like us”. We have chosen to express our displeasure with Iran in the Zahra Kazemi murder trial by… recalling our ambassador. Yeah, that’ll show those bastards. Burnside agrees. We should really take a few lessons from Israel on how to deal with threats from countries like Iran.
Those are some of the highlights and low points. Lots more happened, of course, but I’m through playing catch-up. Onwards and forwards.
Exceedingly belated, but cheers for the linkage nonetheless. 🙂