israeli politics

Rain rain - 12.29.25

your package is in Jaffa.

So our first day out is to find the package store, a simple and quick procedure.  But the day kept changing – from beautiful to terrifyingly stormy, and we were driving along the angry sea. and whoops we were not totally recovered so we kept going off in different directions.  Until we realized the shop is much closer and convenient than we thought.  

Perhaps because we were driving for minutes in unbelievable storms, and then is such sun that it was impossible not to admire the beauty of it, more likely because our flu hasn’t totally passed, and has left us confused,  we didn’t even stop to photograph the absolutely beauty of the surfers in the powerful sea in the storm, we didn’t bask in the sun. i managed a few shots but nothing like what was there.

and now back to bed.

 

 

rain rain – 12.29.25 Read Post »

israeli politics

quick note - 12.28.25

just a little promise that I’ll be better very soon, will finish my book on Gerron, will figure out how to set up my computer, will get my version of the news to you, and won’t keep posting computer errors.

 

quick note – 12.28.25 Read Post »

israeli politics

Flu fading - 12.26.25

Because the fever is passing, even though my heart seems to be giving me a warning I need to slow down, I peeked back into what i’d written in the past few days – something i never do – and i was horrified.  i thought fonts and facts were second nature with me, that the writing is automatic and authentic.  But it isn’t.  So I apologize.  

It’s not only the flu, it’s the admissions this week on tv.  First Eli Feldstein talking about his role in the dirty tricks of the Prime Minister’s office, and then Romy Gonen, talking about the sexual and other abuse as a hostage in Gaza.  

Romy – I have said – is the granddaughter of an old and dear friend, one of the first translators of my poetry, Giora Leshem.  He translated some of my most intimate poems, and I translated his.  Here are 3: 

giora Leshem, Poems

the concept of coming home in coming to Israel was always so strong in him, and the sense of desertion in Romy’s relation of her tale was so strong… I actually felt that my heart is giving out.

 

 

Flu fading – 12.26.25 Read Post »

israeli politics

news - 12.25.25

I’m just watching the news and an interview.  I just started antibiotics so finally I’m beginning to feel better and can take it.

So first I watched an interview in Barcelona of  Queens for Palestine and they were all talking about how they were happy that Spain had pulled out of the Eurovision contest because the genocide killers of Israel are still in it.  And Queens for Palestine had no idea that homosexuality in Gaza is punishable by death.

And then there was an interview with Romy Gonen who was a hostage for almost a year and a half in Gaza, wounded, raped and otherwise molested repeatedly, and then used as a human shield. 

One world knows nothing of the other.

I don’t know why the information on Gaza never got out.  I don’t know how the reality could be so hidden.

I started to feel better this afternoon, but from what my friends say – that’s only a temporary remission.  I’ll try to keep you up to date…

news – 12.25.25 Read Post »

israeli politics

Add Your Heading Text Here

beginning My flu doesn't let me clean up. It's not just the politics - over whyich we can barely understand because it's so complicated and deceptive. The added elements of multiple government deceptions and su

The End and the Beginning
The poem explains it.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/52955/the-end-and-the-beginning

My flu doesn’t let me clean up. It’s not just that I can’t figure out the politics -which is normal because it’s so complicated and deceptive. i can’t figure out my email, my messages, the appointments I am missing one after the other, how I messed up my research.  That is, even daily life for someone who was only tangentially affected by the war, has to clear the rubble from his path.

the poem’s what we are going through -12.24.25 Read Post »

israeli politics

did you miss me? 12.23.25

we’ve been ill for over a week, and still need more time and maybe some medical attention in order to undo the damage.  

but in the meantime Fergus sent me the poem he promised and in my condition, and the condition of my friends and family, it is excruciatingly relevant.  

The End and the Beginning

By Wisława Szymborska

Translated By Joanna Trzeciak

 

After every war

someone has to clean up.

Things won’t

straighten themselves up, after all.

 

Someone has to push the rubble

to the side of the road,

so the corpse-filled wagons

can pass.

 

Someone has to get mired

in scum and ashes,

sofa springs,

splintered glass,

and bloody rags.

 

Someone has to drag in a girder

to prop up a wall.

Someone has to glaze a window,

rehang a door.

 

Photogenic it’s not,

and takes years.

All the cameras have left

for another war.

 

We’ll need the bridges back,

and new railway stations.

Sleeves will go ragged

from rolling them up.

 

Someone, broom in hand,

still recalls the way it was.

Someone else listens

and nods with unsevered head.

But already there are those nearby

starting to mill about

who will find it dull.

 

From out of the bushes

sometimes someone still unearths

rusted-out arguments

and carries them to the garbage pile.

 

Those who knew

what was going on here

must make way for

those who know little.

And less than little.

And finally as little as nothing.

 

In the grass that has overgrown

causes and effects,

someone must be stretched out

blade of grass in his mouth

gazing at the clouds.

 

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/52955/the-end-and-the-beginning

 

did you miss me? 12.23.25 Read Post »

israeli politics

blame it on the army - 12.21.25

that’s the way this trial is going to go.  The government in charge of this country since long before October 7 is going to investigate the causes of the massacre.  So we’re going to blame the army.  Not the orders given to have the army guard the West Bank, not the Gaza Envelope.  Not the policy to bribe Hamas into keeping relatively quiet.  Not the policy to leave the negotiation of the hostages for later, not the continued neglect of the half a million displaced in the border towns.

And then they’ll blame the soldiers for bombing the unprotected civilians in Gaza, while Hamas hid underground with their food stores.  

I myself blame the government.

And for me there is an additional blame that I can’t forgive.  I find it impossible to feel the same sympathy for the Gazan people I feel for the Israelis.  

blame the army Read Post »

israeli politics

All for one and one for one - 12.20.25

As one who has passed the past few days watching tv, following the suggestion chat gpt, I am convinced more than ever that we have to push for elections as soon as possible.  My only fear is that the various parties opposed to Bibi have not learned from the master how to give up some of their principles in order to unite.  each of my friends have joined a different party – and each one of the candidates is worthy in and of himself.  But not one of them has any ability to organize others behind him.  

Yair Lapid wrote this about the coming election:

From Opposition Leader Yair Lapid:

Our camp is going to win – and yet is convinced it will lose. Some are even helping make that happen.
—-
“Last Saturday, I posted a picture of myself with my granddaughter along with a two word caption: “Shabbat joy.” Most people responded warmly, but among the first comments was a malicious remark about a “weak opposition” that hugs its grandchildren instead of overthrowing the government. One of our younger activists checked the commenter’s profile and wrote in the group that it was strange – it appeared to be a bot from the poison propaganda machine.

That intrigued us. Why would it bother the coalition that the opposition is weak?

We decided to look into it. It turns out there are countless such profiles – bots and avatars from the propaganda poison machine – working at full force to amplify complaints about the opposition. As always, they are well-organized, well-funded, and focused on simple, familiar messages repeated endlessly: “weak opposition,” “you’ve disappeared,” “if Bibi were leading the opposition, he’d tear you apart.”

When these statements come from within the liberal camp, they reflect genuine anxiety and frustration. But when they come from the poison propaganda machine, they are part of a systematic strategy. Consistently, they recycle messages that already circulate within parts of the liberal camp. Without intending to, some people end up assisting the poison propaganda machine in carrying out a highly effective operation.

Every time someone expresses despair out of real pain, others echo it according to directives from Miami. Channel 14’s machine and Likud MKs are working relentlessly to repeat these messages at every opportunity. The goal is clear: to create despair. And it works. Over time, a completely absurd phenomenon has intensified: despite the fact that the liberal camp has been winning in virtually every poll for months, it is sinking deeper into despondency and anxiety. (On the other side, there is the opposite phenomenon. Channels 14 and 15 broadcast engineered polls, purchased from Filber, promising Likud at least 35 seats. The talking heads on screen are smug and boastful as usual. If it weren’t so frightening, it would be funny: they are paid to lie, and then come to believe their own lies.)

In the real world, this election year is already underway, and the data is encouraging. The numbers we see week after week are stable and give cause for hope. In the overwhelming majority of polls, the bloc stands at 59-61 seats. A significant group of center-right voters abandoned the coalition after the October 7th disaster. The draft evasion law and this government’s corruption convinced them there is no going back.

Yet instead of these figures filling us with optimism and determination, many in the camp feel an authentic sense of distress. This is precisely what the poison propaganda machine is trying to achieve. They know that pessimistic, exhausted people don’t persuade their neighbors, don’t write on social media, and don’t project the sense of momentum needed to bring voters along.

Of course, we must not be complacent for even a second – we are in a decisive struggle for the country’s future. But we must also refuse to let the poison propaganda machine drain our strength. If we work from morning until night, if we stick to a patriotic discourse rooted in values and Zionism, we can win – and win big.

The facts are on our side, and we must act accordingly. A sense of victory breeds victory; a sense of defeat breeds defeat. In the end, normality will prevail. Israelis want an effective, decent government. One that drafts the ultra-Orthodox, works for the middle class, and cleanses the country of corruption.

If we succeed in ignoring the bots and the dirty tricks of the poison machine, then in less than a year there will be a new government here – bringing change and hope to the State of Israel.”

He’s just got to learn how to get the others to work with him.  And he’s got to accept the fact that he may not be the leader.

 

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