Apologies for my delay the last 48 hours… it has been quite a whirlwind! Thus far we have toured Tel Aviv on the coast, and the settlement of Ariel in the interior. I have also taken the liberty of visiting the port city of Haifa for dinner last night.
A few reflections:
1. Israel is still a vibrant, dynamic, beautiful place, regardless of whatever is going on politically.
2. Tel Aviv is a wonderful mess — crowded and chaotic, but also brilliant and innovative. The new subway is incredible. The beach is, well, awesome.
3. The fault lines over Netanyahu’s judicial reform are not entirely ideological or cultural. Some on the right oppose him just because of the division it has provoked within Israeli society (familiar, perhaps, to the emotions evoked by Trump in the USA).
4. The Palestinians want jobs and the chance to earn a good living more than they want a state. If anything, attempts at peace — or struggle — have complicated their lives. Judea and Samaria are a maze of roads and boundaries and there seems no easy resolution — nor, perhaps, any urgent one.
5. Palestinians do not generally understand why Jews want to come to Israel and support Israel. To the extent that face-to-face interaction is possible, it can help break that barrier of understanding.
6. It’s good to remember that in addition to the religious connected Jews have to the land, a big reason Israel exists is because of the cultural revival that Tel Aviv represents. That Israel counts, too; it is the Israel that many on the left want to preserve, and not because of partisan politics.
I should have noted in my message about the weekly Torah portion that this week is Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of Vision. We are about to mourn -- but see through that pain to something better that lies beyond, on the other side.
Wishing you the best vision -- and an incredible reality to follow. It happens!
We begin the final speech of Moses to the people of Israel before they enter the Promised Land. He relates the ups and downs of the years of wandering in the desert, before, finally, the people have the merit to enter the land itself.
This Sabbath always precedes Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It is the anniversary of the destruction of both of the Holy Temples, and a catch-all for many calamities that befell the Jewish people.
A word on Tisha B'Av. This year I am leaving for an overseas trip during the afternoon of the holiday -- in the middle of a fast day. Not idea, but there was no other choice. But my flight is in the afternoon, which is significant.
We relax some of the harsh, mournful customs of the day in the afternoon. We start to pray normally; we sit on regular chairs; we start to have hope again in the redemption that will, one day, lead us all back from exile to our home.
I'll be taking a trip to a land where an important part of ...
President Trump is in Scotland, playing golf and making big trade deals -- a major deal with the EU, in fact. Meanwhile, there is a global outcry about humanitarian aid to Palestinians (not about the Israeli hostages, mind you).
On top of that, Democrats are at their lowest polling numbers ever -- so they are trying to win control of the House by redistricting in the middle of a 10-year Census cycle. Oh, economic optimism is up, so they have a tough road.
And Tulsi Gabbard's revelations about the Russia collusion investigation make it clear that Obama's lieutenants lied to Congress. How deeply was he himself involved? The media continue to ignore the evidence, but we certainly won't.
Special guests:
Nick Gilbertson - Breitbart News White House correspondent, on EU deal
Frances Martel - Breitbart News foreign editor, on Trump abroad and Russia
John Spencer - urban warfare expert, on humanitarian aid and war in Gaza
Bradley Jaye - Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on the ...
