Aliyah-versary!

Once upon a time, in August, 2010, my wife and I boarded an EL AL airliner. Before that 2010 moment--beginning five years earlier, in 2005--we had decided to emigrate to Israel. We had decided to make aliyah. 

For us, aliyah was not a difficult decision. We were older. Our children were grown. We were ready.

But it still took five years to reach that August moment when, finally, we boarded that airliner. At that moment in 2010, my "bride" of 39 years was delighted. After literally 39 years' effort, she had finally convinced me to move to Israel.  

We left America. We would start a new life. 

Now, August, 2020, my 'bride' and I celebrate again our aliyah anniversary. We've been here ten years! 

In 2020, my wife and I have something else to cheer. This year, we have celebrated our 49th wedding anniversary. We look forward to many more such celebrations. I truly believe it is fair to say we are today happier than we've ever been. We feel fulfilled.

What a grand feeling!

We are particularly happy right now because, once we had made aliyah, we have both lived to see a miracle: since that August plane ride in 2010, all of our children have made aliyah, too. 

Now, each child has a new life. Each is settled.  Each has a job. Each is part of the land we call, Israel.

We even have a granddaughter who serves in the IDF. We am very, very proud of her. 

My wife and I feel especially happy to live in Israel these days because, despite the political problems Israel faces in 2020, life in Israel looks to us to be far safer and more wholesome than a Jewish life in America. 

The America we left in 2010 was indeed a land of quiet. But the America of August 2020 is not quiet. It is instead aflame with riot, looting and burning cities. 

We thank our G-d, HaShem, that we live in the world's only Jewish state. We live in a place where even non-religious Jews will tell you, Shabbat shalom. We live in a place where even non-religious Jews know when is Yom Kippur and when is Succot. We live in a place where even non-religious Jews often--very often--understand how our G-d, HaShem, protects us.

To give you a just a brief taste of our family's joy living in Israel--and to share our joy at having made aliyah in the first place--I will show you a brief video of someone else's aliyah anniversary--his 36th.

That 'someone else' is Jacob Richman. He lives in our community. He runs a community chat room which helps and informs many of us 'anglos', especially those whose Hebrew-language facility isn't the best. 

Jacob Richman made aliyah in August, 1984. He has just posted a video to celebrate his 36th aliyah anniversary.

This video interests me for two reasons. First, it captures a feeling shared by many who have followed him to Israel. Yes, his aliyah experience may have been a long time ago. But, as this video suggests, that one moment in time means something special to him. Even after 36 years, Jacob Richman still feel joyous enough about his aliyah to want to celebrate it. 

My wife and I share that joy. We understand it. After ten years, we still remember the excitement of our own aliyah experience. Those memories are still fresh, still exciting.

The second reason for me to be interested in this video has to do with its contents--its pictures. These pictures of streets, homes, store displays, bus-signs, holiday store-displays and holiday parades are all about our streets, our buses, our stores and parades, etc. They are about the daily (and the holiday) reality of our life here. Even though these pictures were taken by someone else, they are still, nonetheless, pictures of our experience, too.  

I smile when I see these pictures. They remind me of happy  memories.

By the way, the picture you will see at the very beginning of this video, in the upper left-hand corner of the video's opening, is Jacob Richman, the video's creator.

One last point: this video was made six years ago, for Jacob Richman's 30th aliyah-versary. He's now celebrating his 36th aliyah-versary--and he has re-posted this video.

Enjoy: 

Thank you, Jacob Richman, for sharing this video (it comes from here).

I have one afterthought. Please realize, dear reader, that being an immigrant in a new land is not easy. The language is different. The business culture is different. How work gets done is different. School is different. Your neighbors are different. The food is different. Laws are different.

To a new immigrant--and even to a ten-year 'veteran'--these differences can be difficult. They can cause frustration. 

But I wish to tell you that Israel has 'magic'. It's a magic of daily miracles--the kind of little miracles that make life easier. Then, of course, there's the biggest 'little miracle' most of us experience: over time, we become 'Israeli'. 

So, dear reader, I say this to you. Don't be afraid to join us. Don't be afraid of the stress of aliyah. Come. Come home. 

Pick up. Pack up. Become part of Israel's national Jewish enterprise. Experience for yourselves the joy of aliyah. 

Regarding Netanyahu: when you lie, you will get caught

In the almost-six months since Israel's last national election, the political enemies of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been working overtime to sell to Israeli voters the idea that Netanyahu wants yet another election soon, something most Israel hate to think about. These anti-Netanyahu enemies have repeatedly labelled Netanyahu as a corrupt, selfish and  self-centered leader who is more interested in  himself than in Israel.

The argument against Netanyahu is that he doesn't like the current unity government. He hates it. He's so self-centered, he wants to rule alone--at the top, all by himself, without having to share anything with anyone, least of all Benny Gantz. 

Therefore. these enemies claim, Netanyahu wants to put Israel through a fourth, expensive election in less than two years. They said he wants to end having to serve together with Gantz, and (irrationally) believes another election will help him win enough votes to rule without Gantz. Moreover, these people say, Netanyahu will stop at nothing until he gets that fourth election.

This has been an enduring story. It's got "legs". It always seems to attract clicks on online news outlets. But it is a lie. 

We know this "ongoing Netanyahu saga" is a lie because of what happened over a single 24-hour news cycle between Sunday night, August 23, 2020, and Monday night, August 24th.

Monday, August 24th was to be a momentous day. This day was the deadline for the two "unity" leaders (Gantz and Netanyahu) to agree to complete a new fiscal budget--or, alternatively, to agree to a 100-day extension for budget talks. But if there was no budget passed by 11:59 pm on the 24th, and there was also no agreement reached to extend the budget deadline, then, according to a March/April 2020 mutual pact between Gantz and Netanyahu, a new, fourth-election-within-two-years would be automatically triggered. It was this triggering mechanism that Netanyahu was accused of trying to, well, trigger.  

By late afternoon of the 24th, there was no agreement on anything: just hours before a fourth election would be triggered, there was no budget--and no agreement to extend budget talks. Each man accused the other for the impasse. 

Israel's elite media has repeatedly accused Netanyahu of being the one man responsible for this impasse. This media has insisted that Netanyahu was the one man in Israel who really, really wanted a fourth election. Why? For just one reason: to win more time as Prime Minister, so as to keep pushing off the day he'd go to jail (he's scheduled to go on trial for corruption in January, 2021). Their assumption about Netanyahu has always been he is guilty until proved innocent.

How, exactly, Netanyahu would push off his legal 'destiny' by forcing another election? That wasn't clear. Indeed, the explanations offered for this scenario were often complex--and not always particularly straight-forward. 

But few readers care about clarity. These days, only headlines counted. Therefore, the accusation that Netanyahu wanted another election was sufficient to anger voters against Netanyahu. 

Besides, what did Israelis need to know? Netanyahu was a devious crook, wasn't he? That's why he was going to trial, wasn't it? How much more information did voters need in order to realize that the underhanded Netanyahu plotted to provoke another election? 

This was such a good story, it convinced an increasing number of voters to turn against Netanyahu. But then, this election-lie unraveled. It took less than 24 hours to fall apart.

Lies are like that. Once cast into the sunlight, they melt. 

The unraveling of this lie began Sunday night, August 23rd. At 10:37 pm that night, it was reported that Netanyahu announced he had accepted the compromise solution proposed by MK Zvi Hauser, of the Derech Eretz Party (here). That compromise was designed so that both Gantz and Netanyau could feel comfortable extending budget talks. Since Netyanyahu was the recognized villain in this fourth-election story, his acceptance should have been the end of the story, right? 

Netanyahu, the villain, had accepted the terms of a compromise agreement. A fourth election had been--at least temporarily--avoided. Surely, that was good news, right? 

Wrong. Once Netanyahu said he accepted the compromise agreement, his unity partner, Benny Gantz, did not respond. He remained silent. If Gantz remained silent, a fourth election was still possible.

How did the press handle Gantz's silence on the compromise? The press gave Gantz a pass. The press continued to blame Netanyahu for the still-looming fourth election. 

Keeping Netanyahu on page one as the villain of this story at this moment should have been a clue that, perhaps, the villain here wasn't Netanyahu. After all, after 10:37 pm Sunday night, the ball was, as it were, in Gantz's court. If he didn't accept the compromise agreement, the new election would be his fault, right? 

No. Netanyahu was still the villain. A fourth election would still be his fault. 

You see, Netanyahu's enemies in the media didn't drop their animus towards Netanyahu. Instead, they pushed the idea that, even though Netanyahu had indeed accepted the compromise, he did so only because he was selfish (here)!

The accusation now was, sure, Netanyahu had accepted the compromise. But he'd done so only because this particular moment didn't appear to him to be perfectly right for tearing apart the unity government (here) for his own, personal (and selfish) reasons (ibid). 

Some two hours after this last attack, Gantz's Blue-White Party piled on--and lashed out at Netanyahu with its own anti-Netanyahu lie: a Blue-White declaration went out "challenging" Netanyahu to fulfill his previous promise (to keep from provoking a fourth election) by accepting the compromise plan to delay (extend) the budget talks (here). The headline for this challenge seemed malevolent: it said, in essence, "Make good on your vow".

The inference of this headline was simple: Netyanyahu was once again lying. He had vowed not to let the government fall (by allowing new elections). But he was now about to renege on that vow!

Do you see the problem here? Netanyahu was no longer threatening to 'break his vow'. He had already--some 15-17 hours earlier--kept that vow by accepting the compromise offered by MK Hauser (here). 

The optics of this Blue-White "challenge" was to beat on Netanyahu. It shouted that "Netanyahu-was-the-liar-who can't-be -trusted". Given the fact that Netanyahu had undercut this headline by more than 15 hours (above), the headline was clearly fake news at its most vulgar. 

It was also disgraceful because when this fake "challenge" was issued, Gantz still had not accepted the compromise. This meant that, at the moment his Party was, essentially, smearing Netanyahu's reputation, it was Gantz's continued silence about the compromise which threatened to provoke the dreaded fourth election.

Israel's media was completely silent about this. The media still bashed Netanyahu for 'threatening' to push Israel to another election. 

In the end, Gantz caved. He announced he'd tell his Party Members to support the compromise. He did that about 22 hours after Netanyahu had accepted, just 3 1/2 hours before the deadline.

Gantz behaved exactly the way he and the media were accusing Netanyahu of behaving. It had been Gantz---not Netanyahu--who had dragged Israel to a point beyond the proverbial eleventh hour before acting to forestall a fourth election. 

The lesson here is simple. When you lie about someone and refuse to stop lying, you will get caught. In this instance, Gantz--and the media--got caught. 

There's a second lesson here: Gantz is a problem in this 'unity' government. Gantz is no innocent here.  He lies. Worse, he lies about his unity partner. 

Indeed, it is possible, because of how Gantz lies about Netanyahu, that Gantz may be the bigger problem. He lies even after the fact, shamelessly denying that the truth is already known. In fact, it now appears that if Gantz doesn't get his way, he is capable of suggesting there could be blood spilling "in the streets" (here).

Really? This man wants to be Prime Minister?

Stay tuned. This horror show isn't over.

What? Peace with a far-away Arab nation in place of Jewish sovereignty?

(Last update: August 21, 2020)


On Thursday, August 13, 2020, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu surprised everyone. With no advance-notice, Netanyahu announced he will sign a Peace treaty with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a wealthy Arab nation more than 1,200 miles distant from Israel (here). 

While this deal is designed to bring many benefits to Israel (here), it also appears to have some unadvertised surprises. We know at the very outset of this deal about one such surprise: Israel has promised to "suspend" declaring sovereignty over parts of Judea-Samaria (ibid). Right now, we don't yet know if there will be other 'surprises'.

This "suspension" of sovereignty is viewed by many on Israel's Right as a betrayal (here). Repeatedly during his career, Netanyahu has promised the Right many things--more settlements, education benefits, religious benefits--and sovereignty for Judea-Samaria. But with each of his Right-wing promises, Netanyahu fails to deliver. 

For so many Right-wing Israelis, this new Israeli commitment to 'suspend' sovereignty is no suspension at all. It will be, they say, permanent.

As a consequence of this new Peace deal, Netanyahu--the one man in Israel responsible for putting sovereignty on 'the table' in the first place--is now being viciously condemned as a liar and a traitor. He has betrayed the Israel's Right to make Peace with what nation? Where?

Rightists in Israel are livid. Once again, Netanyahu has not fulfilled an election promise (here). 

This latest betrayal may be the Right's proverbial last straw: now, some on Israel's Right join with Israel's Left to call for Netanyahu's ouster (here). He must, they say, be replaced (here). 

But then, Netanyahu has also said sovereignty is not off "the agenda" (here). Will the Right believe him?

Too many on Israel's Right say, no. They don't believe him. 

Netanyahu doesn't have a lot of friends on the Right, right now. But I for one will not judge him so harshly--at least, not at this moment. There are two reasons to say this. I'd like to share those reasons with you.

First, sovereignty is more than a political issue. It's also a religious issue. Indeed, it's one of the religious road-markers Jews need to see happen if we, the Jewish people, are to move forward to secure our Final Redemption. 

The problem is, sovereignty has not been a hot topic for any of Israel's most important leaders. In fact, it's actually been a topic our politicians pretty much never discuss.  

The prevailing political position in Israel has been that sovereignty can't be done. There are too many questions:  what would the 'Palestinians' say? What would such a unilateral Jewish declaration do to our region? 

What would the EU say? What would the UN say? What would the US say?

For so many of Israel's politicians, there are simply too many negative consequences with sovereignty. Avoiding sovereignty has been much easier than embracing it. 

Of course, that creates a Jewish Destiny problem. We don't move forward to our Destiny when we fear sovereignty. 

However, more than a year ago, everything about 'sovereignty' changed. Netanyahu introduced it into the April, 2019 election (here). If you elect me, he'd said, I will declare sovereignty over parts of Judea-Samaria after forming my new government (ibid). 

Even though Netanyahu hasn't been able to form his (Right-leaning) "new government", he kept sovereignty in his electioneering for the next two elections. Such constant talk of sovereignty has meant Israel sovereignty is now center-stage. It's been that way for more than seventeen months. It's still in the news (here). We are no longer afraid to talk of it.

Who put sovereignty on the table? Netanyahu. Who got Israel talking about it over three national elections? Netanyahu.  

This is the gift Netanyahu has given to the Jewish people. It is he who made sovereignty 'talk-able'. It is he who 'talked it up'. 

He has fulfilled the historic role an Israeli leader needs to fill for the Jewish people to move towards its Destiny. He has made sovereignty "discussable".

Moreover, Netanyahu didn't just put sovereignty before us. He did a more important service: his actions held up a mirror to us. 

As a recent poll suggests, Israelis are not ready to jump into sovereignty (here). Almost 77% of respondents to a poll taken just days after the UAE-Peace deal was announced say they prefer the UAE deal to sovereignty (ibid). Only 16.5% chose sovereignty over the UAE deal (ibid).

For the Jewish people to enjoy their Final Redemption, there must be sovereignty over our ancient Jewish national homeland. But there must also be unity. That much is part of our Redemption Heritage. But in Israel today, if less than 17% of Jews agree that unifying our national homeland under Jewish sovereignty is important, then we lack the unified voice necessary to create that sovereignty--and its consequence, moving closer to Redemption. 

This Netanyahu-UAE deal has made this lack of unity clear. Yes, everyone in Israel has now heard enough about sovereignty to have an opinion about it. But that deal has also shown us that Jewish Israel prefers peace with a far-away Arab country to sovereignty over our ancient national homeland. 

Netanyahu has shown us we've got a lot of work to do. Like it or not, the Jewish collective isn't ready for sovereignty.  

The second reason this Peace-suspend-sovereignty deal doesn't anger me as much as it angers some is based upon something we learn from our Heritage--from our Talmud. There, we learn that, each day, we should remind ourselves that everything that happens in our world happens because of our G-d, HaShem. Put another way, we learn that nothing ever happens to us without G-d's knowledge, approval or permission! 

Therefore, Netanyahu did what he did with G-d's knowledge, permission--or, approval. Do you really believe Netanyahu suspended sovereignty in exchange for a Peace deal with the UAE without G-d's knowledge? He may have pulled a 'fast one' on us, the human citizens of Israel--but do you truly believe he also pulled a 'fast one' on HaShem, our G-d? Of course not. HaShem knew exactly what Netanyahu would do.

Do you think Netanyahu has the power to suspend sovereignty without G-d's permission? Of course not.

If you have a problem with the apparent failure of sovereignty, then your problem isn't with Netanyahu. It's with--G-d forbid--HaShem.

Truthfully, as a religious Zionist, I don't worry about Netanyahu. I've got my own Redemption issues to worry about. If I really want Redemption to come, Netanyahu's behavior doesn't affect me one bit. What affects me is me. 

If I want Redemption to come, I have to worry about my own actions, not Netanyahu's. I have to correct myself, not someone else.

HaShem has a Plan. We all know that. We just don't know the  modern details of that Plan. When we see Israel's leader make a deal to secure a treaty in exchange for "suspending" sovereignty, we need to step back, not to attack the leader who did this, but to marvel at how it is HaShem--not a Prime Minister--who controls the twists and turns of history.

That's what is happening here. HaShem is asserting his Power over us. We are outraged?

As you consider this Peace deal, you might wish to remember what the Jewish Prophet, Yeshayahu, said when he spoke of "the end of days" (Yeshayahu, 2:2). In Judaism, this 'end of days' refers to the days preceding the Final Redemption--or, alternatively, to the Redemption itself. What did Yeshayahu say about "the end of days? He said, that's when the nations "will beat their swords into plowshares" (ibid, 2:4).  

At our Redemption, there will be Peace. Nations will stop making war. They will convert their weapons into plows.  

Could this UAE-Netanyahu-Peace story actually suggest that this "end of days" Peace process is about to begin? Is that what this deal is all about?

Stay tuned. 

How did Netanyahu go from Corona hero in April to Corona failure in July?

In April, 2020, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's approval rating surged to almost 70% (here). This surge was largely the result of his corona strategy, which many supported--and cheered. Then in July, 2020, less than three months later, Netanyahu's approval rating plummeted by half, falling to an unacceptable 34% (here). This plummet was the result largely of the failures of the government's corona strategy.

How did Netanyahu--as polished and successful a political leader as Israel has ever had--go from corona hero to corona failure in less than three months? What happened? 

Did Israel's most competent and experienced politician suddenly turn incompetent? Had he become stupid overnight?

There certainly is a reason Netanyahu's approval ratings plummeted in July. But that reason isn't Netanyahu. The reason is Gantz. One might even call this reason, the  'Benny Gantz effect'.

Israel's media elites have so completely committed to an anti-Netanyahu narrative, few, if any, will show you articles that link Gantz to this unprecedented plummet--because Gantz would look awful in these analyses. He would appear unfit to lead Israel-- but a better fit for a bar-room brawl involving 5-year olds.

Gantz is the singular reason for Netanyahu's plunge because his allies in the government succeed in working to make Netanyahu look bad. The more Gantz and his followers succeed in undercutting Netanyahu, the lower his ratings fall. 

Two news items appeared this week that highlight the truth of this assertion. First, a story appeared about a 'brawl' between Netanyahu and Gantz, initiated by Gantz. This so-called 'brawl' took place at the  beginning of a Senior Cabinet meeting. This 'brawl' was responsible for that meeting having to be cancelled (here). Apparently, before the meeting could begin, Gantz set off on a tirade against Netanyahu. He shouted. He yelled. He behaved like a five year old having a temper-tantrum. His display of anger was shockingly unprofessional.

That behavior suggests an old aphorism: if you can't stand the heat in the kitchen, get out. This is an old fashioned way to say, if you're not competent to stand on this stage, leave. 

The issue that triggered Gantz's verbal assault against Netanyahu was a disagreement over the national budget. It seems that the two men had, back in April--before the Pandemic began to shut down the economy--agreed to install a two-year budget. At that time, Israel's economy was, at the very least, okay.

But today, Israel's economy is at risk. Corona-inspired shut-downs have seriously hurt Israeli citizens and businesses--perhaps the two key players in Israel's national economy. Netanyahu sees the pain. Netanyahu is experienced enough with handling Israel's economy to understand the impact corona shut-downs can have. Therefore, thinking about the potential effects of the pandemic on the economy, he can sense trouble ahead if Israel attempts to install a two-year budget (instead of a budget having a much shorter time-frame, one that will give the government the automatic flexibility to change.). He asks, how can one plan for a fixed two year budget in the face of such a threat to Israel's economy? 

It's a reasonable question. It's what a competent leader should be asking when looking at any proposal for a two-year budget during times of economic uncertainty. During an economic emergency--which is what we now face--shouldn't a budget be more flexible than a fixed two year budget? 

Netanyahu cares about such a question. Gantz doesn't. In fact, Gantz is not flexible. He is rigid. His behavior reveals that he can't or won't adjust his thinking to reflect new realities.

Gantz ignores reality. Instead of adjusting to an emergency, he flails at Netanyahu. Remember, the essence of his tirade was, "BUT YOU PROMISED TO DO A TWO YEAR BUDGET"!

Such a tirade during an economic emergency suggests how tone-deaf Gantz is. He ignores the economic pain we all feel and shouts, "DAMN THE DANGERS. FULL SPEED AHEAD!!!" 

Is this the leader Israel needs? Is this what Israel wants. Do you want this kind of Prime Minister?

The second news item that suggests that Gantz hurts Israel right now was Netanyahu's response to Gantz's tirade. It is this response that suggests that Gantz is out to torpedo Netanyahu's leadership. It was a response that suggests what Gantz and his allies in the unity government have been up to since April: Netanyahu accused Gantz of having brought into the unity government what many can now see--a cabal attempting to form its own 'government inside the government', one that works as a 'government against the government' (see here).

Since the end of April, when the unity government began, Gantz has installed dozens of anti-Netanyahu activists inside the government. We saw that when government Ministries were filled in April-May, 2020 (here). Nearly all of Gantz's Party members received control of a Ministry (ibid)--an unheard-of accomplishment for a new Party. 

The pro-Gantz/anti-Netanyahu cabal that flooded into the unity bureaucracy has since worked actively against Netanyahu's government. They are the reason the government's corona strategy has suddenly 'gone bad'. 

Now, Gantz-installed Party members conveniently conclude that a unity government was a mistake (here). Such a statement strongly suggests that Gantz's people simply haven't been    able--or have refused--to work with Netanyahu.

How else will you explain how the government's corona strategy went from 'heroic' to 'confused' in less than three months? Of all explanations possible, Netanyahu's explanation makes the most sense. If Gantz's allies had actually committed to working with Netanyahu, not against him, the hope many in Israel had for the benefits of a unity coalition would have been fulfilled. 

The hoped-for benefits of a unity coalition never materialized. Gantz saw to that.  

If the pandemic saved Netanyahu (when his ratings surged (here), Gantz's men and women are making sure Netanyahu will be destroyed by pandemic failures--failures which didn't exist before the unity government was formed. For three elections, Gantz's disgust at Netanyahu was palpable (here). That disgust hasn't gone away. Gantz's recent tirade proves it.

Benny Gantz does not bring unity to this Netanyahu-led government. He brings discord and infighting. He is not Netanyahu's 'unity partner'. He is Netanyahu's full-throttle enemy within the government. 

Gantz aims to hurt Netanhayu. But his plan to do that also hurts Israel. This is why Israel now has a confused Corona strategy . There are too many opposing bureaucrats who divide and frustrate the government's corona plans instead of uniting and strengthening those plans. 

Apparently, Gantz doesn't care who he hurts. He ignores Israel's citizens. He ignores economic realities. His only goal is to see Netanyahu trashed.

Israel's media leads Israel to abandon its democracy

Does Israel's media lead Israel to abandon its democracy? The surprising answer to this question might be: from the way the media behaves, yes.

To see how this might be true, consider four elements actively participating in recent protests around Israel: poorly identified anti-Netanyahu 'activists'; a media that promotes scare-stories of violence by basically unidentified (or vaguely identified) Right-wing "extremists";  the anti-Semitic anarchist Antifa movement; and, finally, the anti-Zionist/anti-Israel Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). 

Do you know what these four elements have in common? They all show up at anti-government protests in Israel.

It doesn't matter whether or not these four elements are or are not connected in any organized way. What matters is, the effect of these elements showing up at protests at the same time.The practical result of these elements coming together at protests is that, together, they effectively loosen the knot that ties Israel to its democracy.

In fact, if Israel is to remain a free country, you might want to think about how cynically the media manipulates news stories about these four elements to provoke anger--and more protests. This manipulation begins with the unrelenting a**-kicking the government is getting every day in the press. Incredibly, the media seem to enjoy repeating the cries and anger of protesters as if these anonymous activists have some profound truth to tell. 

The media loves to repeat protest stories. It's why we see so many of them. 

But Israelis don't like it. Israelis don't like the relentless government-bashing. The non-stop attacks Israelis have seen recently against Netanyahu and the government makes Israelis despondent about Israel's democratic future (here)--and that's the danger: the media prepares Israel for the collapse of Israel's freedom, and Israelis sense it.

Don't underestimate what can happen when a media uses its high visibility to kick a nation's government. Look no further than what's been happening in America. America's mainstream media, along with radical Leftist Democrats, have been tearing America apart for months. Is this what we're beginning to see in Israel?

As in America, Israel's media hits at the government every day. Lately, stories have focused on anti-Netanyahu demonstrations. We now read that "Tens of thousands of Israelis protest all over Israel against Netanyahu (here).

Is this true? Who has verified these numbers? Who has verified the locations--and the size--of these protests?

Have you seen recent news headlines in Israel? The media in Israel have repeatedly shouted at us about how badly this government is performing. Media stories have told us repeatedly how awful Benjamin Netanyahu is--even as a majority of citizens still support him. 

It's as if the media doesn't care if most Israelis still support Netanyahu. The media simply shouts at us how awful the PM is. 

News headlines have also shouted at us about how many 'protests' there have been against Netanyahu--and his government's "chaos". The media has tried to play us all like a finely-tuned instrument: Netanyahu must go! Hear the anger! He must go!

But then, these news stories haven't been very exact about these protests. Have the media been misleading us?

The media hasn't done its due diligence. It hasn't fulfilled its basic journalistic responsibilities to dig up who's supporting the protests. The media hasn't been asking why are Antifa-style flags flown during protests. 

The media is silent. We don't know who stands behind the black flags we see at the protests. We don't know what the people carrying those flags believe in. We don't know why there are PLO flags showing up at the protests. We don't know anything about those who carry those flags. We don't know what they believe in. We don't know why such people are even at the protests. 

Ask a question: what are these protests about? Are they about dissatisfaction with Netanyahu, as some have suggested? Are they about those in Israel who, like their Democrat counterparts in the USA, have refused to accept the fact that a politician they hated--Benjamin Netanyahu--actually won the last election (here)? Or, are they actually about starting a process to overturn the Jewish Israel?

We don't know. The media is silent.

These are serious questions because many of these protests seemed pretty peculiar. How else can you describe protests by supposedly "regular Israeli citizens" where, magically, there appear such politically-inciting symbols as black flags (the international symbol of the anarchist Antifa organization), PLO terrorist flags and Israeli flags defaced with black (here)? If these protests were about 'we're-unhappy-over-government-decisions', why are such anti-democracy, anti-Jew and anti-Israel symbols at the protests? Who's inviting these anti-Israel and anarchist groups to the protests?

We don't know. The media is silent.

More important, where are the media investigations into who are these rather odd protesters? Where are the news analyses digging into who is donating the cash to organize, sponsor and run the protests?

If we as Israeli citizens aren't careful, we could conflate  profoundly anti-Israel protests as simple civil disquiet. But these protests aren't so simple. 

Israel's media knows this. Perhaps Israel's media remains silent about any serious investigations into the protests because this media isn't interested in such investigations. Does the want the chaos the protests bring. 

Indeed, does Israel's media aim to overthrow Israel's democracy? No one knows. The media is silent.

Instead of advocating for citizens to vote Netanyahu out of office, as is normally done in a democracy, this media advocates for an undemocratic result. It wants anarchists and any assortment of anti-Israel organizations to unseat the recently-elected Netanyahu. It wants Netanyahu gone. It doesn't want another election. It wants a coup.

These protests are familiar. We see them in the UK, the USA and across the EU. We know what they're about: revolution. In Israel specifically, these protests could be serious attempts by anarchists' and anti-Jew organizations to foment a rebellion to overturn the ruling regime. They're afraid of another election because Netanyahu would probably win again. The protests--and the media--want to overturn the Jewish state--or, at the very least, the Jewish nature of this Jewish Israel. 

The media doesn't raise any of these questions? It doesn't question why the anti-Jew Antifa and the anti-Israel PLO show their flags at protests here? The media isn't interested in who's behind the protests? The media isn't interested to learn who has been paying for them?

What's going on here? 

Stay tuned. Let's hope this horror show doesn't get any worse.