Friday, November 09, 2007

The Office

Israel's IDT Telecom team has moved yet again. But this time, I'm thrilled with the move! Although it's only temporary, I've been given my own office! I've been working in the business world since I was 17 and this is the first time I've had the privilege to work in my own office. Not sure how long this will last, but while it does, I'm gonna enjoy it!



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A quick snippet from the political world:

Minister of Infrastructure and former Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor) is the latest senior politician to admit that the 2005 Disengagement was a mistake.

Speaking in an interview with Radio L’lo Hafsaka, a regional radio station, Ben-Eliezer dropped the bombshell: "I admit and I confess that I was among those who strongly supported [former PM] Ariel Sharon [and the Disengagement]. Today I say, with my head held high, ‘We erred, we made a very big mistake.’”

Ben Eliezer did not say it was the withdrawal itself and abandonment of parts of the Land of Israel that was the problem, but rather the nature of the recipients of the territory. "Withdrawals can only work when the areas are handed over to responsible hands and rotted in agreements and international guarantees,” he explained. “Here we have a precedent - a territory we left turns into a base for terror - period."


Ben-Eliezer joins the long list (see the list in the article link) of doves who strongly supported the Disengagement and now realize what a mistake it was. Forget the fact that Hamas and their 'army' now control Gaza and continually bombard Israel's Negev towns with rockets (This is something we will suffer from until we launch a major offensive into Gaza, as many on both sides of the Israeli political spectrum are calling for - Ben-Eliezer included). Let's talk about now and Olmert's push to give up more land for 'peace' with a partner who's notable accomplishments include a thesis on the Holocaust 'myth' and the planning/financing of the 1972 Olympic Massacre, as well as the Ma'alot school butchering. Yah, let's follow the Left and chase 'peace' at any price! We can regret it later ... That will make it much better.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

יהורם גאון - מעל פסגת הר הצופים

Found a great video of Yehoram Gaon's classic 'From on top of Mt Scopus', a powerful song about the eternal capital of the Jewish people:

"I dreamt to see, to win the right to see the light of your face ... Jerusalem"

This and That - Nov 1st, 2007

Arab MKs were crying 'Racism' again as the Knesset proposed laws that would not allow citizens of Israel to be MKs if they visit enemy states. This in my opinion has nothing to do with racism but only with common sense. Israelis, be it Jews Christians or Muslims, can visit Egypt and Jordan, both Arab states, but enemy states like Syria or Iran should be off-limits. I mean, what on earth would a 'loyal' Israeli have to look for in a state which promotes & finances Hamas' rocket barrages or a state that constantly talk of the eradication of Israel?

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I'm getting pretty down nowadays about the internal state of this country. Forget the regular border heat but why on earth does every day bring more news of stabbings, rapes, corruption and government scandals? Maybe I'm wrong, but I really feel that this is a new 'disease' for the country ... This isn't how Israel once was. It's just depressing honestly. Maybe I should follow Seth's routine and just not bother reading the newspapers anymore ...

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On another note, wouldn't it be nice if we had a prime minister who valued the importance of education for the Israeli youth?

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I started working out this week at IDT's gym. I haven't worked out since I was in Uni (2002) when I used to work out almost 5 times a week with Gary or Brian. The reason for the return to this routine is my friend's plan to start a Jerusalem rugby team. He's asked me to play, so I've decided to start getting into shape and give it a go. This will not be easy as I know very little of the game and I have a long, I stress long, way to get into shape but I look forward to the challenge on both fronts ...

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It's trivia time .... Why did Menacham Begin z'l always call the IDF 'צבא ישראל' and not 'צבא הגנה לישראל'?