Tuesday, April 07, 2020

OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OF ISRAEL - TIME TO RESIGN


DEMAND FOR YOUR RESIGNATION

Like the majority of Anglos I made Aliyah to a Jewish State under the Law of Return. The latter right being only available to people who can prove to the satisfaction of the civil authorities that they are Jewish. A large number of my friends and acquaintances who also made Aliyah from the UK and other democratic countries and who attended Hovevei Zion Beit Knesset where you are a frequent worshipper are dismayed at the way chaos has resulted from your poor decisions at a time of emergency.

In viewing the current political turmoil in the country one wonders what you were considering when you made that ill-fated judgement to hand the mandate to form a government to Gantz of the “Blue & White” party on the recommendations of the various parties elected to the 23rd Knesset as a result of the third election on 2 March.

Out of 4.55 million votes cast, 0.58 million were for the Joint Arab list. On the basis that very few if not any Jews voted for this list, which leaves 3.97million Jewish votes. Out of the latter 56.4 percent voted for Nationalist Zionist/Jewish parties. It was with utter dismay that it was learned that instead of considering the Jewish voters’ choice of government you took it upon yourself to consider all the votes cast, including those of the Joint Arab List amongst whose leaders is Ahmed Tibi, a past adviser to Yassar Arafat.  At the time the PLO, which Arafat headed, was murdering and maiming Jews both in the Jewish State and Diaspora, with impunity.

 As I stated, only Jews have the right to make Aliyah under the Law of Return to a Jewish State. This being the case you should have, putting aside any personal animosity, handed the mandate to the leader of the party with the largest number of seats in the Knesset. When you made your decision, even aware that the current plague, Covid-19, could affect the country, and given the two previous inconclusive election results, it was incumbent upon you to call the parties together not to form a unity government but a National  Emergency Government as was done in 1967 when Begin joined the existing government and cabinet without preconditions and without a ministry as a Minister without Portfolio. The chaos resulting from you poor judgement since you handed the mandate to Gantz, during this period of this national and international emergency bodes ill for the citizens of Israel. Now that Gantz has apparently changed his mind about running a government with the joint Arab list and several of the parties that initially constituted the “Blue and White” party, he has with his reduced minority demanded the senior ministries in a proposed unity government – instead of joining the current interim government as a minister without portfolio as Begin did in 1967.

It is understood from the media today that Mr. Gantz is seeking an extension from April 13, the time he has to return the mandate you gave him to form a government. As pointed out above, since his original “Blue and White” party at the time of the elections has disintegrated his reconstructed “Blue and White” party is even smaller. No extension should be forthcoming given the numerical vote count of March 2.   We need a National Emergency Government to handle the current health crisis and the future economic crisis that will ultimately result. The best thing for the country would be if you took responsibility for your ill-fated judgement, did not extend Gantz’s mandate and resigned forthwith.

Ben Gurion told Professor Chaim Weitzman on offering him the position of the first president, you will be the titular head of the state but not have any political prerogatives, akin to the monarch of the UK. I believe this is also contained in the Basic Law of the State of Israel. Yet unlike Weitzman you have taken the liberty at every available opportunity to make political statements. Now is the time to relinquish your position for the benefit of the country.
                                                    

Monday, March 16, 2020

Reliability of Israeli food supply sources


A considerable amount of our food in Israel originates from overseas. The WHO states there is a pandemic. This will result in severe global trade and economic disturbances.

Inspection of the manufactured food on sale in Israeli supermarkets shows an extremely large percentage is imported from overseas. Such products are likely to become restricted in availability as a result of production disturbances in the manufacturing countries due to the pandemic.

What is disturbing, as eagle eyed consumers notice, is no indications of the country of origin of  fruit and vegetables on sale. We import tomatoes from Turkey, pears from South America, France and Spain, apples from Chile, USA, an pineapples from Peru and so on. It is high time it was made mandatory for the shops to state both country of origin and the product class as is practiced in Western countries. It would then be up to the consumer to decide if they want to support home grown fresh fruit and vegetables or imports, some from countries that denigrate us in world forums. If we fail to support Israeli produce then with production disturbances a quarantine overseas a severe food shortage of fresh food could result. 


Copy of letter sent to Jerusalem Post 9 March 2020 - Not Published