There are – forgive the cliché – just so many hours in the day. And so, which happens now and again, as I am working on the Legal Grounds Campaign, it is impossible to do a full posting, as much as I would like to.
There is enough happening to make one’s head spin, but here we will simply touch a few of bases. And we will begin with a fine article that relates to the Legal Grounds issue, an op-ed by Salomon Benzimra, “San Remo:The Forgotten Milestone” (emphasis added):
“…On Sunday, April 25, 1920, after hectic deliberation, the Supreme Council of the Allied Powers (Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan and the U.S. acting as an observer) adopted the San Remo Resolution — a 500 word document which defined the future political landscape of the Middle East out of the defunct Ottoman Empire.
“This Resolution led to the granting of three Mandates, as defined in Article 22 of the 1919 Covenant of the League of Nations..in the third Mandate, the Supreme Council recognized the ‘historical connection of the Jewish people to Palestine and the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country’…
“The importance of the San Remo Conference with regard to Palestine cannot be overstated…”
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/16835#.VT4-QJuJjIW
A significant piece of the larger Legal Grounds story. More to follow.
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I have written next to nothing about the formation of the new coalition, something that Prime Minister Netanyahu has been working on for what seems to be (but is not) an interminable amount of time. It has not been an easy process: this is clear.
But I have avoided reporting on rumors because it serves no purpose. While rumors may be correct, often they are not, and are actually planted by one faction or another in order to influence the proceedings. There has been talk (just talk, I believe) about a unity government with Herzog, Heaven help us. There has been tension regarding whether one faction or another will be given a specific portfolio or it will be retained for a member of the victorious Likud. (It has happened on previous occasions that so many key portfolios were promised out that the Likud members ended up quite disgruntled.)
Now I believe we are on the cusp of having a government, which I expect to be able to write about before long. What I will mention here is that the current scuttlebutt is that Naftali Bennett, chair of Bayit Hayehudi, has relinquished demands for the Defense or Foreign Affairs Ministry and is requesting Education. (Although apparently there are rumblings in Likud about this, too.)
Seems perhaps not a “major” position, but in point of fact is exceedingly significant. The future lies with our youngsters, and their ability to understand our people’s heritage in the land, and our rights to that land.
I had a good laugh when people on the far left, such as Meretz chair Zehava Galon, said Bennett’s appointment would be “dangerous.” Oh, the damage that the far left did to a generation of our students.
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There is a great deal going on, with regard to violence, attacks, response to those attacks, attempted attacks, and more, both at our northern border and with Gaza. I cannot do justice to this now and hope to return for a solid report.
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Undoubtedly all or most of my readers know of the horror that has taken place in Nepal, with, last I heard, well over 3,000 lives lost as the result of an earthquake.
Once again, Israel is responding with an outstanding humanitarian spirit:
From the IDF spokesman we learn that a 260 member mission has gone to Nepal. “An advanced multi-department medical facility, equipped with approximately 95 tons of humanitarian and medical supplies from Israel and a medical staff of 122 doctors, nurses and paramedics, will be rapidly established in the city of Katmandu to provide medical care for disaster casualties. The facility will include pediatric, surgical, internal medicine,neonatal, and radiology departments as well as a maternity ward and emergency and operating rooms. The hospital has the equipment, capacity and manpower to treat approximately 200 patients each day.”
This is fairly incredible, but very much in line with what we did in Haiti.
The mission includes a search and rescue team from the IDF National Search and Rescue Unit, which is “a highly skilled force trained to execute special search and rescue missions, both in Israel and abroad.”
http://imra.org.il/story.php3?id=67095
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If it is reproduced and emphasis is added, the fact that it has been added must be noted.
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