Thursday, January 31, 2019


Politics – January 2019


So many bad winds across the globe. The nature of winds is to blow, shake, move and then pass from the earth. Sun will break through the clouds and bring us renewed hope.

On 7 May 1945, hell ended and the discovery of hell has begun.

Where was God during the Holocaust? Exactly in the same place he has always been. In the heart of believers.

~Raphael Cohen-Almagor



Reflections on Last Newsletter

Israel’s Proactivity in Syria

Israel Provided Medical Assistance to President Abbas

 

Israel is the First Country to Finalize Post-Brexit Trade Deal with U.K.


Israel Is Ranked Fifth among the World’s Most Innovative Economies

New Biomarker Helps Detect High Risk of Cancer

Election Wild Card: Joint (Arab) List Seeks To Overcome Internal Turmoil By Julia Altmann | The Media Line January 13, 2019

At $110 billion, Israeli exports worldwide mark record performance in 2018

Israel Restored Relationships with Chad

Cybertech 2019

 

Israeli tech from Intel’s Mobileye to help map Britain’s roads


Tel Aviv New Hotel

My New Article - “In Support of Two-State Solution”, Youth Law Journal (November 12, 2018), https://www.theylj.co.uk/in-support-of-two-state-solution/

Guest Book Review - Art Hobson’s Review of David Pinker’s Enlightenment Now! 

Film of the Month – Disobedience (2018)


Monthly Poems - Another Country

Light Side - Elon Gold: Why the Jews are better off without Xmas tree


Reflections on Last Newsletter

I thank the dozens of people who wrote to me about the people I mourned: Ralph Halbert, Amos Oz, Ceri Peach and Yigal Bashan. These people left legacies, admired and appreciated in many countries. They cherished life and humanity, and we all are grateful for their contributions.

So many people feel frustrated by politics nowadays:

Israel is waiting for the Legal Advisor to the Government’s decision about the PM corruption cases. His decision will have a major impact on the coming elections.

Britain is waiting to see how the Brexit episode will be concluded as bad, ugly and anti-democratic winds are blowing against anti-Brexiters who wish to see Britain continuing to be part of Europe. The most unfortunate referendum decision, which was absolutely unnecessary and unwise, has put Britain in a swirl from which Britain will break, but with a heavy prize.

The USA is waiting to see the end of the Trump presidency. Sensible Republicans also understand that the prize American democracy is paying is simply too high when the captain, Oh Captain, who guides the ship in the world stormy waters is simply unfit for the job. The scandals are endless and will not stop. Trump is influenced by mood swings, has no moral compass, suffers from severe narcissism which leads him each and every day to wake up in the morning, face the mirror and ask: “Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the wisest of them all?” Only to answer: “Me. Of course. Donald Trump”, and therefore “I will do what I have to do, notwithstanding what my advisers are saying. They are unable to see what I am able to see. They are too limited”. And when they object, they are replaced.

Well, everyone is replaceable, including Donald Trump. The president is increasingly isolating himself and is becoming a real liability for the Republican Party, for the American administration, and for the American democracy. Mr Trump has been inflicting significant damage on all three, but no man is greater than American democracy. I believe the American public, and possibly the American legislatures, will not give him another term in the White House. Trump is simply too much.


From Professor Art Hobson, USA:

Rafi - I think that, on balance and taking the long-term view, the outlook for the future a pretty good, pretty optimistic.  I certainly agree, however, that the Mideast, and Israel in particular, is in trouble and that the two-state solution is the best way out.   In my humble opinion, the key problem is, and has always been, religion and related tribal ideologies.  Cheers - Art


Israel’s Proactivity in Syria

As the USA is withdrawing forces from Syria, Israel seems to increase its level of military activity against Iranian targets in Syria. Israel’s strikes hit targets that included a training camp, munitions storage depots and a site at Damascus International Airport, were reported by Russia to have killed at least four Syrian servicemen. Damascus and Moscow had accused Israel of carrying out a rare daylight air raid in Syria on Sunday morning, after which Israel said a rocket was fired at its territory by Iranian forces.  

Israel could face military conflicts on three different fronts—Syria, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip—at the same time in 2019, according to an annual assessment of security challenges done by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), a national security think-tank. The three fronts are very volatile. “Despite the continued mutual deterrence between the sides, there is a potential for a military escalation, which could eventually lead to an all-out three-front war … Israel is ought to be prepared for this scenario,” said the assessment, which was submitted to President Reuven Rivlin.

A Syrian official threatened to respond in-kind to recent Israeli raids on the Damascus International Airport with strikes targeting Ben-Gurion International Airport. If this will happen, then…



Israel Provided Medical Assistance to President Abbas

 

The PA leader Mahmoud Abbas, 83, was hospitalized twice in May 2018 with chest pains, an ear infection requiring surgery and pneumonia.

 


Admitted to a private Ramallah hospital for a serious ear infection, the PA leader’s health went downhill quickly as he contracted pneumonia. Despite the efforts of his doctors, including foreign specialists, it was feared that the 83-year-old would not recover. That’s when the Israeli government stepped in.
First the offer was made to transfer Abbas to an Israeli medical center, whose advanced facilities outstrip those in the PA. This was refused because PA officials feared an angry response from the Palestinian street should the news leak.

Instead, Israel sent a specialist to Abbas who worked together with his medical team and managed to stabilize him after two days of intensive treatment. He was released from the hospital a week later.


http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/258020

https://worldisraelnews.com/pa-chief-abbas-owes-life-to-israeli-doctor-reports-say/
 

 

Israel is the First Country to Finalize Post-Brexit Trade Deal with U.K.


The United Kingdom agreed "in principle" to a post-Brexit free trade agreement with Israel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. U.K.'s Secretary for International Trade Liam Fox announced the decision together with Israel’s Minister of the Economy, Eli Cohen.

Fox said: "Israel has been one of the most cooperative and productive partners in this relationship where our trade is already strong and set to go further… For us, the continuity as we leave the European Union will be a precursor to an even more ambitious agreement in the future." 

Cohen commented that Israel's trade with Britain in was valued at more than £10 billion in 2018, and expressed his hopes that, “this free trade agreement will accelerate, increase and strengthen our economic relationship."


 
Israel Is Ranked Fifth among the World’s Most Innovative Economies

Israel is ranked fifth among the world’s most innovative economies, according to a new Innovation Index published by Bloomberg, bounding five spots up from last year, when it came in 10th.

South Korea and Germany led the index, ranking first and second respectively, followed by Finland, Switzerland and Israel. Singapore took sixth place, Sweden seventh, and the US, Japan and France came in at eight, ninth and tenth. The US rose three spots in the 2019 ranking, after it fell out of the top 10 economies for the first time in 2018, Bloomberg said. South Korea took first place in the 2018 ranking as well.

Patent activity boosted Israel’s score this year, along with that of China, which ranked 16th this year, rising from 19th in the 2018 list.

The U.K. fell one spot to 18th and lost out to China for the first time. 

The U.S. rose three spots to eighth, after falling out of the top 10 for the first time last year.





New Biomarker Helps Detect High Risk of Cancer

Researchers from Tel Aviv University and others have found that high levels of the protein ubiquilin-4 cause cells to become prone to genome instability and more likely to develop into tumors. Once discovered, these cells can be treated with other forms of cancer therapy.

Election Wild Card: Joint (Arab) List Seeks To Overcome Internal Turmoil By Julia Altmann | The Media Line January 13, 2019

I have contributed to this article.



At $110 billion, Israeli exports worldwide mark record performance in 2018

Israel’s $110 billion global exports in 2018 broke all-time records. The 8% increase from 2017 included $16 billion to the EU, $11 billion to the USA and $10 billion to Asia.  High-tech services increased by 14 percent to a record $51 billion.
https://www.jns.org/at-110-billion-israeli-exports-mark-record-performance-in-2018/


Israel Restored Relationships with Chad

Israel and Chad have renewed diplomatic ties that were severed in 1972.  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu landed in the African country for a quick visit, the first of its kind to the African country since relations soured.  The two countries signed several agreements. “It’s significant for us that Chad is a country with a Muslim majority that seeks the friendship of Israel,” said PM Netanyahu. “There are many such countries, but in Africa this is particularly significant. And we seek the friendship of other countries in Africa and I’m glad to see… that others are following in your footsteps”. Netanyahu maintained: “There is a lot that we can do together and we discussed how to deepen our cooperation in every field beginning with security, but also agriculture, food, water, energy, health and many more”.

Within the regional context, Chad is an important country. Bordering Libya, Sudan, Nigeria and Cameroon, the regime of President Idriss Déby is considered an important partner in the continent’s struggle against radical Islamism, helping fight al-Qaeda, Islamic State and other terror groups.

Netanyahu intends to establish relationships with other African countries. Mali is next. Stay tuned.


See https://www.timesofisrael.com/chad-has-an-appalling-democracy-and-rights-record-why-is-netanyahu-courting-it/


Cybertech 2019

The largest annual cybersecurity event in the world outside the US, Cybertech 2019, is coming back to Tel Aviv (Jan 28-30).  The event at the Expo Tel Aviv is expected to draw some 15,000 attendees from over 80 countries.  It will feature hundreds of hi-tech startups and organizations.



Israeli tech from Intel’s Mobileye to help map Britain’s roads


The UK’s Ordnance Survey (OS) mapping agency is using state-of-the-art systems made by Israeli-based Mobileye to map UK roads in advance of smart cities and driver-less cars. OS vehicles fitted with Mobileye cameras will record vast amounts of high-precision data on Britain’s road network.


Tel Aviv New Hotel

Fodor’s Travel has included Tel Aviv’s LINK Hotel & Hub in its list of the 100 Most Incredible Hotels in the World.

The LINK Hotel & Hub, which opened its door in July, was the only Israeli hotel on the list and was featured alongside the Burj Al Arab in Dubai and the Alila Jabal Akhdar in Oman.

Located on King Saul Avenue in central Tel Aviv, and with an investment of NIS 40 million ($10.6M), the hotel says it caters to “the new generation of business traveler and tourists, offering a concept of ‘connecting’; contemporary design, Tel Aviv’s vibrant social scene, street art, and advanced technology.”

Guests use an app to check in and out, unlock rooms, control TV, air-con and lighting and to access the “virtual” concierge. It also has artwork, games, workspace and a street-side café.


My New Article - “In Support of Two-State Solution”, Youth Law Journal (November 12, 2018), https://www.theylj.co.uk/in-support-of-two-state-solution/

Abstract
To resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict there is a need for courageous leaders on both sides who seize the opportunities presented to them and make the most for their peoples. This paper maps the main issues that need to be resolved on the road to peace between Israel and the PLO.


Guest Book Review - Art Hobson’s Review of David Pinker’s Enlightenment Now!  Penguin (3 Jan. 2019), https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0141979097?aaxitk=gp5ntxOzhhtt45eKl38Jgw&pd_rd_i=0141979097&pf_rd_p=0e11f8c9-98e1-4a93-bd5e-367420b613ee&hsa_cr_id=9509920250902&sb-ci-n=productDescription&sb-ci-v=Enlightenment%20Now%3A%20The%20Case%20for%20Reason%2C%20Science%2C%20Humanism%2C%20and%20Progress

From Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 25 December 2018.


Steven Pinker's new book Enlightenment Now:  The case for reason, science, humanism, and progress paints an optimistic picture of global improvement since the 18th-century Age of Enlightenment that rejected medieval superstition and authority, and instead valued reason, evidence, and individuals.  
The book's theme is that knowledge based on evidence and reason should be used to enhance human welfare.  The Enlightenment transformed the ultimate question "How can I be saved" into the pragmatic "How can I be happy?"
The book's defining section comprises 15 ways humankind has benefitted from Enlightenment values:   
Life expectancies have surged, from 30 years during 1760-1900, to 75 years today.  
Health has sky-rocketed:  Epidemics that killed millions have vanished, scientific medicine has saved billions.
Hunger has plummeted on every continent.  Famine, common even in Europe until 1800, has nearly vanished.  World sustenance has risen rapidly since 1960, led by China.
The annual Gross World Product, essentially zero for thousands of years, zoomed to 5 trillion (current dollars) in 1900 and 110 trillion in 2000, a boom that extends to most people within most nations.  Extreme poverty is vanishing, and the world is becoming middle class.
Despite concerns about the richest 1 percent, income inequality has plunged since 1960, and all income groups have gained.  Poverty has declined enormously.
Democracy is spreading.   This Enlightenment experiment began in America, expanded to 29 nations by 1922, to 36 by 1962, then skyrocketed.  The number of “reasonably democratic” nations has risen from 31 in 1971, to 52 in 1989, to 87 in 2009, to 103 in 2015.  
Civil rights have improved.  In America, questionnaires show that racist, sexist, and homophobic opinions have declined from 40 percent of the population in 1985 to 20 percent in 2013.   On-line racist, sexist, or homophobic jokes, racial hate crimes, rape, and violence against spouses have all plummeted since 1995, and 100 nations have decriminalized homosexuality.  
Knowledge is increasing. Literacy has risen in western nations from 10 percent in 1500 to 90 percent today, and worldwide from 10 percent in 1800 to 80 percent today.  
Life quality has improved.  Weekly work hours in western nations declined from 65 in 1870 to 40 in 2000, people are retiring earlier, US housework has plummeted, leisure hours have increased.  
Environmental progress is spottier.  Deforestation is a problem. Oil spills have plummeted.  The effect of greenhouse gases is unquestionably alarming.  Humanity has never faced a problem like it." Pinker recommends taxing carbon while expanding renewables and nuclear power.   
Destructive wars between “great powers” were constant during 1500-1800, occurred during 20 percent of the years 1800-1953, and not at all since then.  Conflict between uniformed armies has declined since 1945 and been non-existent since 2003 (Iraq). Today’s wars are national, with outside involvement, and essentially confined to the Mideast and its neighbors.  
Homicide has dropped from rates of 20 to 200 per 100,000 people per year to nearly zero with only Mexico and America remaining around 20.  Motor vehicle deaths are down by a factor of ten, with pedestrian, airplane, falling, fire, drowning, and occupational deaths following similar trends.  
Terrorism grabs headlines, but is near zero statistically in America (40 deaths in a typical year) and Western Europe (175) in comparison with homicide (16,000 USA, 4,000 Europe) and motor vehicle death (35,000 USA, 19,000 Europe).  It’s a problem in war-torn nations (38,000 in a typical year).
Pinker sees two global existential threats to civilization:  climate change and nuclear war. Humanistic evidence-based action can resolve both, but such action hasn’t happened yet.  


Film of the Month – Disobedience (2018)


The idea of freedom of choice in Orthodox Judaism is an oxymoron. Freedom as such is a tricky issue, a foreign idea that orthodoxy grapples with. People are not free. Freedom is given to us by God, and freedom is taken from us by the same source of authority. In an orthodox community, much is dictated for you: by God, by the community, by the family and, if you are a woman, also by the husband.

Disobedience is about a love triangle, but not the one you may think. This triangle is concerned with Ronit, the daughter of a very respected rabbi who loves a female friend, Esti. The love affair is discovered by the rabbi when his daughter was an adolescent. The skies had fallen. The daughter rebels. In the first opportunity Ronit moves across the ocean, from London to New York and leads a bohemian life as a photographer.

The movie opens with a dramatic scene in which the rabbi dies while delivering a speech in the synagogue. His only daughter, who lost touch with him for many years, received the news and immediately flies to London. There she discovers that the girl she loves married her father’s closest disciple, Dovid.


Would Esti resume the love affair with Ronit or remain loyal to her husband? Does she have the freedom to choose? What would Dovid do? How could they navigate in this closely-knit community, where it is difficult to keep secrets, especially as the expectations from Dovid and Esti are now at their peak as the community seeks a replacement for the adored and much loved rabbi?

The story is quite simple yet full of intricacies. The director, Sebastián Lelio, has done a magnificent work in creating a compelling atmosphere where I did not wish to blink, not to miss any movement, any facial expression or any word of the main characters. The movie is moving, dramatic and beautiful. The love scenes are passionate. Written by Lelio and Rebecca Lenkiewicz and based on Naomi Alderman's book Disobedience, the film stars Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams and Alessandro Nivola. This trio is simply superb.

For more information about Sebastián Lelio, see  https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/sebastian_lelio

This film receives a rare ***** on Rafi’s scale. The best film I have seen for a long time.


Monthly Poems

Another Country

Staffed people
Long strong legs
Tiring long faces
Glasses of mild cherry
Impossible words

Leninist nonsense
Another country
Dreary ambiance
Hollow giggle holding his statute as an icon
Do not disturb the party.

Artificial tan
Want to be nice having no doubt
Fancy stripe black dress
Excluded purple fun
Senseless without being drunk.

Raphael Almagor



Light Side - Elon Gold: Why the Jews are better off without Xmas tree



Peace and Love. Yours as ever,

Rafi

My last communications are available on http://almagor.blogspot.com/

People wishing to subscribe to this Monthly Newsletter are welcome to e-mail me at r.cohen-almagor@hull.ac.uk

Follow me on Twitter at @almagor35
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