The Past and the Future

The family went to the kibbutz. The fat old man is the past, and the little boy is the future. The swimming pool is in a green valley with a spring, which is dry (Mekorot is pumping away the water). The place was not packed because many families prefer to stay at home, near the hardened refuges. Many are spending their vacations in the Greek islands. The country is on high alert, but nothing is happening. 

With so many oil refineries destroyed in Russia, Ukraine, and the Gulf, there is a "beautiful" difference between crude ($ 100 per barrel) and refined products. BAZAN in Haifa must be printing dollars. Claude says don't buy because it's high on the Ayatollah's target list.  

Strategic encirclement

The regime ruling Iran (there is a gay Ayatollah at its head, according to Trump) has closed the maritime outlets of the Middle East region. America is trying to reopen the straits and allow oil exports. 

In the past, America used to head an alliance, but this time its European allies refuse, leaving only Israel as a willing partner. 80 years since the big war, the peoples in the West are prosperous and have lost their bellicosity. As for me, I am suffering in this hot summer and uninterested in anything, trying to work a little, and dreaming of full, pale-skinned Jewish women.

Today is the ninth of Av. The Air Force is tense and waiting for the green light from Trump. The municipalities are opening the air refuges. I am finishing the Petach Tikva project. It is a meeting hall annex to the historical house called "Beit Svatitsky" at 3 Montefiore Street. Its purpose is to correct a historical wrong and foster dialogue on gender issues, promoting awareness of equality and empowerment. My purpose is to receive a few thousand shekels and to buy an apartment for my batshit crazy granddaughter. 

Sharpness and Clarity

Better than that, we now have clarity. We are no longer laboring under illusions, bidding for affection that was always going to be withheld. They were honest with us, in the end, and that honesty is its own kind of freedom. We can go our own way now: not into a ghetto (we still have real allies) but into self-determination, as individuals and as a global people. 

By Ben Freeman, in TABLET. On Antisemitism in the world.

Illustration: Mexican Black Obsidian Ceremonial Knife. Obsidian is sharper than steel. 

Fire destroys Gilead's Farm

The residents of the West Bank settlement escape the fire with the Torah scrolls. The village was burned to the ground. Today's temperature is over 35 Celsius, and the air is very dry. I feel tired, and it is difficult to work.  Clients are phoning me every hour, some are very angry, but I have no explanations to give. 

‘Do not worry’ | Ramokgopa says Koeberg radioactive contamination is safe

The Table Mountain in the background, Koeberg in the foreground, Africa's only nuclear power station. Beautiful!  

Don't worry, says Kagosientso Ramokgopa, Head of ESCOM. 

West Hollywood: Billion Dollars Failure

A large sinkhole closed down Sunset Boulevard. Utilities have been working to keep the aging water system running, but have struggled with limited funds, long project timelines, and the overwhelming length of the pipeline that needs to be replaced. “We have, in the water system, a capital improvement budget that is over a billion dollars,” Collins said.

I wonder what they will do if the San Andreas Fault snaps as it must. In the El Cajon Pass, stress has reached its maximum level. Several big companies have moved to Texas. Could it be connected? California is not what it used to be.

Crise de l'eau

 

Of course, TAHAL, the Israeli water consulting company I worked for many years, is no more. We worked mostly in Latin America and Africa. It was never able to set foot in any developed country, mostly because those countries had solved their water problems.  But now I am seeing growing difficulties, not only in France and Europe in general, but also in the USA, such as the Colorado River catchment area. The problems, at least in California, which I know personally, are the "greenness" of the regulation. A new TAHAL could find new markets in the West, as its water infrastructure and professional human capital degrade.

16% of France's waterways had dried up as of last June, compared to just 6% in June 2025. France 24

The country is experiencing its third heatwave in as many months, with wildfires further fueled by dry conditions. France 24

Broader European monitoring (EDO) shows watch-level drought conditions persisting or expanding in the Iberian Peninsula, France, southern UK, southern Germany, the Alps, and Italy, with alert-level conditions having emerged in France as well.