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.
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.
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.
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.
Congressman Ro Khanna staged a photo-op tour of Khirbet Zanuta ("khirbet" = ruins of a Judean village, repopulated by Beduins)) — anything to throw another accusation at Israel. Just another politician surfing the antisemitism wave to juice his presidential ambitions. And American Jews? Silent. Scared to say a word.
El Mundo reports that Spain is granting citizenship to three million illegals. The Sanchez government has blocked the Extranjeria (the department normally dealing with foreigners), and the police have been charged with issuing EU identity documents. Gradually, they and their families will move on to Europe's heartland. They are Hispanos from Colombia and Venezuela, others from Spain's African former colonies. They are all sure votes for Sanchez and Europe's Socialists.
