The Learning Diary
One of the Martians (Szilard). Old Jew from Budapest.
Friday, April 10, 2026
No Ceasefire here
IDF Chief of Staff Zamir during a visit inside Lebanon: “We are not in a ceasefire; the IDF is in a state of war. Iran is much weaker, and Hezbollah understands it is isolated.”
Thursday, April 9, 2026
Foundation of Maoz Tzur
In the ceremony of the foundation of Maoz Tzur settlement overlooking Route 433, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana said, “What we are doing here today must be clearly stated: much of the world is not with us. Yet we have come, representing a broad cross-section of the government and the Knesset, to declare to the world, this is our land. We are not here as guests, nor are we here temporarily. When we are told to ‘go back to where you came from,’ we answer: we have returned to where we came from. The message from here is clear-we are here to stay for generations."
The pic represents the first foundation of Buenos Aires. The natives killed and ate the Spaniards, but the settlement was re-founded a second time and now has a population of 12 million.
Spain changing sides
Spain under Sanchez has refused to use American bases, and it is not strengthening its armed forces as NATO decided. Today, it is reopening its diplomatic relations with Iran while Iran is at war with the USA. Reading Spanish journals, I am surprised by their virulent antisemitism and shameless lies against Israel. Is Spain trying to profit from an anti-American position, such as gaining free access to the Hormuz or to trade with China? The democratic Assembly of Athens always reacted ferociously to the cities that tried to leave the Delian Alliance, just think of the Melians.
Wednesday, April 8, 2026
Unquiet night
At 3 AM Israel, President Trump's fury against Iran was to start, so it was impossible to sleep. A pause was agreed upon a few minutes before the ultimatum, but the tension did not disappear. I woke up with a headache and am tired. What's more, with a sense that the war did not end. Pic.: an Iranian missile aimed at Tel Aviv.
Sunday, April 5, 2026
urbi et orbi
Liturgy comes from the Greek leitourgia — literally "public work" or "service of the people." It refers to the formal, structured order of religious worship — the prescribed texts, prayers, rituals, and ceremonies that define how a community practices its faith collectively.
In the Jewish context, the most obvious example is the Haggadah — the text you follow at the Seder. It is liturgy: a fixed order (seder literally means "order") of prayers, blessings, songs, questions, and narrative that structures the collective religious act of remembering the Exodus.
Saturday, April 4, 2026
Escalation
Today's Israeli airstrikes on Iran’s Mahshahr petrochemical zone, including damage at the Fajr 1 and Fajr 2 facilities in Khuzestan. It is near the key port of Bandar Abbas. No significant military assets at Mahshahr — it's a civilian industrial zone. The target is Iran's income, not its weapons. Netanyahu even said it explicitly: "money machine."