Lazy Summer

 

Shabbat midday. 40 C and the streets are deserted. One full week has passed and I did little to no work. How did I pass the time? Entertained by the internet.  Sleeping all morning. 

I stop here so I can start working. 

Ill.: A sloth. Note the vegetation growing on him. In Hebrew it is called  עצלנים = Lazy Ones.

Guided Bullets

 

JDAM  bomb was used this Shabbat morning to eliminate Muhmad Deif, the commander of the HAMAS militia. The thingie consists of the bomb and a direction kit with GPS and inertial control and is very accurate. We seem to be winning, and everybody loves a winner.

ICL compared

 My main share during these years is ICL, the Israeli Fertilizer company. It has been losing height all the time, but I had it in my heart from the times of the cartel. Lately, I suspected that the Houti pirates were handicapping maritime transport to India, which was the reason for its recent decline. Analyzing the comparative table below I see that the fall is shared by the whole sector, so it is not the Houthis draining my portfolio. So what is it? Currently, prices are normal for the market, and I have been enamored of ICL for too long. Time to discharge it. 

s of 11 Jul 2024	MOS Mosaic Company (The)	NTR Nutrien Ltd.	ICL.TA ICL GROUP LTD	--
1 Week				--
3 Months				--
YTD				--
1 Year

Funeral in Town

Hundreds with flags in the Military Cemetery of this town. Many paratroopers with dusty boots. Some were sitting changing footwear. The Maglan Commando soldier's name was Tal Lahat. 21, Beit Sefer Gordon, Rabin High School. Like my daughters. 

Hurting. 

Carmen de Laura del Sol

 

The last film of the festival was Carmen, directed by Carlos Saura, with Antonio Gades and Laura del Sol (pic). The story is about flamenco dancers preparing the real show Carmen based on Merrimee. This was my first time seeing real flamenco, the opposite of formal and prudish Spanish folk dances. 

Formerly I knew flamenco as ridiculous poses and guttural incomprehensible"singing", but here it made sense and is beautiful. A memorable experience.  

Every day I learn something new. 

Thanking Pakistan

Meir Javedanfar is an Iranian-born Israeli Middle East commentator and academic. He left Iran in 1987, and now lives in Israel. He wrote about his personal experiences in Iran and how the Sochnut smuggled thousands of Iranian Jews to Pakistan. 

"In terms of ties with Iranian smugglers, it is possible that the Mossad had established connections with them during the 1970s, when Israel and Iran had diplomatic relations. This could have been to set up escape routes for Mossad agents and other Israelis in Iran in case other avenues out of the country were closed in the event of unforeseen circumstances.

At the time Pakistan was vehemently anti-Israel, antisemitic views were widespread among the population, and Israel had nothing to offer it. So why, from the early 1980s until the end of the operation in 1997, would the Pakistani government agree to host thousands of Iranian Jews, who were smuggled out over a decade and a half as part of a Mossad operation?

The likely answer is U.S. support: In all likelihood, once the Iranian Jews arrived on the Pakistani side of the border, U.S.-sponsored Jewish and other refugee charities were responsible for housing and helping them, until their cases were processed.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s actions did not impact its relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI). When it came to Pakistan-IRI relations, their security-oriented priorities were far more important than Pakistan hosting Iranian Jews.

Pakistan returned none of the Jews who escaped across the border. Iran's Jews, including many members of my family and my synagogue in Tehran, will forever be indebted to its government and its people for hosting them."

The first Pakistani I met was a doctor working in Northern Nigeria, in Bauchi. He spoke Urdu (which is like Hindi) and had clear blue eyes. He also spoke excellent English. Later I met Pakistani and Afgan Jews in Israel, they are a branch of the Irani community.   

Cowards never reach the top

 

I attended the Water Authority meeting where it was accorded to grant one of the five contracts for building and operating desalinization plants to Mekorot, the State Water Company. The Vice manager of the Authority, Zvicky said that Mekorot was offering a higher price than private companies and that it was his opinion that they are unable to build it. But he had a certain feeling for the old State company. The Manager, a former chief engineer of Mekorot, said nothing. 

The proposition was approved without opposition. Zwicky was right, Mekorot was unable to build the plant which caused a 100 million dollar loss to the State budget. I am still blaming myself for cowardice, why I did not say my opinion that it was wrong and unethical to give preference to a State-owned dinosaur when we know that it will cost the taxpayer. I was unable to open my mouth. Many of the presents were former Mekorot employees and working as freelancer consultants for the company. I was also offered the possibility to do some side work for Mekorot.

The plant never produced drinking water and was sold to the GES consortium, comprising Shapir Engineering and Industry (TASE: SPEN), controlled by the Shapira family, and Generation Capital consortium for NIS 909 million, which is much more than Mekorot estimated. All five of Israel's main desalination plants are now privately owned. 

 Ultimately I was moved to a lower job in the Authority.  For cowardice.