Kite Jihad Continues to Burn Israeli Fields

Even as Israeli firefighters continued to battle blazes set by incendiary kites flown into Israeli territory from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Sunday, the IDF Spokesperson’s Office announced that a tunneldug underneath the beach and designed to allow infiltration into Israeli territorial waters had recently been destroyed. In related news, reports emerged over the weekend that Israel has made an official complaint to the UN Security Council over assistance the Lebanese Shi’ite terror militia Hezbollah has rendered to Hamas.

Rallies to mark the Iranian-invented occasion of “Quds Day” were held in cities around the world on Sunday, including in London where the large crowd included several individuals brandishing flags of the Lebanese Shi’ite terror militia Hezbollah, despite efforts by London Mayor Sadiq Khan to ban them. A large counter-demonstration was also held near the Saudi Arabian Embassy, chosen by “Quds Day” organizers as the starting point of their demonstration because of the growing ties between Riyadh and Jerusalem.

Jordanian citizens protesting against financial austerity measures and new taxes got some good news on Monday, as the governments of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates announced assistance to the government in Amman totaling $2.5 billion. The assistance will come in the form of direct cash grants, development projects and loan guarantees.

Israel’s cabinet discussed the ongoing drought in the country at Sunday’s meeting, authorizing a new plan to pump de-salinated water into the Sea of Galilee (Kinerret) during the winter months. Admitting that the plan was “not conventional, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “when we desalinate water in the winter it’s wasted, there’s no use for it. We’re turning the Kinneret into a reservoir of desalinated water.”

At 2 p.m. on Friday, as if they received a signal, Palestinians who had gathered near the Karni crossing began rioting. Buses brought 2,000 people, mostly youths. In the hours I was there, I didn’t notice much motivation. Their entire conduct this week was sluggish, as if done just to fulfill an obligation. But the Gazan problem has not been resolved. It’s there, like a humanitarian abscess and an accumulation of hatred and despair. That is why even if we as Israelis can breathe easy today, we have to know this story is far from over.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave the keynote address at Sunday’s meeting of the American Jewish Congress’s annual convention, held this year in Jerusalem. During his address Netanyahu spoke about the many challenges facing Israel, but also the opportunities it had to be a blessing to the Middle East and the entire world.

South Africans were among the founding members of the ICEJ and the country has always played a key role within the ICEJ by supporting our work and sending people to work in Jerusalem and volunteer at the Feast. In recent months, we had to make some changes in the South African ICEJ branch.