The Newspaper Wars

I take the train every day to work now – so I have about twenty minutes of “quiet time” in the morning before I arrive at the office. (I call it “quiet time” because sometimes it is not so quiet – many people like to use their cell phones on the train, and frequently don’t realize that their voices are quite loud. I have heard more about certain people’s backed up toilets and the hospital stays of other people’s families than I care to…..)

I usually take the time to say my daily Tehillim, but afterwards I usually have some time left over. I started to take the free daily newspapers that are given out at the station. There is competition between two – Yediot Achronot (sometimes called Idiot Achronot by those who don’t like the rag) and Yisrael Hayom. I of course take Yisrael Hayom, since it has a right wing stance.

I can’t tell you how important this newspaper is. It used to be that the public was exposed just to the left wing point of view. Then Makor Rishon came along and started to change things. The problem with Makor Rishon is that it is still only bought by the dati leumi public, with a smattering of charedim and traditional Jews joining in. It doesn’t really reach most of the Israeli public.

The free daily newspaper does reach the Israeli public – and it can be a game changer.

The coverage of the financial situation and the budget cuts are a prime example. Yisrael Hayom had full coverage – and it skewered Yair Lapid. It had a full page spread just on what Lapid said about the economy in his campaign promises before the election, and what he says now that he is in a position of responsibility. It showcased a middle class family – and how much more they will be paying now in taxes, etc.

In the past the newspapers would do the same thing – but the left wing papers would put all of the blame on the Likud and especially Bibi Netanyahu. Now, with a more objective stance, the newspapers are putting the blame on both the Likud and Yesh Atid – as it should be.

You can’t underestimate the power of this communication tool. Those of us who are somewhat politically active and aware of the media and its power can see how important media bias is. Most people don’t think about it too much – they are too busy working and raising their families to get really involved. These people do read the papers though – especially if it is free and handed to them at a gas station or a train station. What is written in these papers has a lot of power.

The people behind Yisrael Hayom are doing a great service to Israel.

Shoot First, Explain Later

One of my father’s (he should rest in peace) favorite phrases was “shoot first, ask questions later”. He used this in relation to times where actions were necessary, and too much discussion was not only a waste of time, but sometimes dangerous.

When it comes to Israel and what we need to do to protect our people, the phrase should be “shoot first, explain later”.

Except now, after reading this opinion piece in the Times of Israel, by Sarah Singer, I think that too much explaining is a bad thing too. (And yes, I agree with the premise that too many curse words cheapens the writing. Sorry Sarah, I was raised to be a lady.)

I am sick and tired of hearing that Israeli hasbara is terrible. Our hasbara is fine – the world just doesn’t want to hear an intelligent explanation. We could dumb our explanation down to “they started it”, but who wants to lower the level that far?

In any case, given the way the crazy jihadists are going, the rest of the world will pretty soon be on the same page as we are on now.  It doesn’t take fancy explanations to convince you who the bad guys are when they blow up little kids watching their father run marathons.

I Couldn’t Agree More

I couldn’t agree more with Leah Aharoni in this opinion piece. What do you think?

You Tell Them Guys….

I was happy to hear that the police/FBI captured/killed the animals that were responsible for the terrorist attack in Boston last week. I was also glad to see the patriotic reaction of the American people in response: celebrations where people draped themselves in American flags and heartfelt singing of the national anthem.

It is a bit disturbing, though, that one of the terrorists had been interviewed by the FBI after a tip from a foreign government (I wonder which one….).

In Israel the security services are top notch, for a number of reasons. One, we unfortunately have a lot of experience and this helps develop instincts. Second, we are very motivated. The people who work at this know that if they mess up, a terrorist might very well kill someone they know and love. Israel is a very small country, compared to America, and we are very close knit, relatively speaking. Three, when it comes to security, people here are not afraid of being politically incorrect. Lives are at stake, and this trumps hurting someone else’s feelings. Fourth, and probably the most important, is that we are a country of immigrants – so there is always a huge pool of ethnically diverse people who can become spies. Jews come to live in Israel from all over the world, and speak many different languages. These people’s children grow up motivated to serve in the IDF, and in turn are used in some cases as spies to keep an eye on potential terrorists.

 

We Are Thinking of You

I was celebrating Israel Independence Day when I heard about the terrorist attack in Boston. All I could think of was the fact that I was sad that Americans will now know what we in Israel have gone through throughout our history – and especially in the past 13 years.

For those of you in America who are in shock and wondering if there is something you can do now, a few pieces of advice:

One – know that you can always pray for the victims and their families. Pray for the injured to heal quickly and for the families of those killed to be comforted.

Two – donate blood. It is always needed but now more than ever.

Three – become more aware of your surroundings. Here in Israel every citizen is very aware of his vicinity, especially in public places. If we see a bag or box in a public place that is unattended – we immediately ask if it belongs to someone. If noone answers, we call the authorities and warn others to back away. The army will be notified and a special bomb squad will come to investigate. Nine times out of ten it is nothing, but all of the effort will be worth it to protect people when the tenth time turns out to be a real bomb.

Please know that we here in Israel are thinking of you…

So Far So Good

So far I am really enjoying my new job. It is a new experience for me to be working in an environment where I am the only religious woman (there are quite a few religious men for some reason, but not women). In a way I think it will “keep me on my toes” a bit. I always try to dress modestly, but now I am more careful in how I dress – since I am “the example”.

I am also the only one who lives in Yehuda and Shomron. Most of the people who heard where I live took it in stride, but one woman exclaimed (in horror? pained surprise?) “how do you get in every morning?” This is a frequent misconception about the Shomron made by people who live on the coast – that we are unbelievably far away.

I answered her honestly (and with a smile) that I take the car to the train station in Petach Tikvah and then the train – altogether it is a 50 minute commute. I had this devilish wish to pull her leg though…saying something along the lines of “well, first I round up the huskies and hook them up to the bobsled, then I …..”

I Bet He Wished He Had IDF Soldiers in France….

This is ironic. A left wing film director was in France to get an award for his anti-IDF film, and in the process he was beaten up by a group of Arabs. I am sure he would have liked a few IDF soldiers with him when that happened…..

Another Parent’s Nightmare

For those of us living in Yehuda and Shomron (Judea and Samaria)  tremping (hitchhiking) is a fact of life. We live in areas that are rural and the bus service is usually not adequate. Therfore adults and teenagers take rides with strangers.

For a long time we did not have a car and I took rides home to my yishuv after work (going to work was somewhat easier as I took rides with people I knew). As my sons grew older they also started to take tremps. I tell them that they need to travel with at least one other person, have their cell phone on at all times, and look carefully at the driver before getting into the car. With all of these precauations, I still get nervous when they do this.

Now the IDF has put out a video trying to discourage teens, especially those who live where we do, to avoid hitchhiking, because there are many terrorists who want to kidnap Israelis, like they did with Gilad Shalit. I wish I hadn’t watched the video, because it will give me nightmares.

I don’t think the video will affect the number of teens traveling like this though. During the spring months, when high school kids have a lot of bagriot (matriculation exams) the usual school schedule is practically suspended. A kid will have a day off to study before an exam, and then have to get to the school at 1:00 pm for the exam itself – and there is no school bus for them to take. Most parents are not available to drive kids to school in the middle of the day, and the busses are practically non-existent during the slow hours.

Both of my boys are learning to drive now, and will hopefully get their licenses soon. As much as I fear them driving I think this video will put that fear into persective.

Sisterhood Support

Now that Purim is behind us, Jewish women all over the world start what for some is a very stressful month – the time before Pesach (Passover). Some have known for a while where they will be for seder and some are just deciding now. Some have started to clean already and others are refusing to even think about it.

What we all have in common though, is the almost Pavlovian reaction to seeing another Jewish woman during this month – the inevitable question “what have you done so far for Pesach?”.

I’ve thought a lot about this situation, and I have come to the conclusion that what we are looking for when asking this question is not information (who really cares how your neighbor or friend does the cleaning?) but emotional support. What we really want to hear is that someone else is farther behind than where we think we ought to be at the given moment – so that we can feel less guilty about procrastinating, and less stressed out about the whole thing. After all, if Mrs. X has so much more to do than I do then surely I will be able to manage in the end. In addition, we also want to show off a bit, giving ourselves a pat on the back for whatever work we have done so far, and giving us further incentive to do more so we can brag again.

The main problem with the above scenario is that we don’t always hear what we want to hear. If your neighbor has done way more than you have then instead of the emotional support you are looking for you get a tremendous source of stress.

In addition, the conversation can take an insidious turn if we start to talk about what the other members of our family are doing to help. We all know women who are married to angels from heaven who not only know how to clean like professionals, but are willing to do this cleaning after long days of work, and do the cleaning EXACTLY as we would. Others have daughters – and sometimes sons, who are tremendously helpful and just live to ask “what more can I do to help, mom?” Most of us, of course, are married to wonderful but regular men who don’t exactly fit into this category, and have children who don’t think cleaning for Pesach is a top priority. Comparing our families is not only deadly for shalom bayit (peace in the home) but it almost always just adds to our anxiety and stress and feelings of jealousy.

What we should really be doing during this month is giving each other support. Asking “how are you doing” and responding that “yeah, this time of year is tough” and reminding each other that we somehow all get through it is what we really should be doing. I for one am going to give it a try this year. Who is with me?

Right Out of a Soap Opera

I couldn’t believe this story when I read it in Ynetnews. It seems that Israeli parents of a child who had cancer have left him in a Buddhist monastery in Thailand on the advice of a Buddhist monk,  thinking that he is being protected from a relapse by being there. The boy, who is 12 years old, came up to some Israeli tourists dressed in a monk’s robe  and started to speak fluent Hebrew, and explained his situation to them.

The parents are Buddhists themselves and live in Israel,  and alternate visiting their son in Thailand. They claim that when he is 18 he can make a decision as to where to live permanently.

The doctors at the hospital in Israel where he was treated say he received a successful bone marrow transplant, and that follow-up treatments had been discontinued, but were needed.

This story touches a lot of nerves here in Israel, and I can see people getting passionate about whether the parents are doing the right thing for their son. I only wonder why they couldn’t have him stay in the monastery, but come back to Israel once in a while to get medical treatments (and see his family too?). It is also painful for people to see that the parents have abandoned Judaism.