Egozi’s Fury

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The many failures of Israel’s police harmed its public image significantly over the last few weeks. Not all attempts at rebuking criticism, however, should be ignored. Especially the often repeated complaint about how easy it is to steal weapons and explosives from IDF bases.

I just don’t understand – the IDF should have no problem at all dealing with this. It takes one order from high up in the command chain, implementing that order and punishing whoever ignores it.

But in the IDF proper procedures are just a recommendation. Weapons and explosives flow freely from practically abandoned bases. If this goes on criminals will start blowing each other up with mortar fire. Perhaps we’ll soon see a couple of APCs finding their way to some criminal war zone, who knows.

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Guinness World Records representatives are on their way to Israel. They probably didn’t expect to be the ones who will record the largest political bluff in human history. I’ve seen the press conferences where cabinet ministers and Knesset members presented the so called “huge achievement”: From now on the burden will be shared equally by all Israeli citizens – IDF enlistment is now mandatory for Hasidic Jews!

Well, no. That’s a lie, a clear deception. Hasidic (known locally as Haredi) Knesset members are the ones who told the truth this time. With a quiet smile they stated that no Haredi will be enlisted, as even the new law’s authors failed to understand the many, many ways in which it can be circumvented.

So Haredi Jews won’t serve in the IDF, they won’t suffer any negative repercussions. Everything will go on as it always had. The state will fund those who evade service so that politicians will get to keep their comfortable chairs and offices. Those who actually work and pay taxes will keep carrying Israel’s security burden on their backs.

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One more massive fraud. Syria keeps dragging its feet, or more correctly its nerve gas containers, in an attempt to retain most of its chemical weapons. The world fell for this illusion, known as “the destruction of Syria’s chemical arsenal.”

President Assad is a smart man. He knows how to survive the raging civil war and he couldn’t care less about the world. He understands very well that you have to supply the world with believable illusions, and he does it like a genius movie director.

iHLS – Israel Homeland Security

Presumably all of Syria’s dangerous chemicals should have turned to harmless sludge by now, but that didn’t happen. Assad can still threaten rebels – and Israel – with chemical weapons. Israel, in response, stopped giving its citizens any sort of protection against chemical attacks. We have our own share of geniuses.

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The battle of ministers, between the Treasury and Homeland Defense, lasted just a couple of days. There were some headlines, followed by silence. The Israeli public is still in danger, nothing has actually changed.

The Prime Minister must be extremely well shielded against any bad news or threats to Israeli citizens. That must be the reason he allows this situation to continue. Two ministers, one big fight and an ongoing fiasco: It’s still unclear who exactly is in charge of protecting Israeli civilians during emergencies. Somehow this incredibly disturbing failure managed to become nothing but background noise, unnoticed in the general atmosphere of crisis and mayhem.

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All the stories about how Turkey and Israel are very close to renewing their friendship turned out to be a lie. Erdogan isn’t impressed by Obama’s pressure. He follows his own interests, which don’t include friendship with Israel.

Compensating Turkey for its citizens killed during the Marmara incident is incredibly stupid. The money might be transferred, but in return the relations with Turkey won’t deteriorate any further, at best.

Turkey wants to be the leader of the Muslim world, making Israel a less-than-appealing potential friend. Israel blundered stupidly into a power play between Turkey, NATO and a weakened United States. Israel is the only one paying the price for all this, even before actual funds are transferred.