💧News of the Crisis💧 March 17th
Secretary of the Israel’s Vegetable Growers Association, Oren Barnea, who is also a member of Kibbutz Saad's standby squad, warned today (Sunday) in a radio interview of the state of the agriculture in the south: "We are in a period where, if we do not function in the upcoming days, irreversible damage may occur. Decisions need to be made 'online', whether to sow potatoes or not. This is the area in which a third of Israel's potatoes are grown. Actually”, he added, "Hamas assassinated agriculture. You may not know this, but there are squads that go over the water pipes, destroy the valves, tear apart the fertilizer tanks, set fire to barns, irrigation centers, and destroy the infrastructure of agriculture. One terrorist unit sprinkles fuel on chicken coops, the other sets them on fire. They are simply engaged in the destruction of agriculture," concluded Barnea.
The most hardworking MKs of the opposition, Gilad Kariv and Naama Lazimi, have announced they are endorsing Yair Golan’s campaign for the Labor party leadership. Primaries are set for May 28, and may be a driving force to create a new left bloc together with Meretz. Ex-Deputy IDF chief Yair Golan, who was hailed a national hero after single handedly saving young party goers during October 7 massacre, is an outspoken critic of the government, tweeting “an entire country is paying the price for the October 7 negligence, and many more might continue paying a heavy toll if we don’t replace the disaster government immediately.”
Eurovision Party London, which, true to its name, traditionally organizes London’s biggest screening party for the Eurovision Song Contest finals, has canceled the party planned for the finals, this coming May 11, due to the inclusion of Israel in the competition.
“We firmly believe that the Eurovision Song Contest has the power to bring people together across the world, and when its core values of inclusivity, equality and universality are upheld, it can be a genuine force for good. With its own slogan in mind, we hope that we can all be United By Music again soon. We will continue to organize fundraising events for the charities we support, including Doctors Without Borders and Medical Aid for Palestine.”
Abovementioned MK Gilad Kariv spent Saturday night in the various protests, battling the police and its arbitrary adherence to law. In a series of tweets he updated the public of detainees who were held unlawfully. Here is one example: “Dr. Yolanda Yavor was taken to the Kishon Detention Center, even though her lawyer commented on the failure to exercise the right to a hearing stipulated in the Arrest Law (and I also discussed this with the commander on duty).
“That's how the policemen and officers here know how to read in the law only the sections that pertain to what they are allowed to do. What the rights of the detainees are is of less interest to them.
“Tomorrow, one third of the members of the Constitution Committee or the members of the National Security Committee will sign a demand for a discussion of the systematic violation of the provisions of the law.
“Throughout the night, I encountered at the station disdain for the provisions of the Arrest Law, a lack of response to the lawyer's inquiries, improper treatment of a minor and other disturbing phenomena. The police and officers were kind to us - but we are not the issue. The protesters are the only important issue - and last night, the Israeli police trampled on their rights”.
Magistrate Court Justice Ehud Kaplan wrote of Dr. Yavor’s arrest: “‘In my opinion, she poses no danger, she has the right to demonstrate wherever she wants, against or for what she wants, and woe betide us if we do not allow demonstrations for or against the government... In short, I order the unconditional release of the suspect."
As Benjamin Franklin, a founding father of the United States, told the fractious nascent US government about the necessity of putting aside their grievances, differences of opinion, and fears, and working together during a critical period in the country's history; " We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately."
There will be a time to point fingers, place blame, and reshuffle the government. This is not it. Israel is at war. Finish the job in Gaza. Shut down the threat in the north. Then you can elect a new government to rebuild.