Dave is still reporting, or at least he was until a while ago. He’s due to get up soon; it’s seven hours later in Israel.

Also, go here to check out a list of bloggers covering the war. It’s bedtime for me. All-afternoon interviews are exhausting.

In interviews and testing from 12:45 to 5 p.m.

I am exhausted.

I think I did well. I know I liked everyone I met, and think I’d do very well in the position. I’ll know in a couple of weeks.

And my prospective boss cheated! She read my website. Go figure.

Actually, I find it fascinating that in the last five years, she is literally the only prospective employer who found my website before I mentioned it. But I’ve decided that I can’t do anything about it. If a prospective employer googles my name, this site comes up. If s/he doesn’t like the site, oh, well. That’s probably not a person I would have liked working with.

On the other hand, I have also written many of my posts with an eye to my online reputation. Sure, sometimes I get pretty angry, and I post a flame or three. But most of the time, I edit down the fires until they reach a low broil.

The best thing about my prospective boss finding this place: She liked my writing. I’m applying for a writing position. I count that as a win.

Posting will resume when my energy returns. Sorry I wasn’t in D.C. with y’all, but the job comes first.

Lebanese Prime Minister presumably wants Hezbollah disarmed. He would presumably prefer that it not happen through IAF bombing raids on Beirut neighborhoods.

But he has chosen to at least de facto rally behind Hezbollah.

• Has he offered to arrest those involved in ordering the kidnappings and rocket attacks?
• Has he offered to share intelligence with Israel, allowing them to pinpoint attacks against Hezbollah positions, and concentrate on those outside urban areas?
• Has he offered to disrupt Hezbolla’s cash flow?
• Has he offered to shore up the Syrian border to prevent further rockets from coming in?
• Has he offered to arrest Nasrallah and turn him over to an international war-crimes tribunal?
• Has he offered to use Lebanese police and army units to seize the buildings in Beirut that Israel is bombing?
• Has he used the slightest bit of political capital within his own parliament to restrain, even if not evict Hezbollah?

You may say “An Arab government can’t work with Israel while their territory is under attack.” I say it’s a new freakin’ day and the rules have changed. We all know Israel will do anything to protect her people. Clearly Lebanon cannot say the same. They’ll do anything except put their troops at risk or cooperate with Israel.

The Lebanese government is like a ‘hood rat complaining about crack dealers and gang violence while wearing a “No Snitches” t-shirt.

The Lebanese people deserve better.

Jim Geraghty explains the difference between American and Israeli foreign policy in terms I can get behind:

The thing is, Israel has never pledged to be a “good guy” in the traditional American definition - never strike first, be fair, always be honest, never use more force than necessary. (Think Superman.) They’re more of a “we’ll do whatever is necessary to protect our people; we’re not monsters, but we won’t be saints, either” good guy. (Think Batman.) Unilaterally ceasing fire, and letting their foes escape to commit mass murder another day, just isn’t in their nature.

Of course long-time readers of this blog may wish to see Israel adopt another, related posture.

Two children were killed by katyusha fire in Nazareth. I doubt you’ll read “Three people, all members of the same family, were killed by Hezbullah rockets” the way you always read “X members of the same family were killed by Israeli forces in blahblah village” when you see this news in the wire services, but hey, I’m just imagining the anti-Israel bias.

The IDF is trying to hit Hezbullah where it really hurts: In the pocketbook.

Military sources said warplanes attacked structures in which Hizbullah stores its money; among the targets hit were the four el-Mal (Money house) buildings in Bint Jbeil, Nabatiyeh, Baalbek and the Tyre area.

In addition, the “Shahid Fund” financial office in Beirut was also attacked by IAF jets, as were buildings used for Hizbullah financial operations in the capital.

The attacks are aimed at hindering Hizbullah’s ability to recuperate following the conclusion of the IDF operation in Lebanon.

Rockets are still falling on northern Israel, but the IAF got another long-range missile launcher.

Hezbullah is getting desperate—they’re trying to infiltrate the north and have been stopped and destroyed every time.

Israel Defense Forces troops clashed Wednesday afternoon with Hizbullah terrorists across the border with Lebanon near the Avivim community.

Helicopter gunships, tanks and ambulances have been called to the area, the army said. A terrorist was killed and another fled the scene after fierce clashes.

Of course, this could also be the reason:

An IDF officer told Ynet earlier that troops are operating inside Lebanese territory to carry out pinpoint operations.

The IDF also plans to destroy about 20 Hizbullah posts along the border with Israel. Troops are currently operating about a kilometer inside Lebanese territory to destroy Hizbullah posts and tunnels built across the border from Shlomi, and Rosh Hanikra.

At the end of this war, the borders will not be bristling with Hezbullah outposts. I’m now certain of that.

Sorry, I can’t quote this piece of garbage. Go read Reuters’ take on Israel’s “suspicions” of the UN, and why she doesn’t trust UNIFIL to keep Hezbullah from re-forming once this war is done.

This AP piece is almost balanced, until you get here:

The Israeli army confirmed there were clashes with Hezbollah in the border area and that some Israelis were among the casualties, but it would not elaborate. Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television channel reported that two Israeli soldiers had been killed and three wounded, but that could not be confirmed. Hezbollah officials in south Lebanon added that one guerrilla had been killed.

Israel, which has mainly limited itself to attacks from the air and sea, had been reluctant to send in ground troops because Hezbollah is far more familiar with the terrain and because of memories of Israel’s ill-fated 18-year occupation of south Lebanon that ended in 2000.

Wow. Deep analysis, man. Totally rocks! Because, like, it’s not like the Israelis don’t know that Hezbullah has been trapping the border for six years with all kinds of explosive devices, some large enough to destroy a Merkava tank and kill everyone inside. No, the IDF is wary of Hezbullah because they know the terrain better and because the IDF is haunted by memories. Right. Cue flashback, Team America-style.

Meantime, back on the Gaza front, the IDF is battling terrorists in the West Bank. And killing them. And another terrorist attack was thwarted.

And lastly, morale is very high in the IDF.

“We are working in the transportation center 24 hours a day, shipping all kinds of equipment and transporting soldiers,” said Colonel Aryeh. “It is a very difficult job but the soldiers volunteer and wish be part of the effort. Even the number of soldiers absent declined during this period. It seems that everyone wants to take part in the IDF operation these days.”

Say, Chipmunk-cheeks: How’s the morale down in your rathole, eh? Feeling a little depressed these days? Put-upon? Does it feel like the whole world is falling down around your ears?

Good.

I received this e-mail from my brother-in-law Menachem, who along with my sister and their four children made Aliyah two years ago. He’s been sending periodic updates to family and friends, filled with anecdotes about making Aliyah, observations of Israeli culture, and not-so-subtle invitations to join him in Eretz Yisrael. I asked if I could share his latest with you, and he was happy to oblige.

The “Situation”

July 19, 2006

I’ve been debating whether or not to write something about the current “situation” here in Israel, so if you actually receive this you’ll know which side won the debate.

As you’ve noticed, probably thankfully, these updates have become fewer and farther between. This was not because I don’t miss you, it’s just because life had gotten pretty routinized and there just wasn’t much to write about. One of the reasons I hesitate to write now is that on the whole I’ve attempted to keep things positive and a-political. Well I guess I could just right some fluffy stuff and ignore the fact that those moon bats North of the boarder are using us for target practice, but since you probably read the paper or listen to the news occasionally you’d realize I was trying to hide something.

Here in Beit Shemesh, as of this writing, things are pretty much normal. Aside from some increased aircraft activity one wouldn’t know anything unusual is happening. (Interesting side point. Edison, is in the flight path to Newark airport and planes would regularly fly overhead. Of course, just like the trains across the street, I became pretty desensitized to them. Here it’s the opposite. There is no regular aircraft activity around here so we’ve become pretty attuned to noticing when it does increase. OK, so maybe that little footnote was only interesting to a plane geek like me.)

Back to the war, er, I mean situation. Look, you guys are at war also and you don’t feel it day to day either. Obviously the big difference here is proximity. Iraq is just a tad further away from New Jersey than we are from Afula, but let’s not quibble over Kilometers. OK fine we’re at war, there I said it. I guess that’s the first step in my twelve-step program.

Just 2 weeks ago we toured up North for a few days with good friends from New Jersey. It’s so beautiful up there; the Kineret, the Golan, the Jordan River, Mount Tabor, Tzfat, Tiberias, the Naot factory, etc. It is heart wrenching to imagine these places being bombarded with these idiotic projectiles.

“What’s the mood of the country?” is a common question you hear. So far I’ve spoken to 5,000,000 of the 7,000,000 people living here. When I finish I’ll let you know. The best I can do is give you the mood of the 12 people I see on a daily basis. I would say their mood can be described as tense, fearful, proud, and hopeful. OK, maybe that’s just my mood and I’m projecting. The truth is I do try to talk to people about it. I’ve even been brave enough to ask some real Israelis in Hebrew. I foolishly think that I’m going to get some military insight because their cousin is a pilot or something. The handful of Israelis I’ve spoken to are tough. Sure they’re concerned, but they basically just shrug it off as just another war.

Well not me, I’m a freaking end-of-the-boom baby boomer. My biggest fear growing up was worrying who I was going to ask to the prom! Yes, I was around during the Vietnam War, but as a 7 year old it didn’t really have much of an impact on me. But this, this is real existential stuff man. So on the one hand I obsessively read all of the analysis I can get my hands on and yet on the other hand I try as hard as I can not to read the news too often. At some point the analysis just cancels itself out as each pundit has something different to say and the news just makes me more uptight.

Speaking of news. Do not get your information about what is going on over here from CNN or the NY Times. CNN’s bias is legendary and my feelings about the ethical and moral wasteland that is the Times is well known. Try the Jerusalem Post (jpost.com) or Fox News. The NY Sun and Wall Street Journal are excellent antidotes to the plague of the Times. The Washington Times editorial staff has been outstanding lately. Arutz 7 has it’s purpose, but it’s very skewed and should be balanced with a mainstream Israeli source.

It would be quite abnormal of me, after only 2 years here, not to question the wisdom of our move in light of the current situation. We came at the tail end of the Intifada and have had a honeymoon of relative peacefulness. Clearly I’d have to be a moron to think that, given the history of the past 60 years, things would remain that way, but the mind goes to great lengths to create delusional states. So while at once I yearn for the mundane life of Edgemount Rd. I know that were I there now I’d yearn to be here, especially now, to cast my lot with my people. (Paradoxical ain’t it?) As Torah Jews we believe that G-d knows what He’s doing. As humans we can just hope that what He’s doing coincides with what we’d like Him to do!

Speaking of the UN. (Yes, in a sense we were. We just mentioned G-d and the UN is Satan.) I can’t let this missive pass without, once again, pointing out what an unmitigated disaster that organization is. It’s not just that they don’t fill their own mission and are inept (they don’t and they are), it’s that they are actively assisting much of the evil that currently exists in the world. Take UNRWA and UNIFIL. Please! UNRWA, operating in the “territories” and UNIFIL operating in Lebanon are actually assisting the terrorists in those areas. This makes the UN directly complicit in the murder of Israelis. And that’s just a small example.

Just one more jab, I can’t resist. The UN recently disbanded the grossly anti-Semetic, anti-Israel Commission on Human Rights and in a stroke supreme idiocy replaced it with the even more grossly anti-Semetic, anti-Israel Human Rights Council! You can’t make this stuff up and you guys in the US are footing most of the bill. If you want to do something really constructive get your government to stop funding that cesspool of half-witted third world weasels and Islamic murderers and convert their building into a halfway house for recovering liberals. Remember, in Aramaic “Kofi Anan” means “we are monkeys”. A coincidence? I think not.

Many people in my circles were, shall we say, not thrilled with Olmert as Prime Minister and Peretz as defense minister. Olmert for his support of the disengagement and his new “consolidation” plan and Peretz just because he’s a looney lefty. I’m pleased to say that so far they are executing this war with strength and determination.

For those of you who aren’t Bush fans, get over it. You may not be pleased with his domestic policies or the way he’s handling the war in Iraq, but he, more than any other world leader, understands the gravity of the enemy we are ALL facing. And at this point in world history the spread of Islamic fundamentalism is the greatest threat we have ever faced. We can just thank G-d on a daily basis for those hanging chads in Dade county, without which we’d be well on our way to wearing Burkas and praying to Allah five times a day. You want to do something smart, get the 22^nd amendment repealed and vote for him again!

Again, not having completed my survey of everyone here, I still feel there’s a sense of unity. You see it in the political arena, you feel it in the street. This crisis has gotten us to increase our acts of kindness, charity, prayer and learning. That is never a bad thing. We know a family planning to make Aliyah next month who’s container was being packed yesterday. I am told that they asked one of the great scholars in Israel, Rabbi Kanievsky, if they should go ahead with their plans to move here. He said yes and gave them a bracha for success. May we all share in that Bracha.

Menachem

Via LGF, Jew-hatred in San Francisco masquerading as a protest of Israeli actions. Chanting “We support Hezbullah’s fight” leave me to conclude that you are totally down with the rockets landing in Haifa. And an effyouverymuch to the San Franciscans who took part in this lovely exhibition of anti-Semitism.

It isn’t just the naked hatred evident by the protest organizers that bothers me. It’s the obliviousness of the people standing around listening to the chant, and thinking they’re cool, and not even realizing that by assenting to this dirt they are implicitly approving of missiles murdering Israeli civilians. Some of these protesters are truly evil. The rest are despicable for their refusal to engage their brains. To quote a favorite Monty Python line of mine: I spit in their general direction.

Please remember that I am not an analyst, nor do I play one on TV. I read a lot. And I have an associative way of thinking. My unconscious takes disparate facts that I have read over time, and puts them together into a coherent narrative like some people put together a jigsaw puzzle. And it has just done so with the world reaction to Israel v. Hezbullah. It isn’t just the rightness of the cause. Because the world has stopped Israel from defending herself many, many times in the past. So why stop now?

I think the endgame, and the reason behind the unwillingness of much of the world to stop Israel from pummeling Hezbullah, is this:

What made Hezbollah more than a nuisance was the fact that it was a forward outpost for Iran, which armed and trained its fighters and used them as a strategic threat against Israel.

The huge missile arsenal Tehran sent to Hezbollah - 13,000 missiles, according to Israel - was intended primarily as a deterrent against Israel should it contemplate an airstrike against its nuclear facilities.

Not just Israel: This was Iran’s threat should the world do anything about her nuclear capabilities. And the nuclear issue is coming to a head: The world has to either act to disarm Iran’s nuclear capabilities, or accept the Mad Mullahs having nuclear bombs. The world (a.k.a. the American military) may not be ready to act just yet. But if it does come to attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities—those Hezbullah missiles on Israel’s border will no longer be a problem. So you can forget about this:

To respond heavily to a Hezbollah provocation could bring down a rain of missiles on Israel’s cities. Surprisingly, it was an Israeli leader without a significant military background, Ehud Olmert, who decided to take on Hezbollah and pay the price.

More than 1000 missiles have struck Israel in the past week but the Israeli public overwhelmingly calls on the Government to continue pressing Hezbollah.

Israel has taken the hits, yes—but she has also dealt an incredibly destructive blow to Hezbullah, and by association, Hezbullah’s Iranian sponsors. Their capabilities have been seriously damaged, and are on their way to being utterly destroyed:

We are closer than ever to a new situation on the northern border,” a senior military official told Ynet. “For 10 years Hizbullah has been building capabilities, and in a number of days a considerable part of them has been destroyed. Hizbullah leaders also know that what was won’t be anymore.”

[...] The army officials were careful not to conclude the biggest military operation in the past few years, but said with satisfaction that “Hizbullah is shocked by the amount of information Israel had which led to a huge destruction of its capabilities.”

The end result?

Hezbollah and Iran now find themselves with a deterrent that no longer deters. They also find much of Hezbollah’s infrastructure shattered and many of its leaders, including clerical leaders, killed in the air attacks.

If and when the American military goes after Iran’s nuclear capabilities, the threat from Lebanon is no longer an issue. Iran will have to launch long-range missiles at Israel without its proxy—which will be seen by the entire world as an act of war, and dealt with as such. As for the rest of the Muslim world—they’ve already shown how frightened they are of the Iranian nuclear bomb. The Arab League couldn’t get a consensus against Israel over the current conflict with Hezbullah. In fact, some of their members are openly criticizing Hezbullah, and tacitly criticizing Iran.

The endgame is near, and it’s spelled I-R-A-N.

Like I said: I’m not an analyst with access to any secret information or sources. I only know what I read in the papers. But I find it strange that there have been no serious discussions of UN Security Council resolutions to stop the war. And Condi Rice just reiterated today that it’s not time to talk cease-fire yet.

That isn’t what happens when Israel goes into the territories after Hamas or PIJ. It’s not the rightness of the cause this time. Hezbullah has kidnapped and murdered soldiers before. The world yawned, and even actively aided the kidnapping.

This time, the world is using Israel as the first salvo in the assault on Iran. I assume there’s a quid pro quo to be had down the line. Let’s wait and see what happens.