A few weeks ago, on an exquisitely beautiful winter’s day, I took a stroll on Har HaTayasim (The Mountain of the Airmen). This hill was burned in the big fire last summer and I was curious to see what was happening there. I was thrilled to see much evidence of recovery. Nearly every tree exhibited fresh growth from the roots. I saw Arbutus, Oak and Mastic trees all growing new shoots from their roots, and many annual grasses and geophytes (bulb plants) poking through the ash.
Since I took those photos we have had an abundance of good winter rain and even a snowfall of some 10-20 cm here in the Judean Hills. The snow lasted only a short time but its meltwater replenishes the water table better than the rain that often runs off very quickly. We are very grateful for every drop and flake that falls, and also that we escaped some of the extreme storm damage and disruption experienced in Turkey and Greece in the same storm, and elsewhere around the world this winter. Although highway 1, from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and all other main access routes to Jerusalem, were closed for the night, the city council with its 250 JCR tractors managed to keep most of the internal roads in Jerusalem functioning (We don’t have snow ploughs).
The snow cheered us all up for a couple of days. It is a relatively rare phenomenon here and we all enjoy it, some people coming up to stay in Jerusalem just so they could play in the snow. Of course it is especially loved by the children. One of my friends even got his children up at 3AM in the morning so they could see the snow falling and build a snowman, just in case it had all melted by morning. For some of them it was their first snowfall. At the very least, it gave us all something to talk about other than the coronavirus.
OMICRON IN ISRAEL
This month we have experienced the 5th wave of the virus, the very virulent Omicron variant, which at its peak was causing around 80,000 new confirmed cases per day, and probably a similar number of unreported cases. Authorities reckon that we are past the peak and the number of new cases per day is dropping, but nevertheless we passed some sobering milestones this past week. Two days ago (21/02) we passed 10,000 deaths, since the beginning of the pandemic. This means a death rate in Israel of 1 for every 900 people in the total population, putting us about 47th in the world, even though our infection rate was the highest in the world for a while. This is a testimony to the quality of our medical care and the heroic service of our medical staff.
According to the Times of Israel (1) yesterday (22/02),
“There were 2.2 million confirmed Omicron infections in Israel, but epidemiologist Eran Segal estimated on Friday that the actual number of cases was far higher — around 4.5 million, close to half of Israel’s population of over 9 million.
Around 70 percent of Israelis have been infected with the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, or around 6 to 7 million people…
Now, the wave of the omicron variant seems to be declining but already its successor is upon us, with over 300 confirmed cases already. It is believed to be even more infectious, but no more likely to cause serious illness, than the omicron variant, although indications are that it can bypass the vaccinations.
Even with large numbers of people still testing positive the authorities are easing more and more regulations in order to keep the economy going. Many businesses and services are struggling to maintain their functioning as staff are either testing positive or having to go into quarantine along with family members. There was at least one day recently when several train lines had to be closed because there were insufficient staff to run them. This caused unusually long traffic jams. The hospitals too are struggling to maintain adequate staff levels, especially in the corona wards. At the peak there were more than 1300 patients in ICU,, which is really more than hospitals can cope with.
In the midst of all this we started our new school semester with 50 kids arriving from the USA. They all had been vaccinated and tested negative when they arrived. Our first two classes were on Zoom because of the snow. This last week we met them face to face for the first time, but after only two classes, some of the students started to feel ill. Now quite a few of the staff and students are ill with covid or have tested positive, including 6 of my 12 students, 5 of our 6 madrichim (the live-in counsellors who look after the kids) and now my boss has also succumbed. (update 19/02 all are recovered now and this weekend they all went for a trip to Eilat).
Somehow, by the grace of God, I seemed to have escaped infection, but it was a struggle trying to teach simultaneously in the classroom and on Zoom, especially since one of the school internet cables failed in the storm and the internet keeps overloading, so I have students popping in and out every few minutes. My ancient laptop is not working and I am Zooming on my phone which is also not ideal. Add to that the necessity of trying to teach with a mask which is aggravating my asthma. Its all a bit of a challenge but compared to what some others are having to deal with, especially hospital staff, I have it easy.
Two weeks ago I attended the funeral of a friend, H. V, whom I have known for more than 40 years. In spite of all the restrictions, and the 5th wave, around 200 people attended his funeral, a reflection of the number of lives that had been influenced by this quiet, unassuming man of God, who was a brilliant Bible scholar and teacher, as well as an exemplary husband, father and grandfather, He suffered chronic illness for many years but it was the Covid that brought about his demise. In spite of his poor health he was always able to smile and say a gracious word. It is his beautiful smile and gentle demeanour that I shall remember. His life was a great example and an encouragement for us all. He ran the race all the way to the end.
One of the members of my housegroup, J, currently residing in New York, is fighting Covid too. It has been hard to get information about his condition as we are not family members. Thankfully one of his contact people in the States has been keeping us informed, but even she is finding it hard to get reports from the hospital because the staff there are so overwhelmed. The last report we heard was encouraging. After nearly 6 weeks in an induced coma and intubated, he unexpectedly regained consciousness when the medications were stopped, and was even able to communicate with eyes and hands. Also, amazingly, his one kidney has begun to function again. Even the doctors are saying it is a miracle. We feel our prayers are being answered but we have had no further news for around 10 days now. Please keep praying for his complete recovery and that he could even come back to us in Israel and continue his music ministry with Holocaust survivors, schools, soldiers and others.
But I will sing of Your power;
Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning;
For You have been my defense
And refuge in the day of my trouble.
To You, O my Strength, I will sing praises;
For God is my defense,
My God of mercy.
Psalm 59: 16-17
THE YEMEN CIVIL WAR
The almost-forgotten civil war in Yemen has hit the headlines here recently, first when the Houthi leader threatened to fire missiles at Israel and secondly when missiles were fired at Dubai when the Israeli President. Isaac Herzog, was making the first ever Presidential visit to the United Arab Emirates.
The Yemen Civil war began in 2014 when the Shiite insurgents, the Houthi rebels rose up against the Sunni government and seized the capital city, Sana’a. Since then a terrible war has been raging resulting in the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. At least 100,000 civilians have been killed and at least another 150,000 have died as a result of starvation and disease. Four million people have been displaced and an estimated 24 million are in dire need of assistance (3).
In 2015 , a coalition of Gulf states led by Saudi Arabia launched a campaign of economic isolation and air strikes against the Houthi insurgents, with U.S. logistical and intelligence support. This has resulted in many missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE over the succeeding years. With Iran supporting and arming an ever stronger Houthi army this war is threatening to spill over the wider Middle East and may soon involve Israel as well.
THE UKRAINE
The headlines this week concern the events unfolding in the Ukraine. I am sure you are getting plenty of news about this in your own countries so I will not repeat that. Here is Israel we are watching the situation with concern. There are about 15,000 Israeli citizens living in the Ukraine and at least 75,000 Jews eligible for Israeli citizenship. The government is encouraging our citizens to leave while they can, and is calling for the remaining Ukrainian Jews to immigrate to Israel. Last week several additional planes flew to the Ukraine to transport people back to Israel, but some flew back almost empty. It seems many are reluctant to leave and think that if it becomes urgent, they will be able to escape overland. I pray they will not leave it too late. Authorities are preparing for a massive wave of immigration from the Ukraine.
Last Sunday (20/02) about 75 Jewish immigrants from the Ukraine landed in Israel Sunday afternoon on a preplanned flight of International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), the Jewish Agency and the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption, and were received by employees of the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption at Ben-Gurion Airport (4).
Israel is walking a delicate line in this situation. We have a fragile relationship with Russia and depend upon their military cooperation in order to carry out operations against Hezbollah and Iranian targets in Syria and Lebanon. We are also concerned about Russia’s support of Iran and other terrorist bodies. For this reason, I think Israel will try and stay out of any forthcoming military actions. I expect we will come under sharp criticism for doing so, but our situation is vulnerable from many directions. Of course, we are all praying that there will be no military confrontation between Russia and the NATO nations, but as the days go by it is becoming more and more tense. Such a war could bring the whole world into chaos and a possible World War III.
IRAN
While the world is distracted with the Ukrainian crisis, the talks in Vienna between Iran, Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain aimed at reinstituting the 2015 nuclear deal are nearing a conclusion. It is expected that in the next few days some deal will be signed. No one outside the Vienna hotel knows exactly what this deal will contain. According to #Gravitas there may be 4 key parts to the deal, namely
- Iran will not enrich uranium past 5%
- Iran must release all Western prisoners
- In return, the West will unfreeze Iran’s reserves worth $7billion
- There will be a gradual lifting of sanctions.
If this is true, it is an incredibly weak deal from our point of view. Iran boasts that it has already enriched uranium past 40% and can soon reach the 90% needed for a nuclear weapon. Releasing Iranian funds and lifting sanctions will merely make more money available to its proxies, Hezbollah, ISIS, the Houtis, Hamas and the other terror organizations it supports. Israel opposed the original 2015 deal because it was weak and had too short a time frame, but according to our PM, Naftali Bennet, it seems likely this new deal will be even weaker. Like the 2015 deal it fails to address the credible military threat to Israel and other nations of Iran’s long range missile development, and its support of terrorist and militant groups. The limitations on Iran’s nuclear development under the 2015 deal expires in just two and one half years and Israel is concerned this deadline will not be extended in the new deal. It remains to be seen just what the deal will contain, but it seems likely to favor Iran far more than Israel and the west. This can only lead to greater instability in the Middle East and the world as a whole. Naftali Bennet has clearly stated that “Israel will not accept Iran as a nuclear threshold state” and “Israel will always maintain its freedom of action to defend itself) (6).
The nations plot and make plans –
But You, O Lord, shall laugh at them;
You shall have all the nations in derision.
I will wait for You, O You his Strength;
For God is my defense….
And let them know that God rules in Jacob
To the ends of the earth. Selah…
Psalm 59: 8-9, 13
EARTHQUAKE READINESS
In recent weeks Israel has been rocked by quite a number of small earthquakes in the north, raising anxiety levels, and once more causing many to express concern about our lack of preparedness. Historically Israel has been hit by a major earthquake about every hundred years. The last big quake, measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale, was in 1927 centered in Jericho and it killed around 500 people. In 1837 a 6.5 magnitude quake centered near Safed, and a subsequent landslide, killed and estimated 6-7,000 people. Israel lies on the subduction zone of the Arabian and African plates on the Great African Rift Valley.
It is estimated that at least 80,000 residential buildings in Israel would collapse in a major earthquake. Many of the older buildings are already crumbling and unsafe, even without an earthquake. Every time there is a small quake authorities express their concern but little ever seems to be done.
In 2005, Israel passed the ambitious national TAMA 38 plan, which aimed to reinforce more than 150,000 residential buildings across the country. Of the 7 billion shekels allocated for this project only 5 million was ever transferred as of 2020 according to the Housing and Construction Ministry and only a few thousand buildings have been reinforced (6).
One new provision is the addition of an earthquake warning siren to our Civil Defense phone app. This would give us from 3-30 seconds warning, should a major quake be detected. It is thought that this might give some people, especially those not close to the epicenter, a chance to get outside in time – not very reassuring in my opinion. The Home Front Command has trained some 75,000 students to act as first earthquake responders and provide aid until professional rescue workers arrive.
The time is not yet, but we know that in future there will be at least two great earthquakes in this area, as is prophesied in the Book of Revelation.
In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.
Revelation 11: 13
And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth. Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell.
Revelation 16: 18-19
REFERENCES
- https://www.timesofisrael.com/epidemiologist-estimates-nearly-half-of-israeli-population-caught-omicron/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-serious-covid-19-cases-hit-all-time-high-of-1213/
2. https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/war-yemen
