In the past three days, I was fortunate enough to get the inside economic dope on Israel from two close women friends, Ada, who just returned from a trip there and Gemma, my long-time friend who visited me from Israel. What was uncanny is that both women told about the same stories.
ADA: I stayed at a downtown hotel and friends refused to come and see me. This train they've been building for years has ripped up the streets making travel too difficult and even worse, making Jerusalem really ugly.
GEMMA: Why does Jerusalem need a train? The city is too small and buses used to provide reliable transportation. The construction company is French and I smell corruption.
ADA: No one has money today. I mean nothing to spare. I never saw this before, but there are soup kitchens popping up everywhere.
GEMMA: The biggest new industry is soup kitchens. People don't have enough to eat.
ADA: There are new apartments being built for wealthy Americans who live in them a couple of months a year. They push the value of ordinary homes beyond what people can pay. My friends are getting out of Jerusalem in droves, some are leaving Israel for good. Those who were sold aliyah now realise they were not told anything near the truth.
GEMMA: My friend Marcie came on aliyah by Nefesh vNefesh. She was promised a retraining course leading to a stable income. When she got there, the course rejected her and she was left to her own devices.
And on the conversations went. They came from reality. Now here is the unreality being sold by the likes of author George Gilder and even the Council On Foreign Relations - go here or here to hear a side of Israel most people never see from a Senior Fellow for ME studies at the CFR.
In the unreal scenario, Israel invents 20% of America's new technology and is basking in economic glory days. There are no soup kitchens in paradise. There are only exclusive Soup Bistros. An Israeli high tech web site just announced a contest for the best essay about Israel's economic miracle. I entered:
As Israel's economic miracle continues, .0009% of the population benefits, while soup kitchens are popping up throughout the nation and the malnutrition rate has passed 31% of schoolchildren. The answer is yerida. Last year 2,900 Americans made aliyah to Israel while 31,000 Israelis moved permanently, mostly to the USA.
Let's conclude with pulling the wool over nobody's eyes but Dan Izenberg of the Jerusalem Post.
Speakers at a meeting of the Knesset State Control Committee on Wednesday gave high marks to the Prime Minister's Office for its actions over the past few weeks to help solve the problems of the Gush Katif evacuees. Benzion Lieberman, who took over on Sunday as head of the Sela Administration for Assistance to Settlers from Gush Katif and Northern Samaria, told the committee that he was convinced "the Prime Minister's Office intends to treat the resettlement as a national project." (PMO gets high marks on Gaza evacuees, Dan Izenberg)
Hurray for the government! It finally rewarded a true blue traitor to his people in the style he deserves.
"Lieberman, who reported frequent meetings with ministers and senior officials, said he informed and coordinated with police before and during every protest....Lieberman was not questioned regarding the source of funding for the sham civil disobedience campaign. In 2005, left-wing critics said the protests were financed through millions of dollars in government funding....Under cross-examination, Lieberman recalled the last major protest meant to block the expulsion. On July 20, 2005, the Council organized a three-day march publicized as an attempt to enter the Gaza Strip and join Jewish residents threatened with eviction....Lieberman said 100,000 people arrived at Kfar Maimon, far outnumbering the 15,000 police and soldiers. But he said the Council -- in coordination with the government -- delayed the march to ensure its ineffectiveness. Lieberman's assertion was in contrast to the insistence of police and officials that the settlement Council refused to cooperate with authorities.
And if you really want to learn the extent of Lieberman's treachery, don't miss this - the video tells the story so much better than I could.
ADA: I stayed at a downtown hotel and friends refused to come and see me. This train they've been building for years has ripped up the streets making travel too difficult and even worse, making Jerusalem really ugly.
GEMMA: Why does Jerusalem need a train? The city is too small and buses used to provide reliable transportation. The construction company is French and I smell corruption.
ADA: No one has money today. I mean nothing to spare. I never saw this before, but there are soup kitchens popping up everywhere.
GEMMA: The biggest new industry is soup kitchens. People don't have enough to eat.
ADA: There are new apartments being built for wealthy Americans who live in them a couple of months a year. They push the value of ordinary homes beyond what people can pay. My friends are getting out of Jerusalem in droves, some are leaving Israel for good. Those who were sold aliyah now realise they were not told anything near the truth.
GEMMA: My friend Marcie came on aliyah by Nefesh vNefesh. She was promised a retraining course leading to a stable income. When she got there, the course rejected her and she was left to her own devices.
And on the conversations went. They came from reality. Now here is the unreality being sold by the likes of author George Gilder and even the Council On Foreign Relations - go here or here to hear a side of Israel most people never see from a Senior Fellow for ME studies at the CFR.
In the unreal scenario, Israel invents 20% of America's new technology and is basking in economic glory days. There are no soup kitchens in paradise. There are only exclusive Soup Bistros. An Israeli high tech web site just announced a contest for the best essay about Israel's economic miracle. I entered:
As Israel's economic miracle continues, .0009% of the population benefits, while soup kitchens are popping up throughout the nation and the malnutrition rate has passed 31% of schoolchildren. The answer is yerida. Last year 2,900 Americans made aliyah to Israel while 31,000 Israelis moved permanently, mostly to the USA.
Let's conclude with pulling the wool over nobody's eyes but Dan Izenberg of the Jerusalem Post.
Speakers at a meeting of the Knesset State Control Committee on Wednesday gave high marks to the Prime Minister's Office for its actions over the past few weeks to help solve the problems of the Gush Katif evacuees. Benzion Lieberman, who took over on Sunday as head of the Sela Administration for Assistance to Settlers from Gush Katif and Northern Samaria, told the committee that he was convinced "the Prime Minister's Office intends to treat the resettlement as a national project." (PMO gets high marks on Gaza evacuees, Dan Izenberg)
Hurray for the government! It finally rewarded a true blue traitor to his people in the style he deserves.
"Lieberman, who reported frequent meetings with ministers and senior officials, said he informed and coordinated with police before and during every protest....Lieberman was not questioned regarding the source of funding for the sham civil disobedience campaign. In 2005, left-wing critics said the protests were financed through millions of dollars in government funding....Under cross-examination, Lieberman recalled the last major protest meant to block the expulsion. On July 20, 2005, the Council organized a three-day march publicized as an attempt to enter the Gaza Strip and join Jewish residents threatened with eviction....Lieberman said 100,000 people arrived at Kfar Maimon, far outnumbering the 15,000 police and soldiers. But he said the Council -- in coordination with the government -- delayed the march to ensure its ineffectiveness. Lieberman's assertion was in contrast to the insistence of police and officials that the settlement Council refused to cooperate with authorities.
And if you really want to learn the extent of Lieberman's treachery, don't miss this - the video tells the story so much better than I could.
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