Enough with the 6 Million Already | Marc Goldberg | Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel

Enough with the 6 Million Already | Marc Goldberg | Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel:

'via Blog this'

We condemn Israel. So why the silence on Syria? | Jonathan Freedland | Comment is free | The Guardian

We condemn Israel. So why the silence on Syria? | Jonathan Freedland | Comment is free | The Guardian:

'via Blog this'

Taking Weapons From the IDF

The other day it was reported in the Times of Israel that 4 weapons were stolen from an IDF base called Camp Naftali. The robbers tied up a soldier, took his weapon and three more before making their getaway in the dead of night.

The truly surprising thing about this theft is not the brazen way that the crooks entered the base but that it doesn’t happen more often. If we’re being honest the vast majority of IDF bases aren’t particularly well defended. While the bases that are actually defending the borders are very well protected, by soldiers who are well trained and know what they’re doing, there are a massive number of bases in the interior of the country that are staffed by units who don’t have a combat oriented role or a sense of urgency when it comes to guard duty.

In fact the soldiers who are tasked with guarding many of the bases in the interior have gone through about 4 weeks basic training and happen to have pulled a guard shift in addition to their regular duties or they are soldiers who spend around 4 days in the army and another week off and tend to be there because the army isn’t sure what else to do with them.

A spot check on many of these soldiers would likely as not find that their weapons have not been cleaned recently and are therefore liable to jam and that their equipment isn’t up to par. This is the reality of having a conscript army, not everyone is highly motivated to serve. In fact weapons theft from the IDF isn’t a new phenomenon, Haaretz reported that;

“In 2011, 80 IDF weapons were stolen, in 2010, 137 weapons were stolen and in 2009, 145 were stolen.”

At the heart of the matter isn’t so much the theft but the fact that criminals find it so easy to steal weapons and the reason goes back to an ideology at the heart of the IDF. The idea of having a nation in arms and that we everyone would be tasked with defending the country should there be a need to is at the core of the IDF and goes back to the days of the frontier kibbutz, but those days are long gone. The fact that the IDF has been arming soldiers whose role is not to fire at the enemy in anger has ensured that there are a great deal more weapons in circulation than is necessary for the actual defence of the realm.

By changing the way weapons are distributed the army can cut down on the risk of some of those weapons eventually being used against us. Those soldiers whose weapon is a laptop or a pair of headphones, or who teach deprived kids shouldn’t have to be responsible for a weapon that they aren’t expected to use and are only given minimal training in.

"Jews of Egypt" film causes uproar in Arab world

"Jews of Egypt" film causes uproar in Arab world

From Al Arabiya:

“Jews of Egypt,” an Egyptian documentary film that records the life of Jews in Egypt before their departure from the country in the 1950s, has stirred controversy after it was screened in a film festival in Cairo.

Elder of Ziyon:

'via Blog this'

The End of the Beginning?

I think it's time to take a break from blogging for a while. I'm not sure exactly what's changed but it somehow feels less important to me.

I am starting to think that my words just aren't so meaningful, that they don't carry any real weight behind them in the big bad blogosphere. I need to produce something that's more substantial, more powerful than these blogging pieces, I need to finish the book that I have been wanting to finish for years now and then perhaps after I will come back to the blogging world re-energised.

I hope that this book is something that I have the fortitude to complete, I think that it will be important to me personally and that it may add something to the way that people look at the period of time during which I served in the territories.

In the meantime my fourth short story will be published in December, hopefully there will be many more.

Thanks to everyone who followed the blog, especially to all at Harry's Place for being so ready to cross post so many of my pieces.

I wonder if I really can keep away from the blogosphere for longer than a couple of months ;)

Wall of Anti-Semitism | Marc Goldberg | Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel

Wall of Anti-Semitism | Marc Goldberg | Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel:

The other day there was a new image of anti-Semitism in London with the mural painted by Kalen Ockerman of a bunch of Jews seemingly running the world. The Times of Israel reported on it here.

'via Blog this'