Lazar Krestin

Lazar Krestin's historic painting titled Birth of Jewish Resistance, which was completed in 1905. The painting came in the wake of the Kishinev pogrom of 1903 and the mobilization of Jewish self-defense organizations in the Pale of Settlement. During the second Kishinev pogrom of 1905, armed Jewish groups fought back against antisemitic mobs. Jewish resistance in Kishinev and throughout Czarist Russia was greatly influential to the emerging ideology of Zionist stalwarts such as Ze'ev Jabotinsky. The history of Kishinev also contributed to the rise of the earliest Jewish self-defense organizations in Eretz Yisrael like HaShomer in 1908, and later the Haganah, the precursor to the IDF.

Rue de Sein

The past few weeks have been hectic to say the least. Now that the ceasefire seems to be holding, I've slowly been able to relax more and not find myself consumed with thoughts about family and friends in Israel to the same degree. I've been trying to limit my time on social media also, although that's mostly been an unfulfilled promise. At the bare minimum, I'm more connected with friends, old and new, than I have been awhile. Everyone seems to be confiding in each other so much as well. There's a certain sense of community right now among Jews and Israelis that's really comforting and inspiring. 

The weather has been nearly flawless all week and I spent a good chunk of today and yesterday out at the park. The late afternoon atmosphere felt almost a bit like being in Victoria Park or London Fields. I brought an old copy le Carre's The Looking Glass War, which I started awhile ago and am now finally getting back into it. My first impression is that those who claim the novel is an overlooked gem are very correct. Given what I've been reading, normally my thoughts would shift to London, but instead I keep thinking of Paris. 

Joann Pai/ NYT

Last Week Again

Rockets fired from the Gaza into Israel last week. Iran today praised the "resistance" of Hamas, who they have actively funded and armed.

Mohammed Saber/EPA

Florence 5/21/21

Diners in Florence enjoy a terraced view of the Arno River as cafes and restaurants begin to open once more and the early anticipation of summer starts to take hold across Europe.

Susan Wright/NYT

Cease fire 5/20/21

After ten bloody and terrible days of conflict, the Israeli government announced a cease fire that went into effect at 2 am. Hamas also agreed to the cease fire terms through international mediation that was largely brokered by Egypt. The truce is fragile, but so far seems to be holding. I can't help but feel that for all the IDF's military successes in damaging Hamas's "metro" tunnel network and eliminating its numerous rocket producing factors, there was still much that could have been done. The top leaders of Hamas all mostly managed to survive the fighting in hiding, and most importantly continued to maintain the capacity to fire rockets at Israel until the last moment. Similar to 2014, the military threat from Hamas in Gaza was not removed, just severely degraded. For now. Which means it's only a matter of time before Hamas rearms and advances its weaponry once more. 

While there was no ground incursion into Gaza, this current round of fighting saw the most rockets fired at the Israeli home front than in any previous war or operation. It's clear that Hamas has earned a significant victory by not only asserting power in the Palestinian arena but also demonstrating that they are the main resistance movement that is seen in the Arab world as standing up for Jerusalem and Palestinians. For Israel, it's a very different perspective. Hamas still represents an entrenched terror organization in control of a terror state in Gaza that has never moderated and continues in its stated goal of attempting to destroy the Jewish state. The Israeli government takes the situation very seriously, but there is no indication that the conclusion of this latest round will result in anything different in the future. The same problems still exist and it is only a question of time before the conflict between the two parties flares up again.

Mahmud Hams/AFP

Jerusalem 5/19/21

Israelis protest the government in Jerusalem to demand the return of the bodies of IDF soldiers, Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, whose remains have been held by Hamas since the conclusion of the last Gaza war in 2014.

Flash 90

Palestinians in Hebron 5/18/21

Palestinian protestors took to the streets today in Hebron and all across the West Bank, Jerusalem, and in many Israeli towns and cities for a national day of strikes.

Hazem Bader/AFP

Hebron 5/18/21

IDF forces in Hebron engage in violet confrontations with Palestinians close to the historic Cabah within the old city.

Hazem Bader/AFP

Ashdod 5/17/21

Israeli rescue forces, including IDF Home Front Command soldiers and police personnel, assist in the immediate aftermath of a direct rocket strike on a building in Ashdod. Palestinian terror organizations such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad have continued to fire rockets at Israeli civilians now for over a week.

Flash 90

Fire in the Night

Anti-missile defense systems from Iron Dome intercept incoming rockets from the Gaza Strip fired on the Tel Aviv metro area.

5/16/21

Corinna Kern/ NYT

Iron Dome over Tel Aviv

Iron Dome over the skies of Tel Aviv.

May 15th, 2021

Ahmad Garalbi/AFP

Dover Tzahal's Deliberate Ruse 5/14/21

IDF soldiers in a staging area outside Gaza. One of the more deceptive and intriguing moments occurred yesterday after the IDF spokesperson delivered statements to the international media, both directly and via social media, of an imminent ground invasion into Gaza. Knowing well that this announcement would affect Hamas's military deployment in real-time, and that they would mobilize their tunnel network, the IAF then launched precision airstrikes on miles of the Hamas "metro" under Gazan territory. Numerous Hamas fighters were killed and the existing tunnel network was largely destroyed.

Dan Balilty. NYT.

IDF in Hebron 5/12/21

IDF troops clash with Palestinian protestors in Hebron during increasing clashes throughout Israel and the West Bank/Judea Samaria.

Wissam Hashlamoun Flash 90

Lod 5/12/21

 A car burns in the central Israeli city of Lod.

Roni Ofer. Flash 90.

Israel 5/12/21

These past two days have been as dark as anything I can remember. Following a night where rockets rained down from Gaza and synagogues were set on fire, Jews attacked in their homes and on the streets by Arab mobs in Lod, and elsewhere in mixed Israeli towns, today was just as horrific. 

 Continuing to pray for peace and safety for everyone across the land.

Israel Magav units in Lod after a curfew was enacted. Israel Police.

Al Aqsa 5/10/21

Palestinians fly green flags of the Hamas terror organization on top of the Al Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Ahmad Gharbali. AFP.

Temple Mount 5/10/21

Palestinian rioters mobilize on the Temple Mount compound as they clash with Israeli security forces on a day of escalation where rockets from Gaza were also shot at Jerusalem for the first time since 2014's Operation Protective Edge.

Mahmoud Illean. AP.

Currently Reading

This is my first novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette and so far I haven't been disappointed. Manchette's Philip Marlowe-esque protagonist traverses around Paris in the 1970s in his role as a former gendarmerie turned private investigator. He encounters murders, drugs, political violence, pornographers, and more. The story is heavy on noir and the characteristics of the underworld in Paris during the 1970s drives the story. As advertised, it's the city of Paris that exists as its own character in the book and what creates such a real and authentic atmosphere.

Jerusalem 5/7/21

Watching the nightly scenes this week in Jerusalem from afar has been difficult to say the least. The situation in Sheikh Jarrah is tense and there have been provocations and incitement from both sides. Now that the violence has spread to the Temple Mount and surrounding areas of the city, it's even more concerning. Praying for the peace of the city and a quick return to calm.

Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Place des Vosges

Afternoon lunch hour in Paris's Place des Vosges in the heart of the Marais district. Current Covid laws, including a 7 pm curfew, are still in place, but Parisians are eagerly anticipated the planned easing of various restrictions in the coming weeks as vaccination rates have risen and the overall public health situation has dramatically improved. 

Dmitry Kostukov. NY Times.

המפקדת

 Kan's newest show. 

ורד אדיר

Ibis Styles Jerusalem

One of the newest Ibis hotel locations that has expanded to Jerusalem and Israel. The hotel sits just off pedestrianized Ben Yehuda Street, right in the heart of the West Jerusalem city center.

Yafo

Street scene in Yafo.

April 21, 2021

Sebastian Scheiner/AP