Blog/April 2009/Apr 17th
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April 17th (See this week's devar torah)
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Hi again!
Help feed the hungry in Israel!
It looks like the war against the ants has ended in an uneasy cease-fire, as most conflicts do in the middle-east. Plugging the electrical conduits does seem to have stopped their easy access, and we actually saw no ants over the holiday. However, this morning I noticed some ants around the dishwasher, and I assume they are coming in from the electrical outlet the dishwasher is plugged into. <grrr>! What I need is an "Antenator", made by the people who make the Rodenator!
The holiday itself was very relaxing. I think this was the most relaxing pesach on record (for us, anyway). But the last day of chol-hamo`ed (the day before the last actual yom-tov, there was a sharav -- and so we read with relief the forecast of cooler weather following. We sat down for the last holiday meal with some friends, and towards the end of the meal the wind picked up -- and the temperature dropped precipitously. Our guests walked home in 50kph winds, and the next day was nice and cool. Rain even fell... weird weather.
During chol-hamoed, we went to the kotel to see birkat hakohanim (the Kohanic blessing). The Jerusalem Post had almost no coverage of that event, but the Easter celebrations were front page press. <sarcasm> It makes sense. After all, the two events are not comparable in religious importance. On the one hand you have idolaters celebrating their "god's" death and resurrection; on the other hand you have the descendants of Aaron the High Priest continuing to perform a Biblical command to bless His people Israel. Obviously, the Israeli press should give priority to the idolatrous practices of the surrounding nations.</sarcasm>
We also found a new park near us with purty flowers. Enjoy the pictures!
Dear American Jews: don't cry for us. The rabid left-wing keeps asserting that "without US aid and support, Israel would be finished". Let's examine that claim, shall we?
US aid to Israel in 2007 was $2.5 billion, of which 160 million was actual 'financial aid'. The other $2.34 billion was "military aid". Most of that aid consists of guarantees, such that Israel has to purchase US military goods with that money. That is to say, the money is "given" to Israel which must then turn around and support the US military industry. So in fact, the "aid" given to Israel directly supports the US economy!
The Israeli GDP for 2008 was almost $189 billion (at the official rate of exchange). Given that only 160 million of US aid was intended to help the economy of Israel, the loss of it would entail a mere 0.08% of Israel's GDP. I highly doubt that would affect Israeli's standard of living in any meaningful way. Even were the entire 2.5 billion actually financial aid, it would still only constitute 1.3% of Israel's GDP. Yes, I realize I took aid numbers from 2007 and GDP from 2008, but that's what I had available. In fact, 2008 aid numbers are lower than 2007 numbers, so the percentages would be even smaller.
More to the point: US aid to Israel has nothing whatsoever to do with supporting Israel per se. The US started supporting Israel in a meaningful way only after the Yom Kippur War, when the Soviet empire's influence in the Arab world was growing very strong. America wanted a strong ally (e.g. pawn) to offset the Soviets and to project US power in the region.
As a result of this relationship, while it gives Israel access to American military technology (at the whim of US leaders, of course), it also prevents Israel from developing its own industries and making such deals as are appropriate for its own sovereign interests. The US, for instance, vetoed a multi-billion dollar deal Israel had made with China for Israeli military technology, and Israel had to meekly cancel the deal (and anger the Chinese, who will not soon forget that slight).
The best thing that could happen to Israel would be to cut off all aid from the US immediately, so it could pursue such alliances as best benefit Israeli interests (with Turkey and India, trade deals with China and African countries). Of course, it is sometimes good to have US technologies. Israel could develop its air industry (the Kfir, Lavi etc.) and export to our natural allies, instead of being hobbled by Uncle Sugar.
For the record: Israel has a powerful economy (thanks to high-tech, bio-tech, alternative energy research, agricultural industry, medical research etc...).
| Country | GDP | GDP per cap | Life expectancy |
| USA | 14,330 | 47,000 | 78.1 |
| EU | 18,850 | 33,400 | 78.7 |
| Israel | 189 | 28,800 | 80.7 |
| Lebanon | 28 | 11,100 | 73.6 |
| Egypt | 158 | 5,400 | 72.1 |
| Jordan | 19 | 5,000 | 78.9 |
(GDP is in billions of USD. All numbers from the CIA Factbook)
As you can see, Israel has over twice the GDP per capita of its nearest neighbor in the region, and not too far off the EU's. It also has the highest life-expectancy of any of the countries mentioned. Draw your own conclusions.
So please, next time you feel the urge to give Israel advice, remember we're doing OK even without your help. But if you want to put your money where your mouth is and move here and lend a hand, we would be grateful.
Until next week,
Shabbat shalom!
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