The problem with stating: "I'm not #antisemitic, I'm just anti-Zionist": 1. Judaism - as a religion - is fundamentally Zionist. Because Zionism long post-dates the establishment of Judaism, this isn't *chronologically* accurate. But the "Zion," in Zionism, is a reference to Mt Zion in #Jerusalem - and is a metaphor for the Temple Mount

1: I regret not describing my flight back to Israel with @ELALUSA to @BusinessInsider a bit more eloquently (I didn't think the quote I sent would of be of interest!). The cabin crew indeed made a special announcement. 2. It focused on the airline's responsibility - as the state's flag carrier - to get Israelis home, whether for civilian purposes or military duty and explained that the delay was because the airline was stretched to its capacity by that remit.

1 - The impossible calculus facing Israel with its management of the Holy Fire ceremony at the Holy Sepulchre for Orthodox Easter: 2 - Option 1: Israel disregards the request from the *churches themselves* to limit attendance to 1800 pilgrims (all of whom are passing fire between candles in an extremely dense space). It decides to allow unimpeded access to worshippers.

Here's a thought (@academic_la - might be of interest!): there are democracies in the world without judicial review. Judicial review may be a feature of strong democracies, but is not an absolute requirement. What makes the situation in Israel dangerous however is what's already lacking: namely a classic (single body of text) constitution and any concept of referenda (allowing direct reversion of authority back to the ppl when the legislator wants to change something fundamental)

For #content creators, YouTube has two huge advantages as a platform that I think deserve articulation once (so here goes my attempt): Firstly, if you think about it, there is virtually no other platform out there that offers users more generous free storage space, in the cloud, than YouTube.

One note / thought on the tragic death of an Irish peacekeeper in #Lebanon last night - I've met a number of Irish soldiers serving with UNTSO, UNIFIL and other UN missions in Israel over years, including at events hosted by @EmbassyTLV. Unfortunately nuance is in short supply in this part of the world and many Israelis view the UN as a whole - all of its missions and all of its institutions, including those whose mandate is to benefit the whole planet - as an enemy org.

For fellow drinkers of #coldbrew #coffee: here are 2 v important charts from a food science journal showing how efficiently #caffeine is extracted. As I learned early on, it's deceptively easy to consume an unpleasant amount of #caffeine using this brewing method. 1. Caffeine concentration begins approaching steady state after about 400 minutes (6 2/3 hours). If you think that a 7 hour counter steep will avoid most of the caffeine ... this is wrong. You've extracted almost all of it at this point.

I usually try to drown out the debate around #antisemitism as it tends to be rather bleak but ... I'm getting the distinct feeling that things are approaching a very sharp fork in the road in the US with the Trump dinner with Ye + Fuentes It looks like the collective might of @ADL and Trump's Jewish supporters (notably: @DavidM_Friedman isn't going to eke out any kind of mea culpa from the former President.

1 - The IHRA (@TheIHRA) Working Definition of #Antisemitism is an essential imperfection (in the sense that adequately defining racial hatred is near impossible). It is being cleverly attacked at the moment by opportunists seizing upon a flabbergasting decision by a UN official 2 - to urge suspension of its use. Of the eleven suggest manifestations, one whose importance I was reminded of last night was that comparisons between the actions of Israel and Nazi Germany are (prima facie) to be considered ... well .. "manifestations" (per the name)

An important piece by @alexbkane. A problem not dealt with, though is that - in the Israeli context - so much of the population are standing reservists. (No-one rationale should argue that that grants legitimacy to targeting them in the ongoing lone wolf attacks)

https://twitter.com/JewishCurrents/status/1585030026474377217

Debating whether Palestinian militant attacks on IDF personnel qualify as "terrorism" doesn't grant an *iota* of legitimacy or support to such attacks. But it does question whether that's the right word to reflect the situation we find ourselves in.

My impression of the various epochs of air transport.

1914 (first scheduled air service) through to the advent of the low cost era (@Ryanair came on the scene in '84 but wasn't the first). Only the wealthy can afford to fly. But if you can afford it, it's a luxury experience. 1980s to the Covid crunch: air transport becomes a two-track system. Legacy carriers continue to provide a less luxurious but still pretty decent service (even to economy flyers). The rest of us make do with flying being okay but not totally miserable.

1: It's been a long time since I blogged about anything, but I feel like writing one about #Israel and #Ireland. Some loosely connected thoughts that need thinking and development (using Twitter as my notepad here): 2: Despite challenging political relationship, so much obvious potential for synergy and development between the two countries. Both are ambitious small countries that leverage their diaspora populations well.

I think I'd have an interesting blog to write one day about how I've built up a pretty extensive collection of video and camera gear without spending a fortune. But my secrets are: 1: Utilizing every single visit outside of Israel to pick up a couple of missing bits and pieces. Because: literally everything (except for falafel, surgeries, and prescription meds) is more extensive here. Key investment is a reliable weighing scale to use every KG of baggage.

Kind of fascinating how many rockets must be stored in #Gaza (@paulrubens got me interested in the question). Here are some random facts: During this particular escalation, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) fired 1,100 mostly short range rockets into Israel. I have no idea whether PIJ's militant wing (Al Quds Brigade) can dip into Hamas' military wing stockpile (Izz ad-Din al-Qassam or not). Assume not.

As this graphic popped up on my news feed today, I'll take the opportunity to expand upon what I generally find distasteful about #hasbara / pro-Israel advocacy: 1/ The facts trumpeted here are revolutionary only by reference to totalitarian failed Middle Eastern regimes or the world before religion-based discrimination was illegal. While the world at large has moved onto a discourse about minority inclusion, we're boasting about this...

This signage was apparently erected over the (Evangelical-funded) Friends of Zion museum today, following on from their controversial decision to liken Russia's Ukraine invasion to the BLM movement. Trump, Kushner, Friedman et al didn't "make Israel great again." To the extent that Israel is and was great, it's this in its own right. What they succeeded in proving was that the idea of pan-Arab unity was a thin mirage and that if you wave enough cash in the air,

One major pitfall about the viability of working from home that I rarely see discussed is the issue of construction noise. Municipal noise ordinances - like those we have in Jerusalem - typically make it completely legal to construct between business hours (our construction ordinance here runs between 07:00 and 18:00)

The only past business relationship/client I've ever spoken ill of online is Natural Intelligence, owners of Top10.com. I've asked repeatedly that they stop updating my bylines, without my permission, to make it appear as if I still work with them (I don't). Whether it's automated or manual (almost certainly the former), this is an extremely deceptive SEO practice. Repeated "please stops" have gone ignored. So yeah ... I can't, in good faith, recommend relying upon any of their software recommendations.

It would take more time than I have available to list all the terrorist attacks over the past few yrs in Israel that were found to have been perpetrated by terrorists from the W Bank who crossed into Israel illegally through one of the many gaps (literally) in the security fence But a very partial list would (now) include: Elad (05/22); Dizengoff Tel Aviv (04/22), Bnei Brak (04/22), Sarona Market (06/16) -- and undoubtedly many in between that I'm missing.

Undoubtedly true. Vast majority on 2 sides want to live in some kind of harmony - or at least work things out via dialogue and not terrorism. What I find much more interesting about this latest flare up is the curious role of the gaps (Literally gaps) in Israel's security fence

https://twitter.com/AvivaKlompas/status/1512472120013561857

Kan - Israel's national broadcaster - aired some strange footage after the Bnei Brak attack showing soldiers physically manning individual gaps in the fence and turning away would be illegal entrants.

One debate that I'm always surprised to see is never more prominent in Israel (or mentioned at tech conferences etc) is how our quality of internet service - surprisingly middling, at least in parts - is an impediment to the vision of the startup nation. The data available about this seems contradictory. According to the Digital Quality of Life Index, Israel is fourth globally and first in West Asia. However according to @Speedtest and the data they automatically parse we're 69th in the world.