Once Upon a Time there was a Syrian nuclear weapons development project. It isn’t a fairy tale. Israeli news media today splashed this story all over their front pages. The basic story is that Syria once tried to set up a nuclear reactor as a first step toward developing a nuclear bomb. The project was … More Once There Was a Syrian Nuclear Project
The Blizzard of ‘78 We moved from Haifa to Elazar in December, 1978. It was an easy move. We went to Elazar because we had a friend there who was actively trying to get us to join. Elazar, at that time, was a co-operative settlement. There were real houses already built and waiting. There was … More The Blizzard of ’78
We remember being told about an ancient Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times”. Well, that is what the past day has been. It seems it all started around dawn when an Iranian drone aircraft took off from a Syrian airbase. The UAV flew over Jordan and turned to cross into Israeli air space. … More It’s been an “interesting” day
UNRWA – what it does and for whom? This is a continuation of my discussion about UNRWA. The agency employs over 30,000 people today. Most of them are local residents. They have a lot of different jobs. Many are simply drivers for the fleet of vehicles the agency maintains in each country. Others handle distribution … More UNRWA -part 3
UNRWA – who’s a refugee? In an earlier post I noted problems inherent in the creation of UNRWA. This time I will address the question of who is eligible for UNRWA aid. The original resolution that created the agency envisioned it as a temporary provider of humanitarian assistance. It was dependent upon the various host … More UNRWA – part 2
Winter in Israel This post was prompted by a comment from someone who lives in the islands on the North of Scotland. He seemed to think that talking about cold in Israel was somewhat ridiculous. Well, here’s some information to clarify my claim. Today we are having rains and wind in Israel while most of … More Winter in Israel
UNRWA – part 1 UNRWA is the short title for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the near east. The last part of the name is, sadly, usually omitted in most discourse. The agency was created by UN General Assembly resolution 302 (IV) on Dec 8th, 1949. It began work … More UNRWA part 1
On Jan 14th there was a meeting of the Palestinian Authority governing body in Ramallah. The Palestinians have been upset with the US for a while. On the surface, the reason they would like us to believe is the recognition by President Trump of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. But it goes deeper than … More Palestine or North Korea?
Wetherhorn 