# 72 – Beit Hanoun – No Time to Write

November 11, 2006

The World is screaming: “The catastrophe of Beit Hanoun. and no news from Stephen. How can he/they get out of this one”?

Well, there have been all the usual –

– Olmert apologises, without mentioning the Kassams (3 more fell today, 1 in the town of Sderot again).

– Some of the innocent victims are treated here in Ichilov Hospital (Aviva had treatment there yesterday for her damaged hand – and I had a filling replaced at my dentist next door).

– We admit the tragic error; there will be an enquiry.

Yes, I wish we would use this to wake EVERYONE up to the stupidity of war. The Hamas reaction has been to end their Hudna and to threaten to re-start suicide bombings.

But I have no time to write.

No time to write about the NGO Monitor, itself an NGO, trying to show the impartiality of NGO’s (everywhere, not only here).

No time to criticise Desmond Tutu for saying that it was the Christians who perpetrated the Holocaust – or the statement today from him and his colleagues at the end of their year-long UN-sponsored study on the polarisation of relations between Islam and the West, which stated EXACTLY what I have been saying: that [the World] must first solve the Palestinian-Israeli problem.

Except, I add that this would only be to prove that this is NOT the problem, and that the World should wake up to that. We’re just the front-line, the excuse. Yes, we must solve the problem here to prove I’m right.

No time to get BBC to ask their questions better: today they interviewed an Iranian professor, following the news that Blair/Bush and co. are open to asking Iran & Syria’s help in Iraq.

The Prof was demanding that, to get Iran’s help, US must first apologise for all the wrongdoings perpetrated by the US, the boycotting, the anti-Iran propaganda etc. etc. What about the Iran President’s statement about wiping Israel of the face of the Earth, asked the BBC guy. “Yes, that is a problem”, the Prof responded. Then he garbled on about the naughty US, and that was that. A problem. And the BBC guy (in my eyes) just sat there and let it pass.

No time to talk about Benjy Hillman. I went in to my local newsagents recently. I think I’ve mentioned them before: 2 British guys, religious, very funny, especially Maurice, the Irishman. Dani brought up the subject of his son. Hadn’t I heard….he was killed in Lebanon. I hadn’t. Stephen doesn’t read everything – can’t.  Look up Benjy on Google, Dani said. I did. I was shocked. A major, a commander, 3 weeks after his wedding, no time for the Thai honeymoon, funeral attended by over a thousand, even the rabbis cried.

Yes, I know many such sons and daughters have died on both sides. I know.

Israeli dental expo tomorrow. Yes, we have dentists – 6,000 of them, 1,000 of them Russians! One of my dental friends arrived early, and yesterday, Sunday (like Monday elsewhere), we took him around Tel Aviv. It’s really quite a city. The fish was terrific in bright sunshine in the recently-developed port area.

Olmert is in Washington. According to local cartoonist, lame duck meets nancy boy.

Sorry, no time to write.

Stephen