Israel
Former head of Mossad criticizes Israel’s “occupation” of Palestinian territories
By BERNIE BELLAN
Shabtai Shavit is a former director general of the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, having served in that position from 1989-1996.
During his time as Mossad head, Shavit was involved in many secret negotiations with Arab leaders. On May 29 he was the special guest speaker at an event sponsored by Solly & Orly Dreman on behalf of an Israeli organization known as Ezer Mizion.
Strangely though, when Shavit ascended the podium on May 29 to speak, no one bothered to introduce him. While that was somewhat unusual in itself, what followed was even more unusual. Shavit began reading from a speech that he had apparently delivered some time ago at a completely different forum – and I daresay he was almost impossible to understand.
Nonetheless, I thought: “Here’s a former director general of the Mossad. Surely I ought to record what he has to say – then listen to his remarks carefully so as to be able to decipher them for our readership.”
Even while Shavit was rambling on, however, I was able to pick out certain phrases that told me this particular speaker was apparently saying some highly controversial things, including that Israel is becoming “a theocratic state”, that it is “occupying” Palestinian lands, and that it should be willing to give back much of what it conquered during the Six-Day War in 1967.
How on Earth was this man allowed to speak here, I wondered? Did no one in our Jewish Federation, B’nai Brith, or our other self-proclaimed defenders of the Jewish people who have taken it upon themselves to decide who should and who should not be allowed to speak in Winnipeg, not know how provocative Shavit was going to be? As I note in my article about the Ezer Mizion gala, I am shocked that Shavit was not disinvited from appearing here. Once you read on and see for yourself how dangerous it was to allow Shavit to voice his opinions, I am sure you will agree that he should have been banned even from appearing in Winnipeg.
During his talk he referred many times to conversations he held with various Arab leaders, with the constant theme being that Palestinians were nothing more than major irritants to those leaders. His ultimate conclusion was that bilateral talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority are completely dead, that peace initiatives coming either from the U.S. or Europe have no chance of succeeding, and the only way to achieve any sort of breakthrough will have to be through a “regional peace initiative”.
Early on in his remarks, Shavit took aim at Israel’s Nation-State Law, which was passed by the Knesset in July 2018 and which specifies the nature of the State of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. He blamed “religious Zionists” for bringing this law forward. Shavit suggested that this law will lead to a “theocratic, apartheid state that will never be accepted by the united world nor by world Jewry – which today accounts for about half of Jewish people.” It will also lead to the illegal “annexation” of territory, he said.
“In my opinion,” he continued, “as long as we remain a secular, multi-ethnic democratic state without the annexation of territory, we will remain Israelis” living “in partnership” with minorities, including “Christians and Arabs.”
“The Israel-Palestinian conflict today is on a track of increasing alienation between the parties,” Shavit observed. “There is no dialogue taking place – only mutual accusations between both parties. Cooperation on the ground, executing coordination” has stopped. “The Palestinians are taking unilateral political measures and Israel is threatening to take counter-measures.”
Shavit then added this observation, however: In the world’s eyes “we are the powerful occupiers and they, the Palestinians, are our weak subjects. The policy of attempting to contain the Palestinians through conflict management will not succeed in the long run. In order to achieve new momentum we must see what is happening in the region and see if it is possible to utilize the regional reality in order to break the deadlock and help achieve a solution.”
Looking back on past efforts to achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians, Shavit referred to an incident involving former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and Yasser Arafat. (I had to Google the specific time period to find out which agreement Shavit was talking about. It turns out that it was in 1994 when Mubarak brought Rabin and Arafat together to work out details of Israel’s handing back Jericho and the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority. Apparently Arafat, as was his wont, had a last-minute change of heart and was refusing to sign that particular accord.)
In Shavit’s telling the story, Mubarak turned to Arafat and said: “Sign, you dog!” – which Arafat promptly did. The significance of that particular incident, as Shavit went on to explain, was that “Arab leaders in the Middle East have a better chance than Western leaders of bringing the sides together.”
Shavit then went on at great length to describe the “Saudi initiative” that was brought before the Arab League in 2002. It had the following components, according to Shavit:
1. Complete withdrawal by Israel from all territories conquered in 1967
2. Complete security for all parties in the region
3. Establishment of normal relations between Israel and the member states of the Arab League. According to Shavit, 35 Muslim states supported the initiative, with a total of 57 states supporting it altogether.
Since 2002 moreover, Shavit said there has been considerable softening in the Arab League position. Rather than a “dictate”, he noted, Arab leaders have now said the Saudi initiative is the “basis for negotiation”.
With that in mind, Shavit called for a new “regional agreement” which, he declared, would gain the support of both the United States and Europe.
“Regional stability,” Shavit declared, “will allow the Israeli government to extract itself from the major problem of the occupation.” (Ed. note: oh no – “occupation”. Traitor!)
The cost of the occupation, he noted, adds “2 billion shekels a year to the national debt.”
Shavit enumerated other savings that would accrue to Israel by entering into a regional peace agreement, including: lower taxes, more money for health care and education, and lower housing costs.
In concluding, he noted that his speech had been written prior to the last Israeli elections (in May). He saw those elections as an opportunity for Israel to chart a new course (although he didn’t elaborate on which party would have charted that new course, as Benny Gantz’s Blue & White party never differentiated itself from Netanyahu’s Likud party over the issue of peace negotiations).
Regardless whether Shavit seemed to come across as “yesterday’s man”, attempting to resurrect a path forward that has been, for the most part, overtaken by events in recent years that would render it largely irrelevant, here was a former leader of the Mossad calling for Israeli withdrawal from “occupied” territories taken during the ’67 War. Within Winnipeg’s established Jewish community, that would have to be considered taboo. But then again, who was paying attention to this fellow that particular evening? I had to listen to parts of my audio recording of his speech over and over again in order to make out what Shavit was saying.
Still, I don’t anticipate he’s going to be invited here again by either the Jewish Federation or any other Jewish organization that detests hearing the suggestion that Israel is “occupying” Palestinian territory.
Israel
Israel report by former Winnipegger Bruce Brown
10 minutes
(Posted Dec. 24, 2024)
02:11 AM: Sound asleep.
2.11.01 AM: Wide awake. Awoken by a blaring missile alarm. Incoming. Took me no time to react. Ivan Pavlov would be proud. I quickly scooped up my dog. Grabbed my glasses. An inhaler. My phone and power cord. And sprinted to the safe room. Right across the hall. My wife overseas on vacation. So did this one alone. Er with my dog. We have 90 seconds to reach safety so no real panic, relatively speaking.
2.11.09 AM: In my safe room. Slid shut the heavy steel slabs across the window. You can hear this happening throughout the building. Kinda like a horror movie. Screech. Slam. Screech. Slam. Screech. Slam. Then mine. Screech. Slam. Next I jumped across the room and slammed shut the heavy, reinforced, steel door. It also makes a slamming sound, a really loud one. Then slumped down on the couch with my dog. With some level of relief. Where is this missile coming from. Can’t be from Gaza, they don’t have the capability anymore…I hope. Nor Lebanon, living too far south…I hope. Yemen? Possible. Those dang Houthis?
2. 14 AM: Oh oh. Need to pee. Like really bad. Once in the safe room, you should stay there for ten minutes. Unless there is another siren. Each siren requires a ten minute respite. Respite? Odd choice of words as you are not really resting. Way too tense. Especially as you can occasionally hear the booms of intercepted missiles up above. Kind of unnerving. Back to my need to pee. Its quite dangerous leaving the room during this period. Should your place be hit by the missile or falling debris from the sky. You don’t want to be caught with your pants down, literally, hovering over your toilet. And condos have been hit in Rehovot with some death and much destruction. Hmmm. To pee or not to pee. That is the question. Whether tis better to suffer the pangs of having to pee or the missiles of outrageous fortune. You get the point.
2.14.10 AM: Peeing in the bathroom.
2.14.40 AM: Back in the safe room. With my dog. Sitting on the couch. Fiddling with the remote control. I work in hi tech. The semiconductor world which can be pretty complex. But I simply have not mastered the remote. Really want to see what’s going on. Where is the missile from. Are there more attacks elsewhere in the country. Pushing this button and that button But the TV still off. Okay. Will check my cell. Although the connection sometimes comes and goes when shuttered in the heavily reinforced concrete and steel safe room. Works! Ya! Showing three bars. Sometimes four. Checking my feeds. But no news yet.
2.17 AM: Seriously. I need to pee again. Like really bad. Dang prostate! To pee or not to pee. That is the question…. You get the point. I chose to pee. This time I don’t actually slam shut the heavy, reinforced, steel door. And my dog follows me out. This could get complicated. But first things first.
2.17.10 AM: Peeing in the bathroom.
2.17.40 AM: Chasing after my dog around the condo. Poncho!!! There he is. In the living room. Like master. Like pet. He too is relieving himself. Probably the tension. Dogs can sense these things. “Faster Poncho!. Faster!” I encourage him.
2,18.02 AM: We’re back in the safe room. The heavy, reinforced, steel door slammed shut. And then I start worrying. What if I have to pee again. Its really dangerous out there. Idea! I’ll bring a cleaning pail in here. And if worse comes to worse. Well, I am alone. Sans my dog.
2.18.22 AM: I dart for the cleaning cabinet in the bathroom to grab the pail. Making sure the heavy, reinforced, steel door is shut less my dog run out again. Wait! As it dawns on me at 02.18.22 AM. This is not the smartest thing to do. At least I could have combined grabbing the pail with actually having to pee again. Like maybe I could hold out for the next three minutes or so in the safe room. No urgent need for the pail. But I am already there….
2.18.25 AM: Grab the red cleaning pail
2.18.28 AM: Back in the safe room. The heavy, reinforced, steel door slammed shut again. Siting on the couch with my dog again. Red pail glaring at me from the side of the room…daring me. But my bladder is relaxed. I try the remote again. I feel like my 85 year old mother who often complains about getting her remote to work. I console myself thinking that it must be the batteries. Hmmm. Maybe a mad rush for the utility room to get some new batteries. But that would be mad. I’ll take care of it in the morning. Only a few more minutes and I can safely leave the safe room and go back to bed.
2.19.45 AM: I pour myself a glass of mineral water. This I store in the safe room per Homefront commands. Fresh batteries not, hrmph. As I down the water I realize this is probably not the best idea. Less it creates the urge to pee…. Alas no. Start surfing my feed again. The intercontinental missile was fired by those crazy, dang Houthis from Yemen. All of central Israel sent to their safe rooms. Dang Houthis! The next couple minutes go by pretty smoothly. Although seems like an eternity.
2.21 AM: Back in bed. Albeit sleep comes slowly as my adrenaline starts to reside.
As it were. Israel bombed the dang Houthis that night. For the third time since the outbreak of the war. In retaliation for them firing over 200 ballistic missiles and 170 drones at Israel, which fortunately had not resulted in much damage. We struck them with over 60 bombs in two air raid sorties. Destroying mainly military targets as well as ports and energy infrastructure. Maybe that will teach them for waking me -and a million other Israelis- in the middle of the night.
As it were. Falling debris from the dang Houthi attack landed on a school in central Israel, forcing its collapse. Fortunately and thank G-d it was the middle of the night. Sometime between 2:11 AM and 2.21 AM. So no casualties. Can’t even imagine the tragedy had this strike occurred mid-day.
As it were. I changed the batteries in the remote. It works just fine now. And I left the red cleaning pail in the safe room….just in case. But I hope the dang Houthis finally learned their lesson. Although probably not.
As it were. Two nights later. Another 2:00AM missile from the dang Houthis. . They just wont let me sleep….
As it is. Please continue donating to the Israeli war and revival efforts. You may have given earlier. But give again. The financial costs to Israel are and will be billions. Billions! Sderot and Metulla and Tel Avi and Haifa are Israel’s front lines. Israel is the diaspora’s front line.
Bruce Brown. A Canadian. And an Israeli. Bruce made Aliyah…a long time ago. He works in Israel’s hi-tech sector by day and, in spurts, is a somewhat inspired writer by night. Bruce is the winner of the 2019 American Jewish Press Association Simon Rockower Award for excellence in writing. And wrote the 1998 satire, An Israeli is…. Bruce’s reflects on life in Israel – political, social, economic and personal. With lots of biting, contrarian, sardonic and irreverent insight
Israel
Join the Masa Canadian Professionals Volunteers Program!
You are invited on a 4-week volunteer program in Israel from October 14th to November 10th. Help rebuild Israeli society post-October 7th over Canadian Thanksgiving, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah. Spend three weeks based in Tel Aviv and one week based in Eilat!
This program is exclusively for Jewish professionals aged 22-50, working at Jewish organizations or remotely in any field.
The cost of the program is $150 USD to the organizer and $50 USD to Masa. Participants will receive a Masa grant of $2650 USD that is applied to participation and to cover additional costs. The cost of the program includes housing, meals while volunteering, transportation on travel days, health insurance, leadership training, and more. Volunteers are required to commit to the volunteer schedule, with the understanding that there will be the flexibility to work remotely for 8 specific days during the program. Flights are not included but you get a 15% discount from El Al.
Sign up here: https://www.masaisrael.org/go/canada-jp/ space is limited!
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to make a difference and connect with fellow professionals. For more information, contact Mahla Finkleman, National Manager of Partnerships and Outreach, Masa Canada, atmfinkleman@ujafed.org and/or Sam Goodman, Senior Manager of Israel Engagement, sgoodman@ujafed.org.
Save the Dates for Info Sessions:
- Thursday, September 5th, 12:00 – 12:30 EST
- Wednesday, September 11th, 12:00 – 12:30 EST
Join us in Israel for a meaningful and impactful experience with Masa!
weeks based in Tel Aviv and one week based in Eilat!
This program is exclusively for Jewish professionals aged 22-50, working at Jewish organizations or remotely in any field.
The cost of the program is $150 USD to the organizer and $50 USD to Masa. Participants will receive a Masa grant of $2650 USD that is applied to participation and to cover additional costs. The cost of the program includes housing, meals while volunteering, transportation on travel days, health insurance, leadership training, and more. Volunteers are required to commit to the volunteer schedule, with the understanding that there will be the flexibility to work remotely for 8 specific days during the program. Flights are not included but you get a 15% discount from El Al.
Sign up here: https://www.masaisrael.org/go/canada-jp/ space is limited!
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to make a difference and connect with fellow professionals. For more information, contact Mahla Finkleman, National Manager of Partnerships and Outreach, Masa Canada, atmfinkleman@ujafed.org and/or Sam Goodman, Senior Manager of Israel Engagement, sgoodman@ujafed.org.
Save the Dates for Info Sessions:
- Thursday, September 5th, 12:00 – 12:30 EST
- Wednesday, September 11th, 12:00 – 12:30 EST
Join us in Israel for a meaningful and impactful experience with Masa!
Features
New website for Israelis interested in moving to Canada
By BERNIE BELLAN (May 21, 2024) A new website, titled “Orvrim to Canada” (https://www.ovrimtocanada.com/ovrim-en) has been receiving hundreds of thousands of visits, according to Michal Harel, operator of the website.
In an email sent to jewishpostandnews.ca Michal explained the reasons for her having started the website:
“In response to the October 7th events, a group of friends and I, all Israeli-Canadian immigrants, came together to launch a new website supporting Israelis relocating to Canada. “Our website, https://www.ovrimtocanada.com/, offers a comprehensive platform featuring:
- Step-by-step guides for starting the immigration process
- Settlement support and guidance
- Community connections and networking opportunities
- Business relocation assistance and expert advice
- Personal blog sharing immigrants’ experiences and insights
“With over 200,000 visitors and media coverage from prominent Israeli TV channels and newspapers, our website has already made a significant impact in many lives.”
A quick look at the website shows that it contains a wealth of information, almost all in Hebrew, but with an English version that gives an overview of what the website is all about.
The English version also contains a link to a Jerusalem Post story, published this past February, titled “Tired of war? Canada grants multi-year visas to Israelis” (https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-787914#google_vignette) That story not only explains the requirements involved for anyone interested in moving to Canada from Israel, it gives a detailed breakdown of the costs one should expect to encounter.
(Updated May 28)
We contacted Ms. Harel to ask whether she’s aware whether there has been an increase in the number of Israelis deciding to emigrate from Israel since October 7. (We want to make clear that we’re not advocating for Israelis to emigrate; we’re simply wanting to learn more about emigration figures – and whether there has been a change in the number of Israelis wanting to leave the country.)
Ms. Harel referred us to a website titled “Globes”: https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001471862
The website is in Hebrew, but we were able to translate it into English. There is a graph on the website showing both numbers of immigrants to Israel and emigrants.
The graph shows a fairly steady rate of emigration from 2015-2022, hovering in the 40,000 range, then in 2023 there’s a sudden increase in the number of emigrants to 60,000.
According to the website, the increase in emigrants is due more to a change in the methodology that Israel has been using to count immigrants and emigrants than it is to any sudden upsurge in emigration. (Apparently individuals who had formerly been living in Israel but who may have returned to Israel just once a year were being counted as having immigrated back to Israel. Now that they are no longer being counted as immigrants and instead are being treated as emigrants, the numbers have shifted radically.)
Yet, the website adds this warning: “The figures do not take into account the effects of the war, since it is still not possible to identify those who chose to emigrate following it. It is also difficult to estimate what Yalad Yom will produce – on the one hand, anti-Semitism and hatred of Jews and Israelis around the world reminds everyone where the Jewish home is. On the other hand, the bitter truth we discovered in October is that it was precisely in Israel, the safe fortress of the Jewish people, that a massacre took place reminding us of the horrors of the Holocaust. And if that’s not enough, the explosive social atmosphere and the difference in the state budget deficit, which will inevitably lead to a heavy burden of taxes and a reduction in public services, may convince Zionist Israelis that they don’t belong here.”
Thus, as much as many of us would be disappointed to learn that there is now an upsurge in Israelis wanting to move out of the country, once reliable figures begin to be produced for 2024, we shouldn’t be surprised to learn that is the case – which helps to explain the tremendous popularity of Ms. Harel’s website.
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