Your tax Francs at work: Foreign Ministry calls on Swiss government, city of Zurich to withdraw support from Breaking the Silence exhibition
Israel's Foreign Ministry is urging the government of Switzerland and the City of Zurich to
withdraw support from an exhibition being put on by
Breaking the Silence, a
European-funded Israeli NGO that has made
false accusations against the IDF in the past. The withdrawal of support would apparently lead to the exhibition not taking place. This is from the first link.
A senior official in the Foreign
Ministry in Jerusalem said Israel's ambassador to Switzerland, Yigal
Caspi, called the head of the Middle East and North Africa Division in
Switzerland's Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday to issue a formal
complaint, and request his government quit funding the NGO's
exhibition.
The Israeli
official, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the
matter, noted that Caspi "vigorously protested" Swiss support for the
exhibition, which, he emphasized in his conversation with the Swiss
official," serves to slander Israel." As such, he said, the Israeli
government is concerned by the fact that Switzerland is financing it.
The exhibition, which is due to open in June in
Zurich, would include photos and testimonies of Israel Defense Forces
soldiers alleging human rights violations in the West Bank.
Two weeks ago, the Israeli news website NRG reported
that Switzerland's Foreign Ministry contributed 15,000 Swiss francs
($16,100) to support the exhibition, and that the Zurich municipality
contributed an additional 10,000 Swiss francs ($10,700).
If the formal complaint doesn't work (and it probably won't), maybe Hotovely should instruct the ambassador to show up at the exhibition. That's
worked pretty well in the past.
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Breaking the Silence, European anti-Semitism, human rights, Palestinian terrorism, Swiss anti-Semitism, Switzerland, Tzipi Hotovely, Zurich
Please don't fly to Israel expecting this to happen
If you're flying on a plane and the plane lands after the Sabbath starts, you're not supposed to get off the plane when it lands. If you're forced to get off, you're supposed to leave your belongings on the plane (they will likely be removed for you) and you're not allowed to leave the airport. And if you arrive at the airport and don't have the time to make it anywhere for the Sabbath, you're also not allowed to leave the airport.
Because of weather conditions in Europe, that last case is what happened to a group of ultra-Orthodox Jews who were flying from Zurich on Friday. They got stuck in Ben Gurion airport for the Sabbath. But they were much better off than most people in their situation:
Zaka made preparations for them.
Approximately 80 hareidi religious Jews, including small children, left Switzerland on a flight that had been scheduled to fly in the morning but was delayed several hours.
After the plane took off and it became clear that it would not land at Ben Gurion Airport in time for the passengers to arrive at their homes before Shabbat began, ZAKA medical and rescue authorities operated by religious Jews, went into action to make arrangements for the passengers to spend Shabbat at the airport.
Working against the clock, they coordinated with the rabbis from the airport and El Al, although the flight was operated by Swiss Air. Petach Tikvah and Kfar Chabad authorities helped organize the special Shabbat, and a Bnei Brak caterer and bakery donated “challot,” special bread for the Shabbat, and food for three meals.
Petach Tikvah donated mattresses and blankets from their emergency headquarters, and the airport arranged a hall for Shabbat meals. A synagogue with Torah scrolls is located in the airport.
These people were really lucky. I had three close calls like this when I lived in the US. One time I arrived from a hurricane in Florida an hour before the Sabbath started, another time I pulled myself off a flight and spent Shabbat in St. Louis, and a third time I managed to transfer from one flight to another in Chicago (the advantages of no checked baggage) and arrived at Newark about an hour before the Sabbath started. People I know who have spent the Sabbath in airports have found it most unpleasant.
Since I made aliya, I always try to arrive back in Israel in the wee hours of Friday morning at the very latest. I don't think I've taken a flight with an arrival time after 12:00 noon on Friday. It sounds like these people took the morning flight from Zurich, which is scheduled to land in Israel about 2:40pm. That's way too close for comfort in my book, especially in the winter.
Labels: Ben Gurion Airport, Shabbat, Zurich
