DAY 186 OF THE GAZA WAR: Hostages?? Rafah?? Turkey Embargos Export to Israel, AntiSemitism Today

Tel Aviv Diary, April 9, 2024

Today has been another day of fluctuating emotions among the families of the hostages, as well as for all of Israel. During the night, conflicting reports emerged from Hamas, first indicating they had rejected the American plan. However, subsequent reports suggested that while Hamas had reservations about certain aspects of the proposal, they were examining it carefully and would issue a response in due course.

One of the major problems appears to be the absence of 40 living hostages alive who are women, elderly, or injured. In the meantime, the larger security cabinet is convening tonight at the insistence of Ben-Gvir and Smotrich. Representatives of the Mossad, Shin Bet, and IDF involved in the hostage talks all advised against this meeting, concerned that potential leaks could torpedo a yet-to-be-concluded agreement. Netanyahu ignored their request, prompting widespread speculation about Netanyahu’s commitment to reaching a deal.

RAFAH

Yesterday, Prime Minister Netanyahu stated that the date has been set for the attack on Rafah. The Americans claimed ignorance of any such plan, and today, the Defense Ministry maintained that no date for the attack has been determined. The timeline for evacuating civilians remains ambiguous. Netanyahu continues to talk about Rafah as if dismantling Hamas there alone can lead to a decisive victory for us. However, most people view this as merely another venue to kill Hamas members.

Watch this video, featuring Secretary of State Anthony Blinken:

HOUTHIS

Forces from the United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) effectively neutralized an air defense system, a ground control station, and an unmanned aerial system deployed by Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists from Yemen over the Red Sea. This operation did not result in any reported injuries or damage to U.S., coalition, or commercial ships.

RECOMMENDED READING

I recommend reading tonight's N.Y. Times opinion column by Bret Stephens, one of Israel's staunchest supporters, titled: “NETANYAHU MUST GO.”

HUMANITARIAN AID

Over the past 24 hours, 468 trucks with humanitarian aid entered Gaza, representing the single largest convoy of aid during the war and significantly surpassing the volume that had entered before the conflict.

Following Israel’s decision to prohibit the Turkish Air Force from dropping supplies on Gaza, the Turkish government declared the halting of exports to Israel for an extensive list of items. Turkey ranks as Israel’s third-largest source of imports. The halted items are essential for the construction industry, and while they can be sourced elsewhere, the cost will be higher.

ANTISEMITISM IN AMERICA TODAY

In the last several updates, I have written about the history of antisemitism in the United States. Yet, this background does not fully explain what has unfolded in the U.S. since October 7th.  Had the protests against Israel commenced a few weeks after October 7th, following Israeli strikes in Gaza and the ensuing civilian casualties, one could understand the vicious public outcry—even if we might disagree. However, that is not what happened. Demonstrations against Israel began the very next day after the massacre. The initial protestors justified the attack by Hamas, catching many off guard, especially Jews. What was even more startling was how swiftly the condemnations of Israel morphed into broader antisemitic attacks. Initially targeting “Zionists”, these assaults quickly generalized to Jews at-large, so much so that numerous Jews, particularly on university campuses, now feel endangered walking around their campus displaying Jewish symbols.

On campuses, especially in the Northeast and on the West Coast, there has been a notable shift towards greater radicalization than in the past. Even before the war, the campuses were more radicalized than ever before. Since October 7th, however, the conflict in Gaza and Israel's involvement have become central themes for the campus's radical factions. Muslim and Palestinian students have been at the forefront of this activism, finding receptive audiences.

This sweeping charge arrived on fertile ground. The perceived success of Jews has inadvertently made them targets, as the increasingly radical left views any form of power with suspicion, and Jews are often associated with having power. Books such as “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion”, historically confined to the extreme right, have now become the bibles of some on the left.

Yet, these observations don't fully reveal the underlying causes for this hyper-virulent antisemitism. Are there broader dynamics at work here? Is there a prevailing antisemitic sentiment among the young, often ethnically-diverse faculty, many of whom are openly anti-Israel? I’ve addressed these points before several months ago, but they are worth revisiting, especially for the benefit of new subscribers.

Here’s what I wrote on October 24th:
Professor of History at Cornell Russel Rickford caused a stir the day after the Oct. 7th Hamas massacre when he remarked at a pro-Palestinian event: “It [the Hamas action] was exhilarating. It was energizing. And if they weren't exhilarated by this challenge to the monopoly of violence, the shifting power dynamics, then they wouldn't be human. I was exhilarated.”

Rickford has since apologized for his choice of words and is currently on a leave of absence. However, Rickford isn't the only one; a significant portion of the academic left shares this perspective, which can be traced back to Frantz Fanon, a renowned revolutionary theorist. His book, “The Wretched of the Earth” (1961), is a required reading in Columbia College's classic Contemporary Civilization Course, a mandatory course for all students.

In the book, Fanon writes:

“For the colonized, life can only materialize from the rotting cadaver of the colonist”.

“The oppressed will always believe the worst about themselves”.

“Violence is man re-creating himself”.

“Decolonization is always a violent phenomenon”.

I took Contemporary Civilization (CC) at Columbia College 50 years ago. At that time, Fanon’s book was not included in the curriculum. From my recollection, all mandatory reading for CC was extensively examined in intimate class settings. I can only speculate the nature of discussions taking place in today's classrooms. As I noted earlier, every student graduating from Columbia College is required to read Fanon's book. While I’m not certain about the compulsory readings at other elite colleges, I would not astonish me if Fanon’s book is featured on college syllabi throughout the US.

Given that much of the far left-wing labels all Israelis as “colonists”, it's not surprising that numerous left-leaning intellectuals appear untroubled by the massacre that occurred near Gaza on the 7th. As I began to delve into this subject, I was stunned. I now better understand why Israel supporters are on the defensive on elite campuses throughout the US.

BUSINESS

The surge in the global drone and UAV market continues to fuel Next Vision’s order book. Known for its development of stabilized photography solutions for drones and UAVs, Next Vision secured a $19.6 million order from a returning customer to purchase cameras and other products. Scheduled for delivery in 2024. This order will assist Next Vision to meet the forecast it provided the market, according to which the company will grow by at least 70% in 2024, culminating in a turnover of $88 million. Since the beginning of 2024, Next Vision has reported receiving five substantial orders for the sale of cameras and other products, amounting to $33  million in total.

The Israeli cybersecurity company Cyera has raised 300 million dollars at a valuation of $1.4 billion. Coatue Management led the fundraising round alongside new investors Spark Capital, Georgian, and AT&T Ventures, as well as existing investors Sequoia, Accel, Redpoint, and Cyberstarts. Cyera has raised $460 million to date, with the current fundraising representing a significant jump in valuation compared to the previous round in 2022.

In other news, Claroty, which specializes in cybersecurity protection for critical infrastructure and vital factories, is one of the fastest-growing unicorns (i.e., private companies valued at over one billion dollars) and is currently one of the few that has managed to maintain its status as a unicorn and even raise money during the current challenging times. Claroty is currently exploring going public in early 2024.

A month ago, Claroty, announced a fundraising round of $100 million in equity and debt - at a valuation of $2.5 billion. In parallel to the announcement of the fundraising round, Claroty, announced that it had surpassed the threshold of $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) and that its customer base had grown by 300%. If Claroty, can maintain its current growth rate, considering the current pricing levels in the market, it could go public in New York with a valuation of approximately $3.5 billion in the first half of 2025. The sector in which the company operates greatly supports this as well. Claroty specializes in physical protection for cyber systems and Internet of Things (IoT) systems, an area considered less saturated in the cybersecurity industry.

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A PIECE OF HISTORY

First Election

When the state was declared and the provisional government established, the various departments of the Vaad Leumi (Jewish Agency) transitioned into the initial government ministries. In July 1948, the government set an election date of January 25, 1949.

It was decided to retain the proportional party list system used by the World Zionist Organization and the elections to the Zionist Congress. Twenty-one party lists competed for 120 seats in the new Israeli parliament, with 440,000 people casting their votes in Israel’s first election. This represented 87 percent of the eligible voters. The Labor Party secured 57 seats, the center-right parties obtained 31, and the religious parties won 16.

The first Constituent Assembly convened on February 14, 1949. Two days later, the first significant piece of legislation, the Transition Law, was enacted, which also came to be known as the Small Constitution. This law laid down the basic structure of government, establishing the parliament, the courts, and other fundamental governmental functions

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Weizmann then tasked Ben-Gurion with forming a new government. It took three weeks for Ben-Gurion to negotiate a coalition, and on March 10th, the new government was ratified by a vote of 73 to 45. The first Knesset was intended to serve as a constitutional convention to draft Israel’s constitution. Dr. Leo Kohn, the legal advisor to the Jewish Agency, had spent months preparing the draft constitution.

Although there were initial plans to draft a constitution, Ben-Gurion and the Mapai leadership ultimately decided to abandon both the constitution and even the notion of drafting one at that time. Ben-Gurion believed that developing a constitution required more time and that the country, preoccupied with absorbing immigrants and defending itself, could not afford the divisive debates, especially over religion, that a constitution would provoke. The decision was made to gradually create a constitution by passing special laws over time. However, this approach has not proven particularly successful.