The media is full of reports today that in Hamas-controlled Gaza, the local leadership has decreed that female lawyers must cover their hair. But on Israel’s channel 2 this evening there was a report that ALL women in Gaza are now forced to wear head coverings.

In the report Silman A-Shafi, the Arab reporter reports that there are now thugs roaming the streets both in uniform and out of uniform to enforce these laws.

They interview several young women some pro and some against the new law.

They show the beach and how women now have to go fully dressed into the beach, though they are swimming in women-only area.

Haaretz – a left-wing Israeli paper is reporting the same thing – in English.

The London-based newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi reported that the organization’s Gaza government had recently approved a series of laws, a Muslim code of conduct of sorts, meant to guard Muslim religion and morals. These guidelines join an increasing amount of reports from Gaza residents saying that modesty patrols were forcing women to wear head coverings, especially at Gaza’s beaches, and that they were inspecting isolated cars in order to prevent unmarried couples being alone together.

I am confused – how is it that Israel’s media has such a different story than the rest of the media?

See for yourself: here.

This is the Google translation of the blurb on that page:

Is the world okay with a new Iran-style regime popping up?
I think it’s a disaster.

On Tuesday we fly to Paris – my wife and 7 kids! This is a two day stop on the way to dropping them all off in Los Angeles for the summer.
Then I head back to the Est coast for meetings in Washington and New York. Then back to Israel.

Three weeks later I head back to Los Angeles again.

Any advice on what to do in Paris with a bunch of kids?

Roni Harari, the passionate gardener from my last post says it makes no sense to have everyone stop using water because of the drought here in Israel. He says we are just buying  the government more time – which they are not using to find a long-term solution to the water situation.

He says – do the opposite.

Use as much water as you need – force the government  to solve the problem. I think my brother Akiva said the same thing.

Desalinization works – I think Israeli companies even helped develop some of the technology for it.

Other countries are using desalinization – why isn’t Israel?

Info on Desalination is here:

When I was 13 years old and living in Dallas Texas, I recall going to see White Nights, the movie in which Baryshnikov, the ballet dancer ends up on a flight that lands in Russia. I think he has to outrun the local authorities because he is wanted there for changing sides a few years earlier… I recall it being a great movie – so much so that I briefly considered dancing around the parking lot of the theater – but quickly stepped into the 7Eleven on Spring Valley road and bought a Slurpee. I may have played a game of Ms. PacMan or DigDug too, I don’t recall.

Anyway, years later as a college student I joined an organization (YUSSR) running Jewish summer camps in Russia (and various other former Soviet Union countries). The first time I went to Russia we arrived in early June and I recall the white nights – when the sun barely sets in St. Petersburg. The experience of sitting by the Finnish bay and watching the sun set and almost immediately reappear was mind-boggling.

So when I noticed the date was June 21st I couldn’t help but recall White Nights on the Finnish bay outside Zelinagorsk .

This is pretty funny – but probably only if you were in Russia leading a summer camp…