{UPDATE: “Netanyahu to fly to Russia ahead of Naama Issachar’s release”…..scroll down and read the prognostication within re this so-called pardon….yes, the price paid for the pothead’s release is beyond a betrayal to the nation – never mind the smoke and mirrors re Bibi’s diplo prowess!}

FULL DISCLOSURE: If not for this writer’s relationship with Tsafrir Ronen (of blessed memory), one of Israel’s “Lions of Zion“, much of the insight gleaned over the years – vis-à-vis Israel’s mendacious leaders and non-elected functionaries – would be mired in the leadership’s smoke and mirrors shows.

THOUGH 11 years has passed since said hero is no longer among us, oftentimes, it feels like yesterday that we worked side by side. At the same time, on a very personal level, this tower of (Zionist) strength was a very gentle and caring man. As such, Tsafrir (of blessed memory) will always be considered a “blood brother.”  

ALAS, upon hearing of his sudden passing (from his devoted wife), the following was featured at Israel National News, Arutz Sheva – Israel’s Hero, My Hero

While all lovers of Zion anxiously scan the news regarding the IAF’s “shock and awe” operation against Hamas, those who received the shocking news of Tsafrir Ronen’s untimely and very sudden death this very same weekend could not help but be shaken to the core of their souls.

While every death deeply affects family and friends, few of those deaths can be described as a monumental loss for Zion. The passing of Tsafrir Ronen, z”l – a stalwart, non-intimidated defender of Zion – will surely register as such, when the history of modern Israel is told in full.

As a former Sayeret Matkal (General Staff Reconnaissance Unit) commando, a prolific documentary filmmaker and a founder of the Nahalal Forum, to name a few of his accomplishments, Tsafrir was a totally devoted defender of the land and people of Israel.

An individual with great vision and a sweeping understanding of Jewish history, he knew instinctively that the war being waged against Israel had many dimensions. As a warrior he understood well the military dynamics, but it was his visceral and incisive understanding of the media war being waged against us that caused him to stand head and shoulders above the rest.

To that end, he decided to direct all of his passions and energies – through the use of his extensive knowledge of the media – to save Israel both from its external foes and internal ones. As the ex-CEO of the Israel History Channel, he knew what needed to be done media-wise. Constructively, he put his vision to work by creating the conceptual and business underpinnings for Israel World Television, the first pro-Israel satellite channel to be broadcast worldwide, providing for 24/7 coverage, FOX News-like.

He assembled an all-star lineup of backers, which included major players in the Israeli and worldwide business scene, coupled with a roster of the most astute political thinkers on the Israeli landscape today. Most importantly, he had the backing of Natan Sharansky, a man of worldwide respect as a champion of freedom. What his diverse group of supporters had in common was the intrinsic understanding that Israel is losing the battle on the media front and that we are at an existential crossroads. They all believed that Tsafrir had the integrity, vision, and expertise to lead the charge.

The sudden loss of this wonderful, humble man is first and foremost a devastating one for his loving and supportive wife Judy and their “three blondinas”, the pet name he had for his three beautiful, blond-haired daughters. They were his pride and joy. On a personal level, I will miss my best friend in Israel; a man I considered my “blood brother”, with whom I worked side by side to support him in his mission and vision.

On a national level, his loss will most likely be appreciated when history is written. In the same manner that few understood the profound essence of all of Ze’ev Jabotinsky’s efforts for our homeland while he was alive, so, too, will Tsafrir’s undertakings resonate in future generations. I suspect that he will be the model that future generations of Zionists will emulate when his activities on behalf of Zion become more widely known.

Rest in peace, my dear friend. May your memory be for a blessing. With eternal friendship.

KNOW this: The above is hardly a meandering trip down memory lane. Rather, it is precisely due to the lack of statesmanship and moral leadership (polar opposites to Tsafrir, of blessed memory) that Jewish scoundrels (the Joint Arab List Party and its terror supporters, too) find their “home(s)” within Israel’s dysfunctional political system. Effectively, party hacks can utterly defy the will of the majority public – despite the promises made to the very same electorate that ushered them into the top tier! This is so because Israel is not a representative democracy within any realm of democratic norms. Third election, anyone?? Pointedly, the underpinnings of this broken swamp can be found via Vote Right, Get Left:The Paradox of Israeli Politics. 

WITH that truth-telling set straight, “deals with the devil” have become business as usual and the “norm” within Israel’s hierarchy. Consider:

• As is said, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Revealingly, this writer’s analysis from 2007 (beforehand, too) is a mirror image to another from 2015 and onward….up until today. More specifically, a straight line can be drawn between “No Crime Without Punishment” (a.k.a. Nullum Crimen Sine Poena, July 2007); to “Israel’s Appeasing Leaders: Supplying & Aiding Hamas’ ‘Rebuilding’ Efforts – To What End?” (May 2015); to “Is My Brother Worth Less Than A Deal For Strawberries?“, onto “Israel To Hand Over Sovereignty And Possibly Prisoners to free Naama Issachar” (Jan. 2020).

INCONTESTABLY, the above outrages (plus, decades worth of others) have one main component and ingredient in common – and this is aside from, and atop of,  the structural quagmire: appeasement.

IN the first three instances, Hamas (akin to the PA junta, and assorted Brotherhood Mafia appendages/front-groups) is the beneficiary of the leadership’s political chicanery. As evidenced and excerpted within all three:

IN 2007, in the first instance….

……On a daily basis, Jewish soldiers and security officers risk life and limb to capture these killers, but the Israeli leadership treats their heroic actions as nothing more than a game of cat-and-mouse. Not only is this message seared into the souls of the soldiers, thus demoralizing them, but also into the consciousness of the terrorists. How many times have we witnessed the humiliating spectacle of newly captured terrorists smile for the cameras, wave victory fingers, and brazenly state that they expect to be released, while being hauled off to jail?

IN 2015, in the second instance…..

Israel allowed 14,000 tons of building material into Gaza on Wednesday, the defense ministry said of the largest single shipment since last summer’s Hamas terror war – despite the fact that Hamas is using such materials to rapidly rebuild its terror tunnels to attack Israel.

COGAT, the IDF Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, told AFP that some 354 trucks passed through the Kerem Shalom goods crossing in southern Gaza carrying “construction materials,” without elaborating what goods were let in.

The news comes as Hamas is working to rebuild its tunnels into Israel that were used to attack Israelis in Operation Protective Edge to lethal effect.

Hamas is intensively rebuilding its terror tunnel infrastructure, with the digging reportedly taking place six days a week with three shifts each day.

Over 1,000 diggers are said to be employed by Hamas to construct the tunnels, and the current estimation is that the tunnels lead up to Israeli territory – Hamas will extend them beyond when it feels the time is right to strike.

It was cleared for publication on Wednesday that Hamas had planned to use its tunnels for a massive abduction operation during last summer’s war.

Despite the overwhelming evidence that Hamas is gearing up for its next terror war against Israel after its third attempt fell short last summer, Israel continues to ship in construction goods that are being used to rebuild the tunnels…..

CLEAR as a bell.

IN 2020, in the third instance…..

Goldin said at the panel, “Every family in Israel sends its sons to the IDF in order for them to return home. There is a heavy issue here. It is the duty of the state to give the feeling of security to every citizen. There is terrorism here against the families [of the missing soldiers]. There is a terrorist organization here that uses every means to disintegrate Israeli society through the families of the missing soldiers.”

“Five and a half years ago, during Operation Protective Edge, we consciously decided that we lost to terror and abandoned the fighters and this is done blatantly every day. It is inconceivable that every day there is an ‘arrangement’ [with Hamas]. We’re talking about an upgrade of the Gaza Strip,” Goldin charged.

“There’s a gas pipeline that went under the radar last week and was arranged to enter the Strip. Are Hadar or [Avera] Mengistu or other IDF soldiers who were left behind worth less than a gas pipeline or a deal for strawberries? Is the Qatari money which pays the salaries to Hamas officials in Gaza worth more than Hadar and Oron?” Goldin wondered. “The most blatant point that needs to be said here is that our children and our pride in our country and the justification for being here are being harmed. There is a government here that does not miss an opportunity to abandon soldiers and blatantly does so.”

Goldin added, “We in the family do not think that Hadar should be returned at all costs. We say sharply and clearly that they should not be abandoned at all costs and this is what has been done for the past five and a half years. Freeing terrorists is not the only way to release prisoners and missing persons. In two months, US President Trump is going to introduce his ‘Deal of the Century’. Will the captives and missing persons be included in the deal?

TRUE to form, again, in Jan. 2020, at the same time that the captives’ families query aloud – as to the continuous, dangerous, egregious, and insufferable “deals made with the (Islamic) devil” – Naama Issachar, an actual dope-carrier, smuggler, if you will, rest assured, will receive a “get out of (Russian) jail” and “Deal of the Century”, too, at the hands of Israel’s appeasing and mendacious leaders! At what (national) cost? And, how can this be? Rhetorical.

Yaffa Issachar, Naama’s mother, met Thursday with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Russian President Putin at the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem.

“It’s clear Naama is from a good family,” Putin said after the meeting. We will take everything into account when we make the decision. Everything will be fine,” Putin promised Yaffa after the meeting.

Netanyahu’s office responded, “PM Netanyahu is very satisfied from President Putin’s statement, and thanks him for his readiness.”

“I am excited, optimistic. The journey is behind us,” Yaffa told Channel 13 earlier. “I hope this is it, that I will hear something good from the president, that he will bring my daughter home to Israel. It’s hard to digest that a simple person like me would meet a president of such status.”

In Israel, a package of gestures was formulated for the Russians to allow President Putin to make the decision to release Naama Issachar.

Her impending release will not only be possible thanks to “Alexander’s Courtyard” in the Old City, recorded in the records about three weeks ago in the name of the Russian Church; Israel also intends to change its attitude toward a number of other Russian properties in Jerusalem, including a part of the Russian Compound which is not the famous detention complex.

Channel 12 reported that the Russians demanded procedural relief on assets that have a Russian connection. In addition, Israel is committed to facilitating access to the Russian monastery and church in the Ein Karem neighborhood of the capital. Alongside all this, Israel will loosen the criteria for Russian citizens to enter the country.

IF that is not mind-blowing enough…..

Naama Issachar, an Israeli backpacker, was on her way home to Israel from India when she was found to be in possession of marijuana. In April 2019, Issachar was sentenced to a 7.5-year prison sentence in Russia.

According to Galatz, in October, when the issue of requesting pardon came up, Naama asked her mother, “Mom, why do I need a pardon? That means I’m a criminal and I’m not.”

However, though she claimed to have “no idea” how the drug got into her bag, Naama was recorded telling her friend that she’s “in much bigger trouble” than the two had hoped for. She has also claimed that she never confessed to the smuggling attempt.

MOST significantly, how can an Israeli leadership justify going to such great lengths for a dope-carrier, who, according to this investigative journalist’s opinion, should shut up and do her time for her crime. On the other hand, meanwhile, Israel’s war heroes are left in the bloody hands of Hamas, at the same time that Hamas (and assorted terror groups) receives gift….after gift….after gift…..

DEAR reader, it all goes back to the fact that none of the leaders are DIRECTLY accountable to the electorate – most especially, the PM, who happens to be a “serial appeaser“, to boot!