Moshe Kachlon, the former Likud minister who busted the mobile phone oligarchy in Israel, announced on Sunday he is forming a new party to run in the next scheduled elections in 2017, assuming the current coalition holds together that long.

Kachlon resisted appeals from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to run again in the previous elections a year ago. The former minister of communications won wide popularity by allowing mobile phone competition, which has brought user rates down by 90 percent.

His new party will be based on a  social-economic platform, the badge of the Labor party that has consistently disappointed its supporters by concerning itself more with intra-party strife than its platform. Labor, unlike Kahlon’s new party, also has been saddled weighed down with an obligation by tradition to oppose a strong Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria.

Kachlon’s support also will come from many who voted for Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party, which so far has done little to fulfill its promise of being the champion of the middle class.

Trade and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett announced during a trip to Indonesia that Israel will be providing agricultural assistance to a large Islamic country which has no ties to Israel, according to a report in Makor Rishon.

At the international trade conference, Bennett spoke with Foreign Ministers from dozens of countries including Islamic countries with no ties to Israel.

The goal of many of the discussions was to see how Israeli expertise can be used to assist these countries in increasing their agricultural yields and feed their populations, as well as increasing economic cooperation in general.

Bennett, accompanied by a heavy guard detail, spoke to 157 delegates at the conference, the first Israeli minister to visit Jakarta in 13 years.

During his speech, not a single delegate left the room, and the Palestinian issue was not even mentioned at any of the meetings, according to Bennett.

Bennett said, “The only thing they want to hear from Israel was about developing technology.”

A German soccer team withdrew from a sponsorship agreement with Saudi Arabia’s national airline because it refuses to ticket Israeli citizens.

The FSV Frankfurt team abrogated the contract with Saudia this week after criticism leveled by Jewish groups and other organizations, according to the Associated Press.

The airline’s director told The New York Post in July that it does not fly Israeli citizens because they are not allowed into Saudi Arabia. In the case of a delayed or rerouted plane, Jews could land in the country, which does not have diplomatic relations with Israel.

The Interior Ministry will grant Evgeny Kissin, one of the world’s leading classical pianists and an enthusiastic Jewish supporter of Israel, Israeli citizenship event though he does not live in the country, the Jewish Agency said Thursday

Kissin, 42, told Jewish Agency Chairman Sharansky a year ago that he was interested in acquiring Israeli citizenship in order to enable him to “fight for Israel not only as a Jew, but also as an Israeli” although he is not permanently based in Israel. Sharansky passed on the request to the government.

“There are other Jewish musicians who reach Kissin’s level of musical talent, but it isn’t every day that so acclaimed a musician joins the fight for Israel so openly and so uncompromisingly,” said Sharansky.

Upon receiving an honorary doctorate from the Hebrew University in 2010, Kissin said, “Wherever we Jews live, our thoughts, hopes, and prayers are always with Israel and with our ancient and holy capital, Jerusalem. We Jews have every reason to be proud of the State of Israel.”

He will arrive in Israel this weekend in order to receive the citizenship and will perform in a one-time benefit concert at Jerusalem’s International Convention Center.

Kissin was born in Moscow and began playing and improvising on the piano at the age of two. At the age of six, he enrolled in the Gnessin State Musical College, and he had his international debut at the age of 12 in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. Kissin has been called “one of the great pianists of our time” and has been presented with two Grammy Awards and Honorary Membership in the Royal Academy of Music.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry took out his diplomatic mask Thursday when he told Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Thursday, “I can’t emphasize enough that Israel’s security in this negotiation is at the top of our agenda.”

He then brought out his record player so the Prime Minister could hear again what American officials have said several thousand times – “Israel has the right to defend himself.”

If that is reassurance, Israel is in big trouble because every time the United States, or the United Nations, grants Israel the unique right to defend itself, that means that Israel must exalt in pride for the recognition and shut up and let others decide what is best for the country.

Kerry is fooling himself, President Obama and media monkeys by thinking that Netanyahu believes him when he says, “Israel’s security…, is at the top of our agenda.”

It was at the top of its agenda in 2006 when Israel had to agree to the Second Lebanese War ceasefire resolution that “guaranteed” Israel’s security by forbidding foreign armies, like Hezbollah, to keep weapons.

Tzipi Livni, who then was foreign minister, signed the agreement with a straight face. Don’t forget, the same Tzipi Livni is Israel’s chief negotiator today with the Palestinian Authority.

The American concern for Israel’s security last month meant signing with Iran an agreement that gives it want it wants – less sanctions – without getting anything in return except words, more or less what Israel gets from Kerry and Obama when it gives up its tactical strength to keep the Palestinian Authority from picking then country to pieces, peace by peace.

Kerry’s concern for Israel’s security meant squeezing Netanyahu in July to agree to free 104 Arab murderers in return for resuming talks with the same Palestinian Authority that exalts terror.

Kerry’s soft sell to Netanyahu Thursday was a classic, a continuation of his style of patting Israel on the shoulder while shoving the knife in the back.

Of course, the bond between the US and Israel is “unbreakable,” and so what if there are a few minor differences between friends? After all, the only thing that really counts is that both the United States and Israel want peace on a piece of paper.

Kerry reassured Netanyahu that he has nothing to worry about and that the United States “will do everything in our power to make certain that Iran’s nuclear program, [and] weaponization possibilities are terminated.”

Given the history of the Obama administration, Israel can be reassured that the United States will not deliver on whatever it promises Israel because the White House assumes that the Netanyahu government is forever masochistic if not suicidal.

Kerry offered a gentle reminder why Washington is so sure that Netanyahu will sit every time an Obama official says, “Nice doggie.”

He referred to the Arrow ballistic missile interceptor at the Palmachim base near Tel Aviv when he said, “I want to see first-hand the remarkable ballistic missile defense technologies in place that our nation has spent over 20 years building with our friends here in Israel.”

If it was not clear that America expects Israel to follow marching orders in return for aid for defense systems, Kerry immediately followed with, “The advancement of these programs in recent years, I think, is a reflection of President Obama’s and his administration’s strong commitment, unwavering commitment to Israel’s security.”

Israel has been in constant war with Arabs even before the re-establishment of the modern state in 1948. It has survived countless double-crosses, agreements and terrorist attacks from all sides.

Therefore, according to American logic, the United States knows how Israel should defend itself.

The rainy season officially has begun in Israel, with snow falling on the Hermon mountain and streets in Jerusalem flooded.

November was almost totally dry, and special prayers for rain have been inserted Prime Minister Netanyahu daily prayers because 30 days have gone by without precipitation since Jews in Israel began the usual request for precipitation beginning two weeks after Shemini Azereth-Simchat Torah.

Outside of Israel, Jews began adding the request on Wednesday, December 4, coincidentally when rain began falling in some parts of Israel before spreading today.

The Kinneret, which could reach flood levels this year, rose for the first time Thursday after having fallen to 2.6 meters, or 102 inches, below the level at which the Degania dam would be opened to prevent flooding in Tiberias and surrounding areas.

The official forecast calls for scattered showers to continue through Sunday.

One has to be sparing with exclamation points, but this one’s a lollapalooza.  A dilly!  A doozie.  A big honkin’ mess-a that Middle East Security Hotness.  You heard right folks:  the United States of America has a “West Bank security proposal” for Israel, and we’re sending a retired Army general to present it to Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, himself.  !!!!!!!!!!

Why did no one think of this before?  Finally, someone has done something pragmatic and positive about the Israeli-Palestinian standoff, and just written up a proposal for the Israelis to chew on already.  The Obama administration has at last gotten things off top dead center with Iran, and it’s time to tackle those other intractable Middle East Security Problems, while the momentum is still red-hot.

The New York Times has done yeoman work in recent years pitching verbatim the information themes of the Obama administration, but interestingly, it comes off as a tad perfunctory in the story about the West Bank security proposal.  The tale seems to lack a little of that believer’s heart to it.  You might almost get the sense that there’s some editorial skepticism about the wisdom of this fresh Brainstorming for Peace initiative.

Almost.  Letting the Obama administration off the hook, as usual, for vagueness and strange diplomatic fire, NYT notes the following:

General Allen’s presentation appears to signify a more active American role, in which the United States is doing more than coaxing the Israelis and the Palestinians to negotiate and is presenting its own ideas.

What are the ideas about, exactly?  The NYT authors again:

Officials involved in the negotiations said security had been the prime focus lately, with most of the discussion revolving around the Jordan Valley. Israel has insisted that its own military continue to patrol there, rather than rely on an international force similar to those responsible for its tense borders with Lebanon and Syria. The Palestinians have said they cannot abide the presence of any Israeli soldiers in their future state.

Keep in mind, if George W. Bush’s officials were being so elliptical about a U.S.-drafted West Bank security proposal, NYT would be right in there concluding indignantly that American troops were about to be drop-kicked into the Jordan Valley to embroil a duped and overextended United States in Another Vietnam Quagmire (Marine Barracks Beirut Variety).  It would be barely possible to figure out what the Bush administration had actually said, so thick would be the underbrush of quotes from policy “critics” through which the reader would have to hack.

No such quotes enliven the current NYT piece.  The Obama administration gets the benefit of the doubt.  Maybe putting U.S. prestige and bona fides on the line with an unsolicited, and apparently very specific, security proposal to an ally isn’t a bad idea.  Maybe it’s not undiplomatic and prejudicial to announce it publicly before our briefer has even presented it to Israel’s prime minister.  Maybe it’s just, what, enthusiastic.  Maybe there’s nothing to be concerned about in the fact that the preemptive announcement is so vague.  Hey, we’re just talking – probably – a about U.S. proposal for administering military security in the Jordan Valley.  What could go wrong?

NYT lets this priceless, preemptive characterization go without comment:

State Department officials described the security briefing as an “ongoing process” and not a finished product on which the United States was demanding a yes-or-no vote from the Israeli side.

Sure, because announcing it in advance will put no onus on Israel to respond in a yes-or-no-type manner.  This formulation is like an addict pleading that he’s not using, he’s just snorting some coke.

The following article was written by Daniel Estrin, published on PRI (Public Radio International) and disseminated by JTA.

Last Saturday, I was pruning some plants on the balcony of my fourth-floor apartment in Jerusalem when I tossed a dead leaf over the ledge and saw Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu standing below.

I was surprised. The prime minister’s official residence is just up the street, but he usually gets around by motorcade. It was the first time I had seen him walking around the block since he took office.

What surprised me more was why he (and his son and about 15 armed guards) had stopped below my building. He was on a Sabbath stroll in the neighborhood, wearing sneakers and a black shirt, and had stopped to help an old man take out the trash.

So the man lives next door, I thought to myself. It was the old man I always see shuffling around the neighborhood with a walker, the tongues of his Velcro shoes sticking up out of place. I always felt sorry, and worried, for him. Once, I helped him cross the street, but I never struck up a conversation.

And there was Netanyahu, chatting with the man for minutes. At one point, Netanyahu asked an aide for a notebook and pen, jotted something down, and pocketed the small piece of paper. [Netanyahu is not Sabbath observant – ed.]

He shook the old man’s hand, and left. And the old man shuffled back to his apartment, alone.

It took a whole week before I finally ran into the old man at the corner convenience store, and introduced myself.

Turns out the old man is not very old at all. Rami Yizraeli is only 69-years-old. A stroke left him barely able to walk, but it left his mind sharp.

Last Saturday, when he looked up to see Netanyahu standing before him, Yizraeli pounced on the unexpected one-on-one with the Israeli leader to share his greatest dream: to memorialize the 1,000 Jews, fighters and civilians, who were killed in Jerusalem in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that led to the establishment of Israel as a state.

Many of those killed were never memorialized, Yizraeli said. Their names were not properly recorded on memorial plaques, and their families were never given proper compensation, as the Israeli government does with the families of war victims.

Working as a historian for the Ministry of Defense in the 1990s, Yizraeli scoured burial society archives, met with families and, with luck and coincidence, discovered the names of people who had been killed but never properly recorded and remembered. These included the two brothers who had arrived from Canada to fight in the war and the baker who was killed by a bomb while walking in the street. Thanks to Yizraeli’s sleuthing, numerous Israeli families began receiving government compensation.

His dream, he told Netanyahu, was to list those victims, whose names were now known, on a stone that commemorates the war and is displayed — but etched with no names — near Israel’s Supreme Court.

Netanyahu jotted down Yizraeli’s name and phone number on a piece of paper.

“Thank goodness I had remembered my new number,” Yizraeli said. And the very next morning, Netanyahu’s cabinet secretary phoned him, saying the matter was important to the government and that he was interested in implementing Yizraeli’s idea, and that they would be in touch.

His dream may come true — all because of a serendipitous encounter with a prime minister helping him take out the trash.

“My entire life has been about coincidence,” Yizraeli said to me on the bench, and smiled.