And the winner is...

I'm still on a partial News Strike. But sometimes things are a little too close to home to ignore.

I'm a little more riled than usual that Maj-Gen. Doron Almog (Res.) was forced to stay on the El Al plane and return to Israel so that he wouldn't be arrested for war crimes as result of his participation in various assassination operations in Gaza, as opposed to disembark in order speak at a fundraiser for an organisation supporting Children with Disabilities in good old Solihull.

So now every former IDF General (not a small section of the population) is presumably quaking in his slippers that he might be arrested on suspicion of War Crimes on entry to England, unless he is "lucky" enough to be tipped off first. We'll leave the discussions of what constitutes War Crimes, and why Britain and why now, and whether every country ever engaged in conflict which proscribes compulsory army service and ergo boasts a significant number of retired army generals who like to travel should also be worried, for another time. Meanwhile, I just have one thing to say.

Many ex-military are involved in fund-raising and leadership for some of Israel's most prolific Non-Governmental Organizations, including those which rehabilite the mentally ill, advocate for Human Rights, house the homeless and work to prevent road deaths. Please also note that the majority of Israeli NGOs, being into healing the world and making it a better place and all that, tend not to discriminate as to the race or religion of their clients, meaning that services and support are therefore provided to whoever needs them- Jews, Christians, Muslims- and often tailored accordingly. And here's the rub: Israeli NGOs remain desperately underfunded; hence frequent and creative efforts to raise money, like sending dynamic speakers overseas. Without such funds from overseas, they can't provide the services. It is that simple. Everybody loses.

So. To whoever decided to create this media storm to prove a point of which most of the world is already painful aware- that many innocent Palestinians have tragically been killed in Gaza since 1967- please ask yourselves, while patting yourselves on the back: For whom exactly is this a victory?