Many people are upset that certain people were let in to Meron for the celebrations on lag B'Omer. It was announced that only 150 VIP permits would be granted, 50 each to the Hassidic, Sefardi and Dati bonfires. How each of the 50 was decided, nobody seems to know. Different ministers and the police distributed the permits. In each group there were some rabbonim and community leaders, but there were also plenty of others. No criteria had been published and nobody knows why Reuven was granted a permit and Shimon was not.

That's fine. This country is built on protexia, aka Vitamin P, and there was no way a limited event that normally draws upwards of a quarter million people being limited to 150 people would not be determined by Vitamin P. I think it is to be expected.

This morning found people throwing fits that some like singer Omer Adam and other businessmen and well-connected people were included. Everyone who had given out permits had denied giving these people permits, so nobody knows or is willing to admit to letting them in. The police just said that they showed up with proper permits so they were let in. People are questioning why they should have been allowed in rather than so many others who wanted to get in.

I am not sure why it bothers anyone that Omer Adam or Avishai Neria got in rather than any of the other 148 people. How were any of them chosen? Is anyone asking why Shimon or Yehuda or Shmulik or the specific rabis that were included were allowed in and what made them more deserving than any of the other 250k who wanted to go? is Omer Adam less deserving of using his protexia than any of the others?

For a country that works on protexia, people are simply upset that this time it was someone else's protexia that worked and not their own.

Protexia is the secret weapon of most Israelis. It is sometimes known as Vitamin P. Protexia opens doors and opportunities that are normally sealed shut.

But protexia does not always work. And I don't think there is anyone with more protexia than Avner Netanyahu, son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Avner Netanyahu in China

According to the news report, Avner Netanyahu applied for a job at a pizza shop in Jerusalem, but his application was rejected. Young Netanyahu was willing to do whatever work would be asked of him, but they had to turn him down due to his not being licensed to drive a moped. Every employee, according to their hiring rules, must hold a moped license. No exceptions. not even for the Prime Minister's son.

What a silly decision! Had they hired him, maybe the Prime Minister would have moved over his ice cream budget to be spent at this pizza shop!

I guess there are some doors even protexia cannot open...

Or maybe unemployment is worse than we thought - even the Prime Minister's son can't get a job!

The IDF does not give special treatment to any soldiers, no matter who they are.

That statement is probably not true, but Private Yair Netanyahu did not get any special treatment when he was caught after having abandoned his post to go home for a nice meal.

Channel 2 News reports that Yair Netanyahu, serving in the IDF in the international communications office for the IDF Spokesmans office, was on duty this past Friday night when he decided to go home to join his family for Friday night dinner. He decided on his own, without first getting permission from his commanding officer.

Netanyahu was caught because foreign reporters called the office for a response about something, but nobody answered the phone.

Considering he was on duty with another soldier, the article says nothing about why the other soldier did not answer the phone.

When they could not find Yair, they contacted him by phone. he responded with a text message saying he ran home to bring some food. A few hours later, it became clear he had not just run home for a quick bite or to bring food back to the office, but he had gone home for a nice long meal.

Netanyahu was judged and "convicted" to 3 weeks on base without leaving, for abandoning his post and for lying to his commanding officer.

I think it is pretty cool that he gets what he deserves despite being the son of the prime minister... no protexia will be used to save him from this..

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Army? Hah!

Most people have some sort of favorite number. Mine is 23 because of all the great sportsmen who played on Chicago teams who wore jersey #23, specifically Ryne Sandberg (and of course Michael Jordan and others, but Ryno was the sports idol I really grew up with).

In Israel, many people consider the number 5 to be their lucky number. 5 is represented by the symbol of the "hamsa". The hamsa, very popular in sephardic culture (any sephardim out there reading this should feel free to correct me if I explain something incorrectly), is an ancient talisman protect from "ayin hara" - the evil eye. It is symbolic of the open hand of God. Hamsa in Hebrew/Arabic/Aramaic means 5 and is sometimes associated with the 5 books of the Torah.
Somebody just showed me their babies identity card number. The Israeli identity card consists of an id number that is 9 digits long and one is assigned it either at birth or upon making aliya. So this person, who recently had a baby, showed me her child's identity card number. The child's number had five of its digits being the number 5.

How did she get that number? She went to have the baby and she has a relative who is a midwife in the hospital. Every hospital is alloted a certain number of identity numbers every day for babies that will be born that day. When she went in to have her baby, her relative said here is the list of id numbers we can give out today - is there any specific one that catches your eye?

She looked through the pile of papers and saw the one with 5 number 5s. She right away took it.

Protexia can even get you a better id number!