MK Uri Maklev (UTJ) met with the heads of the Population Registry of the Ministry of the Interior out of concern that many people will not be able to vote in the upcoming elections because the branches of the Ministry of the Interior around the country are all swamped with no available appointments, so people who need to register for identity cards, or to replace lost cards, have too long a wait. They cant get appointments any time soon, so they cant get registered to vote (ie they cant get their identity card so wouldnt be able to vote).

Minister of Interior Eli Yishai (Shas) has decided to put the listing of nationality, stating "Jew", back on the teudat zehut of Israeli citizens. Yishai says it is optional, and only people who want it listed will have it added.

The irony is that Yishai is the one who had it removed originally. He did so because he had to get around a decision by the Supreme Court that would have forced him to write "Jew" on the identity cards of converts that he personally, not really personally but according to the rabbonim he follows, does not accept as Jews. To avoid the problem, he removed the entire listing from the teudat zehut.

Yishai says he is bringing the listing back because he has been requested to by older holocaust survivors. Many have old identity cards that still list "JEW", and have been replacing them recently with new cards due to wear and tear. Upon seeing that "JEW" is no longer listed, they get upset, and have been petitioning him to have it returned.

Another item of irony is that when Yishai originally removed the listing, the Reform and Conservative movements were furious. They recognized it for what it was, a way of circumventing the listing of their converts as Jews. Now, with Yishai bringing the listing back, they are again furious, claiming the listing as a blow to pluralism and freedom. They are calling ti a strategic threat to the Jewish people.

First they Yishai did not want it, and now he does. First The Reform wanted it, and now they oppose it.

I wonder what Yishai will do the first time a Conservative or Reform convert wants his teudat zehut to say "JEW"... he got around it last time by removing the listing, what will he do next time?

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!