Today marked a full month since the beginning of the conflict. The Israeli death toll is at around 130, and I think we’ve passed the 1000 mark on the other side. Lots of people are badly wounded, and their lives are destroyed. The economic damage is enormous, and is currently hard to figure (and doesn’t receive too much coverage). There is already a UN resolution, and at the time of the writing, also the Lebanese government confirmed it. Tomorrow morning (Sunday) my government will also confirm it. It is supposed to start on Monday at 7:00 AM local time, which is midnight in New York.
So why does the fighting go on? I don’t know what’s going on on the other side, but I have lots of criticism on my government for raging on with a last minute operation. It is already reported that 11 soldiers were killed today, after the UN decision, plus an unknown number of casualties in helicopter crash (probably hit by Hizbullah).
The headlines of the Israeli online news services in Hebrew say that this is a last effort to “win” and to reach the Litani river. But why? All the territory that will be held will require maintanence by many soldiers, until they will be replaced by the Lebanese army or multinational force. This endangers them and also costs a lot of money (for reserve soldiers). I don’t get it.
In the middle of the last week, just a few days ago, I began job searching. I decided that I should attend my bank account. I started slowly and contacted only one agency. That’s how it work in hitech jobs in Israel. You usually don’t apply to a company directly, but go through a “middleman”. These agencies, do all the filtering work for the hiring company, and get paid by them. It costs the worker anything. I know at least 5 good agencies like this, out of tens that are operating.
Anyway, I sent my CV only to one of them. They called me immediately, thanking me, and said they would check around. OK, take your time.
Suddenly I was stormed with phone calls. I had one interview on Thursday and I have 5 more for next week. I guess that more interviews will be set up during the week. It’s amazing. I am definitely not a great specialist or an extraordinairy professional. It’s the market, not myself. There is a great boom in the Israeli hitech industry, and it seems that also a month of war didn’t do anything to stop it. Even the slow month of August, when many Israelis take a vacation (well not like in Europe) doesn’t stop the great job market.
I am happy that it is this way, at least for myself. It’s nice being wanted, having job security. On a broader look, it isn’t so good. It just shows the extreme gaps that exist in Israel. The past years have seen economic growth. American economic growth. It affected only a small layer in society. The current war just widens the gap. While almost a third of the country’s population are stranded in shelters (if they have where to run to), the people living in the center of Israel still enjoy prosperity.
Something to think about, as soon as the ceasefire starts.