Israel’s 97th Day of War  

On the 97^th day of war in Israel, the IDF says that we are virtually in control of Gaza with battles still raging in the Khan Yunis area in an effort to “smoke out” the Hamas leadership, which we believe is hiding in tunnels there.   On the northern border with Lebanon, we continue to see skirmishes with warning sirens heard in the north of Israel last night and again this afternoon.

Sunday will mark 100 days of the present conflict.  Large demonstrations are planned throughout the country to show solidarity with the hostage families and to press the government to move faster on resolving the hostage crisis.

A new Qatari proposal for a ceasefire would see the leaders of Hamas all be deported and all of the hostages captured by the terrorist group released in exchange for the withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza, according to news revealed by Channel 13 citing sources close to officials in Doha, Qatar.

If such a proposal were implemented, hostages would be released in stages.

The Hostage and Missing Families’ Forum, in response, demanded that the Israeli war cabinet approve any deal that would lead to the release of the hostages. “The reports about a new deal that will be presented to the cabinet tonight (Wednesday) give some hope to the families who are anxious about the fate of their loved ones – who have been suffering in the Hamas tunnels for almost 100 days and nights without food, water, and life-saving medical treatment. Every day that passes, the condition of the hostages is getting worse.”

At the Hague in the Netherlands this morning, over 1,000 people marched outside the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in support of Israel, as the hearings opened today on the case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

At the opening of the hearings, South Africa said Israel is subjecting the Palestinian people to apartheid and genocidal acts, in a case it brought against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.  “South Africa contends that Israel has transgressed Article Two of the (Genocide) convention, committing acts that fall within the definition of genocide. The actions show a systematic pattern of conduct from which genocide can be inferred,” Adila Hassim, advocate of the high court of South Africa, said.

It is a galling twist of history that we, who were the targets of the genocide of Nazi Germany against the Jewish people just over 80 years ago, should now be accused of a similar crime as a result of actions in a war that was thrust upon us by the barbaric assault on our country and our people on October 7^th where 1,200 people were murdered and over 250 people were taken hostage.

In my continuing search to identify people in Israel who might be tappable to participate in a new cadre of post-war leadership, it would be wise to consider Dr. Eran Harary, whose capabilities would well address some of the pressing needs we will have here once the war ends and we begin to reconstruct our society.

Eran Harary, MD, is Senior Vice President and Global Head of the Specialty R&D organization at Teva Pharmaceuticals.  A medical doctor, board certified in psychiatry, Eran has more than 17 years’ experience in senior global managerial and leadership roles at large international pharmaceutical companies as well as smaller biotech companies, both in Israel and the US.  His last position there was Senior Director of Neuroscience Development at Pfizer’s Global Headquarters in New York.

Experienced in the world-wide lifecycle management of pharmaceuticals from concept through all development stages to post approval, Eran also has experience in building R&D capabilities in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Big Data to introduce broader use of digital technologies to help drive efficiencies and improved outcomes in pharmaceutical R&D.  Eran earned his MD degree from the Sackler School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, and later trained and practiced as a psychiatrist at the Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer Hospital.

These are the kinds of professionals who, if they were willing to servem could be instrumental in building back both our technical edge and economic strength.