The honour of the Israeli press is satisfied.
This morning the online edition of the Jerusalem Post carries this story about a surprise election victory in Israel which brings to power a new Prime Minister.
His party is Knufia (not quite sure what the Hebrew pun on Mafia is there), and its reported stunning victory means it will not have to do the usual Israeli thing and form a coalition with these typically Israeli political parties, which would have been its expected partners:
Manyak, the bad drivers' party; Mutek, the obnoxious cabbies party; and Stima, the Sephardi sewer workers party. Masriah, the Ashkenazi sewer workers' party, narrowly failed to pass the threshold necessary for obtaining Knesset seats.
The National Religious Party-National Union was considering joining the coalition "if the calzone served at cabinet meetings is certified kosher" and the yellow in all traffic lights was immediately changed to orange.
But I do have to say that unlike the British newspaper (and even BBC) tradition in April Fools' Day spoofs, no-one's going to be fooled by this report.
Maybe that's because the current news stories coming out of Israel and the Palestinian territories are so grotesquely comic that the parodies lack conviction.
Here's another story from Ha'aretz that might just be a spoof, but could be for real.
Some 1,200 of the soldiers serving at the General Staff base in Tel Aviv are superfluous, according to a recent study carried out by the Israel Defense Forces. The study refers to both male and female conscripts serving in various posts. The figure represents nearly 10 percent of the total staff of the Kirya base.
"We featherbed some of the departments because there is nothing else we can do with these people," General Staff officers admit.
According to the IDF, the situation at the Kirya backs up the recommendations of the Ben-Bassat Committee, which suggested to Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz that military service for male conscripts be shortened by four months. The cabinet approved the committee's recommendations.
According to army officials, the IDF is often unable to discharge some of the soldiers who are not needed because the soldiers simply do not want to leave. This applies, in part, to soldiers who receive special stipends based on their families' economic difficulties. In addition, only recruits with a very poor education, a serious criminal record and other extreme problems are exempt from the draft.
Purim parody or real life? You tell me....
I didn't fall for this one though I must admit to disemminating the other one to Wretchard at Winds of Change who wrote me back a head-scratching email saying it was very mystifying indeed that Melanie Phillips and Mark Steyn had not joined the Grauniad. I was sufficiently cowed I had to write him back to tell him it was a Purim joke. Not going to fall for that again! :(
Posted by: foreign devil | March 16, 2006 at 10:34 PM
Knufia = cabal-like sect or gang. from the word "kanaf" which means wing.
All those Hizbullah and PA splinter-groups could be called "knufiot".
Posted by: Ben-David | March 17, 2006 at 01:43 PM
Wouldn't it be great if, just occasionally, some of those surplus IDF troops did some real fighting in the ME, instead of depending on GIs and squaddies to pull their chestnuts out of the fire?
You know, instead of just beating up stone-slingers and lobbing missiles into crowded Arab districts for a 1 in 5 chance of hitting a 'known terrorist'.
Posted by: Love Supreme | March 18, 2006 at 12:36 PM