The '988 acres of land' edition

Allison, Don and Noah discuss three topics of incomparable importance, and end with an anecdote each about something in Israel that made them smile this week. 988 acres of land Israel has announced the takeover of 988 acres of land belonging to five Palestinian villages in the Etzion settlement bloc, clearing the way for a new settlement named Gvaot. Why did the cabinet decide to appropriate these lands at this moment? Why are Bibi's approval ratings in free-fall? According to a recent poll, PM Netanyahu's approval ratings have taken a sharp dip, the acceleration of a trend that started six weeks ago. Why the plummeting popularity, and what about the political consequences? The “Annual State of the Schools” (ASS) assessment Israeli kids receive more hours of schooling than most OECD countries, but what do they get to show for it? We discuss what works and doesn’t work in Israeli schools at the moment. Playlist: A potpourri of great, classic kids’ music, in honor of the start of school: Ha-Keves Ha-Shisha Asar - Reamim U-VrakimYehudit Ravitz & Yoni Richter - Mah Osot Ha-AyalotMatti Caspi - Shir Am NakiLahakat Iyam - Kilafty Tapus