Archive for month: June, 2017

Conversion Controversy
PM Netanyahu is meeting this morning with the heads of his coalition partners to attempt to work out a solution to solve the controversy generated by a bill that would make the Chief Rabbinate the only body authorized to convert people to Judaism in Israel. The bill would pull the government’s recognition of private conversions, namely those not conducted by the Chief Rabbinate, even when those conversions are conducted by Orthodox rabbis or courts.

While the bill does not directly effect conversions conducted outside of Israel, the fear is that it might eventually impinge on those too.

The approval of the bill by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation gives the proposal coalition support, which generally all but guarantees its passage in the Knesset. But statements against the proposal by Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Lieberman could potential threaten its passing.

The PM is leaning towards delaying the Knesset vote on the bill for at least six months.

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Congressional Critics
Four Jewish Democratic members of Congress criticized PM Netanyahu’s suspension of the agreement to build a non-Orthodox prayer space at the Western Wall. They are Representatives Eliot Engel, Nita Lowey and Jerry Nadler of New York and Ted Deutch of Florida.

Engel said, “I typically refrain from weighing in on internal Israeli government decisions, but the recent developments affecting Kotel prayer and conversion have deeply affected the entire Jewish community, including communities in my district. Certainly, the Jewish community is stronger when united rather than divided. I implore the Israeli government to reverse these decisions and engage in a dialogue with the diverse diaspora Jewish community on how to move forward.”

Lowey said, “Israel should provide an opportunity for all Jews, men and women, to have egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall.”

Nadler said, “I am deeply concerned by trends showing young American Jews’ dwindling levels of support for and identification with the state of Israel, and I worry that this decision by the Israeli government will only affirm suspicions that their voices and perspectives have been deemed irrelevant.”

Deutch said he some of his Jewish constituents had expressed disappointment to him about Netanyahu’s decision. “These are members of the community who deeply love and support Israel and they’re hurt and disappointed. I have to say I’m disappointed, too. And I say that not just as a member of Congress, but also as an American Jew.”

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No German Deal
Germany has scrapped a billion dollar deal to lease Heron-2 drones from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). The reason for the cancellation is because the new drones were already equipped with offensive weapons systems. Germany’s government coalition is against using drones for attacking targets. They want to use them exclusively for intelligence gathering. Germany is currently operating more than ten Heron-1 drones around the world.

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Olmert Out
Former PM Ehud Olmert will be paroled from prison on Sunday after serving a year and four months or two thirds of his sentence.

The Justice Ministry said in a statement:

“In a discussion at the attorney general’s office this evening, with the participation of the state prosecutor and the top echelon of the State Attorney’s Office, the parole board’s decision in the case of Ehud Olmert was thoroughly studied.”
 
“The State Attorney’s Office recommended that, on considering all the circumstances of the case, there is no basis for appealing to the district court against the parole board’s decision. The attorney general adopted the recommendation, and accordingly it was decided not to file an appeal with the district court.”

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Super Shekel
The Israeli shekel continues to gain strength over the dollar and euro. That’s bad news for tourists heading to Israel. It’s also bad for Israeli exporters, whose products are now more expensive. Today the shekel fell below NIS 3.50 per US dollar.

The Bank of Israel is now coming under intense pressure to intervene in foreign currency trading and buy foreign exchange in order to weaken the shekel and help exporters. In April and May, the Bank of Israel bought over $2 billion in foreign currency, intervening every time the exchange rate went below NIS 3.60 per dollar. But for the past month now, the Bank of Israel has sat on the sidelines while the shekel slipped below NIS 3.50/$.

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Math Wiz
According to the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), a prominent annual publication of university rankings by Shanghai Ranking Consultancy, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem ranks 11th in Math. The Weizmann Institute was ranked 10th in computer sciences and 50th in chemistry.

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Jewish Link
The Jewish Link of New Jersey has published a great feature article about IsraelAM. To read the article click here.

Shabbat Transport
One day after successfully pressuring the government to disband the compromise agreement allowing for an egalitarian prayer area at the Kotel, the ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and UTJ sent a letter to the Ministry of Transport asking that it revoke permits for public transportation on Shabbat in municipalities that permit it including Holon, Ramat Hasharon and Herzliya.

The letter said, “Amendment 28 to the Traffic Ordinance enables the Minister of Transportation to preserve the honor of Shabbat and to decrease its public desecration. The amendment states that ‘the Minister shall take into account, as far as possible, the tradition of Israel, with regard to the prohibition on the movement of vehicles on days of rest’. This refers to the desecration of Shabbat and Jewish holidays via public transportation.”

On a related issue, the Haredi parties have succeeded in moving a bill through the Knesset that places the sole authority to conduct conversions under the auspices of the Chief Rabbinate. The law would bypass the Supreme Court’s decision to recognize private conversion for the purpose of the Law of Return.

Currently, all conversions conducted abroad by Orthodox or non-Orthodox rabbis are accepted by the State of Israel for granting citizenship under the Law of Return. The state rabbinate only recognizes conversions by Orthodox rabbis who are on a pre-approved list. The rabbinate controls marriage registration. That means converts converted by non-Orthodox rabbis or by Orthodox rabbis not on the “list” cannot be married in Israel.

The ultra-Orthodox parties view prohibiting public transportation on Shabbat and authority over conversion as vital to maintaining the Jewish character of the state.

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Air Strikes
The Israeli Air Force attacked two Hamas military targets in Gaza last night after a rocket launched from Gaza landed in Israel (in an open area). A terror group related to ISIS claimed responsibly for the rocket attack. Israel holds Hamas responsible for all military activity in Gaza.

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Outsourcing Tech
Due to a growing shortage of computer programmers and engineers, Israeli tech companies are outsourcing to Eastern Europe. There are currently hundreds of development centers located primarily in the Ukraine, but also in Lithuania, Bulgaria and Poland.

For example, Wix.com, which helps small businesses build websites and is one of Israel’s hottest tech companies, employs 120 workers in two development centers in Ukraine and another 80 at a site in Lithuania. Salaries in the Eastern European countries are 40% lower than in Israel. Most of the European workers speak English and there are also many Russian speaking Israeli, so communications isn’t a problem. Also, the countries and Israel share the same time zone.

The government is working on initiatives to improve math and science education and to integrate more Arabs and Haredim into the tech industry. But the shortage of programmers and engineers is expected to grow to over 10,000 within a decade.

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Increased Security
PM Netanyahu announced last night that he intends to beef up security arrangements and implement other changes at the Damascus Gate in the Old City, where numerous terror attacks have taken place including the recent one that claimed the life of Hadas Malka.

He said, “I asked for changes at the Damascus Gate. They have prepared a plan to augment security and restrict the freedom of action by potential terrorists. I approved the this plan and it will be implemented extremely soon.”

Regarding the Damascus Gate he said, “The gate has become a gathering for murderers time and again, for attackers time and again. It has become a symbol of terrorism and has also become a symbol for anti-terrorism, of the fight against terrorism. That is why I asked for a plan and changes.”

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Blood Money
Speaking in the name of Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, PA spokesman Nabil Shaath said the Palestinians have a “social responsibility” to offer monetary payouts to the families of prisoners in Israeli jails because they are “political prisoners,” and that the payouts are the PA’s way of “look(ing) after innocent people affected by the incarceration or killing of their loved ones as a result of the military occupation.”

The statement incurred a wave of responses from victims of terror groups, saying that it showed the true face of the Palestinian political leadership.

Can the peace process move forward while these terror payments continue?

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Lights On
Egypt has shipped 1 million liters of fuel to power the sole electricity power plant in Gaza yesterday. The move undercuts Abbas’s attempt to punish Hamas by cutting off his supply of electricity to Gaza and stopping tax payments to Israel, which caused Israel to cut its electricity supply to Gaza too. Hamas officials said more fuel shipments are expected this week, adding that 1 million liters can keep the plant running for three-and-a-half days.

Abbas has not commented publicly on the Egyptian shipment, but aides have said he is upset with the Arab nation for undercutting his pressure campaign. The Egyptian aide seems surprising, since Egypt has been trying to isolate and weaken Hamas, which it blames for supporting unrest in the Sinai. But there are political motives behind the aide, which relate to a former Gaza leader, Mohammed Dahlan, whom the Egyptians would like to see back in power. The aide is apparently part of a deal to increase Dahlan’s political presence in Gaza.

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Beersheva Parade
Around 4,000 marchers participated in Beersheva’s first ever gay pride parade last night. City Mayor Rubik Danilovich said in a statement, “Be’er Sheva is for everyone and I am the mayor for everyone. … Be’er Sheva is united, accepting and tolerant. Even if we are difference, we are all equal in the same exact way.”

The parade was originally supposed to take place in 2016 but was cancelled by the Supreme Court’s rejection of a petition submitted by the Israeli National LGBT Taskforce (also known as the Aguda) and Pride House (a local Be’er Sheva LGBT center), requesting that Be’er Sheva’s first ever Pride parade be allowed to march down the city’s main road.

Police arrested a hared man with a knife who was trying to make his way into the crowds.

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Big Donation
US billionaire Sheldon Adelson, a major Republican party supporter, will donate around $20 million for the major expansion of Ariel University, which is located in the West Bank (Samaria). The expansion will include buildings will be dedicated to natural sciences, social sciences and community health, as well as a faculty of Jewish heritage. The cost of the entire project is estimated at $113 million.

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Terror Stabbing
A Palestinian terrorist attempted to stab soldiers on patrol in the West Bank yesterday. He was shot and critically wounded by the soldiers. No soldiers were injured. The terrorist succumbed to his wounds afterwards.

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Shiva Visit
US envoy Jason Greenblatt paid a shiva visit on Sunday night to the family of Hadas Malka, the female Border Police officer killed in a terror attack last Friday. In a statement following the visit he said, “Incidents such as this underscore why it is vital to realize President Trump’s vision of a Middle East free from threats of terrorism and extremism.”

Greenblatt visited the Kotel on Monday morning and also met with PM Netanyahu and then with Palestinian officials on Tuesday.

Jared Kushner is expected to arrive in Israel today.

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Haley vs Hamas
Yesterday, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley urged the Security Council to condemn Hamas. She said, “The Security Council must unite to say that enough is enough. We need to pressure Hamas to end its tyranny over the people of Gaza. We should condemn Hamas in this Council’s resolutions and statements. We should name Hamas as the group responsible when rockets are fired from Gaza, or when fresh tunnels are discovered. And we should designate Hamas as a terrorist organization in a resolution, with consequences for anyone who continues to support it.”

She added, “We must do much more to show Hamas that we will never tolerate terrorism. We must show that when Hamas uses homes and schools to hide its terrorist infrastructure, there will be consequences. Those who give Hamas the arms, money, and political support to operate must cease. And if they do not, Member States of this United Nations need to come together to put real pressure on supporters of Hamas to stop.”

“Every ounce of what we do should be against Hamas. They are a dangerous actor who has no care for the Palestinians, no care for the Israelis, and they are determined to destroy everything in their path. So once again, we are having this session, and once again, we will hear speeches on whether you’re for Israel, against Israel, for Palestinians, against Palestinians. But I would ask you to please address the real threat that is causing so many people harm, and that’s the threat of Hamas.”

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Not So Fast
We recently reported that Egypt had agreed to transfer two islands at the mouth of the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia. Yesterday, an Egyptian court struck down the agreement, labeling it as unconstitutional. Can that happen in Egypt?

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Shabbat Work
The Haredi parties of Shas and UTJ threatened PM Netanyahu that they would leave the government if work on the Israel Railways infrastructure continues to take place on Shabbat. They urged the PM to put a stop to the work and to efforts by local government to pass regulations to circumvent Shabbat work laws.

The parties published a statement after the meeting saying, “We demand that the prime minister abide by the coalition agreement, return to the status quo as it was, immediately stop the unnecessary infrastructural work on the train, both regarding the additional lines on Shabbat and the lack of enforcement of pirate companies operating public transportation on Shabbat.”

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Raw Deal
The movie Wonder Woman has so far brought it over $500 million dollars in just its first two weeks. But Israeli actress Gal Gadot reportedly was only paid $300,000 for her starring role. In fact, she signed a three movie deal at $300,000 per movie. Oh well, there’s always number four.

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Terror Payments
On Tuesday US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee that the Palestinian Authority has stopped payments to the families of terrorists. Yesterday, the PA’s head of prisoner affairs, Issa Karaka, denied that claim saying that demanding the stoppage of payments was “a declaration of war” against Abbas and “an invitation for the dismantlement of the Palestinian Authority.” He said, “it would not lead to stability and would not serve a peace process in the region.”

Karaka explained, “The Palestinian society is made up entirely of families of prisoners and Shahids, and they are all victims because of the Israeli occupation. This demand to stop payments for prisoners’ families is no small matter, but something very big with social ramifications.”

He added, “No one in the Palestinian Authority could make such a move. It would be very difficult for the Palestinian Authority to stop the humanitarian aid to the families of prisoners and Shahids.”

Karaka did confirm that the PA stopped payments to over 200 released Hamas prisoners, but that it was done because of a dispute between the PA and Hamas and not because of American or Israeli demands.

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and other Israeli officials also asserted that they saw no evidence of the PA stopping terror payments.

So what exactly was Tillerson talking about?

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Another UN Report
The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) issued a report yesterday in which it accused Israel of using, “force that has at times been deemed excessive” against the Palestinians, “which may have amounted to extrajudicial executions.” According to the ECOSOC report, from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017, Israeli security forces killed 63 Palestinians, including 19 children, and wounded 2,276 others, including 562 children.

The report also accused Israeli security forces of “deprivation of basic legal safeguards for administrative detainees, isolation and solitary confinement of detainees, including minors, punishment and ill-treatment of hunger strikers, torture or ill-treatment of Palestinian children and the hindering of visits of relatives for child prisoners.”

Danny Danon, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, remarked, “This is another blood libel against Israel. Just as we got the previous farfetched report scrapped, we will fight against this distorted and false report. We won’t allow slandering of IDF soldiers.”

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Islands Transferred
Egypt has transferred two islands located in the Straits of Tiran to Saudi Arabia. The islands, which have been disputed for many years, are located at the mouth of the Red Sea and could potentially block Israel’s access to the Gulf of Aquaba and Eilat.

To view a map of the area click here.

Earthquake Exercise
Israeli first responders and security forces have completed a major exercise to prepare for dealing with an earthquake. After viewing the final part of the exercise Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan said, “It is very important to practice what you see here. There is a fear of the need to evacuate tens and perhaps hundreds of thousands of civilians from their homes, and of total chaos, in which incidents of public disorder, looting, food shortages and the need to rescue civilians from ruins could occur. We have to examine how these organizations communicate with one another, and because of this, this exercise has tremendous importance.”

Erdan also noted that the chances of a major earthquake hitting Israel increase each year.

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Wonder Woman
You’ll be relieved to know that Jordan has decided not to ban Wonder Woman, and the Israeli super hero will be seen on the big screen throughout Jordan next month. Maybe Wonder Woman can truly use her super powers to bring peace to the region?

For further reading click here.