Archive for month: December, 2022

News Update

Israel’s 37th government, headed by Prime Minister Netanyahu, was sworn in and approved by the Knesset yesterday. It is the most right wing government in Israel’s history. This will be Netanyahu’s 6th term as Prime Minister.

Here are some of the new government’s main cabinet ministers:

Defense Minister – Yoav Galant, Likud, former navy seals commander and IDF general, construction and housing minister, aliyah and integration minister and education minister.

Foreign Minister – Eli Cohen, Likud, will serve as foreign minister for one year before rotating with Likud’s Israel Katz for the Energy Ministry for the next two years.

National Security Minister – Itamar Ben Gvir, Otzma Yehudit, will direct the security services including the police.

Finance Minister – Betzalel Smotrich, Religious Zionism, will also serve as a minister in the defense ministry in charge of matters related to Judea and Samaria.

Justice Minister – Yariv Levin, Likud

Health Minister – Aryeh Deri, Shas

Interior Minister – Aryeh Deri, Shas

Construction and Housing Minister – Yitzchak Goldknopf, UTJ

Intelligence Minister – Gila Gamliel, Likud

Other Likud appointees include Haim Katz as tourism minister, Yoav Kisch as education minister, Avi Dichter as agriculture and rural development minister, Shlomo Karhi as communications minister, Miri Regev as transportation minister, former Yamina member Idit Silman as environmental protection minister, Miki Zohar as culture and sports minister and Ofir Akunis as science and technology minister.

For a complete list of the 31 ministers and portfolios, click here. 

US President Biden issued a statement related to the new government:

“I look forward to working with Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has been my friend for decades, to jointly address the many challenges and opportunities facing Israel and the Middle East region, including threats from Iran. The United States is working to promote a region that’s increasingly integrated, prosperous, and secure, with benefits for all of its people.

From the start of my Administration, we have worked with partners to promote this more hopeful vision of a region at peace, including between Israelis and Palestinians. We aim to continue this important work with Israel’s new government under Prime Minister Netanyahu’s leadership. And as we have throughout my Administration, the United States will continue to support the two-state solution and to oppose policies that endanger its viability or contradict our mutual interests and values.”

According to a report published yesterday by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Israel’s population currently stands at 9,656,000, of which 7,106,000 are Jews, 2,037,000 are Arabs and 513,000 defined as other (including non Arab Christians and other religions). For more detail, click here.

According to an IDF annual report, there were 285 shooting attacks in the West Bank this year, compared to 61 in 2021 and 31 in 2020. Thirty one people were killed in terror attacks in 2022. For more of the annual report, click here.

News Update

Israel’s Shin Bet revealed today that it had foiled a terror attack that was supposed to involve a large explosive device. The terror cell disrupted was managed remotely from Gaza. Nine terror suspects were arrested overnight in Jenin. There were also 2 shooting attacks overnight in the West Bank, but there were no injuries.

Russia is demanding ownership over three churches located on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. It will submit a claim to the Israeli courts for the Church of Mary Magdalene, The Chapel of the Ascension, and the Viri Galilaei Church, which used as a summer retreat by the Greek Orthodox patriarch. Russian President Putin has also demanded an end to the litigation preventing the transfer of the Alexander Nevsky Church. For more, click here.

Oman’s lower house of parliament voted to expand its Israel boycott law. The Majlis al-Shura, or Consultative Assembly, voted to amend the first clause of its Israel boycott law to include any sports, cultural or economic contact. The amendment also specifically bans in-person or online interaction with Israelis. Currently, Omani law prohibits citizens from making contact with entities or individuals based in Israel directly or through mediators, for any purpose.

According to a conservative estimate by the Ministry of Economy and Industry’s Foreign Trade Administration (FTA), Israel’s exports of goods and services will amount to at least $160 billion in 2022, a new record and up more than 10% from last year, when exports of goods and services totaled a then record $144 billion. There were very significant increases in the exports of goods in chemicals and chemical industry products (+55%), diamonds (+41%) and electrical and mechanical equipment (+18%). Israel’s exports to the US grew by 19% in 2022, by 113% to the UK, by 115% to Ireland, by 90% to Brazil, by 39% to India, by 95% to Canada, by 85% to Singapore, by 24% to Hong Kong, by 17% to Turkey, by 22% to France and by 181% to the Philippines.

Rabbi Chaim Druckman, one of the senior spiritual leaders of the religious zionist movement, passed away on Sunday at the age of 90 as a result of Covid-19. Thousands of mourners attending the funeral today. The eulogizers included President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu, Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel Yitzhak Yosef, Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Israel David Lau, Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Jerusalem and former Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel Moshe Amar, Ramat Gan Yeshiva Dean Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, Beit El Yeshiva Dean Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed, Jerusalem Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Aryeh Stern, Religious Zionist Party chief MK Bezalel Smotrich, and Bnei Akiva Secretary-General Yigal Klein. For more, click here.

It is snowing on Mount Hermon in the Golan and raining in most of the rest of Israel.

News Update

In an interview to Dubai based Al Arabiya English,Prime Minister designate Netanyahu said that decisions relating to the West Bank will be made by his Defense Minister, a Likud member, and not by Religious Zionism leader Betzalel Smotrich, who demanded broad powers over the West Bank as part of his deal to join the coalition. Netanyahu also said that he would work to open diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia.

As part of their conditions to join a Netanyahu led government, ultra-Orthodox parties and the religious nationalist Religious Zionist party have demanded that people two-generations removed from Jewish ancestry, be no longer eligible for Israeli citizenship under the law. According to the current Law of Return, anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent, even if they themselves are not legally Jewish, to get immigrate to Israel and get citizenship, along with their spouses. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, one in four immigrants is not Jewish.

The Likud is reportedly considering a compromise that would grant permanent residence status to people with one Jewish grandparent who are not themselves Jewish. There is strong opposition to changing the current Law of Return. Most of the non Jewish immigrants are from Russia and Ukraine.

A panel set up to review the deployment of IDF soldiers to security prisons presented its findings to the ministers of defense and public security, with a recommendation to remove all active duty troops from deployments in prisons. The panel was established after allegations surfaced, that female IDF soldiers, working as wardens in security prisons were sexually abused by inmates.

The first night of Hanukkah begins on Sunday night. The Jewish battle against the Greeks and Hellenists began in the town of Modiin by Matityahu the Kohen and his five sons, who became known as the Maccabees (hammers). I am writing this email in the modern city of Modiin, which sits near the ruins of its ancient predecessor, and is a testament to the continuation of the miracle of Hanukkah and the victory of the Jewish nation over its enemies, both spiritual and physical. Happy Hanukkah!!

News Update

Security forces arrested 3 wanted terrorists in a raid in Jenin yesterday. The forces came under attack from terrorists and returned fire. One teenage girl was reportedly killed in the crossfire. There were no Israeli casualties.

Iran-backed Hezbollah forces in Syria have reportedly been repositioning weapons from their locations to more fortified positions disguised as Syrian Army outposts and facilities in the face of ongoing Israeli strikes. The IDF reportedly distributed leaflets around Quneitra, in the Syrian Golan, warning Syrian Army soldiers not to aid Hezbollah.

Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky announced last Friday that Israel is preparing to send further humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The aid package includes advanced surgical equipment worth $1.2 million which was transferred to a children’s hospital in the Ukrainian capital, as well as a donation of 20 powerful electric generators worth over $1 million to help Ukrainians deal with vast damages to the electric grid from Russian bombings.

Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said he hopes Israel and Taiwan will develop closer relations since the two countries share similar values.

Rabbi Chaim Druckman, one of the leaders of the Religious Zionist community in Israel, is in serious but stable condition from the Covid virus. The public is requested to pray for the recovery of Rabbi Chaim Meir ben Milkah.

News Update

Security forces arrested 8 terror suspects in overnight raids in the West Bank. Palestinians fired at IDF troops during an arrest operation in Nablus. No soldiers were hurt.

Likud and United Torah Judaism are still in the process of negotiating a coalition agreement, but they have signed an agreement regarding UTJ ministerial appointments. UTJ chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf will be Minister of Construction and Housing, including the Israel Land Authority. Moshe Gafni will be appointed chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee. MK Uri Maklev will be a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Transportation. Meir Porush will be Minister of Jerusalem and Heritage. Yaakov Asher will chair the Internal Affairs and Environment Committee. Yisrael Eichler will chair the Labor and Welfare Committee and Yaakov Tesler will be appointed deputy minister in the Ministry of Welfare or another ministry to be agreed upon with the Prime Minister.

Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir told members of the American Jewish Committee that, “The direction of Saudi-Israeli relations is normalization, but it will take more time and we must not put the cart before the horse.” He also said, “Israel and other Gulf states have been gradually normalizing for years. The process must be allowed to mature.”

The Be’er Sheva Magistrate’s Court sentenced a Bedouin man living in southern Israel to 12 months in prison after he was convicted of polygamy. Polygamy is wide-spread in Israel’s Bedouin community and is permitted under Islamic law. The sentence marks an escalation in punishment for polygamy charges. For more, click here.