Israel News for 11-2-18
Brazil Embassy
Brazilian President-elect Jair Bolsonaro has announced that he plans to relocate Brazil’s embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Bolsonaro, a staunch supporter of Israel said, “Israel is a sovereign state. If you decide on your capital, we will go according to that. When I was asked during the campaign whether I would [move the embassy], I said yes, and the one who decides on the capital of the state of Israel is you, not other nations.”
He added, “As for the Palestinian embassy [in Brazil], it is built too close to the president’s palace…No embassy can be so close to the president’s palace, therefore we intend to move it from its place and there is no other way, in my opinion. Besides, Palestine first needs to be a state before it has the right to an embassy.”
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Jerusalem Blaze
A large fire erupted near the Ziporri guesthouse in the Jerusalem forest today. Eight teams of firefighters, along with firefighting planes, were called to battle the blaze. The firefighters eventually contained the blaze and prevented it from spreading to houses in Jerusalem and nearby towns. Authorities have warned that hot, dry weather and high winds could lead to a rash of fires around the country.
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New Chief
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan announced on Friday that he will recommend Moshe ‘Chico’ Edri replace Roni Alsheikh as Israel’s next police commissioner. Edri, married and father of three, is 51 and lives in Kfar Oranim, a settlement in Samaria near Modiin. He is a graduate of a religious high school in Kiryat Shmuel, served in the IDF as deputy commander of the Golani reconnaissance unit and has served in various command positions with the Israel Police since 1990.
Minister Erdan said, “Retired Major General Moshe Edri has impressive and proven command capabilities, along with many years of experience in a wide range of positions in the Israel Police and with great knowledge of the challenges facing the police in the coming years.”
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Mayoral Surprise
After an all night vote count, Aliza Bloch beat incumbent Moshe Abutbul to become the first female mayor of Beit Shemesh. Bloch, who is religious, defeated Abutbul, who is ultra-orthodox (haredi), by just 500 votes in the heavily Haredi city of 80,000. She is the first woman to ever run for mayor of the city. Bloch said she will act as a bridge between the Haredi and secular residents of the city.
While Haifa also elected its first female mayor, over 95% of Israeli municipalities have male mayors.
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Cyber Warriors
Serving in the IDF’s cyber warfare unit 8200 is usually a good career move. Just ask a former commander in the unit who was offered (and accepted) a million dollar a year job offer. Around 80% of the units soldiers accept job offers 3 months before the end of their service at an average of 20% higher salaries than the general market.
To read more about the 8200 career launcher, click here.
