Tel Aviv Diary August 26, 2022
Meretz and Religious Zionist Primaries, Iran Deal,Teacher Strike?Medical Residents Resign and much more
I will be in the US from September 12th to the19th, and had hoped to speak at WJC (in Mamaroneck) one evening. Unfortunately, I was cautioned that due to the lingering state of Covid in New York, no one comes out for in-person events. Here in Israel, Covid appears to have ceased impacting people’s plans. It was suggested we arrange a lecture via Zoom.
I proposed we hold a Zoom session later on, when I am back in Israel. However, if there is interest amongst my subscribers, a live event could still be scheduled. In short, if you are interested in coming to hear me speak at WJC one evening during the week of 12th, please e-mail me.
POLITICS
Both Meretz and the Religious Zionist parties held their primaries this week. Much to my personal chagrin, Zahava Galon defeated Yair Golan to head the Meretz party. I remain less than enthusiastic about Galon’s return as head. I especially did not like her narcissistic campaign, epitomized by her central slogan — “I am back. Meretz is back”.
Galon retired after many years in the party leadership; years during which Meretz was a small opposition party with no impact. Why would anyone think her return was the best direction forward for the party? Yair Golan offered a new approach. Furthermore, Golan could have been an unusually effective messenger — as a General and Former Deputy IDF Chief of Staff who believes that solving the Palestinian problem (or at least addressing it) is one of the most significant challenges Israel faces. It is conceivable that some people in the wider electorate might listen to Golan. In contrast, nobody but her own supporters will heed Galon.
The list of Meretz MKs is generally what interested spectators would expect — with Moti Raz in the #2 spot. Conversely, Nitzan Horowitz, who decided not to run again to serve as party head, was awarded for his efforts with spot #7, (which most likely means Horowitz will not return to the next Knesset).
Here’s the Meretz list:
Zehava Galon 2. Mossi Raz 3. Michal Rozin 4. Ali Salalha 5. Yair Golan 6. Gaby Lasky 7. Nitzan Horowitz 8. Mazen Abu Siam 9. Umaima Hamed 10. Ayid Badar.
Now that both the Labor Party and Meretz have selected their lists, it requires a microscope to identify the ideological differences between the potential Knesset members of the two parties. There is no excuse for the two political parties to remain separate — other than egos of the leadership, and perhaps Michaeli's misplaced belief that the glory days of the Labor Party could return.
As for the Religious Zionist party, they voted in all of the current MKs back into relatively safe seats. They are: MKs Ofir Sofer, Orit Strock, Simcha Rothman and Michal Waldiger. Leading the list is Bezalel Smotritch, who, at least for the moment, seems in no rush to run together with Ben Gvir’s Otsma Yehudit (Jewish might) party; a party which appears to be gaining additional support. Other than Simcha Rothman, who I have debated several times, I don't know the members of this list. However, Rothman's views are very far from what I would consider normative Israeli political views.
The Zionist Spirit Party, led by Ayelet Shaked, suffered another blow this morning when Abir Kara announced his plan to leave the party. Shaked claims it is because he wanted to be 4th on the list and not 5th. Kara claims his decision to depart from the party is because of the positions of the members on issues. According to all polls, Shaked’s party will not get into the upcoming Knesset — and that is no surprise. This week, Tzvi Hauser (one of her party’s leaders) announced his plan to improve the economy by absorbing one million new immigrants. While I favor immigration, our country’s major problems revolve around insufficient (affordable) housing and inadequate transportation infrastructure. It is bewildering (at best) to see how one million immigrants would solve these problems — even if we could persuade them to come here.
Meanwhile, Shaked gave an interesting interview in which she clearly stated that her economic views are neo-liberal and against government intervention in the economy. At the same time, she has been pushing for the establishment of additional towns in the Negev, whose economic viability is very questionable. Shaked asserted she believes new communities are needed in the Negev to establish Jewish control over the areas. She conceded that the two values were contradictory, but said the latter was more important to her than the other.
IRAN AGREEMENT
I had not yet written about the status of the chances of the US and Iran re-entering the JCPOA — despite the fact that at some point in the last few days, the Israel media has been going berserk about it. Both Prime Minister Lapid and Defense Minister Gantz cautioned against capitulating to Iran's terms.
According to reports, there is no agreement with Iran at the moment, but that could still change. Latest accounts indicate the US has not consented to any new Iranian demands. The decision by former President Trump to withdraw from the agreement, (at the behest of Former Prime Minister Netanyahu), has been a disaster. This week, many commentators gave Netanyahu the “chutzpah award” for decrying the fact that the newly proposed Iran agreement is worse than the original deal.
At this juncture, there are very few reasonable solutions. Maximum pressure has not worked on Iran, and the new budding Russian-Iranian Alliance makes any additional economic pressure campaign a non starter. Therefore, we are left with a choice between a bad agreement or no agreement. In the meantime, the US attacked Iranian-backed militia in Syria for the last two nights, in response to a militia attack on a US base.
LABOR DISPUTES
Two areas of labor relations are very much in Israeli news these days. The first crisis will be the impending teacher's strike in Elementary and Middle Schools, threatened to begin at the start of the school year — September 1st. A dispute between teachers and the Ministry of Finance on wage increases has been ongoing since the spring, and has not yet been settled. The heart of the dispute has to do with the differential between salaries of starting teachers and veteran teachers. The gap is significant.
The Finance Ministry has been pushing to increase salaries of starting teachers much more than the wages of their veteran colleagues. The Teachers’ Union continues to push back. There is also talk of a nefarious connection in the mix. As the husband of the Head of the Teachers’ Union is on the Likud Central Committee — and nothing would be more damaging to the outgoing government than a teachers’ strike.
Although High School teachers are represented by a different Union, they have also threatened to strike, if the long overdue reforms in the Israeli Bagrut (matriculation exams) are not repealed. It amazes me sometimes how difficult it is to reform education; something I have had first-hand experiences with failure.
The second dispute involves Medical residents. Last year, there were ongoing protests against the prolonged hours of resident hospital shifts (26 hours). An agreement was signed to begin decreasing resident work shifts. However, the government recently announced it would not be able to implement the approved deal for two more years — at which point, today’s residents will have long finished their residencies.
Moreover, Residents no longer trust the government will ever implement the agreed upon plan. So, in response, 200 residents resigned today; with more planning to resign shortly. There is a complete lack of trust between Residents and the Ministry of Finance. It's unclear how this sad standoff gets resolved.
Why the Finance Ministry (primarily made up of young MBAs) who consistently seem to be on the other side of every dispute is an interesting question. I will try to explain this matter further in a later update.
MILITARY
It was reported that Israel struck Syria, in the area of Homs, on Thursday.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz is visiting the US, where he traveled to meet with Central Command commander General Michael Kurilla and his staff, to discuss further joint maneuvers and cooperation between the IDF and Central Command.
On Friday, Air Force Chief of Staff Brig General Ehal Grinboim concluded a visit to Japan where he was hosted by the Japanese Air Force. Discussions were held regarding greater cooperation between the two Air Forces.
Cyprus has decided to order batteries of the Iron Dome Missile Defense system. Israel and Cyprus maintain a close defense relationship. It has also been reported that Morocco is interested in purchasing Israel's anti-ship Barak missile system.
BUSINESS
Rookout raised $16 million in a funding B-Round. Rookout has developed technology enabling software developers to debug their code while it runs in production, remotely.
NSO — which the US government banned —announced it plans to let go 10% of its staff. The company, which developed the infamous “Pegasus” software has been struggling to gain new clients, following the US ban.
A PIECE OF HISTORY
HABIMA THEATRE
The Habima Theater company was founded in Bialystok (part of the Russian Empire), in 1912. The company’s original performances were in Hebrew. In 1918, Habima Theatre Company came under the auspices of the Moscow Art Theater. However, the company began to run into problems with the Communist government.
In 1926, the Habima Theater Company left the Soviet Union to tour abroad. When the tour was over, some members decided to stay in the United States, while others chose to go to Palestine. In 1945, a dedicated theater was built for the company in Tel Aviv. In 1958, Habima received the Israel Prize and was officially recognized as the National Theater. In 1962, a new Habima hall was built, which seated 400. Extensive remodeling of the Habima complex began in 2008. Those renovations were completed in 2012.
RESTAURANT REVIEW
A TASTE OF TEL AVIV — by Tali Schulman
At the intersection of Ahad Ha’am and Nachalat Binyamin, Sheine (שיינע) serves a beautiful selection of fish and seafood. Opened right at the beginning of the pandemic, Sheine has continued to thrive in the Tel Aviv food scene. Chef Asaf Gabay brings his own interpretation to the Mediterranean pallet with a beautiful selection of raw fish and seasonal vegetables. My favorite dishes are the red tuna sashimi, and Pastia (פסטייה), their take on a Moroccan pastry filled with fish instead of the traditional meat filling. For the best experience, I highly recommend sitting at the bar and taking the recommendations from their knowledgeable bar tenders. You won't regret it!
For more of my restaurant adventures, find me on Instagram @talischulman, and checkout my saved highlights for all my favorites!
