Tel Aviv Diary December 23, 2022
New government close,Netanyahu meets mosts of the demands of the Ultra Orthodox, Tel Aviv restaurant review and some history
On Wednesday night, just a few minutes before midnight, Benjamin Netanyahu telephoned President Isaac Herzog to inform the President that he had formed his government — which was a white lie, since Netanyahu has not yet cemented agreements with all the parties to his future coalition. Despite this fact, given that it has been six weeks since the election, if Netanyahu had not told Herzog he had successfully garnered the necessary support before the midnight deadline, then the mandate to build the next coalition would return to Herzog, and it’s unclear what the outcome would have been after that.
.
Netanyahu has until January 2 2023, to finalize agreements with all of his coalition partners. The details of these agreements have not all been made public, but here are a few highlights:
The current law prohibiting those who incite racism from running for the Knesset will be amended to remove that clause.
A new Basic Law called the "Basic Law of Torah Study" will be established, effectively equating yeshivah study with army service.
A law will be passed indemnifying soldiers for any injuries or deaths they cause to Palestinians, even if they act against orders.
A new Basic Law will allow for the indefinite detention of asylum seekers.
The "Law of Return" will be amended to eliminate the "Grandparent Clause," which welcomes anyone with one Jewish grandparent to immigrate, as long as they do not practice another religion.
Basic Law will be amended to allow for the separation of men and women at public events designated for the religious public, and to allow private businesses to deny services based on religious beliefs. This law may be seen as targeting the LGBT community. However, this law could also allow people to deny services to Muslims, Christians, and others.
The bullet points above are just a small sample of the changes the incoming government plans to implement. This list does not contain the new coalition’s first priority, which is reform of the judiciary, including the introduction of an “override clause,” which would allow the Knesset to override any decision of the Supreme Court to declare any law a violation of Israel’s Basic Laws.
In the past, almost any serious proposal for a Knesset “Override Clause” required a supermajority of more than 61 votes to supersede the High Court. The current proposal will only require 61 votes to reverse a Supreme Court ruling. In a recent discussion with a member of “Kohelet,” (a right-wing think-tank, at the forefront of the push for "judicial reform,”) the representative was asked how the rights of minorities would be protected under such a system. The interviewer gave the hypothetical example of a law discriminating against redheads, which the Supreme Court would undoubtedly deem a violation of Basic Law. If the Knesset voted to override the court's decision, who would protect the rights of redheads? The Kohelet representative did not have an answer. He simply stated that if the law was too extreme, the Knesset would not override such a law. It is unclear why Kohelet, funded by two American billionaires, considers a Supreme Court “Override Clause” so important— unless they plan to push for additional laws that the Supreme Court may strike down.
There is so much wrong with what is about to happen in Israel, and that is without even mentioning the new government's plans for the West Bank which includes a commitment to annexation, and the billions of dollars they plan to give to the Haredi community. Some of my optimistic friends and acquaintances hope the actions of this new government will be so extreme that they will face forceful pushback and ultimately fail. However, I am not that optimistic.
I must also say to my American friends, please do not give any money to established Israeli charities such as UJA, JNF— or even purchase Israel Bonds. Money is fungible, and this government should not receive support if it follows through with its plans. If you want to give money to an Israeli cause, please seek out a small organization doing good work and support them instead.
Why did this happen? How did we get here?
On the news broadcast earlier this week, Raviv Drucker interviewed Ayman Odeh, head of the unified Arab Joint List, now, not so unified. I interviewed Odeh seven years ago and came away impressed. Back then, I thought Odeh was practical; someone who would work to improve the lives of Israelis Arabs, and steer clear of the Arab-Israeli conflict — or so he said.
Drucker accused Odeh of bringing about the new far-right government, and demanded Odeh publicly deny the fact he voted with the Likud to bring down the current government. Odeh did not deny his vote, and fired back — Why should he support a government that occupies the Palestinian people? Drucker responded, saying that politics is about making choices and tradeoffs, i.e., not getting the perfect result, but choosing the best alternative. Drucker asserted that in “pursuit of the perfect” which is currently not possible to achieve, Odeh and his party have made the situation much worse for Palestinians. Odeh deflected, shouting back that it was the left-wing Zionists (like Drucker), who don’t consider the occupation to be an important issue, who are the problem. It was a very emotional and powerful interview.
DEFENSE
Israel is reported to have attacked Syria this week, hitting an Iranian drone base. This morning, there was a terror attack in the Arab Israel village of Kafr Qassem. According to police, local resident Naim Badir, called police over and then pulled out a homemade submachine gun. When the gun jammed, Badir ran into a nearby building. Badir then threw a Molotov cocktail at police. Finally, Badir was able to take his car and ram into police, before he was killed. The officers were lightly injured.
BUSINESS & FINANCE
The price of electricity will go up 8.1% in January. Israel continues to use coal to power some of it power plants. This rate hike is was caused by the steep rise in the price of coal last year. Israel, which has almost unlimited natural gas, has not fully converted to gas-powered plants as a result of poor management of the electric company. Regrettably, Israeli consumers will have to pay the price.
Elbit Systems announced it has been awarded a contract valued at approximately $36 million to supply four F-16 Full Mission Simulators (FMS) to the Polish Air Force (PLAF). The contract will be performed over a 28-month
period.
The simulation technology at the core of the Mission Training Center enables higher quality training and improves mission readiness. Featuring a 360-degree display system, the interconnected simulators provide a high-fidelity, full-mission training experience. By providing an immersive real-flight experience with no safety limitations, Elbit Systems’ training solution will provide PLAF F-16 pilots with a range of skills from basic familiarity with the aircraft to advanced combat flight competencies in complex operational arenas.
Quris AI has increased its seed-round by an additional $9 million from Softbanks Vision fund. The company has developed an AI base simulator that can predict the effectiveness of drugs before they being clinical trials
.
Imagen has raised $30 million in a funding A-round, led by Summit Partners. The company has developed a platform for professional photographers to prepare their work automatically, saving up to 30% of their time.
A PIECE OF HISTORY — FOUNDING OF THE HISTADRUT (Labor Union)
Many members of the Second Aliyah, (a wave of Jewish immigrants to Palestine from Eastern Europe,) were committed to socialism and fought for the ideals of Jewish labor, known as “Avodah Iv’rit." These immigrants also founded socialist Zionist groups such as Hapo'el Ha'tza'ir and Poalei Zion. In 1914, the immigrants attempted to establish a National Labor Union called “the United Commission of Palestine Workers,” but it was short-lived.
In 1920, after renewed efforts, the workers in Palestine were able to organize themselves into an organized front called “the Histadrut.” The Histadrut’s founding conference, held in Haifa, was where 4,433 voters participated in electing delegates. The opening resolution stated that the organization's aim was: "to promote land settlement, to involve itself in all economic and cultural issues affecting labor in Palestine, and to build a Jewish workers society there." This resolution set the stage for the Histadrut's development into a unique labor organization, that not only focused on workers' rights, but also launched powerful institutions to help establish a Jewish State in Palestine. These institutions included subsidiaries, such as Solel Boneh, which became the country's largest construction firm, a newspaper titled “Davar,” a bank named “Bank Hapoalim,” a chain of large, department-style stores called “HaMashbir,” and a substantial industrial enterprise named “Koor". This system was effective during the early years of the establishment and development of a Jewish State. However, in recent years, the Histadrut has found itself on both sides of the bargaining table in many labor disputes.” To date, the Histadrut has divested almost all of its industrial holdings.
A TASTE OF TEL AVIV — CAFE´ ASIF
RESTAURANT REVIEW, by Tali Schulman
Just around the corner from Rothschild Blvd., Asif Culinary Institute supports and cultivates Israel’s food culture. In addition to their vast library of cookbooks, roof top farm, and test kitchen dedicated to researching, preservation and experimentation, Asif hosts a cafe and deli store operated by Puaa Group (owners of one of the most well known cafes in Jaffa). At the Asif café, you can expect to find a diverse menu of Israel’s most popular dishes. No matter what you order, make sure not to skip whichever bread and dips are being offered. Stop in for breakfast or lunch, and make sure to checkout all the fabulous things Café Asif has to offer.
For more Tel Aviv restaurant recommendations, you can find me on Instagram @talischulman where I save all my food adventures in my highlights!