Tel Aviv Diary February 3, 2023
Terror Attack, Protests, Legal Collision, Diplomacy and More
TERROR
A deadly terror attack occurred in the Neve Ya’akov neighborhood of Jerusalem last Friday night, in which a Palestinian gunman attacked innocent bystanders on the street near a local synagogue. Using a pistol, the assailant killed seven people and injured five others. Minister of National Security, MK Itamar Ben-Gvir, arrived at the scene and promised to take action to prevent further attacks. It was later revealed that the attacker's grandfather had been killed 25 years prior, possibly by a Jew, and that the case has never been resolved.
The next day, a 13-year-old Palestinian child fired at Jews in Jerusalem’s Silwan neighborhood, wounding two, injuring one critically. In response, the Israeli security cabinet held an emergency meeting in which a decision was made to seal the homes of the families of both attackers, and expedite the process for Israelis to obtain gun permits. During interviews following the attack, a resident suggested he could have potentially stopped the attacker if he had had access to a gun, but was unable to obtain a license due to a previous altercation.
The Army sent additional troops into the West Bank and East Jerusalem where both of the week’s terrorist attackers reside. The fact that the tragic attacks of the past week were perpetrated by residents of East Jerusalem, brings to light a dirty secret — which is that 56 years after we captured East Jerusalem and annexed it we have done little to integrate the Arabs of East Jerusalem into the city and the economy. The Shuafat Refugee camp is within the city of Jerusalem— yet we, nevertheless, go on and talk about Jerusalem, the indivisible city.
On Wednesday evening, a rocket launched from Gaza towards the city of Sderot was successfully intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system. Individuals in Gaza claimed this attack was in response to the measures taken by MK Ben-Gvir against security prisoners. Ben-Gvir announced the closure of a bakery that was providing security prisoners with fresh Pitahs. In response, Israel carried out another attack on Hamas weapons factories Wednesday night.
PROTESTS
Last Friday afternoon, Prime Minister Netanyahu held an emergency meeting with a group of selected business leaders, including the heads of several banks, insurance companies, and investment firms. In the meeting, Netanyahu attempted to explain that the coalition’s proposed judicial “reforms” would be beneficial for business, claiming that the courts have been hindering business activities. The meeting was not well received by the business leaders, Netanyahu spoke for nearly 30 minutes, and then listened, mostly to criticism, for close to two hours. The bank leaders warned that they were seeing the first signs of money being withdrawn from Israel, and asked Netanyahu to slow down the process and implement reforms in the judiciary gradually. Netanyahu concluded the meeting stating that he was open to continuing discussions, but asserted that the proposed judicial reforms would not be delayed.
On Saturday night, despite calls to delay the protest due to Friday's terror attack, tens of thousands of people gathered in the streets of Tel Aviv to protest in support of Democracy, once again. Although the numbers were reportedly lower than previous demonstrations, protesters were determined to make their voices heard. The demonstration began with a powerful minute of silence in memory of those killed in the terror attack the night before
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On Sunday, a large group of high school students also rallied in Tel Aviv to protest against the proposed judicial reforms. The legal advisor of the Knesset Law Committee came out against Justice Minister Levin’s judicial proposal despite significant pressure, declaring that if the reforms passed, they should not take effect until the next Knesset— in support of his decision, the legal advisor stated, “The rules of the game should not be changed in the middle of the game.”
Meanwhile, 139 recipients of the Israel Defense Award signed a letter opposing the reforms. This award, the highest honor in Israel’s Defense establishment, is presented solely to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the defense of the state of Israel. One-quarter of the signatories are anonymous (listing just their initials), as their accomplishments remain secret.
This week, Tom Livne the CEO of Verbit, a successful AI-based transcription company valued at $2 billion, announced plans to move his company out of the country due to the proposed Judicial reforms. Last night, JP Morgan issued an official report on the suggested Judicial reform, stating that such reforms would make the country a less secure place to invest and would likely result in a downgrading of credit status. JP Morgan’s report came a few days after Netanyahu happily posted an email from a junior JP Morgan analyst to a client, claiming that reforms would have little impact for investors.
Furthermore, protests have also been held against plans to close the National Broadcast Authority (KAN), seen as part of Netanyahu’s overall plan to weaken independent media. In addition, the head of the Knesset’s Law Committee presented legislation to limit the power of Israeli unions to strike, which led to immediate, vocal opposition from unions.
Israel’s Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara ordered Prime Minister Netanyahu to refrain from any involvement in the judicial reforms, due to a conflict of interest. Leaders of the coalition immediately criticized the Attorney General, stating that Netanyahu has no conflict of interest. Moreover, in a filing to the Supreme Court, Netanyahu stated he does not accept Baharav-Maira’s interpretation of the conflict of interest agreement (an understanding mandated by the Supreme Court in May 2020, when it agreed to allow Netanyahu to form a government, despite being under criminal indictment).
The Attorney General also issued a 100-page opinion on the proposed reforms, asserting that the plan would “give the government unrestrained power.” Baharav-Maira, is not backing down, and we may be headed for the biggest collision between law and politics in Israel’s history.
A reader asked me about an op-ed in the New York Times, titled, “Israel’s Government is Trying to Turn the Film Industry into a Propaganda Arm." The article discusses the government's decision to deny funding of any film that is critical of the government. The small domestic film production market in Israel relies heavily on government funding. The reader asks if it is fair to present the occupation as one-sided, ignoring the agency of Palestinians. The history of the conflict shows that Palestinians as a group have had agency, but that individual Palestinians living under the occupation do not. Films like the one described in the article are important to provide a window into what happens under our occupation, even if it was not the goal.
Regarding why an Israeli journalist would choose to spill our dirty laundry abroad in the New York Times, as opposed to airing his concerns in an Israeli paper … That question has become mute, since as of late, Prime Minister Netanyahu has only been interviewed by American media, who do not ask detailed follow-up questions; while he has not given a single interview to mainstream media in Israel since the elections. Netanyahu uses his American interviews to boost his image at home.
Also worth reading is “An open letter to Israel’s friends in North America,” by Matti Friedman, Yossi Klein Halevi and Daniel Gordis.
DIPLOMACY
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visited Israel this week with three objectives: 1) to address the situation with Iran; 2) to defuse tensions with the Palestinians; and 3) to express the US's concern over the proposed judicial reform. During a joint press conference with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Blinken emphasized that important reforms should only be made with a broad consensus—which currently does not exist in Israel’s government.
During the same week that Israel hosted the President of Chad, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen flew to Sudan to meet with the Sudanese military ruler, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, to discuss a peace agreement between Sudan and Israel, once civilian rule is restored. It should be noted that this meeting was announced on the same day the US expressed “deep concern,” because Sudan had released a terrorist convicted of killing a US Diplomat
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Prime Minister Netanyahu traveled to France for a meeting with President Macron. Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, will spend the weekend in France
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BUSINESS
Gen security raised $11 million in a seed-round led by Team8. The company has developed a cyber threat platform for Cloud-based services.
BridgeWise has raised $12 million to analyze financial statistics.
The cyber company, Sentra, has raised $30 million a year after being founded. This brings the total raised by Sentra to $53 million. Sentra was founded by a former commander of the 8200 unit of Israel’s Intelligence division
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A PIECE OF HISTORY— THE PEEL PLAN
In 1936, in partial response to ongoing Arab disturbances, the British appointed a royal commission led by Lord Peel, to recommend a solution to the problems in Palestine. The Peel Commission undertook extensive hearings to come up with a solution to the problem. After considerable deliberation, the Commission recommended the partition of Palestine into a small Jewish and a larger Arab State. The Commission posited that Jewish settlement had been beneficial for Palestine as a whole, and that the Jews had taken some of the most arid, unmanageable parts of Palestine and brought them to life.
The Jews of Palestine deliberated on whether to accept the plan, for the State being promised was much smaller than anything the Jews had envisioned. On the other hand, this was a concrete opportunity for the creation of a Jewish State. Most importantly, this new Jewish State would have control over its immigration policies, and would thus be able to ensure a homeland for the mass of European Jewry. With this last point in mind, the Jews reluctantly decided to accept the plan. The Arabs, on the other hand, categorically rejected the plan. The British initially promised to implement the plan, but soon backed off due to Arab pressure.
A TASTE OF TEL-AVIV—MIFGASH HA-STEAK
A REVIEW
Since we first came back to Israel (in 2011), one of our family’s favorite restaurants has been Mifgash HaSteak, (meaning “Meeting place of steak”). The restaurant has been severely stymied because the street in front has been closed due to work on the Light Rail – for the last six years. Construction on that portion of the Light Rail is finally coming to a close, and somehow, (likely its loyal following), Mifgash has managed to survive. The restaurant can be best described as a superlative Israeli Grill. The meats are well-seasoned, and grilled with precision, which makes eating a steak at Mifgash a delight. The Pargit and Kebab dishes are also always juicy and excellent. One thing that stands out is the fluffy fresh laffa served with every meal. Laffas are baked at the restaurant and arrive at your table piping hot. There is nothing more delicious than dipping part of a Mifgash laffa into their excellent Humus that you can order as an appetizer. Mifgash is moderately priced, and is certified Kosher.
