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Israel Media Brief - 10 November 2017

Headline Issues

Israel Tells its Envoys to Back Saudis, Hariri Against Hezbollah, Iran – Report
Nov 8, 2017 | The Times of Israel
By Stuart Winer and Staff

The Foreign Ministry has instructed Israeli ambassadors around the world to begin in earnest a diplomatic campaign against Iran and Hezbollah that includes backing Saudi Arabian claims that the two Shiite allies were behind a missile attack on Riyadh International Airport over the weekend.
Netanyahu Questioned by Police for Fifth Time in Alleged Corruption Probe
Nov 9, 2017 | Haaretz
By Josh Breiner

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was questioned by Israeli police for the fith time regarding two corruption cases on Thursday.
Netanyahu Attacks Police Chief After Fresh Corruption Probe Leaks
Nov 15, 2017 | I24 News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took aim on Saturday at the country’s police chief, Roni Alsheikh, after a report by Israel’s Channel Two suggested that the premier would be questioned yet again regarding two corruption investigations.
Priti Patel Resigns Amid Scandal over Meetings with Israeli Officials
Nov 8, 2017 | The Jewish Chronicle
By Ben Welch

Priti Patel has resigned following the furore over her failure to disclose meetings with Israeli ministers.
Binyamin Netanyahu Is Soft on Anti-Semitism When It Suits Him
Aug 26, 2017 | The Economist

ISRAEL has long seen itself as the protector of Jews everywhere and a bulwark against anti-Semitism globally. It has brought Nazis such as Adolf Eichmann to justice; it rescued Ethiopian Jews threatened by war and famine in the 1980s and 1990s.
The Difficulty of Drafting Ultra-Orthodox Jews into Israel’s Army
Sep 30, 2017 | The Economist

DURING the violent birth of Israel, David Ben-Gurion, its first prime minister, allowed 400 ultra-Orthodox Jews (also called Haredim) to avoid compulsory military service to pursue a life of Talmudic study.
Israel’s “New Labour” Party
Oct 26, 2017 | The Economist

AVI GABBAY has already overturned convention once—when on July 10th he won the primaries to become the leader of Israel’s Labour party just six months after joining it.
Handicapped Protesters Block Highway to Make Demands Heard
Aug 24, 2017 | The Jerusalem Post
By Sarah Levi

Some 40 disabled people once again took to the streets on Thursday, blocking Route 4 at the Geha junction in Bnei Brak/Petah Tikva in the direction of Givat Shmuel for several hours to make their demands known.
National Opportunity: Israel’s Treasury Expecting $5 Billion Surplus
Nov 26, 2017 | Jewish Press
By David Israel

The amount accumulated so far in the tax authority’s coffers from the collection of tax on dividends in 2017 stands at 17.5 billion shekel – about $5 billion, Globes reported Wednesday.
Israel Flag, Anthem Absent Despite Flicker's Judo Gold in Abu Dhabi
Nov 10, 2017 | The Jerusalem Post
By Allon Sinai

Israeli judoka Tal Flicker scaled the top of the podium and received his gold medal on Thursday, but the Israel national anthem was not played and the blueand- white flag was not raised in Abu Dhabi.
Israeli Television Executive Resigns to Fight Rape, Assault Accusations
Nov 8, 2017 | The Times of Israel

Alex Gilady, president of the Keshet Media group, announced his “temporary” resignation Wednesday amid accusations of rape and inappropriate sexual behavior.
Israeli Intelligence Firm Apologises for Working With Harvey Weinstein
Nov 9, 2017 | Reuters/The Guardian

An Israeli intelligence firm that reportedly helped Harvey Weinstein gather information on women accusing him of sexual harassment and assault has said it is sorry that it agreed to work with the Hollywood producer.
Alibaba to Open R&D Center in Israel
Oct 16, 2017 | HaModia
By Dror Halavy

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is planning to open seven research and development centers around the world – one of them in Israel, according to a report by Reuters.
Technion Tour Highlights Economic Triangle Of China, Israel, NY
Oct 28, 2017 | Forbes
By Rebecca Fannin

Anyone doubting the impact of the Tech Triangle as a new world order in technology leadership should have been at the Technion World Tour 2017 in New York City. At a four-day program highlighting science and technology innovations, the tech trio markets of Israel, China and New York were highlighted.
Netanyahu Rips Opposition, Media as ‘Sourpusses’ at New Knesset Session
Oct 23, 2017 | The Times of Israel
By Marissa Newman

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday launched a tirade against Israel’s media and political opposition, branding them “sourpusses” who downplay the country’s many successes.
Settler Leaders, Bereaved Families End Protest for Upping West Bank Security
Nov 10, 2017 | The Times of Israel
By Jacob Magid

A group of settler leaders and representatives of bereaved families ended their hunger strike Friday after reaching a deal with the government to improve the West Bank’s security infrastructure.
PM Delays Vote on bill Annexing Greater Jerusalem After US Frowns
Oct 29, 2017 | The Jerusalem Post
By Tovah Lazaroff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed on Saturday an initial vote on the Greater Jerusalem bill, after some of his coalition partners opposed it and the US appeared to frown on it.
Balfour Declaration: Netanyahu Meets May, Calls on Palestinians to 'Finally Accept Jewish State'
Nov 2, 2017 | Haaretz
By Anshel Pfeffer

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began his visit to London on Thursday with a meeting at Downing Street with Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May.

Headline Issues

Israel Tells its Envoys to Back Saudis, Hariri Against Hezbollah, Iran – Report

Nov 8, 2017 | The Times of Israel

By Stuart Winer and Staff

The Foreign Ministry has instructed Israeli ambassadors around the world to begin in earnest a diplomatic campaign against Iran and Hezbollah that includes backing Saudi Arabian claims that the two Shiite allies were behind a missile attack on Riyadh International Airport over the weekend.
Channel 10 reported Wednesday that the ministry sent a classified memo to Israel’s envoys around the world urging them to contact government officials and plead the case for reining in Iran and its Lebanese proxy.
The missive, reportedly sent Sunday, came the day after Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri shocked Lebanon and the region by announcing his resignation while on a visit to Saudi Arabia, saying he feared an assassination plot against him. He used the opportunity to lash out at the influence of Hezbollah and Iran on his country.
“The events in Lebanon, and the ballistic missile launched by [Yemen’s rebel] Houthis toward the Riyadh international airport, should cause [the world] to increase the pressure on Iran and Hezbollah on a range of issues, from ballistic missile production to its efforts at regional subversion,” the Foreign Ministry memo read.
The Houthis, a Shiite militia backed by Iran, took credit for the missile, which was intercepted near the Saudi capital’s airport.
“At the request of the director-general you are asked to urgently contact foreign ministries and additional relevant entities at the government level and to stress that Hariri’s resignation and his comments on the reasons that led him to resign illustrate yet again the destructive character of Iran and Hezbollah and their danger to Lebanon’s stability and the countries in the region,” the memo said, according to Channel 10, which said it saw the memo.
“Hariri’s resignation proves that the claim heard abroad that Hezbollah’s inclusion in [Lebanon’s] government is a recipe for stability is fundamentally mistaken,” the missive explains. “This artificial unity creates paralysis and prevents domestic political forces from making decisions that serve their national interests. In practice it makes them hostages subject to physical threats who are forced against their will to advance the interests of a foreign power — Iran — even if the matter is likely to endanger the security of their country.”
Israel has long criticized Hezbollah’s involvement in Lebanese politics, where the terror group holds some 10% of the seats in Beirut’s parliament and two out of the tens seats in the cabinet. Funded and equipped by Iran, Hezbollah has fought two wars against Israel since the IDF pulled out of southern Lebanon in 2000.
Iran and Saudi Arabia have long been at odds and back feuding Shiite and Sunni forces throughout the region. Although they do not share formal diplomatic ties, Israel has reportedly forged ties with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states over a shared distrust of Iran.
Channel 10 also reported — without citing sources — that Egypt had warned Saudi Arabia against putting too much pressure on Iran and Hezbollah as it may quickly plunge the region into violent conflict between Iran and its branches and Saudi Arabia and its allies.
On Monday, a Saudi minister accused Lebanon of declaring war on the kingdom for failing to keep Hezbollah under control.
“We will treat the government of Lebanon as a government declaring a war because of Hezbollah’s militias,” Minister for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan told Saudi news station Al-Arabiya.
Separately, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister accused Iran and Hezbollah of being behind the missile launch by Yemen’s Houthis.
“It was an Iranian missile, launched by Hezbollah, from territory occupied by the Houthis in Yemen,” Adel al-Jubeir told CNN on Monday.
Al-Jubeir said the missile was manufactured in Iran before being smuggled in parts into Yemen, where “operatives from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah” assembled it and fired it on Saudi Arabia.
A spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry said earlier Monday that Saudi Arabia’s assertion that Iran was responsible for the missile launch was “false, irresponsible, destructive and provocative,” according to the Tasnim news agency.
Last month Israel Radio reported that a Saudi prince had made a secret diplomatic trip to Israel. The Saudi foreign ministry later denied the the report.
AFP contributed to this report.

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Netanyahu Questioned by Police for Fifth Time in Alleged Corruption Probe

Nov 9, 2017 | Haaretz

By Josh Breiner

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was questioned by Israeli police for the fith time regarding two corruption cases on Thursday. Investigators arrived at the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem on Thursday afternoon, and questioned the prime minister for four hours. This came days after two of his closest affiliates were grilled by investigators in a seperate case.
Senior officers of the Lahav 433, the elite special investigations unit arrived at the investigation after significant testimonies were accumulated from the prime minister's recent interrogations involving Cases 1000 and 2000.
The questioning was expected to revolve around matters involving the so-called "Case 1000," in which Netanyahu is suspected of accepting gifts from wealthy benefactors in the form of cigars, champagne and jewelry – worth an estimated total of hundreds of thousands of shekels – allegedly in return for advancing their interests.
This was his fifth time being questioned in this regard and in regards to the so-called "Case 2000," which involves recordings of talks Netanyahu held with the publisher of Yedioth Ahronoth, a leading newspaper considered critical of him, to obtain favorable coverage in return for reining Israel Hayom, the paper's main rival and Netanyahu's main mouthpiece.
The investigation is likely to climax with the police confronting Netanyahu with testimony from his former chief of staff Ari Harow. Harow signed an agreement to become state's witness last August, to provide details of the two cases in which Netanyahu is suspected.
Over the past four days, two of his closest associates have gone into police questioning in regards to the “submarine affair,” or so-called 'Case 3000,' which is by far the most serious scandal surrounding Netanyahu.
A multimillion dollar submarine deal with German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp is the focus of this police investigation, probing ino possible wrongdoing involving Netanyahu's personal lawyer and the local representative of the German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp. The case, called "Case 3000" by police, was based around the two-billion euro deal to purchase three submarines and four patrol boats, intended to protect Israel's offshore natural gas platforms.
It is not clear, however, whether the police intended to extract evidence from Netanyahu regarding the "submarine affair" during this round of questioning. Unlike the other two cases, Netanyahu has not yet been interrogated as a suspect in Case 3000.
Police were expected to confront Netanyahu with various testimonies taken, including of Arnon Milchan, who was interrogated in London as part of a judicial inquiry a month ago.
Milchan, the Israeli Hollywood producer whose interests Netanyahu is suspected of advancing, acquired a ten-year U.S. visa with the help of then-U.S. ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro at the behest of the prime minister. Milchan testified to police last year that he gave the Netanyahu family an estimated hundreds of thousands of shekel in gifts.
Netanyahu's investigation was also expected to be documented, as is required of any investigation punishable by ten years or more, and for the purposes of supervision by Police Chief Roni Alsheich and Deputy State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan.

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Netanyahu Attacks Police Chief After Fresh Corruption Probe Leaks

Nov 15, 2017 | I24 News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took aim on Saturday at the country’s police chief, Roni Alsheikh, after a report by Israel’s Channel Two suggested that the premier would be questioned yet again regarding two corruption investigations.
According to the report, police intend to question Netanyahu within two weeks over testimony they have gathered in the probes known as Case 1000 and Case 2000. The first probe relates to the alleged receiving of gifts from wealthy associates and the second centers on leaked conversations with Arnon Mozes, the publisher of Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.
The report, which corroborated a Channel Ten report earlier this month, also said that the testimonies of British billionaire Len Blotnik and film producer Arnon Milchan had "strengthened" the case against the Netanyahu.
Shortly after the report aired, Netanyahu took to Facebook to blast Police Chief Alsheikh for failing to plug a steady stream of leaks from the investigations.
"When Alsheikh took office, he made two important decisions:There will be no leaks from the investigations and there will be no more recommendations by the police," Netanyahu wrote.
“Since the political adviser Lior Horev was appointed as an external adviser to the police at a cost of millions to the taxpayer and without a tender, the illegal leaks became a tsunami,” Netanyahu continued. “The decision to avoid the recommendations disappeared as never before.”
Shortly thereafter, the Israeli Police rejected Netanyahu’s remarks, insisting that it was “doing its work in accordance with the law and country.”
“We will not be dragged into baseless attacks aimed at disrupting the work of the police and undermining the legitimacy of the rule of law,” the police added.
In a similar rebuke, the Knesset’s Opposition Leader, Member of Knesset Isaac Herzog (Zionist Union) also criticized Netanyahu for his response.
"[This is] incitement, and division for the sake of personal interests at any price, even at the price of the unity of the people and damages the symbols of law and government," Herzog stated.

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Priti Patel Resigns Amid Scandal over Meetings with Israeli Officials

Nov 8, 2017 | The Jewish Chronicle

By Ben Welch

Priti Patel has resigned following the furore over her failure to disclose meetings with Israeli ministers.
The former International Development Secretary had been expected to be dismissed by Prime Minister Theresa May this evening but resigned, after being ordered to cut short a diplomatic trip to Africa.
In a letter accepting Ms Patel’s resignation, the Prime Minister wrote: “As you know, the UK and Israel are close allies, and it is right that we should work closely together.
“But that must be done formally, and through official channels. That is why, when we met on Monday, I was glad to accept your apology and welcomed your clarification about your trip to Israel over the summer.
“Now that further details have come to light, it is right that you have decided to resign and adhere to the high standards of transparency and openness that you have advocated.”
In her letter to Mrs May, Ms Patel wrote: “In recent days there have been a number of reports about my actions and I am sorry that these have served as a distraction from the work of the Department for International Development and of the Government as a whole.
“As you know from our discussions I accept that in meeting with organisations and politicians during a private holiday in Israel my actions fell below the high standards that are expected of a Secretary of State.
“I offer a fulsome apology to you and to the Government for what has happened and offer my resignation.”
Ms Patel was reprimanded in Downing Street on Monday, and was asked to disclose the details of her meetings with Israeli officials while on holiday.
It was later revealed that the Conservative cabinet member had two more meetings which were not disclosed.
Questions were asked of the Prime Minister today after the JC exclusively revealed that Number 10 instructed Ms Patel not to include her meeting with the Israel Foreign Ministry official Yuval Rotem because it would embarrass the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
This was denied by Number 10.
This newspaper also revealed that although Ms Patel’s meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not authorised in advance, the British government was made aware of it within hours.
Kate Osamor, Labour’s Shadow International Development Secretary said: "Priti Patel appears to have breached the ministerial code, gone behind the Government's back, and misled the British public.
"After initially denying the allegations, then repeatedly changing her story and failing to disclose all of her meetings, it is right that she has now resigned.
"But we still need to know what was discussed in these meetings and what Number 10 and the Foreign Office knew and when."
Ms Patel’s flight from Nairobi, Kenya, landed at Heathrow Airport shortly after 3pm today, and she left a meeting at Number 10 this evening.
She was appointed International Development Secretary in July 2016 after playing a leading role in the Vote Leave campaign earlier that year.
Ms Patel, 45, was first elected as member of Parliament for Witham, in Essex, in 2010.

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Binyamin Netanyahu Is Soft on Anti-Semitism When It Suits Him

Aug 26, 2017 | The Economist

ISRAEL has long seen itself as the protector of Jews everywhere and a bulwark against anti-Semitism globally. It has brought Nazis such as Adolf Eichmann to justice; it rescued Ethiopian Jews threatened by war and famine in the 1980s and 1990s. Just last week it denounced a notice in a Swiss hotel telling “Jewish guests” to shower before entering the swimming pool. So Israel’s government could reasonably have been expected to condemn the protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, which featured neo-Nazis chanting “Jews will not replace us”, and to criticise the mealy-mouthed response by President Donald Trump, who has energised the white-supremacist movement in America.
Instead, the anti-Semitic rallies, which descended into violence, and Mr Trump’s tepid early comments were met with silence by the government in Jerusalem. Only after Mr Trump’s carefully scripted denunciation of “the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups” did Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, issue a tweet saying, “Outraged by expressions of anti-Semitism, neo-Nazism and racism.” Mr Netanyahu made no reference to where these expressions were made, nor to who was making them. He did not react to Mr Trump’s later comments, which pinned blame for the violence on both the neo-Nazis and the people who turned out to oppose them.
Mr Netanyahu has said that Israel has no greater friend than Mr Trump, and is pleased that America is not pressing Israel to make concessions to the Palestinians. But his reluctance to speak out against anti-Semitism in America is about more than that. Mr Netanyahu and his supporters seem to believe that the people opposing the white supremacists are at least as dangerous to Israel as the neo-Nazis. Take Mr Netanyahu’s son Yair, who condemned the neo-Nazis on Facebook, but added that the counter-protesters of Antifa and Black Lives Matter “hate my country (and America too in my view) just as much”.
Most American Jews are liberal. More than 70% of them voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, not least because of the anti-Semitic undertones of Mr Trump’s campaign. But some prominent Jewish leaders have reached out to the president, whose son-in-law is Jewish and whose daughter converted to Judaism. After Charlottesville, many of them are despairing. Even Rabbi Marvin Hier, who recited a prayer at Mr Trump’s inauguration, blasted him last week. Other rabbis said they will not join a conference call with the president ahead of Jewish holy days next month.
Such denunciations stand in stark contrast to Mr Netanyahu’s reaction, and are indicative of a rift between the Israeli government and the Jewish diaspora. Mr Netanyahu and his Likud party have won three elections, in part by accusing the left of undermining Israel’s security. This, along with the prime minister’s co-operation with Orthodox Jewish parties, has alienated those American Jews who identify with the opposition in Israel. To some it looks as if Mr Netanyahu is more likely to see anti-Semitism in those who oppose his policies.
Consider his treatment of Viktor Orban, Hungary’s populist prime minister. Mr Orban’s government has been accused of running an anti-Semitic poster campaign against George Soros, a Jewish-American financier with Hungarian roots who funds liberal causes, and organisations that are critical of Mr Orban. The Israeli ambassador to Hungary, Yosef Amrani, condemned the posters. A day later the Israeli foreign ministry retracted the criticism, saying that Mr Soros, a Holocaust survivor, “undermines Israel’s democratically elected governments by funding organisations that defame the Jewish state.” Mr Soros finances various Israeli and Palestinian organisations that support human rights. Some also call for a boycott and sanctions against Israel. Mr Orban, on the other hand, is one of Mr Netanyahu’s closest allies in Europe.
This article appeared in the Middle East and Africa section of the print edition under the headline "Soft when it suits him"

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The Difficulty of Drafting Ultra-Orthodox Jews into Israel’s Army

Sep 30, 2017 | The Economist

DURING the violent birth of Israel, David Ben-Gurion, its first prime minister, allowed 400 ultra-Orthodox Jews (also called Haredim) to avoid compulsory military service to pursue a life of Talmudic study. He may have thought they were too few to matter, or that their endangered traditions should be nurtured after the Holocaust. Seven decades on, however, the number of such yeshiva students has exploded to 60,000. They are still allowed to dodge the draft, and many do not work, either. Other Israelis resent this.
The clash between those who serve God and those who serve their fellow citizens was on display on the streets of Jerusalem on September 17th. Thousands of ultra-Orthodox protesters had gathered to denounce a decision by Israel’s high court—the third in two decades—that the exemption of yeshiva students from military duty was unconstitutional because it enshrined inequality. Many were followers of a rabbi whose son was arrested in March after refusing even to apply for the required exemption papers. Police cleared them off the streets by using water cannons and their fists.
A small but growing number of ultra-Orthodox men serve in the army, often in bespoke units where religious strictures, such as sex segregation, can be maintained. The army says that, of its intake of 98,000 recruits last year, 3,200 were Haredim. Owing to their needs, drafting thousands more would be a logistical nightmare that many generals would prefer to avoid. What is more, Haredi political parties, which have been an integral part of most Israeli coalitions in recent decades, would bring down the government if a full draft were enacted. As a way out of the political and legal conundrum, some ministers in the right-wing coalition of Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, want the power to pass legislation that is immune from review by the high court.
In practice, it is not just the Haredim who avoid military service. Arab Muslims, around 20% of the Israeli population (excluding the occupied territories), are exempt; so are many Jewish women. Among 18-year-old Jews (including the Haredim), 28% of males and 42% of females avoided the draft last year.
Equality is a slippery concept. Men serve longer in the army than women. Pay and conditions vary widely between, say, combat soldiers and those with clerical duties. Units involved in cyberwarfare produce veterans with skills and connections that help them find jobs at tech firms. Strenuous and life-endangering service in the field, by contrast, creates fewer and less lucrative opportunities on civvy street.
Rather than force Haredim into uniform, the government might do better to nudge them to learn more practical skills and join the workforce. Israel’s unemployment rate is only 4%, but productivity is low and many Haredim are not even looking for work. Many lack relevant skills; some shun the secular world. A study by the finance ministry shows that, despite efforts to boost jobs for Haredim, their participation rate in the labour force has fallen by three percentage points to 51%, compared with 89% in the rest of the Jewish population. Among those aged 25-34, when young men typically join the workforce, the rate is a dismal 41%. Military service may help some into the jobs market. But integrating the Haredim into modern Israel will take more than just giving them a gun.
This article appeared in the Middle East and Africa section of the print edition under the headline "In which we don’t serve"

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Israel’s “New Labour” Party

Oct 26, 2017 | The Economist

AVI GABBAY has already overturned convention once—when on July 10th he won the primaries to become the leader of Israel’s Labour party just six months after joining it. Now he is causing more ructions in the main opposition, with a series of statements that are heretical to those on the far left of Israeli politics. Although other Labour leaders have, at times, espoused similar views, Mr Gabbay has done so earlier and more emphatically. He says that, should he win the next election he would not invite the country’s Arab parties to join his coalition. And he has said that he does not think that Jewish settlements built on land in the West Bank, which Israel captured in 1967, should necessarily be dismantled as part of a peace agreement. Further disconcerting some Labour supporters is his view that “a Jew cannot really not believe in God.”
Mr Gabbay’s intentions are clear. He is determined to break the image of Labour as a left-wing party that is detached from the concerns and beliefs of more conservative (and religious) voters. To win an election he needs to attract supporters away from other centrist parties as well as some of those on the right that have propped up the coalition government headed by Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, and his Likud party.
Mr Gabbay is not the first leader of a Labour party to tack to the right. One of those he has sought advice from is Tony Blair, a former British prime minister and one of the architects of “New Labour”, which modernised the party and dropped its commitment to nationalising industry. But Mr Gabbay seems motivated by more than electoral mathematics.
He comes from a conservative family of Moroccan origin, a group that usually supports Likud, as Mr Gabbay once did. And unlike many of Labour’s previous leaders, who came from the army or out of the left-leaning kibbutz movement, his background is in business.
The Labour party last won an election in 1999 and has since changed leaders eight times. Party members who voted for a very different kind of leader this time are willing to give him a chance. “People on the left still think what happened is just an aberration and the reins of power will soon be handed back to us,” says Emilie Moatti, a Labour member who is planning to run for a seat in the Knesset at the next election. She laments that Mr Netanyahu has successfully “tainted us all as unpatriotic haters of Israel.”
Labour, which ruled Israel for its first three decades after the state’s establishment in 1948, is not the only opposition party undergoing an identity crisis. Meretz, a fiercely secularist party that describes itself as “Israel’s Left,” has suffered a series of electoral defeats that almost wiped the party out. On October 18th the party’s leader, Zehava Galon, said she was resigning from the Knesset in the hope of sparking “open primaries” for its next leaders. “There is a deep frustration on the left over having drifted away from positions of influence for so long,” says Nitzan Horowitz, a former member of the Knesset for Meretz. “Moving to the right or changing selection procedures won’t change that.”
The anomaly of Israeli politics is that a majority of voters supports the left’s two-state solution but continues to vote for right-wing leaders. Perhaps that will change if Labour is led by a right-winger.
This article appeared in the Middle East and Africa section of the print edition under the headline "Israel’s “New Labour”"

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Handicapped Protesters Block Highway to Make Demands Heard

Aug 24, 2017 | The Jerusalem Post

By Sarah Levi

Some 40 disabled people once again took to the streets on Thursday, blocking Route 4 at the Geha junction in Bnei Brak/Petah Tikva in the direction of Givat Shmuel for several hours to make their demands known.
Then headed for the capital, planning to block the main, western, entrance to Jerusalem, but the police stopped them on Route 1 near Sha’ar Hagai.
They are demanding that their disability allotments, NIS 2,342 a month, be raised to be equal to the minimum wage, NIS 5,000, and were expecting a ruling later on Thursday on a petition asking the High Court of Justice to order the government to do just that.
“We want to apologize to the people going to their homes and their jobs, but we have no choice but to risk our lives to get what we need. Hanan Tal, CEO of NGO “Disabled, Not a Half a Human Being,” told The Jerusalem Post.
The petition sought to raise the monthly stipend for people with disabilities stating they are unable to survive on the current NIS 2,342 monthly stipend.
Noting that the current poverty line is NIS 3,330 a month, Tal exclaimed: “Don’t make us choose between food and medicine.”
According to Tal, the protesters came from all over Israel, “from North to South, we are really proud of the way we did it.
There were no confrontations with drivers or the police, we followed the law to protest and everything was coordinated with the police.”
A similar protest was staged two weeks ago where some 40 to 50 people with disabilities gathered at the Bnei Darom junction outside Ashdod. During the demonstration, which did not have a permit, 15 protesters went onto the highway, distributing spikes to block cars and provoking police while demanding the increased monthly allotment. Five protesters were arrested after clashing with police.
Tal emphasized that this time, “nobody was hurt, nobody was arrested, and we hope that we don’t have to do this over and over again.”

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National Opportunity: Israel’s Treasury Expecting $5 Billion Surplus

Nov 26, 2017 | Jewish Press

By David Israel

The amount accumulated so far in the tax authority’s coffers from the collection of tax on dividends in 2017 stands at 17.5 billion shekel – about $5 billion, Globes reported Wednesday. The dividends, totaling more than 52 billion shekel ($15 billion) which the controlling shareholders of private Israeli companies have reported as part of a tax collection campaign by the Tax Authority.
The final amount is yet to be determined, by the way, since the TA has not yet completed the process of documenting the manual reports that were submitted.
So far, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon (Kulanu) is maintaining total silence on the subject, and no one knows how he plans to use these surpluses. Moreover, Globes found that Kahlon has yet to hold discussions of the unexpectedly large surplus with Finance Ministry and Tax Authority staff, nor has he asked them to present him with options – other than just lowering taxes and sending rebates to taxpayers.
There’s a good reason why Kahlon is keeping mum – its name is Benjamin Netanyahu, who has made it a habit to steal every ribbon cutting occasion from his Finance Minister. The Prime Minister has already spoken about the plans to exploit the surplus, telling the opening session of the Knesset this week that he had agreed with the Finance Minister on reducing taxes.
According to Globes, Netanyahu wants lower income taxes for the middle class – salaried employees earning $60,000 to $100,000 a year – in accordance with the recommendation of the National Economic Council. The PM faces resistance from the Governor of the Bank of Israel, Dr. Karnit Flug,, who suspects that the current surplus is a one-time phenomenon and does not represent a permanent growth resulting from economic expansion.
By law, if a decision is not made by the end of the year, the surplus money will automatically go to finance the budget deficit – bringing it down to about 1.5 percent, 50 percent below the budget deficit target.
Minister Kahlon is not new to this deficit vs. surplus game: in 2015 and 2016 he was furious that those two years ended in a much lower deficit than anticipated by the professional staff in his office. He argued that with more accurate forecasts, the money could have been budgeted for social purposes, to push up the estimated 50% of the population who are decidedly not benefiting from Israel’s hi tech and other market miracles.
Seeing as many of these Israelis are Kahlon’s potential voters come next elections, it’s clear that the son of a construction worker from Tripoli, Libya, is not planning to use the surplus to lower the taxes of the already quite rich Israeli employees – Netanyahu’s voters.
Incidentally, according to Globes, the 2017 surplus could end up being as high as 20 billion shekel – $5.7 billion. Enough to upgrade Israel’s crammed government and private hospitals, reduce class sizes, increase stipends to the handicapped. With the new elections already in the air, Kahlon, whose party is expected to disappear should the 3.75% vote threshold remain as it is, could use this opportunity to save the nation.

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Israel Flag, Anthem Absent Despite Flicker's Judo Gold in Abu Dhabi

Nov 10, 2017 | The Jerusalem Post

By Allon Sinai

Israeli judoka Tal Flicker scaled the top of the podium and received his gold medal on Thursday, but the Israel national anthem was not played and the blueand- white flag was not raised in Abu Dhabi.
The 25-year-old won the under-66 kilogram category competition at the Abu Dhabi Judo Grand Slam, but he had to do so under the flag of the International Judo Federation (IJF), with the event organizers refusing to allow the Israeli team to compete under their country’s flag.
The organizers claimed that, due to security reasons, the Israelis can’t have their flag on their judo uniform and instead of having ISR by their names on the scoreboard and on their backs, they would have to take part as representatives of the IJF, the International Judo Federation.
For the same reason, they explained that should an Israeli win a gold medal, “Hatikva” would not be played.
When Flicker received his medal, the IJF played its own anthem in place of Israel’s.
Nevertheless, Flicker was seen singing “Hatikva” from atop the podium.
The delegation, numbering 12 athletes, arrived in Abu Dhabi, the capital and the second most populous city of the United Arab Emirates, via Amman on Tuesday, a day later than scheduled.
The judokas had waited for seven hours at Ben-Gurion Airport on Monday, only to return home, frustrated after being told that they couldn’t pick up their visas to Abu Dhabi in Istanbul as they had been told.
International Judo Federation president Marius Vizer sent a letter to the organizers on Monday demanding that “the Israeli delegation shall be treated absolutely equally in all aspects.”
Vizer wrote in his letter that the IJF statutes “clearly provide that the IJF shall not discriminate on the ground of race, religion, gender or political opinion.”
However, Abu Dhabi officials still insisted that Israel take part in the event under the IJF flag.
That did nothing to discourage Flicker or Israel’s Gili Cohen, who also picked up a medal on Thursday, taking a bronze in the women’s under-52 kg. competition.

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Israeli Television Executive Resigns to Fight Rape, Assault Accusations

Nov 8, 2017 | The Times of Israel

Alex Gilady, president of the Keshet Media group, announced his “temporary” resignation Wednesday amid accusations of rape and inappropriate sexual behavior.
In a statement to Keshet’s board of directors, the head of one of Israel’s largest television production companies said he wants to focus on clearing his name.
“I am moving aside, temporarily, from Keshet, in order to fight to prove my innocence [despite] these unfounded claims,” he wrote. “I repeat and stress that these claims are not correct and I will take the necessary legal steps against these false accusations.”
In addition to leading Keshet, one of the longtime concessionaires in the hugely popular Channel 2, Gilady, a former basketball and soccer player, is Israel’s representative on the International Olympic Committee.
Drorit Vertheim, chair of Keshet’s board of directors, confirmed Gilady’s resignation and said in a statement, “following his announcement, starting from today, Alex Gilady will not serve as president of Keshet,” Hadashot news (formerly Channel 2) reported.
Gilady’s resignation came the day after a woman who formerly worked in media accused the television executive of rape, adding her story to those of two other journalists who complained of inappropriate behavior on Gilady’s part.
Channel 10 reported Tuesday that the woman, who was not identified, said the assault happened 20 years ago when she was a candidate to present a television show that ultimately was never produced. The woman, who claims to have passed a polygraph test about the incident, said that Gilady pushed her to the ground, mentioned the names of two other women journalists and said, “What do you think made those stars, do you think they made it on their own? They all passed through this room.”
According to the complaint, he then raped her.
The rape accusation came on the heels of claims by Haaretz writer Neri Livneh who said Gilady once exposed himself to her during a visit to his villa, and allegations by newscaster Oshrat Kotler who claimed Gilady pursued her for a dinner date at a time when he was offering her to present a television show. When she rejected his sexually-toned advances and pointed out that she was married, Gilady, she said, suggested a private meeting with him was the only way to advance her career.
All of three of the incidents were alleged to have happened around 20 years ago. In a statement Monday, Gilady didn’t deny showing his private parts to Livneh but argued that it happened within the confines of his own home, and therefore was his right to do so. He denied making any indecent proposition to Kotler or even auditioning her for a television show.

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Israeli Intelligence Firm Apologises for Working With Harvey Weinstein

Nov 9, 2017 | Reuters/The Guardian

An Israeli intelligence firm that reportedly helped Harvey Weinstein gather information on women accusing him of sexual harassment and assault has said it is sorry that it agreed to work with the Hollywood producer.
Earlier this week, the New Yorker reported that Weinstein had hired Black Cube, which markets itself as a group of ex-members of Israeli intelligence units specializing in business and litigation challenges, to help stop the publication of abuse allegations against him.
“Of course we apologise to whoever was hurt by this,” said Asher Tishler, who is listed as a member of Black Cube’s advisory board, during a TV interview on Israel’s The News. “In retrospect, it’s a shame we took the job.“
Tishler said he was not familiar with all the details of the work Black Cube carried out for Weinstein.
One account in the New Yorker article described two private investigators from Black Cube, using false identities, meeting with the actress Rose McGowan to extract information from her. McGowan has accused Weinstein of sexual assault.
“I think the job was taken in a justified manner. When it was discovered there was a problem, they stopped,” he said.
He added that any money the company made would be given to women’s groups.
More than 50 women have alleged that Weinstein sexually harassed or assaulted them over the past three decades. Weinstein has denied having non-consensual sex with anyone. Reuters has been unable to independently confirm any of the allegations.

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Alibaba to Open R&D Center in Israel

Oct 16, 2017 | HaModia

By Dror Halavy

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is planning to open seven research and development centers around the world – one of them in Israel, according to a report by Reuters. The company will spend $15 billion on the centers, which will be managed by the company’s Damo (Discovery, Adventure, Momentum, and Outlook) Academy, which spearheads the search for new technology worldwide on behalf of Alibaba.
No specific details were announced about exactly what the Israeli R&D center would work on, but Alibaba said that the centers would work on “foundational and disruptive technology research” in data intelligence, quantum computing, machine learning, and natural-language processing, according to the report. A lab in Singapore will be the first to open; the others, including the Israeli center, will be opened within the next three years.
Alibaba is a “latecomer” to the Israeli research and development scene; over 300 foreign multinational tech giants, from Amazon to Microsoft to Google to Singtel and many others have centers in Israel. Israel is seen as a leader in many areas of advanced technology, including machine vision, cybersecurity and blockchain tech, all considered key to new products and services in the coming years.
According to business publication Calcalist, dozens of Alibaba executives have been in Israel over the past year, scouting out locations and start-ups the Chinese firm would want to work with. Several delegations of Alibaba executives were hosted by Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP), Israel’s largest venture capital firm. According to Calcalist, JVP will help fund the establishment of the Israeli center, investing tens of millions of dollars in it.

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Technion Tour Highlights Economic Triangle Of China, Israel, NY

Oct 28, 2017 | Forbes

By Rebecca Fannin

Anyone doubting the impact of the Tech Triangle as a new world order in technology leadership should have been at the Technion World Tour 2017 in New York City. At a four-day program highlighting science and technology innovations, the tech trio markets of Israel, China and New York were highlighted.
Technion president Peretz Lavie led a day-long visit to the newly opened Cornell Tech, home to Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute, on Roosevelt Island. Here, three major facilities have popped up so far on a 12-acre campus: the Bloomberg Center academic hub, The Bridge startup and research center, and the environmentally advanced, student residential high-rise.
VIPs from corporate business, politics, VC and academia spoke and were honored during the program, among them Sanford Weill, Andrew Tisch, Ronald Lauder, Dr. Irwin Jacobs, Benchmark venture partner Scott Belsky and NYC Council Member Ben Kallos (who coined the term Silicon Island for the new campus overlooking central Manhattan and Long Island City).
Now all it takes is critical mass for the new campus to take off and really become a Silicon Island!
At Cornell Tech (a joining of Cornell University and Technion in an initiative led by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg to create the campus as a springboard by NYC tech), the focus was on how the institution's focus on research, entrepreneurship and intellectual rigor will have an economic impact on New York City. Participants that included Technion alumni and supporters also got to hear about the center's Runway Postdoc program, which offers a spinoff route to commercialize tech creations, and already has 16 success stories. One current Master's degree student, Roy Cohen, noted that the Israel military was less rigorous than a Technion semester.
The tour brought in a dinner gala at the iconic Rainbow Room and a stop at Carnegie Hall for a performance by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and virtuosos Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman. Meanwhile, several Technion innovators had a chance to show off their inventions during the tour. They included Assaf Glazer of baby sleep monitoring device Nanit, Dr. Amit Goffer of a new walkable wheelchair UPnRide, Moty Avisar of VR glasses for medical startup Surgical Theater and Hossam Haick, creator of a breath sniffing device for detecting 17 specific diseases.
An outing to the Asia Society the following day brought in China to the equation. Panelists including Startup Nation author Dan Senor, Asia Society president and CEO Josette Sheeran, and philanthropist and entrepreneur Angelica Berrie explored the growing connections among the U.S., Israel and China, and increased investment by China into Israeli venture capital funds and R&D.
Not to be overlooked is Technion's launch of the first Israeli university in China, with a campus in Shantou, Guangdong province.
If the China connection was not pronounced enough already, a New York week also brought the launch of a new direct, non-stop flight by China's Hainan Airlines between New York City and both Chengdu and Chongqing in Southwestern China. A gala celebration at Alice Tully Hall, complete with a fashion show of flight attendants' uniforms over the years and an orchestral performance highlighted the launch of two weekly flights on each route for the airline, a part of China's real estate, financial and media/entertainment conglomerate HNA Group.
Rebecca A. Fannin is founder/editor of news, events and research group Silicon Dragon. She is an author of three books on innovation and venture trends, and is a public speaker.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccafannin/2017/10/28/technion-tour-hainan-flight-launch-highlight-economic-triangle-of-china-israel-ny/#5fee3e4c203d

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Netanyahu Rips Opposition, Media as ‘Sourpusses’ at New Knesset Session

Oct 23, 2017 | The Times of Israel

By Marissa Newman

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday launched a tirade against Israel’s media and political opposition, branding them “sourpusses” who downplay the country’s many successes.
Two Zionist Union MKs were removed from the Knesset plenary for heckling Netanyahu during his address and Zionist Union MK Tzipi Livni walked out in protest, during the at-times heated opening of the Knesset’s winter session.
During his speech, Netanyahu revived his longtime critique of what he called the “industry of despair,” namely the political left and media, as opposition members responded with yelling and jeers from their seats.
“The industry of despair has a new branch — the branch of the sourpusses [literally ‘pickles’],” said Netanyahu. This camp, he opined, was only satisfied “when settlements are being evacuated” and ignored Israel’s numerous economic, diplomatic, and technological gains.
The characterization was met with a furious response by Zionist Union MK Hilik Bar, who shouted across the plenum: “We haven’t evacuated any settlements… you carried out the disengagement,” referring to the evacuation of Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip in 2005 by then-prime minister Ariel Sharon.
“I am happy that concern for the settlements has trickled down to the opposition,” quipped Netanyahu, likely also referring to recent remarks by Zionist Union chairman Avi Gabbay, who said last week that settlements need not be evacuated during a future peace deal.
Bar was removed by security and his fellow party member MK Michal Biran was asked to leave over her own heckling a few moments later.
“When one camp expresses its opinion: this is freedom of speech. When the other camp expresses expresses its opinion: it’s divisiveness. This is the procedure. I have a lot of respect for democratic institutions; I have no respect for hypocrisy,” said Netanyahu.
Pivoting to the investigations into his affairs, Netanyahu hailed the submarine deal with Germany inked Monday, touting it as a victory that ostensibly shows there was no corruption tainting the multi-million dollar agreement.
The deal forms the basis of the so-called Case 3000, in which Netanyahu is not a suspect. Police suspect Israeli officials paid bribes in connection with the decision to buy three submarines from the German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp, despite opposition from the Defense Ministry.
“You also understand that this story is going down. Three hours ago, we signed a memorandum of understanding with the German government,” he said. “There are no submarines [to investigate], so what’s left? Cigars?” added Netanyahu, referring to other allegations against him involving accepting pricey gifts from Hollywood mogul Arnon Milchan.
He ripped into the protesters who gather weekly outside the home of Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, who he says want to pressure the attorney general to indict him at whatever cost.
“They want to threaten the rule of law,” he said.
The prime minister is being investigated in two cases. Case 1000 relates to allegations that Netanyahu and his wife Sara received illicit gifts from billionaire benefactors, most notably hundreds of thousands of shekels’ worth of cigars and champagne from the Israeli-born Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan.
Case 2000 involves a suspected illicit quid pro quo deal between Netanyahu and Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper publisher Arnon “Noni” Mozes that would have seen the prime minister hobble a rival daily, the Sheldon Adelson-backed Israel Hayom, in return for more favorable coverage from Yedioth.
Netanyahu, who has denied any wrongdoing, has increasingly lashed out at the media amid developments in the cases, accusing the press of playing up the investigations against him in order to end his premiership.
Netanyahu’s speech was fiercely criticized by opposition leader Isaac Herzog, who accused the premier of dividing and “depressing” Israelis.
“Instead of giving your people security, you frighten them. Instead of giving them hope, you depress them… you divide and rip them apart,” Herzog told the plenum.
“You’ve turned anyone who thinks differently than you into an enemy,” added Herzog. “You’ve turned the word ‘left[-wing]’ into a synonym for enemy and even coalition lawmakers whose conscience will not rest find themselves under unprecedented attacks, simply because they dared express a moral position, and are branded a fifth column.”
Also taking aim at Netanyahu’s comments minutes later was Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, who was singled out by the prime minister during his address and criticized for his efforts to lobby for Israel as a “shadow foreign minister.”
“There are two main issues that the Knesset will deal with in the upcoming session: The first subject is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His investigations, his hatreds, his paranoia. His attempts to threaten the police and pass laws to save himself,” said Lapid.
The Yesh Atid leader was referring to efforts by Likud lawmakers pushing for legislation that would prohibit police from probing a serving premier for fraud, bribery or breach of trust, amid the two ongoing criminal investigations into Netanyahu.
“After today, we can also add his lies [to the agenda]. You talk about how we didn’t help you with Iran, that you weren’t helped vis-a-vis the UN, and then at night you send your ministers to me to ask for help regarding the White House and US administration,” said Lapid. “How much can you lie in front of the entire plenum?”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-rips-opposition-media-as-sourpusses-at-new-knesset-session/

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Settler Leaders, Bereaved Families End Protest for Upping West Bank Security

Nov 10, 2017 | The Times of Israel

By Jacob Magid

A group of settler leaders and representatives of bereaved families ended their hunger strike Friday after reaching a deal with the government to improve the West Bank’s security infrastructure.
While Samaria Regional Council chairman Yossi Dagan, who spearheaded the protest outside the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem for the past two weeks, touted the deal as a major achievement, the agreement signed by coalition chair MK David Bitan (Likud) contained promises already pledged to leaders of the Yesha Council settlement umbrella group last month.
In a letter to Bitan, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the agreement in writing, an apparent concession to the protesters, though not the full-fledged cabinet decision approving the new funds that the protest leaders, led by Dagan, had demanded.
Dagan called it a historic day. “After almost three weeks of protesting outside the Prime Minister’s Residence and six days of hunger strike, we have reached an agreement with the government,” he said. “It is an agreement which guarantees funding for bypass roads that will save lives and for increased security measures on the road.”
The new document puts in writing the promise of an NIS 800 million ($228 million) security package as part of the 2018 budget for West Bank roads and infrastructure development.
The agreement ends a tense stalemate. When the promise was initially made three weeks ago, Dagan and a few fellow settlement mayors refused to end their protest until the funds had actually been transferred. Then, on Monday, Netanyahu appeared to backtrack, telling the hunger-striking settlers that he had earmarked just NIS 200 million to complete the bypass roads around Qalandiya and near Beit Aryeh in the central West Bank following a meeting with Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, but that the remaining NIS 600 million for additional bypass routes and lighting would only be added to the 2019 budget.
Netanyahu stressed that he needed to “lay the groundwork” with the international community before it could accept a massive investment in West Bank infrastructure.
In the new agreement, the prime minister appears to have returned to his original promise. The written deal pledges that NIS 200 million will be transferred immediately for the Qalandiya and Beit Aryeh bypass roads, and an additional NIS 600 million will be transferred in January 2018 for the other security improvements.
Besides new roads, the package is to include additional cellphone towers to improve reception in rural areas, more streetlights on poorly lit roads and the bolstering of armored buses that travel through the West Bank.
Former Yesha Council chairman Avi Roeh was not impressed by Dagan’s claims of victory on Friday. “It seems to be the same agreement we had received. I don’t see any difference,” he said, laughing.
Initially Dagan had threatened that the protest would not end until a cabinet decision was made on the financing. On Friday, he accepted the written pledge as tantamount to such a decision.
Hadas Mizrachi, whose husband Baruch was gunned down in a terror attack near Hebron while en route to a family Passover Seder in April 2014, spoke of her satisfaction at the deal.
“I’m happy we had the chance to do something for the people of Israel,” she said. “To prevent tragic events like those that happened to me and my family. This is a victory for the spirit and it is a gift for the settlements that I love so much and in which I was raised.”
The showdown with the prime minister highlighted differences among settlement leaders, especially between Yesha Council leaders who sought to obtain the funds through quiet talks with Netanyahu and a group, led in this instance by Dagan, who refused to take Netanyahu at his word and argued that the necessary funds could only be obtained by public pressure.

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PM Delays Vote on bill Annexing Greater Jerusalem After US Frowns

Oct 29, 2017 | The Jerusalem Post

By Tovah Lazaroff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed on Saturday an initial vote on the Greater Jerusalem bill, after some of his coalition partners opposed it and the US appeared to frown on it.
The Ministerial Committee for Legislative Affairs had intended to vote Sunday on the bill, which would shore up the Jewish vote in Jerusalem by annexing 19 settlements to the capital.
Sources said the legislation needed “diplomatic preparation and has therefore been rejected for the moment.”
A number of coalition politicians have also spoken out against the legislation.
Its passage had earlier appeared certain, because Netanyahu pledged earlier this month to support it. He has been under pressure to approve the legislation from members of his own party and Bayit Yehudi.
The bill, authored by MK Yoav Kisch (Likud), was originally intended to annex 19 settlements to Jerusalem. The draft language has now been toned down so that the legislation would annex the Jewish communities to Jerusalem, but not to sovereign Israel.
At its most basic level, the bill would give 150,000 settlers the right to vote in municipal elections.
The 19 settlements would simultaneously maintain their own independent governing bodies by becoming sub-municipalities of Jerusalem.
Opponents of the legislation argue that even though it now focuses more narrowly on Jerusalem’s voting demographics, it is still tantamount to annexation.
“My understanding is that piece of legislation is in the early stages of development,” US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said on Thursday.
She added that the US did not want to comment on the internal debate around the legislation.
“I know that it has to go through several steps before it would even become law,” Nauert said.
But as a general comment, she said, “We continue to encourage both sides to take appropriate actions to ease tensions and build an environment that would support concluding a conflict-ending peace agreement.”
Shas and United Torah Judaism have said they plan to oppose the legislation.
The two parties fear the bill could weaken the ultra-Orthodox voting demographic in Jerusalem, even though it would give voting rights in the capital to the ultra-Orthodox settlement of Betar Illit, which has more than 51,000 residents.
MK Uri Maklev (UTJ) said the bill deals with sensitive diplomatic issues and would have immediate and future municipal repercussions.
“We have to be very wary of it and not approve it so quickly,” he said last week.

MK Rachel Azaria (Kulanu) charged that politicians who didn’t live in Jerusalem were cynically turning it into a political tool.
“This bill might look good on paper, but it’s bad in reality,” she said. “Who wants to live in a city where people from the outside can vote for your mayor?” She said there were better ways to strengthen the city.
The legislation would apply to the settlements of Ma’aleh Adumim, Givat Ze’ev, Betar Illit, Efrat and the communities that fall under the auspices of the Gush Etzion Regional Council.
Separately, it would takes the three Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem outside the security barrier – Kafr Akab, Shuafat and Anata – and makes them sub-municipalities of the city.
Together, the three neighborhoods are home to around 100,000 people.

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Balfour Declaration: Netanyahu Meets May, Calls on Palestinians to 'Finally Accept Jewish State'

Nov 2, 2017 | Haaretz

By Anshel Pfeffer

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began his visit to London on Thursday with a meeting at Downing Street with Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May. As Netanyahu arrived at the meeting, May emphasized the need to return to the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. She added that that while Britain is commemorating the Balfour declaration that played a role in Israel’s establishment, it is aware of “the sensitivities” and “remains committed to the two-state solution.”
May said that she would be talking to Netanyahu about “the obstacles and difficulties in the settlement building” and that Britain supports the nuclear deal with Iran “which is working and to which Britain is committed."
Netanyahu arrived in London Wednesday night and met with May twice on Thursday – at noon for a working meeting at 10 Downing Street and in the evening for a private dinner at Lancaster House hosted by Lords Rothschild and Balfour, commemorating the Balfour Declaration.
In his opening remarks at the meeting, Netanyahu thanked the British government for inviting him to mark “with pride” the Balfour Declaration centenary, which he described as “a great event in Jewish history.” He extolled the relationship between Britain and Israel who he described as “strong allies and partners."
"We cooperate closely on intelligence. We cooperate closely in the battle against terrorism. And we’ve saved, through this cooperation, countless lives – British lives, Israeli lives,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu called upon the Palestinians, “a hundred years after Balfour,” to “finally accept the Jewish national home and finally accept the Jewish state. And when they do, the road to peace will be infinitely closer."
Netanyahu went on to warn that the threat facing the Middle East “is a resurgent Iran that is bent not only on dominating the region, but bent on developing nuclear weapons."
Netanyahu’s visit is coming at a tumultuous time for May, who is contending with a political crisis caused by allegations of sexual harassment by senior British politicians, including ministers close to her. One of them, Defense Secretary Michael Fallon, resigned on Wednesday. As Netanyahu and May shook hands on Downing Street, British journalists shouted at May, “is time to clean the stables, Prime Minister?"
Both May and Netanyahu will attend a private dinner this evening, commemorating the Balfour declaration, hosted by the Lords Rothschild and Balfour. May is expected to use her speech to attack those who use criticism of Israel as a cover for anti-Semitism.
Besides the Balfour event, the visit’s other highlights are scheduled for Friday, when Netanyahu will be lecturing at Chatham House and answering questions from members of the prestigious think tank. Netanyahu will also be meeting with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.
After Chatham House and a brief visit to the London Stock Exchange, it will be a long and luxurious Shabbat weekend at the Savoy Hotel where Netanyahu will celebrate his wife Sara’s birthday.

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