1. Poland Approves Law to Block Restitution Claims by Jews for Property Lost During and After World War Two. The new legislation sets a 30-year limit on challenges or claims on property stolen by Nazi Germany, then confiscated by Poland's communist regime, and is therefore designed to block any existing or new claims.
Poland's president Andrzej Duda signed the law despite the outrage expressed by top Israeli and American leaders and said that he did so “after an in-depth analysis” and in light of his firm belief that the new law will rectify the current wrongdoing and legal chaos, which undermines the basic rights of Polish citizens.
The move has triggered a diplomatic crisis; Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has branded the law “anti-Semitic” and recalled the acting ambassador to Poland. He further called on the Polish ambassador to Israel to extend his vacation in his home country and announced that he will delay the appointment of a permanent ambassador to Poland.
The US and the UK also spoke out against the new Polish law; U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said “A comprehensive law for resolving confiscated property claims is needed to provide some measure of justice for victims. Such a law would benefit many Polish citizens, as well as people who were forced to leave Poland during and after World War II and who subsequently became naturalized citizens of other countries.”. Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office Wendy Morton tweeted on Wednesday, “We are disappointed by the passage of legislation limiting opportunities for property restitution in Poland.
“Legal avenues for the victims of the Holocaust, their families & descendants to pursue such claims must remain open,” Morton added.
2. Wildfires Raged Near Jerusalem, Consuming More than 25,000 Dunams (6,200 Acres) of Forest Lands: the first massive fire in the hills near Jerusalem erupted at the beginning of the week, affecting several communities whose residents were evacuated from their homes. Dozens of land and air firefighters labored for two whole days to contain the fire, which erupted again two days later. A heavy cloud of smoke hovered over the area, as the wildfires caused severe air pollution. Chief of the Fire Department said that the wildfires also caused damage to cellular communications infrastructure and massive traffic jams on Route 1, the main road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
The Palestinian Authority sent four firefighting cars to help extinguish the fires. Defense Minister Gantz made a public statement, to thank the PA for its help: “I would like to thank PA Chairman [Mahmoud] Abbas for his initiative to send the firefighters who came to assist Israel today. Mutual care and saving human lives are common interests to us all.”
While the police and the central security service are still investigating whether the wildfires were caused by arson, Minister of Environmental Protection Zandberg (Meretz) and environmental analysts claim that such wildfires, as well as extreme weather, floods and other environmental disasters will become more frequent and powerful because of climate change. Specialists claim that Israel is not properly equipped to handle such extreme events.
3. COVID Update: Israel became one of the countries with the highest rates of infection in the world. Only late this week it seemed like the trend was stopped and the percentage of infection started to decline. The rate of third Covid-19 booster shots for people 60 years and older is increasing, Israeli health authorities decided to offer the option to people 40 years old and older, and may soon offer a booster shot to the entire population.
Meanwhile health authorities decided to impose a green pass, that allows only vaccinated people or those who have tested negative in the last 48 hours, as a condition for entry to public places like cinemas, theaters, malls, etc. Children who cannot be vaccinated yet, aged 3-12 will get free tests, while adults who refuse to be vaccinated will have to pay for the test. The cabinet is still discussing what would be the best plan to allow the school system to open on time as planned, September 1st, and whether they should open vaccination kiosks in the schools for children 12 years and older. The health authorities are also working on plans to minimize the ability of small children to spread the virus, and enhance protection through fast and routine tests.
4. Research at Tel Aviv University May Be a Breakthrough in the Treatment for Cancer: The researchers successfully managed to 3D bioprint an entire active and viable glioblastoma brain tumor using human tissues, which included a complex system of blood vessel-like tubes through which blood cells and drugs can flow, simulating a real tumor. This development will enable tailor-made treatment for each patient based on what influences the specific tumor after checking the treatment on the 3D-bioprint. The article based on this research will soon be published in the prestigious magazine Science.
5. Israel’s First Private University to be Named After its Founder: The Israeli Council for Higher Education approved a request by the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya to change its status from a college to a university, a step that will make it the country's first private university. Following the decision, The IDC plans to change its name to Reichman University, after the center’s founder and president, Prof. Uriel Reichman, Israeli legal scholar and former politician.
The council's Planning and Budgeting Committee (PBC), which is responsible for the planning aspects of the higher education system, opposed the IDC’s request out of concern for the broader consequences for the system, such as exacerbating inequality between students. The committee further expressed its concern that this step will further enhance competition between the public universities and the new private one, and most prominently, the competition between private colleges and the new private university.
Israel has 9 public universities and dozens of colleges. Three Israeli public universities were included in the prestigious Shanghai index, with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem ranked 90 out of the first top 100 universities around the world.
And before we say goodbye you may want to know that Israel, like the rest of the world, is closely following the developments in Afghanistan. Israelis call on their government to announce that Israel will accept a limited number of refugees from Afghanistan, especially those whose lives are in danger.
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