After a 24 hour delay, President Biden held his first meeting with PM of Israel Bennet. The original scheduled meeting was put on hold as a side-effect of the suicide bombs in Kabul, as Biden was busy in the situation room. In their statements to the press the two leaders expressed their commitment ato the relationship between the two countries. Iran was a central piece to the meeting. President Biden emphasized that Iran will never be nuclear. Bennet ended his statement to the press by citing the theme of the weekly Torah portion.
It is important to say in this context that some of former PM Netanyahu’s supporters were hoping for the meeting between Biden and Bennet to be cancelled or fail, because they think that Bennet has no legitimacy to be PM since he leads a party that has only 6 seats in the Knesset out of 120 total.
The timetable of the meeting was also effected by the fact that PM Bennet is an observant Jew and as such he originally planned to fly back to Israel right after the meeting on Thursday afternoon and arrive in Israel before the start of Shabbat on Friday evening. As the meeting was delayed, he had to change his plans and stay in Washington DC for the Shabbat and return to Israel on Saturday night.
A gradual escalation of hostilities is developing between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. An Israeli soldier was seriously wounded in a violent incident on the border between southern Israel and Gaza last Saturday. The soldier, a sniper, was trying to prevent the Palestinians from getting too close to the border. This was another form of escalation in addition to the continued use of arson balloons that are launched from Gaza towards Israel which cause fires on the Israeli side. Top Israeli army officers were weighing options: A decision to retaliate may lead to another round of violence which may cause casualties and damages on the Israeli side. If Israel does not retaliate it may encourage the Palestinians to go even further thereby escalating the situation. The Army Chief of Staff said earlier this week that he doesn’t exclude the option of another military campaign. Meanwhile there are efforts to find a mechanism to transfer money from Qatar to Gaza so Hamas would be able to pay salaries to its people while Israel would be sure that the money will not be used to buy arms and ammunition.
An incident captured the headlines after PM Bennet confused the name of the wounded soldier with that of his father when he called the family to check on the situation. Former PM Netanyahu, who also called the family, ridiculed Bennet on social media. The family of the wounded soldier recorded the conversation with PM Bennet and published it on social media which caused Bennet a lot of embarrassment.
Meanwhile Israel decided to lift some of the restrictions on Gaza and allowed new goods to be transferred.
Opening of School Year Fast Approaching, Government Seeks to Accelerate Vaccination Rates and Rapid Testing: This week has seen a record high number of new cases since the outbreak of the fourth wave of COVID-19, yet the number of severe cases remained steady, thanks to the third booster jab drive, according to senior health officials. Around 20% of the population have already received the third booster shot, and as of earlier this week, people over 30 can now receive the booster jab as well.
The Ministry of Education is determined to open the school year as scheduled on September 1st, yet senior health officials voiced some concerns over the possibility of further outbreaks, given the spike in infection rates in Haredi communities following the opening of their school year earlier this month. Public debate over penalties for those teachers and educators refusing vaccination or daily testing continues, as senior health officials call for a forced leave of absence for those who refuse vaccination.
As senior health officials and analysts show careful optimism as severe morbidity appears to be blocked, Minister of Finance Avigdor Lieberman (Israel Beitenu) voiced his objection to imposing further restrictions and his determination to “let the economy work”.
The Minister of Transportation and Chair of Labor Party Merav Michaeli and Her Partner Satire Show Star Lior Shlein Become Parents After Surrogacy Process in the US: Michaeli was under fire last week as the media reported that she is traveling to the US on a “personal vacation” despite the call by PM Bennet to set a personal example and avoid traveling abroad. But public criticism folded and turned into heartfelt congratulations as Michaeli posted on social media the real reason for her trip to the US: the birth of her son, Uri, by an American woman who served as a surrogate. In her post, Michaeli wrote openly that while she still thinks that mothers carry the brunt of child rearing in a non-gender equal world, she decided to go with her partner’s desire to have a child.
Michaeli, a prominent feminist icon, who spoke openly about her decision not to have children, as well as her objection to surrogacy as a practice that exploits poor women, then came under fire from a different direction. Feminist activists, journalists and bloggers voiced their disappointment with Michaeli over her failure to provide any explanation regarding the shift in her position against surrogacy, as well as the withdrawal from her previous position on motherhood.
The First Israeli Muslim won a gold medal in the swimming pool in the Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Iyad Shalabi, who was born deaf and later became paralyzed due to an accident, was the first Israeli to win a Paralympic medal. Another swimmer from the Israeli team gained a gold medal at the swimming pool, Mark Malyar, and also set a world record. The Israeli delegation to the Paralympic Games is considered to be a strong one. Iyad was congratulated by everybody, including President Herzog and PM Bennet and many others.
For further reading:
Biden-Bennet: Here, here, here