Former PM Netanyahu Strives For a Plea Deal in His Trial: Netanyahu asked his lawyers to reach out to the Attorney General and start negotiations for a plea deal. Netanyahu received the support of one of Israel’s most renowned jurists in the legal and public sphere, Prof. Aharon Barak. Barak was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for years and is considered to be one of the persons who paved the legal world view of Israels supreme court in key issues.
The breaking news on the plea deal generated negative responses from both sides of the political spectrum. The Attorney General demands that Netanyahu not only admit to wrong doings, but also accepts a condition which will prevent him from running for office for seven years. Netanyahu (72) refuses to accept this section of the deal.
Many claim that the deal is invalid, since Netanyahu, even if he admits to his guilt in court, will shortly thereafter continue to smear the law enforcement system, as he has done since the indictment was published and submitted to the court. Netanyahu claimed that the system invented and designed the indictment in a policy of a legal coup against him.
Netanyahu is indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
Israeli News Outlet Releases Breaking Story: Police Used NSO’s Pegasus Spyware on Israeli Citizens: The story published earlier this week in a leading business and economy news outlet, Calcalist, revealed that the Pegasus spyware was used to track mayors suspected of corruption, leaders of political protests against former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and former governmental employees. The tracking was conducted without a court order authorizing it, or by withholding the nature of the technology used.
NSO’s Pegasus came under fire when the media reported that it was used by authoritative and oppressive regimes around the world to track the movements, calls and messaging of journalists and human rights activists. But the Israeli public was unaware that the police purchased the spyware back in 2013, and that those who operated it were members of the police’s top secret special operations cyber unit in signal intelligence. The police commissioner, Kobi Shabtai, and minister of homeland security, Omer Barlev both issued vague statements, stating that all requests for tracking or surveillance were approved by a district court judge, and as media probes and public criticism continued, said that if Pegasus or similar technologies were used to track Israeli citizens, it happened before their time. Minister of Justice, Gideon Sa’ar said "There is an unbridgeable gap” between the facts and findings of the investigative story and the police’s official response. The State Comptroller Matanyahu Engelman and the Privacy Authority both announced that they will probe the police regarding the accusations arising from the Calcalist story.
Bennett Coalition Lost the Vote on One of the Key Issues on the Public Agenda: Compulsorily Enlisting the Haredi into the IDF. Enlistment into the army is mandatory in Israel for every 18 year old, boys and girls alike. In the early days of the state, the first PM Ben Gurion signed a deal with Haredi leaders, and agreed to a small quota for exemption from the draft so they can continue their Yeshiva studies. Years passed and the small quota grew to tens of thousands of yeshiva students who are released from their obligation to serve every year. This practice was challenged time and again in the Supreme Court, and now if the Knesset does not pass a law that regulates the situation, the army will have to forcefully enlist thousands which will result in a political and social crisis. The coalition tried to pass a law to regulate the draft of the Haredim but failed. An Arab member of Meretz decided to vote against the coalition. This law will be presented for its first vote next week. Currently less than 50% of eligible youth are conscripted, as Arabs, religious women and yeshivah students are all exempted.
A Cold Case Investigation on Who Betrayed Anne Frank to the Nazis Made Headlines in Israel: The Israeli media reported extensively on an investigation led by a Dutch historian and a former FBI agent that possibly identified the Jewish notary, Arnold van der Bergh, as the person who revealed the Frank family hiding place in Amsterdam to the Nazis, to save his own family. Bergh, according to the investigating team, was a member of the Judenrat (Jewish council), administrative agencies imposed on Jewish communities in occupied Europe during WW II. The results of the six-year investigation were published earlier this week in a book written by Canadian author Rosemary Sullivan, entitled “The Betrayal of Anne Frank”.
The investigation team used new technologies, including AI and big data, to explore old leads that the Dutch police failed to explore after the war. Yet, the Anne Frank Museum and other Holocaust scholars expressed their doubts whether van der Bergh was indeed the one who betrayed Anne Frank and her family.
Israelis Followed Closely the Texas Reform Congregation Hostage Crisis: Israeli media was quick to report on Saturday, when four people, Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker and three congregants of Beth Israel Reform congregation in Colleyville, Texas, were taken and held hostage for 11 hours. The gunman who took them hostage was a 44-year-old British national, Malik Faisal Akram, who was shot dead by FBI agents after the last of the hostages left the building. Akram told the hostages that he demanded the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani woman who studied in the US and was convicted of terrorism in 2010.
Rabbi Cytron-Walker was commended for his resourcefulness, as he threw a chair at Akram, who grew “increasingly belligerent and threatening” as time passed. Cytron-Walker referred to his extensive security training as having helped him deal with the situation. English language Israeli media outlets also reported that during the hostage crisis, Akram spoke twice to Rabbi Angela Buchdahl of NYC Central Synagogue, after he demanded communication with a leading figure in Reform Judaism. Investigation into the case is yet to determine whether Akram was driven by antisemitism.
For Further Reading
Plea Deal: Here, here, here, here
Pegasus spyware: Here, here, here, here, here
Enlisting to the Army: Here, here, here