Ministry of Education and Teachers’ Union Clash Over Government New Outline to Nix Quarantine for Pupils: In order to keep schools open during the current Omicron wave, the Ministries of Education and Health announced a new outline, designed to enhance home testing, and reduce mandatory isolation for pupils, even if they were exposed to people found positive for COVID-19. According to this new outline, the state was to provide free antigen tests to all local authorities to be distributed to families. Yet, the night before the new outline was to go into effect, many localities did not have the tests, and the numbers of those infected continued to rise. After deliberations between the teachers’ union and the Ministries of Health and Education to postpone the implementation by ten days failed, the head of the teachers’ union, Yaffa Ben David, called a teachers’ strike. The case was brought to the Tel Aviv Labor Court which blocked the teachers’ strike. The state prosecutor claimed in court that the strike was “violent and political”, while the head of the teachers’ union stated that this was not a labor dispute, but an expression of protest. Social media outlets were quick to respond to the conflict, some siding with the teachers’ union and defending their right to organized labor protests, while others claimed that this was an aggressive political move, fueled by senior health officials who objected to the new outline.
Two Renowned Orthrodox Haredi Politicians Signed a Plea Deal with the Attorney General, Days Before The End of His Term: Aryeh Deri, the leader of Shas, the Sephardi Haredi party, for many years, signed a plea deal in which he agreed to resign from the Knesset, and pay fines for charges of tax evasion.
Deri, who is one of the founders of the party, and who served as a minister in previous coalitions, was convicted of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, and was sentenced to three years in jail in 1999. After his release, he had to wait an additional seven years before he could run for office again. In the new deal, he only has to resign, which he did this week, and will be able to run for office in the next general elections.
The other politician is Ya’akov Litzman, a member of the United Torah Judaism alliance in the Knesset. His plea deal refers to a violation of COVID regulations when he was a minister of health in Netanyahu’s coalition. The deal also included a controversial action by Lizman, who tried to interfere in a court ruling regarding an extradition request by Australia. The extradition referred to Malka Leifer, a Jewish Australian citizen who was indicted for pedophilia in Australia and found refuge in Israel. The United Torah Judaism is the Ashkenazi Haredi party.
The two plea deals generated a lot of criticism for the Attorney General for selling the public interest cheaply. Many called it liquidation.
It is important to state in this context that Netanyahu has also held negotiations to cut a plea deal during his trial, but did not reach an agreement.
A Senior Police Officer Was VideoTaped Jumping Over a Body While Present at the Murder Scene, Doing Nothing to Help, or Close Off the Scene for Forensic Examination: Asst. Ch. Jamal Hacrush was forced to take a leave of absence from the police while the investigating forum checks the details of the event. The video was first published by a Haaretz police correspondent and resulted in a lot of embarrassment for the police. Hacrush was nominated to lead the fight on organized crime in the Arab community months after the event, and despite the fact that his superiors knew about it.
The criticism against the police in this case is in addition to the strong criticism leveled against the force after an investigative journalist published that the Israeli police is allegedly using Pegasus spy software against civilian targets to collect intelligence and use it as a leverage against them, so they may become police informers.
Settlers’ Violence on the Rise Again This Week; Autopsy Reveals Cause of Death of 78-Years Old Palestinian Detained by IDF Unit Two Weeks Ago: Israeli media reported on two incidents of settler violence in the west bank this week. In the first case, in the town of Hawara, south of Nablus, a group of Jewish men threw stones and smashed windows of cars and stores, lightly injuring three Palestinians. In the second case, young Jewish men threw stones at a Palestinian car at a military checkpoint near the illegal outpost Homesh. One IDF soldier was injured after being tear-gassed by one of the settlers, and one settler was detained following this incident.
International and Israeli media followed up on the story of the death of Abdalmajeed As'ad, a 78-years old Palestinian US-citizen, who died on January 12 after being held, hand-cuffed and blindfolded by IDF soldiers at a pop-up checkpoint inside his village of Jiljiliya at 3 am, when he returned from a social gathering. As the story broke, US officials demanded explanations from Israel regarding the circumstances of his death. Palestinians detained in the same compound said that he was lying motionless face down after the soldiers left him there. An autopsy report, conducted by three Palestinian physicians indicated As’ad dies of a heart attack, caused by “external violence”. The report also indicated that while he also suffered from underlying health conditions, the doctors also found bruises on his hands, face, and eyelids.
Former Chief Justice Miriam Na’or Dies Aged 74: Na’or, was known as one of Israel’s most ethical, respected judges. Public figures from all political parties and viewpoints expressed their wam condolences. Only one politician, Bezalel Smotrich, one of the leaders of the Religious Zionist Party, decided to use the opportunity of her death to express his resentment at her rulings on issues related to the Jewish settlements in the OPT (Occupied Palestinian territories). On the other hand, Ayelet Shaked, now minister of interior and a member of Yamina, the party of PM Bennett delivered a moving, sentimental eulogy during the funeral.
Na’or was the head of the State Commission of Inquiry that was convened to investigate the tragedy a few months ago, when 49 people died during the annual Jewish pilgrimage to a sacred site on Mt Meron.
For Further Reading:
Education: Here, here, here, here
Plea Deal: Deri: Here, here, here, here