Hundreds of journalists, political players and human rights activists were surveilled by governments, tyrants and dictators who allegedly used the advanced high-tech technology owned and supplied to them by an Israeli company, NSO. This was revealed after an investigation led by a consortium of 80 journalists from 17 news sites under the umbrella of “Forbidden Stories”. The story broke in major media outlets around the world, among them the Washington Post, The Guardian and the New York Times. It is suspected that 50,000 phone numbers were under surveillance, among them Macron, President of France, a high official American envoy, high level politicians in India, and a list of journalists in Mexico, Azerbaijan, India, Hungary and other countries. The specific software product is “Pegasus”.
According to Israeli law, when a tech company wants to export an attack product it needs a license from the ministry of defense. Therefore this case links the Israeli government with these problematic allegations of pursuing journalists, human rights activists and political rivals.
There were suspicions that the Saudi journalist who was murdered in Turkey, Jamal Khashoggi, was also under surveillance by “Pegasus” software.
The owners of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream announced that they will no longer distribute their product in the OPT (Occupied Palestinian Territories). Ben & Jerry’s have a local factory subsidiary in the south of Israel that has a license to produce their ice cream. The factory refused to stop selling ice cream in the Israeli settlements in the OPT and their license will not be renewed at the end of next year when the contract expires. This announcement was strong support for the Palestinian led BDS movement (boycott, divestment and sanctions), that works to peacefully resist the Israeli occupation by economic means and are trying to garner international support. The decision by Ben & Jerry’s gave a significant boost to the movement.
Senior Israeli officials, among them President Herzog and PM Bennet strongly denounced the decision and some even labelled it anti-Semitic.
Proposed Kashrut Reform to End Historical Chief Rabbinate Monopoly: The Minister of Religious Affairs, Matan Kahana (Yemina party), is pushing for a reform, which will allow restaurants in Israel to obtain Kashrut certificates from private entities, including modern and moderate Orthodox kashrut supervisors. The reform is scheduled to take effect in the coming months, when the Knesset will vote on the state budget and the Arrangement Law, designed to regulate budget related policies. The reform will put an end to a 73-year monopoly of the chief rabbinate as the sole authority for issuing kashrut certificates to restaurants and coffeeshops who seek to cater to kashrut observing clientele. The kashrut reform is one of several initiatives by the minister of religious affairs to “serve as a bridge” as he put it, between different Jewish streams in Israeli society. These include expanding the access of women to local religious councils, conversions by chief city rabbis and a more inclusive and pluralistic observance of Shabbat in public spaces. According to various polls, there is broad public support, except in Haredi and far right national religious circles, for such initiatives.
It is important to note here that in Israel there is no separation between State and Religion. The Rabbinical system has sole authority on all marriages and divorces of Jews in the country and the Rabbinical courts are authorized to rule in family disputes. Therefore the Rabbinical system has a lot of control over other issues affecting Jewish life in the country and traditionally blocks any recognition of other, non-orthodox, Jewish streams.
New Tax on Disposable Plastics: The finance and environmental protection ministries are advancing a new tax on disposable plastic tableware, designed to cut consumption by 40%. "We are drowning in single-use plastics, and we must all see its problematic influence on the cleanliness of the Earth and the quality of our lives”, the Minister of Environmental Protection said, in her statement. The proposed tax requires the approval of the Knesset finance committee, and if approved, should take effect in early 2022. Previous initiatives to reduce the use of non-biodegradable plastic, such as levying a tax on disposable plastic bags in supermarkets, led to an 80% decrease in consumption. The use of disposable plastic tableware in Israel is considerably higher than in EU countries and is the highest per capita worldwide. It is most prevalent in Haredi communities, which led some analysts to frame the new tax initiative as “anti-Haredi”.
COVID-19, With a Spike in New Cases, the Restrictions are Back: this week has seen the highest numbers in both infections and severe morbidity cases, as health officials voiced their concerns that the Pfizer vaccine is less effective against the delta variant. PM Bennet called upon one million adults and youth over the age of 12 to be vaccinated, stating in a public prime time address that “those who refuse to be vaccinated are putting those who are at risk” and warned against a possible lockdown. The Corona Cabinet agreed on several measures designed to curb the spread of the virus, including re-instating the green pass, mandatory tests, a compulsory quarantine for all those returning to Israel from abroad, and expanding the list of countries for which there is a travel ban.
For further reading
NSO: Here, here, here, here, here
Plastic disposables: Here, here, here
COVID-19: Here