In his first speech delivered to the UN annual assembly, PM Bennett generated a lot of attention, mainly in Israel. Bennett placed at the center of his speech two main topics: the proximity of Iran to obtaining a nuclear bomb, and Israel’s success with the fight against COVID-19.
Bennett is seen many times in comparison to the previous PM, Netanyahu, who had and still have what is perceived as exceptional rhetoric abilities, especially in English, more so when addressing international audiences. Many were relieved to see that Bennett was fluent and managed to deliver a serious speech. Others, mainly Netanyahu supporters, accused him of being hollow, for not being able to say anything meaningful and stressed the fact that if Netanyahu was standing on the same stage, the speech would have been breaking news on all leading American TV channels, while Bennett’s speech was covered only by Israeli channels.
Others criticized Bennett for not saying a word about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, for not mentioning the Palestinians in his speech, and not even expressing his vision for how to solve the conflict.
Bennett belongs to a right-wing political school who strongly oppose any kind of two-state-solution and any solution that involves evacuation of Israeli settlements or partition of the land between the Mediterranean sea and the Jordan river.
Palestinian Toddler Injured during Jewish Settlers Attack on Palestinian Village in South Hebron Hills: dozens of masked settlers attacked the West Bank village of Kiribati al-Mufkara earlier this week. 12 Palestinian residents were injured, including a 3-year-old who suffered a head injury and was hospitalized at the Soroka hospital in Be’er-Sheva.
According to Palestinian eyewitnesses, the attack started when masked settlers stabbed and injured several sheep that were grazing near the village. The shepherd called for help and several Palestinians arrived at the scene to help disperse the settlers and threw stones at them. Israeli soldiers intervened at this point, and fired tear gas and stun grenades, and arrested one settler and one Palestinian. Half an hour later, dozens of masked settlers arrived at the village and caused extensive damage to homes, vehicles, and water tanks. A Palestinian resident of the village told an Israeli news reporter that she gathered twenty children in her small house, to protect them, and that settlers tried to block the uncle who was rushing his injured nephew to the hospital.
The following day, Israeli police arrested three settlers, including a minor, for their part in the attack on the village.
After several days of relative calm, partially due to the closure for Palestinians instated in the West Bank during the Jewish High Holidays, three Palestinians, two men and a woman, were killed by Israeli police and army officers in East Jerusalem, on the Gaza border and near Jenin. A woman was shot dead in the Old City of Jerusalem during an alleged stabbing attack. The man at the Gaza border was shot by IDF troops after he was seen approaching the border with two other men in a suspicious way by troops watching the area through surveillance cameras. A 22 year old man was killed by Israeli soldiers during clashes in the village of Burqin near the city of Jenin in the West Bank.
Students Are Back to School After the a Month of Jewish Holidays Under New Restrictions, PM Bennet Attacks Senior Health Officials Over COVID-19 Restrictions: two million K-12 students went back to school this week, after an extended holiday break, while a quarter million students in red localities resumed their studies via Zoom. In an attempt to curb the spread of the virus in schools, the government launched the “green classroom” initiative, that requires all students under 12 to test for COVID-19 and present a negative result as they enter the school.
According to recent data, most red localities are in the Arab community, and its leaders claim that the government has failed to develop a cohesive plan to curb the spread of the virus. Senior physicians report a severe shortage of ECMO machines, despite the slight decrease in severe morbidity. ECMO machines help these patients by acting as their heart and lungs.
Tensions between senior ministry of health officials and PM Bennet reached a new high, as the latter chose to voice his criticism of them publicly in his UN speech and in a press conference following the speech. The tensions are traced back to the controversy over the approach the government should take to reduce infection and morbidity rates. While senior health officials call for more restrictions on public gatherings, PM Bennet is spearheading an approach of minimal limitations, and enhanced vaccination drives.
Intense criticism for President Herzog was voiced for granting a pardon to a woman prisoner, who as a practicing lawyer robbed her clients and was sentenced to 2 years in prison. A series of Tweets revealed that the woman is the sister of the chief Rabbi of the Western Wall, who is a close acquaintance of the President. These discoveries raised some questions as to the decision making process of the President and the priorities he sets.
An Israeli documentary film, Advocate, won best documentary at the Emmy Award ceremony last Wednesday. The film, by directors Rachel Lea-Jones and Phillippe Bellaiche for PBS tells the story of advocate Lea Tsemel who for decades represented Palestinians who faced charges in Israeli courts, civil and military. The film won best film at the International Film Festival in Tel Aviv, DocAviv a few years ago and generated much controversy since Tsemel refers to the Palestinians, whom she represents, as political prisoners and detainees and see them as freedom fighters against the Israeli occupation.
For Further Reading:
Bennet at the UN: here, here, here, here, here
Settlers’ Attack: Here, here, here, here, here, here
COVID-19: Here, here, here, here
President Herzog: here