General Elections - Another Milestone Was Marked Thursday, When All Parties Submitted Their Lists of Candidates to the Central Voting Committee: A convoy of party delegations arrived at the central voting committee to submit their lists of candidates. Some were based on a primary process whereby candidates were voted for by party members, but the majority of the lists were drafted by a sole leader or by a small forum with no transparency.
At the last moment, the Arab Joint List fell apart and 3 parties that claim to represent the Arab minority in Israel will run separately. All of them are marginal as they are all on the threshold of 3.25% of the vote . If any of the parties do not qualify for representation, all its votes will not be considered. If that happens the prediction is that Netanyahu and his bloc will win the elections. There are 12 lists that are considered in public opinion polls. Since the balance between the two blocs is so close, every vote can determine who wins. Netanyahu made an intense effort not to lose any votes and put a lot of pressure on parties in his own block not to split.
Right now public opinion polls show a steady balance between the two blocs. Neither right or left bloc is predicted to receive the needed majority of 61 (out of 120) needed to form a governing coalition.
At the last minute, former PM Netanyahu integrated in his party, Likud, two members who deserted from the current coalition to the opposition led by Netanyahu and practically triggered the elections. They were members of a party that formed the coalition and now they will be members of Likud. It was enabled due to some political tricks that managed the move so as not to look like a bribe.
General elections will be held on Tuesday, November 1st, after the Jewish holidays.
Growing Tension in the West Bank, An Israeli Soldier Was Killed in a Confrontation with a Palestinian Armed Squad: This reflects the fall of the Palestinian Authority (PA). Israeli forces are acting in different locations in the areas controlled by the PA. Israeli defense and intelligent officials claim that the PA lost its hold on the ground and that there is growing unrest among the youth and the operatives of the different Palestinian factions. This reality causes a lot of worry inside Israel, especially towards the Jewish holiday month that will start with the Jewish New Year on September 26th. This period is extremely sensitive ever year. Analysts claim that Israel deliberately weakened the PA and branded it as the number one enemy.
Traditionally Israeli imposes a closure on the OPT (Occupied Palestinian territories) during the Jewish Holidays, and no workers or any business people are allowed to cross into Israel, in an attempt to prevent any terrorist attacks. This year the Israel army decided to impose the closure earlier on some Palestinian areas in the northern West Bank.
PM Lapid Visits Germany: PM Lapid made a first 24-hour visit to Germany for a series of meetings with senior officials, including Chancellor Olaf Schultz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. During the visit, Lapid and a group of holocaust survivors met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at Villa Anza. PM Lapid, a son of holocaust survivors, said that the meeting was “a moment of great victory” for the survivors and their families.
Lapid and Schultz discussed the Iran Nuclear deal, as well as additional security and diplomatic issues pertaining to the relationship between Israel and Germany. Israeli analysts reported that Chancellor Olaf Schulz “went out of his way to pay his respects to his Israeli counterpart” and voice his commitment to Israel and its security. The visit resulted in several achievements: a joint statement by Germany, France, and Great Britain against the Iranian procrastination in negotiations to return to the nuclear agreement; an announcement of compensation for the families of the victims of the Munich Olympics and additional compensations to 14,000 Israeli holocaust survivors. The media also reported that Germany intends to move ahead with a purchase of the Israeli Arrow-3 air defense system.
Parents Rally Against Employment of East Jerusalem Aides in Holon Day Care Center: earlier this week, parents prevented Arab nannies from entering a daycare center in Holon. The parents rallied outside the day care center and claimed that they objected to the employment of Arab aides since they "did not pass a security check” and spoke no Hebrew. The aides, Palestinians from East Jerusalem, were forced to leave and later announced their resignation. The Chair of Na’amat, the women’s organization operating the day care center said in a statement that the parents’ behavior “is racism par excellence and is contrary to our organizational values”. She also announced that the day care center will not open the following day, in protest against the manifestations of racism. Other civil society organizations, including the grassroots labor union “Power to the Workers” where day care aides are unionized, issued statements condemning the parents’ racist behavior and reiterated their commitment to safeguarding the rights of all workers. Activists involved in early childhood education and the employment of Palestinian aides in Jewish day care centers say that the Holon incident is not an isolated one and reflects on going incitement against Arabs in Israel.
Private Fertility Clinic Embryo Implantation Mistake: the ministry of health reported that a woman in her third trimester who went through IVF treatments at a private fertility clinic, discovered in a routine check that the fetus she was carrying did not belong to her. The case is still unfolding, but according to the media, dozens of patients may be related to the fetus, pending further tests and genetic screenings. Spokesperson for the Assuta private hospital where the woman was treated said that they launched a mapping of all the patients who started their IVF treatments around the same time that the woman was treated, to narrow down the number of patients involved and identify the biological parents of the fetus. It is as yet unclear at which point in the IVF process this terrible mistake occurred. One of the clinic employees told the media that the mistake was a result of the negligent attitudes of the clinic staff.
For further reading:
Politics: Here, here, here, here
Lapid in Germany: Here, here, here, here, here