Israel Weekly News Roundup Sep 3, 2021

5 Things you need to know

1. School Year Opens September 1st Under Cloud of Uncertainty: more than 2 million pupils, K-12, and 220,000 teaching staff employees, started the school year in green and yellow localities around the country. Ten percent of the students, mostly in orange and red localities, had to suffice with distant learning or classes in open spaces. With green pass restrictions for teaching staff, masks for everyone, rapid daily tests and a continued mass vaccination drive, the government is hoping to keep schools open. Senior officials expressed their concern that the opening of schools may result in a further surge of new cases.

   Visiting a school in the southern city of Yeruham along with Minister of Education Shasha-Biton, PM Bennet said that the government is doing its best so that schools will remain open but can offer no guarantees. President Herzog, who visited several schools in the city of Modi’in said to students: ‘Your generation has been through an unimaginable reality’

   A new research report by the Hebrew University, Haifa University and Reichman University reveals the impact of COVID-19 on children under the age of six, with some 25 percent of children reported to have been more violent amid the coronavirus pandemic than they were in previous years.

   

2. Defense Minister, Benny Gantz, Held a Working Meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. This was the first meeting in more than a decade between a high level Israeli minister and the President of the Palestinian Authority, and, in that context this was a historic meeting.  The meeting took place late Sunday night at Abbas’ private home in Ramallah, and part of it was a private meeting only between the two leaders. There was no photo-op but the leaders published it right after the meeting ended. PM Bennet knew about the meeting and gave his approval. Bennet’s ideology comes from the political right, which strongly opposes any solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that includes evacuating what the right believe to be Jewish lands in the West Bank. The current government coalition includes parties that support a two state solution and parties that oppose it. All the coalition parties agreed that the government will not push and will not initiate any steps in either direction, the coalition agreement includes freezing of settlement. 

   In the meeting the two leaders discussed security issues and a request by the Palestinians for a loan to cover their current expenses. Abbas also asked Ganz that Israel release bodies of Palestinians accused of executing terrorist actions and send them back to the Palestinians so they can bury them properly.   
   

   

3. Slow Deterioration in Gaza: a soldier who was seriously wounded last week in clashes with Palestinians on the Gaza border, died of his wounds. His funeral turned into a political protest against the army and against PM Bennet. The bereaved family, which was supported by fans of ex-PM Netanyahu and his party Likud, were shouting against the current government and against what they described as negligence by the army which allowed the Palestinians to get too close to the border. By approaching the border they came into close contact with the soldier who could not protect himself. Lawmakers demanded a formal committee of inquiry to investigate charge of negligence leading to the death of the soldier.

   The situation between Israel and Gaza is still active, riots continue and arson balloons continue to be launched into Israel. There is still no solution for the transfer of money needed to pay salaries to the civil administration staff in Gaza. The proposed money transfer solution has to be approved by Israel that wants to ensure it will not be used to purchase armaments to be used against Israel.

   

4. Surprise at the opening week of the soccer premier league season: Bnei Sakhnin, the only team that represent an Arab town won its first game against one of the strongest teams in the league. Bnei Sachnin are based in the Arab town Sachnin in the Galilee and their stadium is called Doha after the capitol of Qatar which made a contribution for the construction of a proper stadium fit to host premier league games.  The team is still considered a Cinderella story and it made history to win the Israeli cup back in 2004. The Israeli soccer league has experienced all kinds of racist behavior, mainly against Arabs and Muslims. Therefore it was considered a strong start for the team to win the first game of the season. 

5. The Jerusalem Film Festival Announces Winners in competition categories for 2021: the Finnish drama feature Compartment No. 6 by Juho Kuosmanen won best film in the international competition. In the Spirit of Freedom Competition, Unclenching the Fists by Kira Kovalenko won the Cummings Award for best Feature Film, and Christophe Cognet’s From Where They Stood won the MKR Award for Best Documentary. The Haggiag Award for Best Israeli Feature was jointly shared by Hadas Ben-Aroya’s All Eyes Off Me and Tom Shoval Shake Your Cares Away. All six Israeli features included in the final slate of the competition received positive reviews from critics.

   The Jerusalem Film Festival now in its 38th year, is hosted by the Jerusalem Cinematheque and is one of Israel’s leading and most prestigious cinematic events. After a limited online edition last year due to COVID-19, the festival was launched as planned last week, with an appearance by Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino, who now spends much time in the country with his Israeli wife and their daughter.  

And finally, we would like to wish those of our readers who celebrate and observe the Jewish new year Shana Tova uMetuka. May you be inscribed and sealed for a good new year.

For further reading

School year: Here, here, here, here

Gantz Abbas: here, here, here, here, here

Gaza: here, here, here, here

Soccer: here, here,

JFF: Here, here, here