Netanyahu coalition passes first test as Knesset votes to expand Israeli cabinet
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) After a raucous five-hour debate on Monday, the Israeli Knesset voted 61-59 in favor of an amendment that would enable Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new coalition government to have 20 cabinet ministers instead of 18.
Monday marked the first reading of the bill. The Knesset also approved the establishment of a special committee that would prepare the bill for its second and third readings. It is believed the final vote on the bill will take place by Wednesday night or Thursday at the latest.
After the bill passed its first reading, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein announced that Netanyahu would be able to form a government, giving the prime minister a week to have the government sworn in. Opposition parties continued their attacks against the bill, with Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog saying, “For two months, Netanyahu has not been able to form a government and bring it to the Knesset for approval. I’m saying, as I’ve said for a while, that we need to look into the feasibility of an alternative government.”
In a statement, Netanyahu’s Likud party said that increasing the number of ministers “saves money by bolstering governmental stability.”
“The several million shekels it costs to add two ministers is negligible compared to the billions spent when the country goes to elections every two years,” Likud said.
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Palestinian Authority cracks down on Hamas supporters on West Bank college campuses
(JNS.org) Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces have rounded up more than two-dozen Hamas supporters on West Bank college campuses for interrogation in recent weeks.
A Hamas-aligned student group won an April 22 student council election at Birzeit University, which is located near the PA’s de facto capital of Ramallah.
“Everyone knew that this was going to happen,” Nagham Yassin, a Palestinian student at Birzeit, told Al Jazeera. “It happened last time the Islamic bloc won in 2007. Everyone assumed it would happen this time. Anyone who goes into student politics—especially Hamas supporters—knows they risk arrest.”
According to another Hamas supporter, Jihad Saleem, PA security forces allegedly blindfolded him, deprived him of sleep, and held him in stress positions during his 24-hour interrogation.
“They wanted to know how the Islamic bloc won the elections. They wanted to know how Hamas’s supporters had funded the election campaign on the campus,” Saleem told Al Jazeera.
A Human Rights Watch report said that 25 students have been arrested, detained, or summoned for interrogation since April 22.
Despite signing a unity agreement a year ago, little alignment has been achieved between the PA and Hamas.
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Saudi king will not attend Camp David summit in apparent snub of Obama
(JNS.org) Saudi Arabia announced that its leader, King Salman, will not be attending an upcoming U.S.-Arab summit at the White House and the Camp David retreat this week.
King Salman will instead send his son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who serves as defense minister, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the country’s interior minister.
While Saudi officials cited an overlap with the ceasefire in Yemen as the reason for the move, many analysts believe that it is a signal of Saudi Arabia’s displeasure with U.S. policies in the region, particularly on Iran’s nuclear program.
The White House announced the summit last month amid Arab concerns over the announcement of a nuclear framework deal between Iran and the world powers. But four of the six Gulf nation leaders will not attend the summit, raising serious doubts over the effectiveness of the gathering.
Arab leaders have voiced concern about America’s commitment to Middle East security and stability amid growing Islamic extremism in the region.
“I think we are looking for some form of security guarantee, given the behavior of Iran in the region, given the rise of the extremist threat,” said Yousef al-Otaiba, the United Arab Emirates’ ambassador to the U.S., the Associated Press reported. “In the past, we have survived with a gentleman’s agreement with the United States about security. I think today, we need something in writing. We need something institutionalized.”
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Israel purchases four German warships to protect offshore gas rigs
(JNS.org) Israel has reached an agreement with Germany to purchase four warships for $480 million.
The deal was signed by Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon during a meeting with his German counterpart, Ursula von der Leyen, who is in Israel to mark the 50th anniversary of Israel-Germany relations.
As part of the deal, Germany will provide four advanced Sa’ar-class corvettes to the Israeli Navy over the next five years and will subsidize approximately one-third of the cost. Once the ships arrive, Israeli defense firms will outfit the vessels with the their own technology and weapons systems. The deal is similar to the delivery of German-made Dolphin-class submarines to Israel in recent years.
“Israel is our biggest friend in the Middle East. We have 70 projects with you and there is not a country in the world we have such expansive security relations with like we do with Israel, both bilaterally and in cooperation between the militaries,” von der Leyen said, Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
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Canada considering using hate crime laws against pro-BDS groups
(JNS.org) The Canadian government has indicated that it may use hate crime laws against advocacy organizations that support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
This could affect religious organizations such as the United Church of Canada and the Canadian Quakers, as well as campus groups, civil society organizations, and labor unions. But while the Canadian government can enforce prosecution priorities among Canadian police, any resulting prosecution will need to get approval from a provincial attorney general, reported Canada’s CBC News. In addition, civil liberty groups say the move would be challenged under Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian bill of rights.
In January, former Canadian foreign minister John Baird signed a “memorandum of understanding” with Israeli authorities that committed to fight BDS.
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Natalie Portman to play Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
(JNS.org) Israeli-American actress Natalie Portman will star as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a new biographical film.
The film, “On The Basis Of Sex,” will chart Ginsburg’s life, particularly the obstacles she faced in her fight for equal rights for women. At the time of her appointment to the Supreme Court in 1993, Ginsburg was the court’s second-ever female justice and its first-ever Jewish female justice.
Marielle Heller, who previously directed “The Diary of a Teenage Girl,” is in negotiations to direct the new film, which is based on a script written by Daniel Stiepleman.
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