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bopinion · 1 year

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2022 / 52

Aperçu of the Week:

"Let he who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone at her."

(Jesus Christ according to John, chapter 8)

Bad News of the Week:

A remarkable shift to the right is currently taking place in Israel, of all places. And not in dim backyards, but in the political spotlight. The day before yesterday, the Knesset gave its blessing to Benjamin Netanyahu's government. An immortal reincarnation of political Israel, he became prime minister for the first time back in 1996 and is the subject of various criminal proceedings, including those for corruption and taking advantage of office.

Now, out of pure will to survive, he has formed a governing coalition that is so ultra-right that even Israeli President Yitzchak Herzog warns against its "extremism." And the opposition is sounding the alarm in view of the present coalition agreements: The new government is illiberal, homophobic and is undermining Israeli democracy with the planned judicial reform. Unfortunately, these accusations must be taken seriously.

Take religious fanaticism, for example: Government member Orit Strock of the right-wing "Religious Zionist Party" has declared that hotels should be allowed to refuse services to people on religious grounds. And even worse, doctors to treat patients if this is against their religious beliefs. This is supposed to be the most democratic state in the Middle East?

Speaking of states. Or rather, the two-state solution, for every normal-thinking person the only way to make peace possible between Israelis and Palestinians in the long term. That can now be safely stored, because gasoline is being poured on the fire with two personalities who both advocate the expansion of Israeli territory into the occupied West Bank. Itamar Ben-Gvir of the ultranationalist "Jewish Strenght" party, who has already been convicted of anti-Arab terrorism, will become security minister with responsibilities for the police. And Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the "Religious Zionist Party" and known, among other things, for his position "I am a proud homophobe." will be finance minister with control over "planning in the West Bank." He knows his stuff, after all his family lives outside the Kedumim settlement in the West Bank - in a house that was illegally built outside of state land and in breach of the settlement's master plan.

I find this more than just creepy. Do I, of all people, as a German, have to reproach a government of the State of Israel for denying human rights to a part of the population through extremism and discrimination? Yes, unfortunately I must.

Good News of the Week:

After a long run-up, the so-called Supply Chain Act is finally becoming mandatory in Germany. Initially applicable to large companies (with more than 3,000 employees, from 2024 it will apply to companies with more than 1,000), it is intended to significantly reduce abuses in foreign purchasing. The "Act on Corporate Due Diligence in Supply Chains" obliges companies that procure intermediate goods or finished products abroad to take responsibility for production processes and working conditions at their suppliers, to trace abuses and to avoid or remedy them from the outset or as soon as they become aware of them.

This will be felt above all by the textile industry, which traditionally has its production carried out in low-wage countries with hardly any environmental requirements. And then washes its hands of this because the administrative staff in Germany is paid according to the collective wage agreement and there is a photovoltaic system on the warehouse. The law obliges every importer - including foreign companies that have a subsidiary or branch office in Germany - to ensure that defined standards are met throughout their supply chain. In future, anyone who tolerates child labor or environmental damage at their suppliers, for example, or simply looks the other way, will be asked to pay a hefty fine: Fines in the millions are envisaged. That's a good thing.

Personal happy moment of the week:

The day before yesterday was our first wedding anniversary. According to a widespread prejudice, only husbands forget this day. Not so with us. My wife had wondered before why I asked what we were going to do on this day. And although very happy about the flowers that were on the table in the morning, but still did not understand. Then around three o'clock in the afternoon the penny dropped. And I got it in writing, as she was just out for a walk: she says "Yes!" to us once again.

I couldn't care less...

...that Deutsche Post is discontinuing its "Telegram" service today. Why? Due to lack of demand, of course, because of the Internet. This means that some 170 years after the American E. P. Smith established the telegram in 1852, a form of communication long considered the fastest in the world is disappearing. The most recent price was at least 12.57 euros - for 160 characters. In the age of free messaging services, that no doubt explains the slump in demand. I even still have a telegram in one of my memory boxes in the basement: one of my French Canadian sisters had sent it to me from Italy in 1989 to coordinate my trip to see her - which I hitchhiked. Also such a dinosaur, which hardly exists anymore.

As I write this...

...2022 comes to an end. You can classify this year however you like - the adjective "normal" is certainly not one of them. And what people like to call "the new normal" (hot and cold wars, lack of action against climate change, threatened democracies, permanently higher energy and food prices, insecure human rights, etc.) is not something I feel like at all. In this respect, I find it hard to wish for more normality in the new year. Even if it is actually what I would like to have.

Post Scriptum

Serbia and Kosovo. The region in the Balkans, which even after the official end of the Yugoslav wars in 2001 is still not at peace. NATO peacekeepers are still stationed there today. The reason is still the same as it was from the beginning: minorities feel oppressed. In this case, in a double sense: Kosovo considers itself Albanian, its minority oppressed by Serbia, and has repeatedly declared its independence - now recognized by 115 of 193 UN members. But Serbia sees Kosovo as a breakaway province where a Serbian minority in the north is oppressed. The conflict flares up again and again; during the Christmas season, there were roadblocks in the Mitrovica area in response to Serb arrests by Albanian security forces.

Both countries see their future in the European Union. Serbia has been formally recognized as a candidate country since 2012, while Kosovo submitted its application only this December. And both can only move forward in this process together. In order to be admitted to the EU, the "Copenhagen criteria" must be met. These explicitly include respect for and protection of minorities. This is precisely the shortcoming that Serbia and Kosovo are accusing each other of. The European Union sees itself as a democratic entity that seeks to achieve peace and prosperity on the continent through cooperation and collaboration. Recognizing this would be a win-win for all parties.

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the-eternal-quest-for-balance · 6 months

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garythingsworld · 6 months

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girlactionfigure · 2 years

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[Breaking News]

6:54pm Herzog in Hebron for Hanukah With all the bad stuff happening right now, this is a ray of light in the darkness. Despite the anger and threats expressed by Meretz, Hamas and Peace Now - President Yitzchak Herzog visited Hebron this evening and lit the first candle in the Tomb of the Patriarchs. It's a big deal. There's even a video.

Video: Here

The Muqata

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israel-jewish-news · 6 years

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Ministers to Consider Yehudah and Shomron Sovereignty Law

New Post has been published on http://hamodia.com/2018/01/28/ministers-consider-judea-samaria-sovereignty-law/

Ministers to Consider Yehudah and Shomron Sovereignty Law

MK Yoav Kisch (Likud). (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

The Ministerial Law Committee is set Sunday to consider a law based on a decision made last month by the Likud Central Committee to approve Israel’s imposing sovereignty on Yehudah and Shomron. The vote, which passed by an overwhelming majority, obligates Likud MKs to promote imposing Israeli sovereignty on at least Area C of Yehudah and Shomron, and all of the Jordan Valley.

The law is being presented by Likud MK Yoav Kisch, chairperson of the Knesset Interior Committee and the Land of Israel Lobby. “Israeli law, justice, administrative procedures and sovereignty will be imposed on all areas where Jews live in Yehudah and Shomron,” Kisch said. “This will be a historic move.”

According to the proposal, “on the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Yehudah, Shomron and Yerushalayim, our eternal capital, the Likud Central Committee calls on Likud elected officials to act to allow unlimited construction and to impose Israeli law and sovereignty on Israeli towns in Yehudah and Shomron, located in Area C.”

As the law is expected to be approved by the Committee and easily be passed into law – as it is supported by almost all members of the coalition – the Likud will be sponsoring a public relations campaign under the title “Making History,” which will associate the imposition of sovereignty with other historic moments in the life of the state. The purpose of the campaign is to encourage the public to support the law and encourage MKs outside the coalition to support the law as well.

According to Kisch, “the time has come to move the historic decision by the Likud Central Committee from the theoretical to the practical. This is how a democratic party that represents the majority of Israel behaves. Especially during these days, when Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas appears to have lost his sense altogether, and on the other hand, when we see the great support we are getting from President Trump and Vice President Pence. There will never be a better, more precise, and more successful historical opportunity for this.”

Opposition MKs expressed sharp criticism of the proposal. If the proposal is approved, said opposition head MK Yitzchak Herzog (Zionist Camp), it “will go down in history as another irresponsible and impractical decision by the Likud. It is obvious that the prime minister will not be able to act on this decision, and it will just create tension with the current administration in the U.S., the most favorable ever to Israel, and create further disappointment on security, political and demographic issues on both sides. This is nothing more than cheap populism that will not enhance Israel’s security.”

#Security #Yehudah and Shomron

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thejewishlink · 2 years

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Lieberman, You’re Wrong! Herzog Extolls The Virtues Of Limmud Torah

Israeli President Yitzchak Herzog published a special column in Israeli media on Thursday. Although he didn’t mention the name of Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman, the column was obviously a reaction to Lieberman’s brazen mockery of lomdei Torah and his stated intent to harm them financially. “There is no other nation whose history, identity, and depth of existence have been shaped by engaging…

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#Israeli President Yitzchak Herzog #Virtues Of Limmud Torah

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israel-jewish-news · 6 years

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Political Leaders Mourn Loss of Hagaon Harav Steinman, Zt"l

New Post has been published on http://hamodia.com/2017/12/12/political-leaders-mourn-loss-harav-steinman-ztl/

Political Leaders Mourn Loss of Hagaon Harav Steinman, Zt"l

Political leaders from across the spectrum expressed their sorrow and condolences over the petirah of Maran Hagaon Harav Aharon Leib Steinman, zt”l, who was niftar Tuesday morning. President Reuven Rivlin said in a statement that “Maran Hagaon Harav Steinman was a leader who took upon his shoulders the entire weight of the Jewish people. He was a giant in Torah and a spiritual guide for tens and hundreds of thousands. He had very high and strict standards, but he was able to express his messages with love and calmness, with great blessing and love for all Jews.

“He was a masmid in learning, a Gaon in Torah, a man with a good eye and a good heart for all, rich in life experience,” Rivlin added. “His knowledge and wisdom was second only to his modesty. Harav Steinman paved the way for many Jews, and his loss leaves us all orphaned.”

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said that “Harav Steinman was exceptional in his gentleness, his modesty, his knowledge, and his ability to unite the disparate parts of the nation. Harav Steinman for many years emphasized education, tolerance, and spreading Jewish values for generations of students and Rabbanim.”

Knesset speaker MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud) said that he “participates in the sadness and suffering of all Jews. Harav Steinman was one of the greatest Rabbanim of the last century. In his modesty he managed to establish generations of students, and was able to influence and inspire generations of leaders.”

Zionist Camp MK and opposition chairperson Yitzchak Herzog said that “Harav Steinman was one of the most important figures in Ashkenazi Jewry and one of the greatest Gedolim the Jewish people has known in the past century. Whenever I spoke with him I was astounded by his great modesty and his great spiritual leadership that influenced generations of students and rabbis. Teaching Torah and training future generations was his entire life, and his efforts revolutionized Torah learning in many communities.”

#Hagaon Harav #Petirah

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israel-jewish-news · 6 years

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Knesset Marks 40th Anniversary of Landmark Sadat Visit

New Post has been published on http://hamodia.com/2017/11/21/knesset-marks-40th-anniversary-landmark-sadat-visit/

Knesset Marks 40th Anniversary of Landmark Sadat Visit

Egyptian ambassador to Israel Hazem Ahdy Khairat speaks during a ceremony marking 40 years since the visit of Former President of Egypt Anwar Sadat, in the Knesset, Tuesday. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Tuesday’s Knesset session marking forty years since Egyptian President Anwar Sadat flew to Yerushalayim and made a historic appeal for peace at the Knesset was a time for remembering great deeds of the past and lamenting the lack of them in the present.

“It is with sadness that I say, I have not yet met the Palestinian Sadat, who will declare his desire to end the conflict, who will recognize the State of Israel in any borders and our right to security and peace,” Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in his remarks.

“Our Palestinian neighbors refuse to recognize Israel’s right to exist,” he added, and quoted from Sadat’s speech, in which the Egyptian leader declared:

“We do not want to surround you, or that you surround us with missiles meant to destroy, or with bombs of hatred and enmity. I have declared more than once that Israel is an existing fact.”

PM Netanyahu continued: “This was the first step towards the peace treaty formulated in Camp David: a clear recognition of Israel.

“This is what Sadat did, unlike our Palestinian neighbors who to this day refuse to recognize our nation state.”

PM Netanyahu left an opening for opposition leader Yitzchak Herzog, who spoke right after him, to fault the prime minister for failing to follow in the footsteps of his Likud predecessor, Menachem Begin:

“We don’t only need a Palestinian Sadat, we also need an Israeli Begin,” said Herzog. “I already said two weeks ago in the plenum, if you were in the place of Menachem Begin, I doubt you would show the same bravery Menachem Begin displayed at the time.”

However, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotevely later provided the riposte to Herzog’s swipe at PM Netanyahu.

She said that while there was always “an Israeli Menachem Begin” seeking peace, having a “Palestinian Anwar Sadat” would not be sufficient to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which she said was not a territorial dispute but an “existential” one.

“There are more than 200 territorial disputes in the world, but the conflict between us and the Palestinians is not one of them,” said Hotovely.

No amount of willingness on the part of Israeli leaders to relinquish territory for peace has elicited reciprocity from the Palestinian leaders, who have repeatedly turned down the offers while insisting on a full right of return for refugees and refusal to recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish people, she noted.

Hotovely termed the Camp David Accords as “brave choices” by the two leaders.

“I was born into peace,” she said. “This peace is proof, in my view, that the state of Israel desires peace.”

PM Netanyahu met with Egyptian Ambassador to Israel Hazem Khairat earlier in the day.

At a Knesset gathering, he told the MKs: “I say to the Israeli side, there is a real opportunity to open a new page with the Arab neighbors, based on coexistence and mutual understanding for a better future leading to peace.”

In an interview on Army Radio, Khairat urged PM Netanyahu to take historic steps for peace, warning that the alternative will be chaos.

“We have to be optimistic there is no other option [to the two-state solution]; without this, chaos will break out everywhere, this is our last option, for you and for all of us,” Khairat said.

Sadat’s 1977 address to the Knesset is credited with paving a path for peace between the countries. Two years later, Israel and Egypt signed a formal peace accord and Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula it had captured in the 1967 war. They have maintained quiet but close security ties since. Israel later made peace with Jordan, too.

Sadat’s visit came just four years after the Yom Kippur war, that claimed thousands of casualties.

Sadat was assassinated by Islamic Jihad on October 6, 1981 during a parade to celebrate the Egyptian army’s “victory” over Israel in the 1973 war, in which it briefly captured a small part of the Sinai before Israeli forces turned it back.

#Egypt #Knesset

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