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After several delays, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, voted to dissolve itself, sending the country to the polls for the fifth time in three and a half years. The ballot is set to take place on Tuesday, November 1, with now-Foreign Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid taking over as caretaker PM until a new coalition is formed.
A small handover ceremony will be held on Thursday afternoon (local time). Naftali Bennett, who led the government for the past year, will serve as deputy prime minister in the coming months, in line with the agreement he made with Lapid. Bennett previously announced he was not seeking reelection and would hand over the reins of his Yamina party to Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked.
That’s a wrap: Knesset approves dispersal bill by three readings.
Naftali Bennett hands over the premiership — and the middle chair in the Knesset — to Yair Lapid pic.twitter.com/iQ4RyUXTE5
— Jacob Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) June 30, 2022
On June 20, Bennett and Lapid conceded that they had “exhausted options to stabilize” their government a year after it was established. Lawmakers then overwhelmingly okayed a preliminary bill to disband parliament. Although both sides of the political aisle backed dispersing the Knesset, rebel coalition members delayed the process to give the opposition a chance to form a new cabinet without going to elections.
Their last-ditch effort failed, and the Knesset on Thursday morning voted 92 to 0 to finalize the dissolution. Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu gave a speech before the vote, stating that “this is what happens when you mix together a fake right-wing party and extreme leftist parties, mix with the Joint List – that’s what you get.”
Now that the election date is set, the government moves into caretaker status. The Knesset’s legislative plenum will cease to meet, unless a majority of lawmakers call for an emergency session.
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Ben & Jerry’s ice cream will remain available in all of Israel, including in eastern Jerusalem and Jewish communities in the West Bank, its parent company Unilever announced after settling with the product’s local distributor. Following litigation in US federal court, Unilever sold off its Ben & Jerry’s Israeli business interests to Avi Zinger, allowing him to continue selling the ice cream in the Jewish state.
“It has always been important to me to ensure that all customers, no matter their identity, are free to enjoy Ben & Jerry’s ice cream,” Zinger commented, adding: “I now have the right to sell Ben & Jerry’s using its Hebrew and Arabic name to all our Israeli and Arab customers throughout Israel and the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) — forever.”
Last July, Ben & Jerry’s — which has an independent board — published a statement saying that, starting in 2023, it would boycott Israelis in what it called “occupied Palestinian territory.” The move was widely condemned in Israel and abroad, with Jerusalem’s Foreign Ministry urging US states to activate their anti-BDS laws to punish Unilever.
Several states, including Florida, Texas and New York, began the process of divesting from the enterprise.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Economy Minister Orna Barbivay praised Unilever’s decision to settle, which they said “not only ensures that the Ben & Jerry’s factory in Israel and its diverse staff will be protected, but that customers of the company — Jews and Muslims, Israelis and Palestinians — will not be subject to attacks by a delegitimization campaign against Israel.”
In its response, the food giant stressed that “antisemitism has no place in any society. We have never expressed any support for the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement and have no intention of changing that position.”
Meanwhile, the Vermont-based ice cream makers on Twitter emphasized they “continue to believe it is inconsistent with Ben & Jerry’s values for our ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
We are aware of the Unilever announcement. While our parent company has taken this decision, we do not agree with it.
(🧵1/3)
— Ben & Jerry’s (@benandjerrys) June 29, 2022
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Three Israelis, including an Israel Defense Forces commander, sustained light injuries early Thursday morning after Palestinians opened fire at worshippers at Joseph’s Tomb, a Jewish holy site near the West Bank city of Nablus. According to an IDF statement, terrorists directed “massive gunfire” at Jews who had come to pray on the occasion of the new Hebrew month.
Two civilians were hurt in the incident, as well as Col. Roy Zweig, who heads the Samaria Regional Brigade. They received medical attention. Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan told local media that Zweig did not seek treatment until he had secured the evacuation of all the worshipers from the sacred tomb.
Palestinians shot at Jewish worshippers at Joseph’s tomb last night. https://t.co/zMwhYTrfbf
— Lahav Harkov (@LahavHarkov) June 30, 2022
The Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a US-designated terror group with ties to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, reportedly issued a statement claiming responsibility. The group said it hurled explosives and fired at busses carrying worshippers.
As Joseph’s Tomb is located inside Area A of the West Bank, a territory also known by the biblical names Judea and Samaria, Jewish pilgrims are usually only allowed to visit once a month under heavily armed guard. During these visits, Palestinians routinely throw rocks at Israeli troops, and sometimes target them with Molotov cocktails and gunfire.
In April, Palestinian rioters twice vandalized the tomb. The Samaria Regional Council subsequently repaired the damage.
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A senior general in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was secretly arrested this month for allegedly spying for Israel, The New York Times reported. Citing anonymous sources with close ties to the IRGC, the report said the arrest of Brig.-Gen. Ali Nasiri marked a “growing climate of mistrust” among the Islamic Republic’s senior leadership.
Nasiri served as a senior commander in the IRGC Protection of Information Unit, a branch of the organization responsible for overseeing its terror operations around the world, The New York Times claimed, adding that his arrest came only months after a few dozen officials involved in Iran’s missile program were arrested for allegedly leaking classified information.
The newspaper also revealed that Hossein Taeb, who served as the IRGC’s intelligence chief for more than 12 years, was ousted from his position following the thwarting of an Iranian plan to attack Israelis in Turkey. Officials cited by the publication described Taeb’s downfall as “a casualty of a relentless campaign by Israel to undermine Iran’s security by targeting its officials and military.”
Iran and Israel have been engaged in a years-long shadow war across the region, but tensions have ratcheted up following a string of high-profile incidents Tehran has blamed on the Jewish state. Several members of the IRGC were killed in recent weeks, with Iran placing the blame on Israel.
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Over 80 scholars of Jewish and Israel studies have come together to form an initiative to combat anti-Zionism on campus. The Jewish Studies Zionist Network is the brainchild of Jarrod Tanny, an associate professor of Jewish history at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington.
Tanny said that he founded the network after being “troubled at the extent to which anti-Zionism has become pervasive in academia.” She added: “We believe that the double standard to which Israel is held in the academy has not only stifled scholarship, but has created a climate of fear among faculty and students who wish to express their Jewish identity — a Zionist Jewish identity — in public.”
The group has a four-part mission to achieve its goal. Its plan includes stressing to the academic community that Israel is a legitimate state and that Zionism is a national self-determination movement like any other. The organization also seeks to ensure that campuses remain a “safe space” for students and scholars who identify as Jews and Zionists.
Intellectuals who signed up for the initiative include Israeli political philosopher and author of The Virtue of Nationalism Yoram Hazony of the Herzl Institute, the University of Florida Holocaust historian Norman J.W. Goda and Georgetown University Center for Jewish Civilization Director Bruce Hoffman.
The Jewish Studies Zionist Network’s open letter can be found here.
Recommended Reading
- Yair Lapid’s Unlikely Rise From TV Star to Israel’s Incoming Prime Minister (Times of Israel)
- Who Cares When the PA Violates Human Rights? (Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, Israel Hayom)
- The Latest Killings in Iran May Indicate a Notable Shift in Israeli Strategy (Jonathan Spyer, Algemeiner)
- Israeli Researchers Use Breakthrough Tech to Treat Prostate Cancer for First Time (Simona Shemer, NoCamels)
- Passion for Advocacy: Meet Israel’s Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism (Mara Fahl, Jewish News Syndicate)
