Israel

lains, do not send them to the army. Do whatever you can to keep them alive. At home.”

Last Friday, in his 100th address marking the war’s 100th day, Zelensky asserted, “There are three words for which we have been fighting for 100 days after eight years: peace, victory, Ukraine. Glory to Ukraine!”

Infighting in Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s Amhara region, once an ally of the federal government, is now seeing government-led mass arrests, along with the disappearance of journalists and activists.

As of May 23, over 4,500 people have been arrested, though activists estimate that the real number may be much higher. They claim that the government is targeting ethnic Amhara.

The arrests are a sign that the federal government in Ethiopia is working to centralize its authority with the dozens of ethnic groups; the Amhara are the country’s second-largest ethnic group and the source – along with the Tigrayans – of many of the country’s leaders and critics.

Yilkal Getnet, deputy chairman of the opposition party Hibir Ethiopia, said that the arrests are “a pre-emptive action to consolidate their power, which they think is slowly slipping out of their hands, especially in the Amhara region. For me, these mass arrests are politically motivated.”

At the same time, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission – created by the government itself – slammed the “unlawful detention” of at least 19 journalists, calling it a “new low.”

The Ethiopian government and Amhara officials, for their part, defended the arrests and said that they would continue.

Speaking to a press conference, regional spokesman Gizachew Muluneh said, “There were attempts to portray the government as weak and to cause public unrest and violence. This conspiracy has failed. Anarchism and illegal activities have no place here.”

According to the Ethiopian Government Communication Service, action is being taken against “groups that pit society against one another,” following requests by the public to ensure law and order.

The arrests are not limited to the Amhara region, but the protests against them are the loudest there. Meanwhile, three of the country’s largest opposition parties have called on the government to end the arrests.

In a joint statement, the Enat Party, All-Ethiopia Unity Party and Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Party

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said, “Journalists, activists, Fano militia members, academicians, political party members and retirees are being abducted in a pretext of a ‘law enforcement operation.’ The government is using this operation to silence dissent, break the morale of the public and snatch the leaders away.”

Right to SelfDefense Against Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Friday morning met with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Dr. Rafael Grossi, who arrived in Israel on Thursday night and departed for Vienna later on Friday.

During their meeting, Bennett expressed Israel’s deep concern regarding Iran’s continued progress toward achieving nuclear weapons while deceiving the international community by using false information and lies.

Bennett also emphasized the urgent need in mobilizing the international community to take action against Iran, using all means in order to prevent Iran from achieving nuclear weapons.

He underlined Israel’s support for the IAEA to carry out its mandate vis-à-vis Iran in a professional and independent way and the importance of the IAEA Board of Governors delivering a clear and unequivocal message to Iran in its upcoming decision.

While Israel prefers diplomacy, Bennett made it clear that the country reserves the right to self-defense and to action against Iran in order to block its nuclear program should the international community not succeed in dealing with Tehran in the relevant timeframe.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Iran threatened to “raze” the cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa.

“For any mistake made by the enemy, we will raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground by the order of the Supreme Leader,” the Islamic Republic’s ground forces commander, Kiumars Heydari, told the semi-official Iranian Tasnim news agency.

West Bank Law Torpedoed

In a critical blow to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s government on Monday, the coalition failed to pass a directive giving Israel legal jurisdiction over Israelis living in the West Bank. The bill had been passed every five years since 1967.

Opposition MKs applauded following the announcement of the results. 52 MKs voted for it; 58 voted against.

Failure of the bill has led to immediate speculation that the government will soon fall, and Israel will head to a new election.

Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi (Meretz) and Mazen Ghanaim (Ra’am – United Arab List) voted against the bill and other Ra’am MKs and former coalition head Idit Silman absented themselves from the vote. Without their support, it was impossible to pass the bill, which must be reapproved by the end of June.

Yamina MK Nir Orbach confronted Ghanaim and shouted at him that their partnership in the coalition had failed.

“Some you win, some you lose,” Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who initiated the bill, told The Jerusalem Post following a meeting with Bennett. “Today, we’re on the other side.”

Sa’ar intends to convene a special meeting of his New Hope faction to decide their future in the coalition.

By opposing the bill, Sa’ar noted, opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu was harming the residents of Judea and Samaria and advancing his own personal interests at the expense of the state, he said.

“All coalition members must support the government’s bill,” Sa’ar said. “Any coalition member who does not support such a fundamental bill is actively working to dismantle the coalition. Being in the coalition does not only mean receiving. There is also responsibility. Whoever does not support it cannot wash their hands, claiming innocence. A country cannot be run this way.”

Defense Minister Benny Gantz said he was looking for a non-legislative solution to the problem.

Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman, chairman of Yisrael Beytenu, said no one should be surprised by Netanyahu preventing a bill from passing that would prevent West Bank chaos.

“He has harmed Judea and Samaria more than anyone else,” he said. “That is tradition with Netanyahu. That is part of his DNA.”

Religious Zionist Party MK Bezalel Smotrich said he was not concerned about harming his constituents in Judea and Samaria by halting the bill. It is better to bring down the government, form a right-wing coalition and then pass it, he said.

“A coalition that cannot pass its bills and is artificially respirated by [Joint List MK] Ahmad Tibi and the Joint List is illegitimate and bound to fall,” Smotrich told his faction. “Residents of Judea and Samaria are strong and understand the importance of bringing down the anti-Zionist government.”

Female “Halachic Advisors” to be Paid

Religious Affairs Deputy Minister Matan Kahana (Yamina) on Thursday announced that he will appoint twenty-one women as halachic advisers in communities across Israel in 2022.

Women have increasingly assumed active roles as certified experts of Jewish religious law throughout Israel in recent years, specifically in delicate areas traditionally associated with women such as “family purity.”

Deputy Minister Kahana’s move will see these female advisors officially recognized by the Religious Services Ministry for the first time and as such be eligible for state-funded salaries alongside communal pulpit rabbis, a statement from Kahana’s office said.

Kahana said, “Today it is clear to all that learned women are integral to Jewish communal life and halachic discourse. Female halachic advisers already serve in critical roles around Israel, and the time has come for the State of Israel to celebrate this reality.”

He added, “I am confident that this important step will only serve to bolster Jewish life, and scholarship and I encourage more communities to follow suit.”

In response to queries from Israel National News - Arutz Sheva, a spokesperson for Kahana explained

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