Israel News

“All wars end up in negotiations,” he emphasized, stressing that the world should focus on achieving peace and bringing about the end of the war.

At the same time, Szijjarto said that Hungary depends on Russia for oil and gas and that security represents “a definite red line for us.”

Stocking the Shelves in Russia

Grocery stores in Russia are stocked with goods – almost all of them made in Russia. According to a report published by NielsenIQ this week, Russia-made products accounted for 83% of the country’s market for common consumer goods in the first half of 2022, up 4% on a year before.

Domestic production of so-called fast-moving consumer goods is filling shelves as imports slump amid Western sanctions against Russia. The sanctions have caused many foreign companies to bolt from Russia.

Some of the biggest declines in foreign goods occurred in the alcohol market, where Russian beer made up 89% of sales in the first half of 2022, up from 79% a year before, the Nielsen data showed.

“The assortment of goods available for consumers on shop shelves has narrowed,” Konstantin Loktev, retail director at NielsenIQ Russia, said in a statement, identifying one of two major changes to hit the industry.

“In this difficult period, a second trend began to develop: goods that have

No Mechitzah at Egalitarian Section

On Monday, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a directive prohibiting bringing a mechitzah, a separating barrier, into the egalitarian section of the Western Wall.

On Monday, head of the Budgets and Projects Department of the Prime Minister’s Office Drorit Steinmetz wrote to the director of the Company for the Development and Renovation of the Jewish Quarter, Herzl Ben Ari, instructing him to ensure anyone seeking to bring a mechitzah to the site is blocked at the entrance.

The organization is responsible for the management and administration of the southern prayer section, while a steering committee comprising two officials from the Prime Minister’s Office along with Ben Ari coordinates between the organization and the government.

The egalitarian section of the Kotel has made headlines recently after Reform groups said that charedim disturbed a bar mitzvah being held there.

The Reform Movement in Israel said that it welcomed the mechitzah ban but said the step would not prevent other forms of disturbance at the prayer site and called for greater measures to ensure order.

“I call on the prime minister to turn the egalitarian section into a dignified public space that allows all Jews in Israel and from the Diaspora to pray in accordance with their customs,” said Reform Movement in Israel director Anna Kislanski.

The owners of a pool in central Israel last Friday were released to house arrest after a man died during a party at their home. He had died when a sinkhole opened up underneath the pool, sucking in water and objects, along with this man.

The couple was ordered to stay in their daughter’s home in Petach Tikva. They were also ordered to stay away from their hometown of Karmei Yosef until at least Monday at noon.

According to Petach Tikva Magistrate’s Court Judge Carmit Ben Eliezer, the reason for these orders is that “there is some concern that unconditional release would lead to disruption in the investigation procedures.”

At the same time, the court denied the police’s request to extend the couple’s detention by an additional week.

Klil Kimhi, 32, was the person who passed away in the shocking tragedy. His marketing company held a party at the pool in the villa. Kimhi was sucked into the sinkhole, and his body was found hours later, after extensive searches.

The couple was detained on suspicion of negligent manslaughter. They are also suspected of renting their home — and thus operating a business — without a license and of money laundering.

According to Hebrew media outlets, the villa regularly hosts such gatherings, but the owners did not request a permit before constructing the pool. A permit would not have been granted to construct the pool, due to the site’s known infrastructure problems.

Izzy Goren, who chairs Karmei Yosef’s council, noted that the home is located within 50 meters of an underground cave.

Over 500 Israeli tech employees were fired on Sunday in one swoop.

The newly-fired workers join thousands of other tech employees who have been laid off in recent months.

In Sunday’s case, AID Genomics, a Singapore medical technology company, announced that it would move its research and development center abroad and cancel planned investments in Israel. The company then laid off around 400 employees – the vast majority of its workforce in Israel, Hebrew media reported.

Earlier, the U.S. insurance firm Asurion announced that it would fire 120 employees following its decision to close its Israeli development center amid restructuring.

Another 40 workers will be laid off at the end of the year.

Soluto, which was acquired by Asurion in 2013, had been doing well and was even hiring a week ago, one employee told Kan News.

According to the employee, the decision “really came as a total shock. It was very surprising. This was simply an American decision; the site was a success. Even the senior management [of Soluto] was surprised.”

Kan noted that since March, over 3,000 hi-tech employees in Israel have been fired. Of those, half were laid off in July. At the same time, Channel 12 News presented a different figure, claiming that 2,800 hi-tech employees were fired in the past two months alone.

Russia Wants to Close Jewish Agency

Agency as a potentially major diplomatic rift.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid warned that closing the Jewish Agency in Russia would negatively affect ties between Russia and Israel.

Last month, Russian authorities informed the Jewish Agency that its offices could face sanctions over infringements of local laws, a threat which the Jewish Agency took as a low-level issue that could easily be resolved.

Later, however, as Russia continued to escalate the situation, the Jewish Agency requested aid from Israel’s Foreign Ministry, asking the Ministry to intervene.

Last week, Russia’s Justice Ministry requested that a Moscow court order the dissolution of Jewish Agency offices in the country.

Meanwhile, Israeli interim Prime Minister Yair Lapid announced that a legal-diplomatic task force would be formed to travel to Moscow and fight to keep the Jewish Agency open. The task force met on Sunday.

A Jewish Agency official told the Times of Israel, “We tried to keep things low-key and sort it out by exchanging letters with lawyers and trying to reach a compromise. Now that they took it to court, it is clear that they are not looking for compromise or negotiations. It is clear that this is a political move.”

The official added, “This is not really about some legal disagreements or technical procedure that was breached or even just a small-time attempt to intimidate the Jewish Agency because they are antisemitic or oppose immigration or something. This legal delegation is not going to solve anything, but we have to play the game. There will need to be political involvement.

“We are playing the legal game, while also signaling that we are not fooled by this,” he added.

“We will operate as usual for as long as we can…and we are preparing ourselves for all possible scenarios.”

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Iranian media last Saturday reported that a network of agents working for the Mossad was arrested.

According Arutz Sheva, the agents were sent to Iran in order to “carry out acts of terror.” Members of the network were in contact with the Mossad by means of a country which neighbors Iran and entered the country through the Kurdistan region.

The report added that the group planned to target sensitive areas, while using “the most advanced operational and communications equipment, as well as powerful explosives.”

Iranian authorities said that the weapons, explosives, technical equipment, and communications equipment belonging to the network were confiscated.

Later, the Iranian regime published additional details on the members of the allegedly-captured spy ring. The members are accused of having plotted to carry out terrorist attacks on Iranian soil and are said to have been apprehended with powerful explosives in their possession before managing to carry out an attack.

Prior to entering Iran via Kurdistan, the men apparently underwent monthslong training in preparation for conducting terrorist attacks against sensitive targets in the Iranian region of Isfahan in central Iran.

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Bahraini Snub

to shake hands with an Israeli ambassador.

Rai al-Youm reported last week that Sheikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, Bahrain’s Authority for Culture and Antiquities chief, was dismissed by Bahrain’s king after refusing to shake hands with Israel’s Ambassador in Manama, Eitan Na’eh.

The snub occurred during a funeral service for the father of U.S. Ambassador Steven C. Bondy held last month. Sheikha Mai left the funeral service when she was informed of Na’eh’s presence and asked the U.S. embassy to not publish any pictures of her attending the American ambassador’s late father’s funeral.

Sheikha Mai has carried out official duties for more than 20 years but is considered to be a “controversial figure” in Bahrain. She has previously served as the Bahraini information minister, making history as the first woman to hold the office.

On July 21, Bahrain’s king issued a decree naming her replacement as head of the Authority for Culture and Antiquities. That same day, Israel’s interim Prime Minister Yair Lapid held a phone call with Bahraini crown prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

In a tweet following the phone call, Lapid stressed that Israel and Bahrain are working together to realize a shared vision for a “stable and prosperous Middle East.”

Meanwhile, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qasem said in a statement that Sheikha Mai’s refusal to shake Na’eh’s hand is a “true reflection of the Bahraini people’s genuine stance in support of Palestinians.”

Israeli Visits Mecca

Saudi Arabian authorities arrested a Saudi citizen who helped Gil Tamari, an Israeli journalist, enter Mecca last week.

A statement from Saudi authorities read, “The issue of the journalist who committed this crime has been transferred to the General Prosecutor’s Office so as to take the necessary steps against him.”