The Jewish Home | JULY 14, 2022
22 Police are still looking for a motive for the shooting, but Mawela added, “I have no doubt that with the cooperation of the community here, we will be able to crack this.” There was a second, separate shooting in a bar in Sweetwaters in Pietermaritzburg on Saturday evening. In that shooting, four people were killed, police said. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday told his citizens, “As a nation, we cannot allow violent criminals to terrorize us in this way, regardless of where such incidents may occur. “As government, citizens, and structures of civil society, we must all work together even more closely to improve social and economic conditions in communities, reduce violent crime, and stamp out the illicit circulation of firearms. “Every single violent death is unacceptable and worrying, and killings on the scale we have seen in Soweto, Pietermaritzburg, and previously Khayelitsha must spur us into a collective effort to build communities and make South Africa an unsafe place for criminals.”
1 Million Tourists
Razbozov continued. “Despite the situation, we did not give up at any stage. We worked hard to open up the industry and we brought the tourism industry back to life in spite of the challenges.” Indeed, tourism does seem to be regaining its stride in Israel, a country that benefits greatly from the steady spending of sightseers. According to the Tourism Ministry, there were 244,500 tourist entries in June 2022, just 33% less than the record set in June 2019. Based on the recovery trend in incoming tourism, it is expected that up to two million tourists will arrive in Israel by the end of the year. “In contrast to all the pessimistic forecasts, we can see today that tourism has returned to Israel,” Razbozov said. “A million tourists inject money into the Israeli economy, create job opportunities throughout the country and provide a livelihood for whole families. Now we look forward to the objective I have set for the industry: 10 million tourists in 2030.” The Tourism Ministry announced last month that it was launching an initiative to develop the country’s tourism infrastructure with an expected budget of NIS 300 million. Razbozov explained, “The ministry hopes that the initiative will result in a stronger Israeli economy, which will in turn lower the cost of living and reduced vacation costs for Israelis. Taking a vacation is not only for the rich.”
Online Marriage Ceremonies Must Be Legal Belinda Desoyo Lee Marcelo is one lucky number. The 53-year-old from the United Arab Emirates was crowned with the title of Israel’s millionth tourist in 2022. She arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport on Sunday, where she was greeted by Tourism Minister Yoel Razbozov and Tourism Ministry representatives. “At first we thought and hoped that U.S. President Joe Biden would be the millionth tourist to arrive in Israel in 2022, but once again, we have beaten the forecast,” Razbozov said. “Last year, our skies were closed, there were corona restrictions in place with new variants emerging, and serious concerns about incoming tourism,”
Israel’s Central District Court, in an unprecedented ruling this week, declared that the State is required to recognize as married Israeli citizens whose ceremonies were performed “abroad” over Zoom – even if the citizens never physically leave Israel. In her decision, Judge Efrat Fink ruled that the parties’ failure to leave
Israel did not constitute a disqualifying unwillingness to engage in the actions necessary to have their marriages recognized and therefore there was no reason not to recognize the marriages as legal. Despite the ruling, the State still has the option to appeal to the Supreme Court, but if the Supreme Court upholds the District Court’s decision, there will be no choice other than to recognize the Zoom marriages. The case began after Israel’s Population Authority recognized as married three couples who civilly married over Zoom at the height of the COVID-19 outbreak. Those couples “married” through the U.S. State of Utah, without ever leaving Israel’s borders. Then-Interior Minister Aryeh Deri (Shas) froze the State’s recognition of the marriages, a position which current Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked (Yamina) continued.
Blue and White, New Hope to Unite
The Blue and White and New Hope parties have announced that they will run together in Israel’s upcoming elections in November. Previous polls showed New Hope struggling to pass the electoral threshold. According to the report, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who chairs Blue and White, will be number one on the joint list, while Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who chairs New Hope, will be the list’s number two. Next in line, in order, would be Absorption Minister Penina Tamano-Shata, Culture Minister Yehiel Tropper, Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton, Michael Biton, and Construction and Housing Minister Ze’ev Elkin. Two-thirds of the remaining seats would be filled by Blue and White, while the remaining third would be filled by New Hope. If former IDF Chief of Staff
Gadi Eizenkot decides to join the party, he would be given second place, pushing Sa’ar down to third. Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel, founder of the Derech Eretz party who ran together with New Hope last year, was not invited to the meeting that was held last week with regards to the elections.
Stinky Suitcase Situation
Some of the suitcases piling up at Ben Gurion International Airport are being tossed in the trash, Israel’s Channel 12 News reported on Sunday. Hundreds of suitcases are piling up at the airport due to staff shortages which cause the luggage not to be placed on the plane or not to disembark together with the passengers. According to Channel 12, some of the airport staff were said to have rummaged through the suitcases before tossing them out. One witness told Channel 12, “I saw them destroying the suitcases in a compactor and stealing clothes, perfumes, and all kinds of other valuables. They placed them to one side. “No one in Ben Gurion bothered to photograph the suitcases to try to find their owners, and in some of them, there were personal items. The workers raided them in broad daylight and stole the items.” An airport source told Channel 12, “If this is accurate it is very serious. This is being done against procedures, and it must not be ignored.” That source also said that any theft requires a police investigation and that lost luggage is supposed to be placed in a storeroom and efforts made to locate the owner. Responding to the report, Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli (Labor) said that such disposal of the lost suitcases is a “a very serious incident that
