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AUGUST 19, 2021 | The Jewish Home
ple through the whole economy. For a large part of the population, electricity will become a luxury. Driving your car will become a luxury, too. Transportation will become a luxury.” He added, “Drinking water is all about transportation. If you don’t have diesel, you can’t get water from the mountain to the coast,” Wimmen noted. “For all merchandise that have a significant transportation element in them, prices will have to explode. The large majority of Lebanese ... will get drastically poorer.” The announcement was expected for several days before it was made, and the country’s Central Bank had already suspended lines of credit to fuel importers. On Thursday, the Central Bank said the subsidies had been exploited by businesses. Neighborhoods and towns already suffering long outages lost access to fuel needed to power backup generators. Lebanon has been without a functioning government for over a year, and according to the United Nations, approximately 77% of households cannot afford to purchase enough food. Over 71% are expected to lose access to safe water.
Poland’s Holocaust Restitution Bill
Polish President Andrzej Duda on Saturday signed into law a bill limiting restitution for Holocaust-related claims. In a Saturday statement, Duda said, “I made a decision today on the act, which in recent months was the subject of a lively and loud debate at home and abroad. After an in-depth analysis, I have decided to sign the amendment.” Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) responded, “Today, Poland approved, not for the first time, an anti-Semitic and unethical law. Tonight, I instructed the chargé d’affaires of the Israeli Embassy in Warsaw to return to Israel immedi-
ately for indefinite consultations. “The new Ambassador to Poland, who was due to leave for Warsaw soon, will not be departing for Poland at this stage. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will recommend today that the Polish Ambassador to Israel remain on holiday in his country. This time should be used to explain to the people of Poland the meaning of the Holocaust to the citizens of Israel and the extent to which we will refuse to tolerate any contempt for the memory of Holocaust and its victims. It will not end here.” Lapid’s response has been criticized by some Israeli Foreign Ministry officials, who fear it could trigger harsh backlash and the loss of a potential ally in the European Union. According to them, Poland’s decision is not unusual, other than in its publicity and fanfare. Responding to Lapid, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said, “The decision of Israel to downgrade its diplomatic representation in Warsaw lacks justification and any sense of responsibility. The words spoken by [Israeli Foreign Minister] Yair Lapid enrage every upstanding person.” Criticizing the Israeli government’s “aggressive actions” in response to the Polish bill, Morawiecki added, “The use of this tragedy for political ends is irresponsible and shameful. If the Israeli government continues to attack Poland in such a manner, it will most definitely have a very negative impact on our mutual relations – both bilaterally and in international forums.”
Bennett Slashes Number of New “Settlement” Homes
A new plan to approve 3,200 new housing units in Judea and Samaria
was upended after Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett cut the number to just 2,200 new housing units. The decision was supposedly made in an effort not to upset the Biden administration. The units are the first to be approved under U.S. President Joe Biden’s watch. They are set to be approved by Israel’s Civil Administration next week. Meanwhile, Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz (Blue and White) approved the construction of 1,000 homes for Palestinian Authority Arabs, within the boundaries of Area C, the only area of Judea and Samaria where Jews are allowed to live. Bennett and Biden have been discussing a trip by Bennett to Washington; the trip is expected to be held in the coming weeks.
An Invite to Cairo
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has invited Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to make an official visit to Egypt within the next few weeks. Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate chair Abbas Kamel relayed the invite to Bennett while he was visiting Jerusalem for talks with the prime minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz. A visit to Egypt would be the first public visit by an Israeli premier since 2011, when prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with president Hosni Mubarak in the Sinai resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. Netanyahu also reportedly paid a secret, unofficial visit in 2018. Kamel met with Bennett in Jerusalem at the Prime Minister’s Office, which said the two discussed bilateral ties between the countries and “the matter of Egyptian mediation in the security situation vis-a-vis the Gaza Strip.” Egypt helped broker the truce that ended the 11-day conflict in May between Israel and Hamas, the terror group that rules Gaza. After meeting with senior Israeli officials, Kamel visited the West
