Israel News

Viva, decided to exit the coalition government led by Conte. The rupture came after a dispute over EU pandemic recovery funds and how they are disbursed, which plunged the nation into instability.

Conte, who has no political affiliation, told his ministers that he is resigning. He then handed in his official resignation to President Sergio Mattarella. The president has reportedly asked Conte to remain in a caretaker role while consultations take place over the formation of a new government.

However, the resignation is widely seen as an attempt to avoid a parliamentary defeat at a Senate vote later this week.

Conte narrowly survived a vote of confidence last week, but his government has been stripped of a working majority with the departure of Italia Viva – making it difficult to pass any major laws for the remainder of his mandate.

“Having failed in his desperate efforts to broaden his majority, Conte and his government were set to be defeated in a new Senate vote that is currently scheduled for 27 January,” Wolfango Piccoli, co-president of the consultancy firm Teneo, said.

He said Conte’s resignation was an attempt “to ensure his own political survival.”

Mattarella now has to decide whether to give Conte the chance to negotiate with lawmakers again, looking for a majority that will allow him to govern.

If Italian lawmakers do not reach an agreement over a new coalition government, with or without Conte as prime minister, then voters will have to head to the polls sooner rather than later.

Italy, the first EU country to be hit hard by the pandemic, has recorded more than 2 million Covid infections and over 85,000 deaths.

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Ambassador and Envoy Erdan

Gilad Erdan began his term as Israel’s Ambassador to the United States last week, replacing Ron Dermer as Jerusalem’s envoy to its most important ally. person to hold both posts since Abba Eban in the 1950s. In his new role, Erdan will be tasked with building a relationship with the Biden administration and the Democratic Party, who now control the White House, Congress, and the Senate.

Making Erdan’s job particularly challenging is the upsurge of anti-Israel sentiment in the Democratic Party, including the support for the BDS movement espoused by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib. The former Public Security Minister will also play a key role in broadcasting Israel’s concerns to the Biden administration regarding a possible U.S. return to the Iran deal.

Erdan recently spent several weeks in Washington learning the ins and outs of the position, while meeting with senior power brokers and forming relationships with key lawmakers. His predecessor, Dermer, had held the position since 2013 and was widely viewed as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanya-

hu’s closest confidant.

Over the past seven years, Dermer cultivated relationships with the most powerful people in the Republican Party and was in frequent contact with former President Donald Trump. The unusual access Dermer enjoyed at the White House led many to deem him “the most influential person in Washington.” On the other hand, Dermer was accused of neglecting Israel’s ties with the Democratic Party, endangering the bipartisan consensus that Israel always enjoyed in the U.S.

“Good luck, Gilad! I am confident in our new Ambassador to Washington,” tweeted Dermer on Thursday. “Gilad Erdan will further strengthen the great alliance between America and Israel, and I wish him the best of success.”

162 New Ethiopian Olim

One-hundred-sixty-two new Ethiopian immigrants landed in Tel Aviv last Friday as part of a campaign to bring the remaining members of the Falash Mura community to Israel.

Many of the new olim kissed the ground after disembarking and waved Israeli flags. The usual greeting ceremony was torpedoed due to fears of the coronavirus.

“The fact that dozens of new olim will celebrate this Shabbat on the land of Israel fills me with feelings of pride and satisfaction,” said Absorption and Immigration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata, who was born in Addis Adaba, the capital of Ethiopia. “Today, a long and taxing journey of waiting to be reunited with their families is over, and I am happy to lead the return of our sons and daughters home to Israel.”

The flight included 11 infants and 43 children and was the sixth installment of “Operation Tzur Yisrael,” which seeks to bring Ethiopia’s remaining 2,000 Jews to Israel.

The plan received government approval in September and was given a 370 million shekel ($109 million) budget for the effort. The first flight landed in November. The operation will continue until the final Ethiopian Jews arrive in Israel in February.

A key source of funding for Friday’s flight was Peter Wang, a Christian Chinese businessman who decided to underwrite the trip after visiting Israel in 2018. Saying that the aforementioned visit showed him “in a profound way how G-d is with Israel,” Wang told the Times of Israel that his fervent Christian faith pushed him to pay for the cost of chartering the plane.

“Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the L-rd your G-d will gather you and bring you back,” said Wang. “Jewish brothers and sisters in Ethiopia have been praying to return to the land of their ancestors for centuries.

“I believe G-d has heard their cries out of distress and seen their longing for the promised land.”

Israel’s Concerns Over the Nuclear Deal

Mossad Chief Yossi Cohen will meet next month with U.S. President Joe Biden to discuss Israel’s concerns over the new administration’s plans to resume nuclear negotiations with Iran.

Cohen will head a delegation comprised of senior officials from the Defense and Foreign Ministries and will be the first Israeli official to meet with Biden since the latter took office. Cohen is also slated to sit down with William Burns, who has been tapped by Biden to be his CIA director.

According to Israel’s Channel 12, Cohen will present a wealth of intelligence demonstrating Iran’s disregard for the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal with a group of world powers and outline Israel’s position on any future talks between the U.S. and Iran. The spy chief will present a list of 12 demands Israel has regarding any new deal with the Islamic Republic.

The terms include mandating Tehran to cease enriching uranium and producing centrifuges at its multiple nuclear plants, an end to supporting proxy groups such as Hezbollah, and to withdraw its military infrastructure in Iraq, Yemen, and Syria. Israel also wants Tehran to allow UN inspectors unfettered access to all of its nuclear sites and for Iran to stop targeting its embassies worldwide.

Israel is concerned that Biden will agree to an updated agreement that would allow Iran to rehabilitate its economy despite continuing to enrich uranium. The fears revolve around reports that senior Biden aides support scrapping the economic sanctions that have devastated Iran’s economy in order to coax it back to the negotiating table.

The new U.S. president had frequently pledged during the campaign to reenter the original 2015 nuclear deal if Tehran respects its commitments.

“If Iran returns to strict compliance with the nuclear deal, the United States would rejoin the agreement as a starting point for follow-on negotiations,” wrote Biden in September.

On Saturday, Israel National Security Advisor Meir Ben Shabbat spoke with his counterpart, Jake Sullivan, regarding the expected resumption of talks with Iran. The phone conversation was the first between senior Israeli and U.S. officials since Biden was sworn in last Wednesday.

“The two agreed to soon discuss many topics on the agenda, including the Iranian issue, regional matters, and advancing the Abraham Accords,” said the Prime Minister’s Office.

Mission to Morocco

After 20 years, the Israeli liaison office to Morocco reopened, with Ambassador David Govrin’s arrival in Rabat on Tuesday.

Israel also opened its consulate in Dubai, two days after opening its em-

bassy to the United Arab Emirates in its capital, Abu Dhabi.

Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi noted, “The arrival of the heads of Israeli missions to Morocco and Dubai completes the first important phase of opening new Israeli missions in the region, in the framework of the Abraham Accords.”

Ashkenazi pointed out that in recent weeks, the number of Israeli missions in the Middle East was multiplied threefold, from two – in Amman and Cairo – to six – two in the UAE, plus Bahrain and Morocco.

“This is living proof of the changes in the region and the warm peace between us and countries in the region,” he said. “This is an important day for peace and an exciting day in the framework of implementing agreements with the UAE and Morocco.”

Amb. Govrin will serve as the head of the Israeli Liaison Office in Morocco, which was previously opened in 1994 and closed six years later, during the Second Intifada. Morocco had an office in Tel Aviv at the time, which it plans to reopen, as well.

Probe of Shin Bet Interrogators Dropped

terrorist responsible for killing an Israeli teen in 2019.

“After reviewing the evidence and in light of a recommendation by the investigative team and the opinion of the officials in the state prosecutor’s office who followed the investigation, the attorney general has decided to shelve the case in light of an absence of evidence that a crime was committed,” Mandelblit said in a statement.

Israel’s State Prosecutors Office had launched an investigation after Samer Arbid was seriously hurt while being interrogated by Shin Bet agents. A member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terror group, Arbid masterminded an attack in August 2019 that killed 17-year-old Rina Shnerb and injured her father and brother via a bomb hidden at a popular stream.

The explosive device was highly complex, unusual for West Bank terror groups, causing Shin Bet agents to exert physical pressure on Arbid in an effort to get him to reveal where he learned his tactical acumen. Arbid was defined as a “ticking time bomb,” a legal term allowing the use of torture to prevent an imminent attack.

The coercive means exerted on Arbid caused him to have a heart attack, leaving him in critical condition for weeks and launching an investigation into whether the physical measures were warranted. During the probe, several Shin Bet agents were questioned under caution on suspicions of unlawful use of force and witness tampering.

The Shin Bet hailed the decision to drop the probe, saying in a statement that it proved that the physical means were warranted in light of the extreme circumstances.

“The information received from the interrogation of the terrorist Samer Arbid, the murderer of Rina Shnerb (may her memory be for a blessing), resulted in the location of many weapons and the prevention of additional terror attacks that were planned by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine,” said the Shin Bet.

Director Nadav Argaman added that the interrogators “carried out

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their mission professionally… and in accordance with the law, and whose actions saved the lives of many Israelis.”

The High Court of Justice banned the Shin Bet from using torture as an interrogation method in 1999, ruling that such measures were illegal regardless of the circumstances. Subsequent legislation allowed the Shin Bet to employ “moderate physical pressure” on suspects defined by a special ministerial committee as a “ticking time bomb.” “no country” has embarked on such a step.

While admitting the negative effects the travel ban would have on Israel’s economy, Netanyahu told ministers that such a move was needed due to “the urgency of mutations in the world.”

According to the Health Ministry, five more cases of the South African variant were found amongst travelers returning from Durban and Dubai on Sunday, raising the total number of cases to 27.

Israel Shuts Down Air Travel

A complete ban on air travel to and from Ben Gurion went into effect on Tuesday at midnight, cutting off Israel’s link to the outside world.

The unprecedented move intends to prevent variant COVID-19 strains that are resistant to vaccines from entering the country. The closure banned all flights until February save for extraordinary humanitarian cases such as to receive medical care and attend legal proceedings that are approved by a special Health Ministry committee.

Under the new regulations, Israel’s airspace is closed to all foreign airlines except for cargo plans and flights carrying emergency supplies. Passenger aircraft traversing Israel on their way to a different location will also be allowed to proceed unhindered.

Notably, the ban includes prohibiting aliyah, marking the first time in Israel’s history that the country prevented Jews from immigrating. Absorption Minister Penina Tamano-Shata voted against the closure, maintaining that Israel could not turn its back on world Jewry.

The plan was approved following a tense government session on Sunday in which ministers were warned by Health Ministry officials that new COVID-19 mutations could render Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines useless. While the closure is slated to be lifted at the end of January along with the general lockdown, senior officials predicted that it would likely be extended for a considerably longer period.

“We are closing the country hermetically. Just in this week of closing the skies, we will vaccinate another million Israelis,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, noting that

IDF Yom Kippur War Protocols Released

Newly-released protocols of a meeting Prime Minister Golda Meir held with senior army brass shed light on the difficult choices facing Israel’s leadership during the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

The protocols were released last Thursday by the Ministry of Defense after being classified for almost five decades. The transcripts featured five minutes of the secret discussions Meir held with top IDF officers during the first days of the Yom Kippur War.

The transcripts show the immense pressure the country’s leadership was under in the war’s first week, as defense officials and Meir deliberated how to save Israel from being completely overrun. In what is considered the worst intelligence failure in Israel’s history, Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Judaism’s holiest day, overpowering the sparse defenders on the Golan Heights and Sinai Desert within hours.

In the now-declassified meeting, IDF generals and Prime Minister Meir debate the wisdom of targeting Damascus with strategic bombing raids to persuade President Hafez Assad to order his troops home. While some officers supported the idea, others argued that it would lead Assad to retaliate by targeting Isra-