Month: February 2017

Weekly Election Update: The Report Looms as New Elections Aproach

 

  • This week, the State Comptroller report on Protective Edge will be released. The report’s contents could have significant consequences.
    • If it is revealed that Naftali Bennett pushed the Security Cabinet to address Hamas’ Big Dig, but was ignored, then Bennett gets a huge push.
    • Netanyahu wants a report that confirms that he weighed all options carefully and responded coolly to the tunnels.
    • Ditto to Moshe Ya’alon. Yair Lapid also wants Ya’alon to look good in case the former Defense Minister decides to join the party. Lapid needs either Gabi Ashkenazi (who was sullied by a previous scandal) or Ya’alon in the party for a credible defense minister candidate. Of course, Lapid has taken Bennet’s side regarding the cabinet’s discussions of the situation, which makes his pursuit of Ya’alon seem strange.
    • According to reports, both Bibi and Ya’alon look terrible in the document. Therefore, anonymous sources have already been sent out to attack the report’s credibility. The fact that such conflicting accounts of discussions in the Security Cabinet have emerged soon after the actual discussions would be surprising if not for the fact that when two of your friends break up, they have different accounts of events the day after it occurs. Continue reading “Weekly Election Update: The Report Looms as New Elections Aproach”

(Un)Kill(ed) Bill(s): Voting Rights and Domestic Violence

Every week the Knesset passes laws that affect our lives…or someone’s life. Here are some that were passed last week.

Bill to Forbid Discriminatory Practices – Shuli Moalem Refaeli – HaBayit HaYehudi (Eitan Cabel (Labor) argued for the bill in the Knesset…Teamwork!) – The bill forbids any public organization or anyone using public spaces to deny service based on where a customer lives. Businesses must also clarify to which locations they refuse service and if they don’t they are obligated to serve the customer wherever. Continue reading “(Un)Kill(ed) Bill(s): Voting Rights and Domestic Violence”

The Likud Strikes Back: The V15 Bill

During the last election, V15 campaign material appeared throughout the country. The campaign, similar to that of a PAC in America, made their “Anyone but Bibi” slogan as common as people who didn’t want to vote for Boogie Herzog. Most understood that “Anyone” did not include Bennett, Kahlon or Lieberman, but rather was an appeal for voters to swing left. Eventually, it was revealed that the campaign was run, at least partly, with hundreds of thousands of dollars from the US State Department, though it is unclear if the US knew that their grants were to be used in such a way.   Continue reading “The Likud Strikes Back: The V15 Bill”

How Much is that Rabbanut Sign in the Window?

My favorite type of packaged cookies are those (Paskez?) brown and white confetti cookies. The cookies are good, but the approximately 74 kashrut symbols on the side are better.  I used to imagine the person looking for the 75th symbol. Something I was less aware of in my youth was how much each symbol cost. Continue reading “How Much is that Rabbanut Sign in the Window?”