Chronologie 2014

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Chronologie 2014 www.reiner-bernstein.de 1 – Chronologie 2014 Chronologie 2014 Dezember 2014 31.12.2014: Am frühen Morgen verpasst der von der palästinensischen Autonomiebehörde eingebrachte Entwurf für eine Resolution zur Beendigung der israelischen Besatzung und zur Gründung des Staates Palästina bis Ende 2017, der nach Gesprächen leicht verändert wurde, im UN-Sicherheitsrat die erforderliche Mehrheit von 9 Stimmen, bevor die USA ihr Veto einlegen. 5 Mitglieder (Großbritannien – das Unterhaus hatte am 13. Oktober mit großer Mehrheit die Regierung aufgefordert hatte, die Initiative zu unterstützen –, Nigeria , Süd-Korea , Ruanda und Litauen ) enthalten sich der Stimme. Für eine Resolution entscheiden sich Russland , die Volksrepublik China , Frankreich , Luxemburg , Jordanien , Argentinien , Chile und Tschad . Mit den USA stimmt Australien gegen den Entwurf. Vor der Abstimmung erklärte der britische UN-Botschafter, dass auch seine Regierung den Resolutionsentwurf nicht mittragen werde. Der Botschafter hatte den Zeitpunkt der Vorlage und die Aussage zur Regelung des palästinensischen Flüchtlingsproblems kritisiert. Das US-State Department kritisiert in scharfen Worten den palästinensischen Resolutionsentwurf. Der Schritt sei „nicht konstruktiv ‟, schaffe „willkürliche Termingrenzen und nimmt Israels Sicherheitsbedürfnisse nicht in Betracht ‟. Deutschland, Frankreich und Großbritannien, so heißt es, würden sich um einen neuen Resolutionsentwurf bemühen. Dennoch wiederholt die US- amerikanische Botschafterin Samantha Power wieder einmal und ungerührt, dass die Administration an der Zwei-Staaten-Lösung auf www.reiner-bernstein.de 2 – Chronologie 2014 der Grundlage der „Grünen Linie“ vor dem Junikrieg 1967 mit geringfügigen „land swaps“ festhalte, warnt aber die Regierung Israels vor der Fortsetzung des „unhaltbaren Status quo“ . Der israelische UN-Geschäftsträger zeigt sich erfreut, dass die palästinensische „Provokation“ gescheitert sei. Am Abend des 17. Dezember hatte Jordanien im Namen der Palästinensischen Autonomiebehörde den Entwurf eingereicht. Die Initiative des gegenwärtig nicht-ständigen Mitglieds in diesem Gremium war mit anderen Staaten der Weltorganisation – darunter mit Frankreich – und mit der Arabischen Liga abgesprochen. Der palästinensische Botschafter Riyad Mansour bekräftigte, dass damit kein Schlussstrich unter neue Verhandlungen gesetzt sei. In den Entwurf heißt es: – „that the negotiated solution will be based on the following parameters: borders based on 4 June 1967 lines with mutually agreed, limited, equivalent land swaps; – security arrangements, including through a third-party presence, that guarantee and respect the sovereignty of a State of Palestine, including through a full and phased withdrawal of Israeli security forces which will end the occupation that began in 1967 over an agreed transition period in a reasonable timeframe, not to exceed the end of 2016, and that ensure the security of both Israel and Palestine through effective border security and the preventing the resurgence of terrorism and effectively addressing security threats, including emerging and vital threats in the region; – a just and agreed solution to the Palestine refugee question on the basis of [the] Arab Peace Initiative, international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, including resolution 194 (III); www.reiner-bernstein.de 3 – Chronologie 2014 – Jerusalem as the shared capital of the two States which fulfils the legitimate aspirations of both parties and protects freedom of worship; – an agreed settlement of other outstanding issues, including water”. Weiter fordert der Entwurf „the urgent need to attain, no later than 12 months after the adoption of this resolution, a just, lasting and comprehensive peaceful solution that brings an end to the Israeli occupation since 1967 and fulfils the vision of two independent, democratic and prosperous states, Israel and a sovereign, contiguous and viable State of Palestine living side by side in peace and security within mutually and international resigned borders”. Ein Repräsentant der palästinensischen Autonomiebehörde hatte am 29. Dezember angekündigt, dass diese um die Mitgliedschaft in internationalen Organisationen nachsuchen werde, so beim Internationalen Strafgerichtshof (ICC) in Den Haag, sollte die Resolution scheitern und nicht die erforderliche Mehrheit von 9 der 15 Mitgliedsstaaten des Sicherheitsrates erhalten. Da für den Fall, dass im Zuge der palästinensischen Mitgliedschaft, die Machmud Abbas am 31. Dezember beauftragte, der ICC tätig wird, müssten auch Repräsentanten der „Hamas“ mit Ermittlungen und anschließenden Fahndungsbefehlen rechnen – was der politischen Autorität Ramallahs international zugutekäme. Das-Internet Forum von „Yediot Achronot“ (Letzte Nachrichten)“ meldet am 31. Dezember aus Washington, dass selbst diejenigen Delegationen, die gegen den jordanisch-palästinensischen Entwurf stimmten, keinen Zweifel an ihrem Unmut über die israelische Politik haben aufkommen lassen. ^ www.reiner-bernstein.de 4 – Chronologie 2014 Aus bislang unklaren Gründen distanziert sich der jordanische König am 05. Januar 2015 von der Entscheidung der Autonomiebehörde, den Entwurf in den UN-Sicherheitsrat einzubringen. Nach Mitteilung des Flüchtlingswerks der Vereinten Nationen befinden sich Ende des Jahres 46 Millionen Menschen auf der Flucht, davon 3 Millionen aus Syrien . Deren Hauptaufnahmeländer sind die Türkei , Libanon und Jordanien . Nach Angaben von Menschenrechtsorganisationen sind in Syrien im abgelaufenen Jahr 2014 nicht weniger als 76.000 Menschen ums Leben gekommen. Im Irak sollen im selben Zeitraum rund 17.000 Menschen durch die Terrormilizen des „Islamischen Staates“ getötet worden sein. In einem langen Analysebeitrag schreibt Rainer Hermann am 03. Januar 2015, dass Syrien zu einem Drittel von den Terrormilizen des „Islamischen Staates“, zu einem Zehntel von den Kurden und weitere Teile im Norden von der „Al-Nusra“-Front beherrscht würden. Inzwischen habe die russische Regierung Vermittlungen zwischen den Oppositionsgruppen und Damaskus angeboten sowie weitere Hilfszahlungen für das Regime von Präsident Bashar Assad von dessen Bereitschaft zum Dialog mit der Opposition abhängig gemacht 1. Die parteiinternen Wahlen für den Vorsitz des „Likud“ gewinnt Benjamin Netanjahu mit rund 80 Prozent vor seinem einzigen Herausforderer, dem Vorsitzenden des Zentralkomitees der Partei Danny Danon. Die Wahlbeteiligung liegt bei rund 55 Prozent 2. Bei der Aufstellung der Kandidatenliste der Partei stehen die folgenden Kandidaten auf den ersten 18 Plätzen nach Netanjahu: 2. Gilad Erdan (bisher Minister für Kommunikation und „Home Front 1 Rainer Hermann: Syrische Kriegsfragmente, in FAZ 03.01.2015, S. 8. 2 Vgl. die Eintragung am 21.12.2014 in dieser Zeitleiste. www.reiner-bernstein.de 5 – Chronologie 2014 Security“), 3. Yuli Edelstein (bisher Parlamentspräsident), 4. Israel Katz (bisher Verkehrsminister), 5. Miri Regev (bisher Vorsitzende des Innenausschusses), 6. Silvan Shalom (bisher Minister für Energie und Wasser) , 7. Moshe Ya'alon (bisher Verteidigungsminister), 8. Yariv Levin, 9. Tzachi Hanegbi, 10. Ze’ev Elkin (bisher stellvertretender Außenminister), 11. Der Platz bleibt der Besetzung durch Netanjahu vorbehalten, 12. Gila Gamliel, 13. Yuval Steinitz (bisher Minister für Strategie, Geheimdienste und internationale Beziehungen), 14. Danny Danon (bis zu seiner Entlassung durch Netanjahu stellvertretender Verteidigungsminister), 15. Tzipi Hotevely, 16. Der Platz bleibt einem Kandidaten der Region „Shfela“ nordwestlich und südwestlich von Jerusalem, vorbehalten, 17. Ophir Akunis (bisher im Amt des Ministerpräsidenten für die Beziehungen zur Knesset zuständig), 18. Jacki Levy (Sohn des früheren Außenministers David Levy als Kandidat aus Galiläa), 19. Der Platz bleibt einem Kandidaten aus der Region Tel Aviv vorbehalten, 20. Avi Dichter (ehemals Chef des Inlandsgeheimdienstes „Shin Bet“). Die Liste zeigt die politische Nähe zu Netanjahu mit eindeutiger Rechtslastigkeit, wofür allein die Kandidaten Regev, Danon, Levin und Elkin sorgen, so dass die Aussage des Netanjahu-Lagers substanzlos ist, wonach die Liste „ausgezeichnet“ , „verantwortungsbewusst“ , „gemäßigt“ und „ausgewogen“ sei. Am 05. Januar 2015 verzichtet der ultranationalistische Abgeordnete im „Likud“ Moshe Feiglin, der bei der Nominierung der Kandidaten keine Absicherung erhalten hat, die Gründung einer eigenen Partei. Nitzan Horowitz, einer der führenden Repräsentanten der linksliberalen Partei „Meretz (Stärke, Kraft)“, verzichtet auf eine neue Kandidatur für die Knesset-Wahlen am 17. März 2015. Nach offiziellen Angaben belief sich die Zahl der Touristen in Israel, die länger als einen Tag blieben, im abgelaufenen Jahr auf 2,9 Millionen Personen. Davon reisten 2,5 Millionen per Flugzeug an. An der Spitze lagen die USA mit 626.000 Touristen, gefolgt von www.reiner-bernstein.de 6 – Chronologie 2014 Russland mit 567.000 (ein Rückgang um 6 Prozent), Frankreich mit 301.000 (ein Rückgang um 5 Prozent), Deutschland mit 196.000 (ein Rückgang um 23 Prozent), dem Vereinigten Königreich mit 179.000 (ein Rückgang um 18 Prozent) und Italien mit 12.000 (ein Rückgang um 29 Prozent). 29.12.2014: Ein Repräsentant der palästinensischen Autonomiebehörde kündigt an, dass sie sich bis zum 31. Dezember mit Konsultationen die Zeit nehmen wolle, den Entwurf für eine Resolution zur Beendigung der israelischen Besatzung und der Entstehung des Staates Palästina im UN-Sicherheitsrat einzureichen, und zwar unabhängig davon, ob bei der Abstimmung
Recommended publications
  • Additional Documents to the Amicus Brief Submitted to the Jerusalem District Court
    בבית המשפט המחוזי בירושלים עת"מ 36759-05-18 בשבתו כבית משפט לעניינים מנהליים בעניין שבין: 1( ארגון Human Rights Watch 2( עומר שאקר העותרים באמצעות עו"ד מיכאל ספרד ו/או אמילי שפר עומר-מן ו/או סופיה ברודסקי מרח' דוד חכמי 12, תל אביב 6777812 טל: 03-6206947/8/9, פקס 03-6206950 - נ ג ד - שר הפנים המשיב באמצעות ב"כ, מפרקליטות מחוז ירושלים, רחוב מח"ל 7, מעלות דפנה, ירושלים ת.ד. 49333 ירושלים 9149301 טל: 02-5419555, פקס: 026468053 המכון לחקר ארגונים לא ממשלתיים )עמותה רשומה 58-0465508( ידיד בית המשפט באמצעות ב"כ עו"ד מוריס הירש מרח' יד חרוצים 10, ירושלים טל: 02-566-1020 פקס: 077-511-7030 השלמת מסמכים מטעם ידיד בית המשפט בהמשך לדיון שהתקיים ביום 11 במרץ 2019, ובהתאם להחלטת כב' בית המשפט, מתכבד ידיד בית המשפט להגיש את ריכוז הציוציו של העותר מס' 2 החל מיום 25 ליוני 2018 ועד ליום 10 למרץ 2019. כפי שניתן להבחין בנקל מהתמצית המצ"ב כנספח 1, בתקופה האמורה, אל אף טענתו שהינו "פעיל זכויות אדם", בפועל ציוציו )וציוציו מחדש Retweets( התמקדו בנושאים שבהם הביע תמיכה בתנועת החרם או ביקורת כלפי מדינת ישראל ומדיניותה, אך נמנע, כמעט לחלוטין, מלגנות פגיעות בזכיות אדם של אזרחי מדינת ישראל, ובכלל זה, גינוי כלשהו ביחס למעשי רצח של אזרחים ישראלים בידי רוצחים פלסטינים. באשר לטענתו של העותר מס' 2 שחשבון הטוויטר שלו הינו, בפועל, חשבון של העותר מס' 1, הרי שגם כאן ניתן להבין בנקל שטענה זו חסרת בסיס כלשהי. ראשית, החשבון מפנה לתפקידו הקודם בארגון CCR, אליו התייחסנו בחוות הדעת המקורית מטעם ידיד בית המשפט בסעיף 51.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel's National Religious and the Israeli- Palestinian Conflict
    Leap of Faith: Israel’s National Religious and the Israeli- Palestinian Conflict Middle East Report N°147 | 21 November 2013 International Crisis Group Headquarters Avenue Louise 149 1050 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32 2 502 90 38 Fax: +32 2 502 50 38 [email protected] Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................... i Recommendations..................................................................................................................... iv I. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 II. Religious Zionism: From Ascendance to Fragmentation ................................................ 5 A. 1973: A Turning Point ................................................................................................ 5 B. 1980s and 1990s: Polarisation ................................................................................... 7 C. The Gaza Disengagement and its Aftermath ............................................................. 11 III. Settling the Land .............................................................................................................. 14 A. Bargaining with the State: The Kookists ................................................................... 15 B. Defying the State: The Hilltop Youth ........................................................................ 17 IV. From the Hills to the State ..............................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Federation to Hold “Conversation with Michael Oren” on Nov. 30
    November 6-19, 2020 Published by the Jewish Federation of Greater Binghamton Volume XLIX, Number 36 BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK Federation to hold “Conversation with Michael Oren” on Nov. 30 By Reporter staff said Shelley Hubal, executive “delightful.” Liel Leibovitz, an Oren served as Israel’s ambassador to The Jewish Federation of Greater Bing- director of the Federation. “I Israeli-American journalist and the United States for almost five years hamton will hold a virtual “Conversation look forward to learning how author, wrote that “Oren delivers before becoming a member of Knesset and with Michael Oren” about his new book of he came to write the many sto- a heartfelt and heartbreaking deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s short stories, “The Night Archer and Other ries that appear in his book. I account of who we are as a spe- Office. Oren is a graduate of Princeton Stories,” on Monday, November 30, at would also like to thank Rabbi cies – flawed, fearful, and lonely and Columbia universities. He has been noon. Dora Polachek, associate professor of Barbara Goldman-Wartell for but always open-hearted, always a visiting professor at Harvard, Yale and romance languages and literatures at Bing- alerting us to this opportunity.” trusting that transcendence is Georgetown universities. In addition to hamton University, will moderate. There is Best-selling author Daniel possible, if not imminent.” (For holding four honorary doctorates, he was no cost for the event, but pre-registration Silva called “The Night Archer The Reporter’s review of the awarded the Statesman of the Year Medal is required and can be made at the Feder- and Other Stories” “an extraor- book, see page 4.) by the Washington Institute for Near East ation website, www.jfgb.org.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Full Journal (PDF)
    SAPIR A JOURNAL OF JEWISH CONVERSATIONS THE ISSUE ON POWER ELISA SPUNGEN BILDNER & ROBERT BILDNER RUTH CALDERON · MONA CHAREN MARK DUBOWITZ · DORE GOLD FELICIA HERMAN · BENNY MORRIS MICHAEL OREN · ANSHEL PFEFFER THANE ROSENBAUM · JONATHAN D. SARNA MEIR SOLOVEICHIK · BRET STEPHENS JEFF SWARTZ · RUTH R. WISSE Volume Two Summer 2021 And they saw the God of Israel: Under His feet there was the likeness of a pavement of sapphire, like the very sky for purity. — Exodus 24: 10 SAPIR Bret Stephens EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mark Charendoff PUBLISHER Ariella Saperstein ASSO CIATE PUBLISHER Felicia Herman MANAGING EDITOR Katherine Messenger DESIGNER & ILLUSTRATOR Sapir, a Journal of Jewish Conversations. ISSN 2767-1712. 2021, Volume 2. Published by Maimonides Fund. Copyright ©2021 by Maimonides Fund. No part of this journal may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of Maimonides Fund. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. WWW.SAPIRJOURNAL.ORG WWW.MAIMONIDESFUND.ORG CONTENTS 6 Publisher’s Note | Mark Charendoff 90 MICHAEL OREN Trial and Triage in Washington 8 BRET STEPHENS The Necessity of Jewish Power 98 MONA CHAREN Between Hostile and Crazy: Jews and the Two Parties Power in Jewish Text & History 106 MARK DUBOWITZ How to Use Antisemitism Against Antisemites 20 RUTH R. WISSE The Allure of Powerlessness Power in Culture & Philanthropy 34 RUTH CALDERON King David and the Messiness of Power 116 JEFF SWARTZ Philanthropy Is Not Enough 46 RABBI MEIR Y. SOLOVEICHIK The Power of the Mob in an Unforgiving Age 124 ELISA SPUNGEN BILDNER & ROBERT BILDNER Power and Ethics in Jewish Philanthropy 56 ANSHEL PFEFFER The Use and Abuse of Jewish Power 134 JONATHAN D.
    [Show full text]
  • Peace Between Israel and the Palestinians Appears to Be As Elusive As Ever. Following the Most Recent Collapse of American-Broke
    38 REVIVING THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN PEACE PROCESS: HISTORICAL LES- SONS FOR THE MARCH 2015 ISRAELI ELECTIONS Elijah Jatovsky Lessons derived from the successes that led to the signing of the 1993 Declaration of Principles between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization highlight modern criteria by which a debilitated Israeli-Palestinian peace process can be revitalized. Writ- ten in the run-up to the March 2015 Israeli elections, this article examines a scenario for the emergence of a security-credentialed leadership of the Israeli Center-Left. Such leadership did not in fact emerge in this election cycle. However, should this occur in the future, this paper proposes a Plan A, whereby Israel submits a generous two-state deal to the Palestinians based roughly on that of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s offer in 2008. Should Palestinians find this offer unacceptable whether due to reservations on borders, Jerusalem or refugees, this paper proposes a Plan B by which Israel would conduct a staged, unilateral withdrawal from large areas of the West Bank to preserve the viability of a two-state solution. INTRODUCTION Peace between Israel and the Palestinians appears to be as elusive as ever. Following the most recent collapse of American-brokered negotiations in April 2014, Palestinians announced they would revert to pursuing statehood through the United Nations (UN), a move Israel vehemently opposes. A UN Security Council (UNSC) vote on some form of a proposal calling for an end to “Israeli occupation in the West Bank” by 2016 is expected later this month.1 In July 2014, a two-month war between Hamas-controlled Gaza and Israel broke out, claiming the lives of over 2,100 Gazans (this number encompassing both combatants and civilians), 66 Israeli soldiers and seven Israeli civilians—the low number of Israeli civilians credited to Israel’s sophisti- cated anti-missile Iron Dome system.
    [Show full text]
  • June 17, 2021 Hukkat – Rabbi Wexler
    June 17, 2021 Hukkat – Rabbi Wexler Our Torah portion this week, Hukkat, is very much about transition of leadership. The triumvirate who led the people out of Egypt and through four decades of peril and transformation, are reaching the end of their lives. First, Miriam dies. Then Aaron dies. And finally, Moses learns he will never cross the Jordan River nor enter the land of Israel. The remainder of the Torah is not only dedicated to the Israelites’ remaining journey through the wilderness, but even more, their journey of transition from one generation to the next and from one leadership regime to another. This summer feels very much like a time of transition for all of us; both for everyone here in Cherry Hill as we seek to slowly and carefully move out of the pandemic, and also a significant moment of change and transition for our brothers and sisters in Israel with the election of their 36th government. In recent years, Israel’s democracy has been challenged. Radicalization and polarization divided Israel into two camps, one for and one against Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister. Netanyahu was viewed by many as Israel’s leader par excellence, a master politician and statesman, but by an even greater number as power-hungry and corrupt. As a result, Israel held four elections in the past two years and the two camps remained in a stalemate. However, we finally have clarity and answers from the results of the most recent election, which may well go down as one of the most revolutionary elections in Israel’s history.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction
    INTRODUCTION RECOVERING A REPRESSED PAS T On February 12, 2013, Ruth Calderon was invited to the dais of the Israeli Knesset to deliver her firs t speech as a newly-elected member of parliament.1 The speech was unlike any given in the his tory of deliberations in Israel’s legislature in that it consis ted primarily of her reading and interpreting a Talmudic s tory. The Talmudic s tory that Calderon read before the Knesset, firs t in the original Aramaic and then in Hebrew translation, was, as is typical of these s tories, very brief: Rabbi Rahumi s tudied under Rava in Mehoza. He would regularly come home to his wife on the eve of Yom Kippur. One day [on the eve of Yom Kippur] the topic [he was s tudying] drew him in. His wife anticipated him, “He is coming. He is coming.” He did not come. She began to grieve. She shed a tear from her eye. He was sitting on a roof. The roof collapsed under him, and he died. (B. Ketubot 62b)2 The s tory reflects what appears to have been a common practice among rabbinic scholars in Babylonia: to absent themselves from home for long periods of time to s tudy Torah. The author of the s tory expresses his disapproval of this cus tom by portraying empathically the emotional s tress experienced by Rabbi Rahumi’s wife when he was so engaged in Torah s tudy that he forgot to return home for the sacred holiday. The excitement captured in her cry of anticipation, “He is coming.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Schlaglicht Israel Nr. 6/21 Aktuelles Aus Israelischen Tageszeitungen
    Schlaglicht Israel Nr. 6/21 Aktuelles aus israelischen Tageszeitungen 16.-31. März Die Themen dieser Ausgabe 1. Patt der Blöcke bei Parlamentswahl .............................................................................................................................. 1 2. Pessah 2021 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 3. Zurück zur Normalität...................................................................................................................................................... 5 4. Medienquerschnitt ........................................................................................................................................................... 7 1. Patt der Blöcke bei Parlamentswahl nation, building a just society and safeguarding it. Mit einem erneuten Patt endete die vierte Parla- (…) If the last year and COVID-19 has taught us mentswahl innerhalb von nur zwei Jahren. Weder anything, it´s that the social safety net established das Lager des amtierenden Regierungschefs Ben- by Avoda, was the safety net that helped Israel jamin Netanyahu verfügt zusammen mit seinen overcome much of the challenges of the last year. erklärten Verbündeten über die nötige Mehrheit von The kuppot cholim community health providers, the 61 der insgesamt 120 Knesset-Sitze noch der Anti- medical establishment, the social services, and the Netanyahu-Block. Das heterogene Lager aus Rech- National Insurance
    [Show full text]
  • Poroshas Ekev
    ב''ה SERMON RESOURCE FOR SHLUCHIM DISTRIBUTION DATE: יב' אדר תשע'ב PARSHA: כי תשא SERMON TITLE: The Test of Truth Sponsored by Shimon Aron & Devorah Leah Rosenfeld & Family In loving memory of ר' מנחם זאב בן פנחס ז''ל Emil W. Herman who loved and supported Torah learning. Ki Tisa The Test of Truth Good Shabbos! And speaking of Shabbos, the law in Israel is that Shabbos is the legal Day of Rest. You officially are not allowed to work. And this is true for the military too (except, of course, in cases of immediate danger to life, which, unfortunately, is all too common in Israel.) The law is that on Shabbos and on Jewish holidays, it‟s illegal to do any ordinary tasks in the military. It is the official Day of Rest. Now, the Israel Defense Forces have a Chief Rabbinate. And the Chief Rabbinate appoints rabbis for every unit whose mission is to bring religious services to every soldier. And above them all you have the Chief Rabbi, who is responsible for all religious matters in the military. Now, a little Israeli history here. During the Yom Kippur War in 1973, the Chief Rabbi of the Israeli military was Rabbi Mordechai Piron. He had excellent relationships with the military brass like Defense Minister Moshe Dayan and so on— friendly relationships and mutual respect. One day, they told him that they were going to do something connected with violating the Shabbos, but they advised him to turn a blind eye to it, to not mix in. So Rabbi Piron was in a big dilemma.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel and Overseas: Israeli Election Primer 2015 (As Of, January 27, 2015) Elections • in Israel, Elections for the Knesset A
    Israel and Overseas: Israeli Election Primer 2015 (As of, January 27, 2015) Elections In Israel, elections for the Knesset are held at least every four years. As is frequently the case, the outgoing government coalition collapsed due to disagreements between the parties. As a result, the Knesset fell significantly short of seeing out its full four year term. Knesset elections in Israel will now be held on March 17, 2015, slightly over two years since the last time that this occurred. The Basics of the Israeli Electoral System All Israeli citizens above the age of 18 and currently in the country are eligible to vote. Voters simply select one political party. Votes are tallied and each party is then basically awarded the same percentage of Knesset seats as the percentage of votes that it received. So a party that wins 10% of total votes, receives 10% of the seats in the Knesset (In other words, they would win 12, out of a total of 120 seats). To discourage small parties, the law was recently amended and now the votes of any party that does not win at least 3.25% of the total (probably around 130,000 votes) are completely discarded and that party will not receive any seats. (Until recently, the “electoral threshold,” as it is known, was only 2%). For the upcoming elections, by January 29, each party must submit a numbered list of its candidates, which cannot later be altered. So a party that receives 10 seats will send to the Knesset the top 10 people listed on its pre-submitted list.
    [Show full text]
  • Israeli Arms Transfers to Sub-Saharan Africa 3
    SIPRI Background Paper October 2011 ISRAELI ARMS TRANSFERS SUMMARY w Israel accounted for less than TO SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA 1 per cent of transfers of major weapons to sub-Saharan Africa for the period 2006–10. siemon t. wezeman* Deliveries consisted mainly of small numbers of artillery, unmanned aerial vehicles, armoured vehicles and patrol craft. However, in addition to I. Introduction major weapons, Israel also supplied small arms and light Israel is one of a range of smaller suppliers of major weapons and other mili- weapons, military electronics tary equipment to sub-Saharan Africa. It has long sold or given weapons to and training to several a host of developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, and the countries in the region. Israeli deals are often accompanied by serving or retired Israeli military person- weapons, trainers and brokers nel and Israeli civilian contractors as instructors.1 Although Israeli arms have been observed in exports, especially of major weapons, to sub-Saharan Africa are limited, numerous African trouble spots Israeli weapons, brokers and instructors are likely to sometimes have a more and may play a bigger role than significant impact than mere numbers of supplied weapons imply. their numbers imply. While exports of major weapons from Israel are well documented, infor- The Israeli arms export decision-making process mation on other weapons and equipment, on training and on motivations for remains unclear. Issues like and restraints on exports is very much based on occasional statements from human rights and potential officials or companies and on media reports. Since the United Nations Reg- diversion or misuse of delivered ister of Conventional Arms (UNROCA) became operational in 1993, Israel weapons seem to have gained has submitted data on exports of major arms every year.
    [Show full text]
  • Alliance in Crisis
    ALLIANCE IN CRISIS: Israel’s Standing in the World and the Question of Isolation Research and Writing Assaf Sharon Shivi Greenfield Mikhael Manekin Oded Naaman Jesse Rothman Dahlia Shaham Design: Yosef Bercovich Design: Yosef Alliance in Crisis _ 2 Executive Summary Israel's international standing has been the focus of attention for many years. Is Israel moving towards international isolation? Can one quantify the effects of the widely discussed boycotts on Israel's economy? What can be done to put an end to Israel's rapidly deteriorating relations with the US and Europe? These are questions that rightly occupy the thoughts of many Israelis as well as the country's leadership. Yet despite the issues’ importance, the conversation on Israel's foreign relations lacks depth and is often based on slogans rather than empirical data. The discussion oscillates between apocalyptic warnings on the one hand, and dangerous complacency on the other. This report analyzes Israel's international relations with the goal of arriving at a clear understanding of Israel's current status in the world, and aims to identify the specific threats and opportunities it faces. It focuses on the three arenas of diplomacy, economics, and culture. The principle findings are as follows: Israel's international standing is an unprecedented success story. Since Israel's establishment, every head of state has understood the importance of ties with the US and Europe, especially given Israel's regional political isolation. The world has shown that it is interested in close ties with Israel. Israel’s central role in the international community in a variety of fields – from science and culture to security and diplomacy – is a remarkable accomplishment.
    [Show full text]