Herzog announces launch of ‘Voice of the People’ initiative for global Jewish dialogue

Amid overhaul protests, Herzog tells JFNA event Israel’s greatest threat is internal

President Isaac Herzog speaks at the Jewish Federations of North America's General Assembly at Expo Tel Aviv on April 23, 2023. (Courtesy, Jewish Federations of North America)

Speaking in Tel Aviv before about 2,000 delegates of the Jewish Federations of North America, President Isaac Herzog advocates dialogue, but stops short of acknowledging protests outside the venue over the government’s controversial judicial overhaul.

He makes only indirect references to the dispute over the judicial overhaul, saying that: “Within the abundance of our gifts, we can also acknowledge that there are some concerning trends in our peoplehood. Trends that cast a shadow on our joint future.”

He lists several general trends, including “gaps” between Jews and “shallow, superficial discourse.”

Despite external threats, “I am convinced that there is no greater existential threat to our people than the one that comes from within: Our own polarization and alienation from one another,” he adds.

“I believe that it is only through dialogue between us that we can possibly allow our moments of crisis to turn into moments of growth,” Herzog says.

Herzog announces that his office has developed “a brand new initiative called ‘Kol Ha’am—Voice of the People: The President’s Initiative for Worldwide Jewish Dialogue,'” which he describes as a newly-launched global council for Jewish dialogue.

“You might call it a Jewish Davos: nonpartisan and apolitical, Voice of the People will be a collaborative forum. One that can hold and reflect the full and diverse range of Jewish voices. It will be a place where we can engage in serious, sensitive and strategic discussions on the most complex and pressing issues facing our people,” Herzog says. He does not specify the place, time and scope of the initiative.

Herzog’s office says overhaul talks focused today on Basic Law: Legislation

President Isaac Herzog’s office says compromise talks on the government’s judicial overhaul continued today with a “very lengthy” discussion of a potential new quasi-constitutional basic law regulating legislation in Israel.

According to the President’s Residence, the discussions between coalition and opposition representatives dealt with the matters of how basic laws would be legislated and amended, and the extent of judicial review over them.

The statement says the talks are constructive and that both sides are committed to reaching understandings for a widely agreed reform.

The subject matter is complex, and the negotiations will continue on Thursday, the statement adds.

Report: Minister tells broadcaster of Independence Day event to cut away from protest messages

Minister Miri Regev has reportedly ordered organizers of Tuesday evening’s official state annual Independence Day torch-lighting ceremony to cut away from any frame that includes anti-government protest messages on banners or shirts.

Channel 12 reports that the broadcaster has been told to cut to a different frame whenever participants or audience members make an anti-judicial overhaul display.

Regev, in addition to her role as transportation minister, is also charged with organizing Israel’s 75th Independence Day national ceremony.

High Court overrules Gallant, orders him to let Palestinians attend joint Memorial Day event

The High Court of Justice has ordered Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to allow Palestinians invited to an annual joint Memorial Day event to enter the country for tomorrow evening’s event.

In a strongly worded decision, the court says it “regrets” the fact that Gallant’s decision earlier this month to bar Palestinian participants was made, despite two previous court rulings ordering the state to allow participants of previous years of the event, now in its 17th year, to enter Israel.

The court rules that although the defense minister is authorized to make decisions based on security concerns, the fact that the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories approved the request, and that many thousands of Palestinians are allowed into Israel every day for various reasons, means that it sees little reason for Gallant to deny the entry request.

The Combatants for Peace group that organizes the joint memorial event welcomes the decision, saying Gallant’s decision sought to harm those who seek Israeli-Palestinian peace.

“The government’s attempt, through Minister Gallant, to trample on the court and the attorney general was an attempt to stir up another fight between the branches of government in Israel at the expense of bereaved families,” says the organization.

“Gallant’s decision was intended to hurt those calling for peace and hope. The High Court’s decision was necessary and we welcome it.”

Organizers warn they will kick out any protesters disrupting JFNA confab

A message shown at the Jewish Federations of North America's General Assembly, warning of action against protests during the event, April 23, 2023. (Carrie Keller Lynn/Times of Israel)

As the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly prepares to open, large screens flash a warning that the conference will eject people causing disturbances, in an apparent nod to planned protest efforts.

“Proper behavior must be maintained and the instructions of the organizers must be obeyed. Anyone who violates these rules will not be permitted to participate in the event,” large screens warn participants before President Isaac Herzog takes the stage.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled his planned keynote address earlier this morning, citing scheduling issues. Protesters against Netanyahu’s government’s move to curtail judicial independence planned a large demonstration parallel to the speech this evening, which has gone ahead anyway.

Several protesters have purchased tickets to the confab and plan to create disruptions if the prime minister or other overhaul champions address the crowd.

Netanyahu tells CBS: Blanket overhaul of Supreme Court decisions ‘is not going to happen’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells US television that a “blanket overhaul” of Supreme Court decisions “is not going to happen” under his planned judicial shakeup.

Speaking to CBS News, Netanyahu says he does “not accept a blanket ability of the parliament to overcome judicial Supreme Court decisions, just as we don’t accept that the court can abrogate any decision by the parliament. Both sides of these extremes hinder the balance between the three branches of government.”

The premier also acknowledges there are “people on my side of the aisle who believe that the original proposal is not going to happen,” as compromise talks are ongoing between coalition and opposition representatives. While judicial reform is necessary, “there is a middle way,” he says, and adds that he’s “going to do my damnedest to find it.”

Despite Netanyahu no-show, 4,000 attend anti-overhaul rally outside JFNA event

Anti-overhaul protesters outside the opening of the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly in Tel Aviv, April 23, 2023 (Courtesy)

About 4,000 protesters against the government’s judicial overhaul are gathered outside the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly at Expo Tel Aviv.

The demonstration was originally called to protest the participation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the event, which is scheduled to start shortly.

While Netanyahu earlier today canceled his participation, apparently fearing it would be disrupted by the protesters, the rally was not called off.

ההפגנה מול כנס הפדרציות היהודיות
הצעדות החלו להגיע pic.twitter.com/Jyvl8Y4YXb

— Or-ly Barlev ~ אור-לי ברלב (@orlybarlev) April 23, 2023

כעת מול גני התערוכה וכנס הפדרציות היהודיות
צילום רחפן: אביב אטלס pic.twitter.com/qcJOhypFcq

— Or-ly Barlev ~ אור-לי ברלב (@orlybarlev) April 23, 2023

Anti-overhaul protesters greet US participants of JFNA conference in Tel Aviv

Protesters against the government's judicial overhaul greet participants of the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly in Tel Aviv, April 23, 2023. (Carrie Keller-Lynn/Times of Israel)

About 2,000 North American Jews are making their way to northern Tel Aviv this evening for the opening of the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly (GA), where they are encountering political protests against the Israeli government’s judicial shakeup.

Several conference participants say they back the protests, now in their 16th week. Others, however, are confused or put off by the protesters’ tactics, and a third group advocates a different approach to developing the proper limits on judicial and political powers.

“The main message coming out of the diaspora community is we need compromise,” says GA participant Deborah Isaacs.

Mindy Stein, from Teaneck, New Jersey, says that her attempt to raise this with protesters gathered at the gates fell on deaf ears.

“We need to compromise — and what do they say? We need rights. There’s not a lot of compromise,” she says, as negotiations between the coalition and opposition have yet to make any reported breakthroughs.

Protesters against the government’s judicial overhaul greet participants of the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly in Tel Aviv, April 23, 2023. (Carrie Keller-Lynn/Times of Israel)

Several protesters outside the gates are handing out flowers “for democracy.” One man politely declines to take a stem, to which a protester taunts: “What, are you against democracy?”

“No, I don’t want a flower,” he says, before making his way through the security checkpoint.

Protesters against the government’s judicial overhaul greet participants of the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly in Tel Aviv, April 23, 2023. (Carrie Keller-Lynn/Times of Israel)

Four months into a fight that has consumed Israeli collective consciousness, many locals are intimately familiar with various camps’ positions and slogans. Used to a hometown crowd, many of the protesters find their efforts are lost in translation.

Many of the protesters are holding signs emblazoned with the single word, “Shame.” Several conference participants mistake the word as being directed toward them, rather than toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Protesters against the government’s judicial overhaul greet participants of the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly in Tel Aviv, April 23, 2023. (Carrie Keller-Lynn/Times of Israel)

“It’s their right to protest, but I don’t have to support their message. I don’t even know what their message is,” says Isaacs.

”Excited” to have received a flower is Rabbi Oshrat Morag, an Israeli conference participant who helps lead a Jewish pluralism and coexistence organization in Haifa.

Saying that she herself takes part in anti-overhaul protests, Morag says that she is “absolutely” concerned for Israel-Diaspora relations, should the government’s proposals to weaken judicial checks on political power pass.

Conference organizers say several hundred Israelis are among the 2,000 conference participants.

Amman says Israel arrested Jordanian MP on suspicion of weapons smuggling

Israel has arrested Jordanian parliamentarian Imad al-Adwan and interrogated him on suspicion of smuggling weapons and gold into the West Bank, says Jordan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Sinan Al-Majali.

According to Jordan’s Ammon news outlet, the arrest took place this morning at the Allenby Bridge crossing.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry declines to comment.

Jewish Agency board members disrupt overhaul architect Rothman’s speech

During the appearance earlier today of Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman at the Jewish Agency board of governors event in Tel Aviv, some members of the board were filmed disrupting his address by whistling and making other noises, according to footage published online.

Rothman is the architect of the government’s legislative push to radically overhaul the justice system, and dozens protested outside the Hilton Hotel earlier against his appearance.

When Rothman spoke , some members of the board stood up, blew whistles and used noisemakers resembling those traditionally used on Purim whenever the villain Haman is mentioned during the recitation of the Book of Esther.

דיון של ח"כ עודד פורר וח"כ שמחה רוטמן בנושא הרפרומה/מהפך המשפטי. לא נותנים לרוטמן לדבר.
אני מעורבת בעולם "ארגוני העולם היהודי" כבר כמעת 20 שנה. לא ראיתי מופע כזה בעבר. https://t.co/GEy0vh8xH2 pic.twitter.com/CGmGLNsFQ1

— Rachel Gur (@RachelGur) April 23, 2023

Protesters disrupt MK Simcha Rothman’s panel appearance at @JewishAgency board of governors meeting in Tel Aviv — organizers have paused the panel to figure out what do pic.twitter.com/9L6WUwRQfw

— Arno Rosenfeld (@ArnoRosenfeld) April 23, 2023

The disruption reportedly ended when the demonstrators agreed to continue their protest silently.

Also at the event, policemen are said to have removed Haaretz reporter Judy Maltz from the premises and to block her from re-entering, while threatening to arrest her.

Likud minister Distel Atbaryan cancels attendance at Memorial Day ceremony

Public Diplomacy Minister Galit Distel Atbaryan at a Federation of Local Authorities conference in Tel Aviv, December 8, 2022. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Firebrand Public Diplomacy Minister Galit Distel Atbaryan, a Likud MK, becomes the latest government member to cancel her scheduled participation in a Memorial Day ceremony on Tuesday, saying she will adhere to requests by some relatives of fallen soldiers and terror victims not to attend.

“I bow my head completely before bereaved families,” she says in a statement, while lamenting the current situation in which “everything is politicized, slowly but surely sawing the branch we are all sitting on.”

Moscow says it ‘won’t forgive’ US after Russian reporters denied visas for UN visit

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow “will not forgive” Washington for denying US visas to Russian journalists meant to accompany him on a visit to UN headquarters.

“We won’t forget, we will not forgive this,” says Lavrov, who will chair several UN Security Council meetings in New York. He tells reporters that the United States has “chickened out.”

Ben Gvir said to defang bill on electronic tagging of domestic violence offenders

A legislative bill that would mandate electronically tagging domestic abusers, which was delayed last month by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to make it more “balanced,” has been changed to only allow for the measure to be imposed on those who have already been convicted of violence, the Ynet news site reports.

Under the original proposed legislation, GPS technology would be used to enforce restraining orders. Ben Gvir’s office has reportedly said a government-backed version of the bill was being prepared instead — a version that set to include an increased emphasis on protecting men from false accusations.

But the report today says a clause has been added that would only apply the electronic measures to offenders who have already been convicted and undergone a assessment of how much danger they pose, allegedly voiding it of its original purpose.

Netanyahu to hold meeting with dissenting Smotrich, Ben Gvir on fate of Khan al-Ahmar

From left to right: Otzma Yehudit leader MK Itamar Ben Gvir, then-opposition leader and Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu, and Religious Zionism head MK Bezalel Smotrich, in 2022. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene a meeting this evening on the government’s policy on evacuating the illegal Bedouin hamlet of Khan al-Ahmar in the West Bank, Hebrew media reports.

The meeting will include Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Netanyahu’s military secretary and government secretary, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir — the latter two of whom have publicly protested the reported intention to walk back the years-long intention to evacuate the encampment.

Polish regulator probes TV network where academic argued Poles ‘failed’ Jews in WWII

Poland’s broadcasting regulator has said it has opened a probe into the country’s biggest private television network, TVN, after a prominent Holocaust scholar told it last week that Poles “failed” to become Jews’ allies during the Nazi atrocities in the country during World War II.

Warsaw has been widely accused of whitewashing the widely documented participation of some Poles in atrocities — though many others defended and protected Jews — and of cracking down on academic voices deviating from the government’s stance.

“Jews were unbelievably disappointed with Poles during the war,” said Barbara Engelking, director of the Polish Center for Holocaust Research, in her interview, according to a translation by the Notes from Poland website. “They knew what to expect from the Germans, [who were] the enemy… but the relationship with Poles was much more complex.

“Poles had the potential to become allies of the Jews and one would hope that they would behave differently, that they would be neutral, kind, that they would not take advantage of the situation to such an extent and that there would not be widespread blackmailing. It seems to me that this disappointment plays a role, that Poles simply failed,” she added.

Engelking also accused Poles today of often “falsifying history” by exaggerating the level of aid given by Poles to Jews during the Holocaust.

A Polish government regulator is investigating Poland's largest privately-owned TV network, after leading Polish sociologist Barbara Engelking said on air that most Poles did not aid Jews during the Shoah: https://t.co/dWzRPNqUFP

— Joel S. (@jh_swanson) April 22, 2023

The interview drew outraged remarks, including from Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who claimed it included “scandalous words that have nothing to do with reliable historical knowledge,” and which are part of an “anti-Polish narrative in some media.”

In a statement Friday, the head of the National Broadcasting Council regulator, Maciej Świrski, announced the proceedings against TVN.

“In Poland, everyone can, using freedom of speech, say any nonsense and lies,” he said. “[But] the job of journalists is to react to lies because the press law requires them to provide reliable information. If the guest on a program is lying, the journalist must tell viewers that it is a lie.

“And finally, if Poles did not help Jews, the Germans would not have introduced the death penalty for helping [Jews],” added Świrski, even though Engelking didn’t deny that there were Poles who helped Jews during the Holocaust.

New York-Tel Aviv flight returns to Newark after Israeli passenger’s ‘wild’ behavior

A United Airlines flight from New York to Tel Aviv returns to Newark airport after three hours of flight due to inappropriate behavior by an Israeli passenger, Hebrew media reports.

The passenger is taken off the plane and arrested, after the airline says he behaved wildly and berated staff with profanities.

No new slot is found for takeoff, and the rest of the passengers are led off the plane and will take a new flight landing tomorrow.

UK evacuates diplomats and families from Sudan

The British army has evacuated UK embassy staff and their families from Sudan, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says, as fighting rages between rival Sudanese generals.

“UK armed forces have completed a complex and rapid evacuation of British diplomats and their families from Sudan, amid a significant escalation in violence and threats to embassy staff,” Sunak tweets.

Ben Gvir joins Smotrich in opposing reported government backtrack on Khan al-Ahmar

Religious Zionism party head MK Bezalel Smotrich (right) with Otzma Yehudit party head MK Itamar Ben Gvir in the Knesset, on December 28, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir is quoted by Hebrew media as joining Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in opposing the government’s reported intention to go back on its promise to evacuate the illegal Bedouin encampment of Khan al-Ahmar in the West Bank.

Reports earlier today said the government will cite ongoing talks with the residents of Khan al-Ahmar on a compromise plan that would resettle them elsewhere, and will also claim that a forced evacuation would have far-reaching diplomatic and security consequences.

According to various Hebrew media reports, Smotrich — a longtime advocate for demolishing the hamlet — has written a letter to Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs seeking to immediately halt the filing of the state’s response to the High Court petition.

“I support Minister Smotrich in his demand to not approved the state’s proposed response on Khan al-Ahmar,” Ben Gvir says, adding that such moves require Smotrich’s okay.

Ben Gvir also says he has conveyed a “clear message to [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu that if reports of the draft response are true, it is a shameful and grave decision.”

After criticism, UTJ members cancel appearances at Memorial Day ceremonies

Housing and Construction Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf at his handover ceremony from outgoing minister Ze'ev Elkin, at the Housing Ministry in Jerusalem, January 1, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

After strong protests against their planned participation in Memorial Day ceremonies, Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf and a fellow member of his United Torah Judaism party announce that they won’t take part in the events.

Goldknopf and deputy minister Ya’akov Tessler will skip the ceremonies in Kiryat Gat and Be’er Tuvia, respectively, after widespread denunciation of the planned addresses to relatives of fallen IDF soldiers by Haredi politicians who haven’t served in the army.

In a statement, Goldknopf says that while he wanted to respect the fallen, he has learned that “there are bereaved families who may be made to feel uncomfortable by this,” adding that he prefers “not to harm their feelings.”

He says that during the ceremonies, he and Tessler will go to the Western Wall to recite Psalms biblical verses in memory of the souls of the fallen.

The development comes amid severe tensions over the government’s planned judicial overhaul, with protests likely against other ministers as well.

UK Labour suspends MP Abbott over claim Jews don’t suffer systematic racism

Labour Party MP Diane Abbott speaks at a demonstration organized by the Stand Up To Racism group outside Downing Street in London on July 17, 2021. (Photo by Justin TALLIS / AFP)

The UK’s main opposition Labour Party suspends prominent member Diane Abbott as an MP, pending an investigation into comments she has made that Jewish people haven’t been subjected to racism “all their lives.”

Abbott, the first black woman to become an MP in the UK, said in a letter to the Observer newspaper that Irish, Jewish and Traveller people all “experience prejudice” similar to that suffered by “white people with points of difference, such as redheads. But they are not all their lives subject to racism.”

“At the height of slavery, there were no white-seeming people manacled on the slave ships,” she added.

Labour announces that Abbott, who was shadow interior minister under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, has been suspended from its parliamentary party. Corbyn was widely accused of making antisemitic remarks and of protecting others who had made such remarks during his tenure.

“The Labour Party completely condemns these comments, which are deeply offensive and wrong,” says a spokesman. “The chief whip has suspended the Labour whip from Diane Abbott pending an investigation.”

Abbott later tweets that she wants to “wholly and unreservedly withdraw my remarks,” saying that an initial draft of the letter was sent in error.

“Racism takes many forms and it is completely undeniable that Jewish have suffered its monstrous effects,” she says.

An Equality and Human Rights Commission investigation into antisemitism in Corbyn’s Labour found in 2020 that the party was “responsible for unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination.”

Corbyn’s replacement, Keir Starmer, has apologized over the issue and confirmed his predecessor will not be allowed to stand as a Labour candidate at the next election.

Navy declares fleet of Sa’ar 6-class warships operational, 2 years after getting them

An LRAD missile is launched from the Sa’ar 6-class corvette INS Magen during a test in November 2022. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Navy has declared its fleet of Sa’ar 6-class corvettes operational, more than two years after receiving the first ship.

When first delivered in late 2020 and throughout 2021, the ships were in practice only capable of sailing. Since then, the ships have been outfitted with advanced sensors, weapons and communication systems.

Three of the four ships are now declared fully operational, with the fourth being very close to that stage.

Emotional aid service ERAN sees 30% rise in calls ahead of tense Memorial Day

ERAN, Israel’s largest emotional first aid service, reports that in the runup to Memorial Day this week it has seen a 30% increase in calls.

The nationwide tensions surrounding the government’s judicial overhaul plans are exacerbating the already difficult time for those who have lost loved ones in wars or terror attacks.

According to Dr. Shiri Daniels, ERAN’s executive director of counseling, calls are coming in from bereaved parents and other family members, PTSD sufferers, IDF veterans suffering from mental injuries, active-duty soldiers who have lost comrades, and parents whose children are about to be drafted or already serving.

“In addition to this, we are dealing this year with the lack of certainty resulting from the political and social situation that is causing many individuals extreme anxiety and stress. People are not sleeping because they are afraid for their future and the future of the country. Some fear that a war will start any time,” Daniels says.

Bereaved families express fear that the sacred traditions of visiting the graves of the fallen will be disturbed by conflicts over planned ceremonies, politicians slated to speak, and possible protests at the cemeteries.

“I am in the midst of a battle for my home and my mental well-being,” one caller said.

Ahead of Memorial Day, 24,213 memorial candles, flags placed on victims’ graves

An IDF soldier places flags on graves of fallen soldiers at the military cemetery at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, April 23, 2023, ahead of Memorial Day. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Military officials across the country are placing 24,213 memorial candles, flowers and miniature flags at half-staff by the graves of soldiers, police officers and other security personnel who have fallen throughout the history of the State of Israel and the Zionist movement, as the state prepares to mark Memorial Day at sundown tomorrow.

Israel will come to a standstill Monday evening at 8 p.m. for a minute-long memorial siren to commemorate the country’s fallen soldiers and terror victims. The siren will be followed by the lighting of a memorial flame for the fallen at the Western Wall, the site of the official state commemoration ceremony.

On Tuesday, another official memorial ceremony will be held at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem, alongside a two-minute siren at 11 a.m. Later in the day, a separate commemoration for Israel’s 4,255 terror victims will take place at Mount Herzl.

Memorial Day will end abruptly at sundown Tuesday with the start of Independence Day, traditionally ushered in with fireworks and street celebrations nationwide.

An IDF soldier places flags on graves of fallen soldiers at the military cemetery at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, April 23, 2023, ahead of Memorial Day. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

US House Speaker McCarthy to address Knesset on May 1

US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy talks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington on March 24, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy will be invited to address the Knesset in Jerusalem on May 1. The parliament’s House Committee approved the invitation earlier today.

May 1 will be the first day that the Knesset plenum opens for its summer session.

Iconic Jerusalem windmill commemorates 1873 death of Jew who was guarding it

The Montefiore Windmill in Jerusalem is set to a mourning position ahead of Memorial Day and to commemorate the killing of Aaron Hershler, who is reported to have died while protecting the site in 1873. (Courtesy of JLM TIM)

The sails of Jerusalem’s iconic Montefiore Windmill are placed in a mourning position to commemorate 150 years since the killing of Aaron Hershler, a young Orthodox Jewish man who was reported to have been guarding the site during an attack.

On the night of January 1, 1873, Hershler, 23, a resident of the Mishkenot Sha’ananim neighborhood, was guarding the windmill when a group of Muslims from Silwan tried to carry out a robbery, according to family testimonies.

Hershler is thought to have chased after the suspects after they had broken into homes in the neighborhood, when he was shot 12 times. He was taken to a hospital where he died five days later.

He is recognized by Israeli authorities as one of the first who fell in service to the country — which was formally established 75 years later — and is buried at the civilian cemetery atop the Mount of Olives.

The company that manages the windmill, JLM TIM, has set the sails in a mourning position (with the bottom sail pointing down and angled to the right) ahead of Israel’s Memorial Day, set to begin tomorrow night. There are four main positions of windmill sails: regular halt, long-term shutdown, joy, and mourning.

“We were surprised to discover that the first fallen of Israel was a Haredi Jew who was killed during the defense of Jerusalem in general, and the windmill in particular, and we decided to commemorate him at the place where he fell in a special and original way, to salute the personal price when he sacrificed his life for the sake of the country,” says the CEO of JLM TIM, Yossi Greiber.

Anti-overhaul protesters rally outside Tel Aviv hotel where coalition MKs are to speak

Anti-overhaul protesters outside Hilton Hotel in Tel Aviv, as coalition lawmakers are set to address a conference inside. (Carrie Keller-Lynn/Times of Israel)

Anti-judicial overhaul protesters gather outside a conference where coalition politicians are speaking today.

Equipped with drums, whistles and bullhorns and waving Israeli and American flags, protesters are trying to reach American Jewish leaders who have gathered at Tel Aviv’s Hilton Hotel for an on-site Jewish Agency for Israel conference.

“We have English-speaking representatives who will explain the situation to you,” a protester shouts from a bullhorn to passersby. “Come and speak with us!”

A British tourist stands nearby, shaking her head. “I don’t like to see the country divided,” she says, before walking away.

Judicial shakeup overseer MK Simcha Rothman is currently addressing the conference, and Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli is scheduled to speak at 3 p.m.

Smotrich says he rejects government’s planned retreat from evacuating Khan al-Ahmar

Religious Zionism leader MK Bezalel Smotrich standing above the Khan al-Ahmar Bedouin encampment in the West Bank on March 21, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says he opposes the reported government plan to ask the High Court of Justice to dismiss a standing petition seeking to force the state to evacuate Khan al-Ahmar, an illegal Bedouin encampment in the West Bank.

Reports earlier today said the government will cite ongoing talks with the residents of Khan al-Ahmar on a compromise plan that would resettle them elsewhere, and will also claim that a forced evacuation would have far-reaching diplomatic and security consequences.

A standing court order to evacuate the village has been pushed off repeatedly for four years, largely owing to significant public interest from human rights activists, pro-Palestinian groups and the European Union. Right-wing politicians, including many in the current government, have for years been demanding that the government evacuate it.

According to various Hebrew media reports, Smotrich — a longtime advocate for demolishing the hamlet — has written a letter to Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs seeking to immediately halt the filing of the state’s response to the High Court petition.

“To my surprise, I have discovered that the response does not align with my policy and the government’s policy as I understand it,” Smotrich reportedly writes, adding that according to coalition agreements, such responses must receive his approval.

“By virtue of my authority, I don’t approve the filing of the response,” he adds, demanding an “urgent discussion” on the matter.