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The Times of Israel liveblogged Sunday’s events as they happened.
Anti-overhaul protesters converge outside hotel where ministers attend conference
NEW YORK — After New York’s Celebrate Israel Parade wraps up, the coalition lawmakers who attended head to a conference at a hotel in Manhattan.
Hundreds of anti-government demonstrators gather outside. The protesters shout “Shame” and “Democracy” and brandish Israeli flags. Many wear shirts from the ex-pat activist group UnXeptable.
Speakers describe their fears of the coalition’s judicial overhaul for Israel’s future. The demonstrators mock MK Simcha Rothman, one of the overhaul’s key players, after he seized a megaphone from a protester in New York on Friday.
In a Hebrew rhyme, the crowd sings, “Poor, poor Rothman, even in New York he’s freaking out. Rothman, Rothman calm down, the megaphone is not so bad.”
A group of protesters dress as characters from The Handmaid’s Tale, a common motif from the rallies in Israel. Others carry signs calling for “freedom, democracy, equality.”
‘Democracy for all’: Anti-overhaul protesters confront government ministers at NYC parade
NEW YORK — Government ministers are heckled with cries of “Shame” from protesters on the sidelines of the Celebrate Israel Parade in New York.
The protesters hold signs reading “Shame,” “Democracy for all,” and “Oppose Israel’s authoritarian government.”
Several dozen pro-Palestinian demonstrators also shout at parade participants from the sidewalk.
The main Israeli protest group is marching as members of the progressive organization Ameinu. There are several hundred marchers in the group bearing Israeli flags and chanting “democracy.”
Some bystanders shout against them from the sidelines in support of the government.
New York leaders including Governor Kathy Hochul, Mayor Eric Adams, and Attorney General Tish James march at the front of the parade with US Jewish leaders.
The Israeli coalition members are in attendance as part of the “State of Israel” group, with members of the consulate in New York.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office requested that there be fewer ministers participating in the march, according to the Walla news site, after at least nine government ministers traveled or were planning to travel to New York to participate.
The annual march is a major event for the city’s Jewish community and a high-profile display of solidarity with the Jewish state.
MK Rothman met with shouts of ‘Shame’ at Celebrate Israel Parade in New York
Religious Zionism’s MK Simcha Rothman, who is leading the government’s judicial overhaul push, is met with shouting protesters during the Celebrate Israel Parade in New York City.
The protesters follow Rothman as he participates in the march, and shout, “Shame.”
רוטמן מלווה על ידי מפגינים בקריאות בושה לאורך המצעד בניו יורק. pic.twitter.com/Yh3ipNAqLZ
— 𝐎𝐧 𝐀𝐳𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐥🇮🇱 (@iloveisraell) June 4, 2023
.@AmichaiChikli to the pro-democracy protesters across the barriers ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/g69jsXOf58
— Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) June 4, 2023
OpenAI denies CEO Altman refused to meet Netanyahu, says PM never requested a meeting
OpenAI denies Hebrew-language media reports earlier today that the company’s CEO, Sam Altman, refused to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during Altman’s visit to Israel this week.
“We did not receive a meeting request from Prime Minister Netanyahu,” an OpenAI spokesperson says.
The company is behind the popular ChatGPT bot.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, the Ynet news site and Channel 12 news said earlier that Netanyahu’s office tried to coordinate a meeting with Altman, but he rebuffed them in protest of the government’s judicial overhaul plans.
“There was never a meeting request from the PM,” a spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office said in response.
Altman, who is Jewish, is slated to meet with President Isaac Herzog, tour the local offices of Microsoft and participate in an event at Tel Aviv University while in Israel.
Israeli ministers participate in Celebrate Israel Parade in New York City
NEW YORK — Several Israeli government ministers are participating in the Celebrate Israel Parade in New York City.
The ministers include Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli, Public Diplomacy Minister Galit Distel Atbaryan, and Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu.
Distel Atbaryan says “It’s a huge huge pride for me to be a representative here of the Israeli government. It’s a marvelous day.”
She says protests at the event are “a joke.”
“They’re so lame,” Distel Atbaryan says. “ It’s bad for the left, not the Israeli government.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office requested that there be fewer ministers participating in the march, according to the Walla news site, after at least nine government ministers traveled or were planning to travel to New York to participate.
Watch the Celebrate Israel Parade in New York City
Below you can find a livestream for the Celebrate Israel Parade in New York City, currently underway.
Clashes reported between settlers, Palestinians near illegal West Bank outpost of Homesh
Clashes erupt between Israeli settlers from the illegal outpost of Homesh and residents of the Palestinian village of Burqa, according to medics and media reports.
Palestinian media outlets publish footage of the clashes, claiming the settlers attacked the village.
The Samaria Regional Council says Palestinians hurled stones at cars on a road leading to Homesh.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says it has taken two Israelis in their 20s in light condition to a hospital in Israel.
الأهالي يتصدون لهجوم مستوطنين على قرية برقة شمال غرب نابلس، والاحتلال يطلق الرصاص الحي. pic.twitter.com/vOgdK4dNsP
— وكالة الرأي (@alrayps) June 4, 2023
Celebrate Israel Parade in NYC in full swing
NEW YORK — The Celebrate Israel Parade in New York City is underway.
The march is a major event for the city’s Jewish community and a high-profile display of solidarity with the Jewish state often attended by local politicians.
Several Israeli ministers and lawmakers are participating, including Religious Zionism’s Simcha Rothman, who is leading the government’s judicial overhaul push.
Rothman is expected to face significant protests by opponents of the government’s plans.
Ameinu including members of protest group UnXeptable prepare to march pic.twitter.com/mPUw8tLkBT
— Luke Tress (@luketress) June 4, 2023
National religious rabbis tap Meir Kahana to run for Israel’s Ashkenazi chief rabbi
A committee of national religious rabbis taps Meir Kahana, a rabbinical judge in Ashkelon, as its candidate to serve as the Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Israel.
The Makor Rishon newspaper describes Kahana’s selection as a “surprise.” It follows speculation that the national religious candidate would be Micha Halevi of Petah Tikva, who is widely seen as a hardliner to the right of Kahana.
Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionist Party, who is among the top political leaders of the national religious community, congratulates Kahana, whom Smotrich calls a candidate of “unity.”
Kahana, 54, has five children. He was born in Bat Yam and grew up in Bnei Brak. He is a former company commander in the IDF’s Paratroopers Brigade and holds the rank of lieutenant colonel in the reserves. His wife, Bruria, is a gynecologist.
The election of the Ashkenazi and Sephardic chief rabbis is scheduled to take place sometime after November 1.
דרמה: ועדת רבני הציונות הדתית בחרה ברב מאיר כהנא כמועמד לתפקיד הרב הראשי.
כהנא הוא הצעיר מבין המועמדים (54) ונחשב הסמן הליברלי.
הרב כהנא הוא אב״ד אשקלון, יו״ר נציגות הדיינים הארצית. בוגר ישיבת ק״ש וכולל ארץ חמדה, ר״מ בישיבת ירוחם.
שירת כקצין חי״ר, מ.פ במילואים, והיום סא״ל בפקע״ר pic.twitter.com/1JaRhE0Ots— יאיר שרקי (@yaircherki) June 4, 2023
Likud ministers said to back out of NYC’s Celebrate Israel Parade
Likud ministers Nir Barkat and Ofir Akunis have decided not to participate in today’s Celebrate Israel Parade in New York City, amid protests that are set to take place against the government and its plans to overhaul the judiciary, the Walla news site reports.
The report says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office requested that there be fewer ministers participating in the march, after at least nine government ministers traveled or were planning to travel to New York to participate.
Several MKs are also at the march, including Religious Zionism’s Simcha Rothman, who is leading the government’s judicial overhaul push and expected to face significant protests.
The march is a major event for the city’s Jewish community and a high-profile display of solidarity with the Jewish state often attended by local politicians.
NY parade organizer defends right to protest at march after Rothman seized demonstrator’s megaphone
NEW YORK — The organizer of New York’s Celebrate Israel Parade, Jewish Community Relations Council of New York’s CEO Gideon Taylor, says the event aims to bring together different perspectives and that there is a right to protest, after controversy sparked by MK Simcha Rothman, when he seized a protester’s megaphone on Friday.
Asked about the incident, and protesters’ demand that Rothman be disinvited from the parade, Taylor says, “We believe the protesters have a right to protest. That’s an important part of democracy.”
“As to who’s here, the Knesset designates what Knesset members come to participate in the parade. What’s most important for us is that there are voices here from across the spectrum of Jewish life, people with different perspectives and that those voices are here and heard at this parade and I believe today we have that.”
Several hundred protesters are set to march during the parade. They wear shirts reading “Marching for democracy “ and “Zionism=democracy,” wave Israeli flags, and shout chants from the anti-judicial overhaul protest movement in Israel.
Ohad Dahan, soldier who engaged Egyptian attacker on border, laid to rest
Hundreds of people are participating in the funeral of Staff Sgt. Ohad Dahan in the southern city of Ofakim.
Dahan, 20, served as a combat soldier in the Caracal Battalion. He was killed during a shootout with an Egyptian policeman who infiltrated into Israel and had killed two soldiers at a guard post on Saturday morning. The attacker was killed moments later by another group of soldiers.
Dahan’s girlfriend, Dana, eulogizes the slain soldier. “How did you leave me like this with all the plans we made for both of us? You promised to take care of me. I’m now left alone, you are the love of my life,”” she says according to Army Radio.
‘I hope you didn’t suffer too much’: Uri Yitzhak Iluz, killed on Egypt border, laid to rest
Hundreds of people are participating in the funeral of Staff Sgt. Ori Yitzhak Iluz in the northern city of Safed.
Iluz, 20, served as a combat soldier in the Bardelas Battalion. He was killed along with Sgt. Lia Ben Nun, 19, on Saturday morning at a guard tower on the Egyptian border.
The Egyptian policeman who infiltrated through the border and carried out the attack later killed another soldier during a shootout, Staff Sgt. Ohad Dahan. The attacker was then killed.
Iluz’s sister, Gal, eulogizes the slain soldier. “Our flower, our balance. I hope you didn’t suffer too much. It’s hard for us to deal with it. I love you,” she says according to Army Radio.
Staff Sgt. Ori Yitzhak Iluz, a combat soldier in the Bardelas Battalion, who was shot dead on the Egyptian border on June 3, 2023. (IDF Spokesman)
After Haredi boycott, bread company director apologizes over Bnei Brak rally attendance
Following a month-long consumer boycott by some Haredi Jews of Angel Bakeries, the chairman of the firm’s board apologizes for the harm he caused by attending a rally in Bnei Brak in favor of national service by Haredim.
Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, head of the Ponevezh Yeshiva, seen at his home after lighting the Hanukkah candles on the fourth night of Hanukkah, in Bnei Brak, December 5, 2018. (Aharon Krohn/Flash90)
Former public security minister Omer Barlev, who this year began serving as the top executive for the popular bread maker, pays a condolence shiva visit to the relatives of Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, the late leader of the Lithuanian stream of Ashkenazi Haredi Jews. Edelstein, a top decision-maker for the United Torah Judaism party, died Tuesday at the age of 100.
In his letter of apology, which he leaves with his hosts, Barlev notes that reports in the media that the rally was held outside the rabbi’s home are wrong, and that he meant to send a general message as a private citizen and not to “defy” the rabbi. In reality, the rally happened outside the Ponevezh Yeshiva, which Edelstein had headed since 2000.
Barlev writes that “if I had been made aware of the situation we found ourselves in, and the harm caused, I surely would have refrained from this action.”
“For this I am sorry and apologize sincerely,” he writes, without specifying whether he is apologizing for attending the rally, or just for the unintentional harm this caused.
‘You were a ray of sunlight’: Egypt border shooting victim Lia Ben Nun laid to rest
About 1,000 people attend the Rishon Lezion funeral of Sgt. Lia Ben Nun, including family, friends, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Mayor Raz Kinstlich and IDF Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Eliezer Toledano.
Sgt. Lia Ben Nun, 19, a combat soldier in the Bardelas Battalion, who was shot dead on the Egyptian border on June 3, 2023 (IDF Spokesman)
As Ben Nun’s comrades carry her coffin during the procession, her grandmother shouts out: “I want you to come back, my granddaughter. We want answers.”
The circumstances of Ben Nun’s death yesterday along with two comrades near the Egypt border are murky. Israel says it was a planned-out shooting attack, while Egypt says a soldier crossed the border to pursue drug smugglers.
Ben Nun’s sister Ofir and parents Dudu and Michal quietly follow the Israel flag-draped coffin.
Ofir says: “Thank you, Lia, for giving me the pleasure of being your sister for 19 years. My little sister, I love you and already miss you. You were a ray of sunlight, you were my joy, I don’t know what I’ll do now.”
Family and friends attend the funeral of Sgt. Lia Ben Nun who was killed on the Egyptian border a day earlier, at the military cemetery in Rishon Lezion, June 4, 2023. (Flash90)
FM Cohen kicks off trip to Philippines and South Korea along with economic delegation
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen is beginning a five-day visit to Southeast Asia, making stops in the Philippines and South Korea. In Manila, Cohen will meet President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo, and will be the first top Israeli diplomat to fly to Manila since 1967, when Abba Eban visited the Philippine capital. He will also meet with his South Korean counterpart Park Jin in Seoul.
Cohen is leading an Israeli economic delegation as well, which in Manila will focus on agriculture, water, energy, health, emergency preparedness and cybersecurity. Meetings with South Korean counterparts will deal with automotive technology, robotics, smart factories and AI, according to the Foreign Ministry.
In a prepared statement, Cohen says that Israel is strengthening ties “with Southeast Asia’s rising powers.”
“Asia is a continent with enormous potential, with great importance to Israel and its economy,” he continues.
Israel’s free trade agreement with South Korea, its first with a country in the Asia-Pacific, went into effect in late 2022.
Funerals begin for 3 IDF soldiers killed in Egypt border shooting
Funerals are underway for the three soldiers killed over the weekend by an Egyptian policeman who infiltrated into Israel under murky circumstances, with the processions held in each of the trio’s hometowns.
The funeral for Sgt. Lia Ben Nun began at 4:30 p.m. at the military cemetery in Rishon Lezion.
ליה בן נון, שנהרגה בפיגוע בגבול המצרי, מובאת למנוחות בראשון לציון | ישירhttps://t.co/sqelPLa9DD pic.twitter.com/w0Sm3JofK4
— מעריב אונליין (@MaarivOnline) June 4, 2023
The procession for Staff Sgt. Ori Yitzhak Iluz started at 5 p.m. at the military cemetery in Safed.
And the family and friends of Staff Sgt. Ohad Dahan began paying their last respects at the same time at the military cemetery in Ofakim.
The three were combat soldiers in the mixed-gender light infantry Bardelas and Caracal battalions tasked with guarding the border.
According to the IDF’s initial probe, the Egyptian policeman infiltrated through the border through an emergency gate early yesterday morning. The small gate — held shut with just zip ties — is used by the IDF to cross the border when necessary, in coordination with the Egyptian army. The Egyptian army has claimed that the officer crossed the border to chase after suspects in a drug smuggling incident.
Half a million Poles join Warsaw anti-government protest, organizers say
Half a million Poles are protesting against the nationalist-populist government in Warsaw, organizers say, in one of the country’s largest demonstrations since the fall of communism in 1989.
Jan Grabiec, a spokesman for the organizers, tells AFP the city authorities estimate participation at 500,000, a few months ahead of legislative elections.
Open AI chief said refusing to meet Netanyahu in protest of judicial overhaul
Open AI CEO Sam Altman, whose company is behind the popular ChatGPT bot, has refused to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Israel this week, according to Hebrew media reports.
Update: An Open AI spokesperson denied the reports later Sunday, saying no meeting had been requested by Netanyahu.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, the Ynet news site and Channel 12 news said Netanyahu’s office tried to coordinate a meeting with Altman, but he rebuffed them in protest of the government’s judicial overhaul plans.
“There was never a meeting request from the PM,” a spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office said in response.
Altman, who is Jewish, is slated to meet with President Isaac Herzog, tour the local offices of Microsoft and participate in an event at Tel Aviv University while in Israel.
Gazan illegally in Israel accused of transferring millions to Islamic Jihad
Prosecutors file charges against a Palestinian from Gaza on suspicion that he transferred millions of shekels to the Islamic Jihad terror group while living illegally in Israel.
According to prosecutors, Nasim Nasser, began to handle money transfers and debt payments in 2019 on behalf of other Gazan workers illegally in Israel, while residing in Nazareth. A year later, a Hamas operative allegedly agreed to work with Nasser to transfer money to Islamic Jihad leaders in the West Bank city of Jenin.
The operative would then give compensatory funds to Nasser’s relatives to distribute, prosecutors allege.
Overall, Nasser is accused of sending NIS 4 million to terror groups while earning tens of thousands of shekels from charging Islamic Jihad and the Gazan laborers for his services.
Prosecutors request he remain in custody until the end of proceedings.
Man seriously hurt in collision with truck near Ashdod
A man is seriously injured after the car he was driving collided with a truck on Route 4 near the southern coastal city of Ashdod.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says the man, 50, was taken to a local hospital.
Halevi taps general to investigate ‘systemic’ aspects of deadly Egypt border attack
Israel Defense Forces chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi has appointed a general to lead an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the killing of three soldiers by an Egyptian policeman on the border yesterday.
Maj. Gen. Nimrod Aloni, who is set to enter the position as head of the IDF’s Depth Corps and Military Colleges in the coming months, will lead a team that will investigate the “systemic” aspects of the deadly attack.
Aloni’s team will “examine the operational and systemic perception of defense of peaceful borders,” the IDF says.
Meanwhile, the chief of the IDF’s Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Eliezer Toledano, and commander of the 80th Division Brig. Gen. Itzik Cohen will probe the troops’ conduct during the attack.
Toledano and Cohen’s investigation will be presented to Halevi within a week, the IDF says.
Cabinet approves ministerial committee to fight rising prices
The cabinet approves the formation of a ministerial committee to tackle the cost of living amid persistent price rises.
“We will formulate a plan, lead reforms and act with all means to ensure that the government implements the necessary actions,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says at the weekly cabinet meeting.
Chaired by Netanyahu, the panel includes 13 other ministers, overseeing the following ministries: finance, economy, agriculture, environmental protection, energy, health, welfare, religious services, housing, development of the Negev and Galilee, tourism, immigration and communications.
In addition, the Bank of Israel governor and the next head of the Competition Authority will be “permanent invitees,” alongside a number of professional staff.
Netanyahu first announced plans for the panel last week shortly after the coalition passed the 2023-2024 state budget, which was criticized for not addressing market concentration and import power, two key drivers of Israel’s soaring costs.
Last week, Netanyahu met with the finance and agriculture ministers to open discussions on the committee.
Marine traffic in Suez Canal briefly blocked by broken-down oil tanker
CAIRO — Egypt deployed three tugboats to tow away an oil tanker that had broken down and caused brief delays in the Suez Canal, authorities in charge of the vital waterway say.
Traffic in both directions returns to normal after a brief disruption when the Malta-flagged Seavigour experienced a “machinery malfunction” while en route from Russia to China, the Suez Canal Authority says.
Three tugboats “successfully towed and moored the ship” at a shipyard where the technical fault will be fixed before the tanker “resumes its crossing,” according to a statement.
Brief disruptions caused by ships breaking down or running aground are common in the waterway, through which about 10 percent of global maritime trade passes.
Most are refloated within hours, allowing traffic to resume.
In March 2021 the giant container ship Ever Given caused a nearly week-long stoppage in Suez traffic after it became lodged diagonally in the waterway.
The disruption cost billions of dollars in shipping delays, with Egypt losing between $12 million and $15 million for every day of the closure.
The canal is a major source of much-needed foreign currency for cash-strapped Egypt, earning it $8 billion in transit fees in 2022.
US, Saudi Arabia urge Sudan’s warring sides to agree to ceasefire amid renewed battles
CAIRO — Saudi Arabia and the United States urge Sudan’s warring parties in a statement to agree to and “effectively implement” a new ceasefire amid renewed fighting in the northeastern African nation.
Sudan descended into chaos after fighting broke out in mid-April between the military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo.
For weeks, Saudi Arabia and the United States have been mediating between the warring parties. On May 21, both countries successfully brokered a temporary cease-fire agreement to help with the delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid to the war-torn country. Their efforts, however, were dealt a blow when the military announced on Wednesday it would no longer participate in the cease-fire talks held in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah.
Following the military’s decision, the US and Saudi Arabia said they were suspending the talks “as a result of repeated serious violations of the short-term ceasefire.” US President Joe Biden’s administration imposed sanctions against key Sudanese defense companies run by the military and the RSF and people who “perpetuate violence” in Sudan.
In their statement today, Washington and Riyadh say they continue to engage representatives of the military and the RSF who remain in Jeddah. They urge the Sudanese warring sides to agree to and implement a new ceasefire following the latest one which expired late Saturday. The aim is to eventually establish a permanent cessation of hostilities in the war-wrecked country, they say.
The statement says the discussions focused on “facilitating humanitarian assistance” and reaching an agreement on “near-term steps the parties must take” before resuming the talks.
The fighting has turned the capital, Khartoum, and other urban areas into battlefields, resulting in widespread looting and destruction of residential areas across the country. The conflict has also displaced more than 1.65 million people who fled to safer areas in Sudan and neighboring countries.
Head of local council bordering Egypt says residents concerned after deadly attacks
The head of a regional council bordering Egypt says some residents are concerned about guard posts on the other side of the fence, after an Egyptian policeman entered Israel and killed three soldiers yesterday.
“We have residents living some 200 meters from an Egyptian post that is manned by soldiers and police officers. An incident like that raises serious concerns for them,” Ramat Hanegev Regional Council Eran Doron tells Army Radio, apparently referring to residents of the town of Kadesh Barnea.
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