It's come to this... Israeli woman declared 'insane' for demanding to see minister
A little off topic....
Whatever you do, do not get divorced in Israel. Marianne Azizi, who wrote this article, is a father's rights activist - her second husband has not been able to leave Israel for years because he cannot make the required deposit of thousands of dollars in future support payments. This is not about Marianne - it's about another woman who was declared 'insane' for asking to meet Israel's Justice Minister. It will be all over the mainstream media tomorrow or Sunday. And I am assured (by another source), it's 100% true.
This is an
amazing story.
The woman, Joelle Ben Simon,
says the rabbi who sat in her divorce case robbed her by appointing
receivers to take her assets. She spent four days at the ministry
compound in Jerusalem trying to reach Ms Shaked.
On the fourth day Ms Shaked, surrounded by her assistants, saw her
for a few minutes. Joelle was then told to return home, take a shower
and prepare to see Ms Shaked in Tel Aviv at 6pm.
But by the time she reached her caravan, a social worker, Hadass
Weiss, and an ambulance had turned up to take her to a mental facility.
After a 10-minute interview with one Dr Elizabeth Yuven, she was
“diagnosed” as psychotic and immediately injected with 3mg of risperdal.
The next day Joelle was allowed visitors who took a video mocking the
minister of justice and “thanking her for her promise to help her”.
The video went viral with 26,000 views within a very short time.
Viewers were outraged that Ms Shaked, who seems so pretty and gives the
appearance of being civil, actually gets rid of people she deems pests
by arranging for them a bed in a psychiatric hospital and a dose of
medication.
On the day of Joelle’s committal, Friday 5 August, it was not
possible to obtain any medical record or paperwork pertaining to her
committal which could be used to petition the court for her release,
because in Israel when a district psychiatrist signs a decree of
committal the patient must wait for whenever a psychiatric committee can
consider the case, which in this case was Monday 8 August.
The outrage on Facebook was so intense that reporter Lory Shemtov
managed to assemble a team of three lawyers to volunteer for the
defence.
On Sunday 7 August one of the lawyers, Zvi Zer, managed to obtain
reports from social worker Weiss and Dr Yuven, both of whom clearly
stated that the request to hospitalise Joelle had been initiated by the
Ministry of Justice, in the person of Yael Kutik, the personal assistant
of Ms Shaked. The reports said that Joelle was filled with false
thoughts about corruption in the family and rabbinical courts, and that
she had put herself in danger by choosing an Arab district for her
abode.
Then there was a hearing.
The hearing began with a mental examination by way of a
question-and-answer session posed by the panel to Joelle, who answered
that she had no idea why she had been committed; had never seen a
psychiatrist before; was not known to the system in any way; had never
been diagnosed, seen or treated by any psychiatrist; and had never been
give treatment or needed medication.
She said the social worker and doctor had put words in her mouth and
she had indeed been mistreated by the divorce and rabbinical courts.
Therefore, her thoughts were not false.
Attorney Brand spoke about the right to protest and approach
ministers in person, and the right to express criticism of the courts,
adding that Joelle’s rights had been violated in this case.
She said that she herself had once approached the Ministry of Justice
with a complaint about an official and that it had never occurred to
her that such an act might result in her committal to a psychiatric
institution.
Next, attorney Zer conducted a cross examination of Dr Yuven, and
obtained an admission that there is no need for a committal because the
drugs could actually be taken outside the hospital. The only reason she
wants Joelle inside a mental facility was to ensure that she actually
takes the drug.
Asked how a psychiatrist can determine in 10 minutes whether
something that is said to have happened in a divorce to rabbinical court
actually happened or was an instance of false memory, Dr Yuven replied
that a combination of the patient’s appearance, the stubbornness of
requesting to speak to Ms Shaked and the self-imposed risk of sleeping
in an Arab district had led her to believe that Joelle was in a
psychotic state.
Attorney Zer summarised the cross examination by stating that
Joelle’s conduct at the hearing was 100 per cent coherent and that her
allegations of being wronged by the family courts were not baseless. He
presented several newspaper clips relating to the persons involved with
the litigation and stated that there appears to have been
behind-the-scenes meddling by powerful people whom the psychiatric
personnel were trying to appease. He said it was time to acknowledge
that a g[r]ave mistake had been made.
Joelle Simon was lucky. She's been released. But that's not the whole story.
After 45 minutes of deliberations, the panel said that Joelle is to be
released immediately, and that the respirdal had already worked its
miracle. It also ruled that the initial order for the committal had been
justified because it was abnormal to approach a minister instead of
just sending a letter [emphasis mine. CiJ].
...
In Israel, it takes only a word to turn a person’s world upside down.
In this case, the word was that of someone in a high position in the
Ministry of Justice and it resulted in one of the quickest psychiatric
committals of a harmless person.
How many other unfortunate people in Israel do not have the benefit
of connections to activists and journalists, and suffer in silence?
It used to be common practice in the Soviet Union to commit
dissidents to mental hospitals. It seems the practice continues to be
used in Israel.
Read the whole thing. Simply disgraceful.
Labels: Ayelet Shaked, Israeli courts
IDF thumbs its nose at Europe, US State Department seethes
Four and a half years ago, the Europeans commenced a new strategy to try to force Israel to commit suicide: They began
building illegally for the 'Palestinians' in areas that are classified as Area C. At the time I wrote:
When Israel entered into the Oslo Accords in 1993-1995, the entire area
of Judea and Samaria was split into three parts. 'Area A,' which mostly
comprised the seven major cities in Judea and Samaria, and which
contained most of the Arab population of the area, was to be under
'Palestinian' control. 'Area B' was to be under 'Palestinian' civilian
control with Israel responsible for security. 'Area C,' which includes
most of the Jewish cities and towns in Judea and Samaria, was to be
under complete Israeli control.
Under the Oslo Accords, there
were no restrictions on Israeli building in Area C. Those who negotiated
the Oslo Accords envisioned an eventual 'Palestinian autonomy' within
Areas A and B. There was no intent to establish a 'Palestinian state,'
and certainly no promises from Israel that one would be established. In
fact, the opposite was true. This is from Prime Minister Rabin's last
speech to the Knesset - in which he was advocating for a Knesset
endorsement of 'Oslo 2' - on October 5, 1995:
We view the
permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will
include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule
of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which
will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza
Strip and the West Bank.
We
would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which
will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its
authority. The borders of the State of Israel, during the
permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the
Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.
And these are the main changes, not all of them, which we envision and want in the permanent solution:
A. First
and foremost, united Jerusalem, which will include both Ma'ale Adumim
and Givat Ze'ev -- as the capital of Israel, under Israeli sovereignty,
while preserving the rights of the members of the other faiths,
Christianity and Islam, to freedom of access and freedom of worship in
their holy places, according to the customs of their faiths.
B. The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.
C. Changes
which will include the addition of Gush Etzion, Efrat, Beitar and
other communities, most of which are in the area east of what was the
"Green Line," prior to the Six Day War.
D. The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.
That's a far cry from what the 'international community' and the Obama administration are attempting to push on us today.
For a long time, Israel
ignored the illegal European building. But the Europeans are obsessed with destroying the Jewish state (that's the strongest lesson I am learning from Tuvia Tenenboim's
Catch the Jew), and the IDF has finally decided
enough is enough.
The IDF on Tuesday morning razed five unauthorized Palestinian modular structures in the South Hebron region of the West Bank, three of which had been funded by the European Union. [Note the EU flag on the trailer - CiJ].
...
The five structures in question were part of the village of Um al-Kheir,
which is located next to the settlement of Carmel. Three of them were
newly built, very close to the security fence around Carmel.
The non-governmental group B’Tselem, which has opposed such
actions, released a video of the demolition, which showed the shovel of a
crane taking down the structure within minutes as the villagers
watched.
Israel is apparently going to begin taking illegal 'Palestinian' building seriously.
On Sunday, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked visited the South Hebron Hills
to see the unauthorized Palestinian construction for herself.
“I
saw on this trip a tremendous amount of illegal Palestinian building in
Area C, with the help of foreign funding. We can’t allow for a double
standard when it comes to building. It’s not clear to me how those who
fight against Jewish building in Judea and Samaria are a leading force
in illegal Palestinian building,” Shaked said.
But on Monday - before the demolitions happened - the Obama-Clinton-Kerry State Department - the foreign policy czars of the self-proclaimed 'most pro-Israel administration evah' - was seething.
“We are concerned by the accelerated rate of demolitions undertaken by
Israeli authorities that continue in the West Bank as well as east
Jerusalem,” State Department Press Office Director Elizabeth Trudeau
told reporters in Washington at the daily briefing.
Funny - don't they demolish illegal buildings in the US?
Labels: Ayelet Shaked, European anti-Semitism, European Union, home demolitions, IDF, Judea and Samaria
'A danger to Israeli democracy'?
In an editorial in Sunday's editions, the Washington Post blasts a bill proposed by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) which would force disclosure of foreign government funding of Israeli NGO's.
The proposed law, introduced by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, was
approved by a cabinet committee Dec. 27 and sent to the Knesset, where
it faces additional debate and votes. It would apply to those
organizations that receive more than half their funding from “foreign government entities.”
The groups would be required to identify themselves as principally
funded from overseas in any public communications and in interactions
with government officials, and they would have to list the sources of
funding in reports. Members of the groups would also be required to wear
a special badge when present in the Knesset, with their name and the
name of the NGO. This is now a requirement of lobbyists. Violations could result in stiff fines.
Apparently the Post has never heard of a US law called the Foreign Agents Registration Act. This was lifted from a Facebook page.
The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) was enacted in 1938. FARA is a
disclosure statute that requires persons acting as agents of foreign
principals in a political or quasi-political capacity to make periodic
public disclosure of their relationship with the foreign principal, as
well as activities, receipts and disbursements in support of those
activities. Disclosure of the required information facilitates
evaluation by the government and the American people of the statements
and activities of such persons in light of their function as foreign
agents. The FARA Registration Unit of the Counterintelligence and Export
Control Section (CES) in the National Security Division (NSD) is
responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Act.
Most of the groups that would be forced to register in Israel are Leftist groups which are funded by foreign governments. The Post itself notes that most Rightist groups will not be affected because their foreign funding comes mostly from individuals.
The Post blinds itself to the difference between the pernicious influence of a foreign government which acts out of its own self-interest and those of an individual who in any event is unlikely to be an actor in foreign relations. Hopefully Israel's Knesset will be smart enough to ignore the Post and see the difference - just like Congress did nearly 80 years ago.
The bill is definitely not a danger to Israeli democracy.
Labels: Ayelet Shaked, Israeli Knesset, NGO funding, NGO's, Washington Post
Wow: Jewish Home MK disses Obama
For the Hebrew impaired, the tweet above is from a Knesset Channel (like CSpan in the US) interview with MK Ayelet Shaked, number 2 on the Jewish Home party list and a likely minister in the next Netanyahu government. She says "Just like I don't decide who Obama's ministers are, he shouldn't decide for us. And they also should not be interfering in construction in Judea and Samaria."
She's obviously trying to tell Obama that Israel is a democracy, that the people have spoken, and that it's not his place to interfere.
Somehow, I don't think that message is going to be treated fondly on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington.
Labels: Ayelet Shaked, Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, Jerusalem construction, Jewish Home party, Judea and Samaria construction, Knesset elections 2015
Indyk was forced on Netanyahu by Kerry
Jewish Home party MK Ayelet Shaked told Israel Radio on Sunday that Prime Minister Netanyahu never wanted Martin Indyk as a 'mediator,' having had that experience in the '90's. According to Shaked,
Indyk was forced on Netanyahu by US Secretary of State John FN Kerry.
Netanyahu agreed to Indyk's appointment to the latest round of talks only because Kerry asked, she said.
Shaked
blasted Indyk for "daring to blame Israel" for the breakdown in the
talks when, "The Palestinians breached the essence of the negotiations
by unilaterally turning to the UN and by creating a unity government
with a terror organization."
"Indyk and people like him have
made their livelihood for years from the peace industry that leads
nowhere. It seems that it is difficult for these people to see
reality."
All true. But when are we going to go after the Israelis who feed the 'peace industry' who are no more capable of seeing reality. For starters, when will Tzipi Livni be fired?
Labels: Ayelet Shaked, Binyamin Netanyahu, John Kerry, Martin Indyk, Middle East peace process, Tzipi Livni
Cabinet passes law aimed at stopping terrorist releases
Israel's Ministerial Legislation Committee has approved a bill to be presented by the coalition, which would pass a 'basic law' (allegedly cannot be overridden by the Supreme Court) that would
bar the premature release of 'Palestinian' terrorists.
Economy Minister Naftali Bennett said "the State of Israel is opening a
new page in the war against terror and its moral commitment to bereaved
families.
"Years of blackmail and wholesale release will stop when this bill
becomes law," Bennett added.
"The Bayit Yehudi will work in the upcoming
[Knesset] session to pass the law without delay."
Seven ministers, from Likud Beytenu and Bayit Yehudi, voted in favor and three Yesh Atid and Hatnua ministers opposed.
The proposed legislature
aims to allow the courts to use the heavy sentence, which blocks the
president’s ability to pardon criminals in special cases like terrorist
attacks, murder with nationalist motivations, or murder of children.
...
The bill was proposed by Bayit Yehudi faction chairwoman Ayelet
Shaked and MK David Tsur (Hatnua) and co-sponsored by coalition chairman
Yariv Levin (Likud Beytenu), MKs Robert Ilatov (Likud Beytenu), Orit
Struck (Bayit Yehudi), Shuli Moalem-Refaeli (Bayit Yehudi), Motti Yogev
(Bayit Yehudi) and Yisrael Hasson (Kadima).
Ilatov pointed out
that similar sentences exist in the US and that the bill, should it
become law, will not discriminate by religion, ethnicity or gender of
the murderer.
"The goal is to have more severe sentences, without
having the death penalty," he explained. "Whoever deprives the whole
world [by killing a person] will pay by losing his freedom."
The legislation is an amendment to Basic Law: The Presidency, which currently says the president may pardon any criminal.
If the change becomes law, it will allow judges to use their discretion
on whether a murder is a “special case” or not, meaning there is a
possibility that law may never be put to use even if it is passed.
I'm almost surprised that the Left didn't vote in favor. This law sounds like it could be used to prevent the release of alleged Rabin assassin Yigal Amir.
What could go wrong?
Labels: Ayelet Shaked, constitution, Naftali Bennett, Palestinian terrorists, Supreme Court, Yigal Amir, Yitzchak Rabin
An alliance born in sin is coming to an end
The alliance between the Yesh Atid and Jewish Home parties, which was always and solely about trying to
bring about the demise of Haredi Judaism in Israel (the only thing on which they ever agreed), appears to be coming to an end. Here are some
choice quotes.
“Yesh Atid doesn’t have an alliance with the Bayit Yehudi,” Peri said on Channel 2’s Meet the Press.
Peri blasted Economy Minister Naftali Bennett’s party over its stances on negotiations with the Palestinians.
“There
is an abyss between Yesh Atid and the Bayit Yehudi, which has made
delusional proposals and tried to sabotage negotiations, on both
diplomatic issues and religion and state,” Peri said.
The two
parties formed an alliance before the coalition was formed last year,
forcing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s hand into including both of
them in his government. The party’s chairmen, Yair Lapid and Bennett,
formed a close partnership at the time, leading them to be nicknamed
“brothers,” but it deteriorated over differences in opinion on
religious and diplomatic affairs.
Bayit Yehudi faction chairwoman
Ayelet Shaked said that “every Saturday on Meet the Press another
left-wing minister attacks Bayit Yehudi."
“You know what it’s
like to build a career on having a partner for peace [in the
Palestinians] and then the partner runs away? It’s tough for them.
Maybe they need a Plan B,” she quipped.
Similarly, a Bayit Yehudi spokesman said “the Left should try to keep its cool even when it’s in crisis.”
Meanwhile, the Leftist parties in opposition are urging Yesh Atid and the Tzipi Livni party to withdraw. And they also had some
choice words for Netanyahu.
Opposition leader MK Yitzchak Herzog (Labor) on Saturday night
launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his
coalition, blaming them for the collapse of the peace talks with the
Palestinian Authority (PA).
In a post on his Facebook page, Herzog called on Netanyahu to
“initiate a comprehensive and courageous offer” to PA Chairman Mahmoud
Abbas.
"In recent days, I spoke with the Prime Minister, with Abbas, with
[American mediator] Martin Indyk and others, and my impression is that
the situation is volatile and very sensitive and we must not take
irreversible and potentially harmful steps,” he wrote.
Herzog attacked Netanyahu and wrote that the Israeli government is a
"government that is dragged and not a government that takes an
initiative. Netanyahu has no plan. He does not know where Israel will be
a decade from now.”
He called on the Prime Minister to place on the table "a
comprehensive and courageous offer that will win international support,
while insisting that the Palestinian government that will be formed
recognize Israel and meet the conditions of the international
community.”
Elections in September? I'd bet on it. Heh.
Labels: Ayelet Shaked, Binyamin Netanyahu, Jewish Home party, Middle East peace process, Naftali Bennett, Tzipi Livni, Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid party
Jewish Home party to leave coalition?
The JPost is reporting that seven of the Jewish Home party's 12 MK's want to leave the coalition if Israel trades
420 terrorists and a settlement freeze for Jonathan Pollard and prolonged talks.
A Bayit Yehudi party source said Tuesday that seven of the party's 12
MKs think the faction should leave the coalition if the government
agrees to free 400 prisoners, even if Pollard is also freed as party of
the deal.
A right-wing senior minister who was supposed to meet
with Almagor Terror Victims Organization chief Meir Indor on Tuesday
canceled the meeting citing a coalition crisis over the deal as the
reason.
Construction and Housing Minister Uri Ariel of Bayit Yehudi said on Tuesday
he would oppose any such accord that would see Pollard go free in
exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, telling Army
Radio that Pollard himself was against being part of a prisoner
exchange.
"I was personally told he is against being released in
such a disgraceful deal," said Ariel, arguing that Pollard deserved
unconditional freedom and not to be swapped for Palestinian "murderers."
I doubt that the Jewish Home party will leave the coalition - Bennett and Shaked are too rooted to their government seats to allow that to happen. A faction of MK's - maybe even seven - could break off and form a new party outside the government (I think that's still allowed - you need at least a third of the faction).
But that wouldn't bring down the government. The real question here is how many Likud-Beiteinu MK's - if any - would leave the government over this. There are only two MK's from among the Likud who are on record as favoring a two-state solution: Binyamin Netanyahu and Tzachi HaNegbi. Will the others have the courage to jeopardize their careers by walking out?
Don't hold your breath.
Labels: Ayelet Shaked, Binyamin Netanyahu, Jewish Home party, Jonathan Pollard, Likud party, Naftali Bennett, Palestinian terrorists, settlement freeze
Knesset bill would put Israel Hayom newspaper out of business
In what is clearly an effort to put the wildly successful Israel Hayom newspaper out of business, a group of six MK's has introduced a bill in the Knesset that would
limit the free distribution of newspapers.
The bill, which was proposed by MKs Eitan Cabel (Labor), Robert
Ilatov (Yisrael Beytenu), Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home), Elazar Stern
(Hatnua), Ariel Atias (Shas) and Yoel Razvozov (Yesh Atid), seeks to
ensure "true and fair competition between newspapers."
Analysts predict the law is likely to cause a brouhaha in the
government, and that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will act to
prevent it from passing. The law's opponents argue that the bill, if
passed, could drastically change the balance of representative power in
the Israeli press.
Under the bill, every newspaper which is defined as one of the four
daily newspapers most widely circulated in Israel will be sold at a
"nominal value" - about 70% of the price of the cheapest and most
popular newspaper.
In addition, the bill would ban distributing free newspapers for more
than a six-month period - and require the price of each paper to be
printed prominently on the front page.
Media experts are expected to slam the bill for contributing to the
ongoing decline in the newspaper industry, which has made headlines over
the past several years as popular publications begin to disappear.
A report by the International Business Times in 2012 noted
that the newspaper industry has shrunk by 40% worldwide since 2002, and
that it continues to decline at a rate of 6.4% per year. Many attribute
the decline to the ubiquitousness and ease of internet news sources.
Israel Hayom is distributed free at traffic intersections, and makes its money off advertising. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in Israel, displacing Yedioth Aharonoth within a couple of years of its founding. It is owned by Sheldon Adelson, and American Jew with a huge interest in Israel, who also owns casinos in the US. Adelson is also a big supporter of... Binyamin Netanyahu.
Pass the popcorn....
Labels: Ariel Atias, Ayelet Shaked, Binyamin Netanyahu, Eitan Cabel, Elazar Stern, freedom of the press, Sheldon Adelson, Yisrael HaYom
It's official: 'Equal burden' law passes Knesset
In 2014, Israel is about to become the only country in the world where a Jew can be jailed for studying Torah. That's because on Wednesday morning, the 'equal burden' law
passed the Knesset 67-1, the one being
Yoni Chetboun of the Jewish Home party. The opposition, a hodgepodge of parties from the Right and the Left, boycotted the session, as they did Tuesday's session on
electoral reform. The law includes criminal sanctions against boys who opt to study Torah rather than join the IDF.
This is from the first link.
"This is a historic, important bill," MK Ayelet Shaked (Bayit Yehudi),
who led the Knesset committee to prepare the legislation, declared. "For
65 years there was an exemption for all yeshiva students and the change
the coalition made is proportionate and gradual and correct."
Shaked added that she "believes in the haredi public and that it will
reach the [enlistment] goals the government set. If there will be
cooperation from haredi leadership, there will not be mandatory
enlistment.
Good luck with that.
Back to the first link again...
"I imagine this court will reach the High Court by tomorrow. I hope the
judges will read the protocols of the committee meetings and see that
even if the law is not equal it has a worthy goal, which is why I think
it will stand the test of the High Court," she added.
Immediately after the new law passed., the Movement for Quality Government petitioned the High Court against it.
Since when does a 'worthy goal' get a law through the 'High Court'? Oh wait, I forgot, it depends who thinks the goal is 'worthy.'
Science and Technology Minister Yaakov Peri, who headed a committee on
the matter of haredi enlistment, said following the passage of the bill,
" For the first time, an issue at the heart of the conflict of Israeli
society, will be solved. Dramatic change will come."
Right....
Meanwhile, Likud MK Moshe Feiglin
praised Jewish Home MK Yoni Chetboun for having the courage of his convictions... but Feiglin did not join him in voting against.
"Yesterday, I sent an SMS of support to MK Yoni Chetboun,” wrote
Feiglin on Facebook. “Not because I agree with him – but simply because I
appreciate any person who goes against the stream and is willing to pay
a price for standing up for his principles. I did this with MK Adi Kol,
also, after she veered a little from the sacred Coalition discipline
and was tarred and feathered by her boss.
"This whole idea of Coalition discipline needs rethinking,” Feiglin added. “Is it really the only way?”
"Sometimes, I entertain 'heretical' thoughts. I would like to set up a
government without Coalition discipline. Let every MK be truly
responsible for the laws he passes and also for maintaining the
government. Let changing wall-to-wall coalitions and oppositions form
around every law. Let the Knesset cease being a 'law machine' and
restore lost pride to itself and its members.”
Fat chance. Take responsibility for their actions? In what world?
Chetboun had clear vision about this bill.
“On the one hand, the members of the Jewish Home party, and chief among them MK Ayelet Shaked, really made a very significant effort so that this law, as I have said in the past, will be workable for the hareidi community,” he told Arutz Sheva Tuesday. "On the other hand, as time goes on – and particularly over the last twenty-four hours – I feel that we are creating a serious schism between us and the Torah world, and the hareidi community.”
“I see Israeli society being split apart by this law. I’m sure nobody meant for that to happen,” he continued. Talk
surrounding the law “is creating a message that is against the Torah
world, against the yeshivas. That disrespects them,” he lamented. “I felt deep inside that I must listen to my conscience, and that I cannot vote for this law."
By the way, Yesh Atid's Adi Kol said that she voted in favor of the law, but didn't really support it. Where would be without coalition discipline?
Labels: Ayelet Shaked, draft, God, Haredim, IDF, Moshe Feiglin, Torah, Yoni Chetboun
Jewish Home party having second thoughts?
The Jewish Home party is having second thoughts over the Haredi draft law (officially known as the Equal Burden law) and is
threatening not to support the Electoral Reform law unless changes are made to the Equal Burden law (link in Hebrew). The Electoral Reform law is due to come up for a second and third reading on Monday, and would raise the minimum percentage a party needs to get into the Knesset from the current two seats to four seats. (The MK's from the three Arab parties, which each have between three and four seats, have threatened to
resign en masse if the Electoral Reform law passes). While a majority of the Knesset favors the Electoral Reform law, it is a basic law and therefore requires 61 votes. If Jewish Home does not show up to vote on it, there is a good chance it won't pass. That's the leverage that Jewish Home has.
Jewish Home is demanding three changes in the Equal Burden law. First, a declaration that the State values the study of Torah. The other two changes are more substantial. They are demanding the cancellation of both the economic and criminal sanctions against individual yeshiva students, and the cancellation of budget loss to yeshivas who don't send enough students to the army. Instead, they want to reward yeshivas that do send enough students to the army with increased budgets. The other change is to calculate the overall Haredi participation rate in the IDF, rather than calculating for each yeshiva individually.
Sounds like Sunday's prayer rally scared someone. There were more than a few knitted kipot (skullcaps) in the crowd.
Labels: Ayelet Shaked, God, Haredim, IDF, Jewish Home party, Naftali Bennett, peaceful demonstrations, Torah
Foreign Ministry claims plan to count Chabad emissaries time abroad as national service is illegal
The Shaked Committee's plan to count time spent by emissaries of Chabad in places outside North America and Western Europe as national service has been branded '
illegal' by Israel's Foreign ministry. The Shaked Committee is the committee that came up with the new draft law whose principal goal is to draft Haredim. The Chabad emissaries would count toward the quota of Haredim who are required to be drafted or do national service.
The Shaked Committee agreed that a select number of Chabad volunteers
would be seen as working on behalf of the state of Israel, and their
activities would be funded through the Sherut Ezrahi program for
non-military national service.
However, Foreign Ministry officials say that only Foreign Ministry
staff have the legal right to work overseas as a representative of
Israel. All others must apply for a tourist visa or work visa from the
host country.
Ministry personnel also expressed concern that Chabad volunteers
could end up in jail for violating local law. “We’re putting people in
places that they shouldn’t be in under local law,” they warned.
The law's provision would affect about 100 Chabad emissaries.
Labels: Ayelet Shaked, Chabad House, draft, Haredim, IDF
Criminal sanctions for Haredi draft avoiders... in exchange for Tzachi HaNegbi
Arutz Sheva blows the lid off what ought to be a huge scandal: The Likud voted in favor of criminal sanctions against Haredi draft avoiders in return for Yair Lapid and Yesh Atid agreeing that Netanyahu protege Tzachi HaNegbi (left) would be named
chair of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
Exclusive sources revealed the deal to Arutz Sheva Tuesday
afternoon, explaining that the move allowed the criminal sanctions - a
clause Yesh Atid insists must be included in the Equal Burden of Service
Law - to pass in the Shaked Committee, and for Hanegbi, who is a member
of Netanyahu's own party, to be placed in a government position
strategically important for the Prime Minister.
MK Ofer Shelah (Yesh Atid) was also due to serve as head of the key committee,
but only toward the end of the current Knesset term. A rotation
agreement was worked out after Netanyahu refused to immediately promote
Shelah to the position, when it was vacated by Foreign Minister Avigdor
Liberman.
Last week, Prime Minister Netanyahu spontaneously ordered the vote over sanctions to be frozen after conflict erupted between the hareidi parties and the rest of the Committee board.
That conflict, over hesder yeshiva service, was in direct response to the criminal sanctions bid. As a United Torah Judaism MK explained to Arutz Sheva, the hareidi community views the clause as a threat. "You push us, we push back," he declared.
Opponents to the move to enact criminal sanctions warn that the
proposal has already alienated the hareidi community, noting that the
Shas party quit the Shaked Committee over the move.
There's something else implied here: That Yesh Atid and the Likud combined to sell out hesder (whose soldiers saw their active service increased from 16 months to 24). I'm sure Jewish Home party leader Naftali Bennett is pleased with his brilliance....
Sara Netanyahu is probably pleased too.
And by the way, remember how Netanyahu spontaneously ordered the vote frozen? Sure you do: He told Tzachi HaNegbi to walk out....
Labels: Ayelet Shaked, Binyamin Netanyahu, Jewish Home party, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Likud party, Naftali Bennett, Tzachi Hanegbi, Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid party
American Religious Zionists slam Bennett for criminal sanctions in Haredi draft bill
Perhaps the problem with American Jewish leaders is that 'live and let live' attitude. They don't know how to go for blood like the Israelis do. More on this at the end.
Three prominent members of the American Religious Zionist leadership have blasted Jewish Home party chairman Naftali Bennett and his deputy Ayelet Shaked for facilitating the Haredi draft bill being brought to the Knesset, which includes
criminal sanctions.
Religious Zionists of America chairman Martin Oliner said he and
other leaders of his community were disappointed that Bayit Yehudi
leader Naftali Bennett had enabled the criminalization of yeshiva
students.
“The fundamentals of religious Zionism are supporting
Torah and avoda (“work”), and Torah comes first,” Oliner said. “A
culture cannot be changed by force. It is wrong to put arbitrary quotas
that are capricious on yeshiva students.
If you can put quotas on
learning Torah, tomorrow they’ll do it on Hesder students, and later
on people living over the Green Line.”
Oliner noted that the
British had quotas for Jews moving to the land of Israel, and he said
they should not be the model for the Jewish state. He said that
students who are not learning should serve, recommending a test for
Torah aptitude to determine who should remain in yeshiva.
Rabbinical
Council of America president Rabbi Leonard Matanky said that as a
Diaspora Jew who had not served in the IDF he was limited in what he
could say. Nonetheless, he expressed concern regarding the decision.
“It
is difficult for me to accept that anyone would be subject to criminal
punishment for learning Torah,” Matanky said. “I understand the
sociological and economic challenges that went into the decision, but
Torah study is paramount to our existence.”
...
National Council of Young Israel president Farley Weiss, another
American religious- Zionist leader who participated in the meeting with
Bennett, said the Bayit Yehudi leader had told them that his party
would not support criminal sanctions and he was surprised that the
sanctions were adopted against his wishes.
"Since criminal
sanctions are many years away from being implemented, the hope of NCYI
is that everything will be worked out amicably and no criminal sanctions
will ever be given," Weiss said. "We do not support criminal sanctions
but we do support a program to incentivize an increase in haredi army
service and bring more haredim into the workforce."
Weiss said the
army needs to do everything it can to meet the needs of the haredi
community to make them feel comfortable that their sons will remain
religious when they are serving in the army.
Don't bet on
it.
Sadly, I constantly see posts on Facebook from Dati Leumi (National Religious) people in Israel who say
that they'd rather live with the seculars than with the Haredim. And
although most Haredim don't post on Facebook, from what I have seen, the
animosity between Haredim and the National Religious in Israel is largely mutual.
Labels: American Jews, Ayelet Shaked, Jewish Home party, Naftali Bennett, Zionist
'A stupid law that will not bring about Haredi enlistment'
My guess is that all this will accomplish is to bring about the largest demonstration since more than 600,000 Haredim gathered to protest the tyranny of the Supreme Court in 1999. That was the largest demonstration this country has ever seen.
In the aftermath of a late-night Knesset vote to impose "a legal obligation to perform military service" on all (Jewish) citizens of the State of Israel,
Jewish Home MK Moti Yogev got it pretty much right when he said:
Speaking to The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday night, Yogev, a reserve
committee member, termed the legislation “a stupid law” and said it
“will not succeed in bringing about haredi enlistment.”
The MK
said that the automatic imposition of criminal sanctions if enlistment
targets were not met would not be effective. He introduced various
procedural obstacles during the committee hearing to indicate his
opposition to the legislation.
The committee’s vote to impose
criminal sanctions evoked consternation from the mainstream haredi
leadership, which vowed that the haredi public would take to the
streets in mass protest against the law.
Actually, some of the key campaigners for 'equality' seem to have gotten it right as well.
The Hiddush religious freedom lobbying group said the decision to
impose criminal sanctions was “a classic example of public deception and
the preference for coalition survival instead of the good of the
country.
“This decision ensures that equality in military
conscription will not be achieved, but what will be achieved is a
severe and unnecessary societal division,” the organization commented.
That's probably accurate....
Labels: Ayelet Shaked, draft, Haredim, IDF, Jewish Home party, Yesh Atid party
Equalized army service for thee but not for me
What a fiasco....
Prime Minister Netanyahu has frozen the vote in the Shaked Committee on sanctions against Haredim refusing to join the army, after the Haredim in the committee said that they would vote with the secular parties to '
equalize' army service (by increasing the length of time in the army) for the hesder yeshivas. The hesder yeshivas, which combine army service with Torah study, are a sacred cow of the national religious community.
The drama unfolded during the Committee meeting when MK Eliezer Stern
(HaTnua) requested a revote on whether or not the army service chapter
of the Hesder program, which combines Torah learning with army service,
will be lengthened. Hareidi MKs then stated that they would, indeed,
vote for the service to be lengthened.
One United Torah Judaism MK told Arutz Sheva that the move was in response to Jewish Home, who finally agreed with Yesh Atid Tuesday to allow criminal sanctions to be enacted for hareidi draft-dodgers - albeit with a few caveats. "You push us, we'll push back," the MK fired.
The Prime Minister then allegedly ordered MK Tzahi Hanegbi to leave
the session and not to vote against the Hesder service extension, after
realizing that Yesh Atid and Jewish Home had formed a "deal" to
keep Hesder yeshiva service at the status quo.
At this point, Netanyahu put the vote on hold until internal
conflicts could be worked out within the coalition. It is unclear why
Netanyahu protested the move, as an agreement signed between the Likud
and Jewish Home upon the latter entering the coalition included a clause
ensuring that Hesder army service would remain as it is: at 16 months.
Maybe Netanyahu is still holding out hope that the Haredim will replace Jewish Home in the coalition if the latter leaves over the 'peace process.'
Earlier on Tuesday, in a Facebook post, Jewish Home MK Uri Orbach lashed out at the Haredi parties for '
incitement' against the National Religious community.
"I am surprised to see the gap between Jewish Home's efforts to save
them [the hareidi community] from the 'draft edict,' as they call it,
and the outpouring of hate they respond with in the Knesset and in their
newspapers," Orbach lamented.
...
The MK stressed that Jewish Home "is not looking for gratitude" from
the hareidi sector, per se, "but nearly our entire faction rose up to
try and prevent any single hareidi man from, G-d forbid, being drafted
into the terrible army," he sarcastically noted. "Our faction was
willing to dilute those 'criminal' sanctions until the Messiah comes,
and to take into account the hareidi community's needs as much as
possible."
Orbach lamented that the repayment that the Jewish Home, and the
religious Zionist community, have received for their trouble, has been
to be lumped together with the hareidi community, as the latter are
being sanctioned by the State for refusing to heed the draft order.
"We have paid the price now that the Hesder yeshivas
are facing cuts, because [MK Eliezer] Stern and the secular factions
are apparently despairing on the hareidi draft issue," the MK fired.
"In all our efforts to appease the hareidi community and show that we
care about the Torah learning of the hareidi world (even those who
don't actually sit and learn), we seem to have forgotten that the ideal
is a combination of army learning and Torah study," he added. "That a
man has to provide for his family and also learn Torah. Yes, nonsense
like that."
"They call us the 'Home of Gentiles',
they spit dirt at us about our Rabbis, and we stay silent.,'" the MK
continued, in a Facebook post. "It is difficult for us to fight with
them, they are really unfortunate, and maybe one day they will even
agree with us on the issue of the Land of Israel (ha!)."
"Yes, sometimes politics demands patience and forbearance," he
reflected. "But sometimes we also exaggerate the issues a little."
The Haredim still resent Jewish Home going into the coalition with Yesh Atid under an agreement to keep the Haredim out. Is anyone really surprised at this?
Labels: Ayelet Shaked, draft, Haredim, hesder, IDF, Jewish Home party, National Religious, Yesh Atid party
Shaked Committee caves in to Lapid
I suppose this was inevitable. A report indicates that the Shaked Committee, which is dealing with the new law to draft Haredim, has agreed to impose criminal sanctions on Haredim who don't go to the army. But only after six months....
According to the new compromise, the sanctions against draft-dodgers
will be criminal, not economic - but only for a six-month period after
the Equal Burden of Service bill becomes law.
If the hareidi community does not meet the draft quota during a
shorter transition period after the law is enacted, the six-month
waiting period will take effect; the waiting period will, in turn, give
lawmakers time to gauge the effectiveness of the law and whether or not
there are other ways to solve the draft problem.
According to the framework reached within the Quartet of the Shaked
Committee - which consists of Chairman Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home), MK
Ofir Shelah (Yesh Atid), MK Elazar Stern (HaTnua), and MK Amar Bar-Lev
(Labor) - the compromise is meant to bridge the gap between Yesh Atid,
which has been demanding criminal sanctions, and Jewish Home, which has been pushing for economic sanctions.
The compromise, as drafted by Bar-Lev,
sees both needs being met. On the one hand, the hareidi community has
been given a shorter interim period to respond to the draft notice; on
the other hand, the waiting period allows for the implementation of
economic sanctions to return to the committee agenda.
According to a "senior source," several members of the committee are
still pushing for economic sanctions to be enacted, as a preliminary
measure before the criminal sanctions take effect; however, the
likelihood of the proposal being accepted is minimal.
And for those of you who think that the Haredim will run to join the IDF once this bill is passed... that seems unlikely.
Tuesday's announcement surfaces amid concerns that the prospect of
criminal sanctions have already alienated the hareidi community even
more from the idea of a draft, after the Shas party quit the Shaked Committee over the move. Hareidi
leaders have expressed strong opposition to criminal sanctions for
yeshiva students, and some pro-enlistment leaders have warned that
strong sanctions could create a backlash that would mean fewer hareidi men in the army, not more.
For what it's worth, there is a split with the Haredi community over how to respond to this issue. All of those who have been arrested for being AWOL have been followers of Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, who have been told not to appear at IDF headquarters at all in response to induction notices. Meanwhile the followers of Rabbi Aryeh Leib Steinman have been told to appear but not to sign at the final stage.
Last week's
demonstration was organized by the followers of Rabbi Auerbach through their daily newspaper, HaPeles. Last night, someone showed me a letter signed by Rabbi Steinman and Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, condemning HaPeles, and urging that it not be read. Where the split will lead if criminal sanctions come into effect is still up in the air. But there is apparently some division among the rabbis about how provocative the Haredim should be, and for now, at least, the authorities are only responding to those they deem most provocative.
Labels: Ayelet Shaked, draft, Haredim, IDF, Jewish Home party, Rabbi Aaron Leib Steinman, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid party
Coalition crisis ahead?
A coalition crisis may be in the offing between Prime Minister Netanyahu and Yair Lapid and Yesh Atid. The Prime Minister said on Thursday that
no one is going to jail for studying in yeshiva.
“I won’t be a part of sending Jews to jail for studying Torah,” Netanyahu declared.
His statement came in response to a question from Gershon Mesika, head of the Samaria Regional Council, at a Likud party event.
The Shaked Committee, which is tasked with drafting a law on hareidi
enlistment, has seen its work delayed by debates over the question of
punishment. The Yesh Atid party strongly favors criminal sanctions.
Hareidi leaders have expressed strong opposition to criminal
sanctions for yeshiva students, and pro-enlistment leaders have warned
that strong sanctions could create a backlash that would mean fewer hareidi men in the army, not more.
That's Netanyahu's opinion, but if you don't like that, he has other opinions....
Labels: Ayelet Shaked, Binyamin Netanyahu, crime, Haredim, IDF, Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid party
You can study in yeshiva until you're 23... but only if it's a Zionist yeshiva
The Shaked Committee - headed by Ayelet Shaked - passed a law on Tuesday (which still has to pass the full Knesset) that will allow students to remain in yeshiva until age 23...
but only if they're in a Zionist yeshiva.
The committee, which is tasked with creating a law on army service
for hareidi men, had decided that hareidi men should be allowed to study
in yeshiva prior to enlisting in the military, but should be required
to enlist by age 21.
Many committee members initially said the age-21 cut-off should apply
universally, meaning that long-term students in Zionist yeshivas would
be required to enlist at the same age. Shaked and others fought that
approach. Nearly all students in Zionist yeshivas do eventually enlist,
they said, and students at pro-enlistment schools should not be punished
for low enlistment rates at other yeshivas.
The students in question are learning about the importance of
enlistment in yeshiva, and therefore do not need the threat of sanctions
to motivate them, they argued.
The committee ultimately voted to accept an alternate proposal
according to which students at Zionist yeshivas will be allowed to delay
enlistment until age 23. A select group of 300 students will be allowed
to postpone enlistment until age 26.
...
A similar arrangement was proposed for hareidi yeshivas as well, despite
the fact that hareidi yeshivas do not encourage students to enlist in
the military. However, hareidi representatives rejected the proposal,
which would have included a commitment for all students to eventually
enlist.
I would tell you that the chances of that standing up to Supreme Court scrutiny are slim to none, but these days, one never knows.
Labels: Ayelet Shaked, Haredim, IDF, National Religious, Torah, Yeshiva boys
Bill would ban pardons for convicted murderers
In a bid to prevent future releases of terrorists, MK Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) has introduced a bill that would
prevent pardons for convicted murderers.
The bill, if passed, would change one of the Basic Laws of Israel, which forms the basis for the
formation and role of Israel's institutions, and the relations between
the state's different ministries and authorities. The Basic Law of the
President of the State, passed in 1964, allows the President to pardon
criminals - at least until now.
The new amendment would change this rule, preventing any convicted
terrorist from being pardoned for his crimes under certain
conditions. The amendment seeks to allow the judges of the court during
trials for nationalist murders, terrorist activity or any other heinous
crime, to negate at the time of sentencing the possibility of providing
future amnesty.
The bill has already garnered tremendous cross-party support: it was
signed by members of Jewish Home, HaTnua, Likud, Yisrael Beyteinu and
Kadima.
Shaked explained, "Releasing terrorists has never been a 'red line'
of any government.
Therefore it is important for us as legislators to
stop the contemptible and despicable pardoning of terrorists and
murderers. Right now, in the shadow of the terrorist releases, it is
more important than ever to determine the 'red lines' of our governing
system."
"From now on, the courts will decide on a case-by-case basis whether
or not a criminal can ever be pardoned," Shaked continued. "Extreme
cases will be denied the right to pardon, so that murderers cannot
generally become a tool for future negotiations."
"If, legally, we can prevent future terrorist releases [. . .] we can put the country back on track."
I wonder if Tzipi Livni will try to block this one in the Ministerial Legislation Committee.
Labels: Ayelet Shaked, Palestinian terrorists, Tzipi Livni
