News From October 28-November 3rd

Israeli election update, escalation in Gaza, and the Taliban

I hope everyone had a good week! As always, if you have any comments, questions, or concerns, send an email to newsofthejews@gmail.com.

Israeli election update:

Does Israel have a government yet? ***Sighs*** Nope. 

Anything new? Blue and White leader Benny Gantz met with a variety of parties to no avail. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Yisrael Beiteinu leader Liberman, and Gantz still have not found a compromise solution to the political quagmire. Gantz still has about two weeks before his proverbial mandate expires, so there is still some hope of averting another round of elections. As the deadline gets closer and closer, some of the leaders on the right are starting to sweat because it’s looking increasingly likely that voters will hold the right-wing bloc responsible if Israel goes to a third election. 

What happens while Israel doesn’t have a government? Israel has not had a governing coalition since before the first elections in April. I imagine some folks are wondering what not having a government means with regard to everyday governance. Lahav Harkov of the Jerusalem Post makes the human cost of the political stalemate clear: 

“People’s lives are at stake. With ever-growing challenges and instability in the Middle East, the security budget is basically frozen and the IDF can’t plan for the future. The health basket committee cannot determine which medicines will be included in our socialized health system. Shelters for battered women and at-risk youth have had to shut down.”

In any event, no significant legislation can be considered until Israel forms a government. Consequently, Israel cannot make any progress on any pressing issues. The longer the stalemate lasts, the more costly it will be. When you see leaders calling to avoid a third round of elections, part of it is undoubtedly rhetoric, but a great deal of the motivation to compromise now is to prevent the genuine human costs of the deadlock. 

Further reading:https://www.jpost.com/Israel-Elections (JPost)

Update: Since I wrote this, there have been reports that Liberman’s Yisrael Beitenu is considering joining the right-wing bloc, potentially giving Netanyahu a path to a coalition.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad launches rockets at southern Israel:

What happened? On Friday night, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a terrorist group in Gaza, launched ten rockets into southern Israel. The rockets came in two separate barrages. Israel’s Iron Dome system intercepted all seven rockets in the first barrage. One of the three rockets in the second barrage hit a home in Sderot, a city in southern Israel. Thankfully, although one woman was injured from falling while she was on her way to a bomb shelter, no Israeli civilians were seriously wounded. 

Did Israel respond? In retaliation for the rocket attacks, Israel carried out a series of airstrikes targeting Hamas positions in Gaza. Hamas is the de facto ruling party of Gaza, and though it didn’t launch the rockets, Israel holds it responsible for all militant behavior in the strip (more on this in a bit). The targets included an arms manufacturing facility, training facilities, an air defense compound, a missile simulator, underground infrastructure, and a military compound that housed weapons.

Why would Israel retaliate against Hamas if it was PIJ that launched the rockets? As I mentioned, Israel considers Hamas responsible for any terrorist aggression originating in Gaza. Though Hamas retains a firm grip on power in Gaza, PIJ is said to have been gaining “control of the streets” in recent years. Led by Baha Abu Al-Ata, PIJ is an Iranian proxy, even though it is a Sunni Jihadist group (Iran is a Shia-dominated country). PIJ has been responsible for a series of low-profile terror incidents recently, including an April rocket attack and periodic sniper fire against soldiers. Many suspect that the goal of PIJ is to undermine Israel-Hamas ceasefires and generally disrupt the relative peace along the Gazan border. Regardless, Israeli media is reporting that there was full coordination between Hamas and PIJ for this attack. Keep an eye on their rather tenuous relationship.

Anything else? Even though Friday’s escalation has appeared to die down, many Israelis are losing patience with the frequent flare-ups with Gaza. Senior Israeli officials are now discussing the possibility of a broader engagement with Hamas. Many feel like it is just a matter of time until Israel has to enter Gaza, fight Hamas, and destroy terror capabilities. Time will tell. In any event, this flare-up comes at an interesting time. Last week, reports were circulating that Iran was seeking to attack Israel from Yemen. There has also been a rise in tensions between Israel and Hezbollah recently. Given the political turmoil in Lebanon, it is definitely possible that Iran is trying to distract Israel from developments in the north, where Hezbollah is actively trying to pacify protests against the government. Iran may be trying to deter Israel from taking advantage of the instability in Lebanon by distracting it with provocations in Gaza.

Further reading: https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/.premium-israeli-response-to-gaza-rockets-a-signal-to-hamas-to-rein-in-islamic-jihad-1.8066642 (Haaretz)

Taliban releases “last Afghani Jews” from prison because they were too annoying:

Wait, what? On a lighter note, this Jewish news represents probably the funniest news in a while. Apparently, some of the last Afghan Jews were thrown in prison because they wouldn’t stop arguing with each other. Then, the Taliban released the two men because they still wouldn’t stop arguing and became too annoying. Too good. 

In case you are wondering, their argument was over who was the rightful owner of their synagogue in Kabul.

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