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Mansour Abbas, the leader of an Arab Islamist party in Israel, delivered a prime-time address in Hebrew on Thursday, during which he called for coexistence between Arabs and Jews. Abbas’s United Arab List (UAL) won just four seats in last week’s parliamentary elections, but his tiny party could potentially decide whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains in office, following the country’s fourth inconclusive election in less than three years. In Abbas's closely watched speech, he did not take political sides, but rather spoke to “a vision of peace, mutual security, partnership, and tolerance” in the search for common ground between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism—as well as between Arabs and Jews. “The time has arrived to listen to the other, to recognize the narratives and to look for what we have in common,” he said, in fluent Hebrew. Abbas broke with other Arab parties when he suggested he would be open to partnering with right-wing leaders—including Netanyahu—if by doing so he could secure gains for the Arab community. Netanyahu has tried to keep his options open, but progress with UAL could prove difficult, given his bloc’s reliance on a far-right party.
Israel was left without its justice minister as of early Friday, after Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is on trial for alleged corruption, refused to enable a permanent appointment for the post. This development will impact a broad range of government functions, and indicates that Israel’s transitional government will struggle to introduce new laws—including any relating to the coronavirus pandemic—as legislation begins in the Justice Ministry and must have the approval of the justice minister. In the hours before the midnight deadline, critics castigated Netanyahu, and accused him of placing his own needs before those of the country.
Netanyahu is set to appear in court on Monday, after prosecutors told the Jerusalem District Court that he should be present for the beginning of his corruption trial. On Wednesday, Netanyahu’s legal team asked the court to waive the requirement that he be in the courtroom for the proceedings. The evidentiary phase of Netanyahu’s trial—for alleged bribery, fraud, and breach of trust—will begin with hearings scheduled for three times a week, Monday through Wednesday. A new report details “hundreds of witnesses” who will likely testify at the trial. The intensive legal proceedings will coincide with President Reuven Revlin’s Monday meetings with representatives of all political parties to hear their nominations for the next prime minister, following last week’s inconclusive election.
US President Joe Biden's administration is ramping up aid to the Palestinian's in what's being considered a "reset" from the Trump administration's policies. Additionally, Biden's US State Department spokesman Ned Price said, "it is a historical fact that Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan Heights after the 1967 War." The issue was raised after the current US State Department published the 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices on Tuesday. It is the first of the annual reports released since Biden took office in January. The report did affirm some of the steps taken by the Trump administration, which had both recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
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Shabbat Shalom,
Jackie Congedo, Director, JCRC
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