Israel teeters on the brink of a mid-pandemic election
● Netanyahu engineers state budget crisis to push for fourth election and avoid PM rotation
V THE DEMISE of the new Netanyahu government just three months after its formation was prevented — or perhaps only delayed — on Wednesday, when the Knesset voted to give extra time for passing the state budget.
Both main parties of the coalition, Likud and Blue and White, voted in favour but the deep disagreement between them over whether to pass a short-term budget until the end of the year, or one that includes 2021, remains.
Wednesday’s vote was the culmination of days of recriminations between Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz over the budget — although no one in Israeli politics believes that is the real issue.
Mr Netanyahu, who has long been in favour of multi-year budgets, has suddenly changed his mind and is insisting one which will only cover the four months until the end of 2020.
He insists that this is necessary to take drastic steps to deal with the covid-19 crisis and resulting economic crisis.
Only three months ago, at the height of the crisis, Mr Netanyahu signed a coalition agreement with Mr Gantz in which the new government committed to pass a budget including 2021.
Since Israeli electoral law stipulates that a government that fails to pass a budget is forced to dissolve and call elections, Mr Netanyahu’s sudden change of mind is aimed at creating another budget crisis next year, in order to prevent the “rotation” between him and Mr Gantz in the prime minister’s job, scheduled to take place in November 2021.
“We want a state budget and Likud wants a political budget,” said Mr Gantz on Sunday. “There isn’t one economist who supports a budget (just) for the High Holidays. It’s ridiculous.” Mr Gatntz accused the prime
THOUSANDS REPORTEDLY attended the wedding of the grandson of a Chasidic leader in Jerusalem last Wednesday, despite Israel’s coronavirus restrictions strictly prohibiting such a large gathering.
Attendees had been invited by the leader of the Belz dynasty, Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach, who stated that he valued the “spiritual wellbeing” of his congregation over the government’s restrictions.
Videos from the wedding show thousands — mostly unmasked — gathering at what appears to be an open air structure, although there were conflicting reports as to whether the event was held indoors or outdoors.
Israeli government restrictions limit the number of people that can gather indoors to ten and outdoors to 20.
Israeli police fined the organisers NIS 5,000 and opened an investigation into violations of licensing laws at the venue.
It was also reported that organisers had been concerned that Israeli police would break up the event and had sought to stop those present from taking photos or bringing cameras into the venue by threatening reprisals against those who did not follow their guidance and searching those attending.
Rabbi Rokeach, who is often considered the second-most important Chasidic leader in Israel, is among the few senior Orthodox leaders to have largely ignored coronavirus restrictions and he hosted a large gathering at Passover.
Rabbi Rokeach is a senior member of the Council of Torah Sages of the Agudat Yisrael faction of United Torah Judaism, a strictly Orthodox party that is a partner in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition.
In 2013, an estimated 25,000 attended a wedding to another grandson, Shalom.