14 Days: Farag Studio

Top Israeli photographer Sivan Farag hosted a festive opening attended by many dignitaries of his family’s new studio in Hod Hasharon.

By STEVE LINDE
Updated: NOVEMBER 26, 2018 12:10
Farag family (photo credit: SIVAN FARAG)
Farag family
(photo credit: SIVAN FARAG)
FARAG STUDIO Top Israeli photographer Sivan Farag hosted a festive opening attended by many dignitaries of his family’s new studio in Hod Hasharon on November 2, together with his wife, Anat, and children, Sun and Lee, who are both photographers. The family business was started by Sivan’s legendary father, Sami Farag, and on exhibition were images taken by the three Farag generations of famous Israelis and visiting personalities over the last 70 years.
GAZA BATTLE IDF Lt.-Col. M. was killed and another soldier wounded in a firefight between Israeli special troops and Hamas gunmen in the southern Gaza Strip on the night of November 11. “From the moment they were discovered, they conducted a heroic battle,” an IDF spokesperson said, without providing details.
Earlier in the day, the IDF killed five Hamas gunmen, including two commanders, following Hamas rocket attacks on southern Israel.
SUBMARINE AFFAIR The Israel Police announced on November 8 that it had completed its investigation into Case 3000 (known as the Submarine Affair) and would recommend that the State Attorney’s Office prosecute six prime suspects for bribery and corruption, including David Shimron, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's lawyer, former chief of staff in the Prime Minister’s Office David Sharan, former Israel Navy chief Eliezer Marom, former National Security Council deputy Avriel Bar-Yosef, and former minister Eliezer Zandberg. The police said there was not sufficient evidence against Netanyahu himself or his legal adviser, Yitzhak Molcho, but opposition MKs demanded a state commission of inquiry into what Labor leader Avi Gabbay called “the biggest corruption scandal in Israel’s history.”
DEADLY ROAD Eight members of the Atar family from Psagot – Yariv and Shoshi and their six children – were killed on October 30 on Route 90, near Ein Bokek, when their car went up in flames after colliding head-on with another vehicle, whose driver was detained. A few days later, on November 4, six people were killed and seven injured when a truck driving on Route 90 near the Petzael Junction collided with a van carrying Palestinian workers from the Jerusalem area to Beit She’an. Following the fatalities, road safety experts called for dividers to be erected between opposing lanes on the narrow highway.
MANDEBLIT VS SHAKED Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit on November 7 rejected a demand from Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked that he fire his deputy, Dina Zilber, over critical comments she had made against the government’s cultural loyalty bill, which passed its first reading earlier in the week. During a meeting of a Knesset committee the day before, Zilber criticized the bill, which would withhold state funds from cultural institutions deemed disloyal, saying it “posed real difficulties.” The Jerusalem Post reported that despite Mandelblit’s stern rebuke, he and Shaked reached an informal understanding limiting Zilber’s future appearances in public forums until her final status is decided.
NEW COMMISSIONER Moshe “Chico” Edri was named by Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan on November 2 to replace Israel’s outgoing police commissioner, Roni Alsheich. The selection needs to be approved by a committee headed by retired judge Eliezer Goldberg. Edri, 51, served in the Israel Police since 1990 in a number of leadership roles, including commander of both the Jerusalem and Tel Aviv districts.
LOCAL ELECTIONS In a surprise result, Dr. Einat Kalisch Rotem (Labor) was elected as Haifa’s first woman mayor on October 30, defeating Yona Yahav, who had served since 2003. In Tel Aviv, however, Ron Huldai – who has been mayor for two decades – defeated his deputy, Asaf Zamir, while Beersheba Mayor Ruvik Danilovich won a record 92% of the vote.
In Jerusalem, a runoff was called for November 13 between Moshe Lion (33%) and Ofer Berkovitch (29%) after they emerged as frontrunners against Ze’ev Elkin and Yossi Daitch. Berkovitch’s Hitorerut Party won seven seats on the city council, although Haredi parties won a majority of the 31 seats on the council. Voter turnout was relatively high, at 57%, as Israelis got the day off for the first time.