NY SUMMIT
US President Joe Biden held talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on September 20 in New York, where both men addressed the UN General Assembly. After Biden voiced optimism about the prospects of normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu said “such a peace would go a long way, first to advance the end of the Arab-Israeli conflict, achieve reconciliation between the Islamic world and the Jewish state, and advance a genuine peace between Israel and the Palestinians.” Meanwhile, in an interview with Fox News, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said his country was moving steadily closer to relations with Israel. “Every day we get closer,” he said.
CAPTIVES COORDINATOR
Prime Minister Netanyahu on October 8 appointed Brig.-Gen. Gal Hirsch as coordinator for all Israel’s captives and missing. “All government ministries will carry out his directives on this issue,” Netanyahu said.
CAIRO KILLINGS
Two Israeli tourists were killed on October 8 when a gunman opened fire on a group of Israeli tourists in the Egyptian port city Alexandria. The Foreign Ministry said their Egyptian tour guide was killed as well, and a third Israeli was moderately injured.
TULKARM CLASH
Five Border Police officers were wounded, three seriously, when IDF troops clashed with Palestinian gunmen in the Tulkarm refugee camp on October 5. Two Hamas terrorists were killed by security forces in a separate clash.
VISA WAIVER
The US announced on September 27 that Israel has been admitted into the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP), signaling a major boost to bilateral ties. The official announcement making Israel the 41st country to enter the VWP was made by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. They expressed the hope that from November, Israelis can enter the US for up to 90 days without a visa.
ARROW DEAL
An agreement for the sale of Israel’s Arrow-3 long-range anti-ballistic missile was signed on September 28 in Berlin by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Defense Ministry Director-General Eyal Zamir said the $3.5 billion deal was the largest in Israel’s history.
DIZENGOFF SCUFFLES
Clashes broke out in Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Square on the evening of Yom Kippur, September 24, when members of the Orthodox group Rosh Yehudi set up an improvised gender divider of Israeli flags at an outdoor prayer service, even though the city, backed by the Supreme Court, had prohibited the use of partitions in public spaces. Protesters pulled down the flags and removed the chairs that organizers had set up, effectively preventing the service.
PRISON SCANDAL
Israel Prison Service Commissioner Katy Perry and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir issued a joint statement at the end of September saying that female IDF soldiers would no longer serve as guards in security prisons. The announcement came after it was reported that a female soldier serving as a prison guard during her mandatory service was suspected of having an intimate relationship with a Palestinian security prisoner.
CLIMATE MOU
Israel and the US signed a five-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) on environmental and climate issues on September 18. The MOU, which replaces an existing one that expires at the end of October and includes a more significant focus on climate change, was initialed by Israel’s Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman and US Environmental Protection Agency Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe in Washington, DC.
TOP EDUCATOR
German-born, British-educated Prof. Alice Shalvi, an eloquent educator, feminist and Israel Prize laureate, died in Jerusalem on October 2, two weeks short of her 97th birthday. Shalvi, the longtime principal of Jerusalem’s Pelech School for Girls and founder of the Israel Women’s Network, made aliyah in 1949. She is survived by five of her six children, 21 grandchildren, and 26 great-grandchildren.
LONGTIME SENATOR
Dianne Feinstein, the longest-serving Jewish and female US senator, died on September 29 at age 90. Feinstein, a Democrat from California, served in the Senate since 1992 after serving as mayor of San Francisco and was the oldest sitting senator. She leaves a daughter, Katherine, and granddaughter, Eileen.