CRISIS AVERTED
A crisis in Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s coalition ended when Meretz MK Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi (pictured) withdrew her threat to resign in protest against its “hawkish steps” on key issues related to Arab-Israeli citizens. “I will support the coalition as long as it is attentive to the needs of Arab society,” she stated. Zoabi, who had been slated to be Israel’s consul general in Shanghai, was persuaded to remain in the fragile coalition of 60 Knesset members during meetings with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, Meretz MKs and Arab mayors.
<br>AIDE QUITS
Prime Minister Bennett’s chief of staff, Tal Gan-Zvi, 41, who served as his adviser for 13 years, announced his resignation after a year in the job. The resignation came just two weeks after Shimrit Meir, Bennett’s diplomatic adviser, announced that she would step down on June 1. Gan-Zvi is being replaced by attorney Eden Bizman, 36, who previously served as Deputy Director-General of the Prime Minister’s Office. Bennett also appointed British-born Keren Hajioff, 32, his foreign media adviser, as his Special Adviser for Foreign Affairs and Communications.
PLOT FOILED
Israeli security forces uncovered a Hamas terror cell in east Jerusalem that planned a series of attacks, including against MK Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit). According to the Shin Bet and police, the five Palestinian men in the cell had planned a shooting attack on Ben-Gvir and other Israeli targets, as well as kidnappings of IDF soldiers and bombing the Jerusalem light rail with a drone. Security sources said the cell was led by Rashid Rashak, an Old City resident who is accused of establishing a network of Hamas supporters said to be behind recent violence on the Temple Mount.
<br>TEHRAN HIT
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi warned that Iran would avenge the killing of Revolutionary Guards Col. Hassan Sayyad Khodaei in central Tehran on May 22. Khodaei, who was shot dead outside his home by two gunmen on motorcycles, had reportedly been planning abductions and attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets worldwide. While Israeli officials declined comment, The New York Times reported that Israel had informed the US that it was responsible for the assassination.
<br>TURKISH VISIT
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu visited Israel at the end of May in the first high-level trip of a Turkish official in 15 years. Speaking at a joint news conference with Foreign Minister Lapid, Cavusoglu said restoring full ties between Israel and Turkey would help ensure a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Lapid announced two steps in the reconciliation process: “We agreed to relaunch our Joint Economic Commission and to begin working on a new civil aviation agreement between our countries.” A new aviation deal will open the way for Israeli planes to resume flights to Turkey.
“We agreed to relaunch our Joint Economic Commission and to begin working on a new civil aviation agreement between our countries.”
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid
<br>CABLE CAR
The High Court of Justice rejected petitions against a controversial cable car project to allow visitors from western Jerusalem easier access to the Old City. The petitions argued among other points that the project would disturb the historical integrity of the site. Although justices Yosef Elron, Alex Stein and Anat Baron said the court would not overturn the approval granted by various committees, Baron suggested that decision-makers should reconsider the wisdom of the project, which will change the skyline of the Old City and its walls.
TOP JUDGE
Alan Magid, a highly respected South African judge and doyen of the Durban Jewish community who served as a justice on the High Court for 13 years, died in Durban on May 20, four days before his 93rd birthday. “What was remarkable about Alan is that despite his busy and demanding professional life, he made time to devote himself to communal service, and even after his retirement from the bench had been a volunteer guide at the Durban Holocaust & Genocide Center and a reader and editor for Tape Aids for the Blind,” said Rabbi Pinchas Zekry, offering condolences to his three children and their families.