Knesset

Standing up to the PM

MK Dan Illouz opposes legislation that would enshrine the exemption of Haredim from military service. (photo from Knesset)

Dan Illouz, a Montreal-born Likud rookie member of the Knesset, is making a name for himself in Israel’s Parliament by speaking against his own party’s policy of opposing the draft of Haredim (ultra-Orthodox Jews) into the Israel Defence Forces.

“Exempting such a large group of people from their obligation to serve in the IDF at such a critical time is anti-Zionist,” the freshman lawmaker tweeted recently on X.

Responding to the challenge to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s leadership, the Likud has taken steps to clamp down on internal dissent by party lawmakers opposed to legislation that would enshrine the exemption of members of the ultra-Orthodox community from military service.

The IDF’s personnel shortage has become acute in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, surprise attack on Israeli cities and kibbutzim ringing the Gaza Strip, followed by Hezbollah’s rocket campaign against the Galilee and Central Israel that began the next day. Reservists, called miluimnikim in Hebrew, have been repeatedly called up for months at a time. But, Netanyahu must balance his party’s stability in government with military personnel considerations, not to mention growing casualties.

In a move widely seen as linked to then-defence minister Yoav Gallant’s opposition to the controversial military draft exemption legislation – which has been demanded by ultra-Orthodox coalition partners whose support Likud needs to stay in power – Netanyahu fired Gallant last month and appointed Israel Katz in his stead. The prime minister then pushed for party discipline against dissenters like Illouz, who holds the rank of captain in the IDF reserves.

Coalition whip Ofir Katz informed Illouz that he was being removed from the Knesset’s economic affairs committee and foreign affairs and defence committee due to his “statements regarding coalition discipline and his conduct in recent days,” a spokesperson for Katz said.

In a further slap on the wrist, Illouz was barred from submitting private bills for six weeks.

Illouz has long spoken out against efforts to pass new legislation regulating exemptions for yeshivah students following a High Court ruling in June that they must enlist in the IDF unless a new bill is passed.

Digging in recently, Illouz announced his opposition to the coalition’s Daycare Bill, which seeks to circumvent a High Court ruling preventing state-funded daycare subsidies from going to the children of ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers.

“Exempting such a large group from the duty to serve in the IDF in such a critical period is a non-Zionist act that is unworthy of us as a nation – whether it be called ‘the enlistment law’ or ‘the daycare law,’ whose purpose is to cancel the daycares sanction and restore the funding,” Illouz declared.

The Daycare Bill was removed from the Knesset agenda last month after it failed to garner sufficient coalition support.

A member of the Quebec and Israeli bar associations, and a former legislative adviser to the Knesset’s coalition chair, Illouz previously served in a legal capacity at Israel’s Foreign Ministry. He is a graduate of McGill University Law School and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s master’s program in public policy.

Drawing on his legal expertise, Illouz co-authored a law banning any Israeli interaction with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), due to some of its members’ being involved with Hamas in general and in the Oct. 7 massacre in particular.

Humanitarian aid and services to the two million people in Gaza must now be based on alternative agencies such as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN International Children’s Emergency Fund and the World Food Organization, said Illouz. (More than 200,000 Gazans have fled to Egypt and elsewhere since war broke out in their coastal enclave 15 months ago.)

Born in Canada to Moroccan immigrants, Illouz made aliyah in 2009 after completing his law studies. Like all newly elected MKs holding foreign citizenship, he was required to surrender his second passport before being sworn in as a member of Israel’s Parliament.

Illouz continues to serve as the chair of the Knesset delegation to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and be a member of the Knesset delegation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, an international body that brings together parliamentarians from 180 countries.

Gil Zohar is a writer and tour guide in Jerusalem.

New MK has Canadian roots

Both MK Michal Cotler-Wunsh, left, and her political aide, Becca Wertman, have Canadian roots. (photo from Becca Wertman)

A new, dynamic force has hit the Knesset, with a political aide just as passionate, and both are rooted in Canada.

Michal Cotler-Wunsh, who once held Canadian citizenship, became a Member of the Knesset for the Blue and White Party this past June. She is among those who have endorsed a proposed bill that, if passed, would change the requirement that Knesset members who hold citizenship in another country must give up that citizenship.

Recently sworn in, Cotler-Wunsh heads a staff of four – a political aide, a parliamentary aide, a spokesperson and an aide who works with her on her portfolio as chair of the Drug and Alcohol Use Committee. In a recent interview, she told the Independent that the issues that concern her are “unity, mamlachliut (often translated statesmanship) and responsibility…. You can’t politicize or personalize issues,” she stressed. Two other issues about which she is passionate are “the ability to combat antisemitism and a commitment to olim [immigrants] and prospective olim.”

Cotler-Wunsh also emphasized her commitment to Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. As a lawyer and international law expert, she added that the international community and Israel must always uphold international law and not allow terror groups to exist in a culture of impunity. She specifically highlighted the importance of this in the context of Hamas not returning the four Israelis currently being held captive in Gaza, in a six-year standing violation of international law.

Jerusalem-born, Cotler-Wunsh spent her first seven years in Israel. When her mother, Ariela (née Ze’evi), married Canadian Irwin Cotler, the family moved to Montreal, where her three siblings were born. Most JI readers will be familiar with Cotler-Wunsh’s father, a former minister of justice of Canada, an international human rights lawyer, emeritus professor of law at McGill University, and founder and chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, among other things.

Cotler-Wunsh returned to Israel for a one-year program after high school and stayed to serve in the Israel Defence Forces as a lone soldier. She then received her law degree from the Hebrew University and did her internship.

In 2000, she and her husband returned to Canada with their son but returned to Israel 10 years later, by which time they had three more children. In 2010, she became associated with the Interdisciplinary Centre in Herzliya and was a research fellow at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism.

Cotler-Wunsh’s political aide is Vancouver-born and -raised Becca Wertman. The two met at a conference of nongovernmental organizations. “I read Becca, I heard her voice in what she writes,” said Cotler-Wunsh.

Wertman, who is the daughter of Charles and Carla Wertman of Vancouver, has a bachelor degree from the University of Southern California in international relations and a master’s from Columbia University in political science. She was managing editor and responsible for the Canada portfolio at the Jerusalem-based research institute NGO Monitor, authoring articles for a wide variety of publications.

“My messages are very nuanced; it was important to find somebody that can make my nuanced messages accessible to the public and be able to represent me,” explained Cotler-Wunsh. “Having read some of what Becca published, I saw that the values that drive me also drive Becca as well, particularly in the areas of human rights, international law, Zionism and democracy.”

Wertman manages Cotler-Wunsh’s schedule, handles all things that come in English, including media and social media, and reaches out to NGOs that fight antisemitism or are concerned with olim; she also assists Cotler-Wunsh in her foreign endeavours. Like her boss, she is passionate about issues concerning olim chadashim (new immigrants) and working with Diaspora communities.

Wertman made aliyah in 2016 and went to an ulpan to learn Hebrew; she is engaged to an oleh from Chicago. She sees her role as a perfect fit because of the values she shares with Cotler-Wunsh and their shared Canadian backgrounds. In addition, she admires Cotler-Wunsh’s father.

“As a Canadian who is interested in human rights, Prof. Irwin Cotler has been someone I looked up to for many years,” said Wertman.

In June, when Cotler-Wunsh received word that she would be a member of the Knesset, she reached out to Wertman and offered her the position.

“I’m 100% dedicated to MK Michal Cutler-Wunsh, to help her accomplish what she wants to accomplish,” said Wertman. “I fully believe in her goals. Her issues are those I care about. I feel so lucky to work for a member of the Knesset who is furthering issues that I so deeply believe in.” She added, “her background in human rights and international law, these are unique and important skills, experiences and values that can and will add to the Knesset.”

Sybil Kaplan is a journalist, lecturer, book reviewer and food writer in Jerusalem. She created and leads the weekly English-language Shuk Walks in Machane Yehuda, she has compiled and edited nine kosher cookbooks, and is the author of Witness to History: Ten Years as a Woman Journalist in Israel.

הערים היקרות בעולם

הונג קונג (סין) היא העיר היקרה ביותר בעולם. (צילום: Estial)

מי אמר שקנדה יקרה: רק 5 ערים קנדיות ברשימת 209 הערים היקרות בעולם

חברת הייעוץ מרסר מפרסמת את הדוח השנתי ליוקר המחייה בעולם. המדד של מרסר המתפרסם זו השנה ה-24 ברציפות כולל 209 ערים, והוא מתבסס על בדיקת עלויות של למעלה מ-200 מוצרים שונים (כולל הוצאות לדיור, הוצאות על מזון, הוצאות על תחבורה, הוצאות על מוצרי צריכה לבית, הוצאות על ביגוד והוצאות על בידור).

קנדה שיש טוענים שהיא מדינה יקרה מיוצגת רק על ידי 5 ערים ברשימת 209 הערים היקרות בעולם. טורונטו במקום ה-109, ונקובר גם כן במקום ה-109, מונטריאול במקום ה-147, קלגרי במקום ה-154 ואוטווה במקום ה-160.

הונג קונג (סין) היא העיר היקרה ביותר בעולם. אחריה בעשירייה הראשונה: טוקיו (יפן), ציריך (שוויצריה), סינגפור (סינגפור), סאול (דרום קוריאה), לואנדה (אנגולה), שנחאי (סין), נג’מנה (צ’אד), בייג’ין (סין) וברן (שוויצריה).

העשירייה השנייה: ג’נבה (שוויצריה), שנז’ן (סין), ניו יורק (ארה”ב), קופנהגן (דנמרק), גונגג’ואו (סין), תל אביב (ישראל), מוסקבה (רוסיה), ליברוויל (גבון), ברזוויל (הרפובליקה של קונגו) ולונדון (בריטניה).

דיון בוועדת העלייה והקליטה של הכנסת להוקרת תרומת יהודי קנדה

ועדת העלייה, הקליטה והתפוצות של הכנסת קיימה דיון מיוחד להוקרת יהודי קנדה, ביום שלישי שעבר (ה-26 בחודש).

בקנדה חיים כיום למעלה מ-400 אלף יהודים ומדובר בקהילה השלישית או הרביעית בגודלה בעולם, מחוץ לישראל. מרבית היהודים בקנדה חיים בריכוזי הערים הגדולות: טורונטו ומנטריאול.

שגרירת קנדה בישראל, דבורה ליונס, שהשתתפה בדיון המיוחד של ועדת העלייה והקליטה, אמרה בין היתר כי היהודים החלו להגיע לקנדה כבר בשנת 1760. הפרלמנט הקנדי החליט כי חודש מאי יהיה חודש מורשת יהודי קנדה, מדי שנה. ליונס הדגישה כי קנדה תמשיך להילחם עד חורמה באנטישמיות ובתנועת החרם נגד ישראל והיהודים. ובמקביל קנדה תמשיך להנציח את זכר השואה תוך אמירת השבועה “לעולם לא עוד”. היהודים בקנדה ימשיכו להיות בטוחים ומוגנים כמו שאר האזרחים בקנדה.

ליונס עושה רבות לקירוב היחסים בין ישראלים לפלסטינים. במרץ אשתקד היא אירחה במעונה הרשמי כמאה נשים מתנועת “נשים עושות שלום”, המבקשת לקדם את הפיתרון הסכסוך בין שני העמים. האירוע לרגל יום האישה הבינלאומי, כלל את השתתפותן של 11 שגרירות שמהכנות בישראל (בהן מסלובניה, פינלנד ואירלנד). וכן שלוש סגניות שגרירים. ליונס אמרה באירוע: “התכנסו הערב, נשים מכל העולם, כדי לתת הכרה לתפקיד הקריטי שנשים ישראליות ופלסטיניות ממלאות בחברה כאן על כל רבדיה. אין מטרה נעלה יותר מאשר שלום במדינה. במיוחד היום כשאנו נושאות את מבטינו מסביב, אנו רואות מספר עולה וגובר של קונפליקטים, אשר גובים מחיר אנושי במיוחד מנשים וילדים. לכן מצאנו לנכון שהיום – יום האישה הבינלאומי, נישא על נס את התפקיד החשוב שממלאות חברות בארגון נשים, שעושות שלום ובקידום השלום. הטרמינולוגיה בה משתמשות הנשים הייתה ביטחון כולל על רבדיו השונים. ביטחון הוא לא רק צבא, אלה הוא גם ביטחון כללי, חברתי ואישי. אך מעבר להרחבת המושג, מדובר בשיתוף נשים בהליכים המובילים להסכמי שלום. כאשר נשים מעורבות במשא ומתן ההסכמים שנחתמים מכילים יותר ומחזיקים מעמד לטווח ארוך יותר. למרות זאת, כיום רק 9% מהנושאים ונותנים הינן נשים. ורק 4% מהחתומים על הסכמים הן נשים. משמעות הדבר היא בפועל כאשר מדובר בהחלטות קריטיות על ביטחון, ממשל, חוקים ותקציבים, כחצי מהאוכלוסיה נשארת מחוץ למעמד החשוב של קבלת החלטות. אנו תומכות במעורבות גוברת של נשים בחברה, דבר היביא לשיפור מצבה”.

“Jewish state bill” should be nixed

A proposed “Jewish state bill” may be up for a Knesset vote next week. An amalgamation of previous drafts, the bill would, among other things, enshrine in Basic Law Israel’s Jewish identity, reserve the right of national self-determination to Jews only, institutionalize Jewish law as the basis for Israeli law, and de-list Arabic as an official language, relegating it to “special status.”

Passed by a 14-6 majority of cabinet ministers on Sunday, the bill – which includes some 14 principles – still requires Knesset approval. With Yesh Atid and Hatnua threatening to leave the coalition government in reaction to the proposal, the Knesset vote was postponed until the middle of next week, at least.

“The vote set off a stormy cabinet session in which two of his most centrist coalition partners voted against the proposed bill and voiced fierce opposition, claiming that at this sensitive juncture it would likely just escalate tensions,” reported CBC.

President Reuven Rivlin is against the bill, saying it undermines the country’s Jewish character and calls into question the success of Zionism. Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein also has come out against the bill, writing a legal opinion that was published in Hebrew on Walla, indicating, according to various news reports, that the planned proposal features “significant changes in the founding principles of constitutional law as anchored in the Declaration of Independence and in the basic laws of the Knesset, which can flatten the democratic character of the state.”

Despite these and many other criticisms and concerns expressed within Israel by Israelis, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said he is determined to pass the bill, “with or without consensus.” He confusingly added, “I don’t know a country that is more democratic, or a more vibrant democracy than Israel in the world, certainly not in our region.” Yet this point of pride would no longer exist if the bill passed.

Outside of the country, the United States State Department cautioned that Israel should “stick to its democratic principles.” This warning was roundly rejected by Jewish Home party MK and Economic Minister Naftali Bennett, who reportedly said, “We will manage the affairs of the state of Israel. We have to deal with the ramifications of what sort of state we want. In the end, this is our problem, an internal problem, and I don’t think anyone has the right to wade into it.”

Just what kind of state this bill is proposing is not clear. Not to wade into it too deeply but we find ourselves agreeing with the U.S. State Department and the Anti-Defamation League’s Abe Foxman, who made a statement about how “well-meaning” (we’re not sure about that) and “unnecessary” the bill is, the latter being an opinion expressed by many of those that lean to the right in Israel. We even find ourselves agreeing, at first blush, with those on the left in Israel who are calling the bill racist.

In his Nov. 25 Haaretz column, Bradley Burston writes, “Listen to the words of Mahmoud Seif, uncle of sergeant-major Zidan Nahad Seif, the Druze Arab Israeli policeman slain … as he fought to stop the terrorist murder of Jews at prayer in a Jerusalem synagogue…. ‘The “nation-state law,” is saying, in other words: “Only the Jews should remain here.”’

“‘What about the Druze? What about the many, many Arabs who are loyal to the country?’ he asked on Army Radio this week.

“‘What are they going to do now? This is a law for Jews only.’”

Twenty percent of Israel’s population – one in five – is not Jewish.

All logic, all compassion, all pragmatism – everything! – cries out against this bill. Please, Knesset, vote it down.

Are we Bolsheviks?

Israel’s Knesset gave preliminary approval to a bill that would make it illegal to distribute free newspapers. On the face, it seems an odd move. Why prevent the (literally) free circulation of ideas? On principle, it is worse. Democratic governments should not be getting involved in who can print news and how much they must charge to distribute it.

A nearly identical bill was defeated in 2010, and the target of both bills is Israel Hayom, a free-distribution newspaper that is owned by Sheldon Adelson, the mega-rich American casino owner and right-wing funder. Israel Hayom has shaken up Israel’s media and political scene, recently becoming the country’s most-read (or, at the very least, most-printed) newspaper. Critics see the paper as a shill for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and causes associated with the political right.

The Labor party MK who initiated the bill puts it another way.

“This is a bill in favor of pluralism and multiple opinions,” said Eitan Cabel, according to JTA. “It is a battle so that, in a few years, we do not become a country with only one newspaper. Sheldon Adelson wants to bury a market that is fighting for its life. Israel Hayom does not exist because of its success as a newspaper but because of the hundreds of millions in gambling funds that are funneled to it from overseas. Does anyone in this room honestly think that this is how a model for a normal newspaper looks? That this is how fair competition looks?” He assured the public, Israel Hayom “will continue to be published after the law comes into effect, and can even be sold for a symbolic price.”

He is certainly correct that print media is fighting for its life, and he is likewise correct in his implication that print media plays a crucial role in the diversity of ideas and information. But he is wrong to condemn the business model Adelson has employed. For one thing, in an ostensibly free market (society), the government should not be making arbitrary judgments about how a business funds its operations, even when that business is one as vital as the news industry, whose freedom is integral to the health of democracy.

The recent bill “would ban distribution of a free daily newspaper that is published six days a week and has at least 30 pages on weekdays and 100 pages in its weekend edition. The bill allows free distribution only for six months.” According to the Jerusalem Post, the text of the bill claims it seeks to “strengthen written journalism in Israel and ensure equal and fair conditions of competition between newspapers,” but the bill is impotent, its rules easy to circumvent. Even if they weren’t, the drowning out of voices is not the way to increase competition and free speech.

There are many threats to traditional newspapers – the internet chief among them and, if that hasn’t bled print dry yet, then neither will Israel Hayom.

A robust democracy requires a chorus of competing ideas and free-flowing public discourse – and not just for the sake of freedom. It is only on such a path that we can hope to find solutions to the problems we face, from poverty and illness to what form our news media takes.

Likud MK Moshe Feiglin probably summed it up most succinctly. “What is this?” he asked. “Since when do parliaments close newspapers? Are we Bolsheviks?”

It is heartening to see that, according to the Jewish Press, 77 percent of Israelis oppose the bill. Banning newspapers is not the way to save newspapers. Let’s hope that after the second or third reading, this bill ends up in the Knesset’s recycling bin.