Mostly good news.

 

Earlier this week I had singled out one item for this week’s blog – The Haredi conscription exemption law crisis.

Young men studying in yeshivas (yeshivot/religious seminaries) have since the founding of the State of Israel been exempt from mandatory military service –But, the exemption has never been enshrined in a law that the Supreme Court views as equitable, and for years has been carried out by patchwork government mandates. Last week the prime minister tried to delay the Supreme Court’s deadline to pass a law that would make the exemption official.

After decades of rulings on the subject, the Supreme Court told the government that it was illegal to both fund yeshivas and exempt their students from conscription. In a recent ruling, the Supreme Court said that as of April 1, the government could no longer transfer funds to yeshivas whose students did not receive legitimate deferments.

The conscription law crisis is intensifying as the Attorney General, Gali Baharav Miara, opposes postponing the government's appeal to the High Court regarding the Haredi conscription exemption law drafted by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

At this point, the government is considering delaying the decision without Miara's support. Time was running out: the request had to be submitted to the High Court by midnight, 31st of March. If I’m not mistaken the government requested an extension. If so, the judges will likely reject it. Otherwise, as of April 1, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) will begin conscripting Haredi young men. In addition, the government will have to cut yeshivot funding.

The question of conscripting Haredi men has been one of the most burning issues in Israeli politics for years and could put an end to the existing coalition government. Netanyahu has avoided advancing legislation on this matter, knowing that such a polarising move could bring down his government. Maybe this time he has come to the end of his tether. In the meantime, other matters have engaged our attention.

On Monday night six missiles fired from an Israeli F-35 combat aircraft hit and destroyed a building belonging to the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria. At the time, a meeting between high-ranking members of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad was being held in the building. The attack resulted in the death of two IRGC generals: Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who was the leader of the Quds force- the IRGC in Syria and Lebanon – and his deputy, Sardar Haji Rahimi. Five other IRGC officers were killed in the operation.

Understandably, Iran was furious and condemned the attack claiming it was a gross violation of diplomatic immunity.

An Israeli spokesman said the building targeted was used as an Iranian military base and therefore is not protected by diplomatic immunity status.

New York Times correspondent Amanda Taub opined, “For centuries, diplomatic premises have been afforded special protections. Diplomats get immunity from prosecution in their host country, and embassy buildings are often viewed as a sanctuary for their nation’s citizens — they cannot be entered by the host country’s police without the permission of diplomatic staff, and often become refuges for expatriates in times of war.

So, attacks on diplomatic compounds carry particular weight, both in law and in the popular imagination. But in this case, experts say, Israel can likely argue that its actions did not violate international law’s protections for diplomatic missions. Namely, because Israel maintains that the building targeted was used as an Iranian military base.”

 I doubt if anyone is digging in the rubble at the site to verify the building’s function. Anyway, once Israeli intelligence personnel knew about the meeting taking place in the embassy compound, they were loath to miss a golden opportunity to ‘take out’ the villains.

Apparently, Israel was managing quite well. Then, a report in Deutsche Welle (DW) told how the US, Germany and other countries are seeking answers after an airstrike in Gaza killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers. IDF Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi said the strike that killed the World Central Kitchen (WCK) workers in Gaza was a "grave mistake."

"It was a mistake that followed a misidentification, at night, during a war, in very complex conditions. It shouldn't have happened," Halevi said during a video recorded statement released on Wednesday.

The military chief made the comments after having been presented with the initial findings of a preliminary investigation that was initiated after the deadly strike.

Halevi said the Israeli military will "continue taking immediate action to ensure more is done to protect humanitarian aid workers."

"Israel is at war with Hamas, not with the people of Gaza. We are sorry for the unintentional harm to the members of WCK," Halevi said. His investigation is a top priority and needs to cut through the usual procedural stages in order to determine what happened.

I’ll hazard a guess and say that anti-Israel demonstrators everywhere will exploit the WCK tragic incident.

 

Take care.

Beni,

4th of April, 2024.