Welcome to our first youth movement chinuch email!

What you'll find:

• Israel updates from July and August
  • Annexation
  • Protests
  • Will there be a fourth election?
  • PRIDE in Israel
• Black Lives Matter - Jewish anti-racist chinuch

Israel Update - July & August 2020

Annexation

Is annexation happening? If so when? And why? And how? We’ve created this timeline to explain how annexation got on the table, and whether or not it’s still an option.

Protests

Thousands of people have been protesting against PM Netanyahu every Saturday evening for the past several weeks. These protests have taken place outside Netanyahu’s official residence in Jerusalem, his private residence in Caesarea, as well as several bridges and intersections across Israel. Some great chinuch that could be used in peulot on the protests:

• News story: Israelis Are Protesting Netanyahu Like Never Before by VICE News (8mins) - covers background of the protests and includes interviews with right-wing Israeli’s and former Likud supporters who are now protesting against Netanyahu
• This video by Ittay Flescher (4mins) contains lots of video and photo footage from the protests
• Israeli band Hadag Nahash released a new song and music video, Bomba, all about the protests. English subtitles are available on the video (click on the closed captions icon)

Will there be a fourth election?

In short - no! Or at least not yet.
PM Netanyahu has agreed to compromise and push the deadline for passing a state budget to late November - if a budget can’t be passed, the government has to dissolve leading to a fourth election in less than two years.
Why were we worried?
Over the past few weeks there has been a stalemate between Netanyahu and Gantz in trying to pass a budget. It seemed like no budget agreement would be reached before the deadline on the 25 August (no budget = government has to dissolve = another election).
What was the stalemate about?
The main point of contention is that Netanyahu demands one-year budget (leaving the option to call an election before the next budget is passed in June 2021, before Gantz takes over as PM), but Gantz wants two-year budget, as laid out in coalition deal.
Wait - what coalition deal? Why is Gantz taking over as PM?
For context - the current Israeli government is an emergency unity government formed after three inconclusive elections (in April 2019, September 2019 and March 2020). This deal was reached in April 2020 after pressure was put on both PM Netanyahu (Likud) and his rival Benny Gantz (Blue and White) to avoid a fourth election and instead manage the coronavirus pandemic in Israel. The agreement was that Netanyahu would serve as Prime Minister for the first 18 months, and Gantz would then take over in October 2021 for another 18 months.
So what’s next?
Though elections were averted, many analysts believe the government is still on life support and will not survive beyond the next deadline, 23 December.

🌈PRIDE in Israel🌈

• Bill banning gay conversion therapy passes initial vote 42-36, enraging ultra-Orthodox (22/07/20) - The legislation was proposed by Nitzan Horowitz, leader of the left-wing Meretz party, and and one of a record six openly gay Knesset members.
• Opening of hotline for LGBTQ Arabs in Israel funded by local Arab company, Al Arz Tahini (13/07/20) - “This action is so courageous and exceptional, and attests to the fact that Arab society in Israel is starting to show the first buds of hope regarding the rights of LGBTQ Arab citizens”
• Protest Takes Center Stage as Coronavirus Transforms LGBTQ Pride Events in Israel (11/07/20) - This great piece by Haaretz details how Pride Events were celebrated this year in Israel in the wake of COVID-19. Many local authorities see a Pride event as a one-and-done deal, but this year forced them to look at things differently.

For more regular Israel updates, NIF posts a weekly Israel news wrap on our Instagram stories and Facebook page.

Black Lives Matter - Jewish anti-racist chinuch

As the Black Lives Matter protests have brought the need for anti-racist learning to the forefront of our newsfeeds, here’s some anti-racist chinuch with a Jewish flavour (all from amazing Jewish-feminist magazine Alma):

Ashkenormativity Is a Threat to All Jewish Communities		20 Books by Black Jewish Authors You Should Read		Black Jews Are Not a Monolith