Miriam Peretz, an Israel Prize laureate, a national symbol of resilience and hope, the mother of two fallen IDF soldiers, and, as of this week, also the mother of a Knesset member from Yashar!, told her friends this week, in shock, what had happened to her son. Elisaf had published a post supporting a Zionist government—seemingly an entirely uncontroversial position. In response, he was subjected to curses and abuse, as though he had proposed joining a coalition under Ben-Gvir rather than simply expressing his party’s official position.

His life is still easier than Netanyahu’s. At the age of 77, the prime minister finds himself in an unfamiliar position: he is the subject of the coalition negotiations, but not an active party to them. Put simply, his ability to control events is extremely limited.

Usually, Netanyahu always has something to offer: a reserved spot on an electoral list, a position, or an attractive political arrangement. Now, heading a caretaker government, with 46 seats and without the most important mandate of all—which currently rests with Eisenkot—he is trying to gather intelligence about the other side’s plans.

Instead of recruiting defectors from the opposing camp, rumors have been circulating within Likud about defections in the opposite direction. David Bitan’s name has been mentioned with concern (he denies it, of course). Netanyahu has no government to offer the ultra-Orthodox parties, and no positions or political prospects to offer potential defectors.

At the beginning of the week, Netanyahu was convinced that a minority government relying on Arab parties would be brought to a vote before the week was out. Later, all the warning lights began flashing over the possibility of cooperation between Lieberman and the ultra-Orthodox parties.

On the morning of the Knesset’s swearing-in ceremony, following a lengthy late-night conversation with the chairman of United Torah Judaism, a temporary all-clear was sounded.

“If you join the coalition,” Netanyahu told Asher, “they will appoint an attorney general and ten Supreme Court justices. And then even a majority of 70 seats won’t help you. You are furious about the conduct of the judicial system, yet you are about to perpetuate it for the next 30 years.”

Whether related or not, the briefings that subsequently emerged from ultra-Orthodox circles became noticeably tougher.

And so came Netanyahu’s speech at the Knesset’s swearing-in ceremony.

Netanyahu had prepared a relatively conciliatory speech, but somewhere along the short walk from the Prime Minister’s Office to the Chagall Hall, it turned into what it ultimately became.

This was not the first time this had happened this year.

Since retiring, Sara Netanyahu has been spending more and more time at her husband’s workplace. The same is true of the newly elected MK Yaakov Bardugo and Netanyahu’s longtime adviser Natan Eshel. All three favor a hard-line approach, bordering on aggressive.

“Did you see how Miriam Peretz applauded his remarks?” people in Likud said delightedly.

But she is not necessarily their target audience.

Likud’s objective is that, in two or three months, if the Lieberman–ultra-Orthodox alliance is thwarted, members of Knesset from the change bloc will face a choice: either a minority government followed by elections, or a national unity government with Netanyahu serving first in a rotation arrangement.

Eisenkot’s reasoning is that if the country heads immediately to elections, relying on the Arab parties would not constitute a permanent arrangement but merely a temporary episode designed to remove Netanyahu from the Prime Minister’s Office.

To accomplish this, he will need Lieberman, but above all, he will need every member of his own parliamentary faction.

Will MKs who strongly oppose forming a government with Arab parties emerge from Netanyahu’s speech feeling that a unity government deserves a chance? Or will they feel precisely the opposite?

One only had to look at the faces of the party leaders during the traditional group photograph. > >

At 77, Prime Minister Netanyahu finds himself in an uncharacteristic position: he is the subject of the coalition negotiations, but not their predicate. Put simply, his span of control over events is extremely limited.

Also, Israel’s partisan justice system, in today's edition of It's Noon in Israel.

https://open.substack.com/pub/amitsegal/p/its-noon-in-israel-netanyahu-has?r=1gxt62&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Bennett: “Redirecting funding from those who evade military service to those who serve is at the top of our agenda for the next term and will be the most significant social revolution in the history of the State of Israel.”

Eisenkot, about a week after receiving the mandate:

“I’m pleased to report that we are making progress in our discussions with our partners, while simultaneously working to exhaust every possible option. I approach these efforts with an open mind and a genuine willingness to form, by any means possible, a good, stable government under my leadership that serves the public’s best interests. There is no other alternative.

I want to reiterate that I intend to leave no stone unturned and speak with every elected official who agrees with the four principles, with the aim of forming a stable government as soon as possible. This is the need of the hour, and this is the mandate you have given me. Failing to do so would be a grave mistake.

I believe this is the right way to conduct negotiations: strengthen partnerships, broaden the range of possibilities, advance creative forms of cooperation, and above all, engage in dialogue grounded in principles. Principles at whose core lie Israeli interests, and Israeli interests alone.”

He also adds that he trusts Elisaf Peretz and is not at all concerned about the matter.

Trump continues to send mixed messages regarding Iran, with reports suggesting he is leaning toward extending negotiations.

In an unusual move, all flights across the United States were grounded for several hours due to a malfunction in air traffic control systems.

Over the course of Saturday, harsh remarks by Biden about Netanyahu were published, taken from his new memoir:

“I was frustrated by his inability to think like a statesman and safeguard Israel’s long-term interests, rather than just his own political needs. Bibi had no problem making promises that he had neither the ability nor the intention to keep.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement:

“On Thursday, I held an important conversation with Gadi Eisenkot. Gadi and I have known each other for many years, dating back to his tenure as IDF Chief of Staff, and even before that.

This meeting only reinforced my understanding of how essential it is, at this time, to establish a national unity government — a government that includes all parties that support the existence of the State of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, and that will be capable of confronting the enormous and complex security challenges ahead of us.

The Iranian regime, which seeks Israel’s destruction, is once again working to revive its nuclear program. Let me be clear: this murderous regime, which did not hesitate to kill many thousands of its own people, will not hesitate to use nuclear weapons against us.

It will do so the moment it succeeds in resuming uranium enrichment and accelerating the development of nuclear weapons.

We must do everything in our power to continue preventing this, just as we did in Operation Rising Lion and Operation Roaring Lion, when we removed the immediate threat of annihilation hanging over us.

We must eliminate this existential threat once and for all.

A narrow government, or a government dependent on supporters of terrorism, will not be able to meet this enormous challenge. But a national unity government will be able to do so in time, thereby ensuring Israel’s security for many years to come.

A national unity government would answer the longing I hear from so many of you, the citizens of Israel — the longing for national reconciliation, for reconciliation among ourselves.

Because, like me, you understand that at this moment, we must work together:

Elisha Midan alongside Elisaf Peretz, Talik Gvili alongside Shira Shapira — a vast Zionist public joining forces to secure Israel’s future.

Gadi,

Instead of trying to form a fragile and dangerous government that would be incapable of meeting even a fraction of the immense security and national challenges before us, let us do what is necessary:

Let us enter a room, without preconditions, put aside all disagreements and boycotts, and reach agreements for the sake of Israel’s security and future — including on the issue of military conscription, which we can resolve together with representatives of the ultra-Orthodox community.

The appropriate response to those who deliberately walked out during the singing of ‘Hatikvah’ — Israel’s national anthem — is to establish the Government of Hope: a national unity government.”

More from Netanyahu: We must do everything possible to continue preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons — as we did in Operation Rising Lion and Operation Roaring Lion.

Elisha Medan: Setting up a tent outside the Knesset tonight, in the cold and rain, calling for a unity government.

It is reasonable to assume that Netanyahu knew about this in advance and supported his decision.

MK Gadi Eisenkot, Chairman of the Yashar! Party:

“The outgoing Prime Minister’s statement to the media this evening, in which he called for a meeting to hold negotiations, is yet another political spin. After all, Netanyahu knows that such a meeting has already been scheduled.

The meeting is set to take place tomorrow between the negotiating teams of Yashar! and Likud.

Netanyahu is calling for negotiations after they have already been arranged. He claims to want unity, yet he disrespects a formal state occasion in the Knesset and engages in divisive rhetoric and incitement as if there were no tomorrow.”

MK Medan outside the Knesset.

In 19th-century America, fire departments were commonly run along political lines. Firefighting services were provided first and foremost to supporters of the party that had appointed the firefighters. Black people whose homes caught fire received no assistance. At the time, this seemed perfectly reasonable. A hundred or two hundred years later, this is taught in political science departments as an example of corruption that today seems inconceivable.

But is it really so inconceivable? Two public servants, one currently serving and the other retired, are challenging the assumption that public services in Israel are provided equally, without fear or favoritism.

Boaz Balat, head of the Israel Police’s Intelligence and Investigations Division, said in a recording published this week that case files in Israel are kept in drawers and pulled out when needed to pressure citizens or bring police officers who dared to think differently back into line.

Ayala Hasson, a senior presenter at the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, resigned after being repeatedly forced to apologize on air for remarks she had made elsewhere.

Balat explained that investigations are launched or frozen for improper reasons. Hasson described how broadcasts serve one political side for reasons unrelated to professional considerations.

She received unexpected corroboration: a week earlier, during an election broadcast that hosted exclusively opposition supporters, a sign-language interpreter was suddenly heard speaking to his colleague, unaware that his microphone was live: “Isn’t it strange that there hasn’t been a single representative of the right here all evening?”

Strangely enough, the corporation’s management did not subject him to public humiliation as well.

Broadcasting that caters exclusively to one political camp is no different from medical procedures provided through favoritism to only one sector of society. Investigations used not to pursue justice but as instruments of blackmail are no different from fire departments that refuse to extinguish fires at the homes of people who dared to vote differently.

Are left-wing viewers of the public broadcaster not embarrassed by the fact that one billion shekels a year, funded by all of us, are being spent exclusively for their benefit? How is that different from building a road solely for Democratic Party voters?

Some will say, “Tell us something we don’t know.”

After all, Smotrich has also invested enormous sums in his supporters in Judea and Samaria, and there is hardly any need to elaborate on the subsidies provided to the ultra-Orthodox.

The difference is twofold.

First, these are politicians who openly declare their intentions in advance and are elected on that basis. They are not broadcasting services or law enforcement institutions that pride themselves on being apolitical and impartial.

Second, politicians can be replaced, and their priorities can change along with them.

By contrast, the courts—another institution that provides its services primarily to one side—have used their full authority to block any “political” intervention in precisely those institutions: the Public Broadcasting Corporation and the Ministry of Justice.

This was a reckless form of protection that allowed these institutions to continue blatantly discriminating against enormous segments of the population while cynically invoking the term “public service.”

That is why Hasson’s effective dismissal resonated far beyond the dismal ratings of the public broadcaster’s news programs, and why Balat’s recorded remarks were considered far more credible than Israel’s law enforcement system, whose own credibility is rather low.

**Full article:** https://bit.ly/48U4hxG

Hello,

We are Shimon and Yemima, survivors of the Nova Music Festival massacre.

When the shooting began, we ran for our lives as people were falling all around us.
We managed to escape alive.

Since then, we have been trying to return to normal life, trying to remember what our lives were like before that morning.

Shimon was repeatedly called up for military reserve duty and worked in security until, due to his PTSD, his firearm was taken away.

Yemima, a mother of two, spent an entire year trying to return to work.
She tried with all her strength, but the anxiety and depression made it impossible for her to continue.

Today, both of us are unemployed.

We are undergoing treatment, but until we can return to a regular work routine, we have no way to pay our monthly bills.

We want to work again, earn a living, and build a home together.

Right now, to get there, we need help.

https://givechak.co.il/Lirkod? >

ref=rj

The donations will help us make ends meet and cover our everyday living expenses while we work toward getting back on our feet.

We still have a long road ahead of us.

Thank you to everyone who chooses to walk part of that journey with us.

Shimon and Yemima

**Shimon and Yemima Dream of Getting Married and Dancing Through Life Again ❤️**

Let's help Shimon and Yemima, survivors of the Nova Music Festival massacre, recover from the horrors they endured and rebuild their lives.

**Donate here >>**
https://givechak.co.il/Lirkod?ref=rjf=rj

The donations will help us make ends meet and cover our everyday living expenses while we work toward getting back on our feet.

We still have a long road ahead of us.

Thank you to everyone who chooses to walk part of that journey with us.

Shimon and Yemima

**Shimon and Yemima Dream of Getting Married and Dancing Through Life Again ❤️**

Let's help Shimon and Yemima, survivors of the Nova Music Festival massacre, recover from the horrors they endured and rebuild their lives.

**Donate here >>**
https://givechak.co.il/Lirkod?ref=rj

**Aren’t Left-Wing Viewers of Israel’s Public Broadcaster Embarrassed That a Billion Shekels a Year of Taxpayers’ Money Is Being Spent Exclusively on Them?**

In 19th-century America, fire departments were politically affiliated. Firefighting services were provided first and foremost to supporters of the political party that had appointed the firefighters. Black people whose homes caught fire received no assistance. At the time, this seemed perfectly reasonable. A hundred or two hundred years later, this practice is taught in political science departments as an example of corruption that seems unthinkable today.

But is it really so unthinkable?

Two public servants, one currently serving and the other recently departed, are challenging the assumption that public services in Israel are provided equally, without fear or favoritism.

Boaz Balat, head of the Israel Police’s Intelligence and Investigations Division, said in a recording published this week that criminal cases in Israel are kept in drawers and pulled out when needed to pressure citizens or bring police officers who dared to think differently back into line.

Ayala Hasson, a senior presenter at Israel’s public broadcasting corporation, resigned after repeatedly being forced to apologize on air for comments she had made somewhere else entirely.

Balat explained that investigations are initiated or frozen for improper reasons. Hasson described how broadcasts serve one political side for reasons unrelated to professional considerations.

She received unexpected corroboration: A week earlier, during an election broadcast that featured exclusively opposition supporters, a sign-language interpreter was suddenly heard speaking to his colleague, unaware that his microphone was live:

“Isn’t it strange that there hasn’t been a single representative of the right here all evening?”

Strangely enough, the broadcaster’s management did not put him in the stocks as well.

Broadcasting that serves only one side is no different from medical procedures granted through favoritism to only one sector of society. Investigations used not to pursue justice but to blackmail people are no different from fire departments that refuse to extinguish fires at the homes of those who dared to vote differently.

**Aren’t left-wing viewers of the public broadcaster embarrassed that a billion shekels a year of everyone’s tax money is being poured exclusively into serving them? How is that different from building a road exclusively for Democratic Party voters?**

Some will respond, “Well, tell us something we don’t know.”

After all, Smotrich has also invested enormous sums of money in his supporters in Judea and Samaria, and there is hardly any need to elaborate on the subsidies provided to the ultra-Orthodox.

The difference is twofold.

First, we are talking about politicians who openly declare their intentions in advance and are elected on that basis—not broadcasting services and law enforcement agencies that pride themselves on being apolitical and impartial.

Second, politicians can be voted out of office, and their priorities can be replaced along with them.

By contrast, the courts—another institution that provides its services primarily to one side—have gone to extraordinary lengths to block any “political” interference in precisely those institutions: the public broadcasting corporation and the Ministry of Justice.

This was a reckless form of protection that allowed these institutions to continue blatantly discriminating against enormous segments of the population while cynically invoking the term “public service.”

That is why Hasson’s effective ousting resonated far beyond the dismal ratings of the public broadcaster’s news programs, and why Balat’s recorded remarks were regarded as far more credible than Israel’s law enforcement system, whose credibility has sunk to a rather low level.

**Read the full opinion column:** https://bit.ly/48U4hxG

The IDF and Shin Bet have just targeted a “senior Hamas terrorist.”

The target, according to the Palestinians: the new commander of the Rafah Brigade.

Israel confirms that the target is the commander of the Rafah Brigade.