14 Days: Presidential summit

Tens of thousands marched from Tel Aviv to the Knesset in Jerusalem in a bid to prevent the passage of a bill to curtail judicial oversight set for a vote on July 24. Some 10,000  IDF reservists announced at a news conference on July 22 that they would suspend reserve duty, joining over 1,000 Israeli Air Force reservists who made a similar declaration in a letter issued the previous day. On July 22, dozens of former top security officials sent a letter to the prime minister  in support of the reservists, urging the government to halt its judicial reforms and resume negotiations to reach a national consensus.

Prime Minister Netanyahu was fitted with a pacemaker at Sheba Medical Center on July 23, a week after he was hospitalized for dehydration and had a heart monitor implanted. The Prime Minister’s Office said Netanyahu, 73, was “doing great” after a successful procedure. On the eve of the Knesset vote on the “reasonableness”  billl, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, the architect of the reforms, filled in as acting premier. 

Maayan Hoffman, senior correspondent for The Jerusalem Report, was presented with two awards on July 11 at the 42nd Annual American Jewish Press Association’s Simon Rockower Jewish Journalism Awards banquet for articles published in 2022: Second place for writing about food and wine (“The spirit of Israel: Countering wine-washing with wine”); and second place for writing about sports (“Enes Kanter Freedom’s slam dunk for Mideast peace”). The Rockower family created the prestigious awards in 1979 to honor Simon Rockower and his deep love for the craft of Jewish journalism.

British actress Dame Helen Mirren received an achievement award “for her illustrious career” at the opening of the Jerusalem Film Festival on July 6, ahead of the Israeli premiere of Golda, in which she plays the title role of the former Israeli prime minister in the period of the Yom Kippur War 50 years ago. At a press conference earlier in the day, Mirren said she had been moved by the huge demonstrations across the country, suggesting it may be “a pivotal moment in Israeli history.” Also receiving achievement awards from the festival were American director Oliver Stone and French filmmakers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne.