DEADLIEST DAY
In the most fatal incident in Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, 21 IDF reservists were killed on January 22 when Hamas gunmen fired an RPG at two adjacent buildings in al-Muasi in central Gaza as they were being prepared by soldiers for demolition. “Initial estimates suggest that the RPG triggered the explosives inside, causing a catastrophic collapse,” the IDF said, adding that a special team would conduct a thorough investigation of the tragedy. In a separate incident on the same day, three officers in the Paratroopers Brigade were killed and another seriously wounded as IDF troops encircled the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis. Three months after the ground operation began on October 27, the IDF said its death toll had reached 220. Meanwhile, the Gaza Health Ministry reported on January 23 that 195 Gazans had been killed by the IDF in 24 hours, bringing the Palestinian death toll since October 7 to over 25,000. The IDF said at least 10,000 of these were Hamas terrorists.
BUDGET PASSED
Israel’s cabinet on January 15 approved an updated 2024 State Budget after negotiations that lasted almost 24 hours. The new budget totals some NIS 582 billion, a rise of nearly NIS 70b. in government spending since the original budget passed last year, the Treasury said. The increase includes repayment of debts linked to the war against Hamas; strengthening of the IDF; funding for IDF reservists and their families, and the public mental health system, and rehabilitating the Gaza border area; and support for the hi-tech and real estate sectors. Six of the 37 ministers voted against – Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi (Likud) and the five members of Benny Gantz’s National Unity party, which said the new budget “does not reflect a fundamental shift in government priorities and ignores the heavy effects of the war.”
UNRWA FUNDING
Eleven countries, including the US, Britain, and Germany, announced that they were suspending funds to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) following a revelation by Israel that a dozen UNRWA employees had participated in the October 7 Hamas massacre. In response, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini urged the countries to reverse course. “These decisions threaten our ongoing humanitarian work across the region, including and especially in the Gaza Strip,” he said.
TASE SALE
American billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and his Israeli-born wife, Prof. Neri Oxman, acquired a 4.9% equity stake in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE). TASE said in a statement on January 24 that local and foreign investors had purchased an 18.5% stake in the exchange for a total of NIS 242 million ($65 million) in net proceeds. Among the buyers were the Ackmans, who invested $17 million, it said.
FAMED DIRECTOR
Canadian filmmaker and producer Norman Jewison, who directed the award-winning film Fiddler on the Roof (1971), died on January 20 at the age of 97. Jewison’s films received 46 Academy Award nominations and won 12 Oscars, and he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in 1999. Although he was not Jewish, he had a Jewish wedding with his second wife, Lynne St. David Jewison, in 2010.
BELOVED RABBI
Rabbi Raymond Apple, emeritus senior rabbi of the Great Synagogue of Sydney (1972-2005) and a leader of the Australian Jewish community, died in Jerusalem on January 19 at the age of 88. He was honored as an Officer of the Order of Australia for his services to the community, and held the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal and the Centenary of Federation Medal. Apple, a regular contributor to The Jerusalem Report, made aliyah with his wife, Marian, in 2006, and they lived in Jerusalem. He published more than a dozen books and was the author of OzTorah, a weekly email service of insights into the Torah reading.
AVI-HAI’S SHLOSHIM
In a special ceremony to mark the end of the 30-day mourning period for Dr. Avraham Avi-hai on January 18, Keren Hayesod-UIA World Chairman Sam Grundwerg presented a book in his memory to his wife, Henrietta, and three daughters, Shosh, Tova, and Drorlee. Avi-hai headed Keren Hayesod from 1978 to 1988. “He was a leader, a journalist, and an author,” Grundwerg said. “Keren Hayesod’s Avi-hai Award was initiated in his honor in 1989. May his memory be blessed.”