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Cabinet to approve sub probe today

• By GIL HOFFMAN

prime minister naftali Bennett’s cabinet will vote on sunday to approve a state commission of inquiry into case 3000, the so-called “submarine affair” involving former prime minister Benjamin netanyahu and several of his top aides.

there is a clear majority for the probe in the cabinet, even though Bennett is expected to abstain and interior minister ayelet shaked (yamina) and construction minister Ze’ev elkin (new hope) will vote against it.

defense minister Benny Gantz (Blue and white), Foreign minister yair Lapid (yesh atid) and justice minister Gideon sa’ar (new hope) are strongly in favor of the investigation.

“the establishment of the commission of inquiry is a necessary step in maintaining israel’s security,” Gantz said last week.

Lapid called the submarine affair “the most serious security corruption case in the history of israel” and said every stone must be turned in order to reach the truth.

case 3000 involves allegations of a mix of criminal misconduct and general policy-making misconduct in a series of deals with Germany regarding nuclear-powered submarines and other sea vessels.

while the criminal trial for the case has proceeded forward against several of netanyahu’s former top aides, the former prime minister was never a suspect, which means a state inquiry would be the first time he would truly face any major public consequences for his

received free antigen tests and can contact the ministry to receive additional tests as needed, also free of charge.

“We are constantly working to take care of, accompany and cover new immigrants in all their needs, and first and foremost in protecting their health,” Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata said. “We have a commitment to safeguarding the health of immigrants and in particular the health of elderly immigrants. I call on anyone who has not yet been vaccinated to do so, and to follow the Health Ministry guidelines.”

Labor MK Ibtisam Mara’anaMenuhin tested positive for COVID-19, along with an additional three Knesset security guards, making them the latest of many Knesset workers to test positive for COVID-19 over the last few weeks, Knesset officer Yuval Chen reported on Saturday evening.

On Friday morning, Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19 after taking a PCR test.

Gantz, who has received four vaccines, has said he is feeling well and will continue to manage and oversee Israel’s security affairs from his home, where he is self-isolating.

The defense minister was last in Knesset on January 17.

Also testing positive on Friday were United Torah Judaism MK Meir Porush and Yisrael Bey

in the German states that were formerly part of East Germany.

By contrast, antisemitic incidents in Russia continued to decline, according to the local Jewish community.

“Jewish communities around the world face the challenges of a rising and ever-changing antisemitism,” Raheli BaratzRix, the head of the department for combating antisemitism and enhancing resilience at the WZO, wrote in the report.

Baratz-Rix added that despite the damning statistics from around the world, there is cause for optimism due to widespread adoption or endorsement of the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, laws passed on Holocaust education and the ongoing “war on BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement].”

“It is the duty of every country to provide its citizens with security and to protect them in every event that takes place on its land, including the Jewish community,” she said. “At the same time, the State of Israel will always continue to be an anchor for every Jew who desires it.”

The annual report by WZO and the Jewish Agency, released ahead of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust on January 27, is a grim reminder that despite the horrors of the Holocaust, antisemitism is still alive and kicking going into 2022.

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2022-01-23T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-01-23T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://jpost.pressreader.com/article/281728387896682

Jerusalem Post