It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Bangladesh’s ready-made garments industry has taken the low road to competitive advantage. Local capitalists, the big retailers and western governments are reaping the benefits of the super-exploitation and repression of the (mostly women) workers. Inevitably, the resistance of the victims is taking shape.
COVAX: World leaders unite to commit to global equitable access for COVID-19 vaccines
03-06-2021
“One World Protected”-EIB
Copyright: EIB
World leaders joined forces at the “One World Protected”- Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) Summit to pledge their support to the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) securing US$ 2.4 billion, reaching a total of US$ 9.6 billion for COVID-19 vaccine procurement. In addition, donors have pledged US$ 775 million for vaccine delivery.
This funding will allow the COVAX AMC to secure 1.8 billion fully subsidised doses for delivery to lower-income economies in 2021 and early 2022. This is enough to protect nearly 30% of the adult population in AMC-eligible economies. The funds raised will also support COVAX to diversify its vaccine portfolio in times of supply uncertainty and new variant emergence and to plan the scenarios and strategy for public health needs for 2022 and beyond.
The European Investment Bank is stepping up to support African Union countries with an additional EUR 300 million financing to access vaccines via the COVAX cost-sharing scheme – leveraging domestic resources to procure safe and efficacious vaccines through COVAX.
Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank: “As part of Team Europe the EIB is currently working to increase its financing to COVAX, alongside backing new investment to strengthen health and economic resilience to the pandemic around the world.”
President von der Leyen, President, European Commission: “Team Europe is investing in COVAX, both financially and by sharing vaccines. Because we believe this is the best way to ensure universal, fair and affordable access to COVID19 vaccines. Our common goal is to leave no one behind. The EU, together with the European Investment Bank, will reorient 300 million euro to COVAX. ”
Live streams go down across Cox radio & TV stations in apparent ransomware attack
By Catalin Cimpanu . June 3, 2021
Live streams for radio and TV stations owned by the Cox Media Group, one of the largest media conglomerates in the US, have gone down earlier today in what multiple sources have described as a ransomware attack.
The incident took place earlier this morning and impacted the internal networks and live streaming capabilities for Cox media properties, such as web streams and mobile apps. Official websites, telephone lines, and normal programming remained running but some live programming could not go on air as scheduled.
“This morning we were told to shut down everything and log out our emails to ensure nothing spread. According to my friends at affiliate stations, we shut things down in time to be safe and should be back up and running soon,” a Cox employee shared in a private conversation earlier today.
Live streams for some of the impacted TV stations have returned online, according to checks performed by The Record, but most of the Cox radio streams are still offline at the time of writing.
Image: The Record
In the aftermath of the incident, some radio and TV stations had to cancel live programming, according to tweets shared by some Cox program hosts earlier today.
Image: The Record
No stream today. Apologies. Gotta listen on ESPN690 today and we hope to have a podcast but not sure yet. Hoping it’s just a one day thing. @ActionSportsJax on @ESPN690Jax— Brent Martineau (@BrentASJax) June 3, 2021 For the first time in (probably) a bunch of decades, @wsbtv is unable to be on the air for their three-hour afternoon news block due to a reported cyber attack against all of @CoxMG's radio and television properties.
The View running currently instead of Action News at 5.— Will Bradley (@bradley_WP) June 3, 2021
Companies like Hulu, which pick up Cox streams, have also confirmed issues with the c live broadcasts earlier in the day.
Today’s ransomware attack has also been the main talking point of several private online communities dedicated to TV and radio reporters, who noticed that some of their colleagues have not gone on air earlier today.
Image: The Record
While The Record has not been able to compile an exact list of impacted Cox radio and TV stations, we have been able to confirm issues with streams from News9, WSOC, WSB, WPXI, KOKI, and almost all Cox radio stations.
The Cox Media Group owns 57 radio and TV stations across 20 US markets. A spokesperson did not return a request for comment sent earlier today via email.
Sources have told The Record that the company’s autonomous system, AS397123, has also disappeared from the internet DFZ (default-free zone) in what appears to be the company’s attempts to deal with the attack.
Today’s incident marks the second time a ransomware group has hit a major media conglomerate in the US. In September 2019, a ransomware gang hit CBS-owned Entercom, the second-largest radio broadcasting network in the States, taking some radio stations offline.
Catalin Cimpanu is a cybersecurity reporter for The Record. He previously worked at ZDNet and Bleeping Computer, where he became a well-known name in the industry for his constant scoops on new vulnerabilities, cyberattacks, and law enforcement actions against hackers.
NEW AGE PIRATES
Potential ransomware attack: Fujifilm shuts down systems, warns partners worldwide
Japanese giant Fujifilm has taken all of its servers and PCs offline after a suspected ransomware attack.
The multinational is best known as a maker of cameras and film - and more, recently, kiosks in malls and pharmacies for DIY digital photo printing - but also makes high tech medical gear including devices for rapid processing of Covid-19 tests.
A message sent to local partner around 4am NZT this morning says, "FUJIFILM Corporation in Tokyo became aware of the possibility of a ransomware attack, which has already infected multiple PCs and servers in Japan."
Systems were being closed down out of "an abundance of caution".
"Fujifilm will be turning off our network and server environment and will therefore not be able to receive and fulfill orders," the email says.
"We appreciate that this has a big impact on business today, but at this moment it is not clear how long this situation will continue."
The local partner told the Herald that the only way to contact the company was by phone. Fujifilm's NZ operation did not immediately respond to a request for comment by phone.
This morning, Crown agency Cert NZ released its latest quarterly report, showing another increase in financial harm caused by cyberattacks.
Ransomware hackers have gone after larger targets in 2021, with recent victims including giant meat processor JBS, supplier of around a fifth of US beef, the Colonial Pipeline (supplier of around 20 per cent of fuel to the US East Coast), Canon and, at home, the Waikato DHB, which continues to grapple with the aftermath of a May 18 attack
Possible Fujifilm ransomware attack reportedly linked to REvil
Biden administration releases ambitious cyber security executive order
Possible Fujifilm ransomware attack reportedly linked to REvil
The potential of a ransomware attack was identified on 1 June. Sasha Karen (ARN)04 June, 2021
Fujifilm Corporation has shut down parts of its global network and servers due to a potential ransomware attack.
The Tokyo-headquartered digital imaging and medical technology equipment specialist said on 2 June (local time) that it was investigating unauthorised access to its servers and has shut down and disconnected its network from external sources as a precautionary measure.
“In the late evening of June 1, 2021, we became aware of the possibility of a ransomware attack," Fujifilm said in a statement. “As a result, we have taken measures to suspend all affected systems in coordination with our various global entities.”
According to Bleeping Computer, Fujifilm was infected with the Qbot trojan in May, which has been linked to the Russian cyber criminal group REvil. Advanced Intel CEO Vitali Kremez told the publication that Fujifilm's systems were hit by the 13-year-old Trojan, typically initiated by phishing, last month.
Fujifilm Business Innovation — the company previously known as Fuji Xerox that operates across the printers and documents, cloud, artificial intelligence and the internet of things (IoT) sectors — was unaffected by the potential attack due to using different servers and networks.
At least one Fujifilm regional arm that was temporarily shut down was its Americas operations, with a notice on its US website claiming that it found no impact on its network or servers in the region after an initial investigation.
As a result, its systems have been brought back online on 3 June, with business in the region to become fully operational by 4 June.
A similar statement on its UK website claims that, for some of its entities, the potential attack has impacted all forms of communications, including emails and incoming calls, which come through its network systems.
British Actor Stephen Fry Praises ‘Brilliant’ Essay Calling Israel an Embarrassment to Jews
Jewish British actor and comedian Stephen Fry shared on Thursday what he described as a “brilliant” essay that bashed Israel and described the country as an embarrassment to Jews.
“It’s hard for me to think of the State of Israel as anything but a shanda fir di goyim … a Jew that embarrassed the Jews, and thus justified Gentile persecution and hate,” wrote 2020 Pulitzer Prize-winning author Benjamin Moser in an essay published on his Substack newsletter on Tuesday, titled “A trip to Hebron.”
Fry posted on Twitter on Thursday a link to the essay and wrote, “This is quite brilliant, as Benjamin Moser so often is. Aside from being a wonderful piece of writing in itself, it has clarified so much for me.”
Moser, who is Jewish, started his essay by recalling a trip to Israel five years ago for the Palestine Festival of Literature and his visit to Hebron. The Houston-born author said that when his parents were growing up, “Jim Crow was the law of the land in our state,” referring to the laws that enforced racial segregation in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the US.
“Yet Hebron felt worse to me than anything I’d read about Jim Crow. Worse than apartheid — a word that is now, finally, being applied to Palestine,” he added. “The restrictions on Palestinian life — starting with the simple ability to walk down the street — are so suffocating that you can’t quite believe you’re not in some grotesque movie. The Palestinians have no citizenship, and nowhere to go: if they leave the Occupied Territories, they become stateless refugees. And if they stay — well, their lives are restricted in ways that are very hard to imagine. Imagine the COVID lockdowns, but for your entire life, generation after generation, and with no vaccine on its way.”
Moser went on to accuse Israel of refusing to provide COVID-19 vaccines to the Palestinians “under their control.” He also said the Israeli government and settlers are “continually expanding, continually creating more and more restrictions” for Palestinians, and that “the ethnic cleansing and racial supremacy are marching forward day by day … until you see it, it’s hard to explain how cruel it is, how perverse, how criminal.”
He then slammed US support for Israel and claimed that Americans feel a “deep shame” about the actions of the Israeli government. “How can you not? We pay for this,” he wrote. “Both [US] parties agree with almost lockstep unanimity that we ought to support Israel diplomatically, militarily, and economically, to the point where Israelis have a much higher standard of living than many Americans.”
He also addressed technology in Israel, suggesting that “the Israeli occupation is a dystopian nightmare equipped with iPhones and Google and bar codes and scanners. It’s the most modern technology placed at the service of one of the world’s most archaic racial ethnocracies.”
Moser concluded his essay by endorsing the “oft-smeared” Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. He said similar tactics had been effective “in forcing the apartheid regime to stand down” in South Africa, and the same approach should be taken to push for change in Israel.
“Recognize that there is an occupier and an occupied, and that [our] moral duty is to the poor, the powerless, the underdog,” he wrote.
Earlier this year, Fry publicly denounced antisemitism against Jews around the world, and in 2019 was among 100 celebrities who signed a statement supporting the Eurovision Song Contest being held in Israel, after BDS activists called on contestants to pull out of the competition. Also in 2019, he defended British television star Rachel Riley after she received backlash for criticizing the UK’s Labour party for fostering antisemitism within the party.
MYSOGYNIST FEMICIDE Protests as Austria grapples with violence against women
By EMILY SCHULTHEIS
an hour ago
1 of 9 A memorial for Nadine, a woman who was killed on April 5 by her former partner, is set up at the on the Yppenplatz square in Vienna, Austria, Friday, May 14, 2021. Austria is one of the few European Union countries where the number of women killed is higher than the number of men. The recent high-profile cases have led to widespread protests, demands for government intervention and condemnations from top politicians. (AP Photo/Lisa Leutner)
VIENNA (AP) — The 35-year-old woman was working at a tobacco shop in Vienna when authorities say her ex-boyfriend doused her in gasoline and set her ablaze in March. In April, another woman the same age was found shot to death in her home in the Austrian capital, also reportedly by her ex-partner.
They were the sixth and ninth women to be killed in Austria this year, and five more have followed in the weeks since. That has brought this year’s total so far to 14 slain women, making the Alpine nation one of the few European Union countries where the number of women killed is higher than the number of men.
The recent high-profile cases have led to widespread protests, demands for government intervention and condemnations from Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and President Alexander van der Bellen.
“Too little is being done to protect women from violence,” van der Bellen said recently after meeting with representatives of women’s shelters and violence prevention organizations.
Experts say a variety of factors have caused the long-standing problem. Those include a view of women as subservient by some in Austria’s conservative Catholic — and more recently Muslim — populations. They also blame the normalization of sexist language by the far-right Freedom Party, which is now in opposition but has been part of two national coalition governments in Austria.
“We’ve seen that the language about and toward women has become more radical,” said Maria Roesslhumer, who heads Austria’s biggest network of women’s shelters and has been sounding the alarm for years. “And when this kind of verbal violence is possible in a country, then the path to physical violence isn’t far.”
The financial crisis of 2008 magnified the problem, as financial insecurity stoked domestic violence. Women’s advocates say the coronavirus pandemic is having a similar effect, with many people out of work and stay-at-home orders leaving many victims trapped with their abusers.
Roesslhumer hopes leading politicians have finally gotten the message and will commit to more funding for organizations like hers as well as better enforcement of existing laws on domestic violence.
“We have good laws, but they’re not being enforced,” Roesslhumer said. “If you truly want to guarantee the safety of women, or to improve the safety of women, you need to invest in it.”
In the case of the 35-year-old woman killed at home in April in the capital’s Brigittenau neighborhood, the main suspect had previously sent threatening, sexually explicit messages to a female politician from the Greens party in 2018. And in the weeks before the killing, he reportedly verbally threatened the victim and her family.
“He took out a pistol and said, ‘You know what this is,’” the victim’s father told Austrian television.
Austria’s homicide rate is low at fewer than 1 per 100,000 people but its proportion of women killed versus men is high. Last year, 31 of the country’s 43 total murder victims — 72% — were women, according to Roesslhumer’s Autonomous Austrian Women’s Shelters, a non-governmental organization that tracks the issue.
There are a handful of countries where the rate of femicides is slightly higher, including tiny Luxembourg, but Europe-wide about 75% of slayings are of men, according to the European Union’s Eurostat statistical office.
In Austria, femicides almost doubled from 2014 to 2018, going from 23 cases to 44, according to Eurostat.
The victims in Austria came from all ages and backgrounds, but nearly all were killed by their current or former partners, the vast majority in their own homes.
These recent cases, and the rise in domestic violence since the start of the pandemic, “are no surprise to people working in this field,” Laura Wiesboeck, a Vienna-based sociologist who focuses on the issue, told The Associated Press.
“Many experts ... predicted that there would be a rise in male violence against women, especially in the context of intimate partner relationships,” she said. “But politically this hasn’t been heard or prioritized.”
Activists have organized a series of protests in Vienna in the wake of the recent murders and are exploring other ways to highlight the problem.
“This is a societal issue. It affects all of us,” Vienna-based writer and musician Gerhard Ruiss, who organized writers and artists to call for more decisive action from the government, told the AP.
After a virtual roundtable on the issue in May, the Austrian government pledged an additional 24.6 million euros ($30 million) for violence prevention— a significant increase over existing funding, but a small fraction of the 228 million euros requested by organizations in the field.
Kurz suggested, however, that more funding could be made available if needed for measures to protect women and children from violence.
“It will not fail because of money,” he said.
Roesslhumer and other advocates say additional 3,000 jobs in violence prevention are necessary and more training is needed for those who work in law enforcement, justice and education to ensure that violence-prevention laws are better enforced. They’re also urging police to keep closer tabs on men under restraining orders.
Roesslhumer said the current discussion could be a turning point for more decisive action.
“We hope that it’s a lasting shift, not just a short flare-up that simply fades away,” Roesslhumer said. “I have the impression that there’s a change underway, and that many people understand we can’t go on like this.”
But, she cautioned, “it’s too early to tell.”
_____
Kirsten Grieshaber contributed to this report from Berlin.
The entrance of the tobacco shop belonging to a woman who was covered on gasoline and lit on fire by her former partner Vienna, Austria, Friday, May 14, 2021. Austria is one of the few European Union countries where the number of women killed is higher than the number of men. The recent high-profile cases have led to widespread protests, demands for government intervention and condemnations from top politicians. (AP Photo/Lisa Leutner)
The former beer shop belonging to the man who recently shot his former girlfriend in Vienna, Austria, Friday, May 14, 2021. The glass front is taped up in black foil since it was smashed after the murder. A memorial for Nadine, a woman who was killed on April 5 by her former partner, is set up at the on the Yppenplatz square in Vienna, Austria, Friday, May 14, 2021. Austria is one of the few European Union countries where the number of women killed is higher than the number of men. The recent high-profile cases have led to widespread protests, demands for government intervention and condemnations from top politicians. (AP Photo/Lisa Leutner)
The Austrian artist and author Gerhard Ruiss poses for a portrait prior to an interview about his initiative 'Frauenmorde – Es geht uns alle an" which means "Femicide- It Concerns Us All" in Vienna, Austria, Tuesday, May 11, 2021. Austria is one of the few European Union countries where the number of women killed is higher than the number of men. The recent high-profile cases have led to widespread protests, demands for government intervention and condemnations from top politicians. (AP Photo/Lisa Leutner)
SABOTAGE!
Satellite photos show hulk of what was biggest Iran warship
yesterday
1 of 2
Oil-slicked waters spread out from the partially sunk Iranian navy vessel Kharg in the Gulf of Oman off the coast of Jask, Iran, in this Thursday, June 3, 2021, satellite photo from Planet Labs Inc. Satellite photographs taken Thursday show the burned hulk that remains of Iran's biggest warship after it caught fire and sank in the Gulf of Oman. (Planet Labs Inc. via AP)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Satellite photographs taken Thursday show the burned hulk that remains of Iran’s biggest warship after it caught fire and sank in the Gulf of Oman.
The photos from Planet Labs Inc., analyzed by The Associated Press, show the 207-meter (679-foot) Kharg just off the coast of the Iranian port city of Jask, surrounded by a sea of oil-slicked waters. Iranian officials have not acknowledged the pollution left behind by the ship’s sinking on Wednesday.
The photos show the ship partially submerged, with debris floating in the water around it.
Iranian state media reported that 400 sailors and trainee cadets on board fled the vessel, while 33 suffered injuries in the incident. Iranian officials have offered no cause for the fire.
The fire Wednesday aboard the Kharg warship follows a series of mysterious explosions that began in 2019, targeting commercial ships in the Gulf of Oman. The U.S. Navy accused Iran of targeting the ships with limpet mines, timed explosives typically attached by divers to a vessel’s hull.
Iran denied that, though U.S. Navy footage showed Revolutionary Guard members removing one unexploded limpet mine from a ship. The attacks came amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers. Negotiations on saving the accord continue in Vienna.
In April, an Iranian ship called the MV Saviz believed to be a Guard base and anchored for years in the Red Sea off Yemen was targeted in an attack suspected to have been carried out by Israel. It escalated a yearslong shadow war in the Mideast between the two countries, ranging from strikes in Syria, assaults on ships and attacks on Iran’s nuclear program
Mexico raids building project next to Teotihuacán pyramids
1 of 5 Construction of a private building project is seen on the outskirts of Teotihuacan, just north of Mexico City, Wednesday, May 26, 2021. The Mexican government said Tuesday that the project is destroying part of the outskirts of the pre-Hispanic ruin site and has repeatedly issued stop-work orders since March but the building crews have ignored them. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico sent in 250 National Guard troops and 60 police officers Monday to seize land next to the pre-Hispanic ruins of Teotihuacán where authorities have said bulldozers were destroying outlying parts of the archeological site.
Mexican archaeological officials reported last week that they had been trying since March to halt the private construction project, but work continued on what local media says were plans to build some sort of amusement park.
The National Institute of History and Anthropology said the National Guard helped authorities put up seizure notices on the property just north of Mexico City. The seizure allows prosecutors to take control of the plot while those responsible for the work are investigated for criminal charges of “irreparably damaging” the national heritage.
The delay in stopping the project underlined how Mexico’s unwieldy, antiquated legal system makes it hard to enforce building codes and zoning laws or stop illegal construction, even on protected historical sites.
The Culture Department said last week it had repeatedly issued stop-work orders since March but the building crews had ignored them. The department estimated at least 25 ancient structures on the site were threatened, and said it has filed a criminal complaint against those responsible.
Apparently, owners of farm plots are trying to turn the land into a recreation area. The area is just outside and across a road from the site’s famous boulevard and pyramid complex.
The U.N. international council on monuments and sites said bulldozers threatened to raze as many as 15 acres (7 hectares) at the site, which is a protected area. The council also said looting of artifacts had been detected.
“Teotihuacán is an emblematic site declared as World Heritage by the UNESCO, that represents the highest expression of the identity of the people of Mexico,” the U.N. council said in a statement last week.
The destruction so close to the capital raised questions about Mexico’s ability to protect its ancient heritage sites. Teotihuacan is the country’s most visited archaeological site, with over 2.6 million visitors per year, and Mexico has hundreds of smaller, more remote and often unexplored sites.
Teotihuacan is best known for its twin Temples of the Sun and Moon, but it was actually a large city that housed over 100,000 inhabitants and covered around 8 square miles (20 sq. kilometers).
The still mysterious city was one of the largest in the world at its apex between 100 B.C. and A.D. 750. But it was abandoned before the rise of the Aztecs in the 14th century.
Even its true name remains unclear. Its current name was given to it by the Aztecs. But the Aztecs may have actually called the city “Teohuacan” — literally “the city of the sun” — rather than Teotihuacan, which means “city of the gods” or “place where men become gods.”
The Pyramids of the Sun or Moon drew tens of thousands of visitors for the spring and fall equinoxes each year, before the coronavirus pandemic hit.
AP May 31, 2021
MEET THE NEW BOSS SAME AS THE OLD BOSS Biden expands Trump-era order banning US investment in Chinese firms
Taming the dragon Executive order comes after bipartisan pressure to act on China
The executive order wasn't supposed to be public knowledge yet, but Biden administration officials apprised the media on the condition of anonymity.The order will take effect on August 2, with US investors being given a grace period of a year to divest fully from the 59 Chinese companies. This comes after bipartisan pressure to take China to task for human rights violations.
Quote White House issues press release detailing the move
"This EO allows the United States to prohibit - in a targeted and scoped manner - US investments in Chinese companies that undermine the security or democratic values of the United States and our allies," said the White House through a press release.
Chinese big brother Anti-China measure now extends to cover CCP surveillance infrastructure
The measure prevents US dollars from propping up China's defense sector, while also clamping down on Chinese firms helping the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) expand its surveillance infrastructure within China and outside.That's why, in addition to sanctions on Huawei, the executive order also includes Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., which is responsible for developing surveillance equipment and facial-recognition technology for the CCP.
Sino-US Chip wars Ban extended to check China's largest chipmaker SMIC
The order blacklists Chinese defense players such as Aviation Industry Corp. of China, Ltd., China North Industries Group Corp., China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Ltd., and China Shipbuilding Industry Co.—all targeted at tackling China's military industrial infrastructure.The ban also extends to China's top chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), which has joined forces with Huawei on the raging Sino-US chip war.
Uighur minorities Biden expected to sanction Chinese officials involved in internment camps
The move comes as a surprise after Biden had relaxed Trump-era ban on entities such as TikTok and Xiaomi, while also suspending a critical Trump order banning the purchase of power grid equipment from China.It remains to be seen if Biden ups the ante by sanctioning Chinese officials involved in the mass detention of Chinese Uighur ethnic minorities and running slave labor camps.
Diplomatic backlash Chinese officials deem US sanctions as 'total disregard of facts'
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin
As expected, the Chinese Foreign Ministry didn't take the news well and slammed the move, while reminding members of the press that Trump's original executive order exercised "total disregard of facts."The ministry spokesman called out the Biden administration for the sanctions, which he alleges undermines global financial markets. Biden's fresh order added 11 more Chinese companies to Trump's original list of 48.
Quote Chinese Foreign Ministry issues a condemnation through local media
"The U.S. should respect the rule of law and the market, correct its mistakes, and stop actions that undermine the global financial market order and investors' lawful rights and interests," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters in Beijing.
BIBI'S Likud said targeting 4 Yamina, New Hope MKs in bid to torpedo unity government
‘Change bloc’ leaders try to ensure no last-minute defections or unresolved disputes between parties can thwart razor-thin majority for coalition to oust Netanyahu
People protest against the unity government outside the home of Yamina MK Ayelet Shaked in Tel Aviv on June 3, 2021.(Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party have decided to target four “change bloc” MKs in a bid to get at least one member of the proposed coalition to defect and torpedo efforts to get a new government sworn in.
Efforts in recent days have focused on Yamina MKs Ayelet Shaked and Nir Orbach, with rallies being held outside their homes and Netanyahu orchestrating a campaign to sway them that includes calls from prominent rabbis.
In a meeting attended by Netanyahu and top Likud officials on Thursday, it was agreed to focus efforts on New Hope MKs Ze’ev Elkin and Sharren Haskel, and Yamina MKs Orbach and Idit Silman, the Kan public broadcaster reported.
They decided to pressure them by getting friends and colleagues to appeal to their ideological beliefs after efforts to lure them with lucrative positions had failed, Kan said.
In an interview with Channel 12 news on Thursday afternoon, the rabbi of Orbach’s synagogue would not deny reports that Netanyahu has been calling him to try to persuade Orbach to defect. It was also reported Thursday that Orbach is blocking Netanyahu’s calls.
Yamina MK Nir Orbach arrives for the swearing-in ceremony of the 24th Knesset in Jerusalem, April 6, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
Orbach appeared to signal after meeting with Prime Minister-designate Naftali Bennett on Thursday that he would not split with the Yamina leader and vote against the possible government, after he had begun considering such a move in recent days. Orbach has long voiced reluctance to back the coalition, but had previously vowed to resign from the Knesset rather than actively vote against the bloc. If he resigns, he will be replaced by Shirley Pinto, who supports the emerging government.
Meanwhile, there were conflicting reports about the stance of Elkin, a long-time Netanyahu confidant who quit Likud three months before the March elections to join New Hope, and made an emotional speech castigating Netanyahu.
Channel 12 quoted him as telling Orbach that if the latter did not vote for the government, neither would Elkin. However, Channel 13 said Elkin was not wavering.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Minister Ze’ev Elkin attend a ceremony unveiling a new monument to the victims of the 1948 Altalena incident, at Nachalat Yitzhak cemetery in Tel Aviv, October 27, 2016. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
The eight actions that make up the would-be government combined have a bare majority of 61 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, meaning the opposition of any lawmaker could doom the government’s chances of being approved.
Beyond efforts to scupper the majority, Channel 12 reported that the new coalition was also still trying to wrap up a number of contentious issues that threatened to undermine the cooperation between the disparate groups.
Among the issues still at hand was LGTB rights, which the left-wing Meretz was pushing, while the Islamist Ra’am was insisting that no mention of the issue be included in the coalition’s guiding principles. People take part in a rally marking the annual Pride Parade in Jerusalem, June 3, 2021. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)
Also still unclear was the issue of authorizing unrecognized Bedouin towns, the report said.
As party leaders worked to keep their MKs in check and united ahead of the vote, Yair Lapid was also reportedly working to get the support of Ahmad Tibi’s two-member Ta’al faction, in case a current coalition member drops out.
While the rest of the Joint List has said that it will not back the coalition, Tibi has so far been non-committal.
The “change-bloc” will likely have to wait until June 14 before the government can be sworn in, giving Netanyahu and Likud ample time to try and secure a defector. Channel 13 said it was possible the vote could be held as soon as Wednesday but did not detail how this could come about.
On Thursday morning, the “change bloc” parties submitted 61 signatures, demanding a vote on a new Knesset speaker early next week. The move was intended to prevent Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin from stalling on a vote of confidence in the new government and to ensure that it happened next week, rather than the week after that. Yamina leader Naftali Bennett (L) and Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid in the Knesset, June 2, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
Orbach’s signature had apparently been given to his party’s leaders, but on Thursday he quickly moved to withdraw his support. The Arab majority Joint List, which is not part of the coalition, then moved to prop up the effort by adding its own six votes to the bid.
But Yamina and Yesh Atid quickly distanced themselves from the Joint List’s backing, saying it had not been sought. Though Islamist party Ra’am is part of the new coalition, the Joint List is seen as less palatable to many right-wing members of the bloc.
Yamina then said it would only vote to replace the Knesset speaker once the government itself was approved.
As Knesset speaker, Levin can legally delay a vote on the new government for a week or more, giving Netanyahu’s Likud party more time to try to peel away rebels from the right-wing factions of the unity coalition.
Hundreds took part in rallies outside the homes of Orbach and Shaked Thursday night, a day after Lapid officially declared that he could form a government. If formed, the government would end the premier’s run of 12 consecutive years in office and relegate his Likud party and allied factions to the opposition.
At the rally outside Shaked’s home in Tel Aviv, the leader of the far-right Religious Zionism party Bezalel Smotrich, a former Yamina lawmaker, urged Shaked to come out to “those who embraced you and who you embraced, those who believed in you and you believed in them… They really feel betrayed.”
Some of the protesters then began chanting, “Shame, shame,” before Smotrich quieted them. He then led a group chant: “Ayelet, listen, the people of Israel live!”
Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich at a protest against the ‘change government,’ outside Yamina MK Ayelet Shaked’s home in Tel Aviv on June 3, 2021. His supporters hold posters of Yamina MKs Nir Orbach and Idit Silman. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Protesters brandished signs with pictures of Shaked, Orbach, and Yamina’s Idit Silman on which was written: “Stop! Don’t lend your hand to a left-wing government.” Some also waved orange flags, recalling the color used by protesters against Israel’s dismantlement of settlements and withdrawal from Gaza in 2005.
The demonstrations against the so-called “change government” have been particularly intense in recent days, taking place outside the homes of prospective ministers, including Bennett, the Yamina lawmakers and Meretz’s Tamar Zandberg. The hecklers have included pro-Netanyahu activists, right-wing families of terror victims and young members of the national-religious camp.
On Thursday morning, the Shin Bet security service said its unit that protects the top officials of the state, Unit 730, had placed a security detail around Bennett, the coalition-to-be’s first prime minister. Security had already been increased last month in response to threats against his life, the party said at the time.
On Monday, the Knesset Guard reportedly increased security around Shaked due to threats she received.
On Tuesday, Meretz MK Zandberg took her family out of their home following a string of threats against her and her baby daughter, in the wake of false information published about her proposed legislation to restrict the proselytizing of minors.
Anu Muhammad
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