August 21

👉🏽 The shekel is 3.8 to the USD, its lowest rate in almost seven years,

👉🏽 Jewish Power National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir demanding anti-terrorism measures including denial of work permits, Palestinian city closures, and targeted assassinations, YNet reports.👉🏽 The Israel Medical Association called for the courts to annul the reasonableness law, explaining how detrimental it will be to the practice of medicine, affecting everything from permitting unqualified appointments, to prioritizing treatment to patients based on gender or race. All 15 judges of the Supreme Court will rule on the reasonableness law on September 12.

👉🏽 Walla news reporting that an anonymous, non-Haredi Coalition member admonished the ultra-Orthodox parties for threatening not to back the rest of the overhaul. “If the issue of the [judicial] reform has nothing to do with the ultra-Orthodox, then maybe the overhaul clause isn’t needed,” the source said. “When the High Court of Justice gives the Western Wall to the Reform movement and continues to invalidate the draft exemption law, they better not come crying to us.”

👉🏽 Local government offices are closed until 10 am this morning in solidarity with Arab municipalities striking over Religious Zionism Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s refusal to transfer promised monies to the Arab sector. Haim Bibas, chairman of the Federation of Local Authorities, threatened that schools might not open September 1 if things weren’t resolved by then. Times of Israel reports Smotrich said: “We will act to prevent the reckless and irresponsible strike tomorrow. I won’t cave in to pressure and threats.”

👉🏽 Despite secular opposition and a failed court appeal, the first ultra-Orthodox Bais Yaakov school will open in Kiryat HaYovel next week, spurring fears that it will accelerate the “Haredization” of the neighborhood.

Updates by email at IsraelMachar.com

🇮🇱