RSS
Israeli Lawmakers to Forgo Salary Hikes in Show of Solidarity Amid Gaza War, Economic Damage
A local woman passes by a shop that displays an Israeli flag in the city of Tiberias, Israel, Nov. 8, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
Members of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, announced on Wednesday that they decided to freeze their own planned pay raises, saying it was not the time for lawmakers to receive a salary bump as the Israeli economy suffered from the ongoing war with the Hamas terror group in Gaza.
“There is no need to justify the obvious: the members’ salaries will not increase during this time,” said Ofir Katz, who chairs the Knesset’s House Committee. Katz added that the salaries would also remain the same for the prime minister, president, judges, and other ministers.
This decision followed the recommendation of the committee that determines salaries and other payments to members of the Knesset, which said, “The difficult war that was imposed on us brings with it severe economic consequences for the entire economy and economic damage to many of the country’s citizens. Under these circumstances, members of the Knesset must set a personal example and forgo the expected increase in their salary.”
Israeli business and outside investment have suffered due to the war, which began with Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel.
The committee responsible for recommending lawmaker wage hikes added: “This decision will also affect employees and former office holders whose wages are received by said office holders and will convey to the public a message of solidarity, responsibility, and values.”
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana had echoed those sentiments earlier this week in light of the war with Hamas.
“At this time, when the state and many of its citizens are dealing with the economic consequences of the war, just as I worked to cut NIS 80 million [$20.5 million] from the Knesset budget, I think it would be right for Knesset members to also be partners in the economic effort, which should be focused on rehabilitating communities and their residents,” Ohana wrote in a letter to the committee.
The salary hike of 8 percent from the current pay rate of 47,000 NIS (about $12,700) per month was set to go into effect for the lawmakers on Jan. 1 for the 2024 calendar year.
Already above the average Israeli salary of 12,804 NIS per month, the scheduled increase turned some heads as the country has been primarily focused on its wartime budget. Controversy erupted over the recently approved budget, which some members of the Knesset railed against since not all the money was allocated to the war effort. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich backed his budget plan, saying there was enough money at the moment to support military matters and all other areas.
The decision to freeze salary hikes was opposed by some judges, who are the highest paid members of Israel’s governing system, according to Hebrew-language media. The Israeli Supreme Court’s president receives approximately 98,000 NIS per month (about $26,000).
The scheduled pay increases for 2025 will be based on the estimated wage that was supposed to be set for 2024, meaning that lawmakers and members of government will see a double raise in their salaries compared to this year.
Typically, lawmakers have seen annual wage hikes in accordance with average market wage levels. In January 2023, their salaries rose by 5.1 percent after the Knesset was urged to veto a proposed 12.5 percent salary hike amid high inflation and a skyrocketing cost of living. Before then, salaries had been frozen in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The post Israeli Lawmakers to Forgo Salary Hikes in Show of Solidarity Amid Gaza War, Economic Damage first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Treasure Trove tells a tale of oranges, fertilizer and bombs
In 1926, four British chemical companies merged to create Imperial Chemical Industries, which became one of Britain’s mightiest industrial companies. It was the brainchild of Alfred Mond who became the new company’s managing director and chairman. Mond was an industrialist, financier and proud Zionist, who was president of the British Zionist Federation, founder of the town of Tel Mond, east of Netanya, and a strong proponent for the introduction of electricity into Palestine.
In 1928, Imperial Chemical Industries established ICI Levant as a subsidiary that operated in Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey and Cyprus. Yechiel (Chilik) Weizmann, a chemist and the younger brother of Chaim who headed the World Zionist Organization, became the first manager.
ICI Levant imported pesticides, fertilizers, weapons and explosives, assisted local farmers in pest control and worked to educate farmers on the use of its products. Arabs in Palestine complained that ICI Levant was providing explosives and weapons to the Jews in Palestine, and was favouring Jewish labour for opportunities within the company. The company insisted it was neutral.
This is an advertisement for ICI Levant chemicals for use in fumigation. Prior to the Second World War, oranges were Palestine’s most lucrative industry growing from 831,000 boxes exported in 1920-21 to 13 million boxes in 1938-39. Yechiel Weizmann articulated the importance of ICI Levant’s pesticides for Palestine’s economy and agriculture when he said:
“The future of ICI is the future of Palestine, and what is the future of Palestine if not the future of orange trees; the future of orange trees is the extermination of the harming diseases.”
ICI Levant played another important role in the future of Palestine. In November 1945, an unknown man arrived at the company’s warehouse claiming to be a representative of the Hebron municipality and left with five tons of sodium nitrate. Two months later, eight armed men and women broke into the company’s offices in Tel Aviv and took ten tons of sodium nitrate.
Sodium nitrate is used in fertilizer… and explosives.
The post Treasure Trove tells a tale of oranges, fertilizer and bombs appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
RSS
Egypt’s Sisi, Trump Discuss Gaza Ceasefire; No Mention of Palestinian Transfer in Statement
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attends a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Presidential Palace in Cairo, Egypt, June 10, 2024. Photo: Amr Nabil/Pool via REUTERS
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and US President Donald Trump agreed on the need to consolidate the Gaza ceasefire deal in a phone call on Saturday, the Egyptian presidency said, but it was unclear if they discussed Trump’s call for the transfer of Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan.
The presidency said in a statement they had a positive dialogue which stressed the importance of fully implementing the first and second phases of the ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, and the need to step up humanitarian aid shipments to Gaza.
However, the statement did not mention if they discussed Trump’s statement last week that Egypt and Jordan should take in Palestinians from Gaza following 15 months of Israeli bombardments that have left most of its 2.3 million people homeless.
Critics have called his suggestion tantamount to ethnic cleansing.
Sisi rejected the idea on Wednesday, describing it as an “act of injustice.” However, on Thursday Trump reiterated his call, saying that “we do a lot for them, and they are going to do it,” in an apparent reference to US aid to both Egypt and Jordan.
Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo on Saturday also rejected a transfer of Palestinians from their land, saying such a move would threaten regional stability, spread conflict and undermine prospects for peace.
In their call, Sisi and Trump also expressed their keenness to achieve peace and stability in the region, the Egyptian presidency statement said.
Sisi invited Trump to visit Egypt as soon as possible to discuss problems in the Middle East, the statement added. The two presidents also discussed the need to strengthen their economic and investment ties, it said.
The post Egypt’s Sisi, Trump Discuss Gaza Ceasefire; No Mention of Palestinian Transfer in Statement first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Netanyahu to Depart Sunday for US to Meet with Trump
US President Donald Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talk in the midst of a joint news conference in the White House in Washington, US, Jan. 28, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will depart on Sunday for the United States to meet with President Donald Trump, Netanyahu’s office said on Saturday.
Netanyahu has been invited to visit Trump at the White House on Tuesday and they will discuss the situation in Gaza, hostages held by Hamas, and the confrontation with Iran and its regional allies, a statement from his office said.
The post Netanyahu to Depart Sunday for US to Meet with Trump first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login