Slippery Slope

A senior “Israel HaYom” columnist, Dror Ider, is on the payroll of the Prime Minister’s office, receiving 50,000 Shekels a year for “speech and lecture writing”.

A number of civilian rabbis arrived at a secret navy base in order to stop a special educational activity about Tu BiShvat which was given by female instructors, following an urgent appeal from Haredi soldiers from the Naval Nahal Haredi project.

(Hebrew)

A man claims that police officers from the Kiryat-Shmona station attacked him after he filmed them checking his license.  The officers are documented trying to prevent the man, Ido Chen, from filming.  Following the license check Chen was taken to the station house where according to him he was beaten and subsequently charged with attacking a police officer.  In addition, Chen claims that the officers tried to erase the video from his cellular phone.

(Hebrew)

A study conducted last August by the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies reveals that 86% of the services provided by the Ministry of Welfare are carried out by contract laborers.  The study further shows that 70% of social workers are employed as contract laborers.

The deputy editor of “Makor Rishon”, Uri Elitzur, is on contract with the Prime Minister’s office as a speech writer, in contrast with the ethics rules of the Press Council.

(Hebrew)

Beer Sheva Magistrate’s Court judge, Sarah Haviv, has determined that police investigators forced a false confession on a man indicted for burglary, and it is suspected that they prompted the man so that he will repeat relevant information in his confession.

(Hebrew)

The Population Authority refuses to accept a power of attorney by fax, thus denying Israeli lawyers from handling the cases of Israeli citizens residing in the Gaza Strip.  The Population Authority claims that only a power of attorney signed in the presence of the representative and his client is acceptable, and since often times residents of the Gaza Strip require legal assistance just to get out of the Strip, obtaining this power of attorney is impossible.

The Deputy Minister of Pensioners’ Affairs, Leah Ness (Likud), is spearheading an initiative to include trips to West Bank sites such as Hebron and Susiya in the list of subsidized tours for senior citizens.

Settlers cut down 25 olive trees belonging to Palestinians from the village of Beit Omar.

(Hebrew)

Residents of the village of Ara in the triangle area are complaining that the village is neglected since a municipal consolidation with the village of Arara, which they demand be reversed.  According to residents since the consolidation there is no garbage pickup, the roads are run down, the school is unsafe, and unemployment is high.

(Hebrew)