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Other Significant News
- This week in Jerusalem, an incident at an unlicensed daycare left two haredi infants—three‑month‑old Leah Golovnetsitz and six‑month‑old Aharon Katz—dead. According to authorities, the deaths likely stemmed from severe dehydration in a heated room with poor ventilation. The tragedy has brought new scrutiny to the common use of unregulated childcare. A High Court decision blocked the autopsies of the victims due to widespread protests by haredi community members that shut down major roads in numerous cities. Police are also probing possible neglect and abuse by caregivers. Senior Haredi political figures publicly blamed the state’s conscription efforts and related policy changes for the tragedy. Leaders from ultra-Orthodox parties linked the tragedy to government actions tied to the draft debate, including cuts to subsidies that had supported such child care, which were driven by efforts to enforce conscription.
- Former IDF chief of staff and government minister Gadi Eisenkot has proposed forming a single party with Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett, aiming to create a centrist “Zionist Majority” that could win around 40 Knesset seats, which is enough to surpass other factions and challenge Netanyahu in the next elections. The elections must be held by October of this year. Combining their current polling, the bloc could realistically reach 38–44 seats, with Bennett contributing the most, Eisenkot bridging the center, and Lapid appealing to center-left voters.
- The alliance would mirror past Israeli “big-tent politics” and aim to project unity early, with leadership to be decided closer to the election based on “electability” and polling, likely putting Bennett at the helm if polls hold.
- The strategy’s main goal is to increase turnout and break the opposition deadlock, but it carries significant risks; merging parties doesn’t always guarantee better results, especially as ideological differences could alienate parts of each leader’s base.
- Neither Bennett nor Lapid have publicly responded to the proposal.
- Israeli media has pointed out that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s travel options are limited due to fears of backlash against him over the Gaza war, and even possible arrest, in many places across the globe (with the US as a notable, and critical, exception).
- In his stead, President Isaac Herzog, considered by many international players to be less controversial, has continued representing Israel, including at this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos.
- In Davos, Herzog met with numerous heads of state and government, including the presidents of Azerbaijan, the Swiss Confederation, Finland, Lithuania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Serbia, and Panama, as well as the prime ministers of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, and Sweden.
- President Herzog also met with senior global business leaders, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and leaders of international organizations, including the secretaries-general of NATO and the OECD, and the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
- Watch President Herzog’s address in Davos here.
- Israel is strengthening its role in NATO’s defense network, with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems supplying its Windbreaker active protection system (essentially an “Iron Dome for tanks”) to 150 Leopard tanks used by Lithuania, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and Croatia. The system intercepts incoming anti-tank missiles before they hit, offering protection without adding heavy armor. Germany, having already ordered Windbreaker systems for 123 tanks, appears to want more, and this latest $390 million deal marks another major contract for Israel’s rapidly growing defense industry. Beyond boosting exports, this integration into NATO systems could deepen Israel–EU relations.
- Israeli authorities have demolished a long-controversial UNRWA facility in east Jerusalem, ending decades of operation that included alleged funding of terrorism and incitement against Israel. The building had also reportedly hosted activities to indoctrinate children and glorify violence. After revelations that some Gazan UNRWA employees were acting as Hamas operatives, the Knesset banned the agency from operating in Israel in January 2025, though the facility continued until police seized it in December over unpaid taxes. The site can now be repurposed for public use.
- The US is building a nuclear power plant in Israel to support AI and data centers, circumventing the Non-Proliferation Treaty by placing the facility on Israeli soil but under American sovereignty, thus legally treating it like a US-based reactor. The plant will power Israel’s data centers, strengthening Washington’s “Pax Silica Alliance,” a trusted network of tech partners including Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the UK, and Qatar. Israel’s inclusion reflects its technical expertise and strategic location, but the country’s limited energy resources have long constrained this development. Nuclear power, discussed by Netanyahu and Trump in December, should enable Israel to support large-scale AI development.
- On Sunday, Prime Minister Netanyahu met with US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee in Jerusalem to discuss creating a mutual recognition framework for securities registration between Israel and the US. The plan would allow Israeli companies listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange to trade more easily in US markets by reducing regulatory duplication, streamlining reporting, and expanding access to international capital.
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