The Times of Israel is liveblogging Wednesday’s events as they unfold.
Taliban carries out first public execution in Afghanistan since takeover
An Afghan man convicted of murder is executed in public, the Taliban says, the first confirmation of such a sentence since the hardline Islamists returned to power.
“The Supreme Court was instructed to implement this order of qisas in a public gathering of compatriots,” says a statement from Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, referring to the “eye for an eye” justice in Islamic law.
Likud MK labels ongoing coalition talks ‘a failure,’ laments ministry divisions
Likud MK David Bitan suggests the current coalition negotiations are a failure and that his party is giving up too much.
“The Likud negotiations have failed. We’ll hardly be able to express ourselves,” Bitan tells Army Radio. “We’re losing a lot of portfolios, and even the ones we have kept for ourselves have been emptied of meaning.”
Likud chief Benjamin Netanyahu is still working to build his presumed 64-seat coalition with Religious Zionism, Otzma Yehudit, Noam, Shas and United Torah Judaism.
Several of the deals made so far have included trimming off portions of the Defense Ministry and the Education Ministry — portfolios Likud is expected to keep — to keep the other parties happy without handing over full control.
Bitan tells Army Radio that Netanyahu should not request a two-week extension from President Isaac Herzog, as he is widely expected to do, but should hammer out a coalition quickly and deal with divisions and arguments later.
Far-right anti-LGBT MK says new coalition will end the ‘darkness’ of outgoing government
Noam MK Avi Maoz, the sole Knesset member of the extremist anti-LGBT party, sparks outrage during a speech to the Knesset where he compares the outgoing government to the Hellenists of the Hanukkah story.
In his speech, Maoz says the story of Hanukkah is “fitting for today,” sings portions of the popular holiday song “We Came to Expel the Darkness,” and notes that the Maccabees had to drive out the forces of Hellenistic Jews, who wanted to combine Judaism with Greek culture.
“The spirit that the Greeks and the Hellenists tried to instill in the Jewish people is the real darkness,” says Maoz. “Anyone who tries to harm real Judaism is the darkness. Anyone who tries to create a new so-called liberal religion is the darkness. Anyone who — with intentional concealment and obfuscation — tries to brainwash the children of Israel with their agendas, without the knowledge of the parents — is the darkness.”
Under his coalition deal with Likud, Maoz will be appointed deputy minister and head a to-be-created authority for Jewish identity, as well as control extracurricular content in schools, a deal that has been viewed with alarm by many.
