Ep 401 Mon. Aug 1, 2022

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Music: Shabatot v’Hagim; Yaara Shaulian https://open.spotify.com/track/5un6lexs0vAS1y7jBenn5b?si=9bba9d63d39648c4

1. Israel’s Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai traveled to Morocco for the first trip of its kind. Shabtai is now the first police chief to visit Morocco on official business. Last month, the army chief made a similar trop. In 2020 Morocco and Israel officially normalized relations as part of the Abraham Accords. Shabtai is set to meet the Senior Moroccan police and national security officers as well as visit law enforcement facilities. The idea is to discuss operational intelligence and investigative cooperation. Shabtai will have the head of Israel’s Foreign Affairs Unit present during the meetings as well. Did you know Israel has a Foreign Affairs Unit?
2. Israel is making cash transactions larger than 6,000 shekels or 1,700 dollars illegal in the country. The idea is to crack down on money laundering. The ruling begins today on August 1st and it was pushed forward by the tax authority. Trading between individuals who aren’t listed as business owners is now limited to just 15,000 shekels or 4,360 dollars in cash whereas previously it was up to 11,000 shekels or 3,200 bucks. The authority wants people to make online transactions so they can be recorded and reviewed. The tax authority rep who is the lawyer behind this move says criminals rely on cash to make illegal transactions and so by eliminating cash fluidity in the market, criminal activity will be more difficult to carry out. For that to happen, there must be less cash in the market. YNet got a quote from Uri Goldman, an attorney in tax and criminal law who tried to fight the law in 2018 when it was presented. Goldman says he brought data to the courts showing that the first phase of that law, when it was introduced, actually created the opposite effect, making the amount of cash in the market actually increase. The law was originally proposed in 2015 and got first rounds of approval in 2018. Check out the YNet article for more details.
3. Massive wildfires spread across the Southern Golan Heights yesterday, prompting evacuations in Kfar Haruv. Officials say six firefighting teams, six planes, and volunteers from the Jewish National Fund were all working together to extinguish the flames. Thankfully, no injuries were reported. Residents of Kfar Haruv were allowed to return home as firefighters brought that section of the blaze under control and continued to battle other, more remote, sections of the wildfire late into the night. Climate change experts say these wildfires are getting more frequent due to global warming bringing rising temperatures and a longer dry Summer season. Israel is currently experiencing a heat wave, with temperatures last week topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit. In 2017, there was a recommendation to establish a governmental supervisory body that would oversee forest fire prevention. That government body has yet to be established.
4. The leader of the Iranian atomic energy organization, Mohammad Eslami, says Iran has the technical capability to produce an atomic bomb, but no intention of doing so. Iran is currently enriching uranium up to 60 percent fissile purity, significantly above the 3.67 percent cap set by the now defunct 2015 nuclear deal. Uranium needs to be enriched to 90 percent in order to be suitable for a nuclear bomb. Earlier this year, talks on reviving the nuclear deal reportedly broke down after Iran demanded that the new deal should include a proposition stating no U.S. president will abandon the deal in the same way former President Trump did. Current U.S. President Joe Biden wasn’t or isn’t able to promise this because the nuclear deal is a political understanding and not a legally binding treaty. However, last Tuesday the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said, “there is a possibility that in the near future we will be able to reach a conclusion about the timing of a new round of nuclear negotiations.” Top Israeli officials do not want Iran to obtain a nuclear bomb, as that would pose a major security threat for Israel. Iran has repeatedly threatened to wipe Israel off the map and does not recognize the legitimacy of Israel as a state.
5. Are you someone who loves meat but maybe is concerned that by eating it, you are harming the environment? Or it isn’t good for your stomach? There’s an Israeli startup called Mush Foods doing something interesting and it’s basically making half meat half vegan options. The founders started a year ago and say the meat market is 1.5 trillion dollars a year with 1.5 percent of it meat alternatives. He says most people just can’t make the full jump to being vegan. 50 percent of each batch is made with meat as well as mycelium mushrooms dried and chopped. The idea is to reduce the global consumption of animal proteins, food waste and reduce the ecological footprint caused by meat. The chef at Mush Foods says the products cut down on meat consumption, costs, and make the final product healthier and actually more flavorful. We will have to see about that. The owners are opening up in a couple of tel aviv restaurants this month including in the Margoza Bar and Café Dizengoff.