💧News of the Crisis💧 April 4th
“Release the balloons, release the hostages” - families of the hostages in the rally outside Rabin Camp in Tel Aviv (video by Jeremy Portnoy)
Following news reports that the Ministry of Education is actively withholding funds for the Tolerance Program run by the Israeli LGBTQ+ Youth Movement and by the advocacy arm of the movement in Israel, leading to the cancellation of thousands of tolerance workshops throughout Israel, the ministry stated today (Thursday) to news site Mako that "Contrary to claims, there is no cut in the tolerance budget. The ministry considers education for tolerance and acceptance of the other important. The budget remains exactly as it was - ILS 3 million".
However, not a single shekel was transferred to the schools for this purpose. The budget was not transferred, even now in April, shortly before the end of the school year. This is though the budget in question, is anchored in the state budget for 2023, i.e. it is unrelated neither to the state budget for 2024 nor to the current war.
Opposition MK Yorai Lahav-Hertzanu stated: “This is negligence. These workshops are critical as they create a safe space, not only for LGBT students, but also for their fellow students. The Minister of Education has pledged that this year’s budget for the tolerance education will be transferred without delay, and I intend to make sure of that."
Attorney Daniel Haklai writes in Zman Israel: “After talking to the 16 protesters who were falsely arrested at the rally demanding the release of the hostages in Tel Aviv on Saturday night - whom I counseled at the Mesubim police station, I reiterate: these are very serious false arrests (which have also become highly routine).
“...it's a routine that is habitual in dictatorships, it’s dangerous and shameful and above all: it can happen to anyone. The things are documented both in videos and testimonies.
“...The indifference of some of the public is over. The energy this week was completely different. This is an arduous struggle against a government that strives to establish a dictatorship and against the worst and most despised prime minister ever. But the fight will succeed. For that to happen, go out and demonstrate.
The human horror we are witnessing in the Gaza Strip, the enormous hunger, the complete destruction of infrastructures, the epidemics expected in the absence of an adequate medical system, the masses of starving children and toddlers, the Somaliazation of Gaza - all of course without any political and strategic planning - will haunt us for a long time to come. And it is about intensifying the impossible suffering of dozens of our hostages. That's another reason - go out and demonstrate”.
Times Of Israel reports: “Residents of central Israel report widespread disruptions to navigation apps like Google Maps, Waze and other systems that use GPS with many Tel Aviv motorists being shown that they were in Beirut.
The GPS disruptions have previously been widely reported in northern Israel or areas close to Gaza, but have been less common in central Israel. They have been blamed on the Israel Defense Forces blocking some global positioning system (GPS) signals amid the ongoing war with the Palestinian terror group Hamas in the Strip and deadly clashes with Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
The disruptions in Tel Aviv come a day after the IDF said that it bolstered its air defense array and had called up reservists, as the country girded for a potential Iranian response to a strike in Syria earlier this week blamed on Israel in which several high-ranking Iranian military officials were killed.
There was no immediate IDF comment on the disruptions”.