As war itensifies in Ethiopia, a government proposal in Israel seeks the immediate approval of the aliyah of several thousands from the east African country, even though they are not eligible under the Law of Return, Israel Hayom has learned.

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The bill is slated to be presented at the Knesset on Sunday with projected costs of 570 million shekels ($180 million), a budget much bigger than those for immigrants from other countries.

The proposal – if passed – will see the immigration of less than 3,000 people currently awaiting aliyah in camps in the capital Addis Ababa and Gondar. Among the candidates are individuals whose parents, children, or siblings are in Israel, as well as orphans.

If more than 3,000 are found to be eligible, the government will have to approve their aliyah based on budget considerations. Although the proposal calls for the immediate start of the project, delays might occur due to the new Omicron strain recently detected in Israel.

"This is one of the most complex and painful national issues for the Ethiopian community in Israel, which makes it difficult for families to integrate in Israel," the bill states. "Many government decisions led to the entry of only some of those waiting, leaving many behind. Such decision making created a separation between families, between parents and children, between siblings, between grandparents and grandchildren."

In addition, the proposal calls for the creation of a team that will examine the aliyah eligibility of the rest of those waiting in Addis Ababa, Gondar, and other areas of Ethiopia.

Nevertheless, the bill has already received strong opposition.

"It is impossible to allocate such sums to immigrants who are not even eligible [under the Law of Return], and not provide funds to poor immigrants from other countries, like Ukraine and France," one source said. "There are thousands of Jews from low socio-economic backgrounds who refrain from coming to Israel due to a lack of housing support, whereas" this bill calls for much bigger financial grants for potential immigrants from Ethiopia.

Meanwhile, Florida's Jewish Federation of Broward County has donated $32,800 to help provide medical care, food, and clean water to Jews in Ethiopia awaiting aliyah.

The funds will help support the efforts of the organization Struggle to Save Ethiopian Jewry, which is dedicated to supporting Jews remaining in Ethiopia until they are rescued and brought to Israel.

In the past 40 years, Jewish federations have helped more than 92,000 Ethiopian Jews immigrate to Israel.

"Helping Ethiopians and Jews worldwide come home to Israel is one of clearest demonstrations of our love and commitment to the State of Israel, which is central to our core mission," Alan Cohn, chair of the Jewish Federation of Broward County's board of directors, said. "We will not forsake our brothers and sisters at this desperate time."

JNS.org contributed to this report. 

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Right-wing Knesset members Orit Strock and Avi Dichter plan to submit a draft bill to the Ministerial Committee on Legislation Sunday to revoke convicted terrorists who receive monthly stipends from the Palestinian Authority of their Israeli citizenship.

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In the abstract of the bill, the Religious Zionist Party and Yamina MKs explain that "many [terrorists] who hold Israeli citizenship or are permanent residents receive monthly salaries from the PA as a reward for committing acts of terrorism.

"For example, the terrorists who killed [IDF] soldier Avraham Bromberg in 1980 receive a monthly salary of 12,000 shekels [$3,700] from the PA. According to calculations by the Palestinian Media Watch, by the end of October 2020, the PA had paid the murderers more than NIS 3 million [$914,000] altogether."

Strock and Dichter added, "It is inconceivable that Israeli citizens and [permanent] residents who not only betrayed the state and Israeli society, but also agreed to receive payments from the PA as a reward for committing acts of terrorism ... should continue to hold Israeli citizenship."

The Choose Life Forum, which works with bereaved families and victims of terrorism, sent a letter to committee members, asking them to back the legislative proposal.

"The law is intended to solve a difficult problem that exists today," the letter said, for "the authority to denaturalize terrorists is only given to the Interior Minister ... and in practice, this authority cannot be exercised."

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​The Knesset on Wednesday adopted an amendment to the Public Health Ordinance that allows the disclosure of information on non-vaccinated Israelis to relevant municipal health officials.

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The legislation, which will be in place for three months or until the coronavirus-related state emergency ends, aims to encourage the public to get vaccinated. The bill passed its third and final reading by a vote of 30-13.

The bill grants the Health Ministry permission to share the names, ID numbers, addresses, and phone numbers of Israelis who have yet to be inoculated or have missed their second dose with high-ranking officials in the Education Ministry, as well as with officials in the Labor, Social Affairs, and Social Services Ministry.

The law limits data usage for vaccine encouragement only. All information will be deleted after it is used and no later than 60 days after it was received, the bill states.

"The vaccinations are imperative, and this law is meant to increase the number of inoculations among those who are under the impression that they do not need to get vaccinated," MK Haim Katz, chairman of the Labor, Welfare, and Health Committee, said.

"I have been asked, 'What about privacy?' Is the value of privacy more important than the value of life? The information will pertain only to people who can get vaccinated but have yet to do so. Nothing beyond that," he stressed.

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A new bill seeks to transform Israel into a free trade zone by applying various reforms to customs fees and other tariffs, Israel Hayom learned Monday. 

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The Israel Free Trade Zone bill, sponsored by Likud MK Ariel Kellner and lobbied for by the Our Interest advocacy group, aims to "transform Israel into a modern, progressive economy and a significant player of the global economy."

The legislative proposal names simplifying customs regulations as its main objective. It further aims to reduce the levies imposed on each imported item to no more than 8% and remove unnecessary market entry barriers and regulatory requirements.

Kellner plans to present the bill for its preliminary Knesset reading in the next few days. 

"The bill will transform the Israeli economy so that it will benefit ordinary citizens, who are underrepresented by advocacy groups," Kellner said.

"The removal of market entry barriers and the new customs policy will reduce the price of products, especially of staple foods. This will ease the financial burden on everyone, especially those from the lower [socioeconomic] echelon. This policy will eventually make local production more efficient and will increase the wages of the local workers.

"The bill defines Israel as a free-trade country. It relies on the international standards and reducing import tax as much as possible," he explained. 

Under the proposed law, customs tariffs will be gradually reduced by 10% each year until each item is subject to 8% tax at most. According to the bill, higher customs fees will only be possible through a decree by the Knesset Finance Committee and only following the finance minister's recommendation.

"The existing cost of living and low workforce productivity affect all of our standard of living," Our Interest CEO Elad Malka said. "The bill presents Israel with an opportunity to become a modern, progressive economy and a significant player of the global economy."

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One of the things that we have in common is the core belief that our elected officials in Congress need to do more to educate our next generation about the Holocaust. Last April, a group of House representatives (four Democrats and four Republicans) introduced a bipartisan bill called the Never Again Education Act (H.R. 5460). The bill was introduced in response to an alarming survey by the Claims Conference, now public, claiming that over two-thirds or 66% of American millennials have never heard of Auschwitz.

Furthermore, over 45% of those surveyed could not name a single one of the 40 ghettos or concentration camps and nine out of 10 people responded "yes" when asked if American students should learn about the Holocaust.

After hearing the results of this study, it became very clear to anyone paying attention that the memory of the Holocaust is quickly fading while anti-Semitism in America and around the world grows. I (Bryan) am the grandson of a Holocaust survivor and I (Naomi) have relatives who survived the Holocaust. We will never forget the Holocaust and we are both personally invested in seeing Holocaust education rolled out nationwide. But what about the millions of Americans who don't have grandparents or relatives who are Holocaust survivors and can't name a single concentration camp?

In response to these shocking statistics, these eight members of Congress introduced a bipartisan bill that would authorize and fund the Department of Education to provide grants for educational programs about the Holocaust. We and many others applauded the eight members who introduced the bill and started working with our friends, community members and directly with members of Congress behind the scenes to whip up support from additional cosponsors of the bill.

To date, the bill has 53 co-sponsors (33 Democrats and 20 Republicans). The theory behind increasing the number of cosponsors is that it was supposed to increase the likelihood that the bill would be passed in committee with a recommendation for a full vote on the House floor.

Here is where things get weird and well, very frustrating. The bill was referred to the House Education Committee on April 10, 2018 (the same day the bill was introduced) and now, over 365 days later, still has not been read once in committee or been voted on. Since the new session of Congress started, no bills related to Holocaust education have been introduced.

We aren't of the belief that the federal government should be telling any of us what to do or how to live our lives. However, in this case, we will make an exception because our future depends on it.

The federal government has a real opportunity to pass a real bill that will have tangible and measurable results. A bill that will have a direct impact on the lives of our children. If we don't start educating the next generation about the Holocaust, Adolf Hitler and the 6 million Jews that were systematically erased from existence, we run the very real risk that history will repeat itself.

We, Bryan Leib and Naomi Levin, are calling on Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Education Committee Chairman Rep. Bobby Scott and the bill's original lead sponsor, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, to get together in a room as soon as possible, breathe life back into this bill, draft a new one and put it on the House floor where it belongs, for a full vote.

In closing, in the words of the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "The time is always right to do what's right." This bill is right, the cause is just and our members of Congress need to stop placating the American people by telling us they care about the growing tide of anti-Semitism and actually do something to address it. This bill is their opportunity to change the tide and make an impact. Will they? Your move, Congress.

Bryan E. Leib is a program manager for the Israeli-American Council. He is a member of the board of the National Museum of American Jewish History and a member of the Jewish National Fund's Speakers Bureau. He is the former candidate for U.S. Congress in Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District and the former treasurer of the Philadelphia Young Republicans.

Naomi Levin is a software engineer. She is the former candidate for U.S. Congress in New York's 10th Congressional District. She is a board member of EMET (the Endowment for Middle East Truth), Manhattan GOP and the New York State Young Republicans.

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