14 Days: Libyan leak

LIBYAN LEAK 

Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush was fired on August 28 in the wake of Israeli media reports that she had met Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen a week before in Rome. After her dismissal order was signed by Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, Mangoush reportedly fled from Libya to Turkey. Israel said the meeting between the two foreign ministers, facilitated by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, had addressed cooperation in a wide range of areas, including agriculture and water technology. Opposition leader Yair Lapid blamed Cohen’s lack of diplomatic experience for the Libyan snafu, claiming that his leak of the meeting  to the media “reflected a serious failure of judgment.”

TERROR ATTACK 

Sgt. Maxim Molchanov, 20, a lone soldier from Ukraine, was killed and five others wounded in a truck-ramming terror attack at the Maccabim checkpoint near Modi’in on August 31. The 41-year-old Palestinian terrorist then fled in his truck to the Hashmonaim checkpoint where he was shot dead by security forces. Molchanov, who lived in Herzliya and served in the IDF’s Artillery Corps, was off-duty at the time of the attack.

JERUSALEM STABBING

An Israeli man in his twenties was moderately wounded in a stabbing attack at the Shivtei Israel light rail station near Jerusalem’s Old City on August 30. The terrorist, a 14-year-old Palestinian boy from Beit Hanina, was shot dead by an off-duty Border Police officer at the scene. 

ERITREAN VIOLENCE 

Some 160 people including 50 police officers, were injured on September 2 in violent clashes in south Tel Aviv between Eritrean government supporters celebrating Eritrea Day and opponents who found refuge in Israel. Police used stun grenades and live fire to break up the clashes, and arrested 40 protesters. 

WOMEN PROTEST 

Hundreds of women protested in Bnei Brak on August 24 after several media reports that women had been ordered to sit in the back of the bus. In one incident, a bus driver driving from Ashdod to Kfar Tavor told a group of teenage girls to sit in the back and cover themselves up with blankets, saying they were on an ultra-Orthodox bus line. In Tel Aviv, a driver scolded a woman for wearing a tank top, and in Ashdod, a driver told a woman that she could not board his bus because it was only for haredi men.

LEIFER SENTENCED 

Malka Leifer, a former principal at an Australian Jewish school, was sentenced on August 24 to 15 years in jail for sexually assaulting two sisters at the school. Victoria County Court Judge Mark Gamble said Leifer had abused her position within Melbourne’s ultra-Orthodox community and scarred the sisters for life. Leifer, a mother of eight, fled to her native Israel when reports of her crimes surfaced in 2008, was extradited after a long battle to Australia in 2021, and earlier this year was found guilty on 18 of 27 charges of abuse against sisters Dassi Erlich and Elly Sapper. 

RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS 

Israel’s team, comprising Shani Bakanov, Eliza Banchuk, Adar Friedmann, Romi Paritzki, Ofir Shaham and Diana Svertsov, won the gold medal at the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships 2023 in the group all-around category on August 25 in Valencia, Spain. Their three-minute ribbons and balls routine was an Israeli team’s first gold in the sport at the international competition. 

BAYERN SIGNING 

Bayern Munich signed a five-year deal with Israeli goalkeeper Daniel Peretz, 23, from Maccabi Tel Aviv in August. “When I heard about Bayern’s interest, I only had one wish: to move here,” said Peretz, who is dating Israeli singer Noa Kirel. In his 101 appearances for Maccabi Tel Aviv since 2020, Peretz let through just 82 goals while keeping 44 clean sheets.

TEFERI TRIUMPH 

Israeli athlete Maru Teferi, 31, made history on August 27 by winning a silver medal in the World Athletics Championship men’s marathon in Budapest in a time of 2:09:12, behind Uganda’s Victor Kiplangat and ahead of Ethiopia’s Leul Gebresilase. “I’m so excited and happy to represent my country on such a big stage and bring honor to myself, my country, and my family,” he said. Teferi’s medal is Israel’s fifth in the history of the World Athletics Championship.