Rivlin agrees to hear Gilad reps in person
Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin agreed on Tuesday to hold a hearing for representatives of Gilad - Government Relations & Lobbying before deciding whether to permanently revoke their permits to enter the Knesset building. Rivlin (Likud) sits on the committee that vets lobbyists. Only two representatives may come to argue the company’s case, warned Rivlin, who had lifted their permits temporarily − and barred all lobbyists from various areas in the Knesset, including the cafeteria − after the Channel 2 program “Uvda” aired candid footage of Gilad lobbyists boasting about manipulating Knesset members. Gilad has already written a profuse apology to Rivlin: The hearing, to be held “in a matter of days,” will be in person. (Moti Bassok)
Protest head gives Strauss week to cut prices
Strauss is trying to deflect the protests against the high cost of food in Israel, accused Itzik Alrov, the man who sparked the “cottage cheese protests” last summer. In an interview with TheMarker Television on Tuesday, Alrov said, “We shall continue the protest to lower food prices until the Knesset takes systemic action.”
Otherwise the protest movement will take action itself, he vowed. At this point the protest movement is focused on Strauss, he said, referring to the uproar triggered last week by someone uploading a photo to Facebook of Pesek Zman candy bars selling in New Jersey for less than half the price they cost in Israel. “We have written to the Strauss CEO and expect the company to lower prices by the start of March. If not, we’ll call on the public to boycott the company,” Alrov said. (Zvi Zrahiya)
Khenin: Don’t fast-track oil drilling permits
Fast-tracking procedures to approve terrestrial oil drilling could lead to environmental disaster, warned MK Dov Khenin on Tuesday, following reports that the Energy and Water Resources Ministry is doing that very thing. Speaking at the Knesset committee on environment and health, Khenin (Hadash) warned against the ministry’s intention to fast-track drilling approvals without first requiring a study of environmental impact, and without giving the public a chance to object. “Oil drilling is not an appropriate area for fast tracks,” Khenin urged, vowing to do everything in his power to foil the initiative in Knesset. (Itai Trilnick)
Concentration committee findings due on wednesday
Having received the recommendations of the economic concentration committee, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be publishing them today. The committe’s main mandate was to find ways to improve competition in Israel’s economy. The team is expected to recommend limiting pyramid groups to no more than three levels (subsidiaries and subsidiaries of subsidiaries), blocking groups from owning both major financial companies and non-financial companies, limiting the credit institutional investors can grant big borrowers, and making competition a consideration in privatization tenders. The recommendations will need to become law to go into effect, and big companies are expected to put pressure on lawmakers in an attempt to block them. (Ora Coren)
Court: TA tower must let neighbors park free
Eighty parking spots in Tel Aviv’s Beeri-Nahardea luxury tower will be made available to residents of neighboring streets for free, ruled the Tel Aviv District Court yesterday. The ruling came in response to a petition by local residents who were upset by the city’s lack of parking. The city and the developers had wanted to charge for use of the spots. The residents argued that when the building plans were approved in 2002, the planning committee had agreed with them that the 32-story project would worsen the neighborhood’s parking situation. Therefore, they said, parking spots in the lot should be opened up for their use. Judge Sara Gadot accepted their claim, agreeing that the spots were their compensation for the building’s impact. (Nimrod Bousso)
