The Lod Central District Court on Tuesday reversed a lower court’s decision in the case of Tzachi Braverman, chief of staff to the prime minister and Israel’s ambassador-designate to the United Kingdom, siding with police and restoring a series of restrictions against him.
Judge Michael Kershen of the District Court ruled in favor of the police appeal, reimposing the limitations that had previously been lifted. These include a prohibition on leaving the country, suspension from his position at the Prime Minister’s Office, and a ban on communicating with a wide range of officials connected to the office.
In explaining his decision, Kershen said that after examining the investigative materials, he concluded that the level of reasonable suspicion against Braverman had increased. He wrote that this conclusion should already have been reached when the matter was first considered by the Magistrate’s Court, and that in the days since that ruling, the suspicions had only deepened.
Kershen also criticized the earlier decision by Magistrate’s Court President Menachem Mizrahi, rejecting the notion that concerns about obstruction were merely theoretical. He stated that the danger of interference with the investigation was significant. The judge cautioned that permitting Braverman to remain overseas—particularly in the capacity of ambassador to the United Kingdom—given his knowledge of internal government systems, could severely undermine the ongoing probe.
The District Court further noted that giving advance notice to a suspect before questioning may open the door to potential interference. Kershen wrote that the risk of such actions at a sensitive stage of the investigation could not be dismissed.
In their appeal, police maintained that the actions attributed to Braverman, as well as the circumstances surrounding them, required his removal from both the Prime Minister’s Office and the Kirya. They argued that fears of obstruction are central to the case and justify the restrictive measures now reinstated by the court.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a figure in the American civil rights movement, Baptist minister, and two-time Democratic presidential candidate, died today at the age of 84, his family announced.
“Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” the Jackson family said in a statement. “We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family. His unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love uplifted millions, and we ask you to honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by.”
No immediate cause of death was released.
Jackson had faced serious health challenges in recent years. He was hospitalized in November and had lived for more than a decade with progressive supranuclear palsy, a neurological condition that affects movement, balance, and swallowing and can lead to life-threatening complications. In 2017, he publicly disclosed that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
Born in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson emerged as a national voice during the civil rights era, working closely with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and participating in major demonstrations.
In 1971, after a dispute that led to his suspension from the SCLC over allegations that he had used the organization for personal gain, Jackson founded People United to Save Humanity, known as PUSH. The organization focused on improving economic conditions in Black communities and later broadened its activities to include political advocacy. In 1996, PUSH merged with the National Rainbow Coalition, which Jackson had launched during his first presidential campaign, forming the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.
Jackson sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and again in 1988. In his first run, he secured more than 18% of the primary vote and won several contests. A 1984 New York Times profile noted, “Merely by being black and forcing other candidates to consider his very real potential to garner black votes, which they need, Jackson has had an impact.” In 1988, he expanded on that performance, winning 11 primaries and caucuses and cementing his status as a significant national political figure.
Reflecting on his 1984 campaign years later, Jackson said in a PBS interview, “The great responsibility that we have today is to put the poor and the near-poor back on front of the American agenda. This is a dangerous mission, and yet it’s a necessary mission!”
Yet his 1984 presidential bid was also shadowed by controversy, particularly over remarks and associations that many viewed as anti-Semitic. During an off-the-record conversation with a reporter that year, Jackson referred to Jews as “hymies” and called New York City “hymietown.” When the comments became public, he initially denied making them and accused Jewish critics of targeting his campaign. He later acknowledged using the slur and issued an emotional apology at a synagogue shortly before the New Hampshire primary.
Tensions intensified when Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan defended Jackson and issued his own inflammatory statements, including warning that if Jews harmed Jackson, it would be the “last ‘black brother’ they would harm.” Jackson’s hesitation at the time to fully repudiate Farrakhan drew sharp criticism from Jewish leaders and organizations.
Jackson was also criticized for comments regarding Jewish history and Israel. He faced backlash for statements suggesting he was “sick and tired of hearing about the Holocaust,” asserting that it was no worse than the suffering endured by Black Americans during slavery, and claiming that Jews had a “persecution complex.” His approach to Middle East politics, including a 1979 public embrace of PLO chairman Yasir Arafat, angered many American Jews who viewed the PLO as hostile to Israel.
Additional controversy arose from a 1979 column in which Jackson wrote that Jews “dominate the leadership at the top” of the labor movement and blamed “Jewish promoters” for arranging a particular boxing match. The Anti-Defamation League accused him at the time of exhibiting an “anti-Semitic streak,” a charge that lingered in public debate for years.
Despite these disputes, Jackson continued to wield influence in American politics. In 1991, he was elected as one of Washington, D.C.’s “shadow senators,” advocating for D.C. statehood and serving a single term.
He also played a role in negotiating the release of detained Americans abroad. In 1984, he secured the freedom of a U.S. Navy pilot captured by Syria and facilitated the release of at least 16 Americans held in Cuba. In 1990, he helped obtain the release of 700 women and children from Iraq, and in 1999 he negotiated the release of three U.S. soldiers held in Yugoslavia. In recognition of these efforts, President Bill Clinton awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000. Years later, he assisted in the release of two Gambian Americans imprisoned in The Gambia.
In more recent years, Jackson remained active in public life. He was a vocal supporter of progressive causes and politicians, including endorsing Sen. Bernie Sanders in the 2020 presidential race. Sanders said at the time, “It is one of the honors of my life to be supported by a man who has put his life on the line for the last 50 years fighting for justice.”
Jackson also commented frequently on national politics, condemning Donald Trump’s presidency and warning that “Fifty years of civil rights have been threatened.”
He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline Brown, whom he married in 1962, and their five children, including former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.
{Matzav.com}
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On the eve of a pivotal Supreme Court hearing regarding petitions over tefillah arrangements at the Kosel, Israel’s Chief Rabbis, Rav Dovid Yosef and Rav Kalman Ber, submitted an urgent notice along with a detailed halachic ruling clarifying their uncompromising position on preserving the sanctity of the site.
The High Court of Justice is set to convene Tuesday morning to deliberate on petitions challenging the current prayer framework at the Kosel. In advance of the hearing, the Chief Rabbis released a clear and forceful psak addressing the kedushah of the remnant of the Beis Hamikdash.
In their ruling, the chief rabbis state unequivocally that the plaza of the Kosel carries the full halachic status of a beis haknesses, deriving its sanctity from its proximity to the makom haMikdash. As such, they stress, the most stringent halachic standards apply there, including complete separation between men and women during prayer.
The psak also reviews the historical conduct of tefillah at the Kosel across generations, emphasizing that prayer at the site has always followed the mesorah of Klal Yisrael without deviation. Any attempt to alter established practice, they warn, would constitute a severe affront to the feelings of the believing public and to the enduring traditions of Am Yisrael.
The Chief Rabbinate further argues that explicitly halachic and religious matters—particularly the order of prayer at the holiest accessible site for the Jewish people—do not fall within the jurisdiction of civil courts. “It is not possible to decide through legal tools on matters whose roots lie in faith and halachah,” the statement asserts.
The rabbis also point to the existing alternative at the southern section of the Kosel, known as Ezras Yisrael, which allows groups wishing to pray according to different formats to do so. Given that alternative, they contend, there is no justification for transforming the main Kosel plaza into what they describe as a political or social battleground.
Additionally, the Chief Rabbinate expresses firm opposition to any modification of the regulations governing the holy sites. They warn that altering the longstanding arrangements would undermine the status quo and erode the Rabbinate’s exclusive authority in matters of religion.
In an official statement, the Chief Rabbinate declared: “The Kosel is a remnant of our Beis Hamikdash. It is not private property and not a venue for demonstrations. We expect the Court to respect the thousands of years of Jewish tradition and not permit harm to the sanctity of the site and the unity of those who daven there.”
{Matzav.com}
