In just a few hours, Naftali Bennett is expected to be sworn in as prime minister of Israel.

Bennett has made it clear that he has no intention of living full time in the official prime minister's residence in Jerusalem.

So will Netanyahu ever leave?

Bennett expects to remain in his home in Ra'anana with his wife and kids, and use the prime minister's residence for official meetings and the like.

Israeli law does *not* give an official timeline for the handover of the residence between outgoing and incoming prime ministers.

The last time Bibi was ousted, and replaced by Ehud Barak, it took the Netanyahu family almost six weeks to clear out of the residence on Balfour.

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Amy Spiro

@AmySpiro

30 Apr

The tragedy that unfolded overnight in Meron is horrific, senseless and, most devastatingly, completely avoidable.

As Israel mourns it should not refuse to also take a long hard look at the failings that led to this horror.

I went to Meron on Lag B'Omer once, when I was a young, dumb student, and it was billed as the once-in-a-lifetime thrill everyone should experience (and school-sanctioned).

While I know that others find it a spiritual experience, I hated just about every minute of it.

Crowded doesn't begin to describe it. I was pushed and shoved at every turn, confused at where I was supposed to be headed, easily separated from my friends and overwhelmed.

I left in the early hours of the morning feeling battered and vowing to never repeat the experience.

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Amy Spiro

@AmySpiro

29 Apr

Is there going to be another Israeli election in 2021? Who knows.

But what will happen sometime soon is the election of the next president of Israel, since President Reuven Rivlin's term expires in July.

The election must be held by June 9. But no date has been set yet.

The president of Israel is elected by the 120 members of Knesset, who were only recently sworn in.

The date of the election is set by the Knesset speaker.

The current Knesset Speaker is Yariv Levin of Likud. How much longer will he hold the job? Unclear.

Who is even running for the job?

Officially... very few people.

Most of the people considered to be serious contenders have yet to officially throw their hats in the ring. They will likely wait until the election date is set.

A few candidates have already begun campaigning.

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Amy Spiro

@AmySpiro

27 Jan 20

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Today I want to tell you a story you probably haven't heard before. It's a personal story, but it also reveals some aspects of Holocaust history that you may have never known.

Thanks for listening.

My great grandfather, Paul Holzer, was born in Germany in the late 19th century.

He served in the German Army during World War I, received his doctorate and his rabbinic ordination in the 1920s, and served as a congregational rabbi in Hamburg.

On the day Kristallnacht began in 1938, he was warned not to go to the synagogue where he served as rabbi.

He ignored the warning and went anyway.

He was arrested by the Nazis that day and was sent to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Germany.

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