Good Tuesday morning!
Here they go again. A last-minute bid to delay calling a new election in Israel failed 49-47 in the Knesset overnight. If a national budget is not passed by midnight tonight, the Knesset will automatically disperse, with a new election slated for March.
Despite
the delay bill being backed by Likud and Blue and White, a series of defections from both parties ultimately doomed the legislation. Likud MK Michal Shir voted against the legislation, and then announced she would be joining Gideon Sa’ar’s new party.
White House
senior advisor Jared Kushner is leading a U.S. delegation on a direct flight from Tel Aviv to Rabat today to hold talks on taking steps toward upgrading ties between Israel and Morocco.
Hungary’s new envoy in D.C. is not new to issues of antisemitism
Szabolcs Takács, who also serves as head of Hungary s delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, is ready for a pivot to the Biden administration By Share
Szabolcs Takács, Hungary’s newly appointed ambassador to the United States, is beginning his posting at what is shaping up to be an uncertain moment for diplomatic relations between his home country and the United States.
The past four years have been relatively clear-cut for Hungarian diplomats, as President Donald Trump maintained an unusually chummy relationship with Hungary’s far-right leader, Viktor Orbán, who has been criticized for violating democratic norms. Trump has told the prime minister he is doing a “tremendous job,” and the feeling is apparently mutual: In September, Orbán enthusiastically endorsed the president’s reelection bid.