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You are listening to an art media podcast.
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It's Wednesday, july 15th. This episode was recorded at 7pm new york time on Tuesday. I'm deborah pardes and this is arc news daily. Oil and money. That's what makes the world go round. And it's also behind a meeting yesterday between President Trump and Iraq's newly elected prime minister, Ali Al Zaydi. Trump praised Al Zahedi, who made his first international visit as head of state to the Oval Office.
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So I just want to say it's a great honor to have the prime minister of Iraq with us. He's been a great fighter and he's been a great fan of America.
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Trump had lobbied for Al Zaidi's appointment after last year's Iraqi elections, backing him over the establishment favorite, former Prime Nouri al Maliki. He said the two of them have a tremendous chemistry and that they would be announcing a lot of new oil deals in the next week or so. One would involve Chevron, an American investment firm called TI Capital, and a Qatari construction company. The plan is to build a pipeline connecting Iraqi oil fields to ports in Turkey and Syria.
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They have tremendous oil reserves, they have tremendous potential wealth, and they have tremendous wealth, not only potential.
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After that tremendous meeting, al Zaidi said, the most important strategic partnership in the world is the United States of America. It's not emotional. It's about money. The US Iran pipeline would skip the Strait of Hormuz entirely, and it's part of a larger scramble in the Gulf to find alternatives as the US And Iran continue to battle for control. The renewed US Blockade is now in place, and the fighting is still going on in the Gulf. Goldman Sachs analysts have been tracking seven alternative pipeline and port projects that are either under construction, planned or considered feasible by the end of the next year. They estimate that capacity could protect about 45% of Gulf exports from any future Hormuz shock. CNBC also noted that Saudi Arabia has already been diverting about 4 million barrels a day through its existing east west pipeline, known as Petroline. And and the UAE has been chartering its own tankers to shuttle oil away from the strait to larger ships bound for Asia. Rerouting oil doesn't erase the risk entirely. The Petroline route still has to pass through the Bab El Mandeb Strait off Yemen, where Houthi attacks have threatened shipping before. And even with every pipeline Goldman is tracking fully built, analysts still expect millions of barrels to remain exposed to Hormuz. But they do say the less the strait is used, the more bargaining power there will be in any potential deal with the Iranians, and that by itself is going to deflate some of Iran's power and influence in the region. The Knesset will dissolve in two days after completing a full but turbulent four year term. Yesterday, the tensions hit a new high, or rather a new low. As Prime Minister Netanyahu entered the plenum, opposition lawmakers repeatedly shouted disgrace Busha and get out Lech. He left the chamber shortly afterwards and did not return for the contentious vote. His team claimed it was because he had to take a phone call. Even without him, the Knesset passed a bill that would temporarily freeze the arrests of Haredi draft evaders for six months. The government argues that stopping arrests would be beneficial because arresting yeshiva students who evade military service has undermined efforts to encourage broader enlistment among Haredi men. The bill is part of a series of measures being advanced by the ultra Orthodox parties in exchange for their support on another set of bills from Netanyahu's coalition meant to put more power in the hands of the prime minister. But even his own coalition is uncomfortable with the Haredi legislation. Amid the IDF's severe manpower shortage and harsh criticism from bereaved families and reservists, a group of Knesset members from within the coalition voted against the draft evasion bill. One of them, the deputy foreign Minister, Charin Haskel, announced that she's resigning from the government in protest. Netanyahu himself would have been against such a bill not too long ago. For example, in response to a previous attempt at a Haredi draft bill in 2012, the Prime Minister was very clear and when it comes to sharing the burden of military service, the idf, the economy, the Israeli society simply cannot go on like this. Also, during his tenure as finance minister in the early 2000s, and despite political pressure, he pushed hard to cut the financial stipends given to ultra Orthodox men who do not serve in the military. ARC Media contributor Nadav Eyal explains why Netanyahu has made such a drastic turn now and why he's willing to pay the political price.
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This law is basically meant to to ensure that the ultra Orthodox parties support Netanyahu even after the elections, even if he loses the elections to Gadi Eisenkurt in a way that will prevent Eisencourt or another candidate from the Change bloc that is fighting the Netanyahu bloc to form a coalition. A significant question, probably the most significant question, is whether or not these votes will be remembered by the voters come October 27, when the elections are due.
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Channel 12 reported yesterday that the ultra Orthodox parties are planning to push for a permanent draft exemption following the elections, making it a key part of the negotiations to form a new coalition. That is, of course, if Netanyahu wins a majority. An unnamed senior official from one of the parties was quoted as saying, we've learned how to work with him. Even with all the contention in the Knesset yesterday, there was also a rare moment of unity as Parliament members from all parties stood to applaud. They were saluting representatives of veterans with post traumatic stress disorder who came to watch the first reading of the Combat Trauma Survivors Bill. The legislation will grant an official legal definition in Israeli law for those suffering from PTSD as a result of their military service. According to the Defense Ministry's rehabilitation department, since October 7, more than 22,000 wounded IDF soldiers have gone through rehab treatment, and more than half suffer from PTSD or another mental health condition. The department gets roughly 1500 new requests a month for recognition of mental health injuries. The legislation was advanced through a joint effort by the coalition and the opposition. Knesset member Ofir Katz, the coalition whip who sponsored the bill, called it historic Justice. Moshe Saada from Likud, said to the veterans, this amendment is thanks to you because you cried out and shouted. He was referencing veterans who spoke out during discussions over the Haredi draft legislation, which his own party passed. He addressed them directly and added, you held up a mirror to us even when we didn't want to look. Today, we are making it right. The bill still needs two more readings to become law, but it's expected to pass. In the meantime, PTSD advocacy groups are urging lawmakers to add legal aid provisions into the text, arguing that without them, veterans will struggle to actually claim their rights. I'm Deborah Pardes, and this is ARC News Daily. See you tomorrow.
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Hi, I'm Daniel Hartman, president of the Sholem Hartman Institute in Jerusalem.
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And I'm Yossi Klein Halevi, senior fellow at the Sholem Hartman Institute.
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What's more important? To be feared by your enemies or morally true to yourself?
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Should Israel strive to be a nation among nations? Or should it accept the fact that it is now a fortress of hope?
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What do Israelis and Diaspora Jews owe each other? If you're Jewish or a friend, an ally?
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These questions have been gnawing at you these past few years.
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For some of you, like for us, these questions have been keeping you up at night. And for some, they've been simmering in the background, waiting for answers.
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But dilemmas don't always have clear answers. What they do deserve are honest and respectful debates.
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And as it happens, Yossia and I love to challenge each other to get to the bottom of things.
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We look at current events through a lens that speaks to us most deeply. A Jewish lens.
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So if today's Jewish dilemmas are on your mind, tune in to our conversation on For Heaven's Sake, a partnership between ARC Media and the Sholem Hartman Institute.
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You can find For Heaven's Sake on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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See you there.