1. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the shocking murder of the Oshrenko family in Rishon Lezion:
At the weekly Cabinet meeting today (Monday), 18.10.09:
1. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the shocking murder of the Oshrenko family in Rishon Lezion:
„I would like to express deep pain and shock over the horrifying murder of the members of the Oshrenko family. I am convinced that I speak for the entire public. I have asked Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch to update me on the progress of the investigation into solving this terrible act. On behalf of the entire Cabinet, I would also like to convey my condolences to the family members and to Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov, whom I spoke with last night about this awful deed.”
2. The Cabinet discussed the issue of higher education in Israel, upon the start of the 2009-2010 academic year today at institutions of higher education. Prime minister Netanyahu said:
„I would like to commend the 280,000 students, as well as the academic staff and the employees, who are starting the academic year today at our colleges and universities. I am pleased that we have succeeded in opening the academic year without strikes or arguments, in the quiet atmosphere necessary for conducive to higher education. There was agreement among all elements – the academic staff, the universities and the Government – and it is not coincidental. It is the fruit of specific policy and also stems from the package deal for the economy that we are trying to reach among all the various elements, in order to move forward on the economy, education and other issues.”
Education Minister Gideon Saar and Council for Higher Education in Israel Planning and Budget Committee Chairman Prof. Manuel Trajtenberg briefed ministers on the higher education system in Israel.
The cabinet empowered Minister Saar and Prof. Trajtenberg, in cooperation with Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, Absorption Minister Sofa Landver, Science Minister Daniel Hershkovitz and the Chairman of the Council for higher Education, to formulate a plan to create centers of excellence while emphasizing bringing young top-rate researchers from abroad. The plan will aspire to raise supplementary resources, inter alia, from Jewish communities around the world, which will be channeled into a fund earmarked for this goal. This plan will constitute an important aspect of the five-year plan being formulated by the Council for Higher Education in Israel Planning and Budget Committee, that will be integrated into the government’s comprehensive plan to bring researchers and academics back to Israel.
3. The Cabinet decided to add NIS 45 million to the national service budget.
4. The Director-General of the Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority, Public Security Minister Aharonovitch and Tourism Minister Misezhnikov briefed ministers on the recent vandalism attack on the Avdat National Park and the plan to repair the damage. They pointed out that the park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and discussed the extent of the vandalism. Minister Aharonovitch noted that those responsible have been apprehended and are awaiting trial.
