Thousands of Israelis marched from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on Friday, in protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to press ahead with disputed changes to the country's judiciary.
What initially began as hundreds of protesters grew as more people joined the 70km march throughout the day in a show of opposition to the most right-wing government in the country's history.
The demonstrators planned to camp overnight at Shoresh, about 18km from Jerusalem, before making their way to Israel’s parliament on Saturday, the Jewish holy day of Shabbat.
The march comes a day after Mr Netanyahu vowed to push through the proposed changes, defying demonstrations and growing defections by military reservists, as well as appeals by US President Joe Biden to put the plan on hold.
Ronen Rosenblatt, 58, a tech worker who joined the march following months of frustration with Mr Netanyahu's government, said people were united behind a common objective of “stopping this stupidity, this dictatorship”.
Protesters carried Israelis flags and placards in a 4km line that wound through olive orchards and farmland. They had left seaside Tel Aviv on Thursday, camping overnight roughly halfway to Jerusalem near the Latrun Monastery.
The protesters rose on Friday to share meals and coffee before dismantling their tents, as others prayed, before they all began marching again towards Jerusalem and the Knesset, Israel's parliament.
Politicians are expected to vote on Monday on a bill that would curtail the Supreme Court’s oversight powers by limiting its ability to strike down decisions it deems “unreasonable”.
The court's discretionary power is meant as a safeguard to protect against corruption and improper appointments of unqualified people.
The bill is one of several keystone pieces of the Netanyahu government’s disputed judiciary reform plan.
The Prime Minister and his allies — a collection of ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox parties — say the changes needed to curb what they consider excessive powers of unelected judges.
Critics say the legislation will concentrate power in the hands of Mr Netanyahu and undermine the country’s system of checks and balance.
They also say Mr Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, has a conflict of interest.
The proposal has bitterly divided the Israeli public and drawn appeals from Mr Biden for Mr Netanyahu to forge a broad national consensus before passing any legislation.
The disputed reform plans were announced shortly after Mr Netanyahu took office as Prime Minister, following November’s parliamentary elections. It was Israel’s fifth election in under four years, with all of the votes serving as a referendum on his leadership.
Presidents of major Israeli universities said they would hold a strike Sunday to protest the bill, local media reported.
Doctors held a two-hour “warning strike” on Wednesday to protest the overhaul, which they said would wreak havoc on the healthcare system by granting politicians greater control over public health.
They vowed more severe measures if the bill is voted through.
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Rajasthan Royals 153-5 (17.5 ov)
Delhi Daredevils 60-4 (6 ov)
Rajasthan won by 10 runs (D/L method)
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The biog
Alwyn Stephen says much of his success is a result of taking an educated chance on business decisions.
His advice to anyone starting out in business is to have no fear as life is about taking on challenges.
“If you have the ambition and dream of something, follow that dream, be positive, determined and set goals.
"Nothing and no-one can stop you from succeeding with the right work application, and a little bit of luck along the way.”
Mr Stephen sells his luxury fragrances at selected perfumeries around the UAE, including the House of Niche Boutique in Al Seef.
He relaxes by spending time with his family at home, and enjoying his wife’s India cooking.
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Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
