Israel’s Space IL’s mission to the Moon called Beresheet 2 may be in jeopardy if it cannot come up with new funding. According to a report in Calcalist, a group of donors backed out of a pledged $45 million in funding for the project die to concerns over the judicial reform plan being considered by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu. This would constitute the first direct loss of pledged funding from abroad for a project in Israel resulting from the controversial judicial reforms.
Space IL said the reasons for the pullout were “unrelated to the organization and its partners.”
“SpaceIL will continue to make every effort to fulfill the Beresheet vision and will act immediately to find new funding in order to achieve the realization of its mission,” it said in a statement.
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“After investing together with my partners $45 million in the Beresheet 2 mission, it is with a very heavy heart that we have come to the decision to stop our funding – these times obligate us to invest our resources and time in other philanthropic projects,” said SpaceIL chairman.
Interestingly, the news comes at the same time that international credit ratings agency Standard and Poor’s revealed that it would keep Israel’s rating at the AA-. Level. That decision was made after many had feared Stand and Poor’s would downgrade Israel’s status in response to the country’s political problems just as fellow ratings agency Moody’s did in April.
The mission had raised $70 million in backing from donors as of last July.
Beresheet2 is Israel’s second spacecraft and the sister of Beresheet 1 spacecraft, which was launched to the moon on February 22, 2019 and was captured by the moon on April 4. It reached its destination on April 11, 2019.
SpaceIL said of the project, “Genesis 2 on the way to the moon! This morning with the support of our road partners, donors – Patrick Derhey, Martin Governor and Maurice Kahn who together donated $ 70 million, the recruitment for Genesis 2 was completed, which will allow us to send the two landers to the moon in 2024! Preparations have begun, ready to launch?”
As part of the Beresheet 2 Mission – should it get the needing funds for to pay for the projects estimated $100 million price tag – a number of important scientific experiments will be included. A call for proposals for experiments was recently published (link to the Call for Proposals), and we continue to receive proposals. The ideas will be examined by a professional team which will decide which experiments will be conducted as part of the Beresheet 2 framework.
Massive protests have rocked Israel over the past few months, ever since Justice Minister Yariv Levin revealed the government’s plans to alter the nature of Israel’s judicial system. The government’s judicial reform plan would significantly curtail the power of Israel’s Supreme Court to nullify legislation passed by the Knesset and also limit the authority of Israel’s attorney general. The opposition charges this would harm Israel’s democracy, eroding foreign confidence and hurting its economy. And this is why the country is now on the brink of what some describe as the biggest societal clash in Israel’s history.
