Israel News for August 17, 2015

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More Protests in Ashkelon
Violence broke out between police and hundreds of demonstrators close to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon where Mohammad Allaan, a suspected Islamic Jihad member in administrative detention, is currently hospitalized 61 days into a hunger strike. He has been in an induced coma since Friday, and is being given fluids and vitamins intravenously.

About 200 Arab protesters attempted to block the main junction leading into Ashkelon and attacked police with stones and pepper spray, but were dispersed by water cannons.

Outside the hospital police controlled dozens of Arab protestors demonstrating in support of Allaan and right wing Israeli demonstrators protesting against him.

In total, 15 demonstrators were arrested from both sides.

Yesterday, Allaan’s lawyer petitioned the High Court for his release on grounds of his poor health. The government responded by telling the court that it would be willing to release Allan on the condition that he leaves the country for 4 years and does not return to the region. The High Court are due to reach a decision today.

Upshot
A ruling of the High Court to release Allan could trigger a wave of hunger strikes by security prisoners in an attempt to gain their freedom. That would create an untenable situation, for obvious reasons.

More Terrorism
The string of Palestinian terror attacks in the two weeks following the Duma arson attack continued with three new stabbing attacks.

Early this morning a Palestinian approached a border policeman at the Tapuach junction in Samaria saying that he wasn’t feeling well. Then he stabbed the policeman, lightly wounded him. The attacker was shot and seriously wounded by officers.

There were two stabbings on Saturday.

The first incident occurred at around 11:30 a.m. at a checkpoint in Samaria near Route 443. A Palestinian male approached an IDF soldier and asked for water. When the soldier turned to get the water, the Palestinian stabbed him in the upper back. Another soldier at the scene opened fire and wounded the attacker.

The second incident occurred at around 6:15 p.m. at the Tapuach Junction in Samaria. A Palestinian 21-year-old male, Rafiq Kamel Rafiq, approached Border Police officers conducting a routine security check and plunged a knife into one of their backs. Another officer opened fire and killed the attacker.

In an official statement, Palestinian Authority President Abbas blamed Israel for the killing of the attacker. “The crime was a continuation of the daily killing which no one can be silent at” the statement said.

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said, “Anyone that tries to harm IDF soldiers, Border Police officers or Israeli civilians should know that they are taking their lives into their own hands. The fight against Palestinian terrorism, both of the organized and ‘lone wolf’ nature, is complex and requires an iron hand, patience and judgment, and this is how we act.”

Protests Against Cinemaplex
Last week a new cinemaplex called Yes Planet opened in the Talpiot neighborhood of Jerusalem, bordering on the Arab neighborhood of Abu Tor. It’s the only cinemaplex in Jerusalem that’s open on Shabbat.

The fact that it’s located nowhere near any of the city’s predominantly religious neighborhoods didn’t stop groups of Charedi men from protesting, in two of their own neighborhoods. The protests resulted in some scuffles with police, several closed off streets, minor damage to a few cars and buildings — but at the cinemaplex, it was business as usual.

In a statement, the leader of the protesters said, “this is just the beginning of the protests.”  Meanwhile, the cinemaplex goers are excited about their new weekend entertainment venue. The cinemaplex management has no intention of closing on Shabbat.

So, It looks like both the protests and the movies will continue.

Threats Against Rabbi
Rabbi David Stav, the Chief Rabbi of Shoham, the head of the Tzohar Rabbinic Organization and one of the founders of the new conversion court that is operating outside of the Chief Rabbinate’s authority, is now under police protection due to threats against him. His photo appeared in the Charedi press with a big caption in red letters saying, “this man is dangerous”.

Rabbi Stav doesn’t seem too worried, but he is avoiding certain places and changing up his regular schedule a bit, just to be safe. The conversion court is proceeding as planned.

Women in Knesset
When Minister and Knesset Member Danny Danon officially becomes Israel’s UN Ambassador, he will vacate his Knesset seat, which will be filled by fellow Likud member Sharren Haskel. The Canadian born 31 year old Haskel is known for her advocacy related to environmental issues. When she’s sworn in, Haskel will bring the number of female Knesset members currently serving to 30, which is a record.

Danon will also be giving up his cabinet post as Minister of Science and Technology and Space as well as his position as chairman of the Likud Central Committee.

Maybe there was an ulterior motive for the PM to give Danon his new position?

Cabinet Approves Gas Deal
The cabinet approved an agreement that will allow three major gas companies to develop the Leviathan natural gas fields, located off the coast of Haifa. PM Netanyahu said that the agreement will, “earn the people of the country and the state treasury hundreds of millions of shekels. This money will go for education, health, welfare, and other national needs.” The revenue to the state in the next few decades is estimated to be $100 billion, about 20 to 30 billion less than originally expected.

Huckabee Heading to Israel
Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee heads to Israel this week to raise money and meet “with a number of officials” to discuss the Obama administration’s nuclear deal with Iran.

“The Iranian government is not to be trusted,” Huckabee said, “We’re being pushed to get into a deal that gives us nothing, but gives the Iranians the capacity to ultimately end up with a nuclear weapon, and that’s just insane.”

Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, enjoys a large base of supporters in the Christian Evangelical community, which strongly supports Israel. He’s noted that he’s been to Israel “dozens and dozens of times” since his first trip in 1973.

Israel News for August 14, 2015

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New IDF Strategy
IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot yesterday published the new “IDF strategy” document, which maps out the various threats against the state of Israel and the IDF’s methods of confronting them. Part of the document was, for the first time ever, made public.

The document outlines necessary changes the IDF needs to make in light of future challenges and the changing face of the enemy. The changes include improving the effectiveness of ground force maneuvers, broadening the capacity of forces to mount military operations in non-wartime situations, improving cyber warfare capabilities, and generally preserving the IDF’s intelligence, aerial and naval superiority.

Eizenkot explained that the new document aims to prepare the IDF’s forces in the coming years to defend Israel in all scenarios, including simultaneous operations on several battlefronts and complex cyber warfare. “The IDF will prevail in every mission and challenge, and will achieve its goal – to defend and to win.” [source]

Upshot
The document recognizes that times are changing and that the IDF must change with them. These changes will likely result in a smaller IDF that is more focused on successfully fulfilling its mission to defend Israel.

New UN Ambassador
PM Netanyahu has announced that he will appoint Danny Danon, currently the Minister of Science, Technology and Space, as Ambassador to the UN. Danon, a Likud member, is considered to be a staunch right-winger who is opposed to any two state solution and the establishment of a Palestinian state. He has also been one of the most outspoken critics of US President Obama’s Middle East policies and has forged relationships with Republican Party conservatives. The opposition party Zionist Union called Danon’s appointment “another nail in the coffin of Israel’s foreign relations.” [source]

Opposition to Conversion Court
Hundreds of rabbis, including the two Chief Rabbis of Israel, gathered at the headquarters of the Rabbinate in Jerusalem yesterday to inaugurate a new organization (Noam) meant to strengthen and protect the power of the Chief Rabbinate.

Background
The impetus for Noam was the establishment of an independent conversion court by a group of prominent religious zionist rabbis who believe that the Chief Rabbinate is preventing the conversions of hundreds of thousands of Israelis who are considered non-Jewish according to Jewish law (Halacha).

Out of the 1 million immigrants that came to Israel from the former Soviet Union over the last 20 years, at least a third do not have Jewish mothers. They do have Jewish fathers or spouses, or at least one Jewish grandparent, and are fully integrated into Israeli society. In practice they are part of the Jewish people and the overwhelming majority want to make it official.

The problem is that most of them aren’t fully religiously observant which, according to the strict position of the Chief Rabbinate, invalidates them from converting. The founders of the independent court claim that since:
1) they have Jewish roots and are already fully part of the Jewish people in the land of Israel
and
2) if they aren’t converted they pose a grave danger of assimilation to the existing Jewish population
they can be treated leniently and converted within the bounds of Halacha.

The Chief Rabbinate and the majority of prominent rabbinic leaders from the religious zionist and the charedi camps disagree.

Upshot
Since all legal marriages in Israel must be registered by the Rabbinate, it has ultimate control in preventing “non-sanctioned” converts from marrying, at least in the eyes of Israeli law. That could lead the “break-away” rabbis to form their own marriage registration system, which would represent a complete and likely irreparable break from the Rabbinate.

Hebrew for Arab Kids
Education Minister Naftali Bennet has implemented a new elementary school curriculum which requires Hebrew language studies in Arab schools to begin in kindergarten. Until now required Hebrew language studies have begun in third grade. More hours of Hebrew language study will also be added to grades 3 to 12. Bennet claims that greater fluency in Hebrew will give Arabs greater economic and social opportunities. The changes will take effect in the coming school year and cost the government 30 million shekels. If Bennet is right, it will be money well spent. [source]

Army Radio
Ofir Akunis, the cabinet minister (Likud) in charge of the Israeli Broadcast Authority, told the Al-Monitor website that he believes public broadcasting should be balanced and that the opinions of those on the Right should get equal exposure with those on the Left. Except on Army Radio. “There I wouldn’t want balance,” he said. “There I would expect to see absolute support for the Israeli position and the position of the Israel Defense Forces. Army Radio is the station of the Israeli public and the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces, and I don’t think it should provide broad coverage of the Palestinian position, for instance, or the position of illegal infiltrators.”

When asked whether this is “muzzling freedom of speech” he replied, “Just the opposite. We’re allowing people to speak. But when it comes to Army Radio, which is funded by the Ministry of Defense, the station’s purpose is to be a station for soldiers.” Sounds reasonable enough.

Stand by Your Man
In a taped phone conversation with the Chief Rabbi of Safed (R. Shmuel Eliyahu), the wife of Ezra Sheinberg, the Safed rabbi accused of molesting and raping 13 women, told him that she was aware that her husband had slept with at least two women. She claimed that he told her that he slept with the women as part of his “healing treatments”, and that it was all part of his blessing to them. She accepted his explanation. Enough said.

Never too Late
Semion Simkin, a 91-year-old Israeli Holocaust survivor won the world championship for senior runners in Lyon, France on Monday. He ran 10 kilometers in 1 hour and 20 minutes. He beat out his only competitor in the race for men between the ages of 90 and 95, a 93 year old Argentinian, by just over 21 minutes. The day before the 10k race, Simkin won the silver medal in the 5 kilometers race, with a time of 39 minutes and 47 seconds, merely five seconds behind the winner, the Portuguese Jose Canelo, 90.
Not too shabby for a man in his 90’s. Can you run a 10k? [source]

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Israel News for August 13, 2015

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Jews and Arabs Demonstrate
Members of Women Wage Peace, an organization formed a year ago to advocate for the advancement of the peace process, have been on a hunger strike (in shifts) in front of the Prime Minister’s residence in Jerusalem for the past month. The group includes Jewish and Arab women. A few days ago some of the activists met with the PM’s wife Sarah inside the residence for about two hours. She told them that, “”It is Abbas who is responsible for the stalled process. Let him work to renew negotiations instead of trying to promote boycotts of Israel.” The women are still fasting in front of the residence. They apparently feel that doing so in front of Abbas’s residence wouldn’t be such a good idea.

Meanwhile, in Ashkelon about 40 Arab Israeli lawyers, including Arab members of Knesset, demonstrated against the continued detention of Palestinian terror suspect and hunger-striker Mohammad Allaan. Some of them raised Palestinian flags and chanted, “the occupation is terror, free Allan.” They were met by a counter demonstration of about 60 Jews (definitely non-lawyers) who called the Arabs terrorists, yelled various unsavory phrases and demanded that the flags be lowered. Some Jews threw stones at the Arabs while others prevented them from returning to their cars. Mounted police cleared the way for the Arabs to reach their vehicles and used a water cannon to control the Jewish demonstrators. Three Arab and two Jewish demonstrators were arrested.[source]

Police southern district commander Maj. Gen. Yoram Halevi said: “We will not allow disturbances of the peace, stone-throwing or the flying of the PLO flag with the goal of inflaming the situation. Violence will be met with zero tolerance.”

Hamas Kidnaps Drone
Hamas announced on Al Aqsa TV yesterday (check your TV listings) that they had captured an Israeli Skylark 1 reconnaissance drone, dismantled it and then rebuilt it. It’s unclear whether this was a threat or just a shout out to their tech guys. The IDF denies losing any drones, and doesn’t seem concerned about the tech competition coming out of Gaza.

Speaking of drones, a Brussels Airlines plane that was landing at Ben Gurion Airport reported a near miss with a drone that passed in front of them. Police are searching for the drone operator. It wasn’t the Skylark 1. [source]

Speculation
Perhaps the Hamas announcement should be viewed as a warning of potential plans to use drones to sabotage planes taking off from and landing at Ben Gurion?

PM Fighting Back
PM Netanyahu has announced that he is considering taking legal action against the person responsible for posting images of him, President Rivlin and Chief Justice Naor in Nazi uniforms looking like Hitler. The latest incident contained a video of Naor dressed in a Nazi uniform and speaking German. The Attorney General confirmed that he is already on the case. Now all they need to do is find the guy…or girl. [source]

War Crimes Petition
A petition calling for the arrest of PM Netanyahu, uploaded to the United Kingdom Parliament’s official website a few days ago, has garnered over 41,000 signatures. The government must respond to any petition that gets more than 10,000 signatures. They have yet to respond. Netanyahu is due to visit Britain in September. By the way, the petition to legalize cannabis has close to 200,000 signatures. [source]

Torahs Dedicated at Kotel
Seventy six Torah scrolls were dedicated yesterday at the Western Wall in memory of the casualties of Operation Protective Edge and the three Jewish teenagers who were abducted and murdered last summer by Hamas terrorists. The ceremony was attended by the families of the fallen, President Reuven Rivlin, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, the head of the Shin Bet, the two Chief Rabbis of Israel, the Chief Rabbis of the Kotel and of Jerusalem, army generals and many others.

Among the Torah scrolls dedicated was the Torah carried by the then IDF Chief Rabbi Goren after the liberation of the Western Wall in the 1967 six day war. At yesterday’s ceremony the historic scroll was carried by the IDF Chief of Staff and Defense Minister.

The Torahs were escorted in a joyous procession that brought tears to the eyes of all who witnessed the event.

Alphabet Soup
A day after Google announced the formation of a new holding company called Alphabet, an Israeli company has called foul. The company is an architectural firm named AlephBet, which is Hebrew for alphabet. It claims that Google is infringing on their trademark and is demanding that Google back off and choose a different name. Yes, this is a true story. Alphabet. AlephBet. Get it? I doubt Google’s non Hebrew speaking attorneys will either.

Israel News for August 12, 2015

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High Court vs. Africans
Israel’s High Court of Justice, the equivalent of the US Supreme Court, struck down part of the Anti-Infiltration law passed by the Knesset that allowed illegal immigrants to be held in detention for up to 20 months. The court ruled that they can be only be held for a maximum of 12 month and ordered the release of some 1,200 of the 1,700 asylum-seekers being held for over a year at the open detention facility in Holot.

Background
There are currently more than 45,000 Africans in Israel who infiltrated into the country, primarily via the Egyptian border. Most are from Eritrea and Sudan. Since they are fleeing from war-torn countries where their lives are in danger, they are considered asylum seekers and cannot, according to Israeli law, be deported back to their home countries unless they pose a clear security threat (which they don’t). International law requires asylum seekers to immediately report their arrival to the authorities in order to be protected from deportation. The Africans skip that step and go directly to the find work stage.

In order to control this influx of African asylum seekers, which poses a demographic threat to the stability of the country, the Knesset passed the Anti Infiltration law allowing the government to imprison the illegals for up to 3 months and then detain them for up to 20 months. These measures are meant to persuade the migrants to leave the country. Approximately 9,000 have already left.

Just hours before the court’s ruling, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked warned the court against overturning the law, saying that it would be a “declaration that south Tel Aviv (where many of the Africans reside) is the official facility for accommodating infiltrators.” Some Jewish residents of south Tel Aviv echoed her warning with a small demonstration.

Upshot
The High Court reduced the 20 month detention term to 12 and kept the rest of the law in tact. In other words they basically agreed with the government’s position of trying to force the asylum seekers to leave voluntarily and issued a clear message that the borders of Israel are not free to be infiltrated.

Hamas Hard at Work
The Shin Bet announced the arrest of a Hamas terrorist, Ibrahim Adel Shahadeh Sha’er, early last month. On July 31 Sha’er was charged with attempted murder, contact with a foreign agent, forbidden military training, various weapons offenses and membership and activity in an illegal organization. He provided interrogators with a treasure trove of information on Hamas activities.

What He Spilled
Sha’er provided interrogators with immense detail regarding Hamas activity and plans, including the construction of a tunnel from the Rafah area in Gaza to just beyond the Kerem Shalom crossing in Israel. He also revealed Hamas plans to use a new road that they had paved near the border in a surprise attack against Israel, using vehicles that would race to the border from the road.

The Shin Bet also said that Sha’er gave them extensive information on the tunnels near Rafah, including the location of the entrances and exits, where the tunnels were being dug, and their routes.

Sha’er revealed information on the activities of the Hamas elite Nukhba forces, and changes in their military tactics and structure following Operation Protective Edge last summer. He explained how Iran provides funds, advanced weaponry and electronic equipment to Hamas and that they have trained Gaza fighters in the use of hang gliders to penetrate into Israel. He said Hamas has observation points that provide it with a view of up to three kilometers into Israel.

The IDF claims to have further intelligence on a significant number of additional tunnels that have been built and are currently ready for use.

Upshot
Clearly Hamas hasn’t given up and is hard at work preparing for their next war with Israel. The IDF knows this, but is reluctant to enter into another round of violence by destroying tunnels, as long as Hamas doesn’t seem interested in war either, at least for now.

IDF Modifies Shooting Rules
The IDF has issued a temporary change in their rules of engagement for dealing with violent Palestinian protesters in the West Bank. The standard procedure has been that when a protestor throws a rock or other weapon at soldiers and then runs away, the soldiers can pursue the attacker and stop him by firing warning shots into the air or, as a last resort, firing at his legs. The reasoning is that if someone attacks soldiers once, he will try again. Therefore, stopping him is a matter of self defense for the soldiers.

According to the new rule, soldiers are not permitted to shoot at attackers who throw and run unless they determine that they are in immediate, life threatening danger at that moment. They can, however, still use other means to apprehend the attackers.

The new rule is meant to prevent violent escalations and increased unrest as a result of the heightened tensions in the wake of the Duma arson attack two weeks ago that killed a Palestinian toddler and his father.

Pro Rabbinate Group
In response to the establishment of an independent conversion outside of the jurisdiction of the Chief Rabbinate, a group of senior rabbis has formed an organization to strengthen the Rabbinate’s prestige and influence.

The new organization, Noam, is lead and manned primarily by religious zionist rabbis, not very different than the ones who started the break-away court. Some of the prominent rabbinic leaders of Noam include the head of the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva, which is the flagship institution of religious zionism, and the head of the Tzomet Institute, which is at the forefront of applying modern technology within the framework of traditional Jewish law (halacha).

According to a statement made by the new group, the purpose of Noam is not to blindly support all the actions of the Chief Rabbinate. Rather, it’s goal is to “create a platform” to enable better dialogue and communication between the Chief Rabbinate and the rabbis of the country to discuss contentious issues and find amicable solutions.

Upshot
The charedi rabbinical establishment that heavily influences the actions of the Chief Rabbinate have, for the most part, remained silent on the establishment of the independent conversion court. They seem to be satisfied to let the religious zionist rabbis fight it out amongst themselves.

In any case, the charedim already operate their own independent courts and kosher supervisors outside of the Chief Rabbinate’s jurisdiction, so they can’t really dispute the fundamental basis for an independent court.

New Jerusalem Cinemaplex
The Yes Planet theater chain opened a new NIS 200 million entertainment complex in Jerusalem today. The six story, 28,500 sq. meter complex contains a 16 screen cinema, auditoriums, exhibition space and room for coffee shops, restaurants and stores. It’s located in a bustling area between the Old City and Talpiot.

Unlike rivaling center Cinema City, which sits at the western entrance to the capital, the Yes Planet will operate on Shabbat. Since it’s built on private property, the city council can’t prevent that. It doesn’t look like the religious elements in the city will actively protest it either.

Israel News for August 11, 2015

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Conversion Controversy
A group of prominent religious zionist rabbis have established a Bet Din (religious court) to perform conversions. They performed their first conversion on a group of minors on Monday. The Chief Rabbinate along with almost all charedi rabbis are vehemently against this court.

Background
The Chief Rabbinate has always had sole jurisdiction for all matters pertaining to marriage, divorce, death and conversions in the State of Israel. That means that only the courts established or sanctioned by the Chief Rabbinate can perform conversions. This wasn’t much of a problem until the 1990’s, when the Soviet Union collapsed and over a million Jews from behind the iron curtain immigrated to Israel. While they were considered eligible for the Right of Return by Israeli law simply by having a single Jewish grandparent, according to the Jewish religious law (halacha) that states that only the child of a Jewish mother is considered to be Jewish, at least a third of the immigrants weren’t technically Jewish.

Many of these “non Jewish“ Jews formally converted in the army via special army sanctioned religious courts or through the regular rabbinate court system. But when some leading rabbis noticed that these converts weren’t following Jewish law after their conversions, they sounded the alarm and pressured the charedi controlled Chief Rabbinate to prevent or even retract what they considered to be invalid conversions.

Most rabbis associated with the religious zionist camp disagreed with the Chief Rabbinate and felt that the Rabbinate had an obligation to allow these Israelis with Jewish fathers (but not mothers), many of whom were serving in the IDF and fully integrated into Israeli society, to convert and become officially recognized by the religious courts.

Conversion supporters attempted to pass a conversion reform bill in the Knesset which would have allowed the chief rabbis of every city and town to set up their own conversion courts. This would allow potential converts to use religious courts in cities with pro conversion chief rabbis. The bill passed initially, but was subsequently canceled just last month under pressure from the new government’s charedi coalition partners.

Fed up with the opposition of the Chief Rabbinate to easing their restrictions on conversion, the religious zionist rabbis, lead by many prominent rabbinic figures, have finally said enough is enough and have formed their own conversion court. The court is focusing primarily on converting minors who are already attending religious schools, which is permissible according to a great many prominent rabbinic experts (poskim).

Upshot
Even though they seem to have a solid basis in Jewish law, the new conversion court is vehemently opposed by the Chief Rabbinate, which is basically run by the charedi establishment. There doesn’t seem to be any way that the Chief Rabbinate and charedi rabbinic authorities will ever accept the new court and the conversions that they perform. On the other hand, there’s no way that the religious zionist rabbis can accept the stringent ruling of the Chief Rabbinate that they believe to be incorrect and harmful to Jewish continuity in Israel.

Since the Chief Rabbinate controls all marriage registration in the country, it is unlikely that these converts will be allowed to marry in the future, unless they change their position. The alternative would be for the religious zionist rabbis to overturn the Rabbinate’s authority and perform the marriages, which would likely spell the end of the Chief Rabbinate. This battle is just beginning to heat up and the religious status of thousands hang in the balance.

Force Feeding
Palestinian prisoner Mohammed Allaan, a member of Islamic Jihad who has been on a hunger strike for 54 days, was transferred yesterday under heavy security from Be’er Sheva’s Soroka Medical Center to Ashkelon’s Barzilai Medical Center. Apparently, doctors at Soroka, backed by the Israel Medical Association (IMA), have indicated that they will refuse to force-feed him against his will if ordered to do so. The IMA claims that force-feeding constitutes torture and treating a patient against his will violates medical ethics. It is known to be a highly invasive and painful process that can be life threatening if executed on a struggling patient.

Background
A hunger strike law was passed in the Knesset last week whereby the state can force-feed hunger strikers whose lives are in danger, even against their will. Although Allaan is currently in intensive care he is not thought to be in mortal danger, so doctors can still not force him to accept food or medical treatment. He would be the first prisoner to be force fed under the new law.

The US has force fed prisoners in Guantanamo Bay and the practice is legal in certain states.

Last year there were 724 prisoners that went on hunger strikes in Israel. This year there have been 30. Last month Israel freed another Islamic Jihad member after 56 days of hunger strike that nearly killed him.

Upshot
Doctors at Barzilai have also indicated that they will refuse an order to force- feed Allaan against his will, saying their ethical considerations are no different from those at Soroka and they will not force feed him as long as he is conscious. Looks like finding a hospital to carry out the law won’t be that easy.

Dog Walkers Attacked
A husband and wife from a settlement in Samaria took their dog out for a morning run. When they took a shortcut near a neighboring Arab village they were noticed by a few Arabs who quickly sounded the alarm. Suddenly, the couple found themselves confronted by about 20 men from the village accompanied by European activists with cameras. The Arabs started throwing rocks at the couple and shouted death threats.

The couple tried to explain that they were just out for a run and had no intentions of entering their village. It didn’t work. Luckily they were able to run away and alert the security forces, who then entered the village to search for the attackers. The couple weren’t harmed and will most likely be changing their jogging route. [source]

Violent Charedi Protests
There were violent demonstrations by charedim in the Mea Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem yesterday protesting the arrest of a yeshiva student who hadn’t properly arranged his draft deferment and the attempt to forcibly draft a young woman from Elad who hadn’t bothered applying for a religious exemption. Demonstrators threw stones at police and at firefighters who arrived to extinguish burning garbage bins set on fire by the demonstrators. Three suspects were arrested for attacking policemen. It’s unclear what happened to the draft dodging yeshiva student, but there seem to be plenty of battle ready men among the demonstrators.

israelAM for August 10, 2015

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Swedish Hezbollah Spy
A Swedish national of Palestinian decent who was arrested back in July by The Shin Bet was charged by Israel with spying for Hezbollah. The Shin Bet claims that the suspect confessed under interrogation to working for Hezbollah and planned to collect and pass on information on military sites in Israel. (source)

Background
In 2006 Hezbollah launched hundreds of missiles at towns and cities in the northern part of Israel, forcing Israel to invade southern Lebanon. Even though Israel thoroughly routed Hezbollah, the terrorist organization is believed to still posses thousands of rockets capable of hitting targets in Israel. And they are supported and financed by Iran.

Upshot
If Iran doesn’t get their nuclear deal, or even if they do, they have an excellent proxy in Hezbollah to strike at Israel and cause tremendous damage. This Swedish spy is probably just one of many spies identifying targets for the Hezbollah missile launchers to use when they’re ready to strike. That’s trouble for Israel.


Fight Against Terrorism
The father of the Palestinian toddler killed in the arson attack in Duma died of his wounds yesterday. And Israeli police and Shin Bet forces arrested 9 more Jewish terror suspects in two raids on small West Bank outposts. While the police declined to connect the arrests to the Duma arson, it clearly is. One of the outposts, Adei Ad, is right near Duma.

The two Jewish suspects previously arrested in connection with the Duma attack were placed under a six month administrative detention by special order of Defense Minister Ya’alon.

Meanwhile, a Palestinian stabbed a Jewish man at a gas station on the heavily traveled 443 highway right near a security checkpoint. Soldiers shot and killed the attacker. Recounting the events of the attack in a press conference from his hospital bed, the wounded victim said that after he was stabbed he ran and called for help but the Arab workers in the station just watched and some even smiled.

The 443 is one of only two major highways that connect Jerusalem to the areas north and east of it and major cities including Tel Aviv and Modiin. The 443 partially runs through areas that are technically part of the West Bank.


Terror Warnings
Security officials are warning of the possibility of a major terror attack in the near future by an organized terror group.

Background
In the week and a half following the Duma arson attack, which claimed the lives of a Palestinian toddler and his father, there have been 4 terrorist attacks against Israelis. The first was a shooting at an Israeli passenger car, which failed to cause any casualties. The second was the molotov cocktail thrown at a passenger car near in the northern part of Jerusalem, which severely wounded a woman and lightly injured two men. The third was the attack on three soldiers in the West Bank by a Palestinian driver who rammed his car into them. And the fourth was the stabbing of the man at the gas station yesterday.

While these all have been “lone wolf” attacks, official fear that, based on previous patterns, the next one could likely be carried out by an organized terror group, which could make it far more deadly.(source)

Upshot
The “good news” is that officials believe that the Palestinian Authority is working to prevent another terror attack. The proof is that there have not been many violent protests in the territories, even during the funeral of the father who died of his wounds as a result of the Duma attack. Unfortunately, Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza aren’t controlled by the Palestinian Authority. Security officials are staying vigilant and expecting a tense few days ahead.


Crime and Punishment
Education Minister Naftali Bennet and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, of the right wing Bayit Yehudi party, both made statements in support of the death penalty for terrorist, be they Arab or Jewish. Israel currently doesn’t have a death penalty.

However, while Bennet also supports the use of administrative detention, Shaked is opposed to it — for Arabs or Jews. Holding someone in detention for up to 6 months without trial or legal proceedings is, “taking it too far,” she said. (source)

Upshot
Administrative detention will probably continue and the death penalty will probably not be implemented.


New Life to Parents of Terror Victim
Less than a year after their 3 month old daughter was murdered in a terror attack by a Palestinian who rammed his car into a group of people, the Braun family announced the birth of a new baby girl.

A hospital announcement read, “The Braun couple thanks the Holy One Blessed be He for everything, and particularly for the birth of their sweet daughter this morning.”

The Bruans had waited many years before finally being blessed with the birth of their first daughter, which made the birth of their new daughter so much more special.

The terrorist who killed the baby was killed during the attack and his family home was slated for demolition by the IDF. According to Arutz Sheva, it seems like only the terrorist’s room in the house was demolished (instead of the entire house), making it easy for the family to rebuild — and much less of a deterrent for future acts of terror. (source)


Vatican vs. Israel
The Vatican’s Custody of the Holy Land, which is a Franciscan Order in charge of tending to Christian shrines in Israel and in the West Bank, wrote a letter demanding that Israel’s Attorney General and state prosecutor charge the leader of the far-right Israeli group Lehava, Benzi Gopstein, with incitement for calling for churches in Israel to be torched. Prior to the letter the heads of the Catholic Church in Israel filed a complaint against the Lehava leader with the police.

The complaint voiced deep concern over the recent increase in hate crime and attacks against Christian holy sites, and noted that while almost no arrests have been made, Gopstein was making public statements in favor of such acts. (source)

Background
Gopstein made his remarks in a panel held for yeshiva students in Jerusalem last week. In response to a question as to whether he “is in favor of burning churches in the Land of Israel,” Gopstein answered, “Did the Rambam [Maimonides] rule to destroy [idol worship] or not? Idol worship must be destroyed. It’s simply yes – what’s the question?”

When the panel moderator warned him the panel was being filmed, and that if the recording should get to the police he would be arrested, Gopstein replied, “That’s the last thing that concerns me. If this is truth, I’m prepared to sit in jail 50 years for it.”

Upshot
Gopstein claims that he made his statements in the context of analyzing a statement of Maimonedes, and criticized the Vatican from getting involved in halachic discussions. The Church isn’t buying his excuse, and wants him arrested and locked up. They might have a point.


Mikvah Building
The Jerusalem municipality approved the building of a new mikvah (ritual bath) in the Jewish enclave of Ma’ale Zeitim, which is located in the Arab neighborhood of Ras Al-Amud in East Jerusalem. There are approximately 100 Jewish families in the community. The council allocated 11 million shekels for the building project. That equals over 100 thousand shekels per family. It’s one of the most expensing mikvah projects in the country. The people and council think it’s well worth it. (source)

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Terrorist Attacks Soldiers
Raid Mohammed Badwan, a 45 yr. old Palestinian from the West Bank village of Biddu, rammed his car into a a group of soldiers walking on the side of the road at the Shiloh junction in Samaria yesterday. Two soldiers were seriously wounded. A third, Lt. Daniel Albaz, was also injured but managed to open fire on the terrorist and seriously wound him. The soldiers were part of the reinforcements deployed to stem unrest and reprisals in the aftermath of the Duma arson attack last week.

Following the attack the IDF entered the village of Biddu were the terrorist lived, surrounded and searched his house and questioned his family. Violent protests ensued, forcing soldiers to use tear gas and rubber bullets. One soldier was injured by a stone.

Reactions
The PM congratulated the soldiers who reacted quickly to neutralize the terrorist and wish a speedy recovery to the wounded. He added, “I find it puzzling that those who were so quick to denounce terror against Palestinians are silent when the terror is aimed at Jews.”

Palestinian Authority President Abbas made no statement.

President Reuven Rivlin wrote, “I am proud of our soldiers who reacted immediately and stopped the terrorist. We have no tolerance for terror and never will have.”

Defense Minister Ya’alon said, ”The struggle against Palestinian terror requires steadfastness and an iron fist against the terrorists and those who send them. We are deploying the finest people and capabilities in order to prevent attacks on the citizens of Israel. Against terror, one fights with zero tolerance and that’s exactly what we’re doing,

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Ron Prosor urged UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to condemn the attack. “Once again, even after a Palestinian terrorist intentionally plowed his car into three IDF soldiers today, the UN hasn’t condemned the attack, nor the other recent attacks against Israelis.”

A Hamas spokesman praised the attack but did not claim responsibility for it. He called on all Palestinians to go out to hot spots in Judea and Samaria on Friday and violently confront IDF forces. “We call upon the members of our people in the West Bank to carry out more terror attacks so that the occupiers will learn a lesson.”

Islamic Jihad agreed.

Upshot
Security experts assume that the terrorist was a “lone wolf”, not affiliated with any organized group. That means that this type of random violence can happen anywhere and anytime, requiring a constant state of vigilance.

Did Jewish Leader Criticize Netanyahu?
Haaretz reported yesterday that Malcom Hoenlein criticized PM Netanyahu for “telling U.S Jews what they should do vis a vis their government,” regarding the Iran deal. That was a bit of a shock, since Hoenlein is regarded as being one of the American Jewish leaders closest to Netanyahu and personally opposes the deal.

Well, in an interview with the JTA, Hoenlein denied the Haaretz report claiming that the article “could not be more inaccurate.” He admitted to saying, “we don’t believe Israelis should interfere in American politics or that Americans should interfere with Israeli politics,” but added that in the case of the Iran deal the PM has an obligation to appeal to American Jewry for assistance.

Iran Deal Update
Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, a leading Democrate expected to be the party’s next leader in the Senate, has announced that he will vote against the Iran deal. “The very real risk that Iran will not moderate and will, instead, use the agreement to pursue its nefarious goals is too great,” Schumer said.

Schumer joins other Jewish Democrats who indicated their opposition to the deal including New York Rep. Eliot Engel, who is the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Reps. Steve Israel and Nita Lowey of New York and Ted Deutch of Florida.

Ben Gurion is Open
Ben Gurion Airport was due to be shut down for Shabbat as a result of a strike by airport workers over the hiring of temporary contract workers. But they schmoozed it out with the Israel Airports Authority and decided to let the approximately 200 flights and 30,000 pass through unimpeded. A whole lot of travelers are very grateful.

Speaking of airports, some of the world’s leading high-tech companies have reportedly signed a petition calling for direct flights between Tel Aviv and Dublin, the capital of Ireland. Sounds reasonable enough.

Prison Calling
Ezra Sheinberg, the Safed rabbi/kabbalist in jail for sexually assaulting 14 women, seems to be taking his case into his own hands. He was discovered to have used the jail’s public phone to call the husband and brother-in-law of at least one of his accusers to try and convince them to withdraw the charges against him. According to a lawyer for the plaintiffs, he’s been doing this a lot lately. He also gave an interview to a reporter. All of this is obviously against prison rules. In all likelihood, he’ll be losing phone privileges for a while. We hope.

Police Cause Traffic Jam
The Ayalon, Israel’s busiest highway, was shut down yesterday by police after they stopped a car driven by an Israeli Arab who’s passengers were two Palestinian women from Gaza. The problem was that, according to police, “they did not cooperate with the police”. That’s a no no in pretty much every country. In Israel it’s life threatening. Police drew their weapons, strip searched the male driver in the middle of the highway, and detained the women for questioning. Lot’s of angry drivers (angrier than usual) got home late for dinner.
Upshot:
Cooperate with the Police.

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Obama vs. Israel
President Obama claimed in a speech yesterday that out of every country who has publicly commented about the Iran deal, Israel was the only one that hasn’t expressed support for it. He referred specifically to PM Netanyahu saying, “I don’t doubt Netanyahu’s sincerity but I think he is wrong.” He added, “To the Israeli people I say this: Nuclear-armed Iran is more dangerous than an Iran that benefits from sanction relief,”

But he also said that he understands Israel’s concerns and was ready to increase support for missile defense, information sharing and the prevention of Iranian disruptive activities in the region. That’s unlikely to make Israel feel better about the deal.

The official Israeli response was that, “Israel does not doubt President Obama’s sincerity, but we disagree with his position. This agreement does not prevent war but brings it closer, because it gives Iran international legitimacy to build an infrastructure and manufacture an arsenal of nuclear weapons. It also funds its aggressive terror machine with hundreds of billions of dollars.”

Upshot
Obama’s speech doesn’t seem to have won over Israel. Whether it’s enough to win over congress is still to be seen. And the battle continues.

Threats Against Minister
The Bayit Yehudi party has filed a complaint with police claiming incitement against party leader and minister of education Naftali Bennett.

Since the Gay Pride parade stabbings and the Duma arson attack, Bennett’s Facebook page has been swamped with threats and calls for violence against him and his party members.

While Bennett’s Bayit Yehudi party is pro Jewish settlement in the West Bank and anti Gay marriage, he strongly condemned the Duma and Gay parade attacks and spoke out in defense of personal freedoms for all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or beliefs.

It seems that in Israel, incitement to violence can come from both the right and the left.

President Speaks
In an interview with Makor Rishon President Reuven Rivlin reiterated his opposition to a two state solution and and stated, “I believe with perfect faith that a Jew has the right to live anywhere he chooses to in this land.” He also said that he isn’t afraid of recent threats against his life and spoke out against incitement and hatred in both the right and left wing camps.

Budget Compromises
As we wrote yesterday, the new budget for 2015-2016 was set to be opposed by Economy Minister Aryeh Deri and Education Minister Naftali Bennet. Deri wanted no VAT on utility bills and public transport for the needy and Bennet wanted less cuts for higher education. Well, after lots of negotiation, they won out. The VAT on utilities and public transport will be scrapped for the the poor, and less money will be cut from the education budget. Other ministries including Sports and Culture and Technology also succeeded in getting budget increases in last minute bargaining that continued through the night. Netanyahu also agreed to add an additional 3 billion shekels to the defense budget.

Upshot
Early this morning the budget was voted on and passed with no opposition. It’s nice when everyone comes out happy. Go figure.

Shoreline Saved
Environmental Protection Minister Avi Gabbay announced yesterday that construction will no longer be permitted within 100 meters of the waterline along the Israel’s coast.

The Finance Ministry’s Planning administration had been formulating a national master plan for the shoreline that would have allowed considerable construction of stores, restaurants, and cafes within the 100 meter range. Environmental groups vowed protests. Construction and Housing Minister Yoav Galant had also asked the Planning Administration to scrap their plan.

Upshot
The shoreline won and will remain construction free, at least until the next plan is created. But the future of the rest of Israel’s non shoreline environment is still unclear.

Train Safety
Israel Railways, in cooperation with Israeli company Rail Safe, is developing a smart system to detect objects on railroad tracks and prevent collisions and accidents. The system, the first in the world of its kind, uses a thermal sensor that can detect objects, classify them in real time, and warn the driver long enough before a collision with the object occurs. While the human eye can see only up to 200 meters, the sensor can detect objects up to a distance of three kilometers. Another life saving innovation from Israel.

Burger Innovation
In the spirit of the startup nation, Israeli fast food chain Burger Ranch is launching an innovative new product: the Sliceburger, a 300 gram pizza shaped burger divided into 6 slices. It’ll be served in a package shaped like a pizza and cost around 70 shekels. Anyone want a slice of burger? Maybe Israel should focus on High-tech and Biomeds and leave the food innovation to others.

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Shin Bet Arrests More Suspects
The Shin Bet has arrested 2 more suspects in the Duma arson case, Mordecai Ma’ayar and Avitar Salonim. Both are Jews known to be involved in far right extremist activities. Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon signed an administrative decree after Ma’ayar’s arrest, allowing security forces to detain him for up to six months without formal charges or a trial.

Meir Ettinger, the grandson of the late Meir Kahane, was arrested on Sunday and is still in custody.

Meanwhile the Judea and Samaria District police published a public appeal on Tuesday for help in solving the arson case. The police has never asked the public for help before in similar attacks, but this time they think the public might be open to helping since the victim was just a toddler. The boy’s parents and brother are all still in critical condition.

New Budget Coming
The government is meeting today to vote on approving the official budget for 2015-2016 and it looks like it will be approved by a huge margin. But the PM and Finance Minister would like the vote to be unanimous, and that could be a problem.

Background
The new budget includes large cuts across the board.  Minister of Economy Aryeh Deri of Shas wants the poorest 40% of the population to be exempt from paying VAT (value added tax) on their water and electric bills. He also wants to remove all VAT from public transportation. Finance Minister Moshe Kahalon thinks that’ll cost the country too much revenue.

Education Minister Naftali Bennet of Bait Yehudi isn’t happy with the proposed 1 billion shekel cuts in the education budget. He says the cuts will critically harm education for young children, for children living in the country’s periphery and for all math education. The Internal Security Minister also has issues with the budget.

Finance Minister Moshe Kahalon defended the budget claiming that there will actually be an increase in spending for education, health and internal security. The PM added that the budget is balanced and will both allow economic growth and monthly savings for every family.

Upshot
The negotiations to try to get unanimous approval continue, but the new budget will pass in any case. If you trust Netanyahu’s economic policies, that’s good news for the country.

PM Takes the Stage
Prime Minister Netanyahu used a webcast to convince American Jewish leaders to oppose the Iran nuclear agreement. He reiterated his main reasons for opposing the deal: 1) It will leave Iran’s vast nuclear infrastructure in place. 2) Iran’s “breakout time” for a nuclear weapon in 10-15 years, once the deal expires, will be practically zero. 3) The deal will give Iran a massive infusion of cash that it will use to arm its terrorist proxies in the region. 4) The deal will spark a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

The PM denied that he was against any deal with Iran. “The alternative to this bad deal is still no deal, or a better deal,” he said. “The claim that I wouldn’t accept any deal and wouldn’t propose any alternative is certainly not true.”

Netanyahu reasoned that if sanctions and pressure on Iran were increased, Iran would return to the bargaining table in search of a deal. “They need the deal a whole lot more than any of us need a deal,” he said.

Netanyahu also noted that even opposition leader Isaac Herzog agreed with him regarding the deal. “This is simply not a partisan issue in Israel … It shouldn’t be a partisan issue in the United States either.”

Meanwhile, both President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry have been meeting with Jewish leaders to make their pro-deal case.
This battle is far from over.

More Unholiness
A rabbi living in a settlement in the Binyamin area was placed under house arrest and is being investigated for sexually assaulting several women who came to him for blessings and spiritual guidance relating to relationships. Investigators are pretty sure they will find more women who were victimized by the rabbi.

Surf’s Up
Israeli beachgoers breathed a sigh of relief. Seven weeks after arriving on Israeli shores, swarms of Jellyfish have departed for other Mediterranean waters. This year’s swarm had unusually large specimens, with some of the jellyfish as much as 70 centimeters wide. Getting stung by one is no fun.

The Jellyfish departure came just in time to allow people to get some relief at the beach from the brutal heatwave hitting the country.

Crashers are Welcome
Social media and a lot of big hearts came to the rescue of a bride and groom who found themselves pretty much alone at their wedding. Other than about 10 close relatives, most of the invited guests thought that the wedding had been cancelled because the bride’s father had just recently died. One of the guests posted this on Facebook: “The bride lost both her parents in the last two years. Her father passed away a month ago, and now there is no one there except for a few relatives. You don’t need a gift, you don’t need money. Just come fill the auditorium, fulfill a mitzvah, and make a bride and groom happy.”

The post went viral and 2,000 people showed up to celebrate. Almost none of them knew either the bride or groom. But they saw an opportunity to do a mitzvah and make a new couple happy, and they grabbed it. Israelis at their best.