Israel News for November 17, 2015

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More Homes
PM Netanyahu yesterday approved the construction of 436 new homes in the neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo, which is located in the northern part of East Jerusalem near the Arab neighborhood of Shuafat. The homes had initially been approved in 2008, but were frozen due to negative fallout from the US. Something must have happened during Netanyahu’s recent visit with Obama to change that. The Jerusalem municipality is seeking approval for an additional 1,000 housing units. Perhaps the US president is busy with more pressing matters, like ISIS and upcoming elections?

For further reading click here.

Islamic Movement
The PM’s office announced today an order by the security cabinet outlawing the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel. That means any organization or individual belonging to the northern branch or found assisting the organization in any way will be committing a criminal offense and is liable for imprisonment. The government also has the right to confiscate all property belonging to the organization.

Police and Shin Bet forces confiscated Islamic Movement property, shut down its offices and 17 non-profit organizations and movements that operate on behalf of the group, and froze all of their bank accounts.

In a statement the PM said, “The northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel undermines the state. It incites violence against innocent civilians, it has close ties with the Hamas terrorist organization, and is undermining the country in order to establish an Islamic caliphate in its place. As someone who is responsible for security of the state, I will not allow it.”

For further reading click here.

Swedish Blunder
The Swedish ambassador to Israel was called into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by Director General Dr. Dore Gold to clarify a statement made by Sweden’s Foreign Minister that seemed to partially blame Israel for ISIS terror.

In an interview with Swedish TV following the Paris terror attack, Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström was asked if she is concerned about the radicalization of Swedish youth who fight with Islamic State. Wallström replied, “Of course we have cause for concern, not just in Sweden but throughout the world, because there are so many being radicalized. And again, it reminds us of the situation in the Middle East, where the Palestinians see that there is no future for them and have to either accept a desperate situation or resort to violence.”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Emanuel Nahshon blasted the statement.
“Anyone who engages in a foolish attempt to connect attacks by extremist Islam with the difficulties between Israel and the Palestinians is misleading himself, his people and international public opinion.The words of the Swedish foreign minister are shocking in their chutzpah. The Swedish foreign minister is systematically and unilaterally biased against Israel and is exhibiting genuine hostility when she points to any connection between the attacks in Paris and the problems between Israel and the Palestinians.”

The Swedish Foreign Ministry responded to Israel’s protest by tweeting that the foreign minister “has not said that Israeli Palestinian conflict is linked to tragic events in Paris. Sweden condemns all acts of terrorism.”

A spokesman for the Swedish Foreign Ministry said that the interview “did not imply that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict had anything to do with the tragic events in Paris. We condemn all acts of terrorism. As democracies, we now must unite and fight on our shared values.”

Upshot
While it doesn’t seem as though the Swedish foreign minister did directly connect Israel as the cause of ISIS terror, by mentioning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the context of the ISIS attack, she put the idea in people’s minds. Guilt by association. Was it a stupid mistake, or did she intend to create the association?

For further reading click here.

Father Denies Snitching
Yesterday we told you about how the father of the terrorist who murdered Rabbi Yaakov and Netanel Litman on Friday told authorities that his son was guilty in order to save his home from demolition. That’s what the Shin Bet says.

Now the family of the terrorist is denying the story, claiming that the father did not snitch on his son. They admit that the father was detained at an IDF checkpoint, but deny that he willingly gave security forces any information.

I guess it was just a coincidence.

For further reading click here.

Soybean Oil
Israeli inspectors stopped a truck carrying soybean oil from Hebron to the Gaza Strip for a routine inspection. When they tested the oil, they discovered hundreds of gallons of a chemical used to make rocket fuel. Well, what do you know!

It appears that this wasn’t an isolated incident. Israeli authorities have thwarted more than 500 attempts to smuggle illicit goods from Israel into the Gaza Strip since the beginning of 2015. In addition, more than 280 trucks have been confiscated since 2014.

No rocket fuel = no rockets fired into Israel.

For further reading click here.

French Aliyah
New immigrants who arrived in Israel from France yesterday said that although they planned their Aliyah long before the murderous terror attacks on Friday, the current situation makes life impossible there for Jews. “There are police and soldiers next to the synagogues. It’s an abnormal situation” one immigrant said. Another explained that life in France is “very dangerous for the Jews. Everything is closed. People don’t go out.”

The number of Jewish immigrants from France has risen by 10% in the past year with a sharp rise following the Kosher supermarket terrorist attack in January. According to the Jewish Agency the reaction to Friday’s attacks appears different, and there has not been a significant increase in the number of Aliya related calls, but it is still early.

There are currently around a half a million Jews in France.

For further reading click here.

Hadassah Funds
Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, raises a heck of a lot of money for Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. For the past few decades they’ve taken 7% of the money raised to cover their overhead expenses. Now they’ve announced that they’ll be doubling that overhead charge to 14%, despite the tough economic state the hospital is currently in.

Sources close to Hadassah insist that the extra money will not be used for increasing executive salaries, stressing that the National President and the rest of the leadership carry out their work on a completely voluntary basis. The sources claim that fundraising is a specialist job requiring highly skilled professionals. Fundraising also includes flying Israeli doctors and researchers from Hadassah to the US and putting them up in hotels, hiring halls for fundraising events and conferences, and catering. It’s an expensive process. But the huge sums that Hadassah raises for the hospital seem to justify the added costs.

For further reading click here.

Israel News for November 16, 2015

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IDF Raid
Last night, IDF forces entered the Qualandiya refugee camp in the West Bank and destroyed the home of the terrorist who murdered Israeli student Danny Gonen back in June.

While combat engineers prepared the house for demolition, soldiers from the Duvdevan unit securing the perimeter were attacked by hundreds of Palestinians throwing rocks and firebombs. Then soldiers identified 10 armed terrorists approaching them and preparing to fire. The soldiers opened fire killing at least two of the terrorists. There were no Israeli casualties in the operation.

Mission accomplished.

Watch a video here.

Terrorist Arrested
The terrorist who murdered Rabbi Yaakov Litman and his son Netanel on Friday was arrested at his home in Hevron by Shin Bet and IDF forces over the weekend. The suspect, Sha’adi Matuwa, 28, is married and the father of two children, and is associated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. He made the mistake of telling his brother that he committed the murders. The brother told his father, who then told Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint. The father decided that protecting his son would mean that the family home would be destroyed. He chose the house.

Shin Bet officers found the murder weapon on the suspect, as well as the vehicle he used in the attack. The suspect confessed to the murder under questioning. Security forces are now investigating and questioning other suspects who might have been involved in the planning or execution of the attack.

Upshot
It seems that the policy of demolishing the homes of the families of terrorists might be working after all. If not as a deterrent, then at least as a means of capturing wanted terrorists.

For further reading click here.

Israel Files Protest
PM Netanyahu has directed Israel’s Foreign Ministry to file a protest with the International Committee of the Red Cross, claiming that a Palestinian Red Crescent Society ambulance did not stop to help Jewish victims of a terror attack.

During a phone call with the PM on Saturday night, Noa Litman, the wife and mother of the victims of Friday’s terrorist attack, told the PM that a Red Crescent ambulance that arrived first at the scene did not stop to provide her family with emergency assistance.

In a recording of the call made to emergency services by Litman’s 16-year-old son, broadcast Friday night on Israeli television, it appears that the Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance did not stop for the injured victims after realizing that they were Jewish.

“There are two wounded here, but we have the Red Crescent with us,” the teen says in the phone call, which was recorded. He then says: “The Red Crescent ambulance drove away from us, I don’t know why.”

In a statement issued late Friday evening by the Palestine Red Crescent Society, the organization denied allegations that its paramedics did not stop to assist the victims.
“A PRCS’ team arrived at the scene and started providing First Aid to the wounded. A few minutes later, two Israeli ambulances, one belonging to the Israeli army and another from Magen David Adom, arrived at the scene. The ambulances’ teams headed towards the wounded persons, brandishing their weapons. Given that Israeli paramedics had arrived and were providing medical care to casualties, PRCS’ team left the scene which they felt had become unsafe,” the statement said.

The driver of the Israeli ambulance that arrived at the scene told Israel Channel 10 that Red Crescent paramedics did not get out of their vehicle before driving away.

A thorough investigation will hopefully bring the facts of this case to light and prove whether or not the Palestinian paramedics refused to help Jews or just didn’t have a chance to do so before Israeli paramedics arrived.

Who do you believe?

For further reading click here.

Mourning
Hundreds of mourners participated in the funeral of Rabbi Yaakov and Netanel Litman, the father and son who were killed in a terrorist attack on Friday. They were on their way to a shabbat celebration in honor of the rabbi’s daughter’s upcoming marriage scheduled for this week.

The father and son were laid to rest on Har Hamenuchot in Jerusalem. Among the mourners were President Reuven Rivlin, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi David Lau.

Ltiman’s daughter, Sarah Tehiya, vowed to build a marriage and home that will perpetuate the values of her father. She also proclaimed that the Jewish People will continue to walk with pride in their land and that they will not let the Arabs disrupt their daily lives and routines. She added, “God will give us strength, just like He is giving us strength now, and we hope that the government and the state do what they need to do.”

For further reading click here.

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Egyptian Border Control
The Egyptians are helping keep illegal African migrants out of Israel. Yesterday, Egyptian security forces shot and killed 15 Sudanese migrants as they were about to illegally cross the border and enter Israel. It appears that the Sudanese stumbled into the middle of a gunfight between Egyptian troops and bedouin smugglers.

Did the Egyptians think that the Sudanese were with the bedouin or did they purposefully want to stop them from crossing into Israel?

For further reading click here.

Great Escape
The police in Israel have more on their plate than just fighting terrorism. On Sunday, over 1,000 police and corrections officers conducted a manhunt for an escaped prisoner convicted for two murders. The convict, Yaron Sanker, was in the midst of an 85 day hunger strike and being treated at a hospital in Be’er Yaakov under heavy guard when he escaped.

Sanker hailed a cab and told the driver to head to Be’er Sheva. On the way he asked the driver to call his girlfriend so that he could ask for the money for the fare. At that point the cabbie got nervous (about the money, not the murderer) and dropped Sanker off in Rishon Letzion. The driver went to the police who managed to use the cell phone to trace the location of Sanker’s girlfriend to the Be’er Sheva central bus station. They sent a welcoming party to greet Sanker, in case he showed up.

It’s not clear how Sanker made it to Be’er Sheva, but when he got to the central bus station he was recognized by a security guard who chased him down. Then the police units waiting for him joined in and arrested him.

All in a day’s work. Now the police can continue focusing on preventing terror.

For further reading click here.

brides temple mount

Israel News for November 13, 2015

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Terror Parents
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked drafted a proposed law fining parents of minors who throw rocks but cannot be prosecuted because of their age. According to the draft, a minor under the age of 12 who commits a criminal act of terror including rock throwing, or any other form of violence, will be placed under the supervision of an officer who will warn the parents. If the minor commit further crimes, the parents will be fined by the court unless they can prove that they did everything possible to stop the crimes.

Earlier this month a law was approved that allows authorities to revoke National Insurance benefits and to fine families of minors convicted of throwing rocks for nationalistic reasons or as an act of terrorism. Under the proposed law the family could still face a fine even if they’re too young to be convicted.

For further reading click here.

Home Demolition
The High Court for Justice has approved the demolition of the homes of six terrorists. The court rejected motions filed by the families of the terrorist to overturn the demolition orders. Homes include those of the terrorists who murdered Rabbi Eitam and Naama Henkin.
It’s about time this order was carried out. The sooner the better.

For further reading click here.

US Supports EU
The US is supporting the recent decision of the European Union to require distinct labeling of Israeli products made in the West Bank.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner said, ”We do not believe that labeling the origin of products is equivalent to a boycott. And as you know, we do not consider settlements to be part of Israel. We do not view labeling the origin of products as being from the settlements as a boycott of Israel.”

Toner added that American laws for Israeli settlement exports are somewhat similar. They must be marked as “products of the West Bank,” though the U.S. does not differentiate between goods from settlements and those coming from elsewhere in the territory.

But just when you thought that everyone was against Israel, an unlikely friend emerges. Germany’s ruling party criticized the EU regulation saying that is was not constructive in facilitating negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. The German spokesman said, “As a signal to our friends in Israel, I would have appreciated, if the European Commission in this case would have abstained from the implementation of the European regulation,”

For further reading click here.

Temple Mount Brides
Despite increased violence and tensions on the Temple Mount, there’s one group of people who will not be deterred from visiting – Jewish brides from the National Religious community (Dati Leumi).

Some sixty brides have visited the Temple Mount over the past year and the trend is only growing according to Yael Kabilio, a guide from the Women for the Temple group, who has accompanied many brides on their visits to the mount. According to Kabilio, the trend stems from both a spiritual and halachic (Jewish legal) place.

Some rabbinic authorities permit women to visit the Temple Mount only if they have immersed in a mikvah, but prior to having sexual relations with their husbands. Brides are required by Jewish law to immerse in a mikvah (for the first time, since single women do not go to the mikvah) prior to their wedding, usually the night before. Thus the wedding day is the perfect day for these women to visit the Temple Mount.

The wedding day is a very spiritual day for the bride and groom, and there is a connection between the wedding day and Jerusalem, since the destruction of Jerusalem is recalled under the wedding canopy. These brides want to connect building their own private home with the rebuilding of the Temple.

But getting up to the mount is no simple feat. Brides cannot visit in their wedding dresses, as it is considered a provocation, and they can wait in line for hours until they are allowed up. They can also be denied access, since only a restricted number of Jews are allowed up each day.

Many of the brides are assaulted by the abusive calls of the Murabitat (female Muslim activists who charge themselves with defending the Dome of the Rock). Once on the mount all non muslims are forbidden from singing, praying, dancing or making any kind of “religious displays”. Many brides have found ways around the restrictions by pretending to talk on their phones or hiding their mouths in a scarf or sweater.

The brides claim that police are hostile towards them, rushing them along and shouting at them for the slightest movement that seems “out of line”.

The most famous bride to visit the Temple Mount on her wedding day was Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotoveli, who got a VIP tour. She described the experience as “immense excitement blended with sorrow and pain. It’s not easy to see children playing soccer on the mount, disrespecting this holy place.”

Source: Yediot Ahronot Print Edition

Ethiopian Aliyah
A proposed law before the Knesset, which is expected to be approved, will facilitate the organized aliyah to Israel of the remaining Jews in Ethiopia. There are currently a little over 9,000 people in special camps set up by Israel and Jewish organizations in Addis Ababa and Gondar who have not been allowed to make aliyah because they do not meet the necessary requirements for proving that they are Jewish. Many of these people have family members in Israel.

The proposed law notes that, “issue of the families awaiting aliyah in Addis Ababa and Gondar is unique: These are people who left their home villages many years ago, and while some of their family members were allowed into Israel, they remained in Addis Ababa and Gondar, and have been maintaining a Jewish lifestyle, with active synagogues, ritual baths, observance of Shabbat and holidays, Hebrew lessons, Jewish studies, and more.”

The people in question are from the Falasha Mura community, who were compelled to convert to Christianity in the 19th century. One of the requirements of the proposed law is that the new immigrants will convert to Judaism in Israel.

Once these 9,000 are brought to Israel, no more Ethiopians will be considered eligible for aliyah.

“And the children will return to their borders” — Jeremiah 31:17

For further reading click here.

idf commandos undercover

Israel News for November 12, 2015

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Undercover Raid
Early this morning an IDF unit of about 20, disguised as a group of Palestinians escorting a woman in labor, entered a Palestinian hospital in Hebron to arrest Azam Shalaldah, 20, who was hospitalized in the surgical ward. Shalaldah was wanted for committing a West Bank stabbing attack on October 25 that left one Israeli moderately wounded.

While the force was arresting Shalaldah, his cousin, 27, returned from the bathroom and attacked the soldiers. He was shot several times. Palestinian sources reported that he died. Shalaldah was taken into custody. Shalaldah’s brother, who was also in the room, was tied up but not hurt.

Message to terrorists: you can run, but you can’t hide.

For further reading click here.

Terror vs Revenge
Muawiya Alqam, 14, one of the two young boys who committed the stabbing attack on Jerusalem’s light rail on Tuesday, said on Wednesday that he decided to carry out the attack because his cousin had been shot while committing an attack near the Damascus Gate. Alqam’s family denies that he had intent to commit a terror attack.

Whether it was terror or revenge, he admitted to attacking someone with a knife and stabbing him. Guilty. The only question is the punishment, which will depend on the intent.

For further reading click here.

Israel vs. EU
In the wake of the European Union’s decision to distinctly label Israeli products made in the West Bank, Israel announced that it will be cancelling several meetings with the EU on various subjects. The Israeli Foreign Ministry also reprimanded the EU ambassador to Israel and conveyed a similar message to senior EU officials at a meeting in EU headquarters in Brussels.
In a word, they’re pissed.

For further reading click here.

Rabbis for Temple Mount
Seventy senior rabbis from the religious zionist movement have signed a petition under the headline, “We won’t give up the Temple Mount.” The petition was distributed during the PM’s recent visit to Washington and was seemingly directed at him and President Obama.

The signatories on the petition include rabbinic leaders spanning the wide range of political philosophies within religious zionism. Included in the signatories are R. Shmuel Eliyahu, the Chief Rabbi of Safed, R. Shlomo Riskin, Chief Rabbi of Efrat, R. Chaim Druckman, head of the Bnei Akiva yeshivas, Jerusalem Chief Rabbi Aryeh Stern, Old City Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl, Samaria’s Chief Rabbi Elyakim Levanon and former Chief Military Rabbi Avichai Ronsky.

The body of the petition reviews the historical existence of the two Temples on the mount and relevant prophesies speaking of the messianic age. It says, “The two temples of the people of Israel stood on the Temple Mount for some 1,000 years, before the religion of Islam even existed. No one has the authority to give up the Temple Mount. The Israeli government can definitely set the practical arrangements on the Temple Mount today, but they are only temporary.”

The rabbis concluded by saying that the Jewish people continue to pray that the prophecies of the rebuilding of the Temple should happen speedily and in our days. Amen.

For further reading click here.

Damascus Bombed
Arab press sources in Syria and Lebanon are reporting that the area around the Damascus International Airport was hit by airstrikes on Wednesday and they’re claiming that Israel is responsible. Israeli officials had no comment. Could it be true? Well, it depends on who was bombed. If it was rebel forces, then it could just as well have been the Russians or maybe even the Americans. But if it was government forces then…hmm.

For further reading click here.

Cheaper Hotels
Hotel rates in Israel might be getting a lot cheaper, but you’ll have to wait a few years for it to happen. Israel’s Tourism Minister Yariv Levin announced a new national plan to reduce hotel room prices by 20% in 5 years, at a joint press conference in Jerusalem with Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon on Wednesday.

The plan of action is to shorten the hotel construction process by streamlining regulations, which will increase the supply of hotel rooms on the market. The higher the supply, the lower the prices.

Finance Minister Kahlon said, “The plan will lower vacation costs. The financial and real estate benefits of building hotel rooms, and the opportunity to receive more tourists here, are blessings. If the project succeeds, it will make hotel rooms in Israel accessible to the bottom segment of society. Hotel rooms will not be exclusive to the wealthy and to high-earners.”

So hang in there all you low earners and bottom feeders. You might finally get that vacation you’ve been dreaming of — or at least a night in a hotel room.

For further reading click here.

Five Bucks
What would someone do for five bucks? More than you’d think. Just go on the Israeli owned website Fiverr, where you’ll find thousands of freelancers from all over the world offering their services for $5 (hence the name). If you think there’s no money to be made from that, think again. The company just announced that they raised $60 million from venture capitalists, which is in addition to the $50 million they previously raised. But your chances of getting that major design project done for $5 might be history. Fiverr is planning to allow freelancers to charge higher prices. That means more money for the freelancers and the company. As for your project…you get what you pay for.

For further reading click here.

Blessing in Disguise
The Palestinian terrorist who stabbed three people last Monday in Rishon Lezion inadvertently saved the life of one of his victims. Daniel Cohen, 31, was stabbed multiple times in his upper body and seriously wounded in the attack. When doctors performed emergency surgery on him, they found a deadly tumour in his intestines, which they removed. Cohen said that he felt pains in his intestines for several weeks prior to the incident but didn’t have time to deal with it. “The terror attack saved my life,” he said.

Cohen, father of five and a Kashrut supervisor, was travelling between jobs when he was attacked at the bus stop. Cohen said the assailant attacked him from behind choking him and trying to behead him. He was stabbed multiple times in the stomach, jaw and chest, before he managed to fight the assailant off. The terrorist proceeded to stab two others before being trapped in a shop where police arrested him.

For further reading click here.

terrorist shot at Shechem Gate Jerusalem

Terrorist tries to stab but is shot by Israeli security guard

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This security camera video records how an Arab terrorist brandishing a knife charges at two Israelis near the Shechem Gate outside of the Old City, Jerusalem. The two Israelis were security guards who worked at the Yeshiva Ateret Cohanim in the old city. One of them managed to draw his weapon and shoot the terrorist before he could stab him.

EU Labels Israel

Israel News for November 11, 2015

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Terror Thwarted
A terrorist ran towards Border Police officers at a checkpoint near Abu Dis yesterday, bearing a knife and shouting Allahu Akbar (never a good sign). Luckily he didn’t get too far. After warning him to stop several times, which he refused to do, the officers shot and killed him.

European Labels
The EU has adopted a resolution ordering distinct labels for Israeli products made in the West Bank. EU Ambassador to Israel Lars Faaborg-Andersen was summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem andreprimanded. The Ministry called the move “unusual and discriminatory,” claiming that it will only lessen the chances of peace by bolstering the Palestinian Authority’s refusal to hold direct negotiations with Israel.

Yuval Steinitz, the Minister or National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources, accused the EU of unfairly singling out Israel when it has not taken similar action toward products made in areas like Chinese-controlled Tibet or Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus. He told reporters yesterday,”We cannot conceive it but as some disguised anti-Semitism.”

The good news is that the economic impact of such a measure will likely be minimal, although it could deter some customers from purchasing individual products. While the EU is Israel’s largest trade partner, settlement products make up just a tiny portion of Israeli exports.

For further reading click here.

Pollard and Obama
Jonathan Pollard, after serving 30 years for spying for Israel, is set to be released within the next two weeks. But it doesn’t look like he’ll be allowed to join his wife Esther in Israel. US law says that he needs to be monitored in the US for five years after his release. The only way that the law can be circumvented is if President Obama uses his powers to waive that condition. But Obama’s deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, has made it clear that the President will not interfere in the US judicial process, without exception. Unless something changes, Pollard will be spending the next few years in exile…in New York City.

Regardless of where he lives, Pollard’s service to Israel will not be forgotten. Knesset House Committee Chairman MK David Bitan (Likud) has proposed a bill for the State of Israel to support him financially for the rest of his life. Bitan said, “After everything that Pollard has gone through, and in light of his contribution to Israel, the state must ensure that he will live in dignity,”

For further reading click here.

Religious Equality
In a speech before the Jewish Federations General Assembly, PM Netanyahu pledged government and Jewish Agency support for Reform and Conservative Jewish congregations in Israel. He said, “As prime minister of Israel I will ensure that all Jews – Reform, Conservative and Orthodox – feel at home in Israel.”

Rabbi Gilad Kariv, director of the Reform Movement in Israel, welcomed Netanyahu’s statement saying it “has to be the first step on the way to ending ongoing discrimination against Reform and Conservative communities in Israel,” and that “Discrimination against these communities, which constitute the majority of the Jewish people, damages the values of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state and overshadows Israel’s relationship with the Diaspora. “

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) parties were furious. Health Minister Yaakov Litzman (United Torah Judaism) said, “The prime minister’s remarks in favor of the Reform insult us and clearly go against the coalition agreement signed with us.” Litzman said Reform and Conservative Judaism “tears apart the Jewish people and they must not be helped to hurt the Torah of Israel. It is a pity that the prime minister gave them expression and we will do everything we can so that this commitment is not met.”

MK Moshe Gafni, also of United Torah Judaism, added that Reform Jews “stick a knife in the Torah of Israel. What Netanyahu said is very serious and requires clarifications when he returns to Israel.”

Let’s see how the PM gets out of this one.

For further reading click here.

Pay Raise
Salaries are going up in Israel…well, at least for Knesset members. On Tuesday the Knesset voted in favor of a pay raise of 800 shekels per month for MKs. Many in the opposition are not happy.

Yesh Atid Party chairman MK Yair Lapid said, “It’s a scandal that MKs insist on continuing to decide their own salaries. Today was an opportunity to do the most appropriate thing by implementing the recommendation by Prof. Haim Levy’s committee to divest MKs of responsibility for pay raises. We’ll go on fighting against this, because it’s insufferable and scandalous that MKs are raising their own pay when people can’t make ends meet.”

MK Shelly Yachimovich (Zionist Union) said, “The decision to keep the excessive pay raise for MKs … is a disgrace to the Knesset and the MKs. It unfortunately appears, however, that all sense of shame has been lost.

For further reading click here.

Kingdom of Palestine
Is there are a legal requirement to officially refer to the Jewish state as the “State of Israel”? Apparently not, or at least not yet. According to MK Oren Hazan (Likud), “The current situation allows any MK to sign their name as a member of the Kingdom of Palestine.” That’s because there is no law on the books that establishes or regulates the country’s name. Hazan is aiming to change that by proposing a new law that would establish the country’s name as the “State of Israel” and confirm its national anthem and flag.

The bill was unanimously approved in the first reading at the committee on Tuesday, and will now be brought for a vote at a Knesset plenary session. Kingdom of Palestine came in a distant second. Not really.

For further reading click here.

terror on light rail

Israel News for November 10, 2015

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More Terror
A 25 Year old Israeli security guard was stabbed and lightly wounded on the light rail in Pisgat Ze’ev, Jerusalem. The Palestinian assailants were 12 and 13 years old. One of them was shot and wounded by police and the other was subdued by passengers.

A man was lightly wounded in a stabbing attack near the Damascus Gate in the Old City. The terrorist was shot and killed by police.

The Israeli army arrested 24 Hamas activists in the Qalqilya area in the West Bank on Tuesday night.

For further reading click here.

PM and Obama
PM Netanyahu and President Obama met yesterday at the White House, in their first face to face meeting in over a year.

In public statements the leaders emphasized areas of shared interest, including negotiations on a new security arrangement and the goal of peace between Israelis and Palestinians, despite the recent violence and terror.

Obama said he was focused on “how we can get back on a path toward peace, and how we can make sure that legitimate Palestinian aspirations are met through a political process, even as we make sure that Israel is able to secure itself.”

Netanyahu said, “We have not given up our hope for peace.” He reaffirmed his support for a two-state solution, though he gave no ground his longstanding conditions for achieving that outcome.

The PM said that the main theme of the conversation was a memorandum of understanding regarding increased American military aid to Israel. “We did not focus on an amount, but I presented our needs, and we hope he accepts our analysis of the regional changes. The region has turned upside down compared to the previous decade, the previous agreement was signed in 2007 and it is impossible to compare the Middle East now to what it was then.”

Netanyahu noted that a number of issues did not come up in the conversation, such as a construction freeze in Judea and Samaria (“My position on the subject is known and clear,” declared the PM), as well as the issue of the appointment of Ran Baratz as head of hasbara.

Even before Netanyahu arrived for the meeting, White House Middle East Adviser Rob Malley said, ”The president has reached the conclusion that right now – barring a major shift – the parties are not going to be in a position to negotiate a final status agreement.” White House spokesman Josh Earnest repeated that conclusion following the meeting.

So President Obama finally gets it.

For further reading click here.

London Mayor Speaks Out
The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, is visiting Israel, primarily to try and lure Israeli tech businesses to London. In Tel Aviv on Monday Johnson said, “I cannot think of anything more foolish” than to boycott “a country that when all is said and done is the only democracy in the region, the only place that has in my view a pluralist open society.” He said the BDS boycotters are “a very small minority.”
Let’s hope he speaks for the majority of Brits.

For further reading click here.

New Tourism
Aryeh Deri, who recently resigned as Minister of Economy and is now Minister of the Development of the Negev and Galilee, is planning on spending 20 million shekels to develop religiously significant sites, to increase tourism to those sites.

Deri claims that the investment in the sites, which he says are visited by millions of Israelis and Jews from abroad annually, will create employment and contribute to the economy. One of the main targets of the development project will be tombs of Jewish sages in the Galilee.

For further reading click here.

Iranian Hackers
Israeli network security firm Check Point released a report yesterday revealing that it uncovered a network of Iranian cyber hackers linked to Iran’s revolutionary guard. The group nicknamed “Rocket Kitten” by security experts, has mounted cyber attacks since 2014 on 1,600 targets globally. Targets include high profile political and defense figures in Israel, the US, NATO, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Venezuela. Check Point said they alerted European authorities, who have taken action to shut down the group. There was no comment from the FBI but the Shin Bet announced that they are aware of the issue and are dealing with it.

The Check Point report details how its experts burrowed inside the hacker group’s database, and constructed a map of malicious software tools and remote-controlled computers used by the group. The report includes several amusing anecdotes displaying the groups amateurism including how they infected their own computers with a virus that they created and then couldn’t remove. Nice try, Iran.

For further reading click here.

Pot Bust
The head of the anesthesiology department in Wolfson Hospital in Holon, Dr Avraham Dotan (65), was arrested yesterday for taking bribes to issue permits for medical marijuana and on suspicion of running an illegal marijuana trading network, which made millions. His partner and ten other suspects were also arrested.

In an undercover investigation fit for hollywood, Israeli police joined forces with the Israeli Tax Authority and the Health Ministry to uncover a complex web of middlemen who were involved. Police raided the homes of the suspects, confiscating computers and documents. An additional 130 arrest warrants have been issued to people for receiving medical marijuana permits even though they were not medically entitled to them.

For further reading click here.

No Deals
Recent figures released by the Finance Ministry show a slowdown in home purchases over the last few months. But don’t get your hopes up just yet. Four popular areas saw prices rise for all types of apartments: Tel Aviv, Rishon Lezion, Netanya, and Modi’in. The asking price for a 4-room apartment in Tel Aviv once again passed the NIS 3 million mark. Maybe it’s time to take another look at Beersheva or Carmiel.

For further reading click here.

Cheap Tickets
Heritage trips to Eastern Europe from Israel might become a lot more popular. That’s because Ryanair, the Irish discount airline, is offering super cheap flights, if you’re willing to shlep to Ovda Airport (outside of Eilat). The airline began offering 10 Euro (about $11) one-way flights to Krakow, Budapest and Kaunas (Kovno – in Lithuania). Booking a flight back to Israel is a bit more difficult, but if you’re flexible it’s not a problem.

The reason why the fares are so low is that the Israeli government offers subsidies to get European tourists to visit Eilat. So Ryanair is getting 45 Euros per tourist it flies to Eilat, but has a lot of empty planes heading back to Europe. Why not fill those seats and make a few bucks?
So Israeli taxpayers are helping pay for the vacations of European tourists. The least they can get is a cheap flight to Europe. That is, if they can afford the gas to drive down to Ovda.

For further reading click here.

Israel Events
Check out the AJC ACCESS NY Making Waves Gala on Nov. 17, which will highlight the 50th anniversary of German-Israeli relations and feature a special performance by Miri Ben-Ari.
Get Tickets and info at www.ajcnyc.org/accessnygala.

Israel News for November 9, 2015

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More Terror
This morning a Palestinian woman brandishing a knife was shot and killed by security guards near Alfei Menashe when she failed to stop approaching them after being warned several times. Palestinian sources identified her as Rasha Awissi, 23, of Qalqilya. A note was found on her body that read, “I’m ending my path, and I’m reaching this end with my full mental capacity, in defense of my homeland and the young men and women. I can’t bear what I see any longer. All I know is that I can’t take it. To my mother and brothers, please forgive me.”

On Sunday, a 48 year old Israeli man was seriously wounded after being stabbed in his car near the West Bank Palestinian village of Nabi Elias and the Jewish settlement of Alfei Menashe. The man was returning home after shopping in the village when he was attacked. According to Palestinian sources, the 24 year old terrorist surrendered to Palestinian Authority security forces and is being held and interrogated by them. He is the third terrorist to have surrendered to Palestinian authorities, none of whom have been put on trial or extradited to Israel. Israeli security officials are not happy with the arrangement, to say the least.

For further reading click here.

A 33 year old Israeli security guard, Yishai Kreitenberg, was stabbed and lightly wounded by a female terrorist whom he stopped at the security gate of Betar Illit in the West Bank. The guard managed to shoot and seriously wound the attacker. It was Yishai’s birthday.

Hours earlier, a Palestinian rammed a car into people at a hitchhiking station at the Tapuach Junction (West Bank). Four Israelis were wounded, two critically. The terrorist was shot and killed by Border Police.

Palestinians threw rocks and firebombs at Israeli soldiers near Kever Rachel, in Hevron and in other locations throughout the West Bank.

For further reading click here.

Wounded Policemen Dies
Binyamin Yakobowitz , a 20-year-old Israeli border policeman who was critically wounded on Wednesday in a car-ramming attack in the West Bank, died of his wounds Sunday. Upon his family’s request his organs will be donated, in their words, as “an act which could help save a life or significantly improve the life of a person in need.” The terrorist who rammed him was shot and killed at the scene.

According to Palestinian sources the terrorist’s family received his body after the attack. The IDF claims that a Red Crescent ambulance arrived at the scene of the attack and was able to remove the body from the scene undetected. An IDF spokesman said that it was not worth risking the lives of soldiers to recover the body.

For further reading click here.

Bennett Warns
Reacting to a report in Haaretz, which said that PM Netanyahu will unveil a series of confidence-building “gestures” toward the Palestinians during his meeting today with US President Obama, Education Minister and Bayit Yehudi chairman Naftali Bennett pledged to oppose those “gestures” if they are brought to a cabinet vote.

According to Haaretz, the “gestures” will include the removal of checkpoints and easing movement restrictions on Palestinians. It will also include steps to improve the Palestinian economy – like approving infrastructure projects or approving master plans for Palestinian construction in parts of Judea and Samaria under full Israeli control.

“If the Palestinians see that terrorism will pay off, it will continue,” Bennett warned. He added, “Maybe for once the Palestinians will make gestures to Israel, such as to stop killing us?”

For further reading click here.

Israeli Sources
CNN has reported that a US intelligence source and a diplomatic source have both indicated that at least some of the intelligence being assessed to determine the cause of the Russian passenger jet that broke up over Sinai killing 244 last week came from Israeli sources. The communications were captured by Israeli intelligence focused on the Sinai, and passed along to the United States and Britain, the sources said. There was no comment from Israeli officials.

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Cash for Kids
Yesterday the Knesset Finance Committee approved an increase in child support as part of the state budget and the coalition agreements with the ultra-Orthodox parties. The monthly allowance for a first child was increased from 140 Shekels to 150 Shekels, For second, third and fourth children it went up from 140 Shekels to 188 Shekels. From the fifth child and up there will be an allowance of 150 Shekels. This is the first increase in child support since Yesh Atid Chairman and then Finance Minister Yair Lapid slashed them in 2013 as part of his anti-ultra-Orthodox platform/policy. The ultra-Orthodox parties in Israel have always insisted on generous child support as part of their coalition agreement due to the large number of children among their constituents.

The committee also approved a savings fund for every child, where the state would deposit fifty shekel a month that could be matched by the parents until the age of 18.

For further reading click here.

Kashrut Slap
Rabbi David Stav, Chief Rabbi of Shoham and the head of the Tzohar rabbinical organization, has been one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s Chief Rabbinate. He is one of the founders of the conversion court recently established to serve as an alternative to the Chief Rabbinate courts, which is a direct challenge to the Rabbinate’s authority.

In a move that seems a bit too coincidental, the Chief Rabbinate’s Kosher Enforcement Unit inspected an event hall in Shoham (R. Stav’s town) and found numerous kashrut violations, including non kosher food.

Chief Rabbinate officials told Arutz Sheva that, “Rav Stav is always talking about the systems for kashrut and marriage, claiming they are not properly supervised. We think that Rav Stav should carefully check what happens in his house and in areas that are under his authority before he speaks about the national kashrut system.”

Na, na, na na na….gottcha.

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Israel News for November 6, 2015

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Breaking News
A terrorist stabbed a 30 year old man in Sha’ar Binyamin (Samaria). The man was seriously wounded and the terrorist escaped.

Earlier this morning a female terrorist attempted to run over soldiers during a violent demonstration north of Hevron. Soldiers shot and wounded her. No soldiers were hurt.

These stories are still unfolding.

Super Soldier
A 19 year IDF soldier shot a terrorist who tried to stab another soldier at a bus stop in Gush Etzion yesterday. It turns out that the same soldier was the one who shot and killed two terrorists last week. He’s only been in the army for 8 months, but he seems to have gotten the hang of things pretty quickly. This guy is a hero!

Meanwhile, the soldier’s photo has been publicized throughout the Palestinian press and social media as the murderer of martyrs and the “Terminator”, along with an abundance of threats against his life. But they already want to kill all Israeli soldiers, don’t they?

For further reading click here.

Baratz in Trouble
Yesterday we told you about the controversy raging around the Facebook comments by the PM’s newly appointed director of Hasbara (information and PR) which disparaged Israeli President Rivlin, US President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry.

Kerry spoke to Netanyahu about the comments, and the PM promised to review Baratz’s appointment. The US State Department spokesman John Kirby called the comments, “troubling and offensive” and just plain rude. He added, “We obviously expect government officials from any country, especially our closest allies, to speak respectfully and truthfully about senior U.S. government officials.”

Baratz apologized on his personal Facebook page Thursday for the post writing,
“I apologize for the hurtful things I posted. I am sorry I did not update the prime minster of these things in advance. The things I posted were written recklessly, and sometimes in jest, in a language that befits the social networks and a private individual. It is very clear to me that in my official role I have to behave and express myself differently. I asked the prime minister for an opportunity to clarify things in the coming days.”

We’ll see if an apology is enough to hold on to his job.

For further reading click here.

Joesph’s Tomb
Two weeks ago a Palestinian mob set fire to Joseph’s Tomb in Shechem, causing extensive damage. The Palestinian leadership, led by PA President Abbas, condemned the attack and pledged to repair the tomb.
Two days ago Israel made the repairs and installed a brand new iron door, and gave a copy of the keys to the Palestinians. Yesterday the PA ripped off the door and sent it back to Israel with the keys. They claim that they are responsible for fixing the tomb and the work was done without their authorization or coordination.

They’ll hopefully leave the rest of the repairs in tact. Anyone want to buy an iron door, never used?

For further reading click here.

Haredim in IDF
A record number of Haredim, 2,300, were drafted into the IDF last year. The previous year saw a total of 1,700 recruits. According to a senior IDF personnel officer, there are currently 4,600 Haredim serving in all areas of the IDF, of which 1,900 are in combat. Included in those numbers are Religious Zionist men (Hardalim) who choose to join the religiously strict environment of the Nahal Haredi (combat units). How do you define Haredi?

For further reading click here.

Mishpacha Apologizes
After publishing a letter in Arabic and Hebrew begging terrorists not to attack Haredim since they do not visit the Temple Mount, Mishpacha Magazine yesterday published an apology.

Under the headline “Sorry,” Mishpaha’s Deputy Editor Aryeh Ehrlich profusely apologized for the letter that he wrote saying that it was a “gimmick” that spun out of control and that it was huge mistake that tarnished the reputation of the Haredi community, the magazine and himself. He obviously never intended to plead with terrorists or to imply that one Jewish life was more valuable than the other. It’s still unclear what exactly the “gimmick” was meant to accomplish.

At least some Arabs took the letter literally. The Arab news outlet Quds News reported the plea to spare Haredi lives and said, No way in hell, “the intifada continues!”

Our enemies see us as one people, without differentiating between religious or secular, Ashkenazi or Sephardi, rich or poor. We should learn from them.

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Out of Aleppo
An exclusive report by the Jewish Chronicle (London) has revealed the story of how the last remaining Jews of Aleppo, Syria were spirited out of the country. The rescue was organized and funded by Israeli born NY businessman Moti Kahane who sent operatives to the Aleppo home of 88 year old Mariam, her daughters Sara, in her 60s, and Gilda, in her 50s, and Gilda’s Muslim husband and three children. The men acted as if they were kidnapping the family, in order to get them to leave their home, which they had refused to do because of the constant warfare in the city. They then drove the family out of Syria, passing through numerous checkpoints manned by all sorts of Islamic terrorists, and made it across the border into Turkey.

In Istanbul, the family was placed in an apartment financed by Kahane, and handed over to the Jewish Agency to arrange for their entry into Israel. That worked out well for the Mariam and Sara, but since Gilda had converted to Islam several years before, she was told that she did not qualify for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return. So she ended up returning to Syria with her husband and kids. Very sad.

For further reading click here.

Israel News for November 5, 2015

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More Terror
An Israeli border policeman, 20, was critically wounded on Wednesday in a car-ramming attack at the Halhul Junction in the West Bank. The attacker, a Palestinian resident of Hebron, was shot and killed. He was identified as Ibrahim Saqafi, 23.

Barriers Removed
Is the terror wave finally over? Jerusalem police seem to think it’s heading in that direction. They’ve removed several barriers near East Jerusalem Arab neighborhoods that were erected to prevent stones and firebombs from hitting Jewish targets. In some cases the police has substituted barriers meant to “hermetically seal” violent neighborhoods with security checkpoints.

According to a report in Yediot Ahronot the barriers in one neighborhood were removed as a result of promises by community leaders to maintain the peace. Police sources claim that they will reinstall the barriers if the situation gets violent again.

Jerusalem police arrested Sheikh Khaled Al Mughrabi on Wednesday morning, after videos of his sermons on the Temple Mount showed him inciting violence. Here is a snippet of the kind of stuff this holy man was saying, “We will pursue the Jews everywhere. They won’t escape us. The sons of Israel will all be killed.” A religion of peace? Not quite.

For further reading click here.

Synagogue Destruction
The High Court has postponed the scheduled demolition of the Ayelet Hashachar synagogue in Givat Ze’ev, which is near Jerusalem and over the Green Line. The demolition was to occur on Thursday, but Jerusalem police petitioned the court to postpone it, fearing violence by Jewish protesters which would escalate the tension in the capital. As a prelude, graffiti was found painted on the wall of the High Court building saying, “You don’t destroy a synagogue. We want a Jewish state.”

The courts have ruled that the synagogue was built on appropriated Palestinian land. The settlers claim that they bought the land from the Arab owner.

About 300 settlers moved into the synagogue compound on Tuesday night in protest of the demolition.

For further reading click here.

Facebook Blunder
Dr. Ran Baratz, the newly appointed head of Public Diplomacy and Media (hasbara) at the Prime Minister’s Office, has some explaining to do about a Facebook post he wrote last week, just before getting the job.

Responding to photos showing Israeli President Reuven Rivlin sitting in economy class on his flight home from a state visit to the Czech Republic, Baratz wrote, “I think it says a lot when the President travels in economy class, walking around shaking everyone’s hands. It mainly shows him to be such a marginal figure that there is no concern for his safety. I think he could be sent in a para-glider to the Syrian Golan controlled by ISIS. They’ll return him the next day with a request for negotiating their return to Iraq, if only we take him back.” He continued the mocking for a few more lines.

The president is understandably pissed. His office released this statement: “We view this gravely and demand an explanation of whether the words written by Baratz were known to the prime minister when he made his decision to appoint Baratz to this job.”

Baratz also had this to say about US President Obama on Facebook, days before PM Netanyahu’s speech to Congress, “Obama’s reference to Netanyahu’s speech – this is what modern anti-Semitism looks like in Western and liberal countries. And it comes, of course, alongside much tolerance and understanding toward Islamic anti-Semitism. So much tolerance and understanding that they are willing to give Iran an atomic bomb.”

More stupid social media posts by someone who should know better. Do we really want this guy in charge of the PM’s media and public diplomacy?

For further reading click here.

Israelis Heed Warning
It looks like many Israelis have taken the warning issued recently by the World health Organization against eating processed meats seriously. According to recent retail figures published in Globes, sales of processed meats in the last week have dropped by 27% on average. The hardest hit categories were frozen meats — 36% — followed by chilled products including sausages, hotdogs, and pastrami — 31%. The Israeli companies that manufacture and distribute processed meats felt the pain, big time.

If Israelis continue to be this health conscious, we could see a lot of healthy folks in the unemployment line. Or, the companies can start producing healthier products. That would be a win for everyone.

For further reading click here.

No Movie for You
El Al is investigating an incident that occurred on a recent flight from Moscow to Tel Aviv. The captain ordered the in-flight movie stopped after about 20 minutes, out of deference to a large number of Haredi passengers on board.

The flight’s service manager, Oshrat Rosenberg, explained to irate passengers that it is El Al policy not to screen films when there is a Haredi majority on board a flight. El Al released a statement saying, “We regret the incident, which doesn’t reflect the company’s policy in any way, and are looking into what happened in order to prevent such incidents in the future.”

The movie was a romantic comedy called “Aloha”. Doesn’t seem like such a big loss, at least as far as movies go. Easy solution: install wifi on all planes and stream movies directly to people’s personal devices.

For further reading click here.

Power List
Forbes magazine has released its annual list of The World’s Most Powerful People in 2015, whom they define as the “heads of state, financiers, philanthropists and entrepreneurs [who] truly run the world.”
First on the list of 73 is Vladimir Putin followed by Angela Merkel, Barak Obama and Pope Francis. Guess who’s number 25? You got it – PM Netanyahu. Donald Trump came it at 72. By the way, this is Putin’s third year year in a row at number one. That’s kind of scary, no?

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Cantor Controversy
A while back we reported about the unrest in one of the largest and most prestigious yeshivas: the Ponevich yeshiva in Bnei Brak. The yeshiva is basically split into two factions, each of which supports a different rosh yeshiva (dean). Just to give you an idea of the seriousness of these groups, one is called “the terrorists” and the other “the enemies” or “the haters” (depending on how you translate the Hebrew).

Here’s the latest incident: it is customary for a son to lead services and say kaddish each day during the year of mourning for his parent. It is also customary for a son who is observing Yartzeit (yearly anniversary of a death) for a parent to lead the service and say kaddish on that day.

Well, at the evening service Rabbi Kahaneman (leader of the enemies), who is saying kaddish for his mother who passed a few months ago, approached the lectern from which to lead the evening service. One of the “terrorists” informed him that Rabbi Markovitz (leader of the terrorists) was commemorating a Yartzeit that evening and wanted to lead services. R. Kahaneman was stunned and hesitated. The “terrorists” then knocked off his hat and kippah, and began throwing “shtenders” (lecterns) in his direction. When R. Kahaneman picked up his hat and tried to approach the lectern again, he was threatened by the “terrorists”. He told his followers not to protest, so they didn’t.

Both sides argued for about 20 minutes before they reached a decision. Rabbi Markowitz led the service (which happens to be the halacha in that particular case). What a mess.
(Ok, it’s a slow news day.)

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