Israel News for September 16, 2016

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Terror Attack
A terrorist in his 20’s drew a knife and charged at Border Police officers near the Damascus Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem today. The officers shot and killed the attacker before he could cause any harm. The terrorist was a resident of Jordan.

For further reading click here.

Aid Deal Slammed
On Wednesday Israel and the US finalized the largest ever military aid deal ever offered to Israel by the US, totaling $38 billion dollars over 10 years. But not everyone in Israel is satisfied with the aid package.

Yesterday former Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ehud Barak slammed the deal in several interviews and in an op-ed in the Washington Post. In the op-ed Barak wrote, “The damage produced by Netanyahu’s irresponsible management of the relations with the White House is now fully manifest. Israel will receive $3.8 billion a year — an important contribution to our security but far less than what could have been obtained before the prime minister chose to blatantly interfere with U.S. politics.” 

Barak continued his critique of the agreement in interviews with various news outlets, claiming that Israel could have gotten $45 billion if Netanyahu had stayed out of American politics.

The Likud, Netanyahu’s party, responded to Barak’s criticism by accusing him of attempting to make a political comeback saying, “publishing an article ridiculing Israel’s policy in the American media on the day the largest aid agreement in the history of the United States was signed is only more proof that what Barak cares about is not the good of the country and not Israel’s security, but only Barak’s good.”

For further reading click here.

UN Chief Blasts PM
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon blasted PM Netanyahu’s Facebook video in which he accused the potential eviction of all Jewish settlements from the West Bank by the Palestinians as “ethnic cleansing.” The UN chief called the remark “unacceptable and outrageous,” and reiterated his position that Jewish settlements in the West Bank are in violation of international law and are an obstacle to peace.

Ban also condemned rocket fire toward Israel from the Gaza Strip, and criticized the Palestinian Authority for incitement against Israel and for its hero-worship of terrorists. He called on the Palestinians to stop this “shameful behavior.”

Finally, Ban wished Shimon Peres a speedy recovery and praised him for his work in trying to make peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

For further reading click here.

Kotel Poll
A recent poll commissioned by the Jerusalem Post found that 61% of Israelis favor creating a separate egalitarian prayer space at the southern part of the Western Wall near Robinson’s Arch, while 39% are opposed. While 83% of Orthodox respondents oppose creating the site, 82% of secular Israelis and 59% of those who define themselves as traditional support it.

Polls in general show that younger Israelis tend to be more conservative on matters of religion and state and more right-wing on diplomatic issues. This could reflect a higher birthrate in religious families.

For more of the poll’s findings click here.

Afghan Treasure
The National Library of Israel recently purchased a large collection of 250 documents from the 11th century that were found in a cave in northern Afghanistan. The documents in the collection, called the “Afghan Geniza”, were part of the personal archive of a Jewish family of traders that lived on the Silk Road in the Afghan city of Bamyan (that’s where the Taliban blew up 2 huge statues of Buddha).

The collection includes private letters, business documents and religious text, including pages of the Talmud, and reveals important information about Jewish life in Afghanistan in the 11th century.

The National Library is working to digitally scan all the manuscripts and upload all of them to the internet.

For further reading click here.

Israel News for September 15, 2016

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IDF Hits Gaza
In response to several mortar shells that fell near the Gaza border fence in Israeli territory, the IDF hit Hamas military targets near the border with airstrikes. No injuries were reported. Israel holds Hamas responsible for all military activity within Gaza, even though the mortars wee probably fired by a splinter terror group not directly affiliated with Hamas.

For further reading click here.

Peres Condition
Simon Peres remains in serious condition in Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer three days after suffering a stroke, but has regained consciousnesses. Dr. Ze’ev Feldman, Director of the neurosurgical unit in the hospital, said, “the fact that he returned to consciousness is extremely significant and may enable a recovery in the future and a return to fuller functionality, as opposed to a person who remains unconscious and cannot communicate. His situation is still serious but stable and the danger still exists considering his situation and age.”

PM Netanyahu visited Peres in the hospital last night and remarked, “I was impressed that there is an exceptional team taking care of an exceptional person. Peres has great vitality, he is young and energetic and there is hope.” He asked that everyone continue to pray for Peres’ recovery.

For further reading click here.

Bullets for US
Israel Military Industries (IMI) manufactures bullets primarily for the IDF and NATO armies. But over the last year IMI sales to the American civilian market has skyrocketed to NIS 250 million from only NIS 30 million two years ago. Apparently Americans are stocking up in expectation of the implementation of new gun control regulations. In fact, all weapons and ammunition manufacturers operating in the American market have also seen their sales go up.

For further reading click here.

Sewage Treatment
Israel’s sewage treatment plants produce hundreds of millions of cubic feet of water for use by farmers for irrigation. But they have been dumping the wastewater, or sludge, into the Mediterranean. In 2015, the Dan Region Wastewater Treatment Plant (Shafdan) channeled 39,000 tons of sludge into the sea. The sludge is one of the greatest pollutants of the Mediterranean.

To solve this problem the plants will begin treating the sludge and turning it into hundreds of tons of fertilizer, which will be given to farmers for free. The process will also create energy.

For further reading click here.

Salt Please
Over two thirds of Israel’s drinking water comes from desalination plants. In some areas 100% of the water is desalinated. While that might be solving the water crisis, researchers are finding that drinking saltless water might be causing iodine deficiencies, which can lead to Thyroid disorders including hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism and thyroid cancer.

But it’s more than just drinking water. Desalinated water is also used in agriculture for watering plants and animals and for industrial processing of food products.

This could be a business opportunity for iodine supplements. Or maybe it’s just time to start adding more salt at dinner?

For further reading click here.

Chicken Crisis
There might be less chickens on Shabbat tables this week. That’s because there’s a four day Muslim holiday this week (Id al-Adha) and many of the workers at slaughterhouses in Israel are Muslims who took off for the holiday. Some slaughterhouses were closed for the festival.

Supermarket chains said that because they last received supplies of fresh chicken on Monday, many of their stores have already run out. Stores that still have chicken are expected to run out by this afternoon.

For further reading click here.

Belated Bar Mitzvah
Yisrael Kristal, a Holocaust survivor living in Israel, will finally celebrate his bar mitzvah — 100 years late. Kristal is 113 years old, the oldest man in the world. He was born in 1903 in the town of Zarnow, Poland and missed his bar mitzvah celebration as a result of World War I.

Kristol was deported to Auschwitz in 1944, where his wife was killed. His two children were killed previously in the Lodz ghetto. After the war Kristol remarried and moved to Haifa in 1950. He has two children and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

When asked at the time he was certified as the oldest living man what his secret was to long life, Kristal said: “I don’t know the secret for long life. I believe that everything is determined from above and we shall never know the reasons why. There have been smarter, stronger and better-looking men than me who are no longer alive. All that is left for us to do is to keep on working as hard as we can and rebuild what is lost.”

For further reading click here.

Israel News for September 14, 2016

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Peres Condition
Former Israeli President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres is in serious condition, fighting for his life, after suffering a stroke yesterday. Peres is 93.

In a statement this morning, Prof. Yitzhak Kreiss, Director of Sheba Medical Center, said “Mr. Peres made it through the night safely. His condition is stable. Serious, but stable. We are moving him to the intensive care unit of the neurology department for further treatment and observation. He is still under the supervision of a multidisciplinary team of experts and will undergo another assessment in the afternoon. We are in close contact with the family, which has accompanied him and not left his bedside. We are sharing all decisions with the family.”

Israel’s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau called on the public to pray for Peres, saying “Mr. Peres has earned many credits in his many years of service to the people of Israel (in working to) strengthen the security of the State of Israel from its day of formation, and it is appropriate for everyone to join the prayer for his recovery at this time.”
 
The Sephardic Chief Rabbi, Yitzhak Yosef, also called for prayers for Peres, saying “to his credit is the saving of the world of Torah by establishing the exemption (from IDF service) to yeshiva students and his great appreciation to the Torah.”

For further reading click here.

US Israel Defense Pact
The US and Israel will sign the agreement by which the US will give Israel $38 billion in military aid over the next 10 years. The previous aid package was around $30 billion. PM Netanyahu had reportedly requested $45 billion.

The new agreement will include aid for missile defense, which in the past has been granted by Congress in addition to the regular aid package. The agreement stipulates that Israel will have to spend all the money on purchases from US contractors. In the past Israel has used around 26% of the aid money on purchases from Israeli contractors. Israel will also no longer be able to use the money on fuel purchases. In the past Israel was permitted to spend up to 13% of the aid on fuel.

So the new aid package could hurt Israel’s defense industry and will force Israel to find hundreds of millions of dollars within its budget to pay for fuel, which cause cuts in other government programs. But it is still the largest US aid package to any foreign country and a 20% increase from the previous aid package.

The fact that the new agreement is being signed by a liberal Democratic President is seen as a significant show of bipartisan support for Israel, and it might help Hillary Clinton, who can claim allegiance to Obama’s policies.

David Makovsky, director of the Project on the Middle East Peace Process at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said, “I think President Obama sees this as vindication of his belief that there’s an iron-willed distinction between his commitment to Israel’s security and whatever policy differences might exist between the two countries.” He added, “By ensuring that a liberal Democrat has signed this deal, it’s a way of locking in bipartisan support.”

PM Netanyahu will be attending the UN General Assembly in NY next week, where he is expected to meet with President Obama.

For further reading click here. http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/13/politics/us-israel-military-aid-package-mou/

Electricity Deal
Israel has signed an agreement with the Palestinian Authority which gives the PA control over distribution of the electricity provided by the Israel Electric Company (IEC). The PA currently owes the IEC 2 billion shekels, which has caused the EIC to intermittently cut power to the Palestinian territory. Under the terms of this agreement, the PA will give Israel a one-time payment of NIS 570 million and Israel will forgive NIS 500m. of its bill. The remainder will be paid out in 48 payments.

The US has agreed to cover NIS 100 million of the PA bill.

For further reading click here.

Israel Attacks Syria
In response to several mortal shells fired from Syria into Israeli territory, the IDF conducted airstrikes against Syrian government artillery positions. Yesterday the Syrian army reported that it had shot down an Israeli aircraft, but the report was false and all Israeli planes returned safely. But the Syrians did fire surface to air missiles at the Israeli jets, which is the first time they’ve done that.

For further reading click here.

Satellite Launch
Israel Aerospace industries and the Ministry of Defense successfully launched the Ofek 11 satellite into space yesterday from Palmachim Airbase near Rishon LeZion. The Ofek 11 is an observation satellite and will be used primarily by the IDF and security services.

But there might be some problems with the launch. Officials said, “There are indications according to which things aren’t working as we expected, and so we are trying to stabilize (the satellite). There are things that make us worried. The satellite orbits the earth once every hour and a half. It’s possible that some systems are not in the correct condition.”

For further reading click here.

Israel News for September 13, 2016

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Syrian Claim Rebuffed
The Syrian army released a statement today claiming that it shot down an Israeli fighter jet with a surface to air missile. The IDF denied the report and said that the Syrians shot at the plane but missed.

For further reading click here.

Lieberman Against Settlers
The settlement “outpost” of Amona, near Ofra in Samaria (West Bank), is home to 40 families. In December of 2014 the Supreme Court ruled that it was built on private Palestinian land and ordered residents evacuated by the end of 2016.

Let night, Defense Minister Lieberman referred to the issue while addressing students at Ariel University saying, “There’s no chance to leaving Amona where it is built today because of the High Court of Justice’s ruling, because most of the houses are built on private Palestinian lands…The law enforced in Amona will apply to everyone—also on Palestinian squatters in Susya. We will respect the court’s decision as a country of law.”

The Prime Minister has also stated that he will follow the court’s ruling and evacuate the settlement. The PM’s and DM’s positions have caused consternation within the Likud party. Likud MKs Yehuda Glick, Yoav Kish, Oren Hazan and Amir Ohana, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotolevy and Judea and Samaria Council Head Avi Roeh hosted an emergency meeting with residents of Amona and Ofra yesterday to protest the scheduled demolition of their homes.

For further reading click here.

IRS in Israel
Israel’s Supreme Court yesterday upheld a law that gives US tax authorities access to Israeli bank account information. The court ruled that the Israeli law, passed as part of an arrangement with the United States Treasury Department, did not violate Israel’s Basic Laws of Human Dignity and Liberty. Petitioners had claimed the the law violated their privacy rights.

According to the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which is intended to hamper money-laundering schemes and tax evasion by US citizens, foreign banks must report all accounts held by American citizens (including dual citizens) or Green Card recipients, make all American customers sign declarations regarding their income and taxable status, and keep the US Treasury Department updated on all accounts for US citizens holding more than $50,000 on a regular basis.

For further reading click here.

Lost Soldiers
Two female soldiers driving in the West Bank mistakenly ended up in an Arab village near the Palestinian city of Tulkarm. When the two soldiers approached the Palestinian village, they called the police’s emergency response hotline. The responders advised them to continue straight ahead in order to return to Israeli territory. A plain-clothes Palestinian police officer identified them and told them to go in another direction. After ignoring his advice and choosing instead to stick with that of the police, they were eventually identified by locals, who threw stones at their vehicle.

A Palestinian police officer called Palestinian police forces, and the two soldiers were evacuated to a nearby Palestinian police station. The Palestinian forces then contacted Israeli Civil Administration officers and transferred the two IDF soldiers over to the Israeli authorities.

It’s still unclear how the soldiers ended up in the village. According to one version, they entered their destination in Waze, but the app shut down mid-journey. According to a second version, they typed in their destination as Beit Lid, which is a military base, but Waze directed them to the Arab village with the same name (Beit Lid).

The IDF prohibited soldiers from relying solely on Waze when traveling in the West Bank, after two soldiers ended up in a Palestinian refugee camp back in February as a result of using the app.

For further reading click here.

Matchmakers in Schools
Israel’s Education Ministry has decided to train and install counselors in religious high schools to help students in the “process of choosing a spouse.” The counselors will essentially serve as dating coaches and matchmakers. One of the program’s goals is to create a database of possible marriage partners, with names supplied by both the counselors and the students. Some educators don’t think that schools should get involved in matchmaking and feel that the programs budget would be better spent on teaching “personal development, healthy sexuality and relations between the sexes.”

For further reading click here.

A Light unto the nations
Speaking at an event marking the 40th anniversary of the Tali Foundation, which funds Jewish enrichment studies in secular schools, Education Minister Naftali Bennett said,“Studying Judaism and excelling in it is more important to me than studying math and sciences.”

Bennett added, “Even as a high-tech power that exports knowledge and innovations to the world, we must be a spiritual power and export spiritual knowledge to the world,” he said. “This is the next chapter in our Zionist vision. That’s how we’ll return to being a light unto the nations. From Zion shall come forth Torah and the word of God from Jerusalem.”

For further reading click here.

Israel News for September 12, 2016

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Ethnic Cleansing
On Friday PM Netanyahu published a video on his Facebook page containing a statement that has raised an uproar. In the video the PM said, “The Palestinian leadership actually demands a Palestinian state with one pre-condition: No Jews. There’s a phrase for that: It’s called ethnic cleansing. And this demand is outrageous.”

PA President Abbas reacted to the comment saying, “The government of Israel is carrying out ethnic cleansing and deliberately killing—acts that have exposed it to international criticism all over the world.”

US State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said, “We obviously strongly disagree with the characterization that those who oppose settlement activity or view it as an obstacle to peace are somehow calling for ethnic cleansing of Jews from the West Bank. We believe that using that type of terminology is inappropriate and unhelpful.” She added that the United States feels the settlement policy raises “real questions about Israel’s long-term intentions in the West Bank.”

David Friedman, the Israel advisor to Donald Trump, said, “Prime Minister Netanyahu makes exactly the right point. The Palestinians want Israel to absorb countless ‘refugees’ – people who never lived in Israel and whose ancestors were never forced to leave Israel – while their so-called ‘state’ is required to be, as the Nazis said, judenrein. It is an entirely racist and anti-Semitic position.”

He continued, “Arabs live and work side by side with Israelis in the State of Israel. They attend universities, enjoy the strongest human and civil rights (including women’s rights) in the region, and have access to world class health care. There is no better place for Arabs to live in the Middle East than in the State of Israel. With this background in mind, the Prime Minister of Israel correctly observes that the Palestinian demand to remove all Jews from their ancestral homeland in Judea and Samaria is nothing short of an attempt at ethnic cleansing. The State Department should be ashamed of their misguided reaction to Mr. Netanyahu’s remarks.”

To watch the video click here.

Shul Vandalized
Several large black crosses were spray painted on a synagogue in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gonen (Old Katamon) last night. Police are investigating.

To see a photo of the vandalism click here.

Arab Housing
Minister of Construction Yoav Galant (Kulanu) traveled to the northern Israeli Arab town of Baka al-Gharbiya to sign an agreement to build thousands of housing units for the Arab sector. According to the agreement, the Ministry of Construction will allocate 1.41 billion shekels for the project, as well as loosening restrictions relating to building on private land. The immediate goal is to facilitate the building of 30,000 housing units on private and government owned land.

For further reading click here.

Judges Reprimand on Kotel
While hearing a motion relating to the administration of the Western Wall plaza, the Supreme Court judges took the opportunity to reprimand the government for not moving to implement the compromise agreement reached several months ago that stipulated the creation of an alternate prayer space at the southern end of the Kotel that would not be under orthodox control. The Chief Justice of the Court, Miriam Naor, said, “Enough is enough.”

The government has not implemented the compromise agreement as a result of pressure from the ultra-orthodox parties, who are all members of the coalition and can potentially cause the government to collapse if they leave the coalition.

For further reading click here.

Israel News for September 9, 2016

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No Preconditions
Last week we reported that Russian President Putin had invited both PA President Abbas and PM Netanyahu to meet for direct talks in Moscow. Abbas had seemingly accepted the offer, marking a departure from his ongoing policy of rejecting any direct talks with Israel. This was viewed as a potential breakthrough, but now it looks like it might have been a bit premature. Sources say that Abbas has placed preconditions on the talks, and that’s unacceptable to Israel. Now the Palestinians are claiming that Israel has rejected the offer to meet in Moscow.

At a press conference in the Netherlands, PM Netanyahu addressed the issue saying, “I am ready to meet with Abbas at any time without preconditions for direct talks. It’s something I’ve said a hundred times and I’m repeating it here. I’m not picky about the place, it can be in the Netherlands or in Moscow, no problem. It can certainly be Moscow. I’ve said that to President Putin and I’ve said it to the Russian envoy Bogdanov.”

“The main question is if Abbas is ready to meet without preconditions. We hear conflicting versions. Just yesterday, a Palestinian spokesman made it clear that they are willing to meet, but they have conditions such as the release of prisoners and they want to know in advance what the results of the talks will be. If Abbas wants to meet without preconditions for direct talks, I am ready anytime. I’ve been calling on him to do it for seven years, so if he agrees, there could be a meeting.”

For further reading click here.

Body Found
Rescuers have found the fifth body in the rubble of the building parking garage that collapsed this week in Tel Aviv. Meanwhile, the Labor and Welfare Committee of the Knesset held an emergency session on Thursday with the CEO of the construction company that built the structure.

Kulanu MK Elie Elalouf, the committee chairman, said, “The committee sadly foresaw this. We held seven hearings on the situation. We saw that there is serious negligence in the construction sector. No one held a discussion on the required preparations for the massive amount of construction going on in the country, which is only expected to grow. We’ve also seen the lack of preparedness on the part of government ministries.”

For further reading click here.

Chief Rabbi Speaks
Israel’s Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef participated last night in a night of Torah study held near the gravesite of Rabbi Abraham Yitzhak Hakohen Kook, on the anniversary of Rabbi Kook’s passing. R. Kook was the first Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi in Israel during the British Mandate, and is considered to be the father of “Religious Zionist” ideology.

At the event R. Yosef praised R. Kook as one of the great rabbis of his generation and spoke about several contemporary issues in Jewish law, invoking the opinion of R. Kook as support for his positions. He spoke about the need for gender separation in religious youth groups and said, “Rabbi Kook demanded separation between males and females in youth groups and at school.” He also used R. Kook to reinforce his stringent positions relating to conversions saying, “I had an argument with one of the head politicians who was trying to get me to be lenient in conversions. Rabbi Kook fought against this.”

Finally, R. Yosef reiterated his opposition to Jews ascending the Temple Mount saying, “How often did Rabbi Kook say not to ascend the Temple Mount; the rabbis as a whole, too, strongly opposed this practice. In a judgment on the matter by the Rabbinical Committee it was decided that most Rabbinical Authorities of the generation oppose Jews ascending the Temple Mount. There are some who allow it, but majority rules. It is a serious prohibition. He who ascends the Temple Mount…needs to repent.”

For further reading click here.

Kotel Collections
During the last three years, citations have been issued by police to eleven people caught asking for charity at the Kotel. The Chief Rabbi of the Kotel, Rabbi Rabinowitz, who is seen as the main enforcer of the policy, has come under fire from Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, who is considered to be the most senior rabbinic authority in the Haredi community. R. Kanievsky has remarked that stopping Jews from asking for charity at the Kotel goes against Jewish tradition.

R. Rabinowitz claims that the beggars disrupt people’s prayers and create a “Chillul Hashem” (desecration of God’s Name) by their often aggressive attempts at collecting. He also claims that he previously consulted with R. Kanievsky as well as with Rabbi Elyashiv, the previous senior rabbinic leader, who both agreed that beggars should not be allowed to interrupt prayers or to solicit (and bother) non-Jews at the Kotel.

For further reading click here.

Newman Returns
It’s been almost 20 years since the hit comedy Seinfeld aired its final episode, but apparently Israelis have not forgotten it. That’s probably why Ikea in Israel decided to create a commercial featuring Newman, the unlikeable mailman from the series. In the commercial Newman plays a mailman (what else?) who hates his thankless job except for on one day a year — the day he gets to deliver the Ikea catalogue. The commercial is in English, accept for one word in Hebrew. You’ll have to watch it to find out what the word is.

To watch the short commercial click here.

Israel News for September 8, 2016

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Chabad and IDF
The Chabad Lubavitch Hassidic movement recently negotiated an agreement with the IDF which stipulates that 85% of Chabad yeshiva students will be drafted, while 15% will receive exemptions to study and work as emissaries. Those students drafted will also receive a two year deferral to allow them to study at a yeshiva in Crown Heights, NY (Chabad headquarters).

Haredi draft opponents are furious about the agreement. Last night a group of about twenty anti draft extremists broke into the home of the Chabad Rabbi Moshe Havlin, who serves as Chief Rabbi of Kiryat Gat. They broke furniture and shouted and cursed at the rabbi and his wife. The rabbi’s wife fainting during the attack and was hospitalized. Police arrested three of the demonstrators and are investigating the incident.

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman responded to attack by saying that the anti draft elements have crossed a red line and must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law as a warning to those who incite violence against Haredim serving or seeking to serve in the IDF.

For further reading click here.

Secular Protest
A group of secular activists is calling on people to gather at a location in the heart of the Haredi city of Bnei Brak next Shabbat to protest the attempt to force stores in Tel Aviv to close on Shabbat.

The event organizer wrote on Facebook, “it is impossible to keep quiet any more to the status quo interruptions. It is impossible to reduce the movement of people on Shabbat and on weekdays due to Haredi political whims. I call to you to come to Bnei Barak (address omitted) next Shabbat, with music, megaphones and lots of spirit to prove to everyone that the secular community are not suckers and quiet. You have crossed the line and now the border protection (secular folks) will come to you.”

Another step towards brotherly love and harmonious existence.

For further reading click here.

Israel Attacks
Israeli warplanes attacked a Syrian government military position today after several mortar shells fell in Israeli territory yesterday. The mortar rounds were apparently stray rounds that mistakenly ended up in Israel as spillover from the fighting going on between rebel and government forces in Syria. But Israel is adamant in that it will not not accept any violation of Israeli sovereignty and that it will hold the Syrian government responsible for all military actions in Syria. There were no reports of casualties from the Israeli airstrike.

For further reading click here.

Music BDS
British composer and producer Brian Eno, who has produced albums for bands including U2, Cold Play and Talking Heads, has demanded that the Israeli Batsheva dance company stop using his musical compositions in its performances.

Eno has been a supporter of the BDS movement for several years and is one of over 1,170 British artists to sign the Artists Pledge for a cultural boycott of Israel that was launched in February 2015 by Artists for Palestine UK.

The dance company was scheduled to perform a routine using his music at a dance festival in Italy this week. Eno wrote, “To my understanding, the Israeli Embassy (and therefore the Israeli government) will be sponsoring the upcoming performances, and, given that I’ve been supporting the BDS campaign for several years now, this is an unacceptable prospect for me.”

For further reading click here.

Israeli Wages
According to figures released by Israel’s National Insurance Institute, the average monthly wage rose 2% in 2014 to NIS 9,939, with men earning an average of NIS 11,826 and women NIS 8,026. But half of Israel’s employees earned NIS 6,426 or less a month.

An average Tel Aviv family earned NIS 25,444 per month, ahead of Haifa (NIS 22,901), Rishon Lezion (NIS 22,453), Petah Tikva (NIS 21,663), Netanya (NIS 17,852) and Jerusalem (NIS 12,492).

The towns with the highest income in Israel were Kfar HaOranim and Savyon, with average monthly per capita incomes of NIS 19,332 and NIS 19,026, respectively. The poorest towns in Israel were Modi’in Ilit and Jisr az-Zarqa, with average per capita monthly wages of NIS 5,573 and NIS 5,690, respectively.

All salary figures are gross (pre-tax).

For further reading click here.

Israel News for September 7, 2016

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Prayer Banned
Jews are already banned from praying on the Temple Mount. Now Israeli police has extended the ban to include the entire Muslim quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City. Police have recently arrested a number of Jews found praying outside the entrances to the Temple Mount. At a court hearing on Monday, Police claimed that the ban on Jewish prayer extends to the entrances of the Temple Mount and even to the entire Muslim quarter, because it is considered “disturbing the peace,” unless coordinated in advance with police.

According to police, “Prayer is permissible anywhere in the Jewish Quarter, but the moment you come without permission and pray in the Muslim Quarter, that causes a public disturbance. Inside the Muslim Quarters and the entrances it is forbidden to pray.” The judge agreed.

Ba careful where you pray in Jerusalem. You could get arrested.

For further reading click here.

Building Collapse Arrest
Police have made an arrest relating to Monday’s building collapse in Tel Aviv which killed four workers. Rescue forces are still searching for three missing workers who they hope might still be alive in the rubble. The identity of the individual arrested is being kept secret. The investigation into the causes of the collapse is continuing.

For further reading click here.

Shabbat Train
Last Friday, just minutes before the onset of Shabbat, PM Netanyahu ordered a halt to the work on the railroad by Israel Railways as a result of pressure from the Ultra-Orthodox parties who claimed that the work was a blatant violation of the Shabbat laws by a government organization. The sudden stoppage in work caused major cancellations and chaos in the normal railway schedules on Saturday night and Sunday, which in turn resulted in angry commuters and heavy traffic jams.

Yesterday Israel’s Supreme Court issued an interim ruling saying that the Prime Minister does not have the authority to prohibit the railroad company from doing infrastructure work on Shabbat. The court ruling was in response to a petition submitted by Meretz MK Zehava Galon. The court ordered the train company “not to heed any provision regarding infrastructure and maintenance work given to it by the Prime Minister, until a final decision is made on the petition.”

The government claimed that the PM did not cancel the permits and that only the Transportation Minister has the authority to cancel permits. The government said, “The permits were not cancelled and remain valid. Therefore, Israel Railways may make use of the permits as long as they have not been cancelled.”

What will happen this coming Shabbat is yet to be seen.

For further reading click here.

Election Poll
According to a new poll released by Israel’s Channel 2 News, if new elections were held now, Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid’s party would grab 24 seats, more than double the 11 it garnered in the last election. PM Netanyahu’s Likud party would only get 22, down from the 30 it got last time. That would make Lapid the new Prime Minister, assuming he could put together a coalition. But that might not be so easy, considering that the Zionist Union would potentially drop from 24 seats to just 13 and Finance Minister Moshe Kahalon’s party would drop from 10 seats to 6.

That means Lapid, who is considered to be a “centrist”, would have a hard time forming a non right wing government. On the other hand, Education Minister Naftali Bennett’s Bayit Yehudi party is estimated to jump from 8 seats to 14 while Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beyteinu will potentially go from its current 6 to 10. Add the Ultra Orthodox parties to the mix and Netanyahu will probably still have the upper hand in forming a right wing coalition. But anything can happen in Israeli politics.

For further reading click here.

Second Temple Discovery
Archeologists have reconstructed sections of the flooring of the Second Temple from tiles dumped in the trash by Waqf authorities, who administer the Temple Mount area. The archeologists are part of the Temple Mount Sifting Project, in which they sift through the debri discarded by the Waqf in search of valuable artifacts. Much of the debris is from excavation and construction projects carried out on the Temple Mount by the Muslim authorities that Israel views as illegal.

Archeologists have found over 600 colored floor tile pieces, of which about 100 have been confirmed to be from the Second Temple period. The tiles are consistent with tiles found in other Herodian palaces from the same period. Many sources, including the Talmud, confirm the existence of magnificent colored tile floors in the Temple.

To see photos of the restored tiles click here.

Israel News for September 6, 2016

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Building Collapse
A four-level subterranean parking lot in a building site on HaBarzel Street in the Ramat Hahayal neighborhood of Tel Aviv collapsed Monday morning. Four people were killed and over 23 injured (most of whom have already been released from hospital). Three people are still missing in the rubble and a frantic search has been underway throughout the night to locate them. One of the missing was in phone contact with the rescuers a few hours after the collapse, but rescuers have not been able to make contact with his since. The dead include a Palestinian Authority resident and a Ukrainian citizen.

Over 500 IDF soldiers from the Homefront Command are participating in the search. Prime Minister Netanyahu visited the disaster site before departed on his official visit to the Netherlands.

Africa-Israel Properties, the owner of the property, said it had a comprehensive insurance policy for the site worth NIS 122 million, and that although the incident had a tragic outcome it would not have a material financial impact on the company. The company said it was assisting in the rescue efforts and conducting an investigation into the collapse. The police is also investigating. The Knesset Labor, Welfare and Health Committee will hold an emergency hearing on the disaster this Thursday.

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Moscow Meetup
Palestinian Authority President Abbas has accepted an invitation from Russian President Putin to meet with PM Netanyahu in Moscow. Netanyahu has been calling for direct talks with Abbas, but has gotten the cold shoulder, until now. Apparently, Putin’s invitation carries some additional clout. The talks are expected to be held in October.

Meanwhile, PM Netanyahu kicked off a two day visit to the Netherlands today, where he will meet with the Prime Minister, the king and members of Parliament.

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Rabbi Passes
The Chief Rabbi of Haifa, Rabbi Eliyahu Shaar Yashuv Hakohen, passed away yesterday at the age of 89. He served as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of the city from 1975 until 2011.

Rabbi Hakohen was the son of Rabbi David Hakohen, who was known as “the Nazir” and was one of the leading students of the great Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Hakohen Kook. A Nazir is someone who refrains from eating meat, drinking wine or cutting his hair. Rabbi Shaar Yashuv Hakohen followed in his father’s footsteps and refrained from eating meat (and fish) and drinking wine for his entire life.

He fought in the underground during the British Mandate and was part of the defense of the Jewish quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem during the 1948 War of Independence and was wounded in the foot. When the quarter fell he was taken captive by the Jordanians who operated on his foot, which resulted in him limping for the rest of his life.

Following his release from captivity the Rabbi served in the IDF for seven years, eventually becoming Rabbi of Military Command and Chief Rabbi of the Israeli Air Force. He earned a Master’s degree with honors from the Hebrew University School of Law, and was deputy mayor of Jerusalem during the 1967 Six Day War when the city was liberated. In the 1973 Yom Kippur War, he volunteered and was chaplain of the brigade that crossed the Suez Canal.

Rabbi Hakohen was one of the leading figures of Religious Zionism. May his memory serve as a blessing for us all.

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Trump in Samaria
The Trump campaign in Israel has opened an office in the settlement of Karnei Shomron, which is in Samaria (West Bank). The office is temporarily located in the home of Rabbi Chaim Springer, an American who moved to Israel 40 years ago. The office will be moved around to different settlements in Samaria over the next few weeks to help American citizens register to vote. According to figures provided by Republicans Overseas Israel, American citizens comprise around 25% of the Jewish population living in West Bank settlements.

This is the first time that an American campaign office has ever been opened in the West Bank, and is indicative of Trump’s stated policy to refrain from interfering in the Israeli government’s actions and policies relating to the West Bank.

Mark Zell, the American-born lawyer who serves as chair of Republican Overseas Israel, explained, “I worked along with representatives of the Trump campaign to get passed a historic amendment to the Republican Party platform, and this amendment specifically omitted any reference to Israel as an occupier and coincided with Trump’s own statements that building homes, synagogues and schools for Arabs and Jews in Judea and Samaria was an issue for the Israeli government and people to decide – not something that America should be dictating to Israel.” 

The Trump campaign already has offices in Jerusalem, Modiin and Tel Aviv, and is planning to open another three in Rehovot, Beit Shemesh and in the Gush Etzion region (also in the West Bank).

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Israel News for September 1, 2016

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Bethlehem Hospital
Defense Minister Lieberman has approved plans for the construction of a Palestinian children’s hospital in Bethlehem, in an area fully controlled by Israel. The project still needs to go through the normal approval process from the relevant authorities, but Lieberman wanted to get the ball rolling in the right direction. In doing so he was attacked by right wing groups for helping the Palestinians take over Israeli land. He claims that he is simply implementing his “carrot and stick” policy, by which he will punish communities that aid or promote terror, and reward those that keep the peace.

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Settlement Expansion
The Ministry of Interior’s Settlements Subcommittee yesterday approved the construction of 120 units in the West Bank and retroactively approved several new neighborhoods that have already been constructed. The new units will be built in Efrat, Givat Ze’ev, Beit Aryeh, Nofim. An additional 234 apartments were approved in a senior citizens’ home in Elkana.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, “This significant expansion of the settlement activity poses a serious and growing threat to the viability of a two state solution. We are particularly troubled by the policy of retroactively approving illegal outposts and unauthorized settlements.”

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New Ambassador
As an Egyptian military band played Hatikva, Israel’s new ambassador to Egypt, David Govrin, officially presented his credentials to Egyptian President al-Sisi in Cairo yesterday.

Govrin said, “I feel very proud to be appointed to this position in Egypt, the mother of the world, a land of cultures and ancient history. I have no doubt that the relations between Egypt and Israel are vital and central to achieve the long-awaited peace and stability in the region in general.”

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Turkish Handshake
Turkey’s President Erdogan shook the hand of Israel’s interim ambassador to Ankara, Shani Cooper. During the president’s traditional handshake with the diplomatic corps to celebrate the country’s Victory Day on August 30, Erdoğan asked to welcome Cooper. She presented herself and expressed her nation’s support for the Turkish president and republic. Erdogan spoke positively about the newly reinstated diplomatic relations between the two countries, and wished Cooper good in her new position. Israel and Turkey will soon both appoint permanent ambassadors to represent them respectively.

Erdogan yesterday formally approved the agreement reached with Israel.

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Helping Survivors
Aviva Silverman, CEO of Aviv (“Spring”) for Holocaust Survivors, recently launched a new website to help inform the 180,000 holocaust survivors living in Israel and elsewhere of the benefits that they are entitled to.

Silverman founded the organization in 2007 to address the overwhelming lack of public awareness of what Israeli law provides for holocaust survivors. According to Silverman, around 25% of holocaust survivors in Israel live in poverty. Aviv for Holocaust Survivors has already helped about 50,000 survivors get over 200 million shekels in government assistance that they were entitled to.

According to the mission statement on the new website, “Our vision is that all Holocaust survivors living in Israel should live their lives with the dignity and comfort they deserve, and that they receive respect and proper treatment from the various agencies assisting them. Thousands of them do not take advantage of all their rights, whether granted to them by law or under various programs.”

Silverman said, “The new site is intended to aid all segments of the population – survivors and their families and offers easily accessible information about the rights and benefits offered to survivors from different countries around the world.”

We applaud your important work.

To check out the website go to avivshoa.co.il

School Days
About 2.2 million Israeli students started the new school year today. If you’re wondering what the average class size is in an Israeli school, Education minister Naftali Bennett explained, “Since the state was founded, the standard has been to have 40 students per class. We then set an upper limit whereby there would be up to 34 students per class, and 32 in weaker communities.”

Around 180,000 work in the Israeli school system, with 9,000 of them starting their first year.

In his opening statement to kick off the new school year Bennett said, “we’ve worked hard over the last summer and we’re well prepared. Starting last year, we’ve made a sharp turn to try to make the education system more personalized via smaller class sizes, teachers’ aides, a revolution in teaching math, and with national programs in English language instruction. We did all of this in conjunction with the Biton Commission to connect the different sectors of Israeli nation, and in conjunction with the Year of Jerusalem, which will begin soon.”

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Holy City
When you think of holy city, Jerusalem comes to mind. Tel Aviv, not so much. But the new Chabad emissary in Tel Aviv, Rabbi Eli Naiditch, decided to change that perception and prove that Tel Aviv is, indeed, a holy city. So he set representatives up in four city locations who would offer men the opportunity to put on teffilin. They worked from 9am until 7pm and succeeded in enabling 262 men to put on tefillin. He reported his success to the Guinness Book of World Records. Rabbi Neiditch won’t know if he set a world record for a few months, but didn’t seem to care when he said, “This is the greatest proof that Tel Aviv is absolutely a holy city, filled with holy people.”

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