us embassy tel aviv

Israel News for May 10, 2017

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Embassy Staying
According to senior US officials, President Trump has decided to extend the order which prevents the US Embassy in Israel from being transferred from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. That means despite his campaign promises, the embassy will not be moved to Jerusalem. PM Netanyahu has reportedly already been informed of the decision.

Apparently both governments came to an agreement that now would not be the right time to move the embassy. Trump will be visiting Israel on May 22. Last week, Ambassador David Friedman was instructed to hold official embassy events at the ambassadors residence in Hertzliya, even though Friedman will be living in Jerusalem.

For further reading click here.

Terrorists Stopped
A Palestinian teen carrying two pipe bombs hidden in his clothes tried to enter a military court in the Jenin area today. He was stopped at the court checkpoint and when he didn’t have identification, Border Police searched him and discovered the bombs. The explosives were neutralized.

In an unrelated incident, a 30 year old terrorist was firing a gun towards Highway 60 in the Hebron area and was caught on video by a security camera in the area. An hour later security forces identified and arrested him in his home. No one was injured as a result of the gunshots.

For further reading click here.

Pilots Arrested
On Israel Independence Day last week, the Israeli Air Force staged many fly-over exhibitions. During one of them, involving Hercules transport planes flying over the Tel Aviv coastline, the wings of two of the planes touched momentarily. That could have potentially caused a crash. The incident was captured on video and aired by Channel 2 news. As a result the two pilots flying the planes have been arrested and several other crew members have been grounded.

For further reading click here.

Alzheimer’s Breakthrough
Researchers at Ben Gurion University have identified a protein called SIRT6 that is almost completely absent in Alzheimer’s disease patients. They claim that the protein deficiency is likely a contributing factor in the onset of the disease.

The researchers determined that SIRT6 is a key component in the DNA repair process, while low levels of SIRT6 enable DNA damage accumulation.
The body’s failure to implement processes to repair accumulated DNA damage is widely thought to be the cause of conditions associated with aging, such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Deborah Toiber of the BGU Department of Life Sciences, and the lead author of the research paper, said, “If a decrease in SIRT6 and lack of DNA repair is the beginning of the chain that ends in neurodegenerative diseases in seniors, then we should be focusing our research on how to maintain production of SIRT6 and avoid the DNA damage that leads to these diseases.”

Toiber’s lab is one of only a handful worldwide looking at the effects of SIRT6 in the brain, and its connection to neurodegenerative diseases.

For further reading click here.

Israel News for May 9, 2017

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Wild Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah in Istanbul last night. The meeting came after Erdoğan admonished Israel for its attempt to pass a bill curtailing the Muezzin calls to prayer via loudspeaker, and called for Muslims to go to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the hundreds of thousands to show solidarity with the Palestinians and protect the site’s Muslim character.

According to the Palestinian Ma’an news agency, Hamdallah updated Erdoğan on the Palestinian political situation with Israel and about “Israeli violations.” He also provided details on the ongoing hunger strike of Palestinian security prisoners.

Hamdallah said that Erdoğan “confirmed the necessity of unifying efforts to protect Jerusalem against attempts of judaization,” and that he called on Muslims to increase their visitation to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Erdoğan stressed that the only solution to the Israel Palestinian conflict was to pressure Israel to establish a Palestinian state in the “occupied territories”.

He slammed Israel saying, “Israel keeps getting away from punishment which leads it to escalated aggression against Palestinians,” and that all peace making attempts will fail “unless Israel is held accountable for its crimes.”

After the meeting, Erdoğan spoke with Israeli Foreign Ministry Director General Yuval Rotem and Turkish Amassador to Israel, Kemal Okem to “clarify” his comments.

Israel issued an official statement in which it said that it was “worried” about Erdoğan’s anti-Israel statements that, “we don’t want an escalation. We can end this crisis.”

Don’t forget, Israel and Turkey signed a reconciliation agreement last year, normalizing diplomatic and economic relations.

For further reading click here.

Embassy Omission
The US Embassy in Saudi Arabia posted a State Department video on its website highlighting President Trumps upcoming Middle East trip to Saudi Arabia and Israel. But then it apparently removed the video and posted an edited version which left out any mention of Israel.

Representative Elliot Engel (NY), a senior Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, sent a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson complaining. In the letter Engel wrote, “At a time when the United States should be encouraging the governments of the region—and their people—to promote tolerance, respect and mutual recognition this video implies that the US accepts Saudi Arabia’s public rejectionist position toward Israel.”

He also wrote, “This video plays into a rejectionist narrative and thus has no place in any social media—or any other form of communication—associated with the United States government.”

The video was subsequently taken down and the original video, including Israel, was reposted.

A State Department official said that the embassy had taken the video from the social media account of a private Saudi citizen without realizing that Israel had been edited out. He said,“Upon learning this, the U.S. Embassy immediately corrected the error, took down the video, and loaded the correct version to its social media accounts. The Embassy expresses its regret for this inadvertent mistake.”

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Abbas Willing
PA President Abbas told reporters in Ramallah today that he would be willing to meet with PM Netanyahu if the meeting was organized by President Trump. He said, “We told him [Trump] that we were ready to collaborate with him and meet the Israeli PM under his auspices to build peace.”

For further reading click here.

IDF Shabbat
According to Israeli law, the IDF must observe the laws of Shabbat and Kashrut (kosher), unless there is a pressing military reason not to do so. Religious soldiers on a tank base in the Golan have complained that two weeks ago, on Shabbat, a group of tourists led by an influential tour guide arrived at the base. The base commander, after speaking with the tour guide, ordered a tank to maneuver outside of the base as a show for the tourists. This violates the Shabbat rules.

Also on the same base, all of the Shabbat food was negligently left out and spoiled. So the kitchen staff entered the kitchen, locked the door, and cooked new food — on Shabbat (cooking on Shabbat is prohibited).

One of the religious commanders on the base complained to the base commander and to the base rabbi. The IDF is investigating the incidents.

For further reading click here.

Fidget Peace
If you have young kids you know what a fidget spinner is. For those who don’t know, it’s a small propeller-like spinner that kids hold with two fingers and spin. And spin…and spin. Pretty simple concept. The toy is said to apparently reduce stress. It turns out that the inventor, Catherine Hettinger, came up with the idea during a trip to Israel in the 1980s, during the First Intifada, as a way to distract the “young boys throwing rocks at police officers.” She first considered designing a “soft rock that kids could throw,” saying that, “It started as a way of promoting peace.”

Maybe the fidget spinner is the answer we’ve been waiting for to bring peace to the world?

For further reading click here.

Israel News for May 8, 2017

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Terror Attempt
A 16 year old female Palestinian terrorist, brandishing a knife, charged at security personnel at the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City last night while yelling, “Allahu akbar.” Security forces shot and killed the terrorist.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said a knife was recovered from the scene together with a farewell letter from the teenager to her family quoting a verse from the Koran that signed off with the word “shahida”—Arabic for “martyr.” Her wish was granted.

For further reading click here.

Hamas Lies
In response to a new charter document released by Hamas last week which implied that Hamas was willing to “agree to a state within the 1967 borders”, PM Netanyahu posted a short video on Twitter dismissing the document as “fake news”.

He said, “The new Hamas document says that Israel has no right to exist, it says every inch of our land belongs to the Palestinians, it says there is no acceptable solution other than to remove Israel… they want to use their state to destroy our state.”

Netanyahu concluded his clip by saying that, “Hamas murders women and children, it’s launched tens of thousands of missiles at our homes, it brainwashes Palestinian kids in suicide kindergarten camps.”

The PM then crumpled up the document and tossed it in a wastebasket.

To watch the video, click here.

Prisoner Snacking
Palestinian terror leader Marwan Barghouti has been leading a highly publicized hunger strike inside the Israeli prison where he is serving 5 life sentences for the murder of 5 Israelis. He launched his hunger strike 3 weeks ago with an op-ed in the NY Times. Hundreds of other Palestinian prisoners joined him. In a video released yesterday, taken by hidden prison cameras, Barghouti is seen eating in his cell.

Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan said in a statement, following the release of the video, “As I said from the very beginning, this hunger strike was never about the conditions of the convicted terrorists, which meet international standards. It is about advancing Marwan Barghouti’s political ambitions to replace Abu Mazen [Abbas].”

He added, “Barghouti is a murderer and hypocrite who urged his fellow prisoners to strike and suffer while he ate behind their back. Just like he lied to the world when he wrote in the New York Times that he decided to strike in order to protest ill-treatment, he lied to the Palestinian public when he claimed to be striking. Israel will not give in to extortion and pressure from terrorists.”

For further reading click here.

Lebanon Monument
A cornerstone has been laid for a new monument honoring the members of the South Lebanon Army (SLA) who operated in southern Lebanon in cooperation with the IDF until the IDF withdrew in 2000.

The monument will be erected next to a gate in “the Good Fence” through which IDF soldiers entered Lebanon. The SLA’s fallen will be memorialized there both with a monument and a heritage site with information about it and the cooperation between its members and the State of Israel. Many SLA fighters were given asylum in Israel after the SLA fell and Hezbollah took control of south Lebanon.

Deputy IDF Chief of Staff Yair Golan said that one of the reasons for the monument is “to learn that Jews and Arabs, out of a relationship of equality and dignity, can live together, participate in each other’s family events, and do it with friendship, fraternity and great love.”

The SLA was a Christian militia. That might explain the Jewish-Arab love.

For further reading click here.

israel news settlements

Israel News for May 5, 2017

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Israeli Law Extended
Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked and Tourism Minister Yariv Levin are promoting an initiative that would apply all Israeli governmental legislation to the West Bank.

Currently, Israeli law does not apply in the territories. Instead, the GOC Central Command, who is the ex officio sovereign in the conquered territory, applies some laws to the Israeli residents by means of military orders. According to the directive promoted by the ministers, every governmental law would automatically become an order issued by the general officer commanding.

Shaked said, “It is impossible to accept a situation in which Israeli law does not address the 430,000 citizens of the State of Israel living in Judea and Samaria. Judea and Samaria are not Israel’s backyard, and from now on (the) ministerial committee will ask to clarify, with respect to every government law at its table, how the initiating ministry intends to treat the settlers.”

Levin said, “The settlement of Judea and Samaria is a fait accompli; it is not a temporary or transitory thing. The time has come for the State of Israel to treat all its citizens equally and apply all the same laws. The measure we are leading will put an end to the blatant discrimination and the disregard by the laws of the State of Israel against the regions of the homeland and the Israeli citizens living there.”

For further reading click here.

No German Meeting
According to reports, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has decided not to meet with representatives of Breaking the Silence during his upcoming trip to Israel. While Steinmeier’s office said the president will not meet the left-wing group, he will highlight the organization’s activities and its importance to democracy in a speech at Hebrew University. Steinmeier’s spokesman said that he intends to meet with representatives of other left-wing civil society organizations.

For further reading click here.

Holocaust Property
President Rivlin reaffirmed Israel’s commitment to seeking the restitution of Jewish property stolen as a result of the Holocaust. He spoke at a meeting in his residence attended by the German ambassador to Israel, Clemens von Goetze; the European Union’s head of delegation to Israel, Ambassador Lars Faaborg–Andersen; the deputy ambassador of the United Kingdom, Tony Kay; representatives of the US and French embassies; and the French government’s special envoy for restitution, François Croquette. Israeli government ministers and officials also attended.

Rivlin said, “We always say: ‘Crime doesn’t pay.’ But for many people the crimes of the Holocaust did pay. We cannot allow this. The property must be returned. In addition, time is running out. Less than 400,000 survivors are alive today. About half are here in Israel, the other half live around the world—many in the countries represented here.”

Minister for Social Equality Gila Gamliel said, “The Jewish people and the Jewish state have a moral duty to make every effort to return the stolen property of Holocaust survivors. Returning the Jewish property is a complex issue that requires extensive and sensitive international action. Only if the Jewish world will speak with one voice and claim the confiscated property from the victims of the Holocaust will it be possible to work with the different countries to return the stolen property to its rightful owners, and achieve some historical justice.”

At the end of the meeting, the participants joined representatives of the MFA, representatives of the WJRO, and the director general of the Ministry of Social Equality and his staff for the signing of a joint work plan to see the return of Jewish property stolen from the victims and survivors of the Holocaust.

For further reading click here.

Soldiers Reprimanded
Last week a Lebanese man was able to cross the border into Israel before being arrested by police at a bus station in Kiryat Shmona. After an investigation by the IDF Northern Command, a battalion commander is to be officially reprimanded, a deputy company commander will be dismissed, and four other soldiers will face disciplinary hearings.

The IDF spokesman said, “The lessons of the incident will be transferred to the forces and additional professional complementary investigations will be carried out to prevent recurrence of such cases in the future.”

For further reading click here.

Shabbat Busing
While there is no official public transportation in Tel Aviv on Shabbat, there is one non-profit co-op called Noa Tanua that has been operating two private bus lines in the area. After a recent successful crowdfunding campaign that raised almost $100,000, it will be launching two new bus routes.

The non-profit co-op has been operating since 2015 with the help of volunteers. Only members of the co-op can use the service, with membership being free while the bus ride itself costing NIS 9 (US$2.49). Payment is done using the HopOn mobile app.

Roy Schwartz, the co-op’s founder, said, “People should not have to stay at home on Shabbat because they can’t afford a car, and they should be able to enjoy their one day off.”

For further reading click here.

Trump Tweet
Following his meeting with PA President Abbas at the White House on Wednesday, President Trump tweeted, “An honor to host President Mahmoud Abbas at the WH today. Hopefully, something terrific could come out it between the Palestinians & Israel.” The tweet included a video of the two shaking hands and was retweeted thousands of times. Then it was deleted from Trump’s account. Second thoughts about the “honor”?

For further reading click here.

Israel News for May 4, 2017

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Trump and Abbas
President Trump met with PA President Abbas in Washington yesterday for the first time. Abbas described the meeting as positive and said that “we build hopes on it.” He said he believes the Trump administration can play an important role as a mediator — “What is needed is to bring the two parties together, to bring them closer and then to facilitate things between them.” Abbas also said that he is prepared to meet with Israeli PM Netanyahu and suggested the Israeli leader is avoiding such talks. “We had planned to meet in Moscow, but he didn’t show up,” Abbas said, referring to Russian efforts several months ago to set up such a meeting.

Trump expressed optimism but did not reveal any specifics of his peace making plans.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said during a press briefing at the White House that Trump had conveyed his deepest concern that the PA was paying money to families of Palestinian prisoners convicted of terrorism, adding that this problem had to be solved.

For further reading click here.

German Controversy
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is scheduled to visit Israel on Sunday, and Israel wants assurances that he will not follow his Foreign Minister’s lead and meet with left wing groups like Breaking the Silence and B’Tselem. But the German President has declined to make any promises about whether he will or will not meet with the groups.

Despite their concerns and Steinmeier’s noncommittal stance on the matter, Israeli officials believe that he will show the appropriate sensitivity and refrain from meeting the groups, knowing that it could serve as a prelude to yet another diplomatic conflict with Israel—something that Steinmeier, an experienced diplomat, will probably aim to avoid.

Steinmeier is set to meet Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin during his visit, and is planning to give a speech at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is also set to visit Givat Haviva and meet with Jewish and Arab children.

For further reading click here.

Draught Year
According to data from the Israel Meteorological Service data, Israel has entered a drought year, with the year’s rainfall at only about 70% of the yearly average.

The shortage of water in the Kinneret is causing an increase of salt levels in the water and could lead to environmental degradation and render the water unusable for irrigation or drinking. Forecasts for future years shows a continual decline in painful, so the situation will probably not get any better on its own.

The Water Authority is contemplating a plan to pump tens of millions of cubic meters of desalinated water into the Kinneret to prevent it from drying up. But since the water would lack basic minerals, more research is needed to conclude what sort of effect it could have on the lake and the local fauna and flora.

The Water Authority has almost completely halted drawing any water from the lake for drinking.

Almost all of the drinking water in Israel comes from desalinization plants.

For further reading click here.

Territorial Building
Israel has high hopes that the Trump administration will take a much more positive stance towards building in Judea and Samaria (West Bank). But according to recently released government statistics, even before Trumps election, housing starts in the territories in 2016 were 40% higher than in 2015.

In 2016, there were 2,630 building starts of homes in Judea and Samaria, up 40% from 1,884 in 2015, and 1,572 in 2014, although below the 2013 peak of 2,874. In 2016, 5% of all building starts in Israel were in Judea and Samaria.

There are now 420,000 Jews living in Judea and Samaria, 4.8% of Israel’s overall population. The largest cities are Modiin Illit (65,000), Beitar Illit (50,000), Maaleh Adumim (38,000), and Ariel (19,000).

Will 2017 be an even bigger year for housing starts across the Green Line?

For further reading click here.

Manners Please
Israelis are not commonly known for their manners, but that might soon change thanks to the Cafe Cafe restaurant chain. The chain will be offering a cup of coffee for 6 shekels instead of the normal 8 shekels for customers who say “please” and “thank you” when ordering. So you save money for being polite. That could actually work, even in Israel!

Founded in 2001, Cafe Cafe is one of Israel’s largest chains of cafes, with 157 branches deployed nationwide. Owned by Nimni and Mickey Teal, the chain includes other brands, such as Lechem Erez, Lechem Basar, the Fresh Kitchen chain, and the Caspi chain of restaurants.

For further reading click here.

Israel News for May 3, 2017

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UNESCO Gift
UNESCO gave Israel an unwanted gift on Yom Ha’atzmaut. The organization passed a resolution calling on Israel (the “occupying power”) to cease “persistent excavations, tunneling, works and projects in east Jerusalem.” The UNESCO resolution did reaffirm “the importance of the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls for the three monotheistic religions,” though it accused Israel of taking actions that have “altered, or purport to alter the character and status of the Holy City.”

The countries that voted in support of the resolution were: Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, and Sudan; Iran, Malaysia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam, Sweden, Russia, China, Brazil, Nicaragua, and Chad.
 
Ten countries opposed the resolution: the US, Ukraine, Italy , Germany, Great Britain, Paraguay, Lithuania, Greece, Togo, and the Netherlands.

The countries that abstained were: France, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Spain, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Kenya, Trinidad and Tobago, Albania, Cameroon, Estonia, the Ivory Coast, Slovenia, Ghana, Mozambique, Uganda, Argentina, India, El Salvador, Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.

On the bright side, the number of nations that voted against the resolution or abstained was greater than those who voted for it.

No more gifts, please.

For further reading click here.

Jew Stabs
In an unusual (and tragic) twist of the news, a 19 year old Jewish man from Pisgat Ze’ev tried to stab a soldier at the Him checkpoint north of Jerusalem in an apparent attempt to commit suicide. The man was known to be mentally unbalanced and had left behind a suicide note. He worked as part of the kitchen staff at the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem. Soldiers shot and seriously wounded him. No soldiers were harmed.

For further reading click here.

Head Shot
In a conversation with an wounded soldier, the IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot recounted his own injury, which took place about two years after he enlisted in the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion in 1980. He was shot in the head during a training exercise. Eisenkot said, “I was in a very difficult situation, but since then I have had an open mind. It’s a benefit in life. As somebody who took a bullet to the head in Golani, it’s a benefit. Ever since, I’ve had an open mind.”

So a bullet to the head can help open your mind. If you survive. Interesting.

For further reading click here.

Bible Winner
For the first time in 30 years, a secular (non-religious) student has won the World Bible Quiz. The 59th edition of the renown contest, held in Jerusalem, was won by 15 year old Sagiv Lugasi of Maalot. He defeated 18 year old Naomi Cohen of Tzfat by two points in the final round.

Maria Shpilowitz, a resident of Grodno, Belarus, reached third place. Shpilowitz, who does not study in a Jewish school, said that she had taught herself in preparation for the quiz.
Shlomo Helfgot of Teaneck, New Jersey, came in fourth place.

PM Netanyahu and Education Minister Bennett were there to congratulate the winners.

For further reading click here.

yom hazikaron 2016

Israel News for May 1, 2017

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Yom Hazikaron
Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s day of remembrance for its 23,544 fallen soldiers, members of security forces and victims of terror, began yesterday afternoon. Included in the total are over 3,000 civilians. According to the National Insurance Institute, there are a total of 9,157 bereaved parents in Israel, thousands of bereaved siblings, 4,881 widows and 1,843 orphans under the age of 30.

Places of entertainment are closed until tonight and TV and radio stations air war stories and melancholy music. At 8pm there was a one minute long siren, followed by a solemn ceremony at the Western Wall. The President and IDF Chief of Staff lit candles in memory of the fallen.

President Rivlin said, ““By this Wall of tears and of hopes, this evening, fifty years after the liberation of Jerusalem, we remember: our liberty is sacred, both sacred and hard. We know that there is a price to be paid for our existence here, for our liberty. There is a price, and we, in awe and terror, are willing to pay that price.”

He added, “For this, the IDF must be completely dedicated to the tasks before it. The IDF is all of us: it defends us, we defend it. Our defense and the defense of the IDF – its official national status – is defense of the most fundamental foundations of our national home. We must always remember: together we fall, and together we stand.”

At 9:15pm, the “Songs in Their Memory” began at the Knesset in Jerusalem, with the president, the prime minister, the Knesset speaker, the defense minister, Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh and Deputy IDF Chief Yair Golan in attendance.

Today, a two minute long siren was sounded at 11am. It was followed by a state memorial service at the Mount Herzl cemetery, with the president, the prime minister and the IDF chief of staff in attendance. At the same time, a state memorial service was also held at the Kiryat Shaul cemetery in Tel Aviv, which was attended by the defense minister. A memorial service for terror victims was held on Mount Herzl at 1pm.

The Memorial Day events will end at 8pm in a torch-light ceremony on Mount Herzl that would also mark the beginning of Independence Day celebrations.

For further reading click here.
 

Final Thought
As a parent, the thought of losing a child is tragic and horrifying. Today is a time for us all to pay tribute to those men and women who gave their lives in the defense of Israel, and to give some measure of consolation to their parents whose pain and lose remains. We owe them a debt of gratitude we can never repay. All we can do is say thank you, honor the memories of the fallen, and appreciate the gift they have given us.

May Israel be blessed with peace and unity in the merit of those who gave their lives to ensure its survival.

NOTE: We will not be publishing a newsletter tomorrow.