al jazeera israel

Israel looking to shut down Al Jazeera | IsraelAM for 6-13-17

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Closing Al Jazeera
As part of the Arab boycott of Qatar, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have closed down the offices of Al Jazeera, the Qatari TV news network. Now Israel might take the opportunity to do the same.

There have been numerous calls to close Al Jazeera’s offices in the country over the last few years because of the network’s negative coverage of Israel. But concerns that such a move would be a PR disaster for Israel, and since most of Al Jazeera’s 34 employees are Israeli Arabs have prevented the government from doing so.

Yesterday Defense Minister Lieberman remarked, “Israel, along with the Arab states, sees Al Jazeera as a danger, a media body similar to those in Nazi Germany.” But since Israel, unlike the Arab states, is a democracy, closing down a press organization is not so easy. The Israel branch of Al Jazeera is expected to take its case to the Supreme Court if the government sets it down.

For further reading click here.

Hamas Busted
The secretary-general of the Red Crescent Society of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed Ateeq Al-Falahi, accused Hamas of sabotaging the organizations distribution of humanitarian aid during the 2014 Gaza War by firing rockets at Israel from a hospital, which provoked an Israel attack against the missile source.

This is the first time that an Arab source has admitted that Hamas used the hospital as a launching pad for its missiles. Apparently Hamas had accused the UAE Red Crescent of being spies for foreign intelligence services.

For further reading click here.

Israeli Hacking
According to a recent NY Times article, the information allegedly revealed by President Trump to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador during a meeting in the White House was related to the Israeli hacking of an ISIS cell that was planning on using explosives in laptops to attempt to blow up planes. While this leaking of sensitive information might have compromised the Israeli operation, intelligence Minister Israel Katz remarked that under Trump, “the intelligence ties between Israel and the US have been deepened and expanded, and there is definitely cooperation.”

For further reading click here.

Super Sabra
You’re most likely aware that one of the most beloved comic book super heroes, Wonder Woman, is Israeli. Model and actress Gal Gadot stars in the Hollywood blockbuster recently released. Whether you like the movie or not (what’s not to like?) you have to give Hollywood credit for picking an Israeli to star in it.

You gotta believe that there were other beautiful brunettes they could have chosen who could have played the role without all of the political baggage that comes with having an IDF veteran at the top of the playbill. But the producers ignored the political fallout and the risk of losing revenue in some Arab countries, gave the BDS movement a huge slap in the face, and hired the woman they felt was best for the part regardless (or perhaps because of) her national origins. So bravo to Hollywood and best of luck to the greatest super hero in the world!

Israel and naura

Israel Welcomes Tiny Island Nation | IsraelAM for 6-12-17

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Island Relations
President Rivlin welcomed the President of the Republic of Nauru, Baron Waqa, on his official visit to Israel yesterday. The nation is an island in Micronesia in the Central Pacific. The closest major country to it is Australia. Nauru became independent in 1968. It currently has a little less than 10,000 residents (no Jews). Of course, it also has one vote in the UN.

Waqa said, “In the middle of the oceans, is the island of Nauru, a small community, a Christian community, who very much believe in Israel. We support Israel and we will continue to support Israel. As long as we protect our existence, in a time when climate change is affecting the whole world, I know that with God’s help our friendship will continue to prosper even under such circumstances.”

He added, “Thank you for the cooperation and for your help for Nauru over the years in the fields of medicine and water purification. We hope we will be able to advance to the next stage, and show our support for you in international fora. I know that you need much support at the UN, and we have close friendships in the Pacific, and we will work to encourage them to support Israel.”

To read more about Nauru click here.

Gaza Outage
The Security Cabinet yesterday approved a 35% reduction in Israel’s electricity supply to Gaza. This is because the Palestinian Authority has reduced the amount they are contributing to paying Gaza’s electric bill, which they are responsible for.

For further reading click here.

Soldier Sidelined
Earlier this month a female terrorist stabbed and lightly wounded an IDF soldier who was part of a special forces unit. The soldier fled from the 16 year old attacker, who was then shot by another soldier. After an investigation, the soldier who fled has been removed from his post and from being a combat soldier since he did not act in the manner expected from an IDF combat soldier.

For further reading click here.

Letter Delivered
A letter signed by the left wing organization Truah (The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights), which represents 1,800 American rabbis and cantors, was delivered to the Israeli Embassy and Washington and to other Israeli consulates in the US. The letter, addressed to PM Netanyahu, calls on Israel to end the military occupation of the West Bank and lay the groundwork for a Palestinian state.

For further reading click here.

The Lithuanians
The Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) community in Israel is made up primarily of two groups: the Hasidim and the Lithuanians. The Hasidim are divided into sects usually named after the Eastern European town where they first originated and are lead by Rebbes. They also where distinctive clothing similar to what their ancestors wore over 200 years ago in Poland.

The Lithuanians have their origins in, well, you guessed it: Lithuania. They wear black suits and white shirts and are often clean shaven. Most men study full time in yeshivas while close to 80% of the women work. The Lithuanians are led by a prominent sage — currently R. Aaron Shteinman who is 104. Recently a new radical faction called the Jerusalem faction was started, to demonstrate against the drafting of yeshiva students.

To view a short news video describing the Lithuanians, click here.

haley western wall

Israel News for June 9, 2017

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Palestinians Ready
According to a senior Palestinian advisor Mohammad Mustafa, PA President Abbas is prepared to temporarily suspend his long-standing demand for Israel to freeze all West Bank construction to revive peace talks. Abbas will also tone down his campaigns to prosecute Israel for alleged war crimes and to condemn Israel at the UN.

Mustafa said, “We have not made the settlements an upfront issue this time. We think it’s better for all of us right now to focus on giving this new [US] administration a chance to deliver.”

Another high-ranking Abbas aide, Mohammad Shtayyeh, said Trump earned Palestinian confidence when he postponed moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. He said, “There is a new dynamic. The embassy issue is behind us.”

Mustafa outlined three major steps Palestinians need to improve the economy and facilitate peace talks.

1. receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in annual aid that donor nations pledged to the Palestinian Authority but didn’t deliver.

2. foreign investment in energy, tourism, real estate and industry. That would require Israeli permission for Palestinians to build and farm in parts of the West Bank that contain most of the Jewish settlements.

3. Israel’s “political enabling for this program.”

For further reading click here.

Haley in Israel
US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley continued her Israel trip with a visit to the Gaza border region, where she met with residents of Kibbutz Nahal Oz and toured a Hamas tunnel. Haley visited the kibbutz’s war room and met with the residents and children who told her about the security situation in the face of the threat from Gaza. The residents gave her a book with pictures made by kindergarten children who thanked her for her support of Israel.

Haley began her Israel visit with meetings with PM Netanyahu and President Rivlin. She then visited the Western Wall, where she invited on praying on the women’s side even though a special area was cleared for her on the men’s side. She said, “I want to be here like every other person.”

Haley remarked that she “is very moved by the warmth of the Israeli public towards me. I don’t deserve it, I’m just telling the truth. It hurts that only now, after many years, the truth is being openly spoken.” She continues her Israel visit with a tour of the northern border.

To see photos of the visit click here.

Haredi Soldiers
Since the law to draft yeshiva students was passed in 2014, a total of only 918 have been drafted. Out of those, at least half received an exemption. The total number of yeshiva draftees includes members of the Merkaz Harav and Had Hamor yeshivas, which are both iconic Zionist (non-Haredi) institutions. The Haredi soldiers that do serve in the IDF for the most part do not fall into the category of full time yeshiva students that the draft law addressed.

For further reading click here.

Smoking Comeback
The smoking rate in Israel fell from 45% in the early 1980’s to 19.7% in 2015. But in 2016 the rate went up to 22.5%. Leah Rosen, who heads Tel Aviv University’s Health Promotion Department, said, “This is unheard of in the developed world. There’s an epidemiological curve of tobacco use, and as people start to get sick from smoking, the [smoking] rate starts going down, and it never goes back up. We have now broken that trend.” The smoking rate in America is 15%.

Smoking is one of the leading causes of death in Israel, claiming the lives of around 8,000 Israelis every year.

For further reading click here.

University Rankings
The 2018 QS World University Rankings are out and guess what country’s universities are ranked at the top…well, no not Israel. The US took the top spots with MIT, Stanford and Harvard taking the top three spots. But Hebrew U. Came in a respectable 145 out of 959 universities, which was a step up from last year’s 148. Tel Aviv U. Ranked 205 and the Technion 224.

To view the entire list click here.

settlements israel

Israel News for June 7, 2017

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New Settlements
Speaking at a ceremony yesterday commemorating the Six Day War and Israeli settlement of Judea and Samaria, the Prime Minister reiterated his pro-settlement stance saying, “No one will be uprooted from their home, I’m doing everything to protect the settlement enterprise. We decided to build in all parts of Judea and Samaria and we are building both inside and outside the settlements.”

Netanyahu’s remarks come in the wake of a plan proposed by Minister of Housing and Construction, Yoav Galant (Kulanu) to build 67,000 new homes in Samaria to deal with the housing crisis in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.

As part of the plan, the Yesha Council commissioned a panel of experts to map out the total amount of vacant land available for construction in the area between Karnei Shomron in the north, through the city of Ariel and up to Modi’in.
 
The panel ultimately determined that the western area of Samaria could immediately accommodate the construction of some 67,000 housing units, which could house at least 340,000 people. The target price of a four room apartment in the area would be around NIS 1.2 million (pretty cheap), which would in turn lead to weakened demand and pricing in the Tel Aviv region.

It’s unclear how all of this talk of settlement building will jive with President Trump’s request that Israel reduce its settlement construction activity and the Israeli government’s recent slashing in planned construction.

For further reading click here.

Gaza Clashes
IDF troops fired warning shots across the border into Gaza as dozens of Arab demonstrators threw rocks and rolled blazing tires at the border fence from Gaza. Hamas claims that one demonstrator was killed by the Israeli fire. The IDF spokesperson claimed no knowledge of any casualties.

For further reading click here.

Palestine Apparel
Sears has decided to remove a line of clothing from its website that features pro-Palestinian messages including “Free Palestine”. Sears claims that the clothing was uploaded by a third-party seller (Spreadshirt Collection) on the Sears website and that it pulled the clothing due to feedback it received. Sears said that it was unfairly singled out on this issue,” since the offending items are widely available on Amazon and Walmart. The company has 200 employees in Israel.

At the end of the day the massive outcry against the apparel in the press and on social media has probably done much to publicize the items and shoot sales through the roof. As the saying goes, all PR is good PR.

To buy a Free Palestine shirt, click here — – just kidding!!

For further reading click here.

Book Fair
Hebrew Book Week kicks off in Israel tonight with fairs in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Rishon Lezion. For ten days, thousands of books, both old and new titles, will be offered at discounted prices at the fairs as well as in book stores across the country. In addition, cultural events are for all ages will be held in public libraries and at the fairs. This is the 56th anniversary of the book week.

Meanwhile, according to data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), around 24% of Jewish adults in Israel and 49% of Israeli Arabs don’t read books at all.

According to the National Library, some 7,300 books were published in 2016, 89% of them in Hebrew and 3% in Arabic. Almost 40% of commercial books were released in Israel by the big publishing houses, with 46% released by some 200 smaller publishers.

For further reading click here.

capitol washington

Israel News for June 6, 2017

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Senate Resolution
The U.S. Senate approved a non-binding resolution marking the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem. The bill, sponsored by Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the majority leader, and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the minority leader, was approved 90-0 and called on the president to move the embassy to Jerusalem.

The resolution does not endorse a final status solution for the city, but instead reaffirms “that it is long-standing U.S. bipartisan policy that the permanent status of Jerusalem remains a matter to be decided between the parties through final status negotiations towards a two-state solution.”

On Wednesday, the Israeli embassy in Washington is hosting an event in the Capitol marking the reunification. Lawmakers from both parties are expected to attend. A similar event will simultaneously take place, via simulcast, in Jerusalem. Speakers will include Rep. Paul Ryan in Washington and PM Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

For further reading click here.

UN Chief Statement
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres criticized Israel’s “occupation” of the West Bank and called for the establishment of a Palestinian state in a statement marking the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Six-Day War. He called for the establishment of a Palestinian state through “direct negotiations to resolve all final status issues on the basis of relevant UN resolutions, agreements and international law.”

He also said, “This occupation has imposed a heavy humanitarian and development burden on the Palestinian people. Its perpetuation is sending an unmistakable message to generations of Palestinians that their dream of statehood is destined to remain just that, a dream; and to Israelis that their desire for peace, security and regional recognition remains unattainable.”

The ADL responded, “While we share his desire for a return to negotiations to achieve a two state solution, this anniversary cannot be viewed in a vacuum. It is grossly misleading to examine only the enduring effects of the war while ignoring the context in which the war took place — the belligerence of the Arab states in the spring of 1967, and the silence of the international community in the face of these threats and its failure to ensure the rights to free passage of international waterways.”

For further reading click here.

Aliyah Stats
Here are some Aliyah (immigration to Israel) statistics you might not be aware of:

Since 1948 Israel has absorbed 3.2 million immigrants, 43% of whom arrived since 1990 (remember the Russian aliyah?).

In 2016 there were around 26,000 immigrants, which is 7% less than in 2015. 57% of those immigrants came from Russia and Ukraine, 17% from France and 11% from the US. The numbers from France dropped 36% from the two previous peak years.

Most of the new immigrants moved to large cities, and most had university degrees (or higher). In addition to the new immigrants, around 4,200 Israeli citizens who had been living abroad for more than 7 years returned to live in Israel.

For further reading click here.

Hassidic Wedding
The grandson of the Belzer Rebbe got married in Israel this week. Thousands of Hassidim took part in the festivities. To watch a video of some of the celebrations click here.

Israel Forever
Special thanks to the Israel Forever Foundation for featuring an article about IsraelAM on their blog and Facebook page, which reaches almost a half million followers. To read the article click here — and please show it some love by sharing it too!

Balfour Petition
The Israel Forever Foundation is working on a monumental drive to to collect 1 million signatures by the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration on November 2, 2017 to be presented to world bodies, organizations, and heads of state, to remind the world that Israel was established with the full backing and support of the international community.

To sign this important petition click here.

Israel News for June 5, 2017

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New Construction Slashed
Prior to Trump’s Israel visit the government had indicated that it would approve the construction of 4,000 new housing units in the West Bank. But now reports say that the government has slashed that number to 2,291, out of which only a few hundred are planned for immediate construction. The reduction is apparently out of fear of clashing with the Trump administration, which is attempting to spark negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) urged the government to consider, saying, “The Likud government’s construction policy should be very clear: free construction in Jerusalem and free construction in accordance with the needs of settlement in all of Judea and Samaria, in an orderly process. The return to the quotas system is wrong, morally unacceptable, and is similar to the British policy toward the Jewish community before the establishment of the State of Israel.”

Settler leaders expressed disappointment and frustration at the decision. Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council, alluded to potential political replications saying, “if necessary, it will have political consequences. I hope it won’t come to that because I really think that this is a good government and a good prime minister, but the statement today is a clear one. No more, we’ve had enough.”

For further reading click here.

Embassy Move
UN ambassador Nikki Haley told CNN that Trump still intends to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, but that he is using the embassy as a bargaining chip in his negotiating strategy. She said, “I think that he knows that it could be very much a part of the peace process. And so I think that what he did want to do is make sure that he wasn’t interrupting the negotiations that are happening with the peace process. I think that they feel like it’s moving forward in a constructive way, and he didn’t want this to get in the way.”

The White House press secretary also told reporters on Friday that Trump intends to move the embassy and that the question was only “when” not “if”.

For further reading click here.

Gulf Turmoil
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed their ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting terrorism, including the Muslim Brotherhood and Iranian interests. The three Gulf States and Egypt announced the closure of transport ties with Qatar and gave Qatari visitors and residents two weeks to leave their countries. Qatar was also expelled from a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.

In a statement Egypt said that Qatar’s policy “threatens Arab national security and sows the seeds of strife and division within Arab societies according to a deliberate plan aimed at the unity and interests of the Arab nation.” 

Did Trump help make this happen?

For further reading click here.

Holocaust Volumes
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has released the first two volumes of its comprehensive work titled, Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933—1945. The 4,000 page work is available in searchable PDF form on the Museums website.

The first volume called EARLY CAMPS, YOUTH CAMPS, AND CONCENTRATION CAMPS AND SUBCAMPS UNDER THE SS-BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION MAIN OFFICE contains entries on 110 early camps, 23 main SS concentration camps (including Auschwitz, Buchenwald, and Dachau), 898 subcamps, 39 SS construction brigade camps, and three so-called youth protection camps. The volume is more than 1,700 pages, with 192 photographs and 23 maps.

The second volume, GHETTOS IN GERMAN-OCCUPIED EASTERN EUROPE, provides a comprehensive account of how the Nazis conducted the Holocaust throughout the scattered towns and villages of Poland and the Soviet Union. It covers more than 1,150 sites, including both open and closed ghettos. Each entry discusses key events in the history of the ghetto; living and working conditions; activities of the Jewish Councils; Jewish responses to persecution; demographic changes; and details of the ghetto’s liquidation. The volume includes personal testimonies as well as hundreds of previously unknown or overlooked ghettos.

Six more volumes have yet to be published.

To gain access to the volumes in their entirety, click here.

Israel Parade
According to reports around 40,000 people participated in the Celebrate Israel parade yesterday. But from a spectator’s perspective (mine), most of those thousands must have been marching because the crowd watching on the sidelines was very thin. The weather could have been partially to blame (it drizzled a bit and was unseasonably chilly), but I think the reason goes much deeper. There are a few million Jews in the NYC area. So where were they all?

Well, the ultra-Orthodox community, which makes up a hefty portion of that number was absent for the most part, except for the radical Satmar hassidim who came out in force to demonstrate against Israel’s existence. The ultra-Orthodox absence doesn’t mean they don’t support or care about Israel. They might just not be into parades (Jews don’t parade, right?).

So what about the rest of the Jews? Well, the day schools were all there and many of the parents came too. Then there were the zionist groups and some of their followers. And of course the politicians, dignitaries, Israel organizations and African American marching bands. But the fact remains that most American Jews have never even visited Israel and don’t feel any connection to it. And among those that do, there are better things to do on a Sunday than shlepping out to the city, right?

The numbers of people attending the parade appear to be dropping, at least according to my memory. Years ago the sidewalks of Fifth Avenue were crowded. Yesterday they were pretty much empty. Maybe it’s time to re-energize the parade, or maybe the parade is fine and we need to re-energize ourselves?

Israel News for June 2, 2017

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Stabbing Attack
A 16 year old female terrorist stabbed and lightly wounded a soldier using a screwdriver, at the entrance to the settlement of Mevo Dotan in Samaria Thursday morning. The terrorist was shot and wounded by security forces, and later died of her wounds. The wounded soldier was treated at the scene and did not need to be evacuated.

For further reading click here.

Embassy Staying
President Trump has signed a waiver temporarily circumventing the law requiring the US to move its embassy to Jerusalem. The six month waiver has been signed by presidents for years.

A statement issued by the White House said:

“While President Donald J. Trump signed the waiver under the Jerusalem Embassy Act and delayed moving the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, no one should consider this step to be in any way a retreat from the President’s strong support for Israel and for the United States-Israel alliance.”

“President Trump made this decision to maximize the chances of successfully negotiating a deal between Israel and the Palestinians, fulfilling his solemn obligation to defend America’s national security interests. But, as he has repeatedly stated his intention to move the embassy, the question is not if that move happens, but only when.”

PM Netanyahu responded by stating:

“Israel’s consistent position is that the American embassy, like the embassies of all countries with whom we have diplomatic relations, should be in Jerusalem, our eternal capital.”

“Maintaining embassies outside the capital drives peace further away by helping keep alive the Palestinian fantasy that the Jewish people and the Jewish state have no connection to Jerusalem.”
 
“Though Israel is disappointed that the embassy will not move at this time, we appreciate today’s expression of President Trump’s friendship to Israel and his commitment to moving the embassy in the future.”

The Palestinians and Jordan both welcomed Trump’s decision.

For further reading click here.
 

Kotel Deal
PM Netanyahu met with leaders of the Haredi parties regarding the agreement to allow egalitarian prayer at the southern part of the Kotel (Western Wall). The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Netanyahu, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, and MK Moshe Gafni.

Haredi leaders want the agreement to be rescinded. Netanyahu suggested that the agreement be frozen and its implementation delayed instead. He asked for Haredi support of his plan. A bill was recently submitted in the Knesset to recognize the Kotel as an Orthodox synagogue. If passed the bill would make any attempt to introduce non-Orthodox services at the Western Wall illegal.

For further reading click here.

Population Surge
According to data published by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Israel’s population is set to reach 10 million by 2025 and 20 million by 2065. That means at least 500,000 new apartments will need to be built in the next 7 years and over 1.5 million within the next 20. And forget about living in a detached house. Experts say that the scarcity of land demands high rise construction exclusively, even in the outlying areas of the country.

One expert says that the government should establish at least three new metropolitan cities containing high-rise buildings. And those high-risers will need to be taller — 40 stories instead of the current 20 stories.

For further reading click here.

Israel Parade
The annual Celebrate Israel parade will take place this Sunday in NYC. The Parade will go up Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue from 57th to 74th Streets and is scheduled from 11am to 4pm. The will be a concert in the park following the parade.We will be there on the sidelines (in the 70’s) wearing IsraelAM T-shirts, so please stop by to say hi!!

For information about the parade click here.

For information about the concert click here.