Archive for month: February, 2019

Election Update
In a last minute move to increase their chances of defeating PM Netanyahu, the two largest parties running against Likud agreed to unite and run together in the April elections. According to the agreement, the Israel Resilience leader Benny Gantz will serve as PM for the first 2.5 years and Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid after that — assuming that they win enough seats and are able to form a government. Former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon will take over the defense portfolio. And another former IDF chief, Gabi Ashkenazi has also joined the party, raising the parties number of former IDF leaders to 3. The new party is called Blue and White.

According to 3 new polls released after the agreement, the Blue and White (BW) party is projected to win between 35-36 Knesset seats, against Likud’s 26-32. If that happens then BW will have the opportunity to form a government. But that might not be so easy, given that 61 seats are needed to form a government (there are 120 seats in the Knesset).

If BW looks to the “left” it’ll probably find Labor with around 8 seats, Meretz with 4 and Kulanu with 4. So even if BW is able to win 36 seats, it still will only build a coalition of 52 seats.

If Likud wins 32 seats, it can look to the “right” and find another 26 seats, which would give them 58. Then Netanyahu would probably try to work out a deal with Kulanu leader Moshe Kahalon, who already served in Netanyahu’s government, to bring in his 4 seats, making 62.

In order to make sure that the smaller right wing parties don’t cannibalize each other’s votes and miss crossing the minimum vote threshold to qualify for a Knesset seat, the PM brokered a deal for a merger of Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home) with National Union and Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power). This caused an outcry from everyone outside of the extreme right, since Otzma is composed of radical right-wing activists considered by many to be racist against Arabs.

Other possibilities could also shake up the mix. For instance, the Haredi parties, Shas and UTJ, with a combined 12 seats, could cut a deal with BW to form a new government. But that’s an unlikely scenario given Lapid and Gantz’s policies regarding the drafting of yeshiva students, allowing civil marriage as well as allowing non Orthodox prayer services at the Kotel (Western Wall).

On the other hand, Netanyahu might convince either Lapid or Gantz to join his coalition and form a more centrist government as opposed to a pure right wing one. But that’s only if Netanyahu does not face a hearing in the criminal investigation he’s under before the election, in which case both Lapid and Gantz have promised not to join him in a coalition.

What about the Joint Arab List, which is expected win around 12-14 seats? No Jewish party has ever agreed to include the Arabs in a coalition. It’s taboo. Political suicide. Won’t happen.

So the bottom line looks like PM Netanyahu will extend his reign and surpass Ben Gurion to become the longest serving PM of Israel — one way or the other. But you never know what will happen when people go to the voting booths, especially in Israel. The only thing we can say for sure is that it’s going to be a very tough and lively month and a half of campaigning.

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Temple Mount
Security forces arrested 60 Palestinians last night suspected of planning violence on the Temple Mount during Muslim prayers there today. Police are bracing for another round of potential violent clashes on the Temple Mount following violent rioting on Tuesday, when crowds tried to break threw a closed off gate on the Mount, prompting police to arrest 19 rioters.

The Gate of Mercy, or Golden Gate, on the eastern side of the Temple Mount, was sealed by Israeli authorities in 2003 because the group managing the area had ties to Hamas, and it has been kept closed to stop illegal construction work there by the Waqf, which Israeli officials believe has led to the destruction of antiquities from periods of Jewish presence in the area.

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PA Rejects Funds
Palestinian Authority President Abbas announced that the PA will no longer accept tax revenues collected on its behalf by Israel, after Israel decided to deduct the money that the PA pays to support the families of terrorists.

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Business Cooperation
Speaking at a Jerusalem forum to encourage business links between Israeli settlements and Palestinians, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said, “There are many, many Palestinians that would like to be freed up to engage in business ventures with Israelis, and they’re entitled to that opportunity.” To which Wasel Abu Youssef, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee, responded, “This constitutes a stab in the back of the Palestinian people. We warn against any involvement or participation of any Palestinian in projects with settlers, or meetings called by the American ambassador.” So much for that.

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Holocaust Reparations
On Tuesday, February 12, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in his first official visit to Poland, raised the issue of Holocaust-era property restitution at a joint press conference in Warsaw with the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor Jacek Czaputowicz.

Secretary of State Pompeo said: “We also appreciate the importance of resolving outstanding issues of the past and I urge my Polish colleagues to move forward with comprehensive private property restitution legislation for those who lost property during the Holocaust era.”

This past Sunday, February 17, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki insisted that the question of Polish compensation for Jewish assets stolen by the Nazi was “definitively resolved,” in a 1960 bilateral agreement between the US and Poland.

In response, the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO) released a statement expressing surprise and disappointment to see Prime Minister Morawiecki’s reply to Secretary Pompeo’s remarks. WJRO went on to urge the Polish PM and his government to seize this opportunity to do justice for those who lost so much.

According to the Polish Prime Minister, Vice President Pence also raised the issue of property restitution in a meeting with him in Warsaw last week.
 
Poland is the only country in the European Union that has not passed comprehensive legislation for restitution or compensation for property taken during the Holocaust by the Nazis and/or subsequently nationalized by the Communists.

Taken from WJRO newsletter

Moon Launch
At 3:45 a.m. Israel time today, a joint venture between private companies SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries launched a spacecraft that is scheduled to land on the Moon on April 11. That will make Israel the 4th country to land on the moon, after the US, Russia and China.

The $100 million spacecraft is funded almost entirely from private donations from well-known Jewish philanthropists including South African billionaire Morris Kahn, Miriam and Sheldon Adelson, Canadian real estate mogul Sylvan Adams, and others.

PM Netanyahu, who was at the command center for the launch, calling the initiative “a big step for Israel, and a big step for Israeli technology.”

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Conference Cancelled
The conference of 4 Eastern European nations in Jerusalem was cancelled after Poland refused to attend because of alleged remarks by PM Netanyahu and confirmed remarks by Israel’s acting Foreign Minister saying that Poland collaborated in the destruction of the Jews during the Holocaust. Instead, the PM met privately with the Prime Ministers of Czechoslovakia, Slovakia and Hungary and then hosted a lunch with all 3 leaders. [The truth is that all 3 countries played a role in the destruction of “their” Jews. The PM has taken flack for forging close relations with them.]

Hungary’s PM announced that Hungary will open a trade office in Jerusalem that has “diplomatic status”.

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Poland Georgette Mosbacher recommended that Israel’s FM apologize for his remarks.

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Single US Mission
Last October, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the United States Consulate General in Jerusalem, which serves Palestinians, will be merged into the new US Embassy. Yesterday a US official said, “The merger of the consulate and the embassy will take place on March 4th or 5th, at which point the position of the consul-general will end.”

The Palestinians have condemned the upcoming move, which highlights the united nature of Jerusalem. Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, “Contacts at the political level with the American administration have been cut off and will remain so unless the American administration changes its positions on Jerusalem and the refugees.” He added, however, that there are still “contacts at the security level to fight terrorism.”

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Morocco Visit
PM Netanyahu is reportedly planning a visit to Morocco before the upcoming April elections. Morocco sees Israel as a path to Washington, while Israel sees Morocco as an opportunity to open relations with a major Arab country. [Doing so before the election would definitely help the PM.] The Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the report.

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Lawsuit Revived
The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit overturned a ruling by a federal judge who, in August 2017, threw out a $1 billion lawsuit by Palestinians seeking to hold billionaire Sheldon Adelson and more than 30 other pro-Israel defendants liable for alleged war crimes and support of Israeli settlements. Other defendants included billionaire Larry Ellison, Bank Leumi BM and Bank Hapoalim BM, construction and support companies such as Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co and Volvo AB, 13 nonprofits, and the United States.

The federal judge had decided that it was inappropriate for her to resolve the issue of settlements and other politically related issues. But Circuit Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson of the Appeals Court said that a court could rule on whether the defendants conspired to expel non-Jews or committed war crimes “without touching the sovereignty question, if it concluded that Israeli settlers are committing genocide.”

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Kinneret Rising
The water level in the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret) is expected to climb above the lake’s lower red line for the first time in two years, at which point pumping will no longer face government restrictions. The water level now stands at 23 centimeters below the lower red line, but is expected to pass that within a few weeks, thanks to the heavy rains and snow this winter.

But we’re not out of the woods yet. Kinneret Authority Deputy Chairman Pinchas Green warned, “Every summer, the lake’s waterline decreases by 0.5-1 cm per day due to water evaporation, which means the Kinneret will again plunge below the lower red line.”

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Torah Podcast
Please check out and subscribe to my new Jewish Wisdom podcast. The latest episode is on this week’s Torah portion (parsha) of Ki Tisah.

To access the podcast on iTunes click here, or just search for Jewish Wisdom.

Foreign Minister
PM Netanyahu has appointed Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz as interim Foreign Minister. He will serve until after the April 9th elections. Netanyahu has held the Foreign Minister portfolio since 2015.

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Polish PM Cancels
Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki has cancelled his upcoming trip to Israel in reaction to a remark made by PM Netanyahu in Warsaw. Last Thursday Netanyahu was asked by reporters about the Polish law outlawing anyone saying that Poland played a role in the Holocaust. He answered, “Here I am saying Poles cooperated with the Nazis. I know the history and I don’t whitewash it. I bring it up.” The PM reportedly called the report false and said that he had been misquoted and that he was only referring to individual cases of Poles collaborating with Nazis.

The Polish PM was scheduled to attend a summit of 4 central and eastern European nations in Jerusalem today. Instead, Poland’s Foreign Minister was supposed to attend, but then Israel’s new interim Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz gave a TV interview in which he said, “I am a son of Holocaust survivors and I was even born and grew up in a community made up of Holocaust survivor. The memory of the Holocaust is something we cannot compromise about; it is clear and we won’t forget or forgive. In diplomacy you try not to offend, but nobody will change the historical truth to do something like that. Poles collaborated with the Nazis, definitely. As Yitzhak Shamir said, they suckle anti-Semitism with their mother’s milk.”

On Monday morning Katz told Israel Radio that “the Poles took part in the extermination of Jews in the Holocaust. Poland became the biggest cemetery of the Jewish people.” As a result, the Polish government summoned the Israeli Ambassador in Warsaw to reprimand him.

Poland will not attend the conference, at all.

[The truth hurts, but denying it is no solution. It’s time for Poland to take responsibility for its actions during WWII, and to return Jewish property to its rightful owners and their heirs. Poland is the European Union member that has not offered any such restitution.]

For further reading click here.

Election Update
Hatnuah leader MK Tzipi Livni announced today that she will not run for the Knesset in April and that she is quitting politics after a 20 year career. After polls showed that Hatnuah would not pass the electoral threshold, Livni sought to join forces with Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid, but Lapid declined. Then she tried to strike a deal with Israel Resilience Party leader Benny Gantz, but that didn’t work either. In January, Labor Party head Avi Gabbay split off from Hatnuah.

Livni served as Foreign Minister from 2006-2009 and then as leader of the opposition from 2009-2012. From 2013-2014 she served as Justice Minister.

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Arms Sales
According to data published by the Ministry of Defense, Israeli exports of weapons and defense systems reached a new record in 2017, totaling $9.2 billion in sales. Israel is the 7th largest exporter of weapons in the world, according to a March 2018 report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Three Israeli weapon makers were among the 100 companies worldwide to make the most money by selling arms in 2017.

Around 4% of Israel’s arms sales are to what are considered to be “rogue” regimes, which Israel does primarily in order to get the votes of these countries in the UN and other such international bodies. But opposition in Israel to these sales is growing.

For further reading click here.

Free PR
IsraelAM will be publishing a series of interviews with leaders of Israel related organizations or political or religious leaders that are staunch supporters of Israel. If you fit the bill, and would like to expose your message and mission to our audience, please let us know.