Archive for category: news

< back to sign up

Shin Bet Arrests More Suspects
The Shin Bet has arrested 2 more suspects in the Duma arson case, Mordecai Ma’ayar and Avitar Salonim. Both are Jews known to be involved in far right extremist activities. Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon signed an administrative decree after Ma’ayar’s arrest, allowing security forces to detain him for up to six months without formal charges or a trial.

Meir Ettinger, the grandson of the late Meir Kahane, was arrested on Sunday and is still in custody.

Meanwhile the Judea and Samaria District police published a public appeal on Tuesday for help in solving the arson case. The police has never asked the public for help before in similar attacks, but this time they think the public might be open to helping since the victim was just a toddler. The boy’s parents and brother are all still in critical condition.

New Budget Coming
The government is meeting today to vote on approving the official budget for 2015-2016 and it looks like it will be approved by a huge margin. But the PM and Finance Minister would like the vote to be unanimous, and that could be a problem.

Background
The new budget includes large cuts across the board.  Minister of Economy Aryeh Deri of Shas wants the poorest 40% of the population to be exempt from paying VAT (value added tax) on their water and electric bills. He also wants to remove all VAT from public transportation. Finance Minister Moshe Kahalon thinks that’ll cost the country too much revenue.

Education Minister Naftali Bennet of Bait Yehudi isn’t happy with the proposed 1 billion shekel cuts in the education budget. He says the cuts will critically harm education for young children, for children living in the country’s periphery and for all math education. The Internal Security Minister also has issues with the budget.

Finance Minister Moshe Kahalon defended the budget claiming that there will actually be an increase in spending for education, health and internal security. The PM added that the budget is balanced and will both allow economic growth and monthly savings for every family.

Upshot
The negotiations to try to get unanimous approval continue, but the new budget will pass in any case. If you trust Netanyahu’s economic policies, that’s good news for the country.

PM Takes the Stage
Prime Minister Netanyahu used a webcast to convince American Jewish leaders to oppose the Iran nuclear agreement. He reiterated his main reasons for opposing the deal: 1) It will leave Iran’s vast nuclear infrastructure in place. 2) Iran’s “breakout time” for a nuclear weapon in 10-15 years, once the deal expires, will be practically zero. 3) The deal will give Iran a massive infusion of cash that it will use to arm its terrorist proxies in the region. 4) The deal will spark a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

The PM denied that he was against any deal with Iran. “The alternative to this bad deal is still no deal, or a better deal,” he said. “The claim that I wouldn’t accept any deal and wouldn’t propose any alternative is certainly not true.”

Netanyahu reasoned that if sanctions and pressure on Iran were increased, Iran would return to the bargaining table in search of a deal. “They need the deal a whole lot more than any of us need a deal,” he said.

Netanyahu also noted that even opposition leader Isaac Herzog agreed with him regarding the deal. “This is simply not a partisan issue in Israel … It shouldn’t be a partisan issue in the United States either.”

Meanwhile, both President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry have been meeting with Jewish leaders to make their pro-deal case.
This battle is far from over.

More Unholiness
A rabbi living in a settlement in the Binyamin area was placed under house arrest and is being investigated for sexually assaulting several women who came to him for blessings and spiritual guidance relating to relationships. Investigators are pretty sure they will find more women who were victimized by the rabbi.

Surf’s Up
Israeli beachgoers breathed a sigh of relief. Seven weeks after arriving on Israeli shores, swarms of Jellyfish have departed for other Mediterranean waters. This year’s swarm had unusually large specimens, with some of the jellyfish as much as 70 centimeters wide. Getting stung by one is no fun.

The Jellyfish departure came just in time to allow people to get some relief at the beach from the brutal heatwave hitting the country.

Crashers are Welcome
Social media and a lot of big hearts came to the rescue of a bride and groom who found themselves pretty much alone at their wedding. Other than about 10 close relatives, most of the invited guests thought that the wedding had been cancelled because the bride’s father had just recently died. One of the guests posted this on Facebook: “The bride lost both her parents in the last two years. Her father passed away a month ago, and now there is no one there except for a few relatives. You don’t need a gift, you don’t need money. Just come fill the auditorium, fulfill a mitzvah, and make a bride and groom happy.”

The post went viral and 2,000 people showed up to celebrate. Almost none of them knew either the bride or groom. But they saw an opportunity to do a mitzvah and make a new couple happy, and they grabbed it. Israelis at their best.

< back to sign up

Stabbing Victim Mourned
Shira Banki, the 16 year old stabbed at the Jerusalem Gay Pride parade, died of her wounds yesterday. Her parents have decided to donate her organs to save the lives of others. Hundreds of people gathered to remember her in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The PM and other ministers and Knesset members issued statements of consolation and support for the family, while condemning the hate crime in the strongest terms. “We strongly condemn the attempt to instill hatred and violence in our midst and we will deal with the murderer to the fullest extent of the law,” the PM said.

Education Minister Naftali Bennett told the Jerusalem crowd that, “Shira was murdered because extremism reared its head. Because people believe they own the entire truth. Because we don’t know how to accept the other.”

Shira’s family said, ““Our Shira was murdered simply because of the fact that she was a happy 16-year-old girl, full of life and love, who came to support her friends and everyone else’s right to live as they please.”

A police investigation into why Yishai Schlissel, the murderer, was not being monitored is under way.

Smotrich vs. Gay Pride
Bayit Yehudi Kneeset member Betzalel Smotrich called the Gay Pride march an “abomination march” in a Tweet on Sat. Night. Yesterday he posted this on Facebook: “So here I say it again fearlessly: I object vehemently to violence, and promise to object no less vehemently to the recognition of same-sex couples in the Jewish State. I promise to fight violence, and no less than that, I will fight any attempt to besmirch traditional Jewish family values.”

Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennet was slated to speak at a gay rights demonstration in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, but was disinvited after refusing to sign a pledge committing to advancing homosexual-themed legislation. “I am in favor of full rights for the gay community,” Bennett told Army Radio on Sunday. “In terms of formal recognition by the State of Israel for marriage, I am not.” In a Facebook post on Sunday, Bennett said: “Whoever wants to find me fighting against violence, I am next to him with all my strength. Whoever wants me to remain silent, I will stand up to him with all my heart.”

Bottom Line
It’s simply not possible for a religious party to support same sex marriage. It’s also clear that every party supports and protects the personal freedom of expression and civil rights of all individuals. But calling a march “an abomination”, especially after the stabbing attack doesn’t seem like a very smart move for a lawmaker to make.

Manhunt for Terrorists Continues
As security forces conduct an intensive manhunt for the attackers who killed a Palestinian baby and wounded his parents and brother, the government’s security cabinet authorized the use of administrative detention against the suspects, which allows law enforcement officials to detain suspects indefinitely without a trial or access to an attorney. The cabinet also established a committee chaired by Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon that is to take additional measures to combat hate crimes and terrorist attacks. Committee members will include Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked.

According to the Arab newspaper Rai al-Youm, Palestinian Prime Minister Abbas called on his security forces to prevent any revenge attacks against Israel, in order not to lose the political advantage the Palestinians currently have following the Duma attack.

There have been scattered clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces throughout the West Bank, and the IDF has beefed up their forces and taken measures to prevent escalation.

Meanwhile, a group of 150 rabbis and members of the national religious community gathered in Gush Etzion to protest the murder of the toddler. The head of the Har Etzion Yeshiva Rabbi Yaakov Meidan and Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid both addressed the crowd. Senior Rabbi Yoel Bin Nun lead the people in reciting psalms for the healing of the wounded Palestinian family members.

PM Netanyahu told his cabinet, “This is what distinguishes us from our neighbors. We deplore and condemn these murderers. We will pursue them to the end. They name public squares after the murderers of children. This distinction cannot be blurred or covered up. It is important to say this even as we utter our condemnations and unite against the criminals among our people.”

President Threatened
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin’s security force filed a police complaint over threatening messages Rivlin received in the wake of his condemnation of an arson attack that killed a Palestinian baby. Threats on social media included a call for Rivlin’s assassination and a photo showing the president wearing a black-and-white-checkered kaffiyah.

Following the predawn attack on Friday Rivlin said in a statement, “It seems we have been lax in our treatment of the phenomena of Jewish terrorism. Perhaps we did not internalize that we are faced with a determined and dangerous, ideological group, which aims to destroy the fragile bridges which we work so tirelessly to build. I believe that the more we understand this significant danger to the State of Israel, the more we will be aware to confront it, and uproot it.”

On a related note, the Mayor of Kiryat Yam’s car was torched after he posted a Facebook message promoting love and respect for all people.

Observing Israel’s Nukes
Egypt and other Arab and Muslim Countries are pushing for a resolution at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s General Conference in mid-September to subject Israel’s nuclear facilities to international supervision.

Background
The resolution condemns Israel, demands that it open its reported nuclear facilities to IAEA inspection, and calls for an international conference on making the Middle East a nuclear-weapons-free zone. It has been defeated several time before, but this time might be different. The recent Iranian nuclear deal could focus more attention on Israel’s nuclear capabilities. On the other hand, the Iranian deal could cause the US and other European nations to cut Israel some slack, given Israel’s fierce opposition to the deal.

Upshot
The resolution isn’t binding. It could, however, kick off a process that could lead to future action. So it’s important for Israel to muster support to defeat it.

Tax Dodgers Beware
The Israel Tax Authority is declaring war on tax evaders that are costing the country 50 billion shekels in lost revenue. Instead of raising taxes, the authority has created a regulation stating that tax evaders can be charged with money laundering, be locked away for 10 years and have their property confiscated. Critics of the regulation claim that it is too broad and can effect people who aren’t actual money launderers.

Border Trouble
Over the weekend 3 rockets were fired from Gaza, landing on the Israeli side of the border with Sinai. Also, 10 African refuges broke through the Sinai border fence and were apprehended by Israeli forces. Business as usual.

Have an amazing day! We’ll see tomorrow.

PS — If you like this email, please share it :)

< back to sign up

Settlement Evacuated Again
Last night, hours after the demolition of the 2 buildings in Beit El, security forces began evacuating the Samaria Settlement of Sa-Nur, for the second time in 10 years. Most of the 250 people in the community peacefully boarded the evacuation buses. But about 100 youths and other activists refused to leave and were forcibly removed.

Background
Ten years ago, when the Gush Katif settlements in Gaza were evacuated as part of the 2005 Disengagement plan, 4 additional towns in Samaria were included in the evacuation, including Sa-Nur.

In commemoration of the 10th year anniversary of the evacuation, a group of about 20 families of original Sa-Nut residents, along with other activists and protesters, returned to the town late Monday night to try and resettle it. On Tuesday morning the families sent a letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon (Likud), urging them not to have IDF soldiers expel them from their homes again.
“IDF soldiers are our beloved brothers, flesh of our flesh. We demand not to repeat the trauma of the expulsion, and not to force IDF soldiers to expel us again from our homes,” they wrote.

Demolition is Done
Security forces late last night completed the demolition of the 2 Dreinoff buildings in Beit El, as per the decision of the High Court. Protesters, mostly youth, initially clashed with police but returned to their homes as the operation progressed. Eight hours later, the demolition was completed.

Several religious border policemen were reported to have refused to take part in the demolition and were arrested. The Border Police denied that any soldiers were arrested for disobeying orders.

Shortly after the demolition, the Yesha Council representing the communities of Judea and Samaria issued a statement inviting people to attend a cornerstone laying ceremony at the demolition site to mark the rebuilding of the homes. Shai Alon, the head of the Beit El council, stated that, “now Beit El will be busy with building, not destroying.” He was referring to the 300 additional units approved by the Prime Minister.

Education Minister Naftali Bennet, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and other Bayit Yehudi ministers and Knesset members praised PM Netanyahu’s approval for the construction of 300 housing units in Beit El and 500 in East Jerusalem.

Report Against IDF
Amnesty International said Wednesday that the Israeli military may have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during last summer’s Gaza war when it carried out four days of intense bombardment in retaliation for an attack by Hamas militants in which an Israeli soldier was captured. At least 135 civilians were killed over those four days. It says the military failed to independently probe the incident and called on the International Criminal Court to investigate.

Hamas praised the report. Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesman denounced it as “fundamentally flawed,” since “there is almost no mention of the military actions of Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organizations.”

He added that the report made no mention of the Hamas strategy to embed civilians among combatants, using them as human shields. And that the claim that the 4 days of bombardment were in response to the killing of one IDF soldier ignores the fact that there was an ongoing conflict during which the IDF was trying to stop rocket fire and neutralize assault tunnels.

Israel Strikes in Syria
Syrian and Lebanese sources reported that an Israel drone strike in the Syrian Golan Heights on Wednesday killed 2 Hezbollah members and 3 members of the pro-Assad People’s Committees militia led by Lebanese Druse terrorist Samir Kuntar.

Israeli military sources claim that Kuntar commanded several terrorist attacks against Israeli soldiers in the area in the past few months.

The IDF has refused to confirm or deny the attack. Syrian state media didn’t mention the attack.

Jerusalem Kosher Crisis
The Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, Rabbi Aryeh Stern, has made it his mission to assure the reliability of kosher supervision in the city. His staff is examining the reliability and efficacy of the more than 300 kashrut supervisors appointed by the Jerusalem Religious Council who are supposed to provide daily supervision to some 1,500 kosher restaurants and businesses in the city. Unfortunately, they’ve found some problems, like supervisors who don’t show up at the establishments under their supervision and serious kashrut issues at some restaurants and businesses with kashrut certificates from the Jerusalem rabbinate.

Yehoshua Yishai, the chairman of the Jerusalem Religious Council hit back against the chief rabbinate by threatening to fire R. Stern’s chief of staff Avinoam Kutscher. The State Comptroller told Yishai to back down. Yishai also instructed his inspectors not to cooperate with the Chief Rabbi’s investigation.

The dispute was brought before the Knesset’s Internal Affairs Committee on Wednesday and the Police Fraud Office is deciding whether to open it’s own investigation into the Jerusalem kosher situation.
As if keeping Kosher wasn’t hard enough already.

Shas Radicalized Position
In support of the campaign by some members of the Charedi community against Charedim who enlist in the IDF, Rabbi Moshe Cohen, the head of the council of sages of Shas and the successor to Rav Ovadia Yosef, wrote a letter prohibiting all Charred youth from enlisting. The letter includes all young men, regardless of their level of engagement in Torah study. It also condemns all those who assist Charedim in their efforts to serve in the IDF.

The traditional position of Shas has been to be against enlistment only for men engaged in formal Torah studies. Rabbi Cohen’s letter seems to be broadening this position to include even those not engaged in formal Torah studies.

Church Arsonists Nabbed
Prosecutors on Wednesday indicted two men believed to have set fire to a historic Church, on the shores of the Kinneret, in an act of religious and racial hatred.

The men, named as 20-year-old Yinon Reuveni of Ofakim and 19-year-old Yehuda Asraf of Elad, face charges of aggravated arson, destruction of property motivated by hostility toward the public and conspiracy to commit a crime, and Asraf was indicted on charges of aiding and abetting a crime and conspiracy.

The Shin Bet Israel Security Agency named two other suspects who have yet to be indicted as Mordechai Meir, 18, from Maaleh Adumim, and Moshe Urbach, 24, from Bnei Brak. The fifth suspect arrested in the case is an unnamed minor from Ramle.

The Shin Bet said that the suspects were driven by the ideology held by the so-called “Hilltop Youth”, a loosely-organized group of ultra-nationalists known for establishing illegal outposts in the West Bank.

Norway Law Passes
The Knesset today passed the Norwegian Law, which allows a minister or deputy minister from each coalition party to quit the Knesset and return if they leave the cabinet. Several ministers will likely be resigning their Knesset seats to allow other members of their part to take their place. They’ll also be able to focus all of their energy on their ministerial responsibilities.

Have an amazing day, and we’ll see you bright and early tomorrow with more Israel news!

PS — If you like this email, please share it :)

< back to sign up

Police vs. Settlers
At least 50 protesters were arrested in Beit El last night as hundreds of Border Police cleared 2 vacant buildings slated for demolition later this week. Around 250 youths from the area faced off against the police to prevent them from evicting squatters who had barricaded themselves in the buildings.

Background
The buildings, known as the Dreinof structures have been under dispute for years, since the land was seized by the IDF from it’s Palestinian owners and incorporated into Beit El in 1979. The Israeli Supreme Court rejected claims to rescind the seizure order on 2 separate occasions. But the structures were constructed without the proper permits.

Even though the civil administration in Judea and Samaria subsequently granted the building permits, the supreme court ruled in favor of a petition to demolish the structures. Demolition of the 24 apartment units in the 2 buildings still under construction is to take place on Thursday. The Beit El Local Council is preparing to file a petition to the Supreme Court hoping to cancel the demolition order. Meanwhile, the police was ordered to clear the buildings in advance, to prevent people from barricading themselves in the buildings to prevent the demolition.

Upshot
No matter which side you take, the battle hopefully will be fought and resolved in the courts without further violence.

High Five to Charedi Minister
The use of marijuana for medical purposes has been legal in Israel for a while on a very small scale. Now, getting it will be a whole lot easier.

Deputy Minister of Health Yakov Litzman, of the Charedi UTJ party, just announced that medical cannabis will be available in pharmacies in Israel, and that more doctors will be allowed to prescribe it. That means that pot will be treated like any other prescription drug. Of course, it will all be strictly regulated and controlled to prevent abuse.

The new policy will make it easier for tens of thousands of people with pain and other chronic symptoms to get relief.

Who said Charedi politicians aren’t progressive?

Huge Israeli Drug Deal
Speaking of drugs, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. has acquired the generic division of Dublin based Allergen for $40.58 billion in the largest acquisition ever by an Israeli company. Teva is already the leader in the global generic drug market. This will make it even stronger.

According to Teva’s announcement, it will also become one of the world’s 10 leading pharma companies. In other words, one of the biggest drug dealers in the world. Pretty cool.

Opposition Takes a Shot
Opposition leaders made their predictions about the future of the current government. Isaac Herzog of the Zionist Union, the opposition leader, predicted that the government would fall by March. “The government’s time is limited,” Herzog said. Yair Lapid, the leader of Yesh Atid, also predicted that the government would collapse sometime in 2016. When that happens, “Yesh Atid will run for the leadership of the country and I will run for prime minister,” Lapid stated. A Zionist Union spokesman responded: “On the day after Tisha Be’Av, someone should tell Lapid that since the Temple was destroyed, prophecy was only given to fools.”
Looks like the opposition needs to learn to play nicely together before taking on the government.

Unholy Rapist Indicted
Rabbi Ezra Sheinberg of Safed was indicted Monday for raping, sodomizing and/or sexually assaulting 12 women. He was also charged with aggravated fraud, obstructing justice and criminal threatening. Investigators believe many more women were victimized, but they have declined to come forward. According to the indictment, Sheinberg allegedly committed the crimes both in personal meetings with the women and in video chats during which he asked them to strip.

The incidents took place mainly during the last decade, when Sheinberg served as a community rabbi and head of a yeshiva in Safed. This story needs to be told as a warning to prevent crimes like this from being repeated.

Farewell to Plastic
The Knesset is trying to push through a bill to reduce the use of plastic bags. Businesses would need to stop carrying the really thin bags entirely, and customers would have to pay for the thicker ones.

Israelis use about 275 plastic bags per capita each year, totaling approximately 2.2 billion bags annually for the entire country. A survey conducted by the Environmental Protection Ministry last year indicated that more than 70 percent of Israelis support an end to free plastic bag distribution.
Good news for the environment.

The French Homecoming
Over 200 immigrants from France are set to arrive in Israel today, bringing the total of French immigrants this year to 4,260. This is an 11% increase over last years numbers. Over the last 5 years over 20,000 French Jews have made Aliyah.

“And your children shall return to their borders,” — Jeremiah 31:16

Have an amazing day, and we’ll see you bright and early tomorrow with more Israel news!

PS — If you like this email, please share it :)

< back to sign up

Judges Should Sing Hatikva
When the first Arab judge ever to serve on the Israeli Supreme Court, Salim Jubran, refrained from singing Hatikva at his swearing in ceremony, he provoked outrage in right leaning circles. Now that the right controls the Judicial committee responsible for appointing judges, he might be in trouble.

Explain
Robert Ilatov, the newly appointed member of the Judicial Committee from Yisrael Beiteynu, stated, “”In my view, a judge who is unwilling to sing Hatikva cannot be a judge in the State of Israel, which is the nation state of the Jewish people.” Justice Minister and committee member Ayelet Shaked fundamentally agree with his statement, but emphasized that Jubran’s job is not in jeopardy. “There are many excellent Arab judges in the judicial system,” she said. “A judge needs to stand during the national anthem, but I won’t be looking to see if he is mouthing the words to Hatikva or not. A judge needs to be selected first and foremost according to skills and criteria.” She added that Jubran is retiring in 2017 and that no new Supreme Court justices would be appointed until then.

Upshot
Should judges be required to swear allegiance to the state that creates the laws that they are sworn to enforce? If so, is not singing the national anthem an expression of non alleigance?

Israel Arms Jordan
Israel has joined the fight against Isis, at least indirectly, by giving Jordan 16 US supplied Cobra combat helicopters for border security. Israel retired the Cobras some years back, preferring the more powerful US supplied Apache helicopters. The Jordanian air force currently has 25 cobras in service.

Avoid Waiting in Line at the Airport
El Al is launching a new premium service on Aug. 2 to provide at-home checkin and security inspections for a fee of 499 Shekels for up to 5 passengers. Passengers will receive their boarding passes at home, allowing them to proceed directly to passport control in the airport. The service area will cover the center of the country, from Hadera in the north to Gadera in the south and Jerusalem to the east. El Al hasn’t clarified whether the service would be offered in Arab towns, which has triggered accusations of racism. More likely, it’s a matter of security.

A Tragic Destiny
In a tragic twist of fate, 3 graduates of the same elite Israeli Air Force pilots training course have been killed in accidents while on separate trips outside of Israel. They were all 24 yrs old. Tamar Ariel, the first religious female fighter pilot, was killed last October in an avalanche in Nepal. Max Selah was killed in April in an “Omega” glider accident in Peru. Aviv Bromberg was killed just this week in a trekking accident in Peru. His funeral is taking place today in Kfar Saba.
No reasons. No Answers. Just sadness.

Deadly Roads
The Israeli Police have released highway safety statistics from June: 948 accidents, 1662 injured, 27 killed. The death toll since the beginning of the year: 195. Maybe some of the massive defense budget should be going to traffic safety?

National Day of Mourning
Tisha B’Av, the fast day commemorating the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem almost 2000 yrs ago, will be observed this Saturday night and Sunday. The Talmud teaches that the reason for the destruction was baseless hatred and disunity among the Jewish People. Tisha B’av is a reminder that we haven’t fully corrected those flaws, and that we have to continue working on bringing love and unity to our people and to the entire world.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom and an easy and meaningful Tisha B’av fast.