Israel News for August 11, 2015

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Conversion Controversy
A group of prominent religious zionist rabbis have established a Bet Din (religious court) to perform conversions. They performed their first conversion on a group of minors on Monday. The Chief Rabbinate along with almost all charedi rabbis are vehemently against this court.

Background
The Chief Rabbinate has always had sole jurisdiction for all matters pertaining to marriage, divorce, death and conversions in the State of Israel. That means that only the courts established or sanctioned by the Chief Rabbinate can perform conversions. This wasn’t much of a problem until the 1990’s, when the Soviet Union collapsed and over a million Jews from behind the iron curtain immigrated to Israel. While they were considered eligible for the Right of Return by Israeli law simply by having a single Jewish grandparent, according to the Jewish religious law (halacha) that states that only the child of a Jewish mother is considered to be Jewish, at least a third of the immigrants weren’t technically Jewish.

Many of these “non Jewish“ Jews formally converted in the army via special army sanctioned religious courts or through the regular rabbinate court system. But when some leading rabbis noticed that these converts weren’t following Jewish law after their conversions, they sounded the alarm and pressured the charedi controlled Chief Rabbinate to prevent or even retract what they considered to be invalid conversions.

Most rabbis associated with the religious zionist camp disagreed with the Chief Rabbinate and felt that the Rabbinate had an obligation to allow these Israelis with Jewish fathers (but not mothers), many of whom were serving in the IDF and fully integrated into Israeli society, to convert and become officially recognized by the religious courts.

Conversion supporters attempted to pass a conversion reform bill in the Knesset which would have allowed the chief rabbis of every city and town to set up their own conversion courts. This would allow potential converts to use religious courts in cities with pro conversion chief rabbis. The bill passed initially, but was subsequently canceled just last month under pressure from the new government’s charedi coalition partners.

Fed up with the opposition of the Chief Rabbinate to easing their restrictions on conversion, the religious zionist rabbis, lead by many prominent rabbinic figures, have finally said enough is enough and have formed their own conversion court. The court is focusing primarily on converting minors who are already attending religious schools, which is permissible according to a great many prominent rabbinic experts (poskim).

Upshot
Even though they seem to have a solid basis in Jewish law, the new conversion court is vehemently opposed by the Chief Rabbinate, which is basically run by the charedi establishment. There doesn’t seem to be any way that the Chief Rabbinate and charedi rabbinic authorities will ever accept the new court and the conversions that they perform. On the other hand, there’s no way that the religious zionist rabbis can accept the stringent ruling of the Chief Rabbinate that they believe to be incorrect and harmful to Jewish continuity in Israel.

Since the Chief Rabbinate controls all marriage registration in the country, it is unlikely that these converts will be allowed to marry in the future, unless they change their position. The alternative would be for the religious zionist rabbis to overturn the Rabbinate’s authority and perform the marriages, which would likely spell the end of the Chief Rabbinate. This battle is just beginning to heat up and the religious status of thousands hang in the balance.

Force Feeding
Palestinian prisoner Mohammed Allaan, a member of Islamic Jihad who has been on a hunger strike for 54 days, was transferred yesterday under heavy security from Be’er Sheva’s Soroka Medical Center to Ashkelon’s Barzilai Medical Center. Apparently, doctors at Soroka, backed by the Israel Medical Association (IMA), have indicated that they will refuse to force-feed him against his will if ordered to do so. The IMA claims that force-feeding constitutes torture and treating a patient against his will violates medical ethics. It is known to be a highly invasive and painful process that can be life threatening if executed on a struggling patient.

Background
A hunger strike law was passed in the Knesset last week whereby the state can force-feed hunger strikers whose lives are in danger, even against their will. Although Allaan is currently in intensive care he is not thought to be in mortal danger, so doctors can still not force him to accept food or medical treatment. He would be the first prisoner to be force fed under the new law.

The US has force fed prisoners in Guantanamo Bay and the practice is legal in certain states.

Last year there were 724 prisoners that went on hunger strikes in Israel. This year there have been 30. Last month Israel freed another Islamic Jihad member after 56 days of hunger strike that nearly killed him.

Upshot
Doctors at Barzilai have also indicated that they will refuse an order to force- feed Allaan against his will, saying their ethical considerations are no different from those at Soroka and they will not force feed him as long as he is conscious. Looks like finding a hospital to carry out the law won’t be that easy.

Dog Walkers Attacked
A husband and wife from a settlement in Samaria took their dog out for a morning run. When they took a shortcut near a neighboring Arab village they were noticed by a few Arabs who quickly sounded the alarm. Suddenly, the couple found themselves confronted by about 20 men from the village accompanied by European activists with cameras. The Arabs started throwing rocks at the couple and shouted death threats.

The couple tried to explain that they were just out for a run and had no intentions of entering their village. It didn’t work. Luckily they were able to run away and alert the security forces, who then entered the village to search for the attackers. The couple weren’t harmed and will most likely be changing their jogging route. [source]

Violent Charedi Protests
There were violent demonstrations by charedim in the Mea Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem yesterday protesting the arrest of a yeshiva student who hadn’t properly arranged his draft deferment and the attempt to forcibly draft a young woman from Elad who hadn’t bothered applying for a religious exemption. Demonstrators threw stones at police and at firefighters who arrived to extinguish burning garbage bins set on fire by the demonstrators. Three suspects were arrested for attacking policemen. It’s unclear what happened to the draft dodging yeshiva student, but there seem to be plenty of battle ready men among the demonstrators.

israelAM for August 10, 2015

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Swedish Hezbollah Spy
A Swedish national of Palestinian decent who was arrested back in July by The Shin Bet was charged by Israel with spying for Hezbollah. The Shin Bet claims that the suspect confessed under interrogation to working for Hezbollah and planned to collect and pass on information on military sites in Israel. (source)

Background
In 2006 Hezbollah launched hundreds of missiles at towns and cities in the northern part of Israel, forcing Israel to invade southern Lebanon. Even though Israel thoroughly routed Hezbollah, the terrorist organization is believed to still posses thousands of rockets capable of hitting targets in Israel. And they are supported and financed by Iran.

Upshot
If Iran doesn’t get their nuclear deal, or even if they do, they have an excellent proxy in Hezbollah to strike at Israel and cause tremendous damage. This Swedish spy is probably just one of many spies identifying targets for the Hezbollah missile launchers to use when they’re ready to strike. That’s trouble for Israel.


Fight Against Terrorism
The father of the Palestinian toddler killed in the arson attack in Duma died of his wounds yesterday. And Israeli police and Shin Bet forces arrested 9 more Jewish terror suspects in two raids on small West Bank outposts. While the police declined to connect the arrests to the Duma arson, it clearly is. One of the outposts, Adei Ad, is right near Duma.

The two Jewish suspects previously arrested in connection with the Duma attack were placed under a six month administrative detention by special order of Defense Minister Ya’alon.

Meanwhile, a Palestinian stabbed a Jewish man at a gas station on the heavily traveled 443 highway right near a security checkpoint. Soldiers shot and killed the attacker. Recounting the events of the attack in a press conference from his hospital bed, the wounded victim said that after he was stabbed he ran and called for help but the Arab workers in the station just watched and some even smiled.

The 443 is one of only two major highways that connect Jerusalem to the areas north and east of it and major cities including Tel Aviv and Modiin. The 443 partially runs through areas that are technically part of the West Bank.


Terror Warnings
Security officials are warning of the possibility of a major terror attack in the near future by an organized terror group.

Background
In the week and a half following the Duma arson attack, which claimed the lives of a Palestinian toddler and his father, there have been 4 terrorist attacks against Israelis. The first was a shooting at an Israeli passenger car, which failed to cause any casualties. The second was the molotov cocktail thrown at a passenger car near in the northern part of Jerusalem, which severely wounded a woman and lightly injured two men. The third was the attack on three soldiers in the West Bank by a Palestinian driver who rammed his car into them. And the fourth was the stabbing of the man at the gas station yesterday.

While these all have been “lone wolf” attacks, official fear that, based on previous patterns, the next one could likely be carried out by an organized terror group, which could make it far more deadly.(source)

Upshot
The “good news” is that officials believe that the Palestinian Authority is working to prevent another terror attack. The proof is that there have not been many violent protests in the territories, even during the funeral of the father who died of his wounds as a result of the Duma attack. Unfortunately, Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza aren’t controlled by the Palestinian Authority. Security officials are staying vigilant and expecting a tense few days ahead.


Crime and Punishment
Education Minister Naftali Bennet and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, of the right wing Bayit Yehudi party, both made statements in support of the death penalty for terrorist, be they Arab or Jewish. Israel currently doesn’t have a death penalty.

However, while Bennet also supports the use of administrative detention, Shaked is opposed to it — for Arabs or Jews. Holding someone in detention for up to 6 months without trial or legal proceedings is, “taking it too far,” she said. (source)

Upshot
Administrative detention will probably continue and the death penalty will probably not be implemented.


New Life to Parents of Terror Victim
Less than a year after their 3 month old daughter was murdered in a terror attack by a Palestinian who rammed his car into a group of people, the Braun family announced the birth of a new baby girl.

A hospital announcement read, “The Braun couple thanks the Holy One Blessed be He for everything, and particularly for the birth of their sweet daughter this morning.”

The Bruans had waited many years before finally being blessed with the birth of their first daughter, which made the birth of their new daughter so much more special.

The terrorist who killed the baby was killed during the attack and his family home was slated for demolition by the IDF. According to Arutz Sheva, it seems like only the terrorist’s room in the house was demolished (instead of the entire house), making it easy for the family to rebuild — and much less of a deterrent for future acts of terror. (source)


Vatican vs. Israel
The Vatican’s Custody of the Holy Land, which is a Franciscan Order in charge of tending to Christian shrines in Israel and in the West Bank, wrote a letter demanding that Israel’s Attorney General and state prosecutor charge the leader of the far-right Israeli group Lehava, Benzi Gopstein, with incitement for calling for churches in Israel to be torched. Prior to the letter the heads of the Catholic Church in Israel filed a complaint against the Lehava leader with the police.

The complaint voiced deep concern over the recent increase in hate crime and attacks against Christian holy sites, and noted that while almost no arrests have been made, Gopstein was making public statements in favor of such acts. (source)

Background
Gopstein made his remarks in a panel held for yeshiva students in Jerusalem last week. In response to a question as to whether he “is in favor of burning churches in the Land of Israel,” Gopstein answered, “Did the Rambam [Maimonides] rule to destroy [idol worship] or not? Idol worship must be destroyed. It’s simply yes – what’s the question?”

When the panel moderator warned him the panel was being filmed, and that if the recording should get to the police he would be arrested, Gopstein replied, “That’s the last thing that concerns me. If this is truth, I’m prepared to sit in jail 50 years for it.”

Upshot
Gopstein claims that he made his statements in the context of analyzing a statement of Maimonedes, and criticized the Vatican from getting involved in halachic discussions. The Church isn’t buying his excuse, and wants him arrested and locked up. They might have a point.


Mikvah Building
The Jerusalem municipality approved the building of a new mikvah (ritual bath) in the Jewish enclave of Ma’ale Zeitim, which is located in the Arab neighborhood of Ras Al-Amud in East Jerusalem. There are approximately 100 Jewish families in the community. The council allocated 11 million shekels for the building project. That equals over 100 thousand shekels per family. It’s one of the most expensing mikvah projects in the country. The people and council think it’s well worth it. (source)

israelAM for August 7, 2015

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Terrorist Attacks Soldiers
Raid Mohammed Badwan, a 45 yr. old Palestinian from the West Bank village of Biddu, rammed his car into a a group of soldiers walking on the side of the road at the Shiloh junction in Samaria yesterday. Two soldiers were seriously wounded. A third, Lt. Daniel Albaz, was also injured but managed to open fire on the terrorist and seriously wound him. The soldiers were part of the reinforcements deployed to stem unrest and reprisals in the aftermath of the Duma arson attack last week.

Following the attack the IDF entered the village of Biddu were the terrorist lived, surrounded and searched his house and questioned his family. Violent protests ensued, forcing soldiers to use tear gas and rubber bullets. One soldier was injured by a stone.

Reactions
The PM congratulated the soldiers who reacted quickly to neutralize the terrorist and wish a speedy recovery to the wounded. He added, “I find it puzzling that those who were so quick to denounce terror against Palestinians are silent when the terror is aimed at Jews.”

Palestinian Authority President Abbas made no statement.

President Reuven Rivlin wrote, “I am proud of our soldiers who reacted immediately and stopped the terrorist. We have no tolerance for terror and never will have.”

Defense Minister Ya’alon said, ”The struggle against Palestinian terror requires steadfastness and an iron fist against the terrorists and those who send them. We are deploying the finest people and capabilities in order to prevent attacks on the citizens of Israel. Against terror, one fights with zero tolerance and that’s exactly what we’re doing,

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Ron Prosor urged UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to condemn the attack. “Once again, even after a Palestinian terrorist intentionally plowed his car into three IDF soldiers today, the UN hasn’t condemned the attack, nor the other recent attacks against Israelis.”

A Hamas spokesman praised the attack but did not claim responsibility for it. He called on all Palestinians to go out to hot spots in Judea and Samaria on Friday and violently confront IDF forces. “We call upon the members of our people in the West Bank to carry out more terror attacks so that the occupiers will learn a lesson.”

Islamic Jihad agreed.

Upshot
Security experts assume that the terrorist was a “lone wolf”, not affiliated with any organized group. That means that this type of random violence can happen anywhere and anytime, requiring a constant state of vigilance.

Did Jewish Leader Criticize Netanyahu?
Haaretz reported yesterday that Malcom Hoenlein criticized PM Netanyahu for “telling U.S Jews what they should do vis a vis their government,” regarding the Iran deal. That was a bit of a shock, since Hoenlein is regarded as being one of the American Jewish leaders closest to Netanyahu and personally opposes the deal.

Well, in an interview with the JTA, Hoenlein denied the Haaretz report claiming that the article “could not be more inaccurate.” He admitted to saying, “we don’t believe Israelis should interfere in American politics or that Americans should interfere with Israeli politics,” but added that in the case of the Iran deal the PM has an obligation to appeal to American Jewry for assistance.

Iran Deal Update
Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, a leading Democrate expected to be the party’s next leader in the Senate, has announced that he will vote against the Iran deal. “The very real risk that Iran will not moderate and will, instead, use the agreement to pursue its nefarious goals is too great,” Schumer said.

Schumer joins other Jewish Democrats who indicated their opposition to the deal including New York Rep. Eliot Engel, who is the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Reps. Steve Israel and Nita Lowey of New York and Ted Deutch of Florida.

Ben Gurion is Open
Ben Gurion Airport was due to be shut down for Shabbat as a result of a strike by airport workers over the hiring of temporary contract workers. But they schmoozed it out with the Israel Airports Authority and decided to let the approximately 200 flights and 30,000 pass through unimpeded. A whole lot of travelers are very grateful.

Speaking of airports, some of the world’s leading high-tech companies have reportedly signed a petition calling for direct flights between Tel Aviv and Dublin, the capital of Ireland. Sounds reasonable enough.

Prison Calling
Ezra Sheinberg, the Safed rabbi/kabbalist in jail for sexually assaulting 14 women, seems to be taking his case into his own hands. He was discovered to have used the jail’s public phone to call the husband and brother-in-law of at least one of his accusers to try and convince them to withdraw the charges against him. According to a lawyer for the plaintiffs, he’s been doing this a lot lately. He also gave an interview to a reporter. All of this is obviously against prison rules. In all likelihood, he’ll be losing phone privileges for a while. We hope.

Police Cause Traffic Jam
The Ayalon, Israel’s busiest highway, was shut down yesterday by police after they stopped a car driven by an Israeli Arab who’s passengers were two Palestinian women from Gaza. The problem was that, according to police, “they did not cooperate with the police”. That’s a no no in pretty much every country. In Israel it’s life threatening. Police drew their weapons, strip searched the male driver in the middle of the highway, and detained the women for questioning. Lot’s of angry drivers (angrier than usual) got home late for dinner.
Upshot:
Cooperate with the Police.

israelAM for August 6, 2015

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Obama vs. Israel
President Obama claimed in a speech yesterday that out of every country who has publicly commented about the Iran deal, Israel was the only one that hasn’t expressed support for it. He referred specifically to PM Netanyahu saying, “I don’t doubt Netanyahu’s sincerity but I think he is wrong.” He added, “To the Israeli people I say this: Nuclear-armed Iran is more dangerous than an Iran that benefits from sanction relief,”

But he also said that he understands Israel’s concerns and was ready to increase support for missile defense, information sharing and the prevention of Iranian disruptive activities in the region. That’s unlikely to make Israel feel better about the deal.

The official Israeli response was that, “Israel does not doubt President Obama’s sincerity, but we disagree with his position. This agreement does not prevent war but brings it closer, because it gives Iran international legitimacy to build an infrastructure and manufacture an arsenal of nuclear weapons. It also funds its aggressive terror machine with hundreds of billions of dollars.”

Upshot
Obama’s speech doesn’t seem to have won over Israel. Whether it’s enough to win over congress is still to be seen. And the battle continues.

Threats Against Minister
The Bayit Yehudi party has filed a complaint with police claiming incitement against party leader and minister of education Naftali Bennett.

Since the Gay Pride parade stabbings and the Duma arson attack, Bennett’s Facebook page has been swamped with threats and calls for violence against him and his party members.

While Bennett’s Bayit Yehudi party is pro Jewish settlement in the West Bank and anti Gay marriage, he strongly condemned the Duma and Gay parade attacks and spoke out in defense of personal freedoms for all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or beliefs.

It seems that in Israel, incitement to violence can come from both the right and the left.

President Speaks
In an interview with Makor Rishon President Reuven Rivlin reiterated his opposition to a two state solution and and stated, “I believe with perfect faith that a Jew has the right to live anywhere he chooses to in this land.” He also said that he isn’t afraid of recent threats against his life and spoke out against incitement and hatred in both the right and left wing camps.

Budget Compromises
As we wrote yesterday, the new budget for 2015-2016 was set to be opposed by Economy Minister Aryeh Deri and Education Minister Naftali Bennet. Deri wanted no VAT on utility bills and public transport for the needy and Bennet wanted less cuts for higher education. Well, after lots of negotiation, they won out. The VAT on utilities and public transport will be scrapped for the the poor, and less money will be cut from the education budget. Other ministries including Sports and Culture and Technology also succeeded in getting budget increases in last minute bargaining that continued through the night. Netanyahu also agreed to add an additional 3 billion shekels to the defense budget.

Upshot
Early this morning the budget was voted on and passed with no opposition. It’s nice when everyone comes out happy. Go figure.

Shoreline Saved
Environmental Protection Minister Avi Gabbay announced yesterday that construction will no longer be permitted within 100 meters of the waterline along the Israel’s coast.

The Finance Ministry’s Planning administration had been formulating a national master plan for the shoreline that would have allowed considerable construction of stores, restaurants, and cafes within the 100 meter range. Environmental groups vowed protests. Construction and Housing Minister Yoav Galant had also asked the Planning Administration to scrap their plan.

Upshot
The shoreline won and will remain construction free, at least until the next plan is created. But the future of the rest of Israel’s non shoreline environment is still unclear.

Train Safety
Israel Railways, in cooperation with Israeli company Rail Safe, is developing a smart system to detect objects on railroad tracks and prevent collisions and accidents. The system, the first in the world of its kind, uses a thermal sensor that can detect objects, classify them in real time, and warn the driver long enough before a collision with the object occurs. While the human eye can see only up to 200 meters, the sensor can detect objects up to a distance of three kilometers. Another life saving innovation from Israel.

Burger Innovation
In the spirit of the startup nation, Israeli fast food chain Burger Ranch is launching an innovative new product: the Sliceburger, a 300 gram pizza shaped burger divided into 6 slices. It’ll be served in a package shaped like a pizza and cost around 70 shekels. Anyone want a slice of burger? Maybe Israel should focus on High-tech and Biomeds and leave the food innovation to others.

israelAM for August 5, 2015

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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.

israelAM for August 4, 2015

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Shin Bet Arrests Terror Suspect
The Shin Bet, Israel’s version of the FBI, arrested Meir Ettinger for “involvement in an extremist Jewish organization.” Ettinger denied the charge. Although the Shin Bet declined to connect the arrest to the arson attack at Duma, it definitely seems like there’s a connection.

The Shin Bet did single out Ettinger two days before the attack, when it announced it had uncovered a Jewish extremist movement of young settler activists responsible for a June arson attack on the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish, a prominent Catholic church near the Kinneret, and a number of other hate crimes. At the time, the Shin Bet had accused Ettinger of heading the movement.

The Israeli media has dubbed Ettinger as the Shin Bet’s “number one” most wanted Jewish extremist. He has been arrested several times before and banned from the West Bank.

In a blog post published last week, the day before the arson attack in Duma that killed a Palestinian toddler and seriously injured his family, Ettinger wrote, “The truth must be told — there is no terrorist organization, but there are many, many Jews, many more than one might think, whose value systems are completely different than those of the High Court of Justice and the Shin Bet, and are not bound by the ignorant and broken laws of the state, but rather by laws much more eternal.”

By the way, Ettinger is also the grandson of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane. That explains a lot.

IDF Destroys Jewish House
The IDF civil administration in Judea and Samaria destroyed a house in the community of Eli. The demolition was based on a 10 yr. old petition filed by Peace Now claiming that the house was built on Palestinian owned land.

A spokesmen for the community said, “”We hurt today and tomorrow we’ll move on.”The Yovel neighborhood of Eli will continue to be built, to evolve.”

Terrorist Wounds Woman
A 27 year-old woman was injured Monday night after a terrorist threw a Molotov cocktail at her car near the Arab neighborhood of Beit Hanina in Jerusalem, at the junction of highways 443 and Begin. Both roads are main arteries and are heavily traveled by Israeli drivers on their way to and from Jerusalem.

The woman was treated by Magen Adom paramedics and taken to Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital with first and second-degree burns on 15% of her body. She is reportedly fully conscious and stable. 

Her husband was rescued from the vehicle and was not injured. The vehicle was completely burned. Two other men were injured when the burning car rammed into their car.

Police are searching for the attackers.

Avigdor Liberman, former foreign minister and the head of opposition party Israel Beyteinu said, “The attack should remind anyone who needs reminding that the exception is Jews attacking Arabs while Arabs attacking Jews is the norm.

Deputy defense minister Rabbi Eli Ben Dahan remarked, “I expect that those who condemned the the terror attacks of the end of last week will also condemn this one.”

Shira Laid to Rest
Shira Banki, the 16 year old student murdered at the Gay Pride parade, was laid to rest today in Kibbutz Nachshon. Thousands of people attended the funeral. Shira’s parents called for less hatred and more love and understanding, and praised their daughter for supporting personal rights and freedom, even though she herself was not part of the gay community.

Flag Waving on Temple Mount
A Christian tourist from France waved an Israeli flag on the Temple Mount, near the Dome of the Rock. He was beaten by Arabs and arrested by Israeli police. The police also arrested three of the attackers, including a member of the Waqf Islamic trust which administers the site. The flag waver also got a bloody head as part of the deal. Lucky he wasn’t Jewish.

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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.

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israelAM for July 31, 2015

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Jerusalem Stabbing
The annual Jerusalem Gay Pride parade ended in tragedy yesterday when Yishai Schlissel, a Charedi man from Modiin Illit, stabbed 6 marchers.

Background
In 2005 Schlissel stabbed 3 participants in a Gay Pride march and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was released just 3 weeks ago. Since then he had distributed handwritten pamphlets in Modiin Illit urging people to do whatever they can to stop the parade.

PM Netanyahu stated, “Justice will be dealt to whoever was responsible for this act. In the State of Israel, an individual’s freedom of choice is one of the country’s most basic values. It is up to us to make sure that every man and woman can live in safety at all times in every way that they choose to live. This is how we work and this is how we will continue to do things. I wish a speedy recovery to all those injured.”

President Reuven Rivlin said, “people celebrating their freedom and expressing their identity were viciously stabbed. We must not be deluded, a lack of tolerance will lead us to disaster. We cannot allow such crimes, and we must condemn those who commit and support them. I wish the injured a full and speedy recovery.”

Ministers and officials from across the political spectrum were united in their condemnation of the attack.
Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef said, “It’s unthinkable that a man can lift up his hand against another Jewish soul in the name of religion. I am praying from the bottom of my heart for the full recovery of those who were injured and in the face of this type of hatred I call on the entire Jewish people to return to unity in kindness and tolerance.”

Strangely, the Charedi United Torah Judaism party, remained silent and issued no statements.

Upshot
The real questions following the attack will be directed at the police. Why didn’t they monitor a man who served 10 years for stabbing people at a Gay Pride parade, distributed anti gay pamphlets promoting violent disruption of the parade after his release, and then showed up at the current parade?
Time to investigate.

Terror in Samaria
A one and half year old boy was killed and his parents and 4 year old brother severely injured when their house caught fire in the Palestinian village of Duma, just outside of Nablus. Jewish extremists are suspected of firebombing the house. Graffiti in Hebrew was found spray painted on the walls of the house saying, “Revenge” and “Long Live the Mashiach”.

The PM and Defense Minister, along with ministers from the settler backed Bait Yehudi party, strongly condemned the terrorist act and promised to bring the perpetrators to justice. The IDF has sent extra forces into the area to search for the terrorists and prepare for potential protests or revenge attacks.

History Robbers Busted
Antiquities Authority inspectors noticed a group of men using a metal detector and digging at an archeological site in the Beit Shemesh area. They alerted the police, who managed to arrest one of them and identify a second one who got away. The apprehended suspect was in possession of 63 coins from the Second Temple and Roman periods, some 2,000 years old. But that’s not the worst of it.

According to Antiquities Authority inspector Uzi Rotstein, “the activities of the suspects caused considerable damage to the site. They dug dozens of shallow pits from which the ancient coins were looted, while disturbing the archeological strata, detaching the archeological findings from their context and leading to a loss of valuable archeological, historical and cultural knowledge to the country’s cultural heritage.”

Facebook Aids Brain Drain
Two weeks ago Facebook bought Israeli startup Pebbles. Out of Pebbles 35 employees, 15 are being let go. The other 20 are being shipped to California. To help ease their pain of having to leave Israel, they’ll be getting $20 million. That should do the trick.

Israel Celebrates Love
Today is Tu B’av, the Jewish version of Valentine’s Day. According to the Talmud, on the 15th day (Tu) in the Hebrew month of Av (today), the single Jewish women would gather in a designated field and dance, while the single Jewish men would watch. Sort of like a huge singles mixer. But it was far from a superficial scene. The women would wear borrowed white garments, so as not to embarrass those who couldn’t afford the latest designer fashions. And they would sing these words from Proverbs 31:30, “Charm is deceptive and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears G-d shall be praised.” Now that’s serious.

The men and women would meet and well, the rest is history.

Happy Tu B’av!!

Have an amazing day and a Shabbat Shalom! See you on Monday!

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israelAM for July 30, 2015

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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!

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israelAM for July 29, 2015

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Demolition Begins
The Israeli High Court today rejected the governments appeal to halt the demolition of the 2 building in Beit El slated for destruction. Hundreds of protesters faced off against police at the site, throwing rocks and setting tires on fire. The police tried to disperse the crowd with water cannons. The situation is unfolding as you’re reading this.

Netanyahu’s Balancing Act
Throwing his support clearly behind the Beit El protesters, PM Benjamin Netanyahu promised to try to obtain authorization to legalize the 24 housing units in Beit El. “Our stance with regard to the Beit El homes is clear. We oppose their demolition and are working through legal means to prevent this,” Netanyahu said.

However, he also was furious with coalition members of the Bayit Yehudi party for criticizing the government. He reiterated that the decision to demolish the buildings was made by the Supreme Court and therefore had no effect on any coalition agreements.

Background
The government is composed of a right wing coalition. Some of those parties are more to the right than others. One of these is Bayit Yehudi, a religious zionist party that draws significant support from the settler community. Naftali Bennet and the other ministers and Knesset members from the party have gone all out to back their supporter base in protesting the demolitions. In doing so they have implied that if the buildings are demolished they might withdraw their 8 seats from the coalition, which would cause the government to collapse. Avigdor Liberman, the head of the opposition party Yisrael Beytenu, said he agreed with Bennett and called on him to leave the coalition and to join him in the opposition, so that together they could create a new government devoted to construction rather then demolition. That makes the PM really mad. And you don’t want to get on Netanyahu’s bad side.

So instead of taking on Netanyahu head on, Bayit Yehudi has gone after Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon for sending in the forces to evacuate the buildings. Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel and Justice Minister Eyelet Shaked both lashed out against Ya’alon for breaking his pledge not to use force.

Ya’alon replied, “I spoke with Bayit Yehudi ministers yesterday and told them that we [the IDF] would not act before a High Court of Justice ruling. [However] we will act in accordance with the law and any Supreme Court decisions.” He reiterated his support of the settlements but warned that, “those who think that I will break the law are mistaken. I won’t lend a hand to lawlessness.”

Upshot
The governments appeal was rejected and demolition order upheld. Bayit Yehudi went ballistic. In response, Netanyahu reiterated his approval to construct 300 new apartment units in Beit El. In addition, he approved moving forward with the planning of 500 new housing units in Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. So the coalition, and the government, remains in tact. For now.

Pollard to be Freed
Jonathan Pollard will be release on Friday November 20 after serving 30 years of his life sentence for spying for Israel. His parole will prohibit him from leaving US territory for 5 years. Only President Obama can allow Pollard to emigrate to Israel. But senior Israeli diplomats say that that is unlikely to happen. “The Americans are very worried of a situation in which Pollard will be received as a hero in Israel, and therefore they likely will prevent Pollard from leaving American territory.”

PM Netanyahu told Pollard’s wife Esther,”After decades of effort, Jonathan Pollard will finally be released. Throughout his time in prison, I consistently raised the issue of his release in my meetings and conversations with the leadership of successive U.S. administrations. We are looking forward to his release.”

Teva Contaminating Yarkon
The Israel Water Authority is claiming that the Teva Pharmaceutical Industries manufacturing plant in Kfar Sava has seriously contaminated the Yarkon River. Water samples taken from the river have detected high concentrations of drug residues, far exceeding levels found in water sources abroad or at Israeli treatment plants. Some of the drugs whose residue was found in the river and the treatment facilities are resistant to treatment procedures, so that high concentrations remain even after several stages of purification.

Sara Elhanani, head of the Water Authority’s water quality department, said that “without doubt, Teva is responsible for seriously polluting the Yarkon River with drugs it manufactures.”

Teva responded: “We take this issue very seriously and will study the findings noted in the letter. We will hold further discussions with the Water Authority regarding this topic.”

Teva just purchased a company for $40 billion and is now one of the top 10 drug companies in the world. They can afford to spend as much as it takes to clean up their mess and protect Israel’s precious water resources. They owe it to the country, and the world.

Reuniting IDF Families
There are still 7,000 Ethiopian Jews in Ethiopia waiting to immigrate to Israel. Many of them have family members serving in the IDF. Interior Minister Silvan Shalom has promised to bring the families of 500 Ethiopian Israeli soldiers to Israel ASAP, and to work on bringing the remaining Jews to Israel too. He said, “I have a strong will to bring the rest of Ethiopian Jewry [to Israel], and I hope that I will be able to do so in my role as interior minister.”

“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!

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