Archive for category: news

Settlement Demands
The Yesha Council, representing the communities (settlements) in Judea and Samaria, presented PM Netanyahu with a list of grievances against his “discriminatory” policy against settlements and demanded that he commit to approving 10,000 new housing units in the settlements.

A few months ago, the government announced that NIS 116 billion from the state budget would be invested into a multi-year plan aimed at developing infrastructure. The plan, which was supposed to be implemented between 2017 and 2021, includes 147 projects throughout the state.

However, settlers were disheartened by the fact that according to the figures of the plans, the West Bank, which comprises an area equal to one-quarter of the size of the State of Israel and which has about 2.5 million inhabitants, is to be the recipient of a mere NIS 70 million, constituting 0.6 percent of the total budget.

Yesha representatives complained, “While in small Israel, both in the urban centers and in the periphery, huge investments are being made, in Judea and Samaria there is neglect that has been going on for years of everything related to the development of transportation, water, electricity and gas infrastructure.”

Yesha leaders are upset that Netanyahu doesn’t seem to be taking advantage of what appears to be a very pro-Israel US administration. The PM, however, does not want to antagonize the Trump, who has asked him to hold off on settlement expansion. Trump officials reportedly told the PM not to be a “Hazer” (the Yiddish word for pig) when it comes to settlements.

For further reading click here.

Interpol Farce
Despite intense lobbying by Israel and the US, the Interpol general assembly yesterday voted 75 to 24 (with 34 abstentions) to admit the Palestinian Authority into the international policing organization.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki hailed the vote as a “victory for law enforcement” and “voice of confidence in the capacity of law enforcement in Palestine.” He promised to uphold Palestinian commitments to combating crime and strengthening the rule of law.
 
Zeev Elkin, Israel’s Minister of Environmental Protection and a close associate of Netanyahu, said in retaliation for the Palestinians joining Interpol, Israel should cancel gestures granted to the Palestinians, including work and entry permits, and special travel permits for Palestinian leaders.

Commentary
So even though “Palestine” is not a state and the PA openly supports terror by paying pensions to the families of terrorists and by not condemning all acts of terror against Israel, the Palestinians will now be privy to all the valuable counter terrorism intelligence used by Interpol in the war against terror. Let’s hope too much info isn’t leaked to Hamas or other related terror organizations.

For further reading click here.

Busy Borders
Security forces had a busy day at Israel’s borders yesterday. Two fighter jets were scrambled near the Jordanian border when a Jordanian civilian aircraft got a bit too close to the border. The plans returned to base when it became clear that the plane would not cross the border.

In the south, IDF forces apprehended a Palestinian who crossed the Gaza border into Israel. He was taken for questioning and appeared to be unarmed.

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Training Tragedy
Two IDF soldiers in an artillery who were killed in a training accident in the Golan Heights early Wednesday morning when a self-propelled cannon overturned into a ditch. The two were Second Lieutenant Avshalom Armoni, 22, of Beit Horon and Sergeant Avinoam Cohen, 22, of Jerusalem. Four other soldiers were injured. Armoni was the cousin of Na’ama Henkin, who was killed with her husband Eitam in a drive-by shooting terror attack in October 2015.

Hundreds of people attended the funeral of Avinoam Cohen at Mount Hertlz military cemetery yesterday. He was a student at the Elon Moreh yeshiva. His sister had given birth just a few hours after the accident and came to the funeral on a stretcher, straight from the hospital.

Cohen’s father eulogized, “Today, the people of Israel lost a pure soul, right before Yom Kippur. For 22 years we had this gift and we now have to return it, and we did. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts. But we accept it.”

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Gift to UN
Israel presented the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO) with a replica of a portion of the Arch of Titus depicting the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The replica, created by Israel’s Antiquities Authority, depicts a triumphal procession by Roman soldiers returning from destroying the Second Temple and carrying the Temple’s Menorah.

Israel hopes that the replica, which will be put on display at UNESCO’s headquarters, will serve as a reminder that the Second Temple had existed on the Temple Mount, a fact denied by the Arab states and the Palestinians.

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PM Bows to Trump
PM Netanyahu told his security cabinet last night that he would postpone a meeting scheduled for this week of the West Bank Civil Administration’s planning committee, at the request of US President Trump. The PM told the ministers present that he had no intention of humiliating the Trump administration by making decisions relating to settlements, particularly since Trump’s special advisor Jason Greenblatt will be visiting the region this week.

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Missile Aid
The US Senate last week voted to increase US aid to Israel for development and production of anti-missile defense systems. The US House of Representatives approved the same amount for the Israeli missile defense programs in July.

The Trump administration proposed granting Israel $147 million for its anti-missile programs in the 2018 fiscal year. At Israel’s requests, the Senate increased the grant by $558 million to $705 million, $100 million more than the aid that Israel received last year for this purpose.

US aid for the missile programs is unlinked to the $3.1 billion annual military aid, which was the amount set by the 10-year Israel-US memorandum of understanding. Missile aid comes from the US Department of Defense budget, while military aid is part of the US foreign aid budget.

Starting in 2019, when the new memorandum of understanding goes into effect, military aid will total $3.8 billion annually – $3.3 billion in regular military aid and $500 million in aid for the missile program. Israel will no longer be able to ask Congress to supplement this aid. This condition was demanded by the Obama administration, in an attempt to prevent Congress from giving Israel too much US taxpayer money.

One question remaining is whether Israel will have to pay back $75 million granted by Congress as part of the regular defense budget after the memorandum was signed.

For further reading click here.

Interpol Lobbying
Israel and the US are lobbying to persuade Interpol, the international policing organization, to deny membership to the Palestinian Authority. Israel claims that Palestinian acceptance to Interpol will only politicize the organization and give Palestinians another platform to harass Israel from. Israel also fears the PA would manipulate Interpol to put out arrest warrants for high ranking Israeli officials, and that classified documents passing through the police organization relating to terrorism would trickle down to Hamas and terrorist groups related to Fatah.

The Interpol General Assembly is currently meeting in China to decide on how to proceed.

For further reading click here.

New UN Rep
Danielle Daseta, an Ethiopian immigrant, has been appointed Israel’s new representative for environmental, developmental and economic issues at the UN. As part of her new position, Daseta will be promoting Israeli innovation and collaborations with other members of the international organization. Daseta made Aliyah in 1984 with her family during Operation Moses.

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IDF in Mexico
An Israeli delegation, made up of 71 IDF soldiers and officers, has been conducting search and rescue operations in Mexico City in the aftermath of the massive earthquake that hit the city last week.

PM Netanyahu spoke on the phone to Israeli Ambassador to Mexico, Yoni Peled, and the commander of the IDF delegation, Col. Dudi Mizrahi, over the weekend. He said, “You are doing is a mitzvah. You are shining Israel’s light in the world, a big light. It is important from a humanitarian standpoint and also to show the world the true Israel. You are making the State of Israel very proud.”

To view images of the IDF rescue efforts click here.

Police Brutality
Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich condemned police brutality after watching videos of the violent Haredi anti-draft demonstration in which police officers are seen punching, kicking and tackling demonstrators.

Alsheich said, “I had a bad feeling when I saw the videos yesterday. The haredi Jewish [demonstrators] were also violent, but in the videos, I witnessed incidents in which the use of force by the policemen that was not justified.”

The videos have been transferred to the Police Internal Investigations Department.

To watch a quick video clip click here.

Prayers in Awarta
Hundreds of Jews prayed, under IDF protection, at the graves of Itamar and Elazar, the sons of Aaron the High Priest (the brother of Moses), in the Arab village of Awarta in Samaria. The village is the home of the terrorist who murdered the Fogel family and is known as a hostile village that supports terror.

Among those attending was the head of the Shomron Council, Yossi Dagan, who said: “We have the privilege to live in a generation that is fulfilling the dream of generations – the right to say selichot and pray at the graves of the nation’s great figures. The contrast in the fact that these great and righteous people are specifically buried in the terrible village from which the despicable murderers of the Fogel family came illustrates the importance of guarding the site and continuing organized entries there, so as to protect sites holy to the Jewish people.”

To view a video of the prayers click here.

Smoking Battles
The IDF has declared war against smoking. It will ban the sale of cigarettes on bases, limit the number of designated smoking areas on bases and enforce a strict disciplinary policy for those caught smoking anywhere else. The new anti-smoking guidelines also prohibit tobacco companies from sponsoring IDF units and prohibit cigarette donations to soldiers through the army’s donation program.

In addition to the prohibitions, every soldier will be assigned to an anti-smoking program and those who smoke will be assisted in attempts to overcome the habit and offered support groups.

For further reading click here.

Kosher or Not
The Supreme Court rules last week that while the official state rabbinate has the sole authority to certify a restaurant as “kosher”, restaurants are permitted to describe the kosher status of their food and the type of kosher supervision they employ. The ruling opens the door to independent kosher certification organizations to provide supervision to establishments that either choose not to pay for rabbinate supervision who that do not meet the criteria required by the rabbinate to obtain certification.

For example, a restaurant that serves strictly kosher food but is open on Shabbat, and thus cannot receive kosher certification from the rabbinate, can now receive kosher certification from an independent rabbinic supervisor and advertise that fact, as long as it does not display an actual “kosher certification” certificate.

After the ruling, the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization announced that it would provide independent kosher certification. The Chief Rabbinate sent a letter to Rabbi Stab, the head of Tzohar who is also the official Chief Rabbi of the town of Shoham, that he will lose his position if he offers independent kosher certification.

For further reading click here.

Uman Journey
Around 30,000 Jews, mostly from Israel, will spend Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) in the Ukrainian town of Uman, 130 miles south of Kiev. The town is the location of the tomb of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, an 18th century Hasidic master and grandson of the Ba’al Shem Tov (the founder of the Hasdic movement). Rabbi Nachman spent the last 5 years of his life in Uman and requested to be buried there. He also promised to intercede on behalf of anyone who would come to pray at his grave on Rosh Hashana – – hence, the annual pilgrimage.

The annual pilgrimage to Uman has been a huge boon for the local economy. The area around the tomb, where around 500 Jews live, has become a vibrant neighborhood with Hebrew signage, 20 kosher restaurants and 25 hotels (mostly operating in apartment buildings). In addition to the Rosh Hashana pilgrimage, thousands of Jewish pilgrims visit Oman throughout the year. Some of the new businesses are owned by Israelis who settled in Uman while others are owned by Ukrainians or are joint Israeli-Ukrainian ventures. A good deal of the commercial growth in town is due to secular Jewish visitors as opposed to the Hasidim.

Unfortunately, the Uman pilgrimages have also spawned anti semitic attacks, drug use, prostitution, disorderly conduct and a powerful organized crime presence.

For further reading click here.

To hear a song about the Uman pilgrimage click here.

Big Promise
Despite mounting pressure on him to resign in the face of multiple corruption investigations against him, PM Netanyahu dismissed the pressure and promised to lead his Likud party to a “big” victory in the 2019 general elections. Netanyahu made the statement at a press conference in Argentina, where he his currently visiting as part of a 10 day trip to Latin America.

Regarding the rumors that he might resign, the PM said, “It’s nonsense. The support for me in the Likud party is so powerful. You have to come and see. Not only to the meetings. Come with me to the streets and see it. I don’t remember support like this since 1996, not for me or for my wife. I see tremendous power. There is no other word to describe this.”

For further reading click here.

MK Resigns
Shas MK Yigal Guetta resigned his Knesset seat today in the face of criticism from his Ultra-Orthodox party members for attending the weeding of his gay nephew. In a recent radio interview Guetta revealed that he had attended the wedding out of respect for his sister. Even though he didn’t attend the actual ceremony, just showing up at the event was reason enough to stir up a swarm of rabbinic reproachment. Guetta will remain active in the Shas party.

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Haredi Draft
The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the amendment to the law which set an annual quota for Haredi conscripts was unconstitutional. The original law, spearheaded by Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, allowed Haredi men of military age to delay their service on the condition that the annual quota of Haredi conscripts was met. The annual quota was seen as a breakthrough in the attempt to remedy the situation in which Haredi men did not serve in the IDF.

When PM Netanyahu formed his coalition in 2015 with the backing of the Haredi parties, the law was amended to significantly lower the Herd conscript quota. But with the court’s almost unanimous decision to cancel the amendment, the quota will have to be increased within a year. The ruling was attacked by the Haredi leadership and praised by Yair Lapid.

For further reading click here.

Russian Warning
Russia has warned Syrian President Assad not to attempt to retaliate against Israel in the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike against the country’s Scientific Studies and Research Center last week. Israel has not admitted to the attack.

For further reading click here.

Shanghai Flights
Chinese airline Hainan Airlines has launched a new Tel Aviv-Shanghai route. Ticket prices will start at $500. Minister of Tourism Yariv Levin, currently on a visit to Shanghai, said, “I congratulate Hainan for opening the route from Shanghai to Israel as part of its fruitful cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism. When I became minister, one of my main goals was to increase tourism from China, and we are now seeing a major rise in tourist traffic from that country. I believe that by the end of the year, we will break the record for tourist entries from China, with the number of Chinese tourists visiting Israel exceeding 100,000.”

For further reading click here.

Illegal Kippot
Inspectors from the Israel Nature and Parks Authority confiscated Kippot (skullcaps) made of snake skin and crocodile skin from a new judaica store in Jerusalem’s Old City on the suspicion that they were imported illegally without the required permits. The store was selling the exotic items for thousands of shekels. Hard to believe there’s actually a market for this stuff?

For further reading click here.

No Policy Shift
Last week US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman gave an interview to the Jerusalem Post in which he said that the Israeli left-wing is opposing the “alleged occupation” of the West Bank. His words implied that the West Bank was not really “occupied” territory. Official US policy however does consider the West Bank to be occupied territory.

Heather Nauert, the State Department’s spokeswoman, was asked about Friedman’s choice of words on Thursday and replied: “Our position on that hasn’t changed. The comment does not represent a shift in U.S. policy.” When asked why the sitting American ambassador in Israel therefore used those words, she repeated the same answer.

For further reading click here.

Trump Optimistic
At a news conference with the Emir of Kuwait at the White House yesterday President Trump expressed optimism at reaching an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. He said, “I think we have a chance of doing it, I think the Palestinians would like to see it happen, I think the Israelis would like to see it happen and usually when you have two groups that would like to see something happen, good things can happen. I think there is a chance that there could be peace.”

Trump will meet with both Netanyahu and Abbas on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly later this month.

For further reading click here.

Sara in Trouble
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced today that he intends to indict Sara Netanyahu, the PM’s wife, over her alleged misuse of vast sums of public funds to purchase extravagant meals from restaurants and chefs.  

Mandelblit determined that between September 2010 – Match 2013, Mrs. Netanyahu, along with Deputy Prime Minister’s Office Director-General Ezra Saidoff, claimed that no cook was employed in the PM’s residence, allowing her to order meals from restaurants and chefs reaching a total cost of around NIS 359,000 ($102,000).

Following an investigation into the matter, it turned out that cooks had in fact been employed there throughout the entire period.The investigation raised suspicions that invoices for the meals were then forged in order to exceed the limit placed on food costs by splitting payments across numerous invoices.  

Mandelblit notified Mrs. Netanyahu’s attorney of his intention to indict her after which she will be called in for a preliminary hearing, before the attorney general makes a final decision to proceed.

PM Netanyahu responded on Facebook to Madelblit’s announcement by placing the blame for the fraud on on Meni Naftali, who was the residence caretaker at the time of the unusual spending. He posted, “Expenses on food and meals in takeaway trays were magically inflated during Meni Naftali’s time as chief caretaker of the residence, and no less magically plummeted when he left. They told us about the garden furniture, the electrician, the bottles, the waiters, the caretaker. Now all we’re left with is the unbelievable, false story about the trays, most of which were ordered by Meni Naftali. And that too will evaporate come the hearing.”

For further reading click here.

Terror Down
According to a monthly report published by the Shin Bet, there were 110 terror attacks in Israel in the month of August. Most of the attacks (83) consisted of the throwing of Molotov Cocktails (firebombs). This is a dramatic decrease from the July total of 222 terror attacks. The spike in July was apparently related to the crisis surrounding the Temple Mount.

To read the full report click here.

Eagle Returned
One of the few eagles still remaining in the Golan Heights Gamla Nature Reserve recently flew over the Syrian border. It was wearing a tracking device. The eagle was captured by Syrian rebel forces. Similar incidents have lead to accusations of Israeli espionage via the tracking device. But this time the rebels returned the eagle to Israel as a gesture of thanks for Israel’s humanitarian aid to the Syrian people.

The eagle was transferred to the Ramat Gan Safari’s wildlife hospital with a leg injury and is recuperating nicely.

For further reading click here.