Israel News for 7-3-17
Terror Memorial
Last month, the Palestinian Authority created a memorial in Jenin to Khalid Nazzal, a leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) terrorist group who was responsible for a deadly terror attack in the northern town of Maalot in 1974 in which 22 children were killed and 68 injured. The PA also renamed a public square in Jenin in his honor. Yesterday, the IDF entered Jenin and destroyed the memorial.
For further reading click here.
Ban Lifted
PM Netanyahu has decided to temporarily lift the ban on Israeli lawmakers visiting the Temple Mount. The ban will be lifted for five days later this month as a test, to see whether the visits trigger violence at the holy site.
The decision to lift the ban came after Likud MK Yehuda Glick petitioned the Supreme Court to be allowed to visit the Temple Mount. Click said, “The decision to open the Temple Mount is right and appropriate. It’s too bad that we had to petition the High Court for it to be made. I call on all members of Knesset to ascend the Mount and respect the place appropriately, leaving disputes and agendas behind.”
Knesset members, Jewish and Muslim, have been banned from visiting the Temple Mount since October 2015.
For further reading click here.
Funding Threats
Jewish real estate magnate and philanthropist Isaac “Ike” Fisher has announced that he will withdraw funding and fundraising for Israel projects until the government resolved the Kotel and conversion bill crisis. Just last week Fisher invested one million dollars in Israel bonds but has since asked for his money back.
Fisher told Yediot Ahronoth, “It isn’t a matter of Reform or Conservative. This is a serious act of contempt for the rabbis and leaders of our communities. They say ‘you don’t matter. They say to our women ‘your Judaism isn’t Judaism.’ It is intolerable and we have an obligation to put an end to it.”
Many Israeli leaders fear that Fisher might just be one example of the fallout that could occur as a result of the government actions relating to non-Orthodox Jews worldwide, and that the consequences could represents a serious danger to Israel’s economy and security.
For further reading click here.
Startup Nation
The Wall Street Journal published an article called “Tech Companies to Watch” listing 25 leading startups, and six of them are Israeli. Three of the four cyber security companies on the list are Israeli. Other Israeli companies on the list include Via (think Uber), Lemonade (homeowners insurance) and Life on Air (social media).
For further reading click here.
Britney Arrives
Singing icon Britney Spears arrived in Israel yesterday ahead of her Monday night concert in Tel Aviv to which 50,000 are expected to attend. Spears visited Jerusalem and the Kotel yesterday, but cancelled her planned meeting with PM Netanyahu as a result of being mobbed by hundreds of adoring fans. She apparently isn’t yet used to Israeli exuberance (pushiness?).
To view photos of Britney in Israel click here.
