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Israel News for November 4, 2015

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Ethics and Priorities
There’s an ethical debate raging in the aftermath of the recent terror attack in Rishon Letzion in which an 80 year old woman and two other men were stabbed. A widely circulated video taken during the attack shows the woman being stabbed and falling to the ground, followed by at least a dozen Israeli men running right past her in pursuit of the terrorist. Not one stopped to help the wounded grandmother.

The woman’s granddaughter, Sagit Bracha-Eizenkot, told Channel 2 after watching the video of the incident that each of the citizens who ran past her injured grandmother “needs to do some soul searching. You want to stop the terrorist – fine, but someone needs to stop and help the wounded. We have a saying – ‘we do not leave the wounded behind.’ But that is exactly what we did.”

In response to the criticism leveled against the men who ran past without stopping to help, Bayit Yehudi MK Yinon Magal explained on Twitter that the men did the right thing by pursuing the terrorist to neutralize him before helping the wounded lady, which is what soldiers are trained to do in combat. The former commando in the elite Sayeret Matkal unit added, “Respect to the citizens who risk their lives!”

The video indicates that just 30 seconds passed from the moment the woman was stabbed to the moment at which citizens began tending to her.

What would you have done?

For further reading click here.

Knesset Rules
Last week, Arab Knesset member Ahmed Tibi (Joint List), who currently serves as Deputy Knesset Speaker, was verbally attacked by MK Ze’ev Elkin (Likud) while Elkin was addressing the Knesset. Tibi had Elkin ejected from the Knesset hall by security. After reviewing the event the Knesset’s Ethics Committee has decided that Tibi was out of line and acted wrongly by embarrassing Elkin and ejecting him. As punishment Tibi has been suspended from presiding over Knesset debates for two weeks. Arab Knesset members don’t think he should have punished at all, and that the committee is discriminating against him because he is Arab.

If you want to see tempers gone wild, watch the video here.

Radio Raid
The IDF raided the Al Hurria radio station in Hebron on Monday night and confiscated its broadcasting equipment to stop the station from inciting violence. In a statement the IDF said, “Al Hurria radio station’s agenda encourages stabbing attacks, violent riots and reports false and malicious claims of security forces executing and kidnapping Palestinians in order to provoke violence. The station glorifies attacks against Israelis and congratulates the families of attackers who died while executing attacks.”

For further reading click here.

Jordan Warms Up
A Royal Jordanian airliner was diverted to Ben Gurion Airport due to weather conditions in Amman. The plane was forced to make an emergency landing due to low fuel.

Speaking of Jordanian aircraft, Reuters reported that Israeli fighter pilots flew alongside Jordanian airforce pilots during training exercises in the US. The Jordanian planes also refueled from an Israeli tanker over the Atlantic Ocean.

It looks like Jordan is getting comfortable with Israel, at least in the air. That’s a good sign.

For further reading click here.

Start Up Nation
If you’re an admirer of Israeli high-tech companies and would love to invest in them from the US, you’ll soon get the chance to do so.

BlueStar Indexes and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) are launching the BlueStar TA-BIGITech Israeli Technology exchange traded fund (ETF) that will be traded on Nasdaq under the ticker ITEQ.

It will track the performance of the TASE and BlueStar’s BIGITech Index, which is made up of 65 stocks of Israeli high-tech companies in information technology, computer and network security, renewable and clean energy, biotechnology, sustainable agriculture, and defense technologies. Among the stocks in the ITEQ ETF will be Amdocs Ltd. (Nasdaq: DOX),Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP), Mobileye, and Elbit Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: ESLT; TASE: ESLT).

According to BlueStar founder Steven A. Schoenfeld, “This is a unique opportunity providing investors all over the world access to Israel’s innovative and dynamic technology sector through their portfolios.”

For further reading click here.

Kotel Sheds Tears
Worshippers at the Kotel were shocked by what they saw: water pouring out of the wall’s stones. Some took the unusual event as the fulfillment of ancient prophecies in the biblical books of Zecharia and Yoel which describe waters gushing from the wall as a sign of the coming of the Messiah.

While the excitement of impending redemption grew, the facilities management team came to investigate. They determined that the water was coming from a broken pipe on the Temple Mount. It’s still unclear whether the plumber who gets the job will be Muslim or Jewish. And yes, there are Jewish plumbers in Israel.

By the way, no Jewish leaders are claiming that this is a plot by the Muslims to flood the Kotel. We don’t do that.

For further reading click here.

Haneen Zoabi

Netanyahu Calls for Criminal Charges Against Haneen Zoabi

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PM Netanyahu has asked Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein to open a criminal investigation against Knesset member Haneen Zoabi of the Joint Arab List for incitement to violence.

Background
This isn’t the first time that the Attorney General is investigating Zoabi, the first and only female Arab Israeli Knesset member, because of her anti-Israel statements and actions.

In 2010 Zoabi participated in the Gaza flotilla and was on the ship when Israeli commandos boarded it under attack, killing nine and wounding dozens. In the Knesset Zoabi called the raid a “pirate military operation” and asked for an international investigation. She was stripped of the right to participate in Knesset discussions and to vote in parliamentary committees.

In 2012 she was almost banned from running for election in the 2013 elections for Knesset, but the rulings against her were overturned by the High Court of Justice.

In 2013, five days after the kidnapping of three Israeli teens, Zoabi said, “Is it strange that people living under occupation and living impossible lives, in a situation where Israel kidnaps new prisoners every day, is it strange that they kidnap? They are not terrorists. Even if I do not agree with them, they are people who do not see any way to change their reality, and they are compelled to use means like these.”

Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein ordered an investigation of Zoabi on charges of incitement and public disgrace. She was suspended from the Knesset plenum for a duration of six months.

The PM’s current case against Zoabi is based primarily on this statement made by her that was quoted in the Hamas newspaper over the weekend:

“Hundreds of thousands of worshippers must ascend to Al-Aqsa to stand against the Israeli plot to allow the blood of East Jerusalem residents to be spilled,” one of the quotes said. Another quote stated that if “thousands of [our] people turn out, these incidents will turn into a real intifada.”

Upshot
For the sake of democracy, Israel has accepted the presence of Arab Knesset members who seem to act against the best interests of the State. But inciting violence against Israelis is unacceptable. It might also be criminal.

For further reading: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.679817

Israel News for October 8, 2015

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Breaking News
This morning a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem stabbed and seriously wounded a 25 year old ultra orthodox yeshiva student near the light rail on French Hill in Jerusalem. He then tried to grab the gun from a security guard nearby, but following a scuffle fled the scene. Members of the Yasam anti-terrorist police unit apprehended the terrorist. The story is still unfolding.

Female Stabber
The 18 year old Arab woman who stabbed a 36 year old Israeli man near the Lion’s Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem on Wednesday had aspirations of becoming a martyr. At least that’s what she wrote on her Facebook page hours before her attack. She wrote, “where am I going? I’m going to become a shaheed (martyr). I want to ask you one thing — not to cry for me when I become a martyr. My greatest desire is to be a martyr for Allah.”

Unfortunately for her, she failed in her mission. She also failed to become a murderer, through no fault of her own. She tried her best but she ended up stabbing a reserve paratroop officer. After being stabbed in the head and back he turned to face her, drew his weapon and shot her. She was seriously injured.

The woman was studying to be a history and geography teacher at the University of Bethlehem. We can only hope that she’ll never get the chance to become a martyr or teach children to follow in her evil ways.

For further reading: http://news.walla.co.il/item/2895431

Terror Spree
There were several separate terror attacks in Israel yesterday.

In the southern town of Kiryat Gat, an Arab man stabbed a soldier in a public bus and stole his rifle. The attacker fled into a residential building. Unfortunately for him, anti-terrorist police happened to be around and saw him. They put a quick end to his life of terror and sent him directly to “paradise”. The Palestinian press identified the terrorist as a 17 year old from the Hebron area. The Israeli soldier was lightly wounded and taken to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon.

In Petach Tikva, an Arab got off a bus at the entrance to a large mall and stabbed a 25 year old Israeli man. Passersby chased the terrorist, disarmed him and subdued him until police arrived. The victim was taken to the hospital with moderate wounds. The attacker was identified as Tamer Yunis Ahmed Vareidat, 25, from Daheira, near Hebron.

In the Jerusalem neighborhood of Abu Tur, police stopped a 15 year old Arab for questioning. The teen pulled a knife and tried to stab them. The officers subdued him.

Israeli forces at the Al Zaim checkpoint near Mount Scopus in Jerusalem opened fire at an Arab driver when he tried to run them over with his vehicle. The driver was moderately wounded.

There were also stoning incidents near Gush Etzion and Bet El.

Upshot
Doesn’t look like Abbas’s call for calm has been too effective. He might have already lost any control he had to stop the violence. Is this the beginning of a new intifada?

For further reading: http://news.walla.co.il/item/2895353

Barkat Packing
Jerusalem’s mayor Nir Barkat is not afraid to get his hands dirty when it comes to security issues in the city. Back in February he tackled a knife-wielding attacker outside the municipality building.

Barkat was recently photographed carrying an assault rifle during a visit to the Arab neighborhood of Beit Hanina in east Jerusalem.

The mayor’s office remarked that the mayor is a “licensed and trained gun owner” and was carrying his weapon with him during a visit with Israeli security forces. The statement added that “many terror attacks in Jerusalem have been prevented or neutralized due to the quick actions and response of responsible bystanders.”

So it seems that Vladimir Putin isn’t the only leader ready to get physical. Let this be a warning to the terrorists: beware of Barkat.

PM Bans Ministers
There’s a reason why there haven’t been any recent visits by government ministers to the Temple Mount. That’s because prior to leaving on his trip the New York to address the UN, the PM issued an order prohibiting ministers and Knesset members from visiting the site. The order doesn’t apply to Arab Knesset members.

New PM Diggs
Plans have been submitted to the Jerusalem municipal planning committee for the construction of a new residence and office for the Prime Minister in the Givat Ram neighborhood of Jerusalem. The area already houses other government buildings including the Knesset and the Foreign Ministry as well as many national museums and one of the campuses of Hebrew University.

The two buildings will be built on an empty 7.4 acre plot and will cost around 650 million shekels ($169 million).

It’s about time they moved the PM from his current location in the crowded Rehavia neighborhood, where the residents will most likely be thankful for the traffic relief, demonstrations and official activity. On the other hand, the security in the neighborhood was pretty darn good. But it must have been a logistics nightmare for the PM’s security detail.

Best of luck on the project!

For further reading: http://www.haaretz.com/business/.premium-1.679266

Prayers Answered
On the holiday of Shmini Atzeret, which was just celebrated on Monday, Jews say a special series of prayers for rain. Well, what do you know? It looks like our prayers were especially effective this year. There has been a significant amount of rainfall throughout Israel in the last few days, which is very unusual. The rain is expected to continue until the weekend. The usual pattern is for the rains to come in the second half of the month, so if that holds true, this could be a truly blessed year for Israel — at least in the rain department.

For further reading: http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART2/729/615.html