Posts

Israel News for September 28, 2016

/by

Shimon Peres Passes
Israel former President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres passed away last night at the age of 93. He suffered a stroke two weeks ago and was in a medically induced coma.

Shimon Peres, considered to be one of the last of the founders of the state, played a major role in the history of the State of Israel.

Peres was born Szymon Perski in 1923 in the Polish town of Vishnyeva (now part of Belarus). His father Yitzhak was a wealthy timber merchant and his mother Sara was a librarian and a teacher of Russian.

The family immigrated to the Land of Israel (then Palestine) in 1934. Peres studied at Balfour Elementary School and High School and the Geula Gymnasium (a high school for commerce) in Tel Aviv. At the age of 15, he transferred to the Ben Shemen Agricultural School. In the 1950s, he studied at New York University and later at Harvard University.
 
Between the years 1941 to 1944, Peres served as the national secretary of the “Working and Learning Youth” group. It was while serving in this post that Peres became acquainted with the heads of the Jewish settlement in Palestine and became David Ben-Gurion’s political protégé.
 
In 1947, Peres joined the Haganah, where he was responsible for personnel, defensive acquisitions and military research. In 1949, he was appointed the head of the naval service in the Defense Ministry, and in 1950 he was made the director of the Defense Ministry’s delegation in the United States.

In 1952, Peres returned to Israel and was appointed the deputy director-general of the Defense Ministry. A year later, he was made the director-general. It was as part of this role that he promoted the construction of a nuclear reactor in Dimona, helped develop Israel’s aviation industry, and played an instrumental role in establishing close relations with France.

In 1959, he was elected to the Knesset as a member of Mapai and was appointed the deputy defense minister. Over the next two decades Peres held various ministerial posts and was instrumental in the formation of the Labor part. As defense minister in 1976, he connived then Prime Minister Rabin to launch the famous raid on Entebbe (Operation Thunderbolt).

After Rabin was forced to step down from office in 1977, Peres was appointed as acting Prime Minister and took over the leadership of the Labor party. In that same year Labor, for the first time in its history, lost the election to the Likud and Menachem Begin. It lost to Begin again in 1981.

After the 1984, Peres and Likud’s Yitzhak Shamir agreed to a rotating Prime Ministership, with each man serving a two year term. During his term Peres implemented an Economic Stabilization Plan, which saved the Israeli economy from collapse and reduced the hyperinflation that reached 400% a year. He also oversaw the IDF withdrawal from most of Lebanon. In 1987 he negotiating a peace agreement with Jordan, which was rejected by Shamir because it gave Jordan joint administration over the West Bank with Israel.

In 1988, in the second unity government, Peres served as the deputy prime minister and finance minister. In 1990, Peres attempted to form a narrow government made up of the left-wing factions and the ultra-Orthodox parties. But the move, known as “The Dirty Trick,” failed when the ultra-Orthodox parties backed out, leaving Peres no choice but to resign from the unity government.

In 1992 Yitzhak Rabin replaced Peres as the head of the Labor party and went on to become Prime Minister. Despite the intense rivalry between the two men, Rabin appointed Peres as Foreign Minister. During his term Peres carried out secret negotiations with Yassir Arafat that led to the signing of the Oslo accords. Along with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat, he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994.

After Rabin was assassinated on November 4, 1995, Peres became the acting prime minister, as well as the defense minister and the economy and planning minister. In the 1996 elections, in which people voted directly for Prime Minister, Peres lost to Benjamin Netanyahu by a small margin.

Under the Prime Ministership of Ehud Barak in 1999, Peres served as Minister of Regional Cooperation. Under the unity government led by Ariel Sharon in 2001 he served as Foreign Minister and in 2005 as Deputy Prime Minister.

In 2005 Peres left Labor and joined Ariel Sharon’s new Kadima party. He was elected to Knesset in 2006 and appointed Minister for the Development of the Negev, Galilee and Regional Economy under Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

In 2007 Peres won the election for President of Israel, and served in that role until 2014. He was known internationally as an ambassador of peace and a proponent of economic development.

Peres was married to Sonya Gelman Peres for 75 years, until her death in 2011. Peres leaves behind three children, eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

May his memory serve as a blessing.

To see historical and personal photos of Shimon Peres click here.

Leaders Mourn
Israeli leaders along with world leaders mourned the passing of Shimon Peres.

PM Netanyahu said:

“Shimon dedicated his life to the independence of our nation. As a visionary, he looked to the future. As a man of defense, he fortified the strength of Israel in many ways—some remain unknown to this very day. As a man of peace, he worked up to his final days to promote reconciliation with our neighbors and a better future for our children.”

“In his seven years as the president of Israel, he’s done much to unite the people, and the people responded with great love. There aren’t many people in our history who contributed so much to the State of Israel and the people of Israel.”

“I met Shimon for the first time 40 years ago at the grave of my brother Yoni. I will never forget his warm treatment of me, my brother Iddo and my parents, at the time of our loss.”

“And now, Shimon, the beloved of the nation, is saying goodbye to us. But he will never be away from our hearts and memories. Shimon Peres’s name will be forever etched in the story of the Jewish people’s independence, as one of the great leaders and founding fathers of the State of Israel.”

To read what other Israeli leaders said about Peres, click here.

To read what President Obama and other past Presidents and world leaders said, click here.

Israel News for October 9, 2015

/by

< back to sign up

BREAKING NEWS
Following a quiet morning in Israel a 16 year old religious youth was stabbed on Shmuel Hanavi street in Jerusalem. The attacker was apprehended shortly after by a fireman who was driving by. This was the same road as the tractor terrorist attack in 2014 and close to the location of yesterday’s stabbing.

Shortly after a 47 year old policeman was stabbed in Kiryat Arba close to Hebron. Patrol policeman had stopped the suspect for questioning when he drew his knife, stabbed the policeman and tried the grab his gun. Police shot the terrorist and he is in a critical condition.

These were the ninth and tenth Israelis to be wounded in stabbing attacks in the last 24 hours.

In Afula a female terrorist tried to stab a security guard and passersby at the entrance to the central bus station. She was shot and wounded.

There were also riots in the Shuafat refugee camp earlier this morning following the funeral of the youth killed in yesterdays violence.

Earlier today, an Israeli stabbed three Palestinians and one Bedouin man in Dimona, in a revenge attack. The prime minister strongly condemned the attack, saying violence against innocent Arabs is unacceptable.

For further reading: http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4708932,00.html

Terror Continues
The terror spree continued yesterday.

As we reported yesterday, 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.

Police forces entered the Shoafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem to search the home of the attacker. They were attacked by a mob of thousands of young Palestinians throwing rocks and firebombs. Nine police officers were wounded, but the police was able to gain control of the area and complete their search. During the violence police shot and killed a 20 year old Palestinian man and wounded six others.

Later in the afternoon, a 19 year old Palestinian man from East Jerusalem stabbed five Israelis with a screwdriver near the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv. The terrorist tried to flee but was shot and killed by an IAF officer.

Then a Palestinian stabbed a 25 year old Israeli man near Kiryat Arba. The man was seriously wounded. Security forces are searching for the attacker.

Finally, last night a 20 year old Palestinian man repeatedly stabbed a 21 year old soldier in Afula. The terrorist was subdued by citizens and police. Bystanders tried to attack the terrorist. Three police officers were injured protecting him.

PM Netanyahu called for a unity government, but opposition leader Isaac Herzog rejected his offer and called for him to resign.

Let’s all pray for the terror victims and for the terror to end.

Jews Demonstrate
Hundreds of right wing Jewish activists demonstrated in Gan Sacher park in Jerusalem against the recent wave of Arab terror. Four men were arrested including Bentzi Gopstein, the leader of the extreme right wing Lehava group.

The demonstrators were permitted to march to the Kotel via the Zion Gate. They chanted slogans including, “Kahana Chai”, “Mohammed is dead” and “Death to the Arabs”. Some tried to attack Arab taxis. Several men were arrested along the way for disorderly conduct.

For further reading: http://news.walla.co.il/item/2895745

Clarification on Temple Mount
Yesterday we reported that the PM had banned government ministers and Knesset members from visiting the Temple Mount, but that the ban did not apply to Arab officials. That caused a storm of protest from right wing ministers including Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel.

Well, the PM’s office issued a clarification saying that the ban applied to both Jewish and Arab ministers and Knesset members. In fact, a senior Israeli official said Thursday that Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah had planned on visiting the Temple Mount, but Netanyahu ordered the police to prevent him from arriving at the site out of a concern that his visit could fan the flames.

The Joint Arab List responded that party members would ignore Netanyahu’s announcement and continue visiting the Al-Aqsa mosque as individuals and in groups.
So now, everyone’s upset. Business as usual.

For further reading: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.679335

PM Halts Construction
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to withdraw his plan to build 538 housing units in Itamar, a community in Northern Samaria (West Bank), due to intense international pressure. Instead, the prime minister will promote a master plan for Itamar that retroactively approves existing buildings, but does not allow for the construction of new ones.

Background
Itamar was established in 1984 without a municipal plan that would allow construction. So basically, all the construction in the community for the last twenty years is technically illegal. It was only after the horrific murder of the Fogel family by terrorists in 2011 that the government finally decided to work on advancing a proposal for a municipal plan.

In the initial plan presented to planning agencies three years ago, the state sought retroactive approval for 137 existing homes as well as an expansion of the settlement by thousands of dunams through the construction of 537 new housing units, to be built with Defense Ministry approval.

A year and a half ago, Netanyahu ordered a general suspension of the planning process and of approval of new homes in West Bank settlements over his concern that the United States would decide not to exercise its veto power on resolutions aimed at Israel in the UN Security Council. As a result, the plan for Itamar also stalled.

After the murder of the Henkins last week and protests by settlers, the PM decided to push the municipal plan through, but not the part about the new 538 homes.

Upshot
Even though the settlers are not happy with the shelved construction plans, the legalization of the existing homes is still a statement of support for the settlement movement by the PM. So basically, neither the right nor the left is happy.

For further reading: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.679325

Tables Turned
The High Court of Justice approved sanctions placed on a woman who refused to accept a Get (Jewish divorce) from her husband.

Background
According to Jewish law, in order to be considered divorced and permitted to remarry, a husband must willingly give his wife a divorce document called a Get. If he fails to do so, the woman may not remarry. A woman whose husband refuses to give her a Get is called an Agunah (chained).

The Israeli rabbinical courts, which have jurisdiction over all marriage and divorce cases, have the power to impose financial sanctions and other punitive measures, including incarceration, against the uncooperative husband. In most cases monetary sanctions are enough to persuade him to give the Get. Unfortunately, not always.

There’s another requirement for the divorce to be “kosher”: the wife must willingly accept the Get from her husband. Since polygamy in Judaism was banned over 1000 years ago (at least for Ashkenazim. The Sephardic ban took effect with the establishment of the State of Israel), until the wife accepts the Get, the husband cannot remarry.

A 2008 case brought before the rabbinical court revolved around a wife who refused to accept the Get from her husband. The court imposed monetary sanctions against her in the amount of 2,000 shekels per week (to the state) to persuade her to reconsider. She didn’t. The husband then took her before the secular court, which upheld the decision of the rabbinical court and placed a judgement against her.

The woman refused to pay the sanctions and brought her case before the High Court, claiming that the Rabbinical Court had no authority to sanction her.

Yesterday, High Court justice Miriam Naor said she disagreed – confirming the Rabbinical Court decision and imposing the NIS 2,000 weekly fine on the woman.

Hopefully this will finally get her to accept the Get and allow her husband to remarry.

For further reading: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/201586#.VhbFnRNViko

Oil’s Well that Ends Well
If you’re one of those cynics who likes to wonder why God told Moses to lead the Jews to Israel instead of to one of the oil rich Arab lands, you’re time might be up. It looks like there’s oil in the rocky earth of the Golan. Lot’s of it.

Afek Oil and Gas, an Israeli subsidiary of the U.S. company Genie Energy, recently confirmed the find but won’t be sure exactly how much oil is there until they actually extract it.

According to a September 2014 Times of Israel report on the Golan exploration, Genie Energy is chaired by Howard Jonas and counts among its more notable investors the “former US Vice President Dick Cheney, Michael Steinhardt, Jacob Rothschild, and Rupert Murdoch.”

The reserves could potentially produce billions of barrels, which would far exceed Israel’s annual oil consumption of 240,000 barrels.

The only problem is that with oil prices at a low, the cost of extracting the oil from the rocky soil might make it economically unprofitable. Also, the oil fields proximity to the Syrian border might make create an “explosive” situation.

But let’s stop being so negative. Between the offshore gas and the Golan oil, Israel might be a natural resource rich destination after all. So, looks like Moses didn’t take a wrong turn after all.

For further reading: http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-huge-oil-discovery-on-golan-heights-1001071698