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Israel News for June 6, 2017

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Senate Resolution
The U.S. Senate approved a non-binding resolution marking the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem. The bill, sponsored by Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the majority leader, and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the minority leader, was approved 90-0 and called on the president to move the embassy to Jerusalem.

The resolution does not endorse a final status solution for the city, but instead reaffirms “that it is long-standing U.S. bipartisan policy that the permanent status of Jerusalem remains a matter to be decided between the parties through final status negotiations towards a two-state solution.”

On Wednesday, the Israeli embassy in Washington is hosting an event in the Capitol marking the reunification. Lawmakers from both parties are expected to attend. A similar event will simultaneously take place, via simulcast, in Jerusalem. Speakers will include Rep. Paul Ryan in Washington and PM Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

For further reading click here.

UN Chief Statement
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres criticized Israel’s “occupation” of the West Bank and called for the establishment of a Palestinian state in a statement marking the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Six-Day War. He called for the establishment of a Palestinian state through “direct negotiations to resolve all final status issues on the basis of relevant UN resolutions, agreements and international law.”

He also said, “This occupation has imposed a heavy humanitarian and development burden on the Palestinian people. Its perpetuation is sending an unmistakable message to generations of Palestinians that their dream of statehood is destined to remain just that, a dream; and to Israelis that their desire for peace, security and regional recognition remains unattainable.”

The ADL responded, “While we share his desire for a return to negotiations to achieve a two state solution, this anniversary cannot be viewed in a vacuum. It is grossly misleading to examine only the enduring effects of the war while ignoring the context in which the war took place — the belligerence of the Arab states in the spring of 1967, and the silence of the international community in the face of these threats and its failure to ensure the rights to free passage of international waterways.”

For further reading click here.

Aliyah Stats
Here are some Aliyah (immigration to Israel) statistics you might not be aware of:

Since 1948 Israel has absorbed 3.2 million immigrants, 43% of whom arrived since 1990 (remember the Russian aliyah?).

In 2016 there were around 26,000 immigrants, which is 7% less than in 2015. 57% of those immigrants came from Russia and Ukraine, 17% from France and 11% from the US. The numbers from France dropped 36% from the two previous peak years.

Most of the new immigrants moved to large cities, and most had university degrees (or higher). In addition to the new immigrants, around 4,200 Israeli citizens who had been living abroad for more than 7 years returned to live in Israel.

For further reading click here.

Hassidic Wedding
The grandson of the Belzer Rebbe got married in Israel this week. Thousands of Hassidim took part in the festivities. To watch a video of some of the celebrations click here.

Israel Forever
Special thanks to the Israel Forever Foundation for featuring an article about IsraelAM on their blog and Facebook page, which reaches almost a half million followers. To read the article click here — and please show it some love by sharing it too!

Balfour Petition
The Israel Forever Foundation is working on a monumental drive to to collect 1 million signatures by the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration on November 2, 2017 to be presented to world bodies, organizations, and heads of state, to remind the world that Israel was established with the full backing and support of the international community.

To sign this important petition click here.

Israel News for January 21, 2016

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PA Security
The head of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service Majid Faraj stated in an interview with Defense News that Palestinian security agents have thwarted 200 potential terror attacks against Israel and arrested more than 100 Palestinians.

He confirmed that security cooperation between PA security services and Israel will continue, in order to prevent further chaos and to stop extremists, including ISIS members, from entering the country.

While warning about the danger from religious extremists, Faraj estimated that 90 percent of the Palestinian public is opposed to organizations such as ISIS, Al-Qaeda and Jabhat al-Nusra.

He also stressed the importance of maintaining the Palestinian Authority and preventing its collapse, claiming that its collapse would allow extremist groups to fill the vacuum and gain control.

For further reading click here.

Security Council
The Palestinian Authority is diligently lobbying to get the UN Security Council to pass a resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank and declaring them illegal under international law and an obstacle to peace.

The Palestinians have been talking to current Security Council members France, Spain and Egypt to draw up and support the resolution. Israeli diplomats are worried that French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius might try to advance a pro-Palestinian UN resolution as one of the last things he does before leaving office in a few weeks. France already inserted a clause in a recent EU resolution distinguishing Israel from the West Bank, calling for the consideration of taking action in the Security Council in an effort to formulate a multilateral approach to the peace process.

The big question mark is what the U.S. position will be. While Israel has always relied on the U.S. to veto anti-Israel resolutions in the Security Council, Israeli officials are worried that President Obama, in his final year in office, might choose not to veto, given his outspoken criticism of Israeli settlement policy.

On the other hand, the Palestinians are sure that America will either veto, or pressure other countries from voting for, any resolution in their favor. In recent years the U.S. Has either vetoed or helped defeat several resolutions viewed as anti-Israel.

During an election year in the U.S., it seems highly unlikely that Obama would hold back the veto and risk jeopardizing Democratic chances at winning the presidential election.

For further reading click here.

Supermarket Suit
A class-action suit for 450 million shekels ($113.4 million) was filed yesterday with the District Court in Haifa against Shufersal, the massive Israeli supermarket chain, claiming that the chain discriminates against Israeli Arabs by not allowing them to buy from its online store.

The suit was filed by two Israel Arab residents of towns in northern Israel who claimed that they were not allowed to shop in the chain’s online store because their addresses were beyond the store’s distribution area. In other words, Shufersal does not deliver to Arab areas. They also claim that Shufersal delivery vehicles drive through Arab towns on their way to make deliveries to residents in Jewish towns.

The plaintiffs, together with experts in the field, analyzed the chain’s distribution area maps and the range of possible criteria that could have guided Shufersal in setting the distribution areas, such as distance from the branch, size of the community or type of community. They assert that there was no economic or marketing criterion that could explain the distribution, other than the ethnic character of the community.

Shufersal stated:”Shufersal provides service to the entire population of Israel irrespective of religion, race or sex. We have yet to receive the lawsuit, and when it is received we will respond through legal proceedings.”

For further reading click here.

Exodus Flag
The Silversteins, two Jewish brothers from Chicago who own a real estate company, have purchased, at auction, the flag that flew over the “Exodus” ship. The Exodus carried 4,500 holocaust survivors from France to Palestine in 1947. On its way to Palestine the ship was attacked by British destroyers and in a battle waged on its decks three passengers were killed, with dozens more injured. When the ship anchored in Haifa the would-be immigrants were arrested and deported back to Europe. The unfortunate event helped sway international public opinion to support the establishment of Israel.

The brothers paid $147,000 for the flag, which they subsequently donated to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. The Silversteins, along with the director of the museum, drew comparisons between the Exodus story and the current refugee crisis and said that they hoped that the flag would serve as a reminder to the world not to repeat the mistakes of the past.

Reactions from Israel were not so positive. Yad Vashem commented, “we regret that an item connected to the state’s history has been removed. It’s too bad it didn’t go to a suitable museum in Israel.” The comparison between the holocaust survivors on the Exodus and today’s Syrian refugees was also viewed as inappropriate.

For further reading click here.

Russian Sanctuary
You might think that hell has actually frozen over when you read this: Vladimir Putin has invited European Jews to come to Russia to flee anti-semitism. Yup, you heard right. The Russian president met with members of the European Jewish Congress at the Kremlin and heard Dr. Moshe Kantor, the congress’ president, speak about growing anti-semitism in Western Europe.

Kantor said, “The situation of the Jews in Europe is the worst it has been since the end of the Second World War. Jews are again living in fear and there is a very real prospect of an exodus of Jews from certain parts of Europe. There are more Jews who are escaping from France, which is thought to be very safe, than from the war in Ukraine.”

Putin responded, “They can come here. During the Soviet era Jews would leave, but now they can come back.”

You think anyone will take up his offer?

For further reading click here.

abbas at UN

Palestinian Authority President Abbas at the UN

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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had an eventful time at the UN this week.

On Wednesday Abbas raised the Palestinian flag for the first time at the UN, after a resolution permitting non member states to do so was recently passed by a landslide majority of the UN general assembly. The US didn’t send a representative to the event, but other Western nations including France did. Abbas promised that the flag will soon be raised in Jerusalem, “the capital of our Palestinian state.”

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Wednesday a day of “pride” and “hope” for Palestinians around the world. He urged the Palestinians to pursue their long-held dream for their own state by first uniting Gaza and the West Bank, and he urged Israel and the Palestinians to revive negotiations that collapsed last year and conclude “a successful peace process that will lead to the unfurling of the Palestinian flag in its proper place – among the family of nations as a sovereign member state of the United Nations,” Ban said.

But wait…there’s more.

In his official address to the UN general assembly on Wednesday, Abbas stated that he is no longer bound by agreements, including the Oslo Accords, that have defined relations with Israel for the past two decades and are meant to form the basis for a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.

Abbas demanded that Israel “assume all of its responsibilities as an occupying power.” He stopped short of suspending security cooperation with Israel.

PM Netanyahu’s office issued a statement in response, saying that Abbas had delivered a “speech of lies that encourages incitement and unrest in the Middle East.”

Netanyahu called on Abbas to “act responsibly” and answer his proposal for direct negotiations with Israel without any preconditions. “The fact that time after time he (Abbas) does not respond is the best proof that he has no intention of reaching a peace agreement,” he said.

[bctt tweet=”“The fact that time after time he (Abbas) does not respond is the best proof that he has no intention of reaching a peace agreement” – Bibi” via=”no”]

Upshot
Will Abbas’s speech lead to any practical change on the ground, other than the potential of inciting terror attacks? According to Palestinian analyst Hani al-Masri in Ramallah, Abbas was just trying to attract attention and pressure Israel. “This is a threat not a plan. Abbas has no plan, otherwise he could have spelled it out in his speech.” Nevertheless, his move will definitely not result in anything positive for Israel. Things could get much worse for both sides.

You can read more about this topic here.

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Israel News for September 9, 2015

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The Book of Life
In anticipation of the upcoming Rosh Hashana accounting of “who shall live and who shall die”, the Central Bureau of Statistics has released its own accounting of the Holy Land’s population for the year 5776 (Hebrew calendar).

The population in Israel grew by 158,000 or 1.9%, in line with recent years. That’s made up of 170,000 births, 40,000 deaths and 28,000 new immigrants (do the math).

Aliyah increased by 35%, with new immigrants coming from Ukraine (26%), France (25%), Russia (21%) and the United States (9%).

The total population of Israel: 8,412,000. That’s made up of 6,300,000 Jews (75%), 1,746,000 Arabs (21%) and another 4% that don’t fit into either category.

To put this in perspective, the population of Jordan is 6.5 million and that of Lebanon is 4.5 million. Syria was at 22.85 million, but it’s probably closer to 18 million today.

Upshot
At the current rate, in ten years there should be close to 8 million Jews in Israel. That means that for the first time in over 2000 years, the majority of world jewry will reside in the land of Israel.

Shabbat Soccer
Last week an Israeli labor court ruled that soccer games on Shabbat constitute a criminal offense (based on Israeli law, not Jewish law) unless the teams obtain a waiver excusing them from the Shabbat restrictions.

Hundreds of Israeli companies and businesses have received these waivers. The problem in this case is that the waivers are issued by the Economy Minister, who happens to be Aryeh Deri, the leader of the charedi Shas party. The chances of him issuing the waivers are less than the likelihood of getting a snowstorm in Eilat — in the summer.

So, the Israeli Football Association has decided that there won’t be any soccer games next Saturday.

Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev doesn’t like this situation one bit (maybe she has season tickets?). She’s established a committee to figure out a solution within 60 days. She’s also pressing the attorney general to figure out a way around the immediate crisis, telling him to, “find a way of opening the league and continuing the policy of non-enforcement for 60 days, during which time the association and the directorate will have to find a solution.”

Regev feels that the decision to play or not play on Shabbat should not be decided by the courts. She wants the decision to be in the hands of the teams. “Teams that don’t want to play on Shabbat won’t play on Shabbat. And those that want to play will play.”

The case originated from complaints by religious players in the National Soccer League who protested the scheduling of league games on Shabbat.

In a related story, Economy Minister Deri has ordered the closure of the Israeli pavilion at the IBC 2015 exhibition in Amsterdam on three of the five days of the exhibition, since they fall on Shabbat and Rosh Hashana. IBC is the premier annual event for professionals engaged in the creation, management and delivery of entertainment and news content worldwide.

Upshot
The simple solution to the soccer dilemna is to turn Sunday into a day off and have the games then. That would make a lot of working folks very happy.

Labor and Charedim Unite
Liat Shochat has won the election for mayor of the town of Or Yehuda, outside of Tel Aviv. The interesting part of the story is that she was supported by the Charedi and Religious Zionist parties and her top aide was a charedi man. Shochat, 43, is a wife and mother of four. She isn’t religious.

Upshot
Mutual respect and common goals, which Shochat and the Religious parties share, are the keys to unity and peace among all Israelis. If only this would happen more often.

Poor Judgement
A 64 year old man who immigrated to Israel from Yemen twenty years ago decided to return to Yemen to bring back his brother. He’d been there several times on visits, but the last time he went he was accused of spying and imprisoned. He was released with all of the other prisoners when rebels attacked the city. You’d think that would have been enough to keep him from returning. It wasn’t.

The man traveled to Jordan last week, but couldn’t find any flights to Yemen. Then he met three Saudis who offered to take him to Yemen with them, for free. It seems like he accepted their offer. Ok, calm down, we’re just telling you what happened.

Now he’s missing. Surprised? The Israeli foreign ministry can’t help, since Israel has no diplomatic relations with Yemen. All we can do now is pray for his safety.

Shabbat Tragedy
A husband and wife were found dead yesterday in their Jerusalem apartment. The preliminary investigation shows that they died from suffocation caused by their Shabbat blech (a piece of metal that covers the gas stovetop burners and allows one to warm food on Shabbat according to Jewish law). The couple had set up their blech and then closed all the windows in their home. The burner flame consumed all of the oxygen in the apartment and then went out, allowing carbon monoxide gas to fill the air.

The couple had been married for two years. The husband, Yaniv Yehuda, 32, was an immigrant from France. His wife Rachel, 30, was an immigrant from the US.

According to reports, the couple’s table was set for Shabbat with a tablecloth, Kiddush cup and challah. May their memory be a blessing.

Dust in the Wind
Israel’s sky turned brown and yellow yesterday as a massive sand and dust storm, which moved in from Syria, settled over the country. Israel hasn’t seen a storm like this in 75 years.

The poor air quality, combined with a drastic increase in heat and humidity, led to a huge number of people with health complications. Magen David Adom treated 290 people for asthma attacks, fainting and heart problems connected to the weather. Hospitals also treated their share of storm casualties.

Lebanon and Syria got hit at least as bad.

Meteorologists predict clear skies on the horizon. Hope they get it right.

See cool pictures here.

Another Spirit Lifting Gift
Yesterday we told you that the electric company was cutting its rates. Now Israelis will be able to toast to even more savings. That’s because the Finance Ministry and tax authority have decided to cut taxes on alcoholic drinks including beer and hard liquor. They doubled the taxes on these drinks two years ago thinking that they would prevent Israelis from harming their health by drinking too much. But it turns out that Israelis are drinking just as much as they were before. In addition, the higher prices have boosted black market “moonshiners” who are producing and selling low quality alcohol that really is harmful.

Upshot
Israelis will be able to have their booze and put money in their pockets. Happy New Year!!

Israel News for August 14, 2015

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New IDF Strategy
IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot yesterday published the new “IDF strategy” document, which maps out the various threats against the state of Israel and the IDF’s methods of confronting them. Part of the document was, for the first time ever, made public.

The document outlines necessary changes the IDF needs to make in light of future challenges and the changing face of the enemy. The changes include improving the effectiveness of ground force maneuvers, broadening the capacity of forces to mount military operations in non-wartime situations, improving cyber warfare capabilities, and generally preserving the IDF’s intelligence, aerial and naval superiority.

Eizenkot explained that the new document aims to prepare the IDF’s forces in the coming years to defend Israel in all scenarios, including simultaneous operations on several battlefronts and complex cyber warfare. “The IDF will prevail in every mission and challenge, and will achieve its goal – to defend and to win.” [source]

Upshot
The document recognizes that times are changing and that the IDF must change with them. These changes will likely result in a smaller IDF that is more focused on successfully fulfilling its mission to defend Israel.

New UN Ambassador
PM Netanyahu has announced that he will appoint Danny Danon, currently the Minister of Science, Technology and Space, as Ambassador to the UN. Danon, a Likud member, is considered to be a staunch right-winger who is opposed to any two state solution and the establishment of a Palestinian state. He has also been one of the most outspoken critics of US President Obama’s Middle East policies and has forged relationships with Republican Party conservatives. The opposition party Zionist Union called Danon’s appointment “another nail in the coffin of Israel’s foreign relations.” [source]

Opposition to Conversion Court
Hundreds of rabbis, including the two Chief Rabbis of Israel, gathered at the headquarters of the Rabbinate in Jerusalem yesterday to inaugurate a new organization (Noam) meant to strengthen and protect the power of the Chief Rabbinate.

Background
The impetus for Noam was the establishment of an independent conversion court by a group of prominent religious zionist rabbis who believe that the Chief Rabbinate is preventing the conversions of hundreds of thousands of Israelis who are considered non-Jewish according to Jewish law (Halacha).

Out of the 1 million immigrants that came to Israel from the former Soviet Union over the last 20 years, at least a third do not have Jewish mothers. They do have Jewish fathers or spouses, or at least one Jewish grandparent, and are fully integrated into Israeli society. In practice they are part of the Jewish people and the overwhelming majority want to make it official.

The problem is that most of them aren’t fully religiously observant which, according to the strict position of the Chief Rabbinate, invalidates them from converting. The founders of the independent court claim that since:
1) they have Jewish roots and are already fully part of the Jewish people in the land of Israel
and
2) if they aren’t converted they pose a grave danger of assimilation to the existing Jewish population
they can be treated leniently and converted within the bounds of Halacha.

The Chief Rabbinate and the majority of prominent rabbinic leaders from the religious zionist and the charedi camps disagree.

Upshot
Since all legal marriages in Israel must be registered by the Rabbinate, it has ultimate control in preventing “non-sanctioned” converts from marrying, at least in the eyes of Israeli law. That could lead the “break-away” rabbis to form their own marriage registration system, which would represent a complete and likely irreparable break from the Rabbinate.

Hebrew for Arab Kids
Education Minister Naftali Bennet has implemented a new elementary school curriculum which requires Hebrew language studies in Arab schools to begin in kindergarten. Until now required Hebrew language studies have begun in third grade. More hours of Hebrew language study will also be added to grades 3 to 12. Bennet claims that greater fluency in Hebrew will give Arabs greater economic and social opportunities. The changes will take effect in the coming school year and cost the government 30 million shekels. If Bennet is right, it will be money well spent. [source]

Army Radio
Ofir Akunis, the cabinet minister (Likud) in charge of the Israeli Broadcast Authority, told the Al-Monitor website that he believes public broadcasting should be balanced and that the opinions of those on the Right should get equal exposure with those on the Left. Except on Army Radio. “There I wouldn’t want balance,” he said. “There I would expect to see absolute support for the Israeli position and the position of the Israel Defense Forces. Army Radio is the station of the Israeli public and the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces, and I don’t think it should provide broad coverage of the Palestinian position, for instance, or the position of illegal infiltrators.”

When asked whether this is “muzzling freedom of speech” he replied, “Just the opposite. We’re allowing people to speak. But when it comes to Army Radio, which is funded by the Ministry of Defense, the station’s purpose is to be a station for soldiers.” Sounds reasonable enough.

Stand by Your Man
In a taped phone conversation with the Chief Rabbi of Safed (R. Shmuel Eliyahu), the wife of Ezra Sheinberg, the Safed rabbi accused of molesting and raping 13 women, told him that she was aware that her husband had slept with at least two women. She claimed that he told her that he slept with the women as part of his “healing treatments”, and that it was all part of his blessing to them. She accepted his explanation. Enough said.

Never too Late
Semion Simkin, a 91-year-old Israeli Holocaust survivor won the world championship for senior runners in Lyon, France on Monday. He ran 10 kilometers in 1 hour and 20 minutes. He beat out his only competitor in the race for men between the ages of 90 and 95, a 93 year old Argentinian, by just over 21 minutes. The day before the 10k race, Simkin won the silver medal in the 5 kilometers race, with a time of 39 minutes and 47 seconds, merely five seconds behind the winner, the Portuguese Jose Canelo, 90.
Not too shabby for a man in his 90’s. Can you run a 10k? [source]