Posts

Israel News for March 17, 2016

/by

Terror Attack
Two Palestinians attacked and stabbed a 20 year old woman at a bus stop at the entrance to the city of Ariel today. The woman was seriously wounded in her upper body but remained conscious. The terrorists were shot and killed at the scene.

For further reading click here.

PA Rejects Offer
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki told Voice of Palestine radio on Tuesday morning that the Palestinian Authority had rejected an Israeli offer to end military operations in Area A, which includes the major Palestinian cities. Maliki said the Palestinians demand Israel stop all such activities in all Palestinian cities immediately. Apparently, it’s all or nothing for the Palestinians.

For further reading click here.

Russian Friend
Russian President Putin hosted Israeli President Rivlin at the Kremlin in Moscow yesterday. Putin warmly welcomed Rivlin and said, “Israeli-Russian relations have a long history. More than 1.5 million Soviet emigrants, who speak Russian and have a Russian mentality, live in Israel. They stay in touch with their friends and family members, who have stayed in Russia, making our relationship particularly special.”

Rivlin reciprocated the warm greetings and added that, “As a Jew, I would like to say that we will never forget the Russian nation and Red Army for defeating the Nazis.”

Prior to their meeting Rivlin placed a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Alexander Garden. Rivlin then visited the Russian State Library with his wife Nechama, where they looked at books in Hebrew. He said that he hopes the books will one day arrive in Israel.

Putin can definitely make that happen.

For further reading click here.

Mikvah Wars Escalate
In a move to circumvent a recent High Court ruling that permitted the Conservative and Reform movements to use State run mikvahs (ritual baths) for conversion ceremonies, United Torah Judaism (UTJ) MK Moshe Gafni has initiated a bill in the Knesset to require the Mikvahs to follow strict guidelines set by the Chief Rabbinate.

According to Gafni, the High Court ruling violates the status quo on issues of religion and state. The bill passed 42-38, and will now go to the Knesset Interior and Environment Committee for processing. “This law doesn’t come to prevent Reform and Conservative people from immersing in the mikvah,” Gafni told the Knesset during the debate, adding that the country has many private mikvahs to which the law will not apply. “But the state’s public mikvaot are for halachic immersion.”

The joint headquarters of religious organizations that oppose the bill issued a statement saying, “We expect the MKs of the coalition, and particularly the members of the Habayit Hayehudi faction who promised that they wouldn’t vote for the bill unless it was amended, to keep their promise and prevent further offense to those women who immerse. The mikvah is a public resource and one cannot expropriate the autonomy of a woman who immerses through institutional coercion dictated solely by men. This bill should concern every woman and man in Israel because it gives exclusive authority to an ultra-Orthodox worldview that isn’t required by halacha.”
For further reading click here.

Energy Report Card
According to a quality of life report published yesterday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Israel has the best record in recycling wastewater. The proportion of people not hooked up to wastewater recycling in Israel fell from 7.7% in 2000 (485,000 people) to 2.2% in 2014 (180,000 people). Most of the people not connected to water recycling live in unrecognized Bedouin communities or East Jerusalem.

Seth Siegel, the author of “Let There Be Water: Israel’s Solution for a Water-Starved World,” says that Israel has the world’s best and most sophisticated water management system, and has worked hard to achieve this status. Israel recycles water, desalinizes seawater and brackish water, takes advantage of floodwater, educates its population about correct consumption, makes efficient use of water in industry and agriculture, invests in finding leaks and reducing water depreciation in municipal and rural pipes, etc.

Now the bad news. The OECD report ranks Israel in last place in using renewable energy. While Iceland produces all of its electricity from renewable energy, Spain 39%, and the OECD as a whole 21%, less than 1% of Israel’s electricity comes from renewable energy.

For further reading click here.

PM FB Chat
Yesterday PM Netanyahu posted on his Facebook page that he would personally answer questions sent to him on Facebook in real time. Out of thousands of questions sent to him, one caught his attention. It was from an Ethiopian Israeli girl who accused him of not really answering questions, “just like you don’t care about the problems of your public. See you at election time!”

The PM didn’t take long to respond, writing (loosely translated from the Hebrew) “You bet I’m here in a big way, and I’m paying special attention to the issues of the Ethiopian community. For the third time as PM I’m trying to bring thousands of your community to Israel. I personally chair the government committee that meets every few weeks to deal with the problems of the community.”

So there.

To see a photo of the PM during his chat, click here.

Israel News for March 7, 2016

/by

Fight After Death
Sergeant First Class Tuvia Yanai Weissman was killed in a terror attack two weeks ago in a supermarket in Sha’ar Binyamin when he ran to the aide of other victims being stabbed by two terrorists. Weissman was on leave from the army and was not carrying his weapon at the time.

Weissman’s widow, Yael, requested that the words “fell in battle during a terror attack” be inscribed on her husband’s tombstone. The government has denied her request. Instead, the inscription recommended by the army’s commemoration unit is “fell in a terror attack.”

According to Yael’s Facebook post, the army has two approved inscriptions — “fell in battle” and “fell in a terror attack”. She feels that the latter does not reflect the fact that her husband gave his life fighting the terrorists. The army apparently sees it differently.

So the argument hinges on one word: battle.

In a statement, the Defense Ministry said, “The Ministry of Defense shares the heavy grief of the Weissman family. The soldier commemoration unit works according to the regulations of gravestone writing, and determines the circumstances of death according to information it receives from different security bodies.”

Yael continues to fight for her husband’s honor.

For further reading click here.

IDF Investigation
Last week two soldiers of the Kfir Brigade were stabbed at a military post outside of the settlement of Har Bracha near Shechem (Nablus). An IDF investigation into the incident has found that the soldiers were not carrying their weapons at the time of the stabbing, which is a serious breach of army regulations and procedure. The investigation also revealed other deficiencies and irregularities in the operating procedures of the unit and their overall dedication to their mission.

As a result, a company commander in the Kfir Brigade has been suspended for the year and a platoon commander and sergeant have been dismissed from their duties.

For further reading click here.

Loudspeaker Bill
Last week we told you about a bill proposed by MK Moti Yogev (Bayit Yehudi) that would prohibit the loudspeakers that Mosques use to blast out their call to prayer five times a day. The bill came before the Ministerial Committee for Legislation for discussion yesterday, but it failed to get the support of the committee. As a result, Yogev has decided to withdraw the bill. However, he hasn’t given up on his idea. Yogev is now working on an amended bill which would prohibit the loudspeakers during specific hours defined by the law and regulate the permissible volume of the loudspeakers.

For further reading click here.

Falash Mura Deadlock
Three months ago the government reached a decision to bring 9,000 Falash Mura from Ethiopia to Israel. The Falash Mura are Ethiopian Jews who were converted to Christianity under pressure from missionaries in the 19th and 20th centuries. They have been granted the right of Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return if they officially convert to Judaism in Israel.

Despite the government’s decision, the Finance Ministry is refusing to fund the Falash Mura aliyah. The ministry claims that according to a new budget law passed recently by the Knesset, every major spending initiative undertaken must first have its allocated funding in place. And the Falash Mura aliya initiative does not have the required funding.

The treasury estimates the cost of bringing the Falash Mura to Israel will run to about 2 billion shekels ($510 million) over five years. But David Amsalem, the Likud lawmaker who has led the campaign to bring the Falash Mura to Israel, estimates the cost won’t exceed 100 million shekels annually and may be even half that. Amsalem is due to call a special meeting of the Knesset Interior Committee, and demand the treasury explain itself.

Amsalem claims that the decision to bring the the Falash Mura was reached before the new budgetary law was passed, so the new law does not apply to it. The Finance Ministry disagrees.

Amsalem believes that racism is behind the governments current refusal to bring the Falash Mura. “They don’t want to bring black people to the country from a troubled place. They’ll have to take care of them, putting many in the care of welfare institutions. The country loves to bring strong immigrants from the United States and France.”

In fairness, the government has already brought tens of thousands of Falash Mura to Israel. The 9,000 waiting in Gondar, Ethiopia constitute the final remaining group.

For further reading click here.

Kotel Warning
PM Netanyahu is facing increasing pressure from the ultra-Orthodox establishment to revoke, or at least seriously amend, the compromise recently approved that allows the opening of an egalitarian prayer space at the southern area of the Kotel.

But Rabbi Gilad Kariv, executive director of the Reform movement in Israel, has warned that if the ultra-Orthodox push the PM too hard, they might ultimately find themselves with a worse deal forced upon them by the High Court. As a case in point, he noted the court’s recent decision that forces the ultra-Orthodox establishment to allow Jews converted by the Conservative and Reform movements to immerse themselves in state run mikvehs (ritual baths).

He said, “For six years, we brought various pragmatic proposals to the Religious Affairs Ministry on this issue of the mikvehs, but they refused to talk to us. If what the Haredim want is a High Court ruling that goes much beyond the agreement and compromise in this case as well, then let it be.”

Yizhar Hess, executive director of the Conservative-Masorti movement in Israel, said that while he will not agree to any amendment of the compromise agreement, he would not bring the case before the High Court. Instead, he said, “We will go back to our original plan for holding egalitarian services twice a week, on Mondays and Thursday, at the upper plaza.”

Will the compromise agreement hold?

For further reading click here.

Israel News for October 21, 2015

/by

< back to sign up

New Terror Attacks
A Palestinian driving a car with Israeli license plates rammed into a police officer at a checkpoint near the settlement of Ofra in the West Bank. The officer was lightly wounded and the assailant fled on foot to the nearby village of Silwad.

Earlier this morning a Palestinian woman approaching the settlement of Yitzhar wielding a knife was shot and wounded by IDF troops.

Two Palestinian terrorists, aged 15 and 17, stabbed an IDF soldier near Beit Hashalom in Hebron last night, lightly wounding him, before a fellow soldier managed to shoot and kill both of the assailants.

Earlier yesterday, a terrorist tried to ram his car into Israelis waiting at a bus stop at the Gush Etzion junction in the West Bank, but was stopped by the concrete blocks placed there for just that purpose. He was, however, able to lightly wound a 20-year-old IDF soldier and a 21-year-old Israeli civilian. The terrorist then left his car with a knife drawn and tried to stab the injured Israelis. Thankfully, an IDF soldier stationed in the area shot and killed him.

Near the Gaza border fence, dozens of Gazans clashed with IDF forces, who fired tear gas and live ammunition. One Palestinian was killed and 14 wounded.

According to a high ranking IDF officer, the man killed was part of a sniper cell that was preparing to fire on IDF forces. The cell was responsible for several recent shootings at Israeli vehicles.

Meanwhile, in Tel Aviv special anti terror police squads are raiding building sites in search of illegal Palestinian workers. The raids are meant to calm the fears of the Israeli public and scare the hell out of Arab workers to dissuade inciters and potential trouble makers. We’ll see how well this strategy works.

For further reading click here.

UN in Jerusalem
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon paid a surprise visit to Jerusalem yesterday to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in an attempt to end the wave of violence. In a press conference with PM Netanyahu, Ban said that he deplored the terror attacks against civilians and hoped to find a way to end the violence. Was he referring to attacks against Israeli or Palestinian civilians? Anything is possible at the UN.

The PM told Ban that PA President Abbas “has joined ISIS and Hamas in claiming that Israel threatens the al-Aqsa mosque,” which he said was a blatant lie. He said that Abbas has incited the violence by saying that he, “welcomes every drop of blood spilled in Jerusalem” and that he has not condemned a single one of the attacks.

The PM also reiterated that Israel has always protected the holy sites of all religions and is maintaining the “status quo” on the Temple Mount, whereas the Arabs are breaking it by bringing in explosives and preventing Jews and Christians from visiting.

For its part, the executive board of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is set to vote on a resolution proclaiming the Western Wall as part of the Al Aqsa mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem. The Unesco director general, Irina Bokova, reportedly appealed to the UN agency’s organizing committee to postpone the vote after meeting with Israeli and Palestinian UNESCO envoys. The vote was meant to take place yesterday but was postponed until today. Several countries are attempting to postpone the vote further. But the fact that this resolution is even on the table says it all.

What’s next, the Vatican? No, they probably wouldn’t go that far.

For further reading click here.

Silwan Synagogue
Enforcing a ruling by the High Court of Justice, police evicted Arab squatters from the historic Yemenite Great Synagogue in the predominantly Arab neighborhood of Silwan, which is adjacent to the Old City of Jerusalem near the Temple Mount. Silwan is located above the ancient City of David, which is where Jerusalem was in the time of King David. The area now includes an archeological site.

The Yemenite synagogue was built in 1885, three years after 144 Yemenite Jewish families established a village in the area. The Jews were forced to leave in the late 1930’s due to Arab riots and violence. In 2004, Jews began to purchase property in the old Yemenite village from the Arab inhabitants and move back in.

The case to evict the Arab squatters from the legally purchased synagogue lasted for seven years until the High Court’s ruling in February and the final forcible eviction.

The synagogue will be renovated and its main sanctuary will be called Heichal Yonatan, in honor of Jonathan Pollard.

For further reading click here.

No Vigilantes
A Tel Aviv judge ordered police to arrest a man who kicked an Arab woman who was subdued and held on the ground by several people who saw her assault a man and thought that she was a terrorist.

A video of the incident taken by a witness shows one man kicking her in the head as she lay on the ground, her hands held behind her back. The woman wasn’t carrying a weapon and was sent for psychiatric evaluation. The judge said, “Even if the accused were a terrorist, it is unacceptable for Israeli citizens to kick in the head persons who pose no threat.”

Police released a statement saying, “We wish to emphasize to the public, required to be more vigilant these days, that when a danger is over and the suspect is disarmed or incapacitated, there is a strict prohibition on using violence — citizens are expected to refrain from taking the law into their hands.”

For further reading click here.

Christian Victim
One of the victims of the stabbing attack on bus #78 last week was a Dutch Christian woman, Marike Veldman. She left her home in Holland 37 years ago to volunteer in Israel, and never left. A few years after settling in Israel she opened a foster home for Arab children in East Jerusalem where, over the years, she raised 20 children.

Recounting the terror attack, Veldman said that she saw two men, “laughing, exchanging maybe a joke or something, and then all of sudden they got up and started screaming ‘Allahu Akbar,’ and then one of them started stabbing me and he stabbed me several times, I yelled ‘Jesus help me!’”

Feldman was moderately wounded in the attack. She says that although she pities the attackers and understands their frustrations, she feels that their actions were pure evil.

Regarding Arabs she said, “Right now I’m afraid of them. I have a lot of Arab friends, but it will take me some time to trust them, and I need to heal.”

Feldman said that we will not leave Israel. “The terror must not control my life.”

For further reading click here.

PM Blunders
Talk about rewriting history. In a speech to the World Zionist Congress in Jerusalem yesterday, PM Netanyahu made a statement that’s caused just about everyone to say WTF. He basically said that it was the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini who, in late 1941, gave Hitler the idea to exterminate the Jews. Before that, Hitler just wanted to expel them.

Granted the Mufti was an evil fellow who absolutely was in favor of wiping out the Jewish people, but have you read Mein Kampf? Hitler’s war against the Jewish people was one of the foundations of his ideology, if not the primary one. Netanyahu must know that. Everyone does. So why did he say what he said?

We’ll probably hear some sort of apology later today. I doubt he’ll try to explain his way out of this one. He better not.

For further reading click here.

Haneen Zoabi

Netanyahu Calls for Criminal Charges Against Haneen Zoabi

/by

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

jewish divorce israel

Israeli Woman Refuses to Accept Divorce and is Fined

/by

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.

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

Israel News for September 17, 2015

/by

< back to sign up

Here We Go Again
Remember Mohammed Allan, the Palestinian prisoner who conducted a 66 day hunger strike and stopped after the High Court temporarily suspended his administrative detention? Well, the good news for Allan is that he finally got well enough to be released from the Ashkelon hospital he was recovering in. The bad news is that he was rearrested moments after his discharge.

Background
Allan was arrested and held in administrative detention for being an Islamic Jihad terror operative. The administrative detention law allows authorities to detain suspects without formally charging them or bringing them to trial. The reason for the law is to protect sources and witnesses who would be in danger if formal charges detailing the specific crimes of the suspect were released.

Allan went on a hunger strike to protest the administrative detention law. His health condition reached the critical stage where the government considered force feeding him to save his life, which would be legal according to a recently passed Israeli law. To avoid that, the government offered to release him if he went into exile for four years. He declined the offer, and the case went before the High Court.

The court decided to temporarily suspend his administrative detention. Allan and his supporters considered that a victory and Allan ended his hunger strike. He continued to receive medical treatment and nourishment at the Ashkelon hospital where he had been detained.

At the time of the case, the government had made it clear that the only way they would agree to release Allan was if it was determined that he had sustained severe brain damage from his hunger strike, which would make him no longer a security risk.

Thanks to his good luck and skilled Israeli doctors, Allan didn’t suffer brain damage, or at least enough to no longer deem him a security risk. So as expected, he was rearrested before being released. In response, Allan has resumed his hunger strike.

Upshot
It is unlikely the government will agree to release someone they believe to be a terrorist. Besides the obvious security risk, it would be a signal for other prisoners to go on their own hunger strikes to get released. The question now is whether the government will end up force feeding Allan, if his health deteriorates to it’s previous levels again.

Stop Stoners
Alexander Levlovich, 64, was driving home from a Rosh Hashanah dinner with two passengers on Sunday night. As he was driving through Arnona to his Armon Hanetziv neighborhood, both of which are located in East Jerusalem, his car was stoned, causing him to lose control and slam into a pole. Yesterday, he was buried.

During a tour of Levlovich’s Jerusalem neighborhood of Armon Hanetziv, PM Netanyahu told reporters that “we’re changing the policy to a war on stone-throwers, not just in Jerusalem and the roads leading to it, but also in the Galilee and the Negev.”

The PM, the Defense Minister and the Internal Security Minister all want to allow the police to use snipers against stone throwers, just like the IDF does. The Attorney General is looking into the matter for the PM, to determine if it’s legal. The ultimate goal: to put a stop to the stoning attacks.

Meanwhile, there were three days of violent riots between police and Arabs on the Temple Mount resulting in numerous injuries on both sides.

Iceland Slams Israel
The city council of Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, has adopted a motion to boycott Israeli-made goods. According to the motion, the boycott will be in place “as long as the occupation of Palestinian territories continues.”

Upshot
Does Iceland actually buy stuff from Israel? It doesn’t really matter. It’s the thought that counts.

Chief Rabbis Speak Out
Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi David Lau and Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef released a joint statement warning Jews to steer clear of an upcoming conference in Jerusalem organized by the International Christian Embassy saying that a major purpose of the event and the organization is to convert Jews to Christianity.

The statement said that, “even though it may be that the conference organizers are friends to the State of Israel, in practice the event constitutes a spiritual danger and undermines [the state’s] Jewish character.”

Upshot
Seems like the chief rabbis are just doing their job. The evangelical Christians have stated clearly that one of their missions is to convert the Jews in order to hasten the coming of their messiah. So shouldn’t rabbis warn Jews to avoid the risk of being converted? (No offense to our Christian readers) Isn’t the primary job of a rabbi to protect and enhance Judaism and Jewish spirituality? Go rabbis!

Shaked’s New Diggs
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (Bayit Yehudi) is doing pretty well, at least in her standard of living. She just purchased a 2700 sq. Ft. House in North Tel Aviv for 6.7 million shekels ($1.74 million), which is comparable to buying a 5000 sq ft house in a trendy Manhattan suburb. She’s selling the Tel Aviv penthouse that she’s lived in for the past few years, if you happen to be in the market. Before getting into politics Shaked worked as a software engineer and then as marketing manager for Texas Instruments in Israel. Shaked is 39, married with two children. Her husband is a fighter pilot. Go Ayelet!

Israeli Salad Woes
Despite the high prices of food in Israel (especially if it’s imported), you could always depend on getting inexpensive tomatoes and cucumbers that taste way better than anything produced in the US. That’s probably why Israeli salad consists primarily of, you guessed it: tomatoes and cucumbers. That might have to change.

Due to the intense heat wave and natural price inflation around holiday time, cucumbers have doubled in price and tomatoes have jumped 87% since the beginning of September.

In an attempt to make Israeli salad available even to the poorest consumers, Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel permitted veggie imports. But his announcement came just 4 business days before the start of Rosh Hashanah, which didn’t leave enough time to import anything. Israeli salad lovers (which is just about everyone, right?) are so mad they probably will not be granting Ariel forgiveness, which could be a big problem for him come Yom Kippur.

Save the Israeli salad!!

Israel News for September 3, 2015

/by

< back to sign up

Shots from Gaza
Several shots were fired from Gaza yesterday at Israeli moshav Netiv Ha’asarah. Three homes were hit. Miraculously, no one was injured even though the inhabitants were home. In one of the homes a bullet hit the TV that the kids were watching at the time.

The IDF is sure that the shots came from Gaza, but not so sure that the shots were deliberate. Hamas has a training camp right near the border in the area.

In any case, the air force quickly responded by hitting the Hamas military area where the shots originated from. The IDF said that they hold Hamas responsible for any attacks coming from Gaza and for keeping their side of the border quiet.

Budget Approved
The Knesset yesterday approved the 2015-2016 budget in its first reading with a narrow margin of 57 in favor and 53 against. It still needs to be approved in two additional readings to become law. 

In presenting the budget, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said “this budget includes a significant increase for the social ministries, with an increased budget for education, health, welfare and public security.”

The main challenges Kahlon faced in getting the budget approved were the promises that had been made to individual parties, especially the charedi parties, during the coalition building process. Many of those promises could not be honored within the proposed budget.

Economy Minister Aryeh Deeri of Shas was noticeably absent from the vote and threatened that if his proposal to eliminate all VAT (value added tax) for the poorer sectors is not implemented, his party will vote against the budget in the second and third readings.

One of the largest bones of contention is the size of the defense budget. According to the Israeli financial newspaper Calcalist, it stands at 55 billion shekels, but the political establishment is estimating the final number to be much larger. Any increase in the defense budget is likely to mean cuts in the welfare budget or an increase in the national deficit.

The opposition strongly opposed the budget.

PM Gets Tough
PM Netanyahu is getting tougher on security. In a meeting yesterday regarding the security situation in Jerusalem and on Highway 443, he told the IDF to reassess its standing order on opening fire on stone and fire-bomb throwers.

The current order, which was issued after the Duma attacks, prohibits soldiers from firing at stone throwers unless the soldiers feel that their lives are in immediate danger. The order was meant to prevent increased violence by avoiding Palestinian casualties. That seems to be working. Unfortunately, stone and fire-bomb throwing seems to have increased.

The PM wants the attacks to end. He stressed that his policy is, “zero tolerance for stone throwing and terror.”

As a result of the meeting, two new Border Police companies and another 400 police officers will be added to the existing forces in Jerusalem and additional security will be added along the 443.

Firemen Attacked
A fire broke out in a building in an Arab neighborhood in East Jerusalem last night. Five firefighting units responded. Firemen entered the building and rescued five people, including a mother and her children. They put out the fire. Then the neighborhood came out to attack them with stones. Police forces that were on the scene protected the firefighters from their grateful audience.

This wasn’t an isolated incident. It seems that rescue workers that respond to calls in Arab neighborhoods routinely get attacked. Not very nice.

Charedi Minister
It finally happened, without hell having to freeze over. For the first time in over 50 years, there will be a charedi cabinet minister in the Israeli government.

Yesterday, Yaakov Litzman was sworn in as Minister of Health after a Knesset vote of 83 to 10 in favor of his appointment. Among those who voted for him were opposition leaders Isaac Herzog and Yair Lapid, as well as all of the Labor party Knesset members.

Litzman had held the position of Deputy Health Minister in accordance with the charedi position of not accepting government ministerial portfolios based on their ideological objections to secular government in the Holy Land. But when the High Court ruled that he must either become full minister or quit, the Council of Torah sages of his Agudas Yisroel faction gave him the green light to become minister.

After his swearing in Litzman received congratulations from most of the Knesset members. He even got some hugs, but just from the men.

Druze Shortchanged
The Israeli Druze population contributes more than its fair share of combat fighters to the IDF. Many Druze soldiers fought valiantly and were decorated for their service during Operation Protective Shield (Gaza War) last year. Unfortunately, many of their homes aren’t even connected to the electrical grid. That’s caused a group of veterans to return the decorations they received during Protective Shield to protest their situation.

MK Nissan Slomiansky of Bayit Yehudi met with representatives in the Druze town of Dalit Al-Karmel to hear their grievances. He sympathized with their problems, but tried to convince them to keep their commendations.

So the Druze have their ribbons and medals, but still not much electricity.

They deserve better.
 

Israel News for August 28, 2015

/by

< back to sign up

Hamas Tales
One year after the end of operation Defensive Shield (Gaza war), the Arab news station Al Jazeera has released a documentary called “black box” that’s generating some buzz in Israel. The film presents the Hamas version of the events of Friday Aug. 1, 2014 in Rafiah, when Lt. Hadar Goldin was kidnapped and killed and Major Benaya Sarel and Staff Sergeant Liel Gidoni were killed.

Background
According to the Israeli version, an IDF unit that was on patrol was attacked by a suicide bomber who detonated near the soldiers. Heavy exchanges of fire ensued and one of the soldiers, Lt. Hadar Goldin, was captured by Hamas terrorists and taken deep into a tunnel. Another officer chased them into the tunnel but was unable to rescue Goldin who was already dead. The officer was able to retrieve conclusive evidence of Goldin’s death, which was used by the IDF rabbinate to officially declare that Goldin was killed in action.

In the documentary, a Hamas operative tells the Al-Jazeera interviewer that IDF troops collected the body of a Hamas fighter, Walid Tufik Massoud, who was dressed in an IDF uniform believing it was Lt. Hadar Goldin and did not chase after him and his kidnappers into the tunnels. The Hamas operative claims that the IDF only noticed Goldin was missing two hours after the incident. By that time they had withdrawn all their troops from the area and Rafah was a black box, which they had no access to, so the IDF began bombing the area indiscriminately under the Hannibal Directive.

The IDF claims that it knew Massoud was a terrorist.

In a press release the Goldin family rejected the claims in the documentary and reiterated their full faith in the IDF, the defense establishment and the State of Israel. They see them as the only source of trustworthy information. They called for increased pressure on Hamas to return the bodies of Hadar Goldin and Sergeant Oron Shaul, so that they can receive a Jewish burial.

The IDF did not comment on the film.

The documentary also features new footage of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, during his captivity, with the Hamas commander of southern Gaza, Muhammad Abu Shamala, who was later killed in operation Defensive Shield. Shalit was captured in 2006 during a cross-border attack by Hamas militants. He was released as part of a 2011 hostage deal in which the Israeli government released 1,027 prisoners.

Upshot
Who do you believe: Hamas or the IDF? Seriously.

New Warships
Now that Israel has valuable offshore gas developments, they need to be sure that they can defend them. The Israeli Navy currently has eleven warships and its decided to add another four. The ships will be built in Germany and will be delivered in five years. Israel was prepared to pay a maximum of $100 million per ship, but the Germans offered to do it for $90 million (pangs of guilt?).

Israel will be giving Germany the plans for the hull and electrical system. They’ll be installing the combat systems themselves in Israel, so that they won’t be caught unarmed in the event of a future anti-Israel boycott.

So, Germany will be helping protect Israeli gas.

New Charedi Minister
Earlier this week the High Court ruled that Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman of UTJ must either become the Health Minister or resign. That’s because Litzman currently performs all the functions of a minister, but since his Ultra Orthodox party has ideological issues with being part of a secular government, they traditionally do not accept ministerial posts. The court, ruling on an appeal filed by Yesh Atid, said that this situation could no longer continue. If you act like a minister, then you’re a minister (not a deputy).

The council of Torah Sages of Agudas Yisrael, which is part of UTJ, met yesterday and decided to give Litzman the green light to become Health Minister.

It’s unclear whether this decision marks a shift in fundamental Charedi ideology and its view of the secular State of Israel, or whether it’s just an acknowledgement of the benefits of keeping Litzman in the cabinet. It’s probably the latter.

Charedim vs. IDF
There have recently been a surge of threats and harassment against Charedi soldiers and recruiters. Recruiters are being hit especially hard. As an example, in a phone call to a recruiter the caller was recorded as saying,, “Let us live as Jews – do not dare to recruit men to the IDF. Shame on you. You’re a disgrace. Don’t you dare touch the soul of a Jew. You’re causing the masses to sin.”

These harassers aren’t just isolated extremists. They are reflecting a widely held attitude in the charedi community, which believes that their young men should not serve in the IDF because if they do they will lose their religious identity and become non observant. They also believe that their time is better spent studying torah rather than being soldiers.

A few weeks ago the spiritual leader of Shas, the sephardic-charedi party, announced publicly that young men should under no circumstances enlist in the IDF. He also railed against charedi IDF recruiters in very harsh terms.

Defense Minister Ya’alon was clear in his stance saying, “in the face of violence against haredi conscripts who serve in the IDF and their recruiters, Israel has an obligation to act with zero tolerance. I call on the leaders of the haredi community to condemn unacceptable phenomena such as these and to throw out violent elements.”

High Court freeze IDF beard ban
The IDF recently issued an order banning beards in order to maintain uniformity and a sense of professionalism. Some religious soldiers aren’t very happy with the new order. One of them appealed to the High Court claiming religious discrimination.

The High Court of Justice yesterday issued a temporary order to freeze the anti-beard regulation. But while the court was deliberating his case, the soldier was forced to shave despite his request to wait for the High Court’s decision.

In any case, the army regulation doesn’t include the “three weeks” or other religiously mandated periods of mourning during which Jews traditionally do not shave.

Canine Security Breach
In an embarrassing security breach, PM Netanyahu’s son Avner’s private details including his cellphone number and home phone number were published on the Agriculture Ministry’s dog database. The details have since been removed.

The Netanyahu’s recently adopted a female dog named Kaya,saving her from being put to sleep. Last week the PM posted a moving post with a picture of him with Kaya, writing “she has brought so much light into our home. I call on anyone who wants to adopt a dog, save an adult dog and bring them into your home.”

Aww.

Israel News for August 25, 2015

/by

< back to sign up

Terror Cell Arrested
Security forces arrested a four man terrorist cell that was planning to shoot Jews praying at Joseph’s Tomb in Shechem (Nablus). The four were being trained and armed by an Islamic Jihad operative from Gaza. They were gathering intelligence on the daily routine of the prayer goers at the Tomb in preparation for their attack. Thankfully, that’s as far as they got.

President Rivlin Speaks
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin met yesterday at his residence with elected leaders of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. Rivlin expressed his full support for the settlements in the territories saying, “Our right to this land is not a matter of political debate. It is a basic fact of modern Zionism. We must not give anyone the sense that we are in any doubt about our right to our land. For me, the settlement of the land of Israel is an expression of that right, our historical right, our national right, stemming from a love for the land of Israel, [and] from a recognition of our roots, which come together here.”

He sympathized with the settlers who are facing increased violence in the aftermath of the Duma attack that killed a Palestinian toddler and his father, but emphasized the need for restraint. He said, “Our sovereignty in this land means responsibility for all those who live here, and obliges all of us to uphold the strictest of moral codes, which is inherent in each and every one of us.”

Asylum Seekers Released
In compliance with a High Court ruling ordering the release of asylum seekers being held for longer than 12 months in the Holot facility in the Negev, the government will release 1,500 Sudanese and Eritrean asylum seekers by Wednesday.

Background
There are over 45,000 asylum seekers, primarily from Sudan and Eritrea, who almost all entered the country illegally, usually by infiltrating through Israel’s southern border with Sinai.

Since they are fleeing from war-torn countries where their lives are in danger, they are considered asylum seekers and cannot, according to Israeli law, be deported back to their home countries unless they pose a clear security threat (which they don’t).

In order to control this influx of African asylum seekers, which poses a demographic threat to the stability of the country, the Knesset passed the Anti-Infiltration law allowing the government to imprison the illegals for up to 3 months and then detain them for up to 20 months. These measures are meant to persuade the migrants to leave the country. The High Court reduced the 20 month detention term to 12 months, but kept the rest of the law in tact.

In anticipation of the release of the 1,500 Holot detainees, the government issued regulations forbidding them from returning to Tel Aviv and Eilat, which is where most of the asylum seekers in Israel live.

Representatives from hotels in the Dead Sea came to Holot to recruit close to 200 workers. Many of the others are heading to Arad and Beersheva.

Upshot
Both the Israeli government and the High Court have made it pretty clear that they do not want asylum seekers, primarily from Sudan and Eritrea, to remain in the country. But since they can’t simply deport them, their objective is to make life so difficult for them that they agree to voluntarily leave. Approximately 9,000 have already left. But life has got to be pretty bad for anyone to want to return to Sudan or Eritrea. So the government will keep tightening the screws and the Africans will keep fighting for survival until…well, we’ll have to wait and see how this ends.

Assad Speaks Out
In an interview with Hezbollah television, President Assad of Syria addressed Israel’s attack on Syrian government targets, which was in response to a rocket attack on Israel from territory under his control. In that attack Israel hit numerous government and pro government military targets and killed the four terrorists believed responsible for firing the rockets. Assad said that, at this time, defeating the anti government rebels in Syria takes priority over fighting with Israel. He also claimed that Israel was supporting the rebel groups and using them as proxies to fight Syria. So really, by fighting the rebel groups he’s fighting Israel. Interesting logic.

Gay Pride Murderer indicted
The Jerusalem District Court indicted Yishai Schlissel, the Gay Pride Parade attacker, for one count of murder and six counts of attempted murder.

A document was recently uncovered that has put the police in a tight spot. The document was presented at a special meeting of the Jerusalem police district ten days before the gay pride parade and specifically identified Schlissel as being a threat of the highest degree. That means the police should have been keeping an eye on him. They obviously didn’t. An investigative committee examining possible police negligence is hard at work to find out what went wrong.

Hasidic Crowd Control
Tomorrow the Gerrer Hasidim will celebrate the wedding of their Rebbe’s grandson in Jerusalem. But unlike the standard large charedi gathering, which often includes lots of pushing and jostling for good viewing positions, this event will hopefully be different.

The Rebbe’s gabbai (sort of like the chief of staff and personal secretary) released a letter ordering all Hassidim planning to attend the wedding to pick a spot and stay in it for the duration. That means no moving around, pushing or positioning. In other words, just be a mentch (ask your grandma what that means). And in case you think you can do as you please, the letter says that the venue will be recorded with cameras, so don’t even think about it.

The goal here is to avoid the kind of tragedy that occurred at the funeral of a prominent rabbi some months ago where a young man was trampled to death in the pushing during the funeral procession. Hopefully, the new Gerrer rules will do the trick.