Tag Archive for: Israel News

Terror Thwarted
An Israeli firefighter noticed a suspicious looking Arab man wandering near the entrance of the settlement of Kochav Yaakov in Samaria. He called police who apprehended the man and found him carrying a bag with a knife and a Koran. The man admitted that he was planning to carry out a terror attack. Police are searching for an alleged accomplice.

For further reading click here.

British Blunder
Priti Patel, the UK Secretary of State  for International Development, resigned after it was revealed that she met with members of the Israeli government, including the PM, without informing or getting the permission of the British government.

Patel, who was a rising star in Britain’s Conservative party and a staunch supporter of Israel, was on a private vacation in Israel with her family when she “secretly” met with Netanyahu and other government and business leaders.

After the visit, Ms Patel suggested some of Britain’s aid budget go to the Israeli army. She also asked her officials to see if Britain could support humanitarian operations conducted by the Israeli army in the occupied Golan Heights area. The request was seen as inappropriate, since the UK doesn’t recognize Israeli sovereignty in the Golan.

Patel was also found to have met “secretly” with other Israeli officials in NYC in September.

Prior to resigning, Ms Patel apologized for not informing the Foreign Office of the meetings and for suggesting Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, knew about her plans in advance of the visit.

Israel has lost a friend in the UK.

For further reading click here.

American Zionist Convention
The American Zionist Movement (AZM) will hold its National Conference in Washington, DC from November 15-17, which coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration and the 70th anniversary of the UN Partition Resolution.

The conference, with over 50 presenters, will feature key speakers including Ambassador Ron Dermer; Baroness Ruth Deech; Malcolm Hoenlein;  Col.(ret.) Richard Kemp; Brig.Gen. (ret.) Yossi Kuperwasser; Gusti Yehoshua-Braverman: and Richard D. Heideman. The program includes panels, discussions and briefings on Israel and Zionism, and special events, including The Balfour Gala hosted at The Embassy of Israel, and sessions on Capitol Hill featuring a Congressional and Diplomatic Luncheon honoring Ambassador Dermer.

For more information click here.

New Town
A new Haredi town will be established in the next couple of years, but not in Israel. The Satamar Hassidic community of Kiryas Yoel in the township of Monroe, NY will be splitting off from the township to become The Town of Palm Tree — an English translation of the Satmar rebbe’s surname, Teitelbaum. Over 80% of the voters in Monroe voted to allow the 20,000 strong Hassidic community to form it’s own town, which will be the first totally Hassidic town in the US (and in the world, outside of Israel). The new Town of Palm Tree will also annex several hundred acres of land from Monroe.

For further reading click here.

Druze Appeal
Following a terror attack by the Nusra Front that claimed 18 lives in the Syrian Druze village of Hadar, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, Shaykh Muwaffak Tarīf, asked the IDF to warn the Nusra Front to stay away from the village. He said, “We didn’t ask and are not asking Israel to go into Syria or take over the village. The Nusra Front is under the watchful eye of the IDF, which could tell them: ‘Be careful, don’t go near this village, to us this is a red line.’ We’re counting on the IDF to do this.”

Tariff also told the PM, Defense Minister and IDF commanders, “Israel must stand beside the Druze and protect this village, and not let the Nusra Front conquer it and slaughter its people.”

The IDF gave assurances that it would prevent the Nusra Front, and any other terror group, from advancing on the village.

For further reading click here.

Gaza Infighting
Despite the reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah which gave the Palestinian Authority control over Gaza, the PA’s General Intelligence and Preventive Security service arrested 50 Hamas operatives in the West Bank in October. They also arrested 130 other operatives belonging to other groups including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).

PA President Abbas is trying to assure that Hamas does not gain any power in the West Bank, in order to protect his own power.

For further reading click here.

Kotel Ferraris
A few weeks ago directors of Ferrari, the international sports vehicle company, asked the Chief Rabbi of the Western Wall (Kotel) for permission to park several cars in part of the Western Wall plaza during the early morning hours of Friday in order to make a tour of Jerusalem—to be held several hours before Shabbat—easier. He rejected the request. Then they presented their request to a junior official of the Heritage Foundation, which administers the holy site, and he approved it.

Last Friday Kotel worshipers were shocked to see about twenty Ferraris parked at the holy site. The Chief Rabbi was away at the time, but when he heard the news he was furious. He said, “We won’t even allow a can of Coke to be sold here. We’re rejecting requests left and right to place beverage vending machines on the site, despite the heat and people’s thirst, and end up with a spectacle of 20 sparkling Ferraris? Out of the question.”

The rabbi and the CEO of the Heritage Foundation accepted full responsibility for the “grave, unfortunate error” and promised stricter measures are forthcoming.

For further reading click here.

Coming Home
It has been revealed that Israeli diplomats, instructed by Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely, have been involved in secret discussions with the government of Ukraine to obtain permission to transport the remains of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov from his tomb in Uman to Israel.

Tens of thousands of Israelis visit the tomb each year, particularly on Rosh Hashanah, since Rabbi Nachman promised that anyone who visits and prays at his grave on the holiday will be blessed and lifted up from the depths. But the phenomenon of having over 30,000 Jewish men leave the Holy Land to go to Ukraine for the High Holiday doesn’t sit well with many rabbinic authorities. Even leaders of the Breslov sect are pushing to move the rabbi’s remains and bring his blessings home to Israel.

But given the huge amount of revenue that Ukraine gets from the massive tourist trade driven by the rabbi’s tomb, the chances of them letting the remains live the country are extremely slim.

Perhaps cutting off that revenue stream for a couple of years by urging Israelis to stay away will persuade the Ukrainians to change their minds? Some well placed bribes will probably help too.

For further reading click here.

Praying Together
Jewish and Arab volunteers work side by side in the United Hatzalah rescue service. President and Founder of United Hatzalah Eli Beer saw the video and said the following: “One of the things not mentioned nearly enough in the media is the cooperation and friendships that are formed by people of different faiths working together to achieve a common goal. At United Hatzalah, we have volunteers and staff members of all faiths represented in Israel, working together to save lives. Volunteering side by side, day in and day out achieves a bond of friendship between people of different faiths that is rarely seen in today’s polarizing world.”

To watch a video of a Jewish and Moslem volunteer praying in the same room on a break in Jerusalem, click here.

Israel Attacks
According to Lebanese media reports, the Israeli Air Force attacked a rocket factory and depot last night near the city of Homs in Syria. The report also said that the Syrian army fired at least one surface to air missile at the Israeli aircraft, which missed. The Israeli fighters returned home unharmed. Russian media reported that the rockets belonged to Hezbollah. There were no reports of casualties.

Intelligence Minister Israel Katz told Army Radio today, ”I can’t, of course, relate to reports about the IDF’s attack in Syria, but regardless, Israel’s position is clear: Smuggling arms to Hezbollah is a red line in our eyes. Israel has acted in the past and it will act in the future to prevent arms smuggling to Hezbollah according to intelligence information that we will have.”

For further reading click here.

False Alarm
Residents of the greater Tel Aviv area were jolted out of their sleep at 2:48am today by a rocket alert siren. Coming after the recent IDF destruction of the Hamas tunnel, many thought that they were experiencing a retaliatory strike by Hamas. But the siren turned out to be a false alarm. The IDF is investigating the incident.

For further reading click here.

Border Crossings
Hamas has turned over control of its border crossings with Israel and Egypt to the Palestinian Authority as part of its recent reconciliation agreement with the PA. That means the PA will now collect the revenues from those border crossings, which Hamas had used to pay its employees.

For further reading click here.

Rabin Memorial
Today Israel will commemorate the 22nd year since the assassination of PM Yitzhak Rabin. A memorial service was held at the President’s residence attended by President Reuven Rivlin and his wife Nechama, along with leader of the opposition Isaac Herzog, Deputy Knesset Speaker Hilik Bar, Supreme Court Judge Anat Baron, Chief Rabbi David Lau, members of the Rabin family, other MKs, and students.

At 3pm, state leaders will lay a wreath at the graves of Rabin and his wife Leah at the Great Leaders of the Nation’s Plot on Mount Herzl. PM Netanyahu will attend. Also present will be the IDF Chief Rabbi Brig. Gen. Eyal Karim, who will recite a psalm, the Head Cantor of the IDF Shai Abramson, who will sing the traditional El Malei Rachamim prayer. Rabin’s son, Yuval, will recite the Kaddish prayer.

At 5pm, the Knesset will convene for a special session to remember Rabin, where a moment of silence will be observed. Netanyahu, Rivlin and Herzog will address the plenum.

Following the event, Netanyahu will depart for a five-day visit to London to attend a ceremony marking 100 years since the Balfour Declaration, where he will meet with the UK’s Prime Minister Theresa May and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.

For further reading click here.

Election Polls
Two new election polls just released indicate that while the Likud would lose some seats, it would remain Israel’s largest party. The Zionist Union, Yesh Atid and Bayit Yehudi parties would all gain seats, while Shas would plunge to just 4 seats. But regardless of the power shifts, it seems that PM Netanyahu would keep his job. The only way that could change is if the mainstream parties joined in a coalition with the Joint List Arab party which holds 12 seats, and leaders of Zionist Union have rejected that option out of hand.

For more details about the polls click here.

Hospital Visit
Jared Kushner and Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt visited top Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat in a Washington DC hospital, where he just underwent lung transplant.

For further reading click here.

Rabbi Rosen Passes
Rabbi Israel Rosen, the founder of the Zomet Institute, passed away last night at the age of 76. The Zomet Institue is dedicated to integrating technology with halacha (Jewish law) and has created many technological innovations that allow first responders, hospitals, security personnel and the sick and elderly to use devices on Shabbat that would normally be prohibited. In recent years Rabbi Rosen was a leading figure in helping establish an orderly conversion process in Israel.

May his memory serve as a blessing for us all.

For further reading click here.

Settlers Protest
Over 2,000 people protested outside the Prime Minister’s Residence on Sunday evening, demanding funding for new security measures and bypass roads for settlements in Judea and Samaria (West Bank).

Yossi Dagan, the head of the Samaria Regional Council addressed the PM saying, “The security of half a million residents in Judea and Samaria cannot be forfeited! We’re here because we’re done with promises and spins. Mr. Prime Minister, we demand actions. We’re here in our thousands to say: With promises, you can’t prevent attacks. With promises you can’t build the Land of Israel.”

Welfare and Labor Minister Haim Katz declared that “Bypass roads and preventative measures are not luxuries. We must provide them, the sooner the better. I call on the prime minister, who wants the security of the citizens, to gather the government and pass the necessary budget as soon as possible.”

Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely told protesters that Netanyahu has committed to her to bolster security by allocating a budget for the measures the settlers are demanding.

Settler leaders have set up a protest tent outside the PM’s residence, which has been visited my several MK’s pleading their support.

For further reading click here. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5035580,00.html

UN Follies
One of the main items on the agenda of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) meeting tomorrow in Geneva will be the discrimination against women in Israel. The Human Rights Council’s members currently include Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. Enough said.

For further reading click here.

Border Fire
An IDF vehicle patrolling near the security fence along the Sinai border was fired upon from the Egyptian side of the fence. No soldiers were injured. The IDF said that the incident is believed to be a spillover of gunfire from Egypt. ISIS affiliated terror groups are active in the area.

For further reading click here.

UK for 2 States
British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson wrote an op-ed in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Balfour Declaration in which he praised Israel for its achievements and pledged Britain’s continued support.

He also expressed the need for a Palestinian state. He wrote, ”I see no contradiction in being a friend of Israel—and a believer in that country’s destiny—while also being deeply moved by the suffering of those affected and dislodged by its birth. The vital caveat in the Balfour Declaration—intended to safeguard other communities—has not been fully realised. I have no doubt that the only viable solution to the conflict resembles the one first set down on paper by another Briton, Lord Peel … and that is the division of two states for two people.”

Regarding the borders of that state he said, “The borders should be based on the lines they stood on June 4, 1967—the eve of the Six-Day War—with equal land swaps to reflect the national, security, and religious interests of the Jewish and Palestinian peoples.”

Johnson concluded with, “It is Israelis and Palestinians who must negotiate the details and write their own chapter in history. A century on, Britain will give whatever support we can in order to close the ring and complete the unfinished business of the Balfour Declaration.”

For further reading click here.

Judokas Return
The Israeli National Judo Team returned from the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam tournament with five medals including one gold and four bronze. The team was forced to hide its identity during the tournament and compete under the flag of the International Judo Federation. The Tal Flicker won the god medal in his weight category, he sang Hatikvah while the anthem of the International Judo Federation was played.

Minister of Sport Miri Regev greeted the team at the airport and they all sang Hatikvah together.

For further reading click here.

Hezbollah to Blame
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman claimed yesterday that the five rockets fired into Israel by Syrian artillery on Saturday were not the result of errant fire, but rather a direct order from Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

He said, “The fire was carried out by a local cell operated by Hezbollah. Hezbollah did this in isolation of the Assad regime. There was a personal instruction by Nasrallah to compartmentalize Assad and his regime from the execution of this shooting … with the goal of dragging us into the Syrian mire. Therefore I call here both on the Assad regime … and also on the Russian forces that are present there, to restrain Hezbollah. And this is another example of why they should be kicked out of Syria as fast as possible.”

While the IDF acknowledged that the shelling was not accidental, it did not place the blame on any particular party. A defense official noted that “Lieberman’s comments on Nasrallah and the rocket fire on the Golan did not come from the army, but are instead based on his understanding, judgment and perspective.”

For further reading click here.

German Subs
The German government has approved the sale of three Thyssenkrupp submarines to Israel and will provide financing for the purchase. The estimated $2 billion deal is under police investigation in Israel over suspected corruption and several public officials and private citizens have been questioned in the case.

The German government spokesman said that Germany would make a contribution of up to 540 million euros to help finance Israel’s purchase, noting Berlin’s “historical responsibility toward the state of Israel.”

PM Netanyahu praised the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two countries saying, “The MOU is strategically important to the security of Israel. Its signing reflects the commitment of Germany and Chancellor Angela Merkel to the security of Israel and the deep cooperation between the two countries.”

The three new submarines are expected to go into service from 2027.

For further reading click here.

Binary Options Ban
Yesterday, the Knesset passed a law banning trading in binary options. The vote was 51 in favor and zero against. The bill outlaws gambling on securities even when those gambling (buyers of binary options) are not resident in Israel.

The bill was promoted by the chairman of the Israel Securities Authority Shmuel Hauser and the Israel Police, who pointed out in Knesset committee hearings that the use of Israel as a base for trading in binary options harmed the country’s global reputation, to the point of provoking anti-Semitic outbursts.

For further reading click here.

Fourth Tower
The three iconic Azrieli towers that dominate the Tel Aviv skyline will soon be joined by a fourth tower. The new tower was granted final approval by the Tel Aviv planning board yesterday. It will contain 90 floors, 40 of which will be allocated to commercial use. The tower will also contain 200 protected housing units, 60 apartments with up to 65 square meters each, and 240 housing units with an average of 100 square meters each will be built.

For further reading click here.