Posts

israel news

Israel News for December 21, 2015

/by

Shalom Resigns
Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom has resigned following several allegations of sexual assault. The allegations by a former employee at Shalom’s office first came to light in a Haaretz report last week. Since then, several other women have also alleged that the minister sexually assaulted them.

Shalom denies the allegations. He said in a statement, “For some 23 years I have been faithfully serving the public as a MK and minister in different ministries, out of a sense of purpose and a drive to promote very important social and public goals. I had enough of the torments that befell me and my family, my wife, kids, and my elderly mother. My family completely supports me, but there is no reason for the price they are forced to pay. Under these circumstances, I decided to resign from my position as a minister and a member of parliament.”

Channel 10 News broadcasted the testimony of one of Shalom’s former bodyguards last night. He told of two incidents that he witnessed Shalom having intimate relations with women in toilet stalls. In one of the two cases he recognized one of the women as an employee in the minister’s office.

After meeting with the head of Police investigations last night, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein has decided to order the police to investigate the allegations.

Attorney Amir Ohana, head of the Likud’s LGBT caucus, will take Shalom’s place in the Knesset and will be the first openly gay MK from Likud.

For further reading click here.

Israeli Payback
An Israeli airstrike near Damascus on Saturday night killed Samir Kuntar, a Hezbollah terrorist leader who had been working to set up Syrian resistance groups to “liberate” the Golan Heights. Seven other terrorists were killed along with Kuntar in the airstrike, including senior Hezbollah field commanders. The Syrian government has not blamed Israel for the airstrike, probably out of a desire to avoid a conflict with Israel. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the airstrike.

Kuntar spent 30 years in an Israeli prison for one of the most heinous crimes in Israeli history. Kuntar was 16 and a member of the Palestinian Liberation Front when he killed a policeman and kidnapped and murdered Danny Haran and beat his 4 year old daughter to death with a rifle butt. During the attack, the girl’s mother hid in a crawl space inside their home and accidentally smothered their crying two year old daughter, fearing Kuntar would find them.

In 2008 Kuntar was released as part of a prisoner exchange with Hezbollah. He received a hero’s welcome in Lebanon and was awarded Syria’s highest medal by Syrian President Bashar Assad.

In an apparent revenge attack, three rockets were fired into northern Israel from Lebanon yesterday. Lebanese sources said that the rockets were fired from a location south of Tyre.

The IDF responded to the rocket attack with “targeted artillery fire.” Let’s hope there are no more revenge attacks so that this doesn’t escalate into a full blown conflict.

For further reading click here.

Duma Suspects
Hundreds of protesters attempted to block the entrance to Jerusalem at the Chords Bridge yesterday. Six people were arrested in disturbances that erupted during the protests.

The demonstrators were protesting the treatment of the three Jewish suspects being held in the Duma arson case. They claim that the Shin Bet has tortured the men during its month long investigation and interrogation.

One suspect reportedly told his attorney that interrogators were bending his back, holding him upside down for extended periods of time, and other forms of torture. He supposedly told the lawyer that he had begged interrogators for poison so his suffering would end. Another of the suspects, who is a minor, is reported to have attempted suicide by slitting his wrists.

Since the Duma case is still under gag order, the details of the investigation and treatment of the suspects has not been released by the press.

For further reading click here.

Shabbat Fines
The Knesset’s ministerial legislative committee approved a bill prohibiting businesses from operating on Shabbat. The proposed bill would fine violators three times their revenue earned for the day. The businesses would also be liable to be sued by competitors claiming damages due to the Shabbat violation.

The bill is meant to replace local municipal Shabbat by-laws and will give the Economy Minister authority to appoint inspectors to enforce the law and to issue exemptions. The bill would not apply to restaurants, gas stations, hotels or places of entertainment. It would apply to food stores, retail stores and shopping malls.

The bill was proposed after the High Court of Justice found that the Tel Aviv municipality was not enforcing its Shabbat laws. If passed, it will take Shabbat regulations out of the hands of local government and make it a national matter. The Knesset has also appointed a committee to investigate the possibility of making Sunday into a national day of rest.

For further reading click here.

Doll Policy
A few weeks ago we reported that a shipment of 4,000 terrorist dolls were confiscated at the Port of Haifa, on their way to the West Bank. Each of the 4,000 stuffed children’s dolls seized wears a keffiyeh, holds a rock in its hand, and bears the slogans ‘Jerusalem is ours’ or ‘Jerusalem, we are coming!’

Instead of just destroying them, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely decided to use them to show the world how the Palestinians incite violence, even using toys. So she ordered samples of the dolls distributed to all Israeli embassies. The Foreign Ministry sent the dolls via diplomatic mail, accompanied by instructions for demonstrating them.

At least one ambassador is not pleased with the decision. Dan Ashbel, the Israeli Ambassador to Finland wrote that, “sending more than 100 such dolls to our embassies abroad could expose us to demands for payment from the importers. Pictures of the dolls are sufficient as is the dismaying fact that there are people producing, selling and buying such dolls. Please refrain from using these dolls for demonstration purposes.”

For further reading click here.

Israel News for September 9, 2015

/by

< back to sign up

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 26, 2015

/by

< back to sign up

New Top Cop
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan has chosen a new police inspector-general to head up Israel’s national police force. The nominee, who still needs to be approved by a government committee, is 51 year old IDF Brigadier General (reserve) Gal Hirsch.

Background
Hirsch, originally from Arad, had a distinguished military career, holding numerous commands in elite combat units. He resigned from the IDF in 2006 amid allegations of mishandling an incident during the second Lebanon war, but was exonerated by an investigative committee.

Hirsch is currently chairman of the Israel Leadership Institute, an educational NGO, and Defensive Shields Holdings, a security consulting company.

Challenges
The new police chief will have his work cut out for him. Sex scandals that have forced out several senior police commanders and allegations of corruption in several recent high profile cases have further depleted the top echelons of command, which Hirsch will have to rebuild most likely by bringing in people from outside the force.
The scandals and corruption have eroded the respect people have for the police. Recent surveys show that 70% of Israelis do not have faith in their police force. This could be one reason why there are 1,000 job openings for police officers that the force is having a hard time filling.

Upshot
Hirsch’s nomination ruffled lots of feathers among the top brass in the police force, who thought one of their own should get the top job. They’re hoping that that he doesn’t get approved by the committee. Some of them might quit if he does. Whoever ends up with the job will have a lot of hard work ahead of him.

Terror in Jerusalem
According to statistics compiled by the Ministry of Construction and Housing, there were 580 documented terror attacks against both civilian and security forces during June and July in the Jerusalem areas that include the old city, the Mount of Olives, the Silwan (Shiloah) neigborhood and the City of David. That’s an average of almost ten per day.

Arad Blocks Africans
As we reported in yesterday’s email, the government is set to release close to 1,500 asylum seekers being held at the Holot detainment center in the Negev. The African migrants, who entered Israel illegally, have been banned from living or working in Tel Aviv and Eilat. Most of them have worked in those cities for years. Yesterday, twenty Africans released from Holot were arrested by immigration officials for just being in Tel Aviv.

Not to be outdone, the mayor of Arad, a southern city assumed to be a prime destination for the released detainees, declared his intention to keep them out. He sent police and inspectors to set up checkpoints at the entrances to the city to turn back asylum seekers looking to make Arad their new home. There are currently already several hundred asylum seekers living in Arad.

So where should these asylum seekers go? The government and many Israelis hope they choose another country.

Vatican Opposes Palestinians
The Palestinian mission to the UN drafted a resolution that would allow non-member observer states to fly their flags alongside member states at the UN headquarters in New York City. There are only two non-member states at the UN: Palestine and the Vatican.

The Palestinians explicitly included the Vatican in their resolution draft, hoping that doing so would compel member nations to approve it, especially since Pope Francis is due to address the UN General Assembly next month.

The Vatican was not pleased. In a note circulated to some U.N. members, the Vatican made clear that while it did not object to the Palestinians proposing a resolution to fly their own flag, the Holy See had no plans to join the initiative – even though the Vatican formally recognized the State of Palestine earlier this year.

“The Holy See does not intend to co-sponsor a draft resolution that the State of Palestine may eventually present on the matter,” the note said. “The Holy See asks the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations kindly to remove in its draft resolution any reference to the ‘Holy See’ and any generic reference ‘on behalf of the Observer States’.”

The Palestinians have yet to respond.

Upshot
Even though most member states are usually more than willing to vote against Israel’s interests, agreeing to fly the flag of a state that the US doesn’t recognize in the heart of US territory and in a heavily pro Israel city is going too far, even for them. Even the pope gets that.

Fined for Shabbat Observance
Many Israeli cities have regulations that impose fines on businesses that stay open on Shabbat. One establishment, called Henry’s, is being fined by its parent company for closing on Shabbat.

The shop, which has a kashrut certificate, is located in a new upscale shopping center in Tel Aviv. The owners of the center claim that the contracts they signed with their shops requires them to be open seven days a week. They’re fining the Shabbat observing store owners 3,500 Shekels per month for violating their contract. The Tel Aviv religious council is protesting.