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Israel News for October 31, 2016

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Terror Ramming
A Palestinians rammed his car into Border Police officers at a checkpoint near Hebron yesterday. Three officers were lightly wounded and evacuated to Shaare Tzedek hospital in Jerusalem. The terrorist was shot dead by other officers at the scene.

Shortly before, a five year old boy was injured when the car he was traveling in near Gush Etzion was stoned. The boy was taken to Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem.

For further reading click here.

Terrorist Sentenced
A year ago on Rosh Hashana, four Palestinians decided to stone Israeli cars driving on the main rode in the Armon Hanetziv neighborhood of Jerusalem. They attacked a driven by 64 year old Alexander Levlovich who, as a result, drove off the rode, hit a tree and was killed. He is considered to be the first victim of last year’s wave of terror.

Today one of the attackers, a minor, was sentenced to 9 years in prison as a result of a plea bargain agreement, after agreeing to testify against his accomplices. The attorneys representing the other defendants are also seeking plea bargains for their clients, including one that would give the primary defendant an 18 year sentence. The Levlovich family is objecting.

For further reading click here.

Rabin Memorial
November 4th will mark the 21st anniversary of the tragic assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. But the organizers of the rally announced yesterday that the annual memorial rally in Rabin Square would be cancelled, due to a lack of funding and sponsors. After hearing this, opposition Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog declared that his party will sponsor an alternate rally, on short notice. Details will follow in the next few days.

For further reading click here.

Trump Kotel Note
Donald Trump has written a note to be placed in the Kotel. He apparently wrote the note after a conversation with his daughter Ivanka, and gave the note to one of his advisors. The note was photographed and sent to Yediot Ahronot before being inserted into the Kotel. It said, “May you bless the United States, our armed forces and our allies. May your guiding hand protect and strengthen our great nation.”

To see the original click here.

Thousands Celebrate
Thousands gathered to celebrate the anniversary (hillula) of the death of Rabbi Shimon Hatzadik, the High Priest and Sage who lived in third century BCE Jerusalem. He was known for his great piety and as the leader who greeted Alexander the Great when he approached Jerusalem. The tomb is located in the Shiekh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem.

To see photos and a video of the celebration click here.

To read more about Shimon Hatzadik click here.

Israel News for March 4, 2016

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Terror Attack
A female terrorist rammed her car into a group of soldiers at the Gush Etzion junction, the scene of many previous terror attacks. One soldier was hit and wounded while the other soldiers were able to get out of the way and shoot and kill the terrorist. A knife was found on the dashboard of her car. The soldier was evacuated to Shaare Tzedek hospital in Jerusalem with light wounds to his legs.

For further reading click here.

Hamas Tunnels
The tunnels that Hamas claims they are not digging continue to collapse, killing their occupants. The most recent collapse occurred yesterday when a tunnel collapsed in Khan Yunis killing one terrorist. It was the sixth tunnel collapse in recent months.

Official reports, both in Israel and Gaza, blame the collapses on heavy rains. But many Hamas terrorists believe that Israel is to blame. Many are afraid to enter the tunnels now. Oh well.

For further reading click here.

Kotel Compromise
In order to be officially implemented, the compromise agreement reached by the government to create a separate prayer space for non Orthodox prayer at the southern part of the Kotel must be signed by the Minister of Religious Services. But David Azoulay, the Shas MK in charge of the ministry, is refusing to sign it, claiming that he will never do so under “under any circumstances.” Referring to Reform and Conservative Jews, Azoulay added, “They must not be given a foothold among the people of Israel.”

Azoulay’s statements are not sitting well with Interior Minister Aryeh Dery, the head of Shas, who is working – via private conversations with members of the ultra-Orthodox community – to minimize the liberal Jewish movements’ success with regard to the egalitarian prayer space.

On Sunday, Netanyahu is set to meet with Israel’s two chief rabbis and senior Knesset members of the ultra-Orthodox parties. They are expected to ask him to freeze the arrangement or remove the clauses that grant status to the Reform and Conservative movements.

There are different opinions even within the ultra-Orthodox parties. Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau has been the driving force behind the opposition to the agreement, while Dery, along with Health Minister Litzman and MK Moshe Garni, both members of United Torah Judaism (UTJ), and the Chief Rabbi of the Kotel are in favor of approving the compromise agreement.

Surprisingly, the strongest opposition to the agreement is coming from groups that broke off from the Women of Wall who demand the right to continue praying in the women’s section of the Kotel while wearing prayer shawls and tefillin and reading from the Torah (which was what motivated the compromise in the first place).

The bottom line is that it doesn’t look like the religious parties will break off from the coalition and cause the government to fall (which they could have already done). Regarding signing the agreement, if Azoulay continues to refuse, the PM can just get someone else to do it.

For further reading click here.