Posts

Israel News for April 25, 2017

/by

Religious Threats
On Monday the Supreme Court ruled to approve an amendment passed by the Tel Aviv municipality to allow select supermarkets to remain open on Shabbat. The existing regulations prohibit all commercial establishments from operated on Shabbat.

In response, the spiritual leader of Shas (the sephardic UltraOrthodox Knesset faction), Rabbi Shalom Cohen, has threatened to quit the governing coalition. Members of Haredi parties have also quit their posts on the Tel Aviv municipal council in protest. Minister of the Interior Aryeh Deri (Shas) is attempting to promote a law in the Knesset to bypass the Supreme Court’s decision.

For further reading click here.

German Ultimatum
PM Netanyahu has presented German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel with an ultimatum: either he cancels his meeting with Breaking the Silence — an Israeli NGO that publishes the testimonies of former Israeli soldiers who report on human rights abuses in the West Bank and Gaza — or the PM will refuse to meet with him.

German officials said today that Gabriel will not change his schedule. Gabriel said, “It’s difficult for me to imagine that the meeting will be canceled, because this would be very regrettable.”

Explaining his planned meeting with Breaking the Silence, Gabriel said, “In no country in the world can you get a reasonable and comprehensive impression if you only meet with government representatives. You have to meet, as we did yesterday, with writers, with artists and students, and also with critical organizations.”

He added, “These are topics of the daily political news circle on which we need to form a political view. Therefore I find it totally normal to talk to them. I can’t imagine that we would stop doing this in the future only so we could meet with government officials.”

President Reuben Rivlin will meet with Gabriel as scheduled.

For further reading click here.

Doctor Incentives
Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and Health Minister Yaakov Litzman have agreed on guidelines for financial incentives which will encourage doctors to move to outlying areas and communities.

The grants will be allocated in accordance with published criteria and according to the requirements of hospitals, clinics and the healthcare system. Hospital directors will be given flexibility to allocate grants according to their local requirements. The goal is to strengthen the general state of healthcare in the “periphery” of the country.

For further reading click here.

Balfour Petition
On November 2, 1917, British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour sent a letter to Lord Rothschild – head of the Zionist Federation – expressing British support of a Jewish State in Palestine. While this represented the first political recognition of Jewish nationalism by a world power, it was a reflection of the philosophical, practical, and spiritual meaning behind the historical link of the Jewish nation to its ancient homeland.

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

To sign this important petition click here.

Israel News for February 2, 2017

/by

Edelstein Meets Ryan
Knesset speaker Yuli Edelstein met with the Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, yesterday in Washington. Edelstein expressed his optimism in Trump’s promise to move the US embassy to Jerusalem and his hope for the move receiving the full backing of Congress.

Edelstein told Ryan, “The significance of wide support in Congress could lead to global and regional support. If the American embassy moves, I am confident other countries will also move their embassies to the capital.”

Congress has already passed a law, back in 1995, mandating the move, and has reiterated its support on many occasions. The question is whether the president will follow through on his promise or follow in the footsteps of past presidents who also made the promise to move the embassy but then decided not to do so as a result of diplomatic and international security concerns.

The president and his press secretary have both made statements indicating that the move of being discussed but has not been determined yet.

Edelstein also met with Senator Bob Corker, the current Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and discussed current affairs in the Middle East and ways to strengthen relations between the US and Israel.

For further reading click here.

Amona Evacuation
In the final step of the evacuation of Amona that began yesterday morning, police entered the settlement’s synagogue in which dozens of activists had barricaded themselves. Overnight police were unsuccessful in attempting to negotiate with the activists to convince them to leave voluntarily.

During the course of the evacuation of Amona at least 24 police officers were reported injured and 13 teenagers were arrested for disorderly conduct, assaulting police officers and obstructing them from carrying out their duties. In addition to the residents, around 400 teenagers who came to Amona to protest were evacuated.

Most of the Amona residents have been moved to temporary housing in Ofra. The status of the housing adjacent to Amona, that they were promised in a compromise agreement, is still waiting for approval from the Supreme Court. The court is supposed to rule on the matter at any moment.

For further reading and videos click here.

Arab Evictions
Earlier this week the Supreme Court overturned a ruling of the Jerusalem District court which ordered the eviction of several Arab families from their homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina because the homes were proven to be owned by Jews who want to reclaim the property.

The Supreme Court ruled to prevent the evictions because the Arabs have no other homes and evicting them would be tantamount to throwing them out to live on the street.

For further reading click here.

Prime Ministers
If you haven’t already read The Prime Ministers by Yehuda Avner, you need to do it asap. Avner worked closely for and with four of Israel’s greatest Prime Ministers and presents information and personal stories and accounts that you won’t find anywhere else. It’s an incredible book that will give you tremendous insight into Israel and its greatest leaders. To read reviews and get the book, click here.

If you’re searching for any book on Israel, Click here. We get a small commission for anything you buy on Amazon for a full 24 hours after you use the link. In other words, if you end up buying a computer and lawnmower, we get the commission on that too. It’s a great way to support us while getting great deals on your shopping. And it doesn’t cost you a cent! So please use this link for all your Amazon shopping.

Israel News for November 29, 2016

/by

PM Warns Cabinet
PM Netanyahu warned cabinet ministers that passing the “regulations bill”, which would retroactively legalize settlements built on private Palestinian land, would possibly lead to Israel being taken before the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague. The bill is being spearheaded by the Bayit Yehudi party in order to prevent the evacuation of the Amona outpost, which is schedule to take place on December 25th.

The PM also warned that the bill could provoke outgoing US President Obama to act against Israel at the UN. The Attorney General has already warned that the bill, if passed, would be struck down by the Supreme Court. Instead he presented a compromise by which Amona would be moved to several nearby plots of land for eight months, during which time planning and construction officials would work alongside legal experts to find nearby available land to permanently move the outpost to. At the same time the AG would explore other solutions to deal with land ownership issues. But he stressed that the compromise agreement can only be implemented if the regulations bill does not pass. The compromise agreement will also need to be approved by the Supreme Court.

Bayit Yehudi leaders are pushing forward with the bill. The Amona residents rejected any sort of compromise and have pledged to resist the evacuation.

Meanwhile, 120 senior rabbis have issued a statement calling on the public to come to Amona to passively resist the upcoming evacuation. The rabbis include Rabbi Haim Druckman, head of the Bnei Akiva yeshivas, Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, the chief rabbi of Ramat Gan, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, the chief rabbi of Tzfat, Rabbi Dov Lior, the chief rabbi of Kiryat Arba, Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, the head of the Ateret Cohanim yeshiva, Tzohar chairman Rabbi David Stav, Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl, the chief rabbi of the Old City of Jerusalem, and Rabbi Nachum Rabinowitz, the head of the Maaleh Adumim yeshiva.

The rabbis wrote, “We call on all those who can to come and stay in the community. Our presences will give strength to the residents and be a clear declaration to the decision-makers that we are with the residents of Amona in every way during this difficult time, and we will continue to be with them until the Regulation Law is enacted, and Amona is saved. If, heaven forbid, the day comes for an expulsion, we urge the public to continue living in the community, and protesting vigorously the destruction of the community, through passive resistance and non-violence.”

The rabbis also called on the PM to assure that the law is passed.

For further reading click here.

Rabbi Cleared
Last week the Supreme Court ordered Rabbi Eyal Karim, the incoming IDF Chief Rabbi, to clarify controversial statements that he made in the past before being allowed to take on his new position. The court made its ruling based on a petition submitted by Meretz MKs who accused Karim of making discriminatory statements against homosexuals and women, including permitting rape during war.

Karim submitted an affidavit to the court in which he said that he never permitted rape and that he believed that all people should be treated equally, with dignity, regardless of their sexual orientation. Karim said, “Every rabbi, whether he be a teacher or a public official is required to be capable of retracting and admitting a mistake. I am not afraid to say that I was wrong. I was wrong in that I thought briefly about complicated questions which have more to them than just one halachic (Jewish legal) stance. I was wrong in that I didn’t clarify my words accurately and there were those who were hurt by them. I have already whole-heartedly apologized for this.”

Based on Karim’s statement, the court dismissed the ruling against him and permitted him to take his new position. The Meretz MKs praised the courts intervention saying, “We respect the High Court for standing by its promise to clarify Rabbi Karim’s words, and we respect the decision not to cancel the appointment. We are pleased the judges didn’t reject the petition without reason, and we are sure this ruling was justifiably detailed, and that the verdict will be quoted from in the future.”

For further reading click here.

Kotel Bill
Shas (the haredi sephardic party) has proposed a new bill in the Knesset that would place the southern area of the Kotel under the auspices of the Chief Rabbinate. The government has already agreed to turn the area in question into an egalitarian prayer space as part of a compromise agreement reached with leaders of the Reform and Conservative movements. The new bill would destroy that agreement, since the Chief Rabbinate would not permit any non orthodox forms of prayer.

The proposed bill prohibits mixed gender prayer services at the site. It also prohibits women from wearing prayer shawls or tefillin, and sets a fine of 10,000 shekels for violators.

Non orthodox leaders have attacked the bill and urged PM Netanyahu to defeat it and uphold the compromise agreement he approved.

For further reading click here.

Israel News for November 7, 2016

/by

Jerusalem Arabs Squatting
As the deadline for the implement of the Supreme Court’s order to evacuate the settlement of Amona nears, Jerusalem’s mayor Nir Barkat has sent the Attorney General a unique request. Since the eviction of the Amona residents is based on the court’s ruling that the settlement is built on Palestinian owned land, Barkat is requesting that the AG investigate the passibility of applying the ruling to Arab’s illegally living on Jewish property in East Jerusalem.

Apparently thousands of Arabs currently live on Jewish property abandoned when the Jordanians expelled all Jews from Jerusalem in 1948. Barkat is suggesting that the Arab squatters be evicted from those properties, based on the Supreme Court ruling that is calling for the eviction of the Amona residents.

Barkat said to the AG, “If the judgement of the court is to stand, it is not right for there to be one law for the Jews and another law for the Arabs. So I ask you to hold a hearing to determine the state’s legal position on this matter.”

For further reading click here.

EU Recommends Reparations
The European Union committee responsible for relations with North Africa and the Middle East has recommended that member states seek reparations from Israel for buildings destroyed by Israel which were financed by the EU.

The buildings in question are all located in Area C of the West Bank, which is fully administered by Israel and comprises about 60% of the territory, including all Jewish settlements. The buildings demolitions were constructed without the proper permits.

The Foreign Ministry pointed out that according to the Oslo Accords, Israel alone is responsible for civilian issues in Area C, including planning and building. It said, “As is customary in every country of laws, Israel does not allow construction without proper permits. In this case the construction is done without government approval in a non-residential area and therefore Israel executed its authority and demolished the buildings.”

Germany strongly opposed the EU committees decision. The decision is non-binding.

For further reading click here.

Missing Soldier
In August of 1997, IDF soldier Guy Hever left his artillery base in the Golan and has not been seen since. The IDF has conducted several searches over the years but no information has ever been found on what happened to Hever. It will conduct a new search this week, focused on the Golan Heights and Jordan Valley, although it claims that the search is not based on any new information obtained.

The IDF released a statement saying, “The State of Israel and the IDF are deeply committed to its missing sons and to those who are in captivity. The IDF will continue to do everything in its power to resolve the case of Guy Hever.”

For further reading click here.

No Phone Searches
The IDF will no longer be allowed to search the phones of soldiers without a warrant, even if they have the soldier’s consent. An appellate court overturned the conviction of a soldier that was based on a search of his phone without a warrant.

Each year the military police search over 2,000 phones of soldiers with their consent, which is usually obtained through threats of confiscation of prosecution. The searches are done in a cellphone laboratory and provide access to a vast amount of data, including data the user has erased. This can include personal correspondence, medical documents and even legal advice that might be covered by attorney-client privilege.

For further reading click here.

Israel News for September 13, 2016

/by

Syrian Claim Rebuffed
The Syrian army released a statement today claiming that it shot down an Israeli fighter jet with a surface to air missile. The IDF denied the report and said that the Syrians shot at the plane but missed.

For further reading click here.

Lieberman Against Settlers
The settlement “outpost” of Amona, near Ofra in Samaria (West Bank), is home to 40 families. In December of 2014 the Supreme Court ruled that it was built on private Palestinian land and ordered residents evacuated by the end of 2016.

Let night, Defense Minister Lieberman referred to the issue while addressing students at Ariel University saying, “There’s no chance to leaving Amona where it is built today because of the High Court of Justice’s ruling, because most of the houses are built on private Palestinian lands…The law enforced in Amona will apply to everyone—also on Palestinian squatters in Susya. We will respect the court’s decision as a country of law.”

The Prime Minister has also stated that he will follow the court’s ruling and evacuate the settlement. The PM’s and DM’s positions have caused consternation within the Likud party. Likud MKs Yehuda Glick, Yoav Kish, Oren Hazan and Amir Ohana, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotolevy and Judea and Samaria Council Head Avi Roeh hosted an emergency meeting with residents of Amona and Ofra yesterday to protest the scheduled demolition of their homes.

For further reading click here.

IRS in Israel
Israel’s Supreme Court yesterday upheld a law that gives US tax authorities access to Israeli bank account information. The court ruled that the Israeli law, passed as part of an arrangement with the United States Treasury Department, did not violate Israel’s Basic Laws of Human Dignity and Liberty. Petitioners had claimed the the law violated their privacy rights.

According to the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which is intended to hamper money-laundering schemes and tax evasion by US citizens, foreign banks must report all accounts held by American citizens (including dual citizens) or Green Card recipients, make all American customers sign declarations regarding their income and taxable status, and keep the US Treasury Department updated on all accounts for US citizens holding more than $50,000 on a regular basis.

For further reading click here.

Lost Soldiers
Two female soldiers driving in the West Bank mistakenly ended up in an Arab village near the Palestinian city of Tulkarm. When the two soldiers approached the Palestinian village, they called the police’s emergency response hotline. The responders advised them to continue straight ahead in order to return to Israeli territory. A plain-clothes Palestinian police officer identified them and told them to go in another direction. After ignoring his advice and choosing instead to stick with that of the police, they were eventually identified by locals, who threw stones at their vehicle.

A Palestinian police officer called Palestinian police forces, and the two soldiers were evacuated to a nearby Palestinian police station. The Palestinian forces then contacted Israeli Civil Administration officers and transferred the two IDF soldiers over to the Israeli authorities.

It’s still unclear how the soldiers ended up in the village. According to one version, they entered their destination in Waze, but the app shut down mid-journey. According to a second version, they typed in their destination as Beit Lid, which is a military base, but Waze directed them to the Arab village with the same name (Beit Lid).

The IDF prohibited soldiers from relying solely on Waze when traveling in the West Bank, after two soldiers ended up in a Palestinian refugee camp back in February as a result of using the app.

For further reading click here.

Matchmakers in Schools
Israel’s Education Ministry has decided to train and install counselors in religious high schools to help students in the “process of choosing a spouse.” The counselors will essentially serve as dating coaches and matchmakers. One of the program’s goals is to create a database of possible marriage partners, with names supplied by both the counselors and the students. Some educators don’t think that schools should get involved in matchmaking and feel that the programs budget would be better spent on teaching “personal development, healthy sexuality and relations between the sexes.”

For further reading click here.

A Light unto the nations
Speaking at an event marking the 40th anniversary of the Tali Foundation, which funds Jewish enrichment studies in secular schools, Education Minister Naftali Bennett said,“Studying Judaism and excelling in it is more important to me than studying math and sciences.”

Bennett added, “Even as a high-tech power that exports knowledge and innovations to the world, we must be a spiritual power and export spiritual knowledge to the world,” he said. “This is the next chapter in our Zionist vision. That’s how we’ll return to being a light unto the nations. From Zion shall come forth Torah and the word of God from Jerusalem.”

For further reading click here.

Israel News for May 3, 2016

/by

Terror Roundup
An 18 year old Arab terrorist stabbed a 60 year old Jewish man leaving a yeshiva in the Muslim quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City last night. The man suffered wounds to his upper body but was able to run to a police post near the Lion’s Gate. The terrorist was captured.

The military court in Judea and Samaria has convicted a Palestinian of murdering Dafna Meir, who was stabbed in her Otniel home in January. The terrorist, who was a minor at the time, confessed to the murder.

IDF forces destroyed the home of the terrorist Zir Ziad Jamal Amar, who took part in murdering Eitam and Na’ama Henkin last October. The home of the other terrorist has already been destroyed.

For further reading click here.

PM Term Limit
The Zionist Union opposition party recently submitted a bill in the Knesset that calls for imposing a two term limit for the office of Prime Minister. The bill is to be called up for discussion and voting in the upcoming Knesset summer session.

PM Netanyahu, who is currently serving his third term and will most likely continue into a fourth, is obviously against the bill and feels that it is directed at him personally. But sources in his own Likud party are saying that many party members are in favor of the term limits. The only Likud member who has openly endorsed the bill is MK Oren Hazan, who is considered a controversial figure in the party who routinely misses votes and was recently ordered to pay thousands of shekels worth of parking fines by a Tel Aviv court. He then pleaded with the court, claiming that he is broke. Oh well.

Even if the bill passes in its current form, Netanyahu will be allowed to serve six terms. Nevertheless, he is committed to defeating it. Democracy in action.

For further reading click here.

Bennett Threat
Yesterday we told you about the possibility of a unity government with the Zionist Union and that members of the party would probably be offered cabinet positions in the new government. Yesterday, Education Minister and head of the Bayit Yehudi party Naftali Bennett warned that his party would leave the government if the Justice Ministry was given to the Zionist Union.

Bennett was quote as saying, “If they take the justice portfolio away, we’re out. We see the justice portfolio as a significant issue that parallels changing the government guidelines, and not just a job. It’s not a personal issue. If they take justice away from us, we won’t sit in the coalition.”

Who said a unity government was going to be easy?

For further reading click here.

Rabbinic Court
Yesterday we reported that Israel’s Supreme Court ordered the Supreme Rabbinical Court to shutdown until seven permanent judges are appointed. Yesterday, the appointment committee succeeded in appointing one judge, Rabbi Eliezer Igra, who identifies with the National Religious movement. In other words, he is not haredi.

Although Igra was previously appointed as a temporary judge by Sephardic Chief Rabbi and head of the court R. Yitzhak Yosef, Rabbi Yosef opposed his current appointment to the permanent position. As the committee currently has a non haredi majority, it was able to push through the appointment, but only with the help of Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau, who voted for R.Igra. The committee suggested a number of additional candidates, which were all rejected.

Igra, the rabbi of Moshav Kfar Maimon in the Negev, ran for the office of Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi three years ago.

Don’t get your hopes up for a quick resolution to this issue. According to the Supreme Court ruling, the committee must appoint seven judges by Thursday in order for the rabbinical court to reopen. One down, six to go.

For further reading click here.

Gaza Crossing
Israel has announced that it will reopen the Erez crossing, which connects Gaza and Israel, to commercial traffic. There is currently only one crossing point, the Shalom crossing, into Gaza for trucks. The Erez crossing has been closed to commercial traffic since 2000. The reopening is meant to reduce the traffic at the Shalom crossing, which is currently at around 600 trucks per day. Whether it also means that Israel will allow more banned goods into Gaza, including building materials and cement, which is what the Gaza’s claim that they need for an economic recovery, is yet to be seen.

Stopping the use of those materials for tunnel construction would probably be a good start in convincing Israel to lift the ban.

For further reading click here.

Survivor Aid
In the lead up to Holocaust Remembrance Day (this Thursday), Finance Minister Moshe Kahalon has announced plans to increase annual financial support for Holocaust survivors and elderly welfare recipients by a half-billion shekels. The new plans will benefit 60,000 survivors living below the poverty line and will add NIS350 million earmarked for elderly welfare recipients.

The median age of Holocaust survivors in Israel is 82. One of the major problems in getting them the funds that they deserve is that many of them are simply unaware of the benefits they are entitled to and therefore do not collect them. An organization called Aviv for Holocaust Survivors has been established to keep survivors informed about changes that effect their benefits and to help them collect what they are entitled to.

For further reading click here.

New Photos
The Israeli Government Press Office has released hundreds of thousands of photos taken since the founding of the state and posted them on its website for all to view. Additional photographers contributed to the collection as well, some of which took pictures from before the founding of the state.

To give you an idea of the uniqueness of this amazing historical resource, you can find rare pictures of men and women praying together at the Western Wall in 1910; a rare photo of the Mosque of Omar on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem from 1920; and a picture of 13-year-old Shimon Peres before he immigrated to Israel.

To see the site for yourself, click here.

Israel News for March 23, 2016

/by

AIPAC Apologizes
In response to Donald Trump’s comments in his speech to AIPAC referring to President Obama as the worst thing to ever happen to Israel, the President of AIPAC, Lillian Pinkus, along with other leaders of the organization, apologized to the President.

She said, “From the moment this conference began, until this moment, we have preached a message of unity. We have said, in every way we can think of: Come together. But last evening, something occurred which has the potential to drive us apart, to divide us. We say, unequivocally, that we do not countenance ad hominem attacks, and we take great offense to those that are levied against the president of the United States of America from our stage.”

Pinkus, her voice choking at points, added, “While we may have policy differences, we deeply respect the office of the President of the United States and our President Barack Obama. There are people in our AIPAC family who were deeply hurt last night and for that we are deeply sorry. We are deeply disappointed that so many people applauded a sentiment that we neither agree with nor condone.”

The people Pinkus was referring to who were “deeply hurt” seemed to be very well hidden among the thousands of AIPAC members who gave Trump several standing ovations and bursts of rousing applause during his speech.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the conference. He said that he hoped the United States would continue to reject any move towards a UN Security Council resolution backing Palestinian statehood and that he was prepared to negotiate a two-state solutions with the Palestinians “without preconditions” but that PA President Abbas was against the idea.

For further reading click here.

UN Returns
United Nations peacekeeping forces are set to return to the Syrian side of the Israeli-Syrian border. The troops had been stationed there from 1974 until 2014, when they were forced to leave as a result of the ongoing Syrian civil war and the rebel takeover of the Syrian Golan Heights.

Since their withdrawal the forces have been stationed on the Israeli side of the border, primarily monitoring Israeli troop movements. Israel is anxious to get the UN forces back on the Syrian side. The current cease fire agreement in Syria has finally made that possible.

While the UN troops do not add anything to Israel’s defense capability, they do provide first hand reports to the Security Council regarding the conflict and the danger it poses to Israel.

For further reading click here.

Dairy Wars
Since March 10th, Israel has banned Palestinian made dairy products from entering Jerusalem. Yesterday the Palestinian Authority retaliated by banning products made by five major Israeli companies including Tnuva, Strauss, the Jafora-Tabori beverages company, Soglowek, and Tara Dairy.

Sales in the PA by Tnuva, Strauss, and Jafora-Tabori are each believed to amount to hundreds of millions of shekels, while sales there by Soglowek and Tara are fairly small.

So if the Palestinians are forced to buy Palestinian products and the Israelis, Israeli products, won’t that just leave the companies in the same revenue position they were in initially? Hmm.

For further reading click here.

Supreme Court
Last week we told you that the Tel Aviv Rabbinical Court had sentenced the father of a man who had refused to give his wife a divorce for over 11 years to 30 days in jail for supporting his son in his refusal. The court was praised by many for its bold stand against husbands refusing to grant divorces.

Yesterday the Supreme Court ruled that the father must have the opportunity to appeal to the Supreme Rabbinical Court and cannot be jailed in the interim. He is, however, still banned from leaving Israel.

For further reading click here.

Purim Begins
The holiday of Purim begins tonight with the reading of the Megillah (the Book of Esther) and continues tomorrow with a repeat performance along with more fun stuff including lots of eating, drinking, giving charity and exchanging gifts (of food). Stay tuned for our special Purim issue tomorrow.
Today is the Fast of Esther (good opportunity to drop a few extra pounds).
Happy Purim!!!

Israel News for August 19, 2015

/by

< back to sign up

Stoning Attack in Jerusalem
Stone throwing attacks are increasing in the predominantly Arab neighborhoods of east Jerusalem. Last night four Jewish teenagers and one Arab were injured when the bus they were in was stoned in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Abu Tor. Two cars were also stoned.

Ironically, the Jewish teenagers, three girls and a boy, were active in efforts to improve peaceful coexistence between Arabs and Jews.

The Knesset recently passed a law increasing the punishment for rock throwers to up to 5 years in prison. The Arab Knesset members vehemently protested the law, calling it vengeful, and claimed that rock throwing by Arabs was a legitimate form of protest against what they call the Israeli occupation. Even when those rocks wound or kill. Right.

Hunger Strike Continues
Doctors at Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon woke Palestinian hunger-striker Mohammed Allaan from an induced coma yesterday, and are continuing to give him medication and intravenous nutrition. Allaan, now able to communicate, declared that he rejects the government’s offer to release him on the condition that he leaves the country for four years, and that he will continue his 64 day hunger-strike. He wants to be released in September.

Islamic Jihad claims that now that Allaan is conscious he will intensify his hunger strike and refuse all medical treatment, which will lead to a drastic deterioration in his condition. Islamic Jihad is considering ordering a mass hunger strike in Israeli prisons in solidarity with Allaan. There are already several prisoners who are on a hunger strike in solidarity with him.

Palestinian security officials warn that if Allaan dies it will lead to even more tensions in the region and an increase in terrorist attacks.

Herzl Meets Abbas
Israeli opposition leader Yitzhak Herzog met yesterday with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. Herzog emphasized the importance of Abbas doing everything possible to prevent Palestinian violence and acts of terror in order to prevent a third intifada. He also told Abbas that he believes a peace agreement can be reached between the two sides within two years, if serious negotiations are resumed.

After the meeting Herzog said, “The terror of recent days is liable to lead to a third intifada, and that must be prevented with everything at our disposal. That means an uncompromising war against terror, and on this subject I’m even more extreme than Netanyahu.”

Shabbat Wars Escalate in Jerusalem
The Jerusalem municipality is planning to start enforcing fines against grocery stores (makolets) that are opened on shabbat. Municipal law allows places of entertainment and culture to do business on shabbat, but all commerce is forbidden.

Secular activists claim that this is simply a case of the municipality folding to the will of the ultra-orthodox, who protested last week against the opening of the Yes Planet cinemaplex on shabbat. They claim that the restrictions apply to a small number of businesses who have been open on shabbat for decades and that there is no reason to change the status quo.

Background
Two years ago the Supreme Court accepted the appeal of grocery stores against the Tel Aviv municipality, ruling that the Tel Aviv shabbat laws discriminated against small grocery stores that could not afford to pay the fines that larger establishments paid in order to stay open. This forced the Tel Aviv municipality to modify their policy.

Recently, the Jerusalem municipality also changed their policy by delineating specific neighborhoods in the city, like Talpiot and Ein Kerem, where they would have less enforcement against grocery stores opened on shabbat, and neighborhoods where they would increase enforcement, like the center of town. As a result of the increased enforcement, eight grocery stores in the center of town are expected to close on shabbat. The store owners are furious and have vowed to battle this out.

Creating Land
One of Israel’s greatest long term challenges is the scarcity of land available for residential construction, especially in the center of the country. The municipal engineering department in Herzliya might have a solution: offshore building. The proposed plan involves building two artificial islands 1.5 kilometers from the southern coast of Herzliya, opposite the existing marina. The project would cost billions of shekels and enable the construction of 40,000 housing units. For now 650,000 shekels will be spent on an initial feasibility study. Imagine the views.

Real Estate Magic
If you’re looking to buy an apartment in Kfar Saba, a popular residential city not far from Tel Aviv, you might want to check out the new development being advertised by Trigo Investment Group. For only $89,000 you can purchase the right to an apartment in a development they are planning to build. There’s only one catch: the city hasn’t approved the project. So the city is demanding that Trigo stop advertising the project. Trigo seems to think that they aren’t doing anything wrong. As Theodore Hertzl said, “if you will it, it is no dream.”

Ketchup Wars
As if there wasn’t enough conflict in Israel, now there’s a fight about condiments. Osem, Israel’s giant food manufacturer, has filed a complaint with the Health Ministry against American food giant Heinz. Their claim is that Heinz Ketchup cannot be technically called ketchup in Israel, since it doesn’t have the amount of tomato paste required by Health Ministry regulations. The regulation requires 10% tomato solids while Heinz only contains 6%.

So, Osem is demanding that Heinz use “tomato seasoning” instead of ketchup on their Hebrew labels. Apparently, the regulations don’t apply to non-Hebrew labels, so English readers will still be able to enjoy good old “ketchup” while Hebrew only Israelis will have to settle for “tomato seasoning”.

In the tradition of classical Talmudic reasoning, Heinz’s local importer Diplomat is filing its own petition asking the Health Ministry to revise the regulation from 10% tomato solids down to 6%.

The Histadrut, Israel’s all powerful (and only) labor union is against revising the regulation, claiming that doing so would harm children by depriving them of their tomato fill. The fact that Osem is one of Israel’s largest employers might have something to do with it too.
How important is this? Think about it. Would you put “tomato seasoning” on your burger?

Returning Home
A chartered flight sponsored by Nefesh B’Nefesh landed in Israel yesterday carrying 232 Olim (new immigrants) from North America. Fifty nine of them will be enlisting in the IDF as lone soldiers.

“And your children shall return to their borders,” — Jeremiah 31:16