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Israel News for August 26, 2016

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Terrorist Attacks IDF
An Arab terrorist opened fire on an IDF position adjacent to the town of Ofra in Samaria this afternoon. Soldiers shot and killed the attacker. No soldiers were injured. Additional IDF forces were deployed to the area following the attack, sealing off it off and conducting searches for any possible additional terrorists.

Source: Arutz7.

No Immunity
Last month Israel arrested Waheed Borsh, a Palestinian engineer who worked for the UN Development Agency (UNDP) in Gaza for allegedly aiding Hamas by using UN resources to build a marina for the Hamas navy and for granting Hamas members preferential treatment in reconstruction projects.

On Wednesday the UN sent a letter to Israeli officials demanding diplomatic immunity for Borsh. Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nachshon responded, “Israel rejects the claim that a person assisting a terror organization recognized by the international community such as Hamas could enjoy immunity.”

Nachshon added, “It is outrageous that a man assisting a terror organization could benefit from UN immunity. It is clear that immunity is not a license to commit acts of terror.”

For further reading click here.

Arab Construction
The Ministry of Construction and Housing has allocated 1.4 billion shekels over the next four years for housing solutions in Arab communities. The goal is to enable the building of tens of thousands of new housing units as well as the construction of public buildings.

Minister of Construction and Housing Yoav Galant said, “We are working in close cooperation with the leadership in Arab sector communities. Prosperity in the Arab sector is an interest of Israeli society as a whole. The measure comes on top of a series of housing solutions being formulated by the Ministry of Construction and Housing for all population groups and sectors in Israel. The process will ease the housing crisis in communities in the sector.

He added, ”In the next 20 years, Israel will need one million housing units, including 200,000 for the Arab sector. We are therefore devising long-term solutions that will facilitate a substantial improvement in housing conditions by increasing the number of housing units, planning high-density construction, and developing new public in according to community needs.”

For further reading click here.

Shabbat Crisis
Last night the Haredi Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ) parties threatened to leave (and topple) the coalition government. The issue at hand relates to major government construction projects that are taking place on Shabbat.

One of the projects is ongoing roadwork repair on the Ayalon, which is the major highway entering Tel Aviv from the south. The other project is the construction of new railway lines between Ben Gurion Airport and Modiin and between Bet Yehoshua and Atlit (in the north).

After prolonged negotiations between the Prime Minister, Transportation Minister and the Haredi parties, a compromise agreement was reached. The Ayalon roadwork can continue, because doing the work on weekdays would constitute a danger to human life due to heavy workweek traffic. However, the train work may not be done on Shabbat, since the work doesn’t interfere with traffic or constitute a danger.

In addition, a committee to coordinate between the Transportation Ministry and Shas and United Torah Judaism was formed. The group includes the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff, the Director-General of the Transportation Ministry, the Police Commissioner and ministers from the Haredi parties or their representatives.

For further reading click here.

Trump Office
The Donald Trump campaign has opened a new office in Ramat Gan, near the diamond district. The office will serve Tel Aviv and the entire central coastal region. Two other Trump offices are located in Jerusalem and Modiin. A fourth office will soon be added in the West Bank, and a fifth may also be added.

In the 2012 US Presidential election, around 85% of the ballots cast in Israel were for Republican Mitt Romney. Trump representatives are hoping to replicate those results.

Seems like a lot of work for 80,000 votes, but the campaign is assuming that a good number of those will be from voters hailing from important swing states like Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The campaign has released a Hebrew language poster that reads, “Trump: In Israel’s Interest.” The campaign also launched a Hebrew language Twitter feed. Can Trump tweet in Hebrew?

For further reading click here.

Israel News for July 8, 2016

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Terror Attack
A 23 year old Israeli woman was driving on highway 90 between two Kibbutzim near the Kinneret when an Arab man hurled a large rock at her car, smashing her windshield and causing her to lose control and hit the side rail. The Arab then ran to her car, opened her door and tried to drag her out while yelling in Arabic.

The woman, Rotem Aharoni, from the village of Had Nes in the Golan, fought back and managed to push the attacker away. He then ran to another vehicle and unsuccessfully tried to open the door before fleeing.

About an hour later the Arab was seen running in the fields of nearby Kibbutz Degania Bet by a Kibbutz security officer. The officer shot him in the legs and neutralized him.

A preliminary police investigation has determined that the Arab man is a Jordanian citizen who is believed to have infiltrated into Israel and wanted to hijack a vehicle on Highway 90. The highway runs alongside the Jordanian border.

For further reading click here.

IDF Training
The IDF is planning to introduce a computerized training program designed to prevent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in soldiers. The Israeli developed program will be used in advanced training of infantry troops.

According to research conducted on veterans of the 2014 Gaza War, the risk of combat troops developing PTSD in battle declined by 70 percent for soldiers who had been trained with the program compared to those who had not.

Training consists of four, 10-minute sessions over a month. Participants are asked to complete a fairly simple and technical computer task – striking a certain key whenever a certain symbol appears on the computer screen. However, while that task is under way, the subject is also shown various figures on the screen, some threatening and some neutral. According to the researchers, these figures may have angry faces or words might appear such as “wounded” or “explosions,” which are associated with PTSD.

Researchers say the training sessions change the way the brain processes traumatic events in the battlefield and thus has a major impact on the development of PTSD.

The US Army, which helped fund the project, is also testing the program.

For further reading click here.

Flight Wreckage
Pieces of wreckage thought to be from Egypt Air 804, that mysteriously crashed into the Mediterranean in May killing all 66 people on board, were found along the coast of Netanya yesterday.

According to data recovered from a cockpit voice recorder, the pilots tried to extinguish a fire in the plane. While Egyptian investigators have not found evidence linking the cause of the fire to terrorism, they are leaning towards that possibility since large fires suddenly breaking out on planes is rare.

For further reading click here.

Yemenite Report
In 2001 a report was release by the Kedmi Committee, which investigated the disappearance of the children of Yemenite immigrants between 1948 and 1954. Now the report has been made public and posted on the National Library website.

Background
Between 1949 and 1950, Israel airlifted 50,000 Yemenite Jews to Israel in an operation called Magic Carpet. Most of them were initially housed in tent camps called Ma’abarot. Illness was rampant. Children were hospitalized without informing their parents or without any documentation or identification. Many died and were buried without their parents being informed until after the fact.

Accusations have been made that hundreds of Yemenite children were given up for adoption to childless Israeli couples by camp officials, while their parents were told that their children had died in hospital. When parents asked to see the bodies of their children they were either told that the bodies were already buried or were simply shown the bodies of other children, which were clearly not those of their children.

While the committee, headed by Judge Jacob Kedmi, did not find a factual basis to verify the systematic and organized kidnapping of the children, it did document several cases where children were given up for adoption without the parents’ knowledge or consent. The committee also described how many children were buried without the notification of their parents and “the ease with which infants were hospitalized without supervision, documentation and at times without allowing family members to visit.”

One case cited by the report says, “A mother who had made aliyah while eight months pregnant, who gave birth to her son in a tent for fear that he would be kidnapped. At the request of the father, the boy, named Yair, was brought to the nursery at camp to be circumcised, where he disappeared. The parents were told that he had died, and when they insisted on being shown the body, they were presented with the body of a 16-year-old. They never got to see their son’s body.”

The issue of the disappearance of Yemenite children is still an open wound for the Yemenite and Mizrahi community in Israel. It reinforces the perception of discrimination against Mizrahim by the Ashkenazic so called “elite”, who were pretty much in control of the state until recent years. Many would claim that they still are in control and that the discrimination continues, albeit not as blatantly.

To read the report click here.

New Railway
As part of the project to construct an electrified railway line between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv (24 miles), Israeli Railways will also link Modiin to the route, reducing travel time between Modiin and Jerusalem to just 17 minutes. Travel between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, set to begin in less than 2 years, will be less than 30 minutes. Much better than sitting in traffic for an hour and a half during rush hour.

Does that mean Modiin housing prices are going up even more? It that even possible?? [An attached house in Modiin currently goes for close to a million bucks. And you thought the 5 Towns was expensive?]

For further reading click here.

Israel News for June 10, 2016

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UN Responds
The UN Security Council last night condemned Wednesday’s deadly Tel Aviv terror attack and called for those responsible to be brought to justice.

In a statement, the 15-member Council expressed its deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government of Israel, wishing a speedy recovery to those injured.

“The members of the Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security,” the statement indicated.

“The members of the Security Council underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice. They stressed that those responsible for these killings should be held accountable, and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities in this regard,” it added.

The Security Council also reiterated that “any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed.”

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon noted that the council statement was the first official condemnation of “terrorism” in Israel since the current wave of attacks began eight months ago.

 He called the condemnation “an important and moral statement” and called on all countries to oppose “Palestinian incitement that directly leads to violent terrorism.”

For further reading click here.

PA Responds
In a carefully worded statement released yesterday, the Palestinian Authority condemned terror attacks against civilians but failed to mention Wednesday’s terror attack in Tel Aviv.

The statement said that the PA, “reaffirms its rejection of all operations that target civilians from any background regardless of the justifications. Achieving a just peace and creating a positive climate is what (will) contribute to removing the causes of tension and violence in the region. Achieving peace requires everyone to stop taking any action that will increase tensions and resorting to violence.”

Meanwhile, Joint Arab List leader MK Ayman Odeh did refer to the Tel Aviv shooting itself when condemning “this horrific attack on civilians.”

He said, ”My heart goes out to the families. Harming innocents is always condemned; there is no and there can be no justification for shooting civilians in the street.”

But he also made sure to blame the government saying, “The government is only intensifying hate and violence. All Israeli and Palestinian civilians should be removed from this circle of horror and blood. We must fight together in a just way to bring an end to the occupation, (and usher in an era) of justice and peace for the two peoples.” 

For further reading click here.

TA Mayor Responds
Ron Huldai, the longtime Mayor of Tel Aviv responded to Wednesday’s terror attack by blaming it on Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.

In an interview on Army Radio he said, “We are probably the only country in which another people is living under occupation without civil rights and the leadership is saying the situation will (make conditions ripe) in favor of an agreement.”

He said, “I know the reality and I know that courageous leaders need to aspire to take action and not just pay lip service. The fact that we are tolerating this misery will not lead to the change that needs to be made.”

Huldai concluded that, “You can’t hold people in a situation of occupation and hope they’ll reach the conclusion everything is all right.”

For further reading click here.

Hard to Believe
Here’s a story that seems too incredible to be true, but it is. During Wednesday night’s terror attack in Tel Aviv, a policeman and his family who were at the scene ran back to their nearby apartment building. When they got there another man that they didn’t recognize ran inside with them. The cop’s wife asked him who he was, but he didn’t answer. He just asked for water, which she gave him. They tried talking to him but he didn’t respond, so they thought he was in shock from the attack.

The policeman grabbed his weapon and ran outside to join security forces responding to the attack. When he saw the terrorist who was captured by police, he realized that the man in his home was dressed the same way. Oh no.

The cop ran back home and subdued the terrorist who was sitting at his kitchen table. They called out for assistance. Unfortunately, one of the police officers who came to help accidentally discharged his weapon, lightly wounding the first cop.

And that’s how a bit of old fashioned hospitality led to the capture of the second terrorist.

For further reading click here.

Shavuot 1925
Tens of thousands of Jews will pray at the Kotel during the upcoming holiday of Shavuot this Sunday, but the situation in 1925 was much different.

To watch a video of Jews praying at the Kotel in 1925, click here.

Israel News for April 4, 2016

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Meir Ettinger
Meir Ettinger, the grandson of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, has been held in administrative detention by the Shin Bet for seven months for allegedly leading the “Price Tag” acts of violence perpetrated by settler youth against Palestinians in the West Bank. No official chargers have yet been brought against him.

Ettinger’s wife gave birth to a son last week, but the Supreme Court ruled yesterday that he will not be permitted to attend the bris. The court upheld the ruling of a Beersheba district court that prohibited Ettinger from leaving prison to attend the event, claiming that there is a security risk to releasing him.

Ettinger’s wife refuses to hold the bris in the prison, but the family has offered to hold the event near the prison and follow any security guidelines ordered by the Israel Prison Service (IPS).

The Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Israel David Lau sent a letter to the director of the IPS asking that he do everything possible to allow Ettinger to attend his son’s bris. But the courts have ruled.

The IPS routinely releases prisoners serving sentences for violent crimes on weekend furloughs. Why is releasing Ettinger, who has not even been charged for a crime, to attend his only son’s bris, such a problem?

For further reading click here.

Ryan in Israel
US Speaker of the House Paul Ryan is visiting Israel, as part of a bipartisan delegation, on his first official trip abroad as Speaker. He denied the possibility that he would run for president if chosen as the republican nominee in a contested convention. Regarding Israel he said, “I’m proud that my first trip as speaker is a return to Israel. At this critical moment, it is essential that we reaffirm the historic alliance between our two nations and work together to address the mutual security threats that we face.”

You never know.

For further reading click here.

Tsunami Threat
As if Israel didn’t have enough problems, you can add Tsunamis to the list. Apparently, the Mediterranean Sea is a vulnerable region for tsunamis. Around 25% of all recorded tsunamis in human history have taken place in the Mediterranean. About every 100 years a significant tsunami takes place in the sea, and around every 250 years a tsunami strikes the shoreline of Israel. Tsunami warnings are received in Israel once every three months on average. The last such warning was received on April 15, 2015, due to an earthquake off Cyprus that measured 6.1 on the Richter scale. Another warning was received the day after, due to an earthquake near Crete of the same magnitude.

But don’t worry. This morning Israeli emergency crews participated in the country’s first tsunami simulation to practice effective responses in case a monster wave ever hits. The exercise, named “Nachshol Kachol” (Blue Tidal Wave), included evacuating people from the beaches of Ashdod and Ashkelon to safe gathering points.

Still want that beachfront villa?

For further reading click here.

Pot Meetup
You might be surprised to hear (or not) that the first international conference of the marijuana industry is being held in Tel Aviv. That’s probably because while personal use of cannabis without a prescription is forbidden by law in Israel, cannabis research in the Holy Land is among the most advanced in the world. In fact, since 2014, US companies have invested $50 million in Israeli companies engaged in research and development of the cannabis plant. That’s not that much, considering that the legal marijuana market in the US is projected to reach $23 billion annually by 2020.

Could this be Israel’s new technology cash crop? Will the start up nation become the light up nation? It could, at the very least, reduce the sky high stress level of most Israelis. Nothing wrong with that.

For further reading click here.

Single Malt
Whiskey aficionados will now be able to turn to Israel for their single malts. And of course, it’ll all be certified kosher. The new distillery, called Milk and Honey, is located in Tel Aviv and will be exporting over a million bottles very soon.

To watch a video report about this, click here.

Trump Bris
Donald Trump’s grandson had his bris on Sunday without having his grandpa at his side. Trump was busy campaigning in Wisconsin. In any case he likes to be the center of attention, which would have been difficult at the Orthodox bris. In any case, Mazal Tov to the Trumps and Kushners! We couldn’t find the Hebrew name of the young prince, but if you want to see photos of the royal family heading to the bris, click here.

Israel News for February 19, 2016

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Jerusalem Terror
A Palestinian terrorist stabbed two Border Police officers at the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City today. The officers shot and killed the terrorist. Both officers were lightly wounded and a passerby was lightly wounded by shrapnel from the shooting. The Damascus Gate has been the scene of 11 terror attacks in the last 5 months, including the one that killed police officer Hadar Cohen.

For further reading click here.

More Terror
Two 14-year-old Palestinians entered a Rami Levi supermarket in the Sha’ar Binyamin Industrial Zone north of Jerusalem, which services both Israelis and Palestinians, and stabbed two Israelis yesterday. They killed 21-year-old Sergeant Tuvia Yanai Weissman and wounded a 36-year-old man. Weissman, a resident of Ma’ale Michmash in the Binyamin region of the West Bank, was in civilian clothes and shopping with his wife and 4-month-old baby when he was murdered.

Shoppers pushed the terrorists back with shopping carts. A civilian at the scene then shot and wounded them. One later died of his wounds in hospital. According to the Shin Bet these are the youngest terrorist to have carried out a deadly attack during the current wave of violence.

Hundreds of mourners attended Weissman’s funeral today at Har Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem. Weissman’s father eulogized his son saying, “You loved your daughter, Neta, so much. You took her to see the flowers in the Negev the day before you were murdered. No hate and no enemy will ever stop that.”

The 36-year-old man wounded in the attack is reported to be in stable condition at Hadassah
Hospital in Jerusalem.

The IDF is preparing the homes of the two terrorists for demolition.

For further reading click here.

Russian intervention
Russia is not happy with Israel’s rapprochement with Turkey. In a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Israel’s Foreign Ministry Director General Dore Gold that took place in Moscow yesterday, Lavrov expressed Putin’s dissatisfaction with the contacts between Israel and Turkey regarding a pending reconciliation agreement that would end a five-year crisis in relations between the two countries provoked by the Mavi Marmara incident in 2010, where Israeli commandos raided a Turkish ship that was headed for Gaza, killing nine.

The Russians, whose already rocky relations with Turkey reached an all time low following the downing of a Russian jet over Syria last November, are concerned about some of the benefits that the government of President Erdoğan will receive in the context of an agreement with Israel and are not happy about Turkey gaining a strong foothold in Gaza, where they would be given free access and special status to import humanitarian equipment as part of the potential agreement with Israel.

The question is, does what Russia thinks really matter to Israel?

For further reading click here.

Rent Difficulties
If you think renting is tough in New York, you won’t find it any easier in Israel. The Tel Aviv Municipality’s Center for Young Adults surveyed 1,080 renters, 62% of whom live in Tel Aviv, 9% in Jerusalem, 8% in Beersheva, and the rest in other cities including Ramat Gan, Haifa, Rehovot, Petah Tikva, Givatayim, and Holon.

According to the survey, 36% of renters noted they cannot afford their rent and relied on parental assistance to make their monthly payments, 31% said they were forced to move apartments due to a rent increase, and 35% said that their landlord did not properly maintain the property and reported the landlord asked them to pay for repairs that fall under the property owner’s responsibility.

If you’re looking for stability, forget about it. According to the survey, 29% of respondents said they had to move at least three apartments in the past five years.

Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai summed it up like this:
“The survey shows once again the rental market in Israel is broken; the steep price increases and lack of stability are wearing out our youth. It is a lawless market, and the party needs to be ended by legislation to regulate and improve terms for both renters and landlords.”

While the survey focused primarily on Tel Aviv, a market that doesn’t reflect the average Israeli rental market (like Manhattan doesn’t represent most of America), it still sheds light on a major problem that is facing a significant proportion of Israel’s younger population.

For further reading click here.

Angel Revealed – Part II
A few days ago we told you the story of the man who overheard a young female soldier crying on the phone pleading with the Electric Company to restore her electricity which they cut off due to non payment. The man, Ofir Yitzhak, grabbed the phone and paid the entire balance of 1,915 shekels. Another soldier who witnessed the incident posted it on Facebook, calling the man an angel.

While the story warmed the hearts of thousands and restored our faith in humanity, many of us couldn’t help but feel a little angry at the Israel Electric Company for being so heartless. Sure, you wouldn’t expect any better in the U.S., but hey, it’s Israel. Well, you can relax.

A recording of the conversation between the young soldier and Shirli, the clerk at the Electric Company, has been released. In the recording Shirli expresses her deep sympathy for the soldier’s unfortunate situation and is barely able to hold back her tears. She calls her supervisor to explain the situation and plead the soldier’s case. The supervisor decides to reconnect the electricity. All this occurs before the man takes the phone to pay the entire bill.

So now there are three angels instead of just one. Perhaps the truth is that we’re all angels — all we need to do is take a step and reveal ourselves.

To listen to the conversation with the Electric Company click here.

Israel News for January 29, 2016

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U.S. Customs
In 1995, the U.S. Customs Service instituted a regulation requiring that products made in the West Bank and Gaza be marked as such, and not as Made in Israel. The regulation was rarely enforced. Last week the Customs Service released a statement reminding importers of the regulation.

Several pro-Palestinian organizations have recently been making efforts to have the regulation enforced, including The U.S. Campaign to End Israeli Occupation and CODEPINK, which runs a campaign targeting the Israeli cosmetics company Ahava Dead Sea.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) told the Forward it doesn’t object to the 1995 legislation. According to the group, the policy doesn’t stigmatize Israeli products, contrary to the EU labeling initiative, but facilitates duty free access to the U.S. market for Palestinian goods.  

Besides the fact that the regulation has gone unenforced, it’s unclear how the U.S. Regulation differs, in practice, from the EU labeling regulations.

Can anyone enlighten us?

For further reading click here.

Anti Artists
Im Tirtzu, the right-wing organization that campaigned against foreign funded left-wing NGOs, has now targeted left-wing authors and artists. The group has named around 100 people involved in Israeli film, theater, publishing and television, including authors Amos Oz and David Grossman, accusing them of being foreign agents disloyal to the state, intent on obstructing the government.

Im Tirtzu director Matan Peleg said, ”Every time the public representatives in the State of Israel try to fulfill the mission they were tasked with by the people in the most legitimate and democratic manner, we encounter an automatic smear campaign from these ‘artists’ who try to portray themselves as enlightened, progressive and those who ‘know better’ than the entire public. The problem is that these people neglect to mention the fact they’re members of ‘plant organizations’ operating with foreign funding and the New Israel Fund against the State of Israel.”

Im Tirtzu, which was once regarded as a fringe group, has developed close ties to members of Netanyahu’s government, particularly the Bayit Yehudi party led by Naftali Bennett.
 
Bennett and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, the author of the NGO bill and a member of Bayit Yehudi, were quick to distance themselves from Im Tirtzu’s latest campaign.
 
Bennett called the campaign “embarrassing, needless and disgraceful.”
 
Shaked told Army Radio: “It does not serve any agenda and I do not think this is a proper campaign. I do not think these artists who hold salient left-wing views should be considered plants. Not everyone who is on the left should be demonized.”
 
PM Netanyahu also spoke out against Im Tirtzu’s campaign. “I am opposed to labelling as a ‘traitor’ anybody who (holds opposing views to the mainstream). We are a democracy and there are a multitude of opinions.

For further reading click here.

Protective Shield
The Defense Ministry has unveiled the first armored personal carrier (APC) equipped with the Trophy system, which uses radar and missiles to detect and destroy antitank and rocket-propelled grenades fired at it. The APC, called Namer (tiger), will be able to safely transport troops through battlefields.

The Trophy system is already installed on the latest Merkava tanks, and was used successfully during the 2014 Gaza war, saving the lives of countless soldiers.

According to Brig.-Gen. Baruch Matzliah, the head of the Merkava Tank Administration, “The Namer with the Trophy system will form the highest level of protection for IDF soldiers and provide them with defense and a significant advantage on the battlefield.”

The new weapons are also good for the Israeli economy. About 200 factories produce parts for the Merkava and Namer across Israel, most of them located in peripheral areas, employing around 10,000 people.

For further reading click here.

Cheap Flight
Ever been to Cyprus? Beginning on February 14 Tus Airways, Cyprus’s sole airline since the collapse of Cyprus Airways, will operate seven weekly flights to Larnaca (the island’s main international airport) and Tel Aviv. Tus will also operate several weekly flights from Haifa (bet you didn’t even know that Haifa had an airport) and Eilat.

One-way tickets from Haifa to Larnaca will start at €39 and from Tel Aviv to Larnaca from €69, including taxes. Tickets can be ordered through travel agents or on the company website, which will also appear in Hebrew.

While the airline explained that its name, Tus, is an acronym of “The Ultimate Schedule”, we all know that the word means “to fly” in Hebrew. Coincidence?

Who’s up for a Cyprus vacation?

For further reading click here.

Go South
Private houses are rare and prohibitively expensive in most populated areas of Israel, which is why most Israelis live in apartments. But if you’ve got your heart set on having your own home on a little plot of holy land earth, consider going south — to Beersheva.

The National Planning and Building Commission for Preferred Housing Sites yesterday approved a plan for 4,120 housing units in northern Beersheva. Two thirds of the homes will be private housing units. The hope is to bring an economically well-off population to the city.

Although it sounds really far away, Beersheva is only about a 50 minute train ride from Tel Aviv, which is a breeze by NYC standards.

So maybe Beersheva isn’t out of the question after all?

For further reading click here.

Bathroom Confusion
On a flight from Eilat to Ben Gurion today, a passenger had trouble opening the bathroom door. After several unsuccessful attempts other passengers began screaming at him and the crew finally restrained him. That’s because instead of the bathroom door, he was trying to open the emergency exit. No one has to go that badly.

For further reading click here.

Israel News for January 20, 2016

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Hezbollah Cell Busted
The Shin Bet arrested five Palestinians from the Tul-Karem area of the West Bank for planning to commit a terror attack. The five were part of a cell that got their orders from the son of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah via email. They also received $5,000 from Nasrallah Jr., which they used to purchase a gun that they planned to use in the attack.

The Shin Bet claims that Hezbollah’s “133 unit,” which recruits in the Middle East and Europe, has failed in its attempts to build terrorism networks in Israel. This incident is an exception.

For further reading click here.

PM Supports Ban
Speaking during a Knesset session commemorating the 67th anniversary of the legislative body’s creation, PM Netanyahu said that he would not hesitate to prohibit Palestinian workers from entering Jewish settlements as part of Israel’s war against terror.

He said, “We have a strong desire to maintain our and the Palestinians’ daily life, but we will not hesitate, if necessary, to ban the entry of Palestinian into [Israeli] towns. Our goal is to restore calm, coexistence and one day peace.”

The IDF commander of the Judea and Samaria division issued a temporary order banning Palestinian workers from settlements. The order does not include industrial parks, and will be reviewed on a daily basis.

For further reading click here.

Must Read
Occasional we reach out to you with one simple request: please help us get this newsletter to more readers by sharing it with your friends, relatives, coworkers…anyone you think will appreciate it. We’ve found that the most effective way to share is to forward this email with a short personal note recommending that the person subscribe.

As you already probably know, IsraelAM is a personal project that my wife (Natalie) and I (Arnie) have taken on, because we feel it’s a valuable way to help people stay informed about and connected to Israel. We spend a lot of time each day creating IsraelAM, and we don’t have a marketing budget — so we rely on you to help us spread the word. By sharing, you’re also helping Israel. We appreciate your help!

Herzog Solution
Opposition leader MK Isaac Herzog (Zionist Union) spoke at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv yesterday. He said that the two-state solution was impossible to realize under current conditions, and presented a new plan in which several Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem would be severed from the rest of the city and the separation barrier in the West Bank would be built to encompass all of the settlement blocs.

He said, “I wish to separate from as many Palestinians as possible, as quickly as possible. They over there and we over here; we’ll erect a big wall between us. That is the kind of co-existence that’s possible now. You exist there and we exist here. Ariel Sharon did the right thing when he put up the fence that prevented the infiltration of suicide bombers, but he didn’t finish the job. We want to finish it, to complete the barrier that separates us … Israel must part from Netanyahu so that it becomes possible to part from the Palestinians.”

Herzog blasted PM Netanyahu and PA President Abbas for denying that a third intifada was imminent. He added that there will be no progress under Netanyahu since he’s made “a pact with the extreme right wing.”

Whereas Netanyahu is supported by those who want to annex Judea and Samaria, Herzog wants to keep the Jewish areas but separate in full from the Palestinian ones. He wants to separate totally Arab neighborhoods from Jerusalem, which is against the view of the right wing and the PM that Jerusalem must remain united, including all of the surrounding Arab areas. Herzog said, “Issawiya is not and won’t be part of Israel’s eternal capital. Neither is the refugee camp in Shoafat. We’ll separate from them. We’ll build a wall. Terrorists won’t have access to Jews.

Doesn’t sound so bad when you put it that way.

For further reading click here.

Ethiopian Women
In December of 2012, an investigative report was published that included testimony from 35 women immigrants from Ethiopia who claimed that they had been required to receive birth control shots as a condition for the processing of their requests to come to Israel. The main accusations were leveled against the Jewish Agency, the Joint Distribution
 Committee and the Health Ministry.

Prodded by several female Knesset members, the State Comptroller Joseph Shapira launched an investigation into the allegations in 2013. The investigation recently ended and Shapira concluded that “no evidence could be found for the claims raised that shots to prevent pregnancy were administered to Ethiopian women under pressure or threats, overt or covert, or in any way that was improper.”

Shapira had harsh words in his statement about the attitude of Israeli society to Ethiopian immigrants, which he said contributes to their sense of discrimination. He said one reason for this sense was that they feel they are not masters of their own fate, desires or dignity.

He wrote, “It is our obligation as a democratic and progressive society to fulfill the obligation to human dignity and liberty, as the Basic Law says to ensure equality as determined in the Declaration of Independence.”

For further reading click here.

Trump to Jerusalem
In an interview with the Brody Report, Republic presidential candidate Donald Trump said that he was 100% in favor of moving the U.S. Embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem Embassy Act, passed in 1995 with overwhelming support in the House and Senate, called for the relocation of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem to take place no later than fiscal year 1999. But it has been waived by every president since them, citing U.S. national security concerns.

Whether Trump would be different, if he makes it to the Oval Office, is anyone’s guess. But if you believe what he says, then there’s hope: “We have a president that I think is the worst thing that has ever happened to Israel. But I will be backing it very strongly. They’re our best ally. They’re our best ally in the Middle East. They’ve really been loyal to us. We have not been loyal to them.”

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Israel News for January 11, 2016

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Close Call
Police today deployed large forces and set up numerous checkpoints in the Ashkelon, Ashdod and Sderot areas in the south after receiving intelligence of an impending terror attack by a Palestinian woman from Beit Sira in the West Bank. Police arrested a man in Kibbutz Erez, near the Gaza border, who she was allegedly in contact with. After interrogating him police determined that the woman had not succeeded in getting past the barrier separating the West Bank from the rest of the country. The alert was lifted.

In an unrelated incident today, a Palestinian who attempted to stab soldiers at a checkpoint near Jenin in Samaria was shot and wounded. No soldiers were hurt.

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Terrorist Funeral
Police are refusing to release the body of the Tel Aviv terrorist, who was shot and killed on Friday, to his family for burial, fearing that radicals will turn the funeral into a pro-terror demonstration, which is against the family’s wishes. Police want to avoid a repetition of a terrorist funeral last week in the northeastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Shuafat, in which hundreds of armed Hamas terrorists marched and fired automatic weapons in the air, as thousands of people chanted and waved knives and machetes.

Regarding the investigation into the Tel Aviv attack, police have arrested a relative of the terrorist from his hometown of Arara for aiding him in fleeing from Tel Aviv. Police suspect that there may have been as many as twenty people in the town who either helped or knew the terrorist’s location but did not report him to authorities. The investigation continues.

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Arson or Accident
A fire broke out last night in a building that houses the office of human rights group B’Tselem, in Jerusalem. B’Tselem’s offices were empty when the fire broke out. At first the fire department said that they suspected arson as the cause of the fire. That triggered statements by B’tzelem and Peace Now blaming the right wing and the government for inciting against the left. Upon further investigation, the fire department today believes that the fire was caused by an electrical failure in the office electrical system. The investigation is still ongoing.

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Deri Returns
Yesterday the cabinet unanimously approved the appointment of Aryeh Deri, the leader of the Shas Ultra-Orthodox Sephardic party, as Minister of the Interior. The position is the same one that Deri held 22 years ago before he was forced to resign over corruption charges. He was subsequently found guilty of bribery and served 22 months in prison.

Yesh Atid leader MK Yair Lapid had proposed a bill last May, which would have barred anyone convicted of a serious criminal offense from serving as an MK, cabinet minister or mayor. However, the coalition voted the bill down.

Deri had been serving as Minister of Economy until several months ago, when he resigned to allow PM Netanyahu to take over the portfolio and approve the natural gas deal. He then became Minister of Galilee and Negev Development.

The Prime Minister congratulated Deri and said that he is faced with two main tasks – preventing illegal migrants from entering Israel and deporting those already in the country, as well as changing the borders of local councils in order to distribute municipal taxes in a more just manner.

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Fare Cut
The cabinet today approved a bill proposed by Minister of Finance Moshe Kahlon and Minister of the Development of the Negev and Galilee Aryeh Deri to reduce public transportation fares by the amount of VAT. In other words, the rates will be cut by 17%. The state will subsidize the cut by transferring NIS 650 million annually to the public transportation operators. In addition, the bill will prevent future changes in fares resulting from changes in VAT.

Prime Minister Netanyahu commented on the fares cut, saying, “After we cut electricity and water prices and introduced reform in food, we are now lowering public transportation prices, which also has clear social significance. Those using public transportation tend to be more economically disadvantaged – this is a significant relief for them.”
Deri added, “Cutting VAT on public transportation means fulfilling the commitment I took on myself in the election campaign, and will save poor families and those without cars thousands of shekels. This is a major reduction that will be brought up for quick passage by the Knesset in order to make sure that it is not canceled in the coming years.”

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Israel News for January 5, 2016

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Manhunt Continues
As the search for Nashat Melhem, the Israeli Arab terrorist who killed three and wounded eight in Tel Aviv on Friday, continues into its fifth day, police are now suspecting that he managed to escape to Northern Israel or the West Bank. To do that they believe that he had help, which is why they are focusing their investigation on Melhem’s family.

Yesterday police arrested Melhem’s father, Mohammed, along with five other relatives and friends. Melhem’s brother is already being held in custody.

Speaking to reporters outside of the Haifa Magistrate’s Court, Mohammed Melhem called on his son to contact him and to surrender to authorities. It was Melhem’s father who first contacted police after seeing his son’s picture on television. “It’s important to me now that they reach my son and arrest him, because he’s still armed, and just like he murdered two people he could murder more,” he said on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Police Chief Roni Alsheikh told residents of northern Tel Aviv that they can reduce their tension level, but he did not give any more details into the investigation, claiming that doing so would hinder police efforts.

In an unrelated event, police arrested a 20 year old Palestinian man from East Jerusalem in Hertzliya yesterday. The man had told his father that he would carry out a terror attack in the city.

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Bomb Attack
A large roadside bomb exploded near an IDF force at the Lebanese border near the Shebaa Farms area on Monday afternoon. The explosion targeted an IDF Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozer and another armored vehicle. No soldiers were hurt.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack, which they say was committed by the “Samir Kuntar Brigades,” named after the notorious terrorist who was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike in Syria last month.

Hezbollah leader Nasrallah had vowed revenge for the attack, and this bomb blast could be related to his pledge. But it’s unlikely that this casualty free attack will satiate his vengeance appetite.

In response to the bomb attack, the IDF fired over fifty artillery shells at Hezbollah positions in Southern Lebanon. The Lebanese reported no casualties.

The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, urged both sides to avoid an escalation, saying it had stepped up patrols on the ground after the incident.

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Demolitions
Security forces entered the Jabel Mukaber neighborhood of East Jerusalem yesterday to demolish the homes of two terrorists.

One of the terrorists was a Bezek employee responsible for ramming into pedestrians at a bus stop in Jerusalem and then murdering 60-year-old Rabbi Yeshayahu Krishevsky and wounding several others with an axe before being shot and killed by a security guard. He was the cousin of the two terrorists who committed the Har Nof synagogue terror attack. Security forces ended up sealing off his home rather than demolishing it, since it is located on the third floor of a building and destroying it would compromise the rest of the structure.

The other terrorist boarded a Jerusalem bus with an accomplice and began shooting and stabbing people. He killed three and wounded several others before being shot and killed by security forces. His home was demolished.

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Flight Chaos
The Israeli-Arab conflict spilled over into Greece yesterday, when Israelis on board a Greek airliner flying from Athens to Tel Aviv demanded that two Arab Israelis be removed from the plane. A small number of Israeli passengers refused to be seated for take-off, delaying the flight for over an hour and a half until the crew finally relented and convinced the Arab travelers to deplane and take a different flight. The specific reason for the Israeli protest is unclear, other than a general fear of Arab terrorism.

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Off Course
The Israeli navy might need to review how it guards the nation’s coastline. Yesterday, a Chinese sailor turned up lying facedown on a beach near Jisr az-Zarqa, just north of Caesarea. The town happens to be the only Arab town on the Israeli coastline.

It turns out that the Chinese man set sail from Greece and was apparently blown off course by heavy winds. The man was in good health and had a good stock of food and water in his sailboat.

After hearing his story, the Arabs that discovered the man on the beach were surprised that he was able to get past the Israeli navy. Let’s hope they don’t get any ideas. Go navy!

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Video of terrorist starting attack in Tel Aviv

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The man in the video buying groceries puts down his bag towards the end of the video, removes an Uzi submachine gun and begins firing at people on the street.