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Israel News for September 23, 2016

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Terror Attack Stopped
A 14 year old Palestinian tried to stab soldiers at the Elias junction in Kiryat Arba today, but he was shot in the leg and neutralized before causing any harm.

For further reading click here.

Abbas Addresses UN
PA President Abbas addressed the UN General Assembly yesterday and called for the return to the borders originally proposed in the UN’s 1947 Partition Plan, which divided the then British mandate of Palestine into to countries, one Arab and one Jewish. He said, “Regrettably, however, the Security Council is not upholding its responsibilities to hold Israel accountable for its seizure of the territory allotted to the Palestinian State according to the partition resolution. I appeal to you read this resolution once again.”

Apparently Abbas forgot to mention that the Arab nations and the Palestinians rejected that UN partition and attacked Israel in 1948 to try and wipe it off the map.

Abbas also called on the UK to apologize for issuing the Balfour Declaration in 1917, which expressed Britain’s support for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in the land of Israel, and asked the UK to recognize the state of Palestine. He said that the Balfour declaration had lead to, “the perpetration of the most heinous crimes against a peaceful people in their own land that never attacked anyone or partook in a war against anyone.”

He called on the international community “to exert all efforts, more than any other time in the past, to bring an end to the Israeli occupation of the land of the State of Palestine, which, as you all know, is the longest and last occupation in contemporary history.”

Abbas concluded by asserting that “there is no way to defeat terrorism and extremism, no way to achieve security and stability in our region, without ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine and ensuring the freedom and independence of the Palestinian people. As such, terrorism will end.”

For further reading click here.

Netanyahu Addresses UN
PM Netanyahu addressed the UN General Assembly shortly after Abbas, and invited the Palestinian leader to speak at the Knesset. He said, “You have a choice to make. You can continue to stoke hatred, as you did today, or you can confront hatred and work with me today. President Abbas, I invite you to come and speak at the Knesset in Jerusalem and I will gladly come to speak at the parliament in Ramallah.” He added, “The road to peace runs through Jerusalem and Ramallah, not through New York.”

Responding to Abbas’s call for a return to the 1947 UN partition borders, Netanyahu reminded the audience that had the Palestinians and Arab nations accepted the partition and not attacked Israel, they would in fact have had those borders with their own state.

Regarding Abbas’s attack against the UK for the 1917 Balfour Declaration, the PM asked sarcastically, “Why not bring a class action suit against Abraham for buying land in Hebron?” [comment: does sarcasm really work in a speech to the UN? I’ve been told it doesn’t go over that well in a daily newsletter…]

Netanyahu denied that settlements were the main obstacle to peace, claiming instead that “the Palestinian refusal to accept a Jewish state in ANY boundaries” was the core and ongoing reason for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He said, “The real settlements they’re after are Haifa, Jaffa, and Tel Aviv.”

The PM said, “the State of Israel is ready. I am ready to negotiate all final status, but one thing I will never negotiate is the right to a one and only Jewish state.” When met with applause he remarked, “Prolonged applause for the prime minister of the State of Israel in the United Nations General Assembly? Change may be coming sooner than I thought!”  

Netanyahu reinforced his support for a two-state solution but rejected attempts by the UN to impose its own peace plan saying, “Does anybody really believe that Israel will let the UN determine our security? We will not accept any attempt by the UN to dictate terms to Israel,”

He continued to blast the UN for its seemingly endless condemnations of Israel, noting that the UN has passed 20 resolutions against Israel, and three against “the rest of the countries on the planet.” He said, “as women are being systematically raped, murdered, sold into slavery across the world—which is the only country that the UN’s commission on women has condemned? Yup. You guessed it: Israel.”

The PM praised the US, condemned radical Islam and proclaimed that “Israel will not allow Iran to establish nuclear weapons. Not now, not in a decade, not ever.” He also called on the international community to pressure Hamas to release the remains of Israeli soldiers being held in Gaza.

Netanyahu concluded by saying, “Israel wants to be your partner in seizing that future. I call on all of you: embrace Israel. Dream with Israel. A future of security, prosperity and peace. A future where even at the UN, even in this hall, where Israel will take its rightful place among the nations.”

For further reading click here.

PM Meets Africans
PM Netanyahu and his wife Sarah participated in a special event with over 15 leaders of African Countries in the the wake of the UN General Assembly gathering. The PM addressed the group saying, “I believe that Israel can be a great partner to your nations,” and said that Israel wanted to share its technology with them. Sarah Netanyahu was them invited by the First Lady of Rwanda to participate in a conference on women’s rights in Africa.

For further reading click here.

Satellite Working
The Israeli-made Ofek 11 satellite that experienced major technical difficulties after being launched on September 13th is reported to be working fine now, exactly as designed. Officials have described the Ofek 11 as the Israel’s most sophisticated spy satellite, which will keep tabs on Iran and other adversaries.

For further reading click here.

Israel News for August 25, 2016

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Israel vs UK
Newly released archives by the British foreign ministry indicate that Israel supplied military aid to Argentina during the Falklands War between the UK and Argentina in 1982. Israel had been supplying fighter jets to Argentina in the years prior to the conflict and continued to provide them with spare parts for those planes during the war. When British diplomats asked Israel to stop, Israel denied supplying the weapons.

Sources claim that Menachem Begin, the Israeli Prime Minister at the time, chose to continue supplying Argentina as revenge against the British for their actions against the Jews during the British Mandate of Palestine.

Israeli sources have defended their actions saying that their weapons exports to Argentina during the war were simply part of an ongoing, long term, weapons supply agreement. They also point out that the UK has supplied Arab nations that have been at war with Israel.

In any case, many in the UK are not very happy with the news that Israel assisted Argentina in the Falklands War which claimed the lives of 255 British servicemen.

For further reading click here.

Cable Car
The Jerusalem municipality is developing plans to build a cable car that would ferry tourists to historical sites near the Old City. The cable car would make five stops: the First Station complex in southern Jerusalem; the Kedem Center, which belongs to the right-wing organization Elad, near Silwan; the Siloam Pool in Silwan, the 7 Arches Hotel on the Mount of Olives; the churches of Gethsemane, near the Old City’s Lions Gate.

The plan is controversial since most of the stops are within what is considered to be East Jerusalem. Mayor Nir Barkat considers the cable car to be the ideal solution for enabling tourists to easily reach these important sites while reducing traffic and pollution. He also feels that the cable car will highlight Israeli sovereignty over the entire city.

The project is estimated to cost around $33 million.

For further reading click here.

Worst Zoo
Where is the worst zoo in the world? Gaza. But that’s history now, because the last remaining animals have finally been evacuated (rescued) from the Khan Yunis Zoo into Israel. Some of them will remain in Israel while others will head to Jordan or South Africa.

At one point the privately owned zoo had over 100 animals, but as a result of all the conflicts, mismanagement and negligence, many of those animals died of starvation and disease. But that didn’t stop the owners from stuffing the animals to continue displaying them.

The 15 remaining animals, including a tiger, gazelle, pelicans, monkeys and porcupines are scheduled to crossed into Israel yesterday.

Anyone know if there’s an aquarium in Gaza?

For further reading click here.

Polish Gold Rush
The fact that Poland is attempting to pass a law that would imprison anyone who claims that the country played any role in the murder of its 3,000,000 Jews during the Holocaust hasn’t stopped it from searching for Jewish gold.

According to legend, as Nazi forces fled from the advancing Soviet army in 1945, they buried a train full of gold, jewelry and valuable artwork stolen from their Jewish victims near Wroclaw, in Western Poland. For the last year a team of Polish treasure hunters have been digging in the area, where they said that they had used radar to locate the train.

But no luck. So they’re filling in their holes and heading home empty handed. No Jewish gold for these Poles. But that’s ok, because Poland is the only country to not approve any restitution program for property lost in the Holocaust. So the property of 3 million Jews now belongs either to the state or to the Polish people who simply took it over. That’s worth a bit more than a trainload of gold.

Perhaps one day Poland will do the right thing and give back the property they stole. Or maybe they need a bit of encouragement from the US and their EU partners?

For further reading click here.

Israel News for June 24, 2016

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Brexit and Israel
Last night the UK voted to leave the EU. Will that affect Israel? It’s unclear. On the one hand, Britain serves as a relatively pro-Israel influence in the EU, so its leaving could make dealing with the EU harder for Israel. On the other hand, the UK’s departure will probably weaken the EU and reduce its importance and influence on the international stage. So basically, we’ll just have to wait and see how things develop.

Abbas Libels
In his speech to the EU Parliament yesterday, which was followed by a standing ovation, PA President Abbas remarked that, “Only a week ago, a number of rabbis in Israel announced, and made a clear announcement, demanding that their government poison the water to kill the Palestinians. Isn’t that clear incitement to commit mass killings against the Palestinian people?”

He did not mention anything about plots by Jews to use the blood of Palestinian children for their Passover Matzot, but he might as well have. It probably wouldn’t have effected the standing ovation.

In his defense, Abbas was just citing media sources including the Turkish state news agency Anadolu and the Gulf News, who “reported” the libel over the weekend. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry posted the libel on its website. So how was Abbas supposed to figure out that the story was false?

As for the standing ovation by the EU lawmakers, well…let’s just give them the benefit of the doubt and hope that they missed the part about the “blood libel”.

The speech was condemned by PM Netanyahu’s office and the European Jewish Congress. Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi David Lau also condemned the speech saying, “The Israeli Rabbinate and the thousands of rabbis serving the cities of Israel, from all ethnic groups and circles, love peace and pursue peace. This is our way of life, we are guided by the Torah of Israel, the Torah of life. Israeli rabbis see the supreme value of human life; we believe in the concept ‘love every individual created in the image of God’”.

For further reading click here.

Muslim Recruits
The latest batch of recruits to the IDF’s Desert Reconnaissance Battalion were sworn in yesterday in a ceremony at the Memorial Monument to the Bedouin Warriors. Most of the recruits are Bedouin, along with some Muslim and Christian Arab volunteers. All of the soldiers swore allegiance to the State of Israel.

For further reading and photos, click here.

Ikea Israel
Ikea, the furniture giant, has announced that it will open branched in Jerusalem, Beersheva and Tel Aviv. The new stores are set to open in two years. Ikea currently has stores in Rishon LeTzion, Netanya, and Kiryat Atta.

For further reading click here.

Bible Google
Herzog College in Alon Shvut has launched a website project called Google of the Bible. The website, which is currently in Hebrew and English, includes the entire Bible (tanach) text, a comprehensive search engine, biblical-era maps that can be compared to contemporary satellite pictures, thematic cross-references, an exhaustive terminology index, biblical idioms and contextual information, various commentary, articles, videos, teaching curriculums, literature and artwork.

To check out this fantastic new resource click here.