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Israel News for February 23, 2016

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Carry Weapons
IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot has instructed the IDF to change regulations that require soldiers to leave their weapons at base before leaving for at least a three day vacation. The regulation was meant to prevent the possibility of weapons being stolen. Now, all soldiers will be required to take their weapons with them and carry them at all times.

Eisenkot’s order comes in the wake of the murder of 1st-Sgt. Tuvia Yanai Weissman last week by terrorists. Weissman was on a week long vacation from the army when he was shopping in a supermarket and heard the screams of someone being stabbed by terrorists. Although he did not have his weapon with him (as per regulations), he still rushed to help and was stabbed to death. The two terrorists were finally shot by an armed civilian.

Had Weissman been carrying his weapon, the situation would probably have turned out much differently. Let’s hope that this new IDF policy regarding weapons will help prevent more bloodshed by terrorists.

For further reading click here.

IDF Raids
Last night the IDF conducted raids in several Palestinian villages in Samaria in search of weapons. Soldiers seized M-16 assault rifles, pistols, bullets, magazines, night-vision goggles, binoculars and other military equipment used in terror attacks. The IDF also demolished the homes of two terrorists west of Hebron.

To watch a video of the raids, click here.

Canada vs BDS
Canada’s Parliament passed a motion yesterday formally condemning the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. The motion passed with support from both the Conservative and Liberal parties and calls on the Canadian government to “condemn any and all attempts by Canadian organizations, groups or individuals to promote the BDS movement, both here at home and abroad.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion said, “the world will win nothing for boycotting Israel but depriving itself of the talents of its inventiveness.”

On the flip side, the National Council on Canada Arab Relations said the anti-BDS motion goes “against the spirit of the Freedom of Speech, a right enshrined in Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.” You can’t please everyone.

Go Canada!

For further reading click here.

Last Treblinka Survivor
Samuel Willenberg, the last survivor of the Treblinka death camp, was buried yesterday in Israel. Willenberg was one of only 67 people to survive the notorious camp where 850,000 Jews were murdered in the 13 months of its existence.

Willenberg was a leading member of the underground resistance group formed in the camp, which carried out a revolt in August 1943 that burned down most of the camp and killed many guards. Hundreds of prisoners were shot trying to flee to the forest. Most of those who succeeded were later captured and killed by the Germans or local Poles. Willenberg managed to reach Warsaw where he joined his father who was hiding there as a Christian. He then joined the Polish underground and fought in the Warsaw (Polish Underground) Uprising in 1944. After the war Willenberg moved to Israel where he worked as an artist and sculptor, and wrote several books about his incredible story of survival.

President Reuven Rivlin eulogized Willenberg saying,“Samuel, I came here today to tell you – you are a hero. And what a hero, Samuel. You are a symbol of heroism. A symbol for an entire generation of Holocaust Survivors. Heroes. Strong and courageous people. Invincible. Optimistic. Who survived the destruction and could grow once again. Who experienced the horror and choose life.”

He concluded by saying, “We must do everything possible to help the survivors live out the rest of their lives with dignity. This is our duty. It is a moral imperative for the victims, for the survivors. For ourselves, and in order to fulfill the will of Samuel, we must remember and never forget. May his memory be blessed.”

For further reading click here.

 

Syrians Thank Israel
Aboud Dandachi, a 39 year old Sunni Muslim from the city of Homs now living in Istanbul, has created a website dedicated to the Israeli and Jewish organizations and people helping Syrian refugees.

The website, Thank You Am Israel, highlights the humanitarian aid being given to displaced Syrians and also refutes any reasons why Israelis and Syrians should be enemies.
The site includes news stories and opinion pieces on the global humanitarian aid being offered by Israeli and Jewish people to the Syrian people. (Am Yisrael is Hebrew for “Nation of Israel.”)

“There are new stories of Israelis helping Syrians every day. As far as I’m concerned, because we as Syrians cannot give back to Jews what they give to us, so we should at least thank them,” Dandachi told Ynet news.

Dandachi said, “By chronicling and acknowledging the numerous acts of compassion and generosity shown by the Jewish people to my own people, I can try to ensure that Syrians, Arabs and the world at large never be allowed to forget what you have offered and provided to Syrian refugees, at a time when you had every historical and practical reason not to. Thank you Am Israel, and may you always be safe and blessed.”

For further reading click here.

Israel news terror car ramming

Israel News for December 11, 2015

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Terror Attack
An attempted car-ramming attack near Hebron was foiled today when the driver was shot and killed at the scene. Hours earlier, shots were fired at the West Bank’s Gilboa checkpoint. There were no casualties. The terrorist was shot by soldiers but managed to escape, before being apprehended by Palestinian Authority security forces.

Four soldiers were wounded in a car-ramming attack at the Beit Arye junction in the West Bank on Thursday afternoon.

One soldier was critically wounded and another three were moderately and lightly wounded. The car escaped the scene but was later found by security forces in the village of Al-Lubben, near the settlement of Beit Arye. Security forces found an M-16 rifle, belonging to one of the soldiers, and a stun grenade in the car. The Shin Bet subsequently found and arrested the driver.

For further reading click here.

Rock Attack
A three week old baby was injured in a rock throwing attack just outside of Beitar Elit. The baby, Aviel Mamo, was in a car with his four siblings, driven by his mother. He was evacuated to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem where the slivers of glass in his eye were removed.

For further reading click here.

Israeli Released
Back in 2000, Ouda Tarabin, an Israeli Bedouin Arab, crossed into Egyptian Sinai illegally to visit his sister and was caught and convicted of spying for Israel and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Yesterday he was released after serving his full prison term. Israel says that it released two Egyptian prisoners, without providing further information.

Israeli embassy officials in Cairo visited Tarabin regularly in prison in recent years, and senior Israeli officials brought up his case and a request for his release every time there was a possibility of a prisoner exchange between the two countries.

Itzhak Levanon, a former ambassador to Egypt who was involved in efforts to get Tarabin released over the years, told Israel Radio that Tarabin was held in terrible conditions, in a cell without a toilet. He also recounted a conversation he had with then Egyptian President Mubarak, who told him, “We always need to have an Israeli prisoner with us.'”

Tarabin was welcomed back by PM Netanyahu and hundreds of well-wishers. He told Israeli reporters he planned to find a wife and start a family.
Welcome home.

For further reading click here.

Trump Cancels
Donald Trump has decided to cancel his planned trip to Israel. He tweeted that he would reschedule at a later date, “after I become President of the US.”

Trump told Fox News there were many reasons he decided to hold off on a trip, among them that he didn’t want to put Netanyahu in a bind. “In fact, I did a campaign ad for him, and he’s a good man, but I didn’t want to put him under pressure,” Trump said. He also claimed that he canceled because he is in the midst of a very powerful campaign that’s going very well.”

For further reading click here.

Take Two
Yesterday we reported that Israel’s Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi David Lau reprimanded Education Minister Naftali Bennett for visiting a Solomon Schechter Conservative Jewish day school in NYC.

Well, it turns out that Rabbi Lau might not be practicing what he preaches. In October, on a visit to Washington he visited a nondenominational Jewish day school where girls study with boys, lead prayer services and read the torah while wearing prayer shawls.

In response R. Lau claims that he visited Jews from the Open-Orthodox movement. Whatever.

For further reading click here.

Jordan Discriminates
Jordanian border guards grabbed the kippot off of the heads of members of an Israeli family entering Jordan. The Hayardeni family was entering Jordan on a planned vacation when the incident occurred. They promised to hide the kippot in their luggage for the duration of their trip, but the Jordanians demanded that they leave them at the border, claiming that no Jewish religious items are permitted in Jordan.

The family filed a complaint with the Israeli Foreign Ministry. The Foreign Ministry responded that it was clarifying the family’s complaint with the Jordanian embassy: “We are with the family, and explaining that there is no justification in banning kippot.”

Despite losing a lot of money on hotel bookings and services that were not refunded, the family decided not to try and go ahead with their Jordanian vacation plans, saying that, “The children said they were not interested, they felt that they were not wanted in Jordan as Jews, which is in fact what we all felt.”

Instead, the Hayardenis are spending their vacation in Eilat. A much better choice these days.

For further reading click here.

Road Deaths
According to the latest statistics, 338 people have been killed on Israel’s roads since the start of the year. Shmuel Abuav, the CEO of the Israeli road safety NGO Or Yarok, said “this is the third year running that the State of Israel has registered an increase in the number of road fatalities.” In 2014 a total of 319 were killed, in 2013 – 309 and in 2012 – 292. Abuav explained that the increase in fatalities is a direct consequence of funding cuts by the Ministry of Transport to road safety programs.

For further reading click here.

Frozen Potatoes
A recent cold spell in Israel has particularly hurt potato farmers in the Negev. Losses are estimated at NIS 10 million. Besides the crops destroyed now, the cold will also diminish the size of the potatoes in future crops. A large percentage of Negev potatoes are exported to Russia (yes, they still eat lots of potatoes in Russia), which has been cutting back recently because of negative economic conditions. That, combined with the cold wave, spells hardship for Israel’s potato farmers.

Who here knew that Israel grows potatoes?

For further reading click here.

Prime Dog
Two guests were bitten by the Netanyahu family dog Kaia at a Hanukkah candle lighting ceremony for Likud MKs held at the Prime Minister’s residence. Kaia bit MK Sharren Haskel and Or Alon, husband of Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely. Haskel, a veterinary nurse attempted to pet Kaia, but the dog was agitated by all the commotion in the home and bit her. Both of the injured guests were treated by the PM’s paramedics and stayed for the remainder of the event. Haskel later joked about the incident on Twitter, ”as someone who used to be a snake wrangler, a small bite from a dog won’t deter me.”

The Netanyahus adopted Kaia after Avner, the younger of their two sons, found out that she was about to be put to sleep.

For further reading click here.

idf commandos undercover

Israel News for November 12, 2015

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Undercover Raid
Early this morning an IDF unit of about 20, disguised as a group of Palestinians escorting a woman in labor, entered a Palestinian hospital in Hebron to arrest Azam Shalaldah, 20, who was hospitalized in the surgical ward. Shalaldah was wanted for committing a West Bank stabbing attack on October 25 that left one Israeli moderately wounded.

While the force was arresting Shalaldah, his cousin, 27, returned from the bathroom and attacked the soldiers. He was shot several times. Palestinian sources reported that he died. Shalaldah was taken into custody. Shalaldah’s brother, who was also in the room, was tied up but not hurt.

Message to terrorists: you can run, but you can’t hide.

For further reading click here.

Terror vs Revenge
Muawiya Alqam, 14, one of the two young boys who committed the stabbing attack on Jerusalem’s light rail on Tuesday, said on Wednesday that he decided to carry out the attack because his cousin had been shot while committing an attack near the Damascus Gate. Alqam’s family denies that he had intent to commit a terror attack.

Whether it was terror or revenge, he admitted to attacking someone with a knife and stabbing him. Guilty. The only question is the punishment, which will depend on the intent.

For further reading click here.

Israel vs. EU
In the wake of the European Union’s decision to distinctly label Israeli products made in the West Bank, Israel announced that it will be cancelling several meetings with the EU on various subjects. The Israeli Foreign Ministry also reprimanded the EU ambassador to Israel and conveyed a similar message to senior EU officials at a meeting in EU headquarters in Brussels.
In a word, they’re pissed.

For further reading click here.

Rabbis for Temple Mount
Seventy senior rabbis from the religious zionist movement have signed a petition under the headline, “We won’t give up the Temple Mount.” The petition was distributed during the PM’s recent visit to Washington and was seemingly directed at him and President Obama.

The signatories on the petition include rabbinic leaders spanning the wide range of political philosophies within religious zionism. Included in the signatories are R. Shmuel Eliyahu, the Chief Rabbi of Safed, R. Shlomo Riskin, Chief Rabbi of Efrat, R. Chaim Druckman, head of the Bnei Akiva yeshivas, Jerusalem Chief Rabbi Aryeh Stern, Old City Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl, Samaria’s Chief Rabbi Elyakim Levanon and former Chief Military Rabbi Avichai Ronsky.

The body of the petition reviews the historical existence of the two Temples on the mount and relevant prophesies speaking of the messianic age. It says, “The two temples of the people of Israel stood on the Temple Mount for some 1,000 years, before the religion of Islam even existed. No one has the authority to give up the Temple Mount. The Israeli government can definitely set the practical arrangements on the Temple Mount today, but they are only temporary.”

The rabbis concluded by saying that the Jewish people continue to pray that the prophecies of the rebuilding of the Temple should happen speedily and in our days. Amen.

For further reading click here.

Damascus Bombed
Arab press sources in Syria and Lebanon are reporting that the area around the Damascus International Airport was hit by airstrikes on Wednesday and they’re claiming that Israel is responsible. Israeli officials had no comment. Could it be true? Well, it depends on who was bombed. If it was rebel forces, then it could just as well have been the Russians or maybe even the Americans. But if it was government forces then…hmm.

For further reading click here.

Cheaper Hotels
Hotel rates in Israel might be getting a lot cheaper, but you’ll have to wait a few years for it to happen. Israel’s Tourism Minister Yariv Levin announced a new national plan to reduce hotel room prices by 20% in 5 years, at a joint press conference in Jerusalem with Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon on Wednesday.

The plan of action is to shorten the hotel construction process by streamlining regulations, which will increase the supply of hotel rooms on the market. The higher the supply, the lower the prices.

Finance Minister Kahlon said, “The plan will lower vacation costs. The financial and real estate benefits of building hotel rooms, and the opportunity to receive more tourists here, are blessings. If the project succeeds, it will make hotel rooms in Israel accessible to the bottom segment of society. Hotel rooms will not be exclusive to the wealthy and to high-earners.”

So hang in there all you low earners and bottom feeders. You might finally get that vacation you’ve been dreaming of — or at least a night in a hotel room.

For further reading click here.

Five Bucks
What would someone do for five bucks? More than you’d think. Just go on the Israeli owned website Fiverr, where you’ll find thousands of freelancers from all over the world offering their services for $5 (hence the name). If you think there’s no money to be made from that, think again. The company just announced that they raised $60 million from venture capitalists, which is in addition to the $50 million they previously raised. But your chances of getting that major design project done for $5 might be history. Fiverr is planning to allow freelancers to charge higher prices. That means more money for the freelancers and the company. As for your project…you get what you pay for.

For further reading click here.

Blessing in Disguise
The Palestinian terrorist who stabbed three people last Monday in Rishon Lezion inadvertently saved the life of one of his victims. Daniel Cohen, 31, was stabbed multiple times in his upper body and seriously wounded in the attack. When doctors performed emergency surgery on him, they found a deadly tumour in his intestines, which they removed. Cohen said that he felt pains in his intestines for several weeks prior to the incident but didn’t have time to deal with it. “The terror attack saved my life,” he said.

Cohen, father of five and a Kashrut supervisor, was travelling between jobs when he was attacked at the bus stop. Cohen said the assailant attacked him from behind choking him and trying to behead him. He was stabbed multiple times in the stomach, jaw and chest, before he managed to fight the assailant off. The terrorist proceeded to stab two others before being trapped in a shop where police arrested him.

For further reading click here.