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Israel News for October 10, 2016

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Terror in Jerusalem
A terrorist opened fire near a Jerusalem police station on Ammunition Hill yesterday and then continued shooting at people as he fled from police toward the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem. He killed a police officer and a 60 year old woman and wounded six others before being killed by police.

The terrorist was a 39 year old resident of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan and an Israeli citizen. He had been arrested several times and served jail time in the past, and was scheduled to return to jail on the day of the attack to serve a four month sentence for hitting a police officer. Hamas claimed the terrorist as “one of ours” and circulate a photo of him wearing a Hamas scarf while holding a picture of Hamas’s spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. His daughter praised her father’s actions in a video released shortly after the attack.

There were celebrations in the aftermath of the attack in the Gaza Strip and the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina, where candy and baklava was distributed to people on the street. Palestinian media outlets reported that those handing out the sweets were the terrorist’s own family members, who own a sweetshop in the Old City of Jerusalem.  

Security forces clashed with violent demonstrators throughout East Jerusalem and arrested dozens of terror suspects.

The police officer killed in the attack was 29 year old First Sergeant Yossi Kirma from Mivaseret Zion, who served in a special anti-terror unit and received a decoration for preventing a stabbing attack last year. He is survived by his wife, his parents and two siblings.

The woman killed was Levana Malihi, 60, a grandmother and former longtime employee of the Knesset who retired in 2010. She is survived by her husband, three children and six grandchildren.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said in the aftermath of the attack, “We will not bow. We will continue to live our lives, despite the uncompromising war on terror and wild incitement. I praise our security forces that acted immediately, got to the terrorist and neutralized him. I want to congratulate them for the holy work they perform year-round, especially during the holiday period.”

The U.S. State Department condemned the attack saying, “The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms the terrorist attack that took place today in Jerusalem, which resulted in the death of two Israelis and injured several others. We extend our deepest condolences to the families of those killed and our hopes for a quick and full recovery for those wounded. There is absolutely no justification for the taking of innocent lives. We also condemn the statements glorifying this reprehensible and cowardly attack.”

For further reading click here.

Dimona Renaming
PM Netanyahu has announced that he will rename the Dimona nuclear reactor in memory of Shimon Peres. He said, “Shimon Peres worked hard to establish this important facility, a facility which has been very important for Israel’s security for generations. I believe that it is proper and fitting to name the facility after him.”

For further reading click here.

Ethiopian Aliyah Resumes
After years of waiting to come to Israel, the 9,000 Falash Mura Jews of Ethiopia have began their Aliyah. The first 63 immigrants arrived in Israel yesterday, and will be followed by about 100 each month.

The Falash Mura claim links to descendants of Jews who converted to Christianity generations ago but now seek to return to Judaism. The Interior Ministry accepts them as immigrants under the Law of Return, although they are not recognized as Jewish by the rabbinate and will have to convert to Judaism in Israel.

Over 135,000 Jews of Ethiopian descent currently live in Israel.

For further reading click here.

Disarmingly Powerful
This isn’t directly Israel related but it is such an unusually powerful Holocaust related video that we thought we should share it with you. The video is of an American reality TV show in 1953 called “This Is Your Life”, and the star of the episode is a young Holocaust survivor. It brings home the reality of the Holocaust in a disarmingly casual way that results in an extremely powerful experience.

To watch the video click here.

Israel News for September 12, 2016

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Ethnic Cleansing
On Friday PM Netanyahu published a video on his Facebook page containing a statement that has raised an uproar. In the video the PM said, “The Palestinian leadership actually demands a Palestinian state with one pre-condition: No Jews. There’s a phrase for that: It’s called ethnic cleansing. And this demand is outrageous.”

PA President Abbas reacted to the comment saying, “The government of Israel is carrying out ethnic cleansing and deliberately killing—acts that have exposed it to international criticism all over the world.”

US State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said, “We obviously strongly disagree with the characterization that those who oppose settlement activity or view it as an obstacle to peace are somehow calling for ethnic cleansing of Jews from the West Bank. We believe that using that type of terminology is inappropriate and unhelpful.” She added that the United States feels the settlement policy raises “real questions about Israel’s long-term intentions in the West Bank.”

David Friedman, the Israel advisor to Donald Trump, said, “Prime Minister Netanyahu makes exactly the right point. The Palestinians want Israel to absorb countless ‘refugees’ – people who never lived in Israel and whose ancestors were never forced to leave Israel – while their so-called ‘state’ is required to be, as the Nazis said, judenrein. It is an entirely racist and anti-Semitic position.”

He continued, “Arabs live and work side by side with Israelis in the State of Israel. They attend universities, enjoy the strongest human and civil rights (including women’s rights) in the region, and have access to world class health care. There is no better place for Arabs to live in the Middle East than in the State of Israel. With this background in mind, the Prime Minister of Israel correctly observes that the Palestinian demand to remove all Jews from their ancestral homeland in Judea and Samaria is nothing short of an attempt at ethnic cleansing. The State Department should be ashamed of their misguided reaction to Mr. Netanyahu’s remarks.”

To watch the video click here.

Shul Vandalized
Several large black crosses were spray painted on a synagogue in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gonen (Old Katamon) last night. Police are investigating.

To see a photo of the vandalism click here.

Arab Housing
Minister of Construction Yoav Galant (Kulanu) traveled to the northern Israeli Arab town of Baka al-Gharbiya to sign an agreement to build thousands of housing units for the Arab sector. According to the agreement, the Ministry of Construction will allocate 1.41 billion shekels for the project, as well as loosening restrictions relating to building on private land. The immediate goal is to facilitate the building of 30,000 housing units on private and government owned land.

For further reading click here.

Judges Reprimand on Kotel
While hearing a motion relating to the administration of the Western Wall plaza, the Supreme Court judges took the opportunity to reprimand the government for not moving to implement the compromise agreement reached several months ago that stipulated the creation of an alternate prayer space at the southern end of the Kotel that would not be under orthodox control. The Chief Justice of the Court, Miriam Naor, said, “Enough is enough.”

The government has not implemented the compromise agreement as a result of pressure from the ultra-orthodox parties, who are all members of the coalition and can potentially cause the government to collapse if they leave the coalition.

For further reading click here.

Israel News for July 26, 2016

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Arab Outreach
PM Netanyahu released a video message in which he asked Israeli Arabs to take full part in Israeli society. The video began with an apology by the PM for a comment he made during the last election in which he warned that Arabs were “flocking to the polls in droves”. The PM claimed that he was referring to the anti-Zionist Arab Joint List party and not to Arabs in general.

In any case, the PM played on his “droves” comment and said, “Today I am asking Arab citizens in Israel to take part in our society – in droves. Work in droves, study in droves, thrive in droves. Israel is strong because of our diversity and pluralism – not in spite of it.”

The PM ended by saying, “Jews and Arabs should reach out to each other, get to know each other’s families. Listen to each other. Jews and Arabs should treat one another with the same dignity and respect you’d want for your own family. Our land is too small, it’s too precious to fill it with discord and hate. Let us work together, Arabs and Jews alike, to reach ever higher in the noble pursuit of equality and dignity for all.”

The government has allocated extra funds for boosting policing in Arab communities, to try and stem the high levels of criminal violence in those areas.

Arab MK’s from the Joint List were quick to criticize the video. Joint List chairman MK Ayman Odeh said, “When I saw you chose to contact us in English. I understood exactly where this message is intended and for what purpose. So I say to the Prime Minister on behalf of the Arab public that we are not buying his show of hypocrisy.”

To watch the video, click here.

Israel Attacks
Syrian mortar shells fell in the Israeli Golan, across from the border city of Quneitra, which has recently been the scene of heavy fighting between pro and anti government forces.

The Israeli Air Force responded by attacking two government military outposts identified as the source of the fire. Most of the Syrian side of the Golan Heights is held by rebel groups.

For further reading click here.

New Mikvah Law
Back in February the Supreme Court ruled that State run mikvahs, which are operating under Orthodox auspices, cannot prevent Reform and Conservative converts from using them as part of their conversion process. Yesterday the Knesset passed a law, sponsored by the Haredi UTJ party, effectively banning non-Orthodox converts from using the State mikvahs by giving the local rabbinate the authority to determine who may or may not use the local mikvah. Apparently, in Israel the Knesset can pass laws that circumvent Supreme Court rulings.

The government has promised to build several mikvahs exclusively for Reform and Conservative use, but the funding for these has yet to be allocated.

Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky responded to the new law saying, “This bill, which offers no solution to the non-Orthodox denominations, circumvents the ruling of the High Court of Justice. It is unfortunate that the bill passed before such a solution was ensured.”

Yizhar Hess, executive director of the Conservative movement, called the law a “spit in the face” and said, “Jewish diaspora leaders are looking at us now astounded by the contempt, the condescension and the heartlessness being broadcast by the state of Israel which they so loved but which has broken their hearts.”

But the Haredi parties are an integral part of the government coalition, which would likely fall without them. So the law passes. It will take effect in nine months, in order to give enough time for the alternate mikvahs to be constructed.

So now there will soon be a separate kotel and separate mikvahs. So much for a unified Jewish nation.

For further reading click here.

IDF Bans Pokemon
The IDF has banned the Pokemon Go app from all military bases, but not because of the actual game. The IDF’s security division is afraid that soldiers will mistakenly download a similar looking app which can compromise security by leaking sensitive military information, such as photographs and base locations. So the fact that soldiers were running around bases looking for imaginary monsters to capture was ok. Hmm.

For further reading click here. http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/IDF-bans-Pokemon-Go-app-from-all-military-bases-amid-security-fears-462369

PA vs. Balfour
In anticipation of the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration by the British government in 1917, which formally recognized the Jewish right to a homeland in Israel, the Palestinian Authority has called on the Arab League to help them sue the British government for issuing the declaration. Good luck with that.

For further reading click here.

New Invention
Just in the past two months five children in Israel have died of heatstroke as a result of being forgotten in cars by their parents or caretakers. This happens much too often in Israel and throughout the world. But now an Israeli startup has created a solution called 2Find.

The product is a small chip which can be placed on a child (or anything) that will send an alert to a phone when there is a certain distance between the user and the chip. So, for example, if a parent forgets a baby in a car, the parent will receive a text alert on their phone. If there is no response in four minutes (like if the phone is on silent or lost), the alert is sent to anyone on a backup list.

2Find will be in Israeli stores in the next few weeks, and hopefully soon in the US, Europe and Australia.

To check out the company website click here.

Israel News for June 27, 2016

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Riots on Temple Mount
Dozens of masked Muslim extremists threw rocks and other objects at Israeli security forces on the Temple Mount, as Jewish visiting hours began early this morning. Police, Border Police and Yasam riot police forces succeeded in driving the rioters into the mosque, enabling both Jewish and other non-Muslim visitors to continue at the site for a short period.

After the visits ended the security forces were attacked again, before quelling the violence. According to surveillance video, the rioters stockpiled rocks and set up barricades throughout the night in preparation for today’s attacks. They had also attacked police on Sunday.

Despite the violence, police continued to enable non-Muslims to visit the compound, which included only 18 Jews among 375 tourists in total.

To see a short video click here.

Israel & Turkey
Israel and Turkey announced a reconciliation agreement in Rome today. PM Netanyahu met with US Secretary of State John Kerry, who was also there for the event, prior to the announcement.

The diplomatic crisis with Turkey began after Israeli forces raided a Turkish ship (the Marmara) that was part of a flotilla of vessels attempting to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza, on May 31, 2010. Nine Turkish citizens were killed in the raid.

As part of the reconciliation agreement, Israel will pay the families of the none victims over $20 million as reparation. The money will be transferred only after a law is passed in Turkish parliament, which terminates all ongoing legal proceedings in Turkish courts against Israeli officers involved in the Marmara incident.

In addition, one of the main parts of the reconciliation agreement is that the IDF soldiers and commanders who took part in the operation to capture the ship will not be prosecuted in the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Also in the agreement is a clause which commits Turkey to preventing Hamas attacks on Israel and Israeli citizens from or on Turkish soil.

The Israeli blockade of Gaza will continue. Turkish humanitarian aid to Gaza will be allowed to be delivered via Israel.

Opposition leader Isaac Herzog was critical of the reconciliation agreement, saying, “The return of relations with Turkey is an important political goal, but the reparations to those who attacked IDF soldiers is unacceptable, especially when it is signed by the Netanyahu – Bennet – Lieberman threesome. All should know that the leadership of the right is paying reparations to those who have attacked our sons.”

Besides slamming the reparation payments, Herzog decried the fact that insisting that Turkey facilitate the return of Israeli’s missing in Gaza (dead and alive) was not part of the agreement. He said, “besides this incomprehensible compensation, my heart is torn to see the indifference and the ignoring of the families of those who are missing (in Gaza), who are yelling at the top of their lungs. Yet their cries are not getting through to the hearts of the people who sit in the cabinet.”

However, a senior official involved in the agreement said, “We requested and received an official letter in which Turkish President Erdogan instructed Turkish intelligence and all the relevant government agencies to take all measures necessary to bring the issue of the prisoners and MIAs in Gaza to a close on humanitarian grounds.”

MK Hanin Zoabi of the Joint Arab List, who was on the Marmara, claimed that, “Israel agreeing to transfer $21 million to Turkey constitutes a clear admission of guilt.” She also critiqued the fact that lifting the blockade of Gaza was not included in the agreement.
 
For further reading click here.

Abbas Backtracks
On Thursday PA President Abbas, during a speech before the EU Parliament, accused Israeli rabbis of poisoning Palestinian wells in the West Bank. On Friday his office issued this statement: “After it has become evident that the alleged statements by a rabbi on poisoning Palestinian wells, which were reported by various media outlets, are baseless, President Mahmoud Abbas has affirmed that he didn’t intend to do harm to Judaism or to offend Jewish people around the world.” The statement also said that Abbas “rejected all claims that accuse him and the Palestinian people of offending the Jewish religion,” and that Abbas also “condemned all accusations of anti-Semitism.”

For further reading click here.

Believe it
Ezra Sheinberg, the former head of a community and Yeshiva in Tsfat who was recently found guilty of sexual offenses against 14 women, has petitioned the court demanding 285,000 shekels in severance pay from the Yeshiva and community he headed. The court is examining his request. Believe it.

For further reading click here.

Israel News for May 9, 2016

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Iranian Missile Test
The Iranian news agency Tansim reported that Iran has successfully tested a medium range ballistic missile with a range of over 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles). That puts Israel well within striking distance. According to the Iranian military, the missile was fully accurate.

For further reading click here.

Trial Begins
The trial of Elor Azaria, the soldier charged with manslaughter for shooting an incapacitated terrorist in the head in Hebron, began today in the Jaffa military court. According to the indictment filed against him, Azaria shot terrorist Abdel Fattah al-Sharif contrary to the rules of engagement and with no operative justification, when Sharif was lying wounded on the ground and did not pose a clear and immediate danger. The prosecution is also charging Azaria with inappropriate conduct.
The judges have denied a request for Azaria to be granted leave for Israel Independence Day.

For further reading click here.

Israeli Flag Flying
Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev is drafting a proposal to require all State funded institutions or facilities built by the State to fly the Israeli flag. The proposal would include sports centers, soccer fields, cultural institutions and theaters in both Jewish and Arab municipalities.

Regev said, “It is unfathomable that flying the flag in cultural institutions and in sports arenas that were built by the state be left to the discretion of one person or the other. The institutions that Israel builds should wave the flag with pride.”

The new flag proposal comes on the heels of Regev’s controversial “Loyalty in Culture” bill, proposed earlier this year, which would give the Culture Minister the authority to withhold state monies from cultural institutions that incite to racism, violence or terrorism, or support armed conflict against Israel. That bill has been widely criticized by opposition MKs, Israeli artists and foreign governments including the EU and the US.

For further reading click here.

Get Ruling
The Jerusalem rabbinical court recently ordered the father of a husband who is refusing to give his wife a Get (Jewish divorce), to pay child support for his grandchildren. The husband is currently hiding in Uman, Ukraine, near the tomb of Rabi Nachman of Breslov. The man’s father appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, which yesterday rejected his appeal and ordered him to pay.

The Supreme Court judges have made it clear that they would rather not be involved in cases under the jurisdiction of the rabbinical courts (as all divorce cases are), but will rule if presented with these cases. The Supreme Court is currently reviewing another similar case, where the Tel Aviv Rabbinical Court ordered the father of a “refusing” husband to be jailed for 30 days to “persuade” his son to give his wife a Get, which he has withheld for over a decade. The husband is currently living in the US.

For further reading click here.

Jerusalem from Home
Thanks to a new Panomex device recently installed on the rooftop of the Inbal Jerusalem Hotel, you can now view real time video of Jerusalem and interact with the video and photos in many different ways.

To check it out for yourself, click here.

Israel News for April 19, 2016

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Terror on Bus
A bomb exploded at the back of a bus in Jerusalem yesterday injuring at least 20 passengers. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat was the first to confirm that it was a terror attack. The police and Shin Bet are trying to identify the terrorist and are investigating the possibility that he was one of the passengers, who was the most severely wounded.

The Bus driver, Moshe Levi, said that he recognized the wounded man as the terrorist after the blast. Levi said, “The [bus] ride was normal; I saw the terrorist get on the bus at one of the stations. The terrorist boarded and paid just like everyone else. He didn’t look suspicious to me, and he wasn’t carrying a strange bag or something. No, I didn’t suspect him.” Levi added, “I saw lots of people bleeding and screaming. I ran out of the bus and opened the [emergency] doors. Outside there were people who had been thrown out of the bus [by the blast]. I saw the terrorist lying on the ground, with severed hands and feet. I told the MDA people to treat him. When I got to the hospital I saw this man lying on the ground in the emergency treatment ward, I understood from the security people there that this was the terrorist. And I had asked them [the MDA medics] to help him.”

The police have not yet confirmed that the man was the terrorist.

Reactions from Palestinian groups were as expected. Hamas called it a “natural response to the crimes of occupation,” but did not claim responsibility. Islamic Jihad, meanwhile, also welcomed the attack as “proof of the failure of security coordination” between Israel and the Palestinian Authority,” and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said it “welcomes the operation as a positive and important development of the intifada.”

For further reading click here.

Biden on J Street
In a speech to J Street yesterday, US Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged “overwhelming frustration” with Israel’s government, saying, “I firmly believe that the actions that Israel’s government has taken over the past the past several years — the steady and systematic expansion of settlements, the legalization of outposts, land seizures — they’re moving us and more importantly they’re moving Israel in the wrong direction.“ He added that it was the America’s obligation to guarantee Israel’s security and to “push them as hard as we can” toward a two-state solution despite “our sometimes overwhelming frustration with the Israeli government,” but that, “there is at the moment no political will that I observed from either Israelis or Palestinians to go forward with serious negotiations,”

Biden also blasted Palestinian leaders for not condemning terror saying, “No matter what legitimate disagreements the Palestinian people have with Israel, there is never justification for terrorism. No leader should fail to condemn as terrorists those who commit such brutalities.”

For further reading click here.

No Cameras
The idea seemed brilliant. If you want to prove once and for all whether Israel is really violating the status quo and harassing Muslims on the Temple Mount, just install video cameras to record everything happening up there. After months of negotiations, Israel and Jordan agreed to the details of implementing the project. But wait, it was too good to be true. Guess who blocked the plan? You got it: the Palestinians.

Apparently, the Palestinians aren’t anxious to document what really happens on the Temple Mount. As part of their anti-camera campaign, banners were hung all over the Temple Mount calling for Palestinians to smash the security cameras. One guard from the Waqf (Islamic Religious Endowments Organization) summed it up by saying,“We don’t need any cameras here. Only Allah sees all.”

The Palestinians launched a second banner campaign called “The picture is clear – so no cameras are needed,” bearing pictures showing Israeli policemen attacking and dragging Palestinians from the Mount.

I wonder why they wouldn’t want cameras up there?

For further reading click here.

Court Convicts
The Jerusalem District Court today convicted Yishai Schlissel of murdering 16 year old Shira Banki at the Gay Pride Parade in Jerusalem last July. The judge scolded police for negligence in allowing the attacker to get to the parade. Just two months before the parade, Schlissel had finished serving a ten year sentence for stabbing someone at the gay pride parade in 2005. He also expressed his opposition to the parade both in the media and in ads published in synagogues in Jerusalem and Kiryat Sefer, prior to the parade. A the judge said, “the writing was on the wall.”

For further reading click here.

Rivlin is Blessed
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin visited Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, one of the great sages of Israel, at his home in Bnei Brak last night to receive his blessing before Passover.

To see photos of the visit, click here.

Israel News for March 28, 2016

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Mazal Tov
Looks like Donald Trump will be attending the bris next week of his own grandson. His daughter Ivanka, wife of Jared Kushner, gave birth to a baby boy yesterday. They named the baby Theodore James Kushner. We’ll have to wait until next week for his Hebrew name. The boy makes Jewish grandchild number three for the Donald. How can he not be pro Israel?

Military Killing
On Thursday two Palestinians stabbed an IDF soldier in Hebron. Soldiers opened fire on the terrorists, killing one and seriously wounding the other. As the terrorist was lying on the the ground, only able to move his head, and surrounded by around 12 officers and soldiers, one soldier fired a shot into the terrorist’s head, killing him.

The IDF is investigating the apparently unlawful execution of the neutralized terrorist. The soldier, who is under military arrest, claims that he thought that the terrorist, who was wearing a heavy coat, had explosives that he was about to detonate. The IDF claims that the terrorist was checked for explosives moments before the soldier arrived and shot him.

PM Netanyahu defended the morality of the IDF saying, “Any challenge to the morality of the IDF is outrageous and unacceptable. The soldiers of the IDF, our children, maintain high ethical values while courageously fighting against bloodthirsty murderers under difficult operational conditions.”

For further reading click here.

Controversy Ends
After months of controversy over his appointment as Israel’s ambassador to Brazil, which was rejected by the Brazilian government, PM Netanyahu has appointed Dani Dayan as Israel’s Consul General in New York.

Dayan’s former role as head of the YESHA council, which is the representative body for the settlers in Judea and Samaria, was the primary reason for Brazil’s reluctance in accepting him as ambassador. The PM, along with the Foreign Ministry, had initially pledged to stand behind Dayan’s appointment and refused to appoint a replacement in his stead. But maintaining good relations with the largest country in South America (200 million) and the seventh largest economy in the world finally prevailed.

Dayan isn’t too upset about his New York city posting. He said, “Those who don’t want me in Brasilia, will get me in the capital of the world and to me that is a victory. I believe I can revolutionize Israeli public relations in the US, whose beating heart is in New York.”

Best of luck in the Big Apple.

For further reading click here.

Court Blocks Gas
Israel’s Supreme Court has ruled against the government’s controversial gas deal that would give control over most of Israel’s gas reserves to a conglomerate of two major gas exploration and development companies.

The court specifically struck down the “stability clause”, in which the state promises to make no substantial regulatory changes in the gas industry in the next 10 years, in particular in taxation, exports and ownership of the fields.

In their ruling the judges wrote, “The stability clause has been set without authority and its legality is repealed. This is because it has been passed in contradiction to the basic rules of administrative law in a way that prohibits restricting the considerations of the (Antitrust) Authority.”

PM Netanyahu rebuked the decision saying, “The High Court of Justice decision severely threatens the development of the gas reserves of the State of Israel. Israel is seen as a state with excessive judicial interference in which it is difficult to do business … We will seek other ways to overcome the severe damage that this curious decision has caused the Israeli economy.”

For further reading click here.

Power Ranking
The website Global Firepower, that analyzes data relating to modern military powers, has released its 2016 rankings of military powers. Israel ranked #11. The top 10 rankings went to (in order) the US, Russia, China, India, UK, France, South Korea, Germany, Japan and Turkey. The highest ranking Arab countries were Egypt at #18 and Saudi Arabia at #28. Iran ranked #23.

The rankings are solely based on conventional military power and do not take into account nuclear capabilities.

To see the entire list click here.

Judo Gold
Israeli judoka Or Sasson won the gold medal in the over 100 kilogram division at the Judo Grand Prix in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. Gili Cohen won a silver medal in her own weight class. You can watch Sasson’s winning match at the 1:49:45 mark of this video.

Soda Peace
As part of its unsuccessful campaign to persuade the Israeli government to grant work permits to 74 Palestinian employees, SodaStream created a video showcasing Israel and Palestinian employees harmoniously working together. While the video didn’t succees at getting those permits, it has served as a messenger of peace for Israel in the Arab world.

The company translated the original Hebrew video into English and Arabic after receiving requests from the Swedish and Jordanian embassies. The company then allocated a million shekels to market the video in the Arab world. Two weeks ago the company began airing the video in Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The video has so far garnered more than 2.4 million views in those countries and 35 million views worldwide.

SodaStream is currently located in the Negev, near the Bedouin town of Rahat, and employs hundreds of Israeli Bedouin and Arabs.

To watch the video click here.

Israel News for February 29, 2016

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Ax Terrorist Arrested
Israeli security forces yesterday arrested Saadi Ali Abu Hammed for attacking Tzvika Cohen, a 48 year old security guard, in the Maaleh Adumim mall on Friday. Cohen a father of four, is fighting for his life at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. The terror attack was the first to occur in Maaleh Adumim. Judea and Samaria police have banned Palestinian workers from entering the city until Thursday, but they will be allowed to go to work at the adjacent Mishor Adumim Industrial Park.

WARNING: To watch an extremely graphic security video of the ax attack against the security guard, click here.

Army Beards
The IDF is cracking down on beards, and religious soldiers are not happy. According to new orders set to take effect this week, a soldier who wishes to grow or keep his beard for religious reasons will need to receive official approval from the IDF Chief Rabbinate, his unit commander and his adjutant commanding officer. Until now the IDF’s Chief Rabbinate alone granted permission.

The Association of Hesder Yeshivas (a program that combines army service with study in a Yeshiva) said that in recent days it has received hundreds of complaints from religious soldiers who say that their requests were denied or unanswered, meaning that they will have to shave their beard by Tuesday. It said that in once case a battalion commander instructed his entire battalion, including two platoons of Hesder soldiers, that they could not have a beard.

The head of the association said, “The security problems of the State of Israel and the challenges facing the IDF are so great and significant that the decision to trouble soldiers who grow beards is an inappropriate and unacceptable step. There are hundreds of soldiers from the Hesder yeshivas, religious pre-military academies and others who see significant service in combat roles in the IDF as a religious commandment, and the order to remove beards does not sit well with the IDF being the army of the state of the Jewish people.”

Numerous rabbis, including Rabbi Shlomo Aviner (Ateret Kohanim) and Rabbi Zalman Melamed (Bet El), have called on soldiers to protest the anti-beard regulation even if it means going to jail. Hundreds of soldiers have warned that they will go to jail if forbidden from growing beards.

Bayit Yehudi MKs have called on Defense Minister Yaalon to rescind the new order and make it legal for soldiers to grow beards for religious reasons. He might be sympathetic to the request, considering that Yaalon himself, who is secular, had a full beard when he served in the IDF (as seen in a this photo – http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/208646#.VtN8j8fSNcY).

The roots of the new regulation stem from a ruling by the High Court in response to a group of secular soldiers who petitioned for the right to grow beards, which had been a right granted only to religious soldiers. In order to make the playing field level for everyone the army decided to require soldiers to get permission from their commanders in addition to the rabbinate, to include the non religious soldiers.

An IDF spokesman stated that, “there is no intention to harm the sensitivities of any soldier. A religious soldiers who wishes to grow a beard will turn to his commanders (for permission), as will soldiers who are not religious who wish to grow beards for other reasons.”

Deputy Defense Minister Rabbi Eli Ben Dahan (Shas) said yesterday that the IDF would review the new regulation.

For further reading click here.

Iran Must Pay
In a landmark decision, a court in San Diego, California, has ruled that victims who were wounded in a 1997 terrorist attack on Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem must be compensated by Iran.

The terrorist attack in question took place on September 4, 1997, when three Hamas suicide bombers simultaneously blew themselves up on the pedestrian mall, killing five Israelis.

The court ruling, which was handed down on Friday after 15 years of litigation, says the victims who have dual Israeli-American citizenship will be given $9.4 million using Iranian assets that were frozen and confiscated by the United States.

In addition, the judge ruled that even if Iran appeals to the Supreme Court over the ruling, he will not delay the transfer of the compensation to the victims’ families.

Nice job, Your Honor.

For further reading click here.

Right Wing Rapper
Popular right wing rapper Yoav Eliasi, aka Hatzel, has received a slew of death threats against himself and his family, but he claims that the police is denying him a permit to carry a weapon. In addition to the threats, Eliasi’s car has been vandalized on several occasions and his tires slashed multiple times. On his Facebook Hatzel wrote, “If, one day, I or one of the members of my family are hurt, the police will not be able to say they did not know.”

MK Issawi Freij (Meretz) announced last week that he intends to file a complaint against Hatzel, for incitement to violence.

To watch a music video by Hatzel, click here.

Chinese Jews Return
Five Chinese women, descended from the medieval Jewish community of Kaifeng, are set to arrive in Israel on Monday. The women will study at Midreshet Nishmat – The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women, where they will prepare for their official conversion to Judaism under the auspices of Israel’s Chief Rabbinate.

Kaifeng’s Jewish community is believed to have been founded by Iraqi or Persian Jewish merchants in the eighth or ninth century. A synagogue was erected there in 1163 that still stands today. According to estimates, the community consisted of up to 5,000 Jews during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) but decreased to 500-1000 due to wide-scale assimilation and intermarriage.

According to Michael Freund, chairman of the Shavei Israel organization responsible for bringing the women to Israel, the Kaifeng community was similar to other Jewish communities except that it did not suffer anti-Semitism.

 
“As a result, beginning perhaps in the 18th century, a process of assimilation and intermarriage began to settle in. Then, the last rabbi of Kaifeng passed away 200 years ago, and the synagogue was rendered unfit for use when a series of floods struck the city in the 19th century,” Freund told Tazpit Press Service (TPS).

 
Freund said that close to 1,000 remain who are identifiable as descendants of the Jewish community and who have shown increasing interest in learning about Judaism and their heritage. Such interest has enabled Freund’s organization to bring many Chinese to Israel, the last group of seven men arriving in October 2009.

 
Freund further explained that around 25 years ago, Jews were given the option of registering either as regular Han Chinese or, for unknown reasons, as Muslims. “Many opted to register as Muslims since this enabled them to have more than one child, but they are still identifiable as descendants of Jews even if some of them have nothing to do with Judaism.”

“And your children shall return to their own border. 

And there is hope for your future.” — Jeremiah 31:16

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Israel News for February 8, 2016

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More Palestinians
Despite the recent rise in terror, the Israeli defense establishment is recommending that an additional 30,000 Palestinians be permitted to work in Israel. The security cabinet has already approved the main provisions of the plan. The plan was presented to the ministers last month by Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, coordinator of government activity in the territories.

Around 58,000 Palestinians have permits to work within Israel proper. An estimated 120,000 Palestinians in total work for Israelis, including over 30,000 who work in Israel illegally and some 27,000 who work in industrial zones in West Bank settlements.

The hope is that better economic conditions will stop the violence. This theory is prevalent in the military and security services. But it doesn’t stop there. Even Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who during the escalation has advocated getting tough with the Palestinians, yesterday expressed support for increasing the number of work permits to up to 100,000.

According to a recent poll, the number of West Bank and Gaza residents who support a third intifada dropped from 63% in November to 42% now.

But will better economic conditions stop the lone wolf attacks that have represented the overwhelming majority of recent terror attacks?

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Temple Mount
Over three months ago Israel and Jordan came to an agreement to install video surveillance cameras on the Temple Mount as a way to diffuse tensions by providing evidence that the area is not being damaged by Israel and that the “status quo” is being upheld.

Since then there have been negotiations between the Israel Police and Shin Bet and the Waqf and Jordanian intelligence to work out the technicalities. The sides haven’t reached any agreement yet. According to Israeli officials, the fundamental issue holding up an agreement is the question of who will control the cameras and who will get access to the live video feed. The Jordanians want sole control over the video, which is something that Israel cannot accept, since it would allow them to potentially edit or hide video that shows Arab violations. In addition, Israel wants cameras placed inside the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, to monitor if they are being used to store weapons. The Arabs refuse to allow the cameras inside the holy sites.

Israeli officials want to implement an agreement by Passover. One official said, “If we reach that point and there will still not be agreements then all the tensions we saw around the Jewish holidays in September can start again.”

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Hebron Homes
It seems that a better real estate lawyer could have prevented the eviction of Jewish families from the two houses that they occupied in Hebron a few weeks ago. According to the Defense Minister, it was a slew of technical issues relating to the sale of the property that caused the eviction.

In a meeting with local council leaders, the DM said that the Civil Administration is examining claims that the Palestinian who sold the houses to the settlers is only the owner of a storage unit on the site, and not the whole property. He also said the that the Palestinians who claim ownership of the property also filed a complaint with the police following the occupation of the homes, which is being examined.

So a thorough title search could have solved this entire issue? Something tells me that the real issue has nothing to do with paperwork and a lot to do with diplomacy.

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Better Deal
The security memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Israel U.S. that was signed ten years ago is set to expire in 2018. PM Netanyahu and President Obama began negotiating a new MOU in November. There have so far been three rounds of negotiations between American and Israeli teams, but no agreement has yet been reached.

The impasse is pretty simple: Israel wants a bigger aid package and the U.S. says it’s already offering Israel the largest aid package ever. Sounds like a deadlock. But it looks like the PM has come up with a solution. In a cabinet meeting yesterday, he said that if Israel doesn’t get what it believes it needs in the agreement, he just won’t sign it. Instead, he’ll wait until a new president takes office and then try for a better deal.

The U.S. is obviously not very pleased with the PM’s negotiating strong arm negotiating tactics. A senior American official said, “Israel is of course free to wait for the next administration to finalize a new MOU should it not be satisfied with such a pledge, but we would caution that the U.S. budgetary environment is unlikely to improve in the next 1-2 years and Israel will certainly not find a president more committed to Israel’s security than is President Obama.” He claims that Israel’s security is a top priority for the Obama administration, and that Israel currently already receives receives over 50% of the total foreign military aid the U.S provides around the world.

Netanyahu apparently thinks that he can negotiated a sweeter deal with the next president. Unless of course its Trump (the king of negotiations) or Sanders (you figure it out). The way the polls are looking, maybe the PM should take what he can get now.

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Hasidic Technology
The Vishnitz Hasidic sect, which is the second largest in Israel (Ger is number one), held an emergency gathering against the dangers of technology. The gathering was led by the Rabbe of Vishnitz, attended by thousands of hassidim and broadcast live to Vishnitz communities in New York, Canada, England and Belgium.

Several prominent hassidic leaders from the communities of Vishnitz, Ger and Belz railed against the evils of smartphones. The Vishnitzer Rebbe gave the keynote address. He said, “Whoever has a connection to these things, even just at work, should know that he has no connection to us and will not participate in any of our institutions.” He added that “whoever holds a smartphone holds in his hand a spiritual bomb.”

Several resolutions were instituted by the rebbe including the banning of students from Vishnitz schools whose parents have smartphones and the formation of committees to monitor smartphone usage and enforce the bans against it.

Time to sell Apple?

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A+ Rating
Israel has received another A+ from the Standard and Poor’s credit rating agency. The agency said, ‘the stable outlook reflects our expectation that the government will maintain stable public finances and that the impact of security risks on the Israeli economy will be contained’. Good news!

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terrorist shot at Shechem Gate Jerusalem

Terrorist tries to stab but is shot by Israeli security guard

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This security camera video records how an Arab terrorist brandishing a knife charges at two Israelis near the Shechem Gate outside of the Old City, Jerusalem. The two Israelis were security guards who worked at the Yeshiva Ateret Cohanim in the old city. One of them managed to draw his weapon and shoot the terrorist before he could stab him.