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Israel News for October 7, 2015

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New Stabbing in Jerusalem
A Palestinian female stabbed a 36 year old Israeli man in the back near the Lion’s Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem last night. After being stabbed, the man was able to draw his weapon and shoot the terrorist, seriously wounding her. Both were taken to Hadassah Hospital.
This story is still unfolding.
For further reading: http://news.walla.co.il/item/2895110

Abbas Finally Speaks Out
After weeks of Palestinian violence and terror attacks against Israeli targets, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas finally called for calm yesterday.

Speaking to senior officials of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Ramallah, Abbas said that he has told the Israelis that the Palestinians don’t want “military and security escalations.” He said the message had been delivered to Palestinian security forces and activists but added that, “at the same time, we will protect ourselves.”

Abbas also said he was ready to renew dialogue with Israel.

Meanwhile, in Qalandia, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, demonstrators hurled burning tires, rocks and a firebomb at Israeli forces, injuring one police officer. Security forces opened fire with rubber bullets and small .22-caliber rounds, shooting demonstrators in the legs. Clashes also erupted in the West Bank cities of Bethlehem, Nablus, Ramallah, Jenin and Hebron.

An eighteen month old Israeli baby and her mother were injured when stones were thrown at their car near the settlement of Eli in Samaria.

Jerusalem was quiet.

Upshot
The real question is, does Abbas really have the power to stop Palestinian attacks against Israeli targets? If the attackers are “lone wolves” acting independently, then it’s unlikely that anything he says will stop them. If they are motivated by religious fervor, he’s also not the man they’ll be looking to for direction.

However, he does control the Palestinian security forces which probably do have the power and the informants to crack down on likely terror sources and arrest them before they have a chance to act. Let’s see if this most recent statement of “calm” will have the desired effect (at least the effect that Israel desires).

For further reading: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_ISRAEL_PALESTINIANS

Henkin Murderers Arrested
Five members of a terror cell affiliated with Hamas in Nablus in the West Bank were arrested Monday during a joint operation conducted by the Shin Bet security agency, the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Police.

According to the Shin Bet, each of the Palestinian men arrested had a defined role in the attack. One checked the route, three were in the vehicle used in the attack – a driver and two gunmen, and a cell commander, who was not in the vehicle. Several additional suspects have also been arrested on suspicion of aiding the cell.

During questioning, the cell members said that after they opened fire on the car carrying the Henkins, they left their vehicle, approached the car and fired on the couple at close range.

During the shooting, one of the cell members was accidentally shot by one of his colleagues and dropped his pistol, which was left at the scene and found by Israeli forces. After carrying out the shooting, the terrorists fled toward Nablus.

The cell members also admitted to being involved in two other shooting attacks in recent weeks, neither of which resulted in casualties.

PM Netanyahu issued a statement on Monday saying, “We are acting with a strong hand against terrorism and against inciters. We are operating on all fronts. We have brought an additional four IDF battalions into Judea and Samaria, and thousands of police into Jerusalem. The police are going deeply into the Arab neighborhoods, which has not been done in the past. We will demolish terrorists’ homes. We are allowing our forces to take strong action against those who throw rocks and firebombs. This is necessary in order to safeguard the security of Israeli citizens on the roads and everywhere.”

On a visit to the murder site, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon announced that the government will install a network of security cameras on the roads of Judea and Samaria which he believes will, “significantly change our ability to prevent these sort of attacks and to apprehend the perpetrators.”

On a related topic, Israeli forces destroyed the family homes in Jerusalem of the two terrorists that murdered four Jewish worshippers in a Har Nof Synagogue last year.

Upshot
How amazing is it that Israeli security forces were able to arrest the Henkin’s murderers only two days after their attack? You can’t not be impressed. They’ve undoubtedly also prevented scores of attacks, but with every Israeli civilian a target, it’s simply impossible to prevent them all.

For further reading: http://www.jta.org/2015/10/06/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/terror-cell-members-that-killed-israeli-couple-arrested

Israeli Arabs Riot
Israeli Arabs, citizens of Israel, took to the streets of Jaffa in an illegal demonstration organized by the northern branch of the Islamic Jihad movement in Israel against what they believe to be an Israeli attack on the Al Aqsa mosque.

The police allowed the demonstration to take place even though the organizers did not have the required permits, in a show of good faith towards the Arab community.

The demonstration quickly turned violent when protesters threw rocks and bottles at police officers, passing cars and buses, and at a local yeshiva. Six officers were injured. Windows on a bus full of passengers were shattered, but thankfully there were no casualties.

Police chiefs communicated with local Arab community leaders who got the demonstrators to disperse. Two protesters were arrested for assaulting police officers, and four others were arrested for vandalism.

Earlier on Tuesday, the chairman of the Joint Arab List party, MK Ayman Odeh, told Army Radio that he cannot tell the Palestinian nation how to fight the occupation. Odeh said that he opposes violent resistance, but added that he “won’t set red lines to the Arab people. They will decide how to fight the occupation. I will always blame the Israeli occupation.”

Upshot
Israelis have already gotten used to violence in the West Bank and even in Jerusalem. But when Arab demonstrators turn violent in Jaffa, just a short walk from the center of Tel Aviv, that’s something that the average Israeli just can’t accept. The demonstration might turn out to be the straw that breaks the Israeli back and forces the government to make sure it never happens again.

For further reading: http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART2/729/348.html

Coalition tensions
Coalition tensions are rising during the recent wave of terror. At the security cabinet meeting yesterday, PM Netanyahu demanded that Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked stop publicly criticizing him.

Netanyahu rebuked the Bayit Yehudi Ministers saying, “What happened during Operation Defensive Shield will not happen again”. During the operation (Gaza War) Bayit Yehudi Ministers complained that the commanders in the field were not getting enough support from the government.

To Bennett’s chagrin, Netanyahu’s advisers have said that, at this time, the government will not allow construction in East Jerusalem and the West Bank so as not to further ignite the security situation. Netanyahu told settler leaders in a meeting that he cannot change this decision because of intense international pressure. Settler leaders called the decision a “huge strategic mistake”.

For further reading: http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4707659,00.html

Gaza Smart Fence
The Defense Ministry announced Tuesday that it completed construction on the “smart fence” surrounding twelve communities bordering Gaza. The smart fence, which uses advanced technology, is part of a 30 million shekel government project to reconstruct and strengthen the communities following Operation Defensive Shield last year. The smart fence is meant to prevent infiltration from Gaza and warn the security forces if the fence is touched.

This isn’t the only treat for residents neighboring the Gaza strip. This month a new radar system will be activated that promises to reduce the number of rockets that hit with no warning. It will also provide some of the residents a full seven to eight seconds warning to get to a protected area.

For further reading: http://news.nana10.co.il/Article/?ArticleID=1151380

Red Shirt Protest
Thousands of school kids returned to school this morning after the Jewish holidays wearing red to identify with the terror victims and to protest the deteriorating security situation. The students, both religious and secular, came from different towns across the country. They organized the protest on Facebook. The organizer, Yair Buchnik, explained that he could not go back to school as if nothing happened. “The red shirts are to show that all the blood spilled pains us.”
For further reading: http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4707813,00.html

abbas at UN

Palestinian Authority President Abbas at the UN

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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had an eventful time at the UN this week.

On Wednesday Abbas raised the Palestinian flag for the first time at the UN, after a resolution permitting non member states to do so was recently passed by a landslide majority of the UN general assembly. The US didn’t send a representative to the event, but other Western nations including France did. Abbas promised that the flag will soon be raised in Jerusalem, “the capital of our Palestinian state.”

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Wednesday a day of “pride” and “hope” for Palestinians around the world. He urged the Palestinians to pursue their long-held dream for their own state by first uniting Gaza and the West Bank, and he urged Israel and the Palestinians to revive negotiations that collapsed last year and conclude “a successful peace process that will lead to the unfurling of the Palestinian flag in its proper place – among the family of nations as a sovereign member state of the United Nations,” Ban said.

But wait…there’s more.

In his official address to the UN general assembly on Wednesday, Abbas stated that he is no longer bound by agreements, including the Oslo Accords, that have defined relations with Israel for the past two decades and are meant to form the basis for a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.

Abbas demanded that Israel “assume all of its responsibilities as an occupying power.” He stopped short of suspending security cooperation with Israel.

PM Netanyahu’s office issued a statement in response, saying that Abbas had delivered a “speech of lies that encourages incitement and unrest in the Middle East.”

Netanyahu called on Abbas to “act responsibly” and answer his proposal for direct negotiations with Israel without any preconditions. “The fact that time after time he (Abbas) does not respond is the best proof that he has no intention of reaching a peace agreement,” he said.

[bctt tweet=”“The fact that time after time he (Abbas) does not respond is the best proof that he has no intention of reaching a peace agreement” – Bibi” via=”no”]

Upshot
Will Abbas’s speech lead to any practical change on the ground, other than the potential of inciting terror attacks? According to Palestinian analyst Hani al-Masri in Ramallah, Abbas was just trying to attract attention and pressure Israel. “This is a threat not a plan. Abbas has no plan, otherwise he could have spelled it out in his speech.” Nevertheless, his move will definitely not result in anything positive for Israel. Things could get much worse for both sides.

You can read more about this topic here.

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Israel News for October 2, 2015

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Terror in Samaria
A husband and wife, both in their early 30’s, were killed last night from shots fired at their car as they were driving on a road between the towns of Elon Moreh and Itamar near the Palestinian town of Furik, east of Nablus, in Samaria (West Bank). The victims were Rabbi Eitam Henkin and Naama Henkin, residents of the community of Neria. Their four children sitting in the back seat, aged 9, 7, 4 and 4 months were not wounded. The IDF is searching for the killers.

Rabbi Eitam Henkin was the son of Rebbetzin Chana Henkin, the founder of the Nishmat women’s seminary. Naam Henkin was the daughter of a veteran of the elite commando unit Sayeret Matkal who took part in the operation to rescue kidnapped soldier Nachshon Wachsman.

A Hamas spokesman praised the murder as a legitimate reaction to the Israeli occupation and called for more terror attacks.

Several Bayit Yehudi ministers and Knesset Members including deputy foreign minister Tzipi Hotovely, education minister Naftali Bennet, agriculture minister Uri Ariel, MK Bazalel Smotrich along with culture minister Miri Regev of Likud all blamed and condemned PA President Abbas for inciting the terror attack.

In response to the attack, groups of settlers stoned Arab cars near several junctions in Samaria. Arabs also stoned Jewish cars. Security forces have closed the junctions.

In other unrelated incidents two other women and a child were injured by stones thrown by Palestinians at Israeli vehicles in the West Bank.

Abbas at UN
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had an eventful time at the UN this week.

On Wednesday Abbas raised the Palestinian flag for the first time at the UN, after a resolution permitting non member states to do so was recently passed by a landslide majority of the UN general assembly. The US didn’t send a representative to the event, but other Western nations including France did. Abbas promised that the flag will soon be raised in Jerusalem, “the capital of our Palestinian state.”

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Wednesday a day of “pride” and “hope” for Palestinians around the world. He urged the Palestinians to pursue their long-held dream for their own state by first uniting Gaza and the West Bank, and he urged Israel and the Palestinians to revive negotiations that collapsed last year and conclude “a successful peace process that will lead to the unfurling of the Palestinian flag in its proper place – among the family of nations as a sovereign member state of the United Nations,” Ban said.

But wait…there’s more.

In his official address to the UN general assembly on Wednesday, Abbas stated that he is no longer bound by agreements, including the Oslo Accords, that have defined relations with Israel for the past two decades and are meant to form the basis for a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.

Abbas demanded that Israel “assume all of its responsibilities as an occupying power.” He stopped short of suspending security cooperation with Israel.

PM Netanyahu’s office issued a statement in response, saying that Abbas had delivered a “speech of lies that encourages incitement and unrest in the Middle East.”

Netanyahu called on Abbas to “act responsibly” and answer his proposal for direct negotiations with Israel without any preconditions. “The fact that time after time he (Abbas) does not respond is the best proof that he has no intention of reaching a peace agreement,” he said.

Upshot
Will Abbas’s speech lead to any practical change on the ground, other than the potential of inciting terror attacks? According to Palestinian analyst Hani al-Masri in Ramallah, Abbas was just trying to attract attention and pressure Israel. “This is a threat not a plan. Abbas has no plan, otherwise he could have spelled it out in his speech.” Nevertheless, his move will definitely not result in anything positive for Israel. Things could get much worse for both sides.

For further reading click here.

Netanyahu Silenced
PM Netanyahu addressed the UN General Assembly yesterday and was silenced — by choice. The PM spoke of the dangers of an embargo free Iran on the world but especially on Israel, which Iran has openly sworn to destroy.

“If Iran’s rulers were working to destroy your countries, perhaps you’d be somewhat less enthusiastic about the deal,” the PM said. “If Iran’s terror proxies were firing thousands of rockets at your cities, perhaps you’d be more measured in your praise. And yet the response from every one of you here, utter silence. Deafening silence.”

After those remarks, he stood at the podium and glared at the delegates around the room for about one minute.

Upshot
As dramatic as the PM’s words and silence might have seemed, they’re very unlikely to make any difference at the UN. Based on the video, the room seemed pretty empty, so many of the folks who the message was directed at weren’t even there. That left Netanyahu staring down and scowling at diplomats who probably already fundamentally agree with him. That seems uncomfortably awkward, at least on the video.

For further reading click here.

Hotovely Lets Loose
Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely seems to have lost her cool at a UN meeting that was supposed to highlight positive developments in Israeli-Palestinian relations in the West Bank.

Hotovely took her turn at delivering a prepared address. She began by explaining the significance of the Sukkot holiday as a time when Jews historically made pilgrimages to the Temple (aka Temple Mount). She criticized PA President Abbas for inciting violence when he said that Israelis were defiling the Al Aqsa Mosque with their boots, and blasted the Palestinians for raising their children to aspire to become engineers so that they can build bombs for terror attacks. Then she pointed out Israeli economic initiatives to help the Palestinians, including the granting of work permits.

Next in line to speak was Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, who trashed his prepared speech in favor of ad-libbing against Hotovely’s remarks. Ignoring the protocol of the session, where each person is allowed to present a speech, Hotovely turned it into a good old fashion Middle Eastern brawl by interrupting Judeh several times to argue with his points. She was called to order by the chairman of the meeting twice, but that didn’t stop Hotovely from getting her say.

Hotovely’s style stunned the gathering of diplomats. Those of us who know and love Jewish women would have been shocked if she had kept quiet.

For further reading click here.

Am Yisrael Chai
Activist and attorney Itamar Ben-Gvir was arrested on Wednesday while visiting the Temple Mount when he responded to Muslim extremists’ shouts of “Allahu Akbar” by calling out “Am Yisrael chai!”.

In court yesterday, Judge Menachem Hacohen of the Magistrate’s Court in Jerusalem ruled that Ben-Gvir’s saying “Am Yisrael chai!” does not constitute a breach of public order and likewise isn’t a prayer. He ordered Ben-Gvir’s immediate release.

So here’s the rule: you cannot utter a prayer on the Temple Mount, but you can shout pro Israel slogans. The Waqf is not going to be happy when they hear about this. Please don’t tell them, just yet.

For further reading click here.

New Sheriff in Town
The new candidate to head up the Israel National Police is Roni Alsheich, the deputy head of the Shin Bet. Alsheich is 52 and married with seven children. He wears a kippah and lived in a settlement near Ramallah for many years until moving to a religious community in the center of the country several years ago. He also served as a Paratrooper brigade commander.

Upshot
The police needs to clean up the corruption within its ranks and regain the respect of the public. Can Alsheich get the job done? It’s worth a shot.

For further reading click here.

Israel News for September 22, 2015

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Traitorous Politics?
PM Netanyahu recently appointed Dani Dayan as Israel’s new ambassador to Brazil. The Left is in an uproar, because Dayan served as Chairman of the Yesha Council – the umbrella organization of Jewish settlement municipal councils in the West Bank – from 2007 to 2013.

In announcing Dayan’s appointment, Netanyahu said that “Latin America is one of Israel’s key destinations as part of the efforts to develop new markets that will contribute to increased economic growth in Israel. I am convinced that Dani Dayan will bring his vast experience to the position and will deepen the relations between Israel and Brazil.”

Protest
Several former ambassadors and left-wing activists met with the Brazilian ambassadors to Israel and the Palestinian Authority to convey the message that acceptance of Dani Dayan’s appointment would be tantamount to granting international legitimacy to settlements. If a host country doesn’t accept the appointment of a new ambassador, then the appointment cannot go through.

So basically, these Israelis are trying to foil their own government by appealing directly to a foreign government because they disagree with their government’s decision. Doesn’t sound too kosher.

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon blasted them on his Facebook page for slandering Israel and called their attempt “shameful, dangerous and despicable.” He added that, “Someone who has a political dispute with someone else ought to keep the argument about it at home, and not act in malicious ways that end up hurting Israel and its citizens first and foremost.”

Ministers from the Left and Right strongly criticized the unprecedented move by the activists. The only defense that the accused could offer was that they had no choice, since they have no power within the Israeli government.

So much for democracy.

Further reading – http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.669781

Israel and Russia
PM Netanyahu met with Russian President Putin yesterday in Moscow to discuss Russia’s recent military buildup in Syria and how it might affect Israel. After the meeting the PM said that the two sides agreed to establish a coordination mechanism to prevent misunderstandings and unintended confrontations between the Israeli military and Russian forces deployed in Syria.

Netanyahu added that the bulk of the conversation with Putin, which lasted two and a half hours, was dedicated to the security situation on Israel’s northern border. He noted that he made it clear to the Russian president that Israel will continue to take action to prevent the transfer of lethal weapons from Syria and Iran to Hezbollah and to thwart Iranian attempts to carry out terror attacks against Israel in the Golan Heights.

The PM said that Putin made clear that he will “ensure that whatever intentions Russia has in Syria, it will not be a partner to Iranian aggression” against Israel.

Putin said, “We never forget that in the State of Israel reside many former Soviet citizens, and that has a special implication on the relationship between our two states. Every Russian action in the area has always been very responsible. We are aware of the artillery against Israel and we condemn it.”

Upshot
The PM said that he briefed the U.S. administration on the details of his trip to Russia and the issues that were discussed with Putin. But with the Iran deal in place, making friends with Russia to make sure they don’t join up with the Iranian’s is the prudent thing to do. If you can trust Russia.

Further reading – http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.677027

Palestinian Poll
The Israeli right might not be the only ones against a two state solution.

A recent poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, a leading research group in the Palestinian territories, found that 51 percent of Palestinians oppose the two-state solution while 48 percent support it. That’s down from 51% pro and 48% against three months ago.

If new elections were held in the Palestinian territories, 35 percent said they would vote for Hamas and 35 percent for Fatah.

Asked what the most effective way of establishing an independent Palestinian state next to Israel would be, 42 percent said armed action and 29 percent said negotiation. Three months ago only 36 percent said armed action.

Finally, 78 percent of Palestinians think the chances of getting their own state in the next five years are “slim to non-existent”.

Upshot
The statistics don’t bode well for a peaceful solution to the conflict anytime soon. It just looks like the Palestinians are becoming more radicalized and viewing violence as their only solution.

Further reading – http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/21/us-palestinians-israel-survey-idUSKCN0RL1DF20150921

Supermodel’s Charedi Chupah
Supermodel Bar Rafaeli’s upcoming wedding to businessman Adi Ezra this coming Thursday is causing quite a stir in the charedi community. Why you ask? Because Rabbi Dovid Grossman, the Chief Rabbi of Migdal Ha’emek and the founder of the Migdal Or organization, will be officiating at the ceremony.

Hardly anyone in the charedi community ever probably heard of Bar Rafaeli. But now that one of the most prominent and beloved charedi rabbis is going to be doing the honors, everyone’s interested in stirring up some controversy.

Some charedi commentators are decrying the fact that R. Grossman will be denigrating himself by officiating at the wedding of a woman who doesn’t exemplify the qualities of modest dress and lifestyle that they believe is incumbent upon all respectable Jewish women.

Other charedi pundits say that R. Grossman is just fulfilling his rabbinic duty by performing a Jewish wedding, regardless of who the bride and groom are. In fact, rabbis in Israel perform weddings every day without discriminating against the lifestyles of the couples they are marrying.

R. Grossman, famous for his outreach to the non-observant community, doesn’t seem very worried. In a recent interview on a charedi radio station he said that Bar told him that during her time under the chupah (wedding canopy) she would like to feel close to God and distance herself from her “Bohemian” lifestyle”. How can he deny her that?

Further reading – http://news.walla.co.il/item/2891902

Jews Flock to Kotel
The recent tense security situation on the Temple Mount and East Jerusalem didn’t keep Jews from asking God for forgiveness on the eve of Yom Kippur. Tens of thousands of Jewish men and women gathered at the Kotel to say selichot (prayers for forgiveness). The prayers were led by Chief Rabbis of Israel David Lau and Yitzhak Yosef, Chief Rabbi of the Kotel Shmuel Rabinovitz and other senior rabbis and laymen.

The worshippers included religious and non religious, Ashkenazim and Sephardim, charedi and secular. It was a beautiful display of the unity of the Jewish people and the nation of Israel.
May we all merit blessings and forgiveness for this Yom Kippur, and a new year filled with health, happiness and peace.

Further reading – http://news.walla.co.il/item/2891949

Israel News for August 31, 2015

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Trouble for Top Cop Nominee
The appointment of Brig. Gen. (Res.) Gal Hirsch as the new chief of the Israel National Police is facing further delays. Allegations against him surfaced on Friday accusing him of illegal business activities. The tenure of acting police commissioner Bentzi Sau was extended for 45 days to allow the Attorney General to conduct an inquiry into Hirsch’s appointment.

Background
Hirsch’s nomination by Erdan met strong opposition from senior police brass who were not too pleased by an external nomination, especially someone who was essentially rejected by the IDF. Families of fallen soldiers from the 2006 Lebanon war also strongly protested his nomination, as they (and Maj. Gen. Almog ) hold him directly responsible as the commander of the Galilee Division to prevent the Goldwasser and Regev kidnapping, which sparked the war.

The Israeli police and the FBI are reportedly investigating allegations against Hirsch for money laundering related to arms deals made by his company Defensive Shield Holdings. But apparently there is no evidence that directly ties Hirsch to these allegations.

Hirsch strongly denies doing anything illegal. His attorney has questioned the motives of the police for bringing all this to light only now that Hirsch has been nominated. Senior police officials aren’t pleased to say the least. Not exactly the ideal way to gain the loyalty of the people you’re going to lead.

Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein will investigate whether there are any significant legal issues with Hirsch’s appointment and present his opinion to the Government prior to a vote on Hirsch’s appointment. He will look into whether the nomination process was legal and whether Hirsch engaged in illegal conduct, both during his IDF service and in his business dealings.

Upshot
Weinstein is not expected to reject the nomination, but Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan is checking out alternative candidates, just in case. PM Netanyqhu fully supports Hirsch’s appointment.

Soldiers, Women and Teachers
On Friday Palestinian and foreign activists staged a violent demonstration near the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh during which protesters threw rocks at IDF soldiers. One of the soldiers chased down one of the attackers, who turned out to be a twelve year old boy, and restrained him.

Suddenly, the soldier was surrounded by several Palestinian women who started attacking him to get him to release the boy. The soldier refrained from hitting or pushing the women away. The press photographers and camera men who just happened to be on the scene (coincidence?) recorded the incident and hailed it as a victory for the Palestinian women. Other soldiers finally moved the women away and the unit commander decided to release the boy to avoid further violence.

Reactions
The Palestinians claim that the boy never threw any stones and was unjustly assaulted by the soldier.

The IDF claims that the boy was recorded throwing rocks in an observation video, but that they didn’t realize that he was a minor.

The soldier’s father told Army Radio that he’s proud of his son’s restraint in a volatile situation which could have escalated into a very unpleasant affair had one of the women gotten injured.

The mayor of Ramat Gan, Israel Singer, called for the dismissal of a Ramat Gan high school teacher who was identified in the video of the assault on the soldier. It seems that the teacher, Hertzl Schubert, attended the demonstration as a member of an extreme left wing anti-zioniist Israeli organization called Matzpen. The fact that he even indirectly participated in an assault on an Israeli soldier makes him, according to Singer, who is also the head of the local board of education, unfit to teach Israeli students who will one day serve in the IDF. Many parents of Schubert’s students agree.

A bunch of parents of Schubert’s students don’t really care about his political views and claim that he’s an excellent teacher and should not be fired.

The mother of the twelve year old boy will hopefully keep her son out of any more trouble, and the boy will hopefully have learned his lesson and not throw rocks at Israeli soldiers anymore. Or maybe not.

Turks Coming to Israel
For the first time since relations between Israel and Turkey were put on ice in 2010, after the fight between Israeli soldiers and activists on a Gaza bound Turkish registered ship, a Turkish diplomatic delegation will be visiting Israel.

The purpose of the visit is to discuss the establishment of an industrial zone near the Palestinian town of Jenin in the West Bank. Turkey is planning to invest $100 million in the project including the possible transfer of some car manufacturing currently done in Turkey to the new zone (Turkey currently manufactures about 1 million cars per year). Everything produced there will be exempt from US tariffs.

As a further sign of diplomatic thaw, last week Israel began exporting defense related products to Turkey.

So while Turkey will be fighting ISIS with Israeli weapons, Israelis might soon be driving cars made in Jenin.

[bctt tweet=”Turkish Israeli relations are warming up again.”]

UN in Israel
A United Nations conference on the protection of endangered species kicked off in Tel Aviv yesterday. This was the first time an official UN conference of this size was held in Israel that is totally unrelated to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Over 200 delegates from 57 countries are attending the four day conference, some of them from countries that don’t have formal diplomatic relations with Israel or that support the BDS movement. That’s a huge testament to the amazing work Israel is doing in environmental preservation, which the international community cannot ignore regardless of their political biases. It’s a start.

Electricians for Boycott
The US United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers union has voted in favor of a resolution at their national convention last week to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. The 37,000 member strong union is the first US union to endorse BDS.

The resolution accuses Israel of a “long history of violating the human rights of the Palestinians, starting with the ethnic cleansing of 750,000 Palestinians in 1947-48 that turned most of Palestine into the State of Israel.”

The resolution also calls for cutting off U.S. aid to Israel as well as U.S. support for a peace settlement on the basis of self-determination for Palestinians and the right of return.

It endorses the worldwide BDS movement in order to “pressure Israel to end its apartheid over the Palestinians just as similar tactics helped to end South African apartheid in the 1980s.”

The Union also voted in favor of the Iran nuclear deal.

Remember this next time you need to hire an electrician.

Israeli Football
The Israeli American Football team beat Spain 28 – 20 in their first international win to advance their bid to qualify for the International Federation of American Football’s B-Group International Tournament in 2016.

Background
Yes, Israel has a national football team. No, not soccer. Real, good old, American football. The team was formed in 2012 and consists of players from the Israeli Football League (IFL), which is sponsored by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and family. The IFL teams play with only eight players per team on the field, which is only 60 yards long. They had to make the change to 11 men and 100 yards for the international tournament.
So far, so good.

Rebbe Nachmun vs. ISIS
A 37 year old British citizen fighting with Kurdish forces against ISIS in Syria does something unusual each time his unit conquers an ISIS occupied building. He spray paints “Na Nach Nachman M’Uman” in Hebrew on the walls. The phrase is the mantra of the Breslov Chassidic sect whose founder Rebbe Nachman is buried in the Ukrainian town of Uman.

The man’s name is Timothy Paul Jacobs-Woodworth and he’s the grandson of a Holocaust survivor who converted to Christianity after the war. He plans on making Aliyah next year. Meanwhile, he continues fighting ISIS and spreading the light of Rebbe Nachman on the walls of liberated buildings throughout northern Syria.

Israel News for August 18, 2015

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Hunger Striker
Israel’s High Court postponed ruling on the case of the Palestinian prisoner Mohammed Allan and has instructed the government and Allaan’s family to come up with a compromise agreement. The government yesterday offered to free Allaan on the condition that he leave the country for four years .

Arab-Israeli Knesset member Mohammed Jabareen of the Joint Arab List party, who is representing Allaan, rejected the offer, claiming that it proves that Allaan isn’t really that dangerous. Instead, the family has offered for Allaan to end his hunger strike on the condition that the state not extend his detention, which is scheduled to expire in November.

Background
Allaan was arrested in November and is being held under the administrative detention law (without formal charges or trial) on suspicion of being involved with Islamic Jihad. He has been on a hunger strike for 62 days now in protest. Last month the Knesset passed a law allowing a judge to sanction force-feeding or medical treatment if an inmate’s life is threatened, even if the prisoner refuses. But doctors, backed by the Israel Medical Association, have refused to use force-feeding and consider it to be inhumane.

Allaan is currently in Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon where he is receiving intravenous fluids and vitamins, which is not considered force-feeding. But doctors say some of his organs are damaged as a result of the hunger strike and his condition is precarious.

In the past Israel has freed Palestinian prisoners on hunger strikes for fear that their deaths could stir up Palestinian outbreaks of violence. At the same time the government doesn’t want to set a precedent which would encourage prisoners to go on hunger strikes to attempt getting released. The government also feels that Allaan will be a security threat if released.

Upshot
According to Israeli law the government has every right to continue detaining Allaan since it believes that he is a security threat. It also has the right to force-feed him in order to save his life. Instead the government has offered to set him free as long as he leaves the country for four years. That would seem to be a good deal for Allaan considering his current situation. Unfortunately for him, due to his condition he is unable to make any decisions for himself, leaving the Israeli-Arab and Palestinian politicians and activists representing him to decide his fate. And they’ve decided, at least for now, that their fight against Israel takes precedence over saving Allaan’s life.

PA Money funds terror
Indictments filed by the Military Advocate General of Judea and Samaria against the terrorists responsible for the murder of Malachi Rosenfeld a month ago in the West Bank reveal that PA money was indirectly used to fund the terror cells.

Background
Ahmad Najar, the head of the terror cell that murdered Rosenfeld, was imprisoned in Israeli jail for the murder of six Israelis in 2004. After his release as part of the Shalit deal, he received a monthly stipend from the Palestinian Authority for his time served in Israeli prison.

Najar then moved to Jordan and had his brother Amjad withdraw the money from his bank account in the West Bank. He used the money to train and arm a terror cell under his command.

On June 29, the terror cell’s members shot Rosenfeld to death and wounded his three friends near the settlement Shvut Rachel. Prior to the fatal attack, they fired at a Magen David Adom ambulance near Beit El, in an incident that ended without injuries. The Palestinian Authority arrested two members of the terror cell. Israel arrested the rest.

In a separate indictment Muhammed Abu Shaheen from Qalandiya was indicted for shooting Danny Gonen to death near the settlement Dolev and wounding his friend Netanel Hadad. The charges against his terrorist cell members also include several cases of shooting at soldiers in Qalandiya and planning to kidnap an Israeli.

Hamas deal. Not.
Despite reports in the Arab press and statements from Turkish officials and PA President Abbas that Israel was close to reaching a long term cease first agreement with Hamas, the PM’s office released a statement yesterday flatly denying any negotiations with Hamas. According to the statement, “There are no meetings with Hamas. There are no direct contacts, no contacts through other countries and no contacts through intermediaries.”

Passport Control Crumbles
Waiting in line for immigration officers to check your passport at Ben Gurion airport is never a pleasant experience. Last Friday, it got a whole lot worse. The passport control computer system went down, requiring agents to check incoming passengers’ passports manually. With Shabbat approaching, and a huge backlog of anxious and impatient passengers still waiting, authorities decided to just let about 1,300 Israeli citizens through without any record of their entry into the country. The catch is that they would need to call the Interior Ministry (Misrad Hapnim) to register their re-entry into the country.

When people called they were told that they need to show up at a ministry office to personally confirm that they’re back in Israel. If they don’t they’re considered as if they aren’t in Israel and therefore will not be covered by their national insurance. At least they made it home for Shabbat.

No Soccer on Shabbat
Economy Minister Aryeh Deri, who is also head of the Ultra Orthodox Sephardic Shas party, sent a letter to the Minister of Culture and Sports Miri Regev and to the head of the Soccer Association requesting that they not schedule National League (Liga Leumit) games on Shabbat.

Background
There are two professional soccer leagues in Israel: the top tier Premier League and the second tier National League. While the Premier League has always schedule some games on Shabbat, the National League has not, until now. The league has decided to schedule games on Shabbat in the upcoming season. At least ten players have protested this decision and said they will refuse to play on Shabbat.

Pants attack
A 15 yr old girl was walking with her family in Jerusalem on Rechov Strauss, a main street running through the center of town, not far from an Ultra Orthodox (Charedi) neighborhood. She was wearing pants. A 40 yr. old Charedi man considered the pants to be immodest. He expressed his opinion by spitting on her. The man was arrested. The girl most likely wiped the spit off and then continued wearing her pants.