A7News: Bennett praises Trump: 'Brave step for justice'

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Sunday, Aug. 26 '18, ט"ו באלול תשע"ח



HEADLINES:
1. BENNETT PRAISES TRUMP: 'BRAVE STEP FOR JUSTICE'
2. TITANIC VICTIM'S HEBREW LETTER WATCH BEING AUCTIONED
3. PA: WE HAVEN'T RECEIVED US AID FOR A YEAR
4. 1,460 GOLANI AND GIVATI BERETS IN FRONT OF 'HAKIRYA'
5. BREATHTAKING ACCOUNT OF PARATROOPER'S FIRST JUMP
6. BEACH ASSAULT ON THREE ARABS
7. WILL TRUMP ELIMINATE THE RIGHT OF RETURN?
8. FOR FIRST TIME IN 40 YEARS, CURE FOR ACUTE LEUKEMIA WITHIN REACH


1. BENNETT PRAISES TRUMP: 'BRAVE STEP FOR JUSTICE'
by Mordechai Sones

Education Minister Naftali Bennett today welcomed the plan to be announced by the Trump Administration that would negate recognition of the "right of return" and inherited "Palestinian" refugee status.

"American abolition of recognizing the fictitious 'right' to return and the fictitious hereditary refugee status would be a courageous step for justice that would shed layers of lies: Refugee status is not inherited, and the unique invention of the Palestinians was motivated by political will to harm Israel. The State of Israel will of course support this necessary step," tweeted Bennett.

According to last night's News 2 report, President Trump is expected to announce a new policy effectively canceling PA Arabs' claim to the "Right of Return".

'We demand' - training next generation of professionally impecunious
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According to the report, the new plan will include a number of steps aimed mostly at UNRWA, the United Nations (UN) agency for PA "refugees."

The report also said that the plan will go into effect in September, when the administration publicizes its policy, as well as a report regarding the number of refugees. According to the US, the true number of refugees stands at half a million, and not the five million UNRWA claims there are.

Bennett
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The Trump administration is also expected to announce funding cuts to UNRWA in Judea and Samaria, as well as its rejection of UNRWA's unique policy of allowing PA refugee status to be inherited.

Israel will be requested to rethink its policy of allowing UNRWA to operate in Judea and Samaria, since this permission would potentially allow Arab states to take over funding UNRWA in the area.

The US National Security Council responded that "the administration will announce its policy regarding UNRWA at the proper time."

Gratitude
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Mannah from UNRWA
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Monthly food aid at United Nations distribution center (UNRWA) in southern Gaza
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Spacious UNRWA facilities, southern Gaza
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2. TITANIC VICTIM'S HEBREW LETTER WATCH BEING AUCTIONED
by JTA

A pocket watch featuring Hebrew letters that belonged to a Jewish Russian immigrant who died aboard the Titanic is up for auction.

Heritage Auctions will put the watch on the block Saturday at a public auction at its headquarters in Dallas. Online bidding has already started and reached $11,000 by Friday morning. The back of the timepiece features Moses holding the Ten Commandments.

Its owner, Sinai Kantor, was an immigrant from Russia bound for New York with his wife, Miriam, who survived the accident aboard the Titanic when it sank during the cruise ship's maiden voyage in 1912. Dozens of Jews were among the 1,503 passengers who died. The British liner had a kosher kitchen.

Paperwork, including a provenance letter from a descendant of Kantor's, attests to the watch's history, Religion News reported.

Kantor, a furrier who wanted to study dentistry or medicine in America, was 34 when he and his wife, also an aspiring doctor, boarded the liner in Southampton, England. They hailed from Vitebsk, today a city in northwest Belarus. His wife survived the wreck.

The couple paid 26 pounds sterling (approximately $3,666 today) for their ticket. The voyage had 285 second-class passengers.

Jonathan Sarna, a professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University, told Religion News that securing passage on a ship like the Titanic would have enabled the Kantors to skip difficult questions at Ellis Island and dock elsewhere, where their wealth and status would have facilitated the immigration process.

Kantor's widow received her husband's clothing, Russian passport, notebook, telescope, corkscrew, "silver watch and strap," and Russian, German and English currency on May 24, 1912.

Kantor is buried in Mount Zion Cemetery in Queens, according to Israeli Titanic researcher Eli Moskowitz, author of a book on the Jews of the Titanic.


3. PA: WE HAVEN'T RECEIVED US AID FOR A YEAR
by Dalit Halevy

Yousuf al-Mahmoud, the official spokesman of the PA, confirmed that the American administration has not met its financial "commitment" to the Palestinian Authority for more than a year, and therefore there is nothing new in the American announcement of a cut in millions of dollars in aid to the PA that was recently published on the matter.

Mahmoud added that the American announcement of the cessation of aid was part of the policy of "blackmail" and pressure exerted by President Donald Trump against PA leadership in an attempt to force it to accept the "Deal of the Century," the American peace initiative to resolve the conflict.

Mahmoud stressed that the "Palestinian people" and their leadership would not submit to any pressure and would not bargain over their national principles, since these principles are sacred to every "Palestinian" and cannot be replaced with something "tainted."

He said that the current US policy supports the "Israeli occupation" and undermines any possibility of peace.


4. 1,460 GOLANI AND GIVATI BERETS IN FRONT OF 'HAKIRYA'
by Yoni Kempinski

[video:2046517]

On the occasion of the four-year anniversary of Operation Protective Edge, the Misdar Hadar volunteer organization has begun this morning holding a special beret formation in the Sharona Garden opposite 'Hakirya' army headquarters in Tel Aviv.

The exhibit marks the 1,460 days since the end of the war without the return of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin from the battle in Rafah and Staff Sergeant Oron Shaul from the battle in Saja'iya.

In the evening, the project will include an event marking four years since the end of Protective Edge without the boys' return, with the participation of MK Amir Peretz, MK Oren Hazan, and the Goldin family.

The beret exhibition will operate in the coming week and every day from 17:00 there will be creative activities in the adjacent garden for families wishing to identify with the struggle for the return of the boys.


5. BREATHTAKING ACCOUNT OF PARATROOPER'S FIRST JUMP
by Mordechai Sones

[youtube:2046514]

Arutz Sheva reported on 18-year-old Jacob Katz, who at the time had arrived from his home in Florida and was beginning learning in the preparatory military Mechina in Eli. He began IDF service in March, where he'd planned to enter a combat unit. The Paratroopers was his first choice.

Then, Katz said, "We always say, 'Our brothers and sisters in Israel.' It's the classic line in every AIPAC speech... If we really care about our brothers and sisters in Israel, we should treat them like that, and I really believe that's the truth."

Jacob pursued his goal to join the Paratroopers imbued with the sense of mission his parents' example and inspiration gave him. He went through the grueling multi-tiered selection process and was accepted in the legendary elite corps. He recently completed his first jump, and shared his experience with Arutz Sheva:

Wrapped in snug apparatuses of compacted parachutes and thick straps, we sat on the gravel in four rows of sixteen, two weeks of training behind us and a tarmac in front. What were once butterflies in my stomach had become no less than metal aircraft, cruising and colliding through my insides. Barely able to swivel our helmeted heads side to side, we anxiously scanned the sky and awaited for our limousine to pick us up. After a slow motion landing a couple hundred meters away, our ride drifted towards us like a black glacier.

Four gigantic propellers accompanied the bellowing mammoth as it opened wide and let us in. We sat on four benches that stretched the length of its cavity— two benches facing inwards, the other two facing out. Packed in extremely close proximity to one another, we nervously fidgeted with a seat-belt that took way too long to figure out. Following a series of rehearsed chants lead by an instructor situated near the airtight doors, we had officially begun our ascent. After an absolutely indeterminable amount of time, somewhere between 4 and 20 minutes, we had arrived not at, but over, our destination.

An instructor delicately and deliberately made his way up and down our row of 32, securing our yellow straps protruding from our backpack onto the metal cable tensely dangling above our heads.
Red seat with seatbelt for paratrooper or airborne forces in military transport
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Suddenly, we heard the bell's sharp screech, and two doors in the back of the cabin opened up wide. Extremely wide. The first two groups of eight soldiers took their marks and stood up tall with a soft bend at the knees. They approached the opening in a careful, synchronized shuffle. There was a pause of about a minute as if the instructors were awaiting the "fire!" command; and, as they finally received the (literal) green light, the unimaginable happen. The absurd occurred. The illogical became the actual. People literally started jumping out of the airplane. What.

One after the other, they dropped at the speed that water drips from a pipe before it turns into a thin, steady stream. Before I could fully understand what had occurred, the line was no more. The bench was beginning to empty. The plane circled back for its second pass.

Another group of soon-to-be paratroopers took center stage. After pausing in place for all of 60 seconds, a commander gave the first-in-line a slap on the shoulder and shouted kfotz! (jump!). Just like that, the tension was cracked like a whip and the plane become 16 soldiers lighter.

Pass number 3.

I counted the few friends sitting to my left and realized that I'd be number 7 in the next batch of jumpers. I calculated several more times, just to make sure, as if it would make any material difference whatsoever.

Once our fearless leader got the command to rise, we stood up the way that dominoes fall down—with the help of each other, and with no way to turn back. After carefully extending both legs, as if whispering to each one "don't fail me now," we turned towards the back of the aircraft, right hand on our reserve chute, left hand at forehead level clutching a bright yellow strap connected to a wobbly cable.

Before I could get a hold on reality, the first soldier in my line was energetically encouraged (pushed) out of the side entrance...or rather, exit. Watching him make that leap, however, got me no more in touch with reality. In fact, as I inched closer to the windy opening, I was taken over by a sensation that was as intense as it was absent. Just split seconds away from my departure, nothing in the world felt real; where I was, what I was doing, and what I was feeling utterly dissipated. At that moment, as my reality shut off, as far I was concerned, I didn't even exist. I was on the verge of acting in a way so contrary to what seemed to be real, that I could not fathom it was actually taking place.

The soldier in front of me disappeared. I rotated my body and turned off my consciousness. I stood face to face with the sky itself, and I jumped.

Imagine a leaf blower turned on to full blast. Now imagine two of them pointed at you as you struggle to open your eyes. Now, picture a thousand, supercharged leaf blowers focusing their attention on one, helpless little leaf as it unsuspectingly made its way earthward on a sunny morning. It was like getting hit by an air-tsunami.
Descending airborne troops
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I stepped into chaos. "21!" My legs were flung sideways as I tucked down my head and hugged my chest. "22!" I looked directly up and saw the plane zooming, already miles away. "23!" I began to realize I was falling. "24!" The parachute caught wind. "25" I watched it expand. "26" total silence.

The view was almost as unbelievable as my vantage point. It was bright. It was clear. There were thirteen human beings suspended before me in mid air. I saw not buildings but entire cities, not beaches but a coast. I belted as loud as I could and got a glimpse of one of my pal's smile from a couple dozen meters below. I was standing atop a sky scraper without cement, a platform without a ledge, and a mountain without any earth.

Somewhere between 0 and 100 meters from the ground, I braced for impact. Forearms hugging my helmet, and legs firmly pressed together, I scanned the sandy surface and approximated exactly where I'd make my mark.
Paratrooper jump
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Then, at a pace quicker than I had anticipated, I entered a height I recognized from our training—about 12 meters from the ground. I saw my dune with which I stood to be acquainted, and adjusted my body at a slight angle to facilitate my landing. Dividing the shock along my side— hitting my shins, thighs and then back—I made my landing. I finished by throwing my straightened legs to the opposite side, and ended in the shape of an "L," lying on a slight incline.

My parachute, however, was far from finished as it and a gust of wind tried going for round two. I appreciated the enthusiasm, but quickly rolled on my back and detached the 150sq meter tarp from my harness. Taking a double check to ensure my ankles were less than broken, I exhaled.
Israeli soldier of Partrooper's Brigade folds parachute
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I stood up as if having just landed on the moon, and yelled loud enough for my family to hear me back in Florida. I snapped a picture, packed up the chute, and trekked back to our meeting point where I high-fived just about everyone in sight. My friends and I debriefed, compared blurred recollections, and laughed at the absurdity of it all.

It was like we all had the same dream.

Before boarding the buses back to base, I experienced something that made me see my jump in an entirely new light.

Lined up behind a metal railing some 100 feet from us were the cheering parents, siblings and relatives of nearly all those who had taken their leap. Some had waited outside for over three hours. Not only had they waited, but they'd also brought restaurant-ordered food, cold drinks and endless snacks for everyone wearing green. One mom lugged two folding tables from home and set up a spread that made me wonder if another hundred paratroopers were on their way down. I was greeted and congratulated by dozens of people who I had never met, and was encouraged to take a bite from every cut up mango, gooey pastry and puffy bread roll. I watched my friends take pictures with parents who had pride bursting through their teeth. As I grabbed my final sesame-something, we were called back to board the buses.

I quickly relayed my shock and delight to my buddies sitting around me, each one carrying a leaning tower of home-cooked food. I told one of them how happy I was without my family even being there.

"That's what Tzahal is," he responded. "This country will do anything for its soldiers. It's normally expressed through parents, but it's true of everyone. That's Tzahal. That's Israel."

I smiled proudly and shook my head as if something were just too good to be true.

On the ride back to base, I studied his words—"That's Tzahal. That's Israel." I tilted the corner of my forehead against the window and sat in contemplation as if living in some movie. As we traveled by the most normal of Israeli houses, malls and farms, I began realizing that the morning's spotlight had been surely misdirected. While everyone in sight seemed obsessed with what we had just done, the truly remarkable aspect was to be found elsewhere.

It is not our jump that remains significant, but rather why we jumped that makes a difference. It is why we jump that matters.

We jump, we crawl, and we run for the very strip of land that caught us when we were falling. We lose sleep, march all night, and spend weeks away from home so that our families can sleep well, take walks, and eat dinner around the same table. The State of Israel itself on its own is an anomaly; but, the only thing more unbelievable than its existence is the unconditional, unbounded love and commitment that its people share for one another. Whether expressed through years of national service, countless, sincere Shabbat invitations, or schnitzel at the end of a military exercise, the Country carries with it an affirmation that those falling will eventually be caught, and that those jumping do not leap in vain.

Paratroopers: Not just jumping from planes:[youtube:2046516]Shown: Shiryon - Armored corps; Metzada & Duvdevan - Counter Terrorism units; Tzanhanim- Paratroopers

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Soldiers rappel down to attack from helicopter
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Parachute jumper over the sunset
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6. BEACH ASSAULT ON THREE ARABS
by Mordechai Sones

Police arrested a man suspected of involvement in an attack on three Israeli Arabs from Shfaram.

During the night, a 23-year-old man was arrested who allegedly took part in the incident.

One of those attacked, a doctor, told News 10 of the events - and claimed the incident was a nationalistic attack. According to him, before they were beaten, they were asked twice whether they were Arabs.

"We were on the beach," he said, "I and two other guys. One works as a registered nurse, the other works in a factory. It's a beach we go to almost every week. A young man with an iron bar approached us and asked us 'who are you?'" According to him, they told the young man to approach them because his question was unclear, and they told him to repeat his words.

"He asked us again, 'Are you Arabs?' We told him yes, so he went away and returned after a few minutes with his friends," he continued. "They were about seven or eight people and asked us again if we were Arabs, and when we said that we were they were beating us all over our bodies. For a moment I thought my friends were no longer alive from the beatings we'd received. They both lost consciousness. They had bruises on the head and body. They also had knives and iron chains, all that was needed for murder." He also said that two Jewish passersby were the ones who called the police and started treating the wounded.

Zionist Union Chairman Avi Gabbay spoke up: "Good citizens who wake up every morning and save lives go to the sea and undergo a shocking and painful attack, just because they are Arabs. I watched the pain in their testimony. I wish the racists who attacked them a long prison term."


7. WILL TRUMP ELIMINATE THE RIGHT OF RETURN?
by Arutz Sheva Staff

US President Donald Trump is expected to announce a new policy effectively canceling the Palestinian Authority (PA) Arabs' claim to the "Right of Return," News 2 reported.

According to the report, the new plan will include a number of steps aimed mostly at UNRWA, the United Nations (UN) agency for PA "refugees."

The report also said that the plan will go into effect in September, when the administration publicizes its policy, as well as a report regarding the number of refugees. According to the US, the true number of refugees stands at half a million, and not the five million UNRWA claims there are.

The Trump administration is also expected to announce funding cuts to UNRWA in Judea and Samaria, as well as its rejection of UNRWA's unique policy of allowing PA refugee status to be inherited.

Israel will be requested to rethink its policy of allowing UNRWA to operate in Judea and Samaria, since this permission would potentially allow Arab states to take over funding UNRWA in the area.

The US National Security Council responded that "the administration will announce its policy regarding UNRWA at the proper time."


8. FOR FIRST TIME IN 40 YEARS, CURE FOR ACUTE LEUKEMIA WITHIN REACH
by Arutz Sheva Staff

Acute myeloid leukemia is one of the most aggressive cancers. While other cancers have benefited from new treatments, there has been no encouraging news for most leukemia patients for the past 40 years. Until now.

According to an article published Friday in the scientific journal Cell, Professor Yinon Ben-Neriah and his research team at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU)'s Faculty of Medicine have developed a new biological drug with a cure rate of 50% for lab mice with acute leukemia.

Leukemia produce a variety (and a high quantity) of proteins which together provide leukemic cells with rapid growth and death protection from chemotherapy.

To date, most of the biological cancer drugs used to treat leukemia target only individual leukemic cell proteins. However, during "targeted therapy" treatments, leukemic cells quickly activate their other proteins to block the drug. The result is drug-resistant leukemic cells which quickly regrow and renew the disease.

However, the new drug developed by Ben-Neriah and his team functions like a cluster bomb. It attacks several leukemic proteins at once, making it difficult for the leukemia cells to activate other proteins that can evade the therapy. Further, this single molecule drug accomplishes the work of three or four separate drugs, reducing cancer patients' exposure to therapies and the necessity of dealing with their often unbearable side effects.

Additionally promising is the new drug's ability to eradicate leukemia stem cells. This has long been the big challenge in cancer therapy and is one of the main reasons that scientists have been unable to cure acute leukemia.

"We were thrilled to see such a dramatic change even after only a single dose of the new drug. Nearly all of the lab mice's leukemia signs disappeared overnight," shared professor Ben-Neriah.

BioTheryX recently bought the rights to this promising drug from HU's technology transfer company Yissum. Together with Ben-Neriah's research team, they are now applying for FDA approval for Phase I clinical studies.




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