A7News: American withdrawal from Syria begins

Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday



Friday, Jan. 11 '19, ה' בשבט תשע"ט





HEADLINES:
1. AMERICAN WITHDRAWAL FROM SYRIA BEGINS
2. EU GIVES NEARLY $1 MILLION TO MAP JEWISH CEMETERIES
3. TED CRUZ'S 'TALMUDIC BEARD' WINS RABBINIC APPROBATION
4. ADVERSITY: SPIRITUALLY UPLIFTING AND ARTISTICALLY INSPIRING
5. IDF NABS TERROR CELL RESPONSIBLE FOR SHABBAT SHOOTING ATTACK
6. DRONE FOOTAGE: JORDAN RIVER FLOWS ABUNDANTLY TO KINNERET
7. POP SENSATION WON'T PERFORM AT SHABBAT-DESECRATING EUROVISION
8. WATCH: 'THE REAL STORY'


1. AMERICAN WITHDRAWAL FROM SYRIA BEGINS
by David Rosenberg

American forces deployed in Syria have begun withdrawing from the war-torn country, an American military spokesman said Friday.

In December, President Donald Trump made a surprise announcement that the US would withdraw the roughly 2,000 soldiers it currently has deployed in Syria.

The president initially called for a 30-day timeframe to complete the pullout, but after meeting with South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, Trump agreed to delay completion of the withdrawal.

While no formal time-table for the pullout has been released, President Trump reportedly agreed to spread the pullout over four months.

On Friday, Colonel Sean J. Ryan, a spokesman for the US deployment in Syria, known as Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), said that the US-led coalition forces had already begun pulling out.

The US, Ryan said, "has begun the process of our deliberate withdrawal from Syria. Out of concern for operational security, we will not discuss specific timelines, locations or troop movements."

On Sunday, National Security Adviser John Bolton said during a visit to Jerusalem that the US may retain a presence at an enclave centered on the Al-Tanf airbase in southeast Syria even after the pullout.

Bolton also said the US would "condition" the pullout from Syria on specific objectives, including assurances that Kurdish forces in the north will be protected once Turkey takes control of northern Syria.

"There are objectives that we want to accomplish that condition the withdrawal," Bolton said, according to NBC.

"This is a cause and effect mission," Bolton added, telling reporters that the pullout was dependent on certain conditions, chief among them guarantees from Turkey that Kurdish militias in Syria would be protected.


2. EU GIVES NEARLY $1 MILLION TO MAP JEWISH CEMETERIES
by Cnaan Lipshiz, JTA

The European Union has awarded close to $1 million to a project that aims to map and survey at least 1,500 Jewish cemeteries in the continent's east.

The European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative, or ESJF, announced on Thursday its winning an EU tender affording it 800,000 euros, a sum equivalent to $922,000. Since the group's establishment in 2015 with a German government grant, it has helped protect over 120 Jewish cemeteries in seven Central and Eastern European countries.

The mapping process, to be undertaken using state-of-the-art technology specially designed for the project, involves engineering drones surveying and photographing the sites from the air, following an in-depth historical research process of centuries–old records across many countries and languages, ESJF said.

Around the cemeteries that ESJF maps and demarcates, the organization typically sets up perimeter fences that it says dramatically reduce the risk facing the site.

Eastern and Central Europe has well over 10,000 Jewish cemeteries in various degrees of risk.

"The aim of our unique and sacred mission is to rescue and preserve Jewish cemeteries, the resting place of our forefathers," said Rabbi Isaac Schapira, Founder and Chairman of the ESJF Board. "Today, there are many different threats to these cemeteries due to deterioration, vandalism and antisemitism, but also where they are threatened for financial reasons and expanding local city planning ordinances."


3. TED CRUZ'S 'TALMUDIC BEARD' WINS RABBINIC APPROBATION
by David Rosenberg

Texas Senator Ted Cruz is currently the only member of the US Senate with a beard, but he's taking criticism of his new facial hair in stride, citing the praise of an Israeli rabbi.

In mid-December, journalists on Capitol Hill noticed the senator had begun growing out his facial hair, quickly leading to friendly (and not-so-friendly) ribbing of Texas' junior senator.

By the time of his swearing-in for a second term in the US Senate last week, Cruz had grown out a full beard, making him the only sitting member the upper chamber of the US Congress with a beard.

Arkansas's junior senator, Tom Cotton, had sported a beard in early 2017, but later returned to the clean-shaven look.

On Wednesday, Cruz defended his beard, citing praise for it from an unnamed Israeli rabbi.

In a tweet, Cruz related a story from a friend studying in an Israeli yeshiva. A rabbi at the yeshiva, Cruz said, told his friend that the new beard gave the senator a "Talmudic" and "rabbinic" look.

"Pretty cool: A good friend is studying in Yeshiva in Israel," wrote Cruz.

"His rabbi told him he liked my beard, elaborating 'It gives Cruz a Talmudic & Rabbinic look & presence that will put the fear of the Lord into Israel's enemies & promote Middle East peace.' Wow. Perhaps a bit much..."


4. ADVERSITY: SPIRITUALLY UPLIFTING AND ARTISTICALLY INSPIRING
by Judy Simon

[audio:2002351]

How does a woman go through difficult trials, yet see them as building experiences?

When the Yom Kippur prayers really are a matter of life and death, how does one come out uplifted?

How do the building of a home, a bat mitzva, and a birth all connect to cancer?

Marci Wiesel is an artist who creates unique and beautiful papercuts inscribed with inspiring verses from Jewish sources. She made aliyah and in Israel continued creating beautiful and original artwork.

Two major trials rocked her family after aliyah, but Marci found the inner strength to maintain her faith and her optimism. One intense year, which included her husband's cancer diagnosis, ended in major changes within the lives of her whole family.

Marci describes what they went through with such dignity and spirituality, and how these trials took her art to a new level.

[קישורים:6:Radio]


5. IDF NABS TERROR CELL RESPONSIBLE FOR SHABBAT SHOOTING ATTACK
by Arutz Sheva Staff

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/257487

An Arab terror cell responsible for a shooting attack on an Israeli town south of Jerusalem last Saturday has been captured, the Israeli army revealed Friday morning.

Last Saturday, terrorists from the cell opened fire on the Israeli town of Migdal Oz in Gush Etzion. The terrorists had climbed onto the roof of a building in the village of Beit Fajjar south of Bethlehem and fired at homes in the nearby town of Migdal Oz.

No injuries or damage was reported in the attack.

According to an IDF spokesperson Friday, Israeli security personnel – including soldiers from the IDF's Etzion Brigade, Israel Police officers, and Shin Bet internal security agency personnel – conducted an investigation of the attack over the past week, culminating in the arrest of the cell members.

אחד הנשקים שנתפסו
צילום: דובר צה"ל
"Over the last week, IDF troops conducted a series of arrests in the area of the Etzion Regional Brigade, while Israel Police and ISA [Shin Bet] forces simultaneously investigated the shooting attack targeting Migdal Oz, southwest of Bethlehem that took place last week. The efforts ultimately led to the apprehension of the terror squad. The troops seized the weapons used in the shooting and apprehended the assailants, as well," the IDF spokesperson said.

"IDF field observers in the regional brigade's situation room spotted the suspects and alerted the troops, who arrived at the village and searched the area while investigations regarding the incident took place. Following the arrests made earlier in the week, the cell was caught and taken into custody."

"I identified a number of suspects climbing up on the roof on the outskirts of the village," said Cpl. Zamanay Tagnye, who spotted the suspects.

"A short while after, I realized that they possessed a weapon. I continued to monitor them and directed the troops to the scene."

Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Benny Kata, who led the arrest operation, praised the soldiers involved in the operation.

"Closing this circle was possible thanks to the field observers' professional work and the combat soldiers in the field. We will continue operating against anyone who aims to harm civilians in the area."


6. DRONE FOOTAGE: JORDAN RIVER FLOWS ABUNDANTLY TO KINNERET
by Arutz Sheva Staff

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/257450


7. POP SENSATION WON'T PERFORM AT SHABBAT-DESECRATING EUROVISION
by Tzvi Lev

Israeli pop star Omer Adam has refused to perform at this year's Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv due to fears that he would be forced to desecrate Shabbat.

Israel won the right to host Eurovision in 2019 after Netta Barzilai's victory in last year's edition of the song contest. Festival organizers had approached Adam, arguably Israel's most popular music star, and began negotiating for him to open the festivities.

Adam refused, however, after hearing that he would have to rehearse on Shabbat before the competition opened. "Omer Adam received an offer to participate in the Eurovision 2019. After a meeting between the parties, and in view of the fact that the general rehearsals take place during the Sabbath, Omer decided not to take part in the event," confirmed Adam's publicist.

Adam has consistently ranked among Israel's most popular singers but has been making waves in recent years for his increasingly religious lifestyle. While Adam was known to be traditional, his newfound observance of Jewish law first became prominent after he refused to perform at a music festival on Hanukkah in 2017 despite being offered 1 million shekels because he did not want to desecrate Shabbat.

Despite event organizers doubling his salary, Adam reportedly said that "no amount of money will ever cause me to violate Shabbat." A growing number of secular Israeli artists have announced their unwillingness to perform on Shabbat in recent years, including Yuval Dayan, Keren Peles, and Natan Goshen.



8. WATCH: 'THE REAL STORY'
by Arutz Sheva Staff

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/257462