Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
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Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
Friday, Jan. 25 '19, י"ט בשבט תשע"ט
HEADLINES:
1. ROSEANNE BARR VISITS SAMARIA, LAUDS SETTLERS
2. WATCH: DICHTER 'INFILTRATES' RAMALLAH, MEETS WITH MAHMOUD ABBAS
3. ISRAEL EXCORIATES IRISH AMBASSADOR OVER 'ANTI-SEMITIC' BILL
4. UNITED JEWISH APPEAL TO LEND MONEY TO UNPAID FEDERAL WORKERS
5. HAMAS THREATENS ISRAEL AS IDF PREPARES FOR NEW CLASHES
6. WHY WAS JEWISH FAMILY KICKED OFF AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT?
7. REPORT: HAMAS REFUSES QATARI MONEY
8. REGEV EXULTS AS CONTROVERSIAL THEATER MAY BE SHUTTERED
1. ROSEANNE BARR VISITS SAMARIA, LAUDS SETTLERS
by Arutz Sheva Staff
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/258146
Actress and comedian Roseanne Barr and Rabbi Shmuely Boteach visited Samaria Friday morning, planting trees and meeting with settlement leaders as the pair kick off a campaign to combat anti-Israel boycotts.
Barr, 66, met with Samaria Regional Council chief Yossi Dagan outside of the Israeli town of Peduel in Samaria, where she helped plant trees in honor of the recent Tu B'Shvat holiday earlier this week.
During her visit, Barr praised the local settlers, calling them Israel's "front line".
"You are pioneers. The people of Samaria are standing on the front line of the State of Israel."
Rabbi Boteach echoed Barr's sentiment, saying "The people who live here are heroes, they are pioneers who live here despite the difficulties, and thanks to them, the settlements have expanded and grown stronger."
Dagan thanked Barr for her efforts to combat the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS).
"It is so nice to meet someone like you, who is fighting unceasingly for the truth despite the price that you have paid for your bravery."
When Dagan explained that the BDS campaign, which seeks to isolate Israel diplomatically, economically, and culturally from the world to punish it for Israel's continued presence in Judea and Samaria, harms businesses which employ both Jews and Palestinian Arabs, Roseanne said efforts to boycott Israel are aimed at curtailing coexistence between Jews and Arabs.
"BDS is against coexistence, it's their enemy. They prefer war, and to collect money."
2. WATCH: DICHTER 'INFILTRATES' RAMALLAH, MEETS WITH MAHMOUD ABBAS
by Tzvi Lev
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/258110
Likud lawmaker Avi Dichter appears to have gone back to his days as an officer in Israel's Shin Bet internal security agency.
A former head of the Shin Bet, Dichter showed off his fluent Arabic in a new campaign video he released on Thursday that highlighted his successful efforts to pass a law punishing the PA for payments to terrorists.
In the clip, Dichter is seen donning a fake mustache and Kaffiya in order to go undercover as a Palestinian in Ramallah, where he meets with who is ostensibly PA President Mahmoud Abbas. Dichter asks Abbas where he can find employment for his son, to which Abbas answers that he can become a terrorist and merit monthly payments from the PA.
The PA leader then shows Dichter the various levels of compensation terrorists who killed Jews are entitled to. "Your salary goes according to the years you spent in jail." 'Mahmoud Abbas' tells Dichter. "The wall's have ears. The [fun and games] are over " responds Dichter. "What did you think, that you would continue to pay salaries to terrorists while the State of Israel continues napping?"
Dichter then goes on to exult in his success in passing the 'Pay to Slay Law', which enables the Israeli government to withhold tax funds to the Palestinian Authority as long as the PA continues to pay salaries to terrorists who attacked Israeli citizens.
The bill, which was co-sponsored by Dichter and Yesh Atid MK Elazar Stern, passed in its second and third readings in July by a vote of 87-15.
3. ISRAEL EXCORIATES IRISH AMBASSADOR OVER 'ANTI-SEMITIC' BILL
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Israeli foreign ministry officials excoriated Ireland's backing for a bill banning business ties with Jews in Judea, Samaria, and parts of Jerusalem, delivering a sharp reprimand to the Irish ambassador to Israel.
"It was made clear to the ambassador that this hypocritical and anti-Semitic legislation will have serious consequences for Israeli-Irish relations and [Ireland's] standing in the region if [the bill] is advanced," the Israeli Foreign Ministry said Friday.
"It would be better if Ireland confronted dictators and evil terrorist groups instead of [attacking] Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East."
On Thursday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the Israeli Foreign Ministry said that Alison Kelly, Ireland's ambassador to the Jewish state, had been summoned for a formal reprimand.
"It is disturbing and disappointing that the initiators of Irish law focus on a hypocritical attack on Israel, rather than focusing on the dictatorships that slaughter their citizens," Israel's Foreign Ministry said Thursday. "This is a clear expression of obsessive discrimination that should be rejected with disgust."
The summons came in response to the Irish parliament's preliminary approval for a boycott law which would criminalize commercial ties with businesses operating in Israeli towns over the pre-1967 Green Line. Violators could face up to five years in prison and as well as fines, if the law receives final approval.
4. UNITED JEWISH APPEAL TO LEND MONEY TO UNPAID FEDERAL WORKERS
by Canaan Liphshiz, JTA
The UJA-Federation of New York has allocated $5 million toward interest-free loans to federal employees who have been furloughed or are working without pay because of the government shutdown.
The Jewish charity announced the move Tuesday, saying in a statement that the money will be distributed by the Hebrew Free Loan Society, or HLFS, to applicants who reside in New York City, Westchester, Nassau, and Suffolk Counties and who earn $40,000 or less annually. The loans are to cover expenses for employees who are not receiving a salary because of the shutdown.
Some 18,000 federal employees work at affected agencies in New York City according to the office of Mayor Bill de Blasio, the statement said.
Applicants can download forms on the HLFS website.
Some 800,000 federal employees are not being paid due to the government shutdown that started on Dec. 22 after President Donald Trump and the Democrats failed to reach a deal on whether to fund a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
"Today, it's clear that federal workers in our area are in financial distress because of the shutdown. We hope this loan program will alleviate some of the stress and worry for these individuals and their families," said Eric S. Goldstein, CEO of UJA-Federation of New York.
Earlier this month, HLFS approved an emergency program to provide loans of up to $2,000 per household to affected Jews living in the Washington, D.C., area.
5. HAMAS THREATENS ISRAEL AS IDF PREPARES FOR NEW CLASHES
by David Rosenberg
The Hamas terror organization threatened Israel on Friday, vowing to confront the Jewish state and "immediately retaliate" as a standoff over foreign funds to the Gaza Strip continues.
Senior Hamas officials told the Al-Akhbar Lebanese news outlet Friday that it had a "threatening message" for Israel, warning that it would "immediately retaliate" to an Israeli "aggression", warning that its response would be "even greater than" the last major confrontation - referring to attacks in November of last year.
Hamas also demanded that Israel drop the conditions it placed on the transfer of Qatari funds to Gaza, including Israel's ban on payments to Hamas terrorists.
Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas leader, told Al-Akhbar the terror group had rejected the Qatari money transfer Thursday because of limitations placed on the payment by Israel.
Al-Hayya says Hamas explained "our position" to Qatari officials on why it had "rejected the payment, because of conditions set by the Israeli occupation."
The Gaza-based terror group has demanded that the amount permitted to be transferred from Qatar be increased from $15 million to $22 million, and that payments be allowed to known Hamas terrorists. Israel has conditioned the Qatari money transfers on the pledge that no funds be transferred to Hamas terrorists.
In November, terrorists operating out of the Gaza Strip fired hundreds of rockets at Israel, prompting the IDF to respond with a targeted air campaign against Hamas positions in the Strip. The two-day escalation left two dead and nearly 60 injured on the Israeli side, and marked the worst violence between Israel and Gaza since August 2014.
Hamas has accused Israel of 'escalating' the conflict this week, when a special prison guard unit made a surprise inspection of terrorists' cells at an Israeli prison west of Jerusalem.
After prison guards found weapons, cell phones, and other forbidden items in the prisoners' cells, dozens of terrorists held at Ofer prison rioted, lighting fires in the facility and injuring two guards.
On Tuesday, Hamas terrorists opened fire on Israeli soldiers along the Israel-Gaza border, claiming the attacks were "retaliations" for the Israeli Prison Service's crackdown on contraband at Ofer prison. One IDF soldier was lightly injured in the sniper attacks. Israeli forces opened fire on the sniper, killing him.
In response to the shootings, Israel halted the transfer of $15 million from the Gulf Arab state of Qatar to the Gaza Strip.
In addition, the IDF struck a Hamas training camp in the coastal enclave.
Since then, however, Israel has approved the transfer of the Qatari funds to Gaza in a bid to de-escalate the conflict with Hamas, which has been unable to cover payments to tens of thousands of employees in the Gaza Strip after the Palestinian Authority cut funding to the coastal enclave.
On Thursday, it was reported that Hamas had refused to accept the new payment from Qatar, despite approval from Israel.
Given Hamas' refusal to accept the Qatari money transfer, the IDF estimates that this Friday's riots on the Israel-Gaza border will be larger and more intense.
With Hamas signaling its willingness to further escalate tensions with Israel, the Israeli security establishment has also beefed up anti-missile defenses, including the deployment of an Iron Dome anti-missile system in Gush Dan in central Israel.
6. WHY WAS JEWISH FAMILY KICKED OFF AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT?
by David Rosenberg
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/258138
An Orthodox Jewish family was ordered off of an American Airlines flight earlier this week, leaving them stranded without their luggage, baby stroller, or child car seat.
Yossi Adler, 36, his wife Jennie, and their 19-month old daughter had been vacationing in Miami, Florida this past week, and were scheduled to fly back to Detroit Wednesday night on an American Airlines flight.
After being seated on the plane, the family was suddenly ordered off and escorted back to the gate, with no explanation offered.
Once they had been taken back to the gate, ABC's Local 10 News in Miami reports, American Airlines staff closed the gate and informed the Adlers that they would not be permitted back on the plane.
At this point, the Adlers were finally given an explanation for their removal from the flight – fellow passengers had apparently complained of a foul smell from the family.
"All of a sudden, as soon as they took us off, they closed the gate and then they said, 'Sorry, sir, some people complained you had body odor and we're not letting you back on,'" Yossi Adler said.
"There's no body odor that we have. There's nothing wrong with us."
To add insult to injury, the family was left in Miami without their luggage, baby stroller, or child safety seat – despite promises from the airline that their luggage and other items would be removed from the plane before takeoff.
"They have our car seat, stroller, everything," Jennie Adler said.
A spokesperson for American Airlines confirmed to Local 10 that the Adlers had been ejected from the flight over their "body odor".
"Mr. Adler and his wife were removed from the flight when several passengers complained about their body odor. They have been booked into a hotel for the night and given meal vouchers. They have been rebooked on a flight Thursday."
But the Adlers aren't buying the airline's story.
"I want them to own up to what really happened and to tell me the truth," Yossi Adler said. "What was it?"
On Thursday, the couple boarded a second flight, and returned to Detroit without incident.
The Adlers say that after their arrival in Detroit, they were reunited with their luggage, stroller, and child safety seat which had been left on the first flight.
7. REPORT: HAMAS REFUSES QATARI MONEY
by Gary Willig
The Hamas deputy leader in Gaza announced that the organization's leadership met with a Qatari envoy in the Gaza Strip and informed him that they refused to accept the third round of Qatari money, Arab media reported.
"We will not turn Gaza into an area for managing elections in Israel," senior Hamas officials told the Qatari envoy.
The Hamas statement comes shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the Security Cabinet approved the transfer of the $15 million from Qatar to Hamas in Gaza.
Israel had halted the money transfer on Tuesday following the shooting of an IDF soldier by a terrorist from Gaza. The soldier was lightly injured.
Israel has already allowed two installments of Qatari money to enter Gaza, which is used for the payment of Hamas employees in Gaza.
On Wednesday evening, it was reported that the defense establishment recommended that the $15 million be given to Hamas in order to calm tensions between the two sides. Senior security officials also said during the cabinet meeting that the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization was responsible for shooting the IDF officer and not Hamas.
They also claimed that the Hamas terrorist organization has refrained from creating provocations against Israel in recent days.
8. REGEV EXULTS AS CONTROVERSIAL THEATER MAY BE SHUTTERED
by Tzvi Lev
Culture Minister Miri Regev came out in support of Israel's NGO Registrar after it reportedly recommended that Haifa's controversial Al-Midan theater be shuttered due to financial irregularities.
"I am proud of the decision of the NGO Registrar, which supports my viewpoint, and I am waiting for the closure of Midan and the opening of a genuine Arab theater that is loyal to the State of Israel and its values and symbols," said Regev in a video she released.
Reports on Wednesday said that the NGO Registrar had informed the Al-Midan Theater in Haifa that an investigation into theater file had been transferred to the Ministry of Justice's enforcement and control unit, which would consider dismantling the non-profit which manages Al-Midan.
The Al-Midan theater in Haifa has been criticized in the past for hosting plays glorifying "the Palestinian struggle" against Israel, including a play adapted from the writings of a terrorist murderer responsible for the gruesome killing of IDF soldier Moshe Tamam in August 1984.
Tamam, 19, was hitchhiking when he was abducted by a terror cell which included Israeli-Arabs. Tamam's remains were later found after he had been tortured to death and his body severely mutilated.
Al-Midan, which was established in 1994 in cooperation with the Rabin government's Education Ministry, sparked controversy in 2014 when it began running the play "A Parallel Time", adapted from the writings of Tamam's murderer Walid Daka.
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/258097
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