A7News: Poll: Netanyahu, Gantz both falter in final pre-election survey

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Friday, Apr. 05 '19, כ"ט באדר ב תשע"ט





HEADLINES:
1. POLL: NETANYAHU, GANTZ BOTH FALTER IN FINAL PRE-ELECTION SURVEY
2. HOW DO YOU FLY A SPACESHIP ON SHABBAT?
3. 'I WAS TARGETED FOR SUPPORTING ISRAEL, OPPOSING OBAMA'
4. US CANCELS VISA OF INTERNATIONAL COURT'S CHIEF PROSECUTOR
5. '1 MILLION PALESTINIANS TO SETTLE IN JORDAN UNDER TRUMP PLAN'
6. AFTER 37 YEARS - BODY OF IDF MIA BROUGHT BACK TO ISRAEL
7. PUTIN GIVES NETANYAHU ISRAELI MIA'S BELONGINGS
8. DR. FIRED TWICE OVER 'GIVE THE JEWS THE WRONG MEDS' TWEETS


1. POLL: NETANYAHU, GANTZ BOTH FALTER IN FINAL PRE-ELECTION SURVEY
by David Rosenberg

The Blue and White party and the Likud remain in a virtual dead-heat as pollsters release their final pre-election polls on Friday, with a new survey showing both parties losing support to smaller factions.

According to the poll, conducted by veteran pollster Rafi Smith and published by Ma'ariv, the Blue and White party of Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid fell by two seats over the past week, receiving 28 seats, compared to 30 in the previous Smith poll.

The Likud also fell by two seats, dropping from 29 seats last Friday to 27, keeping the spread between the two parties down to a single seat.

The right-wing – religious bloc maintained its lead over the left-wing – Arab bloc, but saw its margin cut from 66 seats to 54 seats in last week's poll, to 64 seats for the right-religious bloc and 56 for the left-Arab bloc this Friday.

The Labour party remains the third largest faction in the new poll, with nine seats, an increase of one seat compared to last week's poll.

The far-left Meretz remained stable at five, while the center-left Gesher party won four seats, after failing to cross the threshold in last week's survey.

Among the two Arab tickets, the Hadash-Ta'al list would win six seats – down from seven last week – while the United Arab List-Balad remained steady at four seats.

On the Right, Naftali Bennett's New Right part would win five seats if new elections were held today, down from seven seats in last week's poll.

The Union of Right-Wing Parties, a merger of the Jewish Home, National Union, and Otzma Yehudit factions, remained stable at six seats.

The center-right Kulanu rose from four seats in last week's poll to five, as did Yisrael Beytenu.

The libertarian-leaning Zehut party of ex-Likud MK Moshe Feiglin remained stable at four seats.

The two haredi factions, United Torah Judaism and Shas, remained stable with six seats each.
Results for the previous Smith poll in parentheses:

Blue and White: 28 (30)
Likud 27 (29)
Labor: 9 (8)
Union of Right-Wing Parties: 6 (6)
UTJ: 6 (6)
Shas: 6 (6)
Hadash/Ta'al: 6 (7)
New Right: 5 (6)
Meretz: 5 (5)
Kulanu: 5 (4)
Yisrael Beytenu: 5 (4)
Zehut: 4 (4)
UAL-Balad: 4 (4)
Gesher: 4 (0)


2. HOW DO YOU FLY A SPACESHIP ON SHABBAT?
by Yoni Kempinski

It's Shabbat eve for the Beresheet lunar lander, Israel's first spacecraft, which is on track to land on the moon on April 11. How will the first Jewish spacecraft be operated on Shabbat without violating Jewish law?

Arutz Sheva interviewed staff members of Beresheet who are involved in the research, consultation and technology needed to minimize the violation of Shabbat while simultaneously ensuring the continued safety of the spacecraft

According to Beresheet system engineer, Ariel Gomez, the staff consulted their advisor on Jewish law, Rabbi Shraga Dahan, on how to operate the Beresheet on Shabbat. Furthermore, all their Shabbat procedures to maintain Beresheet have been approved by the chief rabbi of Israel.

"The head of staff of Beresheet is a Chabad chassid and avoiding the violation of Shabbat is very important to him," Gomez said. "The launch of Beresheet itself was pushed back to Thursday so it wouldn't take place on Shabbat. In fact, in our contract with the American company, there's a clause that the launch won't take place on Shabbat."

"The chief of staff wants to connect all sectors of the Jewish people. We see Beresheet's mission as a mission of the entire Jewish people and therefore it's very important to us that there won't be any procedures on Shabbat there were not approved by the chief rabbi. We used technological innovations designed for us by Machon Lev (Jerusalem College of Technology) and approved by the chief rabbi. Machon Lev provided us with keyboards and mice which can be operated through a Grama (an indirect action which involves a less serious violation of Shabbat). Additionally, we instructed the staff to do only what is strictly necessary to ensure the safety of Beresheet on Shabbat and no more."

Rabbi Shraga Dahan said that "working with the staff of Beresheet has been a wonderful experience. I feel as I'm dealing with heavenly matters in the double meaning of the word. When I see the Jewish people involved with the Beresheet, it fills me with meaning. We were able to successfully adjust the environment to suit the lifestyle of each staff member involved with Beresheet. We can truly be proud of the Jewish nation."


3. 'I WAS TARGETED FOR SUPPORTING ISRAEL, OPPOSING OBAMA'
by Arutz Sheva Staff

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261440

An advisor to the 2016 Trump campaign who was arrested and convicted as part of the Mueller investigation into allegations of collusion with the Russian government says he was targeted by the investigation for his support for Israel, including his work challenging the Obama administration's Middle East policy.

George Papadopoulos, the 31-year-old consultant who worked as a policy advisor for President Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, said in an interview with the One America News Network Wednesday that he came into the Mueller investigation's sights not because of any allegations of collusion with the Russian government, but rather because of his support for Israel.

"The targeting on me had to do with my ties to Israel, not to Russia," said Papadopoulos, who claimed that he had been targeted over his support for Israel, and opposition to the Obama administration's Middle East policies, even before the Mueller investigation was launched.

"I was working at the Hudson Institute in Washington D.C., where we were promoting an agenda, it was a conservative think tank at a time when the Obama administration was in power, we were promoting an agenda that was anathema to what the Obama administration wanted done, in terms of U.S. security and U.S. energy policy in that part of the world."

"There are many various U.S. State Department officials who are coming into my life to threaten me. Why are you working on these deals? Why are you at this conference? You shouldn't be advising the president or the candidate about your particular ideas…What are you up to in the Middle East? How do you have these contacts? And what are you advising the campaign about?"

While Papadopoulos ended up pleading guilty to making false statements to the FBI in 2017, resulting in a 14-day prison term and $9,500 fine, the former Trump campaign advisor says the Mueller investigation had sought to charge him with acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign country, citing his pro-Israel positions.

"They wanted to charge me for acting as an unregistered agent of Israel. I just happened to be an advisor to two presidential campaigns who had extremely high connections not only in Israel, but in that part of the world."

In March, Papadopoulos also denied having any contacts with Russian officials – despite allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia being at the heart of the Mueller investigation.

"I never met a single Russian official in my entire life. Even on the Trump campaign. All the characters in my story that were described falsely by the FBI and Bob Mueller to be Russians were, in fact, Western intelligence operatives that were sent to try to sabotage the Trump campaign."

He said that the real reason he was targeted was for his connections with Israel.

"That's actually the key of my case. What I was really targeted for by the Mueller team and these individuals had nothing to do with Russia. It had to do with my work in Israel, my work as an energy lobbyist."


4. US CANCELS VISA OF INTERNATIONAL COURT'S CHIEF PROSECUTOR
by Arutz Sheva Staff

The United States has imposed a visa ban on Fatou Bensouda, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) due to her investigations of alleged war crimes by Americans, Bensouda's office announced on Friday.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned last month that the US would revoke entry visas for members of the Hague who investigate possible war crimes by US forces in Afghanistan.

"I am announcing a policy on those individuals directly responsible for any ICC investigations of US personnel," Pompeo said. "This includes persons who take or have taken action to request or further such an investigation."

Bensouda, an African-born Muslim from Gambia who had been the prosecutor since 2012 is the first member to be sanctioned by the US.

"We can confirm that the US authorities have revoked the Prosecutor's visa for entry into the US," Bensouda's office wrote in a statement. "It is our understanding that should not have an impact on the Prosecutor's travel to the US to meet her obligations to the UN, including regular briefings before the UN Security Council.

"The Office of the Prosecutor has an independent and impartial mandate under the Rome Statute of the ICC. The Prosecutor and her Office will continue to undertake that statutory duty with utmost commitment and professionalism, without fear or favor."


5. '1 MILLION PALESTINIANS TO SETTLE IN JORDAN UNDER TRUMP PLAN'
by David Rosenberg

A report released Friday morning claims that the soon-to-be released Middle East peace plan drawn up by the Trump administration – dubbed the "Deal of the Century" – includes large-scale resettlement of Palestinian Arabs in Jordan, the ceding of Jordanian territory to Israel, and the formation of a tripartite confederation between Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and Israel's Civil Administration to administer Judea and Samaria.

According to the report, published by the Beirut-based Al-Akhbar, sources in Jordan and Egypt say that the much-anticipated peace plan would include a broad regional agreement, with a number of Arab states taking an active role in the deal.

Jordan, for instance, will be asked to permanently settle one million Palestinian Arabs currently listed as refugees. Under the plan, according to the Al-Akhbar report, Jordan would first naturalize 300,000 Palestinian Arabs, including those already living in Jordan, which the report said number no more than 200,000.

Details regarding the present location of the remaining 800,000 were not provided in the report.

Similarly, Lebanon will be urged to grant citizenship to all Palestinian Arabs currently living in the country. The roughly 450,000 Palestinian Arabs in Lebanon have largely been denied citizenship by the Lebanese government, which has restricted their rights since their entry in 1948.

Aside from taking in Palestinian Arabs, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan will also be asked to cede to Israel two areas currently leased by the Jewish state.

Naharayim (Al-Baqoura), which straddles the border between northern Israel and northern Jordan, and Tzofar (Al-Ghamr), adjacent to the Arava district of Israel, were leased to Israel following the Israel-Jordan peace treaty in 1994.

Last year, however, Jordan's King Abdullah announced that he would not extend the least for another 25-year period, leaving Israeli farmers who use the sites uncertain of their future access to the areas.

According to Friday's report, both Naharayim and Tzofar would be ceded to Israel.

In exchange for Jordan's cooperation, the Hashemite Kingdom would be compensated to the tune of roughly $45 billion dollars in foreign grants and funding for various projects. In addition, Saudi Arabia would cede to Jordan territory along the Saudi-Jordanian border roughly equivalent in size to Naharayim and Tzofar.

Jordan would also be asked to form a tripartite confederation with the Palestinian Authority and Israeli Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria, the report claimed – a request Jordan has expressed concerns about.

Egypt would also play a major role in the peace deal, the report claimed, citing Egyptian sources which said American officials have floated the idea of opening up large swathes of the Sinai Peninsula near the Gaza Strip for the establishment of industrial zones for Gaza's burgeoning population.

While the territories in question would not be annexed to Gaza under the Trump plan, according to the report, Egypt would grant Gazan workers expanded access to portions of the northeastern Sinai.

In exchange – and as part of the effort to develop the industrial zones – Egypt would receive some $65 billion in foreign grants and payments for projects in northern Sinai.


6. AFTER 37 YEARS - BODY OF IDF MIA BROUGHT BACK TO ISRAEL
by Arutz Sheva Staff

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261349

Thirty-seven years after the Battle of Sultan Yaqub during the Lebanon War, the body of one of the MIA IDF soldiers has been returned to Israel.

A special team of the IDF headed by the head of the manpower division, Major General Moti Almoz, informed the Baumel family Wednesday that the body of their loved one, Sergeant Zachary Baumel, who has been missing since the battle of Sultan Yaqub in the summer of 1982, was found, brought to Israel and identified.

Sergeant Baumel was clearly identified at the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir, as well as by the Chief Military Rabbi, Brigadier General Eyal Krim.

The IDF Spokesperson stated that "the IDF is committed to continuing efforts to locate [other MIAs from the Battle of Sultan Yaqub] Sergeant Major Yehuda Katz, Sergeant Tzvika Feldman and all the missing IDF soldiers whose burial place is unknown. The Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi, IDF commanders and soldiers, embrace all the families, including families Baumel, Feldman and Katz in these complex moments."

Details of the funeral ceremony will also be given when decided.

Zachary Baumel immigrated with his parents to Israel from Brooklyn, New York in 1970, later joining a Hesder military unit combining combat service with yeshiva study.

He had nearly completed his service when he was called up to serve in the Lebanon War. On June 11, 1982, he was sent into battle with his comrades near the Lebanese village of Sultan Yaqub.

At least 20 Israelis were killed in the battle and 30 wounded, with 3 MIAs: Baumel and fellow soldiers Tzvi Feldman and Yehuda Katz, who are still missing.

After Zachary went missing, his parents, Miriam and Yonah, traveled the world seeking any information they could find about their son, eventually becoming an address for the parents of other MIAs seeking help in the search for their own children.

Zachary's father, Yonah, passed away 7 years ago. His mother is now in her eighties and lives close to his sister, Osnat.


7. PUTIN GIVES NETANYAHU ISRAELI MIA'S BELONGINGS
by Arutz Sheva Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended an official ceremony of the Russian Ministry of Defense on Thursday afternoon, during which the remaining items belonging to the late Zachary Baumel were handed over to the prime minister.

Among the objects delivered were Baumel's tank suit and military boots. The ceremony was attended by Chief of Staff of the Russian Army Valery Gerasimov.

Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked the Russian defense establishment. "Thank you very much, sir, thank you again to President Putin and the Defense Ministry of Russia. This exciting day and ceremony are another expression of the special connection between the Russian people and the Jewish people."

"We never forget the enormous sacrifice of the Russian people and the Red Army to save humanity and save the Jewish people from the Nazi monster. Hundreds of thousands of Jews fought valiantly in the service of the Red Army and many of them we know in Israel are still bearing medals, and many others helped establish the Israel Defense Forces," Netanyahu added.

"It is therefore heartwarming to see the partnership of values, respect for soldiers, brotherhood of soldiers, camaraderie of soldiers, and the important principle that no one is left behind," added the prime minister.

"I want to thank you, sir, on behalf of the people of Israel, on behalf of the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces and on behalf of all the fathers and mothers of our soldiers," Netanyahu concluded.

During the ceremony, a mourning song was played by the Russian defense ministry band. At the end of the ceremony an Israeli flag placed on a coffin bearing the items was folded by the Guard of Honor and given to the prime minister.


8. DR. FIRED TWICE OVER 'GIVE THE JEWS THE WRONG MEDS' TWEETS
by Marcy Oster/JTA

Dr. Lara Kollab, who was fired from her residency at the Cleveland Clinic after old anti-Semitic tweets surfaced, was accepted to a residency program in California and then fired from it.

Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield, California, said in a statement dated Monday that it notified Kollab on March 15 that her position as a first-year internal medicine resident was withdrawn effective immediately.

"Dr. Kollab submitted information that was false, misleading, and incomplete to Kern Medical during the interview and match process," the statement said.

The statement continued: "Kern Medical is dedicated to the health and wellbeing of our patients and expects the highest level of integrity and compassion from our staff. We value that a key part of our mission is to teach and train our resident physicians to always provide exceptional care to all patients, regardless of race, religious background or social standing."

Kollab wrote scores of anti-Semitic social media posts between 2011 to 2017, which she said in an apology after they publicly resurfaced were written because she had "difficulty constructively expressing my intense feelings about what I witnessed in my ancestral land," following visits to Israel and the West Bank.

Among the posts that got the most attention was a tweet from 2012, when she was a medical student, which said: "hahha ewww.. ill purposely give all the yahood [Jews] the wrong meds…." Kollab graduated from the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in New York, which calls itself "the largest private university in the U.S. with Jewish roots."

She worked for the Cleveland Clinic from July 2018 to September 2018. The Clinic said it fired her over the social media post that threatened Jewish patients.

The tweets resurfaced through the Canary Mission, a website that hosts dossiers on anti-Israel student activists, professors and organizations, focusing on North American universities.