A7News: Suspicion: Sri Lanka attacks were retaliation for Christchurch

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



Tuesday, Apr. 23 '19, י"ח בניסן תשע"ט





HEADLINES:
1. SUSPICION: SRI LANKA ATTACKS WERE RETALIATION FOR CHRISTCHURCH
2. WATCH: HAREDI MAN ATTACKED IN LONDON
3. FROM NEXT MONTH: AMERICAN INVESTORS TO BE ABLE TO WORK IN ISRAEL
4. PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY: WE'LL RETRACT RECOGNITION OF ISRAEL
5. LIKUD MK: GIVING SMOTRICH JUSTICE MINISTRY 'NOT AN OPTION'
6. COMEDIAN: 'IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT GET OUT OF THE OVEN'
7. WATCH: TENS OF THOUSANDS ATTEND PRIESTLY BLESSING
8. WATCH LIVE: THOUSANDS CELEBRATE PASSOVER IN HEVRON


1. SUSPICION: SRI LANKA ATTACKS WERE RETALIATION FOR CHRISTCHURCH
by Arutz Sheva Staff

Seven suicide attacks in Sri Lanka may have been a response to last month's mass shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, Sri Lanka's Defense Minister Ruwan Wijewardene said Tuesday.

Speaking to Parliament, Wijewardene said intelligence has shown that the attacks "were carried out in retaliation for the attack against Muslims in Christchurch." He also said the death toll had climbed to 321, including 8 foreigners.

According to This Insider, an additional 375 victims are still hospitalized.

One of the terrorists involved had begun posting "extremist content" on social media following the March shootings, which killed 50 people.

According to The Guardian, however, terror experts believe that the attacks were the result of "months" of preparation which would have included both testing the explosives and conditioning the suicide bombers.


2. WATCH: HAREDI MAN ATTACKED IN LONDON
by Arutz Sheva Staff

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262199

An attack on a Jewish man on the streets of London was caught in a dashcam video.

In the video, a man can seen chasing another man in haredi garb. The attacker held a rod in his hand as he chased the victim.

The attack occurred outside a synagogue in the Stamford Hill neighborhood.

The director of the North London Jewish community said that there was "no doubt" that the attack was anti-Semitic in nature and that there has been an increase in anti-Semitic attacks in Stamford Hill recently.

"The crimes against the Jewish community have increased recently and this is only one of many incidents, and we promise to increase the sense of security through security patrols."

The Jewish community also demanded that the London police increase its vigilance in response to the increase in anti-Semitisc incidents.


3. FROM NEXT MONTH: AMERICAN INVESTORS TO BE ABLE TO WORK IN ISRAEL
by Arutz Sheva Staff


US citizens interested in opening or running business enterprises in Israel will be eligible to apply to be temporary residents in Israel.

The eligibility extends to their employees and family members.

Those interested in applying can submit their request to the Consul at the Israeli Embassy in Washington or the Consulates in New York, Houston, and San Francisco. The request will be examined by an interoffice committee, which will submit its recommendation to Israel's Interior Ministry for approval.

Likewise, Israelis looking to develop, direct, or provide specialized skills to an enterprise in which the owner has invested a substantial amount of capital will be able to apply for the temporary (nonimmigrant) E-2 visa.

"This is important news for businesses and companies," Israel's Foreign Ministry said. "The investor visas in both countries will make things easier for investors and encourage economic activity between the two countries."

The new visas will go into effect on May 1, 2019.



4. PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY: WE'LL RETRACT RECOGNITION OF ISRAEL
by Arutz Sheva Staff

Palestinian Authority (PA) Vice Chairman Mahmoud Aloul on Monday said that if Israel continues freezing tax funds, the PA will cease security coordination with Israel and retract its recognition of the State of Israel, Israel Hayom reported.

Israel's cabinet in February approved the implementation of the freeze on funds to the Palestinian Authority. The law, which passed in July 2018 with a majority of 87 Knesset members, offset 502,697,000 shekels ($138,426,818) from funds transferred from Israel to the PA.

Last month, PA employees received 50% of their salaries, while terrorists and their families continued to receive their salaries as usual.

"The leadership plans to retract recognition of Israel and cease coordination on security matters with the occupation's forces," Aloul told the Shehab news agency.

Aloul also blamed the US for the situation, saying that "the American government decided to escalate matters in the area after transferring its Embassy to Jerusalem, and it actively encourages the Israeli settlement enterprise. Right now, Israel is planning to annex parts of the West Bank."

"Due to these events, the status quo we relied on for our relationship may disappear soon. The leadership is expected to announce that we will not accept the situation continuing as it is, and we will soon announce drastic measures."

Aloul also said that the leaders of Arab countries, including Turkey, are planning the next steps together with Abbas.

Abbas, he said, plans to meet the leaders of Muslim and African countries in order to garner support for his next steps.



5. LIKUD MK: GIVING SMOTRICH JUSTICE MINISTRY 'NOT AN OPTION'
by Hezki Baruch

United Right MK Bezalel Smotrich would not be a good choice for Justice Minister, Likud MK David Bitan told Channel 12.

Smotrich has demanded both the Justice and Education ministries for his party, as well as annexation of Judea and Samaria's Jewish areas.

"The Justice Ministry for Smotrich? It's not even an option. I've said that he's going to be very problematic to negotiate with, as well as in managing the coalition. He insists on things and doesn't let up," Bitan said.

"I was Coalition Chairman and I had a lot of problems with him. So today when he heads a party, we're going to have a lot of problems with him. It'll be tough with him. Demands have a limit as well and you'll see he won't back down from his demands, it's going to be really hard for him."

Bitan also pointed out that the Justice Minister is responsible for the Ministerial Committee for Legislation. This, he said, is one more reason not to give Smotrich the Justice Ministry.

"If we look at the reforms in the court, what's important is who heads the Ministerial Committee for Legislation. That's the Knesset's and government's barometer for cooperation. We can't give it to Smotrich, it needs to remain with the Likud, we can't give it up."

When asked whether Smotrich would end up outside the coalition, Bitan said: "There will be a coalition, and he'll be in it, there's nothing to worry about. Now we're arguing over the price. There are prices the Likud can pay and there are prices the Likud cannot pay."


6. COMEDIAN: 'IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT GET OUT OF THE OVEN'
by Henry Benjamin, JTA

Here's a stand-up comedian's email response to an email complaint about his material involving Nazi gas chambers: "If you can't stand the heat get out of the oven."

Isaac Butterfield had asked his audience at the Melbourne Comedy Festival in Australia to "imagine the joy of people when they heard the Jews were sent to the gas chambers," the city's Herald Sun newspaper reported.

A Jewish woman who was in the audience wrote to the comedian.

"Sitting there hearing about Jews being gassed, eight million perished including children, watching family members being gassed or tortured or shot, is not remotely funny," her email said.

Anti-Defamation Commission Chairman Dvir Abramovich said in a statement that "It's never OK to spew such hate rhetoric, and Isaac Butterfield should be ashamed for his hideous remarks that crossed all lines and which trampled on the memory of the dead.

"It is beyond shocking to exploit the extermination of six million Jews in the Holocaust to generate despicable jokes. When you consider that the corpses of those killed with the poison gas were often cremated in ovens, Mr. Butterfield's email response of 'get out of the oven' is disturbing and vicious," Abramovich also said.

He called on Butterfield to apologize and to meet with Holocaust survivors to hear their stories.


7. WATCH: TENS OF THOUSANDS ATTEND PRIESTLY BLESSING
by Arutz Sheva Staff

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262173

On Monday morning, tens of thousands of Jews from Israel and around the world gathered at the Western Wall for the traditional mass Priestly Blessing ceremony.

After the ceremony, Israel's Chief Rabbis Yitzhak Yosef and David Lau greeted the visitors, together with Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch.

American Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, Israel's Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel (United Right), Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon, and Israel Police's Commissioner Motti Cohen, also participated in the event.

Jerusalem's Old City is closed to private traffic throughout the intermediate days of Passover, and the public is asked to use public transportation.

"The fact that tens of thousands of worshipers are now at the Western Wall Plaza is very moving," Leon said. "The Jerusalem municipality prepared itself ahead of time, with stands offering water to the public. I call on the public to listen to the instructions of the police and organizers."

"After we finished praying for rain, and began to pray for dew on the first day of Pesach (Passover), this is an opportunity to thank the Creator for the abundance and the rain given to us," Rabbi Rabinovitch said.

The traditional Priestly Blessing ceremony includes hundreds of priests, descendants of the priestly tribe of Levi. The priests cover themselves in prayer shawls as they bless the Jewish people in the holiest place for the Jewish people, and thousands are expected to attend.

The commandment to bless the Jewish people and the words of the blessing are found in the Bible (Numbers 6: 22-27).

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262173

[album:open:11051]


8. WATCH LIVE: THOUSANDS CELEBRATE PASSOVER IN HEVRON
by Arutz Sheva Staff

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262186

Thousands of Jews celebrating the Passover festival gathered in the city of Hevron Monday afternoon for the second day of Hol Hamoed (intermediate festival day).

The event includes Hevron's annual Passover music festival, featuring Haim Israel, Binny Landau, Itzik Dadya, Uzia Tzadok, Naftali Kempeh, and The Kinderlach.

The entire Tomb of the Patriarchs, including the Isaac and Rebecca Halls, will be open to Jewish visitors. The Tomb, which is under joint administration of the Chief Rabbinate and the Muslim Waqf, is divided during most of the year, with the Isaac and Rebecca Halls reserved for Muslim prayer services 355 days a year.