A7News: 'Israel won't let Iran get nuclear weapons'

Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
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Wednesday, May. 08 '19, ג' באייר תשע"ט





HEADLINES:
1. 'ISRAEL WON'T LET IRAN GET NUCLEAR WEAPONS'
2. REMEMBERING THE LONE SOLDIER FROM CALIFORNIA WHO DIED FOR ISRAEL
3. VICTIMS OF US ANTI-SEMITIC ATTACKS CENTER OF YOM HAZIKARON EVENT
4. SWASTIKA BROUGHT TO ISRAEL INDEPENDENCE DAY UNIVERSITY EVENT
5. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE CALLS ISRAEL A 'RACIST REGIME'
6. ISRAEL HONORS ITS FALLEN AT YOM HAZIKARON MEMORIAL IN JERUSALEM
7. WATCH: MEMORIAL DAY CEREMONY IN ENGLISH
8. WAS ISRAEL TOO QUICK TO SEEK A CEASEFIRE WITH HAMAS?


1. 'ISRAEL WON'T LET IRAN GET NUCLEAR WEAPONS'
by David Rosenberg

Israel will prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Wednesday in Jerusalem.

The Prime Minister made the comments during his address at the annual Yom HaZikaron Israeli memorial day ceremony at the central military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem Wednesday morning.

"This morning, on my way here, I heard that Iran intends to pursue its nuclear program," Netanyahu said. "We will not allow Iran to achieve nuclear weaponry. We will continue to fight those who would kill us."

Netanyahu's comments came after Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, said Tuesday that his country would reduce some "voluntary" commitments within its nuclear deal.

"The European Union and others ... did not have the power to resist US pressure, therefore Iran ... will not carry out some voluntary commitments," Zarif said.

Zarif's comments come after Iranian media reported on Monday that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will announce on Wednesday that Iran will begin to renege on its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal.

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262864


2. REMEMBERING THE LONE SOLDIER FROM CALIFORNIA WHO DIED FOR ISRAEL
by Yoni Kempinski

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262868

On Wednesday, Israelis from across the country visited cemeteries and participated in memorial services remembering friends and loved ones who died defending Israel, or who were victims of terrorist attacks.

Among those remembering the dead, however, were some visitors from abroad.

Stuart Steinberg, an attorney from the southern California town of Woodland Hills, joined those gathering at Mount Herzl Wednesday, to remember his own son, Max, who died at the age of 24 nearly five years ago.

Max, who left California to enlist in the IDF as a lone soldier a few months after a Birthright trip to Israel in 2013, served as a sniper in the Golani Brigade for less than a year, before he was killed when his armored personnel carrier was destroyed by Hamas bombs in July 2014.

Speaking with Arutz Sheva, Max's father, Stuart, discussed the ways he and his family have kept their son's memory alive – and how they've worked to help other lone soldiers who, like their son, moved on their own to Israel to enlist in the IDF.

"This is my second time here at this time of year," said Steinberg of his visit to Israel during the week of Yom HaZikaron (Israeli memorial day) and Israeli Independence Day.

"This year is exceptionally special because we came from Poland and Auschwitz, we brought his Sefer Torah [Torah Scroll], brought it back to Israel. And we're going to be marching with the March of the Living one more time, from City Hall to the Kotel [Western Wall]."

"As a bereaved parent and seeing this and experiencing this and having an opportunity to just be embraced and loved by so many people is the best."

Stuart recalled the outpouring of support when some 30,000 people showed up to his son's funeral in July 2014.

"At his funeral there were, I'm told, 30,000 people. To me it was a blur, but to have that kind of appreciation and respect for a lone soldier is a beautiful thing."

"Once Max was killed, our lives were turned upside down. It will never be the same. We are very involved in Jewish causes. We're on the board of directors of an organization called the Families of Lone Soldiers, which supports families like ours, both bereaved as well as…families of soldiers that are here and their parents are in the United States and in other countries."

"We get strength by doing good. Max did good, and we felt that we needed to do something more."


3. VICTIMS OF US ANTI-SEMITIC ATTACKS CENTER OF YOM HAZIKARON EVENT
by Arutz Sheva Staff

Tributes to the 12 Jews killed in the synagogue shootings of October 2018 in Pittsburgh and April 2019 in the San Diego-area city of Poway took center stage today during The Jewish Agency for Israel's memorial service for Yom HaZikaron, Israel's annual day of remembrance for fallen soldiers and victims of terror attacks.

The special guests from Pittsburgh at Wednesday morning's ceremony at the Jewish Agency Courtyard in Jerusalem included Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh President and CEO Jeff Finkelstein; and Marnie Fienberg, the daughter-in-law of Joyce Fienberg, who was murdered in the Pittsburgh synagogue attack. Fienberg lit a memorial torch together with Chairman of The Jewish Agency for Israel Isaac Herzog, who personally invited her to attend the service.

"On this day, the Jews of the Diaspora unite in grief with all the residents of the State of Israel. And here, too, in Israel, we are united in grief with the Jewish families in the Diaspora, those who lost loved ones in terrorist acts and those whose children chose to wear their olive uniforms and gave their lives, protecting Israel," said Herzog at the ceremony. "Zionism and our shared fate have been sanctified with their blood. Lone soldiers, Jewish volunteers from all over the world, and new immigrants who sacrificed their lives and fought shoulder to shoulder since the beginning of Israel's independence. Their beating heart is in each and every one of us, whether a citizen of the state or a Jew in the Diaspora."

According to The Jewish Agency, more than 200 Jews have been murdered in anti-Semitic incidents and terrorist attacks across the Diaspora since the State of Israel achieved independence in 1948, with the 11 victims of the shooting at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life Synagogue and the victim of the shooting at Chabad of Poway joining that list this year.

"The anti-Semites don't care about our labels, to them we're all Jews," said Finkelstein. "And to all of us, the work we do with the Jewish Agency and Federations has to be focused on building Jewish unity, because together we can defeat evil. Am Yisrael Chai."

The Jewish Agency broadcast the memorial service live on Facebook both in Hebrew and English, making it possible for Diaspora Jews to take part in the ceremony from afar. Other dignitaries in attendance included Aryeh Lightstone, Senior Advisor to U.S. Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, Chairman of the World Zionist Organization Avraham Duvdevani, CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America Rebecca Caspi, CEO of Jewish Federations of Canada-UIA Yossi Tanuri, Director of Legacy and Endowments at Keren Hayesod Dani Viterbo, and Vice Chair of the KKL-JNF Fund Executive Yair Lootsteen.

"During this tragedy, during these awful times, something amazing has happened. At our lowest point, we weren't alone. There was support, love, and strength from all over the world, not just from our friends, from Jews everywhere…we felt that love, and love is what gets us through every single day," said Fienberg. "We are inspired by you Israelis - proud Israeli soldiers and citizens. You never back away from a fight and we aren't going to either. We are stronger together, in Pittsburgh, in the United States, and here in Israel."


4. SWASTIKA BROUGHT TO ISRAEL INDEPENDENCE DAY UNIVERSITY EVENT
by Marcy Oster/JTA

A man brought a swastika sign to an event celebrating Israel's independence at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

About 250 students attended the daylong event held by the Students Supporting Israel campus group and the campus Hillel.

Students confronted the man carrying the sign, who identified himself as Chris, the local ABC affiliate WISN reported. It identified him as a student.

He told the news channel that he brought the swastika sign because he knew it would draw attention at such a gathering and allow him to talk to the media about issues such as the rise in single mother homes, the opioid addiction and the high number of abortions.

One of the event's organizers, junior Sarah Berry called the campus police. They said they couldn't do anything about the sign.

The university said the swastika was protected by free speech.

"As a public university, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee respects everyone's right to free speech, even when it is speech that we disagree with," the school said in a statement Monday afternoon.

"I worked hard for this event and wanted everyone to celebrate, and to see someone come up with a swastika was really disappointing and frustrating," Berry said.

The event was held outside the Golda Meir Library, named for the late Israeli prime minister who grew up in Milwaukee.


5. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE CALLS ISRAEL A 'RACIST REGIME'
by David Rosenberg

With 22 declared candidates now running for the Democratic party's presidential nomination for 2020, candidates are looking for a way to stand out from the crowd.

One decidedly long-shot candidate did just that this week, staking out an unabashedly anti-Israel position, calling the Israeli government a "racist regime", accusing the Jewish state of "ethnic cleansing", and calling for Israel to be changed from a Jewish state into a binational one.

Eighty-eight-year-old Mike Gravel, a former US Senator who represented Alaska from 1969 to 1981, joined the crowded Democratic field in April, making his second bid for his party's presidential nod. Gravel ran for the 2008 presidential nomination, coming in seventh place behind Joe Biden and just ahead of Christopher Dodd.

In a tweet published Monday, following a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel ending two days of rocket attacks and Israeli retaliations, Gravel accused Israel of "ethnic cleansing" and warned that the "bloodshed… will not cease" until a binational state is established in "Palestine and Israel".

"The bloodshed in Palestine and Israel will not cease until the fundamentally unjust existing structure is jettisoned. We cannot support a right-wing racist regime committed to annexation and gradual ethnic cleansing. There must be a binational state with equal rights for all."

A few Democratic presidential hopefuls offered support for Israel, while most refrained from commenting on the two days of Hamas rocket attacks which left four Israelis dead and a hundred more injured.

"The random rocket fire by Hamas into Israel must stop," said former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper. "My heart goes out to the families of the Israelis killed, and those wounded in these grievous attacks. I call on all parties to show restraint and de-escalate this situation immediately."

New Jersey Senator Cory Booker said he supported "Israel's right to defend itself, full stop," condemning Hamas as a "terrorist organization that actually suppresses its own people".

Colorado Senator Michael Bennet also backed Israel's "right to self-defense against terror groups inside Gaza. Launching rocket attacks against innocent civilians is unacceptable and we mourn the lives lost."

This week wasn't the first time Gravel has condemned Israel.

In a 2011 article for the far-left organization CodePink, Gravel accused Israel of "ethnic cleansing" and accused American Jews of supporting "organizations and candidates upholding Israeli discrimination".

"Israel continues to build on the ethnic cleansing it perpetrated in 1948. The colonization effort in occupied Palestinian territory is thriving under Netanyahu."

In a 2007 Democratic presidential debate, Gravel chided then-senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for their criticism of Iran's funding Hezbollah and Hamas.

"I want to touch something that they're all giving license to, that there's something wrong with Iran supporting Hamas and Hezbollah. These are two elected organizations, and — and why can't they give support to those organizations? Israel doesn't want it, so why do they buy hook, line and sinker that they can't give aid to Hamas and Hezbollah? We give unlimited aid to Israel. These people are fighting for their rights."

In subsequent comments, Gravel said the terrorist groups "wanted their country back, and are fighting for it," comparing Hamas and Hezbollah to American Revolutionary soldiers.

"Were the American Revolutionaries at Concord and Lexington, were they terrorists?"


6. ISRAEL HONORS ITS FALLEN AT YOM HAZIKARON MEMORIAL IN JERUSALEM
by Arutz Sheva Staff

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262863

The State of Israel honored its fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism on Wednesday, sounding a two-minute siren nationwide in their memory at 11:00 a.m.

Immediately after the siren was sounded, the main national ceremony in the honor of the fallen began at the Israeli military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, President Reuven Rivlin, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, Supreme Court chief justice Ester Hayut, IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi, and Israel's chief of police Motti Cohen were among the senior Israeli officials in attendance.

The memorial candle at the event was lit by Yonat Meshoulami, the widow of Staff Sergeant Ami Meshoulami, who was killed on August 12th, 2006 during the Second Lebanon war. Professor Meir Shalit, the father of Omer Shalit, who was killed in the military helicopter disaster of 1997, was tapped to recite the Kaddish mourner's prayer for the dead.

A total of 23,741 people died in the service of the State of Israel, and in the protection of the pre-state Jewish community in the Land of Israel. Ninety-six new names, including 56 people killed and forty people who were disabled and later died of wounds sustained during their service, were added to the list over the past year.



7. WATCH: MEMORIAL DAY CEREMONY IN ENGLISH
by Arutz Sheva Staff

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262829

On the eve of Yom Hazikaron, a day of remembrance in Israel for fallen soldiers and victims of terror, Masa Israel Journey is hosting a memorial ceremony in Latrun. This is the only English-language ceremony in Israel and is broadcast to thousands of Jews in communities and schools in the United States, Canada, South Africa, Uraguay, Ukraine, France, Germany, Australia, and England, as well as on Masa's Facebook page. It is also being translated into French, Spanish, and Russian.

Attendees include 4,000 Masa participants; 1,000 global Jewish community leaders from Federations, synagogues, and schools; government officials; and families of fallen soldiers and victims of terror.
Past Masa participants have described the organization's Yom Hazikaron ceremony as one of the most impactful and profound experiences during their time in Israel.

This year, the stories of Alejandro Hoffman, Sean Carmeli, Jordan Ben Simon and others, olim who were killed while in the IDF or in a terror attacks, are highlighted through videos and anecdotes from their families and friends. IDF Captain Yair Alkalai is also speaking.

Gilad Erdan, Israel's Minister of Public Security and Strategic Affairs and Minister of Information, and also Chairman of the Jewish Agency, Isaac (Bougie) Herzog are attending and speaking at the event as Masa's guests of honor.

"The ceremony allows the Young Diaspora to be true partners on a day that has tremendous weight in the life of Israeli society. The ceremony has become an important way for Diaspora Jews to mourn the loss of soldiers and victims of terror alongside Israelis," said Masa Israel Journey CEO Liran Avisar Ben Horin.

"Masa brings thousands of participants from dozens of countries all over the world to experience the Israeli reality during the impactful times of Yom Hazikaron, and Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) and Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israel Independence Day). These events continue to strengthen the connection of the Diaspora with the State of Israel."


8. WAS ISRAEL TOO QUICK TO SEEK A CEASEFIRE WITH HAMAS?
by The Land Of Israel Network

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262791

Josh Hasten talks about the last terror attack with over 700 rockets were fired at Israel over the weekend resulting in the death of four Israelis.

Could Prime Minister Netanyahu be looking for quiet as Israel gets ready to host Eurovision?

Also on the show, Marc Prowisor, Director of Security for the One Israel Fund, reports from down south where he is busy providing necessary equipment to the security chiefs and medics in full anticipation that this "ceasefire" won't last long.

[קישורים:4:Radio]