A7News: Ayelet Shaked: I will return to Justice Ministry

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Tuesday, Jun. 04 '19, א' בסיון תשע"ט





HEADLINES:
1. AYELET SHAKED: I WILL RETURN TO JUSTICE MINISTRY
2. HEAVY METAL SINGER SLAMS ROGER WATERS AND 'NAZI COMRADES' IN BDS
3. ISRAEL'S FIRST LADY, NECHAMA RIVLIN, PASSES AWAY
4. SECURITY SOURCES: GAZA TERRORISTS REPLENISHED ROCKET STOCKPILES
5. POMPEO CLARIFIES COMMENTS ON PEACE PLAN
6. NETANYAHU FIRES MINISTERS NAFTALI BENNETT AND AYELET SHAKED
7. WHAT'S BEHIND NETANYAHU'S DECISION TO FIRE BENNETT AND SHAKED?
8. WATCH: GERMAN ARMY TESTS ISRAELI SPIKE MISSILES


1. AYELET SHAKED: I WILL RETURN TO JUSTICE MINISTRY
by Arutz Sheva Staff

Outgoing Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (New Right) bid farewell to the ministry and senior justice officials Tuesday at a special gathering featuring Justice Ministry director-general Emi Palmor, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, and state prosecutor Shai Nitzan.

During her address at the farewell gathering, Shaked hint at her plans to win a spot in the next Knesset in this September's elections – and return as Justice Minister.

"It is no secret that I loved working in this ministry, and that I had planned to continue working here, putting all my strength into it for the next four years. I had specific plans for continuing my work, but unfortunately they fell apart," said Shaked, referring to the New Right's failure to pass the electoral threshold in this April's election, leaving her and Education Minister Naftali Bennett out of the 21st Knesset.

"To my replacement – when he will come – I say: you're getting a ministry that is in very good condition, first-hand from the producer. Take care of it – and I'm not going to hide the fact that I have some personal interest in this request. I definitely plan on coming back here."

Despite having lost their seats in the Knesset, Shaked and Bennett continued to serve as Justice and Education ministers respectively, after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu failed to cobble together a new government, leading Israel back to elections.

On Sunday, however, Netanyahu dismissed both Shaked and Bennett, giving them forty-eight hours notification of their termination from his government.

While Shaked has expressed an interest in returning to the Knesset – and resuming her work as Justice Minister – it is unclear if she will be recruited by the Likud, or continue with the New Right party.

The Likud itself has sent mixed signals regarding the possibility of securing Shaked a spot high on its Knesset list.



📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/264153


2. HEAVY METAL SINGER SLAMS ROGER WATERS AND 'NAZI COMRADES' IN BDS
by David Rosenberg

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The front man for the heavy metal band "Disturbed" excoriated Pink Floyd's Roger Waters – a longtime critic of Israel – and other supporters of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, comparing them to Nazis.

Speaking in an online interview with the Facebook group "Bring Disturbed to Israel", lead singer David Draiman described his work to combat efforts to pressure recording artists to boycott Israel.

"I sit on the advisory board for the Creative Community for Peace," said Draiman.

"Every time that a rock band is about to visit Israel, I'm one of the first people to contact them to try and reassure them, to make sure that BDS doesn't end up getting in their heads, and that they don't end up listening to the ridiculous words of Mr. Roger Waters and the rest of his gang of morons."

"To elaborate a little bit on it, besides just my aggressive stance against" BDS, Draiman continued, "I don't think anybody in any country always agrees with everything their country does — I don't, okay? But I'm a very, very strong supporter of Israel forever and for our people. And regardless of whether it's Israel or anywhere else, boycotting an entire society and an entire people based on the actions of its government is absolutely ridiculous. And it doesn't accomplish anything."

Draiman also ripped the BDS movement for the selective targeting of Israel, noting that oppressive governments like China's had not elicited similar calls for boycotts, despite their controversial treatment of Muslim Uyghurs.

"I don't see boycotts happening of Russia; I don't see boycotts happening of many of some of the countries that have some of the most oppressive, closed-off regimes in existence on the face of the planet, where LGBTQ people are persecuted, where all kinds of minorities are persecuted. I don't see people boycotting China for what they're doing to their Muslim population. It's just Israel that gets this treatment, and I think we all know the reason behind that."

"There's a special hatred that exists for the Jewish people in this world, and it unfortunately can't be explained. It's something that has lasted and has been deep seated for centuries, and that's part of our burden as a people, unfortunately."

The Disturbed front man went on call Roger Waters' allies in the BDS movement "his Nazi comrades".

"You can't accomplish anything in terms of trying to create peace, in terms of trying to create understanding by shutting things off. There has to be open roads of communication. You build bridges; you don't knock them down. And music and entertainment is the perfect way to bridge that gap. And the very notion that Waters and the rest of his Nazi comrades decide that this is the way to go ahead and foster change is absolute lunacy and idiocy — absolute. It makes no sense whatsoever. It's only based on hatred of a culture and of a people and of a society that have been demonized unjustifiably since the beginning of time.

This is not the first time Draiman has publicly criticized Roger Waters. In 2013, Draiman accused Waters of anti-Semitism over Waters' use of an inflatable pig with a Star of David during a concert.

The 46-year-old Draiman was raised in an Orthodox Jewish home, the grandchild of Holocaust survivors.

In his youth, Draiman studied in Jewish religious schools, including in Israel, before leaving the Orthodox community.

Disturbed is slated to perform in Israel for the first time on July 2nd. The concert is slated to take place at the Live Park in Rishon Letzion.


3. ISRAEL'S FIRST LADY, NECHAMA RIVLIN, PASSES AWAY
by Arutz Sheva Staff

Nechama Rivlin, the First Lady of Israel and the wife of President Reuven Rivlin, died Tuesday morning at the age of 73. She died at Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikva, one day before her 74th birthday.

"Unfortunately, all the doctors' efforts to stabilize her during the complex rehabilitation process that followed her transplant failed," hospital officials said.

"The medical teams of the chest, lung, cardiology and intensive care units did not leave Mrs. Rivlin's bed throughout the period", the staff of Beilinson said, "we treated this wonderful woman with devotion and professionalism".

"This is a sad day for all of us at the medical center. The hospital staff is mourning."

"We embrace the family and send our condolences to the President of the State, their children, grandchildren and family."

Earlier this year, Mrs. Rivlin underwent a single lung transplant at Beilinson. The First Lady had been suffering from pulmonary fibrosis, and underwent the operation following a lengthy waiting period to find a donated lung.

While the operation to transplant the lung had been a success, Mrs. Rivlin was left in serious condition, suffering shortness of breath due to cardiac complications, forcing President Rivlin to cut short a State visit abroad.

Nechama was born in 1945 in Moshav Herut in the Sharon region, to Drora and Mendy Shulman, who had immigrated from the Ukraine and were among the founders of the moshav.

In 1964 she began studying at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, studying natural sciences. She graduated with a BSc in botany and zoology and holds a teaching certificate in these departments.

In 1967 she began working at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as a researcher in the Department of Zoology, and then moved to the Department of Ecology and the Department of Genetics. In addition, Nechama studied the history of art in the fields of modern, classical and ancient art.

In 1971 she married Reuven (Rubi) Rivlin and settled in Jerusalem. Nechama had three children - Rivi (Rivka), Anat and Ran. She was grandmother to Matan, Ziv, Shai, Karni, Maya, Daniela and Yahav, and sister to Varda.

In 2007 Nechama retired and, was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable lung disease that required her to use a portable oxygen device. When Nechama moved to Beit HaNasi, she chose to focus on art, activities for children with special needs, the environment and nature, through compassion and love of people.

Nechama was a regular visitor to Israel's cultural institutions, particularly those in Jerusalem, out of true love for art in all its forms. Nechama was particularly fond of the Cinematheque and Smadar cinemas in Jerusalem, where she used to watch films regularly.

Nechama's fondness for Hebrew literature and art led her to write from time to time about writers and artists who particularly appreciated the posts she published on the official Facebook page of the president. She generally began her posts with the words "Hello everyone, Nechama here," and signed them "Yours, Nechama." They became especially beloved to followers of the page and to lovers of culture and art in Israel.

In 2018, Nechama established the President's Award for Hebrew Poetry. On the committee's announcement of the winner Amichai Hasson, Nechama said: "I congratulate the lovers of language and words, the writers and poets who make magic with them and wish that our world will always have people in it who make poetry from it."

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/264148


4. SECURITY SOURCES: GAZA TERRORISTS REPLENISHED ROCKET STOCKPILES
by Arutz Sheva Staff

Israeli security sources have told the The Wall Street Journal that Gazan terror groups have replenished their stockpiles of rockets.

The terror groups now have the same amount of rockets they had prior to the May attacks on Israeli civilians. In those attacks, Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired over 700 rockets at Israelis, destroying several homes, injuring dozens, and killing four.

According to the WSJ report, the terror groups obtained the rockets by means of smuggling and local production. Many of the rockets are made with easy-to-obtain materials such as pipes and basic explosives.

Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, warned WSJ that Hamas is "playing with fire."

"They are risking not only themselves and their military leadership....but the people of Gaza," he said.

The report also noted that the stockpile is about 10,000 rockets, most of them short- and medium-range rockets, although hundreds of them can reach the wider Israeli population.

Last month, Islamic Jihad leader Ziad al-Nakhala predicted that a war would break out between Israel and Gaza this summer because of the intention to "disarm the resistance in Gaza."



5. POMPEO CLARIFIES COMMENTS ON PEACE PLAN
by Elad Benari

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday clarified comments he shared with Jewish leaders regarding the Trump administration's peace plan.

On Sunday, The Washington Post quoted comments from an off-the-record meeting held last week between Pompeo and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

"I get why people think this is going to be a deal that only the Israelis could love. I understand the perception of that. I hope everyone will just give the space to listen and let it settle in a little bit," Pompeo was quoted as having said in that report.

On Monday, in an interview with the Sinclair Broadcast Group, Pompeo clarified those statements.

"We have a deep, long relationship with Israel, an important relationship with Israel, and the President has made very clear that that's important to this administration to have that important political, economic, and security relationship with Israel. And we've struggled more with respect to the Palestinians. We've watched their terror activity in the Gaza Strip, and we've pushed back against it. We watched Iran underwrite some of that, and we've pushed back against that," he said.

"So I can see how someone might be concerned that a plan that this administration put forward might, without knowing the true facts of what is contained in the plan, they might perceive that it was going to be fundamentally one-sided. And I was articulating that there because it's just simply not true," explained Pompeo.

"I think there'll be things in this plan that lots of people like, and I am confident, as I said – I think it was quoted in that paper as well – there'll be something in there that everyone will find I'm concerned with. Our idea is to present a vision and to continue to work towards a very, very difficult situation's conclusion," he added.

The contents of the Trump administration's peace plan have yet to be revealed, but the economic part of the plan is set to be unveiled at a conference in Bahrain later this month.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has rejected the US peace plan before it has even been unveiled. The PA has been boycotting the US ever since President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December of 2017.



6. NETANYAHU FIRES MINISTERS NAFTALI BENNETT AND AYELET SHAKED
by David Rosenberg

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has fired ministers Ayelet Shaked and Naftali Bennett, removing the two New Right leaders from his cabinet.

The Prime Minister's Office informed Bennett and Shaked Sunday afternoon that they would no longer be serving as Education Minister and Justice Minister respectively, following the failure of their party to cross the electoral threshold in the April 9th election.

The removal of the two New Right ministers will go into effect on Tuesday.

Bennett and Shaked, who had run in 2015 at the head of the Jewish Home ticket, broke off in December 2018 to form the New Right. While the party initially was projected to win more than 10 seats, the New Right ultimately failed to cross the electoral threshold, leaving Bennett and Shaked out of the 21st Knesset.

Earlier on Sunday, it was reported that Netanyahu was considering revamping his transitional government ahead of this September's Knesset election, with the aim of strengthening the Likud party's position within the government.

Rabbi Rafi Peretz, chief of the Union of Right-Wing Parties, a joint list of the Jewish Home and National Union, had prepared a letter formally demanding that Netanyahu to fire Shaked and Bennett, and transfer the ministries back to the Jewish Home, giving current Jewish Home MKs the ministries. But Peretz ultimately held off on sending the letter to Netanyahu, after MK Bezalel Smotrich, chairman of the National Union faction, urged him not to make the demand formal.

Netanyahu has reportedly refused calls from within the Likud to recruit Shaked into the party and grant her a spot high on the Likud's Knesset slate for the September election.


7. WHAT'S BEHIND NETANYAHU'S DECISION TO FIRE BENNETT AND SHAKED?
by Hezki Baruch

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu fired the two New Right ministers, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and Education Minister Naftali Bennett, from his cabinet Sunday afternoon, after they joined the weekly cabinet meeting Sunday morning for the first time since the April 9th election in which the two failed to retain their Knesset seats.

Netanyahu, outraged by their participation in the cabinet meeting, fired the two ministers shortly afterwards, giving them the 48-hour notification of their termination from the government.

Shaked and Bennett lost their seats after their New Right party narrowly failed to clear the 3.25% electoral threshold in the April elections. Nevertheless, the two retained their ministries in the transitional government, after Netanyahu failed to form a new coalition and dissolved the 21st Knesset.

The Prime Minister has hoped to blunt the two New Right leaders' electoral strength by removing them from his government.

On Sunday morning, Netanyahu urged Union of Right-Wing Parties' chief Rafi Peretz to formally request that Netanyahu fire Shaked and Bennett and transfer their ministries back to the Jewish Home and National Union factions.

At the behest of National Union chief Bezalel Smotrich, however, Peretz did not submit the letter calling for Bennett and Shaked's termination.

Despite the failure of the United Right to formally demand the ministries, Netanyahu removed Bennett and Shaked, hoping to prevent them from attending this Tuesday's security cabinet meeting.

Following the removal of the two ministers, the United Right has called on Netanyahu to tap MKs Peretz and Smotrich to the Education and Justice ministries respectively.


8. WATCH: GERMAN ARMY TESTS ISRAELI SPIKE MISSILES
by Arutz Sheva Staff

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/264102

The German army concluded its annual exercise Monday by firing dozens of Israeli manufacturer Rafael's Spike LR missiles.

The drill took place in the last days of winter in Germany, under harsh weather conditions, and included the firing of 54 Spike missiles by German forces, which launched the missiles from the new Spike missile launchers. The launchers include an innovative digital user interface and spatial and operational capabilities and have been used in the IDF for several years.

During the exercise, the German crews launched the missiles in a variety of complex shooting scenarios, including a concealed target, real-time target-shooting scenarios after firing, firing in total darkness through infrared, in parallel to complex weather conditions including strong winds and rains. The launchers and the targets showed 100% success, with all 54 Spike missiles striking their targets.

Rafael's Spike family of missiles are precision electro-optical, tactical and precision missiles that are widely used by the IDF and many armies around the world, and can be launched from a variety of land, air and sea platforms for ranges of up to 30 kilometers. Spike missiles are suitable for day and night use and against a wide range of targets. To date, Rafael has sold more than 30,000 Spike missiles to 31 countries.

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צילום: חברת רפאל
"The Spike missile family has proven its capabilities as a quality and reliable system chosen by 18 member states of the European Union and NATO, in addition to 13 other countries in the world," said Moshe Elazar, Senior Vice President and Head of the Land Division and the Rafael Sea.

"One of the greatest advantages of the spike is its wide distribution, and the reciprocity between the countries that can support each other in providing intercontinental missiles in times of crisis or invasion is a key factor both tactically and economically."

ניסוי בירי טיל הספייק בגרמניה
צילום: חברת רפאל