A7News: Booby-trapped book: Terror attack in the Gaza vicinity foiled

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Friday, Jun. 28 '19, כ"ה בסיון תשע"ט





HEADLINES:
1. BOOBY-TRAPPED BOOK: TERROR ATTACK IN THE GAZA VICINITY FOILED
2. 'TRANSFER ALL OF THE PALESTINIANS TO JORDAN'
3. LEMAAN ACHAI: TURNING POVERTY UPSIDE DOWN
4. WHAT'S IT LIKE RAISING 10 KIDS IN THE MUSLIM QUARTER?
5. 'OBAMA LEFT ISRAEL A PARTING GIFT OF BETRAYAL'
6. LEFT-WING BLOC, ARAB PARTIES GET 61 SEATS
7. US: 30% OF MINORITY AMERICANS SUPPORT REFUSING SERVICE TO JEWS
8. THE RICHEST PERSON IN AT LEAST 7 STATES IS JEWISH


1. BOOBY-TRAPPED BOOK: TERROR ATTACK IN THE GAZA VICINITY FOILED
by Orly Harari

A police sapper neutralized an explosive device attached to a cluster of balloons that landed in an agricultural field in the Eshkol Regional Council on Friday.

The explosive device was hidden in what looked like a book with the Hebrew inscription "Love Stella."

"The attached suspicious object was a book with a Hebrew inscription. The book was booby-trapped - the assumption is that the goal was that the book would detach from the balloons and appear like an innocent-looking Hebrew book," an Eshkol Council spokesperson said.

"Therefore, it is very important - in any case of identifying any suspicious object even if it's not attached to balloons - don't touch. You should move away and report it to the local IDF security coordinator," the spokesperson stressed.

Two fires broke out this morning in the Gaza perimeter, in grazing land on the kibbutz in Shaar Hanegev and in the Be'eri Forest. The fires were apparently caused by incendiary balloons.

Earlier, an Israeli official confirmed that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had reached an agreement with Hamas in which the organization would stop firing incendiary balloons and curb the demonstrations on the Gaza border fence. Israel, in return, will increase the fishing area to 15 miles and resume the flow of fuel into the Gaza Strip.


2. 'TRANSFER ALL OF THE PALESTINIANS TO JORDAN'
by Arutz Sheva Staff

A right-wing Dutch parliamentarian is calling for the transfer of Palestinian Authority residents from Judea and Samaria to Jordan, offering the plan as an alternative to the US-backed 'Deal of the Century' Middle East peace plan.

Geert Wilders, chairman of the rightist Party for Freedom (PVV), said Thursday in response to this week's US-backed economic summit in Bahrain that President Donald Trump's Mideast peace plan was part of a futile effort to maintain the Palestinian Authority, which he called a "bottomless" well the international community has been "throwing money into in vain".

Speaking with Dutch reported Ernst Lissauer Thursday, Wilders offered his own plan, first unveiled in 2010, as an alternative to the US plan.

"A fifty-billion dollar plan for the Palestinians was presented to the world by the US this week in oil state Bahrain," Wilders said.

"For more than two years, work has been done on a Middle East peace plan that should end, among other things, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The financial part of the plan was presented to the world in Bahrain this week. A 'Marshall plan' that should put an end to the bottomless Palestinian well into which the UN has been depositing money in vain for sixty years."

But, Wilders continued, there seems to be little support for the plan in the European Union, with the money being "coughed up mainly by rich Arab states."

"In The Hague there is hardly any interest in this Trump project. My plan, the Wilders plan, is a better plan; all Palestinians back to Jordan."

In 2010, Wilders proposed renaming the Kingdom of Jordan as 'Palestine', and turning the country into a homeland for residents of the Palestinian Authority.

"Jordan is Palestine. Changing its name to Palestine will end the conflict in the Middle East and provide the Palestinians with an alternate homeland."

The PVV, which is now the second largest faction in the Dutch House of Representatives, came under fire by the Jordanian government for the proposal, which Jordan described as "delusional".

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265247


3. LEMAAN ACHAI: TURNING POVERTY UPSIDE DOWN
by Judy Simon

[audio:2013371]

Does giving charity actually help the poor get out of the ruts they are in? Is there a better way than paying the bills of those in debt?

Lemaan Achai is a unique organization which turns poverty on its head. Their policy is to reanalyze the situation of those in need and help raise them up from a situation of poverty to self-sufficiency.

Ron Allswang, the public relations and marketing director of Lemaan Achai, shares his personal story and the story of an organization which gives hand-ups rather than hand-outs. Don't miss it!

[קישורים:12:Radio]



4. WHAT'S IT LIKE RAISING 10 KIDS IN THE MUSLIM QUARTER?
by Hezki Baruch

In the heart of the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, Dafna Kandel hosts tourist groups and invites them to a meeting of past, present and future over a cup of coffee and cake.

Kandel talks about life in the Muslim quarter, raising her children there and the privilege to live in one of the most fascinating places in the world. "It's a personal encounter from heart to heart," Kendel tells Arutz Sheva. "At the beginning of the meeting, I talk about the historical past of the house. In the second part I talk about my personal story- why I came here 20 years ago, the complex and challenging relationships with the neighbors, what's it like to raise ten children in the heart of the Old City, and the privilege and obligation of living next to the site of the Temple."

"At the end of the meeting, I take them to the roof of the house, from where they can view the entire Old City and of course, the site of the Temple. I speak about the importance of the area, the Jewish settlement in the Old City and the coming redemption."

"The experience of hosting people in the Muslim Quarter is based on the deep connection to Jerusalem and the Old City - Jerusalem of the past, the present and the future. It's not enough just to walk around here - it's necessary to connect from the heart. That's what I offer at my home - a Jerusalem which turns all of the Jewish people into friends."

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265249


5. 'OBAMA LEFT ISRAEL A PARTING GIFT OF BETRAYAL'
by Arutz Sheva Staff

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman spoke on Thursday evening at the Israel Hayom Forum for US-Israel Relations in Jerusalem

Discussing the previous American administration, Friedman said that when former President Barack Obama ended his term in 2016, his administration "left a parting gift; I would say parting betrayal to the State of Israel. UN Resolution 2234, which deemed all of Judea and Samaria, all of Jerusalem… all of it was deemed to be illegally occupied territory."

"That resolution was a lie. I wish there was a better word, but there really isn't," he added.

Friedman praised US President Donald Trump's recognition of Israeli sovereignty on the Golan Heights, saying that an Israeli resolution to name a new community in the Golan after Trump was a "fitting tribute."

He added he had been privileged to be invited to an open-air cabinet meeting that took place on the Golan Heights, and whose only agenda item was to authorize "Trump Heights."

The American ambassador said that the resolution, which passed unanimously, marked the first time since 1949, when Harry Truman was so honored, that Israel had named any community after a sitting US President.

Friedman said that in the aftermath of President Trump's proclamation of March 21, 2019, many rose to applaud while words of criticism emanated from the usual corners. But as the noise dissipated and the sun rose the next day, two new realities were beyond dispute: America's stature in the world had risen and the security of its ally Israel had been enhanced.

Now, he said, he was looking back at some of the lessons he had learned.

"Foreign policy must evolve with changed circumstances. Many who criticized the President's decision noted that Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, of blessed memory, had negotiated with [then-Syrian President] Hafez Assad in 1994 to return portions of the Golan in exchange for peace and they urged that this failed process remain open. But almost nothing about the circumstances that existed then are relevant today. In particular, the Syrian civil war, in which Syria has murdered or displaced more than 1 million of its own people and became a client-state of Iran, is a seminal event that cannot be ignored."

"By affirming Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, President Trump has sent a clear and moral message to the world that Syria has forfeited any legitimate claim to the Golan Heights," Friedman said.

Second, Friedman continued, "Brains without courage make for a weak foreign policy. All presidents are smart. If they weren't, they never would have attained their lofty positions."

The ambassador said that past US presidents all grasped the need for Israel to retain sovereignty over the Golan. But only President Trump had the courage to give "practical effect to this undeniable truth."

"Courage matters," he said, adding, "Right makes might. Some have criticized the president's decision as one of 'might makes right' – a euphemism for the erroneous proposition that a nation as strong as the United States can pursue a policy devoid of any moral foundation. Here, exactly the opposite is true: The United States is stronger because it has acted justly. The United States has sided with Israel, a nation that at great risk opened its border every night to provide emergency healthcare to Syria's ill and wounded, and against the Syrian regime which has inflicted unspeakable trauma upon its own people."

A fourth lesson Friedman said he has learned is that not every foreign policy decision requires a quid pro quo.

"Some suggest that America 'should have gotten something from Israel' in exchange for its recognition of the Golan. But the strength of the American decision was precisely in the fact that it was principled and grounded in law and morals, thereby untarnished by the daily negotiations common to international relations," he said.

Fifth and last is the lesson "Don't start a war that you can't afford to lose."

Syria attacked Israel in 1967 and then again in 1973, and Israel gained control of the Golan through its legitimate response to Syrian attacks aimed at Israel's destruction, Friedman said.

"Since then, Syria has continued to fail to be a partner for peace. By affirming Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, President Trump has afforded Israel the only secure and recognized boundary that could exist under these circumstances," he added.

The ambassador concluded his speech by saying that history would "reflect kindly upon President Trump's recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan. Let's hope that the lessons learned from this outstanding decision will influence the international foreign policy establishment to pursue and create a more just, humane and peaceful world."


6. LEFT-WING BLOC, ARAB PARTIES GET 61 SEATS
by Arutz Sheva Staff

A poll conducted by Prof. Camil Fuchs and published on Channel 13 shows that if the elections were held today, Likud and Blue and White would win the same number of seats - 32 each.

According to the data, the Arab Joint List is the third largest with 12 seats and Yisrael Beytenu gets 7 seats.

Four parties win 6 seats - Shas, United Torah Judaism, Meretz and Ehud Barak's new party.

The Labor Party continues to weaken with 5 seats, United Right gets 4 seats, as does New Right.

Earlier on Wednesday, Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak convened a press briefing during which he announced that he will establish a new party for the oncoming elections.

"We have come here to have our say about what is happening and announce the establishment of a new party that will act for major repairs in the state and in society."

"The attempts to repeatedly disrupt democratic processes and to mislead the public and offer political bribery are a direct continuation of Netanyahu's conduct, whose goal is to divide and to undermine law and order, and everything for his personal gain, in order to escape for fear of judgement. These are dark days, the likes of which we have not seen before."

"Netanyahu acts cynically, only a few weeks after he dissolved the Knesset in order to prevent the president from passing along the mandate, after Netanyahu failed [to form a coalition]. We are not blind, the election campaign was advanced only for the sake of Netanyahu, it was advanced because the operation to rescue the suspect failed."

He added, "I have known Netanyahu for more than 50 years. I have seen him in beautiful and painful moments. Netanyahu is at the end of his path, and his closest associates, including his colleagues in the faction and the government, know this. Most of them are gripped by silence and fear. As your former commander, I say to you, Netanyahu: You cannot continue to hold the steering wheel of leadership. Your time as political leader is over."

"We decided to establish an appropriate political framework in the next few days," Barak declared. "We will mobilize the brave and work to end the Netanyahu regime, Bibi, this is the time and it is your last moment to go home of your own free will. I warn you not to try to drag a whole country into chaos to get out of jail. You will run into millions of Israelis who are not ready to play that game."


7. US: 30% OF MINORITY AMERICANS SUPPORT REFUSING SERVICE TO JEWS
by Josefin Dolsten, JTA

Nineteen percent of Americans think small business owners should be allowed to refuse service to Jews if doing so would violate their religious beliefs, a new poll shows.

That is an increase from 2014, when 12 percent of respondents agreed with the statement, according to survey results published Tuesday by the Public Religion Research Institute.

The survey found increased support for business owners to refuse service to a number of other groups as well, including gays and lesbians, transgender people, atheists, Muslims and African Americans.

The proportion of Americans who think small businesses should be able to refuse service to gays and lesbians was the highest among all the minority groups, at 30 percent. The other groups ranged from 15 percent for African Americans to 29 percent for transgender people.

A significantly higher proportion of Republicans approved of service refusals in all categories than Democrats did. Twenty four percent of Republicans thought small business owners should be allowed to refuse service to Jews based on religious grounds. That number was 17 percent for Democrats.

PRRI surveyed 1,100 adults via phone with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.


8. THE RICHEST PERSON IN AT LEAST 7 STATES IS JEWISH
by JTA

The richest person in at least 7 states is Jewish.

Forbes magazine on Wednesday published a list of the richest person in each of the 50 states.

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, 31, is the richest person in California with a net worth of $71 billion. Real estate developer Ted Lerner, 93, and his family are the richest in Maryland with a net worth of $5.1 billion.

Quicken Loans founder and owner Dan Gilbert, 57, who owns the Cleveland Cavaliers, is the richest person in Michigan with a net worth of $6.8 billion. Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, 85, who also owns the Las Vegas Review-Journal daily newspaper, is the richest person in Nevada with a net worth of $37.5 billion.

Former three-term New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, 77, the co-founder and majority owner of the financial information and media company Bloomberg LP, is the richest person in New York with a net worth of $58.3 billion.

Leslie Wexner, 81, the founder and CEO of L Brands, which includes Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works, is the richest person in Ohio with a net worth of $4.7 billion. Anita Zucker, CEO of InterTech Group, a private, family-owned chemicals manufacturer founded by her late husband, Jerry Zucker, is the richest person in South Carolina with a net worth of $1.8 billion.