A7News: 'Next war will be worst in Israel's history'

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Friday, Jun. 14 '19, י"א בסיון תשע"ט





HEADLINES:
1. 'NEXT WAR WILL BE WORST IN ISRAEL'S HISTORY'
2. ARAB VILLAGERS FUME AFTER RELIGIOUS JEWS INVITED TO WEDDING
3. AN ULPAN OR A MATCHMAKING SERVICE FOR IMMIGRANTS?
4. JEWISH GAY CONVERSION THERAPY GROUP ORDERED TO SHUT DOWN
5. POLL: RIGHT-WING BLOC LEADS WITH 68 SEATS
6. ROCKET STRIKES YESHIVA IN SDEROT
7. IDF ATTACKS HAMAS TERRORIST INFRASTRUCTURE
8. WATCH: CHABAD COUPLE IN SWEDEN FINED $67,000 FOR HOMESCHOOLING


1. 'NEXT WAR WILL BE WORST IN ISRAEL'S HISTORY'
by Arutz Sheva Staff

Former IDF ombudsman Maj. Gen. (res.) Yitzhak Brick spoke about his meeting with Deputy Chief of Staff Eyal on a military podcast on 103FM on Friday. Zamir was a major general in the IDF during the writing of Brick's ominous report in January 2019 about the IDF's lack of readiness for a major military confrontation.

According to Brick, Zamir didn't debate the facts presented in the report. "Zamir said he accepts the fact that we are in serious trouble. He read the report, wrote down my recommendations and began implementing them, as did Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi, who understood the problem even when he was deputy chief of staff."

Brick added that the committee which conducted the criticism of his report, the Ilan Harari Committee, admitted to him that he was right: "The IDF commander, Harari, told me that the facts are daunting," said Brick, who emphasized that "Harari is the IDF chief of staff's appointment and subordinate to him - so naturally he couldn't say that the army was not ready for war."

Brick strongly asserts that a significant change is required in the IDF's organizational culture. "If the army doesn't learn to accept criticism and deal with the problems, God help us," Brick said, repeating his warning that the next military campaign would be more difficult than any of its predecessors.

"The next war will be the worst in the history of Israel. Every day 1,000 to 2,000 missiles will fall, weighing as much as 100 kilograms per missile and with precision targeting capabilities," Brick warned, adding that Judea and Samaria would also become a front with thousands of armed Tanzim who will leave the Palestinian villages and shoot in all directions. "We will need infantry units on several fronts and at the moment we don't have such capabilities," concluded Brick.

And what about the political arena? According to Brick, the political situation is even worse. "I sit and talk to cabinet members, one by one, spending an hour with each one - and it turns out that they don't know the army. These are the people who make the fateful decisions - and they know almost nothing." Brick says that no one took him seriously in his meetings with cabinet members. "Ultimately the main desire of cabinet ministers is to advance in politics," he said.

In spite of the harsh attacks against him, including statements that the trauma of the Yom Kippur War has affected him and statements on social media networks which hint at Brick's insanity, Brick hasn't given up on revealing the truth about the deeply rooted problems in the IDF. "Many are worried about my health, fearing I could have a stroke or a heart attack. There aren't many people who have boldly and determinedly faced such a formidable system [as the IDF]."

"I've been through a lot of life and I've seen what happens to the state of Israel when it's not ready for war. I'm doing something right for the people of Israel - so we won't be counting our losses [after the next war]."


2. ARAB VILLAGERS FUME AFTER RELIGIOUS JEWS INVITED TO WEDDING
by Arutz Sheva Staff

Israelis participated in a wedding held this week in the village of Deir Qaddis in the Ramallah area, sparking a furor on social media, as reported by Kan journalist Nurit Yohanan.

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/264598

Arab residents of the village were furious that Jews participated in the wedding. The village leader explained that he was unaware of the arrival of the Israelis to the village, saying that he expelled them and the Palestinian Arabs who were with them.

According to the village leader, the Jews came at the invitation of Palestinian Arab guests, who work together with them in a car repair shop.

In the video of the wedding, young Jews wearing skullcaps dance with the local Arabs to the sound of Middle Eastern music as PLO flags are seen in the background.


3. AN ULPAN OR A MATCHMAKING SERVICE FOR IMMIGRANTS?
by Sara Rubenstein

Ulpan Etzion, the absorption center of the Jewish Agency, is popular among young immigrants to Israel, but for a different reason than you may have thought. On Thursday of this week, another semester of Ulpan Etzion ended, during which 216 young immigrants from 40 different countries studied together. During the course of the semester, a total of 32 immigrants, who met each other for the first time at Ulpan Etzion paired off into 16 couples, according to a Ynet report on Friday.

"It was worth coming to Israel to find love here," Dana Rubel, a social worker from New Jersey, told Ynet. Rubel met her fiancée, Eitan Amzalag, a lawyer who immigrated from France, at Ulpan Etzion. Dana and Eitan became engaged three weeks after meeting each other and are currently planning their wedding which will take place in October in Jerusalem. "It was love at first sight," Dana said. "We both love each other very much, love Jerusalem where we met and love Israel."

Argentinian economist Yechezkel and English psychologist Laura also met at Ulpan Etzion. "We met in the first week of school and we've been together since," they told Ynet. "Now that we finished our studies in the ulpan, we're moving to the same neighborhood in Tel Aviv, where we'll continue to be a couple."

"Sometimes I feel like a matchmaker," director of Ulpan Etzion Ziva Avrahami said to Ynet. "I attend the weddings of ulpan graduates who immigrated to Israel from different parts of the world and met here by us. I feel like I'm a family member from the groom's side as well as the bride's side. It's a great privilege to run an absorption center where every morning you feel a sense of mission and have an opportunity to engage in meaningful work."

Hundreds of young adults, most of them single college graduates, immigrate to Israel every year through the Jewish Agency. They live at the absorption center for the first five months, while learning Hebrew, touring the country, acculturating themselves to Israeli society and eventually forging careers, and for many - marriage and families.


4. JEWISH GAY CONVERSION THERAPY GROUP ORDERED TO SHUT DOWN
by Gabe Friedman, JTA

A New Jersey judge ordered a Jersey City-based Jewish gay conversion therapy organization to permanently shut down.

Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality, or JONAH, settled with former clients in a 2015 lawsuit and agreed to stop its discredited gay conversion counseling. But it has since been operating under a new name — Jewish Institute for Global Awareness, or JIFGA — Hudson County Superior Court Assignment Judge Peter Barisio said in his ruling, according to NJ.com.

Arthur Goldberg and Elaine Berk, the organization's co-founders, have been collecting fees to refer clients to other groups that offer gay conversion therapy. Barisio ordered them to refund any money they have made through JIFGA and cease all operations within 30 days.

According to court testimony, JONAH told clients to undress in front of each and beat effigies of their mothers to overcome sexual urges, NJ.com reported.


5. POLL: RIGHT-WING BLOC LEADS WITH 68 SEATS
by Arutz Sheva Staff

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's Likud party would win, again, if new elections were held today – but would still be unable to form a majority right-wing government without the support of Avidgor Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu party, a new poll shows.

According to a survey conducted by the Maagar Mohot polling agency and released by Radio 103FM Friday morning, if elections for the 22nd Knesset – slated for September 17th – were held today, the Likud would be the largest faction, with 35 seats, the same number the party won in April, prior to a merger with the Kulanu party.

The center-left Blue and White party, however, would fall from 35 seats to 33.

Former Defense Minister Avidgor Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu party, which refused to help Netanyahu form a government last month unless it backed passage of a new haredi draft law it supported in the 20th Knesset, would rise from the five seats it won in April to eight seats.

The two haredi factions would lose a net of one seat, from sixteen seats combined in the April 9th election to fifteen mandates, with United Torah Judaism retaining its eight seats, and Shas falling from eight to seven.

The Union of Right-Wing Parties would retain its five seats, while the New Right party of Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked, which failed to cross the threshold by 1,300 votes in April, would also win five seats.

On the left, the Labor party would narrowly cross the 3.25% electoral threshold with four seats, a decline of two mandates, while the far-left Meretz would gain one seat, rising from four to five mandates.

The two Arab lists would remain stable, with six seats for the Hadash-Ta'al alliance and four for the joint ticket of Balad and the United Arab List.

The libertarian-leaning Zehut party would not pass the threshold.

While the right-wing – religious bloc would win a clear majority, with 68 of the 120 seats in the Knesset, Netanyahu would again be unable to form a right-wing government without Yisrael Beytenu, left with 60 seats if the secular-right wing party does not join.

The poll also found that if the Blue and White party is led by MK Gabi Ashkenazi in place of current chairman Benny Gantz, the party would win 35 seats, while the Likud would fall to 33. Despite this change, however, the right-wing – religious bloc would retain an edge.

A plurality of respondents (39%), including 34% of the right-wing – religious bloc say that if the New Right and Union of Right-Wing Parties form a joint ticket for the next election, former Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked should lead the new list.

The next most popular candidate is former Education Minister and ex-Jewish Home chief Naftali Bennett, who received the backing of 19% of right-wing voters and 11% of the general public.

Sixteen percent of right-wing voters and eight percent of the general public said current United Right chief MK Rafi Peretz should lead the joint ticket, compared to 14% of right-wing voters and seven percent of the general public who backed National Union chief MK Bezalel Smotrich.


6. ROCKET STRIKES YESHIVA IN SDEROT
by Gary Willig

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/264565

A rocket fired from Gaza struck the Hesder yeshiva in Sderot Thursday night.

The rocket caused the Red Alert siren to activate in Sderot.

The building suffered damage. There were no reported casualties.

Police responded to scene, including bomb disposal experts. The police sappers secured the remains of the rocket.

The rocket was fired from the town of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, Channel 13 News reported.

Asher Pizam, a witness to the rocket strike, told Channel 13: "We were in a weekly lesson when we heard the Red Alert and then a huge explosion. We went out and saw a lot of damage was done to the place. It's incredibly scary. Things cannot go on like this."

Yisrael Beyteinu chairman and former defense minister Avigdor Liberman responded to the rocket attack: "Dear residents of the south, allow me to express my deep sorrow for the untimely passing of your sense of security. This is precisely why I resigned as Defense Minister. We must bury the policy of 'managing the conflict' and revive Israel's deterrence."

Jewish Home chairman Rabbi Raffi Peretz said that "tonight, the leaders of Hamas must be held accountable. This is our ethical obligation to all the residents of the area and to all citizens of Israel."

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/264565


7. IDF ATTACKS HAMAS TERRORIST INFRASTRUCTURE
by Elad Benari

Israeli warplanes attacked an underground terrorist infrastructure in a military compound belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in southern Gaza overnight Wednesday, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said.

The air strike was carried out in response to the rocket fire from Gaza toward southern Israel earlier in the night.

"The IDF will continue to act against attempts to harm Israeli citizens and see the terrorist organization Hamas as responsible for everything happening inside and outside of the Gaza Strip," the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said in a statement.

Earlier, sirens were sounded in the Eshkol Regional Council of southern Israel.

The IDF Spokesperson's Unit confirmed that one rocket that was fired from Gaza into Israeli territory was intercepted by the Iron Dome.

There were no reports of physical injuries or damages.

The rocket attack followed an announcement by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) that, following the continued fires and launching of incendiary balloons from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, it was decided to impose a naval blockade on the Gaza Strip until further notice.

On Wednesday afternoon, for the first time since a ceasefire was declared after the recent flare-up on the Gaza border, two explosive-laden balloons were fired from Gaza, exploding near one of the communities in the Eshkol Council.

There were no injuries or damages.

Since Wednesday morning, six fires have broken out in the Gaza envelope as a result of incendiary balloons launched from the Gaza Strip.

Incendiary balloons have caused 20 fires in the region so far this week.



8. WATCH: CHABAD COUPLE IN SWEDEN FINED $67,000 FOR HOMESCHOOLING
by Sara Rubenstein

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/264587

Chabad emissaries Rabbi Alexander and Leah Namdar, residents of Gothenburg, Sweden since 1991, were legally mandated by the Swedish Supreme Court on Thursday to pay a fine of $67,000 for homeschooling their children. They are required to pay the fine by Friday, June 14, 2019, as well as $30,000 in court costs.

The Namdars are Orthodox Jews who are committed to teaching their children an Orthodox Jewish curriculum along with Torah studies. Since an Orthodox Jewish school doesn't exist in Sweden, they homeschool their children, like many Chabad emissaries in various cities throughout the world. They have been doing so for decades as nine of their eleven children are already young adults. As Rabbi Namdar says, "The absurdity here cries out to the Heavens because the city knows very well the excellent education and the maximum effort we give to our children, and in the past, we received much feedback about it."

Additionally, as Sweden has become a haven for countless Muslim immigrants, the country is increasingly dangerous for obviously Jewish residents. "My sons are the only ones in the entire city who walk around in a street with an overt Jewish appearance," Rabbi Namdar elaborated. "Only a month ago, a Jewish woman in Sweden was critically wounded by a Muslim immigrant who stabbed her. In addition, this past winter, Molotov cocktails were thrown at our shul."

However, in 2011, Sweden passed a law forbidding Swedish residents from homeschooling their children except in the case of extraordinary circumstances. The "extraordinary circumstances" do not include "safety and religion." According to the Namdars, Sweden's homeschooling law contradicts the European Union law mandating religious freedom and human rights for all EU residents.

The Gothenburg educational department petitioned the court against the Namdars and they were fined tens of thousands of euros.

"It should be emphasized: Our education is not alien to the municipality because we are the parents of eleven children. Nine of them grew up and studied at home, and they went on to become marvelous individuals. They had additional private tutors for secular studies which cost us a fortune, and in all the tests that the Swedish Department of Education gave to us, all of them without exception succeeded and received compliments on their education and their knowledge."

"Our adult children work in Jewish education as leaders, teachers and rabbis in the United States, Iceland and Sweden," Rabbi Namdar continued. "It should also be emphasized that my wife Leah, originally from London, is a certified educator. I myself have a rabbinical studies certificate that is considered a BA in the United States."

"Their attempt to impose on us an education that contradicts our principles reminds us of stories about Jewish religious children in socialist Russia. And again: The reason our children do not go to school is not because they do not like to go, or because they work or because we are lazy. They learn very well and often, and they receive an intensive education. Their knowledge of mathematics, English, engineering, geography, etc. – is equivocal and sometimes even higher than that of ordinary children from a state school."

"Therefore, there is no reason why we should not be allowed to raise our children in the spirit of Judaism. In addition, we explained to them that the security situation here is uncomfortable for the Jews, especially for those who are visibly Jewish."

"In such a situation we cannot put our children at such risk and put them in a public school. The responses of municipal representatives on this issue were outrageous. They do not see any danger in that our children will learn with a hostile and even dangerous environment and suggest that we simply pack ourselves up and move to another city or country, or that the children sit locked in a special room so Muslims cannot deal with them. This is deliberate and anti-Semitic abuse."