Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
Monday, Apr. 22 '19, י"ז בניסן תשע"ט
HEADLINES:
1. WATCH LIVE: TENS OF THOUSANDS ATTEND PRIESTLY BLESSING
2. 'ARAB LEADERS PRESSURING PALESTINIANS TO ACCEPT TRUMP PLAN'
3. BAR RAFAELI TO PAY TAXES ON MILLIONS OF DOLLARS EARNED ABROAD
4. KINNERET RISES 1.5 CENTIMETERS AFTER SNOW FALLS ON MOUNT HERMON
5. WATCH: CELEBRATION AT WESTERN WALL
6. HOW ISRAEL HELPED SRI LANKA PREPARE FOR MEGA-ATTACKS
7. ANALYZING THE 'NEW RIGHT' VOTE
8. TRUMP, NETANYAHU OFFER AID AFTER BOMBINGS KILL 207 IN SRI LANKA
1. WATCH LIVE: 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]
2. 'ARAB LEADERS PRESSURING PALESTINIANS TO ACCEPT TRUMP PLAN'
by David Rosenberg
Arab leaders are pressuring the Palestinian Authority to accept the peace plan drawn up by the Trump administration, which is expected to be released this June, a source within the Palestinian Authority claims.
According to a report over the weekend by the Qatari Alkhaleej Online outlet, a member of the Central Committee of PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas' ruling Fatah party said that Arab leaders are applying "political and financial pressure" on the Palestinian Authority to accept the so-called 'Deal of the Century' – a framework for a final status agreement between Israel and the PA drawn up by the White House.
The effort to force the PA into accepting the deal is reportedly being led by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates, according to the Fatah official.
"There are Arab countries, in particular Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, which take great interest in the American deal, and are using everything available at their disposal, including political and financial pressure, to make sure that the Palestinians accept the deal, despite the risks it involves for Palestinian interests."
On Sunday, PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas pushed back on calls for the PA to accept the Trump deal, telling a gathering of foreign ministers from Arab League member states that recently reelected Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was uninterested in peace, and that the Trump administration had disqualified itself as a peace broker.
"After the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the transfer of the US Embassy to it, the cessation of aid to UNRWA, and the closure of the Office of the PLO in Washington, what remains of the Deal of the Century?"
3. BAR RAFAELI TO PAY TAXES ON MILLIONS OF DOLLARS EARNED ABROAD
by Arutz Sheva Staff
The Central District Court in Lod has rejected an appeal by Israeli model Bar Rafaeli, which was filed following an order by tax authorities requiring her to pay Israeli taxes on millions of dollars in income earned abroad.
If the court's decision is not overturned by Israel's Supreme Court, Refaeli will be required to pay Israeli taxes on some 16 million shekels ($4.45 million) in income earned abroad.
Rafaeli had argued in court that she had established a 'family life' abroad for the years in question, and should therefore not be liable for Israeli taxes for income earned in that period. The court rejected her argument, however, ruling that Israel remained her primary residence.
The ruling was handed down ten days ago, but the court publicized it only on Monday.
Refaeli's lawyers have requested some of the testimonies remain confidential.
4. KINNERET RISES 1.5 CENTIMETERS AFTER SNOW FALLS ON MOUNT HERMON
by Arutz Sheva Staff
The Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) rose 1.5 centimeters over the weekend, for a total of 3.07 meters since the rainy season began.
Currently, the lake stands at 211.41 centimeters below sea level, and 2.59 meters below the upper red line signaling that the lake is full.
Twenty-five centimeters of snow fell on Mount Hermon, and the site briefly opened to visitors - a rarity on Pesach (Passover). It closed later on Monday morning due to increased snowfall and concerns regarding the weather.
On Monday, temperatures will rise slightly but remain lower than seasonal average. There may be light local rainfall in northern Israel. Monday night will be partly cloudy.
Tuesday will be clear or partly cloudy, with temperatures continuing to rise but remaining lower than seasonal average.
Wednesday will be clear or partly cloudy, and temperatures will rise to seasonal average.
Thursday will be warmer than seasonal average, especially inland and in Israel's mountainous regions.
5. WATCH: CELEBRATION AT WESTERN WALL
by Arutz Sheva Staff
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262138
6. HOW ISRAEL HELPED SRI LANKA PREPARE FOR MEGA-ATTACKS
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Sri Lankan emergency teams responding to a string of deadly bombings across the island nation were trained in part by Israel, in a special program to prepare first responders in the Sri Lankan capital to handle a variety of large-scale disasters – including multiple terror attacks.
Explosions were reported at eight separate locations across Sri Lanka on Sunday, most of them targeting churches or hotels during the Christian holiday of Easter.
At least 207 people were killed in the mass attacks, including some 30 foreign nationals.
Hardest hit was the Sri Lankan capital city of Colombo, with at least three hotels and a church bombed.
Local emergency teams called upon to conduct search and rescue missions and to treat the victims received special training from Israeli first responder teams, preparing them for a variety of scenarios – including large-scale terror attacks.
According to a spokesman for the United Hatzalah emergency responder organization, earlier this year, Israeli rescue teams from United Hatzalah traveled to the Sri Lankan capital city of Colombo to train local teams to prepare them for possible mass-casualty incidents, including mega-terror attacks.
The program, a joint effort of the American Jewish Committee and United Hatzalah, began in December 2018 and continued into January, with training programs in both India and Sri Lanka.
"This past January, the AJC and United Hatzalah teamed up to train first responders in Colombo, Sri Lanka in mass casualty incidents and disaster management," United Hatzalah said in a statement Sunday. "The mission, which was funded by the AJC, brought experts from United Hatzalah of Israel to train members of local response organizations in how to provide quick and effective emergency response to large scale emergencies ranging from natural disasters to terror attacks."
"The team from Israel provided training to members of the military, police force, search and rescue units and the fire department in Sri Lanka and provided them with tools and techniques developed in Israel in dealing with large-scale attacks such as the kind that occurred today."
Below is video from the Indian portion of the AJC-United Hatzalah mission to India and Sri Lanka from December 2018 to January 2019:
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262154
7. ANALYZING THE 'NEW RIGHT' VOTE
by ILTV
[iltv:2056808]
8. TRUMP, NETANYAHU OFFER AID AFTER BOMBINGS KILL 207 IN SRI LANKA
by David Rosenberg
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262145
Leaders from around the globe condemned a series of bombings targeting Easter celebrations in the island nation of Sri Lanka Sunday which killed more than 200 and left hundreds more injured.
Authorities in Sri Lanka placed urban centers across the country on lock-down after eight separate bombings ripped through hotels and churches in the cities of Colombo, Batticaloa, Negombo, Kochchikade, Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia, and Dematagoda.
The death toll in the attacks Sunday rose to 207, including at least 30 foreign nationals, with hundreds more injured.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility.
President Donald Trump offered his condolences to the victims of the bombings, and said the US stood "ready to help" Sri Lanka.
"138 people have been killed in Sri Lanka, with more than 600 badly injured, in a terrorist attack on churches and hotels. The United States offers heartfelt condolences to the great people of Sri Lanka. We stand ready to help!"
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu also offered assistance to Sri Lanka following the attacks, and called for the world to unite against terrorism.
"In the name of the citizens of Israel, it expresses deep shock at the murderous attacks against innocent civilians in Sri Lanka, and Israel is ready to assist the authorities in Sri Lanka at this difficult time."
"The entire world must unite in the battle against the scourge of terrorism."
The European Union expressed "horror and sadness" over the attacks, and adding that it was standing "ready to support" Sri Lanka.
"It was with horror and sadness that I heard of the bombings in #SriLanka costing the lives of so many people. I offer my heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims who had gathered to worship peacefully or come to visit this beautiful country. We stand ready to support," tweeted EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May condemned the Sri Lanka bombings as "truly appalling", and called on the international community to "stand together" in defense of religious freedom.
"The acts of violence against churches and hotels in Sri Lanka are truly appalling, and my deepest sympathies go out to all of those affected at this tragic time," May tweeted.
"We must stand together to make sure that no one should ever have to practise their faith in fear."
Russian President Vladimir Putin called the attacks "cruel and cynical", and offered his condolences.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte also tweeted in response to the attacks, writing "Terrible reports from Sri Lanka about bloody attacks on hotels and churches on this Easter Sunday. Thoughts are with the victims and their relatives."
Pope Francis condemned the bombings as "cruel violence", and expressed "affectionate closeness" with the Sri Lankan Christian community.
"I want to express my affectionate closeness with the Christian community, attacked while it was at prayer, and to all the victims of such cruel violence," the Pope said.
The Catholic Church in Jerusalem had said in an earlier statement: "We pray for the souls of the victims and ask for speedy recovery of the injured, and ask God to inspire the terrorists to repent of their killing and intimidation."
Australia's Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, condemned the "horrific terrorist attack", adding that Australians hearts "go out to those Christians…slaughtered today in this horrific terrorist attack."
"To the beautiful people of Sri Lanka, Australia sends its heartfelt sympathies and our prayers and our support -- and our offer to do whatever we can to support you in this terrible time of need."
"At this time as Easter Sunday draws to a conclusion here in Australia, our heart goes out to those Christians and all of those other innocents who have been slaughtered today in this horrific terrorist attack."
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called the attacks "devastating".
"New Zealand condemns all acts of terrorism, and our resolve has only been strengthened by the attack on our soil on the 15th of March. To see an attack in Sri Lanka while people were in churches and at hotels is devastating."
"New Zealand rejects all forms of extremism and stands for freedom of religion and the right to worship safely. Collectively we must find the will and the answers to end such violence."
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262145
Monday, April 22, 2019
Sunday, April 21, 2019
A7News: Sri Lanka intel warned of Muslim attack on churches
Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
Sunday, Apr. 21 '19, ט"ז בניסן תשע"ט
HEADLINES:
1. SRI LANKA INTEL WARNED OF MUSLIM ATTACK ON CHURCHES
2. 'THIS IS OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING ON A MUCH LARGER SCALE'
3. WATCH: SPRINGTIME SNOW ON MOUNT HERMON
4. RABBI YOSEF REVEALS THE CHARGED DEBATE OVER THE TEMPLE MOUNT
5. 185 DEAD IN SRI LANKA EXPLOSIONS
6. MOSCOW YESHIVA SET ON FIRE DURING PASSOVER SEDER
7. WATCH: THE NEW ISRAELI 'WE ARE THE WORLD'
8. TERROR ATTACK FOILED IN SAMARIA
1. SRI LANKA INTEL WARNED OF MUSLIM ATTACK ON CHURCHES
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Intelligence officials in Sri Lanka warned that terrorist elements, including the radical Islamic organization NTJ, would carry out a suicide attack in certain churches during Easter.
In the terror attack this morning, at least 185 people were killed and more than 500 wounded during Easter Sunday prayers. Dozens of victims were evacuated to hospitals in the capital Colombo.
A source in the Sri Lankan security services, who spoke with the Associated Press, reported that six explosions occurred almost simultaneously. According to him, a suspicion that suicide bombers blew themselves up at the entrance to the churches is being investigated. About four hours later another blast was heard in Dehiwela, a suburb of the city of Colombo, in which at least two other people were killed.
Among the dead are 35 foreigners, including French, Americans and Dutch.
The Israeli consul in India, Eli Sneh, said that at this stage there are no known Israeli casualties in the Sri Lanka attacks.
2. 'THIS IS OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING ON A MUCH LARGER SCALE'
by Mordechai Sones
Former Sri Lankan parliament member Rajiva Wijesinha told Al Jazeera he does not believe the Tamil Tigers are behind today's attacks.
"It's actually extremely chilling. We've never had anything of this sort before. Sri Lanka had a terrible time under Tamil Tiger terrorism for about 25 years and then there was a great sense of relief, which I am afraid the West has been fighting with us about, when we got rid of the tiger terrorists," Rajiva said.
"But the tiger terrorists were never as well organized and never quite as brilliant in synchronization and this is obviously something on a much larger scale which is frankly quite terrifying and you know the reactions I've heard suggest people are moving into panic mode again," he said.
The Tamil Tigers, formed in 1975, has vowed to carve out a separate Tamil state in Sri Lanka.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is known to have worked with "Palestinian" factions in the Middle East from whom they received advanced military training from 1978 to 1980.
Sri Lanka
iStock
3. WATCH: SPRINGTIME SNOW ON MOUNT HERMON
by Rafael Levi
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262134
The Hermon site announced more than 20 cm. snow has accumulated overnight on the site's lower level and continues to fall.
"We got fair and surprising snowfall. We didn't expect to close the site today, but visitors' safety is above all.
"The site's veterans don't remember such significant snow on Passover that caused the site to close at the end of April," noted Alon Friedman, the site's Director.
Notice will be publicized regarding opening of the site.
[album:open:11048]
4. RABBI YOSEF REVEALS THE CHARGED DEBATE OVER THE TEMPLE MOUNT
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef revealed in his weekly shiur that two members of the Chief Rabbinical Council demanded that the sign be removed that clarifies the Rabbinate's prohibition on going up to the Temple Mount.
"On the Temple Mount there has been a sign since the Six-Day War that the Chief Rabbinate of Israel forbids entering a place where there is sanctity. At the time, Rabbi Elyashiv asked that a person be standing there, a Torah scholar, who would warn people not to enter," Rabbi Yosef said.
He then revealed the dramatic debate in the Rabbinate Council. "Some time ago, a meeting of the Rabbinate Council was convened and one of the members protested the sign saying that it is forbidden to go up to the Temple Mount. 'There are rabbis who permit entering the Temple Mount,'" he said.
He said that the petitioner (whom Rabbi Yosef refused to name) wanted to replace the sign with a sign that clarified that there is a halachic controversy about ascending the Temple Mount and that some allow it.
"There was a sharp argument between the members, and I explained to him that we respect every torah scholar but we must remember: Who forbade entry?All of the great rabbis of all generations, from Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook through his son Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook, forbade this," Rabbi Yosef said
"There are those who claim that sovereignty should be shown, but Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook also referred to this and argued vehemently that it was a karet prohibition, and he wrote against it. All the leaders of the generation wrote this way. How can one disagree with them?"
In his remarks, he described problems that arise from the lenient opinion. "Traditional tourists come from abroad, they see religious people entering - they also enter. It is possible that the religious immersed in the mikvah and know how far to enter. But there are many others who do not know and enter in impurity. Will the Torah scholar who permits [ascending the Temple Mount] take responsibility for this?"
He then revealed that a vote was held. "They wanted to set up a committee to discuss the matter, and I said, 'There is nothing to discuss.' One said: 'Let's vote,' they voted, two voted for [the lenient position] - 12 voted against. The proposal failed. We have to be vigilant and warn the public that doesn't know."
During his speech he referred to the sanctity of the Western Wall and said that there is holiness throughout the Western Wall, even at the southern part of the wall. "We were at the prime minister's house with the rabbi of the Western Wall, Rabbi Rabinowitz, and we made it clear to him that the Reformists should not be recognized."
He attacked the Reform movement. "They do not have a foothold in Israel, but abroad they cause tremendous assimilation. The Reform and Conservative movements are the continuation of the Enlightenment 250 years ago. We stand strong against giving them any recognition."
5. 185 DEAD IN SRI LANKA EXPLOSIONS
by Arutz Sheva Staff
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262123
At least 185 have been reported dead and 500 wounded after 3 churches and 3 hotels were hit by explosions Sunday in Sri Lanka.
According to Reuters, the 3 hotels hit in the capital Colombo, were the Shangri-La, Kingsbury Hotel and Cinnamon Grand.
According to The Guardian, the 3 churches hit by blasts are St Anthony's Church in the capital, St Sebastian's in Katuwapitiya, north of Colombo, and local media has also reported a church in Batticaloa in Eastern Province was hit.
The six explosions took place as the Christian world celebrates Easter on Sunday, and happened almost simultaneously. At least two are suspected to have been carried out by suicide bombers.
Nobody has yet claimed responsibility for the explosions, according to Reuters, but local reports have claimed that ISIS is behind the attacks.
6. MOSCOW YESHIVA SET ON FIRE DURING PASSOVER SEDER
by Elad Benari, Canada
An arson fire was set at the largest yeshiva in Russia as during a Passover Seder on Friday, Jewish officials said, according to The Associated Press.
No one was reported injured in the fire at the Torat Chaim school in an eastern Moscow suburb.
Olga Esaulova, a spokeswoman for Moscow's chief rabbi, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying the fire was set in a storage area for kosher meat and that swastikas were drawn at the yeshiva's entrance.
There were about 60 students, rabbis and guests in the building at the time, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported.
Israel's Kan 11 News reported that in addition, a swastika was sprayed on the front door of the yeshiva.
Earlier this month in Argentina, a man broke into the Mikdash Yosef congregation in Buenos Aires during Shabbat evening services and threatened worshipers.
During the attack, the assailant threatened the worshipers with a sharp object and threw rocks at the congregants and a security guard. He also threw oil on the floor, causing several worshipers to fall. One of the guards prevented further violence by pepper spraying the attacker.
The attacker shouted anti-Semitic slogans and curses against the Jewish people during the attack. He was arrested when the police arrived.
Also this month, a pro-Israel activist was beaten near an anti-Israel rally in Amsterdam by a crowd of men shouting "Jew."
(Arutz Sheva's North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Passover in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)
7. WATCH: THE NEW ISRAELI 'WE ARE THE WORLD'
by Arutz Sheva Staff
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262129
More than 30 of Israel's famous artists and performers gathered for a special project with a message of unity and love for Israel
The "Shevat Achim VeAchiyot (brothers and sisters sitting together) project was conceived as a private initiative by Yifat Leder and Sa'ar Gamzu. Gal Galatz, the Galei Tzahal all music channel, also participated in the production.
The song was written by Doron Medley and composed by Idan Raichel, in the first collaboration of its kind between the two.
The work on the song was done voluntarily by all participants. All of the profits will be donated to the "Sahih" organization, the flagship program of the 'Netina Kederech Chayim' (giving as a way of life) organization.
Lyrics:
70 years on the road I'm traveling and looking
At what was and what will
And how my soul is still this nation
From catching the sunrise
From Jerusalem with its palaces
From the beaches of the Kinneret
From the parties of Tel Aviv
My father dreamed and prayed
To live in the Land of Israel
Today my children ask me
What is the story of Israel?
This is my home This is my heart
And I will not leave
Our ancestors, our roots
We are the flowers, the melodies
A tribe of brothers and sisters
The same neighborhood, the same street
Jacob's twelve sons'
Brought together after their wanderings
In the place of their longing
A man is his native landscape
He lines lines in the palm of his hand
Between the prayers and the oaths
The smell of orchard of citrus
And in my mother's eyes
I'll always find my place
The guitar is playing
An ancient tune that is right
This is a my home
This is my heart
And I will not leave
Our ancestors, our roots
And we are the flowers, the melodies
A tribe of brothers and sisters
From scratch everything is sewn
Patches, patches of the story
Like two words - they connect
The golden needle of a poet
Here I am from, Here I belong
And every friend of mine is like a brother
You are beating in my heart
I am east and west
This is my home
This is my heart
And I will not leave
Our ancestors, our roots
We are the flowers, the melodies
A tribe of brothers and sisters
This is my home
This is my heart
And I will not leave
Our ancestors, our roots
We are the flowers, the melodies
8. TERROR ATTACK FOILED IN SAMARIA
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Israeli Border Police on Saturday morning foiled an attempted terror attack at Samaria's Tapuah Junction.
The terrorist, a Palestinian Authority Arab of approximately 20 from the town of Sanniriya, arrived at the scene armed with a knife
Officers stationed in the area noticed the suspect's behavior and began chasing after him. A policeman at the scene noticed the chase and blocked the suspect's path with a squad car.
The suspect then drew a knife and began attempting to open the squad car's door in order to stab the officer. In response, the officer shot the suspect, injuring him.
No one else was injured.
According to Petah Tikva's Beilinson Hospital, the terrorist arrived in severe condition and his life is in danger.
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
Sunday, Apr. 21 '19, ט"ז בניסן תשע"ט
HEADLINES:
1. SRI LANKA INTEL WARNED OF MUSLIM ATTACK ON CHURCHES
2. 'THIS IS OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING ON A MUCH LARGER SCALE'
3. WATCH: SPRINGTIME SNOW ON MOUNT HERMON
4. RABBI YOSEF REVEALS THE CHARGED DEBATE OVER THE TEMPLE MOUNT
5. 185 DEAD IN SRI LANKA EXPLOSIONS
6. MOSCOW YESHIVA SET ON FIRE DURING PASSOVER SEDER
7. WATCH: THE NEW ISRAELI 'WE ARE THE WORLD'
8. TERROR ATTACK FOILED IN SAMARIA
1. SRI LANKA INTEL WARNED OF MUSLIM ATTACK ON CHURCHES
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Intelligence officials in Sri Lanka warned that terrorist elements, including the radical Islamic organization NTJ, would carry out a suicide attack in certain churches during Easter.
In the terror attack this morning, at least 185 people were killed and more than 500 wounded during Easter Sunday prayers. Dozens of victims were evacuated to hospitals in the capital Colombo.
A source in the Sri Lankan security services, who spoke with the Associated Press, reported that six explosions occurred almost simultaneously. According to him, a suspicion that suicide bombers blew themselves up at the entrance to the churches is being investigated. About four hours later another blast was heard in Dehiwela, a suburb of the city of Colombo, in which at least two other people were killed.
Among the dead are 35 foreigners, including French, Americans and Dutch.
The Israeli consul in India, Eli Sneh, said that at this stage there are no known Israeli casualties in the Sri Lanka attacks.
2. 'THIS IS OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING ON A MUCH LARGER SCALE'
by Mordechai Sones
Former Sri Lankan parliament member Rajiva Wijesinha told Al Jazeera he does not believe the Tamil Tigers are behind today's attacks.
"It's actually extremely chilling. We've never had anything of this sort before. Sri Lanka had a terrible time under Tamil Tiger terrorism for about 25 years and then there was a great sense of relief, which I am afraid the West has been fighting with us about, when we got rid of the tiger terrorists," Rajiva said.
"But the tiger terrorists were never as well organized and never quite as brilliant in synchronization and this is obviously something on a much larger scale which is frankly quite terrifying and you know the reactions I've heard suggest people are moving into panic mode again," he said.
The Tamil Tigers, formed in 1975, has vowed to carve out a separate Tamil state in Sri Lanka.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is known to have worked with "Palestinian" factions in the Middle East from whom they received advanced military training from 1978 to 1980.
Sri Lanka
iStock
3. WATCH: SPRINGTIME SNOW ON MOUNT HERMON
by Rafael Levi
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262134
The Hermon site announced more than 20 cm. snow has accumulated overnight on the site's lower level and continues to fall.
"We got fair and surprising snowfall. We didn't expect to close the site today, but visitors' safety is above all.
"The site's veterans don't remember such significant snow on Passover that caused the site to close at the end of April," noted Alon Friedman, the site's Director.
Notice will be publicized regarding opening of the site.
[album:open:11048]
4. RABBI YOSEF REVEALS THE CHARGED DEBATE OVER THE TEMPLE MOUNT
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef revealed in his weekly shiur that two members of the Chief Rabbinical Council demanded that the sign be removed that clarifies the Rabbinate's prohibition on going up to the Temple Mount.
"On the Temple Mount there has been a sign since the Six-Day War that the Chief Rabbinate of Israel forbids entering a place where there is sanctity. At the time, Rabbi Elyashiv asked that a person be standing there, a Torah scholar, who would warn people not to enter," Rabbi Yosef said.
He then revealed the dramatic debate in the Rabbinate Council. "Some time ago, a meeting of the Rabbinate Council was convened and one of the members protested the sign saying that it is forbidden to go up to the Temple Mount. 'There are rabbis who permit entering the Temple Mount,'" he said.
He said that the petitioner (whom Rabbi Yosef refused to name) wanted to replace the sign with a sign that clarified that there is a halachic controversy about ascending the Temple Mount and that some allow it.
"There was a sharp argument between the members, and I explained to him that we respect every torah scholar but we must remember: Who forbade entry?All of the great rabbis of all generations, from Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook through his son Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook, forbade this," Rabbi Yosef said
"There are those who claim that sovereignty should be shown, but Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook also referred to this and argued vehemently that it was a karet prohibition, and he wrote against it. All the leaders of the generation wrote this way. How can one disagree with them?"
In his remarks, he described problems that arise from the lenient opinion. "Traditional tourists come from abroad, they see religious people entering - they also enter. It is possible that the religious immersed in the mikvah and know how far to enter. But there are many others who do not know and enter in impurity. Will the Torah scholar who permits [ascending the Temple Mount] take responsibility for this?"
He then revealed that a vote was held. "They wanted to set up a committee to discuss the matter, and I said, 'There is nothing to discuss.' One said: 'Let's vote,' they voted, two voted for [the lenient position] - 12 voted against. The proposal failed. We have to be vigilant and warn the public that doesn't know."
During his speech he referred to the sanctity of the Western Wall and said that there is holiness throughout the Western Wall, even at the southern part of the wall. "We were at the prime minister's house with the rabbi of the Western Wall, Rabbi Rabinowitz, and we made it clear to him that the Reformists should not be recognized."
He attacked the Reform movement. "They do not have a foothold in Israel, but abroad they cause tremendous assimilation. The Reform and Conservative movements are the continuation of the Enlightenment 250 years ago. We stand strong against giving them any recognition."
5. 185 DEAD IN SRI LANKA EXPLOSIONS
by Arutz Sheva Staff
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262123
At least 185 have been reported dead and 500 wounded after 3 churches and 3 hotels were hit by explosions Sunday in Sri Lanka.
According to Reuters, the 3 hotels hit in the capital Colombo, were the Shangri-La, Kingsbury Hotel and Cinnamon Grand.
According to The Guardian, the 3 churches hit by blasts are St Anthony's Church in the capital, St Sebastian's in Katuwapitiya, north of Colombo, and local media has also reported a church in Batticaloa in Eastern Province was hit.
The six explosions took place as the Christian world celebrates Easter on Sunday, and happened almost simultaneously. At least two are suspected to have been carried out by suicide bombers.
Nobody has yet claimed responsibility for the explosions, according to Reuters, but local reports have claimed that ISIS is behind the attacks.
6. MOSCOW YESHIVA SET ON FIRE DURING PASSOVER SEDER
by Elad Benari, Canada
An arson fire was set at the largest yeshiva in Russia as during a Passover Seder on Friday, Jewish officials said, according to The Associated Press.
No one was reported injured in the fire at the Torat Chaim school in an eastern Moscow suburb.
Olga Esaulova, a spokeswoman for Moscow's chief rabbi, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying the fire was set in a storage area for kosher meat and that swastikas were drawn at the yeshiva's entrance.
There were about 60 students, rabbis and guests in the building at the time, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported.
Israel's Kan 11 News reported that in addition, a swastika was sprayed on the front door of the yeshiva.
Earlier this month in Argentina, a man broke into the Mikdash Yosef congregation in Buenos Aires during Shabbat evening services and threatened worshipers.
During the attack, the assailant threatened the worshipers with a sharp object and threw rocks at the congregants and a security guard. He also threw oil on the floor, causing several worshipers to fall. One of the guards prevented further violence by pepper spraying the attacker.
The attacker shouted anti-Semitic slogans and curses against the Jewish people during the attack. He was arrested when the police arrived.
Also this month, a pro-Israel activist was beaten near an anti-Israel rally in Amsterdam by a crowd of men shouting "Jew."
(Arutz Sheva's North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Passover in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)
7. WATCH: THE NEW ISRAELI 'WE ARE THE WORLD'
by Arutz Sheva Staff
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262129
More than 30 of Israel's famous artists and performers gathered for a special project with a message of unity and love for Israel
The "Shevat Achim VeAchiyot (brothers and sisters sitting together) project was conceived as a private initiative by Yifat Leder and Sa'ar Gamzu. Gal Galatz, the Galei Tzahal all music channel, also participated in the production.
The song was written by Doron Medley and composed by Idan Raichel, in the first collaboration of its kind between the two.
The work on the song was done voluntarily by all participants. All of the profits will be donated to the "Sahih" organization, the flagship program of the 'Netina Kederech Chayim' (giving as a way of life) organization.
Lyrics:
70 years on the road I'm traveling and looking
At what was and what will
And how my soul is still this nation
From catching the sunrise
From Jerusalem with its palaces
From the beaches of the Kinneret
From the parties of Tel Aviv
My father dreamed and prayed
To live in the Land of Israel
Today my children ask me
What is the story of Israel?
This is my home This is my heart
And I will not leave
Our ancestors, our roots
We are the flowers, the melodies
A tribe of brothers and sisters
The same neighborhood, the same street
Jacob's twelve sons'
Brought together after their wanderings
In the place of their longing
A man is his native landscape
He lines lines in the palm of his hand
Between the prayers and the oaths
The smell of orchard of citrus
And in my mother's eyes
I'll always find my place
The guitar is playing
An ancient tune that is right
This is a my home
This is my heart
And I will not leave
Our ancestors, our roots
And we are the flowers, the melodies
A tribe of brothers and sisters
From scratch everything is sewn
Patches, patches of the story
Like two words - they connect
The golden needle of a poet
Here I am from, Here I belong
And every friend of mine is like a brother
You are beating in my heart
I am east and west
This is my home
This is my heart
And I will not leave
Our ancestors, our roots
We are the flowers, the melodies
A tribe of brothers and sisters
This is my home
This is my heart
And I will not leave
Our ancestors, our roots
We are the flowers, the melodies
8. TERROR ATTACK FOILED IN SAMARIA
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Israeli Border Police on Saturday morning foiled an attempted terror attack at Samaria's Tapuah Junction.
The terrorist, a Palestinian Authority Arab of approximately 20 from the town of Sanniriya, arrived at the scene armed with a knife
Officers stationed in the area noticed the suspect's behavior and began chasing after him. A policeman at the scene noticed the chase and blocked the suspect's path with a squad car.
The suspect then drew a knife and began attempting to open the squad car's door in order to stab the officer. In response, the officer shot the suspect, injuring him.
No one else was injured.
According to Petah Tikva's Beilinson Hospital, the terrorist arrived in severe condition and his life is in danger.
Friday, April 19, 2019
A7News: Jewish activists arrested on Temple Mount ahead of Passover
Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
Friday, Apr. 19 '19, י"ד בניסן תשע"ט
HEADLINES:
1. JEWISH ACTIVISTS ARRESTED ON TEMPLE MOUNT AHEAD OF PASSOVER
2. KEY TRUMP ALLY URGES PRESIDENT TO DROP 'LAND FOR PEACE' FORMULA
3. SHAKED'S LIKUDNIKS
4. MK AVI DICHTER: WRONG AND UNFAIR ATTACK
5. IDF DEMOLISHES HOME OF ORI ANSBACHER'S MURDERER
6. MUELLER REPORT: TRUMP ATTEMPTED TO THWART ANTI-ISRAEL RESOLUTION
7. HAREDI PASSENGERS STRANDED FOR PASSOVER AFTER FLIGHT CANCELED
8. '500,000 JEWS IN THE GALILEE, 1 MILLION IN THE NEGEV'
1. JEWISH ACTIVISTS ARRESTED ON TEMPLE MOUNT AHEAD OF PASSOVER
by Arutz Sheva Staff
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262088
Israeli police arrested Jewish activists from the Hozrim LeHar (Returning to the Mount) organization early Friday afternoon, after an attempt to bring a young goat onto the Temple Mount for a Passover sacrifice.
Undercover police officers nabbed several activists as they carried the kid goat, holding them until additional officers could take the activists into custody.
Shortly afterwards, a number of Israeli civilians confronted police at the scene to protest the arrests. Witnesses say the undercover police officers refused calls by activists to show police identification.
In a statement released Friday afternoon shortly after the arrests, the Hozrim LeHar organization condemned the officers' behavior.
"The police are continuing to behavior like backward regimes, treating Temple Mount activists with disdain, like second-class citizens. The police's disgraceful behavior and harassment of Temple Mount activists has gotten worse, and it must be stopped – now."
"It is unacceptable that Jews are not allowed to observe basic religious commandments in the Jewish state, which was established exactly for that purpose."
2. KEY TRUMP ALLY URGES PRESIDENT TO DROP 'LAND FOR PEACE' FORMULA
by Arutz Sheva Staff
The president of the Family Research Council, a prominent conservative think-tank associated with the American Religious Right, has called on President Donald Trump to drop the land-for-peace formula as a basis for a final status agreement between Israel and the Arab world.
Tony Perkins, a former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives who since 2003 has headed the conservative Family Research Council, penned a joint opinion piece with Samaria Regional Council chairman Yossi Dagan this week praising President Trump's recognition of the Golan Heights as Israeli territory, and urging the president not to impose a settlement freeze on Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.
On Monday, Perkins and Dagan wrote in The Washington Times praising Trump as "perhaps the most pro-Israel president ever," lauding his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, the relocation of the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and Trump's recognition of the Golan Heights as sovereign Israeli territory.
"Under President Trump, the world sees and understands that the United States is a true friend of Israel. Whether it was moving the U.S. embassy to and recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, straightforwardly dealing with the threat posed by Iran, or acknowledging the sovereignty of Israel over its land, Mr. Trump is making history as perhaps the most pro-Israel president ever."
Perkins and Dagan urged Trump, however, not to rely on the land-for-peace formula – the basis of previous US-backed peace plans – in his soon-to-be released framework for a final status agreement, dubbed the 'Deal of the Century'.
"Trump's decisive actions related to Israel have brought a new level of respect for the United States in the region, and greater stability, and it has resulted in peak approval ratings among evangelicals and others who care about the Holy Land. The Trump administration should stay the course, continuing to avoid the 'land for peace' proposals, and the policies that have prevented Israelis from building in Judea and Samaria, which have repeatedly failed to work. This looks even more sensible in light of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent pledge to extend sovereignty over these areas."
Perkins is considered a key Trump ally in the Evangelical Christian community, and was a strong backer of the president during his 2016 campaign. Evangelical support for Trump surpassed support for previous Republican candidates, despite criticism of Trump's past support for legalized abortion and two divorces – one of them resulting from a much-publicized affair with Marla Maples. While Mitt Romney won the White Evangelical vote by a 58-point margin, 78-to-20, Trump won Evangelical Whites by 64 points, 80% to 16%.
Last May, Trump appointed Perkins to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262086
3. SHAKED'S LIKUDNIKS
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Elyashiv Amitzur, a former close assistant to Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked already began a few months ago - even before the elections - to hold a campaign for her within the Likud, Amichai Itali reported in Yediot Ahronot on Friday morning.
Amitzur began his career in Shaked's office about four years ago as her driver. As time went on, their relationship deepened and he became her trusted political adviser.
About a year and a half ago, Amitzur left Shaked's office for another opportunity.. A short while later, Amitzur began holding meetings with key activists in the Likud, telling them that he had moved to the party in order to conduct a campaign for Shaked. According to the report, in recent months, even before Shaked left Bayit Yehudi and established the New Right (and even after the establishment of the party), Amitzur continued to work with Likud activists and the aides of Likud ministers and MKs, while admitting that he was preparing a campaign for Shaked.
Amitzur confirmed to Yediot Ahronot on Thursday night that he's carrying out the campaign on his own - and without coordination with Shaked. "Everyone knows I'm campaigning for Ayelet for the day after but I'm doing it on my own," he said.
"I'm in friendly contact with her, even a kind of motherly contact," Amitzur said. "She's like a big sister or a guide for me. Following the failure of the New Right, I switched tactics and I'm now saying publicly that I think this woman should be prime minister and it should happen through the Likud. I want the Likudniks themselves to appoint her. I've been all around the country for the past year and a half, and I see that the Likudniks really want her to join the Likud and see her as a leader on the day after Netanyahu."
The justice minister's office responded: "Elyashiv Amitzur stopped working with Shaked over a year ago. The justice minister will decide on her own what her next step will be."
4. MK AVI DICHTER: WRONG AND UNFAIR ATTACK
by Hezki Baruch
MK Avi Dichter (Likud) chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, responded to the warnings of senior justice officials that Yariv Levin (Likud) would be appointed the minister of justice on Friday morning.
"I don't remember that there was ever such an attack on ministers even before they were appointed," Dichter told Reshet Bet. "Yariv Levin is a very smart man. Nobody really knows what he intends to do if he becomes justice minister. I think this attack is wrong and unfair."
Senior justice officials said that the appointment of Yariv Levin or Bezalel Smotrich as justice minister "will mean a declaration of war against the Supreme Court."
According to the Channel 13 News report, senior officials attacked Levin and Smotrich and said they "want to destroy the existing system and even have been declaring this for several years already."
"If in the past, Prime Minister Netanyahu prevented legislative initiatives against the court, and even promised the court presidents to stand by them, it seems that this time, if one of them is appointed, he will have a backing from Netanyahu to destroy the court and the system," they said.
"We expect a particularly difficult period," the senior officials added. "They're not coming to have a dialogue with us but to impose their ideology on us. They see us as the enemy."
5. IDF DEMOLISHES HOME OF ORI ANSBACHER'S MURDERER
by Elad Benari
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit confirmed on Friday morning that IDF soldiers demolished overnight Thursday two apartments in Hevron belonging to terrorist Arafat Irfaya, who murdered Ori Ansbacher in Jerusalem two months ago.
Palestinian Arabs reported that the forces arrived at the home of the terrorist's parents in Hevron, after the Supreme Court last week approved the demolition of two apartments in which the terrorist lived in the five-story building.
It was also reported that clashes broke out between the IDF and local Arabs during the demolition, and that the forces fired tear gas, but there no were reports of injuries.
Irfaya murdered 19-year-old Ansbacher in February. Irafya attacked Ansbacher and stabbed her to death in the Ein Yael forest near Jerusalem.
Attorney Leah Tsemel, who represented the terrorist, argued in the petition, among other things, that he is an illiterate who suffered from mental problems and that his actions were not motivated by nationalist motives.
The decision to demolish the terrorists' apartments was made by a majority of two judges against one. The terrorist lived with his parents in one apartment, while the second one only served him.
6. MUELLER REPORT: TRUMP ATTEMPTED TO THWART ANTI-ISRAEL RESOLUTION
by Arutz Sheva Staff
The Israeli angle: The Muller report, which examined Russian involvement in the US presidential election, showed that Donald Trump worked to counter anti-Israel bias at the United Nations even before he entered the White House.
According to a report by Barak Ravid for Channel 13 News, Trump, his adviser Jared Kushner and former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, worked with several foreign governments to prevent the Security Council Resolution condemning the Jewish presence over the so-called Green Line in December 2016,
Flynn said during his interrogation by the FBI that Trump and his team saw the thwarted decision as a significant issue. Flynn testified that Kushner led the team that tried to delay the vote in the Security Council or thwart it completely.
Flynn also said that he was responsible for attempts to persuade Russia to delay the vote or vote against the proposal to condemn the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria in the United Nations.
A redacted version of the Muller report was released by Attorney General William Barr Thursday,
7. HAREDI PASSENGERS STRANDED FOR PASSOVER AFTER FLIGHT CANCELED
by Arutz Sheva Staff
An Aeroflot flight to Israel from New York via Russia was canceled without the airline informing the passengers, who were delayed for seven hours at the airport.
The Israeli haredi website Behadrei Haredim reported that the families received notice that they had no way to reach their destination the Passover holiday, which begins on Friday night. Their only option is an alternative flight with El Al in the evening at a price of $2,000 per ticket, far less than the company is willing to reimburse the stranded passengers. According to the company the plane experienced a technical failure and cannot take off.
Moti Adler, the son of Meir Adler, the famous musician from Vizhnitz, told the site: "Suddenly they told us that the flight was postponed. Every hour they told us another hour, and in the end they simply canceled it and told us they had next week on Monday. They are willing to pay only the amount of the ticket, and we are forced to fly with El Al at twice the price, about $2,000."
"There are a lot of families here with children and babies, it's an intolerable situation. They brought in policemen who simply pushed us out, because we did not want to leave. We are now waiting for our suitcases. This is not a good situation. No one knows how he will fly and what he will do. They told us they would give us a hotel until next week, but it's not serious because we are on the eve of the Seder. What exactly will be done at the hotel?"
8. '500,000 JEWS IN THE GALILEE, 1 MILLION IN THE NEGEV'
by Eliran Aharon
Arutz Sheva met with Jewish National Fund (JNF) Chairman Danny Atar at Shuni Park to discuss the preparations for thousands of vacationers during the Passover holiday and the organization's activities in recent years.
"This place will absorb thousands of young people here every year to nurture the values of KKL-JNF and bring it to the Jewish people," Attar said, describing the JNF's activities throughout the years, beyond planting trees as in the past and redeeming land, as the organization had done since its founding 118 years ago:
"We are continuing the process of redeeming the lands even now. Over the past year, the JNF has also been engaged in afforestation (planting trees to restore forests) and solutions to the water problem, and we have added activities that are dominant in education, to prepare youth to be leaders in this country. We recognize that the people have arisen on their land thanks to the youth. We work with youth movements and prepare and we have amazing youth and we are preparing an outstanding future generation," he said.
In addition, Atar described the JNF's activities in the Diaspora to enhance Jewish identity and ties to the State of Israel and the Land of Israel. "We are approaching a situation in which seventy percent of the Jewish people is in the process of assimilation ... We have a successful state that serves as a lighthouse for the world and for us to lose that amount of world Jewry is a disaster. We decided that we would work in any way to stop this trend. The JNF is an asset of the entire Jewish people, and therefore we must strengthen the people in the periphery and in the Jewish world and stop assimilation with increasing ties to the Jewish people and strengthening ties with the State of Israel."
Within the framework of the JNF's activities, Attar related, a project was established for two weeks in which thousands of volunteers spread over 160 sites throughout the country and worked in nursing homers, in centers of activity, in the homes of Holocaust survivors and people with disabilities "We want to give them the best years they deserve, the generation of founders and founders of the state."
Atar stressed that this involves and includes encouraging immigration to Israel and promoting settlement in the Negev and the Galilee. "Only here is the home of the Jewish people, and it is our job to encourage them to come here."
"It is clear that when young people are allowed to get out of their screens and tablets and access them to the forests and parks and create a value-based educational activity that speaks of our roots and affinity to the Land of Israel, the youth are thirsty for it more than we parents think. People create a community process in the forest near the neighborhood and the forest becomes the neighborhood playground and they continue to maintain it through activities and their love for the country and the connection to the place of residence increases.People become volunteers in the community, help others and it turns out that we have amazing youth that takes responsibility for Israeli society. When they reach the age to enlist in the army, 35-40 percent go to the army and 75 percent of those go to the best units of the IDF, finish the army and go to the university and choose to live in the periphery, establish student villages and urban kibbutzim in the periphery and engage in education and volunteers in the communities. A wheel has been created here that is growing in terms of the scope of its activity.
Atar spoke about the continuous connection with JNF emissaries to Jewish communities in the Diaspora. "They do not know about the State of Israel and its power. They do not know how to strengthen their connection to the Jewish people and the State of Israel and our emissaries are moving from place to place, performing activities and games on the map of the Land of Israel and the children becoming part of the Land of Israel."
On his plans for the JNF in the coming year, Atar said that the task is to create a demographic process in the Galilee and the Negev and bring half a million new residents to the Galilee and another million to the Negev. "We want to bring a thousand young Jews to Israel in order to learn high-tech," he said, recalling the goals of land redemption and the acquisition of land that is also continuing. In this context, Attar's vision is the establishment of hi-tech enterprises and projects in the periphery in order to strengthen it, and in his estimation the Jewish world can enlist and assist the Jewish people in this mission.
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
Friday, Apr. 19 '19, י"ד בניסן תשע"ט
HEADLINES:
1. JEWISH ACTIVISTS ARRESTED ON TEMPLE MOUNT AHEAD OF PASSOVER
2. KEY TRUMP ALLY URGES PRESIDENT TO DROP 'LAND FOR PEACE' FORMULA
3. SHAKED'S LIKUDNIKS
4. MK AVI DICHTER: WRONG AND UNFAIR ATTACK
5. IDF DEMOLISHES HOME OF ORI ANSBACHER'S MURDERER
6. MUELLER REPORT: TRUMP ATTEMPTED TO THWART ANTI-ISRAEL RESOLUTION
7. HAREDI PASSENGERS STRANDED FOR PASSOVER AFTER FLIGHT CANCELED
8. '500,000 JEWS IN THE GALILEE, 1 MILLION IN THE NEGEV'
1. JEWISH ACTIVISTS ARRESTED ON TEMPLE MOUNT AHEAD OF PASSOVER
by Arutz Sheva Staff
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262088
Israeli police arrested Jewish activists from the Hozrim LeHar (Returning to the Mount) organization early Friday afternoon, after an attempt to bring a young goat onto the Temple Mount for a Passover sacrifice.
Undercover police officers nabbed several activists as they carried the kid goat, holding them until additional officers could take the activists into custody.
Shortly afterwards, a number of Israeli civilians confronted police at the scene to protest the arrests. Witnesses say the undercover police officers refused calls by activists to show police identification.
In a statement released Friday afternoon shortly after the arrests, the Hozrim LeHar organization condemned the officers' behavior.
"The police are continuing to behavior like backward regimes, treating Temple Mount activists with disdain, like second-class citizens. The police's disgraceful behavior and harassment of Temple Mount activists has gotten worse, and it must be stopped – now."
"It is unacceptable that Jews are not allowed to observe basic religious commandments in the Jewish state, which was established exactly for that purpose."
2. KEY TRUMP ALLY URGES PRESIDENT TO DROP 'LAND FOR PEACE' FORMULA
by Arutz Sheva Staff
The president of the Family Research Council, a prominent conservative think-tank associated with the American Religious Right, has called on President Donald Trump to drop the land-for-peace formula as a basis for a final status agreement between Israel and the Arab world.
Tony Perkins, a former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives who since 2003 has headed the conservative Family Research Council, penned a joint opinion piece with Samaria Regional Council chairman Yossi Dagan this week praising President Trump's recognition of the Golan Heights as Israeli territory, and urging the president not to impose a settlement freeze on Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.
On Monday, Perkins and Dagan wrote in The Washington Times praising Trump as "perhaps the most pro-Israel president ever," lauding his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, the relocation of the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and Trump's recognition of the Golan Heights as sovereign Israeli territory.
"Under President Trump, the world sees and understands that the United States is a true friend of Israel. Whether it was moving the U.S. embassy to and recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, straightforwardly dealing with the threat posed by Iran, or acknowledging the sovereignty of Israel over its land, Mr. Trump is making history as perhaps the most pro-Israel president ever."
Perkins and Dagan urged Trump, however, not to rely on the land-for-peace formula – the basis of previous US-backed peace plans – in his soon-to-be released framework for a final status agreement, dubbed the 'Deal of the Century'.
"Trump's decisive actions related to Israel have brought a new level of respect for the United States in the region, and greater stability, and it has resulted in peak approval ratings among evangelicals and others who care about the Holy Land. The Trump administration should stay the course, continuing to avoid the 'land for peace' proposals, and the policies that have prevented Israelis from building in Judea and Samaria, which have repeatedly failed to work. This looks even more sensible in light of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent pledge to extend sovereignty over these areas."
Perkins is considered a key Trump ally in the Evangelical Christian community, and was a strong backer of the president during his 2016 campaign. Evangelical support for Trump surpassed support for previous Republican candidates, despite criticism of Trump's past support for legalized abortion and two divorces – one of them resulting from a much-publicized affair with Marla Maples. While Mitt Romney won the White Evangelical vote by a 58-point margin, 78-to-20, Trump won Evangelical Whites by 64 points, 80% to 16%.
Last May, Trump appointed Perkins to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262086
3. SHAKED'S LIKUDNIKS
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Elyashiv Amitzur, a former close assistant to Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked already began a few months ago - even before the elections - to hold a campaign for her within the Likud, Amichai Itali reported in Yediot Ahronot on Friday morning.
Amitzur began his career in Shaked's office about four years ago as her driver. As time went on, their relationship deepened and he became her trusted political adviser.
About a year and a half ago, Amitzur left Shaked's office for another opportunity.. A short while later, Amitzur began holding meetings with key activists in the Likud, telling them that he had moved to the party in order to conduct a campaign for Shaked. According to the report, in recent months, even before Shaked left Bayit Yehudi and established the New Right (and even after the establishment of the party), Amitzur continued to work with Likud activists and the aides of Likud ministers and MKs, while admitting that he was preparing a campaign for Shaked.
Amitzur confirmed to Yediot Ahronot on Thursday night that he's carrying out the campaign on his own - and without coordination with Shaked. "Everyone knows I'm campaigning for Ayelet for the day after but I'm doing it on my own," he said.
"I'm in friendly contact with her, even a kind of motherly contact," Amitzur said. "She's like a big sister or a guide for me. Following the failure of the New Right, I switched tactics and I'm now saying publicly that I think this woman should be prime minister and it should happen through the Likud. I want the Likudniks themselves to appoint her. I've been all around the country for the past year and a half, and I see that the Likudniks really want her to join the Likud and see her as a leader on the day after Netanyahu."
The justice minister's office responded: "Elyashiv Amitzur stopped working with Shaked over a year ago. The justice minister will decide on her own what her next step will be."
4. MK AVI DICHTER: WRONG AND UNFAIR ATTACK
by Hezki Baruch
MK Avi Dichter (Likud) chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, responded to the warnings of senior justice officials that Yariv Levin (Likud) would be appointed the minister of justice on Friday morning.
"I don't remember that there was ever such an attack on ministers even before they were appointed," Dichter told Reshet Bet. "Yariv Levin is a very smart man. Nobody really knows what he intends to do if he becomes justice minister. I think this attack is wrong and unfair."
Senior justice officials said that the appointment of Yariv Levin or Bezalel Smotrich as justice minister "will mean a declaration of war against the Supreme Court."
According to the Channel 13 News report, senior officials attacked Levin and Smotrich and said they "want to destroy the existing system and even have been declaring this for several years already."
"If in the past, Prime Minister Netanyahu prevented legislative initiatives against the court, and even promised the court presidents to stand by them, it seems that this time, if one of them is appointed, he will have a backing from Netanyahu to destroy the court and the system," they said.
"We expect a particularly difficult period," the senior officials added. "They're not coming to have a dialogue with us but to impose their ideology on us. They see us as the enemy."
5. IDF DEMOLISHES HOME OF ORI ANSBACHER'S MURDERER
by Elad Benari
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit confirmed on Friday morning that IDF soldiers demolished overnight Thursday two apartments in Hevron belonging to terrorist Arafat Irfaya, who murdered Ori Ansbacher in Jerusalem two months ago.
Palestinian Arabs reported that the forces arrived at the home of the terrorist's parents in Hevron, after the Supreme Court last week approved the demolition of two apartments in which the terrorist lived in the five-story building.
It was also reported that clashes broke out between the IDF and local Arabs during the demolition, and that the forces fired tear gas, but there no were reports of injuries.
Irfaya murdered 19-year-old Ansbacher in February. Irafya attacked Ansbacher and stabbed her to death in the Ein Yael forest near Jerusalem.
Attorney Leah Tsemel, who represented the terrorist, argued in the petition, among other things, that he is an illiterate who suffered from mental problems and that his actions were not motivated by nationalist motives.
The decision to demolish the terrorists' apartments was made by a majority of two judges against one. The terrorist lived with his parents in one apartment, while the second one only served him.
6. MUELLER REPORT: TRUMP ATTEMPTED TO THWART ANTI-ISRAEL RESOLUTION
by Arutz Sheva Staff
The Israeli angle: The Muller report, which examined Russian involvement in the US presidential election, showed that Donald Trump worked to counter anti-Israel bias at the United Nations even before he entered the White House.
According to a report by Barak Ravid for Channel 13 News, Trump, his adviser Jared Kushner and former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, worked with several foreign governments to prevent the Security Council Resolution condemning the Jewish presence over the so-called Green Line in December 2016,
Flynn said during his interrogation by the FBI that Trump and his team saw the thwarted decision as a significant issue. Flynn testified that Kushner led the team that tried to delay the vote in the Security Council or thwart it completely.
Flynn also said that he was responsible for attempts to persuade Russia to delay the vote or vote against the proposal to condemn the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria in the United Nations.
A redacted version of the Muller report was released by Attorney General William Barr Thursday,
7. HAREDI PASSENGERS STRANDED FOR PASSOVER AFTER FLIGHT CANCELED
by Arutz Sheva Staff
An Aeroflot flight to Israel from New York via Russia was canceled without the airline informing the passengers, who were delayed for seven hours at the airport.
The Israeli haredi website Behadrei Haredim reported that the families received notice that they had no way to reach their destination the Passover holiday, which begins on Friday night. Their only option is an alternative flight with El Al in the evening at a price of $2,000 per ticket, far less than the company is willing to reimburse the stranded passengers. According to the company the plane experienced a technical failure and cannot take off.
Moti Adler, the son of Meir Adler, the famous musician from Vizhnitz, told the site: "Suddenly they told us that the flight was postponed. Every hour they told us another hour, and in the end they simply canceled it and told us they had next week on Monday. They are willing to pay only the amount of the ticket, and we are forced to fly with El Al at twice the price, about $2,000."
"There are a lot of families here with children and babies, it's an intolerable situation. They brought in policemen who simply pushed us out, because we did not want to leave. We are now waiting for our suitcases. This is not a good situation. No one knows how he will fly and what he will do. They told us they would give us a hotel until next week, but it's not serious because we are on the eve of the Seder. What exactly will be done at the hotel?"
8. '500,000 JEWS IN THE GALILEE, 1 MILLION IN THE NEGEV'
by Eliran Aharon
Arutz Sheva met with Jewish National Fund (JNF) Chairman Danny Atar at Shuni Park to discuss the preparations for thousands of vacationers during the Passover holiday and the organization's activities in recent years.
"This place will absorb thousands of young people here every year to nurture the values of KKL-JNF and bring it to the Jewish people," Attar said, describing the JNF's activities throughout the years, beyond planting trees as in the past and redeeming land, as the organization had done since its founding 118 years ago:
"We are continuing the process of redeeming the lands even now. Over the past year, the JNF has also been engaged in afforestation (planting trees to restore forests) and solutions to the water problem, and we have added activities that are dominant in education, to prepare youth to be leaders in this country. We recognize that the people have arisen on their land thanks to the youth. We work with youth movements and prepare and we have amazing youth and we are preparing an outstanding future generation," he said.
In addition, Atar described the JNF's activities in the Diaspora to enhance Jewish identity and ties to the State of Israel and the Land of Israel. "We are approaching a situation in which seventy percent of the Jewish people is in the process of assimilation ... We have a successful state that serves as a lighthouse for the world and for us to lose that amount of world Jewry is a disaster. We decided that we would work in any way to stop this trend. The JNF is an asset of the entire Jewish people, and therefore we must strengthen the people in the periphery and in the Jewish world and stop assimilation with increasing ties to the Jewish people and strengthening ties with the State of Israel."
Within the framework of the JNF's activities, Attar related, a project was established for two weeks in which thousands of volunteers spread over 160 sites throughout the country and worked in nursing homers, in centers of activity, in the homes of Holocaust survivors and people with disabilities "We want to give them the best years they deserve, the generation of founders and founders of the state."
Atar stressed that this involves and includes encouraging immigration to Israel and promoting settlement in the Negev and the Galilee. "Only here is the home of the Jewish people, and it is our job to encourage them to come here."
"It is clear that when young people are allowed to get out of their screens and tablets and access them to the forests and parks and create a value-based educational activity that speaks of our roots and affinity to the Land of Israel, the youth are thirsty for it more than we parents think. People create a community process in the forest near the neighborhood and the forest becomes the neighborhood playground and they continue to maintain it through activities and their love for the country and the connection to the place of residence increases.People become volunteers in the community, help others and it turns out that we have amazing youth that takes responsibility for Israeli society. When they reach the age to enlist in the army, 35-40 percent go to the army and 75 percent of those go to the best units of the IDF, finish the army and go to the university and choose to live in the periphery, establish student villages and urban kibbutzim in the periphery and engage in education and volunteers in the communities. A wheel has been created here that is growing in terms of the scope of its activity.
Atar spoke about the continuous connection with JNF emissaries to Jewish communities in the Diaspora. "They do not know about the State of Israel and its power. They do not know how to strengthen their connection to the Jewish people and the State of Israel and our emissaries are moving from place to place, performing activities and games on the map of the Land of Israel and the children becoming part of the Land of Israel."
On his plans for the JNF in the coming year, Atar said that the task is to create a demographic process in the Galilee and the Negev and bring half a million new residents to the Galilee and another million to the Negev. "We want to bring a thousand young Jews to Israel in order to learn high-tech," he said, recalling the goals of land redemption and the acquisition of land that is also continuing. In this context, Attar's vision is the establishment of hi-tech enterprises and projects in the periphery in order to strengthen it, and in his estimation the Jewish world can enlist and assist the Jewish people in this mission.
Thursday, April 18, 2019
A7News: Report: Senior Israeli, Lebanese officials meet in Moscow
Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
Thursday, Apr. 18 '19, י"ג בניסן תשע"ט
HEADLINES:
1. REPORT: SENIOR ISRAELI, LEBANESE OFFICIALS MEET IN MOSCOW
2. SUSPECTS HEADING TO TEMPLE MOUNT WITH GOATS ARRESTED
3. ROUHANI URGES MIDEAST STATES TO 'DRIVE BACK ZIONISM'
4. DID NASA EXPERIMENT SURVIVE 'BERESHEET' LUNAR CRASH?
5. GREENBLATT TO PA CABINET HEAD: TRY WORKING WITH US
6. BENNETT ADMITS DEFEAT
7. HAREDI PASSENGERS STRANDED FOR PASSOVER AFTER FLIGHT CANCELED
8. YAIR NETANYAHU: BENNETT BURNED RIGHT-WING VOTES
1. REPORT: SENIOR ISRAELI, LEBANESE OFFICIALS MEET IN MOSCOW
by Nitzan Keidar
Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil recently met with a senior Israeli official in Moscow, the Saudi newspaper Elaph reported.
According to the report, which cited a Lebanese source, the two discussed the disputes between their respective countries regarding the maritime border, and the Assad regime in Syria.
The Israeli official also briefed the Lebanese minister on Israel's concern about the activities of Hezbollah's precision weapons factories in Lebanese territory.
He asked to convey a message to Lebanese President Michel Aoun that Israel does not view his country as an enemy, but would not hesitate to attack Iranian targets on its soil.
On the other hand, the Lebanese foreign minister requested from the Israeli official that Israel's defense establishment stop threatening the Lebanese regime because of problems caused by the Hezbollah terror organization.
2. SUSPECTS HEADING TO TEMPLE MOUNT WITH GOATS ARRESTED
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Police last night arrested four people, two of them journalists, with two goats they apparently planned to sacrifice on the Temple Mount.
The four were arrested following a report received by the police about suspects in possession of goats making their way to the Temple Mount compound in order to sacrifice the goats as a Passover sacrifice.
Police searched for the suspects' vehicle, and during the night the vehicle was located when it arrived at the Old City near Jaffa Gate. During a search of the vehicle, goats were found in the trunk.
A preliminary investigation revealed that the suspects are a resident of Ofra in his forties, a 17-year-old boy from central Israel and two journalists. All the occupants of the vehicle were detained for interrogation and their equipment was seized.
The two suspects were investigated for offenses of animal abuse and behavior that could disrupt public order, while the two journalists were released later in the night; Police intend to call them for further investigation. Today the two suspects will be brought before a court.
"The Israel Police will not allow any person or person to incite and cause provocations in any way contrary to the law on the Temple Mount, and will act resolutely against every suspect and agent who acts deliberately to provoke and incite, with focus on these days before the holidays of Nissan and Easter," the police said.
3. ROUHANI URGES MIDEAST STATES TO 'DRIVE BACK ZIONISM'
by AFP
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani called on Middle East states on Thursday to "drive back Zionism", saying Israel and its US ally were the root causes of the region's problems.
"The region's nations have lived alongside each other for centuries and never had a problem... If there is a problem, it is caused by others," Rouhani said in an Army Day address.
"Let us stand together, be together and rid the region of the aggressor's presence," he added in the speech shown live on state television.
Flanked by top generals, Rouhani told Iran's neighbors and countries across the region that its armed forces are "never against you or your national interests" but are "standing against the aggressors."
"If we have a problem in the region today, its roots are either with Zionism or America's arrogance," Rouhani said.
He called on Muslim nations to band together and "restore the historical right of the nation of Palestine," saying that "Zionism ... has been committing crimes in the region for the past 70 years."
"The final victory will surely be with the righteous," he said.
Iran's annual Army Day celebrations are an opportunity for the military to show off its latest weaponry but also for its political leaders to try to reassure neighboring countries that they are for defensive purposes only.
4. DID NASA EXPERIMENT SURVIVE 'BERESHEET' LUNAR CRASH?
by Tal Polon
A NASA piggyback experiment that was fastened to the top of the Israeli spacecraft "Beresheet" may have survived the spacecraft's failed lunar landing, experts said.
Beresheet was minutes away from landing on the moon on April 11 when contact was lost with the spacecraft and it crashed onto the moon's surface.
The spacecraft had carried a "time capsule" containing digital files including a Bible, children's drawings, Israeli songs, the memoirs of a Holocaust survivor, and a blue-and-white Israeli flag.
According to Space.com, a NASA device known as a Lunar Retroreflector Array (LRA) had also been attached to the top of the spacecraft.
The LRA experiment, composed of eight mirrors in a dome-shaped aluminum frame, aims to serve as a marker for other spacecraft during landing. It is smaller than a computer mouse and lightweight.
Researchers now believe that the device may have survived the crash.
"Yes, we believe the laser reflector array would have survived the crash, although it may have separated from the main spacecraft body," David Smith, principal investigator of the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) instrument aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft, told Inside Outer Space.
"Of course, we do not know the orientation of the array," he added. "It could be upside down, but it has a 120-degree angle of reception, and we only need 1 of the 0.5-inch cubes for detection. But it has certainly not made it any easier."
He added that the LOLA team would start planning observations to find the LRA soon.
5. GREENBLATT TO PA CABINET HEAD: TRY WORKING WITH US
by Elad Benari
Jason Greenblatt, the US Representative for International Negotiations, on Wednesday ripped Palestinian Authority (PA) cabinet leader Mohammad Shtayyeh, who said a day earlier that the Trump administration's peace plan will be "born dead".
"Why does the new PA Prime Minister hope for our plan to be 'born dead' and for peace to fail? By working with us, perhaps something wonderful can happen for Palestinians. We've repeatedly said this won't just be an economic plan," Greenblatt tweeted.
"PM Shtayyeh, starting a new job by condemning a plan you haven't seen is unfair to Palestinians. You have an obligation to first look at an opportunity before you dismiss it. The PA can continue to push us away, but that will do nothing to improve the lives of the Palestinians," he added in a second tweet.
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262030
Shtayyeh, speaking to The Associated Press on Tuesday, rejected the Trump administration's peace plan and declared, "There are no partners in Palestine for Trump. There are no Arab partners for Trump and there are no European partners for Trump."
He also stressed that any proposal that ignores key Palestinian demands will be rejected by the international community.
"Where are we going to have the Palestinian state?" he asked. "We are not looking for an entity. We are looking for a sovereign state."
"Palestinians are not interested in economic peace. We are interested in ending occupation," continued Shtayyeh. "Life cannot be enjoyed under occupation."
The PA, which has been boycotting the US ever since President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December of 2017, has rejected the US peace plan before it has even been unveiled.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, Reuters reported that the Trump administration's peace plan will be unveiled after Israel forms a governing coalition and after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ends in early June.
Greenblatt later confirmed the report, tweeting a link to it and adding, "This is an accurate report".
6. BENNETT ADMITS DEFEAT
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Education Minister Naftali Bennett conceded that he had lost his Knesset seat and that the New Right party had failed to clear the electoral threshold.
"I did the best I could for my beloved people," Bennett wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday evening after the Central Elections Committee found that the New Right had gained less than 50 votes in the latest recount and remained over 1,400 votes shy of the electoral threshold.
"After six years of service as a government minister, 100 campaign days and another week of struggle for every voice, I can say: I did the best I could for the people of Israel, my beloved nation," Bennett said.
"This time it was not enough.
"I have no complaints to anyone. I and I alone are responsible for the result.
"Some people mocked us for trying to pass the threshold :"It's pathetic, hopeless, desperate."
That does not matter.
"I would prefer to be struggling at the front and not among the mocking people from the gallery. We are not contractors of successes, we are messengers of endeavor. And I did everything I could. Only in this way does one succeed in studies, in high-tech, in the army, anywhere in life, by trying. Even if it seems all is almost lost. Sometimes it works, but not this time.
"As a minister of education, I want to convey to every student, student, entrepreneur, and every person with a dream - do not give up! Never give up a worthy cause! Even if it seems hopeless.
"Indeed, we have found irregularities in the polls and beyond, but they do not, in and of themselves, nullify all the election results. Our lawyers will examine the findings in the next two weeks, but at this stage we are moving on.
'I believe in the great Israeli spirit.
"I believe that our people have a great mission: to be a model state, and we all have a lot of work to do.
"I would like to thank my wife Gilat first and foremost for being my strength and happiness.
"I want to thank my partner, Ayelet Shaked, whom I consider to be the best justice minister in Israel's history. Together, over the past six years, we have held the steering wheel of the ship, positioned it to the right, and succeeded in changing the path of the State of Israel. The ship will continue to sail without us. It hurts me for the state that it and Ayelet, who is so talented, will part for a while, but I have no doubt that she will serve our people again.
"Thank you to the wonderful Alona Barkat who will continue to contribute greatly to Israeli society, to Matan Kahane who was a true friend and a fighter, to Shuli Moalem with her huge heart, to the brave Carolyn Glick, and to Uri Shechter.
"I give thanks to Tal Gan Zvi, the head of my staff, a gifted and talented man, and to every staff member of my bureau and the wonderful campaign leader.
"I give thank to all the volunteers in the campaign and in recent days. It was incredible what mobilization there was for the cause.
"I give much thanks to the Holy One, blessed be He, Whom I trust as always, and thank Him for the good and the bad..
"You will continue where I left off.
"And I promise: wherever I am, I will never stop being a soldier of the people of Israel.
"Yours with love,
Naftali Bennett"
7. HAREDI PASSENGERS STRANDED FOR PASSOVER AFTER FLIGHT CANCELED
by Arutz Sheva Staff
An Aeroflot flight to Israel from New York via Russia was canceled without the airline informing the passengers, who were delayed for seven hours at the airport.
The Israeli haredi website Behadrei Haredim reported that the families received notice that they had no way to reach their destination the Passover holiday, which begins on Friday night. Their only option is an alternative flight with El Al in the evening at a price of $2,000 per ticket, far less than the company is willing to reimburse the stranded passengers. According to the company the plane experienced a technical failure and cannot take off.
Moti Adler, the son of Meir Adler, the famous musician from Vizhnitz, told the site: "Suddenly they told us that the flight was postponed. Every hour they told us another hour, and in the end they simply canceled it and told us they had next week on Monday. They are willing to pay only the amount of the ticket, and we are forced to fly with El Al at twice the price, about $2,000."
"There are a lot of families here with children and babies, it's an intolerable situation. They brought in policemen who simply pushed us out, because we did not want to leave. We are now waiting for our suitcases. This is not a good situation. No one knows how he will fly and what he will do. They told us they would give us a hotel until next week, but it's not serious because we are on the eve of the Seder. What exactly will be done at the hotel?"
8. YAIR NETANYAHU: BENNETT BURNED RIGHT-WING VOTES
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Yair Netanyahu, son of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, blasted Education Minister Naftali Bennett (New Right) for "burning" right-wing votes.
With 138,598 votes, New Right party fell just 1,400 votes shy of the electoral threshold.
Earlier, Israeli journalist Yinon Magal praised Bennett, tweeting: "Naftali Bennett, good for you! You could've remained in a secure place, but you dared and you proved that you were brave enough to run and to try to break the Jewish Home's glass ceiling. You also showed determination and a willingness to fight for every vote. Thank you for what you've done, and good luck."
In response, Yair tweeted, "Thanks for the fact that he burned four of the right wing's Knesset seats?"
"Who drank his seats and caused him and [Zehut leader Moshe] Feiglin not to cross the electoral threshold?" Magal shot back.
"Regarding the Likud you say it 'drank' mandates, but when it comes to [Blue and White leaders MK Yair] Lapid and [Benny] Gantz regarding the Meretz and Labor parties, you don't say anything - it's just an impressive and historic achievement," Yair responded.
"And another question," Yair continued. "Who didn't learn from the '92 elections and split the right in an irresponsible way for no reason? And who ensured that the small right-wing parties who otherwise wouldn't have crossed the electoral threshold would unite, and took criticism for making a 'treaty with Kahanists' and even made space for the Jewish Home in the Likud's list, in an unprecedented move?"
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
Thursday, Apr. 18 '19, י"ג בניסן תשע"ט
HEADLINES:
1. REPORT: SENIOR ISRAELI, LEBANESE OFFICIALS MEET IN MOSCOW
2. SUSPECTS HEADING TO TEMPLE MOUNT WITH GOATS ARRESTED
3. ROUHANI URGES MIDEAST STATES TO 'DRIVE BACK ZIONISM'
4. DID NASA EXPERIMENT SURVIVE 'BERESHEET' LUNAR CRASH?
5. GREENBLATT TO PA CABINET HEAD: TRY WORKING WITH US
6. BENNETT ADMITS DEFEAT
7. HAREDI PASSENGERS STRANDED FOR PASSOVER AFTER FLIGHT CANCELED
8. YAIR NETANYAHU: BENNETT BURNED RIGHT-WING VOTES
1. REPORT: SENIOR ISRAELI, LEBANESE OFFICIALS MEET IN MOSCOW
by Nitzan Keidar
Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil recently met with a senior Israeli official in Moscow, the Saudi newspaper Elaph reported.
According to the report, which cited a Lebanese source, the two discussed the disputes between their respective countries regarding the maritime border, and the Assad regime in Syria.
The Israeli official also briefed the Lebanese minister on Israel's concern about the activities of Hezbollah's precision weapons factories in Lebanese territory.
He asked to convey a message to Lebanese President Michel Aoun that Israel does not view his country as an enemy, but would not hesitate to attack Iranian targets on its soil.
On the other hand, the Lebanese foreign minister requested from the Israeli official that Israel's defense establishment stop threatening the Lebanese regime because of problems caused by the Hezbollah terror organization.
2. SUSPECTS HEADING TO TEMPLE MOUNT WITH GOATS ARRESTED
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Police last night arrested four people, two of them journalists, with two goats they apparently planned to sacrifice on the Temple Mount.
The four were arrested following a report received by the police about suspects in possession of goats making their way to the Temple Mount compound in order to sacrifice the goats as a Passover sacrifice.
Police searched for the suspects' vehicle, and during the night the vehicle was located when it arrived at the Old City near Jaffa Gate. During a search of the vehicle, goats were found in the trunk.
A preliminary investigation revealed that the suspects are a resident of Ofra in his forties, a 17-year-old boy from central Israel and two journalists. All the occupants of the vehicle were detained for interrogation and their equipment was seized.
The two suspects were investigated for offenses of animal abuse and behavior that could disrupt public order, while the two journalists were released later in the night; Police intend to call them for further investigation. Today the two suspects will be brought before a court.
"The Israel Police will not allow any person or person to incite and cause provocations in any way contrary to the law on the Temple Mount, and will act resolutely against every suspect and agent who acts deliberately to provoke and incite, with focus on these days before the holidays of Nissan and Easter," the police said.
3. ROUHANI URGES MIDEAST STATES TO 'DRIVE BACK ZIONISM'
by AFP
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani called on Middle East states on Thursday to "drive back Zionism", saying Israel and its US ally were the root causes of the region's problems.
"The region's nations have lived alongside each other for centuries and never had a problem... If there is a problem, it is caused by others," Rouhani said in an Army Day address.
"Let us stand together, be together and rid the region of the aggressor's presence," he added in the speech shown live on state television.
Flanked by top generals, Rouhani told Iran's neighbors and countries across the region that its armed forces are "never against you or your national interests" but are "standing against the aggressors."
"If we have a problem in the region today, its roots are either with Zionism or America's arrogance," Rouhani said.
He called on Muslim nations to band together and "restore the historical right of the nation of Palestine," saying that "Zionism ... has been committing crimes in the region for the past 70 years."
"The final victory will surely be with the righteous," he said.
Iran's annual Army Day celebrations are an opportunity for the military to show off its latest weaponry but also for its political leaders to try to reassure neighboring countries that they are for defensive purposes only.
4. DID NASA EXPERIMENT SURVIVE 'BERESHEET' LUNAR CRASH?
by Tal Polon
A NASA piggyback experiment that was fastened to the top of the Israeli spacecraft "Beresheet" may have survived the spacecraft's failed lunar landing, experts said.
Beresheet was minutes away from landing on the moon on April 11 when contact was lost with the spacecraft and it crashed onto the moon's surface.
The spacecraft had carried a "time capsule" containing digital files including a Bible, children's drawings, Israeli songs, the memoirs of a Holocaust survivor, and a blue-and-white Israeli flag.
According to Space.com, a NASA device known as a Lunar Retroreflector Array (LRA) had also been attached to the top of the spacecraft.
The LRA experiment, composed of eight mirrors in a dome-shaped aluminum frame, aims to serve as a marker for other spacecraft during landing. It is smaller than a computer mouse and lightweight.
Researchers now believe that the device may have survived the crash.
"Yes, we believe the laser reflector array would have survived the crash, although it may have separated from the main spacecraft body," David Smith, principal investigator of the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) instrument aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft, told Inside Outer Space.
"Of course, we do not know the orientation of the array," he added. "It could be upside down, but it has a 120-degree angle of reception, and we only need 1 of the 0.5-inch cubes for detection. But it has certainly not made it any easier."
He added that the LOLA team would start planning observations to find the LRA soon.
5. GREENBLATT TO PA CABINET HEAD: TRY WORKING WITH US
by Elad Benari
Jason Greenblatt, the US Representative for International Negotiations, on Wednesday ripped Palestinian Authority (PA) cabinet leader Mohammad Shtayyeh, who said a day earlier that the Trump administration's peace plan will be "born dead".
"Why does the new PA Prime Minister hope for our plan to be 'born dead' and for peace to fail? By working with us, perhaps something wonderful can happen for Palestinians. We've repeatedly said this won't just be an economic plan," Greenblatt tweeted.
"PM Shtayyeh, starting a new job by condemning a plan you haven't seen is unfair to Palestinians. You have an obligation to first look at an opportunity before you dismiss it. The PA can continue to push us away, but that will do nothing to improve the lives of the Palestinians," he added in a second tweet.
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262030
Shtayyeh, speaking to The Associated Press on Tuesday, rejected the Trump administration's peace plan and declared, "There are no partners in Palestine for Trump. There are no Arab partners for Trump and there are no European partners for Trump."
He also stressed that any proposal that ignores key Palestinian demands will be rejected by the international community.
"Where are we going to have the Palestinian state?" he asked. "We are not looking for an entity. We are looking for a sovereign state."
"Palestinians are not interested in economic peace. We are interested in ending occupation," continued Shtayyeh. "Life cannot be enjoyed under occupation."
The PA, which has been boycotting the US ever since President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December of 2017, has rejected the US peace plan before it has even been unveiled.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, Reuters reported that the Trump administration's peace plan will be unveiled after Israel forms a governing coalition and after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ends in early June.
Greenblatt later confirmed the report, tweeting a link to it and adding, "This is an accurate report".
6. BENNETT ADMITS DEFEAT
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Education Minister Naftali Bennett conceded that he had lost his Knesset seat and that the New Right party had failed to clear the electoral threshold.
"I did the best I could for my beloved people," Bennett wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday evening after the Central Elections Committee found that the New Right had gained less than 50 votes in the latest recount and remained over 1,400 votes shy of the electoral threshold.
"After six years of service as a government minister, 100 campaign days and another week of struggle for every voice, I can say: I did the best I could for the people of Israel, my beloved nation," Bennett said.
"This time it was not enough.
"I have no complaints to anyone. I and I alone are responsible for the result.
"Some people mocked us for trying to pass the threshold :"It's pathetic, hopeless, desperate."
That does not matter.
"I would prefer to be struggling at the front and not among the mocking people from the gallery. We are not contractors of successes, we are messengers of endeavor. And I did everything I could. Only in this way does one succeed in studies, in high-tech, in the army, anywhere in life, by trying. Even if it seems all is almost lost. Sometimes it works, but not this time.
"As a minister of education, I want to convey to every student, student, entrepreneur, and every person with a dream - do not give up! Never give up a worthy cause! Even if it seems hopeless.
"Indeed, we have found irregularities in the polls and beyond, but they do not, in and of themselves, nullify all the election results. Our lawyers will examine the findings in the next two weeks, but at this stage we are moving on.
'I believe in the great Israeli spirit.
"I believe that our people have a great mission: to be a model state, and we all have a lot of work to do.
"I would like to thank my wife Gilat first and foremost for being my strength and happiness.
"I want to thank my partner, Ayelet Shaked, whom I consider to be the best justice minister in Israel's history. Together, over the past six years, we have held the steering wheel of the ship, positioned it to the right, and succeeded in changing the path of the State of Israel. The ship will continue to sail without us. It hurts me for the state that it and Ayelet, who is so talented, will part for a while, but I have no doubt that she will serve our people again.
"Thank you to the wonderful Alona Barkat who will continue to contribute greatly to Israeli society, to Matan Kahane who was a true friend and a fighter, to Shuli Moalem with her huge heart, to the brave Carolyn Glick, and to Uri Shechter.
"I give thanks to Tal Gan Zvi, the head of my staff, a gifted and talented man, and to every staff member of my bureau and the wonderful campaign leader.
"I give thank to all the volunteers in the campaign and in recent days. It was incredible what mobilization there was for the cause.
"I give much thanks to the Holy One, blessed be He, Whom I trust as always, and thank Him for the good and the bad..
"You will continue where I left off.
"And I promise: wherever I am, I will never stop being a soldier of the people of Israel.
"Yours with love,
Naftali Bennett"
7. HAREDI PASSENGERS STRANDED FOR PASSOVER AFTER FLIGHT CANCELED
by Arutz Sheva Staff
An Aeroflot flight to Israel from New York via Russia was canceled without the airline informing the passengers, who were delayed for seven hours at the airport.
The Israeli haredi website Behadrei Haredim reported that the families received notice that they had no way to reach their destination the Passover holiday, which begins on Friday night. Their only option is an alternative flight with El Al in the evening at a price of $2,000 per ticket, far less than the company is willing to reimburse the stranded passengers. According to the company the plane experienced a technical failure and cannot take off.
Moti Adler, the son of Meir Adler, the famous musician from Vizhnitz, told the site: "Suddenly they told us that the flight was postponed. Every hour they told us another hour, and in the end they simply canceled it and told us they had next week on Monday. They are willing to pay only the amount of the ticket, and we are forced to fly with El Al at twice the price, about $2,000."
"There are a lot of families here with children and babies, it's an intolerable situation. They brought in policemen who simply pushed us out, because we did not want to leave. We are now waiting for our suitcases. This is not a good situation. No one knows how he will fly and what he will do. They told us they would give us a hotel until next week, but it's not serious because we are on the eve of the Seder. What exactly will be done at the hotel?"
8. YAIR NETANYAHU: BENNETT BURNED RIGHT-WING VOTES
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Yair Netanyahu, son of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, blasted Education Minister Naftali Bennett (New Right) for "burning" right-wing votes.
With 138,598 votes, New Right party fell just 1,400 votes shy of the electoral threshold.
Earlier, Israeli journalist Yinon Magal praised Bennett, tweeting: "Naftali Bennett, good for you! You could've remained in a secure place, but you dared and you proved that you were brave enough to run and to try to break the Jewish Home's glass ceiling. You also showed determination and a willingness to fight for every vote. Thank you for what you've done, and good luck."
In response, Yair tweeted, "Thanks for the fact that he burned four of the right wing's Knesset seats?"
"Who drank his seats and caused him and [Zehut leader Moshe] Feiglin not to cross the electoral threshold?" Magal shot back.
"Regarding the Likud you say it 'drank' mandates, but when it comes to [Blue and White leaders MK Yair] Lapid and [Benny] Gantz regarding the Meretz and Labor parties, you don't say anything - it's just an impressive and historic achievement," Yair responded.
"And another question," Yair continued. "Who didn't learn from the '92 elections and split the right in an irresponsible way for no reason? And who ensured that the small right-wing parties who otherwise wouldn't have crossed the electoral threshold would unite, and took criticism for making a 'treaty with Kahanists' and even made space for the Jewish Home in the Likud's list, in an unprecedented move?"
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
A7News: Netanyahu one of TIME's '100 most influential people'
Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
Wednesday, Apr. 17 '19, י"ב בניסן תשע"ט
HEADLINES:
1. NETANYAHU ONE OF TIME'S '100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE'
2. 'HARD TO FEEL DEFEATED WHEN TRUMP, NETANYAHU ADOPT MY POLICIES'
3. ISRAEL DEFENSE SALES TOPPED $7.5 BILLION IN 2018
4. 'HOPING FOR A STRONG AND STABLE GOVERNMENT'
5. WHO WILL BE ISRAEL'S NEXT DEFENSE MINISTER?
6. BENNETT ADMITS DEFEAT
7. FOREIGN JOURNALISTS ATTACKED IN JERICHO AREA
8. SPIES OF NO COUNTRY
1. NETANYAHU ONE OF TIME'S '100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE'
by Tal Polon
TIME Magazine on Wednesday voted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu one of its "100 most influential people of 2019."
Netanyahu was chosen for the list's subsection on "leaders" that also included Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Brett Kavanaugh, Robert Mueller, and international figures such as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Pope Francis.
Explaining its decision to include Netanyahu on the prestigious annual list, TIME wrote that "Israel is Bibi's nation."
"Were there any doubt, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's election to a fifth term in April not only cemented his hold on the critical Mideast country, but also positioned him to surpass its founding leader, David Ben-Gurion, as Israel's longest-serving Prime Minister."
"The reasons for his enduring appeal are clear," the magazine continued. "The second intifadeh undermined Israel's political left, with fresh memories of suicide bombers rebuking the idea that there exists a partner for peace. Ongoing rocket attacks launched by Hamas show that present dangers are real. And Iran's power and ambition signal that even two generations after the Yom Kippur War, Israel can face existential threats."
"Yet in spite of the dangers, Israel grows more prosperous. It grows more powerful. And as the election shows, sufficient numbers of Israelis believe not just that Netanyahu is partly responsible for that success but that he's the nation's indispensable man. And so he won again, in spite of facing serious allegations of corruption. Bibi certainly deserves his share of credit for Israel's strength, but persuading Israelis that he alone could achieve it is his true political accomplishment."
Writing on Twitter Wednesday afternoon, Netanyahu thanked the magazine for the honor.
"Thanks to the international magazine TIME for choosing me as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. I will continue with all my strength to act for our state."
2. 'HARD TO FEEL DEFEATED WHEN TRUMP, NETANYAHU ADOPT MY POLICIES'
by Hezki Baruch
In December 2018, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, and MK Shuli Mualem shocked the Israeli political establishment by breaking off from the Jewish Home party which Bennett had led, and established the New Right party.
The faction, which positioned itself in between the Likud and the Jewish Home, declared itself the political home for both secular and religious rightists, providing an alternative to the Orthodox Jewish Home – National Union alliance.
Polls for the party initially projected it would win as many as 10 to 14 seats in the 120 member Knesset.
Even after the initial burst of enthusiasm wore off, however, and new parties, like the Zehut faction, drew some of its voters, the New Right still polled safely above the 3.25% minimum threshold on the eve of last Tuesday's election. In the final week of polling, the New Right was projected to win anywhere from five to seven seats.
Yet on election day, the New Right came up short, receiving missing the threshold by just 1,400 votes.
In exclusive interview with Arutz Sheva, American-born conservative journalist and New Right Knesset candidate Caroline Glick explored the reasons behind her party's defeat – while explaining her sense of optimism despite the loss.
"Obviously there's a lot of disappointment because we were hoping to get into the Knesset. I was hoping to be a member of the Knesset. And with Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked I think it's a national loss that they're not going to be ministers in the next government."
Despite the party's defeat – a personal loss for her and a blow to the right-wing bloc – Glick was sanguine about the prospects for advancing the New Right's sovereignty agenda in the next Knesset.
"I joined the race for the Knesset with the [New Right] because I have an ideology that I've devoted my entire career to advancing: applying Israeli law to Judea and Samaria, ending our commitment to the failed Oslo process and the two-state solution.
"In the last week of the election, Prime Minister Netanyahu, for the first time, said he supports applying Israeli law to the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. I don't think that that is enough, but I think that that is a world apart from where we were ten years ago, five years ago, and it's extraordinary.
"Then at the beginning of this week we got the leak from The Washington Post that said that President Trump's 'Deal of the Century' does not involve establishing a Palestinian state west of the Jordan River. These are things that I've been fighting for. So it is hard to feel defeated when I see that everything I've been working towards is being adopted by Prime Minister Netanyahu on the one hand and President Trump on the other."
Why did the New Right fail?
In explaining her party's failure to cross the threshold – and its disappointing showing considering the pre-election polling – Glick suggested that the New Right's fall could be largely attributed to the rise of another right-wing faction – Zehut.
Zehut, which embraced both the annexation of Judea and Samaria along with libertarian economic positions, drew from the same base of voters as the New Right, Glick claims.
Yet the New Right failed to respond during the campaign, focusing instead on the Jewish Home party.
"Why did we fail? I think the main reason we failed, honestly, is because the campaign, Bennett, Shaked… were unwilling to deal with the challenge that we were surprised by from Zehut, Moshe Feiglin's party. I think that they had come into the race with certain expectations, that there were would be two ideological parties to the right of Likud, the [New Right] and the [Jewish Home]. Then, suddenly, they were faced with a third actor. Zehut really was challenging us from an ideological perspective.
"Their positions weren't that different from ours on economic issues, although their policies for them were delusional in many ways and incapable of being implemented. And of course they had their whole drug legalization thing.
"The final results show that they got the equivalent of three mandates in the Knesset; we got almost four – we were short just about 1,000 votes – so seven mandates [combined]. If you take one – one-and-a-half and say that [vote] was for the drugs, they still have one – one-and-a-half mandates that are from ideological right-wing voters that would otherwise have been voting for Bennett and Shaked. And they [Bennett and Shaked] weren't heeding the warnings. They had a plan and they stuck with it, even though during the course of the election it was clear that we were facing a significant challenge from Feiglin."
Was the New Right a mistake?
Even with its defeat, Glick was hesitant to call the establishment of the New Right a mistake, noting that the party gave large numbers of Israeli voters a political home.
"Was it a mistake to form the new party? Should they have stayed in the Jewish Home or gone into the Likud? Well, I don't think that going into the Likud was really an option. I don't think that the doors were open to Bennett and Shaked for a host of reasons. So it was really a question of whether to stay in the [Jewish Home] or to form a new party.
"I think that there is a demand in Israel for a party is that is more traditional, less openly religious, and also less harsh in its interpretations of halakha [Jewish law]. There are a lot of voters in Israel – here in my community of Efrat, for instance, we won. We came in ten points ahead of Likud and [Jewish Home] was third place. And also the same thing in a lot of the different communities in Gush Etzion, because people have a much more modern Orthodox vision for Judaism and halakhic interpretations. The problem, again, is that when you thought you were going to be in an election with just one other ideological party to the right of the Likud and then you suddenly find yourself with a third one, are you going to be able to pivot, here what we ran into was an inability to change course in the middle when the circumstances required it."
3. ISRAEL DEFENSE SALES TOPPED $7.5 BILLION IN 2018
by AFP
Israel's defense exports exceeded $7.5 billion in 2018, with the bulk going to Asia and the Pacific region, the government said Wednesday.
A defense ministry spokeswoman told AFP that the total was down from $9.2 billion in 2017 but that had been an exceptionally strong year.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute put Israel in eighth place in its 2017 top 10 of global arms exporters and said its largest clients that year were India, Azerbaijan and Vietnam.
The Israeli government does not comment on individual arms sales, but Wednesday's ministry statement said missile and air defense systems accounted for 24 percent of 2018 sales.
UAVs and drone systems amounted to 15 percent, radars and early warning systems 14 percent and aircraft and avionics 14 percent.
Other areas included "land systems, ammunition and weapon stations", intelligence and cyber systems and naval systems, it added.
"Over the past year we have signed dozens of contracts with various countries around the world," the head of the defense ministry's international cooperation directorate, Mishel Ben-Baruch, said in the statement.
"This serves as further evidence of the desire of more and more countries to cooperate with the state of Israel, and a sign of their confidence in the excellent capabilities of our defense industries," he added.
Sales to Asia and the Pacific region were 46 percent of the total, the statement said, with 26 percent going to Europe, 20 percent to North America, six percent to South America and two percent to Africa.
4. 'HOPING FOR A STRONG AND STABLE GOVERNMENT'
by Arutz Sheva Staff
President Reuven Rivlin on Wednesday received the official results of the elections to the 21st Knesset at Beit HaNasi from Chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Deputy President of the Supreme Court Judge Hanan Melcer.
At the beginning of his remarks, the president noted the vital role that the Central Elections Committee plays in ensuring the elections are free and fair, and thanked the members of the committee and Judge Melcer, saying "the members of the committee worked with a sense of civic duty, honesty and fairness in order to ensure all candidates were equal in the eyes of the law and the voters. I am glad that the various problems were resolved. It is important that every Israeli citizen knows that their vote is counted."
The president added, "in this election campaign we faced challenges we had not encountered before. On one hand, we saw that technology is an important tool in raising transparency and accessibility. This year, for the first time, there was a pilot scheme to allow blind and partially-sighted people to vote without assistance, using a new device. On the other hand, technology can also be used as a weapon for attacking political opponents. The members of the committee stood up to this dangerous trend and said 'Cursed be those who attack their neighbors in secret' (Deuteronomy 27:24). Anonymity does not exempt you from the rules of the democratic game. A computer screen is not a suit of armor."
The president related to the voter turn-out, which was lower this time than in previous elections, saying "From now, our task is to raise trust, strengthen the public's involvement in political discourse and encourage as many people as possible to use their democratic right and duty. Over the last two days, I have held consultations with representatives of the parties elected by Israel's citizens and soon I will entrust the candidate who was recommended by them with the task of forming a government. I hope that we will soon be able to get back to our normal daily lives, led by a strong and stable government that reflects the will of the people as far as possible and allows representation of more forces. Congratulations to the State of Israel for holding free and fair democratic elections Congratulations to the candidates and thank you to the Central Elections Committee."
Chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Deputy President of the Supreme Court Judge Hanan Melcer: "Over the last few days, unfortunately, there have been attempts to challenge the legitimacy of the elections by submitting appeals. These have all been investigated by us as a matter of routine, on our own instigation. Every appeal is investigated. In addition, and as an exception, in line with the transparency that has been part of the work of the committee, I instructed that all our discussions would be open just as the president did with his consultations. We did this for all meetings of the committee and also published the results in real time for the public to see."
At 7 pm the president will formally receive Benjamin Netanyahu, the candidate whom he decided to task with forming the government. At 8:05 pm Rivlin will sign the letter of appointment of the candidate to form the government, and hand it over to him.
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262001
5. WHO WILL BE ISRAEL'S NEXT DEFENSE MINISTER?
by i24News
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261997
6. BENNETT ADMITS DEFEAT
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Education Minister Naftali Bennett conceded that he had lost his Knesset seat and that the New Right party had failed to clear the electoral threshold.
"I did the best I could for my beloved people," Bennett wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday evening after the Central Elections Committee found that the New Right had gained less than 50 votes in the latest recount and remained over 1,400 votes shy of the electoral threshold.
"After six years of kosher service, 100 campaign days and another week of struggle for every voice, I can say: I did the best I could for the people of Israel, my beloved nation," Bennett said.
"This time it was not enough.
"I have no complaints to anyone. I and I alone are responsible for the result.
"Some people mocked us for trying to pass the threshold :"It's pathetic, hopeless, desperate."
That does not matter.
"I would prefer to be struggling at the front and not among the mocking people from the gallery. We are not contractors of successes, we are messengers of endeavor. And I did everything I could. Only in this way does one succeed in studies, in high-tech, in the army, anywhere in life, by trying. Even if it seems all is almost lost. Sometimes it works, but not this time.
"As a minister of education, I want to convey to every student, student, entrepreneur, and every person with a dream - do not give up! Never give up a worthy cause! Even if it seems hopeless.
"Indeed, we have found irregularities in the polls and beyond, but they do not, in and of themselves, nullify all the election results. Our lawyers will examine the findings in the next two weeks, but at this stage we are moving on.
'I believe in the great Israeli spirit.
"I believe that our people have a great mission: to be a model state, and we all have a lot of work to do.
"I would like to thank my wife Gilat first and foremost for being my strength and happiness.
"I want to thank my partner, Ayelet Shaked, whom I consider to be the best justice minister in Israel's history. Together, over the past six years, we have held the steering wheel of the ship, positioned it to the right, and succeeded in changing the path of the State of Israel. The ship will continue to sail without us. It hurts me for the state that it and Ayelet, who is so talented, will part for a while, but I have no doubt that she will serve our people again.
"Thank you to the wonderful Alona Barkat who will continue to contribute greatly to Israeli society, to Matan Kahane who was a true friend and a fighter, to Shuli Moalem with her huge heart, to the brave Carolyn Glick, and to Uri Shechter.
"I give thanks to Tal Gan Zvi, the head of my staff, a gifted and talented man, and to every staff member of my bureau and the wonderful campaign leader.
"I give thank to all the volunteers in the campaign and in recent days. It was incredible what mobilization there was for the cause.
"I give much thanks to the Holy One, blessed be He, Whom I trust as always, and thank Him for the good and the bad..
"You will continue where I left off.
"And I promise: wherever I am, I will never stop being a soldier of the people of Israel.
"Yours with love,
Naftali Bennett"
7. FOREIGN JOURNALISTS ATTACKED IN JERICHO AREA
by Arutz Sheva Staff
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261901
Dozens of foreign correspondents stationed in Israel were attacked Monday by Palestinians throwing stones on their bus, while on a tour organized by the Government Press Office. The attack took place in Jericho, where the journalists were visiting the town's ancient synagogue and other sites in commemoration of the 10th of Nissan, the day when Israelites crossed the Jordan river to enter the Land of Israel.
There were no injuries in the attack. The bus, however, sustained damage as one of the windows was shattered.
The tour was guarded and coordinated with the security forces, and the journalists were making their way from Jericho to cover the 10th of Nissan ceremony at the Jordan crossing site (Qasr el-Yahud). The location also holds great significance for Christians in Israel and abroad, believed to be the site where Jesus was baptized and visited yearly by thousands of pilgrims.
Head of the GPO, Nitzan Chen, said: "The Government Press Office condemns the attack on members of the press who came to carry out their duty, The GPO provides wide coverage services to the foreign journalists, including diverse tours that introduce them to Israel's culture, legacy and innovation, along with the country's challenges. We will continue organizing these tours for the entire foreign press corps and will not be deterred by attempts to harm journalists"
8. SPIES OF NO COUNTRY
by The Land Of Israel Network
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261907
Award winning journalist and author Matti Friedman joins Eve Harrow to discuss his new release, "Spies of No Country: Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel".
This fantastic book tells the true story of four Jewish young men from the Arab world who play a risk laden, integral role in establishing Israel via a nascent organization that eventually becomes the legendary Mossad.
The idea of Israel as a haven for mainly European Jewry gets wiped out with the Holocaust; instead it becomes home to 'Mizrachi' Jewish refugees whose continuous discrimination by - but ultimate influence on and integration with - 'Ashkenazim' is a huge part of what defines Israel today.
The Jewish state's current conservative tilt, emphasis on faith and family, melding of music and fabulous food is all part of a unique culture that can't be understood outside a Mid East context. There's no place like it, and this book pays homage to little known individuals whose willingness to live as Arab Muslims was an incalculable sacrifice that led to the birth of the state.
[קישורים:4:Radio]
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
Wednesday, Apr. 17 '19, י"ב בניסן תשע"ט
HEADLINES:
1. NETANYAHU ONE OF TIME'S '100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE'
2. 'HARD TO FEEL DEFEATED WHEN TRUMP, NETANYAHU ADOPT MY POLICIES'
3. ISRAEL DEFENSE SALES TOPPED $7.5 BILLION IN 2018
4. 'HOPING FOR A STRONG AND STABLE GOVERNMENT'
5. WHO WILL BE ISRAEL'S NEXT DEFENSE MINISTER?
6. BENNETT ADMITS DEFEAT
7. FOREIGN JOURNALISTS ATTACKED IN JERICHO AREA
8. SPIES OF NO COUNTRY
1. NETANYAHU ONE OF TIME'S '100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE'
by Tal Polon
TIME Magazine on Wednesday voted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu one of its "100 most influential people of 2019."
Netanyahu was chosen for the list's subsection on "leaders" that also included Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Brett Kavanaugh, Robert Mueller, and international figures such as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Pope Francis.
Explaining its decision to include Netanyahu on the prestigious annual list, TIME wrote that "Israel is Bibi's nation."
"Were there any doubt, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's election to a fifth term in April not only cemented his hold on the critical Mideast country, but also positioned him to surpass its founding leader, David Ben-Gurion, as Israel's longest-serving Prime Minister."
"The reasons for his enduring appeal are clear," the magazine continued. "The second intifadeh undermined Israel's political left, with fresh memories of suicide bombers rebuking the idea that there exists a partner for peace. Ongoing rocket attacks launched by Hamas show that present dangers are real. And Iran's power and ambition signal that even two generations after the Yom Kippur War, Israel can face existential threats."
"Yet in spite of the dangers, Israel grows more prosperous. It grows more powerful. And as the election shows, sufficient numbers of Israelis believe not just that Netanyahu is partly responsible for that success but that he's the nation's indispensable man. And so he won again, in spite of facing serious allegations of corruption. Bibi certainly deserves his share of credit for Israel's strength, but persuading Israelis that he alone could achieve it is his true political accomplishment."
Writing on Twitter Wednesday afternoon, Netanyahu thanked the magazine for the honor.
"Thanks to the international magazine TIME for choosing me as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. I will continue with all my strength to act for our state."
2. 'HARD TO FEEL DEFEATED WHEN TRUMP, NETANYAHU ADOPT MY POLICIES'
by Hezki Baruch
In December 2018, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, and MK Shuli Mualem shocked the Israeli political establishment by breaking off from the Jewish Home party which Bennett had led, and established the New Right party.
The faction, which positioned itself in between the Likud and the Jewish Home, declared itself the political home for both secular and religious rightists, providing an alternative to the Orthodox Jewish Home – National Union alliance.
Polls for the party initially projected it would win as many as 10 to 14 seats in the 120 member Knesset.
Even after the initial burst of enthusiasm wore off, however, and new parties, like the Zehut faction, drew some of its voters, the New Right still polled safely above the 3.25% minimum threshold on the eve of last Tuesday's election. In the final week of polling, the New Right was projected to win anywhere from five to seven seats.
Yet on election day, the New Right came up short, receiving missing the threshold by just 1,400 votes.
In exclusive interview with Arutz Sheva, American-born conservative journalist and New Right Knesset candidate Caroline Glick explored the reasons behind her party's defeat – while explaining her sense of optimism despite the loss.
"Obviously there's a lot of disappointment because we were hoping to get into the Knesset. I was hoping to be a member of the Knesset. And with Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked I think it's a national loss that they're not going to be ministers in the next government."
Despite the party's defeat – a personal loss for her and a blow to the right-wing bloc – Glick was sanguine about the prospects for advancing the New Right's sovereignty agenda in the next Knesset.
"I joined the race for the Knesset with the [New Right] because I have an ideology that I've devoted my entire career to advancing: applying Israeli law to Judea and Samaria, ending our commitment to the failed Oslo process and the two-state solution.
"In the last week of the election, Prime Minister Netanyahu, for the first time, said he supports applying Israeli law to the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. I don't think that that is enough, but I think that that is a world apart from where we were ten years ago, five years ago, and it's extraordinary.
"Then at the beginning of this week we got the leak from The Washington Post that said that President Trump's 'Deal of the Century' does not involve establishing a Palestinian state west of the Jordan River. These are things that I've been fighting for. So it is hard to feel defeated when I see that everything I've been working towards is being adopted by Prime Minister Netanyahu on the one hand and President Trump on the other."
Why did the New Right fail?
In explaining her party's failure to cross the threshold – and its disappointing showing considering the pre-election polling – Glick suggested that the New Right's fall could be largely attributed to the rise of another right-wing faction – Zehut.
Zehut, which embraced both the annexation of Judea and Samaria along with libertarian economic positions, drew from the same base of voters as the New Right, Glick claims.
Yet the New Right failed to respond during the campaign, focusing instead on the Jewish Home party.
"Why did we fail? I think the main reason we failed, honestly, is because the campaign, Bennett, Shaked… were unwilling to deal with the challenge that we were surprised by from Zehut, Moshe Feiglin's party. I think that they had come into the race with certain expectations, that there were would be two ideological parties to the right of Likud, the [New Right] and the [Jewish Home]. Then, suddenly, they were faced with a third actor. Zehut really was challenging us from an ideological perspective.
"Their positions weren't that different from ours on economic issues, although their policies for them were delusional in many ways and incapable of being implemented. And of course they had their whole drug legalization thing.
"The final results show that they got the equivalent of three mandates in the Knesset; we got almost four – we were short just about 1,000 votes – so seven mandates [combined]. If you take one – one-and-a-half and say that [vote] was for the drugs, they still have one – one-and-a-half mandates that are from ideological right-wing voters that would otherwise have been voting for Bennett and Shaked. And they [Bennett and Shaked] weren't heeding the warnings. They had a plan and they stuck with it, even though during the course of the election it was clear that we were facing a significant challenge from Feiglin."
Was the New Right a mistake?
Even with its defeat, Glick was hesitant to call the establishment of the New Right a mistake, noting that the party gave large numbers of Israeli voters a political home.
"Was it a mistake to form the new party? Should they have stayed in the Jewish Home or gone into the Likud? Well, I don't think that going into the Likud was really an option. I don't think that the doors were open to Bennett and Shaked for a host of reasons. So it was really a question of whether to stay in the [Jewish Home] or to form a new party.
"I think that there is a demand in Israel for a party is that is more traditional, less openly religious, and also less harsh in its interpretations of halakha [Jewish law]. There are a lot of voters in Israel – here in my community of Efrat, for instance, we won. We came in ten points ahead of Likud and [Jewish Home] was third place. And also the same thing in a lot of the different communities in Gush Etzion, because people have a much more modern Orthodox vision for Judaism and halakhic interpretations. The problem, again, is that when you thought you were going to be in an election with just one other ideological party to the right of the Likud and then you suddenly find yourself with a third one, are you going to be able to pivot, here what we ran into was an inability to change course in the middle when the circumstances required it."
3. ISRAEL DEFENSE SALES TOPPED $7.5 BILLION IN 2018
by AFP
Israel's defense exports exceeded $7.5 billion in 2018, with the bulk going to Asia and the Pacific region, the government said Wednesday.
A defense ministry spokeswoman told AFP that the total was down from $9.2 billion in 2017 but that had been an exceptionally strong year.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute put Israel in eighth place in its 2017 top 10 of global arms exporters and said its largest clients that year were India, Azerbaijan and Vietnam.
The Israeli government does not comment on individual arms sales, but Wednesday's ministry statement said missile and air defense systems accounted for 24 percent of 2018 sales.
UAVs and drone systems amounted to 15 percent, radars and early warning systems 14 percent and aircraft and avionics 14 percent.
Other areas included "land systems, ammunition and weapon stations", intelligence and cyber systems and naval systems, it added.
"Over the past year we have signed dozens of contracts with various countries around the world," the head of the defense ministry's international cooperation directorate, Mishel Ben-Baruch, said in the statement.
"This serves as further evidence of the desire of more and more countries to cooperate with the state of Israel, and a sign of their confidence in the excellent capabilities of our defense industries," he added.
Sales to Asia and the Pacific region were 46 percent of the total, the statement said, with 26 percent going to Europe, 20 percent to North America, six percent to South America and two percent to Africa.
4. 'HOPING FOR A STRONG AND STABLE GOVERNMENT'
by Arutz Sheva Staff
President Reuven Rivlin on Wednesday received the official results of the elections to the 21st Knesset at Beit HaNasi from Chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Deputy President of the Supreme Court Judge Hanan Melcer.
At the beginning of his remarks, the president noted the vital role that the Central Elections Committee plays in ensuring the elections are free and fair, and thanked the members of the committee and Judge Melcer, saying "the members of the committee worked with a sense of civic duty, honesty and fairness in order to ensure all candidates were equal in the eyes of the law and the voters. I am glad that the various problems were resolved. It is important that every Israeli citizen knows that their vote is counted."
The president added, "in this election campaign we faced challenges we had not encountered before. On one hand, we saw that technology is an important tool in raising transparency and accessibility. This year, for the first time, there was a pilot scheme to allow blind and partially-sighted people to vote without assistance, using a new device. On the other hand, technology can also be used as a weapon for attacking political opponents. The members of the committee stood up to this dangerous trend and said 'Cursed be those who attack their neighbors in secret' (Deuteronomy 27:24). Anonymity does not exempt you from the rules of the democratic game. A computer screen is not a suit of armor."
The president related to the voter turn-out, which was lower this time than in previous elections, saying "From now, our task is to raise trust, strengthen the public's involvement in political discourse and encourage as many people as possible to use their democratic right and duty. Over the last two days, I have held consultations with representatives of the parties elected by Israel's citizens and soon I will entrust the candidate who was recommended by them with the task of forming a government. I hope that we will soon be able to get back to our normal daily lives, led by a strong and stable government that reflects the will of the people as far as possible and allows representation of more forces. Congratulations to the State of Israel for holding free and fair democratic elections Congratulations to the candidates and thank you to the Central Elections Committee."
Chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Deputy President of the Supreme Court Judge Hanan Melcer: "Over the last few days, unfortunately, there have been attempts to challenge the legitimacy of the elections by submitting appeals. These have all been investigated by us as a matter of routine, on our own instigation. Every appeal is investigated. In addition, and as an exception, in line with the transparency that has been part of the work of the committee, I instructed that all our discussions would be open just as the president did with his consultations. We did this for all meetings of the committee and also published the results in real time for the public to see."
At 7 pm the president will formally receive Benjamin Netanyahu, the candidate whom he decided to task with forming the government. At 8:05 pm Rivlin will sign the letter of appointment of the candidate to form the government, and hand it over to him.
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/262001
5. WHO WILL BE ISRAEL'S NEXT DEFENSE MINISTER?
by i24News
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261997
6. BENNETT ADMITS DEFEAT
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Education Minister Naftali Bennett conceded that he had lost his Knesset seat and that the New Right party had failed to clear the electoral threshold.
"I did the best I could for my beloved people," Bennett wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday evening after the Central Elections Committee found that the New Right had gained less than 50 votes in the latest recount and remained over 1,400 votes shy of the electoral threshold.
"After six years of kosher service, 100 campaign days and another week of struggle for every voice, I can say: I did the best I could for the people of Israel, my beloved nation," Bennett said.
"This time it was not enough.
"I have no complaints to anyone. I and I alone are responsible for the result.
"Some people mocked us for trying to pass the threshold :"It's pathetic, hopeless, desperate."
That does not matter.
"I would prefer to be struggling at the front and not among the mocking people from the gallery. We are not contractors of successes, we are messengers of endeavor. And I did everything I could. Only in this way does one succeed in studies, in high-tech, in the army, anywhere in life, by trying. Even if it seems all is almost lost. Sometimes it works, but not this time.
"As a minister of education, I want to convey to every student, student, entrepreneur, and every person with a dream - do not give up! Never give up a worthy cause! Even if it seems hopeless.
"Indeed, we have found irregularities in the polls and beyond, but they do not, in and of themselves, nullify all the election results. Our lawyers will examine the findings in the next two weeks, but at this stage we are moving on.
'I believe in the great Israeli spirit.
"I believe that our people have a great mission: to be a model state, and we all have a lot of work to do.
"I would like to thank my wife Gilat first and foremost for being my strength and happiness.
"I want to thank my partner, Ayelet Shaked, whom I consider to be the best justice minister in Israel's history. Together, over the past six years, we have held the steering wheel of the ship, positioned it to the right, and succeeded in changing the path of the State of Israel. The ship will continue to sail without us. It hurts me for the state that it and Ayelet, who is so talented, will part for a while, but I have no doubt that she will serve our people again.
"Thank you to the wonderful Alona Barkat who will continue to contribute greatly to Israeli society, to Matan Kahane who was a true friend and a fighter, to Shuli Moalem with her huge heart, to the brave Carolyn Glick, and to Uri Shechter.
"I give thanks to Tal Gan Zvi, the head of my staff, a gifted and talented man, and to every staff member of my bureau and the wonderful campaign leader.
"I give thank to all the volunteers in the campaign and in recent days. It was incredible what mobilization there was for the cause.
"I give much thanks to the Holy One, blessed be He, Whom I trust as always, and thank Him for the good and the bad..
"You will continue where I left off.
"And I promise: wherever I am, I will never stop being a soldier of the people of Israel.
"Yours with love,
Naftali Bennett"
7. FOREIGN JOURNALISTS ATTACKED IN JERICHO AREA
by Arutz Sheva Staff
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261901
Dozens of foreign correspondents stationed in Israel were attacked Monday by Palestinians throwing stones on their bus, while on a tour organized by the Government Press Office. The attack took place in Jericho, where the journalists were visiting the town's ancient synagogue and other sites in commemoration of the 10th of Nissan, the day when Israelites crossed the Jordan river to enter the Land of Israel.
There were no injuries in the attack. The bus, however, sustained damage as one of the windows was shattered.
The tour was guarded and coordinated with the security forces, and the journalists were making their way from Jericho to cover the 10th of Nissan ceremony at the Jordan crossing site (Qasr el-Yahud). The location also holds great significance for Christians in Israel and abroad, believed to be the site where Jesus was baptized and visited yearly by thousands of pilgrims.
Head of the GPO, Nitzan Chen, said: "The Government Press Office condemns the attack on members of the press who came to carry out their duty, The GPO provides wide coverage services to the foreign journalists, including diverse tours that introduce them to Israel's culture, legacy and innovation, along with the country's challenges. We will continue organizing these tours for the entire foreign press corps and will not be deterred by attempts to harm journalists"
8. SPIES OF NO COUNTRY
by The Land Of Israel Network
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261907
Award winning journalist and author Matti Friedman joins Eve Harrow to discuss his new release, "Spies of No Country: Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel".
This fantastic book tells the true story of four Jewish young men from the Arab world who play a risk laden, integral role in establishing Israel via a nascent organization that eventually becomes the legendary Mossad.
The idea of Israel as a haven for mainly European Jewry gets wiped out with the Holocaust; instead it becomes home to 'Mizrachi' Jewish refugees whose continuous discrimination by - but ultimate influence on and integration with - 'Ashkenazim' is a huge part of what defines Israel today.
The Jewish state's current conservative tilt, emphasis on faith and family, melding of music and fabulous food is all part of a unique culture that can't be understood outside a Mid East context. There's no place like it, and this book pays homage to little known individuals whose willingness to live as Arab Muslims was an incalculable sacrifice that led to the birth of the state.
[קישורים:4:Radio]
Monday, April 15, 2019
A7News: Likud loses seat - as haredi faction rises to 8
Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
Monday, Apr. 15 '19, י' בניסן תשע"ט
HEADLINES:
1. LIKUD LOSES SEAT - AS HAREDI FACTION RISES TO 8
2. NETANYAHU MEETS WITH HAREDI LAWMAKERS
3. SHAS CANDIDATES BACK NETANYAHU FOR PM
4. BLUE AND WHITE: WE WON'T JOIN UNITY GOVERNMENT
5. REPORT: TRUMP PLAN WON'T INCLUDE PALESTINIAN STATE
6. NEW RIGHT'S VOTE RECOUNT REQUEST APPROVED
7. RIVLIN REQUESTS NOT TO SIT NEXT TO NETANYAHU
8. MEET ISRAEL'S NEWEST ELITE POLICE UNIT: YASAM EILAT
1. LIKUD LOSES SEAT - AS HAREDI FACTION RISES TO 8
by David Rosenberg
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261875
The provisional results for last Tuesday's Knesset election now show the Likud with 35 seats, down one from the initial results released last week by the Central Elections Committee, while the haredi United Torah Judaism party gained a seat, rising from seven to eight mandates.
While the final results will not be ready until Wednesday, the latest vote count update released by the Central Elections Committee shows the United Torah Judaism faction with eight mandates, at the Likud's expense.
The actual shift in votes was minor, however, and leaves the UTJ's eight seat with only an 80-vote margin for the time being. The seat could thus be 'lost' by another minor shift in the vote total.
The Likud remains the closest party to another seat, requiring just 202 more votes – if the remaining vote count remains unchanged – to regain its 36th seat. If the UTJ gains additional votes, however, the Likud will also require more additional votes beyond the 202 it currently lacks, at a rate of 2.5 votes for every additional vote counted to the UTJ.
Because the seat change on Monday occurred between the Likud and UTJ, the balance of power between the right and left blocs remains unchanged, with 65 seats for the right-wing – religious bloc, and 55 seats for the left-wing – Arab bloc.
On Monday, United Torah Judaism representatives met with President Rivlin for consultations prior to the president's selection of a candidate for the premiership.
UTJ recommended Netanyahu be tapped for a fifth term as prime minister.
"We recommend Netanyahu as candidate for the premiership," said Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman.
"We worked with him during the previous term. We did everything we could for the Jewish people, and so we think that he is the right candidate for prime minister."
2. NETANYAHU MEETS WITH HAREDI LAWMAKERS
by Arutz Sheva Staff
The heads of Israel's haredi parties on Monday morning met Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at his Jerusalem home, Kikar Hashabbat reported.
Netanyahu's meeting with Shas leader Interior Minister Aryeh Deri and UTJ's Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman came just before the two met with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin to recommend Netanyahu continue in his position as PM.
The meeting is believed to have focused on coalition negotiations, including the parties' goal of passing an amended Draft Law within the first month of the next government, and Deri's bill to ban the recognition of private conversions.
Former Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) opposes both, and has promised not to join the coalition unless the Draft Law is passed as is.
"This was a maintenance discussion," a source told Kikar Hashabbat. "Netanyahu wants to make sure there won't be any surprises."
3. SHAS CANDIDATES BACK NETANYAHU FOR PM
by Hezki Baruch
The Sephardic-haredi Shas party's delegation to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin recommended that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who leads the Likud party, be tasked with forming the next government.
Religious Affairs Minister Yitzhak Vaknin (Shas) wished Rivlin's wife Nechama a speedy recovery and said, "I think that the Netanyahu-led government did its job properly. He is worthy of continuing to run the State of Israel."
Deputy Finance Minister Yitzhak Cohen (Shas) said, "From the start of the campaign, we were completely transparent and we said we recommend Binyamin Netanyahu for the next Knesset's prime minister. We believe Netanyahu can lead the country as he has previously, so our recommendation is to task Binyamin Netanyahu with the formation of the next government. We hope that this will bring Israel only good."
Shas MK Meshulam Nahari told Rivlin: "We recommend Binyamin Netanyahu for Prime MInister. That was our message before the elections. This last term was good and we want to continue on the same path, and therefore we recommend Netanyahu for Prime Minister."
Shas MK Yakov Margi echoed Nahari's words: "We've been through a difficult election, and it's behind us now. We have one nation and one state. We want the work done in the previous government to continue along the same lines, and like we said during the elections, we recommend Netanyahu for Prime Minister."
"Is your recommendation conditional on the next government working along the same lines the previous government did?" Rivlin asked the MKs.
"The previous government emphasized retaining the status quo on issues rife with conflict," Vaknin answered. "We will not help another government which will harm that which is holy to Israel, such as Shabbat (the Sabbath), which is important for the unity of Israel."
At the end of the meeting, Rivlin noted that 44 of the required 61 MKs have recommended Netanyahu continue as Prime Minister.
"On Wednesday afternoon, I will decide who to task with forming the government," Rivlin said.
4. BLUE AND WHITE: WE WON'T JOIN UNITY GOVERNMENT
by Hezki Baruch
The Blue and White party has rejected calls on Monday for it join a unity government with the Likud.
A delegation of party officials met with President Reuven Rivlin, as part of the post-election consultations to determine which candidate is best able to form a governing coalition.
"This was a stormy election cycle," said Knesset Member-elect Gabi Ashkenazi, a former IDF Chief of Staff who ran with the Blue and White ticket in last week's election.
"We respect the decision the people made. In what should come as no surprise, we recommend Gantz. We are proud of the achievements we made in such a short period of time. We will continue to serve our voters and the public as a whole."
During the meeting, President Rivlin urged the Blue and White party to consider forming a unity government with the Likud.
"Many in Israel want to see people brought together. I don't want to use the word 'unity', because that has political connotations. But we're facing political, security, domestic, and economic challenges, along with social questions which need to be handled with sensitivity. My question is, if you were invited, with no pre-conditions, to join a unity government led by someone other than the person you're recommending [for prime minister], would you consider it?"
Rivlin meets with Blue and White reps Mark Neiman (GPO)
Party representatives rejected the proposal, however, saying they recommended that Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz be tapped to serve as Prime Minister.
"After carefully considering the idea, we think that given the current circumstances, we would be unable to serve in the kind of government you are proposed," responded Ashkenazi.
"We will work on behalf of the Israeli people, but not from within government that is not led by Benny Gantz."
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261873
5. REPORT: TRUMP PLAN WON'T INCLUDE PALESTINIAN STATE
by Elad Benari
US President Donald Trump's proposal for a "Deal of the Century" to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict promises practical improvements in the lives of Palestinian Arabs but is likely to stop short of ensuring a separate, fully sovereign Palestinian state, people familiar with the main elements of the effort told The Washington Post on Sunday.
The White House is expected to roll out its long-anticipated peace package later this spring or by early summer, after more than two years of effort by Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner. Officials have kept details of the plan secret, but comments from Kushner and other US officials suggest that it does away with statehood as the starting premise of peace efforts as it has been over the past two decades.
The plan is likely to focus heavily on Israeli security concerns, according to The Washington Post. Trump has told friends he wants to upend traditional assumptions about how to resolve the conflict, but unlike in his unorthodox personal diplomacy with North Korea, Trump has largely outsourced the Middle East peace effort to his son-in-law.
Arab officials familiar with Kushner's sales pitches said he has offered no specifics but suggested that the plan turned on economic opportunities for Palestinians and an enshrining of Israeli control of disputed territory.
Kushner and other US officials have linked peace and economic development to Arab recognition of Israel and acceptance of a version of the status quo on Palestinian "autonomy," as opposed to "sovereignty," people who have spoken with the Kushner team said.
"We believe we have a plan that is fair, realistic and implementable that will enable people to live better lives," a senior White House official said Friday. "We looked at past efforts and solicited ideas from both sides and partners in the region with the recognition that what has been tried in the past has not worked. Thus, we have taken an unconventional approach founded on not hiding from reality, but instead speaking truth."
Aides to Trump said last week they expect the president to release his peace plan once Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu forms a coalition in the wake of his election victory. These officials added that despite criticism of the administration's moves to date, the plan will demand compromises from both sides.
While the contents of the Middle East peace plan have remained a secret thus far, Kushner recently discussed it in an interview with Sky News in Arabic.
While Kushner did not get into many specifics, he did say the plan "is very detailed and will focus on delineating the border and providing solutions to the main issues that are controversial and will be appropriate for the current situation on the ground."
Netanyahu has promised to consider the plan, but Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas has rejected the US plan before it has even been unveiled and has been boycotting US officials ever since Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December of 2017.
One of Abbas' chief advisers, however, said last week that the Palestinians will not reject the Trump plan out of hand, according to The Washington Post.
Trump lawyer Jason Greenblatt, who would be the lead US negotiator for talks, tweeted a direct appeal to Palestinian leaders last week.
"To the PA: Our plan will greatly improve Palestinian lives & create something very different than what exists," Greenblatt wrote. "It's a realistic plan to thrive/prosper even if it means compromises. It's not a 'sell out' — if the plan isn't realistic, no one can deliver it."
Although Trump had said in September that he expected a rollout within four months, US officials reset the timeline when it became clear that Netanyahu would call early elections. The plan will wait at least until after Netanyahu forms a government, and probably also until after both the Passover and Ramadan observances, according to The Washington Post.
"We are still weighing a variety of factors," one US official said. "Timing is still being worked out, and no decision has been made at this time as to when we are going to roll it out."
The US official requested anonymity to discuss plans for the still-secret package. Some Arab and Israeli officials familiar with discussions around the package also requested anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose contents of confidential meetings.
6. NEW RIGHT'S VOTE RECOUNT REQUEST APPROVED
by David Rosenberg
The New Right party of Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked will conduct a partial vote recount following last Tuesday's election, after receiving approval from the Central Elections Committee Sunday evening.
Judge Hanan Melcer, the chairman of the Central Elections Committee, green lighted a request by the New Right to conduct a recount of votes in 300 ballot boxes which were used for special votes – the double-enveloped ballots cast by Israeli citizens unable to vote at the ballot nearest to their home. These voters include voters who were hospitalized during the election, soldiers stationed at bases across the country, prisoners being held in correctional facilities, foreign service officials working overseas, and disabled voters unable to reach the polls.
Despite polls showing the New Right entering the Knesset with five to six seats, the party narrowly missed the electoral threshold in the initial vote count.
The Central Elections Committee has been correcting errors in the uploading of data into the system, which produced a number of irregularities in the turnout rate for certain towns, as well as votes for one party mistakenly credited to another party.
Nevertheless, as of Sunday evening, the New Right is still 1,344 votes short of the 139,898 votes required to enter the Knesset, out of a total of 4,308,446 valid ballots cast.
The New Right has claimed, however, that it has received reports of some hundreds of irregularities in the counting of votes, particularly with regards to the special double-enveloped ballots.
The party had hoped last week that the soldiers' votes would put the New Right over the top.
Earlier on Sunday, the Central Elections Committee pushed back on the New Right's allegations of widespread irregularities, calling the claim a "misrepresentation".
"The Committee views with great severity the dissemination of the misrepresentation by the New Right that there were irregularities in the counting of special votes and the failure to recognize the Committee's attempts to provide them with the necessary information."
7. RIVLIN REQUESTS NOT TO SIT NEXT TO NETANYAHU
by Hezki Baruch
President Reuven Rivlin refused to sit next to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at an event commemorating fallen IDF soldiers at the Jerusalem International Convention Center on Sunday night.
According to the Channel 12 News report, the president's office explained that these are "sensitive days" during which the president consults with the Knesset factions regarding the identity of the next prime minister. Bereaved family members of fallen IDF soldiers sat between Netanyahu and Rivlin.
The relationship between Netanyahu and Rivlin has been up and down over the years. There was tension between the two leaders just recently when Netanyahu claimed that Rivlin was "looking for an excuse to grant Benny Gantz the formation of the government."
The president's office responded strongly to Netanyahu's remarks, saying that "this is another attempt to discredit the president's discretion regarding the exercise of his legal authority. This time again, we'll clarify that the president will make his decision according to the law like all the previous presidents of Israel."
"This is another despicable attempt to undermine public trust in the president's decision following the elections. The president won't be swayed by flattery and won't fear these repeated irresponsible attacks which are motivated by cynical political considerations."
8. MEET ISRAEL'S NEWEST ELITE POLICE UNIT: YASAM EILAT
by i24News
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261832
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
Monday, Apr. 15 '19, י' בניסן תשע"ט
HEADLINES:
1. LIKUD LOSES SEAT - AS HAREDI FACTION RISES TO 8
2. NETANYAHU MEETS WITH HAREDI LAWMAKERS
3. SHAS CANDIDATES BACK NETANYAHU FOR PM
4. BLUE AND WHITE: WE WON'T JOIN UNITY GOVERNMENT
5. REPORT: TRUMP PLAN WON'T INCLUDE PALESTINIAN STATE
6. NEW RIGHT'S VOTE RECOUNT REQUEST APPROVED
7. RIVLIN REQUESTS NOT TO SIT NEXT TO NETANYAHU
8. MEET ISRAEL'S NEWEST ELITE POLICE UNIT: YASAM EILAT
1. LIKUD LOSES SEAT - AS HAREDI FACTION RISES TO 8
by David Rosenberg
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261875
The provisional results for last Tuesday's Knesset election now show the Likud with 35 seats, down one from the initial results released last week by the Central Elections Committee, while the haredi United Torah Judaism party gained a seat, rising from seven to eight mandates.
While the final results will not be ready until Wednesday, the latest vote count update released by the Central Elections Committee shows the United Torah Judaism faction with eight mandates, at the Likud's expense.
The actual shift in votes was minor, however, and leaves the UTJ's eight seat with only an 80-vote margin for the time being. The seat could thus be 'lost' by another minor shift in the vote total.
The Likud remains the closest party to another seat, requiring just 202 more votes – if the remaining vote count remains unchanged – to regain its 36th seat. If the UTJ gains additional votes, however, the Likud will also require more additional votes beyond the 202 it currently lacks, at a rate of 2.5 votes for every additional vote counted to the UTJ.
Because the seat change on Monday occurred between the Likud and UTJ, the balance of power between the right and left blocs remains unchanged, with 65 seats for the right-wing – religious bloc, and 55 seats for the left-wing – Arab bloc.
On Monday, United Torah Judaism representatives met with President Rivlin for consultations prior to the president's selection of a candidate for the premiership.
UTJ recommended Netanyahu be tapped for a fifth term as prime minister.
"We recommend Netanyahu as candidate for the premiership," said Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman.
"We worked with him during the previous term. We did everything we could for the Jewish people, and so we think that he is the right candidate for prime minister."
2. NETANYAHU MEETS WITH HAREDI LAWMAKERS
by Arutz Sheva Staff
The heads of Israel's haredi parties on Monday morning met Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at his Jerusalem home, Kikar Hashabbat reported.
Netanyahu's meeting with Shas leader Interior Minister Aryeh Deri and UTJ's Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman came just before the two met with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin to recommend Netanyahu continue in his position as PM.
The meeting is believed to have focused on coalition negotiations, including the parties' goal of passing an amended Draft Law within the first month of the next government, and Deri's bill to ban the recognition of private conversions.
Former Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) opposes both, and has promised not to join the coalition unless the Draft Law is passed as is.
"This was a maintenance discussion," a source told Kikar Hashabbat. "Netanyahu wants to make sure there won't be any surprises."
3. SHAS CANDIDATES BACK NETANYAHU FOR PM
by Hezki Baruch
The Sephardic-haredi Shas party's delegation to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin recommended that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who leads the Likud party, be tasked with forming the next government.
Religious Affairs Minister Yitzhak Vaknin (Shas) wished Rivlin's wife Nechama a speedy recovery and said, "I think that the Netanyahu-led government did its job properly. He is worthy of continuing to run the State of Israel."
Deputy Finance Minister Yitzhak Cohen (Shas) said, "From the start of the campaign, we were completely transparent and we said we recommend Binyamin Netanyahu for the next Knesset's prime minister. We believe Netanyahu can lead the country as he has previously, so our recommendation is to task Binyamin Netanyahu with the formation of the next government. We hope that this will bring Israel only good."
Shas MK Meshulam Nahari told Rivlin: "We recommend Binyamin Netanyahu for Prime MInister. That was our message before the elections. This last term was good and we want to continue on the same path, and therefore we recommend Netanyahu for Prime Minister."
Shas MK Yakov Margi echoed Nahari's words: "We've been through a difficult election, and it's behind us now. We have one nation and one state. We want the work done in the previous government to continue along the same lines, and like we said during the elections, we recommend Netanyahu for Prime Minister."
"Is your recommendation conditional on the next government working along the same lines the previous government did?" Rivlin asked the MKs.
"The previous government emphasized retaining the status quo on issues rife with conflict," Vaknin answered. "We will not help another government which will harm that which is holy to Israel, such as Shabbat (the Sabbath), which is important for the unity of Israel."
At the end of the meeting, Rivlin noted that 44 of the required 61 MKs have recommended Netanyahu continue as Prime Minister.
"On Wednesday afternoon, I will decide who to task with forming the government," Rivlin said.
4. BLUE AND WHITE: WE WON'T JOIN UNITY GOVERNMENT
by Hezki Baruch
The Blue and White party has rejected calls on Monday for it join a unity government with the Likud.
A delegation of party officials met with President Reuven Rivlin, as part of the post-election consultations to determine which candidate is best able to form a governing coalition.
"This was a stormy election cycle," said Knesset Member-elect Gabi Ashkenazi, a former IDF Chief of Staff who ran with the Blue and White ticket in last week's election.
"We respect the decision the people made. In what should come as no surprise, we recommend Gantz. We are proud of the achievements we made in such a short period of time. We will continue to serve our voters and the public as a whole."
During the meeting, President Rivlin urged the Blue and White party to consider forming a unity government with the Likud.
"Many in Israel want to see people brought together. I don't want to use the word 'unity', because that has political connotations. But we're facing political, security, domestic, and economic challenges, along with social questions which need to be handled with sensitivity. My question is, if you were invited, with no pre-conditions, to join a unity government led by someone other than the person you're recommending [for prime minister], would you consider it?"
Rivlin meets with Blue and White reps Mark Neiman (GPO)
Party representatives rejected the proposal, however, saying they recommended that Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz be tapped to serve as Prime Minister.
"After carefully considering the idea, we think that given the current circumstances, we would be unable to serve in the kind of government you are proposed," responded Ashkenazi.
"We will work on behalf of the Israeli people, but not from within government that is not led by Benny Gantz."
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261873
5. REPORT: TRUMP PLAN WON'T INCLUDE PALESTINIAN STATE
by Elad Benari
US President Donald Trump's proposal for a "Deal of the Century" to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict promises practical improvements in the lives of Palestinian Arabs but is likely to stop short of ensuring a separate, fully sovereign Palestinian state, people familiar with the main elements of the effort told The Washington Post on Sunday.
The White House is expected to roll out its long-anticipated peace package later this spring or by early summer, after more than two years of effort by Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner. Officials have kept details of the plan secret, but comments from Kushner and other US officials suggest that it does away with statehood as the starting premise of peace efforts as it has been over the past two decades.
The plan is likely to focus heavily on Israeli security concerns, according to The Washington Post. Trump has told friends he wants to upend traditional assumptions about how to resolve the conflict, but unlike in his unorthodox personal diplomacy with North Korea, Trump has largely outsourced the Middle East peace effort to his son-in-law.
Arab officials familiar with Kushner's sales pitches said he has offered no specifics but suggested that the plan turned on economic opportunities for Palestinians and an enshrining of Israeli control of disputed territory.
Kushner and other US officials have linked peace and economic development to Arab recognition of Israel and acceptance of a version of the status quo on Palestinian "autonomy," as opposed to "sovereignty," people who have spoken with the Kushner team said.
"We believe we have a plan that is fair, realistic and implementable that will enable people to live better lives," a senior White House official said Friday. "We looked at past efforts and solicited ideas from both sides and partners in the region with the recognition that what has been tried in the past has not worked. Thus, we have taken an unconventional approach founded on not hiding from reality, but instead speaking truth."
Aides to Trump said last week they expect the president to release his peace plan once Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu forms a coalition in the wake of his election victory. These officials added that despite criticism of the administration's moves to date, the plan will demand compromises from both sides.
While the contents of the Middle East peace plan have remained a secret thus far, Kushner recently discussed it in an interview with Sky News in Arabic.
While Kushner did not get into many specifics, he did say the plan "is very detailed and will focus on delineating the border and providing solutions to the main issues that are controversial and will be appropriate for the current situation on the ground."
Netanyahu has promised to consider the plan, but Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas has rejected the US plan before it has even been unveiled and has been boycotting US officials ever since Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December of 2017.
One of Abbas' chief advisers, however, said last week that the Palestinians will not reject the Trump plan out of hand, according to The Washington Post.
Trump lawyer Jason Greenblatt, who would be the lead US negotiator for talks, tweeted a direct appeal to Palestinian leaders last week.
"To the PA: Our plan will greatly improve Palestinian lives & create something very different than what exists," Greenblatt wrote. "It's a realistic plan to thrive/prosper even if it means compromises. It's not a 'sell out' — if the plan isn't realistic, no one can deliver it."
Although Trump had said in September that he expected a rollout within four months, US officials reset the timeline when it became clear that Netanyahu would call early elections. The plan will wait at least until after Netanyahu forms a government, and probably also until after both the Passover and Ramadan observances, according to The Washington Post.
"We are still weighing a variety of factors," one US official said. "Timing is still being worked out, and no decision has been made at this time as to when we are going to roll it out."
The US official requested anonymity to discuss plans for the still-secret package. Some Arab and Israeli officials familiar with discussions around the package also requested anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose contents of confidential meetings.
6. NEW RIGHT'S VOTE RECOUNT REQUEST APPROVED
by David Rosenberg
The New Right party of Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked will conduct a partial vote recount following last Tuesday's election, after receiving approval from the Central Elections Committee Sunday evening.
Judge Hanan Melcer, the chairman of the Central Elections Committee, green lighted a request by the New Right to conduct a recount of votes in 300 ballot boxes which were used for special votes – the double-enveloped ballots cast by Israeli citizens unable to vote at the ballot nearest to their home. These voters include voters who were hospitalized during the election, soldiers stationed at bases across the country, prisoners being held in correctional facilities, foreign service officials working overseas, and disabled voters unable to reach the polls.
Despite polls showing the New Right entering the Knesset with five to six seats, the party narrowly missed the electoral threshold in the initial vote count.
The Central Elections Committee has been correcting errors in the uploading of data into the system, which produced a number of irregularities in the turnout rate for certain towns, as well as votes for one party mistakenly credited to another party.
Nevertheless, as of Sunday evening, the New Right is still 1,344 votes short of the 139,898 votes required to enter the Knesset, out of a total of 4,308,446 valid ballots cast.
The New Right has claimed, however, that it has received reports of some hundreds of irregularities in the counting of votes, particularly with regards to the special double-enveloped ballots.
The party had hoped last week that the soldiers' votes would put the New Right over the top.
Earlier on Sunday, the Central Elections Committee pushed back on the New Right's allegations of widespread irregularities, calling the claim a "misrepresentation".
"The Committee views with great severity the dissemination of the misrepresentation by the New Right that there were irregularities in the counting of special votes and the failure to recognize the Committee's attempts to provide them with the necessary information."
7. RIVLIN REQUESTS NOT TO SIT NEXT TO NETANYAHU
by Hezki Baruch
President Reuven Rivlin refused to sit next to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at an event commemorating fallen IDF soldiers at the Jerusalem International Convention Center on Sunday night.
According to the Channel 12 News report, the president's office explained that these are "sensitive days" during which the president consults with the Knesset factions regarding the identity of the next prime minister. Bereaved family members of fallen IDF soldiers sat between Netanyahu and Rivlin.
The relationship between Netanyahu and Rivlin has been up and down over the years. There was tension between the two leaders just recently when Netanyahu claimed that Rivlin was "looking for an excuse to grant Benny Gantz the formation of the government."
The president's office responded strongly to Netanyahu's remarks, saying that "this is another attempt to discredit the president's discretion regarding the exercise of his legal authority. This time again, we'll clarify that the president will make his decision according to the law like all the previous presidents of Israel."
"This is another despicable attempt to undermine public trust in the president's decision following the elections. The president won't be swayed by flattery and won't fear these repeated irresponsible attacks which are motivated by cynical political considerations."
8. MEET ISRAEL'S NEWEST ELITE POLICE UNIT: YASAM EILAT
by i24News
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261832
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A7News: IDF officer killed in Gaza op granted Chief of Staff Citation
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