ISRAEL BREAKING NEWS

Israel’s political scene in turmoil as Netanyahu warns of early elections
https://worldisraelnews.com/israels-political-scene-turmoil-netanyahu-warns-early-elections/? March 8, 2018
Israel’s political scene in turmoil as Netanyahu warns of early electionsPM Netanyahu speaks at the Economic Club, March 7, 2018. (AP/Jose Luis Magana)
Is Israel heading to early elections? Netanyahu has presented a political ultimatum.
By: AP and World Israel News Staff

Israel may face early elections due to a coalition crisis, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned during a visit to the US on Wednesday as coalition members conducted a tug-of-war back home.

The prime minister reportedly told his coalition members that he wants his government to complete its full term in November 2019, and if not, elections should be held immediately.

Speaking at the Economic Club in Washington, he said, “If all parties in this coalition … agree that’s what we do, and if not, then we will go to elections now.”

Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon has said his Kulanu party will bolt the coalition if the budget does not pass in the next few weeks.

Coalition partners are feuding over whether to include military draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews. The ultra-Orthodox MKs have threatened not to vote in favor of budget if draft exemptions for their constituencies are not met to their satisfaction.

At the conference, Netanyahu also made light of the slew of corruption investigations against him back home. When asked what the pleasure of his job is, he jokingly replied, “investigations.”

Netanyahu later took to Facebook to lash out at the “state witness industry.”

“They take people whom they claim committed some crime,” Netanyahu said. “They place them under detention, terrify them, tell them ‘your life is over, your family’s lives are over, we will take everything from you including your freedom. You want to get out of this? There is one way only, smear Netanyahu. It’s not important if you tell delusional lies as long as you smear Netanyahu,'” he said.

This week another former Netanyahu aide, Nir Hefetz, agreed to turn state’s witness in a burgeoning corruption case engulfing the prime minister.

The longtime Netanyahu family spokesman was arrested two weeks ago as part of the Case 4000 investigation. He allegedly helped promote regulation worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Israel’s Bezeq telecom company in return for favorable coverage of the prime minister and his family by the company’s popular news website, Walla.

Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing and has not yet been named a suspect in the case, but he was questioned by police on Friday ahead of his trip to Washington.

Israeli police have already recommended indicting Netanyahu for bribery, fraud and breach of trust in two separate cases, known as Case 1000 and Case 2000. Netanyahu is suspected of accepting lavish gifts from billionaire friends and promising to promote legislation to help a major Israeli newspaper against its free rival in exchange for favorable coverage.

Netanyahu has denied wrongdoing in all of the cases, saying he is the victim of a politically motivated witch hunt aimed at toppling him. He has repeatedly said that nothing will come out of the investigations.

Netanyahu said in his Facebook clip that the “obsessive chase” after state witnesses “is the best proof that there is nothing here.”

Political tensions in the country are expected to remain high until the prime minister returns from Washington, as all coalition members have stated that he holds the key to solving the apparent political impasse.

https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/israeli-stand-at-berlin-fair-stormed-by-arab-security-guards-1.5888390?utm_source=Push_Notification&utm_medium=web_push&utm_campaign=General

Israeli Stand at Berlin Fair Stormed by 'Arab Security Guards Shouting Free Palestine'
German police alerted to defend Israeli stand at tourism expo after three security guards storm it

Israeli Stand at Berlin Fair Stormed by 'Arab Security Guards Shouting Free Palestine'
German police alerted to defend Israeli stand at tourism expo after three security guards storm it

DPA Mar 09, 2018 10:08 AM
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A view of the Palestine stand is pictured at the International Tourism Trade Fair (ITB, Internationale Tourismusboerse) in Berlin during the fair's opening day on March 7, 2018.
A view of the Israeli stand is pictured at the International Tourism Trade Fair (ITB, Internationale Tourismusboerse) in Berlin during the fair's opening day on March 7, 2018.JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP
Police were called to the ITB tourism trade fair in Berlin to protect the Israel stand from a group of security firm employees who had stormed it.

The incident occurred on Thursday and was initially reported by the Tagesspiegel newspaper and was confirmed to dpa by police on Friday morning.

Three men from a security firm employed by the fair organizers mobbed the Israel stand shouting "Free Palestine," police said.

Police have been alerted to protect the stand from further possible attacks.
Police identified the three men and expelled them from the fair grounds.

Tagesspiegel reported that witnesses said that the men were had an Arab background, but the police did not immediately confirm this on Friday.

A view of the Palestine stand is pictured at the International Tourism Trade Fair (ITB, Internationale Tourismusboerse) in Berlin during the fair's opening day on March 7, 2018.

TERROR IN ACRE
A 51 year old Israeli-Arab ran over an IDF soldier near the Acre (Akko) city market yesterday morning. He then proceeded to ram his vehicle into 3 other people including a Border Policeman and another soldier. The terrorist was shot, possibly by one of his victims, and taken into custody. The terror victims were either lightly or moderately injured. 
The terrorist’s family expressed their shock, saying, “It is hard for me to believe that this was a nationalistically-motivated incident. Maybe he was angry over receiving a ticket and that’s why he did it. He never thought about hurting people. He doesn’t have those types of thoughts.” 
The terrorist’s defense attorney insists that he is not a terrorist and committed his crime out of anger after receiving a 1000 shekel traffic ticket. 
The police and shin bet are still investigating the incident. 
For further reading click here. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5144209,00.html?utm_source=email



HAMAS BUSTED
Footage shows Hamas siphoning Gaza power
Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) Maj.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai uploaded footage to his Facebook page showing Hamas operatives hooking up illicitly to a Gaza power line Saturday in order to siphon electricity. He wrote, "The Hamas terror group continues stealing from the people of Gaza," and that, "This power was intended for hospitals and schools, but Hamas is uninterested in the populace and even exploits it. Watch the daylight robbery." 

For further reading click here. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5144944,00.html?utm_source=email

Three Confidants, Three State Witnesses: Who Are They and What Do They Know About the Netanyahus
Everything you need to know about the three men who could bring down Netanyahu
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/three-confidants-three-state-witnesses-what-do-they-know-1.587020
Haaretz Mar 05, 2018 1:14 PM

Nir Hefetz, Shlomo Filber, and Ari Harow.Marc Israel Sellem, Moti Milrod
In dramatic development, third Netanyahu confidant likely to turn against him
Netanyahu's millennials: The loyal crew that’s sticking around Israel's embattled leader
Nir Hefetz, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "spin doctor" and confidant, is in talks with police to turn state's evidence in the bribery case involving the Bezeq telecom giant and the Walla news site.

If the deal is signed, Hefetz will become the third Netanyahu confidant to turn against the prime minister in the ongoing corruption cases.

Hefetz, who as a journalist was known for his aggressive demeanor towards peers, began his career with Netanyahu in 2009, when he was appointed chief spokesman for the prime minister, and again in 2014, this time as a media advisor for his family.

>> A belligerent ex-journalist with lots of secrets to tell: Read the full profile of Nir Hefetz

Two former Netanyahu confidants have already turned against him. One is former Chief of Staff Ari Harow who testified in cases 2000 and 1000 - which, respectively, relate to discussions of a quid-pro-quo deal with newspaper publisher Arnon Mozes and lavish gifts received from businessmen Arnon Milchan and James Packer.

>> The dyed-in-the-wool Likudnik: Read the full profile of Ari Harow

The other is Sholmo Filber, former director general of the Communications Ministry under Netanyahu, who is suspected of granting financial benefits to Shaul Elovitch, the controlling shareholder of Bezeq, Israel's largest telecom company, on behalf of the prime minister.

>> A ministry director with zero experience: Read the full profile of Shlomo Filber
Haaretz

In Dramatic Development, Third Netanyahu Confidant Likely to Turn Against Him
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/third-pm-confidant-in-talks-to-turn-against-him-in-deal-with-police-1.5869949?utm_campaign=newsletter-breaking-news&utm_medium=email&utm_source=smartfocus&utm_content=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.haaretz.com%2Fisrael-news%2Fthird-pm-confidant-in-talks-to-turn-against-him-in-deal-with-police-1.5869949
Nir Hefetz, Netanyahu's 'spin doctor', may become a witness for the state ■ Hefetz is suspected of bribery and obstruction of justice in the telecom corruption affair
Revital Hovel Mar 05, 2018 11:15 AM
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Nir Hefetz, Shlomo Filber, and Ari Harow.
Nir Hefetz, Shlomo Filber, and Ari Harow.Marc Israel Sellem, Moti Milrod
Netanyahu keeps destroying the rule of law
Is Israel headed for a snap election? Everything you need to know
Netanyahu's millennials: The loyal crew that’s sticking around Israel's embattled leader
 
Nir Hefetz, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "spin doctor" and confidant, is in talks with police to turn state's evidence in the bribery case involving the Bezeq telecom giant and the Walla news site. Hefetz is suspected of receiving bribes and obstructing justice as part of what is called Case 4000.

>> Bibi bombshells explained: Your updated guide to all the Netanyahu cases <<

If the deal is signed, Hefetz will become the third Netanyahu confidant to turn against the prime minister in the ongoing corruption cases. One of Hefetz's attorneys, Ilan Sofer, told Haaretz Monday he is "optimistic" a deal will be signed.

>>Who Is Nir Hefetz, the Netanyahus’ Spin Doctor Suspected of Offering a Bribe to a Judge?<<
Nir Hefetz sits in the Magistrate Court during his remand hearing in Tel Aviv, Israel, February 22, 2018. \ AMIR COHEN/ REUTERS
At the heart of Case 4000 is the suspicion that Netanyahu acted to provide Bezeq and its former chairman, Shaul Elovitch, with financial breaks worth hundreds of millions of shekels in exchange for positive coverage in the telecommunications company’s popular Walla website. The prime minister has rejected the accusations and insisted that all his decisions “were made in businesslike fashion and based on professional factors, professional testimonies and legal counsel.”

>> Delve deeper into the week's news: Sign up to Chemi Shalev's weekly roundup

Hefetz testified in the case in December. Since his arrest two weeks ago, he has been questioned under caution not only in the telecom case but also for a suspected bribery offer to a former judge. So far he had refused to answer the investigator's questions.

Two former Netanyahu confidants have already turned against him. One is former Chief of Staff Ari Harow who testified in cases 2000 and 1000 - which, respectively, relate to discussions of a quid-pro-quo deal with newspaper publisher Arnon Mozes and lavish gifts received from businessmen Arnon Milchan and James Packer.

The other is Sholmo Filber, former director general of the Communications Ministry under Netanyahu, who is suspected of granting financial benefits to Shaul Elovitch, the controlling shareholder of Bezeq, Israel's largest telecom company, on behalf of the prime minister.
 
Hefetz’s association with Netanyahu began in 2009, when he was appointed chief spokesman for the prime minister, then beginning his second stint in office. Hefetz left in 2011 but returned to work for  Netanyahu in 2014, this time as a media advisor for his family. During the 2015 Knesset election, Hefetz also worked as a campaign strategist for Netanyahu’s Likud party.

Revital Hovel

Police detain US congressmen on Temple Mount
https://worldisraelnews.com/police-question-us-congressmen-on-temple-mount/? February 22, 2018
Police detain US congressmen on Temple MountIsraeli police keep watch over Congressmen Scott Tipton (R) and David McKinley, as well as Temple Institute director Rabbi Chaim Richman, on the Temple Mount, Feb. 22, 2018. (Courtesy)
Following complaints from the Islamic trust, two American congressmen were taken for questioning at the Temple Mount compound, allegedly for removing an olive branch. 

By: Atara Beck, World Israel News

US Congressmen Scott Tipton (R-CO) and David McKinley (R-WV), in Israel this week on a fact-finding mission organized by Proclaiming Justice to the Nations and Jaffe Strategies, were reportedly detained by police while visiting the Temple Mount Thursday morning, seemingly for picking up a fallen olive branch.

“Ostensibly, that might have something to do with it,” Rabbi Chaim Richman, international director of the Temple Institute, told World Israel News (WIN), adding that they were mistreated.

Eyewitnesses told WIN he saw the congressmen being taken away for questioning.

Israel Police National Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld denies the congressmen were detained. “They weren’t arrested and they weren’t detained,” he told WIN. “Towards the end of the visit, police asked them a number of questions to clarify an issue.”

Asked what the problem was, Rosenfeld said that removing anything from the site is prohibited, and they were questioned in that regard.

The police became involved following a complaint from the Jordanian Waqf (Islamic Trust). Although the IDF liberated the Old City of Jerusalem in the 1967 Six Day War, the Waqf has maintained control over the Temple Mount.

The situation on the Temple Mount has reached a new low,” said Alon Schvartzer, director of policy for Zionist group Im Tirtzu. “This is a disgraceful reality that has long crossed the point of absurdity, and we cannot allow it to continue.” “Israel must remember that it has sovereignty over the Temple Mount, and not the Waqf. The time has come to provide freedom of worship to Jews, Christians and all those who wish to worship peacefully on the Temple Mount.”

The congressmen are on a fact-finding mission to Israel this week, meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, cabinet ministers and lawmakers. Both are staunch supporters of the Jewish state and the Israel-US alliance as well as being on record for opposing the Iran nuclear deal.

DEPORTATION DEMONSTRATIONS
A giant rally is scheduled to take place in south Tel Aviv Saturday in solidarity with illegal African migrants and asylum seekers, who are soon to be deported to Uganda or Rwanda or face imprisonment in Israel. 

The movement orchestrating the rally, known as “South Tel Aviv Against Deportation”, is expecting thousands to flock to the area to attend from across Israel in a bid to display widespread opposition to the Knesset’s approval of the deportation plan two months ago. 

In an effort to counter the demonstration, crowds are planning to assemble from the other side of the camp, led by “The Front for the Liberation of South Tel Aviv” under the campaign banner of “Remember Esther Galili,” a victim whose murder came to symbolize anger over the migrants’ presence and galvanize protesters into action. 

In January, Israel began notifying thousands of Africans who entered the country illegally that they have three months to leave or face incarceration. 

The Population and Immigration Authority called on migrants from Sudan and Eritrea to leave "to their country or to a third country," meaning Rwanda or Uganda. Those who leave by the end of March will be given $3,500, along with airfare and other incentives. 

Rwanda announced Friday that it would only absorb Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seeker being deported from Israel if the measures were in accordance with international law. 

For further reading click here. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5127607,00.html?utm_source=email

Settlers Caught on Film Throwing Stones at Left-wing Activists in West Bank
Two activists hurt by the stones, and the group left the area due to the incident
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/settlers-filmed-throwing-stones-at-left-wing-activists-in-west-bank-1.5808502?utm_source=Push_Notification&utm_medium=web_push&utm_campaign=General
Yotam Berger Feb 11, 2018 6:21 PM
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Six settlers caught on film throwing stones at left-wing activists in West Bank, February 10, 2018 Screenshot from video
Israelis filmed throwing rocks at Palestinian homes in West Bank village
Right-wing activists arrested after scuffle with police near West Bank outpost
Israel seeks to divert Palestinian funds for terrorists to Jewish settlers
Some six settlers were caught on film Saturday throwing stones at left-wing activists in the southern West Bank. Two activists were hurt and were treated on the scene.

Videos taken by the activists show the settlers, some masked, throwing stones at them from a few meters away. At least four people are seen in the video thowing stones, with four of them hurling them more than 20 times.
VIDEOS

skip - Six settlers caught on film throwing stones at left-wing activists in West Bank
Six settlers caught on film throwing stones at left-wing activists in West Bank - דלג

The activists left the place, near the outpost of Havat Maon in the southern Hebron Hills, due to the stone-throwing.
About 10 Israelis, members of the left-wing anti-occupation group Ta’ayush, along with international activists, were touring the area when they were assaulted.
“The area there is very violent," Guy Batavia, who took part in the tour, said. "In recent months there have been a number of assaults on activists and on [Palestinian] farmers and shepherds. Yesterday there were two more assaults. We had gone to one of the villages where [settlers] had gone in during the week and made a mess – and a few teens came out toward us, three of them masked, and threw really big stones at us. It was really dangerous.”
The activists did not file a police complaint, saying the police “don’t really want to do anything.” Thus, no arrests are known to have been made following the incident, in which the teens whose faces were exposed could clearly be seen in the high quality film.
On Friday, Israeli citizens were filmed throwing stones at houses in the Palestinian town of Burin in the Nablus area in the northern central West Bank. In the footage, which was taken by members of the Yesh Din human rights organization, a group of about 20 Israelis are seen approaching the houses and throwing rocks from a few meters away. No damage or injuries were reported. In one video, it appears that one of the perpetrators is carrying a pistol and in another, one is shown carrying a rifle. No reports of gunfire were filed, but only stone-throwing. Israeli soldiers were shown entering the town near the man carrying the weapon.
Last year a Haaretz investigative report revealed that although the police were aware of at least nine instances of assault by settlers against Palestinians, left-wing activists and soldiers over a period of two and a half months, all of which were filmed or witnessed by soldiers, no one was indicted, even though the unmasked faces could clearly be seen. In other cases, soldiers were very close to the stone-throwers, but did nothing to stop them.

Holocaust Denier, anti-Semite Set to Clinch GOP Congressional Primary in Chicago
https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/holocaust-denier-nazi-set-to-run-as-gop-congress-pick-in-chicago-1.5789814?utm_source=Push_Notification&utm_medium=web_push&utm_campaign=General
Arthur Jones, 70, calls the Holocaust 'the biggest lie in history,' but will run unopposed in the upcoming GOP primary in 3rd Congressional District, a Democratic stronghold

Haaretz Feb 05, 2018 1:15 PM
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Arthur Jones' campaign website.
Arthur Jones' campaign website.Screengrab
Meet Paul Nehlen, the hate-baiting Republican trying to unseat Paul Ryan
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An avowed anti-Semite, Holocaust denier and former leader of the American Nazi Party is set to become the Republican nominee for a congressional seat in Illinois, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Sunday.

Arthur Jones, 70, is running unopposed in the GOP primary for Illinois' 3rd Congressional District on March 20, making him a shoo-in to face the Democratic incumbent in the November election. Jones has stood for public office many times since the 1970s, always unsuccessfully.

The Anti-Defamation League responded by calling Jones "by every definition an anti-Semite and unrepentant bigot."

The congressional seat, which encompasses parts of Chicago, is a Democratic stronghold, which is why the Republican Party didn’t bother to field an official candidate. Jones had run in the district primary seven times before this year but never came close to securing the nomination.

On his campaign website, called Art Jones for Congressman – which features a logo of the GOP elephant with a Confederate flag atop it – Jones has a special section called "Holocaust?" The section features seven scanned articles or documents, the first one called "The Holocaust Racket."

skip - Jones interview.
Jones interview. - דלג

"This idea that 'SIX MILLION JEWS,' were killed by the National Socialist government of Germany, in World War II, is the biggest, blackest, lie in history," declares the document, which is signed by the "Veterans of Jewish Wars."

The document further states that "Jewish International Communism and Jewish International Zionism are directly responsible for the murder of at least 300 million people and these blood-thirsty criminal vampires may yet ignite a THIRD WORLD WAR, if we don't stop them."

Other documents in the section include "The Kosher Food Scam," "Holocaust 'Survivors' in U.S. Given Preference by S.S. [Social Security]" and a 1993 newspaper cutting saying "34% Doubt Holocaust."

Jones is a retired insurance broker and says on his campaign website that he was "raised in a highly patriotic family. The blood of the Southern Confederate and the Northern Yankee are both in me."

He told the Chicago Sun-Times about his former leadership of the American Nazi Party and that he now heads a group called the American First Committee.

"Membership in this organization is open to any white American citizen of European, non-Jewish descent," he told the daily.

He told the Chicago Tribune he had dressed in full Nazi regalia during a march in Skokie, Illinois, in the 1970s, and billed himself as "the White People's Candidate" during his failed bid to become mayor of Milwaukee in 1976.

The Anti-Defamation League told the Sun-Times Jones had been on its radar for some time.

"Arthur Jones, who proudly displays Holocaust denial, xenophobia and racism on his blog and website, has a long history of hateful, extremist and anti-Semitic views," the ADL's regional director in Chicago, Lonnie Nasatir was quoted as saying.

"For example," Nasatir continued, in 2009 "he protested the opening of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, and continues to espouse absurd conspiracy theories questioning the deaths of millions of Jews."

Jones almost landed the 3rd Congressional District nomination in 2016, but was removed from the ballot when Illinois Republican Party members highlighted irregularities in his application. He told the Chicago Tribune that this primary represents "absolutely the best opportunity in my entire political career.

"Every time I've run, it's been against a Republican who follows this politically correct nonsense. This time they screwed up," he told the paper.

The Republican Party is now seemingly powerless to stop Jones running in the general election, but its Illinois chairman, Tim Schneider, distanced the party from Jones. He told the Chicago Sun-Times the GOP "and our country have no place for Nazis like Arthur Jones. We strongly oppose his racist views and his candidacy for any public office, including the 3rd Congressional District."

Jones told the Chicago Tribune he doesn't support interracial marriage or integration in schools, telling the paper: I don't believe in equality – period."

Looking ahead to the November 6 election against either the Democratic incumbent Rep. Dan Lipinski or challenger Marie Newman, Jones told the Tribune, "I'll have nine months to campaign. I think I have a good chance."

He will not, however, be reaching out to the Republican president for support. Newsweek quotes Jones as saying he regretted voting for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, because Trump has "surrounded himself with hordes of Jews."

Israel carrying out secret airstrike campaign in Sinai to help Egypt — report
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-carrying-out-secret-air-strike-campaign-in-sinai-to-help-egypt-report/?utm_source=israel-carrying-out-secret-air-strike-campaign-in-sinai-to-help-egypt-report&utm_medium=desktop-browser&utm_campaign=desktop-notifications
Unmarked IAF drones, fighter jets, and gunships are conducting attacks against jihadist insurgents at the behest of Sissi, The New York Times reports
By TOI STAFF
Today, 4:54 pm 0

A picture taken from the Rafah border of the southern Gaza Strip with Egypt shows smoke billowing in Egypt's North Sinai on July 8, 2017. (AFP/Said Khatib)
Israeli drones, fighter jets, and helicopter gunships have carried out more than 100 airstrikes against Islamist terrorists in the Sinai, in a bid to help Egypt deal with the jihadist insurgency in the peninsula, the New York Times reported Saturday.

Israel was forced to take action, with the blessing of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, as Egypt struggled to deal with the violent uprising that has killed hundreds of Egyptian security forces and civilians, the report said.

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While security coordination between Jerusalem and Cairo is known to be close, the ties are still unpopular in Egypt, despite nearly three decades of peace. In order to keep the cooperation quiet, the Israeli aircraft are often unmarked and sometimes use indirect routes in a bid to cover up the origin of the strikes, the report said.

The report said Sissi had kept the Israeli strikes secret, only letting a small group of military and intelligence officials in on the cooperation, and has kept northern Sinai a closed military area, barring reporters from the region.

Israeli and Egyptian officials refused to confirm or comment on the report, which the paper said was based on interviews with seven current or former British and American officials involved in Middle East policy, all speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss classified information.

The report quoted American officials as saying that Israel’s air campaign has played a decisive role in enabling the Egyptian armed forces to gain an upper hand against the jihadists.

According to the US sources, Israel began its airstrikes following the capture of a north Sinai town by the Islamists and the downing of a Russian charter jet over Sinai in October 2014 that killed 224 people. They said Israel has had a string of successes in killing the terrorist leaders.

In the wake of the Israeli strikes, the Islamists slowed their advance and switched their attention to softer targets like attacking mosques and churches, the report said.

However, Israel has complained to the US that Egypt is not upholding its end of the agreement and was supposed to follow up on the airstrikes by pushing ground forces into the region.



Israeli Right-wing Lawmaker to Meet Leader of Austrian Party With Nazi Roots
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israeli-lawmaker-to-meet-leader-of-austrian-party-with-nazi-roots-1.5786309?utm_source=Push_Notification&utm_medium=web_push&utm_campaign=General
The meeting will be the first meeting between an elected Israeli official and far-right Heinz-Christian Strache since the latter was appointed as Austria's vice-chancellor
Jonathan Lis Feb 02, 2018 9:41 PM
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MK Yehuda Glick speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the Knesset in Jerusalem, June 2, 2016. AP/Sebastian Scheiner
Far-right Austrian official resigns after mounting pressure over Nazi songbook scandal
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MK Yehuda Glick (Likud) is planning to meet Heinz-Christian Strache, the head of Austria’s Freedom Party who was appointed as Austria’s vice-chancellor a month and a half ago.

Glick told Haaretz that he was invited by Strache and by Austria’s new foreign minister Karin Kneissl, who was appointed to her post by Strache’s party, as a professional appointment. The meeting, which will take place in two weeks, will be the first meeting between an Israeli elected official and Strache since the latter assumed his new post.

Glick refused to elaborate on the upcoming meeting. He said on Twitter that he was happy to meet one of Israel’s most senior friends in Europe. Jerusalem has not yet adopted a clear stand regarding meetings between senior Israeli officials and the new vice-chancellor, who heads a party with Nazi roots. Foreign ministry officials clarified that the government would continue to maintain professional working relations with the Austrian government despite the inclusion of the extreme right-wing party in the coalition.

MK Ksenia Svetlova (Zionist Union) sharply criticized the proposed meeting. “Meetings with leaders of anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi parties lend legitimacy to activists who wink to Israel with one eye while nodding at Israel-haters,” she said.

"Such meetings are insulting and dismissive towards the victims and survivors, as well as to people who fought the Nazis," Svetlova added

Svetlova has drafted a bill which would deny entry into Israel to people who deny the Holocaust or who have uttered anti-Semitic expressions. She says that no Knesset member on the right whom she’s approached has agreed to support her.

The last time the Freedom Party joined the ruling coalition in Austria, in 2000, Israel responded vigorously: it returned home its ambassador in Vienna and reduced the level of its relations with Austria. Nowadays things are different, since Strache has managed in recent years to make some powerful friends among Israel’s right-wing settlers, partly based on his promise to move Austria’s embassy to Jerusalem and on his support for construction in the settlements.

Strache has visited Israel on at least three occasions in recent years, meeting senior Likud officials and touring the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum. On his last visit, in 2016, former president Shimon Peres refused to meet him, based on a foreign ministry recommendation.

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/asylum-seekers-who-left-israel-for-rwanda-warn-those-remaining-don-t-1.5785996?utm_source=Push_Notification&utm_medium=web_push&utm_campaign=General
Asylum Seekers Who Left Israel for Rwanda Warn Those Remaining: ‘Don’t Come Here’
'I thought maybe it would be better for me in Rwanda than in prison, but it has become like a prison for me here,' says an asylum seeker who left Israel

Ilan Lior Feb 02, 2018 9:53 AM
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African migrants demonstrate against the Israeli government outside the Rwanda embassy on January 22, 2018 in the Israeli city of Herzliya.
African migrants demonstrate against the Israeli government outside the Rwanda embassy on January 22, 2018 in the Israeli city of Herzliya. JACK GUEZ/AFP
Israel's African asylum seekers can't go 'home' to Rwanda
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It’s been four years since the life of Goitom, 28, from Eritrea changed dramatically. When he came to renew his residency visa in Israel, an immigration official told him he had to report to the Holot detention facility. At that time, people were being kept there indefinitely. Goitom did not agree to give up his freedom and preferred to accept the offer from the Population, Immigration and Border Authority to become one of the first African asylum seekers to leave for Rwanda.

“I didn’t want to go to the prison. I thought maybe it would be better for me in Rwanda than in prison, but it has become like a prison for me here,” he said this week in a video interview with Haaretz from Kigali, Rwanda’s capital. The despair is evident on his face.

For more than two months now he has been living in the street. “Things are so bad. I am living very badly. I have no home, there is no work,” he says. “Before, there were a few people who helped me. The United Nations also helped – they gave me money for lodging and food. But they stopped.”

He describes a daily fight for survival.’”Sometimes I eat with friends, sometimes I ask for help from people who have a restaurant, sometimes I go to sleep without eating.” In the four years he has been living in Rwanda he has not been employed for a single day, though he says he has invested a lot of effort in looking for work. He opened a small shop for selling basic items but it failed and had to shut down within a few months. “When I opened the business I didn’t know the language and therefore I lost money,” he explains.

He had crossed the Egyptian border into Israel in 2008. He says he left Eritrea because of “political problems.” After six years in Israel he boarded the flight to Rwanda together with two other asylum seekers. At first he received a visa that allowed him to stay for three months but then it was denied him

“For more than a year I lived without any documentation,” Goitom says. Then the authorities in Rwanda gave him a visa that he was required to renew every three months. After a year, they refused to renew it again and sent him to the local office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. There he received a UNHCR document stating that he is an asylum seeker. Last year he left the document at the place where he was living, was stopped and arrested and sent to prison for two days.

Like the other asylum seekers who left Israel, he received a grant of $3,500. He says the money lasted for two years. At first he says he was cheated and charged exorbitant amount rent, but later he learned the market rates. When the money ran out he found himself in the street. He wants to leave Rwanda but doesn’t see any practical possibility of doing this.

“It’s very hard to cross the border without documents,” he says. Going back to Eritrea is out of the question. “How can I go back?” he says. “If I go back there now they will put me in prison for 10 to 20 years. It’s impossible.”

Only nine former sojourners in Israel left in Rwanda

His story reflects the situation of the few asylum seekers who left Israel for Rwanda and have remained there. The UNHCR office in Kigali knows about only nine them. All the rest have left; most have been smuggled into Uganda. Six of those who remain in Rwanda agreed to share their stories with Haaretz. The interviews with four of them were conducted in English and the other two in Arabic, with the help of an interpreter. All six live a meager existence in Kigali, struggling to survive. Some have lost all hope. The luckier ones have a roof over their heads and money for food. Others depend on the generosity and kindness of friends and local people and the limited help from the UN.

The authorities in Rwanda do not recognize their right to be there and refuse to grant them residency permits. Lacking official documents, they have frequently been arrested and jailed. They are not fluent in the local language, the culture is foreign to them and finding work is nearly impossible. Though they arrived in Rwanda at different times, they all tell a similar story that raises concern for the fate of those who will be deported from Israel in the near future. All the people interviewed regret their decision to leave for Rwanda and urge the asylum seekers in Israel not to follow their example.

“The prison in Israel is preferable,” they declare.

‘I hope Israel won’t send my children to Rwanda’

The confiscation of their documents recurs in all the testimonies. “When I arrived here they took my documents. They said to me that if you want to, you can go to Uganda, if want to, you can stay in Rwanda. I told them that my country is at war and I want to remain in Rwanda,” recounts “Jacob,” (not his real name), 42, from South Sudan, who left a wife and four children behind in Israel. His wife, a citizen of Sudan, was permitted to remain in Israel with the children while he was required to leave after his country declared its independence.

At first he refused to leave Israel and was held in Saharonim Prison in the Negev. The population authority offered him the option of leaving for Rwanda or Uganda. After a year in Saharonim he gave up and chose Rwanda. “The situation here is very bad. I am suffering. I have no work and I have no home. I have nothing. The UN gives us hospital [care], clothing and shoes, not food,” he says.

Shortly after he arrived in Rwanda, Jacob opened a small business but could not maintain it. “I didn’t have food, I didn’t receive any support. The UN ... did not give us food or housing.” Currently he is living with friends. “I don’t pay them,” he clarifies. “Sometimes I live with friends, sometimes I sleep outside.”

Jacob, too, has only a UN document, after the authorities in Rwanda granted him a visa for a limited time and refused to renew it. “They didn’t explain to me why they stopped. They said they don’t want people who came from Israel to come for immigration,” he says, noting that he was referred to the UN.

He says the police arrested him three times and that he filed an application for asylum but has not received a reply. “They didn’t reject me but they said you have to wait. We are still waiting. He asked the UN office for absorption in a refugee camp but was refused. “A refugee camp is better for me. If they would take me I would get food and housing but they refused.

“I am sorry I came to Rwanda,” Jacob concludes. “I have received nothing. There is no work. Life is very hard here. I hope that Israel will not send my children to Rwanda,” he repeats. His message to asylum seekers in Israel is clear and unambiguous:

“I am telling you that there is no work here, no help. We are suffering. How can you bring people here? We have no food, we have no home. If people come, they will suffer like I am. It is better to say there in prison than to come here.”

'Why do I need to go to prison?'

Teklesambat, 38, from Eritrea, spent five years in Israel. When in 2014 he was ordered to report to Holot, he decided to leave the country. “If you have a problem with your own country, go to Rwanda,” the population authority people told him. “I was a soldier for eight years in Eritrea. I can’t go back there,” he says, adding that he knew nothing abut Rwanda but decided to go there in order to avoid imprisonment in Israel. “I didn’t make any mistake in Israel so why do I need to go to prison? I left Israel and I came to Rwanda.”

At the airport in Kigali he received a one-month tourist visa. He says immigration officials confiscated all his documents, Along with two other asylum seekers who came with him from Israel, he rented an apartment for $200 a month, far more than the market price. One of the men who made the journey with him is still in Rwanda. The other left for Uganda and contact with him has been cut off.

“When we came, we didn’t have anything, not a single document. I stayed here in Rwanda for a year without any documents,” says Teklesambat. “The UNHCR office sent us to immigration. We didn’t get anything.” He too says he never managed to find work. “Even the locals don’t have work, so how am I going to find work as a foreigner?”

The $3,500 he received from Israel, he says, did not last him a year. Then the UNHCR office funded an apartment and food for him and his roommates. “After that maybe they got tired and they told us: ‘You have to find work.’ Where are we going to find work? We slept outside the UNHCR office for two months. That was in 2016. After that, what can we do? We have nothing, we have no work, we are suffering. We asked to go to a refugee camp and they didn’t let us,” he says, noting that he applied in writing several times to the Rwandan government office responsible for dealing with refugees, and never received a reply.

“I live in the street. People help me. People here are generous but they don’t even have enough for themselves,” he says. “It is better to stay in Israel, even in prison – you have food, you have a place to stay. You know what our situation is here. It is better to stay there and struggle.”

Works at a farm for no pay

John, 28, from South Sudan has been arrested three times for lack of a visa since he arrived in Rwanda. He says the first time he was held for five days, the second time for a week and the third time for nearly two weeks. The first two times he was released by immigration authorities and the third time was helped by the UNHCR office. John, like the others, spent many months with no official documents. For a year he had a visa from the government of Rwanda and now he has a document from the UN refugee office.

He came to Israel in 2007 and left for Rwanda after seven years. “When I arrived at the airport in Rwanda they did not take away my documents. They took me to a hotel. At the hotel they took away my documents. Because I could not afford to stay there, they advised me to rent an apartment in Kigali. I rented with three other people and together we paid $200 a month.” An immigration official came to him and proposed that he leave for Uganda. “He advised me to be in touch with a person who could smuggle me into Uganda. I refused because I didn’t want to go to Uganda that way.

“I asked the immigration authority for a document so that I could open a business,” he continues. “I also asked for a travel document so I could go to Uganda in an official way, not through smuggling. I waited for a year and then they sent to me to the UNHCR office, where they made it clear to me that they could not issue me any such document. I am still waiting.” For five months now he has been living on a friend’s farm in a rural area outside Kigali. “I tend animals at the farm. He does not pay me but in exchange I can live there and eat.”

No work, no food

For seven years Mussie, 32, from Eritrea lived in Israel. In 2015 he was sent to Holot and decided to leave for Rwanda. Fifteen people from Israel came with him. One, whose Facebook posts he saw, went on to Libya in an attempt to get to Europe. Then Mussie heard from friends that the man had been murdered by Islamic State fighters. Mussie has no connection anymore with the rest of the group and does not know what has become of them.

At the airport in Rwanda officials confiscated his documents. He says that from there the immigration people took him straight to a hotel, where he stayed three nights for free. After that he was asked to pay and left for an apartment, for which he paid exorbitant rent.

The grant he received in Israel lasted him two years. His situation is better than that of the others. He is now living alone in a small apartment in Kigali and paying about $20 a month for it. He owns a small shop for basic items but says he will close it soon. “I’m not making any profit, I am losing money. I don’t have customers. It is my own business, but very small. I sell soap, sugar. I want to close,” he says. “We don’t have any work in Rwanda, we don’t have food, we don’t have anything. This is just a life of survival. From the government of Rwanda you can’t get any papers or any help.”

‘I advise people not to come to Rwanda’

Aman, 39, from Eritrea served in the army for nine years until he deserted to Ethiopia in 2008. He stayed in a refugee camp for awhile and from there he continued to Israel via Sudan and Egypt. After six years in Israel, during the summer of 2015, he was told he had to report to Holot or go back to his country. “I told them I had a political problem in my country and I can’t go back there, so they suggested that I go to Rwanda,” he says.

Aman also says the immigration officials in Rwanda confiscated his documents as soon as he landed at the airport. “I traveled with 11 other people – nine men and two women. They took our documents and sent everyone to sleep for three nights at a hotel.” After one night at the hotel, the group decided to continue on to Uganda. Each of them was asked to pay $250 to be smuggled across the border into that country.

“I’m not sure whether the man was from immigration or from the hotel. He was called John,” he says of a man who is mentioned many times by the asylum seekers interviewed.

“The whole group left for Uganda except for me. I came to stay in Rwanda. John said to me, ‘Why are you staying here? This is not a good country to live in. You’d be better off in Uganda.’ I insisted on staying in Rwanda. For three days I stayed at the hotel that was paid for by the government. After the three days, that same person took me into Kigali in his car. He left me by myself to look for a place to stay.”

He rented an apartment and tried again and again to apply to the Rwandan immigration authority but was refused. “At the immigration office I was told, ‘You can open a business. You can work. There’s no problem.’” At the end of 2015, he says, he received a visa like the others. Then he opened a restaurant but lost money and closed it after two months and sold the equipment. From the remaining money he bought a motorcycle and drove passengers for pay. After three months of that, he opened a small shop where he sold basic household items but after a month he had to close it because of a criminal entanglement.

Aman says a women with whom he had a romantic relationship accused him of harassment. “The police arrested me and I stayed in jail for 45 days.” During that time, he says, the woman stole all his savings and disappeared. “When I was in jail a friend advised me to sell the shop and the motorcycle to pay for a lawyer. After 45 days a judge ruled that I was innocent and I didn’t need to stay in jail after I had already lost everything. I complained to every government office, and to the immigration office and to the UNHCR office. At the moment I have nothing, I am hopeless, I have no work and sometimes I sleep at night at people’s’ homes and sometimes I sleep in the street.”

He regrets his decision to come to Rwanda and says the government of Israel forced him to do it, against his will. “I urge people not to come to Rwanda because they will not get any aid. This is not the life I had hoped for when I arrived here.”

Ilan Lior

Haaretz Correspondent

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/outraged-over-polish-holocaust-bill-israeli-mk-calls-to-recall-envoy-1.5784599?utm_source=Push_Notification&utm_medium=web_push&utm_campaign=General
'Poland Spitting in Israel's Face': Israeli Politicians, Yad Vashem Voice Outrage After Holocaust Bill Passes Vote
Minister demands Netanyahu recall ambassador ■ Yad Vashem criticizes bill that criminalizes accusing the Polish people of complicity in Nazi crimes

Noa Landau Feb 01, 2018 9:46 AM
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Israeli Ambassador to Poland, Anna Azari, speaks during a ceremony marking the 13th International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the victims of the Holocaust in Warsaw, Poland, January 29, 2018.
Israeli Ambassador to Poland, Anna Azari, speaks during a ceremony marking the 13th International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the victims of the Holocaust in Warsaw, Poland, January 29, 2018. Czarek Sokolowski/AP
Despite promise to Israel, Polish Senate passes bill criminalizing mention of nation's complicity in Holocaust
Polish PM to Netanyahu: Israel has laws criminalizing lies about history too
Israeli ambassador to UN slams attempts to 'distort the truth' about the Holocaust
Likud Minister Yisrael Katz demanded on Thursday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recall Israel's ambassador to Poland over controversial legislation that was backed by Polish lawmakers, which would criminalize accusing the Polish nation of complicity in Nazi crimes.

The bill, now pending the approval of the polish president, passed a Senate vote overnight despite assurances that dialogue on the legislation would be held with Israel before a vote takes place.

>> The Polish were once victims of historical whitewashing. Now they are doing the same | Analysis

"The [draft] law passed by the Poles is serious and constitutes a denial of responsibility and of Poland's role in the Jewish Holocaust," Katz said after Polish lawmakers backed the bill. "In the balance between political and moral considerations, a clear decision must be taken – commemorating the victims of the Holocaust over any other consideration."

Construction and Housing Minister Yoav Galant tweeted against the bill, saying "The bill that passed tonight by the Senate in Poland is Holocaust denial. The memory of six million is stronger than any law. We will internalize their memory and remember the lesson- that we must defend ourselves by our own strength."

MK Zipi Livni (Zionist Union), a former foreign minister, said the approval of the law is “unacceptable and spitting in the face of Israel twice, both as the nation of the Jewish people and also against the prime minister who announced he had reached agreements with the Poles – if there were such [understandings].

"Israel needs to respond firmly, to immediately and openly put on the agenda the documentation of the crimes by Poles during the Holocaust and to send a clear message: We won't allow them to cause the past to be forgotten.”

>> Death camps weren’t 'Polish' - but Poles were bad enough to Jews without them, Holocaust historian says

The Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial center in Jerusalem harshly criticized the bill. “It is very disappointing that Poland chose, despite the difficulties with the present wording [of the law] and the harsh protests, to approve the problematic law that could well cause a distortion of the historical truth because of the limitations it places on various expressions concerning the cooperation of parts of the Polish population – directly and indirectly – with the crimes committed on their land during the period of the Holocaust.”

Yad Vashem says it differentiates between the ban on using phrases such as “Polish death camps” – which it also agrees is incorrect – and “other elements” of the law, which include sections that ban speaking about the part of the “Polish people” in the Nazi crimes or crimes against humanity.

These sections of the law “endanger the free and candid discussion of the part of members of the Polish people in the persecution of Jews during the [Holocaust] period,” said Yad Vashem.

“Yad Vashem will continue to support research that endeavors to uncover the complex truth about the relationship of the Polish population to the Jews during the period of the Holocaust and will promote activities for education and commemoration in this spirit.”


The Senate voted on the draft bill in the early hours on Thursday and it will now be sent to President Andrzej Duda for a final signature.

Poland's PAP news agency reported 57 senators voted for the draft bill, with 23 against and two abstentions.

"We have to send a clear signal to the world that we won't allow for Poland to continue being insulted," Patryk Jaki, a deputy justice minister, told reporters in parliament.

The Senate's approval of the bill came despite Polish assurances that a dialogue on the legislation would be held with Israel before a vote on it in the Senate. It had previously been approved by the lower house of parliament.

The legislation, which bans any claims that the Polish people or Polish state were responsible or complicit in the Nazis' crimes, also bans minimizing the responsibility of "the real perpetrators" for these crimes.

Media reports of the lower house's passage of the bill last Friday created a political, public and media storm in Israel. Israeli officials took several steps in response, including a telephone call between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Polish counterpart, Mateusz Morawiecki.

The contacts resulted in the two countries agreeing to set up a joint task force to discuss the matter, but before the sides began their work, the Polish Senate approved the bill.

Why Diaspora Jews Care So Much About the Fate of Asylum Seekers in Israel
Even loyal advocates of Israel like Alan Dershowitz have criticized Israel for its plan to forcibly deport Eritreans and Sudanese. Their story has touched a nerve with Jews abroad, who see deporting refugees as a violation of Jewish values and their own history
https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/why-u-s-jews-care-so-much-about-fate-of-the-african-asylum-seekers-1.5781608?utm_source=Push_Notification&utm_medium=web_push&utm_campaign=General
Dina Kraft Jan 31, 2018 9:44 PM
Elliot Vaisrub Glassenberg demonstrating on behalf of African asylum seekers. His sign reads, 'We asked for asylum, we got jail.'Michael Kaminar/Courtesy of Elliot Vaisrub Glassenberg
For an Israeli lawyer fighting for Palestinian rights, winning is a double-edged sword
As an Ethiopian Israeli, I call out my country's African refugee policy for what it is: A racist manhunt
'You have Nazi friends': Lawmakers kicked out of heated panel on Israel's asylum seekers deportation
When Elliot Vaisrub Glassenberg was growing up in suburban Chicago in the 1990s, his Jewish day school taught him that being Jewish meant standing up for the oppressed and being compassionate to others. The biblical injunction to love the stranger because you were once strangers in the land of Egypt was not a suggestion but a code of ethics, he says.

But Glassenberg says that when he immigrated to Israel in 2011, he was shocked by the disdain for the “stranger” he saw in the general Israeli attitude toward African asylum seekers – most of them from Sudan and Eritrea – who had made the difficult and often perilous journey overland to the Jewish state from Egypt.

It was not just the government’s policy of detaining the Africans and not recognizing them as refugees that took him aback. It was also the attitude of many of the Israelis he encountered, who seemed, he thought, content to accept the government’s labeling of the asylum seekers as “infiltrators” and possible demographic threats to the Jewish state.

Glassenberg, 34, attributes this to Israelis growing up with existential fears and a succession of wars that reinforced a fear of the “other.”

In contrast, he says, he and many of his Diaspora counterparts were “taught that diversity and pluralism is a good thing.” They also know what it means to be a minority and the feeling of vulnerability, but also the perspective that this can bring, he says. “But many of my Israeli peers – they were brought up not knowing people of color and not knowing people who are not Jewish,” adds Glassenberg, who now works as an envoy (shaliah) for the Jewish Agency in Chicago.

From his Illinois office, he has become involved in the growing organized efforts by North America’s Jewish community to lobby the Israeli government to reconsider its approach to the asylum seekers, who today number an estimated 38,000.

Those efforts have taken on a new urgency in the last month, since the government decided to forcibly deport the majority of the asylum seekers to “third party” African countries (widely reported to be the sub-Saharan states of Rwanda and Uganda) or their homelands or otherwise to jail them for an indefinite period.

Many U.S. Jews are urging Israel to provide the asylum seekers with an opportunity to file applications for their status as refugees, so their backgrounds can be checked fairly and transparently – instead of being labeled en masse as economic migrants, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called them in a cabinet meeting on Sunday.

Approximately 60,000 African asylum seekers have come through Israel over the last decade or so, and some have subsequently accepted the government’s offer of a one-off payment of $3,500 to voluntarily be deported to those “third countries” or their homelands. But deportations have been followed by testimonies alleging they have been moved on or been robbed of their payments. There have also been stories that some faced human trafficking or even death as they sought to move on from Africa to Europe.

After the Israeli government stepped up its efforts to deport the asylum seekers in December, a letter from the heads of several major U.S. Jewish organizations was among the first calling for it to reverse its position. That has snowballed into petitions and letters by rabbis, Jewish professionals, the Reform movement and other concerned Jews overseas.

Most recently, a campaign was launched by Diaspora Jews called Let Us Help. Its social media-minded message is “Join Us. Tell Israel: #DontDeport #LetUsHelp.”

A petition signed by more than 850 rabbis, cantors, and rabbinical and cantorial students from Orthodox, Conservative Reconstructionist and Reform streams around the world implored Israel to reverse course, saying: “As a country founded by refugees, and whose early leaders helped to craft the 1951 International Convention on the Status of Refugees, Israel must not deport those seeking asylum within its borders. We Jews know far too well what happens when the world closes its doors to those forced to flee their homes.

“Our own experience of slavery and liberation, and our own experience as refugees, compel us to act with mercy and justice toward those seeking refuge among us. Please affirm these Jewish values, as well as Israel’s international commitments, by stopping the deportations,” the letter stated.

Among the growing number of Israelis on the ground mobilizing against the deportation – including prominent authors, filmmakers and doctors – are a significant number of Diaspora-born immigrants. Some of them were previously involved in the social activism of earlier eras, first for Soviet Jewry and, later, on behalf of Ethiopian Jews seeking immigration to Israel.

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, told Haaretz via email that the Israeli government position on African asylum seekers is “simply put, at odd odds with Jewish values.”

Israel at Heart founder Joey Low, who has become an advocate for African asylum seekers in Israel. "I cannot sit by and do nothing," he says.
Israel at Heart founder Joey Low, fourth from left, who has become an advocate for African asylum seekers in Israel. "I cannot sit by and do nothing," he says.courtesy of Joey Low
And in a statement last Friday, the Reform movement said: “We recognize that there are many in the world in need of assistance, and it is unreasonable to expect Israel to accept an indefinite number of newcomers. Still, Israel has the ability to assist and absorb the 37,885 asylum seekers already in the country,” it said, citing Population, Immigration and Border Authority data. “The real threat to its Jewish character is the refusal to provide shelter to the persecuted.”

For American Jews in particular, the issue of race is also impossible to ignore.

Even a prominent pro-Israel supporter like Alan Dershowitz is taking the Israeli government to task. “The whiff of racism can’t be avoided when you have a situation where 40,000 people of color are the ones who are being deported en masse, without being individualized and every single case considered on its merits,” the Harvard law professor told ILTV Daily recently. He said that Israel’s Law of Return, which grants citizenship to any person officially recognized as Jewish, “shouldn’t be a law that excludes others from being valuable citizens.”

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ILTV video - דלג

Dershowitz added that, in terms of presenting Israel to the world in a positive light – given that “many now consider Israel an apartheid” state – “doing the right thing with regard to these 40,000 people is a test, a true test of Israel’s soul.” He then recounted the story of how 29 members of his own family came to the United States illegally in 1939.

Like many of his Diaspora counterparts, the stories of the African refugees felt personal and relatable to those of their own families fleeing persecution, whether from Nazi Germany, Czarist Russia or elsewhere.

The other ‘other’

But while many Diaspora Jews and Jewish organizations have come out strongly against Israel’s treatment of the African asylum seekers, some of these same people – Dershowitz arguably the most prominent among them – have historically been reluctant to speak out about Palestinian human rights.

Rabbi Ayelet S. Cohen, senior director in the New York/Tri-State Region at the New Israel Fund – an organization that has been outspoken on both Palestinian human rights and the asylum seekers (it helped organize the Jewish clergy letter) – suggests this is because the planned deportations are “so egregious that even people not accustomed to criticizing Israel feel compelled to speak out right now.”

Jacobs, meanwhile, notes that “this is a less complicated issue. There appears to be a ready solution to this situation of the asylum seekers – albeit one the government has decided against, but one around which those of us who seek a different outcome can coalesce. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a complex situation, regardless of the concern that we have, as do others, for the character of the Jewish state,” he wrote.

Joey Low is a New York-based investor and pro-Israel activist who spends several months a year in Israel. He founded and donated millions of dollars to the nonprofit Israel at Heart (which sends young Israelis abroad as ambassadors to help promote Israel’s image), but says he’s heartsick over the looming deportations.

A son of refugees who fled Nazi Europe, he says his latest mission is to exert pressure on Netanyahu’s government. “I was always raised knowing my dad was angry at the world for not doing more to help him. He was so vulnerable and no one helped,” Low says. “So now I cannot sit by and do nothing.”

IDF foils stabbing attack in settlement, arrests Palestinian with knife
https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-foils-stabbing-attack-in-settlement-arrests-palestinian-with-knife/?utm_source=idf-foils-stabbing-attack-in-settlement-arrests-palestinian-with-knife&utm_medium=desktop-browser&utm_campaign=desktop-notifications
Troops say suspect detained near Negohot with weapon, military jacket, map of Israeli community
By MICHAEL BACHNER
Today, 2:38 pm 0
Illustrative: Knife belonging to Palestinian man who was arrested as he approached a senior IDF officer's vehicle, near the West Bank settlement Negohot, southwest of Hebron, on September 30, 2016. (IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
Illustrative: Knife belonging to Palestinian man who was arrested as he approached a senior IDF officer's vehicle, near the West Bank settlement Negohot, southwest of Hebron, on September 30, 2016. (IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
A Palestinian man planning a terror attack was arrested Wednesday near the West Bank settlement of Negohot holding a knife and a map of the Israeli community, security forces said.

“A short while ago, IDF troops thwarted an attempted terror attack next to the community of Negohot, southwest of Hebron,” the military said in a statement.

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“Soldiers apprehended a Palestinian suspect wearing a military-style jacket near the community,” the army said, adding that a knife and a map of the settlement were found in the suspect’s possession.

“The suspect and the found items were transferred to [the] security forces,” the statement said.

The incident comes three days after a pair of Palestinians wearing army uniforms tried to infiltrate the settlement of Itamar in the northern West Bank. One of the suspects was arrested with a pair of binoculars, but no weapons, the IDF said, while the second one fled and was searched for by soldiers in the area between the settlement and the Palestinian village of Beit Furik.


A Palestinian suspect arrested near the West Bank settlement of Itamar on January 28, 2018. (Samaria Regional Council)
A week ago, security forces foiled another attempted stabbing at the West Bank Tapuah Junction, when police said border guards opened fire and subdued two Palestinians who attacked them. A spokesman for the Samaria Regional Council said the two, both 16, from the West Bank city of Jenin, suffered leg injuries and were taken to a hospital.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

At Emergency Donor Meet, Israel to Present $1b Plan to Rebuild Gaza - With International Funding
The infrastructure plan, which includes desalination plants and a gas pipeline, will be presented at an emergency meeting called in response to threat of U.S. aid cuts

Noa Landau Jan 31, 2018 9:04 AM
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Israel will submit a $1 billion dollar plan for easing the Gaza Strip’s humanitarian crisis, which it will ask the international community to fund, at an emergency meeting on Wednesday of donor states.
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israel-will-present-plan-to-rebuild-gaza-to-be-funded-by-int-l-donors-1.5782230?utm_source=Push_Notification&utm_medium=web_push&utm_campaign=General

In Jenin, Israeli forces kill Palestinian terrorist said behind murder of rabbi
https://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinian-said-killed-in-firefight-with-idf-commandos-in-jenin/?utm_source=palestinian-said-killed-in-firefight-with-idf-commandos-in-jenin&utm_medium=desktop-browser&utm_campaign=desktop-notifications
Second terrorist captured; two Israeli officers wounded as elite unit comes under fire in West Bank operation to nab killers of Raziel Shevach
By JACOB MAGID and TOI STAFF
18 January 2018, 12:17 am  13
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Israeli security forces carry out raids in the West Bank city of Jenin in pursuit of the Palestinian killers of Israeli rabbi Raziel Shevach on January 18, 2018 (Israel Police)
Israeli security forces carry out raids in the West Bank city of Jenin in pursuit of the Palestinian killers of Israeli rabbi Raziel Shevach on January 18, 2018 (Israel Police)
In an operation in the West Bank city of Jenin early Thursday morning, Israeli special forces killed a Palestinian terrorist believed behind the murder last week of Israeli rabbi and father-of-six, Raziel Shevach. A second suspect in the murder was arrested, security officials said.

An elite Border Police unit was searching for Shevach’s killers when troops came under fire, leaving two officers injured, police said early Thursday.

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“Two officers from the counter terror unit were injured. One seriously and the second lightly, both were taken to hospital for treatment,” according to police.

Israeli security forces carry out raids in the West Bank city of Jenin in pursuit of the Palestinian killers of Israeli rabbi Raziel Shevach on January 18, 2018 (Israel Police)
Information about the Israeli injuries had been held under a gag order until their families were notified.

In the Jenin firefight, Israeli forces killed one Palestinian terrorist, captured another and were still in pursuit of a third, a Border Police spokesman told The Times of Israel.

Hours later, the spokesman said the forces were still scanning the area for the third terrorist and that the operation was still ongoing.

The Palestinian health ministry initially named the dead man as Ahmed Jarrar, 22. Palestinian media said he was the son of a senior Hamas military wing member Nasser Jarrar, who was killed by Israeli forces 16 years ago during the Second Intifada. But the Palestinian health ministry issued a correction midday Thursday, saying Ahmad Ismail Muhammad Jarrar, 31, was the Palestinian killed by Israeli forces overnight in a Jenin firefight.

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During the operation, the army said a violent riot broke out in the northern West Bank city. Palestinians hurled IEDs, rocks and fired at the forces, who responded with riot-dispersal measures, including live fire, the army said in a statement.

Palestinian media also reported military bulldozers demolishing a building in the city.

“As part of the operational activities, troops were reinforced, check-posts were placed and searches and arrests were conducted —  all in parallel to wide and significant intelligence activity of the Shin Bet and IDF,” the army said.

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The terrorists were believed to be members of the cell that gunned down Shevach on January 9 in the northern West Bank.

Rabbi Raziel Shevach with his family, in an undated photo (Courtesy of the family)
The Haaretz daily said that there had been a significant development in recent days that led the Shin Bet Security Service to shift the focus of their searches from the Nablus area, where the drive-by shooting occurred, to the Jenin area.

Israeli forces have been carrying out relentless searches for the killers since the January 9 terror attack. The IDF believes the attack was carried out by a cell consisting of at least two terrorists.

In a rare move, the Hamas terrorist group’s military wing had released a statement praising the attack, calling it “heroic” and a sign of future attacks to come, though the organization did not take responsibility for the shooting.


Israeli security forces carry out raids in the West Bank city of Jenin in pursuit of the Palestinian killers of Israeli rabbi Raziel Shevach on January 18, 2018 (Israel Police)
“The attack outside Nablus is the first real response to show the leaders of the enemies and those that are behind them (the United States), that things that you fear — are coming,” Hamas said in a statement earlier this month.

Shortly before 8:00 p.m. on January 9, 35-year-old father of six Shevach was driving in his car on the highway near his home in the Havat Gilad outpost when shots were fired at him from a passing car.

Shevach was shot in the neck, but managed to call his wife and tell her to call an ambulance.

He died of his injuries at a Kfar Saba hospital after receiving initial treatment by medics at the scene of the attack, the Havat Gilad Junction. Medics said he suffered a gunshot wound to his upper body and his condition deteriorated as he was taken to the hospital.

Gaza family kills own son after Hamas says he aided Israel
Terror group was investigating Ahmed Barhoum, believing him to be responsible for a 2014 airstrike that killed 3 commanders
https://www.timesofisrael.com/gaza-family-kills-relative-after-hamas-says-he-aided-israel/?utm_source=gaza-family-kills-relative-after-hamas-says-he-aided-israel&utm_medium=desktop-browser&utm_campaign=desktop-notifications
By AP
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Members of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist terror movement Hamas, take part in a rally marking three years since Operation Protective Edge, on July 20, 2017, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. (Abed Rahim Khatib/ Flash90)
Members of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist terror movement Hamas, take part in a rally marking three years since Operation Protective Edge, on July 20, 2017, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. (Abed Rahim Khatib/ Flash90)
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — A Palestinian family said it had killed one of its members Friday after Gaza’s Hamas rulers said he aided Israel in killing three of the terrorist group’s commanders.

The family said in a statement that a relative shot Ahmed Barhoum dead, but did not say which family member pulled the trigger. It said they followed developments in the Hamas investigation and believed their son was guilty.

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The family noted the relative was arrested and interrogated by the “resistance,” meaning he was detained outside the Palestinian litigation system. There was no immediate statement from Hamas.

The Hamas commanders were killed near the end of the 50-day war with Israel in 2014 during an airstrike on a house.

Hamas has executed dozens of Palestinians for collaboration since seizing Gaza in 2007.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Palestinian said killed in firefight with IDF commandos in Jenin
Elite unit was fired upon during operation in West Bank town; gag order placed on details of incident and identity of wounded
By TOI STAFF
Today, 12:17 am 0
Illustrative image of IDF reservists outside Jenin (Matanya Tausig / Flash 90)
Israeli forces raided the West Bank city of Jenin on Wednesday and engaged in a firefight with Palestinian gunmen after the IDF commandos came under fire, police and Palestinian media reported. At least one Palestinian was killed and several people were reported injured.

An elite Border Police unit was fired upon during security operations in the city and clashed with “terrorists,” the police said in a statement.

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“In the gun battle that took place there are a number of injuries,” a police statement said. All further details were placed under a gag order including the identity of those injured.

Palestinian media reported that at least one of the Palestinians were killed and another injured.

The clashes come amid tensions in the West Bank following the killing earlier in the month of an Israeli rabbi who was shot dead while driving down a highway outside Nablus.

Israeli forces have been carrying out searches for the killers. The IDF believes the attack was carried out by a cell of at least two terrorists.

In a rare move, the Hamas terrorist group’s military wing released a statement praising the attack, calling it “heroic” and a sign of future attacks to come, though the organization did not take responsibility for the shooting.
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Netanyahu ‘confident’ US embassy will move to Jerusalem within a year
https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-confident-us-embassy-will-move-to-jerusalem-within-a-year/?utm_source=netanyahu-confident-us-embassy-will-move-to-jerusalem-within-a-year&utm_medium=desktop-browser&utm_campaign=desktop-notifications
In comments to reporters in India, PM also praises Trump for 'challenging' UNRWA and taking a tougher stance on Iran
By JOSHUA DAVIDOVICH
Today, 8:43 am 2
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (unseen) at an Israeli-Indian Economic Conference in New Delhi, India on January 15, 2018 (Avi Ohayon/GPO)
AHMEDABAD, India — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday praised a series of recent moves by US President Donald Trump and expressed confidence that the US would relocate its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem within a year.

“My confident assessment is that it will move much faster than people think, within a year from today,” he told Israeli reporters on a flight from New Delhi to Gujarat during a state visit to India.

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Last month, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that relocating the embassy to Jerusalem would likely take at least three years, and quite possibly longer. “It’s not going to be anything that happens right away,” he said in a speech at the State Department reported by The New York Times. “Probably no earlier than three years out, and that’s pretty ambitious.”

Trump promised to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in a December 6 speech at the White House in which he also formally recognized the city as Israel’s capital.

Trump’s controversial decision sparked protests in some countries and was rejected in a non-binding UN General Assembly resolution. The recognition was welcomed in Israel, and Guatemala has since announced it will follow the US in moving its embassy to the city. Arab foreign ministers are set to meet on February 1 in Cairo to discuss steps against Trump’s recognition, the Arab League said earlier this month.

Netanyahu also lauded the Trump administration as the first to “challenge” the UN aid agency to the Palestinians. A day earlier, the US had announced it would withhold $65 million of a $120 million contribution to UNRWA this month.

The US decision “is the first time that there is a challenge to UNRWA, after 70 years. The agency that perpetuates the Palestinian refugee problem and narrative of erasing Zionism – and this is the first time this thing is challenged. It’s a good thing that they’re moving forward and challenging this body.”

Netanyahu reiterated his view that aid to the Palestinians should pass through the UN’s main refugee body, UNHCR, rather than UNRWA, and said he had suggested to the administration that it divert its contributions.

Israel accuses UNRWA of helping to perpetuate the Palestinian narrative of Israel’s illegitimacy by granting refugee status to the descendants of refugees, even when they are born in other countries and have citizenship there, conditions that do not apply to the refugees cared for by UNHCR. The population of Palestinian refugees thus grows each year, even as other refugee populations in the world shrink with each passing generation.

UNRWA counters that it is caring for a population that is scattered in several countries in the region, but is not served either by Israel or those countries, which refuse to grant them or their descendants citizenship, and that its definition of refugees reflects that reality.

The US notified UNRWA of the cut in a letter Tuesday from the State Department that also made clear that future US donations will be contingent on major changes by UNRWA.

“We would like to see some reforms be made,” said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, adding that changes were needed in the way the agency operates and is funded. “This is not aimed at punishing anyone.”


A Palestinian refugee living in Syria receives medication at an UNRWA clinic (courtesy: UNRWA/Taghrid Mohammad)
The US donated $355 million to UNWRA in 2016 and was set to make a similar contribution in this year, with the first installment to have been sent this month. But after a highly critical January 2 tweet from Trump on aid to the Palestinians, the State Department opted to wait for a formal policy decision before sending its first installment.

Trump’s tweet expressed frustration over the lack of progress in his attempts to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and he pointed the finger at the Palestinians. “We pay the Palestinians HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect,” he said. “But with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?”

Nauert said the United States believes there needs to be more “burden-sharing,” a regular Trump complaint about multilateral organizations dependent on significant contributions of US cash.

“We don’t believe that taking care of other nations and other people have to be solely the United States’ responsibility,” she said.

In his comments to reporters, Netanyahu also praised the Trump administration’s position on the Iranian nuclear deal. The US president said last week that he would not recertify the pact again unless its terms were changed. Israel has been the most vociferous critic of the agreement since before its signing, and has welcomed the administration’s skepticism.

“Three things are happening in the United States that never happened before,” Netanyahu said. Besides the cut to UNRWA and the Jerusalem embassy shifts, “there is a dramatic change toward Iran. The president gave a time limit for the necessary change in attitude to the nuclear program. Be assured this is going to happen. He’s the one talking about canceling the deal.”

Times of Israel staff and agencies contributed to this report.

Bitter Abbas to Trump: We reject your peace ‘deal of the century’
https://www.timesofisrael.com/bitter-abbas-to-trump-we-reject-your-peace-deal-of-the-century/?utm_source=bitter-abbas-to-trump-we-reject-your-peace-deal-of-the-century&utm_medium=desktop-browser&utm_campaign=desktop-notifications
PA president categorically dismisses US president's proposal before it has even been presented
By DOV LIEBER
Today, 9:50 pm 0
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (C) speaks during a meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah on January 14, 2018. (AFP PHOTO / ABBAS MOMANI)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (C) speaks during a meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah on January 14, 2018. (AFP PHOTO / ABBAS MOMANI)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday said a peace plan being worked on by US President Donald Trump insulted the Palestinians, calling it a slap in the face, and said the Palestinians would not accept any part of it.

“We told Trump we will not accept his project, the ‘deal of the century,’ which has become the ‘slap of the century,’” said Abbas, expressing Palestinian anger over the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

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“We do not take instructions from anyone, and say ‘no’ to anyone if it is about our destiny, our cause, our country and our people… 1,000 times no,'” he said, opening a meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Central Council in Ramallah.

The meeting, the first in two years, was called to discuss the Palestinian reaction to Trump’s December 6 speech recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in which the US president said his decision merely recognized the reality that Jerusalem already serves as Israel’s capital and was not meant to prejudge the final borders of the city.

After the Trump declaration, Abbas declared that the US could no longer serve as a peacebroker, and instituted a boycott of the Trump administration, canceling a planned meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence and refusing to meet with US peace envoy Jason Greenblatt.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas gestures during a press conference with the French president, following a meeting at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris on December 22, 2017. (AFP Photo/Pool/Francois Mori)
Trump’s move was hailed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and by leaders across much of the Israeli political spectrum, while enraging Palestinians and prompting condemnations worldwide.

Abbas also said on Sunday that Israel had “ended” the landmark Oslo peace accords of the 1990s with its actions.

“I am saying that Oslo, there is no Oslo,” he said at the start of the meeting. “Israel ended Oslo,” Abbas said, adding that the meeting must take decisions on how to move forward.

Abbas had long defended the need to preserve the Oslo Accords, arguing it allowed for the return of Palestinian leaders in exile and the creation of the Palestinian Authority.

At the same time, Abbas has also threatened a number of times to walk away from the agreements signed during Oslo.

Abbas, in his speech on Sunday, also seemingly confirmed that US officials offered Palestinians the Jerusalem suburb of Abu Dis as the capital of a future Palestinian state, rather than their sought-after East Jerusalem capital.

Abbas said Abu Dis was “being offered,” though he did not specify that it was by the Americans.

In December, a number of reports said that when Abbas had visited Saudi Arabia in September, the Saudis informed him of the outlines of a peace plan being drawn up by the Trump administration.

Among the elements of the Saudi proposal outlined in the reports was the establishment of the capital of a future Palestinian state in Abu Dis, a suburb of Jerusalem in the West Bank, east of Israel’s security barrier.
Abu Dis (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
In early peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians in the ’90s, the idea of Abu Dis as a Palestinian capital was floated, though it was ultimately rejected.

In 1995, the PA began building its parliament in Abu Dis, but eventually eschewed the massive complex for a location in Ramallah.

The PCC meeting, which is set to finish on Monday night, is meant to chart a new course for the Palestinian national movement.

IDF expands search for rabbi’s killers, closes off villages in Nablus area
https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-expands-search-for-rabbis-killers-closes-off-villages-in-nablus-area/?utm_source=idf-expands-search-for-rabbis-killers-closes-off-villages-in-nablus-area&utm_medium=desktop-browser&utm_campaign=desktop-notifications
Local settler activist berates army chief Eisenkot as he visits site where Raziel Shevach, a father of six, was gunned down
By JUDAH ARI GROSS
Today, 9:55 amUpdated: 9 January 2018, 9:51 pm 0
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Israeli forces close a road on January 10, 2018 in the area where a 35-year-old Israeli rabbi was killed late the night before near Nablus. (Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP)Israeli forces close a road on January 10, 2018 in the area where a 35-year-old Israeli rabbi was killed late the night before near Nablus. (Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP)IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eiesnkot, right, and other senior officers from the army's Central Command visit the area where a terror attack took place the night before on January 10, 2018. (Israel Defense Forces)IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eiesnkot, right, and other senior officers from the army's Central Command visit the area where a terror attack took place the night before on January 10, 2018. (Israel Defense Forces)Israeli forces close a road on January 10, 2018 in the area where a 35-year-old Israeli rabbi was killed late the night before near Nablus. (Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP)Israeli forces close a road on January 10, 2018 in the area where a 35-year-old Israeli rabbi was killed late the night before near Nablus. (Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP)The head of the army's northern West Bank's Samaria Brigade speaks with officers and soldiers after a terror attack in the area on January 10, 2018. (Israel Defense Forces)The head of the army's northern West Bank's Samaria Brigade speaks with officers and soldiers after a terror attack in the area on January 10, 2018. (Israel Defense Forces)Soldiers prepare for deployment after a lethal terror attack in the northern West Bank on January 10, 2018. (Israel Defense Forces)Soldiers prepare for deployment after a lethal terror attack in the northern West Bank on January 10, 2018. (Israel Defense Forces)
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The Israeli army on Wednesday expanded its manhunt for the perpetrators of a terror attack the night before in which an Israeli man was shot dead in his car on a highway in the northern West Bank.

Shortly before 8 p.m. on Tuesday, 35-year-old father of six Rabbi Raziel Shevach was driving in his car on the highway near his home in the Havat Gilad outpost when shots were fired at him from a passing car.

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Shevach, a volunteer medic, was shot in the neck, but managed to call his wife and tell her to call an ambulance. Civilian and military medics rushed to the scene and tried to stop the bleeding as they took him to Kfar Saba’s Meir Hospital, where he was pronounced dead after life-saving efforts failed.

Immediately following the attack, troops launched a manhunt, setting up roadblocks in the area around the Palestinian city of Nablus as they looked for the perpetrators.

“A number of actions were decided upon in order to locate the terrorists who committed the shooting attack, including security checks upon entrances and exits to and from the city of Nablus and placing forces and security crossings across the city,” the army said late Tuesday night.

“Additional forces were called to the scene in order to complete missions in the area,” the military said in a statement.

Overnight, Israeli special forces joined the search, entering nearby Palestinian villages in order to locate the attackers.


Israeli soldiers set up a security checkpoint in the northern West Bank after a terror attack on January 9, 2018. (Israel Defense Forces)
On Wednesday morning, IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot toured the area of the attack, and the army announced it was expanding its search and bringing in reinforcements to assist in the effort.

During his visit to the area, Eisenkot spoke with the head of the army’s Central Command, Maj. Gen. Roni Numa; the head of the Judea and Samaria Division, Brig. Gen. Eran Niv; and the head of the Samaria Brigade, Col. Gilad Amit.

“The main mission at the moment is to locate the cell, to stop it and to prevent further terror events, and also to prepare for further activity in the area over the weekend,” Eisenkot said.

The military set up checkpoints at the entrance to Nablus, which has a population of over 150,000, and in the surrounding villages, in what the army often refers to as a “breathing closure.”


Israeli forces close a road on January 10, 2018 in the area where a 35-year-old Israeli rabbi was killed late the night before near Nablus. (Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP)
“Entrances and exits to and from the villages surrounding Nablus will be possible only after security checks,” the army said.

Palestinian media reported traffic jams across the northern West Bank in light of the closures, especially at the entrances to Nablus.

Later on Wednesday morning, some of the checkpoints around Nablus were taken down.

During Eisenkot’s visit to the area, a local settler activist shouted at him, asking why the army had removed some of the blockades.

“Why did you take down the roadblocks? Mister chief of staff, why did you take down the roadblocks?” asked the activist, Tzvi Sukkot, before Eisenkot’s bodyguards asked him to leave.

Sukkot, a resident of the nearby Yitzhar settlement, also told the army chief that settlers in the area had earlier in the week informed the military of an apparent attempted shooting attack in the area.

On Monday, Sukkot wrote on Facebook that a Yitzhar resident had been driving in his car when a vehicle pulled up next to him and the driver pulled out what appeared to be a pistol, but for some reason did not open fire.

“Why do we have to warn you? Why do we have to warn you again and again?” he shouted at the army chief.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted that “security forces will do everything possible in order to reach the foul murderer, and the State of Israel will bring him to justice.”

Following the shooting attack, on Tuesday night, several incidents of settler violence were reported in the West Bank, in apparent retaliation for Shevach’s death.


A Palestinian car stoned by settlers in the Nablus area following a shooting attack, January 9, 2018 (Palestinian Red Crescent)
Palestinian cars were pelted with rocks near the Yitzhar and Shiloh junctions south of Nablus, Channel 10 news reported.

Additional stone-throwing incidents were reported in the nearby villages of Asira al-Qibliya, Jalud and Burin. Four people were lightly wounded by the rocks, Palestinians said.

The IDF said it was aware of rock-throwing incidents and that soldiers had dispersed the attackers. There were no arrests reported.

In a tweet, MK Bezalel Smotrich, of the right-wing Jewish Home party, said that “if they don’t want the grieving public to take the law into its own hands, then the system needs to do something” about Palestinian violence.

Shevach’s funeral will be held at the Havat Gilad outpost at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Havat Gilad is an illegal outpost established in 2002 in memory of Gilad Zar, security coordinator of the Shomron Regional Council, who was shot and killed a year prior in the northern West Bank

In a rare move, the Hamas terrorist group’s military wing released a statement praising the attack, calling it “heroic” and a sign of future attacks to come, though the organization did not take responsibility for the shooting.


Rabbi Raziel Shevach, who was killed in a terror attack in the northern West Bank on January 9, 2018. (Yeshivat Roeh Yisrael)
“The attack outside Nablus is the first real response to show the leaders of the enemies and those that are behind them (the United States), that things that you fear — are coming,” Hamas said in a statement.

Israeli defense officials have repeatedly warned that Hamas is looking to carry out attacks in the West Bank.

The head of the local settler council, Yossi Dagan, harshly criticized the government for failing to install security cameras in the area.

“If they had been (installed), these vile murderers would have been caught. Raziel was killed near the community of Gilad Farms, where there are no security apparatuses, despite repeated requests from my regional council,” Dagan said in a statement.

“This terrible attack should be a tremendous warning sign,” he added.

In November, Dagan launched a hunger strike along with representatives of bereaved families calling on the government to immediately transfer funds to improve West Bank’s security infrastructure. The campaign ended with an agreement signed by Netanyahu that put into writing a pledge to earmark NIS 800 million ($228 million) of the 2018 budget for West Bank roads and infrastructure development.

Jacob Magid contributed to this report.



After terror attack, US ambassador accuses Palestinians of preventing peace
https://www.timesofisrael.com/after-terror-attack-us-ambassador-accuses-palestinians-of-preventing-peace/?utm_source=after-terror-attack-us-ambassador-accuses-palestinians-of-preventing-peace&utm_medium=desktop-browser&utm_campaign=desktop-notifications
In unusual statement, David Friedman denounces Hamas for praising drive-by shooting and PA for paying terrorists' families
By MICHAEL BACHNER and TOI STAFF
Today, 1:26 pm 0
American Ambassador to Israel David Friedman attends a meeting of the lobby for Israel–United States relations at the Knesset, July 25, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, launched a rare scathing attack against the Palestinians Wednesday, blaming them squarely for the lack of peace with Israel.

“An Israeli father of six was killed last night in cold blood by Palestinian terrorists. Hamas praises the killers and PA laws will provide them financial rewards,” Friedman said in a statement posted to Twitter in response to the killing of Rabbi Raziel Shevach in a drive-by shooting attack Tuesday night.

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“Look no further to why there is no peace. Praying for the bereaved Shevach family,” he added, echoing accusations leveled by Israeli officials in the wake of the attack.

Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely issued a statement thanking David Friedman for his remarks. “Dear Ambassador Friedman, we deeply appreciate your solidarity with Israel. We value your partnership in the fight against terror and your understanding that the Palestinian Authority’s support of terrorists lies at the root of the problem,” she tweeted.

The Palestinian Authority, which has expressed a refusal to engage in peace talks with Israel unless the Trump administration walks back the US president’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, has issued no statement on the killing.

MK Ahmad Tibi of the Joint (Arab) List faction blasted Friedman’s tweet, accusing the US envoy of “hypocrisy” for failing to condemn incidents in which Palestinian protesters were shot by Israeli forces.

“Ambassador Friedman is shocked by death? I didn’t hear him when an Israeli sniper killed double amputee Ibrahim Abu Thurayeh or when the kid Muhammad Tamimi was shot in the head and wounded. Because of this hypocrisy and double standard, and because of the Trump administration’s positions, the conflict is going on and blood is being shed. And when these are the representatives of the administration, don’t ask why there is no peace.”


Rabbi Raziel Shevach with his family, in an undated photo (Courtesy of the family)
The United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East Peace process, Nickolay Mladenov, also appeared to accuse the Palestinians of inciting violence and hindering the peace process, albeit indirectly. “There is no justification for terror and those who condone it, praise it or glorify it. This is not the path to peace! The perpetrators of yesterday’s attack must be brought to justice,” he tweeted.

The German foreign ministry condemned the attack and called on “all parties to act to calm the situation.”

“The deadly attack in which a resident of an Israeli outpost in the West Bank was murdered yesterday is most regrettable. We strongly condemn this execrable murder,” a spokesman said. “We would like to express our sincere condolences to the family and to relatives of the murder victim.

“All those who bear responsibility for this attack or welcome it inflame the violence that makes it difficult to find a solution to the Middle East conflict through negotiation,” the spokesperson continued. “We expect all parties to act to calm the situation.”

Other international condemnations included statements from Martin Weiss, the Austrian ambassador to Israel, who said Raziel was “cowardly murdered,” and US Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who called the attack “horrific” and offered his “profound condolences” and prayers.

Unlike previous US envoys, Friedman was known as a strong supporter of Israeli settlements before he took office, serving as president of American Friends of Bet El Institutions, an organization that supports the large West Bank settlement near Ramallah.


US Ambassador David Friedman (L) pays a condolence call at the home of Likud MK Yehudah Glick in the West Bank settlement of Otniel on January 3, 2018. (Courtesy Har Hebron Regional Council)
That support has continued since his appointment as ambassador. In September, Friedman said that settlements “are part of Israel.”

In November, he canceled an appearance at a memorial ceremony for slain American teen Ezra Schwartz in the wake of a media report that it would be taking place at an illegal West Bank outpost.

Last week, Friedman paid a condolence visit at the home of Likud MK Yehudah Glick in the settlement of Otniel, following the death of his wife.

Two weeks ago, Israel’s Kan public broadcaster reported that Friedman had asked the US State Department to stop calling Israel’s presence in the West Bank an “occupation” in official documents. He reportedly recommended using the term “West Bank territory” instead of the “occupied territories.”

The State Department rejected the request, according to the report, but agreed to take up the subject again in the future. A State Department official later called the report “twisted and misleading” when asked for comment.

Kosher shops near Paris torched on anniversary of supermarket attack
https://www.timesofisrael.com/kosher-shops-near-paris-torched-on-anniversary-of-supermarket-attack/?utm_source=kosher-shops-near-paris-torched-on-anniversary-of-supermarket-attack&utm_medium=desktop-browser&utm_campaign=desktop-notifications
Incident occurs exactly 3 years after deadly shooting at Hyper Cacher, and less than a week after 2 stores were vandalized with swastikas
By AFP and TOI STAFF
Today, 12:33 pm 0
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo (1st L), French President Emmanuel Macron (2nd L), French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb (3rd L), French Government's Spokesperson Benjamin Griveaux (C), President's wife Brigitte Macron (4th R) and French Culture Minister Francoise Nyssen (3rd R) pay their respect during a memorial ceremony outside the Hyper Cacher supermarket to pay a tribute to the shoppers at the kosher store who were killed three years ago by an Islamist gunman in Paris, January 7, 2018. (AFP PHOTO / POOL / CHRISTIAN HARTMANN)
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo (1st L), French President Emmanuel Macron (2nd L), French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb (3rd L), French Government's Spokesperson Benjamin Griveaux (C), President's wife Brigitte Macron (4th R) and French Culture Minister Francoise Nyssen (3rd R) pay their respect during a memorial ceremony outside the Hyper Cacher supermarket to pay a tribute to the shoppers at the kosher store who were killed three years ago by an Islamist gunman in Paris, January 7, 2018. (AFP PHOTO / POOL / CHRISTIAN HARTMANN)
A suspected arson attack on a French kosher grocery store revived fears of anti-Semitism on Tuesday, three years to the day since a deadly assault on a Jewish supermarket by an Islamist gunman.

Prosecutors said the Promo & Destock store in the southern Paris suburb of Creteil caught fire overnight, days after it was hit by anti-Semitic graffiti.

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“The damage is believed to be very severe,” Creteil prosecutor Laure Beccuau told AFP, adding that investigators do not believe the fire was accidental. She said that an investigation into the incident has been opened by the judicial police of the Val-de-Marne department.

The fire spread to the adjacent local branch of the Hyper Cacher kosher supermarket chain, which was also vandalized last week, according to the prosecutor.

The incident occurred exactly three years after French jihadist Amedy Coulibaly took hostages at the Porte de Vincennes branch of Hyper Cacher in eastern Paris on January 9, 2015, killing five people before elite police raided the premises and shot him dead. Despite the timing, a source close to the investigation warned that “it is too early to discuss motivations for this act.”

Israel’s ambassador to France, Aliza Bin Noun, called the fire a “shameful provocation.”

The prosecutor’s office in the Parisian suburb of Creteil said that a fire was reported between 4 and 5 a.m. at the Promo & Destock store. “Preliminary information suggests there is very significant damage,” Beccuau told AFP.
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Memorial 98
@98Memorial
2 ans pile après l'attentat de l'Hypercacher de Vincennes durant lequel 4 personnes juives ont été assassinées le 9 janvier 2015 (2 jours après Charlie), des signes nazis tracés sur 2 magasins cacher de Créteil. L'1 de ces magasins porte même nom d'Hypercacher #Horreurantisémite

6:56 PM - Jan 3, 2018
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On January 3, authorities said a total of five swastikas were daubed with red paint on the shuttered blinds of Promo & Destock and the local Hyper Cacher branch. JTA reported at the time that “there are no suspects.”

French Interior Minister Gérard Collomb said in a statement after the swastikas were discovered that he “firmly condemns” the incidents, vowing to bring those responsible to justice and calling their actions an attack against the entire Jewish community of France, Le Parisien reported.

The 2015 attack on the Hyper Cacher supermarket triggered deep concern among France’s large Jewish community over growing anti-Semitism.

That year, a record 7,900 French Jews emigrated to Israel, many of them citing increased fears over anti-Semitism.

Though the exodus has since slowed, a string of anti-Semitic crimes have continued to worry France’s large Jewish community.

In April 2017, a Jewish woman was murdered, pushed from a third-floor window by a Muslim neighbour, while a Jewish family was beaten, held hostage and robbed in what rights groups said was a hate crime.

Former French prime minister Manuel Valls told Europe 1 radio last Wednesday that more needed to be done to tackle anti-Semitism, which he said had become “deeply rooted” in France.

“What has changed over the past three years is the awareness of this level of anti-Semitism,” he said.

Valls added that French society as a whole had failed to mobilize in support of Jews following anti-Semitic attacks such as the 2012 Islamist shooting at a Jewish school in Toulouse in which four people were killed, including three children.

“These are crimes that must be prosecuted and condemned, we need to do more,” he said.
JTA contributed to this report.
Controversial bid to shutter minimarkets on Shabbat squeaks through Knesset



Legislation pushed by Shas leader giving him control over what stores remain open on Jewish day of rest passes after opposition filibuster
By RAOUL WOOTLIFF and TOI STAFF
Today, 7:49 am 6
Israeli lawmakers in the Knesset on January 8, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
A controversial law granting the interior minister the power to shutter stores on Shabbat passed in the Knesset by a razor-thin majority early Tuesday morning, after the ruling coalition overcame internal divisions to muster the needed votes.

The legislation, championed by the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, passed by 58 to 57 votes in its second and third readings, with Yisrael Beytenu lawmakers and a few other coalition MKs sitting out the vote or joining the opposition.

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The vote came after a 15-hour filibuster by the opposition.

The law grants the interior minister, currently Shas head Aryeh Deri, the power to oversee and reject local ordinances relating to whether businesses may remain open on Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest that runs from Friday evening until Saturday night.


Interior Minister Aryeh Deri at a press conference announcing a new reform for small businesses at the Prime ministers Office in Jerusalem, on December 3, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
It passed its first reading last month after Deri threatened to quit the government, issuing an ultimatum hours before the vote conditioning his continued tenure as minister on its passage. But it had since languished on the coalition whip’s desk as Deri sought to secure the majority needed to pass it.

In the final vote, four of Yisrael Beytenu’s five MKs voted against the measure, with Immigration Minister Sofa Landver, not wishing to risk losing her ministerial post by voting against the government, sitting out of the ballot. Likud MK Sharren Haskel and Kulanu’s Tali Ploskov also skipped the vote, having expressed misgivings about the move, while independent lawmaker Orly Levy-Abekasis joined the opposition with a no vote.

Both coalition MK Moti Yogev (Jewish Home) and opposition MK Yossi Yonah (Zionist Union) were absent from the vote following the recent deaths of close relatives.

In a last-ditch attempt to secure a majority, coalition leaders reached an agreement Sunday to soften the bill, agreeing to exempt convenience stores attached to gas stations from the legislation but rejecting a proposed amendment that would have exempted entirely the tourist city of Eilat. The exemption was included in the final law after MKs voted to accept the amendment before the final passage of the bill.

The law will not affect the secular bastion of Tel Aviv, which Israel’s High Court recently ruled could pass its own bylaws to govern what stores may remain open on Shabbat. Some coalition lawmakers had hoped to also include an exemption for the tourist city of Eilat, but the proposal was rejected by the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties.


United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni attends a Knesset vote on the so-called mini-markets bill, January 8, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The hours-long voting process was punctured by several twists and turns throughout the night.

The opposition, which had prevented the coalition from imposing time limits on the debate, presented hundreds of amendments, some satirical, to the bill, forcing lawmakers to vote on them one by one. In what appeared to be a mistake, one such amendment — a derisive revision proposed by Zionist Union MK Itzik Shmuli to exempt shops that also sell kitchenware — was approved by the plenary when two coalition members forgot to vote against it. Learning of the misstep, coalition whip David Amsalem immediately called a meeting of the Knesset Internal Affairs Committee to remove the amendment from the final text of the bill.

In a separate minor hitch that confused lawmakers and observers throughout the night, the electronic screen of United Torah Judaism MK Yisrael Eichler failed to register his vote, meaning that the result of every vote on each amendment initially appeared to be a 57-57 draw.

At around 1 a.m., opposition lawmakers attempted to catch the coalition off-guard, temporarily pulling the amendments from the agenda to force an immediate vote on the final version of the bill when they realized that they had a majority in the plenary. Preventing a shock loss, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked took to the podium for some 40 minutes, reading long sections of the Declaration of Independence, until the coalition restored its majority in the hall, promoting the opposition to return the amendments to the agenda.

Ahead of the vote, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned members of his Likud party to toe the party line or risk felling his government.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a Knesset vote on the so-called mini-markets bill, January 8, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
“Whoever votes against the mini-markets bill is in favor of toppling the government,” Netanyahu told MKs during a closed-door Likud faction meeting on Monday, according to leaks to Hebrew media.
The comments came hours before a Likud court rejected Amsalem’s bid to oust Haskel from the party over her opposition to the bill.
Critics of the law see it as an attempt to force religious observance on the public. The coalition agreed to back the proposal as part of an effort to shore up ultra-Orthodox support in the wake of a dispute over train maintenance on Shabbat that saw MK Yaakov Litzman (United Torah Judaism) resign as health minister in protest late last year.

In a separate vote immediately after the approval of the minimarkets bill, lawmakers passed a measure allowing Litzman to retain control of the Health Ministry while remaining a deputy minister.

The vote on the minimarkets bill was originally slated for last week, but was pushed off when the death of Likud MK Yehudah Glick’s wife left the coalition without a surefire majority.

Highlighting coalition efforts to get the bill passed, Deri unsuccessfully sought to bring Glick to the Knesset hours after the funeral of Glick’s wife. He also tried to have one of his own ministers resign from the Knesset — Religious Affairs Minister David Azoulay was hospitalized for most of last week and therefore unable to vote — so that another Shas member could take his place.
Both Glick and Azoulay were present in the Knesset on Tuesday.


Netanyahu: Israel has stopped hijacked planes from crashing into European cities
https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-israel-has-stopped-hijacked-planes-from-crashing-into-european-cities/?utm_source=netanyahu-israel-has-stopped-hijacked-planes-from-crashing-into-european-cities&utm_medium=desktop-browser&utm_campaign=desktop-notifications
PM tells NATO ambassadors that Israeli intel has halted 'several dozen major terrorist attacks,' some involving civil aviation
By RAPHAEL AHREN
Today, 2:50 pm 0

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a joint press conference with Konstantinos Bikas, Greek Ambassador to Israel (unseen), during a meeting with NATO ambassadors to Israel at the King David hotel in Jerusalem on January 9, 2018. (Hadas Parushl/Flash90
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a joint press conference with Konstantinos Bikas, Greek Ambassador to Israel (unseen), during a meeting with NATO ambassadors to Israel at the King David hotel in Jerusalem on January 9, 2018. (Hadas Parushl/Flash90
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday hinted that Israel has prevented hijacked airplanes from crashing into European cities.

“We have, through our intelligence services, provided information that has stopped several dozen major terrorist attacks, many of them in European countries,” he told foreign diplomats in Jerusalem.

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“Some of these could have been massive attacks, of the worst kind that have ever been experienced on the soil of Europe — and even worse, because they involved civil aviation. Israel has prevented that, and thereby helped save many European lives,” Netanyahu said.

He did not provide details about the nature of the attacks Israel helped prevent.

At a meeting of Israel-based ambassadors to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Netanyahu said Jerusalem contributes to the security of every single member of the Western defense alliance, in that it fights both Sunni and Shiite strands of radical Islam.


Injured people are evacuated from the scene of a terrorist attack on a mosque in Bir al-Abd in the northern Sinai Peninsula of Egypt on November 24, 2017. (AP Photo)
Besides fighting Islamic State terrorism aimed at European cities, Israel is also preventing the group from creating a second stronghold in Egypt, he said.

“ISIS is being destroyed in Iraq and Syria, but it is trying to establish an alternative territorial base in the Sinai. Israel is contributing to preventing that in myriad ways,” Netanyahu said. “In general, I would say that Israel is the most powerful indigenous force in the Middle East that fights radical Islam.”

Israel further helps NATO by fighting Iran, the dominant Shiite power, the prime minister went on. The Jewish state does not only seek to prevent the Islamic Republic from acquiring nuclear weapons, it is also “absolutely committed to preventing Iran from establishing a military base in Syria. And we back our words with action,” he added, likely hinting at various airstrikes on weapon convoys and factories allegedly carried out by Israel.

Furthermore, Iran plans to import 100,000 Shiite fighters to Syria as part of its quest to dominate and eventually “conquer” the Middle East, he charged.
Israeli satellite images show results of an airstrike attributed to the IDF on a Syrian military weapons development base on September 7, 2017. (ImageSat International)
If Tehran were successful in its efforts, radical Sunni and Shiite forces would clash in Syria, sending millions of refugees to European shores, the prime minister warned.

“Where will the spillover [of a Sunni-Shiite clash in Syria] happen? In Europe. Where will the human flow go? To Europe. Who’s preventing that right now? Israel? Right now, Israel alone. But I maintain that it’s a common interest that we have,” he told the NATO ambassadors during the public part of the event.

Israel and NATO have cooperated on security matters for decades but recently upgraded their ties significantly. Last year, Israel opened its first office at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Israeli officials have repeatedly said that the Jewish state opposes the presence of Iran and its proxies, notably Hezbollah, in southern Syria and Lebanon.

Israel has been negotiating with the United States and Russia, the main brokers in Syria, to keep Iran-backed Shiite militias and the Hezbollah terrorist group away from the border.

Netanyahu, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and others have all said that Israel’s policy is to target shipments of advanced weaponry, including accurate long-range missiles, that are heading to or in the possession of Hezbollah.

In late December, Assad’s troops, accompanied by Iranian-backed fighters, recaptured the Syrian Golan from rebels, allowing President Bashar Assad to reassert control over a small portion of the area adjacent to the Israeli border. Still, much of the area along the border, around the city of Quneitra, remains under rebel control.

Last week, IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot said the most serious immediate threat to Israel was posed by Hezbollah, followed by other jihadist groups supported by Tehran positioned on the Syrian border.

Describing Iran as a “multidimensional threat,” the army chief said the most worrying aspect is the Islamic Republic’s desire to obtain nuclear capabilities, followed by its efforts to achieve hegemony in the region.

INVASION USA
'SANCTUARY' FOR ILLEGALS BECOMES BLACKS' WORST NIGHTMARE
Exclusive: Jesse Lee Peterson reveals war brewing over health care, education, other services
Published: 15 hours ago
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California is now a “sanctuary state,” thanks to Gov. Jerry Brown and liberal Democrats in Sacramento.

The Golden State is home to an estimated 2.3 million illegal aliens. And police are no longer permitted to ask suspects about their immigration status or assist with federal immigration-enforcement activities.

To add insult to injury, liberals tried to free Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, the illegal alien and seven-time felon who was acquitted of murder and assault in the 2015 San Francisco fatal shooting of 32-year-old Kate Steinle. Fortunately, Garcia Zarate will not be released for “time served.” He’s been indicted by a federal grand jury for violating state immigration and gun laws and will remain in custody to face federal charges.

Yes, California voters are dumb for voting in liberal Democrats who continue to pass laws that endanger citizens.

For black Americans who might not understand this – you too will be impacted! Now that California has been designated a “sanctuary state,” illegal aliens, including MS-13, will flock to the state in droves and they’ll end up in the black community.

For the past 27 years, my nonprofit organization, BOND, has been trying to educate blacks on this issue with town hall forums, media, rallies, etc. Along with groups like FAIR, California Coalition for Immigration Reform and the late Terry Anderson, we’ve been warning the state and the nation of what was coming, but most blacks refused to listen.

We couldn’t get blacks to support a border wall or to vote against liberal Democrats who are selling them out for the Hispanic vote. Most blacks are so brainwashed by their godless black leaders, they’re willing to vote against their own self-interest. They blindly follow corrupt Democrats like Barack Obama, Maxine Waters, Karen Bass, Kamala Harris, Mark Ridley-Thomas and others who use them. All Democrats have to do is accuse anyone who opposes illegal immigration of being “racist,” and that’s enough to put blacks in a hypnotic trance and make them vote for Democrats.

The illegal immigration issue is out of control. The Hispanic population is growing rapidly, and it’s flexing its political muscle. There’s a warfare brewing between black and Hispanic gangs in Los Angeles, and it’s just a matter of time before it explodes. As a result, decent blacks are fleeing California and moving down south.

Order Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson’s book, “The Antidote: Healing America from the Poison of Hate, Blame, and Victimhood.”

Illegal aliens are draining California taxpayers. According to Fox News, Los Angeles County taxpayers paid a whopping $1.3 billion in just two years for illegal-alien benefits and programs – nearly a quarter of the amount spent on the state’s needy population.

Over the past 60 years, the black community traded in values and principles for welfare and programs. As a result, most blacks rely on government assistance. Blacks are fighting with illegals in Los Angeles for health care, public education and other services.

I know many qualified blacks who’ve applied for all types of jobs in Los Angeles County and weren’t hired because they don’t speak Spanish; blacks are upset about this. If blacks stood up and demanded that their elected officials do something about this issue, the problem could be solved. But they’re so angry and preoccupied with blaming the white man, they can’t see that they’re voting for their own self-destruction.

The NAACP has completely sold out blacks. It supports amnesty, and it has allowed illegals to hitch their plight to the civil-rights struggle of blacks. The shameless NAACP is also pushing the insidious lie that increased immigration is helpful to the black community.

Members of the corrupt Congressional Black Caucus unanimously support amnesty for Hispanics and for the more than 3 million immigrants of African descent.

Except for a handful of black conservatives like myself, Sheriff David Clarke, Larry Elder, Walter Williams, Thomas Sowell and Peter Kirsanow, there aren’t any black voices boldly speaking out about the devastating impact illegal immigration is having on black Americans.

Democrats are giving out all kinds of taxpayer funded goodies to seduce Hispanics and addict them, just like they did to blacks. They’re brainwashing, spoiling and dumbing them down to use them for votes. There are some decent Hispanics who don’t agree with rewarding illegals, but they’re too afraid to speak out.

And now that California has legalized the sale of recreational marijuana, the state will attract more criminals and the worst kind of people. What a shame!

President Trump and Congress are deliberating the future of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. Trump has reiterated that he wants to work with Democrats to find a permanent legislative solution to allow those protected by DACA to stay in the country, but only if it comes with a long-promised border wall and major changes to the immigration system.

Blacks need an advocate on this issue, and they have a friend in President Trump. But if they don’t wake up and stand for what is right, they will be permanently replaced.

For blacks to free themselves from this nightmare, they must first turn back to God and love Him with all their soul and might. Second, they must abandon group thinking and the Democratic Party. If they do this, we can make America great again overnight.
VIDEO FOX NEWS
MORE http://www.wnd.com/2018/01/sanctuary-for-illegals-becomes-blacks-worst-nightmare/


2 Bedouin women, 19, charged with joining IS, plotting New Year’s terror attack
https://www.timesofisrael.com/2-bedouin-women-19-charged-with-joining-is-plotting-new-years-terror-attack/?utm_source=2-bedouin-women-19-charged-with-joining-is-plotting-new-years-terror-attack&utm_medium=desktop-browser&utm_campaign=desktop-notifications
Shin Bet arrests pair from southern Israel; 24-year-old East Jerusalem man also indicted in connection with plot
By JUDAH ARI GROSS
Today, 12:57 pm  0
Rahma al-Assad, left, and Tasnin al-Assad, two Bedouin Israeli 19-year-old women suspected of plotting terror attacks against Jewish Israelis on behalf of the Islamic State terrorist group, who were indicted on January 8, 2017. (Shin Bet)
Rahma al-Assad, left, and Tasnin al-Assad, two Bedouin Israeli 19-year-old women suspected of plotting terror attacks against Jewish Israelis on behalf of the Islamic State terrorist group, who were indicted on January 8, 2017. (Shin Bet)
Two female Bedouin Israeli teenagers were indicted on Monday on charges they were planning to carry out a New Year’s eve attack on behalf of the Islamic State terrorist group, the Shin Bet security service said.

A 24-year-old East Jerusalem man, Ahmad Abu Ramila, was also charged on Monday of lesser counts in connection with the plot.

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Rahma al-Assad and Tasnin al-Assad, both of them 19 from the Bedouin town of Lakiya in southern Israel, were charged with a number of counts, including planning a deadly terror attack, contacting a foreign agent and joining an illegal organization.

Abu Ramila was charged with contacting a foreign agent and conspiracy to commit a crime, and with obstruction of justice and destroying evidence for deleting his conversations with the two women.

According to the Shin Bet, the two teens made contact with members of the Islamic State terrorist group sometime last year.

During their interrogations, the teenagers said the Islamic State members, from outside Israel, told them to “carry out terror attacks against Jews in the State of Israel,” the Shin Bet said in a statement.

“They were even instructed by some of them to carry out preparatory missions ahead of the attack,” the security service said.

According to the charge sheet, this included visiting Beersheba’s Ben Gurion University campus in order to determine if they would be able to bring in a suitcase full of explosives for a bombing attack there. They determined they could not.

They also refused to carry out an attack at the Beersheba bus station as many Muslim Israelis travel through it, according to the indictment.

This fall, Rahma al-Assad contacted Abu Ramila — who planned on marrying Tasnin al-Assad — to see if he would help carry out a terror attack during New Year’s Eve celebrations.

According to the indictment, Abu Ramila had also been in contact with Islamic State members. He refused to carry out the attack, but Rahma insisted.

According to the indictment, Tasnin tried to help Abu Ramila get out of carrying out the attack, urging him to tell Rahma that he would only commit a terror attack if she got him a gun, as Tasnin knew that Rahma would not be able to do so.

The pair also shared Islamic State publications on the internet and shared “inciting content that called for terror attacks against Jews and Israel,” the Shin Bet said.

It was not clear if the two teenagers are related.

According to the charges against them, Abu Ramila and the two women planned to eventually leave Israel and join the Islamic State group’s affiliate in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

The two women were arrested on December 18 and Abu Ramila was arrested on December 26, but a gag order was placed on the case, preventing publication.

That order was removed on Monday, as indictments were filed against the three of them in Beersheba District Court.


How Muslims view US aid to their countries
If you expected thanks, think again.

Contact Editor Ezequiel Doiny, 06/01/18 18:12
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Ezequiel Doiny
The author is an Engineer and writer based in Maryland, USA.
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On January 1, 2018 President Trump tweeted "The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!"


On January 2, 2018 President Trump tweeted "It's not only Pakistan that we pay billions of dollars to for nothing, but also many other countries, and others. As an example, we pay the Palestinians HUNDRED OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect. They don’t even want to negotiate a long overdue peace treaty with Israel. We have taken Jerusalem, the toughest part of the negotiation, off the table, but Israel, for that, would have had to pay more. But with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?"
 

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump Jan 2


 Like Pakistan and the Palestinians, Egypt is also a major beneficiary of US aid. Reuters reported the amount of US aid to Egypt "According to a March 2017 report by the bipartisan Congressional Research Service, between 1948 and 2016 the United States gave Egypt $77.4 billion in bilateral foreign aid, including $1.3 billion a year in military aid from 1987 to the present." 


Although the Arabs are massive beneficiaries of US aid, many despise the US and consider US aid Jizya. Jizya is a discriminatory tax that, according to Islamic law, non-Muslim subjects have to pay to their Muslim rulers. 


On March 17, 2013 MEMRI reported "Following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian cleric Dr. Khaled Said, which aired on Al-Hafez TV (via the Internet) on March 17, 2013....


Interviewer: The aid the Americans give us is the jizya tax they have to pay?


Khaled Said: Yes, it is. They pay it for the right of passage through our airspace and territorial waters.


Interviewer: They pay to keep us quiet?


Khaled Said: They pay so that we will let them be.


Interviewer: Is that a fatwa?


Khaled Said: Indeed. The aid constitutes jizya..."
Ezequiel Doiny is author of "Obama's assault on Jerusalem's Western Wall"
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/21523

https://worldisraelnews.com/israel-sends-moral-support-iranians-seeking-freedom-justice/
​Israel sends ‘moral support’ to Iranians ‘seeking freedom and justice’

January 2, 2018
Israel sends ‘moral support’ to Iranians ‘seeking freedom and justice’Anti-government protest in Tehran. (AP Photo)
While the Israeli government is not directly supporting Iranian protesters confronting their radical Islamic government, Israel is clearly rooting for the terror-sponsoring regime’s demise and renewed friendship with the Iranian people.

By: Steve Leibowitz, World Israel News

When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video message to the Iranian people on Monday evening, he did so knowing that he could give them no more than clear moral support as they faced the guns of a tyrannical regime. Netanyahu ridiculed as “laughable” Iranian government charges that Israel, the US or any other country is supporting the protesters.

The Prime Minister praised the “heroic” protesters battling a “cruel regime” saying, “I heard today Iranian President Rouhani’s claim that Israel is behind the protests in Iran. It’s not only false. It’s laughable. And unlike Rouhani, I will not insult the Iranian people. They deserve better.”

Netanyahu described the protesters as: “Brave Iranians, pouring into the streets seeking freedom and justice. They seek the basic liberties that have been denied to them for decades. Iran’s cruel regime wastes tens of billions of dollars spreading hate. This money could have built schools and hospitals. No wonder mothers and fathers are marching in the streets. The regime is terrified of them, of their own people. That’s why they jail students. That’s why they ban social media.”

Netanyahu went on to criticize European leaders, which he claimed were less supportive of the Iranian people than Israel. “Sadly, many European governments watch in silence as heroic young Iranians are beaten in the streets. That’s just not right. And I, for one, will not stay silent,” Netanyahu said.

The Prime Minister ended his video message saying, “Iranians and Israelis will be great friends once again,” and “I wish the Iranian people success in their noble quest for freedom.”

Iranian population victimized by regime
Dr. (Col.) Eran Lerman was a high ranking officer in IDF military intelligence and a top official on the Prime Minister’s National Security Council. Lerman told World Israel News (WIN), “These protests will hopefully impact Iran and its clout in the entire region. Somehow there is an assumption that the Iranian regime enjoys the support of its people. That support has always been a very fragile and its now being put to the test.”

“The international community needs to lend its support to the people who are exposing the nature of the Iranian regime as a dictatorship. The idea that we should shy away from telling the truth because our words might be used by the regime to accuse the protesters of collaboration with the West is nonsense. They will accuse us anyway. Anyone who questions the authority of Supreme Ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is considered a traitor by definition in the eyes of the regime,” Lerman added.

“The protesters must be given the support that was not given during the rebellion in 2009. If there is a real government overthrow, then Iran can become a very different place, but even if the regime survives, the message is very clear. The cost of Iran’s adventures in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen has depleted their national treasury and that means that the money that was supposed to reach the people went into overseas adventures. This is a central message of the protests,” said Lerman.

According to Lerman, “The protesters are saying ‘Iran first,’ stop wasting our money. They are asking whether the government cares for its people or for its revolutionary vision of Islamic expansion. Iran will use all force at its disposal to put down these protests but I have a sense that the Revolutionary Guards that used to be fanatical and committed, have become corrupt. They broadened their ranks taking in soldiers who may ultimately refuse to turn their guns on their own. It’s high risk and has always been high risk for anyone in history who rebelled against a dictatorship.”

‘The Iranian people are not our enemy’
Knesset member Yossi Yonah is a former leader of the Israeli social protest movement and a professor of philosophy. Yonah told WIN, “As an Israeli politician of course I have a problem with the Iranian regime, but we do not view the Iranian people as our enemy. Of course we have sympathy with the Iranian people who, like people all over the world, demand justice and a decent standard of living. I am watching what is unfolding with great appreciation and moral support and wishing that their struggle will be successful. People want to better their lives and so we have sympathy with such a basic human demand.”

Knesset member Dr. (Col.) Anat Berko is a leading Israeli expert in counter terrorism. Berko told WIN, “It’s a very oppressive regime in Iran. Their brand of radical Islam are not just state sponsors of terrorism, they are in fact a terrorist regime and the Shiite equivalent of Islamic State.”

“You have a lot of young, well-educated people that are getting nothing from their country and they see religious clerics taking control of the state resources and eliminating hope or future for their country,” Berko noted.

“We don’t need to be involved but I can say as a Knesset member that it’s not surprising that their revolt in 2009 failed partly because there was no support coming from the White House under President Obama’s leadership. President Trump is very realistic he knows who the enemy is. This time the US is speaking out very clearly and that will encourage the protests to continue and provide a greater chance for their success,” Berko said.