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Monday, February 29, 2016
ILTV English News. Watch today's headlines - February 29th
A7News: Bennett: Israel can weather the 'Islamic Winter' - and win
Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
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Monday, Feb. 29 '16, Adar 20, 5776
HEADLINES:
1. BENNETT: ISRAEL CAN WEATHER THE 'ISLAMIC WINTER' - AND WIN
2. IDF NABS HEVRON TERROR CELL BEHIND NUMEROUS ATTACKS
3. MINISTER ELKIN: PA COLLAPSE NOT A MATTER OF 'IF', BUT 'WHEN'
4. KNESSET TO VOTE ON MK 'EXPULSION LAW' AMID ARAB ANGER
5. WOMEN OF THE WALL SMUGGLE TORAH INTO KOTEL, AGAIN
6. WATCH: HAMAS EMULATES ISIS BEHEADINGS IN GAZA PROPAGANDA
7. DEPUTY DEFENSE MINISTER: RELIGIOUS SOLDIERS WON'T HAVE TO SHAVE
8. PALESTINIANS BLAME TV FOR INCITING CHILD-TERRORISTS
1. BENNETT: ISRAEL CAN WEATHER THE 'ISLAMIC WINTER' - AND WIN
by Ari Soffer
As Israel continues to struggle against a seemingly unrelenting wave of Arab terror, frustration and questions about what more the government can or should be doing to end the attacks on innocent Israelis is growing.
Arutz Sheva recently sat down with Education Minister Naftali Bennett, leader of the Jewish Home party, who has been outspoken in the past about his views on what more Israel can do to defeat Palestinian terrorism.
Bennett and his party have found themselves in a tough position politically. On the one hand, he and other party members - such as Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben-Dahan - have often called for tougher measures than are currently being implemented against terrorists and their supporters, including family members who encourage or celebrate attacks on Israelis.
On the other hand, he is himself a member of the government and of the security cabinet, and has strongly backed the IDF's leadership - and indeed the government's own measures and policies - as the terror has continued to rage on, often disagreeing with more hardline members of his own party on some issues.
In our interview - the full, edited version of which is posted below - Bennett emphasized the importance of "deterrent" measures such as demolishing terrorists' homes, and while praising the progress made by the government, seemed to indicate that in his view a lot more could be done on both the tactical and strategic levels.
Ultimately, he insisted that Israel can defeat this newest paradigm of terrorism - a decentralized one motivated more by incitement than centralized terrorist infrastructures - but warned the Jewish state is falling behind its enemies strategically.
Naftali Bennett receives a briefing from Israeli Border Police Courtesy
Bennett, who himself made his millions in Israel's booming hi-tech industry, urged the "startup nation" to apply its innovation and ingenuity to its struggle against its enemies who still seek to wipe it from the map using both military and diplomatic means.
Ironically, however, the State of Israel has allowed itself to fall behind, clinging to old paradigms and doctrines as its foes work feverishly to change the rules of the game.
His central message: Israel can defeat terror in 2016 as it did in 2002 - but only by radically reinventing itself strategically.
The wave of terror Israel has seen in the past several months is still ongoing, but it is also fair to say that more recently it has ebbed somewhat from the period of multiple attacks daily which we saw at the end of last year. What's your assessment of this? Is the "knife intifada" petering out, or could it still resurge?
The truth is, we don't know.
But look, Zionism has faced waves of terror for more than 120 years, and each time they take a different form. This time we're talking about terror incidents that are induced by incitement, as opposed to organized Hamas or Fatah terror - so it's a bit more tricky.
What we need to be doing here is to take care of incitement and to take care of deterrence. That that means closing down (Palestinian) radio stations that incite, arresting imams who incite to murder. It means closing down mosques that we see incitement coming from...
Is the government doing all of these things now?
Obviously I'm not going to outline what happens in the security cabinet, but I will say that this is my position.
In terms of deterrence, the challenge is that these Arab terrorists are willing to die, so how do you deter them? The way you do it is that you hit them and you also hit their supporting communities that are encouraging them to go out and kill Jews. That means destroying illegal houses that have been built, destroying the terrorist's house, it means preventing financial rewards to the terrorists, and so on.
There are a set of actions that Israel needs to take, and we are doing it, but I will certainly back any new creative and powerful plan that the (IDF) Chief of Staff or Minister of Defense raises.
In terms of our achievements, I think that we've seen a drastic reduction in the amount of terror from east Jerusalem, but unfortunately in Judea and Samaria we still see a lot of terror.
But you're saying that this wave of terror can ultimately be decisively defeated?
Yes. Look, things in the past have looked much worse - take the wave of terror in 2001-2002, when we saw nearly 500 Israelis murdered in one year alone. During that time we seemed helpless, but with a concerted effort we brought it down to zero. In fact I participated in Operation Defensive Shield in 2002, and I saw that terror can be defeated - it just needs a concerted effort, it needs creative ideas and it needs determination to make it happen.
In recent weeks we've seen some controversy over the messages and orders from the IDF top brass which some argued may have called that determination into question. IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot for example received a lot of flack for his comments seeming to brush off the Talmudic dictum of "he who rises to kill you, kill him first."
You backed him unequivocally though - why?
I think Gadi Eizenkot is a very good commander. He has good, strong values and he basically repeated the obvious: when there is any danger to an Israeli, either to yourself or someone around you, you open fire to stop the attack. But if there is no danger, you don't. It's that simple. He reiterated the obvious and I believe in that as well.
I think it's vital that every civilian and every soldier knows that when they're out there and they see a terrorist attack they should engage and stop it. I think we should be awfully proud of the conduct of Israelis. It's unprecedented. You see civilians risking their own lives and putting a stop to attacks.
Certainly we praise them and encourage that sort of action.
And then there was Military Intelligence Chief Herzi Halevi, who last week suggested Israel should restart negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, even as it continues inciting violence and attacking Israel on the diplomatic front. Should he even be making political suggestions like that as a military officer?
Look, I don't want to give grades to military commanders.
What I think is that the Islamic desire to wipe out Israel is divorced from the diplomatic process. They want to destroy us when there's peace talks, when there isn't peace talks - they simply don't want us here; neither Hezbollah nor Jabhat al-Nusra (Nusra Front), neither Da'esh (ISIS) or Fatah or Hamas accept our existence. Once we understand that reality we know what to do.
And what is that? As you yourself recently noted, these kinds of comments are coming against the backdrop of a political, strategic and intellectual vacuum here in Israel. No one seems to have any idea how to move forward at all.
Right. My position has always been clear. I believe that Israel needs to begin applying its sovereignty in Judea and Samaria. You need to annex Gush Etzion, Ma'ale Adumim, Ofra, and so on, and ultimately apply Israel's sovereignty over the entire Area C - it's what's been termed "the Bennett Plan," for lack of a better term!
The problem is we've (the Jewish Home party) got (only) eight seats. In order to affect this, for me to make it happen, we need to be the strongest power (in the Knesset).
Fortunately though, I see that in many cases many political parties are following our lead. Even Labor has abandoned the two state solution! Likud has also, mostly. In many ways the Jewish Home party is sort of the trailblazer, and we're going to continue to place our positions very clearly, and ultimately they will be adopted.
The key is, we have to break paradigms, we have to think creatively. I come from the hi-tech world - you don't survive if you don't constantly reinvent yourself every few years.
I look at our enemies - they've made three quantum leaps in strategy: the first is asymmetric warfare, where they shoot missiles from within civilian houses; second is underground warfare, where they neutralize our air force using tunnels; and the third is international diplomatic and legal warfare, where they're trying to neutralize our ability to fight at all.
At the same time we have not made those similar leaps.
In the Cabinet I have placed some very creative ideas; plans as to how we can outmaneuver them, how we can surprise them strategically, and how we can ultimately defeat them. I want to inject the hi-tech thinking into the security and diplomatic arena.
Annexing Area C - the "Bennett Plan" - that's the end-game, or something you're proposing in the more immediate term for lack of a comprehensive solution?
Like I've said before, we need to annex Area C, and give the Palestinians (in Areas A and B) what I call "autonomy on steroids" - let them govern their own lives there.
And then, we wait.
It could be 50 years, or 100 years or 150 years - I don't now how long this Islamic winter will last. But ultimately they will have to accept us.
2. IDF NABS HEVRON TERROR CELL BEHIND NUMEROUS ATTACKS
by Arutz Sheva Staff
The IDF, along with the Israel Security Agency (ISA, also known as the Shin Bet or Shabak) and Israel Police have arrested a number of terrorists from Hevron, including two brothers, who were involved in a number of attacks.
Over recent months, the group shot at civilians and soldiers in the area and wounded four Israelis in total.
The attacks were notable for their religious aspects. They shot two Jewish men while the were praying and frequently attacked IDF soldiers near the Tomb of the Patriarchs. After each attack, they hid their weapons in the al-Mujahideen Mosque in Hevron.
During interrogation, the suspects gave up the makeshift sniper rifle that was used in the attacks, as well as a "Carl Gustav" style sub-machine gun.
The two brothers are identified as 23-year-old Nasser Faisal Mohammed Badawi, a member of Hamas, and 33-year-old Akhram Faisal Mohammed Badawi.
Nasser was detained for questioning last month, after which Akhram continued shooting at civilians in order to make authorities think that they had caught the wrong person.
3. MINISTER ELKIN: PA COLLAPSE NOT A MATTER OF 'IF', BUT 'WHEN'
by Hezki Ezra
Minister for Immigration and Jerusalem Affairs Ze'ev Elkin (Likud) gave a talk at Bar Ilan University this morning (Monday), in which he presented his approach to the challenges that will face Israel once Mahmoud Abbas no longer runs the Palestinian Authority.
"The current wave of terror is a preview for the collapse of the PA. Most of the likely scenarios for the day after Abu Mazen [another name for Mahmoud Abbas] will lead to a lack of organized inheritance, to an internal fight for succession, to anarchy and the dismantling of the PA," he said. "The ones who will have to pay the price for anarchy in the PA are Israeli citizens, particularly the communities in Judea and Samaria. We must prepare for even worse attacks."
Elkin added that "the question is not if the PA collapses but when it is going to collapse. This is the reason we must prepare our security and stop the futile discussions over whether or not it is good for the State of Israel. The PA will collapse whether we like it or not and the State of Israel had better accept that the train has left the station. At the moment, sadly, it seems that we have not yet internalized the new situation and we are not properly preparing ourselves.
He further noted, "The international community must also stop trying to strengthen the Palestinian Authority, because it is just an attempt at resuscitation that will blow up in our faces. It's true that there are a number of scenarios, but the most likely scenario to me is that anarchy will result from the lack of a clear successor to Abu Mazen, due to his unwillingness to hold elections for the presidency and the surplus of legal and illegal weapons in the PA's territory. There is no point in trying to revive the PA, and instead we should make a fitting headstone for its grave, along with that of the Oslo Accords. The Palestinian Authority was born with Abu Mazen, who initiated and pushed for Oslo, and the PA will disappear with Abu Mazen when he goes."
Despite this, he does not believe that even elections could change the outcome. "Most of the Fatah candidates will never win an election against Hamas. The only one who will is in Israeli jail - Marwan Barghouti." Regardless of how it happen, though, "if the PA collapses the world will blame Israel."
Elkin explained his attitude towards the Oslo process: "The mistaken concept in Oslo lead us to today's reality. We made a mistake when we brought the PLO leaders out of Tunis, we made a mistake when we though that they would deal with terror and incitement, and we made a mistake when we allowed them to run their education system, media and sermons without supervision. All of these led to the building of a generation filled with a burning hate for us and cause a 13-year-old girl to leave her school and stab Jews to death.
"In order to fight against the ongoing wave of terror," he concluded, "We must treat it with antibiotics and not with aspirin. We need to understand that today's terror was born from 23 years of neglect, ever since the Oslo Accords. Therefore, we must reach down to the roots, which are incitement in schools, in the media and especially in sermons. In addition, we must prepare for our security and to understand the new field. The source of authority is not excessive hierarchies and institutions, it's identifying the new players below the surface in a timely manner. If we know how to identify them quietly, we can deal with the situation. There's no doubt that this is a ticking bomb that can still be dismantled, if only we can wake up in time."
4. KNESSET TO VOTE ON MK 'EXPULSION LAW' AMID ARAB ANGER
by Matt Wanderman
The Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee has given its approval to MK Nissan Slomiansky's (Jewish Home) bill to allow the Knesset Assembly to remove members with a majority of 90 votes.
The proposal was initiated after three Balad MKs visited the families of terrorists.
The committee debate was heated, as a number of members described it as a danger to democracy.
Joint List head Ayman Odeh warned that, should any of his party members be dismissed through this law, he would consider resigning. "We were chosen by our people and not by the Right. We were not chosen by Knesset member and we don't want or intend to please them. So, should the Balad members be ejected, I would consider resigning from the Knesset."
He continued: "Despite the delegitimization campaign against us and raising the election threshold, we decided to remain part of the politics in Israel and they still continue to persecute us.
"Suddenly the talking about Balad and not about the Joint List. After they banned the northern branch of the Islamic Movement, now they're beginning to demonize Balad."
The Joint List's only Jewish MK, Dov Khenin of the communist Hadash party, also spoke out against the bill. "This is a dark moment in the history of the Knesset and of the Legislative Committee. The Prime Minister wants Arab citizens of Israel to not vote in order to ensure a majority to continue his rule. Netanyahu's message to Arab citizens is: if your MKs annoy the Jews, then we'll take them. You have no chance to influence here."
MK Abdullah Abu Ma'aruf (Joint List) was even ejected while declaring, "This law is terror like that of dark regimes."
The objections were not limited to the Joint List. MK Revital Swid (Zionist Union) said, "Let's call a spade a spade - this is a targeted assassination bill. It intercepts the MKs who don't agree with their opinions and permanently ends their politics." She added that "the hatred of Arabs blinds the eyes of MKs until they legislate a law that no attorney general supports. The blindness is making the coalition indifferent and numb in the face of a serious attack on democracy. We cannot let this happen."
Swid then appealed to Slomiansky and asked, "Do you want this power in your hands, Nissan? There will be a day when it is used against you. One day there will be a majority that decides whoever does not denounce the hilltop youth and supports the Kingdom of Israel undermines the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. What will you do then?"
Attorney General Avihai Mandelblit also expressed his reservations, telling the Committee that "the legislation requires much care in light of the inherent issues it raises." He further warned that it would "authorize a political majority to end the tenure of a legally-elected MK" and "defeat the will of the voters."
Despite this, Mandelblit added that he has no legal objection to the law's wording.
The bill will now be sent to the Knesset for its first reading.
5. WOMEN OF THE WALL SMUGGLE TORAH INTO KOTEL, AGAIN
by Shoshana Miskin
The Reform storm is still raging: Although the government recently expanded the "non-Orthodox" prayer section at the Kotel, members of the Women of the Wall entered the women's plaza Monday morning.
The group smuggled in with them a Torah scroll, and according to eye witnesses, they generated provocation.
The witnesses said that the women were wrapped in Tallitot and Tefillin (fringed garments and small leather boxes containing scriptural texts traditionally worn by Jewish men) and entered the traditional section with a Torah scroll.
Despite calls of protest from traditional prayer goers and against the official agreement obtained at the Kotel, the women began their prayer ceremony.
The event Monday morning demonstrated that the arrangement between the Government and reform movement is not sufficient to some factions within the Women of the Wall movement, who insist on carrying out their practices specifically in the traditional plaza.
Israel's Chief Rabbinate Council is due to meet with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, after voicing harsh criticism against the government's decision. The meeting will also be attended by the leaders of the Jewish Home, Shas, and United Torah Judaism factions.
The Prime Minister is expected to raise the arguments in favor of the decision made by the government three weeks ago, and relate to the relationship between Israel and the reform community abroad.
6. WATCH: HAMAS EMULATES ISIS BEHEADINGS IN GAZA PROPAGANDA
by Ari Soffer
While the vast majority of Arab violence during the ongoing wave of terror against Israel has emanated from Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem, much of the propaganda, incitement and instruction to terror has come from Hamas-affiliated outlets in Gaza.
That propaganda is continuing apace, as illustrated by a selection of clips from Hamas media gathered by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
The clips are from a number of public demonstrations of terrorists' skills, held in front of large crowds in Gaza and aired on Hamas's TV stations and on the internet. They appear aimed at inspiring further shooting and knife attacks by glorifying the perpetrators of previous such attacks, as well as urging a resumption of suicide bombings - something Hamas cells in Judea and Samaria have been attempting to carry out for some time now, though unsuccessfully.
Among other things, the demonstrations feature a reenactment of the murder of Rabbi Eitam and Dalia Henkin in front of their two children - a shooting hailed as "the heroic Itamar attack", after the Jewish town in Samaria close to which it took place.
The Hamas narrator hailed the terrorists responsible for the murder as "heroes," praising them for executing the unarmed parents in front of their four young children, while leaving the children themselves unharmed. According to investigators, however, the terrorists would likely have continued their massacre had the parents not put up a struggle, which caused one of the gunmen to accidentally shoot his accomplice in the hand and prompted both attackers to flee the scene.
Other clips include demonstrations on how to stab Israeli soldiers, including a scene remarkably reminiscent of ISIS propaganda videos, in which masked Hamas terrorists clad in camouflage carry out a choreographed "execution" of three IDF soldiers, in front of a cheering crowd.
Another scene shows actors dressed as Israeli civilians and soldiers entering a civilian bus, followed by a suicide bomber. Shortly afterwards, the "bus" explodes and bursts into flames.
Similar scenes have been replayed in Hamas propaganda, including a recent slickly-produced music video glorifying acts including "roasting" Jewish flesh and blowing the roofs off civilian buses.
7. DEPUTY DEFENSE MINISTER: RELIGIOUS SOLDIERS WON'T HAVE TO SHAVE
by Shimon Cohen
In an interview with Arutz Sheva, Deputy Defense Minister Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan (Jewish Home) said that the turmoil of soldiers being forced to shave their beards is over. He added that anyone who requests an exemption from shaving on religious grounds will receive it, as about 13,000 soldiers and commanders have so far.
During the talk, Rabbi Ben-Dahan was asked to explain what led up to the new shaving instructions. He insisted that no one in the army wanted such an order, but that the IDF was forced to comply with the Supreme Court's instructions.
"Until about eight months ago, anyone who wanted to grow a beard received permission and everything was clear. What happened was that a group of non-religious soldiers appealed to the Supreme Court against the army, asking why a religious soldier has a simpler and easier path to growing a beard, while a non-religious soldier who wants to grow a beard goes through a more complicated route to receiving permission.
"The Supreme Court, as usual, claimed that the State of Israel, and of course the army, must act equally and so demanded that the army set equal standards and not discriminate between religious and non-religious soldiers. It told the army to make a single path for anyone who wants to grow a beard."
Ben-Dahan continued by describing the series of events: "Following this, the army reevaluated and changed its instructions to make a single route for all IDF soldiers to receive permission to grow a beard. You need to know where this comes from. It comes from a Supreme Court ruling. The army has no interest in preventing religious soldiers from growing a beard."
In light of all this, Ben-Dahan declared that "any religious soldier who grew a beard before the new order and has not yet received a confirmation from the adjutant officer, or who was turned down and appealed and still hasn't received an answer, can continue growing his beard and no one will stop him.
"It has been found that almost 25,000 soldiers asked for shaving exemptions; 13,000 were answered and the rest are still waiting due to the heavy workload placed on the shoulders of adjutant officers and so this is a clear instruction - whoever grew a beard and did not receive an answer from the adjutant officer or was denied and appealed, and every soldier is eligible to appeal within five days, can grow his beard."
The Deputy Minister pointed out the additional track for hesder soldiers to appeal through the Hesder Yeshiva Association. "I have no doubt that, in the end, every religious soldier who wants to grow a beard and wants to continue growing a beard will not be forced to shave." Furthermore, "if there are specific instances, I am ready to support every case. They should come to me. This is a large system. When there are 25,000 requests there will be problems in specific places and, if there are such problems, I am ready to check each and every instance brought to me."
As for the Tel Nof base, where the story began and from where a soldiers were sent to prison for refusing to shave, Rabbi Ben-Dahan says that he does not know the specific details about the base and complaints from Tel Nof have not reached him.
On the claim that was published by Arutz Sheva on Saturday, that a religious officer was told to shave his beard and only afterwards receive a new exemption, Ben-Dahan again said, "That is why I say clearly that every soldier or commander who appealed to their adjutant commander and still has not received an answer, and had a beard previously, can continue growing his beard and no one will force him to shave. In addition to this, whoever was turned down and appealed, and has not yet received an answer, can continue growing his beard and no one will make him shave."
The Deputy Minister rejected attempts to tie the issue of beards to the earlier issue of the role of the Jewish identity program in the IDF. "There is no connection between the two," he said and again noted that the driving force behind the recent decision was the Supreme Court, not the army. "The army is dragged into changing its protocols because of the Supreme Court. The army has no interest in this rule. I suggest that you don't hang other accusations on the army. The army will do all it can to solve the religious soldiers' issues as quickly as possible."
Towards the end of the interview, Rabbi Ben-Dahan was asked about the additional issue gathering attention - that of the upcoming draft scheduled to fall on Purim. Rabbi Ben-Dahan was asked if this is a systematic error, even if a solution is found to accommodate individual soldiers. "The specific cases about which people talked to me have been solved, and the draft has been advanced by two days. The local problem has been solved. I agree that there may have been a systematic error here and I will take care of it. The problem is that, sadly, the army doesn't always look at the Hebrew date but rather the Gregorian date, and so problems result. This issue will be brought up and I will deal with it. And I hope that such errors won't occur in the future."
8. PALESTINIANS BLAME TV FOR INCITING CHILD-TERRORISTS
by Shoshana Miskin
The Awdah TV channel of Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction recently aired an interview showing most Palestinians condemn terror incitement in the media - an ironic point, given that the channel itself incites terrorism.
[youtube:2012957]
A majority of Palestinians told the channel they oppose children participating in stabbing and other terror attacks - most said they oppose it as a matter of principles, while others said they view it as simply ineffective.
All the Palestinians interviewed blamed television for inciting youth to commit stabbing attacks and condemned "our TV channels" for "spilling the blood of our children," in the segment revealed and translated by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW).
At the conclusion of the piece, the Fatah-run Awdah TV host said, "Enough with this incitement on TV screens, on (Facebook) pages and social media."
The statement is truly hypocritical, as the very same Awdah TV publicized a song calling on Palestinians to drown Israelis "in a sea of blood, kill them as you wish."
[youtube:2012958]
PMW has further reported that Palestinian schools also incite children from the Ramallah and El-Bireh districts to murder, after hosting a soccer tournament named in "honor" of 13-year-old terrorist Ahmad Manasrah who stabbed and nearly murdered a 13-year-old Israeli Jewish boy.
The current Arab terror wave has witnessed 13, 14 and 15-year-old terrorists stabbing and attempting to stab people to death.
According to IDF statistics, about half of the terrorists have been under age 20 and at least 10% (21 terrorists) were under the age of 16, with many having been killed while carrying out their attacks.
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Subscribe to this Daily Israel Report:
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http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
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Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
Subscribe to this Daily Israel Report:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Subscribe/
Monday, Feb. 29 '16, Adar 20, 5776
HEADLINES:
1. BENNETT: ISRAEL CAN WEATHER THE 'ISLAMIC WINTER' - AND WIN
2. IDF NABS HEVRON TERROR CELL BEHIND NUMEROUS ATTACKS
3. MINISTER ELKIN: PA COLLAPSE NOT A MATTER OF 'IF', BUT 'WHEN'
4. KNESSET TO VOTE ON MK 'EXPULSION LAW' AMID ARAB ANGER
5. WOMEN OF THE WALL SMUGGLE TORAH INTO KOTEL, AGAIN
6. WATCH: HAMAS EMULATES ISIS BEHEADINGS IN GAZA PROPAGANDA
7. DEPUTY DEFENSE MINISTER: RELIGIOUS SOLDIERS WON'T HAVE TO SHAVE
8. PALESTINIANS BLAME TV FOR INCITING CHILD-TERRORISTS
1. BENNETT: ISRAEL CAN WEATHER THE 'ISLAMIC WINTER' - AND WIN
by Ari Soffer
As Israel continues to struggle against a seemingly unrelenting wave of Arab terror, frustration and questions about what more the government can or should be doing to end the attacks on innocent Israelis is growing.
Arutz Sheva recently sat down with Education Minister Naftali Bennett, leader of the Jewish Home party, who has been outspoken in the past about his views on what more Israel can do to defeat Palestinian terrorism.
Bennett and his party have found themselves in a tough position politically. On the one hand, he and other party members - such as Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben-Dahan - have often called for tougher measures than are currently being implemented against terrorists and their supporters, including family members who encourage or celebrate attacks on Israelis.
On the other hand, he is himself a member of the government and of the security cabinet, and has strongly backed the IDF's leadership - and indeed the government's own measures and policies - as the terror has continued to rage on, often disagreeing with more hardline members of his own party on some issues.
In our interview - the full, edited version of which is posted below - Bennett emphasized the importance of "deterrent" measures such as demolishing terrorists' homes, and while praising the progress made by the government, seemed to indicate that in his view a lot more could be done on both the tactical and strategic levels.
Ultimately, he insisted that Israel can defeat this newest paradigm of terrorism - a decentralized one motivated more by incitement than centralized terrorist infrastructures - but warned the Jewish state is falling behind its enemies strategically.
Naftali Bennett receives a briefing from Israeli Border Police Courtesy
Bennett, who himself made his millions in Israel's booming hi-tech industry, urged the "startup nation" to apply its innovation and ingenuity to its struggle against its enemies who still seek to wipe it from the map using both military and diplomatic means.
Ironically, however, the State of Israel has allowed itself to fall behind, clinging to old paradigms and doctrines as its foes work feverishly to change the rules of the game.
His central message: Israel can defeat terror in 2016 as it did in 2002 - but only by radically reinventing itself strategically.
The wave of terror Israel has seen in the past several months is still ongoing, but it is also fair to say that more recently it has ebbed somewhat from the period of multiple attacks daily which we saw at the end of last year. What's your assessment of this? Is the "knife intifada" petering out, or could it still resurge?
The truth is, we don't know.
But look, Zionism has faced waves of terror for more than 120 years, and each time they take a different form. This time we're talking about terror incidents that are induced by incitement, as opposed to organized Hamas or Fatah terror - so it's a bit more tricky.
What we need to be doing here is to take care of incitement and to take care of deterrence. That that means closing down (Palestinian) radio stations that incite, arresting imams who incite to murder. It means closing down mosques that we see incitement coming from...
Is the government doing all of these things now?
Obviously I'm not going to outline what happens in the security cabinet, but I will say that this is my position.
In terms of deterrence, the challenge is that these Arab terrorists are willing to die, so how do you deter them? The way you do it is that you hit them and you also hit their supporting communities that are encouraging them to go out and kill Jews. That means destroying illegal houses that have been built, destroying the terrorist's house, it means preventing financial rewards to the terrorists, and so on.
There are a set of actions that Israel needs to take, and we are doing it, but I will certainly back any new creative and powerful plan that the (IDF) Chief of Staff or Minister of Defense raises.
In terms of our achievements, I think that we've seen a drastic reduction in the amount of terror from east Jerusalem, but unfortunately in Judea and Samaria we still see a lot of terror.
But you're saying that this wave of terror can ultimately be decisively defeated?
Yes. Look, things in the past have looked much worse - take the wave of terror in 2001-2002, when we saw nearly 500 Israelis murdered in one year alone. During that time we seemed helpless, but with a concerted effort we brought it down to zero. In fact I participated in Operation Defensive Shield in 2002, and I saw that terror can be defeated - it just needs a concerted effort, it needs creative ideas and it needs determination to make it happen.
In recent weeks we've seen some controversy over the messages and orders from the IDF top brass which some argued may have called that determination into question. IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot for example received a lot of flack for his comments seeming to brush off the Talmudic dictum of "he who rises to kill you, kill him first."
You backed him unequivocally though - why?
I think Gadi Eizenkot is a very good commander. He has good, strong values and he basically repeated the obvious: when there is any danger to an Israeli, either to yourself or someone around you, you open fire to stop the attack. But if there is no danger, you don't. It's that simple. He reiterated the obvious and I believe in that as well.
I think it's vital that every civilian and every soldier knows that when they're out there and they see a terrorist attack they should engage and stop it. I think we should be awfully proud of the conduct of Israelis. It's unprecedented. You see civilians risking their own lives and putting a stop to attacks.
Certainly we praise them and encourage that sort of action.
And then there was Military Intelligence Chief Herzi Halevi, who last week suggested Israel should restart negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, even as it continues inciting violence and attacking Israel on the diplomatic front. Should he even be making political suggestions like that as a military officer?
Look, I don't want to give grades to military commanders.
What I think is that the Islamic desire to wipe out Israel is divorced from the diplomatic process. They want to destroy us when there's peace talks, when there isn't peace talks - they simply don't want us here; neither Hezbollah nor Jabhat al-Nusra (Nusra Front), neither Da'esh (ISIS) or Fatah or Hamas accept our existence. Once we understand that reality we know what to do.
And what is that? As you yourself recently noted, these kinds of comments are coming against the backdrop of a political, strategic and intellectual vacuum here in Israel. No one seems to have any idea how to move forward at all.
Right. My position has always been clear. I believe that Israel needs to begin applying its sovereignty in Judea and Samaria. You need to annex Gush Etzion, Ma'ale Adumim, Ofra, and so on, and ultimately apply Israel's sovereignty over the entire Area C - it's what's been termed "the Bennett Plan," for lack of a better term!
The problem is we've (the Jewish Home party) got (only) eight seats. In order to affect this, for me to make it happen, we need to be the strongest power (in the Knesset).
Fortunately though, I see that in many cases many political parties are following our lead. Even Labor has abandoned the two state solution! Likud has also, mostly. In many ways the Jewish Home party is sort of the trailblazer, and we're going to continue to place our positions very clearly, and ultimately they will be adopted.
The key is, we have to break paradigms, we have to think creatively. I come from the hi-tech world - you don't survive if you don't constantly reinvent yourself every few years.
I look at our enemies - they've made three quantum leaps in strategy: the first is asymmetric warfare, where they shoot missiles from within civilian houses; second is underground warfare, where they neutralize our air force using tunnels; and the third is international diplomatic and legal warfare, where they're trying to neutralize our ability to fight at all.
At the same time we have not made those similar leaps.
In the Cabinet I have placed some very creative ideas; plans as to how we can outmaneuver them, how we can surprise them strategically, and how we can ultimately defeat them. I want to inject the hi-tech thinking into the security and diplomatic arena.
Annexing Area C - the "Bennett Plan" - that's the end-game, or something you're proposing in the more immediate term for lack of a comprehensive solution?
Like I've said before, we need to annex Area C, and give the Palestinians (in Areas A and B) what I call "autonomy on steroids" - let them govern their own lives there.
And then, we wait.
It could be 50 years, or 100 years or 150 years - I don't now how long this Islamic winter will last. But ultimately they will have to accept us.
2. IDF NABS HEVRON TERROR CELL BEHIND NUMEROUS ATTACKS
by Arutz Sheva Staff
The IDF, along with the Israel Security Agency (ISA, also known as the Shin Bet or Shabak) and Israel Police have arrested a number of terrorists from Hevron, including two brothers, who were involved in a number of attacks.
Over recent months, the group shot at civilians and soldiers in the area and wounded four Israelis in total.
The attacks were notable for their religious aspects. They shot two Jewish men while the were praying and frequently attacked IDF soldiers near the Tomb of the Patriarchs. After each attack, they hid their weapons in the al-Mujahideen Mosque in Hevron.
During interrogation, the suspects gave up the makeshift sniper rifle that was used in the attacks, as well as a "Carl Gustav" style sub-machine gun.
The two brothers are identified as 23-year-old Nasser Faisal Mohammed Badawi, a member of Hamas, and 33-year-old Akhram Faisal Mohammed Badawi.
Nasser was detained for questioning last month, after which Akhram continued shooting at civilians in order to make authorities think that they had caught the wrong person.
3. MINISTER ELKIN: PA COLLAPSE NOT A MATTER OF 'IF', BUT 'WHEN'
by Hezki Ezra
Minister for Immigration and Jerusalem Affairs Ze'ev Elkin (Likud) gave a talk at Bar Ilan University this morning (Monday), in which he presented his approach to the challenges that will face Israel once Mahmoud Abbas no longer runs the Palestinian Authority.
"The current wave of terror is a preview for the collapse of the PA. Most of the likely scenarios for the day after Abu Mazen [another name for Mahmoud Abbas] will lead to a lack of organized inheritance, to an internal fight for succession, to anarchy and the dismantling of the PA," he said. "The ones who will have to pay the price for anarchy in the PA are Israeli citizens, particularly the communities in Judea and Samaria. We must prepare for even worse attacks."
Elkin added that "the question is not if the PA collapses but when it is going to collapse. This is the reason we must prepare our security and stop the futile discussions over whether or not it is good for the State of Israel. The PA will collapse whether we like it or not and the State of Israel had better accept that the train has left the station. At the moment, sadly, it seems that we have not yet internalized the new situation and we are not properly preparing ourselves.
He further noted, "The international community must also stop trying to strengthen the Palestinian Authority, because it is just an attempt at resuscitation that will blow up in our faces. It's true that there are a number of scenarios, but the most likely scenario to me is that anarchy will result from the lack of a clear successor to Abu Mazen, due to his unwillingness to hold elections for the presidency and the surplus of legal and illegal weapons in the PA's territory. There is no point in trying to revive the PA, and instead we should make a fitting headstone for its grave, along with that of the Oslo Accords. The Palestinian Authority was born with Abu Mazen, who initiated and pushed for Oslo, and the PA will disappear with Abu Mazen when he goes."
Despite this, he does not believe that even elections could change the outcome. "Most of the Fatah candidates will never win an election against Hamas. The only one who will is in Israeli jail - Marwan Barghouti." Regardless of how it happen, though, "if the PA collapses the world will blame Israel."
Elkin explained his attitude towards the Oslo process: "The mistaken concept in Oslo lead us to today's reality. We made a mistake when we brought the PLO leaders out of Tunis, we made a mistake when we though that they would deal with terror and incitement, and we made a mistake when we allowed them to run their education system, media and sermons without supervision. All of these led to the building of a generation filled with a burning hate for us and cause a 13-year-old girl to leave her school and stab Jews to death.
"In order to fight against the ongoing wave of terror," he concluded, "We must treat it with antibiotics and not with aspirin. We need to understand that today's terror was born from 23 years of neglect, ever since the Oslo Accords. Therefore, we must reach down to the roots, which are incitement in schools, in the media and especially in sermons. In addition, we must prepare for our security and to understand the new field. The source of authority is not excessive hierarchies and institutions, it's identifying the new players below the surface in a timely manner. If we know how to identify them quietly, we can deal with the situation. There's no doubt that this is a ticking bomb that can still be dismantled, if only we can wake up in time."
4. KNESSET TO VOTE ON MK 'EXPULSION LAW' AMID ARAB ANGER
by Matt Wanderman
The Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee has given its approval to MK Nissan Slomiansky's (Jewish Home) bill to allow the Knesset Assembly to remove members with a majority of 90 votes.
The proposal was initiated after three Balad MKs visited the families of terrorists.
The committee debate was heated, as a number of members described it as a danger to democracy.
Joint List head Ayman Odeh warned that, should any of his party members be dismissed through this law, he would consider resigning. "We were chosen by our people and not by the Right. We were not chosen by Knesset member and we don't want or intend to please them. So, should the Balad members be ejected, I would consider resigning from the Knesset."
He continued: "Despite the delegitimization campaign against us and raising the election threshold, we decided to remain part of the politics in Israel and they still continue to persecute us.
"Suddenly the talking about Balad and not about the Joint List. After they banned the northern branch of the Islamic Movement, now they're beginning to demonize Balad."
The Joint List's only Jewish MK, Dov Khenin of the communist Hadash party, also spoke out against the bill. "This is a dark moment in the history of the Knesset and of the Legislative Committee. The Prime Minister wants Arab citizens of Israel to not vote in order to ensure a majority to continue his rule. Netanyahu's message to Arab citizens is: if your MKs annoy the Jews, then we'll take them. You have no chance to influence here."
MK Abdullah Abu Ma'aruf (Joint List) was even ejected while declaring, "This law is terror like that of dark regimes."
The objections were not limited to the Joint List. MK Revital Swid (Zionist Union) said, "Let's call a spade a spade - this is a targeted assassination bill. It intercepts the MKs who don't agree with their opinions and permanently ends their politics." She added that "the hatred of Arabs blinds the eyes of MKs until they legislate a law that no attorney general supports. The blindness is making the coalition indifferent and numb in the face of a serious attack on democracy. We cannot let this happen."
Swid then appealed to Slomiansky and asked, "Do you want this power in your hands, Nissan? There will be a day when it is used against you. One day there will be a majority that decides whoever does not denounce the hilltop youth and supports the Kingdom of Israel undermines the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. What will you do then?"
Attorney General Avihai Mandelblit also expressed his reservations, telling the Committee that "the legislation requires much care in light of the inherent issues it raises." He further warned that it would "authorize a political majority to end the tenure of a legally-elected MK" and "defeat the will of the voters."
Despite this, Mandelblit added that he has no legal objection to the law's wording.
The bill will now be sent to the Knesset for its first reading.
5. WOMEN OF THE WALL SMUGGLE TORAH INTO KOTEL, AGAIN
by Shoshana Miskin
The Reform storm is still raging: Although the government recently expanded the "non-Orthodox" prayer section at the Kotel, members of the Women of the Wall entered the women's plaza Monday morning.
The group smuggled in with them a Torah scroll, and according to eye witnesses, they generated provocation.
The witnesses said that the women were wrapped in Tallitot and Tefillin (fringed garments and small leather boxes containing scriptural texts traditionally worn by Jewish men) and entered the traditional section with a Torah scroll.
Despite calls of protest from traditional prayer goers and against the official agreement obtained at the Kotel, the women began their prayer ceremony.
The event Monday morning demonstrated that the arrangement between the Government and reform movement is not sufficient to some factions within the Women of the Wall movement, who insist on carrying out their practices specifically in the traditional plaza.
Israel's Chief Rabbinate Council is due to meet with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, after voicing harsh criticism against the government's decision. The meeting will also be attended by the leaders of the Jewish Home, Shas, and United Torah Judaism factions.
The Prime Minister is expected to raise the arguments in favor of the decision made by the government three weeks ago, and relate to the relationship between Israel and the reform community abroad.
6. WATCH: HAMAS EMULATES ISIS BEHEADINGS IN GAZA PROPAGANDA
by Ari Soffer
While the vast majority of Arab violence during the ongoing wave of terror against Israel has emanated from Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem, much of the propaganda, incitement and instruction to terror has come from Hamas-affiliated outlets in Gaza.
That propaganda is continuing apace, as illustrated by a selection of clips from Hamas media gathered by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
The clips are from a number of public demonstrations of terrorists' skills, held in front of large crowds in Gaza and aired on Hamas's TV stations and on the internet. They appear aimed at inspiring further shooting and knife attacks by glorifying the perpetrators of previous such attacks, as well as urging a resumption of suicide bombings - something Hamas cells in Judea and Samaria have been attempting to carry out for some time now, though unsuccessfully.
Among other things, the demonstrations feature a reenactment of the murder of Rabbi Eitam and Dalia Henkin in front of their two children - a shooting hailed as "the heroic Itamar attack", after the Jewish town in Samaria close to which it took place.
The Hamas narrator hailed the terrorists responsible for the murder as "heroes," praising them for executing the unarmed parents in front of their four young children, while leaving the children themselves unharmed. According to investigators, however, the terrorists would likely have continued their massacre had the parents not put up a struggle, which caused one of the gunmen to accidentally shoot his accomplice in the hand and prompted both attackers to flee the scene.
Other clips include demonstrations on how to stab Israeli soldiers, including a scene remarkably reminiscent of ISIS propaganda videos, in which masked Hamas terrorists clad in camouflage carry out a choreographed "execution" of three IDF soldiers, in front of a cheering crowd.
Another scene shows actors dressed as Israeli civilians and soldiers entering a civilian bus, followed by a suicide bomber. Shortly afterwards, the "bus" explodes and bursts into flames.
Similar scenes have been replayed in Hamas propaganda, including a recent slickly-produced music video glorifying acts including "roasting" Jewish flesh and blowing the roofs off civilian buses.
7. DEPUTY DEFENSE MINISTER: RELIGIOUS SOLDIERS WON'T HAVE TO SHAVE
by Shimon Cohen
In an interview with Arutz Sheva, Deputy Defense Minister Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan (Jewish Home) said that the turmoil of soldiers being forced to shave their beards is over. He added that anyone who requests an exemption from shaving on religious grounds will receive it, as about 13,000 soldiers and commanders have so far.
During the talk, Rabbi Ben-Dahan was asked to explain what led up to the new shaving instructions. He insisted that no one in the army wanted such an order, but that the IDF was forced to comply with the Supreme Court's instructions.
"Until about eight months ago, anyone who wanted to grow a beard received permission and everything was clear. What happened was that a group of non-religious soldiers appealed to the Supreme Court against the army, asking why a religious soldier has a simpler and easier path to growing a beard, while a non-religious soldier who wants to grow a beard goes through a more complicated route to receiving permission.
"The Supreme Court, as usual, claimed that the State of Israel, and of course the army, must act equally and so demanded that the army set equal standards and not discriminate between religious and non-religious soldiers. It told the army to make a single path for anyone who wants to grow a beard."
Ben-Dahan continued by describing the series of events: "Following this, the army reevaluated and changed its instructions to make a single route for all IDF soldiers to receive permission to grow a beard. You need to know where this comes from. It comes from a Supreme Court ruling. The army has no interest in preventing religious soldiers from growing a beard."
In light of all this, Ben-Dahan declared that "any religious soldier who grew a beard before the new order and has not yet received a confirmation from the adjutant officer, or who was turned down and appealed and still hasn't received an answer, can continue growing his beard and no one will stop him.
"It has been found that almost 25,000 soldiers asked for shaving exemptions; 13,000 were answered and the rest are still waiting due to the heavy workload placed on the shoulders of adjutant officers and so this is a clear instruction - whoever grew a beard and did not receive an answer from the adjutant officer or was denied and appealed, and every soldier is eligible to appeal within five days, can grow his beard."
The Deputy Minister pointed out the additional track for hesder soldiers to appeal through the Hesder Yeshiva Association. "I have no doubt that, in the end, every religious soldier who wants to grow a beard and wants to continue growing a beard will not be forced to shave." Furthermore, "if there are specific instances, I am ready to support every case. They should come to me. This is a large system. When there are 25,000 requests there will be problems in specific places and, if there are such problems, I am ready to check each and every instance brought to me."
As for the Tel Nof base, where the story began and from where a soldiers were sent to prison for refusing to shave, Rabbi Ben-Dahan says that he does not know the specific details about the base and complaints from Tel Nof have not reached him.
On the claim that was published by Arutz Sheva on Saturday, that a religious officer was told to shave his beard and only afterwards receive a new exemption, Ben-Dahan again said, "That is why I say clearly that every soldier or commander who appealed to their adjutant commander and still has not received an answer, and had a beard previously, can continue growing his beard and no one will force him to shave. In addition to this, whoever was turned down and appealed, and has not yet received an answer, can continue growing his beard and no one will make him shave."
The Deputy Minister rejected attempts to tie the issue of beards to the earlier issue of the role of the Jewish identity program in the IDF. "There is no connection between the two," he said and again noted that the driving force behind the recent decision was the Supreme Court, not the army. "The army is dragged into changing its protocols because of the Supreme Court. The army has no interest in this rule. I suggest that you don't hang other accusations on the army. The army will do all it can to solve the religious soldiers' issues as quickly as possible."
Towards the end of the interview, Rabbi Ben-Dahan was asked about the additional issue gathering attention - that of the upcoming draft scheduled to fall on Purim. Rabbi Ben-Dahan was asked if this is a systematic error, even if a solution is found to accommodate individual soldiers. "The specific cases about which people talked to me have been solved, and the draft has been advanced by two days. The local problem has been solved. I agree that there may have been a systematic error here and I will take care of it. The problem is that, sadly, the army doesn't always look at the Hebrew date but rather the Gregorian date, and so problems result. This issue will be brought up and I will deal with it. And I hope that such errors won't occur in the future."
8. PALESTINIANS BLAME TV FOR INCITING CHILD-TERRORISTS
by Shoshana Miskin
The Awdah TV channel of Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction recently aired an interview showing most Palestinians condemn terror incitement in the media - an ironic point, given that the channel itself incites terrorism.
[youtube:2012957]
A majority of Palestinians told the channel they oppose children participating in stabbing and other terror attacks - most said they oppose it as a matter of principles, while others said they view it as simply ineffective.
All the Palestinians interviewed blamed television for inciting youth to commit stabbing attacks and condemned "our TV channels" for "spilling the blood of our children," in the segment revealed and translated by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW).
At the conclusion of the piece, the Fatah-run Awdah TV host said, "Enough with this incitement on TV screens, on (Facebook) pages and social media."
The statement is truly hypocritical, as the very same Awdah TV publicized a song calling on Palestinians to drown Israelis "in a sea of blood, kill them as you wish."
[youtube:2012958]
PMW has further reported that Palestinian schools also incite children from the Ramallah and El-Bireh districts to murder, after hosting a soccer tournament named in "honor" of 13-year-old terrorist Ahmad Manasrah who stabbed and nearly murdered a 13-year-old Israeli Jewish boy.
The current Arab terror wave has witnessed 13, 14 and 15-year-old terrorists stabbing and attempting to stab people to death.
According to IDF statistics, about half of the terrorists have been under age 20 and at least 10% (21 terrorists) were under the age of 16, with many having been killed while carrying out their attacks.
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Sunday, February 28, 2016
A7News: 'Instead of celebrating a bar mitzvah, he's fighting for life'
Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
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Sunday, Feb. 28 '16, Adar 19, 5776
HEADLINES:
1. 'INSTEAD OF CELEBRATING A BAR MITZVAH, HE'S FIGHTING FOR LIFE'
2. MA'ALE ADUMIM MALL AX TERRORIST WAS AN EMPLOYEE
3. MYSTERY GROWS OVER PALESTINIAN TERRORIST'S DEATH IN BULGARIA
4. LAND OF ISRAEL LOBBY SETS ITS SIGHTS ON EU ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTION
5. LYNCH MOB ATTACKS ARAB FOR 'DARING' TO SPEAK HEBREW IN JERUSALEM
6. SANDERS ADVISER SUGGESTS ISRAEL GASSED SYRIANS
7. IS THE UK LABOUR PARTY COVERING UP ANTI-SEMITISM?
8. 'WE CAN'T GET USED TO TERROR - THIS IS ISRAEL 2016!'
1. 'INSTEAD OF CELEBRATING A BAR MITZVAH, HE'S FIGHTING FOR LIFE'
by David Rosenberg and Yoni Kempinski
[youtube:2012948]
Moshe Cohen, the brother of security guard Tzvika Cohen who was critically injured in an Arab ax attack in Ma'ale Adumim last Thursday night, has spoken of the family's double anguish at both the attack itself, as well as the publication of disturbing footage from the incident which has since gone viral.
In an interview with Arutz Sheva, a visibly distraught Cohen said the entire family was going through "really, really tough times."
"This is the second terror attack that we've had in the family," he noted, referring to an attack in 2000 in which his other brother, Rahamim, was run over and stabbed 11 times by an Arab taxi driver.
"The whole family is here, as you can see; we're not doing well at all. Tzvika is in critical condition," he added, urging the public to pray for Tzvika ben Batya. "The family is all here praying, saying Psalms for Tzvika."
"A tragedy like this hurts. It's a feeling that crushes the whole house - the whole family, especially his wife and kids.
"He's a father to four kids, including twins, who are supposed to be celebrating the son's bar mitzvah in two weeks. But instead of celebrating a bar mitzvah, we're here praying for his survival," Cohen said.
Asked about the disturbing CCTV footage of the attack - which Arutz Sheva has chosen not to publish - Cohen described the family's horror at seeing the images, and questioned why no sensitivity was shown by whoever released it to the victim's young children.
"While the whole family is here, and the kids, someone, I don't know who, went and put out a video on social media.
"Today every kid is exposed to the internet, they all walk around with cell phones. Why does his 8-year-old son need to open his phone and see how [the terrorist] cut up his father with an ax?
"I don't know what heart the person had to do that."
2. MA'ALE ADUMIM MALL AX TERRORIST WAS AN EMPLOYEE
by Ari Soffer
Saadi Ali Abu Hamad, the 21-year-old Arab terrorist who brutally attacked a Jewish security guard in Ma'ale Adumim with an ax last week, was an employee at the mall where the attack took place, it has been revealed.
Abu Hamad was arrested after a two-day manhunt following the attack, which left 48-year-old father of four Tzvika Cohen fighting for life.
Further details of the terrorist's arrest have since emerged Sunday morning.
Security forces were able to locate the terrorists after a tip-off last night to the emergency police 100 hotline from a relative of the attacker, who said that he wanted to hand him over to authorities.
Cohen was found barely alive and with extensive injuries by a cleaner at the mall, who immediately alerted the Magen David Adom ambulance service and police. He is currently being treated at Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem, where doctors have warned his condition is deteriorating.
A resident of Ma'ale Adumim, Cohen was due to celebrate his son's Bar Mitzvah in two weeks' time. His family are currently maintaining a bedside vigil in the hospital, praying for a miracle, and have appealed to the public to pray for Tzvika ben (the son of) Batya.
This is not the first time the Cohen family has been struck by brutal Arab terrorism. In 2000 Tzvikah's brother Rahamim was seriously injured when a terrorist driving a taxi rammed into him and then stabbed him repeatedly, leaving him for dead in a pool of blood.
3. MYSTERY GROWS OVER PALESTINIAN TERRORIST'S DEATH IN BULGARIA
by David Rosenberg
How did Naif Hassan Omar Zaid die?
That's the question on the minds of Bulgarian police, friends of the now-deceased PFLP terrorist, and the relatives of the man he murderer in 1986.
Zaid, a member of the radical left-wing Arab terror organization the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, murdered yeshiva student Eliyahu Amadi in the Old City of Jerusalem in 1986.
In 1990 while serving life sentence, Zaid initiated a hunger strike and was transferred to an Israeli hospital. He managed to escape, eventually making his way to Bulgaria, where he lived for the past 22 years.
Last Friday, Zaid was found dead in the yard of the Palestinian Authority embassy in Bulgaria.
Initial reports from prosecutors claimed that there were signs of violence on the body. The Bulgarian news service Novinite reported claims that Zaid's body was found covered in blood.
But prosecutors later retracted their initial claims, stating that there were no signs of violence on the body.
Officials in the PA and PFLP were quick to accuse Israel of being behind Zaid's death. According to the Jordanian newspaper Ma'an, PA President Mahmoud Abbas ordered an investigation into Zaid's death.
Israel has denied responsibility.
But some see the timing of Zaid's death, coming on the heels of Israeli calls for extradition, to be more than mere coincidence.
Last December, Israel demanded that Zaid surrender himself for extradition, giving him 72 hours to turn himself in to authorities.
Fearing arrest, Zaid found refuge in the PA embassy in Sofia, where he had stayed for the past two months.
Investigators now believe Zaid may have fallen to his death from an upper story in the embassy, thought they have not ruled out other possibilities.
Yaffa Pinhasi, the sister of Zaid's victim in the 1986 terror attack, believes Israel was indeed behind Zaid's death, telling Channel 1 that she praised "whoever did this".
4. LAND OF ISRAEL LOBBY SETS ITS SIGHTS ON EU ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTION
by Arutz Sheva Staff
In the wake of revelations earlier this month as to the extent of the European Union's involvement in promoting illegal Arab construction in Judea and Samaria, the Knesset's Land of Israel Lobby issued a sharp condemnation of the EU, demanding it respect Israeli law.
The lobby, which includes 20 MKs from the Likud, Jewish Home, Yisrael Beytenu, United Torah Judaism, and Kulanu parties, sent a letter to the European Union Ambassador to Israel, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, rejecting EU protests against Israeli demolitions of illegal Arab buildings.
Lobby chairmen Yoav Kish (Likud) and Bezalel Smotrich (Jewish Home) demanded the EU halt its support for illegal Arab construction, calling the body's actions an illegitimate attempt to forcibly create borders in Judea and Samaria without negotiations, in violation of the very principles the EU has promoted in backing a negotiated settlement.
"No government entity in the world has the right to construct buildings illegally in territory under the legal control of another country," the letter reads.
"So long as the EU wants to be thought of as an honest broker in regards to conflicts in our area, it cannot participant in attempts to forcibly and unilaterally delineate borders without negotiations. That's both the goal and end result of the illegal building project that you are advancing in area C".
The lobby praised Israel for beginning to confront the phenomenon of coordinated construction of illegal structures in Judea and Samaria, and demanded that the EU itself demolish any illegal structures it funded.
5. LYNCH MOB ATTACKS ARAB FOR 'DARING' TO SPEAK HEBREW IN JERUSALEM
by David Rosenberg
An Israeli-Arab was attacked by a lynch mob on Thursday in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina. His offense? Speaking Hebrew.
Muhammad Abed Abu Rahman, a 24-year-old resident of the Israeli Arab town of Abu Ghosh near Jerusalem, recalled a harrowing experience in the capital on Thursday while driving through an Arab neighborhood.
While speaking on the phone in Hebrew, locals surrounded his car and began threatening him for "daring" to speak Hebrew near the home of Abu Khder, the 16-year-old murdered in a revenge attack following the killings of three abducted Israeli teens in 2014.
"Someone came up to me, put his hand on the car keys and screamed at me", Abu Rahman told Walla! News.
He said they shouting to him: "Aren't you ashamed? How can you speak Hebrew in Abu Khder's neighborhood?"
"I thought I was in a murder situation, they really lynched me," he told the Hebrew-language news site.
About 10 young men quickly approached Abu Rahman's car brandishing knives and steel rods. Assuming he was Jewish, they stoned his car and screamed threats at him in Hebrew.
Abu Rahman quickly called the police who extricated him from the lynch mob.
6. SANDERS ADVISER SUGGESTS ISRAEL GASSED SYRIANS
by David Rosenberg
Vermont Senator and self-declared socialist Bernie Sanders has tapped retired US Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson as a foreign policy adviser for the dark horse candidate's presidential campaign.
Wilkerson, who served as Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff, emerged in the years following the 2003 invasion of Iraq as an outspoken critic of the Bush administration and the war on terror.
In 2013, Wilkerson also criticized the assumption that embattled Syrian President Bashir Assad was responsible for a deadly chemical weapons attack on Syrian civilians.
In an interview with Cenk Uygur on Current TV, Wilkerson suggested that Israel was in fact responsible for the attack, part of what he suggested may have been a false-flag operation to force American intervention in Syria.
This is not his first controversial statement regarding Israel. In 2007, Wilkerson appeared in a Dutch documentary produced by VPRO investigating the influence of "the Israel lobby", suggesting that American foreign policy was dominated by American Jews.
"The connections between America and Israel are so great and so strong that geostrategy, political strategy, grand strategy is of no consequence here," he said. "America simply cannot say, 'Israel you're on your own'. It just wouldn't work. And one of the reasons it wouldn't work is because we have a very powerful Jewish lobby in America."
Wilkerson went on to cite an example of the powerful grip of the "Jewish lobby", noting he had once "received an e-mail from Dershowitz" over comments he had made regarding Israel. Wilkerson condemned Dershowitz as a "Harvard professor who protects the Jewish lobby in America like an attack dog."
In 2015, Wilkerson gave an interview to MintPress News, where he blasted Israel as "the most predatory capitalist state in the eastern Mediterranean, and that's saying something because we [the US], China, and Russia have exemplified predatory capitalism in the last 20 years, but Israel outstrips us all."
Wilkerson went on to accuse Israel of betraying the US to Russia and China.
The Sanders campaign has refused to comment.
7. IS THE UK LABOUR PARTY COVERING UP ANTI-SEMITISM?
by Ari Soffer
The UK's Labour Party is being accused of an organized cover-up of evidence of left-wing anti-Semitism at Britain's prestigious Oxford University, after an internal report into allegations has been quietly shelved.
Labour initially launched an investigation after the head of the head of Oxford University Labour Club (OULC) resigned, blaming rampant anti-Semitism within the student Left. Alex Chalmers, who is not Jewish himself, accused a large proportion of left-wing students of having "some kind of problem with Jews."
Following Chalmers' resignation, which received national press coverage and prompted several government officials to condemn the phenomenon of anti-Semitism at Oxford, numerous Jewish students spoke out about their own harrowing experiences at the hands of left-wing anti-Semites.
The findings of that investigation - conducted by Labour Students, the party's student wing - were handed to the Labour Party last week.
According to an email seen by Britain's Daily Telegraph, Labour Students national chair Michael Rubin told OULC members that the report would be released as early as February 23.
"The severity of the allegations requires a comprehensive, but swift review, so we are therefore aiming to publish the findings of our investigation on Tuesday 23rd February," the email read.
But in a surprising move, the report has never been published. Instead, the Labour Party has recommissioned yet another investigation, headed by a more senior party figure - causing many to question whether the party leadership is trying to protect several rising stars who are implicated as the organizers of anti-Semitic activity at Oxford.
In particular, the investigation is believed to have implicated two senior Labour Party activists close to party leader Jeremy Corbyn as key instigators of anti-Jewish "harassment and intimidation" at Oxford.
According to the Telegraph, the pair are Young Labour national committee member Max Shanly, 25, and 22-year-old James Elliott, who is a member of the youth section of Labour's national policy forum.
Elliott, a third-year history student at Oxford, played a prominent role in Corbyn's campaign for election as Labour Party leader last year, and even helped Corbyn write the party's "youth manifesto." He is also backed by the pro-Corbyn pressure group Momentum to become Labour's youth representative on the national executive committee.
Shanly is a close friend of the founder of Momentum, which has backed him in his campaign to stand as a national officer in Labour's youth elections next week.
Both strongly deny they are involved in any anti-Semitic activity at Oxford.
A Labour source close to the investigation told the Telegraph they feared a cover-up ahead of the elections.
"The Labour Party has had the report for a few days now. Why would they not be open and publish it if they had nothing to hide?" the source asked.
"Any serious look at this issue is good, but it looks as though [another investigation] is being launched to slow down action until after the elections.
"We know that the Labour Party want people like Elliott elected to the NEC. But shutting down a report which contains serious allegations against him indicates that this is an institutional cover-up which is more serious."
The controversy will do little to assuage British Jews' fears that the Labour Party is veering sharply to the Left - and towards virulently anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiments - under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, who has gone on record calling Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists his "friends", and has associated in the past with known holocaust deniers and anti-Semitic preachers.
8. 'WE CAN'T GET USED TO TERROR - THIS IS ISRAEL 2016!'
by Yoni Kempinski and Ari Soffer
[youtube:2012941]
Nationalist activists have set up a protest vigil outside the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem, calling on the government to act to end the wave of deadly Arab terrorism which has swept Israel since last year.
The vigil, organized by the Women in Green grassroots activists group, will go on for 33 hours - one hour for each Israeli murdered by terrorists since Rosh Hashana (last September).
Some 300 Israelis have been wounded in Palestinian attacks during that period as well - many of them suffering permanent, life-changing injuries.
Women in Green co-director Nadia Matar told Arutz Sheva that the primary purpose of the vigil was to shake the Israeli public awake and prevent people from simply "getting used to" daily anti-Semitic attacks in the Jewish homeland.
"This cannot go on, we cannot get used to it!" Matar said. "We're not in (pre-war) Poland - we are in Israel, in sovereign Israel, in 2016!"
Matar, whose group has fronted a campaign for Israel to formally annex Judea and Samaria, insisted that tactical security measures, however effective, would not provide a decisive solution to the problem of Arab terror. Only a political program to put to rest Israel's claim and sovereignty over all of the land of Israel - including Judea and Samaria - would grant long-term stability and security to Israeli citizens, she said.
The protesters are there to "remind ourselves and him [Prime Minister Netanyahu] that as long as the question as to whom this land belongs the terror will continue," Matar added.
"The solution is not to bring another 10 soldiers here and another 10 policemen there... the solution is to apply Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria and to implement Israeli sovereignty wherever we already have sovereignty."
Matar lamented that "we are not behaving like a sovereign people," and thus communicate weakness to those who aspire to overthrow the Jewish state.
------------------------------------------------
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Sunday, Feb. 28 '16, Adar 19, 5776
HEADLINES:
1. 'INSTEAD OF CELEBRATING A BAR MITZVAH, HE'S FIGHTING FOR LIFE'
2. MA'ALE ADUMIM MALL AX TERRORIST WAS AN EMPLOYEE
3. MYSTERY GROWS OVER PALESTINIAN TERRORIST'S DEATH IN BULGARIA
4. LAND OF ISRAEL LOBBY SETS ITS SIGHTS ON EU ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTION
5. LYNCH MOB ATTACKS ARAB FOR 'DARING' TO SPEAK HEBREW IN JERUSALEM
6. SANDERS ADVISER SUGGESTS ISRAEL GASSED SYRIANS
7. IS THE UK LABOUR PARTY COVERING UP ANTI-SEMITISM?
8. 'WE CAN'T GET USED TO TERROR - THIS IS ISRAEL 2016!'
1. 'INSTEAD OF CELEBRATING A BAR MITZVAH, HE'S FIGHTING FOR LIFE'
by David Rosenberg and Yoni Kempinski
[youtube:2012948]
Moshe Cohen, the brother of security guard Tzvika Cohen who was critically injured in an Arab ax attack in Ma'ale Adumim last Thursday night, has spoken of the family's double anguish at both the attack itself, as well as the publication of disturbing footage from the incident which has since gone viral.
In an interview with Arutz Sheva, a visibly distraught Cohen said the entire family was going through "really, really tough times."
"This is the second terror attack that we've had in the family," he noted, referring to an attack in 2000 in which his other brother, Rahamim, was run over and stabbed 11 times by an Arab taxi driver.
"The whole family is here, as you can see; we're not doing well at all. Tzvika is in critical condition," he added, urging the public to pray for Tzvika ben Batya. "The family is all here praying, saying Psalms for Tzvika."
"A tragedy like this hurts. It's a feeling that crushes the whole house - the whole family, especially his wife and kids.
"He's a father to four kids, including twins, who are supposed to be celebrating the son's bar mitzvah in two weeks. But instead of celebrating a bar mitzvah, we're here praying for his survival," Cohen said.
Asked about the disturbing CCTV footage of the attack - which Arutz Sheva has chosen not to publish - Cohen described the family's horror at seeing the images, and questioned why no sensitivity was shown by whoever released it to the victim's young children.
"While the whole family is here, and the kids, someone, I don't know who, went and put out a video on social media.
"Today every kid is exposed to the internet, they all walk around with cell phones. Why does his 8-year-old son need to open his phone and see how [the terrorist] cut up his father with an ax?
"I don't know what heart the person had to do that."
2. MA'ALE ADUMIM MALL AX TERRORIST WAS AN EMPLOYEE
by Ari Soffer
Saadi Ali Abu Hamad, the 21-year-old Arab terrorist who brutally attacked a Jewish security guard in Ma'ale Adumim with an ax last week, was an employee at the mall where the attack took place, it has been revealed.
Abu Hamad was arrested after a two-day manhunt following the attack, which left 48-year-old father of four Tzvika Cohen fighting for life.
Further details of the terrorist's arrest have since emerged Sunday morning.
Security forces were able to locate the terrorists after a tip-off last night to the emergency police 100 hotline from a relative of the attacker, who said that he wanted to hand him over to authorities.
Cohen was found barely alive and with extensive injuries by a cleaner at the mall, who immediately alerted the Magen David Adom ambulance service and police. He is currently being treated at Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem, where doctors have warned his condition is deteriorating.
A resident of Ma'ale Adumim, Cohen was due to celebrate his son's Bar Mitzvah in two weeks' time. His family are currently maintaining a bedside vigil in the hospital, praying for a miracle, and have appealed to the public to pray for Tzvika ben (the son of) Batya.
This is not the first time the Cohen family has been struck by brutal Arab terrorism. In 2000 Tzvikah's brother Rahamim was seriously injured when a terrorist driving a taxi rammed into him and then stabbed him repeatedly, leaving him for dead in a pool of blood.
3. MYSTERY GROWS OVER PALESTINIAN TERRORIST'S DEATH IN BULGARIA
by David Rosenberg
How did Naif Hassan Omar Zaid die?
That's the question on the minds of Bulgarian police, friends of the now-deceased PFLP terrorist, and the relatives of the man he murderer in 1986.
Zaid, a member of the radical left-wing Arab terror organization the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, murdered yeshiva student Eliyahu Amadi in the Old City of Jerusalem in 1986.
In 1990 while serving life sentence, Zaid initiated a hunger strike and was transferred to an Israeli hospital. He managed to escape, eventually making his way to Bulgaria, where he lived for the past 22 years.
Last Friday, Zaid was found dead in the yard of the Palestinian Authority embassy in Bulgaria.
Initial reports from prosecutors claimed that there were signs of violence on the body. The Bulgarian news service Novinite reported claims that Zaid's body was found covered in blood.
But prosecutors later retracted their initial claims, stating that there were no signs of violence on the body.
Officials in the PA and PFLP were quick to accuse Israel of being behind Zaid's death. According to the Jordanian newspaper Ma'an, PA President Mahmoud Abbas ordered an investigation into Zaid's death.
Israel has denied responsibility.
But some see the timing of Zaid's death, coming on the heels of Israeli calls for extradition, to be more than mere coincidence.
Last December, Israel demanded that Zaid surrender himself for extradition, giving him 72 hours to turn himself in to authorities.
Fearing arrest, Zaid found refuge in the PA embassy in Sofia, where he had stayed for the past two months.
Investigators now believe Zaid may have fallen to his death from an upper story in the embassy, thought they have not ruled out other possibilities.
Yaffa Pinhasi, the sister of Zaid's victim in the 1986 terror attack, believes Israel was indeed behind Zaid's death, telling Channel 1 that she praised "whoever did this".
4. LAND OF ISRAEL LOBBY SETS ITS SIGHTS ON EU ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTION
by Arutz Sheva Staff
In the wake of revelations earlier this month as to the extent of the European Union's involvement in promoting illegal Arab construction in Judea and Samaria, the Knesset's Land of Israel Lobby issued a sharp condemnation of the EU, demanding it respect Israeli law.
The lobby, which includes 20 MKs from the Likud, Jewish Home, Yisrael Beytenu, United Torah Judaism, and Kulanu parties, sent a letter to the European Union Ambassador to Israel, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, rejecting EU protests against Israeli demolitions of illegal Arab buildings.
Lobby chairmen Yoav Kish (Likud) and Bezalel Smotrich (Jewish Home) demanded the EU halt its support for illegal Arab construction, calling the body's actions an illegitimate attempt to forcibly create borders in Judea and Samaria without negotiations, in violation of the very principles the EU has promoted in backing a negotiated settlement.
"No government entity in the world has the right to construct buildings illegally in territory under the legal control of another country," the letter reads.
"So long as the EU wants to be thought of as an honest broker in regards to conflicts in our area, it cannot participant in attempts to forcibly and unilaterally delineate borders without negotiations. That's both the goal and end result of the illegal building project that you are advancing in area C".
The lobby praised Israel for beginning to confront the phenomenon of coordinated construction of illegal structures in Judea and Samaria, and demanded that the EU itself demolish any illegal structures it funded.
5. LYNCH MOB ATTACKS ARAB FOR 'DARING' TO SPEAK HEBREW IN JERUSALEM
by David Rosenberg
An Israeli-Arab was attacked by a lynch mob on Thursday in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina. His offense? Speaking Hebrew.
Muhammad Abed Abu Rahman, a 24-year-old resident of the Israeli Arab town of Abu Ghosh near Jerusalem, recalled a harrowing experience in the capital on Thursday while driving through an Arab neighborhood.
While speaking on the phone in Hebrew, locals surrounded his car and began threatening him for "daring" to speak Hebrew near the home of Abu Khder, the 16-year-old murdered in a revenge attack following the killings of three abducted Israeli teens in 2014.
"Someone came up to me, put his hand on the car keys and screamed at me", Abu Rahman told Walla! News.
He said they shouting to him: "Aren't you ashamed? How can you speak Hebrew in Abu Khder's neighborhood?"
"I thought I was in a murder situation, they really lynched me," he told the Hebrew-language news site.
About 10 young men quickly approached Abu Rahman's car brandishing knives and steel rods. Assuming he was Jewish, they stoned his car and screamed threats at him in Hebrew.
Abu Rahman quickly called the police who extricated him from the lynch mob.
6. SANDERS ADVISER SUGGESTS ISRAEL GASSED SYRIANS
by David Rosenberg
Vermont Senator and self-declared socialist Bernie Sanders has tapped retired US Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson as a foreign policy adviser for the dark horse candidate's presidential campaign.
Wilkerson, who served as Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff, emerged in the years following the 2003 invasion of Iraq as an outspoken critic of the Bush administration and the war on terror.
In 2013, Wilkerson also criticized the assumption that embattled Syrian President Bashir Assad was responsible for a deadly chemical weapons attack on Syrian civilians.
In an interview with Cenk Uygur on Current TV, Wilkerson suggested that Israel was in fact responsible for the attack, part of what he suggested may have been a false-flag operation to force American intervention in Syria.
This is not his first controversial statement regarding Israel. In 2007, Wilkerson appeared in a Dutch documentary produced by VPRO investigating the influence of "the Israel lobby", suggesting that American foreign policy was dominated by American Jews.
"The connections between America and Israel are so great and so strong that geostrategy, political strategy, grand strategy is of no consequence here," he said. "America simply cannot say, 'Israel you're on your own'. It just wouldn't work. And one of the reasons it wouldn't work is because we have a very powerful Jewish lobby in America."
Wilkerson went on to cite an example of the powerful grip of the "Jewish lobby", noting he had once "received an e-mail from Dershowitz" over comments he had made regarding Israel. Wilkerson condemned Dershowitz as a "Harvard professor who protects the Jewish lobby in America like an attack dog."
In 2015, Wilkerson gave an interview to MintPress News, where he blasted Israel as "the most predatory capitalist state in the eastern Mediterranean, and that's saying something because we [the US], China, and Russia have exemplified predatory capitalism in the last 20 years, but Israel outstrips us all."
Wilkerson went on to accuse Israel of betraying the US to Russia and China.
The Sanders campaign has refused to comment.
7. IS THE UK LABOUR PARTY COVERING UP ANTI-SEMITISM?
by Ari Soffer
The UK's Labour Party is being accused of an organized cover-up of evidence of left-wing anti-Semitism at Britain's prestigious Oxford University, after an internal report into allegations has been quietly shelved.
Labour initially launched an investigation after the head of the head of Oxford University Labour Club (OULC) resigned, blaming rampant anti-Semitism within the student Left. Alex Chalmers, who is not Jewish himself, accused a large proportion of left-wing students of having "some kind of problem with Jews."
Following Chalmers' resignation, which received national press coverage and prompted several government officials to condemn the phenomenon of anti-Semitism at Oxford, numerous Jewish students spoke out about their own harrowing experiences at the hands of left-wing anti-Semites.
The findings of that investigation - conducted by Labour Students, the party's student wing - were handed to the Labour Party last week.
According to an email seen by Britain's Daily Telegraph, Labour Students national chair Michael Rubin told OULC members that the report would be released as early as February 23.
"The severity of the allegations requires a comprehensive, but swift review, so we are therefore aiming to publish the findings of our investigation on Tuesday 23rd February," the email read.
But in a surprising move, the report has never been published. Instead, the Labour Party has recommissioned yet another investigation, headed by a more senior party figure - causing many to question whether the party leadership is trying to protect several rising stars who are implicated as the organizers of anti-Semitic activity at Oxford.
In particular, the investigation is believed to have implicated two senior Labour Party activists close to party leader Jeremy Corbyn as key instigators of anti-Jewish "harassment and intimidation" at Oxford.
According to the Telegraph, the pair are Young Labour national committee member Max Shanly, 25, and 22-year-old James Elliott, who is a member of the youth section of Labour's national policy forum.
Elliott, a third-year history student at Oxford, played a prominent role in Corbyn's campaign for election as Labour Party leader last year, and even helped Corbyn write the party's "youth manifesto." He is also backed by the pro-Corbyn pressure group Momentum to become Labour's youth representative on the national executive committee.
Shanly is a close friend of the founder of Momentum, which has backed him in his campaign to stand as a national officer in Labour's youth elections next week.
Both strongly deny they are involved in any anti-Semitic activity at Oxford.
A Labour source close to the investigation told the Telegraph they feared a cover-up ahead of the elections.
"The Labour Party has had the report for a few days now. Why would they not be open and publish it if they had nothing to hide?" the source asked.
"Any serious look at this issue is good, but it looks as though [another investigation] is being launched to slow down action until after the elections.
"We know that the Labour Party want people like Elliott elected to the NEC. But shutting down a report which contains serious allegations against him indicates that this is an institutional cover-up which is more serious."
The controversy will do little to assuage British Jews' fears that the Labour Party is veering sharply to the Left - and towards virulently anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiments - under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, who has gone on record calling Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists his "friends", and has associated in the past with known holocaust deniers and anti-Semitic preachers.
8. 'WE CAN'T GET USED TO TERROR - THIS IS ISRAEL 2016!'
by Yoni Kempinski and Ari Soffer
[youtube:2012941]
Nationalist activists have set up a protest vigil outside the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem, calling on the government to act to end the wave of deadly Arab terrorism which has swept Israel since last year.
The vigil, organized by the Women in Green grassroots activists group, will go on for 33 hours - one hour for each Israeli murdered by terrorists since Rosh Hashana (last September).
Some 300 Israelis have been wounded in Palestinian attacks during that period as well - many of them suffering permanent, life-changing injuries.
Women in Green co-director Nadia Matar told Arutz Sheva that the primary purpose of the vigil was to shake the Israeli public awake and prevent people from simply "getting used to" daily anti-Semitic attacks in the Jewish homeland.
"This cannot go on, we cannot get used to it!" Matar said. "We're not in (pre-war) Poland - we are in Israel, in sovereign Israel, in 2016!"
Matar, whose group has fronted a campaign for Israel to formally annex Judea and Samaria, insisted that tactical security measures, however effective, would not provide a decisive solution to the problem of Arab terror. Only a political program to put to rest Israel's claim and sovereignty over all of the land of Israel - including Judea and Samaria - would grant long-term stability and security to Israeli citizens, she said.
The protesters are there to "remind ourselves and him [Prime Minister Netanyahu] that as long as the question as to whom this land belongs the terror will continue," Matar added.
"The solution is not to bring another 10 soldiers here and another 10 policemen there... the solution is to apply Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria and to implement Israeli sovereignty wherever we already have sovereignty."
Matar lamented that "we are not behaving like a sovereign people," and thus communicate weakness to those who aspire to overthrow the Jewish state.
------------------------------------------------
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Friday, February 26, 2016
A7News: Wanted Palestinian terrorist killed in Bulgaria
Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
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Friday, Feb. 26 '16, Adar 17, 5776
HEADLINES:
1. WANTED PALESTINIAN TERRORIST KILLED IN BULGARIA
2. TERRORIST ATTACK: SECURITY GUARD STABBED IN MA'ALE ADUMIM
3. 14 RUNNERS HOSPITALIZED IN TEL AVIV MARATHON
4. FIVE CHINESE JEWS COME HOME AFTER THOUSANDS OF YEARS
5. RUBIO SLAMS TRUMP FOR BEING 'ANTI-ISRAEL'
6. FRIENDLY-FIRE VICTIM: 'AN ISRAELI HERO'
7. SENIOR STRATEGIST URGES US TO MAKE RUSSIA 'PAY'
8. WATCH: ARAB CLOTHING AND JEWISH TZITZIT IN DUBAI
1. WANTED PALESTINIAN TERRORIST KILLED IN BULGARIA
by Uzi Baruch
Wanted Arab terrorist Naif Hassan Omar Zaid was found dead at the Palestinian Authority (PA) embassy in Bulgaria, local media reported Friday morning.
His family confirmed to Palestine News Network that he was "assassinated" at the embassy in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.
Zaid, 51, was convicted of murdering yeshiva student Eliyahu Amadi in Jerusalem's Old City back in 1986, when he was 22 years old.
He was sentenced to life in prison, but was able to escape jail while being transferred to hospital during a hunger strike, and has been living in Bulgaria for the past 22 years. Israel demanded Bulgarian authorities extradite him in December.
Zaid is a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) Marxist terrorist organization.
On Friday morning the PFLP claimed that the Mossad had assassinated Zaid.
Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas published an official statement of condemnation, calling to establish an international investigative committee to clarify the circumstances of Zaid's death.
2. TERRORIST ATTACK: SECURITY GUARD STABBED IN MA'ALE ADUMIM
by Ben Ariel
[youtube:2012907]
A 48-year-old man was stabbed and seriously wounded overnight Thursday in a terrorist attack at the entrance to a shopping center in Ma'ale Adumim, located to the east of Jerusalem.
The man, who worked as a security guard at the shopping center, was taken by Magen David Adom paramedics to the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem. The hospital said the victim's life was in danger and that he was suffering from wounds to his upper body, including serious wounds to his head.
The attacker fled the scene and large forces are searching for him. Security forces have decided that Palestinian Arab workers will not be allowed into Ma'ale Adumim until Sunday.
The identity of the terrorist is known, but details on the investigation are under a media gag order.
A statement from the hospital on Friday morning updated that the victim remains in very serious condition suffering life-threatening wounds, and that he is still in surgery.
On Friday morning police found an ax apparently used by the Arab terrorist in the attack. A police investigation also revealed the security guard was unarmed, according to Walla, raising questions regarding the security procedures.
Police are checking how the terrorist, who had a permit to work in Ma'ale Adumim, was at the mall late at night an hour after it closed.
It is the latest serious Arab terror attack against Israelis in recent days.
On Wednesday, 30-year-old Eliyav Gelman was killed by errant gunfire during a stabbing attack attempt by an Arab terrorist in the Gush Etzion region of Judea.
Gelman, who was critically wounded, was taken to hospital, where he victim later succumbed to his wounds and died.
3. 14 RUNNERS HOSPITALIZED IN TEL AVIV MARATHON
by Arutz Sheva Staff
The winner of the 2016 Tel Aviv marathon has already been determined, but in what is becoming an annual tradition, a number of participants have come down feeling ill, with no fewer than 14 requiring hospitalization.
Magen David Adom (MDA) forces together with medical teams from Ichilov Hospital gave medical treatment to the 14 runners who suffered heat stroke, fatigue and chest pains, before evacuating them to Ichilov Hospital, Wolfson Medical Center and Sheba Hospital.
Throughout the race MDA teams also provided treatment to a number of runners at medical tents set up over the length of the course, after they felt ill, got dehydrated, fainted and suffered light injuries. After receiving treatment at the tents they were released without requiring further treatment.
Around 40,000 runners took part in the marathon, which was won for the second time in a row by William Kiprono Yegon of Kenya. Yegon finished with a time of 2:10:51 on the full 42.2 kilometer (over 26 mile) course.
The full-length marathon with 2,500 runners kicked off at 7 a.m. in the north of the coastal city, and shortly afterwards runners taking part in the shorter half marathon, ten-kilometer course and five-kilometer course began their run, as did those taking part in the handbike race.
Runners from around 60 countries took part in the race, with the oldest participant being aged 92-years-old. Over 350,000 portions of water were prepared for the participants, along with around 40,000 apples and bananas and 100,000 dates. Around 4,000 police officers and security personnel were stationed throughout the length of the course.
The Tel Aviv marathon has caused numerous casualties over the years. In 2011 David Shlomovitz (40) of Jerusalem died while running a half marathon. Then in 2013 Michael Michaelovich (29) of Moshav Menuha in the south died, likewise while running the half marathon, and dozens of others needed medical treatment.
After the second death the Health Ministry organized a committee that recommended canceling such events if the temperature rose above 28° C (82.4° F).
But in 2014 dozens of runners again required medical treatment, and in 2015 the marathon was stopped midway because of a heat wave after MDA teams treated 90 runners, with three of them in serious condition from heat stroke.
4. FIVE CHINESE JEWS COME HOME AFTER THOUSANDS OF YEARS
by Arutz Sheva Staff
In the first Aliyah from the ancient Chinese Jewish community of Kaifeng in the last seven years, five women from the community are scheduled to arrive in Israel next Monday, returning to the Jewish homeland after thousands of years of exile.
The women, Gao Yichen ("Weiwei"), Yue Ting, Li Jing, Li Yuan, and Li Chengjin ("Lulu"), have been intensively studying Hebrew and Judaism for the last several years in Kaifeng to reconnect to their Jewish roots, and are now being brought back home by the Jerusalem-based nonprofit Shavei Israel.
They will be greeted at the airport by Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund and brought directly to the Western Wall (Kotel) to thank God for their miraculous return to Israel. The five can be seen introducing themselves and saying "we love you Israel" in Hebrew in the video below.
[youtube:2012915]
"Kaifeng's Jewish descendants are a living link between China and the Jewish people," said Freund, who after several years of struggling with Israeli bureaucracy managed to obtain the required permission to bring the five Chinese Jews on Aliyah.
"After centuries of assimilation, a growing number of the Kaifeng Jews in recent years have begun seeking to return to their roots and embrace their Jewish identity. These five young women are determined to rejoin the Jewish people and become proud citizens of the Jewish state, and we are delighted to help them realize their dreams."
Li Jing, who in a previous brief visit to Israel put a note of prayer in the Kotel asking to return and live in Israel, said, "being part of the Jewish people is an honor, because of the heritage and wisdom. Now, my prayer has been answered."
After arriving in Israel, the five women plan to continue their Jewish studies at Jerusalem's Midreshet Nishmat – The Jeanie Schottenstein Center For Advanced Torah Study For Women, with the support of Shavei Israel, which will also cover their living expenses and support them as they prepare to undergo formal conversion by Israel's Chief Rabbinate. After completing the conversion process, they will receive Israeli citizenship.
The last time Shavei Israel managed to bring Chinese Jews back from Kaifeng on Ailyah came in October 2009, when seven young men returned home.
The Kaifeng Jewish community is thought to have been founded by Iraqi or Persian Jewish merchants who went east in the 8th or 9th century CE.
Back in 1163 CE the community built a large and beautiful synagogue that was renovated over the years. The community may have numbered as many as 5,000 people during its peak during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 CE), but intermarriage and assimilation, together with the death of the community's last rabbi, led to the end of the community in the early 19th century CE.
Now, the community claims 500 to 1,000 members who are increasingly returning to their Jewish roots despite the pressure to assimilate.
5. RUBIO SLAMS TRUMP FOR BEING 'ANTI-ISRAEL'
by Ari Yashar
In a CNN hosted Republican presidential debate on Thursday night in Houston, Texas, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) accused his opponent Donald Trump of showing an "anti-Israel" stance.
Rubio, along with Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), referenced Trump's comments from a week ago on Wednesday, when he promised to be "neutral" and "unpredictable" in pressing peace talks on Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Defending himself, Trump claimed that it would be counterproductive to pledge his support for one side as a negotiator, even while calling himself "very pro-Israel" and noting he has given large donations to Israel in the past. At the same time, he said achieving "peace" would be one of his greatest "achievements."
Rubio argued that a deal given the current "makeup of the Palestinians is not possible," and vowed to be "on Israel's side every single day." He went on to say a "deal with terrorism" is "not a real estate deal."
[youtube:2012914]
Trump's comments about being "neutral" have led to criticism not only from Rubio and Cruz, but also from Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. On Sunday, she said he "missed the mark," but she likewise slammed Cruz for not being "neutral" enough, claiming she would defend Israel - at the same time as she vowed to force through a two-state solution dividing the Jewish state.
In the debate on Thursday night, Rubio gave a strong showing, criticizing Trump for not having detailed policy plans and noting that the real estate mogul has already gone bankrupt four times in the past.
Rubio also pointed out that Trump used imported Polish workers at a Florida resort, which flies in the face of his press for American labor, and said without a large family inheritance Trump would now be "selling watches in Manhattan."
The debate comes before Super Tuesday next week, when 11 states hold caucuses on the same day and 600 delegates are up for grabs. So far Trump has won three states, while Cruz has taken Iowa.
Trump is leading the Republican race with 81 delegates so far, as compared to Cruz and Rubio who each have 17. A total of 1,237 delegates are needed for the nomination.
6. FRIENDLY-FIRE VICTIM: 'AN ISRAELI HERO'
by Ari Yashar
The family of Eliyav Gelman, the IDF officer in reserves who was tragically killed by friendly fire during an Arab terror attack at Gush Etzion Junction in Judea on Wednesday, spoke about his heroism on Friday.
Gelman's widow Rinat is sitting shiva (the traditional seven-day period of intense mourning) at their home in Karmei Tzur, with many visitors coming to comfort her.
"Rinat isn't speaking out because it isn't (about) Eliyav, it isn't (about) her, as they are private individuals and it isn't appropriate for them to be heroes. The only thing that Rinat wants now is her husband," members of the family were quoted as saying on Friday morning by Yedioth Aharonoth.
In another month-and-a-half Rinat is due to give birth to their third child, joining Yair (5) and Yoav (2). The new baby will never know its father.
Eliyav's brother Eyal, who is married to the sister of Sayeret Givati Reconnaissance Unit Commander Banya Sarel who fell in 2014 Operation Protective Edge, said on Thursday, "both Eliyav and Banya express Israeli heroism."
Quiet confidence saving lives
Sarah, Gelman's mother and the bookkeeper at Ulpana Kiryat Arba high school, told journalist Yifat Erlich that "a military official from the unit Eliyav served in, a unit whose task is to coordinate between the infantry and the air force, came to comfort us."
"He told us something that Eliyav didn't speak about. Thanks to the firmness of Eliyav, the life of a company commander who was wounded in Protective Edge was saved," she said.
Sarah explained that in the incident, the upper echelons of the army were hesitating as to whether it was possible to land a rescue helicopter to save the officer due to the difficult conditions, but "Eliyav insisted, and with his quiet he induced confidence among the higher levels, and the helicopter was sent."
"Afterwards it became clear that that's what saved the officer's life. We were moved to hear it, and we hope to meet the officer."
"In the attack as well Eliyav shot the terrorist and in doing so saved the lives of others," she noted, pointing out how the Arab terrorist was moderately wounded and subdued while trying to conduct his stabbing attack.
A Torah in his uniform
The bereaved mother spoke about the ordeal after the attack, as medical staff at Shaare Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem tried to save Eliyav's life.
"When we reached the hospital two days ago we thought there was still hope," she said. "They told us that the kidneys aren't functioning. So I said immediately: kidneys aren't a problem, everyone in the family will happily agree to donate. We were sure that by the coming birth (of his third child) he would recover already."
"We separated from him. His face was peaceful and calm, that calmness really characterized him."
In the reserve IDF uniform Gelman was wearing at the time of the attack were found a copy of the Torah and the Gemara, which he carried around on a fixed basis to study.
"Eliyav made sure to get up diligently every morning to pray with the sunrise. Even during his military service. But he was also a man of action with golden hands," said his mother, noting the beautiful wooden table and benches on the porch that he built himself, along with a huge chair that he refurbished by sewing and upholstering it.
"He asked me to thread the needle for the machine and just sewed. He also made sure to bake challot (challah bread - ed.) every Shabbat."
"Every bullet has an address"
The family has sent a message supporting the IDF soldiers who shot to neutralize the terrorist but accidentally hit Eliyav.
"We spoke with the brigade commander and we told him that we ask him to strengthen the hands of the soldiers and to raise their spirits," said Ra'anan, Eliyav's eldest brother who is the community security coordinator at Karmei Tzur.
"We have no bad thoughts about them in our hearts, God forbid. They did their duty. We told the brigade commander that if there's a need we will come immediately in order to embrace them. Like every military incident, it is necessary to investigate the incident in order to learn from it, but all of the soldiers - and these soldiers in particular - need to move on, to return to the post and continue to defend the lives of the civilians."
Ra'anan emphasized that "we don't want them God forbid to hesitate to shoot a terrorist who is liable to pounce there at the junction. Friendly fire is a part of our war here in the country."
"As far as we're concerned Eliyav fell in the war of Gush Etzion. He joins warriors who fell here in the War of Independence."
Noting the tragic irony of the situation, he added, "Eliyav shot the terrorist twice, one bullet hit him in the leg and the other in the stomach. Two additional bullets from the soldiers hit the terrorist, but despite that he was only wounded moderately. Only one bullet hit Eliyav and he died."
"As people who believe (in God), we know that every bullet has an address," he said.
Yesterday small cakes decorated with candies and a small Israeli flag were sent to all the soldiers who serve in the area, showing the courage and magnanimity of the Gelman family and residents of Karmei Tzur in their gesture supporting the soldiers who are dealing with the difficult incident.
7. SENIOR STRATEGIST URGES US TO MAKE RUSSIA 'PAY'
by Yoni Kempinski
Arutz Sheva recently got the chance to speak with Michael Doran, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute who served as a Middle East expert on the National Security Council under former US President George W. Bush.
[youtube:2012920]
Doran, who had spoken about "US Policy Towards the Eastern Mediterranean" at a Begin Sadat Center conference at Bar Ilan University focused on Strategic Challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean, elaborated on the threats in the Middle East.
He explained that a key emerging threat is how Russia is aligning with Iran, especially in Syria where both states are militarily involved to prop up the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
Doran argued that the US ideally should be opposing the Assad regime, but at the very least it should be "imposing costs" on the Iranians and the Russians for their behavior in Syria and elsewhere in the region.
These "costs" do not even need to involve a military confrontation, he explained, noting that America can begin with sanctions and stepping up its arming of moderate Syrian Opposition forces.
While US President Barack Obama's administration is "saying you can ignore Iran and fight ISIS (Islamic State)," Doran argued that "you have to treat the Iranian question and the ISIS question simultaneously."
"I don't actually believe they (Iran and ISIS) are enemies, I believe there are areas in which they're in conflict, but Russia and Iran on the ground are not fighting ISIS in Syria," he said.
Doran emphasized that Russia's airstrike campaigns are "not directed against ISIS."
Explaining the dangers of Russia's involvement, he noted that while Obama has claimed that the "Russians are going to come our way" and work with the US in stabilizing Syria, there are no signs of that being the case.
8. WATCH: ARAB CLOTHING AND JEWISH TZITZIT IN DUBAI
by Arutz Sheva Staff
[youtube:2012913]
Eli Beer, president of United Hatzalah, was seen in Dubai recently wearing an Arabic keffiyeh and a Jewish tzitzit.
Why? As Beer explained, he was challenged to do so by Leo Noe, a philanthropist from London. Noe said that if Beer would walk around the streets of Dubai dressed in Arabic and Jewish clothing, he will donate an ambucycle to help United Hatzalah's volunteer paramedics save lives.
------------------------------------------------
Subscribe to this Daily Israel Report:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Subscribe/
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Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
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Friday, Feb. 26 '16, Adar 17, 5776
HEADLINES:
1. WANTED PALESTINIAN TERRORIST KILLED IN BULGARIA
2. TERRORIST ATTACK: SECURITY GUARD STABBED IN MA'ALE ADUMIM
3. 14 RUNNERS HOSPITALIZED IN TEL AVIV MARATHON
4. FIVE CHINESE JEWS COME HOME AFTER THOUSANDS OF YEARS
5. RUBIO SLAMS TRUMP FOR BEING 'ANTI-ISRAEL'
6. FRIENDLY-FIRE VICTIM: 'AN ISRAELI HERO'
7. SENIOR STRATEGIST URGES US TO MAKE RUSSIA 'PAY'
8. WATCH: ARAB CLOTHING AND JEWISH TZITZIT IN DUBAI
1. WANTED PALESTINIAN TERRORIST KILLED IN BULGARIA
by Uzi Baruch
Wanted Arab terrorist Naif Hassan Omar Zaid was found dead at the Palestinian Authority (PA) embassy in Bulgaria, local media reported Friday morning.
His family confirmed to Palestine News Network that he was "assassinated" at the embassy in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.
Zaid, 51, was convicted of murdering yeshiva student Eliyahu Amadi in Jerusalem's Old City back in 1986, when he was 22 years old.
He was sentenced to life in prison, but was able to escape jail while being transferred to hospital during a hunger strike, and has been living in Bulgaria for the past 22 years. Israel demanded Bulgarian authorities extradite him in December.
Zaid is a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) Marxist terrorist organization.
On Friday morning the PFLP claimed that the Mossad had assassinated Zaid.
Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas published an official statement of condemnation, calling to establish an international investigative committee to clarify the circumstances of Zaid's death.
2. TERRORIST ATTACK: SECURITY GUARD STABBED IN MA'ALE ADUMIM
by Ben Ariel
[youtube:2012907]
A 48-year-old man was stabbed and seriously wounded overnight Thursday in a terrorist attack at the entrance to a shopping center in Ma'ale Adumim, located to the east of Jerusalem.
The man, who worked as a security guard at the shopping center, was taken by Magen David Adom paramedics to the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem. The hospital said the victim's life was in danger and that he was suffering from wounds to his upper body, including serious wounds to his head.
The attacker fled the scene and large forces are searching for him. Security forces have decided that Palestinian Arab workers will not be allowed into Ma'ale Adumim until Sunday.
The identity of the terrorist is known, but details on the investigation are under a media gag order.
A statement from the hospital on Friday morning updated that the victim remains in very serious condition suffering life-threatening wounds, and that he is still in surgery.
On Friday morning police found an ax apparently used by the Arab terrorist in the attack. A police investigation also revealed the security guard was unarmed, according to Walla, raising questions regarding the security procedures.
Police are checking how the terrorist, who had a permit to work in Ma'ale Adumim, was at the mall late at night an hour after it closed.
It is the latest serious Arab terror attack against Israelis in recent days.
On Wednesday, 30-year-old Eliyav Gelman was killed by errant gunfire during a stabbing attack attempt by an Arab terrorist in the Gush Etzion region of Judea.
Gelman, who was critically wounded, was taken to hospital, where he victim later succumbed to his wounds and died.
3. 14 RUNNERS HOSPITALIZED IN TEL AVIV MARATHON
by Arutz Sheva Staff
The winner of the 2016 Tel Aviv marathon has already been determined, but in what is becoming an annual tradition, a number of participants have come down feeling ill, with no fewer than 14 requiring hospitalization.
Magen David Adom (MDA) forces together with medical teams from Ichilov Hospital gave medical treatment to the 14 runners who suffered heat stroke, fatigue and chest pains, before evacuating them to Ichilov Hospital, Wolfson Medical Center and Sheba Hospital.
Throughout the race MDA teams also provided treatment to a number of runners at medical tents set up over the length of the course, after they felt ill, got dehydrated, fainted and suffered light injuries. After receiving treatment at the tents they were released without requiring further treatment.
Around 40,000 runners took part in the marathon, which was won for the second time in a row by William Kiprono Yegon of Kenya. Yegon finished with a time of 2:10:51 on the full 42.2 kilometer (over 26 mile) course.
The full-length marathon with 2,500 runners kicked off at 7 a.m. in the north of the coastal city, and shortly afterwards runners taking part in the shorter half marathon, ten-kilometer course and five-kilometer course began their run, as did those taking part in the handbike race.
Runners from around 60 countries took part in the race, with the oldest participant being aged 92-years-old. Over 350,000 portions of water were prepared for the participants, along with around 40,000 apples and bananas and 100,000 dates. Around 4,000 police officers and security personnel were stationed throughout the length of the course.
The Tel Aviv marathon has caused numerous casualties over the years. In 2011 David Shlomovitz (40) of Jerusalem died while running a half marathon. Then in 2013 Michael Michaelovich (29) of Moshav Menuha in the south died, likewise while running the half marathon, and dozens of others needed medical treatment.
After the second death the Health Ministry organized a committee that recommended canceling such events if the temperature rose above 28° C (82.4° F).
But in 2014 dozens of runners again required medical treatment, and in 2015 the marathon was stopped midway because of a heat wave after MDA teams treated 90 runners, with three of them in serious condition from heat stroke.
4. FIVE CHINESE JEWS COME HOME AFTER THOUSANDS OF YEARS
by Arutz Sheva Staff
In the first Aliyah from the ancient Chinese Jewish community of Kaifeng in the last seven years, five women from the community are scheduled to arrive in Israel next Monday, returning to the Jewish homeland after thousands of years of exile.
The women, Gao Yichen ("Weiwei"), Yue Ting, Li Jing, Li Yuan, and Li Chengjin ("Lulu"), have been intensively studying Hebrew and Judaism for the last several years in Kaifeng to reconnect to their Jewish roots, and are now being brought back home by the Jerusalem-based nonprofit Shavei Israel.
They will be greeted at the airport by Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund and brought directly to the Western Wall (Kotel) to thank God for their miraculous return to Israel. The five can be seen introducing themselves and saying "we love you Israel" in Hebrew in the video below.
[youtube:2012915]
"Kaifeng's Jewish descendants are a living link between China and the Jewish people," said Freund, who after several years of struggling with Israeli bureaucracy managed to obtain the required permission to bring the five Chinese Jews on Aliyah.
"After centuries of assimilation, a growing number of the Kaifeng Jews in recent years have begun seeking to return to their roots and embrace their Jewish identity. These five young women are determined to rejoin the Jewish people and become proud citizens of the Jewish state, and we are delighted to help them realize their dreams."
Li Jing, who in a previous brief visit to Israel put a note of prayer in the Kotel asking to return and live in Israel, said, "being part of the Jewish people is an honor, because of the heritage and wisdom. Now, my prayer has been answered."
After arriving in Israel, the five women plan to continue their Jewish studies at Jerusalem's Midreshet Nishmat – The Jeanie Schottenstein Center For Advanced Torah Study For Women, with the support of Shavei Israel, which will also cover their living expenses and support them as they prepare to undergo formal conversion by Israel's Chief Rabbinate. After completing the conversion process, they will receive Israeli citizenship.
The last time Shavei Israel managed to bring Chinese Jews back from Kaifeng on Ailyah came in October 2009, when seven young men returned home.
The Kaifeng Jewish community is thought to have been founded by Iraqi or Persian Jewish merchants who went east in the 8th or 9th century CE.
Back in 1163 CE the community built a large and beautiful synagogue that was renovated over the years. The community may have numbered as many as 5,000 people during its peak during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 CE), but intermarriage and assimilation, together with the death of the community's last rabbi, led to the end of the community in the early 19th century CE.
Now, the community claims 500 to 1,000 members who are increasingly returning to their Jewish roots despite the pressure to assimilate.
5. RUBIO SLAMS TRUMP FOR BEING 'ANTI-ISRAEL'
by Ari Yashar
In a CNN hosted Republican presidential debate on Thursday night in Houston, Texas, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) accused his opponent Donald Trump of showing an "anti-Israel" stance.
Rubio, along with Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), referenced Trump's comments from a week ago on Wednesday, when he promised to be "neutral" and "unpredictable" in pressing peace talks on Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Defending himself, Trump claimed that it would be counterproductive to pledge his support for one side as a negotiator, even while calling himself "very pro-Israel" and noting he has given large donations to Israel in the past. At the same time, he said achieving "peace" would be one of his greatest "achievements."
Rubio argued that a deal given the current "makeup of the Palestinians is not possible," and vowed to be "on Israel's side every single day." He went on to say a "deal with terrorism" is "not a real estate deal."
[youtube:2012914]
Trump's comments about being "neutral" have led to criticism not only from Rubio and Cruz, but also from Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. On Sunday, she said he "missed the mark," but she likewise slammed Cruz for not being "neutral" enough, claiming she would defend Israel - at the same time as she vowed to force through a two-state solution dividing the Jewish state.
In the debate on Thursday night, Rubio gave a strong showing, criticizing Trump for not having detailed policy plans and noting that the real estate mogul has already gone bankrupt four times in the past.
Rubio also pointed out that Trump used imported Polish workers at a Florida resort, which flies in the face of his press for American labor, and said without a large family inheritance Trump would now be "selling watches in Manhattan."
The debate comes before Super Tuesday next week, when 11 states hold caucuses on the same day and 600 delegates are up for grabs. So far Trump has won three states, while Cruz has taken Iowa.
Trump is leading the Republican race with 81 delegates so far, as compared to Cruz and Rubio who each have 17. A total of 1,237 delegates are needed for the nomination.
6. FRIENDLY-FIRE VICTIM: 'AN ISRAELI HERO'
by Ari Yashar
The family of Eliyav Gelman, the IDF officer in reserves who was tragically killed by friendly fire during an Arab terror attack at Gush Etzion Junction in Judea on Wednesday, spoke about his heroism on Friday.
Gelman's widow Rinat is sitting shiva (the traditional seven-day period of intense mourning) at their home in Karmei Tzur, with many visitors coming to comfort her.
"Rinat isn't speaking out because it isn't (about) Eliyav, it isn't (about) her, as they are private individuals and it isn't appropriate for them to be heroes. The only thing that Rinat wants now is her husband," members of the family were quoted as saying on Friday morning by Yedioth Aharonoth.
In another month-and-a-half Rinat is due to give birth to their third child, joining Yair (5) and Yoav (2). The new baby will never know its father.
Eliyav's brother Eyal, who is married to the sister of Sayeret Givati Reconnaissance Unit Commander Banya Sarel who fell in 2014 Operation Protective Edge, said on Thursday, "both Eliyav and Banya express Israeli heroism."
Quiet confidence saving lives
Sarah, Gelman's mother and the bookkeeper at Ulpana Kiryat Arba high school, told journalist Yifat Erlich that "a military official from the unit Eliyav served in, a unit whose task is to coordinate between the infantry and the air force, came to comfort us."
"He told us something that Eliyav didn't speak about. Thanks to the firmness of Eliyav, the life of a company commander who was wounded in Protective Edge was saved," she said.
Sarah explained that in the incident, the upper echelons of the army were hesitating as to whether it was possible to land a rescue helicopter to save the officer due to the difficult conditions, but "Eliyav insisted, and with his quiet he induced confidence among the higher levels, and the helicopter was sent."
"Afterwards it became clear that that's what saved the officer's life. We were moved to hear it, and we hope to meet the officer."
"In the attack as well Eliyav shot the terrorist and in doing so saved the lives of others," she noted, pointing out how the Arab terrorist was moderately wounded and subdued while trying to conduct his stabbing attack.
A Torah in his uniform
The bereaved mother spoke about the ordeal after the attack, as medical staff at Shaare Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem tried to save Eliyav's life.
"When we reached the hospital two days ago we thought there was still hope," she said. "They told us that the kidneys aren't functioning. So I said immediately: kidneys aren't a problem, everyone in the family will happily agree to donate. We were sure that by the coming birth (of his third child) he would recover already."
"We separated from him. His face was peaceful and calm, that calmness really characterized him."
In the reserve IDF uniform Gelman was wearing at the time of the attack were found a copy of the Torah and the Gemara, which he carried around on a fixed basis to study.
"Eliyav made sure to get up diligently every morning to pray with the sunrise. Even during his military service. But he was also a man of action with golden hands," said his mother, noting the beautiful wooden table and benches on the porch that he built himself, along with a huge chair that he refurbished by sewing and upholstering it.
"He asked me to thread the needle for the machine and just sewed. He also made sure to bake challot (challah bread - ed.) every Shabbat."
"Every bullet has an address"
The family has sent a message supporting the IDF soldiers who shot to neutralize the terrorist but accidentally hit Eliyav.
"We spoke with the brigade commander and we told him that we ask him to strengthen the hands of the soldiers and to raise their spirits," said Ra'anan, Eliyav's eldest brother who is the community security coordinator at Karmei Tzur.
"We have no bad thoughts about them in our hearts, God forbid. They did their duty. We told the brigade commander that if there's a need we will come immediately in order to embrace them. Like every military incident, it is necessary to investigate the incident in order to learn from it, but all of the soldiers - and these soldiers in particular - need to move on, to return to the post and continue to defend the lives of the civilians."
Ra'anan emphasized that "we don't want them God forbid to hesitate to shoot a terrorist who is liable to pounce there at the junction. Friendly fire is a part of our war here in the country."
"As far as we're concerned Eliyav fell in the war of Gush Etzion. He joins warriors who fell here in the War of Independence."
Noting the tragic irony of the situation, he added, "Eliyav shot the terrorist twice, one bullet hit him in the leg and the other in the stomach. Two additional bullets from the soldiers hit the terrorist, but despite that he was only wounded moderately. Only one bullet hit Eliyav and he died."
"As people who believe (in God), we know that every bullet has an address," he said.
Yesterday small cakes decorated with candies and a small Israeli flag were sent to all the soldiers who serve in the area, showing the courage and magnanimity of the Gelman family and residents of Karmei Tzur in their gesture supporting the soldiers who are dealing with the difficult incident.
7. SENIOR STRATEGIST URGES US TO MAKE RUSSIA 'PAY'
by Yoni Kempinski
Arutz Sheva recently got the chance to speak with Michael Doran, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute who served as a Middle East expert on the National Security Council under former US President George W. Bush.
[youtube:2012920]
Doran, who had spoken about "US Policy Towards the Eastern Mediterranean" at a Begin Sadat Center conference at Bar Ilan University focused on Strategic Challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean, elaborated on the threats in the Middle East.
He explained that a key emerging threat is how Russia is aligning with Iran, especially in Syria where both states are militarily involved to prop up the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
Doran argued that the US ideally should be opposing the Assad regime, but at the very least it should be "imposing costs" on the Iranians and the Russians for their behavior in Syria and elsewhere in the region.
These "costs" do not even need to involve a military confrontation, he explained, noting that America can begin with sanctions and stepping up its arming of moderate Syrian Opposition forces.
While US President Barack Obama's administration is "saying you can ignore Iran and fight ISIS (Islamic State)," Doran argued that "you have to treat the Iranian question and the ISIS question simultaneously."
"I don't actually believe they (Iran and ISIS) are enemies, I believe there are areas in which they're in conflict, but Russia and Iran on the ground are not fighting ISIS in Syria," he said.
Doran emphasized that Russia's airstrike campaigns are "not directed against ISIS."
Explaining the dangers of Russia's involvement, he noted that while Obama has claimed that the "Russians are going to come our way" and work with the US in stabilizing Syria, there are no signs of that being the case.
8. WATCH: ARAB CLOTHING AND JEWISH TZITZIT IN DUBAI
by Arutz Sheva Staff
[youtube:2012913]
Eli Beer, president of United Hatzalah, was seen in Dubai recently wearing an Arabic keffiyeh and a Jewish tzitzit.
Why? As Beer explained, he was challenged to do so by Leo Noe, a philanthropist from London. Noe said that if Beer would walk around the streets of Dubai dressed in Arabic and Jewish clothing, he will donate an ambucycle to help United Hatzalah's volunteer paramedics save lives.
------------------------------------------------
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