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Thursday, Feb. 25 '16, Adar 16, 5776
HEADLINES:
1. FIRST ISIS ATTACK IN ISRAEL?
2. OBAMA IGNORES LAW, ACCEPTS BDS AGAINST 'SETTLEMENTS'
3. YEHUDA GLICK: POLICE AIDED OUR ENEMIES WITH 'JUDICIAL TERRORISM'
4. RUBIO BASHES PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY, TRUMP AHEAD OF BIG DEBATE
5. YA'ALON WARNS: IRAN OPERATING 'SLEEPER CELLS' IN EUROPE
6. HAREDIM FUME AS REFORM MOVEMENT TAKES VICTORY LAP
7. 'THE BABY WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO HUG YOU'
8. WATCH: THOUSANDS AT FUNERAL FOR GUSH ETZION TERROR VICTIM
1. FIRST ISIS ATTACK IN ISRAEL?
by Arutz Sheva Staff
The February 7th stabbing of an Israeli soldier by a Sudanese infiltrator was inspired by the ISIS terror group, Israel's Shin Bet security force revealed on Thursday.
The attack, which took place near Ashkelon's central bus station, would likely be the first ISIS terror attack on Israeli soil.
A 20-year-old soldier was wounded in the attack. His assailant, 32-year-old Sudanese national Kemal Hassan, was shot and killed by security forces shortly after the attack.
The Shin Bet reported that Hassan, a devout Muslim, had ISIS materials on his cellular phone.
Hassan had a history of violence, and in 2009 was sent to the Holot detention center. He managed to escape in 2014.
2. OBAMA IGNORES LAW, ACCEPTS BDS AGAINST 'SETTLEMENTS'
by David Rosenberg
After signing a bill targeting anti-Israel boycotters, President Barack Obama pledged not to enforce one of the law's clauses extending the anti-boycott protections to Israeli businesses operating in "Israeli-controlled territories".
The law, which passed with strong Republican support, bars the US government from any cooperation with groups participating in the BDS movement against Israel and Israeli businesses.
To clarify the law's reach, lawmakers included a clause explicitly extending the protections to Israeli businesses in "Israeli-controlled territories".
But after signing the bill into law, Obama rejected the clause as being "contrary to longstanding bipartisan United States policy, including with regard to the treatment of settlements," the JTA reported.
The President pledged to oppose the efforts of the BDS movement against Israel – but only within the Green Line. Beyond the Green Line, however, Obama claimed he was not bound by the law, which he said might infringe upon his constitutional prerogatives as president.
He argued that "conflating Israel and 'Israeli-controlled territories'" was illegitimate and would "interfere with my constitutional authority to conduct diplomacy".
3. YEHUDA GLICK: POLICE AIDED OUR ENEMIES WITH 'JUDICIAL TERRORISM'
by David Rosenberg
Temple Mount activist Rabbi Yehuda Glick was acquitted on Thursday of assault and battery charges which police had used for the past 18 months to bar him from visiting the Temple Mount, NRG reported.
Glick, who was wounded in an assassination attempt in 2014, had been accused by a Muslim woman, Zoya Badrana, of assaulting her during a tour of the Temple Mount. Badrana accused Glick of throwing her to the ground, resulting in a broken arm.
Israeli police used the accusation as grounds to bar Glick from visiting the Mount.
The charges against Glick were dismissed Thursday morning, however, after Badrana's testimony had been shown to be false. Without the testimony from their key witness, the police were forced to drop the charges against Glick, leading to an immediate acquittal.
With the case settled, Glick looks to resume leading guided tours of the Temple Mount.
Responding the acquittal, Glick described the behavior of the police as "judicial terrorism".
"At a time when a citizen is fighting for his life," Glick said, referring to the attempt on his life in 2014, "he is at the same time forced to fight against a system meant to protect him, but which he finds is actually working hand in hand with our worst enemies, doing something that is sheer judicial terrorism."
4. RUBIO BASHES PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY, TRUMP AHEAD OF BIG DEBATE
by David Rosenberg
On the eve of the last GOP debate ahead of the crucial March 1st "Super Tuesday" vote, when 13 states will hold their primary or caucus, Florida Senator Marco Rubio bashed the Palestinian Authority and hit Trump for his recent promise of "neutrality" vis-à-vis the Arab-Israeli conflict.
During a rally in Houston, Rubio rejected neutrality towards the PA, noting its support for terrorism and systematic incitement against Jews, AP reported.
"The front-runner in this race, Donald Trump, has said he's not going to take sides on Israel versus the Palestinians because he wants to be an honest broker," Rubio said.
America must side with Israel against the PA, Rubio told the audience, "because the Palestinian Authority, which has strong links to terror, they teach little kids, 5-year-olds, that it's a glorious thing to kill Jews."
Rubio wasn't the only Republican contender to assail Trump over his comments on Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Texas Senator Ted Cruz responded to Trump's remarks stating that as president he would "stand unapologetically with the nation of Israel".
"I am not neutral between murderers and the innocent citizens murderers are targeting," Cruz said. "I am not neutral at home or abroad between radical Islamic terrorists and the targets of their terror."
The 13-state vote on Super Tuesday accounts for 661 delegates, or more than half of the number needed to secure the GOP nomination. Texas, with its 155 delegates is the largest Super Tuesday state.
5. YA'ALON WARNS: IRAN OPERATING 'SLEEPER CELLS' IN EUROPE
by Ben Ariel
Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon on Wednesday warned that Iran is building an international terror network that includes "sleeper cells" planning to strike on command in places such as Europe and the United States.
Those "sleeper cells" are stockpiling arms, intelligence and operatives, said Ya'alon. He made the comments during a visit to Cyprus and was quoted by The Associated Press (AP).
Ya'alon said Iran aims to destabilize the Middle East and other parts of the world and is training, funding and arming "emissaries" to spread a revolution.
He said Tehran is the anchor of a "dangerous axis" that includes Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut, Sanaa and other cities in the region.
"The Iranian regime through the Iranian Revolutionary Guard corps is building a complex terror infrastructure including sleeping cells that are stockpiling arms, intelligence and operatives and are ready to act on order including in Europe and America," he was quoted as having said after talks with his Cypriot counterpart.
He did not, however, offer any direct evidence of such sleeper cells existing in the U.S. or Europe, but he referred indirectly to the case of a Hezbollah member who was jailed in Cyprus last year following the seizure of nine tons of a chemical compound that can be converted into an explosive.
A Cypriot court sentenced Lebanese Canadian Hussein Massam Abdallah to six years in prison after prosecutors said he admitted that Hezbollah aimed to mount terrorist attacks against Israeli interests in Cyprus.
In 2013, a Cyprus court sentenced a self-confessed member of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah to four years in prison after he was convicted of involvement in a plot to attack Israeli interests on the island.
Ya'alon said on Wednesday that Cypriot authorities had "defeated attempts by Hezbollah and Iran to establish a terror infrastructure" on the island that aimed to expand "throughout Europe."
Yaalon's trip to Cyprus was the first official visit by an Israeli defense minister to the east Mediterranean island, though the two countries have enjoyed closer relations in recent years.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu visited Cyprus last July and, like Ya'alon, warned at the time that Iran poses a formidable threat to Europe with its terrorist proxy Hezbollah.
Last month, Israel, Cyprus and Greece formed an alliance focused on plans to build a gas pipeline to Europe.
6. HAREDIM FUME AS REFORM MOVEMENT TAKES VICTORY LAP
by David Rosenberg
Following a series of political victories in Israel, the Reform Movement in Israel welcomed a delegation of 330 North American Reform rabbis.
The delegation visited the Western Wall Thursday morning to celebrate the government's recent decision granting the Reform Movement's request for a mixed-gender prayer space along the Wall.
On Wednesday the delegation were received at the Knesset as guests in an official meeting of the Committee for Immigration, Absorption, and Diaspora Affairs. Committee Chairmman Avraham Naguisa (Likud) welcomed the group to the committee meeting.
Gilad Kariv, director of the Reform Movement in Israel, praised the Knesset visit, calling it a "historic moment" and part of the "quiet revolution" to reshape the religious status quo in Israel.
MK Tamar Zandberg (Meretz) saluted the delegates, citing the inclusion of female rabbis as proof that "there is more than one way to be a Jew or Jewess", and hoped that working with the Reform Movement they would succeed in "the struggle for public transportation on Shabbat and [non-Orthodox] conversion".
Haredi leaders, on the other hand, fumed at what the alleged amounted to de facto government recognition of the Reform Movement, a deviation from the decades-old religious status quo.
The offices of the Chief Rabbis held emergency meetings following the Reform delegation's visit, just days after United Torah Judaism leaders threatened to break with the coalition over recognition of the Reform Movement.
As the meeting convened, the Sephardic Chief Rabbi, Yitzhak Yosef rejected the planned changes to the Western Wall plaza, insisting that the Chief Rabbis must be consulted for any major changes to the holy site.
7. 'THE BABY WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO HUG YOU'
by David Rosenberg
[video:2012863]
Air Force Reserve Captain Eliyav Gelman was laid to rest Wednesday night in the Kfar Etzion cemetery.
The 30-year-old Karmei Tzur resident and father of two was killed Wednesday afternoon in a terror attack at the Gush Etzion Junction, a popular hitchhiking spot south of Jerusalem.
The attacker, a mathematics teacher from the Arab village of Dura who approached Gelman and a group of soldiers while brandishing a knife, was shot and wounded by security forces on the scene. One stray bullet, however, struck Gelman, fatally wounding him.
Thousands of mourners joined the funeral procession carrying Gelman to his final resting place. Minister Ze'ev Elkin (Likud), MK Motti Yogev, and top army brass were all in attendance.
[video:2012857]
Gelman, who grew up in Kiryat Arba, leaves behind a pregnant wife and two small sons, Yair and Yoav. Until half a year ago he had served as a career officer in the Air Force, before leaving to look for work in the private sector.
His brother, Eyal, described the family's loss and the struggles they would now face in his absence.
"You never feared death and always took care of your family. What will be now? Who will take Yoav to synagogue? who will be there for Rinat when she gives birth?" In another month and a half the baby will be born, your flesh and blood, but he will never be able to hug you."
His father, David, gave his parting words to his son. "I never imagined that I would be the one to eulogize you," he said.
"You've joined those who sanctified God's name. Many generations sacrificed their lives; we who are now suffering accept this judgment."
Minister Elkin offered his own eulogy of Gelman, remembering him as "An officer, a fighter, and a hero of Israel."
[video:2012866]
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8. WATCH: THOUSANDS AT FUNERAL FOR GUSH ETZION TERROR VICTIM
by Arutz Sheva Staff
[video:2012857]
Thousands gathered in the Kfar Etzion cemetery Wednesday night to pay they last respects to Air Force reserve captain Eliyav Gelman.
Gelman was killed on Wednesday during a terror attack at Gush Etzion Junction. The terrorist, a math teacher from the Arab village of Dura near Hevron, attacked Gelman with a knife, leading nearby soldiers to open fire. The terrorist was wounded, but Gelman was also struck by a stray bullet, mortally wounding him.
Jerusalem Affairs Minister Ze'ev Elkin (Likud), MK Motti Yogev (Jewish Home), and top IDF brass joined the thousands of mourners in commemorating Gelman.
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