Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
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Wednesday, Apr. 06 '16, Adar Bet 27, 5776
HEADLINES:
1. EX-PRESIDENT DENIED EARLY RELEASE FROM PRISON
2. CABINET DISCUSSES UNILATERAL WITHDRAWALS
3. 'THE BROTHER OF MY PARENTS' MURDERER, IN MY HOSPITAL ROOM'
4. CRUZ HAILS 'TURNING POINT' IN PRESIDENTIAL RACE
5. WATCH: THE 'TEFILLIN JACKET' MAKES DAVENING A BREEZE
6. AMERICAN MILITARY CONSIDERING WITHDRAWING FROM SINAI
7. BERNIE SANDERS CLAIMS ISRAEL KILLED '10,000 INNOCENTS' IN GAZA
8. WATCH: ISRAEL PREPARES FOR TSUNAMI
1. EX-PRESIDENT DENIED EARLY RELEASE FROM PRISON
by Orli Harari
The parole committee on Wednesday rejected the request of former President Moshe Katzav, who asked to reduce by a third his seven-year sentence for two charges of rape and sexual crimes.
Katzav's attorney responded by saying they intend to appeal the ruling.
In its decision, the committee pointed out that Katzav denies the crimes he committed and was convicted for, and continues to present himself as a "victim." He likewise is "belligerent," they said, and does not seem to show remorse or accept responsibility for his actions.
"He expressed no regret and no sympathy toward the victims of his crimes," added the parole board.
The committee said that Katzav has not gone through any rehabilitation, adding that the courts "noted that severity of the harm to the victims and the harm to their mental state" that he caused.
Members of the committee said the plan for Katzav's early release would not prevent him from continuing his "obsessive" claims of innocence, "and possibly also a continuation of harming those who suffered from the crime." They added the plan would not prevent the "risk towards women determined in the legal opinion."
The decision comes despite the fact that the state removed its rejections to the early release on Sunday, in a sudden reversal that seemingly paved the way for Katzav's release.
Earlier on Sunday Katzav was present at a long parole hearing, in which he presented the "tribulations" he has gone through in the last ten years after first being put on trial for rape charges and then jailed - he has spent the last four years behind bars. Katzav even cried during the hearing.
Katzav, 70, was sentenced in 2011 to seven years for two counts of rape as well as sexual harassment and obstruction of justice, in a scandal that rocked Israel.
The former president, forced to step down due to the allegations, consistently denied the charges and claimed to be the target of a media plot, claiming contact he had with his female staff while tourism minister and president was consensual.
2. CABINET DISCUSSES UNILATERAL WITHDRAWALS
by Shimon Cohen
Security Cabinet ministers are to receive an update on Wednesday on the formerly secret talks between Israeli representatives and the Palestinian Authority (PA), regarding the PA demand to remove IDF forces from Ramallah and Jericho.
The Cabinet discussion comes around three weeks after Haaretz revealed that secret contacts were being held between top IDF brass and senior PA sources, without government ministers or even ministers in the Cabinet being informed.
Those secret talks revolved around removing the IDF presence from Ramallah and Jericho, two cities in Area A of Judea and Samaria designated as being under the PA's administrative and security control according to the 1994 Oslo Accords. However, the IDF was forced to reenter and take back control during 2002 Operation Defensive Shield amid the Second Intifada terror war.
Minister of Immigrant Absorption and Jerusalem Affairs Ze'ev Elkin (Likud), a member of the Security Cabinet, responded to the report with outrage, and in response Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told Elkin that the contacts did not bear fruit and therefore ministers were not informed.
Haaretz reports on Wednesday morning that for the first time since the initial report on contacts, the Cabinet ministers are to receive a detailed report regarding the still ongoing contacts and give their opinions regarding them.
A source involved in the affairs of the Cabinet ministers said that the ministers have been given two options.
One option is for them to reject the IDF withdrawal plan completely and declare that the negotiations deviated from the current government's red lines, while the other is to discuss all details of the plan and the responses raised on both sides during the talks.
The second option would in essence grant legitimacy to the contacts with the PA sources, and the PA's demand for withdrawals.
A political source who spoke to Arutz Sheva said, "in my estimation holding these contacts in the current period is a prize to terror," noting on the current wave of Arab terror that has claimed the lives of 34 victims since last September.
"After all any proposed idea of withdrawal comes due to the wave of terror we are in the midst of, and if we agree to a withdrawal like this, doing so will give more than just a signal to the attackers and potential attackers that terror pays, and with additional terrorist pressure we will withdraw from more and more territory."
In its demands the PA is asking that in the first stage of withdrawals the IDF would remove its forces from Ramallah and Jericho, and in response it will not discontinue the security cooperation of its PA Security Forces with the IDF as it has frequently threatened to do.
3. 'THE BROTHER OF MY PARENTS' MURDERER, IN MY HOSPITAL ROOM'
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Bat-Sheva Sadan, the daughter of Rabbi Eli and Dina Horowitz who were murdered by Arab terrorists in their home in Kiryat Arba on a Sabbath eve back in 2003, has weighed in on the controversy regarding shared maternity wards for Jewish and Arab women.
After Arab MK Ahmed Tibi (Joint List) on Tuesday called the practice of separating Jewish and Arab mothers "racist," MK Betzalel Smotrich (Jewish Home) said there should be an option to receive separate rooms while noting on noisy Arab post-birth parties.
Later Smotrich doubled down on his comments, saying that many Jewish women including his own wife "wouldn't want to lie down (in a bed) next to a woman who just gave birth to a baby who might want to murder her baby twenty years from now." In response his party chairperson Education Minister Naftali Bennett condemned him and rejected the idea of "hating Arabs."
In a Facebook post Sadan took on the topic, and noted on her own traumatic experience in a maternity ward shared with an Arab woman.
Her post reads as follows:
A year and a half ago I was hospitalized, after an exhausting night in the emergency room I was brought up to the ward while connected to an IV and hazy, I was happy that now that there was a diagnosis and treatment I would be able to rest a bit.
Two minutes later a nurse came in and asked that Mr. Kawasmeh leave the room for a moment because she needed to treat Mrs. Kawasmeh.
Yes you heard right, Kawasmeh - my heart started pounding because a few years earlier a terrorist named Kawasmeh murdered my father and mother, and several months earlier a terrorist named Kawasmeh murdered the three youths (Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Sha'ar, Eyal Yifrah - ed.).
I'm not racist and I think that Arab nurses and doctors are professional and humane just like our Jewish brothers.
But the thought that the brother or father or cousin of the terrorist who murdered my parents was on the other side of the partition shook my soul. In tears I asked the nurse to let me change rooms, and even though she explained to me that there was no separation policy in the hospital she agreed.
It seems to me that my emotional health is no less important than physical health, and therefore I prefer not to feel panic and have horrific experiences. Thank God I healed among Jewish women, and my soul bonded with theirs as happens in this sort of meeting.
4. CRUZ HAILS 'TURNING POINT' IN PRESIDENTIAL RACE
by Ari Yashar
After resoundingly winning Wisconsin primaries according to near final tallies, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) estimated that a "turning point" has been reached in his race against real estate mogul Donald Trump.
With 96% of the votes counted, Cruz had won 48.5% of the vote as opposed to 34.9% for Trump, according to Fox News. On the Democratic side with 98% of the votes counted, Bernie Sanders outpaced Hillary Clinton 56.3% to 43.4% in a key victory for Sanders.
"Tonight is a turning point," Cruz announced at a victory rally held in Milwaukee.
"I am more and more convinced that our campaign is going to win the 1,237 delegates needed to win the Republican nomination. Either before Cleveland or at Cleveland...we will win a majority of the delegates."
According to Cruz his campaign has led to "the full spectrum of the Republican Party coming together and uniting," and appraising his chances of taking the Republican race, he added, "Hillary, get ready, here we come."
With the Wisconsin results, Trump still remains ahead in the race for 1,237 delegates needed to get the nomination, but Cruz is closing in and may be able to block Trump from gaining the needed amount. According to a CNN estimate, Trump stands at 743 delegates, Cruz has 507, and Ohio Governor John Kasich has 145.
Trump was less than magnanimous in taking the news of his defeat in Wisconsin, which came following a week of gaffes. Instead of holding a news conference as is his custom after elections, he issued a statement attacking Cruz.
"Lyin' Ted Cruz had the Governor of Wisconsin, many conservative talk radio show hosts, and the entire party apparatus behind him," said Trump. "Not only was he propelled by the anti-Trump Super PAC's spending countless millions of dollars on false advertising against Mr. Trump, but he was coordinating with his own Super PAC's (which is illegal) who totally control him."
There has been no evidence that Cruz and his super PAC coordinated on advertising, notes CNN.
"Ted Cruz is worse than a puppet - he is a Trojan horse, being used by the party bosses attempting to steal the nomination from Mr. Trump," added Trump's statement.
While Cruz may be hard pressed to get the needed 1,237 delegates before voting ends in late April, in light of the Wisconsin victory Cruz is better situated to prevent Trump from reaching the number of delegates.
If that happens, the Republican Party would hold an open convention to pick the GOP candidate in July, marking the first such convention in four decades.
5. WATCH: THE 'TEFILLIN JACKET' MAKES DAVENING A BREEZE
by Ari Soffer
[youtube:2014224]
It's a problem that has plagued Jewish men for generations: putting on tefillin in the morning while wearing a suit jacket.
You're half asleep, already late for shacharit, and to top it off your pesky jacket just won't cooperate. The more you struggle, the harder it seems to be, and if you're really having a bad day you might even rip it in the process.
Well, fear no more, because this ingenious Jewish inventor has come up with a solution - one which doesn't involve wearing your jacket like some kind of weird toga!
6. AMERICAN MILITARY CONSIDERING WITHDRAWING FROM SINAI
by Ben Ariel
The United States military is considering pulling troops from a base in the northeastern part of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, partly because of the increasing threat from Islamic State (ISIS) group jihadists, CNN reported Tuesday.
The Obama administration may order the movement of some American and international troops into the southern Sinai, and is discussing such a move with Egypt and Israel, CNN said.
The two Middle East countries signed a peace deal in 1979, agreeing that a Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) mission would monitor compliance. Some 700 American troops are part of that mission.
Most of the peacekeepers are stationed at El-Gorah camp, near the Gaza Strip.
Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis declined to confirm or deny the CNN report.
"We remain fully committed to the objective of the MFO mission and the maintenance of the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt," he told AFP. "We are in continuous contact with the MFO and adjust force protection capabilities as conditions warrant."
Officials worry the threat of an ISIS group attack targeting U.S. forces in the region is increasing.
Egypt has for many years been dealing with an insurgency in the Sinai which has gotten worse since the military ousted former Muslim Brotherhood President Mohammed Morsi.
Most of the terrorist attacks in the Sinai have been claimed by the Sinai Province terrorist group, which has pledged allegiance to ISIS.
Among the attacks claimed by Sinai Province were the assassination of a top Egyptian police general, who was gunned down as he left his home in a west Cairo neighborhood, and a bus bombing on a tour bus filled with South Korean tourists.
7. BERNIE SANDERS CLAIMS ISRAEL KILLED '10,000 INNOCENTS' IN GAZA
by Ari Soffer
Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has accused Israel of killing over 10,000 innocent civilians during 2014's war with Gazan terrorists - in a gross inflation of the casualty statistics enough to make even Hamas's own propaganda chiefs blush.
Sanders, who trails Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton by a significant margin, made the comments in a meeting with the New York Daily News editorial board, a transcript of which was published Tuesday.
Despite being the only Jewish candidate in either party (and despite a stint as a youngster at an Israeli kibbutz), Sanders - whose support base consists largely of far-left voters - is the least friendly towards Israel. He even went so far as to snub the recent AIPAC Policy Conference, by telling them his schedule wouldn't allow him to address the 18,000-strong lobby in DC last month.
In his comments to the New York Daily News, Sanders admitted he didn't know the precise casualty figures - but he didn't let the facts get in the way of a broadside guaranteed to ignite his left-wing supporters.
Only part of the conversation (a full transcript of which can be read here) revolved around Israel.
When asked how he would have handled the 2014 Operation Protective Edge "differently" to Israel - based on comments he made at the time attacking the IDF for its "disproportionate" use of force - Sanders initially was hesitant to give a clear answer.
"You're asking me now to make not only decisions for the Israeli government but for the Israeli military, and I don't quite think I'm qualified to make decisions," he said.
But then, while condemning Hamas for using civilian centers to fire and store rockets for use against Israelis, Sanders attacked Israel for not being "discriminate" enough in its use of force.
"Anybody help me out here, because I don't remember the figures, but my recollection is over 10,000 innocent people were killed in Gaza. Does that sound right?" he asked.
When told that number appeared to be rather inflated, he added, "I don't have it in my number...but I think it's over 10,000. My understanding is that a whole lot of apartment houses were leveled. Hospitals, I think, were bombed. So yeah, I do believe and I don't think I'm alone in believing that Israel's force was more indiscriminate than it should have been."
The real figure is, in fact, just over 2,100 - more than half of them terrorist combatants. Apart from representing the lowest combatant-to-civilian casualty ratio of any conflict ever recorded, the number itself is around a fifth of what Sanders suggested.
8. WATCH: ISRAEL PREPARES FOR TSUNAMI
by Yoni Kempinski
[youtube:2014216]
Arutz Sheva was on hand as emergency personnel participated on Monday in a drill simulating a tsunami wave, meant to raise public awareness and practice appropriate and effective responses in the event that a tsunami hits Israel's Mediterranean coastline.
Dubbed "Nachshol Kachol" (Blue Tidal Wave), the exercise included evacuating citizens from the beaches of Ashdod and Ashkelon to safe gathering points in accordance with the tsunami warning signs.
The exercise was conducted by the National Emergency Defense Ministry and Israeli police, in cooperation with the Home Front Command, local authorities and emergency agencies.
The drill, explained Dr. Beverly Goodman of the University of Haifa, "is an opportunity for all the different bodies that are in charge of responding to a tsunami to practice."
The perception that the Mediterranean Sea is calmer is a "myth", she added. "Most people think that this sea is a relatively calm place, but the reality is that in term of the number of tsunamis that occur there, it's second to the Pacific and areas that we're familiar with."
While there aren't "mega tsunamis" in the Mediterranean, stressed Dr. Goodman, "they are common and they are lethal so they do occur sometimes in a way that causes enough damage and loss of life."
The last major tsunami was about 800 years ago but, said Dr. Goodman, it's important to be prepared even if it doesn't happen in our lifetime.
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