Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
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Wednesday, Apr. 20 '16, Nissan 12, 5776
HEADLINES:
1. SHIN BET BUSTS 'JEWISH TERROR CELL'
2. YITZHAK HERZOG INJURED IN CAR CRASH
3. ANTI-SEMITIC INSULTS HURLED AT TZIPI LIVNI DURING HARVARD TALK
4. RUSSIAN PROTESTERS DEMAND BAN ON CHABAD MOVEMENT
5. HIGH COURT OPPOSES DEMOLISHING TERRORISTS' HOMES
6. NETANYAHU ENCOURAGES ISRAELIS: VISIT JUDEA-SAMARIA ON PESACH
7. HAMAS FUNDRAISING IN UK JAILS
8. WATCH: NISSIM BLACK'S PESACH TRIBUTE TO HIS NEW HOMELAND
1. SHIN BET BUSTS 'JEWISH TERROR CELL'
by Ido Ben-Porat
The Shin Bet security service announced it broke up a "Jewish terror" cell active in the Gush Talmonim area in southeastern Samaria.
According to the Shin Bet, the suspects in custody carried out unspecified attacks against Palestinian Arab targets during the latter half of 2015.
The security agency said intelligence gathered in the aftermath of the attacks suggested the existence of a terror cell active in the Jewish village of Nahliel in the Binyamin Region of Samaria, to the north of Jerusalem.
A joint operation was launched between the Shin Bet and Israel Police Nationalistic Crimes Division, which resulted in the arrest of six suspects, who admitted under interrogation to a string of attacks, including attempted attacks against Palestinian homes, assaulting individual Arabs, arson and vandalism against Palestinian-owned cars.
The suspects also admitted to mimicking Palestinian rock-throwing attacks, in hurling rocks from a moving car into incoming Palestinian traffic, among other terrorist activity.
"The reenactments (of the crimes) performed in the field, and the admissions under interrogation uncovered a violent extremist organization, which systematically harmed Palestinians and their property with full knowledge of the possibility of loss of human life," the Shin Bet said in a statement.
The statement further noted that the extremists conducted their attacks :even after the (deadly) results of the Duma arson," and were even inspired by that attack.
The suspected cell members have been named as:
Pinhas Shendorfi, 22, a resident of Kiryat Arba near Hevron
Itamar Ben Aharon, 20, a resident of Nahaliel in Samaria
Michael Kaplan, 20, of Nahaliel
"MH", a minor, also of Nahaliel
"BS", a minor, of Nahaliel
An unnamed IDF soldier from Nahaliel
Several of the suspects' identities, as well as other details of the case, are under a court-imposed gag order.
Among the attacks the cell members admitted to was the assault in June 2015 of a Palestinian farmer, in which the victim was beaten with sticks and sprayed with pepper spray, as well as a firebomb attack on a home in the Palestinian Arab village of Mazar'a Kabalia in November of the same year.
In a chilling echo of the Duma attack - which security services say was also the work of Jewish extremists - the firebomb was hurled into the house at night while the family slept. One of the firebombs bounced off the window and failed to penetrate the home, preventing a potential tragedy.
The attackers sprayed the words "revenge", "death to the Arabs" and "Jews, awaken" on the door of the home, indicating the attack may have been intended as revenge for Arab terrorism.
During December, the cell threw a CS gas grenade into a home in the Palestinian Arab village of Bitilu, in revenge for the arrest of the suspected Jewish terrorists behind the Duma attack.
In that incident, the father of the family awoke from the noise, and experienced difficulty breathing and irritation to his eyes. He immediately evacuated his wife and infant son from the house - his alertness and quick reactions likely preventing more severe casualties. The attackers spray painted the words "Revenge - regards from the prisoners of Zion" on the wall of the house, in reference for the detained Duma suspects.
The cell members also admitted to torching a number of Palestinian cars over the past few years, including the arson of a car in Bitilu in October 2015, and another car previously in the same village in July 2014.
Indictments are to be filed against the suspects on a number of serious terrorism charges over the coming days.
According to the Shin Bet, the cell was connected to the same collective of several dozen extremists involved or connected to the Duma arson. Known as the "Revolt", the group is not believed to be a centralized organization but a number of independent cells inspired by a fringe extremist ideology which calls for the overthrow of the State of Israel and the imposition of a Jewish Kingdom.
"From the intelligence material we gathered a connection was established between the network in Nahaliel and the members of the right-wing 'Revolt' network.," the Shin Bet asserted.
The cell was broken up "after many months of undercover work and efforts," it added.
Meanwhile Lod District Court has ordered the release to house arrest of two Jewish activists, who were recently detained under suspicion of committing unspecified "nationalistic crimes" against Arabs. It is still unclear whether the case is connected to the terror cell.
The pair were arrested two days ago as part of an ongoing case. Another five Jewish activists are currently being held by police, as yet without any charges, and have been denied legal council.
Attorney Adi Kedar of the Honenu legal rights NGO which is representing the detainees, responded to the court's decision Wednesday morning. He noted that his clients did not have prior criminal records and that the alleged incidents in question had occurred many years ago - raising questions about the police's sudden heavy-handed interest in the case.
"We view with great severity the fact that the investigative unit brought two young suspects suspects without criminal records to the court - and (all) this in connection to old incidents."
2. YITZHAK HERZOG INJURED IN CAR CRASH
by Hezki Baruch
Opposition chairperson MK Yitzhak Herzog (Zionist Union) was lightly wounded on Wednesday afternoon, when his official car was involved in a bumper-to-bumper collision on the coastal highway near Rishpon heading north.
In the crash Herzog was lightly injured and given medical treatment at the scene, but did not require being evacuated to the hospital for continued treatment.
Two other passengers were lightly wounded in the crash as well, and likewise treatment at the scene was sufficient for their wounds.
Police are investigating the circumstances of the crash, in which another car apparently slammed into Herzog's car.
Just on Tuesday Herzog angered his leftist and Arab colleagues when he opined that his party needs to reconnect with the Israeli people and dispel the image that they instinctively side with the Arab world against Israel.
Herzog currently is the subject of a criminal corruption investigation, over suspicions that he accepted forbidden donations, did not report the donations and handed in a false declaration, all in connection with the 2013 Labor party primaries.
There have been indications that he may be forced to step down from leading Labor during the investigation.
3. ANTI-SEMITIC INSULTS HURLED AT TZIPI LIVNI DURING HARVARD TALK
by David Rosenberg
Harvard Law School's newspaper, the Harvard Law Record, on Monday blasted as anti-Semitic an incident during a recent panel discussion involving MK Tzipi Livni (Zionist Camp).
Last Thursday, Harvard Law School hosted a panel discussion with guest speakers Dennis Ross and former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.
During a question and answer session a president of a student organization mocked the Israeli leader, asking her, "How is it that you are so smelly?"
When his question drew stunned silence, he clarified his "question."
"A question about the odor of Ms. Tzipi Livni, she's very smelly, and I was just wondering."
The Harvard Law Record did not disclose the identity of the student in question, or the campus organization he leads. But the paper found the insult a clear reference to Livni's ethnicity and nationality, noting that the comments "revived the antiquated and offensive notion of the 'smelly Jew' – a term reeking of anti-Semitism – in order to insult her."
The paper noted that the discussion focused on the Arab-Israeli conflict, attracting anti-Israel students like the organization president at the center of the incident.
"Discussions about Israel cannot devolve into ad hominem attacks against Jews. A quick Internet search will show that the stereotype of 'the Jew' as 'smelly' or 'dirty' has been around since at least the 1800s. The Nazis promoted the idea that Jews 'smell' to propagandize Jews as an inferior people. The idea that Jews can be identified by a malodor is patently offensive and stereotypes Jews as an 'other' which incites further acts of discrimination. The fact that such a hate-filled and outdated stereotype reemerged at Harvard Law School is nothing short of revolting."
The statement in the Harvard Law Record encouraged constructive dialogue, but warned that bigotry and hateful rhetoric were rearing their head on campus.
"Anti-Semitism is still very real today, and it just showed itself in our community at Harvard Law School."
4. RUSSIAN PROTESTERS DEMAND BAN ON CHABAD MOVEMENT
by JTA
Demonstrators protesting the allocation of land to the Jewish community in the Russian city of Perm demanded the outlawing of the Chabad movement.
More than 100 people attended the rally near the area that municipal authorities in Perm, which is located 870 miles east of Moscow, designated for transfer without charge to the local Jewish community that is headed by a Chabad rabbi. They sang a song titled "Holy War," a patriotic tune widely identified with Russia's fight against Nazi Germany.
Unrest around the Jewish community of Perm has been brewing for years amid accusations made in 2013 that the local Jewish community made unauthorized use of a local theater. Unidentified individuals that year tried to set fire to the local synagogue.
On Saturday, the protesters showed up with signs reading "Chabad out" and "liberate us Russians from Chabad." One protester held a placard that read "Chabad settlement is over the line: 1547," an apparent reference to the decision that year by Ivan the Terrible, a grand prince of Moscow, to ban Jews from entering or living in his kingdom because they "bring about great evil."
But participants insisted they are protesting against Chabad specifically and not against Jews in general, the Russian news site Ura reported.
Boruch Gorin, a senior Chabad figure and aide to one of Russia's two chief rabbis, Berel Lazar, said the 2013 campaign against Chabad in Perm was a thin disguise for anti-Semitism.
"The attempt to present Chabad as one thing and the Jewish community as another is false," Gorin told JTA.
In Russia, Chabad is the largest Jewish movement with a presence in over 100 cities. Under Vladimir Putin, land has been allocated free of charge to Christian, Jewish and Muslim faith and community organizations, often as restitution of property stolen in Soviet times.
Separately, Putin on Tuesday said that "Russian Jewish organizations are making a substantial contribution in the cause of domestic political stability in Russia, for which we are very grateful" during a meeting in Moscow with Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress.
On Friday, Lazar urged Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to stamp out anti-Semitism in government, which was a reaction to the April 10 statement on Jews by Vladislav Vikhorev, a candidate for Putin's United Russia who is running for state lawmaker in the Legislative Assembly of Chelyabinsk Oblast, a federal region located nearly 1,000 miles from Moscow. Lazar credited Putin's government with doing more than any of its predecessors to curb anti-Semitism.
During a debate in the city of Chelyabinsk, Vikhorev said that Jews in the 1990s were behind a "Jewish revolution that put Russian sovereignty itself on the brink of extinction," which he said was "a well-planned, well-designed program of destruction of national culture, national education, national production and the national financial system," according to the news website Apostroph.
5. HIGH COURT OPPOSES DEMOLISHING TERRORISTS' HOMES
by Reut Hadar
The High Court on Wednesday ordered to postpone the demolition of the homes of two Arab terrorists involved in the murder of Rabbi Eitam and Naama Henkin, but approved the demolition of the home of a third involved terrorist.
The Henkin couple was gunned down in a Hamas shooting attack in front of their children, as they drove outside Itamar in Samaria on the night of October 1, 2015.
Judge Anat Baron was in a minority opinion in the ruling Wednesday, as she opposed demolishing all three homes and even criticized the demolition orders against the homes due to the claims of the terrorists' families that they were unaware of the lethal plans.
The indictment accused the three terrorists Ziad Amar, Muna Saeh and Sabaa Aliwa with charges of intentional manslaughter and attempted intentional manslaughter, crimes which are parallel to the crime of murder, as well as attempted murder.
The three were only part of a large cell of terrorists involved in the heinous murder, in which the three Henkin children managed to escape thanks to their lethally wounded father opening their car door and telling them to run, while both parents heroically struggled with the terrorists.
While the High Court approved the demolition of the homes of members of the terror cell, it was forced to debate the petition of the three terrorists which was submitted for them together with the Center for the Defense of the Individual.
The petition claimed among other things that the demolition opposes international law as it is a form of collective punishment, and is not proportional to the basic rights of those involved.
Judges Noam Solberg and Yitzhak Amit rejected the petition of Ziad Amar's family due to the severity of the attack and his direct involvement. Regarding Aliwa the judges found that he was part of the "second circle" of the terrorists involved in the murder, and that he played a small role.
Solberg wrote regarding Saeh that he did not cooperate in his investigation by the Israeli Security Agency (ISA) and the police, and even when he later acknowledged his involvement, "it was in a limited and partial manner."
In his opinion, Solberg further wrote that since Saeh and Aliwa were in the "second circle" of the attack their case should be reexamined. A conditional order was issued to the state demanding that it clarify the quality of the evidence against the two by May 17.
Judge Baron wrote in the decision that the state did not claim the families of the terrorists were involved or even aware of their terror actions, and said this point was not given enough consideration.
The demolition of terrorists' homes has been supported by the government as a deterrent measure meant to create an interest among the Arab families to prevent terrorism. Just on Tuesday night the home of the murderer of Shlomit Krigman, 23, was demolished.
6. NETANYAHU ENCOURAGES ISRAELIS: VISIT JUDEA-SAMARIA ON PESACH
by Uzi Baruch
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu released a letter of encouragement to regional council leaders and residents of Judea and Samaria Wednesday, ahead of the upcoming Passover holiday.
Netanyahu thanked the residents and the local leaders for standing strong against months of terror attacks, and encouraged Israelis nationwide to hike in the region - as well as across the country - during the weeklong holiday.
"Yesha Council leaders, residents and dear friends," he began, "Passover embodies important themes that have marked our national existence for thousands of years. This holiday of freedom celebrates the breaking of cables of slavery."
''Passover is a holiday carries the message of renewal and freshness ... and also the starting point for the long journey that Moses led, in which he returned us to our homeland," he continued. "This reflects the importance of memory and the legacy that pass from generation to generation, and the unity between all parts of the nation."
Regarding Judea and Samaria, as well as the State of Israel at large, Netanyahu implied that Israel determined its own freedom. "We established our sovereignty and returned control of our destiny to ourselves," he said. "We build and develop the country without respite."
"My friends, I admire your ability to maintain a daily routine despite heightened security in times of tension," Netanyahu wrote, adding, "The IDF fighters and security forces stand guard to protect you all over the country."
The letter concludes by addressing the Prime Minister to all citizens of Israel face a personal and unique struggle. "I call upon the citizens of Israel to go out during Passover and to see nature, visit the sites of the Bible and heritage sites scattered across the country."
7. HAMAS FUNDRAISING IN UK JAILS
by Ari Yashar
An official investigation of Islamist radicalization in UK jails has revealed that the senior level of the prison service approved having Muslim prisoners fundraise for a problematic organization, which is funding Hamas terror attacks against Israel.
Muslims jailed in at least four prisons were encouraged by Muslim chaplains to take part in sponsored fundraising activities for the terror-related group, according to the official probe that found top-level failings at the National Offender Management Service (Noms).
The groups that prisoners were allowed to raise funds for included an organization connected with Interpal, a UK charity allowed in Britain but banned in the US and Israel for its funding of the Hamas terrorist organization, reports The Times on Wednesday.
Just last year the UK government named Interpal as being involved in a secretive network of Islamist groups that provide support for the Muslim Brotherhood and its Gazan offshoot Hamas from within the UK.
Wednesday's revelation regarding Interpal comes a day after The Times reported that Muslim chaplains appointed by the state at over ten prisons have been distributing extremist literature, which among other things encourages the murder of apostates.
The report on Noms has yet to be fully released, but the findings apparently indicate that loose standards within the prison service have turned jails into centers of Islamist indoctrination.
Those failings are indicated by the fact that senior prison figures approved the organization linked to Interpal as a good cause for prisoners to raise money for, despite its funding of Hamas terror.
One particular figure who has had concerns raised about him in the investigation is Ahtsham Ali, an official overseeing the appointment of Muslim prison chaplains and advising on counter-radicalization in the jails.
Ali previously was a senior leader in UK Muslim organizations closely connected to Jamaat-e-Islami, which the UK government last year identified as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood in Pakistan. Ali's association with the groups has reportedly led to an investigation against him.
8. WATCH: NISSIM BLACK'S PESACH TRIBUTE TO HIS NEW HOMELAND
by Ari Soffer
[youtube:2014646]
Just two months after making aliyah from the US, Jewish rapper Nissim Black has hit the ground in the Holy Land running.
Black, whose recent collaboration with Israel music star Gad Elbaz went viral, is already working on his new album, which is due to be released this summer.
His latest single - Zman Cheruteinu (Time of Our Freedom) - is also one of the Biblical names for the Passover or Pesach festival, which starts later this week.
Nissim, a rapper originally based in Seattle and known then as D. Black or Damien Black, has inspired thousands with his music since converting to Judaism some three years ago.
His newest music video was shot in Beit She'an, Caesarea and in the Judean Hills of Israel, and was produced by Daniel Finkelman and directed by Sawyer Purman and Ben Anderson
The video is a clear tribute to Black's newfound homeland, with the hassidic rapper seen searching through beautiful Israeli landscapes and ancient roman ruins looking for "the time of our freedom."
"I want every Jew to take holy pride in their identity," says Black.
"The geula(redemption) is imminent, but the first redemption is being set free from the Egypt within," he added.
His song also features words of defiance in the face of continuing Arab terrorism in Israel, with Black calling for Jewish unity and declaring that the Jewish bond of brotherhood "is deeper than a knife gets, so together we fight this."
Ultimately, Black's message is one of optimism - in the Jewish people, the land of Israel, and the redemption.
"If we long for it enough and pray with all of our hearts, we could work wonders."
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