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Wednesday, Aug. 17 '16, י"ג באב תשע"ו
HEADLINES:
1. I HEARD MY OPPONENT SAY, 'ALLAHU AKBAR'
2. US STATE DEPARTMENT SOUGHT TO BUY FROM CLINTON DONOR
3. 'NEHEMIA RAISED THE GUN - BUT HE HAD LOST TOO MUCH BLOOD.'
4. YESH ATID LEADER SAVES YESHIVA
5. IDF ARRESTS HAMAS OFFICIAL IN RAMALLAH
6. ISRAELI SCIENTIST BUILDS 'BLACK HOLE' IN HIS LAB
7. TRUMP VOWS TO BAR ANTI-SEMITIC IMMIGRANTS FROM MOVING TO US
8. PETE HEGSETH: AMERICA IS ASLEEP TO THE 'EXISTENTIAL THREAT'
1. I HEARD MY OPPONENT SAY, 'ALLAHU AKBAR'
by Reut Hadar
Olympic Judo medalist Uri Sasson describes his unforgettable encounter with his Egyptian opponent Islam A-Shihabi at the games, who refused to even shake his hand.
"I knew in advance that I was to face him in competition. People were sending me messages on social networks like 'tear apart the Muslim.' But I understood that I was coming to fight against a sportsman, and it didn't matter to me that he was Egyptian," Sassson said in an interview with Yediot Achronot.
Sasson related that his Egyptian opponent never came up to talk to him and always had a malicious look in his eye. "He looked like he wanted to murder us. In the elevator, the Egyptians didn't want to go up with us.
"A couple minutes before the fight, I heard him and his coach telling each other, 'Allah Akbar.' It reminded me of what happens in Israel before terrorist attacks, with those shouts," Sasson described.
On the failed attempt at a handshake after the fight, Sasson commented, "After the fight, I looked for his hand. My coach Oren Smadadga told me to do it. I never had developed any hatred towards him."
2. US STATE DEPARTMENT SOUGHT TO BUY FROM CLINTON DONOR
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Fox News reports that a major donor to the Clinton Foundation benefited from State Department efforts to buy land in Nigeria, just two weeks after Hillary Clinton left the post of Secretary of State.
The donor, Gilbert Chagoury, a is Lebanese-born businessman whom federal records show has donated between $1 and $5 million to the Clinton Foundation.
In 2013, the State Department sent a letter to the Chagoury Group, who is building a new financial center in Nigeria, offering to purchase land for a new embassy, at the rate of $1,250 per square meter.
On March 20, 2013, William P. Franklin, an "international realty specialist" at the State Department, emailed Mary E. Davis, an American diplomat stationed in Africa, asking her to "put on Post letterhead" an "expression of interest" by the State Department in purchasing property at Eko Atlantic, the future tech hub. Franklin ordered the signed letter to be "delivered to Ronald Chagoury," Gilbert's brother.
Chagoury, who has had ties with the Clintons since Bill's administration, had toured Eko Atlantic together with Bill Clinton, just one month prior to the State Department's offer. Mr. Clinton was photographed conferring with Gilbert Chagoury and Jeffrey J. Hawkins, the consul general for the State Department in Nigeria.
"A month after Bill Clinton visits a Gilbert and Ronald Chagoury-run land project in Nigeria, the U.S. State Department wants to buy the same land," said David N. Bossie, president of conservative group Citizens United, who had obtained the Franklin email and letter through litigation against the State Department.
"Who could be so lucky? A major donor to the Clinton Foundation, that's who," Bossie insinuated, though the land deal never went through.
In a statement to the press, the State Department defended itself from the allegations:
"Our site search process … is managed by career real estate professionals in the Bureau of Overseas Building Operations, with input from independent real estate firms and other department stakeholders," said Elizabeth Trudeau, a State Department spokeswoman. "The department has had conversations with multiple property owners and their representatives about the possibility of acquiring property for a new consulate in Lagos."
3. 'NEHEMIA RAISED THE GUN - BUT HE HAD LOST TOO MUCH BLOOD.'
by Orli Harari
The Israeli Police Force has decided to grant a citation of honor to Rabbi Nehemia Lavi, killed in a terrorist attack in the Old City of Jerusalem after he rushed to the aid of Aharon Banita-Bennett - who was also killed in that attack.
Upon news of the police citation, Lavi's brother-in-law, Elkana Bar Eitan, wrote on his Facebook page: "I see an interesting parallel between the police citation and the Olympic medals with which all of us are concerned of late. Just as the Olympic medals not only represent success at the Games but also years of hard work and intensive practice, so this citation represents a complete life and not just one act of heroism."
According to Bar Eitan, he was not surprised when he heard that Lavi had run out of his house and endangered his life for another. "It was clear, because all his life he had put the other before his own personal good."
"There are those who say we are exaggerating, as is customary to do when someone is killed in heroic circumstances, but we even would often express our appreciation for Nehemia and Neta [his wife] even while he was alive. We always admired this amazing couple that was a symbol for infinite giving and concern for others.
"Even today, Neta, my beloved sister-in-law who survived the attack, continues to live according to those same values of giving and concern for the other, and its clear to me that she is also deserving of the citation of bravery. I feel very privileged to be a part of this wonderful family," Bar Eitan wrote.
Rabbi Lavi's mother, with his picture, at court (Yonatan Sendel/Flash 90)
In an interview with Channel 20, Neta retold her memories of the fatal attack. "We were finishing up a meal, we returned from the Sukka [a ritual hut in which one dwells during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot] into the house, and then we heard terrible shouts from the window.
"Our windows face exactly to the area [in the Old City of Jerusalem] where the attack was taking place. For a moment, I thought maybe it was a crazy woman yelling. It didn't sound normal. Are daughter in sixth grade ran to the window to see who was shouting, whether it was a Jewish woman or an Arab woman shouting. She yelled, "It's a Jewish woman!"
Before Neta could grasp what was happening, Nehemia had run downstairs. "Seconds later, I didn't see him. He simply had run down to help her. I didn't understand at first because I hadn't yet grasped what was happening. He understood immediately [...] on those moments, what happened, happened down there."
Neta described her husband's heroism in those moments. "He came out from the porch and ran towards the woman Adel [Aharon Banita's wife], who had suffered serious wounds from the terrorist. It was several meters from where Nehemia met her...he didn't see the terrorist there and turned to help her. The terrorist saw him and came at Nehemia from behind, stabbing him in the main artery, but this didn't confuse Nehemia. He started a difficult physical struggle with the terrorist.
"When I realized what was happening, I, too went downstairs and out into the street. I see Nehemia lying there on his back, the terrorist is grappling with with him, trying to take Nehemia's gun.
"At a certain point, Nehemia raised the gun to shoot the terrorist, but he had no strength left from losing so much blood.
"Those were terrible moments. I remember screaming - Nehemia!"
4. YESH ATID LEADER SAVES YESHIVA
by Hillel Fendel
MK and former Finance Minister Yair Lapid, chairman of the Yesh Atid party, lent a helping hand to a yeshiva (religious school) in Hadera, ensuring that it would not have to close its doors forever.
Lapid, who often clashes with the haredi sector, is the son of the late, outspoken, anti-religious former Cabinet Minister Tommy Lapid.
Hadera is a city near the Mediterranean coast, between Netanya and Haifa.
The yeshiva, Darchei Hillel, had been ordered to leave its building by the city elders, due to a legal imbroglio which appeared to leave no solution. The legal process lasted three years. Despite the yeshiva's efforts, including pleas to Knesset Members, the court ordered the yeshiva to evacuate the building premises by the 11th day of Av, Jewish calendar year 5776 – two days ago.
Finally, with no other recourse, the yeshiva leaders turned to Yair Lapid and asked for his help. Lapid turned to one of his party members, Hadera Mayor Tzvika Gendelman, and asked what he could do.
Gendelman was unable to overturn the court decision, of course, but helped the growing yeshiva find an alternative site – and the yeshiva was saved.
The Yesh Atid party issued this statement afterwards: "The value of mutual responsibility is one of the central pillars of MK Lapid. He helps whoever needs aid, regardless of whether he is secular, haredi, or religious, but rather by virtue of his being a citizen of the State of Israel who has asked for help. In these days, following the 9th of Av [the ultimate day of mourning for the Holy Temple that was destroyed because of hatred and lack of unity – ed.], the significance of mutual aid and offering help to those in need in our society is placed in sharp relief… [We strive to] strengthen unity instead of divisiveness, and Lapid will continue to help all those who need help."
5. IDF ARRESTS HAMAS OFFICIAL IN RAMALLAH
by Rachel Kaplan
The IDF, together with Shabak, arrested leading Hamas member Hussein Muhammed Abu Kawik, a member of the Palestinian election commission, in Ramallah on early Wednesday morning.
Kawik was arrested for "ongoing security activities which endanger regional security."
Hamas has since issued a statement accusing Israel of interfering with election activities,which have been called for October.
The move comes as the latest in an IDF crackdown on terror, following mass arrests in terror hotbed Al-Fawwar and various disarming operations in Judea and Samaria.
6. ISRAELI SCIENTIST BUILDS 'BLACK HOLE' IN HIS LAB
by Rachel Kaplan
An Israeli scientist at Technion University has proven a 42 year-old Stephen Hawking hypothesis - by creating a "black hole" in his lab.
Jeff Steinhauer, and his team at the Technion Atomic Physics Lab, were stymied by a problem facing physicists world-over: Black holes absorb all energy through their event horizon, but what happens then?
Leading physicist Stephen Hawking proposed years ago that photons of energy "leaked" off of the sides of a waning black hole, returning the energy to the earth.
However, Hawking's hypothesis only had math on its side. No Earthly instruments could detect such tiny leakage from hundreds of light years away.
Steinhauer, though, had a different plan: If you can't bring the instruments to the black hole, then better bring the black hole to the instruments.
In order to simulate a black hole, Steinhaur super-cooled helium to almost absolute zero (-273.15°C, or -59.67°F), then quickly heated the center to make a sound-blocking barrier, simulating the event horizon of a black hole.
Steinhauer found that phonons, tiny particles of sound wave energy, did escape his simulated black hole, in line with Hawking's calculations.
"This confirms Hawking's prediction regarding black hole thermodynamics," Steinhauer wrote in the introduction to his paper.
Scientists around the world are now scrambling to replicate the Technion's results.
"The experiments are beautiful," physicist Silke Weinfurtner from the University of Nottingham in the UK, who is running his own Earth-based experiments to try and detect Hawking radiation, told The Telegraph. "Jeff has done an amazing job, but some of the claims he makes are open to debate. This is worth discussing."
7. TRUMP VOWS TO BAR ANTI-SEMITIC IMMIGRANTS FROM MOVING TO US
by JTA
JTA - Donald Trump said he would test would-be immigrants for anti-Semitic beliefs and that Israel would be a key ally in defeating radical Islam.
Speaking Monday in Youngstown, Ohio, the Republican presidential nominee outlined national security policies that included "extreme vetting" for would-be immigrants, including for those who would reject what he described as American values of tolerance.
"We should only admit into this country those who share our values and respect our people," Trump said.
Explaining why he favored such a policy, he cited the French experience as an example.
"Beyond terrorism, as we have seen in France, foreign populations have brought their anti-Semitic attitudes with them," he said.
It's not clear which "foreign populations" he was referring to, although from the broader context of his comments, targeting "radical Islam," it appears he was speaking of Muslims from North Africa. Anti-Semitism existed and at times thrived in France for centuries before its recent waves of immigrants, although recent high-profile attacks on Jews have been carried out by French Muslim extremists.
Trump also said Israel would be key in an alliance to face down the spread of radical Islam.
"As president, I will call for an international conference focused on this goal," he said. "We will work side by side with our friends in the Middle East, including our greatest ally, Israel."
Much of Trump's targeting of would-be immigrants focused on attributes he has associated with Islam.
"In addition to screening out all members or sympathizers of terrorist groups, we must also screen out any who have hostile attitudes towards our country or its principles – or who believe that Sharia law should supplant American law," he said, referring to the Muslim religious canon.
The Anti-Defamation League immediately took to Twitter to express concerns about Trump's reiterated call to ban Muslim entry and entry from countries subject to violence.
"Refugees from Syria, Iraq, etc. are fleeing the same terror we fear," the ADL said. "Suspending immigration would only trap those who need refuge most."
Also speaking out was HIAS, the lead Jewish group advocating for immigrants and refugees.
"For the American Jewish community, the thought of barring a refugee family because of their religion or home country is simply unpalatable," Melanie Nezer, the group's vice president, said in a statement.
Trump dedicated a chunk of his speech to decrying what he described as a decline in American security under President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee who was secretary of state in Obama's first term. He referred to the nuclear rollback for sanctions relief deal with Iran.
"The nuclear deal puts Iran, the No. 1 state sponsor of radical Islamic terrorism, on a path to nuclear weapons," he said. "In short, the Obama-Clinton foreign policy has unleashed ISIS, destabilized the Middle East and put the nation of Iran – which chants
'Death to America' – in a dominant position."
In an almost simultaneous appearance with Clinton in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Vice President Joe Biden also invoked Israel in attacking Trump's national security policies.
Biden noted Trump's claim last week that Obama had founded ISIS, the Islamic State terrorist group. Trump doubled down on the claim for days before claiming he was being sarcastic.
"The leader of Hezbollah, a direct threat to our ally Israel, repeated that claim," Biden said.
8. PETE HEGSETH: AMERICA IS ASLEEP TO THE 'EXISTENTIAL THREAT'
by Eliran Aharon
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