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Friday, Aug. 05 '16, א' באב תשע"ו
HEADLINES:
1. LIKUD MINISTER WARNS HAREDI MKS: YOU WILL GET LAPID ELECTED PM
2. IDF COMMANDERS AVOID FEMALE OFFICIALS, PREFER MALE STAFF
3. OBAMA: PUTIN CAN'T BE TRUSTED ON SYRIA
4. PLANE SLIPS OFF RUNWAY AND ONTO ROAD IN ITALY
5. TELMA ADVISES CUSTOMERS TO THROW AWAY CORNFLAKES
6. WHAT'S HAPPENING IN ISRAEL?
7. 'A CLINTON PRESIDENCY WOULD BE TERRIBLE FOR ISRAEL'
8. POLICE SAY TERROR LIKELY NOT THE REASON FOR LONDON STABBING
1. LIKUD MINISTER WARNS HAREDI MKS: YOU WILL GET LAPID ELECTED PM
by David Rosenberg
Efforts by Shas and United Torah Judaism to shutdown supermarkets on Shabbat could lead to a secular backlash that may propel Yair Lapid to the premiership, Tourism Minister Yariv Levin (Likud) warned earlier this week.
Levin's comments, which were publicized by NRG on Friday, came in the midst of an effort by the haredi factions to transfer responsibility for enforcing the country's Shabbat law, which bans the operation of most businesses during the traditional Jewish day of rest, to the Interior Ministry.
Such a move would give the Interior Ministry, now under the authority of Shas chief and Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, the power to expand enforcement of the law, which has hitherto been less than comprehensive.
During a meeting of coalition party chiefs on Sunday, however, Levin warned leaders of Shas and United Torah Judaism that their efforts were likely to backfire.
Shutting down supermarkets countrywide on Shabbat, he said, would spark a secular backlash and could catapult Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid to an electoral victory, enabling him to not only overturn the changes regarding the Shabbat Law, but radically alter the Status Quo on religion and state.
"If we shut down the supermarkets on Shabbat you'll be giving Lapid 30 mandates [in the next election]. They will say that this is a radical haredi government."
"They'll say that you're attacking seculars. We'll find ourselves with a government like the previous administration," referring to 33rd Israeli government, which included Yair Lapid and was noted for passing a number of bills fiercely opposed by the haredi factions.
"You cannot give the other side a [political] weapon."
"In this case you need to find a solution that does not create the feeling that one segment of the population is forcing itself on another. The results of this kind of decision would be 30 mandates for Yair Lapid. Is that what you want?"
But the haredi political leadership appeared, according to Kam, to be unfazed by Levin's comments.
"It will also bring 30 mandates to the haredi parties," the haredi faction leaders reportedly said in response.
2. IDF COMMANDERS AVOID FEMALE OFFICIALS, PREFER MALE STAFF
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Senior IDF officers are increasingly seeking out male staff members for bureau chiefs and other management positions, according to a report Friday morning by Yediot Ahronot's army correspondent Yossi Yehoshua.
The driving force behind this trend, says Yehoshua, is the recent spate of accusations of sexual misconduct by male commanders with female subordinates; most notably claims that Brigadier General Ofek Buchris raped two female soldiers. Buchris, who has been indicted following the accusations, resigned his commission earlier this week and will stand trial as a civilian.
In the wake of the Buchris affair, a number of IDF commanders have declared they will no longer accept female officials in their staffs, hoping it will "prevent these kinds of incidents".
The number of female staff members in the IDF has risen dramatically over the past two decades.
While 20 years ago there were 40% more male than female staffers, today there are 4% more female staffers than men.
3. OBAMA: PUTIN CAN'T BE TRUSTED ON SYRIA
by Arutz Sheva Staff
U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday vowed to continue attacking Islamic State (ISIS) targets in Iraq and Syria, but acknowledged that pressure on the jihadists was prompting them to lash out beyond their self-proclaimed caliphate.
Speaking after meeting security and military officials in the Pentagon, Obama also blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin's policy in Syria, saying he doubted Putin could be trusted to cooperate on helping end the country's bloody civil war.
Obama pledged ISIS would "inevitably" be crushed and said the U.S.-led coalition would continue to aggressively target the jihadists "across every front."
But "the decline of ISIL in Syria and Iraq appears to be causing it to shift to tactics that we've seen before -- an even greater emphasis on encouraging high-profile terrorist attacks, including in the United States," Obama warned, using an alternative acronym for ISIS.
Even as coalition planes target the IS group in Iraq and Syria, the Russians have simultaneously been bombing in Syria to support President Bashar Al-Assad.
While Moscow has sometimes struck ISIS targets, many of its strikes have been against anti-Assad rebels.
Multiple rounds of international negotiations to end the war, which erupted in 2011 after the Assad regime unleashed a brutal crackdown against a pro-democracy revolt, have so far failed.
Obama said the United States was prepared to work with Russia to try to reduce the violence in Syria and boost the fight against ISIS and Al-Qaeda.
"But Russia has failed to take the necessary steps. Given the deteriorating situation, it is time for Russia to show it is serious about pursuing these objectives," Obama said, warning he was not confident he could trust Putin.
"We go into this without any blinders on," Obama said, adding, "We're going to test and see if we can get something that sticks. And if not, then Russia will have shown itself very clearly to be an irresponsible actor around the world stage that is supporting a murderous regime."
Obama's visit to the Pentagon, possibly the last of his eight-year presidency, came as the U.S.-led effort to defeat ISIS enters its third year.
The jihadists swept across vast parts of northern Syria and Iraq in 2014, leaving a trail of human butchery and horrific destruction in their wake.
Since then, the coalition has conducted daily plane and drone strikes – more than 14,000 so far – and worked with local forces on the ground to gradually reclaim the seized territory.
Despite the massive effort, the jihadists still hold Mosul – Iraq's second-largest city – and the Syrian city of Raqa.
AFP contributed to this report.
4. PLANE SLIPS OFF RUNWAY AND ONTO ROAD IN ITALY
by Arutz Sheva Staff
[youtube:2017875]
A DHL cargo plane skidded off the runway in a northern Italian airport, crashing onto a nearby road early Friday morning.
Officials say the Boeing 737-400 aircraft overshot the runway at the Orio al Serio international airport in Bergamo, Italy, smashing through the runway perimeter before careening into a road.
The cargo plane, which was arriving from the Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris, had difficulty landing in the inclement weather, missing the targeted touchdown point towards the front of the runway.
No deaths or injuries have been reported in the incident.
5. TELMA ADVISES CUSTOMERS TO THROW AWAY CORNFLAKES
by David Rosenberg
A week after it was revealed that Unilever, the producer of Telma brand cornflakes products, had destroyed tens of thousands of boxes of cereal amid fears of contamination, company officials have advised the public to dispose of any cornflakes not in their original box.
Last Thursday Unilever issued a public statement at the behest of the Health Ministry, acknowledging that contaminants had been found at one of the company's production lines in the southern town of Arad.
Unilever's initial statement also denied the possibility that any contaminated products had reached store shelves or that the public was at any risk.
On Friday, however, Telma issued its own statement, warning consumers not to eat any cornflakes – including the "Kokoman" chocolate-coated cornflakes – whose date and production number cannot be verified, acknowledging that customers were indeed at risk.
"If you happen to have any bags of cornflakes without the box, we recommend against consuming them (even though the chance of any problems is low) and to contact our customer service line for a replacement product – please send us your personal information in a private message and we will deal with it quickly."
The about-face came following reports that a woman in Petah Tikva had purchased a box of cornflakes produced while the assembly line was contaminated. This despite claims no products from the period in question had reached store shelves.
6. WHAT'S HAPPENING IN ISRAEL?
by Jay Shapiro
Jay Shapiro believes that life in Israel is made of many small things, each of which do not on their own merit headlines but which provide the spice that characterizes the society.
[audio:2017871]
Click here to download the podcast
7. 'A CLINTON PRESIDENCY WOULD BE TERRIBLE FOR ISRAEL'
by David Rosenberg
Despite pledges early in the primary season to maintain neutrality in dealings with Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Donald Trump has since emphasized his pro-Israel bona fides and hinted at a major deviation from policies supported by presidents of both parties since the 1967 Six Day War, including the two-state solution, Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria, and America's embassy in Israel.
In an attempt to woo Jewish voters and supporters of Israel, Trump has relied heavily on proxies, including his daughter Ivanka, an Orthodox Jewish convert, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, as well as campaign spokespeople and advisers.
On Thursday, David Friedman, a long-time Trump confidant highlighted the Republican nominee's ardent support for Israel, adding that his general election opponent would be "terrible" for Israel, and had no love for the Jewish state.
Speaking with Yediot Ahronot, Friedman said the GOP nominee 'trusts' Israel, a subtle jab at incumbent President Barack Obama, whose feud with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu strained relations between the two allies over the past seven and a half years.
"Trump policy first and foremost is to trust Israel that they know what they are doing," said Friedman. "Israel has now been independent for 70 years. They're a grown up country. They are not a client state of the United States. They are a partner with the United States in a global war on terrorism. We trust our partner and we want our partner to be secure and safe. We trust them to do the right thing."
'Clinton no friend of Israel'
Friedman added that much of the hostility between the White House and Israel was a result of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's push for a unilateral building freeze in Judea and Samaria, suggesting the Democratic nominee has a personal animus towards Israel.
"As soon as she became Secretary of State, the first thing she did was to embrace a unilateral settlement freeze. I think it completely poisoned the environment. I'm not aware of anything she did that is particularly good. I can name off the top of my head things that were nasty, like ripping up the letter from George Bush to Ariel Sharon, which I think was the only thing Israel got from evacuating Gaza."
"I don't think she particularly likes Israel. I think she likes the kind of elite left among the Jewish people of Israel and in America like the Max Blumenthals, the Sidney Blumenthals and the people of that ilk who would like to turn Israel into a sort of Singapore. I think she's terrible for Israel."
'Trump won't blindly embrace two-state solution'
With an unorthodox presidential campaign and policies that defy the political establishment of both parties, Trump also appears poised to drop a staple of US foreign policy towards Israel that has been accepted by both Republican and Democratic administrations alike – the two-state solution.
Labeling support for the two-state solution after a quarter century of failure "insanity", Friedman said a Trump White House would have a more nuanced view of the issue, one with an eye for improving the quality of life for those in the region, rather than adherence to political dogma.
"[Trump's] position is that he's observed the obvious, which is that a two-state solution over the past generation has been attempted over and over again and has been a failure. The definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again expecting a different result—and he's not insane. To blindly embrace a two-state solution because it's been an American policy for the past 25 years is not something he's going to do, any more so than one would have expected a president in the 1970s embrace the Vietnam war because it was a 20-year policy of the United States. Policies are only good if they work."
"I don't think this is an area which is susceptible to jingoism. It's a very complex issue. The conventional wisdom is that Israel has to be a Jewish state or a democratic state, but can't be both. It's essentially a demographic assessment, which I think is wrong. With the removal of the Gazan population from the denominator, I think a one-state solution would reduce Israel from about 75 percent of a Jewish state to maybe about 65 percent. I don't think it's existential to do that. Ultimately, the issue is one of reducing tension and improving quality of life. That ought to be the first step, not the geography. The geography will follow if appropriate advances are made in quality of life."
Tel Aviv or Jerusalem – The US Embassy in Israel
If questioning the basis of American support for the two-state solution is a novelty for an American presidential candidate, proposing to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Israel's capital of Jerusalem is not.
Multiple Republican nominees, including Bob Dole, George W. Bush, John McCain, and Mitt Romney, all pledged to relocate America's embassy.
Yet Bush, the sole Republican to win the White House over the past quarter century, failed to make good on his campaign promise. With Trump, Friedman claims, things will be different.
"I think one of his first acts is going be to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. I think the movement of the embassy to Jerusalem is logistically something that can't be done on the first day (but) I think that will happen in due course."
Tougher line with Palestinian Authority
Aside from abandoning the reflexive support for a two-state solution that has animated American policy for decades, Friedman says Trump would also hold the Palestinian Authority accountable for its behavior.
"The message to Abbas is that you have a burden that you have to carry to be taken seriously as a potential nation-state. You haven't met that burden yet. That includes renouncing violence, recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, creating infrastructure where money and funds are handled in a non-corrupt manner."
8. POLICE SAY TERROR LIKELY NOT THE REASON FOR LONDON STABBING
by Elad Benari
British detectives questioning a 19-year-old Norwegian of Somali origin over Wednesday night's stabbing spree in London said on Thursday that they had found no evidence of terror motives or radicalization, AFP reported.
Assistant commissioner Mark Rowley told reporters the one woman killed in the attack in central London's Russell Square late on Wednesday was a U.S. national. Police said earlier that she was thought to be in her 60s.
[youtube:2017866]
Among the two women and three men also injured were American, British, and Australian nationals, as well as one Israeli woman who was listed in light condition.
Three of the five have been discharged from hospital and the other two are not in a life-threatening condition, according to AFP.
The investigation "increasingly points to this tragic incident as having been triggered by mental health issues," Rowley said outside London's New Scotland Yard police headquarters.
"We believe this was a spontaneous attack and the victims had been selected at random," he added, saying police had "found no evidence of radicalization or anything that would suggest the man in our custody was motivated by terrorism."
Police had initially confirmed the attacker suffers from mental issues but also did not rule the possibility that the attack was terror-related.
Rowley said police work so far does not suggest that the suspect's Norwegian nationality and Somali ancestry "are relevant to the motivation for his actions".
He said an address had been searched in north London, while another in south London would be searched.
Rowley called it a "horrific murder and attack" adding Scotland Yard is in contact with the relevant embassies.
He said the suspect was shot with an electric shock gun and detained by armed officers within six minutes of the first call to the emergency services.
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