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Friday, Oct. 21 '16, י"ט בתשרי תשע"ז
HEADLINES:
1. BEIT EL RESPONDS TO UNESCO WITH NEW TORAH SCROLL
2. WATCH: SUKKOT FESTIVITIES ALONGSIDE PROTESTS IN OFRA
3. ISRAEL, GERMANY DISCUSS SALE OF SUBMARINES
4. RUSSIA, BELGIUM ARGUE OVER SYRIA ACTIVITIES
5. HAMAS: NEITHER TEMPLE EVER EXISTED
6. WATCH: SPECIAL VISIT TO US AIR RESERVE BASE
7. PALESTINIAN ARABS ARRESTED FOR VISITING A SUKKAH
8. THOUSANDS PARTICIPATE IN BIBLICAL MARATHON
1. BEIT EL RESPONDS TO UNESCO WITH NEW TORAH SCROLL
by Yoni Kempinski
[youtube:2020179]
After UNESCO declared Israel has no connection to the Temple Mount, Daniel and Raizy Benedict, a Jewish couple from the US decided to donate a new Torah scroll to Beit El, then told Arutz Sheva about the event.
"It's very fitting that a Torah scroll written to honor my father-in-law should be given to a place like Beit El, a place representing the Torah of Israel, the nation of Israel, and the Land of Israel," Daniel Benedict said at the ceremony.
"My father was a Torah scholar, he learned Torah, he was a Zionist, he loved the Land of Israel very much. He would be very proud to know that in his honor, we donated a Torah scroll to this place," said Raizy Benedict.
2. WATCH: SUKKOT FESTIVITIES ALONGSIDE PROTESTS IN OFRA
by Yoni Kempinski
[video:2020169]
Although a protest was planned for today in the town of Ofra against the government's failure to take steps to save Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria, the community also celebrated its annual Sukkot festival, complete with floats and attractions for children and families.
Chairman of the Ofra Secretariat Shai Ben Yosef spoke to Arutz Sheva about how the town is able to protest and celebrate at the same time.
3. ISRAEL, GERMANY DISCUSS SALE OF SUBMARINES
by AFP
Israel is seeking to buy three more advanced submarines from Germany at a combined price of 1.2 billion Euros ($1.3 billion), reported Maariv on Friday.
The Maariv daily said that a deal due to be signed on November 7 aims to replace the oldest vessels in its existing Dolphin fleet, which began entering service in 1999.
German government spokesman Georg Streiter told AFP that Israel is considering buying new submarines to replace its existing fleet "from 2027 on."
He said discussions on German financial assistance for the purchase were being held, "on different levels."
Israel already has five of the state-of-the-art German submarines, with a sixth due for delivery in 2017, Maariv said.
Foreign military sources say the Dolphins can be equipped with missiles armed with nuclear warheads.
"The new submarines are said to be more advanced, longer, and equipped with better accessories," Maariv said.
4. RUSSIA, BELGIUM ARGUE OVER SYRIA ACTIVITIES
by AFP
Russia summoned the Belgian ambassador on Friday in a spat over Moscow's claim that Belgian jets killed six civilians near Syria's Aleppo, the foreign ministry said.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed to AFP that Belgian ambassador Alex Van Meeuwen had gone to the ministry earlier Friday in response to a summons.
The Russian defense ministry on Wednesday said that six people were killed and four injured by airstrikes in the Aleppo region while two Belgian F-16 planes were present in the region.
Belgium has denied the claim and demanded that Russia formally withdraw it. On Wednesday, it summoned the Russian ambassador to Brussels to protest.
Belgium said that a map with a flight path on it provided by Moscow showed the aircraft identification numbers did not belong to the Belgian Air Force.
However Russian defense minister spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Thursday that Moscow was confident of its information.
"Russia has effective air defense capabilities, allowing it to carry out 24-hour monitoring of air activity practically over the whole territory of Syria and beyond its limits," he said.
Belgium announced in May that it would extend its F-16 air strikes against Islamic State jihadists in Iraq into Syria after deadly IS-claimed bomb attacks in Brussels in March.
5. HAMAS: NEITHER TEMPLE EVER EXISTED
by Dalit Halevi
Senior Hamas official and head of the Jerusalem Palestinian Parliament Ahmad Abu Helbiya praised UNESCO's declaration that there is no connection between Jews and the Temple Mount and called on the UN to investigate "Israeli war crimes" committed against Al-Aqsa mosque.
At a Gaza news conference, Abu Helbiya called UNESCO's decision "brave," since it ignored the "Zionist narrative" proving that there was once a Holy Temple on the Temple Mount. He also called the Temple "imaginary" and claimed there have never been any remnants of a Temple found on the Temple Mount.
As well, Abu Helbiya condemned UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for saying this decision was not in his hands and that he would therefore accept UNESCO's decisions. He claimed Ban's words "supported the Israeli occupation" and demanded Ban apologize to the "Palestinian nation" and the Islamic Arab nation.
6. WATCH: SPECIAL VISIT TO US AIR RESERVE BASE
by Yissachar Ruas
[youtube:2020186]
In Israel, the term "Reservists" is pretty common among men aged 21-45. The atmosphere that surrounds the world of a Reservist is deeply embedded in Israeli culture. This is what came to my mind when planning my visit to the 700th Airlift Squadron a USAF Reserve Squadron.
I was definitely surprised to find out that "Reservists" who serve in the U.S. Air Force are a far cry from what I had in mind, far from anything I had ever experienced as a Reservist myself. I was privileged to be the guest of the 700th Airlift Squadron, part of the 94th Airlift Wing based at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, just outside of Atlanta.
These "Reservists" are more aptly known within the U.S. Air Force as "Air Reserve Technicians" and are, for the most part, full-time Airmen.
Today, as is with other Reserve units, a pilot candidate will interview with a specific Air Force Reserve unit with the only major criteria being a college degree. Once selected at the unit level, they will meet an Air Force Reserve Command board for final selection. This includes flight physicals, background investigations, etc. Once they are officially selected, they'll begin Officer Training School and have a date set to begin pilot training.
The pilot training path isn't specific to the 700th Airlift Squadron or Dobbins Air Reserve Base; it's an Air Force and Reserve requirement. The age limit is to begin pilot training by age 29. The typical timeline is about a two year track until a pilot is mission ready in their primary MWS (major weapon system). Pilot training track is three parts; UPT, or undergraduate pilot training flying the T-6A Texan II, SUPT, specialized undergraduate pilot training flying a Beech T-1 multi-engine aircraft, and finally, C-130 training at Little Rock AFB. Each stage of training is about eight months.
Most of Dobbins full-time personnel are Atlanta-area residents, so the base focuses a good deal of its recruiting efforts on the local population. As such, many Reservists are quite familiar with the area and they tend to have longer service time in the 94th AW in order to maintain their local residence, something which can make a military life that may get a bit hectic at times, a bit easier for the duration of their military career.
A couple of weeks ago I took part in a mission with the Airmen of the 700th Airlift Squadron. These airmen of the 700th range in age from Airmen just beginning their service following high school all the way to 30 year + veterans that have seen combat operations in all parts of the globe. All these airmen are part of the Air Force Reserve Command.
We follow just a regular day's work at the squadron, we brief, the crew members discuss the particulars regarding the flight as well as the potential safety measures required for having a photographer aboard.
The mission I was joining features a sortie which includes, navigating through the range in Northern Georgia's mountains (also known as TORE) and dropping two large size pallets representing the payload meant for the ground forces, all the while staying fast and low and evading potential threats.
The flight is led by Maj. Michael Terrell, the Aircraft commander, Terrell was homegrown by the 700th and is held in high regard by Lt. Col. Tom Moffatt, the 700th's Director of Operations and a Senior Navigator. Sitting beside him on our mission is 1st Lt. Michael Farinas, the co-pilot. Lt. Farinas, just like Terrell, is homegrown. Navigating our flight is 1st. Lt. Ainsley Burrell. Standing at over 6 feet tall she seems relatively comfortable in the C-130's navigator station and makes the most of the room allocated to her.
All of these people mentioned are employed very much like any other civil servant, but these civil servants, instead of pushing paper behind a desk, they go zipping around in their C-130 Hercules at low level around the world and do similar high velocity operations wherever they are tasked to fly.
Our flight is a pretty typical training mission, two 700th AS C-130s skimming over the lush green treetops of the Georgia Mountains, evading potential threats, navigating to a tasked drop zone.
The second aircraft in our tandem flight is piloted by Capt. Dave Lessani, who expertly spends three hours flying a tactical low level flight and finally dropping two huge pallets of designated supplies out the back of his aircraft.
The thoroughness the U.S. Air Force is known for is very apparent amongst the 700th. Their veterans seem to set the tone and lead by example. All along the flight I took part in they were receiving constructive input from Lt Col. Moffatt. It was absolutely fascinating to listen to the mix of instructing, procedure, conversation on their daily lives all the while maintaining their mission objective and staying in sync with our aircraft flying alongside us.
When the 700th are called out to support the military it can be in any manner of ways; paratroopers or regular airlift, landing in austere conditions, dropping supplies, medevac, humanitarian assistance and many more worthy causes that give the USAF an exceptionally capable airlift unit.
All done by Citizen Airmen, who sometimes hold a regular day job and on short notice leave it every once in a while in order to make a difference all around the world.
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Special thanks to the 94 AW Public Affairs SSgt. Alan Abernethy, Kelly J Huff or the Marietta Daily Journal and the men and women of the 94th AW for their service.
7. PALESTINIAN ARABS ARRESTED FOR VISITING A SUKKAH
by Orli Harari
The Palestinian Authority's (PA) security forces arrested three Palestinian Arabs from the Gush Etzion area who "dared" to visit the sukkah of Oded Revivi, mayor of the town of Efrat.
Channel 2 News reported on Thursday evening that the Arabs who were arrested were questioned over allegations they met with "baby-killers", an apparent reference to General Nitzan Alon, the head of the IDF's Operations Directorate, and the Shai District Police Commander, who were also guests in the same sukkah.
Revivi said on Thursday evening, "Yesterday we sat in the sukkah - Jews and Muslims. We ate, drank and talked about common themes and our hope for a better neighborhood and for peace. Today the PA summoned some of the Muslim guests for questioning.
"All those who pressure the Israeli government to enter a peace process with the Palestinian Authority should be reminded that they behave in a way that does the opposite of encouraging peace with their Jewish neighbors," continued Revivi. "An authority which names squares after suicide bombers and summons for questioning citizens who drink coffee and talk about peace with their Jewish neighbors is not one that promotes peace.
"I salute my neighbors who were not afraid to come to our sukkah yesterday, to talk about peace, who asked to be photographed and to show the world that they are brave enough to stand up for peace," he stressed.
8. THOUSANDS PARTICIPATE IN BIBLICAL MARATHON
by Hezki Baruch
[video:2020184]
A 39-year-old man fainted on Friday morning during the Biblical Marathon near the town of Shiloh in the Binyamin region.
He is currently in critical but stable condition, and is semiconscious in the ICU.
More than 3,000 people participated in the second International Biblical marathon in ancient Shiloh. Dozens of runners from Romania, England, Italy, Brazil, and the United States ran alongside Israeli runners from all over the Israel. The marathon started at 5:30 in the morning in Rosh HaAyin, with participants running the challenging track down to ancient Shiloh.
The Biblical Marathon follows the path of the "man of Binyamin" whose story is written in the Book of Shmuel (Samuel), from the battlefield at Even Haezer near Rosh HaAyin, down to Shiloh, where the Tabernacle was located.
Thousands of years after that historic journey, the people of Israel returned to their land. After the Six Day War, Maccabiah founder Yosef Yekutieli measured the distance and the length of the journey. His findings amazed him: the length of that historic journey was exactly the length of the modern Biblical Marathon - 42 kilometers.
The track, which crosses Ephraim, Binyamin, and Samaria, was secured by army and police forces prior and during today's marathon.
Ariel Rosenfeld of Kfar Saba won today's marathon.
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