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Friday, Nov. 04 '16, ג' בחשון תשע"ז
HEADLINES:
1. CLINTON 'FIREWALL' IN DANGER
2. RABBI BENNY LAU TO ADDRESS RABIN MEMORIAL
3. 'THE SUPREME COURT HAS TO KNOW ITS PLACE'
4. WHY IS THE STATE NOT STOPPING SOCCER GAMES ON SHABBAT?
5. WATCH: PILOT AVOIDS PLANE COLLISION
6. HOLLYWOOD SALUTES IDF SOLDIERS
7. ISRAELI SCIENTISTS SEE SIGNIFICANT BREAKTHROUGH IN CURE FOR AIDS
8. WATCH: MDA SIMULATES EMERGENCY CRISIS
1. CLINTON 'FIREWALL' IN DANGER
by Gary Willig
[youtube:2020667]
Political commentators often speak about Hillary Clinton's 'firewall,' the states she has been expected to win without much contest and which give her 272 electoral votes without having to worry about states that are currently contested.
A crack may be appearing in her firewall, however, according to Nate Silver, the founder and editor of the FiveThirtyEight political analysis site.
Silver points out that recent polls show Trump leading in New Hampshire, a state which was considered part of Clinton's firewall. While New Hampshire only has four electoral votes, losing it to Trump would force Clinton to win at least one contested state to secure the election, and if Trump wins those contested states, the electoral college vote would be tied at 269 votes apiece.
In such a situation, the state of Maine may decide the election. Like New Hampshire, Maine only has four electoral college votes. Unlike most other states, however, Maine allows for its electoral college votes to be split among several candidates. Trump has a chance to win the elector vote of Maine's Second Congressional District, which would break the tie and secure him the presidency if he gets 269 votes from all other states.
These scenarios still depend on Trump winning all contested states, so Clinton still has the advantage going into the election next Tuesday. Trump has been gaining on Clinton in the polls in recent weeks, and the effect of the FBI's reopening of the investigation into Clinton's use of a private email server as Secretary of State remains to be seen.
Trump may also benefit from a lower minority turnout, especially among the African American population, than Barack Obama enjoyed in 2008 and 2012.
Trump is trailing by 3 percentage points or less, possibly within the margin of error, in several of Clinton's other firewall states, including Colorado and Pennsylvania.
2. RABBI BENNY LAU TO ADDRESS RABIN MEMORIAL
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Rabbi Dr. Benny Lau, the rabbi of the Ramban congregation in Jerusalem and head of the 'Bible 929' program, will speak at the memorial for the late former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin at Ranin Square Saturday night.
The memorial will be organized this year by the Zionist Union party, after the private organizers claimed they were unable to raise enough funds to hold the ceremony themselves.
Rabbi Lau spoke with Army Radio about his decision to address the memorial for Rabin. "I don't feel any compulsion to go as the token representative of the knitted kippa community. Rather, (I am going) in the hope that we can produce something new in a different (tone of) language. The current discourse bothers me a lot. We are a diverse community with many forms of faith and many different opinions."
"We are allowed to go once a year to the square where they tried to destroy the state and murdered the Prime Minister.
"We have to stand up and say this one thing: this is our home, and we are fighting over that home. We can't give in to the schisms, the hatred, the violence of those who seek to silence and divide us. We will not let them destroy our home."
Rabbi Lau said that he was not affiliated with the Zionist Union, but he applauded Isaac Herzog's decision to save the rally at the last minute. "When Buji Herzog saw that the rally was falling apart he stepped up and said that there will be a rally, and I applaud him for for that."
Rabbi Lau said that Israeli politicians and leaders from across the spectrum should attend the memorial. "I believe that Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked should be there, along with Agudat Israel. My hope is that the people from Kedumim, Elkana, Ofra, and Beit El (communities in Judea and Samaria, ed.) will come with their children to stand next to the 'blue shirts' (left-wing and secular people associated with upscale Tel Aviv) to say "Yes. We serve together, struggle together, and live together." The purpose of this rally is to say 'we live together."
3. 'THE SUPREME COURT HAS TO KNOW ITS PLACE'
by Benny Toker
Chief Rabbi of Kiryat Ono Rabbi Dr. Ratzon Arusi gave his blessing to the proposed law of Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked that seeks to curb the influence of current Supreme Court justices in determining who will join their ranks on the bench.
"It is a very correct proposal," Rabbi Arusi told Arutz Sheva. "Especially today, when we know that on the judicial selection committee there is representation of specific groups only, a 'special majority' [requiring the approval of 7 out of 9 on the selection committee to select a justice] creates the dependence of everyone on everyone else such that it is not always possible to 'renew the bench', because all sorts of interests are interfering. A reduction of the required majority [to 5 out of 9 on the selection committee] will enable greater diversity in the appointment of judges."
Rabbi Arusi suggested to add to the law the requirement that all committee members be present when voting on appointments. "When the Torah said 'go according to the majority,' that was on the condition that the whole forum was participating, but if not, there would be no vote. There must be a majority from among everyone, not like in the Knesset today where laws are passed by a majority of only those present."
According to the Rabbi, the Supreme Court has, starting in the period when Aharon Barak was Chief Justice, become an activist body and has appropriated authority for itself to which it is not actually entitled. Barak was famous for saying that "everything is judiciable" and ran the court that way.
"In principle, the Supreme Court needs to be a court for appeals from lower courts and a court for matters of administration and justice. Today, the Court has taken for itself the authority to create laws and nullify laws of the Knesset."
"How can it be that such important matters are determined by judges with a certain agenda and that the election of the judges does not allow for any renewal? There's no expression of the majority here - it's neither democracy nor Judaism."
Rabbi Arusi believes that the Supreme Court, a secular body, must not get involved in qualitative matters related to Judaism. "There are things not related to the present place and time, but rather to the Jewish people - such as questions of religion and state - not just in Israel, but around the world and throughout the generations. It cannot be that a Supreme Court that doesn't reflect the values and beliefs of Judaism will make judgements about Jewish values."
"A Supreme Court like that can't make qualitative decisions about the State of Israel. Therefore, I am full of hope that the new law, if it passes, will be the first step towards change."
4. WHY IS THE STATE NOT STOPPING SOCCER GAMES ON SHABBAT?
by Arutz Sheva Staff
The High Court issued an injunction Thursday ordering the State to explain why it does not enforce the "hours of work and rest" law on the soccer field.
The Attorney General was given 90 days to respond to the injunction and explain"why he has not reversed his decision to refrain from enforcing the law" as decided by the Labor Court.
Last year, the Labor Court ruled in favor of professional soccer players from the National League who petitioned to not be forced to play soccer on Shabbat. However, the Attorney General decided to not enforce the ruling of the Labor Court in the literal sense and did not take action against soccer teams that refused to comply with the ruling.
Many players joined the National League specifically to avoid having to play on Shabbat.
Israel Zeira, the Chairman of the Movement for a Jewish State, commented that "the Justices have issued a red (penalty) card to the Attorney General for not enforcing the 'hours of work and rest' law in the soccer industry."
"It is time for Attorney General Mandelblit to muster up his strength and act to prohibit the abuse of forcing hundreds of soccer players to work on Shabbat against their will." Zeira added. "800 players signed a petition that they want to play on weekdays only. They should be able to get their wish."
5. WATCH: PILOT AVOIDS PLANE COLLISION
by Tal Polon
[youtube:2020668]China Eastern Airlines awarded one of its pilots three-million yuan (443,832 dollars) on Thursday for his quick-thinking last month, which led to the prevention of a head-on collision with another plane and likely saved the lives of all 439 people aboard the two planes.
Chinese news reported that, as pilot He Chao was readying his Airbus A320 for takeoff from Shanghai and started to accelerate on the runway, an Airbus A330 that had just landed suddenly appeared in front him.
The pilot, rather than crash into the grounded plane, didn't hesitate and quickly pulled upward into the air, saving the lives of the 413 passengers and 26 crew members of the two planes.
According to Chinese news, China's Civil Aviation Administration held air traffic controllers and crew members of the landing A330 plane responsible for the incident for failing to maintain proper contact with each other.
6. HOLLYWOOD SALUTES IDF SOLDIERS
by Uzi Baruch
American Friends of the IDF (FIDF) held a star-studded event in Los Angeles' Beverly Hilton hotel Thursday night to honor IDF soldiers. Some 1,200 arrived from the US and Israel.
The evening was hosted by Israeli-American businessman Haim Saban and his wife Cheryl, who successfully drafted a list of Hollywood stars and American businesspeople to come and show support for the soldiers.
Those in attendance included Oscar-winning movie star Robert De Niro and media personality Larry King, the movie star, bodybuilder and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, actress Joanna Krupa, and actor Gerard Butler.
The event featured 17 soldiers representing a wide spectrum of units within the IDF, and included "lone soldiers" originally from the US who had decided to move to Israel by themselves and join the IDF.
This year, a record 38 million dollars was raised for IDF soldiers.
Haim Saban, the largest private donor to IDF soldiers and Chairman of the annual lavish gala event, said: "This year, we mark a decade since Cheryl and I stand at the head of this exciting event, and we are thankful for the loads of support the event receives every year. We are happy to see that the main mission of FIDF - to provide benefits and educational opportunities for IDF soldiers - continues to harness the LA community."
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, President and Founder of FIDF, said of the event: "The obligation of IDF soldiers to defend Israel and the lives of its citizens is inspirational and deserves recognition. We need to stand beside these brave soldiers and support them in whatever way possible, so that they know how much we care about their wellbeing and future."
One of the powerful moments of the evening was during the speech of border policewoman Allison Barsan, who moved to Israel from France by herself. During her service, she courageously neutralized a terrorist at the Tapuach Junction in Samaria, thereby saving the life of her friend. As a surprise, Allison's mother, whom Allison had not seen for almost year, was flown out from France, and appeared onstage.
Additional soldiers who were at the event and shared their stories included Sergeant Ohad ben Yishai, who was critically injured in Operation Protective Edge, and reserve soldier Omri Michaeli, who was also wounded in Operation Protective Edge and had been brought to the hospital wrapped in an Israeli flag.
7. ISRAELI SCIENTISTS SEE SIGNIFICANT BREAKTHROUGH IN CURE FOR AIDS
by ILTV
[brightcove:2020663]
8. WATCH: MDA SIMULATES EMERGENCY CRISIS
by Reut Hadar
[video:2020656]MDA medics carried out yesterday a large-scale exercise in Tel Aviv, practicing a scenario in which a train and a bus collided.
Some 70 volunteers took part in the exercise; they practised administering aid to some 20 MDA volunteers pretending to be injured persons.
The exercise comes as part of yearly training MDA medics receive in order to maintain a high level of professionalism and to practice skills on a scene where a large number of injured are present. Such drills provide practice operating at the scene of terror attacks, car accidents, and other incidents with a large number of injured.
Chairman of MDA Eli Bin commented, "Thanks to MDA drills over the course of the years, we are maximally geared and ready for real-life situations. MDA forces maintain preparedness and are ready to administer aid quickly and professionally - in every day and emergency situations. Workers and volunteers will continue to practice every possible scenario so that, in real-life situations, they can provide the best treatment for the citizens of Israel."
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