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Sunday, Dec. 04 '16, ד' בכסלו תשע"ז
HEADLINES:
1. FARMERS LAUNCH TRACTOR PROTESTS AGAINST FREE TRADE
2. PM NETANYAHU: WE MUST ACT RESPONSIBLY
3. YESH ATID PROPOSES DISSOLUTION OF KNESSET
4. REPORT SAYS MALAYSIA PLANE OUT OF CONTROL DURING CRASH
5. EGYPT FLOODS GAZA TUNNEL
6. LAWYER-ACTIVIST: NO FEAR OF HAGUE ON REGULATION LAW
7. HAIM SABAN: KEITH ELLISON IS AN ANTI-SEMITE, ISRAEL-HATER
8. BLAZE KILLS 9 IN CLUB IN CALIFORNIA, LEAVES 25 UNACCOUNTED FOR
1. FARMERS LAUNCH TRACTOR PROTESTS AGAINST FREE TRADE
by Arutz Sheva Staff
More than 1,500 farmers demonstrated across Israel on Sunday, holding five separate protests and shutting down traffic on several roads.
Demonstrators rode in on tractors and on horseback to protests at Yokneam Junction and Hula Lake Park in northern Israel, blocking roads, knocking over equipment, and dumping milk. The two protests drew 500 and 600 demonstrators respectively.
Participants say the protests were aimed at free trade policies, which they claim have lowered the price on produce and dairy products and created "unfair competition".
Protesters condemned what they called "the one-sided policies of the government in everything related to opening up uncontrolled free importation, high water prices to farmers, high broker prices," and other factors they say are threatening Israeli agriculture.
Some demonstrators highlighted the elevated cost of water, a result of the long dry spell broken only last Thursday by the rainstorm in northern and central Israel.
"Farmers are being left out to dry – Israel is being left out to dry".
Others singled out free trade policies which have lowered food prices for consumers.
"The people demand Israeli produce," read one such sign.
In addition to the demonstrations in Yokneam and Hula Lake Park, 200 farmers closed off the road near Hefer Junction, and another 150 demonstrators protested in the Arava region in southern Israel.
2. PM NETANYAHU: WE MUST ACT RESPONSIBLY
by Nitsan Keidar
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu opened a government meeting on Sunday by saying, "We are working overtime in order to find a responsible solution for Amona's residents, as well as for similar situations. We are working to find a logical solution and I expect everyone, MKs as well as ministers, to respect whatever solution we come to."
Netanyahu also said the government must "act responsibly, with logic, for the common goal of protecting the settlement movement and the court system. We are working simultaneously on both issues."
"Last week, we completed another stage in the Red Sea-Dead Sea Canal project. This project will connect the Red Sea and the Dead Sea. The US, EU, and Japan are funding this joint project with Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority. The project will include desalinating water to be used by towns in the Arava - both Jordanian and Israeli - and redirecting salty water from the Dead Sea. If all goes according to plan, desalinated water will be transferred to the Arava by 2020," Netanyahu explained.
"This is exactly what Herzl was referring to in his book The Old New Land. He foresaw this water canal, and now we have the honor and the opportunity to fulfill his vision. This is a project which will also help strategically to improve Israel's crucial relationship with Jordan. I want to thank Deputy MInister Ayoob Kara (Likud), who is in charge of the project, for his important work. Thank you, Ayoob," Netanyahu concluded.
3. YESH ATID PROPOSES DISSOLUTION OF KNESSET
by Hezki Baruch
The Yesh Atid party has proposed a bill to dissolve the 20th Knesset, elected in March, 2015, and bring early elections.
The proposal, which has been endorsed by all 11 of the party's MKs, will be brought to a vote in the Knesset on Wednesday.
While the proposal itself is not expected to pass, Yesh Atid's adoption of it reflect's the party's growing confidence that it will prevail in the next legislative election.
Recent polls show a tight race between Yesh Atid and the incumbent Likud party. The latest poll by Mano Geva, conducted by Dr. Mina Tzemach, shows Yesh Atid and Likud tied at 25 seats.
Yesh Atid party officials, however, claim the move is response to what they deem the irresponsible behavior of the current governing coalition.
"The decision was made against the backdrop of a worsening trend in recent months in which we see the Israeli government working only for itself, with its political disputes, and in effect dealing only with matters that are not important to Israel's citizens," a statement released by Yesh Atid read. "Not a single hearing has been held in any area of government regarding the direction Israel is headed – not for socio-economic matters, or security, or [internal] political matters."
"Israel's citizens deserve more. Israelis are watching the news and cannot believe this is how [their] country is being run."
4. REPORT SAYS MALAYSIA PLANE OUT OF CONTROL DURING CRASH
by Arutz Sheva Staff
A new report supports investigators' theory that Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 dove out of control and crashed into the Indian Ocean.
The flight went missing on March 8, 2014 with 239 people on board, and only recently have various pieces of debris been found. Previously, there were theories ranging from engine failure to a terrorist hijacking and plans to use the plane to carry a nuclear bomb.
Director of search operations at the Transport Safety Bureau Peter Foley said on Wednesday that "the aircraft wasn't configured for a landing or ditching." With regards to whether someone was in control, Foley said people can "draw their own conclusions...we are very reluctant to express absolute certainty."
Contradicting reports were received from Fugro World Wide, the company leading the underwater search for the missing plane, and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which has continuously led the search for debris.
According to Fugro World Wide, the plane may have glided before crashing. This theory would explain why debris has been found in the western area of the Indian Ocean, instead of in the eastern section, where the plane crashed.
But The Australian Transport Safety Bureau recently released a report saying analysis of wing flap debris and satellite communications point to the plane having crashed into the ocean "at a high and increasing rate of descent.
In September, a piece of MH370's outboard wing was found off the coast of Pemba Island in the Indian Ocean. It was the first piece of debris to be positively identified as belonging to the missing flight since July 2015.
5. EGYPT FLOODS GAZA TUNNEL
by AFP
Four Arab smugglers have been found dead in a smuggling tunnel linking Gaza to Egypt's
Sinai Peninsula, local officials said Sunday, accusing the Egyptian military of flooding it.
The four men aged 22 to 45 "were found dead after the tunnel they were working in was flooded nine days ago by the Egyptian army," local authorities in the Gazan city of Rafah near Egypt's border said in a statement.
Egypt had not confirmed the information, though it has destroyed hundreds of tunnels in the area, alleging they are used to transport arms and terrorists.
Hamas and other groups use such tunnels to smuggle goods into Gaza, as well as to transfer terrorists undetected to neighboring Israeli or Egyptian-controlled areas.
The border between Egypt and Gaza has remained largely closed since the 2013 overthrow of Egyptian Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.
While the tunnels into Egypt have been used for smuggling, terror tunnels into Israel have been used for attacks, particularly during Operation Protective Edge in summer 2014.
Hamas alleges Egypt has carried out work to flood the area along its border to destroy tunnels into the Sinai, where Egyptian security forces are also fighting Islamic State-linked jihadists.
In recent months, at least 20 smugglers and terrorists have died in both terror and smuggling tunnels in the strip of some two million people. A number of terror tunnels have collapsed in recent months.
6. LAWYER-ACTIVIST: NO FEAR OF HAGUE ON REGULATION LAW
by Hillel Fendel
The latest spin from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's circles - that the Regulation Law will lead the State of Israel to the International Court of Justice in The Hague - is groundless, writes attorney-activist Aviad Visoly, a former head of the Haifa area Likud chapter.
The Regulation Law is proposed Israeli legislation that will enable the State of Israel to protect long-time residents from specious claims that they are occupying someone else's land. If passed, it is expected to save thousands of Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria eyed by left-wing organizations and local Arabs from destruction. On the other hand, owners who can prove that their land is occupied will receive 125% of its worth.
Visoly writes that the entire idea of The Hague taking up the case of the Regulation Law is far removed from reality. In an article released Saturday night, Visoly explains that two international courts function in The Hague: "One is the International Court of Justice, which has already dealt with the Jewish settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria in the past regarding the confiscation of lands for the construction of the anti-terrorism fence/wall. The President of this Court, Prof. Stephen Schwebel, a past judge on the Hague's International Court of Justice, has written that because 'Jordan's seizure and subsequent annexation of the West Bank and the old city of Jerusalem were unlawful,' Israel therefore did not illegally "conquer" these areas.
On the other hand, Israel's liberation of the areas was quite acceptable, because "a state acting in lawful exercise of its right of self-defense may seize and occupy foreign territory as long as such seizure and occupation are necessary to its self-defense."
In addition, Jordan has already ceded its claims on Judea and Samaria, voluntarily in 1988 and in a peace agreement with Israel in 1994.
The ICJ did rule once against Israel's 'occupation' in the past, but it relied chiefly on rulings by Israel's own Supreme Court describing Israel's presence in Judea and Samaria as a "belligerent occupation." Netanyahu should "first fix up his own Supreme Court if he is worried about The Hague," Visoly writes.
Visoly notes that when the ICC ruled on the wall/fence, Israel's response was to ignore it and continue to construct the barrier. Other nations also ignored the ruling, as did the UN Security Council. All the more so, then, regarding the Regulation Law, which does not involve confiscating lands and is therefore "pareve, balanced and totally kosher."
The second court in The Hague is the ICC, the International Criminal Court established by the Rome Charter – to which neither Israel nor the U.S. is a party. Several African nations have also opted out of the Rome Charter of late, charging that the court is "racist." With its prestige already at a low, "it is quite doubtful," Visoly writes, "that the ICC will now wish to get involve in cases that will risk it being charged with anti-Semitism to boot."
Visoly has more. He notes that the topic of the Regulation Law – legislation regulating private property – has nothing to do with international law. In addition, if the ICC decides that territory can be conquered not only from a "state" but also from a "people," most other states in the world will face similar charges.
In the past, Israel legally and officially annexed the Golan Heights, which was liberated from a sovereign country – "and the world continued to revolve on its axis as usual."
"Netanyahu's spin regarding the Hague," Visoly concludes, "as others of his spins in the past such as the 'need' for a construction freeze in Jerusalem and Judea/Samaria, is simply a fictitious approach for internal political needs alone."
The Knesset will vote on the Regulation Law on Monday. However, both Netanyahu and Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, along with various others from both left and right, have opposed the Regulation Law.
7. HAIM SABAN: KEITH ELLISON IS AN ANTI-SEMITE, ISRAEL-HATER
by David Rosenberg
A leading Democratic donor issued a stinging condemnation of Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison, warning that if the controversial far-left candidate became chairman of the Democratic National Committee, relations with the Jewish community would be seriously damaged.
Israeli-American media mogul and billionaire Haim Saban blasted Ellison, calling him an anti-Semite and anti-Israel individual."
"If you go back to his positions, his statements, his speeches, the way's he voted, he's clearly an anti-Semite and anti-Israel individual," Saban said during the Saban Forum on Friday, hosted by the Brookings Institute.
Since announcing his candidacy for the DNC chair, Ellison has come under fire from Jewish groups, like the Republican Jewish Coalition and the Zionist Organization of America, for his sharp opposition to the Israeli government and past support for Nation of Islam leader, Louis Farrakhan.
Prior to his election to the House of Representatives, Ellison had defended Farrakhan's controversial comments, which often strayed into black supremacy, anti-Semitism, homophobia, and other forms of bigotry.
In 2009, Ellison endorsed the United Nation's Goldstone report, which accused Israel of war crimes during the 2008-2009 Gaza conflict. Five years later, Ellison was one of only eight House members to oppose aid for the Iron Dome missile protection system Israel developed in response to Hamas rocket attacks.
Last week a bombshell revelation of comments by Ellison at a 2010 gathering – comments Ellison made as a sitting congressman – led to an explicit condemnation by the Anti-Defamation League.
In an audio recording publicized by the Investigative Project on Terrorism, Ellison can be heard accusing Israel, through elements of the American Jewish community, of dominating the United States.
"The United States foreign policy in the Middle East is governed by what is good or bad through a country of 7 million people," Ellison is heard saying in the recording. "A region of 350 million all turns on a country of 7 million. Does that make sense? Is that logic? Right? When the Americans who trace their roots back to those 350 million get involved, everything changes. Can I say that again?"
In response, ADL head Jonathan Greeblatt slammed Ellison, accusing him of peddling in "age-old stereotypes".
"Rep. Ellison's remarks are both deeply disturbing and disqualifying. His words imply that US foreign policy is based on religiously or national origin-based special interests rather than simply on America's best interests. Additionally, whether intentional or not, his words raise the specter of age-old stereotypes about Jewish control of our government, a poisonous myth that may persist in parts of the world where intolerance thrives, but that has no place in open societies like the US."
Ellison denied the charges, claiming the recording was "taken out of context," though a complete transcript of the meeting has been released. Since he entered politics, Ellison has worked to portray himself as reformed, dropping his public support for the Nation of Islam and their anti-Semitic beliefs.
On Friday, Saban acknowledged Ellison's change in rhetoric, but argued his actions and the recently uncovered 2010 address reveal he remains "an anti-Semite."
"If you listen to Keith Ellison today, and you see his statements he's more of a Zionist than Herzl, and Ben Gurion and Begin combined," Saban said during the gala dinner for the event, which is organized by the Brookings Institution. "It's amazing, it's a beautiful thing. If you go back to his positions, his statements, his speeches, the way's he voted, he's clearly an anti-Semite and anti-Israel individual."
"Words matter, actions matter more," Saban continued. "Keith Ellison would be a disaster for the relationship between the Jewish community and the Democratic Party. Now, I've said what I've had to say."
8. BLAZE KILLS 9 IN CLUB IN CALIFORNIA, LEAVES 25 UNACCOUNTED FOR
by David Rosenberg
[youtube:2021672]
At least nine people were killed when a fire broke out during a rave party at a night club in Oakland, California on Saturday.
In addition to the 9 people confirmed killed by the fire, some 25 others are still reportedly unaccounted for.
The blaze was sparked in a warehouse in the Fruitvale neighborhood just outside of downtown Oakland.
The building is home to a number of artists and musicians, and includes both living spaces and studios, local authorities told KTVU.
Some 50 people were inside the building during a rave dance party late Friday night and early Saturday morning, when the fire was sparked.
Firefighters say structural damage has impeded rescue operations, and that most of the casualties already recovered were found on the second floor.
One resident of the building described the intense heat of the fire, which he said was "peeling" his skin.
"I literally felt my skin peeling and my lungs being suffocated by smoke," said Bob Mule. "I couldn't get the fire extinguisher to work."
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