Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
Subscribe to this Daily Israel Report:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Subscribe/
Friday, Dec. 16 '16, ט"ז בכסלו תשע"ז
HEADLINES:
1. 'A GREAT FRIEND OF ISRAEL'
2. WATCH: A 'HAMILTON' HANUKKAH
3. PM BLASTS PRESS FOR CULTIVATING 'DELUSION OF ISOLATION'
4. WATCH: 11TH ANNUAL RACE IN MEMORY OF FALLEN SOLDIER
5. ALEPPO EVACUATION SUSPENDED
6. 'DEMOLISHING A COMMUNITY IS WORSE THAN DESECRATING THE SABBATH'
7. JERUSALEM SEES 72% DROP IN TERRORIST ATTACKS
8. INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE KOSHER KITCHEN
1. 'A GREAT FRIEND OF ISRAEL'
by Ido Ben Porat
Education Minister Naftali Bennett welcomed the appointment of David Friedman as the next US ambassador to Israel by President-elect Donald Trump.
Friedman is known as a passionate supporter of Israel, including the Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria. He served as an adviser on Israel for the Trump campaign.
"I wish success for David Friedman, the US ambassador-elect to Israel. He is a great friend to Israel." Bennett wrote on Twitter.[twittervideo:2022119]
Opposition MK and Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid also welcomed Friedman's appointment. "I look forward to working with the new US ambassador, a close friend of Israel, David Friedman, in the proper place for his office - our capital, Jerusalem." he wrote.
Yossi Dagan, the head of the Samaria Regional Council, said: "David Friedman is a friend and a true partner of Israel and the communities of Judea and Samaria. Trump's choice of Friedman is very important and crucial for Israel at this time. It proves that Trump intends to be genuinely committed to Israel just as was indicated during the campaign. This is a significant statement of intent this morning, and it is very encouraging."
The left-wing J-Street lobby wrote on its Facebook page that it is "vehemently opposed" to Friedman's appointment, calling the move "reckless" and saying that Friedman "lacks any diplomatic or policy credentials."
"(Friedman) has been a long-time friend and trusted advisor to me. His strong relationships in Israel will form the foundation of his diplomatic mission and be a tremendous asset to our country as we strengthen the ties with our allies and strive for peace in the Middle East," Trump said in a statement about Friedman's appointment.
"I am deeply honored and humbled by the confidence placed in me by President-elect Trump to represent the United States as its Ambassador to Israel," Friedman said.
"I intend to work tirelessly to strengthen the unbreakable bond between our two countries and advance the cause of peace within the region, and look forward to doing this from the U.S. embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem," he added.
Friedman, a longtime Arutz Sheva op-ed contributor, spoke out in favor of Israel numerous times during the campaign and highlighted Trump's pro-Israel stance.
In May, Friedman told Arutz Sheva in an exclusive interview that Trump believes "that Israel should continue to build 'settlements.' This is land that Israel has held for almost 50 years. The population of Judea and Samaria is 400,000 people. You add in East Jerusalem you have almost a million people. These people aren't going anywhere and Israel's not going to make the same mistake that it made in connection with the evacuation of Gaza."
In another interview with Haaretz, Friedman said that as president, Trump could support Israel annexing parts of Judea and Samaria.
He also told Channel 10 News in an interview during the campaign that, as president, Trump would not force a peace agreement with the Palestinian Authority on Israel, due to the fact that he "has great confidence in the Israeli government and the Israeli people."
Arutz Sheva reported in September that Friedman had stated that the demographic threat to Israel is overblown.
"Right now the population within the 'green line' is 75% Jewish." Friedman said,adding that if the Jews in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria were included as well as the Arab population Jews would maintain their majority.
"If you take all of Israel, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, and you include all of Judea and Samaria, Jews will make up at least 65% of the population," Friedman noted
2. WATCH: A 'HAMILTON' HANUKKAH
by Arutz Sheva Staff
[youtube:2022130]
3. PM BLASTS PRESS FOR CULTIVATING 'DELUSION OF ISOLATION'
by Nitzan Keidar
PM Netanyahu last night criticized the Israeli press for what he said was its preference to ignore his recent historic visits in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
The PM explained why he prefers to "bypass" the traditional news channels and speak with the citizens of Israel through his Facebook page which, as of this morning, has achieved 1,896,789 "likes."
"I have noticed that you have discerned that most of the news outlets barely reported on the historic visit that I had in two Muslim countries: Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. It was a very important visit which resulted in a number of agreements with them," the PM said.
According to Netanyahu, the defining majority of news outlets similarly ignored the diplomatic summit which he held last week in Israel with Cyprus and Greece.
"Likewise, they missed the summit which I held with 7 African countries, and my visit with 4 countries in 4 days.
"They almost completely ignored my trip to Russia to mark 25 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and the important meeting that I held with President Putin for strengthening ties and increasing coordination between our militaries so as to prevent misunderstandings.
"They constantly ignore diplomatic meetings that I hold almost daily in Jerusalem with leaders from around the world who come to strengthen their connection to Israel.
"And the reason they ignore all this? So that they can continue to sell the public 'the delusion of isolation' and, if that's already impossible, so that they won't notify you of the strong and growing status of Israel among the nations.
"Therefore, I update you here on Facebook on what really is happening, and on the great change that we are spearheading towards strengthening Israel's status in the world. Thank you for your sharing and support!" the PM told online readers.
4. WATCH: 11TH ANNUAL RACE IN MEMORY OF FALLEN SOLDIER
by Ido Ben Porat
[video:2022124]
The 11th annual race in memory of Major Benaya Rhein, who fell in battle during the Second Lebanon War in 2006, took place Friday morning in Karnei Shomron, a town in Samaria.
The race attracts hundreds of participants every year. While the larger race was occurring schoolchildren from Karnei Shomron raced through the halls of the memorial to Major. Rhein, and afterwards learned about his life and took part in various activities.
Lieutenant Colonel Shai Siman-Tov, who was critically injured during operation Protective Edge in 2014, waited the at the end of the 5 kilometer-long race to cheer the participants on.
מירוץ בניה ה-11
צילום: יגאל להב
חדר ההנצחה של בניה ריין הי"ד
צילום: יגאל להב
Last year's race
[youtube:2022126]
5. ALEPPO EVACUATION SUSPENDED
by AFP
The Syrian government on Friday suspended an operation to evacuate civilians and fighters from the last rebel-held parts of Aleppo, accusing the opposition of violating the deal, a
security source said.
An AFP correspondent heard gunfire and explosions in Ramussa, the government-held neighborhood that evacuees had been passing through, and said buses and ambulances waiting to collect residents had left empty.
"The evacuation operation has been suspended because the militants failed to respect the conditions of the agreement," the security source told AFP.
"The terrorist groups violated the agreement and tried to smuggle heavy weapons and hostages from east Aleppo," state television said.
Robert Mardini, regional head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, confirmed Friday that "regretfully, the operation was put on hold".
"We urge the parties to ensure it can be relaunched and proceed in the right conditions," he said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor of the war, said the suspension was a bid to pressure rebels to allow evacuations from two government-held villages under opposition siege.
"Ahrar al-Sham and other rebel groups have prevented buses and ambulances from entering Fuaa and Kafraya, despite pledging to the Turks that they would let the evacuation go ahead," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.
Abdel Rahman said pro-government fighters were also blocking the route out of the city in a bid to pressure rebels to allow the evacuation of Fuaa and Kafraya.
The two Shiite-majority villages are in Idlib province, which is mostly controlled by rebel groups, and have been under siege since 2015.
Syria's government and its ally Iran reportedly blocked initial implementation of the Aleppo evacuation on Wednesday until a deal to allow the injured and sick to leave the villages was agreed.
The delicate operation to evacuate remaining civilians and fighters from east Aleppo began on Thursday afternoon and continued through the night.
The Observatory said around 8,500 people had left the city, going to rebel-held territory in the west of the province.
The army began an operation to recapture all of Aleppo in mid-November, and had overrun more than 90 percent of the former rebel bastion in the east of the city before the evacuations began.
6. 'DEMOLISHING A COMMUNITY IS WORSE THAN DESECRATING THE SABBATH'
by Uzi Baruch
National Union chairman and former MK Yaakov (Ketzaleh) Katz told Arutz Sheva on Thursday that the solution proposed for Amona that was rejected by the residents was "a total lie".
"The whole outline is a lie, there is no Regulation Law, Netanyahu promised but did not keep his promise," he said. "Even if the Regulation Law passes, the Supreme Court will overturn it as it did with the Arutz Sheva Law. The Knesset passed the law, but the Supreme Court canceled it and imposed harsh decrees on us," referring to the left's ultimately successful attempt to close the right wing offshore radio station by turning to the courts to repeal a law of the Knesset regulating it.
"Netanyahu does not want the Regulation Law, and I do not know if he secretly made an agreement with Bennett and Attorney General [Avichai] Mandelblit so that the law will not pass. The public is not buying a ripoff," continued Katz, who said that that demolishing a Jewish community in Israel is more serious than desecrating the Sabbath.
"This year we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights - how can the government destroy a community? There are illegal Arab homes in Sussia that the Supreme Court ruled must be demolished – were they demolished? Hundreds of homes in eastern Jerusalem are [slated for demolition] under a court ruling – has the government destroyed them? Thousands of homes are slated for demolition in the Galilee. Is something being done? They only destroy the homes of Jews," he said.
Katz added that he believes that the Jewish Home party will suffer in the next election because of the demolition of Amona.
"If in the last elections the Jewish Home fell from 12 seats to 8 seats as a result of partnering with Yair Lapid, the destruction of this community will knock it down even further. The public will not forget the sight of the destruction," declared Katz, who rejected the concerns of UN Security Council resolutions against Israel during President Barack Obama's last days in office.
"Netanyahu infected everyone with the disease of fear - what is this imaginary fear? Obama will not be around in two weeks. Enough is enough! Stop making it out to be as though the UN Security Council manages the State of Israel," he said, rejecting claims that the residents of Amona received dozens of dunams of land.
"I trust the residents of Amona who say they did not receive any real promise. I trust Rabbi Yair Frank and Avichai Boaron who conducted themselves in a fair and sensible manner. They said that they are ready to move to another house which would be ready for them on the same hill and that no one should expect them to cooperate when you want to throw them from their homes out onto the streets."
Gush Katif residents were expelled without the government arranging new homes ready to accept them or employment to keep them financially afloat. After being thrown into various hotels without the basics needed for sustaining families, such as laundry facilities and nearby schools, many went through their savings and whatever government help there was without finding new homes or jobs. Over ten years later, not all are in permanent homes. Amona residents, besides protesting the injustice of expelling them from homes built with government aid in favor of unnamed absentee owners who received land grants from a country which was an occupier at the time (Jordan), also do not want to repeat the Gush Katif debacle.
7. JERUSALEM SEES 72% DROP IN TERRORIST ATTACKS
by JTA
The number of terrorist attacks recorded in Israel dropped last month by 38 percent nationally — largely thanks to a 72-percent drop in incidents in Jerusalem.
The Israel Security Agency, or Shin Bet, recorded a total of 95 attacks in November, with nine in Jerusalem, compared to 153 attacks in October nationally and 48 in Israel's capital, according to the security agency's monthly report, which it published on its website earlier this week.
According to the report, one Israeli, a member of the security forces, was wounded in the November attacks, compared to 23 wounded and two killed during the previous month.
The drop in attacks makes the November tally the second lowest figure recorded since October 2015, when 620 attacks were recorded following a near tripling over the previous month. The lowest figure recorded in any month after that conflagration was in August of this year, with 93 incidents.
The Shin Bet reports do not include dozens of incidents of rock throwing that occur every month, mainly in Judea and Samaria.
In September, October and November of 2015, the Shin Bet recorded 223, 620 and 326 attacks, respectively.
8. INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE KOSHER KITCHEN
by Arutz Sheva Staff
[youtube:1125805]
------------------------------------------------
Subscribe to this Daily Israel Report:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Subscribe/
