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/
Monday, Dec. 19 '16, י"ט בכסלו תשע"ז
HEADLINES:
1. IDF UNCOVERS MASSIVE WEAPONS FACTORY IN HEVRON
2. POLL: MOST ISRAELIS BELIEVE TERROR WAR TRUMPS ETHICAL CONCERNS
3. PROMINENT JEWISH CONGRESSMAN, ISRAEL SUPPORTER DEAD AT 94
4. WATCH: FOILED ATTEMPT TO SMUGGLE CELL PHONES TO TERRORISTS
5. ISRAELI MILLIONAIRE NABBED FOR BRIBES TO FOREIGN OFFICIALS
6. BATTLE OVER ARAD SYNAGOGUE WIDENS
7. MOSSAD CHIEF GIVES SECRET INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING TO TRUMP STAFF
8. BORDER POLICE CATCH 9000 EGGS BEING SMUGGLED TO JERUSALEM
1. IDF UNCOVERS MASSIVE WEAPONS FACTORY IN HEVRON
by Kobi Finkler
IDF forces operating in Judea overnight uncovered one of the largest underground gun factories ever found in Judea and Samaria.
Early Monday morning, Israeli soldiers found the factory, built beneath an apartment building near the city of Hevron.
Less than a mile away from the Jewish community of Hevron in the Al-Fah industrial zone south of the city, the factory was, up until its discovery, used to produce assault rifles and other weapons for use in terror attacks.
Authorities arrested the owner of the property and confiscated materials, equipment, and firearm parts found in the factory.
[video:2022188]
[album:open
2. POLL: MOST ISRAELIS BELIEVE TERROR WAR TRUMPS ETHICAL CONCERNS
by Shlomo Pyutrikovsky
The 2016 Israeli Democracy Index was submitted on Monday to Israeli President Ruvi Rivlin by Israeli Democracy Institute head Yohana Plesner.
The polls showed the amount of faith Israelis have in their government has dropped dramatically since last year: Israelis' faith in the Knesset dropped from 35% to 26.5%, their faith in the government dropped from 36% to 27%, and their faith in the various political parties dropped from 19% last year to 14%.
As well, Israelis' faith in the government dropped from 42.5% to 40%, their faith in the Israeli Supreme Court dropped from 62% to 56%, and their faith in the president dropped from 70% to 61.5%. Israelis' faith in the media also dropped in the past year, from 35.5% to 24%.
The IDF however, is still trusted by 90% of Jews and 82% of the general population, having dropped from their 93% rating last year.
And despite the way Israelis feel about their government, 86% of Jews and 55% of Arabs are proud to be Israeli citizens.
60% of Israelis believe those who oppose the State's existence should still enjoy the right to free speech, but 52.5% believe those who do not accept Israel as a Jewish state should not be allowed to vote. And 71% of Jews and 23% of Arabs believe human rights organizations harm the State of Israel.
When it comes to security and the peace process, 71% of Jews believe decisions regarding peace and security concerns should be made only by Jews. 62.5% believe that the terror war requires Israel to ignore moral concerns and use every means available in order to prevent future terror attacks. As well, 51% believe the Shabak, police, and IDF should be able to freely interrogate all terror suspects and ignore the legalities which would otherwise be involved.
President Ruvi Rivlin said, "Israel's social structure and political challenges, as well as its demographics and location, are unique. Israel must deal with terror attacks and non-democratic enemy neighbors, and its democracy stands up to these challenges again and again."
He also said, "I am concerned over the fact Israelis are losing faith in their government. The Israeli government must examine itself and fix the problem, so the public will continue to believe in them. If the public does not believe in its government, democracy will slowly erode."
Im Tirtzu CEO Matan Peleg said, "This statistic points to a clear change in thinking among the Israeli public, and attests to the fact that the messages of last year's "foreign agent" campaign were internalized by the majority of Israelis. Radical Left organizations that work against the state from within, funded by foreign governments and the New Israel fund, have been exposed for all to see and there is no coming back. Im Tirtzu will continue working to expose their dangerous activities and to distance them from centers of influence in the State of Israel."
3. PROMINENT JEWISH CONGRESSMAN, ISRAEL SUPPORTER DEAD AT 94
by David Rosenberg
Benjamin Gilman, an American Jewish attorney with a prolific political career, passed away on Saturday at the age of 94.
Gilman, a lifelong Republican from the Hudson Valley, served roughly 40 years in various government positions.
Beginning as Assistant Attorney General of New York in 1953, Gilman opened a private law practice in the 1950s, only to return to public service in 1967, when he won a seat on the New York State Assembly, where he represented the 95th district for six years.
In 1972, Gilman was elected to his first of 15 consecutive terms in the US House of Representatives, serving there from 1973 until 2003.
For six years Gilman, a vocal critic of the Clinton administration and a strong backer of Israel, chaired the powerful House Committee on International Relations.
In 1996, Gilman decried efforts by President Clinton to push Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, then in his first term, to offer concessions to PLO leader and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.
"There are voices who insist that it is incumbent upon the state of Israel to make all the sacrifices for peace," Gilman and Senator Jesse Helms wrote to Netanyahu. "Do not count us among such people."
Gilman passed away in the Wappingers Falls Veterans Affairs hospital following years of complications stemming from hip surgery. He is survived by his wife, Georgia, and three of his five children.
4. WATCH: FOILED ATTEMPT TO SMUGGLE CELL PHONES TO TERRORISTS
by Ido Ben Porat
[video:2022183]
Israeli prison officials foiled the attempted smuggling of mobile phones to jailed terrorists in the Ktzi'ot Prison, following revelations that an Arab MK allegedly sneaked cellular devices in to Hamas terrorists.
After the Prison Service was notified of the alleged smuggling by MK Basel Ghattas (Arab Joint List), searches were conducted in visitation rooms in prisons across Israel.
In Ktzi'ot Prison in southern Israel, prison guards discovered that a panel around the glass partition separating prisoners from visitors had been pulled open and then replaced.
Upon closer inspection, guards discovered eight cell phones hidden in the panel, presumably left to be picked up by terrorists at a later time through the panel on the opposite side of the partition.
Prison officials say they believe the phones were destined for members of the Islamic Jihad terror group being held at the prison.
Responding to the alleged smuggling of similar devices by MK Ghattas, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned Sunday evening that the incident constituted a serious security breach.
"If the suspicions against MK Ghattas are proven true, then it amounts to a very serious threat to Israeli security and civilians. Anyone who harms the state's security needs to be punished severely, and must not be allowed to serve in the Israeli Knesset."
5. ISRAELI MILLIONAIRE NABBED FOR BRIBES TO FOREIGN OFFICIALS
by David Rosenberg
Israeli police detained a businessman suspected of laundering money and transferring large sums of money to foreign officials.
According to a report Monday morning from a police department foreign press spokesperson, the suspect was allegedly responsible for transferring millions of dollars in bribes to foreign officials.
The kickbacks reportedly came not only from the suspect, but a number of other interested parties who channeled their funds through the individual in question.
The investigation is a joint effort involving law enforcement authorities from Israel, the United States, Switzerland, and Guiana.
Among other allegations, the suspect is believed to have given large sums of money to officials in Guiana to promote his businesses there.
The detainment of the key suspect on Monday is the culmination of an undercover investigation, and is expected to yield a formal arrest later today at a hearing in a Rishon LeTzion court.
6. BATTLE OVER ARAD SYNAGOGUE WIDENS
by Michal Levi, Chana Roberts
In Arad, tensions are at a high. Ashkenazi residents claim their synagogue was unfairly taken over by hasidic sect newcomers, while haredi leaders of the Gur hasidic sect accuse mayor of targeting their community.
Degel Hatorah party heads have announced they will support the fight against Arad's mayor, but will not support public demonstrations.
"There's a difference between fighting a mayor and holding public demonstrations. Our rabbis have instructed us not to participate in demonstrations," the party's leaders told haredi newspaper Yated Ne'eman. "As per our rabbis' instructions, the public is preparing... to protest the continued injury Arad's mayor is causing the Gur community."
"The haredi community has harshly criticized the trend of Israeli mayors ignoring their local haredi communities, and we strongly oppose this," said Lithuanian-haredi leaders. "The case in Arad is an extreme example of the problem, which harms the synagogue's holiness and is therefore of concern to the entire haredi community.
"Anyone whose Jewish heart beats within him will condemn the acts committed by the 'protesters' who dared desecrate the Sabbath's sanctity. And this includes - especially - those who joyfully sowed the seeds of incitement, and happily reaped the fruits of their labors."
Gur is a hasidic-haredi sect. Lithuanian-haredi communities often disagree with hasidic communities, but both are part of the wider haredi community.
According to Yated Ne'eman, the secular residents' demonstration in Arad was not an isolated incident.
"This is an ugly case of incitement, and it has unfortunately become a trend in several cities whose mayors think they can abuse Torah-true residents and harass them in every way possible, including preventing them from using appropriate buildings for prayers and educational institutions and harming their political representation. Worst of all, these mayors attempt to de-legitimize the very fact that haredim live in their cities. These mayors have become world-class inciters,and we can only pray G-d will save us from their hands," the haredi newspaper concluded.
Arad's Ashkenazi synagogue was forcefully taken over by the local Gur community two years ago, forcing the Chabad community to relocate to their boys' school campus and scattering the Ashkenazi community over the rest of the city.
In their discussion of the matter, neither Gur nor the other haredi communities make note of the fact the synagogue did not and does not belong to Gur. The Arad Gur community has also declared Arad will one day be a haredi city.
Meanwhile, Arad's other residents want their synagogue back and their town to return to the previous status quo.
7. MOSSAD CHIEF GIVES SECRET INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING TO TRUMP STAFF
by JTA
JTA - The head of Israel's Mossad national intelligence agency made a secret visit to the United States to meet with members of President-elect Donald Trump staff and give them a security briefing.
Mossad Director Yossi Cohen briefed the Trump staff members on the Iranian nuclear deal, the Syrian civil war, terror threats and the Palestinian issue, Ynet reported Saturday. The report did not say when the briefings took place.
The security delegation was organized by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, according to Ynet, and was led by National Security Council head Yaakov Nagel. Israeli ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer reportedly also attended the meetings.
The Israeli officials also reportedly discussed with Trump officials a proposed regional conference to jumpstart the Israeli-Arab peace process to be held in Egypt, and an anti-Israel United Nations resolution proposed by the Palestinian Authority and backed by New Zealand.
8. BORDER POLICE CATCH 9000 EGGS BEING SMUGGLED TO JERUSALEM
by Ido Ben Porat
Border police foiled an attempt to smuggle 300 trays of eggs into Jerusalem on Sunday evening.
The eggs were discovered when Border Police, acting on intelligence received from police in Judea and Samaria, conducted a security search at the Hizma checkpoint in north Jerusalem.
The search revealed 300 trays containing 9000 unapproved and unstamped eggs, which were being kept in unsuitable conditions. Israel's Agriculture Ministry was alerted and brought to examine the eggs.
This is not the first time Israeli authorities have had to deal with Arabs smuggling unauthorized eggs into Israel. In 2015, Israeli authorities arrested members of a large egg smuggling ring, and later that year seized 25,000 illegal eggs after they were feared to carry salmonella.
[video:2022174]
------------------------------------------------
Subscribe to this Daily Israel Report:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Subscribe/
