Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
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Monday, Dec. 05 '16, ה' בכסלו תשע"ז
HEADLINES:
1. KERRY: BENNETT'S IDEAS ARE 'PROFOUNDLY DISTURBING'
2. BEN CARSON ACCEPTS TRUMP'S HUD NOMINATION OFFER
3. ARAB TAXI DRIVER CAUGHT SEXUALLY ASSAULTING JEWISH GIRL
4. 'THEY SOLD US OUT!'
5. 'ANTI-SETTLER PROFESSOR IS A STAIN ON THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY'
6. HAREDIM MOST LIKELY TO DO VOLUNTEER SERVICE - ARABS THE LEAST
7. MISSING BOY FOUND
8. FOUR KILLED IN DEADLY CAR CRASH
1. KERRY: BENNETT'S IDEAS ARE 'PROFOUNDLY DISTURBING'
by David Rosenberg
[youtube:2021714]
Secretary of State John Kerry made a rare foray into internal Israeli politics on Sunday night, slamming the Israeli cabinet and singling out Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) by name, saying that Bennett's recent statements on the future of Judea and Samaria were "profoundly disturbing".
Kerry spoke Sunday evening at the annual Saban Forum, hosted by the left-leaning Brookings Institute.
The Secretary spoke at length about his feelings towards Israel and Zionism, and his belief that Israel is headed in the wrong direction – and that the future of Israel is at risk.
"I do feel really passionate - genuinely passionate about Israel: the Land of Milk and Honey," said Kerry.
Calling Zionism and Israel "the greatest story ever told," Kerry warned that the State of Israel was treading down a dangerous path.
"But it's not finished. The end of the story has not yet been written."
"There is no status quo - it is getting worse. It is moving in the wrong direction," he said. "I have to tell you the truth. I have to share with you facts and describe to you why I am concerned. I come to you as someone who is concerned about the safety and security of Israel."
Specifically, said Kerry, Israel must confront what he described as a binary choice: to either permit Jews to flourish in Judea and Samaria, or to separate from the area and establish a Palestinian state.
"There's a basic choice that has to be made by Israelis - by the leadership of Israel. By all of you who support and care about Israel. Are there going to be continued settlements - continued implementation of settlement policy - or separation and the creation of two states?"
The Secretary then castigated Israel's governing coalition, noting that a majority have explicitly rejected Palestinian statehood.
"Out of the mouths of ministers in the current government have come profoundly disturbing statements recently. To wit, Naftali Bennett said... a few weeks ago: 'This represents the end of the era of the two-state solution'. And more than 50 percent of the ministers in the current government have publicly stated they are opposed to a Palestinian state and that there will be no Palestinian state," Kerry said.
"I'm not here to tell you that the settlements are the reason for the conflict, no, they're not," Kerry said.
"But I also cannot accept the notion that they don't affect the peace process, that they aren't a barrier to the capacity to have peace."
"And I'll tell you why I know that: because the left in Israel is telling everybody they are a barrier to peace and the right that supports it openly supports it because they don't want peace."
2. BEN CARSON ACCEPTS TRUMP'S HUD NOMINATION OFFER
by David Rosenberg
Retired neurosurgeon and 2016 Republican presidential hopeful Dr. Ben Carson has accepted President-elect Donald Trump's offer to serve as Secretary of Housing and Urban in the incoming administration, weeks after the offer was first floated.
In November, two weeks after defeating Hillary Clinton and clinching the election, Trump offered Carson the position, which Carson said was one of many positions floated during the transition period.
While Carson had been a rival of Trump early in the election season, he became an active supporter after dropping his own presidential bid, serving as a surrogate for the Trump campaign in media appearances and campaign stops during the general election.
At the time, Carson refused to confirm whether he would accept the nomination, saying only that he would "be thinking and praying about it seriously over the holiday."
On Monday, Donald Trump issued a statement confirming that Carson would be the administration's nominee for HUD.
Shortly thereafter, Carson issued a statement of his own accepting the offer.
"I am honored to accept the opportunity to serve our country in the Trump administration."
3. ARAB TAXI DRIVER CAUGHT SEXUALLY ASSAULTING JEWISH GIRL
by Arutz Sheva Staff
At the end of last week, an Arab taxi driver was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old haredi girl in Jerusalem.
Policemen in the French Hill area that evening noticed a taxi parked suspiciously out of the way.
Upon investigation, the officers found a haredi girl sitting beside an Arab taxi driver. A short conversation with the girl revealed that the driver had sexually assaulted her.
The driver was detained for immediate questioning.
The interrogation, which was conducted in conjunction with Welfare Ministry offices, showed the Arab driver did in fact assault the Jewish girl after she got into his taxi and asked him to drive her home. The same driver had also assaulted her a few weeks prior, under similar circumstances.
Though the Arab driver at first denied the charges, he later admitted to them. He will be brought to court on Friday, where his detention is expected to be extended.
The case is still being investigated.
4. 'THEY SOLD US OUT!'
by David Rosenberg
Amona residents and their supporters expressed dismay Monday morning at the deal worked out between Jewish Home chairman Naftali Bennett and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu which would pass the Regulation Law – but without a critical clause necessary to save Amona.
The tentative agreement, worked out Sunday evening, would ensure the passage of the Regulation Law, normalizing Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and protecting them from land ownership disputes.
As part of the deal, however, Bennett surrendered a key Jewish Home demand, that the law include a so-called "Amona clause", which would give retroactive protection, thus preventing the destruction of Amona, which is slated for demolition by December 25th.
Instead, the two agreed to apply the Absentee Property Law to a number of plots nearby the town's current location. Under this framework, Amona residents would be evacuated, their homes relocated to an alternative site on the same hill, and the new location given protection under the Regulation Law.
While Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, one of the Regulation Law's backers, praised the deal, calling it "an extraordinary historic achievement," residents of Amona called the move an act of betrayal.
In a statement to supporters Monday afternoon, the Amona Resistance Council blasted the Jewish Home, saying they had abandoned the community by taking the easy way out.
"Amona woke up to a difficult morning. They [the political leadership] betrayed us in the end. Once again the [country's] leaders have shown themselves to be little apparatchiks. Once again they chose to close a deal rather than to break new ground - at our expense of course."
"Now they're going to try to present the destruction of Amona as an achievement...we're not buying it."
Rabbi Yair Frank, who serves as the town's spiritual leader, also condemned the deal, noting that the residents themselves were never consulted.
"What is important to understand here is that this is not an acceptable solution for the community, this is something that the residents of Amona cannot live with," Rabbi Frank told Radio Kol Hai on Monday. We demand that the town be normalized in its [present] location."
"If the government and the Knesset accept the logic of compensation rather than evictions," continued Rabbi Frank, referencing the Regulation Law, "then there is no real problem to make it retroactive as well. Why can't this include Amona?"
"This solution is not a solution, it's a disgrace."
5. 'ANTI-SETTLER PROFESSOR IS A STAIN ON THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY'
by Ido Ben Porat
Journalist and Israeli Prize Winner Yaakov Ahimeir blasted a Hebrew University professor who refused to speak with Arutz Sheva, saying that he would not "be interviewed by settlers."
On Sunday, Dr. Yuri Pines, the Vice-Dean of Humanities at the Hebrew University and an expert on China, refused to speak with Arutz Sheva correspondent Eliran Aharon, who had reached out to Dr. Pines to discuss President-elect Donald Trump's talk with Taiwanese President Tzai Ing-wen.
In turning down the interview, Dr. Pines cited his personal dislike of Jews who live in Judea and Samaria.
"I do not give interviews to settlers. I can't stand settlers and I hope they move back to Israel, in which case I would happily be interviewed by them."
Writing on Facebook on Monday, Ahimeir called the incident "a stain" on the university's reputation.
"I contacted Dr. Pines, and he confirmed the facts," wrote Ahimeir. "He refused to talk in depth, claiming that he was in a meeting. Dr. Pines is the Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Humanities in the Hebrew University. He has the right, of course, to his views, and no one is arguing about that."
"But his response and his refusal to be interview because the interviewer is 'a settler' unfortunately stains not only Dr. Pines… but also the name of the Hebrew University," continued Ahimeir. "The incident is an embarrassment for the Hebrew University."
6. HAREDIM MOST LIKELY TO DO VOLUNTEER SERVICE - ARABS THE LEAST
by David Rubin
Haredi Jews were more likely to participate in volunteer work in 2015 than any other sector of the Israeli population, a new report shows.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, which published the report in honor of International Volunteer Day on Monday, haredim performed volunteer service at a higher rate than any other group in Israel.
During the course of 2015, 1.1 million Israelis volunteered, or about 21% of the total population.
Some 39% of haredi Jews did some form of volunteer work in 2015, compared to 33% of national-religious Jews, 22% of traditional Jews, and 20% of secular Israeli Jews.
As a whole, 23% of Israeli Jews over age 20 volunteered in 2015, while just 8% of Israeli Arabs did.
Broken down by age, 22% of Israelis aged 20-64 volunteered, compared to 16% of people over 65.
A plurality (45%) of volunteers did so through a charitable organization, while 42% volunteered on their own, outside of the framework of an organization. A further 13% did some volunteer work in 2015 through an organization and other work on their own.
Of those who volunteered with charitable organizations, 35% worked for groups aiding the poor, elderly, or disabled. Twenty-two percent volunteered with educational organizations.
7. MISSING BOY FOUND
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Six-year-old Yaakov Dov Shrot was found in the Arab town of Hizme just north of Jerusalem on Monday morning by emergency rescue services.
Previously, authorities had expressed concern over whether or not Shrot was indeed still alive.
He does not seem to have been harmed or ill.
Shrot, who is autistic, went missing on Sunday afternoon. He had last been seen getting off the bus with his father in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Neve Yaakov. According to the father, the boy ran off and went missing soon afterwards.
United Hatzalah psycho-trauma unit director Miriam Ballin said, "Yaakov is known for his energy and curiosity. We are hoping that the same energy and curiosity that got him into this mess will help him be found."
8. FOUR KILLED IN DEADLY CAR CRASH
by Orli Harari
[video:2021711]
Four people in their 20s were killed in a car accident on Route 431, near Ness Ziona, on Sunday evening.
The accident occurred when a private vehicle collided with a commercial vehicle that was parked on the roadside.
Magen David Adom paramedics who were called to the scene pronounced the four people who were in the private vehicle dead.
Meir Valder, a paramedic who was at the scene, said, "It was a shocking accident. We saw a car that was completely crushed with four young people in their 20s trapped inside. They were unconscious with serious injuries, and we tried to give them medical treatment while extricating them from the vehicle, but they had no signs of life, and shortly thereafter we pronounced them dead."
Route 431 was blocked to traffic from the Ness Ziona interchange to the Ramla South interchange as the accident was investigated by Israel Police. Drivers were asked to used alternate routes.
The accident is the second deadly accident in less than 24 hours. Overnight Saturday, a man and two women were killed in an accident on Highway 79 near Zippori in the Lower Galilee.
Five people were injured in the accident, including two with serious injuries and three who were lightly injured.
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