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Thursday, Dec. 01 '16, א' בכסלו תשע"ז
HEADLINES:
1. REPORT: OBAMA WON'T FORCE A PEACE PLAN BEFORE HE LEAVES
2. BENNETT: I WILL CONTINUE TO BE A NUISANCE
3. CIA CHIEF: ABANDONING IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL 'THE HEIGHT OF FOLLY'
4. 'GIVE THE IDF CHIEF RABBI THE AUTHORITY TO ACT'
5. RIVLIN SAYS HE SUPPORTS STATUS QUO ON RELIGIOUS ISSUES
6. AMONA ASCENDS THE TEMPLE MOUNT
7. UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT DONS PLO FLAG
8. 'I HOPE OBAMA LEAVES OFFICE IN A DIGNIFIED FASHION'
1. REPORT: OBAMA WON'T FORCE A PEACE PLAN BEFORE HE LEAVES
by Tal Polon
US President Barack Obama will almost certainly not pressure Israel to advance a peace process with the Palestinians during his final weeks in office, a new report claims.
AP reported that it had obtained information from "US officials" that Obama had no intention of shaking Israel up with a new peace plan before he steps down.
According to the officials, Obama had been considering over the past year to make a final grand statement - whether in the form of a speech or through support for a UN resolution - urging a renewed peace plan between Israel and the Palestinians.
Apparently, however, the unexpected election of Donald Trump caused Obama to change his mind.
According to the report, Trump, who has hinted at closer ties with Israel and enjoys a large pro-Israel constituency, would be likely to reject any anti-Israel stance that Obama puts on the table, forcing a public confrontation against Obama's prospective policy - and tarnishing Obama's image as "neutral arbiter."
The White House declined to comment on the reports.
2. BENNETT: I WILL CONTINUE TO BE A NUISANCE
by Ido Ben Porat
Jewish Home leader and Education Minister Naftali Bennett responded on his Facebook page Thursday morning to the criticism leveled by some Likud party members about his conduct over the Amona issue.
MK David Amsalem (Likud) had tweeted that "Bennett is a serial troublemaker, a small time politician who considers [when he comes out with declarations] how many (Knesset) seats he will get as a result If I were Netanyahu, I would announce that, in the next government coalition, we will not sit with the Jewish Home party if he is leading it."
Bennett responded that "the Likud say that I am a nuisance and that they shouldn't sit with me in the next government. (Who will you sit with then? Zehava Gal-on and Merav Michaeli?)"
"I really apologize. I'm sorry I was a nuisance and didn't allow the release of terrorists. I'm sorry I was a nuisance and prevented the building freeze. I'm sorry I was a nuisance and insisted that Ayelet Shaked should be justice minister and shake up the legal system. I'm sorry I was a nuisance and insisted that I oppose a Palestinian state. I'm sorry I was a nuisance and insisted that the army should be given the proper tools to succeed in the Protective Edge campaign.
"In fact, I will continue to be a nuisance because that is how I was taught. In matters of importance to our country, it is forbidden to concede and compromise," concluded Bennett.
3. CIA CHIEF: ABANDONING IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL 'THE HEIGHT OF FOLLY'
by Tal Polon
CIA Director John Brennan has slammed President-elect Donald Trump's pledge to tear up the nuclear deal with Iran.
In an interview yesterday with BBC, Brennan said that abandoning the deal would be "disastrous."
"For one administration to tear up an agreement that a previous administration made would be unprecedented," he said.
Brennan claimed that US abandonment of the deal would only lead to more determined Iranian efforts to obtain nuclear weapons, and would also encourage other states to develop their own nuclear programs.
"I think it would be the height of folly if the next administration were to tear up that agreement," he said.
This is not the first time Brennan has come out publicly against Trump's prospective policies. In July, Brennan said that he would quit his post if the incoming president reintroduced the technique of 'waterboarding,' an interrogation method that simulates the sensation of drowning, to the CIA.
Although the CIA had used the technique on terrorist suspects after the 9/11 attacks, President Barack Obama had banned the practice in 2009.
In the most recent primary debates, however, Donald Trump indicated that he would reinstate the practice if elected president.
"I would bring back waterboarding, [and] a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding," Trump had said.
4. 'GIVE THE IDF CHIEF RABBI THE AUTHORITY TO ACT'
by Kobi Finkler
The forum of army rabbis in the reserves blessed this morning incoming IDF Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Eyal Karim, whose induction ceremony is set to take place later today at Tel Aviv's central "Kirya" army base.
"We wish him blessings and success," the rabbis said. "We hope that [Rabbi Karim] will lead the military rabbinate to new heights, with strength and modesty, in the spirit of King David, [who was both gentle and tough]."
The forum called on rabbis in the wider public to rally around Rabbi Karim: "Rabbi Karim's acceptance of the position provides an opportunity for all the yeshiva heads to rally around the Chief Rabbi of the IDF, and to see in him the one trustworthy authority for dealing with matters of religious observance in the army, and to thus strengthen the military rabbinate and Jewish matters in the army - preventing the bypassing of the military rabbinate and its resulting weakened status."
"We are filled with prayer that God will send blessings of success to Rabbi Eyal Karim, a worthy and fitting choice, a Torah scholar of stalwart character and shining countenance, for the Army and for the State of Israel.
"The purpose of the IDF was, and remains, victory in war and defense of the State of Israel - the Jewish State. The military rabbinate will continue to faithfully act towards this purpose, while preserving the Jewish and nationalist character of the Army," the rabbis concluded.
5. RIVLIN SAYS HE SUPPORTS STATUS QUO ON RELIGIOUS ISSUES
by Yoel Domb
President Rivlin issued a clarification Thursday morning in the wake of his controversial statements yesterday about the need to solve conflicts on issues of religion and state.
From Rivlin's words yesterday, it seemed that he was supporting a new appraisal of the status quo in Israel regarding religious matters, including the issue of public transport. His words aroused a furor in Orthodox religious circles.
This morning Rivlin stated that "In my words yesterday I wished to express my genuine concern over the serious conflicts on issues of religion and state. I intended to spread peace but unfortunately tension increased and for that I apologize and am deeply upset."
He said "I said in the past and say again, more than Israel has maintained the status quo, the status quo has guarded Israel. I believe that, at the national level we should not break the status quo, which is a fundamental aspect of our national identity. This is especially true regarding the importance of the Shabbat in preserving Israel as a Jewish state."
"The Jewish public arena which centers around the Shabbat has preserved the Jewish character of the State of Israel and the unity between the different parts of the nation. In my words yesterday, I said clear things about the religious nature of the State of Israel and about the fact that it cannot separate the religion and faith which have preserved us over the generations from our lives today.
Rivlin stated that he intended with his words to solve conflicts on these issues, "I wanted to ask how we can solve the difficult disputes between us and lower tensions among us, out of a genuine concern for the resilience of Israeli society and the State of Israel. I said that, in future discussions, we should consider attaining through agreements and conciliation a status quo which will give expression and respect to people's different ways of life. Already today the State of Israel demonstrates respect and considerable support for the needs of diverse communities and we are proud of this."
These last sentences, according to religious MKs, implied a desire for change in the longstanding laws governing the place of religion in the Jewish state to align them with non-Orthodox movements.
The president stressed that he supported closing streets in religious neighborhoods on Shabbat and did not advocate coercion to force haredi communities to study secular subjects. He claimed that he simply said that, as a state which respects the needs of every community, it behooves us to find a modus vivendi which will enable every community to give expression to its way of life.
Rivlin concluded by apologizing for the way his words had been phrased, "I am sorry that my words were not phrased with enough sensitivity and clarity and pray that we will merit to spread love and peace among us."
6. AMONA ASCENDS THE TEMPLE MOUNT
by Tal Polon
Dozens of Amona residents and their children ascended the Temple Mount this morning to pray for the future of their community, 0404 reported.
Amona is slated for demolition at the end of this month by order of the Supreme Court, on grounds that the community is built on private Palestinian land.
The residents were accompanied to the Mount by activists of "Students for the Temple Mount," a student movement which presses for ending religious discrimination against Jews on the Temple Mount.
"It is only natural that anyone who needs help and our prayers should ascend and express his needs on the Temple Mount, the holiest place in the world. In the past, we have personally met women who could not give birth, but merited to do so after praying on the Temple Mount; [likewise, we have met those who] recovered from various illnesses [after praying on the Mount].
"Therefore, we initiated this special ascension to the Mount, which we hope will help save the community of Amona," representatives of the Students for the Temple Mount said, according to 0404.
"We call on the entire Jewish People to ascend the Temple Mount and pray there."
The special prayer session comes as the Regulation Law, which seeks to normalize the status of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and prevent evacuations as a result of property claims, passed its first reading yesterday in the Knesset's Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee by a margin of 8-6.
The second and third readings of the Law are to take place next week.
7. UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT DONS PLO FLAG
by Elad Benari
Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon on Wednesday slammed UN General Assembly President Peter Thomson, who wore a scarf with the colors of the the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)'s flag.
Thomson wore the scarf on Tuesday as the UN marked its annual "International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People". The special session, initiated by the Palestinian Authority's UN delegation, is held annually on the anniversary of the UN Partition Plan of November 29, 1947, which led to the creation of the state of Israel, recognized by the UN. It is regularly used as an occasion to pass anti-Israel resolutions, and Tuesday's session was no exception.
"It's unacceptable for the president of the UN General Assembly, whose position is a symbol of neutrality and stateliness, to wrap himself in a Palestinian flag and participate in an event whose sole purpose is to attack and besmirch the state of Israel," Danon said, according to JNS.org.
"This is living, unequivocal proof of the bias against Israel and the slander spread about us at the UN," added the Israeli envoy.
The General Assembly adopted six resolutions critical of Israel during Tuesday's session. The resolutions included measures ignoring Jewish ties to holy sites in Jerusalem, allocating resources to help promote the Palestinian narrative, and calling on Israel to withdraw from the "occupied territories."
Danon himself gave a pointed speech at the session, in which he noted that the Palestinian Arabs rejected the Partition Plan in 1947 and continue to this day to show they do not really want an independent state.
"Do the Palestinians even want a state? History tells us that the answer is no. If the Palestinians really wanted peace, we could have had peace decades ago. The Palestinians reject every Israeli offer and every plan and respond with waves of violence and terror," he said.
As proof of his remarks, Danon held up during his speech the front page from the New York Times on November 30, 1947, the day after the Partition Plan vote. The headlines on that day read: "Assembly Votes Palestine Partition," "Arabs Walk Out… Disavow Any Partition Role." Israel accepted the plan although it left a tiny, truncatedcJewish State.
"It is time to put an end to this lie, once and for all," Ambassador Danon told the Assembly. "If you really want to show solidarity with the Palestinian people then end this charade, and demand that that the Palestinian leaders finally return to the negotiating table."
8. 'I HOPE OBAMA LEAVES OFFICE IN A DIGNIFIED FASHION'
by Eliran Aharon
[youtube:2021622]
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's appointments thus far have been "really quite extraordinary," says Marc Zell, chairman of Republicans Overseas Israel.
Speaking to Arutz Sheva on Wednesday, Zell said, "The entire transition process has been very transparent to the public. Names are being advanced, the public is talking about them in advance. The transition team is taking these considerations by the public into account."
He noted that each of the four nominees being considered for Secretary of State would be a good choice.
As for outgoing President Barack Obama, Zell admitted there is a "concern" he might take unilateral actions against Israel at the UN before he leaves office, now that he is no longer concerned with re-election issues.
"There have been some hints that he may feel that now that the election is over and the Democrats have lost, he's free to do whatever he wants. [But] my hope is that President Obama will leave office in a dignified fashion and will not do anything in these last few weeks of his presidency to make the agenda of the new incoming administration more difficult," added Zell.
"When you try to reinvent or take unusual policy decisions in the last few days of your administration, you really do work against the transition process. You can't have a transition when the outgoing administration is making radical new changes in the policy direction. I hope that won't happen," he continued.
The American liberal Jewish community, which overwhelmingly voted for Hillary Clinton, as opposed to mainstream Orthodox and haredi, is slowly getting over the "shock" of her losing, said Zell.
"I'm hopeful that despite all the brainwashing and all the mudslinging and all the defamatory attacks being made against Donald Trump and his administration, I believe that the American people – including those who were opposed to him – will understand that his presidency is good for the United States," he added.
"In time, the American public will come to see Donald Trump as I see him and millions of other Americans see him: As something good for the United States and good for everyone," said Zell.
Turning to Jewish students, particularly ones who support Israel and are subject to anti-Zionist harassment on campus, Zell called on them to "be strong. Be of good courage as the Bible says, because better times are coming."
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