Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
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Monday, Jan. 23 '17, כ"ה בטבת תשע"ז
HEADLINES:
1. 'NETANYAHU IS RUINING THE CHANCE OF A LIFETIME'
2. 'GOVERNMENT PRIORITIZES PA OVER ISRAELI CITIZENS'
3. ILLEGAL WORKER FROM PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY STEALS MILLIONS
4. FAR-LEFT SLAMS ISRAEL AT ANTI-TRUMP MARCH
5. NEW STUDY: EU IS A MAJOR FINANCIAL BACKER OF BDS ORGANIZATIONS
6. ARE ARAB LEADERS THREATENING PRESIDENT TRUMP AND ISRAEL?
7. AMONA RABBI: LEGALIZE AMONA
8. WOMEN MARCH IN YEMEN CHANTING DEATH TO AMERICA AND ISRAEL
1. 'NETANYAHU IS RUINING THE CHANCE OF A LIFETIME'
by Uzi Baruch
Senior Israeli officials are warning that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is on the verge of missing the chance of a lifetime for Israel, calling the inauguration of President Donald Trump a unique opportunity.
On Sunday, the Security Cabinet voted unanimously to delay discussion on the proposed annexation of Maaleh Adumim, a city of 40,000 residents just east of Jerusalem, until after the Prime Minister meets with Trump in February.
Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel (Jewish Home) slammed the decision on Monday, calling it a "mistake", and urged the government to push the measure forward immediately.
"We are a sovereign state and not the 51st star on the American flag," Ariel told Army Radio. "We need to annex Maaleh Adumim because it is ours. The citizens living in Judea and Samaria deserve the same rights given to residents everywhere else in the country."
A senior cabinet official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Arutz Sheva Monday that Israel was about to miss a historic opportunity.
"We're missing our chance," the senior official told Arutz Sheva. "The bottom line is, Netanyahu doesn't intend to seriously change [his policies], despite the new government in the US."
According to the official, the Trump administration has reached out to Israel with an unprecedented offer of cooperation.
"Netanyahu is spoiling an opportunity that only comes once in 50 years," the official said. "We've never had this kind of chance before. The Trump administration says to us: 'Tell us what you want' – they're waiting for us [to respond]. But instead of moving away from the idea of two states, Netanyahu continues to act out of weakness and fear."
The Prime Minister spoke with President Trump Sunday evening in a phone call that lasted less than 30 minutes.
During the call, President Trump invited Netanyahu to meet with him in Washington DC next month.
2. 'GOVERNMENT PRIORITIZES PA OVER ISRAELI CITIZENS'
by Ido Ben Porat
MK Bezalel Smotrich (Jewish Home) sent a letter to Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon (Kulanu) and Finance Committee Head Moshe Gafni (UTJ), criticizing them for raising income tax for Palestinian Authority residents who work inside the pre-1967 borders.
"Lowering the amount of income tax credits given to those Judea and Samaria Arabs who work in the construction sector in the pre-1967 borders will raise the price of construction, as well as the end price for those looking to buy homes," Smotrich said.
"The Finance Minister is aware of this, and he even wrote about his efforts to close the gap between the cost of hiring Arab workers and the cost of hiring Jewish workers.
"The decision to raise income tax for Arab workers will result in a rise in housing prices. This alone is enough reason to oppose the law. We will not allow the government to raise taxes and the cost of housing while at the same time working to lower the cost of housing.
"Raising the income tax for Palestinian Authority Arabs will cause a ripple effect on the rest of Israel's economy. In addition, the PA will be the ones to benefit from the added taxes, since we transfer these workers' income tax to the PA.
"I don't understand the logic behind raising taxes on PA Arabs and forcing Israeli citizens to pay the price, especially since the PA works to harm the State of Israel," Smotrich concluded.
3. ILLEGAL WORKER FROM PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY STEALS MILLIONS
by Shlomo Pyotrovsky
[video:2023537]
After a year and a half, a Palestinian Authority Arab who illegally resided and worked in Israel has been taken into custody for grand larceny, after having allegedly stolen some 2 million shekels ($530,000) from a Tel Aviv office building where he worked.
The man, a Ramallah-area resident who had worked as a janitor in an office building on Gordon Street, is believed to have discovered the massive some of money while cleaning up after work hours.
The cash, which was partially in US Dollars and in part New Israeli Shekels, had been placed by the manager of the office in question in a drawer, and left there overnight.
Investigators identified the janitor with the help of security camera footage, which showed him exiting the building while carrying several bags before leaving the scene of the crime in a car which had been waiting for him outside.
Shortly after the theft, Israeli police issued a warrant for the man's arrest and attempted to locate him.
The suspect was arrested not long after by Palestinian Authority police, who found in his possession nearly 1 million shekels in cash ($265,000),
Despite his arrest, however, he was only taken into custody by Israeli authorities this month, following a successful operation for his capture in Samaria.
An indictment is expected to be issued in the case on Monday.
4. FAR-LEFT SLAMS ISRAEL AT ANTI-TRUMP MARCH
by David Rosenberg
[youtube:2023570]
Thousands gathered in Washington DC on Saturday to protest the inauguration of President Donald Trump on Friday, in what has been dubbed the "Women's March on Washington".
The event, which was billed as a "diverse" gathering of anti-Trump voices was dominated by the far-left, with feminist pro-life groups barred from participating and a roster of radical speakers, including former Communist Party leader activist Angela Davis, feminist icon Gloria Steinem, union leader Dolores Huerta, and'social justice' activist LaDonna Harris.
While intended as a protest of the president's inauguration, the demonstration also focused on what organizers called the new administration's challenges to women's rights, immigration reform, and other causes.
But the event also became a forum for seemingly unrelated topics with little bearing on the inauguration – including the State of Israel.
The Jewish state and the Arab-Israeli conflict were raised at the march, including when Davis repeatedly referenced the issue in her 7-minute address.
Among a laundry list of demands, the 1960's radical stressed the need to "guarantee the accessibility of water from the lands of the Standing Rock Sioux, to Flint, Michigan, to the West Bank and Gaza."
Later, Davis demanded "justice for Palestine", tying the issue of Palestinian statehood to women's rights.
"Women's rights are human rights all over the planet and that is why we say freedom and justice for Palestine."
One of the march's organizers, Linda Sarsour, repeatedly referenced the Arab-Israeli conflict, calling herself her "Palestinian grandmother's" wildest dream.
"Most of all, I am my Palestinian grandmother - who lives in occupied terroritory - [her] wildest dream, and I am so proud to be here. Justice for all"
Sarsour railed against what she termed the 'silent suffering' of American Muslims during both the Bush and Obama administrations.
"I stand here before you unapologetically Muslim-American, unapologetically Palestinian-American, unapologetically from Brooklyn, New York."
"You can count on me, your Palestinian Muslim sister, to keep her voice loud, to keep her feet on the streets, to keep her head held high, because I am not afraid."
According to a 2012 report by The New York Times, Sarsour admitted that some members of her family had been arrested for alleged ties to the Hamas terror organization.
[youtube:2023574]
5. NEW STUDY: EU IS A MAJOR FINANCIAL BACKER OF BDS ORGANIZATIONS
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Despite its stated opposition to BDS campaigns against Israel, the European Union (EU) is a major financial backer of organizations that advocate for the country's economic isolation, according to a new research report published today by NGO Monitor.
NGO Monitor reviewed a number of recent EU regional funding programs designated for Israel, the Judea and Samaria, and Gaza, and found that 29 out of 100 EU grants administered through the frameworks reviewed, funnel funds to BDS organizations (€16.7 million out of €67.1 million - roughly 25%).
42 out of 180 EU grantees in total support BDS - either through participation in activities and events, signing of petitions and initiatives, and/or membership in explicit BDS platforms. Several organizations were the recipients of more than one grant.
Due to the lack of EU transparency, the extent of humanitarian aid funding, funding for other designated regions, and other frameworks is largely unknown. As a result, the precise overall amount of EU funding to BDS organizations cannot be determined.
Non-governmental organization (NGO) funding is a central component of EU foreign policy, claiming to promote peace, cooperation, and human rights. However, in contrast to the stated objectives, the EU funds a number of highly biased and politicized NGOs that exploit the rhetoric of human rights to promote anti-peace campaigns that oppose a two-state framework.
According to Olga Deutsch, Director of the Europe Desk at NGO Monitor, "When confronted with the evidence that it is funding NGOs that contradict EU policy, the EU's standard response is that it "funds projects submitted by NGOs, in line with [the] EU's fundamental principles and values, but not NGOs themselves.'
"However, this distinction is misleading, as project funding is inevitably used for overall organization and activity expenses," Deutsch explained. "Even without necessarily intending to, the EU grants legitimacy to BDS organizations - in several cases funding over 50% of an organization's entire budget.
"We continue to reach out to our European colleagues in Brussels explaining the EU's detrimental impact, as many of these BDS-supporting organizations would not even exist without their financial backing."
Previously, the EU announced their intention to sue Israel for destroying EU-funded illegal Arab buildings. The EU also criticized Israel's "Transparency Law," which requires NGOs to reveal who their foreign backers are, claiming the law would "curtail freedom of expression and association."
6. ARE ARAB LEADERS THREATENING PRESIDENT TRUMP AND ISRAEL?
by ILTV
[brightcove:2023555]
7. AMONA RABBI: LEGALIZE AMONA
by Benny Tucker
Amona's Rabbi Yair Frank spoke with Arutz Sheva about why Amona residents are renewing their battle for legalization.
"Unfortunately, today we are looking at the land in question, and there are no buildings. There isn't even a single tractor. The agreement we made with the government is officially dead," Rabbi Frank said. "The Prime Minister and his government made promises, but they have not been kept. There are two weeks left before the court-ordered bulldozers arrive and demolish our homes.
"The most logical solution is simply to legalize the homes in Amona and Ofra. This is an historical opportunity for both Israel and the US. If we're already talking about bigger solutions such as annexing Maaleh Adumim, it's not a big deal to prevent the destruction of Amona.
"If, G-d forbid, Amona isn't legalized and the government deal falls through, we will encourage people to return to Amona. We're against violence, there will be no civil war and we won't harm a single person. But we will ask people to come join our protest, and to be there with us on that awful day.
"Amona's residents still hope the decision makers will wake up and save us and the nine houses in Ofra. We have turned to Likud and to the Jewish Home, and we hope they will help us.
"We feel the government did not actually take responsibility for carrying out their promises. We feel like we were tricked. They could have done things differently. So now we are going back to our original request to leave Amona in its place on the same mountain, and to legalize it as is.
"And if that does not happen, we will all be here together," Rabbi Frank concluded.
8. WOMEN MARCH IN YEMEN CHANTING DEATH TO AMERICA AND ISRAEL
[twittervideo:2023573]
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