Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
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Thursday, Feb. 23 '17, כ"ז בשבט תשע"ז
HEADLINES:
1. 'THE JUDGES WORK WITH COMPLETE AUTONOMY'
2. WATCH: PENCE HELPS REPAIR VANDALIZED JEWISH CEMETERY
3. FOUNDER OF SKYPE SUPPORTS CONGREGATIONAL RABBI TRAINING
4. ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS IN AUSTRALIA: NETANYAHU IS A WAR CRIMINAL
5. 'ISRAEL'S RUSH LIMBAUGH' REMEMBERED
6. WATCH: NETANYAHU MEETS WITH AUSTRALIAN PM AND HIS CABINET
7. FOUR NEW JUDGES APPOINTED TO SUPREME COURT
8. NASA DISCOVERS NEW PLANETS
1. 'THE JUDGES WORK WITH COMPLETE AUTONOMY'
by Shlomo Pyotrokovsky
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Miriam Naor, sent on Thursday morning a special letter to judges serving across Israel, following the appointment last night of four new justices to the Supreme Court.
The four judges chosen all currently serve in judicial capacities in district courts around the country.
"Honorable judges, at the Judicial Selection Committee meeting last night, 4 acting judges were chosen to serve in the Supreme Court," she began.
Naor listed the names of the newly-appointed Supreme Court justices and their current judicial positions and added, "I am proud and happy that the Committee was wise enough to advance 4 skilled, professional, and experienced judges from the judicial system who, without a doubt, will manifest an important contribution to the missions standing before the justices of the Supreme Court."
According to Naor, "the task of the judges of Israel in our democratic society is to rule on disagreements between man and his fellow, to maintain rule of law, and to protect human rights in Israel."
Naor emphasized the independence of the judiciary, saying, "the judges enjoy independence and full judicial autonomy. Each and every one rules on every matter brought before him according to the best of his knowledge and conscience and within the confines of the law, without fear or favoritism. Thus they always acted and thus all the judges of Israel will continue to do - and among them, those chosen last night. We will receive them all with blessing."
2. WATCH: PENCE HELPS REPAIR VANDALIZED JEWISH CEMETERY
by Yoni Kempinski
[youtube:2025019]
Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday made an unannounced visit to the Jewish Chesed Shel Emeth cemetery near St. Louis which was vandalized earlier this week.
"I spoke words earlier today in St. Louis that were from the heart. There is no place in America for hatred, prejudice, or acts of violence, or anti-Semitism," he said.
"I must tell you that the people of Missouri are inspiring the nation by your love and care for this place and the Jewish community. I want to thank you for that inspiration. For showing the world what America is all about," he added.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Vice President condemned the vandalism as he spoke in Missouri.
"I would like to address something that happened here in St. Louis over the weekend. On Monday morning America awoke and discovered nearly 200 tombstones were toppled in a nearby Jewish cemetery.
"Speaking yesterday, President Trump called this a horrible and painful act, and so it was. That, along with other recent threats to Jewish community centers around the country. He declared it all a sad reminder of the work that still must be done to root out hate and prejudice and evil.
"We condemn this act of vandalism and those who perpetrated in the strongest possible terms," Pence stated.
In addition to the vandalism at the cemetery, at least 10 Jewish community centers across the United States were targeted on Monday with bomb threats, the fourth such wave in five weeks.
3. FOUNDER OF SKYPE SUPPORTS CONGREGATIONAL RABBI TRAINING
by Shimon Cohen
The Association of Community Rabbis has begun a professional training series for synagogue and community rabbis.
In addition to halachic training such as for conducting weddings, family life, and practical kashrut adjudication tools, the rabbis receive comprehensive professional training including courses in mediation and reconciliation, domestic tranquility, handling extreme cases (family and community violence, sexual abuse, etc.), rhetoric and individual dialogue, economic support for needy families, media and public relations issues, and more.
Kevin Bermeister, a Jewish businessman from Australia, decided to assume financial responsibility for a significant part of the rabbinic training programs and scholarships.
During his visit to Israel this week he met with community and affiliated rabbis and said: "My ambition and expectation are that your vision as community rabbis now affecting only the members of your immediate communities, will be reflected in the Israeli public, so that Jewish law and Israeli law will join, and you will be leading the process. I hope your impact will expand and reach communities which are at present far from the Torah and mitzvot."
The entire initiative is being executed in cooperation with several bodies, among them "Chiburim" - who administer family centers in Israel to improve family life.
Bermeister, former owner of the popular file-sharing software "Kazaa" and founder of "Skype", has in recent years developed a keen interest in Judaism, and says that he sees it as his mission to help and contribute to bringing the redemption. His training project is another philanthropic step in the spirit of Judaism. One of Bermeister's famous ventures is the "Jerusalem 5800" program, which seeks to make Jerusalem an international tourist center within 30 years.
Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu, Executive Director of the Association of Communal Rabbis, said: "The Association aims to train the figures on duty to lead the people of Israel in the next generation. We have merited to accompany more than 100 rabbis in the way of Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu zt"l. Thank G-d our spheres of influence are expanding. Kevin's support on behalf of rabbinical training is amazing. His longing for the redemption does not remain in the prayer book only, but is expressed in constant action."
Aryeh King, member of the Jerusalem City Council who introduced Bermeister to the Association of Communal Rabbis, said: "As a member of the Jerusalem city council, and as someone who cares for the future and status of the rabbinate in Israel, I am glad that there is cooperation between the vision for "Jerusalem 5800" and the vision for the rabbinate, a collaboration which includes cooperation between the various shades in the Israeli rabbinate, in hopes of speeding the salvation and building Jerusalem."
4. ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS IN AUSTRALIA: NETANYAHU IS A WAR CRIMINAL
by AFP
Several hundred pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated in Sydney on Thursday against the first visit to Australia by an Israeli prime minister, branding Binyamin Netanyahu a "war criminal".
A police helicopter hovered over the city as speakers slammed Australian support for Israel.
"We are here to oppose Australia's support for Israel, for a racist apartheid nation," pro-Palestinian author and Australian lawyer Randa Abdel-Fattah told AFP.
"It's disgusting to see that some of our Australian leaders have rolled out the red carpet and welcomed a war criminal into Australia," she said.
"But there are so many Australians who are against this and we are raising our voices loudly and clearly today, to say (Prime Minister) Malcolm Turnbull, and (Foreign Minister) Julie Bishop, 'not in our name'," she added.
A large banner was unfurled depicting Netanyahu with a moustache as Hitler and the word "Fascist" written underneath.
Pro-Israel supporters were also on the streets and The Australian newspaper reported that riot squad officers removed a man who approached the crowd shouting "long live Israel".
The demonstrators, organized by the local Palestine Action Group, tried to march on Netanyahu's hotel but were cut off by police well short of the city center building over looking the harbor.
Ahead of Netanyahu's arrival Wednesday, some 60 business leaders, academics, members of the clergy and former politicians signed a letter saying Australia should not welcome Netanyahu, claiming his policies "provoke, intimidate and oppress" the Palestinians.
5. 'ISRAEL'S RUSH LIMBAUGH' REMEMBERED
by Mordechai Sones
"Adir Zik was neither an emperor, nor a high priest, nor a decorated general, nor a world-renowned philosopher. He was merely a television producer. However, he was also, infallibly, a tabernacle of unvarnished truth, iron will, clear vision and passionate love for the essence of Israel. As such, he was truly a legend in his own lifetime, universally revered and adored by all Zionists with a clear conscience, and just as universally reviled and feared by all Zionists who have parted - temporarily, we all hope - with their consciences. His very name, roughly translated, means 'the great spark'."
So wrote Suzie Dym after the 2005 passing of the legendary Israeli firebrand Adir Zik. Termed the "Israeli Rush Limbaugh", Zik was described as "a lover of Israel, a man who exemplified a love of the Torah, the Holy Land, and G-d's people, Zik, 66, made his case every Friday with a morning program on Arutz Sheva - first on the radio, and then continuing over the internet.
"The program, 'Adir's Fireworks' - based on the meaning of the Hebrew word zik - spread a message of Torah, truth and unyielding compromise, accompanied by a call for total dedication for the glorification of the Land of Israel and the Chosen People. He warned against the dangers threatening the State of Israel following the 1993 Oslo Agreement, and never let up until he died.
"Adir Zik's opinions earned him many a political nemesis. He railed against the bias of the media, which he commonly called 'tishkoret' instead of 'tikshoret ('lies' instead of 'media'). He popularized the term Bolshevik government' when he used it to refer to the Labor Rabin-Peres regime and its methods of putting down its political opponents," according to the Arutz Sheva announcement of his passing.
In memory of this great personage and in order to propagate his philosophy and legacy, Arutz Sheva presents the following for your reading edification:
Adir Zik: Wake Up! It's a Border, Not a Security Fence
Committee Approves Street Naming for Adir Zik
Adir Zik: The Great Spark
Moshe Kempinski article in memory of Adir Zik
Ten Years: Memorial to Adir Zik, Media Legend
זוכרים. אדיר זיק ז"ל
צילום: פלאש 90
The author withes to thank Eliezer Moshe Kline for reminding about the yahrtzeit.
6. WATCH: NETANYAHU MEETS WITH AUSTRALIAN PM AND HIS CABINET
by Arutz Sheva Staff
[youtube:2025050]
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met on Thursday morning with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and members of his Cabinet to discuss opportunities for cooperation between Israel and Australia on a range of issues.
Turnbull opened the meeting, saying: "we're here with our ministers to discuss the wide range of opportunities to cooperate on security, on innovation, cyber-security, defense, transport."
"We know that there are very great opportunities to do more - and we've talked about this already - in the area of cyberspace. We have a cyber-security strategy which we published last year. It is world-leading. We are very focused on it. We have some of the best technologies and the best brains in the world here, and we know you do in Israel and there are great opportunities to collaborate.
"We also have a lot to discuss here on the subject of security.
"But we also have a very substantial commitment to the counter-ISIL coalition operating in Iraq and in Syria. We are in fact the largest international contributor to that coalition after the United States. So it's a very substantial commitment and we recognize the importance of defeating Islamist terrorism in the Middle East and indeed around the world, for the safety of all of us.
"We should not allow the tyranny of distance in the 21st century. There is so much scope for cooperation. We have the same values - democracy, freedom and the rule of law. We're combatting the same enemies - terrorism, terrorists that seek to subvert those values and deny us our ability to live in a free society and we are both committed to the innovation which we know will drive the productivity - as you said yesterday - to take us out, to keep rising in aspiration, in achievement, in prosperity."
Afterwards, Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke. "Thank you for this continuing welcome which has been exceptionally warm and not only well received by us, but well received by the people of Israel. They sense this kindred spirit," he said.
"I think the commonality of values and interests has never been greater. The commonality of the values stretches for centuries and well into the next century. We are marking here the beginning of another 100 years of friendship.
"The commonality of interest focuses on repelling the dangers but also seizing the opportunities. We are working with you, as with other like-minded states to prevent terrorist attacks that threaten our country and equally assure that this half century will be dominated by the forces of progress on freedom and not the forces of a renegade barbarism that seeks to use the weapons and the techniques of modern technology, to take us back to the dark ages. This is one of the great paradoxes. We have to fight the barbarians on the technological turf. It's amazing. That has seldom happened before. Usually advanced nations have better technology. But now terrorists in barbaric regimes can use as Churchill called it, the distorted lights of science, against our own civilizations. So this is a battle in which we are engaged with you, with the United States, many other countries to protect our freedoms, protect our way of life.
"Equally I think the opportunities are vast and I want to start with something very simple and narrow. Not only technology, not only cyber cooperation, not only R&D but actually, trade. Our trade is a billion dollars. It should be at least double or triple that. I'd like to encourage the Australian and Israeli companies to increase in trade. If I did the schlep, they should do it too.
"The first thing I'd like to do is ask you to increase our trade, our bilateral trade. Second thing is to see how Australia can be a gateway for Israeli companies and Israeli investments into Asia. And I think that is a very promising possibility," Prime Minister Netanyahu said.
7. FOUR NEW JUDGES APPOINTED TO SUPREME COURT
by Uzi Baruch
The Judicial Selection Committee announced the appointment of four judges to the Supreme Court: Dr. David Mintz, a Jerusalem District Court judge, Yael Wilner of the Haifa District Court, Yosef Elron, the President of the Haifa District Court and Tel Aviv District Court Judge George Karra.
The quartet of judges chosen will replace the four judges retiring from the court: Justices Naor, Rubinstein, Jubran and Zilbertal.
The Committee also voted to appoint Professor David Haan as a District Court judge.
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said that "today we have made history. This evening the Judicial Selection Committee headed by me appointed four judges to the Supreme Court, after we have already appointed 150 judges since the beginning of my term in office. The appointment of the judges this evening will enable expression of the human and judicial mosaic which is so necessary for us as a society and was so lacking until today in the highest judicial forum. The rudder of our judicial flagship has changed its course tonight."
Shaked added that "the strength of a legal system is dependent on its heterogeneous nature and on the diverse types which make up its human element. The new appointments emphasize this approach and very soon the Supreme Court will include views and approaches which were not seen there previously.
"I have no doubt that the new route we have established this evening will enable the ship of state to weather the legal storms still facing us."
Supreme Court Chief Justice Miriam Naor added :" Congratulations to all of the candidates chosen to serve on the Supreme Court today. We welcome all of them. Thanks to the Judicial Selection Committee."
The Lawyer's Bureau welcomed the decision of the committee: "The appointments approved today are excellent and strengthen the Supreme Court. Special congratulations are due to High Court Chief Justice Miriam Naor and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked who despite their disagreements reached a compromise which allowed the appointment of the four new judges at the same time."
8. NASA DISCOVERS NEW PLANETS
[youtube:2025043]
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