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Sunday, Feb. 12 '17, ט"ז בשבט תשע"ז
HEADLINES:
1. LEFTIST NGO SEEKS TO BLOCK FRIEDMAN'S APPOINTMENT AS AMBASSADOR
2. CHICAGO 'JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE' SPEAKER: PALESTINIAN TERRORIST
3. 'TRUMP'S GOVERNMENT IS WAITING TO SEE WHAT NETANYAHU WANTS'
4. NETANYAHU: EVEN IN THE TRUMP ERA, THERE ARE LIMITATIONS
5. KUSHNER FAMILY IN TALKS TO BUY MIAMI MARLINS
6. JERUSALEM FINALLY GETS DIRECT BUS TO BEN GURION AIRPORT
7. UN CHIEF DEFENDS CHOICE OF PA LEADER AS LIBYA ENVOY
8. FAMILY DONATES DECEASED'S ORGANS TO HELP ISRAELIS IN NEED
1. LEFTIST NGO SEEKS TO BLOCK FRIEDMAN'S APPOINTMENT AS AMBASSADOR
by Hillel Fendel
J Street has begun a campaign to have the US Senate reject the nomination of David Friedman as the next U.S. Ambassador to Israel.
The Senate is scheduled to hold a hearing on Friedman's appointment by U.S. President Donald Trump this coming Thursday. As J Street says in its anti-Friedman campaign, "Friedman is a friend of the settlement movement who backs unlimited settlement expansion" in Judea and Samaria.
J Street, which states that it is a pro-Israel organization, has circulated a sample letter among its members that it recommends be sent to their Senators. The members are asked to "strongly urge" their Senators to "reject Donald Trump's choice to be the next US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman."
J Street states that Mr. Friedman is "hostile" to the two-state solution, which it terms the "only way to ensure Israel's future as the democratic homeland of the Jewish people."
In fact, however, many politicians and thinkers on both sides of the Israeli spectrum have declared the two-state plan unworkable. Author A. B. Yehoshua, considered an "intellectual giant" of Israel's left-wing, recently said, "I have believed in dividing the land for 50 years, and now I see that it cannot happen. 450,000 Jews in Area A [Judea and Samaria] can simply not be uprooted. Can Jerusalem ever be divided, realistically? We have to start thinking differently."
J Street further accused Friedman of being a "friend of the settlement movement," and even of having "made the case for Israel's annexation of the West Bank." Being a "friend of the settlement movement" is apparently a crime in J Street's book.
Friedman supports the move of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Israel's capital, Jerusalem, and has said that he looks forward to working for peace in the Middle East "from the US embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem" – even before an official relocation of the embassy takes place.
J Street explains that it does not support BDS unconditionally, but does not oppose initiatives to boycott, divest from, or impose sanctions on Israel if these aid the progress towards a two-state solution, recognize Israel's right to exist, and focus only on "occupied territory" beyond the Green Line.
2. CHICAGO 'JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE' SPEAKER: PALESTINIAN TERRORIST
by Hillel Fendel
A female Palestinian-Arab terrorist who murdered two Israeli students is to be a featured speaker at a Jewish Voice for Peace conference in Chicago.
The conference, scheduled to run from March 31 to April 2, will host discussions and panels such as: The Role of Mizrahim in our Palestine Solidarity Movements, and Partners in Palestine: Building Relationships and Strengthening Solidarity.
Other featured topics at the event will be Fightback against Anti-BDS legislation, Media & Messaging for Palestinian Rights, and Queer Anti-Zionist Performance From the Arab & Jewish Diasporas
More than half of the featured speakers listed on the Jewish Voice for Peace event's website are Muslim or Arab.
But perhaps the most significant speaker will be Rasmea Odeh, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) who was convicted of murdering two Hebrew University students in Jerusalem in 1969.
She was sentenced to life in prison for planting the explosives used in two bombings, including a grocery store attack that killed two and wounded nine. Odeh was released from prison in a prisoner swap after serving ten years of her sentence.
Odeh is scheduled to speak in the same panel as Linda Sarsour, an outspoken anti-Israel and pro-Sharia law activist.
The Jewish Voice of Peace in Chicago, heavily involved and allied with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, also works intensively on American college campuses to promote its anti-Israel agenda among young students.
3. 'TRUMP'S GOVERNMENT IS WAITING TO SEE WHAT NETANYAHU WANTS'
by Shimon Cohen
At an event in Gush Etzion's Oz Vegaon, Co-chairman of Republicans Overseas Israel Marc Zell spoke about the steps US President Donald Trump is taking to change the US policy towards Israel, the Middle East, and the Arab-Israeli conflict. He also spoke about Trump's pre-election promises.
Zell opened his speech by speaking about the night of November 8, 2016, when Trump won an unexpected victory after all the polls showed he would lose to Hillary Clinton.
"It was a real miracle, a landslide victory," Zell said, describing how he was called in the middle of the night to speak to the media. He also said the Democrats seemed to be mourning Clinton's loss, and would remain angry and in denial "until they accept the reality. It takes time, and apparently for Democrats it takes even more time."
Returning to the issue at hand, Zell said, "Trump will not tell Israel whether or no to build or annex. He will respect the Israeli government's decisions regarding Israel's future. This is a revolutionary policy.
"For fifty years, since the Six Day War, no American government has agreed to adopt this policy. Instead, they have pushed various forms of a 'peace processes,' which all offered land in return for peace, two states for two nations, and so on. These were all Washington attempting to dictate what Israel should do. And we managed to work around it somehow.
"With G-d's help, we built - in Judea and Samaria, in Gaza, in Jerusalem, in the Golan Heights. The settlements blossomed and grew. And now we have a change in Washington's policy, a change we never dreamed of. This is what we prayed for, but we never dreamed it would actually happen.
"Since 1948, US policy has been that none of Jerusalem belongs to Israel. According to the Arabists [sic] in the US State Department, Jerusalem is an autonomous region which belongs to no one and needs to be under international supervision.
"This is legal and diplomatic fiction, and it was US policy. This is what caused the US Embassy to be placed in Tel Aviv - because it was not allowed to be placed in Jerusalem, since Jerusalem is not Israel's capital city. The US Consulate, which has been in Jerusalem since the middle of the 19th century, has become an embassy for the Palestinian Arabs.
"If Israel decides to expand the current settlements in Judea and Samaria, Washington would accept that. I'm not saying they'll love it. But yes, they will respect it. And that's a huge thing.
"Obama's supporters claim they gave Israel the most money of any US government. But they gave $600 million per year towards our missile defense shields - and that's nearly all of the $38 billion they gave. It's not an unprecedented amount of money, and Obama also limited the amount of money he was willing to give Israel, so Congress could not decide to give more.
"So for instance, if Iran were to develop nuclear weapons and we needed extra protection, we could not ask for it," Zell explained. "Trump, on the other hand, has left it open, and if we need more money we can ask and we might just get it.
"Obama paid no attention to the fact that Iran is threatening Israel. He didn't want to get into it. But Trump is willing to get into it.
"Without criticizing Israel's Prime Minister, the Israeli government is just not prepared for Trump's pace. Trump works like a racehorse, and was about to declare he was moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem. But Israel was just not prepared for it.
"It's the same thing with the settlements. During the transition period, I got many phone calls from Trump officials in charge of foreign policy and the Middle East. They asked me where Israel stands, what Israel wants, if Israel is ready," Zell said. "But Israel was afraid of Obama's reaction until the last second. And we see what Obama did in the UN just before he left office. He caused irreversible damage in the short term.
"So I'm not criticizing what was or was not done before January 20. But after January 20, it's a different world.
"Trump's decision to respect Israel's decisions has a flip side: For the first time since the Six Day War, Israel needs to decide what its interests and strategy are in all of Israel: Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the Golan - and even Gaza. What do we want, and what will we decide about our fate?
"It's in our hands now, and we need to decide. We are at an historic moment in time, a moment we never dreamed of. We have a golden opportunity to erase the damage caused over so many years and to strengthen our Zionist enterprise.
"I don't know if Washington supports sovereignty or not, but they will respect us and our decision. It's time our leaders decided Israel belongs to the Jews," he concluded.
[youtube:2024455]
4. NETANYAHU: EVEN IN THE TRUMP ERA, THERE ARE LIMITATIONS
by Hezki Baruch
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke during Sunday morning's weekly Knesset meeting about his upcoming flight to the US to meet US President Donald Trump.
"Tomorrow I will leave for Washington, to meet with Trump," Netanyahu said. "We have known each other for many years. This is a very important meeting for Israel's security, as well as other interests on both sides.
"My current motivation is to strengthen the ties between Israel and the US, and to strengthen Israel's security. This requires responsible and careful diplomacy.
"We must act responsibly and with thought. To think there are no limitations now that Trump is in power is a mistake."
Earlier on Sunday, Likud ministers attacked Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) for attempting to "lecture" Netanyahu on the importance of the Trump meeting.
Netanyahu also mentioned the Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman's (Yisrael Beytenu) decision to extend current Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot's term by another year.
"We will suggest the government agree to extend the term of the current Chief of Staff. Continuity is extremely important to our ability to build up the IDF's strength."
Regarding the recent rocket attacks, Netanyahu said, "We have a clear policy. We tolerate no spillover. We will harm anyone who attempts to attack us." However, he also said he "was no interested in an escalation."
5. KUSHNER FAMILY IN TALKS TO BUY MIAMI MARLINS
by JTA
JTA - The family of presidential adviser Jared Kushner is in talks to purchase the Miami Marlins baseball team, The New York Times reported.
The Kushners, a New York area real estate family, regard the team's $1.6 billion price tag as too high, the Times reported Thursday.
The negotiations, which have been ongoing for several months, are being led by Joshua Kushner, a venture capitalist and Jared's younger brother, and Joseph Meyer, his brother-in-law and key lieutenant for the family's investments.
The talks include a complicated financial arrangement that would include bringing in partners later, unnamed sources told the Times.
Jared Kushner is a senior adviser to President Donald Trump and the husband of his eldest daughter, Ivanka. The couple married in 2009 following her conversion to Judaism.
Neither Jared Kushner nor his father, Charles, the family patriarch who spent over a year in prison for illegal campaign donations, tax evasion and witness tampering, is participating in the effort, the sources added.
Any deal would have to be approved by Major League Baseball, which would closely scrutinize the buyer's financing and probably seek to ensure that Charles Kushner had no role in operations, according to the Times report.
Jared Kushner, who has pledged to refrain from any involvement in transactions tied to his family to avoid the possibility of conflict of interests, had previously bid for the Los Angeles Dodgers with his brother. They eventually withdrew from the bidding in 2012. The winning group paid over $2 billion.
Representatives for the Kushners, the Marlins and the LionTree investment bank declined to comment when approached by the Times.
The Marlins are currently owned by Jeffrey Loria, a Jewish businessman from New York. He paid $158 million for the team in 2002 after selling the Montreal Expos back to Major League Baseball.
The Marlins won the World Series in 2003, defeating the New York Yankees, but since then have not returned to the playoffs.
6. JERUSALEM FINALLY GETS DIRECT BUS TO BEN GURION AIRPORT
by Orly Harari
On Monday, the Afikim bus company will launch its new express route traveling between Jerusalem and Ben Gurion Airport.
The new bus route is part of Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz's effort to improve the service of Israel's public transportation system. The new bus route was due to be inaugurated in January, but progress was delayed for unspecified reasons.
Until now, anyone wishing to travel between Jerusalem and Ben Gurion had to take a train, midway from the main line to a once-an-hour train to Ben Gurion, take a taxi, or take a shared taxi (monit sherut). There was also a bus line which stopped near the airport but did not enter.
The new route will receive the number 485 and will run once an hour in each direction, 24 hours a day, every day of the week. On Fridays, the line will run until 2pm, and on Saturdays, the line will run from 7pm.
Bus fare will be 16 NIS for each trip.
The first bus will leave on Monday morning at 4am from Ruppin Boulevard in Jerusalem, and will travel down Jaffa Road towards the Central Bus Station, then out of the city via Route 1. It will stop at the Hemed and Shoresh Interchanges and then continue straight to Ben Gurion's Terminal 1 and Terminal 3.
Katz said the new service will make transportation significantly easier for both tourists and Israelis who want to arrive at the airport or leave it in an easy and timely fashion.
The new line is expected to service hundreds of tourists, Jerusalem residents, and Jerusalem area residents per day.
7. UN CHIEF DEFENDS CHOICE OF PA LEADER AS LIBYA ENVOY
by Elad Benari
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday defended his choice of former Palestinian Authority leader Salam Fayyad to be the UN peace envoy to Libya, after the United States blocked the appointment.
Guterres nominated Fayyad to the post on Wednesday and the Security Council had been expected to approve his appointment without objections.
But late on Friday, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley announced she was blocking the appointment, explaining that "for too long, the UN has been unfairly biased in favor of the Palestinian Authority to the detriment of our allies in Israel."
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric explained on Saturday that the decision to put forward Fayyad's candidacy "was solely based on Mr. Fayyad's recognized personal qualities and his competence for that position."
"United Nations staff serve strictly in their personal capacity. They do not represent any government or country," he added.
Dujarric further said that no Israeli and no Palestinian Arab had served in a high-level post at the United Nations, and that "this is a situation that the secretary-general feels should be corrected," based on personal merit and competencies of the candidates.
Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, welcomed the move to block Fayyad's nomination, saying on Saturday, "The new Administration proved once again that it stands firmly alongside the State of Israel in the international arena and in the UN in particular. The new administration is working towards the joint interest of the United States, Israel and the special alliance between our two nations."
‏"This is the beginning of a new era at the UN, an era where the US stands firmly behind Israel against any and all attempts to harm the Jewish State," Danon concluded.
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), however, condemned Washington's move as "blatant discrimination".
"Blocking the appointment of Dr. Salam Fayyad is a case of blatant discrimination on the basis of national identity," claimed the PLO's Hanan Ashrawi.
The U.S. decision to block Fayyad's appointment surprised Guterres, Dujarric acknowledged.
"Based on the information available to him at the time, the secretary-general had the perception, now proven wrong, that the proposal would be acceptable to Security Council members," he told AFP.
Fayyad, 64, headed the PA government from 2007 to 2013 before being forced to resign after months of tension with PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
Fayyad was often touted as a moderate and was hailed as a "strong partner" by the U.S. and Canada, even though he had called to free all PA Arabs imprisoned in Israel, despite the fact that many are serving time for terror-related offenses, including murder and attempted murder.
8. FAMILY DONATES DECEASED'S ORGANS TO HELP ISRAELIS IN NEED
by Netanel Katz
[youtube:2024475]
Two weeks agoת Craig Richard Morello, an American citizen living in Israel, arrived at Rambam Hospital in Haifa as he suffered from a severe head injury.
For two days, medical staff fought to save Morello's life, while simultaneously trying to locate Morello's family in the US.
After an extensive search, the medical staff successfully located Morello's daughter, Jennifer. However, Morello's condition continued to get worse and, in the end, he succumbed to his injuries.
Through contacts between the hospital and the daughter, Jennifer agreed to donate her father's organs, a gesture which enabled five Israelis to receive kidneys, retinas, and a heart valve.
One of the transplanted kidneys went to Muhammad B, 36, from northern Israel, who has suffered from kidney failure since he was a child.
A few days ago, Muhammad spoke with Jennifer's mother and expressed deep and heartfelt gratitude for the gift of life he received.
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