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Wednesday, Feb. 01 '17, ה' בשבט תשע"ז
HEADLINES:
1. WATCH: AMONA EVACUATION UNDERWAY
2. BORDER POLICE OFFICER REFUSES ORDERS AT AMONA
3. WILL UK ARREST ELAZAR STERN?
4. AMONA RESIDENT: WE WON
5. BENNETT: WE LOST THE BATTLE, BUT WE'LL WIN THE WAR
6. ORTHODOX UNION PRAISES TRUMP SUPREME COURT PICK; REFORM LAMENTS
7. UK COURT: HAREDI KIDS DON'T HAVE TO MEET TRANSGENDER DAD
8. FOUNDER OF MUSLIM REFORM MOVEMENT DEFENDS REFUGEE BAN
1. WATCH: AMONA EVACUATION UNDERWAY
by Eliran Aharon, Amona
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Officers from the Yassam unit of the Israel Police arrived in the Amona area early Wednesday morning.
They took a position on a nearby hill. Several youths who arrived in the area were preparing to block the entrance to the village.
Youths block the entrance to Amona. Photo: Eliran Aharon
On Tuesday, the IDF ordered the residents to leave their homes within a day and locals estimated that the eviction could start as soon as 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning.
Residents of Amona held an assessment of the situation overnight Tuesday, following which they called on the government to implement the draft plan for the town's relocation.
"Unfortunately, the government hastens to destroy Amona in an inexplicable way," said Avichai Boaron, head of the campaign to save the town.
"This afternoon the Supreme Court held a comprehensively hearing on the question of absentee property draft plan, in which great efforts were invested by all parties, and in particular by the residents. The Court declared that it would announce its ruling as soon as possible. However, at this moment the government instructed the military not to wait for the decision of the Supreme Court and is planning to begin the evacuation of Amona at 6:00 in the morning contrary to all logic," he added.
"The residents of Amona agreed last month to the absentee property draft, with the Prime Minister and Minister of Education promising to do everything in their power to maintain it. The state decided to kick this plan just before its implementation and again violate the agreement it reached with the residents and create unnecessary tension and evictions. We call on the political echelon: Calm down. Respect the agreement. Let the court decide. Amona will not fall again," declared Boaron.
MK Shuli Mualem-Refaeli (Jewish Home), who has been at Amona since the early hours of Tuesday evening and met with residents, said efforts were ongoing to prevent the eviction.
"The Supreme Court has not yet had its say in relation to the draft plan and the state is going to evict at first light. We are making efforts to delay the eviction until a decision is made by the Court. We worked hard on the draft plan in order to keep the residents on the hill and we must not give up," she said.
As part of a compromise agreement worked out by Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, the 42 families of Amona were to peacefully evacuate their homes in exchange for two things: one, passage of the Regulation Law, which would protect other Jewish communities from expulsion over ownership claims made years after their construction.
In addition, the agreement provided for the relocation of 24 of the 42 families to alternative plots on the same hill where Amona currently stands. New homes and public buildings were promised as part of the deal, as well as a new community for the remaining 18 families, who would be resettled near Shilo.
Amona residents voted to accept the agreement, and the Supreme Court granted a delay in the implementation of the evacuation orders, pushing back the demolition from December 25 to no later than February 8.
Since the inking of the deal, however, residents say no work has yet been done on the new neighborhood promised under the agreement. Amona residents have nowhere to go.
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2. BORDER POLICE OFFICER REFUSES ORDERS AT AMONA
by David Rosenberg
A member of the security forces ordered to take part in the eviction of 42 families in the town of Amona on Wednesday, has refused to carry out the order and has been distanced from the scene of the evacuation.
Hundreds of protesters converged on the town north of Jerusalem Wednesday morning, just hours after a general closure on Amona went into effect.
Large numbers of army, police, and Border Police forces were deployed in and around Amona on Wednesday, and by 10:30 a.m. had begun dismantling buildings and removing demonstrators.
One Border Police officer, however refused to take part in the operation.
The officer was subsequently distanced from the scene. Afterwards, demonstrators cheered and embraced the officer.
Three demonstrators have been arrested, the Honenu organization reports, including one 17-year old boy and a 19-year old. Witnesses claim one of the teenagers taken into custody was violently arrested by police, a Honenu spokesperson said.
3. WILL UK ARREST ELAZAR STERN?
by Chana Roberts
The Arab Organization for Human Rights in Britain on Tuesday called on British police to arrest former IDF Major General and MK Elazar Stern (Yesh Atid), who is accused of having committed war crimes during his years in the IDF.
In a statement, the organization claimed Stern's unit killed innocent Arab victims and brought "testimonies" from the victims' relatives. They explained Stern is responsible since, as a senior commander, he did not seek to investigate the incidents.
The statement also noted that prosecution of war criminals is allowed under British law regardless of where the crimes were actually committed or the nationality of the suspect, and therefore arresting Stern is legal.
Stern served in the First Lebanon War, during the Second Intifada, and was present in Beirut during the Sabra and Shatila massacre. He also served as Military Academy President and later as Head of Manpower Department, before retiring from the army in 2008.
He is currently visiting London together with a delegation from his party, Yesh Atid. Stern is schedule to speak in several places and is aiming to help fight the BDS propaganda rampant in Europe. These invitations, too, were condemned by the Arab Organization, which claimed it was wrong to invite such a "war criminal" to speak.
Meanwhile, the Israeli government was informed of the situation and Stern was told to keep a low profile and not give any media interviews.
In response to the Arab Organization's statement, Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid spoke Wednesday morning with British ambassador in Israel David Quarrey, requesting he work immediately to prevent the arrest of MK Elazar Stern (Yesh Atid).
"Stern was sent to London to fight BDS, and now those same organizations that spread lies about soldiers and IDF commanders are trying to hurt him," Lapid told Quarrey. "Stern is a respected officer in Israel who contributed much to the security of the country and the education of generations of officers.
"I am sure that the British government will protect Stern and will act according to existing laws."
Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nachshon said, "Israel regrets the cynical attempt to use the British legal system for anti-Israel political goals. We are confident that British authorities will not fall in the trap."
Stern is scheduled to return to Israel on Thursday.
4. AMONA RESIDENT: WE WON
by Benny Toker
Amona resident Tamar Nizri called on the soldiers and policemen to refuse orders to expel the residents and demolish their homes.
"It's not legal, and I call on the soldiers and officers to follow the orders of their hearts and values, and to be ready to pay the price of refusing orders," Nizri told Arutz Sheva on Wednesday.
"Soldiers can be creative, there are many ways to refuse orders. It's not legal to expel your brothers, and I know the trauma will remain with the soldiers for the rest of their lives.
"We've won a huge battle, twice. We will leave here with our heads held high, and if it's the last time Jews are expelled and their homes are destroyed - we've won our battle 100%.
"Soon, we will go to Ofra's learning program. What will be then, I don't know. But I know that we want to return to Amona and rebuild. I believe the draft plan for Amona's relocation is legal and doable. I believe the Regulation Law, including the retroactive section, can be applied. So I'm optimistic.
"My mother took my littlest children to her house yesterday. Unfortunately, we lost this battle several weeks ago, but we did not give up faith. There's no doubt that we're disappointed in the current right-wing government, in Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home), Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) and Ze'ev Elkin (Likud).
"This happened under their watch, and they could have done something about it," she concluded.
The Regulation Law protects Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria from left-wing NGOs who claim they were built on private property - even if there is no claimant. If a claimant were to appear, he would be entitled to monetary compensation equal to 125% of the land's value, or to an alternative parcel of land.
Amona residents in December voted to accept an agreement with the Israeli government, but no work has yet been done on the new neighborhood promised under the agreement. As a result, Amona residents have nowhere to go.
5. BENNETT: WE LOST THE BATTLE, BUT WE'LL WIN THE WAR
by Uzi Baruch
Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) mourned the destruction of Amona in an address to the Knesset plenum on Wednesday while IDF forces demolish the town, saying that the future was uncertain for the 42 families being evicted.
"Brothers and sisters," said Bennett, "the residents of Amona are heroes. For 20 years they lived on that mountain, under difficult physical conditions, [suffering] winter storms and summer heat, facing security threats and intifadas."
But, continued Bennett, "worse than any natural disaster is the uncertainty of their future."
The Education Minister spoke just hours after security forces implemented a general closure of Amona and prepared to evict residents and protesters, enforcing an evacuation order by the Supreme Court.
While a deal negotiated between Bennett and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and later signed by the town of Amona promised a peaceful evacuation in exchange for alternative housing at a nearby site for 24 of the town's 42 families, along with a second neighborhood at a separate site for the remaining 18, no work has been done on the replacement housing.
Last week a Supreme Court injunction barred work on the replacement neighborhood adjacent to Amona's present location.
Though Bennett conceded that despite his party's efforts, the battle to preserve Amona had failed, he added that its loss was instrumental in the passage of the Regulation Law, a bill intended to protect thousands of homes across Judea and Samaria from suffering the same fate as Amona.
"Today is a difficult day. These are very trying times."
"We need to say the truth: we started our efforts [to prevent the evacuation] when there was already a final eviction order from the Supreme Court against us. We came to Amona, looked the residents in the yes and said that we know that we are going to fight against all odds, and we didn't give up," said Bennett.
"Together with the residents of Amona we turned every stone, exhausted every option, and tried every process to save Amona. Unfortunately, the struggled for Amona failed. We lost the battle, but we are winning the war for the Land of Israel."
"The residents of Amona, by their sacrifice and tenacity, have helped save thousands of Jewish families from eviction," said Bennett, referring to the Regulation Law, whose passage was a condition of the Amona agreement.
6. ORTHODOX UNION PRAISES TRUMP SUPREME COURT PICK; REFORM LAMENTS
by Ron Kampeas, Arutz Sheva Staff
JTA - President Donald Trump nominated to the Supreme Court Neil Gorsuch, a federal judge known to favor protections of religious belief and for business owners.
The nomination, likely to trigger a vigorous confirmation battle, is already splitting the organized Jewish community, with the Reform movement expressing concerns about the nomination and an Orthodox Union official describing his record as "encouraging."
Trump introduced Gorsuch on Tuesday evening at a White House event. "Judge Gorsuch has a superb intellect, an unparalleled legal education, and a commitment to interpreting the Constitution according to its text," Trump said in introducing him.
Gorsuch, 49, is on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth District, which is based in Denver and which covers six western states. He would replace one of the court's most stalwart conservatives, Antonin Scalia, who died last year.
Among his opinions most attracting Jewish interest was Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby in 2013, when the appeals court upheld the right of a private business to reject the government mandate to provide contraceptive care under employee health plans. The Obama administration had offered leeway on such coverage to faith-based non-profits, but would not extend them to private businesses.
Gorsuch joined the majority in the Appeals Court ruling, which was upheld the next year by the Supreme Court. Left-wing Jewish groups backed the government in the case. Orthodox Jewish groups favored Hobby Lobby, arguing for expansive allowances for consideration of religious beliefs by business owners.
Gorsuch has also favored displays of crosses on public lands, and has tended in his rulings toward the rights of gun owners, in favor of the death penalty and against abortion rights.
"We are greatly troubled by Judge Gorsuch's record, which suggests that he may not have the attributes and values a nominee to the Supreme Court ought to have in order to mete out justice and interpret the laws that affect us all," said a statement issued on behalf of a number of the Reform movement's umbrella bodies. "We look forward to engaging in the confirmation process to further evaluate Judge Gorsuch's views on issues of core importance to the Reform Movement, including civil rights, separation of church and state, religious freedom, women's rights, LGBTQ equality, and many more."
Bend the Arc, a liberal social action group, also said it was "deeply concerned" by Gorsuch's record.
Nathan Diament, the Orthodox Union's executive director of public policy, meantime, said Gorsuch's rulings "show a jurisprudential approach that venerates religious conscience and pluralism in American society."
The nomination is likely to face a fight, with Democrats suggesting they may filibuster his nomination. Democrats are still stung by the refusal of Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to allow a hearing for President Barack Obama's nominee to replace Scalia, Merrick Garland, a left-leaning judge.
7. UK COURT: HAREDI KIDS DON'T HAVE TO MEET TRANSGENDER DAD
by Arutz Sheva Staff
A court in Manchester, England on Monday ruled that haredi children do not have meet their father who recently ceased being observant and underwent a sex change operation.
The man, who has five children and left the haredi community in 2015, petitioned the court to force his wife to allow him to meet with his children.
In court, the mother claimed that if the children meet their father, who did something so socially unacceptable, they will lose their friends and their social standing in school. She also claimed their education would be harmed.
Judge Peter Jackson met with the divorced couple's 12-year-old son, as well as with businessmen and psychologists within Manchester's haredi community. All of these said meeting the father would cause irreversible damage to the children.
The father claimed he wanted to tell his children why he had chosen to make such a drastic life change, but the mother insisted it was better to tell the children their father had died or had been hospitalized in a psychiatric ward. However, the mother denied this, and said she had told her children their father had moved to London.
Judge Jackson ruled the potential social damage to the children was greater than the benefits the children would reap from a strong connection with their father. He therefore exempted both the children and the mother from maintaining contact with the father. However, the judge did suggest the children and father send letters and postcards to each other.
8. FOUNDER OF MUSLIM REFORM MOVEMENT DEFENDS REFUGEE BAN
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