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Friday, Mar. 03 '17, ה' באדר תשע"ז
HEADLINES:
1. BENNETT INCREASES PRESSURE ON PM
2. HILLARY FOR MAYOR?
3. 'A JEWISH JUDGE IN ISRAEL IS NOT A GENTILE COURT'
4. SANDERS: SHOULDN'T US AID TO ISRAEL BE DIVERTED TO GAZA?
5. REPORT: KUSHNER ATTENDED FLYNN'S MEETING WITH RUSSIAN ENVOY
6. ISIS WARNS EUROPE: WE'RE STILL HERE
7. KEY SENATE DEMOCRAT BACKS FRIEDMAN AS AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL
8. WATCH: MAN DESIGNS BIONIC ARM FOR SON USING 3D PRINTER
1. BENNETT INCREASES PRESSURE ON PM
by Arutz Sheva Staff
The Jewish Home party sent a clear message Friday morning to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu following the failure to fulfill his promise to construct a new town for the now-homeless former residents of Amona.
Jewish Home chairman and Education Minister Naftali Bennett said this morning that "promises must be kept. The Prime Minister promised the residents of Amona that a town would be established immediately, [and the agreement] was signed in front of them a few weeks ago."
"The Jewish Home movement calls on the Prime Minister to keep his promise, and insists that this happen immediately. It is a disgrace that residents of Amona have been forced to start a hunger strike over something so obvious - the existence of a promise made by the Prime Minister," Bennett added.
Yesterday, residents of Amona announced that they had embarked on a hunger strike until the Prime Minister fulfills his pledge to build a new town for the former residents of Amona.
"We feel that Bibi is adding insult to our injury and treating us like beggars," the residents said at a news conference outside the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem.
"The agreement was signed on behalf of the Prime Minister and the government as a whole, by the heads of the Prime Minister's Office, Yoav Horowitz, Eli Groner, and Avi Bitan, three of the closest associates of Netanyahu," said Avichai Boaron, the leader of the campaign to save Amona.
"At first they told us to wait because Donald Trump had only just taken office as the President of the US. Then they told us to wait for a meeting with him. And after the meeting they told us that it is not clear and they are waiting for us to crack and for our demands to lose steam. They are hoping that the public will forget. We have no intention of letting go, and the public does not forget nor forgive," he added.
"This agreement was signed by the State. If there is a legal test, the court would obligate the State [to fulfill its promise]. We do not want to force the Prime Minister to the witness stand."
2. HILLARY FOR MAYOR?
by David Rosenberg
Despite losing last November's presidential election to Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton's political career may not be over quite yet.
While the 69-year old former First Lady and ex-Secretary of State appeared to be easing into retirement following last year's defeat, there are signs Mrs. Clinton is looking for a reboot.
Clinton, who may also be grooming her 36-year old daughter Chelsea for a congressional run, has been floated as a possible Democratic challenger to incumbent Bill de Blasio for this year's New York City mayoral election.
The Clintons have maintained a residence in Chappaqua, a suburb north of New York City, since the 1990s, and Clinton served two terms as a US Senator for New York.
Over the past week, "Hillary for Mayor 2017" posters have begun popping up across the city, though it remains unclear whether Clinton or her surrogates are behind the advertisements, or if they are the work of hopeful Clinton supporters looking to nudge her into the race.
The Quinnipiac polling agency is taking the possibility of a Clinton run seriously, and in January surveyed New Yorkers regarding a potential primary challenge to de Blasio.
De Blasio currently has a 50% approval rating, with 42% of New Yorkers disapproving of his service as mayor. A slimmer plurality, 47% to 44%, believe he deserves reelection.
In head-to-head matchups, de Blasio also bests both his most likely GOP opponents in the general election, but also potential Democratic primary challengers – with one exception.
According to the poll, if Clinton ran in the NYC Democratic primary, she would beat de Blasio by 20 points, 49% to 29%.
3. 'A JEWISH JUDGE IN ISRAEL IS NOT A GENTILE COURT'
by Rabbi Yisrael Rosen
"These are the laws that you shall place before them" (Exodus 21:1)
"Before them, and not before gentiles ... and not before laymen" (Gittin 88:2)
The kippah of justice
To the cheers of the national-religious camp, five judges were recently appointed in Israel, four to the Supreme Court and one to the District Court. Of these three are religious (two men and one woman), identifiable by their head coverings, and according to most reports are counted from among the more conservative than the liberal. The Justice Minister thus fulfilled her promise to shake off the court's (mostly the Supreme Court) leftist-liberal image. Three cheers to the energetic and goal-oriented Minister. And even if the new judges do not deliver the goods to the national Right, we can suffice with an arm-wrestling victory against the President of the Supreme Court.
This column has focused on the leftist leanings of the Supreme Court; turning its back on nationalist considerations, deification of equality rights, and a predilection to post-Zionism. This time we will consider a different angle: The challenge of 'conquering' the judicial system by Torah Jews. The religious Zionist vision represents significant integration in all areas of Israeli life. The Zomet institute is a non-profit, public research institute dedicated to seamlessly merging Halakhic Judaism with modern life. In thousands(!) of articles published in thirty-six (as of now) Techumin volumes, a broad range of subjects ranging from business administration and finance, law and government, medicine and science, domestic relations, government and security, Sabbath and holidays, conversion, Temple, and more, have been treated.
To leave the world of theoretical writing and enter that of practical application, the vision is in need of an army, people on the ground to be absorbed into all walks of life who are also guided by the light of the Torah. Thank G-d, the religious youth are in position to accept this mission, even if they are not yet aware of it. During the pre-State days religious Zionism demanded and managed to integrate into settlement, security, immigrant absorption, and public administration. Today you will find battalions of kipot and draped skirts in medicine, academia, economics, the military, administration , politics, the judicial system, and almost everywhere. I feel that within the judicial realm there is a trend toward our prevailing, similar to the goal of the military command, which has been surmounted in part. The media excitement around the latest judicial appointments strengthens the 'conquest' mentality, even if it's not an openly declared destination.
Their Courts? Invalid goal?
Here I must point out quite a dramatic paradox: Anyone even cursorily familiar with halakhic literature knows that the entire subject is categorized under the derogatory moniker "Their Courts", as quoted at the top of this section. Many articles have been published in Techumin in this connection starting with Volume I (Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, "Israeli courts and the prohibition against Their Courts") up until Volume thirty-six (Prof. Ron Kleinman: "Religious judges ('Dayanaim') attitude towards civil law and jurisprudence").
Within the haredi and nationalist haredi sectors, Their Courts incur an aura of infamy. Recourse to Their Courts is likened to "raising a hand against Moses" (Maimonides, Sanhedrin 26:7; Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 26:3). And now, lo and behold: The religious and haredi communities are flocking to practice law and ... sit on the Judge's bench to the trumpet blast of community approbation.
Supreme Court Justice Zvi Tal told of receiving the Lubavitcher Rebbe's blessing upon his appointment. So did Judge Kister tell of his close association with the Chazon Ish. Other judges who scaled the pinnacles of justice merited the blessing of their rabbis and Admorim (hasidic rabbinic leaders) from all circles.
Does hypocrisy prevail? No!
I dare express here that which has nested in my heart for many years, even if I thereby draw opprobrium: Without a doubt, litigants are advised and abjured to turn to religious monetary courts (Eretz Hemda, for example, and many others). That having been said, I do not accept the assertion that a Jewish judge dealing under the laws of Israel, with the consent of the litigants or by force of law, is sitting in "the Courts of the gentiles". Reasons will be given at a later date ... After all, it is not about "laws and customs of the gentiles", but about the laws of the People who dwells in Zion, with the consent of the religious representatives (see Rabbi Avraham Shapira, "A Torah view on the Laws of the State", Techumin 3), period!
Translated by Mordechai Sones
4. SANDERS: SHOULDN'T US AID TO ISRAEL BE DIVERTED TO GAZA?
by Ron Kampeas, Arutz Sheva Staff
JTA - Sen. Bernie Sanders asked David Friedman, President Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Israel, whether he would back using funds earmarked for assistance to Israel to help rebuild the Gaza Strip.
Sanders, in a letter he handed Friedman after they met Wednesday, also asked whether he thinks the tax-exempt status of groups that raise funds for Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria should be reviewed. JTA obtained a copy of the letter on Thursday.
The questions in the letter are significant as they suggest the planned policy on Israel among the radical left-wing of the Democratic party.
Sanders has emerged as a de facto leader of the far-left following his insurgent but unsuccessful campaign last year for the Democratic presidential nomination. In perhaps the best-received speech over the weekend at the annual conference of J Street, the leftist Middle East policy group, Sanders pushed the theme that pro-Israel Jews need not hesitate to criticize Israeli government policies.
His letter outlines three questions for Friedman: whether he supports a two-state outcome to the Arab-Israeli conflict; the appropriateness of an ambassador having deep involvement in the communities of Judea and Samaria, as Friedman does; and regarding Israeli assistance.
The stated goal of US policy on the conflict up to now was the two-state solution. US President Donald Trump has signaled that the US would pursue any solution that works, even if it does not result in the creation of a new Arab state in Judea and Samaria. The Democratic party remains committed to the two-state solution.
The second two points in Sanders' letter, however, venture into areas that Democrats have yet to embrace.
"As ambassador, would you take steps to end the flow of donations to illegal settlements, perhaps by supporting the re-examination [of] their tax-exempt status?" Sanders asked.
Sanders also asked Friedman whether "a portion" of the $38 billion in defense aid to Israel over the next 10 years under an agreement signed last year by former President Barack Obama "should be directed toward measures that would facilitate a much greater flow of humanitarian and reconstruction materials" to Gaza.
Aid to Israel in Congress and the pro-Israel community has been sacrosanct, and no president has seriously proposed cutting it since Gerald Ford in the mid-1970s. Subsequent presidents used short delays in delivery of assistance and the amount that the United States guarantees Israel's loans as means of leveraging pressure on Israel, but assistance has been untouched.
Sanders cast the proposal in part as one that would help secure Gaza by stabilizing the strip. However, Hamas has taken most of the aid monies it receives to strengthen its fighting capability. And the idea comes at a time that Republicans in Congress are proposing cutting assistance to the Palestinian Authority as a means of pressuring them into direct talks with Israel and pushing the Palestinian Authority to end subsidies for the families of jailed or killed terrorists.
Friedman, a longtime lawyer to Trump, did not reply to a request for comment.
5. REPORT: KUSHNER ATTENDED FLYNN'S MEETING WITH RUSSIAN ENVOY
by Cnaan Liphshiz
JTA - Jared Kushner, a senior advisor to President Donald Trump and his son-in-law, may have attended a controversial meeting in December between a Russian diplomat and former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, The New York Times reported on Thursday.
The meeting between Kushner, Flynn, and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak reportedly lasted 20 minutes at Trump Tower and was intended to "establish a line of communication," White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks told The Times Thursday.
The FBI is currently investigating alleged Russian involvement in November's U.S. election, although the reported meeting is unconnected to that inquiry. Flynn resigned after failing to disclose the nature of calls he had with Kislyak, in which he reportedly urged the Russians not to respond to sanctions imposed or planned by the Obama administration, saying relations would improve under Trump.
Kushner was not known to have participated in talks with Russian officials prior to the reported meeting.
"Jared has had meetings with many other foreign countries and representatives – as many as two dozen other foreign countries' leaders and representatives," Hicks said, adding that Kushner has not met with Kislyak since the December meeting.
In an interview with the Times of London, Trump said that Kushner, Ivanka Trump's husband, would to take on the task of negotiating peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority – an appointment Trump had previously floated due to the fact that Kushner "knows the region, knows the people, knows the players," as Trump described in a previous interview.
6. ISIS WARNS EUROPE: WE'RE STILL HERE
by David Rosenberg
ISIS terrorists published a video message to Belgium, warning the EU state the Islamic terror group was still active in the country.
Released under the headline "We Are Still Here", the video shows an ISIS-affiliated terrorist walking around an Antwerp train station.
Experts have noted parallels between the Antwerp video and a similar video produced by the group in Turkey prior to a nightclub shooting in Reina on New Year's that left 39 dead, including one 19-year old Israeli woman.
"At the beginning of the video they are showing where they are," noted former Counterterrorism Police Chief Ahmet Yayla. "They did not include the destination - but they said we are here and and we are going to attack. It has happened in the past with videos going up before an attack, and I believe it is a plausible threat."
Yayla added that the background music in the Antwerp video was also used in the Turkey video released prior to the Reina nightclub shooting.
"There was a video of the attacker which was called 'soon, soon' which warned of an attack in Turkey," said Yayla. "The music in the background is the same which was used in the video before the attack on the Reina nightclub."
On March 22, 2016, ISIS terrorists struck three targets across the Belgian capital, Brussels, killing 32 and wounded more than 300.
7. KEY SENATE DEMOCRAT BACKS FRIEDMAN AS AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL
by David Rosenberg
President Donald Trump's choice for Ambassador to Israel appears to have gained support from a ranking committee Democrat, inching closer to confirmation.
David Friedman, the Ambassador-Designate to Israel, has been the target of lobbying efforts by the left-wing NGO J Street and the Reform movement, both of which have made derailing his confirmation a high priority.
After Friedman's confirmation hearing in February in the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Union for Reform Judaism President Rick Jacobs slammed Friedman, calling him "the wrong person for this essential job at this critical time."
But Friedman has received the backing of Jewish Federation chair Richard Sandler, as well as the Orthodox groups including the Coalition for Jewish Values, which praised Friedman as "uniquely qualified" to serve as Ambassador to Israel.
The Zionist Organization of America has also signaled its support of Friedman's nomination, calling him an "outstanding nominee" with "sterling qualifications".
While some Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which must approve Friedman's nomination before it moves to the full Senate, criticized Friedman during his confirmation hearing in February, at least one ranking Democrat on the committee has expressed his support.
New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, considered a foreign relations hawk who opposed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, told The Weekly Standard that he would likely back Friedman's nomination.
"I'm inclined to be supportive," the senator said. "I'm reviewing his answers to questions for the record, and when I finish all of that I will make a final decision."
Republican's hold a narrow 11 to 10 majority on the committee, and could potentially push the confirmation through without Democratic support. That would, however, leave no room for dissent with the GOP contingent in the committee.
Yet the committee chairman, Tennessee Senator Bob Corker, expressed optimism in February that Friedman's nomination will be approved with bipartisan support.
No date has yet been set for the confirmation vote in the committee. If Friedman is approved, his nomination will go up before the full senate, where Republicans currently hold a 52-48 edge over Democrats (including two independents who caucus with the Democratic Party).
8. WATCH: MAN DESIGNS BIONIC ARM FOR SON USING 3D PRINTER
by David Rosenberg
[youtube:2025424]
"Do It Yourself" is phrase most people typically think of in connection with car maintenance, house repairs, or even fixing broken household appliances.
One Welsh man, however, has taken DIY to the next level, creating what is likely the first ever homemade bionic arm.
When Ben Ryan's son Sol was born in March 2015, he had a blood clod in his left arm, one which initially went undetected. Doctors said the arm would need to be partially amputated to ensure Sol's survival.
After the surgery, Ryan and his wife, Kate, found little help was available from the National Health Service.
"It was likely to be three years before he could be fitted for an electric device," Ryan said.
Undeterred, Ryan decided to find an alternative solution for little Sol.
"I thought I could do better for my son. By encouraging him to use both arms during this period of early brain development, we believed Sol would become more likely to adopt prosthetics later on."
Within two months, Ryan had managed to design his own bionic arm prosthetic device for Sol, using nothing but a personal laptop, a $25 Xbox scanner, and a 3D printer.
The device itself, a hydraulic arm, has been called "potentially revolutionary" by health officials, the Daily Post reported.
Since then, Ryan has produced another prosthetic device, designed for Rio Paralympic cyclist Denise Schindler.
Working with Paul Sohi of the Autodesk software company, Ryan has established a crowdfunding campaign to launch a company, Ambionics, dedicated to providing affordable prosthetic devices.
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