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Tuesday, Mar. 07 '17, ט' באדר תשע"ז
HEADLINES:
1. HOLLYWOOD STAR DEMANDS ISRAEL DIVIDE JERUSALEM, END 'OCCUPATION'
2. RABBIS TO SHAKED, BENNETT: THEY'RE STEALING THE IDF
3. 'IT IS FORBIDDEN TO SERVE IN MIXED-GENDER UNITS'
4. NETANYAHU ORDERS MEASURES AGAINST MIGRANT VIOLENCE
5. CNN CHIEF: TRUMP SHOUTED AT ME ON THE PHONE
6. PROSECUTORS APPEAL AZARIYA'S SENTENCE
7. SUSPECTED TERROR ATTACK SOUTH OF JERUSALEM
8. 'LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP!'
1. HOLLYWOOD STAR DEMANDS ISRAEL DIVIDE JERUSALEM, END 'OCCUPATION'
by David Rosenberg
Hollywood A-lister Richard Gere, who portrayed King David in the eponymously titled 1985 film and is perhaps best remembered for his lead roles in An Officer and a Gentleman, Pretty Woman, and Runaway Bride, is set to land in Israel later on Tuesday. But while the actor's past visits to the Jewish state received warm welcomes, Gere, whose expertise and credentials for telling Israel what to do consist of his being a movie actor, may be greeted by a far chilly reception, following political comments made on the eve of his trip.
Gere's visit, planned ostensibly for the premiere of his latest film, an Israeli-American production entitled Norman: The Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer, is already raising eyebrows in Israel over the actor's scheduled meetings with far-left activists and a provocative interview with an Israeli newspaper, set to be published in full this Friday.
This is hardly the first time Gere has involved himself in the Israeli-Arab conflict; Gere met with left-wing Israeli activists and toured Ramallah in 2003 at the height of the Second Intifada, and he has maintained ties with the Peres Center for Peace for more than two decades.
But Gere's comments to Yediot Ahronot ahead of his trip Tuesday expressed sharp rhetoric towards Israel that Gere himself admits has been absent from previous statements.
In the interview, part of which was publicized Monday night, Gere slams Israel, warning it is in danger of becoming an "apartheid state" and demanding the Jewish state put an end to the "occupation" and allowing a newly created Palestinian state to claim Jerusalem as its capital.
"On my past visits to Israel, I always listened to all the viewpoints," said Gere. "Now that's become almost impossible. I know that a lot of people won't like what I have to say, but these are things that must be said."
"The occupation must end. The occupation is ruining everyone on both sides. A bi-national state won't solve anything, it will only turn Israel into an apartheid state. There need to be two states for two peoples, and Jerusalem needs to be the capital of both nations."
Gere also took aim specifically at Jews living in Judea and Samaria, accusing them of dominating the Israeli government – despite the recent demolitions of the town of Amona and a neighborhood in Ofra.
"Why do you need all of these provocations," Gere asked rhetorically, referring to Jewish homes in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. "How is it that the settlers are running the Israeli government? And how is it that the State of Israel, of all countries, is ruling over another people? Many Israelis that I know say that the state has lost its way, and I think that every Israeli knows that." Gere is obviously not familiar with recent polls of Israeli citizens.
During his visit to Israel, Gere says he plans on meeting with activists of the radical anti-Zionist Breaking the Silence organization, which maligns IDF soldiers all over the world and is not allowed into Israeli schools.
"I recently spoke with someone from the group, who served in the army, a wonderful young woman with a big heart, and she's been labeled an enemy of the state. That breaks my heart."
2. RABBIS TO SHAKED, BENNETT: THEY'RE STEALING THE IDF
by Yoel Domb
Religious Zionist leaders and heads of yeshivot met Monday with Jewish Home ministers Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked to update them on developments regarding the new standing order on mixed-gender units in the IDF. The rabbis said that they do not trust the IDF senior echelons since they have violated their assurances to stop the changes in the IDF on this issue.
"The problem is not women or female service in the army but the fact that the new order was written in secret and espouses liberal and ultra-feminist agendas. These agendas are fashionable in far left circles which do not serve in the IDF and even actively promote insubordination," said the rabbis. "The original order was written by a public committee and demonstrated respect and sensitivity for all those serving in the IDF. It was understood that the army needed to be a place of consensus and mutual respect in order to maintain responsibility and camaraderie."
The rabbis emphasized that "we do not expect the army to suit itself to Religious Zionism but we do expect it to suit the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state."
"We are very disappointed that the Chief of Staff is letting them, [the ultra-feminists], 'steal the army' from under his nose. Does he want us not to find our place there? Doesn't he see his role as unifying the army within Israeli society? We hope that the IDF senior officers will take heed immediately before the damage already caused will grow even greater," said the rabbis.
"The new orders place the first goal of the IDF, which is to defeat the enemy, on the sidelines in favor of a radical feminist agenda of total mixed units. This is illogical, non-operable, anti-social and does not concur with security requirements."
The rabbis cited the example of the Facebook page published by the air force for Family Day, in which two males appeared as a 'married' couple, in contradiction to the biblical definition of marriage. They asked whether the official moral approach of the IDF is to indoctrinate soldiers about the alternative family and why the IDF spokesman deals obsessively with this issue. We must emphasize the unifying and mutual aspects and not those that divide us."
Women have served in the IDF from its inception. However, the feminist groups demanded that girls serve in combat units alongside the men, with the result that religious soldiers are faced with unavoidable problems of physical contact with women soldiers in opposition to halakha. The religious aspect is only one of the problems: The IDF, an army that has to win against implacable enemies, lowered standards for women so they could make it into infantry units, and ignored the statistics showing that over 40% of female combat soldiers suffer fractures that may cause problems in pregnancy.
3. 'IT IS FORBIDDEN TO SERVE IN MIXED-GENDER UNITS'
by Uzi Baruch
Bet El Yeshiva head Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed, a senior rabbinic figure in the Religious Zionist community, sent a letter to Knesset Members in response to the publication of the "mixed gender directive"- a directive which harms religious soldiers serving in the IDF, the rabbi claims.
"The goal of the directive is to mix male and female soldiers during their army service in a way which harms the traditional and religious soldiers and weakens the IDF's ability to deal with the challenges facing it," said Rabbi Melamed.
The full text of the letter reads as follows:
"The mixed gender directive which the Chief of Staff is promoting in the IDF is designed to phase out the segregated units for males and females and only religious soldiers will be allowed to serve in segregated units. The implication of the directive is that from now on religious people should go into a ghetto within the army.
"On the other hand, those who are non-religious will be forced to serve in mixed gender units. The meaning of this is the destruction of modesty in the army, which is one of the unique attributes of the Jewish nation. The new spirit in the IDF is in direct contravention of the Torah's spirit.
"Most IDF soldiers are religious or traditional. Who gave the Chief of Staff the right to harm the fundamental values of most of the soldiers?
"Under the guise of maintaining gender equality and military considerations, the Chief of Staff is implementing a procedure diametrically opposed to the Torah in the army and all is being done forcibly and by law. The army will force soldiers by order to serve in mixed-gender units in contrast to their morality and to their sense of modesty.
"The mixed gender directive stems from an outlook which is unacceptable to most of the religious and traditional public and the Chief of Staff had no right to impose his outlook on the army.
"We are therefore turning to you as a member of Knesset to act together with all of the religious members of Knesset to abolish this directive and to allow every soldier to serve in a segregated unit according to his own values."
4. NETANYAHU ORDERS MEASURES AGAINST MIGRANT VIOLENCE
by Nitzan Keidar
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu responded in his Facebook page to the incident in South Tel Aviv in which an 80-year-old woman was attacked, molested, and severely beaten.
"I wish a speedy recovery to Ester Nahman, who was brutally attacked last weekend by an illegal migrant in South Tel Aviv, "said Netanyahu.
"The fence which I ordered built on the Sinai border has halted the infiltration into Israel. The number of infiltrators leaving the country has seen a dramatic increase in the past few years, but this is not enough. The police must do everything possible to ensure the safety of Israeli citizens, including those in South Tel Aviv, who are suffering from serious crimes perpetrated by infiltrators," added the prime minister.
He declared that "in addition to reinforcing police forces and foot patrols in South Tel Aviv, I directed Interior Security Minister Gilad Erdan to continue adding to forces in the region in order to establish law and order at all times of day. My government will allocate all the necessary resources to ensure that Esther, together with her children and grandchildren, will be able to live in absolute security like any other citizen of Israel."
Netanyahu was referring to an incident in which Nahman was brutally assaulted while walking her dogs in the South Tel Aviv neighborhood she's called home for more than 60 years.
While police apprehended the perpetrator, Nahman says she is struggling to cope with the trauma of the attack.
"Every Shabbat I take my pinschers out for a walk," Nahman told Channel 2.
"I was walking slowly down the sidewalk on Har Tzion Boulevard when a Sudanese man, roughly 17-years old, approached me. I thought he wanted to ask me where some street was, or some other question. He came towards me, about half a meter away (1.6 feet) and punched me in the face."
Nahman says she was floored by the blow.
"He came from behind, kicking me, and pushed me to the ground while my dogs were barking. My arm was broken in three places from the fall. Every time I tried to stand up on my feet again, he hit me again and again. Afterwards he tried to rape me – really rape me."
"He started to pull down my pants," continued Nahman. "Since it was early in the morning, around 5:30, I was wearing sweatpants over tights. He was able to remove my sweatpants, but didn't understand that I was wearing two pairs of pants. I held up [the second pair] of pants with my hands, and he started to beat me viciously, to the point where my arm swelled up around the veins. My elbow was bleeding and he dragged me on the ground."
"It was totally quiet then, right around dawn. I started to scream 'Help, police'. He tried to get on top of me, like someone riding a horse with both legs. Every time I tried to get up, he hit me. My whole face swelled up; my arm and elbow too. My arm is broken. I had open heart surgery four years ago and I can't walk so well. When he knocked me down, that really killed me."
5. CNN CHIEF: TRUMP SHOUTED AT ME ON THE PHONE
by Yoel Domb
[video:2025583]
The president of the CNN television network, Jeff Zucker, participated Tuesday morning in a Keshet INTV conference in Jerusalem. In an interview with Yonit Levi, Zucker lashed out at President Trump for his frequent attacks on the media.
"It's incredibly dangerous and unprecedented that Trump is calling the media 'the enemy of the people,' and it's important for us not to be intimidated by it and not to back off in any way," said Zucker. "I think it's our responsibility in the media to hold those in power accountable, and that's what we'll continue to do."
Zucker added that it is "shocking to watch many members of the political establishment in Washington not to stand up against [Trump's] allegations.They are afraid of him, they left aside their responsibility to free journalism and free media. The facts are that most of them didn't stand up for us."
The CNN chief claimed that this was an "an extraordinary time in journalism, and an incredibly important time," adding that his network has amassed record ratings and profits since Trump took center stage. Yet Zucker said he is still worried about the effect of the president's relentless attacks on the media.
"I always worried about the safety of journalists outside the US. I never thought I would be concerned for their welfare in the US. We should not feel intimidated by this and back off from our professional duty. When we report and maintain our right to report the facts we are not trying to be vindictive, we are merely doing our jobs. Nobody claims that Donald Trump did not win the election fairly. I think he believes that the media is hinting that he did not win legitimately but that is not true.
Zucker also described a recent telephone conversation with the president. "It was not a good conversation. That evening I was at home watching CNN and the phone rang, and I said 'hello'. He said 'Jeff, Donald', and I said 'Hi, Donald.' He was upset with a guest we had on CNN and shouted at me for two minutes and then said: 'OK , you got it? Bye' and slammed the phone down.
Zucker claimed that Trump's approval ratings are the lowest for an American president until now and stated that he always tries to change the narrative when he does not want to answer a certain question. However he admitted that his claim that Obama had been wiretapping should be investigated and stated that his network would be following the investigation closely.
"
6. PROSECUTORS APPEAL AZARIYA'S SENTENCE
by Kobi Finkler
Army prosecutors filed an appeal Tuesday at an IDF court in Tel Aviv against the 18-month jail sentence handed down to Sgt. Elor Azariya, after he was convicted in January of manslaughter in the shooting death of a wounded Arab terrorist in Hevron last March.
The prosecution's challenge comes after Azariya defense team attorney Yoram Sheftel filed a separate appeal on behalf of Azariya, arguing his punishment was excessively harsh given the circumstances.
Prosecutor Nadav Weissman argued that the sentence appeared to be disconnected from the ruling of the court in January convicting Azariya, claiming 18-months was an insufficient punishment. The prosecution had requested 3 to 5 years.
In the appeal, the prosecution slightly reduced its request, calling for a minimum of 2.5 years in jail.
7. SUSPECTED TERROR ATTACK SOUTH OF JERUSALEM
by David Rosenberg
A man in his early 40s was stabbed just south of Jerusalem at approximately 11:15 Tuesday morning, on Route 60 near the tunnel checkpoint.
The suspected stabber is reportedly an Arab resident of the Palestinian Authority.
Police say the motive of the attack is under investigation.
MDA emergency first responders were called to the scene and provided first aid to the victim. The man was subsequently evacuated to Shaarei Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem
The stabbing victim is conscious, and his injuries have been described as light.
"When we arrived at the scene, we saw a man roughly 40-years old pacing about, fully conscious, suffering from stab wounds across his upper torso," said Shlomi Tadgi and Aharon Adler, MDA team members who responded to the stabbing."
"We provided him with first aid, including bandaging the wound and stopping the bleeding. He was then evacuated to a hospital in stable, light condition."
8. 'LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP!'
[twittervideo:2025591]
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