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Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com ------------------------------------------------ Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday Thursday, Apr. 13 '17, י"ז בניסן תשע"ז HEADLINES: 1. LE PEN: I'LL BE THE GREATEST DEFENDER OF FRENCH JEWRY 2. TRAGEDY IN KEDUMIM 3. 'HA'ARETZ NEWSPAPER SURPRISES WITH NEW LOW' 4. SEARCH FOR THREE MISSING IN KINNERET CONTINUES 5. WATCH: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN ISRAELI 6. HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR: SEAN SPICER IS IGNORANT, NOT ANTI-SEMITIC 7. WATCH: NEW FOOTAGE OF UNITED AIRLINES PASSENGER THROWN OFF PLANE 8. WATCH: PRIESTLY BLESSING AT WESTERN WALL 1. LE PEN: I'LL BE THE GREATEST DEFENDER OF FRENCH JEWRY by David Rosenberg While polls show her the underdog in France’s upcoming presidential election, National Front chairwoman Marine Le Pen is hoping a silent majority of working class voters, traditional Catholics, French nationalists, and traditionally centrist voters concerned over the spread of Islamic radicalism will defy expectations and catapult her to victory on May 7th. Whether or not she ultimately prevails, the 48-year old National Front leader is expected to win more votes than any previous NF electoral bid, and could potentially take first place in the first round of voting, set for April 23rd. The latest polls show Le Pen either tied with or leading the Emmanuel Macron, her most likely opponent for the second round of voting in May. Le Pen, who would win roughly 40% of the vote in a second round matchup with Macron, is already poised to double party’s best showings – including the 2002 upset when her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen won second place in the first round of voting, and gained 18% of the vote in the second round. Under Marine the National Front has abandoned some of Jean-Marie’s more controversial positions, and Marine has condemned her father’s often inflammatory statements in an effort to gain mainstream appeal for the party. In 2015, Marine backed the expulsion of her father from the party for a series of anti-Semitic comments, including dismissing the Holocaust as a mere "detail of history". A week and a half ahead of the first round of voting in France, Marine Le Pen sat down with the Israeli paper Makor Rishon to discuss how her vision for France would impact French Jews and the relationship between Paris and Jerusalem. While proposals banning religious clothing in public – including kippot – and a plan to bar dual citizenship – which could affect thousands of French Jews in Israel – have raised questions in the Jewish community about her intentions, Le Pen insists her goal is to merely to combat radical Islam, adding that she would defend the French Jewish community from the rising tide of anti-Semitism. "I was always very clear on this subject," said Le Pen. "Everyone knows I had a split with my father over this; even though it hurt me greatly, because it is my father. You can always condemn politicians who have someone around them who is suspected (of bigotry). There are anti-Semites around, including around Francois Fillon, Emmanuel Macron, Mitterrand, and even de Gaulle. It’s hard for me to understand. But what I do know is that lots of French Jews are voting for us, because they know very well that not only am I not anti-Semitic, but I’m the most reliable weapon to defend them." Turning to the subject of Israel and international efforts to encourage boycotts of Israeli businesses and cultural institutions, Le Pen condemned the European Union’s recent measure of support for the BDS movement. "I’m against [BDS]. I think that the EU parliament made a mistake by supporting the BDS movement – but they [the BDS movement] has a very strong lobby. Anyway, in France BDS is banned." 2. TRAGEDY IN KEDUMIM by Arutz Sheva Staff A 23 year old security guard was killed when his gun apparently went off while he was cleaning it in the town of Kedumim in Samaria Wednesday night. He and his friend were cleaning their weapons and it is uncertain which gun went off. IDF and police forces are on the scene and are attempting to understand how the tragedy occurred. This is a developing story. 3. 'HA'ARETZ NEWSPAPER SURPRISES WITH NEW LOW' by Mordechai Sones Education Minister Naftali Bennett responded Wednesday to an article published in the Haaretz newspaper in which writer Yossi Klein accused the national-religious public. of being worse than terrorist murderers. "When you think that Haaretz has reached its peak of shame, it always manages to surprise with a new low," Bennett tweeted in his Twitter account. Minister Ayelet Shaked also responded to the article and wrote, "Yossi Klein, I pity you and the Haaretz newspaper for providing such a platform." In an op-ed titled "More Dangerous than Hezbollah," whose title was later changed by the editors to "Our so-called Righteous Elite" Klein writes that "the national religious are dangerous, more dangerous than Hezbollah, more than drivers ramming their cars into people and girls with scissors. The Arabs can be killed, they can not." The newspaper changed the word "killed" to "neutralized" later on. He continues with inciteful words, writing:, "What do they want? To take control of the state and cleanse it of Arabs, if asked, they will deny it ... They know that it is too early to be so obvious. Do not believe their denials. Their religious nationalism is extreme nationalism, enveloped in a pious reverence. It permeates the education system, is getting stronger in the army and affects the Supreme Court. They are already on their way to us, another moment and they break down the door." "I have more in common with the Eskimo of Alaska than with all the [national-religious leaders] and everything they represent. What do I have to do with Smotrich? What have I got to do with Israel Harel? (a rightist Haaretz colunist, ed.) What do I have to do with those who want to achieve freedom for themselves at the expense of someone else's freedom? He did not mean us, but we are the ones who will have to get used to it," adds Klein. "We are the champions of the world when it comes to 'getting used to it,' and so we have become accustomed to the deprivation of Palestinian's freedom. So why should we not be used to the deprivation of our own freedom? We have to do to 'freedom' what they did to 'peace.' Say from now on not 'from slavery to freedom', (in the Passover Haggadah, ed.) but from 'freedom to dominance.'" Interviewed on Israel Radio, Klein stood behind his words and said that Haaretz publisher, Amos Schocken stands behind him. 4. SEARCH FOR THREE MISSING IN KINNERET CONTINUES by JTA and Arutz Sheva Staff Israeli authorities ramped up efforts to find three people who went missing while rafting on the Kinneret Wednesday. Itamar Ohana, 19, Nahman Itah, 21, and a third unnamed 17-year-old went missing Wednesday in three separate incidents, according to a report by Times of Israel. Israeli authorities began the search Wednesday and continued overnight, and were joined Thursday by additional personnel and volunteers. The search is focusing on one area near the eastern shore of the Kinneret according to assessments made last night and in the area where the missing persons were last sighted. Some 80 people were rescued from the lake this week amid heavy winds. Israel’s largest freshwater lake, the Sea of Galilee is popular with Israeli vacationers during this week’s Passover holiday, and authorities warned bathers about venturing from shore in inflatable dinghies. "We call on the vacationing public on the shores of the Kinneret [Sea of Galilee] to listen to the instructions of the life-guard service and to refrain from entering the water on beaches that don’t have life guards," the Israeli life guard service said in a statement. The father of one of the missing people, Shimon Ohana, also warned against entering the Kinneret, stating that "since Itamar went missing, I don't feel alive, my world has collapsed on me. He is a very dear child. "I call on parents at hime to beg their children not to enter the water, so that they come home in peace. Three losses is enough," said Ohana. Israeli authorities are also concerned about the possibility of flash and other flooding in the Eilat area and have warned people in the area to be careful.‏ 5. WATCH: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN ISRAELI by Arutz Sheva The "A day in the life of an Israeli" clip is one of the ten finalists in the Adam & Gila Milstein Family Foundation "Inspired by Israel" video contest run by Israel Video Network. All ten videos will be featured on Arutz Sheva during the upcoming days and the final event in which the winner will be announced will be broadcast live here on Arutz Sheva next Tuesday, April 18. 6. HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR: SEAN SPICER IS IGNORANT, NOT ANTI-SEMITIC by Arutz Sheva Staff Amid the uproar sparked by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s comments Tuesday denying the Nazi regime’s use of chemical weapons during World War II, some opponents of the Trump administration predictably accused Spicer, and Trump by proxy, of harboring anti-Semitic sentiments. But at least one prominent Democrat, jurist Alan Dershowitz, pushed back against the claim, arguing that Spicer’s comments at the Tuesday press conference were a verbal blunder, not an intentional dismissal of the Holocaust. "What happened here is the guy [Spicer] screwed up. He apologized, and he apologized from his heart. And I’m prepared to give him a pass on this." Since then, one of Israel’s most prominent journalists has also rejected the allegation that malice towards Jews was behind Spicer’s faux pas. Noah Klieger, himself a survivor of the Holocaust, now a veteran Israeli journalist, argued in a piece published by Yediot Aharonot late Wednesday night that Spicer’s comments reflect a troubling pattern of ignorance among public figures today, not anti-Semitism. "Often times people in the government and politicians don’t really know the history," wrote Klieger. "Even if Spicer’s comments deserve to be condemned and criticized, there needs to be a limit to the accusations against him. It’s totally obvious that he didn’t mean to diminish the Holocaust or Hitler’s crimes." The race to condemn Spicer and the calls for his dismissal, added Klieger, stem not from a serious desire to combat anti-Semitism, but from the distaste Trump’s political opponents have with everything and anyone associated with his campaign and subsequent presidency. "More than anything else, the calls for Trump to fire his spokesperson are just an expression of hypocrisy. The same is true of those recently demanding Prime Minister Netanyahu pressure the American president to fire Spicer." Trump’s critics, Klieger said, "leapt upon Spicer’s comment as if it were some newly unearthed treasure chest, and labelled it as anti-Semitism, and then added that this kind of anti-Semitism apparently represents the positions of the president and his whole administration. But Trump obviously isn’t anti-Semitic, and not just because his daughter converted [to Judaism] and keeps Shabbat." 7. WATCH: NEW FOOTAGE OF UNITED AIRLINES PASSENGER THROWN OFF PLANE by David Rosenberg [youtube:2026885] New footage has emerged of the violent removal of a passenger from a United Airlines flight earlier this week. The passenger, Dr. David Dao, was forcibly removed on Sunday by Chicago Aviation Police at O’Hare Airport in Chicago after her refused to give up his seat to a UA employee. The incident, which has sparked an angry backlash against United Airlines, began when company staff members announced to the Louisville, Kentucky bound flight from Chicago that the flight had been overbooked, and that four passengers already in their seats would have to give up their seats to accommodate UA employees. The four UA employees were not on duty during the flight, but were slated for work on other UA flights out of Louisville the next day. Rather than arrange alternative transportation for the four employees for the four-hour drive to Louisville, United Airlines instead chose to force off already boarded and seated passengers from the flight. The four unlucky passengers would be required to leave the plane and wait for the next flight to Kentucky at 2:00 p.m. the next day – nearly a 24-hour delay. Flight crew members initially offered volunteers a paltry $400 in vouchers as compensation for the inconvenience, and later upped the offer to $800 in vouchers and a motel room. But when no passengers took the offer, rather than increase the bid and save the company from potential lawsuits and a public relations disaster, staff members instead chose to select four passengers for removal, calling in airport police to assist in their expulsion. A young couple were the first two passengers forced off the plane. The third, Dr. Dao, insisted he absolutely had to reach his destination that day, because he had patients who needed his care back home. In the first viral video which was released this week, airport officers were seen ripping the screaming Dao from his seat before dragging him down the aisles and off the plane. An eyewitness told Fox News Dr. Dao was unconscious when he was dragged through the plane. Images taken after he was removed show Dr. Dao’s face bloodied from injuries suffered during the removal. Now a second video has emerged, showing the moments prior to Dr. Dao’s expulsion from the United Airlines plane. Chicago Aviation Police officers can be seen urging Dr. Dao to voluntarily leave the plane, a request he refuses, insisting he must see his patients. Dr. Dao can also be heard stating he plans to sue United Airlines for the fiasco. "I won’t go; I’m a physician, have to work tomorrow, 8:00," said Dao. When the police threatened to drag him out, Dao remained defiant. "Well, you can drag me. I don’t go. I’m not going. I’m staying right here... I’d rather go to jail." While United Airlines has claimed Dr. Dao was "irate" and behaved in a "belligerent" manner, no evidence has yet emerged to back up the company’s argument. Passengers who witnessed the incident say the company’s claims are baseless. "Thank you to all of the friends and friends of friends who shared my video of Dr. Dao before he was forcibly removed from our flight," wrote Joya Griffin Cummings, a passenger who filmed the incident. "For getting the word out that this passenger was no more ‘irate or belligerent’ than any weary passenger after a long day of travel would be." On Wednesday, attorneys for Dr. Dao filed an emergency bill of discovery in Chicago, a precursor to a full blown lawsuit for damages, against United Airlines and the operator of the airport – the City of Chicago. A press conference by Dr. Dao’s attorneys has been scheduled for 10:00 Chicago time Thursday morning. [youtube:2026838] 8. WATCH: PRIESTLY BLESSING AT WESTERN WALL by Arutz Sheva Staff [youtube:2026887] Thousands flocked to the Western Wall Plaza in the Old City of Jerusalem Thursday morning for a special holiday service of the Priestly Blessing (Birkat Hakohanim) for the Passover festival. The morning prayer service began at 8:45 a.m., with the mass Priestly Blessing slated for 9:30, followed by Mussaf services at 10:15 and the second Priestly Blessing at 10:30. Rabbi of the Western Wall Shmuel Rabinowitz and the Chief Rabbis of Israel, Rabbis Yitzhak Yosef and David Lau, will join in the festivities and address the gathering after the prayer services have been completed. The blessing is taken from the book of Numbers and is recited by Kohanim every day in Israeli synagogues, with the priests, faces covered with prayer shawls, facing the congregation holding their hands out in a way passed on from generation to generation. Traditionally, the members of the congregation lower their heads and do not look directly at the Kohanim as they are blessed. In the Diaspora, it is said only on festivals. On Sukkot and Passover, when there are intermediate days that allow for driving and microphones, the tradition of having a mass blessing with a large number of Kohanim at the Kotel was instituted. The words of the biblical blessing: "May the Lord bless you and keep you, May He shine His face upon you and grant you grace, May He turn His face to you and grant you peace" were found in silver amulets unearthed in an ancient 6th century B.C.E. burial site on Katef Hinom, at what is now the Begin Center in Jerusalem, opposite the Old City, by archaeologist Gabi Barkai. For a live feed of the Western Wall Plaza, click here. Video feed courtesy of The Western Wall Heritage Foundation ------------------------------------------------ Subscribe to this Daily Israel Report: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Subscribe/ | |
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