If you cannot see this email properly, please click here | |
Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com ------------------------------------------------ Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday Monday, May. 08 '17, י"ב באייר תשע"ז HEADLINES: 1. TRUMP DODGES ARAB TRAP IN RAMALLAH 2. PRESIDENT TRUMP'S MESSAGE TO ISRAEL 3. WATCH: BARGHOUTI'S LIES CAUGHT ON FILM 4. 'WE SHOULD TELL THE TRUTH: THERE WILL BE NO PALESTINIAN STATE' 5. WHY IS NEW YORK CITY HONORING A NAZI COLLABORATOR? 6. 250 GIRLS SIGN PETITION TO GOC CENTRAL COMMAND 7. HASSIDIC FOUNDERS' BELONGINGS UP FOR SALE 8. CONTINUING 700 YEARS OF BUILDING JERUSALEM 1. TRUMP DODGES ARAB TRAP IN RAMALLAH by David Rosenberg President Donald Trump is slated to visit Israel from May 22nd to 23rd, his first state visit to Israel as president, during which time he is tentatively scheduled to meet with Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah. While state visits to the Palestinian Authority leadership in Ramallah have become an established feature of visits to Israel by senior Western leaders, PA officials apparently had something bigger and less innocuous planned than the typical meet-and-greet. According to Israel Hayom, President Trump was initially slated to walk through the grounds outside the PA’s Mukata complex to an official reception ceremony with Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas. The proposed route would take the president right next to the burial place of former PLO leader and arch-terrorist, Yasser Arafat; a detail left out by the PA planners who presented the route to American officials. Rather than a minor logistic oversight, the move was part of a calculated effort to lay a PR ambush for the president, allowing photographers to catch him in what would appear to be a planned visit to the grave of the deceased terrorist leader. A senior PA official and aide to Mahmoud Abbas admitted to Israel Hayom that the proposed route’s proximity to Arafat’s grave was no accident. But perceptive White House aides quickly realized the gravity of the president passing through the planned route, and nixed the plan, the PA official said. "A short time after the Secret Service and the president’s security team approved the route…officials from President Trump’s office contacted us to tell us that President Trump and his family would not be able to pass next to Arafat’s grave, since doing so could potentially create an embarrassing situation for the president inside the US, and even a diplomatic crisis with Israel, and we were asked to find alternative routes." 2. PRESIDENT TRUMP'S MESSAGE TO ISRAEL by David Rosenberg President Donald Trump is slated to visit Israel on May 22nd, part of a trip that includes scheduled stops in Saudi Arabia and the Vatican. Ahead of his trip, the president released a statement to Israel Hayom Monday morning that describes his plans for working with the Israeli government to confront regional problems – first and foremost the threat posed by the Iranian regime and its proxies across the Middle East. "During my first trip as president to Israel, I will emphasize the need to strengthen cooperation between Israel and the US," wrote President Trump. "I’m looking forward to the trip." "It is my honor to accept the invitation of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to make my first trip as president to Israel, where I will emphasize the need to strengthen cooperation between Israel and the US; a partnership that has been successful for so many years." The president added that the threats emanating from Iran and ISIS would be at the top of the agenda. "We will focus on a number of regional issues that are the source of joint concern for us, including the need to act against the threats posed by Iran and its proxies, the dangers posed by ISIS, and the threats from other terrorist groups. We will also discuss ways to promote a real and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians." 3. WATCH: BARGHOUTI'S LIES CAUGHT ON FILM by Yoni Kempinski [youtube:2027781] Arch-terrorist and mass-murderer Marwan Barghouti, who has led a hunger strike by jailed terrorists held in Israeli prisons, has been eating in secret while maintaining the pretenses of his own hunger strike, footage released Sunday reveals. Barghouti, who is believed to be responsible for the deaths of 26 people in suicide bombings and shooting attacks during the Second Intifada and is currently serving five consecutive life sentences for murder, declared the hunger strike in a New York Times opinion piece in April, in the middle of the Jewish festival of Passover. But footage of Barghouti’s jail cell reveals that the arch-terrorist feigned his own hunger strike, eating in secret in a corner of his room, just as he did in the previous hunger strike he led. A senior member of the Fatah-Tanzim terror group, Barghouti retained his seat in the Palestinian Authority legislature despite his conviction and imprisonment. Barghouti nevertheless remains a popular figure within the Palestinian Authority, and is often touted as a potential successor to current PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Minister of Internal Security Gilad Erdan (Likud) mocked Barghouti, accusing the jailed terrorist of orchestrating the hunger strike to improve his own political standing while failing to take part in the strike itself. "The terrorists’ hunger strike has nothing to do with their prison conditions; it is simply a [tool] for Marwan Barghouti’s political interests, both inside prison and in the Palestinian Authority." [youtube:2027784] 4. 'WE SHOULD TELL THE TRUTH: THERE WILL BE NO PALESTINIAN STATE' by Eliran Aharon [youtube:2027797] Jewish Home chairman Naftali Bennett said on Sunday that Israel should make clear to U.S. President Donald Trump, during his upcoming visit to Israel, that while it is open for negotiations with the Palestinian Authority (PA), it opposes preconditions. "President Trump is certainly a great friend to Israel and we’re very happy to have him over in Israel, and we’re always open to negotiations, but what we will not have is preconditions or pre-concessions," he told Arutz Sheva on the sidelines of the Jerusalem Post conference in New York. "We’re not going to give up territory. We’re not going to give gifts for the huge opportunity to talk to the Arabs. I think it’s important that we focus on building a powerful economy, high tech entrepreneurship and co-existence with our neighbors, but everyone knows we’re not going to form another Palestinian state," added Bennett. "I did a lot of business in America. I lived in Manhattan for five years and did dozens of deals. What Americans appreciate is candor, is honesty, integrity, and those who tell the truth. And we are telling the truth. And the truth is that we will not divide Jerusalem. The Arabs don’t want Israel. It’s not about a Palestinian state. It’s about our very existence. We’re going to have to learn to live together, but we’re not going to found another Palestinian state beyond the one in Gaza," he reiterated. "Unfortunately, the Prime Minister's perception is different. That is legitimate. This is his position. I think that ultimately, the Prime Minister should adopt our perception that between the sea and the Jordan there will not be a Palestinian state. A Palestinian state will flood the State of Israel with refugees and will also constitute a security disaster," warned Bennett. 5. WHY IS NEW YORK CITY HONORING A NAZI COLLABORATOR? by Ben Shaul American Jewish groups are up in arms over an official street marker in Manhattan honoring a Nazi collaborator responsible for the deportation of thousands of Jews to German concentration camps. The City of New York recently decided to honor historical figures welcomed in the city since 1886 with ticker-tape parades, transforming 13 blocks of Manhattan’s historic Broadway into the "Canyon of Heroes". But some pedestrians walking down Broadway were taken aback to see that among the figures included as "heroes" was perhaps the world’s most famous Nazi collaborator: Henri Philippe Petain, Prime Minister of Vichy France. Petain, a World War I general who led the French Second Army at the Battle of Verdun, was honored in 1931 for his defense of France against German invasion. His subsequent service to the French nation, however, led to a treason conviction and a death sentence later commuted to a life sentence behind bars. A pliable leader willing to accept German suzerainty, Petain was appointed Prime Minister on the eve of Germany’s victory over France in 1940. Under his administration, France accepted German control over much of the country, and established the new Vichy government, based in the town of Vichy. Thousands of French Jews were deported to Germany during Petain’s rule, and Vichy France actively aided the Axis powers in North Africa during the "Operation Torch" Allied invasion in 1942. Despite his notoriety after his 1931 hero’s welcome, Petain was nevertheless included in the Canyon of Heroes, with a marker honoring him – just two blocks away from a similar marker for David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister. State Assemblyman Dov Hikind blasted Petain’s inclusion in the Canyon of Heroes and called for the removal of the marker. "I don’t think there is any question that this needs to be removed and I hope the city will do the right thing," said Hikind. 6. 250 GIRLS SIGN PETITION TO GOC CENTRAL COMMAND by Orly Harari 250 schoolgirls wrote a letter to the Commanding Officer of the Central Command (GOC) regarding Yitzhar resident Elkana Pikhar, whom the Central Command is attempting to distance from his home. In their letter, the girls asked the GOC Central Command not to sign the order expelling Pikhar from his home. "We, the girls of the Nahalat Tzvi School in Elon Moreh, the friends of the daughters of the Pikhar family, call out to GOC Central Command Roni Numa: Do not expel our friends' father from his home!" "Busy yourself with fighting our Arab enemies, and leave good Jewish settlers alone. Do not cause a rift between the IDF and good Jews who love the land of Israel!" The petition was signed by 250 girls in grades 1-8, who hail from various towns in the region. All of the girls are friends of the Pikhar girls, who learn with them in school. Last week, Attorney Menashe Yado of Honenu sent a detailed letter to GOC Central Command Numa explaining why he should not place Pikhar under administrative detention. Among other things Yado said such a detention would seriously harm the Pikhar family's freedom and financial situation. Yado has not yet received an answer from Numa. 7. HASSIDIC FOUNDERS' BELONGINGS UP FOR SALE by Arutz Sheva Staff Two items of great historic and religious value were just revealed to the public: A piece of fabric whicht was part of a robe worn by Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov (Besht), and a pipe which once belonged to Rabbi Yaakov Yitzhak Rabinowitz. Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov was the founder of the hassidic movement, and Rabbi Yaakov Yitzhak Rabinowitz was the founding father of the Gur hassidic sect. Rabbi Rabinowitz is widely known as the "Yehudi Hakadosh" (Holy Jew) of Peshischa. The two items are currently on display in the Kedem Auction House in Jerusalem, and will be put up for public auction on Tuesday. The piece of fabric, which is part of a robe worn by the Baal Shem Tov, is fashioned of woven floral fabric. It was passed down to the descendants of the Rebbe Rabbi Haim Tirer of Czernowitz for generations as a family heirloom. The Czernowitzer Rebbe was the author of the celebrated hassidic work Beer Mayim Haim and his daughter was married to the son of the Degel Mahane Efraim, who was the Baal Shem Tov’s grandson. The item passed down for generations and last belonged to Mrs. Bracha Maor, a direct descendant of the Czernowitzer Rebbe Rabbi Chaim Tirer. According to family tradition, this piece of fabric was taken from a robe worn by the Baal Shem Tov from the time he was 26 and until his passing at the age of 60. Mrs. Bracha Maor endowed the heirloom to Rabbi Efraim Gutman of Tel Aviv, whose home she frequently visited during the final years of her life. Enclosed with the piece of fabric is a signed affirmation by the Romanian-born Tel Aviv Rabbi Efraim Gutman that he received the fabric from Mrs. Bracha Ma'or, as well as a signed affirmation by the Hussaków-Tel Aviv Rebbe Rabbi Efraim Dov Teitelbaum. Piece of garment worn by Baal Shem Tov Kedem Auction House, Jerusalem The second item up for public auction is a tobacco pipe crafted of sepiolite and silver which formerly belonged to the Yehudi HaKadosh (Holy Jew) of Peshischa. This tobacco pipe was a family heirloom passed down by the descendants of the Yehudi HaKadosh until present times. The pipe was first bequeathed by the Yehudi HaKadosh to his son Rabbi Nehemia of Bykhaw, after which it passed to his nephew Rabbi Avraham of Parysów, who gave it as a dowry to his granddaughter Malka and her husband Rabbi Betzalel Halevi. Rabbi Betzalel Halevi then bequeathed the pipe to his son Rabbi Asher Ferens of Haifa, who is the father of the current owners. The tobacco pipe has special significance in hassidic tradition, which describes the special spiritual salvations, "unifications," and rectificationstheir spiritual leaders performed while smoking their pipes. It is told that the Ba'al Shem Tov showed his disciple Rabbi David of Ostroh the "New Heavens" he created with the "unifications" he made while smoking his pipe, and Rabbi David instantly fainted from fear. Similarly, the Toldot Ya’akov Yosef stated prior to his passing that he "Entreated G-d that he should be rewarded for all the Torah he learned and mitzvot he fulfilled throughout his lifetime, and which his master the Ba'al Shem Tov acquired while offering ‘yichudim’ during one bout of smoking his pipe." (Zohar, Chai Teruma, 62, 2). According to hassidic tradition, the Yehudi HaKadosh also performed many miraculous feats while smoking his pipe, as he personally shared when his pipe was once stolen. Tiferet HaYehudi (and Zechuta D’Avraham) cite that a short while after the pipe was stolen, it returned miraculously to him. "Once, this pipe was stolen and he was very aggrieved upon the loss of his pipe, and he expressed, ‘When I smoked my pipe, I accomplished great things and was able to draw great holy abundance for the Jewish People.’" According to Chassidic lore, the Yehudi HaKadosh then declared that his pipe would be returned to him within a short while, and indeed it reappeared. The pipe had been sold to the district governor, yet the man’s tongue filled with sores and lesions every time he tried smoking the pipe. The Rabbi of Warsaw Rabbi Dov Berish Meislish recounted that he heard from one of Gur's rabbis that while smoking his pipe, the Yehudi HaKadosh would focus upon the same thoughts and intentions which the High Priest had reflected upon while bringing the incense offering on Yom Kippur in the Holy of Holies. Pipe belonging to the Holy Jew of Peschischa Kedem Auction House, Jerusalem 8. CONTINUING 700 YEARS OF BUILDING JERUSALEM by Yoni Kempinski [youtube:2027796] In preparation for the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem, Arutz Sheva, together with Ateret Cohanim, are presenting a special project that will focus on the renewal of Jewish presence in eastern Jerusalem, the Old City and the village of Shiloah (bordering the Kidron Valley outside the Old City walls). "Ateret Cohanim is probably the most important, non-profit organization vis-à-vis the future of Jerusalem," said Daniel Luria, Ateret Cohanim Executive Director and Spokesperson. "There are some people who say that we’re even the paratroopers of the ‘seventh day war’. In six glorious days, Hashem opened up those gates of Jerusalem, and we the Jewish people, were reunited after Jerusalem was liberated, but there was a lot of work still to be done, especially in and around the Old City. So for 39 years, Ateret Cohanim has been effectively strengthening Jewish roots in the heart of Jerusalem. Redeeming, reclaiming old Jewish property, adding Jewish life, and as a result of that work today, there are 1,000 Jewish residents living in the Old Jewish Quarter. There is a Jewish neighborhood on the Mount of Olives, there are Jewish families who have returned to the old Yemenite village. It’s the revival of Jewish life. It’s the unfolding redemption process of the Zionist dream being realized in our time." Mati Dan, Ateret Cohanim Chairman and Founder, said, "This is a 700-year-old enterprise. The Ramban (Nachmanides) arrived in Jerusalem in ’67. Not 1967, but 1267. He came here, and since then there was a continuity of Jewish presence until 1948, when the Old City of Jerusalem fell [to the Jordanians]." "There are many missions, but one of the main ones is to tell the story of Jerusalem not only from 1967, but until 1967, to give the background about the continuous Jewish residence here of people who remained strong despite all the difficulties," he continued. "We are the beginning of the process. There’s a lot of work still to be done," said Luria. "Yes, there have been some tremendous successes, but we need the Jewish world. You’re going to see some of the successes, some of the projects inside the Old City, in the Yemenite village, the Mount of Olives, where your input is vital. Basically, we want you to be paratroopers with us, coming through those gates of Jerusalem and helping, together, to build a united Jerusalem." For more details about Ateret Cohanim's activities and to join the "Building Jerusalem together" project, click here. ------------------------------------------------ Subscribe to this Daily Israel Report: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Subscribe/ | |
|
