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 ה' בתשרי תשע"ח / Monday, Sep. 25 '17 Subscribe to this Daily Israel Report -http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Subscribe Headlines
1. European Union to boycott Israeli state ceremonyby Hezki Baruch Israel will hold a state ceremony in Gush Etzion this Wednesday marking the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Judea and Samaria from Jordanian occupation during the Six Day War of June 1967. As is custom with state ceremonies, Israel extended invitations to the event to representatives of foreign states and bodies. On Monday, however, Arutz Sheva was informed that the European Union’s Ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, will not be attending the event, despite having received a formal invitation. Staff at Giaufret’s office confirmed that the ambassador had indeed been invited to the ceremony, adding that his decision to snub the event was consistent with the views espoused by the EU’s member states. Giaufret’s office cited the location of the event as the reason for his refusal to participate. “The ambassador will attend any official events of the State of Israel over the Green Line.” Knesset Deputy Speaker Oren Hazan (Likud) ridiculed Giaufret’s decision not to attend. “Green Line? As far as I know, there isn’t any green river that separates Judea and Samaria from the rest of the Land of Israel. There is no physical barrier stopping the ambassador from attending the event. If they [the EU diplomatic staff] have a problem, they are welcome to solve it with a one-way ticket.” Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and former Ambassador to the US Michael Oren (Kulanu) called on Giaufret to rethink his decision not to attend. “The ambassador’s refusal to attend the event marking 50 years since the liberation of Judea and Samaria is unfortunate and outrageous. If the European Union and Europe want to play a role in the region, they have to accept facts on the ground that have been here for 50 years.” Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev (Likud) also responded to the report, arguing that Giaufret’s snub was the result of ignorance. “We’ve come home and we intend to stay here forever. I’m certain that if the EU ambassador would bother to learn about the history and the heritage of [Judea and Samaria], he would ask to be seated in the front row of this event, and would even give an emotional address on our deep attachment to Judea, Samaria, and the Golan.” 2. Between Judaism and Islam: The saga of Noy Sheetritby David Rosenberg [youtube:2033210] While assimilation and intermarriage in the Jewish world are generally portrayed as exclusively Diaspora challenges, one young woman’s journey from Judaism to Islam and back has brought the problem of assimilation in Israel to the forefront. Noy Sheetrit, a 24-year-old native of Ashkelon, first drew widespread media attention last month when she converted to Islam to marry her Bedouin Arab boyfriend. Footage of Sheetrit’s conversion to Islam, which took place on the Temple Mount, went viral on social media, and were later publicized by news outlets in Israel and the Arab world. From Jewish religious school to the mosque Following her parent’s divorce, Sheetrit was raised by her mother in a traditional, though not strictly Orthodox home. Sheetrit nevertheless attended a religious school before enlisting in the army. After completing her mandatory army service, Sheetrit met Alla Abu Sajir, a resident of the Bedouin town of Rahat, on an Ashkelon beach. Eventually, Sheetrit and Abu Sajir decided to wed. After Abu Sajir refused to convert to Judaism, Sheetrit agreed to embrace Islam – leading to the conversion ceremony on the Temple Mount in mid-August. Some Israeli media outlets, including Channel 10, highlighted the bitter response of Sheetrit’s family and social media users in Israel to her decision to convert to Islam and marry Abu Sajir. Lehava and Noy’s return to Judaism Shortly after her conversion, however, Sheetrit began to have second thoughts about the path she had chosen. Sheetrit and Abu Sajir were engaged, though not yet married, The Jerusalem Herald reported, and following the criticism she received after publicizing her conversion via social media, Sheetrit reached out for help. A day after her conversion to Islam, Sheetrit’s family contacted the Lehava anti-assimilation group led by Bentzi Gopstein and his wife Anat. "On the day she converted to Islam I already got a phone call from the family,” Anat Gopstein said during an interview with Israel Radio. “The family was very confused and didn’t know what to do, the mother was very broken. We guided the family and slowly we got closer to Noy, thanks to volunteers." Sheetrit, then living with her fiancé in Rahat, agreed to speak with Lehava activists. Abu Sajir, Sheetrit told Anat Gopstein, had already begun to exhibit violent behavior, threatening her and throwing chairs and flipping over tables to express his anger with her. “[H]e threw a table, threw a chair, threw things, but she had not been hit yet,” Anat Gopstein said. After a long conversation with Anat, Sheetrit left Rahat and moved to an apartment operated by Lehava for women seeking refuge following relationships with Arab men. Last week, just days before the Rosh Hashanah holiday, Sheetrit expressed her desire to publicly renounce Islam and return to Judaism. At her request, the Gopstein’s held a small ceremony for Sheetrit in synagogue, releasing footage of the event on social media. Back to Rahat Just days after having renounced Islam, however, Sheetrit moved back in with Abu Sajir. According to Bentzi Gopstein, Sheetrit returned home for the Rosh Hashanah holiday, but by the end of the week she had left her mother’s house for Rahat to reconcile with Abu Sajir. “Last week [Sheetrit] wanted to repent [from her conversion to Islam],” Gopstein wrote on Facebook. “Noy requested that we film her coming back to Judaism, and that’s what we did. She was in our safe house. Before the [Rosh Hashanah] holiday, we advised her to stay there and receive counselling and professional treatment, but she wanted to go to her mother’s home, which she did, since we don’t force anyone to stay.” “On the eve of the holiday, she sent us a very touching message thanking us. Unfortunately, however, by the end of the holiday, she blocked us. We waited, and got in contact with her family, but with no success so far.” Since then, says Gopstein, Sheetrit publicized new photos on her social media accounts of herself with Abu Sajir. “We didn’t go public [with her decision] until she chose to put up pictures of herself with the Arab.” While Sheetrit herself ultimately chose to remain with her Arab partner, Gopstein noted that because of her publicity her story received, four other young women reached out to Lehava and moved into the Lehava safe house. “Since the story of Noy’s return to Judaism went public and because of its publicity, we were able to bring back four girls back to the Jewish people; they’re now in Lehava apartments. In addition, we’ve started working on another 16 cases which were brought to our attention this week.” 3. IDF returns grounded Apache helicopters to serviceby Tzvi Lev The IDF has decided to return its Apache helicopters to service after they had been grounded for more than a month following the deadly crash in August that killed Major Dudi Zohar and seriously injured his co-pilot. A preliminary report found that the crash was caused by a rare malfunction caused by rust in the steering system, in what IDF officials said was the first of its kind they had ever seen. In light of the findings, the IDF decided to return the squadron to full service starting next week. In addition, the IDF ordered all ground and air crews to receive updated instructions on how to maintain the steering column and to prevent similar instances in the future. The accident occurred 45 minutes after take-off when the steering column disengaged from the joystick. Following the disconnection of the joystick, the helicopter became unstable. The crew declared a state of emergency and returned to the base amid very difficult flight conditions as a result of the malfunction, and plunged to the ground at 9:00 p.m. Col. Yoav, who head of the Air Force's safety department, said that Major Dudi Zohar, the deceased helicopter pilot, had saved his co-pilot's life by deciding to return the crippled helicopter to the airfield with its emergency response crews. 4. New Netzach Yehuda commander recipient of top bravery awardby Tzvi Lev It was announced Sunday that Major Nitai Okashi will be the next commander of the Nahal Haredi-Netzach Yehuda Unit battalion, replacing Lieutenant Colonel Itamar Deshel. Okashi is expected to take command in September 2018 and will be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Okashi is a decorated officer, having received a citation for bravery in 2007 for wrestling with a terrorist as he was preparing a grenade. On July 21, 2007, Okashi and a fellow commander in the Golani Brigade raced forward to battle two terrorists encountered by his soldiers during operations in Gaza, killing one. The second terrorist stood between him and his men, readying a grenade Ordering his troops to lie flat, Okashi charged the terrorist but ran out of ammunition – so he tackled the terrorist and wrestled him to the ground with his bare hands. The Golani captain held on to the terrorist as the grenade exploded, ensuring that the terrorist absorbed most of the blast. Despite the wounds Okashi suffered in the explosion, he continued to hold down the terrorist while his soldiers raced forward and killed the terrorist.. The award given to Okashi noted his bravery, resourcefulness, leadership, determination and setting a personal example. Nahal Haredi, also known as Netzach Yehuda, is a battalion in the Kfir Brigade that enables haredi soldiers to serve in the IDF, but also includes a good number of Religious Zionist soldiers. Women are forbidden on base, and soldiers receive special food that conforms to a stringent halakhic standard of Jewish dietary laws. 5. Feminist group wants Western Wall rabbi stripped of his immunityby Tzvi Lev A Jewish feminist group has raised the stakes in the battle over non-traditional prayer at the Western Wall Plaza, petitioning the Jerusalem Magistrates Court to strip Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, Chief Rabbi of the Western Wall, of his immunity in order to permit legal action against him. According to the Behadrei Haredim news site, the Center for Women’s Justice (CWJ), which broke off from the Women of the Wall, contends that Rabbi Rabinovitch is disobeying a court order forbidding him to conduct stringent body checks on Women of the Wall in an attempt to stop activists from smuggling in Torah scrolls. However, they are currently unable to take legal action against him due to the immunity Rabinovitch has as a public servant. "Recognizing Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch's immunity is unreasonable considering that he is violating people's rights, even after he was warned not to," the CWJ wrote in the lawsuit they filed with the court. They further argued that "it is clear that under the current circumstances, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch has been given comprehensive immunity to do whatever he wants" In January, the Supreme Court ordered Rabbi Rabinovitch and the Western Wall Heritage Foundation to cease conducting body searches on women entering the Plaza. However, Western Wall policy forbids women from reading from the Torah at the holy site, and Women of the Wall activists have smuggled Torah scrolls into the site on previous occasions. As a result, Western Wall officials have been holding increasingly stringent body checks on the Jewish new month festival of Rosh Chodesh, when the Women of the Wall generally conducts their provocative prayers at the Kotel. In August, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch blasted the Women of the Wall after Kotel officials caught them smuggling Torah scrolls attached to their legs. “Today, on the first day of Elul, all red lines were crossed – those who smuggled holy Torah scrolls bound to their bodies, those who hide whistles in their private places, and for what? For the ‘sanctity’ of a civil war at the Western Wall?" he said. 6. 'Free Palestine? Why not Balochistan?'by Tzvi Lev [youtube:2033213] Tommy Robinson, a prominent British nationalist activist, wants to know why the United Nations focuses solely on the Palestinians despite their history of terrorism while ignoring other oppressed minorities in the world, such as Balochistan, which has been occupied by Pakistan since 1947. Wearing a 'Free Balochistan' T-shirt, the English Defense League founder describes the history of the beleaguered Balochistan, detailing the oppression he says the Baloch people have suffered from under Pakistan and noting the five major conflicts that were fought between Balochistan and Pakistan. According to Robinson, Pakistan benefits tremendously from Balochistan's natural resources while denying the proceeds to the native people. "The West is silent about this, total silence," charged Robinson. "The media is not interested in real struggles. Where have they been on this issue? Why don't they talk about this when they constantly cover Jewish people defending themselves against Palestinian terrorists?" Balochistan was annexed to Pakistan after it split off from India in 1947 and makes up 44% of its territory, but according to Robinson, "it's not a surprise that the Left wastes its time defending barbaric actions against the only democracy in the Middle East". Robinsons has been a prominent activist on what he calls "the Muslims waging war on England". He was one of the principal founders of the English Defense League in 2009, which quickly became known for its large street demonstrations against radical Islam. 7. Attack dog bites border policeman during outpost evacuationby Arutz Sheva Staff Border Police soldiers and Civil Administration officials demolished a structure that had been constructed without a building permit in the Maginei Aretz outpost near Ein Amasa in Samaria. During the eviction operation, officers claim dozens protesters set fires, erected barriers to block police vehicles, and attacked security forces involved in demolishing the unauthorized structure. After a chase on foot ensued, forces arrested the suspect who released the dog, while another suspect was arrested for assaulting policemen. Two other fighters received medical treatment in the area and did not need medical evacuation. [youtube:2033174] 8. Watch: Students protest, insist on learning Torahby Hezki Baruch [video:2033215] Subscribe to this Daily Israel Report - http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Subscribe | |
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