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Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com ------------------------------------------------ Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday Friday, Sep. 01 '17, י' באלול תשע"ז HEADLINES: 1. 'TRUMP, NETANYAHU HAVE PHENOMONAL RELATIONSHIP' 2. MISSING SOLDIER FOUND DEAD IN GOLAN 3. HOUSING MINISTER: TIME FOR GUSH ETZION TO EXPAND DRAMATICALLY 4. WATCH: LOD MAYOR CONFRONTS IMAM OVER MOSQUE LOUDSPEAKER 5. 'WHY DO JEWS STILL GO THROUGH METAL DETECTORS AT TEMPLE MOUNT?' 6. AUSTRIAN CHANCELLOR'S SECRET ISRAELI ADVISER REVEALED 7. LOD MAYOR BEATEN IN LOCAL MOSQUE 8. VICTIMS OF GREAT REVOLT BROUGHT TO REST IN OFRA 1. 'TRUMP, NETANYAHU HAVE PHENOMONAL RELATIONSHIP' by David Rosenberg President Donald Trump has made achieving a comprehensive peace deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority "a very high priority", US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman told the Jerusalem Post, but added that the Trump White House is only interested in a deal which is embraced by both sides. "If we conclude that there’s an opportunity here that really works well for both sides, I think he will jump into this to help it get done," Friedman said. "But we’re not there yet, and we’re still working with the parameters. He is, I think, very much committed to seeing this done." Friedman emphasized that contrary to some leaders in Europe and the previous administration, the Trump White House is not interested in imposing a final status agreement on Israel, saying any deal would have to be "a win-win for Israel and the Palestinians." "If it’s not good for both, it’s not going to get done, so we’re trying to find ways to make sure that each side looks at the opportunity versus the present and concludes that the opportunity is better than the present." The White House’s less confrontational approach towards Israel, Friedman argued, had enabled Trump and Netanyahu to form a "phenomenal" relationship – a notable development considering the much-publicized coolness, if not downright hostility, between Netanyahu and President Obama. "I think they have a lot in common. I think they’re both decisive leaders," Friedman said. "I think they’re both serving as the leaders of countries that are politically divided and trying to find ways to maintain functioning governments, but the main thing I would say is the chemistry." "The chemistry is just excellent. It’s fun to be with them. It’s not a formal meeting. They’re not on edge. They’re not sitting back in their chairs in a formal way. They’re kind of talking like a couple of friends, and it’s fun to be in the room with them, because the conversations are really pleasant. They’re funny. They’re cordial." Specific policy differences between the Obama and Trump administrations, Friedman claimed, have also helped foster the kind of amicable relations between Jerusalem and the White House which were rarely seen prior to the January 20th inauguration. Whereas the Obama administration seemed fixated on the issue of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, viewing them as a key barrier to regional peace, President Trump "just doesn’t view settlements the way the Obama administration did." Turning to the issue of the American Embassy in Israel, which is still located in Tel Aviv despite Trump’s campaign promise to move it to Israel’s capital of Jerusalem, Friedman remained confident the president would follow through on his pledge. The move, Friedman said, was a matter of "when" rather than "if", adding that administration officials were discussing the matter on a regular basis. "It’s something we think about all the time." Speaking candidly about the Obama White House, Friedman expressed outrage both with President Obama’s support for the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, and the apparent equivalency Obama administration officials drew between Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria on the one hand, and Arab terror attacks against Jews on the other. "I don’t want to speak for the president, although he has been on the record on this; I’ll speak for myself" Friedman said regarding the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action dealing with Iran’s nuclear program. "I thought it was an absolute betrayal of Israel by the Obama administration, as sharp a betrayal as any president I think has ever inflicted upon Israel. Of course, in the aftermath of that, the president wanted to signal a change, and I think that was well within his thinking when he appointed me to be the ambassador." "I understand that 'settlements' are an issue, and I don’t have the slightest problem with people wanting to discuss settlements in the context of peace negotiations, but settlements and terrorism do not belong in the same sentence. Not the same paragraph, not the same report, because the killing of innocent life, of innocent civilian life, is so much more abhorrent and repugnant and inconsistent with a peace process than the building of apartments." 2. MISSING SOLDIER FOUND DEAD IN GOLAN by David Rosenberg An IDF soldier who went missing Wednesday in northern Israel was found dead Thursday afternoon. The soldier became separated from his unit Wednesday near the town of Katzrin in the Golan Heights. Following his disappearance, search and rescue teams combed the area for the lost soldier. Search teams finally located the soldiers remains in the Golan Thursday, a full day after he went missing. The IDF has notified the soldier’s family and opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death. 3. HOUSING MINISTER: TIME FOR GUSH ETZION TO EXPAND DRAMATICALLY by Hezki Baruch Housing Minister Yoav Galant (Kulanu) visited Efrat and other Jewish towns in the Gush Etzion region south of Jerusalem Friday morning, as schools around the country marked the opening of the 2017/2018 school year. During his visit, Galant lauded Gush Etzion residents, calling the bloc ‘Jerusalem’s southern flank’ and exhorting the government to help Jewish towns there expand. "Gush Etzion and Efrat are the southern flank of greater Jerusalem," said Galant. "Gush Etzion was destroyed by the Jordanians during the War of Independence. [Gush Etzion] is a Zionist symbol." "The State of Israel has a moral and practical obligation to strengthen the Jewish community here [in Gush Etzion], and to increase a thousandfold the number of residents here compared to the number there were prior to the destruction of Gush Etzion in 1948." "It is imperative to secure Israel’s hold on the Jerusalem area – from Maaleh Adumim in the east to Givat Zeev in the west and an envelope stretching from north of the city to the Bethlehem area and Rachel’s Tomb [in the south], to the approaches of Gush Etzion and Efrat. It is an area with tremendous historic, strategic, and moral significance. We will continue to strengthen the Jewish settlement all over the country." While visiting the neighborhood of Netiv Havot, which is slated for demolition, Galant urged the government not to abandon residents. "We must find a solution for the Netiv Ha'Avot neighborhood. One of the options is the adoption of a bill that I proposed before the eviction of Amona, but which was rejected by legal officials. We will continue to strengthen Jewish settlement in all parts of the country." The 16 homes in Netiv Ha'avot are slated for destruction because a one-meter-wide line of questionable ownership runs through them. No one has yet proven ownership of the strip of land. Israel's Supreme Court ordered the homes demolished in September 2016, overriding a previous decision of the state, which certified the homes as legal. In June, the Israeli government said it was "searching for an alternative" to the destruction. Earlier this month, Jewish Home MKs said they were trying to convince the government to prevent or at least postpone the destruction of the homes. Minister Galant in Gush Etzion Gush Etzion Regional Council 4. WATCH: LOD MAYOR CONFRONTS IMAM OVER MOSQUE LOUDSPEAKER by Arutz Sheva Staff [youtube:2032338] Footage from a confrontation between Lod Mayor Yair Revivo and worshippers at a Lod mosque early Friday morning has surfaced, showing the moments before Revivo was attacked by worshippers as he attempted to enforce a police order barring the use of loudspeakers in the middle of the night. The incident occurred during the pre-dawn Eid al-Adha "Sacrifice Feast" at a Lod mosque which refused to comply with orders from both police and the municipality that noise laws, which ban the use of loudspeakers after 11:00 p.m., be adhered to. When one mosque began blasting out prayers via its loudspeaker system in the middle of the night, Revivo made his way to the mosque to ensure that the system would be disconnected. During the subsequent confrontation with the mosque’s imam and worshippers, Revivo was physically assaulted and lost his phone to his assailants, while police officers present at the scene refused to intervene. 5. 'WHY DO JEWS STILL GO THROUGH METAL DETECTORS AT TEMPLE MOUNT?' by Arutz Sheva Staff The Supreme Court ordered Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the Cabinet ministers to respond to a petition by the 'Otzma Yehudit' organization and explain why the magnetometers should not be removed from the gate Jews pass through to ascend to the Temple Mount. Right-wing activists Dr. Michael Ben-Ari, Baruch Marzel, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Benzi Gopstein, petitioned the Supreme Court and argued that the Cabinet's policy, according to which only Jews must pass through metal detectors when they visit the Temple Mount, is discriminatory and unconstitutional. In their petition, the petitioners argue that the State cannot discriminate based on race or religion, and that when it was decided to remove the metal detectors from the gates from which Arabs enter the Temple Mount, the State had no authority to keep the metal detectors only at the entrance the Jewish visitors must use. The petitioners further added that "the Israeli government has given veto power to violent mobs to determine the Cabinet's policy, but since this is a political decision and the court is not inclined to intervene in these decisions. In [submitting this petition], all the petitioners seek is to compare the situations of Jews and Arabs, so that a situation will not be created in which Jews are discriminated against." Supreme Court Justice David Mintz ordered the State to respond to the petition within 50 days. 6. AUSTRIAN CHANCELLOR'S SECRET ISRAELI ADVISER REVEALED by Arutz Sheva Staff Christian Kern, Austria’s Social Democrat Chancellor, employed an Israeli campaign strategist who in the past worked for the Jewish Home and crafted right-wing ad campaigns targeting left-wing groups, German media outlets revealed recently. Moshe Klughaft, 37, served a number of Israeli clients in the past, including model-turned-MK Pnina Rosenblum (Likud), a group of reservist soldiers who sought to oust then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert following the 2006 Lebanon war, and the Land of Israel Forum. In 2015, Klughaft served as a campaign adviser for the Jewish Home party. Since 2016, however, Klughaft has worked with the Austrian Chancellor, Die Press and Der Spiegel revealed recently. This year, Chancellor Kern was invited to the national Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony in Israel as the guest of honor. In April, Kern attempted to mediate between Israel and the German government, following a diplomatic standoff between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel over the minister’s meeting with anti-IDF groups in Israel.Klughaft has become a sought-after adviser in European politics following his work with the Romanian Social Democratic Party last December, which trounced the National Liberal Party 45.5% to 20%. Recently, Klughaft worked with politicians in Spain, Germany, and Italy, according to the reports. The German and Austrian press ripped into Klughaft, accusing him of maintaining ties with the Israeli "right" organizations, as well as "left" politicians like Shimon Peres, who was behind the Oslo Accords. Since he originated in the right wing, it was not expected of him to help left wing parties. Sources around him describe him as more professional than ideological, and the international magazine "Forbes" chose him as one of the most influential campaigners of the younger generation. 7. LOD MAYOR BEATEN IN LOCAL MOSQUE by Ido Ben Porat The City of Lod is cutting its ties with Israel Police and ordering an end to all cooperation with the force Friday, after police failed to protect the city’s mayor during a confrontation with violent Muslim worshippers in a local mosque. Mayor Yair Revivo was injured early Friday morning in a predawn incident in a Lod mosque that had violated an agreement with the city – and Israeli law – by using loudspeakers in the middle of the night, disturbing residents. Earlier this week, the city met with mosque officials, who pledged not to use loudspeakers during the Eid al-Adha "Sacrifice Feast" on Friday. Despite the agreement, however, the imam of one Lod mosque broke his promise and turned on the loudspeakers at top volume during the predawn event. Mayor Revivo went to the mosque to ensure that the loudspeakers were disconnected, as per the agreement with the imam, only to discover that no police officers were present at the mosque, despite the department’s assurances the site would be secured. "Last night the police warned the imam of the mosque [not to use the loudspeakers before dawn], but he didn’t really seem concerned by it. I went to the mosque [early Friday morning] and was surprised to find that despite what had been agreed upon [between the city and the police], no officers were present." "I contacted the police and told them to come," continued Revivo. Later, "the deputy chief of the local station came. A fight broke out [at the mosque], and I was attacked by a group of worshippers, and I suffered injuries to my hand and my cell phone was stolen. All of this happened in front of the police, who simply watched and did nothing. A total humiliation and an outrage." Following the incident, Mayor Revivo announced that he had ordered city officials to end all cooperation with police "until they get their act together and stop being afraid of Arab lawbreakers." Mayor Revivo City of Lod 8. VICTIMS OF GREAT REVOLT BROUGHT TO REST IN OFRA by Hezki Baruch [video: 2032327] The bones of Jews who perished in the Great Revolt by Jews against the Roman Empire, and which were discovered at an archaeological site near the community of Givat Assaf in the Binyamin region, were recently brought to burial secretly in Ofra. The remains were discovered in 2013 at the archaeological site, which is a Jewish village from the time of the Second Temple. Mikvahs, coins from the time of the Great Revolt and vessels made out of stone were discovered at the site. The bones that were discovered are of seven women and a boy who hid in a cave, and were killed by the Romans in 69 CE, one year before the destruction of the Second Temple. Due to an unsuccessful dispute between the residents of Ofra and the director of antiquities at the Civil Administration, the bones were buried in January, hastily and secretly, and the burial was only permitted for publication on Friday morning. The name of the Jewish village in which the bones were discovered is unknown. The bones of the seven women and the boy were found inside a cave in an olive press which contained a hiding place. Two rock-hewn ritual baths were found next to the cave. Scientific testing determined that the bones are from the first century CE. Along with the bones, evidence of the brutal killing was discovered, in the form of arrow heads and shoe studs of Roman soldiers. The archaeological excavation was carried out by an American delegation headed by Dr. Scott Stripling and Dr. Bryant Wood. The bones of the victims were identified in 2013, as noted above, and were examined in laboratories for the purpose of determining the date of death. Only this past January were they transferred to Hevra Kadisha and buried in Ofra. The residents of Ofra built a monument using natural stone on the grave of the women, and placed an explanatory sign that tells their story. A second panel bears the story of the vision of the dry bones from the Book of Ezekiel. [album:open ------------------------------------------------ Subscribe to this Daily Israel Report: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Subscribe/ | |
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