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 כ"ג בתשרי תשע"ח / Friday, Oct. 13 '17 Subscribe to this Daily Israel Report -http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Subscribe Headlines
1. Arab MK: Jews have no right to self-determinationby Chana Roberts [youtube:2033823] Speaking at The Jerusalem Fund and Palestine Center in Dallas last week, Arab MK Hanin Zoabi (Joint Arab List) openly admitted that Jews do not have a right to self-determination, and that Israel should not exist as a Jewish state. "It's an equality which challenges the definition of Israel as a Jewish state," Zoabi said. "We use this democracy - of course, there is a question of why you...give legitimacy to Israel when you are within the Knesset. This is true. So remember, I am telling you now that now we have the ability to use these tools, the democratic tools, for our own interests, for our own national approaching." "The military regime (i.e., Israel - C.R.) tried to be more liberal, more sophisticated with us, and again more to negate our identity... "It is not enough that Israel should exit - should leave Gaza and the West Bank. "Zionism should leave also, from the whole area... There are articles in Haaretz, you can read. Israel now resembles Germany in the thirties. It is that we also within this vision define the matter of self-determination, not for the Jews - for the Israelis." Zoabi then said that the Jewish people are not a nationality, but admitted Israel has a right to self-determination. "The answer we give is that the Jews are not nationality, so we cannot talk about self-determination for the Jewish people," Zoabi said. "But for the Israelis, they can have a self-determination. But not as a Jewish state - within a secular democratic state." "I will finish by saying that our struggle for human rights...for collective and civic equality...and the right of return ...when you say that this will eliminate us this democracy will eliminate us, this democracy - this proves that Zionism is racism." Zoabi then called on Israel to cease security coordination and not grant automatic citizenship to any Jew who wishes to immigrate under the Law of Return. "What to do?" Zoabi asked. "In the macro, I don't know. I know in the micro, immediately to stop security coordination....but the vision... Okay, this is what we say. The vision is full equality, right of return, to change all the citizenship law, no automatic guarantee, no automatic citizenship to any Jewish [person - C.R.], and of course the right of return to the villages, and to the houses of the refugees." "Jews who don't want to accept that, yeah, they are allowed to go, to return. The vision of a state, of democratic state, entails a huge compromise. "It's not one hundred percent justice... It is a strength also, in front of the international community that yes, we are suggesting a huge historical amount, to give up the name even of Palestine in Haifa... This is, for us, a compromise." 2. Netanyahu: Fatah-Hamas accord makes peace harder to achieveby Gary Willig Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu responded Thursday night to the signing of a reconciliation agreement between the Palestinian Arab organizations Fatah and Hamas. "Reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas makes peace [with Israel] much harder to achieve," the Prime Minister wrote on his Facebook page following the end of the Simchat Torah holiday. "Reconciling with mass-murderers is part of the problem, not part of the solution. Say yes to peace and no to joining hands with Hamas," Netanyahu added. Diplomatic sources Israel would not accept the reconciliation agreement unless certain conditions were fulfilled, most notably the disarming of the Hamas terrorist organization and the acknowledgement of Israel's right to exist by Hamas. "Any reconciliation between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas must include compliance with international agreements, compliance with the Quartet conditions, and first and foremost recognition of Israel," one of the sources said. "The continued digging of tunnels, the manufacturing of missiles and the launching of terrorist activities against Israel [by Hamas] are contrary to the Quartet conditions and the US efforts to renew the political process." In addition, Israel demands that Hamas release all Israelis it currently holds hostage, including the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, as well as several Israeli civilians. "Israel insists that the Palestinian Authority not allow any outpost of Hamas terror activities [to operate] from PA territories in Judea and Samaria and Gaza, if the Palestinian Authority is indeed responsible for its territory," the sources added. "Israel will examine developments on the ground and act accordingly." Under the agreement signed Thursday, the Palestinian Authority is to resume full control of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip by December 1, according to a statement from Egypt's government. 3. Self image, the basis of it allby Rabbi Ben Tzion Shafier The Torah begins with these words, telling us the order of Creation. Rashi points out that the Torah should have begun with the first mitzvah and continued with a list all of the positive and negative commandments. A detailed description of the order of Creation should not have been a part of the Torah. Rashi answers that the Torah began by telling us that HASHEM created everything so that we would have an answer to the claim that the nations would form against us. If the gentile peoples would say to us, “You are thieves. You stole the land that belongs to the seven nations,” our answer is, “It says in the Torah that HASHEM created the heavens and the earth. It is His world. He created it, and He gave it to whom he saw fit.” The Siftei Chachamim explains that Rashi’s question cuts to the core purpose of the Torah. The Torah is the guidebook for life, a compilation of the laws and principles that govern our actions. Ultimately, it is a book of laws. Therefore, all of the stories that are told throughout Bereishis — from Adom, Noach, and on through the Avos — simply don’t belong there. Granted they contain valuable lessons to teach us, but those lessons could have been written in a book on the level of the Navi’im, not in the Torah itself. The reason they became part of the Torah itself was that since HASHEM began with chronicling the acts of Creation, it was appropriate to maintain that style, so the Torah continued with the various stories as they occurred. Essentially, Rashi’s question is that the very nature of the Torah was changed from a law book to a history book. Why make that change? Rashi answers that it was all changed so that if the gentiles say, “You are thieves,” we could simply respond, “Read the Bible. HASHEM created the heavens and earth and gave it to us.” The Torah was written exclusively for IsraelThere are two significant problems with this Rashi: The Torah is the exclusive property of the Jews. It was written for the Jews, and it is unique to the Jews. It wasn’t written for the gentiles. We cannot assume that the gentiles will read the Torah, much less abide by it. More than that, they have no right to read the Torah; it is the private heritage of the Jewish nation. So how can Rashi say that this is the answer to the goyimwhen the Torah isn’t in their purview? If the sole reason HASHEM began with Creation was so that the gentiles won’t say that we stole their land, then it seems, if it could be, that HASHEM failed. The single most repeated claim that the world has against the Jews today is exactly that: we stole their land. We took away the Palestinian homeland. We have no right to be there. If the entire reason that HASHEM changed the Torah was to answer the gentiles, it doesn’t seem to have succeeded. So what does Rashi mean, “It is to answer the gentiles”? The answer to these questions is contained in Rashi’s use of the posuk: “Hashem told His nation of His power.” Like the rest of the Torah, this lesson is not for the gentiles; it is for us. If the gentile nations accuse us of stealing their land, we need to have the answer, not for them, but so we can answer ourselves. It is a foregone conclusion that the gentiles won’t listen to the Torah. The issue is us. Will we feel justified and correct or will we feel like we have stolen their land? This issue is so significant that HASHEM changed the very nature of the Torah . . . to let us know we are not thieves. A person’s thoughts define himIf we take this concept to its logical conclusion, we see a tremendous insight into human nature. Rashi is telling us that all of the lessons that we learn from the Avos — the concepts of mussar, self-improvement, and perfection of our middos — are very important, but they could have been put in a separate book. However, the issue of not viewing ourselves as thieves is so fundamental that it merits changing the entire Torah. This is because the way a person views himself is what he becomes. If a person views himself as a thief, he will live up to that image. If the Jewish nation viewed themselves as crooks, dishonestly living in someone else’s land, they could never have become the chosen nation. Their tainted view of themselves would have greatly limited their ability to become great people, and that is so significant that it is worth changing the entire Torah. This concept has a specific message to us. Some people are concerned about stealing because “What will the gentiles think about us?” While that may be a valid concern, there is a much bigger issue at stake: how will I view myself? If I act as thief, I am a thief. That action defines me, and creates the image that I hold about myself. That damage can be far greater than the single act of stealing. There is also a larger lesson to learn from this Rashi. One of the characteristics that all successful people possess is a powerful sense of self-worth. To reach greatness, a person must believe in himself. He must trust in his inherent worth and his ability to succeed. If this key component is missing, all the talent in the world will not help because he will not have the drive to reach for the heights he is capable of. This concept is so intrinsic to greatness that HASHEM changed the very nature of the Torah, all to keep our sense of dignity and worthiness intact. 4. Anti-Semitic, racist flyers dropped in Florida neighborhoodsby JTA Anti-Semitic and racist flyers produced by the Ku Klux Klan have been dropped in neighborhoods in Jacksonville, Florida in recent days. The flyers contain a phone number linked to a recording that attempts to recruit new members. The KKK has dropped flyers in Jacksonville neighborhoods in recent weeks, ABC-First Coast News reported Tuesday, but the content has increased in vitriol, including specific threats. One flyer reads: “He who fights the Jew fights the Devil,” citing the Nazi children’s book publisher Julius Streicher, and shows a good Jew as one with a bullet in his forehead. Another says “Smash Jew Communism.” The racist flyers threaten African-Americans who are caught “making eyes” at white women. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office told local media it is investigating the flyers. In September, neo-Nazi flyers dropped in Jacksonville encouraged Americans to "Take America back from the Jews," claiming that Jews are "plotting the minds of our government." Recipients of the flyers were called on not "let them destroy what your European ancestors built." 5. 'Hanin Zoabi admitted her dream is to destroy Israel'by Chana Roberts MK Oded Forer (Yisrael Beytenu) has reacted to MK Hanin Zoabi’s (Joint Arab List) recent comments regarding the Jewish People's right to self-determination. In a speech at Dallas last week, Zoabi said that "the Jews are not a nationality, so we cannot talk about self-determination for the Jewish people." She did, however, say that "the Israelis, they can have self-determination, but not as a Jewish State, within a secular democratic state." "I would like to thank Zoabi for finally removing the mask from the Palestinians' ultimate goals," Forer said. "By claiming that the Jewish People have no right to self-determination, she has exposed the lie and fallacy that the conflict is over land or borders." "Zoabi has finally admitted that her ultimate dream is to destroy Israel in its current form and dismantle it as a Jewish and democratic state." "Unfortunately, it is clear that until there is an end to this rejectionism there will no end to the conflict, and Israel needs to act accordingly, with its partners in the US." Forer will join several other MKs on a trip to Washington in November. There they will meet with their counterparts in the Congressional Israel Victory Caucus (CIVC). [youtube:2033823] 6. 2 Israelis win MacArthur ‘genius’ grantsby JTA JTA - An Israeli computer scientist and an American opera director born to Israeli parents were among the winners of this year’s MacArthur Foundation “genius” grants. Regina Barzilay, 46, is a computational linguist based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology whose work includes training machines to understand different languages. Her research helped decipher part of the semitic Ugaritic language by mapping it onto Hebrew, a linguistic relative. Yuval Sharon, 37, whose Israeli parents moved to Chicago when he was born, is the founder and artistic director of The Industry, a Los Angeles-based production company. His productions are often nonconventional, such as “Invisible Cities,” a 2013 adaption of an Italo Calvino novel staged at Union Station in Los Angeles. His 2015 production of “Hopscotch: A Mobile Opera for 24 Cars” took place in locations throughout the city. The winners of the award from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation each receive a $625,000 grant in recognition of “extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits.” Past Jewish recipients include “The Wire” creator David Simon, novelist Ben Lerner and visual artist Nicole Eisenman. 7. Trump admin withdraws US from UNESCOby JTA, Arutz Sheva Staff JTA - The United States has decided to withdraw from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) over its anti-Israel bias and need for reform, the Department of State announced. The decision, which would become effective only in 2019, “was not taken lightly, and reflects US concerns with mounting arrears at UNESCO,” read the statement Thursday by the Department of State, in which the United States announced that it had notified UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova of its decision. The statement cited “the need for fundamental reform in the organization, and continuing anti-Israel bias at UNESCO.” UNESCO's board is set to meet next week and had announced that the anti-Israel resolutions it had intended to bring to a vote would be postponed for six months. This is seen by sources as a possbile attempt to stave off the actions of the US and Israel. The United States indicated to the director general its desire to remain engaged with UNESCO as a non-member observer state “in order to contribute US views, perspectives and expertise on some of the important issues undertaken by the organization, including the protection of world heritage, advocating for press freedoms, and promoting scientific collaboration and education.” The Paris-based body delighted the Palestinian Authority in July when it declared the Old City of Hevron in Judea as an endangered world heritage site. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu complained that the language of that resolution did not acknowledge the religious attachment of Jews to Hevron, a city which once served as the capital of the biblical Jewish kingdom of Judea and where the tomb of the patriarchs is located. Prior to that resolution UNESCO also passed several resolutions ignoring Jewish ties to Jerusalem, drawing Israeli officials’ fury and criticism by Western countries – including by France, which supported the resolutions during votes. Israel has reduced its funding for UN projects following those votes. Six years ago, the United States cut off more than $80 million a year, about 22 percent of its entire budget for UNESCO, in reprisal for its acceptance of the Palestinian Authority as a member, Foreign Policy reported. The Obama administration said it had to cut funds because a 1990s-era law prohibits U.S. funding for any U.N. agencies recognizing Palestine as a state. Israel also suspended its funding for UNESCO. As a result of US funding cuts, US arrears in membership fees have been swelling each year, surpassing $500 million that’s owed to UNESCO, according to Foreign Policy. The decision to withdraw from UNESCO owes partly to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s desire to stop the growing debt. The Reagan Administration decided to withdraw from the organization in 1984, at the height of the Cold War, citing corruption and what it considered an ideological tilt towards the Soviet Union against the West. President George W. Bush rejoined the organization in 2002, claiming it had gotten its books in order and expunged some of its most virulent anti-Western and anti-Israel biases. 8. Watch: Kfar Chabad holds Second Hakafotby Yoni Kempinski [youtube:2033806] Subscribe to this Daily Israel Report - http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Subscribe | |
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