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Wednesday, Sep. 28 '16, כ"ה באלול תשע"ו
HEADLINES:
1. UNPRECEDENTED PREPARATIONS FOR PERES FUNERAL
2. WHY ISRAELI JEWS LEAN TO THE RIGHT AND AMERICAN JEWS TO THE LEFT
3. HAMAS CELEBRATES PERES' DEATH
4. YESHA COUNCIL HONORS PERES' 'TIRELESS WORK' FOR ISRAEL
5. BEIJING LOOKS TO DEEPEN ECONOMIC TIES WITH ISRAEL
6. 'ONE OF THE FOUNDING FATHERS OF ISRAEL'
7. ISRAEL'S POPULATION REACHES 8.58 MILLION
8. WILL SWEDISH-ISRAELI RELATIONS GET BACK ON TRACK?
1. UNPRECEDENTED PREPARATIONS FOR PERES FUNERAL
by Arutz Sheva Staff
A government committee within the Ministry of Culture and Sport charged with planning state events is preparing for what is expected to be the largest state funeral since Nelson Mandela's in 2013.
President Shimon Peres, who passed away early Wednesday morning, will lay in state in the Knesset on Thursday. Flags at all state institutions, army bases, and police stations will be flown at half-mast.
The funeral is scheduled to take place on Friday at Har Herzl in Jerusalem. Peres will be buried in a plot near Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
"This is a complicated event which requires a great deal of cooperation between different [governmental] bodies," said Minister of Culture Miri Regev. "We need to deal with it like a well-planned operation."
At 8:45 Thursday morning, President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will lay wreathes in front of the late president.
From 9:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m., Peres will lie in repose at the Knesset for the public to pay their last respects.
The funeral on Friday will begin at 8:30 in the morning, when Peres will be transferred from the Knesset to Har Herzl.
From 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. a formal service with eulogies will be performed at Har Herzl.
The burial ceremony will commence at noon.
Sections of Highway 1 are expected to be closed on Friday as world leaders make their way to Jerusalem for the funeral. Police warn of traffic disruptions inside Jerusalem as well, with roads closed around the Knesset and Har Herzl.
President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon are expected to be in attendance, along with Secretary of State John Kerry, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Joachim Gauck, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, and President of Togo, Faure Gnassingbe.
2. WHY ISRAELI JEWS LEAN TO THE RIGHT AND AMERICAN JEWS TO THE LEFT
by David Rosenberg
A report published Tuesday by the Pew Research Center reveals a growing gulf between American Jews and Israelis on everything from religious observance and affiliation, to political ideology, and views on hot-button issues like Palestinian statehood and US aid to Israel.
Close Relationship
The world's two largest Jewish populations, each numbering some six million, have strongly positive feelings towards each other, Pew's Neha Sahgal said.
"When we compared the attitudes of American Jews to Israel and Israeli Jews to the United States, it became really clear that they share an affinity for each other."
Sahgal added that roughly 40% of American Jews have visited Israel – roughly the same proportion of Israeli Jews who have traveled to the United States.
"That's a pretty high number, 40%," said Sahgal.
'Red State Israel' versus 'Blue State Americans'
But while the relationship between American and Israeli Jews remains strong, the two differ sharply on politics, and contrast strongly in religious observance and identity.
While American Jews lean strongly to the left, Israeli Jews tend to identify with the political center or right-wing.
To some extent, this has created cultural tensions between some progressive American Jews – particularly among younger Jews – and the Jewish state.
"They also have a strong liberal-to-conservative dispute," Hebrew Union College's Steven M. Cohen said, comparing the internal Jewish cultural divide to the rift between Republican-leaning "red" states and Democratic-leaning "blue" states in the US.
"In many respects, Israel is a 'red state', and American Jews are a 'blue country'."
According to Pew, 49% of American Jews identify as left-wing or liberal, compared to just 8% of Israeli Jews. While only 19% of American Jews consider themselves conservatives politically, Israeli Jews were nearly twice as likely to identify as conservative/right-wing, with 37% describing themselves as such. Twenty-nine percent of American Jews say they consider themselves centrist or moderate, compared to 55% of Israeli Jews.
Palestinian Statehood, Judea and Samaria, and US Support for Israel
Given the differences in political ideology, it is unsurprising that American Jews and Israelis differ strongly on issues like Palestinian statehood and US support for Israel.
A strong majority (61%) of American Jews believe that a Palestinian state can exist peacefully alongside Israel, while just 43% of Israeli Jews agreed. Israeli Jews were significantly more likely to argue that the US has not been supportive enough of Israel in recent years (52%), than American Jews (31%). And while nearly half (43%) of Israeli Jews believe Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria contribute to Israel's security, only 17% of American Jews agreed.
Israeli and American Jews also differed sharply on their perceptions of the major problems confronting the Jewish state.
American Jews focused overwhelmingly on security threats and terrorism, with 66% saying security was Israel's greatest problem. Only 1% said economic challenges were Israel's greatest problem.
Israeli Jews, however, were roughly evenly divided between the two, with 38% saying security threats were the biggest problem, and 39% saying economic issues were. Israeli and American Jews were roughly equally likely (14% and 18% respectively) to see social and religious problems as the primary issue facing Israel.
Religious Differences
Just as the two populations differ sharply in political ideology, they also exhibit strongly different patterns of religious affiliation and levels of observance of Jewish tradition.
Among American Jews, the Conservative and Reform movements are dominant, representing 18% and 35% of the Jewish population respectively. Only 10% of American Jews consider themselves Orthodox.
In Israel, however, the Reform and Conservative movements are virtually non-existent, with just 3% of Israeli Jews saying they identified as Reform and 2% identifying as Conservative – far fewer than the more than 22% who are Orthodox.
Religious observance is also more prevalent in Israel – even among non-Orthodox Israelis.
While a whopping 57% of American Jews say they eat pork, only 16% of Israeli Jews do. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of Israeli Jews keep kosher at home, compared to 22% of American Jews. Fifty-six percent of Israeli Jews light Shabbat candles every week, compared to 23% of American Jews, and 60% of Israeli Jews completed the Yom Kippur fast last year, while only 40% of American Jews did so.
Jews as a community, Jews as a nation
To a large extent, the religious and political differences between American and Israeli Jews can be chalked up to two class and ethnicity, journalist and Shalom Hartman Institute Fellow Yossi Klein Halevi says.
While American Jews are primarily Ashkenazi, Halevi points out, a majority of Israeli Jews are Mizrachi or Sephardi – immigrants [or their descendants] from the Middle East or Mediterranean.
"Factor in the wide ethnic Jewish diversity of Israel. American Jews are mostly Ashkenazi. Israeli Jews are a majority Mizrachi, or more and more a combination of Ashkenazi and Mizrachi, thanks to the growing rate of what we call 'intermarriage'."
The other salient difference, class, is rooted largely in the nature of the two populations, says Halevi.
"American Jews are a community and function as a community, and Israelis are a people. When you are a community, you tend to be more homogeneous. That isn't to say they're aren't major differences among American Jews. But socioeconomically, American Jews are overwhelmingly middle class, upper-middle class, university educated. Israeli Jews are a people. We've got a working class - a very big working clas - we've got a struggling lower-middle class, we have a middle-middle class, there's small upper class."
3. HAMAS CELEBRATES PERES' DEATH
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Hamas welcomed the death of former Israeli President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres Wednesday, calling him a "criminal", while the Palestinian Authority made no official comment after the death of the elder Israeli statesman and Nobel Peace Prize winner.
In the Gaza Strip, a spokesman for the Islamist Hamas terrorist organization commented on Peres' death, saying that "The Palestinian people are happy at the death of this criminal.
"Shimon Peres was one of the last Israeli founders of occupation. His death marks the end of an era in the history of the Israeli occupation," spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP.
Tributes to the 93-year-old poured in from across the world, but the Palestinian Authority, which was created by the the Oslo accords – of which Peres was one of the principal architects -- remained largely silent.
The Palestinian Authority news agency Wafa announced his death in a short news story, but initially no officials commented in it.
Diana Buttu, former spokeswoman for the Palestinian Authority, tweeted "Peres was an unrepentant war criminal. Revisionist history won't work."
Later, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas issued a statement via Wafa, offering his condolences.
"Abbas sent a message of condolence to the family of former President Shimon Peres," Wafa reported Wednesday afternoon. "Peres was a partner in making the brave peace," referencing the 1993 Oslo Accords, the product of then-Foreign Minister Peres' sub rosa negotiations with PLO terrorists.
Peres served as Israel's Prime Minister from 1984-1986, and again from 1995-1996. He was Israel's ninth President from 2007-2014.
AFP contributed to this report
4. YESHA COUNCIL HONORS PERES' 'TIRELESS WORK' FOR ISRAEL
by Arutz Sheva Staff
The Yesha Council released a statement in response to the death of Shimon Peres.
"In this hour we remind ourselves of Peres' greatest contributions to lay the groundwork for Israel's defense since its inception, and his great contribution to the establishment of Jewish settlements in Samaria," the statement read.
In the statement, the council noted that Peres was "one of the founders of the state and visionaries of the Israeli people even in the settlements which he developed from their very beginning. Throughout the disputes over the years, we will remember the constant support to the security of the settlements, the creation of settlements in Samaria, the creation of Ofra and the progress of an infrastructure for the construction of additional settlements."
Mayor of Ariel Eliyahu Shaviro said that "Shimon Peres, of blessed memory, contributed greatly to the security of Israel and worked tirelessly for peace with our neighbors."
"Peres also laid several cornerstones for the settlements," Shaviro said, "The residents of Ariel and the entire nation of Israel is mourning the loss of an incredible leader who worked tirelessly for his nation."
Yochai Damari, Director of the Hevron Hills Council, said, "I bow my head to the man who worked to hard for our country."
"He worked tirelessly for the creation of the state. Settlements were a point of contention for him, specifically for everything connected to Oslo but he was also a part of the establishment of many settlements and was one of the first to pave the way for the construction of Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria."
Noam Arnon, spokesperson for the Hevron Hills settlement, said that "Peres has a central role in shaping this country since its birth. His role in the creation of the map of settlements in Judea and Samaria will always be remembered."
Arnon mentioned that when Peres was Minister of Defense he granted the license for the opening of the Avraham Avinu Synagogue in Hevron which allowed the rebuilding of Jewish settlement in Hevron. "With that," Arnon said, "he did make mistakes, one of which was the creation of Palestinian terrorist authority."
"Now is the time to remember his good deeds and his contribution to the Jewish people and the State of Israel. We will mourn him with all of Israel, and we will aim to continue his vision of building this state and bringing true peace to all its citizens," Arnon added.
5. BEIJING LOOKS TO DEEPEN ECONOMIC TIES WITH ISRAEL
by ILTV
[brightcove:2019632]
6. 'ONE OF THE FOUNDING FATHERS OF ISRAEL'
by Yoni Kempinski
Israel's ninth President and former Prime Minister Shimon Peres has passed away at the age of 93, two weeks after suffering a serious stroke and being admitted to the Tel Hashomer Hospital.
His condition deteriorated on Tuesday and family and friends were summoned to the hospital to say their farewell.
Peres served as the Prime Minister of Israel twice and twice as Interim Prime Minister, and was a member of 12 cabinets over a period of 66 years.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu honored the late president in a statement Wednesday morning, calling him "one of our great leaders," and "one of the founding fathers of the State of Israel."
"His name will be forever engraved in the story of the rebirth of the Jewish people."
Peres was first elected to the Knesset in November of 1959 and, except for a three-month-long hiatus in early 2006, served continuously until 2007, when he became President.
He was the longest serving chairman of the Labor party, from 1977 until 1992. While serving as a member of Labor for the majority of his time in the Knesset, in 2005 he left Labor to support Ariel Sharon and his new Kadima party.
Following Kadima's win in the 2006 election, Peres was given the role of Vice Prime Minister and Minister for the Development of the Negev, Galilee and Regional Economy, serving under Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Peres was elected President of the State of Israel by the Knesset on June 13, 2007, and resigned from his role as a Member of the Knesset the same day. Peres was sworn in as President a month later, on July 15, 2007.
He announced in April 2013 that he would not seek to extend his tenure beyond 2014 and was succeeded by Reuven Rivlin in July of that year.
Peres served as Foreign Minister in the second government of Yitzhak Rabin and was among the architects of the Oslo Accords, for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994.
He is credited with the establishment of the Dimona reactor site and with Israel's ambiguity policy on the subject. Defending the reactor, he once said: "We're the only nation in the world whose existence is under threat, and we're the only nation in the world who is not a threat to anyone. We needed to find a solution to that problem. I have no doubt the reactor gave Israel a dimension of deterrence. For me, Dimona was the first step to Oslo. It was built so we'll have the possibility to make peace."
He was born Szymon Perski, on August 2 1923, in Wiszniew, Poland (now Vishnyeva, Belarus), to Yitzhak and Sara Perski. His father was a wealthy timber merchant, later branching out into other commodities. His mother was a librarian. Peres' grandfather, Rabbi Zvi Meltzer who was murdered in the Holocaust, had a great impact on his life.
This past January, Peres was admitted to the Tel Hashomer Hospital after he suffered a mild heart attack.
[video:2019628]
Last month, Peres suffered from chest pains and his son-in-law, Dr. Rafi Walden, was called to his home in Tel Aviv. Tests showed that Peres had suffered from atrial fibrillation of the heart. A senior cardiologist treated the former President at the time until his heart rate returned to normal and he was not admitted to hospital.
A week before his hospitalization, the former President underwent an operation to have a pacemaker device implanted to prevent irregular heartbeats. The operation took place just after he returned to Israel following a political conference in Italy.
Sources close to the former President said at the time that Peres' physicians had advised him to get the pacemaker device to prevent heart disorders.
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7. ISRAEL'S POPULATION REACHES 8.58 MILLION
by JTA
Israel will have a population of 8.585 million citizens this Rosh Hashanah.
The growth rate, 2 percent, was similar to previous years, according to an annual report released Tuesday by Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics.
The country's Jewish population, which makes up nearly three quarters of the country at 6.419 million, grew at a rate of 1.9 percent, while the Arab population, which makes up just over a fifth of the country at 1.786 million, grew at a rate of 2.2 percent.
Other groups, including non-Arab Christians and those identifying with other religions, which make up 4.4 percent of the population at 380,000, grew at a rate of 3.8 percent.
The birth rate surpassed the death rate, with 189,000 births and 46,000 deaths.
In the past Jewish year, 30,000 people moved to Israel, including 25,000 new immigrants.
8. WILL SWEDISH-ISRAELI RELATIONS GET BACK ON TRACK?
by ILTV
[brightcove:2019631]
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