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Monday, Jan. 09 '17, י"א בטבת תשע"ז
HEADLINES:
1. ISIS IN THE HEART OF JERUSALEM
2. 'THIS ISN'T ABOUT OCCUPATION - IT'S A CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS'
3. JUDEA AND SAMARIA RESIDENTS: YOU CAN'T TAX OUR SHOPPING BAGS
4. ISRAELI DIPLOMAT SPEAKS ABOUT DANGERS OF PARIS CONFERENCE
5. WOMEN OF THE WALL: 'WESTERN WALL - NOT IN OUR PURVIEW'
6. REPORT: TRUMP'S JEWISH SON-IN-LAW KEY PLAYER IN FOREIGN POLICY
7. BBC DESCRIBES TERROR ATTACK AS 'SHOOTING OF TRUCK DRIVER'
8. WATCH: SNOW FALLS ON MT. HERMON
1. ISIS IN THE HEART OF JERUSALEM
by Uzi Baruch
She praised him. Praised and lauded him, not despite but rather because he had sacrificed his life to murder four Israeli Jews and wound roughly a dozen more.
The sister of the terrorist responsible for Sunday's murderous terror attack involving a trailer truck is, like her brother, from the predominantly Arab neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber in south eastern Jerusalem.
For those in Israel's security establishment, expressions of support for the terrorist's murderous deeds, which were seen in the memorial tent established – which was torn down, then reestablished – by the killer's family and many spontaneous acts of celebration are hardly surprising.
Jabel Mukaber has long been familiar to residents of the capital and to security officials as a haven for the most extreme forms of anti-Semitism, hatred of the State of Israel, and incitement to violence, all of which have only increased in the past few years.
The residents of Jabel Mukaber, like all other Arab residents of the capital, benefit from the rights extended by Israeli democracy, and enjoy full freedom of movement with their Israeli ID cards, and are able to convert their residency status to full citizenship, if desired. They frequent Israeli malls, shopping centers, and parks anywhere in the country unmolested.
Despite their freedoms, however, the neighborhood is fast becoming a foothold for the ISIS terror organization, giving the international Islamic movement a backdoor into the Jewish state, which hitherto had largely succeeded in combating efforts by ISIS to recruit in Israel.
As Israeli security forces, including Jerusalem police, have monitored recently, Jabel Mukaber has not merely grown more hospitable to anti-Israel hatred – always a widespread phenomenon in the neighborhood – but has shown a more general cultural shift towards the jihad ideology espoused by ISIS.
Two years ago, for instance, veteran journalist Avi Issacharoff reported on how local children were being inculcated with pro-jihadist messages. Eight and nine year old boys, he reported, were already declaring their intention to become "martyrs".
Sunday's deadly truck attack was, in its essence, nothing new. The terrorist driver drew inspiration from a string of recent car attacks by ISIS terrorists across Europe, most notably the Christmas market massacre in Berlin, and the slaughter of some 86 pedestrians in Nice, France. In the US, an Ohio State University student originally from Somalia also used his car as a terror weapon, running down students before stabbing others. And of course, during the terror wave in Israel beginning in September 2015, numerous attacks against Jews used trucks, tractors, or cars to run down hapless victims.
In the wake of the attack, authorities are only taking limited steps to maintain law and order in Jabel Mukaber. This morning police shut down the main thoroughfare in the neighborhood – but only after locals rioted and shot fireworks at police deployed in the nearby Armon Hanetziv neighborhood, where the attack took place.
A proper response to Sunday's attack would have included the immediate demolition of the terrorist's home and the deportation of his family to Gaza. In addition, police must arrest rioters, and track down and punish all those who celebrated the attack or handed out candy to jubilant residents.
In the meantime terrorism runs wild on social media outlets and, to some extent emanates from them. In that regard, law enforcement officials seem quickest to target Jews – while turning a blind eye to the sea of anti-Jewish incitement in the Arab sector. Anyone who makes a foolish comment on Facebook against the IDF Chief of Staff or some Arab figure is liable to find himself behind bars, while most Arab inciters freely spread their hate.
We have missed enough opportunities to deal with Jabel Mukaber, the incubator of murderous terrorism in the heart of Jerusalem, which brought us the massacre in the Merkaz Harav Yeshiva in 2008 which left eight dead, the butchering of worshippers in the Har Nof synagogue in 2014, Sunday's truck attack, and numerous other acts of terror.
If we miss this opportunity to finally confront the villainy emanating from Jabel Mukaber, we will no doubt pay for it with even more blood.
2. 'THIS ISN'T ABOUT OCCUPATION - IT'S A CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS'
by Hezki Baruch
[youtube:2023029]
Amid reports the perpetrator in Sunday's deadly terror attack in Jerusalem was inspired by the ISIS terrorist organization, one Likud MK said the attack was part of a larger trend towards a global front of radical Islam facing Western civilization.
MK Amir Ohana (Likud) rebuffed the notion that the attack, committed by an Arab resident of the southern Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber, was a response to Israel's administration of Judea and Samaria.
"Israeli citizens have been facing terror for more than 100 years," said Ohana. "It's not since the 'occupation of 1967'. In just one weekend of August 1929, 133 Jews were killed - murdered, and many hundreds more were severely wounded, raped, butchered."
"Why did it occur then, in Hevron, in Tzfat, in other locations in Israel? Was it the 'occupation of 1967'? Of course not. Was it the desperation? Was it the unemployment? What was it? Actually what it was - and still is - is the unwillingness of the Arab influential majority around us to accept the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish state. And it will go on, it will not stop. We saw it yesterday. And what we need to do is to fight and combat the Islamic terror that hurts not only us but the Western world."
More broadly, said Ohana, the attacks on Israel are part of a larger rejection of Western civilization by radical Islam.
"It is what Samuel Huntington referred to as the clash of civilizations. One civilization which supports freedom and another civilization which opposes it. And in this struggle we should stay united - the Western world, the free world should stay united and fight that terror very seriously."
3. JUDEA AND SAMARIA RESIDENTS: YOU CAN'T TAX OUR SHOPPING BAGS
by David Rosenberg
A new law limiting shoppers' rights to use plastic shopping bags may not apply to some Israeli communities – at least not yet.
The so-called "Bag Law", which went into effect on January 1st, bans the free distribution of plastic shopping bags in most supermarkets in Israel. Since the law took effect, shoppers have been required to pay a 10 agurot (2.6 cent) tax per bag, with the proceeds being transferred to environmentalist organizations.
The controversial law has already drawn criticism for its infringement of citizens' rights and the impact it could have on larger, lower income families, particularly if the tax is increased.
But the law may not be enforceable in some Israeli communities.
According to the Legal Forum for Israel, the new law has yet to be applied to Judea and Samaria, leaving Israeli towns over the Green Line exempt from the tax.
Judea and Samaria, which are administered by Israel, were never annexed to the state. Therefore, Israeli law does not apply directly to the area, but is maintained through the Israeli military, which is charged with law enforcement over the Green Line.
Ordinarily, once a bill is passed into law, a directive ordering the law's application in Judea and Samaria is issued in the military to the Civil Administration, which extends the law over the Green Line.
But, says the Forum, no such measure was taken in this case.
"Since the commanding officer [for Judea and Samaria] never ordered the [application] of this law, and since it is not part of either the Ottoman or Jordanian legal systems [retained by military administrators in Judea and Samaria], this law is not in force in these territories, therefore [supermarket] branches in Judea and Samaria not obligated by this tax," the Forum wrote in a letter sent to supermarkets across Judea and Samaria.
And it appears that this opinion is shared by the very ministry responsible for the tax – the Ministry for Environmental Protection.
"The Bag Law was never put through the [process] of applying it to Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, and the [IDF] commander [in Judea and Samaria] never signed an order for its application there," the Ministry acknowledged.
"As such the requirements of the law do not apply on retailers in this area. This issue will be deal with according to the [list] of priorities of the ministry in conjunction with the Civil Administration."
4. ISRAELI DIPLOMAT SPEAKS ABOUT DANGERS OF PARIS CONFERENCE
by Chana Roberts
[youtube:2023038]
The Jerusalem Center has released a video of Former Director General of the Foreign Ministry and former Ambassador Dore Gold explaining why the upcoming Paris conferences are dangerous to Israel's future.
"Some seventy countries are expected to attend [the Paris conference]," Gold said. "It's not at all clear if there will be any Palestinian delegation attending - they've given mixed signals. But Israel has been very firm that it will not attend and that it objects to the whole idea of the conference...
"Israel learned through many years of negotiations and diplomacy...is that the only way we resolve our differences with our neighbors is by sitting face to face at the peace table. That's how we reached peace with Egypt in 1979... That is exactly how we reached peace with Jordan... That is what works. Direct negotiations.
"What is being planned in Paris first and foremost gets us away from those direct talks at the peace table into a very complex world of multilateral negotiations with different places... That's not how we made peace in the past, and that's not how we'll make peace in the future..
"What could easily happen [without direct negotiations] is...they'll say they never actually decided they accepted the finality of diplomacy. And that could easily happen..
"Paris is setting Israel up for an international discussion of its future, without real reconciliation being reached. And Moscow is setting up a very disturbing meeting between Fatah and Hamas that will put internationally recognized terrorist organizations into the mix," Gold concluded.
Israel has been very clear it will negotiate directly with the Palestinian Authority, but until recently, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas refused to negotiate with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Abbas also insists his preconditions be met before peace talks can commence, while not promising anything in return.
5. WOMEN OF THE WALL: 'WESTERN WALL - NOT IN OUR PURVIEW'
by Hillel Fendel
Israeli NGO Mattot Arim reports that Women of the Wall refuses to take part in the efforts to oppose the recent anti-Kotel UN resolution.
Mattot Arim asked Women of the Wall (WoW) to participate in opposing the UN resolution which renders the Western Wall, or Kotel, "illegally occupied territory." Mattot Arim reports it was "disappointed" to be turned down by WoW on the grounds that the Kotel is "not their purview."
Mattot Arim said it turned to Women of the Wall for help in opposing the resolution because the latter's website places the Western Wall very high on its pedestal. The site states the Western Wall is "the principal symbol of Jewish peoplehood and sovereignty." It also refers positively to "the Jewish people's return to Jerusalem in 1967."
Mattot Arim pointed out to WoW that the new UNSC Resolution states precisely the opposite – namely, "the Security Council does not recognize any changes to the 4 June 1967 lines, including with regard to Jerusalem." This means not only Judea and Samaria, but also all of eastern Jerusalem, the Western Wall and the Old City, is territory "illegally occupied" by Israel.
WoW said in response that it would not take a stance on the resolution nor join the effort to rescind it. The Women wrote to Mattot Arim that their struggle is "to achieve equality for women" at the Kotel. They said they "choose not to comment on issues which are outside the purview of our struggle" because "our group comprises women of many different political persuasions."
In a follow-up email, Mattot Arim asked, "Don't all your members believe that the Kotel is the principal symbol of Jewish sovereignty [as your website says]? Doesn't the organization have a problem with UNSC 2334's call to end the Israeli occupation of the Kotel that began in 1967?"
Mattot Arim also noted the WoW website says Women of the Wall works to make the Kotel "a holy site where women can pray freely" - whereas UNSC 2334 "calls to revoke the Jewish state's sovereignty over the Kotel and to make the Kotel a site where no Israelis or visitors to Israel can pray freely, neither women nor men. Is this no cause of concern for your organization?"
WoW remained steadfast in not wanting to join the effort to oppose the UN resolution: "As individuals we have many deep concerns and a wide range of opinions. As an organization we do not comment outside the immediate purview of our cause."
Mattot Arim announced its "disappointment" at the reply: "If WoW is purely a feminist organization with no interest in the Kotel per se - as they are now saying, though not what they have presented in the past - then their feminist proclivities, as legitimate as they may be, can receive satisfaction in many less sensitive locations than the Western Wall."
"If on the other hand," Mattot Arim continued, "the WoW rank-and-file are truly attached to the Kotel, then we would like to see the struggle against UNSC 2334 as one of their major focus points for 2017. The organization has to decide: Are they pro-Kotel and pro-feminist, or just pro-feminist? If the former, let's see it and hear it… Women of the Wall does not deserve the extraordinary governmental consideration they have been benefiting from for some time, if the Western Wall is 'outside their purview.'"
Contacted by Arutz-7, WoW said it would not relate to its communications with Mattot Arim, and reiterated only, "Women of the Wall is engaged in a 30 year long struggle to achieve equality for women at the Western Wall. Our group comprises women of many different political persuasions. We respect these differences, and choose not to comment on issues that are outside the purview of our struggle."
6. REPORT: TRUMP'S JEWISH SON-IN-LAW KEY PLAYER IN FOREIGN POLICY
by JTA
JTA - Trump transition officials have told the Obama White House that foreign policy matters that need to be brought to President-elect Donald Trump's attention should be relayed through his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, the New York Times reported.
The article that appeared on the front page of the Sunday edition of the newspaper also reported that Kushner has hired a leading Washington law firm, WilmerHale, to advise him on how to comply with federal ethics laws should he join the White House staff as an adviser to the president.
The Times cited "a person close to the transition and a government official with direct knowledge of the arrangement" in reporting that Kushner, 36, is the go-to guy on foreign policy for the transition.
When the Chinese ambassador to the United States called the White House in early December to express its anger at Trump's phone call with the president of Taiwan, a break with diplomatic etiquette, the White House relayed the information through Kushner and not Trump's national security team, according to the newspaper. This despite the fact that Kushner's company was in the middle of negotiations with Anbang Insurance Group, a Chinese financial conglomerate, about plans to about plans to redevelop a Kushner family holding on 5th Ave. in downtown Manhattan, and that the company has Chinese investors.
Kushner reportedly met with Anbang CEO Wu Xiaohui at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, which Wu owns, days after the presidential election to discuss the redevelopment plans, according to the Times.
The Times quoted WilmerHale partner Jamie Gorelick as saying that Kushner is taking "significant steps" to free himself from the family business. "Mr. Kushner is committed to complying with federal ethics laws, and we have been consulting with the Office of Government Ethics regarding the steps he would take," she said.
Among those steps is resigning as CEO of Kushner Companies. She added that he would also divest "substantial assets," which is not required by law.
Trump has said in the past that his Orthodox Jewish son-in-law would play a central role in dealing with the Israel and expressed confidence that Kushner could help bring peace to the Middle East.
7. BBC DESCRIBES TERROR ATTACK AS 'SHOOTING OF TRUCK DRIVER'
by David Rosenberg
The British Broadcasting Corporation's coverage of Sunday's terror attack by an Arab truck driver in Jerusalem sparked controversy, after a headline by the news outlet emphasized the shooting of the terrorist and downplayed the attack itself.
The headline in question described the terrorist as a "Driver of a lorry", writing that he was shot after "allegedly ramming pedestrians".
"Driver of lorry shot in Jerusalem after allegedly ramming pedestrians, injuring at least 15, Israeli media report." Four Israelis were killed in the purposeful attack in which a truck drove onto a promenade filled with Israeli soldiers, reversed slightly and ran them over again.
World Jewish Congress diplomatic corps member Gabriel Rosenberg blasted the BBC over the report, calling the headline "absolutely disgraceful".
"Absolutely disgraceful headline by @BBCBreaking after terrorist kills 4 #Israelis. Stop portraying the perpetrator as the victim!"
While the BBC headline evolved in the hours after the attack, the outlet repeatedly avoided describing the incident as an act of Arab or Islamic terror, the Honest Reporting media watchdog said.
"The BBC has a habit of attributing terror attacks to inanimate objects or vehicles. And so it was the case with an appalling truck ramming terror attack that took place in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood of Jerusalem that has, so far, claimed the lives of four Israelis and injured many more."
Later headlines covering the attack did blame the truck. They included "Jerusalem 'lorry attack' injures 15" and "Jerusalem lorry attack injures soldiers".
8. WATCH: SNOW FALLS ON MT. HERMON
by Refael Levi, Chana Roberts
[video:2023026]
Late on Sunday night, snow began falling on Israel's Mt. Hermon. The site, which is Israel's only ski resort, is now closed to visitors.
While snow falls on Mt. Hermon every winter, in other parts of Israel it is rare. In fact, snowfall of 2 cm. will close schools and roads, giving parents and children an impromptu winter break.
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