Pro-Israel News

Date:
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Leaders to hold urgent consulations in Rome next week as Palestinians
press ahead toward Security Council bid
 
BY TIMES OF ISRAEL STAFF December 10, 2014, 7:34 pm | The Times of Israel |
 
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with US Secretary of State John Kerry on
Monday for an urgent consultation on Palestinian statehood efforts at the United Nations
Security Council, senior Israeli officials said Wednesday.
The US State Department confirmed that Kerry would fly to Rome Monday to meet with
Netanyahu.
 
“They will discuss a number of issues, including recent developments in Israel, the West Bank,
and Jerusalem and the region,” the State Department said in a statement.
The two leaders will convene in order to discuss an expected UN Security Council vote which
would effectively set a timetable for Israel’s withdrawal from the West Bank.
The Palestinian Authority has stated that it is determined to present the resolution to the UN by the
end of 2014. The US, however, has reiterated its opposition to holding the vote, which it sees as
unilateral Palestinian measures that bypass peace talks with Israel.
 
The resolution would call on Israel to completely withdraw from the West Bank by late 2016.
“We are at the (UN) Security Council now, today. We are continuing our consultation. We want a
Security Council resolution that will preserve the two­state solution,” top Palestinian negotiator
Saeb Erekat said Tuesday. “We want a specific time frame to end the occupation.”
His remarks came after several European parliaments pressed their governments to recognize full
Palestinian statehood.
“We’re being helped a great deal in the Security Council by many nations,” he added, referring to
recent votes of British, French and Spanish MPs in favor of recognizing Palestine as a state.
“We are hoping to achieve this resolution before the end of the month, before Christmas as a
matter of fact.”
 
The Palestinians are still lobbying to get nine out of 15 security Council members to commit to
voting in favor of the resolution, but say they will go ahead with the bid either way.
The US is widely expected to torpedo the resolution, though some officials say fraying ties
between Jerusalem and Washington could make the US less likely to exercise its veto.
Last week, France, Germany and Britain reportedly began working on a draft resolution to be
submitted to the UN Security Council, as a counter to the Palestinian draft. The resolution is set to
outline the principles of a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians in the time frame of two
years.
 
On Wednesday, following a Palestinian official’s death en route to a Ramallah hospital after he
was struck in the chest by an IDF soldier, a top Fatah leader, Jibril Rajoub, told The Times of
Israel that the PA will now immediately apply for membership in international organizations. He
was referring to dozens of United Nations and other forums that the Palestinians have long
threatened to seek to join in unilateral moves opposed by Israel.
On November 17, the European Union harshly condemned Israel for settlement expansion,
threatening to “take further action” to respond to Israeli moves deemed harmful to the two­state
solution, but refrained from announcing concrete sanctions.
 
At the same time, an internal EU document was revealed in Haaretz that showed preliminary
sanctions the union is considering imposing on Israel, including recalling European ambassadors
and cutting ties with Israeli leaders who publicly oppose the two­state solution.
 
Date:
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
President’s defense secretary nominee has worked closely with Israeli
counterparts; advocates a tougher stance on Iran
 
BY RON KAMPEAS December 9, 2014, 11:12 pm |The Times of Israel| 
 
WASHINGTON (JTA) – Ashton Carter has championed the sale to Israel of state­ofthe­art
combat aircraft, has aligned himself with Iran hawks and was observed
becoming misty­eyed when serenaded by Israeli soldiers.
Carter, 60, President Obama’s secretary of defense nominee, has been depicted in the media as
the un­Chuck Hagel: Assertive and a bureaucratic in­fighter where Hagel, whose two­year stint as
defense secretary ended this month with his forced resignation, was seen as passive and at times
at sea; and hawkish, where Hagel, a Vietnam vet who as a GOP senator was virtually alone in his
caucus in criticizing the Iraq War, was brought in by Obama to draw down US military involvement
overseas.
 
Yet on Israel policy, Carter would represent more continuity than change should he be confirmed.
That is in part because, despite diplomatic tensions between the Obama and Netanyahu
governments, the security relationship remains as solid and ever — and also because Carter, until
last year a deputy defense secretary, is a loyal soldier to his boss’ agenda.
“Ash Carter is a very respected guy in Washington; he should have no trouble being confirmed,”
said Michael Makovsky, the CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, who served
as a senior defense official in the George W. Bush administration.
“He knows the building,” Makovsky said of Carter, using a Pentagon euphemism for an inside
player.
 
Statements from Republican senators suggest that Carter, who is known for his ability to cut
costs and improve efficiency, may be a shoo­in.
Sen. Mark Kirk (R­Ill.) told JTA in an email: “I am hopeful that Ashton Carter’s expertise on
defense and military weaponry amid budget constraints, along with his deep understanding of the
culture at the Pentagon, will help the Administration to adopt a more coherent and effective longterm
strategy for combating the many threats faced by the United States and its allies.”
Kirk said the administration “is not doing enough to roll back Iran’s growing nuclear and terror
threats throughout the Middle East.”
Hagel, despite fierce opposition during his 2012­13 nomination process from pro­Israel hawks,
leaves the defense post with warm kudos from his Israeli counterpart, Moshe Yaalon, and from
the Anti­Defamation League — one of the groups that had reservations about Hagel’s Israel
criticism during his Senate career.
 
His “contributions to Israel’s defense infrastructure and to Israeli relations with the United States
were great and very substantive,” Yaalon said of Hagel in a Hebrew tweet. The ADL said Hagel’s
“energetic stewardship” of the US­Israel relationship had been “vital.”
Hagel was pushed out over his inability to pierce the inner circle in the White House national
security team, and because his approach to drawing down troops was seen as no longer
appropriate given increased US involvement in conflict zones overseas.
Consistency on Pentagon cooperation with Israel is a given, whether or not the candidate, like
Carter, has pro­Israel bona fides, said Anthony Cordesman, a strategy analyst at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies who has advised US governments on warfare.
“Virtually every administration has made close military ties with Israel a military priority,”
Cordesman said in an interview. “It is simply a fact of American political life.”
Still, those who know Carter say his record of understanding Israeli needs during stints as
undersecretary of defense for acquisitions from 2009 to 2011, and then as deputy secretary from
2011 to 2013, made him a choice pick from the pro­Israel point of view.
Carter, trained as a physicist, demonstrated a keen, detailed understanding of Israel’s technical
needs, said Udi Shani, the director­general of Israel’s defense ministry from 2010 to 2013.
“I found him very positive, very understanding of the needs of our country, our requirements for
security and developing the IDF and the Ministry of Defense,” Shani, now a consultant, said in an
interview.
 
Shani said one attribute made Carter an especially valuable interlocutor: He was honest and
would describe outright what reception the United States was likely to give an Israeli proposal.
“He had the transparency to say whether it was against their interests or for their interests,” Shani
said.
Carter is well known for shepherding through Israel’s inclusion in the Joint Fight Striker program, a
collaborative venture by the United States and a number of allies to manufacture a stealth fighter
that is due for release this decade.
 
A colleague of Carter’s at the Pentagon, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the
sensitivity of the project, said Carter played a critical role in cutting through red tape to make sure
Israel’s demands for the aircraft were included.
“We would laugh about how we can’t make decisions quickly” because of the respective US and
Israeli bureaucracies, Shani said.
Shani and Carter became close friends, spending hours chatting over meals and on outings.
Carter, Shani said, became emotional during a visit to Yad Vashem, and enthusiastically received
an army choral performance.
 
“It was simple soldiers singing Hebrew songs,” Shani recalled. “He enjoyed it very much.”
Carter was part of a team that drafted an influential 2008 report,“Meeting the Challenge,” on Iran’s
nuclear capability. Many of the recommendations in the report, which was prepared for the
Bipartisan Policy Center, comport with current Obama administration policy, particularly in
emphasizing the need for maintaining an international coalition in dealing with Iran.
Other recommendations, however, are closer to what is now the position of the Israeli government
and Republicans in Congress: not allowing Iran any uranium enrichment capacity whatsoever.
Obama administration officials have said that should nuclear talks now underway between Iran
and the major powers arrive at a deal, Iran would likely remain with a minimal enrichment
capability.
 
Makovsky led the writing of the Bipartisan Policy Center report and is critical of the talks. He said
that Carter, while fairly described as “tough” on Iran, would most likely hew to the administration
policy that has evolved since the launch of the talks.
Cordesman agreed, saying, “There’s a difference in talking in theory and dealing with actual
negotiation.”
 
Date:
Tuesday, December 9, 2014

By SAM SOKOL \

12/09/2014 14:23| The Jerusalem Post| 

 

Support for Israel will increasingly come from the world’s growing Evangelical community, believes Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

The success of the IFCJ, which raises $140 million in Christian donations for Jewish and Israeli causes annually, has led some in the Israeli media to dub the American rabbi the “shadow welfare minister” for his social welfare work here, and has made Eckstein one of the most well- known Jewish figures among American Christians.

When he started working on interfaith issues some 30-odd years ago, he had no idea that Evangelical Christians would become such a powerful force in the battle over Israel, he recalls.

“Little did I have in mind or did I even think of the possibility that one day Israel would be essentially seen as a pariah almost by many Western nations, let alone Arab nations,” nor did he have in mind the current glob - al rise in anti-Semitism, he says.

“And little did I even think that the Evangelical community would become a force to be reckoned with in America and in other countries around the world. There has been a real upsurge in Evangelicalism,” Eckstein adds.

The original goal in working with the Evangelical community was “simply to have the dialogue,” Eckstein says, although he did see some potential at the time for “raising support for Israel in various forums in a broader way beyond the Jewish community.” Evangelical Christianity has exploded in popularity around the globe, making gains in places such as Latin America, which has always been strongly Catholic.

“It’s growing and it’s becoming normative and more acceptable and the same phenomenon is going on in the Far East – Indonesia, Singapore, China,” Eckstein explains, asserting that “where you have a rise in Evangelicalism, you have the potential for steering them to become supporters of Israel and the Jewish people.”

As such, he says, “we have barely touched the tip of the iceberg in rallying Christian support for Israel and in building friendships and rela - tionships.”

Israel and the Jewish people, however, “have not realized the potential of having a strategic alliance with Evangelical Pentecostal Christians around the world, and that should be the goal that [we] should grasp and make a reality.”

“It’s not an alliance, it’s a fellowship. It’s something beyond political exigencies and alliances. It’s more spiritual and it’s less realpolitik,” he explains, adding that he works to get this message out on the Christian side through radio broadcasts reaching a total worldwide audience of around 15 million to 16 million people.

According to Eckstein, while Amer - ica remains Israel’s key strategic ally regardless of the recent barbs and insults being traded between politi - cal leaders, its support does not come out of a vacuum.

“America is also a strategic ally because the people of America for the most part have a favorable view of Israel and the Jewish people... So Congress can be strong because they represent the people and the people can be strong because they represent [these] values. Israel’s security, which is tied to its strategic alliance to America, is also de facto tied to the people in America, many of whom are Evangelical and pro-Israel,” he says.

“Then when we extend [relationship-building activities] to other parts of the world where there may not be that many Jews, in Colombia or Costa Rica, if you can get the Christian community in Costa Rica, which numbers in the millions, to support Israel and to fight anti-Semitism and to come to Israel on tours and to donate to Israel, then you’ve taken an important step where Jews...are not there to apply that kind of pressure and influence as they are in America,” he concludes. 
Date:
Monday, December 8, 2014
PM tells US forum Abbas won’t confront fanaticism, claims Israel
helped prevent bad Iran deal, vows not to pass law undermining Israel’s
democratic character
 
BY RAPHAEL AHREN December 7, 2014, 8:01 pm | The Times of Israel|
 
 
Last year’s peace talks with the Palestinian Authority failed not because of Israeli
settlement expansion, but because the Palestinians are simply not ready for peace yet,
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu charged Sunday.
Speaking to the Brookings Institution’s 11th annual Saban Forum in Washington via a prerecorded
video, Netanyahu said continued incitement proved Ramallah was not prepared to make peace
with Israel, and layed out Israel’s three main demands of the Palestinians.
“The talks ended because the Palestinians wanted them to end,” Netanyahu said.
He charged that negotiations broke down because Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud
Abbas entered a unity government with the Hamas terror group and because the Palestinians
rejected the security arrangements Israel demanded.
 
“Unfortunately, the Palestinian leadership is simply not prepared, and I hope this changes, but it’s
not yet prepared to truly confront violence and fanaticism within Palestinian society, within their
own ranks,” Netanyahu added.
“For nine months we negotiated with the Palestinians, but they consistently refused to engage us
on our legitimate security concerns, just as they refused to discuss recognizing Israel as the
nation­state of the Jewish people, while at the same time insisting that Israel recognize a nationstate
of the Palestinian people.”
 
The prime minister accused the PA leadership of fueling violence against Israel. “It engages in
incitement day in and day out,” he said. “I think it’s important to confront this. I don’t think sticking
our head in the sand promotes real peace and I don’t believe that false hopes promote real peace.
I think they just push peace further away.”
 
Real peace will only come once the Palestinians accept “the three pillars of peace,” Netanyahu
said: recognition of Israel as the nation­state of the Jewish people; an end to all claims, including
the right of return; and a long­term Israeli security presence in the West Bank.
“I will never give up on this triangle of true peace,” he vowed.
In his comments, Netanyahu did not directly address reports of an Israeli strike on military sites in
Syria hours earlier.
 
But he said Israel was challenged by “unprecedented instability afflicting the entire region.
“Where once seemingly coherent nations and clearly defined borders stood, we now see chaos —
in Iraq, in Syria, in Libya, in Yemen and Lebanon,” he continued.
The collapse of the Middle East’s old order has made “pragmatic Arab governments” understand
that Israel is not their enemy, the prime minister said, saying that Jerusalem and its moderate Arab
neighbors have much to gain by cooperating. “And this cooperation could, in turn, open the door to
peace.”
 
Netanyahu also said Israel had helped head off a bad deal with Iran last month. “A November 24
deadline for an agreement has come and gone, and that’s fortunate,” he said. “Our voice and our
concerns played a critical role in preventing a bad deal… We must use the time available to
increase the pressure on Iran from developing a nuclear arms capability.”
The major powers and Iran agreed to extend the deadline for a deal in Iran nuclear talks to June
30. Israel has objected persistently to any deal that would leave Iran with uranium enrichment
capacity. The United States and other powers say that a minimal capacity is likely in a final deal.
Despite Israel heading toward new elections, which effectively freezes all current legislation,
Netanyahu also vowed he would not pass any law that “undermines Israel’s democratic
character,” responding to critics of a bill he has pushed enshrining Israel’s character as a Jewish
state.
 
Israelis are proud to have created “a genuinely democratic state” that guarantees “equal rights for
all its citizens, regardless of race, religion or sex,” he said. “And this will not change. In standing
up for Israel’s identity as the nation­state of the Jewish people, I will never agree to legislation that
undermines Israel’s democratic character. Not now, not ever.”
Date:
Friday, December 5, 2014
While almost three­quarters of respondents say America is a loyal ally,
only 37% see president’s attitude to Jewish state as positive
 
BY TAMAR PILEGGI December 5, 2014, 1:28 am | The Times of Israel| 
 
Israelis have an overwhelming appreciation of the United States, but harbor increasingly
negative views of US President Barack Obama’s Middle East foreign policy, according to a
public opinion poll carried out by Bar­Ilan University’s Begin­Sadat Center for Strategic
Studies.
Despite the positive attitudes towards the US, the poll found that Israelis are
generally mistrustful of the US president, with only 37 percent of respondents calling Obama’s
views of Israel “positive,” while 61% characterized his attitude towards Israel as “negative” or
“neutral.”
 
A similar BESA poll carried out in 2012 showed that 51% of Israelis termed Obama’s attitude
towards Israel as positive.
According to the new survey, 96% of Israelis categorized diplomatic relations with the US as
“important” or “very important,” and 74% said Washington would come to Israel’s defense against
existential threats.
Nearly three­quarters of respondents considered America a loyal ally to Israel.
Reflecting a lack of confidence in Obama’s foreign policy, 52% of respondents said his stance on
the Israeli­Palestinian conflict was “bad,” another 50% disapproved of his policies towards Iran,
and 47% indicated disapproval of his policies regarding the Islamic State.
Sixty­five percent of Israelis believe that since Obama’s election, the position of the United States
in the Middle East has been weakened or very weakened.
 
Turning to US support for Israel, 58% of respondents attributed it to the strategic partnership
between the two countries, 32% to the “political prowess” of American Jews, 5% to the shared
values of politicians, and 1% to the religious beliefs of Evangelical Christians.
If diplomatic efforts fail to stop Iran’s nuclear aspirations, 53% of Israelis said they would support a
military strike on Iran, and 45% said they would support a strike even if the US opposes it.
Survey co­director Dr. Yael Elkon said the survey’s results indicate “that despite the fact that
Israelis are deeply disconcerted about President Obama’s Middle East policies with regards to
Israel­Palestinian affairs, regional uprisings, and Iran — the Israeli public remains one of the most
pro­American communities in the world.”
 
“Overwhelming majorities view the US and Israel as having similar strategic interests in the Middle
East, see the US as Israel’s loyal ally, and as a friend that will come to Israel’s aid in times of
trouble,” she concluded in a press release Thursday.
The poll was released in advance of a two­day BESA Center seminar on America’s standing in
the world, scheduled to begin on Monday in Ramat Gan.
 
Date:
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Legislation to deepen defense, energy ties, strengthen cooperation in
R&D, business, academics
 
BY REBECCA SHIMONI STOIL December 4, 2014, 4:31 am
 
WASHINGTON – The landmark US­Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014 passed its
final legislative hurdle and advanced to the White House for President Barack
Obama’s signature during a Wednesday evening Congressional session.
The bill passed the Senate unanimously in September.
“I am proud that the House and Senate spoke with one voice to pass this bill that reaffirms and
strengthens the relationship between the United States and Israel,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer (DCA),
one of the bill’s two original sponsors in the Senate. “I look forward to the president signing
this critical legislation.”
 
“This bipartisan bill demonstrates Congress’s commitment to supporting our nation’s longstanding
ally, Israel,” Senator Roy Blunt (R­MO), the bill’s other sponsor added. “I thank my colleagues in
the House and Senate for their support in passing this important legislation, and I look forward to
the president signing it into law.”
 
The legislation deepens US­Israeli cooperation on defense and energy, and expresses “the sense
of Congress that Israel is a major strategic partner of the United States.” In addition, it authorizes
an increase of $200 million in the value of US weapons held in forward stockpiles in Israel, to a
total of $1.8 billion. In the event of an emergency, Israel can access the stockpiles as long as it
reimburses the US for any weapons used.
The bill also expands cooperation on research and development, business, agriculture, water
management and academics.
 
The bill requires the administration to take steps toward allowing Israel to be included in the top­tier
category for license­free exports of certain US defense technologies and products as well as to
provide more frequent and more detailed assessments on the status of Israel’s qualitative military
edge over its neighbors.
 
Earlier this year, Congress increased US funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system,
to $351 million for fiscal year 2015 from $235 million the previous year.
A controversial section of the Strategic Partnership bill that sought to secure a special exemption
for Israel in the Visa Waiver Program was replaced instead with language that simply states that it
shall be the policy of the United States to include Israel in the list of countries that participate in the
Visa Waiver Program when Israel satisfies — and as long as Israel continues to satisfy — the
requirements for inclusion in the program.
Members of the House on both sides of the aisle quickly congratulated the bipartisan effort in
bringing the bill to passage.
 
“The US­Israel relationship is based on a shared determination to defend democracy and ensure
that the people of Israel can live peacefully in their ancient homeland,” lauded House Democratic
Whip Steny Hoyer (D­MD). “Those who would stand opposed to Israel’s right to exist or its
important historic role ought to see in today’s legislative action a reminder that the American
people stands shoulder­to­shoulder with our ally Israel as it seeks the peace and security it
deserves.”
 
Shortly after the bill passed, the American Jewish Committee congratulated Congress for its
“moral leadership” in passing the legislation, which proponents said would create a special status
for Israel.
 
Date:
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Bipartisan legislation, which has been a focus of AIPAC lobbying, will
strengthen defense, energy cooperation
 
BY REBECCA SHIMONI STOIL December 3, 2014, 1:59 pm
 
WASHINGTON — Congress was poised to give its final approval Wednesday
afternoon to a bill that supporters say will create a unique status for Israel and serve
as a framework for increased partnership in a number of key sectors, particularly
energy and defense. If all goes as expected, the long­anticipated legislation will represent a
significant achievement for the pro­Israel groups that pushed for its passage.
 
“This bipartisan measure will strengthen cooperation between our two countries on a wide range
of issues from defense to energy, ensure that Israel has the resources to defend herself in an
emergency, and affirm Israel’s ability to participate in the visa waiver program as long as she
meets existing requirements,” said Senator Barbara Boxer (D­CA), who authored the Senate
version of the United States­Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014, along with Roy Blunt (RMO).
“This legislation sends a clear message that America’s bond with Israel remains unbreakable, and
I am proud that it passed the Senate unanimously,” she said.
 
Although the bill is most likely to be considered on Wednesday, there’s a chance that scheduling
uncertainties could push it to later in the week.
The bill, which has been a keystone of AIPAC lobbying since early 2013, issues a Sense of
Congress describing Israel as a “major strategic partner” of the United States, reflecting the
importance that Congress ascribes to the US­Israel relationship and giving name to the legislation
as a whole.
Following a summer in which the US and Israel tangled over weapons resupplies during and
immediately following Operation Protective Edge, the bill would permit an increase of $200 million
in the value of US weapons held in Israel, bringing the total to $1.8 billion. The stockpiles in Israel
are designed to allow the US quick resupply for its own needs in case of a major Mideast conflict,
but can also be used by Israel in the event of an emergency as long as Israel reimburses the US
for weapons used.
 
The bill also requires the president to take steps so that Israel may be included in the top­tier
category of the Strategic Trade Authorization Exception. In 2011, the Commerce Department
created the exception, which allows 44 countries to qualify for some exceptions to arms export
licensing requirements. Israel is currently in the second­tier category, which provides a more
restricted list of license­free goods.
 
Another section authorizes the president to carry out cooperation between the United States and
Israel across a range of policy areas, including energy, water, homeland security, agriculture, and
alternative fuel technologies. Although the bill does not detail what these sectors entail, it is meant
to serve as a framework for future legislation further defining the US­Israel relationship in those
fields.
 
A slightly more robust framework for cyber­security cooperation is also delineated, with the bill
requiring the president to submit a report to Congress on the feasibility and advisability of
expanding US­Israeli cooperation on cyber issues, including sharing and advancing technologies
related to the prevention of cybercrimes. The president is also required to provide Congress with
an update on the implementation of a series of objectives to assist in the defense of Israel
that were enacted in 2012.
 
The administration will also be required to include additional information in the already­mandatory
report about the potential impact on Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge from any proposed sale of
defense items that requires Congressional approval. The new, more extensive reporting would
require that for any defense item considered to be “major defense equipment” — including such
significant arms as F­16 aircraft, tanks, armored personnel carriers, and anti­armor missile
systems — the administration must provide a detailed assessment of Israel’s ability to counter the
specific risks presented if it were to be transferred to Israel’s neighbors.
Perhaps the most hotly contested section of the bill was a statement of policy on the visa waiver
program, a section that passed through a number of permutations and changes before its final
version.
 
After much debate, the Senate took up the House’s version of the statement, which reads that “it
shall be the policy of the United States to include Israel in the list of countries that participate in the
visa waiver program when Israel satisfies, and as long as Israel continues to satisfy the
requirements for inclusion in the program.”
 
The amendment, sponsored by Boxer, was the only amendment added to the bill’s text when it
was received in the Senate by unanimous consent on September 18.
Preliminary action has already begun on turning the section on increased energy cooperation into
reality. The bill’s text recognizes energy cooperation between the US and Israel as being in the
strategic interest of the United States and encourages increased collaboration between the two
countries’ academic communities and governments.
 
The bill allows for the authorization of a US­Israel Energy Center in the United States, engaging
academic institutions and the private sector to further dialogue, collaboration and academic
cooperation in energy innovation technology and technology transfer, among other things. Among
the center’s goals are to develop more robust academic cooperation in offshore energy
development, energy innovation technology and engineering, and water science.
The specific details of the center’s structure will be worked out by the US Department of Energy
and the Israeli Ministry of Energy and Water, with input from Israeli and American universities and
private sector entities.
 
Date:
Tuesday, December 2, 2014

 

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, enmeshed in a cabinet crisis, said on Monday he would call an early national election unless rebellious ministers stopped attacking government policies.

His coalition, dominated by the right-wing, is split on a range of issues, including the 2015 budget, high living costs, policy towards the Palestinians and a Jewish nation-state bill that critics say discriminates against Israel's Arab minority

The divisions have prompted speculation that Netanyahu will bring forward an election that is not scheduled until 2017.

In public remarks to members of his Likud party, Netanyahu gave his strongest indication yet that an early ballot could be in the offing.

"I have not enjoyed the fulfillment of even the most fundamental obligation -- the loyalty and responsibility of ministers to the government in which they serve," he said.

"I demand these ministers stop their undermining, stop the attacks," Netanyahu added.

"I demand that they close ranks behind the proper policy for leading the nation, for its security, economy and lowering the cost of living, in every aspect. If they agree to do so, we can continue to work together. If they refuse, we will draw conclusions, and go to the voters."

Netanyahu was due to meet later on Monday and on Tuesday with two of his fiercest cabinet critics -- Finance Minister Yair Lapid, who has been sparring with the prime minister over the 2015 state budget, and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni.

Livni has been highly critical of the Jewish nation-state legislation, which won cabinet approval over her objections a week ago, but has not yet been brought before parliament.

An opinion poll published by the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper on Sunday showed that although Netanyahu's popularity was declining, he was still very likely to win a fourth term as prime minister if an election were held today.

The poll showed Netanyahu's approval rating had slipped to 35 percent, compared with 42 percent at the end of the July-August war against Hamas Islamists in the Gaza Strip, but he still led the race against other potential contenders.

If an election were called, one casualty would likely be the 2015 state budget. Parliament last month gave initial approval to the 417 billion shekel ($107 billion) spending package.

If there is no agreement and final parliamentary approval by the end of this year, the original 2014 budget, which excludes mid-year increases, will be used to allocate spending next year.

The last parliamentary election was held in January 2013, with Netanyahu then taking two months to piece together a five-party coalition government.
Date:
Monday, December 1, 2014

By GREER FAY CASHMAN \11/30/2014 21:35 | The Jerusalem Post|

 

History was made on Sunday, November 30, when for the first time in the annals of the state, official recognition was given to Jewish refugees from Arab lands and Iran.

The event, hosted by President Reuven Rivlin at his official residence, was the continuum of legislation that was passed by the Knesset in June of this year designating November 30 as the national day of commemoration of the plight of Jewish refugees from Arab lands and Iran. The date was significant in that it commemorates the day after the anniversary of the November 29, 1947 United Nations resolution on the partition of Palestine, which led to an immediate flare up of anti-Zionist action and policy among Arab states, resulting in the killing, persecution, humiliation, oppression and expulsion of Jews, the sequestration of Jewish property and a war against the nascent State of Israel.

In 1948 close to a million Jews lived in Arab lands. Some were massacred in pogroms. Most fled or were expelled between 1948 and 1967.  In 1948 there were 260,000 Jews in Morocco.  Today there are less than 3,000. In the same time frame, the Jewish population of Algeria declined from 135,000 to zero, in Tunisia from 90,000 to a thousand, in Libya from 40,000 to zero, in Egypt from 75,000 to less than one hundred, in Iraq from 125,000 to zero, in Yemen from 45,000 to approximately 200, in Syria from 27,000 to 100, and in Lebanon from 10,000 in the 1950s to less than 100.

Although various attempts were made over the years by leaders of these communities in Israel and academics stemming from these communities to secure the same kind of recognition for the suffering of Jews in Arab lands as is accorded to the Jews of Europe, nothing of major substance was done until the bill proposed by MKs Shimon Ohayon of Yisrael Beiteinu and Nissim Zeev of Shas was placed on the national agenda.

The intention behind the bill said Ohayon on Sunday night, was to ensure that the stories of what happened to Jews in and from Arab lands and Iran should be part of the school curriculum, because most Israeli children are entirely ignorant of these chapters in the diverse aspects of Jewish heritage. Just as they learn about the history and fate of the Jews of Europe, they should also learn the history of the Jews of the region, he said. He placed great significance on national recognition, saying that this would lead to international acknowledgement so that Jews who left everything they owned behind, could be compensated. There were no words to describe his excitement that this day had come said Ohayon, but he was simultaneously pained that the Tel Aviv Cinematheque had chosen at this time to show films of the Arab Nakba (catastrophe) in 1948, while overlooking documentaries and feature films about the suffering of Jews from Arab lands and Iran. He related the story of a woman who had told him that her son, a university student, knows all about Nakba, but not about the travails endured by his grandfather before he came to Israel.

Zeev, the Jerusalem born son of Iraqi parents concurred with Ohayon and emphasized how important it was for the world to know about the tragedy that befell so many hundreds of thousands of people. Of the Jewish refugees from Arab lands and Iran, 650,000 came to Israel, he said, and the rest went mostly to Europe and America.

But before they became refugees, they and their forebears made great contributions to Jewish culture and to the cultures and economies of their host countries, and these must be acknowledged, he said

Meir Kahlon, chairman of the joint Associations of Jews from Arab Lands and Iran, noted that the world has long been talking about Arab refugees, but has ignored Jewish refugees from Arab lands. He also reminded those present that the Holocaust was not solely a European tragedy, but had spread to this part of the world.  His mother had been killed in the Holocaust in Libya when he was only five months old.

Rivlin, who is a seventh generation Jerusalemite, does not know what it means to be expelled from one’s homeland, said Kahlon. Like Ohayon and Zeev, he questioned the lacuna in the Israeli curricula. As refugees, the Jews from Arab lands and Iran understand the plight of Palestinian refugees and will not allow their problems to be swept under the carpet said Kahlon, adding that the Palestinians must understand that this land also belongs to the Jews who yearned for it during centuries of exile.  In this context, he quoted from Psalm 137: “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept as we remembered Zion…”

He recommended that the compensation initiative for both sides proposed by former US President Bill Clinton be adopted and that a fund be set up to compensate and rehabilitate all the Palestinians living in refugee camps and all the Jews and their heirs who had been displaced from Arab lands and Iran. “We don’t seek war with anyone. We hold out our hand in peace,” he said.

Moderator Yossi Alfi, who is known for his marathon story telling festivals in which personalities from every immigrant group in Israel have the opportunity to share their stories with live audiences, radio listeners and television viewers, declared: “We are all excited today. It is indeed a holiday for us and others celebrating elsewhere. This day in Jerusalem is an important date in the story of the exodus of Jews from Arab Lands and Iran.”

Alfi, born in Basra Iraq, came to Israel in 1949 as a 3 year old refugee without his parents. Now, at age 69, he said he still feels the weight of what was left behind.

All the speakers expressed appreciation to Minister of Pensioners Affairs Uri Orbach whose Ministry took upon itself all the arrangements for the commemoration. Orbach was not present in protest at what he interpreted as the denial of freedom of speech to singer Amir Benayoun, who had initially been scheduled to sing at the event, but who had been dropped from the program due to a racist song that he had written and posted on his Facebook. Benayoun was replaced by Boaz Sharabi and Orbach was represented by his ministry’s director general Gilad Semama, who is the son of a Moroccan mother and a Tunisian father.

November 30 signifies not only the expulsion he said, but also the right to reparations.  “It is also a day of love for Israel and for Zionism.”

Despite all that happened to them, these Jews who were expelled did not allow themselves to become dispirited, he said.  “They did not forget where they came from, but they knew where they were going.  Hardships not withstanding, they were able to maintain the heritage of a glorious past.”

Admitting that Jews from Arab lands and Iran had been subjected to a great injustice, and whose story had been pushed to the sidelines of the Zionist narrative, Rivlin commented that the designation of November 30 as a national day came too late and on too small a scale to impact on public consciousness, but declared that it was nevertheless important to correct this injustice “which should not be underestimated.”

The healing process, he said, begins with acknowledging the mistakes that were made, and for this reason he was proud as president of the state to host the inaugural November 30 commemoration. When his own ancestors came to the country from Lithuania in 1809, there were already immigrants from Yemen living here as well as Spanish families with ancient traditions. After the creation of the state when the refugees began arriving, their suffering was not taken into account and they were sent far away from the corridors of power to peripheral communities such as  Dimona, Afikim, Beit She'an and Hatzor Haglilit where they developed cities out of nothing  to be protective buffer zones for Israel’s borders, said Rivlin. It took a long time before these immigrants could give voice to their frustrations. Rivlin cited a list of writers and entertainment artists who paved the way for others to make their stories and their feelings known.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued a statement noting that November 30 was not a random date, but had been chosen for its historic significance.

 
Date:
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
‘All citizens should enjoy equal rights,’ says State Department
spokesman; ADL calls planned legislation ‘unnecessary’
 
BY LAZAR BERMAN November 24, 2014, 11:16 pm | The Times of Israel| 
 
The State Department said Monday that the US expects that Israel “continue [its]
commitment to democratic principles,” as debate over Israel’s controversial nation­state
bill continued.
In a Monday press briefing, State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said, “The United States
position, which is unchanged, has been clear for years – and the President and the Secretary [of
State] have also reiterated it – is that Israel is a Jewish and democratic state in which all citizens
should enjoy equal rights.”
The nation­state bill, which has seen multiple drafts but awaits the drafting of a final government
 
proposal expected to be presented in the Knesset next week, would enshrine in a constitutional
Basic Law Israel’s identity as a Jewish state.
Meanwhile, the Anti­Defamation League’s Abraham Foxman said in a statement that the debate
over Israel’s Jewish and democratic character “undermined the settled nature of this essential
element of Israel’s national identity. Attempts to further codify this concept in the Basic Laws are
well­meaning but unnecessary. It is troubling that some have sought to use the political process to
promote an extreme agenda which could be viewed as an attempt to subsume Israel’s democratic
character in favor of its Jewish one.”
 
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday afternoon that he was determined to pass the
bill, even if he does not have the backing of his entire cabinet.
“It is important to exhaust the channels of dialogue, and I am ready to give this dialogue a chance,”
he said during the weekly Likud faction meeting. “I am determined to pass this bill with or without
agreement. It is very important for securing the future of the nation of Israel, in the Land of Israel,
in the State of Israel.
 
“The principles that I am advancing give expression to Israel being the national Jewish state, and
only that, while protecting rights.”
Asked if elections are in the offing after coalition parties Hatnua and Yesh Atid expressed
opposition to the proposal this week, Netanyahu said laconically, “Time will tell.”
Coalition leaders decided on Monday to delay a preliminary vote on two drafts of the proposed bill
by one week, as some ministers vowed to continue to oppose the measure even if it meant their
jobs — and the future of the coalition.
 
Yisrael Beytenu MK Robert Ilatov initially proposed the week­long delay, which was backed by the
Jewish Home party at a meeting of coalition leaders in the Knesset Monday.
The decision came just hours after Justice Minister Tzipi Livni reiterated her intention to fight the
bill, and challenged the prime minister to decide whether he was willing to break up his coalition
over the measure.
 
“This bill will not pass because we are not ready and I am not prepared to be a fig leaf for
something so problematic,” Livni told the Ynet news site on Monday. “And if it goes [to a vote, as
had originally been scheduled] on Wednesday, I will not let it pass and will not compromise
regarding its wording.
 
“The prime minister will have to decide whether he will fire ministers in his government and topple
his coalition over their opposition to a law that goes against a Jewish and democratic Israel,” she
said. “If he wants elections over this, no problem.”
The bills originally slated for the Wednesday vote will not become law, as the cabinet voted on
Sunday to incorporate them into a future government bill after they pass the preliminary vote. In
essence, the different versions were slated to receive the Knesset’s initial nod, and then be
replaced by an agreed­upon government version drafted by the prime minister and Attorney
General Yehudah Weinstein.
 
On Sunday, cabinet ministers approved a two­page document containing 14 principles that a
future government bill will be based on. While guaranteeing Israel’s democratic character, the bill,
a softened version of the other proposals, would reserve the right of national self­determination
within the boundaries of the state of Israel to Jews alone.

Pages