Daily Shmutz | ISRAEL  (IINO) | 6/22/23

ISRAEL  (IINO)  

Israel SURPRISE Drone Strike Eliminates Terrorist Cell; WARNING to Iran Proxies?  [10:57]  Watchman Newscast

Jun 22, 2023  Israel / Gaza Border News | The Watchman with Erick Stakelbeck

On today’s Watchman Newscast, host Erick Stakelbeck breaks down a potentially game-changing Israeli drone strike. The incident occurred on Wednesday when an Israeli drone eliminated a three-man terrorist cell near Jenin. It was the first time in 17 years that Israeli carried out a lethal airstrike in the West Bank—known in the Bible as Judea and Samaria. Did Israel just put Iran’s proxies on notice that the rules of the game have changed? Watch now!

#Israel #DroneStrike #TheWatchman

 

Examining Islamic Group’s Ties to Hamas   by Steven Emerson   Algemeiner
June 22, 2023 –
The following is an excerpt from “CAIR’s Antisemitism Unmasked” by Steven Emerson and the Staff of the Investigative Project on Terrorism (2023).

                                                                                                              Palestinian children compelled to participate in a Hamas military parade

CAIR emerged out of the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), an organization that served as a propaganda arm of a now-defunct Hamas-support network called the “Palestine Committee.” The Committee was created by the Muslim Brotherhood to help Hamas politically and financially in the United States. As the committee’s propaganda outlet, the IAP organized “annual conventions and meetings, which were regularly addressed by members of Hamas brought from the Middle East.” The outlet published magazines with articles supporting the terrorist group. It also “published the Hamas charter in English and distributed Hamas communiques.”

Founded in 1994, CAIR was incorporated by three IAP leaders — Nihad Awad, Omar Ahmad, and Rafeeq Jaber. Mousa Abu Marzook, a member of the Hamas Politburo, “served as a member of IAP’s advisory board and served as its chairman in 1988-90.” He also provided IAP with $490,000. IAP, which is now defunct, was long a central player in Hamas’ US support network.

 

Exclusive: Hundreds of Palestinians arrested on terrorism have valid entry permits   By  Hanan Greenwood

Some 18% of those who were detained in recent years had already entered Israel when they were taken into custody, the figures show.

06-19-2023 11:02 – At least 10% of the Palestinians who were arrested in recent years were legally allowed to be in Israel, according to information exclusively obtained by Israel Hayom.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

The information, compiled by the Knesset Research and Information Center in a new report, further shows that this statistic has risen sharply in the span of several years.

The document was composed at the request of Hanoch Milwidsky from Likud, together with right-wing watchdog Im Tirtzu. An analysis of the data shows that between 2018-2022, some 21,000 Palestinians were arrested for terror-related offenses. About 10% of them (2,115) had been issued entry permits that allowed them to cross over the Green Line: In 2018 the number stood at 212, but by 2021 this had already risen to 767, perhaps in light of the additional domestic strife surrounding Operation Guardian of the Walls in Gaza. In 2022 the number of entry permit holders who were arrested dropped slightly to 580.

Some 18% of the permit-holders who were arrested in those years had already entered Israel when they were arrested, the figures show. In 2022, in the wake of several terrorist attacks, the IDF began sealing the gaps in the security barrier but as of June 2023, the Israel Police still does not have an official estimate as to how many Palestinians cross over into Israel. According to the Shin Bet security agency, some 7,000 Palestinians enter Israel daily without the proper documentation.

“A rise of 35% in terrorist-related offenses among Palestinian permit holders is unacceptable, ” Milwidsky said in reaction to the report. “We will not allow Israelis’ security to be compromised just so Palestinians have a better economic life. I will ask the head of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Yuli Edelstein to convene a hearing on the policy for issuing permits.”

Im Tirtzu Head of Policy Alon Schwartzer told Israel Hayom that “it is beyond the pale that the right of livelihood of Arabs in Judea and Samaria would trump the right to life and security of Israeli citizens.” He added, “The data on the involvement in terrorism among permit holders who use them to visit prisoners suggests that all relevant agencies must act immediately to reduce the availability of such permits. We call on the head of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee to convene an urgent meeting on the matter and demand answers from the security establishment.”

 

Ending terror against Israelis now!

Ted Belman: Mike recommends annexation but no national voting rights to the Palestinians living in the territories to be annexed. He obviously is unperturbed by the prospect of reducing the Jewish majority in Israel. What he recommends is little different from Caroline Glick’s One State Plan. Glick ‘s plan provided a path to citizenship and voting rights. Mike doesn’t say so but he knows that ultimately they will be given voting rights.

Mike is a friend of mine and knows the Jordan Option in detail. In fact he attended the 2017 conference. He disappoints me in not backing  compensated emigration as first proposed by Martin Sherman, then by Moshe Feiglin and by me. He obviously thinks its a non-starter. Yoram Ettinger agrees with Mike, notwithstanding my many meetings with them. Mikes’s plan seems to agree with “Allow Palestinian Arabs to obtain Israeli residency status and dismantle the PA” which also ignores compensated emigration as a necessary part of the solution.;

The ‘occupation’ is a bad thing, all agree. Since it is suicide to allow a PA state, the only option is sovereignty and annexation.  By Michael L. Wise, INN

Terrorism in Israel is encouraged and motivated by the belief that terrorism will force Israel to seek a two-state solution – the creation of a Palestinian Arab state on what they call the ‘West Bank’ of the former Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan (Judea and Samaria). Terrorism triggered the Oslo Accords in 1993-1995 and drove Israel withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and parts of northern Samaria in 2005.

Israel must end the two-state delusion and declare sovereignty in Judea and Samaria!

[Ed.:  Contrary to what is being written in Israel’s mainstream press about Jewish attacks on Arabs being committed by “settlers” and “right-wing extremists”, the majority of Israeli Jews  have had their fill of “peace partners”  They went into a musloid town and thank God did much damage, but killed only one musloid.  The Jews have had their fill of “peace partners”  I am not referring to the Jew-ish types in the atheist Israeli left who parade against judicial reform and for LGBTQRSTUV rights.

Psssst.  A little secret, the government is thinking to stage a major attack on musloids in the terrorist enclaves, so it’s advisable for Jews to stay close to their bomb shelters on Thursday from late afternoon, until after Shabbat.]

 

Hezbollah terrorists set up military outpost in Israeli territory

Hezbollah’s new outposts do not present a security threat, better to act in the political-diplomatic sphere, IDF says.

Jun 21, 2023, 4:26 PM (GMT+3) – During a meeting of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Security Council last week, it was revealed that a Hezbollah force invaded sovereign Israeli territory near Mount Dov, and set up an armed military outpost there, Kan Reshet Bet reported Wednesday.

The matter was revealed by several MKs during a Committee meeting held last week. During the meeting, MKs diverted the attention of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to an unusual and serious matter which took place on Israel’s northern border.

According to what was said during the discussion, in the past few weeks, a force crossed the “blue line” at Mount Dov and set up two tents in Israeli territory. The outpost was manned by Hezbollah, by means of several (between three and eight) armed men who remained at the site facing IDF soldiers within the State of Israel’s sovereign territory.

Related articles:

According to the IDF, Hezbollah’s new outposts do not present a security threat, and so they prefer to act in the political-diplomatic sphere. The IDF is investigating how the matter was handled, and why the outposts were not immediately evacuated after they were set up beyond the “blue line.”

 

Palestinians: We Prefer Terrorism to Peace with Israel   by Bassam Tawil
June 22, 2023 at 5:00 am

  • The findings of the poll, which was conducted between June 7 and 11, show that the Biden Administration and all those who continue to talk about reviving the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians are living under an illusion. The results of the poll indicate that most Palestinians are more interested in killing Jews than making peace with them. The results, in addition, show that most Palestinians want as a successor to their current leader, PA President Mahmoud Abbas, who has ties to terror.
  • According to the poll, the largest percentage of Palestinians (24%) believe that the rise of extremist Islamist terror groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) was “the most positive or the best thing that has happened to the Palestinian people since the Nakba.”
  • [A] majority of the Palestinians see terrorist groups and the murder of Jews — not the construction of schools and hospitals — as their proudest accomplishment over the past seven decades.
  • More than half of the Palestinians, the poll showed, prefer an “armed struggle” (terrorism) against Israel to negotiations with it.
  • The only thing that seems to disturb the Palestinian public is the possibility that Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority security forces might go after the terror groups.
  • The armed terrorists of these groups are regularly hailed by Palestinians as heroes and martyrs.
  • The Palestinians want the gunmen to remain on the streets and continue their terror attacks against Jews. The vast majority (86%) say that the PA does not have the right to arrest members of these terrors groups to prevent them from carrying out attacks against Israel. This view seems to be one of the reasons that Abbas is reluctant to order his security forces to crack down on these terror groups and confiscate their weapons. Abbas is undoubtedly aware of the widespread support the terrorists enjoy among the Palestinian people. He undoubtedly knows that if he goes against the terrorists, he will be denounced by his people as a traitor and Israeli collaborator. Abbas and the Palestinian Authority are already facing severe criticism for conducting security coordination with Israeli security forces in the West Bank.
  • According to the latest PSR poll, support for the concept of the “two-state solution” stands at 28% and opposition stands at 70%. A poll conducted by the same center three months earlier showed that support for the “two-state solution” stood at only 27%, while opposition to it stood at 71%.
  • When it comes to choosing their leaders, Palestinians again showed that they prefer a candidate who killed Jews and wants to destroy Israel to anyone who is perceived as being overly moderate towards Israel.
  • While the Biden administration seems to have confidence in Abbas and his Palestinian Authority, 84% of the Palestinians — with good reason — believe that PA institutions are corrupt. Moreover, the level of dissatisfaction with the performance of Abbas, the poll showed, stands at 80%.
  • The results of the latest Palestinian poll show that the Biden administration and the European Union, by believing that they can promote the idea of a “two-state solution” between Israel and the Palestinians, continue to engage in self-deception. The Americans and Europeans appear blithely oblivious to the sentiments of the Palestinian street and prefer to listen only to what senior Palestinian officials tell them behind closed doors in Ramallah. The Palestinian officials are clearly misrepresenting the situation when they talk about the Palestinians’ desire to achieve peace and establish a Palestinian state next to Israel. They are saying that because they are hoping to get a state in the West Bank which they could then use as a launching pad from which to attack Israel. This is exactly what the Palestinians did after Israel pulled out of the Gaza Strip in 2005 and handed it over to the Palestinian Authority: they started firing rockets from the Gaza Strip at Israel.
  • The radicalization is the direct result of decades of brainwashing and incitement against Israel taking place nonstop in mosques, throughout the media, in schools, on university campuses, in sports, at summer camps and even in crossword puzzles.
  • If anything, the results of the poll show that the Americans and Europeans are wasting their time trying to convince the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table with Israel.
  • Are the EU or the Biden Administration putting any pressure on Abbas and the Palestinian leadership to crack down on the terror groups and cease their incessant incitement against Israel? No, instead the EU is sending equipment to the Palestinians to help them illegally build on land to be negotiated. The US, for its part, not only pretends that fighting terrorism is morally equivalent to committing terrorism, but also, in defiance of the US Congress, continues to reward Mahmoud Abbas’s “pay-to-slay” “jobs program” with fungible money, still incentivizing Palestinians to murder Jews.

[Ed.:  These guests have overstayed their welcome… ]

 

3 Tammuz – The Rebbe’s Yahrtzeit

3 Tammuz marks the 29th anniversary of passing of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory.
3 Tammuz this year is observed Thursday, June 22, 2023.

[Ed.:  This is an amazing beautiful story telling sent to me by a very good friend. Enjoy it.]

The following story sounded like it took place in the home of a shliach (Chabad emissary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe) in Vegas. One of the guests at the Shabbat meal was a chasid from Antwerp by the name of Yechiel, who was in town to participate in a diamond convention.

He ate his Shabbat seudot – meals in the Chabad House. During the meal, the guests were encouraged to share a Torah thought or a story, and Yechiel shared the following personal narrative:

“In the late 1980’s, my mother visited the Rebbe in 770, to get a dollar and a bracha (blessing) because there was a family member in need of a refuah shleimah – healing. After giving her the dollar and blessing, the Rebbe said: ‘Tell your son not to travel’.

My mother was surprised. ‘My son is not traveling anywhere’, she clarified, but the Rebbe repeated: ‘Tell your son not to travel’.

“As soon as she came out, she contacted me, sharing the strange exchange that she had with the Rebbe. I was able to shed light on it. ‘In fact,’ I explained, ‘I had been planning a trip to Colombia, where I was going to do a deal in emeralds that would be worth a million dollars to me. I hadn’t told you about this (I explained to her) because I didn’t want you to worry about my traveling to such a dangerous part of the world. But, if you say that the Rebbe said that I shouldn’t travel, then I will immediately cancel my trip’.

“I called my Italian partner and informed him of my change of plans. My partner became angry with me, warning me that I wouldn’t get any share in the profits if I would stay behind, but I was adamant. I told him he could take the entire profits. I wasn’t coming.

“I subsequently learned what had taken place. As soon as my partner, the Italian, concluded the deal, and handed over the emeralds, they handed him the cash, and then, on the spot, shot him in the back and killed him instantly.

“I realized that the Rebbe’s timely directive had saved my life!

“In 1995 (after Gimel Tamuz*) I was in the NY area. I have a brother, David, who lives in Texas, and it’s easier to call him from NY than to call him from Antwerp, so I decided, prior to departing back home, to use the opportunity to call him and say ‘Hello’.

“As soon as I reached him, my brother David exclaimed to me excitedly, ‘Yechiel, how amazing that you’re calling me, I’ve been trying to reach you all day, I need to tell you about a dream that I had last night!’

“And he related the following: ‘Last night in my dream I saw a painting, and in the painting, I saw a Rabbi which was the Lubavitcher Rebbe. And the Rebbe said to me – ‘Tell your brother Yechiel זכור ואל תשכח את הדברים [Remember and don’t forget the words]. That was the dream, I don’t know what it means, but I felt I must share it with you’.

“So, I thought to myself, what were the last words, the last communication that I had from the Rebbe? Why, it had been when he had instructed me (through my mother) not to travel. And here, I was about to travel back to Antwerp, and the Rebbe sent me a message to remember his words. The Rebbe must be telling me again not to travel!

“I decided immediately to cancel my travel plans.

“But there was one problem. I was supposed to give a ride to the airport to the wife of a friend, who was supposed to be on the same flight as me. But if I shouldn’t be taking the flight, surely neither should she. But how can I stop her? If I tell her my brother had some kind of a dream, she’ll think that I’m crazy, but she definitely won’t change her plans because of that.

“I decided that there was only one solution: I would have to ensure that she misses her flight! So, I picked her up on schedule, but instead of driving her directly to the airport, I pretended to get lost and kept on making wrong turns. She kept on screaming at me that I didn’t know what I was doing (now she really thought I was crazy), but I just continued to feign confusion.

“Only when I was certain that it was much too late for any chance at the flight, did I finally let her off at the airport. At that point she was fuming at me, and she stomped out of the car in a rage, without a backward glance, and headed straight for the phones to inform her husband of her predicament (and what a mess his friend had gotten her into).

“However, when she finally reached her husband, she let out a horrified shriek, and fainted. The flight that we had been scheduled to take was TWA flight 800, which (as she learned from her husband) had exploded into a fireball 12 minutes after takeoff, killing all 230 people on board.

“Twice, the advice of the Rebbe miraculously saved my life, once before Gimel Tamuz, and then again afterwards!”

With this, Yechiel concluded his remarkable narrative.

(The Yortzeit of the Lubavicher Rebbe is this week Thursday.  What a great man he really  was. There are so many stories like this that are well known and told with first hand experiences.)

 

An intifada has erupted in Samaria   Hanan Greenwood

Band-Aid solutions ignore the need for open-heart surgery. Op-ed.

Jun 21, 2023, 9:53 AM (GMT+3) – (JNS) The second intifada that erupted some 20 years ago was named Operation High Tide-Low Tide by the IDF. This is very apt for the current events that have plagued Israel as of late. Back then, many were in denial that terrorist organizations had grown stronger. They were convinced that targeted strikes would be enough to solve the situation. This flawed paradigm is once again prevalent among a lot of Israelis.

Then, as now, Israelis were being murdered in attacks across Judea and Samaria while the political echelon was wed to some fantasy of a “ceasefire” and calm. Only when the big suicide bombings started did it finally sink in that an offensive was in order. Then, as is now the case, the inescapable conclusion should be the same, and it should dawn on the decision makers sooner rather than later.

For those who have been following the overall situation, the fact that improvised explosive devices were used against our troops this week in Jenin was hardly a surprise. The IDF has long been aware of terrorist organizations’ efforts to hurt soldiers using powerful means, and they have used such weapons many times in recent weeks. This time, it turns out, the IED was strong enough to lead to casualties.

We have to confront the sad truth: The terrorists have launched another intifada in northern Samaria.

This is not just some theoretical analysis or hyperbole. The reality is that any incursion by Israel into the refugee camps in Jenin and Nablus results in major gun battles and even the use of such explosive devices. At the end of every such operation, the IDF has to deal with damaged vehicles that have come under fire or been targeted by the bombs to the point that they can no longer be properly used.

But despite all this, we continue living the lie that somewhere this new intifada is not really unfolding and there is no clear and present danger. The security barrier has stopped some of the would-be attackers from entering pre-1967 Israel and the Shin Bet has managed to stop terrorists from striking the Israeli heartland. But will our luck never run out? Of course not.

[Ed.:  Jewish blood is cheapest in the Land of IINO…]

 

Terrorists open fire at military post near town of Ofra  Ido Ben Porat

IDF forces return fire, terrorists escape in vehicle.

Jun 21, 2023, 9:28 AM (GMT+3) – Terrorists from the Arab village of Silwad opened fire Wednesday morning on an IDF post at the entrance to the Jewish town of Ofra.

No one was injured.

IDF forces returned fire, but the terrorists succeeded in escaping the scene in their vehicle.

An IDF spokesperson said, “A short while ago, we received a report of a shooting on a military post near the Ofra Junction in the Binyamin Region. IDF forces who were at the scene responded with fire. IDF forces are searching the area for suspects. There were no injuries.”

Related articles:

Wednesday morning’s attempted terror attack occurred just a few kilometers away from Tuesday’s deadly terror attack, which took place at the gas station near the town of Eli.

In that attack, which injured four people, four Jewish men were killed: Harel Masoud, a 21-year-old resident of Yad Binyamin; Elisha Antman, a 18-year-old resident of Eli; Ofer Fairman, a 63-year-old resident of Eli; and Nachman Shmuel Mordoff, a 15-year-old resident of Ahiya.

 

Soldier fires live rounds to disperse Jewish protest

An IDF soldier was filmed firing live rounds from a handgun to disperse citizens protesting at Bayt Furik junction near Shechem.

Jun 20, 2023, 10:04 PM (GMT+3) – Social media footage taken this evening shows an IDF soldier firing from his personal weapon to disperse a demonstration of Jews who came out to protest at the Bayt Furik junction near Shechem against the shooting attack at Eli Junction earlier today.

In addition, a few hours after the attack, police officers arrested two boys who went out to demonstrate at Yitzhar Junction about the security situation.

The Honenu legal aid organization, which provides free legal services for people experiencing difficulty in receiving a fair judicial process, reports that the police arrested a 15-year-old boy who was standing at the Yitzhar intersection in Samaria. Another boy who was standing at the intersection was arrested and released after a short time.

Related articles:

A lawyer from the Honenu is investigating the reason for the arrest.

In the meantime, at the end of a situation assessment by the police, it was decided to reinforce the officers on Judea and Samaria roads, with an emphasis on sensitive areas, intersections and crowd concentration points.

[Ed.: Kafkaesque, isn’t it!]

 

Ben Gvir at scene of attack: Time to launch a military operation, take down buildings

Following attack near Eli, National Security Minister demands: The time has come to launch a military operation in Judea and Samaria.

Jun 21, 2023, 5:00 AM (GMT+3) – National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir arrived at the scene of the murderous terrorist attack near Eli on Tuesday, and called for a military operation in Samaria following the attack.

“The incidents here are going on and on. Another shooting and another shooting throughout Judea and Samaria. The residents have become sitting ducks,” stated Ben Gvir.

“I call on the Prime Minister and on [Defense] Minister Gallant, as I said before the operation in Gaza: The time has come for a military operation in Judea and Samaria. Yes, a return to targeted eliminations from the air, take down buildings, set up roadblocks, deport terrorists and pass the death penalty law for terrorists in the second and third readings,” he continued.

“Unfortunately, the checkpoints in Judea and Samaria were removed, so as to allow a so-called fabric of life, freedom of movement. Freedom of movement is not more important than our right, the residents, to freedom of living. This is the time for a military operation in Judea and Samaria,” stated Ben Gvir.

 

IDF soldiers arrested after voicing support for terrorists, released shortly after three soldiers recorded themselves voicing support for Jenin terrorists and the ‘State of Palestine.’

Jun 21, 2023, 11:11 AM (GMT+3) – The military police arrested a number of IDF soldiers who documented themselves in uniform praising and glorifying the Jenin terrorists – after the operation in which seven IDF soldiers were wounded, one of them in a medium-to-serious condition.

The soldiers were arrested last night (Tuesday) and an military police investigation was opened, at the end of which its findings were forwarded to the military attorney’s office for consideration.

The soldiers were heard saying “Long live Palestine, long live Jenin. Long live the God of Palestine and Israel go to hell!” Other soldiers in the area can be heard laughing and offering their support as well.

 

Smotrich to INN: I believe that we are close to taking action in Judea and Samaria  Uzi Baruch

Finance Minister on the security escalation: This is a reality that cannot continue. I believe significant action is imminent.

Jun 21, 2023, 2:06 AM (GMT+3) – Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich gave an interview to Israel National News on Tuesday, hours before the murderous attack near Eli, in which he discussed how Israel is dealing with the security escalation and said that he, too, is asking why a real military operation is not being carried out to stop the security escalation in Judea and Samaria.

Smotrich said that there are a variety of considerations that he is unable and unwilling to elaborate on publicly, partly so as not to provide the enemy with information about Israel’s intentions.At the same time, he stated that “this saga will not continue much longer”.

“We cannot afford to have entire areas without governance, where dangerous nests of terrorism develop that harm IDF soldiers and endanger the residents, and it is very close to reaching other areas in Israel,” said Minister Smotrich, who recounted his conversations on these issues with both the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense. In his assessment, “We are very close to a very significant action.”

“We are seeing processes of ‘Lebanonization’ in Jenin and Shechem and not only there. This is not a situation that can be allowed under any circumstances. It is not a process that can be allowed to expand and then everything becomes much more complex,” said the Minister, who is convinced that at the end of the day there will be no escape from an operation that eliminate the centers of terrorism.

 

Yair Lapid -Thinking the unthinkable   Dr. Martin Sherman

When the official reasons given for the Oct. 2022 gas deal with Lebanon unravel, who can be blamed for allowing “heretical” alternative explanations to creep into one’s mind

Jun 18, 2023, 7:09 PM (GMT+3) – We will divide up the region. Israel will return most of the ‘West Bank’, and the Palestinian flag will fly on public buildings in East Jerusalem – Yair Lapid,Der Spiegel, May 8, 2008.

Jerusalem is not a place; it is the constitutive concept of Israeli identity and our most fundamental ethos…We will not divide Jerusalem. No matter what happens. If that eventually means that there will be no resolution [of the conflict] then there will be no resolution – Yair Lapid, Walla, December 27, 2014.

This week, the leader of Israel’s opposition, Yair Lapid, appeared in the Jerusalem District Court as a prosecution witness in the trial of his primary political adversary, incumbent Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.As before with a string of previous prosecution witnesses, his testimony ended up strengthening the case for the defense rather than for the prosecution.

Opinions as tools to fulfill ambitions

But beyond that, his performance on the stand underscored just how little credibility the man has, and Lapid does not have an opinion on anything. All he has, it seems, is an ambition and opinions are merely tools for fulfilling that ambition—and can be changed at will.

How little store can be placed on anything he says. Indeed, it would be difficult to find any topic on which Lapid has expressed an opinion that, elsewhere, he has not expressed a diametrically opposite one.(For example, see the introductory citations regarding his position on Jerusalem.

No less striking is Lapid’s breathtaking about-face on judicial reform. Whereas today he is a vociferous opponent of the changes in Israel’s legal system proposed by the current coalition, just a few years earlier, he endorsed the very same measures he now purports to reject as imperiling Israeli democracy.

 

Yesha Council Chairman: We cannot continue to absorb these blows

Gush Etzion Mayor, and Yesha Council Chairman, Shlomo Ne’eman, responded to the deadly terrorist attack near Eli in Binyamin.

Jun 20, 2023, 5:58 PM (GMT+3) – Gush Etzion Mayor, and Yesha Council Chairman, Shlomo Ne’eman, responded to the deadly terrorist attack near Eli in Binyamin.

“Evil beasts opened fire today, murdering four people”, Ne’eman said, “We send a warm embrace to the families of those murdered during this difficult time and pray for a speedy recovery for the wounded.”

“The enemy which once again raised its head, must be eliminated”, he added, “We cannot continue to absorb these blows and hope the wave of terrorism will just pass. [Emphasis added] We demand that the government launch a broad [military] operation. The IDF must remove its gloves because terrorism can only be dealt with using a heavy hand, alongside the continued building and development of Jewish life in Judea and Samaria, which will bring quiet to the region.”

“The application of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria will crush the enemy’s hope and remove any question marks over our future in Israel” Ne’eman concluded.

[Ed.:  Shlomo Ne’eman is right, but alas,  we most certainly willcontinue to absorb these blows and hope the wave of terrorism will just pass.”  That is exactly what we are going to do!  Our People wandered in the desert for forty years.  We’ve been doing precisely that while living in IINO now for 75 years…]

 

Minister of National Missions and Settlement Affairs at scene of massacre near Eli: A very serious and difficult incident, it is unreasonable and intolerable.    Hezki Baruch

Jun 20, 2023, 11:31 PM (GMT+3) –  Minister of National Missions and Settlement Affairs Orit Strock (Religious Zionist Party) on Tuesday visited the scene of the terrorist shooting attack near Eli, in which four Israelis were murdered.

“This is a very serious and difficult incident. It is inconceivable that it would be possible for terrorists to enter and murder, in cold blood, people who were simply having hummus at a restaurant or stopping to fuel their car at the gas station,” said Strock.

“How is it possible that a vehicle, with armed Palestinians, arrives at the one main road on which thousands of Israeli citizens who live in this area travel, and they do not have another road to take. This is unreasonable, irresponsible and immoral, inconceivable and intolerable,” she added.

[Ed.:  Minister Strock is totally correct.  If it was a true State of Israel and not ‘Israel In Name Only’ (IINO,) these kind of incidents could never happen, and Jews would be safe and secure in our homeland. The problem preventing a true State of Israel is our fakakta structure of government. Arabs are supposed to kill us!  It’s who they are! It’s their “religion”! It’s what they do! We have only ourselves to blame for their access to us.]

 

Victims identified: Nachman, Elisha, Harel & Ofer were murdered in deadly attack

17-year-old boys among the victims of deadly shooting attack near Eli.

Published: Jun 20, 2023, Updated:11:12 PM – he names of the four victims of Tuesday’s terrorist shooting attack near Eli have been cleared for publication.

One victim was identified as Harel Masoud, a 21-year-old resident of Yad Binyamin. Another was named as Elisha Antman, a 17-year-old resident of Eli. A third was identified as Ofer Fairman, a 60-year-old resident of Eli. The fourth was identified as Nachman Shmuel Mordoff, a 17-year-old resident of Ahiya.

The Nahal Sorek Regional Council said in a statement: “It is with a heavy heart and great pain, we were informed at this moment that in the severe attack that took place today in the settlement of Eli, Harel Masoud, a resident of Yad Binyamin, was murdered. Harel is the son of Gil and Yael Masoud, and was only 21 years old at the time of his murder.”

 

Watch: IDF releases helmet camera clips from Jenin raid

Helmet cameras of the Israeli soldiers who operated in Jenin today show the stealthy beginning of the raid and the gunfight that followed.

Jun 19, 2023, 9:20 PM (GMT+3) – The IDF and Israel Police have published the GoPro footage from the security forces that operated in Jenin today. The helmet camera footage shows the forces advancing quietly under cover of night at the beginning of the operation

A later part, filmed during daylight, shows the forces exiting their armored vehicle under fire and trading shots with the terrorists.

Along with the film from the soldiers, a GoPro recording was released from working dog Daggoo, who accompanied Israeli forces into Jenin during the operation today.

Daggoo was in a Panther armored vehicle that was disabled by an IED. Seven Israeli soldiers were injured by the blast, and were airlifted to hospital care. Daggoo was taken along with them and examined by the veterinarian from the IDF’s elite Oketz canine unit. He was diagnosed with internal bleeding and a pelvic fracture.

 

First Time in 21 Years: IDF uses attack helicopters in battle with Jenin terrorists   David Rosenberg

For the first time since the 2nd Intifada, IDF uses attack helicopters to engage terrorists in Samaria.

Jun 19, 2023, 11:49 AM (GMT+3) – The Israeli military deployed attack helicopters to the skies above Jenin Monday morning, marking the first use of helicopters for direct combat with terrorists in Samaria in over two decades.

Israeli attack helicopters were spotted over the combat zone in Jenin Monday, with footage on social media showing the aircraft opening fire on terrorists with missiles and machine guns.

The IDF has not used attack helicopters in a combat situation in Judea and Samaria since 2002, Channel 12 reported.

The helicopters were observed targeting a building in Jenin where a number of terrorists are currently holed up in part of an ongoing gun battle with IDF forces.

The Israeli army and Border Police are continuing their efforts to extract forces deployed to the Palestinian Authority-administered city in northern Samaria, after Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists ambushed IDF armored vehicles during an arrest operation.

Multiple bombs were hurled at the vehicles, leaving at least one damaged, injuring five Border Police officers.

A massive gun battle broke out during the arrest operation, which involved a number of undercover Border Police officers.

In total, seven Israeli personnel were injured, including two IDF soldiers and five Border Police officers. One of the soldiers is in moderate condition, the second in light condition.

Two of the Border Police officers are listed in moderate condition, three more in light condition.

The Palestinian Authority mouthpiece WAFA reported that four Palestinian Arabs have died in the firefight, with 45 more wounded.

Two wanted terrorists, Assem Abu al-Haija, and Mussab Hassan al-Barmaki, were arrested during the operation.

The gun battle is ongoing, an IDF spokesperson said late Monday morning.

 

6 hurt in terrorist shooting attack in Eli

At least 2 in critical condition after multiple terrorists open fire at gas station in Binyamin region

Jun 20, 2023, 4:30 PM (GMT+3) – At least six people have been injured in a terrorist shooting attack at a gas station near the city of Eli in Binyamin Tuesday afternoon.

The IDF stated that multiple suspects approached the gas station and opened fire, wounding several people. Security forces returned fire and struck one of the terrorists.

Magen David Adom (MDA) EMTs and Paramedics are evacuating two victims in critical condition, including a 20-year-old male to Shaare Tzedek Medical Center and a 38-year-old male to Beilinson Hospital. Four further victims, including three who are unconscious, are being treated on scene.

 

Towards Gimmel Tammuz -aspiring to a new world order   Rabbi Yehoshua S, Hecht

The Rebbe spoke of a new world order vs. the chaos of globalism. It.is actual, attainable, and increasingly relevant to our generation..

Jun 20, 2023, 7:21 AM (GMT+3) – Chabad hassidim and Jewish communities throughout the world will mark the 29th YAHRZEIT (day of passing) of the Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory, on Thursday the third day of the month Tammuz, corresponding to June 22nd.

The Rebbes clarion call and directive for a new world order with the advent of the Messiah, ignites the minds and hearts of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people, the world over, to think about the transformation and elevation of our world, which is suffering from an acute lack of leadership and vision.

Wherever one looks, be it the USA or the countries that make up the so-called western world, there is a crushing lack of moral and ethical vision and leadership. From the White House to number ten Downing Street, from the Elysée to the EU in Brussels, the absence of moral clarity and cooperation is troubling and alarming.

The Rebbe’s call that we work towards a new world order that is under the sovereignty of G-D and His righteous Messiah, the scion of the house of King David of blessed memory, is actual, attainable, and increasingly relevant to our generation

 

Urgent help is needed: Wave of Ukrainian refugees seek shelter at Chabad in Poland

Just before Shabbat, (June 9), Chabad of Poland extended a warm welcome to a new wave of Ukrainian refugees seeking refuge

Jun 19, 2023, 9:38 PM – The situation demands urgent assistance.

In the aftermath of the dam breach, Ukrainian Jews have been forced to hastily board buses and flee their country in search of safety in Poland. Responding to their plight, Chabad of Poland has made preparations to receive and provide shelter to this group in Warsaw, their arrival coinciding just before the onset of Shabbat.

The collapse of the Kakhovka dam has inflicted severe damage on homes and critical infrastructure, exacerbating an already war-ravaged region. Local authorities have cautioned against consuming water from the affected river and eating fish, while both sides of the conflict have warned of the potential movement of landmines due to the floods. Furthermore, concerns loom over the risk of a possible meltdown at Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which relies on the dam for stability.

To contribute to the relief efforts or obtain additional information, please visit

 

India’s Bnei Menashe community in crisis as synagogues torched and displaces hundreds   Jordyn Haime, JTA

Hundreds of Bnei Menashe crypto-Jews in India displaced as synagogues torched amid ethnic clashes.

Jun 20, 2023, 2:57 PM (GMT+3) – For the past several years, life was good for Lalam Hangshing as president of the Bnei Menashe Council, the governing body for Jewish communities in the Indian states of Manipur and Mizoram.

While living at his parents’ house, he and his wife enjoyed the clean air and beautiful scenery of Manipur, a state in northeast India home to close to 3 million people. Miles away, Hangshing rented out a newly-built four-story home to a film production company.

Everything changed on May 3, when rioting broke out between the ethnic majority Meiteis and the tribal minority Kukis, a violent conflagration that had been building up for years. Local groups say Meiteis began targeting Kuki institutions and razing homes to the ground, and Hangshing — also the general secretary of a Kuki-led political party — feared his house was next.

“When the problems started on the third of May, with military precision, the mobs went straight to [Kuki] houses,” Hangshing said. “They ransacked them and vandalized them and they burned each and every house in Imphal city within one and a half days.”

 

Allow Palestinian Arabs to obtain Israeli residency status and dismantle the PA   Yakov Nedlin

What is the use of the “differential” solutions that already exist on the ground (such as checkpoints, cameras, military presence, Shin Bet, etc) if there is no overarching political “integrated” move to deal with the root of the problem?  Op-ed.

June 19, 2023  – It’s no secret that the Israeli economy benefits from the Palestinian Arab workforce, especially in the real estate domain. Broad consensus supports this arrangement, with only a few extreme parties on either side opposing it.

Tens of thousands of Palestinian Arab workers cross what I call the “Israel-Israel” border every day to earn a living or visit their lucky relatives in Israeli Arab villages. This reality often invites security problems. However, the Israeli leadership is adept at lowering the level of concern to swiftly return to the routine of these workers.

Leaders often chest-beat, shouting regarding the on-duty terrorist: “We will soon have our revenge.” But in practice, the axis of interests between the real estate tycoon and politician is clear – the winning value is always the fastest return to freedom of movement for Palestinian workers.

 

Confrontation Between Jews and Christians at Temple Mount Over Accusations of Proselytizing   ADAM ELIYAHU BERKOWITZ

I will bring them to My sacred mount And let them rejoice in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices Shall be welcome on My mizbayach; For My House shall be called A house of prayer for all peoples.” – ISAIAH 56:7  (THE ISRAEL BIBLE)

MAY 29, 2023 – The ongoing initiative bringing millions of Christians to pray for Israel came to an ugly nexus when hundreds of Christians praying in Jerusalem were confronted by an equal number of Jews who denounced Christianity’s two millennia of proselytizing. The confrontation brought to the forefront the major issue preventing the prophetic House of Prayer for All Nations in Jerusalem.

Hundreds of Christians who came to pray at the Davidson Center Archaeological Park adjacent to the southern wall of the Temple Mount on Sunday were shocked when hundreds of religious Jews came to protest, some reacting violently to their prayers. The Christian prayer event was part of a three-week global initiative called “The Isaiah 62 Fast,” in which millions of Christians worldwide join in praying and fasting for Israel.

Jerusalem’s Deputy Mayor Aryeh King was filmed shouting, “Missionaries go home!” In a statement about the incident, he praised the protesters and criticized the government organizations that allowed “Christian missionaries to hold a Christian worship and ceremony designed to prepare a missionary effort directed at Israeli residents,” he wrote. “It is a dignified and just protest against a government company that allowed this and against the missionaries. As far as I’m concerned, let every missionary know they are not welcome in the Land of Israel.”

The protest was also attended by Rabbi Zvi Tau, head of the Har Hamor Yeshiva, Rabbi David Cohen, and Rabbi Avigdor Nabnetzel.

While the Isaiah 62 Fast does not explicitly call for proselytizing to Jews or working to convince Jews to leave Judaism by accepting Jesus as their Messiah or “Savior,” The International House of Prayer, which organized the event, wrote precisely that in its online Israel Mandate:

“Our mission is to mobilize an international prayer movement that would pray 24/7 for the nation of Israel to receive their Jewish Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus). Jesus promised the nation of Israel an unusual visitation of His presence at the end of the age when the Jewish leaders will recognize Him as their true Messiah and deliverer.”

The event’s timing was significant as it came immediately following the Biblical Shavuot feast. According to Jewish tradition, the Jews made an exclusive and eternal covenant with God at Mount Sinai and received the Torah.

The event also preceded Pentecost, which, according to Christian tradition, is the birth-day of the Church as recorded in the second chapter of the Book of Acts. It commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit to the early followers of Jesus. According to the New Testament, this occurred fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus, during the Shavuot holiday. This epiphany bestowed upon them the mandate to spread the Gospel to the world, which many Christians understand to mean the requirement to convert Jews to Christianity.

David Nekrutman, the Executive Director of The Isaiah Projects and an Orthodox Jewish theologian, explained how the Pentecost fit into Christian replacement theology, which requires the conversion of Jews and makes it impossible for Judaism and Christianity to coexist.

“For mainstream Christians who subscribe to Replacement Theology, Jesus not only replaced the Temple, but he also replaced the Land,” Nekrutman explained. “For Christians, Jesus also replaced the Torah. For those in the Replacement Theology camp, the Torah was simply a band-aid approach until Jesus arrived to replace it. Even a biblically based Shavuot would no longer be relevant since these laws have been fulfilled in Jesus.”

Nekrutman commented on the events saying, “If one is praying for the Jewish people, then it should be prayers that advocate Jews to be more committed to Judaism as well as the hope that all Jews see the importance of holding an Israeli passport.”

 

Should Jewish conservatives stay Republican?    IRIT TRATT

You shall appoint magistrates and officials for your tribes, in all the settlements that Hashem your God is giving you, and they shall govern the people with due justice.  DEUTERONOMY 16:18  (THE ISRAEL BIBLE)

JUNE 14, 2023 – In New York, this week’s deadline for submitting changes to individual voter ballots is renewing pressure on Jewish Republicans to switch their party affiliation.

New York is one of 12 “closed primary” states in which primary voting is limited to those registered with a specific political party.

New York’s reputation as a bastion of deep blue liberalism leaves many conservatives struggling to explain the logic behind backing candidates whose chances of winning, particularly in left-leaning enclaves, are slim at best.

Jewish Democrats regard the state’s reflexive ideological leanings as an opening to consolidate power by encouraging conservatives to adjust their political preference. They claim that the certainty of a Democratic victory renders voting for Republicans pointless. Thus, it is prudent to vote strategically in order to stave off progressive challenges to more moderate Democrats.

While well-intentioned, attempts to subordinate the New York GOP are, at best, a stopgap. It only temporarily fends off the threat from Democrats whose sympathies are increasingly with the Palestinians and against Israel.

Moreover, rewarding Democrats’ lack of action on stemming antisemitism within party ranks with more Jewish votes is a misguided strategy. It will only undermine Republican lawmakers who are often the first to oppose anti-Israel policies.

 

Israel’s government to advance part of judicial reform

The premier accused opposition leaders of not taking talks on a compromise seriously.

June 18, 2023 – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that parts of his coalition’s judicial reform initiative will move ahead this week.

“We will meet this week and begin practical steps in the legal reform,” Netanyahu told Cabinet members gathered at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem for their regular weekly meeting.

 

Jews and the Land of Israel: Part XV: The Attempt to Convince the Arabs of Palestine that Jewish Settlement Would Greatly Benefit Their Lives    By Alex Grobman PhD.

29 Sivan 5783 – June 18, 2023 – *Editor’s Note: This is the fifteenth installment in the most recent series of articles from Jewish Press Online contributor, Alex Grobman, PhD

Attempts to assure the Arabs they had more to gain materially by embracing the efforts of Jews to immigrate and settle the land of Israel was an ongoing process. Zionist historian Yosef Gorny notes that in 1907, Yitzhak Epstein, an intellectual and teacher, declared that the Arabs “must, for its own good let the Jews into the country, for it is powerless to improve its situation and to extricate itself from its poverty and ignorance by its own efforts; only our people can provide for their needs.” It was to be a win-win situation. The Jews would reclaim their homeland and the Arabs would be able to improve their lives. This would hasten “the renaissance of two ancient and gifted Semitic people with great potentialities, who complement each other.” [1]

 

Mass protests against judicial reform enter 21st week

The passing of the new budget could grant some stability to Israel’s government. However, it also appeared to fuel the protesters’ views that Netanyahu appeals to his religious allies rather than address the wider economic woes of the broader society.

05-27-2023 22:21 – Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered on Saturday for the relentless weekly protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu government’s plans to overhaul the legal system in the country.

The mass protests entered their 21st week. This week’s rallies come days after Netanyahu’s coalition of ultra-Orthodox and ultranationalist parties passed a new two-year budget.
The main rally took place in Tel Aviv, drawing thousands of flag-waving protesters.

The passing of the new budget could grant some stability to Israel’s government. However, it also appeared to fuel the protesters’ views that Netanyahu appeals to his religious allies rather than address the wider economic woes of the broader society. Organizers of grassroots protests bill them as a movement to save democracy. They say the government’s plans to weaken the Supreme Court would destroy the country’s system of checks and balances and compromise Israeli democracy.

[Ed.: Rubbish. The mouse that roared.]

 

A false Messiah   By  Dror Eydar

06-16-2023 09:10Ehud Barak, as has been revealed this week, is the de facto leader of the protests against judicial reform. His main motivation has nothing to do with the Supreme Court and everything to do with his own personal ego war against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  [Emphasis added]

1.  Some years ago, Ehud Barak invited me to his home. He wanted to get to know me. We sat for about three hours talking about history and Talmud, philosophy and poetry, policy, and the army. Barak is highly impressive, with a broad perspective, the likes of which I have encountered in very few people.I told him that, in some ways, he had become the Shabtai Zvi of his camp. Barak was the Messiah who was designated as Yitzhak Rabin’s successor. He was destined to redeem his followers from Benjamin Netanyahu and resurrect the spirit of Oslo. And yet, it was Barak who coined the phrase that buried the hope of peace when he returned from Camp David and told the nation the truth: “There is no partner for peace” on the Palestinian side, despite the unprecedented concessions he offered them. It was an admission of the failure of the concept of “land for peace.” As far as many of his followers were concerned, this was an act of heresy that went against what for many years had been the raison d’être of his political camp. Barak’s confession was tantamount to the conversion to Islam of Shabtai Zvi who turned out to be a false Messiah.  You too, I told him, have been marked as a false Messiah.  He smiled faintly and agreed with me.

[Ed.:

 

Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger’s rebranded unconventional website

Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger’s rebranded unconventional website

Why is this website different from all other websites?

(Please share with me your critical feedback)

This website features my weekly articles and brief videos, which underscore “What’s in it for the US?!” rather than “what’s in it for Israel?”

This website – as well as my lectures, interviews and briefing of US and Israeli movers & shakers – does not preach to the choir.

This website challenges Western conventional wisdom on critical aspects of US-Israel relations, Jewish-Arab demography, Iran, the Palestinian issue and Middle East affairs, in general.

This website highlights:

*Israel’s contribution to the US taxpayer exceeds US foreign aid to Israel.

*Israel: from a misperceived burden to a force and dollar multiplier for the US.

*The 400-year-old roots of the unique US-Israel nexus.

*The debunked myth of the Arab demographic time bomb, while exposing Israel’s Jewish demographic momentum.

*The gap between Middle East reality and Western conventional wisdom.

*The inherent flaws of the US diplomatic option toward Iran’s Ayatollahs.

*Is the Palestinian issue the crux of the Arab-Israel conflict, a core cause of Middle East turbulence and a crown-jewel of Arab policy making?

*The proposed Palestinian state – advancing or undermining US interests?

The content of this website is based on my 50-year-experience in the areas of Middle East affairs, US-Israel relations and US policy in the Middle East in my capacity as a researcher, diplomat (Ambassador), writer, lecturer, media commentator and consultant to US and Israeli legislators.

Hopefully, this website adds value for your own endeavors.

Looking forward to receiving your critical feedback.

 

U.S. Fighter Jets Head to Middle East; Israel SLAMS Russia Over Iran Alliance   [12:00]   The Watchman with Erick Stakelbeck

On today’s Watchman Newscast, host Erick Stakelbeck beaks down growing tensions between the U.S. and Russia in the Middle East. As the U.S. sends a squadron of F-22 fighter jets to the region to deter Russia, could things spiral out of control? Plus, Israeli leaders are expressing growing alarm over Russia’s military alliance with Iran. Is this a prelude to a coming prophetic showdown?

 

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