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1. Fatah: Don't Send Us Back to Gaza
by Maayana Miskin
Hundreds of Fatah terrorists from Gaza have been living in Yehudah and Shomron (Judea and Samaria) for more than two years after fleeing from Hamas during bloody fights for control of Gaza in 2007. The Palestinian Authority has now filed an official request asking Israel to allow Fatah members to stay where they are.
The roughly 400 terrorists who fled Gaza are unable to move freely throughout Yehudah and Shomron for fear that they will be stopped at a checkpoint and forced to return to their place of residence – Gaza – where, they say, they could face revenge attacks.
A PA source said Israel has not refused the request outright, but has asked each of the 400 to submit an individual request for Yehudah and Shomron residency. Israel is generally cautious about granting Gaza residents permits to move to Yehudah and Shomron out of concern that terrorists could move from place to place in order to set up new terror cells and plan attacks.
Several dozen Fatah terrorists were killed in the 2007 battle for Gaza, and hundreds were wounded. Intermittent Fatah-Hamas clashes have been reported in Gaza, Yehudah and Shomron over the past two years as well, and hundreds have been killed or wounded.
2. Streets Flooded, Rabin Rally Delayed
by Maayana Miskin
The central rally in honor of slain Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin has been pushed off due to weather as rains continue to fall throughout the country. Flooding was reported in Netanya, Herzliya, and elsewhere along Israel's northern coast.
The Rabin rally was scheduled to be held on Saturday night in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv. It will be held one week later, on November 7.
Rain fell overnight on Thursday in Tel Aviv, and the water and strong winds caused damage to equipment already set up in Rabin Square in advance of the demonstration.
Weather forecasters believe that rain will continue to fall until Monday next week. Cities along the northern coast may face flooding.
Flood warnings have also been issued for the northern Negev region, the Judean desert, and the Dead Sea area.
3. Thousands Visit Tombs of Matriarch Rachel, Yosef the Righteous
by Israel National TV
Thousands of Jewish worshipers flocked to the Tomb of the Matriarch Rachel near Bethlehem and to the tomb of her son, Yosef (Joseph), for the anniversary of her passing away on 11 Cheshvan. Israel National TV brings you exclusive video coverage from both places.
Yoni Kempinski joined those who came to the Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem and spoke with the organizers about the uniqueness of Rachel and the ideas behind praying at the tombs of the righteous.
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E-mail readers: to see video click here.
Amatzia HaEitan visited the Tomb of Yosef HaTzadik (Joseph the Righteous) along with hundreds of others and brought back sights and sounds.
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E-mail readers: to see video click here.
Both events were sponsored by philanthropist Yosef Gutnick of Australia.
4. Rafi Eitan Admits Failure, Regrets on Pollard
by Gil Ronen
Former minister Rafi Eitan, who recruited Jonathan Pollard as a spy for Israel in the US, expressed regret over the espionage debacle in an interview on Channel 2.
"I admit the failure and I regret it,” he said.
In an interview to Maariv in 2008, Eitan said that the US intelligence services made a joint decision not to permit Pollard ever to be released until the end of his life. “The reason isn't Pollard. It's Israel... It's connected to the relationship system between the American intelligence services and the state of Israel.” Eitan went on to confirm that the US intelligence services were “taking revenge” on Israeli intelligence through Pollard.
Asked if anything could be done about Pollard, Eitan said: “To my regret, no. What can Israel do? Break relations with the US? This is silly... Every visit of an Israeli personality with Pollard harmed him. The recognition of him as an agent, the Israel identity card. All this harmed him, worsened his situation."
In 2006, Jonathan Pollard appealed unsuccessfully to the Israeli High Court to prevent Eitan from taking office as minister in the Kadima-led government.
5. A British Jew Committed to Prosecuting Israeli Leaders
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
Attorney Nitzana Darshan-Leitner, chairwoman of the Shurat Hadin legal advocacy organization, told Arutz Sheva Radio on Thursday who exactly is behind the effort to prosecute former IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon and other IDF commanders. He is Daniel Machover - a British lawyer who is also a former Israeli.
Machover, a co-founder of Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights, represents the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, based in the Hamas-run Gaza half of the Palestinian Authority. According to Leitner, Machover has dedicated his life to collecting evidence against IDF officers and political leaders in an effort to charge them with war crimes in Europe. He and the center he represents prepare legal ambushes for Israeli military and civilian leaders who visit European countries, hoping to bring about their arrest and prosecution.
"Attorney Daniel Machover is an expatriate Israeli, son of a Communist family that emigrated to England after the Six Day War," Leitner said. The family left Israel because of what they saw as "the suffering of the Palestinians and the Israeli occupation. The family distanced itself from anything related to Jews and Israel and became close to the Palestinians," Leitner continued.
According to the Shurat Hadin chairwoman, Machover has been trying to bring about the prosecution of Israeli officers long before the recent Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. "We have been following his activities for several years," Leitner said. "Thank God, thus far he has not seen the fruits of his efforts and we hope that it will continue to be possible to foil his despicable efforts."
The British Jewish lawyer Machover is one of a string of "former Israelis who hold hard Left opinions" who have set themselves up as enemies of Israel, Leitner explained. "The goal of people such as him is to undermine the Jewish identity and the Jewish people."
Last year, for example, Machover took part in the the International Jewish Solidarity (later, Anti-Zionist) Network's conference under the heading, "International Resistance to Zionism: In solidarity with 60-plus years of Palestinian resistance to the founding of Israel".
"I can only be saddened that that man calls himself an international human rights attorney, because he cares only for Palestinian human rights and doesn't care about Jewish blood [that is s. If human rights are important to him, then let him worry about the rights of both sides," Attorney Leitner added.
Leitner's organization is attempting to fight back against all the hostile elements currently active in the courts. "We are engaged on several fronts," she detailed. "First of all, in assisting with the filing of counterclaims of war crimes by Israel's enemies, despite the fact that in this way we are in effect recognizing the jurisdiction of foreign courts; however, if that is the field our enemies are playing in, then we too will compete in the same arena, with the same tools. And then we can perhaps prove who the real war criminals are."
Leitner told Arutz Sheva about several successes. "In Spain, they wanted to file charges against Israeli officers who were involved in the elimination of [Hamas mastermi Saleh Shehadeh. We also turned to a Spanish attorney and requested to initiate a similar investigation of Javier Solana, who was the head of NATO forces during the war in Kosovo, responsible for the accidental bombing of a hospital, leading to the deaths of children. After a short time, it was decided in Spain to end the investigation of the Shehadeh incident and we were informed that our counter-investigation caused the Spanish legal system to understand that there is no place for investigations in Spain of actions carried out in other countries."
6. Temple Activist Asks Court: Protect Me from Police
by GIl Ronen
Yehudah Glick, Head of the Organization for Human Rights on the Temple Mount, filed a motion to the Supreme Court against the Israel Police Thursday, accusing them of contempt of court. He claimed that the police are “seeking revenge” against him because of his public and legal activity aimed at exposing their illegal conduct.
Glick noted that after he filed a motion several months ago against the prevention of his ascent to the Temple Mount, the High Court determined, with police consent, that the police would formulate a document which Glick would sign. That document would commit him to behave according to the rules of behavior on the Temple Mount, while the police would agree in return to allow him into the holy site.
Two weeks passed
Glick said that he signed the document two weeks ago yet the police continue to block his way onto the Temple Mount. He added that he has no doubt that the police are behaving vindictively in this matter.
The Organization for Human Rights on the Temple Mount petitioned the High Court earlier this year in a bid to stop the Israel Police's discrimination against religious Jews at the entrance to the Mount. Police denied the charges but the organization prepared a report showing that the police lied to the court, Glick said. This, and the recent conference in favor of Jewish ascent to the Temple Mount, which he helped organize, caused the police to seek revenge against him, he maintained.
7. Gunman Wounds Two in Los Angeles Synagogue
by Ernie Singer
Los Angeles police say two Jewish men in their 30s were shot in the legs as they were about to enter a synagogue in the North Hollywood section of Los Angeles Thursday morning. A man described as an African-American with a handgun entered the Adat Yeshurun Valley Sephardic synagogue at about 6:20 a.m. Thursday and opened fire. The victims were taken to a hospital in stable condition.
Police are investigating the shooting as a hate crime. The Los Angeles Times says police arrested a man near the synagogue, but the sources say they don't believe he was the gunman.
The newspaper adds that police officials have alerted other synagogues around Los Angeles about the shooting, and police have stepped up patrols at Jewish religious institutions. Detectives are trying to determine if the gunman acted alone or as part of a larger group.
According to the Associated Press, the wounded people had just pulled into the synagogue parking structure for morning services. Investigators said no words were exchanged between the shooter and his victims.
"Grave and shocking"
Minister of Information and Diaspora Yuli Edelstein called the event “grave and shocking.”
The attack “reminds us that anti-Semitism is alive and kicking and has no hesitation in terrorizing the Jewish people's holy of holies. We and the nations of the world must continue to fight anti-Semitism as it has already been proven that what starts with the Jews ends with other nations as well.”
The attack occurred about 16 km. away from a Jewish community center where, ten years ago, white supremacist Buford Furrow shot and wounded five people and later killed a letter carrier. Three children were among the wounded in that attack.
