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1. U.S. Jews to Biden: Leave Jerusalem Alone
by Maayana Miskin
The veteran United States-based Young Israel movement condemned U.S. Vice President Biden on Thursday, telling Biden to leave Jerusalem alone. The American vice president had condemned Israel's decision to allow Jews to build in historic Jerusalem, in an area that has been annexed by Israel but is claimed by the Palestinian Authority.
"We strongly 'condemn' Vice President Biden's statements and respectfully urge him to rescind his incendiary remarks about Jerusalem,” said Young Israel President Shlomo Mostofsky.
"The reality is that there is no such entity as 'East Jerusalem,' there is only Jerusalem, which is the united capital of Israel,” Mostofsky continued. “Only Israel can make determinations regarding Jerusalem's future expansion and development.”
Mostofsky compared the situation to construction of homes in the American capital. “It would be anathema for a Vice President to support a statute that banned any American from relocated to, or from building a home in, Washington D.C. Or any American community because the neighbors objected to their presence based solely on religion, ethnicity or origin,” he said. By expecting Jews to be banned from certain Jerusalem neighborhoods simply because they are Jewish, Biden 'ignored our American values of equality and justice,” he charged.
Biden made the mistake of giving the Palestinian Authority a false impression, said Mostofsky. Biden led the PA to believe that America would pressure Israel into negotiating the status of Jerusalem, he said, when in reality, Israelis overwhelmingly oppose putting Jerusalem on the table in talks with the PA.
"Instead of pandering to terrorists, the Vice President should have told the PA to amend its charter, stop preaching hatred in their schools and mosques, and immediately halt all plans for terrorist attacks,” Mostofsky suggested.
2. Hurva to Reopen After 62 Years – Without Netanyahu
by Maayana Miskin
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu does not plan to attend the historic reopening of the Hurva synagogue in Jerusalem's Old City on Monday. A senior diplomat told Arutz Sheva's Hebrew news service that the PM will absent himself in order to avoid conflict with the United States or the Palestinian Authority.
The prime minister will address crowds at the Hurva ceremony by video instead. The diplomat who spoke to Arutz Sheva would not divulge the exact content of Netanyahu's address, but hinted, “we're not sure that the nationalists are going to like what he intends to say.”An official statement from the Prime Minister's Office confirmed that Netanyahu would not attend the Old City ceremony, but said his absence would be due only to time constraints. “The Prime Minister has a very full schedule these days,” the statement said.
Netanyahu was criticized by U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden this week for allowing Israeli Jews to build homes in the Jewish neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo in Jerusalem, an area that has never had Arab residents and is located between the densely populated Jewish neighborhoods of Sanhedria and Ramot. . The PA harshly criticized Netanyahu as well, accusing him of torpedoing negotiations by allowing Jews to move into parts of the capital that the PA lays claim to.
Netanyahu apologized to Biden for the timing of the Ramat Shlomo building plans. Knesset Speaker Ruby Rivlin (Likud) and other MK's of Netanyahu's Likud criticized Biden's reaction, some having harsh words for Netanyahu's apology as well.
The PA considers Jerusalem's Old City to be “occupied territory” as well. While the area is historically Jewish, it was occupied by Jordan from 1948 to 1967, and the PA considers it Arab land. Israeli attempts to restore historic Jewish sites in the Old City, such as the Kotel tunnels during Netanyahu's first term of office, have been met with fierce Arab opposition and violent rioting.
The Hurva synagogue served as Jerusalem's main Ashkenazi synagogue for generations, until it was destroyed by the Jordanian army during the 1948 War of Independence. It will be reopened on Monday. Several senior public figures have agreed to attend the event, among them Knesset speaker Reuven Rivlin, Housing Minister Ariel Attias, and Jewish Agency head Natan Sharansky. Click here for INN's exclusive preview filim of the restored synagogue.
3. Al-Jazeera Airs Footage of Israeli Captives
by Maayana Miskin
The pan-Arab news network Al-Jazeera broadcast archive images of captive IDF soldiers from the past on Thursday night as Hamas continued to pressure Israel to release terrorists in exchange for captive soldier Gilad Shalit. The network aired footage of Nissim Shalem and Yossef Groff.
Shalem and Groff were taken captive in Lebanon in 1982. They and fellow captive soldier Hezi Shai were returned to Israel in 1985 in exchange for the release of 1,150 terrorists. One of the freed terrorists, Ahmed Yassin, went on to found Hamas.
The footage aired on Al-Jazeera was recorded in 1983. In the video, the two soldiers accused Israel of murdering innocent Arabs in Sabra and Shatila, and compared IDF soldiers to nazis.
Shalem later told Israeli reporters that his terrorist captors had forced him to make the statements. He told his captors that the IDF was not responsible for the massacre, but “you couldn't tell them the truth,” he explained.
Al-Jazeera used the tapes as part of a three-part series it is airing on the exchange of Israeli captives for imprisoned terrorists.
In 2006, Hamas kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit near Gaza. The terror group claims Shalit is alive and well, although it has refused to allow international observers to make contact with the young captive. Only one short video clip of Shaliit was released by Hamas since his capture.
Hamas leaders are demanding the release of over 1,000 terrorists in exchange for Shalit's freedom.
4. Surprise Closure on Judea, Samaria; Airstrike in Gaza
by Maayana Miskin
Defense Minister Ehud Barak has ordered a one-day closure on Palestinian Authority-controlled areas in Judea and Samaria. The order came as a surprise, but was explained as due to advance warning of planned rioting in Jerusalem. It also raised suspicions that defense officials have reason to believe terrorists are planning an imminent attack.
Defense officials said the decision was made following “an assessment of the situation.” On Friday,only Arabs with Israeli ID cards were allowed on the Temple Mount for prayers. The closure will end on Saturday night.
During closures, PA Arabs are not allowed to enter pre-1967 Israel or Israeli areas in Judea and Samaria. Exceptions are made in cases of medical emergency which require treatment in an Israeli hospital, and in humanitarian cases.
Approximately 1,700 PA Arabs who work as teachers or religious officials will be allowed to enter Jerusalem during the closure. In addition, merchandise will continue to pass between Israeli and PA areas as usual.
Strike Takes Out Gaza Weapons Plant
The Air Force carried out two strikes in southern Gaza early on Friday morning. One strike demolished a weapons smuggling tunnel along the Gaza-Egypt border, while the second took out a weapons factory.
An IDF spokesman said the strikes were a response to the terrorist rocket attack on Kibbutz Nirim the day before.
5. MK Orlev: Govt. is Strangling Beit El
by Maayana Miskin
MK Zevulun Orlev criticized government policy as he toured the town of Beit El in the Binyamin region on Thursday. “It's hard to accept this absurd situation in which the government strangles Beit El, prevents the town from expanding, while right next door there are abandoned IDF camps that could provide land for future growth,” he said.
Orlev, of the Jewish Home party (Habayit Hayehudi), said he would bring up the issue while meeting with the Foreign Affairs and Defense committee.
Local politicians took Orlev to see Beit El's schools. The MK expressed shock at the severe lack of classroom space. “I've been familiar with the school system for many years, and I have never seen such a serious shortage of classrooms,” he said.
"I'm horrified by the thought that next year, there may not be space for all of the students,” he added.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu explicitly excluded schools from the building freeze in Judea and Samaria, Orlev stated. He told those present that he would seek building permits to allow Beit El schools to build and expand in order to make room for the growing population of young students.
Despite the lack of space, Orlev praised the overall quality of the schools he visited.
6. Students to Tour Historic Jerusalem
by Maayana Miskin
Education Minister Gidon Saar obtained permission this week for students to visit sites in historic Jerusalem. Several of the sites were previously off-limits due to safety concerns, but the relevant security officials have given Saar the go-ahead.
Among the sites that students will now be able to visit are Har HaZeitim (Mount of Olives), Emek HaMelachim (Kings' Valley), and the walls of the Old City.
The addition of several new historic sites to the list of areas students may visit will make it easier for schools to fulfill Saar's directive involving school trips to Jerusalem. Saar has determined that every student in the public schools should visit Jerusalem at least three times during his or her school career.
Saar has created several initiatives aimed at strengthening students' ties to Jewish history and Jewish values. One such recent program involves weekly classes on Jewish ethics for eighth-grade students, based on the Talmudic text from the Tractate of Nezikin, Ethics of the Fathers (Pirkei Avot). This work is traditionally read on the Sabbaths from Passover through the summer, one chapter each Sabbath afternoon.
Saar has also added Judaism to the curriculum taught to public school students in grades 4-9, has required schools to note the Hebrew year, and has included traditional songs from Middle eastern Jewry of the middle ages to the music curriculum.
7. Amit Travolsi - Musician and Soon-to-be IDF Combat Soldier
by Yoni Kempinski
Arutz Sheva TV joined musician and singer Amit Travolsi at a unique, very exclusively Israeli, event – a cross between a recruitment party and a celebration in honor of his new album. Amit has put out his second album "The Way of Roots" and he will be joining a combat unit in the IDF very soon.
In the following video, Amit explains the connection he feels between his accomplishments in the musical-creative field and the next stage of his life, as a soldier in the IDF: "It's all strongly connected – there were thoughts about having four years of non-stop performances come to an end…. But in an interview I was asked, 'Why don't you simply join a military band?' I told them, 'No, I'll go to a combat unit, take a guitar out to the field and bring happiness to all the guys with all the different styles of music.'"
