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1. Foreign Minister: Freeze to End, Natural Growth to Continue
by Hillel Fendel
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has said that the building freeze must end, that he would be willing to give up his home in Judea, that he would quit the coalition if the freeze continues, and that construction should continue only in certain areas – all in the past few days.
If Lieberman’s party quits the government, it is assumed that the more left-wing Kadima party would take its place.
With seemingly conflicting reports on the stance of the head of the Israel Our Home party making the rounds, Lieberman granted an interview to Voice of Israel Radio this morning (Wednesday) that supposedly clears up the situation.
"PA is Not Serious About Peace"
Lieberman told Voice of Israel’s Yaron Dekel this morning: “First of all, the Palestinians are clearly not coming to these talks with good will. They are coming because they were forced to come, but they keep on threatening to leave… There have been many ceremonies over the past years, and this will be another one… Everyone should lower their expectations. We’ve been working on this for 17 years since Oslo; there’s no magic solution that will suddenly grant us an agreement in one year, as the Americans say.”
Lieberman reiterated that the “Cabinet decision that the freeze will last only ten months is clear and unambiguous, and there is no reason for us to perpetuate the freeze after that time. This applies to Jerusalem as well: There are 1,000 housing units in Ramot, 600 in Gilo, Har Homa and elsewhere – does someone really expect us to freeze 1,600 units that have already passed all the stages of the approval process?”
Dekel asked: “And what should be the answer if Obama comes to Netanyahu and says, ‘This time, the talks are really serious, and I ask you, as a gesture of good will, to freeze construction in Judea and Samaria as much as possible.’ What should be his answer?
Lieberman: “The answer is very clear: We have [already] made the gesture. For ten months we have been waiting for the Palestinians to please come to the negotiations. They come at the last month - that’s their problem. On the contrary: We expect the Palestinian side to stop the incitement, stop naming city squares after terrorists, stop inciting against Israel in all sorts of international forums, with boycotts, court cases in the Hague, and not recognizing us as a Jewish state, etc… I think we have made enough gestures and concessions, and have received nothing in return… It can’t be that we always have to pay for the pleasure of sitting at a table with the Palestinians; let them pay as well.”
Lieberman was asked about the likelihood that even if the government decides to resume building, Defense Minister Ehud Barak – as head of the IDF, which effectively controls Judea and Samaria in place of the State of Israel – will not sign the required papers. Lieberman said that Barak’s signature is not required for construction in Jerusalem, nor for some 2,000 units that have already been approved in Judea and Samaria. Pressured to respond to the question on a larger scale, he said weakly, “From what I have heard from Barak, he too accepts the formula that we can build…” He also added that he does not foresee any coalition crisis on the horizon.
Lieberman was asked if he agrees with the idea espoused by some government ministers that building will resume only in settlement blocs, but not in the rest of Judea and Samaria. To this, Lieberman said that “natural growth” must be allowed throughout Judea and Samaria.
Eldad Responds
MK Aryeh Eldad, of the rival National Union party – a member of the Knesset opposition to the government – responded sharply to these remarks: “Lieberman has declared dozens of times that the freeze will come to an end in September. This shows once again that his promise is not a promise, and that he is simply a smooth politician with no ideology. One who announces that there should be only ‘natural growth’ outside the settlement blocs means that he really has no intention of remaining in [those parts of] Judea and Samaria. He is thus imposing restrictions, contrary to the government’s clear promises, upon the Jews living in areas that he feels must be given over to Abu Mazen or Hamas.”
Asked about his pledge to leave his Gush Etzion home in Tekoa for the sake of peace, Lieberman clarified, “I have said countless times that if there was real peace, the end of the conflict, no more Palestinian demands, etc. – for such a thing, I would be willing to sacrifice my home, yes.”
2. Yesha Challenges Netanyahu to Sign Pledge to Renew Building
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Leaders of Judea and Samaria have challenged Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to fulfill his promise publically and declare the renewal of building on September 26, when the 10-month freeze ends, before he leaves next week for ”direct talks” with the Palestinian Authority,.
“Evading the approval of tenders on September 26 is equivalent to continuing the building freeze. This is the day of judgment,” they stated.
In a letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu, with copies to Cabinet ministers and Knesset Members, the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria (Yesha) reminded the Prime Minister of his public comment after the building freeze began, when he said, “Even if Abu Mazen (PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas) comes in another eight months and tells me ‘peace now,” we will begin to build as we did before” the freeze.
The Yesha leaders want a similar public declaration that building will renew and noted that simply not extending the freeze officially is not a solution to the problem of lack of public and private facilities for Jews in Judea and Samaria.
They wrote, “There should be no doubt. The main significance of ending the freeze and returning to building “as before” is not fulfilled simply by not renewing the freeze but rather by immediate approval of tenders for building projects that already have passed the bureaucratic process and are waiting only for the political signature of the Defense Minister [Ehud Barak]. These tenders must be signed and approved on September 26 [when the freeze expires] in order to enable a return to normal life as you promised.
The letter included a New Year’s greeting and incorporated the needed signature for approving construction with the traditional Rosh HaShanah blessing that one “be inscribed” for a good year.
“Happy New Year. May you be inscribed for a good year, and it is our opinion that the most important ’inscription’ for the future of the nation will be the “good inscription [play on the word for signature in Hebrew which is the same as inscription] for tenders for building and continuing development of life in Judea and Samaria,” the letter concluded.
3. Iran Tests New Missile; Says Lebanon Requests Military Aid
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Iran has successfully test-fired a new version of the domestically-built Fateh missile, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi told the country’s semi-official PRESS TV.
The 3.5 ton missile is the latest in new weapons the Islamic Republic has shown off in the past week, following the launching of an unmanned bomber and the announcement by Iran that it will begin to produce two missile-launching boats.
The range of the missile is estimated at around 125 miles, far out of range of Israel.
Iran also announced that Lebanese President Michel Sleiman has officially asked the Islamic Republic to help equip the Lebanese Army.
The request reportedly came at the same time that Hizbullah supreme leader Hassan Nasrallah urged Lebanon to file a request in response to moves by the U.S. Congress to halt $100 million in military aid to Beirut. Voices were raised in the United States following the recent attack by a Lebanese soldier on an IDF position in Israeli territory, killing an Israeli officer and wounding one other.
Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said on Saturday that Iran's "dynamic defense industry is capable of exporting arms to over 50 countries in the world."
4. 'Obama Backlash: Economics Overshadows Israel'
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
The plunge in Jewish support for U.S. President Barack Obama can be traced to plenty of reasons besides the president’s pro-Arab policies, according to American Thinker news editor Ed Lasky. He wrote that the president’s economic policies have a disproportionate and negative effect on American Jews.
The alarm bells went off in Democratic circles last week when the Pew Research Center reported that the number of Jews supporting Republican candidates or independents has jumped 50 percent since President Obama was elected nearly three years ago.
A poll conducted last April by McLaughlin & Associates revealed that while 78 percent of American Jews voted for Barack Obama, only 42 percent would consider voting for him again.
Claims that Jews are pro-Israel, with the insinuation that they profess dual loyalty, were championed last Saturday in an op-ed by New York Times columnist Charles Blow.
He wrote that the sinking popularity of President Obama among American Jews “is no doubt a reaction, at least in part, to the Obama administration having taken a hard rhetorical stance with Israel, while taking ‘special time and care on our relationship with the Muslim world,’ as Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, put it in June. If that sounds like courtship, it is.”
Lasky pointed out that American Jews, for whom many the term “pro-Israel" does not contradict the establishment of a new Arab country headed by the Palestinian Authority, have plenty of domestic reasons to conclude "it’s time for a change” in the American administration. 
“ObamaCare,” economic policies aimed against small businessmen, and proposed higher taxes on high-income owners and capital gains will hit Jews much harder than other sectors in American society, Lasky wrote.
He noted that it was anti-Semitism in the United States a century ago that was a major force for Jews to start up small businesses, banks, newspapers and other professional fields generally barred from Jews 100 years ago.
Now, Jews will suffer for their success. Lasky remarked, “They are in for a load of trouble in the days ahead. More onerous regulations, such as having to file many more 1099s so the IRS can make sure they get every nickel possible from Americans, and a pro-union agenda that rewards unionized firms, are just the tip of the iceberg… Small business owners are the unsung heroes in America; they generate most of the private-sector jobs. They also lead generally very stressful lives -- trying to deal with the challenges of competition, labor relations, customer service [and] risks of bankruptcy. Barack Obama and the Democrats have just loaded onto their shoulders many more problems."
Lasky also said that anti-Semitism forced Jews “to develop talents that shield them from bosses who don't like Jews. There is also a cultural reason: Jews revere education. Many become doctors and lawyers. But this dynamic has had a toxic side-effect: it has generated anti-Semitism and slurs in the past. In any case, Jews are being surpassed by Asian-Americans, including Indian-Americans, so maybe that will recede as a problem.
“But what won't recede is the wave of higher tax rates targeting higher-income Americans,” as a high percentage of Jews fall into that category. Quoting the New York Post’s David Drucker, the American Thinker editor continued, “High-income people will lose many of their tax cuts under the Democrats' plan… Their tax rate on qualified dividends and long-term capital gains will go from 15 percent to 20 percent, and the top two wage tax rates will return to 36 percent and 39.6 percent from their current levels of 33 percent and 35 percent.”
Lasky also pointed out that ObamaCare will negatively affect Jews more than others for two reasons: They are the oldest ethnic group in America and also include a disproportionately high percentage of American doctors.
“Older people have often relied on the health of the stock market to cushion their retirement years,” he wrote. “That cushion has deflated this year under the multiple blows administered by Barack Obama and the Democrats…. The market started to tank because investors saw a bleak future for free enterprise in the Age of Obama… ObamaCare will suppress the freedom of doctors, load them up with additional paperwork and patients, and will eventually hit their bottom line.”
Taking on the issue of dual loyalty, Lasky pointed out that the same charge is not made against Latino Congressmen, such as Luis Gutierrez, who make immigration reform a top priority,” Lasky added.
“Jews are as American as everyone else,” concluded. “When they see their lives being harmed, their interests being ignored, and their dreams being dashed to death by Democrats, they respond just as other Americans do. They express their concerns and seek to protect their future in that most American of places: the voting booth.”
5. Irish Artists Vow to Boycott Israel
by Chana Ya'ar
A group of more than 150 Irish artists have pledged to boycott Israel as part of a solidarity campaign coordinated with the Palestinian Authority.
The petition recently signed by the artists in Dublin commits the signatories to boycott the Jewish State until “it respects international law,” and reads as follows:
“In response to the call from Palestinian civil society for a cultural boycott of Israel, we pledge not to avail of any invitation to perform or exhibit in Israel, nor to accept any funding from any institution linked to the government of Israel, until such time as Israel complies with international law and universal principles of human rights.”
The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC), which organized the initiative, claimed the brother of musician Eoin Dillon – one of the signatories to the boycott -- was “kidnapped by Israeli commandos on May 31 this year when he was first mate on board the Challenger 1, which was part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla.”
The six-vessel flotilla in question was sent to break Israel’s maritime blockade of Gaza, in violation of the country’s sovereign international rights. Each vessel was boarded on May 31 by Israeli Navy commandos after ignoring repeated requests to change course and head to the Ashdod port. The commandos took control of the boats and directed them to the port, where the activists were ordered to disembark and were then each deported to their countries of origin.
On one of the vessels, the Turkish-sponsored Mavi Marmara, the IDF commandos were ambushed by armed terrorists linked to the Turkish IHH organization. In the ensuing clashes, nine IHH fighters were killed and several IDF soldiers were seriously wounded.
Speaking to the Irish Times daily newspaper, composer Raymond Deane, founder of the organization, quoted a 2005 statement from Israel’s Foreign Ministry saying culture was considered a propaganda tool. Deane contended that artists who perform in Israel are backing the Jerusalem government “whether they like it or not.”
A number of other musicians offered similar views, expressing their hope the boycott would encourage young Israelis to “speak out.” Irish singer Damien Dempsey claimed that in Israel, the military is running the show, and needs the world to stand up to it.
Not the First Time
This is not the first time that Irish artists have launched a cultural boycott of Israel on the altar of “Palestinian rights.”
In 2007, members of the Irish state-sponsored academy of creative artists, Aosdana, attempted to launch a similar boycott of Israeli cultural events and institutions.
The resolution to “back the call from Palestinian filmmakers, artists and cultural workers to end all cooperation with Israeli state-sponsored cultural events and institutions, had also been proposed by Deane. The motion, seconded by playwright Margaretta D’Arcy, was defeated by the organization’s general assembly.
However, a follow-up sponsored by D’Arcy and seconded by Deane passed, calling on Irish artists and institutions to “reflect deeply” before working with Israeli cultural institutions.
Writing for The Evening Herald at the time, Irish journalist Ian O’Doherty pointed out in response, “In fairness to Aosdana, the call for a boycott seems to have been led by a hardcore group… The fact that Israel is the least segregated society in the region, and that Israeli Arabs enjoy more freedom than their counterparts in other, Arab-run, countries, is something that tends to be conveniently forgotten.”
IPSC activists were also busy with similar pursuits a year later, during Israel’s war against the Hamas terrorist rulers of Gaza in the winter of 2008-2009, Operation Cast Lead. For days, the group demonstrated at the U.S. and Israeli embassies in Dublin against the “ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza.” Ignored were the thousands of deadly mortar and rocket attacks fired almost daily by Gaza terrorists since 2000 at Jewish communities in southern Israel.
A spokesman for the Israeli embassy in Dublin responded last week to the current boycott effort with a statement, calling the campaign “regrettable and ill-advised.” The embassy noted, “Vilifying and ostracizing Israel and promoting a lose-lose program of boycotts is not the way to secure legitimate Palestinian rights.”
6. Jews of all Generations Return to the Jewish Quarter
by Eli Stutz
Hundreds of Jewish residents of the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem came together yesterday for a multi-generational meeting, to celebrate 40 years since the renewal of Jewish settlement in the Jewish Quarter. Arutz Sheva spoke with several participants, who told about how life there has changed over the years.
The Jewish Quarter was liberated by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. Over the course of three years, the IDF and the Jerusalem Municipality worked hard to clear the rubble and ruins, and some families arrived individually. In 1970, the Jewish community reached a critical mass and was fully launched. Since that time, the community in the Jewish Quarter has gone through much growth and change, and it now comprises over 500 hundred families.
The meeting was spearheaded by long-time resident Amnon Shiloni who felt that it was important to recognize the unique aspects of the founders and the foundation of the original Jewish Quarter community, who came to live amidst rubble and ruin and gradually built it up to the fully built neighborhood which it is today.
Barnea Levi Selavan, a resident of the Jewish Quarter and host of the Land Minds show on Israel National Radio attended the event. He said, "I was very moved when Rabbi Yishayahu Hadari said, 'our return to this very hilltop coincides with its destruction on the eighth day of Elul 1942 years ago.' To be a part of this community is an awesome privilege."
Yehoram Goan, the well-known Israeli singer and former Jerusalem councilman, told the gathering that his grandfather had lived a very holy life in the Jewish Quarter and that for him to return to this neighborhood was not just another performance.
A clip was shown of Yehoram Goan himself singing the classic song, 'Me'al Pisgat Har Hatzofim' (From the View of Mt. Scopus) in front of Rabbi Getz, the first rabbi of the Western Wall, with Rabbi Getz crying in his appreciation of returning to Jerusalem. When Yehoram Gaon watched the clip, he broke down in tears as well.
Among the assembled, were Jewish residents and fighters from the 1948 War of Independence, who expressed their appreciation at being able to live again in the streets of their childhood.
7. Report: Egypt to Buy Back Gas from Israel
by Elad Benari
In the wake of reports of a shortage of natural gas in Egypt, a report in the Egyptian daily Al Shaab said that the Egyptian government is seeking to buy back 1.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas that was sold to Israel as part of a deal signed by Egyptian Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Sameh Fahmy and Israeli Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben Eliezer in July 2005, under US pressure. The price of the gas sold to Israel was significantly lower than the market price. One-third of Israel’s natural gas is in fact provided by Egypt under this deal.
The newspaper quoted anonymous sources who said that internal discussions in Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources determined that at least half the natural gas sold to Israel under the deal would have to be repurchased at $14 billion, even though it was sold for $2 billion.
In recent weeks, a heat wave that struck the region has caused frequent power outages and water systems to be shut down in Egypt. According to some officials, these were caused by insufficient natural gas at many power plants. Officials have called on Egyptians to conserve power and refrain from displaying the festive lights customarily used during the Ramadan holiday this year.
Demonstrations have been taking place against the Egyptian government over the frequent power outages. "We are protesting the failed government policy, and the deterioration of the economic situation," said Osama Hussein, spokesman for "the Free Popular Front" in a conversation with The Media Line. "We demand the government stop exporting gas to Israel, and cut all ties with it."
According to a report in the Egyptian independent daily Al-Masri Al-Yom, 200 letters of complaint were received by the newspaper from citizens of 16 different Egyptian provinces. Some of the complaints claimed that power cuts occurred in homes as the daily fast of Ramadan came to an end, while others complained that lowered power currents damaged their electrical appliances.
Demonstrators are demanding immediate imports of natural gas, yet at the same time, Egyptians are infuriated by the report that Egypt would have to pay Israel more money to repurchase goods that originated in Egypt.
In January, officials in Egypt's Petroleum Ministry suggested importing natural gas from Iraq for use in its gas liquefaction facility in Damietta, which would be used to turn the Iraqi natural gas into liquid gas for resale. That suggestion also raised controversy, as opponents of gas exports to Israel suggested that the government cancel the sales rather than importing. Israel's Ministry of Finance has so far declined to comment on the issue. However, large deposits of natural gas found off Israel's shores recently may make purchasing unnecessary in the future.
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