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1. Syria Told Iran: 'We're Too Weak' to Help You Fight Israel
by Gil Ronen
Tehran asked Syria one year ago to say that it would join Iran and its
proxy militia, Hizbullah, in case of a war with Israel, but Syria
refused. According to JTA, this information is included in a US
diplomatic cable made public by Wikileaks.
The cable from the US embassy in Syria is dated Dec. 22, 2009, and is
one of thousands published by WikiLeaks in recent weeks. It relates to a
visit to Syria by four high-level Iranian officials and the signing of a
defense memorandum of understanding between the two countries.
"Syria reportedly resisted Iranian entreaties to commit to joining Iran
if fighting broke out between Iran and Israel or Hizbullah and Israel,"
said the cable, which was signed by Chuck Hunter, the charge d'affaires
at the U.S. embassy in Syria.
The cable quoted a source whose identity has been redacted:
"XXXXXXXXXXXX said Iranian officials were in Syria 'to round up allies'
in anticipation of an Israeli military strike. 'It (an Israeli strike
on Iran) is not a matter of if, but when,' XXXXXXXXXXXX said, reporting
what Syrian officials had heard from their Iranian counterparts. The
Syrian response was to tell the Iranians not to look to Syria, Hezbollah
or Hamas to 'fight this battle.' 'We told them Iran is strong enough on
its own to develop a nuclear program and to fight Israel,' he said,
adding, 'we’re too weak.' The Iranians know Syria has condemned Israeli
threats and would denounce Israeli military operations against Iran.
'But they were displeased with [Syrian leader Bashar] Assad’s response.
They needed to hear the truth,' XXXXXXXXXXXX said."
JTA said that while the Iranian visit to Syria was touted at the time
as a signal of Syrian support for Iran in its showdown with the West,
the cable “notes signs and reports that the Syrians were not eager to
receive their guests.”
The Syrian government timed visits from French and Turkish dignitaries
to coincide with the period of the Iranians' visit. The presidential
spokeswoman discussed the other visits in a press conference but “barely
touched on the Iranians.”
2. Prominent Samaria Rabbis Refuse Police Summons Without Cause
by Maayana Miskin
Police have summoned three prominent Samaria rabbis to questioning,
without specifying the subject of the interrogation. The rabbis have
refused the summons over what they term “scare tactics,” and say they
will come only if police follow proper procedure.
The rabbis were identified as Rabbi Elyakim Levanon, head of the Elon
Moreh yeshiva, who was recently named the chief rabbi of the Samaria
region, Rabbi David Dudkewitz, rabbi of Yitzhar and the head of the
regional kollel, and Rabbi Yehoshua Schmidt, the head of the Shavei
Shomron yeshiva and a member of the secretariat of the Samaria
Rabbinical Council.
The three were summoned be questioned daily at the police station in
the Russian Compound in Jerusalem. The initial investigation raised
concern, as the summons was for consecutive questioning, did not include
a subject of questioning, and called the rabbis to a station that does
not belong to the Samaria district.
Previously, rabbis have been summoned for questioning over matters
pertaining to Jewish law. Hundreds of rabbis met in Jerusalem in August
to protest police summons
handed out to rabbis over the book The Torah of the King (Torat
HaMelekh). Police questioned rabbis over the book, written by Rabbi
Yitzchak Shapira, which contains interpretations of Jewish law
pertaining to the use of force when dealing with enemies.
Soon after the recent summons was sent out, a junior police office
allegedly called one of the rabbis and threatened him. A secretary in a
second rabbi's office reported receiving a similar call.
Following the calls, the three rabbis spoke and decided not to turn up at the questioning until police give more information.
"We, the undersigned, three settlement rabbis and heads of yeshivot,
have received a summons to an investigation at a Jerusalem police
station. We were surprised to receive the summons, signed by a sergeant,
stating that we are summoned to an 'interrogation' without providing
any details about the matter referred to,” the three said in a letter
written to the commander of police investigations.
“Our door is open to every investigator who comes to our offices or our
homes and describes what he is interested in investigating us about,”
they added.
Gershon Mesika, head of the Samaria Regional Council, raised the matter
with Minister of Internal Security Yitzchak Aharonovich. “I was
surprised to hear of the inappropriate summons to an interrogation and
of the implied threat to three prominent rabbis and heads of yeshivot,”
he said in an urgent letter. “This is a step which looks improper both
in its essence, which looks like an attempt to impose scare tactics and
political threats, and in its disrespectful format.
“Would a junior police officer have allowed himself, in his spare time,
to summon to an investigation a district judge, an archbishop or senior
Khadi in this way? I expect the honorable Minister to order an
investigation of this gravely [wrong] procedure."
MK Aryeh Eldad (Ichud Leumi – National Union) said he would speak to
Aharonovich about the matter as well. "The Minister of Homeland Security
must investigate whether it is standard procedure to summon public
figures to an interrogation, without telling them what the interrogation
is about, whether the State Prosecutor's Office ordered the summons,
and if so, who else was summoned, or is this a local initiative of
police investigators, and also whether this step is agreed to by the
Minister of Homeland Security,” he said.
3. 10 Years Later: Kahane Couple to be Remembered
by Elad Benari
Ten years after their tragic death by Arab terrorists, a memorial will
be held in Jerusalem on Monday for Rabbi Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane and his
wife Talya.
The couple was killed in December of 2000 when Arab terrorists fired at
their vehicle south of the Samarian community of Ofra, as they were
driving from Jerusalem to their home in Kfar Tapuach. Just minutes
before the attack the couple dropped off their 9-year-old son in Beit El
where he attended school. Rabbi Kahane was fatally shot and lost
control of the car which overturned. Talya was critically wounded and
died in the ambulance en route to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. The
couple's five daughters, who were also in the car, were wounded by the
terrorists.
One of the murderers was Khaled Shawish, a senior commander in the
Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades terrorist organization, sponsored by PA
Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction. He was caught more than three years ago by Israeli forces in Ramallah.
Rabbi Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane was born in New York and immigrated to
Israel with his family in 1971. He was the son of Rabbi Meir Kahane, who
founded the Kach movement and who was himself murdered by an Arab
gunman in New York in November 1990. After his father’s death, Binyamin
Ze'ev Kahane headed the “Kahane Chai” (Kahane Lives) movement which he
established to continue his father's legacy.
Binyamin and Talia Kahane were buried in Jerusalem. Their six children
are being raised by Talya's younger sister and her husband in Kfar
Tapuach.
On Monday evening, a special memorial to commemorate the tenth
anniversary of the murders will be held at the Heichal David Hall in
Jerusalem. There will be both a Hebrew and English segment. The Hebrew
part, which will begin at 6:00pm, will feature speakers including Rabbi
Yitzchak Shapira, head of the Od Yosef Chai yeshiva in Yitzhar and author of the book Torat Hamelech, and MK Dr. Michael Ben-Ari (National Union). There will be also a musical production by popular Israeli singer Ariel Zilber.
Yekutiel Ben-Yaakov, a close associate of the late Rabbi Binyamin
Kahane, announced that he will be breaking ten years of silence at the
event in order to "reveal painful facts that have yet to be published
concerning the murder of the former leader of Kahane Chai" - including
who might have been behind it.
The English segment will commence at 9:00pm and will feature Torah
thoughts by Rabbi Kahane’s students as well as a musical production by
Yerachmiel Ziegler and Ron Wiseman, featuring songs they composed in
memory of Rabbi Kahane.
Further information can be obtained and reservations can be made at 050-2393819.
4. Left, Right Clash on Support from European Right
by Gil Ronen
A show of support for Israel's settlements in Judea and Samaria by a delegation of right-wing European politicians has led to a highly charged yet fascinating debate between left-wing and nationalist spokesmen in Israel.
Samaria spokesman David Ha'ivri sees the European Right's support for
settlements as “a revolutionary opportunity” for Israel and is already
planning a follow-up visit to Europe, including joint appearances with
the right-wing European politicians.
In Left-wing Ha'aretz, Adar Primor blasted the Europeans' visit and the
reasoning behind it. In an article titled “The unholy alliance between
Israel's Right and Europe's anti-Semites,” it mocked the Israeli
nationalists who “believe they have tamed this bunch of extremists they
brought over from Europe” but warned that the Europeans “have not
genuinely cast off their spiritual DNA, and in any event, they aren't
looking for anything except for Jewish absolution that will bring them
closer to political power.”
“Filip Dewinter, a member of the delegation, is a leader of the Vlaams
Belang party, a successor to the Flemish National Movement, many of
whose members collaborated with the Nazis,” wrote Primor. “Among its
current members are a number of Holocaust deniers. Dewinter himself
moved about in anti-Semitic circles and has ties to European extremist
and neo-Nazi parties. In 1988, he paid his respects to the tens of
thousands of Nazi soldiers buried in Belgium, and in 2001, he opened a
speech with an oath used by the SS.”
Primor had worse words for Heinz-Christian Strache, leader of Austria's
Freedom Party. “If Jorg Haider was 'Hitler's spiritual grandson,' then
Strache is his extremely illegitimate great-grandson. His grandfather
was in the Waffen-SS, and his father served in the Wehrmacht. As a
university student, Strache belonged to an extremist organization from
which Jews were banned, hung out with neo-Nazis and participated in
paramilitary exercises with them. Commentators in Austria say that
Strache is trying to copy Haider but that he is less sophisticated and
ultimately more extreme than his role model.”
Ha'ivri headed for Europe?
Ha'ivri, one of the settler movement's most prominent representatives
on the world media stage, was unfazed by the leftist riposte. “If these
European leaders – with their ties to anti-Semitic groups and their past
– come around and declare that Israel has a right to exist securely in
all of the areas under our control, and that Europe has a moral
responsibility because of the crimes of their past, then I believe that
we should accept their friendship,” he told Israel National News.
“Their statements are the strongest possible tool in the war against
antisemitism,” Ha'ivri contended. “No skinhead cares what
[Anti-Defamation League Chairman] Abe Foxman has to say, but if Filip
Dewinter and Heinz-Christian Strache make these statements they will
have real impact. For that reason I am considering appearing with them
in their countries for pro-Israel rallies. I think that it is worth the
risk of being defamed by Ha'aretz and the like if we can cause a shift
in the European nationalist movements, moving them away from their
traditional Jew-hatred and bringing them closer to appreciation of
Zionism. I don't think that I am naive to feel that this is a
revolutionary opportunity.”
“I agree that we should be careful,” Ha'ivri added on his Facebook
page. “The Left on the other hand will never let up; they will use
fascist tactics and brand us as fascists. Their historic heroes [Chaim]
Arlozorov and [Rudolf] Kastner actually collaborated with the Nazis
during the Holocaust. But the Left never excused Avraham Stern ('Yair')
for exploring the option of working with the Germans against the British
before the Holocaust began.”
Arlozorov, Kastner and Stern are well known figures from Israel's
pre-statehood and early statehood era. Labor party functionary Arlozorov
was killed by unknown assassins in 1933, Lechi underground leader Stern
was murdered by British authorities in 1942 and prominent Hungarian
Jewish leader Kastner was shot dead by a Holocaust survivor in 1957.
The debate between Israel's left wing and right wing over the subject
of the European Right is as old as Israeli politics. While the Left
tends to despise all things nationalist, including Jewish nationalism,
the Right tends to differentiate between anti-Jewish nationalism and
other forms of nationalism.
However, cooperation with politicians from right-wing European parties
is a subject of controversy within the Israeli nationalist camp as
well. According to Ha'ivri, no Knesset member would meet with the
European parliamentarians when they visited the Knesset. Even MK Michael
Ben-Ari, who hails from the same ideological camp as Ha'ivri, avoided
meeting them.
5. Light Snow Covers Parts of Jerusalem, 8 Inches of Rain in North
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Near-hurricane force winds and heavy rains drenched Israel Sunday and
Monday, dropping 20 centimeters (eight inches) of rain in the far north,
more than two meters (seven feet) of snow on the upper Hermon
Mountains, and light snow in parts of Jerusalem and Gush Etzion.
Video: Snow at the Har Etzion Yeshiva in Gush Etzion
The storm also caused millions of dollars of damage along the
Mediterranean Coast and disrupted power after dozens of trees fell on
power lines.
The snow in Jerusalem and Gush Etzion quickly disappeared after dawn
and was not enough to delay school openings, but the white stuff gave
residents the satisfaction of seeing snow after several months of long
hot summer and rainless November.
The Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) rose by nine centimeters (over three
inches) since the storm began, and the level will continue to rise as
runoff reaches the lake from mountain streams. However, an accumulated
shortage still leaves the Kinneret and Israel’s underground water
resources seriously depleted.
More rain is expected at the end of this week, but weather forecasters
say the system will be much weaker and will move out of the region by
Sunday morning.
Most schools in the northern Golan Heights were closed this morning
(Monday) as snow plows tried to clear the roads of up to 3.5 feet of
snow that the storm system dumped on the area overnight.
In most areas from the northern border to the northern Negev, rain
often fell at the rate of more than an inch an hour. Be’er Sheva
recorded 7.5 centimeters (three inches) of rain overnight.
The savage storm system weakened late Monday morning, and seasonal
temperatures, under partly cloudy skies, are expected to return on
Tuesday, with the possibility occasional light rain in the north.
The longer-term forecast calls for warmer than usual weather on
Wednesday and Thursday followed by a sharp drop on Friday, with rain in
the north and central regions and more snow on the Hermon.
The wicked winds and heavy rain ravaged the entire region, killing
three people in Egypt when a factory collapsed. In Israel, police said a
Russian tourist died after he was blown into the Mediterranean Sea on
Saturday. His body was washed ashore on a metropolitan Tel Aviv beach.
An ancient pier in Caesarea, north of Tel Aviv, was destroyed by the
winds, which reached hurricane force of 75 miles an hour off the coast.
Ben Gurion airport was forced to delay several incoming flights, some of which were canceled or diverted to Cyprus and Egypt.
6. Bill Would Grant Rabbis Immunity Regarding Freedom of Speech
by Gil Ronen
National Union Knesset Member Michael Ben-Ari is proposing a bill that
would give rabbis who work for the state immunity from prosecution
regarding actions and pronouncements that are part of their leadership
duties, or over pronouncements of Jewish law (Halacha). The bill would
grant the rabbis immunity similar to that of Knesset members, as far as
their freedom of speech is concerned.
The bill is a response to the public debate around a decree signed by an estimated 300 rabbis, calling upon citizens not to sell or rent out homes to Arabs.
The bill was originally drafted by former MK Shmuel Halpert of Agudat Yisrael.
The explanatory notes to the bill note that since Israel's laws grant
immunity to “negative elements” like Arab MKs Ahmed Tibi and Hanin
Zouabi – who openly side with Israel's foes – it is only proper to give
immunity to Israel's chief rabbis and to the rabbis of cities, towns and
neighborhoods. Rabbis must not be made to refrain from publishing
Halachic rulings – or to twist the true meaning of Jewish law – because
they fear the Prosecution, the notes explain.
In a separate statement, MK Ben Ari added that “the Left in Israel must
remember that freedom of speech is the heart and soul of democracy and
we must ensure that a rabbi should have no fear of publishing Torah
opinion in the letter and spirit of Halacha.”
7. Storm Causes Damage, Replenishes Water Supplies
by Maayana Miskin
Storms raged in Israel on Sunday, bringing heavy rain to the center and
north of the country and clouds of dust to the south. Seawalls broke
down in Caesaria and Tel Aviv, leading to concerns for the security of
the ancient Caesaria port.
In Be'er Sheva, which was hit by a dust storm blowing up from Egypt,
the level of particles in the air was 10 times the limit deemed
acceptable for pollutants. In Jerusalem air quality was over the limit
by a factor of eight, and in Tel Aviv, by a factor of four.
High winds were reported throughout the country, with wind speed
reaching 100 kilometers per hour in some places. The winds pushed storm
clouds north.
Several people suffered storm-related injuries, including a man in
Netanya who was moderately wounded when a falling tree branch struck his
car.
While the storm caused some damage, it also brought much-needed rain.
In Haifa a total of 130 millimeters fell, approaching the monthly
average of 140mm. Tzfat got 164mm, and Naharia, 143.
Less rain fell in the central coast. In Tel Aviv, only 15mm fell.
However, experts said they expect water levels in streams and other
reserves to continue to rise overnight.
Snow fell in the Hermon. Weather forecasters said snow will continue to fall Monday as well.
The dust is expected to subside by Monday morning, while stormy weather is expected to continue.
8. Ashkenazi Lauds Hesder as Paratroops OC Retracts Sharp Words
by Gil Ronen
IDF Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi, had warm words
Sunday for the 'Hesder' yeshiva soldiers, whose mandatory service in the
army is combined with periods of yeshiva study and therefore is a five
year commitment rather than the regular three year one, although their
active service during this period is less than three years..
"On behalf of an entire army, I want to say 'thank you' – I salute
you,” Ashkenazi said to Hesder soldiers at a cornerstone-laying ceremony
for the permanent home of the Hesder yeshiva at Modi'in, northwest of
Jerusalem.
Ashkenazi told his audience about a student from the Modi'in yeshiva,
Second-Lt. Yo'ad Kaplan, who was wounded in the Cast Lead campaign but
insisted on being allowed to return to active service and to enroll in
the Officers' Course.
"Less than a year ago I had the privilege of decorating Yo'ad with the
Platoon Commander pin, because his commanders at Officers' School
decided that he was worthy of the Excellent Soldier Award in the Ground
Forces Officers' Course,” Ashkenazi said. “For me, this event drove home
in a personal way the power of the Hesder yeshivas.”
Hesder yeshiva soldiers are “a meaningful part of the IDF's command backbone,” Israel's top military commander said.
The Chief of Staff's warm words were considered to be a response to
criticism of the special track by Paratrooper's Brigade commander, Col,
Aharon Haliva several days ago. As an immediate result of the wide
publication of his views, there were calls for his dismissal
and hundreds of hesder students said they would change plans for
volunteering in the corps where he had suggested they should not be
advanced. The commander retracted his words Monday night in a phonecall
to Rabbi Druckman, one of the senior heads of the Hesder Yeshivas, and
praised the soldiers for their bravery and committment,
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