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1. Yaalon: Hizbullah Operating in Gaza
by Maayana Miskin
Hizbullah agents have infiltrated Gaza and are teaching local terrorist
groups more advanced tactics, Minister of Strategic Affairs Moshe
Yaalon warned Thursday. The Lebanon-based terrorist group even has a
special unit that deals with terrorists in Gaza, Judea and Samaria, he
said.
The Hizbullah presence in Gaza began after Israel's withdrawal in the 2005 “Disengagement,” he said.
Yaalon, a former IDF Chief of Staff, said Hizbullah agents could enter
Gaza “like the Iranian rockets are coming to Gaza.” Rockets are smuggled
into Gaza from Egypt via a system of tunnels under the border.
Terrorists can move from Lebanon to Sudan, then to Egypt, and from there to Gaza, he said.
Hamas denied Hizbullah involvement in Gaza. “All the factions in Gaza are Palestinians,” said spokesman Fawzi Barhoum.
Previously Israel has revealed that Hizbullah funds terrorist groups in
Judea, Samaria and Gaza, and helps train terrorists from those regions
who make their way to Syria.
Hamas in Gaza in particular has used Hizbullah's strategy in recent
years as opportunities to infiltrate Israel dwindle. Instead of focusing
on suicide bombings as it once did, the group began putting its energy
into rocket attacks on civilians – Hizbullah's favored form of attack
during the Second Lebanon War.
2. Egypt Braces for Massive Riots after Friday Prayers
by Maayana Miskin
Egypt is bracing for major riots Friday, with demonstrations planned
throughout the country after Friday morning prayers. Three people were
killed this week in the largest demonstrations in Egypt in 25 years.
The major protests follow the recent successful revolt in Tunisia.
Demonstrators are calling on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step
down from power and allow open and fair elections.
The country's four primary Internet providers all cut service shortly
after midnight. Mobile phone signals were disrupted as well, in an
apparent attempt by authorities to make it more difficult for protesters
to organize or to get footage of the demonstrations out of the country.
Organizers have switched to contacting friends abroad on landlines.
Footage and reports from protests earlier in the week were online almost
instantly as demonstrators updated their pages on social networking
sites such as Twitter and Facebook while riots were ongoing.
Muslim Brotherhood Joins the Fray
The latest government crackdown may be a response to the Muslim
Brotherhood's announcement on Thursday that it will join Friday's
demonstration. The Brotherhood is Egypt's largest opposition group, and
its participation could give the counter-government rallies new
strength.
One Brotherhood leader told reporters, “Tomorrow is going to be the day
of the intifada.” He predicted that many of the Brotherhood's younger
members, some as young as 15, would take part in Friday's
demonstrations.
Leading opposition member Mohamed ElBaradei has also thrown his weight behind the protests.
Overthrow Planned in Detail
According to a report in the Hebrew-language daily Maariv, Mubarak has
reason for concern, as those organizing the demonstrations have planned
his overthrow in detail. Documents spelling out how to revolt against
the administration reportedly include satellite images of strategic
sites and major intersections.
The documents, given to activist leaders, also include instructions on
how to seize Mubarak's presidential palace, television and radio
stations, and the seats of local government throughout the country,
according to the report.
%InAd1%
3. PA Terrorists Attack Jewish Hikers, PA Claims Arab Youth Killed
by Maayana Miskin
A group of Jewish hikers came under attack on Friday morning in the
Hevron region in Judea. The approximately 150 hikers was near the city
of Kiryat Arba when Palestinian Authority terrorists opened fire.
The hikers were unhurt. PA sources later reported that one PA youth, a 17-year-old, was killed. A second man was wounded.
The circumstances surrounding the claim of the youth's death remain
unclear. “It's still not clear if the hikers fired back at the source of
the gunfire,” a local security coordinator said.
PA Arabs claimed that the hikers entered the PA town of Khirbat Safa
and began fighting with local Arabs. One Israeli man opened fire,
hitting two PA youths and killing one, they claimed in an uncorroborated
report..
The incident took place just one day after a group of young PA men
attempted to stone a lone Jewish hiker. The hiker, fearing for his life,
opened fire and killed one attacker.
In that case as well PA sources accused Jews of entering a PA village
and opening fire for no reason; however, an initial police investigation
confirms the hiker's version of events.
4. Arab World Protests Extend to Yemen
by Elad Benari
First Tunisia, then Egypt, and now Yemen: The wave of protests that has
hit the Arab world extended to Yemen on Thursday, as tens of thousands
of local residents hit the streets in a series of protests nationwide.
The Yemenis were demanding that President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has
ruled for nearly 32 years, step down, The Associated Press reported. The
protesters reportedly shouted: “No delays, no delays, the time for
departure has come!”
Yemen is the Arab world’s most impoverished nation and has become a
haven for al-Qaeda terrorists. AP reported that Saleh's government is
riddled with corruption and has little control outside the capital. In a
sense Yemen resembles the American situation in Pakistan where the
Americans have extended support for the Yemeni regime despite their
suspicion that he sometimes is playing a double game and conniving on
the side with Islamists. In 2000,
It was from Yemen that the deadly attack on the U.S. destroyer Cole was
launched killing 17 and wounding 39. In 2007, Yemen released one of the
masterminds who had presumably renounced terrorism. Previously some of
the accused participants "escaped" from a Yemeni prison. In May 2001,
UPI reported, "According to several US government sources, one of the
reasons the attack on the Cole succeeded was involvement by the 'highest
levels' of the Yemen government of President Ali Abdallah Saleh,
although Saleh himself personally was not." One should not forget that
Yemen is the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden and there is a large
Yemeni minority in Saudi Arabia.
The current protests were led by opposition members and youth
activists in parts of the capital, Sanaa. It was reported that in the
southern provinces of Dali and Shabwa, riot police used batons to
disperse the crowds.
The protests calmed by early evening on Thursday; however, organizers have promised that there was more to come on Friday.
Meanwhile, the United States said Thursday that it backs the right of Yemenis to hold demonstrations.
“We're aware that there are protests in Sanaa and other Yemeni cities,
and our message is the same,” AFP quoted State Department spokesman
Philip Crowley as saying.
The protests in Yemen come following a wave of protests in Egypt, where on Thursday former IAEA head Mohammed ElBaradei returned from Vienna, as riots and protests in the streets of Cairo entered the third straight day.
ElBaradei, the top opposition candidate to face Mubarak's son Gamal in
upcoming national elections, declared Thursday he was ready to lead the
protests. The long-outlawed fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, the
nation's largest opposition group, also declared its support for the
protests.
%InAd2%
5. Threats on Jewish Sovereignty in Gush Etzion
by Chana Ya'ar
The Palestinian Authority and its foreign supporters conducted an
official planting ceremony this week at Netzer in Gush Etzion.
The question is, why?
According to eyewitness reports from the Women in Green organization,
"scores of Arabs arrived in buses and private vehicles, accompanied by
international activists."
The event took place in Area C, an area of Judea (and Samaria) which
carries the status of being entirely under Israel's control.
IDF military personnel on the scene said the group was coming to "plant
on Palestinian land. What's the problem?" the unnamed IDF officials
asked Women in Green representatives.
Netzer is located among the hills of Judea between the Jewish towns of
Alon Shvut and Elazar, in the Gush Eztion region. It is a Jewish area.
Although the IDF did not allow Jews to enter the area during the event, by noon soldiers dispersed the crowd.
Women in Green activists meanwhile announced the group will continue
with plantings at Netzer, starting this Friday, beginning at 9:00 a.m.
The public is invited. For more information, contact Yehudit Katzover at
050-716-1818.
6. It’s Official: Emanuel Can Run for Mayor of Chicago
by Elad Benari
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel can run for mayor of Chicago.
“Given the record before us, it is simply not possible to find clearly
erroneous the (Chicago Board of Elections') determination that the
objectors failed to prove that the candidate had abandoned his Chicago
residence. We therefore reverse the decision of the appellate court and
affirm the decision of the circuit court, which confirmed the Board's
decision,” the court’s ruling stated.
Some residents of Chicago challenged Emanuel's candidacy and claimed
that his stay in Washington as President Barack Obama's chief of staff
disqualified him from running for mayor under residency rules. Emanuel,
on the other hand, argued he always intended to return to Chicago after
his U.S. service was over. He had rented out his Chicago house while in
Washington and had even left personal belongings in a storage space in
the house.
On Monday, a lower court in Illinois had disqualified Emanuel,
ruling that he was not a resident of Chicago. The Supreme Court,
however, agreed in overturning that decision that the appellate court's
basis for declaring Emanuel ineligible was “without any foundation in
Illinois law.”
Thursday’s decision came following a preliminary ruling on Tuesday
by the Supreme Court that Emanuel was eligible to run and that ballots
with his name on it could be printed pending the Court’s final ruling on
the matter.
Emanuel was not immediately available for comment, but The Chicago
Tribune reported that a cheer went up in his headquarters when the
court’s ruling was announced.
A recent poll conducted by The Tribune found that Emanuel had the
support of 44 percent of Chicago voters, compared with 21 percent for
his closest opponent, former U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun.
The election will take place on February 22.
%InAd3%
7. ElBaradei Returns to Egypt, Hopes for Mubarak Ouster
by Chana Ya'ar
Former IAEA head Mohammed ElBaradei returned to Egypt Thursday from
Vienna, where he has lived for the past few years, fueling speculation
that President Hosni Mubarak's reign may be at an end.
Riots and protests in the streets of Cairo entered the third straight
day, and social networking sites were jammed with anticipation of
massive rallies planned for Friday.
Millions gather at the country's mosques each week on that day, the
Islamic Sabbath, providing protest organizers with the fuel needed for a
massive demonstration calling for Mubarak's ouster.
The 82-year-old president, who is ailing, has not been seen since the
riots erupted on Tuesday, with tens of thousands marching in cities
across Egypt.
Media reports said that Mubarak's wife Suzanne, his son Gamal,
considered the likely successor to his father as president, and Gamal's
daughter fled to London in a private jet with 97 suitcases.
ElBaradei, a Nobel peace laureate and the top opposition candidate to
face Mubarak's son Gamal in upcoming national elections, declared
Thursday he was ready to lead the protests. The long-outlawed
fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, the nation's largest opposition
group, also declared its support for the protests.
Mubarak's National Democratic party, headed by Safwat El-Sherif,
meanwhile, said at a news conference that the government would not enter
a dialogue with anarchy.
"We are confident of our ability to listen," said El-Sherif, according
to the Associated Press. "The NDP is ready for a dialogue with the
public, youth and legal parties. but democracy has its rules and
process. The minority does not force its will on the majority."
However, reports of extreme brutality by government forces trying to
contain the riots are making the rounds of the social networking sites.
The reports resemble those seen during the Iranian protests that
followed the so-called "re-election" of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
more than a year ago, expanding the groundswell of grassroots opposition
to any continuation of the status quo.
A protester who survived one such beating Wednesday near Tahrir Square, Amr Salama, told his story in an article translated into English and posted on the Facebook social networking site.
Explaining that his goal was a "better Egypt where police protects the
people rather than doing what was done to me and many other protesters
in every police department and street... a better Egypt where anyone who
has a right can go to a police department to demand it without any fear
of being ignored"
Salama vowed to continue his protests. He further wrote that he
realized the soldiers who beat him "had no idea why they were doing it,"
adding that the soldiers appeared to have sympathy for him, and "were
probably more afraid" than he was.
"I most importantly realized that there is hope, hope to see Egypt not
only as liberated as Tunis but also in a place better than I could ever
imagine," he wrote. "A place I would want to have kids so they would
live a good life full of dignity and make it even better."
8. Rabbi Yosef vs. Hareidi Ashkenazi Rabbis on IDF Conversions
by Maayana Miskin
Hareidi Ashkenazic Rabbinic leaders from the Lithuanian community and
the Chabad-Hassidic community voiced opposition to the conversions to
Judaism conducted in the IDF. Their statement of disapproval followed a
ruling by Sephardi religious leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef who agreed
with Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar's position that the conversions were valid
and with support for the IDF rabbis from religious Zionist rabbinic
figures.
Several months ago, Ashkenazi hareidi rabbis also caused a major uproar
by declaring some of the conversions by religious Zionist courts, then
under the supervision of the venerable Rabbi Chaim Druckman, head of
the Ohr Etzion Hesder Yeshiva, invalid retroactively.
The hareidi rabbis who oppose IDF conversions
said that they believe that in the IDF converts are allowed to proceed
with their plans to convert even if they do not intend to attempt
to keep a halakhic lifestyle.
They wrote: “Everyone knows that these people did not plan to keep any
of the major elements of religious observance, not the Sabbath, not
kashrut [religious dietary laws – ed.], and not family purity". The
letter was signed by several leading hareidi-religious rabbis, among
them Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, and Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky. Their
source for this generalization was not given.
Another letter, signed by a group of Chabad rabbis, warned that
failing to hold would-be converts to a standard that includes observance
of Jewish law harms both the converts and the Jewish people.
Substandard conversions “pose a threat to the existence of the Jewish
people, and show ingratitude toward those who seek to convert, by
deceiving them in the name of welcoming them, and making their lives
miserable by giving them a conversion certificate that has no basis in
Jewish law.”
The Chabad rabbis criticized the IDF's acclaimed Nativ pre-conversion
program, claiming that teachers in the program had mixed Torah messages
with those contradictory to Torah. “And the main thing: even the rabbis
who performed the conversions themselves left out, downplayed, or
belittled the essence of conversion, that is, the acceptance of the
mitzvot [commandments] at the time of conversion and the intent to keep
them for the rest of one's life!”
The Rabbi of Kfar Chabad, Rabbi Mordechai Shmuel Ashkenazi, made his
opposition to the Chabad rabbi's letter public, stating that the
Lubavitcher Rebbe himself had said that conversions should be left to
the Chief Rabbinate, which supports the IDF conversions.
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a renowned Torah scholar and the spiritual leader of Shas, stated that the IDF conversions are valid.
President Shimon Peres praised Rabbi Yosef this week for his stance on the issue. His ruling “strengthens and unifies the Jewish people,” Peres said.
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