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| Tuesday, May 21 '13, Sivan 12, 5773 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1. 'Ariel-Amar Deal' is En Route to Knesset
by Gil Ronen 
A deal between Shas and Bayit Yehudi for the appointment of the Ashkenazi and Sephardic chief rabbis has turned into a Knesset bill, submitted by MK Zevulun Kalfa (Bayit Yehudi). The bill removes the 70-year age limit for appointment of chief rabbis, making it possible to appoint Rabbi Yaakov Ariel. The deal would see Rabbi Shlomo Amar continue in his current position as Sephardic chief rabbi, and Rabbi Ariel appointed as Ashkenazi rabbi, replacing Rabbi Yonah Metzger. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, spiritual leader of Shas, has reportedly agreed to the deal. Opposing streams within Bayit Yehudi appear to be tugging in opposite directions as regards the appointment of the next chief rabbis. Certain MKs, like MK Kalfa, support the Ariel-Amar deal, while others would like to see the more liberal Rabbi David Stav appointed. Supporters of Rabbi Stav want to pass a law that would enlarge the body that selects chief rabbis, from about 150 people to 200 people. Most of the new members will be women and others will be public officials. The law was proposed by MK Elazar Stern, from Tzipi Livni's movement, and is sometimes referred to as the Stern Law. Informed observers estimated that Bayit Yehudi head Naftali Bennett thinks the Amar-Ariel deal will not pass in the Knesset, but is under heavy pressure from rabbinical circles to support it. According to this analysis, he may opt to throw his weight behind it, just to show the rabbis that he has tried to honor their requests – and then, after it fails, push forward with the law that would add women to the appointing body, thus paving the way for Rabbi Stav's selection. Traditionalist rabbis are vehemently opposed to the Stern Law. They are concerned that it will lead, in the future, to the appointment of rabbis from the Conservative and Reform streams.
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2. Gaza Students: Clean the World of Jews
by Maayana Miskin 
The Hamas-affiliated student union in Gaza published a cartoon Tuesday in which a person whose body is made of a Palestinian Authority flag is seen throwing a Star of David – one of the best-known Jewish symbols – into a garbage can. Text under the picture says, “Keep the world clean.” The cartoon uses a Star of David rather than an explicitly Israeli symbol, indicating that it is meant to refer to Judaism or the Jewish nation as a whole and not the state of Israel alone. The student union in question is known as the Islamic Bloc – in Arabic, al-Kutla al-Islamiya. It operates in high schools, universities and other educational institutions in Gaza. Its primary purpose is to teach the next generation about the importance of, in Hamas’ words, freeing Palestine from the Israeli occupation. Hamas views all of Israel as occupied territory and justifies attacks on Israeli civilians as “resistance.” Many teenagers active in the Islamic Bloc are sent to join the al-Kassam Brigades – the Hamas cells responsible for rocket fire on Israel. Some teen boys are sent to join the cells before finishing high school.
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3. Lapid Publishes Budget Q-and-A
by Maayana Miskin 
Finance Minister Yair Lapid published a question-and-answer document on how the new budget is expected to impact various sectors of society. The document aims to counter media reports according to which budget cuts will negatively impact the needy, special education students, and more. Below is Lapid-the-journalist’s interview with Lapid-the-Finance-Minister: What will happen regarding education? The education budget has not been cut – it increased by 6.5 billion shekels. We did not touch special education. The book lending project has not been canceled. We did not increase parent payments. We added 100 million to scholarships for needy children. We added 35 million to the Student Administration for support for Ethiopian students. Did we hurt the needy? We added 1.2 billion shekels to the healthcare budget. 0.5 billion to the welfare budget. Of that, 200 million for children. We added 500 million for Holocaust survivors. We added 300 million for the ‘medicine basket’ [of medicine subsidized by government healthcare providers – ed.] 75 million for psychiatric wards. We did not touch benefits for the elderly. We did not touch the budget for the handicapped. We transferred funds to the project to increase handicapped accessibility nationwide. We did not touch the grants for socio-economically weak districts. 2.8 billion shekels will be transferred to them. Is it true that we didn’t touch those in power? The opposite is true. We established the Andorn Committee to fight the tycoons’ haircuts [The committee is tasked with creating uniform criteria for debt forgiveness – ed.] We established the Sheshinski Committee 2 to reexamine the rewards for national resources. We increased corporate tax to 26.5%. We increased the tax under the law to encourage investment of wealth. We increased the tax on luxury goods – from cars to cigarettes. We cut our own salary, that of the ministers and MKs, by 10%. What about the big unions? The Histadrut gave us 1.5 billion shekels, but nothing is off the table: not the ports’ unions, not the reform at the Electric Company. And the hareidi Jews? Did you give in to them in the end? Schools that do not teach the core curriculum will get just 35% funding. The Nahari Law [which mandated 75% funding for recognized non-state schools – ed.] was cancelled, saving municipalities 400 million shekels. The budget for yeshivas was cut by 450 million shekels. 200 million shekels will be spent on employment and job placement for hareidi Jews who join the workforce. And what about the middle class? Didn’t you promise to protect the middle class? I do not deny that the middle class was hurt, too. The budget cuts will cost Riki Cohen 385 shekels a month, that’s a lot of money, but it’s also an insurance policy against economic collapse. In exchange for that money Riki Cohen knows that she and her husband will not lose their jobs, that we will not end up like Spain with 32% unemployment, that instead of that she is part of a strong economy with a clear vision that puts the working man in the center. Big words aside, what does that mean? That we didn’t touch the workplace savings plans, because that’s the middle class’ small savings fund. We added assistant daycare workers for infants and toddlers – for the sake of the middle class. We passed the Open Skies reform – for the sake of the middle class. We will unify the water tariffs and reduce the price by 5% - for the sake of the middle class. We are implementing the suggestions of the Food Committee – yellow cheese will cost less, and hotdogs will cost less. The train will reach Carmiel and Beit Shean – because the middle class lives outside the Tel Aviv region, too. And what else? The Equal Burden of Service Committee… We’re bringing about a revolution that led to the downfall of previous governments, and are healing what has been a bleeding wound at the center of Israeli society. Another recommendation: go read about the fight against ‘black money.’ In a year from now people will tremble in fear at the thought of tax evasion. What’s the point of everything I just said? That we took an economy that was in trouble, and in a remarkably short time, got it back on track. It’s OK that there are complaints, but the people who are protesting us chose to stand and yell. We chose to be on the inside and to do the work.
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4. ‘Jewish Terrorist’ Appeals Life Sentence
by Maayana Miskin 
Attorneys for Yaakov “Jack” Teitel have appealed his life sentence to the Supreme Court. Teitel was sentenced to two life terms and 30 years in prison for two murders and a string of bombings. He has been dubbed the “Jewish terrorist” in the media due to the fact that he targeted Arabs, Christians and members of the far Left. Teitel’s attorneys say the court that handed down his sentence ignored findings regarding his mental health that could have proven diminished responsibility. Teitel committed the first murder for which he was convicted in the mid-1990s, as an American tourist in Israel. He later became a citizen, and in 2006 resumed his attacks with several bombings that caused injury but no fatalities. Four months ago judges Tzvi Segal, Moshe Drori and Yoad Cohen convicted Teitel and determined that his mental state did not diminish his responsibility for the crimes for which he was convicted. Judge Yoad Cohen, who handed down his sentence wrote, “Any human, as a human, and certainly any Jew as a Jew, must uphold the commandment ‘you shall not murder’ for racism, particularly in light of the bitter and tragic fate of the Jewish people in recent generations. Racism based on a person’s ethnic background or religious affiliation is completely unacceptable, in Judaism as well.” Comment on this story
5. Syrian Army: We Destroyed IDF Vehicle in Golan
by Gil Ronen 
The Syrian army said Tuesday that it has destroyed an IDF vehicle in the Golan Heights, AFP reported. "Our armed forces have destroyed an Israeli vehicle with everything that it had in it... The vehicle had crossed the ceasefire line and was moving towards the village of Bir Ajam, situated in the liberated Syrian zone" of the Golan, it said. The statement refers to an incident that took place overnight, in which IDF soldiers patrolling the Golan Heights along the border with Syria fired back after coming under fire. An Israeli Defense Forces statement said Tuesday, "Overnight, shots were fired at an IDF patrol on the border in the central Golan Heights, damaging a military vehicle." No one had been wounded, it added. "In response, IDF forces returned precise fire at the source of the gunfire. They reported a direct hit," the statement added. "The IDF views the recent incidents in the north with concern and has lodged a complaint with UNDOF," the UN Disengagement Force responsible for patrolling that area. Early on Monday, the army reported that small-arms fire from Syria hit the Israeli Golan Heights overnight, causing no harm or damage. The army also filed a complaint with the UN force on that occasion. The Golan Heights have been tense since the beginning of the conflict in Syria more than two years ago. However, there have been only minor flare-ups in the region to date, with Syrian shells crashing in the Golan and Israel firing in retaliation.
Tags: Golan Heights ,Syria civil war
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6. Report: US Apologized to Israel for Leak
by David Lev 
The United States has apologized for leaking information about Israel's alleged attack on a convoy of weapons in Syria bound for Hizbullah terrorists several weeks ago. According to reports, the “leak” about the U.S. leak came from an Israel Radio correspondent, who listed details of the leak, and the apology. The tweet came from Israel Radio’s diplomatic correspondent Chico Menashe. In his tweet, Menashe wrote “The U.S. has apologized to Israel for leaking details of the attack in Syria. Senior administration officials said to their [Israeli] counterparts that they are examining the issue and that low-level [officials] were responsible for the leak.” In addition, Menashe tweeted, “US officials told that they [will] review the matter. The leak forced Assad to react harshly.” According to Pentagon sources, the tweets by Menashe were true, and the U.S. has apologized to Israel for the leak, which could have put Israeli lives in danger. The sources said that the Pentagon was investigating the matter. Israell has still not confirmed that it was involved in the attack.
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7. Iran Approves Agreement with Argentina on Bombing Probe
by Elad Benari 
Iran has approved a memorandum of understanding with Argentina on forming a truth commission to investigate a deadly 1994 attack on a Jewish charities building, an Iranian diplomat said Monday, according to the AFP news agency. Ali Pakdaman, Iran's charge d'affaires in Buenos Aires, said the memorandum was approved Sunday by the Iranian government without being submitted to the parliament. The two countries reached an agreement January 27 to form a truth commission to investigate the bombing of the Argentine Jewish Charities Federation (AMIA) building in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people in the worst attack of its kind ever in Argentina. The commission is to be made up of five members, none of whom will be either Iranian or Argentine, reported AFP. The Argentine courts have charged eight current and former senior Iranian officials in the crime, including current Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi and former president Ali Rafsanjani. Argentina's Congress approved the agreement on February 28, after President Cristina Kirchner assured that it would allow the Argentina judge in charge of the case to question the Iranian accused. Iran has denied that any Iranians facing international arrest warrants over the bombing would be questioned by the Argentine judge. The Argentine opposition and representatives of the country's 300,000-strong Jewish community strenuously opposed the agreement. Pakdaman said the Iranian government did not require approval from the parliament for the memorandum of understanding because the agreement said only that it needed to be ratified by the "appropriate bodies." Kirchner, he said, "sent it to the Congress because she thought there was a consensus and that the executive should not carry all the weight of the agreement.” "For us, in Iran, the memorandum is in effect and its approval is in accordance with point six of the text,” said Pakdaman, according to AFP. Tehran and Buenos Aires withdrew their ambassadors after the charges were filed against the Iranians. Iran has denied that its former or current officials were involved in the attack. A bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires two years earlier, in 1992, killed 29 people and wounded 200 others. Washington has cast doubt that any solution will emerge from the deal between Iran and Argentina.
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8. Govt: UNESCO Lied, So Planned Jerusalem Visit Canceled
by David Lev 
The government on Monday informed UNESCO, the United Nations organization responsible for educational, scientific, and cultural matters, that a delegation of the organization that planned to visit Jerusalem was not welcome. The UNESCO group will not be given visas to enter the country, the government said. The UNESCO group had planned to come to Jerusalem to catalog religious and cultural heritage sites. Sources in the Foreign Ministry said that given UNESCO's poor record regarding Israel, there was no reason for the UN group to be given another opportunity to spread lies about Israel. “Let them first remove the anti-Israel resolutions they passed, and in return Israel will admit the delegation,” the source was quoted as saying by Israel Radio. The source said that UNESCO had planned to violate an agreement it had made with the government. The UN group claimed it wanted to visit Jerusalem to catalog the sites, and that the trip was to be professional in nature – and that it would not have a political character. On that basis, the government agreed to allow the group into Israel. But in reality, the source said, UNESCO officials had set up several meetings with Arab activists, Palestinian Authority figures, and terrorists, giving the visit a political, not professional, character. As such, UNESCO lied, the source said, violating the agreement with Israel – and thus the entire visit would be cancelled. Comment on this story
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Everyday of Freedom is an Act of Faith for my writings ============> http://robertoscaruffi.blogspot.com for something on religions ===> http://scaruffi1.blogspot.com
Wednesday 22 May 2013
