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| Tuesday, Nov 24 '09, Kislev 7, 5770 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
1. Rocket Attacks on Negev while Gov’t Nears Deal for Shalit by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu  Terrorists from Gaza, where Hamas vowed three days ago there would be a total halt to rocket attacks, struck the Western Negev while the government continues to near a deal to free hundreds of terrorists for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. No one was wounded, and no damage was reported in the missile explosions in the Shaar HaNegev region, where rocket-battered Sderot is located. The Air Force retaliated near dawn Tuesday and hit a weapons warehouse and two tunnels used for smuggling weapons, merchandise and terrorists. One day after the Hamas announcement of a ceasefire, following more than 275 mortar and rocket attacks since the end of the Operation Cast Lead campaign, the Islamic Jihad immediately denied having agreed to a ceasefire. The Hamas statement was considered a sign that an agreement with Israel is imminent for the release of up to 1,400 terrorists and prisoners, many of who whom are serving life sentences in jail for involvement with lethal attacks, including suicide bombings, on Israelis. Media pressure and continuing rumors from Arab newspapers forced Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to break his self-imposed silence on negotiations Monday, and he insisted that no deal has been completed. The Cabinet must vote on any deal, and the Prime Minister is working behind closed doors to make sure that an agreement will not be rejected, as happened to former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert just before left the government nearly a year ago. Military and security officials convinced ministers that the proposed deal would endanger the security of the country by allowing terrorists to return to violence. Prime Minister Netanyahu also said the Knesset will discuss any proposal, but he did not indicate he would seek approval from the legislators. Comment on this story 2. Druze MK: Don’t Trust UN ‘Doll’ Soldiers to Protect Israel by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu  Likud Knesset Member Ayoub Kara, a member of the Druze community, has vowed to “fight with my last drop of blood” against Israel’s abandoning the northern border village of Ghajar to United Nations and Hizbullah. The international border divides the village, whose Israeli residents have expressed fears of being forced to come under the rule of southern Lebanon, where Hizbullah is the de facto authority. A ministerial committee has recommended withdrawing from the village, a move that MK Kara said would "complicate Israel’s security in the north.” United Nations officials told Lebanese media they have not been informed of any Israeli decision to withdraw from Ghajar. MK Kara, who also serves as Deputy Minister for the Development of the Galilee and the Negev, told Arutz 7 that the area is included in the Golan Law that requires an absolute Knesset majority for ceding of land. He said that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Intelligence Minister Dan Meridor promised they would examine the issue. In unusually harsh terms, the Likud MK warned that leaving the village would mean depending on the promises of the “dolls” of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) who have been ineffective in enforcing U.N. resolutions to disarm Hizbullah. “Only an ass would run into the same wall twice,” he stated. He added that although it is clear that a mistake was made in determining the status of Ghajar, the government “prefers the simple solution of withdrawing instead of bringing up the issue with the international community. “I will fight for this until my last drop of blood as I did in the struggle against the expulsion of Jews” from Gush Katif and other areas of Gaza and northern Samaria four years ago. The United States and the U.N. have assured Israel that the new Lebanese government, headed by Saad Hariri, will bring stability to southern Lebanon. MK Kara ridiculed the Lebanese government, which he said is made up of “dolls that are controlled by remote control from Syria and Iran. We are abandoning the area to [Hassa Nasrallah,” head of the Hizbullah terrorist organization and political party. Comment on this story  3. Pressure Campaign against Netanyahu’s Proposed Building Freeze by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu  Nationalists are conducting a campaign to pressure coalition ministers to oppose a plan by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to ask the Cabinet for approval to officially freeze building for Jews in Judea and Samaria for 10 months. National Union party chairman Yaakov (Ketzaleh) Katz called on Likud ministers Moshe Yaalon and Gilad Erdan not to remain silent and to help pressure the Prime Minister to forget about any freeze on building. “Why do you remain silent?” he asked. An Israeli television report of the proposed official freeze confirms statements attributed to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the Prime Minister told her on a recent visit he agreed to the halt in construction that is strongly backed by U.S. President Barack Obama. The proposal would not affect eastern Jerusalem but is intended to coax Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas into returning to talks with Israel on establishing a new PA state, which it demands include all of eastern Jerusalem as well as Judea and Samaria. The de facto freeze already is in effect for new tenders in all of the areas despite the Prime Minister’s statements that building in the capital continues as usual. Housing Minister Ariel Attias (Shas) recently confirmed that the Netanyahu government has not approved any new tenders for building in eastern Jerusalem as well as Judea and Samaria, creating a de facto freeze. Construction continues on projects where tenders already have been published, but Abbas has demanded that Israel stop all housing developments. Zev (Zambish) Hever  Prime Minister Netanyahu’s policies are similar to those of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who executed a 180-degree turn in policies and carried out the destruction of Jewish homes and expulsion of Jews in Gaza and parts of northern Samaria, according to Amana director Zev (Zambish) Hever. Amana is an organization that helps finance and build homes in Judea and Samaria. He called on nationalists to help convince coalition MKs to oppose a building freeze and said, “There is no need to topple the government.” Jewish Home chairman Rabbi Dr. Daniel Hershkowitz, whose party joined the government coalition on condition of not sacrificing any parts of Judea and Samaria, admitted that “coalition members are not with us” in the struggle against a building freeze. Comment on this story 4. Officials Ignore Terrorist Barghouti’s Illegal Media Campaign by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu  National Union Knesset Member Dr. Michael Ben-Ari and his parliamentary aide Itamar Ben-Gvir issued an ultimatum Tuesday to prison officials to punish convicted terrorist Marwan Barghouti for breaking prison rules and conducting interviews with the media. They gave officials 24 hours to enforce punishment or face an appeal to the High Court. Barghouti is serving five life terms for planning deadly suicide attacks against Israelis, and conflicting rumors are rampant concerning his name being on the list of 1,400 terrorists and prisoners Israel may free in order to bring home kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. The convicted terrorist has conducted several interviews from his jail cell, without permission, for several weeks. Prison officials have ignored appeals by Ben-Gvir and MK Dr. Ben-Ari that he be punished like other prisoners, including Yigal Amir, convicted for killing former Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin. Ben-Gvir and MK Dr. Ben-Ari said that the discrimination in favor of Barghouti is unacceptable, particularly in light of his five life terms in prison. Barghouti has been the center of constant rumors on the current and previous proposals to free terrorists in exchange for Shalit. Barghouti recently said from his jail cell that he sees no difference between the Fatah faction and the rival Hamas terrorist organization, which helped kidnapped Shalit more than three years ago. Arabic-language newspapers have reported Barghouti is on the yet unpublicized list of terrorists Israel has agreed to free, pending Cabinet approval. Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom, (Likud) insisted he is not on the list, but it is doubtful than he has been given a roster of the names of terrorists involved in the proposal. Barghouti enjoys widespread support throughout the Palestinian Authority and would be a likely successor to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas if he decides to seek the position, even if he remains in prison. Among the terrorist attacks he planned was the bombing of a Tel Aviv market that killed four Israelis and a Greek monk. Comment on this story  5. TAMID: Connecting Students With Israel's Business World by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz  A new and innovative initiative to connect Jewish university students in America with the State of Israel focuses on building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with the Israeli business world. Student co-founders Eitan Ingall and Sasha Gribov developed the TAMID Israel Investment Group in an effort to increase commitment to Israel among college-age Jewish Americans by offering them "hands-on investment experience and meaningful professional opportunities". Both leaders of Jewish student organizations at the University of Michigan at the time, Gribov and Ingall felt that the existing options for connecting with Israel were failing to address the concerns of many of their peers. Beyond social, political and religious organizations, they believe that young American Jews could be motivated to explore Israel's dynamic and innovative business world. The organization Ingall and Gribov founded is currently the sole "vehicle for aligning the personal and professional aspirations of these business-minded students with the collective interests of Israel and the Jewish people," as the TAMID website explains. The program aims at nurturing "a highly interactive network of young American Jewish business leaders who have a sustained and substantive connection with the State of Israel." [weJe In its second year, TAMID has successfully recruited 65 business-oriented students for its three-phased program of education, portfolio management and Israel internships. The educational-seminars phase is geared towards students in their freshman and sophomore years, during which they meet Israeli and American business managers, traders, venture capitalists and start-up executives, as well as business school professors. In phase 2, the students will manage a small investment fund, giving them hands-on experiences with the Israeli markets. The students research and analyze investment opportunities, consult with Israeli investment houses and prepare quarterly portfolio reports. The TAMID program's third stage is a three-month internship in Israel with entities in the banking, private equity, venture capital, high-tech and consulting sectors. In addition to strengthening their ties with Israel, the internships are designed to provide students with "substantial and prestigious experience for future professional opportunities," according to TAMID. TAMID's Class Aleph is now embarking on the second phase of the program, fund management, while Class Bet has already started its educational seminars. Nathan Gilson, a freshman at the university and a representative for TAMID, informed Israel National News that TAMID's ultimate goal is to "engage college students around the country with Israel in this innovative, comprehensive manner and have a national campus presence similar in scale to Birthright." According to Gilson, the group is currently "aggressively raising funds for our endowment and fellowship program. And we are courting partnerships with Israeli businesses that can benefit from our interns this summer. We have funding for at least four interns." Two TAMID seminar sessions this month at Michigan exemplified the organization's philosophy. Participating students heard from Rick Zitelman, president and founder of The Zitelman Group, a private equity firm with early-stage investments in emerging Israeli companies. He spoke about early-stage life sciences and technology investment in Israel, as well as business ethics in traditional Jewish sources. A second speaker brought to the university by TAMID was American businessman Joel Tauber, Chairman of Tauber Enterprises LLC, as well as Kewell Corporation, Carolina Precision Plastics and C Enterprises, along with a founder of a joint venture involving Kibbutz Yakum and an investor in Israeli venture capital funds. In addition to a discussion of his primary field of business, Tauber and the TAMID students addressed the issue of leadership in the Jewish community today. Comment on this story 6. Bibi Tells Expulsion Victims Helping Them is 'National Mission' by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu  Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who backed the expulsion of Gush Katif farmers and then withdrew his support after the “Disengagement” program was finalized, told them Monday evening that helping them is a “national mission.” Visiting expulsion victims in the Eshkol Region, near the Gaza barrier that separates the families from the destroyed sites of their former homes, the prime minister met with regional council leaders and three cabinet ministers. Also present was the new head of the committee that for four years has been sharply criticized for failing to help the expulsion victims rebuild their lives. Dozens of former Gush Katif farmers, many of them in their 50s and 60s, have been unable to return to agriculture because of lack of nearby land, lack of money for investing in new equipment and the waiting time before new produce can bring income. Prime Minister Netanyahu was optimistic. We will raise this money in your greenhouses," he told local residents. "We will invest money in what produces money.” He referred to the economic viability of pumping brackish water from underground reservoirs to provide water to local residents and suggested investing in solar energy. "We intend to harness ourselves to this national mission and proceed towards its realization, government and residents alike, which each side doing its utmost,” the Prime Minister added. Referring to the economy in general, Prime Minister Netanyahu, who was credited for accelerating Israel’s unprecedented growth when he was Finance Minister in the Sharon government, said that his objective is to reach “five percent annual growth for the next several years.” He concluded, “A dynamic and growing economy…will produce for us the money for security, social needs, education and rural community development. Officials at the meeting included Judea and Samaria leader Bentzi Lieberman, who now heads the “Disengagement Authority.” Its name has been changed from SELA, an acronym for the Hebrew name of the committee, to TENUFA, the Hebrew word for “momentum. Comment on this story 7. New Army Order against Anti-Expulsion Signs: Raise Your Shirts by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu  Soldiers who attended a Monday night celebration of 10 years since the founding of the Netzach Yehuda (Yehuda Forever) battalion were ordered to leave their belongings outside the hall and to raise their shirts to make sure they were not carrying any banners against expulsion orders. The unusual procedure reflects fears in the IDF that the spreading protest movement will make it difficult for the government to order the army to deploy soldiers along with police who carry out demolitions of Jewish homes and the expulsion of their residents. Soldiers in two different battalions have been involved in recent expulsions at Homesh which originally was destroyed in the massive expulsion program four years ago, and at the Negohot community south of Hevron earlier this month. Both incidents were followed by soldiers raising banners stating they do not participate in expulsions, and several soldiers were thrown out of combat service for their demonstrations. A third incident occurred last week when an anti-expulsion sign was found before it could be raised at a training base. Monday night’s Netzach Yehuda event was held at a hall on the Hebrew University’s Mount of Olives campus. Soldiers complained about what they called a denigrating order of having to lift their shits so that officers could be sure they were not smuggling banners into the hall. “We complained to one of the officers, but he said the orders came from senior officers,” one soldier told Arutz 7. IDF spokesmen said that the order from the Central Command was intended "to prevent an unpleasant situation or the possibility that some people would try to cause a provocation.” Comment on this story | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Everyday of Freedom is an Act of Faith for my writings ============> http://robertoscaruffi.blogspot.com for something on religions ===> http://scaruffi1.blogspot.com
Wednesday 25 November 2009
http://www.web-view.net/Show/0XFA093E69AFC5FDE6D41C83A4A5B25467C6E513B319C564548186735DBD637488.htm
