12 aug 2015
Israel's controversial justice minister Wednesday admitted her mistake after posting a video online purporting to show a black migrant attacking a resident when the footage was apparently recorded in another country.
Ayelet Shaked posted the video on her Facebook page Tuesday as the High Court was poised to rule on a law related to illegal immigrants with the aim of showing the "intolerable" situation facing residents of southern Tel Aviv.
"There was indeed an error," Shaked, of the right-wing Jewish Home party, told army radio, adding she had removed the video from her page.
Some local media reported that the video had been recorded in Turkey.
Many migrants entering Israel illegally from Africa live in poor neighborhoods in southern Tel Aviv. Some residents have reacted angrily to their presence, and Shaked, known for her right-wing political stances, has taken a hard line against illegal immigrants.
It is not the first time Shaked has sparked controversy with a Facebook post. Last year, she endorsed an article written in 2002 that labelled Palestinian militants as "snakes", described "the entire Palestinian people (as) the enemy" and said anyone supporting terror should be killed.
The post quickly disappeared from her Facebook page, but not before it was reported by the Israeli media. Israel's top court on Tuesday overturned a provision of a law that would have allowed illegal immigrants to be held for up to 20 months without trial.
The court ruled that 20 months was a "disproportionate" period, though other provisions in the law were approved.Official figures show that nearly 50,000 Africans are in Israel illegally, mostly from Eritrea, which is regularly accused of human rights abuses, and from war-ravaged South Sudan.
Ayelet Shaked posted the video on her Facebook page Tuesday as the High Court was poised to rule on a law related to illegal immigrants with the aim of showing the "intolerable" situation facing residents of southern Tel Aviv.
"There was indeed an error," Shaked, of the right-wing Jewish Home party, told army radio, adding she had removed the video from her page.
Some local media reported that the video had been recorded in Turkey.
Many migrants entering Israel illegally from Africa live in poor neighborhoods in southern Tel Aviv. Some residents have reacted angrily to their presence, and Shaked, known for her right-wing political stances, has taken a hard line against illegal immigrants.
It is not the first time Shaked has sparked controversy with a Facebook post. Last year, she endorsed an article written in 2002 that labelled Palestinian militants as "snakes", described "the entire Palestinian people (as) the enemy" and said anyone supporting terror should be killed.
The post quickly disappeared from her Facebook page, but not before it was reported by the Israeli media. Israel's top court on Tuesday overturned a provision of a law that would have allowed illegal immigrants to be held for up to 20 months without trial.
The court ruled that 20 months was a "disproportionate" period, though other provisions in the law were approved.Official figures show that nearly 50,000 Africans are in Israel illegally, mostly from Eritrea, which is regularly accused of human rights abuses, and from war-ravaged South Sudan.
President of Egypt, Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi
Five senior Israeli officials arrived in Cairo yesterday and spend several hours meeting their Egyptian counterparts before returning to Tel Aviv, the Anadolu Agency reported.
Egyptian security sources told Anadolu that the Israeli delegation consisted of five, including Israeli negotiator Yitzhak Molcho.
The sources said that the Israeli officials arrived in Cairo at midday and departed on board a private plane several hours later.
No information was released about the visit prior to it taking place.
Egyptian-Israeli relations have improving and strengthening, especially regarding security issues, since the ouster of the first freely elected Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and the start of President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi's rule.
Five senior Israeli officials arrived in Cairo yesterday and spend several hours meeting their Egyptian counterparts before returning to Tel Aviv, the Anadolu Agency reported.
Egyptian security sources told Anadolu that the Israeli delegation consisted of five, including Israeli negotiator Yitzhak Molcho.
The sources said that the Israeli officials arrived in Cairo at midday and departed on board a private plane several hours later.
No information was released about the visit prior to it taking place.
Egyptian-Israeli relations have improving and strengthening, especially regarding security issues, since the ouster of the first freely elected Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and the start of President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi's rule.
11 aug 2015
Every summer, the French capital turns the banks of the Seine River into a beach and organizes a week-long Paris Plages festival
A decision to dedicate a beach festival event in Paris to Israel's Tel Aviv city has sparked outrage among leftist politicians and pro-Palestinian groups, who have termed the gesture as "indecent".
Every summer, the French capital turns the banks of the Seine River into a beach and organizes a week-long Paris Plages festival. The festival plans to celebrate "the Tel Aviv culture" for a day this coming Thursday.
Paris City Councilor Danielle Simonnet, who belongs to the Left Party (Parti de Gauche), slammed the Paris municipality's plan to honour the Israeli city.
"Just one year after the massacre in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli army, and even as the Israeli government intensifies its policy of settlement construction... Paris City Hall dares to organize 'within the framework of its cultural partnerships with the world's largest cities' a day honouring Tel Aviv," Simmonet wrote on her official blog on Saturday.
In an interview with French Inter radio on Monday, she added: "For the Israeli government, this is a nice bit of PR [public relations] that Paris is serving up on a plate."
Pro-Palestinian group CAPJPO-Europalestine called on Parisians to protest the event and write to French authorities to stop the plan.
"It is out of the question to allow such an immoral event to go ahead in a public space," the group said on its Facebook page on Monday evening.
"It is not about religion but about international law, human rights and human dignity," the group added.
Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions (BDS) France, a national coalition that supports the Palestinian campaign for boycott, also opposed the event.
"One year after Israel's 'Operation Protective Edge' in Gaza, less than one month after the Israeli parliament voted to authorize the force-feeding of prisoners, one week after the latest colonial violence burned alive the members of the Dawabsha family in Duma in the occupied West Bank, killing 18-month old baby Ali, the incursion of Tel Aviv onto Paris Plage is a real provocation," BDS France said in a statement on Monday.
"Tel Aviv is not a city like others," BDS France said, adding, "it is built on top of the ruins of seven Palestinian villages."
The Association of France-Palestine Solidarity (AFPS) said that the event was "a communication campaign with a bitter taste...a very strange way to echo the massacres of last summer."
"How can you refer to the sweetness of Tel Aviv without mentioning the fact that West Bank Palestinians have no access to Gaza beaches? The fact that they live under a daily threat of Israeli Navy drones?" the AFPS said in a letter to the Paris mayor.
According to the Paris municipality's website, the aim of the event was to allow people to live in an "atmosphere" of the city of Tel Aviv, which it claimed was a "symbol of tolerance and peace."
An online petition urging the Paris mayor to cancel the event gathered more than 19,000 signatures by Tuesday afternoon.
However, Paris Deputy Mayor Bruno Julliard disagreed and said that there were no plans to change the event.
On Tuesday, Julliard told French radio RMC: "We are inviting a city, we are not endorsing the policy of a state."
"We will not cancel this event because it would be to agree with radicals," he said. "We do not want to punish the population and cities that strive for peace," he added.
Last July, Israel's offensive on the Gaza strip killed more than 2,000 Palestinians and injured another 11,000, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Since 2007, Israel and Egypt have blockaded the Gaza Strip by land, sea and air.
A decision to dedicate a beach festival event in Paris to Israel's Tel Aviv city has sparked outrage among leftist politicians and pro-Palestinian groups, who have termed the gesture as "indecent".
Every summer, the French capital turns the banks of the Seine River into a beach and organizes a week-long Paris Plages festival. The festival plans to celebrate "the Tel Aviv culture" for a day this coming Thursday.
Paris City Councilor Danielle Simonnet, who belongs to the Left Party (Parti de Gauche), slammed the Paris municipality's plan to honour the Israeli city.
"Just one year after the massacre in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli army, and even as the Israeli government intensifies its policy of settlement construction... Paris City Hall dares to organize 'within the framework of its cultural partnerships with the world's largest cities' a day honouring Tel Aviv," Simmonet wrote on her official blog on Saturday.
In an interview with French Inter radio on Monday, she added: "For the Israeli government, this is a nice bit of PR [public relations] that Paris is serving up on a plate."
Pro-Palestinian group CAPJPO-Europalestine called on Parisians to protest the event and write to French authorities to stop the plan.
"It is out of the question to allow such an immoral event to go ahead in a public space," the group said on its Facebook page on Monday evening.
"It is not about religion but about international law, human rights and human dignity," the group added.
Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions (BDS) France, a national coalition that supports the Palestinian campaign for boycott, also opposed the event.
"One year after Israel's 'Operation Protective Edge' in Gaza, less than one month after the Israeli parliament voted to authorize the force-feeding of prisoners, one week after the latest colonial violence burned alive the members of the Dawabsha family in Duma in the occupied West Bank, killing 18-month old baby Ali, the incursion of Tel Aviv onto Paris Plage is a real provocation," BDS France said in a statement on Monday.
"Tel Aviv is not a city like others," BDS France said, adding, "it is built on top of the ruins of seven Palestinian villages."
The Association of France-Palestine Solidarity (AFPS) said that the event was "a communication campaign with a bitter taste...a very strange way to echo the massacres of last summer."
"How can you refer to the sweetness of Tel Aviv without mentioning the fact that West Bank Palestinians have no access to Gaza beaches? The fact that they live under a daily threat of Israeli Navy drones?" the AFPS said in a letter to the Paris mayor.
According to the Paris municipality's website, the aim of the event was to allow people to live in an "atmosphere" of the city of Tel Aviv, which it claimed was a "symbol of tolerance and peace."
An online petition urging the Paris mayor to cancel the event gathered more than 19,000 signatures by Tuesday afternoon.
However, Paris Deputy Mayor Bruno Julliard disagreed and said that there were no plans to change the event.
On Tuesday, Julliard told French radio RMC: "We are inviting a city, we are not endorsing the policy of a state."
"We will not cancel this event because it would be to agree with radicals," he said. "We do not want to punish the population and cities that strive for peace," he added.
Last July, Israel's offensive on the Gaza strip killed more than 2,000 Palestinians and injured another 11,000, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Since 2007, Israel and Egypt have blockaded the Gaza Strip by land, sea and air.
9 aug 2015
A Palestinian official report has revealed that a government-sponsored Jewish association called Hanino financially supports Jewish settlers who perpetrated crimes against Palestinians in the West Bank.
The national bureau for defending lands and resisting settlements stated in a report that Hanino association had spent 2.5 million shekels last year to cover the financial needs of jailed settlers and their families as an acknowledgment of the attacks they had carried out against the Palestinians or their property.
It added that the Israeli ministry of finance and the Knesset finance committee financially support Jewish assailants and groups and help them carry out settlement activities and build outposts in the West Bank.
The bureau also affirmed that the Israeli government transferred last year 340 million shekels to Jewish settlements in the West Bank in accordance with an agreement it had signed with the Jewish Home party and related understandings with the Yesha council of the West Bank settlements.
In addition to these funds, the Israeli interior ministry, for its part, allocated last December 62 million shekels for settlement activities in the West Bank, the bureau pointed out.
The national bureau for defending lands and resisting settlements stated in a report that Hanino association had spent 2.5 million shekels last year to cover the financial needs of jailed settlers and their families as an acknowledgment of the attacks they had carried out against the Palestinians or their property.
It added that the Israeli ministry of finance and the Knesset finance committee financially support Jewish assailants and groups and help them carry out settlement activities and build outposts in the West Bank.
The bureau also affirmed that the Israeli government transferred last year 340 million shekels to Jewish settlements in the West Bank in accordance with an agreement it had signed with the Jewish Home party and related understandings with the Yesha council of the West Bank settlements.
In addition to these funds, the Israeli interior ministry, for its part, allocated last December 62 million shekels for settlement activities in the West Bank, the bureau pointed out.
8 aug 2015
PM was scheduled to attend opening of new medical center in Sakhnin, but residents took to social media to protest 'visit of the children murderer Netanyahu'.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has canceled a planned visit to the western Galilee Arab city of Sakhnin next week, reportedly after objections from residents.
Large forces of police arrived in Sakhnin earlier this week, searching homes without any warning or explanation and securing the southern part of the city, mainly its Doha soccer stadium. i24news has learned that the unusual police presence was due to a planned visit of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of his plan to attend next Monday's opening ceremony of a new medical center in Sakhnin.
The Mayor of Sakhnin, Mazen Ganaim, confirmed the report to i24news, adding that the visit was canceled without further explanation.
"The Prime Minister's Office first said that Netanyahu would participate in the ceremony but called us again after a few days to cancel," he said. An official in the municipality, who asked to remain anonymous, told i24news that the real reason Netanyahu went back on his promise to attend the ceremony was the strong objection by city residents.
According to the official, the news about the prime minister's impending visit were leaked around town, bringing about a wave of harsh criticism from political activists and representatives of the Joint Arab List. "Security arrangements were already in place in Doha Stadium and the houses around it were to be evicted once the prime minister had arrived," he added.
The protest against Netanyahu's visit spread to social media as well.
Activists called on Sakhnin's residents to express their objection to "the visit of the children murderer Netanyahu on Monday and to convince the municipality to rescind the invitation because it hurts the victims, the prisoners, the displaced and all free people."
The spokesperson to the Arab media in the PMO, Ofir Gendelman, declined i24news' request to comment on the report.
The Arab residents of Sakhnin still remember Netanyahu's controversial remarks during March 17 election day, when the prime minister has made a last-ditch attempt to rally his supporters as the country went to the polls, with a warning that a high turnout of Israeli Arab voters could threaten his party’s hold on power.
In a 28-second video posted on his Facebook page, Netanyahu said Israeli Arabs were turning out “in droves” and urged his supporters to go out and vote.
“The right-wing government is in danger. Arab voters are heading to the polling stations in droves,” he wrote. “Left-wing NGOs are bringing them in buses.”
The remarks were condemned as “crossing a red line of incitement and racism” even by the White House and President Barack Obama.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has canceled a planned visit to the western Galilee Arab city of Sakhnin next week, reportedly after objections from residents.
Large forces of police arrived in Sakhnin earlier this week, searching homes without any warning or explanation and securing the southern part of the city, mainly its Doha soccer stadium. i24news has learned that the unusual police presence was due to a planned visit of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of his plan to attend next Monday's opening ceremony of a new medical center in Sakhnin.
The Mayor of Sakhnin, Mazen Ganaim, confirmed the report to i24news, adding that the visit was canceled without further explanation.
"The Prime Minister's Office first said that Netanyahu would participate in the ceremony but called us again after a few days to cancel," he said. An official in the municipality, who asked to remain anonymous, told i24news that the real reason Netanyahu went back on his promise to attend the ceremony was the strong objection by city residents.
According to the official, the news about the prime minister's impending visit were leaked around town, bringing about a wave of harsh criticism from political activists and representatives of the Joint Arab List. "Security arrangements were already in place in Doha Stadium and the houses around it were to be evicted once the prime minister had arrived," he added.
The protest against Netanyahu's visit spread to social media as well.
Activists called on Sakhnin's residents to express their objection to "the visit of the children murderer Netanyahu on Monday and to convince the municipality to rescind the invitation because it hurts the victims, the prisoners, the displaced and all free people."
The spokesperson to the Arab media in the PMO, Ofir Gendelman, declined i24news' request to comment on the report.
The Arab residents of Sakhnin still remember Netanyahu's controversial remarks during March 17 election day, when the prime minister has made a last-ditch attempt to rally his supporters as the country went to the polls, with a warning that a high turnout of Israeli Arab voters could threaten his party’s hold on power.
In a 28-second video posted on his Facebook page, Netanyahu said Israeli Arabs were turning out “in droves” and urged his supporters to go out and vote.
“The right-wing government is in danger. Arab voters are heading to the polling stations in droves,” he wrote. “Left-wing NGOs are bringing them in buses.”
The remarks were condemned as “crossing a red line of incitement and racism” even by the White House and President Barack Obama.
7 aug 2015
Lawless State of Judea is forming in the West Bank, warns Yuval Diskin, who says extremists are most dangerous than many think and law enforcement is 'shockingly weak' against them.
Former Shin Bet chief Yuval DIskin on Friday criticized the government's handling of West Bank extremists in the wake of the Jewish terror attack in Duma.
"Alongside the State of Israel, a de facto State of Judea is being formed," Diskin wrote in a lengthy Facebook post warning of a potentially irreversible situation.
"In the State of Judea there are different standards, different value systems, different attitudes towards democracy, and there are two legal systems," he asserted. "In the State of Judea, law enforcement is shockingly weak towards Jews. In the State of Judea, anarchistic, anti-state, violent, and racist ideologies are forming over the years, and they are treated tolerantly by the Israeli legal and judicial system. "
According to the former security service chief, "the Hilltop Youth (hard-line, extremist settlers) are setting the tone within Religious Zionism. Anyone who thinks we are only talking about a few dozen of delusional youths is making a big mistake. In the State of Judea, there are many hundreds of youths supporting messianic and/or anarchistic, anti-state ideologies.
"Among these many hundreds are dozens who daily adopt different levels of violence or terrorism against Palestinian lives and property," wrote the ex-Shin Bet boss. "Among them are dozens who would be willing to unhesitatingly take part in violence and terrorism against their Jewish brothers when they see the value of "sacred land" as being put to the test. In certain scenarios, these numbers can be expected to increase significantly."
According to Diskin, the Shin Bet, the police, and the IDF are well aware of the figures, as have prime ministers through the ages, as well as various law enforcement agencies. "Even when I was head of the Shin Bet, I appeared at different Mechinot (pre-military educational programs) in Judea and Samaria and openly said that I thought Jewish terrorism was a cancer on the body of the nation," Diskin wrote.
But some in the Shin Bet are concerned, he claimed. "A number of employees in the Shin Bet's Jewish division, particularly those among them who wear kippas and lived in settlements, have been the target of harassment, boycotts, and denunciation by radical right-wing activists. One of the current senior employees in the Shin Bet, who is religious and lived in a settlement until recently, was afraid to serve as head of the Shin Bet department in charge of the Jewish division."
The government has always preferred to deal with other security threats rather than deal with administrative detention for Jewish terror operatives, Diskin argued. "It is also not politically beneficial when we have a government based on right-wing parties, and has a right-wing political lobby as well as a rabbinical lobby, which immediately rallies around those who were jailed or detained, and makes enormous efforts to free them."
Diskin warned of a far graver future. "The situation will only get worse and become more complicated," he wrote. "My conclusion is that we have to wait for it to be worse in order for it to perhaps get better. Will it be better? It depends only on us, because we have reached this situation without leadership and without a path."
Former Shin Bet chief Yuval DIskin on Friday criticized the government's handling of West Bank extremists in the wake of the Jewish terror attack in Duma.
"Alongside the State of Israel, a de facto State of Judea is being formed," Diskin wrote in a lengthy Facebook post warning of a potentially irreversible situation.
"In the State of Judea there are different standards, different value systems, different attitudes towards democracy, and there are two legal systems," he asserted. "In the State of Judea, law enforcement is shockingly weak towards Jews. In the State of Judea, anarchistic, anti-state, violent, and racist ideologies are forming over the years, and they are treated tolerantly by the Israeli legal and judicial system. "
According to the former security service chief, "the Hilltop Youth (hard-line, extremist settlers) are setting the tone within Religious Zionism. Anyone who thinks we are only talking about a few dozen of delusional youths is making a big mistake. In the State of Judea, there are many hundreds of youths supporting messianic and/or anarchistic, anti-state ideologies.
"Among these many hundreds are dozens who daily adopt different levels of violence or terrorism against Palestinian lives and property," wrote the ex-Shin Bet boss. "Among them are dozens who would be willing to unhesitatingly take part in violence and terrorism against their Jewish brothers when they see the value of "sacred land" as being put to the test. In certain scenarios, these numbers can be expected to increase significantly."
According to Diskin, the Shin Bet, the police, and the IDF are well aware of the figures, as have prime ministers through the ages, as well as various law enforcement agencies. "Even when I was head of the Shin Bet, I appeared at different Mechinot (pre-military educational programs) in Judea and Samaria and openly said that I thought Jewish terrorism was a cancer on the body of the nation," Diskin wrote.
But some in the Shin Bet are concerned, he claimed. "A number of employees in the Shin Bet's Jewish division, particularly those among them who wear kippas and lived in settlements, have been the target of harassment, boycotts, and denunciation by radical right-wing activists. One of the current senior employees in the Shin Bet, who is religious and lived in a settlement until recently, was afraid to serve as head of the Shin Bet department in charge of the Jewish division."
The government has always preferred to deal with other security threats rather than deal with administrative detention for Jewish terror operatives, Diskin argued. "It is also not politically beneficial when we have a government based on right-wing parties, and has a right-wing political lobby as well as a rabbinical lobby, which immediately rallies around those who were jailed or detained, and makes enormous efforts to free them."
Diskin warned of a far graver future. "The situation will only get worse and become more complicated," he wrote. "My conclusion is that we have to wait for it to be worse in order for it to perhaps get better. Will it be better? It depends only on us, because we have reached this situation without leadership and without a path."
Qatari foreign minister Khaled al-Attiyah said that the answer to the problems in the Middle East is to find a just solution to the Palestinian cause, accusing Israel of being involved in fueling regional problems.
In an interview conducted by al-Arabi satellite channel on Thursday, al-Attiyah reiterated his country's "unwavering" support for the Palestinian cause and called for solving the problems in the Middle East through finding a just solution to the Palestinian question first.
The Qatari minister stressed that Israel's settlement expansion and violations against the Palestinians seriously contribute to adding fuel to the fire in the region.
He also accused Israel of not helping president Mahmoud Abbas to fulfill his role towards the peace process because of its persistence in its settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.
As for the Palestinian reconciliation, the Qatari minister affirmed that his country would keep its contacts with president Abbas and Hamas leaders to encourage them to implement the agreements they had signed to end the internal rift.
In an interview conducted by al-Arabi satellite channel on Thursday, al-Attiyah reiterated his country's "unwavering" support for the Palestinian cause and called for solving the problems in the Middle East through finding a just solution to the Palestinian question first.
The Qatari minister stressed that Israel's settlement expansion and violations against the Palestinians seriously contribute to adding fuel to the fire in the region.
He also accused Israel of not helping president Mahmoud Abbas to fulfill his role towards the peace process because of its persistence in its settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.
As for the Palestinian reconciliation, the Qatari minister affirmed that his country would keep its contacts with president Abbas and Hamas leaders to encourage them to implement the agreements they had signed to end the internal rift.
Justice minister wants to split AG's authorities into roles of public prosecutor and chief legal counsel to government, but PM says such a move would harm AG's abilities to fulfill his duties.
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked's initiative to divide the duties of the attorney general to two different roles - head of the public prosecution system and chief legal counsel to the government - was thwarted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday.
Earlier this week, Shaked informed the committee to select the next attorney general that the position could be divided and that each candidate will have to bear in mind they might have to give up a significant part of the authorities the position entails. Netanyahu, however, signaled to the commission that he opposes dividing the role of the attorney general "because it could harm the attorney general's ability to fulfill his duties."
"The attorney general plays a critical role in the system of checks and balances, which is at the very foundation of Israeli democracy," the Prime Minister's Office said.
"Dividing the role could limit the wide overview of the system he currently has, which is required for him to perform his duties in the best possible manner." Shaked's position, which is similar to that of former justice ministers Yaakov Neeman and Daniel Friedmann, is expected to be met - like her predecessors - with firm opposition from Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein and senior officials in the judicial system.
During Neeman's time in office, he enjoyed Netanyahu's support, as well as that of the prime minister's senior partner Ehud Barak, but the moment Netanyahu encountered the aggressive objection of the judicial system, he barred Neeman from moving ahead with the plan to divide the role. Shaked believes there is too much "advisory activism."
She thinks that the fact the attorney general holds so many authorities makes it difficult for him to provide the government with quick consulting services, as well as help it fulfill its policies. Shaked also believes, like her predecessors, that the powers given to the person holding the position deter ministers from confronting him to her on important issues.
During his tenure, Neeman explained his proposal to split the role by saying: "There is no person in the State of Israel who is entirely dedicated to criminal law enforcement, coordination with the police, the Money Laundering Prohibition Authority and the Tax Authority. If these issues are given the proper attention, results can be achieved."
According to Neeman's proposal, the attorney general will deal only with law enforcement.
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked's initiative to divide the duties of the attorney general to two different roles - head of the public prosecution system and chief legal counsel to the government - was thwarted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday.
Earlier this week, Shaked informed the committee to select the next attorney general that the position could be divided and that each candidate will have to bear in mind they might have to give up a significant part of the authorities the position entails. Netanyahu, however, signaled to the commission that he opposes dividing the role of the attorney general "because it could harm the attorney general's ability to fulfill his duties."
"The attorney general plays a critical role in the system of checks and balances, which is at the very foundation of Israeli democracy," the Prime Minister's Office said.
"Dividing the role could limit the wide overview of the system he currently has, which is required for him to perform his duties in the best possible manner." Shaked's position, which is similar to that of former justice ministers Yaakov Neeman and Daniel Friedmann, is expected to be met - like her predecessors - with firm opposition from Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein and senior officials in the judicial system.
During Neeman's time in office, he enjoyed Netanyahu's support, as well as that of the prime minister's senior partner Ehud Barak, but the moment Netanyahu encountered the aggressive objection of the judicial system, he barred Neeman from moving ahead with the plan to divide the role. Shaked believes there is too much "advisory activism."
She thinks that the fact the attorney general holds so many authorities makes it difficult for him to provide the government with quick consulting services, as well as help it fulfill its policies. Shaked also believes, like her predecessors, that the powers given to the person holding the position deter ministers from confronting him to her on important issues.
During his tenure, Neeman explained his proposal to split the role by saying: "There is no person in the State of Israel who is entirely dedicated to criminal law enforcement, coordination with the police, the Money Laundering Prohibition Authority and the Tax Authority. If these issues are given the proper attention, results can be achieved."
According to Neeman's proposal, the attorney general will deal only with law enforcement.
6 aug 2015
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed former chairman of the West Bank settlement council, Dani Dayan, as Israel's ambassador to Brazil.
In a statement issued by his office yesterday, Netanyahu said: "Latin America is one of the strategic goals for the State of Israel in the framework of Israel's efforts to develop new markets which will contribute to increasing the economic growth."
"I am confident that Dayan will bring to this post his extensive experience and will deepen the relations between Israel and Brazil."
In a statement issued by his office yesterday, Netanyahu said: "Latin America is one of the strategic goals for the State of Israel in the framework of Israel's efforts to develop new markets which will contribute to increasing the economic growth."
"I am confident that Dayan will bring to this post his extensive experience and will deepen the relations between Israel and Brazil."
3 aug 2015
by Gideon Levy
Israelis stab gay people and burn children. There isn’t a shred of slander, the slightest degree of exaggeration, in this dry description. True, these are the actions of a few.
True, too, that their numbers are increasing. It’s true that all of them – all the murderers, everyone who torches, who stabs, who uproots trees – are from the same political camp. But the opposing camp also shares the blame.
All those who thought that it would be possible to sustain islands of liberalism in the sea of Israeli fascism were shown up this weekend, once and for all. It’s simply not possible to cheer for the brigade commander who shoots a teenager, and then be shocked by the settlers who set a family on fire; to support gay rights, and hold a founding conference in Ariel; to be enlightened, and then pand+er to the right and seek to partner with it. Evil knows no bounds; it begins in one place and quickly spreads in every direction.
The first breeding ground of those who torched the Dawabsheh family was the Israel Defense Forces, even if the offenders didn’t serve in it. When the killing of 500 children in the Gaza Strip is legitimate, and doesn’t even compel a debate, a moral reckoning, then what’s so terrible about setting a house on fire, together with its inhabitants? After all, what’s the difference between lobbing a fire bomb and dropping a bomb? In terms of the intention, or the intent, there is no difference.
When the shooting of Palestinians becomes an almost daily occurrence – two more have already been killed since the family was burned: one in the West Bank, another on the border of the Gaza Strip – who are we to complain about the fire throwers in Duma? When the lives of Palestinians are officially the army’s for the taking, their blood cheap in the eyes of Israeli society, then settler militias are also permitted to kill them. When the IDF’s ethic in the Gaza Strip is that it is permitted to do anything in order to save one soldier, who are we to complain about right-wingers like Baruch Marzel, who told me this weekend it was permissible to kill thousands of Palestinians in order to protect a single hair from the head of a Jew. Such is the atmosphere, such is the result. Original responsibility for it goes to the IDF.
No less to blame, of course, are the governments and politicians who vie with each other over who can suck up the most to the settlers. Whoever gives them 300 new homes in exchange for their violence at the flagship settlement of Beit El is telling them not only that violence is permissible, but also that it pays. It is already hard to draw the line between throwing bags of urine at police officers and fire bombs into people’s homes.
Also to blame, of course, are the law enforcement authorities, starting with the Judea and Samaria District Police – the most ridiculous and scandalous of all police districts, and not by chance. Nine Palestinian homes were torched in the past three years, according to B’Tselem. How many people have been prosecuted? None. So what happened in Duma on Friday? The fire was simply better, in the eyes of the arsonists and their minions.
Their minions also include the silent, the forgiving and all those who think the evil will remain forever within the confines of the West Bank. Their minions also include the Israelis who are convinced that the People of Israel is the chosen people, and as a result is permitted to do anything – including torching the homes of non-Jews, with their inhabitants inside.
So, too, many of those who were shocked by the act, including figures who have visited the victims in Sheba Medical Center, outside Tel Aviv – the president, the prime minister, the opposition leader and their aides – imbibed the racist, infuriating “You have chosen us from all the peoples” with their mothers’ milk.
At the end of a terrible day, it is this that leads to the burning of families whom God did not choose. No principle in Israeli society is more destructive, or more dangerous, than this principle. Nor, unfortunately, more common. If you were to examine closely what is concealed beneath the skin of most Israelis, you would find: the chosen people. When that is a fundamental principle, the next torching is only a matter of time.
Their minions are everywhere, and most of them are now tsk-tsking and expressing dismay at what happened. But what occurred couldn’t have not happened; what happened was dictated by the needs of reality, the reality of Israel and its value system. What happened will happen again, and no one will be spared. We all torched the Dawabsheh family.
Published by Haaretz newspaper.
Israelis stab gay people and burn children. There isn’t a shred of slander, the slightest degree of exaggeration, in this dry description. True, these are the actions of a few.
True, too, that their numbers are increasing. It’s true that all of them – all the murderers, everyone who torches, who stabs, who uproots trees – are from the same political camp. But the opposing camp also shares the blame.
All those who thought that it would be possible to sustain islands of liberalism in the sea of Israeli fascism were shown up this weekend, once and for all. It’s simply not possible to cheer for the brigade commander who shoots a teenager, and then be shocked by the settlers who set a family on fire; to support gay rights, and hold a founding conference in Ariel; to be enlightened, and then pand+er to the right and seek to partner with it. Evil knows no bounds; it begins in one place and quickly spreads in every direction.
The first breeding ground of those who torched the Dawabsheh family was the Israel Defense Forces, even if the offenders didn’t serve in it. When the killing of 500 children in the Gaza Strip is legitimate, and doesn’t even compel a debate, a moral reckoning, then what’s so terrible about setting a house on fire, together with its inhabitants? After all, what’s the difference between lobbing a fire bomb and dropping a bomb? In terms of the intention, or the intent, there is no difference.
When the shooting of Palestinians becomes an almost daily occurrence – two more have already been killed since the family was burned: one in the West Bank, another on the border of the Gaza Strip – who are we to complain about the fire throwers in Duma? When the lives of Palestinians are officially the army’s for the taking, their blood cheap in the eyes of Israeli society, then settler militias are also permitted to kill them. When the IDF’s ethic in the Gaza Strip is that it is permitted to do anything in order to save one soldier, who are we to complain about right-wingers like Baruch Marzel, who told me this weekend it was permissible to kill thousands of Palestinians in order to protect a single hair from the head of a Jew. Such is the atmosphere, such is the result. Original responsibility for it goes to the IDF.
No less to blame, of course, are the governments and politicians who vie with each other over who can suck up the most to the settlers. Whoever gives them 300 new homes in exchange for their violence at the flagship settlement of Beit El is telling them not only that violence is permissible, but also that it pays. It is already hard to draw the line between throwing bags of urine at police officers and fire bombs into people’s homes.
Also to blame, of course, are the law enforcement authorities, starting with the Judea and Samaria District Police – the most ridiculous and scandalous of all police districts, and not by chance. Nine Palestinian homes were torched in the past three years, according to B’Tselem. How many people have been prosecuted? None. So what happened in Duma on Friday? The fire was simply better, in the eyes of the arsonists and their minions.
Their minions also include the silent, the forgiving and all those who think the evil will remain forever within the confines of the West Bank. Their minions also include the Israelis who are convinced that the People of Israel is the chosen people, and as a result is permitted to do anything – including torching the homes of non-Jews, with their inhabitants inside.
So, too, many of those who were shocked by the act, including figures who have visited the victims in Sheba Medical Center, outside Tel Aviv – the president, the prime minister, the opposition leader and their aides – imbibed the racist, infuriating “You have chosen us from all the peoples” with their mothers’ milk.
At the end of a terrible day, it is this that leads to the burning of families whom God did not choose. No principle in Israeli society is more destructive, or more dangerous, than this principle. Nor, unfortunately, more common. If you were to examine closely what is concealed beneath the skin of most Israelis, you would find: the chosen people. When that is a fundamental principle, the next torching is only a matter of time.
Their minions are everywhere, and most of them are now tsk-tsking and expressing dismay at what happened. But what occurred couldn’t have not happened; what happened was dictated by the needs of reality, the reality of Israel and its value system. What happened will happen again, and no one will be spared. We all torched the Dawabsheh family.
Published by Haaretz newspaper.
Passerby who tried to help suffering from smoke inhalation, another man lightly hurt, woman's husband escapes unharmed; car completely burnt.
A 27-year-old Israeli woman was moderately wounded from a Molotov cocktail thrown at a car on Highway 20 near Beit Hanina on Monday evening.
The wounded woman's husband managed to escape the vehicle unharmed. A passerby, around 20 years old, who tried to put out the fire that broke out was lightly hurt from smoke inhalation.
Another man was lightly hurt when the car rolled back and hit another vehicle - which was partially damaged. The vehicle was completely burned.
The woman, who is suffering from first- and second-degree burns on 15 percent of her body, was taken to Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem's Ein Karem, while the man was taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in the capital.
Police and Border Police forces were dispatched to the area and are searching for suspects.
A 27-year-old Israeli woman was moderately wounded from a Molotov cocktail thrown at a car on Highway 20 near Beit Hanina on Monday evening.
The wounded woman's husband managed to escape the vehicle unharmed. A passerby, around 20 years old, who tried to put out the fire that broke out was lightly hurt from smoke inhalation.
Another man was lightly hurt when the car rolled back and hit another vehicle - which was partially damaged. The vehicle was completely burned.
The woman, who is suffering from first- and second-degree burns on 15 percent of her body, was taken to Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem's Ein Karem, while the man was taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in the capital.
Police and Border Police forces were dispatched to the area and are searching for suspects.
2 aug 2015
Kiryat Yam Mayor David Even Zur with part of the burned vehicle.
Municipality claims attack motivated by hate after David Even Zur condemns stabbing in Jerusalem, arson that killed Palestinian baby.
An explosion rocked Moran Street in Kiryat Yam early Sunday morning when Mayor David Even Zur's vehicle went up in flames, allegedly caused by an improvised explosive device placed under the driver's seat of the car.
Kiryat Yam's municipality claimed the event was nothing less than a hate crime, motivated by Even Zur's Facebook post on Friday condemning the stabbing attack at Jerusalem's gay pride parade by a Haredi individual and the arson attack in the West Bank that killed a Palestinian baby, also allegedly perpetrated by Jews.
The explosion occurred at approximately 3am and set the vehicle on fire. Firefighters were dispatched to the scene to extinguish the flames and said that claims of explosions preceding the fire were under investigation.
Local police also launched an investigation into the incident to test theories that the explosion was intentionally aimed at harming the mayor, and to find the perpetrator.
Even Zur was elected mayor in 2013 after running unopposed and receiving 64.3 percent of the vote.
Municipality claims attack motivated by hate after David Even Zur condemns stabbing in Jerusalem, arson that killed Palestinian baby.
An explosion rocked Moran Street in Kiryat Yam early Sunday morning when Mayor David Even Zur's vehicle went up in flames, allegedly caused by an improvised explosive device placed under the driver's seat of the car.
Kiryat Yam's municipality claimed the event was nothing less than a hate crime, motivated by Even Zur's Facebook post on Friday condemning the stabbing attack at Jerusalem's gay pride parade by a Haredi individual and the arson attack in the West Bank that killed a Palestinian baby, also allegedly perpetrated by Jews.
The explosion occurred at approximately 3am and set the vehicle on fire. Firefighters were dispatched to the scene to extinguish the flames and said that claims of explosions preceding the fire were under investigation.
Local police also launched an investigation into the incident to test theories that the explosion was intentionally aimed at harming the mayor, and to find the perpetrator.
Even Zur was elected mayor in 2013 after running unopposed and receiving 64.3 percent of the vote.
1 aug 2015
The UEFA decision
A 95 thousand euro fine, one less seating section, and a two game suspension for two players are just some elements that are pushing the infamous team towards fracture.
The egregious behavior of Beitar Jerusalem fans in Charleroi, Belgium two weeks ago stunned the nation, but it seems to have stunned UEFA a little bit less. The Israeli team will be fined 95 thousand euros and will lose one seating sector in European games, after the Belgians were fined 28 thousand euros earlier this week for throwing objects on to the pitch and performing Nazi salutes.
Beitar was issued the punishment based on several clauses: Racist behavior, which included the waving of signs and yelling, unacceptable fan behavior (tearing down fences), behavior unbecoming of players, and throwing firecrackers onto the pitch. The team's management will have five days to appeal the decision.
In an additional aspect of the decision, the two Beitar players who were removed from the game, Eli Dasa and Pablo De Lucas, will be suspended from the next two European league games. The heavy fine placed on the team must be paid within 90 days.
The offending behavior began with the game's opening whistle, when Beitar fans began throwing firecrackers and smoke grenades onto the pitch, and ended when Charleroi's goalie was hit in the head with an object thrown from the stands. The fan's behavior was widely condemned in Israel, and there were calls to label the teams ultra-fan association "La Famila" a terrorist group.
Additionally, the team's owner Eli Tabib announced that he would be leaving Beitar Jerusalem immediately. "I have finished my path in Israeli soccer," he said. As of now Tabib is still in the club, and the team has been running as usual, with no players having been traded or sold as of yet. A number of players are predicted to leave the team in the current trade window, after the team's budget cut.
The fines garnered by Beitar in its games against Charleroi and Kazakhstan's Ordabasy football clubs, together with the loss of revenue from low fan turnout due to the violence have left the team with a NIS two million budget deficit for the upcoming season. The current budget will force the team to sell players, the first of which will be Eli Dasa and Shlomi Azulay.
A 95 thousand euro fine, one less seating section, and a two game suspension for two players are just some elements that are pushing the infamous team towards fracture.
The egregious behavior of Beitar Jerusalem fans in Charleroi, Belgium two weeks ago stunned the nation, but it seems to have stunned UEFA a little bit less. The Israeli team will be fined 95 thousand euros and will lose one seating sector in European games, after the Belgians were fined 28 thousand euros earlier this week for throwing objects on to the pitch and performing Nazi salutes.
Beitar was issued the punishment based on several clauses: Racist behavior, which included the waving of signs and yelling, unacceptable fan behavior (tearing down fences), behavior unbecoming of players, and throwing firecrackers onto the pitch. The team's management will have five days to appeal the decision.
In an additional aspect of the decision, the two Beitar players who were removed from the game, Eli Dasa and Pablo De Lucas, will be suspended from the next two European league games. The heavy fine placed on the team must be paid within 90 days.
The offending behavior began with the game's opening whistle, when Beitar fans began throwing firecrackers and smoke grenades onto the pitch, and ended when Charleroi's goalie was hit in the head with an object thrown from the stands. The fan's behavior was widely condemned in Israel, and there were calls to label the teams ultra-fan association "La Famila" a terrorist group.
Additionally, the team's owner Eli Tabib announced that he would be leaving Beitar Jerusalem immediately. "I have finished my path in Israeli soccer," he said. As of now Tabib is still in the club, and the team has been running as usual, with no players having been traded or sold as of yet. A number of players are predicted to leave the team in the current trade window, after the team's budget cut.
The fines garnered by Beitar in its games against Charleroi and Kazakhstan's Ordabasy football clubs, together with the loss of revenue from low fan turnout due to the violence have left the team with a NIS two million budget deficit for the upcoming season. The current budget will force the team to sell players, the first of which will be Eli Dasa and Shlomi Azulay.