 | ||
 |         |  |
 | ||
 |
1. IAF Strikes Back in Khan Younis
by Hana Levi Julian
Israel Air Force helicopter pilots strafed a Hamas military command center in southern Gaza in the pre-dawn hours of Thursday morning, hitting a terrorist post in the city of Khan Younis. Terrorist sources said the facility was damaged, but there were no casualties.
IAF pilots also reported no injuries in the strike, and all Israeli personnel returned safely to base.
The aerial strikes came in response to mortar shelling and rocket attacks on western Negev communities by Gaza terrorists a day earlier.
Three mortar shells exploded in the Eshkol region close to the security barrier at around 6:15 p.m. Wednesday. A single shell was also fired at a kibbutz in the same region at around 3:00 p.m. the same day. There were also reports of an earlier shelling of the Eshkol region Wednesday morning.
No one was physically injured and no damage was reported.
Gaza terrorists have attacked southern Israel more than 40 times since the Jewish State declared its unilateral ceasefire on January 18, following the end of Operation Cast Lead against the Hamas terrorist infrastructure.
Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel is Our Home), which came in third in Tuesday’s national election, has said the party will not join a government that does not want to bring down the Hamas government in Gaza.
Both Kadima chairwoman Tzipi Livni and Likud chairman Binyamin Netanyahu are vigorously courting Lieberman’s support in hopes of forming a coalition. The two major parties were separated only by a single mandate after 99 percent of the votes were counted. Votes from soldiers and foreign service personnel are expected to be counted by Thursday.
An official tally won’t be available until February 18, when all of the international ballots will have been counted and appeals and recounts will have been concluded.
Comment on this story
by Hana Levi Julian
Israel Air Force helicopter pilots strafed a Hamas military command center in southern Gaza in the pre-dawn hours of Thursday morning, hitting a terrorist post in the city of Khan Younis. Terrorist sources said the facility was damaged, but there were no casualties.
IAF pilots also reported no injuries in the strike, and all Israeli personnel returned safely to base.
The aerial strikes came in response to mortar shelling and rocket attacks on western Negev communities by Gaza terrorists a day earlier.
Three mortar shells exploded in the Eshkol region close to the security barrier at around 6:15 p.m. Wednesday. A single shell was also fired at a kibbutz in the same region at around 3:00 p.m. the same day. There were also reports of an earlier shelling of the Eshkol region Wednesday morning.
No one was physically injured and no damage was reported.
Gaza terrorists have attacked southern Israel more than 40 times since the Jewish State declared its unilateral ceasefire on January 18, following the end of Operation Cast Lead against the Hamas terrorist infrastructure.
Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel is Our Home), which came in third in Tuesday’s national election, has said the party will not join a government that does not want to bring down the Hamas government in Gaza.
Both Kadima chairwoman Tzipi Livni and Likud chairman Binyamin Netanyahu are vigorously courting Lieberman’s support in hopes of forming a coalition. The two major parties were separated only by a single mandate after 99 percent of the votes were counted. Votes from soldiers and foreign service personnel are expected to be counted by Thursday.
An official tally won’t be available until February 18, when all of the international ballots will have been counted and appeals and recounts will have been concluded.
Comment on this story
2. Likud Offers Kadima Unity Deal
by Hana Levi Julian and Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Senior aides in the Likud party said late Wednesday that chairman Binyamin Netanyahu has offered Kadima two senior Cabinet positions in exchange for its joining a nation unity government.
The two parties comprise 55 Knesset seats, leaving the Likud the option of completing the government with religious and strongly nationalist parties or Israel Is Our Home (Yisrael Beiteinu).
Kadima reportedly was offered to choose among the defense, finance and foreign affairs ministries.
Last September Netanyahu rejected a bid by Kadima leader Tzipi Livni to form a national unity government after she took over the party's reins from outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Elections were called after she failed to gain enough support for a coalition.
Fifty MKs have declared support for MK Netanyahu, lending strength to the prevailing view that President Shimon Peres must give him the nod to form the next government, inasmuch as that task must fall to the party leader who has the most support.
Kadima leader Tzipi Livni has the support of only the 28 MKs from Kadima thus far.
Livni, who still is Foreign Minister in the transitional government, claimed victory after Kadima received one more Knesset mandate than the Likud. However, that margin could still change after the votes of soldiers and diplomats are counted on Thursday.
Comment on this story
by Hana Levi Julian and Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Senior aides in the Likud party said late Wednesday that chairman Binyamin Netanyahu has offered Kadima two senior Cabinet positions in exchange for its joining a nation unity government.
The two parties comprise 55 Knesset seats, leaving the Likud the option of completing the government with religious and strongly nationalist parties or Israel Is Our Home (Yisrael Beiteinu).
Kadima reportedly was offered to choose among the defense, finance and foreign affairs ministries.
Last September Netanyahu rejected a bid by Kadima leader Tzipi Livni to form a national unity government after she took over the party's reins from outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Elections were called after she failed to gain enough support for a coalition.
Fifty MKs have declared support for MK Netanyahu, lending strength to the prevailing view that President Shimon Peres must give him the nod to form the next government, inasmuch as that task must fall to the party leader who has the most support.
Kadima leader Tzipi Livni has the support of only the 28 MKs from Kadima thus far.
Livni, who still is Foreign Minister in the transitional government, claimed victory after Kadima received one more Knesset mandate than the Likud. However, that margin could still change after the votes of soldiers and diplomats are counted on Thursday.
Comment on this story
Will Lieberman Support Livni?
by Avraham Zuroff
Kadima leader Tzipi Livni met on Wednesday with Yisrael Beiteinu chair Avigdor Lieberman in her jump-start attempt to form a coalition government, should President Peres give her the chance.
Livni offered Lieberman her support of a secular platform that Yisrael Beiteinu espouses. Her offer includes support for civil marriages, as opposed to the present system of marriage and divorce which is governed by Jewish religious law. She also expressed her support for changes in the system of government. Lieberman has previously stated that he intends to additionally allow unrestricted sale of pork in the Jewish State, and remove the current Sabbath restrictions on commerce.
Even if Lieberman decides not to accept Livni’s offer, she hopes that he will at least recommend to President Shimon Peres that she get first dibs to form a coalition government. Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party, in contrast with Kadima, favors granting citizenship only to residents who express their support for the State of Israel. The party calls for transfering some Arab villages in Israel to Palestinian Authority rule and incorporating Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria into Israel's permanent borders.
Livni has only a slim chance of forming a government, since the nationalist/religious bloc is greater than the left-wing/Arab bloc. Nevertheless, Livni pledged Wednesday to make every effort “for my voters.” However, she stated that she would not pay “an exorbitant price” for other parties to join her coalition.
When asked whether he would support a Kadima-led coalition, Avigdor Lieberman - who has chosen this week to go on vacation - preferred to remain poker-faced. In an interview with Voice of Israel government radio on Thursday, Lieberman stated that he has already decided, but would not show his cards. “It is only proper that I first speak to the president,” Lieberman stated.
In addition, regarding allegations that he used public funds to take personal trips, Lieberman expressed his dissatisfaction at the Israeli media’s attempts to delegitimize him. “You’re a liar. You’d better check your facts out before you accuse me,” he told the interviewer.
Livni, who still is Foreign Minister in the transitional government, claimed victory in the elections after Kadima received one more Knesset mandate than the Likud. However, that margin could still change after the votes of soldiers and diplomats are counted on Thursday evening. The final election results will be published here.
Comment on this story
by Avraham Zuroff
Kadima leader Tzipi Livni met on Wednesday with Yisrael Beiteinu chair Avigdor Lieberman in her jump-start attempt to form a coalition government, should President Peres give her the chance.
Livni offered Lieberman her support of a secular platform that Yisrael Beiteinu espouses. Her offer includes support for civil marriages, as opposed to the present system of marriage and divorce which is governed by Jewish religious law. She also expressed her support for changes in the system of government. Lieberman has previously stated that he intends to additionally allow unrestricted sale of pork in the Jewish State, and remove the current Sabbath restrictions on commerce.
Even if Lieberman decides not to accept Livni’s offer, she hopes that he will at least recommend to President Shimon Peres that she get first dibs to form a coalition government. Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party, in contrast with Kadima, favors granting citizenship only to residents who express their support for the State of Israel. The party calls for transfering some Arab villages in Israel to Palestinian Authority rule and incorporating Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria into Israel's permanent borders.
Livni has only a slim chance of forming a government, since the nationalist/religious bloc is greater than the left-wing/Arab bloc. Nevertheless, Livni pledged Wednesday to make every effort “for my voters.” However, she stated that she would not pay “an exorbitant price” for other parties to join her coalition.
When asked whether he would support a Kadima-led coalition, Avigdor Lieberman - who has chosen this week to go on vacation - preferred to remain poker-faced. In an interview with Voice of Israel government radio on Thursday, Lieberman stated that he has already decided, but would not show his cards. “It is only proper that I first speak to the president,” Lieberman stated.
In addition, regarding allegations that he used public funds to take personal trips, Lieberman expressed his dissatisfaction at the Israeli media’s attempts to delegitimize him. “You’re a liar. You’d better check your facts out before you accuse me,” he told the interviewer.
Livni, who still is Foreign Minister in the transitional government, claimed victory in the elections after Kadima received one more Knesset mandate than the Likud. However, that margin could still change after the votes of soldiers and diplomats are counted on Thursday evening. The final election results will be published here.
Comment on this story
4. Netanyahu: No Livni Rotation
by Gil Ronen
Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu said Wednesday during a meeting of the party's Knesset faction that the possibility of a rotation agreement between him and Kadima leader Tzipi Livni in the role of Prime Minister is not an option.
A similar agreement was implemented once in Israel's past, between Labor's Shimon Peres and Likud's Yitzchak Shamir, in 1984. The parties received 44 and 41 Knesset seats, respectively. Peres served two years as Prime Minister and then vacated his seat to Shamir, who served until 1988.
Netanyahu said that Kadima could join his government as a partner, and hinted that he would be generous as far as ministerial portfolios are concerned, but ruled out allowing Livni into the Prime Minister's Office.
Earlier Wednesday, Netanyahu held meetings with Shas party leader Eli Yishai and Yisrael Beiteinu's Avigdor Lieberman.
Most analysts estimate that President Shimon Peres would entrust Netanyahu with the assignment of forming a government.
U.S. will work with whoever leads
The U.S. State Department is looking forward to working with whatever new government is formed in Israel, State Department spokesman Robert Wood told reporters on Wednesday.
Wood told reporters in Washington that the Obama administration will not speculate on what kind of government will be formed. Wood called Israel a thriving democracy and said the administration intends to pursue a "robust agenda" once the new Israeli leadership is established.
"The government needs to be formed. We will hold discussions with the government once it's in place. The important thing is we're looking forward to working with whoever heads it. It's up to the Israeli people, not the Israeli government, who will be in it," he said.
Referring to the possible inclusion of Yisrael Beiteinu in the future coalition, Wood said "It's not for the U.S. to make this kind of characterization, it's the choice the Israeli people made. We have a robust agenda with Israeli government, we've worked during the years with different governments, and we are certainly pursuing the two-state solution, but we don't want to run ahead."
Comment on this story
by Gil Ronen
Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu said Wednesday during a meeting of the party's Knesset faction that the possibility of a rotation agreement between him and Kadima leader Tzipi Livni in the role of Prime Minister is not an option.
A similar agreement was implemented once in Israel's past, between Labor's Shimon Peres and Likud's Yitzchak Shamir, in 1984. The parties received 44 and 41 Knesset seats, respectively. Peres served two years as Prime Minister and then vacated his seat to Shamir, who served until 1988.
Netanyahu said that Kadima could join his government as a partner, and hinted that he would be generous as far as ministerial portfolios are concerned, but ruled out allowing Livni into the Prime Minister's Office.
Earlier Wednesday, Netanyahu held meetings with Shas party leader Eli Yishai and Yisrael Beiteinu's Avigdor Lieberman.
Most analysts estimate that President Shimon Peres would entrust Netanyahu with the assignment of forming a government.
U.S. will work with whoever leads
The U.S. State Department is looking forward to working with whatever new government is formed in Israel, State Department spokesman Robert Wood told reporters on Wednesday.
Wood told reporters in Washington that the Obama administration will not speculate on what kind of government will be formed. Wood called Israel a thriving democracy and said the administration intends to pursue a "robust agenda" once the new Israeli leadership is established.
"The government needs to be formed. We will hold discussions with the government once it's in place. The important thing is we're looking forward to working with whoever heads it. It's up to the Israeli people, not the Israeli government, who will be in it," he said.
Referring to the possible inclusion of Yisrael Beiteinu in the future coalition, Wood said "It's not for the U.S. to make this kind of characterization, it's the choice the Israeli people made. We have a robust agenda with Israeli government, we've worked during the years with different governments, and we are certainly pursuing the two-state solution, but we don't want to run ahead."
Comment on this story
5. 3 Yeshiva Boys on Trial in Japan
by Hillel Fendel
The trial of one of three Israeli yeshiva boys charged with smuggling drugs into Japan – inside a suitcase a “friend” asked them to take for him – has begun, and the other two are to begin within weeks.
Efforts to give the three legal aid, financial help and prayers have been stepped up in Jewish communities around the world.
The story began last April when the three Chassidic yeshiva boys from Jerusalem and Bnei Brak, all under age 20 and one under age 18, were asked to transport some antiques from Holland to Japan. The three were part of an “acts of charity club,” and the friend who asked them for the favor, offered them $1,000 each, and assured them that everything was legal, was the coordinator of their group. They therefore suspected nothing.
Once in Amsterdam, they were given the “antiques” – concealed inside false-bottomed suitcases. Told that this was a precaution against theft, they once again suspected nothing, and flew on to Tokyo. In Japan, the false bottoms were quickly detected and broken into by customs officials – who found there not antiques, but $3.6 million worth of Ecstasy pills.
The boy's ensuing detention period has been "very difficult, to say the least," sources close to the case say. Japan is known for its no-nonsense approach to drug-trafficking and other crimes, and in view of the severity of the charges, the boys have been separated from each other, grilled by interrogators, and forced to subsist on vegetables, fish and the like – so as not to eat non-kosher food.
Fears That It Will Get Worse
Held in conditions that are diametrically opposed to the culture and sheltered conditions in which they grew up, they are likely to face even more difficult conditions for untold years in Japanese prison if convicted. Japan and Israel do not have a mutual extradition treaty.
Actively helping out in procuring legal help and visitors are Rabbinical Court Judge Chaim Yosef Dovid Weiss of Antwerp, Belgium; Attorney Mordechai Tzivin of Israel, who deals in international law and specializes in cases of Israelis incarcerated overseas; Ukrainian Chief Rabbi Yaakov Bleich; and Rabbi Aron Nezri of London. In addition, Japanese lawyers have been hired to defend the boys – and they recently flew to Israel to see first-hand the environment of trust and kindness in which their clients grew up.
Points in Their Favor
The sources say that though criminal cases in Japan almost never end in acquittal, the boys’ exemplary behaviour, as well as extenuating circumstances as they were carrying out their “crime,” have been noted. For one thing, all three have passed lie-detector tests showing that they were unwittingly taken advantage of by someone they trusted, and that they did not know what they were carrying. In addition, their behaviour before and during their trip to Japan indicated that they felt not at all self-conscious or secretive about their intentions.
“Their incarceration in Japan is very difficult,” one source emphasized, “physically, emotionally, and legally – and it can get intolerably worse if they are convicted.” The boys spend whatever hours they have studying Torah and praying, and try to fulfil whatever Torah precepts they can. Rabbi Nezri said that one of them told him, “No matter how much you think you understand what emunah [faith in G is, you can’t really know what it means until you’re in my position.”
Prayers
The families ask for prayers for their sons: Yaakov Yosef ben [son o Raizel, Yoel Zev ben Mirel Risa Chava, and Yosef ben Ita Rivka.
A letter from one of them, Yaakov Yosef, several months ago, was replete with words of inspiration and faith. He wrote that he did not want to write about his personal situation, “because this is not the time, and especially since I didn't want to break you too much, for there are things that are above nature, and they happen every single day, without exaggeration.”
He also noted that he had “received letters from people we don't know, because all Israel is responsible one for another; 'Who is like Your nation Israel!'... and just as you [plura wish to know about our reception of your letters, so too and even more I want to know how you [will accep this letter, to which I have dedicated more than a week... and also, I saw your letter only a month after you sent it, and who knows how long it will be before you receive this. I will sign off here, with G-d's help... saying, 'Even if I walk in the valley of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me, Your staff and rod will comfort me.'”
Comment on this story
by Hillel Fendel
The trial of one of three Israeli yeshiva boys charged with smuggling drugs into Japan – inside a suitcase a “friend” asked them to take for him – has begun, and the other two are to begin within weeks.
Efforts to give the three legal aid, financial help and prayers have been stepped up in Jewish communities around the world.
The story began last April when the three Chassidic yeshiva boys from Jerusalem and Bnei Brak, all under age 20 and one under age 18, were asked to transport some antiques from Holland to Japan. The three were part of an “acts of charity club,” and the friend who asked them for the favor, offered them $1,000 each, and assured them that everything was legal, was the coordinator of their group. They therefore suspected nothing.
Once in Amsterdam, they were given the “antiques” – concealed inside false-bottomed suitcases. Told that this was a precaution against theft, they once again suspected nothing, and flew on to Tokyo. In Japan, the false bottoms were quickly detected and broken into by customs officials – who found there not antiques, but $3.6 million worth of Ecstasy pills.
The boy's ensuing detention period has been "very difficult, to say the least," sources close to the case say. Japan is known for its no-nonsense approach to drug-trafficking and other crimes, and in view of the severity of the charges, the boys have been separated from each other, grilled by interrogators, and forced to subsist on vegetables, fish and the like – so as not to eat non-kosher food.
Fears That It Will Get Worse
Held in conditions that are diametrically opposed to the culture and sheltered conditions in which they grew up, they are likely to face even more difficult conditions for untold years in Japanese prison if convicted. Japan and Israel do not have a mutual extradition treaty.
Actively helping out in procuring legal help and visitors are Rabbinical Court Judge Chaim Yosef Dovid Weiss of Antwerp, Belgium; Attorney Mordechai Tzivin of Israel, who deals in international law and specializes in cases of Israelis incarcerated overseas; Ukrainian Chief Rabbi Yaakov Bleich; and Rabbi Aron Nezri of London. In addition, Japanese lawyers have been hired to defend the boys – and they recently flew to Israel to see first-hand the environment of trust and kindness in which their clients grew up.
Points in Their Favor
The sources say that though criminal cases in Japan almost never end in acquittal, the boys’ exemplary behaviour, as well as extenuating circumstances as they were carrying out their “crime,” have been noted. For one thing, all three have passed lie-detector tests showing that they were unwittingly taken advantage of by someone they trusted, and that they did not know what they were carrying. In addition, their behaviour before and during their trip to Japan indicated that they felt not at all self-conscious or secretive about their intentions.
“Their incarceration in Japan is very difficult,” one source emphasized, “physically, emotionally, and legally – and it can get intolerably worse if they are convicted.” The boys spend whatever hours they have studying Torah and praying, and try to fulfil whatever Torah precepts they can. Rabbi Nezri said that one of them told him, “No matter how much you think you understand what emunah [faith in G is, you can’t really know what it means until you’re in my position.”
Prayers
The families ask for prayers for their sons: Yaakov Yosef ben [son o Raizel, Yoel Zev ben Mirel Risa Chava, and Yosef ben Ita Rivka.
A letter from one of them, Yaakov Yosef, several months ago, was replete with words of inspiration and faith. He wrote that he did not want to write about his personal situation, “because this is not the time, and especially since I didn't want to break you too much, for there are things that are above nature, and they happen every single day, without exaggeration.”
He also noted that he had “received letters from people we don't know, because all Israel is responsible one for another; 'Who is like Your nation Israel!'... and just as you [plura wish to know about our reception of your letters, so too and even more I want to know how you [will accep this letter, to which I have dedicated more than a week... and also, I saw your letter only a month after you sent it, and who knows how long it will be before you receive this. I will sign off here, with G-d's help... saying, 'Even if I walk in the valley of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me, Your staff and rod will comfort me.'”
Comment on this story
6. Russia to Deport US Rabbi
by Avraham Zuroff
A Russian court ordered on Wednesday the deportation of an American rabbi, ruling that he had misrepresented his purpose of stay on his visa application.
The District Court in Vladivostok ruled that Rabbi Yisroel Silberstein, the Primorye region’s Chief Rabbi, must be deported. The rabbi plans to appeal the ruling, and Russian law gives him ten days to do so.
“We believe the violation was not serious enough to deport him,” said Daniil Yakovlev, a spokesman for the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia. Yakovlev told The Moscow Times that the rabbi is accused of writing on his visa application that the purpose of his visit was "his cultural ties with the country," which only partially covers his rabbinical functions.
A Federal Migration Service spokesman stated that the rabbi should have written "religious activities" as his intended purpose.
According to Yakovlev, Rabbi Silberstein received his most recent visa 10 weeks ago, which was his third during his 2½ year tenure in Russia. Yakovlev said he was unaware what the rabbi had indicated as his purpose of visit on previous visa applications.
Last November, an anonymous attacker robbed the rabbi in central Vladivostok, hitting him in the head and fleeing with his bag and laptop computer. The rabbi was hospitalized with a concussion to his head. The local police opened an investigation. According to Yakovlev, anti-Semitism did not motivate the attack.
Vladivostok, a major eastern-Russian port city on the Pacific Ocean, was founded in 1860. Most of the population lives off the harbor that connects the city to Russia and serves as an outlet for fishing vessels and whale hunters. In the past, Vladivostok functioned as a naval base during the war. Because of its military importance, the city was closed to visitors for many years, opening only with the perestroika in the late 1980’s.
The Jewish community arrived about 100 years ago. Most of its community members were Jewish soldiers and prisoners exiled for religious crimes. These first residents built a synagogue which functioned as a Jewish center, until the police decided that it wasn’t “utilized” enough, closing it down without deliberation. The synagogue presently houses a chocolate store, and Jewish community leaders are fighting to have it restored to its original holy purpose.
Comment on this story
by Avraham Zuroff
A Russian court ordered on Wednesday the deportation of an American rabbi, ruling that he had misrepresented his purpose of stay on his visa application.
The District Court in Vladivostok ruled that Rabbi Yisroel Silberstein, the Primorye region’s Chief Rabbi, must be deported. The rabbi plans to appeal the ruling, and Russian law gives him ten days to do so.
“We believe the violation was not serious enough to deport him,” said Daniil Yakovlev, a spokesman for the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia. Yakovlev told The Moscow Times that the rabbi is accused of writing on his visa application that the purpose of his visit was "his cultural ties with the country," which only partially covers his rabbinical functions.
A Federal Migration Service spokesman stated that the rabbi should have written "religious activities" as his intended purpose.
According to Yakovlev, Rabbi Silberstein received his most recent visa 10 weeks ago, which was his third during his 2½ year tenure in Russia. Yakovlev said he was unaware what the rabbi had indicated as his purpose of visit on previous visa applications.
Last November, an anonymous attacker robbed the rabbi in central Vladivostok, hitting him in the head and fleeing with his bag and laptop computer. The rabbi was hospitalized with a concussion to his head. The local police opened an investigation. According to Yakovlev, anti-Semitism did not motivate the attack.
Vladivostok, a major eastern-Russian port city on the Pacific Ocean, was founded in 1860. Most of the population lives off the harbor that connects the city to Russia and serves as an outlet for fishing vessels and whale hunters. In the past, Vladivostok functioned as a naval base during the war. Because of its military importance, the city was closed to visitors for many years, opening only with the perestroika in the late 1980’s.
The Jewish community arrived about 100 years ago. Most of its community members were Jewish soldiers and prisoners exiled for religious crimes. These first residents built a synagogue which functioned as a Jewish center, until the police decided that it wasn’t “utilized” enough, closing it down without deliberation. The synagogue presently houses a chocolate store, and Jewish community leaders are fighting to have it restored to its original holy purpose.
Comment on this story
7. Bibi Meeting w/ Ketzaleh, Eldad
by Hillel Fendel
Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu, who will apparently be entrusted with forming a coalition government, met Thursday morning with National Union leaders Yaakov (Ketzaleh) Katz and Prof. Aryeh Eldad. A meeting that had been scheduled afterwards with Jewish Home leaders Rabbi Prof. Daniel Hershkovitz and Zevulun Orlev has been postponed until next week.
The National Union, which won four seats in the elections, held its first faction meeting in Ketzaleh’s hometown of Beit El on Wednesday. It was decided that Katz and MK Eldad, the party’s #3, would do the coalition negotiating with the Likud. The two met with Netanyahu in the King David Hotel in Jerusalem.
Katz said afterwards, "We enjoyed hearing what Netanyahu had to say. We spoke about the Land of Israel, about the settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria, and about education. We were impressed by what he had to say, and we hope that after all these years, a healthy government will finally be established."
"Netanyahu repeated that we are the Likud's natural partners," Ketzaleh said.
Pre-Meeting Interview
Asked beforehand on Army Radio to name what they will demand of Netanyahu in exchange for recommending him to President Shimon Peres as their choice to form the next government, Ketzaleh said, “It is clear that most of the nation agrees with us on the importance of the Land of Israel; not only do we have a 65-mandate majority in the Knesset, even Kadima is partly right-wing, as Avshalom Vilan of [the far-lef Meretz said… We will therefore demand that Netanyahu commit not to form a Palestinian state in the Land of Israel.”
Katz added that they will insist that Netanyahu “not use us as a rag in order to afterwards go to Livni and Kadima, who are in favor of giving away parts of the Land of Israel, and offer to form a national unity government with them.”
The #4
The Army Radio interviewer also grilled Ketzaleh about his party’s #4 candidate: “Isn’t he a Kahanist? Do you not have a problem with that?”
Katz replied, “What’s the problem? Dr. Michael Ben-Ari is a fine young man, a university lecturer…”
Army Radio: “---who believes in Kahane’s philosophy, which was outlawed.”
Katz: “Rabbi Kahane, may G-d avenge his blood, was murdered because he was a Jew, and his son was murdered because he was a Jew, and was someone who loved the People of Israel and the Land of Israel in a way that was more blatant and unrestrained than you do. What is the problem?”
Ben-Ari Appoints Ben-Gvir
Ben-Ari, a father of seven and a resident of Karnei Shomron in northern Samaria, has announced that he will appoint Itamar Ben-Gvir of Hevron as one of his parliamentary aides. Ben-Gvir is a colorful figure who is now completing a law degree and who, in the framework of the nationalist protests, has represented himself and friends in court on many occasions.
“Dr. Ben-Ari is going to be the surprise of the 18th Knesset,” Ben-Gvir says. “He will color the Knesset orange [the unofficial color of the Land of Israel camp -ed, and it will not be boring. He will be a worthy representative of the struggle against our enemies and on behalf of the Land of Israel.”
Jewish Home and Bibi
Netanyahu will meet next week with the negotiating team of the Jewish Home party (former National Religious Party) leader Rabbi Prof. Daniel Hershkowitz and former leader MK Zevulun Orlev.
Asked by Arutz-7 on Wednesday what he would demand of Netanyahu, Hershkovitz said, “I will not wage the negotiations via the media.”
The Jewish Home received three Knesset seats, but is awaiting the final results after the votes of the soldiers and others are counted. Based on past precedent, when the last-counted votes caused changes in the final tally of Knesset mandates, the party is hoping for an adjustment enabling long-time MK Nissan Slomiansky, the party’s #4, to enter the Knesset. The final election results will be published here.
Comment on this story
by Hillel Fendel
Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu, who will apparently be entrusted with forming a coalition government, met Thursday morning with National Union leaders Yaakov (Ketzaleh) Katz and Prof. Aryeh Eldad. A meeting that had been scheduled afterwards with Jewish Home leaders Rabbi Prof. Daniel Hershkovitz and Zevulun Orlev has been postponed until next week.
The National Union, which won four seats in the elections, held its first faction meeting in Ketzaleh’s hometown of Beit El on Wednesday. It was decided that Katz and MK Eldad, the party’s #3, would do the coalition negotiating with the Likud. The two met with Netanyahu in the King David Hotel in Jerusalem.
Katz said afterwards, "We enjoyed hearing what Netanyahu had to say. We spoke about the Land of Israel, about the settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria, and about education. We were impressed by what he had to say, and we hope that after all these years, a healthy government will finally be established."
"Netanyahu repeated that we are the Likud's natural partners," Ketzaleh said.
Pre-Meeting Interview
Asked beforehand on Army Radio to name what they will demand of Netanyahu in exchange for recommending him to President Shimon Peres as their choice to form the next government, Ketzaleh said, “It is clear that most of the nation agrees with us on the importance of the Land of Israel; not only do we have a 65-mandate majority in the Knesset, even Kadima is partly right-wing, as Avshalom Vilan of [the far-lef Meretz said… We will therefore demand that Netanyahu commit not to form a Palestinian state in the Land of Israel.”
Katz added that they will insist that Netanyahu “not use us as a rag in order to afterwards go to Livni and Kadima, who are in favor of giving away parts of the Land of Israel, and offer to form a national unity government with them.”
The #4
The Army Radio interviewer also grilled Ketzaleh about his party’s #4 candidate: “Isn’t he a Kahanist? Do you not have a problem with that?”
Katz replied, “What’s the problem? Dr. Michael Ben-Ari is a fine young man, a university lecturer…”
Army Radio: “---who believes in Kahane’s philosophy, which was outlawed.”
Katz: “Rabbi Kahane, may G-d avenge his blood, was murdered because he was a Jew, and his son was murdered because he was a Jew, and was someone who loved the People of Israel and the Land of Israel in a way that was more blatant and unrestrained than you do. What is the problem?”
Ben-Ari Appoints Ben-Gvir
Ben-Ari, a father of seven and a resident of Karnei Shomron in northern Samaria, has announced that he will appoint Itamar Ben-Gvir of Hevron as one of his parliamentary aides. Ben-Gvir is a colorful figure who is now completing a law degree and who, in the framework of the nationalist protests, has represented himself and friends in court on many occasions.
“Dr. Ben-Ari is going to be the surprise of the 18th Knesset,” Ben-Gvir says. “He will color the Knesset orange [the unofficial color of the Land of Israel camp -ed, and it will not be boring. He will be a worthy representative of the struggle against our enemies and on behalf of the Land of Israel.”
Jewish Home and Bibi
Netanyahu will meet next week with the negotiating team of the Jewish Home party (former National Religious Party) leader Rabbi Prof. Daniel Hershkowitz and former leader MK Zevulun Orlev.
Asked by Arutz-7 on Wednesday what he would demand of Netanyahu, Hershkovitz said, “I will not wage the negotiations via the media.”
The Jewish Home received three Knesset seats, but is awaiting the final results after the votes of the soldiers and others are counted. Based on past precedent, when the last-counted votes caused changes in the final tally of Knesset mandates, the party is hoping for an adjustment enabling long-time MK Nissan Slomiansky, the party’s #4, to enter the Knesset. The final election results will be published here.
Comment on this story
Posts
