The Israel Defense Forces reported today at noon that an incident has taken place on the Israel-Lebanon border near Har Dov (also known as Shebaa farms).

The incident appears to have been triggered by a Hezbollah terrorist squad that had attempted to stage a cross-border attack. IDF troops managed to thwart the attack and fired at the squad.

The IDF confirmed that no Israeli troops or civilians were hurt in the incident. It was not immediately known if they were injured.

Residents in the area reported explosions and the IDF issued a mandatory order to residents of the north to “shelter-in-place” to avoid casualties. That order was later lifted about an hour later, after the incident ended.

The incident comes amid heightened tension between the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist group and the Jewish state after a senior Hezbollah official was killed in a strike that has been attributed to Israel in Syria.

Source:
IDF thwarts Hezbollah cross-border attack, no Israeli casualties reported, by Israel Hayom Staff. Israel Hayom – July 27, 2020

An Israeli district court on Sunday evening approved the government’s seizure of tens of thousands of shekels that the imprisoned terrorist Fakhri Zahir Mansour Omar received from the Palestinian Authority (PA) as a salary His father’s petition was also rejected on the matter, setting a legal precedent for further similar seizures.

Mansour Omar was involved in an attack and transported the terrorist who carried out the attack on the market in Hadera in October 2005 in which six Israelis were killed.

The seizure order that allowed the money to be taken is part of a precedent-setting move initiated by the National Headquarters on Terrorist Economic Counter-Terrorism at the Ministry of Defense to issue seizure orders for salaries paid by the PA to terrorists.

Israel has recently begun to confiscate the monthly stipends paid by the PA to convicted terrorists with Israeli citizenship and their families.

The PA has a policy of paying the families of convicted terrorists imprisoned in Israel, including Arabs with Israeli citizenship. The payments have been criticized as a financial incentive to commit terrorist attacks against Israelis.

It’s a great day and huge win for Israel.

Source:
Breakthrough Court Ruling Approves Seizure of Terrorist’s PA-Paid Stipend, by Aryeh Savir, Tazpit News Agency. Jewish Press – July 27, 2020

Eighty years ago, the stormy heart of Ze’ev Jabotinsky, Zionist leader, founder of the Revisionist movement and Betar Youth Organization, fell silent.

After decades of his teachings being pushed to the margins of public discourse, today Jabotinsky finally receives a proper place in history. His ideology has slowly but surely seeped into the public consciousness and is appreciated for its merits.

The Jewish and Zionist world is facing a very significant period. Today, both the political right and left now see the inevitable implementation of the process of applying Israeli Sovereignty to Jewish communities in all parts of the Land of Israel.

#Jabotinsky #SovereigntyNow #SilenceIsDespicable

Source:
Jabotinsky in the mirror of reality, by Yaakov Hagoel. Arutz Sheva – July 23, 2020

Ezri Tubi of Boomerang Fighting for Israel fought for the truth about Israel and WON! Americans For A Safe Israel is so proud of our friend, colleague and guest on this week’s AFSI ZOOM meeting.

A recent Israel Hayom report showed that the US State Department was incorrectly tallying the number of Palestinian terrorist incidents in the Israel 2019 Human Rights Report it published several months ago. The US government said it would amend the document.

US Congressmen Doug Lamborn and David B. McKinley pressed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo after Israel Hayom reported the errors, which were based on UN figures that took their information from left-wing NGOs or Palestinian advocacy groups.

The data about Palestinian attacks on Israelis were collected by Boomerang- Fighting for Israel. The group advocates for Israel and publishes a weekly report on terrorism statistics. Kol haKavod Ezri Tubi!

Boomerang’s reports are included towards the bottom of every AFSI newsletter under the “Resources” section. To view our recent Zoom meeting with Ezri, visit our YouTube Channel.

#TruthInNumbers #UNNumbersWrong

Sources:
Following flawed report, US to publish new figures on Palestinian terrorism, by Ariel Kahana. Israel Hayom – July 15, 2020

Why did US report on Palestinian terrorism get the numbers wrong?, by Ariel Kahana. Israel Hayom – July 7, 2020

It is doubtful the guests invited to celebrate at the Ragdan Halls on the outskirts of the city of Tira knew that the land on which they were dining and dancing was intended for the construction of a cemetery. Almost four years have passed since the Regavim movement’s area coordinator located two large and illegal events gardens which were being built on the outskirts of the city of Tira, only a few yards from Highway 6.

It also turned out that those event gardens were being built, without a permit, below the IEC’s high voltage lines – contrary to safety guidelines and in a way that greatly endangered the lives of anyone staying below them.

The Regavim movement successfully appealed to the Israel Police National Enforcement Unit to carry out the demolition orders issued for the buildings, before they expired.

“This case is a clear expression of the necessity of the Kaminitz Law, which today enables law enforcement agencies to operate with a wide range of tools to create immediate deterrence,” said Yachin Zik, Regavim’s director of operations.

#IsraelNeedsTheKaminitzLaw #IllegalEventHallDemolished

Source:
Like in the Settlements, But to Arabs: Israel Police Demolish Illegal Events Hall in Tira ~David Israel. Jewish Press – July 23, 2020

Defense Minister Benny Gantz over the weekend extended the moratorium on an order imposing criminal sanctions on Palestinian Arab banks. The banks hold accounts of terrorists and their families and are budgeted by the Palestinian Authority, reported Yediot Aharonot.

The imposition of sanctions was initiated by former Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, and Gantz froze the sanctions a month and a half ago.

The cancellation of the sanctions allows the Palestinian Authority to transfer funds to terrorists through the banks and has caused an uproar among bereaved families. This second freeze only adds insult to injury.

These payments are a MAJOR incentive driving PA terror against Israelis. Allowing these payments to continue certainly does not help reduce the number of the Jewish victims. The welfare of the Jewish people must come first. Has Gantz lost sight of this?

His decision allows the cycle of terror to continue. STOP PAY FOR SLAY PAYMENTS!!!

#StopFundingPATerroristSalaries

Source:
Gantz prevents sanctions on terrorists’ salaries, by Ben Ariel. Arutz Sheva – July 19, 2020

Americans For A Safe Israel awards a place in the Looney Tunes Hall of Shame to Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi for endorsing Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s bid for re-election. Instead of taking a stand against anti-Semitism, Pelosi’s backing of Omar gives full support to the ongoing and troubling trend to delegitimize Israel and the Jewish people.

Omar is well known for her virulent hatred of Israel and the Jews with anti-Semitic comments such as, “Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel” and “It’s all about the Benjamins baby.” Omar also backs the BDS movement.

Pelosi needs a refresher course on why she was elected to office in the first place and to be reminded that the USA, which she represents as a government official, does not stand for hatred and bigotry against any people. She needs to put aside her power hungry and selfish political agenda and bow her head in shame. Furthermore, she needs to be removed from office.

#AntiSemitismInTheUSCongress #ShameOnNancyPelosi

Source:
Shame on Nancy Pelosi for endorsing Ilhan Omar, by Farley Weiss. Jewish News Syndicate – July 19, 2020

“Demystifying the UNRWA approach to curriculum” is the title given by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) created for the “refugees” of the 1948 war in the Middle East (or, to be exact, their third and fourth-generation descendants). This is the heading of a two-page statement on its educational system issued in January 2020. This statement describes in detail the agency’s various supervision methods ensuring that the Palestinian Authority’s schoolbooks used in UNRWA schools meet UN standards. It also mentions a report by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) that “affirms the unwavering UNRWA commitment to UN values.”

David Bedein, who has been at the forefront of exposing the problem with UNRWA textbooks, has read them and can personally attest to the falsity of this statement discussed this in detail in his Arutz Sheva OpEd yesterday.

#CloseUNRWA

Source:
What did you learn in school today, dear little UNRWA child of Gaza?, by David Bedein. Arutz Sheva – July 20, 2020

Americans For A Safe Israel applauds former opinion editor and writer Bari Weiss’ resignation from The New York Times earlier this week. AFSI commends Weiss for her forthright resignation letter posted on her personal website. This action exposed what we all know to be true about her former employer: The New York Times is intentionally and knowingly biased against the Jews and Israel.

Excerpts from Weiss’s letter:
They have called me a Nazi and a racist.
I have learned to brush off comments about how I’m “writing about the Jews again.”
Stories are chosen and told in a way to satisfy the narrowest of audiences, rather than to allow a curious public to read about the world and then draw their own conclusions.

This letter has sent wide-reaching shock waves. Her exposure of The New York Times now serves as a wake-up call to all anti-Israel, anti-Jewish media disguised as fair and un-biased professionals.

A gut-rehab job across the media spectrum to expose the rot from inside that intentionally disseminates anti-Semitic, anti-Israel rhetoric has been sorely needed. We are not interested in having another “narrative” or a conversation about this either. The facts about anti-Semitism in the media speak for themselves. We demand ACTION be taken to hold accountable those who call themselves “journalists” at the expense of delegitimizing Israel and the Jewish people. ACTION also means a return to fact based, non-biased reporting.

While the truth about The New York Times was exposed this week by an insider, the decline in professional standards with this paper is nothing new. The New York Times has a long and troubled record of anti-Jewish reporting that goes back to its founding. Buried By The Times: The Holocaust and America’s Most Important Newspaper (1996, by Laurel Leff) is an excellent book on this subject. News about the ongoing and increasing atrocities against the Jewish people before and during the Holocaust was literally buried in the back pages of the paper. This was due the paper’s Jewish publisher Arthur Hays Sulzberger’s negative views about Judaism. Sulzberger also held virulently anti-Zionist views and was not in favor of the establishment of a Jewish state.

Since then, nothing has changed and The New York Times continues its biased reporting against Israel and the Jews. Arthur Gregg Sulzberger (AG), to whom Ms. Weiss’ letter was addressed, is the grandson of the above-mentioned Arthur Hays Sulzberger. AG took over the reins as publisher from his father, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr. in 2017. The tradition of the JINO family continues, for now.

AFSI was an organizer of a protest in April 2019 calling out The New York Times for having published an anti-Semitic cartoon, which depicted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a dog on a leash led by a blind President Donald Trump. “Shame on the Times!” was heard loud and clear in front of The New York Times headquarters by many participating Jewish organizations and hundreds of pro-Israel activists. Together, we called out the “paper of record.” We know they heard us because less than two weeks after the protest they issued an apology.

“Silence is despicable!” ~Zeev Jabotinsky

AFSI congratulates Bari Weiss for not remaining silent and for the ACTION she took to expose anti-Semitism at The New York Times. Her letter spoke with a clarity, integrity, courage and truth that gives us hope for the future.

Just as AFSI advocates for educating the public on the truth about Israel, so too, has Bari Weiss spoken the truth about Israel and the Jewish people.

#SilenceIsDespicable #BariWeiss #TheNewYorkTimesExposed

The Knesset Land of Israel lobby presented a bill to apply Israel sovereignty in Judea and Samaria on Monday by lobby leaders MK Haim Katz (Likud) and Bezalel Smotrich (Yamina). They call for Israel to announce Sovereignty in areas of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, in accordance with wording that has been approved by the Likud Central Committee.

The bill also seeks to create a mechanism that would protect areas that do not fall under Israeli Sovereignty and prevent a Palestinian or international takeover of any territory in Area C to which the bill does not apply.

The mechanism would act to prevent illegal Palestinian construction in Area C; agricultural crime; and international infrastructure and activity in Area C that is not approved by the Israeli government. In addition, it will promote the regulation of land ownership, including in the parts of Area C that lie outside the Sovereignty map, and protect government-owned land through grazing, farming, or forestation.

#SovereigntyAllOverIsrael #JudeaSamaria #ApplySovereigntyNow

Source:
Land of Israel Lobby beats Netanyahu to the punch on sovereignty, by Ariel Kahana and Yehuda Shlezinger. Israel Hayom – July 14, 2020