Americans For a Safe Israel extends a hearty MAZEL TOV to our friend and colleague, Rabbi Elie Abadie.

As announced on Friday, Rabbi Abadie was appointed Senior Rabbi of the small but growing Jewish community of Dubai. The Jewish Council of the Emirates (JCE) confirmed that Rabbi Abadie will be the second full-time rabbi in one of two Orthodox congregations in the country. The JCE is the country’s oldest congregation and the only one recognized by local authorities.

Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Rabbi Abadie is a prominent rabbi and scholar of Sephardic Judaism currently living in New York City. He will relocate to the Gulf metropolis.

Rabbi Abadie holds by the same principles and mission when it comes to a safe and Sovereign Israel. He has generously hosted AFSI events on many an occasion in his congregation’s former space.

AFSI wishes Rabbi Abadie and his family the very best as he embarks on his new position. We have no doubt that his service to his new community will certainly increase the ties between the Jewish communities of different parts of the world.

By the way… you never know…maybe when AFSI resumes its Chizuk Missions to Israel, a visit to Rabbi Abadie will be on the itinerary.

Source:
Small but growing, UAE’s Jewish community to get second full-time rabbi from NY, by Raphael Ahren. Times of Israel, October 16, 2020

Yesterday, Bezeq Israel Telecom was awarded its first license to operate in Israel’s Area C. This will allow it to provide uniform high-speed internet services to settlements and along roads and public areas.

Bezeq has operated in the area without a license for 36 years in a limited capacity, but its coverage has been patchy and Jewish residents there have long complained that there were black spots in some stretches of the territory. This created a safety hazard, particularly because they could be vulnerable to attack from Palestinians and would not be able to call for help.

Yesha Council head David Elhayani welcomed the granting of Bezeq’s license and he took the opportunity to call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to authorize some 100 Jewish communities in Area C.

Source:
Bezeq operating license for Area C formalized after 36 years ~Tovah Lazaroff. Jerusalem Post, October 18, 2020

Israel and Bahrain on Sunday formally declared that they have made peace and established formal diplomatic relations, only the fourth such agreement between the Jewish state and an Arab country, and the second in weeks.

At a solemn ceremony in Manama, officials from both nations signed eight bilateral agreements, including a “Joint Communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic, peaceful, and friendly relations.”

So far, we now know that this new agreement DOES NOT mention anything related to Sovereignty over Judea and Samaria or put the two-state solution back on the table for discussion although it does mention the quest for a resolution of the “conflict”. This still appears to be a win for Israel. That’s always a good thing!

Source:
‘From friends to family’: Israel and Bahrain establish diplomatic relations, by Raphael Ahren. Times of Israel, October 18, 2020

The 65 year-old Palestinian chief negotiator, Saeeb Erekat, is deteriorating so badly from Covid-19 that he was been rushed from his home in the “West Bank” to Hadassah hospital in Israel.

That fact is presumably deeply unpalatable to Erekat’s comrades in the Palestine Liberation Organization. In a statement on Sunday, the PLO said: Following his contraction of Covid-19, and due to the chronic health problems he faces in the respiratory system, Dr Erekat’s condition now requires medical attention in a hospital. He is currently being transferred to a hospital in Tel Aviv.

The Times of Israel reported that the PLO couldn’t even bring itself to say he was being admitted to a hospital in Israel, but said he was being transferred to a hospital in the 1948 areas.

How the hypocrisy never ends! We certainly hope the bill for the services he is being provided is paid for by the PLO, perhaps lessening the PA ability to “pay for slay”.

Sources:
Israeli doctors battle to save Saeeb Erekat’s life – If only hateful hypocrisy were a curable disease, by Melanie Phillips, October 19, 2020

Top Palestinian official Erekat, now critical, put on ventilator in Jerusalem, by Times of Israel Staff. Times of Israel Staff, October 19, 2020

Israel green-lighted Wednesday over 2,000 new housing units for Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria, ending an eight-month de facto freeze on approval for new homes.

The Civil Administration’s Higher Planning Committee approved on Wednesday 2,166 new housing units in Judea and Samaria, with the committee expected to meet again Thursday to approve close to 3,000 additional housing units, for a total of roughly 5,000 units.

This is the first time since February that the Higher Planning Committee approved new housing units in Judea and Samaria. Also of note is that after 20 years, Pnei Kedem in Gush Etzion, will be officially recognized on the Land Registry.

Shlomo Ne’eman, Gush Etzion Regional Council head, lauded the decision: “Sovereignty is about more and more Jews who establish their homes in the land of their ancestors for now and forever. And for that, a big thank you and congratulations are due to Prime Minister Netanyahu, who despite being busy with his intense involvement in current issues, is also advancing strategic plans to strengthen our hold on Judea and Samaria.”

AFSI is pleased to see another level of development on the road to applying full Sovereignty being implemented.

Sources:
Israel approves Judea and Samaria homes, ending de facto freeze, by David Rosenberg. Arutz Sheva, October 14, 2020

After 20 years Pnei Kedem officially recognized in Land Registry, by Arutz Sheva Staff. Arutz Sheva, October 15, 2020

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan announced that he will lead a campaign to expose the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) illegitimacy and its detrimental effect on peace in the Middle East.

Erdan, who began his tenure at the UN week ago, participated in a discussion with UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini and demanded that he “end the incitement and anti-Semitism in UNRWA schools and publicly pledge to eliminate any terrorist infrastructure in its buildings.”

UNRWA staff has been embroiled in anti-Semitism scandals while its facilities have repeatedly been found to be used as weapons caches by terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip.

“I will lead a campaign in the UN to show UNRWA’s donor countries and the entire world the real reason there is no political process: Palestinian incitement denying the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel while demanding the Big Lie of the return of Palestinian ‘refugees,’” Erdan stated Tuesday.

Separately at the UN, Erdan slammed the election of several countries with poor rights records to the U.N. Human Rights Council.

“Today’s Human Rights Council elections prove once again that this council has nothing to do with protecting human rights and everything to do with violating them. Since 2006, the council has adopted 90 resolutions condemning Israel, more than all the resolutions against Syria, North Korea and Iran, combined,” he said in a statement.

“The obsessive focus on Israel, along with its protection of oppressive, dictatorial regimes, shows that the Human Rights Council is in the business of white-washing the crimes of these countries,” continued Erdan. “I call on all democracies that are still members of the council to immediately resign from this shameful and anti-Semitic body.”

Sources:
‘The Big Lie’: Israeli Envoy Launches Campaign Against UNRWA, by Aryeh Savir/TPS. The Jewish Link, October 14, 2020

Erdan slams UNHRC after election of countries with poor rights records, by JNS Brief. Jewish News Syndicate, October 13, 2020

Despite the extraordinary peacemaking efforts of the administration in Washington that resulted in the Abraham Accords—which precluded Israel’s plan to extend Sovereignty to Judea and Samara—the 2,000-year dream of reapplying Jewish Sovereignty to Israel’s biblical and historic heartland should not be abandoned. Re-applying Sovereignty will depend largely on the outcome of the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

Source and Full Article:
Let us not abandon the sovereignty plan, by Joseph Frager. Jewish News Syndicate, October 13, 2020

Before Israel voted today to ratify the Abraham Accords, the Women in Green called upon all Ministers not to vote without a transparent and in-depth discussion first.

We understand that the agreement avoids any topics that may be “controversial,” such as a Palestinian state, the suspension of Israel’s plans to apply Sovereignty in Judea and Samaria or American arms sales to Abu Dhabi. Did Israel’s officials heed the call of the Women in Green? Only time will tell.

The Sovereignty Movement to the ministers and members of Knesset: Demand clarification and transparency before voting to ratify the agreement with the Emirates: On Sovereignty, security, the Temple Mount and not agreeing to two states.

In anticipation of the expected vote in the cabinet and the Knesset to ratify the agreement that was signed with the United Arab Emirates, the Sovereignty Movement is publishing an open call to the ministers and members of Knesset of the Right to hold a deep and genuine discussion on the clauses of the agreement.

Sources:
A Call to the Ministers: Do not vote without a transparent and in-depth discussion, by Women in Green. Arutz Sheva, October 11, 2020

Cabinet authorizes Israel-UAE peace treaty, by Lahav Harkov. Jerusalem Post, October 12, 2020

AFSI likes the Jerusalem Post Opinion piece by Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan. In it, Erdan confronted the issues that matter and have been purposely overlooked for way too long.

With the paradigm between Israel and Arab states changing, will the UN change its ways too or cling to old habits, i.e. display hate for Israel in every way possible? Who holds the UN accountable for actions that go against its own charter?

Between Ambassador Erdan’s article AFSI featured earlier this month, and his piece here, could we finally come to see the UN held accountable as it should have been over the decades?

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) just concluded its 75th session. In his opening remarks, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recalled that following World War II and the Holocaust, the UN stood as a beacon for a better world. As we now face another world-transforming crisis unlike any we have ever seen, it is worth considering: Does the UN deserve another 75 years?

It appears that between the various bloated and redundant agencies and offices, the ever-expanding secretariat, professional staff and crippling bureaucracy, the UN, as it currently stands, is institutionally incapable of adapting to new realities. It may be forever doomed to live in the past, a relic of a previous age.

Source:
Does the UN deserve another 75 years?, by Gilad Erdan Jerusalem Post, October 4, 2020

Likud Knesset Member Michal Shir last week toured Samaria together with Council Chairman Yossi Dagan. The two visited the Yair Farm, Nofei Nehemia, and the Gilad Farm, and also visited the old town of Itamar. These communities may be short on luxury but make up for it with a surplus of spirituality and love of the Land.

MK Shir was shocked to discover the living conditions of residents of the young communities that remain disconnected from water and electricity, despite Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s promise two years ago to begin the connection processes immediately.

“It is very exciting to be at Havat Gilad, to see the settlement, but it’s just a pity that the citizens of the country who are fulfilling all their obligations must struggle to light a kettle, and struggle to keep their children warm in the winter,” she said.

We are very concerned that the residents of Havat Gilad continue to live without being connected water or electricity. It is unacceptable that the Netanyahu government has not made good on its pledge yet. However, instead of attacking Prime Minister Netanyahu for not coming through yet, we choose the high road and follow the example of Rabbi Raziel Shevach’s widow, Yael. Her words in the days immediately following Rabbi Raziel’s murder say it best, “We want to build it up, revenge is not Important.”

Sources:
‘Connect the young communities to electricity and water’, by Mordechai Sones. Arutz Sheva, October 6, 2020

Yael Shevach: “We Want to Build, Revenge is Not Important”, by Hidabroot. Hidabroot, October 8, 2020