AFSI’s latest Chizuk Mission recently concluded. This mission, like previous ones, was memorable, educational, intense and enjoyable, and provided Chizuk to both Israelis and mission-goers alike. From the beleaguered yet stalwart Jewish community in Hebron, to the brave citizens of Israel living just a few feet away from Gaza, AFSI was there.

Click HERE to read the full report of this year’s Fall Chizuk Mission.

WE ARE PLEASED TO NOTE!
Reservations are now being taken for AFSI’s next Chizuk Mission, April 17-25, 2018. Reserve your space for this special time in Israeli history when the 70 years since the creation of the State will be celebrated. All are invited to join us. Contact Judy at 212-828-2424 or write to judy@afsi.org.

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A spirited group of pro-Israel advocates turned out Tuesday evening in front of The New School for Social Research in NYC to protest the presence of Linda Sarsour, who headlined an event there AntiSemitism and the Struggle for Justice.

In addition to Sarsour, the panel of speakers included Leo Ferguson, from Jews for Racial & Economic Justice; Rebecca Vilkomerson, chair of the radical anti-Israel Jewish Voice for Peace organization; JVP activist Lina Morales; and Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman.

A write-up of the evening can be read here:
Linda Sarsour highlights her anti-Zionism at anti-Semitism event

On November 29, 1947, the United Nations voted in favor of Resolution 181, to partition the remaining territorial area that was part of the British Mandate known as Palestine, into two states: one Jewish, one Arab. Of course, the Jews accepted the idea of a shrunken, truncated state with Jerusalem under international jurisdiction, and the Arabs rejected it. This led to Israel’s War of Independence and the re-establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. The rest, as they say, is history.

What many people do not know, or conveniently neglect to mention, is that the British Mandate for Palestine, which was earmarked for Jewish settlement and to become the Jewish state, originally included the land that today is the state of Jordan. In 1921, after the Balfour Declaration and the San Remo conference confirmed international, political and legal rights to the founding of a Jewish state in Palestine, the British tried to placate the Arabs by giving them part of the land that was included under the Palestine Mandate. This land comprised 77% of the original Mandate, and was used to create the state of Transjordan, to be renamed Jordan in 1949.

Over the years there have been numerous proposals to establish an Arab state west of the Jordan River, including by Israeli governments, all rejected by the Arabs. And the Arabs, especially the “Palestinian” Arabs, have not given up their dream to destroy Israel and create the apartheid state of Palestine, from the river to the sea in its place.

So, do we celebrate the passing of Resolution 181 in November 1947? We certainly commemorate it, as perhaps as the saying goes, half a loaf is better than no loaf at all.

The good news today, however, is that Jews – the true indigenous people in the Land of Israel – are returning to their historic homeland, Judea and Samaria, even in the face of obstacles placed by the international community and Israeli governments. May this return continue unabated and may full sovereignty be restored throughout the Land of Israel, to its rightful owners.

Yesterday (November 29) the Israeli government destroyed the Aharonowitz family’s carpentry shop in Netiv HaAvot. This was the opening volley for the additional destruction of a number of homes, slated to take place in a few months. Whether or not these homes can be saved is still an open question, but for now, the least we can do is to emphasize the senselessness behind the destruction already wreaked.
Volunteers to rebuild demolished carpentry shop in Netiv Ha’avot

Remember, there is only one way –
Jewish Sovereignty over all of Judea and Samaria!

AFSI is proud to sponsor the video below,
It’s Time for Sovereignty.

Please watch and share widely.

It’s Time for Sovereignty

Tuesday, November 28, 6:45-8 PM

JOIN AFSI @ 6:45 PM. WE WILL PROTEST IN FRONT OF THE NEW SCHOOL’S ALVIN JOHNSON AUDITORIUM
66 WEST 12 ST. NYC

Linda Sarsour, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and Jews for Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ) are headlining an event at The New School for Social Research called – AntiSemitism and the Struggle for Justice.

These anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist individuals and organizations cannot be ignored! Their lies must be exposed!

Join AFSI at 6:45 PM to protest their presence
at the New School 66 W 12 St. NYC

In 2016 the Israeli High Court ruled that 15 out of 42 homes in the Netiv Avot neighborhood in the Elazar community in Gush Etzion were illegally built on “private Palestinian land,” and a March 2018 date was set for their demolition by the state.

In an additional bizarre ruling, the court ruled that an “illegally built” carpentry shop in Netiv Avot (really just a shack) would be demolished before the end of this year. A number of the shop owner’s friends – army reservists – have written to PM Netanyahu promising to rebuild the shop if the government goes forward with its destruction.

Reservists tell PM: If Netiv Ha’avot carpentry shop torn down, we’ll rebuild it

At a rally held last night to show support for the 15 families in Netiv Avot, Jewish Home Party Minister Naftali Bennett said that there is no reason the homes should be torn down. He told The Land of Israel Network’s Josh Hasten that destroying those homes “makes no sense,” and he is calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do what he can to save those houses. Last night’s rally saw hundreds in attendance including Government Ministers, Members of Knesset, and many other Israelis who do not want to see the unnecessary demolition of the Jewish homes in Netiv Avot.

You can hear Josh Hasten’s report from the rally, including Naftali Bennett’s remarks, on the Land of Israel Network, by clicking HERE.

For additional background information on Netiv Avot, including the absurdity of the court’s decision, please read Josh’s report in the Jerusalem Post here: DON’T DESTROY THE NETIV AVOT HOMES.

Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely’s recent comment that “US Jews do not fully understand the realities of life in Israel” has drawn criticism from many on the left, both in Israel and the US. As a result, Hotovely was disinvited to speak at Princeton University, and there have been calls for her resignation. Tellingly, her remarks are neither anti-Semitic nor disrespectful of US Jewry as some have reported. As Sderot Hesder Yeshiva Dean Rabbi Dovid Fendel stated, Hotovely’s words were “spoken with grace and with compassion, out of faith and humility. She did not attack US Jewry, and did not insult them, either.”

AFSI stands behind Hotovely 100%.

Read about it HERE, and view the video of her interview with i24NEWS below:

We have a lot to be thankful for, this Thanksgiving season.

We give thanks for:

• The ability to continue our AFSI Chizuk Missions twice a year, visiting our friends in communities throughout Judea and Samaria, some living in beleaguered communities with minimal resources and support.
• The strength of those living throughout Israel, holding on to Jewish land and not succumbing to threats or temptation to give up.
• The support of our members and friends, whose primary interest is the security and well-being of Israel.
• The contributions made by millions of Americans who support Israel.
• The IDF, which defends Israel and never sleeps, and whose strength, courage, dedication and expertise are unparalleled.

The past few weeks have witnessed media speculation about President Trump announcing a US initiative toward restarting negotiations between Israel and the “Palestinian” Arabs.

Caroline Glick’s piece in the Jerusalem Post puts to rest any idea that if what we are reading in the media is accurate, Trump’s initiative would have any chance of success at all.
BANNON AND THE ANTI-ISRAEL ESTABLISHMENT

Yet, there are also reports that Trump’s plan would differ from that of previous presidents in several important ways, including:
– It would not be based on the pre-1967 lines
– It would not include the uprooting of Jews in Judea and Samaria (nor Arabs)
‘TRUMP PEACE DEAL WON’T UPROOT JEWS OR ARABS’

Regardless of any differences between Trump’s plan and those proposed by previous presidents, AFSI, since its founding, has been a staunch adherent to the idea of full Israeli sovereignty throughout the Land of Israel, i.e., Yisrael Shleyma – Israel from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. Any notion of an Arab state within the borders of Israel is nothing but a supreme threat to the existence of Israel, and must never happen.

As written by Women In Green, proponents of the Sovereignty Movement:
“Anyone who has forgotten: A Palestinian state between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River endangers the State of Israel. We are shocked by the weak memory that leads the planners of the deathtrap to the State of Israel.”

“For all those who have forgotten the fundamental principles of Zionism, we will recall that the Land of Israel is our land, and the only way to lead to true peace is to apply Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.”

“An Israeli concession to the Zionist-historical principle that this land belongs to the people of Israel alone, will lead to further concessions as has been proven in the past. Israel is once again asked to continue to pay in the currency of territory for insignificant signatures of the Arab side on pieces of paper, and reminds that there is no country in the world that desires to live that gives up its achievements in a war that was forced on it.”
(Read about Women In Green HERE.)

In addition, Yoram Ettinger makes the case against a Palestinian state, from a US perspective:
A Palestinian Arab state – enhancing or eroding US national security?

Whether or not Trump’s purported plan sees the light of day or is just a diversion from other, more important issues in the Middle East, such as Iran’s march toward creating a Shiite crescent all way to the Mediterranean Sea, any plan that proposes a Palestinian state within the borders of Israel, is by definition, a non-starter, and one which we, and all supporters of Israel, will continue to vociferously rally against.