Yesha Council leaders launched a campaign Sunday to bring down the coalition and force a new round of elections due to what they deem as biased government policies. The Council was prompted by the government’s decision to “freeze” Jewish construction in Judea/Samaria, while effectively ignoring any illegal Arab construction.

The press conference was held in front of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s Jerusalem office. Yesha chair David Elhayani accused Gantz of ceding Israeli territory to the Palestinians and endangering national security. “Thus this government has no right to exist and should be toppled,” he concluded. Shomron Council head Yossi Dagan added: “The government is destroying [Homesh] and freezing construction in the “West Bank,” all while abandoning the Negev. Such a government will fall.”

AFSI applauds the Yesha Council for advancing its activism in the fight to secure Israel’s land. We continue to remain alarmed by the about face Prime Minister Bennett takes as he appeases the PA. Let’s not forget that Bennett himself is a former chairman of the Yesha Council, which makes his actions today all the more disturbing. Until Bennett does an about-face and holds true to his election promises, he cannot be trusted and is a threat to Israel’s safety and sovereignty.

Source:
Settler leaders launch campaign calling to topple government, by Elisha Ben Kimon/Ynetnews.com, March 27, 2022

 

 

 

 

The terrorist attack in Beersheva is still fresh in our minds. Thanks to the bravery of two men this week, by the time law enforcement showed up, the threat had been eliminated. Though there is some dispute about how long it took cops to arrive, it is clear that none had been stationed in the targeted area, the One Plaza mini-mall, prior to the incident.

As if the absence of security forces weren’t bad enough, the saviors who took out the terrorist were summoned by police and had their guns confiscated for ballistic examination. This despite video footage of the shooting from every angle.

Though the interrogation and temporary removal of the weapons was standard procedure, the investigator’s dismissive and rude treatment of “anonymous” was outrageous. Rather than hailing the citizen as a hero, the officer practically had him arrested for refusing to leave the premises until his weapon was returned.

We believe systemic change is needed and our heroes should not be subject to rude and unnecessary interrogation and confiscation of their guns. Whose country is this anyway?

Source:
Carnage in Beersheba and a badge of dishonor – opinion, by Ruthie Blum/Jerusalem Post, March 24, 2022

As far as Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is concerned, there’s no point in getting into a fight you can’t win. Given the Biden administration’s unshakable commitment to cutting a deal with Iran that will revive the 2015 nuclear agreement, he’s right that the chances of stopping this disaster from happening are slim and none. But while he may think he’s saving himself a lot of trouble and perhaps even gaining some credit with President Joe Biden to cash in during a future crisis, giving up even before the battle has even formally begun is not the wise strategy he thinks it is. More importantly, his decision will have implications not just for Israel, but for Americans who wish to mount a campaign against this policy or to reverse it that he and friends of the Jewish state will have good cause to regret.

We believe, as this article indicates, that Israel MUST go on record as standing steadfast against this “agreement”. We also have to make demands on the US government to treat this as what it is a treaty, uphold the Constitution and give it full consideration.

Source:
Must Bennett wave the white flag on a new Iran deal?, by Jonathan S. Tobin/JNS, March 23, 2022

After the Israeli government approved last week the establishment of the new ultra-Orthodox city of Kasif in the Negev and the community of Nitzana, it is expected to approve 10 more towns in the Negev this coming week. The announcement came from Minister of Interior Ayelet Shaked and Minister of Housing and Construction Ze’ev Elkin yesterday.

Shaked and Elkin will bring to the government’s approval this Sunday a final decision for the establishment of five new towns, the “Mevo’ot Arad” bloc.

Shaked said that “on Sunday, a historic and exciting government decision will be passed that is of strategic and national importance and that will give significant force to the strengthening of communities in the Negev.”

Source:
Israel announces 10 new towns in the Negev, by Tazpit Press Service, March 23, 2022

The Jerusalem Suburbs Forum sent a letter this morning to Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan after discovering that UN resources are being used to support illegal encroachment on state-owned land.

In their letter, the residents explain start off, “We, the residents of Kfar Adumim, Alon, Nofei Prat, Mitzpe Yericho, Maale Michmas and Mitzpe Dani, live on Route 1, south of Jerusalem. For over a decade we have been facing encroachment by the Palestinian Authority on this important national throughway. In response, we created a joint committee, named the ‘Jerusalem Suburbs Forum’ to fight the illegal encroachment on state-owned land and Area C.”

They also asked Ambassador Gil Erdan to use all tools at his disposal to stop the illegal activity.

The United Nations continues to violate Israel’s sovereignty as it enables the law to be broken time and again. We applaud the residents for forming the Jerusalem Suburbs Forum to fight for their rights on legally owned Jewish land. This is Zionism in action.

Source:
Jerusalem-area residents press UN to stop supporting Bedouin outpost, by Israel National News, March 24, 2022

Last week it was reported that Biden is considering removing terrorist organization designation on the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Under the proposed deal, it would also remove terrorism sanctions.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Monday joined the call to keep Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps on the United States’ list of terrorist organizations, all while calling for further cooperation with Washington.

His comments came days after Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, issued a joint statement, lamenting Washington’s plans to remove the IRGC from its notorious list as part of a series of concessions meant to revive the tattered 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran.

Bennett and Lapid stated, ” The IRGC is a terrorist organization that has murdered thousands of people, including Americans. We refuse to believe that the United States would remove its designation as a terrorist organization.”

The fact that Biden and his team are pushing as hard as they can to get the Iran nuclear deal signed and sealed should be proof enough for Lapid to believe that the US would be foolish enough to remove the IRGC from its list of designated terrorists. The safety and security of the entire world will be affected if the deal goes through. In his interview on Life Liberty & Levin last night, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated the bottom line on Iran, “…They can take the entire world hostage.”

Sources:
Gantz urges U.S. to keep Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on terror list, by Yossi Yehoshua/Ynetnews.com, March 21, 2022

Joint announcement from PM Bennett and FM Lapid, by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Release, March 18, 2022

Netanyahu warns Iran could ‘take the entire world hostage’ if West approves new nuke deal, by Charles Creitz/Fox News, March 20, 2022

 

 

 

 

 

Acting on orders from the government led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, hundreds of policemen raided the Binyamin area early on Monday morning and destroyed over 20 illegal structures built by Israelis, including two synagogues.

The massive forces removed the families living in the structures and then destroyed them. Eight families, including 20 children, lost their homes. Resisting the destruction, several residents were arrested.

“A government that destroys the Jews and builds for the Arabs needs to be replaced,” said Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan.

In a separate, but equally concerning news report Member of Knesset Mansour Abbas, head of the Islamist Ra’am party, will serve as Knesset Speaker when Speaker Mickey Levy is abroad for two weeks starting Tuesday. This means Abbas will assume significant powers and influence as Knesset Speaker. If President Isaac Herzog is incapacitated for any reason, the Knesset speaker becomes acting president.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s government has truly become anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist. Its leadership is blind with no foresight on the immeasurable – and potentially long-term damage that could affect Israel. Have they forgotten why the State of Israel was founded in the first place?

Sources:
Bennett govt destroys synagogues, 20 Israeli structures in Binyamin region, by Aryeh Savir, Tazpit Press Service (via World Israel News), March 21, 2022

Islamist MK will serve as Knesset Speaker, by Tazpit Press Service, March 21, 2021

 

 

 

 

 

Only a whole Israel (Yisrael Shlayma) can be accepted now.

Rational minded politicians and groups are protesting an American bill awaiting Joe Biden’s signature that hides support for a Palestinian state among various allocations of monies that include substantial aid to Israel.

Judy Freedman Kadish, Director, Americans For A Safe Israel/AFSI, issued a statement. The full context is below and excerpts appear in the World Israel News article.

We are concerned about the contents of a bill that was passed this weekend by the US Senate by a vote of 68-31 as part of a bipartisan funding agreement.

The funding agreement and summary of the Israel Relations Normalization Act is pleasant on the outside. But the actual text of the bill Section 3 paragraph 5 calls for the reinstatement of the implausible, unworkable two-state (dis)solution. Not only does Israel have the legal, historical, and biblical right to the entire State, but creating a State within Israel for the corrupt and irresponsible PA is an idea whose time has certainly passed and would only invite more terror into the Land.

The Abraham Accords themselves point to the fact that Arab states are accepting of Israel’s indigeneity in the land of Israel. They also show that “Palestinian rights” hold little sway now (if they ever actually did).

Why does the US insist on trying to revive the dead? Sovereignty is the movement of today and it is time that the world understands that.

We hope that the Israeli government stands strong on this. It is an existential matter that cannot be put aside. Only a whole Israel (Yisrael Shlayma) can be accepted now.

Source:
Support for Palestinian state hidden in US budget bill passed by Senate, by Batya Jerenberg/World Israel News, March 15, 2022

Internal Security Minister Omer Barlev believes that the ascent of Knesset members to the Temple Mount during the month of Ramadan––which coincides with April 2 this year––is sure to produce a flare-up that must be prevented. Last Thursday, Barlev sent down a directive to Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai decreeing that any MK who wants to visit the holy site during Ramadan must request the police district commander’s approval as well as the commissioner’s approval.

But on Monday, Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara sent Barlev a scathing and poignant letter, which News12 revealed Tuesday night, making clear there was no security justification for his draconian move, at least not according to the security services.

The AG wrote: “Restricting an MK’s access to any place other than a private domain is possible only when there is a reasonable basis to expect harm to state security or for the purpose of preventing the disclosure of a military secret. The criteria you specified deviate from the criteria outlined in the relevant section of the law.”

Source:
AG Slams Barlev: ‘You Have No Authority to Ban MKs from Temple Mount’, by David Israel/Jewish Press, March 16, 2022

 

 

 

 

The IDF set up a new checkpoint Tuesday on the way to the Homesh Yeshiva. Soldiers are blocking Jews from entering the yeshiva and the area has been declared a closed military zone.

Only a limited number of students are allowed entry to Homesh, those written on a list of names held by the checkpoint commander. All others are stopped and denied entry. Yeshiva students who stood at the checkpoint and asked the soldiers to let them pass were violently arrested by the soldiers.

The Homesh Yeshiva called on ‘right-wingers’ in the government “to wake up and stop this madness. The Homesh Yeshiva will continue to hold out on the mountain, study Torah under any circumstances, and display our love of our land. No one can stop this great spirit of ours.”

As the government continues its destructive path with rewards to terrorism, the residents of Homesh are sending a clear message that they will not tolerate another expulsion of a Jewish community.

Source:
Jews blocked from entering Homesh, by Israel National News, March 15, 2022