Author: AFSI Staff

Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that Israel is still keeping open the possibility of taking action against Tehran’s nuclear project if necessary.

“Israel has a clear objective: that Iran not be nuclear. It is not just an Israeli interest. It is first and foremost a global and regional interest,” Gantz said in an interview with an Egyptian television outlet broadcast on Sunday.

“The IDF and Israel’s defense establishment are holding onto the option of taking action against Iran’s nuclear project if that is what has to be done,” he said, according to quotes from the interview provided by his office. “I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Gantz’s position is in keeping with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi’s assessment, which was reported in our newsletter last Thursday.

Source:
Gantz: Israel will take military action against nuclear Iran if needed, by TOI Staff and Judah Ari Gross. Times of Israel, February 1, 2021

Herb Zweibon left an indelible imprint on pro-Israel activism. Our own and future generations were immeasurably enriched by the gift of his long and creative life.

A true giant of pro-Israel activism in America passed away ten years ago this past Tu B’Shvat. Herb Zweibon, the chairman of Americans For A Safe Israel / AFSI, died on Tu B’Shvat, January 19, 2011. He is still sorely missed.

Source:
A giant of pro-Israel activism remembered, by Moshe Phillips. World Israel News, January 31, 2021

About 10 MKs from the right-wing factions call on the prime minister and the defense minister to do everything in their power to prevent the destruction of the Maoz Esther outpost.

The call was issued two weeks after it was announced that the security establishment was planning to destroy the home where Ahuvya Sandak lived as well as several others following the end of the 30-day mourning period for his death.

The letter was signed by Likud MKs May Golan, Amit Halevi, Shevach Stern, Ariel Kallner, Shlomo Karai, Miki Zohar and Etty Atia, MK Yitzhak Pindros of United Torah Judaism and MK Matan Kahana of Yamina.  Where is the rest of the Knesset in calling for a stop to this imposition of a double standard on Jews by their state’s own security establishment?

The head of the Samaria Regional Council, Yossi Dagan, and the head of the Kiryat Arba Council, Eliyahu Libman, also joined the call.

They also criticized the defense establishment’s policy on hilltop communities. “Preventing the settlement of the people of Israel in their land is a terrible injustice,” they wrote. “This is doubly serious, because we do not touch the outposts of the Palestinian Authority, which is taking over the territories of our country.”

“We appeal to the Israeli government, after the tragic death of Ahuvya Sandak, to make an effort and bring together the young people who are working to bring to life the desolate areas of our country, and call for positive action,” the rabbis added.

Source:
Rabbis, MKs: Destroying settlements a terrible injustice ~Arutz Sheva Staff. Arutz Sheva, February 1, 2021

The Security Cabinet will convene later in the week to discuss the defense budget for 2021, including an IDF request to add NIS 4 billion to its budget.

In addition, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi requested an additional NIS 3 billion in order to finance a possible attack on Iran to thwart its nuclear aspirations. In the passing year, the IDF already received an additional NIS 2.5 billion to field its budgetary requirements.

The new addition the army is now seeking is the bare minimum required by an Air Force estimate to prepare for the Iranian threat.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz are expected to support Kochavi’s demands as it remains unclear which stance the incoming Joe Biden regime in the United States would take on the Iranian issue.

Kochavi has already begun preparing blueprints for a possible attack in Iran, which may also entail skirmishes in the country’s north and south with Iranian-backed militias.

Source:
IDF requests billions in funds for potential Iran attack, by Ron Ben-Yishai. Ynetnews.com, January 26, 2021

WATCH: Address by the IDF Chief of the General Staff
The 14th INSS Annual Conference

Biden’s nominee to be US ambassador to the United Nations pledged yesterday at the UN to combat the anti-Israel bias.

“I look forward to standing with Israel, standing against the unfair targeting of Israel, the relentless resolutions proposed against Israel unfairly,” said Linda Thomas-Greenfield at her nomination hearing in front of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “I look forward to working with Israel to develop a strategy with them for engaging with countries that would appreciate having Israel’s expertise to support their development efforts.”

Thomas-Greenfield, a 35-year diplomat, expressed hope that those countries that have normalized ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords – the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco – “will also see some opportunities to be more cooperative at the UN and more supportive of Israel’s presence there.” Thomas-Greenfield said America would work with its allies and other members of the UN Security Council to “ensure that we hold Iran accountable.”

But let’s not forget a few things. How will Iran be held accountable if Biden intends to take the US back into the horrendous 2015 Iran “deal”? What kind of impact does Thomas-Greenfield think the US can have if it re-joins the blatantly anti-Israel UN Human Rights Council? Action, not words, matter. Time will tell.

Source:
Biden’s pick for UN envoy pledges to combat anti-Israel bias, BDS, by News Agencies and ILH Staff. Israel Hayom, January 28, 2021

“Never again isn’t a slogan. This is our policy, and this is our mission, and we will always carry it out.”  Statement delivered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Earlier this week, Ambassador Gilad Erdan delivered an address to the United Nations. Erdan expressed his hope that the arrival of new UN council members would “…help rid this council of its old habits and bias against Israel and instead, focus on the real threat to peace and security: the tyrannical regime in Tehran.”

He also pointed out that Iran follows in the footsteps of the Nazi regime, “…there is another genocidal regime epitomizing the very words and actions of the Nazis. Iran does not try to hide its intention of destroying the world’s only Jewish state. Spreading antisemitism, denying the Holocaust and even proposing legislation calling for Israel’s destruction by the year 2041.”

Americans For A Safe Israel will never forget the tragic past of the Jewish people and how hard-fought the battle was to reclaim Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people. We proudly continue our mission to educate the public on the truth about Israel. “Never again” is part of that truth. It means Jews can live in the Land of Israel, free from the threat of terror attacks and the evil forces who seek to eradicate Israel from the map.

AM YISRAEL CHAI!! SAFE – SECURE – SOVEREIGN

Source:
Netanyahu: ‘Never again’ is Israel’s mission, by Lahav Harkov. Jerusalem Post, January 27, 2021

Israeli Ambassador Erdan says to UN Security Council: Remember Holocaust and look at Iran, by Arutz Sheva, January 26, 2021

The Palestinian Authority held a ceremony on Sunday, planting some 2,000 olive trees on Israeli state land, in IDF Training Ground 203.

The event was filmed, photographed and publicized by Fatah – affiliated Radio Zeituna and on social media. Armed Palestinian Police officers were among those in attendance, and were filmed as they entered the IDF firing zone – despite the fact that are prohibited from entering Area C, the section of Judea and Samaria under Israeli jurisdiction pursuant to the Oslo Accords.

This event is one element of a large-scale project that has taken shape over the past several years, in which the Palestinian Authority has planted millions of trees as a means of illegally seizing control of thousands of dunams in Area C.

The Palestinian Authority’s “agricultural annexation” focuses on land adjacent to roadways, surrounding Jewish communities, as well as state land – particularly in locations that are of high strategic and political importance.

“The Palestinian Authority has joined the Tu B’Shvat celebrations with well-planned ‘agricultural conquest’ projects – and thus far, the State of Israel is fast asleep,” said a spokesperson for Regavim. “These projects are supported by massive European funding, and the targeted locations are chosen with care to serve a clear and publicly-declared purpose: changing the map, by creating facts on the ground – and all within spitting distance of Rosh HaAyin and Gush Dan.”

Source:
How the Palestinian Authority ‘celebrates’ Tu B’Shvat holiday, by Arutz Sheva Staff. Arutz Sheva, January 25, 2021

An Israeli citizen who went out for a run in Samaria Monday afternoon was attacked near the village of Iraq Burin in the area of ​​Mount Gerizim. The citizen was beaten all over his body by four Arabs living in the area. He managed to escape and was hospitalized in non-critical condition.

Samaria Regional Council chairman Yossi Dagan blamed the incompetence of the security forces for the attack and demanded a harsh response to what he called an attempted “lynching.”

“Only a month after the murder of Esther Horgan, who also just went out for a run near her home, a lynching attempt was again near the settlement. We will not accept this trend,” Dagan stated.

Source:
Israeli attacked by Arabs in Samaria, by Arutz Sheva Staff. Arutz Sheva, January 25, 2021

As the Obama administration negotiated the Iran nuclear agreement behind closed doors in 2015, a frequent argument employed by officials to dismiss Israeli critics of the process went as follows: “You don’t know what’s in the deal, so how can you already be objecting to it?”

The retort angered many in the Netanyahu government, who demanded involvement in crafting an accord they argued would ultimately impact them more than the US and the other negotiating powers who were situated thousands of miles away from the region.

Then along came President Donald J. Trump, who reversed course and pulled the US out of the horrendous Iran Deal.

Leaked comments indicate that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is readying for battle over Biden’s insistence on rejoining the nuclear pact, even as Washington says it will hear Israeli concerns.

Netanyahu is a vociferous opponent of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, “JCPOA” and appears to prefer keeping re-imposed sanctions in place until the Iranians agree to completely dismantle their nuclear program. At the very least Israel wants to be part of the group coming back to the table to negotiate an improved deal that will address all of her concerns.

Biden and his aides don’t view Netanyahu’s strategy as realistic or productive. But in saying they will hear Israel out,, they appear to be offering Israel a chance to be heard at the start of negotiations.

Source:
US wants to hear out allies on Iran. Netanyahu girds for fight unless it listens, by Jacob Magid. Times of Israel, January 25, 2021

Americans For A Safe Israel has been watching – in disbelief – the US presidential election outcome on November 3, 2020 and its horrendous aftermath. This spewed a domino effect of something we have never experienced in a US election before. It has left us reeling and, frankly, traumatized.

With yesterday’s inauguration of Joseph R. Biden as America’s 46th President, we remain concerned for Israel on all fronts our mission advocates for: TRUTH – SECURITY – SAFETY – SOVEREIGNTY.

President Trump had a unique and out of the box approach to handling foreign affairs with Israel and never before has Israel had such a true friend in the White House.

We would like to see Biden’s administration recognize the critical importance of continuing and expanding on the path that President Trump paved for Israel – especially the US pulling out of the Iran Nuclear Deal. It’s apparent that Biden is looking to get back into it in some form. Has Biden not heard that Iran is the #1 state sponsor of terror?

We will be watching very closely as events unfold and time progresses.

P.S. Truth be told, AFSI is not too worried about how Israel will get along as the new American political landscape develops. Israel is strong and resilient and can defend itself.

Source:
Netanyahu Preparing for Battle with Biden on Renewing Iran Deal, by David Israel. Jewish Press, January 21, 2021