Author: AFSI Staff

In breaking news just moments ago, Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz has agreed to a unity government in which Benjamin Netanyahu will serve as prime minister first.

Former IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi reportedly supports the compromise, but party leaders Yair Lapid and Moshe Ya’alon are opposed to any deal which would allow Netanyahu to remain in office. The dispute could lead to the breakup of the Blue and White party.

Source:
Gantz agrees: Netanyahu to be PM first by Arutz Sheva Staff. Arutz Sheva – March 19, 2020

Don’t recognize the photo shown here? It’s MK Heba Yazbak of the Joint Arab List. Here’s what we know about her:

Past Arabic interviews given by Yazbak reveal her battle against Zionism and ambition to eliminate Zionism and the State of Israel’s Jewish and Zionist character.

Said Yazbak about the Joint Arab List, “This plan opposes and fights the country’s Zionism and prides itself of divesting the country of its Jewish and Zionist existence, and at the same time preserves our national identity, without sacrificing full citizenship…”

Yazbak has praised terrorists who murdered Israelis, including expressing regret over the elimination of terrorist Samir Kuntar, who smashed the skull of 4 year-old Einat Haran in the 1979 Nahariya terror attack, and whom she called a “hero.”

WAKE UP! Unfamiliar photos and names along with exposing their documented hatred of Israel could be the norm in AFSI newsletters if Gantz formed a government. Unfortunately, a small segment of the Israeli people, and IDF leaders who fought vigorously to defend Israel and the right for Jews to live in freedom and security, sided with Gantz. We pray that this segment of Israelis will come to their senses and understand the real danger that lies ahead if Gantz were to succeed.

Source:
Heba Yazbak: ‘We’ll divest Israel of its Jewishness and Zionism’ by Dalit halevi. Arutz Sheva – March 18, 2020

The young community of Nofei Nehemiah was connected to the national electricity grid on Sunday. This good news comes three weeks after Prime Minister Netanyahu approved attaching the outposts to electricity and water infrastructure.

Nofei Nehemiah chairman Barak Farkash said: “We are very excited, beyond the individual delight of Nofei Nehemiah, there is a general elation of the young community here. This is an important and groundbreaking move that hasn’t taken place for a while in Judea and Samaria. We are happy to be the first groundbreakers.”

Source:
Netanyahu makes good on promise to Judea and Samaria communities by Arutz Sheva Staff. Arutz Sheva – March 19, 2020

Israel and the PA have set up a joint operations room to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Revealed by PA government spokesman Ibrahim Milhem, this was also confirmed by a Defense Ministry official.

“Our shared borders and relations do not leave room for hesitation to take severe measures and cooperate on the highest levels to prevent the spread of the virus,” Milhem said Tuesday.

After the cornonavirus pandemic dies down, what does the future hold for continued cooperation on the part of the Arabs respecting Israel’s legal right to exist as a safe and Sovereign nation? It remains to be seen what this major health crisis teach the detractors of Israel.

Source:
Israel, Palestinians set up joint operations room to combat coronavirus by Khaled Abu Toameh. Jerusalem Post – March 18, 2020

Last night, President Reuven Rivlin announced that he would task Blue and White chairman MK Benny Gantz with forming the government.

The announcement follows President Rivlin’s meetings with heads of the Knesset political parties on Sunday.

This is not a decision we wanted to hear. We do not know how this move by President Rivlin will play out and it seems Gantz’s chances of forming a government are slim. We hope that in the coming weeks Israel’s politicians come to their senses and can form a government that truly favors the security and Sovereignty of the Jewish people and Israel.

Sources and Further Reading:
15 Anti-Zionist Arab MKs Can’t Be Wrong: President Tasks Gantz with Forming Israel’s Government, by David Israel. The Jewish Press – March 16, 2020

Wife of murdered rabbi attacks Gantz: ‘You granted legitimacy to murderers’ by Yael Shevach. Arutz Sheva – March 16, 2020
AFSI knows and has visited with Yael Shevach

Leaders of right-wing parties refuse to meet with Benny Gantz, by Arutz Sheva Staff. Arutz Sheva – March 16, 2020

In a surreal ceremony, Israel’s 23rd Knesset convened on Monday in the shadow of the COVID-19 outbreak. To avoid the spread of the virus, Israel’s 120 lawmakers were inducted in batches of three. Their usual festive opening remarks were given in an empty hall.

President Reuven Rivlin opened this year’s swearing-in with an address to the only three lawmakers present: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz and Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein.

Rivlin implored the political parties to resolve their differences and form a coalition, putting an end to the deadlock that has left the country without a functioning government since December 2018.

Source:
In surreal scenes, Knesset sworn in 3 members at a time amid virus crisis by TOI Staff. Times of Israel – March 16, 2020

We think The Struggle for Israel’s Jewish Soul is is an excellent article in response to Benny Gantz being given the mandate to form a government. We urge everyone to read it carefully. This should also serve as a refresher course for every Israeli politician supporting President Reuven Rivlin’s recent decision.

The article’s summary: The possibility of an Israeli minority government that relies on the Joint Arab List underscores the clear and present danger of accommodating political parties and movements that reject the existence of the Jewish state and propagate Israel’s transformation into a Palestinian Arab (Muslim) state.

Pictured here is Ayman Odeh, an Israeli Arab lawyer and politician. The leader of the Hadash party, he is currently a member of the Knesset and head of the Joint List alliance. If Gantz is successful in forming a coalition, these are the kinds of photos you’ll be seeing more of in our newsletters.

Source:
The Struggle for Israel’s Jewish Soul by Prof. Efraim Karsh and Maj. Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen. The Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies – March 16, 2020

A 14 year-old boy from Yitzhar, the son of a family AFSI is very close to, was brutally attacked Tuesday night near Hawara. A terrorist, who has since been apprehended, hurled a large rock at his head.

The boy was taken by Magen David Adom to the hospital, where after suffering seizures, he fell unconscious and was put on a respirator. The next day he was taken into surgery, his entire forehead was opened, the top part of his skull was removed, reconnected, glued to a metal plate and then closed back up. We are happy to report that successful surgery was performed and his condition has significantly improved overnight. Despite his horrific ordeal, he is out of danger.

Samaria Regional Council Head Yossi Dagan said: “This is a very serious incident. It is an anti-Semitic attempted murder, and a nationalist event by all counts. I spoke with the injured boy’s father and received an update on his condition, and I call on the public to pray for the youth’s recovery.”

AFSI Chizuk Missions have visited with the family many times over the years. We ask everyone to continue to pray for a refuah shlema – a speedy recovery – for Tzadok Aryeh Ben Ayelet HaShachar, צדוק אריה בן אילת השחר.

Source:
Condition of boy attacked over Purim improves by Mordechai Sones. Arutz Sheva – March 12, 2020

Yemina party leader Ayelet Shaked slammed Blue and White’s recent decision to form a minority government with outside support of the Joint Arab List.

“The very fact that they are seeking to form such a government is a sign of their moral bankruptcy,” Shaked told 103 FM on Tuesday. “Most of the MKs of the Joint Arab List don’t believe that Israel should be a Jewish and democratic state.”

Shaked is right when she says that the large parties need to come to their senses for the greater good of the Israeli people.

Source:
Ayelet Shaked Blasts Blue & White Decision to Team Up with Arab Parties by Aaron Sull. Jewish Voice – March 13, 2020

PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi’s recent comments on the coronavirus are nothing more than a desperate attempt to delegitimize Israel. On Wednesday she accused Israel of exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to “annex Palestinian occupied territories.”

The statement was released following Defense Minister Naftali Bennett remarks that he plans to promote paving a road between the E1 area and Jerusalem, which he called the “road of Sovereignty” project.

Source:
PA official: Israel exploiting coronavirus to promote annexation by Israel Hayom Staff. Israel Hayom – March 12, 2020