Author: AFSI Staff

Israelis expressed satisfaction and “relief” on Wednesday as US President-elect Donald Trump’s foreign policy team began taking shape.

Trump has nominated former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee as US Ambassador to Israel, New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik as Ambassador to the United Nations, Florida Congressman Mike Waltz as National Security Advisor, and Fox News host Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense. Florida Senator Marco Rubio has been nominated for Secretary of State.

“These appointments sound like a lot of good news, and this is a huge relief,” Elena, a 43-year-old financial manager in Tel Aviv, told The Press Service of Israel.

Sderot carpenter Shmuel Mimoun told TPS-IL, “We are very, very glad that Trump has been elected, and we hope very much that this will change the picture of victory in Gaza and the picture of victory in Lebanon, and the Jewish people will live in pride and freedom in the Promised land.”

All of President Trump’s selections are well-known strong friends of Israel. The posts they have been nominated for are extremely important in order to continue to build and maintain a strong US-Israel alliance and a sovereign and safe Israel. We look forward to their congressional approval and ultimate tenure in the forthcoming new administration.

Source:
‘A Huge Relief’: Israelis React as Trump’s Foreign Policy Team Takes Shape, by Pesach Benson/TPS, November 13, 2024

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who heads the National Religious Party, stated at a press conference that he hopes the incoming Trump administration will recognize Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria in 2025 and put an end to U.S. demands for a Palestinian state.

“The year 2025 will be, with God’s help, the year of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria,” Smotrich said. “I instructed the Settlement Administration at the Security Ministry and the Civil Administration to begin professional and comprehensive staff work and prepare in practice the necessary infrastructure for the application of sovereignty.”

Smotrich expressed his belief that Trump can lead the way to a truly new Middle East.

“Following this past year, we are the strongest in the Middle East,” Smotrich said. “We will apply sovereignty together with our American friends. We’ll extend the agreements and alliances with neighboring countries, and we’ll create a true new Middle East.”

We could not be more eager to see his vision become a reality. Setting in motion facts on the ground to further this vision is certainly strengthening the call for Sovereignty and we applaud his foresight!

Source:
Will Trump recognize Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria in 2025?, by Steve Leibowitz/ILTV via Ynetnews

Minister for Social Equality and Women Empowerment May Golan on Wednesday wrote a letter to Rep. Elise Stefanik, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for the post of US Ambassador to the UN.

“Tragically, the women of Israel who experienced the horrors of October 7th found no expression for their voices in UN institutions. Instead of supporting them and unequivocally condemning the rape, slaughter, burning, and abduction of Israeli and Jewish women, the UN has acted to silence them, giving legitimacy to those who deny these atrocities-the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust!” continued Golan.

“Precisely because of this challenging year, you enter this challenging position with courage, facing numerous adversarial forces, but with justice and morality as your guides. I have no doubt that the State of Israel will find in you a true friend and a devoted ally,” the Minister wrote, concluding with, “Continue to shine the light of women in the face of darkness and opposition.”

Under the incoming administration, May’s calls for recognition should fall on ears that are ready to listen and act.

Source:
Minister Golan demands justice for Israeli women at the UN, by Hezki Baruch/Israel National News, November 14, 2024

The New York Times has quietly corrected a false statement about “Israeli occupation” that it used repeatedly earlier this year. The change follows a protest by Americans For A Safe Israel (AFSI).

The controversy began this past summer, when multiple Times reporters began using a new, identical phrase when referring to the Judea-Samaria territories, claiming that “three million Palestinians live under Israeli military occupation” there.

The same phrase appeared in no less than six news articles in eight days in August and September.

In early September, AFSI published a report exposing the truth: that 98% of those Arabs actually live under the rule of the Palestinian Authority, not Israel; and that the Times was falsely inflating the Arab population from 2.7-million—which the Times itself had previously reported—to 3 million.

In the weeks since AFSI’s report, the Times has reversed course. Between September 13 and November 5, the Times published five news articles and one video report about those territories. Not one of those reports claimed that “three million Palestinians live under Israeli military occupation.” In addition, the video report revised the Arab population downward to the original figure of 2.7-million.

AFSI national chairman Moshe Phillips said:

“It seems clear that editors at the Times last summer instructed their reporters to make a false statement about Israel—but once they were exposed, the editors quietly stopped using that falsehood. The fight against anti-Israel media bias may be long and difficult, but this episode demonstrates that persistence can force biased editors and reporters to correct their misstatements.”

Source:
N.Y. Times Changes “Occupation” Language After AFSI Protests, by Press Release-Americans for a Safe Israel, November 12, 2024 via Israel Behind the News

At least ten Israeli soccer fans were injured when a mob of rioters shouting “Free Palestine” attacked them in Amsterdam last Wednesday night, prompting authorities to advise Israelis in the Dutch capital not to leave their hotels.

Israel dispatched two planes to the Netherlands to evacuate its citizens. Around 3,000 Israelis traveled to Amsterdam to attend a match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax. The Israeli army deployed a rescue mission including rescue and medical teams to Amsterdam in coordination with the Dutch government.

Antisemitic disturbances in Amsterdam have continued nearly a week after the Maccabi Tel Aviv – Ajax soccer match, with rioters beating passerby, attacking police officers, and burning trams and vehicles in the city overnight Monday.

The violence could spread to Paris where police announced on Sunday the mobilization of 4,000 officers and 1,600 employees at the stadium for the soccer match between the France and Israel national teams, in order to ensure security inside and around the Stade de France, as well as on public transportation

Sources:
10 Israeli Soccer Fans Injured in Brutal Mob Attack in Amsterdam, by Pesach Benson/TPS, November 7, 2024

‘F–the Jews’ – Antisemitic Amsterdam riots continue, by World Israel News Staff, November 12, 2024

In what it called “a bold and highly successful operation,” Betar USA launched a large cyber campaign, taking control of “several notorious websites that have been linked to antisemitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric.”

“The operation, which was executed overnight, targeted platforms promoting hate against the Jewish people and the state of Israel, marking a crucial step in defending Jewish communities and Zionist values,” the organization stated.

“Betar USA is sending a clear message that we will not be silent in the face of hatred, incitement, and aggression,” added Ross Glick, CEO of Betar. “We are taking action now to ensure that our voices are heard, and that Zionism and Jewish pride remain unshaken. We will continue to confront antisemitism head-on, wherever it exists.”

World Betar stated, “its full support for Betar USA’s righteous and strategic actions, which have successfully reclaimed platforms previously used for hate and transformed them into powerful tools for advocacy and Zionist messaging.”

Source:
Betar USA takes control of ‘notorious antisemitic websites’, by Israel National News, November 7, 2024

The Knesset cracked down on Palestinian terror on Thursday morning, giving final approval to legislation authorizing the government to deport relatives of terrorists and a second bill that allows for the detention of minors who commit terror attacks.

The first law, passed by a vote of 61-41, allows the Interior Minister to expel relatives of terrorists if they knew of and supported their attack.

The law “is a significant and aggressive tool to create a formidable balance of deterrence and will reduce terrorism,” said MK Almog Cohen of the Otzma Yehudit party, one of the sponsors of the legislation.

The Choosing Life Forum for terror victims and their families praised the law’s passage, calling it “an important step and a cornerstone in the package of deterrence laws.”

Source:
Knesset Legislation Cracks Down on Terror, by Noah Michaeli/TPS, November 7, 2024

The Knesset plenum has approved, in second and third readings, a bill that sets penalties for educational staff involved in supporting terrorism.

The proposal by MKs Tzvika Foghel and Amit Halevi includes a series of amendments that will allow the Ministry of Education and relevant authorities to take significant steps against institutions and educational staff involved in supporting terrorism or identifying with terrorist organizations.

The education system and its employees who sympathize with terrorists is yet another source of terrorism against Israel that needs to be eliminated.

Source:
Knesset approves: Educators who support terrorism will be fired, by Hezki Baruch/Israel National News, November 5, 2024

The IDF is making preparations and building infrastructure in the Gaza Strip that will enable it to control the area for many years to come, a report by Israel’s Channel 14 said Sunday.

According to the report, the IDF is building a series of outposts along the Beeri Corridor, previously known as the Netzarim Corridor. The IDF has expanded the corridor in recent months, and it is now seven kilometers by seven kilometers (4.35 miles) in size.

The IDF has cleared several former villages for this purpose, as “we are here to stay, to maintain security control,” a security official stated, according to the report.

The IDF has also recently installed massive communication towers in the Rafah area, a clear indication of Israel’s plans to hold the area for the long term.

This strip of land along Gaza’s border with Egypt is crucial to quell Hamas’ attempts to rearm itself through the passages and tunnels running above and below the area.

Israel has repeatedly stated that its counterterrorism war against Hamas and the other Gaza-based terror organizations will last as long as needed to eradicate the terror groups who launched the October 7th attack, one of the worst, most deadly, and devastating days the Jews have experienced in modern Israeli history.

Source:
Israel Preparing Infrastructure for Long-Term Stay in Gaza – Report, by Max Gelber/Jewish Press, November 4, 2024

Foreign Minister Israel Katz officially announced on Monday morning the cancellation of the 1967 agreement between Israel and UNRWA, the UN agency for “Palestinian refugees”. This agreement formed the legal basis for relations between the State of Israel and UNRWA.

Minister Katz said, “UNRWA – the organization whose employees participated in the October 7 massacre and many of whose employees are Hamas operatives – is part of the problem in the Gaza Strip and not part of the solution.”

Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, said in response to the letter, “Following the legislation on UNRWA, we officially informed the President of the General Assembly of the termination of cooperation with the organization. Despite the overwhelming evidence we submitted to the UN highlighting how Hamas infiltrated UNRWA, the UN did nothing to address this reality.”

UNRWA, which has long been criticized for cooperating with Hamas, has come under increased scrutiny as its workers have been found to have been directly involved in Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Source:
Foreign Ministry tells UN: The agreement with UNRWA has been cancelled, by Israel National News, November 4, 2024