Category: Articles

Several weeks ago, the Biden administration, led by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, announced plans to open a Palestinian consulate in the heart of Jerusalem. Prior to the United States Embassy move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem during the Trump administration, the building was used as a consulate and had a consular services office in Eastern Jerusalem that primarily served the needs of the Arab population. The consulate the Biden administration would like to open to serve the Palestinian population is located on Agron Street in the heart of Western Jerusalem.

Yesterday morning a large group of dedicated activists gathered together across from the Israeli consulate in midtown Manhattan to show solidarity with our Israeli brethren who were simultaneously staging their third vigil with 20 other organizations to halt the opening of the Agron Street mission.

The New York City vigil was initiated and organized by Americans For a Safe Israel’s Director, Judy Freedman Kadish and joined by Yad Yamin New York’s Karen Lichtbraun as well as Liz Berney and Alan Jay from ZOA. The group held a vigil simultaneously with Jerusalem to “Just Say NO” to a Palestinian Authority Consulate in Jerusalem.

Kadish was simulcast to the group in Jerusalem, appearing on a wide screen there to a large and enthusiastic audience in attendance. Our friends in Israel need to know that they have our absolute support on their position on the unlawful consulate.

The essence of Kadish’s message was:

Shalom Jerusalem!

We are here holding a vigil in solidarity with You!

We ask the Israeli government to hold firm in its denial of the US desire to open a consulate in the middle of Jerusalem to serve the PA.

In Israel this past Saturday evening, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, supported by Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, stated that the US consulate for the PA should not be placed in Jerusalem.

We have yet to hear an acknowledgment from the Biden administration of Israel’s position. Under international law the US MUST have permission of the host country to open any type of consulate.

The Biden administration MUST STOP TRYING TO DIVIDE JERUSALEM!

Given the stated position of the Israeli government, The Sovereignty Movement and the New York group will hold off on further vigils while they await developments in Israel and the US. Stay tuned!

 

The United States is developing an initiative to form a Palestinian unity government that the Americans hope will end the split between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas and bring calm to the “West Bank” and Gaza Strip, i24NEWS has learned.

An Israeli government source told i24NEWS that the government has not taken a position on the plan being worked out by the administration of US President Joe Biden.

The US hopes that the initiative will lay the groundwork for tor the economic rehabilitation of the PA and become the basis for long-term peace and stability in the “West Bank” and Gaza Strip.

The proposed unity government would include Hamas representatives, Fatah and economic professionals who are not affiliated with a political party.

“The Palestinian Authority will not respond to any American initiative as long as there is no decision regarding the opening of the consulate,” PA Minister for Social Development Dr. Ahmad al-Majdalani told i24NEWS.

The last Palestinian elections in January 2006 saw Hamas win a majority in the now-disbanded Palestinian Legislative Council and resulted in a bloody civil war between the rival parties.

Source:
Exclusive: US initiative to form Palestinian unity government, by i24NEWS, November 9, 2021

Israel has told the Biden administration that it is opposed to any plan to reopen the US consulate-general that services the Palestinians in Jerusalem because the city is the undivided capital of the Jewish state, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told reporters on Saturday night.

“My position, which has been presented to the Americans by myself and by Foreign Minister Lapid, is that there is no place for an American consulate that serves the Palestinians in Jerusalem,” Bennett said.

“We have expressed our position [to the US] determinedly, quietly, without drama, and I hope it will be understood. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel alone.”

The Sovereignty Movement stated, “The prime minister’s statement that Jerusalem is the exclusive capital of the Jewish people is completely accurate. With these words, the prime minister has blocked a dangerous attempt to erode Israel’s sovereignty over the eternal capital of the Jewish people.”

While it has been troubling to see Prime Minister Bennett give too many concessions to the PA in recent weeks, AFSI applauds PM Bennett for holding strong to this critical position on Sovereignty over Jerusalem. Now his words must be met with and consistent with action.

We remind everyone to join us and show your support for an undivided Jerusalem at our Urgent Vigil this Wednesday to make it clear to Biden – NO PALESTINIAN CONSULATE IN JERUSALEM. Information follows below.

Source:
Bennett: There’s no room in Jerusalem for a US consulate for Palestinians, by Tovah Lazaroff, Jeremy Sharon/Jerusalem Post, November 6, 2021

After three and a half years if you count from the passing of the last budget, or two and a half if you start from the expiration of the 2018 budget, Israel finally has a new budget to carry it through 2022. The new budget was passed around 3:00 AM Friday, with a 59 to 56 vote, at the end of a 66-hour debate that began at 9:00 AM Tuesday.

So, what’s in the 2022 budget? According to the Finance Ministry, the 2022 state budget will be NIS 452.5 billion ($145.56 billion). The biggest overall spending will be on Education: about NIS 70 billion ($22.5 billion). Second biggest—although it will likely be amended for unexpected emergency spending, Defense: about NIS 60 billion ($19.3 billion). Health: NIS 45 billion ($14.4 billion); Transportation development: about NIS 36 billion ($11.6 billion); Welfare: about NIS 15 billion ($4.82 billion); Higher education: about NIS 12 billion ($3.86 billion).

Did we miss something? Where is money allocated to build in Judea and Samaria?

The approved budget includes more than $9.6 billion for the Arab sector—a prize for Mansour Abbas’s Ra’am Party, part of the governing coalition. Bennett’s coalition once again appeases the Arabs and neglects Israelis.

Those that cast the 56 votes against were less jovial. MK Shlomo Karhi (Likud) said: “This is an abusive budget against the weak and against Judaism and against the Jewish character of the state.”

Religious Zionism Chairman MK Bezalel Smotrich was also combative, declaring: “We lost this battle but we will win the war, because we have a path, and values, and truth, and we have not sold nor will we sell them for any fortune in the world. And the truth will win in the end.”

Sources:
Lapid-Bennett Coalition Passes 2022 Budget; Smotrich: We Lost this Battle But Will Win the War, by David Israel/Jewish Press, November 5, 2021

Israeli budget, set to increase funding for Arab-Israeli sector, would boost Islamist Party, by Ariel Ben Solomon/JNS, November 4, 2021

 

 

 

When a war begins with an undulating siren, people are terrified, unite and mobilize to take up arms and stand firm in the face of the onslaught of the enemy. However, there are wars that begin with the sound of silence—wars that imperceptibly insinuate their way into people’s consciousness. While they are steeped in a lack of awareness, facts are established on the ground with no apparent resistance, without any rallying in defense of the homeland.

These days, Israel is in the midst of a war on Jerusalem. This is a war that is difficult to identify, as there is no shelling by tanks and cannons or bombing by planes. However, if we continue to close our eyes, we may awaken to a reality in which the heart of the Jewish people, its eternal capital, Jerusalem, is no longer in our hands, God forbid.

Source:
The battle for Jerusalem, by Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar/JNS, November 3, 2021

 

 

The Lapid-Bennett government on Wednesday approved the establishment of a new Bedouin city and three rural Bedouin settlements, the purpose of which is to gather the dispersed Bedouin who are squatting illegally around the Negev desert into permanent, regulated settlements.

The decision is the outcome of demands made by Ra’am during negotiations to join Naftali Bennett’s coalition. The Regavim movement said on Wednesday that the decision was reached despite heavy pressure from coalition partner Ra’am to change key elements of the plan.

The Islamist Ra’am party enjoys great support among Bedouin voters the Bedouin in the Negev are about 10% of Israeli Arabs. Despite the pressure from Ra’am, the wording of the proposed resolution is almost identical to the proposal promoted by the previous government headed by Netanyahu, Regavim pointed out. The agreed wording was formulated based on the work of Regavim staff in cooperation with Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked’s office over the past few months.

Regavim CEO Meir Deutsch said, “…the government must prove that it intends to implement the move to the end, including the evacuation of the dispersed and the return of the land to the state – and not continue with the wrong policy of expanding the territories given to the Bedouin sector.”

Source:
Regavim: New Bedouin Settlement Plan in Keeping with our Demands Despite Ra’am’s Fierce Objection, by David Israel/Jewish Press, November 3, 2021

 

 

 

The Ad Kan organization, together with the Choose Life forum for bereaved families, revealed over the weekend on Channel 13 how elements in the Islamic Movement acted to transfer funds to Hamas through the nonprofit Aid 48. Elements within the Movement are also senior members of the United Arab List (UAL) party and helped draft the party’s coalition agreement. This revelation suggests that Ra’am is transferring funds it receives from the Lapid-Bennett coalition to the Gaza Strip.

The investigation shows that Razi Issa, a senior member of the UAL party who serves, among other things, as chairman of the Islamic Movement’s general assembly that sets the UAL’s list for the Knesset and is a member of the Shura Council, visited Gaza in his position as director of the Aid 48 organization. The investigation shows that during his visit to Gaza, he met with Razi Hamed, a senior Hamas official who even publicly thanked the organization for its contribution to Gaza. It was also revealed that the director of the association is Azhar Shaharur, the sister of the terrorist who in 2002 attacked the Park Hotel and that her husband and son are part of the Islamic Jihad terror group.

Ad Kan director Gilad Ach, whose organization conducted the investigation, commented: “For the first time in the history of the State of Israel, the Israeli taxpayer is funding a terrorist organization responsible for the murder of Israelis. The state budget must not be passed in its current form in which it injects billions into the Islamic movement. We call on the Zionist elements in the coalition to stop this deal with the devil and take action to rectify the situation. It’s not too late.”

AFSI applauds the important investigative work of Ad Kahn (incubated and funded by our activist colleague organization, the Israel Independence Fund). There is no transparency on the actions of the Bennett-Lapid coalition but it does appear to us that they are secretly appeasing the PA at the expense of the Jewish Nation State. With that said, and based on the next article in this newsletter, appeasement of the PA Arabs leaves us troubled, deeply worried, and remains our worst nightmare.

Sources:
Investigation shows senior United Arab List members working with Hamas, by Arutz Sheva Staff, October 30, 2021

Report: Israeli Government Funds Funneled to Hamas through Ra’am, by David Israel/Jewish Press, November 1, 2021

 

Defense Minister Benny Gantz informed the High Court of Justice last week that he was canceling the defense establishment’s initiative to allow Jewish residents to privately purchase land in Judea and Samaria. The move, reversing what had been a growing consensus in the Defense Ministry in the past few years, was intended to avoid friction with the Palestinian Authority since the repeal of the existing law would have led to an accelerated expansion of Jewish communities.

The law in Judea and Samaria is openly sided against Israel: only Jordanians, Palestinians, or “foreigners of Arab descent” are allowed to purchase land as private entities in the “west bank.” In 1971, the IDF amended the Jordanian law to allow Jews to purchase land in the liberated territories through companies, and ever since that correction, Jews are allowed to carry out real estate transactions only through companies and with the approval of the Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration.

In a separate but related story that shows Israeli citizens are not prioritized, Israel on Monday authorized some 1,300 Palestinian homes days after advancing plans to build more than 3,000 housing units for Jewish residents. The Israeli government says it is adopting a moderate approach with the aim of minimizing friction with the US – which is opposed to “settlements” – and tensions within its ruling coalition, which includes parties from across the political spectrum.

The laws in Judea and Samaria are outdated and nothing is being done to change them. As Bennett’s coalition appeases the PA Arabs, it demonstrates that Jewish residents in Judea and Samaria – living on legally owned Jewish land – are not a priority for the government. Additionally, the government is not exercising its rightful claim to Sovereignty. The application of Sovereignty over Judea and Samaria is critical now more than ever. The government’s actions mentioned here are insulting to Israelis and proves the point of how urgent it is that Sovereignty be applied NOW.

AFSI will continue to advocate for Sovereignty over Judea and Samaria and prays that it becomes a reality sooner rather than later.

Sources:
To Appease the PA, DM Gantz Kills Initiative Allowing Settlers to Purchase Land Privately, by David Israel/Jewish Press, November 1, 2021

Israel authorizes over 1,000 Palestinian homes in Judea and Samaria, By AP and ILH Staff, November 1, 2021

 

US Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Brian Patrick McKeon has confirmed that the US needs Israel’s approval in order to open a consulate on Jerusalem’s very central Agron Street. The sole purpose of opening this consulate would be to service Palestinian Authority Arabs.

In a tweet, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) wrote: “Important question from Senator Hagerty: Does Israel have to agree before the US could open or reopen a consulate to the Palestinians in Jerusalem?”

Responding to a tweet by another organization asking if Israel needs to agree to a reopening Deputy Secretary McKeon responded: “That’s my understanding—that we’d need to get the consent of the host government to open any diplomatic facility.”

Meir Deutsch, Director General of Regavim, said, “We have been warning for a decade already that the Palestinians are creating a de facto state disconnected from the State of Israel. Wherever they open a consulate will be the capital of the Palestinian state (This consulate would, unlike others in most countries, report directly to the US State Department and not to the US Embassy thereby making it a de facto embassy – ed) It would be very worthwhile for the State of Israel to wake up and put a stop to this.”

US OFFICIALS MUST IMMEDIATELY ABANDON ALL EFFORTS TO OPEN AN ILLEGAL AND ILLEGITIMATE CONSULATE FOR THE PALESTINIANS IN ISRAEL’S ETERNAL CAPITAL OF JERUSALEM. CONTINUE TO TO PUT THE PRESSURE ON WASHINGTON! TELL THEM NO PA CONSULATE IN JERUSALEM. CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION.

Source:
Confirmed: US needs Israel’s consent to reopen Jerusalem consulate, by Arutz Sheva Staff, October 28, 2021

 

According to a publication by Channel 12 News Correspondent Amit Segal, “Not only MKs from the outskirts of Meretz but also the Labor party chairman, Merav Michaeli, met with the prime minister and made it clear to him that Evyatar will not be resurrected. The Labor party will not lend a hand.” Nahala chairwoman Daniella Weiss responded to the report in an interview with Arutz Sheva.

Weiss regrets that “people in the Knesset of Israel, and I am not talking about the Arabs, I do not expect Zionism from them, people who live in Israel and are supposed to care about Israel’s interests are expressing themselves in such a way that harms, by definition, Israel’s interests. When the settlements in Judea and Samaria began, there were positive consequences for the establishment of observatories in the Galilee, if only that could continue.”

“It seems to me that there is no safer prescription for overthrowing the government than establishing a settlement,” Daniella stated. Judy Kadish who was there with the recent Chizuk Mission and spent quite a bit of time with Daniella over the last few weeks, understands that Daniella’s motives are to preserve and protect the State of Israel.

Evyatar is strategically located for Israelis who want to ward off terror. We pray that the government confirms – what we know to be true – that Evyatar is found to be on state-held land and that the Jewish presence there will be regulated with no delay.

Source:
Settlement leader: Minister’s Anti-Zionist opinion will not stand, Evyatar will be rebuilt, by Arutz Sheva Staff, October 26, 2021