Category: Articles

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

The Biden administration is offering nearly $1 million for groups to investigate alleged human rights abuses in Israel, the “West Bank,” and the Gaza Strip.

The State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) is soliciting nonprofit groups to apply for grant money up to $987,654 to “strengthen accountability and human rights in Israel and the West Bank and Gaza,” according to a grant notice first posted online in mid-February.

Groups applying for the grant money will investigate alleged crimes inside Israel and these territories and “collect, archive, and maintain human rights documentation to support justice and accountability and civil society-led advocacy efforts, which may include documentation of legal or security sector violations and housing, land, and property rights,” according to the State Department.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) summed it up best: “This is disgraceful. The Biden administration wants to use American taxpayer money to subsidize the international NGO campaign to demonize and isolate Israel, which then serves as a basis for anti-Semitic efforts to boycott and wage economic warfare against Israeli Jews.”

This program is clearly an effort that will delegitimize Israel. We hang on to hope that the State Department has the good enough sense to cancel this program immediately.

We may conclude that either it is a great initiative or another political game of the USA, like those high stakes ones in real money casinos USA. Time will tell.

Sources:
How the Biden Administration Is Funding the Effort To Delegitimize Israel, by Adam Kredo/The Jewish Voice, March 12, 2022

State Dept. Offers Funding to Investigate Human Rights Violations in Israel, ‘West Bank’ and Gaza, by Hana Levi Julian/Jewish Press, March 13, 2022

The Israeli Supreme Court issued a conditional order Sunday night in the most recent round of the Khan al-Ahmar case.

Sunday’s order, giving the government 120 days to explain its failure to fulfill the three-year old commitment to enforce the law “in the near future,” follows the government’s most recent request for an additional postponement

Regavim, at the forefront of this ongoing battle, issued a statement: “The fact that we have been forced to petition the High Court of Justice again and again in order to compel the government to enforce the law is bad enough. Even worse is the government repeatedly giving a commitment to the High Court that it will enforce the law- and then failing to do so. It is not the job of the judicial branch to bail the executive branch out of the mess it’s made.”

Source:
Supreme Court orders state to explain itself in Khan al Ahmar case, by Israel National News, March 13, 2022

Parties trying to revive the horrendously dangerous Iran nuclear deal scrambled on Wednesday to resolve last-minute Russian demands that threaten to break negotiations, diplomats said. It appears that the United States is unwilling to engage with Russia on the matter.

Western powers on Tuesday warned Russia against wrecking an almost completed deal that would bring the United States and Iran back into compliance with the 2015 accord on terms more favorable to Iran than ever before.

Diplomats now have to contend with the possibility that Russia may try to upend the deal altogether or to use the talks as a bargaining chip to exact concessions from the West on sanctions related to Ukraine.

Russia may also now have no interest in remaining in a revived deal that would benefit the United States and its Western allies but would potentially damage Russian interests by bringing oil prices down, said Karim Sadjadpour, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Iran would be able to sell its oil on the open market again, which could ease tight global supplies and bring prices down by as much as 10 percent.

Just as international mediators appeared poised to announce a breakthrough, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is throwing into doubt efforts to revive the nuclear deal with Iran. We cannot condone the devastating invasion initiated by Russia in Ukraine. However, if Russia becomes the reason the current round of Iran deal talks fail, we would celebrate watching these disastrous negotiations fall through. With talks now in their third week, we pray this ticking time bomb diffuses quickly.

Source:
Iran nuclear talks stumble over unresolved Russian demands, by John Irish and Francois Murphy/Reuters, March 9, 2022

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threatens to derail Iran nuclear talks, by Liz Sly/Washington Post, March 7, 2022

The Commander-in-Chief of the Central Judea Command Yehuda Fuchs has cut down the number of Judea and Samaria residents who are permitted to carry personal weapons, Hakol Hayehudi reported today.

The excuse for the decision that was provided by the IDF was an incident a week ago, when an Arab worker who was alone in a home in Neve Daniel in Gush Etzion, stole an M16 rifle that was stashed there. So, clearly, if the Jews of Judea and Samaria are allowed to carry weapons, those weapons will inevitably end up in Arab hands.

So, instead of preventing Arabs from entering the communities or tightening the supervision of the Arab workers––many who roam unsupervised, the IDF decided that the solution is to collect the weapons from the residents. Some of the Jewish residents who were required to turn in their weapons are reservist battalion commanders and their deputies.

This is a disgrace and leaves Jewish residents in Judea and Samaria vulnerable and unable to defend themselves. It also demonstrates this government’s ongoing appeasement of Arabs at the expense of the Jewish people.

Source:
IDF Collects Weapons from Judea and Samaria Jews, by David Israel/Jewish Press, March 10, 2022

The state on Tuesday night asked the High Court of Justice for another 30-day postponement of its response regarding the evacuation of the squatters’ shantytown of Khan al-Ahmar. This time it’s on the grounds that it requires “the consideration of the most senior officials, headed by the Prime Minister.” The request for a new delay––seventh since May 2018, when the court approved the evacuation of the illegal Arab settlement––states that “in the current state of affairs, having regard to the circumstances in the global political arena, including the prime minister’s involvement in the war crisis in Europe, and in order to allow the Prime Minister to engage in the matter of the petition, the Honorable Court is requested to grant the respondents an additional extension.”

Regavim issued a statement: “To the best of our knowledge, Prime Minister Bennett has returned from his trip to Europe, and as far as excuses go, this one is exceptionally flimsy. We are considering requesting a summary judgement.”

Source:
State Asks High Court for 7th Delay in Khan al-Ahmar Evacuation Petition: Bennett too Busy with the War, by David Israel/Jewish Press, March 9, 2022

As officials in recent days have said a potential nuclear deal between Iran and world powers may be in the offing, the Israeli military today published fresh allegations regarding Tehran’s drone program. This included new footage of Israeli planes downing several Iranian unmanned aircraft.

On Sunday evening, the Israel Defense Forces announced that for the first time, its F-35 jets downed two Iranian drones that were ferrying firearms on March 15 of last year. The military believes the drones were headed to terror operatives in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, based on their flight path, similar to the interception of another aircraft in 2018.

As the negotiations in Vienna seem to be on their way to giving Iran rewards in return for nothing, Israel must remain on high alert. All indications are that Israel is the sole entity responsible for its defense against threats by Iran. There is no reason to wait for nor expect any other country to help Israel defend itself.

Source:
IDF airs footage of drone interceptions, accuses Iran of escalating ‘UAV terror’ ~Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel, March 7, 2022

The Sovereignty Movement recently organized a tour of Judea and Samaria for public figures, journalists, social media influencers and others to explore the complexities and dichotomies of life in the region.

The February 23 gathering — under the leadership of Yehudit Katzover and Nadia Matar — focused on explaining the situation on the ground in many areas, including diplomacy, infrastructure, education, environmental issues, employment and quality of life for both Jewish and Arab residents of Judea and Samaria.

The tour was headed by Yigal Dilmoni, CEO of the YESHA Council, which represents the Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria (and formerly Gaza).

Source:
Tour unpacks the complexities of life in Judea and Samaria, by Josh Hasten/JNS, March 3, 2022

Defense Minister Benny Gantz vowed Wednesday that Israel will never give up on making sure Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons, as a deal between Tehran and world powers seemed imminent.
“In the coming weeks, perhaps even in the coming days, a nuclear agreement may be signed between [world] powers and Iran,” Gantz said during a graduation ceremony for navy officers in the Haifa bay area.

“Whether that happens or not, Israel will continue to do whatever it takes to prevent Iran from becoming an existential threat and possessing nuclear capability,” he said.

Former Special Advisor to the Secretary of State’s Iran Action Group Gabriel Noronha tweeted Wednesday afternoon: “My former career State Dept., NSC, and EU colleagues are so concerned with the concessions being made by Rob Malley in Vienna that they’ve allowed me to publish some details of the coming deal in the hopes that Congress will act to stop the capitulation.”

With one concession after another for Iran, what has the other side received in return? Absolutely nothing. The Iran matter must not be ignored. We are asking you – our loyal Israel activists – to take action today and also encourage your contacts to do the same. We can apply the pressure needed to put this disastrous deal to an end.

FOR THE LOVE OF ISRAEL’S SAFETY – OVERWHELM D.C. NOW WITH DAILY EMAILS, CALLS AND LETTERS!!

*** DEMAND YOUR REPRESENTATIVES TAKE ACTION!!!!! ***

CLICK HERE TO CONTACT SENATORS IN YOUR STATE

CLICK HERE TO CONTACT REPRESENTATIVES IN YOUR STATE

Sources:
Meeting senior US general, Bennett warns restoring Iran nuke deal a ‘real danger’, by Emanuel Fabian, March 3, 2022

Gantz says Iran nuclear deal could be signed within days, by Emanuel Fabian, March 2, 2022

Former Sec. State Adviser on Iran: Colleagues Fear Rob Malley’s Concessions, Want Congress to Reject Deal, by David Israel/Jewish Press, March 3, 2022

As he steps up his attempts to stop illegal Palestinian construction in Area C, Samaria Regional Council Head Yossi Dagan has been meeting with government figures in many countries. This week he traveled to the Netherlands to meet with Dutch and Belgian MPs and provide them with clear documentation not only of what is going on, but also of the involvement of the European Union in Palestinian incursions.

Among the documents Dagan showed MPs was one revealing EU funding of half a billion dollars for such illegal construction and others showing how European governments also fund incitement campaigns against Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria.

The MPs were reportedly shocked by the data presented to them and promised to take action.

AFSI applauds Yossi Dagan for his continued work in teaching the truth about Israel, in this case, the criminal takeover of Area C funded by European Union member dollars.

Source:
European MPs commit to oppose EU funding of Palestinian takeover of Area C, Israel National News, March 3, 2022