November 9, 2018
PM Netanyahu To Visit Vienna For Anti-Semitism Summit At End Of November
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to visit Austria at the end of the month for a summit on anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, as well as bilateral talks with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
Kurz announced the summit and Netanyahu’s participation at a press conference in Vienna Wednesday morning (7th), the Austria Press Agency reported.
Netanyahu will visit Austria for the event on November 20-21.
Austrian MP Martin Engelberg of Kurz’s Austrian People’s Party told The Jerusalem Post that the summit would deal with combating anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, including the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.
The summit will also address ways to “protect and secure Jewish life in Austria and Europe,” Engelberg said, describing the initiative as “very important.”
At the cabinet meeting in Vienna on Wednesday (7th), Kurz also mentioned the upcoming 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Nazi organized pogroms in Germany on November 9-10, 1938 when 267 synagogues were destroyed, thousands of Jewish businesses vandalized and looted throughout Germany and Austria, and 30,000 Jewish men arrested and sent to concentration camps.
“In particular, we remember the 80th anniversary of the November pogroms this coming Friday (9th) and our historic responsibility in the fight against all forms of anti-Semitism. The entire federal government is committed to this fight,” APA quoted Kurz as saying.
(jpost.com; austria.org)
Palestinians Shoot At Israeli Troops Escorting Jews To Joseph’s Tomb
Palestinians in the West Bank city of Nablus threw firebombs and fired guns at Israeli soldiers escorting Jewish pilgrims to visit Joseph’s Tomb.
The Israeli security forces also found two grenades in the tomb, which were defused by sappers.
The troops responded to the attacks with tear gas and live fire.
About 1,000 Jewish pilgrims prayed at the tomb during the overnight Wednesday (7th) visit.
Joseph’s Tomb is holy to Jews, but Israeli Jews must receive permission to visit the purported burial site of the Jewish patriarch, which is coordinated with the Israeli army.
Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, the site was to remain under Israeli control, but the Israeli army evacuated the premises in October 2000 during the second intifada and the tomb was burned down by Palestinians. It was then renovated and restored, but was torched and vandalized again in October 2015.
Jewish worshipers, in coordination with the military, make monthly nocturnal pilgrimages to the refurbished site.
(jta.org)
Palestinian Threats to Arab Normalization With Israel – Khaled Abu Toameh
When it comes to Israel, one would be hard-pressed to distinguish between Fatah and Hamas. The daily statements condemning Israel that are issued separately by Hamas and Fatah sound almost identical. These daily attacks have radicalized Palestinians to a point where many of them would not consider any form of compromise with Israel.
In the past few days, the rival Palestinian parties have again found themselves in agreement over what they perceive as efforts to normalize relations between Israel and some Arab countries. They are opposed to normalization between Israel and the Arab countries because they are afraid that their Arab brothers will forget about the Palestinians and focus on bringing prosperity and stability to the Arab countries.
The Palestinians seek to continue holding the Arab world hostage to their own unrealistic demands. They do not want to see the Arab countries move forward and build a better future for their people. In the world of the Palestinians, peace between Israel and the Arab countries is tantamount to treason, a conspiracy concocted by Israel and the U.S.
(gatestoneinstitute.org)
South’s Residents Slam Green Groups’ Silence Over Arson Terrorism
Residents of the Gaza-vicinity communities expressed anger Tuesday (6th) over what they called environmental groups’ inaction in the face of Palestinian arson terrorism.
The terrorist arson campaign, launched in late April, has so far decimated nearly 10,000 acres of forest and farmlands on the Israeli side of the border.
Incendiary kites and balloons have caused millions of dollars in damage to the area over the past seven months and environmental experts say it will take at least 15 years to rehabilitate the vegetation and wildlife that has been destroyed.
Still, despite the extensive environmental damage, Israel’s green and animal rights groups have remained silent on the issue.
The residents said their criticism was not aimed at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority or Jewish National Fund – the former a government organization and the latter a quasi-government agency – which have been working closely with the authorities to extinguish these fires and minimize the damage, but rather at the dozens of private NGOs that claim to champion environmental and animal-welfare causes.
Valeria Mashinsky of Kibbutz Karmiya, about 2.5 miles from Gaza, said she tried contacting various environmental groups over the matter but got nowhere.
“I called various green and animal rights organizations several times and no one answered,” she said. “I don’t understand what agenda they serve. It’s very sad that nobody cares. If we were to accidentally torch the zoo in Gaza, everyone would be outraged.”
Over 30% of the Karmiya Nature Reserve has been decimated by Palestinian arson terrorism.
(israelhayom.com)
Brazil: We Won’t Yield To Arab Pressure, Embassy Will Move To Jerusalem
The new administration in Brazil has reiterated its position that despite mounting pressure from the Arab world, it will remain true to its word and relocate its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
“We’re going to move the Brazilian Embassy to Jerusalem,” Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of newly elected President Jair Bolsonaro, wrote on Tuesday (6th) to Jane Silva, president of a leading pro-Israel organization in Brazil.
Silva had approached Eduardo Bolsonaro in the wake of reports in the Brazilian press indicating that Egypt had called off the Brazilian foreign minister’s upcoming visit to Cairo in protest of the planned embassy transfer.
In her letter to Bolsonaro, Silva wrote: “Jerusalem was always the capital of Israel….There was a partition plan, the Arabs rejected it and launched wars against Israel and persecuted Israel. Israel has suffered, but it held its head high. Israel has seized every opportunity and established a nice home for the sole and legitimate owners of the land of Israel – the Jewish people.”
“It’s funny that there are over 50 Arab countries, none of which are willing to give a sliver of land to the Palestinians, while Israel is the only Jewish country in the world, smaller than the state of Sergipe in Brazil, and despite this, they still want to divide Israel,” she stated.
Meanwhile, Israeli and Brazilian officials have begun initial discussions to coordinate President Bolsonaro’s visit to israel soon after he is sworn into office.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may attend Bolsonaro’s inauguration, which is scheduled for January 1.
(israelhayom.com)
