September 7, 2018
Netanyahu: It’s Good To Live In Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the start of the cabinet meeting on Wednesday (5th) that Israel is determined to prevent Iran and its satellites from establishing bases in Syria.
“We are working firmly against these attempts, as well as against attempts to produce precision weapons in all areas, both close and far away. This is how we will continue to act for the security of Israel,” Netanyahu said.
“There are a lot of metrics that bring satisfaction to the citizens of Israel – the rising GDP, the falling unemployment, the credit rating at its peak, the falling inequality index. But there is one index here that brought me, and I am sure also cabinet ministers particular satisfaction.”
The prime minister addressed statistics published yesterday by the Central Bureau of Statistics. “We received important and happy news, that 89% of Israel’s citizens, almost 90%, are satisfied or very satisfied with life in Israel. This is good news, and it exists as a result of the knowledge that it is good for Israeli citizens to live in Israel.”
“Israel is a rising world power, its economy is growing and flourishing, our foreign relations are flourishing, infrastructures are being built, life is good in Israel in all areas, tourism is at its peak. People simply feel that the country is on an upward path – that it is good to live in Israel – and therefore about 90% of the country’s citizens say they are satisfied or very satisfied living here. It makes us temporarily satisfied.”
“We constantly want to improve and make it even better. Besides, we have another 10-11% that we need to reach. Therefore I want to wish all the citizens of Israel a good and sweet new year, and hope that the next year will be successful like the previous one. Good year to you,” he added.
(israelnn.com)
Israel Shut Down Gaza Crossing Following Palestinian Violence
Israel shut down the Erez Crossing into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday (5th) after a Palestinian mob violently rioted in the area and destroyed Israeli property the day before. The crossing will be closed until the repairs are completed.
On Tuesday (4th), hundreds of Palestinian rioters on the Gaza side of the crossing threw rocks towards the Israeli side, damaging the crossing area.
Every day, approximately 1,000 Gazans enter Israel through the Erez Crossing to work, study or pray.
The IDF added that presently, passage from Gaza into Israel through the crossing will be permitted for individually approved humanitarian cases only.
The Kerem Shalom Crossing, which serves as the main crossing for goods into Gaza and which has been shut down several times in recent weeks, due to Palestinian terrorism, was fully operational on Wednesday (5th).
(worldisraelnews.com)
Israeli Army Says It Has Carried Out 200 Airstrikes On Syria Since Early 2017
JERUSALEM–The Israeli army has carried out 200 airstrikes in Syria in the past 18 months, a senior military army official told Israeli media.
In the hours after the Israel Defense Forces’ acknowledgement of attacks on Tuesday (4th), Syria’s official state-run SANA news agency reported that its military defense systems intercepted several Israeli missiles, and that Israeli airstrikes hit several military targets in Tartous and Hama, killing one and injuring four.
Israel, as it usually does, neither confirmed nor denied Tuesday’s (4th) attack.
The 200 airstrikes on Syria since 2017 mostly targeted weapons shipments heading for the terrorist group Hizbullah and Iranian military installations in Syria, the unnamed Israeli military official said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asserted repeatedly that Israel will not stop taking action in Syria against Iran’s attempts to establish a military presence there.
(jta.org)
Macron Attends Rosh Hashanah Event At Paris Synagogue
French President Emmanuel Macron attended an event at the Great Synagogue of Paris on Tuesday (4th) to mark Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which is to begin on Sunday evening (9th).
Upon his arrival at the synagogue, Macron was greeted by France’s Chief Rabbi Haim Korsia and other French Jewish leaders.
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and other French leaders also attended the ceremony
The Elysee said it was the first time the president attended such an event – France has a strict separation law between state and religion, referred to in the “laicite.” For this reason, Macron did not give a speech at the event.
Jewish community leaders took the opportunity to share their concerns with the president about rising anti-Semitism in the country.
One Jewish leader, Joel Mergui, said, “Our rabbis…note the upsurge in anti-semitic acts and the ravages of anti-Jewish speech on social media.” He said the Jewish community should not be “collateral damage” in the secular fight against Islamism.
He claimed: “After having been for a long time the European country with the greatest Jewish immigration, France has today become the country with the largest Jewish emigration in the world.”
The Jewish leadership also expressed concerns about the rise of populism and racism in Europe.
Macron was given several jars of honey – a traditional Jewish gift for Rosh Hashanah to symbolize a sweet new year.
(timesofisrael.com)
U.S. Ambassador Friedman: We’ve Thrown $10 Billion At Palestinians; Peace Isn’t A Millimeter Closer
U.S Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, speaking Tuesday (4th) at a reception to mark the Jewish New Year, said, “Since 1994, the United States has thrown more than $10 billion in humanitarian aid to the Palestinians….We found that these expenditures were bringing the region no closer to peace or stability, not even by a millimeter. To spend hard-earned taxpayer dollars to fund stipends to terrorists and their families, to expend funds to perpetrate rather than to mitigate refugee status, and to finance hate-filled textbooks – I ask you, how does that provide value to the United States or the region?” The U.S., he said, is “not in the business of, as they say, throwing good money after bad.”
“Make no mistake, the USA is a generous nation and we would truly love to invest in this region for the return on investment of peace and stability in Israel and a better quality of life for the Palestinians. Indeed, we continue to provide 40% of the funding for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. UNHCR, in contrast to UNRWA, seeks to end statelessness, not deploy it as a political weapon.”
Regarding Iran, he said, “We are beginning to see encouraging signs that the Iranian enterprise – the world’s principal state sponsor of terrorism and an enemy that publicly vows to destroy Israel – is under extraordinary pressure….With every new day there’s a growing basis for optimism. The pressure on Iran will continue to mount, and I am confident that this enemy – the great challenge of our generation – will enter the dustbin of history among the other evildoers who have threatened the U.S. and Israel in the past.”
(timesofisrael.com; jpost.com)
