“This is a radical departure from everything we’ve seen in the past. This is a plan that is realistic… It doesn’t seem to take us back to the indefensible ’67 lines. It doesn’t seem to take us back to the impossible ’47 lines. It doesn’t seem to take us back, as the Palestinians seek, to the pre-1917 lines. That is, they want to nullify the Balfour declaration. This is a plan that says to the Palestinians and to the world, this is it, Israel is here to stay. We recognize Israel sovereignty over ancestral homeland. … This is something I would say that has been long overdue and I congratulate President Trump for putting it forward … the change that we’re witnessing today is part of the reemergence of Israel is a power among the nations,” — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, as regards President’s Trump’s peace plan. (JNS, Feb. 16, 2020)
“Another one of the important implications of the plan is the creation of a new paradigm, an up-to-date reference point for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These are no longer the Clinton parameters or previous failed American or international proposals, or those of former Israeli governments. Some of those had offered almost total submission to the Palestinians’ demands, only to be rejected by them anyway, as they tended to see them as starting points for further claims not solutions for a settlement. In the future, the general outline for any arrangement will thus have to take account of the template of the Trump plan, which even a future Democratic administration would find hard to reverse completely,” – writes former Israeli Ambassador Zalman Shoval regarding President Trump’s peace plan. (Jerusalem Post, Feb. 17, 2020)
“If you [Hamas] behave nicely it will be good for Gaza residents; if you behave badly it will be bad for Gaza residents. [This is the policy] we are implementing in the meantime. … Three quiet days doesn’t interest us; the test is long-term. I am very skeptical about all the promises. … The second path is to prepare another option, a painful spring for Hamas, but to prepare it properly,” – Israel Defense Minister Naftali Bennett responded to Hamas’s announcement that Gaza balloon terror units will stop launches into Israel. Rather, the end result of such a plan [regarding Gaza] would be “sustainable quiet for southern residents and prevention of the enemy’s ability to grow stronger.” He refused to indicate whether the operation would include toppling Hamas. (Arutz Sheva, Feb. 18, 2020)
“We have never seen an American regime like Trump’s. When Trump kills the leaders in a public and brutal manner, he declares war and we are still slowly reacting,” – said Hezbollah terrorist chief Hassan Nasrallah. The leader of the Iran-backed terror group called for an Islamic economic boycott of America to punish President Trump for two “great crimes”: The assassination of Qassem Soleimani and the recently unveiled Israeli-Palestinian peace proposal. (WIN, Feb. 17, 2020)
“Bernie Sanders’s victory in New Hampshire on top of his tie in Iowa makes him a favorite for the Democratic presidential nomination. Hard to believe, but in a winnable race against President Trump the opposition may nominate a socialist who wants the government to control energy production and health care, who wants nationwide rent control, and who calls America a “racist society from top to bottom.” No wonder Democrats like James Carville are in agony. … Yet Mr. Sanders wouldn’t be this close to the White House if not for the complicity of Democrats and the liberals who dominate the academy and media.… The tragedy is that this year, even more than most years, the country needs a sensible and centrist opposition party and nominee. …The agony of the Democrats is that years of bowing to the left means they may nominate someone who makes Mr. Trump look like the safer choice,” – writes the WSJ Editorial Board. (WSJ, Feb. 14, 2020)
“I have some information … about the Obama administration, which will be disclosed in a lawsuit at some point … about how President Obama personally asked the FBI to investigate somebody on behalf of George Soros, who was a close ally of his,” – Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz told Breitbart News. Dershowitz was responding to the over-the-top hand-wringing going on in the media after Donald Trump tweeted out his disgust at the sentencing recommendation of up to nine years for Roger Stone, which was announced by prosecutors at the Justice Department. “We’ve seen this kind of White House influence on the Justice Department virtually in every Justice Department. The difference is this president is much more overt about it. He tweets about it. President Obama whispered to the Justice Department about it.” (PJ Media, Feb. 17, 2020)
“I saw that…Senator Murphy met with the Iranians; is that a fact? I just saw that on the way over. Is there anything that I should know? Because that sounds like to me a violation of the Logan Act,” — tweeted President Donald Trump. He responded to Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy privately met with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. (The Federalist, Feb. 18, 2020)
BESTIES: J STREET PRESIDENT EMBRACES ABBAS FOLLOWING UN SECURITY COUNCIL APPEARANCE (NYC) — J Street president Jeremy Ben-Ami embraced Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas after the latter made statements after he denounced the Trump peace plan at the UN Security Council. Abbas’s “government” paid $330,000,000 to terrorists and the families of ‘martyrs’ who target Jews. They can even earn more based on if Jews die, and how many die. (Jewish Press, Feb. 12, 2020)
IRAN PLANNING TO CONVERT TOMB OF MORDECHAI AND ESTHER INTO PALESTINIAN CONSULATE (Hamada) — The Iranian branch of the Alliance for Rights of All Minorities (ARAM) organization, which operates in the field of equality of rights in the country, reported that the Iranian government is threatening to demolish the Tomb of Mordechai and Esther located in the city of Hamadan. The Iranian government plans to turn the burial site into a Palestinian consular complex. According to reports, a crowd of Basij, a paramilitary volunteer militia branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, tried to raid the historic site as revenge for Trump’s Deal of the Century. (Breaking Israel News, Feb. 17, 2020)
BAHRAIN SENTENCES CITIZEN TO 3 YEARS IN PRISON FOR BURNING ISRAELI FLAG (Bahrain) — The man, whose identity has not been revealed to the press, was arrested after burning the Israeli flag during a pro-Palestinian protest in the country. In addition to burning the flag, the man along with others was also convicted of rioting charges. The sentence sparked outrage among activists in the Gulf emirate, with many taking to social media accusing Bahrain of trying to please Israel. The High Court of Appeals rejected an appeal against the decision. (Jerusalem Post, Feb. 18, 2020)
CANADA, OTHER NATIONS PUSH IRAN ON DOWNED AIRLINER PROBE (Ottawa) — Diplomats from nations that lost citizens when Iran shot down a Ukrainian airliner pushed Iran’s foreign minister for more cooperation from Tehran on the investigation and other issues. Amid heightened tensions with the United States, Iran said it accidentally shot the aircraft down Jan. 8 after mistaking it for an incoming missile attack. All 176 people aboard the Ukraine International Airlines plane died. The victims included 57 Canadian citizens as well as 11 Ukrainians, 17 people from Sweden, four Afghans and four British citizens, as well as Iranians. (AP, Feb. 15, 2020)
ICELAND WELCOMES ITS FIRST PERMANENT TORAH SCROLL (Reykjavik) — The final letters of the Torah were written at a reception last Thursday at the home of the U.S. ambassador to Iceland, Jeffrey Ross Gunter, who is Jewish, according to Chabad. The new scroll, which took a year to write, was donated to the Jewish community of Reykjavikf by Uri Krauss of Zurich, Switzerland. (JTA, Feb. 17, 2020)
DOZENS OF JEWS OF EGYPTIAN ORIGIN RETURN FOR ‘VERY, VERY EMOTIONAL’ SERVICE AT HISTORIC SYNAGOGUE (Alexandria) — They came from around the world, dozens of Jews of Egyptian origin, to celebrate a Sabbath service at the newly renovated 14th-century synagogue in Alexandria. Participants described a “very, very emotional” service at the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue, the last active one in the Egyptian city. One of the two rabbis leading the service was Yosef Nefussi, the son of the final Alexandria rabbi. He was joined by Rabbi Andrew Baker, director of International Jewish Affairs for the American Jewish Committee. Among the 180 participants were the U.S. Ambassador to Egypt, Jonathan Cohen, and the former Israeli ambassador, David Govrin, as well as local cultural attaches. (JTA, Feb. 18, 2020)
RECORD NUMBER OF ANTI-SEMITIC INCIDENTS DOCUMENTED IN THE NETHERLANDS (Amsterdam) — Dutch Jewry’s watchdog for anti-Semitism has recorded the highest number of anti-Semitic incidents ever observed in a calendar year. The group, the Center for Information and Documentation on Israel, or CIDI, has been monitoring anti-Semitism in the Netherlands for about 30 years. They divided the 182 incidents in 2019 — an increase of 35 percent from 2018 — into six categories in a report released Monday, including online abuse and vandalism. (JTA, Feb. 17, 2020)
ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS DISRUPT TALK BY RENOWNED HOLOCAUST SCHOLAR DEBORAH LIPSTADT AT UC BERKELEY (California) — In a Twitter thread, Lipstadt pointed out that her lecture was on present-day antisemitism and had nothing to do with Israel, implying that the protesters had targeted her because she was a Jew speaking on Jewish issues. (Algemeiner, Feb. 17, 2020)
GERMANY BACKS ISRAEL IN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT CASE (Berlin) — Germany filed an amicus brief at the International Criminal Court (ICC) before the Friday deadline that backs Jerusalem’s stance that the tribunal has no authority to deal with a Palestinian war crimes complaint against Israel. Berlin agrees with one of Israel’s main arguments against the court’s right to adjudicate the case: There is no such thing as a “State of Palestine,” and since only states can bring charges in the Hague, the case should be dropped. (WIN, Feb. 16, 2020)
ISRAEL POLICE SET TO GET FIRST HIJAB-WEARING MUSLIM LIEUTENANT (Jerusalem) — Sabreen Saadi is set to become the first hijab-wearing Muslim woman to attain the rank of lieutenant in the Israel Police. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Arab media spokesperson, Ofir Gendelman, tweeted. “Congrats to Master Sgt. Sabreen Saadi, a Hijab wearing muslim police officer, who will soon become a lieutenant with the Israeli police! (Algemeiner, Feb. 17, 2020)
PRINCESS DIANA’S NIECE, FIANCE OF JEWISH FASHION TYCOON, IS CONVERTING TO JUDAISM (London) — The niece of the late Princess Diana will be converting to Judaism before marrying Jewish fashion tycoon Michael Lewis. Kitty Spencer began “taking religious instruction” toward converting to Judaism following her engagement to Lewis nearly 18 months ago. Spencer, 29, works as a model for Bulgari and was once listed as one of 2017 Tatler magazine’s most eligible women. Lewis, 61, a father of three children from a previous marriage, earned his fortune as the CEO of the Foschini Group, a retail clothing company based in South Africa. His net worth is estimated to be over $100 million. (WIN, Feb. 17, 2020)
ISRAELI INNOVATION FAST-TRACKED TO TREAT CORONAVIRUS PATIENTS (Jerusalem) — With China’s National Health Commission confirming that at least 70,600 people are infected with the coronavirus (now called Covid-19) and over 1,775 have died from the flu-like respiratory illness, a device developed in Israel that simulates coughing to ease the removal of bronchial secretions is being fast-tracked for production in Beijing. Called “CoughSync,” the non-invasive product helps speed patient recovery, frees up medical staff and reduces the dangers of contagions. CoughSync was developed 10 years ago by Dr. Eliezer Be’eri, director of the Department of Respiratory Rehabilitation at Alyn Hospital in Jerusalem, a pediatric and adolescent rehabilitation facility. (Breaking Israel News, Feb. 17, 2020)
ISRAELI RESEARCHERS DISCOVER KEY CAUSE OF AUTISM IN CHILDREN (Negev) — A recently published study by researchers at at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and Soroka University Medical Center in Beersheba found that obesity during pregnancy can cause neuropsychiatric issues in children. These include autism and disorders related to eating, sleeping and motor skills. The long-term pediatric study was recently published in the Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics. (United With Israel, Feb. 17, 2020)
FOR FURTHER REFERENCE
Netanyahu: First Israeli Plane Flew Over Sudan, ‘Vast Changes Are Coming’: Aryeh Savir, United With Israel, Feb. 17, 2020 — The first Israeli airplane passed over the skies of Sudan, and Israel is developing ties with a long list of Arab and Muslims countries, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
