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ISRAEL

Israel’s Sovereignty Claims Over The Jordan Valley Are Legitimate Erielle Davidson

https://thefederalist.com/2019/09/11/israels-sovereignty-claims-over-the-jordan-valley-are-legitimate/

A nation cannot annex land over which it already has sovereign claims.
September 11, 2019 By Erielle Davidson

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement on Tuesday regarding his plan to formalize Israeli sovereignty in Jordan Valley has sent shockwaves across the world. However, much of the outrage has stemmed from a misunderstanding about Israel’s presence in Judea and Samaria and historical claims over the region. Even the standard newspaper accounts of Netanyahu’s plans as envisioning the “annexation” of territory is inaccurate. 

Netanyahu never said “annexation.” Instead, he spoke of “applying sovereignty” to refer to Israel’s territorial claims over the Jordan Valley. International outlets, particularly left-leaning ones, have referred to Netanyahu’s campaign promise as a promise to annex land. But there is a reason for the PM’s careful choice of wording, and for its mistranslation and misrepresentation abroad.

A nation cannot annex land over which it already has sovereign claims. Netanyahu purposefully referred to the process as an application of Israeli sovereignty, abstaining from using the Hebrew word for annexation, sipuach. As Eugene Kontorovich, director of the International Law Department at the Jerusalem-based Kohelet Policy Forum, noted, Netanyahu’s proclamation is about “translating long-standing Israeli consensus into action.”

Israel’s Baseball Team: Now Starring Actual Israelis Over the past year, more than a dozen Jewish-American professional ballplayers have obtained Israeli citizenship under the nation’s Law of Return By Jared Diamond

https://www.wsj.com/articles/israels-baseball-team-now-starring-actual-israelis-11568119037

The underdog Israeli team that emerged as a sensation at the 2017 World Baseball Classic came with an asterisk. Despite the name of the country splashed across their uniforms, almost none of the players who helped upset powerhouses like South Korea, Chinese Taipei and Cuba were actually Israeli. Instead, the roster featured a collection of Americans participating under the tournament’s heritage rule, which granted eligibility to anybody with a Jewish grandparent or spouse.

Buoyed by that unexpected success, Israel now hopes to earn a spot in the Tokyo Olympics next year, with baseball returning to the program for the first time since 2008. Unlike the WBC, the Olympic Charter requires all athletes to be a national of the country they represent—a problem, since only about 1,000 people play baseball in Israel.

So Israel found a solution: Over the past year, more than a dozen Jewish-American professional ballplayers have obtained Israeli citizenship under the nation’s Law of Return, a process known as making aliyah—Hebrew for “ascent.” With their help, Israel is one of 12 teams currently playing in the European championship, with the top five advancing to the Olympic qualifiers in Italy.

“Playing for us was the impetus for this,” said Peter Kurz, the president of the Israel Association of Baseball. “But they all feel something toward Israel. There’s a feeling among them that we’re doing something different, doing something more. The WBC experience was incredible. This could be even bigger.”

Ruthie Blum Was Netanyahu’s latest nuclear ‘bombshell’ election propaganda?

https://www.jns.org/opinion/was-netanyahus-latest-nuclear-bombshell-election-propaganda/

You’d think that this was a bigger bombshell than the news of Iran’s continued and very concrete efforts to develop nuclear warheads for its long-range missiles. You know, in its pursuit of regional hegemony and its stated aim of “wiping Israel off the map.”

(September 10, 2019 / JNS) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to the airwaves on Monday evening to reveal the existence and exact location of yet another secret nuclear-weapons development site in Iran—this one at Abadeh, in the Fars province of Tehran.

In a brief message that he delivered first in Hebrew and then in English—pointing to a screen with aerial photos obtained by Israeli intelligence—Netanyahu said that the site was exposed in the trove of documents that the Mossad had retrieved last year from a warehouse in Turquzabad.

“When Iran realized that we uncovered the site, here’s what they did: They destroyed the site. They just wiped it out. They wiped out the site. … They destroyed the evidence or at least tried to destroy the evidence. … It’s incredible. Every time we reveal, they try to cover up their tracks,” he said.

Netanyahu went on: “Even before that, Iran knew that we were on to them, so they cleared the site. They cleared it of these capacities, they cleared them, and then they actually covered up the site. This is a [literal] cover-up. They put gravel on it to try and hide their traces. But they didn’t. The IAEA found traces of uranium that Iran hid in these sites. That’s a direct violation of the NPT, the nonproliferation treaty.”

Canada to appeal decision against ‘Made in Israel’ wine Move comes after court ruled that wine made in Judea and Samaria cannot be sold as Israeli because of settlement activity. Canadian regulator supports lifting restriction.

https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/09/09/canada-to-appeal-decision

The Canadian government announced on Friday that it will appeal a court ruling from July that stated wine made in Judea and Samaria cannot be labeld a “product of Israel.”

Shimon Koffler Fogel, CEO of The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), said, “Considering the substantive errors in the earlier judgment and the importance of the outcome of this case, CIJA will be seeking intervenor status in the appeal. We have retained the services of administrative law experts Mark Freiman and Eric Gertner.”

“It is our expectation that the Federal Court of Appeal will overturn the lower court’s decision. Our position is that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency came to a reasonable decision in accepting the label ‘Product of Israel’ for wines produced in all the geographical area comprised in the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement.”

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) is the advocacy agency of the Jewish Federations of Canada-UIA.
The court decision was part of a three-year legal dispute over wine produced by Psagot Winery and Shiloh Winery in the West Bank, reported the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) at the time.

PM exposes ‘nuclear weapons development site’ in central Iran Israeli leader says Iran tried to “destroy evidence after they realized we are onto them,” calls on international community to exert more pressure. “This is the only way to stop Iran from getting the bomb,” he warns.

https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/09/09/watch-pm-netanyahu-makes-live-statement-on-iran/

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed on Monday that Iran was apparently in violation of its nuclear obligations, saying it had a “nuclear weapons development site” south of Isfahan.

Netanyahu said that the site, in Abadeh, was uncovered in the nuclear archives that Israel seized in a secret mission.

“In this site, Iran conducted experiments to develop nuclear weapons,” he said. “When they realized we uncovered this site, they destroyed it; they wiped it out. When they realized we were onto them, they tried to destroy the evidence,” he continued.

He then sent “the tyrants of Tehran” a stern warning: “We know what you are doing; Israel knows when you are doing it, and Israel knows where you are doing it. We will continue to expose your lies; what we see is a consistent pattern of Iranian lies, deception, and violations.”

He also spoke about the “atomic nuclear warehouse” that Iran had just outside Tehran, a day after nuclear inspectors confirmed it was indeed an undeclared site that contained radioactive material.

Iran Ready to “Wipe the Zionist Regime off the Map” by Majid Rafizadeh

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14837/iran-zionist-regime

If, for any reason, the Israeli government ever issued a declaration, about destroying Iran “in half an hour,” as Iran recently said about Israel, we would probably never hear the end of the criticism from all parts of the world. The European Union would likely take even more measures to counter Israel. There would doubtless be an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to hurl slanders against Israel, followed by countries pledging solidarity and support for Iran.

Amazingly, Israel has been bullied and criticized by the same international community for merely taking precautionary measures to defend its citizens and territorial integrity, as any country would.

For some reason, the Islamic Republic is getting a free pass for constantly threatening to wipe out Israel off the map. This lopsided injustice is either a case of selective amnesia or outrageous double standards by the international community…. The international community… needs to stop its double standards by taking measures against Iran’s vows to annihilate Israel.

Fortunately, since President Donald J. Trump took office, America’s Iran policy has been heading in the right direction. Steadily escalating economic sanctions have inflicted serious damage on Iran’s economy. Maximum pressure is the right policy to adopt to bridle this predatory regime.

Malign behavior in the world today seems largely to be the result of people who have the power to correct what is wrong willfully looking the other way: hypocrisy. Currently, one of the biggest beneficiaries — along with China, North Korea, Venezuela, Russia, Turkey and Cuba — is the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Among other lawlessness, Iran, since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, has continued non-stop to threaten the existence of Israel in contravention of Chapter 1 the United Nations Charter — without any reproof or rebuke from the international community.

Amazingly, Israel has been bullied and criticized by the same international community for merely taking precautionary measures to defend its citizens and territorial integrity, as any country would.

If, for any reason, the Israeli government ever issued a declaration about destroying Iran “in half an hour,” as Iran recently said about Israel, we would probably never hear the end of the criticism from all parts of the world. The European Union would likely take even more measures to counter Israel. There would doubtless be an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to hurl slanders against Israel, followed by countries pledging solidarity and support for Iran.

GOOD NEWS FROM AMAZING ISRAEL FROM MICHAEL ORDMAN

http://verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com/ 

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

“Last resort” myeloma treatment approved. The US FDA has granted accelerated approval to XPOVIO for the treatment of resistant or relapsed multiple myeloma. XPOVIO (Selinexor) was developed by Karyopharm Therapeutics, established by Israel’s Dr. Sharon Shacham,.and based in Newton MA. 

https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/Israeli-made-innovative-cancer-treatment-gets-FDA-stamp-of-approval-600505  https://investors.karyopharm.com/news-releases/news-release-details/karyopharm-announces-fda-approval-xpoviotm-selinexor-treatment  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1NW1Tq57YU

Tech to rehabilitate at home. Israel’s WizeCare offers physiotherapists and clinicians an app that enables them to guide their patients during their at-home rehabilitation exercises. It has partnered with the Cleveland Clinic for their staff to provide personalized videos for patients and monitor compliance.

https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3769531,00.html 

Super prawn controls disease afflicting 220 million. I reported previously (Aug 2016) that Ben Gurion University scientists were cultivating all-male prawns to eradicate schistosomiasis in sub-Saharan Africa. Now, with Israeli startup Enzoomic, they have produced all-female prawns – much better at controlling the disease.

https://in.bgu.ac.il/en/pages/news/super_shrimp.aspx  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xOBl3TPNdk

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-47509-6

Donated ambulances attended 75,000 calls. As reported previously (see here), retired UK surgeon Norman Rosenbaum, 84, has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for Magen David Adom. His 12 MDA ambulances have attended some 75,064 calls over the years. Its crews have helped 997 women to give birth.

https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/mda-ambulances-donated-by-retired-surgeon-attended-over-75000-calls/

IDF soldiers have saved 2,000 lives. The Ezer Mizion Bone Marrow Registry has just reached an amazing milestone: 2,000 IDF soldiers have donated their stem cells to save 2,000 patients around the world. They not only protect citizens of the State of Israel, but also globally, those whose lives depend on a stem cell transplant.

http://www.ezermizion.org/blog/because-of-you-65/

Another anti-Israel movie – from an Israeli. Jack Engelhard

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/24412?utm_source=activetrail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl

Call me sentimental, but I prefer those big fat movies that celebrate the glory of Israel.

Pass the popcorn for epics like Paul Newman in “Exodus,” and Kirk Douglas in “Cast a Giant Shadow.”

I am still surprised to find that the screenplay for Leon Uris’s “Exodus” was written by Dalton Trumbo, a diehard leftist. I guess leftists were different back then. They had a heart. Nor was Trumbo Jewish, and I shudder to think how “Exodus” would have come out in the hands of a Jewish screenwriter. 

Many of these are so busy implanting moral equivalency into their scripts, like Tony Kushner for Spielberg’s “Munich,” that before you know it, the good guys become the bad guys. 

That’s where we seem to be with famed Israeli writer/director, Joseph Cedar. In partnership with another Israeli, and a Palestinian Arab, and through Israel’s Channel 12 Television, we get an HBO seriestitled, “Our Boys,” a real downer, and shown in 10 parts, so that not just once, but 10 times viewers across the world get to watch a Jewish filmmaker lick the dust and blaspheme his own people.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls the production “anti-Semitic,” and apparently that is a justified rebuke and review.

Jason Greenblatt, diplomat pushing Middle East peace plan, to leave Trump administration by Alex Pappas

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/jason-greenblatt-diplomat-pushing-middle-east-peace-plan-to-leave-trump-administration

President Trump on Thursday announced the departure of Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt from his administration as he commended the diplomat for his efforts to pursue peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Greenblatt, a former Trump Organization lawyer, has served as the president’s special representative for international negotiations and was tasked with developing a Middle East peace plan.

“After almost 3 years in my Administration, Jason Greenblatt will be leaving to pursue work in the private sector,” Trump said. “Jason has been a loyal and great friend and fantastic lawyer.”

The president continued, “His dedication to Israel and to seeking peace between Israel and the Palestinians won’t be forgotten. He will be missed. Thank you Jason!”

A senior administration official said Greenblatt has decided to return to New Jersey to be with his wife and six children.

“It has been the honor of a lifetime to have worked in the White House for over two and a half years under the leadership of President Trump,” Greenblatt said in a statement. “I am incredibly grateful to have been part of a team that drafted a vision for peace.”

Greenblatt worked in concert with White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, on the Middle East peace plan.

Clarifying the Palestine Saga Yoram Ettinger

https://bit.ly/2lYTD4F

The Palestinian leadership is rehashing the notion that Palestine has been Arab/Muslim from time immemorial. But, is such a claim consistent with historic documentation?

According to Brown University Prof. David Jacobson, “the Greek Palaistine and the Latin [Rome] Palaestina… appear to refer not to the Land of the Philistines [Pleshet in Hebrew], but to the Land of Israel…. The Philistines [Plishtim in Hebrew] arrived on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean from Greece or Cyprus in approximately the 13th century BCE…. The Israelites’ traditional foes, the Philistines lived in a small area along the Mediterranean coast south of what is today Tel Aviv, an area that embraced the five towns of Gaza [hometown of Delilah], Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath [hometown of Goliath] and Ekron….

“As early as the Histories of Herodotus [the Greek founding father of Western historians] written in the second half of the 5th century BCE, the term Palaistine is used to describe not just the [Philistines’] geographical area, but the entire area between Phoenicia and Egypt – in other words, the Land of Israel [including the Judean Hills, referred to by some as the ‘West Bank’]…. Like Herodotus, Aristotle [along with his teacher, Plato, the founding fathers of Western philosophers] gives the strong impression that when he uses the term Palestine, he is referring to the Land of Israel…. In the 2nd century BCE, a Greek writer and historian Polemo of Ilium made a similar link between the people of Israel and Palestine….   

“The early 1st century Roman poet, Ovid, writes of ‘the seventh day feast [the Sabbath] that the Syrians of Palestine [the Hebrews] observe….’ Another Latin poet, Statius, and the writer Dio Chrysostom use ‘Palestine’ and ‘Palestinian’ in the same sense….
“Likewise the early 1st century CE Jewish philosopher, Philo of Alexandria, occasionally, uses the name Palestine when referring to the Land of Israel….

“’Palestine’ is the Greek equivalent of ‘Israel.’”  The Greek word ‘Palaistine’ is remarkably similar to the Greek ‘Palaistes’, meaning ‘wrestler’…. The name ‘Israel’ arose from the incident in which Jacob [the Patriarch] wrestled with an angel (Genesis 32-25-27).  Jacob received the name Israel because he wrestled successfully (sarita’ in Hebrew) with the Lord (El in Hebrew)….