http://reachmorenow.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/bataclan_thumb400x275.jpg
Report From Israel with Ray – November 16, 2015
Report From Israel
The Bataclan concert hall in Paris, site of an Islamist terror attack in which 89 people were killed Friday among 129 deaths across six coordinated attacks. Credit: Céline via Wikimedia Commons. (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org)
The Bataclan concert hall—site of the deadliest of Friday’s six coordinated Islamist terror attacks in Paris, with 89 people killed—was under Jewish ownership for four decades and had received frequent threats in the past for that reason.
Sold only two months ago by co-owners Pascal Laloux and Joel Tuitto, the venue is still under their responsibility.
“One of the managers called me and began to tell me about the disaster that was taking place,” Tuitto, who recently moved to Israel, told Israel’s Channel 2. “I could hear the gunshots and the voices in the background….The terrorists were inside the theater, and I heard the gunshots, but I couldn’t do anything.”
Tuitto said he had co-owned the Bataclan since the 1970s, and that according to the terms of the sale, he remains responsible for it until September 2018.
The French magazine Le Point reported that in 2011, a terrorist told French security services that “we (the Army of Islam terrorist group) had planned an attack against the Bataclan because its owners are Jews.”
The Bataclan, which regularly hosted Jewish and Israeli events, also received serious threats in 2007 and 2008. Tuitto said a group of masked Palestinians had even come to the venue two years ago demanding its closure due to its “fundraising for Israel and the IDF,” and warning of an attack if their demand was not met, but nothing came of the threat.
The band playing at the Bataclan the night of the brutal attack, Eagles of Death Metal, played a concert in Tel Aviv this past summer.
Around the world, authorities are on high alert to prevent any more strikes by Islamic terrorists.
In Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron announced Monday that seven terror attacks have been foiled in Britain over the past six months.
President Barack Obama and other world leaders are meeting at a G-20 summit in Turkey, working on the next steps to end the war in Syria and respond to the escalating ISIS threat.
And in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Monday that radical Islam is responsible for terrorism around the world.
“In Israel, as in France, terrorism is terrorism and standing behind it is radical Islam and its desire to destroy its victims,” Netanyahu said. “The time has come for the world to wake up and unite in order to defeat terrorism.”
Following the attacks in Paris, Netanyahu repeated what he has said for years, “militant Islamic terrorism attacks our societies because it wants to destroy our civilization and our values.”
The Paris attacks happened just hours after a Palestinian terrorist murdered Rabbi Ya’akov Litman and his 18-year-old son, Netanel, in a shooting attack on their vehicle. His wife, three daughters and another son had minor injuries. The family was on their way to celebrate a pre-wedding Sabbath with their fourth daughter and her soon-to-be in-laws.
Netanyahu said it’s time for the world “to condemn terrorism against us to the same degree that they condemn terrorism everywhere else in the world.”
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attacks in France. Netanyahu said it would be appropriate for Abbas “to condemn ruthless terrorism against innocent people in Israel and fight the incitement that motivates it.”
Israeli security services arrested the perpetrator of the attacks on the Litman family. Netanyahu said the terrorist is a member of Islamic Jihad. Apparently his father and brother turned him in due to Israel’s policy of destroying the homes of terrorists.
Netanyahu said Israel is no more blame for the terror against it than France is.
“It is the terrorists who are to blame for terrorism, not the territories, not the settlements and not any other thing. It is the desire to destroy us that perpetuates this conflict and drives the murderous aggression against us,” he said.
“The terrorists who attack us have the same murderous intent as those in Paris. Thanks to our aggressive policy against terrorism – to control the ground, go into the villages, demolish terrorists’ homes and take preventive action against the infrastructures of terrorism – along with the determined action of the IDF and the security services in carrying out this policy, we succeed many times in frustrating and preventing more serious disasters,” Netanyahu said.
In a separate case on Monday, two Palestinians and a third wounded when they opened fire on Israeli troops who had arrived to destroy the home of a terrorist from an earlier attack.
Education Minister and Jewish Home party leader Naftali Bennett delivered a strong speech at Ariel University in Samaria Monday, excoriating both his domestic political rivals and Western states for appeasing terrorism, while warning that the presence of Jewish communities in Judea-Samaria are Israel’s first line of defense against Islamic State as it gobbles up territory to the east.
“Either you will be here, or ISIS will be,” Bennett told students. “A world war has begun between radical Islam and the free world.”
Bennett noted that the same Western countries calling on Israel to make massive territorial and other concessions in response to attacks by Muslim terrorists against Israeli citizens would never react similarly to attacks on their own soil.
“If France were to offer half of Paris to the Muslims, would that lessen terrorism or encourage it?” he asked. “If (France) would free terrorists, would that lessen or encourage (terrorism)?”
The ongoing wave of Arab terror in Israel “is not because the Palestinians lost hope or because they have hope. A Palestinian state… is a central part of their plan” to destroy Israel “in stages,” he insisted.
Only by dispelling any hope of them achieving the destruction of the Jewish state – in stages or otherwise – could Palestinian terrorism ever truly be defeated, he said.
By contrast, enacting a “two-state solution” and establishing a 23rd Arab “Palestinian state” in Judea and Samaria “is a strategic mistake we must uproot” from the public discourse, Bennett added.
Turning to his rivals, he noted that the Jewish Home party is the only party in the Knesset which firmly opposes such a plan.
“The Likud led by Prime Minister Netanyahu supports a Palestinian state. (Yisrael Beytenu party leader Avigdor) Liberman also supports a Palestinian state. (Yesh Atid party leader) Yair Lapid supports the Saudi Initiative. That’s how they are leading the State of Israel and the world astray.”
“We will never establish in the heart of Israel a Palestinian state. Period,” he vowed of his party.
Bennett also urged people to stop trying in vain to “explain” terrorism, and instead focus on fighting and defeating the groups responsible.
“When a rapist rapes, we don’t try to ‘understand’ him. We punish him! We are fighting this phenomenon.”
Bennett also derided public and legal figures who discouraged punitive action against terrorists and their families – such as demolitions of terrorists’ homes – by claiming it was ineffective or even counterproductive.
Noting that the family of the terrorist responsible for Friday’s double murder of a father and son near Hevron gave him up to security forces precisely because they feared Israeli retaliation, Bennett mused: “The problem is that the family of the terrorist from Otniel did not hear these ‘conclusions,’ and insisted on turning over to the IDF the terrorist who killed two Jews in order that their house wouldn’t be destroyed.”
JERUSALEM, Israel — Israel and U.S. congressmen are strongly condemning a new European Union regulation labeling Israeli products made in disputed areas, saying they’re not made in Israel.
Israeli officials and the congressmen say it’s a political decision to delegitimize Israel and will hinder peace with the Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was furious over the decision, saying it brought back dark memories.
“Europe should be ashamed of itself. It took an immoral decision,” Netanyahu said. “Of the hundreds of territorial conflicts around the world, it chose to single out Israel and Israel alone, while it’s fighting with its back against the wall against the wave of terror.”
Products made in Israeli factories and businesses in areas disputed between Israel and the Palestinians will no longer say “made in Israel.” That includes products from Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), the Golan Heights and even in the eastern sector of Jerusalem – areas promised to Israel in the Bible.
Ironically, those businesses often employ Palestinian workers and provide a much better income than they’d receive from Palestinian employers.
“The European Union is not going to hurt the Israeli economy. It’s strong enough to weather this, but it’s the Palestinian workers in Israeli enterprises in Judea and Samaria that will be hurt,” Netanyahu said. “This will not advance peace; it will certainly not advance truth and justice. It’s wrong. Europe should be ashamed of itself.”
Earlier this week, 36 U.S. senators co-signed a letter to E.U. Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini. They expressed concern over the guidelines, saying they appeared to be “intended to discourage Europeans from purchasing these products and promote a de-facto boycott of Israel, a key ally and the only true democracy in the Middle East.”
“We believe strongly that these efforts are unwarranted, dangerous and damaging to the prospects of a negotiated solution to this conflict,” the senators said in the letter.
Some Israelis went even further in their condemnation.
“This is outrageous because this is using double standards, you know. You can ask yourself, there are plenty of territorial debates and regional debates in the world and this patient treatment of labeling products is kept only for the Jewish state,” Israeli Energy and Infrastructure Minister Yuval Steinitz told CBN News.
Former Israeli U.S. Ambassador Michael Oren called it “anti-Semitic.”
“We have to understand that the decision by the European Union to label Israeli products from Judea and Samaria and the Golan Heights is an anti-Semitic decision. It just is,” Oren told CBN News.
The E.U. defended the decision, saying it was technical and not political. But E.U. parliament member Roger Helmer said it’s just plain wrong.
“Boycotts of that sort are simply unacceptable,” Helmer said. “We wouldn’t have any trade left at all if we wouldn’t trade with people where we had some sort of problem or issue.
Helmer believes the labeling may actually have positive kickbacks.
“There’s a large Jewish community in many European countries and also others who might sympathize with the Israeli cause who certainly won’t be boycotting and indeed might be inclined to look for such products,” he said.
Israeli businessman Sam Green told CBN News it’s the E.U.’s loss.
“Israel should ignore that and we should move ahead and develop markets, open new markets towards the East — China, India, Asian nations, much greater potential there for Israeli technology transfer and knowledge transfer and if Europe wants to isolate themselves from that movement, it’s their loss,” he said.
JERUSALEM, Israel – Three dozen U.S. senators co-signed a letter to current E.U. foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini criticizing the decision to label Israeli products manufactured or grown outside the 1948 armistice lines.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the pending practice elicits “historical memory of what happened when Europeans labeled Jewish products,” referring to the years leading up to the Nazi genocide of World War II.
“As allies, elected representatives of the American people and strong supporters of Israel, we urge you not to implement this labeling policy, which appears intended to discourage Europeans from purchasing these (Israeli) products and promote a de-facto boycott of Israel,” the letter read, the Israeli daily YNet reported.
The letter went on to say labeling Israeli products “play[s] into the narrative of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which is an effort to delegitimize Israel rather than promote a resolution of outstanding issues between Israel and the Palestinians.”
In a veiled warning, the senators implied the practice could affect U.S.-E.U. negotiations to cancel customs taxes, an issue the European Union is interested in.
Critics say labeling Israeli products will put thousands of Palestinian Arabs out of work, while rewarding terrorism and encouraging the BDS movement.
Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely traveled to several European capitals this week to discuss the implications of labeling Israeli products with E.U. officials.
“As far as we’re concerned, all of Israel faces the threat of boycott,” Hotovely said during a visit last week to the industrial park at Barkan in southern Samaria.
JERUSALEM, Israel — The mayor of London called boycotters of Israel “lefty academics” who wield no real influence. Boris Johnson is visiting Israel hoping to strengthen economic ties between Tel Aviv and London.
His visit comes at a time when the BDS campaign in Europe is gaining strength. BDS is an acronym for boycott, divestment and sanctions. The pro-Palestinian movement calls for boycotting and sanctioning the Jewish state on behalf of the Palestinians. Opponents say the ultimate goal of BDS is to delegitimize the Jewish state and bring about its demise.
Johnson said, “I cannot think of anything more foolish” than to boycott “a country that when all is said and done is the only democracy in the region, the only place that has in my view a pluralist open society.” He said the boycotters are “a very small minority.”
The European Union is set to begin labeling Israeli products that are made in Judea and Samaria, a.k.a. the West Bank, as a means to increase pressure on the Jewish State. But some say the move may backfire and actually prompt Israeli-supporters to buy blue and white.
JERUSALEM, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the American Jewish community to unite in support of Israel.
Speaking at the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly, Netanyahu reaffirmed U.S.-Israeli ties, saying “no matter what disagreements there are between Israel and the United States, Israel has no better friend than America and America has no better friend than Israel.”
He called for Jewish unity in the face of his fierce opposition to the Iranian nuclear deal, which many felt drove a wedge between Jewish organizations and some of their leaders.
“No matter what disagreements there have been within the Jewish community, maintaining the unity of our people is of paramount importance,” Netanyahu said. “There is only one Jewish people. There is only one Jewish state. And now, more than ever, we must work together to unite the Jewish people and secure the Jewish state.”
Israel, he said, is the only nation in the region where the Christian population is growing and where gay rights are protected. It’s a nation founded on egalitarianism.
“You see it in an Arab schoolboy who knows that – or school girl – they can grow up to be Knesset members or ambassadors or a Supreme Court justice,” he said. “We have an Arab Supreme Court justice, in case you didn’t know. And it’s the only truly independent court in a very, very large radius.”
Netanyahu said he’s working to ensure that Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Jews can all feel at home in Israel.
“As prime minister of Israel, I will always ensure that all Jews can feel at home in Israel – Reform Jews, Conservative Jews, Orthodox Jews – all Jews,” he said. “And now, for the first time, the government of Israel is joining with the Jewish Agency to invest in strengthening Reform and Conservative communities within Israel.”
An “unshakeable bond” unites Jewish people, he said.
“It’s a bond of hope – not the shallow hope of wishful thinking, but the deep wellspring of confidence that comes from a people who have forded history’s most turbulent rivers and emerged triumphant on the other side in the Promised Land,” Netanyahu said.
Two Jewish families graced Ben-Gurion International Airport’s Arrivals hall on Monday afternoon, becoming the first Jewish families arriving in Israel from France since the Islamic State (ISIS) attack which killed 129.
Both families, Paris natives, immigrated via the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ).
“After the attack, people were afraid to leave their homes,” Daniel Bentura, who came to Israel with his wife and two children, stated upon leaving. “There were police everywhere. It was simply terrifying.”
“For two years we have lived without security and have wanted to immigrate to Israel,” Bentura added. “Anti-Semitism in Paris has greatly increased.”
“I would not want my children to live, learn and get married in France,” he continued. “Life in Israel is far safer than the current situation in Paris.”
“We have family and friends here; for us, this is our home. “
Both the Bentura family and Sergei Uzan, who also returned to Israel Monday after making Aliyah 20 years ago and having returned to France, are moving to Netanya.
The IFCJ has helped hundreds of French immigrants receive financial support, help finding employment, immigration and acclimation assistance for families, and other services.
“The IFCJ is committed to protect the Jewish communities in need around the world and help those who want to immigrate from these communities,” President Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein stated.
The move is the latest in a mass wave of French Aliyah, being sponsored in part by the Israeli government. 7,000 French Jews made Aliyah in 2014 as part of the three-year program, and a recent poll suggests some 80% of French Jewry are considering leaving, primarily to Israel.
Report From Israel with Ray – November 16, 2015
Report From Israel with Ray – November 16, 2015