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President-elect Donald Trump's advisers would like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to attend his inauguration Jan. 20, the New York Post reported Saturday.
According to a source close to the transition team, the advisers are also exploring the possibility of arranging "a meeting of the two leaders before then."
If Netanyahu accepts the invitation, he would become the first sitting Israeli prime minister to attend a presidential inauguration.
According to the report, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and other transition team officials "have been aggressively courting Netanyahu and want him to attend the Jan. 20 festivities."
"There's a plan for Trump to meet with Netanyahu," the source said. "They're talking all the time. And Netanyahu is talking about possibly going to the inauguration."
Sources close to Netanyahu said Sunday that the prime minister currently has no plans to attend the inauguration.
This article was originally published at JNS.org. Used with permission.
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“I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Yerushalayim, they shall never hold their peace day nor night: ‘Ye that are the LORD’S remembrancers, take ye no rest.” Isaiah 62:6 (The Israel Bible™)
Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, speaks at the UN. (Photo: Danny Danon Official Facebook)
For the first time since its inception into the organization in 1949, Israel was elected on Monday to head a UN Legal Committee. Specifically, the Sixth Committee, which manages such issues as legal questions and fighting global terrorism. As Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon will chair the committee for the upcoming UN General Assembly (GA), reportedThe Times of Israel.
“I am proud to be the first Israeli elected to this position,” said Ambassador Danon upon his win. “Israel is a world leader in international law and in fighting terrorism. We are pleased to have the opportunity to share our knowledge with the countries of the world.”
The Western European and Others Group (WEOG) in the UN, whose turn it was to pick a chairman for the committee, nominated Danon for the job. Among the WEOG’s pro-Israel countries are Australia, Canada, and the United States. In 2000, Israel became a temporary member of the WEOG and joined permanently in December 2013.
According to The Times of Israel, the chair positions of the GA’s main committees are appropriated on a rotational basis and are typically confirmed without need for a vote. But in this particular case, Yemen, on behalf of the Arab Group, challenged Israel’s nomination and demanded a vote be held.
Danny Danon sits at the United Nations in New York (Photo: Official Danny Danon Facebook page)
Despite months of behind-the-scenes diplomatic struggles and ferocious anti-Israel campaigning, however, 109 nations voted in favor of Danon’s appointment. (The election process only included votes that were cast for the particular candidate and did not include ‘nay’ votes.) The election was held via secret ballot in which all 193 members of the UN could vote.
“We will not allow dictatorships and anti-Israel countries to harm our standing in the international community,” said Danon. “We are a full member of the UN and any attempt to deny us of our legal rights in this organization will be met with uncompromising rejection.”
Ambassador Danon’s election received widespread support among many of the UN’s member states, led by the US and European countries, according to Ynet. Some of his supporters even took to social media to wish the Ambassador congratulations.
The “Herev” (Sword) Battalion, comprised of Druze, Jewish and Christian soldiers, are an elite unit specially trained in the Northern Command. (Photo: IDF)
Christian IDF Soldiers Recieve Special Recognition in Historic First
“And a terror from God was on all the kingdoms of the countries, when they heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Yisrael.” (2 Chronicles 20:29)
For the first time, the International Fellowship and Christians and Jews, in partnership with the Israeli Christian Recruitment Forum (ICRF), will bestow academic scholarships on 40 Christian IDF soldiers, with the goal of enabling them to take advantage of Israel’s advanced higher learning institutions and ultimately helping them integrate into Israeli society.
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder and president of the Fellowship, and Father Gabriel Naddaf, head of the ICRF, said that they hope that the scholarship program will ease the transition of younger members of the Christian community into mainstream Israeli society, help close socio-economic gaps, and give more Israeli Christians the opportunities that come with higher education.
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein. (Wikimedia Commons/IFCJ)
Since Christians are not required to serve in Israel’s military, all of the Christian recruits are volunteers eager to do their part to defend their country. Eckstein and Naddaf believe they should be entitled to every benefit in return.
“We believe that every Israeli citizen deserves equal rights and opportunities in all areas of life, while on their part they provide an active share and contribute to Israeli society,” said Eckstein, the Jerusalem Post reported.
His organization and Naddaf’s work together in the Israeli Christian community to encourage its members to serve in the IDF, a project which has grown steadily in recent years. Eckstein said he was happy to see that “more and more young [Christians] are choosing to integrate into society and even serve in the IDF and national service”.
There is Biblical precedent for gentiles aligning with Jewish forces. Yael, a member of the Kenite clan, famously killed Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite army, thereby giving victory to the army of Israel and delivering its people – an action for which she was blessed in the Book of Judges.
Naddaf called the scholarship program “a message to the whole world, that two religious leaders from different religions can lead a change in society where they live and work through cooperation.” He also thanked Eckstein for supporting the ICRF.
Father Gabriel Naddaf (Wikimedia Commons)
The Christian leader founded the Israeli Christian Recruitment Forum in 2012. In its first year, the ICRF helped to enlist 40 Christian soldiers. By 2014, it had more than doubled its numbers in an upward trend that continued into last year. The ICRF is part of a larger effort by Naddaf to change the perceptions surrounding Israel’s Christian population and help its members become Israeli Christians, rather than aligning with the Arab population.
“Calling them ‘Arab Christian’ puts them on the side of Palestinians and terrorists, when in reality they’ve lived in Israel for generations and just want to live in peace and security,” Naddaf explained in December of last year at a Christmas celebration honoring several soldiers.
Full integration into Israeli society “begins with the youth and continues in enlistment in the IDF or national service and paves the way towards studies in higher education institutions and integration into the workforce. We are there every step of the way in order to encourage, strengthen, and support,” said Naddaf of the scholarship program.
The 40 scholarships will be presented to the IDF soldiers and soon-to-be students on Thursday at the Greek Orthodox Church in Yafa Inman-Naseriyye, an Arab local council located near Nazareth.
