First Official US Visit to Israel of the Trump Era - Israel Today

First Official US Visit to Israel of the Trump Era

Tuesday, January 24, 2017 |  Israel Today Staff

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America

The first official from the Trump Administration to visit Israel arrived on Tuesday for a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a close adviser to President Donald Trump and new head of America’s cyber security program, was warmly welcomed by Netanyahu.

At a press briefing ahead of Giuliani’s arrival, the prime minister said:

“This is the time for responsible diplomacy and education with our friends, the time diplomacy which will strengthen our cooperation, and increase our trust between the State of Israel and the new government in Washington.”

Netanyahu rejected calls from right-wing members of his coalition to take the opportunity afforded by Trump’s inauguration to annex areas of Judea and Samaria where hundreds of thousands of Jews live.

“This is not the time for knee-jerk reactions, impositions, or surprises,” said Netanyahu, insisting that he prefers to work with Trump to achieve Israel’s goals.

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"Dad Why Did You Leave Us? What Will We Do Without You?" - Esti Eliraz ISRAEL TODAY

"Dad Why Did You Leave Us? What Will We Do Without You?"

Thursday, September 08, 2016 |  Esti Eliraz  ISRAEL TODAY

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Support Israeli Soldiers

Herzl Shaul, father of Oron Shaul declared dead in action, passed away Friday last week Friday aged 54. He fought in vain for 2 years for the return of the body of his son which is being held by Hamas in Gaza. After he was diagnosed with cancer a year ago, he continued with his battle "Operation bring Oron back". He was adamant and in the end he forfeited his life.

Herzl's condition deteriorated in July when planned protests against Israel's government drew less support than was hoped for which was a major blow to him. According to his wife, Zahava, Herzl's spirit finally broke and the disease spread throughout his body.

Aviram, his son, addressed Israel's President and Prime Minister saying that his father had died of a broken heart.He had died regretting mourning for Oron who had been declared dead simply because of a bullet hole and bloodstains in his helmet.

Israel Today visited the Shaul family and conveyed our deepest condolences and a little comfort during the "week of mourning". Many parents who had lost their sons during "Operation Tzuk Eitan" came to pay their condolences. Army Generals also came to pay their condolences and told Zahava that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must do everything possible to bring back the body of her son Oron.

Kay, Oron's beloved boxer dog, still waits for his missing master. He lays down in the doorway of Oron's empty room, as he has done every night for the last two years.

Herzl's two surviving sons, Ofek & Aviram promised their father, that they would continue to do everything they possibly can to bring Oron home, as he lay on his deathbed!

HELP US SUPPORT THE SHAUL FAMILY!

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This Video Epitomizes the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Thursday, August 04, 2016 | Israel Today Staff

This Video Epitomizes the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Thursday, August 04, 2016 |  Israel Today Staff

Israelis, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (see below), were horrified by a video clip posted to the Internet showing a Palestinian father trying to get his 4-year-old son to attack an Israeli soldier in hopes that the soldier would respond with violence and thereby bolster claims that Israelis are violent racists.

Instead, the soldier responded with kindness, and the oblivious toddler instead threw stones into the nearby field.

The exchange epitomized perfectly the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Most Israelis just want peace, while far too many Palestinians have been brainwashed into believing the Jews are enemies that must be violently confronted.

The words of former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir have never rung so true:

“Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.”

Watch here: Palestinian Child

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Arab League, U.S., Germany Reject Israel’s Golan Heights Affirmation By JNS - BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen during a security and defense tour in the Golan Heights, near the Northern Israeli border with Syria. April 11, 2016. (Photo: Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Arab League, U.S., Germany Reject Israel’s Golan Heights Affirmation

By JNS April 19, 2016  BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“And this shall be your north border: from the Great Sea ye shall mark out your line unto mount Hor.” Numbers 34:7 (The Israel Bible™)

The Arab League has denounced Israel’s “escalation” over control in the Golan Heights, while Germany and the United States also rejected Israeli claims on the strategic territory.

Israel’s cabinet held its weekly meeting in the Golan on Sunday to affirm the Jewish state’s sovereignty in the area.

“Israel will never come down from the Golan Heights….In the 49 years Israel has controlled the Golan, it has been a place of peace and prosperity. Israel today is the solution, not the problem,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

On Monday, Arab League General-Secretary Nabil al-Arabia said Netanyahu’s comments marked “a new escalation that represents a brazen violation of international law.”

At the same time, Germany’s Foreign Ministry on Monday said that Israel’s decision to unilaterally maintain control over the Golan Heights would violate international law. German Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said it is “a basic principle of international law and the U.N. charter that no state can claim the right to annex another state’s territory just like that.”

The U.S. State Department also said that the American position on the Golan Heights has not changed, and that it does not recognize the territory as part of Israel.

Following Netanyahu’s comments, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad said his country would “retake the Golan Heights by any means necessary, including using military force.”

According to recent reports, a negotiated deal on the Syrian civil war that is being worked on by world powers would declare the Golan Heights as Syrian territory.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads the weekly cabinet conference, held in the Golan Heights, Northern Israel on April 17, 2016. (Photo: Effi Sharir/POOL)

Israel gained control of the strategically important Golan Heights during the 1967 Six-Day War. After Israel briefly lost territory during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Israel and Syria established a United Nations-monitored cease-fire line in the region, with Israel taking the western two-thirds of the territory. Amid the ongoing Syrian civil war, the territory continues to play a strategic role for Israel. Iran, Hezbollah, and the Islamic State terror group all have a presence in Syrian territory near the Israeli border.

Israeli President: It's Our Right to Settle This Land

Sunday, August 30, 2015 |  Israel Today Staff

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Settlements

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin last week stated unequivocally that it is the right of Jews and the Jewish state to settle the biblical Land of Israel.

“I love the land of Israel with all my heart. I have never and will never give up on this land. For me, our right to this land is not a matter of political debate,” Rivlin said in a meeting with Jewish settler leaders.

Rivlin suggested that Israel more firmly cling to this right, debatable as its implementation may be, in national discourse and the peace process.

“We must not give anyone the sense that we are in any doubt about our right to our land,” the president said. “For me, the settlement of the land of Israel is an expression of that right, our historical right, our national right.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others in the Israeli government have long demanded that recognition of the Jews’ religious and historical connection and claims to this land be a starting point of peace negotiations with the Arabs.

But Rivlin was also adamant that acting on the right to settle the Land of Israel must be accompanied by compassion for and care of the non-Jewish population.

“Our sovereignty in this land means responsibility for all those who live here, and obliges all of us to uphold the strictest of moral codes, which is inherent in each and every one of us,” concluded Rivlin.

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Again American 'Deeply Concerned' by Jewish Houses

Thursday, July 30, 2015 |  Ryan Jones  ISRAEL TODAY

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• Renewed fears of Israeli civil war after settlers attack IDF base
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Settlements

Though Israel on Thursday demolished a number of “West Bank” houses its Supreme Court deemed illegal, the US and Europe did not waste the opportunity to suggest that the building of new Jewish residences in areas claimed by the Palestinians called into question Israel’s commitment to peace.

The Palestinian Authority quickly latched onto that message.

“We are deeply concerned about the Israeli government’s announcement today of the advancement of nearly 300 new housing units in the West Bank settlement of Beit El, as well as hundreds of new housing units in East Jerusalem,” said US State Department spokesman Mark Toner.

“Settlement expansion threatens the two-state solution and calls into question Israel’s commitment to a negotiated resolution to the conflict,” the American official continued.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly approved the new Beit El and Jerusalem construction projects after Israel’s Supreme Court upheld a demolition order against a Beit El neighborhood that it determined had failed to obtain proper approval.

The American condemnation came despite the fact that no signed peace agreements prevent Jewish construction inside the already-defined boundaries of existing Jewish settlements, nor has Israel ever agreed to even the possibility of surrendering Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem.

Nevertheless, the European Union quickly followed up the American statement with condemnation of its own, insisting that the building of Jewish homes in disputed territories, rather than continuing Palestinian violence and incitement, was the primary obstacle to peace.

“The EU expects the Israeli government to demonstrate its commitment to the two-state solution not only in words, but also through its actions,” read the European response.

Needless to say, the Palestinian Authority was thrilled with the international reaction to the audacity of Jews building homes in Samaria, the ancient biblical heartland of Israel.

“These settlement measures and war crimes are part of a plan by Israeli leaders to impose a ‘Greater Israel’ on historic Palestine and destroy the two-state solution and the chance for peace,” said senior PLO figure Hanan Ashrawi, who sought to both outdo the condemnations emanating from the West and rewrite history.

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Google CEO Praises Israel's Culture of Innovation

Wednesday, June 10, 2015 |  Israel Today Staff

Google CEO Eric Schmidt is in Israel this week, and had nothing but glowing praise for the Jewish state’s culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.

“Israel is booming in terms of entrepreneurship because you have a culture to challenge authority and to question everything,” Schmidt told students at the Weizmann Institute on Sunday.

The Google chief said Israelis were so successful because “you’re not going by the rules.”

And that success has benefitted not only Israel, but the world. “The impact of the Israelis on science and technology is immense, so that’s why I’m here and why I’m investing here,” said the head of one of the world’s largest technology firms.

On Tuesday, Schmidt met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. While he hardly needed to do so, Netanyahu reminded Schmidt of Israel’s leadership in the cyber industry, and reiterated his commitment to bolstering the growth of what has been called “the Start-Up Nation.”

Schmidt, for his part, reaffirmed Google’s commitment to investing in Israel.

PHOTO: Netanyahu and Schmidt meet at the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem.

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