Source: JTA, 5-7-13
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that he would put a hold on construction in West Bank settlements until mid-June….READ MORE
Posted by bonniekgoodman on May 7, 2013
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/israel-political-brief-may-7-2013-pm-benjamin-netanyahu-promised-us-secretary-of-state-john-kerry-to-put-hold-on-settlement-construction/
IDF troops razed the outpost erected by Jewish settlers near Tapuach Junction, where fellow settler Eviatar Borovsky was stabbed to death on Tuesday by a Palestinian terrorist….READ MORE
Posted by bonniekgoodman on May 3, 2013
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/israel-brief-may-3-2013-tapuach-junction-outpost-razed/
Source: JTA, 5-1-13
Israeli settlers and Palestinians clashed in the West Bank more than a day after the murder of a Jewish man by a Palestinian attacker….READ MORE
Posted by bonniekgoodman on May 1, 2013
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2013/05/01/israel-brief-may-1-2013-murder-of-jewish-settler-sparks-west-bank-clashes/
Source: JTA, 3-6-13
Israeli haredi Orthodox media personalities are calling for a boycott of West Bank settlement products in response to the Jewish Home party’s position on drafting yeshiva students….READ MORE
Posted by bonniekgoodman on March 6, 2013
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2013/03/06/israel-political-brief-march-6-2013-haredi-media-personalities-call-for-settlement-boycott/
Source: JTA, 2-27-13
European Union diplomats in eastern Jerusalem have recommended economic sanctions against Jewish settlements in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem….READ MORE
Posted by bonniekgoodman on February 27, 2013
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2013/02/27/israel-political-brief-february-27-2013-european-union-diplomats-recommend-economic-sanctions-against-settlements/
Source: JTA, 2-11-13
Israel’s Defense Ministry approved the construction of 90 housing units in the West Bank settlement of Beit El….READ MORE
Posted by bonniekgoodman on February 11, 2013
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2013/02/11/israel-political-brief-february-11-2013-israel-approves-housing-units-for-west-bank-settlement/
Source: Ynetnews, 2-11-13
The Defense Ministry has granted the final approval needed for the construction of 90 new housing units in the West Bank settlement of Beit El, Ynet learned Monday….READ MORE
Posted by bonniekgoodman on February 11, 2013
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2013/02/11/israel-political-brief-february-11-2013-beit-el-to-get-90-new-homes/
Source: JTA, 1-31-13
A U.N. report on the impact of Jewish West Bank settlements on Palestinians said Israel immediately should begin withdrawing all settlers from the territory….READ MORE
Posted by bonniekgoodman on January 31, 2013
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/israel-political-brief-january-31-2013-un-israel-must-withdraw-from-settlements-immediately/
Source: PMO, 1-18-13
יום שישי ז’ שבט תשע”ג
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, yesterday expressed his deep sorrow over the passing of his friend, Ariel Mayor and former MK Ron Nachman: “Today, I have lost a dear friend. Ron was a great Zionist patriot. I loved him very much. In his vision, he established and built up the city of Ariel. He was entirely devoted to the revival of the Jews in their land and to the construction of a flourishing city in Samaria. Until his last moments, he worked to strengthen and develop Ariel. We recently spoke about the recognition of a university in Ariel and he was very excited over an additional goal that he had secured for settlement in Israel.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke with Dorit Nachman and conveyed his condolences, and those of the people of Israel, to the Nachman family and the residents of Ariel.
Posted by bonniekgoodman on January 18, 2013
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/full-text-israel-political-brief-january-18-2013-pm-benjamin-netanyahu-expresses-his-sorrow-on-the-passing-of-ariel-mayor-ron-nachman/
Source: PMO, 1-8-13
יום שלישי כ”ו טבת תשע”ג
Photo by GPO
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today visited the Ariel University Center of Samaria, and made the following remarks:
“I would like to make it clear to the world: The danger to the world is not a university in Ariel. The danger to the world is not that Israel is building neighborhoods in Jerusalem. The danger is Iran, which is building nuclear weapons. The danger is Syria’s arsenals of chemical weapons. I call on the world to take notice. History will judge harshly those who equate democratic Israel, which is establishing a university, and dictatorial regimes that slaughter their people and which hold atomic weapons of mass destruction. We remain faithful to our homeland. We will continue to defend our citizens, develop our country and build in our land. With G-d’s help, we will build and we will succeed.”
At the start of his visit, Prime Minister Netanyahu was shown the electro-static accelerator / free electron laser (EA-FEL), the only one of its kind in the country, and one of only six in the world. Afterwards, the Prime Minister met with senior academic staff, including Rector Prof. Michael Zinigrad as well as faculty deans, department heads, professors, lecturers and senior scientists.
Posted by bonniekgoodman on January 8, 2013
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/full-text-israel-political-brief-january-8-2013-pm-benjamin-netanyahu-remarks-at-visit-to-ariel-university-center/
Source: JTA, 12-30-12
The Israeli army finished evacuating the Oz Zion outpost in the West Bank, a day after soldiers came under attack by visiting teens….READ MORE
Posted by bonniekgoodman on December 31, 2012
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2012/12/31/israel-political-brief-december-30-2012-israeli-military-completes-west-bank-oz-zion-outpost-evacuation/
Source: JTA, 12-28-12
Some 200 settlers clashed with Israeli security forces attempting to evacuate the West Bank outpost of Oz Zion….READ MORE
Posted by bonniekgoodman on December 28, 2012
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2012/12/28/israel-political-brief-december-28-2012-israeli-soldiers-clash-with-outpost-settlers/
Source: JTA, 12-24-12
Ariel University Center in the West Bank has been given final approval for recognition as a full university….READ MORE
Posted by bonniekgoodman on December 24, 2012
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2012/12/24/israel-brief-december-24-2012-ariel-university-center-gets-final-approvals-for-full-recognition/
Source: Reuters, 12-18-12
Stung by de facto recognition of Palestinian sovereignty in a U.N. General Assembly vote last month, Israel announced it would expand settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem….READ MORE
Posted by bonniekgoodman on December 18, 2012
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2012/12/18/israel-political-brief-december-18-2012-israel-presses-on-with-plan-for-6000-new-settler-homes/
Source: JTA, 12-17-12
The Israeli government will evict two Jewish families from their homes in a building in Hebron….READ MORE
Posted by bonniekgoodman on December 17, 2012
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2012/12/17/israel-political-brief-december-17-2012-jewish-families-ordered-evicted-from-hebron-building/
Source: JTA, 12-17-12
An Israeli soldier and a civilian security guard, as well as a Palestinian protester, were injured in clashes near the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar….REA MORE
Posted by bonniekgoodman on December 17, 2012
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2012/12/17/israel-political-brief-december-17-2012-israeli-soldier-palestinian-protester-injured-in-west-bank-clashes/
Source: JTA, 12-10-12
A draft of a European Union resolution said the EU was “deeply dismayed” by Israeli plans for new construction in settlements but did not mention sanctions….READ MORE
Posted by bonniekgoodman on December 10, 2012
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2012/12/10/israel-political-brief-december-10-2012-european-union-draft-resolution-slams-israeli-settlements-carries-no-sanctions/
Source: JTA, 12-10-12
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reportedly said he wanted to negotiate with Israel it if freezes construction for six months in the West Bank and Jerusalem….READ MORE
Posted by bonniekgoodman on December 10, 2012
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2012/12/10/israel-political-brief-december-10-2012-palestinian-president-mahmoud-abbas-seeks-talks-if-israel-halts-west-bank-construction/
Source: JTA, 10-17-12
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will ask his Cabinet to approve some of the conclusions of a report that says West Bank settlements are legal under international law….READ MORE
Posted by bonniekgoodman on October 17, 2012
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2012/10/17/israel-political-brief-october-17-2012-report-pm-benjamin-netanyahu-to-ask-cabinet-to-approve-panels-findings-on-legality-of-settlements/
Source: JTA 9-24-12
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak proposed in a newspaper interview that Israel unilaterally withdraw from outlying West Bank settlements and outposts….READ MORE
Posted by bonniekgoodman on September 24, 2012
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2012/09/24/israel-political-brief-september-24-2012-defense-minister-ehud-barak-proposes-unilateral-withdrawal-from-outlying-settlements-outposts/
Source: JTA, 8-13-12
The West Bank outpost of Bruchin received its charter, making it a legal settlement. Read more »
Posted by bonniekgoodman on August 13, 2012
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2012/08/13/israel-political-brief-august-13-2012-west-bank-outpost-bruchin-is-legalized/
Source: JTA, 7-16-12
The Israeli government reportedly agreed to subsidize the construction of 500 new living units in the West Bank, despite saying it would not provide incentives to the settlements….READ MORE
Posted by bonniekgoodman on July 16, 2012
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2012/07/16/israel-political-brief-july-16-2012-israel-to-subsidize-500-west-bank-housing-units/
July 13, 2012
The Honorable Benjamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister of the State of Israel
Dear Mr. Prime Minister:
As strong advocates for Israel’s security and well-being as a Jewish and democratic state, we are deeply concerned about the recent findings of the government commission led by Supreme Court Jurist (Ret.) Edmund Levy. We fear that if approved, this report will place the two-state solution, and the prestige of Israel as a democratic member of the international community, in peril.
As you boldly stated in your address to the United States Congress last May, “I recognize that in a genuine peace, we’ll be required to give up parts of the ancestral Jewish homeland.” As you said clearly, doing so is not easy. While the Jewish people indeed share a biblical connection to the lands of Judea and Samaria, you told Congress, “there is another truth: The Palestinians share this small land with us. We seek a peace in which they’ll be neither Israel’s subjects nor its citizens. They should enjoy a national life of dignity as a free, viable and independent people living in their own state.”
Securing Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state requires diplomatic and political leadership, not legal maneuverings. We recognize and regret that the Palestinian Authority has abdicated leadership by not returning to the negotiating table. Nonetheless, our great fear is that the Levy Report will not strengthen Israel’s position in this conflict, but rather add fuel to those who seek to delegitimize Israel’s right to exist. At this moment, it is more critical than ever that Israel strengthen its claim in the international community that it is committed to a two-state vision, which is, in turn, central to Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state.
We are confident that with your deep understanding of the gravity of this situation, and your unprecedented political strength, you will ensure that adoption of this report does not take place.
Sincerely,
Karen R. Adler
Jack C. Bendheim
Michael Berenbaum
Howard M. Bernstein
Charles R. Bronfman
Steven M. Cohen
Rabbi Marion Lev Cohen
Lester Crown
Thomas A. Dine
Rabbi David Ellenson
Edith Everett
Susie Gelman
E. Robert Goodkind
Stanley P. Gold
Rabbi Daniel Gordis
David A. Halperin
Harold R. Handler
Alan S. Jaffe
Peter A. Joseph
Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky
Peter S. Kolevzon
Steven C. Koppel
Burton Lehman
Marvin Lender
Geoffrey H. Lewis
Deborah Lipstadt
Rabbi J. Rolando Matalon
Harriet Mouchly-Weiss
Burt Neuborne
Bernard Nussbaum
Richard Pearlstone
Marcia Riklis
Rabbi Jennie Rosenn
David Sable
Rabbi David Saperstein
Jeffrey R. Solomon
Joel D. Tauber
Melvyn I. Weiss
Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie
Michael D. Young
Lawrence Zicklin
Affiliations provided below for identification purposes only
Karen R. Adler (New York, NY) – Chair, Executive Committee of the Jewish Communal Fund
Jack C. Bendheim (New York, NY) – President & Chairman, Phibro Animal Health Corp.; former Chairman, IPF
Michael Berenbaum (Los Angeles, CA) – Director of the Sigi Ziering Institute: Exploring the Ethical and Religious Implications of the Holocaust at the American Jewish University; former Project Director of the US Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC
Howard M. Bernstein (Los Angeles, CA) – Emeritus Member of Board of Governors of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion; Honorary Board Member, Wilshire Boulevard Temple
Charles R. Bronfman (New York, NY; Montreal) – Chairman, Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies
Rabbi Marion Lev Cohen (New York, NY) – Board Member, Israel Policy Forum; Director of Adult Engagement, Central Synagogue
Steven M. Cohen (New York, NY) – Director of the Berman Jewish Policy Archive at New York University
Lester Crown (Chicago, IL) – Chairman of Henry Crown & Co.; Crown Family Philanthropies
Thomas A. Dine (Washington, DC) – Former Executive Director of AIPAC
Rabbi David Ellenson (New York, NY) – President, Hebrew Union College –Jewish Institute of Religion
Edith Everett (New York, NY) Co-founder and President, Everett Family Foundation
Susie Gelman (Washington, DC) – Immediate Past President, Jewish Federation of Greater Washington
Stanley P. Gold (Los Angeles, CA) – Chairman Emeritus, Jewish Federation of LA; President and CEO, Shamrock Holdings
E. Robert Goodkind (New York, NY) – Partner, Pryor Cashman LLP; former President, American Jewish Committee (’04-’07)
Rabbi Daniel Gordis (Jerusalem) – Senior Vice President and the Koret Distinguished Fellow at the Shalem Center in Jerusalem
David A. Halperin (New York, NY) – Executive Director, Israel Policy Forum
Harold R. Handler (New York, NY) – Former President, JCC in Manhattan; Former Chairman, Jewish Communal Fund; Board Member, Israel Policy Forum
Alan S. Jaffe (New York, NY) – President, Jewish Community Relations Council-NY; former President, UJA-Federation-NY; former Chairman, Proskauer
Peter A. Joseph (New York, NY) – Chairman, Israel Policy Forum
Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky (New York, NY) – Temple Ansche Chesed
Peter S. Kolevzon (New York, NY) – Founding Chair and Past President, JCC in Manhattan
Steven C. Koppel (New York, NY) – Partner, JonesDay; Member, International Board of Governors, The Peres Center for Peace
Burton Lehman (New York, NY) – Former Chair and Member of the Board of Governors of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute Religion
Marvin Lender (Connecticut) – Former National Chairman, UJA
Geoffrey H. Lewis (Boston, MA) – Board Member, Israel Policy Forum
Deborah Lipstadt (Atlanta, GA) – Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies at Emory University
Rabbi J. Rolando Matalon (New York, NY) – Congregation Bnai Jeshurun
Harriet Mouchly-Weiss (New York, NY) – Board Member, Israel Policy Forum
Burt Neuborne (New York, NY) – Professor of Law, NYU
Bernard Nussbaum (New York, NY) – Former White House Counsel (’94); Partner, Wachtell Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Richard Pearlstone (Aspen, CO) – Former Chairman, Jewish Agency
Marcia Riklis (New York, NY) – Board member, Israel Policy Forum; General Campaign Co-Chair, UJA Federation-NY
Rabbi Jennie Rosenn (New York, NY) – Program Director, Jewish Life and Values, Nathan Cummings Foundation
David Sable (New York, NY) – Former Executive Board Member, UJA Federation-NY
Rabbi David Saperstein (Washington, DC) – Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
Jeffrey R. Solomon (New York, NY) – President, Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies
Joel D. Tauber (Southfield, MI) – Former Chairman, National UJA; former National Chairman of Tel Aviv University: American Council
Melvyn I. Weiss (New York, NY) – Board Member, Israel Policy Forum
Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie (New York, NY) – President Emeritus, Union for Reform Judaism
Michael D. Young (New York, NY) – Board Member, Israel Policy Forum
Lawrence Zicklin (New York, NY) – Former President, UJA Federation-NY
Posted by bonniekgoodman on July 15, 2012
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2012/07/15/full-text-israel-political-brief-july-15-2012-text-of-us-jewish-leaders-letter-to-pm-benjamin-netanyahu-on-levy-settlement-report/
Source: Israel National News, 7-15-12
More than 40 prominent American Jewish leaders and philanthropists sent a letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Sunday in which they implored him not to approve the judicial report that says Jews may settle freely in Judea and Samaria….READ MORE
Posted by bonniekgoodman on July 15, 2012
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2012/07/15/israel-political-brief-july-15-2012-40-us-jewish-leaders-send-letter-to-pm-benjamin-netanyahu-bury-levy-report-includes-charles-bronfman-daniel-gordis-deborah-lipstadt/
Source: Israel National News, 7-12-12
The heads of the Pikuach Nefesh rabbinical organization, which represents 350 rabbis in Israel, sent President Shimon Peres a letter on Wednesday in which they condemned his remarks that the Jewish settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria (Yehuda and Shomron) threatens Israel’s Jewish majority….READ MORE
Posted by bonniekgoodman on July 12, 2012
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2012/07/12/israel-political-brief-july-12-2012-rabbis-in-fiery-letter-to-peres-you-should-apologize-over-jewish-west-bank-settlement-remarks/
Source: JTA, 7-10-12
Israeli President Shimon Peres called West Bank settlements a threat to Israel.
The remarks, made Tuesday at the annual ceremony in memory of Zionism founder Theodor Herzl, appeared to address a report released Sunday that said “Israel does not meet the criteria of ‘military occupation’ as defined under international law” in the West Bank, and that therefore settlements and West Bank outposts are legal.
“It is doubtful that a Jewish state without a Jewish majority can remain Jewish,” Peres said, inferring that settlements would lead to the inextricable inclusion of the Palestinians living on the West Bank….READ MORE
Posted by bonniekgoodman on July 10, 2012
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2012/07/10/israel-political-brief-july-10-2012-president-shimon-peres-calls-settlements-a-threat-to-israel/
Source: PMO, 7-9-12
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today commented on retired Supreme Court Judge Edmund Levy’s report:
“First of all, I very much appreciate the efforts of Judge Levy and the people who worked with him. They did serious, quiet work over long months. I will submit this report to the Ministerial Committee on Settlement Affairs that I established and we will discuss it and make a decision.
This is important. This report, in my opinion, discusses the question of the legality and legitimacy of the settlement movement in Judea and Samaria on the basis of the facts and claims that merit serious examination.”
Posted by bonniekgoodman on July 9, 2012
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2012/07/09/israel-political-brief-july-9-2012-pm-benjamin-netanyahus-comments-on-retired-judge-edmund-levys-report-on-west-bank-settlements/
Source: JTA, 7-9-12
West Bank settlements are legal under international law, according to an Israeli committee set up to review the legal status of West Bank land.
The Levy Committee, which was formed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and headed by former Israeli Supreme Court Justice Edmond Levy, said in its 89-page report released late Sunday that “Israel does not meet the criteria of ‘military occupation’ as defined under international law” in the West Bank, and that therefore settlements and West Bank outposts are legal.
The report recommends changing the legal regulations concerning Jewish settlement in the West Bank in the areas of zoning, demolitions and building….READ MORE
Posted by bonniekgoodman on July 9, 2012
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2012/07/09/israel-political-brief-july-9-2012-the-levy-committee-west-bank-settlements-outposts-legal-under-international-law/
Source: JTA, 7-8-12
Israel said it will not cooperate with a United Nations fact-finding mission on how Israel’s West Bank settlements affect Palestinians….READ MORE
Posted by bonniekgoodman on July 8, 2012
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/israel-political-brief-july-8-2012-israel-will-not-cooperate-with-un-fact-finding-mission-on-west-bank-settlements/
Source: JTA, 6-26-12
Residents and supporters of the Ulpana neighborhood in the West Bank held a morning prayer service as moving vans arrived to evacuate them from the disputed properties.
The first 15 families living in the outlying neighborhood of the Beit El settlement moved to trailer homes set up at a nearby army base on Tuesday. The other 15 families will move Thursday, according to Israel’s Ministry of Defense.
The five apartment buildings are to be moved to 4.5 acres of state land that was a Border Police base and will be annexed to the settlement. Three hundred other dwellings also will be built there.
Movers hired by the Defense Ministry began packing up the families Tuesday morning. Four families said they would passively resist the evacuation, and all the families are asking media outlets to report that they are being forced from their homes and refrain from saying that the evacuation is by agreement. An agreement to evacuate and move the buildings was struck between the government and Beit El Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed.
A statement from the Ministry of Defense said “The operation is being carried out in full coordination, and with the agreement of community leaders and the residents themselves.”…READ MORE
Posted by bonniekgoodman on June 26, 2012
http://togetherwithisrael.wordpress.com/2012/06/26/israel-political-brief-june-26-2012-evacuation-of-ulpana-neighborhood-of-the-beit-el-settlement-begins/
Full Coverage of President Barack Obama's Middle East Tour & Israel Visit from March 20-23, 2013 @ Obama Israel Visit
