LLX News

The protesters won’t stop until they bring Netanyahu’s government down.

By: Melanie Phillips (melaniephillips.substack.com) – Jewish News Syndicate; jns.org

The night before Monday’s Knesset vote on the first of the government’s proposed judicial reforms, a video filmed on the escalators in Jerusalem’s central train station went viral on social media.

It showed a great tide of people holding Israeli flags going down one escalator on their way back from protesting against the reforms in Jerusalem, and a great tide of people holding Israeli flags going up the other escalator on their way back from demonstrating in support of the reforms in Tel Aviv.

What was so remarkable and moving was that people on each escalator were leaning over to shake hands with those on the other side, in recognition of the importance of putting people before a cause.

This image deeply touched many who are horrified by the chasm that has opened in Israel over the reforms.

cont’d…

https://www.jns.org/column/israel/23/7/27/306042/

‘I never comment on internal debates of other democracies,’ PM tells Fox News in rebuke of US and others; says he seeks consensus, reservists’ refusal is the real democratic threat

By: The Times of Israel Staff; timesofisrael.com

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed international criticism that his judicial overhaul is undermining democracy and said he will not be swayed by outside pressure.

Speaking to Fox News’s Mark Levin on Sunday, Netanyahu, in an apparent rebuke to the Biden administration and others, said other countries should not interfere in Israel’s internal issues.

Netanyahu said that in his 16 years in power, “I never commented on the internal debates of other democracies,” adding that “everybody has an opinion on Israel; they don’t have an opinion on the riots in France or the protests there, or the debates that happen in other countries.”

cont’d…

https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-rebuffs-international-criticism-of-overhaul-well-make-our-own-decisions/

Knesset testimony exposes flagrant peace violations by Palestinian leaders and educators. Is the world listening?

By: Ryan Jones – Israel Today; israeltoday.co.il

A young Palestinian Arab resident of eastern Jerusalem appeared before the Knesset Education Committee on Sunday to expose the incitement to anti-Israel terrorism being taught in schools in the Israeli capital.

The young man, who was identified only as “E” and had his face covered for his own safety, was brought to the Knesset by Israeli Arab Christian activist Yoseph Haddad.

Haddad began by calling out virulently anti-Israel Member of Knesset Ahmad Tibi, who conspicuously left the committee session before E had a chance to speak.

“It’s a shame MK Ahmad Tibi left before having the opportunity to hear a genuinely courageous voice from eastern Jerusalem, but I knew he’d do that, I knew he wouldn’t engage,” said Haddad.

E told the committee that he was “educated at a school that taught the Palestinian curriculum, from first grade until graduation. And from the very start I was taught that there is no State of Israel. I learned that we are Palestinians and that we are under occupation…”

cont’d…

https://www.israeltoday.co.il/read/palestinian-reveals-what-jerusalem-arabs-are-really-taught-in-school/

By: Julie Stahl – Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN); cbn.com

ELI, Samaria – Following a recent spate of deadly terror attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans to build thousands of new housing units in what the world calls the West Bank, also known – especially in Israel – as biblical Judea and Samaria.

The move angered international players, but millions of Israelis believe that reclaiming their biblical inheritance is the right thing to do.

The view from the hilltops of Eli is stunning, and even more so because it overlooks modern and ancient Shiloh (pronounced shee-LOH), the site where the Bible says the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant rested for nearly 4 centuries.

How do they know it’s the biblical site?

One resident, Eliana Passentin, the international desk director for the Binyamin Regional Council, likened the Bible’s description (in Judges 21:19) to a navigation App (Waze) pinpointing the ancient location.

“It’s like using Waze in ancient times tells you exactly how to get to Shiloh. And they said, ‘Behold, there is a feast of the Lord from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north of Beth El (Bethel).’ There’s a verse at the end of the book: ‘On the east side of the highway that goeth up from Beth El to Shechem and on the south of Levona.’”

cont’d…

https://www2.cbn.com/news/israel/jewish-residents-near-biblical-shiloh-connect-history-beautiful-hilltops

By: John Waage – Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN); cbn.com

JERUSALEM, Israel – The week ahead will not be an easy one for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

As he recovers from a concerning bout of dizziness and a fall caused – doctors believe – by dehydration while at the Sea of Galilee, a medical event which required an overnight stay in the hospital, the prime minister will be steering the nation through another week of protests against his government’s judicial reform plan.

Additionally, although the position of prime minister is the most powerful office in Israel, Netanyahu will govern in Jerusalem this week while the nation’s ceremonial leader, President Isaac Herzog, meets with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and later addresses a joint session of Congress.

It’s Herzog’s second visit in the past year to Washington, and in the nearly 8 months since the Netanyahu government was sworn in, no invitation is yet forthcoming from the Biden White House for the prime minister to meet with him.

Israeli prime ministers have endured decades of frosty receptions from presidential administrations: Menachem Begin with Jimmy Carter in the 1970’s, Yitzhak Shamir with George H.W. Bush in the early 90’s, Benjamin Netanyahu with Bill Clinton in the late 90’s, and Netanyahu again with Barack Obama from 2009 to 2016.

For the most part, Israeli politicians know from experience that snubs from American administrations are to be taken with a grain of salt and covered in public with kind words about the “special relationship” between the two nations.

cont’d…

https://www2.cbn.com/news/israel/tough-week-netanyahu-israeli-and-us-efforts-isolate-him-may-backfire

By: Jon Brown – Fox News; foxnews.com

Pastor Yang Xibo greets news of $55,100 fine by thanking God ‘for allowing us to have a part in His affliction’

The pastor of a large house church in China is facing steep fines from the Chinese government in what a watchdog group is describing as a case of religious persecution.

Pastor Yang Xibo and his wife, Wang Xiaofei, who lead the Xunsiding Church, have been slapped with a combined fine of 400,000 yuan — or roughly $55,100 — for organizing religious activities, according to Texas-based nonprofit ChinaAid, which keeps an eye on Christian persecution in China.

Xunsiding Church is the largest house church in Xiamen, a port city on China’s southeast coast across a strait from Taiwan. House churches are Christian congregations that have not registered with China’s official Protestant or Roman Catholic churches.

The fine, which the Christian couple has been battling since 2021, was reportedly doubled on June 28, according to ChinaAid. The two recently announced on social media that they are refusing to pay.

cont’d…

https://www.foxnews.com/world/china-clamps-down-christians-fines-pastor-wife-running-underground-church-watchdog

“We support the French government in its fight against the scourge of antisemitism,” says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Jewish News Syndicate; jns.org

Israel is closely monitoring and deeply concerned about “waves of antisemitism sweeping over France,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during Sunday’s weekly Cabinet meeting.

“In recent days, we have witnessed criminal assaults against Jewish targets. We strongly condemn these attacks and support the French government in its fight against antisemitism,” he added.

Mass chaos has engulfed France since the fatal police shooting of 17-year-old Nahel M., of Algerian origin, in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday.

Rioters in areas with large Muslim populations have torched cars and looted shops, clashing with police and causing hundreds of injuries.

cont’d…

https://www.jns.org/israel-news/antisemitism/23/7/2/299383/

Young Palestinians parade and brandish fake rifles as they are instructed on combat against the ‘Zionist enemy’ at Palestinian Islamic Jihad camp

By: Times of Israel Staff; timesofisrael.com

As they do every year, terror groups in the Gaza Strip are operating summer camps for the Palestinian enclave’s youth that includes military-style training in preparation to fight against Israel.

As part of Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s activities, young Palestinians parade and train with fake rifles and are instructed on jihad against the “Zionist enemy.”

In previous years, children were taught to stab and stone Israeli police in order “to liberate Al-Aqsa,” while instructors lionized those who fall as “martyrs” against the enemy.

“These boys are trained in various ways to defend their rights in their territory and homeland,” PIJ official Darwish al-Gharabli told AFP. “Hundreds have participated in the camps of the al-Quds Brigades, the camps of glory and pride, ensuring that jihad and resistance will continue.”

Disturbing photos & captions attached…

https://www.timesofisrael.com/gaza-youths-march-and-train-to-fight-israel-at-palestinian-islamic-jihad-summer-camp/

By: Eric R. Mandel – Jewish News Syndicate; jns.org

The Fourth of July is a time to reflect on what Israel can teach America about love of country.

This June, I was privileged to hear an American lieutenant-general studying at the Israel Defense College speak about American patriotism and the lack thereof. He said he was saddened that he recently read that less than a third of young Americans are proud to be citizens of the United States.

Indeed, a March poll taken by The Wall Street Journal revealed that only 23% of Americans aged 18-29 say patriotism is important to them. Of all adults, only 38% said, “Patriotism was very important, down from 70% in 1998.” Americans place “low importance on these values, many of which were central to their parents’ lives.”

In contrast, 86.2% of Israeli Jews feel a sense of belonging to the Jewish state, according to a 2022 Israel Democracy Institute poll.

cont’d…

https://www.jns.org/jns/israel/23/6/25/297823/

By: Pesach Benson – Israel Today; israeltoday.co.il

Since 1994, the program has graduated 20,000 students, mostly from Africa and Asia.

Israel’s Arava region is not the most likely location for a center to teach agriculture. Stretching along Israel’s southern border with Jordan between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea, the area is known for its hot weather and sparse rainfall.

But it was those conditions which attracted Hanni Arnon to launch the Arava International Center for Agricultural Training (AICAT) in 1994. The program brings students from developing countries to learn practical agriculture with Israeli farmers living in the Arava.

“The fact that we are located in the Arava, in the desert, with no natural resources, gives students added value. They understand that human capacity is very important, that you can overcome challenges and odds, and that even you can make the desert bloom,” Arnon told the Tazpit Press Service as a group of 35 Azerbaijani students were finishing an intensive 10-month course.

cont’d…