Erdan reportedly targeted by Walla as part of Case 4000 deal with Netanyahu

Culture minister vows to pass ‘culture loyalty’ bill despite coalition rebels

Culture Minister Miri Regev says the coalition will succeed in passing legislation giving herself power to withhold public funding for cultural organizations “that are working against the principles of the state,” despite two of its MKs saying they will vote against the bill.

Responding to Kulanu MK Rachel Azaria and Likud MK Benny Begin’s announced opposition, Regev says “we will pass the law without them,” and calls on Yisrael Beytenu chair Avigdor Liberman to fulfill a previous vow to support the bill.

“The national camp will not forgive you for this. You as a former defense minister know that toppling this law will be a reward for terrorism.” she says after Yisrael Beytenu said its MKs will consider voting in favor of the bill only if its own bill to make it easier for Israel to sentence convicted Palestinian terrorists to death is advanced by the coalition.

Qatar mulls continuing Gaza cash transfers amid backlash over terror-funding

Qatar is reportedly considering whether to continue with cash payments to Gaza and mulling finding an alternative method for the transfer of the money, due to internal fears that by paying the salaries of Hamas members, the Arab state could be seen to be supporting terrorism.

According to a report on the Walla news site, a document circulated internally among Qatari officials argues that the transfer of money to Hamas was a “problematic” move which led to criticism from both Israel and the Palestinians. The document says the cash transfer “only reinforces the negative view of Qatar as a financier of terror acting against the Sunni states.”

Last year Saudi Arabia and its allies cut off ties with Qatar after accusing the gas-rich state of supporting extremism across the region.

Air raids hit rebel areas west of Syria’s Aleppo

Air strikes hit the edges of Syria’s last major rebel stronghold west of Aleppo , a monitor says, after an alleged toxic attack on the regime-held city the day before.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor says regime ally Russia “likely” carried out the air strikes, the first on a planned buffer zone around the opposition bastion of Idlib since a September 17 deal to prevent a massive regime attack there.

— AFP

Government approves Kochavi as Israel army’s 22nd chief of staff

The government officially approves Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi for the position of IDF chief of staff Sunday. He was scheduled to take over the position on January 15.

Kochavi, the former head of Military Intelligence and the Northern Command and the current deputy chief of staff, will be the 22nd commander of the Israel Defense Forces.

Deputy IDF chief of staff Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi salutes during a ceremony at Hakirya base in Tel Aviv, November 3, 2016. (Flash90)

Current IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot was initially due to retire on January 1; however, to allow additional time for Kochavi to prepare for the role, Eisenkot’s tenure was extended by two weeks.

The government’s approval comes hours after reports emerged that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had opposed Kochavi’s appointment, instead preferring his former military secretary, Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir, for the role of IDF chief of staff.

— Judah Ari Gross

Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei attacks ‘weak Zionist regime’

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei says that Israel is now “weaker” than it was 10 or 20 years ago, with a list of “defeats” he said the Jewish state has suffered over the years.

Khamenei claims in a tweet that Israel was defeated by Hezbollah in the 2006 war, and that it had been beaten by Hamas in 2008’s Operation Cast Lead, 2012’s Operation Pillar of Defense, as well as the recent flareup in violence on the Gaza border.

The Zionist regime is clearly weaker than 10, 20 years ago. A few years ago they fought Hezbollah for 33 days and were defeated. They were defeated 2 years later in the 22-day war on Palestinian resistance; in 8-day war on oppressed people of Gaza and recently in the 2-day war.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) November 25, 2018

All of these conflicts ended with ceasefires, and no clear victors.

Syrian warplanes strike rebel areas after alleged gas attack

Syrian warplanes attack rebel-held areas in northern Syria for the first time in weeks, as Syrian officials say more than 100 people were treated at hospitals following a suspected poison gas attack by rebels in the northern city of Aleppo.

The latest wave of shelling and airstrikes in northern Syria is the most serious violation of a truce reached by Russia and Turkey that brought relative calm to the country’s north for the past two months. The rebels, who have denied carrying out any chemical attacks, accuse the government of trying to undermine the cease-fire.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Thiqa News Agency, an activist collective, say government warplanes pounded rebel-held areas west and south of Aleppo city.

— AP

Elbit completes purchase of state-owned IMI weapons manufacturer

The government announces that it has finalized the details of the sale of one of Israel’s largest defense contractors, the state-owned IMI Systems, to Elbit Systems, a major Israeli defense electronics company.

IMI, formerly known as Israel Military Industries, is the maker of iconic Israeli infantry firearms like the Uzi, the Galil assault rifle and the Negev machine gun, as well as much of the IDF ground forces’ ammunition, multiple types of rockets for air and artillery systems, and precision ordnance.

Israeli minister of Defense Avigdor Liberman (c) at the inauguration ceremony for the new Elbit factory in the southern Israeli town of Arad. April 2, 2017. (Ariel Hermoni/Ministry of Defense)

Officials celebrated news of the sale agreement by noting that under the conditions agreed to by Elbit, IMI will shut down its Ramat Hasharon factories and move them to the job-starved Negev. They will reopen in the Ramat Beka industrial zone south of Beersheba.

The move is expected to free up land for the building of thousands of housing units in the Ramat Hasharon area, where demand for apartments is high.

— Judah Ari Gross

PM, ministers said to slam former IDF deputy chief for criticizing politicians

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government reportedly attack former IDF deputy chief of staff Yair Golan for saying last week that elected officials speak negatively about public servants who are then not allowed to respond, saying that he should not be expressing his views on the matter in public.

During the cabinet meeting, ministers said that IDF officers are invited and permitted to express their professional opinions within closed forums, but that they must not express views on the political echelon while serving in the military, according to Hebrew media reports.

They are said to have specifically named Golan as an example of such behavior.

Former IDF deputy chief of staff Maj. Gen. (res.) Yair Golan addresses the Washington Institute’s 2017 Zeev Schiff Memorial Lecture on September 10, 2017. (Courtesy)

“Elected officials make a habit of mistreating public servants, those who are not elected and cannot respond and speak. It’s an obscene practice,” Golan told 103FM radio station last Thursday.

In the same interview, Golan said that Naftali Bennett “weakens the army and the State of Israel,” in response to the education minister’s claim that the army was too concerned with the legalities of war to fight effectively.

President of Chad lands in Israel for historic and unprecedented visit

The president of Chad Idriss Déby lands in Israel to begin an unprecedented trip for the leader of the Muslim-majority nation in Central Africa, which does not have diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.

Déby is set to make his way from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport to Jerusalem to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a one-on-one meeting, and for a dinner at his Jerusalem residence. President Reuven Rivlin will host Déby in his residence later Sunday afternoon.

President of #Chad arrives in #Israel pic.twitter.com/nfifUNAQlC

— Meron Reuben (@AmbMeronReuben) November 25, 2018

“This is another diplomatic breakthrough,” Netanyahu said earlier in a statement. “This is a historic and important visit that comes against the backdrop of the efforts we led. I welcome the president of Chad’s arrival in Israel.”

The Prime Minister’s Office noted in a statement that Déby’s visit will mark the first visit to Israel of a president of Chad since Israel was founded in 1948.

Government to request Supreme Court extension for ultra-Orthodox draft law

The government will request an extension from the Supreme Court to pass a new ultra-Orthodox military conscription law, according to coalition sources.

While the bill passed its first reading in the Knesset at the beginning of July, it must be finalized in its third reading by a Supreme Court-imposed deadline of December 2. If new legislation is not voted into law, current deferral regulations would expire with the deadline and thousands of yeshiva students would find themselves unable to renew their deferments, making them eligible to be drafted by the IDF.

The current bill, written by the Defense Ministry, sets minimum yearly targets for ultra-Orthodox conscription that, if not met, would result in financial sanctions on the yeshivas where they study. At the same time, it also formalizes exemptions for the vast majority of yeshiva students.

Ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students have been largely exempt from Israel’s military draft since then-defense minister David Ben-Gurion exempted 400 students from service in 1949 on the grounds that “their studies are their profession.” Previous legislation to regulate the 70-year-old issue has been disqualified by the top court.

Children overturn headstones in Jewish cemetery in southwestern Poland

Three children overturn 15 gravestones at the Jewish cemetery in Opole, in southwestern Poland.

Two 13-year-old boys and a 12-year-old girl tell authorities that they did not know what kind of place it is and did not know its history.

Krzysztof Bielawski, founder of a website about Jewish cemeteries, Kirkuty.xip.pl, tells JTA that during World War II the cemetery in Opole was bought by its former gravedigger and member of the Nazi Party who is known only by his last name, Hoffman. In part of the cemetery he arranged to set up a garden. After 1945, a car workshop functioned there.

“Matzevot [gravestones] were gradually stolen. In 1971 there was a man who died crushed by one of the monuments during the dismantling of tombstones,” Bielawski says.

There are a total of about 770 tombstones in various condition at the cemetery in Opole.

The children apologized for their behavior. The family court will now deal with the case.

— JTA

EU says ‘totally unacceptable’ for Rouhani to call Israel a ‘cancer’

The European Union condemns Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s calling Israel a “cancer.”

“President Rouhani’s remarks bringing into question Israel’s legitimacy are totally unacceptable. They are also incompatible with the need to address international disputes through dialogue and international law,” a spokesperson for EU foreign policy czar Federica Mogherini says in a statement.

“The European Union reiterates its fundamental commitment to the security of Israel, including with regard to current and emerging threats in the region.”

— Raphael Ahren

Czech President Milos Zeman begins his three-day state visit to Israel

Czech President Milos Zeman begins his three-day state visit to Israel by laying a wreath at the grave of Theodor Herzl in Jerusalem. Tomorrow, he will address the Knesset.

Pan prezident se svojí paní zahájili státní návštěvu Státu Izrael v Jeruzalémě uctěním památky Theodora Herzla, který byl nejvýznamnějším představitelem sionismu a duchovním otcem Státu Izrael. pic.twitter.com/GRzZ3doDD9

— Jiří Ovčáček (@PREZIDENTmluvci) November 25, 2018

During Zeman’s visit, he will formally open the “Czech House” office space in Jerusalem, billed by Prague as a “first step” toward relocating the country’s embassy to Israel’s capital.

Meeting president of Chad in Jerusalem, PM says Israel-Africa ties ‘flourishing again’

Meeting the president of Chad, Idriss Déby, in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that his historic visit to Israel proves that “Israel is coming back to Africa and Africa is coming back to Israel.”

“Israel has worked with all the African countries on agriculture and water. This was discontinued. Now it’s flourishing again,” he says, adding that Déby has been at the forefront of the renewed ties between Israel and Africa.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) meets with President Idriss Deby of Chad at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, November 25, 2018. (GPO)

“I want to congratulate you on your leadership. You have statesmanship, because you recognized the change that is happening,” Netanyahu says.

He says that following his two trips to the continent in the last three years: “I will drop a big hint: I hope to get to Central Africa.”

Netanyahu: Chad presidential visit sign of stronger Israeli ties with Muslim world

Netanyahu says that Déby’s visit is a sign of Israel’s stronger ties with not just the Muslim world but the wider Arab world as well.

“This was manifested in my recent visit to Oman with Sultan Qaboos. There will be more such visits in Arab countries very soon,” the prime minister says after his one-on-one meeting with the Chadian president.

Netanyahu also says that “other African countries will follow suit” in strengthening ties with Israel following Déby’s visit.

Chad’s President Déby to Netanyahu: ‘This visit will open a new page’

Chad’s President Idriss Déby thanks Netanyahu “for welcoming me in your wonderful country for an official visit.”

“As you said, this is the first visit of a leader of Chad to Israel. It could be defined as historic. This visit will open a new page, a new way and will give us the opportunity to express our great appreciation to the efforts you’re making to bring our two countries closer together,” he says.

He says that the visit expresses “our desire to take the relations that existed all the time and make them stronger,” adding that diplomatic ties with Israel “does not make us ignore the Palestinian issue.”

“My country is profoundly attached to the peace process,” he says.

Gazan breaches security fence, returns to Strip

A Palestinian man breaches the security fence surrounding the Gaza Strip and enters Israeli territory before quickly returning back to the coastal enclave, the army says.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, prior to crossing into Israel, the suspect and another man damaged the fence with hand tools.

The military says the incident was monitored by soldiers watching the border through surveillance cameras. Ground troops did not reach the area before the two suspects fled the scene.

— Judah Ari Gross

Democrats to probe Trump money ties to Russia, Saudis

Democrats intend to probe US President Donald Trump’s financial ties to determine whether they are the “hidden hand” driving US foreign policy on Russia and Saudi Arabia, the incoming chairman of the House Intelligence Committee says.

Adam Schiff, currently the ranking Democrat on the intelligence committee, accuses Trump of being “dishonest” about the role of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

“What is driving this?” Schiff asks, questioning “whether there’s a financial motivation; that is, his own personal finances.”

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California, speaks at the Council on Foreign Relations with Andrea Mitchell of NBC News in Washington, DC, February 16, 2018. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images/via JTA)

“Is his personal financial interest driving US policy in the Gulf? Vis-a-vis the Russians? We don’t know, but it would be irresponsible not to find out,” he says on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Trump this week denied reports that the CIA had concluded that the Saudi crown prince ordered the assassination of Khashoggi, a critic and Washington Post columnist who lived in Virginia.

— AFP

Rivlin hosts Chad’s Déby

President Reuven Rivlin is now hosting President of Chad Idriss Déby.

“We’re happy to renew the connection with Chad after too many years of disconnect,” he says. “Chad is an important country. It’s a country that fights terrorism and Israel stands by its side in this just fight.”

“We in Israel see great importance in the relations with Africa, the place where humanity was born.”

“For us, Africa is the future. Chad is the future.”

— Raphael Ahren

Ex-coalition whip interrogated for 12th time in bribery probe

Likud MK David Bitan is being questioned by police as part of an ongoing investigation into suspicions he accepted hundreds of thousands of shekels in bribes, some of which he allegedly received after becoming a member of Knesset.

It is Bitan’s 12th interrogation by Lahav 433 national fraud unit investigators in relation to the case.

Coalition chairman Likud party MK David Bitan leaving the Lahav 433 national crime unit of the Israel Police on December 10, 2017. (Roy Alima/Flash90)

In April, Hadashot reported that police were planning to recommend indicting him.

Bitan — who stepped down as coalition whip after it was revealed he was being investigated, but remains a member of Knesset — is also likely to be charged with money laundering and tax offenses, the report said.

Meretz chair demands PM reveal if Israel selling arms to Chad

Meretz chair Tamar Zandberg calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reveal where Chadian President Idriss Déby’s visit to Israel will include discussions about the Jewish state selling arms to the African country.

“The concern is that the visit will also be used for secret arms deals in which Israeli arms will be sold to persecute political opponents, human rights activists, and journalists,” Zandberg says in a statement.

Chad government sources told Reuters earlier that Déby’s visit is “focused on security,” and that Israel has supplied the Chadian army with weaponry and other equipment this year to help in its fight against the country’s northern rebels.

“The leader of Chad is a despicable person who is responsible for the persecution of LGBT people, arresting journalists, arresting dissidents in opposition, and establishing a dictatorial regime in his country,” Zandberg says of Déby.

“When there is a choice between the liberal democracies and the world’s most dubious leaders, Netanyahu always chooses the dubious. Netanyahu’s foreign policy continues to tarnish Israel’s reputation around the world,” she adds.

After rescue, Gaza’s only grand piano makes public debut

The only grand piano in the Gaza Strip is debuting to the public for the first time in over a decade, after its restoration.

Japanese and local artists played the piano and sang to a rapt audience on Sunday, at a theater nestled in the Palestinian Red Crescent Society’s building.

The Japanese government donated the piano 20 years ago. But a 2014 Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza destroyed the theater that housed it. The piano survived, but was unplayable and left in the abandoned theater.

A Belgian charity, Music Fund, sent in experts to restore the piano after it was discovered. The four-year project was completed last month.

— AP

Magnitude 6.3 earthquake strikes western Iran

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake strikes western Iran near its border with Iraq, the same area where another temblor last year killed over 600 people. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The latest earthquake occurs near Sarpol-e Zahab in Iran’s Kermanshah province, which suffered half of the casualties from last year’s quake and where some still remain homeless.

Illustrative: A rescue worker searches the debris with his sniffing dog on the earthquake site in Sarpol-e-Zahab in western Iran, November 14, 2017. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

State television in Iran reports the quake, saying it had a magnitude of 6.4. Varying magnitudes are common in the immediate aftermath of a temblor. The earthquake had a depth of 10 kilometers, making it very shallow. Shallow earthquakes have broader damage.

The earthquake was felt as far away as the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

— AP

State prosecutor in charge of PM cases recommends charges in Case 1000 — report

The state prosecutor appointed to oversee and review the investigations of corruption allegations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly recommended he be charged in at least one of the two cases against him.

The head of the State Prosecution’s Tax and Finance Department, Liat Ben Ari, has presented her final recommendations in Case 1000 and 2000 to State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan, Channel 10 reports.

Among the conclusions, the report says, is recommendation to try Netanyahu for corruption charges, saying she believes there is enough evidence to indict him in Case 1000, in which he is suspected of receiving benefits worth about NIS 1 million ($282,000) from billionaire benefactors in exchange for assistance in various issues.

The channel said it was not clear whether she had recommended an inducement in Case 2000, which involves a suspected illicit quid-pro-quo deal between Netanyahu and Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper publisher Arnon Mozes, or what charges she was recommending in 1000.

Police have recommended he be charged in both.

Ben Ari’s recommendations will now be reviewed by Nitzan, who will then present a final recommendation to Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, before he decides whether the press charges against the prime minister.

Mandelblit has however already announced that a final decision on indictment in the two cases will only be made together with the findings of another ongoing investigation, Case 4000. in that case, Netanyahu is suspected of advancing regulatory decisions as communications minister and prime minister that benefited Shaul Elovitch, the controlling shareholder in Bezeq, the country’s largest telecommunications firm, in exchange for positive coverage from Elovitch’s Walla news site.

After Chad, Israel said working on ties with other African nations

A senior Israeli official says Israel is working to extend its diplomacy to Muslim African nations, including Sudan, Channel 10 reports, during the historic visit by Chadian leader Idriss Deby

The official told the TV station that Deby’s visit was laying the groundwork for normalizing ties with Chad, as well as with neighboring Mali and Niger.

Meeting with today Deby in Jerusalem, Netanyahu voiced confidence that “other African countries will follow suit,” in visiting Israel.

“A few minutes ago, we discussed the great changes that are taking place in the Arab world regarding Israel. This was manifested in my recent visit to Oman with Sultan Qaboos. There will be more such visits in Arab countries very soon,” Netanyahu he also said, without elaborating.

Erdan reportedly targeted by Walla as part of deal with Netanyahu

The Walla news site reportedly took an editorial line attacking Likud minister Gilad Erdan as part of a deal in which site owner Shaul Elovich gave Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu positive coverage, in return for advancing regulatory decisions that benefited his telecommunications firm, Bezeq.

Over 170 hurt in magnitude 6.3 earthquake in western Iran

Over 170 people have been injured in a magnitude 6.3 earthquake that struck western Iran near its border with Iraq on Sunday night, authorities say.

The US Geological Survey says a magnitude 6.3 earthquake has struck western Iran near its border with Iraq. (Via AP)

The temblor hit near Sarpol-e Zahab in Iran’s Kermanshah province, which was the epicenter of an earthquake last year that killed over 600 people and where some still remain homeless.

Morteza Salimi of Iran’s Red Crescent tells Iranian state television that 171 people were injured, most of them slightly. Kermanshah provincial Gov. Houshang Bazvand similarly said there were injuries, but few people hospitalized.

Authorities say six rescue teams were immediately deployed after the quake stopped and the country’s army and its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard were responding.

— AP

Hundreds rally in Tel Aviv to protest violence against women

Hundreds of demonstrators carrying banners and shouting slogans against sexism and violence against women in Israel rallied in Tel Aviv on Sunday evening.

The event, called “Putting an end to this,” marks worldwide protests for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

The demonstrators, including members of Knesset Merav Michaeli and Tamar Zandberg, are denouncing misogyny in Israeli culture and call for government action to halt murder and abuse of women in Israel.

The protesters, mostly young women and men, many representing youth groups, carry signs that read “I believe you,” “You are not alone” and with numbers for crisis call centers.