22 may 2016
Considered by many to be one of the most extreme members of the right, Yehuda Glick's battle to allow Jews to visit the Temple Mount nearly cost him his life when he was severely injured by a Palestinian terrorist; this week, a year and a half after he was miraculously saved, Glick will be sworn in to the Knesset, replacing the newly-resigned Minister of Defense Moshe Ya'alon
It was only a year and a half ago that right-wing activist Yehuda Glick was dangling between life and death. After being shot point-blank four times by a terrorist, he managed to utter "Shema yisrael" (the Jewish declaration of faith that the devout strive to say before death) before falling into a dark sleep from which he arose ten days later. This week, following Minister of Defense Moshe Ya'alon's resignation, Glick is to be sworn in to the Knesset, which will make him perhaps the most controversial MK in the current government, having incited severe criticism from the Palestinians, the left, and the right.
"I feel that God hugged me, and that he didn't let me go for a minute while my life was in danger, wrapping me up in so much love," said Glick. "I was in such critical condition that a lot of people thought I wasn't going to make it, and that if I were, I'd be severely disabled for the rest of my life. And now here I am, standing on my own two feet and being sworn in to the Knesset. God must have thought I still have things to do in the Knesset. I'm glad to be alive and have God put his faith in me."
Glick's politics are tricky to pin down. On the one hand, he is considered an extremist who fights for the entry of Jews to the Temple Mount, which could potentially ignite the Middle East and the entire world at large. On the other hand, he is one of the most vocal detractors of Sgt. Elor Azaria, who shot a neutralized terrorist to death earlier this year. His stance earned Glick some new enemies, this time from the right. Glick has also voiced criticism over Yisrael Beytenu Leader Avigdor Lieberman's appointment as minister of defense and has pushed instead for a unity government with the Labor Party. This is despite the fact that it was Lieberman's recent agreement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that facilitated Glick's entry to the government.
"I understand Ya'alon's pain," said Glick. "But I think he shouldn't have resigned, and I even call upon him now—if there is still a chance—to stay. Ya'alon is an asset to the people of Israel and certainly to Likud."
Do you recant the things you said about Lieberman?
"I wish him a lot of luck. His success is our success. The position of minister of defense is the most senior position apart from that of the prime minister, and I hope he understands the obligation that comes with it. I also didn't like the comments Lieberman made against (Zionist Union Leader) Isaac Herzog. (Herzog) tried to do what he thought should be done, but the level of ridicule aimed at him at this point is beyond the pale."
Attacks from the right Glick, 51, vividly remembers October 29, 2014. "I was at an annual event celebrating the Rambam's visit to the Temple Mount," he recalled. "The event included a left-wing speaker and a Muslim and invoked a feeling of solidarity and strength. As it was winding down, the only people left were me and two of my friends, Moriah and Shai. My wife Yafi was bringing the car around. I started walking toward the car to load it up, when a short man with a small container stopped next to me. He said, 'I'm so sorry,' and since I didn't understand what he was referring to, I came closer. That was when he pulled out a gun, said, 'You're an enemy of Al-Aqsa' and shot me point-blank with four bullets in the center of my body.
"All four bullets entered and exited my body. I started bleeding. Moriah and Shai ran over to me, and I ran toward them, or rather limped. Then I lay down on the sidewalk. A few seconds later, Shai reached me. I hear Moriah saying, 'He's completely pale,' and Shai saying, 'We just witnessed a murder. Go take care of Yafi, and I'll take care of Yehuda.'"
"Shai lay on me, took my shirt off and screamed into my ear something I'll never forget: 'Rabbi Yehuda, don't leave us, we need you.' That was when I realized I was in mortal danger. Shai was on the phone with a paramedic friend of his, who was guiding him in how to treat me. He was trying to stop the blood when I began to stutter 'Shema Yisrael.' They put me in an ambulance, and my wife came in with me and held my hand. She spoke to me while I tried to calm her down. That was when I started losing consciousness."
Did the assassination attempt change you?
"I suppose it did. It became even clearer to me how dangerous violence can be, and how we as a democracy need to make sure that elected officials working toward certain principles are safe. One of the surgeons who operated on me was Muslim, and I think he did a lot more for Islam than the Muslim who shot me in the name of Islam. People who think God wants them to promote hatred are misinterpreting his will. Despite being all the more committed to the mission God has created me, I feel it has given me a new path for a dialogue with the many people who are willing to listen."
The Palestinians see you as a symbol for the extreme right, with your entry in to the Knesset together with Lieberman's new appointment seen as a radical break to the right.
"The Palestinian press is full of attacks against me as a radical Jew. They're right. I'm very extreme in my belief in peace. I'm extreme in my faith in a respectful dialogue, and that bothers those whose agenda is built on violence and hate. I'll keep working toward peace as well as human rights for everyone, and I'm sorry for any person who refuses to engage in a dialogue with me."
The father of eight (two of them foster children) and grandfather of six, Glick, who lives in the settlement of Otniel, has repeatedly enraged Palestinians, left-wing activists and moderate centrists. Over the last few months, he has even managed to anger his friends from the right when expressing his shock at the Hebron soldier who shot a neutralized terrorist. "The fact that the terrorist who set out on this mission didn't believe he would survive does not justify the soldier's horrifying actions," Glick had written on Twitter, adding that, despite the incident, the IDF remains the most moral army in the world.
Not that defending the IDF did him any good. Moments after the tweet went up, the soldier's supporters already began attacking him. The same day, Glick posted another tweet, saying, "It is grotesque and sickening to see the malicious satisfaction of those who dance upon the blood and protest the IDF following the soldier's behavior. No less sickening, though, are those who praise his actions." At this point, his Twitter and Facebook feeds began to fill up with personal threats, among them, "I'll get you yet, you stinking leftie," "Too bad they didn't murder you when you were injured" and "Too bad this is the man we were happy didn't die."
'We will be victorious at the Temple Mount!'Glick's Facebook cover photo has "We will be victorious at the Temple Mount!" written in bold letters, with his redheaded face appearing in his profile picture below. His father, former dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ben-Gurion University, Prof. Shimon Glick, described his son during an interview to Ynet's sister publication, Yedioth Ahronoth, after his assassination attempt. "We agreed to disagree, and I love him with all my heart," said the senior Glick, whose political views differ from those of his son.
How does your father, a human rights activist, react to your joining the Knesset?
"My father is a very dear man. I myself am a human rights activist. I'm a very extreme person, who believes in human rights in an extreme way, and I got all that from my father. He is a humanist; he truly loves mankind."
"We don't always see eye to eye, but he was the one who taught me Jewish and Western values, which talk about a plethora of opinions. My parents taught me about human dignity, and that you should listen to the opinions of those who don't necessarily voice your own. The two of us communicate on a daily basis. He advises, encourages, supports and sometimes reprimands me. At times I accept what he tells me and at times I don't. He respects that."
What will do as an MK?
"I don't want to come out with any big declarations yet. Working in the Knesset is a team effort, not a solo one, and I'm going to be part of a wonderful, diverse group called Likud. We have a real democracy complete with distinct opinions. I am entering a government that is headed by a man, who despite what is said about him cares about the country and its people. I hope that I'll act in a cordial and open manner, and enter into a dialogue with people from all walks of life, both from the coalition and the opposition. I hope to be a part of promoting peace."
Glick continued, "I was elected to represent the Judea and Samaria region, and as their representative I am committed to doing anything to improve the security and quality of life in the area. There are half a million citizens living in the area (Jewish citizens. —NB) who should all have equal rights, and I hope we will figure out how to cohabitate in peace with the Arabs living with us."
Will you visit the Temple Mount as an MK?
"I hope so. I'm all for Jews and Muslims visiting the Temple Mount together, but if Prime Minister Netanyahu asks me not to go there, I won't."
You said the Temple Mount will be a center for peace.
"That's our goal, and the vision of the Jewish spirit. The Temple Mount is supposed to be the place out of which the message of 'They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks, neither shall they learn war any more' should come out."
It was only a year and a half ago that right-wing activist Yehuda Glick was dangling between life and death. After being shot point-blank four times by a terrorist, he managed to utter "Shema yisrael" (the Jewish declaration of faith that the devout strive to say before death) before falling into a dark sleep from which he arose ten days later. This week, following Minister of Defense Moshe Ya'alon's resignation, Glick is to be sworn in to the Knesset, which will make him perhaps the most controversial MK in the current government, having incited severe criticism from the Palestinians, the left, and the right.
"I feel that God hugged me, and that he didn't let me go for a minute while my life was in danger, wrapping me up in so much love," said Glick. "I was in such critical condition that a lot of people thought I wasn't going to make it, and that if I were, I'd be severely disabled for the rest of my life. And now here I am, standing on my own two feet and being sworn in to the Knesset. God must have thought I still have things to do in the Knesset. I'm glad to be alive and have God put his faith in me."
Glick's politics are tricky to pin down. On the one hand, he is considered an extremist who fights for the entry of Jews to the Temple Mount, which could potentially ignite the Middle East and the entire world at large. On the other hand, he is one of the most vocal detractors of Sgt. Elor Azaria, who shot a neutralized terrorist to death earlier this year. His stance earned Glick some new enemies, this time from the right. Glick has also voiced criticism over Yisrael Beytenu Leader Avigdor Lieberman's appointment as minister of defense and has pushed instead for a unity government with the Labor Party. This is despite the fact that it was Lieberman's recent agreement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that facilitated Glick's entry to the government.
"I understand Ya'alon's pain," said Glick. "But I think he shouldn't have resigned, and I even call upon him now—if there is still a chance—to stay. Ya'alon is an asset to the people of Israel and certainly to Likud."
Do you recant the things you said about Lieberman?
"I wish him a lot of luck. His success is our success. The position of minister of defense is the most senior position apart from that of the prime minister, and I hope he understands the obligation that comes with it. I also didn't like the comments Lieberman made against (Zionist Union Leader) Isaac Herzog. (Herzog) tried to do what he thought should be done, but the level of ridicule aimed at him at this point is beyond the pale."
Attacks from the right Glick, 51, vividly remembers October 29, 2014. "I was at an annual event celebrating the Rambam's visit to the Temple Mount," he recalled. "The event included a left-wing speaker and a Muslim and invoked a feeling of solidarity and strength. As it was winding down, the only people left were me and two of my friends, Moriah and Shai. My wife Yafi was bringing the car around. I started walking toward the car to load it up, when a short man with a small container stopped next to me. He said, 'I'm so sorry,' and since I didn't understand what he was referring to, I came closer. That was when he pulled out a gun, said, 'You're an enemy of Al-Aqsa' and shot me point-blank with four bullets in the center of my body.
"All four bullets entered and exited my body. I started bleeding. Moriah and Shai ran over to me, and I ran toward them, or rather limped. Then I lay down on the sidewalk. A few seconds later, Shai reached me. I hear Moriah saying, 'He's completely pale,' and Shai saying, 'We just witnessed a murder. Go take care of Yafi, and I'll take care of Yehuda.'"
"Shai lay on me, took my shirt off and screamed into my ear something I'll never forget: 'Rabbi Yehuda, don't leave us, we need you.' That was when I realized I was in mortal danger. Shai was on the phone with a paramedic friend of his, who was guiding him in how to treat me. He was trying to stop the blood when I began to stutter 'Shema Yisrael.' They put me in an ambulance, and my wife came in with me and held my hand. She spoke to me while I tried to calm her down. That was when I started losing consciousness."
Did the assassination attempt change you?
"I suppose it did. It became even clearer to me how dangerous violence can be, and how we as a democracy need to make sure that elected officials working toward certain principles are safe. One of the surgeons who operated on me was Muslim, and I think he did a lot more for Islam than the Muslim who shot me in the name of Islam. People who think God wants them to promote hatred are misinterpreting his will. Despite being all the more committed to the mission God has created me, I feel it has given me a new path for a dialogue with the many people who are willing to listen."
The Palestinians see you as a symbol for the extreme right, with your entry in to the Knesset together with Lieberman's new appointment seen as a radical break to the right.
"The Palestinian press is full of attacks against me as a radical Jew. They're right. I'm very extreme in my belief in peace. I'm extreme in my faith in a respectful dialogue, and that bothers those whose agenda is built on violence and hate. I'll keep working toward peace as well as human rights for everyone, and I'm sorry for any person who refuses to engage in a dialogue with me."
The father of eight (two of them foster children) and grandfather of six, Glick, who lives in the settlement of Otniel, has repeatedly enraged Palestinians, left-wing activists and moderate centrists. Over the last few months, he has even managed to anger his friends from the right when expressing his shock at the Hebron soldier who shot a neutralized terrorist. "The fact that the terrorist who set out on this mission didn't believe he would survive does not justify the soldier's horrifying actions," Glick had written on Twitter, adding that, despite the incident, the IDF remains the most moral army in the world.
Not that defending the IDF did him any good. Moments after the tweet went up, the soldier's supporters already began attacking him. The same day, Glick posted another tweet, saying, "It is grotesque and sickening to see the malicious satisfaction of those who dance upon the blood and protest the IDF following the soldier's behavior. No less sickening, though, are those who praise his actions." At this point, his Twitter and Facebook feeds began to fill up with personal threats, among them, "I'll get you yet, you stinking leftie," "Too bad they didn't murder you when you were injured" and "Too bad this is the man we were happy didn't die."
'We will be victorious at the Temple Mount!'Glick's Facebook cover photo has "We will be victorious at the Temple Mount!" written in bold letters, with his redheaded face appearing in his profile picture below. His father, former dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ben-Gurion University, Prof. Shimon Glick, described his son during an interview to Ynet's sister publication, Yedioth Ahronoth, after his assassination attempt. "We agreed to disagree, and I love him with all my heart," said the senior Glick, whose political views differ from those of his son.
How does your father, a human rights activist, react to your joining the Knesset?
"My father is a very dear man. I myself am a human rights activist. I'm a very extreme person, who believes in human rights in an extreme way, and I got all that from my father. He is a humanist; he truly loves mankind."
"We don't always see eye to eye, but he was the one who taught me Jewish and Western values, which talk about a plethora of opinions. My parents taught me about human dignity, and that you should listen to the opinions of those who don't necessarily voice your own. The two of us communicate on a daily basis. He advises, encourages, supports and sometimes reprimands me. At times I accept what he tells me and at times I don't. He respects that."
What will do as an MK?
"I don't want to come out with any big declarations yet. Working in the Knesset is a team effort, not a solo one, and I'm going to be part of a wonderful, diverse group called Likud. We have a real democracy complete with distinct opinions. I am entering a government that is headed by a man, who despite what is said about him cares about the country and its people. I hope that I'll act in a cordial and open manner, and enter into a dialogue with people from all walks of life, both from the coalition and the opposition. I hope to be a part of promoting peace."
Glick continued, "I was elected to represent the Judea and Samaria region, and as their representative I am committed to doing anything to improve the security and quality of life in the area. There are half a million citizens living in the area (Jewish citizens. —NB) who should all have equal rights, and I hope we will figure out how to cohabitate in peace with the Arabs living with us."
Will you visit the Temple Mount as an MK?
"I hope so. I'm all for Jews and Muslims visiting the Temple Mount together, but if Prime Minister Netanyahu asks me not to go there, I won't."
You said the Temple Mount will be a center for peace.
"That's our goal, and the vision of the Jewish spirit. The Temple Mount is supposed to be the place out of which the message of 'They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks, neither shall they learn war any more' should come out."
17 may 2016
Head of the Supreme Islamic Council in occupied Jerusalem Sheikh Ikrima Sabri slammed on Tuesday the Israeli rabbis’ recent calls for the execution of Palestinians “without needless calculations”.
In a statement issued Tuesday, Sheikh Sabri said that the real terrorism is practiced by the Israeli occupation and not the Palestinian people.
Such calls would give a green light for Israeli soldiers to randomly shoot and kill Palestinian civilians without justification, he added.
He pointed, in this respect, to the Israeli numerous cases of cold-blooded executions by shooting at point blank.
Sheikh Sabri held the Israeli occupation authorities fully responsible for creating an environment of insecurity and instability in the country.
A group of rabbis have called on their government to execute Palestinians instead of arresting them and “leave no one alive” in order to "ensure security in the holy land".
In a statement issued Tuesday, Sheikh Sabri said that the real terrorism is practiced by the Israeli occupation and not the Palestinian people.
Such calls would give a green light for Israeli soldiers to randomly shoot and kill Palestinian civilians without justification, he added.
He pointed, in this respect, to the Israeli numerous cases of cold-blooded executions by shooting at point blank.
Sheikh Sabri held the Israeli occupation authorities fully responsible for creating an environment of insecurity and instability in the country.
A group of rabbis have called on their government to execute Palestinians instead of arresting them and “leave no one alive” in order to "ensure security in the holy land".
14 mar 2016
rabbi Yitzhak Joseph
A chief Jewish rabbi said that all knife-wielding attackers should be killed, condemning a call by the head of the Israeli army to not use excessive firepower in preventing a wave of Palestinian attacks.
He called on the Jews not to be afraid of the courts, the chief of staff or security officials if they say something else, stressing that it is a religious duty to kill Palestinians carrying knives.
He made his remarks at the Yazadim synagogue in Occupied Jerusalem on Saturday. He was responding to chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot who urged last month soldiers to remain calm during attacks and not to use unnecessary force.
"When there is a 13-year-old girl holding scissors or a knife and there is some distance between her and the soldiers, I do not want to see a soldier open fire and empty his magazine at a girl like that," Eisenkot said. "Rather he should use the force necessary to fulfill the objective."
A chief Jewish rabbi said that all knife-wielding attackers should be killed, condemning a call by the head of the Israeli army to not use excessive firepower in preventing a wave of Palestinian attacks.
He called on the Jews not to be afraid of the courts, the chief of staff or security officials if they say something else, stressing that it is a religious duty to kill Palestinians carrying knives.
He made his remarks at the Yazadim synagogue in Occupied Jerusalem on Saturday. He was responding to chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot who urged last month soldiers to remain calm during attacks and not to use unnecessary force.
"When there is a 13-year-old girl holding scissors or a knife and there is some distance between her and the soldiers, I do not want to see a soldier open fire and empty his magazine at a girl like that," Eisenkot said. "Rather he should use the force necessary to fulfill the objective."
13 mar 2016
Yitzchak Yosef instructed religious Jews to prevent all contact between observant Jewish children and any secular relations in his weekly lecture.
Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel Yitzhak Yosef has called for religious Jews to distance their children from secular or merely traditionally Jewish family members, and even to prevent their children from meeting them.
The chief rabbi's pronouncement is based on the fear that the nonreligious relatives will adversely affect the children spiritually. According to Yosef, observant Jewish children must not be exposed at all to a lifestyle that includes "profanity and television", lest they become "corrupted" and grow up to be "shebabnikim" (a slang word for youth on the fringes of ultra-Orthodox society).
In one of the chief rabbi's weekly Saturday night lessons held in Jerusalem, he said, "There are ba'alei tshuva (once-secular Jews who have become observant) with nonreligious families who take their small, 7-year-old, 8-year-old children to visit, and this influences the children.
"Particularly if the second family has non-religious or just observant children, they can talk about all kinds of obscene language or television or all kinds of forbidden things, and they can corrupt them. And they'll be sorry later, asking 'How did I end up a shebabnik? Why didn't you pay attention to my education?' Every action that you take informs (their development)!"
Yosef further recounted a story: "When our teacher (his father) was elected chief rabbi, a man in military uniform—an Air Force pilot—knocked on his door. He had brought us flowers. I thought that he was the delivery man from the store. I wondered, 'What's this, a ranking delivery man?' I was about to close the door so that he would leave, as I had taken the flowers. He looked at me: 'Don't you recognize me?' I said, 'no.' (He said,) 'Cousin.' (I said,) 'Cousin? Okay, please, come in and see the rabbi.' We didn't recognize him."
Rabbi Refael "Rafi" Feuerstein, the cochairman of the rabbinical organization Tzohar, criticized the chief rabbi's approach and said, "The fruits of a disconnected and anxious education are that we treat the secular public with arrogance and contempt, which only keeps the values of tradition and Judaism further away and only increases polarization and hatred in people."
According to Feuerstein, "the connection to family and to the people is one of the fundamental values of Judaism. Therefore, educating children in Torah and piety passes through their ability to feel connected with their family, however they are, and to maintain their educational identity."
He added, "Judaism is not transmitted through disconnects and disagreements, and also not through fear and anxiety. Jewish education is focused on creating a spiritual backbone, which allows one to love secular family members and simultaneously preserve one's ideological and practical identity."
Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel Yitzhak Yosef has called for religious Jews to distance their children from secular or merely traditionally Jewish family members, and even to prevent their children from meeting them.
The chief rabbi's pronouncement is based on the fear that the nonreligious relatives will adversely affect the children spiritually. According to Yosef, observant Jewish children must not be exposed at all to a lifestyle that includes "profanity and television", lest they become "corrupted" and grow up to be "shebabnikim" (a slang word for youth on the fringes of ultra-Orthodox society).
In one of the chief rabbi's weekly Saturday night lessons held in Jerusalem, he said, "There are ba'alei tshuva (once-secular Jews who have become observant) with nonreligious families who take their small, 7-year-old, 8-year-old children to visit, and this influences the children.
"Particularly if the second family has non-religious or just observant children, they can talk about all kinds of obscene language or television or all kinds of forbidden things, and they can corrupt them. And they'll be sorry later, asking 'How did I end up a shebabnik? Why didn't you pay attention to my education?' Every action that you take informs (their development)!"
Yosef further recounted a story: "When our teacher (his father) was elected chief rabbi, a man in military uniform—an Air Force pilot—knocked on his door. He had brought us flowers. I thought that he was the delivery man from the store. I wondered, 'What's this, a ranking delivery man?' I was about to close the door so that he would leave, as I had taken the flowers. He looked at me: 'Don't you recognize me?' I said, 'no.' (He said,) 'Cousin.' (I said,) 'Cousin? Okay, please, come in and see the rabbi.' We didn't recognize him."
Rabbi Refael "Rafi" Feuerstein, the cochairman of the rabbinical organization Tzohar, criticized the chief rabbi's approach and said, "The fruits of a disconnected and anxious education are that we treat the secular public with arrogance and contempt, which only keeps the values of tradition and Judaism further away and only increases polarization and hatred in people."
According to Feuerstein, "the connection to family and to the people is one of the fundamental values of Judaism. Therefore, educating children in Torah and piety passes through their ability to feel connected with their family, however they are, and to maintain their educational identity."
He added, "Judaism is not transmitted through disconnects and disagreements, and also not through fear and anxiety. Jewish education is focused on creating a spiritual backbone, which allows one to love secular family members and simultaneously preserve one's ideological and practical identity."
8 mar 2016
Fatah spokesman Ra'fat Aliyan has warned that there will be serious consequences for holding Jewish settlers' weddings at the Aqsa Mosque.
This came after rabbi Bentzi Gophstein, head of the terrorist group Lehava, announced that his son, Elyashiv, had tied the knot last Thursday at the Aqsa Mosque, claiming the action was aimed at emphasizing the religious right of the Jews to rebuild their temple.
Describing Gophstein's step as a serious violation against the Aqsa Mosque, Aliyan stressed that such provocative acts against the Islamic holy site would not go unnoticed and would evoke more angry reactions from the Palestinians.
He called on Jordan and all Arab and Islamic countries to urgently move to stop such violation from happening again and protect the Aqsa Mosque. He also urged the Palestinian factions to escalate their resistance operations against the Israeli occupation in response to the persistent Israeli violations against the Mosque.
This came after rabbi Bentzi Gophstein, head of the terrorist group Lehava, announced that his son, Elyashiv, had tied the knot last Thursday at the Aqsa Mosque, claiming the action was aimed at emphasizing the religious right of the Jews to rebuild their temple.
Describing Gophstein's step as a serious violation against the Aqsa Mosque, Aliyan stressed that such provocative acts against the Islamic holy site would not go unnoticed and would evoke more angry reactions from the Palestinians.
He called on Jordan and all Arab and Islamic countries to urgently move to stop such violation from happening again and protect the Aqsa Mosque. He also urged the Palestinian factions to escalate their resistance operations against the Israeli occupation in response to the persistent Israeli violations against the Mosque.
5 mar 2016
Sheikh Ra'ed Salah, head of the Islamic Movement in the 1948 occupied lands, said that many Jewish rabbis in Israel confer religious legitimacy on their government's racist policies and crimes against the Palestinian people.
Sheikh Salah made his remarks during a Friday khutba (sermon) in the protest tent, which was set up in Umm al-Fahm city to protest the Israeli government's decision considering the Islamic Movement an illegal group.
The Islamic Movement chief stated that "the Zionist project, since its onset, has sought to build the alleged temple in place of the Aqsa Mosque," expressing his belief that the Israeli occupation and its plans would be doomed to failure sooner or later.
He accused the Israeli government of relying on the religious opinions of several Jewish rabbis to carry out its plots, including the views of rabbis Yitzchak Ginsburgh and Shmuel Eliyahu, who legitimize killing and robbing Arabs, and burning their Mosques and Churches.
Sheikh Salah stressed the need to stand firm in the face of Israel's racist policies and violations through showing more resilience and frequenting the Aqsa Mosque.
Sheikh Salah made his remarks during a Friday khutba (sermon) in the protest tent, which was set up in Umm al-Fahm city to protest the Israeli government's decision considering the Islamic Movement an illegal group.
The Islamic Movement chief stated that "the Zionist project, since its onset, has sought to build the alleged temple in place of the Aqsa Mosque," expressing his belief that the Israeli occupation and its plans would be doomed to failure sooner or later.
He accused the Israeli government of relying on the religious opinions of several Jewish rabbis to carry out its plots, including the views of rabbis Yitzchak Ginsburgh and Shmuel Eliyahu, who legitimize killing and robbing Arabs, and burning their Mosques and Churches.
Sheikh Salah stressed the need to stand firm in the face of Israel's racist policies and violations through showing more resilience and frequenting the Aqsa Mosque.
4 mar 2016
Teacher from ultra-Orthodox school left the Netherlands for Israel after 16-year-old students tells parents teacher sexually assaulted him; Israeli courts to now deliberate on his extradition to Holland.
A Dutch Jewish teacher suspected of sexually abusing children has been arrested in Tel Aviv earlier this week, two years after the Netherlands asked for his extradition, the Dutch Telegraaf reported on Thursday.
The teacher, 28, has been in Israel for three years. He was arrested on Monday and was brought to a remand extension hearing at the Jerusalem District Court the next day.
According to reports in the Netherlands, the suspect was born to a Reformist family in Amsterdam and became more observant a few years ago. He attended a yeshiva in Jerusalem, while teaching at a private school of languages in central Israel. In 2010, the suspect returned to the Netherlands, where he started working at the Cheider School in Amsterdam - a prestigious ultra-Orthodox institution that includes a kindergarten, a primary school and a high school.
In 2012, a 16-year-old student told his parents that the teacher sexually assaulted him in a side room. The parents turned to the school but were ignored, so they turned to the media. The school - where 200 children aged 2-18 study - said it "held a clarification conversation with the teacher."
That year, other students at the school, younger than 10, started suffering symptoms of anxiety, and a doctor who examined them raised the suspicion that they were also sexually abused. It was only at that point that a police investigation was launched.
The reports, published in the popular newspaper Telegraaf, embarrassed many in the Jewish community in the Netherlands and led to great public pressure for the school's administration to join the police complaint.
But the teacher, who was fired for "inappropriate behavior," left the country for Israel, with his attorney at the time claiming that "his departure is unrelated to the reports. He announced his intention to leave in advance and it should not be interpreted as him running away."
The teacher denies the accusations made against him and said through his lawyer that he will resist extradition.
Lawyer Hila Nawi, who represents some of the Dutch victims in Israel, told Ynet: "I'm happy that a legal fight that has been ongoing for three years is nearing its conclusion. For two years we've been working with the Israeli State Attorney, the Dutch State Attorney and the Dutch Police in an effort to reach an extradition request. The families experienced great suffering, and some have fallen apart."
After an extradition request is made, the requesting country is required to present the indictment against the wanted suspect to the Israeli State Attorney, which examines it. Meanwhile, the suspect is imprisoned until a decision in his case is made. The State Attorney then asks the District Court to declare the suspect extraditable, and then an indictment and an extradition order are issued against him. Israel then coordinates the extradition with the Interpol.
A Dutch Jewish teacher suspected of sexually abusing children has been arrested in Tel Aviv earlier this week, two years after the Netherlands asked for his extradition, the Dutch Telegraaf reported on Thursday.
The teacher, 28, has been in Israel for three years. He was arrested on Monday and was brought to a remand extension hearing at the Jerusalem District Court the next day.
According to reports in the Netherlands, the suspect was born to a Reformist family in Amsterdam and became more observant a few years ago. He attended a yeshiva in Jerusalem, while teaching at a private school of languages in central Israel. In 2010, the suspect returned to the Netherlands, where he started working at the Cheider School in Amsterdam - a prestigious ultra-Orthodox institution that includes a kindergarten, a primary school and a high school.
In 2012, a 16-year-old student told his parents that the teacher sexually assaulted him in a side room. The parents turned to the school but were ignored, so they turned to the media. The school - where 200 children aged 2-18 study - said it "held a clarification conversation with the teacher."
That year, other students at the school, younger than 10, started suffering symptoms of anxiety, and a doctor who examined them raised the suspicion that they were also sexually abused. It was only at that point that a police investigation was launched.
The reports, published in the popular newspaper Telegraaf, embarrassed many in the Jewish community in the Netherlands and led to great public pressure for the school's administration to join the police complaint.
But the teacher, who was fired for "inappropriate behavior," left the country for Israel, with his attorney at the time claiming that "his departure is unrelated to the reports. He announced his intention to leave in advance and it should not be interpreted as him running away."
The teacher denies the accusations made against him and said through his lawyer that he will resist extradition.
Lawyer Hila Nawi, who represents some of the Dutch victims in Israel, told Ynet: "I'm happy that a legal fight that has been ongoing for three years is nearing its conclusion. For two years we've been working with the Israeli State Attorney, the Dutch State Attorney and the Dutch Police in an effort to reach an extradition request. The families experienced great suffering, and some have fallen apart."
After an extradition request is made, the requesting country is required to present the indictment against the wanted suspect to the Israeli State Attorney, which examines it. Meanwhile, the suspect is imprisoned until a decision in his case is made. The State Attorney then asks the District Court to declare the suspect extraditable, and then an indictment and an extradition order are issued against him. Israel then coordinates the extradition with the Interpol.
