Gallup poll: 71% of Americans view Israel favorably
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Although an increasing number of Americans oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state, a new Gallup poll shows the U.S. public is divided over that issue.
Currently, 45 percent of Americans say they support the creation of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, and 42 percent are opposed to it, the latter figure representing a 5-percent increase from last year.
According to the survey, a large portion of the American public supports and views Israel favorably. Of the Americans polled, 71 percent said they support Israel and 27 percent expressed an opposing view. This was the fourth consecutive year in which support for Israel in the Gallup poll remained above the 70-percent mark.
The low point in American public support for Israel—at 49 percent—came in the 1989 Gallup survey. The high point came just two years later, in 1991, when support reached 79 percent.
In the realm of political affiliation, Republicans expressed 81 percent support for Israel in the new poll, while 61 percent of Democrats said they support the Jewish state.
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Hezbollah’s Nasrallah boasts about hitting Israel’s nuclear facilities
(JNS.org) Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah boasted about being able to target Israel’s nuclear facilities in Dimona, while chiding Israel for being afraid of the Lebanese terror group’s “might.”
“Israel knows we can turn the reactor in Dimona from a threat to us into a threat against itself, with our missiles,” Nasrallah said in remarks broadcast Thursday on Hezbollah’s Al-Manar satellite station, boasting that Hezbollah could turn “Israel’s main weapon into a threat against Israelis themselves.”
“If Hezbollah is weakened, Israel will see it as an opportunity for war. Support for Hezbollah in Lebanon protects Lebanese people from war….Israel is aware of Hezbollah’s might and is afraid of us,” he added.
Nasrallah said the recent meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump marked “a semi-official announcement of the death of the path of [Israeli-Palestinian] negotiations….The Israeli plot is to establish a limited government in Gaza and prevent the Palestinians from returning to the other lands stolen from them. For the Israelis, there is no such thing as a Palestinian state.”
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Israel’s economy posts strongest quarter since 2013, grows by 6.2 percent
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israel’s economy grew by an annualized 6.2 percent in the last quarter of 2016, marking its strongest quarterly performance since the second quarter of 2013, the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics said Thursday.
The economy grew by an annualized 4.2 percent in the third quarter of 2016 and 5.3 percent in the second quarter. The data showed that, year on year, the economy grew 5 percent in the second half of 2016, following 3.2-percent growth in the first half of the year.
The increase in gross domestic product in the second half of 2016 reflected a 3.5-percent increase in public consumption, and 2.9-percent growth in private consumption per capita. Israel’s exports of goods and services, excluding diamonds and start-ups, were up 4.5 percent in 2016, and investments in fixed assets climbed 10.2 percent. Imports of goods and services went up 10.6 percent in the second half of 2016, the report said.
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Israeli defense chief Lieberman to America’s Mattis: ‘Iran, Iran and Iran’
(JNS.org) Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman had his first official meeting with his new American counterpart, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, where the Israeli defense chief told Mattis that the three main problems Israel faces is “Iran, Iran and Iran.”
During their meeting Friday, Lieberman called for the creation of a “real and effective” anti-Iran coalition that would address “the terrorism that [Iran] sends out to the world, the missile development it has been working on and its race to nuclear armament,” according to a statement from Lieberman’s office.
Liberman also said Iran and North Korea are part of the same “axis of evil” that includes “Hezbollah and the [Bashar] Assad regime in Syria.”
The defense chiefs agreed to maintaining an “open and frank” line of communication to improve cooperation. They had previously spoken Jan. 26, shortly after Mattis was confirmed by Congress.
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UN envoy Haley: US ‘absolutely’ supports two-state solution but open to ‘fresh’ ideas
(JNS.org) U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said that the U.S. “absolutely” supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but is open to fresh ideas for a peace deal.
“We absolutely support a two-state solution, but we are thinking out-of-the-box as well,” Haley said after a meeting at the U.N. Security Council on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Haley added that the U.S. is hoping to bring the Israelis and Palestinians to “the table to have them talk through this in a fresh way, to say, ‘Okay we’re going back to the drawing board. What can we agree on?’”
The statement by Haley came a day after President Donald Trump appeared to back away from unwavering support for a two-state solution, which has been U.S. policy for decades.
“I’m looking at two-state and one-state, and I like the one that both parties like,” Trump said.
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Trump’s pick for Israel envoy, David Friedman, heckled and questioned at U.S. Senate
(JNS.org) President Donald Trump’s pick for U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, faced tough questioning from lawmakers and heckling from protesters at his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Foreign Relations committee Thursday.
“You do not represent us and you will never represent us,” some of the Jewish activists were heard saying before being escorted out of the room, the Times of Israel reported. Earlier, a protester held up Palestinian flags and chanted, “We were there, we are there, and we will always be in Palestine.”
Friedman apologized for some of his inflammatory past statements, including calling supporters of the liberal Jewish lobby J Street “kapos.”
“While I maintain profound differences of opinion with some of my critics, I regret the use of such language,” he said.
U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) questioned Friedman over his “preparedness for this important post.”
“I am uncertain of how you will represent all Americans to all Israelis, and whether you are committed to a longstanding U.S. policy to a two-state solution,” Cardin said.
Friedman said he would welcome an Israeli-Palestinian agreement “through direct negotiations along parameters agreeable to them…I would be delighted to see peace come to this region where people have suffered on both sides for so long.”
“I have expressed my skepticism solely on the basis of my perception of the Palestinians’ failure to renounce terror and accept Israel as a Jewish state,” Friedman added.
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Netanyahu, Ryan affirm commitment to hold Iran ‘accountable’ for actions
(JNS.org) In a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) affirmed his commitment to hold Iran “accountable” for its actions.
In a statement issued by Ryan, the Republican leader said the two spoke about “the need to hold Iran accountable for its actions, bolster Israel’s qualitative military edge, and push back against international efforts to delegitimize the Jewish state.”
“Prime Minister Netanyahu and I redoubled our commitment to strengthening the historic alliance between the United States and Israel,” Ryan added.
In addition to meeting with Ryan, Netanyahu also had sit down discussions with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
“The prime minister discussed the issues of Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and the Palestinians,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.
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To dye for: snail shell found on Temple Mount colors researchers’ interest
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) An ancient sea snail shell discovered on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem has created tremendous interest among researchers, who believe the find ties in with the particular shade of vibrant blue dye (“tchelet” in Hebrew) used in ancient times to color the fringes of religious garments.
The shell of the branded dye-murex snail was recently discovered as part of the Temple Mount Sifting Project, which is funded by the Ir David Foundation and directed by archaeologists from Bar-Ilan University.
Archaeologist Zachi Dvira noted that finding the shell of an ancient sea snail far inland on the Temple Mount raises questions, as the snails are generally excavated in coastal archaeological digs.
“These snails were used in the luxury dye industry of ancient times,” Dvira said. “They were used to produce the colors purple and tchelet. Dye industry equipment and fragments of snail shells have been discovered at Phoenician sites along the Mediterranean coast.”
Dvira said the snail’s mucus secretions produced the unique shade of blue used to dye the ritual fringed garments, cloths for use in the Temple, and the ancient priests’ clothing. The rabbinical sages had deemed the species kosher (snails in general are not) so the dye could be used. Modern research generally agrees that the branded dye-murex was the snail approved by the sages.
Following the discovery, archaeologists have started researching whether there was a dyeing facility on the Temple Mount during the Temple era.
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Iran reportedly continues to call for Israel’s destruction, despite nuclear deal
(JNS.org) Iran’s leadership has continued to call for Israel’s destruction since the nuclear deal with world powers was forged in July 2015, according to a new report published by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA).
“There is absolutely no indication of one iota of moderation by the Iranian elite in their hostile intentions toward Israel since the conclusion of the Iran nuclear agreement. Iranian policy in this regard is driven by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” said former Israeli Foreign Ministry Director-General Dore Gold, who heads the JCPA.
The JCPA report includes a compilation of statements by Iranian leaders, including Khamenei, that have called for Israel’s destruction.
According to the report, Iran’s long-range missile program demonstrates the country’s commitment to the hatred of Israel. It noted how the missiles are frequently inscribed with slogans such as “Israel should be wiped off the face of the Earth.” The report added that Khamenei “paves the way” for the fierce anti-Israel rhetoric in the military and the nation.
“The combination of an extreme Islamist ideology that repetitively preaches the destruction of Israel, boasts of its advanced missile program, and seeks to return to the bosom of the Western world makes Iran all the more dangerous,” the report said.
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Articles from JNS.org appear on San Diego Jewish World through the generosity of Dr. Bob and Mao Shillman.
Secretary of Defense Spokesperson Cmdr. Sarah Higgins provided the following readout:
Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis met with Israeli Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman on the margins of the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany. The secretary underscored the U.S. commitment to Israel’s security and its qualitative military edge. Secretary Mattis and Minister Lieberman discussed the Feb. 15 visit of Prime Minister Netanyahu to Washington, as well as other mutual defense and regional policy issues. They concluded the meeting agreeing to continue close collaboration and consultation on a range of bilateral defense activities and initiatives.