ZOA calls on Trump to not appoint Gen. James Mattis as secretary of defense
(JNS.org) The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) called on President-elect Donald Trump to not appoint Gen. James Mattis as secretary of defense, citing Mattis’s past comments conveying hostility to Israel and a lack of understanding of the threat radical Islam poses to the Jewish state.
Mattis, a retired four-star Marine general who served as U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) commander from 2010-2013, met with Trump Saturday and is widely considered the frontrunner to be the next secretary of defense. Following their meeting, Trump tweeted that Mattis was “very impressive” and a “true General’s General.”
Yet Mattis made controversial comments about Israel at a 2013 Aspen Institute conference, where he praised Secretary of State John Kerry’s “valiant” efforts to reach a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but also expressed concern over America’s “biased” support for Israel.
Mattis said at the time that he “paid a military-security price every day as a commander of CENTCOM, because the Americans are seen as biased in support of Israel, and that all the moderate Arabs who want to be with us, because they can’t come out publicly in support of people who don’t show respect for the Arab Palestinians.” Mattis also warned that Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria would turn Israel into an “apartheid” state.
The ZOA said Mattis’s past comments “revealed a lack of appreciation for and understanding of the extraordinary value to American security resulting from a strong American-Israeli alliance and a secure Israel.” As such, ZOA President Morton Klein said he “urges that Mattis not be appointed” defense secretary.
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Iran using civilian airlines to arm Hezbollah, Israeli UN envoy says
(JNS.org) Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon sent a letter to the U.N. Security Council revealing newly released intelligence indicating that Iran is using civilian flights to Lebanon to send arms and ammunition to Hezbollah.
“Iran is using airlines such as ‘Mahan Air,’ to supply Hezbollah with the capacity to enhance its missile arsenal. The arms and related materials are packed in suitcases by the Quds Force in Iran and transferred directly to Hezbollah operatives,” Danon wrote to Security Council members.
Danon added that the arms are either flown by “commercial flights to Beirut” or flown to Damascus “and transferred by land” to Hezbollah.
The Israeli U.N. envoy stated that these actions blatantly violate “numerous Security Council resolutions,” including Resolution 2231, which put restrictions on Iran following the Iranian nuclear deal, and Resolution 1701, which put in place the ceasefire ending the Second Lebanon War with Hezbollah in 2006.
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Israeli unemployment rate drops to 4.5 percent, marking 30-year low
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israel’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.5 percent in October, marking a three-decade low, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) reported Monday. This figure represents a 0.5-percent drop from September’s jobless rates, which stood at 5 percent.
The CBS found that for the first time in Israel’s history, unemployment among Israelis ages 25-64 hovers near the 4-percent mark. Men’s jobless rates were set at 3.8 percent, and among women in this age group unemployment was at 4.1 percent.
The data further showed that 179,000 Israelis registered with unemployment bureaus nationwide in October, compared to 199,000 in September, representing a 10-percent drop. Employment rates climbed to 80 percent, with 78 percent of Israelis holding full-time jobs and 22 percent holding part-time jobs. The number of Israelis holding full-time jobs grew by 29,000 in October, and the number of Israelis holding part-time jobs shrunk by 22,000.
Among Israelis ages 25-64, 85 percent of men and 75.5 percent of women are employed. Employment rates among teenagers ages 15-18 remained unchanged, at 61.2 percent, the report said.
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Netanyahu: ministers must get green light before contacting Trump’s team
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli government ministers and their deputies may not contact U.S. President-elect Donald Trump without receiving a green light from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, the prime minister announced Monday in a directive sent to all ministries.
“As per the instructions of the prime minister, cabinet ministers and deputy ministers are hereby informed that they may not make contact with the president-elect without getting the necessary approval from the Prime Minister’s Office or the Israeli Embassy in the United States,” Israeli Cabinet Secretary Tzachi Braverman wrote to all ministers.
Earlier this month, Netanyahu asked ministers not to comment on the incoming American administration, but Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman chose to speak publicly about Israel’s relations with the future Trump administration, expressing hope that the two sides would be able to reach an understanding over settlement construction in Judea and Samaria. Other ministers, including Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home), also said they would like to meet or speak with members of Trump’s team.
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More than 70 FIDF supporters visit Israel for glimpse into impact on army
(JNS.org) More than 70 leaders and supporters of the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) nonprofit recently traveled to Israel on a weeklong mission for a firsthand glimpse at the day-to-day impact their support has on the IDF.
The visit included trips to 11 new FIDF-sponsored well-being and educational facilities being constructed on the new IDF Training Campus in the Negev Desert as well as meeting with FIDF program beneficiaries, including lone soldiers—those without immediate family living in Israel—and those supported by FIDF scholarships.
The trip participants visited soldiers from the IDF’s Kfir Brigade near Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip, where a ceremony was held to officially “adopt a brigade”—a program that provides financial assistance to soldiers in need. FIDF officially adopted the brigade with a donation by Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson. The participants were also briefed on the current situation in the Middle East by former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and former IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. (Res.) Gabi Ashkenazi.
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