Netanyahu will not uproot major Jewish communities in any peace deal
(JNS.org) Despite losing some ground to the new HaBayit HaYehudi (Jewish Home) party and a resurgent Labor Party, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s combined Likud-Yisrael Beitneu ticket is expected to win the election, and he will remain as prime minister. In an interview on the eve of the general elections in Israel, Netanyahu made it clear that as Israel’s reelected leader, he would not uproot major Jewish communities just beyond the pre-1967 lines.
“I think that there is recognition that ultimately there has to be a real and fair solution, and that certainly doesn’t include driving out hundreds of thousands of Jews who live in the suburbs of Jerusalem, and in the suburbs of Tel Aviv, in the Ariel bloc,” Netanyahu said in an interview from his Jerusalem office, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Netanyahu reaffirmed that these communities would be part of Israel in any peace deal with the Palestinians. “There is a common acceptance that the so-called settlement blocs will remain part of Israel in any settlement,” Netanyahu said.
However, despite the focus on construction in these areas, Netanyahu told a group of visiting U.S. Senators on Sunday that the real problem is not Jews building houses, but Iran. “The problem in the Middle East is Iran’s attempt to build nuclear weapons … This was, and remains, the main mission facing not only myself and Israel, but the entire world,” Netanyahu said according to the Associated Press.
In the interview, Netanyahu also addressed concerns regarding a report by American columnist Jeffrey Goldberg in which President Obama is quoted as saying, “Israel doesn’t know what its own best interests are.” Netanyahu responded he is “confident that President Obama understands that only a sovereign Israeli government can determine what Israel’s interests are.”
French intervention in Mali may increase threats for French Jews
(JNS.org) The recent French-led intervention against Islamic forces in the west African nation of Mali may lead to increased threats or attacks against the Jewish community in France.
“The situation requires we raise the level of protection around our community and double the level of vigilance around synagogues, Jewish schools, community centers and gathering places,” said a communiqué from a French-Jewish security organization, Service de Protection de la Communauté Juive (SPCJ), the Algemeiner reported. The communiqué said that Islamic terrorist groups in France have been “agitated” by the intervention, which was launched by President François Hollande on Jan. 11.
France, which has Europe’s largest Jewish community, has also garnered significant attention over the past year for a rise in anti-Semitism, especially after last March’s Islamist terrorist attack on a Jewish school in Toulouse that left a rabbi and three children dead.
Chuck Norris tells Israelis to support ‘tough guy’ Netanyahu
(JNS.org) American action film star and martial arts expert Chuck Norris has come out with a video encouraging Israeli voters to support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his reelection bid.
“Shalom, this is Chuck Norris. With the elections just days away, Israel has an important decision to make, so let me tell you what Chuck would do,” says the star of “Walker, Texas Ranger,” a television series that ran from 1993 to 2001, in a video posted on YouTube, Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
Norris, a devout Christian who is well known for his outspoken support for conservative causes, believes that Netanyahu is the right leader in a region like the Middle East.
“You might think I’m a tough guy in my films, but in a rough neighborhood like the Middle East, Israel has its own tough guy. His name is Bibi Netanyahu,” Norris said.
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