UPDATES
7 pm Israel time, Friday, May 8 2015
**The small war that has erupted in Gaza between the Salafist supporters of IS and Hamas reached a new level of intensity this afternoon with the Salafists striking a Hamas military headquarters in Khan Younis with mortars.
**900 apartments were approved yesterday by the Jerusalem Planning Commission for the primarily ultra-orthodox neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo near Pisgat Ze’ev–a neighborhood that already has more than 20,000 residents.
A small section of Ramat Shlomo–a neighborhood that sits on a ridge in eastern Jerusalem.
The U.S. and E.U. were quick to condemn the announcement, but they have nothing to worry about. PM Netanyahu will quickly and regrettably freeze the project before it gets off the ground.
**Israelis are chuckling today over the rash of actresses and singers that have suddenly taken to criticizing Israel.
First we had the craven Lauryn Hill canceling a concert in Rishon LeZion yesterday after being pressured by BDS. Then today we had the pathetic old band Primus canceling concerts in Tel Aviv.
But funniest of all were these comments from Israeli-born actress Natalie Portman:
“I’m very much against Netanyahu. Against. I am very, very upset and disappointed that he was re-elected. I find his racist comments horrific. However, I don’t — what I want to make sure is, I don’t want to use my platform (the wrong way). I feel like there’s some people who become prominent, and then it’s out in the foreign press. You know, sh*t on Israel. I do not. I don’t want to do that.”
Natalie Portman does not want to use her platform to sh*t on Israel, but she uses her platform to sh*t on Israel.
The good news for Hill, Primus, and Portman is simply that no one in Israel cares.
TODAY’S BLOG:
Who is Ayelet Shaked and why is she so feared?
The fear in the Israeli and Western “Left” of incoming Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked is palpable.
Nachman Shai of the Herzog-Livni Party: “[Giving] Ayelet Shaked the Justice portfolio is like giving the Fire and Rescue Services to a pyromaniac.”
Yariv Oppenheimer of Peace Now: “Shaked as Justice Minister is like placing an idol in the Temple. No less.”
An unnamed EU Ambassador to Israel (as quoted in the Jersusalem Post): “When you look at some of the legislation being proposed [by Shaked], it is very worrying. It is anti-democratic and looks designed to shut down criticism. It’s the sort of thing you normally see coming out of Russia.”
All of the above is nonsense.
The Left is afraid of Ayelet Shaked because Ayelet Shaked is an unapologetic Zionist who is incredibly focused on defending Israel.
Shaked is a fierce debater.
More than this, Shaked has no inclination to be politically correct and will tell people what she thinks to their face. She is a strong, independent woman–the type of person that some people unfortunately cannot tolerate.
A year and a half ago, on December 10, 2013, your humble servant wrote a piece about Ayelet Shaked that deserves to be repeated here:
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“Ayelet Shaked may be an Israeli politician you have not heard very much about. Often dismissed because of her gender and her relatively young age (37), Shaked holds a degree an electrical engineering and computer science from Tel Aviv University, served in the Golani Brigade while in the military as an infantry instructor, is married to IAF combat pilot, and has two children.
She was elected to the Knesset earlier this year as a member of the Jewish Home party.
In her first speech as an MK in the Knesset, she blasted the U.S. government for not releasing Jonathan Pollard. She has not stopped “making waves” since.
This past weekend, Shaked shook up the Saban Forum in Washington. Three of her memorable quotes reveal her mindset–and exactly why your humble servant likes her so much.
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First, Shaked has her priorities straight. Unlike the Tzippi Livnis of the world who would sacrifice Israel’s security in a heartbeat for international approbation, Shaked had this to say:
‘Israel’s desire to develop diplomatic relations with Arab states such as Qatar is very important but cannot, and must not come at the expense of security of the cities of Israel.’
Second, Shaked realizes the danger of the path of ever greater dependence on the U.S. that Barack Obama and John Kerry are suggesting is best for Israel:
‘With all due concern for the U.S., sensors and sensors are not a substitute for the Israeli presence in the Jordan Valley. Reliance on U.S. electronic security measures mean [the] outsourcing the security of the state.’
Third, Shaked is not afraid to castigate those who seek to undermine Israel at every opportunity. She had this to say to Jeremy Ben-Ami of J Street:
‘Delegitimization against Israel is a new form of anti-Semitism. The organization you head is in [in the forefront of this] machine of delegitimization.’
In an Israeli environment beset by political correctness and longing to be loved, Ayelet Shaked immediately stands out as a principled woman who is unafraid to say what she thinks and to defend Israel at every turn.
Your humble servant sincerely hopes that her star continues to rise.”
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Now Shaked is 39 and her star has indeed risen.
As the new Justice Minister, what she has in her sights is nothing less than a reform of the Israeli judicial system–a system that is sadly out of touch with the everyday Israeli. Far from wanting to make the system less democratic, it is Shaked’s wish to make it more so.
As the Chair of the Knesset Committee on Legislation, what she has in her sights is an attempt to make it more difficult for anti-Israel NGOs to operate in Israel. She is going to target NGOs that are being funded by foreign entitities who seek nothing less than the delegitimization of Israel.
With Isaac Herzog, Tzipi Livni, and Yair Lapid fighting her tooth and nail, these attempts to reform the system will not be easy.
But one should never underestimate the tenacity of Ayelet Shaked. Many have done so before now to their own detriment.
Addendum:
Because of the efforts of the virulently anti-Israel “Electronic Intifada” and “Mondoweiss” websites, Shaked has been branded by the leftist international community and the Israeli left as someone who was advocating “genocide” against the Palestinians during last summer’s war with Hamas because of a post that appeared on her Facebook page.
That post advocated total war against the terrorists in Gaza–a sentiment that many of us in southern Israel agreed with while we were being pounded by thousands of missiles.
However, what quickly came to light was that:
1. The post was not written by Shaked. It was written by Uri Elitzur, a former adviser to Benjamin Netanyahu.
2. The post was written in Hebrew. It was “translated” into English by Dena Shunra–a viciously anti-Israel writer whose regular diatribes appear all over the internet. According to Shaked (the original Hebrew post was subsequently taken down by Shaked), the translation was a complete mistranslation–much in the same way that the recent Netanyahu Facebook post about “Arabs going to the polls in droves” proved to be an egregiously inaccurate translation by a leftist reporter for Ha’aretz.
A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.