What are the strategic demands Netanyahu is going to make during Trump's visit?

Trump and Netanyahu. (photo credit:REUTERS)

When President Donald Trump arrives in Israel next week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have the opportunity to make specific requests from the administration.

These are the key issues Israel is expected to bring up with the US.

Keep the pressure on Iran
In the coming days, we will see if Trump waives sanctions on Iran and allows Tehran to keep funding its military assistance to Bashar Assad in Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

While Israel does not want to see Iranian funds freed up to meddle more in Syria, Lebanon and Gaza (which would seriously endanger the country's security), it also does not want the nuclear deal to fall apart prematurely (or if it does, only due to an Iranian violation, not a US failure to meet an obligation), lest Iran be free to dash to the bomb even sooner than Israel worries it will.

In general, Israel wants to ensure that it is on the same page with the administration regarding the continued pressure that must be applied on Iran to curb the latter's development of ballistic missiles and support of terrorism.

During a press conference last month with visiting US Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman urged the administration to “place more pressure and sanctions on the Iranian regime.”

Stabilizing Syria and recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights
Israel has two requests regarding Syria. Firstly, it wants to ensure that its security interests are accounted for in any deal that Trump would reach with Russia aimed at ending the civil war in the country.

Specifically, Israel wants to make sure that Iran and Hezbollah will not remain in Syria at the end of the war and will not be allowed to establish a presence on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights.

Israel's second demand has to do with its control over the Golan Heights. The premier is seeking recognition from Trump for Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan, which was conquered 50 years ago during the Six Day War.

Netanyahu hails "new day" in Israel-US relations after meeting with Trump (credit: REUTERS)

This came up during the two leaders' meeting at the White House in February and was also reiterated last week by Intelligence Minister Israel Katz, who proposed that Jerusalem and Washington reach a five-pointed understanding on the issue of the Syrian civil war and the implications it has on Israel's security.

Move the embassy to Jerusalem
This seems to be the most contentious issue in the dialogue between the two governments. On Sunday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson doused flames on the eventuality of the embassy being moved to Jerusalem, telling a US interviewer that the decision "will be informed by the parties involved in those talks – and most certainly Israel’s view – and whether Israel views it as helpful to a peace initiative or perhaps a distraction."

Netanyahu was quick to respond, saying that by moving the embassy, Trump would actually be advancing the peace process by smashing the Palestinian fantasy that Jerusalem is not Israel’s capital.

The US president made the promise to move the embassy during his campaign and after he was elected, there were reports that an announcement would happen in the first days of his administration.

The premier is expected to use Trump’s visit next week to pressure him on the issue. The simplest way to advance would be for Trump at the end of May to not waive a Congress law from 1995 that mandates the embassy be in Jerusalem. US presidents have signed waivers to the law every six months since its passage.

Settlement construction and protection of Israel’s interests in potential peace talks with the Palestinians
Trump seems determined to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians and while he will likely refrain from getting the leaders together during his trip next week, he will try to convince the sides to reengage with one another.

Israel will seek to impress upon Trump the difficulty in reaching a deal based on the Palestinian demands of 1967 lines, the right of return and Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital. Israel will also work to convince Trump of the need for a future Palestinian state to remain demilitarized.

Lastly, Netanyahu has been trying since his trip to the White House in February to reach understandings with the administration over Israeli settlement construction. Netanyahu reportedly postponed a meeting of a settlement planning committee last week until after Trump’s visit to not infuriate the president.

Netanyahu would like a green light from the president to be able to build in all of Jerusalem as well as in the settlement blocs. He fears having to agree to a new settlement freeze that could prompt Bayit Yehudi to pull out of his coalition.

Retain Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge in the region
Trump is expected to approve a massive sale of approximately $100 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabia.

While Israel backs military support to the Saudis and other Gulf States, which are all aligned against Iran, it is in constant talks with the White House and the Pentagon about ways to ensure that it retains its QME in the region by always being the first to receive superior American weapons systems and munitions.

Israel is currently in talks with the Pentagon about how it plans to spend the $38 billion new military aid package signed at the end of Barack Obama’s presidency. The Jewish state is expected to seek permission from its biggest ally to purchase new transport helicopters, smart bombs, bunker busters, more F-35 stealth fighter jets as well as an assortment of additional weapon and intelligence systems.

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Will all Israeli police investigators soon be subject to polygraphs?

Israel Police patrol car [File]. (photo credit:Wikimedia Commons)

A initiative headed by Likud MK David Amsalem mandating polygraph tests for all police investigators has provoked backlash from the Israel Police, who see the initiative as invasive and unnecessary.

Amsalem, who chairs the Knesset Committee on Internal Affairs and Environment, is planning to propose the bill in his committee Yediot Aharonot first reported on Monday.

The initiative would require all police investigation officers - numbered around 1,600 people - to undergo polygraph tests. Police Commissioner Insp.-Gen. Roni Alschiech and Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan were originally planning an initiative to implement polygraph tests on officers promoted to senior ranks.

As part of an effort to improve the image of the police and mitigate information leaking to the media, the polygraph tests for senior officers were meant to deal with issues of sexual assault, relationships to criminal organizations and police leaks.

The implementation of large scale polygraph tests is an unsettling element in the police force, which sees the initiative as insinuating police investigators as untrustworthy.

“It was our initiative for this law we do believe that some of the very high ranking officers should be polygraphed, because they have to be above and beyond,” said one police official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, “But we do not think all other officers are candidates for the polygraph because we do believe that they are honest people.”

Alsheich and Erdan proposed the polygraph initiative through Amasalem, because it needs Knesset approval as polygraphs are not permitted for employment purposes.

“We have to reach a reasonable compromise that will also reduce the risk of leakage of information from the investigations, but will not impose a burden on the entire organization and create a sense of suspicion toward all its officers,” Erdan told Yediot Aharonot.

In response to the initiative Mickey Rosenthal (Zionist Union) said, “The idea of ​​sending police officers to a polygraph is not intended to clean up the police but to hurt their spirit.”

Rosenthal continued arguing that initiative is connected to the ongoing criminal investigation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Netanyahu is trying to extricate himself from an indictment using all the means, including a fatal blow to the status of the law and justice system," he said.

A spokesperson for Amsalem said that Rosenthal is seeking to weaken the MK’s role in examining the police.

Earlier this month, after Rosenthal claimed that he knew police would recommend to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his office released a statement saying that police may recommend an indictment for self-serving reasons.

“After months of police leaks saying that they’ll recommend an indictment, does anyone think that they’ll have the courage to climb down from the tree and admit there is nothing?” the statement said. 

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Israeli family seeks help in saving six-month-old baby Liam

The Save Baby Liam campaign. (photo credit:Courtesy)

Parents of six-month-old baby Liam Izhak Tamir have launched a campaign seeking donations for a lifesaving surgery for their baby boy.

The campaign was launched via Kav Lachayim, an association which provides solutions for children with disabilities and rare syndromes.

"Our baby Liam Izhak Tamir has never seen the outside of the hospital," the baby's parents, Aviad and Sarah Adelia Tamir, wrote in a heartfelt plea.

Baby Liam was born in Israel two-and-a-half months early with a rare birth defect affecting his esophagus, called esophageal atresia. He has never been able to eat on his own and has been fed via a feeding tube his entire short life.

One month after birth, Liam underwent major surgery to fix his condition - but the surgery failed and no other treatment has been able to help him since.

"Now he's six months old and still in the NICU, where our days are spent by his tiny bed," his parents wrote.

According to the campaign, the only way to save Liam is to fly him to Boston Children's Hospital in the US, which specializes in treating his condition and conducts hundreds of such successful surgeries every year.

The operation is a complex and expensive one, the parents noted, with an estimated cost of $550,000 (approx. NIS 2 million).

"Every donation made will help us get closer to the treatment needed to provide Liam with a full and happy life,” the parents wrote.

Donations can be made at http://ift.tt/2qITQdv.

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Lag Ba'Omer air pollution levels reach 10.9 times normal values

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish boys dance around a bonfire as they celebrate the Jewish holiday of Lag BaOmer in the city of Ashdod, Israel May 13, 2017. (photo credit:REUTERS)

After Israelis kindled Lag Ba'Omer bonfires for the second night in a row on Sunday, air pollution levels climbed to up to 10.9 times greater than typical values in areas around the country.

The nation’s skies filled with a black smoky fog throughout the night, contaminating the air with particulate matter that can negatively impact the respiratory system, according to the Environmental Protection Ministry. While some people lit fires at the originally scheduled time for the holiday, Saturday night, most did so on Sunday night, after the Lag Ba'Omer school holiday was moved from Sunday to Monday.

Air pollution levels reached their peak between late night Sunday and 4:30 a.m. on Monday morning, the ministry said.

One of the most problematic consequences of the bonfires each year is the marked increase in the concentration of PM2.5 – fine particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less, the ministry stressed. Although levels of PM10 – particulate matter with a diameter of 10 microns or less – also rose, the finer 2.5-micron particulate matter is capable of passing into much smaller airways in the human body, the ministry warned.

Levels of PM2.5 rose to 10.9 times higher than those on an average clear day in Jerusalem's Beit Hakerem neighborhood, 9.9 times higher in the central moshav of Bnei Darom, 7 times higher in Ashdod, 6.7 times higher in Gedera and 6.6 times higher in Bnei Brak, ministry data showed.

Levels of PM10 were 8.9 times higher than those on an average clear day in Rehovot, 7.5 times higher in Tel Aviv’s southern neighborhoods and 4.4 times higher in Beersheba, the ministry said.

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Bank HaPoalim Switzerland celebrated during company event

Shari Arison (second left), owner of the Arison group and of the controlling stake in the bank, Oded Eran, chairman of Bank Hapoalim (right), Dan Koler, chairman of Bank Hapoalim Switzerland and Arik Pinto (left), the bank’s CEO.. (photo credit:TAMAR MAZPI)

Bank Hapoalim held a festive event last week to highlight the work it does in Switzerland.

Among the attendees at the event on Wednesday night in Kibbutz Shefayim were Shari Arison (second left), owner of the Arison group and of the controlling stake in the bank, Oded Eran, chairman of Bank Hapoalim (right), Dan Koler, chairman of Bank Hapoalim Switzerland and hundreds of customers and guests. Arik Pinto (left), the bank’s CEO said: “I am convinced that Bank Hapoalim Switzerland has the potential to significantly increase the number of its customers, and the more Israelis are exposed to the unique capabilities and advantages of Bank Hapoalim Switzerland, the more the number of Israeli customers will grow.”

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IN PHOTOS: Bonfires Light Up Israel for Kabbalist Holiday

Ten Percent of All Eastern Europeans Don't Want Jews in Their Countries: Report

“But mine enemies are strong in health; and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.” Psalms 38:20 (The Israel Bible™)

(Shutterstock)

Ten percent of Central and Eastern Europeans say they would not want Jews as citizens in their countries, and less than three-quarters of those polled would want Jewish neighbors, according to a new study published Wednesday by the Pew Research Center.

The Pew study surveyed residents of 18 European countries between June 2015 and July 2016. Less than 50 percent of respondents indicated they would accept having Jewish family members.

The degree of anti-Jewish sentiment varied between different European countries. A third of Armenians polled in the study said Jews should not be citizens, significantly higher than the median anti-Jewish sentiment measured in other countries.

The study also found that countries with large Jewish populations prior to the Holocaust registered higher levels of anti-Jewish sentiment, including Lithuania (23 percent), Romania (22 percent), the Czech Republic (19 percent) and Poland (18 percent).

Respondents with higher levels of education were found to be the most accepting of Jews as citizens, neighbors or family members.

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