Jerusalem News
(January 7, 2020, 10 Tevet 5780)
Contents:
1. Ex-chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards says Haifa, Tel Aviv are targets
2. Defense chief says U.S. has no plans to withdraw from Iraq
3. Chief Rabbi under fire for comments on non-Jewish immigration to Israel
by David Rosenberg
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1. Ex-chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards says Haifa, Tel Aviv are targets
As tensions continue to skyrocket, top politician Mohsen Rezaei alleges Israel leaked information on Soleimani's whereabouts to US forces
https://www.timesofisrael.com/ex-chief-of-irans-revolutionary-guards-says-haifa-tel-aviv-are-targets/?utm_source=The+Daily+Edition&utm_campaign=daily-edition-2020-01-06&utm_medium=email
By TOI STAFF and AGENCIES
Extracts:
A former leader of Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Sunday that the cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa could be targeted to avenge the general killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad.
Mohsen Rezaei made the threat in Tehran at a ceremony in honor of slain commander Qassem Soleimani and on Twitter.
'Iran's revenge against America for the assassination of Soleimani will be severe, Haifa and Israeli military centers will be included in the retaliation,' he said, according to a translation by Reuters.
Rezaei, the secretary of Iran's powerful Expediency Council, is considered a top politician and an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
He previously alleged Israel somehow leaked information about Soleimani's whereabouts to US forces, who killed him Friday in a drone strike.
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2. Defense chief says U.S. has no plans to withdraw from Iraq
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-news-qassem-soleimani-killing-iraq-us-airstrike-tension-fears-middle-east-war-today-live-updates-2020-01-06/
Extracts:
Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds military force and one of the most powerful figures in the Islamic Republic, was killed early Friday in an airstrike in Baghdad. Thousands of people have mourned him in both Iraq and Iran.
The secretary of defense pushed back on reports that the military was planning to withdraw from Iraq in response to a resolution passed by the Iraqi Parliament on Sunday.
The Iranian government says it will no longer abide by key terms of the 2015 nuclear deal, lifting restrictions on centrifuges, uranium enrichment and more. President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the deal in 2018.
Mr. Trump tweeted Saturday that the U.S. would target 52 Iranian sites if Iran retaliates for the strike.
Lawmakers are divided over the strike, with Republicans applauding Mr. Trump's action and Democrats warning about the possible repercussions.
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3. Chief Rabbi under fire for comments on non-Jewish immigration to Israel
by David Rosenberg
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/274210
Extracts:
Israel's Chief Sephardic Rabbi, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, came under fire Tuesday over comments he made last week regarding non-Jewish immigrants to Israel.
... Rabbi Yosef laments the mass immigration of non-Jews to Israel, accusing them of backing anti-religious political agendas.
'Hundreds or tens of thousands of non-Jews came to Israel because of the law defining who is a Jew,' said Rabbi Yosef, referring to Israel's amended Law of Return, which permits not only Jews, but non-Jewish spouses, children, and grandchildren of Jews, along with their spouses, to immigrate to Israel.
According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, more than 430,000 people living in Israel are neither Jewish nor Arab, with the vast majority being non-Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe who immigrated to Israel after 1989 under the Law of Return.
'There are many, many non-Jews here, and some of them are Communists, enemies of the faith, haters of religion,' Rabbi Yosef continued.
'They aren't Jewish at all, they are non-Jews. And they vote for parties which incite against haredim and against the faith.'
'They were brought here to Israel so as to serve as a counter-balance against the haredim. So that in elections there won't be too many haredim. That's why they total non-Jews were allowed to immigrate to Israel, absolute non-Jews. Unfortunately, we are seeing the result of the incitement they make.'
Rabbi Yosef noted that many of the non-Jewish immigrants identify as Christians and 'go to church every Sunday.'