Jerusalem News (22 January, 2014, 21 Shevet 5774)
Contents:
1. Jews abducted by force, physically attacked, almost lynched by Arabs, and then framed as the victims with connivance of the Israeli PressÂ
2. Israel's Precision Strike Portfolio Grows Worldwide by BARBARA OPALL-ROME
3. Israeli Economy Minister Bennett Mocks International Isolation Threats by Joshua Levitt
4. Meredith Carpenter: Support ACLJÂ (American Center for Law and Justice)
5. Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada in Jerusalem, 20 January 2014
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1. Jews abducted by force, physically attacked, almost lynched by Arabs, and then framed as the victims with connivance of the Israeli Press
http://shemittahrediscovered.blogspot.co.il/
Esh Kodesh Spokesman Reveals Truth Of Kusra Clash
By Yoni Kempinski, Ari Yashar
First Publish: 1/10/2014, 12:15 PM
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/176148#.UuC8Epv8IdV
Extracts:
Aron Katzov, spokesman of the Samarian community Esh Kodesh, spoke to Arutz Sheva Friday about the attempted lynching of 25 Jewish residents of the region by Arab residents of Kusra this Tuesday. His testimony reveals how IDF action was partially responsible for bringing about the attack.
Katzov reports that despite claims to the contrary in the media, which relied on Arab sources saying the Jews had entered Kusra to carry out "price tag" vandalism, the Jews were in fact touring the hills far from the Arab village when they were attacked.
As they were near the ruins of a village built by Shimon Bar-Giora over 2,000 years ago, Katzov relates that Arabs surrounded them on trucks, and during a harrowing 2 hours attacked and chased them around the hills towards the village, trying to kill them.
The version of events confirms the testimony of Pinhasi Brown, one of the men who was attacked, who said "we left at midday from Esh Kodesh to the direction of the Hayovel neighborhood in Eli, and on the way we stopped in ancient Khirba."
Due to the media spin of the event, the attacked Jews have been villified as "price tag" vandals, as extreme left group Peace Now called for the demolition of Esh Kodesh following the attack. Attorney Itamar Ben-Gvir previously slammed the media "slander" of the Jews.
Residents of Esh Kodesh have reported previous attacks originating in Kusra, including a mob attack in 2012 in which hundreds of Arab men surrounded the village screaming "slaughter the Jews."
Brit-Am Note:
The news clips showed the Arabs hitting the Jewish youths and continuing to hit them while IDF soldiers were escorting them away to safety.
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2. Israel's Precision Strike Portfolio Grows Worldwide by BARBARA OPALL-ROME
http://www.defensenews.com/article/20140121/DEFREG04/301210017/Israel-s-Precision-Strike-Portfolio-Grows-Worldwide
Excerpts:
TEL AVIV. Standoff artillery, laser-guided bombs, precision tank rounds and
a host of other weapons initially developed for the Israeli military are
proliferating on the global market as demand grows for operationally proven
precision strike capabilities.
Israeli industry executives cite an expanding roster of international
customers and strategic partners seeking accurate, lethal and low-cost tools
for combating urban insurgents and so-called disappearing targets with
minimal damage to uninvolved civilians.
Rafael's Tammuz, a standoff missile used to target rocket-launching squads
and renegade cross-border fire from Syria, and Elbit Systems, Lizard
laser-guided bombs, used in Israel Air Force strikes on Gaza weapons
warehouses, are just two of the many locally developed systems deployed by
militaries on nearly every continent.
Bezhalel 'Butzi' Machlis, Elbit's chief executive, said the company is
consistently expanding its portfolio of precision strike and networked
command-and-control systems to meet global demand for sensor-to-shooter
capabilities.
Elbit's precision strike air-, land- and sea-launched systems are
operational in dozens of countries. The company maintains strong joint
ventures in India, South Korea and Brazil, where Lizard laser-guided bombs
and other precision targeting systems are operational on Brazilian AMX
fighter jets and other platforms.
But aside from Israel, the company's largest market is the United States,
where government contracts and strategic partnerships with US industry are
managed by Elbit USA, its Fort Worth, Texas-based subsidiary.
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3. Israeli Economy Minister Bennett Mocks International Isolation Threats by Joshua Levitt
http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/01/21/israeli-economy-minister-bennett-mocks-international-isolation-threats/
Israeli Economy Minister Naftali Bennett mocked threats of international isolation by recounting the many international meetings he'd held on Tuesday.
On Facebook, Bennett listed his 'day so far,' which included meeting an Indian delegation to establish a joint research fund, establishing a booster for Israeli start-up companies in Shanghai, China, and approving final guidelines for joint technology investments with Germany.
He also met with the Canadian Prime Minister, and Canada's Ministers of Trade, Industry and Natural Resources to discuss upgrading Israel's Free Trade Zone agreement with Canada. He attended a presentation on progress on Free Trade Zone negotiations with Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, and granted a green light for a feasibility survey towards opening Free Trade Zone negotiations with Vietnam.
'This international isolation situation is not easy,' Bennett joked on Facebook.
On Monday, the Financial Times reported that several Northern European-based pension funds were considering dumping their Israeli investments to boycott the Jewish state.
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4. Meredith Carpenter: Support ACLJÂ (American Center for Law and Justice)
Hi Yair,
I would like to encourage everyone to join the ACLJ, headed by Chief Legal Counsel Jay Sekulow, in fighting injustice by petitioning our government to do what is right. Please find the latest email sent to me by the ACLJ.
"The United Nations is anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, and  sadly propped up by U.S. taxpayer dollars.
Did you know that last week a U.N. body canceled an exhibit showing 3,500 years of Jewish history in the Holy Land?
Did you know that same U.N. body canceled the exhibit at the request of radical jihadist activists, so those activists can continue to spread lies about the Jewish homeland?
And did you know that the United States gives more money every year to the U.N. than 180 other countries combined?
It's time we stopped funding hate. It's time we stopped funding lies. Our offices worldwide are mobilized to defend the truth.
Sign our new petition: Not one more dollar to fund U.N. hate, U.N. lies, and U.N. double standards.
Stop Funding the Anti-American and Anti-Israel U.N."
Jay Sekulow
ACLJ Chief Counsel
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5. Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada in Jerusalem, 20 January 2014
 http://pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2014/01/20/statement-prime-minister-canada-jerusalem
Excerpts:
Prime Minister Stephen Harper today delivered the following remarks in an address to the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, in Jerusalem:
Thank you very much. Thank you Mr. Speaker, Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, Chief Justice, Ministers and Members of the Knesset, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Shalom.
And thank you for inviting me to visit this remarkable country, and especially for the opportunity to address the Knesset. It truly is a great honour. And I also thank you for the honour of the key to the Knesset. So now I feel I can come and go whenever I choose. And if I may, Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my wife Laureen and the entire Canadian delegation, let me just begin by thanking the Government and people of Israel for the warmth of your hospitality. You have made us feel extremely welcome.
You have made us feel immediately at home.
Ladies and gentlemen, Canada and Israel are the greatest of friends, and the most natural of allies.
And, with your indulgence, I'd like to offer a reflection upon what makes the relationship
 between Canada and Israel special and important. “Because the relationship between us is very strong.
This friendship between us is rooted in history, nourished by shared values, and it is intentionally reinforced at the highest levels of commerce and government as an outward expression of strongly held inner convictions. There has, for example, been a free trade agreement in place between Canada and Israel for many, many years, an agreement that has already proved its worth. The elimination of tariffs on industrial products, and some foodstuffs, has led to a doubling in the value of trade between our countries. But this only scratches the surface of the economic potential of this relationship and I look forward to soon deepening and broadening our mutual trade and investment goals. As well, our military establishments share information and technology. This has also been to our mutual benefit.
For example, during Canada's mission to Afghanistan, the use of Israeli-built reconnaissance equipment saved the lives of many Canadian soldiers.
All such connections, and I can mention many more 'science and technology' all built strong bridges between us. ... Today, there are nearly 350,000 Canadians who share with you their heritage and their faith. They are proud Canadians.... Of your courage in war, of your generosity in peace, and of the bloom that the desert has yielded under your stewardship. ... To be clear, we have also periodically made terrible mistakes.
As in the refusal of our Government in the 1930s to ease the plight of Jewish refugees. But, as a country, at the great turning points of history, Canada has consistently chosen often to our great cost, to stand with others who oppose injustice and to confront the dark forces of the world.
It is, thus, a Canadian tradition to stand for what is principled and just, regardless of whether it is convenient or popular. But, I would argue, and as you know Prime Minister I have argued, that support today for the Jewish State of Israel is more than a moral imperative. It is also a matter of strategic importance, also a matter of our own, long-term interests.... Those who, often begin by hating the Jews. But, history shows us, end up hating anyone who is not like them. Those forces, which have threatened the State of Israel every single day of its existence, and which, as 9-11 graphically showed us today, threaten all of us. And so, we either stand up for our values and our interests here in Israel, stand up for the existence of a free, democratic and distinctively Jewish state, or the retreat of our values and our interests in the world will begin. ... ...The truth that Canada understands is that many of the hostile forces Israel faces are faced by all western nations. Israel faces them for many of the same reasons we face them. You just happen to be a lot closer to them. .. In the democratic family of nations, Israel represents values which our Government takes as articles of faith and principles to drive our own national life. And therefore, through fire and water, Canada will stand with you. ...
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 IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis Website: www.imra.org.il