po box 333, dianella wa 6059 email foiwa ... · palmach’s favour. the vehicle he damaged...

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Israel treats Syrian children – page 11

Israel’s heroes – page 4

Tunnel destroyed – page 8

Centre pages

Volume 29 – Autumn 2018 N E W S L E T T E R

PO Box 333, Dianella WA 6059 www.foiwa.org.au Email [email protected]

Israel provides support to Papua New Guinea following devastating earthquakeYou won’t hear this from the ABC but Israel, a world leader in disaster relief and humanitarian assistance, provided forty generators and other support to Papua New Guinea, following the recent devastating earthquake which struck the region.

Following the earthquake, which struck Papua New Guinea’s highlands region on 26 February, the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Agency for International Development Cooperation (MASHAV) provided much needed support to disaster relief efforts.

The 7.5 magnitude earthquake left around 100 people dead and more than 150,000 people in desperate need of emergency supplies.

Israel, one of the first countries to send aid to Papua New Guinea, delivered forty generators on 8 March, which helped to provide assistance to communities affected by the earthquake.

“These generators will provide immediate assistance to communities suffering from damage to critical infrastructure,” said the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Peter O’Neill.

The generators were delivered by Yaron Sultan-Dadon, the Pacific Islands Adviser at the Israeli Embassy in Australia, who toured areas affected by the earthquake with Prime Minister O’Neill and assessed other possible avenues for Israeli assistance.

When asked about Israel’s humanitarian assistance, Mr Sultan-Dadon said, “The State of Israel does not leave its friends behind.”

Prime Minister O’Neill thanked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Israel’s assistance in the aftermath of the earthquake, “Relations between Papua New Guinea and the State of Israel are strong, and our government and the people of Papua New Guinea appreciate the support and friendship of Israel during these challenging times.”

Tibor Shalev-Schlosser, Israel’s Ambassador to the Pacific Island States said, “The Israel MFA is evaluating additional means of disaster relief and will continue to assist Papua New Guinea during this difficult time.” Israel Ministry of Affairs

Yaron Sultan-Dadon, the Pacific Islands Adviser at the Israeli Embassy in Australia, delivers generators to Papua New Guinea.

FRIENDS OF ISRAEL WA NEWSLETTER

Israel-bound plane flies over Saudi Arabia for the first timeRiyadh silent on why it granted access but flight signals a tacit improvement in relations

Saudi Arabia has opened its airspace for the first time to an Israel-bound passenger plane, breaking a 70-year-ban on commercial jets flying over the Arab kingdom to reach the Jewish state.

While Riyadh does not formally recognise Israel, the recent touchdown by the Air India flight in Tel Aviv signalled a thawing of relations between the two countries which share a common enemy in Iran.

“This is a historic evening. The Israeli skies are connecting with the Saudi Arabian skies in one direct flight,” the Israeli transport minister, Yisrael Katz, said when the jet landed at Ben Gurion airport. “We are celebrating the strengthening relations with India and the first civilian connection with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states.”

There was no confirmation that other airlines, including the Israeli flagship carrier El Al, whose planes have to fly under the Gulf and up the Red Sea, will be granted airspace access. Avoiding Saudi Arabia typically adds hours to Israel-bound flights.

Riyadh has not yet formally acknowledged granting overflight rights, but aircraft trackers show the jet crossed its territory.

Air India 139 took off from Delhi, and the Boeing Dreamliner flew over the kingdom for three hours, passing just west of the Saudi capital, according to the Flightradar24 monitoring app. Tracking showed the airliner had earlier flown over Oman, which also does not have official diplomatic relations with Israel. Oliver Holmes

ISRAELI DOCTORS DEVELOP REVOLUTIONARY EYE DROPS THAT COULD REPLACE GLASSESIsraeli ophthalmologists at Shaare Zedek Medical Centre in Jerusalem and Bar-Ilan University’s Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials (BINA) revealed that they have successfully developed eye-drops that repair the corneas, improving near-sighted and far-sighted vision. These “nanodrops” were successfully tested on corneas of pigs, according to the researchers, and are expected to be tested on humans in clinical trials later this year.

If proven successful on humans, the ground-breaking discovery could remove the need for eyeglasses. The nanodrops are made up of a synthetic nanoparticle solution, which helps correct cornea-related vision problems. Simona Shemer, NoCamels

The Air India Boeing Dreamliner arrives at Ben Gurion airport in Israel after its historic flight over Saudi Arabia.

Photograph: Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images

Dr Jonathan Schanzer, in an event where Friends of Israel WA joined with Jewish National Fund WA and Australian Israel Jewish Affairs Council, addressed a packed house at the Carmel School in Perth on 8 February. A distinguished author and analyst,

Dr Schanzer provided the meeting with a fascinating world scenario as it affects Israel.

Local News

Phil Samuell, Dr Jonathan Schanzer, Kevin Campbell and Ian Klevansky.

Volume 29 – Autumn 2018

Arab-sector ‘Heart Guardians’ tackle local health issueTwenty-five women from Jerusalem Arab neighbourhoods have taken a pilot course at Hadassah Medical Centre to design, fund and launch community health initiatives.

A pilot program aimed at improving cardiac health in Jerusalem’s Arab population recently trained its first cadre of volunteer “Heart Guardians” to create community health initiatives.

The 25 women who were granted certificates from Hadassah Medical Organisation’s Linda Joy Pollin Cardiovascular Wellness Centre for Women at Hadassah Medical Centre’s Ein Karem campus are all homemakers. They were chosen for their potential leadership qualities from among dozens of women who signed up for free Hadassah-sponsored health courses offered in two community centres.

“What we learned in conducting these courses,” said Pollin Centre Director Dr Donna Zfat-Zwas, “is that these women know what they need to do to be healthy, but they don’t know how to translate this knowledge into their own daily reality. Empowerment must be the first factor in getting women to take care of themselves.”

Free of charge, the women took a 22-week course on the prevention of diabetes, which is becoming more prevalent in Jerusalem’s Arab population and raises the risk of heart disease. Then they learned how to design, fund and implement health projects in their own neighbourhoods.

Several of the women started a health awareness program in boys’ schools in Jerusalem’s Old City and in the neighbourhoods of Shuafat and Sur Baher. Classes competed with each other to choose healthier alternatives such as water instead of sweetened drinks; healthy breakfasts; and fruits and vegetables for their school snack. The women also convinced Old City kiosk owners to add more healthy options to the snacks they sell near the schools.

Another project encouraged women to walk on a regular basis. They had to overcome their husbands’ objection to their going out alone – a cultural taboo in the Muslim community – and find a safe environment for their walks. They published a brochure about how walking can reduce diabetes and heart disease, and created walking paths within their neighbourhood and in the field of a local community centre. Twenty women are now participating regularly.

“We are so impressed with the creativity and resourcefulness of these leaders. At our first meetings they were too shy to stand up and speak,” said Zfat-Zwas. “Now, with new tools in community organisation, they are already having such a positive impact on their communities and themselves.” Abigail Klein Leichman

THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE INITIATES UNIQUE BIO-FRIENDLY PEST CONTROL PROJECT

The effect of the project should be the minimisation of the extensive damage typically caused by the fruit fly, but without the need to spray an estimated 33,000 litres of chemical pesticides

Thirty-three million sterile male flies were dropped from airplanes onto orchards and crops in southern Israel as part of a unique project to combat agricultural pests. The neutered males will associate with the harmful female Mediterranean fruit fly, thus preventing the creation of a next generation.

This bio-friendly method not only protects the environment and the people living in the surrounding communities, but also brings us one step closer to a standard of chemical free-food. Ministry of Agriculture

The sterile flies are part of a series of beneficial insects being cultivated by Bio-Bee. Photo Bio-Bee Biological Systems

Heart Guardians graduates.


Yohai Ben-Nun was born in Haifa and raised in Jerusalem. His parents were members of the First Aliyah. He joined the Palmach in 1941 and in 1944, he joined the Pal-Yam, the sea corps of the Palmach. In a covert operation in 1945, he sank two British Royal Navy ships.

At the outbreak of the war he founded the Israeli naval commando unit. He commanded a force which sank the

Egyptian Navy flagship, the Emir Farouk, for which he was awarded the Hero of Israel decoration.

Ben-Nun volunteered for an extremely risky mission; he was to ride an explosive boat and aim it at the Egyptian sloop. It had been decided that it would be guided by a volunteer sitting astride it, the volunteer would jump off at the very last moment – just 50-100 metres from the target.

Avraham Avigdorov was born in 1929 in Mitzpa, a moshava near Tiberias. He joined the Palmach in July 1947 and was assigned to the Yiftach Brigade. On 18 March 1948, he was part of an ambush of an Arab weapons convoy in the Kiryat Motzkin area.

Avigdorov killed two Bren machine gunners defending the convoy and turned the tide of the battle in the

Palmach’s favour. The vehicle he damaged exploded, seriously injuring Avigdorov.

He was placed in the morgue in Haifa after being proclaimed dead by a local doctor. He was taken out after showing signs of life and stayed in a hospital with burns and a broken jaw until 1949. In that year he was operated on by South American plastic surgeons and released. He was awarded the Hero of Israel decoration

Ruth Westheimer, better known as Dr Ruth, was born in Germany, became famous as a sex therapist, media personality, actress, voice actress and author.

Following World War II Ruth emigrated to Palestine. She joined the Haganah in Jerusalem.

Because of her diminutive height of 4ft 7in (1.40m), she was trained as a scout and sniper. Westheimer was seriously wounded in action by an exploding shell during the Israeli War of Independence in 1948, and it was several months before she was able to walk again.

Arieh Atzmoni was born Leib Markowicz in Uzhhorod (then in Czechoslovakia, now in Ukraine). During World War II, when he was 13, he left his parents’ home and lived alone in Budapest, during the Holocaust.

Later, he was taken to a labour camp in Yugoslavia and worked in copper mining until he was liberated by local partisans. He joined them in fighting the Germans until his immigration to Palestine in 1944 at age 18.

He joined the Golani Brigade and was company sergeant during the War of Independence.

During the battle for the cemetery in Rafah a stalled car loaded with ammunition was blocking the cannon position.

Under heavy fire from the enemy, the car was in danger of exploding. Atzmoni jumped into the car, started it and drove it to the rear, allowing the anti-tank cannon to destroy nine enemy tanks. He received a commendation from the brigade commander and was awarded the Hero of Israel decoration. Wikipedia

HEROES OF THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE

They took up arms for Israel on the doomed Gush Etzion frontAmong the many women who fought, twenty-two paid with their lives, yet remained outside the collective memory.

On the afternoon of 13 May 1948, the fighters of Kfar Etzion raised a white flag to Jordan’s Arab Legion. They didnt know that within hours Israel’s independence would be declared in Tel Aviv.

They had defended the village Kfar Etzion near Jerusalem for weeks. But shortly after they surrendered, their fate was sealed – Jordanian legionnaires and Arab irregulars massacred all but three of them.

The fallen fighters included 22 women, most of them in their 20s, who fought alongside the men as equals. While the heroic story of Kfar Etzion is etched in the Israeli collective memory, the story of the women who fell has been marginalised. Haaretz

Naomi Orev, a veteran of the War of Independence on the Gush Etzion front.


Following in his grandfather’s footsteps70 years after his grandfather fought in Latrun, Major Itamar is following in his footsteps as commander of Israel’s 7th Armoured Brigade’s Reconnaissance Company. Major Itamar was inspired by his grandfather’s story to join the same brigade in which his grandfather fought in 1948.

“My grandfather, Yitzhak (Itak) Rogovin, was born in Haradok, Belarus. During World War II, he escaped from the ghetto into the forests and joined the partisans’ regiment.

“For four years he fought in the forests, blowing up more than forty German railroad cars inside enemy territory. He was honoured for his heroism with the Order of the Red Star.”

Shortly after the war, his grandfather decided to move to Israel. Upon his arrival, he was drafted into the 7th Armoured Brigade’s 79th Battalion.

“Grandpa fought in Latrun in 1948 and in several battles to liberate the Galilee,” said Major Itamar.

Major Itamar started his military service in the 7th Brigade before commanding several other brigades during Operation Cast Lead and Operation Protective Edge.

Eventually, he returned to the 7th Armoured Brigade as commander of the Reconnaissance Company where he has served for the past year and half.

Although 70 years have passed since Major Itamar’s grandfather fought for Israel’s independence, he continues to fight for Israel’s freedom.

Major Itamar said, “I am very proud to be a fighter and commander in the 7th Armoured Brigade, 70 years after my grandfather.”

Major Itamar believes many soldiers can relate to his grandfather’s courage and resilience.

“I asked my grandfather where the strength came from for him to move to Israel and join another war. I remember his modest smile and the explanation that now the war is different, it is about the freedom of our country.” IDF

HEROES OF THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE

BULGARIAN PRESIDENT RUMEN RADEV SAID THAT ISRAEL’S BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESS “COULD BE BENEFICIAL TO MANY OTHER COUNTRIES”Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has praised Israel as “an example of a model state,” saying that Israel and Bulgaria, which currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), “now enjoy better relations than ever.”

“We see this in the hi-tech sector and the military. This model of keeping the citizens engaged, giving them the feeling that everyone has a part of the country’s future, this is the strength of your model and I think it could be beneficial to many other countries.” Stand With Us

Major Itamar Yitzak Rogovin


ISRAEL’S 70TH ANNIVERSARYDeclaration of

Israel’s Independence 1948Tel Aviv, 14 May 1948 (5th of Iyar, 5708)

The land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and national identity was formed. Here they achieved independence and created a culture of national and universal significance. Here they wrote and gave the Bible to the world.

Exiled from Palestine, the Jewish people remained faithful to it in all the countries of their dispersion, never ceasing to pray and hope for their return and the restoration of their national freedom.

Impelled by this historic association, Jews strove throughout the centuries to go back to the land of their fathers and regain their statehood. In recent decades they returned in masses. They reclaimed the wilderness, revived their language, built cities and villages and established a vigorous and ever-growing community with its own economic and cultural life. They sought peace yet were ever prepared to defend themselves. They brought the blessing of progress to all inhabitants of the country.

In the year 1897 the First Zionist Congress, inspired by Theodor Herzl’s vision of the Jewish State, proclaimed the right of the Jewish people to national revival in their own country.

This right was acknowledged by the Balfour Declaration of 2 November 1917, and re-affirmed by the Mandate of the League of Nations, which gave explicit international recognition to the historic connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and their right to reconstitute their National Home.

The Nazi Holocaust, which engulfed millions of Jews in Europe, proved anew the urgency of the re-establishment of the Jewish state, which would solve the problem of Jewish homelessness by opening the gates to all Jews and lifting the Jewish people to equality in in the family of nations.

The survivors of the European catastrophe, as well as Jews from other lands, proclaiming their right to a life of dignity, freedom and labour, and undeterred by hazards, hardships and obstacles, have tried unceasingly to enter Palestine.

1948 State of Israel proclaimed

On 14 May 1948, in Tel Aviv, Jewish Agency Chairman David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the State of Israel, establishing the first Jewish state in 2,000 years. In an afternoon ceremony at the Tel Aviv Art Museum, Ben-Gurion pronounced the words “We hereby proclaim the establishment of the Jewish state in Palestine, to be called Israel,” prompting applause and tears from the crowd gathered at the museum. Ben-Gurion became Israel’s first premier.

In the distance, the rumble of guns could be heard from fighting that broke out between Jews and Arabs immediately following the British army withdrawal earlier that day. Egypt launched an air assault against Israel that evening. Despite a blackout in Tel Aviv – and the expected Arab invasion – Jews joyously celebrated the birth of their new nation, especially after word was received that the United States had recognised the Jewish state. At midnight, the State of Israel officially came into being upon termination of the British mandate in Palestine.

The Palestinian Arabs, aided by volunteers from other countries, fought the Zionist forces, but by 14 May 1948, the Israelis had secured full control of their UN-allocated share of Palestine and also some Arab territory. On 14 May, Britain withdrew with the expiration of its mandate, and the State of Israel was proclaimed. The next day, forces from Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq invaded.

The Israelis, though less well equipped, managed to fight off the Arabs and then seize key territory, such as Galilee, the Palestinian coast, and a strip of territory connecting the coastal region to the western section of Jerusalem. History

Proclamation of Nationhood is read by Israel’s Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion. Photo Getty Images


ISRAEL’S 70TH ANNIVERSARYIn the Second World War the Jewish people in Palestine made a full contribution in the struggle of the freedom-loving nations against the Nazi evil. The sacrifices of their soldiers and the efforts of their workers gained them title to rank with the peoples who founded the United Nations.

On 29 November 1947, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution for the establishment of an independent Jewish State in Palestine, and called upon the inhabitants of the country to take such steps as may be necessary on their part to put the plan into effect.

This recognition by the United Nations of the right of the Jewish people to establish their independent State may not be revoked. It is, moreover, the self-evident right of the Jewish people to be a nation, as all other nations, in its own sovereign State.

ACCORDINGLY, WE, the members of the National Council, representing the Jewish people in Palestine and the Zionist movement of the world, met together in solemn assembly today, the day of the termination of the British mandate for Palestine, by virtue of the natural and historic right of the Jewish and of the Resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations,

HEREBY PROCLAIM the establishment of the Jewish State in Palestine, to be called ISRAEL.

WE HEREBY DECLARE that as from the termination of the Mandate at midnight, this night of the 14th and 15th May, 1948, and until the setting up of the duly elected bodies of the State in accordance with a Constitution, to be drawn up by a Constituent Assembly not later than the first day of October, 1948, the present National Council shall act as the provisional administration, shall constitute the Provisional Government of the State of Israel.

THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be open to the immigration of Jews from all countries of their dispersion; will promote the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; will be based on the precepts of liberty, justice and peace taught by the Hebrew Prophets; will uphold the full social and political equality of all its citizens, without distinction of race, creed or sex; will guarantee full freedom of conscience, worship, education and culture; will safeguard the sanctity and inviolability of the shrines and Holy Places of all religions; and will dedicate itself to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be ready to cooperate with the organs and representatives of the United Nations in the implementation of the Resolution of the Assembly of 29 November 29 1947, and will take steps to bring about the Economic Union over the whole of Palestine.

We appeal to the United Nations to assist the Jewish people in the building of its State and to admit Israel into the family of nations.

In the midst of wanton aggression, we yet call upon the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to return to the ways of peace and play their part in the development of the State, with full and equal citizenship and due representation in its bodies and institutions – provisional or permanent.

We offer peace and unity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all.

Our call goes out the Jewish people all over the world to rally to our side in the task of immigration and development and to stand by us in the great struggle for the fulfilment of the dream of generations – the redemption of Israel.

With trust in Almighty God, we set our hand to this Declaration, at this Session of the Provisional State Council, in the city of Tel Aviv, on this Sabbath eve, the fifth of Iyar, 5708, the fourteenth day of May, 1948.

David Ben-Gurion

Daniel Auster Mordekhai Bentov Yitzchak Ben Zvi

Eliyahu Berligne Fritz Bernstein Rabbi Wolf Gold

Meir Grabovsky Yitzchak Gruenbaum

Dr Abraham Granovsky Eliyahu Doblin

Meir Wilner-Kovner Zerach Wahrhaftig

Herzl Vardi Rachel Cohen

Rabbi Kalman Kahana Saadia Kobashi

Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Levin Meir David Loewenstein

Zvi Luria Golda Myerson Nachum Nir

Zvi Segal Rabbi Yehuda Leib Hacohen Fishman

David Zvi Pinkas Aharon Zisling Moshe Kolodny

Eliezer Kaplan Abraham Katznelson

Felix Rosenblueth David Remez Berl Repetur

Mordekhai Shattner Ben Zion Sternberg

Bekhor Shitreet Moshe Shapira Moshe Shertok


Israel confirms it carried out 2007 airstrike on Syrian nuclear reactor

Israel’s military has gone public for the first time to confirm a 2007 airstrike on a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor, announcing details of a night-time attack its intelligence minister said provides a clear warning to Iran.

In a secret operation that has been extensively speculated on for a decade, Israel said it sent four F-16 fighters hundreds of miles into Syria on 6 September 2007, to bomb the partially completed al-Kubar facility near Deir ez-Zor.

Previously-classified footage, images and intelligence documents on the plan showed how Israel had monitored the site for several years and feared it could become operational within months.

One report, dated 30 March 2007, said: “Syria has set up, within its territory, a nuclear reactor for the production of plutonium, through North Korea, which according to an (initial) worst-case assessment is liable to be activated in approximately another year.”

The military said that following the four-hour operation, the reactor “had been totally disabled”, and the damage done “was irreversible”.

Black and white aerial images showed a box-like construction close to the Euphrates River in the desert, while video showed the structure exploding in a cloud of smoke following a countdown by a male voice.

The move to go public with the strike, which has already been widely reported and cited to US officials, comes amid repeated warnings by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for the United States and others to take more robust action on Syria’s ally, Iran.

Netanyahu shares Donald Trump’s view that world powers need to scrap or rewrite the 2015 accord with Tehran that curbs its nuclear ambitions, as he believes it to be ineffective.

Israel’s intelligence minister, Yisrael Katz, made a direct warning to Iran in a tweet, saying the raid provided a clear message that Israel would not allow “nuclear weapons to countries like Iran who threaten its existence.” Oliver Holmes

Reactor building of the al-Kibar facility in Deir al-Zour province, Syria. Photograph IDF/EPA

Terror Tunnel exposure and destructionPrime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Avigdor Liberman have lauded new Israeli tech that enabled the discovery and demolition of a Hamas tunnel crossing from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

“We are developing breakthrough technology to deal with the tunnel threat.” Netanyahu told a Likud faction meeting shortly after a controlled explosion rocked the Gaza border area. “Today, we discovered and demolished it and we will continue to do so. We hold Hamas responsible for any violation of our sovereignty emanating from areas under its control and by persons subject to its authority.”

Liberman, too, said that IDF success in locating and destroying the tunnel was “the result of impressive opera-tional capabilities, as well as a significant technological breakthrough, which allows us to best deal with the tunnel threat.”

He added: “The message is clear to all – we will not tolerate the violation of Israeli sovereignty, and I’m emphasising the fact that the controlled explosion happened on our side of the border. This was a blatant violation of sovereignty, and any other norms practiced between companies, countries and organisations which respect themselves. This is proof that, despite the Palestinian reconciliation, that the Gaza strip remains a ‘kingdom of terror,’ and as far as we are concerned, Hamas, which controls Gaza, is responsible.”

Education Minister Naftali Bennett, a member of the Security Cabinet who was highly critical of Israel’s preparedness to deal with the tunnel threat before the onset of the 2014 Gaza war, added: “The IDF has learned from Operation Protective Edge and is using its intelligence, technology, engineering and operational abilities to apprehend such attempts and ensure the security of those living near Gaza.”

Engineers are currently at work on a NIS 3 billion Gaza border fence that runs above and below ground and includes an underground concrete barrier armed with cameras and sensors due for completion by early 2019. It is unclear whether the tunnel most recently blown up was exposed during works on the barrier. United Israel Appeal

IDF equipment in a Gaza terror tunnel.


ABC’s Sophie McNeill selectively cuts Ahed Tamimi videoOn 20 February, Australia’s 7.30 current affairs program on national broadcaster ABC included a ten-minute segment on the Ahed Tamimi case.

In the report, it appears that video footage of Tamimi has been deliberately cut mid-sentence to alter the impression that Tamimi was inciting violence – a key allegation in her trial.

Regarding the report in general, while there is some comment from the Israeli side courtesy Deputy Minister Michael Oren and NGO Monitor’s Maurice Hirsch, the bulk of it is sympathetic towards Tamimi and her family.

Not surprising given that the segment was put together by Sophie McNeill, who has a history of advocacy journalism and vilifying Israel. McNeill recently came under the spotlight after Australian Labor MP, Michael Danby, took out two half-page ads criticising McNeill and ABC’s anti-Israel bias.

After all of the publicity, one would think that McNeill would err on the side of caution to avoid further charges of bias. Indeed, presumably to demonstrate a semblance of balance, the Tamimi segment notes the allegation that the Palestinian teenager had incited violence, a charge vehemently rejected by Tamimi’s lawyer, Gaby Lasky, who says:

“She is not saying people should act in that manner or bring stabbing people or making terrorist attacks. There are some people who want to read into the video what they want but that’s not what it says.”

There certainly are people who want to read into the video what they want and Sophie McNeill is one of them.

“Trump has declared the decision and they have to take responsibility for whatever our reaction is whether it’s stabbing attacks, or suicide attacks, or stone throwing.”

This would seem to add credence to Lasky’s statement. Except McNeill has deliberately stopped the footage mid-sentence, editing out the rest of Tamimi’s words (in full below) thus altering the meaning and interpretation of what Tamimi says. The actual monologue with the missing words:

“Trump has declared the decision and they have to take responsibility for whatever our reaction is whether it’s stabbing attacks, or suicide attacks, or stone throwing, everyone must do things so we can unite this way so we can get our message across in the required way, and get this result, that is the liberation of Palestine, Allah willing.”

It will be up to an Israeli military trial to judge whether or not Tamimi’s statements can be deemed to be a call to violence. That call isn’t for McNeill to make by selectively editing the Tamimi footage to suit her own biases. Honest Reporting

Note: Ahed Tamimi has been sentenced to 8 months in prison as part of a plea deal. The military prosecution dropped 8 of 12 charges that had been originally filed against her although the 17-year-old admitted to aggravated assault and incitement.

A warm welcome to Rabbi Lieberman as he takes up his new position with the Perth Hebrew Congregation. Rabbi Lieberman replaces much loved and respected Rabbi Freilich who is retiring after 30 years of amazing service to the community. We wish Rabbi Freilich a long and happy retirement with sincere thanks for his unstinting support as Patron of FOIWA. We hope he will agree to continue in that role for many years to come.

The Friends of Israel WA committee has had the good fortune to receive special guests at two recent meetings. Anat Sultan-Dadon, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Israel, and the “Green Prince” Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of Hamas founder, Sheik Yousef.

Anat has had a varied and interesting career as a diplomat and Mosab spent 10 years living under Hamas as a Shin Bet operative. He was instrumental in saving hundreds of Israeli lives. He now lives in the United States having been granted refugee status.

World-renowned, Professor Alan Dershowitz was in Perth on 1 March to address an UIA Campaign launch. Author of many books including the well-known The Case for Israel, Dershowitz was a passionate and outspoken defender of Israel. Those FOIWA members who attended were loud in their praise of an outstanding speaker.

Local News


WHAT COExISTENCE LOOkS LIkE IN ISRAELA crowd of 18,000 at the AIPAC Policy Conference sees the reality behind the headlines taking place every day in Israeli streets, hospitals and groves.

Coexistence is not a vague concept for Saleem Sharif, a visually impaired young adult paired with a companion from the Israel Guide Dog Centre.

Sharif described how learning to work with his service dog, Winston, so completely changed his perception of Jewish Israelis that now he wants to be an ambassador of peace “and speak to people about Muslims and Jews living together without hate.”

Coexistence isn’t just an empty slogan for Israeli Arabs like Nasser, a young cancer patient whose days are brightened by a medical clown. It’s about the connections forged by one hand reaching out to another even in difficult times and circumstances.

“He is like a big brother to me,” said Nasser about David “Dush” Barashi, one of the 100 Dream Doctors – professional therapeutic clowns – working alongside the medical teams of 29 Israeli hospitals with measurable results in patient outcomes.

Nasser’s testimony, and Barashi’s caring work in Israel and at disaster areas across the world, was watched by more than 18,000 attendees at the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, DC, in March.

As Hadassah paediatrician Dr Uri Ilan said in introducing the Dream Doctors, “In Israeli hospitals, worlds collide. Arab doctors treat Jewish patients. Jewish doctors treat Arab patients. A victim of a terror attack is treated down the hall from the attacker. But even with all the complications, Israeli hospitals are a place of hope and innovation.” Abigail Klein Leichman

“I had faith in Israel before it was established, I have in it now. I believe it has a glorious future before it – not just another sovereign nation, but as an embodiment of the great ideals of our civilisation.” Harry S. Truman

ISRAEL THANkS US FOR ‘RECORD-BREAkING’ MISSILE DEFENCE AIDIsrael’s Defence Minister has thanked the United States for including a “record-breaking” $705 million to aid the country’s missile defence in the spending bill recently passed by Congress.

Avigdor Lieberman said that the aid will be used for the development of Israel’s multi-layered system, which is designed to shoot down short-range rockets from Gaza and Lebanon and counter long-range threats like that posed by Iran.

The US provides $3.1 billion in military aid to Israel each year under a 10-year security arrangement. The $705 million is a separate allocation, and is up from the $600 million provided for missile defence last year.

US President Donald Trump signed a $1.3 trillion spending bill that provides billions in new funding for the military and national security. Associated Press

Arab-Israeli citizen Saleem Sharif with his guide dog, Winston.

Dream Doctors onstage at the 2018 AIPAC Policy Conference.


On the border: Syrians come to Israel for medical treatment4,000 people have crossed the frontier for free care since 2013.

We waited on the Israeli-Syrian border surrounded by minefields, with only the stars in the early morning sky as light. Suddenly lights appeared on the Syrian side, and they kept coming closer.

“Habibi!” cried a voice in the darkness. “Habibi!” the Israeli soldier next to us responded, as other IDF troops opened the gate to the enemy country.

On the other side stood some 50 Syrians – 23 children and their mothers – waiting to cross into Israel and receive free medical care as part of Israel’s Operation Good Neighbour.

Slowly they emerged. Mothers carrying their children who were unable to walk, other children bundled up in their winter clothes holding their mothers hands tightly as they crossed into Israel.

Many of the children who entered Israel on that cold dark winter’s night were children too young to speak, but 14-year-old Jumani waved us over, eager to share his story.

Jumani explained through a translator that he had been hit by a car six years earlier and was suffering from a ruptured tendon in his leg, an injury that recently had been causing him excruciating pain because he had never received proper medical treatment.

“I was not afraid to come to Israel – and when I entered and saw the soldiers with their guns I was not afraid either,” he said with a large smile on his face.

“Everyone who comes here only has good things to say about the treatment they receive,” said Jumani’s mother, who refused to be identified due the risks she and her family face if it is found out that she came to Israel.

Another Syrian mother echoed her comments, saying that she had heard from her neighbours that Israel was helping sick children. Originally from the Yarmouk area in the Syrian capital of Damascus, she fled with her nine children to southern Syria to get away from the fighting.

“It is my first time in Israel,” she said, explaining that she asked for permission for her son, who suffers from problems in his joints, to be seen by Israeli physicians. “All I want is for my son to get the right treatment.”

“I used to see Israel as an occupying power,” she said as we waited for a doctor to call her son’s name. “But not anymore – my whole opinion of Israel has changed.”

One Syrian doctor who accompanied the sick kids and their mothers to the hospital in Nahariya said that he has been doing this for the past eight months.

“I was first approached by another doctor in Syria to take part in this project, and initially I said no. It wasn’t because of politics, it’s just that I had no time,” he said, adding that it took some convincing but in the end he does not regret the decision he made. “I was afraid at first to come into Israel,” he said. “It was different, and it was scary because of what I learned about this country as I was growing up. But not anymore.”

“A lot of doctors are afraid to join because of the risks of being found out. But my name is already out there, people know what I am doing. I am stuck between helping these children and losing my own life. But I will continue to help.” Anna Ahronheim

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Israeli medic with sick Syrian baby. Photo IDF


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