Defense Ministry backs away from comparing Iran deal to Munich pact
Israel’s Defense Ministry offered a quasi-apology for comparing the Iran nuclear deal to the 1938 Munich Agreement.
On Aug. 8, saying the media misinterpreted the original statement made on Aug. 5, the Defense Ministry said the reference to the Munich pact — a failed bid by European powers to appease Nazi Germany —“was not intended to make a direct comparison, either historically or personally. We are sorry if it was understood otherwise.”
The new statement added, however: “Israel remains deeply worried that even after the nuclear agreement with Iran, the Iranian leadership continues to declare that its central goal is the destruction of the State of Israel, and continues to threaten Israel’s existence in words and deeds.”
Israeli news reports last weekend said the Prime Minister’s Office ordered the new statement after being blindsided by the Defense Ministry’s Aug. 5 statement, which was a response to President Barack Obama’s defense of the Iran deal the previous day.
The Defense Ministry’s statement said: “The Munich Agreement didn’t prevent the Second World War and the Holocaust precisely because its basis, according to which Nazi Germany could be a partner for some sort of agreement, was flawed, and because the leaders of the world then ignored the explicit statements of Hitler and the rest of Nazi Germany’s leaders. These things are also true about Iran, which also clearly states openly that its aim is to destroy the State of Israel.” — jta
Trump adviser reportedly meets senior officials in Jerusalem
David Friedman, an adviser to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, visited Jerusalem and met with senior officials from the Prime Minister’s Office, according to a report in Haaretz.
A senior government official told the newspaper that Friedman had sought the meeting and that to maintain balance, an adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had traveled to the United States for meetings with advisers to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
Friedman, a Jewish lawyer who has represented Trump in bankruptcy matters, also reportedly met with members of the Israeli branch of Republicans Overseas, during which he was given an overview of the group’s plan to get Americans living in Israel to vote for Trump in November.
The senior official said that Friedman’s meeting with Netanyahu’s advisers concerned diplomatic and security matters and that he was presented with Israel’s positions on various issues. — jta
Palestinian couple lose jobs after aiding Jewish terror victims
A Palestinian husband and wife who helped a Jewish family following a deadly terrorist attack on their car are looking for work in Israel after being fired for assisting Jews.
Yochai Damari, the head of the Har Hebron Regional Council, in a Facebook post Aug. 7 called on the Defense Ministry to procure work permits in Israel for the couple, who are medical professionals. Damari said he sent a letter to Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman requesting the permits.
Following the July 1 drive-by shooting on the Mark family in the West Bank, the couple pulled the teenage children and their mother from the car and gave them emergency treatment until ambulances arrived and took them to the hospital. They continued to help the family and protect them from Palestinian passers-by who threatened them and called on the couple to stop assisting them, Damari said.
Damari said he met with the couple, who asked him for help in obtaining work in Israel. “I am aware of the difficulties, but I think that in cases like this it is our obligation as the Jewish nation to show our thanks to people who behave as upstanding people and act in a way expected of them in situations like this,” he said.
Rabbi Miki Mark, a father of 10, was killed in the terror attack near Hebron. A car with Palestinian license plates overtook the Marks’ vehicle and opened fire with automatic weapons, causing the car to flip over. His wife, Chava, was seriously injured and had major brain surgery last week. — jta
Second aid worker in Gaza indicted for assisting Hamas
A United Nations humanitarian aid worker in Gaza used his position to provide material assistance to the terrorist efforts of Hamas, Israel’s Shin Bet security service said.
Waheed Borsh, 38, was indicted in a Beersheva court on Aug. 9. It is the second indictment of a Gaza Palestinian aid worker accused of assisting Hamas in the last week.
Borsh was arrested on July 16 by the Shin Bet and the Israel Police, the Shin Bet said in a statement. The statement said Borsh confessed to carrying out activities that aided Hamas.
Borsh, from Jabaliya in the Gaza Strip, has worked for the United Nations Development Programme as an engineer in Gaza since 2003. His areas of responsibility include demolishing houses damaged during armed conflicts and clearing the rubble from sites after demolition.
The UNDP, one of the world’s largest multilateral development agencies, conducts development and rehabilitation projects for the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip.
The Shin Bet’s investigation of Borsh found that a senior member of Hamas had instructed him to redirect his work for UNDP to serve Hamas’ military interests. In one such activity last year, he helped build a military jetty in the northern Gaza Strip for Hamas naval forces using UNDP resources, the Shin Bet said. Borsh also persuaded UNDP managers to prioritize the rehabilitation of housing in areas populated by Hamas members in response to a request by Hamas.
Last week, the Shin Bet announced the arrest of Mohammed El-Halabi, 32, director of the Gaza branch of the international humanitarian aid organization World Vision, on charges that he funneled tens of millions of dollars from the charity to Hamas. — jta