Habayit Hayehudi Chairman, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, on Tuesday morning told Israel time Israel should take advantage of the elections season in the US to impose Israeli law on Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria such as Ariel, Maale Adumim, Gush Etzion and Ofra.

“It’s time to take an active step instead of constantly being on the defensive,” Bennett said.

When told that while President Trump would probably endorse such a move, President Clinton would likely reject it, Bennet said, “We can’t expect the world to be more Zionist than we are. We must be the ones initiating the action.”

Responding to a question about the world’s reaction to such a move, Bennett noted that Labor Prime Minister Levy Eshkol did not cower before world opinion when he unified Jerusalem in 1967, nor did Likud Prime Minsiter Menahem Begin when he passed the law making the Golan Heights part of Israel.

“I’m not suggesting it would be easy,” Bennett said, “but we need to do that which is proper for us. We must chart our vision and we must start working to apply it.”

Bennett admitted that his party’s line is in conflict with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s call at the UN for making the Two State Solution a reality. “Creating a Palestinian State along the 1967 border, with some swapping of territories, would be a horrendous mistake,” he said. “Currently we only have eight seats in the Knesset. When we have 30 seats we’ll be able to apply our entire agenda on this matter.”

When asked if he didn’t think it was time to end the cycle of violence once and for all, Bennett suggested that so far violence has been the result of Israel handing over territory, and not from annexing territories. “When we handed over the Gaza Strip we got rockets; when we handed over Judea and Samaria we got the second intifada.”

“The rules in the Middle East are sometimes counterintuitive,” Bennett said. “To maintain peace here, we must be very strong. As soon a you’re too soft in this neighborhood, you catch a blow. When everyone around understands that we are determined not to hand over even one square inch, the appreciation for our position would only grow, and we’ll see fewer conflicts and confrontations. They’ll accept it.”

Regarding the issue of the Amona community, which the Supreme Court has ruled must be evacuated and demolished by early December, Bennett said, “We’re working on it. Yesterday we launched a team of several judicial experts to examine several proposed alternatives, not just regarding Amona but concerning a long line of settlements in Judea and Samaria.”

“The Supreme Court must obey the law and must follow government policy,” Bennett said, explaining that “in recent years, before Ayelet Shaked (Habayit Hayehudi) became Justice Minister, and before we were part of the government, unfortunately governments have gone to the Supreme Court and stated, ‘Of course, we must demolish.’ And so the high court responded, saying, ‘Do go ahead and demolish.’ They asked for extensions, but eventually the time expires. The high court very much relates to government policy. And we must turn this policy by 180 degrees, which we will do.”

Reminded that the AG Avihai Mandelblit is on the record as saying the proposed “Arrangement bill” to compel Arab claimants who can prove ownership over Jewish land to accept market value compensation, Bennett said, “Maybe that’s what he’s saying, and he is an advisor (the AG is also the government’s legal counsel). When I was a hi-tech CEO I had legal counselors, but I made the final decisions. The government rules, the legal counselor gives legal advice. Usually we prefer to accept their positions, but on occasion we don’t. Otherwise, the legal counselor becomes prime minister, which isn’t what the citizens of this country want.”

“Otherwise, why waste our time having elections, let the legal counselors run the country,” Bennett concluded.

Voting for the parliamentary elections in Jordan started across the Kingdom at 7 AM Tuesday and will continue until 7 PM, with a total of 490,240 Jordanians having voted by noon, Jordan Times reported. The number of eligible voters stands at 4,130,145, according to the Independent Election Commission (IEC).

The Jordanian elections were announced after parliament was dissolved by King Abdullah II on May 29, with the King appointing Hani Al-Mulki as interim Prime Minister following the resignation of Abdullah Ensour.

These elections are the first since 1989 to be held primarily under a form of proportional representation, following electoral reforms announced in 2015. Earlier elections were held under the “one-man one-vote” system, designed to curb the power of Islamic political parties after they obtained 22 seats out of 80 in 1989. The Tuesday vote is monitored by dozens of international observers. The 2015 reforms have led to opposition parties agreeing to participate in this election, including the Islamic Action Front, which boycotted multiple previous elections. According to reports, in order to reduce the IAF influence in these elections the Jordanian government has fomented splits in the Muslim Brotherhood, complete with the seizure of Muslim Brotherhood properties and the defection of hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood figures to form a new, supposedly more moderate party.

The elected lower house of Jordan’s parliament is constrained by an upper house of equal legislative responsibility whose members are chosen by the King. While the lower house can initiate legislation, it must then be approved by the senate and the King. If the King returns the law unapproved, it must gain approval from two-thirds of both the house and the senate to go into effect. The King appoints a Prime Minister and Cabinet from the lower house, but he is not required to consult parliament on his choice or choose the leader of the largest party for PM. Cabinet reshuffling by the King within a single parliament are frequent, used to reward loyal MPs and to counter public dissent, as the King can shift blame for issues to the previous Cabinet. The King can dissolve parliament before the end of its term if he desires early elections, or suspend parliament entirely and rule by decree, which has been done twice in the 21st century, from 2001–2003 and 2009–2010.

Maj. Gen. Atef Saudi, Director of Jordan’s Public Security Department (PSD), said that no major security incidents were reported so far.

Have you made up your mind yet whom you would like to see in the White House? This programme brings you the first of two prominent American political commentators giving their conflicting views in frank conversation with Walter.

Also: Hear about the despicable behaviour of Yossi Beilin

And: Why the General wanted to be in command of Judea and Samaria

The Walter Bingham File 11Sept2016 – PODCAST

The Khan Younis Court dismissed several PLO candidates from the lists competing in the municipal elections in the southern Gaza Strip, Ma’an reported Thursday morning. The court’s decision came after several appeals had been filed against PLO lists in and around the cities of Khan Younis Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

Journalist Dov Lieber tweeted in the early AM: “Palestinian court postpones local elections set for October,” which he attributed to AFP. Apparently, the court in Ramallah has followed the disqualification of PLO candidates in Gaza by postponing the elections altogether.

The Gaza court decision wipes the PLO out of the competition in nine municipalities out of 25 in Gaza.

Dr. Fayez Abu Eita, a spokesman for the PLO, said the decision to drop his movement’s candidates from local lists was tantamount to a “massacre by the Hamas court.” He said the PLO was running “lists of the finest people, qualified specialists and professionals,” and so when Hamas realized they had no one of equal quality to run against them, they ordered their court to “drop them under false and fabricated pretexts” which were both “illogical and illegal.”

Abu Eita added: “They wanted to compete with themselves after the overthrow of these lists.”

Abu Eita called on the Central Election Commission to assume their responsibilities over what he described as the failure of the election process, stressing that all the appeals were illegitimate, intended solely to thwart any challenges to the Hamas candidates.

It is imperative for Brooklyn readers not only to vote in the upcoming primary elections but to get family, friends, and neighbors to do so as well. As we noted a couple of weeks ago, most of the individuals we’ve endorsed are being challenged by candidates politically beholden to Councilman Charles Barron, who is notorious for making grossly anti-Semitic comments and who has been condemned by no fewer than 12 independent communal groups.

We cannot stand by and allow his influence to grow. A small turnout is expected this coming Tuesday, September 13. Therefore, your votes could very well make the difference.

The candidates listed below are capable, bright, personable, and enthusiastic –and have shown they work well with the Jewish community and the many other ethnic and religious communities that comprise or will comprise their districts.

New York State Senate

Roxanne Persaud for the New York State Senate in the 19th Senatorial District, Brooklyn.

New York State Assembly

Pam Harris for the New York State Assembly 46th Assembly District, Brooklyn. 

Darlene Mealy for the New York State Assembly 55th Assembly District, Brooklyn.

Tremaine Wright for New York State Assembly 56th Assembly District, Brooklyn.

Jamie Williams for New York State Assembly 59th Assembly District, Brooklyn.

Alice Cancel for New York State Assembly 65th Assembly District, Manhattan. 

State Committeeman/Committeewoman/District Leader

Mark Treyger for State Committeeman/District Leader 46th Assembly District, Brooklyn.

Dilia Scach for State Committeewoman/District Leader 46th Assembly District, Brooklyn.

Charles Ragusa for State Committeeman/District Leader 47th Assembly District, Brooklyn.

Linda Minucci for State Committeewoman/District Leader 50th Assembly District, Brooklyn.

Darlene Mealy for State Committeewoman/District Leader 55th Assembly District, Brooklyn.

Olanike Alabi for State Committeewoman/District Leader 57th Assembly District, Brooklyn.

Sue Ann Partnow for State Committeewoman/District Leader 59th Assembly District, Brooklyn..

Civil Court Judge

Rachel (Ruchie) E. Freier for civil court in the 5th Municipal District in Brooklyn.

Connie M. Melendez for Kings County Civil Court, countywide in Brooklyn.

New York State Assembly

Pam Harris in the 46th AD, which encompasses portions of Sea Gate, Bay Ridge, Fort Hamilton, and Bath Beach in Brooklyn.

Alice Cancel in the 65th AD, which encompasses portions of the Lower East Side, Wall Street district, and Battery Park City in Manhattan.

Walter T. Mosley in the 57th AD, which encompasses portions of Crown Heights, Prospect Park, and Clinton Hill in Brooklyn. Mr. Mosley is also running for the district leader position in the same district.

New York State District Leader/State Committee Person

Darlene Mealy for New York State district leader in the 55th Assembly District, which encompasses portions of Crown Heights, Brownsville, and Ocean Hill in Brooklyn. She is also the City Councilmember for the 41st council district.

Civil Court Judge

Rachel (Ruchy) E. Freier for civil court in the 5th Municipal District in Brooklyn, which encompasses Boro Park, Bay Ridge, Fort Hamilton, Bensonhurst, Kensington, Sunset Park, and Flatbush.

Connie M. Melendez for Kings County Civil Court, countywide, encompassing all of Brooklyn.

The Arab World Institute for Research and Development (AWRAD) last week released an online experts poll on the October 8 municipal elections, with results that reflect a balance between Hamas and the PLO, with additional play for clan candidates and leftwing groups.

AWRAD presents itself as a pioneering research, consulting and development firm based in the Palestinian Authority. Its website claims AWRAD is one of the Arab region’s leading firms providing a full range of consulting and technical services for sustainable development and state building.

Below are the results of an online study conducted August 12-18 2016, among 205 experts in local government, each knowledgeable of political and social circumstances as they pertain to the upcoming local elections, October 8, 2016. The poll was completed through a representative sample of experts across all 16 districts of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip. Participants included journalists, community activists, businesspeople, university professors, political activists, local governance experts, as well as lawyers, medical doctors and engineers.

Less than a majority of respondents believe that the scheduled local elections are important; the rest believe that they are somewhat important or not important. Only 47% are confident the elections will be held as scheduled. Only 20% of respondents believing the elections will improve the prospects for national reconciliation. 59% believes that the decision of Hamas to participate is a positive development for overall local Arab interests, while 38% believe it is either negative or of no consequence.

A majority expects that the elections will be open and transparent, with only 20% expressing doubt.

The largest plurality of experts believes that the most important issue at stake in the October election is the regular practice of democratic processes. The second most important issue is delivery of services.

Party affiliation and familial allegiance are the two factors that experts believe will exert the greatest influence on voters. The experts think the “moral reputation” and “professional competence” of the candidate do not play as significant a role in their chances as to which family they belong.

Survey respondents predict an overall turnout rate of about 60 percent. They also anticipate a tight race between Fatah and Hamas in Judea and Samaria and in the Gaza Strip. The two parties will likely share about two-thirds of the seats with, the remainder split among independents and leftwing parties.

Following are the questions and responses as reported by AWRAD:

1. In your opinion, how important are local elections scheduled for October 8, 2016?

Important 48.4%
Somewhat Important 26.3%
Somewhat unimportant 14.2%
Not important 11.1%

2. Do you believe the elections will actually occur as scheduled?

Yes 47.4%
No 31.6%
Don’t know 21.1%

3. Do you believe that the planned local elections will improve the prospects to achieve reconciliation?

Yes 21.1%
No 46.3%
will not make a difference 30.5%
Don’t know 2.1%

4. On a local level, what is the most important issue at stake in the October elections?

Communal relations 4.2%
Delivery of services (water. sanitation, electricity, education, healthcare) 37.4%
Local policing and security 1.6%
Regular practice of democratic processes 46.3%
Don’t know 10.5%

5. In your opinion, is the decision by Hamas to participate in the elections a positive or negative development for overall Palestinian interests?

Positive 58.9%
Negative 8.4%
Of no consequence 30.0%
Don’t know, no opinion 2.6%

6. Which of the following factors will have the largest influence on voters in the local elections?

Family/tribal affiliation of candidates 36.8%
Party affiliation of candidates 37.4%
Moral reputation/ethics of candidates 11.6%
Professional competence of candidates 12.6%
Don’t know/NO answer 1.6%

7. Do you expect the elections to occur in an open and transparent manner?

Yes 64.7%
No 20.0%
Don’t know 15.3%

8. So far, what is your evaluation of the Central Election Commission in managing the local election?

Positive 69.5%
Negative 2.6%
Fair 19.5%
Don’t know 8.4%

9. As of today, what is your estimation of the voter turnout rate?

Average opinion: 60.0%

10. Based on your expert opinion, if you were to predict the distribution of seats among the following political parties in the October elections, what percentage of seats would you give to each in Judea and Samaria?

Independents/non-aligned with parties 19.4%
Fatah 34.4%
Hamas 32.7%
Other nationalists/leftists groups 9.1%
Other Islamist groups 4.4%