German bank closes account of pro-Iran, pro-Hezbollah supporters
Commerzbank, Germany’s second largest bank, has closed the account of the al-Quds day demonstration - which organizes annual marches in German cities calling for the destruction of Israel.
The bank “closed the account in September because of business conditions,” a spokesman told The Jerusalem Post by telephone on Tuesday.
The bank can drop an account “without providing reasons,” he said.
After the mass-circulation Berlin daily BZ published a piece by popular columnist Gunnar Schupelius in July titled, “Israel haters collect money through Commerzbank,” Israel’s embassy sent a letter of complaint to the bank.
The spokesman said the bank started the process to shut the account after the Schupelius column “drew attention” to the collection of funds for the al-Quds Day campaign.
Netanyahu Promises 'New Standard of Deterrence'
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu held an emergency security meeting at his office in Jerusalem on Tuesday night, after the wave of terror attacks in Jerusalem over the Rosh Hashanah holiday including massive riots on the Temple Mount and a lethal rock attack.Here is a photo of Al Aqsa "worshippers" with piles of rocks ready to throw towards Jews:
"We will fight through all means necessary against rock throwers, firebomb and pipe bomb throwers, and those who shoot fireworks to harm citizens and police officers," said Netanyahu.
"On the eve of the holiday it was again proven that rock throwing can kill," he added. "These activities will meet a very strong response of punishment and prevention. We will lead a systematic change and set a new standard of deterrence and prevention."
ISIS Knows How To Develop Chemical Weapons And Now Threatens America With 9-11 Style Attack In New Video
Recently, several media outlets reported that the Islamic State used chemical weapons in both Syria and Iraq. The use of chemical weapons by ISIS was first reported by Kurdish Peshmerga forces from Iraq in July.
On Sunday, the New York Times reported that the United States confirmed the use of mustard gas by ISIS in Iraq and Syria. A laboratory in the U.S. conducted tests on scraps of clothing from ISIS victims and found traces of sulfur mustard, a forbidden chemical weapon that causes burns in the skin, eyes and respiratory organs.
The BDS Wars: Some Signs of Success for the New Year
On university campuses, particularly in the US and Canada, while BDS won some symbolic votes, watchdog groups reported that overall, the impact of hate campaigns against Israel did not grow. In a number of cases, effective pro-Israel student groups including Stand With Us scored major successes in defeating the boycott calls. Students and faculty members who, in the past, stayed quiet or were too intimidated to speak out, have joined in condemning BDS. Some who are critical of specific Israeli government policies on settlements have come to realize that the BDS threat is much wider, and that its leaders seek to eliminate Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people.
Indeed, as diplomats and political leaders from the donor countries were confronted with evidence that the funds that they provide for promoting “peace” and “human rights” are used for demonization and hate, some of the frameworks were changed significantly. Under the “Partnership for Peace Program”, the European Union did not renew grants for NGOs that promote BDS and lawfare, including for violent activities, marking the most significant change in over 15 years. A number of European embassies in Israel also reduced or ended grants for anti-peace NGOs. While there are still tens of millions of Euros and Pounds and Krona going to BDS, the trend is down, for the first time.
Russia to Continue Military Support to Assad Government, Says Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin said his government would continue to deliver military assistance to the Syrian regime amid concerns over Moscow’s military buildup in the Middle Eastern country.
“We support the government of Syria in its effort to counter terrorist aggression,” Mr. Putin said Tuesday at a security summit in Dushanbe, the capital of the Central Asian republic of Tajikistan. “We provide and will continue to provide military assistance. We call on other countries to join with us,” he added.
Mr. Putin’s remarks come as U.S. officials sound the alarm over a more robust Russian military presence in Syria. They said the Russian military had deployed half a dozen tanks at an airfield outside the Syrian port city of Latakia over the weekend, a move Washington suspects may be a prelude to Moscow’s taking a direct combat role in propping up the embattled regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
McConnell plans hardball Israel, hostage votes on Iran deal
Mitch McConnell is looking for payback.
The Senate majority leader is preparing to challenge Democrats with proposals that would force Iran to recognize Israel as a state and release Americans held in Iran as the Senate minority continues to filibuster an effort to scuttle President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Tehran.
The Kentucky Republican wants political consequences for the 42 Senate Democrats who support the nuclear agreement and are rejecting McConnell’s attempts to pass a resolution disapproving of the Iran deal. And that retribution could come as soon as Thursday, when McConnell (R-Ky.) plans to force Democrats to take what the GOP views as a tough vote.
The Shady Family Behind America’s Iran Lobby
How one enterprising Iranian expat family and its allies successfully pushed for U.S.-Iran rapprochement—and now stands to make a fortune from sanctions relief.
When Women Commit Honor Killings
Female-on-female violence has been minimized because male-on-female violence is far more visible, dramatic, and epidemic. However, women sometimes kill infants, spouses, and adult strangers, including other women. Indeed, as this study shows, women play a very active role in honor-based femicide, both by spreading the gossip underlying such murders and by acting as conspirator-accomplices and/or hands-on-killers in the honor killing of female relatives.In the ‘shmita’ years, Jewish farmers can keep the produce coming—by sneaking into Jordan
As a group of ultra-Orthodox rabbis approaches the Israeli-Jordanian border, the knotted tassels of their Jewish prayer shawls are discreetly disappeared inside their trousers, out of sight. Jalabiyas, loose robes traditionally worn by Arabs, are swiftly whipped out of a bag and pulled over the shirt and trousers. Palestinian keffiyehs follow, carefully draped around the shoulders like a cape.
Suddenly, the rabbis no longer appear to be Jews, but rather Arab farmers. Guarded by Jordanian police, they are escorted through passport control toward an armed convoy of four-by-four jeeps with reflective windows. Within minutes, the disguised rabbis drive away, vanishing into a cloud of dust.
Far from prying eyes, at the Israeli-Jordanian border, this unusual kind of religious hocus-pocus has been taking place for the past 12 months. But the Jews would say it is the opposite of hocus-pocus—to them, it’s observing biblical laws to the letter. Enabled by agreements between private Israeli and Jordanian businesses, and sanctioned by the religious rabbinate, going to the Hashemite Kingdom enables deeply religious Jews to observe shmita—the year when farming land in Israel must not be cultivated by Jews— without losing a year of profit.
According to the Torah, every seventh year, the agricultural lands in Israel have to lie fallow. The latest shmita year began in September 2014 and ended this week. So, over the past 12 months, rabbis and kashrut supervisors have been traveling to Jordan on a weekly basis—to cultivate crops, and keep the profits coming, all while ensuring that religious laws are obeyed.
Do the Jewish holidays affect stock prices?
When it comes to investing in the stock market this time of year, investors sometimes pay attention to the Jewish calendar even if they profess another faith because Wall Street's conventional wisdom urges them to do so.How Putin’s Boldness on Syria Trumps the U.S.
Seasoned Wall Street pros call the adage "Sell on Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and buy on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).
Art Cashin, the director of floor operations at UBS, noted in a 2013 interview with The Wall Street Journal: "The thesis, I was told, was that you wished to be free (as much as possible) of the distraction of the worldly goods during a period of reflection and self-appraisal."
There is some statistical basis for this notion.
Vladimir Putin’s motives in expanding the Russian military footprint in Syria may, for now, be opaque. But this much is clear: Russia’s actions and boldness contrast sharply with the muddle that U.S. policy on the Middle East has become.
Whatever you think of the Russian president’s strategy, Mr. Putin is focused and knows his mind when it comes to what he regards as Russia’s interests–in this case, supporting embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian regime is weakening and isn’t much as an ally. But when it comes to Syria, Mr. Putin has got Iran in his corner, too. That’s more than Washington can say. Then there are these points:
The U.S. says it has three core objectives in the Syrian civil war: Check the rise of Islamic State; create a coherent opposition to ISIS and, eventually, to the Assad regime; and force the Syrian leader to accept some kind of political transition. None of these is being achieved right now, and the goals are at odds with each other. Furthermore, Washington has neither the motivation nor the capacity to accomplish these goals. Most of the Syrian opposition is focused not on checking ISIS but on getting rid of Mr. Assad. The U.S., however, is fearful of alienating Iran and empowering ISIS so won’t take on Mr. Assad, let alone take him out. And by not directly acting against the Syrian regime, Washington empowers Islamic State, whose extremists exploit anti-Assad grievances among Sunnis.
Side effects (David Zucker)
In tiny Israel, startups reach for global success
Israeli entrepreneurs, many seasoned from earlier booms, are increasingly ready to follow Mobileye's road map. The country has punched above its weight in tech for decades, with thousands of startups and 300 research-and-development centers for Apple, Google, Facebook and others. The country birthed Waze, a maps and navigation app that's now owned by Google; Given Imaging, which invented a pill-sized camera for gastrointestinal exams; and PrimeSense, which created technology that lets computers "see" in three dimensions and that was purchased by Apple.
Yet Israel has seen few homegrown companies go the distance to become long-standing leaders in their fields. Most founders sell early to competitors and avoid the risks of staying independent.
But that mentality is changing, many observers say, with entrepreneurs looking to build sustainable businesses that can grow into multinational corporations, rather than quickly selling out to one. This new strategy could result in Israel becoming the proud parent of more major tech companies and an even bigger influence on the tech world.