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Sunday, April 29, 2018

04/29 Link: After Hamas leader calls on crowd to become martyrs, hundreds surge Gaza-Israel border fence; Gaza protesters thank Natalie Portman; Arab-Israeli soccer fans boo drowning victims

From Ian:
After Hamas leader calls on crowd to become martyrs, hundreds surge Gaza-Israel border fence
Hamas seems to have found its sweet spot.

Under cover of civilian protests, backed by clouds of smoke from burning tires, it sends operatives to try to breach the Israeli border fence. A fence breach would be used to surge hundreds or even thousands of people into Israeli giving Hamas a propaganda victory. Such a breach also would be used by Hamas military operatives for terror operations — that’s why such a high percentage of those killed at the fence have been Hamas or other terror group military members.

Western leftists, particularly in the media, are repeating the false claim that these are peaceful protests by civilians who pose no threat. Amnesty International — which always is hostile to Israel — has issued a call for an international arms embargo against Israel because of its use of deadly force. But these are no mere protests, they are attempts to invade a military border and that puts the use of deadly force in a completely different context.

The protests so far are a mere prelude to the big event, when Hamas plans to surge thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of people toward the border fence on May 15, 2018, the day after the 70th Anniversary of Israel’s founding (using the Christian calendar) and “Nakba Day,” the day on which Palestinians mourn the creation of Israel.
Hamas terrorist tries to damage Gaza security fence
IDF forces on Sunday morning identified a Hamas terrorist attempting to harm the security infrastructure at the Karni cargo crossing.

The soldiers arrested the terrorist, who was working under the cover of fog, and transferred him for interrogation.

In a statement, the IDF said, "This is another terror activity, through which the Hamas terror organization attempts to infiltrate Israeli territory and harm its citizens."

"This is part of the process which the Hamas terror organization attempts to grant a civilian cover to its terror activities, and to turn the border area into a war zone.

"The IDF is determined to act, and to fulfill its obligation to protect Israeli citizens and not to allow damage to the security infrastructures which protect them."








Gaza protesters thank Natalie Portman
Palestinian Arab rioters who participated on Friday in violent “March of the Return” riots near the Gaza border held up signs thanking Israeli-American Natalie Portman, Channel 10 News reported.

“Occupied and besieged Gaza appreciates your moral stance. Thank you Natalie Portman,” the sign read.

Portman announced last week that she would refuse to come to Israel to receive the Genesis Prize from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu due to what she called “the mistreatment of those suffering from today’s atrocities”.

"I chose not to attend because I did not want to appear as endorsing Netanyahu, who was to be giving a speech at the ceremony," said Portman. "By the same token, I am not part of the BDS movement and do not endorse it."

"Like many Israelis and Jews around the world, I can be critical of the leadership in Israel without wanting to boycott the entire nation. I treasure my Israeli friends and family, Israeli food, books, art, cinema, and dance. Israel was created exactly 70 years ago as a haven for refugees from the Holocaust. But the mistreatment of those suffering from today’s atrocities is simply not in line with my Jewish values. Because I care about Israel, I must stand up against violence, corruption, inequality, and abuse of power," the actress added.

She did not explain what she was referring to by "atrocities."


Sky News Arabia headline on Palestinian terror attack: ‘Palestinian injured by settler’
On April 8th 2018, Sky News Arabia published an article with the headline: “A Palestinian injured by a settler in the West Bank“.

The strapline added: “The Israeli police announced on Sunday that there was shooting at a Palestinian who tried to stab an Israeli near a West Bank settlement”.

CAMERA Arabic researchers noted that the headline was inaccurate, as it creates the impression that the injured Palestinian was an innocent man who was shot by a settler without justification. The truth is completely different, and the best proof for that is the item itself, which quotes an Israeli police spokesperson:
“The Palestinian was armed with a long screw, and said that he tried to stab the Israeli near Mishor Adumim Settlement, while another Israeli citizen pulled out his weapon and shot the Palestinian”.

As a result, CAMERA Arabic staff contacted Sky News Arabic and asked them to correct the headline. Unfortunately, Sky News Arabic has not responded.
IsraellyCool: Washington Post Should Win a Gold Medal for this Media Bias
In yet another example of the mainstream media playing into the legs hands of the palestinian propagandists, the Washington Post laments the shooting of palestinian “protesters” by IDF troops, in some cases resulting in leg amputations.

And in a clearly amazing coincidence, most of those affected and interviewed by the Post were elite athletes with lofty ambitions and bright futures!

Since the protests began, Israeli troops have killed 43 Palestinians and wounded more than 3,500 with live ammunition, rubber bullets or shrapnel, the Health Ministry said. Of those, about 2,200 have suffered injuries to the legs.

Israeli officials say the protests along the border fence are violent and provide cover for militant attacks. Israeli media report that troops have been ordered to initially fire warning shots at demonstrators, after which they should target protesters’ legs.

Note the language here – the idea that the protests are violent is merely a claim of Israeli officials. As if the plethora of photos from these riots does not already prove their violent nature.

Doctors in Gaza are often unable to deal with such traumatic injuries, medical groups say, because hospitals there are overwhelmed and understaffed.

“Even at the most advanced hospital in Gaza, it felt like the 1970s,” said Salah Haj Yahia, mobile clinic director for Physicians for Human Rights in Israel. He recently visited Gaza as part of a medical delegation. “If things remain this way, most gunshot casualties will have to undergo amputation,” he said in an email.

Again, the reporter is parroting palestinian propaganda. How about the fact that Hamas has diverted money and resources that could have upgraded hospital infrastructure in Gaza towards terror tunnels, rockets and other terrorist endeavors?
IsraellyCool: Daily Mail Tries to Pass Off Old Video as Footage of Latest Gaza Death
The Palestinian Health Ministry claims 15-year-old Azzam Aweida died of injuries sustained yesterday, after being shot by IDF troops while he participated in the Great March of Return riots.

The Daily Mail report about his death has photos from his funeral, including many of mourners, designed to evoke as much sympathy as possible. This is typical of the mainstream media; but what they do at the end of the report goes beyond “mere” manipulation of emotions into outright lie territory.

They include this video entitled Dramatic footage shows moment 15-year-old is shot in Gaza.

Except this is not video of 15-year-old Azzam Aweida being shot at all. It is video of 19-year-old Abdel Fattah Abdel Nabi supposedly being shot, video that was released almost a month ago (and which has many hallmarks of being a Pallywood production).
David Singer: Trump Unscrambles UN-EU-PLO Misinformation Omelette
Cracking heads by getting all interested parties to adopt an agreed narrative using terms with agreed meanings is crucial in any communications and negotiations between them – if Trump’s long-awaited “ultimate deal” is to not be still born.

Underestimating Trump’s ability to win the Presidential election race against Hillary Clinton in 2016 has seen those who confidently predicted his defeat subsequently engaged in a vitriolic war of attrition in the media trying to convince the electorate that they voted for the wrong candidate.

Yet Trump continues to confound his detractors with impressive gains in both the American economy and foreign affairs.

The State Department Report – in dumping the use of the nomenclature “The Occupied Territories” – has taken one giant step towards ending the decades-long dishonest semantic warfare waged by the PLO, UN and EU.

Trump has set himself a Herculean task confronting this sorry state of affairs.

Trump has once again dumbfounded his malevolent doomsday-pundits – whisking up an omelette that already promises to taste far better than any ever served up by the PLO, UN and EU.

'President Trump, let Jonathan Pollard come home to Israel'
A senior Israeli lawmaker urged President Donald Trump to issue a presidential pardon to a former spy paroled after spending 30 years behind bars.

Speaking at the Jerusalem Post Conference in New York on Sunday, Transportation and Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) implored President Trump to allow convicted spy Jonathan Pollard to leave the United States and immigrate to Israel.

"In order to make the celebration even happier,” said Katz, referring to the relocation of the US embassy to Jerusalem on Israel’s 70th Independence Day, “I would like to ask our great friend President Trump, to give the Israeli public one more present, and to allow Jonathan Pollard to come to Israel, and celebrate with us in Jerusalem," Katz said at the Jerusalem Post event.

Pollard, 63, served as an analyst for the US Navy in the 1980s, during which time he was recruited by Israeli intelligence to collect information on Israel’s behalf regarding regional threats.
Trump says US embassy move will cost less than $500,000
U.S. President Donald Trump says he rejected a plan to spend $1 billion on a new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and plans to open an embassy in the capital for less than half a million dollars.

Trump says he had started signing his name to a proposal when he noticed the eye-popping $1 billion price tag and immediately called it off. Trump says U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman told him it could be done for a mere $150,000.

Trump says he didn't want to go that low and approved spending $300,000 or $400,000 instead.

Rather than building a new structure to house the embassy, the U.S. is retrofitting a small part of the current U.S. consular facility in Jerusalem so that the embassy can open quickly.

As far as the opening ceremony itself, scheduled for May 14, Trump said he "may go" but there has been no official White House confirmation that the president will attend.

CNN reported this weekend that Trump's son-in-law and close adviser Jared Kushner would be at the embassy opening.
President of Paraguay Says He Will Move Embassy to Jerusalem
Paraguayan president Horacio Cartes told attendees at a special event marking Israel’s 70th anniversary that his country would relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Cartes said he hoped to perform the relocation before the end of his term in mid-August.

In March, Cartes’ government said the country would relocate the embassy if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to visit. Last September, Netanyahu became Israel’s first acting prime minister to visit Latin America, but did not stop in Paraguay.

Paraguay joins the United States, Honduras and Guatemala in committing to the move. The Czech Republic has also expressed interest, though the government has not issued a unified statement.

In December, US President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel, and promised to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Avigdor Liberman, Ehud Olmert, Roseanne attend ‘Jerusalem Post’ conference
Expect fireworks Sunday in New York when a former Israeli prime minister, six members of Israel’s current government, a red-hot TV personality and a former Trump administration official gather on one stage at The Jerusalem Post Conference at the Marriott Hotel.

Speaking at the seventh annual conference taking place at The Marriott Times Square Hotel will be Ministers Avigdor Liberman, Gilad Erdan, Gila Gamliel, Yoav Gallant, Tzachi Hanegbi and Israel Katz, along with former prime minister Ehud Olmert, in his first public appearance in the US since returning to public life, comedian Roseanne Barr, whose reboot of her much loved TV series is the hit of the year, and outspoken former Trump senior aide Anthony Scaramucci.

The annual Jerusalem Post Conference has become a much-anticipated tradition that brings together senior Israeli and American officials and personalities before an audience of 1,500 American supporters of Israel.

World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder is serving as the conference president and will open up the proceedings Sunday morning New York time. Other featured speakers include US Senators Ben Cardin and Lindsey Graham, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon, former IDF chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi and former education minister Gideon Sa’ar.

“The State of Israel couldn’t have come into being without American Jewry, and their influence and support of Israel is still significant,” said Ronit Hasin-Hochman, the CEO of The Jerusalem Post Group. “The Jerusalem Post has been Israel’s leading media channel for the Jews of the Diaspora since the founding of the state and well before. It’s natural that our conference will take place in the heart of New York, with the participation of so many of Israel’s leaders, including people who have contributed to the security and strength of the country for years.”
JPost Editorial: Stopping the S-300
Russia’s s-300 surface-to-air missile platform is one of the most sophisticated air defense systems in the world. It is for that exact reason that Israel and the united states have worked tirelessly over the years to prevent its delivery to Iran and why Israel is now working to stop it from getting to Syria.

The real question concerns Russia’s intentions and why it recently announced its intention to deliver the system to the Bashar Assad’s military.

What makes the s-300 a cause of such concern in Israel is that it has the reported ability to track up to a hundred targets simultaneously while engaging up to 12 at the same time. It has a range of about 200 kilometers and can hit targets at altitudes of 27,000 meters. Moscow has already deployed the system in Syria – as well as the more advanced s-400 – but they are under the control of the Russian military. The new systems would be given to the Syrians.

This poses two problems for Israel. First is the possibility that it will be used to shoot down Israeli aircraft. Due to its long range, it can reach deep into Israel and hit planes taking off and landing at Ben Gurion Airport, not to mention Israel Air Force jets operating over Syria. In addition, there is the possibility that Syria will transfer the system to Hezbollah in Lebanon, further undermining Israel's operational freedom and aerial superiority in the region.

In Israel, there have traditionally been two schools of thought with regard to the severity of the s-300 threat. On the one hand, there are those like former air force commander Maj.-Gen. (res.) Ido Nehushtan who said a few years ago: “We need to make every effort to stop this system from getting to places where the IAF needs to operate or may need to operate in the future.”

Other officials have been less concerned and claim that if and if and when the s-300 is delivered to Iran or Syria, Israel will be able to develop an electronic warfare system to neutralize it.
Hamas slams German parliament for endorsing Israel as Jewish state
Hamas on Sunday “strongly condemned” Germany’s parliament for a resolution passed last week in honor of Israel’s 70th birthday that calls for the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and urges the government in Berlin to confront groups opposed to Israel’s existence.

In a lengthy statement, the terror group rebuked the German lawmakers for failing to criticize Israel’s alleged crimes against the Palestinian people.

On Thursday, the Bundestag passed with an overwhelming majority a five-page resolution hailing the various aspects of bilateral ties, including Berlin’s unwavering commitment to Israel’s security. All parties, including two opposition lists, voted in favor of the text, except one faction on the far left, which abstained.

“At the time the Palestinians expected a strong support from the Federal Republic of Germany on the 70th anniversary of the Nakba, the Bundestag did not mention the seven-decade long aggression of the Israeli occupation on our people, as well as it did not denounce the Israeli racist and fascist policies,” Hamas’s statement read.
Austria probes UN peacekeepers over Golan deaths
Austria said Saturday it is probing a 2012 incident in which its UN peacekeepers in the Golan Heights reportedly let Syrian policemen drive into a fatal ambush.

A video made by the Austrian peacekeepers and published online by the Falter weekly on Friday shows what the paper says are Syrian smugglers setting up their ambush behind rocks.

An hour later a white jeep with the Syrian police arrive and the Austrian peacekeepers allow them to pass, according to Falter. The footage then shows the Syrians being shot at and killed.

Discussions among the peacekeepers heard in the clip show that they knew that they were letting the Syrian police into a trap, Falter said.

"Really you should tell them," one of the peacekeepers is heard to tell another in Austrian dialect. "It's about to start, you'll see," says another as the vehicle nears the ambush.

The Austrian defence ministry said that a special commission of enquiry began its work on Saturday.
Arab-Israeli soccer fans boo drowning victims
Fans of the Arab-Israeli Bnei Sakhnin soccer team caused outrage after they booed during a moment of silence held for the ten students who drowned in last week's flood.

Before Saturday's match against Hapoel Ra'anan at Sakhnin's Doha Stadium, Israel's Football Association ordered a moment of silence to be held for the victims. However, the Sakhnin fans booed and cheered, sparking outrage from politicians and public figures.

"This is shameful behavior that seriously harms the feelings of families and coexistence between Jews and Arabs in Israel," tweeted Druze MK Ayoub Kara (Likud).

"The sport must remain outside the boundaries of politics and the Football Association must intervene so that the soccer fields will become a focal point for bringing together hearts and stopping hatred," he added.

Right-wing attorney and activist Itamar Ben Gvir wrote a letter to the Israel Football Association demanding that Doha Stadium be shuttered in response.

"There seems to be no need to elaborate on the seriousness of the matter and the severe harm to families who lost their loved ones. There is also no need to mention that if we were talking about Beitar Jerusalem fans who are mourning a ceremony in memory of young Arabs who perished in a disaster, you would close Teddy Stadium for a long time," continued Ben Gvir, referring to the Jerusalem soccer team which has been repeatedly penalized for racist anti-Arab chants by its fans.

"The time has come for the Football Association to stop discriminating between Jews and Arabs."
PMW: Endless superlatives to honor a Palestinian killer, in official PA and Fatah media
The Palestinian Authority and Fatah celebrated the anniversary of the death of arch-terrorist Abu Jihad who planned attacks in which 125 Israelis were murdered with endless praise for the terrorist and the attacks he planned. In addition, a "Abu Jihad tournament" was arranged by the student union at Al-Quds Open University's Hebron branch.

At "the Prince of Martyrs Khalil Al-Wazir 'Abu Jihad' Tournament" the director of the Hebron branch of the university, Dr. Abd Al-Qader Al-Darawish, stated that the "path and history" of terrorist Abu Jihad, "will remain in our hearts forever," and stressed that:
"We draw confidence, a spirit of sacrifice, and a desire to continue the struggle from this magnificent anniversary." [Official PA daily Al-Haya Al-Jadida, April 23, 2018]

At an anniversary celebration, Fatah official Abbas Zaki portrayed the terrorist as "a battleship," "great," and "fearless":
Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki: "A 'battleship' like this great man should not leave our minds or the consciousness of these great generations, which are currently teaching the enemy a lesson in punishment. We must tell them: There was a legendary man who fearlessly defied the enemies as much as possible." [Official PA TV News, April 16, 2018]

Terrorist Abu Jihad (Khalil Al-Wazir) was a founder of Fatah and deputy to Yasser Arafat. He headed the PLO terror organization's military wing and also planned many deadly Fatah terror attacks in the 1960's - 1980's. These attacks, in which a total of 125 Israelis were murdered, included the most lethal in Israeli history - the hijacking of a bus and murder of 37 civilians, 12 of them children.
Hamas claims PA bombed its own prime minister to ‘kill reconciliation’
Hamas blamed the Palestinian Authority on Saturday for the attempt to assassinate the PA’s own prime minister, Rami Hamdallah, in the Gaza Strip last month.

Eyad al-Bozom, a spokesman for the terror group’s interior ministry in the coastal enclave, told a news conference that the March 13 attack on a convoy in which Hamdallah and the PA’s intelligence chief, Majed Faraj, were traveling was masterminded by three senior officers in the PA, Reuters reported.

The PA and its leader, Mahmoud Abbas, have maintained that Hamas was behind the bombing of the convoy.

According to eyewitnesses, the device was detonated seconds before the armored vehicle bearing Hamdallah passed. Neither Hamdallah nor Faraj were hurt in the blast, though 10 security guards and staff accompanying the two, who were in non-armored vehicles, were lightly wounded.

Sources close to Hamas have claimed in the past that the bombing may have been orchestrated by Faraj’s security force as part of a scheme to implicate Hamas and justify further PA sanctions against the Gaza Strip.
Palestinians to vote on aging leadership as Abbas' grip tightens
The top-tier leadership group of the Palestine Liberation Organization– average age 70 – is up for election for the first time in over two decades, when hundreds of delegates attend a West Bank convention this week.

It should be a chance to revitalize the Palestinian national movement at a historic low point and start talking about potential successors to 83-year-old Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Instead, some critics, even within the PLO, say Abbas is presiding over a staged event to give his increasingly authoritarian rule a veneer of legitimacy. Others challenge the timing, saying the rift with powerful non-PLO Hamas, the terrorist group that rules Gaza, must be resolved first.

Abbas supporters portray the meeting of the PLO parliament, once envisioned to represent Palestinians everywhere, as a closing of ranks behind Abbas. They say Abbas needs such backing in his political battle with the Trump administration, viewed by most Palestinians as blatantly pro-Israel.

The PLO was founded in the mid-1960s as an umbrella for Palestinian factions. From the start, it was dominated by the Fatah movement, now headed by Abbas.


Police arrest suspect in Crown Heights beat-down
The New York Police department has arrested a suspect who they say is responsible for a vicious beat-down of a hassidic rabbi that rattled the Crown Heights Jewish community.

According to CrownHeights.com, James Vicent, 40, is presumed to be the man responsible for the assault. The Bronx native has over 40 previous arrested for offenses ranging from drug possession to hate crimes and has already confessed to beating up Rabbi Menachem Moscowitz. Vincent is charged with strangulation as a hate crime and unlawful possession of marijuana.

Vincent had allegedly beaten Rabbi Menachem Moscowitz last Saturday as he was walking home from prayer services. Moscowitz told CrownHeights.info that he said “good afternoon” to a man who was smoking a cigar on a street corner.

“As soon as [I greeted] him he began yelling at me ‘you fake Jews, who are you saying hello to? Your fake Jews and you stole all my money and robbed me, and stole my mortgage and my house. I want to kill you!’” the news website quoted the man as saying.

Moscowitz said he walked away from the man quickly but that the assailant caught up with him, put him in a chokehold, and threatened to kill him.


German anti-Semitism envoy says ‘understandable’ that Jews may want to leave
Germany’s new anti-Semitism czar has said it is “understandable” that a wave of anti-Semitic incidents in the country might lead Jews to want to leave.

“It is quite understandable that those who are scared for the safety of their children would consider leaving Germany,” said Felix Klein, the government’s first-ever special envoy on Jewish life and combating anti-Semitism, according to the Guardian newspaper.

“I hear this from my own Jewish friends,” he added. “But we must do everything to avoid that.”

The Jewish community in Germany has complained of a rising tide of anti-Semitic attacks and harassment, and the issue was highlighted earlier this month when video surfaced of a young Syrian asylum seeker in Germany assaulting an Israeli Arab man who had decided to wear a kippah, or Jewish ritual skullcap, to gauge responses on Berlin streets.

The footage led the head of the umbrella organization of German Jews, the Central Council of Jews in Germany, to warn that Jewish men should avoid wearing kippot in public.

Josef Schuster told broadcaster Radioeins last Tuesday that wearing the Jewish yarmulke was right in principle, but that he was advising individuals “against showing themselves openly with a kippah in a big-city setting in Germany, and [to] wear a baseball cap or something else to cover their head instead.”
Facebook removes Polish far-right pages for anti-Semitic content
Representatives of far-right Polish groups asked the country’s prime minister and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to intervene after Facebook removed their pages for anti-Semitic content.

Facebook said late last week in a statement on community standards that it “prohibits on its platform” the presence of organizations violating its regulations. The statement specifically lists the National Radical Camp, or ONR, and the National Rebirth of Poland, or NOP. “We believe that these organizations openly promote racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic views,” Facebook said in the statement.

Facebook employees received many reports about inappropriate materials posted by Polish nationalists, in which people were attacked because of their “protected characteristics,” which include race, religion and gender.

“It was not an easy decision, because we encourage you to express individual views, make contacts and share thoughts, but we also want people to always feel welcomed and safe,” the representatives of the portal said in a statement on its community standards.
Man who brandished rifle at French Holocaust museum now in mental hospital
A 20-year-old man who brandished a weapon at a Holocaust museum in western France was hospitalized at a psychiatric institution.

The man shouted and waved around an unloaded rifle Tuesday at the Memorial for the Deported Museum in Mayenne, Le Parisien reported Friday.

The man used the weapon, a hunting rifle, to threaten an employee at the entrance to the small museum, according to the report. Sources at the regional prosecutors’ office told the newspaper they estimate the man was not “responsible for his actions” at the time of the incident on Tuesday at around 3 p.m. local time

Security personnel overpowered the man. Police found anti-Semitic literature in his backpack, including Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf,” “Understanding the Empire” by the far-right Holocaust denier Alain Soral, and “The Jewish Psychoanalysis” by Herve Ryssen.
Tunisian Islamist party endorses Jewish candidate
Decked out in a striking blue suit and white shirt, matching his political allegiance, Simon Slama rubs
shoulders with fellow candidates ahead of Tunisia's municipal elections.

Nothing unusual about that -- except he is the only Jewish candidate, standing for the Islamist Ennahdha party.

A public relations stunt for some; a sign of genuine liberalization for others. But even if Slama fares dismally come the May 6 poll, his candidacy has become a major story in the nation.

This will be the first municipal vote since former dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fell from power in 2011.

And while Slama looks at ease, joyously clapping hands on the campaign trail in the coastal town of Monastir, the 54-year old sewing machine repairman's decision to run drew fierce initial opposition from loved ones.

"All my family were against my choice. My brother was angry and my wife went days without speaking to me," the candidate tells AFP, with a timid smile and a nervous fidget of the hands. "But I managed to convince them."

Slama and his relatives are among the small number of Jews still living in Tunisia. The community in the North African nation has shrunk from several hundred thousand before independence in 1956, to just 1,200 today.
The tycoon who donated half a billion dollars to Jewish causes
Russian businessman Roman Abramovich had poured half a billion dollars into Jewish communities in Russia, Israel and other countries around the world, over the past 20 years, The Federation of Jewish communities of Russia (FJCR) announced Sunday.

Next year will mark the 20-year anniversary of the establishment of the FJCR. Among the events to celebrate that, the FJCR are planning a number of events during the coming year to celebrate important milestones achieved during these past two decades.

As part of this effort, a special recognition has been bestowed upon Abramovich, honoring him for his contributions of over $500 million over the past 20 years to Jewish causes in Israel, Russia and elsewhere.

The award is signed by Rabbi Alexander Boroda, FJCR president and the Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar.

“With the upcoming 20-year anniversary, we wanted to specially recognize those who have been vital to our work and to the Jewish community. Much of the work we do has been made possible thanks to Mr. Abramovich, and we are deeply thankful for his continued support,” Boroda said.

Boroda told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday that some 80% of the developments in Jewish life in Russia are thanks to Abramovich. “He never talks about it but I want to because people don’t understand who is the source of it is – and it is him,” Boroda remarked.

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