Sunday, October 11, 2020

10/11 Links: UAE envoy to Britain: ‘The idea Arabs and Israel must be at war is nonsense’; What binds the radical US Left is hating both Israel and the USA; Does Israel need a ministry to fight BDS?

From Ian:

The makings of a true peace
It’s a new Middle East and anyone who has been following the news or more importantly, social media, is discovering an entirely new language with respect to Israel-Arab relations, one characterized by warmth, curiosity and excitement sparked by the recent peace deals signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

The people have spoken, and they love each other. It happened so instantly that it has caused some skeptics to raise eyebrows and question the authenticity of this rapprochement, but anyone who is in touch with the “other side” knows that this outspoken sympathy is genuine.

Terms like “warm peace” and “normalization” are often used but only for lack of better description. Truth be told, the peace between Israel and the UAE isn’t just warm—it’s sizzling hot.

“It’s like we’re dating,” said Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, while Chief Rabbi of the UAE Yehuda Sarna believes “Israeli tourists won’t want to leave.”

Emiratis are reacting similarly. Dubai-based businessman Thani AlShirawi, who co-founded the Israel-UAE Business Forum with Hassan Nahoum, says he is “on cloud nine.” Emirati author Omar al-Busaidy, who attended the White House signing ceremony on Sept. 15, said he hasn’t stopped smiling and “you can feel the energy everywhere.”

If anything, the Abraham Accords is a people’s peace. For many Israelis—especially at a time when they face a second coronavirus-triggered lockdown that is compounded by political uncertainty and nationwide protests—this peace is a gift to be enjoyed by generations to come, one the impact of which will be felt long after the COVID and political crises have gone.

Less than a month after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan joined U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House for the signing ceremony, dozens of partnerships have been formed between the Jewish state and the Arabian Gulf power, and the list grows daily.


UAE envoy to Britain: ‘The idea Arabs and Israel must be at war is nonsense’
The United Arab Emirates ambassador has urged British Jews to visit the country as he expressed his wish to be an ally in the fight against antisemitism in the UK and decried hate in parts of the Arab media.

Mansoor Abulhoul made the comments in his first interview with the Jewish media after his country and Israel signed the historic Abraham Accords to normalise relations.

The envoy, who studied at Leeds University and whose British mother moved to the UAE in 1968, said the region had suffered from decades of “indoctrination stemming from the Arab nationalist movement” and been “held back” by a fear of engaging with others. “The narrative that the Arabs should be in endless war with the Israelis is absolute nonsense and the Abraham Accords proves that” he insisted.

“To have a dialogue you have to be at the table and we very much see the Abraham accords as a new pathway to peace. For us to ignore a major power engine we’re denying the region strengths and bonds from which we can build peace. We’re both very dynamic economies and its difficult not to be able to work together.”

He strongly disagrees with any suggestion that the deal doesn’t progress the issue of peace with the Palestinians, whose leadership have accused the UAE of betrayal.

“Where we had looming annexation – which would have sent peace into overdrive reverse gear – that’s been removed. It’s important the Palestinians use this time to come in and engage.”

It is up to the Israelis and Palestinians to decide what sort of solution they finally come to. But the UAE will do all it can to urge both sides to break the impasse. We will be able to help precisely because we can now communicate directly with Israel.”


What binds the radical US Left is hating both Israel and the USA
Note that the ammunition being used to separate the heretofore special bond between the U.S. and Israel is based on the lie that Israel is a usurper and an “illegal occupier” of another’s land!

To understand the calumny, read for yourselves what is enshrined in international law, as well as in historical fact. The preeminent expert in this legal arena is Howard Grief (deceased, June 2013). All the facts are contained within Legal Rights and Title of Sovereignty of the Jewish People to the Land of Israel and Palestine under International Law

For all intents and purposes, the Democratic Party’s current incarnation (as it moved left-ward, incrementally, over a period of years) is ideologically imbued with those who would like to see Israel’s destruction. America’s, too. Even though the Democrat Party of yesteryear, tradition-wise, has always been supportive of Israel, this no longer seems to be the case.

The party's radical, Marxist/communist element hates Israel for the same reasons they hate America. This tragic truth is plain for all to see, but only if one’s eyes are wide open enough to absorb the seismic upheavals taking place all over America. Akin to the outcome of a civil war, the upcoming 2020 election will determine the absolute fate of the nation. This is so on both the domestic and foreign fronts.

In addition to conservative leaning Americans - those who believe in the Constitution and all that it represents and upholds - the next biggest losers to a Biden win will be those who seek to safeguard the "sacred and special" friendship between America and Israel. This includes not only American Jews who seek to ensure the safety of Israel from within the diaspora, but millions of Christians in America who not only pray for Israel's safety, but support the Jewish homeland in a myriad of ways, seen and unseen.

The upcoming 2020 choice for President of the United States couldn't be any clearer, starker, or more monumental.


Combatting antisemitism: Why the world needs to adopt the IHRA definition
Antisemitism is a complex, shape-shifting phenomenon. There are no easy solutions, no silver bullets that can counter all of today’s manifestations of antisemitism. However, the International Holocaust Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism is one critical tool that should be employed against some types of this persistent evil.

Certain forms of Jew-hatred have existed for thousands of years. But in the aftermath of the Holocaust it became more problematic to directly voice hatred toward “Jews” and “Judaism.” Thus, the virus that is antisemitism has mutated into a particular form where antisemitism is employed in discourse around Israel, targeting Israel as an alternative for Jews or by employing classic antisemitic tropes and substituting the word “Israel” for the word “Jew.” The need to recognize this mutation becomes obvious when a German court rules that firebombing a synagogue is not antisemitic but merely a protest against Israel.

However, one of the main difficulties in fighting this Israel-centric antisemitism is how to distinguish legitimate criticism of Israel – criticism of the type that is employed against other countries – from the bigotry that is disguised as mere objective analysis. The IHRA definition, if not distorted by ideological lenses, is an effective means to educate governments and civil society of the significant problem of Israel-related Jew-hatred and as a resource to educate about the differences between antisemitic hate speech and sincere criticism of the State of Israel, whether you agree with it or not.

The IHRA working definition of antisemitism was formally adopted by the IHRA in 2016 as a means of identifying all forms of antisemitism. The IHRA is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1998 and today it includes 34 nations, including the United States and most of its democratic allies.

The working definition consists of just two sentences: “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
A year after the Halle attack, anti-Semitism continues to plague German Jews. But our community continues to thrive.
One year ago today, the anti-Semitic and racist attack on Jews in a synagogue in Halle, Germany made us all hold our breath.

A terrorist armed with a shotgun attempted to gain entry into a sacred place of worship where about 50 people were celebrating Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. Fortunately, unlike in other recent incidents involving extremists attacking Jewish houses of worship, the perpetrator was unable to enter and inflict mass casualties.

One year later, Jews in Germany continue to struggle with anti-Semitism as Jewish communal life — miraculously — continues to thrive.

Even post-Holocaust, there is a continuity of anti-Semitism and hate in Germany over the past decades, and painfully, Halle is another link in the long chain of anti-Semitic attacks and rhetoric: arson attacks on a Jewish retirement home in Munich in 1970, on the Lübeck synagogue in 1994, on a synagogue in Duesseldorf in 2000 and on the Mainz Synagogue in 2010. There was a mail bomb attack on Jewish leader Heinz Galinski in 1975. And physical assaults on a rabbi in Berlin in 2012 and just last week on a Jewish student in Hamburg outside of a synagogue. The list spans decades, locations and types of Jews and congregations targeted.

And yet there is a vibrant Jewish life and growing Jewish community in Germany, which stands in stark relief to these attacks.

Data by the EU Fundamental Rights Agency confirms that Jews are under constant threat: 41% of Jews in Germany experienced some form of anti-Semitic harassment in the year before the study on experiences and perceptions of anti-Semitism was published in 2018, an increase from 25% in 2012. Reporting by the anti-Semitism monitoring organization RIAS corroborates this rise in anti-Semitism: RIAS recorded 410 anti-Semitic incidents in Berlin alone in the first half of 2020, near an all-time high.
'Without real change, Jews won't have a future here'
A year after an anti-Semite tried to carry out a massacre at a synagogue in Halle, Germany, the country marked October 9 as the national day of solidarity with Jewish.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier condemned the rising anti-Semitism in the official state ceremony for the two people who died in the attack and warned that this development was a danger to democracy.

A senior security official in Germany also warned this week that there is an alarming spike in anti-Jewish incidents and said the community is justifiably worried.

Just last week, a young Jew was assaulted in Germany near a synagogue in Hamburg. Local police had to intervene.

The Jewish rapper Ben Salomo recently released a protest song to highlight the dire situation of Jews in Germany. It is dedicated to the grandparents of the current generation living in the country, who had had an illusion of a "new" Germany and settled there following the Holocaust.

"If things don't change, there is little chance that Jewish life will survive over the coming years," he told Israel Hayom. "Without real change, Jews won't have a future here; the Germans have to stop using us as a means of confronting their past and start treating us seriously, and cater to our needs and to our opinions.

"The German government uses Jews to bolster the country's image rather than as a group that really needs to be listened to and understood, and this includes our relationship as Jews with Israel. Rather, the German Foreign Ministry has been funding groups allegedly linked to terrorism and anti-Semitism. Jewish blood is once again tainting German money, and this angers me very much."

According to Salomo, "Germany has become a recycling bin for anti-Semitism and the German media is carrying out a key role in this phenomenon, with the German government sending millions to anti-Semitic organizations."
David Collier: Palestine Action vandals attack Jewish demonstrators – six arrested
Yesterday, 10th October, Palestine Action organised a protest outside an office of Elbit in Kingsway, Holborn. A counter demonstration was called by London’s Jewish activists who refuse to leave the streets to the haters. In the end, in what is becoming an increasingly dangerous atmosphere, the Jewish demonstrators were attacked with red paint, a police officer was injured, and six Palestine Action activists were arrested.

Palestine Action and the protest Under regional titles such as London Palestine Action, the group have been vandalising bus stops for a few years. The birth of the group came following frustration by a few extremists over the inactivity and impotence of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Their strategy is simple. They do not believe in waving flags but seek direct action that creates noise and publicity. In other words, they vandalise stuff and then brag about it. At the moment the Israeli defence company Elbit is the key target for the group.

Recently Palestine Action ‘occupied‘ the roof of an Elbit factor at Shenstone in Staffordshire. Several activists were eventually arrested. Shortly before this, they attacked the Elbit offices in London. Again there were arrests.

Palestine Action are not a new group but have become reinvigorated with the arrival of Huda Ammori. Ammori is a woman with a troubled past. Her father is Palestinian, her mother Iraqi. Ammori was originally part of the Manchester branch of Palestine action but in 2018 started working for the PSC as their Campaigns Officer. She was also part of a steering committee for a fake Jewish anti-Israel group. At some point she seems to have tired of all the talking and turned her attention to helping to build a network of extremists willing to engage in direct action.

In their online recruitment campaign, Palestine Action openly ridicule the police. Whilst instructing people how to vandalise buses, bus stops and buildings, they soothe the fears of potential recruits by informing them they will not be prosecuted if caught. Which leads us to the latest action. The group put out a call for a demonstration outside the Holborn office. For those who know the group are never just about waving flags, this should have been a warning.


Never-before-seen footage shows Manchester bomber Salman Abedi at a rally organised by Jeremy Corbyn's pro-Palestine group - two years before he killed 22 people
New pictures show Manchester bomber Salman Abedi at a demonstration organised by Jeremy Corbyn's pro-Palestine group two years before he killed 22 people in the terrorist atrocity.

Libyan Abedi, 22, detonated a nail bomb at the Manchester Arena in May 2017 as crowds of people left an Ariana Grande concert.

Two years earlier the suicide bomber was outside Downing Street to protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to London.

He was there with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), a pressure group of which the former Labour leader is patron. There is no suggestion that either the PSC staff or Mr Corbyn knew Abedi.

A public inquiry into the events leading to the bombing heard last week that signs of Abedi's radicalisation went back several years, meaning that he had already been on MI5's radar in September 2015 when he attended the PSC protest.

He came to the security service's attention at least 18 times before the attack, including for his attempts to travel to Syria and his links to Islamic State fundraisers.

But an investigation into Abedi was ended in July 2014, despite the fact that he went on to associate with terrorists a number of times before carrying out the atrocity.

The photos show the future suicide bomber posing with a Libyan flag.


Peace Now doctrines are outdated, its time to move on
The White House peace-signing ceremony between Israel and United Arab Emirates and Bahrain also underscored the historic fallacy of the Peace Now movement and its basic premise. The stated goal of the movement, which was founded in 1978, was “to persuade public opinion in Israel and Israeli governments of the need and feasibility of achieving a just peace and historic reconciliation with the Palestinian people and neighboring Arab countries in return for a territorial compromise and on the basis of the principle of land for peace.”

However, already in this very declaration lie the seeds of the movement’s 42 years of failure, stemming from its fundamentally erroneous concept – namely that the “occupation” was the root cause preventing peace and historic reconciliation (as if peace and reconciliation had existed before 1967) – when in fact the real reason was what is in the eyes of the Palestinian national movement, Israel’s illegitimate existence. According to this, the Jews are not a people or a nation, but a religion, and as such are not entitled to self-determination and to a state.

To quote the eminent historian, Prof. Shlomo Avineri: “The Palestinians’ basic concept is that Israel is a colonialist and imperialist creation and that the Jews not being a people but merely a religious group don’t have a right to self-determination or statehood.”

The Palestinian polemic gained support among antisemitic and pro-Palestinian groups both on the Right and on the Left, including the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, but also among certain Jews like British cabinet minister Edwin Montagu at the time of the Balfour Declaration, and more recently the journalist Peter Beinart, apparently being concerned about their standing in the world to which they strove to belong.

While the Palestinian leadership does not oppose practical ties with Israel – even formally acknowledging its existence, it does not accept its right to exist. Hence, the PLO never really repealed the clauses in the “Palestinian National Covenant” calling for the destruction of Israel, as it had committed to do in the Oslo Accords and at the Wye River Conference.

Calling into question the moral and firm rights of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel, or anything that could be interpreted as such – especially if by Israelis and Jews – increases the Palestinians’ determination to reject the option of making peace with Israel, believing that time is on their side. Sometimes anecdotal utterances tell the whole story.
Setting the Saudi stage for normalization
Yet amid the mass of speculation over which Gulf state will be next to sign an agreement with Israel, few suggest it will be the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

King Salman and his heir-apparent, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud – known as “MbS” – have been preparing the country for Vision 2030, a master plan for Saudi Arabia’s post-oil economy where East meets West and East meets East.

The Arabic-language Al-Jazirah in Saudi Arabia has just published an opinion piece by Muhammad al-Sheikh which is supportive of the peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, opining that the pact is “only serving our interests."

Al-Sheikh, too, unambiguously asserts that Israel is no longer the Gulf's enemy while Iran and Turkey present the greatest danger to the region. He goes on to say that the Gulf states need to diversify beyond oil and that Israel is a great collaborative partner that will help modernize their countries.

The positive changes now emerging in Saudi Arabia have been taking shape gradually over a number of years as the kingdom carefully navigates tribal and ancient societal roadblocks.

That women are gaining more individual rights is seen in the appointment of Her Royal Highness Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud as the first woman to serve as the Saudi ambassador to the United States and in women preparing to compete in the Ladies European Tour Golf tournament – where contestants will be wearing short-sleeved shirts and quarter-length cut-away trousers.

Saudi Arabia recently announced a mandatory inclusion of teaching English from first grade up, which will, over time, provide its business community with a game changer as it transitions from the kingdom's reliance on oil to new economic initiatives.

Normalization requires many steps, and recognizing not only the trial balloons but also the tangible public changes is vital to the kingdom’s re-branding.

It will not come overnight and it will not come without mistakes. But nods and winks toward the Jewish state provide reason to believe the stage is being set for tectonic change.
Khaled Abu Toameh: Palestinians facing immense pressure to resume peace talks with Israel
According to the source, Western diplomats have warned the Palestinian leadership that failure to resume the peace negotiations with Israel would result in an erosion of international support for the two-state solution.

“In the past few days, we saw that France has hinted that the two-state solution may not be the only solution on the table,” the source said, referring to remarks by French Ambassador to Israel, Eric Danon, who was quoted as saying that his country might update its position regarding the two-state solution.

Danon reportedly said: “What we prefer and think will be best is a two-state solution. Does that mean we cannot agree on something else? Not at all. We can accept any solution that the Palestinians and Israelis agree on.”

As part of the pressure on the Palestinian leadership, Ron Lauder, head of the American Jewish Congress, met in Ramallah on Saturday with Abbas and discussed ways of resuming the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Lauder arrived in Ramallah on a Jordanian helicopter. A PA official said that Abbas told Lauder that the Palestinians won’t return to the negotiating table with Israel on the basis of Trump’s peace plan, known as the Deal of the Century.

“President Abbas emphasized that the Palestinians are prepared to resume the peace process with Israel next year only through an international peace conference,” the official explained.

The official declined to comment on the claims that Lauder had relayed a message from the Trump administration to Abbas.
Why Trump wants Sudan to befriend Israel
With Sudan in desperate straits - a collapsing economy, hyperinflation looming and a nationwide food crisis - the administration of US President Donald Trump and the Israeli government have seen an opportunity.

The country's democratic hopes hang by a thread 18 months after non-violent protests overthrew their long-term ruler Omar al-Bashir.

But if Sudan recognises Israel then the US will strike it off the state sponsors of terror list, opening the door to essential economic stabilisation measures.

It is a complicated story which dates back 30 years to the early days of Sudan's Islamist government.

After seizing power in a military coup in 1989, President Bashir turned Khartoum into a global centre for militant jihadism.

Al-Qaeda and other extremist groups used Sudan as the base for carrying out terror attacks in the US, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya and elsewhere.

After the first terror attack on New York's World Trade Center in 1993, the US designated Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism. CIA co-operation

International financial sanctions and military pressure from neighbouring countries which supported Sudanese rebels pushed Sudan to expel Osama bin Laden and other jihadists three years later.

Shortly after the 11 September 2001 attacks, Sudan's security services became a valued partner with the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

On that basis, Sudan should have been removed from the state sponsors of terror list.

But members of Congress were hostile to Khartoum for a host of other reasons, including the war in Darfur and human rights abuses, and the listing stayed in place. (h/t Zvi)
Israel Would Oppose Any US F-35 Sale to Qatar, Israeli Minister Says
Israel would oppose any US sale of advanced F-35 warplanes to Qatar, Israel’s intelligence minister said on Sunday, citing a need to maintain Israeli military superiority in the region.

Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen made the comments in response to a Reuters report that Qatar – whose Iran links trouble Israel – had submitted a formal request to Washington to buy the Lockheed Martin Corp. stealth jet.

The United States consults with Israel on proposed sales of advanced arms to other countries in the region, under a principle of preserving Israel’s “qualitative military edge.” Some such sales have gone ahead over Israeli objections.

Asked whether Israel would oppose an F-35 sale to Qatar, Cohen told Army Radio: “The answer is yes. Our security and military superiority in the region are the most significant things for us. Our region has still not turned into Switzerland.”

Qatar’s F-35 request follows an August deal in which Washington agreed to consider giving the United Arab Emirates approval to buy the jets in a side deal to a US-brokered agreement normalizing ties between Israel and that Gulf power.

Israel, which has bought and deployed the F-35, has voiced discomfort at the prospect of UAE also getting the warplane – though the two countries have played up shared concerns about threats from Iran.
Spanish politician vilifies ‘the Jews’ for how Israel treats Palestinians
A Spanish politician said Jews should be held accountable for supporting a government “that constantly violates the fundamental rights of Palestinians.”

Sonia Vivas, a member of the Podemos party and a city councillor in Palma, the capital of the eastern island of Mallorca, made the remark on Wednesday during a meeting on international aid, triggering immediate accusations of antisemitism by a rival politician, El Mundo reported.

“I haven’t spoken to all the Jews, but their government is elected and they’re voting for a government that constantly violates fundamental rights of Palestinians,” Vivas said.

A journalist covering the meeting asked Vivas whether she meant to speak of Jews or Israelis. Vivas did not respond directly, saying: “You didn’t understand me because you don’t want to understand me. My explanation was clear and comprehensive.”

Fulgencio Coll, a city councilor for the far-right Vox party, said at the meeting that Vivas’ remarks “are part of a long history of antisemitism by the far-left” and its “obsession with Israel.”

Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias Turrion, who hosts a talk show on an Iranian-funded television station, has called Israel “an illegal country.”
Assad: Return of Golan Heights is precondition to Israel-Syria peace
Embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad said during an interview with Russian state media Thursday that any future agreement with Israel must entail a return of the Golan Heights to Syrian sovereignty.

Assad made the remarks during an interview with Russia's Rossiya Segodnya news agency, which was also mentioned by Syria's official SANA news agency.

"Our stance has been very clear since the beginning of peace talks in the 1990s... when we said peace for Syria is related to rights – and our right is our land," Assad said.

Assad stressed during the interview that Syria can only establish normal relations with Israel "only when we regain our land."

"We have seen no Israeli official who is ready to move one step forward toward peace," Assad said.

The Syrian leader also noted that negotiations are not currently taking place between Syria and Israel.

Israel and Syria have long had a fraught relationship marked by numerous wars: in 1948 and 1967, when Israel captured the Golan Heights, in addition to 1973 and a large-scale battle in 1982.
Paris No-Go Suburb Politician Faced Trial for Apologising for Terrorism
A regional politician in the no-go Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis was placed on trial for apologising for terrorism after stating that he wanted to be like radical Islamic terrorist Mohammed Merah.

Mohamed Bekhtaoui, a member of the Republican People’s Union in the commune of La Courneuve in Seine-Saint-Denis, was in court for saying he wanted to be the “new Mohammed Merah”, an Islamist terrorist who killed seven people in France in 2012, three of them children.

The incident took place in April after police arrested Mr Bekhtaoui for not wearing a mask during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the area. Bekhtaoui had claimed in court that he just wanted to speak with President Macron, Le Parisien reported on Tuesday.

The Seine-Saint-Denis region, which has a large illegal migrant population, has been one of the areas most affected by the Wuhan coronavirus since the outbreak started earlier this year.

While in custody, Bekhtaoui told officers: “I will become the new Mohamed Merah. I was lucky to rub shoulders with him. He opened my eyes. I’m going to commit carnage.” He then yelled “Allah hu Akbar” several times in a policeman’s face.

He is also said to have tried to grab the prison’s CCTV camera and urinated in his custody cell.
Antwerp Jews to lose army protection under new Belgium government’s plan
Antwerp’s Jewish community will lose its military protection under a plan by Belgium’s new government to eliminate the presence of soldiers in urban centers.

Approximately 18,000 Jews live in the city in close proximity. Several troops protect its Jewish quarter.

A clause in the government’s plan, which was announced in the coalition agreement signed earlier this week, speaks of a “gradual withdrawal” of the military from urban centers.

“This plan is causing real alarm in the rank-and-file of the Jewish community of Antwerp,” Hans Knoop, a spokesman for the Forum of Jewish Organizations of the Flemish Region of Belgium, or FJO, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in an interview about the plan. “Neither the actual threat nor the government’s own assessment of it have diminished.”

Thousands of troops were deployed in Belgian cities in 2015 following deadly jihadist terrorist attacks in Paris at the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine and at a kosher supermarket. Most have been reassigned.

The cost of the military presence in the Jewish quarter is not known, but is believed to be relatively low because of the few soldiers.


IDF opens two coronavirus wards in Haifa’s Rambam hospital
The military opened two coronavirus wards in Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center on Sunday, marking the first time the Israel Defense Forces will provide medical care to Israeli civilians in the country’s 72-year history.

“The IDF has never treated civilians, even in the hard days of the 1950s,” said the military’s chief medical officer, Brig. Gen. Alon Glasberg.

According to the military, roughly 100 military medical personnel will take part in this effort — dubbed Operation Tribe of Brothers — including doctors, nurses, medics and others from the IDF Medical Corps.

The move came as the country’s hospitals were struggling to provide care for the growing number of moderate and severe coronavirus cases — due largely to manpower shortages — following a large outbreak of the disease throughout the country in recent weeks. As of Sunday morning, 1,571 coronavirus patients were receiving treatment in hospitals. Of them, 820 were in serious condition and 304 had moderate symptoms, according to the Health Ministry.

The military announced its plan to open the two wards, which will treat dozens of coronavirus patients, nearly two weeks ago. Since then the soldiers taking part have been training for the operation, learning how to treat the coronavirus and work in the full-body protective gear needed to avoid infection.

“The training included theoretical and practical content that prepared the teams for treating the coronavirus patients who come to wards in the most professional and humane ways possible,” the military said.
Positivity rate of virus testing drops to lowest in month; death toll hits 1,956
The Health Ministry announced on Sunday morning that the number of daily coronavirus tests plummeted a day earlier, with the positivity rate dropping to its lowest level in a month.

Testing numbers and new cases often fall off considerably on weekends and on holidays — there were 887 infections diagnosed on Saturday and just 13,387 tests carried out with a positivity rate of 7.3 percent. Testing levels reached a record high last month of 50,000-60,000 tests on some days, but have dramatically declined since.

Positivity rates had hovered at around 12%-13% in recent weeks, at one point reaching a high of 15%.

Officials have noted that reduced numbers of tests usually raises the positivity rate, while the figure in recent days has been declining.

While that suggests the tightened nationwide lockdown could be tamping down infections, the IDF’s Coronavirus National Information and Knowledge Center said the positive test and infection rates were still relatively high.

On Sunday morning the national case count since the start of the pandemic stood at 290,003, of which 62,133 were active cases.

There were 825 people in serious condition, 214 of them on ventilators, and 300 patients were moderately ill.

The death toll rose to 1,956 by early Sunday afternoon.
PMW: PA TV honors as “heroic” 3 terrorists who participated in brutal murder of 2 Israeli soldiers in lynch in 2000
On Oct. 12, 2000, a Palestinian mob brutally murdered and mutilated the bodies of two Israeli reserve soldiers, Vadim Nurzhitz and Yossi Avrahami, who had accidentally entered Ramallah.

Official PA TV host of Giants of Endurance: "I’m with the family of heroic prisoner Habbes Bayyoud who was sentenced to life (i.e., 2 life sentences) within the occupation's prisons… We are now at the home of heroic prisoner Muhammad Nawarah who is serving a life sentence, may Allah release him…"

Sister of terrorist Muhammad Nawarah: "Muhammad is a handsome guy and makes one proud. I am proud that I have a brother like Muhammad… Thanks to him, we raise our heads and feel proud…"

Host: "We have now arrived at the house of heroic prisoner Jawad Abu Qara, who is also serving a life sentence (sic., 25 years). We wish him and all of our prisoners full freedom." [Official PA TV, Giants of Endurance, June 16, 2018]

Habbes Bayyoud, Muhammad Nawarah, and Jawad Abu Qara – Palestinian terrorists who participated in the Ramallah lynching on Oct. 12, 2000, in which a Palestinian mob brutally murdered and mutilated the bodies of two Israeli reserve soldiers, Vadim Nurzhitz and Yossi Avrahami, who had accidentally entered Ramallah. Bayyoud is serving 2 life sentences, Nawarah is serving 1 life sentence, Abu Qara is serving 25 years.

Under Palestinian Authority law, the PA pays Bayyoud, Nawarah, and Abu Qara and thousands of other terrorist prisoners monthly salaries from the day of their arrest. Since their arrests (in 2001 and 2002) through June 2018, the PA has paid Bayyoud, Nawarah, and Abu Qara a combined total of 2,023,600 shekels ($583,606) Their current salary of 7,000 shekels/month will increase until reaching 12,000 shekels/month.


Israel and Hamas said to reach agreement for 6-month ceasefire
Israel and the terror group Hamas have reached a truce agreement mediated by Qatar that will see quiet on the southern border for a period of six months, Channel 12 news reported on Sunday.

In return, Qatar will transfer $100 million to Hamas in a deal coordinated with Doha by Mossad head Yossi Cohen alongside the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), according to the report.

Mohammad al-Emadi, Qatar’s envoy to Gaza, has regularly visited Gaza in recent years with Israeli approval, bringing funds to the Strip for purchasing fuel, paying civil servants and helping Gaza’s poor. The most recent set of funding was set to run out within weeks, Channel 12 reported.

With the exception of two incidents of rocket fire, an unofficial agreement between Israel and Hamas has mainly held since the end of August, when Hamas Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar’s office announced that the terror group had accepted ceasefire terms negotiated by Qatar.

Israel tacitly indicated its consent by lifting the restrictions imposed on the Strip since the beginning of the August escalation in violence. Illustrative: Rockets are launched by Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip toward Israel, February 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

However, the most recent understandings were not welcomed on Sunday by local Israeli leaders in the south of the country, whose communities have been battered by rocket fire and airborne incendiary devices for years.


Report: Iranian diplomat held in Belgium on terror charges warned of retaliation
An Iranian diplomat who is being held in Belgium on suspicion of planning an attack warned authorities that a guilty verdict in his case could lead to retaliation, according to a report Friday.

Assadollah Assadi is set to stand trial in November for his alleged involvement in a 2018 plot to bomb an Iranian opposition rally in France.

According to Reuters, minutes by Belgian police from a March interview shows Assadi said, “we (Belgium) do not realize what is going to happen, in the event of an unfavorable verdict.”

He further said armed groups throughout the Middle East were following his case and “watching from the sidelines to see if Belgium would support them or not.”

Assadi said his comments were his own, and not based on discussions with Iranian officials.

A spokesman for Belgian prosecution said, “Such threats can occur, but we always take the necessary security measures.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Travels to China After U.S. Imposes New Sanctions
Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif arrived in China on Friday, just a day after the United States imposed new sanctions on Iran's entire financial sector.

Zarif's trip to China highlights the deepening relationship between Beijing and Tehran, which has found an ally in the Communist regime as the Trump administration continues to tighten the noose on Iran's economy. The trip will include "close consultations" between Zarif and top Communist Party members, including CCP foreign minister Wang Yi, according to Iran's state-controlled press.

Beijing has served as a critical ally for the Iranian regime as it faces further isolation in the international community. The United States sanctioned 18 Iranian banks on Thursday, effectively cutting off Tehran's financial sector from the global economy. China, however, has repeatedly disregarded Washington's sanctions and increased its economic relationship with Iran. The Communist regime, along with Russia, balked at U.S. efforts at the United Nations earlier this year to reimpose an international arms embargo on Iran. U.S. leaders warned at the time that China is standing by to sell Iran potentially billions of dollars' worth of sophisticated weapons.

Zarif is scheduled to discuss regional issues with Chinese diplomats and focus on "the expansion of bilateral relations between Tehran and Beijing," according to Iran's Tasnim News Agency.
Iran’s nuclear chief has COVID-19; country sees highest daily virus death toll
The head of Iran’s atomic energy organization is the latest senior official to test positive for the coronavirus, the semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported Sunday.

According to the report, Ali Akbar Salehi, who is also a vice president of Iran, confirmed positive for the virus last week and has been in home quarantine since. The news agency reported that his health condition is currently good.

Meanwhile, a separate report by Tasnim news agency said the country’s vice president in charge of budget and planning, Mohammad Bagher Nobakht, had also tested positive for the virus.

Iran has seen several top officials contract the virus over past months, including senior Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri and Vice President Massoumeh Ebtekar. A number of Cabinet ministers have also tested positive, including Tourism Minister Ali Asghar Mounesan and the former Industry Minister Reza Rahmani.

The head of an Iranian government task force on the coronavirus who had urged the public not to overreact about its spread was among the first senior officials to contract the virus in late February.
Does Israel need a ministry to fight BDS?
The Strategic Affairs Ministry does good work in intelligence gathering and challenges to what’s become known as “lawfare” against Israel, but it could do more in terms of a counteroffensive, he said.

If the Strategic Affairs Ministry is eliminated, Diker suggested that the National Security Council take up its tasks and hire a whole new department’s worth of people to work on the matter full-time.

Arsen Ostrovsky, executive director of the Israeli Jewish Congress and a vocal advocate for Israel, also opposed closing the ministry, saying it “has played an indispensable role in the fight against BDS and delegitimization of Israel.”

“Given the myriad of challenges facing the Jewish state, both the Strategic Affairs Ministry and Foreign Affairs Ministry ought to be strengthened, with each having a crucial part to play,” he said. “There are other ways to reduce the budget that do not sacrifice our national security and public diplomacy.”

Michal Cotler-Wunsh (Blue and White), chairwoman of the Knesset subcommittee on Israel-Diaspora Relations, took a middle ground on the issue. Israel should lead a holistic effort with all of its expertise and consistent policies on fighting delegitimization of Israel, she said.

“In order to do this successfully, it is indeed important that we eliminate existing overlap and bureaucratic inefficiencies that have arisen by artificially dividing issues between multiple ministries,” Cotler-Wunsh said.

Assaf Orion, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, said combating delegitimization is an important part of security for Israel and Jews worldwide.

The Strategic Affairs Ministry, which was established in 2006, was given the delegitimization portfolio in 2015 “out of recognition of the importance of the matter and to promote and improve Israel’s responses in the area,” he said. “The Foreign Ministry, which was previously responsible for the topic, did not make it a top priority, justifiably, and it looks like in the future it would have difficulty doing so.”
British Universities ‘Dragging Their Feet’ on Countering Antisemitism Face Funding Cuts, UK Education Minister Warns
British universities are in danger of losing funding if they fail to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism — which diagnoses the nature of anti-Jewish hatred and provides various examples of its manifestation — the UK’s education minister warned in a letter to university chiefs on Friday.

“The number of universities which have adopted the IHRA definition remains shamefully low, and I have asked my officials to look at developing options to address this,” wrote Gavin Williamson — the UK’s secretary of state for education — in the letter.

Williamson expressed frustration that a majority of UK universities had ignored appeals from two previous education ministers to adopt the definition.

“Without it, Jewish students say they simply do not feel protected, should they be subject to an antisemitic attack, whether physically, verbally or online and, sadly, we are hearing of an upturn in online incidents since the start of the pandemic,” he wrote.

“While many universities have rightly been quick over the summer to demonstrate their readiness to take action against other forms of racism, it is frankly disturbing that so many are dragging their feet on the matter of antisemitism,” Williamson stated. “The repugnant belief that antisemitism is somehow a less serious, or more acceptable, form of racism has taken insidious hold in some parts of British society, and I am quite clear that universities must play their part in rooting out this attitude and demonstrating that antisemitism is abhorrent.”

Williamson noted that “options that include directing the UK Office for Students (OfS) to impose a new regulatory condition of registration and suspending funding streams for universities at which antisemitic incidents occur and which have not signed up to the definition” were among the stricter measures that could be taken by his department.


Mark Ruffalo talks Palestinian issues, calls Israel a 'kind of apartheid'
Actor Mark Ruffalo referred to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the division between the two as a "kind of apartheid" while speaking to television host Mehdi Hasan on the self-titled NBC program.

Ruffalo accused the Israeli government of carrying out "asymmetrical warfare" against the Palestinian people, and tied in United States support for Israel as plainly aiding and abetting the separation and the "violence acted upon them."

"There’s no reason why an ally of American should not be held to same the standard as we would hold any other nation in the world,” he said. Ruffalo added to the conversation, noting that he spoke out previously to share his view on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and was called an antisemite for doing so.

"I was called an antisemite about it, for doing that - which was really tough to hear," Ruffalo said. "The fact that so many people will take it to that extreme when you're talking about that type of inequality, that type of oppression, that kind of apartheid: really!"

Ruffalo then likened the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to what's taking place in the US today, saying that America houses an "apartheid system" noting the systematic racism and racial inequalities present within the country.
UK magazine sacks new diversity champion over tweets mocking the Holocaust
A blogger and model newly hired to promote diversity at the British edition of a large European fashion magazine has been fired over a series of anti-Semitic tweets that have come to light.

Stephanie Yeboah, a contributing editor at Grazia UK, had apologized Thursday for making the Holocaust jokes after Private Eye magazine found her statements from recent years.

In one of the tweets, she wrote: “AUSCHWITZ Gas Chamber Music LMAO SMH [laughing my arse off, shaking my head].”

In another, she tweeted: “Every Jew has an attic, but not every attic has Jews.” She has also written that the attention paid to Holocaust remembrance is eclipsing crimes committed against “brown people.”

The Daily Mail reported Sunday that the 31-year-old was fired Friday night following “frantic” discussions with Grazia UK editor Hattie Brett.

“Following an internal review, we have agreed that Stephanie will no longer be writing as a contributing editor of Grazia,” a spokesman for the UK edition’s German-owned publisher, Bauer Media, was quoted as saying.

“We will continue to support her as she further educates herself in collaboration with the Jewish community. Grazia continues to champion diversity and inclusion and stands firmly against antisemitism.”
CSUN professor runs 'Boycott Israel Resource Page' on university website
California State University Northridge professor David Klein runs a “Boycott Israel Resource Page” on the university's website domain to endorse the BDS movement and spread awareness about Israel’s “crimes against humanity.”

The website, which uses the university's web server directly endorses BDS, linking the official website and encouraging people to “add their name” to its list of supporters. The website, according to the campus Israel-advocacy group Camera on Campus, has been in operation since at least 2013.

The page begins with laying out resources condemning the Jewish occupation of Israel, linking an opinion article written by Klein in 2019 titled, “Boycotts, Benjamins, and America’s University Leaders."

In the piece, Klein takes issue with university presidents who do not support BDS, calling them “Staunch advocates of Zionism, the ideology of Jewish supremacy” and being “Worried about crossing the Israel lobby or offending wealthy donors.”

He concludes by siding with the anti-semitic 2019 tweet by Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, saying school president’s do not support BDS because of the ‘Benjamins’: “Congresswoman [Ilhan] Omar undoubtedly got it right when she wrote, 'It's all about the Benjamins baby,'” wrote Klein.

Klein then likens the Jewish occupation to America’s ‘violence’ against Native Americans, accusing Israel of ‘ethnic cleansing’, and being “The most racist state in the world at this time.”

“Palestinians are overwhelmingly the victims of Israeli violence, much as American Indians were overwhelmingly the victims of U.S. violence in previous centuries. Israel avoids peace because peace interferes with territorial expansion and ethnic cleansing.”

The website continues by outlining a section on how to support BDS, linking the official website and other organizations committed to overthrowing the Jewish state.
5 Pillars accuses Israeli ambassador of promoting al-Aqsa's destruction
First, their claim that Hoteveley called for Jews to enter the “mosque compound” is extremely misleading, as the “mosque compound” is just another name for the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism. The ambassador didn’t call for Jews to enter the actual mosque, as anti-Israel propaganda sites typically claim, just the area where Jews are legally permitted – under the status quo agreement – to visit.

More importantly, 5 Pillars failed to provide a source for their wildly incendiary claim that Hoteveley has “promoted the movement to destroy Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque“, and it’s in fact unclear what “movement” they’re even referring to, as most Israeli Temple Mount activists narrowly seek to overturn the ban on Jews praying at the site.

Though Hoteveley did once call for the Israeli flag to rise over the Temple Mount (for symbolic reasons, to signify Jerusalem’s sovereignty over the site), that’s of course not even remotely the same thing as calling for Israel to “destroy” Al-Aqsa. Moreover, Hoteveley’s comments about the flag were widely condemned, including by the prime minister.

The bottom line is that there is literally zero evidence that the new ambassador ever supported the destruction of Al-Aqsa, and we’ve complained to 5 Pillars – which is regulated by the independent press regulator IMPRESS – about this libel.
Fareed Zakaria’s Anti-Israel Bias Surfaces Again on CNN
False and misleading assertions and a key omission • Zakaria’s use of the term “occupied territories” requires context. Pending the conclusion of a negotiated agreement on the territories’ final status, by international law Israel remains both the legal and obligatory military occupational authority in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria), which it had seized as a result of her successful self-defense in the 1967 and 1973 wars. Israel actually relinquished portions of the West Bank, notably Hebron, as part of the Oslo 1990s peace process—only to be met with violence. The resumption of organized Palestinian violence against Israelis during the Second Intifada (2000-05), Israeli troops re-established a limited presence in the West Bank, the majority of which remains ruled by the Palestinian Authority (PA).

• The implication that Israel prevents the West Bank Palestinians from having “political rights” is false. The PA has jurisdiction over the daily lives of almost all West Bank Arabs, with Israeli personnel only entering Palestinian communities to pursue terrorists.

• The guest’s claim that “settlements in occupied territories are illegal,” is also false. The existence of Jewish communities in the area is enshrined in international law. The League of Nations Palestine Mandate, Article 6 calls for “close Jewish settlement” on the land west of the Jordan River. Article 6 is incorporated into the U.N. Charter. Further, the United States itself endorsed the Palestine Mandate in the 1924 Anglo-American Convention. The West Bank is not sovereign territory of any country, but rather land disputed by both Israel and the PA. It was illegally occupied by Jordan from 1948 to 1967, at which point Israel took control of it during the 1967 Six-Day War.

• The use of the term “annexation” in reference to the West Bank is also misleading. The term itself has been used as shorthand to refer to the application of Israeli law to the communities of over 500,000 Jews living in the West Bank, the entirety of which was part of ancient Israel. Importantly, these communities are on land that comprises only a tiny percentage of the total land mass of the West Bank. Moreover, in international law, “Annexation means the forcible acquisition of territory by one State at the expense of another State.” But the West Bank is not territory of a sovereign country as no sovereign Palestinian Arab state has ever existed. Thus, it is incorrect to claim that the disputed West Bank, and, in particular, areas in which Israeli settlements are located, are Palestinian territory.

• Zakaria unsurprisingly omits any mention of the numerous Palestinian failures that are the reasons why there is no peace agreement. Palestinian Arab leaders have rejected several offers for statehood, notably in 2000 at Camp David, 2001 at Taba and 2008 after the Annapolis Conference, as well as proposals to restart negotiations. The PA has also refused to quit paying terrorists, refused to engage in bilateral negotiations and refused to officially recognize Israel as a Jewish state—actions which violate the Oslo Accords that created the Authority in the first place.
Mystery solved: Babyn Yar massacre location pinpointed after 79 years
The German “aktion” at Babyn Yar was the largest open-air massacre during the so-called “Holocaust by Bullets,” but the precise location of the two-day Nazi atrocity remained hidden for nearly 80 years.

Only in recent months were hundreds of puzzle pieces assembled by Martin Dean, a former Scotland Yard investigator who specializes in Nazi war crimes. Through the efforts of Dean and the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center (BYHMC), a 3-D simulation of the massacre site — then and now — was created.

“I believe my work goes considerably beyond the previous understanding of historians that have worked on this topic,” said Dean in an interview with The Times of Israel.

During 36 hours at the end of September, 1941, the German occupiers of Kyiv ordered Jews to report for what was appeared to be deportation. The march to the outskirts of town, however, led to Babyn Yar — Grandmother’s Ravine, also known as Babi Yar — where Germans and Ukrainians slaughtered 33,771 people, according to a preserved SS report. Most of the victims were women, children, and the elderly. Aftermath of Babyn Yar massacre in Kyiv, September 29-30, 1941, with simulation by Center for Spatial Technologies for BYHMC (courtesy)

In the following months, at least 70,000 people were murdered at the ravine, including Romanis, Ukrainian nationalists, and Soviet prisoners of war. Killing operations were halted in 1943, when Berlin ordered that all mass execution sites be excavated so the corpses could be destroyed.

“The Germans feared the Soviets would use any such evidence for propaganda purposes,” said Dean. “Ironically some of what we know about the locations of the shootings comes from about a dozen former prisoners who burned the corpses, but then managed to escape just before the Nazis planned to kill them,” added the researcher.


German student, 14, accused of planning armed attack on shul or mosque
Police in western Germany arrested a 14-year-old high school student they believe was planning an attack on a mosque or synagogue.

A spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office in Dusseldorf told the DPA news agency that the boy, who has not been named in German media, had allegedly carried out at least one trial with explosives in preparation for the attack. The boy is being charged with attempted incitement to murder and an act of violence posing a national threat, the spokesperson said.

The broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported Tuesday that the boy communicated with unidentified parties on his cellular phone to discuss his plans. In correspondence on the WhatsApp messaging platform he spoke of carrying out a knife attack or bringing a gun to a Jewish or Muslim house of worship, according to Deutsche Welle.

The arrest comes just over a year after a far-right gunman killed two people in Halle, Germany, after a fortified metal door prevented his entry to a packed synagogue on Yom Kippur.

On Sunday, a Jewish man was assaulted outside a synagogue in Hamburg by a 29-year-old man from Kazakhstan.
Kidney tumors destroyed by outpatient cryoablation system
A non-surgical liquid nitrogen (LN2) cryoablation (freezing) technology to destroy benign and malignant tumors demonstrated 100 percent success in a trial with seven kidney cancer patients whose surgically removed tumors had reoccurred.

The outcome of the study, reported in Journal of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, is another feather in the cap of Israeli company IceCure Medical, maker of the ProSense cryoablation system.

The company’s primary focus is breast, kidney and lung cancer. The minimally invasive technology is an alternative to surgical tumor removal and is easily performed in a relatively short outpatient procedure, guided by computerized tomography.

Additionally, IceCure’s solution can help institutions free up operating rooms, while potentially preventing or reducing the risk of infectious pathogens from medical procedures. These are especially critical points during the Covid-19 pandemic.

ProSense is available worldwide after receiving FDA and CE approvals. “Over the past weeks we have completed five successful remote ProSense installations, at clinics in South Africa, Germany, Singapore, Spain, and Thailand,” the company reports.

In the kidney tumor study at Bnai Zion Medical Center in Haifa, the patients’ tumors were destroyed and showed no recurrence in a period of 20 to 36 months following the procedure. The study was done by urologists and radiologists including Sagi Shprits, Robert Sachner, Simona Croitoru, Karina Dorfman, Ofir Avitan, Zaher Bahouth, Amnon Zisman and Ofer Nativ.
French group raises funds for flooded town that hid Jews during Holocaust
A French Jewish organization is raising funds to help residents of a flooded town where many locals tried to save Jews from the Holocaust.

The National Bureau for Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism, or BNVCA, has collected $1,500 for the people of St Martin de Vesubie, where multiple homes were destroyed in a flash flood on Oct. 2.

In 1943, some 300 Jewish families were hidden in St. Martin de Vesubie, a small community near the Italian border. Most were apprehended anyway and sent to their deaths by the Nazis and their Italian allies.

“BNVCA remembers the courage and solidarity that resulted in hundreds of Jewish refugees being sheltered during World War II at St. Martin de Vesubie,” BNVCA wrote in a statement.
In first, Israel cyclist wins Italian Grand Tour stage
The Israel Start-Up Nation cycling team earned a first-of-its-kind victory on Saturday when Alex Dowsett finished first on Stage 8 of the Giro d’Italia, a 124-mile-long ride from Giovinazzo to Vieste in southeastern Italy.

The British rider completed the stage in just over four hours and 50 minutes, overtaking five other breakaway riders who vied for the top spot. His fellow ISN team member, the Austrian Matthias Brändle, came in at fifth place.

“Matthias and I never stopped believing,” says Dowsett. “Having two in the break of six was essential… It could easily have been Matthias.”

The Giro d’Italia is a Grand Tour that’s one of the three major European cycling races alongside the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. The three-week race is comprised of 21 stages stretching over 2,173 miles from Palermo in the south to Milan in the north. It was meant to take off in May but was postponed to October due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“When we founded this team only five years ago, we dreamed that we would reach this moment today,” says ISN co-owner Ron Baron. “We are a team of dreamers who turn our dreams into reality one by one. This historic moment will actualize our biggest goal: to inspire the next generation of young Israelis to take on this beautiful sport.”


Popular Israeli singer Omer Adam visits Dubai
Popular Israeli singer Omar Adam visited Dubai recently, on the invitation of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Nahyan and the president of the local Jewish community Solly Wolf, Israel Hayom has learned.

The American-Israeli superstar, whose music fuses elements of eastern and Western pop instrumentation, was hosted at the sheikh's home and reportedly celebrated the Simchat Torah holiday with the local Jewish community.

Taking to social media, Adam wrote, "This is a challenging time in which each of us makes a mental calculation between himself and others and between him and the Creator of the world. I chose to be in this dream place and meet wonderful people who love the Israeli people. I'm proud to be an ambassador of music and art in the Emirates, a place where there's hope for a better world, without wars, and without terror in a magical place that has only joy, and human love."

He went on to say, "A few months ago I had the opportunity to congratulate Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Nahyan and President of the Jewish Community Solly Wolf who welcomed me and invited me here to visit.

"I've always known that songs, music, and joy bring people closer and I feel like I represent each and every one of you here when I say to my hosts, Shalom, and Salam Aleikum."



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