Some 330 truckloads of goods also entered Gaza via Kerem Shalom this morning.
Although I saw a small shipment of gravel last week from Egypt to Gaza, I have not seen any exports from Gaza into Egypt.
Must be because of that Israeli siege.
The major changes in our region -- in Egypt, Syria and in Iran -- not only place challenges before the State of Israel but they also create considerable opportunities for us."On the Release List: Terrorists who Murdered Children
The prime minister's language is worth noting, particularly the phrase "exhaust the chance of ending the conflict with the Palestinians." Does this suggest that when 9 months are up and another stalemate has been achieved, that Israel will resist further American pressure to continue the futility?
There is another way to read the time horizon for the effort. It may be that during the upcoming 9 months, perhaps in the first few months of the process, that Israel alone, or Israel and the United States will take military action or other action required to shut down Iran's nuclear program. The peace talks with the Palestinians may also be the smokescreen needed to insulate Israel from any major international condemnations, if it moves unilaterally (wink, wink first to the Americans ) against Iran.
On the list are Mahmoud Salam Saliman Abu Harabish and Adam Ibrahim Juma'a-Juma'a, who in 1988 murdered 26-year-old schoolteacher Rachel Weiss, her three young children, and a young soldier. The two hurled firebombs at a civilian bus, sending it up in flames; Weiss and her children ages 3, 2 and 9 months were unable to escape.‘Why Hunt Down German Nazis, but Release Muslim Nazis?’
Soldier David Delarosa died trying to save them.
Also on the list is the terrorist who committed a similar murder the year before. The 1987 firebomb attack on a family car killed pregnant Ofra Moses and her young son Tal Moses. Father Abie Moses and three other young children were badly burned but survived.
Twenty-two years ago Rabbi Eliezer Weiss lost his wife Rachel and their three young sons in a brutal terrorist attack. The four burned to death in a bus targeted in a firebomb attack.MKs: Has America Ever Freed Murderers?
On Sunday morning, Rabbi Weiss learned that his children’s murderers are expected to go free in a mass terrorist release. The government is planning to free over 100 terrorists, several of them murderers, in a “gesture” to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
“It isn’t moral to release murderers. It isn’t safe to release murderers… Has the United States ever released murderers as a concession to terrorism?” asked MK Motti Yogev (Bayit Yehudi).PMW: Female terrorists Dalal Mughrabi, Wafa Idris, and others are role models for students, on PA TV
“The United States hasn’t even freed Jonathan Pollard, after he served his sentence and has been in prison for more than 28 years,” he noted.
“Negotiations based on releasing killers have nothing to do with peace, or security, or morality, or truth,” Yogev warned.
These same organizations work to undermine Israel's relations with the rest of the world. They want to force their agenda on the Israeli public. Any issue related to the conflict is oversimplified and used to vilify Israel. Under these absurd circumstances, senior European officials are fed unreliable, inaccurate and distorted information from organizations that they themselves fund (under the pretense that they represent Israeli "civil society"). On the basis of these falsehoods, they criticize Israel and make policy decisions that are disconnected from reality. It is a closed feedback loop that turns Europe's decision-making process into a failure. It prevents educated discussion and raises the question of whether it is appropriate for political NGOs and European governments to influence the Israeli and Palestinian publics.Erasing Jewish Jerusalem from Apple maps
Although this city was developed after 1967, much of the land was bought by Jews in the 1930s. On the basis of Jordan's illegal occupation of this land during 1948-67 the 'international community' regards it as 'occupied territory' even though it did not belong to any state. Any rational person who has actually travelled through this and other Jewish areas of 'occupied Jerusalem' knows that this land will never be 'given up' under any 'peace agreement'. Yet, bizarrely, when I tried to navigate to Pisgat Zaev using the Apple iPad Maps application (not Google Maps) I discovered to my astonishment that not only does no such place exist but there is a completely empty space on the map where it is physically located. The same is true for all other Jewish areas of 'occupied East Jersusalem' such as Gilo; yet, far smaller Arab areas of East Jerusalem such as Silwan are on the app. The most bizarre omission of all is the completely empty space where the old city of Jerualem should be.UN Watch: Noam Chomsky in Geneva with support of Swiss government
Chomsky’s lecture was entitled “USA, Iran, Israel and the Arab World: Where are we?” In his 35 min speech he only kept accusing “neocolonialist” Israel and its American backers. Only in the last minute did he say he worried about the situation in Syria and Egypt.Muslim Brotherhood: 120 Dead in 'Massacre'
His talk was incoherent, using selective evidence, poorly-formulated arguments, distorting historical facts and with conspiracy theory undertones such as “the American media is hiding the truth from us.” Among his claims was that there is no evidence that Iran is developing nuclear weapons and, if it does, it is for defensive purposes only. Also he thought the model of the Ottoman Empire is something we could use in the Middle East, forgetting that the Ottoman military was guaranteeing the stability of the empire.
Graphic video shows bodies at morgue, reportedly shot by security forces in weekend violence involving pro-Morsi rioters.Reports: Israel attacked another weapons convoy in Syria
A Muslim Brotherhood spokesperson, Ahmed Aref, said 66 people were killed, while another 61 are "clinically dead", and a further 4,500 people were injured. Of these, he claimed, 700 were wounded by live bullets.
Israel has attacked yet again, according to foreign reports, in Syria. Arab media outlets and websites affiliated with Syrian opposition forces reported on Saturday that Israeli fighter jets seen flying over Quneitra bombed a weapons convoy intended to reach Hezbollah.Pakistan may seek to trade hero Afridi for Al Qaeda-linked terrorist
It was also reported by Lebanese news outlet El-Nashra that Israeli jets bombed weapons warehouses at Syrian army outposts in the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon.
Pakistan is preparing a proposal to swap the doctor who helped the CIA pinpoint Usama bin Laden for a notorious female neuroscientist and suspected Al Qaeda operative being held at a federal prison in Texas, FoxNews.com has learned.Tom Jones to wrap up Israel’s ‘summer of nostalgia’
After hosting international stars like Barbra Streisand, Cliff Richard and the Pet Shop Boys, Israel will end its “summer of nostalgia” with a performance by ’70s heartthrob Tom Jones.French and Israeli Scientists Use Stem Cells to Study Schizophrenia
The Welsh “Sex Bomb” will be performing in Tel Aviv’s Nokia Arena on October 26.
Thanks to a simple human hair, French and Israeli scientists have made a breakthrough in understanding schizophrenia. French researchers at INSERM (the French equivalent of the British Medical Research Council) and an Israeli team from the Haifa Technion, have developed a new stem cell model in order to gain a better understanding of schizophrenia.Will the Eastern Mediterranean become the next Persian Gulf?
The United States has for more than two decades taken Eastern Mediterranean maritime security for granted. The 1978 Camp David Accords ended the state of war between Egypt and Israel, and the fall of the Soviet Union diminished Moscow’s influence in the region. The triangular relationship between the United States, Israel, and Turkey also provided a foundation of stability. But with the recent discovery of vast oil and gas deposits in the region, the Eastern Mediterranean is in flux.An Israeli Special Forces Soldier, An Arab Investor, A Religious Zionist -- And A Hot Start-Up Called Webydo
In 2010, the US Geological Survey estimated that the Eastern Mediterranean’s Levant Basin—which is surrounded by Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Cyprus—may hold up to 3,450 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas and 1.7 billion barrels of oil, putting it on par—at least when it comes to natural gas resources—with onshore lands and state waters off the Gulf Coast of the United States.
Webydo has removed software code developers and programmers from the picture – enabling professional graphic designers to create sites on the fly for ten times cheaper, and far faster.
Not only that, but the team that is doing this is a case study of what Israel’s “Start-up Nation” may look like in the years to come. Webydo is a collection of individuals that few might imagine joining hands on a venture — even inside a country that already boasts the most NASDAQ-listed companies per citizen. But the multi-cultural Israel – there are Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druse, Bedouin nomads, Bahai, Samaritans and so many others — has begun to fuse many of these groups into their modern economy. At Intel , for example, ultra-orthodox Jews (mainly women) now comprise 10% of its Jerusalem workforce, as FORBES reported this week. And high-tech collaborations between Israelis and Palestinians are increasing, as we also discovered and revealed.
At Webydo, one finds a microcosm of this new alchemy. (H/t EoZ)
Jordan plans to raise power prices after doubling taxes on cellphones to offset a large budget deficit, despite warnings that such measures will provoke a public outcry.Economics has been the main incentive behind the revolution in Tunisia and the newest one in Egypt. Islamists are poised to take advantage of the Jordanian situation, although the Egyptian coup will make it more difficult.
Grappling with little or no natural resources and an external debt of more than $23 billion, the kingdom is trying to reduce a $2 billion fiscal deficit this year and at the same time tackle cuts in Egyptian gas supplies.
Sabotage attacks on gas pipelines from Egypt -- the energy source for 80 percent of Jordan’s electricity -- are costing the government at least $1 million a day, energy officials say.
In response, as it tackles paring down a $10.5-billion 2013 budget, the government in Amman intends to hike the price of electricity by 15 percent, having already doubled taxes on cellphones to 16 percent and to 24 percent on mobile telephone contracts.
“Such wrong and uncalculated steps show that the government lacks a comprehensive understanding of the situation,” Yusuf Mansur, chief executive officer of the Amman-based Envision Consulting Group, told AFP.
“When the government increases prices and taxes, the productivity and consumption of people will be affected and this will reduce government revenues.”
Mansur, who headed Jordan’s Agency for Economic Development, estimated the current inflation rate at about seven percent and this year’s real economic growth at 2.6 percent.
According to the government, the inflation rate now stands at 6.5 percent, and real economic growth will come to 3.5 percent.
“People, including government employees, will resort to strikes and protests and the government will be forced to borrow more or impose more taxes. It’s a vicious circle,” he said.
“We are completely dependent on foreign aid and government economic policies have failed, at least in the past three years. I expect a very bad recession in the next stage.”
A government decision in November to raise fuel prices, including household gas, by up to 53 percent, sparked a wave of nationwide protests, with some calling for King Abdullah II to step down, which is punishable by imprisonment.
Unemployment stands at about 14 percent in the country of 6.8 million people where 70 percent of the population is under 30, but other estimates put the jobless figure at between 22 and 30 percent. The minimum wage is $211 (159 euros) a month.
Last month, ratings agency Moody’s cut its sovereign grade for Jordan from “B1” from “Ba2,” in the middle of its category for “speculative” or so-called junk debt, saying government finances had weakened sharply in the past two years.
And in May, Standard & Poor’s lowered Jordan’s long-term credit rating by one notch to “BB-” with a negative outlook due in part to the conflict in neighbouring Syria.
Jordan is home to more than 500,000 Syrian refugees, and Amman has repeatedly complained they are burdening the country’s scarce resources, while calling for international aid.
“Regional instability, including the disruptions in Egypt’s gas supplies and the Syrian refugees, is seriously affecting the budget,” lawmaker Mohammad Dmur, head of parliament’s finance committee, told AFP.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has understood that their complete release is the key for restarting peace talks, and this is what he promised to Abbas, a PLO official said.Orwell himself couldn't have imagined this.
Israeli fans of golden oldies won’t be hearing Eric Burdon grind out his signature House of The Rising Sun. The lead Animals singer canceled his appearance, a victim of intimidation including death threats to stay away from the Jewish state.Sarah Honig: Another Tack: It's all connected
Welcome to the ‘pro-peace’ bullies of the Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions (BDS) campaign, a movement whose public face is a “nonviolent pressure to end the Occupation”—but whose thinly-veiled tactics range from “shunning” to threatening celebrities who refuse to cave to the ‘big lie’ that Israel is an ‘apartheid state.’
BDS’ fixation on celebrities into taking outlandish positions on the Mideast makes perfect sense. In our world, Celebrity=Media coverage.
*When Jews are called Israelis, their maligners can fend off accusations of anti-Semitism. Such accusations are anyhow brandished as proof of manipulative intent to silence all criticism of the Jewish state. Calculated circuitous reasoning eventually turns Jew-haters into righteous persecuted underdogs, while Israelis are cast as ferocious hounds.Palestinians Threaten to Boycott U.S. Peace Talks If Demands for Concessions Not Met Beforehand
*World peace will supposedly be secured by restraining these hounds. Submissive Jews/Israelis are presumably assured the affections of do-gooder ‘non-anti-Semites.’ Of course, vulnerable Jews weren’t ever loved Jews. In the 1930s Jews couldn’t have been more powerless or compliant. Nonetheless, their utter helplessness won them no compassion.
A Palestinian source spoke to the left-leaning gazette Ha’aretz to explain the new ultimatum:Analysts: Abbas Interested in PA Political Gains, Not Peace
The Palestinians will not take part in peace talks scheduled to begin in Washington on Tuesday, unless Israel commits to releasing veteran Palestinian prisoners, a senior Palestinian source has told Haaretz… He maintained, however, that the Palestinians would not participate in negotiations without a prior decision by Israel to release Palestinian prisoners imprisoned since before the Oslo Accords, including those with Israeli citizenship.
With negotiations set to begin between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the public statements by both sides indicate that the distance between them is vast, and that the chances of an agreement emerging from the talks is next to zero. As a result, say some Israeli analysts, it is possible that the PA is using the talks as a means of gaining some small, short term “victories” over Israel, giving PA chief Mahmoud Abbas more ammunition with which to fight rivals that seat to unseat him, both among Hamas terrorists and in his own Fatah terror group.Caroline Glick: Column One: How to respond to EU sanctions
Israel has for years been operating under the misguided belief that the EU would eventually come around and side with Israel against its enemies.Arab anti-Israel Activist Long Employed as “News” PhotoJournalist
This belief has been informed by equal doses of innocence and wishful thinking. The EU’s decision to initiate an economic war against the Jewish state forces Israel to abandon its long-held illusions.
Israel has options for responding forcefully to Europe’s aggression. If judiciously and firmly employed, these responses can diminish the Europeans’ interest in escalating this economic war, by denying them the political victory they seek.
For pro-Israel news readers, it is no surprise to learn that there are strong elements of anti-Israel reporting in much of the mainstream media.Hezbollah reportedly wired $100,000 to Burgas bombing suspects
But what about mainstream media outlets which employ people as their source for news about the Arab-Israeli conflict who are not only anti-Israel, but who are major players in anti-Israel activity? Can those media be trusted?
According to the Canadian 24 Hours daily, quoted by AFP, the money was used to help coordinate the July 18, 2012 attack which also injured dozens of people.Egyptian security forces shoot dead dozens of pro-Morsi supporters
The two suspects were identified as Meliad Farah, also known as Hussein Hussein, an Australian citizen born November 5, 1980, and Hassan El Hajj Hassan, a Canadian citizen born March 22, 1988. Both are Lebanese born. A third man who served as the suicide bomber has yet to be identified.
A Muslim Brotherhood website said 120 people had been killed and some 4,500 injured. A Reuters reporter counted 36 bodies at one morgue, while health officials said there were a further 21 corspes in two nearby hospitals.3-year-old Syrian girl transferred to Israel for treatment
A three-year-old girl injured in the bloody Syrian war was transferred to Israel for treatment Saturday morning. Together with her mother, the toddler was evacuated to Ziv Medical Center in Safed, where she was treated for shrapnel wounds. She was admitted to the pediatric unit of the hospital and was in serious condition.Civilians standing in way of pro-Assad forces in Syria risk summary execution – Amnesty
Earlier this week, four Syrians were brought to the same hospital in Safed for treatment for injuries sustained in the Syrian civil war.
Amnesty International, the global human rights group, is warning of the prospect of mass killings of civilians by pro-government forces in Syria. In a note highlighting Amnesty's latest briefing, posted up on its website, Amnesty said:Iran State Media Reemphasizes Rouhani Support For Hezbollah “Warriors” Fighting Israel
"Eyewitnesses described seeing bodies piled up in the streets and civilians rounded up by pro-government forces.
Lebanese and Iranian media outlets are again highlighting cables sent from Iranian President-elect Hassan Rouhani to Hezbollah, supporting the Iran-backed terror group and praising it for waging “jihad” against Israel. Lebanon’s Al-Nahar characterized the cable as support for Hezbollah’s “jihad.” Iran’s FARS outlet was more effusive:Thousands protest government at Tunisia funeral
Thousands joined a funeral march through Tunisia’s capital on Saturday with the body of assassinated opposition politician Mohammed Brahmi, chanting slogans in a display of the anger threatening the survival of a government once seen as a model for democracy in the region.Dagestan, Russia, President Says Chabad Rabbi Shot by ‘One of the Most Extreme Islamic Terrorist Groups in the Chechnya-Caucasus Area’
Adding to the tension in the North African country, a bomb exploded in the early morning underneath a car at the port in Tunis. Though there were no injuries, the rare attack helped deepen the sense of unease in Tunisia, where two opposition politicians have been gunned down in the last six months, apparently by the same weapon.
He said the attack was “far from being the first” incident of this kind, in which terrorists choose religious figures as targets, adding that “several well-known muftis in the Caucasus, who professed moderate Islam and who called for inter-ethnic and inter-religious peace, have died at the hands of such thugs.”Hungarian ruling party sponsors festival with anti-Semitic books
Extremists “have put themselves not only outside of any religion but also apart from humankind; their only goal is to kill innocent people, chiefly those who promote eternal values, morals and spirituality, in this world,” he said.
Anti-Semitic literature was on display at a festival in Slovakia sponsored by Hungary’s ruling party, Fidesz.Bus Full of Jewish Children Pelted With Eggs, Stones, Window Smashed by Gang of Teenagers in Kent, UK, Shouting ‘Go Back to Where You Came From’
Among the books on display at the event were Henry Ford’s “The International Jew,” “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” and Erno Raffay’s openly anti-Semitic book on the Freemasons, “Politizalo szabadkomuvesseg,” according to a report Thursday on the website Hungarian Spectrum.
Kent Online said the Jews, from London, were visiting the town after a trip to Diggerland beach in Strood on Tuesday afternoon. Witnesses saw seven teenage boys and girls beset the hired bus with eggs and stones, smashing a window of the car as it turned into High Street from Millennium Way. The bus then stopped in a parking lot on Trinity Road, where the teenagers hurled more eggs at the children. No one was injured in the attack.Dude, where’s my bus?
Remember the frustrations of life before Waze and other traffic apps — getting lost, getting stuck in unexpected traffic?That’s Amar’e: At Maccabiah, Stoudemire feels his Jewish connections
Well, what Waze did for cars, Israeli start-up NetBus does for public transportation. It’s one of the most-downloaded apps in the Israeli App Store, and is used well over a million times a month to tell commuters where their bus is, whether it’s going to be late, and when they should leave their homes or offices to catch the next one.
Stoudemire, who is participating in the games as an assistant coach of the Canadian basketball squad, has long believed he has Jewish roots — or as he told JTA in an exclusive interview on Thursday, Hebrew roots.
Stoudemire, who visited Israel shortly after signing with the Knicks three years ago, could not pinpoint his specific biblical observances, but he indicated that he strove to live an ethical and meaningful life.
Any US guarantee to the Palestinians that the upcoming negotiations with Israel will be based on the pre-1967 lines would be a violation of written US commitments given to then-prime minister Ariel Sharon, former Foreign Ministry legal adviser Alan Baker wrote in a letter sent this week to Secretary of State John Kerry.Kerry refers to country of Palestine
Baker wrote the letter on behalf of the Legal Forum for Israel, along with another attorney with the group, Yossi Fuchs. The forum, formerly called the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel, was set up in the wake of the Gaza withdrawal to promote the rights of the evacuees.
“It’s my hope that that will be able to happen as procedures are put in place by both countries in order to empower that,” Kerry told reporters.Kerry promised all pre-Oslo prisoners will go free, claims Arab MK
The reference to a country of Palestine was something that a State Department spokeswoman was later obliged to disavow, assuring reporters that US policy had not changed, according to AFP.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has promised Palestinian officials that peace negotiations will not resume before Israel agrees to release all 100-plus pre-Oslo prisoners, an Arab member of Knesset told The Times of Israel on Thursday. He said this group included 21 prisoners who are either Israeli citizens or Jerusalem residents and whom Israel has reportedly steadfastly refused to free as a goodwill measure to boost negotiations.Ashrawi calls for release of jailed Fatah, PFLP leaders
PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi on Thursday demanded European intervention to secure the release of jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti and Ahmed Sa’dat, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.Jeffrey Goldberg: Want Peace? Get Rid of Hamas
Barghouti is serving five life terms in an Israeli prison for his role in armed attacks during the second intifada. Sa’dat is serving a 30- year term for his role in the assassination of then-tourism minister Rehavam Ze’evi in 2001.
Of course, the collapse of Hamas wouldn't mean instantaneous Palestinian Authority rule. But nothing at all will happen with Hamas in power.Hevron: Israelis "Fight Back" Against Anarchist, Arab Extremists
There are more important matters in the Middle East right now than the resumption of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians: The Syrian civil war, the turmoil in Egypt and Iran's continued march toward the nuclear threshold are three. But if Kerry insists on pushing negotiations, he might as well attempt to create conditions in which those negotiations could work.
Breaking Hamas would be one way to try to achieve his goal.
Anarchists frequently enter Israeli towns on the Jewish Sabbath along with local Arabs, they say, and engage in loud demonstrations which regularly escalate into verbal and physical abuse of Jewish residents.Road Terror in Jerusalem’s Old City; Baby Hurt
Left-wing and Arab extremists have also engaged in serious acts of arson and vandalism against Jewish-owned property and agriculture.
These groups speak openly of their wish to ethnically-cleanse Judea and Samaria of Jews, and Israeli residents have complained in the past at the relative impunity with which they are able to carry out their activities.
More terror attacks are being reported at the entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem, with Palestinian Authority Arabs attacking buses with Israeli license plates.Egypt’s Morsi ordered held over Hamas contacts, murder
The Arabs hurled large rocks at an Egged bus as it traveled past the Damascus Gate on Thursday afternoon, according to Israel Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, who tweeted the information via the Twitter social networking site.
The case against Morsi is rooted in the mass jailbreak of more than 30 Muslim Brotherhood leaders from a prison northwest of Cairo during the 2011 popular uprising that toppled Morsi’s predecessor, autocrat Hosni Mubarak. There have been many reports in the Egyptian media that the Brotherhood collaborated with Hamas, its Palestinian wing, and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon to arrange the breakout.Israel Security Officials: Weapons Smuggled Into Gaza to Attack Israel, Now Used Against Egypt
Security officials in Israel believe anti-aircraft missiles originally smuggled into Gaza from Syria have since made their way into Egypt’s Sinai via Hamas operatives supporting Muslim Brotherhood or Al Qaeda forces, which have been using the desert as a base to attack the caretaker Egyptian regime that ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, Israel’s Channel 2 reported, citing security sources.Egypt Warns: Sinai Terrorists Planning Friday Attacks
Terrorists in the Sinai Peninsula are planning to attempt attacks on Friday, Egyptian military sources have warned. The attacks would be timed to take place parallel to protests in Cairo.Egypt braces for day of rival rallies
Terror groups in the Sinai have primarily targeted the Egyptian army, which is currently engaged in a large-scale operation aimed at restoring order to the region. They have occasionally attacked Israel as well.
Political allies of Egypt’s military lined up behind its call for huge rallies Friday to show support for the country’s top general, pushing toward a collision with Islamist opponents demanding the return of the nation’s ousted president.Egyptian Army Gives Brotherhood a 48 Hour Ultimatum
But there was widespread uncertainty over the army’s intentions — and worry that the military is whipping up a dangerous populist fervor.
The Egyptian army on Thursday gave the Muslim Brotherhood until Saturday afternoon to sign up for political reconciliation, according to a military-linked website.Al-Qaida family festival celebrates jihad with ice cream, tug-o-war
“We will not initiate any move, but will definitely react harshly against any calls for violence or black terrorism from Brotherhood leaders or their supporters. We pledge to protect peaceful protesters regardless of their affiliation,” the statement said, according to Al Arabiya.
Bread and jihadist propaganda were distributed at the fair, but those were far from the only attractions. Video from the event shows children participating in an ice cream eating contest, with one boy wearing a Jabhat al-Nusra headband. There was even a tug-of-war contest between the two al-Qaida groups hosting the jihadist block party: Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.Syrian Christian Describes Religious Cleansing by Islamic Extremists
Eventually, the local Sunni extremists were joined by foreign Islamic jihadists and cleansed the town of Christians, according to Fadul.Syrian forces launch offensive on Palestinian camp
“In March 2012, many foreign jihadis came to Qusayr and surrounded Christian Street. They were joined by a mob of local Sunnis… The next day, all the Christians did leave Qusayr—870 families. Only two or three very old Christians stayed. Most left with nothing. No one helped us.”
Pro-government gunmen advanced in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus on Friday, officials said.
Fighting in the camp broke out earlier this week. It has been mostly under rebel control since late last year.
Anwar Raja, a spokesman for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, said Friday the Palestinian Popular Committees want to “cleanse” the camp of “terrorist gangs.”
The PFLP-GC is close the Syrian government.
The EU’s willful blindness towards jihadist organizations, be they Sunni or Shia, is nothing new and seems to be motivated largely by greed. Buying Iranian oil and gas and selling Iran “dual use” products, which are sanctioned by the U.S., has always taken a priority over security. The Europeans accepted Hezbollah for more than 30 years. Only after last year’s bombing in Bulgaria, and a plot to assassinate Israeli and other diplomats in Cyprus, when the danger seemed closer to home, have they decided to send a message to the Iranian sponsored jihadi organization by designating Hezbollah’s “military wing” as terrorists.'Ya'alon orders freeze in permits for EU projects in West Bank'
Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon ordered the IDF’s civil administration to cease cooperation in joint projects with the EU, The Jerusalem Post has learned.Israel announces plans for West Bank train network
This means that the IDF will refuse to grant new permits or renew existing permits for EU construction projects in Area C, which is territory under Israeli civil and military control. It also will not issue or renew any documents that EU personnel might need for travel in the West Bank or into Gaza from Israel.
In addition, IDF offices in the West Bank, such as the civil administration and the office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, will no longer hold work meetings with EU officials or personnel.
Since the planned routes of the network extend throughout the West Bank, including into areas A and B, which are governed by the Palestinian Authority, construction cannot begin without Palestinian cooperation, a Transportation Ministry official told The Times of Israel Thursday.Telegraph reporter lazily asserts that “settler” Jews violate Geneva Convention
Palestinian officials have refused to cooperate publicly with the proposal, but the official insisted that Palestinian Authority officials quietly acknowledge that the plans, if implemented, would bring enormous economic benefits to PA-controlled areas.
“They support keeping the lands available for the trains,” the official said.
Jews have lived in Judea and Samaria—the West Bank—since ancient times, and, in fact, the only time Jews have been prohibited from living in these territories in recent decades was during Jordanian rule from 1948 to 1967.800,000 missing Jews: Guardian ‘refugee’ history includes glaring omission.
Whilst reasonable people can of course disagree with Israeli settlement policy – in the context of efforts to reach a final status agreement with the Palestinians – lazy assertions that such settlements are “illegal” at best has a questionable basis in international law, and should certainly not be presented as an incontrovertible fact by a serious newspaper.
It’s one thing to parrot the Palestinian narrative of the “Nakba”, but what the Guardian did was to completely erase from the historical record the well-documented (and completely undisputed) forced expulsion of hundreds of thousands of innocent Jews.Shot Dagestan rabbi in stable condition after flight to Israel
The Guardian’s ideologically inspired animosity towards the Jewish state has crossed a line, and the paper’s editors need to be held accountable for such completely ahistorical propaganda.
A Chabad rabbi shot by a suspected terrorist in Russia Thursday was in serious but stable condition after being flown to Israel for treatment.Christian Students Without ‘Obvious Self-Interest,’ Seek to Legitimize Israel on Campus
Ovadia Isakov, 40, the chief rabbi of Derbent, in the Republic of Dagestan, was returning from performing ritual slaughter for kosher meat when a gunman opened fire on him. Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement that Isakov’s overt Jewish identity “is among the possible motives investigators are considering for the attack.”
Founded in 2009, CUFI on Campus has 120 chapters and has trained 2,000 students to advocate for Israel, officials say. Some chapters, such as Mukha’s, draw only a handful of members, if that many. “What you want them to do is try to do events that are well attended,” Brog said.Report: Al Jazeera Reporter in Violent Confrontation with D.C. Police
Sometimes the lack of interest is due to apathy, both Bain and Brog say. “At a lot of Christian schools, Israel is not a value that’s taught; we’re trying to change that,” Brog said. At other schools, where anti-Israel sentiment might be strong, people are afraid to support Israel publicly. “Not a lot of students, Jewish or not, have the guts to do it.”
That the CUFI activists aren’t Jewish can give them credibility that Jewish students, who some assume automatically will defend Israel, don’t always have. People “may wonder ‘what is this black guy from a small town in Dayton, Ohio, doing supporting Israel?” Bain said. That can help legitimize his message, he said, “because I don’t have an obvious self-interest, other than the fact I love the Jewish people.”
A reporter claiming to work for Al Jazeera was involved in a violent confrontation with Washington, D.C., police on Tuesday evening after he was ejected from a pro-Israel conference for surreptitiously videotaping attendees and events, according to eyewitnesses.Global startups vie to learn in Tel Aviv
Reporters identified as Matthew Cassel and Micah Garen were ejected from the Christians United for Israel’s (CUFI) annual D.C. gathering after they were caught infiltrating and clandestinely filming events closed to the press.
High-tech companies from 14 countries are taking part in the Start Tel Aviv international competition whose top prize includes learning the secrets of Israel’s startup ecosystem.Bynet Expo: Israel’s best high-tech secret
Start Tel Aviv is sponsored by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel Aviv Global & Tourism and Campus Tel Aviv, powered by Google.
One company from each of the participating countries – United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, France, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Latvia, India, China, Korea, Mexico,Sweden and Colombia – will win a five-day paid trip to Israel.
For the past 10 years, Israeli high-tech icons and brothers Yehuda and Zohar Zisapel have brought their family of companies together for a showcase: the Bynet Expo in Tel Aviv.Stand With Us: UN Turns to Israel for Advice on Including People With Disabilities in Society
Selling services and products for telecom, IT security, wireless mobility, finance, defense, computing and networking, the Zisapel brothers formed RAD Bynet Group in the 1970s. Last year, its 16 different companies — which together form the mother of all high-tech firms in Israel — saw more than $1 billion in sales.
Representatives from across the world including Estonia, Colombia, New Zealand, the Vatican - and even from countries that don't have diplomatic relations with Israel - approached Judes to learn more from Beit Issie Shapiro and for cooperation in the field of disabilities. "Israel is a country with a wealth of talent and a big heart,” says Israeli Ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor. “Beit Issie Shapiro shows all that can be accomplished with Israeli innovation, professionalism and leadership. We are very happy to have them as a partner at the United Nations, sharing their expertise to improve life for the 780 million people who live with disabilities around the world."IDF Blog: Looking Back: IDF’s First Operation Against Hezbollah
In late June 1993, after an escalation in Hezbollah rocket attacks on Israel's north, the IDF launched Operation Accountability. Although the IDF initially reacted with restraint, Hezbollah’s relentless attacks forced the military to act to protect Israel’s civilians.Increasing number of Israeli Arabs signing up for national service
On June 28, 1993 - exactly 20 years ago - the Hezbollah terrorist organization began firing rockets from Southern Lebanon onto Israel’s northern communities. The attacks injured Israeli civilians and brought normal life to a halt in northern Israel. Several days later, terrorists from Hezbollah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine launched attacks on IDF outposts – killing five IDF soldiers.
In recent weeks the activity of the forum to recruit Israeli Christians to the Israel Defense Forces has made headlines. Israeli Arab public figures, both Muslim and Christian, have spoken out against the increasing numbers of young Christians who are interested in enlisting and want to share the burden along with other minorities such as the Bedouin and Druze.IDF Officer Makes Sure Muslims Can Get To Jerusalem for Ramadan
During holidays such as Ramadan and Christmas, the crossing becomes much busier. Open hours at the crossings are extended and many people are able to cross without a permit.IDF Soldiers Invite You to "Like" us on Facebook
2nd Lt. Dotan is responsible for a team of 12 soldiers “Our goal and the IDF’s goal is to do the best job possible,” says Lt. Dotan, a 20-year-old who began her service in an Intelligence unit and eventually transferred to her current position at the Bethlehem crossing, where she decided to become an officer. “Even though we are required to carry weapons, we do not use them. Our role is simply to assist each person going through the crossing.”
1. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vow to submit any agreement to a referendum. Bibi’s promise, made Sunday at the start of his weekly cabinet meeting, brought cries that he was shirking the leadership role required of a statesman, though acting consistent with his reputation for governing by poll. In any event, an Israeli plebiscite would likely sound the death knell for an agreement based – as any to emerge from Kerry’s planned talks would have to be – upon the Oslo Accords, the 1994 framework for a Palestinian state that, as a candidate, Netanyahu used to burn in effigy, marching beside a coffin labeled “Oslo.” Polls consistently show most Israelis want a peace agreement but do not believe one will come, one reason surely being that most Israelis reject the specific concessions a deal almost certainly would entail. To take only one issue: Two out of three centrist Israelis in one recent poll refuse to divide Jerusalem, the city Palestinians insist must also serve as their capital. And this week, even in the absence of any specifics at all, only 55 percent of Israelis said they were inclined to support an agreement Netanyahu might present.
Buy EoZ's book, PROTOCOLS: EXPOSING MODERN ANTISEMITISM
If you want real peace, don't insist on a divided Jerusalem, @USAmbIsrael
The Apartheid charge, the Abraham Accords and the "right side of history"
With Palestinians, there is no need to exaggerate: they really support murdering random Jews
Great news for Yom HaShoah! There are no antisemites!