Archive for May 6, 2012

‘Couple behind Israel Loves Iran campaign deserves Nobel’

Iranian Facebook activist initiates petition pushing for Nobel Peace Prize nomination for Israelis Ronny Edry and Michal Tamir

 

A new Facebook initiative is pushing for a Nobel Peace Prize nomination for the Israeli couple behind the Israel Loves Iran campaign. An online petition called on web surfers to support Ronny Edry and Michal Tamir as Nobel nominees.

“If Ronny Edry and Michal Tamir would be honored with the Nobel Peace Prize this would be a significant affirmation for all those who seek peace. It would be an historic example,” the petition read.
הכרזה הצבעונית שהציתה את קמפיין האהבה עם איראן. רוני אדרי ובתו
Ronny Edry and his daughter in poster for campaign

 

“Internet gives new chances for democracy and also for the international peace movement and this prize could encourage people to join us and become activists as well,” Roya Mobasheri, the woman behind the petition, wrote. Continue Reading »

Israel’s Haredi parties praying to stay in power

The Haredi parties may well find themselves in the opposition after the upcoming election. They hope to use ‘enemies’ like Yair Lapid and Avigdor Lieberman to unify the camp.

 

The ultra-Orthodox parties began their election campaign last week with an attempt to close ranks in the Lithuanian (non-Hasidic ) camp. Members of Knesset Moshe Gafni and Uri Maklev of Degel Hatorah (the partner of the Hasidic party Agudat Yisrael in the United Torah Judaism faction ) visited the town of Elad in order to meet with a group of what can be called the “new ultra-Orthodox.” They have no clout in any node of power, certainly not in the party that sets the tone in the Haredi public.

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Netanyahu: Israel Needs a Leader with Experience

Prime Minister kicks off election campaign in Likud convention, lists his government’s achievements.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu kicked off the election campaign Sunday in a speech at the Likud convention in Tel Aviv, in which he took credit for making people feel safer in Israel.

“We have systematically struck those who planned to strike us,” Netanyahu said. “We took the initiative and we responded resolutely to every attack on us. We proved that we take care of security with force and with good judgment.”

“We did not forget,” he added, to a burst of applause. “We brought home our abducted soldier Gilad Shalit.” Continue Reading »

Yisrael Beiteinu calls to delay Knesset dissolution to allow time to pass new IDF enlistment bill

Lieberman estimates that some 90 MKs will support Yisrael Beiteinu’s purposed law, but coalition chairman Elkin insists on dissolving the Knesset on Monday.

Yisrael Beiteinu has called Sunday for the delay on a vote to dissolve Israel’s Knesset, to allow time to pass the party’s new bill which promotes mandatory enlistment in the Israel Defense Forces for all Israeli citizens.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman - Photo by Olivier Fitoussi

Yisrael Beiteinu MK Robert Ilatov called on coalition chairman MK Zeev Elkin (Likud) to reschedule the vote on dissolving the Knesset from Monday to next week, in order to complete his party’s legislation that would be an alternative to the Tal Law.

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Syria Moving Scuds to Israel, Turkey Borders – Report

Jordanian news site says western spy satellites show hundreds of Scud launchers moving south and north.

Jordanian news site Ahbar Baladna reports that western spy satellites have recently spotted movements of Syrian heavy missile launchers northward and southward, toward Syria’s borders with Turkey and Israel.

Bashar Assad

Bashar Assad - Reuters

The site says hundreds of high-caliber launchers are being moved, and that these could only be long range Scud missile launchers.

Syria has threatened in the past that in the event of foreign military intervention on its soil, it will not hesitate to fire missiles at Israel and Turkey in order to ignite a large scale regional war. Continue Reading »

Israel rejects claims of violating Lebanese sovereign territory

Lebanon objected Wednesday to the excavation, which began Monday, arguing that at several points it was between 30 and 65 centimeters closer to the pavement on the Lebanese side of the border than originally agreed upon.

BEIRUT: The Israeli army Saturday rejected Lebanese claims that a security fence being erected on the border between the two countries violates Lebanese sovereign territory, the Jerusalem Post reported.

The statement from the Israeli army claiming it did not cross the Blue Line came after Lebanon filed a complaint with United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Friday.

The complaint claims that Israel was crossing over into Lebanese territory during excavations Thursday laying groundwork for the fence. Continue Reading »

Israel to host Int’l Interpol Convention

Law enforcement missions from over 40 nations to arrive in Israel next week for three-day conference on crime fighting

Some 200 senior delegates from law enforcement agencies across 40 European nations will arrive in Israel next week, to attend the International Interpol Convention

Interpol logo

Interpol logo

This will be the first time Israel hosts the prestigious event

The Israel Police was selected to host the event, which aims to promote cooperation between law enforcement agencies and authorities worldwide.

The three-day conference will be held in Tel Aviv and headed by InterpolPresident Khoo Bon Hui and its Secretary-General Ronald Noble.

Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch and Police Commissioner Yohanan Daninowill attend the gala opening, as will the heads of all other law enforcement agencies in Israel. Continue Reading »

Israel’s atomic arsenal could fall victim to a new U.S. nuclear policy

Senior Haaretz analyst Amir Oren says that if Obama wins in November, he will likely push for dramatic new reductions in nuclear arsenals; in addition to the U.S. and Russia, Israel may also have to give up some of the nuclear warheads it reportedly holds.

 

On February 17, Defense Minister Ehud Barak visited the Hiroshima memorial for the victims of the first atomic bomb used on people in human history. Barak, who according to the Japanese news agency Kyodo described the bombing of the city as “one of the unavoidable tragedies” of World War II, viewed the exhibits. His escorts drew his attention to a map of the world listing the number of nuclear warheads in the possession of the atomic powers.

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Police Ban Jews from Temple Mount March on Tisha B’Av

The Women in Green have asked the High Court to cancel a police ban on Jews praying in a Tisha B’Av march near the Temple Mount.

 

The nationalist Women in Green organization has asked the High Court to cancel a police ban on Jews praying in a Tisha B’Av prayer march near the Temple Mount.

Prayer March around Temple Mount gates

Prayer March around Temple Mount gates - Israel news photo: Yisrael Maimon

Women in Green leaders Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar filed a petition to allow the march, which usually attracts thousands of worshippers and has been allowed for 18 years.

The police prohibited the march this year because of concerns of outbreaks of violence as a result of the date falling this year during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when tens of thousands Muslims swarm on to the Temple Mount. Continue Reading »

Warning: The wheat’s too warm

An Israeli evolutionary biologist finds hard evidence of global warming in the changes he’s found in wheat and barley plants.

Will global warming put an end to your morning bowl of Wheaties? An evolutionary biology researcher in Israel thinks there’s cause for concern.

The 28-year comparative study he conducted and published with colleagues shows that wild emmer wheat and wild barley — the progenitors of the staple crops for humans and animals across the world — have undergone worrying changes caused by global warming.

Prof. Eviatar (Eibi) Nevo, founder of the University of Haifa’s Institute of Evolution and director of its International Graduate Center of Evolution, warns that these changes put at risk the continued improvement and production of cereal grains because of genetic deterioration and increased susceptibility to environmental stresses. Continue Reading »

Rhino arrives in Israel with a mission

One-and-a-half ton female from South Africa will live at the Ramat Gan Safari

 

A young South African female rhinoceros weighing one-and-a-half tons arrived in Israel Friday morning. She is being taken to the Ramat Gan Safari, where she will live in isolation for two weeks before being integrated into the existing rhino community.

With the help of a young male rhino who was recently born at the safari — which is also called The Zoological Center Tel Aviv — the South African female is expected to help enlarge the local rhino population.

 

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Israeli rower won gold — and sang “Hatikvah” on her own

Organizers of a rowing competition for the disabled in Italy apparently didn’t take into consideration the possibility that the Israeli contender, Moran Samuel, would win the competition.

Update: some of the comments to this video mentioned a version of Hatikvah, by Enrico Macias. The first approximately 30 seconds in that version are not part of Israel’s official anthem, Hatikvah.

The official anthem, used by all official Israeli institutions (the President, Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs etc.) and in every official ceremony, should have been in the hands of the Italian organizers. Unfortunately, unlike the Olympic games organizers, the Italian organizers didn’t have it. Continue Reading »

PM to officially announce election at Likud convention

Primary race to be tight, as polls show Likud getting 31 seats, but party regulations only allow 19 of current 27 MKs to run again; party spokeswoman says the primary will take place in early to mid-June.

 

The Likud convention, where Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu plans to officially announce an early election for September 4, is set to begin on Sunday night in Tel Aviv.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu – Photo: REUTERS

 

The convention is expected to be heated, as its members will decide in the coming weeks how the Likud will choose its candidates for the next Knesset.

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Hundreds bring back social protest to Jerusalem

More than 700 people participate in May Day march in demand of social justice

More than 700 people, including students, youth movement members and leftists, attended a march in Jerusalem as part of May Day events.

Marching under the banner, “Workers not Slaves” the protesters carried signs that read “An entire generation demands a future” and “The people demand social justice.”

Ziv Rosenberg, one of the organizers of the event, told Ynet this was the first step in resuming last summer’s social protest. “We are here to say that any party that seeks election must provide solutions to the social demands raised in the past year.” Continue Reading »

LGBT rights in Israel: ‘Pinkwashing’ oppression of Palestinians or illuminating the Middle East?

Michael Oren tells U.S. crowd that while Palestinian suicide bombers blew up Israeli restaurants and buses, Israel provided shelter for LGBT Palestinians.

Tel Aviv is the best gay destination in the world. That’s what a world-wide survey hosted in January by GayCities.com and American Airlines showed, and Israeli diplomats in Western countries proudly put the fact on display.

Tel Aviv gay parade in 2011.

Tel Aviv gay parade in 2011 - Photo by: Ofer Vaknin

Many liberal pro-Palestinian activists saw this as “pinkwashing” the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. The website pinkwatchingisrael.com called upon Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community members to boycott the 20th Annual Equality Forum in Philadelphia, which features Israel this year and has invited Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren to be a keynote speaker.

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