Speaking ahead of his visit to Israel, Mitt Romney says Obama is fond of ‘lecturing Israeli leaders,’ adding Israel will never again be criticized by Washington at UN.

‘Red-to-Med’ Deal Highlights Growing Israel-China Ties

Israelis seem enchanted with China, & they claim the feeling is mutual.

By Frida Ghitis

One evening last week, the Chinese government threw a dinner party for a visiting international delegation. If the menu that night in Beijing was strictly kosher, it was because the guests of honor for the event came from Israel. And the day had featured a remarkable event.

Just hours earlier, China’s Minister of Transportation Li Shenglin and his Israeli counterpart, Yisrael Katz, had signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on a multibillion dollar project inside Israel that some say could constitute an alternative trade route to the Suez Canal. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Israel China

israelandstuffcom | July 25, 2012

Jews Praying in Samaria are Ambushed by Arab Mob

An Arab mob ambushed & severely beat Jews praying in an open field in Samaria Wednesday, only leaving as soldiers arrived & shot into the air.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

Arab mob – Israel news photo: Binyamin residents council

The Arabs, from the Palestinian Authority village of Sinjil in the Binyamin region, have been arriving almost every day for several weeks to interrupt the Jewish prayers of residents from Givat Harel. The Jewish residents said they maintain their presence in the fields to prevent a hostile takeover of the state lands near their community, located between Shiloh and Harel in northern Samaria. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Arab attackers

Clinton: Push back at Holocaust deniers

US Sec. of St. calls on international community to respond to criticism of Israeli policy if it crosses the line to antisemitism.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on the international community to “act against anti-Semitism” at a keynote address at a symposium on ending genocide, held at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington on Tuesday.

Clinton delivers the keynote address – Photo: REUTERS

Clinton reaffirmed her support for Israel and the Jewish people at the Holocaust Museum, stating: “When heads of states and religious leaders deny the Holocaust, we must not let their lies go unanswered…we must respond when criticism of Israeli government policy crosses over to anti-Semitism.”

Category: Israel News, Jewish News | Tags: anti-Semitism

After threat by Assad official, Russia warns Syria: Do not use chemical weapons.

Syrian Foreign Ministry Statement comes as top Iranian general threatens Arab states that attempt to topple Assad regime.

By Reuters and The Associated Press

Russia warned Syria on Tuesday not to use chemical weapons, saying Moscow “proceeds from the assumption” that the government will adhere to its international obligations.

In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Syria had ratified an international protocol in 1968 that bars the use of poison gases as a method of warfare.

A satellite image of al-Safir, Syria’s main chemical weapons facility, near Aleppo. – Photo by GlobalSecurity.org

Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi acknowledged on Monday that the country had chemical weapons, saying it would not use them to crush rebels but could use them

Also on Tuesday, an Iranian semi-official news agency quoted the commander of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards as warning “hated Arab” rivals that they could face repercussions for their efforts to topple the Tehran-backed regime of President Bashar Assad in Syria. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Syria, Syria Unrest

Egyptian actors turn hateful & violent against ‘Israeli hosts’ when ‘Pranked’

Egyptian show exposes extreme levels of hate against Jews & Israelis • All 3 ‘victims’ of the Candid Camera show were enraged at the prospect of merely being in the same room with presumed Jews.

By Israel Hayom Staff

If the result of a prank on an Egyptian candid camera show is any indication, Israelis shouldn’t expect normal relations with Egyptians any time soon. During a recently aired episode, three Egyptian actors were pranked by being led to believe they were appearing on an Israeli television program.

Apparently, in Egypt it’s not a problem for a man to punch a woman in the face as long as she’s Jewish.

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: anti-Semitism, Egypt

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Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman: WMD transfer to Hezbollah is a ‘justification for war’

FM Liberman meets with European officials in Brussels, pushes for international involvement in safeguarding Syria’s WMD; EU: No consensus yet on adding Hezbollah to terror list.

By HERB KEINON

The transfer of chemical weapons from Syria to Hezbollah is a clear casus belli, and Israel will act “decisively and without hesitation or restraint,” Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said Tuesday.

Speaking at a press conference at the EU-Israel Association Council meeting in Brussels, Liberman said this would be “a completely different ballgame, and we hope for the understanding and cooperation of the international community.”

Liberman with Markoulis at meeting in Brussels – Photo: Screenshot

Liberman said the international community should get involved to prevent the possibility of using biological and chemical weapons.

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Hezbollah, Syrian unrest

Two Iranians on trial in Nairobi deny all bomb plot charges

Ahmad Mohammed & Sayed Mousavi deny all bomb plot charges on 1st day of trial in Kenya

Reuters

Two Iranians suspected of plotting to make bombs for attacks in Kenyan cities denied the charges against them at the first day of their trial in Nairobi on Monday.

Ahmad Mohammed and Sayed Mousavi - deny bomb charges Photo: AP

Ahmad Mohammed & Sayed Mousavi – Photo: AP

At least 32 people have been killed in a series of attacks in the capital, the port city of Mombasa, and the northern town of Garissa since Kenyan troops invaded Somalia last October to crush al Shabaab insurgents blamed for a surge in violence and kidnappings. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Iranian terrorists, Kenya

High Court: Israel’s biometric database can be ‘extreme & harmful’

Interior Ministry is planning to issue ‘smart’ ID cards & passports with microchips containing the fingerprints & photos of all Israeli residents.

By Tomer Zarchin

The High Court of Justice questioned on Monday the necessity of a pilot program to test a “harmful” biometric database, but rejected a petition arguing the project is unconstitutional.

Biometric technology, in this case in use in Switzerland. – Photo by Reuters

The Interior Ministry has agreed to release a new directive to regulate the implementation of a law calling on the ministry to issue “smart” identity cards and passports with microchips containing the fingerprints and photographs of Israeli residents. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Courts

Iranian Athletes Vow to Compete against the Israelis

Iranian athletes are willing to uphold the Olympics principles promising not to boycott competitions with Israelis, despite having done so in the past.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

Iranian athletes have vowed to uphold the Olympics principles and not boycott competition with Israelis, despite having done so so in the past.

British Army soldiers raise the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran at the Olympic Village – Photo: Reuters

Despite past boycotts, Iranian Olympics official Bahram Afsharzadeh insisted this week that the country’s athletes will be “faithful to sport” and not walk on competitions involving Israelis.

He said Iranian athletes have signed a pledge, backed by the United Nations, to leave hostilities outside of the Games. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Iran, Olympics

Lebanese farmers engage army with mortar & machine-gun fire to protect their marijuana

No casualties as farmers defend their lucrative, yet illegal marijuana crop against Lebanese security forces.

By Reuters

Farmers armed with machine guns,rocket-propelled grenades and mortars forced government troops to abandon an operation to destroy their illegal cannabis crop in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley on Monday, a witness said.

Lebanese security forces. – Photo by Reuters

No casualties were reported in the exchange of fire but two security force vehicles were hit by bullets, the witness said.

During Lebanon’s civil war, which took place between 1975 and 1990, the fertile Bekaa Valley produced up to 1,000 tons of cannabis resin annually and 30 to 50 tons of opium, used to make heroin. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: drugs, Lebanon

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Dr. Dore Gold: The Political Battle Over “Occupation” Narrative

Edmond Levy’s committee has restored Israel’s legal narrative about its rights in Judea and Samaria. There is a huge difference in how a compromise will look if Israel comes to the table as “foreign occupiers,” or as a party that has just territorial claims.

By Ambassador Dr. Dore Gold

In January 2012, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yaakov Neeman, the justice minister, turned to former Israeli supreme court justice Edmond Levy to head a panel of legal experts that would look into questions of land ownership in the “West Bank” (biblical Judea and Samaria, located west of the Jordan River, ed). Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: West Bank

The fish that lay the golden eggs

Super-expensive Karat caviar, coveted by restaurateurs in numerous countries, starts out in the Galilee.

By Abigail Klein Leichman

Think “caviar” and the Caspian Sea probably comes to mind along with Russia and maybe Iran. Well, think again. Because some of the finest caviar in the world today originates from ponds at Kibbutz Dan in Israel.

Yigal Ben-Tzvi with sturgeon at Kibbutz Dan.

It all started with a business trip to Russia in 1992. Aquaculturists Yigal Ben-Tzvi and Avshalom Hurvitz, who grew up on Kibbutz Dan and run its fish farms, bought some prized Osetra sturgeon eggs to hatch for the growing Israeli population of Russian immigrants who love this variety of fish. Continue Reading »

Category: Innovations & Discoveries |

Israel attack plot suspect detained by Cyprus court

Swedish national held on suspicion of espionage & conspiring to commit crimes against Israeli targets.

By REUTERS

NICOSIA – A man suspected of planning attacks on Israeli interests in Cyprus was detained by a court on the island on Monday, as Israel’s leader again accused Hezbollah militants and Iran over the alleged plot.

El Al airplanes sit on the runway – Photo: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters

The 24-year-old suspect, whose name has not been disclosed, was arrested in the Cypriot port city of Limassol on July 7, on suspicion of tracking the movements of Israeli tourists. He is a Swedish national of Lebanese origin.

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Cyprus, Iranian terrorists