Archive for December 20, 2012

Israeli Court rejects Israeli Arab suit over airport ‘profiling’

Nazareth District Court Judge explains that only Supreme Court justices are privy to materials relating to secret security checks & suggests that the plaintiffs each file a personal lawsuits rather than seeking to represent entire Arab sector.

 

The Nazareth District Court last week rejected a request from three Israeli Arabs pursuing a billion-shekel class-action suit to seek compensation for humiliating inspections at Ben Gurion International Airport.

Airport security in Israel - David Bachar

Security staff questioning Israeli Arab passengers at Ben-Gurion Airport. – Photo: David Bachar

The three had sought to sue the Shin Bet Security Service, the Airports Authority, and Israeli airlines El Al, Arkia, and Israir, on behalf the entire Israeli Arab sector. Continue Reading »

Egyptian Media Reports Morsi Suffering From Brain Tumor

Egyptian media reported Thursday that recently installed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is suffering from a brain tumor.

By David Lev

 

Already saddled with a restive population that appears set on repeating last year’s revolution against the regime and mass protests against his style of governing, recently installed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is apparently suffering from a brain tumor, Egyptian media reported Thursday. The Al-Wafed newspaper said that the tumor in his brain was currently small, but spreading, and that Morsi needed to have it removed before February. If it was not taken out, his life would be in danger.

Mohammed Morsi

Mohammed Morsi – AFP photo

The report quoted medical officials said to be familiar with the president’s condition, but did not name any specific doctors, and no independent verification was cited. Continue Reading »

Syrian defector reports: Assad’s regime transferred WMDs to Lebanon

Syrian defector says forces moved 100 kilos of lethal sarin gas from secret base in the direction of Lebanon

Yitzhak Benhorin

 

Syrian war escalates: According to Syrian sources, President Bashar Assad’s regime has developed special vehicles for moving and mixing chemical weapons, the Washington Post reported.

בסיס נשק כימי בספירה. קרבות ניטשו סביב המקום

Chemical weapon Syrian base

Post commentator, David Ignatius spoke to a Syrian source who received information from a Syrian defector who worked inside a chemical weapons network.

The source was speaking with Ignatius from his hiding place in an Arab country outside Syria, with the “hope of encouraging greater American involvement with the opposition.” Continue Reading »

Imam Accused of Inciting Hatred Against Jews in Tunisia

Tunisian association for minorities has lodged a complaint against Sheikh Ahmed S’hili, accusing him of inciting hatred against Jews in a televised sermon.

By Rachel Hirshfeld

 

A Tunisian support group for minorities said Wednesday that it has lodged a complaint against an imam, accusing him of inciting hatred against Jews in a fiery television sermon.

Tunisia's Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali

Tunisia’s Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali – Reuters

“We have lodged a complaint with the court of the first instance in Ben Arous against the imam of Rades mosque, Sheikh Ahmed S’hili, for inciting hatred,” the association’s lawyer Kais Baltagi told AFP.

The complaint is based on legislation which stipulates that anyone using media to “incite hatred between races, religions and people” can be jailed for up to three years. Continue Reading »

Palestinian refugees flood into Lebanon from Syria

Control of the Yarmouk refugee camp south of Damascus has pitted Palestinians fighting with rebels against Palestinians from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command loyal to Assad

Over 1,000 Palestinian refugees crossed into Lebanon in the past 24 hours.

By News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff

 

 

Videos published on the Internet appear to show people streaming out of the Yarmouk refugee camp near Damascus on Monday, which Syrian rebels claim to have captured.

Reuters is unable to independently verify the video content, but one shows a steady stream of people carrying bundles and luggage as they walk down a street covered with debris.

Continue Reading »

U.N. General Assembly adopts 9 resolutions condemning Israel…so far.

By the end of this week, the UNGA session is set to adopt 22 country-specific resolutions on Israel — and only 4 on the rest of the world combined.

 

By JTA

 

The United Nations General Assembly adopted nine resolutions on the topics of Palestinian rights and the Golan Heights.

United Nations General Assembly

The resolutions adopted Tuesday criticized Israel for “the continuing systematic violation of the human rights of the Palestinian people,” and focused on “the extremely difficult socioeconomic conditions being faced by the Palestine refugees” in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem. One resolution condemned Israel for continuing to hold the Golan Heights, and demanded Israel to return the land to Syria. Continue Reading »

Dush the Clown, Helps Nepal & Gives Israel Good PR on the side

Dush the Clown is not a medical doctor but if laughter is the best medicine, then he’s a great Doctor. His work also reflex well on Israel.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

 

He may not be much of a doctor but the children’s faces light up when Dush The Clown shuffles onto their ward in his floppy shoes and red nose to prescribe his unique brand of medical care.

Medical clowns

Medical clowns – INN TV

Dush — alias 36-year-old Israeli David Barashi — is in Nepal to teach doctors and nurses that laughter really can be the best medicine, with the latest evidence suggesting clowning around in hospitals can boost patient care. Continue Reading »

14 of 15 United Nation SC members slam Israeli building plans

Germany, Portugal, France, & Britain issue joint statement expressing “extreme concern” over Israeli construction plans in Ma’ale Adumim, E1

Israeli envoy Prosor: UNSC focusing on Israeli housing while Assad bombs his own people.

 

The US prevented a UN Security Council condemnation of Israel for a spate of settlement construction decisions on Wednesday, leading the other 14 countries on the 15-member council to issue separate condemnations of their own instead.

UN Security Council members vote on resolution - Photo: REUTERS

UN Security Council members vote on resolution – Photo: REUTERS

France, Britain, Germany and Portugal issued a joint statement read out after a meeting on the Middle East in the Security Council saying thy were “extremely concerned by, and strongly opposed, the plans by Israel to expand settlement construction in the West Bank, including in east Jerusalem.”

Continue Reading »

Signed Checks Worth $500 Million Found at Kotel

Jerusalem police were left bewildered Wednesday, after finding signed checks worth around $500 Million at the Western Wall.

By Rachel Hirshfeld

 

Jerusalem police were left bewildered after finding signed checks worth around half a billion dollars at the Western Wall on Wednesday.

The 507 checks were discovered in an envelope at the Jewish holy site in the Old City of Jerusalem and handed in to police by a good citizen, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation said in a statement.

“The honest finder handed them over in accordance with the law to the police lost property office. For now the checks are waiting for whoever lost them,” the statement said. Continue Reading »

Elections C’tee bars Zoabi from Knesset for supporting terrorism

The Central Election Committee banned Balad party head, MK Hanin Zoabi from the Knesset elections on  grounds of supporting terror & rejecting Israel as a Jewish state.

The committee is set to discuss disqualifying Strong Israel, haredim from running for Knesset later in the week.

The Central Election Committee banned Balad MK Hanin Zoabi from running for the 19th Knesset on Wednesday, on grounds of supporting terror and rejecting Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

Zoabi’s disqualification will automatically be brought to an appeal before the High Court of Justice. The only individual disqualification to be upheld by the court was that of Rabbi Meir Kahane in 1988.

Continue Reading »

In addition to the 2,612, Barak approves another 523 West Bank houses

Report:  DM Barak approved expansion of Gva’ot settlement in Gush Etzion prior to Palestinians’ UN bid.

Netanyahu to Asian envoys: ‘All Israeli gov’ts built in Jerusalem. We’re not going to change that.’

Itamar Fleishman

 

In addition to the approval of 2,612 housing units in Jerusalem’s Givat Hamatos, Defense Minister Ehud Barak has green-lighted the construction of an additional 523 units in the settlement of Gva’ot, located in the West Bank’s Gush Etzion region, Ynet learned Wednesday.

גבעות, גוש עציון

On way to becoming a city. Gva’ot

Barak approved the construction plan prior to the Palestinian bidin the United Nations. It was further reported that the Housing Ministry has issued a tender for the construction of 5,760 housing units across the country, including a 1,000 in Givat Ze’ev, Har Homa, Karnei Shomron and Efrat. Continue Reading »

Sadly, another Israeli warhorse is laid to rest – Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, 68

 

Former IDF Chief of Staff Amnon Lipkin-Shahak dies

IDF’s 15th Chief of Staff, at 68 dies after long battle with leukemia.

Mofaz: “We lost an extraordinary man.”
Yachimovich: “He was an officer and a gentleman.”

By Ynet

 

Former IDF Chief of Staff Amnon Lipkin-Shahak died Wednesday after a long battle with cancer. He was 68-years-old.

He passed away in Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem, at noon.

Lipkin-Shahak was the IDF’s 15th chief of staff. He later served as the tourism and transportation minister in the 15th Knesset.

ליפקין-שחק במהלך תרגיל של חטיבת הצנחנים (צילום: זן ארליך, דובר צה"ל)

As chief of staff – Archives: ID

Born in 1944, Lipkin-Shahak enlisted in the IDF in 1962, joining the Paratroopers Brigade. Continue Reading »

Massachusetts-Israel cooperate to build water innovation

A state survey showed that already in 2009, nearly 100 Israeli companies were located in Massachusetts, contributing 6,000 jobs directly & 21,000 jobs indirectly, that were generating $2.4 billion per year.

 

As Massachusetts eagerly seeks Israeli partners in water innovation, a Herzliya-based firm specializing in rapid microbiological water testing will get the chance to showcase its systems in the New England hi-tech hub.

TACount company.

TACount company – Photo: Daniel Selligson

Led by CEO Charles Gast, the TACount company was the winner among six finalists in the W.E.T. (Water Export Technology) Revolution Competition on Tuesday in Tel Aviv, organized by the Massachusetts Water Innovation Mission to Israel – a trade delegation of 48 industry executives. Continue Reading »

Dancing bearded rabbis meet NBA on court

Group of Chabad rabbis in Houston, Texas sets basketball world alight with their on-court performance which is helping promote Judaism’s image  far beyond the court.

By jn1.tv

 

VIDEO –In Houston, Texas, a group of dancing rabbis has set the world of top tier NBA basketball alight with a performance which is helping promote the image of Judaism far beyond the court.

This YouTube video has become a sensation: A group of Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis paring traditional Hora, Texas square dancing and even 1980s style break-dancing at a Houston Rockets basketball game.

Video courtesy of jn1.tv

It may look spontaneous to the untrained eye, but these dancing rabbis have put a lot into this year’s “Hoops for Hanukkah.” Continue Reading »

2,610 Houses Approved for Jerusalem Neighborhoods

More than 2,000 additional new houses have been approved for Jerusalem neighborhoods. More int’l ire is expected.

By Chana Ya’ar

 

More than 2,000 additional housing units have been approved for a southern Jerusalem neighborhood adjoining Talpiot, in a move sure to set off another firestorm of protest in the international community.

Jerusalem’s local committee on Wednesday approved building permits for 2,610 housing units in the Givat HaMatos neighborhood in Jerusalem. The approval was passed by a vote of six to one, with former deputy mayor of Jerusalem Pepe Alalu voting against the proposal.

Givat Hamatos is a southern suburb of the capital located in an area restored to the city during the 1967 Six Day-War. Continue Reading »