Archive for March 20, 2012

| March 20, 2012
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Lieberman Demands Ashton Retract Toulouse-Gaza Comparison

Lieberman says EU foreign policy chief Ashton should retract her comparison of Toulouse murders with deaths in Gaza.

 

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Tuesday that European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton should retract her comparison of the Toulouse murders with deaths in Gaza.

Ashton responded to the cold-blooded murder of a rabbi and three Jewish children in Toulouse by saying, “When we think of what happened in Toulouse today, when we remember what happened in Norway a year ago, when we know what is happening in Syria, when we see what is happening in Gaza and in different parts of the world – we remember young people and children who lose their lives.” Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| March 20, 2012
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Gaza’s tunnel tycoons

Some 600 new millionaires made their fortunes by smuggling goods in Gaza tunnels, at the expense of thousands of workers risking their lives. Social uprising on the way?

The Gaza Strip usually makes headlines for rocket launching and IDF raids, but the daily lives of its residents are mostly affected by poverty, unemployment, faulty infrastructure and Hamas government corruption. A new study shows that in the past five years a new class of young millionaires emerged in Gaza.

The Gaza blockade enabled many to capitalize on the smuggling of goods via the Rafah tunnels. A new class of 600 young “tunnel millionaires” made their fortunes often at the expense of thousands of workers risking their lives in the tunnels. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| March 20, 2012
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Israelis reach out to Iranians on Facebook

One Iranian writes: “We are 2 civilizations with more than 2,500 years of friendship. Why should I hate Israel?”

Man holding Israeli flag sends message to Iran

Israelis send Iranians messages of peace (Facebook)

With the war drums between Israel and Iran beating at a fevered pace, an Israeli couple has launched an online campaign with the hope of reaching out on a personal level to the people of Iran.

Israelis send Iranians messages of peace (Facebook)

Israelis send Iranians messages of peace (Facebook)

Ronny Edry, 41, said that he and his partner Michal Tamir, 35, both graduates of Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, created the poster campaign last Thursday on something of a lark, with no idea that within days it would take on a life of its own.

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Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| March 19, 2012
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Jews of Majorca reconnect with their roots

Members of island community forced by Spanish Inquisition to adopt Catholic faith embark on journey to discover their Jewish history

Centuries after his ancestors were forced to convert to Roman Catholicism, Antonio Pina could still find signs of his family’s Jewish origins in his grandmother’s kitchen.

As a child he was puzzled that she had separate plates for some foods and used chicken fat instead of pork fat when cooking meals.

Years later, as an adult, he found out why, and embarked on the long path to converting to Judaism.

Star of David at Mallorca church which used to be synagogue Photo: Gabby Newman

Star of David at Mallorca church which used to be synagogue Photo: Gabby Newman

“I like to say that I discovered my faith through pots and pans,” the 60-year-old chef said as he stood in the kitchen of the modest synagogue in Palma on the island of Majorcawhere he prepares kosher meals for the local Jewish community. Continue Reading »

Category: Jewish News | Tags: ,
| March 19, 2012
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UN cancels Hamas official visit to Human Rights Council after Israeli complaint

A top Hamas official’s appearance before the UN’s Human Rights Council was canceled on Monday following an official complaint filed by Israel.

Israeli Ambassador Aharon Leshno-Yaar says he wrote to UN officials urging them to deny Ismail Al-Ashqar access to the UN’s European headquarters because of Hamas’ advocacy of violence against Israel.

Human Rights Council AP May 21, 2010.

A session of the Human Rights Council at the UN European headquarters in Geneva, May 31, 2010. - Photo by AP

Following the complaint the UN chief in Geneva barred Al-Ashqar from entering the Human Rights Council hall, and he was asked to leave the UN compound in Geneva. Continue Reading »

Category: Jewish News | Tags: ,
| March 19, 2012
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Jewish Cemetery Vandalized in Poland

Perpetrators spray-painted swastikas and anti-Semitic images and slogans on graves, a Holocaust memorial and entrance to the Jewish cemetery

Polish police are investigating the desecration of a Jewish cemetery in northeastern Poland, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) reported.

Perpetrators spray-painted swastikas and anti-Semitic images and slogans on graves, a Holocaust memorial and entrance to the Jewish cemetery in Wysokie Mazowieckie near Bialystok, said Monika Krawczyk, the CEO of the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland.

One of the slogans read “Here is Poland — not Israel,” which, according to Krawczyk, is a slogan used by Polish neo-Nazi groups. Continue Reading »

Category: Jewish News | Tags: , ,
| March 19, 2012
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Israeli official: Iranian military experts operating in Gaza, Sinai

Iran pressured Islamic Jihad and popular resistance groups in Gaza to continue firing rockets into Israel despite cease-fire, says high-ranking Jerusalem official.

Iranian military experts are active in the Gaza Strip and in Sinai, according to a high-ranking official in Jerusalem. The official said the Iranians entered the areas via Sudan and Egypt, and added that some of the rocket-launching systems in Gaza were manufactured under Iranian supervision.

The senior source also claimed that Islamic Jihad continued to fire rockets at Israel even after the recent cease-fire was announced because the Iranians pressured that organization, and the popular resistance groups, to continue acting against Israel.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| March 19, 2012
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PA Video Mimics Psalms: ‘If I Forget You, Al Quds’

Now, Arabs try to steal the Bible. PA TV has produced a video song with a Muslim version of Psalm 137

Official Palestinian Authority (PA) TV has produced and broadcast a music video that attempts to steal Psalm 137 regarding Jerusalem, mimicking the famed words: “If I forget thee, oh Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill, may my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember thee, If I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy.”

Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) monitored, recorded and translated the clip.

The eternal verse from Psalms expresses Jewish longing for Jerusalem after its destruction and the Jewish exile. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| March 19, 2012
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UN: Settlers taking over Palestinian-owned springs

Report claims intimidation, violence being used to limit Palestinian access to W. Bank springs; IDF rejects claims.

 

Ein Hagvura natural spring in the West Bank - Photo by Sharon Udasin

Ein Hagvura natural spring in the West Bank - Photo by Sharon Udasin

Amid the sprawling olive groves that surround Ein Al Ariq – or Ein HaGvura – outside of Nablus, Jamal Daraghmeh recalled the days of the 1970s, when he and fellow community members used to come to the basin to collect water for their village drinking needs and livestock.

“We [now] have access only after coordination for the olive harvest, once a year,” Daraghmeh, the mayor of nearby village al Luban al Sharqiya, told reporters during a United Nations field tour of the area last week. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Jewish News | Tags: , , , , ,
| March 19, 2012
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France: Jews fear another terror wave

In wake of fatal shooting near Jewish school in Toulouse, France’s Jews express concern of possible new anti-Semitic trend

The Jewish community in France expressed shock and horror over Monday’s shooting at a Jewish school in Toulouse, and some may fear the incident is a prelude of a new wave of anti-Semitic terror.

An unknown assailant opened fire on the Ozar Hatorah School in Toulouse around 8 am Monday, killing at least four people and injuring five.

French authorities have launched a manhunt for the shooter, who fled the scene.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his Interior Minister Claude Gueant are said to be en route to Toulouse. Continue Reading »

Category: Jewish News | Tags: ,
| March 19, 2012
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Waiting for the Messiah: Netanyahu addresses Evangelical Christian gathering in Jerusalem

Head of Christians United for Israel, largest pro-Israel lobby in U.S., compares PM to Moses and King David.

 

American Evangelical pastor John Hagee – who heads the largest pro-Israel lobby group in the United States – half jokingly compared Benjamin Netanyahu to the Messiah on Sunday night, as he waited for the delayed prime minister to arrive at a Jerusalem hotel to address the crowd.

“There’s a saying in Judaism about the Messiah – I know that even if he tarries, he’ll come,” Hagee told hundreds of members of Christians United for Israel. “I know that the prime minister will come, and even if he tarries, he’ll come.”

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Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| March 19, 2012
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New Radars Cut Gaza Infiltrations by 70-80%

Radars scan an entire section of the border, tracking multiple targets simultaneously without rotating.

New radars in use on the border with Gaza have helped the IDF cut the rate of infiltrations by 70-80%, the IDF Website says.

The new radars, “Baron” and “Baroness”, employ a revolutionary new scanning technology. The IDF Website reports that they are equipped with a wide-view scanner, which makes it unnecessary for them to rotate like traditional radars, thus eliminating blind spots. The new radar can scan a section of the border and track multiple targets simultaneously, without leaving any area vulnerable.

IDF radar operators - Photo By IDF website

IDF radar operators - Photo By IDF website

The radar is also sensitive to objects moving at low speeds.

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Category: Innovations & Discoveries, Israel News | Tags: ,
| March 19, 2012
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Hamas Terrorist to Address UN Human Rights Council

Ismail al-Ashqar will speak to the UNHRC Monday, regarding Hamas terrorists in Israeli jails.

Senior Hamas official Ismail al-Ashqar will address the United Nations Human Rights Council on Monday, an official statement said.

Al-Ashqar arrived in Switzerland on Sunday ahead of the appearance, which will focus on the issue of Hamas members being held in Israeli jails, the statement added.

UN Security Council

UN Security Council - Photo by Reuters

Blogger Elder of Zion noted that al-Ashqar has publicly called for Hamas to kidnap Israeli soldiers – an act that constitutes a war crime.

In another statement, al-Ashqar said that “Jerusalem cannot be liberated through negotiations or dialogue … resistance and Jihad is the only way to liberate Jerusalem from the dirt of the Zionist occupation.” Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| March 19, 2012
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Arab aprthaid in the Middle East

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Excellent clip made by Yishai Faran Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags:
| March 18, 2012
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Broad Israeli-PA cooperation continues despite tensions’

Foreign Ministry report details cooperation between Israel, PA in terms of medical treatment for Palestinians in Israel, security coordination, employment opportunities for Palestinians.

 

Nearly 200,000 West Bank Palestinian patients and those accompanying them were granted permits in 2011 for medical treatment in Israel, a 13 percent increase from 2010, according to a Foreign Ministry report.

Security Barrier between Israel and the West Bank

Security Barrier between Israel and the West Bank

The report, entitled “Measures Taken by Israel in Support of Developing the Palestinian Economy and Socio-Economic Structure,” will be submitted Wednesday to the Palestinian donors’ conference meeting in Brussels.

In addition, according to the report, some 21,500 Palestinian children from the West Bank were treated in Israeli hospitals last year, a 171% increase from the year before.The

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