Archive for April 10, 2013

6 Israelis killed in traffic accident outside Haifa

First report: Truck driver loses control of vehicle, crashes into 8 cars & pedestrians.

Emergency crews treating wounded at scene with at least 10 people reported injured.

At least six people were killed and a dozen were injured – two of them critically – in a multi-vehicle accident on the outskirts of the northern Israeli city of Haifa on Wednesday afternoon.

The scene of the accident in Haifa, April 10, 2013.

The scene of the accident in Haifa, April 10, 2013. Photo by ZAKA

 

 

Police say that they are not ruling out any possibilty in their investigation of the accident, including the possibility that it was a terrorist attack. Continue Reading »

Washington Post: It’s Time to Thank Israel’s PM Netanyahu

U.S. leading mainstream media paper says those who prefer diplomacy over war on Iran should thank Binyamin Netanyahu for his UN’s ‘red line’ speech.

By Maayana Miskin

 

 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s famous “red line” speech in the United Nations helped to slow Iran’s nuclear program, the Washington Post said in an editorial Tuesday.

Bomb

The latest round of talks with Iran “was, by all accounts, a disappointment,” the editorial said. However, it said, “for now, at least, there is no crisis… there is time to wait and see if Iran’s position will soften.”

“For that, proponents of diplomacy over war with Iran can thank a man they have often ridiculed or reviled: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” it stated. Continue Reading »

Israeli doctors will now also harvest organs after donors’ hearts stop

 

Israel’s new pilot program will allow doctors to harvest kidneys up to 2 hours after the heart stops, diminishing waiting lists.

Meital Yasour Beit-Or

Inspiring hope among patients waiting for life-saving organ transplants, Israel’s medical community is expected to launch a pilot program in which organs will be harvested from donors whose hearts have stopped beating.

Surprisingly, Israel's religious sector is responding positively to the idea of harvesting organs after the heart stops. - Photo by GettyImages

Surprisingly, Israel’s religious sector is responding positively to the idea of harvesting organs after the heart stops. – Photo by GettyImages

Continue Reading »

Bahrain 1st Arab country to blacklist Hezbollah as Terror Organization

Bahraini MP tells Al Arabiya, Hezbollah’s alleged support and training of radical Shiite groups against Bahrain is basis for the decision.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

 

Bahrain on Tuesday became the first Arab state to blacklist Hezollah as a terrorist group, Al Arabiya reported.

Lebanon's Hezbollah supporters gesture as they march in Beirut, November 2011

Lebanon’s Hezbollah supporters gesture as they march in Beirut, November 2011 – Photo: Reuters/Khalil Hassan

According to the report the decision was based mainly on the Lebanese Shiite organization’s alleged support and training of radical shiite groups against Bahrain.

“The measure is to protect Bahrain’s security and stability from Hezbollah’s threats,” Bahraini MP Adil al-Asoumi told Al Arabiya.

He stated that Hezbollah is not only a threat to Bahrain, but to the rest of the Gulf region, and called on “our Gulf brethren to confront the terrorist organization to secure Gulf security.”

Continue Reading »

Palestinian arrested for stealing monument for Jewish terror victims to erect in Ramallah

 

Omar Jabar explained to police how his gang planned to place the stolen monument that was erected in honor of the 1989 terror attack on bus No. 405 in his West Bank city’s central square.

Bereaved husband of one of those massacred: ‘No conscience’.

Noam (Dabul) Dvir

 

Omar Jabar, a 33 year old resident of Abu Gosh, was arrested on suspicion of stealing parts of a monument erected in honor of those killed in the terror attack on bus No. 405 near Kiryat Ye’arim. The Jerusalem Magistrates Court extended his remand by four days on Tuesday. Judge Tamar Bar-Asher Tsaban said Jabar is suspected of defacing a monument, conspiring to commit a crime and stealing property worth more than NIS 500,000 (about $138,000). Continue Reading »

Nation-Wide Memorial Siren too Controversial on Temple Mount

Israel Police tried to remove the Jews from the Temple Mount before the siren sounded.

Muslim Waqf members were upset to see Jewish visitors paying their respect by simply standing in place.

By Maayana Miskin

 

 

Several Jews who visited the Temple Mount on Monday, Holocaust Memorial Day, say police officers at the holy site tried to get them to leave before the memorial siren sounded at 10 a.m. Police were apparently afraid of how Muslims at the site would react to the sight of Jews standing for the siren, they said.

The Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site for well over 3,000 years.

The Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site for well over 3,000 years.

Continue Reading »

100 Russian Jews urge Israel to ignore U.S. Jews’ letter for ceding land for ‘peace’

“Decisions on national security issues must not be made under external pressure, regardless of its origins: world public opinion, U.S. leaders or even influential American Jews.”

By JTA

 

One hundred Russian Jewish notables urged Benjamin Netanyahu to ignore recent pleas by American Jews calling on the Israeli prime minister to cede land for peace.

letterIn an open letter from Russia published Tuesday, the Russian Jews wrote that their message was a reaction to the April 3 letter initiated by the dovish Israel Policy Forum by 100 American Jews, including philanthropists Charles Bronfman, Danny Abraham, Lester Crown and Stanley Gold, and former U.S. Continue Reading »

Israel Air force undergoing ‘revolution’

Networkcentric warfare is being driven by the air force’s Information Communications Technology branch. This shift is also the main reason that Israel chose the F35i to become its next fighter jet.


 

 
The Israel Air Force is in the middle of a technological revolution that is creating a digital network in the skies, a senior IAF source told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.
Israeli Fighter Jet F-16

Israeli Fighter Jet F-16 – Photo: Courtesy IDF spokesman.

As the Middle East continues to be afflicted by instability, radical terrorist organizations grow on Israel’s borders and Iran moves forward in its nuclear program, these new technologies could prove decisive to the outcome of future developments.

Continue Reading »

Lieberman says lead by example, calls for MK pay cut

Before the special plenum session dedicated to  budget cuts, MK Yachimovich attacks decision to slash higher education funding: ‘Have you no shame?’

In his support of Lapid, Lieberman calls on MKs to take responsibility & shoulder burden by a 10% cut in salary. 

By Ynet

Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman, Avigdor Leiberman, called Tuesday on Knesset Members (MKs) to waive 10% of their salary and “lead by example in this difficult period.”

On the other hand, Labor Party Chairwoman Shelly Yachimovich , who was elected Opposition Head, opened the plenum discussion with an onslaught of criticism on Lapid and his plans to slash higher education funding and raise tuition fees, asking Lapid: “Have you no shame?”. Continue Reading »

Egalitarian section proposed for Jerusalem’s Western Wall

Plan by Natan Sharansky would mark dramatic step toward pluralism at Judaism’s holy site.

 

Natan Sharansky, chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, will present a plan today to expand the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem to include a new section for egalitarian prayer to American Jewish religious leaders, the Forward has learned.

Western Wall in Jerusalem,  03/02/2010


Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men participate in a blessing during the holiday of Sukkot, in front of the Western Wall. – Photo: AP

 

If implemented, the proposal, a product of months of deliberation, would mark a dramatic acknowledgement by the state of Israel that prayer at the Wall — regarded as Judaism’s holiest site and a modern-day symbol of national sovereignty — should include non-Orthodox practice in which men and women pray together. Continue Reading »

Two Life Terms for American-Israeli ‘Jewish Terrorist’

Jack Teitel , an American-Israeli was sentenced to 2 counts of life in prison for murder, & 3 counts for attempted murder.

By Maayana Miskin

 

Two Life Terms for American-Israeli ‘Jewish Terrorist’ Jack Teitel - Screenshot

Two Life Terms for American-Israeli ‘Jewish Terrorist’ Jack Teitel – Screenshot

Yaakov “Jack” Teitel, who has been dubbed “the Jewish terrorist,” was sentenced Tuesday to two life sentences plus 30 years in prison. Teitel was convicted on two counts of murder and three of attempted murder.

The American-born Teitel was also ordered to pay his victims 560,000 shekels in compensation.

Three months ago, the High Court ruled that Teitel bears full responsibility for his actions, and cannot claim insanity as a defense. Continue Reading »

Yeshiva U Alumni say Carter’s Entrance will be Blocked

Alumni of Cardozo School of Law at the Yeshiva University say they will physically prevent the ex-president from receiving the peace prize.

By Gil Ronen

 

Enraged alumni of Yeshiva University’s Cardozo School of Law have threatened to physically block Jimmy Carter from entering the school, where he is due to receive a peace award on Wednesday.

Former President Jimmy Carter - Photo by AP

Former President Jimmy Carter – Photo by AP

 

Daniel Rubin, 62, told the Jewish Daily Forward that about a dozen former alumni are planning an act of civil disobedience to prevent Carter from picking up the International Advocate for Peace Award, given annually by Cardozo’s Journal of Conflict Resolution. Continue Reading »

Gaza Rocket Attack disrupts local Holocaust memorial ceremony

Israel closes Gaza border after Gaza rockets hit south. No injuries reported. Last week Israel retaliated for another barrage with airstrikes. 

By The Associated Press & Israel Hayom Staff

Israel shut a crossing with the Gaza Strip on Monday, a day after rockets that were fired from the Hamas-ruled territory forced Israelis to run for cover in the middle of a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony.

Terrorists prepare to launch rockets from the Gaza Strip.- Photo: Rafael Ben-Ari

Israeli TV showed footage of the ceremony in southern Israel suddenly being interrupted by the sound of a Color Red alert of an incoming rocket, just as a musical performance got underway. Continue Reading »

In Holocaust Day message, U.S. President promises to combat intolerance


President Barack Obama says that on this day we must ‘commit ourselves to the understanding, empathy & compassion that is the foundation of peace & human dignity.’

By

U.S. President Barack Obama, in his Yom Hashoah message, recalled his recommitment in Israel last month to combating anti-Semitism and intolerance.

Obama at Yad Vashem.

Obama pausing for a moment as he lays a wreath during his visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, March 22, 2013. – Photo: Reuters

 

“Today, we honor the memories of the 6 million Jewish victims and millions of others who perished in the darkness of the Shoah,” Obama said Monday in a message timed for Holocaust Remembrance Day. Continue Reading »

Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s Former PM, a ‘staunch friend of Israel,’ dies

Thatcher believed that the Arab-Israel conflict was at the center of the Western world’s difficulties in the Middle East, pressing Israeli leaders to make peace with the Palestinians in order to cool regional tensions.

By JTA

 

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who was considered a good friend of Israel despite a rocky relationship with Prime Minister Menachem Begin, has died.

Margareth Thatcher meet Foreign Minister Shimon Peres 23rd of June 1987.

Margaret Thatcher meet Foreign Minister Shimon Peres 23rd of June 1987.

Thatcher died Monday after suffering a stroke. She was 87. Thatcher suffered from dementia at the end of her life, which was dramatized in the 2011 movie “The Iron Lady.” Continue Reading »